Royal swiped his golden helmet on and took the impact. Then he turned and walked away, the bolts dinging off his back. He grabbed the railing of the viewing platform and jumped.

  Exeter raced to the edge and looked down. Royal stood far below, staring back up. He disappeared into the lower levels leading to the transport and maintenance facilities.

  Did that happen? Did Occip malfunction?

  How did he know it was me? I never dropped my helmet.

  Exeter regrouped his emotions and reset his route toward the primary target.

  Scattered resistance ended within minutes. The members of Platoon 7 lost two soldiers – one during descent and another in ground fighting. They’d finish regenning soon enough. The soldiers secured the office complex and began spooling the system data to retrieve all critical intelligence.

  Yet this did not feel like a victory. Platoon 7 found far less bodies than they appeared to take out during descent. Only four – each eviscerated by overwhelming fire – lay in pieces within the facility. Tracking devices no longer detected the other enemy. A simple mind would suggest they disappeared into thin air.

  Michael Cooper, fresh off his inability to destroy the warships before they hit Worm, erupted in frustration when he heard the report. Exeter did not mention his encounter. He needed time to process but had no intention of hiding the truth.

  Exeter kept a safe distance as Michael stood at the viewing platform with Admiral Kane and Cap Silver. The sun snuck above the horizon.

  “How did we fumble this fucking ball?” Michael said. “Thoughts?”

  Kane replied with what everyone had to have been thinking.

  “They knew we were coming.”

  “How? Ninety-five percent of our own people didn’t know. I never even told Sam – and she made me promise to warn her the next time I went into battle. This was the scheduled launch day, so I could almost understand if they decided to float early. But they evac’d most of the diplomats and all the workers’ city. Then they leave a platoon of … who the hell were those guys with, anyway? They sure weren’t born on this planet. If you’re gonna protect this place, that’s not the best you can do.”

  Cap Silver said, “I suggest we take their armor for analysis. It’s a system we haven’t seen before.”

  “Make it happen, Cap. How are we coming on the data spools?”

  “We’re close, Minister.”

  “Good. Check on the team. We need to wrap this business. We’re gonna draw trouble if we stay here too long.”

  “Yes, Minister. Oh, and should I have Lucy bring up the prisoners?”

  “Make it quick.”

  “Yes, Minister.”

  Cap Silver acknowledged Exeter with a wink as he left. Exeter did not follow; Michael ordered him here.

  Kane told Michael: “Aside from those two, I don’t think we’re going learn much from the other survivors.”

  “You’re right. The workers won’t know squat, and the diplomats were frozen out for a reason. Is there a shuttle for them?”

  “Yes. Quay 9.”

  “Good. Put them on it and hold them under guard until we’re ready to burn this place.”

  When Kane hurried away, Michael called Exeter forward.

  “I’m sorry we didn’t achieve all our objectives, Minister. I think everyone gave it their best.”

  “I agree. I haven’t had a chance to examine the assault logs, but I hear you performed well. Anything you want to tell me?”

  “Yes, but it’s complicated, and I’m not sure what it means.”

  “There were reports of an enemy soldier not armored like the others. A golden boy, apparently. Did you encounter him?”

  “Yes, Minister.”

  “Did you try to kill him?”

  “I did, Minister.”

  “Did he escape like the others?”

  “He did, Minister.”

  “That’s par for the course. Also, it’s not necessary to address me as Minister every time you open your mouth. I want a full report one hour after we return. Understand?”

  “Yes, Min … yes, sir.”

  “The reason I called you here is because we detained an interesting pair of women. They might have been shuffled off to Quay 9 if one hadn’t been arrogant enough to identify herself. God, I hate Chancellors. Assholes to the core.”

  “Sir?”

  Michael looked over his shoulder and grinned like a mischievous boy. He leaned into Exeter.

  “I don’t think they’ll be pleased to see either of us.”

  Exeter was still reeling from his encounter with Ryllen, so Michael’s words did not register until Lucy Dane, one of the toughest fighters in Platoon 7, approached with two women under guard.

  “In all the universe,” Michael said, “what are the odds?”

  Angela Poussard and Siobhan Morrow shuffled to a halt, bearing the hallmarks of a defeated enemy. Angela might as well have been staring into the teeth of a salivating monster.

  “You? You did this to us?”

  “Me? No, Angela. I was late to the party.” He pointed to Exeter. “Couldn’t have done it without his help.”

  She winced as if confused. Exeter thought she might not have recognized him at first, what with the beard and the orange hair.

  “Exeter? After I gave you a second chance ...”

  “All you did was replace the arm your lunatic friend cut off.”

  “He has a point,” Michael said. “And the damned arm was a hypersonic bomb, at that. You actually expected to slip that past me? Oh, Angela. All you had to do was stay away and live your life.”

  “You’re filth, Michael Cooper. All our nightmares began when you crossed over.”

  “Water under the bridge. Bottom line: I warned you never to come back. I said if anyone tried to take my world, I’d kill them. You couldn’t let that shit go. Too bad.”

  “Then do it, Michael. I’ve got nothing left to live for.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that. Lucy, take this bitch to the Milos. Lock her down. If she tries anything, shoot her in the leg. Don’t kill her.”

  “Yes, Minister. And this one?” She pointed to Siobhan.

  “Leave her. Until we meet again, Angela, you sweetie-pie.” He pivoted to Siobhan after Lucy and her prisoner left, ignoring the stream of curses. “Do me a favor and fall to your knees.”

  Siobhan complied. Michael pulled Exeter away but did not take eyes off the young woman. He whispered.

  “How well do you know this one?”

  “Not very. I mostly dealt with Angela.”

  “She killed the man who took your arm?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Did she aid you or use you?”

  Exeter studied the woman.

  “I never knew her on Scylla. She left days after me. She belonged to Angela.”

  “She assisted the woman who turned you into a suicide bomber. What’s the big takeaway?”

  “She used me.”

  “Yes, she did. This is how Chancellors think. Most of them. I did marry one, so I can make a few exceptions. Their primary strategy has nothing to do with love, compassion, or loyalty. They controlled the human race for thousands of years because they erased those three things from their soul. They’re only useful when they have something we want. Does she?”

  “I can’t think of anything.”

  “OK then. You know her better than me. Exeter, she is part of a long line of people who have tried to fuck you over. It’s time for you to start a new chapter. Agreed?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Kill her, and we can burn this place to the ground.”

  Michael walked away.

  Liberation warmed Exeter’s heart. The last nudge of confusion dissolved. Yes, Angela Poussard was right: She did give Exeter a second chance. It was better than anything he dared to hope for.

  He stood over Siobhan, whose tears painted her cheeks.

  “Learn to love,” he said. “Prepare to kill.”

  Siobhan never objected before he shot her.

  Exeter didn’t look back. He caught up with Michael en route to their departure. Suddenly, his memory tingled.

  “Wait. Minister, did you say hypersonic bomb?”

  “Oh, yes. Nasty piece of work. I think she planned to remote detonate when she jumped into the system. I’ll ask her at some point, even though it doesn’t matter anymore. I need to know what’s happening in the Chancellor fleet.”

  “How bad would it have been?”

  “If you were on a ship, there’d be no more ship. If you were in Promise, you’d take out eight or ten blocks.”

  “The first time, you said it was a small bomb. It was …”

  “I lied. Everybody does. It was reasonable incentive to keep you pushing forward. Don’t worry. We neutralized it before you arrived on Aeterna. We’re making you a new one.”

  Michael wrapped a giant arm around Exeter.

  “You’re one of us now. You’re a brother, and we’ll always love you like one. And truth be told, I have a sneaky suspicion you’re going to be awfully damn important to our survival.”

  Maybe. Maybe not.

  Exeter didn’t care. The embrace was all that mattered.

  Yet like so many episodes in his life, the exhilaration faded in a blink. As they approached the on-ramp for Battlecruiser Milos, they found Admiral Kane waiting, his face ashen.

  “You look like death, Rafael,” Michael said. “What now?”

  “I’ve seen a ghost, Michael. Listened to one, anyway.”

  “Talk.”

  “We heard from surviving diplomats that it was Amayas Knight, the so-called Inventor, who ordered the warships to launch early. He casted a vid throughout Arakaat.” Kane blinked twice. His eyes glowed yellow. He grabbed a holo. “We can put a face to him.”

  “Shit.” Michael took one look and backed away. His wince suggested confusion. “Wait a minute. Are we sure this is him?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Exeter, is this Amayas Knight?”

  There he was. After all these years, the man who hurled Exeter across the divide. Flung him into the middle of a war. He seemed tired compared to those days at Artemis Station, but the distinctive purple bruise in the right-hand corner of his face remained.

  “Yes, sir. That’s the Inventor.”

  “I expected to see someone else.”

  Kane shook his head.

  “You need to hear his voice. Listen closely, Michael.”

  The vid began.

  “Good morning, everyone. I am casting throughout Arakaat so all will see and all will understand. …”

  Exeter last heard that voice while buckled down in the Inventor’s lab deep below Artemis. He remembered the final words before his life changed: “One day, I hope to answer your question, and all the others you’ll collect along the way. Thank you for coming into my life, Exeter.”

  The moment tortured him still, but it seemed to devastate the top two Aeternan military leaders. Deeper into the message, they turned away, faces in their hands.

  “It’s him,” Kane said. “He was in my ear for three years, Michael.”

  The Minister sighed. “He was our friend. Fuck.”

  37

  Zero hour

  M ICHAEL ORDERED KANE to close the holo and said he long suspected who the Inventor might be.

  “But it seemed nuts. Why would he do it? Why would he build warships capable of wiping us out? Exeter, when we met, you said Amayas had a full facial transplant.”

  “Yes, sir. Before I met him. The bruise never healed. Still hasn’t. Do you know who he really is?”

  “Admiral, who else has seen this vid?”

  “Caleb Silver and Marney Wilde.”

  “They joined us after he disappeared, so they won’t recognize the voice. Classify the vid. I don’t want anyone knowing about this shit until we have answers. We’ll have very confused Aeternans.”

  “My thoughts exactly, Michael.”

  “Exeter, you and I are going to talk more about this man. But I need you to button your lips. You never saw this. Understand?”

  “Yes, Minister.”

  He didn’t fathom the need for secrecy, only that Amayas had a connection to Aeterna. Exeter made another leap: If Amayas was here, then the troops must have belonged to him. Ryllen belonged to him.

  That asshole took my place.

  He thought about the unique armor that absorbed and repelled devastating fire without concern. He thought of Ryllen’s words:

  “You don’t know what this is really all about. It’s so big. It’s incredible. Look at me! We can have everything.”

  Ryllen was dangerous in any context, but now?

  Michael had to know.

  “We need to bug out of here,” Michael told Kane.

  “Agreed.”

  “Do you still need me, Minister? I should report to Crowfoot.”

  “No, Exeter. You’re with me. The two of us need to have a sit-down. I’ll inform Cap Silver.”

  In five minutes, both ships took a stationary position above the shipyards. Michael seethed on the Milos bridge.

  “Admiral, has the workers’ city been evacuated?”

  “Most are in the emergency escape dome awaiting pickup. A few hundred are outside on the landing port. Five hundred meters clear.”

  “Good. They’ll have a story to tell their grandkids. This place used to be a hole in the ground. It’s gonna be again. Crowfoot, train a firing solution on the city. Admiral, the rest of it is yours. Bomb the holy fuck out of Arakaat.”

  Exeter thought the bombardment and resulting red-orange plumage created a sort of obscene beauty. It was an aspect of war he rarely experienced across the divide, where the Swarm only hit enough standing targets to terrify citizens before engaging the bulk of their forces on the ground. They would not have wiped out a city wholesale. The Swarm preferred to ravage by hand.

  He studied Michael’s expression and saw no evidence of satisfaction. When it was done and the fire still raged, Michael ordered Crowfoot to enter Worm and return home.

  “Admiral, sweep us around the perimeter one time. I want to make sure we didn’t overlook any goodies.”

  “Yes, Michael. The survivors down there are going to have some wild tales. Who will they blame? Us or the Chancellors?”

  “Good question. The Inventor never named the guilty party in his vid. I find that interesting. Don’t you?”

  “Given his background? Very.”

  “Yeah, he’s gonna be a problem. He’s …”

  The navigator interrupted.

  “We have a ship just appeared out of Worm. She’s on course to Arakaat. She’s …”

  “Out with it.”

  “Her configuration matches the warships.”

  “Yes! They’re coming back. We’re still in this fight. We can …”

  “Or this is the third one,” Kane said. “If her array is active, she can take us out. Nav, change course to bear one-four-nine. Align our cannon spread to eagle config. Ready weapons.”

  “Good,” Michael said. “Right up her ass.”

  Devastation in Scylla C&C at the sight of Arakaat on fire turned to desperation.

  “Captain,” Hiro Parke said from nav. “One vessel is closing fast, unidentified configuration. Five kilometers out, bearing southeast on a trajectory …. her weapons ports are open. She’s firing.”

  Ham Cortez rushed to Hiro and snapped:

  “Countermeasures. Full spread from the port array.”

  “Launching. Do I spin up particle missiles?”

  “Not yet.” He turned to Paul Ochoba. “Set the nacelles for maximum injection.”

  Paul yanked his hands from the holocontrols.

  “We never practiced that maneuver inside an atmosphere. The g-forces are going to kick us.”

  “You’re right.” He tapped the shipwide comm. “Attention, crew. We are under attack. Brace yourselves for extreme gravitational force. If you have nothing to grab hold of, lie flat. We go in five, four, three, two, …”

  Ham signaled to Paul, who gave the Carbedyne nacelles all they could handle. Cando wrapped himself around Kara and grabbed hold of the captain’s chair. Scylla accelerated to ten times the speed in seconds. The ship vibrated during the rapid burst but settled upon leveling off at maximum speed.

  “Everyone’s good?” Ham asked to nods of relief. “Hiro, did we take any hits?”

  “One missile got through. Skirted lower deck near the galley. The armor held. I’m not seeing structural damage.”

  “What about the enemy?”

  “I’m showing three positive collection points, but I can’t read structural damage. A good sign: They’re slowing.”

  “Are they going down?”

  “No. Holding course and altitude but not pursuing.”

  “Then either we caused significant damage or gave them pause. Paul, can we manage a visual from this distance?”

  “Not at our current speed. Captain, I recommend we go to Worm and reassess.”

  “We don’t know who they are, but it’s a reasonable assumption they destroyed Arakaat. I’d like to know what we walked into before we turn tail to Zwahili Kingdom. Drop speed fifty percent and come about. Watch them closely. Cando? What do you think?”

  The Turk had not let go of Kara’s hand as he studied the holos.

  “We have eyes on high. They’re still inside our drone network.”

  “Great point. Hiro, reorient the Bluebirds and capture their data package from the past six hours. I have an idea. Cando, what was the Talon protocol when spotting an enemy ship whose capabilities were in dispute?”

  “If it was Swarm and vulnerable, take it out.”

  “No retreat? No negotiations?”

  “If it was the sole enemy? No. Blow it out of the sky. If it was one of many, target the sure killers and hope you lived to see another day. We only focused on subtraction. What are you proposing?”

  “Look at them, Cando. They’re hardly moving. A hundred kph. They can see us, but they’re not adjusting course. If they had worm tech, they would’ve jumped. We can’t leave here empty-handed.”

  “They might be thinking the same thing.”

  “Here’s another way to consider it. We have seventy armed Zwahilis onboard, give or take. I’d prefer to deliver an explanation that won’t leave them contemplating the joys of mutiny.”