“I’m sorry to bother you, Joe. I know you’ve been working like a dog. I just got off the comm with the Governor.”

  “How’s he doing on the other side?” Joe asked.

  “To be honest, things aren’t going well.” Zane waved his hand as if to dismiss all of the problems. “I’ll keep it simple, Joe. I know Sergeant Card asked you to safeguard the energy unit. It turns out the Governor needs it.”

  “Huh?” Joe said. “Needs it for what?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say,” Zane replied. “He asked me to come get you so you can get me the unit. I don’t suppose you have it here?”

  “No,” Joe lied without missing a beat. “It isn’t here. I left it in the secured storage area in Engineering.”

  Zane’s expression changed. The sheriff bit his lower lip. “Are you sure, Joe? I know you haven’t been sleeping much. You may have forgotten you brought it home?”

  Sheriff Zane knew he was lying. Joe swallowed hard. “What’s going on, Sheriff? And I mean, what’s really going on? There’s nothing Jackson can do with the unit out there. It would just be a big paperweight for him.”

  “He needs it, Joe. That’s all.”

  Joe looked at Carol. She shook her head slightly. Something was up and neither of them liked it.

  “I can’t give it to you,” Joe said. “Not without knowing. It’s dangerous in the wrong hands. You have to know that.”

  “I do.” Sheriff Zane’s hand drifted toward his sidearm. It wasn’t a standard issue Law revolver. It was a VP-5 from the armory. “But that’s what the Governor wants. Don’t make this hard, Joe. You’re a valuable part of the community.”

  “Are you threatening my husband?” Carol snarled. “How dare you.”

  Sheriff Zane’s eyes passed back and forth between the two of them. A bead of sweat ran down his brow. He was too nervous.

  “What the hell is going on, Sheriff?” Joe asked.

  “Fine,” Zane replied. “The city is under siege.”

  “What?” Joe said. He pointed to the window. “Nothing is going on out there.”

  “I know. We’ve got everybody back to their cubes. The Governor was attacked outside the city. We lost fifty DDF soldiers already.”

  “Geez,” Carol said.

  “What about the seals?”

  “The Governor closed the seals. It held them back for about ten seconds. They cracked the programming and opened them right back up.”

  “Who?”

  “The Governor called them the Inahri . I don’t know. They’re keeping a low profile in engineering. The Governor says if we do what they say and give them the unit, they’ll leave us alone and nobody else gets hurt.”

  Joe laughed. “Are you kidding? What assurance do we have of that?”

  “They gave their word.”

  “They speak English?”

  “Apparently.”

  Joe shook his head. “This is ridiculous. You do realize the energy unit is a near limitless power source? What do you think an alien race that’s already threatening our lives might do with something like that?”

  “It isn’t my call, Joe. It isn’t yours either. The Governor needs it. He made the deal. We give up the unit, or they come into the city and find it themselves.”

  Joe stared at the sheriff. Their eyes met, facing off in silence. Joe wasn’t a young man. He was five years away from retirement or would have been before the Deliverance landed. It would be easy to turn over the unit and hope for the best. It would be easy to go back to bed and maybe wake up in the morning. Or maybe not.

  He blew out a stream of air, trying to release some of the tension. “If Stone hadn’t framed the Guardians for something they never did, we might not be in this mess.”

  “I keep hearing that allegation. I haven’t seen any proof.”

  “I was there, Kevin. I know what I heard.”

  “It doesn’t change anything.”

  “It changes everything.”

  Zane finally looked away. “Look, are you going to give me the energy unit, or do I have to do something I don’t want to do? They didn’t give us all day to meet their demands.”

  “And what would that something be?” Carol asked. “Are you going to shoot us, Kevin? Are you going to kill the next two most valuable people in the city after Sergeant Card and his team? Do you really aim to screw things up even more than you already have?”

  “I don’t want to die, Carol,” the sheriff said. “That’s a pretty strong motivation.”

  “They’re going to kill you anyway. Or take you away for something else. I guarantee it. Don’t be an idiot.”

  Sheriff Zane’s hand slid to his sidearm. He wrapped it around the handle, beginning to pull it up. “Please don’t make me do this.”

  “Go to Hell, Kevin,” Joe said. “You’re going to have to shoot us to get the unit. If you can find it.”

  “I guess I will,” Zane said, drawing the weapon and pointing it at Joe.

  Carol grabbed a pan from the counter, moving quickly. Sheriff Zane pivoted toward her as she swung it, the metal smashing him in the face at the same time the VP-5 discharged.

  Joe’s entire world collapsed.

  The round hit Carol in the chest, powerful enough to go right through, expanding the damage on the way out. She stumbled back as blood hit the back of the cube behind her, along with the slug. Zane fell back too, nose broken, face bloody. He collapsed onto the floor at the same time Carol did.

  “No,” Joe said, rushing to his wife’s side. “No, no, no, no, no. Carol!” He fell to his knees beside her, leaning over. “Carol!”

  There was no time for a loving goodbye.

  She was already gone.

  “Nooooo!” Joe shouted, tears streaming from his eyes. “Damn you, Kevin. Damn you, Jackson.” He looked down at his beautiful wife. He couldn’t believe it. Everything had happened so fast.

  He looked back at Zane, and then to the VP-5 on the ground beside him. The man was unconscious. That would be easy too.

  The LED on his badge turned green.

  “Sheriff, are you there?” Governor Stone said. “Sheriff Zane? Report. Did you get it?”

  Joe stood up. He didn’t have time to mourn his wife. She hadn’t died so that asshole could get the energy unit anyway.

  He stepped over Zane and rushed to his workshop, pushing the false back away from his desk and revealing a small storage space. He opened it and grabbed the containment box the active unit was resting in. Then he went back to where the sheriff was prone on his floor. He picked up the VP-5 and took the badge from the sheriff’s collar, sparing one more look for his wife.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. He could barely manage the pain, except through his sudden and desperate need to get the energy unit as far away from Metro as he could.

  The Deliverance was a big ship, and he had been through a lot of it over the past week. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. Maybe the aliens would kill everyone in Metro. It wouldn’t get them what they wanted. Maybe Sergeant Card would find his way back. Sheriff Dante at least.

  It didn’t matter. They had just killed Carol. They had murdered his precious bride. Screw them. They were never getting their power source, no matter what. Not as long as he was still drawing breath.

  He spit on Sheriff Zane and then headed out of his cube into the hallway.

  He knew exactly where he was going to hide.

  Chapter 18

  “Sheriff Zane,” Jackson said for the fourth time, trying to get the sheriff to reply.

  “Is there a problem?” Sergeant Harai asked.

  Jackson looked at the Inahri leader, his throat tight. “My man isn’t responding.”

  “That sounds like a problem.”

  “I’ll handle it.”

  “You will.”

  Jackson swallowed hard. He was standing in the middle of Engineering Control. Sergeant Harai rested on one of the chairs in a confident, relaxed posture, his eyes lowered like he was half asleep. For all the urgency they had put on him to retrieve the QDM, the man hardly seemed to be in a hurry.

  “I need to go to Metro,” Jackson said. “I need to go to Law myself, round up some deputies and find out what happened.”

  The last thing Zane had said was that he was inside the Kings’ block, headed up to their cube. Jackson knew Joe was the last one to handle the quantum dimensional modulator. He had been slightly worried the engineer wouldn’t be too quick to hand it over. After all, Joe knew he had lied about the Guardians, and he was the kind of man who didn’t take kindly to any manner of deceit.

  He didn’t expect that Joe might have actually hurt a sheriff.

  “Corporal Nan will go with you,” Harai said, pointing to one of his soldiers. The man stepped forward.

  “No offense, but I thought you were trying to keep things calm? Sending one of your men into the city will not keep things calm.”

  “The streets should be clear, should they not?” Harai asked.

  Those were the orders he had given to Law. To enforce a curfew and get everyone off the streets. He was sure the soldiers who had escaped earlier told their families what was happening. Word was going to get out sooner or later. But Harai wanted to remain away from the city. QDM first. New subjects for Arluthu after.

  “Yes, but we still have windows,” Jackson said.

  “Watch your tone, Earther,” Harai snapped. “I don’t need you as much as you need me.”

  “My apologies,” Jackson said, face flushing. “I didn’t mean to offend.”

  “Besides, no one will think anything is out of the ordinary. Nan, remove your armor.”

  “Yes, Sergeant,” Nan said. Two other soldiers moved in to help the corporal out of his battle armor.

  Jackson saw the man was wearing a seamless black suit beneath it. He watched in amazement as Nan raised the bodysuit over his head, completely obscuring himself with it. Then he tapped a small device on his wrist and instantly became a perfect replica of Beth Stone.

  “Uh,” Jackson said. It was all he could manage to say.

  “Axon technology. The suit is made from the outer shell of a Basic Intellect. We modified it for Inahri use. Impressive, no?”

  “Y-yes,” Jackson stammered.

  “Nan has no Advocate and will be unable to speak to you. His role is only to make sure your loyalties remain with Arluthu. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Sergeant,” Jackson said.

  “Good. Now go and find my modulator. Dismissed.”

  Jackson swallowed again, unable to clear the lump in his throat. He turned to the exit, Nan coming to join him at his side. The Inahri soldier reached out for his hand like his wife would. He had no choice but to take it.

  They made their way through the engineering corridors to the South Park entrance into Metro. The strands were empty, the city quiet despite the early hour. Jackson looked over to the block across from his mansion, finding Joe King’s window. The light was on, but he didn’t see any hint of movement inside.

  He walked briskly, his legs shaking beneath him. This was all too much to take. Beyond his fear for his life and the lives of his people, he was worried about the real Beth. Had Doctor Rathbone gotten her out of her shock?

  He went directly to the Law Office with Nan at his side, keeping a grip on his hand. All of the heads in the office lifted when he entered, and then the sheriffs and deputies each fell to a knee in respect.

  “Stand up,” Stone said. He made a quick visual of the room. There weren’t that many officers here. Most were still out enforcing the curfew. “Bashir, Wilks, Chen, I need you.”

  The three deputies came right over. “Governor?”

  “I sent Sheriff Zane to Joe King’s cube. He isn’t responding to his badge.”

  “Sir, you think Joe did something to him?” Bashir asked.

  “That’s crazy,” Chen said.

  “We need to find out,” Jackson replied. “Follow me.”

  The deputies followed him out of the office. It was a short walk to Joe’s block.

  “Governor.” A woman ran up to them when they entered. Jackson knew her as a nurse at the hospital. “You heard?” she asked, noticeably distraught.

  “Heard what?” Jackson replied.

  “I heard a gunshot and then a pair of hard thuds that shook my ceiling. Isn’t that why you’re here?” she asked, looking with concern from Jackson to Nan.

  Nan nodded. “Yes, it is.” He waved his deputies toward the lifts. “Come on, let’s hurry.”

  They took the first one to open all the way up to the thirtieth floor. The Kings’ floor. Zane stumbled out of Joe’s apartment just as Jackson and the deputies ran down the corridor toward him..

  “What the hell?” Jackson said, noticing all the blood on the sheriff’s face, and the sad state of his nose.

  “Carol knocked me with a pan,” Zane replied, his voice muffled from the damage. “I shot her. Oh, Governor. I shot her. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to.”

  Zane was almost crying he was so distraught.

  “Where’s Joe?” Jackson asked. “Where’s the QDM?”

  “Joe’s gone. He probably took it with him.”

  “Why didn’t he give it to you?”

  “He doesn’t trust you, sir. Not after what happened with the Guardians.”

  Jackson growled under his breath. “Did you tell him why I wanted it?”

  Zane looked at the floor. “I did. He said the aliens are going to kill us anyway as soon as they get what they want.”

  “They aren’t.”

  “How do you know that for sure, sir?”

  “They promised to take us in. To give us a home.” Of course, that wasn’t entirely true. They wanted a number of the male citizens for combat and the women for cross-breeding. It was still better than death.

  “What kind of home?”

  “With them. What does it matter? We get the damned QDM, or we die. Do you understand that?”

  “Sir?” Bashir said behind him.

  Jackson spun around. “Don’t question me, Deputy. Do as I say, or you’ll be the next person who gets shot.”

  Bashir paled in response. “Y-yes, Governor.”

  Jackson turned back to Zane. “We need to find Joe. How long ago did he leave?”

  “I think I was out at least five minutes,” Zane said.

  “So he has a five to ten-minute head start. Sheriff, get everyone in Law looking for him, and then make your way to the hospital to get that face of yours looked at.”

  “Yes, sir,” Zane said.

  “The rest of you, let’s go.”

  Chapter 19

  “I don’t know what’s taking them so long,” Caleb said.

  He was lying on his rack at the top of the winding bunks, staring up at the smooth stone ceiling. Two hours had passed since Sergeant Tsi had brought him back to the barracks. He had quickly debriefed the others on his meeting with General Goi before grabbing a little sleep.

  The mattress was comfortable, but not too comfortable. It let him relax, but didn’t allow for deep sleep, and now he was starting to get restless.

  “It shouldn’t be a hard decision,” he continued. “It’s a problem for them if the Relyeh get the QDM. The QDM is on the Deliverance. We know the ship better than they do, and we want to keep the Hunger from it too. It’s simple logic.”

  “Not so simple for them,” Washington said. His voice was getting less raspy with each word he uttered, the fabric around his neck adjusting to him. “They’re the rebels on this planet. Guerillas. They can’t rush headlong into anything.”

  “True,” Caleb agreed. “But they could let us rush headlong into it. Give us some gear and set us loose. I’m more than willing to ally with them. Instead, they insist on keeping us prisoner here and forcing us to earn our keep.”

  “But they won’t let us do it the best way we can,” Dante said.

  “Frustrating,” Paige said.

  “Agreed,” Caleb replied, letting out a soft sigh. “It would be nice if Tsi would at least come back and tell us what the hell is going on.”

  “I don’t think they think they owe us anything, Sergeant,” Kiaan said.

  “Also true,” Caleb agreed. “But they say they respect me for standing up against impossible odds instead of running, but they don’t think we can run this mission. Is that it?”

  “We don’t know they think that,” Washington said. “Not until they come back.”

  “If they come back,” Paige said. “I feel like we’re going to rot in here. The gruel isn’t bad, but I don’t want to live on it.”

  “Roger that,” Washington said.

  Caleb closed his eyes again. He would have thought after the last couple of weeks he would appreciate a little downtime. Instead, it was leaving him antsy. He knew now that Metro was in trouble. As long as he was here, he wasn’t there to help. He wasn’t doing his job.

  He sat up, dangling his legs over the side and hopping down. “Huddle up,” he said, calling the Guardians to him. Pai walked over too.

  “Pai, how about you go stand over there?” Caleb suggested, pointing to the corner near the door.

  “How can I hear your requests from over there?” the robot replied.

  “Go.” Pai did as it was ordered. It didn’t have a choice. The Guardians gathered close to Caleb. He spoke softly. “We may need to break out of here.”

  “Do you think we can?” Kiaan asked. “There’s a lot of Inahri here, and they’re all soldiers.”

  “I know. I’m not saying it will be easy. But we need to start coming up with a plan. What do we have, and what do we know?”

  “What we don’t have is any weapons,” Washington said.

  “And nothing we could use as a weapon,” Paige said. “Unless you want to try to beat through battle armor with a spoon.”

  “Okay, but what do we have?” Caleb asked.

  The Guardians were silent. It wasn’t an easy question. They didn’t have much.

  “We have your arm,” Washington said. “How’s the charge?”

  Caleb reached over with his left hand, tapping the control ring. Two bars lit up. “Twenty percent.”

  Washington shook his head. “Not great.”