Critical Strike (The Critical Series Book 3) (31 page)

Hagellan’s great body continued to thrash for a few seconds after until eventually his limbs became still.

“Damn, that felt good,” Charlie said. He turned to Drone 451. “Frankly, I don’t care if what you’re saying is the truth or not. We’re going to die if we don’t get air in the next quarter of a unit. If you have air, then we need it now. After that, we can talk.” He kept the rifle poised in his hands, aimed partly toward the scion drone.

The drone’s blue stripe flashed twice and the smaller ones in front of the screen of data hovered around the group and disappeared through another door behind Denver that he hadn’t spotted originally.

“Follow us,” Drone 451 said. “We have much to discuss.”

Leaving the remains of Hagellan and Vingo behind, Denver followed the scion along with Charlie and Layla, all three of them sharing a ‘what the fuck?’ expression.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Layla woke on a soft bed, stretched and yawned. A cool draft pumped from a chrome vent in the roof, providing air in the pressurized barrack block. These sparse white rooms attached to the command center were used by humans when serving on Tredeya. It came as no surprise that Vingo didn’t tell them about the area. She wondered if he spoke a word of truth during their whole time together.

The partially split dark blue armor stood at the end of the bed with her helmet propped on top of it and a tredeyan rifle slung over the shoulder. The last two days were the strangest in Layla’s life, but she could see light at the end of the tunnel.

Sleep came easily after being transported back by the scion prisms, who provided clean filters for their suits and promised no harm would come to them. Drone 451 showed them a video of a shocked-looking Mike, Mai and Maria and told them they were safe and Augustus perished in the battle for Unity.

Layla activated a screen at the end of her bed and looked at the still image of their faces again. The drones refused to give more information until they spoke to an agent called Doslin.

It was a relief that the city survived the attack and all three of them lived through it. She found Augustus’ death the most unbelievable. The man was an eternal survivor and seemed to get away with everything he did. Layla assumed he would be a thorn in her side until her dying days.

Reflecting on her post-invasion life, it was the first time she felt real pride about her role in society. It wasn’t like reintegrating human livestock back into civilized life. That was just repairing the damage that she played a part in creating. Augustus forced her, under the threat of death, to work on a farm. Her path for survival involved self-preservation at the expense of others. Those days were over.

Together with Charlie and Denver, they put their lives on the line for Earth.

A female tredeyan, dressed in a peach-colored robe, knocked on the transparent glass door. Layla thumbed the panel by the side of her bed and the door hissed open.

“I am Doslin,” she said. “Follow me to the observation deck.”

“Do I need to put my suit on?”

“No. It’s safe for you to breathe. Please, this way. I will reunite you with your friends.”

“You breathe our air?”

“It’s purer than Tredeya’s. I wouldn’t advise you to try the opposite.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

Doslin led Layla up two flights of stone steps to a dull gray corridor. The caverns looked barely recognizable after a good six hours sleep and a lower threat level. The scion had taken full control, and only their agents were allowed access. Instead of seeing the passages as dark, alien and intimidating, expecting a threat around every corner, Layla took some time to peer in every room and murky corner. She doubted she’d get a chance to see a world like this again.

In one room, two black prisms hovered next to a bank of glass boxes with circuitry and boards inside. Three slaughtered clusps were piled in another. Electronic pads were attached to the smoothly carved walls at regular intervals, some had views to other parts of the cavern system on their screens, others provided security access to sturdy metal doors. None required wiring because of their wireless energy solution. Layla wondered if they could take some of the tech back to Earth for Mike to reverse engineer.

“What do you know about humans?” Layla said.

“I’ve met them here and on one of our mineral planets. I like them.”

“Is that where you learned our language?”

“We learn it as children, along with croatoan since their colonization of our planet. We despise their presence.”

“How does working with the scion help?” Layla said.

“If it means ridding our species of the croatoans, I’m prepared to do it.”

Layla frowned and shook her head. “The scion attacked you and have taken over parts of your planet. Is that what you were working toward? How is that any better than living under croatoan rule?”

“Charlie and Denver asked the same questions. I will provide you all with an overview.”

They passed through an automatic set of double doors to a thirty-meter-wide room. A floor-to-ceiling window looked out over the immediate landscape. Charlie and Denver stood in front of it, gazing outside and chatting.

Denver turned and smiled. “Nice to see you’re awake.”

“Learned anything new?” Charlie said.

“Not really. Our host says we’ve been asking the same questions. I guess it’s time for us to hear it.”

Charlie grabbed a cup from a polished stone table and handed it to Layla. “Here’s something to toast the death of Augustus.”

“I’ve just been thinking about that. Gregor would be pleased.”

“Screw him,” Denver said. “I want to know if we’ve got a way back.”

Layla peered over his shoulder. The remains of the gate towered over the forest outside. The two edges of the broken ring glinted in the sun and seemed to be expanding toward each other. Mechs floated on either side of it and fired lasers. Other small black square objects moved smoothly up and down the internal side.

“They should have it finished in a unit,” Doslin said. “You can be on the ship if you agree to our terms.”

Charlie stepped toward her. “Are you serious? We’ve been messed around since arriving. I can’t take another false promise.”

Doslin held her stumpy translucent fingers toward a granite bench. “Take a seat and I will explain.”

Layla sat between Charlie and Denver. Doslin knelt in front of them. “Tredeya and Earth are both parts of a Galactic struggle between two force—”

“I kinda guessed that,” Charlie said. “What’s that got to do with us?”

“You need to see the full picture. The croatoans colonized hundreds of planets in the universe. Earth or Tredeya are not exceptions. Croatoans see it as their right as one of the oldest species, and use our resources for their expanding population.”

“Vingo hinted toward that,” Denver said. “Where do the scion come in?”

“They are on a quest to find their purpose and believe that the information they need is spread around the universe, including Earth.”

“They’re going to invade us?” Layla said.

“No. Mike has agreed to give them access to Hagellan’s devices and any other system they choose. If you give them what they want, they are happy to let you live peaceful lives and will leave a ship in the solar system for protection against the croatoans.”

Charlie grunted. “And that’s why they’re standing on the croatoans’ toes.”

“What do you mean?” Doslin said.

“The scion are liberating any colonized planet that goes along with their request. It sounds like your command made a huge mistake.”

“You’re correct, and it’s also the reason Tredaya has finally fallen today. Our commanders followed croatoan instructions to the letter.” Doslin bowed her head. “They thought being attacked by the scion was better than facing a croatoan planet destroyer. That is a risk any rebelling planet faces.”

“Have the croatoans managed to get past the scion defenses yet?”

“I’ve only heard rumors about two distant colonies. I believe you call it a myth, but the croatoans use these stories as a threat.”

“What about the Amalgam?” Layla said. “Vingo was trying to gather information to trade with them.”

“They are not a major force yet, but they’re growing in strength and have entered our galaxy. It’s the perfect time to rise because croatoan resources are stretched to the limit, trying to stop the scion advance.”

“Who’s winning?” Charlie said.

“Nobody wins,” Doslin replied, her blinks becoming rapid. “This has gone on longer than humans have been on Earth. I believe the scion expansion is unstoppable, but the croatoans are determined.”

“What happens if the information they’re looking for doesn’t exist?” Denver said.

“They will continue looking. This is their purpose until they find out the reason for their creation.”

Charlie stood and sighed. He peered out the window toward the gate. “Enough of the history lesson. You said there are terms?”

“If they are agreed to, you can return to Earth through the repaired gate, and a scion ship will protect your solar system from future croatoan invasion. Mike has agreed to his part of the proposition.”

“Are you sure they won’t turn on us?” Denver said.

Doslin shuffled toward him. “That is not a concern you alone must address. Please accompany me to another room.”

Denver raised his eyebrows. “Me?”

She reached inside her robe, produced a small black prism and held it toward Denver. “Take this and follow me.”

“Wait for just one second. We do things together or not—” Charlie said.

“He comes with me now,” Doslin snapped. “Everything has a price.”

Doslin stood and pressed the prism into Denver’s hand. Layla looked across to him. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll let you know everything that happens. If this is how they want to play it, so be it.”

Denver took the prism and held it in front of his face. Doslin walked toward a door at the left-hand side of the observation area. Denver followed and paused to glance back at the bench.

Layla feared this wouldn’t be as straightforward as the scion agent explained. Doslin’s final three words spun in her mind. She hoped the price didn’t involve losing Denver.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Denver inhaled the fresh air generated from the atmosphere units of the small room. They had even managed to equalize the gravity so it felt like being back on Earth again. His muscles eased away the lingering cramp with each step into the room.

“Please, rest; take a seat,” Doslin said, indicating with an elegant gesture of her thin hand a sofa that resembled a large hotdog sign he had once seen on the streets of New York among the debris of collapsed buildings.

He sat down on what would have been the bun and rested his back against the ‘sausage.’ The design was surprisingly comfortable, the foam supportive as it conformed to his shape.

The room was carpeted with what looked like an organic material of woven long stems, making a light striped pattern. It was soft underfoot and gave off a light fragrance of mint mixed with cinnamon.

Like the previous room, this one had a large window that looked out onto the gate’s repair; the huge spines that made up the rings were quickly taking shape. If he blinked, he would miss some growth, some mutable effect. The scion machines were swarming it like ants, and the gate itself seemed to animate before his very eyes.

“That’s incredible,” he said, mostly to himself.

Doslin stood with her back to him, her hands crossed behind the small of her back. She inclined her head forward. “They’re a unique race, that’s for sure,” she said in a neutral tone.

“You don’t seem impressed. I suppose you’ve seen so much that these things no longer hold any wonder for you.”

Doslin turned to face him. “I think it’s time you listened to your handler. She’ll be able to explain far better than I can.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on here. Why am I being separated like this?”

“They’re interested in you. The scion, that is. Did you not wonder why they hadn’t killed you when they had numerous opportunities?”

“Of course I did, I’m not that witless. By interest, do you mean they want to… what, inspect me or something? If this is going to get weird, then we’re going to have trouble.”

“Please, it’s nothing like that; you can relax here,” Doslin said, her voice becoming lighter, friendlier. Unlike Vingo, she was far subtler and convincing, which is why he supposed she was working for the scion and Vingo lay dead in a vault that was likely now a pile of very old rubble.

“So what is it?”

“Place the prism on the table here and we’ll get started.” She pressed a button on a small control pad Denver hadn’t previously noticed attached to her forearm. A glass surface the size of a regular coffee table floated down from the ceiling and hovered half a meter off the floor just in front of him.

Following Doslin’s instructions, Denver leaned forward and placed the miniature scion artifact onto the table’s surface. It whirred and the cone lifted up. In a repeat of what he saw in the vault, the cone flipped back and a holographic image appeared above the prism.

He recognized the construction. “Drone 451?” Denver asked.

“You remembered,” the scion handler said as a statement. “That’s an encouraging start.”

“To what?”

Doslin stepped away into the shadows of the room as the lights dimmed. Drone 451’s light-blue holographic display glowed brighter in the gloom. When Denver turned away to look at Doslin again, he couldn’t see her, though he heard no door open and detected no movement of air.

Impressive, he thought. He could see why she was an agent.

Sure it was a shade darker in the room, but not that dark. Not to his trained eyes anyway.

“To your new role, Denver Jackson. You’ve been assigned agent status, code number 6001. We’ve analyzed your algorithm, and it interests us greatly.”

“Whoa, wait a minute there, buddy, agent status? Algorithms? What are you talking about?”

“A simple deal. Your help on a short-term mission for the future safety of your planet.”

Denver sighed and leaned forward. “You’re starting to sound like Vingo. What is it with you aliens and your deals? Sure, you gave us air and a safe place to sleep, but now you want what exactly?”