Origins (The Wasteland Chronicles, #2) (22 page)

For power, solar collectors were attached to the outside of the Outer Ring. Altogether, they took in more energy than the station would ever need. There was also a backup fusion generator, the same kind that ran the spaceships, in Skyhome’s central nexus. In the event of a massive solar flare, the solar collectors would probably be blown out, rendering them useless until they could be replaced.

The crops of the Outer Ring provided oxygen, and Skyhome’s citizens provided carbon dioxide. State-of-the-art filtration and monitoring technology made sure the air composition maintained a proper balance. In addition to the food grown in the Ring, chickens were also raised. They provided eggs and the occasional meat. Most Skyhome citizens had a full-time job growing crops and raising chickens. There were also specialized technicians and engineers who kept the orbiting city maintained and made repairs when needed. Dr. Ashton doubled as the station’s medical practitioner, even if biological research was his main field of expertise.

Of the three Rings, the Inner was the smallest. It contained administrative offices, including Ashton’s, and the inner workings of Skyhome, called the Central Nexus. The Nexus turned all three rings of the station, and consumed the most energy. It was where the backup fusion generator was located, complete with supply of deuterium and tritium to create the Helium-4 necessary to power the station for two months, if solar panels needed to be replaced.

Connecting all of the Rings were the four tunnels (also named Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta, depending on what Quadrant they were located in). The tunnels were arranged like the spokes of a wheel. Along Alpha Tunnel, between the Mid and Inner Rings, was the hangar, where both
Gilgamesh
and
Odin
were docked.

Skyhome’s construction in the 2020s had pushed experts and engineers to the limits. It was no wonder they had only constructed one Skyhome when the original plan had called for six. All the same, Skyhome’s operations were fascinating. It amazed me that the United States pulled off its construction; it was also amazing that Ashton and others had been able to utilize it following the fall of both Bunker One and Bunker Six.

When I reached the commons, I grabbed a bowl of vegetable stew from one of the kitchen staff and sat down to eat. Once done, I headed over to Ashton’s office in the Inner Ring. I stood before the metal blast door before pressing the entrance button. The door hissed open, allowing me to walk in.

I had only been in Ashton’s office a few times. Rather large, the office contained his built-in metal desk, lines of file cabinets along one wall, and a large workbench on the opposite wall. The workbench was filled with tools and objects of Ashton’s mechanical tinkering. The office was rectangular in shape, and at the end of it, three large ports looked out onto the surface of Earth, a vibrant green and violet and red.

Ashton sat behind his desk, regarding me with sharp blue eyes as I walked forward. The others were already here. I went to stand between Anna and Makara, as Samuel stood to the right of Ashton’s desk, arms folded. On Ashton’s desk rested a thin monitor, and on a corner several binders were neatly stacked. The surface of the planet spun slowly beyond the port, due to the Inner Ring’s rotation.

“Let’s get started,” Ashton said brusquely.

Ashton’s accent was hard to pin down. He had been born before Ragnarok; his voice carried a hint of southeastern regionalism that was most likely all but gone from the world. My only way of determining his accent was from movies I had seen back in Bunker 108 – which, admittedly, wasn’t a perfect measure.

“The purpose of this meeting is to give you an update on the situation, and what we’re going to do about it. As it stands, you all will be heading down to Earth tomorrow to resume the next phase of your mission. You will be heading to the Nova Roma Empire to speak with Augustus – make him agree to lay down arms and join us in the fight against Ragnarok. Meanwhile, my job is to monitor your mission from afar while trying to pin down the exact location of the Voice.”

“Have you figured anything out on that front?” Anna asked.

“Some,” Ashton said. “Makara and I have taken
Odin
on a few flybys of Ragnarok Crater, in hopes of securing more accurate measurements. It has helped, and we have pinpointed the origin of the Voice within twenty miles. I need to get a more accurate measure, however. When our assault on the Crater begins, you must be able to find the Voice quickly, and destroy it, before you are overwhelmed. I still need more information, and if I do two more flybys of the Crater, I will be able to triangulate the point of origin of the Voice. That’s what I’ll be doing while you are on the surface. I’m confident that with another few months, I’ll know the exact location of the Voice.”

“Alright,” I said. “What’s our job until then?”

“There are four major powers in North America. There is the Nova Roman Empire, by far the strongest, and the one who should be approached first. There are also the Los Angeles gangs and Vegas gangs, both of which are quite sizeable. Last of all are Bunkers 76 and 88. Neither have responded to my radio calls, but that doesn’t mean they are not there. Both have weapons and supplies that would be invaluable in the attack.”

“Why Nova Roma first?” I asked.

“They are the most powerful. If Emperor Augustus can be convinced to help us, it will make the other Wasteland leaders fall into line. There is also the matter of the war between the Empire and Raider Bluff. That must be stopped before it can even begin. That involves speaking to Augustus in person.”

“It just seems like a very difficult thing to do,” I said.

Ashton looked at me sternly. “Nonetheless, it must be done. Do you think I would send you in there if I didn’t think you were capable of it? If not you, who else?”

I didn’t have an answer for that, so I didn’t say anything.

“It will be difficult,” Samuel said. “But it is absolutely necessary. The Wasteland cannot be caught up in a war at a time like this. We need to lay down the facts for Augustus before he does anything stupid.”

“So,” Anna said, “do we just walk into his house or something? That sounds like a risky maneuver.”

“Yes, that is the plan,” Ashton said. “Soon you will know everything. But before I get to the how, it’s useful to give you all a little bit of background.” Ashton looked at me. “The story I have to tell relates to your father, Alex.”

I was
really
surprised. What could my father and Cornelius Ashton have in common?

“You knew my father?”

Ashton smiled. “I met him, long ago. He was still a boy. Eight, nine years old perhaps.”

I did that math in my head. My dad had been thirty-eight when he died.

“You met him before Ragnarok?”

Ashton nodded. “I did. There was a summit for all the highest-ranking officials of Bunker One, about two weeks before we were put underground. That was where I met your grandfather, Lorin.”

“Bunker One?” I frowned. “He entered Bunker 108, though.”

“Yes, that is so,” Ashton said. “But he almost didn’t enter any Bunker at all. His wife, your grandmother, was stuck in Europe at the time, with your father. At the summit, he refused his berth until both your grandmother and father, then a child, could be brought safely home. President Garland refused that request. He and your grandfather were old rivals. Regardless, that was how your grandfather lost his spot in Bunker One. He did, by the way, find a way to get to Europe and rescue your grandmother and father in all that madness. He was able to bring them both back home. Only by that time, the doors of Bunker One had closed. The spots for Lorin and his family had been filled. He was refused entry.”

I was shocked at this story. Never, in all my life, had my father told it to me. It made me feel a little betrayed, in a way. Why had he wanted to keep it from me?

“It was likely a very traumatic time in your father’s life,” Ashton said. “He probably witnessed horrors in those last days of the Old World that he never wanted to speak of again. You shouldn’t hold that against him.”

Of course, that had to be the reason why. Part of me wondered, though...had my dad even planned on telling me?

“What happened after my grandfather got back to America?” I asked.

“With Ragnarok’s impact just days away, Lorin was directed to Bunker 108, in the San Bernardino Mountains. It was the only one that had enough room for three people. He survived a harrowing journey cross-country that was likely as dangerous as yours. Those days were awful, and some might say the world ended long before Ragnarok fell. He did end up making it to Bunker 108, somehow, because we received a transmission from him a week following Ragnarok’s impact.”

“Do you know anything else?”

“After that, I’m afraid not much. I buried myself in my work. I had my own wife, and two children. All three perished in 2048 with the fall of Bunker One.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“It was long ago,” Ashton said.

The room was quiet for a bit. It occurred to me that Anna, Makara, Samuel, and I all had one thing in common: we had all lost our parents. Such was the case for many people – perhaps most people – in the world. It was all because of Ragnarok, and what it carried.

“I tried everything I could to rescue my wife and kids, but the dorms were the first hit by the crawlers. I couldn’t have made it even if I had tried.” Ashton paused, as if it pained him to speak. “They swarmed everything. Everyone was rushing to the runway, to get out however they could. I headed to the motor bay instead. I could only hope my wife and children made it. To this day, I don’t know if they ever got out. They would have touched down in L.A. with the others.”

“I don’t know, either,” Makara said. “Samuel and I were in two separate whirlybirds that took off. If they were among the refugees, they didn’t say. It was so long ago.”

“I don’t remember anything, either,” Samuel said. “I think three copters got out. One crashed – the one Makara was on. She was the only survivor. The other two formed a community on the east side. If they were among them, I’m afraid the news isn’t good. They were acquired by the Black Reapers years ago.”

Ashton nodded. “I have lived as if they were gone for the past twelve years. I wasn’t expecting any miracles. No scientist should.”

Something chilled me about those words. Cornelius Ashton was a cold and distant man, but it seemed as if he hadn’t always been so. After losing everything, all that remained was his life’s work of studying the virus that had destroyed his family.

I gave Anna a sidelong glance. Her hazel eyes met mine. I looked back at Ashton.

“I found myself escaping with two others. One was a mechanic named Dustin Cornell, and the other a pilot named Preston Yates. Cornell has since passed, but we all made it to Bunker Six, not too far north of Bunker One. The Bunker had been evacuated in the face of the coming storm, and was still largely untouched – the crawlers had completely ignored it. We acquired
Gilgamesh,
not really sure where we were going. But, Yates noticed a destination already programmed into the ship, called Skyhome. I knew the U.S. had created a large space station in the 2020s as yet another failsafe –a place the President could retreat to if conditions on Earth became absolutely intolerable. But, until I finally saw it when we left the atmosphere, I did not know Skyhome’s true scope. It was massive – so much so that it is a wonder the U.S. could ever hide it. Nothing about it was published during the Dark Decade as far as I know, but during the time of the Dictatorship, the press could only report what the government allowed it to. We all assumed that anything sent to space had something to do with stopping Ragnarok, and that was all we were ever let known. The majority of those missions had to have been for building Skyhome.”

Ashton frowned, then gave an embarrassed smile, as if cognizant of the fact that he was rambling.

“Forgive me. I came to Skyhome in 2048, and have lived here ever since. When we first came, there was already a community of survivors from Bunker Six, who had used
Odin
to get here – which surprised me, because Skyhome’s existence was supposedly only known to the highest-ranking officials in the U.S. government – namely, the President and top military people. Apparently, though, a few residents from Bunker Six found out about Skyhome and came here rather than going to Bunker One. Bunker Six, you see, was attacked first.”

“What about our mission?” Anna pressed. “It’s helpful to know our history, and where we came from. But if we leave tomorrow, we have to know what to do.”

“Of course,” Ashton said. “But I think it is important to remind ourselves why we fight. If you do not know why you fight, you cannot go on. I want you all to ask yourselves what you are fighting for. Let the question haunt you, press you onward toward your goal.”

Ashton paused a moment. He lifted a glass of water, and took a drink. After clearing his throat, he continued.

“Forgive me, Anna, but it is time for another history lesson. Not one that relates to me, or my past, but to Emperor Augustus himself. You will want to listen closely, because this information is key if you are ever to get an audience with him.”

“What is this information?” I asked.

“It was not only Alex’s father and grandfather I met at the summit in 2030.”

***

Find the rest of
Evolution
on Amazon.

1
0,000, The:
This refers to the 10,000 citizens who were selected in 2029 to enter Bunker One. This group included the best America had to offer, people who were masters in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, and security. President Garland and all the U.S. Congress, as well as essential staff and their families, were also chosen.

Alpha:
“Alpha” is the title given to the recognized head of the Raiders. In the beginning, it was merely a titular role that had only as much power as the Alpha was able to enforce. But as Raider Bluff grew in size and complexity, the Alpha began to take on a more meaningful role. Typically, Alphas do not remain so for long – they are assassinated by rivals, who rise to take their place. In some years, there can be as many as four Alphas – though powerful Alphas, like Char, can reign for many years.