The Last Revolution (18 page)

A video screen on the wall showed the scene outside. The soldier that had been running the fastest raised his weapon. He pointed it at the guard, “Council order 1101, let us inside.”

Both guards raised their weapons in response. “The Council has no jurisdiction here and we’ve been ordered to turn you back.”

“We’re following two fugitives that fled the scene of a terrorist attack just moments ago. They are material witnesses and potentially involved. Hand them over now!”

“The individuals were summoned by Mr. West. I can assure you they were not involved in whatever it is you’re talking about…unless you presume that Mr. West asked them to come here and carry out this attack?”

“That’s not what I said,” the soldier responded.

By now the other three guards had taken position behind him with their weapons drawn as well.

“Mr. West has a long standing agreement with the Council. I can assure you that your superiors will be most displeased with your actions and accusations against him.”

“We’re not going to let you get away with this. We will report this to the Council!”

“If you wish to tell them that you abandoned the scene of a major disaster, chased and threatened two of Mr. West’s most distinguished visitors…be my guest.”

The soldier mumbled something under his breath and then lowered his weapon. Turning to the other troops, he gave the rally motion and they turned and headed off back towards the main atrium.

Alden moved away from the monitor and further into the large room. It appeared they were safe for the moment. Kira was already several steps ahead of him. The far left wall was covered in glass windows. From his vantage point the entire crater of New Tranquility was visible. He was standing on the second level of the room. A desk sat near the window with bookcases on either side. To his right the floor ended; a steel railing and set of stairs separated them from the space that connected both levels. Something crashed to the ground near him. Turning, he saw Kira grasping a small pedestal to hold herself up.

Rushing over, he grabbed her arm and slipped his head underneath. “I’ve got you.” She didn’t hesitate to rest against him.

“Kira, it’s been too long!”

A man moved towards them. He couldn’t have been older than 30, and he was lean and fit, with a clean look. He wore dress slacks and a partially unbuttoned shirt. “My God, what’s happened?”

“Caleb, it’s good to see you,” Kira said with a weak smile. “I’m fine, just a scratch is all.”

“Come over here, we’ll get you fixed up.”

Alden helped her across the room and supported her weight as she dropped onto a couch against the wall. Caleb retrieved a small black bag from a nearby cabinet. Patting Alden’s shoulder he said, “I’ll take care of this.”

He kneeled in front of Kira and smiled up at her as he unzipped the bag. He pulled out a thin grey device. “Let’s see what happened.”

Pressing a button on the device, a small laser appeared. He used it to cut a small incision along her pant leg, just above the knee, where the bleeding was coming from. He eased the cloth back and exposed a laceration a few centimeters long. A jagged piece of metal stuck partway out of the wound.

“This may hurt just a bit,” Caleb said.

Alden walked around and put his hand on Kira’s shoulder. She gripped it tightly. As Caleb eased the metal shard out, Kira stifled a gasp of pain. She squeezed Alden’s hand, hard.

Caleb pulled it the rest of the way out, discarding it in a nearby wastebasket. “Now, that wasn’t so bad was it?” Caleb smiled. Placing a cloth over the wound, he held it there for several seconds. Finally removing it, Alden could see that the blood had stopped flowing. Using the same pen from before, Caleb pressed another button and the light turned green. He ran it up and down the wound until it started to heal.

When the wound had fully sealed up, Caleb clicked the device off and stuck it back into his pocket. “Nice little thing, isn’t it? It’s one of my father’s inventions. Speeds up the platelets in your blood and causes them to attack the affected area and heal it immediately.” He held his hand out for Kira and helped her to her feet. “Now, Alden how about you?”

“I’m fine, but thank you,” Alden responded.

“Indeed.” Caleb raised an eyebrow. “So, now that we’re all better, can you please tell me what you’re doing here and why I had my guards lie to the Council military?”

“That was my fault. I’m terribly sorry about putting you in this position,” Kira responded. “We’re tracking someone down and we couldn’t fly under our names. We were going to disappear once we landed, but there was a suicide attack against the plane. An entire platoon of soldiers had ridden up on our transport.”

“Yes, I’m afraid there is a lot of that these days. The whole place is going to hell,” Caleb responded. “It’s becoming impossible to operate up here. We’re not able to get any work done and the supply lines of H-3 are constantly being disrupted.”

Alden heard the slightest hint of anger just under the surface. Was he mad at the colonists for the terrorist attacks, or the Council for imposing such tight restrictions on them? No doubt he was being forced to pay his dues in order to remain such a strong Council ally. Alden doubted if many other men in the world would have been able to turn away Council soldiers with no explanation given.

“What do you know about the colonial resistance?” Kira asked.

“Not much, I’m afraid. They’re fractured into multiple groups, primarily segregated by each of the five cities. They all have their own interests in mind, they’re disorganized, and the leadership is constantly changing. They have allies in the lunar Senate, but they’ve never been able to gain any real support. I have a few men that are involved in order to provide me with updates and pass information along. It’s becoming the burden of doing business here.”

“That’s actually part of the reason we’re here,” Kira said. “We’re looking for Darar Khasim. What can you tell us about his location? What faction is he involved with?”

Caleb laughed. “You’d have better luck tracking down a ghost.” He walked to the window and looked out at the crater and ring of city lights. “He hasn’t been seen in decades. The rumor is he gives all his orders from afar. Who knows if they’re actually coming from him anymore… There are rumors that he died long ago, and a committee now operates under his name because of the power it embodies. His lack of presence is part of the reason that the groups are so divided. With no clear leader and every group looking out for themselves, it creates chaos.”

“Khasim does exist,” Alden cut in. “I’ve tracked him to the moon and I intend to find him.”

Caleb appeared to think for a few moments while he studied Alden. “I’d love to see him gone as much as the next man. Maybe the Council would ease up their restrictions on us, but I must warn you, soldiers, mercenaries and assassins have all attempted to find and kill him. Between the Three Nations of Earth and the Council, there is enough money on his head that all of your problems would be gone forever if you found him. It’s tantamount to the quest for the Holy Grail.”

Alden put his hands behind his back. Without looking at the keypad he typed in
Caleb West?
His mystery friend hadn’t led him astray yet.

Throwing a hand up in dismay and pacing back towards the window, Caleb continued, “…but no one has. Those that have claimed to be getting close
always
end up missing or dead. The only body they ever found was some merc adrift in space. His eye had been retrofitted with a miniature camera and homing beacon. The recovery craft that pulled him inside attempted to download the video logs and find out how close he’d gotten. Apparently the Council was able to collect some information from the download, although they deny it, of course.”

“Why hasn’t anybody attempted to track down the soldiers on the ship and ask, or bribe, them? Especially with the amount of reward available,” Alden asked.

“Moments after the body was recovered, a proximity of mine was triggered inside the merc’s suit. The ship was obliterated. The explosion was easily visible from the lunar surface.” Caleb finished. “You may call him Darar Khasim, but up here he’s referred to by his given name, Alexander Hawkins. Everyone expects him to return someday and lead them to freedom.”

“Why would people put their faith in a killer?”

Caleb shrugged. “Like I said, who knows if any of it is true? It could all just be part of his legend. However, I meant what I said: if there is anything I can do to help you out in the process I’ll gladly do it. My corporation and assets are at your disposal.”

“We appreciate that, thank you,” Kira responded. “Is there anything else you can tell us that might be helpful?”

“If Alexander was going to align with any of the factions, it’d be the one in Apollo City. They are the strongest and most well equipped. Other than that, I don’t think I’m going to be much help.”

“You have already been incredibly helpful.” Kira smiled. “Thank you.”

“Any time.”

Pieces were falling into place. The club owner’s contact was also in Apollo City. Looking over his shoulder, Alden noticed a solitary table with a model city covered by a dome sitting atop it. “What’s that?” Alden indicated at the model.

“That is the future!” Caleb responded. “It is my own design and creation.”

Following Caleb over, Alden was able to get a better look at the structure. Beneath the dome, several large towers rose up in the center and then descended out in increasingly smaller sizes. Between the buildings were dozens of parks dotted with miniature trees, lakes and paths. It appeared as though the city was connected by a rail line suspended several stories above the ground.

“I’m going to call her
Capernica,
” Caleb said. “The dome is state of the art technology I designed. It’s a self-building nano-carbon structure that will have tiny tubes running inside of it. All we have to do is program the nano-bots and they’ll start at the base and build up until the structure is complete. It should take about three months for them to complete it. The tubes will allow moisture to be absorbed from the air and steadily rise towards the top. Once enough has been accumulated it will begin to rain, just like it would on Earth.”

He pointed at the raised rail system. “This will allow for an increased utilization of the city footprint and I’ll be able to pack more landscaping into the same space. It will also allow the travelers to enjoy the elevated views. People have spent enough time buried beneath the surface, it’s time they enjoyed the sights from the new center of lunar civilization.”

“But won’t the sun and gamma-rays affect the biological life above surface?” Alden responded.

“That’s the beauty of the whole system, and the part that took the longest to design. The dome will absorb 99.9% of all energy and convert it into electricity and energy. And because of the structure’s strength, we won’t have to worry about random space rocks punching holes through our solar panels anymore.”

“What happens if it cracks or something smashes through it?” Kira asked.

“The city will still have some defensive batteries like all the others, to shoot down stray meteorites. But the small ones will just bounce right off. If it does develop a crack, it stimulates the nano-bots into action. It’s kind of like the green healing pen I used a moment ago.”

Caleb pressed a button on his wrist deck and the domed city shrank until it was almost unrecognizable from the surrounding lunar landscape. The other five cities came into view, highlighted by a red ring around them. Alden couldn’t believe that the model had been a hologram. It looked so…real.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Caleb said, noticing the look in Alden’s eyes.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“You would have seen it a decade ago, but the technology embargo makes the hassle and time an unprofitable investment. It is very expensive. I’ve only built a few.”

Alden’s wrist deck vibrated. He saw a picture of Caleb. Next to his picture was the title CEO, West Corporation. The company had dozens of public and private holdings in companies as vast as imports & exports, bio-technology, weapons, manufacturing and real estate. A personal message was attached at the bottom.
Don’t Trust Him.

Pointing at the red highlight around Capernica, Caleb said, “You’ll notice the rest of the cities form an exterior ring. I’ve purchased this land in the middle. Capernica will become the crown jewel of the lunar civilizations—a central point for all government, Earth, and business affairs. When it is completed, 4.3 million people will be able to call it home. We’ll finally have our central and unified society.”

“What does the Council think of this?” Alden asked.

“They support it,” Caleb said. “Especially if they don’t have to pay for it and it’s going to increase our helium-3 production. Although that doesn’t mean it didn’t take years of work to get it approved.”

Caleb pressed another button and the original, larger version of Capernica re-materialized in front of him. “It’s the culmination of a lifetime’s work,” Caleb said, staring at the model.

“Thank you for the hospitality,” Kira said. “But we should be going. You’re harboring wanted fugitives, after all.”

Caleb nodded.

“Thank you,” Alden added.

Caleb embraced Kira in a tight hug. His whisper would have been inaudible to any other human, but Alden heard it loud and clear.
Primus is ready.

What the hell did that mean? So they hadn’t come here at random. She had obviously known him for a long time, was it something just between them? If Kira had traitorous intentions she could have done whatever she wanted to him when he was unconsciousness on the flight up. If she was using him, but didn’t want to obstruct his journey, then she must have similar goals. He’d wait to mention the comment until the time was right. One thing was clear; he couldn’t trust her any longer.

Caleb released Kira and turned towards Alden. “You can take one of my private shuttles. The Council military won’t bother you while you’re in it. Once you arrive in Apollo City, I’ll have one of my men provide you with travel documents.”