Renegade War: An Intergalactic Space Opera Adventure (Renegade Star Book 15) Read online

  But Eli was fast and well fed. His foot connected with my stomach before I had a chance to see it coming. I dropped back to the ground again, and the pain surged through me so sharp that I thought something might be broken.

  “You’re shit, Jace,” the bully snarled as he kicked me. “You’ve always been shit, and you’re gonna die on the street because you’re too stupid to know how to live.” Eli laughed, adding an extra helping of insult to his work. I was hurt, but not out of the fight. And for the moment, Caleb wasn’t beating on me. I needed it to last a little long—

  He kicked me again. It was a solid hit to my chin, and though it hurt, I was glad he hadn’t hit me in the mouth.

  Maybe he was right. Maybe I was street scum, and maybe I’d die there. But it didn’t mean I’d give up and stop trying. I was determined to get off that godsdammed planet. I was determined to find my father and become a Renegade—just like him—even if it killed me.

  “Hand it over,” Caleb said. He sounded close, and when I lifted my head, his meaty, filthy hand was right in front of my nose.

  “Eat shit,” I muttered.

  Caleb tried to kick me again, but I rolled to the side, stood, and raised my fists, ready to beat him to a pulp or die trying. If this was my last stand, so be it.

  Eli came around the other side to head me off, but one quick fist to the nose sent the skinny kid sprawling. Honestly, he might’ve tripped over his oversized clothes, but I took the credit for it anyway.

  Caleb charged, his mass filling my vision as I tried to backpedal away. I tripped over something and wheeled my arms, trying to stay upright, but I was soon on my back. The bully had stopped to glance at Eli, who was sitting up with both hands covering his face. Blood dripped from between his fingers, I noted with satisfaction.

  When Caleb turned toward me again and took a step, I picked up a handful of dirt and gravel in each hand and slung it at his face. He staggered back, spitting some of it out of his mouth. I could’ve run past him—escaped out the door he’d been guarding—but that wasn’t what Renegades did. They fought, no matter the odds. They won or died trying. Plus, there was the matter of payback.

  I kicked out and connected with Caleb’s stomach hard enough to twist my ankle a little. He coughed and spit out some of the dirt I’d thrown in his face.

  Eli chose that moment to try again. This time I hit him twice. Something in his mouth snapped, and I felt a fresh cut open on one of my knuckles. He pulled back then tried to jerk forward. When he did, he lost his footing on the gravel, slipped, and finally fell on the ground.

  Now was my chance.

  I patted my pocket, and for a horrifying moment I couldn’t find the watch. A quick scan of the ground revealed it had fallen just off to the side, where it lay unharmed. I scooped it up then hurried toward the exit. I nearly fell like Eli had as I threw every ounce of energy I could into my feet.

  “Keep running, shithead!” Caleb bellowed from behind me. “You’d better not stop. Not ever. The second you do, you’re dead! You hear me? You’re gonna be dead!”

  2

  I took another sip of the dark brew, closed my eyes in satisfaction, and listened quietly to Abigail’s concerns. We were sitting on the bridge of the Renegade Star on our way to meet a supposedly dangerous person of interest. Just meeting the woman might spell the end of the Alliance if any of the Sarkonians learned about it, but it was a gamble I had to take.

  “I’ve been doing some research,” said Abigail flatly. She’d been tapping on her pad since we left the Tartarus just outside the edge of the system to head in alone. I’d given Carl, the Cognitive in charge of the planet-sized ship, instructions to avoid giving any details of our destination to anyone. As far as the Alliance was concerned, we were headed to the surface on a scouting mission. They’d asked questions, but I wouldn’t give a lot of answers.

  “Me too,” I said. “Captain Alyss Cortez, leader of the Solaris Initiative, some kind of anti-government rebellion group.”

  “I went a little deeper than the surface,” Abigail said drily. “She’s number one on the most wanted Sarkonian fugitive list. Accused of murder, domestic terrorism, and treason, just to name a few. If they find out we met with her, the Alliance might fall apart. We can’t afford that.”

  I understood her concern, but we didn’t have a choice. Two Precursors had appeared before me. They’d chosen to adopt the appearance of Ollie and Lucia, two friends who were long dead. Ollie had told me I needed help from another rebellion. Shaw had already told me about them, and they seemed like our kind of people.

  “I was a wanted fugitive,” I reminded her. “So were you. Feels like a lifetime ago now, doesn’t it?”

  “Don’t remind me,” she said, turning her attention back to her pad. “And you’re right. This woman is fighting a similar war, fighting for the freedom of her people. There’s not much on the gal-net until her defection. Now she goes by this Alyss Cortez name. Jace, they accused her of killing a kid.”

  My gut twisted a little at the information, but I forced myself to stay objective. “I talked to her face to face. Nothing about her gave me the impression she was capable of that. Your wanted poster said you kidnapped Lex,” I reminded her, waving the concern aside as I took another sip of coffee. “Besides, people take on new names all the time. I had a few of my own at one time—more than I can remember. She’s basically a Renegade at this point, always moving, adapting, fighting.”

  “That’s true,” she conceded. “And look at you now, Jace. You’re the leader of Earth and the unofficial head of the Alliance. You’ve managed to bring all three factions together to try to save what’s left of humanity.” She paused. “I just don’t like the situation we find ourselves in—going around the others because a god told you to.”

  “Not a god,” I reminded her. “But yeah, that alien said I had to find the one with the key to open the Gate of Eternity, and Eva Delgado, or Alyss Cortez—whatever her name really is—is the one who’s got it. And she’s agreed to give it to me, so there’s nothing to worry about. We’ll be in and out before you know it. I was going to meet with her anyway because Shaw said she could help.”

  Abigail arched an eyebrow at me. “You sound optimistic. We’re headed to the middle of nowhere. Literally a dead outpost in an abandoned system to meet the leader of a Sarkonian rebellion. If anyone finds out what we’re doing, it’ll look bad. I don’t think it’ll be something the Emperor could ignore.”

  I wasn’t sure she was right about that Emperor, given my experience with him. He had, after all, made at least a temporary peace with the Union. The boy was certainly young and prone to stupidity, but there was a glimmer of wisdom in him. If the Celestials managed to wipe us all out, he wouldn’t have a kingdom to rule, and I wanted to believe he saw that.

  Abigail leaned back into her chair, set her pad aside, and stared at the growing planet in the distance. “Do you trust her?”

  I shrugged. “Don’t need to trust her. Just need what she has. For what it’s worth, she seems to understand what’s at stake.”

  “We still don’t know exactly what it is, either.”

  “No,” I admitted before downing the rest of my coffee. “A powerful item that’s supposed to be able to open the Gate of Eternity. I guess we’ll find out one way or another.”

  Abigail nodded. “I suppose there’s no other choice.”

  The new Renegade Star was bigger than the original. It was outfitted with Celestial armor, Eternal beam cannons, the most advanced cloak available, and little Sigmond Junior as the ship’s AI. Since the last ship had crashed and burned, Sigmond had manufactured this one in its place—a fusion of all the best technologies available to us. It represented how far we had come—how far the Alliance had come—and I was proud to call it my own.

  “Pardon the interruption,” said Junior.

  “What’ve you got?” I asked.

  “Sir, I have detected a ship on the surface of the colony planet Tovus. It appears to be a Uni
on vessel. Power signature suggests it is in standby mode. I have identified it as the Second Genesis.”

  “Union?” said Abigail. “Bring it up on the holo.”

  “Right away,” replied the AI.

  The vessel that appeared between us didn’t look Sarkonian. The lines were too clean, and the overall shape was a far cry from the boxy, almost primitive vessels of the Empire.

  “We are being hailed, sir,” announced Junior.

  “Put it through,” I said, still studying the image.

  “Hello, Captain Hughes.” The young woman with the blue hair smiled.

  Like the last time we’d spoken, I was somewhat taken aback at her lack of accent. It told me she likely hadn’t been born on Sarkon. Points for her, in my opinion.

  “Cortez,” I replied with a nod. “What’s with the Union ship?”

  “It was a gift,” she said simply.

  “So, how do you want to do this?”

  “How many people did you bring with you?” she asked,

  “One, same as we agreed on,” I replied. “You?”

  “The same. Just me and my co-captain. Let’s do the transfer in my cargo bay. I’d like to make this quick.”

  Good. She didn’t know how strong this ship was. Probably had no idea it was different from the original. If she had, I doubted the rebel leader would have agreed to connect our ships.

  “Expecting trouble?” I asked.

  “It usually finds me, one way or the other. However, we do have raiders in and out of this region. It’s why I chose this location.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll have Sigmond activate it as soon as we’re off.”

  “Sigmond?” she asked, her voice taking on a pleasant tone.

  “That is correct,” the Cognitive replied. “It is good to speak with you again, Captain Cortez.”

  “What now?” I asked as Abigail and I looked at each other. “You two know each other?”

  “I think so,” said Cortez. “I was at the battle of White Cross. A giant robot named Sigmond saved the day. One of the Celestials had me cornered, and Sigmond helped me out.”

  “I was happy to intervene,” replied the Cognitive.

  “I’m glad you two had a chance to catch up, but we’ve got business to get to. We’ll be over there shortly to get this underway.”

  “Agreed,” replied Cortez. “See you soon.”

  I cut the connection and leaned back in my chair.

  “I knew there’d be a catch,” said Abigail.

  “No catch. Not yet, anyway. She just wants to talk.” I glanced into my empty cup before setting it aside. “Junior, start docking procedures.”

  “Right away, sir,” said the AI.

  He brought the Star level with the Second Genesis and created a seal to the other ship. After the slightest of vibrations, he announced the procedure complete.

  Abigail and I unstrapped, rose from our seats, and headed back to the cargo bay without a word. There, we got into our EV suits and secured our helmets. When she motioned toward a rack of weapons, I nodded. No reason to go unarmed. I doubted Cortez would be. Both Abigail and I selected a pistol and a couple of extra magazines of ammunition and strapped them on.

  “Keep an eye on the ship,” I told Sigmond.

  “Of course,” replied the Cognitive.

  “Listen in to our comms,” added Abigail. “If you notice anything suspicious, let us know immediately. And keep your mobile armor warm, just in case.”

  “Of course, Miss Pryar.”

  “Easy there,” I told her. “Let her be the one to set the tone. We’re just going to collect what she’s offering… see if she has any intel we can use, and then leave.”

  “Just being cautious. It all sounds so easy,” added Abigail. “That’s what has me worried.”

  I took her meaning. Nothing ever came easy for us. That it did made me suspicious, if only due to the unfamiliarity. With both the Precursors and Shaw lending credibility to the mission, I was willing to accept it.

  Lights from the Second Genesis’ cargo bay cast a beam across us as we approached. It made me feel exposed, like we were on stage for some kind of production.

  Two people waited inside, both wearing Union EV suits. The one in front gave a small wave as we stepped onto the ramp.

  “Welcome to the Second Genesis, Captain Hughes,” she said, offering her hand. I noted the pistol she carried on one hip, the combat knife on the other, and the tip of a wicked looking rifle on her back.

  I took the offered hand and shook it.

  “Cortez,” I asked.

  “In the flesh,” she told me.

  The person behind her appeared to be unarmed, except for some kind of short, oddly shaped weapon she carried on her right hip.

  “This is my co-captain, Farah Shahi,” said Cortez, gesturing to her partner without looking.

  The woman nodded curtly at me.

  “This is Abigail Pryar,” I said, not elaborating.

  The hatch to the cargo bay closed. Once it repressurized, Cortez and Shahi removed their helmets. The rebel leader had a shock of dark blue hair falling over one side of her head, and the other side was buzzed almost to the skin. The hard look in her eye told me this woman was no stranger to tough times and she faced them head on.

  The cargo bay was a little smaller than the Star’s, with most of the space holding specialized transport lockers. A crate of explosives tied to the floor against the bulkhead caught my eye, and I hoped that wasn’t the so-called weapon I’d come all this way to collect.

  “Might as well get down to business,” said Cortez, gesturing to her co-captain.

  Shahi reached into a nearby locker and withdrew a metal tube about the size of my forearm. She handed it to Cortez, who held it in both hands and gazed at it like she was trying to recall some long-lost memory.

  “I’ve had this capsule for a while now,” said Cortez, thoughtfully. “We stole it from a Sarkonian research facility. The stuff inside are called replicators—miniature robots capable of breaking down all forms of matter into their most basic elements. They can duplicate themselves by using those elements to create more copies of themselves. I’ve been told that they could destroy whole planets, but that’s just a theory the science team came up with. So far, no one has ever figured out how to actually use them.”

  “Amazing,” whispered Abigail. “Is there a limit to how many copies they can produce?”

  Cortez lifted her eyes and gave us both a meaningful look before answering. “In theory, no. If the Empire got its hands on this and managed to create more of them, we’d be looking at a new kind of war. If any one side had these, there would be no balance.”

  “Hell,” I muttered, unable to tear my eyes from the box.

  “We don’t know of a way to control them,” added Cortez. “Not that we’ve discovered so far, anyway.”

  A click in my ear told me Sigmond was about to speak. “Scanning the capsule now,” he informed.

  “How do you plan on controlling them?” asked Cortez.

  She watched me with shrewd eyes. I had the feeling she knew how to read people, same as me, and I wondered how much she’d gleaned from only a few passing seconds in my company.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Haven’t gotten that far yet. But we’re fighting a war against an unprecedented enemy, and if there’s a way we can use this against them, it’s worth having.”

  Cortez was silent for a few moments as she considered my words. “The Celestials are no small threat,” she began. “I saw that for myself at White Cross. There’s just one thing I want to ask. Don’t let the replicators get into the hands of the Union or the Sarkonians. You know what they’d do with them.”

  I nodded. “You have my word on that. They don’t even know we’re here. There’s no way they’re going to learn about this until I want them to. I don’t plan on letting anyone besides me get their hands on this, not when it could change the power dynamic after the war is over. It’s too much for either side.
”

  “But not too much for you?” she asked, studying me again.

  “Wasn’t my choice,” I told her. “I was fine on Earth, and I’d be there right now if I had anything to say about it. If I thought there was another way, we wouldn’t be here.”

  Another click in my ear preceded Sigmond speaking. “I apologize, sir, but I am unable to scan the contents of the container Captain Cortez is holding. It appears to be made of neutronium.”

  “Point is, I’m the only one who will have access to this weapon,” I finished, still talking to Cortez. “We’ll keep it a secret until it’s time to use it.”

  Abigail held up a hand. “Hold on. I have a question. Why are you giving this to us?”

  “Why?” Cortez asked. She stared at the capsule for a long moment before answering. “I saw the destruction the Celestials wreaked on White Cross, and I know they’ll keep going. Freedom means nothing if there’s no one to enjoy it. If you can use the replicators to stop them, that’s enough for me.” She handed the container to me, and I took it with gentle hands.

  As soon as I touched it, I felt a heady, tingling sensation throughout my body.

  I pressed the release button on the little mechanism holding the box closed before she could finish her sentence. Inside was a smaller capsule, no bigger than my thumb. It appeared to be made of the same material that made up Nidus. The internal structure, anyway. Glyphs, like we’d found on Elysia, had been carved into its surface. They glowed faintly.

  Cortez took a few cautious steps back. She looked alarmed and rested a hand on the gun at her hip, but I only saw it in my peripheral vision.

  An image of Ollie passed through my mind, almost like a waking dream. He looked pleased and gestured toward the box in my hand. I understood—or thought I did.

  I touched the capsule with my open palm and fingers. It drew me in, an inescapable well of…power, maybe, but something else. A calling to use it.

  “Jace?” asked Abigail. “Are you...”

  I didn’t hear the rest of her words, but I did hear the sharp gasps as I ripped off my EV suit’s glove and touched the container.