Renegade Evolution: An Intergalactic Space Opera Adventure (Renegade Star Book 14) Read online

  Outside, I was struck by the quiet beauty of the ring. With all the chaos of the day, I hadn’t really taken the time to get a solid look at the landscape. I quickly decided it wasn’t much different from Earth, the odd shape aside. Elysia had your basic greenery, rocks, and mounds of dirt, but I had yet to see any living creatures roaming its countryside. I wondered if that was by design or if the animals had all been killed off by an as yet unknown force.

  I couldn’t see the ring in its entirety, but the view from the shuttle we’d landed in had been stunning. Ringworlds like this one were supposed to be theoretical, according to Dressler. The sheer amount of resources needed to create one were supposedly more than you’d find in any single star system.

  The destruction Dressler wanted to investigate was visible from where I stood, a black hole in the ground, far in the distance. Whatever had caused the damage to the ring was long gone, but she remained adamant that there had to be some sort of force keeping it together.

  I was more than a little leery of gallivanting off on a discovery mission in the midst of a war with the Celestials, but Dr. Dressler had a point. If whatever was keeping this ring from twisting out of shape and completely destabilizing the structure could help us in some way, it was worth looking into.

  “Ready?”

  I turned to see Abigail.

  “Yeah. Rackham and Al are over there with Siggy. Athena will stay here in case she’s needed.” I gestured to where the small group stood at the bottom of the stairs leading into the building. The pair of Cognitives were wearing their Celestial armor suits and looked ready for battle rather than simple exploration. “Just waiting on Dressler.”

  “I’m here.”

  Abigail and I turned to find the doc coming through the main entrance. Like us, she sported a full exosuit, pushing a small hover cart with supplies as she approached.

  “That’s a lot of gadgets, doc.”

  “Better to be prepared, don’t you think, Captain?” she asked.

  “Fair enough, but if we find anything alive, it’s not coming back.”

  “None of the scans have shown any signs of life,” said Athena. She still stood with the others.

  It was good to hear her voice again, though I kept the thought to myself. There had been a few moments where I thought the Cognitive might be lost to us forever during her prior capture and subsequent breakdown. Thanks to Dressler, Carl, and Sigmond not giving up on her, she was back with us and better than ever.

  “She’s right,” Dressler agreed. “I’m not here for rodents or microbes. I’m hoping to salvage some technology.”

  “All right. Let’s pack up your gear and head out. I want to get to this supposed essential technology and be back sooner rather than later.”

  With the last member of the team now present, we converged into one group. Waiting for us at the bottom of the walkway were three hoverquads, small vehicles meant for short- and mid-ranged ground transport. Abigail and I took one, Lieutenant Oberon Rackham took another by himself, and—predictably—Dressler and Alphonse took the last one.

  I kept my usual pistol on me but loaded a few more weapons into the quad’s little storage trunk. When I held out my hand for Abigail’s rifle, she pulled it out of reach.

  “I don’t think so, Jace. We don’t know if there’s anything hostile out there.”

  “Guess that means I’m driving,” I replied.

  Abigail nodded.

  Before we could say anything else, Rackham walked over. “Hughes, we’re all set. Dr. Dressler and Alphonse just got their quad all loaded up.”

  I glanced over to see he was right. Alphonse was helping Dressler onto the quad. Once she was settled, he climbed in front of her and sent me a nod. Since Sigmond could easily outpace the quads with his suit, he’d make the trip on foot. Not a mode of travel I’d ever expected to associate with a Cognitive, but here we were.

  “Good,” I told Rackham. “Time to go.”

  2

  The alien terrain spread out before us, flat and green with only a few hills in the distance. Orbital analysis showed canyons and mountains across the ring, but we’d chosen the cleanest possible location to set up shop and explore. Our hoverquads, on loan from the Union, handled it with ease and allowed us to keep a decent pace.

  Aside from the structure that served as the museum (to quote Carl), the ring was uninhabited, with no other evidence that life had ever existed here. Big as the Earth had been when we first settled on it, the surface was hard to scan without taking notice of the elevated cities. There were thousands of them, each identical to the last, and they served as reminders that someone had once lived in this lifeless dustball of a world. It wasn’t until my people and I activated Project Reclamation that we first began to see the lush green return to the fields and mountains of our ancestors’ ancient home. Even then, it took months to see the animal population begin to grow and thrive.

  This corona ring was a different story. The surface seemed to be alive and healthy, at least on first inspection. But as you drew closer, the reality of how empty it was began to settle in. There was only plant life here, no sign of any animals or insects to speak of. I wasn’t sure what to think about that. Had the Celestials wiped out all of the fauna or was it by the design of whoever created Elysia?

  “Hughes, reports are still filtering in, but”—Rackham’s voice, all business, cut into my musings—“the attack in White Cross was brutal. Thankfully, recovery is still possible. The same can’t be said for the stations that were in the Celestials’ direct path. Priscilla was too compromised and had to be evacuated.”

  This didn’t come as a surprise. Major-Pascal-Sanchez, the Sarkonian head of the Alliance, chosen by the Emperor himself, had shown us the grisly feed. The Celestials had decimated their quarry and continued on their way as though it were a simple pitstop.

  “Nothing we can do right now about those other attacks,” I replied. “We have to focus on the mission at hand.”

  “And if they attack us again?” asked Rackham.

  “Besides the one that came through the transporter, there hasn’t been another,” I told him. “I doubt they’re giving up on us, so they’re probably regrouping or waiting for us to make another move.”

  “Or both,” Abigail muttered.

  “Or both,” I agreed. “We need to hurry the hell up and find what we came here to find, whether that’s a weapon or a weakness.”

  “I assume you have some angle you’re working,” said Rackham, amused.

  “Nothing worth talking about. Right now, our best bet is to improve our defenses. Ain’t that right, Doc?”

  Dr. Dressler nodded her assent, grunting as we hit a rough patch of bumpy terrain. We had entered a rocky valley of sorts and the hoverquads tilted from side to side to cope. “From the damage I’ve observed throughout the structure, this ring should not be capable of retaining the atmosphere we see before us or the shape itself. I believe the theory that Dr. Hitchens has put forth regarding the so called god-tech remains the most likely possibility.”

  I scoffed. “God tech? C’mon, Doc. Don’t tell me you actually buy into Hitchens’s interpretation of the glyphs. Are you telling me you suddenly believe there’s a magical dog man chasing his tail somewhere in the Proxima system?”

  I was referring to the myth about Portholimus, the youngest son of the godking Fendur, who’d been turned into a hideous dog as punishment for his own selfishness. As the story went, the prince had stolen a prized weapon—a pistol, although sometimes it was a rifle or some other weapon, depending on the people telling the story—from his older brother Mallodious. Afterward, the prince went off with his friend to shoot in the nearby woods. At the sound of gunfire, his father’s men had come running. Portholimus had known they would, and he was prepared to act when they did. He blamed the other boy, claiming he had forced the prince to help him, even going so far as to say he’d taken him hostage. The guards knew full well that Portholimus was the one responsible, since the prince was known to be mischievous and vile to those in his father’s employ, but none of the men would dare accuse him.

  King Fendor adored his youngest son and believed his every word, and his judgement came down on the second boy the very same day. The boy’s mother was outraged, and she showed her anger in the dining hall that night with talk of vengeance and retribution for her boy’s death. Before the guards could detain her, though, she struck them down with a single wave of her hand, revealing herself to be the goddess Tempai. Fendor was beside himself at the sight of her, surprised and confused that the witch had been living in his keep for all these years, then he was struck with fear at the realization of what would soon follow. Tempai, fueled by her grief, cursed the king’s son, saying that he would live on in the body of a dog, a reflection of what lay in his own, blackened heart. It was a story they told little boys who got into too much mischief.

  It was a story I had heard many times.

  “Of course not, Captain. However, there’s no denying that something built this place, and it wasn’t the Celestials.”

  “What about you, Al?” I asked. “You’ve been pretty quiet. What’s your take on all this?”

  “Hard to say. At least without more information.”

  The conversation was cut short when I saw that Sigmond had slowed down ahead of us.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, bringing the quad to a full stop.

  Sigmond’s head swiveled to face me. “A small matter, Captain. Our destination lies ahead, but I fear the route will not allow your vehicles to proceed any further.”

  The path before us went into a steep dip, although from this distance it seemed like it would be smooth enough. I edged closer for a better look and saw what had given Sigmond pause. The landscape was anything but s
mooth. Rocky formations speared up, creating an optical illusion and obscuring their true danger.

  Nearly 1000 meters of the hazardous terrain lay between our current location and our destination.

  From this vantage point, the damaged area became a chasm. The rest of the ring sat beyond, somewhat distorted by the technology Dressler was eager to find.

  The empty space between could have been a dark river, but such was not the case. This was the place where the ground had come apart, however long ago, and the ring had broken in two. I stared down into the darkness, the distant stars dotting the black like jewels in a bed of ash. It was a stark contrast to the artificial sky above our heads, and in that moment I felt like I was standing at the point between day and night.

  The helmet’s visor picked up the ring’s inner frame, a pattern of crossing metal shafts. Debris floated in place, staying within the megastructure’s gravitational pull.

  “Nothing can ever be easy,” I said under my breath.

  “It’s just a little walking,” Abigail teased, taking my offered hand and climbing down. “Don’t tell me you can’t handle that, Renegade.”

  Inside my visor, I rolled my eyes. “I can handle walking fine, Abby, but we’re on a schedule here. That looks like it’s going to take a while.”

  “Then I guess we better move.” She patted me on the chest and sauntered to the back of the quad to grab some gear.

  Rackham walked over, rifle in hand. “All set.”

  I glanced toward the last pair of our group. Alphonse was helping Dr. Dressler load up a pack, and when he tried to take it for her she gently slapped his hand away.

  “Thank you, Mr. Malloy, but a researcher should be able to carry around her own tools.”

  He backed off and inclined his head, giving her a slight smile. “Yes, ma’am. My apologies.”

  “Anytime you two want to stop flirting and join the party, feel free to let the rest of us know,” I said.

  Dressler ignored my comment and made her way to us, Alphonse coming right behind her. Instead of her usual condescension, Dressler replied with a gentle, almost mock sweetness. “Ready whenever you are, Renegade.”

  It was a decent imitation of Abigail, who laughed.

  “Touché,” I replied, impressed. “But if you’re ready, we need to get moving. Siggy, can you run a scan and come up with a safe path across this divide?”

  “Of course, sir. Updating helmet heads-up displays now.”

  My view flickered, then changed to reflect a new route, highlighted in green. “Thanks. Let’s move.”

  “MaryAnn, what is it that you’re hoping to find?” asked Abigail as we made our way down.

  “I’m not sure.” Dressler admitted. “Perhaps a gravity generator or other tech we don’t know about yet. Even by Eternal standards, the technology on this ring is exceedingly complex. There’s no telling what might be ahead.”

  “Try to keep from pressing any buttons this time,” I told her, referring to the two times she’d messed around with them on Tartarus.

  “The last time was an accident,” she protested. “But fine.”

  Alphonse, as usual, was quiet, but I could see him surveying the environment. I trusted his Constable training to pick out anything that might be important.

  Rackham, on the other hand, seemed somewhat nervous in our dull brown and gray surroundings. “And you’re sure that there isn’t a security system here, right?” he asked. “Or any animals?”

  “That is correct, Lieutenant,” Sigmond replied. “I have no evidence that any life forms besides us are currently on this planet. None of my scans have revealed any defensive measures yet, either.”

  Rackham let out an audible sigh of relief. “Good.”

  “You got a problem with animals, Oberon?” I asked.

  He shrugged when I looked over my shoulder. “Not really. Had a bad experience with a Sarkonian attack dog once.”

  I started to laugh, then stopped as Sigmond’s words circulated in my head. “Siggy, what do you mean by yet? You think there might be something we’re not seeing?”

  “Of that I am not certain, sir,” the Cognitive replied. “There is much we do not know about the technology here. It is impossible to rule out defensive traps, but it does seem unlikely. No countermeasures have been activated by our arrival on the planet, nor by the subsequent searches made of the facility thus far.”

  “Keep a sharp eye out. The last thing we need is another Novo situation.” I recalled our trip to the other planet and how we’d assumed there were no defense systems in play there, too. That was, until the Cognitive Hygeia kidnapped Lex. She had healed the girl’s gene degradation issue, a problem we hadn’t even known about at the time, but still. The whole thing could have gone in the complete opposite direction, and Lex might not be alive today. I couldn’t let that happen to anyone under my care, which meant I had to stay cautious.

  “Rest assured, sir, I will inform you the instant I detect any danger.”

  I grunted. “Good man. I—”

  Dressler screamed as the ground gave way beneath her feet, a cloud of dust spreading into the air. Before I could react, Alphonse went straight to save her, but he was too slow. He lost his balance and continued into the chasm behind her, his hand outstretched as he tried and failed to catch the woman he loved.

  “Someone talk to me,” I barked into my comm. “Dressler, Alphonse, come in.”

  Abigail edged closer to the opening, but was quickly stopped by Rackham. “Easy,” he said, cautioning with his hand. “One wrong move and you could cause another cave in.”

  “Sir, I can attempt to fly over the hole and ascertain Dr. Dressler and Mr. Malloy’s status,” Sigmond offered.

  Before I could answer, coughing sounded in my helmet’s comm.

  “We’re okay, Captain,” said Alphonse. “A few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious. Can’t get out the way we came though. I can see cracks in the ceiling from here, so I’m hesitant to climb out. It’s all right though. Seems to be a tunnel down here that we can follow.”

  “A tunnel? Is there a cave system or something?” I asked.

  Dressler answered this time. “No. This appears to have been crafted by whoever built the facility. It’s fascinating.” Despite the situation and the pain she must have felt from the fall, there was unmistakable excitement in her voice. Typical.

  I looked up at Sigmond. “Did you know there were tunnels?”

  “My scans didn’t show any sign of an underground system,” he said. “Very curious.”

  “Hold on, I have some climbing gear in my kit,” Rackham said, pointing to a rope coiled at his side. “Not sure if it’s enough, but we can try.”

  “Well, we have to do something,” said Abigail. “They can’t stay down there, and once they’re out I’m not sure it’s a good idea to keep going.”

  I nodded. “You’re not wrong. Who knows how many more weak spots might be in the ground. We can have Sigmond hover above the center and pull them up with that rope so we don’t cause another cave-in.”

  “No!” Dressler’s protest echoed in my comm and I winced. “We can’t leave now. I want to see where this tunnel leads, especially considering the fact that these corridors were hidden from our scans. For all we know, there could be a great deal more down here that we simply can’t observe through traditional means. If we leave now, we run the risk of losing out on something that could change the course of the war.”

  “I’m not sure staying is a good idea,” said Abigail. “Even if there is something down there, we don’t know where those tunnels lead. We’d be walking in blind.”

  I was quiet for a moment as I weighed both options. They each had a point, but I was more inclined to side with Dressler. For all my concerns over everyone’s safety, there was still the war itself and the potential loss of life that our failure would have on the rest of the galaxy.

  Sigmond spoke up next. “Sir, if I may suggest something?”

  “What is it?”

  “The doctor makes a fair point. The information to be gained here could give the Alliance an edge in the Celestial war. If you and the others go along with her and Mr. Malloy, I won’t be able to join you, but I can assist with your escape.”