Renegade Peace: An Intergalactic Space Opera Adventure (Renegade Star Book 16) Page 3

  I knew I had to turn the work off for a bit and get through the wedding, but it wasn’t easy. Hard to ignore the threat my people faced, even for a few hours. Truth was, I didn’t want to disconnect, rest, or really do much of anything else until the Celestials were handled. But that was me. People like Freddie and Petra deserved to have a break from the bullshit and take a second to breathe and enjoy a moment or two. Gods knew we might not have many more.

  Glancing around, I took a long breath as I examined the scene around me. The grassy fields spanned for hectares, a sign that the terraforming was a continued success. A small river ran under some trees nearby, and a few kids played there, splashing each other and laughing so loudly that I could hear them all the way over here.

  Though the towering scaffold still stayed high above the surface, most of our people were here on the ground because so much had changed.

  Where the planet had once been a gravesite, full of nothing and home to no one, it now stood as a beacon of hope in an otherwise dreary galaxy. The once barren wasteland of the surface had been transformed into a paradise of green and blue, boundless fields and forest crooks that stretched into the snow-tipped mountains of a great, wide world. There were no dragons and fairies here like in the old stories, but it was close enough.

  Maybe it was better to remember that instead of being so cynical. These moments were what humanity fought for. I pushed the Celestials to the back of my mind. Not completely away, but for the next few hours they would take the backseat.

  After this last report.

  “Siggy, what’s going on with Dressler. How is she doing down there?”

  “Very well, Captain. The trilobite has been moved to her lab and she is prepared for the wedding. Her team is working on the new data now. She says the results so far are promising.”

  “All good news. I’m going to head in—”

  “Sir, pardon my interruption, but you have a video transmission request.”

  I frowned, not wanting to be bothered by anyone just now. “Take a message. I have to fulfill my best man duties.”

  “If that is what you wish, I am happy to relay that response. However, I believe you may want to answer this call. It is Halek Cain, the ex-Union Reaper you’ve been trying to contact.”

  Cursing, I turned away from the festivities, pulled out my pad, and found a quiet spot where I could talk. “Fine, put him through.”

  The video came on my screen, warbling some before it settled, and a man’s face came into view. It only took an instant for me to see this man was someone I wanted on our side. There was no doubt he had seen some shit. A roughhewn face held scars, reminders of a painful past.

  In his eyes—or eye, since one was cybernetic—I saw death. He was exactly the kind of asset we needed right now.

  I smiled, showing my teeth. Something told me he wasn’t much of a talker. “Cain.”

  The voice that answered was made of knives on gravel. “Hughes. Someone mentioned you have an infestation.”

  “Something like that. What have you heard about the Celestials?”

  He grunted and leaned back, twirling something in his hand. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was a cigar. His arm—from the tips of his fingers all the way to above his shoulder—was entirely cybernetic. He had the appearance of a lifelong veteran, someone with enough blood on his hands to drown himself. “Not much,” he finally replied. “Big, dangerous. A general pain in the ass.”

  “That about sums it up. Is any of that something you might want to help out with? Can’t say it’ll be easy, but you’d be helping a lot of innocent people.”

  “Maybe.” He put the cigar in his mouth but didn’t light it. “What made you come to me? I hear you folks have a fine assortment of weapons that put the rest of us to shame.”

  “My sources say you’re known for making it out of impossible situations.” That was putting it mildly. According to Shaw, Halek Cain was a force to be reckoned with. He had single-handedly taken down an entire fleet of Union ships, special operatives, and all manner of threats that had come his way. Through everything, he’d survived. Even prospered.

  One corner of his mouth curled up into a grim smile. “I’m still here, yeah. Guess that counts for something.” He leaned forward again, focusing both his organic and his cybernetic eye on me. “And I hear you’re the man who brought the Union and Sarkonians together. Quite the feat, I gotta say.”

  He said the word Union with enough contempt that it was almost palpable. It backed up what I’d learned about his history in all the various reports I’d read in recent weeks collectively referred to as The Last Reaper. The government had supposedly screwed him over on a proposed deal they’d given him, but the details were a little fuzzy. Not that it mattered. The simple fact that Cain had stayed alive and held his own against the Union was enough for me. I didn’t care if he was a criminal or a vagrant. I just needed him to be strong.

  And by all accounts, he sure as shit was.

  I shrugged. “If it were up to me, I never would have gotten involved with either of them, but the Celestials forced my hand. Humanity doesn’t have the luxury of infighting. Not anymore. If we don’t come together, we’re all dead. Not just Earth or the Union, but everyone.”

  “You can save the speech. I’ve seen the footage.”

  “Then you know what I’m saying is true.”

  Cain didn’t answer right away. He just sat there, his eyes steady as he stared at me, as though he were trying to glean some new insight, but everything I’d told him was the truth… and I had nothing to hide.

  He finally lit his cigar, then nodded. “Tell you what, Renegade. I’ve been itching for a fight recently, ever since I went into semi-retirement. Besides, I’m pretty keen on staying alive myself.” He paused. “I do have one condition, though.”

  “Name it.”

  He took a drag off the cigar and licked his lips, then exhaled the smoke. “The Union leaves me the fuck alone. They try anything stupid, like bringing me in or whatever, then we’re gonna have a problem on our hands. You follow?”

  “Leave that part to me. You’ll be under my protection.”

  “Don’t need protecting, Hughes. Quite the opposite, in fact.” He took another puff. “I’d hate for someone to come at me and then you’ve lost some useful soldiers. It’d be a real waste.”

  I suppressed the urge to smile. Whoever this Cain guy was, I had to admit I liked him. “Deal.”

  “Alright, then,” he said, sitting up. “We’ll leave within the hour. See ya soon.”

  The line went dead abruptly, signaling the end of the conversation.

  “That is good news, sir,” said Sigmond.

  “Seems like. Have we heard back from anyone else?”

  The Cognitive was quick to reply. “Not as of yet. There are reports of conflict occurring with Captain Cortez and the Solaris Initiative.”

  That set alarm bells off in my head. We couldn’t afford for anyone to split their forces. If the Empire was wasting resources going after the Initiative, that would leave even less to help defend against the Celestials.

  “What kind of conflict are we talking about?”

  “It would appear that Vice-Admiral-Kaska has launched a campaign against the rebellion. It began with an attack on the planet Neblinar.”

  “Great,” I muttered. “Just what we need. I’ll talk to Sanchez. What about the other feelers we put out?”

  “Positive responses. The Renegade network is abuzz with the news.”

  “Abuzz, eh? Alright, good. Let’s see if we can give some incentive. Anyone who fights with us will have the chance to live on Earth. Make it clear there won’t be a free ride—everyone has to live peacefully, but they won’t be held responsible for past crimes.”

  “Understood. I will revise the message and keep you apprised. Now, sir, if I may offer a suggestion?”

  “What is it, Siggy?”

  “Join the wedding party before any other interruptions arise.”

  I grunted out a laugh. “Yeah, I better. Hold any transmissions during the ceremony unless they’re an emergency.”

  “With pleasure.”

  Taking a deep breath, I pushed everything else away and entered the tent.

  “Captain, you made it!” Freddie’s voice wasn’t quite shrill, but close.

  I looked over to see that he was decked out in formal attire. Someone had either made it for him or loaned it to him from their own wardrobe. Either way, it fit well, and the younger man looked sharp.

  “Damn, Fred. You cleaned up nice. Almost respectable.”

  He smoothed the black suit jacket down. “You think so? I hope Petra likes it. I haven’t seen her at all today. Or last night. Some old tradition.”

  He jabbered on, clearly nervous.

  “Freddie, relax.” I put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to stutter and fall silent. “It’s normal to have some nerves, just so long as your feet don’t get cold.”

  To be honest, I didn’t know the first thing about weddings—I was making this shit up as I went. That might not have been the best idea because Freddie gulped and went sheet white.

  “Cold feet? You don’t think Petra’s feeling unsure… do you?”

  I scoffed, as though the idea was completely unheard of. I hoped it was, for his sake. “Of course not. That woman loves you—don’t ask me why—and you love her. Everything is going to go smoothly.”

  He swallowed hard, then squared his shoulders. “Got it. Nothing to worry about.”

  Beaming, I slapped him on the back. “That’s the spirit. Now, what do you say we go see the rest of your party? From what I understand, drinks are a requirement before the ceremony.”

  “Required? I’ve never heard of that tradition.”

  “We
ll, don’t forget you were a priest for a while,” I reminded him. Using the hand still on his back, I guided him to where Alphonse, Bolin, and Josef stood waiting. All of them were drinking, prompting me to gesture at them. “See? Tradition.”

  Freddie watched them throw their glasses back and then refill them. “I guess so. Yeah, I should definitely have a drink. To calm my nerves.”

  “Ah, there’s the groom!” called Bolin jovially.

  Alphonse pushed a glass into Freddie’s hand, then mine. When no one said anything else and they all just looked at me, I realized they were waiting for me to say something. Oh, right. The best man was supposed to say something.

  I wrapped an arm around Freddie’s shoulders and lifted my glass. “To Freddie, the sorriest son of a bitch I ever met.”

  A short chorus of “here here” rang out, giving me a precious moment to think about what to say next.

  “Until he met me, of course. Now he’s a helluva soldier and friend. These are uncertain times. Times when it’s easy to get caught up in the combat. We have to remember not to lose focus.” I turned to Freddie and nodded. “This is your chance. You’ve got a beautiful bride in there. Better lock that down before she has a chance to run for it.”

  Music began to play outside, our signal to begin lining up.

  “Time to go marry your woman, Fred.”

  After the ceremony was over, the celebration continued at a small reception. While the new bride and groom made the rounds, I took a moment to breathe with a whiskey in hand, and soon Sigmond materialized next to me.

  Even though moments ago he’d been on the other side of the room talking to Karin, his sudden appearance didn’t startle me like it had in the old days. I simply raised my cup.

  “Captain, please forgive the interruption, but there are a number of updates. If you prefer, I can have them sent to your pad.”

  I swirled the amber liquid left at the bottom of my glass. “What updates?”

  “Your call to arms has generated a significant response. I have a list of ships on their way here, as well as several inquiries from interested parties who seem to have heard about what we’re doing and want to assist.”

  As much as I wanted to deal with coordinating the combined militaries of the entire human race, the scene playing out in front of me demanded my attention. Dressler, out of her lab coat for once and in a curve-hugging black number, shimmied on the dance floor opposite Alphonse.

  Meanwhile, Octavia and Hitchens stood apart from the crowd, her arm wrapped around his, and she smiled and kissed the professor on the mouth.

  “I knew it,” I muttered under my breath.

  A slight frown creased Sigmond’s forehead. “Knew what, sir?”

  I fanned a hand. “Don’t worry about it. Just thinking out loud.” Duty could damn well wait another hour, couldn’t it? There was no sense in rushing off to work, not right now. Not when this might be the last time we all had the chance to be together. Even if we survived the war, what were the chances that we would all be there when it was all over with? I didn’t want to think about it. Not right now, here in the middle of this party, watching everyone let loose and pretend that the apocalypse wasn’t right around the corner. “Go ahead and send the data, Siggy. I’ll deal with it later.”

  He gave a short bow, then nodded at the festivities. “This is quite the event. Much different from the last wedding you attended.”

  His words brought back memories of a bawdy affair that had ended in a fistfight. “I know that’s right,” I replied. “And this definitely is a big deal. It’s the first wedding on Earth. Let’s just hope it’s not the last.”

  “That’s a touch cynical, don’t you think?” Abigail asked. I looked to my side to find her walking toward me, dressed in her usual attire instead of something elegant.

  “No dress?” I asked, raising my brow.

  She merely shrugged. “Better to be prepared.”

  I was a little relieved to see she hadn’t put on some frilly get up for the affair. It wouldn’t have suited her anyway. This is who we were, gods help or damn us.

  4

  As it happened, the rest of the night went off without a crisis.

  When we woke the next morning, it was to an urgent message from Major-Sanchez and Vice Admiral Vick wanting to meet.

  Coming alert in an instant, I rolled out of bed and started pulling on my clothes. “What happened? Are there Celestials?”

  My thoughts were already reeling, imagining an incoming fleet of Celestials bearing down on Earth.

  “Not that my scouts or sensors have picked up,” replied Sigmond. “I believe they wish to discuss preparation and tactics, as well as updates on the Sarkonian fleet’s ability to assist.”

  Letting out a breath, I shoved an irritated hand through my hair. “Dammit, Siggy. Next time start with that.”

  “My apologies, sir.”

  “It’s fine. Just tell them I’m on my way.”

  I glanced over to see Abigail pulling on clothes. “You coming to the meeting?”

  “Can’t. I have to take Lex to her training, then drop her off for lessons.”

  There was something about the simple statement that sounded so normal. We might be in the midst of a war for the survival of humanity, but some things didn’t change. I decided that was good. Normalcy in dubious times such as these helped people stay grounded.

  Ten minutes later, I walked into the meeting room to find the other two leaders waiting for me.

  Vick shot me a curt nod. “Hughes, glad you’re finally here.”

  I returned the gesture and took my seat. Not so long ago, I would have taken that comment as a dig and responded in kind. It had taken the threat against humanity to stop the feud between us. For now. We might not ever be friends in any sense of the word, but at least now the Vice Admiral didn’t give me shit.

  The second I was situated, Vick sat up a little straighter in what I was sure he considered his most authoritative pose. He was clearly eager to start the meeting, and I was more than happy to let him do it.

  A holo display sprang to life in the middle of the table. Data, cleanly organized into a matrix, outlined different Union class ships.

  “What is this?” I asked, leaning closer for a better look.

  “The cavalry, as it were,” replied Vick.

  Something in his tone had me glancing back at him. The lines of his face were grim, but there was something else there that bothered me. Guilt, maybe, though I couldn’t say why the Vice Admiral would feel guilty about sending help. Unless it wasn’t everything the Union had to offer.

  Cocking my head, I sat back against my chair and studied the numbers again. More data joined the first set, this time depicting Sarkonian ships. The count wasn’t even half of what the Union had listed.

  “The Sarkonian fleet,” said Sanchez, speaking for the first time.

  I gestured at the display. “Seems a little light.”

  From the pinched lines of his face, he agreed. “Unfortunately, this is what the Emperor has approved. As you know, the Empire has been dealing with an influx of Ravagers and pirates. They don’t share our views on protecting humanity and are using this opportunity to expand their territories. Certain sectors must be protected.”

  Barking out a short laugh, I shook my head. “Major, if we fail to take out the Celestials, Ravagers will be the least of the Emperor’s worries. No sector will be safe.”

  Sanchez’s lips pursed together, and he fixed steely eyes on mine. “I’m aware of how dire the situation is, Captain Hughes. Rest assured, I am working to get more ships. In the meantime, this fleet will be departing shortly, as soon as security arrangements have been made.”

  I turned my attention back to Vick. The man usually took any opening to spout off about the Union and how they were better, but he was suspiciously quiet. “I take it you’re having similar conversations with your superiors?”

  His head came up in surprise, but he didn’t deny it. “That’s correct. Secondary evacuation plans are being put into effect. If we don’t win… that is to say, if the Alliance and Earth fall, humanity may have a chance.”

  “Because they’ll be on the run.” I scoffed, unhappy with the idea. Leif’s people had done the same and came very nearly close to extinction. It was a bleak prospect.