Zero (Mech. Chronicles Book 1), page 1
ZERO
A Gealach Book / 2014
UUID# 01EFE044-E90F-4B6A-80E2-BB6C5F790626
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Copyright © 2014 by Adam Moon
Cover Art by Adam Moon
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
For information contact Adam Moon,
http://moonwrites.com
Formatting by:
E-QUALITY PRESS
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PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
Part 1
I. Jack’s Journey
II. Stasis
III. Starship
IV. Doctor Henshaw
V. Mech
VI. Alien Ambassador
VII. Epigog
VIII. Rejects
Part 2
IX. Jack becomes Zero
X. Invaders
XI. Modification
XII. Dead Robots
XIII. The Lie
XIV. Missions
Part 3
XV. Cogmore
XVI. A Test
XVII. Patrol
XVIII. Capture
XIX. Trap
XX. Aiding the Enemy
XXI. Orbiter
Part 4
XXII. Warship
XXIII. Uprisings
XXIV. Shipping Out
XXV. Dosia
XXVI. Diplomat Security
XXVII. Fight
Part 5
XXVIII. Reunion
XXIX. Secrets
XXX. Hidden Agenda
Part 6
XXXI. Henshaw’s Deceit
XXXII. The Reluctant Hero
XXXIII. War
XXXIV. The Resistance
More by Adam Moon
Part 1
✨
I
✨
Jack’s Journey
JACK PETERSON put his work boots on because he wasn’t thinking. He wasn’t ever going back to work because dead men don’t need money. He kicked them off and put on his comfortable shoes. It was scorching hot outside, so he went shirtless to avoid succumbing to heat exhaustion. He ate a protein bar for breakfast and looked around the apartment.
Knowing he was going to die soon gave him a new perspective. The apartment looked foreign to him now.
Empty booze bottles littered the coffee table from the night before. His dad would get over his hangover quick in the heat, though. It would ooze out of his pores under the unforgiving sun as he worked his long shift.
His dad was a good man. A note on the fridge from him said simply: Jack, take plenty of water and wear a shirt, for God’s sake. You’ll get skin cancer walking around shirtless all day.
That put a wry smile on his face. Sorry, Dad, he thought, but bone cancer got to me first.
Jack knew he needed to tell him before the disease ate him alive, and it was going to break his already fragile heart. He lost Jack’s mom to cancer right after Jack was born, and they’d both watched in vain as his older brother died of leukemia. With a family history like his, he should’ve expected the worst. He could only hope he didn’t eat a gun after he was gone
Then again, worse things could happen, like continuing to suffer when all hope was lost.
He took the bus to the doctor’s office. He’d be getting medication today. But not the good kind that’d fix him—the other kind, that would lube his transition into the afterlife.
He got off the bus at the next stop. Luckily, it was downtown Milwaukee, so there was plenty to do for a young man running out of life. He could get high or drunk all day. He could make new friends or help the downtrodden. It felt so odd for him to know he had such little time left but not to know what to do with it. He’d have to weigh his options after seeing the doctor.
He pulled his water bottle out and gulped down half of it. It was a hot one today.
An old homeless lady, leaning against a storefront, watched him from the corner of her eye. She licked her lips and turned from him, too thirsty to witness his enjoyment. He walked over and gave her the bottle. She tried to thank him but he just walked away, leaving his bottle with her. She smelled like a landfill and it made him want to chuck up his own water.
He checked his funds even though he always knew exactly how much cash he had on him at all times—enough for a sandwich, a fistful of beers, and a ticket back home.
He stuffed the cash away before anyone saw it. He’d heard of people getting murdered for less. One guy last year lost his life because some vagrant wanted his shoes. Apparently, the shoes didn’t even fit the murderer, and when he couldn’t sell them he just threw them away. Life was cheap, but Jack still put a high value on his own, even though it had become a rapidly perishable commodity.
He took the steps two at a time up to the doctor’s office. The building was covered in graffiti. He had to sidestep a bunch of homeless people on the way up. He was almost certain some of them were dead, lying on those steps, but he wasn’t about to check.
He got buzzed through the doors, and after following a winding hallway, took a seat in the waiting area. When the receptionist returned to her desk, she nodded and he told her who he was. That bummed him out because just two days ago he had been flirting with that same receptionist, and now she didn’t even recognize him. Or maybe she did, but now that she knew he was about to die, he no longer mattered to her.
He was the only person in the waiting room, so it kind of pissed him off that he was made to wait for an hour. Dying people should not have to wait around for anything.
When the door opened, the doctor had the phoniest smile he had at his disposal pasted on his face. Jack followed him through to his office, where the doctor took a seat and beckoned for him to sit in the chair opposite. He didn’t see any pill bottles around and that made him mad too. He’d better not tell him that he had to go somewhere else to have a prescription filled. His time was valuable these days.
His name was Doctor Jacobs, and he asked, “How are you feeling, Jack?”
“I’m dying.”
“I know, son. But how do you feel today?”
“I don’t feel any different yet. I actually feel pretty good.”
Jacobs nodded and scribbled on a sheet of paper, clipped to a clipboard. “Do you have any family?”
“Just my dad. I haven’t told him about the cancer yet.”
“Are you close to your dad?”
That question threw him, but he answered it anyway, if only to keep moving things along. “Not really. I mean, he’s a great guy, but he’s always had to work so much just to keep a roof over our heads and food in our mouths. I hardly ever saw him as I was growing up. And now that I have a job too, we never see each other.”
Absently, the doctor mumbled, “That’s good.”
He knew right then that this guy didn’t see him as a human being. He didn’t care that he was about to die.
Jacobs put his clipboard down and rested his elbows on his knees in a conspiratorial fashion. He looked Jack in the eye, and that made him a little uncomfortable.
He asked, “What would you do to defeat the cancer growing inside of you?”
Jack sighed. “You told me I only have a few weeks left. I’m pretty sure that means the cancer is too widespread to stop.”
Jacobs smiled and said, “Answer the question.”
“I’d do anything, of course.” He was starting to get angry. Was he trying to sell him something? He wouldn’t be the first doctor to profit from someone’s death. Maybe he’d try to send him to some expensive retreat where they’d give him acupuncture and bathe him in incense as his life and his life-savings slowly trickled away. Snake oil, dressed up as a miracle cure.
Jacobs said, “You can survive this, but it will require more of you than I think you can give.”
Now he had Jack’s attention. This suddenly sounded legit.
“What would I have to do?”
Jacobs sat back and took in a breath. “It can’t be done on Earth, son. We don’t have the equipment here to eradicate your cancer. But it can be done off-world.”
Jack sat up straighter. He’d never been off-world. No one had except for scientists and rich people. Maybe he’d get to go to the moon or even Mars. He’d heard of a potential colony being looked into on one of the moons around Jupiter or Saturn, but that was a long way from becoming a reality. More likely, he was referring to a space station in orbit around one of the planets. It looked like his bucket list was about to get another checkmark if he played his cards right.
“There’s a machine that can regenerate your cells, but it’s on planet Epigog 31 out near the edge of the ga
“Okay.” He was telling him things he knew weren’t possible. No one had managed to travel any further than the Centauri system, the nearest star system, which was basically in Earth’s backyard in regards to the vastness of space. He’d never even heard of Epigog 31.
“It is not cheap to send someone that far out. It’s not cheap to use that machine.”
“How is it possible to send me to an alien planet? Technology hasn’t even come close to that yet.”
“The Securacell Corporation has technology that they do not have here on Earth.”
Jack shook his head. Why would a corporation keep technology hidden that would make them money if they announced it to the world? It made no sense, but he kept his doubts to himself. He didn’t want the doctor to think he was more trouble than he was worth.
“What would I have to do?”
“You’d have to give yourself to the corporation.”
“So I’d be some kind of indentured servant? I could do that. How long before my contract runs out?” He was starting to get excited. This was an escape route that wasn’t there just moments ago. He’d get to live.
“It wouldn’t. If they saved your life, you’d be expected to do their bidding for the rest of your life.”
Jack nodded, waiting for him to say more, but he didn’t. Could he become a slave? Was it worth it?
“What would they require of me?”
“I’m not at liberty to say. But I need an answer now. The transport leaves in two hours.”
“Are you kidding me? I need more time to think about this. I need to ask what my dad thinks.”
“No time for that. It’s now or never, kid. I can’t tell you how fortuitous it was that you chose me as your oncologist. I can’t begin to tell you how lucky you are that you weren’t late for our appointment today. The stars have aligned in such a way as to save your young life. Will you let fate save you?”
“I guess so.”
“Good. Sign these waivers and let’s get you to that transport.”
II
✨
Stasis
THE DOCTOR drove him across town in his car. Cars were a luxury, but the man was a doctor, so he was probably used to such luxuries.
Jack tried to call his dad to say goodbye and tell him he loved him, but he couldn’t get a signal. By the time the car came to a stop beside a large aircraft hangar, he gave up and wrote a quick note explaining everything. He scribbled his own address on it and told the doctor to make sure it got to his dad. Jacobs promised he’d get it there.
Jack stepped from the car and took a deep breath. He regretted it right away. The air was hot and putrid and burned his lungs when he exhaled. He wondered if he’d ever breathe Earth air again.
“Will I ever be allowed to return home?”
“If Securacell wants you to, then yes.”
There were things he’d miss about Earth, but not many. He missed his dad already, but when his dad got the note, he’d understand that this was his only option. He was pretty sure his dad would rather have an absent son than a dead son.
As they walked towards the big hangar doors, the doctor asked, “Have you ever heard of stasis?”
Oh shit. Stasis was bad. Unruly technology with mixed results. When it went wrong, death was imminent and horrible. But if he didn’t go through with this, he’d be dead in a few weeks anyway.
He said, “I’ve heard of it. I know it has faults, but they don’t worry me at this point.”
The last part was a lie, told more to himself than the doctor.
“Good. There’s no other way to get to Epigog 31. It’s too far out to live through the journey, so you’ll have to be put on ice. I’ll need you to sign another waiver for it, though.”
You didn’t really get put on ice as the doctor put it. But it was a popular euphemism and those things die hard. In reality, stasis was achieved by a cocktail of chemicals that induced rapid hibernation inside a perfect vacuum. The temperature did drop inside the stasis pods, but there was no ice involved. In this way, you could travel for years and only age by a few minutes or less.
And the entire process was supposed to hurt like hell.
III
✨
Starship
INSIDE THE HANGAR, Jack saw the ship that was to be his savior. It was big, about the size of a jumbo jet. But the doctor was right, the ship looked like nothing he’d ever seen before, technology far more advanced than the typical Mars or moon shuttles. He could only imagine why the corporation was keeping its interstellar technology to itself.
To his surprise, there were other people milling around, signing forms and talking excitedly.
Doctor Jacobs whispered to him, “They’re all terminally ill too. They’re all going for the same treatment you are.”
Jack hadn’t even considered the possibility. In his imagination, he’d be going alone. This made him feel a little safer in his decision.
He filled out the stasis waiver without reading it. What did he have to lose? He was about to ask Jacobs how long the journey would take when a girl around his age put her hand on his back and asked, “What do you have, then?”
He turned around. She was cute as a button, with fluffy blond hair and dark eyes.
He said, “Huh?” and felt his chest tighten. He was a good looking eighteen year old, but he wasn’t yet used to the attentions of the opposite sex.
“What is it that’s killing you?”
“Um, I have cancer.”
She smiled and said excitedly, “Me too.” Then she held her hand up for a high-five. It was too surreal. You shouldn’t congratulate someone for having cancer. He gave her a weak high-five just because it would have been rude not to.
She said, “Look around this place. I bet no one in here is over twenty-five. I think Securacell likes ’em young.”
He searched the surrounding faces. She was right.
“I’m Stacey. What’s your name?”
“I’m Jack.”
She gave him a quick hug and walked away. Over her shoulder she said, “Good to meet you, Jack. I’ll see you again on Epigog 31, I hope.”
He awkwardly replied, “Okay then. Um, thanks.”
Doctor Jacobs shook his head at him. Jack got the meaning: he was no Casanova.
When the big door to the ship descended, the hangar went silent.
✨
Doctor Jacobs barely said, “Bye,” before leaving him to his fate. The rest of the patients started boarding the ship in single file, until half the hangar emptied out and he could only assume the people being left behind were all doctors or sponsors of some kind.
To his horror, he saw Jacobs pull the folded note to his dad from his pocket, crumple it into a ball, and let it fall from his fist. He’d only met his doctor a few days ago, but nothing from their meetings would’ve suggested that he was so cold-hearted.
He considered getting out of line to chase the bastard down for an explanation, but he was being shoved in the back and there was no way to get out of the huddle. The dread grew in his heart until he got inside the ship. Then his focus changed in a heartbeat. The stasis pods looked old and in various stages of disrepair. How could they survive stasis in pods so filthy and overused? In fact, he had no idea how long they’d even be in stasis.
How far away did he say Epigog 31 was?
A handful of uniformed men and women awaited them inside the ship and assigned each of them their own pod. Jack’s was a piece of shit. The glass faceplate had cobwebs across it and the metal body was rusting in spots. He quickly checked behind it just to be sure all the hoses were connected.
The uniformed guy who’d led him to it got agitated with him and shoved him inside the pod. Jack would’ve struggled, but it caught him by surprise. The guy slammed the door shut and then fiddled with some switches.
