E-Day III: Dark Moon (E-Day Trilogy Book 3), page 19
The MOTH dipped low, blasting over the surface and away from the base. The red warning light had stopped blinking, and the alarm had gone off, but they weren’t free yet.
“Oh shit, we’re about to have a major problem,” Jake said. “King Cobra Spaceplanes.”
“We can’t outrun those,” Tadhg said.
“I know.”
“Then do something!”
“Shut up, man! I’m trying to think!”
A voice surged over the comms.
“Hailing the occupants of—”
The voice cut off, replaced with Thacker’s voice, shaking with rage.
“Turn that MOTH around now, or my pilots will destroy you,” he said. “You have ten seconds to respond.”
Jake and Tadhg exchanged a glance.
“Do not even think about turning us around,” Tadhg said.
“So I can rot in a jail cell? I’d rather go down in a hail of plasma bolts, brother,” Jake said.
“That’s going to happen if you don’t do something!” Cyrus shouted.
“Five seconds,” Thacker said over the comms.
Tadhg tapped the dashboard.
“Hailing war criminal Andrew Thacker,” he said. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you, but if I make it back, you have my word, I’ll rip off your feet and smack your teeth out with them before I stick them down your lying gullet. Over.”
There was a crackle on the other end, and heavy breathing, but then the line severed.
“Smart,” Jake said with a nod. “Very smart pissing him off now.”
The King Cobras gained on them, moving in for the kill.
“We have to shoot them,” Tadhg said. “Show me how to turn on those turrets.”
Jake flicked a few buttons, bringing on the weapon’s system. The turrets on the wings rotated on the port and starboard side.
The pilot hesitated. “What if he’s bluffing?” he asked.
“He’s not, trust me,” Tadhg said. “We shoot and they will pull back. I almost guarantee it.”
“Almost…” Jake shook his head. “Screw it.”
He tapped the screen and the turrets flashed to life.
Chloe focused on the sliver of Earth as the MOTH began to spiral while firing.
She felt her stomach churn.
“Please, please, let me get home.”
She wasn’t sure who she was talking to. Definitely not a god. Not Apeiron either.
Pretty much just anyone or anything that would listen.
The G-forces intensified as the MOTH spun. Every organ in Chloe’s body seemed to press against her spine. Nausea gripped her as the weight of the intensive maneuvers shoved her back into her seat.
Suddenly, all that weight lifted.
“They’re backing off!” Jake shouted.
“I told you!” Tadhg laughed. “Thacker’s a little bitch and won’t risk one of his precious spaceplanes to kill us.”
“Probably thinks we’re already dead, considering where I’m flying.”
The MOTH pulled out of the spin and slowly evened out.
Chloe groaned, unable to form a sentence.
“Everyone okay?” Jake asked like it was no big deal. He flipped more switches and then turned to look at them.
“Amazing flying,” Tadhg said.
He got out of his seat, staggering behind Jake, and then patting him on the shoulder.
“You’re the best damn pilot of the Nova Alliance,” Tadhg said.
“I’m the only damn pilot of the Nova Alliance,” Jake replied. “Now I’d suggest you sit back down, and stay seated. Because if you thought that was bad, just wait until we get to Earth.”
— 16 —
Drool ran down his chin as Jackson tried to fight off the pain from the worms. The little monsters went dormant under his skin again, giving him a few minutes of reprieve.
His blurred vision cleared to their handiwork. Bloody trails carved his flesh from his chest to his feet.
Jackson let out a groan.
His nerves burned from the near constant torture, followed by waves of intense ecstasy. The pleasure actually made the pain worse. Every muscle fiber in his body felt ready to snap.
He looked up at the damaged hull above him where he had watched the shuttle taking off from the mountain. He wasn’t sure if the refugees had made it to the moon or if Otto had destroyed it after all. He wasn’t even sure how long it had been since they launched, or how much time since his capture.
There was still moonlight coming in, but that told him nothing. For all he knew, it was the same night he was brought here.
But he was pretty sure about one thing—if Otto knew about the Neptune Research Center at the Mariana Trench, the AI wouldn’t be wasting time torturing him.
Jackson had to stay strong for as long as possible.
He shifted his gaze from his wounds to the prisoners across the chamber, until he saw what was left of the fisherman.
From what Jackson could tell, the poor soul was unconscious.
Or dead.
Jackson hoped it was the latter.
The spiked drone suddenly zoomed overhead.
Needles poked out of the bottom of the prickly drone. A red light speared out of the opening that had disgorged the worms. The light formed a triangle that flitted up and down until it locked onto his right eye.
Jackson reared his head back against the pod.
“No, shit, no,” he stammered.
“I can make it all stop,” Otto said.
Jackson looked for the AI, but the hologram was nowhere in sight.
“Just tell me where to find Captain Akira Hayashi and your Command, and I’ll set you free,” Otto said. “I promise.”
Jackson swallowed bloody saliva down his scratchy throat, raw from his screams.
“No,” Otto said. “Then maybe it’s time to try something new.”
All at once, a flock of drones flew out of their racks toward victims across the chamber. The cries and wails of the other tortured souls rose into a jarring orchestra of pain as the machines went to work.
Jackson looked back to the fisherman. The man’s mouth was open, his face twisted in agony.
“Your silence is the reason for their suffering,” Otto said. “I can make it all end in the blink of an eye.”
Jackson fought hard against his restraints. “You bastard!”
He thrashed and bucked, desperate to free himself. The effort paid off as he felt one loosen slightly around his arm, just enough that he could raise his shoulder out.
The drone’s needle buzzed toward his eye. He tried to close his eyelids, but the drone used a clamp to keep them open. He held in a scream as the needle pierced his eyeball.
It retracted, then hovered over his body to select the next target. Another triangular red light flittered toward his groin.
“Ugh,” Jackson groaned.
In his good eye, he saw the drones suddenly retreating from the other pods.
“You disappoint me and impress me at the same time,” Otto said. “I once offered Captain Hayashi the opportunity to lead my legions. Maybe I should have made that offer to you. You might be even stronger.”
Jackson closed his burning eye, feeling it swelling.
A vibration shook the tower, rattling his pod.
“That sound means your time is up,” Otto said. “My work here is almost done, and soon we’ll be moving on.”
Another violent quake shuttered through the structure.
Jackson looked up through the gaping hole near the top. A red light glowed in the dark sky, illuminating the bulbous bow of a descending Hunter Ship. Hanging from the bottom of the teardrop mid-section were new legs intended to replace the ones Jackson had destroyed.
“Soon this Harvester will be on the move again,” Otto said. He hovered right in front of the pod, folding his arms over his chest. “I’m going to share something with you now so you understand something—something that should help you understand why you have no choice but to give up the information I want and join me.”
Jackson closed his swollen, throbbing eye and focused with his other on the AI.
“The Harvesters aren’t just used to merge man and machine into one species,” Otto said. “It’s to ensure our long-term survival. You see, while I assume you are logical, most humans are not. For centuries, we killed one another over land, resources, religion…”
A platform lowered from cables, right through the hologram of the AI.
“Meet the future of humanity and the latest generation of Dreads,” Otto said.
The hologram hovered over to a pod rising up on a platform. The lip popped open, mist hissing out. Out of the pod stood a pale man, black fluid oozing down his flesh like tar. Tubes protruded out of a metal mask covering his mouth.
The six-foot-tall man bent over, a rigid spinal column poking out of his flesh. He directed bloodshot eyes at Jackson.
“You, and your friend can join this elite warrior,” Otto said.
“Friend…” Jackson whispered.
The highly modified human was lowered out of sight on the platform. A robotic arm unfolded from the silo wall with a metal claw.
In his good eye, Jackson saw a figure wrapped inside it.
His stomach twisted, bile rising.
No…
Tumea.
“Your friend here has agreed to transcend,” Otto said.
Jackson blinked, trying to get a good view. But even in his blurred vision, he could tell, this was definitely Tumea. But he didn’t want to believe she’d given up. No way.
The claw opened, dangling her upside down in front of Jackson. She was naked, her skin covered in ash and grit.
“Jackson,” she grunted through clenched teeth.
“Ah, so that’s your name,” Otto said.
Jackson studied Tumea.
Was this really her? Or was it a trick?
Of course, he had never seen her naked before, but the eyes staring at him were an exact match. So was the nose, lips, and high cheekbones.
“Do… what… it…” she mumbled. “Asks of you…”
One of her eyelids twitched. Was that a blink? Was she trying to communicate something to him? Or was he just as screwed up and delirious as he felt?
“Why do you want to know where Command is on Earth when you should be worried about the Lunar Defense Corps?” Jackson asked, buying time.
The AI moved back in front of his pod as the tower shook.
A loud grinding sound tremored through the hull, followed by metallic tapping that seemed to be coming from behind Jackson. He guessed it was Hummer Droid workers repairing the tower.
“The Lunar Defense Corps is weak,” Otto said. “Once my armada of Harvesters and my legion of Dreads are complete, they will have no choice but to surrender. Especially when they see my hordes firsthand.”
Jackson tried to make sense of what he was hearing. It took a few beats before he understood.
The Harvesters were heading to the moon.
Jackson looked back at the fisherman.
He knew he would be next… there was just no way he could hold out against such horrific torture. Not even his training prepared him for the pain that the worms could inflict.
His gaze shifted back to Tumea.
“That’s interesting,” Otto said suddenly.
The AI hovered up toward Tumea. “You care for this woman, don’t you?” he asked. “A woman that was once your mortal enemy.”
Jackson shook his head.
“Your eyes do not lie,” Otto said.
“You’re wrong,” Jackson said as convincingly as he could. “I couldn’t give a shit about Coalition scum.”
“Then I guess you won’t care if I rip her in half…” Otto smiled from ear to ear and raised a finger. “Or maybe she would be better off like the prisoner you keep looking at… The other pet of mine you seem to have feelings for.”
The AI gestured to the fisherman.
Tumea winked at Jackson in that split second. The most discreet wink he had ever seen, but it was no doubt a wink this time. Then she moved her lips.
Friends are coming…
Jackson felt his heart leap.
If that were true, then he just needed to survive a little longer.
“Okay, you’re right,” Jackson said. “I have a decision. Torture and death or join forces with you like Tumea did.”
Otto turned back to Jackson and lifted a brow. “Yes, you don’t need to tell me what we’ve already established. What I want to hear is your response.”
Jackson swallowed hard like he hated what he was about to say. Which was true if he had meant it. “I’ll join you and I’ll take you to our command.”
“No, you will tell me where it is. I don’t need you to lead me anywhere.”
Jackson considered his options. He could give Otto the real location of a classified Nova Alliance base. But chances were the machines had already destroyed it and knew there was no one left.
If he lied and Otto knew the truth, then he would lose his one chance to delay his and Tumea’s terrible fate long enough to escape.
He decided to make up a completely new location instead. It was still a gamble—and there was a good chance Otto would be able to quickly confirm Jackson was lying—but he had no other good option.
“I’ve never been there personally,” Jackson said. “But command is somewhere under the ocean off the coast of Hawaii.”
“Specifics, Jackson. I need specifics. The ocean is a large place.”
“I don’t know specifics.”
The claw holding Tumea released one of her feet. She dangled from the other ankle, swinging over the chamber.
“Maybe this will jog your memory,” the AI said.
“Honolulu,” Jackson said. “Command is spread out there. Part in the ocean, part under a volcanic field.”
“If you’re wasting my precious time, the next time you see your friend, she’ll be in pieces, and you’ll have so many worms devouring your body, you won’t be able to see your own flesh.”
Otto vanished and the glass sealed over Jackson’s coffin once again.
The robotic claw moved Tumea right in front of the lid.
Soon the AI would return, but Jackson had bought them precious moments.
Tumea gave him a look filled with understanding. Maybe even hope.
Jackson took in a deep breath, picturing his deceased comrades from the Fire Snakes.
Memories of combat flashed by from years of serving together. Fighting together. Bleeding together. They were inseparable on the battlefield and off. All bachelors, none had experienced the joy of a wife and kids.
They were each other’s family.
There were so many good memories, but right now, all he could think about was how their lives had ended.
For some reason, he was the only one that got to live.
This wasn’t the time to rest. This was the time to fight.
After a quick scan for Otto and the drones, Jackson began to try and free his arms from the straps over his chest. He choked out a muffled cry from nearly pulling an arm out of its socket.
As the pain subsided, he used his free hand to get his other arm out.
A rush of dizziness passed over him.
When it passed, he looked up. The sun was beaming through the damaged hull, warming his face.
In the glow, Jackson saw the face of a droid with an oddly shaped face.
No, no, this wasn’t a droid.
This was the helmet of a soldier with two tusks.
Colonel Boar dropped a rope down into the chamber.
Explosions suddenly rocked the tower. The claw holding Tumea swung wildly.
Jackson pushed the pod lid open.
It was indeed time to fight.
***
“Keep moving,” Zlaner said.
The Machine Slayers marched across the enclosed bridge connecting three of the aboveground concourses at Kepler Station. They were on the eastern edge of the base, not far from the landing sector where hundreds of shuttles had set down on E-Day.
Now there was just one and it had the entire base on full alert.
The viewports on both sides of the bridge gave Ronin a view of the ground, but he had yet to see the craft.
On his left, a pair of cannon turrets angled toward the darkness of space beyond Kepler Station. Three King Cobra Spaceplanes returned, two with damaged wings. Ronin stopped to watch the spacecraft as they soared over the station.
He still couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.
A MOTH lifting off from one of the aboveground hangars and then escaping into space and heading to Earth was the last thing he thought he would see. Rumors about what was happening drifted from trooper to trooper. Paranoia had ripped through the station, putting everyone on edge.
Even Zlaner seemed anxious.
“Halt,” he called out.
Ronin stopped on the bridge with Micky and Bradley, while the rest of the platoon moved to viewports overlooking the runway to the right where the corvette was parked. It was a mid-sized shuttle, much smaller than the military corvette Ronin had taken on E-Day.
“How the hell did it escape?” Bradley asked.
A dozen of the Juggernaut mech soldiers were on the ground, holding sentry around the shuttle.
War Commander Thacker clearly wasn’t buying the narrative that this spacecraft had simply outrun the machines. While the shuttle had been authorized to land, they weren’t letting off any of the passengers.
A few plasma scars marred the hull, indicating that maybe its escape hadn’t been so clean after all. Then again, it could just be part of the disguise to get it here, although he doubted that trick would work.
“Troopers are currently onboard, scanning passengers,” Zlaner said. “For now, we wait here and hold security.”
“Probably some droids in there,” Micky said. “You know, built to look like us, so we let ’em in here to slaughter everyone.”
“That technology doesn’t exist,” Bradley said.
Micky raised a brow. “You sure about that?”
“Quiet,” Zlaner said. He walked down the bridge, heading for Ortiz, who was talking to a Naval officer.
