Authors: Airicka Phoenix
He looked around the room as though he were expecting a third, more cunning party in their midst. His eyes stopped on the computer. They narrowed. He pushed past Scarlett and Hunter to stand over the keys. He moved his hand over the screen, making the data flicker before it continued being organized.
“Who touched this?”
Pure loyalty was the only thing keeping Scarlett from looking to Hunter.
“What is it?” Rolf asked, saving either of them from answering.
“It’s the new ship registry,” Hunter supplied. “You know, after all the non-important people were weeded from the database, giving the rest of us ample closet space.”
No one thought that was funny. But then, judging from the deadpan stare on Hunter’s face, he didn’t either.
“Why is the ship updating the archives?” Jack switched his enforcer from his right hand to his left as he shifted his weight to get a better look at the screen.
“The computer is programmed to auto reset,” Silos replied, gaze still fastened to the screen.
Jack looked around the room, then at the door as though someone should have been there, but wasn’t.
“But that’s something that needs to be done manually.” He squinted at the files. “The ship can’t just auto reset on its own. The ship can’t possibly know how many people are still—”
“Are you an operator or a marshal?” Silos turned to him.
Jack tensed all over. His fingers flexed around his weapon.
“I’m an operator.” Hunter stepped forward, arms folded. “And—”
“A novice,” Silos cut him off. “There are programs that even mentors are not privy to.” Eyes that had struck Scarlett as kind, were now hard with annoyance. “Now we are all here for a reason. That reason is not in this room.”
He gave Rager a curt nod to move out.
Rager didn’t move. He waited until everyone had left the room and he had closed the door behind them before he led the way past all the remaining doors.
“Why are these rooms empty?” Scarlett asked, not caring who answered. “Why is this area restricted?”
“That is classified,” Rager replied in his booming voice.
Rolf’s fingers closed around Scarlett’s, stopping all other questions when they reached the heavily secured doors leading into the control room. Scarlett watched as one of the marshals stooped down and brought his face eyelevel with the panel he’d dislodged from the wall. Colored wires spilled out of the opening. Some were sparking.
“What’s going on?” she asked, turning to Rolf.
“Whoever’s in there has locked the doors from the inside. Palmer is trying to bypass the initial command,” Jack answered, much to Scarlett’s surprise.
“That’s not possible,” Hunter said. “The ship is designed … is it possible?”
Jack shrugged. “Silos seems to think it is.”
“What about you?” Hunter looked at him. “What do you think?”
Maybe it was because Jack was a novice and his opinion very seldom was taken into account, but he straightened his shoulders and looked pleased that someone had actually asked him.
“No, it’s not possible and I told Silos so.” He motioned with a jerk of his head for them to follow him away from the others, towards the observatory doors. “This part of the ship was built to withstand forced entry. Should something happen to the rest of the ship, the control room is automatically sealed and no one but the captain and whoever’s inside has the power to open the doors again. Forcing the computer to overlook a command it was hardwired to obey…”
“What will happen?” Scarlett asked when he trailed off.
Jack shrugged. “I have no idea, but there are security measures in place to avoid such a thing.”
“Well, you’re going to love this then.”
In two hundred words or less, Hunter told them about the weaponry and the war ships. Jack shook his head, his mouth gaping but no words coming out. Rolf looked furious.
“What are you talking about?”
“There is an entire room full of sub machineguns and scramblers,” Hunter hissed. “I even saw the Spartan M3s with auto shielding and—”
“You four should stay close.” Silos appeared soundlessly behind them, halting all other conversation. “If we are attacked, we must protect Palmer until he can get the doors opened.”
Rolf stepped forward. “I was just about to suggest we do a walkthrough of the level, make sure there’s nothing hiding anywhere.”
“Good idea.” Rager moved up behind Silos. “We will watch the door.” He pointed at Rolf and Scarlett. “You two can take the northern sector. You two can take the west.” He gestured to Jack and Hunter. “You can stay and help guard,” he finished, gesturing for Mac to join the group by the door.
“Sir,” Rolf shifted forward. “They’re not armed, nor are they properly trained—”
“We must all learn at some point,” Rager cut in. “This is a war. There is no such thing as non-soldiers. Find them something to use.” He looked Scarlett over. “They were resourceful enough to get up here, even though they were specifically asked to stay behind and watch the others.”
“We didn’t just leave!” Scarlett protested. “The transporter opened and—”
“And you didn’t think to get a marshal to handle the situation?” Rager interjected, folding his arms.
“We had a small window of opportunity,” Hunter stepped in. “We thought maybe, if it worked, we could help by getting all those people to the pods.”
“Or maybe you were hoping to get on them yourselves,” Rager countered, dark eyes narrowing. “Maybe you thought you’d save yourselves.”
“We would never do that,” Scarlett argued. “We would never leave all those people behind.”
Rager arched a brow. “Those people or these people?” He shot a glance towards Rolf, and Scarlett felt her face warm.
“Scarlett isn’t like that, sir,” Rolf said.
Rager clicked his tongue. “Doesn’t matter. Get this floor clear.”
“Maybe we should just get a couple of atomic pistols from the weaponry,” Hunter muttered when Silos and Rager walked away. “Do you think they know about that? I mean, he’s commanding leader of defense and in charge of protecting the ship. He’d know if there was a large arsenal below deck, right?”
Rolf said nothing as he watched the marshal and operator stop by the control room doors. He had his bottom lip caught between his teeth and his expression was troubled.
“That’s the theory,” he mumbled at last.
With an agitated growl buried deep in his throat, he swung off his pack and crouched down. He unzipped the side pocket and removed a dagger the length of Scarlett’s forearm. He passed it to her.
“Keep it close,” he told her. At her nod, he closed the pocket and tossed his bag back over his shoulder. “I don’t have anything else.”
Jack must have been hoping Rolf did, because a furious scowl twisted the other man’s face. “All I have is my enforcer.” he said angrily.
Mac waved to get Hunter’s attention. He bent at the waist and tugged out a palm-sized dagger from his boot. He passed it to Hunter.
“Thank you,” Hunter said, wrapping his fingers around the thing.
The blade was no longer than his longest finger. But he gripped it tightly.
“Thanks, Mac.” Jack said. He looked to Hunter. “Stay close, okay?”
Hunter turned green eyes towards Scarlett when Jack turned away. He grinned, winked and said wickedly, “If you insist.”
Scarlett had to bite back a grin as the two set off past the small group clustered around the control room doors. She turned to Rolf. He was studying her.
“There’s nothing up that way,” she told him. “Just lots of empty rooms.”
“Still, I want you to keep right on my heels.”
She nodded that she understood and fell into step with him as they headed for the observatory.
The room was dark, despite the fact that someone had left the sky dome open to the heavens. She felt a pang of annoyance at the possibility that someone else may come up there. It had always felt sacred to her, a place just for her and Rolf. Of all the times they’d snuck up there, she had never once seen anyone make use of the giant telescope or the 4D holographic projection system. In all that time, she had simply believed everyone had forgotten about it, or deemed it unnecessary since they could look out any window and see the stars. But there was proof. Someone else had been there. Whoever they were, they weren’t there now.
There weren’t many places a person could hide. But Scarlett left Rolf to his searching as she stepped up on the platform and gazed out at the endless expanse of stars glittering all around them. The observatory was facing the new world,
their
new world, and it was a sight she never thought she’d see.
It was nowhere near like earth. The patchwork of blue and green that had been her home once upon a time was gone with the explosion. This world was a globe of blue, so much blue. It was like looking at a sphere filled with water. It made her wonder what sort of life they would have on such a planet. Would they be able to sustain life? Would their future generation evolve to withstand so much water?
Tender hands rested on her hips. She was drawn back into a broad chest.
“It’s all clear,” he murmured into the back of her head. “It’s just us here.”
She leaned into him and was rewarded with a light kiss to the side of her head. He lowered his head and his face nestled the curve of her neck.
She was still reeling with the knowledge that he was finally hers. That she could finally touch him and kiss him and not feel like she’d committed a crime. Yet despite that, she couldn’t bring herself to relax.
“We should find the others,” she murmured, turning in his arms. “I don’t…” she trailed off.
“What is it?” he prompted.
“Something isn’t right,” she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. “I mean besides the infected.” She bit her lip. “Someone deliberately made sure all those over twenty-five were administrated the serum. Someone tampered with them, making them dangerous. Someone—”
“I know.”
Scarlett blinked up at him. “You do?”
“Jack and I figured it out the other night when we got separated,” he murmured. “Not all of it, just the part about the serum being tampered with, but the rest makes sense.”
“It does?”
He opened his mouth to respond when a shout had them sprinting off the dais and bursting out of the observatory. Rolf was a step ahead of her, enforcer in hand. But there was no threat. Palmer had opened the control room doors.
“That isn’t possible,” Jack kept muttering, standing a short distance away with Mac and Hunter.
The other marshals didn’t hear him as they piled through the door, into the brightly lit room. Jack, Mac, Hunter, Scarlett and Rolf followed at a much slower pace.
Consoles lined every wall around the oval chamber. Holographic projection screens flashed with scrolling data. One wall was dedicated entirely to the monitoring and observation of the sectors. Everything from the vendor level to the boiler room flickered in organized cubes. Another wall showed numbers that made no sense to Scarlett, but they were pouring rapidly downward like light, blue rain—alphanumeric shellcode, she remembered Hunter calling it. Another wall was assigned to navigation. The screen overlaid a window open to the heavens. It was running numbers, estimating their distance from the new planet and offering advice on how to best land.
In the center of the room was a chair surrounded by buttons and knobs and was encased by a curved projection screen. It was blipping as the person in the chair moved things across it with slender fingers.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Captain Isabella jumped as though she’d been poked with a de-weeding rod. She whipped around, gray eyes wide. They springed from Silos to the marshals and then to Scarlett’s small group. Confusion, annoyance, and rage whipped across her beautiful features.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed at Silos.
No one got the chance to answer when a low whimper alerted them to the second figure in the room.
Trussed up like a roast pig, Eira stared at them from over the gag clamped tightly between her lips. Her blue eyes were wide, pleading for them to help.
Silos took charge immediately. “Arrest her!” he commanded, pointing a finger straight at Isabella.
“What?” Isabella shrieked. “Are you insane?” she screamed, looking nothing like the calm and polished woman Scarlett was accustomed to. “What are you doing?”
In two powerful strides, Rager had her firmly in his grasps while Palmer and the other marshal moved to untie Eira. Rager fastened Isabella’s wrists behind her back and gave her a wild shake when she continued to scream at him. Her head flopped almost lifelessly on her shoulders in a way that made Scarlett fear her neck might snap.
“Give me the gag!” Rager ordered, holding out a hand, now that Isabella was limp and dizzy in his grasp.
Palmer hurried over with it and dropped it into the other man’s outstretched palm. Rager wasted no time knotting the fabric over the captain’s mouth. He then shoved her into a nearby chair and left her there.
“Oh thank heavens!” Eira was close to tears as she hurried to stand before them, ashen and visibly shaking. “She’s gone completely insane. She attacked me, tied me up, and kept threatening to turn me into one of those things.”
Silos went to her, put his arms around her and shushed her gently. “It’s all right now. You’re safe.”
Eira sniffled. “She’s the one responsible. She’s the one that altered the vaccine.” She rubbed a trembling hand beneath her nose. “She killed all those people.”
In the corner, Isabella had come to herself. She thrashed against the restraints and shrieked something from behind the gag.
“Quiet!” Rager growled at her.
“Tell us everything.” Silos ushered Eira to the captain’s chair and gently lowered her into it.
“I was in my quarters when everything happened,” Eira began. “I tried to … to help, but Cindy told me to stay, to keep my quarter doors locked up until it was safe. I don’t know what happened after that. No one came. Then the doors began opening and closing and I thought maybe someone had finally taken control of the ship and it was safe. I came here and found her, controlling those monsters!”
Silos’s eyes widened. “Controlling?”
Eira nodded. “Those who got the vaccine were tagged with trackers that were remote activated from here in the control room. She wasn’t letting anyone get to the escape pods. Every time anyone tried to get to the escape pod, those things were programmed to ambush them. I told her she was crazy, that she couldn’t do that! These were our people, our friends and family, but she didn’t care!” Eira dropped her face into her hands and broke into a fit of sobs that she quieted just long enough to blurt, “She confessed to killing my father.”
Silos turned to the rest of them, his expression grave. He took in Scarlett’s group, slowly glancing from one face to the next before bracing himself to speak.
“Please wait outside,” he told them calmly. “This is now official business and you already know too much.”
“Sir, I can help—” Hunter’s suggestion was shot down.
“No,” Silos said. “This is not the time for novices. This matter is delicate and requires diligence. Please.” He motioned them back through the doors.
The moment they stepped outside, the doors were engaged and they were locked out.
“What now?” Scarlett muttered, already knowing the answer.
“Nothing,” Jack mumbled, slumping against the nearest wall. “We wait.”
“That’s it?” She looked at each of them. “We just learned the captain killed everyone we knew and we’re just going to—”
“Would you like us to riot?” Jack said. “Kick down the door and demand answers? We’re novices. We’re basically children and they’re the adults. Nothing we say will make a difference.”
Scarlett looked to Rolf, waiting for him to say something, to take charge. But he looked as tired and annoyed as she felt.
“There’s nothing we can do,” he said quietly. “They’ll tell us everything once they’ve sorted all this out.”
She knew they were right, knew there was nothing they could do, and yet she couldn’t stop the steady climb of anger coursing through her. It drove her insane that so much had happened and so much was still happening and no one was telling them a damn thing. They had a right to know.
“Chill, Red.” Hunter drew her into his arms. “It’s over.”
“It’s not over,” she mumbled into the broad width of his shoulder. “There is an entire basement full of infected. We have no idea if we can turn them back and our captain wants to kill us.”
“Aren’t you just a big ol’ bottle of sunshine,” Jack muttered.
“Scarlett’s right,” Rolf said evenly. “It will not be easy getting things cleaned up, but we will. The captain will be sentenced and a new one will be appointed and we will gather our forces and start a new life on the new planet.”
There were still so many questions. There was still so much she didn’t understand. But Rolf was right, they needed to regroup and come up with a plan.
“Attention all passengers of the Dawn Light.”
Silos’s soothing voice poured through the speakers of the ship.
“This is commanding operator, Silos. I am broadcasting from the control room with word that the threat is over and all passengers must please make their way to level eighteen for a full briefing. All those injured and in need of assistance, please use your link to contact a marshal. I repeat, the threat is over. You are safe.”
“Do you think it’s true?” Scarlett wondered. “Are we safe?”
“The person responsible is in custody, so yeah,” Jack answered, pushing away from the wall just as the control room doors slid open and Silos emerged, alone.
He looked them over and beamed. “I have to say, I am very impressed,” he said. “Out of an entire ship of seven thousand people, you
five were the only ones who actually fought, who made it this far. You faced those creatures and helped get this ship back under control. When this is over, I would really like to thank you properly.”
Giving none of them the chance to respond, he stalked past them towards the transporter.
“Coming?” he said when no one moved.
Sharing quick glances, they followed and were the first to arrive at the theater room. Scarlett wondered if the others were just too afraid to leave their hiding places, or if there just weren’t that many survivors left. Her insides twisted as she watched the doors, waiting for someone to walk through.
“What if there’s no one left?” she whispered, mostly to herself.
“There are.” Silos touched her shoulder, which was a very odd gesture in her opinion. “We, as humans, are built to survive. It’s encoded into our DNA. We are fighters and those strongest, always survive.”
Scarlett didn’t know what to say. So much had happened that she wasn’t sure she had any optimism left.
Then the doors opened and people began pouring in. The sight of them shot her through with relief and joy. Silos gave her a smile and a pat on the shoulder before moving to take the stage. Scarlett and Rolf remained at the back, leaning against the wall, watching the crowd file in as
Jack, Mac and Kiera hurried to get seats.
The majority of the survivors were kids. Some had their parents still. Some were alone. But very few were older than twenty-five. They must have been hiding, waiting for the threat to end.
Maybe Silos was right, she thought, maybe humans were built to survive.
“Please, everyone, take a seat,” Silos instructed. “I’m sure you must all be exhausted and hungry. We will make sure everyone is fed and tended to in just a moment.”
“What happened?” someone in the crowd called out over the din.
“Where’s Captain Isabella?” another demanded.
“What happened to those creatures?” said another.
Silos put his hands up. “I will answer all your questions the best I can.” He waited until the last person was seated before he began. His voice was heavy with regret. His shoulders were slumped with grief. He reminded Scarlett of Marcus. “The creatures are contained in the boiler room. The marshals are looking into ways of removing them from our ship even as we speak—”
“So there’s no way to save them?” a woman cried, her voice shrill with fear.
Silos looked down. “Unfortunately, there isn’t. We lost a very large portion of our numbers. Those who are remaining are not nearly qualified to try and duplicate the serum, never mind try and extract a cure.”
“What’s going to happen…?”
Silos raised his hands. “At this time, we have not yet decided what should be done with the infected, but rest assured that they will be taken care of.”
“Are we safe here?”
“Yes!” Silos had to shout to be heard over the murmur that had begun to rise. “I promise you, you are safe. The door to the boiler room has been sealed and guards have been posted to make sure it stays that way.”
“How did this happen?” a man asked.
Silos hesitated. He looked down to the ground. Scarlett was sure for a moment that he wouldn’t say. Then he raised his head.
“It was Captain Isabella—”
“That’s a lie!” someone instantly shouted.
“She herself confessed to the senseless murder of over three thousand souls,” Silos said gently.
“Why would the captain do this to us?”
Silos paced the length of the stage, seemingly bracing himself for what he was about to reveal. Then he stopped at the center, clasped his hands behind him, raised his chin and spoke.
“Captain Isabella P
oehler, previously known as Danilova Kozlov, was a Russian heiress to a multibillion dollar weapons industry. Her company had been building and creating nuclear bombs since the First World War. She is the one responsible for the annihilation of earth.”
Scarlett’s gasp was swallowed by the surge of outrage. People were out of their chairs. Their voices were a single cacophony, demanding answers. Demanding blood. It took Silos nearly fifteen minutes to
calm them down.
“It seems as though we never really knew the captain,” he said. “She fooled all of us, but mostly, she fooled Marcus. This ship was built by Kozlov Industries, by Isabella’s company. She selected seven thousand souls and set sail into space, knowing we would never return. When Marcus found out, she had him killed.”
“She killed the captain?” a woman croaked.
“I’m afraid so,” Silos murmured.
“So what Marcus told us about those nukes … they were true?”
Silos nodded.
“Kinetic bombs,” he said. “Her company had been secretly building launch platforms around earth for years. The purpose of these platforms was to release eight simultaneous projectiles that would burrow into the earth’s crust and detonate simultaneously. They were undetectable until it was too late.”
“Why would she do that?” a woman demanded, sounding close to tears.
“For the same reason she infected this ship,” Silos said. “It was her goal to create a new world, a world where she would be hailed as a god and people would worship her. But her utopia came with a price. Only those who were young, strong, and easily manipulated were granted access. The old and sick were discarded and what better way than to claim a ship wide infestation? She has been monitoring everyone from the Control Room this whole time, watching as we fought for our lives. But no more. Her reign of terror has come to an end. We are once more in control of our ship.”
“And she just told you all of this?” a leery voice asked.
“Yes,” Silos said simply. “Isabella is a smart woman. She knows that cooperating is the only thing that will save her.”
“Save her?” an angry voice snarled. “She’s a monster!”
“Where is she now?” someone else asked.
“She is being detained by the marshals,” Silos said.
“What will become of her?”
“She will be given a trial, but right now, that is not important—”
“She killed our families!” someone exclaimed, outraged. “How is that not important?”
Silos raised his hands. “Forgive me. You are right. It is important, but right now, there are those of us who have injuries that require attention. We have children who are no doubt starving and we are all exhausted. What we need to do at this moment is prioritize. Captain Isabella will be dealt with after we have made our home safe once more.”
“With Captain Isabella arrested who is in command?” a man in front asked.
Silos straightened his shoulders. “I am currently. That is another matter we will deal with when the time comes. First, all those who require medical attention, please move to this side of the room. Officials will come around to assist you. I also require a small group of volunteers to join me for a trip to the r
efectory to bring back food and water.”