Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (142 page)

11

EARTH

N
EW
Y
ORK

N
OAH
T
ERRAGE HAD VISITED
N
EW
Y
ORK
once before, maybe a decade before. The city did not fail to impress the second time around. He’d never seen another location that began to match the sheer spectacle of the Manhattan skyline. Cavare on Seneca and the capital of Romane were each beautiful urban centers and impressive in their own right, but they paled in comparison if one was inclined to do so.

No, Manhattan was without a doubt the crown jewel of Earth’s Northeastern Seaboard Metropolis, and thus of the galaxy.

Lore said it was constantly being rebuilt, old buildings eradicated and newer, shinier, taller ones perpetually replacing them. All he knew as he strolled down a sidewalk jammed shoulder-to-shoulder with pedestrians was that even craning his neck to an awkward angle did not allow him to see the rooftops of most of the buildings he passed. In fact, he was barely able to see the sky paths that connected the upper floors of a number of the towers. In the early days they’d been pedestrian footways, but most people couldn’t handle the vertigo-inducing passage so now they enclosed mini-trams with frosted windows.

The atmosphere of the city was far too uptight and hurried for his tastes—even discounting the now rampant anxiety about the aliens—though the party scene had the reputation of being a unique level of insane. Regardless, he did hope it wasn’t reduced to a mammoth pile of rubble this time next month.

His eVi chirped to alert him he had reached his destination. He stared up at the bronze and glass tower to his left, grumbled, cursed Kennedy, cursed the Metigens, cursed the Zelones cartel…and stepped through the overwrought doorway.

Surno Materials didn’t occupy the entire building, merely a single floor three-quarters of the way up. He worked his way through the lobby full of businessmen and women so tightly-coiled they might shatter if he punched one—again, hard to say if it was the aliens or just the city. Finally he located an already-crowded lift encased in ornately etched glass.

What felt like thousands of stops later he reached his floor. He cracked his neck once then strolled into the Surno offices full of deliberate swagger and attitude.

An absurdly attractive secretary perched behind a tall, too-polished bronze desk. An elaborate inlay of stylized chemical symbols decorated its front panel. Was it supposed to be art? He considered vomiting, but decided doing so wouldn’t get this over with any faster.

Instead he dropped an arm on the edge of the desk and gave the secretary a wink. “Hi, gorgeous. What are you doing cooped up in this gaudy, cheerless office?” He wasn’t intending on going anywhere with the flirting, simply hoping to win a supporter in the event of complications.

The young woman’s eyes sparkled playfully as a corner of her mouth turned up, but only a touch. She was clearly accustomed to men fawning over her. “Waiting for men like you to walk in and sweep me off my feet, obviously.”

He chuckled briefly. “Would you mind telling my father I’ve arrived for my tearful reunion before the world ends?”

That knocked her off her game and added a stutter to her voice. “Your…father? And you are…?”

“Why, I thought the resemblance would have been uncanny. Noah Terrage,
obviously
.”

She gaped at him in silence for a good three seconds before fumbling for the panel in front of her. “Sir, your son is here to see you…yes, sir…no, I’m not trying to be funny…yes, sir.”

She gave him a weak smile, now thoroughly flustered. “He’ll be with you in a minute.”

“I bet he will.” Noah pushed off the desk to wander around the waiting area. He wished he’d managed to surprise the man and catch the look on his face; now his father would be prepared. Alas.

“Okay, um, I guess you can go in now. Good luck!”

“Don’t need it.” He crossed to the door and sauntered into the office.

Upon seeing his father standing haughtily behind an ostentatious desk, he understood why the secretary hadn’t recognized him or at least been suspicious. It was really rather amazing how little they favored one another now, despite being genetic clones.

His father had permanently darkened his hair to a more ‘respectable’ chestnut brown and kept it short and impeccably styled. His frame was thin, the product of a lifetime spent in boardrooms and labs. While Noah had perfected the art of the five o’clock shadow, his father’s skin glistened with waxy smoothness.

One glimpse was all it took for him to decide he had made the right decision two decades ago. He did not want to be this man.

Sure enough, his father was prepared, his features locked into a cold mask. “I assumed you were dead.”

Noah leaned casually against the back wall and crossed his ankles. “Almost was last week—I found myself on Messium at the wrong time, got shot at by some aliens. Almost was the week before that, too—I exercised my conscience, which got me shot at by Zelones mercs. Yet here I am, alive and kicking.”

“How charming. So, what? You figure the apocalypse is a good time to come beg forgiveness?”

“Well it’s good to see you haven’t changed in nineteen years. I have nothing to beg forgiveness for,
Dad
.”

“Why are you here then? Do you need me to bail you out of trouble? Fishing for money? The budget is a little tight at present, what with my largest factory destroyed and my home likely suffering the same fate any minute now.”

“Nope. I don’t want or need anything from you—never have, never will.” He pushed off the wall. “But others would like to borrow your brain for a spell, and they sent me to come ask nicely.”

“I’m a bit too busy to do any consulting work. And if this is you asking nicely, I’ll skip the asking rudely.”

“Unfortunately, I’m afraid the rude alternative is a team of armed military officers showing up to conscript your services.”

Shock now overpowered his father’s mask, and Noah snorted. “Did you presume I was asking on behalf of those gangsters who are aiming to kill me or another equally sleazy tribe? On the contrary, I’m here because there are people—people who aren’t you—working to try to save humanity, and for some godforsaken reason they seem to think they could use your help to do it. So are you in, or should I call my military associates?”

His father blinked. His gaze fell to the desk, then rose back to Noah. He blinked again.

“Still here. Not a dream
or
a nightmare, and the clock’s ticking.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Come to Berlin with me. Now.”

“The Space Materiels Complex?”

“Good, you’ve heard of it.”

“Of course I’ve—it doesn’t matter. Give me fifteen minutes to wrap up a few things, then we can take my transport.”

Noah cringed to exaggerated effect. “I don’t think I want to spend an hour in a confined space with you. I’ll get my own ride.”

“Oh, do not be a petulant child, Noah. Take my damn transport.”

“But I thought I
was
a petulant child? I’m just trying to live up to your expectations.” He growled under his breath. “Fine, I’ll go with you—but only to make sure you actually show up, because I did not suffer you to arrive empty-handed.”

12

PANDORA

I
NDEPENDENT
C
OLONY

A
T
A
LEX’S REQUEST THEY
had abandoned the business center for the comfort of a spacious, airy living room. The late-afternoon rays from Pandora’s magenta sun cast warm shafts of light through the row of windows stretching along the upper third of the front wall.

To an outside observer this might have been a casual gathering among friends and family or a long-weekend getaway. Instead it was a meeting at which the fate of humanity may be cast.

Her mother had assured her Dr. Canivon was safely off Sagan and on her way to Earth with her ‘equipment’ accompanying her. When pressed for details, Alex asked her to be patient for a few minutes longer. Richard had implemented a surveillance shield over the room as an additional layer of protection inside the shield they’d been informed encompassed the entire estate.

She had no idea if either of the shields would prevent the aliens from recording what was said, but the information had to be shared at some point—a point which had now arrived.

Caleb had willingly ceded the stage to her, and in this instance she was grateful for it. For one, she would be speaking most of all to her mother; it was only right that it be her responsibility to make the case. For another, the simple truth was he continued to be troubled and distracted by the revelations about his father and his mentor. She didn’t blame him for being so, but right now his head was not totally in the game.

She decided a second beer was required for the task to come and opened a fresh bottle before returning to her spot beside Caleb. Miriam and Richard sat on the opposite couch, Delavasi in the oversized chair to the left. She leaned forward and regarded them across the low table separating them.

“I have a story to tell you. It’s an unbelievable story—literally I would never expect you to believe it, which is why I also have numerous visuals and reams of data. But first, the story.”

“You mean they’ve been watching us since we crawled out of caves?”

“
How many
other universes did you track?”

“Wait, you? We were discussing other people—military leaders, ship captains, analysts. Not you.”

She adjusted her posture so she could give Caleb her full attention. Her voice was soft, her words for him alone. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought since we got back.” Then she realized it was unfair to him to even risk their audience hearing the rest and switched to a pulse.

I would’ve talked to you about it on the way over, but you were…preoccupied.

Frustration began to form in the increasing tightness of his jaw and set of his mouth; she allayed it with a squeeze of his hand.

Rightfully so, and I completely understand. But yes, me.

You said you didn’t want to be the savior of humanity.

I don’t. But I think maybe I have to be.

Whatever his response might have been, it was interrupted by a more vehement reaction from the opposite couch. “No. Absolutely not. Regardless of the merits of the idea, if any, I will not allow you to risk your life in such a way.”

She glared at her mother deadpan. “Mom. I am thirty-seven years old. I have my own home and ship and money. You do not get to tell me ‘no’ anymore.”

“I’m the Fleet Admiral of the Earth Alliance Armed Forces. I get to tell everyone ‘no.’”

Alex burst out laughing, which eased what had been rising tension in the room.

“Be that as it may…it’s my plan, and thus my choice. We don’t have time to run trials on rats and set up bureaucracy-approved safety guidelines.”

“We’ll get someone else to do it, then, assuming anyone is allowed to undertake such a risky endeavor. I’m certain there are military candidates available to us with cybernetics as advanced as yours who will be eager to serve in this capacity.”

Alex took a deep breath before responding—something she had rarely to never done previously when jousting with her mother—and swallowed her instinctive response in favor of a more diplomatic one. “Possibly. But again, we don’t have time. And ultimately, I need to be the one on the front line.”

There it was. Out in the open, spoken aloud. Too late for second-guessing her choice now. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but it hardly mattered. Having committed, she needed to bulldoze her way through the opposition in order to make it happen.

“I’m the one person alive who has not only conversed face-to-face with one of these aliens but had one
inside my head
. I’ve spent dozens of hours not only studying but manipulating and rewriting their code. I understand not only how they think but how their machines think. We will probably want to use other people as well for tactical reasons, but if you want to have the best chance at defeating these aliens, I need to be—no, I
will
be—at the center of the showdown.”

“Oh, Alex….” Miriam closed her eyes, her brow drew into a knot and silence enveloped the space between them.

Seconds passed in which no one breathed.

Then her mother sat up straight, shoulders rigid, once more the consummate soldier. “Very well. If additional experts agree this idea of yours will work and doesn’t carry intolerable risks. Dr. Canivon is a brilliant scientist and an innovative theorist, but she also tends toward obsession and isn’t always what I would call pragmatic.”

“Conceded.” Alex limited her outward display of relief to a brief smile as she reached in her pocket and produced a crystal disk. “This is the code for the cloaking shield—both the original and my hacked-up version, which does work.”