Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol (3 page)

They rode in silence, the hum of the engines lulling him to sleep. Despite the lingering doubt brought on by Ryan’s words, Austin focused on reuniting with Mom and Kadyn. It would be good to see them again.

When he opened his eyes, the blue-green of Earth filled most of his window. The cloudless sky over the Pacific revealed Australia and New Zealand. Passengers started picking up their belongings, and Ryan tucked his tablet into a black satchel.

"Stone," he said, pushing Austin's shoulder, "we should grab a coffee in San Francisco. I didn’t mean to be such a drag. I just have too much on my mind. You need to think about these things now, so it’s not such an ordeal when your reenlistment time happens."

"I will,” he said. “Thanks. I thought you had to get back to Montana?"

"I have an old friend in the city I want to see first.” He smiled. “See if they remember me. Then I'll head out tomorrow."

Austin thought about traveling back to Georgia. "So do we just take the tubes back to our schools?"

Ryan peered over Austin's shoulder out the window. "Once you're home, you can take any transport you want. I'll be taking a company car home, though. I've been away from here so long, I’d like to drive when I'm back."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, man. They'll have someone there to talk you through. Just ask when we're going through de-con."

Austin blinked. “De-con? Decontamination?”

“They told you about that on the station, right?”

“They mentioned it, yeah.” Austin frowned. “Didn’t know I’d have to go through it.”

“It’s no big deal,” Ryan said. “It’s pretty standard on all Legion ports.”

The freighter rumbled into Earth's atmosphere as it descended. His head rocked. He closed his eyes, the hum of the engines growing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are starting our descent to Atlantis and should arrive in the next thirty minutes. Please remain seated and we hope you enjoyed your flight." The pilot paused before adding, "Welcome to Earth."

Austin smiled as he watched the atmosphere burn against the freighter's shields, pulsating flashes of orange and yellow throughout the cabin.

*****

The freighter descended into the cold depths of the Pacific, the water outside the window transitioning from light to dark blue like a bruise before going black. When the surface light faded, and the bubbles disappeared, the view outside his window could have passed for the dark of space.

As the vessel descended into the blackness, conversations lessened, the tones softening. Austin glanced around the cabin. The occupants appeared much the same as his first trip when he departed Earth, a mix of civilian clothes and Legion uniforms. The image of the Saber flashed in his mind once again. Josh never made it this far on his first trip home from Tarton's Junction. His mind wandered, picturing Josh in his final moments with the pirates. Had he fought until the end? Did death come quickly?

He shuddered.

Austin hadn't been away from home as long as Josh, but he earned the right to go home following the incident on Flin Six. Scorpion was on her way to the Legion Core Worlds for rehab on her leg. Skylar and Bear continued their flight training on Tarton's Junction. Austin found himself alone again.

But it was different this time.

He glanced at Ryan, a fellow Star Runner, who had fallen asleep during the final moments of the descent. Austin had earned his place in the brotherhood of Legion pilots. He was a Star Runner. No one could ever take that away. He would make Josh proud.

The descent slowed, awakening the dozing passengers. Bubbles flickered past the window. A soft blue light pulsated from below. The freighter banked into a slow turn, revealing the circular dome of Atlantis and four large saucer-shaped hangar doors. Another freighter, just visible in the low light provided by the landing buoys, drifted away from one of the hangar doors on its way to the surface. He watched the other freighter depart Atlantis, wondering if any passengers on board were seeing this for the first time. Austin shook his head, amazed at the clockwork efficiency of Earth's largest and busiest Legion starport.

"Makes you think, doesn't it?" Ryan asked.

Austin turned. "I didn't know you were awake. Yeah, it does." He gazed back out the window. "I've never seen it before—at least, not from up here. On the trip up, it's all dark traveling in the opposite direction."

Ryan nodded. "I remember that first trip. Seems like it happened a million years ago."

Austin pressed against the viewport. “I thought I’d be gone longer than this, but I finished up flight school in about a year.”

"Really?" Ryan sat back, his jaw dropping open. "How’d you manage that? Wait, are you the newbie from the Flin Six mission?"

Austin's face warmed. "Yes, that was me."

"Oh, man, we all heard about you just before I was dispatched to Tarton's Junction for leave. That was crazy."

"Yeah."

"You scrapped with the pirates and rescued two superior officers. Man. You know someone said you were the fastest pilot through flight school in decades." Ryan shook his head. "You feel like talking about it?"

Austin grinned. "Not much to say. Scorpion was down, and I had to save her."

Ryan's eyes widened. "A her, eh? Now I see."

His brow lowered. "It wasn't like that."

"Sure it wasn't." Ryan smiled. "I'm just messing with you. If you ever need a thing, man, don't hesitate to ask. If I decide to stay in the service, I hope we get to serve together sometime."

Austin gestured toward Ryan's green uniform. "Not likely."

"Squadrons are stationed at the same places all the time. You can forget that squadron hatred out on tour. All that squadron rivalry stuff’s a bunch of crap anyway. They like to cook it up during flight school for the competition of it all, but when you’re out, we’re all Star Runners. With everything in the galaxy gunning for us, we better be on the same side when were out there." He smiled. “And you could always transfer.”

"Not a chance. I think Tizona would never let me live that down."

"Probably not."

The sound of water flowing through pipes filled the air as the hangar door shut above them. The freighter rocked and came to a stop on the landing pad. Passengers stood and stretched, some grabbing bags from overhead compartments while others spoke with one another.

"Well, we're here," Ryan said, standing and reaching his arms far over his head. "Weird to be back?"

Austin nodded. "It is."

As they gathered their belongings, the freighter taxied from the hangar airlock and into the line of other vessels. Spacecraft of different types, from large freighters to sleek cutters, lined up side-by-side. Hanging from suspension wires and harnesses, crews swarmed over the vessels to begin maintenance and repairs. Circular burn marks covered the freighter directly adjacent to their own, the crews focusing on the concerned areas. Sparks flashed from a hundred different locations in the massive hangar of Atlantis. The hangar seemed to stretch into infinity, the view obscured by the rising smoke of the workers.

"I forgot how big this hangar was," Austin said, stepping closer to the window.

"Come on, Lieutenant," Ryan said. "We have a tube bound for San Francisco with our name on it."

A five-car trolley hovered over the steel grating outside the freighter. Passengers boarded like they traveled to an amusement park. Austin hesitated, staring at the space where he should see wheels.

"Come on," Ryan said.

"So how does the wheel-less technology actually work? Is it a thruster of some kind?"

"It's not," Ryan said as he took a seat in the second car. "You ever play with magnets as a kid?"

"Yeah," Austin sat down. "Why?"

"It's the same thing. I was told it all has to do with magnetics. You haven't traveled to any other Legion worlds, yet?"

"No."

"The magtech negates the need for wheels. It's a lot cheaper too when you think about how much people waste on tires. Magtech uses metals found in whatever it is hovering over."

Austin looked at the metal grating of the hangar floor. "Guess it doesn't work on water?"

"Not usually."

The trolley beeped twice before zipping away from the freighter. A hot breeze hit his face as they passed between the lines of massive starships. His first time in the hangar had been rushed and on foot, so he didn't have time to take in the sights. The trolley moved fast, but he relaxed and marveled at the variety of spacecraft located in the hangar.

"I thought there were mostly military freighters in Atlantis," Austin said.

"This is the sole Legion port on Earth not monopolized completely by the military. All kinds of ships come through here."

"Like what?"

Ryan shrugged. "Officers on a pleasure cruise, company men with clearance to conduct business on Earth, Legion agents conducting counter-espionage. Who knows? You'd be surprised how much traffic comes through here, and no one in the dark has any idea."

The trolley pulled into a circle. The speakers beeped twice again.

In one wave of motion, the passengers left the trolley and marched up the wide, steel stairs leading to three arches. Two led to the right, bringing passengers to a business or pleasure destination. Two Legion Marines flanked the arch on the right, their laser rifles resting on their chests. The Marines clad in black gear and helmets surveyed passengers as they filed past, staring through their thick, clear goggles. They appeared ready for a riot to break out at any moment.

Ryan approached first, his ID card in his right hand. Austin followed his lead. They passed the Marines without incident. Austin took a deep breath.

“Are they always there?” he asked.

Ryan laughed. “Relax, man. They’re just keeping the place secure. When you’re stationed on a carrier, you’ll be around Marines all the time.”

“You know any Marines?”

“Sure. We had Marines come and go during my time fighting in the Orm Minor Rebellion. Got to know a bunch of the guys. Lost a few, too.” Ryan waved his hand dismissing the thought. “Anyway, no matter what else happens—you’re home for the next two weeks.”

The arch led to a pathway winding to the left and culminating in a steel wall. Without slowing, Bean marched toward the gray obstacle. The steel dilated, revealing the Atlantis control room stretching several hundred yards. The massive Earth hologram hovered over the room, tiny points of multicolored light falling in and out of orbit. Radio traffic buzzed in countless conversations. Hundreds of Legion crewmembers wearing headsets sat at their stations, some reviewing personal holograms while others seemed engrossed in their transmissions. The dark "sky" above the bubble featured none of the luminescent creatures from the depths he viewed during his sole other visit to Atlantis. Instead, one freighter climbed away from the port, disappearing into the blackness.

Ryan led him through the sea of terminals and moving crewmembers. Austin bumped into a desk as he stared at the hologram of Earth. He marveled at the amount of shrouded traffic arriving and departing from all over the globe.

“How many ports does the Legion operate on Earth?” Austin asked, his gaze fixated on the hologram.

“There are four main ports and several smaller ones they wouldn’t tell a lieutenant about. I’m probably not on a need-to-know status.”

As they weaved between the lines of control stations, a bulky officer in a red Excalibur uniform stepped up to Ryan, who offered a crisp salute. Austin glanced at the bars over the officer's wings signifying the man was a commander.

"At ease, Lieutenant," the commander said, smiling as he shook Ryan's hand. "Made it back from the Orm Minor I see."

"Yes, sir."

The commander’s expression darkened. "Tough as they say?"

Ryan shifted. "It wasn't easy, sir."

The commander stared at Ryan for a moment with his black eyes, slowly nodding as he rested his hands on his hips. His eyes darted to Austin. "And who's this?"

"This, sir, is Lieutenant Stone, fresh from flight school."

Austin saluted, but the commander waved it off.

"I can see that from his shiny new wings. Where you from LT?"

"Around Atlanta, sir." Austin placed his hand at his side, his face warming.

"Ah, North Georgia's some of the prettiest land this planet has to offer. Name's Commander Carv Wallace, now in my third tour here on Earth." He looked at Ryan. "You stick with Ryan here, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"This guy's seen more of Legion space than most active Star Runners; that's for sure. Orm Minor was a tour … well, let’s just say I’m glad to see you." Commander Wallace saluted. "Nice to meet you, Stone. Safe travels, Bean."

Austin shook his head as they walked away. "That guy is a beast."

"Yeah," Ryan said, glancing at his tablet. "He took me under his wing on my first tour."

"Where was that?"

Ryan shrugged. "A sector in Quadrant Four. We were patrolling the Zahl-Legion border for almost a year."

"See any action?"