Star Runners: Revelation Protocol

Chapter 9-2

He wiped his face and looked away. He tried to continue the story, but his voice cracked. He didn’t realize how hard it would be to talk about all of this, to relive it.

“Maybe another time.” She squeezed his hand, her eyes brimming. “I can only imagine what you’ve seen.”

She stood and stepped over to the kitchen area. “Let me check this fridge and see if there is anything I can make us.”

He cleared his throat. “I need to contact Command.”

Glad for the distraction, Austin fired up the electronics. The equipment seemed archaic compared to what he worked with on Tarton’s Junction, but the simple interface made it easy. The radio’s computer rumbled to life, emerald letters flashing across the screen. Brushing away the spider webs, he pulled the microphone with the large black wind guard closer to his mouth. He slipped on the massive headphones, heard crackling static.

“Post Nine-One-Nine, this is Base Prime,” a female voice said into his headset. “We have received your activation. What is your SIT-REP, over?”

He leaned forward into the microphone. “Yes, this is Lieutenant Stone, call sign Rock.”

“Reading you loud and clear, Rock.”

“We have two officers and two civilians in need of transport.”

“Civilians? Have they been briefed?”

He glanced at his mom, who searched through cabinets. “They’re longer in the dark, Base Prime.”

The operator paused. “Understood. Stand by.”

He rapped his fingers on the workbench. Sharkey said they would get evacuated from this cabin, but he hadn’t said how exactly this would happen. Perhaps the outbuilding had a tube transport?

“Rock? Do you copy?” the woman said, returning to the radio.

“I copy.”

“Is your position secure?”

“For the moment.”

“You will be evacuated under cover of darkness. ETA: Twelve hours.”

Austin glanced at his watch. “I copy. Where is the extraction point?”

“Point A will be the cabin. If the need arrises, Point B will be the body of water one-point-five marks northwest of your position.”

“I got it. Anything else we need to know?”

“Keep transmitting in the event we need to update your transport. Otherwise, stay low and stay quiet, Rock. We are coming.”

His insides warmed. “I copy, Base Prime. Good to hear. Over and out.”

He took off the headset.

“Here you go,” Mom said, offering a hot cup of coffee. “You must be hurting if you need this half as much as I need mine.”

Austin took the mug, allowing the steam to rush into his face. “You have no idea.”

“There’s some crackers, cans of beans, stuff like that.” She shrugged. “No eggs, bacon, or pancakes today. Sorry.”

“Oh, man, wouldn’t that be great?” He smiled. “I’m very disappointed.”

“I bet you are. Been a while since we had a breakfast like that together.” She leaned against the counter. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about a medical spaceship. You know, I don’t really have anything here. Since your father died…I’ve struggled to find my way. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah.” Austin thought about what his life in high school might have been like had Dad survived. The world changed when he was diagnosed with cancer, turned upside down when he died. School and life didn’t matter so much afterward. “Me, too.”

She nodded. “I guess I never hid it very well.”

“Mom.” He waited until she looked at him. “You did great.”

She sipped her coffee and turned to the window.

He took a drink and let the warmth run down his throat.

Kadyn dozed on one couch, her head tilted back. She must have passed out, he thought. Poor thing was overwhelmed. As soon as he was able, he would have to check into her parents or at least have the Legion do so. They owed her that much after ripping her from her house in the middle of the night, and then leaving her to wonder if her parents had been killed by these mysterious agents, these Phantoms.

Austin’s brow lowered. At least two hostile agents had fired on Kadyn’s house the night before, possibly more. Nubern said all Star Runners had been targeted by an unknown force. He didn’t elaborate, but Austin wondered who funded the launch of a massive covert assassination mission to disrupt activities on Earth and other dark worlds in Quadrant Eight. It seemed too highbrow and too expensive for an organization like the Tyral Pirates, even though Rodon and his motley crew had been active in the quadrant since Austin joined the Legion Navy.

He finished the coffee and decided to walk around the area. Slipping his gun into the jacket, he left through the cabin’s back door into the refreshing morning, careful not to wake Kadyn and Sharkey on the way out. He kicked through the wet grass toward the shack behind the cabin. Using Sharkey’s key card, he unlocked the padlock and went inside, where he found three ATVs and an assortment of tools. He tinkered with the tool box, wishing he could be as talented as the mechanics on Tarton’s Junction. He searched through tools he didn’t quite understand. The still air and silence of the storage shack surrounded him. He straddled an ATV and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and relished the moment of peace, milking it for all it was worth.

He strolled back to the cabin. The sun stretched into the sky and burned away the fog, the final white wisps twisting and curling between the thick weeds. He paused at the door and stared into the forest. He heard nothing, not even the traffic from the highway.

Sharkey still slept on the couch, but Kadyn smiled weakly as he entered. The blanket was around her shoulders and her knees were folded under her arms. Mom sat at the end of Sharkey’s couch, just out of reach of his feet.

“Where ya been?” Mom asked.

“I checked out the storage building,” Austin said softly. “We have ATVs back there.”

“Oh,” she said with a grin, “maybe we need to go for a ride.”

“Maybe.” Austin looked at Kadyn. “What do you think?”

Her face softened, but the grin faded the same as the morning fog outside. “I just want to go home.”

He nodded and sat down on the couch next to her. “I know. I’m so sorry about all this.”

“I know you couldn’t help it,” she said, sounding almost like the positive Kadyn from high school, but only for a moment. “I don’t understand all of it. I keep thinking it’s a dream.”

“I understand. We’ll get you back home as soon as we are able. We’ll at least get you to your parents if your house is not okay.”

“The house is okay,” she said quickly. “The fire department got the fire out and saved it. The fire was just in the front. My parents are fine—I just want go home now.”

Austin blinked, unsure if he understood what she had just said. “You sound so certain of that. That’s good. Think positive.”

“I am certain,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “I checked it on my phone. I barely had any service, but I went to the Atlanta paper’s site.”

His stomach twisted. “You did that? You used your phone?”

She frowned. “Yeah. Why? Is something wrong with that? You said no calls.”

Austin rubbed his face with both hands as he fought the urge to vomit on the floor. He glanced at Sharkey still asleep on the couch. He stood and hurried to the window facing the two-path road.

“When did you do that?” he asked.

“I don’t understand—”

“When, Kadyn? I need to know.”

She glanced at the front door. “While you and your mom were sitting at the table drinking coffee earlier this morning.”

He rushed across the floor to stare out the back door.

“Austin, did I do something wrong?”

“No communication meant no cell phone use of any kind,” he said, biting his lip. “Checking a website on your phone can be traced.”

He pulled his gun out of his jacket. “I’m checking the perimeter. Wake Sharkey and get to the back of the cabin.”

“But I—”

“Now!”

Leaving through the rear door, Austin stepped back into the daylight, but this time the forest did not seem so peaceful. Every tree concealed a potential attacker. The wind touched the leaves, rustling the plants. Blood rushed into his ears, pounding with each rapid heartbeat. He glanced at the pistol, thinking he should have brought something more substantial. Perhaps there was something in the storage building, he thought.

He sprinted. The padlock dropped open with Sharkey’s card. He checked the ATVs, the tool boxes, and other containers lining the floor. He didn’t know what he searched for, but suddenly, something didn’t feel right. A tingle crawled down his back like a spider.

He moved outside, searching the forest again. The two-path road continued farther behind the cabin. It must lead to the lake Command was talking about, otherwise known as Point B.

Something clicked in the forest. Not a sound of nature, but a metal-on-metal pop.

He tensed, gun facing the ground. He lowered to rest on one knee. Was somebody watching? Or was his mind playing tricks on him?

Time passed. He didn’t hear the sound again.

“Stupid,” he said under his breath, sliding the pistol back into his jacket.

And you’re supposed to be a Star Runner of the Legion Navy.

He cursed himself once more before shuffling back to the cabin.

An explosion rippled through the forest. A shockwave sent trees toppling. Burning leaves twirled and fell in fiery embers. An energy wave slapped him to the ground like a doll in a dog’s mouth. He spun backward into the weeds and smashed into the storage structure. Pain flashed on his back and legs. He heard nothing but blood pumping in his ears. He focused to keep his eyes open.

Fighting back the darkness threatening to overtake him, he touched his ears, saw blood on his fingertips, and stood on wobbly legs. Smoldering flames burned on his jacket arms. He tore it off, throwing it to the ground.

The front of the cabin had disintegrated into a burning crater.

Mom.

He yanked his pistol from under his jacket. Keeping his head low, he sprinted to the rear of the cabin as laser bolts splattered into the Tizona car and the burning front door. Whoever had targeted the building was about to finish the job.

He burst through the back door. Black smoke poured into his face. He lowered to one knee and saw Sharkey, Kadyn, and Mom crawling on the floor toward him.

“Come on! Get out!” he yelled. “We need to fire up the ATVs!”

They coughed and convulsed on their way out. Austin remained at the back door, his gun focused through the raging fire. Through the flames, a wavering image of a man materialized near their car and peered into the back seat. His body shimmered and flashed like he wore a wet suit able to shift him in and out of visibility.

A shroud.

Turning away from the car, the shrouded man aimed his laser rifle into the cabin as he scanned the area. Austin squinted and watched in disbelief as two more men in similar suits appeared from the forest.

Austin shook his head. The attackers wore personal shrouds.

The attackers appearance normalized, a few remaining fingers of electricity dissipating from their arms, and Austin got his first clear look. They wore sleek black battle suits hugging their lean bodies and carried enhanced rifles across their chests. Exposed skin painted black and dark green concealed a good view of their faces. Without speaking, they dispersed to flank the cabin. He had to do something.

The lead man waved his arm, apparently ordering the other mercenaries around the building. Austin tensed.

He raised his pistol, his hands shaking as he aimed through the burning front half of the cabin. He exhaled, placed his finger on the trigger, and fired.

The bullet struck the attacker in the throat. With his eyes bulging, the mercenary fell back, writhing in pain. Austin spun around and leaned against the rear of the cabin. He had done it; he shot a man. Without being able to see it, he knew the man’s life bled out into the weed-filled ground.

Keeping low, Sharkey led the women to the storage building and slipped into the door.

Two more attackers hurried toward the storage building around the far side of the cabin and into Austin’s field of fire. He emptied his clip. He fired wildly but struck another attacker who spun around like a top, disappearing into the weeds. He dropped down as a laser repeater counterattacked, spitting red bolts. The mercenaries no longer worried about using maskers. They were here to kill.

Austin pressed himself to the ground. The mercenaries did not know his location. Laser fire covered the area, striking the cabin, storage building, and trees. The world caught fire. Energy bolts sizzled the air from all directions. He stuck his face into the dirt beside the burning cabin. After ten seconds, the fire ceased.