Chapter 20. Wake Up in a New Year
06 Jan 2021Black Llama
Swirling dust. Through it I can barely see, off in the distance, the dry river bed. I take off my combat cap for a moment to wipe the sweat off my forehead. "The tanks can't cross that on their own - where are the bridge layers?" As I fumble for my binoculars, the noise of the wind increases to a howl and the dust clouds block out Home's yellow-white sun. I try to shout to my platoon mates but I choke on the dust. The sun goes out and the howling suddenly stops; I'm left in complete darkness.My right hand closes around a metallic object - a handhold? My eyes grow accustomed to the dark, and I slowly realize I'm in a starport's low-g maintenance corridor. I have worked in such places hundreds of times before becoming a pilot. I hear the faint hum of machinery, and in the distance I can see something flickering - emergency lights? I pull myself forward, towards the bluish patterns of light. Strange color for emergency lighting, I think at first, then I recognize the patterns. These are not lighting strips, but rows of Guardian glyphs, extending out into the darkness at the other end of the corridor. As I try to get closer, someone grabs me by the shoulder and turns me around. The figure, wearing an EVA suit with a tinted visor, pushes past me and stands between me and the glowing glyphs. Before I can say or do anything, it speaks, clasping hands.
"I'm really sorry to have put you through this." It's Maggie's voice. I try to answer, but no sound comes out. "The device attracts them like moths to a flame. I cannot share it with you", she continues, "and I'm afraid that right now, you really, really have to run. Sorry." I reach out towards her, but she steadies herself with both hands, raises her legs and drop kicks me square in the chest. She cries "Run!" as I fly off away from her.
I hit the floor as I fall from the bed; the blow wakes me up. Standing up, I find myself alone in a darkened room. Through the windows I can see the faint light of the coming dawn. In the stillness, I notice a weak "beep-beep-beep" sound. I turn and grab my mobile from the nightstand, but the sound isn't coming from it. Maggie's voice echoes in my head: "Run!" Some instinct kicks in and I walk to the door, but it won't recognize my palm print - and the beeping seems faster now. I pull down the fire alarm tab and an extinguisher comes out from a recess in the wall; I try to smash the lock, but the door won't budge. Turning, I throw the extinguisher at the window with all my strength: the glass smashes in a shower of fragments. With the siren wailing, I run and jump out through the window without thinking too much.
I hear the explosion just an instant before I hit the water a few meters below. It's Friday, January 1, 3307.
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I'm now sitting rather uncomfortably inside an otherwise empty cargo container, wearing an EVA suit with enough air for one more hour, in the hold of a smuggler's Keelback. I look at the time in my new mobile (water ruined my old one): we should be arriving in the Jita Ten system, in Flotta Stellare space, in about 20 minutes. I do hope he keeps his end of the bargain - I told him there would be a very large bounty placed on his head if I happen to disappear. I'm not sure he believed me. In any case, I offered a rather generous transport fee, with a nice bonus if he avoids any scanning. Once I'm back in Flotta Stellare-controlled systems I should be safe.
All of this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I decided to take a vacation in an oceanic resort. After the explosion, one of the firefighting boats found me holding on like a limpet to one of the concrete pillars that support the resort's installations (I'm not a very good swimmer). The explosive was some sort of shaped charge with a focused blast: my bed and the wall next to it were completely destroyed, but not much else - the hydrants quickly put out the resulting fires. Thank God that the couple next door had decided to wait for the dawn of the New Year in the artificial cove on the other side of the complex. Local authorities wanted me to stay for the inquest, but I bribed one of the resort's administrators to smuggle me off world the next day. I just could not trust them.
I've been catching up on the last few weeks' news: the upcoming Alliance elections, the strange operations of Sirius Atmospherics and the resurgence of Thargoid activity. The news I'm most worried about is the sale of Lakon to Core Dynamics, as I own quite a few Lakon ships. And there's also Utopia's offer to host a summit between all superpowers. “It is not Utopia’s tradition to become involved with politics" - my ass. I know too many good men and women who would say otherwise. But now they are all in unmarked graves in Home's deserts.
I reach down and pull a small blaster pistol from a holster at my side. It's a very old weapon which I got from the smuggler for an outrageous price, worn down but still functional. I check the charge, make sure the safety is engaged, and then put it back. After the war back in Home I had hoped I would never have to shoot someone up close ever again. I turn off the mobile's screen and try to remember, as I sit in the darkness, the patterns of Guardian glyphs I saw in my dream.
Why did I dream of Maggie talking about a "device"?