Syn-En: Plague World: The Founders War Begins Read online

  The injured Human male behind Bei groaned.

  Brooklyn shushed him. “Lay still. You have internal injuries.”

  Bei clenched his fists as he strode to his wife’s side. His rescue of the man hadn’t gone as planned. Bei had grabbed the man’s shirt, wrapped his arm around his waist, then twisted his body to take the brunt of the landing. Unfortunately, he hadn’t mitigated the strength of his tenth-generation upgrades and had snapped two of the man’s ribs, piercing his lung.

  Still holding the broken basket, Apollie jogged over to Bei. Her pale skin resembled white chalk, her red eyes were bright behind a curtain of braids. “That boy was dead. I know it. I checked.”

  “Help Brooklyn, so his father survives.” Bei jerked his chin toward the injured biologic.

  She opened her mouth before snapping it closed. A moment later, she hustled toward the medic. Dropping onto the rocky ground, she opened the medic kit. “Tell me what to do.”

  Tuning them out, Bei focused on his wife. He thumbed his TorpSK7 to its lowest setting.

  She swayed on her feet, but didn’t retreat from her confrontation with the speaker. “Well? Don’t you realize how badly this first contact could have gone? Your people could have been wounded because they refused to speak.”

  A lithe woman with skin the color of poured caramel faced Nell. Inky black robes glittered with fermites. When she tilted her head, ebony curls bounced around her round face. Chocolate diamond eyes sparkled above her wide cheekbones. “I do not know this English. We speak the language of the Meek.”

  “Your people didn’t speak at all when they came out to greet us. Ask Gandalf, if you don’t believe me.” Nell raised her arm and pointed at the white bearded man who had guided them to the village. The motion required the last of her energy reserves. Her eyes fluttered and her knees buckled.

  Dropping to the ground, Bei caught her in his arms. NDA flaked off her chin. Her skin paled. Without power, her Neo-Dynamic Armor would lose cohesion. She could bleed out. Or worse.

  The female speaker lunged forward and reached out. “Sister!”

  Silver light arced off Nell, hitting the woman’s fingers. Electricity crackled, and the biologic yanked her hand back. The crowd retreated.

  A woman gasped. “Come, Zaresh.”

  Zaresh, the boy Nell had saved, stuffed a grubby fist in his mouth but otherwise didn’t move.

  Shunting his emotions to the recycle bin, Bei set the muzzle of the Torp against his wife’s side. He double-checked to ensure it was on its lowest setting. “I’m sorry, Nell. I have to do this. I have to recharge you.”

  The biologic’s leader sidled closer. Black scorched her tapered fingers. “What must you do?”

  Bei squeezed the trigger of his energy weapon.

  Nell’s body arched. Blue light danced across her gritted teeth. Her hand flopped to the smooth stone ground. Scabs of NDA fluttered around her.

  “What are you doing?” The leader pursed her full lips and narrowed her eyes.

  “Saving my wife.” He opened a cyber door and slipped inside Nell’s cerebral interface. Her energy levels remained critical. The damn shot had done nothing. Nothing. Sweat broke out across his skin. He couldn’t lose Nell. He wouldn’t. He kicked up the discharge strength of his Torp and fired again.

  Nell’s muscles seized. Her fingers curled and her hair crackled. Blue light moved like a sidewinder across her skin. Fermites burst from her like confetti. Her reserves hit nil. Her heart stopped, and her skin split. Blood oozed between the crevices.

  Damn it. The atomic pests were absorbing all the energy. Bei thumbed up the charge of his weapon. He’d overload their atomic circuits in one blast.

  Nell was dying.

  Boots pounded the ground. A shadow slanted across her. Bei shifted the muzzle between his wife’s shoulder blades where her energy cells resided.

  “Admiral, don’t.” Doc cleared his throat. “Excuse me, ma’am.”

  The leader eyed Doc’s hand on her forearm. Her brown eyes widened and her lips parted.

  Bei dialed the charge down just a hair. “Give me one good reason why not?”

  Doc dropped to the ground across from him. “Because it’s not working.”

  Now was not the time to state the obvious. Bei pinged Doc’s cerebral interface. Hard.

  Wincing, Doc dug into the utility belt around his narrow hips. “Every burst is encouraging the fermites to reproduce. We need them to go to sleep so we can reboot her.”

  This time, Bei flinched. He hoped his wife would never know the pain of rebooting, but if it would save her… “What do I need to do?”

  Nell sighed. Her body fell limp. No heartbeat. No respiration. Minimal brain activity.

  The Torp slipped from Bei’s fingers and clattered to the ground. They were almost out of time. “Doc?”

  Doc scratched his fingers through his black hair. “I—I—”

  When his brown eyes met Bei’s, they were dull, without hope.

  There was no solution. Bei groped in cyberspace looking for his wife’s presence. A void swirled in the space she usually occupied. He felt the emptiness shave pieces off him. “No. I won’t accept that. Give her one of my batteries.”

  Doc’s lips firmed inside his goatee. “You carry too much power. The overload—”

  “Will buy us time.” Still holding his wife, Bei twisted at the waist and presented his back to Doc. He could survive without one battery. And when his cells began to run down, he’d juice himself back up with shots from his Torp.

  Doc exhaled slowly. “Admiral, the fermites might just take that power and…”

  “That is an order.”

  The leader swept the soot off her fingers. “Perhaps, I can help my sister.”

  “What can you do?” Bei brushed Nell’s blond bangs off her forehead. Even in death, others tried to claim her. His lubrication shunted extra moisture to his eyes. If she survived this, he would find a quiet moon somewhere and spend a week alone with her. Just the two of them. He pressed his lips to her cheek. Tingles tightened his mouth. Damn fermites. They knew she was dying and were deserting her.

  Doc tapped Bei’s shoulder. “I have back-up cells that won’t blow Nell Stafford’s circuits, Admiral.”

  Bei whipped around. “And you’re just now telling me?”

  “I don’t know that it will work while the fermites are inside her.” Doc set the two thin wafers in the compartment of his open forearm. “They could just drain her dry again.”

  The leader raised the hem of her robe and dropped to the ground next to Doc. “Let me treat your wife.”

  Rolling his eyes, Doc flipped open his index finger, revealing a scalpel inside. “Look, lady, I—”

  “Davena.” The leader raised her rounded chin. “My name is Davena. And by the grace of the Meek, I can heal this woman.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m the doctor and I will heal Nell Stafford. God save me from amateur mechanics.” Doc lowered his finger. A bolt of lightning struck the scalpel, shoving Doc back three meters. The curls on his head straightened. His implants overloaded. The wafers popped out of his arm compartment and lay smoking on the ground.

  Bei swore. He would not lose two people in one day. With a thought, he overrode Doc’s operating protocols. “Emergency reboot in three…two…one.”

  Doc slumped forward, then pitched to the side.

  Three male biologics in red rushed forward, catching Doc before his head hit the stone ground.

  A presence whispered in Bei’s cerebral interface. Feminine and soft, he knew it better than his own. Nell. Was she waiting for the chariot to carry her home? He drew in a ragged breath. It couldn’t end like this.

  Davena raised her arms. Her ebony robes shimmered as they slipped down her caramel-colored wrists. Turning her face to the overhead sun, she chanted softly. The air thickened in a cloud of glitter.

  Another voice joined hers. Then another. The sound rang from the cliff-face behind him and echoed down the canyon.


  It morphed into a snare drum inside his chest, coated the steel already encasing his ribs.

  Davena swayed. Ribbons of fermites bound her wrists, connecting her to Nell. The leader’s eyes changed from brown to silver. Her brow furrowed and her lips continued to move.

  The chanting intensified. Fermites swarmed, creating a veil.

  Bei blinked, reset his mind to this paradigm. If they could control the atomic pests, he could power Nell. He reached for his energy weapon. It dissolved, dribbling like grains of sand through his fingers. Shit. He checked the smoking batteries. Gone.

  Reaching behind him, he clawed at the armor between his shoulder blades. He’d give Nell his battery and damn the consequences. He pierced the covering. Trauma sensors lit up the inside of his skull. He shut them off with a thought and groped for the hard edge of his battery.

  Don’t. Nell’s voice echoed inside his skull.

  Grief cast a magnet in his circuits. For him to hear her so clearly, she must have already crossed over. I won’t lose you.

  You won’t. Trust me.

  He trusted her. But he also knew she loved him enough to lie, cheat, and steal to save his life. Even at the cost of her own.

  He yanked the power cell.

  Gravity hung heavy on his prostheses. He moved as if through water, slow and sluggish. He cursed the delay. An energy meter registered power at forty-eight percent. He’d survive. Now, he had to make certain Nell did. He adjusted his hold on his wife.

  Beijing York. You big lug. I’m going to kill you right after I finish kissing you. Her body jerked, then her uniform and boots liquified, wrapping her in an oily, black shroud. She shuddered and the color shimmered into an iridescent blue. Her power levels registered.

  He double-checked them. One percent. How in the world?

  I went green. Her dopamine and epinephrine levels spiked. I’m not really green, am I?

  No, love. She would live. The edges of the power cell bit into his fingers, then crumpled beneath them. Acid ate at his NDA. An acrid scent invaded his sense. You’re beautiful.

  Great. That means I’m some funky non-Human color. Nell’s toes twitched, and she inhaled a deep breath. Her heart beat once, twice. Another breath and her heart settled in a normal rhythm. I love the sun on my face, especially now that I’ve gone solar.

  He embraced her tighter. He’d almost lost her. What happened?

  Apparently, the fermites don’t like weapons. They absorbed the charge to protect me, and ended up nearly killing me in the process. Her eyes fluttered. Silver cloaked her blue irises before slipping away. “Here’s looking at you, Handsome.”

  Davena lowered her arms.

  The chanting stopped.

  Silence buzzed in Bei’s ears. Something stirred inside his gut. He isolated the feeling, shoving it to a quarantined file to be examined later. These refugees could control the fermites.

  They were dangerous foes.

  Dimples buttoned Davena’s cheeks. “Praise the Meek! Our sister lives.”

  The biologics cheered. Many embraced. The boy Nell had saved giggled, rose, and toddled toward his father.

  Apollie intercepted him, lifting him in the air and laughing with him. “Nell Stafford lives.”

  Nell brushed her cold fingers along his jaw. “One problem at a time, Bei. Just one.”

  He nodded. If the Founders discovered Humans could control the atomic pests… He eyed Apollie cradling the boy while Brooklyn stitched up his patient’s side.

  The Skaperian’s red eyes locked with his. Fear flashed in the scarlet depths and her nostrils flared. She jerked her chin toward the heavens.

  A contrail streaked the blue horizon.

  The Founders had sent a shuttle dirtside.

  Bei checked his mental clock. Twenty-four hours until the America arrived to evacuate them. He had to keep the biologics together, safe. How could he do that with his two ships down and his tech on the fritz? He’d figure something out. Maybe Nell could dredge up a movie reference somewhere.

  Either way, he had to prevent the Founders from learning Davena and her people’s secret.

  Juggling his wife in his arms, Bei rose to his feet. “Thank you for everything you did to heal Nell.”

  Davena’s black curls wiggled when she nodded. “It was the will of the Meek.”

  Bei bit back his retort. A god by any name. “But I’m afraid we’re not here to join you, but to take you home. To our home. To the birthplace of Humans. To Earth.”

  Davena clamped her lips together. “This is our home, and we will die before we leave it.”

  Chapter 13

  “You’d rather die than leave Surlat?” Cradling Nell against his chest, Bei surveyed his surroundings. At the three o’clock position, Security officer Richmond Virginia used a metal plate to knit the biologic’s fractured leg. Behind him, Medic Queens scanned his patient for any internal bleeding his initial assessment may have missed. At ten o’clock, Doc Cabo lay twitching on his back as his systems rebooted.

  Refugees in bright colored clothing crowded the clearing, but stood at least a foot away from Doc. Heat from the beehive ovens painted red patches on their dusky cheeks. Men and woman stood shoulder to shoulder. Children sat at their feet. A few young ones flicked the scattered corn kernels. Unlike Humans on other worlds, these biologics knew neither fear nor hunger.

  The quarantine and the fermites had protected them.

  But that would change and soon. Bei glanced up. The Scraptor shuttle’s contrail bled into the blue sky. Did the Founders suspect the biologics could control the fermites? He deleted the thought. If the Founders had known, they would never have acknowledged the biologic’s existence.

  They would have used their ability as weapons against the Neo-Sentient Alliance.

  Still would, if Bei accepted Davena’s decision to remain dirtside.

  Paladin Apollie shifted at Bei’s side. The beads at the end of her cornrow braids clacked together. “You must leave.”

  “This is our home. Why should we leave it?” Davena didn’t bother turning her curly head to check for dissent amongst her people.

  There was none. But how could she know unless their fermites created a collective mind similar to the Syn-Ens’ WA?

  With a thought, Bei scanned all frequencies for a signal. If he could find it, then maybe he, too, could control the fermites and nullify the threat to his men. But these biologics would still be in danger. His programing scrambled. Syn-Ens protected Humanity. It was who they were. And as the Syn-En leader, he must convince these Humans to leave. “I understand that you have been on this planet for generations, but this is not a Human world. Earth is the birthplace of Humans, and only Earth-claimed worlds are safe places for Humanity. The rightful owners want Surlat back and will destroy everyone and everything on the planet before their return.”

  Davena’s nostrils flared and red strokes inflamed her caramel-colored cheekbones. “You are the only strangers we have seen in generations.”

  Apollie snorted and pointed to the sky. “There are three vapor trails in your atmosphere. We came in two ships. The third belongs to the Founders. The rightful owners of this world.”

  Davena raised her chin. “This world belongs to the Meek.”

  “This world belongs to the Founders.” Bei’s scan of the frequencies returned only the signature of his men and the encrypted transmissions of the Scraptor shuttle. He shunted the message to the CIC for translation.

  Inside the WA, his men tossed glowing balls of anticipation. Some wanted to track the Founders’ shuttle, others wanted to visit the biologic’s village, and the rest wanted to study the Erwar pillar jutting over a hundred stories from the planet’s surface. Unfortunately, fermite interference limited their abilities.

  “The Founders will not respect the Meek’s claim. They will kill you. All of you.” Bei doubted the Founders had a religion. They certainly hadn’t respected it on other worlds.

  Davena squared her shoulders under her black robes. Fe
rmites sparkled on the cotton fabric. “The Meek will not allow that. They do not tolerate violence.”

  Bei had yet to meet a faith-based belief that prevented good or bad acts. Although the fermites came close. But even they were not from a divine entity, but a physical one.

  Nell tightened her grip around Bei’s shoulders and chuffed against his neck. Her blue skin absorbed solar rays and filled her power cells. At ten percent of capacity, she had barely passed critical levels. She sighed and raised her head. “The Meek shall inherit the Earth.”

  Davena’s chocolate-colored eyes lasered onto Nell. “What did you say?”

  “It is a saying from one of our most sacred books.” Nell wiggled and squirmed. Put me down, Bei. I’ll handle this while you coordinate your men.

  You need to rest. Cold trickled down his spine. He needed to get those damn fermites under control so it wouldn’t happen again.

  She kissed his jaw. I didn’t say let me go. You’ll need to prop me up. I’m pretty sure my legs are soggy noodles.

  Bei set her on her feet.

  She locked her knees and leaned against him. With a sigh, she faced Davena. “I understand the fear and anxiety in leaving your home. Believe me, I understand it.”

  Folding her arms, Davena tucked her hands up her sleeves. “We do not fear our path. The Meek are with us.”

  “The ferm—These Meek can be overwhelmed. You cannot rely on them to protect you.” Apollie shifted. The featherhead’s raptor claw on her middle toe tapped the stone ground. “You must come with us.”

  “The Meek shall protect us.” Davena spat back.

  Bei set his hands on Nell’s hips and sent a message to the men he’d left behind. Queens, when can I expect birds in the air?

  Red frownie faces zinged through the WA. Queens’s avatar clutched his pixelated head and hopped from green lit station to green lit station. Systems went off-line as soon as you told the biologics they would have to leave. Manual controls aren’t responding, but everything is reporting A-OK, Admiral.

  Damn fermites. Bei didn’t care about their potential. He wanted them gone. Now.

  Nell cupped his hands. I have an idea. She turned to the Skaperian. “Apollie, perhaps you could help Doc when he comes to.”