Children of the Void: Book One of the Aionian Saga (35 page)

“Do you think you can move that rock in front of the cave entrance?”

The boulder wasn’t excessively large, and could probably be moved fairly easily with Sentinel Armor. Gideon shrugged and walked over to one side of it, planted his feet, and leaned into the stone.

Nothing happened. At least, not at first. The boulder might as well have been a mountain, and he had to check to make sure he was still wearing the armor. He closed his eyes, and imagined the boulder rolling over and settling right in front of the cave entrance. Suddenly, he was falling, and he opened his eyes to see the boulder had given way, and he stumbled forward and crashed into it as it rolled in front of the entrance.

After making sure the huge rock wouldn’t roll back, Gideon stood straight and looked back at his father.

“Not bad,” said the admiral. “Looks like you’ve got the hang of it.”

“I don’t know,” said Gideon, looking back at the stone. “It’s going to take a bit of practice. I have to use my brain as much as my muscles.”

The admiral laughed. “Well, in that case, we’re all in big trouble.”

Before Gideon could think up a good comeback about it being a genetic problem, the admiral turned and marched down the ravine. “Hold up, Dad. Where are you going?”

The admiral paused and looked over his shoulder. “I told you, we’ve got to go find Devereux and stop him before he does any more damage.”

With a bit of concentration, Gideon was able to remove just the “helmet” portion of the armor. “Are you sure about that, Dad? I could use some more practice with this armor, and you were unconscious a couple hours ago. Shouldn’t we wait until we’re more prepared to go get into a fight?”

The admiral turned to look at him. “Trust me, I would love to stick around and get some more rest, but I’ve got a bad feeling about Devereux and his plans now that he’s gotten the rest of us out of the way. He’s not going to wait until you and I are more prepared.”

“Shouldn’t we find Takomi and Joseph and Sophia first? That ship might still be where I left it, and we could use their help.”

“A minute ago, you were worried we weren’t prepared to fight Devereux and a handful of his goons. Now you want to barge into an alien ship full of warriors that probably know more about that armor than you do?”

Gideon looked down at his feet. “We can’t just leave them there.”

The admiral looked up at his son, then walked forward and placed his hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “We’re not giving up on them, Gideon. I want to find them as much as you do, but if you walk into that ship again unprepared, you won’t be so lucky this time. When you’ve lost a battle, you need to regroup and plan the next mission. Devereux needs to be stopped, then we can figure out how we’re going to rescue the others.”

Gideon looked up into his father’s face and nodded. He sniffed, and took a deep breath. “What about Padre and the others? I really wouldn’t mind having Vincent around when we take on Devereux.”

“I’m hoping we’ll find them on the way back, but I don’t think we can spend too much time looking. We may have to come back for them as well.”

Gideon frowned. “I don’t like it, but I guess you’re right.”

The admiral smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll find them, Gid. For now, let’s see what else this armor can do.”

“I
DON
’
T
LIKE
this plan,” said Gideon. They had traveled all day and well into the night, spending several hours searching the forest for any trace of Connor, Padre and Vincent. Discouraged, they decided to continue on, and now they hid a few dozen meters outside the perimeter of the camp.
 

The moons were full once again, giving them plenty of light. After some practice, Gideon was becoming fairly adept at getting the armor to go on and off. His father’s plan, however, left little room for error. Standing a stone’s throw from the perimeter of the camp with the gold band around his wrist made him feel vulnerable.

His father winked at him. “You’ll be fine, Gid. Like I keep telling you, it works off your instincts. When you need it, it’ll work.”

“Humph,” grunted Gideon. “Let’s hope that it works before the bullets start flying. In fact, we haven’t even determined if this suit’s bulletproof or not.”

“After what we’ve seen it do, it’s a safe assumption. Besides, they’re going to be in shock when you transform in front of them. Now go rub some mud on your face. It will make it that much more convincing.”

Gideon muttered something about his father’s protective instincts, but did as he was told. When the admiral was satisfied that Gideon’s face was properly soiled, he had him hold out his wrists and wrapped some twine around them. It was a decent knot for the job, tight enough to look convincing but loose enough so that all it took was a quick jerk to free his hands.

“Remember,” said the admiral as he stashed the gear from the cave under a bush, “I’m going to be a bit rough on you. Don’t let the armor take the abuse for you until the right moment.”

Gideon’s left eyebrow jerked up. “I’m telling you, it’s not too late to rethink this plan.”

Admiral Killdeer shook his head. “The crew could be in danger each moment Devereux’s in control. We need the element of surprise to avoid any collateral damage. I can’t think of anything better right now. Can you?”

Gideon sighed. “No, I can’t. I wish I trusted this armor as much as you do.”

Admiral Killdeer walked over to Gideon and looked at him with a sad smile. “Gid,” he began, “I have no doubt that your Koramoa Armor is up to the task, but it’s not the armor I’m placing my trust in. It’s you. Don’t forget that I’m putting my life on the line, too. I probably don’t tell you this enough, but I’m proud of the man you’ve become, and I trust you and the skills you’ve learned and developed. Tonight, you’ll probably have to use that armor, and those skills, to take the life of another. Do you think you’ll be able to do that?”

Gideon looked straight into his father’s eyes, rolling the question around in his head. “I killed an animal when we first landed here, and I killed one of the Krin with nothing but a club.”

“Killing an animal, or even an alien, is not the same as killing one of your own. These are people you’ve known your whole life, your mentors. I hope they’ll see reason, but if not, hesitating might prove fatal for you, or me, or for innocent people. I’m asking if you’re ready for that.”

Gideon thought about the rasp, about how he had let it live, and people had died because of that decision. He looked his father squarely in the eye. “If it comes to it, I’ll do what I need to.” His voice sounded more confident than he felt.

His father looked down. “I had hoped that Valkyrie would mean an end to the killing for good. I’m sorry that it’s become your crucible. I want you to know, I’m proud of you.” He put his hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “Now,” he continued, “are you ready?”
 

Gideon nodded. “You were always good at speeches.”

Admiral Killdeer grunted and pulled his visor down, then picked up Gideon, throwing him over his shoulder like a rag doll. “Let’s go.”

The admiral carried Gideon toward the camp, not bothering to be quiet anymore. Gideon did his best to look unconscious. As they approached the camp, Gideon could smell the wood smoke and hear voices drift through the trees. He fought the urge to look at his surroundings and concentrated on remaining limp.

“Hey,” said a voice a few meters ahead of them, “who’s there?” The admiral changed course, walking for a few meters before stopping. “Oh, it’s one of you. What you got there?” Gideon recognized Gavin McLeod’s Scottish accent.

The admiral turned and set Gideon down on the ground. Gideon wanted to say something to Gavin, but held his tongue and continued to play dead. There was a pause, then Gavin’s footsteps came a bit closer.

“Holy... is that Gideon? Where the devil did he come from? Is he....”
 

Gavin made a small yelp, and Gideon cracked open an eyelid in time to see his father pick the poor man up by his collar and slam him against a tree with one hand while disarming him with the other. The admiral looked around to see if anyone else had heard the commotion, then raised his hand to the side of his helmet and opened his visor.

Gavin’s eyes grew wide, and a small sound came out of his throat. “Admiral,” he whispered.

There was no immediate need to keep up the pretense, so Gideon shifted and sat up. Gavin looked down at him, then back at his father.

The admiral put a finger to his lips as he lowered Gavin to the ground. “It’s good to see you, Gavin, at least I hope it is.”

Once Gavin’s feet were back on the ground, he blinked, then hurried to salute the admiral. “Good to see you too, sir. Everyone thought you were dead.” He looked down at Gideon. “And you. We’ve all wondered what became of you and the others after you left.”

Gavin looked back at the admiral and cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, what do you mean you hope it’s good to see me?”

The admiral looked back at Gideon, who stood to stand next to him. “I think we can trust him, Dad. The night before we left camp, Vincent put Gavin in charge of guarding one of the shuttles. Devereux wasn’t happy about it, and wanted someone else to watch it, but Vincent insisted.”

Gavin snorted. “Yeah, and when you left, he really wasn’t happy to find I’d left my post. The bastard had me strung up in the middle of camp and gave me ten lashings in front of everybody.” Gavin turned and lifted his shirt to reveal several painful red stripes across his back. “Said he had to make an example out of me. That’s not legal, is it, sir?” he said as he turned back around and looked at the admiral.

Gideon grimaced. “Sorry, Gavin. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

Gavin smiled. “Not your fault, Gid. I was all too happy to go get some sleep, but you should probably know they’re looking for you. Devereux says you and the others betrayed us, that you somehow knew about the aliens and called them down on us, and you ran away because you were trying to make contact with them. Course, most of us don’t believe that, but no one’s had the guts to say anything to Devereux about it. He’s a different man than the one I knew from the
Leviathan
.”

“Where’s Devereux now?” the admiral asked.

“Probably hanging about in the big command tent.” Gavin’s face suddenly melted into a look of dread. “I’m sorry if I was out of line insulting the commander. You aren’t going to tell him, are you?”

“I’m more likely to kill him,” said the admiral. Gavin looked relived, if not a little confused. “Do you have an idea of how many people in camp are wearing armor?”

Gavin nodded. “Easy. Besides Devereux, there’s David Adams, Jennifer Miles, Klaus Daimler, Don Rich, Lu Nguyen, and one more, let’s see... Brock Houghs,” he said as he counted them off on his fingers. “Devereux keeps the rest of the suits under guard. Says they’re faulty and need maintenance, but nobody really buys that.”

Gideon’s palm came up and smacked his forehead. “Dad, I can’t believe I forgot. Devereux sabotaged the Sentinel Armor. As soon as he realizes who you are, he’ll shut your suit down.”

“Not mine,” said the admiral. “No one but me has ever had access to my armor. Its hardware is air gapped and only accessible by me. It’s impossible that Devereux could have tampered with it. Probably drove him crazy, now that I think about it.”

Gavin looked back and forth between Gideon and Admiral Killdeer. “Should I know what you’re talking about?”

“All you need to know is that Devereux’s a traitor, and anyone besides me wearing Sentinel Armor is, too.” The admiral scratched his chin. “I’d always assumed there’d be more than that, but I suppose some of them would have been killed in the attack.”

“So what now?” asked Gideon.

Admiral Killdeer pointed to the radio attached to Gavin’s belt. “Call in and let them know somebody’s found one of the traitors, and they’re bringing them into the middle of camp. And make sure it’s over a common band. I want every soul in the camp to beat us there.”

Gavin nodded and raised his radio to his mouth. Within seconds, the radio channels were frenzied with traffic. Gavin switched off the radio and grinned at the admiral. “You certainly know how to stir up a hornet’s nest.”

They waited for a few minutes, allowing the tension in the camp to build. When they were ready, Admiral Killdeer lowered his visor, picked up Gideon, and threw him over his shoulder once again, then turned and walked toward camp with Gavin right behind.

Gideon fought to keep his eyes closed as they stepped into the clearing. He could hear an excited chorus of voices build, then move toward them. By the time they’d reached the center of the camp, there was a crowd gathering around them. Admiral Killdeer stopped, and Gideon heard a familiar voice. “Who’s this? What’s going on here?”

It was David Adams, sounding as arrogant as always. Before David could ask any more questions, Admiral Killdeer dumped Gideon off of his shoulder. He hit the ground and rolled, and didn’t have to pretend to grunt in pain. To his relief, he didn’t accidentally activate the Koramoa Armor.
 

Gideon allowed his eyes to slowly open, trying to look like he was barely conscious. Before he could do anything else, his father’s boot shoved against his hip, spinning him over onto his back. There was a collective gasp from the crowd, followed by whispers of Gideon’s name. For the first time, he could see his surroundings. He looked up at faces of people he had once thought of as friends and mentors, but now had to assume were his enemies.

He lay in the middle of a circle of bodies. On one side stood his father, still clad from head to toe in his armor. On the other side stood David in Sentinel Armor up to his neck. Next to him stood Jennifer Miles, dressed in similar fashion. Gideon couldn’t see any other henchmen in Sentinel Armor, and he definitely did not see Morgan Devereux.

He didn’t have to wonder where he was for long. Devereux’s unmistakable voice boomed over the crowd. “What’s going on?” he yelled. The crowd parted, and he burst into the middle, flanked by Don Rich and Klaus Daimler, both senior officers, and all three clad in Sentinel Armor up to the neck. Gideon was relieved to see none of them had helmets on. That would be to their advantage. He didn’t try to hide his loathing for Devereux as he glared up at him.