Aurora Renegades Read online

  They fight their way through the ship to the bridge, where they encounter Harper, who agrees to help them. She distracts Liam, then when Caleb and Noah open fire, disables his personal shield. Caleb kills Liam. Caleb, Noah and Harper rush back to the Siyane and escape just before the cruiser crashes.

  Noah and Harper help Caleb dig a tunnel to where Isabela and Marlee are trapped, freeing them and several other people. Harper elects to remain in the city to aid with rescue efforts. Noah decides to find transportation back to Earth, eager to return to Kennedy, and Caleb heads for Seneca, and Alex.

  The Metigens arrive at Seneca in overwhelming force. Alex, on the Churchill with Rychen, and Morgan, on the SF flagship with Gianno, take charge of the battle, employing a number of surprise weapons and tactics to gain an early advantage over the Metigen armada.

  Several hours into the battle, Alex argues as it stands now they will not achieve complete victory. She convinces Miriam and Rychen to allow her to break into one of the Metigen superdreadnoughts, where she and Valkyrie believe they can hack the core operating code. She hitches a ride atop a recon craft, experiencing a thrilling and terrifying journey through the heart of the battle.

  Inside, Alex finds a cavernous space, with power conduits and signals running in every direction, and goes in search of the engineering core. When she hears her father in her head during the search, Valkyrie confesses that the Artificials’ search of military neural imprints turned up one for Alex’s father, taken before his death. Not surprisingly, it was compatible with Alex’s brainwave patterns, so Valkyrie loaded it into her processes to increase their knowledge of military tactics. Valkyrie then enriched the imprint, creating a more fulsome representation of David Solovy’s mind and leading to the unexpected result of his personality manifesting.

  When they locate the engineering core Alex immerses herself in it to access the ship's programming. Valkyrie inserts a subtle logic error into one of the base routines, and they quickly depart the ship.

  A major battle also ensues on and above Romane. Malcolm takes a special forces squad groundside, where he meets up with Mia in the governor’s emergency bunker. Mia believes she and Meno have developed a signal beam to nullify an alien vessel’s shields. He agrees to help her test it out on one of the smaller alien ships wreaking havoc in the city. They depart the bunker with part of Malcom’s squad, while the rest of the squad conducts rescue operations. The test is successful, and Mia/Meno transfer the code for the signal to Devon, who deploys it to all the fleets.

  They are returning to the bunker when Malcolm receives an order to arrest one of his Marines who was part of the rescue team on suspicion of working for the Metigens. When arrested, the suspect detonates a bomb he’d placed at Mia’s home. The explosion badly damages Meno’s hardware, abruptly severing his connection with Mia and causing her to stroke.

  Caleb reaches the fleet at Seneca, and he and Alex enjoy a jubilant reunion. Suddenly Alex collapses to the floor as the trauma to Meno and Mia reverberates through the Prevos’ connection to one another. Once Alex recovers, she, Devon and Morgan decide it’s time to implement their secret plan to ensure victory.

  Miriam is overseeing both battlefronts from the War Room when she’s informed Devon/Annie have taken control of both Earth’s and Seneca’s defense arrays. Panic erupts among the military and government leaders. At that moment Miriam receives a message from Alex asking Miriam to please trust in her, and trust Richard. Richard indicates he knows something but won’t divulge what it might be.

  Hervé judges it’s necessary to use the Kill Switch, but Miriam shoots her with a stunner before she can do so. Miriam refuses to act against the Prevos, even as they turn the defense arrays inward.

  Unbeknownst to Miriam, shortly after the Prevos were created, they uncovered the full Metigen network of spies and assassins. Before leaving Earth, Alex went with Devon to see Richard and gave him a list of enemy agents, and he contacted Graham and Will on Seneca. They formulated a strategy to arrest or kill the agents at the last possible moment, and enlisted Olivia Montegreu’s aid in the effort. Miriam was kept in the dark because revealing Hervé’s involvement ahead of time would’ve alerted the aliens to the fact the Prevos were onto them.

  The defense arrays fire—on dozens of Metigen superdreadnoughts hiding cloaked above the major cities of Earth and Seneca. Armed with massive firepower as well as the disruptive signal beam Mia/Meno developed, the superdreadnoughts are destroyed. The Prevos had picked up the stealthed vessels hours earlier, but again, revealing them too early would have tipped their hand.

  An alien representative contacts those leading the military assault, but Alex takes charge of the conversation. The alien says they are open to considering cease fire terms, but Alex notes the aliens are in no position to bargain, as humanity’s forces have decimated them. She orders them to retreat through the portal and to cease their observation of and meddling in Aurora. She also asks for an explanation for their aggression; the alien replies that humans are far more dangerous than they recognize and must be contained.

  The alien accepts her terms, but warns humanity not to come looking for them beyond the portal. Alex doesn’t respond to the warning, instead ordering them to retreat now. They do so, and the war comes to an end.

  Later, as EA Prime Minister Brennon gives a speech mourning those lost and vowing a new era for civilization, Gianno and Vranas worry about the future of peace with EA and the danger Noetica poses, before separating to celebrate the victory with their families.

  Noah reaches Earth and intercepts Kennedy as she is about to leave Vancouver. He finds her cold and dismissive, and provokes her into admitting she was hurt by him eagerly running off with Caleb, then not contacting her. He admits his mistake and being angry with her, but pleads his case by regaling all he went through to get back to her as fast as possible, and they reconcile.

  On New Babel, Olivia and her partner-in-crime Aiden prepare to expand their spheres of influence. When Aiden suggests they merge their cartels—the one thing Olivia had warned him never to do—she uses a cybernetic virus to kill him, then begins taking over his cartel.

  Alex returns to Earth and reunites with her mother. She elects not to tell Miriam about the construct of her father, and after catching up they agree to meet for lunch the next week.

  Caleb and Alex visit Mia, who remains in a coma and was brought to EASC’s hospital at Alex’s request. Dr. Canivon says she’s somewhat optimistic she can rebuild Meno, and together they can repair the damage to Mia’s brain. Caleb authorizes her to move ahead, though there’s no guarantee Mia will be herself should she eventually awaken.

  They return to Alex’s loft for a romantic dinner. Caleb presents her with a belated birthday gift—a bracelet crafted from a piece of his sword, the only remnant of the Siyane’s hull before it morphed into adiamene.

  He divulges that Graham has offered him any job he wants if he’ll return to Division. Alex encourages him to do so, insisting they can make a long-distance relationship work. He challenges her about what she truly wants from him. When she caves and admits she selfishly wants him to stay with her, he immediately resigns from Division and asks her to marry him. After an emotional discussion, she says yes.

  SIX MONTHS LATER

  Miriam returns from vacation to move into the new Headquarters building. She and Richard are discussing threats on the horizon and long-term strategies when she receives a message from Alex.

  On Atlantis, Kennedy and Noah are enjoying their own vacation, expecting Alex and Caleb to join them later in the day, when Kennedy also receives a message from Alex.

  The Siyane hovers in the Metis Nebula, just outside the ring of ships patrolling the portal to prevent any Metigen incursion. Valkyrie has been installed into the walls of the Siyane, and Alex and Caleb have married. They activate the portal and accelerate through it on a quest for answers about the Metigens and their network of multiverses.

  * * *

  AURORA RENEGADES
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  When faced with its greatest challenge, will humanity rise to triumph or fall to ruin?

  It is a time of accelerating technological change and shifting allegiances as the old rules fall away and the old balance of power is upended. A new world rises—one of unshackled AIs, indestructible starships, ethereal quantum spaces and potent new weapons—and the race is on to determine who will control its future.

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  Sidespace

  Aurora Renegades Book One

  * * *

  BACK COVER BLURB

  Humanity is saved. But its troubles are just beginning.

  To achieve their extraordinary triumph over the invading Metigen armada, humanity put aside its myriad of political and social conflicts and united against a common foe intent on annihilating civilization. In victory, unparalleled peace and prosperity are theirs for the taking—if they can keep hold of them.

  When the secrets behind the daring plan that defeated the Metigens begin to escape the shadows, the very people who won the war find their lives in danger. Facing anti-synthetic terrorists who want them dead, power-hungry politicians who want them chained, and a rapidly dwindling number of people they can trust, the Prevos—human/synthetic meldings who shouldn’t exist—must take their fate into their own hands, and with it the fates of everyone.

  51 Portals. 51 Universes. One mysterious gateway connecting them all.

  In Aurora Rising, humanity discovered it was not alone—but few grasp the true magnitude of the discovery. Intent on learning the purpose behind the Metigens’ elaborate multiverse network, Alex Solovy, Caleb Marano and Valkyrie embark on a gripping journey through the network’s portals, each one leading to a universe not their own. In a mosaic of spaces inhabited by fantastical aliens and worlds both beautiful and deadly, they will be forced to question everything they thought they knew, including the nature of life itself.

  CONTENTS

  Part I

  Wild Things

  Part II

  Relativistic Motion

  Part III

  Principle of Equivalent Exchange

  Part IV

  Seriatim, Seriate

  Part V

  All That We Are

  Part VI

  Event Horizon

  Part VII

  The Stars Like Gods

  Coda

  Ex Machina

  AURORA THESI (PORTAL PRIME)

  Enisle Seventeen

  I considered the inert form lying in the stasis chamber.

  It appeared a stranger to me. I felt no kinship, no attachment to the body providing my life force. Memory my aspect, I no longer recalled having resided within it. To find oneself bound inside the confines of a small, frail body, rendered hapless by its myriad limitations, was anathema to me.

  I moved the stasis chamber into the deepest corner of the structure. The life support system was designed to function for perpetuity without my intervention. Unseen, it would trouble me no further. Then I left the structure and its refuge behind to hover at the shore of my lake, finding myself uncertain of what to do next.

  Exile.

  Such had been the verdict of the Idryma Conclave. Exiled from their ranks in name, title and consciousness. Exiled from Amaranthe. My body retrieved from the krypti and relinquished to the dirt of Aurora Thesi.

  A watcher with no subjects.

  An Analystae with no dominion.

  It would be far simpler if it were such a simple matter as this. But my task extended far beyond the rigid strictures of the Idryma. Aurora had been entrusted to me because I understood our purpose more deeply than anyone, save possibly Praetor Lakhes.

  Histories. Futures. What was inevitable, and all that was not.

  The Conclave called Aurora a failure. We would refocus our efforts on the other Enisles, Lakhes proclaimed, in the search for new and innovative prospects. We would try again, Hyperion declared, but ensure firmer restraints were in place from the beginning this time.

  I believed the answers still resided in Aurora. For what the Conclave was too insular to see—or too fearful to admit if they did see—was this: the uprising by the Humans had in fact proven the validity of the principal hypothesis underlying Aurora’s existence. Now was not the time to recoil as mettle failed.

  This was the kairos. This was what we had wanted. The others might flinch and turn away, but I would not.

  Before departing Aurora for the last time, representatives of the Conclave had placed spatial triggers at the Metis Portal, designed to pitch the apparatus into a dimensional singularity upon its opening from the other side. It had been a near thing, our—their—decision to refrain from destroying the portal immediately. Only my most elegant arguments had convinced the Conclave they need not permanently foreclose this avenue.

  But the Conclave, eager to be rid of the troublesome Aurora Enisle and its equally troublesome Analystae Mnemosyne, had perhaps not paid sufficient attention to the details.

  I was and had always been the First Analystae of Aurora. This meant I controlled all the apparatuses of the Enisle, observational and otherwise.

  The triggers had been deactivated. I could rearm them at any time, and should it become necessary—should the Humans or their scions attempt to launch an armada through the Metis Portal, one bent on wanton destruction of whatever they found—I would do so, regrettably but without hesitation.

  But I was the First Analystae of Aurora, and this experiment was not over. Once a proud member of an underground resistance, I was now a rebel from the rebellion.

  As the sea spread out beneath me, an alert transmitted the opening of the Metis Portal. I halted far above the waters and waited.

  What emerged from the portal was not the feared armada. Instead, it was a single ship. A familiar ship. I felt a quickening in my atoms.

  Clever, dangerous girl. I have been expecting you.

  PART I:

  WILD THINGS

  “Life is the fire that burns and the sun that gives light. Life is the wind and the rain and the thunder in the sky. Life is matter and is earth, what is and what is not, and what beyond is in Eternity.”

  — Lucius Annaeus Seneca

  Portal: B-3

  System Designation:

  Ekos

  1

  EKOS-1

  * * *

  A thundering bellow undulated across the grove as the forest roused itself to life, murderous intent in its heart.

  “Get us out of here!”

  Caleb’s retort came in the form of the bike leaping forward out of the small clearing and into the tangle of woods.

  Alex gazed at the underbrush whizzing beneath her feet in fascination. Formerly placid, it now roiled like ocean waves advancing ahead of a hurricane. Before the bike’s speed became too great for her to perceive such details, she swore each individual blade of the broad, sage-hued grass reached up in an attempt to ensnare the wheels or frame of the bike, or even her feet.

  “Holy hell.”

  Her attention jerked forward at Caleb’s exclamation, at which point she could only concur. “Svyatoy chyertu….”

  The foliage that wound parasitically around the trunks of the trees populating the lush woodland? It was unfurling to dart out through the air—toward them. She instinctively tucked her head against his back and drew her body in close.

  In the corner of her vision the pliant, soft-wood limbs of those trees began to enlist in the campaign, lurching and clawing at their fleeing presence. Like the foliage, they seemed to be driven by a single, overriding purpose: to stop them, then to kill them.

  Caleb expertly picked a path between narrow gaps in the trees at reckless speed, but the forest was increasing in thickness. She honestly didn’t know how he was going to get through such a dense chaparral, but she needed to help.

  “I’m going t
o try shooting at the trees—maybe it will spook them long enough for us to squeak by.” Shooting at the apparently sentient trees, that was to say. She intensified her hold on his waist as her right hand went to her belt and unlatched her Daemon. She withdrew it from its holster and pointed it outward—

  —a vine darted out, wrapped around the barrel and yanked it from her hand. She blinked, startled, then quickly pulled her arm in before some vine decided to do the same to it.

  Wide, tall trees closed in ominously in front of them, blotting out the sun. “Um…can I borrow your gun?”

  The jungle-like forest was also increasingly loud, the rumbling noise growing as every element of it sprang into action, and she wasn’t sure he heard her. In the absence of a response and not wanting to distract him, she reached down and jostled his Daemon out from the holster on his belt. This time she kept both it and her arm tucked in as she pointed it forward over his shoulder at a notably behemoth tree blocking their path. She pressed the trigger.

  The laser tore into the timber in an explosion of splintered bark and vascular tissue. The topmost segment of the tree swayed to the left and fell away. As it did, the dull roar exploded into a furious cacophony. The surviving trees—all the trees except the one she’d shot apart—bowed in toward the bike, lashing out with greater vehemence.

  “I think you made them angry.”

  She snorted in the confines of her helmet. “Well, they’ve made me angry….”

  Her voice trailed off as the air filled with a plethora of orange spores, seemingly released by the groundcover ferns. Individual plants began linking together, closing off what open space remained. The last of the faint light from the prairie in the distance vanished as the trees, vines and foliage snarled into a web in which to ensnare them.