“Ha-ha…you’re all heart.”
“Aren’t I though?” Zoe smirked and motioned to Grady’s leg. “You can always claim your wound is acting up and you need to return to Adventurer and rest.”
Grady turned to her with a twinkle in his eye and muttered out of the side of his mouth, “That’s a fantastic idea.”
“It is? Not like you to renege on a commitment, Boss.”
“There’s always a first time. And, luckily, I have my second-in-command with me to take my place by offering some memorable words to the nice crowd and fielding their questions—the more uncomfortable, the better.”
Zoe almost lunged at him. “Don’t you dare!” A few of the nearest inhabitants glanced in her direction, puzzled frowns adorning their features.
Grady chuckled. “Relax, oh fearless Amazonian. Just be happy Mal’s not able to conduct a visual scan this far into the station and spot you quaking in your combat boots. He might be forced to come up with a less bellicose nickname.” He lapsed into silence. Rosie had started her speech.
The audience listened with rapt attention, many sending openly intrigued glances toward Zoe, Grady, and the pair of Mbekis. The captain folded his arms, standing off to the side along with Zoe. They watched as Rosie provided a succinct account of the situation facing the rebellion and then showed curated footage on a holo floating above the podium of Adventurer’s encounter with the enemy blockade. She was building up to the moment when she introduced Grady.
There weren’t as many children present as he first thought. He imagined most parents would consider an hour spent viewing vids of space battles—where real people died—and an outlining of the scientific theory behind parallel universes was not suitable for young kids, who would be bored, anyway.
Rosie was preparing for her big revelation: the chance of forging a pact with an alien race to bolster the insurgency. This hadn’t been mentioned in the meeting announcement, so it would come as a complete surprise to the inhabitants.
Instead, the lure that brought out a sizeable crowd—at least a thousand strong, Grady estimated, with the event being broadcast live throughout New Heb—was the opportunity to see and meet humans from an alternate reality. Never underestimate the power of curiosity, he mused. Especially when it comes to the mysterious and exotic, though I never thought I’d place myself in that category. But I guess I and my crew are just that, at least in this slice of the multiverse.
So absorbed was he in his thoughts that Grady almost missed his cue, and might have done were it not for the gentle but firm elbow Zoe dug into his side. From her position close to the edge of the dais, a short distance from the expectant crowd, Rosie paused, gave a warm smile, and gestured to a large holo image of Grady. There was no turning back now.
She was about to continue when Kotov stepped to her side and the two had a hurried conversation, their heads bent, Rosie’s microphone muted. Grady frowned, watching as Kotov turned, signaled to Prentice and a pair of troopers, and the four hurried away. Was something wrong?
He had no more time to wonder, as Rosie caught his eye and motioned for him to join her. Grady cleared his throat and stepped forward, mounting the steps to the stage as a hush descended over the gathering.
A tiny microphone nestled in his jacket lapel crackled. He opened his mouth to thank Rosie for her introduction when the crowd gasped and craned their necks. For a moment, Grady feared he’d left his fly undone or that an ugly stain from his hasty supper marred his uniform.
Then he heard a familiar voice, magnified over the speakers hanging from the girders supporting the park deck’s protective dome. Cassandra. He frowned, turning his attention to the holo, where a live shot of her face and upper body had replaced his image.
As far as he was aware, Cassandra wasn’t supposed to be part of the presentation. Had she decided to interrupt the proceedings and assert her opinion that Grady and his team were frauds? He wouldn’t be surprised if she seized the chance to humiliate his people and him in public.
Instead, he felt his jaw drop when she declared: “I have exciting news to share with you all.” Cassandra looked far more animated than Grady had ever seen her. She even smiled, although it seemed to require a concerted effort on the part of her facial muscles.
He glanced over his shoulder to see a mixture of surprise and confusion cross Rosie’s face. No, Cassandra’s abrupt intrusion into the assembly was neither expected nor planned, at least not by Rosie.
Cassandra’s next words caused a ripple of shock to surge through the audience: “It is with enormous joy that I tell you General Zhang, supreme commander of Earth Galactic military forces, has now assumed her rightful role and title. Long live Emperor Zhang! All hail the Eternal Empire!”
30
A swell of unease coursed through the crowd. A technician off to the side fiddled with the controls for the holo emitter, her expression desperate, then looked toward Rosie and shook her head. The mobile unit’s independent, sealed power supply meant that, with the interface unresponsive, short of blowing it up, the device could only be shut down from the main operations center.
The smile faded from Cassandra’s lips as she went on: “The emperor has graciously appointed me as the first governor of Overlord Station, formerly known as New Hebrides.” Her gaze swept the now silent crowd. “Remain calm, obey orders, and you and your family will experience a new era of peace, prosperity, and order under the emperor’s wise guidance. It is time to put an end to this farce of a rebellion.”
As if on cue, a muffled explosion caused everyone to look toward the transparent wall of the park deck, the sound reverberating from within the station. The laser cannon emplacement Grady had noticed earlier was ripped apart by the blast, mangled debris spiraling outward.
Most pieces floated away into vacuum, while some pattered against the reinforced dome, the noise loud amid the stunned hush. “The primary shield must be down,” Grady said, reaching for the laser pistol strapped to his thigh. “That can only mean one thing: the enemy has gained access to New Heb.”
Panicked shouts and screams erupted as people heaved to their feet and turned for the exits. “Stay calm,” Rosie said, her voice scarcely audible amid the rising clamor, attempting in vain to regain control of the gathering as she stood alone on the podium. Cassandra had fallen silent, her gaze focused on Rosie, her lips curled in a sneer.
A series of distant blasts was heard, and the ground trembled. “We’ve got to get Rosie out of here and regroup,” Grady yelled to Zoe above the confused cries, as people pushed and shoved their way toward the exits.
Scarlet beams lanced from high in the roof, bolts shredding several of Rosie’s security detail before they were even aware of the danger. Movement from overhead caught Grady’s attention as a pair of dark figures dropped from the girders, thumping onto the now empty ground right in front of the dais.
At first, he thought they must be wearing hardened and powered body armor, which would explain how they jumped from so high without apparent injury.
But as the newcomers brought laser rifles to their shoulders, a spike of frigid recognition surged down his spine. Though each seemed to be male, their appearance was chillingly similar to the female assassin who attacked him at Cavalier outpost. “Cyborgs!” he shouted, laser pistol gripped in his hand.
“No!” Zoe screamed and started thrusting her way through the remaining crowd between her and the dais, Grady at her heels.
Unarmed, with no chance to run or hide, Rosie stood erect, her features composed. Hands by her side, she gazed straight ahead without blinking as the cyborgs took aim. Multiple laser bursts raked her upper body, flinging her backward. She didn’t even scream or cry out.
Free of the throng, Zoe raced forward, her pistol raised, snapping off a flurry of shots as she ran. A bolt glanced off the back of a cyborg assassin and he turned so fast, all Grady saw was a blur of motion. “Watch out!” he yelled, ducking to one side, his aim thrown off.
But Zoe was focused on the prone figure of Rosie, lying crumpled and blood-soaked near the foot of the oak tree behind the podium. She didn’t react to Grady’s warning and seemed not to be conscious of the laser bolt as it slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. She grunted, dropping her pistol, and tried to struggle to her feet. The cyborg took a step forward, adjusting his aim, preparing to deliver the kill shot.
Oblivious to the danger as the second cyborg also turned in their direction, Grady opened fire, dinging the first killer on the chest. The attacker, more heavily armored than the female cyborg had been, shrugged off the strike and brought his weapon to bear on Grady.
Before the man could shoot, streams of laser bolts sizzled through the air, hammering both cyborgs. Grady glanced behind him to see the pair of Mbekis—almost like clones in their similar uniforms—with rifles braced as they emerged from the thinning crowd and poured bolt after bolt at the assailants.
“Get her out of there,” one of the two troopers yelled. Grady recognized the rich deep tones of the Mbeki from his reality, even as he turned back to face the stage. He needed no further urging, and, crouching low, dashed for Zoe’s unmoving form.
As he moved, he was aware of frenzied yells from nearby, along with the repeated rasp of weapons fire, growing louder. The meaning was clear to him: the cyborgs weren’t the only intruders. The station had been breached and more enemies were closing in on their position.
He dropped to his knees beside Zoe. Her uniform jacket was soaked crimson, and he couldn’t tell where she’d been hit. There was no time to check, and, anyway, he had no med-kit and couldn’t tend to her wounds. He shoved his pistol into its holster and said, “I’ve got you,” as he placed his hands under her arms. “We have to fall back. We’re about to be overrun.”
