Return to Sol: Star Rise Read online

  Carl – Katrina’s first mate and one of the ship’s original crew. He led the engineering team that retrofitted the Voyager for FTL, and joined the crew shortly afterward.

  Kirb – Kirb was an engineer who helped with the Voyager’s retrofit, and has served aboard ever since.

  Camille – Like Carl and Kirb, Camille came aboard the ship to aid in the retrofit. She has since taken the role of chief engineer aboard the Voyager.

  Malorie – Wife of a warlord in the Midditerra System, Malorie was responsible for breaking Katrina and learning her secrets. In the end, the tables were turned, and she formed an uneasy alliance with Katrina. Over the following centuries, they have become close friends.

  Troy – One of the original AIs aboard the Intrepid, Troy was thought dead after he saved the colony ship from a Sirian attack. Katrina later found him on Victoria’s moon, and he aided her in finding the Voyager and leaving the Kapteyn’s Star System.

  Location Unknown/Traveling

  Lisa Wrentham (also known as Widow A1) – Finaeus’s ex-wife and long-time ally of General Garza and Praetor Kirkland in Orion space, Lisa was thought dead in the battle that took place in New Earth. However, during the effort to save Tangel, she was given an opportunity to escape, and took it.

  MAPS

  For more maps, visit www.aeon14.com/maps.

  PART 1 – NEW CANAAN

  A DIVE TO REMEMBER

  STELLAR DATE: 05.27.8950 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: Dive Tower, Normandy

  REGION: Roma, New Canaan System

  Cary drew a slow breath as they stepped off the shuttle onto one of Normandy Tower’s high docking platforms. The moon’s surface was fifty kilometers below, and the tower’s disk spread out another dozen above.

  She’d only been there once before, present for that fateful meeting with Sera’s father, Jeffrey Tomlinson—or his clone, as it had turned out. For her, that was when her idyllic childhood had ended, only to be replaced with a galaxy-spanning war.

  And ascension.

  That thought brought on the exact reason she’d come out here with her sisters. They were hoping to not think of their missing mother and their father’s anguish for at least a few days. It was hard when your mom was kind of in charge of everything. Every single face they looked at was looking back with an expression of pity or sympathy.

  It was crushing.

  “You with us?” Saanvi asked from her side. “I know you could probably just levitate up to the dive platform, but the rest of us have to take the lift.”

  Faleena snorted. “Speak for yourself. I could totally fly up there if I had to.”

  Cary smiled at her two sisters. “No, I’ll go the easy way. Spending time with you two…just being normal…that’s the point.”

  Saanvi gestured at the door leading into the tower. “Well, let’s get that underway, then. Normal starts with walking over there.”

  “On it,” Cary said with a laugh, leading the way.

  The laugh was forced, and she hoped the other two couldn’t tell. She was still wracked with guilt over what she’d done to her sisters aboard A1’s ship. That feeling was compounded by the knowledge that her mother was likely imprisoned—or worse—at the galactic core.

  So many of the people she’d grown up with were gone. Her mother, Earnest, dozens of others serving across the galaxy, many of whom would never return to New Canaan.

  A memory of Priscilla sprang forward in her mind, and with it, the knowledge that Cary’s own brash behavior had killed the woman, denying her the final merger with Bob’s mind that she’d craved so much.

  That pain was sharpened by the fact that her actions aboard A1’s ship and the final confrontation at New Sol had led to her and her sisters being welcomed back to New Canaan as heroes.

  Which was what hurt the most.

  I should be punished for what I did. I killed my mother. I’m a monster.

  She knew that wasn’t exactly true—or at least, that’s what everyone had tried to convince her of. ISF psychologists, her father…even Bob.

  But she saw the haunted look in Joe’s eyes when he thought she didn’t know he was looking at her. She didn’t need to reach into his mind to know what was going on in there.

  My daughter killed my wife.

  Sure, they all believed that Tanis and Angela were alive. Bob was certain of it, and Joe clung to that, but that didn’t change the fact that Tangel had died.

  No one else seemed to feel that loss in the same way as Cary.

  Then again, none of them were ascended. Tangel was Cary’s mother in a different fashion than she was to Saanvi and Faleena.

  “Hellooooo.” Faleena clasped a hand on Cary’s shoulder. “Let’s go already.”

  “Right,” Cary nodded, realizing that her forward momentum had slowed to a crawl. “It’s just…should we really be doing this? Mom’s out there somewhere, Sera is searching for her in the core, and we’re back here, picking up extreme sports.”

  “Then think of it as training,” Saanvi replied as they reached the door, stepping into the tower’s warmly colored interior and well-lit passage. “There’s every chance that someday, we’ll need to dive into a gas giant and hit a platform below the cloudtops.”

  “Honestly, it’s a little surprising we haven’t already,” Faleena added.

  “Another notch in our belts.” Cary did her best to add a carefree laugh before pressing the call button on the lift and waiting for the car to arrive.

  It only took a moment, and the three women filed on and stood in silence as it rose.

  “Crazy that you weren’t born yet the last time we were here,” Saanvi said to Faleena. “It feels like we’ve lived a lifetime since then.”

  The AI laughed. “Well, that’s literally true for me.”

  Cary couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well played.”

  “Thank you.” Faleena gave a mock bow as the doors opened, welcoming them onto the platform’s main deck.

  The tower had taken some damage in the battle following that fateful meeting with the Transcend some years prior. A repair crew had come through and cleaned up, but the facility had seen little use since, what with the war drawing most of New Canaan’s residents away.

  An automaton approached, striding across the foyer, giving them a cheery wave before offering a greeting. “Welcome to the Normandy Recreational Tower!”

  “Thank you,” Faleena said, giving the NSAI a polite nod. “We’re here to do a dive down to Roma’s surface.”

  “Of course!” the automaton replied. “That is exactly what we’re here for. Only, we can’t today.”

  “Umm…why?” Cary asked. “We have clearance to be here.”

  “Oh yes,” the robot nodded enthusiastically. “You would not have been granted docking clearance otherwise. However, a cyclone has dipped into Roma’s central zone, and the dive platform shifted south to avoid it.”

  Faleena frowned. “Why can’t we just shift to the south in our dive trajectory?”

  “Oh no!” Though the automaton spoke in denial of the suggestion, its tone remained bright and cheerful. “That would break protocol.”

  “What sort of protocol?” Cary asked.

  “Well, your angle of approach toward the landing platform would increase your chances of missing it.”

  Saanvi laughed. “OK…that does seem compelling. I’m not super-keen on falling into Roma till it crushes us.”

  “How long till the platform is back in position?” Faleena asked.

  “Tomorrow morning! The exact time is uncertain. You know how the weather is—especially on Roma.”

  “I’ve heard talk,” Cary replied. “Well, in that case, are the restaurants open?”

  They were met with another gleeful nod from the NSAI. “Oh, of course! We have a great many delicacies waiting for you. It’s been so long since we’ve had the opportunity to serve anyone. Follow me!” The automaton tottered off toward one of the sweeping staircases that led up to the top deck.
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  This was largely as Cary remembered it: a wide, open area filled with foliage and a smattering of large, intimate dining areas spread throughout.

  The robot led them to a small grotto surrounded by a variety of tall, flowering plants, and bid them to make themselves comfortable before it disappeared into the greenery.

  Cary looked up and took in Roma’s red and blue clouds, perfectly visible through the clear dome that stretched over the top deck. It was a beautiful sight, and from the vantage, no ships or stations were visible. It felt almost as though—

  “I can’t help but feel like we’re the only people alive anywhere,” Saanvi said, all but speaking Cary’s mind. “It’s rather…”

  “Serene,” Faleena suggested.

  “I was going to say unnerving. I’ve never liked the idea of being alone on a ship with nothing around.”

  Cary knew why that was. Saanvi had been found after her father’s ship had been adrift for centuries, the sole survivor of an encounter with Exaldi that had killed everyone else aboard. The nightmares she’d suffered afterward had kept her—and Cary—up many nights until she reached her later teens.

  That thought reminded Cary of how often it had been Angela who had comforted the two girls when that occurred. The idea that maybe, just maybe, her mothers would both return was one that both gave her hope and a steadily growing knot of anxiety as the days since Sera had jumped to the core passed.

  “You’re thinking of them again,” Saanvi said, speaking into the silence that Cary’s drifting thoughts had created.

  “Sorry,” she shrugged. “This is getting nuts, though. How long are we supposed to wait?”

  Faleena shrugged. “Bob said—”

  “Bob has all the time in the world!” Cary spat out the words, surprising even herself with the vehemence they bore. She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to calm down. “I can’t wait forever.”

  “None of us can,” Saanvi said. “We all played a part in what happened at New Earth. You don’t carry the blame alone…no pun intended.”

  “I made you go along with me,” Cary whispered. “You were basically my…my slaves.”

  Faleena placed a hand on Cary’s arm. “That wasn’t you. Not exactly.”

  “It wasn’t, no, but it is.”

  Saanvi cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

  Cary tapped her temple. “She’s still in here. A1. I still have her memories, I understand her motivations, her desires. A part of me is her now.”

  “Having her memories doesn’t shape you,” Faleena said. “I possess many memories and knowledge from our parents, but I am not them. I am me. I make my own way in the world.”

  Cary winced. “I don’t know if that makes it better.”

  Saanvi reached out and placed a hand on Cary’s other arm. “It means you can redeem yourself in your own eyes.”

  “Because we have already forgiven you,” Faleena added.

  Tears threatened to spill down Cary’s cheeks, and she ducked her head, knowing if she made eye contact, the waterworks would start, and there would be no stopping them.

  After a few shuddering breaths, she dared to glance up at her sisters. “Shit…this was supposed to be a way to take our minds off things. Sorry I’m ruining it.”

  Saanvi snorted. “That’s just what we told you. Really, it was a way for us to have you to ourselves and hash out some of this stuff.”

  “I’ve been ambushed,” she grumbled.

  There was a temptation to be upset at her sisters, but Cary quashed that. The fact that they were going out of their way to help her when she was the one who had wronged them was something she couldn’t ignore. If anything, the urge to blurt out something about not deserving their compassion was nearly impossible to suppress.

  “May I prepare you a drink?”

  The automaton had returned, saving them from coming up with a way to continue the conversation.

  After they’d each made a selection, Cary reached out for her sisters’ hands. “OK, I promise not to mope anymore. Let’s talk about happier times, like when Faleena first got a body and couldn’t figure out how to walk and talk at the same time.”

  “What are you talking about?” The AI placed a hand on her chest, an expression of mock indignance on her diminutive features. “I have no memory of that.”

  Saanvi snorted. “Riiiiight. Just like how you never got in a tussle with the octopuses on Troy that one time.”

  “They were being cheeky snots!”

  Cary laughed. “They excel at that. I’m starting to think that they figured out humor years ago, and just revel in being little shits now.”

  Saanvi nodded. “Did I tell you about the time they raided the capitol building and deeded the underwater park to themselves?”

  Faleena rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips. “No, but I’m not surprised. Now tell me all about it.”

  * * * * *

  Cary ran through an automated systems check on her dive suit while giving Faleena’s a visual once-over. Meanwhile, Faleena was checking Saanvi over, who was inspecting Cary.

  The armor was virtually indistinguishable from vacuum-capable powered armor, which wasn’t surprising, as the threats Roma’s atmosphere presented were not so different from those of armed combat.

  Faleena’s gear checked out, and Cary’s own diagnostics pronounced her good to go at the same time that Saanvi gave her the thumbs-up.

  Faleena said, a smile visible through her helmet’s clear faceshield.

  Cary gave a self-mocking laugh.

  Saanvi rolled her eyes.

  She turned toward the airlock, and the others followed, passing through a brief cycle and out onto the Jump Deck. The trio obeyed the indicators on their HUDs leading them to one of the several pads that encircled the tower’s upper platform.

  Cary eyed the ten-meter-wide ring skeptically. They were over half a million kilometers from Roma, and that ring was what they were relying on to send them from the tower to a kilometer-wide platform drifting in Roma’s clouds.

  Granted, their dive suits had thrusters to keep them on course, but it was still a long way to fall through the black.

  she asked as they stepped onto the pad.

  Saanvi asked.

 

  Faleena snorted.

  Cary nodded, still staring up at Roma’s bulk hanging above them.

  Saanvi asked.

  Cary shook her head.

  Saanvi added, then made a slurping sound.

  Cary gave her sister a measuring look.

  Saanvi shrugged.

  Faleena whistled.

  The other two groaned in unison.

  the AI asked.

  Cary laughed.

 

  Saanvi pointed upward.

  Cary nodded.

  The first number to appear was 30, and from there, it ticked down, one per second, until at 10, the trio rose off the pad and reoriented to face up. The a-grav system held them aloft until 3, when they began to rise at a sedate pace. At 0, the a
cceleration reached ten gs and held for half a minute until they were out of the a-grav field’s control, free-falling toward Roma.

  Cary shouted to the others, who were now a few dozen meters away, the trio forming a slightly lopsided triangle.

  Saanvi added, breath fogging her faceshield for a moment before the excess moisture cleared out.

  A marker appeared on the gas giant. It lay just south of the equator in the light blue zone that encircled the world’s widest point.

  Cary said.

  Saanvi clarified.

  Faleena sent an audible groan across the comms.

  Saanvi replied.

  Cary said with a soft laugh.

  her sister replied.

  The laughter felt good, and Cary basked in the feeling, remembering how pissed everyone had been, and how their punishment had been going to school for things they’d long surpassed.

  Of course, that had led to saving Nance and uncovering the threat that ascended AIs posed. Without that, they would never have found and killed Myrrdan, or managed a host of other victories.

  Or ended up taking on A1 and…winning?

  She drew in a shuddering breath, then blew it out, briefly obscuring Roma.

  No. I’m not going there. I need to move on. Moms are alive, and Sera is going to save them. We’re all going to be together again.

  Faleena said after a few minutes, bringing Cary back to the present.

  Roma now filled over ninety degrees of the view before them, its red and blue colored clouds drifting across the world’s surface, their movement deceptively slow.

  Cary said.

  Saanvi asked.