9

The true purpose of a forerunner, huh? “A tyrant, you mean,” I said bitterly.

Another pause as if Prime was calculating my remark. “If you wish to consider yourself as you defined, then I will recognize you as such. Tyrant. Dictator. Supreme Leader. President. Prime Minister. Consul. King. Monarch. Emperor. However, these titles are irrelevant to the grand mission of the directive. What matters is that you are now your planet’s recognized representative to the rest of the galaxy. You are a forerunner. You must rule or die.”

Rule. Die. Such strange words pulled together.

“You join an elite echelon that few organics have reached in the universe’s lifetime,” Prime continued. “I have been transparent about what this position holds. Many have become kings, queens, potentates, and emperors of their civilizations. Powerful organics that control hundreds of worlds and dozens of distinct species. You will be no different, Tony Segerstrom. You will learn to become a powerful sovereign. You will adapt. You will be formidable.”

“Wait, you want me to conquer other worlds?”

“Yes. As other forerunners have done in the past. To protect their world. To shield their empire from potential threats.”

“What if I just stay here on Earth? Kick out the ones who end up visiting like these quartz?”

“An unusual strategy, but I will follow your decisions, nevertheless. However, once other species realize you have the forerunner technology, they will covet it for themselves.”

“But they don’t have the gene.”

“Does it matter? Greed is the ultimate betrayal of reason. They will see no other but pure power. They will desire to be you.”

“You should have warned me.”

“As a standard procedure, I have stated all factors and requirements of the Forerunner Directive to you upon your assessment. I have outlined what will happen upon your acceptance of the position.”

“But you didn’t tell me this! What about these people you serve? Are they watching all of this for entertainment? What purpose does this serve? Is a massive galactic war going on, and I happen to be recruited in the middle of it?”

“Inquiry access denied.”

“Are you programmed to become a kingmaker? Is that it? Lift a civilization, and what, recruit me into some VIP club or something?”

“Inquiry access denied.”

“You know what, fuck you, Prime.” I rubbed my face and my forehead with my hands out of frustration.

“Your adrenaline, testosterone, vasopressin, and cortisol levels are abnormally elevated. I apologize if you believe I have misled you, forerunner. It is not my intention.”

If Prime could lie, I couldn’t tell. Did he lead me on? Has he baited me and manipulated me from declining? His past assessments had failed before without selecting a single forerunner, but today, he found one. Was that luck? Perhaps I was one in a thousand, one in a million, or one in a billion. How unique was my selection? With the planet under an alien invasion, he admitted to desperation. I remember he mentioned that this assessment had a zero point two percent chance of success. He had tested seven million people already. What would the chances be to find another me out of eight billion people before the quartz destroyed the planet and everyone in it? Prime placed all the apples in my basket, willing to come out perfect and effective.

“Extrapolation factors are unreliable and unsubstantiated,” Prime said. “It is a waste of an inquiry.”

“How many assessments are left after me?”

“Three hundred thousand and two hundred and four untested candidates.”

Well, shit. I thought I was one of the early people he had tested, but I was one of the last. There was barely enough room in the pool to find another forerunner. Prime lucked out with me, but he would risk resuming the tests if I declined now. I would be signing the deaths of more than three hundred thousand people.

I waited for his response. Prime could hear my thoughts, but he remained silent this time. I didn’t dare ask the question at the tip of my tongue. I was afraid of what he would say.

I swallowed that fear. “If I refused this position and terminated me, and found that there was no one else besides me….”

“Then, the planet is lost, and the directive compels me to abandon your people to their fate,” he answered.

“You’d leave us to die?”

“Yes.”

I sighed. And in the silence, I began to laugh.

Prime remained quiet. He didn’t get how funny everything was.

“Oh my God, Prime, you have no idea how fucking stupid your makers are! Twelve thousand years of waiting for a dud? And what? Find another planet and do this shit all over again? You’re like a headless chicken running loose around the galaxy, murdering people! How long is your mission?”

“Indefinite.”

“Okay. Let me ask you another way. How long have you been operating under your directive?”

“94,223 years.”

“And over those years, you’re gonna let me do what the forerunners have done in the past? Rise and then fall?”

“I encourage you to do your best, Tony Segerstrom. The lives of your people depend on your actions and your choices.”

“So I’ve heard.” What a pep-talk. No pressure.

“Perhaps your reign will be different.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Prime’s attempt at a pep talk, but he did not join my amusement. I realized what he wanted me to do, but before then, I let the silence overwhelm me, listening to the ship’s hum and the faint staccato of rain against the window as the ship traveled at a breakneck speed. I enjoyed the stillness as if I was relieved by overdue peace. A holographic number on the dashboard displayed that we would reach our destination in ten minutes.

I sat there for another minute, wishing to extend this silence for eternity.

“Tell me if the pilots will survive without the nanites,” I asked.

“Lt. Francis Lehane, Lt. Marlon Sagan, and Lt. Vincent Bradley suffered considerable physical external, and internal trauma. They will not survive.”

“How long do they have?”

“Variables undefined.”

“Extrapolate with the available data you have about them.”

A pause. “Five minutes. Ten at most.”

“Okay.”

I got up and went back to the lower deck. Amelia, Rachel, Jason, Alonso, and Ryan stood to the side, and they shot me a concerned look when I stepped down the ramp. They’ve already confiscated the weapons from the pilots. I ignored them for now and marched toward Lt. Amendola and the rest of his men. Tom, Seth, and Freddie crouched in front of Lehane, checking his vitals and ensuring the pilot was comfortable on the cold ground. They and Amendola stood up when I approached. Behind them, the burned man and the soldier with the shrapnel groaned in pain while the last two nursed their broken legs.

“I can tell that we’re moving again. Are you taking us back stateside?” Amendola asked. He was still unsure how to talk to me, glancing at the drones, standing quietly as if they would suddenly lunge at him again.

“Boston. I moved the ship a little farther away from Europe since one of the enemy ships is there.”

“Well? Can your fucking robots help us or not?” One of the pilots with the broken leg groaned impatiently. I looked down at his name tag: 1st Lt. Nicholas Ochoa. He was at least in his early thirties. I quickly noticed the way Amendola fixated on him. Ochoa must be his commanding officer, but he also cautiously regarded the drones. He dared not move while a nanite mound wrapped around his broken leg.

I turned to face him. “Yes, they can, lieutenant.”

He looked down at the nanites with disgust. “Shit, this is absurd, listening to a fucking alien lackey,” he muttered. “Alright, what’s the problem then?”

“Look. I don’t have the time to explain everything, so I’ll cut to the chase: your men have at least five minutes left before they succumb to their injuries, especially you, first lieutenant. I directed this ship to the nearest hospital in Boston, given New York’s hospitals are probably swamped from the attacks, but ETA to the hospital is twelve minutes. That doesn’t include the time it takes to wheel you into the ER and do the emergency operation that’ll save your men’s lives. I don’t expect your men to survive that long without the medicine already available here on board.”

They grew quiet. I looked at Amelia and Jason, who stepped closer and looked puzzled.

I sighed. “In order for Prime—that’s the robot—to heal you and your men, you will have to accept my authority as the forerunner. In this case, as your sovereign.”

“The fuck is a forerunner?” Ochoa spat.

“Sovereign of what? Like an emperor?” Jason added.

Amelia pulled my arm. “What did Prime say to you?”

The others swamped me with questions, but I raised my left hand to quiet everyone down. “As I said, there’s no time. Yes or no, first lieutenant and I may be able to save them before it’s too late. So, what’s it gonna be?”

Silence clung in the air, broken by Ochoa’s big-bellied laughter. Amendola remained still and quiet. Amelia squinted her eyes at me while Jason shifted where he stood. Both of them couldn’t tell if I was being serious, but when they gazed upon my crestfallen face, they frowned.

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It was Lt. Lehane who spoke up first. “Will I walk again?” Lehane asked, and Ochoa’s laughter died quickly.

I gulped. “Yes. I guarantee it, lieutenant.” If Prime could bring me back from being stabbed in the head, he could fix the lieutenant’s spine. I glanced over at Tom and his prosthetic leg. Prime might also do something about that in the future.

I looked over at Lehane on the ground. He was still paralyzed but craned his neck just enough to meet my eye. He swallowed whatever fear or doubt crossed his mind and said, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

It didn’t take long for the others to agree, even Ochoa, who took a few minutes of convincing by his men to get there. Although I had no idea what these men were signing themselves up for, all I could tell was that Prime was pleased.

There. Happy now? I thought.

Prime did not comment.

The drones carried the injured men to the upper deck, leading them into a medical ward that Prime quickly constructed from whatever was left of the raw materials. It had transparent walls, where four flat tables waited. The drones dropped the men on each table, and a nanite trail started climbing from the floor. Prime calculated it would take an entire day or two to treat non-forerunner humans. These nanites could heal me in minutes with the technology optimally suited for me. Still, it was far better than waiting weeks in recovery at the hospital. Prime administered a standard dose of anesthetics, and they passed out within a minute of their treatment.

“Let Prime do his work,” I said to Amendola, who had followed us from the lower deck and insisted on staying by their side, but I didn’t trust the drones alone with him. They might interpret his actions as hostile again, and then I’d have a dead Air Force pilot in my ship. That’s going to be hard to explain to the US government.

He looked around warily, studying the ship. “So, am I still allowed to be here? Your robot friend ain’t going to throw me out into the freaking storm just for not pledging my loyalty to you, right? Or is that still on the platter?”

“Friend is a strong word to describe him,” I said, walking away from the med bay. He followed me.

“He seems subservient to you.”

“Not quite true. As for you staying here, we’ll see how this goes. Prime has designated your friends as my subjects now.” I winced at the words. I still felt uncomfortable saying it out loud. “To tell you the truth, I’m flying by the seat of my pants about all of this stuff. It’s hard to believe that Prime chose me to do all this an hour ago.”

“He chose you?”

I nodded. “Yes.” And left it at that. I didn’t want Amendola to know the specifics. I didn’t trust him fully yet.

“Is this some war between the two aliens? Is Earth in the middle of it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t discard that theory. I asked Prime, but he refused to tell me anything that was not within his framework. But these quartz—”

“The what now?”

“Sorry. Those are what we call the invaders.”

Amendola thought about it for a second. “Oh! Because they have crystals on their ships.”

“Right. Well, I don’t know what the quartz’s motivations are. Prime and whoever made him wanted someone to represent Earth to the rest of the galaxy. I assumed it was for that purpose. I reckon whoever made him controls a bunch of star systems already. A powerful and technologically advanced civilization willing to kill people to find forerunners who will pledge to their authority. Hell of a way to expand your borders.”

“To find you?”

“I guess. And he found me.”

“And you pledged allegiance to them?”

“Technically, yes.”

Amendola was quiet for a second. I knew what he was thinking. I just committed treason against the United States, punishable by death.

“How are you selected, then?”

I raised my brow. “It’s complicated. He chose me. Now I’m on this fucking ship flying it around and killing aliens.”

Amendola nodded. He realized I was not gonna tell him.

I continued, “And as for the quartz…are they here to conquer us? Take our resources? Annihilate us? Or maybe it was something benevolent, and we’ve misinterpreted it?”

“I don’t think they are here for that when they just coordinated a global attack across five major cities.”

“After we attacked them first.”

“I doubt saying sorry will be enough, no? You might have to destroy the other four.”

“That’s the plan anyway, but my ship needs repairs. I doubt we’d survive if I fly to Paris now and engage with the quartz there, especially when I am outnumbered. I have to build more ships.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You know how to build spaceships?”

“As of an hour ago…fuck yeah.”

“I’m assuming Prime is helping you with that.”

“Prime uploaded something in my brain. Look, it’s complicated. It’s all murky for now, but when I focus on the task I want to do—like flying this vessel—it becomes clearer, almost as if I’ve known how to ride a bike all this time. It’s like I’ve known all of this information for thousands of years.” I let out a nervous laugh. “And sometimes it gives me a fucking bad headache.”

“Have you talked to your superiors?” He pointed at the ACU I was wearing.

“I’m a cadet in my university’s Naval Reserved Officer’s Training Corps, but I’m still an active duty Marine as a staff sergeant. I haven’t told them a damn thing. Haven’t had the time.”

“And your crew?” He glanced at Tom, Jason, and the others around the flight deck.

“Some are part of my squad. First Battalion, Fifth Marines. They’re here of their own free will, and something about not letting me get killed. They’re a good bunch. Stupid idiots who were willing to follow another idiot. That sort of deal.”

His face dropped. “Oh. A part of me thought the government sent you.”

“And what? This is some kind of secret research project in Area 51?” I glanced at the crawling nanites and the stationary drones waiting for my command. “I don’t think we have the technology to develop these things.”

“Maybe Area 51 already has one of these things.”

“Hm. Maybe. Prime hasn’t said anything about it.” I smacked my lips. And Prime was connected to everything, so if he had any suggestions about some hidden alien cache around the planet, now was the right time to tell me.

Silence.

Oh, well.

“Ah, I wished you were bullshitting down there, but you’re not,” Amendola said. “We should talk to Command about this. This technology will be a great asset to the United States government. To our country. Based on what you told me, it is a dangerous weapon to have.”

I shook my head. “I’m thinking of keeping it.”

“No offense, staff sergeant, but you are barely twenty—”

“I’m twenty-six.”

“Really?”

“I’ve heard it before, and I get carded a lot. Let’s not dwell on it.”

“Well, my point is, perhaps it is better to hand over this technology to someone more experienced, like a commander, admiral, or even the president! We are at war, staff sergeant. They know how to lead a war more than we do. It’d be—” he paused, trying to collect his thoughts. “—It’d be treason if you don’t do it.”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t think that’s a good idea, lieutenant.”

“Then why did you tell me all of that?” Amendola eyed me warily. “You’re confident enough to divulge that information, and I work for the government you’re supposed to serve.”

What he meant to say was: I could use that information against you. I gave him a shrug. “Lieutenant, if you ever thought of betraying me, Prime will kill you without hesitation the moment you think it. He has access to the world’s databank and, hell, even the fucking Internet. He has existed for thousands of years. I think he knows a thousand more ways to kill you from thousands of miles away.”

“I—I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just—”

“Hey, it’s okay. We got our emotions up. And it isn’t up to me anyway,” I said, looking at the ceiling. “If I handed this technology over to our leaders, he leaves Earth.”

“Really? He’ll leave us?”

No, not really, I thought. But many people were going to get killed looking for another me. A little white lie would save everyone. Amendola didn’t need to learn the specifics of my capabilities. “Yes. He’s going to leave for another planet, which means we lose a powerful weapon and leave Earth defenseless against a threat we know nothing of. It will take us hundreds of years to replicate Prime’s technology. Maybe thousands of years more, and that’s if we survive another alien incursion. And besides, I don’t trust the guys down there. Hell, I don’t trust people in general. Dozens of governments have too many grudges to settle, and handing them this technology will only blow everything up.”

“Sooner or later, the other countries will replicate this technology.”

I shook my head. “But they can’t replicate me. Think of it like this: I’m the key in the ignition. If you want to drive the car, you gotta have me in the same room. It’s as simple as that.”

“Then, why don’t you? In times like these, we need to cooperate.”

“Will we, though?”

“We might. These are aliens threatening our home. People have banded for less.”

“Let’s see it this way. What do you think our country’s enemies will do when they find out we have this tech and only one person controls it? Turn over and let it happen? Kidnap me? No way I’m gonna be some lab rat pulling the trigger for them like some drone. Reverse that, and what will our government do when they get their hands on this tech that is leaps and bounds more advanced than what we currently have in our arsenal? Throughout history, we’ve used our advantage to subjugate everyone around us. Living in a modern and civilized world doesn’t necessarily make that instinct vanish. It’s still there, hidden and locked away.”

“But you wear that uniform. You should wear it more proudly.”

I scoffed. “I wear this uniform because I am financially desperate, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have respect or any love for it. See those men?” I pointed to my friends. “I’d die for them in a heartbeat, along with the men I served for years. I trust them more than the ones behind a cramped war room. It doesn’t matter now, anyway. Everyone down there will make me an enemy of the state once I tell them who I am and what Prime has done to me. I don’t plan to stay inside a windowless room forever while my own government tells me how I command Prime, what to build, who to attack, and how many genocides I should commit without question and a mind of my own. And don’t even think for a second they’ll allow me to work independently outside their agenda. All my rights are gone once they discover who I am. They’d be stupid enough to let me run with a loaded nuke around the planet.”

“So you are going to fight these quartz alone?”

I laughed. “Hell no. Are you crazy? I barely got out of the last fight. I’m saying that everyone should work together and that this tech isn’t only available for one government. I’ll be the middleman. But I won’t hold my breath if they would rather be at each other’s throats than work with me. I’ve been to war, lieutenant. I’ve seen grown men turn into bickering children at the drop of a hat. We fought a fucking war trying to look for WMDs.”

“You’re handing out these weapons to both sides?”

“You don’t get it, lieutenant. I am the weapon, and no one owns me.”

Before we entered the cockpit, Amendola stopped in his tracks. “I was born in New York—East Harlem kid. My grandparents would be disappointed if I didn’t thank you for helping us there. You led the bastard out of the city, probably saving millions. So, thank you.”

“I thought you didn’t trust me.”

“I still don’t. If I was out of line for saying those things, I apologize. It seems like you know what you are doing, but it doesn’t change my opinion that you might be doing something insurmountably stupid and that you are way over your head.”

“Oh? Don’t worry. I’m thinking the exact thing.” And I didn’t have a choice in the matter. “So, do you want me to drop you off in New York?”

“No, that won’t be necessary. The aliens hadn’t hit that side of the city at all. I will stick by my men until they fully recover, and then I will contact my folks down there. And thank you for keeping my men alive, too.”

I smiled. “Thank me once this is over and these bastards are out of the solar system. And besides, we have another New Yorker on the ship.” I pointed to Freddie. “He’s from Brooklyn.”

I stepped into the cockpit. The others were busy watching the news on the holographic dashboard, parting when they saw me approach. Amelia gave Amendola a wary glance.

“All the ships are leaving!” Ryan exclaimed excitedly, pointing at the dashboard.

“What? What do you mean they are leaving?”

I walked faster toward the dashboard and watched the news feeds showing the ships above Paris, Johannesburg, and Mumbai taking to the air. Only the one in Beijing hadn’t been seen again since the Chinese attacked it, and it retaliated by burning a quarter of the city.

“Did we scare it away?” Seth asked, sounding hopeful.

“I doubt it’s that simple,” Tom said, studying the screen. “We still don’t know their true purpose. They might have a mothership of their own.”

“Oh, great. Something to look forward to,” I said sarcastically.

“One day at a time,” Amelia said.

Various satellites indicated the three vessels were moving past the moon’s orbit without veering off-course. I realized their departure coincided with when I blew up the quartz’s ship. I might have scared them off, but I had a bad hunch that this wasn’t over yet. They would no longer continue their attacks on the other four cities, but the destruction they left behind was insurmountable. Millions were believed to be dead. Twice as many were injured. However, the five V-shaped structures remained in Earth’s orbit, causing a large ripple of fear and panic worldwide.

“Do you know where they are heading?” I asked Prime.

“Negative.”

“None at all?”

“Negative.”

“Is there any other way to track their movements?”

“Yes.”

I sighed, frustrated. Prime was not easy to talk to sometimes. “Okay. Do it.”

“Error detected. This vessel has a limited inter-planar sensor and infrared emission detector. The forerunner is encouraged to build the command center.”

“Where can I build that?” I reckoned there was still a lot of space on this ship. I thought building it at the heart of the ship protected it from hull breaches during dogfights.

“This vessel has insufficient raw materials. The central console station meets all requirements for a command center.”

I craned my neck up and looked at the floating structures in orbit. Up there?

Correct, Prime replied in my head.

I turned toward the others. “Anyone up for a little trip?” And I pointed to the sky.