CHAPTER 44

Earth

2027

The fog was clear. Rory's slowly returning memories and the ones that felt out of reach were all back.

Vehru no longer wore that cocky smile she'd so often sported since she came. The wallpaper thin expression she'd disguised herself with was gone. Instead, Rory looked into the eyes of a ruthless and saddened killer.

"I didn't make a mistake." A film of tears shone over Vehru's eyes. "You and Jace are perfect. Just like I was perfect for this job. Without you two I could conquer Earth, but with you, I can change the planet."

"You're a psychopath and everything you say is deranged. You want me to be your Witness? Give me my hand mods and get out of my way. I want the good ones. Not what I pieced together here on Earth."

"Who will you fight for?"

Rory's nostrils flared as she walked forward and stopped right before Vehru. Despite the fear fluttering in her chest, she met the woman's eyes, and forced her to see what she'd done to Rory. "My family. My world."

"Which one?"

"Listen." Rory closed her eyes and forced herself to take in the sounds her mind had tried to block out. The shrieking of war. "You hear that and you dare to ask me such a thing."

A hand grabbed her hair and ripped a cry from her chest. Rory opened her eyes wide to Vehru looking down on her.

"Do not mistake my suffering for weakness." Vehru lowered her voice to a rumbling whisper. "No matter how much I pity you, I can keep going." Pain scratched at her scalp as Vehru's hold tightened. "Play your part, Witness. Don't waste your time fighting me. There's better use of your energy."

"Where's Jace?" The question shocked her, peeling from her lips without warning. When it came down to it, that was all she wanted to know. Where she could find the ones she loved. They needed each other if they had any hope of stopping this mad woman.

"It's this simplicity that makes a witness so perfect." Vehru loosened her hold, but did not yet release Rory. "One person can become a whole world to you. Do your job. Give Earth some much needed guidance."

Vehru let her go and Rory stumbled back, gripping her head. "Maybe I could do that if you weren't spreading lies about me. Or if you'd let me remember anything before now."

"You couldn't be trusted with your memories before now. You're a rebellious child. You would have given them too much information." Vehru stepped back. "You should warn the Americans about what we're capable of. The world needs to know that tonight is only a taste."

"My mods, Vehru."

She pulled a cylindrical device from her pocket. "You can have this, but you'll have to find your squad for the rest. They're here. Jace is in charge of a very important operation tonight. I suggest you get Theo and your puppies out before he's done." Vehru glowered. "Run along and find them." Then, she vanished entirely.

Alone now, Rory turned to the officer nearby and knelt down to check his pulse. Steady and strong. Vehru had only incapacitated him with a laser that likely acted on his nerves. She'd want to be able to claim that she minimized loss of life and try to take a moral high ground.

"You won't be using these for a while…" Rory removed the officer's weapons and took them for herself.

Vehru did not want the Witness knowing everything she planned and left much of the training for the actual invasion of Earth for after Rory was gone. So Rory would have to rely on Jace for what she missed. There was plenty more she remembered. For now, Jace would have to fight for Vehru. They needed time to enact their plan, and there were crucial elements they hadn't remotely come close to figuring out before Rory was sent to Earth.

There was no time to waste. Rory prepared herself as she lifted the cylinder. She hadn't started using these injectables until the last five years on Lumiea. She'd always tried to go without them or temporary implants, but the advances in weaponry were too good to pass up. Holding her left eye open with one hand, she placed the cylinder right in front of her pupil. She winced before she even injected it and had to reposition. Finally, she pressed the plunger.

Pain shot through the center of her eye. Doubling over, she swallowed down her cry as the connection traveled through her optic nerve and into her brain.

It hurt so much worse than she remembered. This was why Jace had chosen permanent implants. One surgical procedure hurt far less than these temporary devices. But a Witness couldn't have anything permanent.

Her vision normalized. Then, the sounds around her swelled until she thought she would go deaf or mad. Rory breathed to get control of the heightened senses. It had been so long since she'd used anything like this.

Rory was adjusting to her senses like she had with her memory. As dizzying as it all was, she fell back on her instincts. She needed to ensure Theo and the dogs evacuated safely. Then, she could look for her squad. For Jace.

Rory ran fast enough to feel as though her muscles were tearing. The control the implant gave her over her impulses allowed her to harness the full potential of her body. While she wasn't as effective as she was when she'd trained, she was still impressed with her speed as she sprinted for home.

Amazing to think of what Jace and the rest of the squad would be capable of by now. As ridiculous as it was given the circumstances, Rory actually felt a twinge of excitement and even jealousy at the thought of them advancing. Some young part of her impulsively felt that way before she remembered all those skills would be used to attack this planet that she'd come to love.

The ground rumbled with another distant explosion. The US must have tried sending another aircraft. If Vehru was successfully destroying them then it meant America had so far not been successful in defending against the AI.

Such a mess.

The base had transformed into a war zone and it was anything but a fair fight. American soldiers fought valiantly against Vehru's troops, swarming the streets in their vehicles, shooting at the invaders. But they were ill-prepared for this threat.

An American Jeep barreled toward a large soldier, but the Lumiean man bent his knees and jumped so high that he landed on the roof of the vehicle. The driver swerved as the man punched through the metal and ripped weapons away from those inside. At the same time, an American on foot was shot by a stun gun.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Rory's enhanced hearing allowed her to catch clanging sounds that stood out to her. Soldiers nearby fired RPGs toward a squad of Lumieans. She threw up her shield just as one woman raised her hand mod and forced the grenades up into the air with a concussive blast. In the distance, she thought she saw drones from the US, which gave her hope that they'd managed to circumvent the powerful offensive and defensive maneuvers of the Replica. The very next moment, though, fear hit her for what it could mean for her people from back home.

Even as the US forces mounted their defense, the Lumiean soldiers seemed to easily break through, as well as fend off any attacks. Vehru's soldiers hadn't even launched aerial attacks. If an Aerolux came, this would be a disaster. Was she holding back on purpose?

At least they were trying not to kill these poor people. Today, at least. She didn't know all the phases to Vehru's plan, but she figured the non-lethal assaults would not last forever.

Rory neared the residential block where she and Theo lived when she noticed a form running across a roof.

Her breath caught. Jace…

She felt his presence as much as she recognized his silhouette. There was little of him to see with the bullet-proof suit covering his body and the helmet blocking her view of his face. But Rory knew it was him. She could never forget the way he moved.

Her body slowed on instinct, torn between the last block separating her from Theo and the few buildings between herself and Jace.

None of the fighting seemed to have moved into the neighborhoods. Vehru wanted people to survive. The Federation needed the energy field their consciousness created. They wouldn't attack innocent civilians. Jace was on a mission and Rory was likely the only person who could slow him down.

She pivoted for Jace, unable to know for certain if that was the real reason she decided to chase after him or if she simply needed to go to him first.

Though she wanted nothing more than to run to him and embrace him, that wasn't what she had to do now. She wouldn't be able to make it to him in time. He was moving too fast. Instead, she braced her heart and reminded herself that Jace had spent ten years preparing for this war while she'd lived in peace on Earth. He'd be ready for anything she could throw at him.

Those things she told herself made no difference to her heart, though, as she raised the M16 in his direction and wrestled with her body to force it to do what all of her instincts screamed not to do.

She forced the trigger down. Jace's head snapped her way just as she began firing. He froze, not attempting to move or defend himself, as bullets peppered his chest.

From this distance, she couldn't see if any of the bullets had managed to pierce his suit, but he showed no sign of injury as he leapt to the next roof.

He had no choice but to fight for Vehru tonight. Rory knew that. Didn't blame him for what he was doing. But she knew that slowing him down might help at least one person on this base. Even if it devastated her heart.

This fight against Jace wouldn't have been fair even if she'd been home to keep up with advancements in implants considering she wasn't a combat soldier. But she was Jace's weakness, and knowing that she wouldn't manage to hurt him freed her while he'd be tethered by the fear of what he could do to her. The field was as level as it ever could be.

Jace leapt down from the building and landed with a ground shaking thud in front of her. Rory didn't stop sprinting. Her body was drawn to him. Charging right for him. Desperate to be close, even if it meant taking a swing at him.

He didn't try to stop her. He stood there as she slammed into him and managed to knock him back against the wall. It was like hitting a tank.

Rory had plastered him against the building, certain it was because he let her.

She reached for his gun, but he caught her wrists and whipped her around to press her against the wall. The heat of his broad body warmed her in the night.

Jace grunted in frustration. "Don't piss Vehru off tonight."

Hearing his voice nearly sapped the strength from her muscles. He was close. So close.

"They need time." Rory barely managed to speak. "This is all I can give them."

"You remember bullets still hurt, right?" He ripped her gun away. "One would have gotten my attention as much as five."

Tears pinched her eyes. Quickly, she scanned his suit for damage, noticing a small tear at his chest. No blood. Good. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I should have avoided it."

He slid his thumbs along her hands, clearly savoring the touch despite that Rory had attacked him. The feel of it froze Rory as well. She remembered looking into his eyes as he desperately fought to make it to her the day they'd lost one another. Throat thick with unshed tears, Rory ripped his helmet off so she could see his face. It took her breath away to be able to see him when their life together felt so close and real with her memories fully returned.

The anguish of leaving Jace and Levi behind was crushing her.

Jace lifted his hand and as carefully as one would have to move to catch a single grain of sand in the water, he feathered a finger along the line of her cheek.

Her knees were so weak, she worried they'd give out. Rory's body was melting toward his. His lips caught one tear as it slipped down her cheek, and then another.

Rory laced her fingers over the back of his neck and gasped at the closeness. "I need to see you again, when we have more time."

"It might be easier for you if you don't."

Her nails dug into his skin. "I won't have this conversation with you."

"Okay. It's okay. I'll come to you."

"Soon."

"Soon," he whispered.

"I remember now. I need updates." She trusted Jace to know that she meant about the fight they'd been preparing for ever since she'd found the bracelet with the name Rory inscribed.

"I know," Jace said. "Here." He unzipped a pocket on the side of his vest and pulled out hand mods that he placed in her hand. "I thought you'd need these. Guess I was right." He smirked at the homemade ones she wore. "You should get out of here. There's nothing you can do tonight. Check out the files loaded on there."

Rory wasn't going to just run away, but she wouldn't fight with him either. "Thank you, Jace."

"It's not a good sign when you don't argue. I know that means you're ignoring me. You're out here alone. Be careful. Please."

"You too."

When he drew back enough that they could look at one another well, Rory saw that pain burned in his eyes. They needed more than this. She needed to know everything that he and Levi had been through and what Jace was thinking. That wasn't close to all. Rory needed to wrap him up in her arms and make him believe everything would be okay. To kiss him until neither one of them could breathe and heal his broken heart.

For all the reasons they couldn't right now, one consumed her mind.

It must have occurred to him as well because of what he soon spoke. "Was this enough time for Theo to escape?"

Her heart was being shredded inside her. "I hope so."

"I can't let you stop me this time. I'll be late."

"What does she have you doing?"

"If you want to help, get people out of here. Trust me. That's all you can do tonight."

It wasn't like him to keep secrets from her. Vehru could hear them. "She's still using Trin."

The bitter anger in his eyes said it all. Rory lowered her head.

"I have to go."

The feeling of losing him ten years ago overcame her and she gripped him hard. "No, Jace."

He nodded, voice thick. "Soon, Aeryn. I promise. I'll come to you soon." A tug away from her.

"Wait. Not yet."

Pain tightened his face as she slid her hands up the back of his head to draw him close. Until he broke free of her like a flash of lightning. He'd grabbed his helmet and jumped to the roof in the time it took her to push off from the wall.

Rory clutched her chest to keep her heart from bursting free. She had no hope of catching him this time.

"Don't you dare let Vehru get you killed! Stay alive, Jace."

He looked down on her. Then, he turned and was gone.

Gone again.

If it wasn't for Theo being in danger, Rory would have sunk to the ground, unable to rise. But she managed to stay standing, turn, and finally to run for the other man she loved.