Haywire (31 page)

“
A day ago I would have said you were crazy to not trust the Alliance,” he said, hating the words as they fell from his lips. “I work for them, for God’s sake. But after today, after being shot at by our own people… You probably did the right thing. But so far as this invasion goes, you know you’re taking the word of a self-professed sick person, right?” He glanced over at Artemis, who cast a baleful eye his way, and said,” No offense.”

The Titan shrugged her shoulders. “None taken.”

Agent Delgado turned toward the sagging Titan and asked, “Do you have any sort of proof to back up your claims? Anything at all? If you do, then we might be able to regain control of the situation, help find a way out. If not, I don’t think there’s anything we can do to stop them coming after us.”

Artemis looked down at her metal hands, and the emptiness in them was apparent to everyone. Her head then rose up, and with a renewed glow in her eyes she said, “Do you ha-a-ave a recording unit on you?”

Alex felt the weight of the recorder in the side pocket of his cargo pants. He hadn’t thought about it since leaving Callisto. “Yeah, it’s standard issue.”

“
Let me see it,” Artemis said, reaching toward him. “Hopefully it’ll have enough memory capa-a-acity.”

He gave her a puzzled look, but did as she asked. Once Artemis had the device she opened the screen toward them and said, “This is how the end began.”

Everyone save for the shuttle pilots gathered in front of the Titan and locked their eyes on the recorder screen in her hands. As her eyes closed, the screen flashed to life, and suddenly they were looking at another place, another time. A towering figure stood central on the screen, his armor similar to Artemis’s, but his size making even her look small. His armored chest was broad and his chin jutted forward like the prow of a warship.

“
So this is where it ends,” he said, turning to look at her, red eyes shimmering fiercely in a mirror-finish face.

“
I never doubted we’d make it here, Thanatos” a voice answered. It was Artemis, though in the recording she sounded much more strong and sure than she did now.

Thanatos reached out, his hand disappearing to the right of the screen. “Then you’re wiser than I am. Even with all our strength there were moments when I feared this day would never come.” He sighed and looked out the window before him. Artemis turned to look the same direction, and in the distance was a massive red star that beat like the heart of an angry god. After a few seconds of silence he said, “When we make our final assault, I want you to sweep the outer edges of the system. Make sure not a single outpost remains. The Hezrin die on Crucible.”

The vision of the tall Titan shifted from side to side as Artemis shook her head. “Don’t send me away. I should be there with you when we bring them to their knees. I’ve earned that.”

“
You have. Through all our battles you’ve been my strong right hand, my deadliest weapon. That’s why I ask this of you now. I trust you above all others to see this task through.”

After a few moments, Artemis nodded. “Yes, Sir. I won’t let you down.”

Thanatos leaned down until his metal-shrouded forehead touched hers, his eyes so close their glow filled her world. “You never have, Artemis. You’re my northern star.”

After he stood back up, she said, “Just don’t destroy every building. When their world burns, I want a high place to watch it from.”

Thanatos laughed in loud, booming sounds. “You’re as hungry for their death as I am. I think that’s why we get along so well. Trust me, you’ll stand next to me when the Hezrin are ended. And then, when it’s done, we’ll finally go home.”

After that they watched as Artemis ran through an alien ship and jumped into a large fighter craft. The playback speed increased as she swept through lunar atmospheres and asteroids, destroying every outpost the Hezrin had left. The destruction was as intense as it was quickly done. The playback returned to normal when Thanatos called to her over the radio, his voice strained. Alex felt the blood drain from his face as she approached the ruined world that had once been the home of the Hezrin, saw the proud Titans reduced to howling monsters, watched as she fended off an attack and enacted her escape. As her vision dimmed in the cockpit of the small alien ship that ferried her home, tears cooled his lower eyelids.

Alex had never seen anything so sad in his life, and he hoped he never would again. The Titans had been so close, had fought hard for much longer than they should have had to. What were his struggles against a century of unceasing war? What were his troubles? And then to have their victory turned into a new wave of bloodshed, it made his mind shudder. When Artemis closed the recorder’s screen and handed it back to him, he knew he’d never be able to look at her the same way again. She was a goddamn hero, and he would make sure everyone knew it.

“
My nanites record all my-my sensory input,” Artemis said, leaning against the shuttle wall again, “but they also embed digital watermarks that the Alliance should be able to validate. If you can find a way to get that reco-o-ording to someone in charge, it might be enough to prove what I’ve been saying.”

Shawn looked at Alex to see what the agent thought of his chances of doing that, but the man only nodded and tucked the recorder back into a pocket. Alex then looked back at her and asked, “If you’re infected with this virus, then how are you able to fight? You look like someone could push you over with a harsh word, but I saw what you did to those soldiers.”

Shaking her head, Artemis pulled her hands up and looked at them. Her metallic fingers flexed as she made fists out of them. A small shudder pulsed through her, sending tiny spikes rolling across her body. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Her nanites came back under control a moment later.

“
I fight because it’s what that virus wants me to do,” she said. “Even while I sit here it’s whispering to me to tear this shuttle in half and kill you all. I’m holding it back, though it’s not getting any easier. But, when I fight, the virus leaps forward and gives me the strength I need to kill like the machine I am. For now my firewalls are holding. It won’t last much longer.”

“
Okay,” Alex said, the strain around his eyes saying it wasn’t okay at all, but that there wasn’t anything he could do about it. “Then we need to figure out what our next play is.”

“
Mom needs medical attention, so I want you to take her to my dad,” Shawn said. The idea had occurred to him after the shuttle launched from the asteroid, and every time the idea reoccurred to him it felt more and more right.

His mother gripped his arm with more strength that he’d thought her capable of, and looked at him with pleading eyes. “Son, don’t involve–”

He shook his head quickly, silencing her. “My dad lives in Meridian. He already knows mom and I made it out of the museum. Go to him, tell him what’s happened. He’s the only person I trust to make her better. While you’re doing that, Artemis and I will try and find Dr. Hofstadter in the nethers of Bellona. If we find something, I’ll call my dad and let you know about it. We can figure out what to do after that.”

Alex looked at Shawn with a strange look that was half impressed and half disbelieving. But after a couple of seconds Alex nodded and looked down at his mother. “He’s right, Alicia. Your ex-husband is a doctor, so he could help. It’s a good plan.” He then turned his head toward the cockpit. “Once we get to Mars, lay in a flight plan for Bellona and–”

“
No,” Artemis said. “Go straight to Meridian. Shawn and I can get to Bellona.”

That was news to Shawn, and from the look on Agent Hutchins’s face, it was news to him too. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that? I know you Titans are powerful, but I didn’t know walking through space was on your list of abilities.”

A hard glint appeared in the Titan’s face, but she smothered it and pointed at a closed hatch on the middle of the shuttle’s deck. Shawn hadn’t noticed it before, not with his mother dying in his arms.

“
The shuttle has a lifeboat,” Artemis said. “We can use that.”

“
Afraid not,” the co-pilot said. “I know Mars has a thin atmosphere and all, but that lifeboat wasn’t designed for atmospheric reentry, and its engines and steering thrusters are rudimentary at best. All it’s good for is keeping someone alive in space long enough to be rescued.”

Artemis nodded and rose to her feet. “Th-that’s good enough.”

“
I don’t –” Alex started to say before Artemis held up a hand.

“
I could fall to Bellona if I had to. With that lifeboat, I won’t. Trust me, I know what I’m doing. We can get where we need to go faster on our own, and so can you.”

None of the faces in the shuttle looked like they believed her, but none were willing to step up and challenge her on it. The only person who could have was Shawn, but he’d heard and seen too much to underestimate her.

“
Alright then” Alex said. “The lifeboat will be pretty cramped. Any worries about infec–”

“
Shawn will wear a spacesuit,” Artemis said, cutting him off. “We-e both will. Fully sealed.”

Silence fell inside the shuttle for several long and heavy seconds, but then beeping echoed out of the cockpit. It set Shawn’s teeth on edge. Too much was at stake, too much had to be done, and all of it was going by so fast. He felt lost in it, carried along by a riptide far stronger than he was, and he worried it would kill him when he reached its end.

“
We’re about to hit the Mars conduit,” the shuttle pilot said. “It’s a couple hours to Mars on the other side, what with traffic and all.”

Feeling the weight of time bearing down on him and shoving him forward, Shawn looked down at his mother, then turned to Alex and gestured for a moment of privacy. The agent understood and stood up, setting his mother’s hand down as he stepped away and drew everyone nearby with him.

Before touching her, Shawn drew back his armor as much as he could. He wanted to look normal for his mother, look like the boy she used to know. There was every possibility this would be the last time he’d ever see her again, and he didn’t want her last memory to be of him encased in metal. When he touched her, the feel of his skin against hers was heartbreaking.

“
You’ll be okay, Son,” she said, giving his hand a soft squeeze. “You can do this.”

Fighting back a tear, he patted her hand in a slow, steady rhythm. “Hey, I’m supposed to be the one comforting you here.”

“
It’s a mother’s job,” she replied with a short laugh. “One that – I fear – I’ve been very remiss in. I wasn’t the mother you needed, and the pain I’ve caused you will be something I’ll always regret.”

“
Stop that. Okay? Just stop it. You weren’t a perfect mother, and I wasn’t a perfect son. There’s plenty of blame to go around. What matters is that we’ll do better from here on. After all this crap is done with, we’ll have a real relationship. I promise.”

She squeezed his hand again before wiping tears from her eyes. “I promise too. Hey, and maybe you’ll find some Titan nanites for me. Then we can be a superhero team. Metal Mom and Chrome Lad, or something like that. How would that be?”

The laugh that rushed out of Shawn was as loud as it was genuine. How she managed to find humor in their dire circumstances was something he knew he couldn’t do, but he was damn grateful that she could.

“
I think that sounds awesome. Evildoers, beware.”

His mother returned his laugh, but she grabbed her side as the chuckles drifted down to her abdomen. The briefest pained look flashed through her eyes. He turned to call the medic over, but she caught his hands and held him in place.

“
It’s okay. Just… tender. Anyway, you’ll be going soon, and before you left I wanted to tell you that I’m proud of you. Things have been crazy, I know, and it’s far from over, but you’ve kept your head up and done what you had to. I can’t begin to tell you how proud you’ve made me. We’ll survive this, Shawn. I know it. We’ll survive it, and we’ll find a way back to normal. But, no matter what, know that I love you with everything I am.”

There was nothing Shawn could say that would echo his feelings back to her, so instead he bent over and hugged her as much as he could. Her embrace was firm but brief. After standing up he said, “I love you, Mom. I know you did the best you could, and I’m not just talking about today. I love you, I’m proud of you too, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure we have a tomorrow to get things right.”

The urge to stoop over and hug her again was strong, but a soft cough from behind him reminded him how pressing the situation was, so instead he gave her a smile and held up a fist that shimmered with emerging nanites. He intended the gesture to show he was strong, and she nodded in understanding.

“
There’re still some things we need to do before you guys can launch,” Alex said. “I need to know where your father lives, for one, and we need to find suits that’ll fit you two. Are you ready?”

He wasn’t, but he figured most people weren’t when they had to face the call. He also knew the sadness he felt over his mother wouldn’t do him any good either, so he looked over at Artemis. “Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

“
In the old days,” General Harper said, his face so filled with anger that Townsend was shocked it didn’t boil through the comm channel and burn his display, “you would have to kill yourself after giving someone news that goddamn bad. I’m half tempted to fly out there and do it myself.”