Rogue Element - A Project Duplicate Story

This takes place a few years before the events of my work-in-progress, Project Duplicate! Enjoy!

***

“We can’t kill him. He’s just a kid!”

“Orders are orders. Do I have to report you for insubordination?”

“Really? Come on, man, he’s one of our best!”

“Exactly. He’s too good. He’s a threat.”

“Yeah? To whom? Not us. Not the King. Does he even know?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. All I know is we’re supposed to do it quickly and quietly. Now, are you joining me, or joining the kid?”

Silence.

“Let me rephrase. Join me, or else you will be joining the kid. Please don’t do something we’ll both regret, Mate. That just makes it messier for the both of us.”

“I’ll go along. But only because I don’t value the little brat’s life over my own. For the record, I think this is wrong.”

“Ah, quit your blubbering and go get your gear. We’ll nab him at daybreak when he leaves the barracks with the others.”

“He won’t be easy to kill. Not with all that metal in him.”

“That won’t be a problem.” The second man says, his voice much too loud now that the sound isn’t traveling through the walls. “We have this.” An unmistakable high-pitched squeal rips through the air as an EMP spike grenade is powered up, then down again.

I press my back against the wall, fighting to keep my breathing slow and measured. My heart is pounding in my ears as I re-live the pain. This can’t be happening. Not again.  Why me? Why now?

“Where did you get that?” The first man asked, a note of horror in his voice.

“Doesn’t matter. All you need to know is this bad boy packs enough punch to fry the kid’s brain. Quick and easy. Less messy too. Now, meet me back here at dawn.”

The door clicks shut, and the reluctant soldier is left alone in the dim corridor. 

“Hell have mercy.” He grunts, kicking at the stone floor. 

I pull deeper into the shadows as he walks by. When I’m sure he’s gone, I duck out of the small alley and down the long corridor towards the shuttle bays. If I can make it to a ship, maybe I can get to one of the spaceports on Europa or Ganameyde. Whatever it takes to get on a hyperspace-ready ship and out of this system. 

I stop at the blast door that leads to the docks and punch in my over-ride code. My hand is shaking so badly that I mess up the sequence and have to start again. 

“Stop!”

I jump, messing up again. I frantically try to reset it and try again. 

“Kid, I said stop!”

A hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me away from the panel, then pulls me around to face my assailant. It’s the soldier from the hallway, the one who’d been reluctant to kill him. Had he changed his mind?

“If you yell, I’ll have no choice but to hand you over to Morgan, understand? I’m not risking my life over this.”

I nod silently. I’m dead either way. Might as well hear him out.

The man reaches over and inputs his own code. The panel chirps and the door opens. 

“Don’t use any of your codes. The system probably has you flagged, and you don’t want to show up on any records when they come looking for you.” He hands me a metal card.

“There’s only about 150 credits on there, but its all I’ve got. Get as far from this rock as you can, understand? And don’t come back.”

I nod numbly, sticking the card in my pocket and step through the door into the shuttle bay. 

“What’s your name, soldier?” I ask, turning to face him.

“Chex.”

I salute him, bowing slightly “Lightspeed, Chex.”

“And you.” He returns the gesture, and the door slides shut, the sound echoing like the lid of a stone coffin in the large cavern. I wonder if I would have joined those brave men sealed in the catacombs, or scattered to the stars like the criminals and traitors. My guess is the latter, if Morgan has anything to say about it. 

I stay in the shadows and board one of the shuttles nearest the huge atmospheric shield. This asteroid isn’t large enough to have its own atmosphere, meaning that shield is the only thing between me and the Void.

I stare out of the glass canopy of the shuttle, up through the asteroids caught in gravity, and beyond to the roiling orange surface of Jupiter. Somewhere, beyond my view, hang the four Galilean moons, along with hundreds of smaller moons ranging from bigger than Mercury, to space-fairing pebbles. I feel numb. The galaxy is so large, so unforgiving. How can I survive it on my own? Perhaps I’d be better off floating through the stars, just another piece of frozen wreckage, lost to time. It seems a more peaceful end than having your brain fried, or being blown to bits aboard a stolen shuttle. 

The automated lights begin to brighten in the hangar, and I realize my time is running out. It will be roll-call soon, and my would-be assassins would find me missing soon enough. 

I use my metal hand to sync with the ship’s system, and a high-level security code to clear for take-off. This level of authorization won’t trigger any alarms. I hope. 

The shuttle powers up and is moved to launch position as I run pre-flight checks. 

“Shuttle T-6 you are clear for departure.” An automated voice says through the radio. 

Then I’m flung into the Void. 

***

My name is Archer Flynn. I am 15 years old. I lost my family in a hyperspace accident in the Kuiper Belt. I am alone. 

Only one of those statements is true.

I look at Archer in the mirror. I can’t think of us as the same person, not yet. 

Back on the asteroid, I’d just been another soldier. Here, I’m something else. Something… less. 

Back there, my scarred face and metal limbs were all but commonplace. A bit unusual for someone so young, perhaps, but most of us had battle scars. 

Here, they make me stand out. I’m different. Damaged. 

I hate it. I hate being looked at with pity or scorn or whatever other emotions these people feel when looking at someone like me.

To blazes with those people. I’m my own man now. 

Whoever that version of me on the asteroid base was, he’s gone. Whatever he did is in the past. I am Archer Flynn now, a strange boy in a strange land. I may not have a past, but I am determined to have a future. That, or die trying. 

I decided right away that I was done being different. I used the credits Chex gave me to purchase long-sleeved gear and a small holo-node from a local tech dealer. This gadget, called a Masquerade, was developed by Revel, an experimental Android manufacturer. It allows owners to change their droid’s appearance quickly and easily, and after a quick installation, it does the same for me. 

The refugee city of Neo Juno is full of life and color. During the war, conditions had been bad; little better than a slum city. Now, it glowed with life and commerce; a perfect place to blend in and disappear. 

Callisto is now a sanctuary moon, committed to taking in millions of displaced citizens from around the galaxy. While I never thought I would be in need of such a place, I am glad now that it exists, and that so many activists and politicians fought for this settlement to get where it is today.

I’ve been able to pick up some odd jobs in the 3 or so weeks I’ve been here; enough to afford food and little else while I search for something more permanent. I was able to save most of the money I got from selling my stolen shuttle, minus rent for a small room in a shabbier part of town. 

One day, while I’m down at the spaceport, I see an old freighter come in for a shaky landing. Curious, I walk down to the dock where they touched down. They seem to have just come though the atmosphere, their hull still steaming and smoking from the entry. While it’s old, patched, and dented in places, it doesn’t seem to be in a state of disrepair like many ships its age. Used, but not abused. 

“Hey, buddy, what are you looking at?”

A girl is standing on the ramp of the ship, hands on her hips, pink hair blowing over her eyes in the breeze from the engines. 

“This shuttle…” I say, gesturing up at it. “It’s a TK-57 series. I’ve never seen one in real life before. She’s a classic.”

“That she is.” The girl pats the doorway like it’s an old friend. “But she’s not a TK-57- at least, not anymore. We’ve modified her in pretty much every way possible. She may not look like it, but she’s one of the fastest ships in the system!”

“Are we bragging to strangers again, Jess?” A boy around my age steps onto the ramp, ruffling the girl’s hair. 

“He asked, right?”

“I did.” I say, smiling at the girl. “Although if what you say is true, how come your landing was so rough?”

“That would be user error.” The boy says sheepishly. “I’m not much of a pilot, and Jess is too young to do planetary entries on her own, just yet.”

“Are you looking for a pilot?” 

The boy eyes me. “Maybe, do you know one?”

“You’re looking at him.”

“Yeah? And you’re what, 16? What makes you think you’re a good fit?”

“I’m 15, actually. My name’s Archer Flynn. I know my way around a ship, even… special ones like yours. And I have some… enhancements that give me an advantage in the sky.” I roll up my left sleeve, exposing my metal forearm. “I can do the job.”

The boy thinks for a moment, then nods and hops off of the ramp. 

“Alright, Archer. I’ll give you a chance.” He holds out a hand. “My name’s Benjamin, but most people call me Ben. That’s my sister, Jesse. We’re here to re-fuel before heading out on a job for a client. We could use someone of your… talents for this job, pilot or not. You in?”

I shake his hand. “I’m in. When do we leave?”