Nathan Hystad - The Survivors - Books 1-3

“I’ll go first,” I said, Mary holding my hand and walking up front with me. Slate stuck close behind, always on alert. We walked down the ramp, our boots clanging on the metal. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but it wasn’t what we found. At least twenty guards in black uniforms greeted us, and instead of handshakes and hugs, we had pulse rifles in our faces.

“Stand down,” I whispered to my crew through clenched teeth. I raised my hands in the air, and the rest of the team followed suit. “Who’s in charge here?” I asked the soldiers.

“I am,” a voice echoed from the far end of the room, but we couldn’t make out a face past all of the guns still pointed at us. Footsteps clinked on the floor, and in a minute, the guards were stepping out of the way, making a path for their leader. When he arrived, I was surprised to see I didn’t recognize the man. Seven years was long enough for a shift in power.

He stood there, not speaking as he silently assessed us. The man was wearing a suit, tie included, a fashion I didn’t expect us to hold on to on a colony planet. His black hair was slicked, and his dark pupils judged us through a squint. I instantly didn’t like him.

“Come with me,” he said, turning his back on us. No questions, no patting down, just an order; not that we had a choice, with twenty weapons pointed at us.

“What do you think?” I asked Slate behind me.

“We do what he says,” Slate replied softly, “for now.”

I stepped forward, and we followed the man, twenty feet behind him, until we were out of the hangar. From there, only three guards continued on the trip with us, the rest presumably staying behind to watch our ship. I had the urge to go back and raise our ship’s ramp, but I knew if they wanted in, they would get in.

The halls we were in were built to be corridors only; they were just metal studs and support beams, visible wiring running through them. Nick must have been dragging behind, because we heard a grunt from him, and I turned to see the rear guard shoving him with a gloved hand. This wasn’t what I’d expected our arrival at Earth’s first colony to look like.

Nick and I made eye contact, and I moved my head a bit to the side, to tell him to hurry and let it go. I’m not sure if it translated, but his gaze went to the ground and his feet sped up.

The lead guard stopped as their leader entered a sliding door to the right. I followed him in and found myself in a large open space, with tables and chairs like my university accounting classroom. It felt out of place here.

The man sat down at a table near the front of the room. It had stools all the way around it: one for each of us, and an extra. They hadn’t known how many of us there were. That might have been a good sign.

We each took a seat, with me closest to the man in the suit. It felt like five minutes before he spoke but was probably only thirty seconds. “Why did you come here?”

It was a simple question, but one that felt loaded in many different ways. “We came to see our friends.” The answer was short, but the truth.

He nodded to that. “And just who are your friends? We have a lot of people here on New Spero.”

“General Heart. President Dalhousie.” I almost smiled when I saw his eyes go wide at my reply, but I kept my composure. I was going to be a better poker player than him.

“Interesting choice of friends. Here’s what I do know. We received a message from World President Naidoo a while ago. Apparently, you threatened her and were in possession of a genocidal weapon. When confronted, you escaped and ran here.”

“Then did she tell you who we are?” Mary asked, obviously getting tired of this charade. I didn’t blame her.

He nodded once again, more slowly this time. “She did tell us who you claimed to be, but it’s impossible. Those Heroes of Earth are long dead. The Bhlat sent Naidoo video evidence. They attempted to attack an outpost of the Bhlat and were expunged from space for their efforts. That leaves me with some questions. Where did you get this ship? Did you steal it from the old base in America? Why take the most famous,” he paused, “or infamous people on Earth to imitate?”

I was getting tired of it too. “Listen here” – I motioned for him to say his name, but he didn’t – “fella. I don’t know what the Bhlat showed Naidoo, but it wasn’t us dying, and frankly, I don’t give a crap about your power trip, or whatever this is. Let me speak with General Heart or President Dalhousie, and let me speak to them now.” I tried to keep the anger out of my voice, but it was impossible to conceal.

“You keep saying those names, but I’m sorry to say, neither of them can help you now.”

“Then I want to talk to Magnus Svenson.” I said the name slowly.

He didn’t hesitate. “I’m afraid that’s not possible either.”

“Why? Why is that not possible?” Mary asked. “If you claim we aren’t the Heroes of Earth, then let’s bring the other two up here, and let them identify us.”

He shook his head. “I’m under orders to hold you for your crimes on Earth. Possession of alien weapons and conspiracy to murder the World President.”

I stood up, fists against the wooden tabletop. “Wait a minute! We did nothing of the sort. We went to talk, and she was ready to kill us for that alien weapon you talk about. She’s already in bed with the Bhlat, who’ll come and destroy every last person on Earth.”

“That’s what anyone would say to save their own skin.” His words were firm, but fear escaped his eyes. Hearing that she was working with the Bhlat probably sent some alarm bells ringing, especially after already knowing she had video from them. What was their arrangement? The man stood, and Slate moved between him and the doorway. The rest of the crew looked ready to spring into action, but I couldn’t let that happen yet. We were at a disadvantage.

“Let him go, Slate,” I said, the fury leaving me with each breath.

Slate stood firm, and the man had to go around him. I loved the power move by my large friend, but we weren’t in a position to intimidate either.

The door slid open, and I spotted a few guards out in the hall with weapons in hand. We were being quartered here for the time being.

“What the hell do we do now? Has this whole colony gone to shit?” I asked.

“Maybe there’s been a regime change, or,” Mary stood, “the station is run by that slimy man, and he’s in Naidoo’s pocket. That would allow them to control who arrives, or who leaves the colony, with the surface never knowing.”

It made sense. “I think you’re right. We need to get back to our ship and down to the planet.”

“How do we do that with all of these guards around?” Clare asked.

Slate had a twinkle in his eye as he came back to the table. “Do you all have your pins on?”

We each felt our collars, where the small metal pins sat that would lift us to the ship if needed. “It looks like we do,” Mary said.

“You know what that means, right?” Slate asked, and it clicked.

“But how will we have enough time? They have ships at the ready,” Mary said.

“Then we distract them. We have to get to the surface, and then we can straighten it all out,” I said, not fully believing my own words one hundred percent, but giving them a good chance. I looked around the space for signs of cameras or listening devices. They were undoubtedly watching us. I raised a finger to my lips in a “be quiet” gesture. We moved to the corner of the room that was most inhospitable. If any part of the room wasn’t bugged, it was that dark unfurnished corner.

The plan formed faster than I’d thought possible. We felt like a real crew at that moment.