Heat shimmered off my ship’s hull, and my stomach sank as the ramp opened. Grid stepped off, shoulders as wide as a barn.
“Where’s Bello?” I called. The engines rumbled off, and there she was. My old fling. Bello set a hand on Grid’s arm and smiled at me. I’d once longed for that smile, but now I felt nothing. Her white-blonde hair blew in the breeze.
“I’m right here, Hawk.” She sauntered down the ramp and glanced at the sky, where a second vessel landed behind my Pod. The Widowmaker looked too heavy for her, but she wielded it with ease. Grid had a snub-nosed machine gun leaning on his shoulder.
“You don’t have to do this, Bello.” I peered up at my Capricious, noticing how clean she was. They’d done a great job restoring her. She had a fresh paint job too.
“Thanks for the ship. I always had a soft spot for Capricious.” Bello walked over to Eclipse and handed her a gun. “Listen to me, Hawk. Tell your friend to stand down. We’ll fly to the base and detonate the explosives we’ve placed around Primary City. Then we’ll leave.”
There were more than just the bombs at the Board HQ. I had to let the others know.
“It’s too late.” I unlatched my helmet and tossed it to the ground. I still had a gun, but since no one had requested I drop it, I kept my arm dangling at my hip.
“Liberty may have lost the battle, but we’ve won the war. Right now there is no Belt Station. No Mars facility. Titan is doomed. And in a few minutes, Primary City will be a thing of the past,” Eclipse said. Her palms were cut up from her fall, and she wiped them on her pants, leaving red streaks.
“Then what? You’ve lost. Liberty will have no fleet, and what about the people? Without the Corporations handling the logistics, their cities will fall into ruin. And where will you be, Elise? Sucking up to the Darlor? Maybe the Hidan. Or is it Commander Garret Breaker you’re going to side with?” I moved one step closer, then another.
Grid scratched his head. “What’s he talking about, Eclipse?”
“Foolish ramblings. He’s trying to create dissent,” the Liberty leader said. Even Bello acted concerned.
“She didn’t tell you?” I laughed, loosening some of my stress with the action. “Eclipse has been in contact with the Velibar for years. She was the one supplying information about Space Race. The logistics of the Board and Primaries. She had it all figured out. Give up our humanity, and what? They offer you a title? First Regal of Earth?”
Judging by her reaction, I’d guessed right.
Bello turned to the woman. “Eclipse, what is Hawk saying?”
“He’d say anything at this point. He’s lying!” Eclipse began to walk backwards.
“Hawk may be a lot of things, but if there’s one thing I know about Hawk, he’s no liar.” Bello met my gaze. Her voice was quiet. “I was the liar.”
I couldn’t help but smirk at her confession. I was still grinning when the gunshot report rang over the region.
Bello fell to the ground, and there stood Eclipse, gun smoking. “Stand down!” she shouted, aiming at Grid.
Grid just froze, his face slack as he stared at Bello. His wife. The mother of his children. She bled from the wound, but I thought I saw her chest rise and fall.
I heard footsteps behind me and stole a quick glance. The angle of the sun was bright, and I couldn’t make out who’d arrived. Was it an ally or a foe?
Eclipse took her chance and sped off, stumbling on the bumpy terrain, and I gave chase. Someone shouted my name, but I was determined to stop her.
The base building was half a kilometer away, and Eclipse had a good hundred-meter head start. She also wasn’t in a spacesuit, which limited my movements. She stalled at the entrance, where the landscape transitioned from rocks and overgrowth to a maintained sidewalk. Two robots guarded the doors, but they were now powered off, thanks to Jade’s handiwork.
Eclipse typed a code and swore at the top of her lungs. I was close enough that I took a shot, but the bullet struck the wall right as she rushed inside.
I arrived as the doors closed. The base lights were on, and I imagined this was her staging area. With the call for the battle at Primary City, I assumed most of Liberty took to the skies, abandoning this building. Because of this, Eclipse had to use the facility to detonate the planted explosives. I assumed she was a micromanager, not trusting anyone but herself to press the button. It was also something a person on a power trip would do.
I’d never been to this Athens base and hardly saw any of it as I rushed through, everything in a blur.
Another door closed at the end of the hallway, and I sprinted to it, listening for voices. When I didn’t hear any, I depressed the push bar and kicked it open, gun up.
A shot hit me in the leg, piercing the spacesuit. Pain erupted from the wound. I leaned against the doorframe and spotted Eclipse in the corner of the dim room, hunched over a computer.
“Enough!” I shouted, but Eclipse didn’t respond. I managed to hobble over. She had a program opened, and her finger hovered above the screen. One push of the button, and the entire Primary City would be ruined. I’d always hated the Corporations, but given our recent invasion attempts and the betrayal by Refuge, I couldn’t let them go. Or could I? Would it be so bad to let the city be destroyed? If they’d already evacuated, it was just a symbol. Maybe we could start again, in a new format.
No. It wasn’t my place to let this happen. I pulled the trigger, shooting Eclipse. Her finger tried to reach for the screen, and I shoved her away. She fell awkwardly, smacking her head on the wall.
The button loomed
