Destin Chronicles Sample Chapter

My shoulder hugs the wall as I tiptoe along the corridor. A bead of sweat trickles down the small of my back. My clammy hands awkwardly grip the pistol.

Pausing at a junction, I work up the courage to peek around the corner, but pause before I do anything unnecessarily foolish.

“Hyperion,” I whisper, “do you hear me?”

A resonant voice speaks in my earbuds. “Affirmative.”

“Is there anything around the next bend from my location?”

“Assuming you refer to the anomalous masses, no.”

Is it my imagination, or is it starting to become less formal? Its tone borders on snarky.

Pistol raised, I creep toward the junction, ready to leap back if the AI is wrong or just deceptively evil. Looking around the corner, I scrutinize the length of corridor, alert for any rippling distortions in the air.

Seeing none, I resume my cautious approach. My heart threatens to beat out of my chest, and my knees are wobbly and unsteady. There is probably a way I could do this remotely and not risk my ass. What the hell compelled me to play hero? I’m going to book a psychiatric evaluation for myself when I get back to Luna—if I get out of here.

Right now, that is a major uncertainty; even more for Donovan. If I get killed doing something stupid, he’ll die alone in a lot of pain. I should have given Hyperion a contingency order to evacuate the atmosphere from the computer room if I perish. Suffocation is an unpleasant way to go, but it’s relatively quick.

“You are approaching the anomalous masses. They are twenty metres around the next corner to your right and moving toward you.”

That’s it then; no time to plan contingencies, so I’d better get this right on the first try.

“Okay,” I whisper, “just like we planned. Isolate the gravity plates and turn up the force beneath them to ten Earth gees.”

A low buzz that rapidly rises in pitch assaults my ears and the air vibrates, feeling like ants crawling on my skin. I can’t imagine how intense the sensation must be for whoever is standing over those plates.

Growing doubtful, I worry that I’ve ordered too much force applied too quickly. I don’t want to kill them; I need answers, especially about where they’ve parked their ship.

Out of sight, something falls heavily. Seconds later, a second thud follows it. A woman’s voice gasps in discomfort. A man grunts as if struggling to lift a great weight.

Cautiously, I peek around the corner. Two distorted areas are splayed out on the floor, the air about them flickering rapidly, flowing like a melting sheet of glass. Next to each lies an automatic weapon.

I step out into the open, point my shaking pistol at the closest form, and using my most stern voice, say, “Turn off your distortion fields and show yourselves.”

My efforts are less than successful in concealing how nervous I am.

A grunt comes from the nearest figure. I instinctively take a step closer to it.

“I advise caution. You are one metre from entering the gravity trap.”

I draw myself up and quickly move back two paces. Nothing changes within the writhing blobs of distortion concealing my victims.

“Turn off the magic mirrors, or I’ll shoot.”

The male voice grunts again. I can make out his words. “C...can’t move...”

I instruct Hyperion to ease the force back.

The nearest distortion moves. I grip my pistol tighter and shakily point it at the figure.

As if materializing from nothing, a man coalesces before my eyes, lying on his belly. He wears a black bodysuit that glistens with tiny scales that I presume must be what is distorting the surrounding light. A darkened helmet visor hides his face, and he struggles to lift his head. One of his hands is awkwardly tucked under him near his belt, where I assume the control for the distortion field resides. His other stretches out, fingers splayed as if an invisible foot pressed down on them. Half a metre from his hand lies an automatic weapon.

Pointing my gun at him, I say, “Don’t even think about trying to pick that up.”

When I’m reasonably sure he’s not a threat, I risk a glance at the other figure, still cloaked. If it’s a woman, she probably can’t move to turn off her suit.

I instruct Hyperion to ease back a little more beneath her. Keeping my weapon trained on the man, I wait for the other distortion field to drop. When it does, my suspicions are confirmed. A woman dressed in the same manner as the man is pressed to the floor. Like the male, her firearm lies just out of her reach.

“Listen to me carefully. I’m going to ease back the gravity a little more. I want you to remain on your bellies and crawl away from your weapons. If I see either of you attempt to reach for your gun, I will shoot you. Do you understand me?”

With great effort, they both manage a nod.

I give Hyperion the order and watch nervously for them to start moving.

The male moves back first, pushing himself laboriously away from his weapon. When he has moved a couple of metres, the woman also starts to crawl backwards. She gasps for each breath, and I briefly consider instructing the AI to ease up a bit more before I come to my senses. Moving requires almost all of her strength, from what I can see. She’ll have sore muscles and ribs when this is over, but she’s no longer in danger of being crushed to death under the intense gravity.

Gradually, the force beneath them weakens until they can manage to sit up and lean against the wall, exhausted. Now that they are well out of reach of their weapons, I tell Hyperion to return the gravity to Terran normal.

I quickly move to pick up their discarded guns, slinging one over my shoulder by its strap and training the other on my prisoners. I hope that I have them convinced that I will shoot them.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

The man lifts his hands up, palms toward me, as if he wishes to assure me that he is not armed. He then unfastens and removes his helmet.

It takes everything I have to keep my face neutral. Sitting on the floor is none other than Sean Ikiedo. The woman is now also free of her head covering, and I am not surprised that she is his sister.

“What the hell are you two doing here?”

“We could ask you the same question,” she says.

“Hey,” I say, tightening my grip on my weapon, “I’m holding the gun.”

“Yes, and you look really convincing. I almost believe you know how to use it.”

“Siobhan,” says her brother, sharply, “she can still shoot us.”

She smiles wryly. “I have my doubts about that.”

I risk a quick glance at my firearm. Feeling very foolish, I flick off the safety switch then promptly return my attention to my prisoners. My confidence somewhat restored, I raise and point it directly at Siobhan. Narrowing my eyelids at her, I take satisfaction from the way her smug expression vanishes.

“I asked you a question,” I say.

“I think we are here for the same reason, Janine,” says Sean, probing. Then, gauging my reaction, he smiles slightly. “But that isn’t your name, is it?”

Normally, I’m an expert bullshitter, but the shock of seeing the twins here and my lack of confidence about the degree of threat I am to them has me off my game. I double down, though, and redirect the gun at him. “Hey, there seems to be some confusion about who’s threatening whom.”

He smiles and nods patronizingly. “Yes, yes, you are holding the weapon. Why don’t you just put that thing down before somebody gets hurt?”

“That’s the point of it, asshole.”

Cautiously, he rises and tucks his feet under him.

“Don’t move,” I say.

Slowly, he slides his back up the wall until he stands. “You’re not going to use that.”

Emboldened, Siobhan also stands.

Shifting my weapon between each of them, I say, “Just stay where you are. I mean it, I’ll shoot you.”

“No, you won’t,” says Siobhan as she cautiously steps forward.

My bluff called, I step back a pace and say, “Fuck it. Hyperion, turn the gravity back up. Quick!”

“Further action to secure your prisoners is inadvisable; a mass of one point two tonnes is advancing toward your position.”

“Shit!”

The Ikiedos have stopped in their tracks and are bracing themselves in anticipation of my threatened increase in gravity.

Deciding I have to gamble, I say, “Was it you two who shot at the battle mech downstairs a few days ago?”

Sean is confused. “What?”

“It’s a simple question. Are those things on your side? Because one is heading this way.”

The fear in their eyes is the only answer I need.

“Follow me; I have a place we can hide.”

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