Planet Zero: Kyra Sarin, #2

By Simon Cantan

The aliens she thought she'd left behind are coming to find her.

Revenge. The itch Kyra longs to scratch.

In the hours since Baltasar tried to kill her, Kyra has pictured his last shuddering breath a hundred ways. Each one puts a smile on her face. The only trouble is picking between them.

Vengeance might have to wait, though. The unstoppable Xenomigrant advance means extinction for humankind, and the only person with a plan is Baltasar.

"Planet Zero" is the second book in the Kyra Sarin series. Continuing the fast-paced adventures of soldier Kyra Sarin, if you like science-fiction action, you'll love it.

"Planet Zero" will have you tearing through it. A fast-paced book that you won't be able to put down. Grab a copy today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon Cantan
• Release date: Mar 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781310114069

Simon Cantan

Simon Cantan is an Irish Science-Fiction and Fantasy author living in Fredrikstad, Norway.

Book preview

Chapter 1

ARRIVALS

Kyra leaned back in her seat, stretching her arms out and yawning. The flakrifle in her right hand waved in the air, as she twitched every last kink out of her muscles.

Face pale, the pilot's eyes followed the barrel as if hypnotised. Which made him look even more bug-eyed than he already did. Kyra thought the greying hair on his temples would spread if he kept worrying about little things like her shooting him.

Look where we're going, Kyra said.

Memorising every blinking button and bevelled switch in the spaceship cockpit had only delayed boredom by an hour. She hated feeling useless, but there was nothing to do but wait as the pilot navigated them to see Baltasar.

The thought of Baltasar made acid rage boil up inside her. After doing his best to kill her, he turned around and tried to convince her it had all been an elaborate job interview. She wondered how many interviewers ended up with their brains plastered on the wall. She could ask him, but people tended to have trouble answering with a gun halfway up their intestinal tract.

The pilot peeked back again and nodded at the gun. Could you point that thing somewhere else? Every time you twitch, I think you're going to kill me. It's difficult to concentrate on our approach.

We're here? Kyra linked her ReadyNet brain-implant to an external video feed. The space-elevator hub almost filled the image. About time.

What are you going to do?

That depends on you, Kyra said. If Baltasar isn't on this station, I'm guessing killing you and flushing you out an airlock will take the next five minutes. After that, I'll have to find Baltasar some other way.

The pilot raised his hands, his eyes wide. Hey, I never said Baltasar was on the hub. He's at the bottom of the elevator cable.

Then I guess we're going to take a little trip in a space-elevator together.

They've got security on the hub. They'll make you surrender your gun before they'll let you down there.

Get us docked and we'll see who surrenders what. Kyra poked him with the barrel of her gun.

The ship twisted, matching the spin of the station exactly. With spurts of gas from the sides of the ship, the pilot eased it forward, locking it to the docking port.

Kyra barely felt the jolt of the ship stopping. You know, you're not such a bad pilot.

Thanks. He smiled. I—

It would be a shame to blow your fucking head off.

His face dropped. What?

Kyra unstrapped and got to her feet. Up.

Listen, my name is Steve. I have a family down there. They depend on me to—

Ride around in a spaceship jerking off? Don't worry, Steve. Do what I say, and I won't have to kill you.

Steve unstrapped from his seat and stood, raising his hands in reply.

With the barrel of her flakrifle ground into his back, Kyra marched him through the ship to the airlock. It irised open as they approached, revealing a docking area beyond with crates stacked against the walls. In the middle of it, three guards stood with clenched fists on their hips and strained smiles on their faces.

Welcome to Space-Elevator Hub Harrison, Sergeant Sarin, the central guard said. It's an honour to meet you.

Thank you for your service, the guards on either side chorused.

Sure. Hi. Kyra pushed Steve forward, watching for any movement on the part of the guards; anything that would betray their true intentions.

We have an elevator compartment waiting for you, the central guard said. My name is Rune Sandemo. I assure you, there's no need for you to threaten Steve.

Sure, I should think of his poor wife and family, Kyra said. I'm not putting my gun down.

Rune frowned, before nodding. Right. Well, we'll get out of your way. The compartment is through that door and across the centre of the hub.

As the guards moved aside, Kyra powered Steve forward, turning him between her and them as she moved past and out the door.

Beyond the docking area, the hub opened up into a single large room. Doors led off from the sides, surrounding a central column of elevator compartments. One of them stood open, waiting.

Kyra took Steve over to the compartment and shoved him inside. Wait here.

Marching back to the docking area, she peeked around the doorframe at the guards, still standing where she'd left them. She aimed the flakrifle at Rune. You're coming with us.

He raised his hands and nodded. Of course. Whatever you say. His smile looked a little weaker.

That's not necessary, the guard on the right said. You already have a hostage.

Kyra shrugged. I've always been kind of greedy.

She followed Rune to the elevator compartment. Both of you against that wall.

Rune and Steve moved where she indicated and she stood opposite, watching them carefully. With a hiss, the doors closed and the compartment lurched downward.

She kept her gun levelled at them as the compartment emerged from the bottom of the hub and travelled down the thick cable that stretched to the surface. Out the compartment window, the Sun inched up and spread a yellow glow across the rim of the Earth, turning to pale blue the further out it got.

It felt unreal to have the Earth only a short distance away, almost close enough to touch. After five years dreaming of standing on grass and breathing unfiltered air again, her home was minutes away. The thought evaporated as she remembered what Baltasar had shown her. Her daughters were fake. She was genetically engineered. She'd never even set foot on Earth. Every memory of how soft grass felt on her bare feet, how cold waves on her toes felt, how a sharp winter breeze chilled her cheeks. All as fake as she was.

She returned her attention to the two men. Steve shook with fear. Rune beside him stood tall, but his smile showed the strain.

Her gun wobbled a little. Checking her suit with her ReadyNet, she saw her suit power draining away. What are you doing to my armour?

Nothing, Rune said.

The power gauge continued to fall. Outside the window, they entered the outer ionosphere and the sky lightened. The power gauge plummeted.

How are you doing that? Kyra demanded.

Doing what? Rune said. We're just standing here.

Wipe that smug smile off your face. How are you draining the power in my suit?

We're not doing anything, Rune said.

Stop smiling, Steve hissed at Rune.

Her gun grew heavier and heavier, until Kyra struggled to hold it up. It wasn't just the suit, she was getting weaker too. You've drugged me or something? Is it the air in the compartment?

Her suit power dropped toward zero and she fell to her knees. No matter how much she struggled, her legs wouldn't obey her. Grunting, she strained to point her gun at Rune and Steve.

Please, we're not doing anything, Steve said. Don't shoot.

Kyra collapsed onto her face and lay looking at the floor of the compartment. With a last futile flutter, her suit energy seeped away to nothing. She broke the seals on her suit and pulled out of the back, dragging herself to her feet. She couldn't stop her legs from wobbling as she straightened, struggling to support her. It felt like she had a gorilla on her back.

Rune rushed to the flakrifle, still clutched in the glove of her suit. Careful to keep it pointing at the floor, he backed away again. I promise you, Sergeant Sarin, we haven't done anything to you. Mr Kemke will explain everything.

The elevator stopped with a bump. The doors opened, and four men in power armour entered, making straight for her.

She tried to fight them, but her fists just bounced off the metal plating of their armour.

Grabbing an arm or leg each, the men picked her up and carried her from the compartment.

They didn't pause in the lobby, taking her straight out a set of double doors and down snow-covered steps. The cold outside pinched at Kyra and she shivered at more than just the temperature. The white drifts and curling mist reminded her of the freezing methane plains of Eris. Her long underwear offered no protection at all, and the chill seeped inside her.

Flopping her head from one side to the other, she looked around at the snow-covered compound. Icicles hung like long fringes on the roofs of the dozen buildings she could see. Each of them stood at least four storeys tall and fifty-metres wide. Built of painted wood, no two had been painted the same colour. They seemed made to house large numbers of people using the minimum of materials.

The men carrying her paused as a long line of soldiers jogged past. The soldiers stared at Kyra as they ran.

What the fuck are you looking at? she shouted, but no one reacted.

The men carried her toward a white building in the centre of the compound. The building towered over the rest of the compound, a full storey taller than the others. As they approached, the front doors whisked open.

Let me guess, Kyra said. This is where the psycho douchebag Kemke lives.

The men carrying her didn't reply, taking her into a lift and up to the top floor. Bundling her down a corridor and through an outer office, they set her in a deep armchair facing a desk.

Baltasar beamed at her from behind the desk. Kyra, at long last, you're here.

Chapter 2

A FRIENDLY CHAT

Kyra scowled at Baltasar from the depths of the armchair. He looked the same as on the station, pale and thin, with an annoying smirk on his face. Like a praying mantis crossed with an angle-poise lamp.

What the fuck have you done to me? I can't even stand.

I've got so much I need to explain. Baltasar stood and walked around to sit on the desk in front of her. You feel so weak because you haven't experienced Earth's gravity before. All WeaverCorp ships are kept at half Earth's gravity and Eris is even lower. Also, I'm pretty sure your body is rejecting that dead merc's arm.

Kyra glanced down at her swarthy right arm. She had ineptly cut off her own arm and had a merc's arm attached in its place. Under all the hair, the skin had turned blue and the fingers barely responded when she flexed them.

Our chief medical officer was amazed you got it to work at all. Of course, I had faith in you. Baltasar leaned forward and patted her arm.

Kyra lunged at him, trying to claw at his face, but instead found herself face down on the floor.

In a rush, the guards helped return her to her seat, before moving back behind her.

I'm getting the impression you don't like me. Baltasar smirked.

You tried to kill me. I'm thinking of returning the favour.

He nodded. A screen on one wall came on, and a simulated news anchor appeared.

Show us the WeaverCorp suicide pact, Baltasar said.

After shuffling her papers for a moment, the anchor smiled. The world is still reeling in the aftermath of the WeaverCorp suicide pact. Darshan Kant, head of WeaverCorp, along with Manana Masih, chief operating officer, and Manik Dada, a low-level executive, have all committed suicide, leaving a joint suicide note. In this note, broadcast publicly during their suicide, they say the Xenomigrants, or Rants, are no longer under control. They left footage showing Rants leaving Eris on a course for the inner planets. President Goldst—

The screen winked off.

Baltasar took a seat behind his desk and laced his fingers together, forefingers pressed against his lower lip. Kyra supposed it was his well-practiced 'thoughtful' look.

You see what I've accomplished, Baltasar said. People are finally going to take the war seriously. Eris is patient zero. The Rants will spread to Earth and we'll face extinction. That suicide note cost three lives, but it's going to change the world. Darshan, Manana, and Manik will save billions.

What do you think will happen when they see your suicide note? Kyra asked.

Which one would that be?

The one I'm going to write after I throw you out the window. She tried to push herself to her feet, but her legs were weaker than a newborn kitten's.

Don't be childish. You just passed an extremely expensive job interview. You're the tip of the sword I'm driving through the Rants. Don't throw that away on revenge. I would have thought you learnt better on Eris.

Kyra could only manage a glare at Baltasar. So close, but he might as well be a million miles away. In her mind, her fingers wrapped around his throat, the light of his life flickering out, but wishing didn't make it happen.

Taking a breath, she calmed herself and considered his words. If humanity wasn't taking the Rant threat seriously, then he could be right. Someone might need to open their eyes to the threat. Remembering the men he'd sent after her on the station, though, her rage built up inside her. She might need to play along, but she would get revenge for that sooner or later, and it would be all the better for the anticipation.

Why did my suit fail? she asked.

For the same reason you did. You weren't made for Earth's gravity, and neither was it.

Kyra nodded. That made sense. Why add a heavier power supply if you didn't have to. You can upgrade it, though?

He pursed his lips. We can and we will. Your suit will be adapted to full gravity. Unfortunately, your own adaptations are beyond our control. They'll be up to you.

What use am I, if I can't even stand?

Recovering from low gravity takes normal humans months. They might not even have survived returning to Earth. You're stronger and faster than a natural human. You'll have some adjusting to do, but you'll get there.

I'm not the only soldier to return from Eris, Kyra said. Mahmari Gaba, Santawana Desai, Shabana Mane and Nileen Oak came back before me. I'm surprised you haven't recruited them instead.

Nileen Oak is in a mental hospital, suffering from extreme post-traumatic stress, Baltasar said. Santawana Desai and Shabana Mane committed suicide. Mahmari Gaba, meanwhile, is somewhere in Siberia. We're trying to track her down.

Flashes of the endless propaganda videos from Eris ran through Kyra's mind. Nileen Oak charging at Rants, springing through the air with guns blazing. It felt strange to think she might be thrashing against her sheets at night, wracked with nightmares.

Kyra studied Baltasar again. He stared placidly back, waiting for her to speak, evaluating everything she did or said.

I've told you I'll kill you a bunch of times since I got here, Kyra said. Why do you think I'll ever work with you? Or that you can ever trust me?

There are thousands of Rants on Eris. We've no idea how they're breeding, but there are more of them every day. The quarantine ships around Eris can't stop them all They've already been spotted on Titan and Enceladus, and are within reach of the inner moons and planets. Baltasar templed his fingers against his chin again. Why should I trust you? I don't. I think you'll try to kill me soon and often. But I haven't got any choice. Without you, we're all dead anyway.

That's why you want me, Kyra said. Why do I need you?

The screen on the wall flickered on again and an image of Kyra's daughters appeared. At least, she had thought they were her daughters until twelve hours before. The picture changed to the two girls, now old women, surrounded by middle-aged people and children.

"There are seventeen reasons