Novum Chronicles: A Dystopian Undersea Saga Read online

  NOVUM

  CHRONICLES

  By Joseph Rhea

  Contents

  Book 1: Genesis

  Genesis 01

  Genesis 02

  Genesis 03

  Genesis 04

  Genesis 05

  Genesis 06

  Genesis 07

  Genesis 08

  Genesis 09

  Genesis 10

  Book 2: Exile

  Exile 01

  Exile 02

  Exile 03

  Exile 04

  Exile 05

  Exile 06

  Exile 07

  Book 3: Rubicon

  Rubicon 01

  Rubicon 02

  Rubicon 03

  Rubicon 04

  Rubicon 05

  Rubicon 06

  Rubicon 07

  Rubicon 08

  Book 4: Revelation

  Revelation 01

  Revelation 02

  Revelation 03

  Revelation 04

  Revelation 05

  Revelation 06

  Revelation 07

  Revelation 08

  Book 5: Apocalypse

  Apocalypse 01

  Apocalypse 02

  Apocalypse 03

  Apocalypse 04

  Apocalypse 05

  Apocalypse 06

  Apocalypse 07

  Apocalypse 08

  Apocalypse 09

  Apocalypse 10

  A note from the Author

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Credits and Permissions

  Copyright

  Book 1:

  Genesis

  Genesis 01

  The face of Stacy Cole emerges from the icy-cold depths, her pale blue eyes pleading, her mouth forming silent words, her long blond hair floating weightlessly around her head, forming a sort of halo. As he reaches for her, she begins to fall away in slow motion. Just as she disappears back into the darkness, her words finally reach him, like a distant echo. I forgive you, Jake.

  Jake Stone woke in a panic, the nightmare still fresh in his mind. He’d had dozens of nightmares in the past six months, each identical to the last, and the waking realization that no one would ever forgive him for what he had done to her was driving him to the brink of madness.

  It was dark as he sat up and he hit his head on something hard. As he turned on a portable lantern, he saw the outline of a large, two-legged robot standing right above him, its outstretched arms covered with several items of his clothing. He was about to lie back down when a loud buzzer echoed in the room.

  “What the bilge?” He combed his fingers through unkempt and somewhat greasy hair, then picked up the lantern and walked barefoot across the metal floor. When he reached the far side, he pressed a button on the wall. A small display appeared, showing a top view of a woman with dark hair standing in dim light. He zoomed in on her face and shook his head when he saw the rows of small black tattoos on her temples.

  He pressed another button and the entire side of the box began to fall away from him. The side became a ramp that the woman walked up. When she stepped into the light of his lantern, he saw that she was attractive, but her facial tattoos made her look stern. That was balanced by her dark-blue jumpsuit, which showed off her thin, but very fit body.

  “What does a member of the Shippers Guild want with me in the middle of the night?” he asked, not completely sure that he wanted to know the answer.

  The woman squinted at the dark room behind him with a look of thinly veiled disgust on her face, before turning back to him. “Are you Jake Stone, the current owner of this vessel?”

  He tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. “Look, if you're here to collect credits, it should be obvious that I don't have any.” He pointed a thumb to the cot behind him. “Rich people don't tend to sleep in their—”

  “I don't have time to chat,” she said. “My name is AJ Juno, and I need to rent your ship for the next three days.”

  It took a moment for her words to sink in. “Sorry. The Rogue Wave isn't available for hire. She's actually for sale if you're interested. Just come back in the morning when—”

  “I need to transport medical supplies between two border outposts, and I need to leave tonight,” she said, then pushed past him to survey the room. “Is your Jumper in working condition?”

  Jake looked back at the robot standing guard over his cot. “It is, but as I said, the Wave’s not available.”

  She turned to face him. “We'll pay all fuel costs as well as pay your overdue dock fees. Also, we're offering a small captain's bonus.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a small red bag.

  “You're not listening to me,” he said. “This ship doesn't have a captain or a crew.”

  She opened the bag and even in the dim light, he could see that it was stuffed full of coins. “I have my own crew and they are waiting for us outside. All you have to do is say yes, and then sit back and count your money.”

  He took the bag from her and felt the weight of it in his hand. He then pulled out one of the coins and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. When he was sure that it was real, he dropped it back in the bag.

  “Who am I to say no to the Shippers Guild?” he said.

  AJ turned her head to the side. “We are go, people.”

  The room's lights suddenly turned on all at once, nearly blinding Jake. Then eight or so men and women came up the ramp carrying boxes of various sizes. They all walked right past him and continued to the back of the bay.

  Jake turned off his lantern. “Make yourselves at home.”

  A distinguished-looking older woman put down her box and approached him. AJ cleared her throat. “Jake Stone, this is Nia Moon. She's the person financing this trip.”

  “I apologize for the late hour, Mr. Stone. I do want to thank you—”

  Jake cut her off. “I was led to believe that this was a Guild operation, but it looks like your girl here is the only one who bothered to put on the fake tattoos.”

  AJ stepped up to him and looked as though she was about to throw a punch. “Her girl?”

  “AJ!” Nia said. “Mr. Stone has kindly agreed to rent his ship to us on very short notice. Don't you think that we should treat him accordingly?”

  Jake smiled. “Yeah, AJ, don't be so touchy.”

  He braced for the punch, but instead, she leaned in close. “My friends call me AJ. You will call me Juno.”

  She then turned, grabbed a container that was too big for one person to carry, and hauled it to the back of the bay. As he watched her walk away, he wasn’t sure if he was attracted to her, or afraid of her. Maybe it was a little of both.

  “The medical supplies are urgently needed,” Nia said, “and I can assure you that my crew is fully qualified.”

  Jake looked again at the bag of coins in his hand and realized that he liked the idea of having the power back on. “I'm sure a smart man would never accept a deal like this, but at least I'm smart enough to know how to protect myself. So, I'm officially making you acting captain for the duration of this trip, with all the responsibilities that go with it.”

  “You won't regret this decision, Mr. Stone,” she said.

  “I guess we'll see. Now, if you'll give me your flight plan, I'll get the process started so we can—”

  “Already taken care of,” she said as she turned away from him. “The Rogue Wave is fully fueled and has been cleared for immediate departure.” Jake saw that the crew had already finished loading the crates and were heading into the interior of the ship through one of the side doors. “As I stated, we are in quite a rush to get the suppli
es moved,” she added.

  “Right. Medical supplies.” Jake walked over and hit the button to close the loading door. As the big ramp lifted and sealed itself into place, he glanced back at the Jumper standing guard over his cot. “I guess we're going on a trip.”

  Doors on both sides of the cargo bay led up a few steps to observation corridors heading aft. When he felt he was ready, he took the starboard route, and after passing through a double-door lockout, he came to a wide junction in the middle of C-deck. From there, he could enter the medical bay on one side, the dive locker on the other, continue aft to the four deck-crew quarters, shuttle lockout, and recreation room, or turn around and go up a flight of stairs to the B-deck, which was where he headed.

  The B-deck contained the six living quarters for the bridge crew as well as the galley, the mess hall, and two large storage rooms. Right in front of him, a second stairwell took him up to the bridge.

  Jake paused at the bottom and heard Nia addressing her crew. “This bridge is unique in that it's located at the top of the ship, rather than tucked safely inside the hull. These huge viewports allow for a full view in all directions.”

  Jake took a deep breath and jogged up the stairs.

  “Ah, Mr. Stone,” Nia said. “We are ready for departure. Just waiting for your authorization.”

  He stared at her for a moment, then realized what she was talking about. He lifted his head to speak to the bridge overhead speakers. “This is Jacob Stone. This woman...” He pointed to Nia.

  “Nia Moon,” she said.

  “...is hereby granted authority as acting captain for the next seventy-two hours. Begin now.” Several red lights on the ceiling turned green. He nodded to Nia. “She's all yours.”

  She nodded back. “Take us out, please.”

  The floor vibrated as the Rogue Wave was lowered down into an opening in the floor. Then a thick door above them closed and the bridge was plunged into darkness. Automatic lighting kicked in, and the bridge came alive with numerous glowing buttons and display panels.

  A low humming sound filled the bridge as the ship began to move backward. He looked down at the rectangular chart table in the middle of the bridge and focused on the three-dimensional model of the Rogue Wave being displayed. He watched as it backed out of the lockout tube. When the outer door was cleared, the Rogue Wave pivoted one hundred and eighty degrees and headed away from the dock opening at full thrust.

  Jake turned to look out of the aft viewport but saw nothing. He pressed a switch and a message appeared on the glass saying, “LOW-LIGHT ACOUSTICAL MAPPING.” A second later, Capitol City appeared outside the viewport. Its most prominent feature was the kilometer-wide upper dome that housed the city itself. Below the dome was a series of disk-shaped structures attached to a central shaft. These were the “working” levels of the city and included the docks, engineering, reclamation, recycling centers, and at the very bottom, the city’s power plant. The entire thing was lit up with navigational lights that were visible for several kilometers.

  “Truly a miracle of human engineering, isn't it?” Nia asked.

  Jake jumped, startled to see Nia standing right beside him. He looked back at the receding city and shook his head.

  “No one who lives in the lower levels would say that. To them, Capitol City is more like a prison.”

  Nia returned to the center of the bridge and activated all of the bridge's viewports. Through them, Jake could see numerous submarines of different shapes and sizes, moving to and from the city.

  Jake rubbed his eyes. “If you don't need anything else, I think I'll go get some rest. I don't know where you guys came from, but here, it's the middle of the night.”

  “I think we are fine,” Nia said. “The ETA to our pick-up coordinates is just under twenty hours.”

  “Then you have the bridge,” he said as he turned and headed back down the stairwell. At the bottom of the steps, he was startled by a loud clang. When he turned to look, he saw an older man with white hair and beard picking up a large pot from the floor and placing it on the counter.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” the older man said. “I didn’t know how stocked your galley was, so I brought along a few things of my own.”

  Jake scowled at the sight of the primitive-looking pots on the counter. “This isn’t a garbage hauler. We have two working food processors.” He pointed to the cylindrical devices on both sides of the galley. “Well, one of them is working anyway.”

  The man smiled and caressed the pot he was holding as if it were his child. “I prefer to cook things myself when I can.” He then placed the pot on the counter and reached out his hand. Jake pretended not to notice and continued down the stairs to C-deck. “Breakfast at zero six hundred,” the man called to the space behind him.

  As Jake reached the bottom step, he saw two large men step through the dive locker door. They looked nearly identical except that one looked a bit younger and had a short beard.

  "Find everything okay?" Jake asked, not really expecting an answer.

  The older one set down a wrench and faced him. "I'm hoping you can help us, Captain. By the way, I am Malcolm Grange..." he paused to point to the other man, "...and that fellow with the scraggly beard is my little brother, Liam."

  Liam stroked his beard proudly. "You say that only because you cannot grow one." He turned his attention to Jake. “Can you explain to us why your hyperbaric chamber is not attached to your dive locker, Captain?”

  "It's on the starboard side, connected to the medical bay,” Jake replied. “And for the record, I'm just the ship's owner. I made Nia Moon acting captain for this trip."

  Malcolm nodded his head. "You seem like one of us, Captain, I mean, Mr. Stone."

  Jake stopped walking. "How’s that?"

  "Working class,” Liam said. “I'm not sure I trust these others."

  Jake starts walking towards the rear door again. "Well, it's only for three days, so I guess we'll all have to deal with each other. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some sleep."

  They headed back into the dive locker as he passed through the rear door. When the door slid shut behind him, Jake breathed a sigh of relief. All he could think about was a few hours of uninterrupted sleep in his quarters.

  From the central doorway, his room was around the corner to his left and then last room on the left. He was about to go in when he noticed the “active” light on the recreation room control panel on the far wall. “Drown it,” he cursed as he turned and entered the airlock door on the opposite side of the hall from his room.

  When the air finished cycling, he opened the rec room’s inner door and saw Stacy standing in a jungle clearing with her back to him. She was wearing a snug-fitting tan jumpsuit and staring up at a tall, motionless waterfall. Behind him, the door closed and was then replaced by jungle plants. He had been running the simulation a few weeks earlier, adding details, when the ship’s batteries had finally given out. The utility fog that made her move had lost power, leaving both her and the waterfall frozen in time, like some sort of three-dimensional painting.

  Jake took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Resume program!” The waterfall crashed down the rock wall and the entire jungle came alive, complete with numerous birds shrieking in the distance. Jake stepped closer to Stacy, moving to stand beside her. She looked so real that he wanted to reach out and touch her, caress her warm skin, and let her tell him that everything was okay, the way she used to.

  Instead, he yelled, “Program off!” and the whole scene broke apart and began swirling around him in a semi-transparent mist. He looked away from her while this was happening, as he always did, preserving the illusion that she was real. He waited until the nano-machine particles finished unlinking themselves and returned to the storage units in the corners of the now-plain-white and empty room.

  When the all-clear chime sounded, he exited back through the now-visible lockout door. As soon as he stepped through the door of his quarters, he tossed his bag of co
ins on his desk, then collapsed face down on his bunk. “Thirty minutes,” he mumbled. “That's all I need.” He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

  Genesis 02

  Jake woke in a panic, his heart pounding. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. “Maybe another thirty minutes.” He started to lie back down, but then noticed a bad smell in the room. It only took a moment to realize that he was the one who stunk.

  He stood up and grabbed a towel from the desk chair. He smelled it, then dropped it on the floor and found a cleaner one in the corner. He then stripped off his dirty clothing and headed out of his room. Halfway down the hall, he remembered that he wasn’t alone on the ship and quickly wrapped the towel around his waist. He sealed and locked the head door and, after relieving himself, raised the toilet back into the wall and turned on the shower.

  With the ship’s batteries fully charged for the first time in weeks, the water was piping hot, and it felt incredible. When he was sure that his skin was about to blister from the heat, he turned off the water and let the fans dry him. Then he pulled the sink down and grabbed his tooth scrub, but the face he saw staring back at him in the recessed mirror startled him. The biggest shock was just how worn down he looked. His usually close-cropped, brown hair hung in his eyes and he had a three-day growth of beard. He grabbed a bottle of shave gel and rubbed it on his cheeks, watching the stubble fall off into the sink. When he finished, he remembered to cover himself before walking out the door.

  Jake's stomach gurgled loudly as he pulled on a clean shirt. He then heard a knock at his door. When he opened it, he saw a woman with brown hair and large, alert eyes. “Who are you?” he asked.

  “I'm your pilot, or helmsman if you prefer,” she replied. She extended her hand. “My name's Vienna, but I prefer Vee. I find one-to-two syllable names work better on the bridge, don't you?”

  He shook her hand. “So, what's up?”

  “My grandfather asked me to wake you, or more precisely, to see if you were still alive.”

  “Grandfather?”

  “Norman Raines. He said you two met in the galley.”