The Circadia Chronicles: Omnibus: The Complete Colonization Sci-Fi Series by Heather Heckadon (portable ebook reader .txt) 📕

My first question came fast. “How did Smith get a gun?” It had been my first thought when I had first seen it. It was obvious Leslie had given it to him, but how did it get there? And my more pressing question, how many are there?

Spencer looked at me, shocked. “Did you say a gun? When did he have a gun? I didn’t get to see the video footage, what am I missing?”

“Right before Jane set off the bombs and we escaped. Leslie was interrogating people about the softphone. People were getting upset because he wouldn’t shut up, and they weren’t backing down until he ordered Smith to shoot a guy. He pulled a black pistol out of the back of his pants and shot him in front of everyone,” I said. “He was refusing to shoot a woman when you guys showed up...I just don’t understand how he got a gun.”

Jane spoke up, “If he has one, I’m sure there’s more...right?” she asked one of the guys from the space team.

“Yeah, if they were able to smuggle one on the flight up here, I’m sure that there’s more. Kinda hard to pass a pistol through a ‘secure’ entrance unless there’s a flaw in the system. Someone on the inside helping you out, which obviously he has no problems with,” he said. “We can’t rule out the possibility that there’s more, and we also can’t rule out the possibility that there’s not more coming.”

Everyone took a collective breath of realization. It hadn’t occurred to me that more supplies might be sent, or more men. It made sense though. Leslie had the softphone for quite a while. Plenty of time to request more supplies or help. For that matter, he could have pre-arranged this all on Earth. I was almost positive he didn’t expect the resistance that he found here on Circadia, but he had to have known there would be backlash of some sort.

“It’s okay, though. Leslie will starve himself out. He doesn’t know how to care for the crops like you do, Aella,” Ronald said. “He won’t know how to fend for himself. If we can just wait them out, we’ve already won. And if they don’t starve, then surely when the darkness comes, he’ll freeze to death. No way he can start a fire by himself.”

“That would be great, except for the fact that we taught his crew everything they needed to know about living on Circadia. Not only did we teach them everything, but they’re gonna thrive like we couldn’t because there’s more of them,” Spencer said. “Three-hundred men. That’s a lot of laborers working towards one goal if they can make it happen.”

“So, that’s what we’re hoping for? We’re hoping three-hundred people can’t get along to feed themselves? That’s our best tactic?” Jane asked. “Are you fucking serious?”

“We’re fighting a losing battle,” Garrett said. “There’s no way we can out-man or out-gun Leslie and his crew. No way.”

“Yes. There is,” said a deep voice from the shadows of the cave. Smith stepped forward to reveal himself. The crowd gossiped quietly, and my breath caught a bit as well. His right eye was blackened like someone had hit him, and his voice was rough. “You guys are scientists. We are scientists. I know I’m not one of you, not anymore, but I’m on your team. You are outgunned and outmanned. You can’t beat Leslie with brute force, but you can damn sure outsmart him. Tenfold. That’s what we’re gonna do. That’s what you’re gonna do.”

Chapter Five

“How are we supposed to do that?” asked Garrett. His scowl was obvious. “What could we possibly do to end this?”

“Well, it depends,” Smith said thoughtfully. “Do you want to kill everyone or just stop what he’s doing?”

I spoke up on behalf of everyone in the room. “We want to kill Leslie; the rest will fall in line. Don’t you think?” My glare down on Smith felt powerful and strong. He was our ally, but he had still betrayed us. We deserved to be the deciding voice, especially on that matter.

“Yeah, I do... but my question is: does everyone here agree with that?” Smith asked.

The crowd shifted and swayed, whispering in each other’s ears. I couldn’t understand what they could possibly be discussing. I wanted Leslie dead more than anything in the universe. I just wanted our planet back. I didn’t comprehend until a woman stepped forward from the crowd and spoke.

“There are some of us who want them all dead. They should all pay for what they’ve done,” she said. Her chin raised after she was done talking, her face steely and cold.

“Like, the soldiers?” I asked.

“Like everyone who came here after us,” she replied. “The soldiers, the civilians that accompanied Leslie up here, everyone. Everyone after us.”

“Are you serious?” I asked. I couldn’t believe the hatred she was spewing. Leslie had taken everything from us, so I understood wanting him dead. The soldiers, yeah, they helped. The civilians? They had paid to come here, leaving everyone else on Earth behind to suffer a terrible fate, but had they really intended to cause us harm? Did eight-hundred people really deserve to die? “Why do you want to sentence eight-hundred people to death?”

“What gives you the right to sentence one man to death?” another asked. “I don’t even think it’s right to kill Leslie, but you don’t understand their position on the matter? I don’t agree with killing Leslie, but I also understand there’s no other way. I get it. Do you not see their point of view, too?”

My head started spinning. It was apparent no one agreed on what we should do, and I was at a loss. I caught myself questioning everything I thought to be right. Why did I think I had the right to decide one man’s fate? I thought. Why did that one man think he had the right to decide mine? I took a step back and