by T. Y. Carew
Mattie was still trying to determine whether the shiny object was a drone or not when Doctor Cardew spoke again.
“I have asked her permission, and she assured me…” She walked to Mattie’s side and put an arm around her again, deftly turning her to face the public again. “… That she’d love nothing more than to give us a little demonstration of what mind-controlling the metal Adamanta means. Adamanta, darling, choose your weapon!”
Camera flashes burst in from the darkness, and Mattie stood there, barely breathing, wondering how she’d managed to land herself in this situation.
She felt pressure against her back and realized that she was being corralled towards the weapons on the stand. A camera whizzed overhead, low enough to create a draft that ruffled her hair.
Mattie felt around with her mind. Adamanta sang back to her from all the weapons and the drone, if that was what it was. Was she expected to protect herself from attacks? Well, that wouldn’t be too bad. She could probably do that without interacting with the foreign metal anyway. The audience wouldn’t know.
“One weapon?” she asked.
“One.”
Without hesitation, she reached for the katana. Right away, the aide wheeled the weapon stand back off stage, and the one carrying the drone set the machine on the floor and withdrew, as well.
Doctor Cardew stepped to the edge of the stage. “The drone is pre-programmed to perform a certain set of actions on a specified perimeter, for your safety,” she said. She turned to Mattie. “Ready?”
Mattie gripped the katana tightly in her hand and nodded.
Chapter 7
The drone buzzed a foot off the floor and then shot at Mattie faster than she would have thought possible. She couldn’t see an obvious weapon, but the thing was aiming for her head on an upward curve trajectory, and she was certain she’d end up with concussion if it hit her.
Ducking at the last minute, Mattie swung after it but missed by inches.
The drone was now hovering above her head, and she could just about make out a small slit-like opening on its underbelly. Before she could see what was coming, she caught sight of two arms spurting sideways from its body, and this time she could see the threat clearly. One arm ended in a laser pistol, the other in a double-edged blade.
As the machine opened fire, Mattie spun the katana, deflecting the laser bolts in a spiral while she moved farther away from the seated spectators. The last thing she needed was for a stray bolt to find an unintended mark. The fallout from that kind of publicity would be merciless. “Innocent guest injured by Adamanta in freak weapon display” didn’t sound good regardless of the spin the military’s PR people put on it.
The drone followed her obediently, and Mattie saw her chance to disable the shooting arm. The machine had clearly been set to stay a certain distance away from its target. Squatting while avoiding the laser bolts, she got as close to the floor as possible, then pushed hard and swung through the air, hitting at the mechanical arm at the height of a double jump she hadn’t managed many times before. A bolt slashed a long scorch mark from above her elbow up to her shoulder but a satisfying clonk told her she’d been successful. The drone now only had one weapon left—the double-edged blade.
It came at her with it swinging in wide loops, circling her from head-height down to ankle level. Mattie swung, parried, attacked and kicked at the drone, but she couldn’t get rid of the bothersome machine. The pattern of its attack was random, which meant she didn’t have much time to try and connect with the Adamanta inside its body to try to stop or slow down its relentless assault. She’d have to try another tactic.
On the back of a deflective move, Mattie seized her chance and lunged away, then leapt through the air in a long jump parallel to the floor, ending with a triple-roll. She straightened up on the other side of the stage and assumed defensive position. The drone was still slashing at thin air, a long way away.
Quickly, Mattie felt for the Adamanta within its body. It seemed reluctant to allow her mind to touch it, but Mattie grasped it tightly and, as the machine began its flight towards her new position, she pushed with her mind, trying to slow it down.
Her efforts were not entirely successful, but she was certain the drone moved slower than it had done at the beginning. A headache bloomed behind her eyes, so she let go and proceeded to deflect more blows from its bladed arm while waiting for another opening.
On the next leap away from it, Mattie wasted no time. She pushed at the Adamanta inside the machine, resisting its pre-programmed progress towards her. This time the machine hovered in mid-air, advancing at walking pace, and Mattie was certain she’d got it tamed.
Until a circular saw swung low from the slit in the drone’s underbelly. Hell. If she couldn’t break off the drone’s arm, how was she expected to stop a chainsaw? Mattie wished she’d picked the hammer and mace instead of relying on a weapon she habitually handled.
She let go of the drone mentally and rolled sideways, to a new position. Freed from Mattie’s mental hold, the drone hurtled through the air at the spot she’d occupied only moments earlier, saw buzzing, blade slashing, its pattern of swings as random as ever.
Mattie threw herself into another long leap, mentally feeling for the weapons left on their wheeled display, now likely sitting off stage, just out of reach. She could feel the boomerang, light and flighty, and then quickly moved onto the hammer. On trying to lift it, she realized that wouldn’t be an easy task. The mace and hammer were so much heavier than what she was used to handling, she wasted too much effort and concentration on merely getting them to lift and inch off the stand. So much so that she found herself suddenly under siege from the drone that had caught up with her and with a raging headache that made concentration difficult.
Mattie was beginning to tire. Handling the katana without using her mind did allow her the mental space to feel for the Adamanta in the drone and remaining weapons, but the metal felt foreign and resisted her control.
As she considered her strategy, Mattie realized the drone’s blade had picked up speed. Either that or it had moved closer, allowing her less room to work with. One flash-glance upwards confirmed her suspicions. The drone was slowly coming lower. The spinning sawblade was perfectly lined up with the middle of her head.
Out of options, Mattie called the boomerang to her aid. The thin weapon, fashioned out of a composite material in the traditional flattened shape early human hunters used, bowed to Mattie’s calling and entered the fray, hitting the bladed arm of the drone and falling to the floor. The mechanical arm wavered and stopped for a moment, giving Mattie the chance to escape.
She grasped the boomerang in her free hand and leapt to safety, but not before landing a powerful drop-kick to the drone’s body.
The drone swung low enough for the saw to catch on the floor, and in the confusion caused by the wild swings of its bladed arm that hadn’t quite resumed its original range of motion, and the tilt it acquired by snagging on the floor, Mattie launched the boomerang at it again.
The weapon hit its mark, and the drone hovered closer to the ground again. Mattie grappled with the Adamanta within it while jumping to attack. She kicked the machine once more, making it bounce along the floor, then jumped on the bladed arm, immobilizing it. One quick thrust with the boomerang to jam the rotating chainsaw, and Mattie felt the drone almost give itself over to her, to do with as she wished.
Adrenaline pumping in her veins, Mattie lifted the katana high above her head and, putting as much strength behind her as she was capable of, impaled the drone to the floor. The machine ceased all movement.
***
“An amazing performance,” Doctor Cardew’s voice came from somewhere in the darkness. “Clearly worthy of our admiration. Adamanta! The warrior in a ball gown!”
The crowds began chanting, “Adamanta! Adamanta!” Mattie turned to face them and bowed.
After a minute the noise suddenly died down, and the Red Lady’s voice rang out again. “But Adamanta
control is not all about weapons. The metal has so much potential, it’s hard to explain how much more it can be used for. For example,” a solitary spotlight fell on the far edge of the stage, on a human figure completely encased in what looked like full body armor, “we can use mind control to keep ourselves alive. The suit my colleague has been sealed in has Adamanta components controlling the mix of oxygen necessary for normal breathing function. However…”
Mattie instinctively reached for the Adamanta in the suit, desperate to be a step ahead of the Red Lady’s twisted game this time.
“The cyber-controls have been pre-programmed wrongly, so my man here only has five minutes of air left, after which he will be fed a noxious mix of gasses that will… kill him.”
Gasps from the audience accompanied Mattie’s feelings of lightheadedness. The woman was insane. How can anyone play with a human life like that, she wondered, struggling to accept the situation unfolding right in front of her eyes.
Behind her, Doctor Cardew finished voicing her colleague’s death sentence.
“Unless, of course, Adamanta can convince the Adamanta in the suit to default to factory settings, therefore saving my colleague’s life. No weapons. Over to you!”
Mattie felt all eyes on her, and watched the man in the suit approach her slowly. She caught his expression through the narrow see-through strip right in front of his eyes, and the terror in their depth pierced her like a knife. Gulping, she closed her eyes and reached for the foreign Adamanta.
At first, the larger amounts of Adamanta in the body of the suit prevented her from finding the circuitry responsible for the regulation of air within it. The terrified face of the man inside swam in front of her eyes, distracting her further. Mattie growled it away and kept searching. Finally, she found the circuit board she should be concentrating on.
The metal was so scant here, mere traces buffered by the enormous quantity lining the suit itself, that every time she tried to connect with it her mind was assaulted by the larger quantity and pulled back. She felt around, reaching for one and pushing away the other, for what felt like hours.
Five minutes. She only had five minutes. The painful throbbing behind her temples was now a continuous pounding.
Mattie licked at the droplets of blood sneaking out of her nose, and scrunched up her face, eyes closed tight, mind tunneled to the small circuit board that needed to be reset. Oh, where was Drew when she needed him? But even if she could get him on the stage, Drew wasn’t as used to dealing with unattuned Adamanta. The man would be dead before she could teach Drew how to use it, or before he could teach her how to reset the electronics.
A loud crash and the stage vibrating under her feet told her the man had collapsed. She didn’t dare open her eyes and look. She didn’t want to see his ashen face. Drowning in despair, Mattie grasped hold of the circuit board itself through its tiny Adamanta connections and shook it so ferociously she was certain she’d snapped it to pieces.
Eyes still closed, Mattie stood there for another minute, or maybe ten, tears coursing slowly down her face, not wanting to face the room full of people, not now that she had caused the death of an innocent man through her slowness and lack of skill.
And then a huge roar erupted from the crowds of spectators, startling her into opening her eyes. Her first gaze fell on the man on the floor, who had an arm in the air, waving at the crowd.
Sobbing uncontrollably now, Mattie dropped to her knees by his side and helped him to a sitting position. He met her eyes, and she could see the wordless gratitude and sheer relief reflected back at her. Smiling wider than ever before, Mattie threw herself at the suited man and hugged him.
Chapter 8
“Incredible! Incredible! What an astounding performance!” the Red Lady said, but her words were drowned by the cheering crowds.
Mattie stood shaking with relief in the pool of light while an aide helped the man in his suit off the stage. It took her many attempts to silence the audience, but eventually they quietened down. Doctor Cardew walked into the circle of light to stand next to Mattie, put her arm around her shoulder and hugged her. Repulsed but not daring to show it, Mattie allowed the brief contact, but took a step away from the venomous woman as soon as she was released from her grip.
Doctor Cardew laughed out loud and faced her guests. Speaking towards them, she asked Mattie, “You didn’t really think he was in any danger, did you?”
Mattie felt her eyes bug out.
The Red Lady smiled left and right, and turned to Mattie. “He was never in any real danger. Did you really think me capable of murdering my own colleague?” She laughed loudly, and Mattie had the sense not to nod in response to the ruthless woman’s question. However, her wariness must have been still obvious on her face, because the doctor stepped closer and slung her arm around Mattie’s shoulders again.
“Oh dear,” she said to the crowds. “I think I really ballsed up what could have been a great, mutually beneficial relationship.” Some of the guests chuckled at her attempted humor. “But I will make it up to you,” she said, looking at Mattie now. “To show you how much I value you as a person, and your contribution to all our lives…” The crowd was now deathly quiet. “How would you like to be the first person to travel in the newest and most extraordinary discovery in interplanetary travel, the prodigious Porteus?”
The audience erupted once more, showing their approval of the night’s entertainment to the clear delight of their hostess. Mattie simply didn’t have any thoughts. Her mind seemed to have stopped. What was this? Some new trap? Or was Doctor Cardew’s offer a genuine attempt to make amends? And should she accept it or go with it?
Say yes, say yes, played on repeat in the back of her mind in General Kelton’s deep voice. Even as the question formed in her mind, she knew she could never refuse and get away with it. The media would tear her to shreds. Gone would be her carefully sculpted public image as the approachable, kind and helpful Adamanta, to be replaced with who-knew-what? A sulky, stuck-up bitch too eager to hold grudges?
Mattie stroked her hand over the scorch burn on her arm and smiled.
Turning to the face the flashing cameras, she said in her mic, “That would be an honor, Doctor. Thank you.”
“It is settled, then. I will have the shuttle set to take you into Netera’s orbit, do a full loop at top speed, then bring you back down and set you gently on my back lawn. And you, my guests, will be able to watch the entire trip on this wide screen live; how about that?” Mattie continued to smile for the cameras while the audience cheered. “And on the way I’ll have my med team see to that little scratch,” Doctor Cardew said while grasping Mattie by the arm and walking with her to the side of the stage.
Behind them the crowds roared their approval. Mattie pressed her free hand to her stomach, trying in vain to settle her nerves. None of this sounded okay to her, but as the mic was still attached, she didn’t dare open her mouth for fear her thoughts would come spilling out. She’d just have to trust Porteus was as clever a ship as it was portrayed, and she would make it back down to Netera in one piece and healthy enough to talk about it.
***
“All set?” the woman asked as she peeked around the hangar’s door.
“Perfectly, my lady,” he answered and basked in her momentary smile. She had no idea quite how much she meant to him, but that was all right. He could live with that. It didn’t bother him one bit to pay it forward and make sure the coast was clear for her to achieve all her dreams.
He smiled to himself while turning back to the screen. One deep breath later, he pressed the sequence of keys that would align the shuttle for take-off. Quietly, he carried out the ground-prep for the landing, too, though there would be no need for that.
That was it—his job done. Humming to himself, he climbed the internal staircase to the amphitheater to watch Adamanta fly.
***
From his spot in the line-up of guards, Xander watched helplessly as the gold shuttle took off with Matti
e on board. He cursed himself for not having had the foresight to check it out on arrival. Damn it! He was the kind of guy who took the safety of his crew seriously. More so, Mattie’s. To think she was powerless, strapped to a machine, with no way of controlling it, made him sick with worry.
He would have almost preferred her to pilot the thing herself, despite knowing she wasn’t quite ready for the demanding role of pilot yet. He ground his teeth in frustration. “Shit!” he hissed through his teeth and punched a nearby tree hard enough to make its branches creak with the sudden impact.
***
Settled in the one and only passenger seat in the shuttle, Mattie tried her best to relax. The comms were connected to Doctor Cardew’s mansion, which meant there would always be a link between the shuttle and the ground, and so hopefully someone would be able to constantly assess the craft’s trajectory and make any necessary adjustments in-flight—though Mattie hoped with all her heart the need would never arise.
Doctor Cardew’s voice could be heard in the background, a constant drone Mattie was trying her hardest to ignore, but with little success. She was too worried, and too excited, about this little adventure to cut off any external stimuli.
“It will take 48 seconds to reach apogee, after which Porteus will level out and proceed at about half the speed of FTL travel on the safest orbit around Netera. Adamanta will have the best views of us from above… if only she remembers to open her eyes.” She gave the audience time to chuckle, and Mattie suddenly realized there would be a camera in the cabin focused on her face. Of course there would be! Why hadn’t she thought about it before? She blushed and smiled automatically, then blew the unseen camera a kiss. There. Good save, right?
