“We’ll be there in less than a day, then?” I asked, and Slate nodded.
“I’m off to bed,” he said, and Walo sat with us in the small room.
“Suma, why didn’t the Emitter render us powerless too? I never understood that,” I said.
“When it was on the other side of our shields, we were blocking it,” she said.
“I can see that part… but inside. Dubs wasn’t affected. How did it work?” I asked, and Walo leaned in with interest.
Suma appeared to search for an explanation. She knew I wasn’t an expert and wouldn’t take well to technical jargon. “From what I understand, the Emitter sends pulses that create barriers to charges and currents. Basically, the resulting fields cause any energy devices to fail, but here’s the tricky part. It has a window around it, a sphere if you will, and the pulses emit fifty feet out from the device in all directions.”
I nodded. “This is why the Maev androids were functioning inside the ship, but not on the other vessels.”
“Exactly.”
“How far can the range extend, and do you think Clare could duplicate or expand the reach?”
Suma drummed her fingers. “I’m not sure. It was a few thousand kilometers in space. I suspect that could be boosted.”
“How about targeting one specific ship? Could you affect one type of drive or system?” I asked, picturing the V-shaped alien vessel we’d been studying on Haven. Clare had all the data on board the Horizon, so she could begin working on it right away.
“I understand what you’re saying, Dean. And yes, I think we could do that, given enough time,” she said.
“I have a feeling we’ll be sailing through space for a few months with nothing but time,” I told her. “I better hit the hay too.”
“My grandfather was right about you guys. You’re ambitious,” Walo said.
I smiled at her. “Self-preservation is important.”
“Good night. I’ll check on Sergo, then rest as well.” Walo left us alone, and I stood by the doorway.
“Suma,” I whispered when the female Padlog was down the hall and out of earshot, “do me a favor.” I told her my plan, and she broke into a smile.
“I’ll start right now,” she told me.
Twelve
I wanted to stop by the Horizon, but Magnus told us we needed to finish with Zoober first. We had everything ready, and we docked at the Tri-System Station, searching for anything resembling a V-shaped Kold vessel, not finding one parked nearby.
Loweck stood at the lead, donning her black uniform again. I put my suit on, and Hectal and Slate returned to their roles as our muscle. Suma and Walo left with us, leaving Dubs alone with Sergo.
Against his wishes, I tied Sergo up, asking Dubs to guard the bedroom we threw him into. Sergo protested, but not enough for me to believe him.
“Let’s get this over with,” I told the group, trying to snap into my role as Reginald Vanhoutte. I stuck my nose up as we entered the station, pretending that everything about the place offended my senses.
“I’m not going to bother with the hotel this time,” Loweck said.
Suma scanned a directory of the station as the same android, or perhaps one that was identical, appeared and spoke to us. “Can we find you a room again? Perhaps a dining experience on the lowest level? You will have a vibrant underwater experience you didn’t even know you needed.” This robot loved its job.
“Sure, let’s do that,” Loweck said grimly. The elevator arrived once again, and we lowered to the center of the station, passing floors in a rush of blurry images and smells, eventually stopping on what was, we were told, the deepest level.
We stepped off the elevator and were faced with a gigantic underwater tank, separated by a clear energy barrier.
Another android appeared, this one coral pink in color. “Welcome to Paradise,” it said in English. “Please follow me.” It waved a hand, and a passageway opened up in the barrier. Suma went first, and a coating surrounded her as she stepped through. She waved at us from inside the water, and I could tell she was still breathing effortlessly.
“Cool, Boss,” Slate said quietly, stepping forward to go next. He was covered in the same casing, and we each took our turns. I entered last and felt the pressure build around me as the breathing skin attached to me. It spread out, giving me a reprieve from the weight of the water. I had no problem breathing, and when I tried to talk, I was amazed anyone could hear me.
“This is bizarre,” Walo said. Her small wings flicked to and fro.
“Right this way.” The robot swam smoothly toward a table near the outer window of the station. Here we had a view of space beyond, thousands of stars blinking in the distance as we sat at a table under water. Everything was warm, and brightly-colored alien fish swam by us. I didn’t remark, because for all I knew, they were vastly intelligent creatures visiting the station like we were.
“I can’t believe we don’t float around,” Suma said.
“The skins have an added weight, keeping your feet planted on the bottom,” the pink android explained.
“How are we going to find Zoober here?” Hectal asked. He seemed panicked under the water, his gaze darting around.
“You don’t find Zoober…” a familiar voice started.
“Zoober finds you,” Loweck finished, and I had to chuckle, forcing a straight face as the frog man hopped over to our table.
“See… you get me, Phantom. You were fast. Too fast. There’s no way you found what I was after, not with all of you still intact,” Zoober said.
“Have a seat,” I said, motioning for him to join our party at the ten-person table.
He glanced to his guards, who were surrounding him, and he nodded, accepting a seat beside me.
Loweck pulled something from her pocket. “We have what you’re after, right here.” She flipped the data drive between her fingers.
Zoober’s throat pushed out, sending a croak through the water. “You really did it?” He sounded shocked.
“We’re the Ghosts. We told you there are none better. Now, are we done playing games? Give us the location of the Rutelium world,” Loweck said.
“If that has what I hope it does, no problem. You will be granted the coordinates.” He tried to stick his small hand out and realized he couldn’t reach her from there.
“Give the coordinates to us, or I destroy this. I’m fed up, and we almost lost our ship acquiring this.” Loweck was exaggerating a little, but Zoober was buying what she was selling.
“Don’t… I said I’d make the trade, and I will.”
The server came, and Loweck glanced at me, then at the frog. “Deal. But first… we eat.”
____________
We were eagerly on the lift two hours later, with the planet’s details in hand. The Rutelium was on a world named Mion V9. “It’s not close, but we should be able to find it,” Suma said.
Zoober had disappeared as soon as the transaction occurred, making an excuse. He gave us an account linked to a credit broker on Bazarn Five, where we were to send statements and his twenty percent shares, after the mine was set up. From the way he was eyeballing the data drive, I didn’t think the mine was a pressing matter to him any longer.
“You did edit the files, right?” I asked Suma, and she nodded slightly. “Good. We don’t need that kind of information being sold to the highest bidder. I almost feel bad for the guy.” We’d changed the formula slightly, so that any tests of mind transference would fail at the last moment. The information Zoober held was useless.
“I don’t. I think he’s scum,” Walo said.
My earpiece buzzed, and Dubs’ voice carried through. “Captain, we have an issue.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Sergo. He… escaped.”
“What? How?” I asked.
“I’d rather speak in private,” Dubs said, and the call ended.
“Time to board. Sergo’s gone,” I told the gang, and Walo buzzed in anger.
&n
bsp; It wasn’t long before we were on the Padlog vessel, where we met Dubs pacing back and forth. “I’m sorry, Captain. He told me he had to use the bathroom. I didn’t know what else to do,” he said.
“What happened?” Slate asked.
“I untied him, and he shut the door on me, barring it closed. By the time I broke out, he was gone. It appears he took the Emitter with him.” Dubs’ eyes dimmed as he spoke.
“That low-life piece of…” Slate was fuming.
Walo was already moving for the exit. “Where did he go? We can still catch him.”
“He couldn’t have gone far, but I honestly don’t care. Dubs, take us out. Before Sergo realizes he took the fake,” I said with a smile.
Slate was about to object when my words registered in his brain. “Fake? Did you say fake?”
Suma crossed the cargo hold and pressed one of the hidden compartments open, revealing the real Emitter. The red crystal was dark, since we’d shut it off once out of the danger zone weeks ago.
“And the one Sergo had?” Walo asked.
“Suma made a duplicate. I knew he was going to do something stupid like this. I’m sorry, Walo. He’s not quite a stand-up man,” I told her.
Walo bristled, buzzing as she muttered to herself. “Grandfather was right. He is terrible. He abandoned me. After all we’ve been through.”
The ship detached from the station, and we left, finally with the coordinates for our next stop in hand. I still hadn’t learned anything more about the Kold aliens, but with this new weapon in our hands, I hoped we could at least help protect Haven.
____________
“Welcome back, Dean Parker,” a British voice said as I emerged into the hangar. I glanced around, seeing no one.
“Who said that?” I asked the empty room.
“KIM,” she answered. “The captain would like to speak with you when you have a moment.”
I wasn’t sure I’d get used to an AI watching over my every move. “I’ll stop by his office when I get a chance.”
The hangar doors opened, revealing Mary and Jules. The moment my daughter spotted me, she ran for me, and I lowered to the ground, bracing for her jump into my arms.
“Hi, honey,” I said, kissing her firmly on the cheek.
“Hi, Papa! You’re home!”
“I am.” Mary arrived and passed me the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. I knew I’d missed my family, but seeing them up close and in person reminded me just how much.
Loweck and Slate said hello to my family and kept moving, walking hand in hand to the hallways beyond.
“Are you guys a sight for sore eyes. I’ve been staring at Hectal too long,” I said, bumping the big Keppe in the stomach with my elbow. It was like hitting stone.
“You’re no prize to share a room with either, Dean. Mary, does he always complain about messes that much?” Hectal asked my wife.
“Yes. And he’s loosened up over the years, can you imagine?” Mary laughed.
Hectal shook his head, and he gave Jules a high five on his way through.
Walo walked by, saying hello, and Mary glanced at me with worry. “Where’s Sergo?” she quietly asked when we were alone.
I shrugged. “You mean he’s not with you? I’ll tell you about it in a while.”
Mary slapped me on the arm, and I held Jules, giving her a few more sloppy kisses on the cheek. “What have you been up to, my petite princess?”
I set her down, and she tugged on my pants. “Papa, why were you gone so long?”
Mary frowned. “She’s been like this for weeks. All she wanted to know was where you were. When you were coming home. She has something important to tell you, I guess.”
I crouched low, and Jules stared me in the eyes. “I’m sorry, honey. They needed me to help. You understand that, right?”
“Yes. I want to help.”
“You can help us by going to school and learning, okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “Papa, we can help the tiny people.”
“What?” I asked.
“I see them. They need our help,” she told me.
“Dean, it’s been like this for a few days now. She’s drawing them too.” Mary unfolded a piece of paper from her pocket and passed it over.
The drawing was consistent with a four-year-old’s, which she was, and I couldn’t really tell what it was supposed to be. Then I saw the symbol on the corner of the page. Four lines at an angle, with an oval overtop.
“It’s the symbol she was trying to show Patty when we caught them in the portal room,” I whispered.
“I forgot about that. We should investigate it,” Mary said.
“We will,” I told her. “Jules, what does this mean?”
She took the paper, her face scrunched up as she analyzed it; then she shrugged, passing it over to me. “I told you. They need our help.”
I was crouched beside her, and I gave her a hug. “We’ll help them, then. Sound good?” I glanced up at Mary, who was likely annoyed at the promises I was making our daughter, but she didn’t voice anything about it, at least not now.
“What do you say we go home and see Maggie?” I asked.
“Maggie!” Jules said, walking for the door. I passed the folded page to Mary.
“Seriously, where’s Sergo?” my wife asked as we strolled the corridors. Jules was saying hello to everyone we passed, and they all greeted her politely.
“He tried to steal the Emitter. I guess he thought he’d procure some serious credits on the black market, which I’m sure he would have if he didn’t take the fake Suma made,” I said.
Mary smiled. “You two make quite the team. Did you shoot him out of the airlock?”
“We didn’t have to. He abandoned ship at the Tri-System Station, and we left him there,” I told her.
“He doesn’t know he has the fake?” she asked.
“Nope.” We laughed about it, and Jules joined us, even though she wasn’t paying attention to our conversation. “It’s good to be with you. How’s Junior? How are you?”
She ran a hand to her belly, and I could see the outline of her expanding womb. As corny as it sounds, she was glowing. This time, her pregnancy was showing up faster, and she wore it well.
“I’m doing very well. Nick says everything is perfect, and we have nothing to worry about. He knows the sex, but I couldn’t ask without you being with me,” she said.
We arrived at our suite, and Jules ran inside to see Maggie, who rolled around the front entrance as my little girl stroked her collar.
“What do you think? Should we find out?” I asked. I wanted her opinion before I threw mine out there.
Mary nodded. “I want to know, Dean.” She grabbed my arm and settled in close as we walked down the hall to the room awaiting the new arrival. At this time, it was gender neutral, the crib and rocking chair matching dark wood.
“Then so do I,” I told her, and we stared into the room. I knew that in a few months it would be the home of a new baby, another extension of Mary and me introduced into the universe. I wondered how Jules was going to react. She understood that Mommy was pregnant, and that another child was coming, and she acted happy about it. Would that change when the attention shifted to a needy screaming baby?
“I wonder how Karo’s doing,” Mary said. “We never did make it to see them.”
“So do I. Why don’t we visit them?” I suggested.
“What…through the portal?” she asked. We hadn’t used it yet, but a few of the Gatekeepers on board had, and it was working flawlessly.
“Sure, why not? We have the Emitter. We have the location of this Rutelium world, which they’re working on mapping from here. The Horizon will be traveling for months to get there. Let’s take a few trips. How about we head to see Karo, Ableen, and their tiny Theos babies, and then go see Regnig?”
“Regnig!” Jules said, flapping her arms around as she ran through the hall. She had an affinity for the little bird man. I think she enjoyed the fact he could talk to h
er with his mind only, and that she was now taller than him.
“What do you say, Jules? Do you want to see Karo and the babies too?” Mary asked.
Jules stopped in the hall, Maggie sitting on our daughter’s feet, her tongue lolling out to the side of her mouth. Jules went dead serious and nodded. “Yes. I want to see the babies.”
Mary smiled at me, eyebrows raised. “I guess that settles it. Jules is in.”
“How’s the new job coming along?” I asked her, and she let out a sigh.
“Pretty well. It’s running a lot smoother than it was before you left,” she told me.
I showered, and we spent the rest of the night playing games and reading before heading to bed. I had a meeting with Suma and Magnus in the morning and didn’t want to be late. I fell asleep picturing the four slanted lines with the oval and told myself to remember to research them when I woke up.
Thirteen
“The process has taken more time than we expected,” Magnus said. An android came in, bringing jugs of water and carafes of coffee. It moved quietly and efficiently, and I poured myself a cup of steaming brew when it was gone.
“You’re saying we’re having issues superimposing the Crystal Map on file with the star map from the Maev vessel?” I asked.
Suma tapped a console, and the image on the screen changed. “Yes. The Maev information was from a long time ago, but not long enough for the universe to have shifted too much. You know the theory of the ever-expanding universe?” she asked.
“That the distance between two points within space expands over a period of time,” I said.
“Right. Or at least, at the most basic level,” Suma said without a hint of insult. “There have been enough variations from their map to not line up exactly as we’d hoped. We’re working on it, but we won’t know if Mion V9, in the Utib Three system, will have a portal for a while.”
“Mion V9 is the world with Rutelium?” Slate asked from his seat beside Magnus. He’d shaved and wore a crisp blue uniform. On his other side was Loweck, and she was leaning forward, observing with interest.
“That’s right,” Suma said.
New Horizon (The Survivors Book Nine) Page 10
