Echoes In The Grey

by David Allan Hamilton

  FORTY-FOUR

  Carter

  Carter and Ishani hauled the laser cutter across the 30 meters of dust and debris, rumbling toward the alien craft. When he saw Jim Atteberry on his knees, he asked Ishani on a private comms channel, “Any idea what that idiot is up to now?”

  She chuckled. “With him, it could be anything, but I’ll keep an eye open, and make sure he doesn’t interfere.” She yanked the Jennings cutter to the left. “Wait a sec . . . Mr. Carter, switch to the main radio channel.”

  When he accessed main comms, Atteberry’s shrill and panicked voice spilled out into his helmet. He prattled on to Esther back at the ship, crying about Mary this and Mary that.

  “The hell?” Carter shifted the cutter into position, bounded over to Atteberry kneeling in the dust, and said, “What the Christ is going on here? You’d better return to the Echo immediately, Atteberry, and stay out of the way.”

  “She’s in there! For crissakes, Mary talked to me. She is inside that ship, and Kate too. We’ve got to get in.”

  Carter loomed over the fallen man, hands on hips. He looked over Atteberry’s head toward the Echo and said into the radio, “Esther, are you picking up any life signs from that vessel? Any markers at all?”

  The comms crackled and after a moment she replied, her voice strained and tired. “Still nothing, Clayton. It’s like that ship isn’t even there.”

  Carter chewed his lip.

  It would’ve been so easy to drill through that alien craft and cut her open like a tin can, survivors be damned, and grab the tech. But no . . . no . . . the asshole’s daughter had to be alive after all this. If it was only that walking corpse Kate Braddock, I wouldn’t think twice. But the girl. . .

  “Ishani, did you find any access portals on this thing?”

  “None that I saw. How ‘bout you, Dub?”

  “Negative. I’ve gone over the vessel real careful like, and as far as I can tell, the entire surface is a one-piece made of the same smooth material. Totally unreadable. No joiners, no ports . . . just one continuous skin.”

  Carter leaned over and yanked Atteberry up by the shoulders. “Get your shit together, man, will you? We’re going to drill into that thing and find your daughter.”

  “No! They’re inside and safe, but you can’t do this. She warned me not to try getting in.”

  “Why not?”

  Atteberry didn’t answer.

  “I see.” Turning his attention to Ishani, he barked, “Is that cutter ready?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Target the closest edge and let ‘er rip.”

  “No, for the love of—”

  The laser cutter sprang to life. Ishani stood behind the machine, holding on to the manipulator arms and straddling the foot locks like she was riding a scooter. The tight red beam splayed against the edge nearest to her. Sparks flew, momentarily lighting up the darkness at the moon’s limb, then quickly choking in the vacuum.

  “No!”

  Atteberry pushed Carter away and lumbered awkwardly toward the cutter. Before he reached it, Dub appeared from behind the machine and tackled him, throwing the man back into the dust. Carter arrived a moment later. “Don’t let him out of your sight.”

  Ishani continued torching the vessel. Splashes of light danced up from the surface like a flickering candle, but the beam had no effect. The laser would have cut halfway through a terran ship by now, but this alien material would not yield. She targeted a couple other spots on the hull and fired. Still, it remained impenetrable.

  Quigg, back on the Echo, interrupted Carter’s attention. “Sir, the Malevolent is hailing us. Captain Russo standing by.”

  He nodded at Ishani to keep firing the cutter, then wandered away from her position. “Put her through.”

  Russo’s voice, thick with worry, piped into his helmet. “Clayton, we’re having fun playing hopscotch with the Volmar, but the game’s heating up. More vessels, including the Edelgard, are en route to our location and we will need back up sooner rather than later. Any chance the Echo can assist?”

  A twinge of panic shivered up his spine, but he quickly suppressed it before it had time to take root. “We’re almost finished here, Laura, then we’ll be on our way. How’s your crew?”

  “They’re the best in your fleet, despite what John Powell might have you believe. We’ll sign up for another round and play coy until you arrive.” Her tone abruptly changed. “Try not to take too long, Clay. We’re the only ones out here.”

  “Understood. Carter out.”

  He marched back to the Jennings and told Ishani to kill the power. Then he grabbed Atteberry by the chest handle on his envirosuit and ripped him from Dub’s grasp. “Talk to me. Are you still in contact with your daughter?”

  “No, not anymore. As soon as you fired up that . . . that thing, she went silent.”

  He stared into Atteberry’s visor and saw his eyes wide with rage. There must be a way into that ship. How did Kate and the girl get in?

  “You better not screw with me, Atteberry.”

  “And you better not do anything to hurt my daughter, or so help me, I’ll rip you apart with my bare hands.”

  “Let’s be clear,” he raised his voice, fully recognizing that Ishani, Dub, and everyone back on the Echo could hear him. “The tech inside that vessel is more important to humankind’s future than a couple of miserable lives. If the wrong people get it, our entire planet could be doomed. So, if we can’t get what we came here for, I’ll blow that damn thing out of the dust and salvage it for parts before I allow anyone else to take it from me.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Carter sneered. “So, we finally understand each other. Good. Now contact Mary and do what it takes to find out how the hell they got in there. Talk to her, tap to her, use goddamn sign language if you have to. Help us all get inside, or so help me God, I’ll turn the Echo’s weapons on that scow right now. Understood?”

  Atteberry’s straight, defiant posture held for a moment longer, then, almost unnoticeably, his shoulders dropped. Carter pushed him away.

  FORTY-FIVE

  Kate

  “I am Kate . . . mm . . . must return to the others . . .”

  Keechik grunted and placed two of its limbs into the command console access ports. “Then . . . the one Keechik and . . . and friend Mary . . . will leave.”

  Without warning, the ship sprung to life with ambient light, and Kate discerned the full dimensions of the room. It appeared to be a combination of a medical bay, engineering, and operations center. Dozens of images filled the surrounding walls from all over the solar system, including the outer planets, ships on mineral runs, and what could only be other alien worlds. Her mouth opened, and she was overwhelmed by the distance of it all, the immensity of existence, and how small she was in it.

  Mary approached her and touched her shoulder. “How are you?”

  “I—I’m not sure.” She closed her eyes, and said, “Something’s happening to my mind, like I’ve been living in a fog my entire life, and now the veil is lifting. Does that make any sense to you?”

  She smiled. “Yes, completely. This is what the Keechik does: it heals the broken creatures, but as you can see, it’s easily overwhelmed.” She looked at her with caution. “Kate, it feels the pain of all sentient beings close to it, but there’s too much for the creature to process. Like what’s happening out there. It senses all that emotion.”

  Kate cast her eyes over to the alien. It continued working on the console, bringing various systems online and apparently preparing the ship for flight. She returned her gaze to Mary. “How long has it been on Luna?”

  “Several years.”

  “What was it doing all that time?”

  “Studying us from a safe distance, learning our ways, our language. It’s an explorer, Kate, not a threat.”

  She looked at her with a puzzled expression. “Then what about me? I’ve been up here five years, and it never made itself known?”

 
“The Keechik avoided you at first, since you were so close, but then saw you were broken and hurting, and . . . waited.” Mary’s gaze disappeared into the distance and a pained look crossed her face. She stared at Kate with wonder and compassion, then shook it off and continued. “In its timeframe, the creature has only been here a few . . . hours compared to our years. When I arrived, it grew more curious about the two of us together. Then, when our survey work began here in the Mare Marginis, Keechik grew increasingly cautious and afraid. That’s why it sent a shock wave to the lab when it thought we were a threat. It was meant as a warning, but was far stronger. Keechik did not understand the wave would destroy our habitat.” She wrapped her arms around herself again. “I feel—I mean, it feels awful.”

  Mary peered at the floor as if recalling a memory. “The blue light?”

  “Yes.”

  “The creature watched us through that. It’s a self-contained scanning design, standard microwave frequencies, powered by . . . well, that’s not important. When we were in real distress there at the mining site, the light guided us here, remember? The Keechik overcame its own fear to save us.”

  Kate worked her jaw muscles and her mouth became hard. “Wait, you know how to build one of these scanners?”

  “Yes.”

  “A ship like this, too?”

  Mary thought a moment, searching her mind. “Uh-huh, yes.” Then a terrified look clouded her face. “That’s why I have to leave. While the knowledge I now hold could benefit humankind immeasurably, it might also destroy us all if it falls into the wrong hands. Like Carter’s, or . . . or even Esther’s.” Her eyes welled. “They can’t help themselves.”

  Then Mary and Keechik said unison, as if they spoke with one voice, “I can’t accept . . . that burden . . . I am Kate.”

  Kate slammed her fist against the wall. Her sudden resolve grew out of countless hours of Spacer training, simulated emergencies, and real-life close encounters with death. She wouldn’t let Mary leave with this creature. It would destroy Jim. On the other hand, could he be trusted with keeping her secret if she returned to him? His open-book philosophy would sentence her to a cruel death at the hands of so-called scientists, never mind the warmongers.

  There had to be another solution. She peered over at the alien quietly manipulating the console controls. Then, she gazed at the images flashing across the walls and lowered her head. Two Echo astronauts hauled the excavator and laser cutter back to their ship. The three others milled about its access ramp.

  This can’t be good.

  “Keechik,” she shouted, “Let me speak with them, now! This has to stop.”

  Mary gaped at the flickering images. The alien clacked and groaned, but otherwise ignored her. Instead, it continued to work the console as if nothing else mattered.

  Perhaps it didn’t.

  Kate’s frustration chewed at her gut and she fought the urge to scream. After spending the last 20 years doing, she struggled with not doing. On the wall, the projections showed the Echo’s port side railgun flaps opening. Three of her crew remained on the surface, standing still beside the access ramp. She stared at Mary, imploring her to convince the damned alien to stop the madness, but she simply looked away.

  Finally, Keechik grunted, “I am Kate . . . must leave now . . . mm . . .”

  “Not without Mary. We both need to go and you’ve gotta haul ass out of here, too. The Echo means business, Keechik, and Carter always gets what he wants.”

  The alien vessel was the quietest ship she’d ever been on; only the hum and purr of whatever systems it used to operate continued in the background. She sensed Mary and the creature shared some kind of mental connection although Mary hadn’t discussed it. Still, the way she observed Keechik with a mix of kindness and reassurance, suggested the two were discussing something.

  Mary raised her head. “Comms are open again, Kate. You can contact the Echo.”

  “Thank you.” She steeled her eyes and turned to face the wall projections, but before saying a word, she nodded to acknowledge Keechik’s and Mary’s effort in making it possible.

  “Echo, alien vessel, come in.”

  Static and white noise crashed through the room. Keechik toggled one of the input ports.

  “Echo, alien vessel, Kate Braddock here. Come in.”

  After a brief pause, a calm voice responded. “Alien vessel, this is Captain John Powell of the Echo. We read you, Kate. Over.”

  Thank God.

  “Captain Powell . . . I’m glad to hear your voice. Mary Atteberry and I are alive and well, I repeat, we’re both alive and well. There’s one alien on board here, frightened as hell, and we’re all a little worried that you may be planning to fire on us. I beg you, Captain, please stand down. Three lives are at stake along with the history of an entire civilization. Over.” They waited for an answer. None came. She looked at the others. “Copy that, Echo?”

  Silence hung in the air like the sword of Damocles. Then, “Stand by, alien vessel.”

  Kate glanced at Mary. “Are you able to hear them telepathically?”

  “No. Only the Keechik and I share some thoughts, you know, from the transfer, and those are muddled at best. I didn’t pick up any telepathic ability, Kate. What I experience with the alien is more like impressions if that makes any sense.”

  Kate stared hard at the images. “I wonder what the hell’s going on. For sure, your dad’s probably shitting kittens by now.” She allowed herself a thin smile at the visual. “But I hope they’re not actually debating my request to stand down.”

  Keechik scuttled about at the command console. “Mm . . . the one Carter . . . is broken . . .”

  “That he is.”

  Mary took up a position beside her in front of the wall screen. “Maybe you should leave now. Explain to my dad about the knowledge transfer when the time’s right, and why I can’t return. Save yourself.”

  “Forget it. Either we both go, or we both stay, and our friend here insists you must leave with it.”

  The air crackled again.

  “Kate, this is Captain Powell again. Sorry for the delay. As you can appreciate, everyone has a thousand questions here; a thousand concerns. Mr. Carter, Dr. Tyrone and Jim Atteberry all believe you and Mary should exit the ship immediately and join us in the Echo.”

  She opened her mouth to answer but Mary put a hand on her forearm and shook her head. “If we leave, they’re just going to fire on Keechik. Dad and Esther may not think that way, but what about Carter?”

  “You’re right. I don’t trust him. Never have, really, but he’s brilliant and powerful and doesn’t like backing down from anything, and that makes him dangerous.” She paused and thought a moment. “Let me try something.” Kate cleared her throat and pulled at her skins. Still not used to those things, her hand brushed against one and she blushed. “Echo, can you guarantee you won’t fire on the alien ship? That you’ll give it time and space to leave unharmed?”

  Another long pause.

  “Negative. We both understand the importance of that vessel’s technology. Besides, Esther thinks it may be responsible for the destruction of the Titanius lab, so there are costs that must be borne . . .” Powell let his voice trail. The implication, however bizarre to Kate, was clear: the Echo would not allow the ship to leave.

  “Mm . . . I am Kate . . . the friend Mary and the one Keechik must go . . .”

  The odds didn’t play well in her favor. Mary said the vessel could probably withstand initial railgun blasts, based on what she learned from the creature, but anything sustained would damage it and likely kill them.

  There had to be another solution . . .

  “Alien ship, Echo here.” Now, Clayton Carter spoke. “Ms. Braddock, time is not on our side. I want you and the girl to leave immediately and rejoin the crew here.”

  Kate snapped back. “Stand by, Echo. It’s not that simple.” She pivoted. “Can this bird take off now?” Mary glanced at Keechik.

  “We . . . the ones .
. . cannot fly yet . . . too soon,” Keechik offered in a soft, forlorn voice.

  Carter boomed again over the radio, filling the space between them. “This is your last chance, Braddock. The implications of that alien vessel to our species are far too great to allow it to go its own way. That Rossian is trespassing.”

  “Excuse me, but you’d murder us to prevent this ship from taking off? What kind of monster are you?”

  “Not a monster, Braddock, far from it. I’m a savior. And as we all know, the needs of our 12 billion individuals on Earth outweigh the moralistic whims of a couple of souls on Luna. Surely you understand that.” The static crashed again as if emphasizing the point. “You have one minute to exit the vessel, then we open fire. You’ve been warned. Echo out.”

  Damn it.

  “Keechik,” Kate shouted, “is there anything you can do to stop them? Send a compression wave at ‘em or something?”

  The creature did not answer, and she recognized a heaviness in her gut she hadn’t experienced since one of her lonely Spacer trips to Amsterdam.

  Captain Powell’s voice came on again, softer now, with a hint of pleading. “Kate, please . . . for Mary’s sake . . . come back to the Echo.”

  “Negative. Mary can’t return, and I won’t leave her.” She fought the tremble in her lip. “Listen, thank you anyway. Each of us has to do what is right.” She paused a moment. “Is Jim Atteberry nearby?”

  “He’s here, Kate.” There was a smattering of clicks and frequency oscillations, then Jim came on the radio. “Kate, oh my god, is Mary there?”

  “Yes, Dad.”

  “Please come home, Mares. You and Kate. I can’t—I mean—I’m lost without you both.”

  Mary leaned against the transfer platform while Kate stared at her with wide eyes. “Is there any way you can see yourself returning?”

  “No, you know it’s impossible. They simply can’t help themselves.”

  “You need to tell him.”