“They will.”
“The Terran forces will actually abandon ship?”
I thought about it. It was tempting, but I wasn’t at all sure that the opposing Avarak forces wouldn’t simply blow all of the pods up. The Avaraks had acted with restraint in their dealings with us, so perhaps it wasn’t likely, but then this fleet was out to annihilate their race. I didn’t want the remorse of being responsible for so many deaths, and I didn’t think destruction on such a scale would help with any solution to the crisis.
I couldn’t do it. It was too risky. “Can you get in touch with Nivala?” I asked. “Can they patch you through or something?”
“Yes, I guess. Though I won’t be able to receive an answer.”
“We don’t need an answer. Send them a short burst in the code that was agreed. Tell them to put themselves between the two fleets and to stop the Avaraks from taking punitive action against the pods. The Avaraks signed the Alliance covenant. They are obliged to comply with our wishes.” I hope.
“I can do that. What are your thoughts?”
“None of the pods have any weapons, right?”
“No. They may have small arms inside. No more than that.”
“Can you program the pods’ destination?”
He began to look alarmed. “Not for long. I can interfere with the initial programming, but they will be able to change that as soon as they are free of the ships.”
If my plan worked, that wouldn’t matter. “Do it. I want them to be programmed to form up in a lamina between the two fleets and then switch off. Just give them all an initial position. We’ll see later what they do. Nivala can tell the Avaraks to try to … discourage them from leaving, if they appear to be considering breaking that formation. A few shots across their bows and sterns should just about do that. Make it clear they are to chivvy them, not to eradicate them.”
“What about us?”
“We will be trying to get rid of the other two RAMPs that are left. I’m assuming you can’t do that through your link with their computer?”
He grinned. “I wish!” Then his face fell a little. “You need some regeneration first, if you are thinking of going yourself.”
That was true. “Yes. So do you.”
“Mine was nothing more than a scratch.” He rotated his arm to prove it. “Not all of the crew members will abandon ship. Some will be suspicious and suspect a trap. Some ships may abort the evacuation protocol in time to stop it completely.”
“I know. But our primary goal is to weaken the fleet, disarm the other two RAMPS and, then and only then, escape ourselves. Any confusion will make life an awful lot easier for us. Once we have the whole flotilla of pods partitioning the two fleets it will dissuade any Terran attacks. I think it may give us the time we need.” I found myself shrugging. “What else can we do?”
Izan considered. “Maybe,” he conceded. “It could work.”
“It is our best bet. At the very least, it gives us an advantage. Even though we don’t know where it will take us, we do know it will move us forwards. Nivala will be monitoring the situation closely. You can be sure that they will act if they see any opportunities. I don’t think we have any other options at this time.”
“Right. What about our own path? Where do you want us to be, if our pod is released as well?”
“Place us slightly ahead of the rest of the pods. If that happens, tell Nivala to send a shuttle to pick us up. Tell them we are in IEVA suits. We can get across if they send somebody with a line. And … wish them good luck.”
Zenzie bounced from one foot to the other. “This is going to be fun!”
She had a strange sense of fun.
Even Denaraz was keen. His eyes were bright. He turned to the console and spent a couple of minutes on the outgoing message to Nivala. Finally, he turned back to me. “Done.”
I took a deep breath and nearly passed out. I had forgotten about the lung injury. When I had managed to push back the darkness I nodded. “Do it!” It came out like a sigh – all I could manage to say with what little air I could suck in.
He invited Zenzie to his side, and the two of them began what appeared to be a very complicated intervention via the main console. It took both of them, and they had to go through very many steps to get through the firewalls and security stops.
For quite a time I doubted they would be able to do it. Their crests were taut and their faces absolutely concentrated. They fed the computer with more and more commands, replying to failsafes and avoiding booby traps. No wonder the Tyzarans were the most technologically advanced of the Major Shell races! They were running rings around Chibuzo’s cyberspace. But it is not something I could have done. It took all of their knowledge and skill, two sets of hands and around twenty minutes.
Finally there was a sigh of relief. They looked at each other. Denaraz stepped back and gestured to Zenzie to give the final command.
Her eyes slid to me, proud and pleased. Then, still looking at me, she gave a mischievous grin and pressed down on the console. I couldn’t blame her for her excitement. What she had just done was a major achievement. More, it made the Terrans very vulnerable. It could change the face of the war they had just started. If we ever got out to tell people about it.
Even through the pod walls, we could hear the siren as it began to issue short, regular blasts. After a few moments, there was a scudding of background noise that told of many boots thundering along the corridors. Denaraz put my helmet on, then his own, after helping Zenzara into one of the IEVA suits set into a recess in the pod. The suit drowned her. She could hardly walk for the material that dragged after her. Only her frosty expression daring us to comment kept us from laughing.
We were silent now, straining our hearing, trying to follow what was happening.
Denaraz had explained that, once the emergency protocols were triggered, the mainframe computer ceded control automatically to smaller backup modules that were strategically placed deep inside each ship. These modules were designed to function independently if the mainframe became compromised. Each pod also held an independent CPU, which is why they would quickly recover control. But there are no visors in pods. Their occupants would not be able to see what was going on. Their only input would be from their sensors. And they might just assume that their command had wanted them to form a barrier between the two fleets.
That would hopefully lead to a lot of confusion. Any of the Terran combatants who were in pods would be cut off from the rest of the force. They would also be blind, although they would be able to see where the rest of their fleet was through the control plotters. I hoped that it would make them doubt their next actions; make them loath to act rashly.
Even though I could hear the chaos around us, I was still having difficulty believing that Zenzara and Denaraz could possibly have succeeded in triggering a fleet-wide emergency protocol. “Can you follow any of this?” I asked Izan, who was still bent over the control panel, monitoring the situation.
He shook his head. “Machine protocols have already been implemented. Our onboard system has been isolated. We cannot reach through the system to the rest of the fleet. Not anymore.”
“Then we can go?”
“I wish. Docking release should have been part of the protocol. However, in our case, it wasn’t.”
My heart sank. That meant that Admiral Ellison had realized what was happening and stopped our deployment. The scheme … or at least our part in it … had failed.
As I realized this, it became clear that none of the pods nearby were launching either.
Denaraz pursed his lips. “Ellison has managed to stop the launches.”
At that moment the sirens stopped. The chaos outside turned into silence.
About ten minutes later our screen popped into life
, showing Ellison. She looked extremely angry. I cheered up. Some part of the plan had worked, then.
“Your game was not successful,” she snapped. “You might as well come out of there. You will be very uncomfortable.”
“You managed to stop the evacuation? Well done!” I tried to keep her on line. Denaraz had galvanized into action as soon as he detected the connection. His fingers were literally flying over the console. “I didn’t think you would be able to.”
Things felt much quieter than they had before. Certainly the two fleets were no longer firing at each other; we would have been able to feel it. Something had caused a truce. My heart leaped in hope. “If we come out, will you guarantee us immediate medical treatment?”
A deep frown set on her forehead. “Why should I?”
“You want your RAMP missile back, don’t you?”
“Not enough to pander to terrorists.”
“You will need us.”
“What makes you think that?”
Out of sight of the console, Denaraz looked up at me. He raised one thumb and made a screen-like sign with the other hand. Then he signaled the number 14 with the same hand.
I smiled. Fourteen of her ships had been unable to stop evacuation. At an average of some forty pods each ship, that would mean that there were currently some 600 pods running interference between the two fleets. And there were witnesses present, in the shape of Nivala. Hopefully more spaceships had been attracted to the area by now. I didn’t think either of the combatants would risk the stigma of firing on escape pods. Especially, in the case of the Terrans, their own.
And Ellison couldn’t speak to them to order them back.
A large grin spread across my face. It was good. No, it was better than good. It was wonderful. I tried to get enough breath inside me for a long sentence. “If you guarantee immediate medical treatment we will open the hatch. Otherwise we will stay here.”
“There is no point. There is nothing you can do now. I shall be severing all cyber ties to the mainframe when this conversation is over. You will not get a second chance at hacking our systems.”
I saw from Izan’s face that this was possible, and would severely limit his autonomy. It was time to come in. We had done as much as we could.
“We are open to negotiation with you, but only after medical treatment.”
“As prisoners, you will not dictate my policy.”
I grinned. “Ah, but that is where you are mistaken, see? We are not coming out as prisoners. We are coming out as negotiators. We are here to negotiate a peace treaty.”
She practically levitated with anger. “How dare you try to dictate terms!”
“What are you going to do? At least fourteen of your ships are lying uselessly in space.” I made signs to Denaraz, asking him how many of the big ships were in those fourteen. He held up two fingers. That is when I knew we had some bargaining power.
I pressed on. “If you fall back you will be leaving RAMP missiles on board those two abandoned battleships. I can’t see you doing that. Not when you have already lost one.” I raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “Unless you have decided to come to your senses…?”
She started to splutter. I held up my hand before she could speak. The longer we held out, the more information Izan could garner. On the other hand, we couldn’t leave it too long. Ellison would not allow us the time to interfere any further with the computer systems. She could cut the connexion at any moment and she would be organizing her troops to regain control of the abandoned ships, especially the battleships.
“Very well.” I appeared to give in. “We are coming out … if we have your word about the medical attention.”
It was in her own interests to delay any negotiation. The situation could still change in her favour. She gave a curt nod. “Agreed.”
I smiled as she cut the connexion.
Zenzie bounced over to me. “Why?” she demanded. “We could stay here! They can’t do anything to us here!”
Denaraz understood. “We have done what we can,” he said to her in a stern voice. “There is no point in our holing up away from the action. It is a dead end. Mallivan is right; we need to get back into the action again. This is the right thing to do.” Quite apart from the fact that she might still decide to deep-steam us in our enclosed receptacle.
Zenzie chuntered a little, but stepped back as he went to the hatch. Within minutes it unlocked. Outside efforts to breach had warped the latch and he was unable to open it on his own. It took a concerted effort from various Terran crew members on the exterior before they could drag the heavy hatch open.
We were out.
I was placed, none too gently, on a gurney and wheeled rapidly to a medical station. From there, and with an attendant Zenzara refusing to leave me, I was lowered immediately in a Flatlander triage tank.
Actually, I was very happy to have the Tyzaran girl there to watch my back. It meant I could sink into the silky darkness and let cutting-edge science heal my body. I slowly drifted back under again. This was getting all too familiar.
Chapter 18
I woke up pain-free. It was a great feeling. I took in a huge breath, to test if I could. Warm, revigorating air rushed into my lungs. It was such a relief. It made me euphoric.
As I sat up, there was a rustle behind me. I jumped and then laughed as I realized it was Zenzie.
“Are you better?” she asked, rather cautiously.
I sat up. The gel drained back into the tank. I moved my arms around and then twisted from side to side. “Never better! How long have I been out?”
“About six hours.”
“Shells! Why didn’t you wake me up sooner? What has happened? Are we still in stalemate? Get me out of here!”
Her crest tweaked. “The doctor said that you could only be cured with that length in the chamber. Any sooner and the hole would not have sealed. So I couldn’t wake you up earlier. Nothing much has happened, as far as I know. The bombardments have not been resumed, which is a pretty good sign. And I don’t know any more. I have been sitting here, by your side.” She glared at me. “And you can get yourself up!”
I rubbed my hair ruefully. “Sorry. I am just worried.”
She put her chin firmly in the air.
“Really, I am sorry. Thank you for staying with me. I appreciate it.”
Her eyes slid sideways, to see if I meant it. I did. The crest began to smooth down again.
“Where is Denaraz?”
Zenzie pointed upwards. “He was only in a tank for an hour. The shoulder wound was reasonably superficial. He was taken away by an armed guard.”
I finally struggled free of the gel. It is not easy to clamber out of one of the chambers. It is a bit like dragging yourself out of a bog. The gel never seems to want to let you go. “Taken away? We’ll see about that! HEY!”
Despite the raised voice, nobody came. I shouted again. “HELLOOOO?”
Several pairs of boots stamped down the corridor outside and the hatch to the medical facility was pushed open.
Three crew members armed with M487s covered us. I waved at the guns. “Really? That was not in our agreement!”
“You are to come with us.”
“I will come with you only if you are taking us to Admiral Ellison. Otherwise you are going to have to shoot me here.”
Zenzara looked sideways at me and then slipped in front of me, crest up.
The soldiers began to laugh. “Is this giblet your protector?”
Zenzie hissed. “Giblet? Giblet? Who are you calling a giblet?” She turned to me “What the fitz is a giblet, Mallivan Bell?”
“The inside parts of a bird.” I smiled at the men, raised my hands and waited for the explosion. “In ancient times, when they ate chi
ckens, they were the bits that were thrown away as inedible and useless.” I have always liked fanning fires. I’m afraid it is in my nature.
Zenzie’s crest reached full vertical extension. Her claws popped out. So did her teeth. She bunched her muscles and launched herself at the first man, who dropped his M487 hastily and put his hands in front of his face to protect his eyes.
She dropped him like a tiger would. She put a restraining hand on his chest and swung her head to give the next man an assessing look. He hurried to point his gun at her. She gave a derisive hiss. “You have been told not to shoot us.”
His lip quivered. “I will, though … if I have to!” He tried to keep the barrel steady, but it was all over the place.
Zenzie gave him a disgusted look but got back to her feet. “You keep your names to yourselves,” she told them.
The look of utter relief on their faces was great to watch. It was a great spectacle. I did hope that Zenzie wouldn’t grow up too fast. I couldn’t see an adult Tyzaran doing stuff like that. More’s the pity.
Which brought me back to the matter in hand. “Take us to the other Tyzaran, and then to Ellison,” I told them.
They blustered a bit, but a couple of snarls from Zenzara soon ran their manly determination down. They bunched in a trio on the other side of the corridor, as far away from her as they could.
She gave me a look. “Giblet!” She was still outraged. “You shouldn’t have let them say things like that about me.”
“True,” I murmured. “But then, you didn’t seem in need of much help.”
“No.” She looked pleased with herself. “I wasn’t. All the same, you could have acted first.”
“And miss that? You have got to be kidding!” Her face told me I shouldn’t have said that. I added a tone of reproof. “I had only just got out of the triage tank!”
She gave another little hiss before she let it go. But she doesn’t scare me. Much.
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