Christina looked at the ceiling before killing the channel. “Fuckwit.”
“What if he has a gun to his head?”
“Then he’s going to have a real bad day, and serving up the War Axe on the altar of malfeasance would cost other people their lives. We should probably turn this whole planet over to the Magistrates and let them clean up this little cesspool.”
“Are you sure it’s a cesspool?” Micky asked.
“The Magnate is waiting,” Smedley interrupted.
“They appear to want to control us as part of their intimidation tactics. I won’t sell out the Bad Company like that. My dad will be pissed if I make his company look like a bunch of toads.”
“I agree. We can’t put your people at risk. Where am I going to find another Bad Company to put on board? You have the best parties. Jenelope would be mad if I got you all killed.”
“Wenceslaus too, I imagine,” Christina replied before twirling her finger in the air. “Let me talk with the Magnate.”
“Colonel Lowell? Colonel Lowell of the Bad Company, please respond,” a disembodied voice requested.
“There you are!” Christina declared. “This is Colonel Lowell.”
“I am the secretary of the Magnate, and it appears there has been a minor misunderstanding.” A male-sounding voice dripped the syrupy words.
Christina turned to Micky and mouthed the word “lackey.”
“We will be more than happy,” the voice continued, “to provide a ship to shuttle your people to the surface of Efluyez.”
“Please put the Magnate on. You have one minute before we fly through the Gate, never to return to Efluyez.”
“There is no need to get the Magnate involved with the logistics of your presence.”
“You are correct. Please notify your Magnate of your failure in misleading us. War Axe, out.”
“WAIT!” the voice both cried and pleaded with the single word. “I’m transmitting your landing coordinates now. Please don’t run into anything on your way down.” The communication disconnected.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it? Fucking asswipes. Major Kimber!” Christina talked to the ceiling as Terry Henry did when communicating with and through Smedley. “Put four people into their mechanized combat suits. I don’t trust these jack-wagons one bit. I don’t know what their game is, but I’m not playing. I want armor support at all times while we’re on the planet. No one wanders off by themselves.”
“Roger that, Colonel. These people are giving me a case of the willies.”
“I have the coordinates. Begin descent?” Clifton asked from the pilot’s chair. Christina gave him a thumbs-up before she headed off the bridge.
“Let’s see what kind of surprise we can deliver to our gracious hosts,” she mumbled to herself.
Abandoned Kurtherian Outpost, Okkoto, the Fourth Moon Orbiting Cygnus VI
Terry backed against the wall, and Char stood behind him. “How long are you going to hang on to that bot?”
“I killed it with a knife. It’s my only source of pride out of this whole debacle. I want to mount it and put it on the wall,” Terry joked, his voice tense with expectation of the unknown.
“The plan is to do nothing,” Char stated, making it sound like a question.
“We have not yet tried it, and nothing else seems to be working.”
Char didn’t correct him. Everything they had tried had worked against them.
The faint sound of another bot came to them from farther down the corridor. Terry had to force his breathing to slow.
A security bot hovered into view. Similar to the one that Terry carried in his arm, it stopped and moved slowly back and forth across the corridor. After what seemed like forever but was probably only a few moments, the bot continued toward them. It stopped again once it reached the humans, moved back and forth and up and down, and gave them a good scan before bumping into the other bot.
Terry let go a little at a time to make sure it didn’t fall. The other bot extended its propulsion system, and together, the two bots headed down the hallway.
“Easy come,” Terry started. The new bot stopped and twisted violently around. It fired, but Terry and Char were already running. They cleared the corner of the intersection with Char going right and Terry left. He pulled his combat knife and prepared to attack.
He waited, listening for the bot’s approach. Char cupped a hand around her ear before shaking her head. She couldn’t hear anything. They waited a couple minutes, barely breathing to avoid missing it. The lights went out.
Terry turned on his flashlight and shined it down the empty corridor. “It doesn’t like us talking. Speaking English is enough to have us killed, but not worth running after us to do the deed. Who programmed this shit?”
“Stupid Kurtherians? Castoffs?”
“I don’t think it was their A-Team, but that makes them more dangerous because they’re less predictable.”
“We stand still, let them do their thing, and then move on. I think our odds are improving,” Char suggested.
“We gained a laser pistol and then lost it. We gained a security bot and then lost it. We arrived in an elevator and then lost it. I think the Kurtherians are bullying us, and it’s starting to piss me off!”
“That’s the spirit!” Char cheered, her face a perfect mask of insincerity.
Terry wasn’t sure if he wanted to fight about it, but his whining was getting them no closer to the surface.
“Keep going this way? Now that the threat is gone, I expect Bethany Anne to show up. Maybe she’ll be able to show us what she found.”
Char started walking, and Terry joined her. He stopped to examine the scorch mark on the wall. The security bot had not been a figment of his imagination. There was a long stretch of about one hundred meters that had no doors. It was only an empty corridor.
“Was this an afterthought? Maybe a connector to a different part of the complex?” Terry mused.
Char used her flashlight to check the walls. “They seem to be made from the same material as the other corridors.”
Terry strode boldly to the end before stopping to peek around the corner. He had to shine the flashlight into the darkness to see what was beyond.
“Lots of doors.” He leaned against the wall for a span before taking a second look. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was a dormitory. If we could get in one of the rooms, we would know for sure. There’s a room for security bots and a power station at the very least.”
“Down here,” Bethany Anne called from the darkness. Terry shined his light on her. “Get that bloody llama-licking light out of my face!”
Terry directed it to the floor and looked knowingly at Char before following the oft-absent Queen to the end of the hallway.
“I’m thinking this is a barracks or dormitory of sorts.”
“I agree, TH. There’s nothing in these rooms.”
“How did you get in?” Terry asked, trusting her, but still wanting to see for himself.
“I don’t know. I just did. This is really pissing me off.” She waved a hand in front of doors as she passed. Terry and Char followed her lead, but none of them opened until they reached the end. “Here it is. The Etheric power station.”
BA stepped aside. Terry didn’t hesitate. He strode to the door, and it opened without him having to stop. He walked through, confident that BA wouldn’t send him into a trap.
He stopped once inside when his flashlight beam showed a man—a seemingly human man.
“Ah,” the being said. “I need a hand, if you’d be a sport.”
“Who are you?” Terry blurted.
“Tonie Sall-mon. And you?”
“I’m Terry Henry Walton,” TH replied without thinking.
“May I call you Terry? Right! Put your finger here and hold that down while I make some adjustments over there.” He pointed in the general direction of an equipment stand.
“Right!” Terry replied mockingly, not moving to help.
“Chop-chop! You want the lights on, don’t you?”
“How in the fuck do you know that?”
Char leaned around her husband and shined her light into the rest of the room, looking for any other surprises. She saw a place that looked like the engine room on Ted’s ship, Ramses’ Chariot.
“What kind of holographic hell have we fallen into?” Char wondered.
Bethany Anne walked around TH and went straight for Tonie.
“You’re still here,” Terry said, pleasantly surprised.
She dialed up her middle finger and held it behind her back while she addressed Tonie.
“What’s going to happen when he presses that button?” BA swiped her arm through the being, confirming Char’s observation. “A hologram.”
“I may be, or I may not be.” He shook his head. “Usually, every group has a smart one, but I’m beginning to wonder about you three.”
“Where is the computer that’s driving you?”
Tonie shrugged. “Are we going to turn on the lights or not?”
“What is all of this?” BA asked, pointing at the door and waving her hand to take in the entire complex.
“This place is called Band Rayal Seven. This is the fallout shelter. We’ve been at war so long that every one of our towns is built only after the shelter is in place.”
“’Band Rayal?’ I have never heard of that Kurtherian name.” BA put her hands on her hips and stared at Tonie in disbelief.
“I don’t know what a Kurtherian is, but I’m pretty sure I’m not one.”
“When did they start using the word ‘Kurtherian’ to describe themselves?” Terry wondered. He dug deep into his memory, but he had never bothered learning what there was to know about the elder alien race. “Haven’t they ascended? Who is this guy?”
“I’m Tonie,” the being insisted. “I belong to a race called the ‘Erthos.’”
“Erthosian?” Terry asked.
“No.”
Terry waved impatiently at the abrupt answer. “We’re trapped down here and want out. How do we get back to the surface?”
“Yes, right! If you’re down here, then the pathways are open. How have my people evolved? I am curious. You look like fine specimens.”
“The city up top was blasted to rubble eons ago. No one knew this place existed. I fear that no one has looked for survivors down here in a very long time. And we’re not your people. We’re from Earth.”
“Earth. That is what we Erthos would have called one of our seed planets. Can you give the star reference?” TH shook his head. “No? That is most upsetting,” Tonie said, his face turning dark for a couple heartbeats before he shook it off and brightened. “Right! Finger.” He pointed to the panel.
BA nodded and Terry did as he was told. He pressed the button. Tonie went to work on the cabinet before him that started to flash and hum.
“How long do I...” Terry started to ask, but he stopped when the lights came on and Tonie cheered in triumph.
“And there we are, one step closer to returning our little corner of the world to a fully functioning shelter.”
“You mean to say, ‘a fully functioning shelter with access for the humans to come and go as they please,’” BA corrected.
“I don’t know about all that. These shelters were meant to be self-sufficient. However, since you’re down here, it must mean that the access shafts have opened.”
“Shaft-s.” Char emphasized the plural. “Please point them out to us.”
“I don’t have a screen in here.”
“Display one using your holographic projectors!” Terry commanded.
Tonie looked at the human as if he’d sprung a second head.
“Go back the way you came, through the dormitory, take a right at the T intersection, then another right at the four-way. Follow it straight all the way to the end, then take a left. The main elevator is there. It’ll deliver you to the Consul General’s building.”
“What language are you speaking? All your terms are the same as ours,” Terry wondered.
“I’m speaking what you best understand.”
Terry tapped his temple as if that would help his chip. He couldn’t tell if the entity was speaking English or if it was getting translated. From what Terry could see, the lips moved in sync with the words he heard.
Char twisted her head back and forth to see if it made a difference and shook her head. She couldn’t tell either.
“We know about that one. It’s the one we used to come down here.”
“Then take it back up,” Tonie replied.
“The doors won’t open for us.” Terry crossed his arms and scowled. A person with all the information was standing right in front of them, yet he couldn’t tell them anything.
“That is a problem.” Tonie thought about it for a moment before talking again. “Go to the first T and take a left, and follow that down, staying to the left, until you come to a dead end. That last door is a staircase, but it is heavily protected. If you couldn’t get through an elevator door, I doubt you’ll make it to the stairway.”
“We would love to take the elevator,” Bethany Anne interjected. “Can you open the doors for us before I become annoyed enough to pull your lungs out through your ass to encourage better relations?”
Tonie stared at the violent woman. “That’s a built-in security feature. I cannot override it. I don’t have sufficient rank to do that.”
“I suggest,” Terry said, “that since you are the only one ‘alive’ down here, you are all things, including governor, president, and Grand Poobah. You name it, you’re it. Give yourself the clearance and make the magic happen. All you have to do is believe in yourself.”
Terry smiled broadly and gestured for Tonie to get to it.
“It takes more than believing in myself. It takes access, which I don’t have in order to give myself access. You see, as much as you’d like to build up my confidence, which I greatly appreciate regardless, we have an irresolvable dichotomy.”
“Hack the system. No one is here to stop you. And since we’re in Federation space, I can have my dad authorize it, so you can’t get in trouble,” Bethany Anne stated.
“Oh.” Tonie shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
“As useless as tits on a boar hog.” BA crossed her arms and glared.
“At least the lights are on.” Char turned her head toward Tonie. “Can you make it so we can enter the common rooms?”
“Anyone should be able to,” Tonie replied before changing his mind and saying, “Take this. It’ll let you in.”
He undid his wristband and tossed it. Terry caught it. He expected it to be a hologram. “This is solid.”
“Of course, it’s solid. It’s my access band.”
Terry and Char looked at him, stupefied by the revelation that the hologram wore a real wristband.
“What do you say we check on that stairwell?” Terry asked BA.
The Queen turned to Char and lifted her eyebrows in question.
“So say we all,” Char declared. BA smiled and nodded, motioning for Terry to go first. He strolled through and held the door. After Char passed through, Terry looked back into the power room. Tonie was fussing around with the equipment, while BA was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did she go?” Terry asked.
“Who?” The being’s answer left Terry wondering about his own sanity.
Chapter Seven
The War Axe dominated the landscape, hovering above the parade ground where all of those marching would congregate. Four days remained until they could do their thing and leave.
Christina ran out the front of the hangar and leapt, dropping the ten meters to the ground. A number of warriors joined her, Kimber, Kai, Joseph, and Petricia. Aaron and Yanmei waited deep within the hangar bay inside the cockpits of the Black Eagles in case they were needed. They could launch in seconds if they received the call.
They watched the meeting between Christina and the Flayse Conglomerate on
their screens while Micky did the same thing from the bridge. Wenceslaus, the big orange cat, had found his way in and was sleeping on the captain’s lap. Micky stroked his fur absentmindedly as he watched for the subterfuge they all expected.
A cloud of cat hair drifted away from his fingers as he kept petting the cat, and a circle of hair started to form on his uniform trousers. Wenceslaus purred loudly.
Outside, the five warriors avoided bunching together. Their heads swiveled back and forth as their eyes sought the threats they were sure were there. Joseph focused on what he could see in their minds. Two mech-suited warriors clumped to the hangar bay door and stood, menacing the area. Above, the War Axe’s weaponry moved back and forth to let the aliens know that their deaths were only a heartbeat away if they wanted to take a shot at the Bad Company.
Minions, Joseph told the group.
The first one who approached put both hands to his chest and bowed. “I am the Magnate’s Executive Secretary. I am to handle all of your concerns and make you feel welcome while also confirming that you are appropriately intimidating.”
Christina planted her fists on her hips and glared at the secretary until he averted his eyes.
“You’ll do,” he said softly.
“I’m Colonel Christina Lowell. My deputy, Major Kimber, and Kai, Joseph, and Petricia. Can you show us where we’ll form up, and the route we’ll march?”
“Yes, but you’ll have to move that abomination.” The secretary gestured toward the ship hovering nearby.
Rise five hundred meters and take a position another thousand to the south, Christina ordered.
“That abomination is an intelligent ship, one of the most powerful in the galaxy. It’s also my home. I’ll ask you to hold your insubordinate tongue.”
“Of course, Liege Master.” The secretary cowered with his head bowed.
They said they were passive. Is that what it looks like? Passive-aggressive? Or are they just a bunch of dicks who people want to beat up? It would be a lot cheaper if they were nicer, Kimber suggested.
Christina clenched her jaw to keep the laugh from escaping and sent a warning glance toward Kimber, who assumed a look of innocence.
Discovery Page 6
