Kai winked.
Joseph’s brow wrinkled as he focused on the secretary.
Ask him about the Frikandans, Joseph requested.
The War Axe moved to its new position and faced the parade deck. The group started walking away from a viewing area that was already set up, complete with royal bunting and massive flags flowing overhead.
“Mister Secretary, according to our contract, we’re here to show your neighbors that you mean business. Tell me about Frikanda and its people.”
He made faces as if he’d eaten a chili-dipped bug.
“Never mind,” Christina conceded, clapping the secretary on the back. Joseph nodded slowly before sharing what he learned.
They want to leverage us to start a war with Frikanda that we then fight for them. They want us not to intimidate their neighbors but eliminate them as a threat, a competitor, and fellow residents of this system.
Genocide? Christina wondered.
Just short of that. Kill any Frikandan who can hold a weapon.
Christina stopped the secretary. “This is far enough. I can see everything we need to see. Form up over there and march to that corner, then that corner.” The colonel pointed as she talked her way through the parade route. “Will there be anyone else in the parade?”
“No. You are the parade,” the secretary confirmed.
“That’s fine. We were prepared for that. We’ll need to leave the second the parade is over. If you need us for anything after that, we’ll have to negotiate a new contract.”
The man’s eyes shot wide in panic before he could steel his expression.
Why didn’t they want the War Axe down here if they wanted us to start a war? Christina asked.
Maybe the Frikandans won’t come if we’re on the surface in force, Kimber replied. They’ll wait for us to leave before attacking, which would gain the Flayse nothing.
The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Christina replied. The catalyst to start a world war back on Earth. The Flayse are planning to kill one of us and blame their neighbors.
Sounds more like The Princess Bride. I love that movie! Kai interrupted.
“Thank you, Mister Secretary.” Christina inclined her head slightly. “We’ll be on our way now, and will return in three days. We have some business we need to conduct with the Frikandans. Bye!”
She made a show of turning her back and hurrying away from their sputtering escort.
Band Rayal Seven, Okkoto
Terry waved his access bracelet at every door as he passed. One finally opened and he started to go in, but Char stopped him.
He didn’t understand.
“This is probably Tonie’s room. We shouldn’t abuse the access he gave us.”
“Tonie has been dead for a million years, give or take. He’s a hologram,” Terry tried to explain, but his words rang hollow. He looked at the bracelet on his wrist.
Char saw him look at it. “Why does a hologram have a real wristband?”
“He had it when he passed. Maybe their holographic technology is so advanced that it projects a solid object?” Terry offered.
“BA put her hand through him. He’s a hologram.”
“With a real wristband,” Terry muttered, talking himself in a circle. “I have to look.”
Char let him go, resigning herself to looking at the room from the doorway. The door remained open while she blocked it with her body.
She glanced back down the corridor to confirm that no one was there—not a security bot, not Bethany Anne.
Terry checked the small room, the drawers, and the small, immersive entertainment area. There was a minimalist recliner with holo-emitters, but no desk or other chairs. A small bed and an integrated bathroom rounded out the room. The drawers contained utilitarian clothing. There were no personal effects that Terry could find.
“We could fit if we have to sleep here,” Terry said. He wasn’t trying to be cute. He had shifted from being skeptical about the experience to embracing survival mode. “There has to be a separate kitchen. There is no food or water in here.”
Char internalized Terry’s observations. It was everything she had expected.
“Your wristband should open the door to the chow hall or any other community space,” Char reiterated.
“And therein lies the can of worms. What lies within?” Terry intoned, humorlessly. “Let’s see what kinds of defenses are around the stairwell.”
“Can we check the wristband to see if it will summon the elevator?” Char asked.
“I like the way you think. Time to get out of here.”
He strolled away, carrying nothing but whatever his shredded coat could handle. Char’s coat didn’t look much better.
“How long has it been since we came down here?” Char asked.
“I wish I knew.” The chips in their heads were for translation and communication. Without being linked to Smedley or another system, there was nothing for the chip to share. “I never wanted this thing in my head, but then it turned out to be useful, so we did away with things like watches. Now that we’re disconnected, I would appreciate something as simple as a wind-up wristwatch.”
When Terry and Char reached the first corner, they stopped and peeked around it. They didn’t have to expose themselves for long with the lights on. A quick duck into the open and back revealed all the corridor’s secrets. They continued to the T intersection, and then to the four-way intersection, where they walked briskly straight ahead. A door on the left opened as they passed.
Terry jumped back, thrusting Char behind him, and the door closed. He stepped closer and waved his arm at it, and the automatic system responded. Inside, tables with chairs were arranged in a similar way to the mess deck on the War Axe.
One occupant sat, enjoying what the system had to offer. Bethany Anne had a huge bowl in front of her and a spoon the size of a ladle. “Banana split,” she mumbled around a mouthful of ice cream.”
“How do the Erthos have banana splits? Wasn’t that invented in Latrobe?” Terry wondered.
“Ice cream!” Char exclaimed. BA patted the seat next to her.
“How does it work?”
Bethany Anne pointed to a wall where a stainless steel door was recessed.
“Tell that thing what you want, and it appears.”
“What if it’s poisonous?” Terry asked.
“I thought your nanos were tougher than that? What’s a little poison?” BA rationalized with a half-shrug. “It’s the other white meat.”
Terry had no comeback. Char ordered a banana split, and a light appeared inside the device a moment later. Char reached in and pulled out her ice cream, tasted it, and hummed with delight. Terry gave in to his hunger.
“A triple hamburger with cheese, extra pickles, and French fries, please.”
He removed his meal. “How in the hell did it know what all that was?” he asked, showing the plate to the women. The Queen pointed to the chair opposite hers.
Terry walked around the table to sit where she had directed. He took a bite, savoring it as he chewed. “We’ll need this recipe for my All Guns Blazing.”
“You have an All Guns Blazing?” Bethany Anne asked.
“It’s a franchise, but yes. On Keeg Station in the Dren Cluster where we set up the Bad Company’s Direct Action Branch.”
“Terry Henry Walton owns a brewery,” BA stated. “I guess it was inevitable. Is Nathan paying you too much?”
Nathan Lowell was BA’s long-time friend and the president of the Bad Company.
“That wasn’t it,” Char said between bites. “There was a massive bet, a series of lines on how long TH could go without swearing. He beat them all, especially Nathan and your father.”
“I’ll be damned. My dad and Nathan financed your bar. When I get to talk to Dad again, I’ll have to bust him on the lost bet.”
Terry shook his head because he’d taken a big enough bite that he couldn’t speak. When he finally swallowed, he said, “Don’t be fooled by what yo
u’re eating. All of this stuff is a million years old.”
BA shrugged. “So what? It tastes good right now. Don’t try to rub the shine off this ice cream sundae.”
The door opened, and a person dressed like Tonie walked in. She stopped when she saw the three humans but didn’t say anything. Four more Erthos followed her in, nearly running into her. They spread out to look at BA and company.
Terry stood and turned since he had sat with his back to the door, then smiled and waved. “I’m Terry Henry Walton, and my compliments to your chef. This is the best burger I’ve had in forever.”
The five didn’t change expression.
A sixth person entered the room, walking to the side of the others. She looked different and dressed differently, her expression more severe and her hair tight against her head. “We don’t often get strangers,” she said softly, glaring without blinking.
“How often is not too often?” Terry asked.
“I was being kind. We never get strangers. For you to be here, something very bad must have happened. We need to find out what it was.” She finally took her eyes off the humans and looked at the other Erthos. “Seize them.”
“Fuck that!” Bethany Anne leapt over the table and headed for the far end of the line. Terry dove across the tables to take out the three Erthos in the middle. Char rushed around her toward the one giving the orders.
Terry caught sight of Bethany Anne executing a series of roundhouse kicks and throat punches, but she didn’t seem to be connecting. She laughed as the Erthos backed slowly away from her.
Terry had three of them before him. He lashed out with a front kick and sent that Erthos through the door and into the wall beyond. Two aliens tried to grab Terry’s arms and he let them, then spun them so their backs were to him. He secured both in headlocks and started to squeeze.
Char squared off against the Erthos female, who crossed her arms and threw her shoulders back. When Char punched her in the mouth, she staggered, her arms fell limp to her side, and she went down. The next man swung a roundhouse at Char.
She lunged forward, caught his wild swing under her left arm, and rotated toward him, delivering an elbow strike between his eyes. His head snapped back and he dropped, slamming the back of his melon into the hard floor, where he lay still. Char wondered if he was dead. She spared an extra moment to look at him since Terry had his targets under control.
After a final flex, Terry dropped the two unconscious forms. BA was standing to the side while her opponent cowered against the wall.
“I’ll beat this dickwad using only my mind,” she remarked. Terry grabbed the last one standing and propelled him into a chair.
“How the hell do we get out of here?” Terry demanded.
“I don’t know,” the male stammered.
“I’m about out of patience with the I-don’t-know answers I’m getting down here. How about an easier one. How long have you lived here?”
“My whole life. All of us have, like our parents before us.”
“You look like a work detail. Where did you come from?”
“Work. We maintain Air Handling System Four and Hydroponics Bay Seven.”
“Four and seven? There are seven hydroponics bays?”
“There are twelve.” He didn’t come across as wanting to hide anything.
“What’s your name, son?” Terry said, taking a seat next to the Erthos.
“I am Zayn Tova.”
“Nice to meet you.” Terry offered his hand but Zayn backed away, glancing at the floor where the four bodies of his fellows remained unmoving. The door had closed, and his fifth companion was outside in the corridor. Terry put his hands to his chest and bowed as he’d seen Tonie do.
The alien responded in kind.
Bethany Anne interrupted, “I might be older, but I’m not necessarily more patient. So, now that we’re all friends, why don’t you show us where all the people are?”
“I’m afraid there aren’t that many,” he mumbled toward the floor.
BA nodded, having already read his body language and understanding what the man was holding back.
“Go,” she told him. Terry’s head snapped to her. “We have all we need.”
The Erthos rose and walked quickly from the dining area. When the door popped open, the body in the hallway was still crumpled in a pile.
“Check them. I expect you’ll find they are all dead.”
Terry and Char went about the grim business to confirm what BA suspected. “Why?”
“Remnants of the civilization left behind. They have devolved to the point where they are satisfied by merely existing.”
“No different from cattle.”
“But no one is eating this lot. When one dies, they make another one.”
“Clones?”
“Illegal in my Federation, but without cloning, there would be no Erthos.”
“But the lights. Why weren’t the lights on?”
“It was their night?” Bethany Anne suggested. “Lights are on because it’s daytime now.
Terry removed a wristband from one of the dead and offered it to BA. She shook her head.
“No need. Give it to your lovely bride.”
He handed it to Char.
“I knew you had a crush,” Char quipped.
“What?” Terry held his hand to his chest in shock. “Neither in thought nor deed have I crushed on anyone else.”
He smiled innocently.
BA rolled her eyes as Char scowled, and BA pointed at the purple-eyed werewolf. “Oh, no. He’s your boy scout. Loyal as a Golden Retriever, but he has horrendous taste in movies, although the music I’m good with.” She paused for a moment. “How can you stand it?”
“What’s wrong with the movies I like?”
Char and Bethany Anne laughed at a joke only they understood. Terry searched the Erthos who looked different from the others, the one who was in charge. She carried nothing, just like the others, but Terry took her band and handed it to Char.
“Let’s check that elevator. The express train out of here might let us on board.”
Charumati held Terry back and pulled him to her. “I’m ready to get out of here.” She kissed him fiercely. When they separated, Bethany Anne’s face was inches from theirs. They leaned away.
“Are we ready to go yet? Michael is probably wondering where I am. I’ll have to tell him that I was tortured by you two engaging in intramural tonsil tickling. Come on!” She clapped her hands, but it made no sound. “Places to go, people to see.”
Terry and Char stepped over the bodies and into the hall. The one that had been there was gone, and Zayn was nowhere to be seen either. “I suspect that when we return, there won’t be any bodies in the chow hall, either.”
“Judging by the lack of dust in this place, they recycle every speck. BA?” Char turned back.
BA gestured toward the hall. “I need to check on something here. I’ll be along in a bit.”
Terry looked askance. “More ice cream with your name on it?”
“They interrupted my breakfast,” she deadpanned.
Terry waved, and they continued toward the elevator. When they arrived, they found the door closed. Terry waved his wristband at it, but nothing happened. Char waved her two wristbands, and the door opened.
“Woohoo!” Terry cheered and pumped a fist. They climbed aboard and waited. Finally, Terry tried something. “Take us to the surface.”
“Take us up,” Char offered. “Surface. Ground floor. Up. Anywhere other than here...”
Terry dug through the remaining pockets of his jacket and found a small first aid kit. He pulled it apart to wedge the pieces into the door, something he hadn’t done last time. Char looked it over and pulled on the gauze packed under the tight-fitting door. She couldn’t budge it.
“That should work.”
“Bets that BA and the bodies are both gone when we get back?” Terry asked.
“Now I’m curious, but I know you’re right. This place
is creeping me out,” Char said softly. “Too much weird shit. We don’t see anyone, then there’s a thriving community. BA is here, and then she’s not. The food was too good to be true, and exactly what we wanted.”
She grabbed the skin on the back of her husband’s hand and twisted. He grimaced and rubbed the spot. “What the hell was that all about?”
“I think we’re dreaming. We’re living Total Recall or some bullshit.”
“Like fuck we are,” Terry countered. “I died twice in here, and you once. That hurt enough for me to know it was real. This isn’t a dream, but I’m beginning to form a hypothesis.”
They started walking and after they turned the corner. Terry held a finger to his lips and crept back to the wall’s edge. He peeked around to find the elevator door open, exactly as they left it.
“Looking good so far,” he allowed. When they made it back to the cafeteria, Char waved her band and the door opened, showing them it was empty inside.
“Staircase?”
“My thoughts exactly.” Terry strode away with Char by his side.
Chapter Eight
The War Axe orbiting the Efluyez Homeworld, Alganor Sector
“What if they don’t pay us?” Kimber asked.
Christina looked out the front of the hangar bay at the stars beyond the Alganor system. “Then we’ll still be alive.”
“Do you think they can hurt us?” Kimber shifted her feet and turned to Joseph.
“I believe they can. Their thoughts are guarded well, but Christina’s premise of an attack on the Bad Company being a catalyst to galvanize us into action is sound. It makes the most sense from what I saw.”
“Looks like we’re marching in a parade,” Christina said.
“You just said it was a trap.” Kimber was confused.
“But we know it’s a trap, so that way we can avoid it.”
“By marching right into it.”
“Exactly,” Christina agreed, slapping her deputy on the shoulder. “Follow me. We have some work to do.”
“Aren’t we going to Frikanda?”
“We’ll do a flyby so we can collect information on their forces and give these knotheads the impression that we’ve met with their enemies. All the while, we’ll be figuring out how to foil an ambush from within the kill zone.”
Discovery Page 7
