Heart of Granite

by James Barclay

  Kirby huffed. ‘Oh good. Solomon’s in the shit with the rest of us. What exactly are we going to do? Moeller?’

  ‘Approve the mind-shielding addon,’ said Moeller, shrugging. ‘It’s the only way.’

  Kirby shrugged. ‘We can’t fund it, or afford the inevitable integration delay.’

  ‘Surely the cost is justified? We can’t bring down the Maputo without Inferno-X. We need them at the top of their game – with this upgrade. And the shielding secures our best pilots in our best drakes. Plus we have to offer Valera something. She won’t change her mind on a whim and she knows we’re aware sending them out without an edge in combat is suicidal.’

  ‘So tell her there will be mind-shielding,’ said Kirby.

  ‘You’re backing my recommendation?’ asked Moeller.

  ‘I want her to approve the upgrade. I think we have to tell her what she wants to hear.’

  ‘You want me to lie to her?’

  ‘I know we don’t always get on but I do have the best interests of all personnel on this ship at heart . .. I’m the ExO for God’s sake, it’s my duty. I genuinely believe we have no choice but to implement the upgrade. So how about this for a compromise? You persuade Valera to take the upgrade out on combat test and I’ll persuade Solomon to approve the shielding afterwards.’

  ‘Fine. But what if she doesn’t approve it and I’ve already pushed the upgrade through?’

  ‘If this upgrade does mean pilots Fall faster, then the cost of training new pilots to I-X standard will be higher than adding the mindshielding because we’ll need more bodies. I can work up the figures to prove it.’

  Moeller shrugged. ‘Show me the figures and I’ll talk to Valera.’

  ‘Good,’ said Avery. ‘One last thing: you both know the HoG is running on empty. We have seventy-eight serious systems issues, she stinks and Seepage is beyond filthy. We should be heading for our replenishment cycle already and we’ll be seriously vulnerable if we don’t go in the next five days. We can and we must take the Maputo down in that timescale or we’ll be easy pickings on the way to the Red Sea. I will not have that as my epitaph.’

  Moeller knew Valera would have been waiting for a summons from him or Kirby so he decided to drop into the Inferno-X squad rooms instead. It seemed to do the trick. Her smile was warm once the surprise had faded. Valera poured them both coffees before showing him into her pod, which had a couple of armchairs and a small table in the extra space afforded her as squadron leader.

  ‘What’s the verdict, sir?’ asked Valera, frostiness replacing the warmth now the door was shut on the concerted gaze of the squad.

  ‘I think we can drop the formality. There’s been no “verdict”,’ said Moeller gently. ‘I’m here to find out what will persuade you to take the upgrade.’

  ‘I don’t like being backed into a corner, sir,’ she said. ‘Feels like we were ordered out to face the Mafs just so the upgrade could be forced on us.’

  ‘Even for you, that’s cynical.’

  ‘Is it? We get a pep talk from Corsini, an attack goes wrong and shortly after the Tweakers presumably reported how expensive a fleshware upgrade would be, a mysterious and very cheap sentience upgrade pops up. Cheap because it isn’t complete. I’m a drake pilot, I don’t do coincidences.’

  Moeller took a sip of his coffee while he framed his reply. ‘How about it’s a genuine offer to give you the control you need to take them down?’

  ‘Had it come from you, I might have believed it. From Solomon via the ExO . . . look, sir, the problem I have, the problem my squad and all the pilots have is the lack of shielding. And for me, personally, Markov’s absence was very telling. I’ve been coming to upgrade meetings for six years and this is the first without her. I don’t trust it.’

  ‘But without it, you stand to suffer more losses. Is mind- shielding the red line for you?’

  ‘You know it is. And even then I’m suspicious of the data and testing. Barely past modelling stage, is it?’

  There was such disappointment in Valera’s eyes it drew Moeller up short.

  ‘You’re feeling betrayed?’

  ‘Ha, it’s worse than that. You can fight against betrayal. I feel like we’re being sacrificed.’

  Moeller nodded. ‘The pressure from the top is severe. Time is running out.’

  ‘So it’s okay to throw pilots on the fire and hope the gods smile on us, is it?’

  ‘Come on, Val . ..’

  ‘They just don’t get it,’ she said. ‘Doesn’t matter how much we love it, every time we fly, it’s there . . . the shadow of the Fall . . . and in the dead of night it’s what brings on the terrors. So we have to be sure we’re being protected from it; that we matter. Doesn’t much feel like that right now and trust me, you don’t want to be sending pilots out like that.’

  ‘Of course you matter.’

  ‘To you, maybe.’

  ‘Don’t go all petulant teenager on me,’ said Moeller. ‘You’re better than that.’

  ‘Sorry . . . sometimes it seems that stamping and throwing toys is all that’s left.’ She shrugged. ‘I was talking to the squad . .. we’re all excited at the potential of the upgrade but the thing that should scare you is that we’d rather go back out and face the Mafs with nothing rather than risk it without shielding. That’s what avoiding the Fall means to a drake pilot.’

  Moeller stared at her. ‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’ Valera nodded and jerked a thumb at the door. ‘Ask ’em.’

  ‘All right,’ said Moeller. ‘Look, we can meet you part way. Kirby has said that if you agree to the upgrade, he’ll produce the figures making agreement to mindshielding a formality.’

  ‘What do you mean, “part way”?’

  Moeller sucked his lip, feeling guilty even as he spoke. ‘You’ll have to do that sortie without the shielding.’

  Valera gasped. ‘Holy shit, sir, you can’t expect me to agree to that.’

  ‘We can’t delay. We have to put the Maf drakes to bed so we can attack the Maputo.’

  ‘With respect, you’re missing the point. You can’t undo an upgrade. If I agree, I lose my bargaining power. Solomon can just shrug her shoulders at the ExO’s figures, however compelling.’

  ‘But she won’t because he’s going to compare cost of shielding with potential cost of training new pilots if the upgrade provokes a faster Fall.’

  ‘Why haven’t they done that already?’

  Moeller had opened his mouth to reply before he realised he had no idea. ‘That’s a very good question.’

  ‘And I’ve got the simple answer but let’s not go there. Will they do it? Will they retro-fit the shielding if we take on the upgrade for tomorrow, risks and all?’

  ‘You have to trust your commanding officers.’

  ‘I trust you,’ said Valera.

  ‘And despite everything, I trust Kirby when it comes to staff. He’ll work the figures, he’ll persuade Solomon.’

  ‘This is a massive call.’

  ‘Discuss it with the squad, then. Privately if you want to.’

  ‘You may as well hear what they have to say . .. but it’s squad room rules, okay?’

  Moeller held up his hands. ‘Nothing you don’t want reported gets reported. Now that I can promise.’

  Valera led the way back to the squad who were scattered around the sofas and chairs doing a poor job of appearing disinterested. At sight of Moeller, Stepanek shouted them to attention only for him to wave them back to their seats.

  ‘Right, listen up,’ said Valera, standing where they could all see her. ‘I need to put something to you. Speak freely but you will not resort to personal abuse. I trust I’m clear.’

  ‘Is it me or is this a leadup to a big “but”?’ said Palant.

  ‘And there’s no butt bigger than yours,’ said Max to a concerted groan.

  ‘Just couldn’t resist, could you?’ said Kullani.

  ‘Nope,’ said Max. ‘Ow!’

  ‘That’s for being a twat,’ sa
id Kullani.

  ‘Just listen!’ snapped Valera. ‘And think before you speak.’

  She stared at Max before continuing.

  ‘So, we have to go fight the Mafs tomorrow. The upgrade is cool and it would give us an edge but it has no shielding. There’s been movement but we have to blink first. If we agree the upgrade, fly the sortie, we get shielding on our return. It’s as close to a promise as I can get — that Mister Moeller can get. Think it over. Take your time but hurry up all the same.’

  Moeller was fascinated by the breadth of their reactions. Gurney was smiling; Redfearn looked pensive and Stepanek was unreadable while both Calder and Nevant were nodding their heads where Palant and Salewski were shaking theirs. Halloran had opened his mouth to speak but Kullani dug him in the ribs.

  ‘Ow, bloody hell,’ he hissed into the contemplative quiet.

  ‘Something to say, Max?’ asked Valera.

  ‘Quite a lot springs to mind,’ he replied.

  ‘Which is why I jabbed you,’ said Kullani. ‘To filter the stupid stuff out.’

  ‘There’s no going back once we’re upgraded,’ said Max. ‘You said so, yourself.’

  ‘That’s why it’s a call I won’t make without you,’ said Valera.

  ‘S’about trust, isn’t it?’ said Calder.

  ‘When have the exec screwed us over before?’ asked Gurney.

  ‘Last briefing,’ said Max.

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘Yeah, I do, and it feels to me we’re being screwed. If we can get shielding the day after tomorrow, why couldn’t we have had it the day before yesterday?’

  Valera turned briefly to look at Moeller and he hoped his eyes conveyed how careful she had to be.

  ‘The official line,’ she said. ‘Is that the upgrade is believed to be safe, hence no need for shielding.’

  ‘And Markov’s signed it off?’ asked Redfearn.

  ‘Her signature is on the file,’ said Valera.

  ‘But what did she say?’ asked Redfearn.

  ‘I haven’t spoken to her yet.’

  ‘Then how . ..’ Redfearn trailed off as Valera held up her hands.

  ‘Look, I-X, we are where we are. We can go over how we came to this point at our leisure another time. Right now, I need to know whether you want to risk a sortie with an untested upgrade or go out without anything new.’

  ‘Do you think they’ll approve the shielding retro-fit?’ asked Calder.

  ‘That’s a matter for you, it’s why I’m talking to you. For what it’s worth, I’m with Mister Moeller – I think we have to take the ExO at his word.’

  Max snorted but Monteith stood up.

  ‘Can I say something?’

  ‘Me saying “no” has never stopped you before,’ said Valera.

  ‘We’re thinking about this all wrong. Bloody hell, the negativity in this room is depressing. We’re Inferno-X, for fuck’s sake and we’re scared of nothing. So we don’t back off the upgrade, we take it, we love it, we get out there and toast the Mafs with it. We show them, and we show the ExO and Avery and Solomon and whoever the hell else is watching, that they cannot win without Inferno-X. That’s how you really get the shielding. Right?’

  Moeller felt the mood in the room transform and saw smiles replace frowns. All except Halloran who was still closed and angry. But he was on his own now; Moeller could see that clearly enough and so could Valera. She waited to see if anyone else had anything to say before turning to him.

  ‘All right, we’ll take it,’ she said.

  Max had known it the moment he entered the flight deck. They all had. The mind-touch was cleaner, clearer, like pure song and crystal glass. Settling into the pouch was like ducking his body into a freezing cold plunge pool, leaving his mind sharp. Despite his misgivings, he couldn’t deny it was incredible, like the potential of him and his drake was finally unveiled.

  ‘Oh, Martha, we are going to rip them claw from scale,’ he said.

  ‘Inferno-X, Flight Com, the Maputo is two hours south of your position. Plenty of time to familiarise yourselves with your upgrade but let’s not give too much away when you hit tactical radar range.’

  ‘Copy that,’ said Valera.

  ‘Feeling good, Val-X?’ asked Moeller.

  ‘Feeling even better about the mind-shielding to come. But this is a thoroughly awesome sensation.’

  ‘I hear you, Val-X,’ said Moeller. ‘I’ll have confirmation on your return.’

  They’d chosen to fly as they were, twelve strong. Valera had refused to share the upgrade risk with another squadron and their injured quartet didn’t have to make their decisions until they were fit to fly ‘Inferno-X, you heard the boss, let’s air test.’

  ‘Good luck, Inferno-X, Flight Com out.’

  ‘Hey, Skipper!’

  ‘Hal-X, does the upgrade confer the right to ignore com protocol?’

  ‘Sorry, Skipper. Val-X, Hal-X just wondering if anyone else feels like they should be scared by how open their mind is but feels fucking amazing anyway . .. y’know, natural like daylight, like someone’s opened a channel, taken away all the blockages.’

  ‘Copy Hal-X. I’m sure we all feel the same.’

  ‘It’s just a question who’s really in control, right?’ said Max.

  ‘I hear you, Hal-X but right now, we’re out here to honour our dead and see those Maf fuckers plough the sand. Got it?’

  ‘Aye, Skipper!’

  They flew in almost total silence to begin with, each of them recalling those they had so recently lost. The Inferno-X family, flyers they should be sharing the sky with right now. Well, Max assumed everyone was. He brought Schmiddy’s laughing face to mind and used it to focus his mind on the task. Revenge with control.

  They were about half an hour when they began to adopt a few formations – as if they’d all come to the same idea simultaneously. Red-X had led a subtle change to their standard close-form chevron and then they were all into their inter-squad display tournament routine . . . but this time they could use the sentience upgrade.

  Max pushed with his mind and Martha was right there, hanging on his every thought and urging him to slip deeper into her consciousness. The danger was so close but he could feel, almost see the line beyond which he must not go. He imagined a descent of fifty metres and she acted upon it, rendering his arm movements irrelevant beyond minute adjustments to her trim. He moved her eyes to scan the squad and she acted on the thought so fast he had to fight to keep up. This was freedom in flight; combat would be a dream but the cost was still to be quantified.

  The Inferno-X drakes slipped, slid, darted and swooped with effortless precision. Gently they tested and each time they were rewarded. It was so tempting to push further and Valera knew it.

  ‘Inferno-X, ValX, enough for now, folks. Let’s remember we have no shielding so don’t risk get lost in it, only use what you must. All right, we’re four a chevron. You know your places. Standard attack tactics on the way in, then feel your way. Flight Com, ValX. Talk us in.’

  ‘Flight Com copies. Stand by. Screen is clear, Maputo is on bearing one-seven-nine. Continue at present height, stand by for further orders.’

  Max opened his wing com. ‘How’s it feeling, buddy?’

  ‘Like a new crisp and chill dawn,’ said Kullani.

  ‘Nothing scary?’

  ‘Given that I’m leaking my brains out of my ears? No. In fact I feel freer than I have in months. It’s a breath of new life.’

  ‘Don’t go crazy,’ said Max.

  ‘Crazier,’ said Kullani.

  ‘Very funny.’ Max looked down and ahead and spotted the scattered dust and sand clouds indicating the three Maf behemoths. They had closed formation a little to protect the Maputo and there was no doubt they were heading directly towards the Red Sea. ‘You’re not getting there, you big, sick, old lizard.’

  ‘Really think we can bring her down?’ asked Kullani.

  ‘Right now I think we can do anything. But the rea
list in me says it’s a huge job. Depends on how many new drakes they’ve got. And how many of ours take the upgrade.’

  ‘Inferno-X, Flight Com, I have blips on screen from the Virunga on an intercept course with you. Ten blips . . . guess who?’

  Max felt a thrill and Martha shivered. ‘Yeah, baby, this time you get to do the chewing.’

  Martha roared, the other drakes taking up the call and Max imagined a roll and turned his body minutely to the right. Martha’s reacted at the speed of thought.

  ‘C-Two, Hal-X. Form up on me. On contact, maintain height, split to wings and cycle back in. Call your targets and feel it people but let’s not get cocky. These boys are good.’

  Inferno-X were close-formed, the three chevrons no more than fifty metres apart in a vertical stack. C-Two was Max, Kullani, Monteith and Redfearn. Below him, and just ahead, he could see Valera’s drake, the sun glinting off her pearl-white scales and her neck ramrod straight and beautiful.

  ‘Here they come, InfernoX,’ said Valera. ‘Give nothing away. We know what they’re capable of, let your instincts lead you. Watch out for each other. Good luck.’

  ‘Kul-X, you hearing me?’ asked Max.

  ‘Need you ask?’

  ‘Straight through, no deviation, then break hard right and come back onto my wing.’

  ‘Copy that Hal-X.’

  ‘All right, Martha, let’s play chicken.’

  Max straightened his body and Martha trimmed her wings and stretched her neck and tail out. The slate-grey Maf drakes were closing hard, moving directly into their path, confident in their ability and superiority. The only question was who would blink first. Two klicks out became one in a few wing beats. And then the sky was full of scale and wing and fire and the roars of drakes, sparkling white and slate grey. Max felt Maf and Inferno drakes peel off in all directions. Monteith and Redfearn went low and right, leaving him and Kullani driving straight on.

  Ahead, their target drake opened her mouth and spat flame into the air to have it wash away in the wind of her passage. Two beats to collision. Max forced himself to stare. For the briefest of moments, he saw the Maf drake’s fangs, the pulsing flame fuel arteries and the slits of her eyes.