by J. J. Green
“It’s horrible, waiting, isn’t it?” said Audrey.
“I can’t bear it,” said Carrie. “I wish they would give us something else to do.”
“They’ll tell us soon, I think. We’ll be going home by gateway any minute, like the way they sent Errruorerrrrrhch and Gavin’s kids away as soon as the placktoids were sighted.”
“I hope not. I don’t want to go home. I want to help.”
An announcement echoed in the room. “Trainees, please return to your rooms. We are here for the duration. Please return to your cabins and await further orders.”
“Oh no,” said Audrey, “I was hoping this was the end of it for us.”
The announcement continued, “Carrie Hatchett, go directly to the staff office.”
Carrie tensed and looked at Audrey, her eyebrows raised. What had she done? Had Gavin told them about the weapon? It seemed a funny time to be disciplining her, but she supposed they had nothing else to do while they waited for the placktoid crisis to unfold. All eyes, heads and antennae on her, she left the canteen.
Five managers awaited her in the large room. Two of them were Errruorerrrrrhch and Gavin, but she found it difficult to tell the others apart.
“Thank you for coming.” Gavin’s tone was polite and kindly. “Would you like to sit down?”
She looked around. Carrie smiled as she was reminded of the first time she had met her insectoid manager. “There’s nowhere to sit.”
“Ah yes. Well, please prepare yourself. I have something important to tell you, and the information may be something of a shock.”
This was it. They were going to tell her she’d failed the training. They’d picked a helluva time.
“This afternoon’s events are most regrettable. We tried to insist the marsoliie did not perform their ritual dance, but they were not to be put off. As it was, the placktoids took the opportunity to gather a large number all at once, when they had clearly been planning to capture them individually over time—”
“Get to the point,” said a manager.
“Very well, very well. Carrie, we have received a communication from the placktoid commander. He is offering a bargain. It seems they had a particular purpose in coming to Gaginion. In return for the release of the captured marsoliie, the commander is asking for...” Gavin turned to the other Managers. “I really must register my protest once more. She should not be informed. This is far too weighty a matter for a simple Officer—”
“If you don’t tell her, I’ll do it myself,” another manager interrupted.
“Very well.” Gavin’s bronze head returned to Carrie. He blinked. “Carrie, my dear, in return for the release of the captured marsoliie, the placktoids are asking for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Two – A Friend in Need
Carrie missed Dave that night more than she had ever missed him before. Despite their reconciliation, he had obviously decided to stay in Belinda’s cabin for the rest of their time aboard. The half-dandrobian probably picked up after herself, Carrie mused.
She sighed and turned over. From her new position, she could see through the cabin window to the ocean outside. They were at a latitude where the sun didn’t set, and the daylight that shone through the water had dimmed but not entirely disappeared. She was hoping to see the small creatures that flashed in detailed patterns, or some other kind of interesting ocean life, but all was still except for ribbons of dark material that occasionally floated past, and vague shadowy shapes too far distant to make out clearly. If only she’d had the opportunity to explore the planet properly and find out all about the seventeen sentient species that lived there...now it looked as though that would never happen.
They were far from the placktoid base, but the mechanical aliens felt dreadfully near. She’d seen the maw of the shredder placktoid close up before and it was vivid in her mind. She could also clearly hear the cacophonous din of offkey classical music the placktoids created when speaking with other species.
Gavin had outlined the placktoid proposal gently and with many assurances that the Council Managers only wanted to keep her informed in case the placktoids decided to attack, because then she would be in particular danger, though of course the Unity would do everything to protect her. It was simple: the placktoids had identified her as the person who had exposed them. Due to her, a much-respected commander was imprisoned beneath oootoon. Their communication stated only that if the Council handed her over, they would release the marsoliie. What they would do with her, or to her, they didn’t explain, though it was safe to conclude it wouldn’t be anything she would enjoy.
Why the placktoids didn’t simply open a gateway on the ship and storm it, no one understood for sure, but probably they weren’t that confident in their firepower just yet, and perhaps they had intelligence about the new weapons that pierced their armour. If Carrie arrived at the placktoid base, unarmed, within twenty-hours, the mechanical aliens would return to wherever it was they were hiding.
There was no question of giving herself up, no question, Gavin had assured her. Carrie didn’t think the rest of the managers were in full agreement. It was only one life against many, and the Unity battleships were still days out. Gavin had also explained there was no easy escape for her. Wherever they sent her, the placktoids would probably find her, just as they had found out she was on Gaginion. If she went home to Earth, she would be exposing her home planet to a placktoid invasion.
As yet, the Unity had no plan for rescuing the marsoliie. Any attack on the base put their lives at risk. Carrie turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling. No matter what Gavin said, the solution seemed obvious. They were just waiting for her to say it. She closed her eyes and wished she hadn’t driven Dave away with her bad behaviour and messy habits.
***
Audrey opened her door after only one ring of her doorbell.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” said Carrie. She needed someone to talk to, and Audrey was the closest friend she had aboard after Dave and Gavin, both of whom she had annoyed enough already.
“Oh no, we don’t sleep. Come in.”
“You don’t sleep?” She went into the green blob’s cabin. “What do you do during rest periods?”
“Just bounce around, mostly.”
Judging by the number of round, green imprints on Audrey’s walls, she did a lot of bouncing.
“Is something bothering you?” Audrey asked.
“Yes, quite a bit actually. Do you mind if I hang out here for a while?”
“Be my guest,” said Audrey as she bounced off the ceiling.
Carrie had been sworn to secrecy by the Managers. She supposed it was because they didn’t know how the other trainees might react. Maybe they would gang up on her and tell her to give herself up to save the marsoliie. She hadn’t really recovered her reputation after Belinda’s damning account at the plenary session. But Carrie had never been good at keeping secrets, and she had got to know Audrey quite well over the week. She thought she could trust her, especially when it came to the question of possibly sacrificing herself to vicious mechanical aliens.
As her story unfolded, Audrey stopped bouncing. She rolled to a rest next to Carrie, where she listened, vibrating gently.
“So, that’s it,” Carrie concluded. “If I don’t give myself over to them, hundreds of marsoliie will die.”
“You aren’t going to do it, are you?”
Carrie shrugged. “I don’t see what else I can do.”
“No. You can’t. You mustn’t. It would be stupid. It would only encourage the placktoids. We can’t let them win at anything.” Audrey wobbled in agitation.
“That’s what the Managers said. We must never give in to terrorists. But isn’t negotiation what our job’s about? Bargaining? Give and take?”
“Not giving and taking lives,” exclaimed Audrey.
Carrie shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. You’re a much better Officer than me.” She put her face in her hands. “What am I going to d
o?”
“I can’t believe they even told you. That’s a terrible responsibility to put on someone.”
“They said it was for my protection. So I would know, if we were attacked, that they were coming for me.”
Audrey rolled around the room. “I don’t understand. If they want you, why not just come and get you? Why complicate things?”
“The Managers said they think it’s because they aren’t confident yet. They don’t want to risk it. This way, if I give myself up, they won’t suffer any casualties. But they know the Unity battleships are on their way, so I have to hand myself over by the deadline or they kill the marsoliie.”
Audrey began rolling again. “Maybe there’s a middle way. So we can save the marsoliie without losing you.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too. But I’ve wracked my brains for hours without coming up with anything. If we or the Unity approach the placktoid station with weapons, they’ll be able to detect them and they’ll hurt the marsoliie. If I go in there with no weapons, that’s it for me. But at least the marsoliie go free.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it. This is the placktoids we’re talking about, remember? Once they have you, there’s nothing to stop them destroying the marsoliie and disappearing through a transgalactic gateway, back to wherever it is they came from.”
“You’re right. But what else can we do? This is no good,” said Carrie, standing up. “There isn’t any answer. I should get back to my cabin. Maybe I’ll get some sleep. Thanks for listening.” What she actually intended was different from what she told Audrey. She intended to go straight to the nearest airlock and swim out into the ocean, where the placktoids could pick her up. That way, it would be clear no one had forced her to take the decision, and no one could stop her. At least the marsoliie might have a chance that way.
“Sit down. Don’t give up yet. We have some of the best, most diverse trainee Officers right here aboard this ship. Between us, we must be able to find a way.”
Carrie hesitated. She sat down. A few more hours one way or another, what difference would it make?
***
When Carrie burst into the staff office the following morning, she found Dave arguing loudly with them. At the sight of her, he raised a finger to stop her speaking. His eyes were like steel. “You’re not doing it.”
How had he found out? Maybe Gavin had told him. “Yes, I am.”
“No way. I’ll tie you to the ship if I have to. I’ll, I’ll—”
“No, you don’t understand. I’ve got a plan. Or, actually, we’ve got a plan. Audrey and I thought it up last night.”
“Ahem,” said Gavin, “would this happen to be anything like the plan you had on the squashpump planet? Because I would not say that plan was particularly well thought out.”
“No, not like the plan on the squashpump planet. We’ve thought it through carefully, together. Step by step. It might actually work.” Seeing Dave’s expression, she amended her words. “It will work, I’m sure of it.”
“No,” said Dave. “I know what you’re like. You’re just going to go off on one of your hare-brained escapades. But this is serious, Carrie. Your life is at risk. I’m not going to let you do it.”
“You’re not going to...?” She put her hands on her hips. Her voice rose. “Who do you think you are, telling me what I can and can’t...” She caught herself, closed her eyes for a moment, and continued, “I know you’re worried about me, Dave. And you have every right to be. I’ve been stupid, and reckless, and an idiot. But I’ve learned my lesson. This plan will work. I know it will. We can free the marsoliie, I won’t be harmed, and we can get the placktoids back for what they’ve done.”
Chapter Twenty-Three – Sink or Swim
Somewhere, out in the dark ocean, somewhere nearby, the Unity ship waited. Or, at least, Carrie hoped it did. She couldn’t see it, but then she wouldn’t expect to. A ship full of brave soldiers, who would swoop in and rescue her before the placktoids...she gulped.
The mechanical aliens had specified a distance of one click and no closer for the Council and Unity vessels, and that Carrie had to travel without the aid of a water scooter or any other vehicle in which she could hide a weapon. They had also said she could bring nothing with her: no toolbox, no devices, only a translator so that she could hear their court judgement, presumably before they...she swallowed again.
One click was quite a distance, and she had a long swim ahead of her, and only one respirator tablet to last her the whole trip. The placktoids’ demands had been explicit: no additional items to be carried on her person, not even the tablets she needed to stay alive. The indicator needle was on the far left, so the tablet was completely fresh. One less thing to worry about, for the time being at least.
Far off, an upside-down, scarlet teardrop swayed like a hot air balloon at a fair. The large net of trapped marsoliie. Below it, very unlike a fair, sat the placktoid base. Carrie recognised the cubic, featureless buildings she had first seen on Oootoon. Lacking all decoration or ornament, they indicated to her, hopefully, the placktoids’ lack of imagination.
Gavin had told Carrie once, before they understood how evil the placktoids were, that they deserved the same consideration and respect as every other civilisation in the galaxy. He’d said they had culture and an obscure history, during which their original creators had been lost to knowledge. Just because they were mechanical, that did not mean they weren’t sentient nor entitled to the same rights as other intelligent species.
Gazing at the patch of floodlit ground where the placktoids awaited her, Carrie wondered what Gavin thought of them now.
It was difficult for her to swim encased as she was in Audrey’s huge wetsuit. She imagined she must look like a blimp, with only the bottom halves of her arms and legs poking out. Her legs began aching with the effort of kicking when she had such little room to move. As she swam steadily on, she hoped the placktoids wouldn’t think it strange that she had grown noticeably larger. But as they seemed to have watched plenty of Earth TV she had her fingers crossed that they were familiar with the fact that humans sometimes became excessively overweight.
She glanced over her shoulder. In the Council ship portholes were faces. Dave, Gavin, Audrey, the blinking light, even Belinda had come to see her off. Though had the half-dandrobian only turned up to make sure she left? Whatever. She was grateful for the emotional support. Most of all, she was happy she had parted from Dave on good terms. If she were not to return, he would have good memories of her.
She shivered and shook her head. She needed to keep a positive outlook. The plan was a good one, with a better than average chance of succeeding. She looked over her shoulder again. The Council ship looked much smaller now. She must have covered about half the distance. She just needed to stay calm, think carefully and follow the plan through step by step. No rash, reckless behaviour.
As she drew nearer to the placktoid base, Carrie took a look around into the ocean depths. Anything to avoid seeing the placktoids until the last minute when she would have to face them. The water was dim. The dark ribbon shapes she had seen the previous night swam past in the distance to her right, and she thought she could detect, farther on, a patch of the sentient mat that floated on the ocean surface, which she had encountered on her first foray into the water. Above, the green light from the alien sun looked friendly and inviting, though she knew the atmosphere meant death. There were no marsoliie to be seen. Carrie didn’t blame them for not approaching the area where their friends and relations were being held captive. She hoped the Groups in the net were leaving the Singles alone.
Her breath was labouring. Swimming in the massive wetsuit was much harder than she had imagined. Her respirator indicator needle was approaching the centre. She tried to breathe more shallowly, but she needed all the oxygen she could get to keep going.
There was movement ahead. Glinting in the diffuse light, large placktoid paperclips were patrolling the perimeter of the base. Their hovering motion made Ca
rrie shiver as she recalled how she had first travelled inside one as it took her up to the placktoid ship. She had been so ignorant, so naive at the time, it was a wonder she hadn’t got herself and Dave killed. But that was then. This was now. This was a different Carrie, who meant business.
A paperclip was growing larger. It was zooming out to meet her. She stopped swimming. Finally, she was able to rest her aching legs as she waited for it. Her breathing slowed. Thank goodness. She was going to need all the oxygen her respirator tablet contained.
The placktoid didn’t speak, at least not to her. It might have been transmitting to its superiors at the base. Instead, it floated in front of her and began to vibrate, disturbing the water surrounding it. The familiar attractive force drew Carrie into its centre where she floated, contained within an invisible forcefield, while the paperclip completed her journey to the placktoid commander. Once there, she would be given over to it to do with as it pleased, or so it thought.
During the short final leg, she used the time to collect her thoughts and go over each step carefully in her mind. The first step and the most important was to take place outside the base. This was where it would be a disaster if things didn’t go according to plan. She had to be released from the forcefield at the entrance to the base. There was no logical reason that prevented the paperclip from carrying her inside and directly through to the commander, but previously, on Oootoon, the paperclips had always dropped her, Dave and Belinda at the entrance to the ship, never carrying them inside.
Carrie hoped that Gavin was right, that the placktoids had culture, habits and ways of behaving that were not purely logical.
They were nearly at the base. The doors opened as the paperclip slowed down. Carrie’s heart rose into her mouth. Would it carry her right inside? If the forcefield wasn’t deactivated while she was outside the base...She began to sweat. Through the open doors she could see only darkness. The square, empty entrance loomed larger.
