Aeolus Investigations Set 2: Too Cool To Lose: The Continuing Evolution of Lexi Stevens

by Robert E Colfax

  “We knew that would be the case, honey. That’s why I didn’t leave room for you to move. I think you’re doing fine. The software is adaptive. It’ll help.”

  “I know. Just saying.” Jis looked around the hold with the suits glowing red eyes. “The muscle stimulators feel like they’re working. Stand back now. I’m going to try the tentacles.”

  She flailed around for a couple of minutes, at one point smacking the container she was trying to pick up across the hold. She chased it down, got both tentacles on it and lifted it over her head. Setting it down in its original position, she said, “OK, then. All of my internal readouts look good. I’ve got walking under control. I need more work with the tentacles but I think I can manage them well enough. I’m ready to transport down.”

  “OK, Jis,” Urania said, “I’ve got a target spot picked out for you on the surface of the planet. It’s a rocky outcrop having very few Kreesh in the area. They won’t see you until you join them. You can fly up and join the hive-ship when its orbit carries it over your location as the Kreesh do.” She paused. “And don’t worry, honey, we won’t lose you in there.”

  Chapter 64

  Inside the Hive

  As planned, Jis was transported to the surface of the planet. They witnessed, during their week-long vigil, individual Kreesh using thrusters to ascend to and descend from the hive-ship. Despite all of her work on the carcass, Lexi couldn’t find anything that would do that. She had to guess that they could modify the functionality of the nano-cells on the fly. She hated guessing. She doubted Jis would be able to fly with the relatively dead nano-cells of her suit.

  They observed a swarm of individuals descending more than once just as they had witnessed spherical clumps of several thousand descend as a coherent object before breaking apart. They were unable to tell any reason behind the inconsistent behavior. Once Jis was on the surface, she moved closer to a group of Kreesh busily destroying all life, both plant and animal, in the vicinity. After watching them for several hours, she noticed many of them begin to clump together. Jis took a deep breath and joined the forming clump. Specially designed nano-cells migrated together, forming a type of ion drive and the clump launched toward the mothership. It was freaky that she could feel it happening. We’re right, they don’t need ships! They clump together to become ships. We suspected that.

  Her clump reached the hive-ship, merged into the surface, disbanding into individual units again. Sticking with her group as best she could, she climbed over and around other Kreesh. It’s what they all were doing.

  She had never been so scared in her life. She couldn’t see where she was going; all she could see was the mass of Kreesh she was crawling through. She sensed no minds. It wasn’t just that Lexi’s carcass was dead, even the living ones had no minds. They are robots! They must be. I think we were right about that too.

  Jis lost track of the group she was associated with, but it was almost as though her body’s nano-cells knew where to go. Through the Klaavaanit field, she sensed individual cells peeling off and attaching to the other units she crawled over, picking up additional cells from them as she moved. The new cells seemed to be activating her older ones.

  She could feel the comforting presence of Lexi in her mind. They weren’t talking, but she knew she was there. It didn’t ease her fear. Her mind kept going back to her dream of an Ackalon devoid of all life, the landscape scorched and smoking. Just from the time they observed the Kreesh on the planet below, it was clear they weren’t what caused the desolation. Yes, they destroyed all life, but not by burning off a planet. The tests Lexi ran on their waste product suggested they were making topsoil, more or less confirming the supposition that they were malfunctioning terraforming units built by the Forerunners. That meant it was something else, not the Kreesh, that would destroy her world. She couldn’t stop it, she knew that. She suspected the only chance of saving Ackalon from that fate lay with her friend Lexi. She wished that was a precognition and not a guess. Lexi hated guessing.

  No matter how afraid she was by being trapped in a Kreesh suit inside of a Kreesh hive-ship, that was why she couldn’t have allowed Lexi to do this. The Accord, my Ackalon, needs the Marshal more than Ackalon needs its Plicora.

  ***

  Three days into the hive-ship, nothing had changed. She was still slithering further in, exchanging cells with those she brushed against. The living cells from the other Kreesh felt different from the cells she was losing from her dead carcass. They seemed more alive, somehow. They didn’t have awareness, but they did seem to be, well, more interactive with her mind. Isn’t that odd? Does that give me any advantage? Or is it just a random datum?

  Her skin suit took care of her bodily functions, adequately at least. She had water and the liquid stuff they were calling food enough to last at least eleven more days. The suit was designed to keep her alive for two to three weeks. She desperately needed sleep, but Kreesh didn’t sleep and she was afraid if she slept she would stop moving. She knew it was the hulk-med genetic modifications that were giving her the strength to stay awake. Her body didn’t need the amount of sleep it was used to, but she had no idea how far she could push it.

  I wanted to be strong and muscular since that first time I worked with Lexi rescuing the Borgolian hostages. I was doing pretty well training on my own. The hulk-meds finished the job. I haven’t really had time to enjoy it. It doesn’t even impress An. Just me. Ackalonian males don’t expect women to be muscular. Hmmph! On the other hand, he hadn’t been grossed out by me being as strong as he is. That was before the hulk-meds. Of course, I’m stronger than he is now. I’ll have to be careful about being with him. Assuming I live through this. I’m stuck in a Kreesh-suit inside a Kreesh hive-ship. Life is strange.

  When she started imagining Kreesh sex, she knew she was in trouble. If she was slithering through naked, human bodies glistening with oil instead of glistening metal Kreesh bodies she could understand where those thoughts were coming from. It wasn’t too hard for her to switch her thoughts to An Dy Callan, naked and oiled. That distracted her off and on for quite a bit.

  She decided if she survived this his career as Ackalon’s liaison to Earth was over. It was pretty clear Charlie was keeping Geena for the foreseeable future. He didn’t need An anymore. She would take An back to Ackalon with her if this ordeal didn’t kill her. If he was amenable. If not, he just made Ambassador. Then they would see. Ackalonian’s sensed when they met someone they fit with. An wasn’t a perfect fit, at thirty, she still hadn’t met anyone who was, but he was nearly so. It was also true that over time, a close fit could blossom into that perfect fit.

  At some point during that time, Lexi and Ron joined them, slithering with them. An seemed amenable to them joining the party. She didn’t know how much later it was that Geena and Charlie showed up, making the whole thing even weirder. At least they brought extra oil with them. The lavender scent blended nicely with the scent of Ackalonian lichick blossoms her oil had. She felt she’d probably lose it completely if her father, Ad Boc Seckan, put in an appearance. Fortunately, he didn’t.

  I’m losing my mind. She didn’t know how much longer she could last in this hell.

  Then she lost contact with Lexi and that made it worse. Much, much worse.

  She had no way of telling whether it was hours later or days later when she finally got to what must be her destination. Even the sexual images had stopped by that point. She was dead tired. Her brain was barely functioning. She imagined she was smelling burnt oil with every breath she took, tasting urine with every sip of water. She had to stop eating for fear of retching. She knew it was all in her mind. The air and water were pure. The food was, well, it was what it was.

  The geometrical structure she was pushing her way toward had a name. As Plicora, she didn’t have the level of geometry that would give her the correct mathematical name. It was a polyhedron. She was sure of that. It had both triangular and pentagonal faces. The pentagons were black, the triangles white. Loo
king at it, and it felt like she was getting some information from the Kreesh carcass, she guessed there were twelve large pentagons, all with around thirty Kreesh attached to them, all in various stages of dissolution. She could see other Kreesh forming on and dropping off from the triangles. I’m at a recycling center. She giggled.

  With those behind her pushing, she soon found herself plastered to a pentagon. That’s what the cells in her suit wanted. Her suit was slowly disassociating around her, its cells migrating onto and being absorbed into the dark surface. She wondered what the thing would make of the life-support technology built into the carcass. She didn’t think her skinsuit would dissolve, but she also didn’t think the Kreesh behind her would allow a skinsuited human to survive more than a few seconds. She didn’t know how they hauled out the trash but imagined they must have an incinerator around here somewhere. One of the purposes of this thing might be to deal with any organic muck that came in with them. If they are robots, this was likely how program updates were propagated. Wow, coherent thought! She was out of touch with Lexi, scared out of her mind and so tired and befuddled she barely had a mind to be scared out of.

  Chapter 65

  Retrieving Jis

  Sitting in the command-chair in Urania’s control room, five days after Jis was placed on the planet’s surface, Lexi gasped, “I’ve lost her! Our mental link failed. I can’t tell where she is or what she’s doing. I just have the vaguest sense that she’s still alive.”

  “It may be OK,” Urania said. “I’ve still got her pinned on sensors. I can’t pick up her comm-gear, but the transponder in the carcass is strong enough to reach me through the interference. She’s also the only lifeform in there. What caused your link to fail?”

  “I don’t know for sure. I think it’s likely we’re just exhausted. We’ve been linked for five days now, without sleep, without even a break. Maybe the human brain isn’t designed for sustaining a mind-meld for this long, or maybe we just don’t know how to do it. Keep monitoring her and yank her out if you think she’s in trouble. I’m going to the med-bay. I should have been there this whole time. Run a brain scan for me. I want to see if we can tell what happened.”

  Together they looked at the areas of Lexi’s brain associated with both the Rose of Light and the Barossa Channel. The normal activity levels, the glow, was subdued. “Who knew? Would you analyze the Channel section further. It looks odd,” Lexi said. “I’m going to try to get some sleep here in the medical bay. Strap me onto the bed. Wake me immediately if my brain starts to look even close to normal. Or if you think Jis is in trouble.”

  ***

  Lexi was so deeply asleep that Urania had to prod her with one of med-bay’s manipulator arms to wake her up.

  “OK. Thank you, dear. I’m awake.” As the straps retracted, she stretched and sat up. “How’s Jis?”

  “In trouble, maybe. Her vital signs are extremely elevated. Your brain scan looks like you’ve partially recovered. I’m hoping you can find out what’s happening to her.”

  Despite Jis still not having any sleep, Lexi was able to make glancing contact with her. “I’ve found her,” Lexi said. “I don’t think she knows I’m here.” A few minutes later, Lexi said, “Be ready to extract her. All I’m getting is random thoughts. She’s accepted she’s going to die in there. She expects me to save Ackalon without her. She’s telling me good-bye, Urania.” Lexi had tears in her eyes as she said that.

  “Tell me when, honey,” Urania said, her voice clipped.

  Lexi spent additional seconds trying to reach her friend as she stood from the medical-bed. Then she found an opening through the randomness. Evacuate me now, came across pretty clearly. Not the carcass.

  Within seconds, Urania plopped Jis into the med-bay, where she collapsed into Lexi’s arms. The practice Urania had with the transporter to assemble the inside of the Kreesh suit proved useful in getting her out sans carcass. Lexi lifted her friend onto the medical bed before carefully removing her helmet. Jis lay on her back on the med-table, looking around wild-eyed. She was gasping and trembling. Lexi put her hand on the woman’s cheek. “It’s going to be OK, Jis. You’re on Urania now. We’ve got you.”

  Still trembling, Jis met Lexi’s eyes and said, “I’m going to need therapy. Lots and lots of therapy. For now though, I mostly need sleep. Get us out of here, guys. There’s nothing pressing, for now. Lexi, can you get me to our bed.”

  Jis fell asleep, knowing she was safe, before Lexi finished stripping her out of her skinsuit. Then she picked the Ackalonian Plicora up and carried her to their shared cabin. As Jis turned over in her sleep, Lexi said, “Please keep a watch on her, Urania. Take us home. Let’s start out slowly. I’ll be curious to see if any Kreesh try to follow us. I’m coming to the bridge.”

  Lexi replicated a prime-rib sandwich and a glass of dark red wine and sat in her command chair on the bridge, looking at the almost hypnotic expanse of hyperspace as it swirled by. Within a moment, Urania-avatar joined her, holding a simulated glass of wine. “They’re not following,” Urania said. “They seem to ignore starships. That might be because we aren’t attacking. Any idea why Jis wanted us to leave the carcass behind? You know, I couldn’t have transported her out if you hadn’t done the sculpted gravity work for the avatars?”

  Lexi had to finish chewing before she could respond. “Funny, I worked on the avatars so you could do what you’re doing now, interact with us in a physical body rather than as an omnipresent being. I know you like showering with us. We all knew you were a person, honey, but at some level it’s comforting to the human psyche to see you, to have you sit there and sip wine while I eat my dinner. I’m glad I spent the time on it for that reason alone. As to why she told us to leave the carcass, nope. No idea. You said I was exhausted. She’s in even worse shape. We’ll have to wait for her to wake up to find out.”

  Urania nodded. “I was hoping the hive-ship would implode or something equally exciting. No such luck, though.”

  “That would have been impressive,” Lexi agreed. “Excellent work with the transporter, by the way. You’re getting very precise with it.”

  “Yeah,” Urania wryly responded. “Too much practice lately. You know, I don’t think Jis was kidding about needing therapy. Until we can get her back to her people on Earth, that’s your job.”

  “I know. I’m going back to bed with her as soon as I finish my dinner.” She looked at what she was eating. “Damn, I should have a salad or fruit too.”

  Urania shook her head. “Eating habits have gone south around here recently. Listen, hon, about the odd area on your brain scan. You were right, something is going on there. The cells seem to be more compact. I’m tempted to say they look more robust. You’re on the hulk-meds. So is Jis. Want to bet that they’re beefing up the part of your brain used in your mind-meld? I want to take a look at both you and Jis after she wakes up.”

  ***

  Jis mumbled something as Lexi settled into bed next to her. Lexi gently kissed her, slid an arm under the sleeping woman and nestled her onto her chest. None of which caused Jis to stir in the least. Lexi slept off and on throughout the night, occasionally waking up and repositioning Jis. Long after the time Lexi would normally be up and about, she was still in bed, holding Jis spooned against her. “Urania?” Lexi said softly.

  “I’m here, honey. I can’t tell much with the limited cabin scanners, but I think she’s healing. Maybe recuperating is a better word. I can’t think of a good reason not to put medical-grade scanners everywhere when we have the time. The expense isn’t a factor anymore. Are you getting up?”

  “No. I’m staying with her until she’s ready to wake up. It’s all I can do in terms of therapy. Even while she’s asleep, she knows I’m here. Call me if I’m needed.”

  “Want me to bring you coffee?”

  Lexi smiled despite everything. “No, thank you, dear. I’m comfortable.”

  Chapter 66

  Debriefing Jis

  Jis began waking a lit
tle after three in the afternoon, ship-time. She rolled into Lexi’s arms. Seeing Lexi was awake, she said, “I just had the weirdest pre-cog dream, love. I was actually on that damn Kreesh hive-ship wearing a Kreesh-suit.”

  Lexi squeezed her, kissed her, released her. Jis’s eyes widened. “Shit, it wasn’t a freakin’ dream, was it?”

  “No, love, it was real. You’re safe now. We can stay in bed and sleep more if you want.”

  “No, let’s get up. If we stayed in bed I’d want to do other things but don’t feel up to it. I want to go gargle. I think it’s possible something might have died in my mouth. Then real food. I had to stop eating in there. Then I may want to spend the rest of the day in the shower.”

  “You do kind of look like a witch at the moment,” Lexi allowed.

  Jis looked at her a moment before getting up and heading toward the head. Over her shoulder, she said, “I do not! Witches are tall, muscular and beautiful. With long red hair, sparkling blue eyes and a smattering of freckles.” She stopped abruptly, turning to face Lexi. “I just described you, didn’t I? Hmmph.”