by Ed Charlton
Jim sighed. “I think so.” He looked around. “Let’s try and search the ground this way. I think that’s where I ran when this went up. We may be lucky.”
Jim had not anticipated the effect of TV stardom. Within a few minutes, his number of helpers had grown to twenty.
A whoop went up from a couple of young girls. Clutching the control unit, they rushed over to Jim. The whole group gathered around him, peppering him with questions as he checked for damage. He considered bringing the flier back immediately but looked around at the expectant faces, the scene of devastation around the destroyed tower, and the groups of officials crisscrossing the games field.
“I’ll bring my flier back down a bit later,” he announced to his young fans.
There was a mumble of disappointment.
“We’d better check up on my partner.”
Some climbed into the vehicle; the rest jogged along on either side.
While they traveled, one asked, “Is your friend really a gallassid?”
“I don’t think so, not as you know it. I suppose your legends might be based on some encounter with a Neraffan, but I doubt we can ever truly know.”
“What’s a Neraffan?”
“That’s what Tella is. Its world is called Neraff.”
“Is it far away?”
“Yes, it is. Much farther than my world.”
“Will more of you come from your world?”
“Oh, I don’t know. If your government invites us, yes, but not otherwise.”
“Who was in the ship that crashed?”
“I can’t tell you that. That’s a matter for the authorities.”
“I think it was another alien,” said a voice from one side.
“Well...No, I can’t say. I’m sorry.”
By the time they reached the medical room again, Jim’s temper was getting short from having to repeat the same line over and over.
***
Jim was waiting with Tella and hoping it would recover consciousness long enough to describe its injuries. Madhar, flanked by two bodyguards, rushed into the room.
“Jim, we have a small problem.”
“What’s up?”
“The word is out about your presence here. Also spreading abroad is the notion that there is an alien craft lying in a field, ripe for stripping down and reverse engineering. I know of three companies dispatching teams to clear it away for us. If they arrive together, they’ll fight over it.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Any ideas?”
“Get everyone away from the flier. Is there anything we need from it?”
“Like what?”
“Like evidence against Sopha Luca?”
The scientist shook her head. “Don’t worry about that. He’s their responsibility. You might want to check in with them, but...”
“Where is he, by the way?”
“Who?”
“Sopha Luca!”
“I...I told Burat to go and get him! Where is the idiot?” She turned to one of her guards. “Find your boss and report back to me. He was supposed to be collecting the pilot of that flier.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So,” said Jim, “I’d better bring back the flier.”
With a glance at Tella’s white face, he went outside to use the remote. He called the flier and worried that it might not be easy to clear everyone away from the field.
The sight of the sleek black craft coming in slowly over the Institute had an energizing effect. There was sufficient doubt abroad as to the intentions of the aliens that the field cleared quickly. He walked halfway toward the craft as it settled on the grass. He turned to see Madhar driving after him.
“Jim!”
“Hi, what’s up?”
“I just wanted to make sure I had a look inside this one!”
“Come on board.”
He led the Turcanian up the ramp and closed the door.
Madhar looked around in amazement.
“Take a seat,” Jim said, pointing at the copilot’s seat. “Don’t touch anything.”
“No problem. What does this do?” She pointed at a control panel in front of her.
“I’ll explain it all later. We have a job to do.”
The flier lifted gently into the air. Jim turned it slowly and took up position near Sopha’s downed craft. He opened the baffles on the weapons units, targeted the wreck, and checked once more for signs of life.
“There’s a column of vehicles approaching the wreck,” he said to Madhar.
“Can I see them?”
“There.” Jim pointed to a small monitor screen.
“I can’t tell who it is. Shoot now. Don’t let them get any closer.”
Jim fired. He carved the flier into small pieces. The paths of his beams left deep troughs in the bodywork that were edged with glowing orange worms of metal and ceramic. He made three passes over the wreckage to ensure nothing large was left intact. Finally, he fired two high-explosive charges into the heap of burning chunks.
“Okay,” said Jim. “Good enough. I think it’s safe.”
He felt a grim satisfaction that he had completed Tella’s mission—by destroying the laser with the rest of the craft.
“Thank you,” said Madhar. “I wouldn’t like to see our world become a technological serfdom. You’ve never seen our businessmen in operation, have you? You just did us all a big favor.”
“I’d like to get back to Tella now.”
“I’m sorry. Of course, you must.”
“But, you know, while we’re here...”
Jim pointed the flier to the sky and took the scientist for her first real view of her own home.
***
Madhar Nect was silent as she walked down the ramp from the flier. She had dried the tears from her eyes.
“If that column of trucks is anything to go by, I’m going to need a guard,” said Jim.
“You’re right.” Madhar stopped at the foot of the ramp. “Stay right here, Jim. I’ll bring Tella. You two should go back into orbit until we see how this turns out.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’ll be best.”
“Okay.”
Madhar was gone only a few minutes. Tella had regained consciousness, and the nurse had it strapped to a stretcher across the back of Madhar’s vehicle. She helped Jim and Madhar carry the stretcher up the ramp.
“How are you doing?” he asked his friend.
“I’ve been better,” Tella replied, obviously in great pain.
Madhar talked quietly with the nurse and then waited for her to leave. Her face was impassive as she gave Jim the bad news.
“Sopha Luca and my bodyguard are missing. Armed factions are facing off on the main road outside the Institute. You have to go quickly.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
“I have to stay with the students. I can’t leave them.”
“Good luck. If there’s anything I can do, send me a message.”
Madhar nodded and strode down the ramp.
Jim launched the flier, set the orbit parameters, and went back to check on Tella.
“Tella? Are you okay?”
The pale eyelids flickered. “No. I have damaged my hips. I may have internal damage.”
“What can I do?”
“Use the emergency beacon. It is located under the weapons control panel. Just press the green button. It will open another panel. Follow the directions there.”
“Okay. Who does it call?”
“The nearest External Intelligence Agency ship. I don’t know what it will be or how far away. I...may not be conscious when it arrives.”
“Okay, partner. There’s nothing else I can do for you?”
Tella was already unresponsive.
***
For Jim, there was a long, lonely wait as his craft held position above the Latsin Institute.
For Madhar Nect, it was a long night, huddled in a basement at the Institute with several of her colleagues and three hundred frightened students.
Throughout the night, sporadic weapons fire could be heard around the grounds, around the athletics track, and around the still-smoldering remains of Sopha Luca’s flier.
***
Jim slept sitting in the pilot’s seat. He woke up to the sound of silence. It was a kind of silence that in half-sleep was pleasant. Only as he came fully awake, he realized he should be hearing radio traffic. He had set the communications array to sweep the Turcanian radio bands to keep an idea of what was happening down below.
He sat up and turned on the Turcanian TV monitor. There was no transmission. He opened a message session, only to receive an error message that told him to try again later.
He felt blind and deaf.
In the galley, as he drank a juice, he thought of one more device to try. He picked up the Regdenir emergency communicator.
“Hello? This is James Able. Margrev Aplar, are you there?”
There was no reply, but the device seemed to be working.
He tried again. “Margrev Aplar, are you there?”
“Yes, James Able. I am here. Are you well?”
“I am fine. What’s happening down there? Why is there no TV transmission or radio traffic?”
“Ah...My colleagues have been busy.”
“What do you mean?”
“We learned that the audnir were fighting each other. We do not permit that. They should know better. We have withdrawn all power services until hostilities have ceased.”
“Can you do that? Do you have control over all the power supplies?”
“Oh no, only a portion is directly under our control.”
“So they should still be partially operating.”
“We have been more assertive than we are wont to be.”
Jim felt a brief illusion of weightlessness. “Please explain.”
“We have placed operatives in all the audnir power stations. We have taken complete control. You may be interested to know we also have Sopha Luca under our protection.”
“How did you manage that?”
“Do not underestimate the force of a First Order decision, James Able. When Angara Myourn speaks, many listen. When it comes to keeping the audnir from damaging themselves, there is usually consensus.”
Jim shook his head and wondered if he was still asleep.
“I don’t know what to say. What happens next?”
“The audnir government will be required to meet with the First Order. You will be required to address the assembly.”
Jim looked at the communicator, but it was real and solid.
“Required to...? When?”
“We will contact you.”
“But...”
The Regdenir had ended the call.
***
While he waited for word from the moon below, Jim began a long-range scan, watching for any EIA craft to respond to his alarm call. There were no ships anywhere nearby.
The atmosphere of TMV was clearing. The ozone columns had dissipated. There were still large fires burning at some of Sopha’s target sites. Jim wondered whether to go down and try to put them out. It was unrealistic. That wasn’t a job for a small flier. He grieved for the Maggnir. There was no way of telling how many the Regdenir had killed. He continued to feel the nagging urge to do something to help.
He thought about the equipment Sopha had used. If the base unit had been on board the flier, all the information collected about the Maggnir had been destroyed. It was possible that the data was somewhere hidden with one of his supporters. Both sides should have access to it, if the data did survive. Jim resolved to find out; this, at least, was something he could do.
Knowing the frequency in use between the scanning nodes, Jim could easily put together what looked to the scanners like a diagnostic test message. He transmitted the message and watched his map of TMV-I light up with twenty-five points of light. He stored each reply and read through the data streams. He knew twenty-four of them should be from remote scanning nodes that had, in their various combinations, provided the accuracy that Sopha had needed. One of the nodes, Tella had been sure, was on board the flier and, so, would have been in no condition to reply. Jim knew one reply had to come from the base unit. It was in the storage of this unit that the recorded data from each scan should still be available.
“Got you!” he said to the sixteenth reply.
He consulted his maps of the Turcanian cities.
“Arva? What’s in Arva?”
He picked up the Turcanian communicator again.
“Margrev Aplar? Are you there?”
“Greetings, James Able.”
“I have identified the locations of all the equipment that Sopha Luca was using. There is one in particular that I need you to secure. It must not be touched or switched off.”
“Very well. We have already gained much of this information. Which one are you concerned about?”
“It’s in Arva.”
“Yes, in Sopha Luca’s own home.”
“Really? I thought he lived in Oppudim.”
“Perhaps it is truer to say he worked there, rather than lived there. His family home is in Arva.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Is there anything you require us to do with the device in Arva?”
Jim replied, “I’d like to extract the information it contains. As long as it remains undisturbed, I can do it any time.”
“Very well, perhaps after our meeting.”
“Okay. Any word on the meeting yet?”
“Soon, James Able. You must have patience in this matter.”
“Fine,” Jim said but did not mean.
Two hours later, Jim received a call on the flier’s main communications system.
“This is EIA Flight A92. Please state the nature of your emergency.”
“Hello? This is James Able of the OEA. We have an injured...party on board, can you assist?”
“Please identify the injured party.”
“R546.”
While he waited for a reply, Jim tried to work out what he could from the voice. It was deep and powerful. It wasn’t human. He guessed this was another of the code-only operatives.
“Stand by for docking.”
“Wait a minute. What do you mean ‘docking’?”
“Stand by for docking. Do not engage any engines or thrusters during the docking procedure.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
While he waited, Jim looked out a window. The approaching craft was huge. It was a misshapen black lump. It looked like a combination of several unrelated craft that had come together in some interplanetary pileup. He watched a docking tube weave its way from the monster’s nearest extremity to the back of the flier.
He went to greet his visitor.
The docking hatch opened to allow a machine to roll forward into the flier. Jim thought it looked like an automated toilet cleaner.
“What are you?” he said to it.
“Diagnostic unit D47. Please identify the patient.”
Jim waved the machine through to Tella. It drew up alongside Tella, and immediately several probes extended over the Neraffan’s still frame.
“Transmitting,” said the unit.
Jim heard the voice over the communications unit again. “James Able.”
“Able here.”
“R546 has sustained skeletal trauma requiring surgery.”
“Do you have the onboard facilities for that?” Jim asked.
“R546 is to be transferred to this vessel.”
Jim
gritted his teeth. He was reluctant to see his friend taken away like this, but he knew there was no alternative. He couldn’t do anything for it.
“Do I get a receipt?”
There was a long pause.
“No.”
Obviously, this race was not as in tune with human humor as Tella.
A floating platform pushed its way through the docking hatch and hovered next to the diagnostic unit. Jim hauled the Neraffan onto it. The diagnostic unit extended an arm, connected to the platform, and led it back through the docking hatch.
“I didn’t mean it, Tella! I’ll let you get me drunk again.”
The hatch closed.
Chapter Four
Jim lay back in the pilot’s seat. His mind was drifting. He didn’t know the flight procedures to land back at the EIA secure terminal. He’d worry about that when he got there. He didn’t know how to reach Tella when he got back to Earth. He doubted the EIA would even admit Tella’s existence, let alone give out its address. It troubled him. Tella was an unexpected friend. Jim didn’t have enough friends to lightly lose one. He felt angry and sad about both Tella and the Maggnir.
If only I’d been quicker! If only I’d stopped Sopha before he’d started!
He slept again for several hours. The radio transmissions returned sometime during his sleep. He awoke half-hearing news about troops on street corners and curfews. By the time he had showered and eaten breakfast, he could hear that order had been restored.
“Perhaps someone has shown some backbone? Apart,” he said wryly to himself, “from Angara Myourn.”
He tried to send a message to Madhar, but the system was still unavailable. He considered calling the Regdenir but didn’t want to be told he should be patient again.
An idea occurred to him.
If I reconfigure the scanners to the correct frequency, imitate the destroyed node from Sopha’s array, and go over to TMV-Two, I can use his entire array to look at the current state of the Maggnir. And then run a comparison with Sopha’s accumulated data. Surely the Turcanians will want to know what had happened on Beauty?
He nudged the flier out of orbit and made the short trip to the second moon. He spent an hour mapping the heat sources on the planet.
The Regdenir communicator came to life.
“James Able?”
“This is he.”
