The Reticuli Deception (Adventures of Hannibal Carson Book 2)

by Alastair Mayer

  “That’s interesting.” Kukul considered the implications. “Do you suppose they were mimicking Kesh? The reports we had that there were no priest-observers on this continent. If there are, we need to be extremely cautious.”

  “As you said before, we had incomplete data. But it’s possible the contact was a long time ago and the natives have continued a tradition. Perhaps they have a priest class of their own.”

  “Or it could be coincidental. Mammals have drab coloring, like females. Maybe these want to pretty themselves up.” The display and crest feathers of Kesh males were far more colorful and elaborate than those of Kesh females, a trait Kukul knew carried over to some avian species.

  “There is that,” Quetz agreed. “But we should be cautious until we determine whether there are other Kesh about. Could they detect the radio if we’re just using it to listen?”

  “No, it was designed for that. We need to be monitoring it anyway.” The radio was designed to scan across a broad range of frequencies, especially standard Kesh communication channels, and store whatever it heard in its capacious internal memory. They should be listening to some of that, it might give them an early warning if their crash landing had been detected. It had a transmitter function too, but Kukul didn’t see any use for that in their current circumstances.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  The original plan had seemed straightforward. Perform a quick geological and biological survey, record all signal traffic, and return home with the data for others to analyze. The hope was that whatever was so special, so secret, about this planet would hold some key to breaking the grip of the Priesthood that held sway over their entire civilization.

  Kukul’s people had been spacefaring for over a thousand years, yes, but they had made little progress in the interim. Their rigidly stratified society blocked advancement, blocked innovations that might upset the order of things. The reform movement had been growing on some of the planets more distant from the home world. The FTL drive had been almost an accident, a new way of looking at how the old sublight warp technology was applied which bypassed the quantum instabilities which arose when trying to go faster than light. Not without a catch, of course. FTL also limited the size of a ship to something that could hold no more than a few travellers and the fusion fuel to power it.

  The priesthood controlled their massive pyramid-shaped ships as they controlled everything else, claiming a sort of divine right of the priestly clan dating back to the dawn of Kesh civilization. The priest class claimed spiritual, and sometimes genetic, descendency from the discoverers and tamers of fire, electricity, and gravity. Of course they should rule; they were the font of all knowledge, all technology, and all wisdom.

  Except that they weren’t.

  The Reformers had discovered that the oldest, most sacred pyramids—fixed structures, not ships—pre-dated by some several thousand years the historic rise of civilization as held by established dogma. The priest class hadn’t built them, they’d found them. Oh, their knowledge came from the gods all right, but not by divine inspiration, but rather by literally reading the writing on the walls. A disillusioned priest-candidate had revealed as much, and further investigation, spying, and exploration had verified it. A thousand or more years of history, of tyranny, of serfdom, were based on a hoax.

  The Kesh had explored many worlds, but settled on only a few, most being cooler than the Kesh preferred. They had found evidence of primitive civilization—stone age level—on some planets, none on others. The civilizations on this planet, the pockets of it in the river valleys and protected seas of the larger continents, were considerably more advanced than stone age, but still not what would be considered technological. The natives, in those few societies, had mechanical and even a few steam toys, but relied on slaves for labor.

  There were several massive stone pyramids near one river where stone age civilization had flourished for several thousand years, but they were nothing like the archival pyramids of his home planet. Kukul suspected that if there had been, they’d have been destroyed or buried by the Kesh priest clan long ago. Clearly they were worried about the possibility of this species becoming a threat, but not to the point they were willing to overtly interfere. That was another question they had hoped to answer: why not? There were rumors that another attempt to interfere with a local civilization had ended badly, but only rumors. It wouldn’t be something the priest class would want known, if it were true. But the reason might relate to whatever was special about this planet. Was it under the protection of the ancient spacefarers who had built the original pyramids? If so, why would the priests risk any presence here at all? There must be some secret here, some insidious threat to the priesthood or to the dogma that helped keep them in power.

  If he and Quetz could discover it, and get that information back to the Reformers, it could be the key to breaking the priesthood’s hold.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  “Kukul? Are you still with me?”

  Kukul shifted his focus back to the present. “Sorry, I was just thinking about our mission.”

  “For a moment there, I thought you were estivating.”

  “Ha, not likely. Anyway, I think we should try to keep clear of the natives until we are certain that they’re not in contact with any other Kesh. Later perhaps we can approach them, they may be able to help us survive, or even give some insight as to what is so special about this planet.”

  “If they don’t roast us and eat us first,” said Quetz, never the optimist.

  “Maybe we can do something to help them. I imagine their medicine is primitive. But that’s for later.”

  “Agreed, although if we want to properly carry out our mission, we’ll need to move at some point. Aren’t we well south of our intended landing area?”

  That was true, the damage from the volcano had forced them down early. The original plan was to land toward the northern continent, and further inland. They were supposed to retrieve and date geological samples. Anything collected too near the coast might prove to be merely young deposits from an era when the sea level was higher. But that would be a considerable hike overland.

  “By a thousand miles or so. That’s a long walk.”

  “We could do it in less than a year, easily. And let’s face it, the only people likely to rescue us before that are the local priest-observers, especially if we stay near the crash site.”

  Quetz had a point. At least they had navigation gear in the emergency pack, loaded with what digital maps of this planet the Reformers had gathered before their mission had been dispatched. They’d manage a broader survey of the plant and animal life, too. But they’d have to proceed carefully.

  “Let’s take some time to plan this out,” Kukul said. “We don’t want to find ourselves in the middle of a desert or something with no supplies.”

  “Of course.”

  28: Evasion

  Denver, Earth

  “I’m on Federal just crossing West Center” Brown’s voice came from the omni on Rico’s wrist. It was on a secured channel, so there was no chance the Velkaryans could overhear. Rico had come up earlier behind Brown’s car, a Tesla, and noted his tails, a dirty white Galaxy and and a black two-door.

  “Okay, Doc,” Rico said, “I’m on your next cross street. Go ahead and speed up. Take the next right after that.”

  “Right. Good luck.”

  Rico accelerated his own vehicle, the second rental. He’d already overridden the safeties in its on-board systems, thanks to some illegal software in his omni. He sped toward the intersection. As he approached it, he saw Brown’s Tesla flash by on the other road. He shoved the accelerator down hard, getting into the intersection behind Brown and ahead of his tails. He braked hard and braced himself for the impact.

  He heard a squeal of tires as the oncoming cars’ computers reacted to the sudden obstruction, then a double bang as the black two-door slammed into his Plazma and the airbags deployed. The impact shook him like he’d just tried to tackle a brick wall. He
’d angled the car at the last moment so the crash had been on his rear left quarter, but the driver’s door was bent beyond use. Ignoring his bruises, Rico exited on the passenger side and rolled clear of the vehicle, then he drew his pistol and scanned the oncoming traffic as he crouched behind a lamp post.

  Several cars in both directions had swerved and stopped to avoid the crash scene. Signals would already be going out to emergency services, but Rico wasn’t going to stick around. There, three cars back, that was the Galaxy, the second of Brown’s followers. He was hemmed in by other cars but working on getting out. There was no activity within the car that had hit him, the driver was still recovering from the impact.

  “One out, one delayed,” Rico said.

  “Got it, thanks. You okay?”

  “I’m alive. Go get the files, I’ll keep this guy distracted. See you at the spaceport.”

  “Okay.”

  Fortunately there were no pedestrians around, although one or two noble souls had gotten out of their stopped cars, apparently to offer help. One thing about automatic cars, they were programmed not to leave the scene of an accident.

  That didn’t seem to apply the Galaxy, though. It was either far enough back or the driver had overridden the system. It had managed to maneuver out of the mini traffic jam surrounding it and was pulling around to pursue Brown. That would be tough, Brown was well out of sight by now, but Rico didn’t want the Galaxy wandering around loose.

  Rico’s gaze darted around. Bystanders were an unpredictable element. It seemed clear enough, everyone was focused on the crash scene, or trying to get themselves clear of the jam. He fired four quick shots at the Galaxy, a double-tap toward the driver and another toward the front tire. Rico didn’t really care if he hit the guy, he just wanted to make sure he was distracted. The car’s passenger window starred at one impact, and a bullet-hole appeared near the front wheel. Damn, I’m getting rusty.

  But the bullets had done their job. The driver had instinctively swerved and hit the brakes at the bullet’s impact, and turned to look toward Rico. It looked like he might be fumbling for a gun of his own as he brought the car around to chase him.

  Time to go, Rico decided. He quick-fired another two shots back at the driver and ran back down the cross street he’d come out of. The Galaxy would have to maneuver around the crashed vehicles to follow him, but Rico didn’t think that would take long. As he ran he tapped a sequence on his omni and ahead of him a grey Tesla flashed its lights and popped the driver door. His third rental of the day. Good thing he wasn’t paying for them.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  “What do you mean, lost them?” Reid yelled.

  “There was a third car, and a crash. We’ve still got Hernandez on Rico but it’s just him.”

  “Which way is he headed? No, never mind. If they’re leaving they’ll head for the spaceport.” Reid had done some checking while his car zoomed towards Denver. There was a slim chance they might drive to some other town and depart from there, but there was nothing else within a few hours drive. Travel up and down the Front Range was by car or maglev. And the maglev station was at the spaceport. “Get everyone available to converge there. Check out the maglev station too. If they’re running this hard they must have what we want.”

  “Got it. What about you?”

  “I’m almost there, I’ll meet up with you at the spaceport.”

  “And Rico?”

  “Stay with him, report if he stops anywhere. If you lose him, head for the spaceport.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  “How’s it going, Brown?”

  “I should be at the spaceport in fifteen minutes. I have the packages. From a quick glance they look good.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Rico said. “I have a persistent tail, although I’m not trying hard to lose him. I think I pissed him off by shooting at him.”

  “You what?”

  “Nothing. When you get to the port, keep your eyes open. They might guess we’d go there, and it looks like they know you’re with me after all.” Rico wondered how many people the Velkaryans would have on this. He was still a bit unfocussed, that crash had shaken him hard. Okay, spaceport. There’d been the protesters he’d passed in the terminal, some kind of Velkaryan supporters, but low level. They wouldn’t know anything. Could they be enrolled to help? Of course they could. Just flash his and Brown’s pictures out to their omnis on the Velkaryan chat group or whatever, and all they’d need to do is check in if they spotted either of them. Yeah, best to assume they’re doing that.

  “Brown,” Rico continued, “stay clear of the terminal building if you can. They may put out a bulletin to their protesters there.”

  “Damn. All right, I’m sure there’s a way to get to the charter without going through the main terminal. Let me check and get back to you.”

  “Okay. And Doc, if you need to leave in a hurry, don’t wait for me. I’m a big boy and can take of myself easier if I don’t have to worry about you.”

  There was a long pause before Brown answered. Rico wondered if he’d already disconnected to call the charter. Then: “Got it. If I don’t see you on the ship I’ll see you at Alpha Centauri. Good luck.”

  “You too.” Rico clicked off his omni and checked the rearview to see what his tail was up to. Yep, the Galaxy was still just behind him, not even trying to stay hidden. Time to lose it. He pressed down on the accelerator, feeling the bruises from the crash as he pressed back into the seat.

  29: Deep Space

  Two light-years from Zeta 1 Reticuli

  “Stand by for zero gee. I’m going to drop us out of warp,” Roberts announced over the ship’s intercom.

  “We can’t be there yet,” Marten objected, “I thought we had another two days.”

  “If there’s a dust ring, I want some warning of it. We can come in well above the plane of the ecliptic if so. Also, if there are alien spacefarers there, I don’t want to de-warp in the middle of the system, not until I know what we’re getting into.”

  Carson came forward from the galley and joined the conversation. “That’s a good point. Think how Earth would react if an alien ship suddenly appeared in the outer Solar System. But do you expect to detect anything this far out?”

  “A dust ring I could detect. If the hypothetical spacefarers are putting out enough signal to hear it this far away, then wouldn’t you rather detect it now rather than later?”

  “Well, yes, but that logic seems a bit twisted. Why not do that with every system then?”

  “So far this is the only one with suspected aliens. Also the only one allegedly haunted,” Roberts said. “Better safe than sorry.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” said Marten. “Give me a few minutes to stow my gear.”

  “Sure. Carson, is the galley secure?”

  “It will be.” He headed back to take care of that.

  30: Rico

  Denver

  “I’m at the spaceport perimeter, what’s our status?” Reid said.

  “We lost Rico, we have operatives in the terminal and maglev station, and the auxiliary is on the lookout. So far, no sign of either of them.”

  “Flights?”

  “We’ve been watching local departures, although there are enough we might have missed something. There’s a flight for Alpha Centauri in two hours, we have people watching that and the Lunar Shuttle.”

  “Okay.” It sounded like they’d covered everything they could. If Brown and Lee—or Rico, Reid was now sure of it—came to the spaceport or the maglev station they’d probably be spotted. Was there anywhere else they could go? A sign beside the road into terminal parking caught his eye. Astro Courier Services. A charter, of course. Reid took control of the car.

  “Keep watching the terminals,” he told his contact. “Did you have anyone check on charters?”

  “Shit! Nobody thought of that.”

  “I’m on it,” Reid said as he pulled off onto the side road towards the commercial and freight area.

  �
� ∞ ∞

  Rico parked the Tesla in a temporary spot by the Astro Courier building, got out, then turned and told the car to go turn itself in. Another car pulled in just as his was leaving.

  He glanced over at it as it slowed. The driver seemed familiar, that couldn’t be a good sign. But who? This damned headache made it hard to think. Then he had it. His second contact, the Velkaryan, from St. Louis, Reid. Shit.

  Rico reached for his pistol while telling his omni to call Brown. Had Reid spotted him yet?

  “Brown here.”

  “Go! Lift now, they’re right outside. Don’t wait, go, go!”

  “What?”

  “GO!” Reid had seen him. He was talking into his own omni as he moved the car to cut Rico off. Rico squeezed off two shots then turned and ran. What the hell, it had worked before.

  A bullet spang’ed off the ground near his feet, and he heard the shot. Well, he had Reid’s attention. He glanced back over his should to see Reid, now out of the car, following him, gun raised. Rico dived and rolled to his left, taking two more shots back at Reid. Damnit, that side was already bruised.

  As he scrambled to his feet again, he heard the hissing roar of a ship’s thrusters starting up, deepening as the pilot entrained outside air to cool and quiet the exhaust. I sure hope that’s Brown. He ran through the parking area, ducking behind cars, and briefly wished he hadn’t dismissed his own vehicle quite so quickly.

  Rico and Reid were exchanging shots every few seconds now, ducking around cars, then popping up and firing. This is ridiculous, thought Rico.

  He stretched out on the ground and peered in Reid’s direction under the cars. There. Rico took a bead on the other’s feet and fired several shots. He heard a scream and one of the legs bent to one knee. Got him! But Reid now pointed a gun in his direction under the cars. Rico rolled away hastily as bullets whined past him. Time to run some more.

  Two other cars were coming up the side road towards Astro Couriers, a grey Taprobane and a black sedan. Shit, Velkaryan reinforcements. Rico fired at them, then quickly reloaded as they swerved sideways and stopped. Guess I should have brought more firepower after all.