Bean's Heart (Hearts of ICARUS Book 7)

by Phillips, Laura Jo

  “Is the security field on this room activated?”

  Zach got up, walked over to a control panel near the door and pressed a button. “It is now.”

  She waited for him to return to his chair. “What do you know about tachyons?” When no one spoke, she looked up to see three identical faces staring at her with three identical expressions of surprise.

  “I’m sorry, Lady BreeAnna,” Zander said. “I’m afraid you’ve just surprised us.”

  “It’s a surprising subject,” she agreed.

  “Tachyons are small particles that move faster than the speed of light,” Zach said in response to her question. “Once thought to be wild supposition, their existence has been proven repeatedly. Unfortunately, to date, no one has been able to find a way to harness their power.”

  “The Doftles have,” Bean said quietly, her eyes now fixed on Iffon, who stared up from the back of her hand. She couldn’t help the fear that washed through her whenever she thought about the Doftles possessing such power, and she didn’t want the Falcorans to see it.

  “Merde,” Zander whispered.

  “As I started to tell you yesterday, there are a number of planets between here and Kinah that are Doftle held. You now know, I assume, that we must wait forty-eight hours between the creation of new Doors for the Jumper to recharge.”

  “Yes, Sark explained that to us,” Zander replied, wondering why she kept her eyes down so much.

  “The expedition continued onward rather than sit in one place while waiting to create a new Door. During these periods of travel they were able to occasionally spot planets the Doftle had hidden with Blind Sight.”

  “Excuse me, Lady BreeAnna,” Zain said. “How did they spot a planet hidden by Blind Sight? Is there new technology we’re unaware of?”

  “No, it’s not technology,” she said. “If such exists, I know nothing of it.”

  “What is it then?”

  Bean lifted her eyes and tilted her head as she studied Zain for a long moment. His tone was polite, his expression curious, his eyes intense, but not negative as far as she could tell. Whereas Zander and Zach were both acting in a manner completely opposite from the day before, Zain’s behavior hadn’t changed at all. He’d been as polite before as he was being now.

  And yet, for some unidentifiable reason, she felt as though she needed to be more cautious of him than his brothers. She didn’t understand that. She didn’t understand why she felt a tiny bit more relaxed with Zander and Zach, either.

  Realizing suddenly that she was still staring at Zain, she blinked and dropped her eyes to the table. “Not all questions will be answered, Commander.”

  “We understand,” Zander said quickly, unwilling to let anything stop the proceedings again.

  Bean nodded her thanks, then continued. “Eventually they discovered that the Doftles had placed minefields around their planets. Each minefield appears to be one layer deep, and set in a grid pattern thousands of miles above a planet’s atmosphere.

  “The mines they encountered were approximately five hundred miles apart from each other, roughly two feet in diameter, made of an unknown transparent material, and filled with tachyons. The mines and the tachyons are completely invisible to our scanners as well as our eyes.

  “At the center of each mine is a cluster of nano-bots which keep the mine in place within the grid, and also prevent the tachyons from escaping the transparent shell. If a ship hits a mine, just one, it explodes with enough force to render a shield inoperative until it can recharge. That’s how the first expedition initially discovered them.”

  “This sounds impossible,” Zain exclaimed. “Invisible planets and invisible mines. Invisible tiny mines. How are we to navigate without blowing ourselves up?”

  Ignoring his outburst, Bean continued. “You may not have noticed this yet, but the scanner profile includes a series of ultraviolet light frequencies, each with a specific plane of polarization. That allows the scanners to detect the cluster of nano-bots at the center of each mine.”

  “I’m glad to know we have a way of spotting them, at least,” Zain said.

  “You should also be aware that where mines are found, Doftle held planets are generally nearby. Because of that, we must travel with Blind Sight activated from the moment we create the first Door until we reach Kinah.”

  “Won’t that slow us down?” Zach asked.

  “It would normally, yes,” Bean replied. “The Askara is big enough and slow enough as it is, though, and we can’t afford to waste a single day if we can help it. Therefore, there are three separate dedicated power supplies for the Blind Sight unit. They will automatically rotate as needed. There’s another dedicated power supply unit that maintains the tractor beam towing the supply barge behind us.”

  “That’s good to know,” Zander said. “Can you tell us why the Kinahns must leave their world?”

  She wondered if he asked that question only because of what they’d heard her say in the machine room. Not that it mattered, really. He’d asked, and she had no reason not to answer. “Do you know anything about Garza?”

  “Garza…Garza…,” Zach murmured. “Isn’t that the planet Princess Tani now lives on?”

  “Yes, it is,” Bean replied. “It’s also the only known source of liquid metal ore, which is what the Doftles use for Controllers, their mainframes, and various other devices. Such as the mines.

  “The Doftles and the Xanti killed all life on Garza many centuries ago so that they could mine the ore. The Doftles have now done the same thing to Kinah. We don’t know why, if there even is a reason.”

  “How have they survived?” Zander asked, sickened at the thought of such destruction.

  “About half of what was left of them didn’t,” Bean said, unaware that she’d allowed her sadness to show. The moment she realized her error, she cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders.

  “The poison is distributed by dropping enormous canisters onto the planet’s surface. When they hit, they detonate. The explosion causes the poison to spread further and faster than it would otherwise.

  “The poison itself is not intended to be deadly to humans or humanoids. Unfortunately, one of the canisters landed too close to the village where the four thousand remaining Kinahns lived. The resulting explosion killed about half their number.”

  “Bless the Creators,” Zander said. “Was there no warning at all? Their instruments must have alerted them that their planet was under attack, at least.”

  “Kinah is a pre-technological world, Commander. They have no such instruments, so had no warning. We knew that it would happen three months ago, but there was nothing that could be done to stop it. Instead, we spent that time preparing this ship for this mission.”

  “You knew when it would happen three months ahead of time?” Zach asked in confusion.

  “Not exactly,” Bean said. “We knew three months ago what would happen, but not when. We now know that the event took place twenty-two days ago. The survivors understood enough of what was happening to collect water from deep wells and protect some of their stored food before the poison could reach it. But the poison moved fast. Within just a few days there was no more drinkable water to be found other than what they’d collected, and no more animal or plant life on the entire planet save themselves.”

  “When did the expedition arrive?” Zach asked.

  “Eleven days ago. They’re doing all they can to keep what’s left of the Kinahns alive until we arrive, but their spare supplies won’t last long for so many people. That’s why the barge we’re towing is so big that it requires a dedicated power source for the tractor beam. We’ll need to rescue the survivors, and replenish the stores of all three ships of the original expedition as well.”

  “They can’t take them onto their ships?” Zach asked.

  “No,” Bean said. “The Bihotza and the Hilgaria are not large ships, so they could take only a few people each. The Beacon has much more room, but even they could only take a c
ouple of hundred. There are two thousand Kinahns living right now, which makes them borderline extinct as a race. But it’s still far too many people for the expedition ships to take on, and we’d like to save all of them, if possible.”

  “Agreed,” Zander said. “What of those you spoke of yesterday? On other worlds.”

  Bean chewed her lip for a moment, trying to make up her mind. She met the gazes of each of the Falcorans for a long moment before dropping them to her hands again.

  “Iffon?” she asked softly.

  “I think you need to answer, but very carefully.”

  She nodded, then reached for the water and took a few sips as she followed Iffon’s advice and carefully considered her answer. Making up her mind as to what she should and should not say, she set the water aside once more and plunged in. “The location of the Doftles’ factories has been a concern for a while now. They’ve created tens of millions of hybrids that we’re aware of. The question is, how do they intend to clothe, arm, feed, and transport them? I’m sure you know better than I how important that question is.” The Falcorans nodded but she didn’t look up, so she didn’t see it.

  “There was some speculation that those factories would be found outside of the Thousand Worlds, but no one knew. Despite the danger of being discovered, the Mission Commanders decided it was worth the risk of sending a small ship in to scan the first Doftle planet they found. They confirmed that it held innumerable factories which were building ships. Small fighters. Millions of them.

  “After that the expedition marked the locations of each hidden world they found, but didn’t approach any of them. The risk of being spotted by the Doftles was too great.

  “We know that there are about two thousand human and humanoid captives and former captives still living on the worlds marked by the expedition. Most are people who escaped before the Doftles replaced the captive workers with Nomen. There are some Brun as well, though not very many.”

  Zain’s confusion was evident. “I’m sorry, Lady BreeAnna, but I don’t understand. If the first expedition avoided the hidden planets as you say, how can they know there are survivors at all, let alone how many?”

  “They don’t,” Bean said reluctantly. “I do.”

  “Oh,” Zain said, nonplussed.

  “You’re clairvoyant?” Zander asked.

  “No, I’m not.” She saw their confusion and frustration, but this time she sympathized. “Iffon?” she asked, silently this time.

  “I think this is a good time to test them. Give them only the barest answer you can, and we’ll see how they handle it.”

  Bean didn’t like games of that sort, and she never played them. “You know me better than that, Iffon,” she said, speaking out loud again.

  “Yes, I do. It was worth a try.”

  “I suppose.” She glanced up at the Falcorans, who were waiting more patiently than she expected. “I can tell you what I know, but not how I know it. If you can accept that, I’ll go on. If not, that’s fine too. Your choice.”

  “We’ll accept whatever you’re willing to tell us,” Zander said.

  “I receive…messages. Important messages, like the preparation of this ship, for example. One message informed me that there are two thousand people on scattered worlds who we must attempt to save. I don’t know why, but I do know that it’s very important.”

  “I see,” Zander said, though he really didn’t. He’d never even heard of such a thing.

  “Is that how you know when the first expedition arrived on Kinah even though there hasn't been time for a message to be received?” Zain asked.

  “Yes,” Bean replied shortly.

  “What else have you learned from the messages?” Zain asked, his voice and tone changing such that his question was a clear demand.

  Bean had the strongest feeling that he wanted to make her angry, which made no sense whatsoever. She was still trying to decide how to answer when he spoke again.

  “I apologize Lady BreeAnna. That was out of line.”

  The apology surprised her more than the demand. She looked up and met his gaze straight on, staring at him for so long that he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. She continued to stare at him, trying to make up her mind, again, what she should do.

  While she did that, Zander, Zach, and Zain exchanged confused looks with each other. From the way she dropped her eyes all the time, her soft way of speaking, even her body language, they’d assumed she was inordinately shy. They now knew better. They just had no idea what to replace their assumption with.

  After deciding not to confront Zain directly, Bean took a long deep breath and blew it out. “How much do you know about the Doftles? What they’ve done over the past two years, specifically.”

  “Probably not much more than most know,” Zach said, sensing they were on much shakier ground with this woman than they’d thought. And, he had to admit to himself, for good reason. “We know what they look like, we know how to kill them, we know they have technology beyond our own. Although, I have to admit, I never would have guessed they’d actually harnessed tachyons.”

  “We’ve spent the past six months patrolling shipping lanes,” Zain added, doing his best to hide his lingering discomfort after her long stare. For reasons he couldn’t begin to comprehend, he felt guilty. “After the Leaper hijacking nearly a year ago every government that had the resources put as many ships out there as they could. We’ve had to learn a few things about them, but there isn’t a lot known.”

  “It’s true that there isn’t a lot known about them, but there is more known than most people are aware of,” Bean said.

  “Why would information on a known enemy be withheld?” Zander asked. “I would think the more people know, the better they’re able to protect themselves.”

  “I’m not talking about that sort of information, Commander. I’m talking about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and what their ultimate goal is.”

  “You know all of that?” Zach asked in surprise.

  “Careful now, you don’t want to trouble them by knowing too much,” Iffon said.

  “Thanks for the reminder, Iffon, I nearly forget how delicate their sensibilities are,” she retorted, grateful to Iffon for lightening her mood a little. She sipped her water to cover her amusement.

  “Yes, I do,” she answered. Then, before they could pelt her with another round of questions, she changed the subject. “Back to the matter of your briefing. As I said earlier, it’ll require a few days to complete. I could spend an entire day or two speaking to you, but we all have other responsibilities that require attention.

  “In the interest of both time and clarity, I’ll start at the beginning. Otherwise everything I tell you will raise more questions than answers and will, in the long run, take far more time than I have to spare. I’ll leave the time to you.”

  Zander was reluctant to end the meeting but he could sense that she’d had enough for one day. “This time each day will be fine,” he said. “We should be well clear of Marrazon space by now, anyway. Time to create our first Door.”

  Bean nodded and stood up. The Falcorans rose at the same time, but before she could leave Zach spoke.

  “I’d like to thank you, Lady BreeAnna, for giving us another chance after my rude behavior yesterday.”

  Bean looked into his bright blue eyes and felt his sincerity. There was something more there, but she couldn’t quite grasp it. “You’re welcome, Commander.”

  She moved toward the door, put her empty water bottle in the recycler as she passed it, then left the conference room. She heard them leave behind her but she didn’t turn to look back at them. She went straight to the elevator and pushed the call button.

  “That went fairly well,” Iffon said.

  “Yes, I suppose it did.”

  “You’re not happy?”

  “I’m not sure,” Bean replied. “Feel like practicing targets?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Bean glanced down at her hand. “You�
��re not going to ask about pie?”

  “Only if we’re careful not to sit in an area covered by Hera. I’m in no mood to be polite to her.”

  Bean wondered where that had come from. “What did I miss this morning?”

  “Hera is one of those people with two heads.”

  “Two heads?” Bean asked faintly, an image of Hera with two heads rising unbidden in her mind. She grimaced. Ick.

  “Maybe it’s two-sided people.”

  Double ick. “Sorry Iffon, I still don’t know what you mean.”

  “It’s your idiom. Why must I explain it to you?”

  “Because what you’re saying isn’t recognizable as any idiom I’ve ever heard of.”

  “Very well then,” Iffon said with a little huff of impatience, though inwardly he was pleased that he’d managed to divert her thoughts so quickly. “She says one thing to you with one face, then turns around and speaks to another with a different face.”

  Bean started to shake her head, then the light went on. “You mean two faced. Says one thing to me, turns around and says something different to someone else behind my back.”

  “Didn’t I say that?”

  Bean coughed into the hand Iffon wasn’t melded to. When she was sure she was in no danger of laughing at him, she said, “We’ll sit in a different section. I’m not letting her stop us from going to the cafeteria whenever we want.”

  “She’ll probably get insulted,” Iffon warned.

  “I don’t really care,” Bean said, then stopped in her tracks. “Interesting.”

  “Indeed,” he said happily. “In fact, I believe this is an occasion to celebrate with pie.”

  ***

  The Falcorans watched Bean walk toward the elevator, her arms crossed in front of her, head down. “She looks sad,” Zach said softly.

  Zander frowned. “I think she looks exhausted.”

  “What has she got to be tired about?” Zain wondered. “All she did was sit and talk to us for an hour.”

  “I think she’s tired because of us,” Zander said.

  “Why? What did we do?”