by Alex Kings
“Of course,” he said, setting to work on the adjacent console.
Yilva plugged her tablet into the console. She called up the system, told it she needed to lock down a criminal's ship, then uploaded the instructions from her tablet instead.
“Now all we need to do is find a ship,” she said.
“We've still got three hours to go,” said Hanson. “We'd best lay low until then.”
Chapter 30: Compromised
The door slammed into the wall opposite.
Moore's ears were ringing. “Get down!” she shouted. Her voice sounded muffled and distant. Specialist Newman was still standing by the computer terminal looking bewildered. She grabbed him and dragged him with her, behind the cover of the terminal.
Where was Saito? She saw him taking cover behind the overturned table. Okay, that was good.
Grabbing her carbine, she looked to the warehouse floor. The view through the window and the open doorframe was filled with billowing smoke.
A Blank stepped through, holding an Ancient weapon.
She and Saito shot it together. It got as far as aiming its weapon before falling forward.
Another Blank was through the doorway in a moment. This one had a carbine, and it came in firing.
Moore took a grenade and pitched it through the doorway while Saito took shots at a second Blank. She followed it with another grenade a couple of seconds later.
The explosions came in quick succession, kicking the sapphiroid window halfway out of its frame. That would give them a little time, at least.
“We need to get out of here!” she told her team.
Saito frowned. “Where can we go?”
It was a good point. The Black Cat wouldn't be ready to pick them up for some time, and with the jamming field, they couldn't call for help.
“We've been discovered, which means the Ancient ship is probably on its way over here right now,” she said. “When the Dauntless sees that, they'll know something's gone wrong. Hopefully they'll be able to pick us up.”
Another Blank was at the door, and another two behind it. Moore only had one grenade left. She levelled her carbine.
There was a thunderclap. A giant hole opened in the chest of the two lead Blanks. The one at the rear was thrown backwards, over the railing of the walkway behind.
Moore blinked.
Beside her, Newman held up the Ancient weapon. “It rolled towards us when the first guy collapsed,” he explained. “I extended my tablet and pulled it over after the grenades went off.”
“That was a stupid thing to do. You could easily have been killed,” Moore told him. She smiled. “Thank you.”
Saito moved the table over towards them. Its front was scarred and dented, but still intact so far. It was just about wide enough to give the three of them cover.
“Right,” said Moore as they did so. “This is how we're going to do it …”
They retreated down the corridor. Newman gladly gave the Ancient weapon to Moore. He held the table's legs and pulled it along behind them. Moore laid down suppressive fire the way they'd come, firing the Ancient weapon repeatedly. Saito held his carbine ready, in case anything came from in front.
*
The Dauntless danced a deadly waltz with the Ancient ship as they both orbited the planet. Lethal ripples of space flew past them. A near-miss a minute ago had shredded one of their sublight engines.
“Can you hold them off?” Lanik asked.
“No, sir,” said Fermi. “It's a game of chance. We move randomly. They don't know where we're going to be, so they fire randomly. At some point, they're going to get lucky and fire at the same place we move into.”
Lanik nodded calmly. “We may have to change tactics.”
The Ancient ship fired once more, then suddenly accelerated past them, swinging around the planet.
“Uh. What just happened?” said Dunn.
“They know we're a decoy. They're heading for the facility,” said Lanik. “The ground team has been compromised. Go after them, maximum acceleration.”
*
The Black Cat glided around the planet. The facility was still in view, a few thousand kilometres behind her. Serafin kept a close watch over all the sensor data, monitoring everything from the status of the jamming field to the signs of reactor emissions. Everything seemed to be normal.
The jamming field increased in strength.
That meant the Tetanic ship had come over the horizon. Far too early. She checked the telescope. There it was, a mass of spines just coming into view. At this distance, it was tiny against the planet's bulk.
Something had gone wrong. The Ancient ships had probably seen her, which she might be to use to her advantage.
She turned the Black Cat around and hurtled towards the facility as fast as possible.
“Red,” she said. “You see this?”
“I see it.”
“I think it's time you entered the playing field.”
Chapter 31: Preparations
The submersible found a tiny, uninhabited atoll a few kilometres away from a shipyard. After ripping out the transmitter of their new submersible so it couldn't be tracked, they landed there.
Hanson stepped out of the submersible. Golden sand crunched under his boots as he walked up a hillock. The air smelled salty and rich. The water nearby was shallow, a rich blue, filled with animals like transparent octopi that danced and swam in formation. The sun was low on the horizon, leaving quivering red reflections on the surface. The giant planet they were in orbit around sat directly above, forming a pale white crescent.
Agatha scrambled up the sandy bank. She stopped alongside him and took a deep breath. “A regular old paradise, this place, isn't it?”
Hanson nodded.
“Also, all the Petaurs going free! Imagine that!” Agatha laughed. “I'm glad I came with you, just because of all the mad shit that's been happening.”
“It's only the first step,” Hanson said.
“Yeah, yeah I know. But it's a hell of a big step. Liberate Laikon first, then on to Earth, right?”
They both knew it wouldn't be that easy. But for the moment, it was something to hope for.
Out of nowhere, Agatha kissed him. Then she grabbed his hand. “Come on, I want to look at those rock pools down there.”
*
Hours passed.
A young Petaur mechanic received a message on her tablet while she was working beneath the shadow of a pleasure cruiser. She listened to it in private, eyes widening. Every few moments, she looked around furtively like an animal being hunted. When it was over, she looked up at the dodecahedral mass above her.
Was it real?
She knew what Yilva looked like from a dozen angry newscasts. She knew that message was from Yilva.
She slunk inside the ship and went searching for its ident code.
Elsewhere, a Petaur scampered and glided along an underwater tunnel. It was hard to be alone nowadays, but he was trusted. He fell alongside a friend of his and spoke in a voice so quiet and high-pitched it would be inaudible to a human – and to an Albascene.
Similar whispers, running through air or optical fibre, ran around the planet.
“Look, just give it a shot, okay? We all get on that ship and see what happens.”
“She saved the galaxy! Of course she can do this!”
“It's a hoax. But … I'll be there, just to laugh at you.”
A Petaur, far too old to run, let alone glide, shuffled up to Karnasc's tank. “Sir,” he said. “I have heard some rumours …”
The thousands of fish that made up Karnasc's body were schooling, swirling about in some complex, co-ordinated dance. But as they listened, they slowed and eventually stopped.
Electrical and chemical signals flickered between them and activated a voice unit on the tank. “All the Petaurs are leaving tonight? A ridiculous idea. Impossible to take seriously.” The fish leapt into motion again. “Perhaps someone's banking on the idea that we won't ta
ke it seriously.”
“Many don't believe it, but some are gathering on ships, just in case,” the old Petaur confirmed.
Karnasc listened to this without responding. He was deep in thought. He had, in a matter of hours, routed the Petaur resistance. This escape plan seemed to come in direct response to that.
He called up a record. The old Petaur would see nothing – Karnasc read the electromagnetic fields generated by his tank. He looked through the files of arrests and kills. There was one missing. One that happened in the deep water just outside his estate. A military sub had engaged a tiny escape vehicle, crippled it, then vanished.
That was troubling.
He spoke again. “If the Petaurs tried to steal ships, what would happen?”
“I assume the navy would go after them, sir,” said the Petaur.
“And destroy or cripple the escaping ships before they reached orbit,” finished Karnasc. “No. There's more to this. Take your friends. Go and look at some of those ships the Petaurs are gathering in. Find out everything you can about them.”
The old Petaur bowed. “Yes, sir.”
*
It was time to go.
The sun had gone down, but the gas giant was still in the sky. Everything seemed to be bathed in some incredibly bright moonlight. It was still easy to see.
Hanson and Agatha came walking from over a dune. They met with Yilva at the ramp to the angular submersible.
“Well,” said Hanson. “Ready to save a planet full of Petaurs?”
Yilva sighed. “Ask me again when they're all safe.” She walked a little way up the ramp, then stopped.
Charin stood a few metres along the beach, looking out into the inky black water. His shoulders were slumped. His tail drooped on the ground.
Yilva ran over to him and touched his shoulder. They chittered softly to one another.
“Come on,” said Hanson. “They'll join us when they're ready. Give them some privacy.”
He headed down into the submersible. Agatha remained outside, staring. After a moment, Hanson came back out and pulled her inside.
Chapter 32: Kestrel
Moore and her team reached the end of the corridor. The guard was lying, still unconscious, in his little office off to the side.
Back the way they'd come, the corridor was a scene of chaos. The Ancient weapons had shredded the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Bodies of Blanks lay amongst the wreckage. A fire crackled away somewhere. Dust and smoke obscured the view. From out of sight, Blanks continued to fire.
“Shame we can't see what's out there,” muttered Newman. “Okay, ready.”
Still in the cover of the table, they turned to face the door, weapons raised. Moore kicked it open.
Outside, there were two Blanks. Moore took one out instantly with the Ancient weapon. The other stumbled back under the assault of Saito's carbine and Newman's pistol. As soon as she could fire again, Moore finished it off.
She fired behind back down the corridor, followed it up with her grenade for good luck, and then they rushed out and slammed the door closed.
There were no more Blanks here.
“They must have a limited active force,” said Newman.
Saito stared at him. “You call that limited?”
“We faced less than twelve. Compared to the thousands they have, yes, I'd call that limited.”
Moore looked up, hoping to see a rescue ship coming.
Instead, she saw the Ancient ship.
It was low enough to be clearly visible, hurtling towards them. It was gradually slowing.
“What are they doing? Are they going to try and shoot us down?” said Newman.
“They won't be willing to destroy the facility,” said Saito.
“Unless they think we have something more valuable than the facility,” said Moore.
It was clear the ship was going to come to a halt above them, its weapon facing directly at the ground.
“Run!” she shouted.
*
“I've got the Dauntless in line-of-sight.” Serafin set up a tightbeam laser link with the Dauntless. Then she frowned. “The Ancient ship isn't coming after either of us. It's aiming at the ground.”
It's trying to kill the ground team. It has something to hide.
“I see it,” said Red. “Release the Kestrel.”
Serafin gestures at her console. The Black Cat's bay door opened. The Kestrel fighter came flying out a moment later. It was enveloped in engines behind and guns ahead. It dived down towards the surface of Iona.
The Black Cat's expert systems calculated Red's acceleration, matching it against the Tetanic ship's, and told her there was no way he could make it in time.
“Serafin to Dauntless. We need to do everything we can to stop that ship from firing.”
“Understood,” came Lanik's voice. “We'll see what we can do.”
The silvery beam of a monopole cannon leapt from the Dauntless to the Ancient ship, sparking tiny flames against its surface.
The Ancient ship came to a halt.
The Dauntless fired. Not its monopole cannons, but its missiles and kinetics. They emerged as densely as they could, steaming just below the Ancient ship.
The Ancient ship fired its weapon.
The projectile, a ripple of space, flew through the stream of missiles and kinetics. It shredded them instantly.
But they, in turn, seemed to disrupt it. It shed pieces of itself, ripples which flew off to the side and vanished. It shrunk rapidly.
But it didn't shrink fast enough.
It hit the surface.
Chapter 33: Liftoff
Minus 24 minutes:
The spaceport was a chain of several dozen islands that had been linked by concrete to form a long, S-shaped platform. Hundreds of dodecahedral ships sat on the platform, or floated in water berths around it. The surrounding ocean held a maze of underwater tunnels and structures.
“Are you sure we won't be noticed?” Hanson asked.
Iya shrugged. “This sort of ship draws attention. Varanids, Glaber, and humans walking around together draw attention. But I'm docking in one of the poorly regulated areas. So we might have a chance of getting through, I suppose.”
“That's a great weight off my mind,” said Hanson.
The submersible docked with a clang.
“Well, let's go out and see if anyone arrests us,” said Agatha in a cheery tone.
“You say that too often,” muttered Srak.
They headed out into the tunnel. If ever an Albascene could look shady and from the wrong side of the tracks, it was the one waiting for them. Its suit was scuffed, rusted in places and patched with brass in others. For payment, it took Iya's cash and the electronic equipment of the submersible's communication array.
“One hour. If you're not back by then, I'm taking the ship,” it said matter-of-factly.
Iya nodded, and the team headed off down the tunnel.
“Good luck,” said the Albascene as they left.
“What do you reckon, will it turn us in?” asked Agatha.
“No idea,” said Hanson. “But I feel much more comfortable than if we'd met an normal-looking Albascene.”
They walked towards the spaceport.
The air – and the water – was thick with tension. By now, all the Petaurs and a good number of the Albascene had heard something about the plan. Of course, word-of-mouth mutated things. Perhaps most only knew they had to be on a ship at the right time. Or simply that something odd would happen.
Petaurs rushed about hurriedly. Albascene seemed watchful. Still, they weren't stopped.
The tunnel angled upwards, and eventually opened out onto the spaceport proper. It smelled of salt, ozone and cleaning oil.
House-sized dodecahedra ships were lined up on the concrete. It was impossible to tell by looking which ships the Petaurs had chosen. On one hand, that was a good thing – if they found the right ships hard to find, so would the Albascene. On the other, if they didn't
find one soon, they'd be left on Laikon to face the full wrath of the Albascene government.
“You! The group with the humans, halt!”
An Albascene – this one very much official – glided towards them on effector fields.
Srak grunted. “I feel so left out.”
“Humans hog all the attention,” murmured Uruth.
Srak grinned at him for a fraction of a second before realising they were supposed to dislike each other and turned away.
Hanson ignored them. “Is there anything I can help you with?” He asked politely.
The Albascene had a trident symbol on its suit. That was a symbolic stun-prod, the equivalent of a police badge.
“Please identify yourselves and state your purpose,” said the Albascene.
“My name's John Smith,” said Hanson. “We're doing a tour of Laikon.”
“Don't suppose you could show us the sights?” Agatha added.
“Wait,” said the Albascene officer. It hovered silently, the segments of its suit making tiny motions back and forth. It was probably making a call.
“You are not John Smith,” it said after a moment. “Please come with me.”
“I'm sorry,” said Hanson with a confused smile. He tapped his armour. “Oh, is this giving you the wrong impression? See, it's because we like to do military re-enactments, like –”
“Come with me in silence, or I shall use force,” said the Albascene. It reached out to Hanson with a glowing ribbon.
Then all its effector fields vanished. It fell to the concrete with a thump.
“Uh,” began Agatha.
A Petaur came running over. “Miss Yilva?” it said in a quiet voice. Its tail flicked out and picked up a stun-prod from the floor. “Do you need a ride?”
“Yes!” said Yilva.
“Follow me. Someone will notice him, but by then we will be gone!”
The Petaur led them through the ranks of ships at a brisk walk, then stopped at one and banged on the door. It opened to reveal more Petaurs inside.
