Transformation Protocol

by David M. Kelly

  I followed them on the cameras as they skimmed the surface, building up speed, switching between several of their inboard cameras to make sure they were functioning correctly. Once I was sure, I switched to a camera on one of the Mikes. The horizon of the asteroid's surface wasn't far, and it sped under the Mike, giving an incredible sensation of speed.

  Finally, the AF-11 swam into sight. The timing was perfect, and I estimated they were no more than a hundred and fifty kilometers away. I rotated the camera. All the Mikes were there, forming a wall ahead of Harry, Bob, and the others as I'd planned.

  I returned to the front view. I could only guess at the panic inside the AF-11 as a whole fleet of "ships" appeared out of nothing, but I'd lay money on it being nicely chaotic. Several missiles launched, and I saw flashes from railguns and laser fire directed at the swarm of approaching 'bots.

  Muckout Mikes weren't armored in the same sense as a military vessel, but they were mining vehicles, designed to scoop out ore from drifts and survive the harshest conditions up to and including rockfalls. They were the nearest thing I could imagine to a floating tank. The first few shots rattled off their giant blades without slowing them any. I saw a flash of a missile explode as it hit one, but still they continued. Several more shots hit, and a couple of the Mikes tumbled. Then what I'd been hoping for happened.

  The missile launches stopped.

  Even a warship can only carry so much ordnance, and in a spaceship where room is at a premium, weaponry would always be limited. The missiles were the biggest threat to the Mikes. The other weapons were dangerous but not anywhere near as effective.

  The AF-11 crew had been too confident. They'd slowed down expecting a few easily destroyed ships and a lightly armed ground base to defeat. They didn't think anything on the asteroid that could threaten them. But now they were turning to escape, but it was too late and the flock of heavy robot ships was bearing down on them.

  "Hey, Joe?" It was Bob.

  They were only a minute or so from impact. "What's wrong, Bob?"

  "That ain't no asteroid, ya putz."

  I was sweating from the pain ripping through my arm and didn't have time to discuss it. "You're right, Bob. It's not. See you on the other side."

  Bob didn't say anything for a while, then, "Neck it, who cares? Ramming speed!"

  I switched to the asteroid's external cameras as the first of the Mikes punched through the hull of the AF-11. Even that didn't seem to slow them. Seconds later, the shapes of Harry, Bob, and Willie followed them.

  Bob's voice came over the comm-link. "Fire in the hole!"

  "Sorry, guys," I whispered.

  A massive explosion gutted the ship, rippling through it like a belch of fire and finally reaching the reactor area. Then a second flash appeared, even bigger than the first as the reactor exploded, vaporizing what was left of the ship. The pickup we were watching on flickered off as it overloaded, and I switched to another. All I saw were stars and the distant wreckage of the station. No sign of the AF-11 or the bots.

  "You did it, Joe." Dollie sounded amazed. "You actually pulled it off."

  "Thanks. I'd like to say it was nothing, but the truth was, it was pure genius at work. And now I'm ready for a nap."

  I tried to move, but all I could do was curl into a ball. The trauma system was meant to last long enough to find medical help—not indefinitely.

  "This should give you some more time." I coughed as a wave of sickness washed through me. "I hope it's enough."

  "Joe?" Dollie moved over and grabbed me. That hurt too, even though she hadn't touched my bad arm. "Dammit, stay with me."

  "I'm sorry, Dollie. For everything."

  "Fight it, Joe. Stay with me, Soldier."

  She hadn't called me that in several years. And it felt good. Then I felt a stab of pain in my thigh, which didn't. "I'll always be... your soldier..."

  "Then stay with me."

  "I don't think... I can." My vision dimmed and the pain faded.

  *

  Sometime later, I found I was strapped loosely against a table. My helmet was off, and I looked around, groaning as I moved. The pain wasn't as intense as it had been before I blacked out, but I could hardly say I felt comfortable.

  "Dollie?"

  "Right here, Joe." She squatted by the wall, about a meter away. "You passed out. I gave you a shot, but I was too late."

  "You want to turn me into an addict now?" Whatever she'd given me must have been good, because it was keeping things numb after all this time. Then I realized I didn't know how much time had passed. "How long?"

  "You've been out over six hours."

  "Have you been busy working out a rescue plan?"

  Dollie's eyes were locked onto the astrocrete floor. "No. Just thinking and feeling sorry for myself."

  "Sounds like fun... Come to any conclusions?"

  She lifted her head. "I didn't want to push you away, Joe."

  "You did it rather well for a disinterested party."

  "It was Samara—Sigurd's—idea."

  "You do surprise me. And you fell for it—" I was going to add "and straight back into Sigurd's bed," but stopped myself. I was way past the point where it was worth arguing.

  "We... I... knew that if I went after Paek, I probably wouldn't survive. You were trapped on Earth, so you couldn't go after him." She took a deep breath. "I knew if I died that you'd suffer, and I thought it would be easier if you hated me. And I wanted to save you from that guilt. You already blamed yourself too much."

  I laughed, which turned into a cough. "So you did it all for my own good, huh?"

  "It may be hard to believe, but credit me with some compassion."

  "And now what? You want me to forgive you before it's too late? Forgive you, so we can die in peace?"

  She looked hurt. "I thought... hoped, maybe, that one day you might understand."

  "So you want me to forgive you because I understand?" I stared at her, my head whirling as though my oxygen was low. "Well, I don't. I can't. Deliberately hurting someone you claim to love is nothing but cruel."

  Dollie jerked as if I'd slapped her. "I deserve that. I'm truly sorry, Joe."

  "There are a thousand reasons why I can't forgive you." And I'd felt each of them like a bullet through my heart. "And only one against all of that."

  When she finally replied, her voice was a blurred whisper. "What's that?"

  "Because I love you and have never stopped. For that reason, and that alone, I have to forgive you."

  She clambered up and moved across to me. Her lips pressed against mine, and that hurt too, but I didn't care.

  "About Sigurd. I want to—"

  I lifted my good hand and pressed a finger to her lips. "It's not important. Besides you weren't the only one at fault."

  She nodded. "You can be a real asshole sometimes."

  "But still cute, huh?"

  Dollie shook her head. "I don't deserve you."

  "You're right. You don't. But I don't deserve you either. Or perhaps we both deserve each other. Whatever the answer, you're stuck with me for a while longer."

  She smiled even though there were pools of tears in her eyes. "Sounds good to me. How long do you think that will be?"

  "I don't know." If I didn't get medical treatment soon, it might not be long. "Let's say—for the rest of my life."

  She kissed me again, and I felt light-headed but not from the pain.

  "So, what's the plan to get us out of here, oh mighty Ballen?"

  "Logan's coming back for us."

  Her eyes widened. "You think he's alive?"

  "Don't ask me how or why. But my gut says he is."

  "And your gut is never wrong, huh?"

  "Not even when I think it is." A wave of nausea hit me, and a spasm tore at my shoulder. "How bad is that arm?"

  "I'm not sure. I think it's smashed down to the bone."

  "I feel cold. But I know I'm sweating." I used my good arm to slide over on the table. "Would you do something
for me?"

  "Anything, Joe."

  "Come up here and hold me for a while."

  It was a gesture. I couldn't feel her through the bulk of our suits, but it made me feel better to watch her breathing. Don't let anyone tell you anything different. The best things in life can't be bought with money but are infinitely precious.

  Sometime later, the room started shaking. The damage from the missiles must have been worse than I thought. Dollie was asleep and I called her name, the word coming out in a staggered blur.

  "What's wrong?"

  Then I realized it wasn't the room that was shaking—it was me. The pain levels had crept back up until I quivered on the table and would have fallen off without the straps.

  "Dollie reached inside a pouch in her suit and pulled out an emergency hypo. "This is it, Joe. One more left. After that, I've got nothing to help you."

  I nodded, and she punched it against my thigh.

  A cool draught seemed to blow through me, and the shaking eased a little. Whatever was in the hypo was potent for sure. Knowing Sigurd's past, I guessed it was some type of illegal military test drug and not meant to be administered to anyone who hadn't been Geneered with rhino DNA. But at that moment, I didn't care. I didn't want to sleep, but my eyes disagreed as the drug bit deep.

  "Dollie? I lov—"

  The next thing I knew, I was being manhandled. It seemed like several pairs of hands were tossing me around the room, and when I looked around, my head was so woozy that little made sense. I was in the corridor heading to the main airlock, that much I knew. I heard voices around me, but the words were a tangled jumble.

  "Dollie?" I called out. They ignored me. "Don't leave Dollie behind."

  I pushed up, but the hands held me in place, and I didn't have the strength to push them off. A deep panic stabbed inside my brain, and I called for Dollie again, but there was still no answer. Why had they left her? She should be with me. We were going to spend our lives together. She'd promised.

  Then I was in a white space as though enveloped in a bright warm cloud. A deep voice sounded close to me.

  "Damn it, his arm's a complete mess. I think he's going to lose it."

  Screw the arm. I can't lose Dollie! I thought I screamed it, but maybe I didn't. Or if I did, it was ignored.

  "It's not good." This was a second voice, lighter than the first. Possibly female, but everything was so distorted I wasn't sure.

  "Do what you can for him." The first voice sounded again. "I need to set up a Jump."

  Logan? Where's Dollie? I thought I yelled but wasn't sure. Something tore at my arm, and I screamed. Then nothing.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The next time I woke, I seemed to be in the same place, enveloped in a cloud that bathed me in a pure light. But I felt like one of Dr. Frankenstein's failed experiments. There was a beep, and a few minutes later, voices. Something was peeled away from my eyes, and I blinked several times before seeing Logan. We were in a hospital room. His craggy face looked lined and tired, but he still seemed to fill the space with his powerful bulk.

  "You came back for us," I croaked. "I knew you would."

  His gaze dropped, and fear crashed through me. "What's wrong? Where's Dollie?"

  "I've got some bad news."

  "Dollie?" I felt like I knew what he was going to tell me and didn't want to hear it.

  "Dollie was hurt too, but she'll be fine. Been here all the time. Trust you to wake up when she had to go to the powder room."

  I heard ringing in my ears. I'd been sure something had happened to her, though I wasn't quite sure why. "Then nothing else matters."

  The door opened, and I saw a flash of movement. Then Dollie had her arms around me. After several moments, she pulled back, tears running down her face. "We almost lost you."

  "I always said you were careless. I've been right here all the time. Where is here by the way?"

  "Your arm was smashed up when the tunnel failed. It went septic despite the MediSkin. They're not sure if it was the knife wound or the later damage that did it. We're on the High-Rig."

  The fingers of my left hand trembled as they brushed against the sheets. When they reached where my other arm should be, I felt a stump fattened by dressings and nothing more.

  "They took my arm?" I clenched my eyes tight. "Again?"

  Dollie looked across to Logan then back to me.

  "What's wrong? What aren't you telling me?" My heart pumped hard, and my temples throbbed. "They'll Regen me a new one."

  Dollie shook her head slowly. "The damage was too extensive. I talked to the doctors here and Dr. Kinsella. There's nothing they can do."

  It felt like someone had thrown an ocean of ice water over me. Fate was playing a cruel game, but who said the universe was fair? I stroked Dollie's hair with my good hand. "Did you mean what you said on the asteroid?"

  Her eyes were like glittering sapphires. "Every word. Did you?"

  I nodded. "Then I don't care. As long as you'll have me back."

  She kissed me long and deep, only pulling back when Logan coughed theatrically. "Spoilsport!"

  "He needs to recover." Logan came over and gripped my hand. "There's another option—Cynetics. It's something new I heard about through SecOps."

  "A robot arm?" I hesitated. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

  "It's more than that from what I understand."

  "And they're willing to let me try this?"

  "Willing might not be the most accurate word." He grinned. "But they owe you that much. And I'll make sure you get it if you want it."

  Robotic prosthetics had been around for a while but hadn't worked well up till now. The mechanics and control interfaces were always clunky, leaving people clanking around like MechaFluxx, Professor Wingnut's robot henchman. But maybe this would be different.

  "Give me a while to think about it. I need to get used to the idea." A thought popped into my head. "What about the Atolls? Did Dan resurface?"

  Logan moved closer. "Not yet. McDole scrambled their fleet, and they haven't stood down. Dan is out there somewhere, planning who knows what."

  I was sure he was right. Unless something had happened to him, Dan would be back, and when he resurfaced the Atolls would die—unless they could figure out a way of inoculating their structures against the phage. "I presume the USP is providing them with technical information."

  Logan shook his head grimly.

  The door opened, Aurore breezed in and dashed over to give me a kiss on the cheek.

  "Don't get the big guy jealous," I said.

  "Pooh. We owe you so much, and Logan knows it more than anyone. Besides he can stand to be a little jealous—it keeps him on his toes."

  I looked at Logan. "You'll be heading back into space. What's SecOps got cooked up for you this time?"

  Aurore glanced at Logan. "You didn't tell him yet?"

  "I'm not active with SecOps anymore." He put his arm around Aurore's waist. "This thing with the Contravalency Phage sickens me. I used to think we were the good guys, but we developed that or had it developed. That's not the world I want to live in."

  "Tell him!" Aurore laughed.

  "What?" I had no idea what they were keeping from me, and perhaps I didn't want to know.

  When he spoke again, Logan's voice was almost a whisper. "I did it, Joe. We did it."

  "You and Aurore? That's not much of a surprise, you know. We all figured out that you two were—"

  "We found a planet."

  "Huh?" While interesting in an academic sense, that wasn't exactly amazing news. Planets were everywhere as far as we knew.

  "A habitable planet!"

  My head was spinning as if the High-Rig had flipped upside down in an impossible maneuver. A habitable planet within Jump distance of Earth would change everything. "You sure?"

  "I could be wrong." Logan squeezed Aurore tighter. "But not my lady here—oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere, water, oceans, clouds, temperate."

  "Life?"


  "Vegetation detectable from orbit. Hell, it looked green and lush like a savanna. Animal life? Who knows. We need to do some surveys."

  I wondered if I was dreaming. "They better call it Logan's World. That's fantastic."

  He nodded. "We Jumped randomly several times, in case the AF-11s tried to follow us. That's when we found it."

  "And we're going. Logan is heading up the first survey and development team, and I'm not about to let him wander around a strange planet on his own. Besides, I'm going to head up the first scientific mission." Aurore's face split in a wide smile. "And be the first to dance on a new world!"

  I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was an unbelievable opportunity and one they both deserved. "Don't forget to set up the RoboPony and send some postcards."

  "You could come as well," Logan said. "Both of you."

  I shifted in the bed, the loss of my arm suddenly all too real. I looked at Dollie, but she stared placidly back, giving no hint of what she was thinking.

  "I think we're done with space," I said. "There are only so many limbs a guy can lose."

  "Give him some time. He's tired," Dollie said. "And if anyone's going to tire him out, it's me."

  Logan chuckled and led Aurore out. Dollie perched on the edge of the bed. "You know it's your choice, don't you? If you still want to space, I won't try and stop you."

  "Thank you." I reached out to squeeze her hand. "No rush, though. Before that we should get remarried. If you want to."

  Dollie grinned. "Already done. You're officially my man again, Joe Ballen."

  She reached into her purse and pulled out a marriage license. It was freshly notarized.

  "How? I wasn't even conscious."

  "Remote application. I forged your signature and got a nurse to collect the DNA sample for verification."

  "Oh."

  "Are you complaining?"

  "No. Well, yes... I missed out on the fun, romantic bit."

  She leaned in and kissed me. "I'll let you make it up to me."