Manipulate (Alien Cadets)

by Corrie [kids] Garrett

  A warning tripped when she tried to initiate the next jump.

  “Multiple jumps will degrade the biomaterial. Please insert new tissue.”

  Akemi smacked the computational computer around until the warning disappeared. Degrade, whatever. She felt fine.

  She initiated the jump again.

  “Warning: Entering the Spo Human Enclave. Illegal action. Confirm?”

  For heaven’s sake…Akemi confirmed, and finally the next jump began.

  NAT

  NAT

  WE’RE ON OUR WAY

  TOUCH THE SCREEN

  Nat lay in the hallway, just outside the control room door. A stabbing pain in her head was all she felt at first. Her breath came shallow and fast. It hurt to inhale, and yet she didn't have enough air, so she kept trying to pull more in without moving her lungs. Her nose tickled and she tried to rub it. She’d forgotten about the handcuffs dangling from her left hand and they smacked her in the face. More blood dribbled from her nose.

  Then she lay still some more. Just breathing. Letting the blood dry on her face.

  Her eyes stung a little, the momentary vacuum probably caused a few tiny blood vessels in her eyes and nose, possible lungs and ears, to burst. That's why she couldn't catch her breath either. The oxygen must be almost gone.

  But that can't be right, Nat thought, sliding herself into a sitting position against the wall. She wouldn't have regained consciousness if there was no air.

  Somebody must have closed the airlock before it was all gone. Akemi! Nat jumped up only to careen drunkenly into the wall.

  She leaned a shoulder against the wall and slid her way into the control room and the computer.

  It was repeating a single word.

  Nat, Nat, Nat, Nat.....

  She bumped the screen. "Come on Akemi, snap out of it.

  Her response flared across the screen.

  OH MY GOD I THOUGHT I KILLED YOU.

  I WAS SO STUPID, ARE YOU OKAY? DON’T TALK! THERE'S NOT MUCH AIR.

  THE JUMP WAS HARD, MUCH HARDER THAN I THOUGHT.

  I BROUGHT US TO EARTH. CLOSER AT LEAST.

  I’M SO SORRY NAT. I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE ALIVE.

  DON’T TALK, DON’T BREATHE HEAVY, WE’VE BARELY GOT ENOUGH AIR FOR YOU,

  I LOVE YOU…

  Nat blinked her eyes repeatedly, struggling to read the blur of text with her pounding head. She tapped the screen a few more times.

  "Shut up, Akemi. Tell me what's going on."

  The screen cleared.

  I’M GETTING A GRIP NOW. THE LAST JUMP SCRAMBLED ME A BIT.

  WE’RE CLOSING IN ON THE SPO SPACE STATION. IT WILL TAKE US AT LEAST HALF AN HOUR.

  The door to the control room hissed shut.

  I’M DIVERTING ALL ATMOSPHERE TO THIS ROOM. IT SHOULD BE ENOUGH.

  I CAN PICK UP THE SPO SIGNALS FROM THE SPACE STATION. THE TRIAL IS IN PROGRESS. THE CAPTAIN IS SUMMONING MEDICS. SERIOUS INJURIES… A SPO AND A HUMAN REQUIRE ATTENTION.

  Akemi monitored the communications as they got closer to the space station. When they were within the appropriate distance (the computational computer was good for something) Akemi sent a message to the captain, requesting to dock with the space station.

  She forgot the Spo would know this was a Rik ship.

  Within seconds the computational computer was telling her sulkily that enough weapons were trained on them to kill a dragon. The computer didn’t really understand human metaphor, but joined to Akemi her vocabulary had populated its communication library.

  However, it was totally right about the weapons, and that was a problem. She sent several more bursts of explanation, but the captain was jamming her signal. He was probably concerned that the Rik might transmit a virus to their computer, which she’d seen in the archives that the Rik did a few years ago.

  She tried all the frequencies of communication the ship possessed, but there was nothing. Then the captain sent a message to the nearest armed cruiser.

  UH OH, Akemi told Nat.

  THEY WON’T LET US DOCK. THEY’RE CONTACTING A CRUISER.

  Nat’s head was redefining the term ‘migraine’ for her. She could hardly think for pain, and that was saying something. Her ears and throat ached, and a horrible high-altitude feeling was settling in from the loss of air. Now the screen was getting fuzzy. She had to read the words three times before she processed them.

  WAIT! GOT SOMETHING. THERE ARE SEVERAL CELL PHONE SIGNATURES ON THE SHIP. IF I CAN FIND ONE THAT’S ON…

  GOT ONE. IT’S CHRIS! CHRIS AND CLAUDIA, I MET THEM IN THE HOSPITAL.

  OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE…

  Chapter 31

  In the trial room, Greg got a medic to give Shara a pain killer and caffeine injection, to increase her reaction time. They’d already splinted her arm.

  She slumped in the one extra chair, facing the screen showing the Galactic Council. She studiously avoided looking at Tishing.

  Sam knelt next to her for a moment.

  “Help us, and I’ll protect you when it’s over,” he whispered. “I’ll figure it out.”

  She just looked at him.

  Greg and Gustav consulted in under voices for a moment, but then Tishing stood. “I request the defense to question their witness and stop delaying this process.”

  Gustav stepped out the door. “I’ll take care of him for now,” he told Greg.

  Greg nodded and turned to Shara.

  “You are Rik,” he said.

  Shara made up her mind.

  “Yes.”

  Tishing stirred, uncrossed his legs.

  “How many cadets did you kill?”

  “I – none. I wiped Jonathan. I kidnapped Nat and her sister. It was D – “

  “Your accomplice,” Greg interrupted. “How many did your accomplice kill?”

  “Three, if you count Paolo, who died about a year ago on Spo. D – my accomplice also took steps to escalate a riot, which injured five more cadets.”

  Tishing leaned forward, and some of the Council did too.

  “And your accomplice is human?” Greg asked.

  Shara looked at Sam.

  “Protected,” he mouthed silently.

  “No,” she said. “My accomplice is not human.”

  “Rik?” Greg asked.

  “No. He is Spo.”

  The emperor growled. “What is she saying? She accuses the Spo, but says she is Rik? How do we know any of that is true?”

  Shara sat up a little straighter. “The Rik scientists who put me in this body are currently doing the same to one of the cadets. Their plan was to infiltrate the cadets before the trial began."

  Shara gave the scientists’ names and described some of their experiments, which caused more uproar among the Council members. She told them the name of the Rik city where she was born and the names of her parents.

  She was convincing. The Merith spokesperson stopped her. “Her planet of origin is accepted. She is clearly Rik. The next question: who is the accomplice, and is he truly Spo?”

  Greg stepped in. “She has testified that her accomplice is not human. Whether he was Spo, Rik, or something else, I think the point has been made. The prosecutor charged humanity with killing the cadets. We have proved that they did not do this.”

  “We still need to know the accomplice!” the emperor said.

  Greg shook his head. “No, I do not believe we do.”

  The emperor shook his head. “I am not convinced that the humans are innocent. The accomplice must be uncovered.”

  Greg sighed. Sam nodded at him, this was the only way to convince the emperor.

  “The name of your partner?” Greg said to Shara.

  “It’s – His name is Downy.”

  ***

  Claudia watched a distorted view screen from one of the cadet waiting rooms. The cadets were clumped around several screens, though they left space around her and Chris. The room was dead quiet as they watched Downy on the screen, being carried into the trial room. His leg was ban
daged and bulky. One of the Spo carrying him bumped his foot on the edge of the door and Downy swore at him.

  “I’ll have you sent to Merith for medical experiments. I swear it,” Downy said.

  They set Downy on a Spo recliner that was just relocated for him. He nodded to his father, the emperor, and ignored the Council. Shara now sat against the wall, but Claudia thought she recoiled further when he glared at her.

  Greg said to Downy, “It is not my wish to bring charges against you at this time. However, we must confirm that the cadet killings in the last weeks were not at human hands. Is it true – ”

  Chris’s cell phone went off, the 1812 Overture in digital tones. All the cadets looked at him as he fumbled it out of his pocket.

  “For heaven’s sake, turn it off,” one cadet said.

  Chris silenced it at once and the others turned back to the trial.

  “You have reception on a space station?” Claudia whispered to him.

  He shrugged and looked at the missed calls. There was no number listed. He muted the phone and put it back in his pocket.

  Downy was yelling at Greg on screen. “- don’t even have the guts to kill an insolent, useless cadet – ”

  The cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Chris jerked it out. A text message. He put his finger on the power button, but the screen turned pink.

  Pink?

  “Is this Chris, Claudia’s friend? I NEED to talk to you before the end of the trial.

  Akemi.”

  Claudia read the message over his arm and jerked when she saw the name.

  “It’s Akemi!” Claudia said. “Talk to her! Where is she?"

  Chris hit reply and started slowly typing, “Where are…”

  “Oh, give me that,” Claudia said. “You were never a twelve year old girl."

  She took the phone and used both her thumbs on the tiny keyboard. “Whr r u?”

  Almost instantaneously an answer appeared. “Coming fast, inside a Rik spaceship. Got to get Nat onboard space station - no air. Get the captain to let us dock.”

  “rik w/u?” Claudia sent.

  “No Rik, just Nat. Sending data. Be there in 3 minutes.”

  The download icon appeared on screen, meaning that the smart phone was temporarily busy downloading a bucket load of data.

  “How big is this phone?” Claudia asked.

  “64 gig.” The download bar inched forward. “She’s sending something big, though.”

  For a second they stood there staring at the phone.

  “It’ll take too long,” Chris said. “We can’t wait. If they’re in a Rik ship it’s going to take a lot of convincing for the captain to let them dock.” Chris tapped Armen on the shoulder.

  “We’ve got to get to the control room,” Chris said. “Akemi and Nat are coming.”

  Armen stared, and Claudia showed him their texts.

  “How did Nat… never mind,” Armen said. “Let’s go.”

  In the control room, the captain was yelling at a subordinate. It was the hissing, guttural yell of the Spo, but Armen interrupted him. He hissed and barked something at the captain that made him stop and stare at them.

  The captain took a deep breath, clearly about to have them thrown out. Claudia felt blank. How could she explain quickly enough to convince him?

  Chris walked calmly into the captain’s space.

  “That ship is Rik,” he said.

  The captain’s eyestalks swiveled to him.

  “Yes, Rik. How do you know that? Are you Rik? Get them contained!”

  Three Spo grabbed Chris and Claudia. “I’m Spo security,” Chris said. “A lost cadet is on that ship. She needs air.”

  The captain paused. “There is a trial in progress. I cannot allow anyone to dock.”

  “Get authorization from General Gustav or Greg,” Chris said.

  “Are they communicating with you?” Armen asked the captain. “In English? Ask their names.”

  “You are not my commander,” the captain said, pale orange. He eyestalks twitched. “Get them out.”

  The phone in Claudia’s hand beeped. Download complete.

  Chris grabbed the phone. “Let us see what this is,” he said. “If it doesn’t convince you, we’ll go.”

  The captain paused.

  “We’ll go, after this,” Chris said again. He tried to open the first file, but it didn’t display.

  “Shoot. Probably video files, from the size of them. But they’re not normal…” he changed some settings on his phone. “I have some Spo software on here from work. If it’s Spo video, then maybe…”

  He tried again and the first video started. Chris watched the Hadron explosion from space, holding the phone out so Claudia, Armen, and the captain could see.

  Claudia felt a flop sweat forming on her forehead. Why did Akemi send them this? She expected a video of Nat and Akemi escaping. Or a video of them gasping their last breath. Something convincing. This was ancient history.

  Chris clicked replay. “Maybe she – ”

  But Armen said shush, and the captain started bouncing on his clawed feet. “It is a Rik digger bomb. On Earth.”

  Before the short video had finished its second play, the captain was back in his chair. He was issuing commands and stubbing his clawed fingers onto various screens. The large curved window in front of him showed the single ship growing closer.

  “They’ll be docked in three minutes,” the captain said.

  “The video showed a bomb?” Claudia asked. But Armen was hyperventilating a tad, so she patted him on the back.

  The captain finished his frantic work. “They’re docking now. Let’s go see who it is. We must confirm this video for the trial.”

  Claudia waited behind the others as the airlock door opened. She was afraid of what she might see in the ship. Why had Akemi contacted Chris? Was Nat injured? Was Akemi? If they didn’t have enough air, that was going to be even more of a problem for Akemi, with her lung transplant. What if they were too late?

  As soon as the ship’s airlock slid open, with a hiss of sucking air, Claudia felt wind rush past her into the airlock as the pressure equalized. Spo security forces ran on board, followed closely by Chris and Armen.

  “She’s here!"

  “It’s Nat! She unconscious.”

  Claudia ran then. Nat lay on her side in the control room. Handcuffs dangled from one chafed wrist and blood caked her nose and lips and ran out of her left ear. Her hair was tangled in a knot and when Armen lifted an eyelid, her eyes were horribly blood shot. She looked like she’d taken a serious beating. Claudia could see the resemblance to Akemi, but only slightly. This girl looked so much older and tougher than Akemi. Armen and the captain crouched to pick her up. “We’ll take her to medical room,” he said.

  “But Akemi?” Claudia said. “Where is she?”

  She and Chris left the control room, checking each room. The ship was small. Akemi was nowhere to be found.

  When Chris began to pry open a cabinet in the kitchen area, Claudia realized she was still holding his cell phone. It buzzed again with a text message.

  “I’m not in there. Don’t hurt yourself.

  I’m the ship computer.

  :( Go figure.”

  Claudia dropped the phone.

  Chapter 32

  Sam stared at Downy, trying to make the goofy, annoying Downy he knew into the vicious killer he was. Downy had been given anesthetic to numb his lower extremities, and it seemed to have numbed his tongue too. Ten minutes of questioning had gotten nowhere, and any moment the emperor might put a halt to this interrogation, leaving them with nothing.

  It was time to push Downy over the edge. Greg’s careful questions were too easily sloughed off. Downy would have to be baited to the edge of sanity to give himself up. Fortunately for him, Sam suspected that the edge of Downy’s sanity was a cliff both nearby and dangerous.

  “Why didn’t you kill me?” Sam asked Downy, interrupting Greg. “That must have been your goal.”

/>   Downy ran a claw around the edge of his sensitive eyestalk. “I will confess nothing.”

  “Paolo. He died the week you joined us. It wasn’t an allergic attack, was it?”

  “I confess nothing.”

  “Paolo nicknamed you something, I can’t remember what. It made us laugh, though. And General Gustav laughed too, I do remember that.”

  Silence.

  “The tower… I thought you liked sheep. You went to that petting zoo, and you always tried to pet the feral cats on campus. What was that about?”

  Downy flickered a smile and Sam felt rage building inside him.

  “Nat. Jia. The kitchen with Oh Li.”

  Downy scratched around his other eye, twitching when he scraped too close to the nerve. He was silent.

  “Why did you hurt Oh Li? He wasn’t going to be a witness. He probably offered you a snack before you killed him.” Sam ran a hand over his bald head. “And yet you never got to me. You slept in my room. You couldn’t kill me in my sleep?” Sam got to his feet. “We were right about you. We thought you were pathetic, a throw-away son of the emperor, and we were right.”

  Downy twitched again. Sam stepped up in front of him.

  “General Gustav didn’t want you as an apprentice, that’s why he sent you to Greg. Greg didn’t mind you, but he’s good at dealing with weaklings, isn’t he? That’s what you think of us, and that’s what he thought of you.”

  Sam crouched over Downy, close enough that Downy could smell his breath.

  “Pathetic. Puppy.” Sam said.

  With a growl, Downy used a good leg to kick Sam in the stomach. His claws tore holes in Sam’s clothes, scratched his skin. Sam stumbled back and let himself fall to his knees.

  “What about the riot?” Downy hissed, hoisting himself out of the chair like an injured roach and grabbing Sam with his claws extended. “Poor Sam, all that shooting, all his fault – and it was me. All me. And your great rebellion, your interview – it was me. Of course I gave you the information on purpose.”