Beast

by Patrick McClafferty

  “Very good, sir.”

  “What is the ship status, Gibbs?”

  “Sixty-seven percent operational overall, Captain,” the AI replied slowly. “Navigation and drives are fully operational. Life support is fifty-seven percent operational. Several decks for personnel accommodations are unserviceable, and there are still a few glitches in the food replicator program. Some crewmembers are complaining that the food gives them gas.” Gibbs continued right along as Elora fought a losing battle to a bout of giggles. “Energy weapons are fully operational, but I was only able to scrounge a few missiles from the fabricator on the Diadem. As important as this ship was in the scheme of the Adaari war effort, I’m surprised that at least one modern fabricator wasn’t installed.”

  Solomon nodded. “At least a fabricator for fuel would have been good.” He paused. “What else?”

  “The pinnace and the combat drop shuttle are stowed for the voyage, but fully operational, as is our single remaining fighter. I lent the other to Diadem for planetary defense. Those three are only a small fraction of our normal complement of auxiliary craft.”

  “Anything else?” Solomon asked, wondering what had happened to all the assigned craft of the Lost Horizon.

  “That is all, Captain.”

  “Do we have shields?”

  “Yes, Solomon. Energy and physical deflectors are fully functional. The Diadem utilizes a different shield technology, but it accomplishes much the same thing.”

  He frowned. “Do you think that there might have been different species involved in the Adaari fleet? It would make sense, if you look at the different ship configurations and sizes.”

  “Perhaps, Captain,” Gibbs responded slowly. “I haven’t had an opportunity to delve into the Adaari historical archives.”

  “Whenever you have the time, Gibbs. I’m not rushing you. Is the rest of the ship and crew buttoned up and ready to go?”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “Good. Engage the drive and take us to Mars.”

  The bow of the great ship turned a few degrees to starboard and down, then the stars blurred. Solomon couldn’t hear, so much as feel in his feet, the pulsing of the engines. There was absolutely no sensation of movement. “We are now underway, Captain. Arrival in the Sol System estimated in three hundred eighty-four hours.”

  Solomon grinned, suddenly anxious to see Giuseppe again. He winced when he thought of how old his father would be when he arrived back on Mars, banishing the thought of whether or not he was still alive almost before it was formed.

  Elora touched him on the arm. “As the second-in command of the Lost Horizon, I’ve taken the liberty of scheduling fitness classes in the ship gym.” She gave him a predatory smile. “You and the marines are scheduled for hand-to-hand combat training for the next two hours. After that, you have your choice of swimming or the treadmill for your cardio phase for the next half hour.”

  He was about to snap a hard reply when he took a long look at her. “Tell me, Elora, do you swim?”

  She opened her mouth, her cheeks reddening, but no sound came out.

  “Miss Fontaine has a newly fabricated Speedo swimsuit, Captain, which she has never worn,” Gibbs inserted helpfully. “Areto ran it off for her the day before yesterday.”

  The young woman’s cheeks reddened as Solomon gave Elora a self-satisfied smile. “Gibbs, please ensure that Miss Fontaine joins me at the pool after my hand-to-hand training.”

  “It will be my pleasure, sir.”

  When Solomon joined Elora at the pool later, he was so entranced at the sight of her in her new Speedo that he actually missed his step and fell into the pool.

  Approximately two and a half weeks later, the bridge personnel were hushed when the much-changed Lost Horizon arrived back in the Sol System. To Solomon, the stars looked all the same at first, until he picked out the three stars named Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak that made up Orion’s Belt. Suddenly, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor seemed to blaze out of the view screen at him, and his heart pounded. They were home again under a familiar sky.

  “Captain,” Gibbs murmured over the excited buzz of voices from the bridge personnel. “I would like to discuss something with you in the captain’s briefing room… now would be good, Captain.”

  Solomon made a motion to Elora and stepped down from his seat, Elora at his heels. He looked at Brigit. “You have the con, TACO.”

  The much more mature tactical control officer gave him a brief nod in return. “I have the con, aye, aye.” Without another word Solomon and Elora departed the bridge.

  He hadn’t known where the captain’s briefing room was located until Gibbs showed him the way. He didn’t even bother to sit when they arrived in the small, sparsely furnished room. “What’s the problem, Gibbs?”

  “I am sure that our arrival went unnoticed in the Kuiper Belt, Solomon. I have been monitoring Terran transmissions since we entered the system, and things do not look good.”

  A screen flickered to life, showing a dozen warships in high Earth orbit, clouds of smaller support ships and transports flitting about them. After the ships he’d been dealing with for the past several months, the ones on the screen looked crude and flimsy. The white headline on the screen read: EARTH FLEET PREPARES TO ATTACK MARS. In the background, announcers joked with each other that the rebels on Mars had nowhere else left to run.

  “Indications are that the fleet will launch for Mars in a matter of days,” Gibbs said. “Technology must have improved, for all the news agencies seem to agree that the travel time to Mars is only three weeks, despite Mars being at its most distant from Earth. It appears, Captain, that we arrived in the nick of time to rescue the people of Mars.”

  A system map replaced the news shots on the screen.

  “As we discussed, we will hide in Jupiter’s shadow as we approach, at which time you will launch in the pinnace. The very size of the pinnace will prevent its detection by Terran forces as they approach Mars. You stand a very good chance of sneaking in and out as you originally planned. We may even have the chance of sending in our combat shuttle to pick up more refugees, if the situation warrants. Nothing the Terran fleet has can match the speed of the pinnace or the drop shuttle.”

  Solomon smiled grimly. “That’s very good, Gibbs. Begin preparing the pinnace and the drop shuttle for deployment, and put the marines on deployment alert. After we depart, move the Lost Horizon very stealthily into the asteroid field as close to Mars as you can get.”

  “Can I ask what you intend, Captain?” A wary note marked Gibbs’s voice.

  Solomon shot Elora a quick wink. “I plan on setting a little trap for the Earth fleet.”

  Elora rolled her eyes. “Merde!” She had picked up a number of rich French curse words while they were on Shangri-La. “I’m coming with you,” she announced, her anger making her green eyes glitter with a jade fire.

  Solomon simply smiled. “I expected you to all along. The rest of the family will remain here in safety. Ensign Brigit Uí Dubháin will have the con while we are away.”

  “You’re going to get us in trouble again, Solomon,” Elora said with some resignation.

  ~~~

  Solomon sat grinning in the pilot’s seat of the pinnace, watching the mad scurry of activity on the grounds of the Fontaine Estate. He turned to Elora, who was sitting at his side in the copilot’s seat. “I think tnhat we caught them by surprise.”

  She sighed. “You should have realized that this pinnace has very good stealth systems. Mars radar and lidar never even saw it.”

  “I knew that. Shall we go out and see if our family is around?”

  “After you.” She waved a hand, and Solomon stood.

  The security detail from the Lost Horizon had already spread out to the right and left when Solomon and Elora stepped down the ramp and onto the red Martian sand. Solomon reached down, picked up a handful, and let it slowly trickle through his fingers. The smell of sagebrush and growing things was even stronger than he�
�d remembered. In the distance, alarms bleated, and troops wearing ruby-red uniforms were pouring out of the main gate, their weapons raised. Solomon rolled his eyes, stepping forward with his hands raised.

  “Perhaps we should all cool down a little before someone makes a mistake,” he called out in a voice that was steadier than he felt. “Some of you may have heard of me. My name is Malachai Fontaine, also known as Solomon Draxx.”

  “Solomon? Elora?” a voice called out from the rear of the soldiers, then Giuseppe pushed his way through the nervous men. “Lower your weapons, you fools. Didn’t you hear him? These two are my son and daughter.”

  With some doubtful looks, the weapons were lowered, and Solomon breathed a sigh of relief, for a number of reasons, just as Giuseppe embraced Solomon, pinning his arms to his side with a surprisingly strong clasp. Elora was weeping as she joined the two men, wrapping her arms about both in a group hug. The older man looked up.

  “What are you two doing here?” His eyes fastened on the pinnace. “And where the hell did you get that?”

  Solomon grinned, suddenly guessing the truth. “You’re looking well, Father.” He gripped Giuseppe’s muscular arm. “I see you decided to accept a Construct.”

  The older man frowned. “A what? Are you talking about a shadow creature?”

  Solomon smiled. “The shadow creatures are called Kiniseri Constructs and were created to assist spacemen and colonists by an ancient race nearly a million years ago.”

  Giuseppe nodded. “Are the rest of my children…” His voice choked with emotion.

  “All the rest are fine, Giuseppe, and are safe aboard the Lost Horizon.”

  “The Lost Horizon? How…”

  Elora shot Solomon an angry look.

  “You should know better, Solomon.” She turned to her father. “The original Lost Horizon was damaged on arrival at Proxima Centauri b, and then abandoned by the original crew. Solomon saved the family and the colonists by moving us all to an ancient warship we found drifting in the wreckage of a massive battle. That ship is the newly christened Lost Horizon.” Elora gave her father an impish grin. “She has an FTL drive.”

  “But why are you here?” Giuseppe frowned then flushed. “I see.”

  “There is a Terran warfleet on the way, Giuseppe. We came to take you all to Shangri-La,” Solomon inserted. “It really is a Shangri-La now.”

  Giuseppe looked troubled. “There are over five hundred of us now, son. We can’t abandon those who supported us and—”

  “The Lost Horizon has a crew of less than one hundred. Her normal compliment is one thousand, and we could squeeze another three hundred or four hundred into the hangar for the short three-week trip.” Solomon grinned at Giuseppe’s stunned look. “But tell me, Father, do you have any Buddhist monasteries on Mars?”

  Elora gave him a sharp look.

  The elder Fontaine looked troubled. “Actually, almost an entire Tibetan monastery was moved here as refugees. There was some talk that they fled Terra only to die on Mars.”

  “Numbers, Giuseppe, I need numbers. How many are we talking about?”

  Giuseppe looked glum. “Nearly one hundred from the monastery, with another two hundred from the nearby village.”

  Solomon sighed in relief. “Good.”

  His father blinked.

  “I think we can make this work if we hustle.”

  Elora put her hands on her hips to glare at him. “Solomon Draxx, what do you have up your sleeve? I’ve caught two or three hints up to now, but I know that the Lost Horizon can’t possibly hold that many refugees.”

  Solomon pulled out his Adaari PDA and checked the time and date, then replaced the PDA to remove a sleek com unit from his pocket. He winked at Elora before he spoke. “Are you there, Areto?”

  “You took your sweet time, Solomon,” the slightly tinny female voice replied from the com unit. “I’ve been watching you since you arrived.”

  “Are you ready to take off some Buddhist refugees?” he asked, watching the emotions wash across Giuseppe’s face.

  “I suppose that you’re referring to the Buddhists someone stuck at the base of Olympus Mons. What a screw-job that was.”

  Solomon coughed. “You’ve been tuning in to Terran entertainment broadcasts, I see.”

  Giuseppe laughed. “Let the lady curse all she will, Solomon. It was a screw-job, and everybody knows it.”

  “Who was that, Solomon?” Areto asked.

  “That was my father, Giuseppe.”

  “I think I’m going to like him. Hello, Giuseppe,” she called out. “We should sit down some time, and I’ll tell you about your son’s exploits. There was talk of raising a statue to him on Shangri-La.”

  “Areto,” Solomon snapped. “That’s enough of that. Socialize on your own time.”

  “Yes, Captain, but you know that since I am the AI of the light cruiser Diadem, I really don’t have any free time.”

  Solomon’s smile never reached his eyes. “Exactly.”

  “Prude,” she scoffed. “I’ll speak with you later, Giuseppe, after Solomon has gone to bed.”

  Giuseppe was staring at Solomon. “That was an AI?”

  “I’m afraid so, Giuseppe. Her name is Areto, and her base personality matrix is that of an Amazon warrior.” He smiled. “I rather like her.”

  “Why, thank you, Solomon,” Areto purred.

  “You would,” Elora growled. “You set this whole thing up with Areto, didn’t you?” There was an angry snap to Elora’s voice.

  “Let’s just say that I had a suspicion things were going to require something more than stealth,” Solomon confessed. “I also didn’t want to worry everyone if it wasn’t necessary.” He pulled out the com again. “Areto, how long will it take you to load the Buddhists from Olympus Mons? Did you bring your own shuttle, or will you need ours?”

  Areto laughed. “The gravity of Mars is relatively light. I can set the cruiser down and simply open a ramp into the hangar and load everyone in. I brought the drop shuttle in case you needed it.”

  Solomon blinked in surprise. “That’s very… cool. Please send the drop shuttle our way. Giuseppe, could you please call the head man at the monastery and tell him that help is on the way. Tell him that where they are going it will be as cold as Tibet, and as mountainous. Tell him that there are no Chinese there, or anyone else, save a handful of humans at the moment. Tell him the ship will land to pick them up. Have him look for a…” He paused. “Areto?”

  The AI actually giggled. “Tell him to look for a three-kilometer-long bloodred barracuda. The hangar door will be midway on the starboard side. They have perhaps four days to board before the Terran forces arrive and I have to leave.”

  “I…” Giuseppe swallowed. “I will tell them, Areto. Thank you for your hospitality.”

  “You’re welcome, Giuseppe. Is there anything else, Captain?” she asked as Giuseppe withdrew his own com and began to speak rapidly.

  “No, Areto. And thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll set down at Olympus Mons just after sundown.”

  “Very good.” Solomon looked up as Lucinda and a tall, serious-faced Xane pressed through the circle of soldiers, and for a few minutes, he and Elora were busy greeting their family.

  The family sat in a small intimate sitting room after dinner, sipping strong Martian brandy and filling each other in on the happenings of the other side of the family. Giuseppe’s face, although younger looking than Solomon remembered, looked worn with worry.

  “After you left, things were quiet for the first few years, as the Terran powers absorbed the implications of the Fontaine family’s rise to power. Then the saber rattling began, and the attempt by Terran forces to retake control of Mars. By then we had a standing army of three hundred, all enhanced with what you tell me are Constructs. The attempt by Terra failed, and most of the attacking forces were killed. The rest were sent back to their home world, their tails between their legs. It was then that the Terran governments found
out about the Constructs, and they began to build their fleet. That was ten years ago, and now they are prepared to strike. My contacts tell me that the Terran fleet has orders to sterilize Mars.” He shrugged. “I tried to send a communiqué to Terra explaining that all the shadow creatures had been assigned hosts, and the people in the cities were innocent of any wrongdoing, but they wouldn’t even listen.”

  Solomon nodded. “The Constructs were probably assigned to a refugee ship from Adaari, and because of the climate actually managed to survive the deaths of their hosts. I wonder what the Terran forces would do if they knew they were all Adaari descendants.”

  “Nothing, probably.” Giuseppe finished his drink and sat, looking about the ornate sitting room. “Probably nothing like this on Shangri-La, is there? I really love it here on Mars.”

  Solomon touched the man’s arm. “I know you do, Father, but wait until you smell the air on Shangri-La. It’s like a fine wine. Think of the Alaskan coast or the Norwegian fiords before man came. That is Shangri-La.”

  Giuseppe smiled. “Thank you, Solomon, for all you have done, and are doing.”

  Solomon nodded then grinned at the man. “Elora and I found out about Elora’s background, especially when compared to mine.”

  “Oh?” Giuseppe’s face reddened slightly, and at his side, Lucinda smiled.

  Xane frowned in incomprehension, and Solomon took pity on his brother.

  “It goes like this, Xane. I’m the son of Giuseppe and Julia Fontaine, as are you. Elora on the other hand, is the daughter of Lucinda and Thomaso Strangini. Sometime later, Thomaso died, and Lucinda married Giuseppe, who adopted Elora and treated her as his own flesh-and-blood daughter.”

  Xane’s eye’s filled with mirth as he looked from Solomon to Elora. “So, brother,” he said in his deep resonant voice, “have you set a date yet?”

  “No,” Solomon admitted.

  Elora smiled. “Yes.”

  Solomon shot her a hard look.

  Xane passed Solomon a long gaze but addressed his question to Elora. “I take it you haven’t told him yet. When, if I might ask, were you planning on springing it on the poor dope?”