Parker Interstellar Travels 6: The Celaran Ruins

by Michael McCloskey

This is a big gateway in the floor!

  Telisa glanced upward. Another giant crease along the ceiling made it clear the entire roof was meant to open to the sky.

  Spacecraft hangar! I think... aircraft, at least? But Siobhan won’t be here.

  Telisa forced herself to stop looking for a way down deeper into the complex. Siobhan could be waiting outside due to a mix up, or she might be dead, lying on a table being dissected by Celarans. But if she had been captured and was still alive, Telisa had to find her and get her out.

  She spotted a cylinder on one of the struts that supported her wobbly platform. She took a closer look. It was a separate piece. Telisa reached out and touched it. Nothing happened, so she grabbed it. The rod came away from the strut easily. She held it in her hand. It was about the same size and weight as the first rod she had taken in the other building. Telisa added it to her loot.

  Telisa started to climb back out of the building. It would have been easier to send her smart rope ahead, but she did not want to give the Celaran security system any more glances of her equipment. Best to leave them unaware of her general position in case they had snatched Siobhan and were looking for another intruder to grab.

  Telisa became aware of a saucer shaped glider approaching from her flank. She turned to watch it. The machine closed on her position, but its angle of approach was slightly off.

  It knows I’m here, but it doesn’t see me. That’s what I get for using the door.

  Telisa stopped. The machine slowed to a halt five meters from her. The top rotated one direction slowly while the wider bottom section spun the other direction quickly. It was odd to watch. She stared at the machine and thought of Siobhan.

  If I get caught too, will that help or not?

  Telisa compressed herself downward and told an attendant to go fly out over the main floor and record everything. She gave it an evasive course. The attendant flitted away, then the Celaran security machine launched itself after. Telisa jumped straight for the door with her hands forward like an upward dive. It let her through smoothly.

  As soon as she emerged from the door, she saw three more of the gliders patrolling the roof of the building. They converged on her fast.

  Okay, now they know I’m here.

  Telisa leaped through the air to land on another facet of the roof. She ran up an angle of about twenty degrees, leaning into it. The machines peeled off after her.

  And they can sense me! It’s only a matter of time before they grab me, too.

  Telisa took a sharp right and headed for the side of the building nearest the New Iridar. A flexuous machine appeared ahead. It had eight metallic tentacles arranged around a central hub that was smaller than her own torso. Each tentacle extended over three meters from the hub. The uncanny arrangement moved efficiently.

  Not going to happen.

  Telisa launched herself over the machine with a strong leap. The machine twitched as she passed overhead, confused. When Telisa landed on the far side, she kept running but dared a peek back. The machine had somehow re-acquired her.

  Kerflump!

  A bundle launched out of its midsection. Telisa turned sharply away, using her superhuman speed. Whatever the bundle was, it did not change course to pursue. She came to the edge of the building. The bundle fell away on her previous course. It opened into a net in mid-flight, covering the area she had been. It caught only air, then flipped over the side of the building.

  First a net creature, now a net robot. Time to leave.

  Telisa did not bother with the rope this time. She dropped straight off the edge. Instead of telling her attendants to lift against the gravity, she told them to push her toward the wall. In an instant she told her Veer suit to glove up her hands with her link. Her knees and hands scraped against the surface, slowing her fall. She grabbed at one ridge and then another as she passed them, slowing herself further.

  She glanced upwards and saw two of the net launcher machines peering over the edge above her. The net that had been launched was floating back to the machine that had deployed it. The other machine was ready to fire at her.

  Kerflump!

  Telisa’s lightning-fast reflexes were enough to give her time to push off from the side of the building before the net came hurtling down. She flew through thin air away from the building.

  Now if I could only land without breaking my legs.

  It seemed to happen slowly to Telisa’s hyped nervous system. She told her attendants to thrust upwards as hard as they could. She rolled in the air before opening up her arms to increase her drag to land legs first.

  An odd memory flashed through her brain of the first time Magnus had trained her to fall. He had made her fall over and over again in the simulation until her legs broke—

  Smack!

  The impact was manageable. She rolled with the impact, absorbing some of the energy in her legs as they bent, then the rest came through her Veer suit across her right shoulder as she rolled through it. Between the attendants, the Veer suit, her training, her augmented strength, and the lower gravity, Telisa was able to land, roll, and come up running in one smooth motion.

  The VR stars got nothing on me.

  Telisa ran in a zig zag pattern for the fence.

  These are machines. If I let their guard go back down, then I can sneak back in and find her. Or maybe I can make a plan with the whole team.

  Telisa decided against going back to the old rendezvous. She could check for Siobhan with her link once she made her way outside the compound. She took a left to skirt a building and find a new spot by the fence.

  Vincent scuttled along the side of the building ahead.

  By the Four.

  The plant creature moved up to the side of the gray building and probed at the wall before it. Then it moved on. It did not seem to be moving urgently, though the creature was so alien it would be impossible to tell for sure.

  Telisa felt angry at the alien for a moment. Was it working with the machines? Was it their ally? Or did the machines just leave things that looked like plants alone? Wouldn’t a vine cutter come along and remove it?

  How are you running around in here and what in R’lyeh are you doing?

  She watched Vincent move along. One of the security gliders move by within forty meters of the alien. Vincent did not freeze, but neither did the glider pay it any attention.

  Siobhan had better not be missing because of you, she thought grimly, then ran for the fence. As she approached, she launched herself onto it with one superhuman leap. She used her tanto to cut enough strands to let herself through, then retreated back into the vine jungle.

  Chapter 13

  Telisa reappeared on Caden’s link map. He waited the space of three nervous breaths. Siobhan did not appear. He strode back and forth atop the Celaran vine-spire that served as the lookout above their camp.

  No.

  Telisa moved toward base camp. Caden held himself from initiating a connection, just in case there was a valid reason for Siobhan’s absence that was about to be announced. At the same time, his annoyance and fear rose.

  Telisa should know we want a report right now!

  “Why isn’t she reporting?” Caden asked aloud. Beside him, Imanol had a look on his face that said it all: bad news.

  “Is she talking to you?” Caden demanded.

  “She’s not dead, Caden. Captured. They captured her,” Telisa reported.

  “Who captured her, exactly?” he asked, struggling to stay calm.

  They expect me to freak out. Fine. I won’t. I’ll stay calm and get her back.

  “The security machines, as far as I know,” Telisa said from the group link channel. “I have no reason to believe there are any Celarans. We went in, but turns out her stealth suit is not good enough. Whatever this stealth sphere is, it’s a step up. I’ve been snooping around, but I don’t know how to get her back yet.”

  “You can’t find her?” Jason asked.

  “No. A net casting machine came after me, so I
think she’s been netted and pulled into one of the buildings. The machines out there can’t pinpoint me, but they know I’m around. I could probably go back in later and avoid detection for a time. That’s one plan.”

  Telisa leaped up to their overlook and joined them. The ledge around the massive trunk was crowded, so Telisa hopped over to a nearby vine. They heard rustling down below.

  “Vincent is back,” Imanol announced.

  “Was Vincent inside the complex?” Jason asked.

  “Yes,” Telisa said. “Turns out he can wander around in there all he wants. He may be key to getting her back. If only we could really communicate with him.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll concentrate on,” Caden said.

  “I’m impressed. I expected you would be the first to demand we go in there guns blazing.”

  “We are going to go in there guns blazing, if we don’t come up with something better,” Cilreth said vehemently. Caden felt pleased to hear her express loyalty but he tried not to show it.

  Telisa held up a black bag.

  “I have some items. This race is most pointedly devoid of stuff. But maybe we can learn something from these knickknacks to help us get Siobhan back.”

  “Well we decided all their things have multiple functions,” Caden said, thinking aloud. “So they don’t need much stuff.”

  “As good a theory as any.”

  Telisa pulled something out. It was a black section of flexible material, with some kind of built-in shiny objects of various shapes and sizes.

  “What the—” Cilreth said.

  “Exactly,” Telisa said. “I have no ideas here yet.”

  Caden examined the black material. Along one edge the black layer came together in thicker, denser cords like fasteners. It easily bent, stretched, and folded in his hands. He handed it to Cilreth, who stood eagerly by to get her own look.

  Cilreth gave it a once over with some kind of scanner.

  “It has a battery. That’s all I’ve got,” Cilreth said. “And it’s damn complicated. Advanced.”

  Caden reached into Telisa’s bag of loot and pulled another item out slowly. It was a cylinder about the length of Caden’s forearm, though thinner. Caden took it in his hand. It felt incredibly light.

  “Careful!” Jason urged. Imanol beamed like a proud father.

  “That’s a mystery too,” Telisa said. She did not seemed worried about Caden’s handling of the object.

  “A simple club or structural beam?” Imanol suggested.

  “I don’t think so,” Telisa said. “It’s a complex powered device. I have another about the same size, but it’s less complex, not powered.”

  “Wait. We have something going on out there,” Imanol interrupted.

  “What is it?” Telisa asked.

  “One of those glider snakes just got taken down out of the air.”

  “Who cares? We need to concentrate on getting our team member back!” Caden said.

  “What if the Celarans are coming after us out here?” Imanol asked. He brought his projectile pistol out.

  “This could be something dangerous,” Cilreth said. “I’m reviewing the footage. It wasn’t a force tower pushing the glider away. Something shot it down.”

  “Siobhan?” Caden asked. He stood. He checked several visual feeds. He did not see his girlfriend, but something caught his eye.

  The debris on the forest floor shifted. Then he saw it. A long brown monster scuttled over the surface. It was heavily camouflaged.

  “We have visitors. On the ground,” Caden said.

  “Do they have guns?” asked Jason.

  Caden frowned. The creature he watched was about the size and height of a young crocodile, perhaps three meters long. It had several stubby appendages that each split into three long spikes which sank into the detritus beneath it. Its head thinned into a snout that extended forward like the proboscis of a mosquito. The creature darted out of sight with surprising speed.

  That thing is damn ugly. And dangerous, I bet!

  “No guns I think,” Imanol said. Apparently he had spotted it too. Caden saw one of their attendants go offline.

  “It’s attacking the attendants, too,” Caden said.

  “Grab your gear now! There’s more than one. Several, at least,” Telisa said.

  Suddenly Jason’s neck burned like fire. He yelled out in pain and slapped his neck. His hand came back covered in smoking blood. His Veer suit had gloved his hand before he could touch his own neck. Caden fell to his knees in shock.

  “Caden!” Telisa said, dropping to his side. “Hang on. I’m checking your neck. Everyone take cover!”

  Several things happened at once. Caden’s suit told him it dropped painkillers into his blood and the pain faded to an ugly ache. His head throbbed with every heartbeat. The team brandished their weapons and dropped prone or to their knees. Imanol started to shoot his projectile pistol. Telisa poured water over Caden’s head.

  Is this it? Am I dead in the next few seconds?

  Caden’s suit extended to cover his head. The world blurred for a moment until his flexible faceplate hardened into a shape that provided no optical distortion.

  “Acid,” Telisa broadcast. “Those things are shooting wads of strong acid or base at us.”

  “I see them down on the ground,” Jason said.

  “My weapon is having a hard time deciding on the signature,” Imanol rattled off quickly.

  “I’m putting three attendants on it,” Telisa said. “We’ll have a signature within a minute. Just get going! Back to New Iridar!” Telisa told his suit to open at the neck. She took out a can of artificial skin and sprayed it across the back and sides of his neck. Then his suit sealed back up. Telisa pulled him upright.

  Caden did not know if he could run in his muddled condition, but when he came to his feet, he felt good to go. Adrenaline and painkillers made for an odd couple in his system. He felt mentally calmed yet his heart beat hard in his chest. Telisa lingered beside him as he hustled down the vine they had arrived on. He asked the attendant for a course back and the machine provided it through his link.

  I should be returning fire.

  Caden reached for his sniper rifle.

  “Wait until we have the signature. I want you to get ahead of us,” Telisa said. “We’ll cover you. Then you stop, take the sig, and cover us.”

  Caden focused on the route his link had brought up. He ran down another vine, hopped to an adjacent one, then ran through a hole in the giant leaves. He still felt like a tiny ant in a huge garden. An ant being pursued by a mantis.

  “I’m hit!” Cilreth said on the channel. “My suit is holding for the moment!”

  “It’s burning through, let me pour some on there—”

  “I’m hit too!” Jason said. “On my faceplate!”

  Caden ran up to a complex vine junction. Directly before him sat Vincent. The Blackvine did not move. Caden let his hand rest on his stun/projectile combo pistol.

  Is it making a move against me? No. Frozen in place. Great.

  “Don’t bother to help,” Caden said aloud to the alien.

  “What?” Telisa asked.

  “Vincent is in my way.”

  He received a signature for the alien creatures advancing below. The target sig lacked precision. Apparently the things were so good at camouflage that the sig was hard to nail down. Or maybe they had a wide range of sizes and shapes. Despite Vincent’s apparent lack of cooperation, Caden took a half second to convince himself the signature would not accept the Blackvine as a target.

  Caden loaded it into his rifle. He leaped to one side, getting onto another vine. He saw droplets of blood fly as he landed. His own blood. It dribbled down his Veer suit.

  So much for the fake skin. And there’s a leak in my suit.

  He pulled his rifle from his back and turned. He rested the rifle over the huge stem of a leaf and prepared to shoot. He realized a laser rifle would have been more useful in his situation, because it woul
d have enabled him to carve out a longer shooting corridor through the leaves. He told one of the attendants flitting below to cut away some leaves ahead of him.

  “Okay, I’ll cover you from here,” Caden said. “See if you can get around Vincent or just boot his ass to the ground.”

  Jason transmitted a nonverbal signal for distress.

  “Got one but it got me too,” Imanol said.

  “Out of ammo,” Telisa said. “Gimme your weapon.”

  Caden did not know who she was talking to. He focused on the feed from his rifle. The vines were dense and it was hard to see far, but he picked something up. He could tell from his tactical it was not a team member. Caden fired off two rounds.

  Crack! Crack!

  He would rely upon the signature to turn the rounds away if his target was something or someone unknown. It was risky, but his team was in trouble.

  A round reported a strong hit probability on something matching the sig. Caden’s suit fed him some noise from over on his right. An attendant reported another target, then it died. Caden shifted and fired off two more rounds.

  Crack! Crack!

  He got another hit report but three more possible targets showed up on his tactical. He took a deep breath. The attendant cutting leaves ahead of him darted forward, then dropped to the ground in a smoking spiral.

  What if Siobhan’s out there trying to get home with her cloak on?

  Caden suppressed the thought. He would rely upon the rounds’ ability to match the signature against the target. They were sophisticated. Besides merely veering away from non-matches, the rounds could even decide to stick together and inflict a through-and-through rather than disintegrate inside the target depending on a sig match or miss. Besides, the chances of accidentally hitting one Terran target in all that jungle were low.

  Nice and calm. Take them out.

  Caden started to fire more rapidly.

  Crack! Crack! Crack!

  “Way to go Caden! We’re moving past your position,” Telisa said. “I’ll hang back beside you. Let’s give the others some time to get ahead. Jason’s leg is still injured from the other day.”

  Caden sent the nonverbal ack signal and fired again. The last attendant ahead of him dropped off the tactical.