Trail of Evil

by Travis S. Taylor

  Nancy had always liked dollhouses and castles as a little girl and the ancient Victorian styles had always pleased her. DeathRay never seemed to care one way or the other and Nancy didn’t really give a damn what anybody else thought. It was her house and her stuff. This was her ship so she’d put whatever furniture in it she wanted to. Hell, if she wanted to run around the ship naked she would.

  “Nancy, I, uh,” Dee stammered, unsure of what it was she was wanting to say or unsure of how to say it. Nancy never liked beating around the bush about anything.

  “Have a seat, Dee. You’re off duty right now, right?” Nancy pointed toward the bright green couch with a mauve, pink, and blue flower pattern sewn into it. The legs were a deep red mahogany wood.

  “I’m off duty until after tomorrow.” Dee sat down.

  “Good. Seeing as how we are just hanging out for the next few days anyway, I don’t think it would hurt a thing if we had a couple bottles of wine. Do you?” Nancy turned and walked to the kitchenette she had installed on the other side of the quarters. She slid a cabinet door back and revealed her wine cooler.

  “You’ve been busy,” Dee said.

  “Well, I haven’t just been decorating. I have been working through the databanks of this fleet trying to figure out what the hell they are all about. I think better when I keep myself occupied.” Nancy reached into the locker and pulled out two bottles. “Red or white?”

  “Uh, I dunno, you pick.” Dee squirmed uncomfortably on the couch.

  “Red then.” Nancy pulled two glasses from the cabinet and a corkscrew from a drawer. “It’s a big ship. I’ve got it all to myself. I did manage to convince your father to let Boland bunk here with me. With the teleporters he could be anywhere in a moment’s notice. We did have to promise to always have mecha ready to fly in case the QMTs are jammed.”

  Nancy poured the wine and handed a glass to Dee. Then she sat down in the matching loveseat. She squirmed just a bit to get comfortable and then propped her combat boots on the coffee table. She wanted to show Dee she could be informal if she wanted to.

  “Makes sense to me. Probably would make sense to spread the crews out anyway in case of an attack.” Dee took a long sip of her wine. Nancy made a mental note of the idea. Dee was right.

  “So, Dee, how are you?”

  “I’m good. Doc says I’m fit as I ever have been. My new heart is perfect and well, brand new. I’m fine.” But Nancy could see there was something more going on with her. Nancy had been judging people’s moves, motivations, and personalities for decades and she was good at telling when people were under duress. Dee was stressed as hell.

  “Good. And how is the SEAL? Other than just good in the sack, I mean.” Nancy chuckled. She hoped to crack the tension in the air with some big-sister sorority-type conversation.

  “Well, if you have to bring it up, he’s good, very good. I do mean in the sack.” Dee almost laughed and she did take another sip of the wine. Nancy was breaking the ice.

  “Good. I wish I could get Boland off the job long enough to . . . oh well, he’s a busy man.” Nancy thought about that for a minute. Jack was a good man and when he was DeathRay there was no better soldier. She needed to force him to take some time to just be Boland more often. “What else is up?”

  “I guess you heard that the general has decided his mecha jocks should be flying and not doing forward recon.” Dee frowned over her wine glass. Nancy could tell Dee was looking for an expression from her to gauge her opinion. Nancy was good at playing poker; she had no tells.

  “Dee, I talked with Boland about that. Why bring all these AEMs with us if we don’t let them do some of the heavy lifting every now and then? Besides, the skies are much safer with DeathRay and Apple One patrolling them.” Nancy could tell this wasn’t what she had come to talk about. Dee was still feeling the need for small talk.

  “I don’t know. I guess.” She shrugged and filled her glass up from the wine bottle. Nancy was glad that she at least felt comfortable enough to help herself to the alcohol.

  “Okay, enough of the small talk shit, Dee.” Nancy decided the direct approach was best. “What is going on with you? You came to talk about something and I don’t believe it is to whine about your father kicking you off the recon team.”

  “I, uh,” Dee stammered and looked flushed. Nancy hoped she hadn’t scared her off. She couldn’t go backwards. All she could do now was continue to press her.

  “There is something troubling you, Dee. Hey, it’s me. We’ve known each other for years. Whatever you have to say is between us.”

  “I had an out-of-body experience when my heart stopped. My grandmother came to me in old memories that were jumbled up. She told me she needed to show me something. And you were there and you told me to pay attention to her. And then she told me again. I think there is something to it. I think my dead grandmother is trying to tell me something. I think I’m supposed to be doing something.” Dee said it all in one breath and her hands were shaking. Nancy could see that there were tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

  “Uh, wait,” She took a breath herself and thought for moment. “Say it all again, but in more detail this time. Don’t leave out any minor thing.”

  Dee seemed to open up completely. The details of her dream or vision or hallucination—Nancy didn’t care what you called it—were vivid. Deanna seemed to recall it all, down to the colors and minute details like the number of forks on the dining table in her grandmother’s suite on Ares. The holowall seemed to be a central focus of the experience, as it seemed to repeat. Nancy listened and had Allison record every detail and start an analysis of each part. Once Dee finished she leaned back in the couch and sighed.

  “So, am I crazy or what?”

  “Crazy? Because you had some sort of experience after a swarm of killer robots tried to rip your heart out?” Nancy chuckled slightly. “Hell, if I’d had to live through some of the things you did as a little girl I’d probably be a total head case.”

  “What then?”

  “Dee, you’re not crazy.” Nancy let that sink in briefly. “If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years, is that our brains keep processing no matter what. With AICs we have a better handle on how it processes but sometimes there is just too damn much data to mine and comprehend all at once. But our brains are amazing, far superior at computation than anything ever made by mankind. Oh, AICs like mine and your father’s and even yours might be really smart and good at quick data analysis and reduction but even they would admit that they are no match for a human brain.”

  “I’ve heard flight instructors say that. That’s why we don’t have AICs fly fighter mecha by themselves.” Dee nodded as she said it. “So, what then? My brain solved something?”

  “I think so, Dee. I think out of all the things you have experienced and all the things you have seen over the years that you have solved something about your grandmother’s method or plan.” Nancy thought to her AIC for a moment. Allison, any sensor log data suggesting Dee was being communicated with or hacked?

  None that I have been able to find. I think this was all her. Or, maybe it was a message from beyond.

  I guess we can’t really ever rule that one out. Let’s stick to facts for now. Philosophy and theology later.

  “Your experience actually fits with my past experience with your grandmother’s ilk. The Tangiers used holowalls to hide things. On the last mission we found these ships behind a wall that wasn’t there.” Nancy walked herself through the dream sequence again.

  “Are there any holowalls on the ships?” Dee asked

  I’ve already checked, Nancy, Allison said into her mind. If there are, I haven’t found them.

  Keep looking, Allison.

  Roger that.

  “Allison has been scanning since even before you came to see me. Since we found these ships behind one we have been looking for others.” Nancy shrugged. “I don’t think it is that simple. But I do think your brain has figured out something. Pe
rhaps it is telling you to watch out for a smokescreen or a subterfuge. One thing your grandmother was exceptional at was to hide her efforts in plain sight of everyone. After all, how could a former President of the United States be the most wanted terrorist in history and nobody have any idea about it?”

  “So, what do I do?” Dee was well into her third glass of wine now.

  “Well, for starters, you ain’t driving home. You can stay with me tonight or we’ll teleport you out. But we will at least talk on this some more and relax. If we don’t figure it out right away, don’t worry. We will figure it out in time.” Nancy nodded with a raised eyebrow. Then she raised a glass to her would-be little sister.

  “In time for what, Nancy?”

  “Indeed,” Nancy said. “In time for what is the question.”

  At that comment Dee burst into laughter, almost spitting wine from her mouth and nose. She covered her mouth and continued to laugh.

  “Indeed,” Dee said mockingly. “In time for what is the question.” She continued to laugh. “Did you really just say that? ‘Indeed. In time for what is the question.’” Dee repeated. Nancy laughed as well.

  You did sound a bit pretentious, if not ominous, Allison added with a chuckle into her mind.

  Not you too?

  I’m just saying, Allison replied. Nancy could do nothing but laugh.

  “Well, we will figure it out. And we will, indeed, do it in time for whatever it is that is about to happen.” Nancy did her best to say with a straight face.

  “Oh, shit!” Dee held her side laughing uncontrollably. “You’ve got to stop it. I don’t know if my new heart can take it. ‘Indeed!’ Who talks like that?”

  Chapter 28

  November 29, 2406 AD

  Washington D.C., The White House

  Tuesday, 1:15 PM, Earth Eastern Standard Time

  “Madam President, as you can see in your DTM view, the current location of the Expeditionary Force is a little over twenty-seven light-years from Earth in the general direction of our Ross 128 and Lalande 21185 colonies. And the planet with the abandoned city and QMT facility was twenty-nine light-years out at Xi Ursae Majoris,” Alexander reported to current sitting U.S. President, Carla Upton. His predecessor had only lasted one term and this was a completely different administration than the ones he had been involved with. She was fully briefed on history—all but the true identity of Elle Ahmi. “The colonies are highlighted here at Proxima Centauri, Lalande 21185, Ross 128, Gliese 581c, Gliese 876d, Tau Ceti, and the newer outpost at Wolf 359. As you’ll note, most of these are located radially outward from the Sol System in a direction away from the galactic center. Also note that Tau Ceti, Gliese 876, and Gliese 581 are almost in the exact opposite direction from Sol as the other colonies. Adding to this, we see that all of the Separatist automated outposts are in the same direction away from Sol as all the colonies except for Tau Ceti, Gliese 876, and Gliese 581. ”

  “General—you know, Alexander, I have the hardest time calling you that,” President Upton frowned.

  “Yes, ma’am, it is strange for me sometimes, too. But it is a job that has to get done and I’m the man for the job. I was a politician long enough. I’ve been there and done that, ma’am.” The corners of Moore’s mouth turned up to almost a grin. “You were saying?”

  “Yes, Alexander, it looks like your theory was right. All of the new bases you continue to find are in the same general direction away from Earth.” The president studied the three-dimensional mindscape. Moore watched her carefully as she did. He could tell she was a slow and meticulous woman who calculated her moves before she made them. He wasn’t sure yet, but he thought he liked her.

  “Yes, ma’am. I think we’re getting close.”

  “Close? You keep getting farther and farther away!” The president continued to study the star field being projected in their minds. “But you think you are close to this place Madira spoke of that was thirty-one light-years away, I assume.”

  “Yes, ma’am. The resistance at each location is greater and different every time. The automated defense systems are getting better at fighting us. But it is nothing we can’t handle,” Moore said carefully.

  “Handle. You lost your ship and your daughter was nearly KIA. Alexander, I’m not so sure this job isn’t too big for the small force you have with you.” Moore wasn’t exactly certain how he wanted to handle the conversation at that point. He turned and looked out the window of the Oval Office to the grass outside. The sky was gray and small flakes of white snow were beginning to cover the shrubs. While he missed Earth, he missed being on the mission every second he was away from it. It had to be completed and resolved or he would never be able to relax and enjoy the simpler things in life like snowflakes and children.

  “With all due respect, Madam President, my team improvised, adapted, and we have overcome. In fact, right now we are loaded for bear,” Moore said staunchly.

  “You want to keep pushing outward, don’t you?”

  “Yes, Madam President. I do.” Moore stood motionless and watched the woman as she leaned back in her desk chair. She adjusted a lock of gray hair that fell over her right eye and tucked it behind her ear.

  “Relax, Alexander. I’m not going to take this from you. In fact, I agree with you that this whole thing stinks of something that isn’t just a scientific curiosity. The fact that only you found that footage in the classified archives after a century and a half is startling. The fact that there was a conversation between a U.S. senator and an alien entity of some sort scares the living hell out of me.” The president stood from her seat and walked through the virtual star field that surrounded them.

  “There is more, Madam President.”

  “Go on.”

  “Well, if you follow the path from Sol outward to Ross 128, Lalande 21185, and now Wolf 359, and keep going in that general direction, we get to where the Expeditionary Force is now. And the only star system in that general direction right at thirty-one light-years from Sol is 61 Ursae Majoris at thirty-one point one light-years. It is a yellow star and as far as we can tell it does have planets.”

  “Are you telling me you’ve found the place?”

  “I’m not sure, ma’am, but it looks like the best candidate. And, it is almost in range of the sling-forward QMT capabilities of the ships we found if we staged from the system they were found near.” Alexander pointed out the system that DeathRay and Penzington had found the fake wall and city in.

  “I see,” President Upton said thoughtfully, but didn’t add more than that.

  “I want to send a small recon team in to gather information, but at the same time I want to be preparing a heavier force to visit our friends out there and show we aren’t pushovers.”

  “Alexander, only your team, myself and my advisors, a handful of others on the HPSCI and SSCI, and the Chair of the Joint Chiefs know what is going on here. I want a backup plan in case you don’t come back. I want a guard at the gate, so to speak.”

  “Ma’am, we have put troops at each base we’ve taken from the bots. We are rotating those crews in and out as standard stations. We are putting armored divisions and mecha at each of them, are we not?” Moore responded.

  “Not what I mean, Alexander.” President Upton paused and took a deep breath. “I want somebody else of your caliber and rank, soldier and thinker, to know what is going on. I want another supercarrier with a full contingent of troops, not a skeleton crew, stationed at your newest outpost to back your play, just in case.”

  “With all due respect again, Madam President, I have a better idea.” He just had to sell it.

  “Don’t pull a supercarrier from here. I’d be wary of weakening the forces we have available at home. I would suggest a buildup until we know what we’re dealing with. We don’t need more equipment out there. We have a fleet of empty supercarrier-class ships with plenty of mecha aboard them. I can only imagine that Madira somehow planned this and left them there for us. What we don’t have is crew and supplie
s.” Moore paused to see if the President was following and gauging if she was going for it or not.

  “Go on.”

  “What if we snap back one or two of the ships to the Oort facility? Once we get it there we load it with supplies and crew. Then we take it back to our current outpost and set up shop there. We’ll use that as our base of operations.” Moore kept it simple. There was plenty of time for making it more complex.

  “Okay, pick your crew. Don’t make another move toward the objective until you have the backup team in place. That’s an order, General Moore.” Upton smiled and shook his hand. “One more thing. You’re the military expert. Why split our colonies the way they are?”

  “Madam President?” Moore wasn’t sure he understood her question.

  “Well, if Madira did all these things, then most certainly as humanity started expanding out into the stars on her watch, she would have had them expand in certain directions for a reason. Why send half of the colonists and explorers one way and one the other?”

  “Ah, I understand your question now, Madam President.” More pulled the DTM view in closer for them and highlighted the path from Sol toward 61 Ursae Majoris in red. He highlighted the path from Sol through Tau Ceti and beyond in blue. “This is a standard staging operation for a beachhead assault. The colonies toward 61 Ursae Majoris are staging grounds and outer perimeter defensive positions. These leading from Sol in the opposite direction are egress points. I hate to say it, Madam President, but they are for retreating to.”

  Upton gasped. “Holy shit.”

  “Yes, ma’am. My thoughts exactly.”

  “Anything else?”

  “No ma’am.”

  “Alexander, be safe.” Moore shook the hand she offered him and then saluted her.

  “Yes, Madam President,” Moore said, and then tapped the snap-back wrist-band control on his watch. There was a flashing white light and the sound of sizzling bacon. The next second he was stepping off the QMT pad at the Oort Cloud Facility.