Race to Terra (Book 10 of The Empire of Bones Saga)

by Terry Mixon

  “How long does it need to be cold for? Does it reactivate after a period of time? I need to know how fast I’m going to have to work.”

  “Once you do this, it’s off for good,” Kelsey said. “This kind of hardware wasn’t ever reused. All you need to do is get it under the freezing point for a few seconds. We can put the disarmed bomb back in without an antitampering circuit.”

  Lily manipulated her instruments for a few seconds. “Okay, that should do it. I’m going to remove the antitampering wrapping, so I suggest you take a few steps back.”

  Jared stood firm, and after a moment’s hesitation, so did Kelsey.

  The doctor used a pair of forceps to grip the explosive and unwrapped the antitampering foil. Jared’s heart stuttered, but the explosive didn’t go off.

  There was only a single access point on the bomb’s surface, so Lily opened it and found the manual switch to deactivate the device. Seconds later, it was an inert prop they could put back into Fielding’s head.

  They watched Lily sterilize it and then put it back inside Fielding’s head. Ten minutes later, the work was done.

  “I understand that the research scientists from Dresden have something similar,” Lily said as she stripped off her surgical cover. “Now that we’ve restored communication with our Kelsey, Zac Zoboroski can get them fixed up. I’ll want a chance to explain this in detail to him myself as soon as possible.”

  “Go down to engineering, and someone will help you make that happen. Excellent work, both of you.”

  “That means more to me than I’d expected,” Kelsey said after a moment. “Were you really that confident in me?”

  “You’re not the kind of person that makes claims you can’t back up,” Jared said firmly. “If you say you know something, I’ll take that to the bank.”

  “You’re really not him,” she said slowly. “I have to accept that I’m doing you a great disservice. Fine, as far as I’m concerned, you’re not Mertz anymore. You’re Mertz Two.”

  He shook his head resolutely. “No. I’m Jared. Call that other me Mertz or the Bastard all you like, but I’m the kind of man that goes by his first name with family.”

  “Are we really family? You have Imperial blood and I don’t.”

  That made him smile. “Family is who we choose. I’m not genetically related to you, but I’m sure as hell your family. I’ll be your friend too, if you’ll allow it.”

  “I’ll try,” she said slowly. “I can’t promise, but I’ll try.”

  Inside, he felt elated. This was the kind of breakthrough he’d dreamed of making. Its importance could not be overstated.

  “Shall we get something to eat?” he asked after a moment.

  “You do know me,” she said with a smile. “Let’s do that.”

  Kelsey tried not to keep asking how long it would take them to get to their destination. Don Sommerville, Angela, and she rode in one of the new picket ship’s cutters, and they thought they were keeping her in the dark about where they were taking her.

  They’d shortstopped Persephone in the last system, just on the other side of the flip point with Sommerville’s older brother.

  “Okay,” she finally asked. “Why didn’t you tell your brother that it was already too late to keep us from finding out what’s here?”

  “There are varying levels of ‘too late’ under the circumstances. You have a probe here that has to operate on passive scanners. If you were here, you might be able to put out a dozen more and find out things you otherwise wouldn’t.

  “Also, as much as I love Gavin, he isn’t cleared to know about this tech. You’ve already snuck the damned thing in here, so I might as well play along until I can brief the leadership team.”

  “What can we expect there?” Angela asked. “Are they going to be super pissed that we’re even here? Or that we’ve been spying on them?”

  “No one likes being spied on, so I wouldn’t expect them to be very happy about that, but the advantages of what you’re offering more than offset any unpleasant surprises. Particularly if you can demonstrate one of those multi-flip points. Do you think there’s one in this system?”

  Kelsey shrugged a little. “That’s hard to say without looking. We’ve found one in maybe half the systems we’ve looked in, but we were usually running for our lives. We haven’t seen enough to know what the frequency actually is.

  “If there is one here, it won’t take long to demonstrate how much of a game changer it is. One can give you access to a dozen systems if you’re lucky. Some of them not on the normal flip point network. That’s how the Clans stayed hidden so long.”

  “A completely different network,” Sommerville mused. “I get it, but that’s so hard to get my mind around. There could be civilizations mixed all through the Empire and no one would know, as long as they weren’t using powerful transmitters. Even aliens like the Pandorans.”

  He turned toward Kelsey. “Do you think some of them would stay to talk with us? They’re literally just a few flips away from here.”

  “You’ll have to ask Derek and Jacob Howell. With the Clans running wild in Archibald, you don’t dare make passage.”

  “That won’t last. They’re still consolidating at Archibald, but they’ll have to move most of their units out once they have the people there under their thumb. A ship searching for the Q-ship that got away is one that can’t be conquering another system.

  “They’ll leave enough ships to protect the planet and flip points and figure the rogue ship will starve or come in to fight. They can’t be that worried about one ship.”

  The speaker over their head came to life. “We’re on the final leg inbound,” the pilot said. “Twenty minutes until we dock.”

  “Well, here’s to hoping your leader doesn’t just space us,” Angela said with a sigh.

  The final minutes went smoothly enough, and the cutter docked without incident.

  Sommerville rose to his feet. “Don’t be too upset at the level of protection in there. You’re both heavily modified, so they’ll probably be there in force.”

  “There is no shame in honoring a threat,” Kelsey said, standing and straightening her shirt. “And there’s no insult to be taken seriously. Though now that Angela is a Raider, you can bet they’ll see her as the biggest threat. That stings a little.”

  Angela laughed. “I won’t correct their misapprehension either. It’s a blow to my ego that you can still take me four out of five falls.”

  The cutter’s hatch opened, and Sommerville led the way out. Kelsey followed him and found the corridor almost deserted. Only three people stood waiting for them: a tall blonde with an exceptionally curvy figure in the center with two large men at her back. They had the feel of guards, and her implants confirmed their status. They had lots of weapons on them.

  The woman stepped forward and extended her hand to Sommerville. “It’s good to see you again, Don. We were worried when you didn’t show up on schedule. We were even more worried when you appeared with unexpected guests.”

  She turned her attention to Kelsey and once more held out her hand. “You must be Kelsey Bandar. Don has told us a lot about you, but I get the impression that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to you.”

  Kelsey smiled. “You have no idea. Thank you for meeting with us. This is Major Angela Ellis. She commands Persephone for me. Might I ask your name?”

  The woman shook Angela’s hand. “Of course. I’m Sara Gatewood, commander of the resistance and the woman who decides if you get to leave this station alive when I’m done hearing you out. I hope you’ve brought your best pitch, because you won’t get a second try at making this particular first impression.”

  30

  Olivia was sitting in a comfortable chair when Fielding woke abruptly and tried to sit up. The restraints on his arms and legs made that difficult, but he finally managed to lever himself into a sitting position.

  “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded. “What have you done?” />
  She smiled brightly at him. “Good morning, sleepyhead! Rise and shine. It’s time to finalize our business together.”

  “What did you do?” he demanded again.

  “Nothing you need be too concerned about. We just made some updates to the criteria in the bomb in your head. That code you had for disabling it? Sorry about that, but it’s functional again. We’ve also made sure that it’s in your best interests not to talk about us, what we’re doing, or the fact we can update implant code.”

  The man paled at that. “Bitch, I’ll see you dead for this.”

  Olivia laughed. “Please, save the threats for someone that cares. I’ve got more serious enemies on my horizon. The Lords will want me dead soon enough, and they’re far more problematic.

  “I also wouldn’t count on your guards being very supportive, since I convinced them you were going to kill them first thing. It helped that I’m absolutely sure that’s what you were going to do.”

  “That hardly matters,” the man said with a grunt. “I can replace them at any time. This changes nothing between us. You will die at my hands, so keep looking over that pretty shoulder of yours.”

  “So what you’re saying is that I should space you now and save myself the trouble later? Perhaps that’s good advice. All I need are codes to shorten my journey by a few days. Hardly something worth a lifelong blood feud. You’re seriously undercutting your value to me, Oscar. I suggest you turn that around and make yourself worth leaving alive.”

  His eyes showed the realization that he’d made a mistake being so open about his plans. That almost made her laugh. No version of this, short of his death, made it less likely he’d try to get revenge. Rebel Empire nobles could sometimes be too petty for their own good.

  “That’s all you want? The codes to get to Terra through the systems on the shortest route in exchange for my life, my cutter, and everything on it?”

  “That’s the deal. You give me the passage codes for the systems we’re coming up to and I’ll drop you and your cutter with everything now on it at the last inhabited system before Terra.

  “As for coming for me, feel free. If I see you or anyone I suspect of being from you, I’ll see that you get what’s coming to you. Remember that I can send a message all across the Empire with a code to blow up your head. It doesn’t even have to go through your implants. I can have an agent find you and send an innocuous message or even say something to you in public.”

  She made a gesture with both hands showing her head exploding.

  “I suggest you lick your wounds and pray that we never think of one another again. The codes. We have four flips by my estimation. The next system is occupied, the following empty, the third occupied, and the last not. If anyone gets too interested in us, I’ll kill you before I ask why.”

  When he made to speak, she held up her hand. “You have no leverage. Any betrayal ends you first. Save your threats of retribution for someone else. Give. Me. The. Codes.”

  For a few seconds, she was certain that he’d refuse, but he sighed and sent her a file with two passage codes and the systems they were good for. They’d find out soon enough if they were good, she supposed.

  “I’m glad you’ve seen the way clear to making all our lives easier. I believe this concludes our business.”

  He smiled a bit snidely. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t wish you good luck at Terra. I hope you die there.”

  “Life is rarely so helpful as to kill our enemies so conveniently. I’ll have my people escort you to a room. Once we get to the third system and are almost clear, I’ll release you. We won’t meet again unless you are far stupider than you look.”

  Without another word, she rose and made her way out of the medical Center. Jared, Sean, Austin, Elise, Kelsey Two, and Scott Roche were waiting in a nearby conference room.

  “That went well,” Sean said. “You do have a way with people, dear.”

  She laughed. “It went as well as I expected. Austin, did you have any luck with the data cores from the financial institutions?”

  Austin smiled. “My uncle never was very good with passcodes, and I have all the biometric data I need. A few are proving recalcitrant, but I hope to manage them shortly. We have enough money to pay off the guards and get them on their way, as well as sourcing some drones in the next system.”

  Olivia smiled. “That’s good. I really wish we knew what he stole from the AI. Did the data give you any more ideas about what it does?”

  “I think it generates a recognition code,” Austin said. “It takes the serial number entered as an input and comes up with a different code for each of the System Lords. What that does or where it’s used, I have no idea.”

  “Whatever it is, it will have to wait for another time,” Jared said. “We flip in an hour. Let’s go make sure we’re ready for trouble in case Fielding is sticking a knife in our collective backs. This is it, people. The endgame is upon us. Frankly, I was starting to think we’d never get to Terra at this point.”

  “Are we there yet?” Olivia asked with a smirk.

  “Don’t make me turn this secret mission around,” Jared said with a smile. “Good work, everyone. Now let’s make it count.”

  Angela followed Kelsey’s lead and said nothing about the threat the woman had just made. Or maybe threat was the wrong word. Perhaps it was the simple truth.

  “I think we can make our case,” Kelsey said. “I can prove a number of things and provide some technology you’ll want, but I have a peculiar request to make before we get started. I need someone with implants to do that.”

  Gatewood raised an eyebrow. “That is an unusual request. Why?”

  “Since I can tell you have implants, telling you would be very shocking.”

  The woman smiled. “I like being shocked. Not many of us have implants, so I’m as good as anyone to tell this to. I assume you’d like some privacy, so let’s adjourn to my office.”

  The walk to Gatewood’s office didn’t take too long, so Angela thought the facility might be somewhat smaller than she’d originally guessed. Once they’d arrived, Gatewood sat behind a wide desk and gestured for them to sit in front of it. The guards took up position at the door.

  “So, what is this shocking secret?” she asked.

  “Let me warn you up front that it will cause you to attack me and you won’t be able to stop yourself,” Kelsey said. “We brought some equipment on the cutter that can stop the reaction, but we’ll have to subdue you and wait for it to be vetted by your people. Trust me when I tell you that you won’t want to be awake for that.”

  Sommerville pulled a somatic stimulator from his jacket. “I brought this and have already checked it out.”

  The woman seemed amused. “You think I’ll go berserk and need to be put to sleep simply because you tell me something? That’s crazy.”

  “Also,” Angela said, “if you want to keep your guards from being hurt, you’ll need to tell them to stand down beforehand. I don’t want to have to hurt anyone.”

  “You’re a big woman, but they have stunners and flechette pistols,” Gatewood said. “I think they’re safe.”

  “On your head, then,” Angela said. “I’ll try to leave them in one piece.”

  Sommerville held up his hand. “You might want to at least review the scan data from these two. They aren’t as helpless as they seem.”

  The resistance leader waved him off. “I’ll play this game for a bit. Guards, take no action if I inexplicably lose my mind. There. All safe.”

  Angela could see the woman wasn’t taking them seriously, so she felt badly about what was about to happen. This wouldn’t be pretty.

  “My name is Kelsey Bandar, as you know,” Kelsey said with a small shake of her head. “What you don’t know is that I’m also the crown princess of the New Terran Empire, a sliver of humanity that the AIs never subdued. We’re both unsubjugated humans.”

  Gatewood blinked twice and then stood bolt upright, a snarl on her face as she leapt o
ver her desk at Kelsey.

  Angela was already on her feet and moving for the guards. She knew they wouldn’t just stand there and gawk.

  Her rapid movement took the guards by surprise, since they were staring at their boss. Angela swept both of them off their feet with a powerful kick, grabbed a fallen stunner, and had them both covered a moment later.

  “I’ll shoot you if I have to,” she said quietly. “Just let this play out like your leader ordered.”

  A glance back showed that Kelsey already had Gatewood pinned, and a wide-eyed Sommerville was putting the somatic stimulator on her head. Moments later, the leader of the resistance was out.

  “Let them up, Angela,” Kelsey said. “We’re not going to do anything else until they check out the equipment we brought to clean out the corrupted implant code. We’ll explain it as many times as we need to and satisfy them that we’re telling them the truth.”

  “You two know me,” Sommerville said as he turned toward the guards. “She’s going to be pissed as it is, so let’s get moving. The sooner she’s awake and ready to really listen, the better for all of us.”

  Angela hoped the resistance leader really was going to listen before she spaced them. Well, at least the woman couldn’t say they didn’t warn her. Maybe this would speed up the belief process and get them off to Terra faster.

  Sure, and pigs could fly.

  31

  Kelsey waited for Sean to finish locking down the cutter and stepped out into the orbital station with him. It looked a lot like many of the other civilian stations she’d been on over the years, but it was creepy knowing that these people that seemed so familiar were her enemies.

  “What’s the plan?” she asked quietly as they headed toward the main hatch leading out of the bay.

  “We won’t have to go far into the station. Cargos trade hands here all the time. We need a lot of drones, so that’s not exactly a standard request, but someone will be able to get their hands on some.”