by Frank Carey
"Could you repeat that in Standard?"
"If one dies, we both die," Harmon said.
"Come again."
"I know it sounds odd..."
"I could have killed you both?" Nebulon asked.
"Theoretically."
"And you didn't think to tell anyone?"
"It's something that doesn't usually come up in polite conversation."
"Didn't General Aymar try to kill Atmar once?" she asked.
"Yeah. Ex-Director Muntz thwarted that attempt."
"Does anyone else know of this suspicion?"
"Yes, though we try to keep the number low. We all agreed that if push came to shove, I would just have to risk taking one for the team, so to speak."
"You're all insane! Can't you capture him, then run tests?"
"We tried, once. He sent the EMEF Team back in their skivvies."
"OK, you and the other elf are both insane."
"Yep. Look, Nebulon, if it comes down to keeping me alive or keeping the League safe, please, choose the League. I'm just another elf among millions. I just have a family that’s a little odder than most."
Nebulon laughed, but stopped when she realized what the elf's statement entailed. "I will keep that in mind the next time I meet Atmar. Tell me, what do you think happened after we left?"
"I don't think about it. I feel bad for the security team, but they chose to work for old Atmar, and that choice comes with consequences."
"You really pulled off being Atmar back there. Hell, I thought you were him."
Harm smiled. "I always wanted to try something like that. I'm glad I was able to pull it off."
"So am I," Nebulon said as she sat back in her seat. "So am I."
CHAPTER TWO
Atmar rubbed his wrist absentmindedly while he stared at the map hanging on the wall behind his desk. It showed the position of the Vengeance and nearby space out to half a light-year. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Come."
The door opened and a very scared guard walked in. After closing the door, she walked to the front of the desk and stood at attention. "Lieutenant Markson reporting as ordered, sir! Sir, I take full responsibility..."
Atmar turned and looked at her. "At ease, Lieutenant. I've read your report, and I want to compliment you and your team for the fine work you did."
"Sir?"
"Harmon told you to take me to the infirmary and you did. He told you that no harm would come to me, and you made sure none did. Once I was awake, you followed protocol to the tee and made sure I was who I claimed to be. Meanwhile, you mounted a search for Harmon and his team on the assumption that I may be telling the truth."
Markson stood there, mouth agape. "We're not going to die, sir?"
Atmar smiled. "Not today, Captain."
"Captain, sir?"
"I'm giving you and your team field promotions of one grade level, which makes you a captain, Captain. Two things more, Captain. Please maintain the level of fear you are feeling, at least until you return to your quarters. I enjoy the mythos of my being a monster."
"Yes, sir," Markson said. That's not far from the truth, she thought.
"And a question, Captain. Was there any doubt in your mind that Harmon was me and vice-versa?"
"None, sir. His impersonation was complete down to the tonal qualities of his voice."
"Thank you, Captain. Dismissed."
Atmar sat down and watched the captain leave.
"Perhaps you made your body too much like Harmon's?" Mitrell said as she walked in from a side room and carefully sat down in her husband's lap.
"A definite miscalculation on my part, one that I plan on remedying. How are you faring, my love?"
She looked down at the growing baby bump. "She's coming along well. From the kicks I have received, I suspect our daughter will be a hellion."
"Just like her mother."
"Will you be at dinner? The smuggler envoy is dining with us."
"Are they still trying to sign a treaty? Good luck with that. Yes, I shall be there."
Mitrell stood up, kissed him, and then headed out the door, leaving him to his musings. After an hour of thinking, the clone reached into his desk and extracted a neon blue sphere about the size of a table tennis ball. He placed it on a glass plate to the left of his keyboard. Immediately, tentacles emerged from the ball and embedded themselves in the glass surface. Atmar hummed as he typed commands into the terminal.
###
Two hours later, Atmar finished. Removing the ball from the plate and placing it in his pocket.
"Atten-shun!" the officer of the deck barked as the Commodore arrived at the berth of one LTV Mirabell, a pirate ship disguised as a legitimate freighter.
"Where's the captain?"
"Inside, sir. He's working on a computer glitch with the first officer. They're in Computer Operations, sir."
"I think I can help with that. Return to your duties, Bosun."
"Aye, sir."
Atmar boarded the freighter and headed aft while performing a spot check of the ship. He reached his destination and rapped on the door. "Permission to enter!" He felt the scan come from the ceiling while someone in the room checked his biometrics.
"Sir!" the first officer barked as he opened the door. Behind him was the captain standing at attention. "What, no guard?" he asked.
The first officer closed the door, revealing a fully armed member of the security force staring at him over the barrel of a blaster. "Excellent. Captain, my compliments. Your ship is in top shape. I found only one problem: I felt your scanner. When are you due for maintenance?"
"Sir! When we return from our pick-up from the Cube."
"Good, See that scheduling bumps you to the head of the list. If I can feel it, so can a number of other species. Contact my yeoman to iron out the details. Now, tell me about this glitch."
"Sir," the captain said, "We found it during our routine system scan performed upon our return to the Vengeance. The CPU is locked."
Atmar shook his head. "Damn you, Harmon. Will you ever stop trying this shit? Step aside, Captain." Atmar ordered. He took the ball from his pocket and placed it on the console. As before, tentacles shot out and embedded themselves in the surface of the console. The screen lit up as hundreds of lines of code flashed on the screen. After a few seconds of activity, the code stopped and the desktop graphical user interface returned.
The captain and first officer stared at Atmar in disbelief. "My brother is good, but I'm better. Resume your duties, Captain.
"Sir, was there a purpose for you visit?"
"Yes, there was. Good day."
The captain and first officer watched as Atmar walked out, wondering what the hell just happened.
###
"Cube Control, this is LTV Mirabell on final. Requesting berth assignment, over."
"Copy that, Mirabell," Controller M'par said as he pressed a switch on the console, alerting security to an incoming pirate ship. "Please, standby."
"M'par, this is Security. Put them in bay six, berth thirteen."
"Copy that, control. Bay six, berth thirteen, roger." Switching to ship comm, M'par relayed the information before signing off. "Damn pirates."
The Mirabell landed in the designated berth, and the crew began offloading and loading operations as the ground crew connected the ship to water, power...
...and the Cube's computer network.
The virus Atmar had installed in the Mirabell's computer system instantly detected the Cube's network and headed out into the vast collection of computer systems and equipment as it searched for a specific set of files. Bypassing safeguards, firewalls, and antivirus applications, the program raced through the system until it found what it was looking for in Harm's lab computers. The virus entered the lab's network and settled inside a networked toaster Harm used for scones. There it collected data until the Mirabell returned, whence it hitched a ride back to a waiting Atmar.
###
&
nbsp; Mitrell walked into the lab, but was unable to find her husband at first. "Atmar? Are you in here?"
A hand rose from inside a shuttle pod. "Here, Darling."
She walked over and peered inside. "What are you doing?"
He handed her a datapad with a video cued up on it. "That's a security vid from the incident at the Suit Fighting League finals."
She played it. Her hand went reflexively to her mouth when she saw Muntz talking to Harmon. "He lives!"
"Yes, it seems Lenora killed a super clone. He must die and Harmon with him."
"Why Harmon?"
"I must be free of the elf. I grow tired of his games. He insults me by impersonating me," Atmar said as he crawled from the pod. "The pirate fleet will no longer be second to the League. There is a place where thousands of Alue, the ones we call AI's, wait for a chance to come here and breed in the League's InterWebs. I plan to go to this dimension, kill Muntz, and lead an army through. When I do, we will rule this universe."
"Darling, you seem agitated. Perhaps I should call the medics?"
His head snapped around so that he could look at her, for a moment his eyes filled with anger. In an instant, he returned to normal. "Forgive me. Perhaps you're right. Let me finish here, then I will do as you suggest."
She gave him a tight smile, then kissed him before leaving.
He returned to work, muttering to himself as he adjusted the pod.
CHAPTER THREE
Harm stared at the dismantled probe while his instruments and computers analyzed its pieces. He glared at the wreckage as if willing it to give up its secrets. At the back of the lab, Nebulon and Harm's sister, Tannith, waited to start their archaeological and historical analysis of the device. Harm had to admit, some of the pieces looked damned old.
The silence was broken by Harm's granddaughter, Ashley, entering the lab. "Hey Grandpa, Aunt Tannie, Dr. Blyst," she said as she walked over and kissed her relatives on their cheeks and hugged Nebulon.
"Hey, Kiddo, what brings you down here at this time of night?" Tannith asked. It was past midnight station-time.
"Grandpa is letting me use his terminal to catalog Tomb 11B," she said.
"Ah, yes, as part of your Xenoarchaeology practical," Nebulon said. Ashley was working on her xeno doctorate and part of that work involved cataloging finds. What better place to experience that than the Tombs, the Cube's massive artifact storage facility at the base of the station. In the tombs were gathered artifacts from every corner of the League. Artifacts from the ancient Erdexi Empire were stored next to the spaceship that crashed near Roswell, New Mexico in old Earth calendar 1947. Alien probes, failed experiments, and things that defy description and analysis are stored down there. It is rumored that several mythical creatures made their homes amongst the objects, protecting them from harm.
As part of her advanced laboratory practical, Ashley was assigned a difficult section of the Tombs to catalog, a place where derelict ships were stored, some of which defy analysis.
Harm tore his gaze from the probe to look at his granddaughter. "Over there," he said, pointing to a multi-screen super terminal. "I hope it’s not too slow for your needs."
She danced over to him and kissed his cheek. "You are such a sweetie," she said as she ran over and powered up the equipment.
"I'm a sweetie," he said to the two doctors.
"Yes, you are a sweetie," Tannith said, barely able to keep a straight face, while Nebulon looked anywhere except at Harm in an effort to keep from laughing.
The chime signaling the end of the data collection cycle sounded. "Ladies, the object from another universe is all yours," he said. He pointed to another tricked-out terminal, "I'll be over there running analysis on the data. Let me know if you need anything." He walked over to his terminal while the two doctors examined the first of many parts strewn about the table.
###
Several hours later, the doctors were half-way through examining the artifacts, their notebooks filled with drawings, diagrams, and data. Meanwhile, Harm was at his terminal, the air around him filled with holograms of parts, charts, and data projections while he sat in his seat sipping tea and trying to make sense of it all. He was startled back to reality by the sound of Ashley's voice over the intercom. "Grandpa, could you come here for a minute?" she asked.
Needing a good stretch, Harm readily complied. After a brief stop at the beverage station, he walked over to where his granddaughter was sitting, her brow furrowed badly enough to hold a pencil while her blue eyes pulsed in brightness, a sure sign the young neoLogash was vexed. "What's up, Kiddo?" he asked.
"This ship, object 1168/GH, has Logash writing on it. How is that possible?"
They were immediately joined by Nebulon and Tannith who peered over Ashley's shoulder. "Can we see?" Tannith asked.
Ashley brought up a holographic record of a ship stored in one of the least visited parts of the Tombs. There was a written log next to several pictures including one of the hull under what looked to be the cockpit. One section was covered with symbols.
"Minerva," Tannith whispered.
Harm looked at Ashley who nodded back. "That's what it says."
"And you're both sure that's Logash?"
Tannith and Ashley gave Harm a tilted head look. "Of course," they said, flabbergasted he could think otherwise.
"Computer, display images and locations of all known Logash artifacts."
Nothing appeared.
Harm expanded the image of the log. "Hmmm, spacecraft found during a dig on one of Earth's asteroids. Fifty-meters long by twelve wide, about the size of a Space Command corvette. No energy readings and no way in, so they brought it here for further study." He stopped and thought for a moment. "Who wants to join me on a field trip to the Tombs?"
Three hands shot straight into the air.
He reached over and keyed the intercom. "Ciara, this is Harm."
"Harmon, how goes the analysis?" the director asked a moment later.
"Good, real good. Hey, the ladies and I need to make a visit to Tomb 11B. Do we need a security team to escort us?"
"Let me check... Nope, there are no biologicals living there. What's up?"
He explained.
"Damn, that's big. Mind a tag-along?"
"Not at all," he said. "Meet us at the entrance in an hour?"
"I'll be there. Devlin out."
Harm turned to his companions. "Gear-up, ladies. We're going exploring."
###
Harm and the others found Ciara waiting for them at the main entrance to Tomb 11B. She was dwarfed by the three-meter square adamantine reinforced door. "Right on time," she said as she handed out flashlights and small, hand-held devices.
"Are these the new scanners?" Harm asked as he turned the device over in his hand.
"Yep, the mark fours.”
“These have the enhanced quantum spin sensors and the prototype biocrystal detectors."
Ciara gave him one of her infamous, “Huh?” looks.
“Each universe has a slightly different quantum spin signature, a value that we measure with retuned scan pads. Anything originating in a given universe has the same quantum spin signature as that universe. Living beings are problematic since they exchange a lot of their atoms with ones from their surroundings.” He aimed the unit at Ashley. “Look, she’s off the pretty scale.”
"Grandpa!" the young woman said with a blush, which is not easy to do with a twenty percent gray complexion.
He smiled and kissed the top of her head while Ciara opened the door.
Once inside, they made their way to the ship. As Ciara and Harm walked in silence, Nebulon and Tannith gave Ashley the guided tour.
"Over there is a disarmed Erdexi orb generator," Nebulon explained.
They continued on as Ashley was introduced to only a small fraction of the artifacts stored in the Tombs. Soon, they arrived at their destination.
"Damn, that's big," Tannith exclaimed as she walked up to the ship. She ran her h
and over its hull, but felt only cold metal.
"Amazing," Nebulon commented as Ashley looked over her shoulder at the Tyen's scanner.
"She's two million years old?" Ashley asked.
"Seems like. Harm, can you confirm? Harm?"
"He's busy, Ciara said as she nodded to where the elf was prying something from the hull.
Before the others could say something, Harm had extracted a metal slug from the hull. "It's a damn bullet," he said.
"It's not alone," Ciara said. She pointed to dozens of holes tracing lines down the length of the hull. "She must have seen battle." She looked over at Harm. "What's wrong?"
He held up the bullet he had extracted. "This is from another universe," he said.
"Okay, so it's from the Alue universe. They were at war with the Logash after all."
He handed her the bullet. "This one has the same quantum spin as the probe we're working on. This bullet is from the Prison Universe."
She nearly dropped the bullet. "So are these," Ashley said while waving at the rest of the holes. "The bullets and ship date back two million years." She reached out and touched the ship. "She's been all alone for all those..."
The ship lifted up off the deck as marker lights came on and portholes were illuminated by suddenly functional interior lights. As the five watched, the main port side hatch opened as a ramp extended downward to the deck.
Alarms sounded as Ciara pressed the panic button on her commlink. "This is Devlin in Tomb 11B. We have a code one emergency. I need full containment."
"This is Zen, Director. I copy your code one and am scrambling forces. Do you need assistance at this time?"
"No. Stand by until I call. Devlin out." Ciara turned to Nebulon, Tannith, and Ashley. "You three, out, now. Harm and I have this."
"Too late," Harm said. Ciara turned to see six Logash standing at the bottom of the ramp.
No one moved or said a word. One side just staring at the other.
"Welcome to the Cube" Harm said to the tall Logash at the front of the group. Meanwhile, his communicator spewed out a Logash translation.
The big Logash hesitated. Seeing this, Harm looked over at Ashley who, quickly catching on, walked over to greet them. That's when something odd happened. Ashley and the big guy intertwined tails, but only for a moment.
