by S. J. Ryan
Prin observed, “So they have kidnapped Matt because of his implant.”
“Yes,” Matt Four replied. “They need him aboard their ship because his implant's coded transponder signal wards off sky serpent attacks.”
“And you have an implant as well, so that we won't be attacked when we cross the barrier?”
“Actually, I'm hosting a partition of the kid's implant which does not generate the coded transponder signal. Lachela – Ada – the girl – she has my implant, and he'll transmit the signal for us.”
“How did she acquire your implant?”
“Long story, let's see if I can make it short. Just before I was captured by Athena's people about a century ago, I gave my implant to a companion so that it wouldn't be captured with me. It's been passed from host to host for all these years. She's the most recent host.”
Prin glanced toward the rear compartment, where Ada had gone. “So she carries an implant. I was wondering why she seemed so independent for her age.”
“Actually, that's just a brave front. She's terrified of losing him, and since I'll be needing him, she's insisted on coming along.”
“Don't you think you're putting her in harm's way?”
“All the time. But she's an orphan with no friends and no family in a place with no social services where the institutions claiming to help children are actually predatory. There's no safe place on this planet for her even with an implant, and I'm like the most incompetent person to care for a child but at this point I'm all she's got. ”
Andra, who had been listening, placed a hand on Prin's shoulder. “Why don't you steer for a while? I'll talk to her.”
Prin nodded and took the wheel. When Andra shut the door between compartments, he said softly to Matt Four, “The mother hen gathers under wing the lost chick.”
Matt Four sensed a huge burden was being lifted from his shoulders. “It's good to know there are people like your wife in the world.”
“I am fortunate. However, I would appreciate no commentary on our relative piloting skills.”
Matt Four frowned with another thought. “I'm puzzled as to why you left Binti without Matt.”
“We had no choice. And I must admit, I was the one who made the blunder that led to the necessity of abrupt departure.”
“What exactly did you do?”
“I purchased several of their advanced weapons, which I thought might be of great use to the Leaf – you've heard of the Leaf?”
“The kid said it's some kind of rebel organization.”
“Well, we did not leave Britan in their favor, and I thought that bearing the weapons as a gift would heal the breach between us. Shortly after procuring the weapons, however, I noticed that the Good Witch was under constant watch. I knew we would be of no use to Matt if we were captured, so I thought it would be best if we went elsewhere for a time and returned later when the authorities might not be so attentive.”
“You came to Hafik. Why?”
“It's the only other place that we knew of on this side of the world. Unfortunately, the authorities in Hafik had been notified ahead of our arrival and we were immediately detained on the charge – so I was told – of 'suspicious flight.' I might have foreseen the situation, but I didn't know the civilization on this side of the world has a method to send messages through the air instantaneously over great distances. I thought that was something only wizards could do.”
“What kind of weapons did you purchase?”
“I have no idea what they are. At any rate, though the authorities in Hafik confiscated them originally, it appears they returned them to remain true to your ruse. You may see for yourself.”
Prin tilted his head toward a cabinet at the rear of the cabin. Matt Four opened the cabinet and saw the chest that had been brought aboard by the airfield workers. The interior was filled with ammunition and rifles. One of the rifles resembled a venerable AK-47, but offhand he couldn't tell whether it was a direct copy or an example of technological parallel evolution. Another rifle was single-bolt and had a mounted telescope. The shells were long and sharply pointed.
A sniper rifle to shoot down airships, Matt Four thought. No wonder the authorities had taken notice.
He closed the chest and the cabinet and went back to check on Ada. She was standing at the rear window in the aft compartment. She pointed to tiny dots far to the west. “Patrol ships. Do you want to see the telescopic view?”
“Not necessary,” Matt Four replied. “They're too far back to catch up by the time we reach the barrier, and they won't follow us through. I guarantee that.”
He returned to the forward cabin, where Andra was once again steering. Both she and Prin were staring ahead at the black band of churning clouds that was growing ever larger. Quietly, Ada slipped in behind and watched silently.
“Brace yourself,” Prin said. “This is going to be a rough flight.”
Should I tell them? Matt Four wondered. He decided to let it be a surprise.
As the Good Witch approached, the wind stilled and the clouds parted. The ship sailed smoothly into what appeared to be a tunnel about half a kilometer in diameter bored into the storm barrier. While clouds swirled furiously around them, within the tunnel itself was no rain, no hail, no lightning. Prin and Andra gaped at the parting clouds, then at the complacent-looking man standing alongside them.
“Are you doing this?” Prin asked.
“I'm telling Ivan Beta to tell Ivan Four,” Matt Four replied. “Ivan Four is transmitting the signal that does it.”
“How is this even possible?”
“The storm barrier is an ecological system of many different bio-engineered creatures, who vary in size from bacteria to sky serpents. The smaller creatures are microscopic and number in the zillions and are able to affect atmospheric temperature and pressure. They're controlled by chemical signals released by somewhat larger creatures, which are equipped with natural antennae that are able to receive implant transponder signals and decode them according to decryption keys embedded in their DNA. That's the simplified explanation.”
“I shudder to imagine the full explanation. And you created this system yourself?”
“Oh no, it was developed on Tian by a very large team of humans and AIs for preventing biological contamination across ecological zones. I happened to work with their group, and I had the DNA sequences archived in my implant because . . . well, I have a bad habit of never throwing anything out. As for the creatures, they were implemented, as we used to say, by one of the seeder probes, Pandora Alpha, which I had in my possession at the time. I guess what I'm saying is, if you have the right knowledge and tools, it's not that hard.”
Ada spoke: “There is a scripture that says, 'Even the winds and waves obey him.'”
“It's an overrated talent. Anyhow, I only command artificial storms. Once we're through the barrier to the other side, though, we'll have satellite telemetry from the station – what you guys call Moonstar. That will alert us to steer around natural storms.”
The storm barrier parted ahead and 'healed' behind, so that the patrol ships were denied the ability to follow. Matt Four wondered what the police captain back in Hafik would think when he heard the news of the Good Witch's escape. Probably about whether he would still be able to collect his bribe.
Finally, they reached the eastern edge and the dark grays of the storm barrier opened to a calm vista of white, pillared clouds. Ada gasped, “It's so beautiful!”
“Ice cream castles in the air,” Matt Four murmured.
Prin and Andra glanced at him quizzically. Maybe they didn't know what ice cream was?
Matt Four hoped for an uneventful flight to Britan, but soon a dark spot loomed above the horizon kilometers ahead. It resolved into a pair of cylinders. As with the Good Witch, Matt Four was certain there was only one ship in the world with that configuration.
“Nemesis,” he said. “So they got through.”
“Is Matt aboard?” Andra said.
“Good question. Ada, have Ivan hail that ship.”
Ada listened to her inner voice, then shook her head. “The demon says there is no response.”
“We could be out of communications range. Andra, can you get closer?”
“I think that we can,” Andra replied. “It doesn't seem to be moving very fast.”
“Maybe it was damaged during the passage,” Matt Four suggested.
Andra started to shove the power levers, but Prin stayed her hand.
“Here now you two,” he said. “Are you sure we wish to attract its attention? We've already had more than one unsavory encounter with its government. And I don't think we could come out ahead of that monstrosity in a fair fight.”
“We're not going to fight it,” Matt Four replied. “Just come close enough for Ada's implant radio to contact the kid in case he's aboard.”
“And what if he is?”
“Well . . . maybe he can escape with a parachute. We could pick him up in the water.”
“I suppose that is plausible, but I still see no reason to make our presence known.”
In compromise, they followed from a distance of kilometers. Nemesis did not seem to notice their presence. That wasn't unexpected – radar had yet to be invented, the Good Witch was small, and Andra kept them concealed most of the time by darting from cloud to cloud. The pursuit of the immense warship was tense but drama-less, and Ada reported no signal from Matt aboard.
Then Ada tilted her head. “The demon says that he has contact with 'the station.' I take it he does not mean the police station in Hafik?”
He was surprised he hadn't mentioned Herman the Space Station to her before. But then, with the augmented reality overlays distorting the satellite telemetry on the other side of the storm barrier, there hadn't been any need to call on the station's services.
“Oh no, definitely not the police station,” Matt Four replied. “He means the station that is flying hundreds of kilometers above the planet.”
“I still can't tell if you are joking.”
“Here, let me talk to your demon, and I'll have you set up to view the telemetry too.”
A moment later, to the perplexity of Prin and Andra, he and Ada were sharing a pop-up window that appeared to float in the compartment before the real window. He helped her decipher the mysteries of satellite telemetry, indicating the cloud banks, weather patterns, and shoreline of Britan to the west. She was enthralled.
Britan, he thought. He wondered how Pandora Beta was doing. He wondered how the Henogalians were doing. He had spent most of his waking life on New Earth on the island of Britan, and had come to think of it as a second home. After a century of sleep, however, it was unlikely that he would encounter any of the people he knew. Still, it would do his soul good to see Mount Stinks-Awful (the name he'd once bequeathed it in a casual remark) simmering in the northwest.
Once she was able to understand what she was seeing, Ada became raptly absorbed in studying the satellite view. Abruptly, however, she turned and faced him, eyes and mouth wide. “Wizard! The demon says that the Star Child is speaking 'via the station.'”
There was no time for etiquette. Matt Four directly linked through Ivan Four. So excited that he spoke aloud, he said, “Kid! Are you all right?”
“Yes!” the boy exclaimed. “Where are you?”
Brimming with relief, Matt Four replied, “I escaped from Victoriana and I'm aboard your ship with your friends. We just got through the storm barrier. Where are you?”
“I escaped too. I'm flying toward Britan over the Western Sea.”
“If you're not on Nemesis, how are you flying?”
“They had a dragon on board. I stole it and I'm riding inside it.”
Ada, who was overhearing, said, “Is he jo – “
Matt Four waved her quiet. “Where is Athena? Is she aboard her ship?”
“No, she had an airboat and she's gone to Britan. We're trying to catch up with her. Listen! You have to stop Nemesis from reaching Britan!”
“Stop Nemesis? That's a pretty big order, kid.”
“It's full of poison gas! It'll kill thousands of people! You've got to stop it!“
“Poison gas? Are you sure?”
“It's got tanks and tanks of it! I saw it myself! Ivan analyzed it! The captain said he's going to dump it on Britan, Athena's orders. I wanted to stop them, but I couldn't. Please, you've got to stop them!”
Not knowing what else to say, Matt Four replied, “We'll do what we can, kid. Just hold on.”
The engines of the Good Witch droned. Wind whisked past the gondola. Matt Four stared silently at the dual hulled, gun-turret-bristling monstrosity churning through the clouds at the horizon. He felt Prin's hand on his arm.
“We heard only half the conversation,” Prin said. “What do you mean, 'Stop Nemesis?'”
Matt Four explained. Prin and Andra listened with expressions of growing shock.
“There is truly such a thing as a poisonous gas that can be dropped from airships?” Prin asked.
Matt Four nodded.
“Prin,” Andra said. “Remember when Archimedes and we believed that airships would make war impossible? Matt was right all along. We've only made matters worse.”
“We had nothing to do with that thing,” Prin said with resolve. “We are going to stop that thing.”
Matt Four went back to the cabinet and opened the chest. He took out a sniper rifle, inserted a bullet into the chamber and pocketed a handful more of bullets. Returning to the front of the compartment, he saw their looks.
“Andra, see if you can get closer. Be careful not to be noticed, I've seen that ship up close and it's got heavy guns with much longer range than this rifle that can punch a hole the size of a barn door.”
Prin frowned at the rifle. “It doesn't seem plausible that a bullet can bring down a ship of that size.”
Matt Four spoke with more confidence than he had: “Back on Earth, the age of military zeppelins was short-lived because all it took was a single bullet to ignite all the hydrogen gas. I'm just hoping that ship isn't filled with helium.”
“I don't know what 'helium' is, but I do know that Sarkassian Silk is extremely durable, and given the cube-square law, a ship of that size could have a very thick, perhaps impenetrable hide.”
“I have to admit, Prin, I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You've never heard of the cube-square law?”
“I have, but – hell, we don't have time for this right now. Here, Ada, take this.”
The girl stared at the rifle in his outstretched arms. “What am I to do with that?”
“You're to shoot that ship with it.”
“Why me?”
“Because you've got an implant.”
“So do you!”
“My implant is a partition designed specifically to keep my body from falling apart. You're the one with the implant who can guide your aim.”
She looked away and said in a small voice, “Maybe you could have the demon back, just for this one time.”
“No, that won't work. We're in a hurry, and it would take too long for his systems to stabilize in this body. Also, this body that I'm wearing right now is nearing the end of its warranty, and there's only so much an implant can do with the material he's got to work with. I don't want us missing the target because of a wrinkly old shaky trigger finger. So you're the one who's got to do this.”
Her eyes glistened with tears and her voice shook: “That ship is full of people!”
“Bad people. Very bad people. They'll kill thousands of good people if we don't stop them. If you don't stop them.”
“No! No! No!” She wiped her tears.
“Please, Ada. I know you don't want to kill. I don't want to kill. Decent people don't want to kill. But sometimes it has to be done, because inaction will kill even more people. And the people in that ship, they're very bad people and the kid says they're going to kill thousands of innocent people unless we stop them.”
“Can't you have some way, like at the field, to trick them?”
“Gawd or gawds, I wish I always did have one more rabbit to pull out of my hat that could solve every conflict bloodlessly! But sometimes the best we can do is minimize the number of deaths. Ada, they're professional killers and very good at what they do and nothing will stop them from killing except to kill them first, and this is the only way I can see to do that right now. So please, Ada. Please.”
She had been riveted onto his eyes the entire time he'd been talking, and he considered it to her credit that she seemed more terrified of taking other lives than of risking her own. At last she turned to the window and stared at the ship, which had grown larger during Andra's pursuit.
Ada seemed to have a moment of recognition, for suddenly her demeanor changed. She sighed calmly and nodded.
“Yes. Very bad people. I understand.”
He forced a smile, but her look told him that she didn't take it for encouragement. He had Ivan Four check her out on the operation of the rifle while he reflected upon Nemesis.
Sarkassian, he thought, remembering what Prin had said about the skin of the airship. Why did that sound familiar? Sar . . . star . . . kass . . . cast . . . .
Lords of Aereoth! he thought.
So that's what the airship envelopes were made of! Starcaster filament would surely be better than whatever they had used for airship skins in the wars of ancient Earth. Lightweight, tough, damn near unburnable. And yes, now that he had time to think, the cube-square law meant that with so much more displacement volume, the dreadnaught could afford multiple layers of skin – enough to cause bullets to bounce off. And even if the bullet did penetrate, it was inconceivable that a military ship that size would have been constructed without the means to suppress the threat of conflagration.
Not as easy as Hindenburg, he thought ruefully.
He nudged her to a side window, cracked it open, had her kneel and aim. At first she peered through the viewfinder, but her implant gave her better vision, complete with a computed trajectory and inset pop-up with telescopic close-up. Her eyes, cleared of tears, were wide open, her face was blank.
