Starship Paradiso (Helltroopers Book 3)

by Isaac Stone

  “Did you say neutrinos?” Costa suddenly asked. He’d been quiet since Makulah was stabbed by the reanimated corpse. He spent time checking on the pilot where he was kept in the freeze chamber.

  “Quite a strong background for them,” Viktor brought up again. “I don’t understand why, but it won’t matter soon….”

  “Boss,” Costa cut in, “Move us out of here and then hit it. We’re too close. I think that piece of ice is booby trapped.”

  “What makes you think that is the case?” Ash questioned.

  “I was with the bomb squad back in Brazil at one point. Neutrino emission is a tale-tell sign of nuclear weapons. Someone may have rigged that thing to draw us to it. I’m not surprised; this is something they’d do.”

  Ash hesitated and then made a pronouncement. “Pull us back to the safety range, Viktor. I have a bad feeling about this one too. Pull us back fifty thousand miles, and then hit it.

  An hour later, the Paradiso was in another position that kept it in a safety zone outside the ice chunk. Ash had no way to know if it was rigged, but they should be far back enough to be out of the blast zone.

  “Go ahead and use the EMP,” Ash instructed Viktor.

  “As you command,” Viktor responded. The team saw the dials and meters next to them jump through the color spectrum.

  The only way it was possible to see an EMP pulse was from the effect of it. Stray dust and rock particles glowed in its path and disintegrated. The EMP pulse worked fast and accurate. In a few minutes, a tunnel was blown open into the chunk of methane. The surface boiled from the heat generated by the intense radiation of the beam. It was powerful and Ash realized they were sitting inside one of the most deadly weapons ever made for warfare. Thank God, it was him who commanded it.

  The screen went white one second after the methane chunk split into three sections. Ash was about to ask Viktor if the transmissions had ceased from the beacon when he saw the screen turn the brilliant shade of pale. He knew the sensory inputs were massively overloaded from too much data. In this case the date was white light and radiation unleashed from a nuclear blast.

  “Nuclear explosion in front of us,” Viktor announced. “Pretty good size too, but not a thermonuclear one. Good thing we pulled back because it would have vaporized most of the ship from where we were parked. Guess Costa was correct about a booby trap.”

  The intense flash of light and radiation settled down and the meters went back to the background levels in a few minutes. It was a trap and the corporation was the only one who would have managed to set it. It didn’t matter how they’d pulled this one off. What mattered was the corporation would do anything it could to kill them. This nuclear trap was only the first one, there will be others.

  “I’m sure I expected this,” Ash commented. “Once they knew we had the ship and gone rogue, they would do anything to kill us. So Viktor, was that the beacon that was trapped or is there another one around here?”

  “I don’t show anything else in Jovian orbit,” it told him. “This means we need to get to the next one. Expect it to be rigged just like this one.”

  “What are we looking at next?”

  “One of the ice moons of Saturn. It’s the location of our next signal. It appears to be from the general vicinity of Titan. Should I initiate the jump?”

  Ash turned and looked at Haddo. “Any objections?”

  “Nothing I can find in my stones,” he spoke. “Once we arrive at the outer planets it may all change. But I don’t anticipate any trouble right away. If the creatures beyond the gate are waiting for us in the hyperspace tunnels, they have something planned for later. I would go ahead and make the jump.”

  “Take us to the next location, Viktor,” Ash told him. “Prepare for a jump everyone.”

  By now, his crew was used to the jumps and what they entailed. Everyone grabbed onto a rail and waited for the AI to take them across.

  “No!” Haddo thundered suddenly from where he stood on the control room deck, and everyone could see that he had begun to leak blood from his nose and ears. “Do not take us there! I have some new information where we should go next!” Ash felt he seemed anxious turned to the strange man.

  “Something you can share with us all?” Ash asked him. “Come on, Simon, if it’s important, we should all hear this.” He lowered his eyes at Haddo.

  “I have received information from the other side,” he explained to them. “There is a way to bring back Barbara Ann as you wanted. I have found a place where we can obtain the android body to ensoul her. You will need to delay the destruction of the next target and go to an android production facility on Calisto. This must be done right away because…” he seemed to sweat a little more than usual, “…the situations warrant it. Calisto Bio-fabrications has the android body we will need for her. She will not incorporate in anything else. Unless you want to avoid bringing her over to this side. We do know the general locations of the beacons, but you would be better off with her to find the traps around them. Plus, she knew the exact locations”

  “Did this suddenly come over you?” Theo asked him. “Have you been hiding things from us, Simon? That wouldn’t go over well if you were.” He folded his arms and looked at the tall man.

  “No,” Haddo explained, “It came through suddenly on its own. I’m telling you what she tells me. It’s hard for her to do it this way and harder on me. For the love of all that is holy, could you set the course for the plant on Calisto so she will quit bothering me? It’s the only way!” Ash could see the look of pain on Haddon’s face and decided he told the truth.

  “Do it, Viktor,” Ash informed the AI. “Can you get us over to this new location even after the bomb went off? I hope it didn’t cause you too much guidance loss.”

  “Not a problem, Ash,” the AI responded. “A few issues with navigation, but none that I can’t solve. It’s always a matter of location and not the distance. Stand by for phase shift.”

  Once again, Ash felt the squeeze as everything went black and he lost his sense of identity. As usual, he sensed something waiting just beyond his perception that would pounce on him if given the chance. And, as the times before, the sense faded away as the world reconstituted itself around his perception as the Paradiso dropped back into normal space.

  “She’s not bothering me now,” Haddo announced with a look of relief on his face. “Please, we need to reach that android fabrication plant before she becomes impatient. It’s over the event horizon. I’m sure Viktor will have us there in no time at all.” Haddo produced a large rag and wiped the sweat from his shaven brow. Ash thought he looked afraid.

  8

  The Calisto Bioengineering Fabrication plant was where most of the better androids were grown to specification. These were sold across the system for use as service androids. They were used in the homes of people who could afford them. The androids were produced in stages and grown according to specifications sent to the plant and coordinated with what the buyer could afford. The top line model was used as a personal servant and mistress for the select buyer who could afford one. These were special models people would talk about, but few ever see.

  The governments in the system watched them carefully and made sure no android was allowed to roam free. Each had a special tracking device that emitted a signal in case they were ever lost. Androids were a sensitive topic at many levels since it was never decided if they were human or robotic simulations. Several movements arose over the centuries to have them banned as an abomination, but the governments hammered out a plan where no new ones would be produced in exchange for the top line models continued production. No further research was allowed in the field, other than production upgrades. As it stood, Calisto could produce them faster every year, but could not make them better. Since the demand was so high, there was little reason to improve them.

  Ash had Viktor send out the standard signal about a freighter with important people who wanted to look at the models available to the plant. This didn’t see
m to go over well with the factory management who told them it would be weeks before they could get an answer from their corporate headquarters. Ash decided there were other ways to get inside the production plant on the surface of Calisto and had everyone suit up in full armor and with weapons ready. Once again, Haddo was left behind, but Ash didn’t worry, as he trusted Viktor to keep a watch on him. Odd how so much of this mission relied upon machine entities like Char, Viktor, and Barbara Ann.

  Within hours, a shuttle was on its way to Calisto from Paradiso. Team Omega sat still as Viktor guided them down to the surface of the moon of Saturn with care. The AI found a way through the radar defense on the surface and brought the shuttle down out of detection range, but still close to the factory.

  The armor was rated well below the cold outside, so Ash Wasn’t concerned. They found themselves in a fantastic background of frozen crystals that would never occur on Earth. There was no time to stop and admire the scenery, which consisted of purples and greens, as they needed to get inside the factory and find an android to Haddo’ s specifications. The information was stored on a database inside Ash’s suit.

  They made their way to the factory, which was situated in a small valley on the surface of Calisto, and hunted around for the entrance Viktor identified from the starship. The AI was certain it was the only one that would get them inside.

  In a few minutes, Ash had located the hatch that could take them inside the elaborate android factory.

  Unfortunately, it was locked.

  “Kris,” Ash said aloud over the helm radio, “Can you find us a way inside this place? Aren’t you supposed to be an expert with locks?” She stopped her slow movements around the hatch and turned to Ash.

  It wasn’t easy telling what she thought under the faceplate, but Ash had a distinct feeling Kris was pissed at him. “I can get you into anything, Ash,” she told him, “but I need the tools to do it. Don’t think I have all the tools to pop open a secure hatch in a frozen environment that would kill anything with a pulse in five seconds, but let me give it a try.” She lumbered over to the exterior hatch and looked at the box for the controls.

  “Viktor is out of range,” she commented. She looked at the small unit that was attached to Costa’s utility belt where the AI was housed. “Char, you have anything on this contraption?”

  “Standard locking mechanism for excursions to the Calisto surface,” he told her. “I don’t think you’ll have much trouble with it if you try to solve the access code. I don’t think they’re too worried about people who want access to the plant in this environment.”

  Kris produced a small object from her belt and passed it over the box. She made a few observations and looked at the data given to her by the device. Satisfied, she reached over and punched the pressure points on it in a rehearsed code. When that didn’t produce any results, she did it again until the device finally changed color. It went from a gunmetal gray to a bright yellow. This was what she wanted to see.

  The hatch door flashed a red light over the top and began to slide back. Heat from the door fractured the ice crystals over the surface as it moved out of position. The door slid back to reveal a passageway. Light shone from the inside.

  “Got it,” she told everyone. “Let’s all get inside before the suit heaters decided to fail. I’ve seen it happen before and have no desire to turn into a corpsicle.” She walked into the corridor with Ash and the rest of the crew. The door slid shut behind them as the last member of Team Omega was inside the plant.

  A few minutes later, the passage equalized in pressure. Char did a quick inspection of the air and pronounced it fit to breathe. They were able to open the visors on the helms. When Ash opened his, he smelled nothing strange, only the typical barrier of disinfectant. The plant didn’t want to risk any form of contamination from the outside.

  A few minutes later, the inner hatch door hummed and slid back. They continued onward and found themselves inside a large storage room filled with all manner of bins with tool parts. Ash recognized it as a machine shop warehouse.

  “It would figure they’d stick this exterior hatch in a part of the plant used by the maintenance crew,” Theo noted. “I can’t image anyone ventures outside on a regular basis. I sure the hell wouldn’t want to.”

  The next room they entered was the storage area for the androids that were produced for the special clients. Viktor located a map prior to their shuttle trip to Calisto. It gave them the best way into the factory. With Haddon’s information, they selected a particular android model that had the best potential for bringing the force of Babalon into it. Should the process work, Haddo was convinced it would provide Ash with the replacement Barbara Ann he needed to finish with the remainder of the beacons.

  They went down a row of tanks that were on racks inside a large warehouse. Stacked three high, the one they needed to find was on the first level. The team fanned out and looked at the serial numbers on each tank. They were roughly cylindrical and hooked up to a series of cable monitors. Ash went down each row and tried to find a method to the numbering system, but couldn’t. Right now, he wished he could contact Viktor and find out what order this system followed, but he couldn’t with the signal blocked by the atmosphere of Calisto.

  “Found it!” It was Jack. He stood next to a red tank among a line of blue ones. “This is the one they told us about. Matches the number perfectly. Now all we have to do is get it out of here someway.”

  “I have the means,” Costa announced as he rolled around the rack corner with a large motorized cart. “This one is built to pull them off and take them away. It’s certified for surface use too. Best of all, we can get it inside the shuttle.” He guided the small cart over to the tank with the control panel attached to it.

  The small cart extended some armatures and locked onto the sides of the red tank. A series of commands were initiated and the tank was unhooked from the wall monitor. Next, it was picked up and deposited into the cart. Jack guided it toward the exit door.

  “We need to get this back on the shuttle, boss,” he told Ash. “In a few minutes the people in charge will know it’s been taken without authorization and they won’t be happy. Did you see the stickers on it? This is one of the real expensive models.”

  They beat a fast retreat back to the passageway that took them to the air lock and exterior hatch. Once again, Ash allowed Kris to get them outside with her knowledge of how to unlock it. In minutes, they were outside the factory and into the frozen surface of Calisto. A few minutes of walking took them back to the shuttle.

  Strapping the tank down to the lower cargo section wasn’t that difficult. Once they had it in place, it was simple to lock it down in the lower hold and deal with the additional weight. Viktor had provided enough fuel to the shuttle to get them back with the cargo. The cart was sent back to the factory.

  “Get us out of here,” Ash told Viktor one he was on board. “I see some activity in that factory and it doesn’t look good.”

  “I’m on it,” Viktor let them know as soon as he had the engines started. Minutes later, they were cleared from the surface and on their way back to the Paradiso.

  The red lights flashing from the exterior of the android plant let them know they’d been found. But Ash had bet on the place having very little, if any, security given the location, the plant didn’t have to worry about theft very often, if at all. The deep part of space where it was located and the inhospitable surface of Calisto made it a perfect location for a place that produced expensive and valuable artificial humans.

  They had the tank in the large recovery room of the starship a few hours later. Everyone wanted to be present when it was opened. Although the inhabitant of the tank was shown through the display, it was only a diagram. They all wanted to see what a super high end android resembled when it was unpacked.

  The tank was unlocked by robotics. The crew gathered around to watch the remote arms unsnap the cover off it and remove the lid on other end. The tank lit up with an ar
ray of lights and meters to show the health of the inhabitant. This was done behind a polycarbonate shield, as there was always the possibility of the android becoming infected from any microbes the crew carried.

  The air was the same recycled gas Ash breathed over and over. He expected it to be filled with the smells of disinfectants, but there were no such scents. They watched the process in silence to see what she would look the new vessel for Barbara Ann would resemble.

  Minutes later, a perfect specimen of femininity was withdrawn from the tank. She was wet, as the android was kept inside a liquid medium for long-term storage. In some ways, this was her birth, as she’d never been exposed to the air. The robotic arms laid her gently on a cushioned table while the room was maintained at the same temperature as the human body. Tubes pumped out the fluid from her lungs as she began to breathe. All of her vital signs showed normal and Team Omega waited to see what would happen.

  “Don’t you have to chant something in Latin or burn some candles?” Cost asked Haddo.

  The tall bald man rolled his eyes. “It’s already been done,” he explained. “She knows the vessel is here. It’s up to her to decide if it’s suitable.”

  9

  There were a few tense seconds as all the collection tubes were withdrawn from the body on the table. She inhaled for the first time and jerked upward, the body still unaccustomed to a non-aqueous environment. The black hair, still slick from the fluid environment, laid on the table in an ink flow. The body rolled to one side and looked at them with coal black eyes. These did not change color, as Barbara Ann was able to do before. She breathed deep, took in the air and righted herself, unable to fully control the body. Her slender legs hung over the edge. She righted herself and sat upward.

  “Something is inside there,” Kris spoke. “Hope it’s who we wanted.” She stood with the rest of the crew, anxious to see if this was Barbara Ann back again.