With Salix safely on board, Kozloff cycled the airlock and, without taking time to remove his spacesuit, went immediately to the control console of the shuttle. Less than a minute later, he swung the little craft in a wide arc around the huge bulk of the Hordean ship and made directly for Lenin. At the end of the twenty-minute journey, he expertly guided the little ship into Lenin's shuttle bay and set it down on the dedicated landing pad. The four passengers remained inside the shuttle for about a minute before disembarking while the bay re-pressurized.
The newcomers were met by a small assemblage of Soviet personnel with Lieutenant Grasmik in the lead. The group drew up short when they saw who and what came off from the shuttle.
"Lieutenant Pytor Grasmik, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Ariane MacPherson of the United Federation Navy." He turned to the alien and said, "And this is Salix. She's a member of a race called the Hordea, and she's here to help us figure out what happened to the Custodian."
Grasmik demonstrated a high level of professionalism by only hesitating for a moment before responding. "Pleased to meet you, Lieutenant MacPherson," he said. Without knowing what protocol to follow, or if there even was one, he gave Salix a slight bow and said, "Welcome aboard...Salix. It is an honor to meet you."
"Your astonishment is justified, Lieutenant," replied the Hordean. "We ourselves have been exposed to your species for only a few hours and are still attempting to adjust."
"Let us get out of these suits and take us to the brig, Lieutenant," said Kozloff.
The three Humans shed their spacesuits while Salix simply reabsorbed the protective envelope she'd created.
"Follow me, sir," said Grasmik.
The floor of the cargo/shuttle bay was at the same level as Lenin's lowest deck, and the brig was just a short distance forward of the bay hatch. Ariane couldn't help but notice, that in stark contrast to Capri, the interior of this ship was starkly utilitarian, in true military fashion. Salix drew astonished stares whenever the group met unsuspecting crewmen. The shock might have been worse but, by slightly bending the regulations, almost every member of Lenin's crew had been allowed into the brig to observe the Custodian and were aware of the existence of aliens.
Kozloff drew the group up short just outside the brig where they were met by Marine Corporal Pasternak. Dead or not, apparently Sergeant Zlotnik was taking no chances with his dangerous prisoner.
"We're here to see the alien, Corporal," said Kozloff.
With a wide-eyed look at the new alien, Pasternak keyed the door open. Grasmik led the way inside, and the group fanned out along the walls so everyone could fit into the rather smallish chamber. Zlotnik himself greeted them. He too took a wide-eyed look at the new alien.
"Captain, I..."
"It's okay, Sergeant, this is Salix and she's a Hordean. They are to be our allies in the fight against these creatures. By the way, the beasts are called Custodians."
"...Pleased to meet you, Salix," said the still somewhat shocked Zlotnik.
"Likewise," said the Hordean.
"And this is Ensign Ariane MacPherson of the Federation Navy."
"Ma'am" said Zlotnik with a slight bow.
Introductions completed, everyone turned their attention to the prison cell.
In the middle of the smallish floor, looking even more hideous in its current state than it had while it was alive, the creature lay on its back with its arms and legs in the air, all of them clenched inwards, including the two stumps remaining where arms had been burned off by Zlotnik's Marines.
"Isn't that a gruesome sight?" said Ariane.
Chapter 29. Alien Examination.
SPS Lenin, Deep Space, Star system X97610, October 8, 2676.
"What happened here, Sergeant?" asked Kozloff.
"I was right here watching it, sir, when the damned thing... I don't know, it went into convulsions. We had no idea what to do, and I was worried it might be a trick or something to get us to open the door, so we just watched. After about two minutes, it just fell over backwards and the legs curled up just the way you see them now. It's been like this ever since."
"Anybody got any ideas?" asked Kozloff.
"If I may, Captain," said Salix. "I would like to touch the alien's body. My species is very good at reading life signs, and I may be able to ascertain what went wrong. At the very least, we may find out something about these creatures."
"I would prefer not to open the cell door," said Kozloff. "Can you reach the body through the feeding slot?"
"If you mean the small opening in the door, then yes, I believe that would provide adequate access."
Salix approached the cell and Zlotnik slid aside the small panel covering the food slot. Salix carefully threaded one of her manipulator tentacles through the small opening and into the cell. As before when she'd created the envelope that served her as a spacesuit, the end of the tentacle fanned out into an elongated feathery pad. She tentatively made contact with the closest of the Custodian's legs, which happened to be one of the larger walking ones, before wrapping the feathery end of her tentacle around it. If the creature in the cell sensed the gentle probing, it made no sign. After perhaps a full minute had passed, she withdrew her tentacle and said, "I believe the creature to be dead, Captain. There do not appear to be any active metabolic processes."
"I'm still not taking it out of there."
"That is perhaps a wise choice," said Salix. "For your information, the chemistry of this creature is completely foreign to anything we have ever encountered. If you will forgive me, Ensign MacPherson, I was able to obtain a preliminary analysis of human physiology from our brief contact during the introductions earlier. Human physiology is not that different from the animal life on our planets. As you know, Hordea are members of what you call the 'Plant Kingdom,' but even your species and mine share very similar physiology."
"What makes them so different?" asked Nuriyev.
"This creature is more or less carbon-based as all of us are, but it also contains high levels of the element silicone and a complex biochemistry to accommodate it."
"How is that even possible?" asked Nuriyev.
"Unknown," replied Salix. "Finding out more would require considerably more study. From this examination, it would appear the creature either administrated a compound to itself that is toxic or produced the poison internally. It has as you say 'committed suicide.'"
"Makes sense," said Kozloff. "A human agent captured by the enemy would attempt to do the same thing. Question is, what should we do next?"
"You reported there were another five of these creatures in your hold and under suspended animation, is that correct?" asked Salix.
"It is," replied Grasmik. "What do you intend to do?"
"For the time being, nothing," said Salix, "but if one of us were allowed more time with the body, we may be able to come up with sedatives or other reagents to render the sleeping ones docile while we study them further. We will also need to ensure we have weapons adequate to dispatch them and the duration of exposure required for each weapon to be effective."
"How do we go about doing that without putting ourselves in danger?" asked Kozloff.
"May I observe one of the creatures in suspended animation?"
Kozloff and Zlotnik exchanged glances. Zlotnik looked doubtful.
"If nothing else," said Salix, "I may be able to ascertain what would be required to revive one of them and how secure they are in their present state."
"Nuriyev?" said Kozloff.
"I think it's worth doing, Captain," replied the science officer. "We have no idea how deeply asleep they are. We don't even know if they sleep."
"Make sure two guards remain on station here, Sergeant," said Kozloff. "We know too little about these creatures to get careless. Then, if you would accompany us, I think we need to have a look at the container with the other aliens in it."
"Very well, Sir," replied the burly marine.
"Don't worry, Sergeant," said Kozloff, "we'll beef up the guard det
ail and have all of them ready to annihilate anything we don't like the look of."
The entourage headed to Lenin's aft cargo hold. There they were met by two heavily-armed guards keeping watch over what appeared to be a standard shipping container, a rectangular box about three meters square by five meters long. Within a minute, the guards were joined by two more marines, these two in battle armor. The new guards must have been notified there was a different kind of alien aboard and it wasn't hostile. None of them made any threatening movements with their weapons when they saw Salix, but by the grim looks on their faces, it also appeared as though the situation could change in a heartbeat if the need arose.
Zlotnik went over to the closest end of the container and drew his sidearm. "Genkin and Botvinik?" said Kozloff to the two armored newcomers. "You two take point. Sergeant Zlotnik? Open this door, very carefully, if you please." The sergeant stepped up to the container and operated the completely conventional latching mechanism on the outside of the door. The doors swung outward, revealing two rows of rectangular boxes, each about a meter square and standing two meters tall. Through the transparent panel on the front of each individual chamber, it was possible to make out the unmistakable form of a Custodian enshrouded by a thick mist of some sort.
Salix remained outside the container but gently probed the alien chamber nearest her with one of her expanded manipulator tentacles.
Chapter 30. Evidence.
Military Security Facilities, New Belgrade Orbital Station, October 8, 2676.
"Are we sure we want to do this?" asked Chief Eva Kryslov.
She and Spaski, along with technician Bobrik were all crowded into the small manager's cubicle in the Supply offices of the New Belgrade Station security facility. Bobrik was sitting in front of a battered computer terminal with his two companions standing just behind him, one on either side.
"I'm convinced our nation and our people are in grave danger," said Spaski. "I won't order you to do this if you don't want to, Bobrik, but we need access to the security video feeds over in the political wing. We're almost certain the political arm has been infiltrated by...foreign powers, but we need some kind of proof before we can take any action."
"That's a pretty tall order," said Bobrik.
"Can you do it?" asked Spaski.
"Yes, of course."
Bobrik's fingers flew over the keyboard. He tried several different combinations before the screen lit up with the logo of the Political Arm of the Soviet Navy.
"You sure made that look easy," said Eva.
"Actually it was pretty easy," said Bobrik. "I think their people are so cocky they've gotten careless."
"Can you access the video feeds from the high security area of that building?" asked Spaski.
Kryslov and Spaski had both been to the lobby in the entry area to the political wing -- not that there had been much to see. There was a stone-faced secretary seated behind a chest-high counter next to a small waiting area with a few chairs running along the wall. There were also a couple of side rooms off the waiting area used for minor interrogations or other interactions with non-political personnel. In the wall behind the secretary, there was a stout, unmarked double door no one but political officers and authorized personnel were allowed beyond.
"Let me see what I can do," said Bobrik, his eyes intent on the screen.
He brought up a series of video feeds showing empty corridors and unoccupied offices before finally accessing an office with someone in it.
"That's Commander Lipnitsky," said Eva.
The Commander was having a conversation with someone who was currently off-camera. Someone with a raspy, grating voice. The language it was speaking was incomprehensible. Bobrik tapped a key, widening the view, causing all three of the conspirators to gasp in unison. Across the desk from the Commander was one of the creatures Spaski and Eva had seen in Sergei's video.
"What the hell is that thing?" asked Bobrik, his eyes wide.
"It's the reason we're doing this," said Spaski. "I'll fill you in later. For right now, get a recording of that, and then we'd better get out of here."
Bobrik sent the video feed over to Spaski's tablet.
"Hang on a sec, Chief," said the tech, "we should still have a little more time. Give me five minutes, and I can copy a bunch of these files for us to look at later. There has to be more evidence in here."
Spaski nervously looked over at Eva.
"In for a credit, in for the whole bank," she said.
Spaski nodded his head, handed Bobrik his tablet, and went over to guard the door. For the next five minutes, the only sound in the room was the clicking of Bobrik's keyboard. Conscious of the time, the little tech stopped transferring files onto the tablet after his five minutes were up. After performing a few more operations on the computer in an attempt to cover their tracks, at least for a while, he shut down the terminal. The three of them, badly shaken by what they'd just seen, and what they'd just done, made their way out of the maintenance office.
"What do we do now?" asked Eva. "We could have a mob of security types after us sometime within the next few hours. It'll be a death sentence if we get picked up."
"We need to get this information to my friend. He'll know what to do."
"I think I know a way out of here," said Eva. "Follow me."
The three of them, now very likely fugitives, made their way to the outside of the security offices through a large door two levels up normally used for deliveries. They walked as nonchalantly as possible away from the government offices with an itch between their shoulder blades, dreading that would be called out at any moment. Two blocks away, they boarded the orbital platform tram, but none of them began to breathe easier until they disembarked from the tram in the middle of the entertainment and lodging district. There they could blend in with hundreds of other military types and, hopefully, avoid detection for a day or so, at least.
To get off the street, they ducked into an all-night cafe and took a booth in one of the back corners.
"If anybody's hungry, now would be a good time to order something," said Spaski.
Bobrik ordered the house specialty, something called "Sailor's Delight" while his companions, both of them afflicted with nervous stomachs, each ordered a modest breakfast selection.
"Okay," said Eva, after they'd placed their orders. "I got us out of the security building, now what do we do?"
"I take this information to my friend. He said he'd be back at the Iron Maiden at 2100 tonight. I'll meet him there. He also came here to New Belgrade with one of his old contacts, Jacob Luken. I remember we used to rendezvous with Luken's freighter on a regular basis." His brow furrowed in thought. "Her name was...Odyssey or Ostrov or something like that. No, it was Odessa! Her name was Odessa. Maybe we can join up with him, and he can get us off-planet." He paused in thought, "I wonder how much longer that ship is supposed to be here. Have you got access to the departure schedule for the next few days, Eva?"
"I think I can pull something up on my tablet," answered Eva. After a minute of poking around on the device she said, "Odessa is scheduled to head out in about twelve hours. They're loading cargo right now."
The food arrived, and everyone started eating. Spaski was surprised at how hungry he was. Eva picked away at her food while Bobrik tucked in as though he'd never eaten before. Probably a side effect of all the drugs in his system.
About halfway through the meal, two political security agents strolled by outside the window, scanning the crowd out in the street for anything looking suspicious. Spaski's heart stopped as the gaze from one of them lingered on him for a moment, and started back up when the man continued his scan and moved out of sight of the window.
Suddenly his appetite was gone.
"I guess they haven't found out about us yet," he said. "Finish up, we need to keep moving."
"You say we need to get to the Iron Maiden?" asked Eva. Spaski nodded. She continued, "That's way over on the other end of the strip, near the docks. How ar
e we going to pull that off?"
"You can go pretty much where you please in that security uniform, Chief," said Bobrik, looking at Eva. "Why don't we head over there as if there's nothing going on? You know, bold and brave."
Eva and Spaski looked at one another. "That just might work," said Spaski, "especially if we can hide our faces from the security cameras."
"The cameras are the scanning type," said Eva. "Bobrik, can you hack into the video network and let us know when the cameras are pointed away from us?"
"I think so, especially with your level of clearance. Hand me your tablet and I'll have a go at it."
A few minutes later, he announced, "I've got access to the program that controls the feed from the cameras. I can actually get them to hold position for a few seconds. If I hold them any longer than that, it might draw suspicion. If we're careful, we should be able to get over to the Iron Maiden without being picked up on the security network. That won't help if the word gets out and live guards come looking for us though."
"All the more reason to get going with this before somebody does catch on," said Spaski.
They left the little restaurant and, over the next hour, wound their way through the maze of security cameras monitoring practically every lane and pathway on the orbital platform. Bobrik would consult Eva's tablet and give the okay while the nearest camera was temporarily frozen in a position pointing away from them. Their progress was slow and nerve-wracking because they not only needed to time their movements to avoid the cameras, they also needed to keep an eye out for roaming security people making their rounds. Finally, they arrived at the street where the Iron Maiden was located.
"We need a place to hide out for a few hours," said Spaski. "My friend won't be there until 2100 tonight, we have a good eight hours to kill."
"There's a flophouse just around the corner that doesn't ask any questions," said Bobrik. "The security is pretty lax as well. We might be able to wait there until the right time."
The Archeon Codex: Guardians of the Galactic Sentinel Book 2 Page 16
