Redemption Protocol (Contact)

by Mike Freeman

  Alerts flashed in his mind’s eye as his reserve fed air into his lungs. A calm female voice notified him of his gas position.

  “You have twenty minutes of air remaining.”

  Tyburn snapped off pieces of Stone’s broken visor from the neck of his suit. Stone opened his eyes and peered through narrow slits. His eyes burned. Tyburn levered off the remnants of his helmet, methodically stripping the fragments away. Stone wriggled but Tyburn was too strong. He was terrified. Tyburn was going to dangle him over the shaft with only twenty minutes of air.

  Tyburn gripped Stone’s face in his gauntlet. Stone peered up at Tyburn with his face painfully squashed. Tyburn's eyes were wide and mad – he'd completely lost it.

  “They say the jaw is the strongest bone in the human body, Stone. With someone who talks as much as you that should be pretty strong. Let's find out.”

  Stone didn’t understand. Tyburn grabbed the back of Stone’s head in one hand and lifted the hook under his chin with the other.

  Reality dawned on Stone. He thrashed wildly.

  > No. Please.

  Tyburn pressed the hook into the soft flesh under his chin. Stone’s skin burned in contact with the freezing hook.

  > Please, Tyburn, what do you want?

  Tyburn smiled but he didn’t stop. Through squinting eyes, Stone saw the blur of Ekker step onto the platform.

  It dawned on Stone that Ekker wanted to watch. Tyburn was really going to do this.

  > No, Tyburn, please.

  148.

  Stephanie raised a quizzical eyebrow at the approach of not one but two diplomatic parties to their camp. Abbott smiled at her and Jafari.

  “I invited them both.”

  Stephanie absorbed this as Abbott stepped forward to greet the representatives of the People's Republic and the United Systems.

  The senior representatives of both Tier-1 civilizations looked a little surprised to be arriving at the same time. They both kept glancing at Abbott as if they expected him to berate one of his aide's at this obvious scheduling error.

  Abbott gestured at the pyramid as he addressed everyone.

  “It is time to begin a new and more open chapter in relations between our Tier-1 civilizations. I see humanity joining together to forge a strong bond with our new friends and neighbors.”

  The faces of the visiting diplomats reflected their polite bemusement. Stephanie thought that Abbott was finally losing it. Thank God she'd been treated – the short blackouts she was experiencing were bad enough already.

  Stephanie glanced at the United Systems. She wondered if he knew that the United Systems had an agent on the Alliance crew (probably) and if he knew it was her (possibly). If the United Systems Ambassador did know it was her, he might be confused to see his supposedly compromised agent standing freely amongst her colleagues.

  She wondered what the United Systems would make of her diversion. Then again there was no point crying over spilled milk. It was too late to stop it and it wasn't like it was her fault anyway. The United Systems should have looked after her better. Stephanie had a vague feeling that she’d gone too far. She shrugged it off. No guilt and no regrets, that was her mantra. Her mother had drummed it into her since she was three.

  Stephanie smiled at the People's Republic Ambassador as the diplomats engaged in some meaningless chatter before getting down to the nitty-gritty of pyramid access.

  She had no idea whether the Gathering would manage to penetrate the pyramid and release the alien. She didn’t really care. Whether the Gathering succeeded or not it would be a major diversion. She didn't plan to be anywhere nearby. She knew her United Systems handlers wouldn’t approve of what she’d done but it wasn’t her fault. Use your initiative, they'd said. She'd been forced into this position. What did they expect? She was taking all the risks. She was facing all the danger.

  And all it cost them was money.

  149.

  Havoc roared across the sky.

  A roiling mass of electromagnetic interference streamed across the skies, cloaking it in a modern day fog of war.

  Havoc counted every one of Forge’s security staff who were stationed at the shaft as against him. He assumed he was up against Intrepido right now, sitting in his cabin, manipulating his assets to kill him.

  A mountain range rose up ahead, three thousand kilometers from the shaft. Havoc couldn’t imagine that Intrepido would have ignored its tactical value for funneling him and causing him to lift higher over the surface. There would likely be a number of drones lurking there. It was too good an opportunity for Intrepido to pass up.

  One of Havoc’s platforms surged forward, accelerating past Mach forty. Its coating would burn off at that speed but it wouldn’t be needed for long.

  A beam cut through the electromagnetic blizzard like a lighthouse piercing mist. It was the Intrepid's primary weapon system, the Hel.

  The radiation emitted by Havoc’s surface platforms paled into insignificance. He felt like a child playing with candles before the power of the sun. He wondered if Yamamoto would try to discriminate amongst his platforms and go straight for him, or if she would sweep across his fleet systematically. Most of all, he hoped it was just a warning.

  The telemetry from one of his laser platforms on the far edge of his fleet rocketed for an instant before it was vaporized. A moment later, the same thing happened to one of the electronic warfare packages. In quick succession, another two platforms were annihilated. Death from above. Four assets gone already.

  Havoc burst through a cloud formation, his aerial frame buffeted by micro-vibrations as it hurtled through the atmosphere. His sensors illuminated the sky ahead of him. The dark mountains rose majestically on the horizon, their peaks soaring upward like swords raised above charging knights as they galloped toward him.

  His fifth platform surged brilliantly and vanished. It was only nineteen kilometers away, within visual range. This was very bad news. Yamamoto was casually lasing his fleet out of existence far faster than he'd expected.

  Using the logic of the sweep pattern, there was a fifty-fifty chance that he’d be next. The view was great.

  He braced himself.

  150.

  Stone flailed helplessly.

  Tyburn thrust the hook steadily into his jaw. It felt remorseless and unstoppable. He tried to move his head but Tyburn’s grip was a vice. Stone’s skin stretched to breaking point. There was no more give.

  Tyburn grinned manically.

  “Good boy. Here we go!”

  > Please, Tyburn, stop.

  Stone shrieked silently as his flesh tore under the pressure of the blunt point. Tears leaked from his eyes as he suffered in agony. The hook forced its way upward, rupturing his chin and ripping the flesh off the inside of his lower teeth. He gagged as his tongue was rammed up into his palette. The pain was unbearable.

  > Please stop. Please.

  The hook erupted into his mouth. He gagged repeatedly as his tongue was forced into his throat. He tasted the hot blood pouring from his mouth. The blood gushed out of the ragged hole in his chin to be whipped back into his face by the wind.

  > You made your point, Tyburn. Please, no more. Tell me what you want.

  Tyburn waggled the hook. Stone’s throat contracted in a silent scream.

  “You need to open your mouth, Son! Or the hook will push up into your brain! We don’t want that. Come on, now. Open up.”

  Stone opened his mouth wide, crying and helpless, trying to appease the monster. Tyburn patted him as he fed the hook up and out of the front of his mouth.

  “Good boy. There we go. Well done.”

  Stone gagged again as hot blood poured into his throat. He swallowed to stop from choking, gulping down his blood and mucus. Tears streamed out of his eyes. He hadn’t known pain like it.

  Tyburn cuffed his wrists together behind his back and nudged him to the edge of the platform.

  Stone was in shock, his mind still trying to deny this was real. The wind howled
around him as he was balanced on the lip of the void. He looked out over the abyss and was gripped by fear. He couldn't function – he could barely observe what was happening to him.

  > No, Tyburn. Please.

  Tyburn put his arm round his shoulders as he held the hook up in front of his face. The pain was excruciating. Stone felt like a fish on a line as he gagged and choked. He screwed up his face in agony as he tried to push back from the edge. He had no leverage. He might as well try and push back the tide.

  > What do you want me to do? Please tell me.

  Stone struggled to grasp reality as he tottered on the edge of the abyss with a hook through his face.

  > Please, Tyburn, don’t.

  He sobbed in pain, praying to God that Tyburn wasn't going to lower him on the hook.

  151.

  Weaver progressed methodically, level by level, improving her sequence solving skills as she searched through the carousel. Eventually she found the pyramid, a riddle buried in a maze of enigmas.

  With the tingle of entering the unknown, she accessed the information.

  The pyramid was a prison. That she already knew.

  It was detachable. That's why it was positioned on the surface – it could be jettisoned into space. This was a sobering prospect.

  Architectural information spun in front of her. Corridors, obelisks, layout and topology. Layers of security. Some kind of energy architecture.

  She realized she was accessing information about the pyramid’s structure rather than its inmates. She searched for information about the residents.

  She finally stumbled over the link as she worked her sequences, sternly tested but within her limits. The coded link to the information that she wanted gleamed like a jewel nestling in the earth. It was high power level and high danger. Not quite as high as Fournier had accessed earlier but close enough. Far higher than she was comfortable with, that much was certain.

  The link sparkled at her, uncaring.

  Should she go for it?

  Was it worth it?

  She thought about what had happened to Kemensky and felt sick.

  152.

  Nmr Qátl Mourynho checked the feed showing the diplomats bustling on the eastern side of the pyramid. He muttered a prayer and walked through the western entrance field.

  He felt honored to be selected for this divine task – nothing less than the rescue of the Glorious Redeemer Himself. He was a dedicated and fanatical warrior, brutally trained since he was a boy. There was nothing that would stop him from achieving his mission but death.

  He felt silence envelop him as he passed through the entrance field and emerged into the darkness beyond. All the communication from outside cut off as Arzbad-Framander Zuelth had said it would. He was truly alone now, with his God, his faith and his training.

  “God all seeing,” he murmured.

  In front of him was a wall of formed foam – replaced since his five brothers had failed to pass this way before. It was time to find out if the Arzbad-Framander’s access codes were a trick of the infidel or a pathway to salvation.

  He touched the formed foam and streamed the first access codes into the infidel's 'smart material'. Almost immediately the wall softened to his touch. He pushed his hand into it. It was chalky and brittle. He thought he would have to break his way through. The final stage of the reaction completed and his helmet was showered with heavy dust.

  Mourynho felt himself illuminated by targeting systems from further ahead. He streamed out access codes. Mines confirmed deactivation and weapons stood down. They hung limply, impotent.

  Mourynho’s eyes widened as the seal of the infidel dissolved before him. Truly, God was on his side.

  The way ahead was open.

  153.

  United Systems: Top Secret, Compartmentalized 5

  Coding Frame: XWTHVQ TransSlipkey: 202-SKSLA

  [Full key omitted]

  Timestamp: #661-439-301-959# (Recent-1)

  Origin: Scarlet Barracuda

  Status: Assumed Secure, Agent Intact

  [no deception flags raised]

  Coded transcript: Complete, follows

  [streaming authentication omitted]

  US handler> We detect ORC walkers recovering alien energy systems at the shaft.

  Scarlet Barracuda> There is a fleet inbound to prevent the ORC recovery.

  US handler> That surface fleet is being interdicted from orbit by the AV Intrepid.

  Scarlet Barracuda> That is beyond my control.

  US handler> Stop the Intrepid interdiction. Prevent the ORC recovery of the energy systems.

  Scarlet Barracuda> Negative, that is beyond my control. I am proceeding to the lift out location.

  US handler> We will have to delay your pick up to divert resources south if you do not stop the Intrepid interdiction. You have one minute. Good luck.

  154.

  Jafari walked down the pyramid’s long entrance hallway as Abbott outlined his grandiose vision for humanity.

  “This is a historic opportunity to reach out across the universe and join hands with another species. We humans could proceed with traditional Realpolitik but I ask you, is that truly the way for humanity to join a universal culture and become richer in the process?”

  Jafari winced inwardly. He knew Abbott's powerful intellect and diplomatic skill. Abbott was hard-headed and adaptable, as pragmatic as anyone he'd ever met. Jafari found the 'let's all join hands around the universe' dialogue emerging from Abbott's mouth disconcerting at best. He considered at what point he’d have to declare Abbott code orange. He sighed. He should have done it already.

  The foreign diplomats paid lip service to Abbott as they took in the massive obelisks towering over them. The People's Republic Ambassador gestured at the row of fallen obelisks on their right.

  “What nature of creature did you battle for these gigantic sculptures to have been swept aside?”

  Jafari thought that if he said 'boo', the People's Republic Ambassador would probably launch into orbit.

  Abbott smiled, taking the comment in his stride.

  “A small accident, nothing more.”

  The People's Republic Ambassador looked back at the fallen giants. He didn’t look convinced.

  When it was apparent that Abbott’s disquisition had stopped, at least momentarily, the United Systems Ambassador, in reality more of a military liaison, spoke up.

  “So if I understand you correctly, Ambassador Abbott, you are saying that you invite us into dialogue with this... alien, but you do not expect any, shall we say, consideration, as a result.”

  Abbott threw up an arm as he strode down the corridor ahead of them.

  “It is humanity’s destiny to make friends with our newly discovered neighbors and inspire them with our own harmonious co-existence.”

  Jafari grimaced. The People's Republic Ambassador looked nonplussed – a reasonable reaction given Tier-1 relations hovered on the point of war. The United Systems Ambassador, on the other hand, seemed completely relaxed about the whole thing. He smiled and nodded as if he was on a tour of a museum. Jafari thought that either the United Systems Ambassador knew a lot more than the People's Republic Ambassador, or a lot less.

  Maybe both?

  155.

  Yamamoto stood by the targeting table, opposite Whittenhorn and his two advisers. She worked her way methodically across Havoc's vehicles as they crawled over the surface of Plash, highlighting them in turn with a dab of her targeting wand. She moved the wand toward the next target.

  Stephanie's voice burst out, transmitted to everyone on the command deck.

  “Whittenhorn, what the hell are you doing?”

  Whittenhorn blinked, obviously startled.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do not attack Havoc before you consult with Abbott.”

  “What?”

  “Do not take Havoc out. If the ORC threat is real, you are condemning this mission to disaster.”

  Yamamoto hovered the w
and over the next target. She looked to Whittenhorn for confirmation. Whittenhorn glanced down at the targeting holo, his face uncertain.

  “Where is Ambassador Abbott?”

  “He's in the pyramid. He'll be out within the hour.”

  “We don't have an hour.”

  “It's your neck, Whittenhorn, if you ruin this mission.”

  “Do we have drone communication with the Ambassador?”

  “We're working on it.”

  “Oh.”

  Yamamoto slowly shifted the wand to keep track of the small dot creeping across the surface of Plash. She looked over the holo at Whittenhorn.

  “Do you want to override that? You are the mission lead...”

  156.

  Weaver decided that the information about the alien prisoner was worth the risk. She took a deep breath, grasped the plinth and committed to the gleaming link.

  The structure of the prison spun in front of her, segmenting into different areas. The amphitheater glowed in the center. Weaver selected it and the prison records appeared in front of her.

  There was only one inmate.

  The sequence hit her hard, stunning her with its difficulty. She struggled, juggling six sequence streams at once, scrabbling as if she were trying to sprint on ice.