by Mike Freeman
Havoc reached back and grabbed Stone.
> It depends.
Stone looked down in confusion as Havoc lifted him.
> On what?
Havoc tucked Stone under his arm.
> On whether you want to be there when the nuke goes off.
> What?
Stone bounced around as Havoc sprinted down the slope, thrust jumping as soon as he cleared the overhang.
> Did you say there was a cabin in the slot?
> Down there? Yes, but there's no way I'm going back down there. What are you doing?
Havoc’s jetpack activated and they swooped down the slope toward the crane. Stone rattled under Havoc's arm. He felt like a baton in a relay race.
> Did you say nuke?
~ ~ ~
Intrepido lay slumped in the medstation booth, his head leaning against the side window. Despite the number of holes in the booth it was still working. Thank God. The machine pumped him full of drugs. Four surgical arms started work on his abdomen, two more on each leg. He'd seriously thought that sadistic bastard was going to kill him. His head swum, though his faculties were returning. He was lucky to be alive.
> That’s two minutes, Intrepido. Did you get him?
Intrepido thought he would keep his indiscretion to himself.
> No. He got me, Sir.
> He got you?
> They've taken me.
> Where is he?
> They're checking the site. I think they're looking for you.
> And stating the fucking obvious, Intrepido, you're still alive?
> He surprised me.
> Well life's full of surprises, isn't it, Intrepido?
184.
Jafari made himself a promise.
In five minutes you can lie down and die.
He had to warn everyone about Abbott. Everyone. He couldn't imagine the horror if the alien managed to return to Hspace on a ship without being discovered.
He staggered down the great hallway toward the exit. He was in bad shape. His spoor of blood traced his path like a trail of breadcrumbs in a fairy story. The trail widened into puddles at the points where he'd paused for a fleeting rest.
The entrance hallway seemed like the longest road he’d ever traveled. His shattered leg kept buckling underneath him. He pushed on. People needed to know what he’d seen. He had to get the message out.
He fell into the tent lock.
He swayed on his knees as it opened in front of him. Nearly there. He forced himself upright and limped into the tent. He eyed the medkit greedily, then dismissed it. Not enough time. He had to get to the entrance. He wasn't going to live long enough for it to make a difference anyway.
A few meters from the lock he stumbled and fell over. Where was his energy? His vision ghosted in and out. He shook his head as he crawled forward.
He dragged himself into the lock. He was fading fast. The lock hissed shut behind him. He thought he was going to pass out. He bit down savagely on his lip. Hot blood trickled onto his tongue.
The exit opened and he fell out.
Two meters to go. It looked a long way. He had nothing left. He couldn’t think. He pulled himself forward on his arms, dragging his shattered leg behind him. He slowed with every movement like a dwindling clock spring. His breathing was fast and shallow. He felt dizzy.
His hands were cold and felt separated from him. He reached out with one toward the entrance field. It was wishful thinking – the inky blackness was too far away.
He hauled himself forward again. The motion exhausted him. Irrelevant thoughts crowded his mind. His head swayed from side to side as he hovered on his hands. He could sense the field in front of him. His depth perception was failing. He threw his right hand forward. It wasn’t enough. He was blacking out. He needed to stay conscious.
He pushed himself up, disoriented, tottering on his hands like a baby deer. His left arm buckled under him. He collapsed and rolled onto his back. Damn. He'd blown it.
His head and shoulders fell through the field with his arms outstretched behind him.
He was laughing as he registered the muzzle flash in his face.
He didn't care, he'd done it.
He died with his arm pointed to the sky, the burst transmission sending over and over from his outstretched hand.
185.
Stone lifted his head as he flew under Havoc’s arm. He looked back at the encampment; the cabins, the rubble and the broken blade. The crane boom loomed overhead. He hated that crane – he never wanted to see it again.
Havoc seemed to be heading for exactly where he unquestionably, incontrovertibly did not want to go. His sense of dread magnified exponentially.
> Tell me you’re not.
> It beats the alternative, trust me.
> Oh no.
Havoc dived toward the abyss. The lip of the shaft stretched for kilometers on either side of them.
> Noooooo!
Havoc flew over the edge of the shaft and plummeted down. Stone’s adrenalin kicked in. Havoc spun him round, re-orienting him in flight. Stone panicked, flailing and spinning in the atmo. The front of his helmet bumped into Havoc's crotch. He recoiled instinctively, pushing his hands out as he twisted away.
> Eugh!
> Stone!
> No!
> You think I want a jawless midget at my crotch?
Havoc clasped his hand around the crane cable. His gauntlet blasted sparks like a rocket flare as they hurtled downward.
> Filter your suit, Stone.
> Are you sure about the nuaaaaaaahhh!
The dust motes blasting across the vast cavern were illuminated like a trillion stars. Stone’s visor filtered down. There was a brilliant double flash. The shockgel in his visor expanded and molded to his face.
> Brace yourself.
Their partially arrested slide down the cable lost all semblance of control. Stone felt like he’d been plucked out of white water and thrown into a maelstrom. They tumbled and twisted at the mercy of the elements.
Stone suit registered a spike in static pressure as the shock wave hit. It was as if the first part of their fall had been someone tossing a ball and now the bat had connected. Stone collapsed inward, dazed and winded. He felt like someone had dropped a cliff on him. It was too much. Total overload. He was disoriented, spinning with no idea what was happening. He lost his senses.
> Stone, are you ok?
He tried to curl into a fetal position. His breathing was out of control. He pressed his eyes shut. He was smashed, jolted and spun in all directions, plummeting down this tunnel to hell. He couldn't take any more. He didn't want to be here. His mind shut down.
Havoc cast to him as they fell on the currents of wind, diving downward ever faster. Stone floated in numb nothingness with his mind dissociated. He didn't want to come back to reality.
> Stone, it's Havoc. We're fine. Speak to me.
Shock waves rocked and battered him. Alarms chimed in his suit. His head nodded back and forth. He could hear Havoc's voice but he was somewhere else.
> Come on, Stone. Talk to me.
They were falling but he was still alive. His body couldn't sustain the adrenalin surge. His vitals slowed down to maximum.
> Don't open your eyes yet, Stone. Just talk to me.
Stone reached inside and made a great effort to pull out enough to answer.
> I'm here.
> Great. Well done.
> I don't want to be here.
Havoc laughed.
> You're doing great, Stone. We're fine. We're falling. In a few seconds we'll reach your slot, ok? I'm going to jet to slow us down. Don't try and move around ok? Can you just stay in that tucked position for me?
> Yes.
Stone opened his eyes. It was a mistake. He had a snapshot. Debris fell all around them. They were in an asteroid field. The cable fell with them. He couldn't comprehend it. A nuke. A nuke. A nuke.
> Just keep your eyes shut if you like. If you stay ba
lled up it should help when we hit the entrance.
> Hit it?
> Pass through.
> I just nearly got killed by a nuke.
> Yeah.
> That was close.
> Yeah. Think of something nice.
> I'd kill for a cup of tea.
> There you go. Something to tell the kids anyway.
> I don't have any waaaahhhhh!
Stone felt powerful forces drag him as Havoc's jetpack kicked in. He cried out, his eyes pressed shut, just wanting it to be over. Please God make it be over.
> We're going in. Just relax.
He screamed.
186.
Weaver watched Jafari's short clip of footage from the pyramid for the nth time.
It was horrific. She found it hard to breathe. It was as if someone had packed ice around her heart and lungs, freezing and constricting them at the same time. She wondered if Abbott was still alive inside his own mind together with that... thing.
She tried to be dispassionate and analyze what had happened. There were some clear patterns.
At first, the Talmas transferred to everyone around it. She thought it hadn't initially realized that it wasn't replicating; that it was only transferring. She thanked the Aulusthrans and God for its emasculation. She couldn't imagine how catastrophic the situation would be if the creature could replicate across hosts.
After the first second of the encounter the Talmas seemed to realize it wasn't replicating. As a result, the pattern of its transfers between victims changed. They became more hierarchical. The ORC sergeant to the ORC lieutenant, the ORC lieutenant to the ORC captain, the ORC captain to a senior Gathering functionary and then somewhere along the line, the Gathering functionary, either directly or indirectly, to the most capable man in the room, Michael Abbott.
The alien was some kind of parasitoid or necrotroph in the sense that, when it left its host, the host died. Except once, maybe. When the Talmas left the ORC captain he’d rolled off to one side, possibly still alive until three of his own men had blown him to pieces. It wasn't clear if the alien could survive without a host. Perhaps the Aulusthrans had provided it with an artificial host in its cell.
Weaver knew the purpose of the Talmas. From what she could gather, the Talmas had ravaged a large part of the Aulusthran crew of Plash itself. She had no idea what it would try and do next. Would it try and reengineer itself so it could replicate again? Or infiltrate one of their ships back to Hspace? Or try to free the Diss from the gravitational anomaly?
All she knew was that it had to be stopped. Every second counted. How could she pass the news on to the others? How should she convey the danger that Abbott represented?
She looked at the image of the tendrils flaring out of Abbott’s face toward a terrified ORC soldier.
A picture’s worth a thousand words, she thought.
187.
Stone lay slumped in a comfortable chair in the cabin a kilometer inside the slot. His head and torso were in the medstation. The autosurgeon was busily stitching together his jaw while Havoc replaced the oxygen bladders on his suit. He didn’t mind the operation – he was loaded with Havoc’s hytelline.
> This is the stuff.
“You haven’t got any hytelline?”
> I’ve got Salix.
Havoc frowned as he worked.
“Salix? I’ve never heard of it.”
> It’s a natural remedy. It’s the distilled essence of white willow tree bark.
Havoc blinked. He opened his mouth to speak then snorted with laughter. Stone’s eyebrows lowered. He felt wounded by Havoc’s reaction. Truth be told, he felt like an idiot. Actually, he corrected himself, he was an idiot.
> It was very popular in ancient times.
“You mean before they had medicine?”
> It’s natural medicine.
Havoc looked at him accusingly.
“Did a pretty girl sell you that shit?”
> She was gorgeous.
Havoc stood.
“Alright, this is done and repressurized. Put it back on once the medstation has finished its first round.”
> Ok.
Havoc walked to the drinks dispenser.
“I can’t believe you only have a bladder of air.”
> Tyburn said something similar.
Havoc shook his head as he selected a drink.
“Didn’t they offer you anything during your pre-expedition checks?”
> Yeah, they offered me an Amun.
“But?”
> But the operation sounded awful.
“You say that with that thing in your head?”
Stone reached toward the dome protruding from his head then dropped his hand as the medstation beeped dramatically.
> It’s deactivated. They told me suits wouldn’t fail anyway.
Havoc walked toward him carrying a cup.
“You weren’t first choice for this, were you?”
Stone looked glum.
> I’ve never been first choice for anything in my life.
“You were the backup?”
> Believe it or not, I was the fifth choice from a list of four. Complete logistics disaster. No one else was around. I was in system so I was added at the last minute.
“Shit.”
Stone sighed again, feeling like a total loser.
> I know.
“How did they find you?”
> I turned up at the IRO.
Havoc looked astonished.
“You were trying to sign up?”
> The navy.
Havoc burst out laughing.
“For the girls, right?”
“I suppose. I just wanted to fly a ship. You know, feel some power for a change.”
Havoc placed a cup of tea in front of Stone. Stone eyed the steaming cup longingly.
> Is this some kind of torture?
Havoc smiled.
“Oh ye of little faith.”
Havoc took a long strand of medical tubing and put one end in the tea. He stretched the other end out and reached in next to Stone. There was an irritated beeping from the medstation. Havoc taped the tube to the top of Stone’s shoulder then pressed the end against the corner of Stone’s mouth. Havoc raised a questioning eyebrow.
Stone nodded. Havoc gently fed the tube in over the protests of the medstation. Stone nodded as he felt the tube reach the back corner of his mouth. Havoc gently taped it into place.
Stone eyed the medstation as it beeped.
> I don't think she approves.
“Trust me, you can do a lot of things you shouldn't while you're in a medstation and live.”
> Ok.
Stone went for it, sucking very gently. He eyed the tea working its way along the tube. He pulled a tiny sliver of the liquid into the side of his mouth.
> Nectar of the Gods. Oh my God. I'm alive. And drinking tea.
Havoc patted him on the shoulder.
“Good job.”
Havoc retrieved some crates from the kit racks and sorted through them.
“I'll let the Intrepid know you're here, Stone, in case I don't make it back.”
Havoc said it casually as if it was a fact like any other. To Havoc, it probably was. Stone savored his tea.
> You live like this all the time?
Havoc smiled as he plugged various attachments into his suit.
“No, sometimes I'm frozen.”
> I can't believe I survived a nuke.
“I got you some great footage as we went over.”
Stone nearly laughed and his face stiffened in pain. The medstation fussed and beeped.
> Your crate is over there.
“Thanks.”
Havoc retrieved the crate that Stone had stowed for him, amongst others.
“It’s a shame we didn't get you talking to the Intrepid to let them know what happened.”
> Don't they know?
Havoc removed magazines of micromissiles and kinetics.
“
Yeah, they know a mad psycho did a deal with the ORC and took out their base.”
> Tyburn?
“Me.”
> I can't believe I came here just to get away from my wife.
Havoc slotted kinetic magazines into his suit then retracted them, empty.
“Any regrets?”
> I've had a few.
“You did great.”
Stone watched the surgical arms bustle fastidiously around his face.
> I liked Saskia. A lot.
Havoc turned to him.
“Then it's great you had a chance to meet her, Stone. Don't dwell on it, trust me. We're in battle. You're fighting for your life. Give yourself time to grieve properly afterward.”
Stone was silent for a minute.
> You still think Tyburn is Forge?
Havoc fed micromissiles into his launchers.
“Yes. And it was a clever move. It was a guaranteed way to pull me away from the pyramid. I never saw it as an exploitable vulnerability before. I missed it.”
> I can’t believe they used me as bait.
Havoc raised his visor.
“Right, I need to go.”
Stone felt alarm.
> Now? Where?
“The scientists. Forge is trying to take them.”
> It's dawn soon. Any minute in fact.
“Eleven minutes to go. But the library is further west, remember.”
> You can't get there in time. They'll already be there.
“Not yet. Six thousand kilometers should be a two hour journey for them.”
> Starting an hour ago. How will you get there?
“Aerial frame.”
> There isn't time.
“I dropped it before we entered the slot.”
> You've already dropped it?
“The ORC won't fuck around, Stone. I've seen what they do to scientists up close. I don't want to see it again.”
> Don't go. You'll get caught in the open. You'll melt.
“Don't worry.”
Stone made a deep breathing sound and cast in a low voice.
> But, Havoc, I am your father.
Havoc chuckled as he turned to leave.
“Stay here. Suit up when you can. Get some rest.”
Stone felt incredulous. Havoc really was going out there again.
