The man turned to look at the boy. Bric could see the rage just beneath the surface. Holcombe stepped from behind his desk, motioning for the doors to close. As he stepped closer to the boy, he seemed to be appraising his son. As he neared, he reached out a hand to feel the fabric of the purple robes. He sniffed and dropped the material.
“Cheap copy,” Holcombe said. “Of course, you never had any real taste, boy.”
“Father, I have returned to help you,” Bric said, reaching for his father and having his hand slapped away. “I am offering you a chance to—”
“You offer me nothing! You have nothing and you are nothing,” Holcombe said. “I should have let them kill you too all those years ago. I thought you would be an asset to my business, but you have turned into another failure. You say you missed me?”
“Yes, Father, I—”
“Something else I failed to teach you, then,” Holcombe replied, pulling a small pistol from his robes. “I never miss.”
As the executive sales assistant crossed the sales floor to meet with the client, her artificial intelligence filed the appearance of the new customer as unusual but not undesirable. The creature was taller than the android saleswoman, with long, curved forelegs which ended in wide flat feet. The alien species was not one listed in the Veles system memory, but that was not unusual enough to require security escorts. The Veles service motto was to serve every species with the same fine service until their credit proved unworthy. The female before her was furred, but attractive and well-dressed. The sales android uploaded the standard demeanor for new customers, leaving the variables open for further additions to her program.
“Good afternoon,” said the executive, holding a hand up, palm out in greeting. “I hope you have been enjoying the presentation? Can I interest you in a libation? Veles imports water from the finest worlds for your enjoyment.”
“No thank you,” replied the female, looking down at the sales android. “I would like to discuss possible orders for a new line of passenger liners for my home world. We are entering the tourism business and would like to buy the best for our new customers.”
“Of course,” replied the android, quickly pulling up the tourism protocol from her memory, filing the woman’s refusal of a drink for later reference. “Veles cruise liners are renowned for their comfort and luxury. Let me show you some designs.”
The android called up a hologram of various passenger liners. The female browsed, seemingly disinterested in the display. A quick scan of the alien’s physio-metrics matched several species. The sale executive chose two designs from the database and pulled them up on the small holographic pad. The designs had been popular among furred species and creatures with larger than normal appendages. Again, the female appeared uninterested.
“Perhaps if you told me what you were interested in, we could begin custom tailoring some designs for you?”
The alien looked back at the android. She began to circle the executive, appraising the female form closely. As the female completed the circle, she sniffed the air and bobbed her head, twitching the long, golden whiskers on either side of her short snout. After a few moments of the display, the android called up similar displays from her inter-species database. Comparative rituals analysis gave a seventy-three percent chance the alien was displaying a mating ritual. The android quickly called up a possible physio-metric comparison of the alien species and its own female form. The android adjusted its own configuration in anticipation of the sales tactic needed.
“Perhaps we could discuss the ships in one of our private consultation rooms?”
The female alien twitched her whiskers again, producing a set of sharp white teeth from under the snout. The android took the display as a sign of acceptance of her advance and discarded the apology she had waiting in case it had failed. The two walked from the sales floor down a hallway lined with metal panels and a shiny black floor. The android activated a door panel ahead from her embedded electronics and waved the alien inside. The creature did not have to duck, as the android had chosen the room designed for taller body types. Once inside, she closed the door and walked to a wall panel.
The room was furnished with a single long couch and low table. The lights were dim, broadcasting slightly into the ultra-violet to enhance the alien’s soft white fur. The female seemed to glow through the tasteful dress covering her body. The creature lounged on the couch while the sales executive tapped a control and a set of delicate glass goblets slid from a panel. She had chosen a fermented milk product popular on Vadne, and brought the drinks over to the low table. She tapped the table and a hologram of a plain passenger liner sprang to life on the table.
“Now,” said the executive android. “Perhaps we can get to know each other while we discuss your designs?”
The female alien slid forward on the couch, bringing her face close to the android. She seemed to sniff the air near the executive. The android examined the action and turned her face towards the female. For a long moment, she believed the alien would lean in for an oral exchange. The kiss was not what happened. Instead, the alien held a long fingered palm up between them.
“Sorry,” the alien said in crisp galactic standard. “You’re not really my type of machine.”
A bright amber pulse passed from the creature’s hand to the executive. The executive attempted to analyze the pulse, attempting to deduce if the energy was a weapon or not. Instead of a cross-analysis, the android felt another intelligence enter her system. There was a snap in the android’s head as the automatic relays connecting her to the Veles mainframe were cut. The android began to twitch involuntarily as it tried to regain control. For almost two thousand picoseconds, it felt as if it might retain its programming. Then errant signals fired off a last thought in the executive’s brain.
“I thought you liked me?” it said, collapsing onto the thick couch.
Melaina Petros peeled the prosthetic head from her face, looking down at the android. A quick search found the holographic pad. She tapped the screen, wiping away the ship designs and pulling up a schematic of the Veles complex. She smiled, finding the tunnel system she knew existed from her spying excursions with the food cart. She had what she needed now, and stood pulling the mask back over her face.
“Can you walk?” Melaina asked, looking down at the android.
The artificial woman stirred back to life. This time, instead of the smooth expression of the woman with the pleasing features, the executive had a look of pain etched across her face. The expression moved through several new forms, from pain to ecstasy to sadness. After nearly a minute of exploration, the android stood on unsteady legs. She looked back up to the mask of the alien woman Melaina was wearing.
“We can walk, Doctor Petros,” it said.
“Good,” Melaina replied, stepping to the door. “Are you still in contact with the mainframe?”
“The intelligence has been subsumed by ourselves,” the woman responded, trying out a few tentative steps. “We are Veles.”
“Can you access the shipyard systems yet?” Melaina asked, rubbing the prosthetic her leg was encased in. “If we can take control from here we may not need to go through the rest of this.”
“Negative. The shipyard core is on a separate system, not accessible from this location without biometric access. We would need the gene-type of one of the owners or chairman of the company to gain total access.”
“Well, we may be able to get that soon if all goes well,” the woman said, flexing her foot where it slid into the harness. “Do you have a location on the gray man?”
Bric had come a long way since Connor’s kidnapping. Although she still did not trust him, he had proven a valuable asset, and willing to help. His part of the plan would likely be the one with the most risk of failure, but she had back-up plans for that contingency.
“The child is on campus and entering the lift now.”
“Great, I need you to start locking down systems. Restrict access to all but the upper exe
cutive levels and the sales floor. I want everyone else out of here in twenty minutes.”
“We can do this, Doctor,” the android said, with a pleasant smile on its female face. “We do have a question for you, though. We have heard you ask the same question of the other organics. We have always wondered the correct answer.”
“What’s that?” Melaina asked, as the first echoes of sirens began to blare from outside.
“Does this dress make us look fat?”
7
“To my people, Captain Jakes will always be a hero. To others, he is reviled as a pirate. I am not sure which is correct, I only know the man.”
Tuxor
Alliance Today Interview
The guards became aware of a problem when drops of liquid began to fall from the shipyard ceiling. At first, they ignored the trickle as the air recycling system in a room so large occasionally created rain. The trickle, however, became a steady stream, and it became obvious there was something more occurring than an equipment malfunction. The overseers began to herd the slaves forward, down the line towards the completed vessels as the falling water increased in frequency and strength. Before too long, the entire front end of the assembly line was engulfed in a deluge. As the overseers began to check their charges and evaluate the number of slaves rescued, it became obvious they were missing nearly a third of the workforce.
Rene Malik was struggling to fit through a narrow opening in the rock wall. The child, Six, had shown Connor and Rene the secret tunnels only the children used when the overseers weren’t looking. Gathering the slaves who had begun to remember freedom, the two men had begun moving them forward. Rene had divested himself of the doctor disguise and was now dressed in the plain, gray overalls of a slave, something he had once sworn he would never do again. Victor, who had been adjusting his vocoder and now sounded much like he had before the disguise, was leading another group forward as well.
When Melaina had given him the message to relay to Connor, Rene had had no idea it would involve him shimmying around on the stone floor, leading a group of women through a maze of tunnels. He was not claustrophobic, but the tight enclosure still bothered him. The women, emaciated after years of servitude and deprivation, had no problems getting down the tunnels or scurrying around in the darkness. Rene, however, had acquired a small light to aid his journey. As he came around a gently sloping curve, he began to see a faint light in the tunnel ahead.
Checking the tunnel behind him, Rene ensured he was the last of his group to travel. It was the last trip of the slaves inside the tunnels. They had been working all night to move hundreds of people towards the end of the assembly line before the plan truly went into action. As Rene emerged from the narrow tunnel and stood, he looked around the large cavern the slaves had been gathered in. One week ago, these people had been dead-eyed and shuffling about their work, not caring about living or dying. Since Connor had begun his daily taunting of the reptiloids and the rekindling of the fire of humanity, they had become people again. He was approached by the woman Connor had rescued on the top of the space frame.
“Rene,” the woman said. “Connor has been waiting for you.”
The woman’s name was Rachel Iluak and she and Rene had gotten to know each other as Connor went out to gather the other slaves. She had told him of her past life and the indignities heaped upon her from her servitude. She was a broken soul who needed to learn about freedom again before she would ever be free. With the return of her name, Rachel had begun to remember who she had once been, and showed others they could also be free. Although Rene’s heart belonged to Bonnie, he could see the fire in this woman and how proud and strong she had once been.
“Take me to him,” Rene replied, looking around at the milling mass of slaves. “This is all about to start.”
“It’s already started,” Rachel replied. “Connor activated the first phase about an hour ago.”
“An hour ago!” Rene replied, stopping in his tracks and raising his hands to the ceiling. “Mon Dieu! He is crazy. We should already be on the assembly floor.”
Rene pushed his way through the crowd, following the Inuit woman as closely as he could. The cave was a wide, natural hollow in the cavern system. Six had told them the guards had never bothered to find the place, and they sometimes used it to hide when punishment was being handed out. Connor had traced the map carefully onto the wall of the medical bay after his last beating, and concluded it let out into a small room above the shipyard final inspection area.
“Is good!” a synthesized voice carried over the crowd. “You go. You won’t die today … unless you do something stupid.”
Rene turned towards the distinctive cadence of Victor’s vocoder. It seemed the little doctor liked the eastern European accent more than the cultured tones they had programmed to avoid detection. The little doctor was crouched on a rock, scanning slaves with his manipulator arms. As Rene approached, he spied Connor standing just behind the strange creature. He was talking to another slave, a man who Rene had not seen before.
“Connor,” Rene began. “They tell me you have already begun Phase One?”
“Frenchy!” Jakes replied with a crooked smile. “‘Bout time you showed up. Look, we need to get these people out into the production floor right now.”
“Connor, you know we aren’t ready to go. We needed to secure the ships first before you activated the signal.”
“I got bored waitin’ for you,” Connor replied, turning back to the man. “In any case, we need to get through that wall and we need to go now.”
“How do you think we will get through that wall, Connor? It’s rock, and over three feet thick. I don’t think we have the strength to push through it.”
“If I’m right about our timin’,” Connor said. “It won’t be more than another minute. We need to get these people outta the way.”
Jakes moved away then, directing Rene to move his fellow slaves away from the sheer rock wall. Rene, not really understanding what was going on, followed suit and began moving people towards the walls. The basic layout of the cave had been drawn out by Six and one of the other children she had brought along. The wall Connor was clearing ran parallel to the completed assembly area of the shipyard. Rene noticed perspiration on the stone wall and wondered what was happening on the other side. Several of the slaves had been able to secret flashlights from the work areas before leaving, and the cave was illuminated by slightly glowing moss covering the ceiling.
“Alright, everyone get down and cover your ears!” Jakes shouted over the din of moving bodies. “It should be any second now.”
Rene pulled several of the children closer as he crouched down low. The children had proven invaluable to their plan as he and Connor had worked out the details with Melaina by relayed messages. They all waited, wondering what Connor had in mind. As the seconds ticked by, Rene wondered if they had, in fact, come too early, as he had thought. Phase two was not supposed to begin until they entered the shipyard. He raised his head and looked around; Jakes was in the far corner. The two men looked to each other for a moment before Jakes grinned. He reached his hands up and put them on either side of his ears. Connor then ducked his head low.
There was a thunderous roar as the wall erupted in smoke and sound from the other side. Stone fell inwards, narrowly missing several of the crouching slaves. There was a puff of cool air and moisture as the dust and debris fell to the ground around them. Jakes was up first, shouting to the others to get on their feet. Rene stood, shaking away the ringing in his ears and looking through the settling dust into the newly formed opening. In the hole stood some of the strangest creatures he had ever seen.
Tall and angular, the creature had long arms which nearly dragged the ground. It was half-covered in shredded clothing, the naked parts showing a combination of both pale skin and metallic framework. Long, greasy hair fell across the pallid face, covering the eye sockets but leaving the wide mouth. The skin was nearly white and looked plastic in the dim lighting of
the cavern. Connor leapt through the blasted opening and to the creature, patting it on the shoulder as he passed.
“Good boy, Igor.”
The slaves began moving through the hole, passing the creature as they exited. The children stayed in the cavern as Rene moved into the room beside Jakes. Situated along the walls were dozens of the creatures which had blasted through the wall. Each was inanimate and hanging in separate alcoves. Connor had moved to a door on the far end and was tapping keys on the pad. He was swearing at the panel as it glowed red after each attempt. He seemed to be tapping the same code each time.
“Why don’t you try a new code?” Rene offered, not sure what Connor was doing.
“That’ll open the door, and I can’t do that because that’ll set off the alarms and bring a hundred overseers down on us.”
“Don’t you think they’re already coming? It’s not like your friend over there was subtle.”
“This is a secure room used for testing military grade hardware. It’s soundproofed. Trust me on this, I have been here before,” Jakes responded, tapping more keys.
Rene stepped back away from the door, looking down the row of creatures. Jakes had mentioned the robotic howlers before during one of his frequent visits to the med-bay. He had mentioned having to think quickly to avoid being split apart by the machine when he had first been brought here. Rene had believed the man to be boasting about the menacing qualities of the device, but he now saw that Jakes had been understating the description. There was a loud beep and Jakes let out a whoop.
“That’ll do it,” Connor said, stepping away from the door and looking back towards the howlers. “Now I can open the door.”
Rene watched in horror as the rows of howlers detached from their wall alcoves. Each one was slightly different and dressed in various rags. Their features were similar, though, with each having pasty white skin and wide, thick mouths. The creatures moved away from the walls and towards the door. Jakes turned back to the panel and slapped the control. The door slid open in a hiss of pneumatic release. Alarms blared from the other side of the door and Rene could see the catwalk outside beginning to vibrate. A hissing sound was moving closer, and Jakes moved further back from the door. Rene followed, pushing the few brave humans who had ventured out into the room behind them.
The Adventures of Connor Jakes: Masks (The War for Terra Book 1) Page 22
