The Shapechanger Scenario

by Simon Hawke

  "Some," I said, wincing as I sat up. And, abruptly, the pain all went away. I glanced up and saw Tali standing in the companionway.

  Shulman noticed her and pointed an admonishing finger at her. "Now don't you go blanking out all his pain again," he said. "He needs a little pain to warn him when he's pushing himself too far. Let him feel at least a little of it, otherwise he might injure himself worse. You understand?"

  She nodded. "I understand. Enough pain to warn, but not enough to suffer."

  "You got it," Shulman said. He shook his head. "Boy, I wish I had her with me in some of the M.A.S.H. units I served with. Telepathic anesthesiology, would you believe it? Mental acupuncture! Christ, these people would be invaluable in battlefield conditions!"

  "You didn't seem so interested when I asked you to fly out to their village with me and treat some of their sick," said Higgins.

  "Are you going to start with that again?" said Shulman. "Look, I told you, I was being paid to patch up workers who kept opening each other's skulls with lug wrenches and getting injured on the job. I wasn't getting paid to fly out across the desert and give antibiotics to the natives because you 'd infected them with a cold virus."

  "What about your Hippocratic oath?"

  "Hippocrates didn't pay my tuition to medical school. And nowhere in the oath does it say that people are entitled to the fruits of my labors for free."

  "What about charity?" said Higgins.

  "Charity's worth exactly what you pay for it," said Shulman, slamming back the bolt on his rifle. "Let me tell you something, Higgins, people don't value anything unless it costs 'em." He glanced out the window and snorted. "Got ourselves a bit of a mob out there," he said. "Lots of familiar faces. I've patched up over half those guys at one time or another."

  "And now you're going to shoot them?" Higgins said.

  "Hell, I put 'em together, I can blow 'em apart," said Shulman. "Look, treehugger, I know those people out there. They're a rough bunch and they're mad. Pointing a gun at them isn't going to stop them. You'd better shoot. Otherwise, give the rifle to O'Toole here. He doesn't look like he's afraid to pull the trigger."

  "I'm not afraid," said Higgins, tightly. But he put down the rifle just the same and took the semiauto I'd given him out of its holster. "But I think I'll use this instead. I've loaded it with stunners. I don't want to kill anyone unless I have to."

  "Suit yourself," said Shulman. He glanced sharply at Tali as she picked up the assault rifle Higgins had put down. "Hey, be careful with that!"

  She slammed back the bolt the way she'd seen Shulman do and looked at him questioningly. "Now it is ready to function?" she said.

  Shulman looked at her steadily for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, just point it and squeeze the trigger," he said, indicating the trigger on his own weapon. He glanced at me. "Like I said, I could've used her in my M.A.S.H. units."

  From outside, a voice blared over a bullhorn. "Come on out, Breck! We know you're in there! If you try to take off again in that sled, we'll open fire and blow your fuel cells!"

  Breck came into the back. He glanced at me, sitting up on the gurney, looking like a wounded caveman in my hide loincloth, taped chest, and bandages. "How do you feel?" he said.

  "A little stiff, but I'll manage," I said.

  "Here, take this," he said, handing me his semiauto.

  I took it with my left hand. I glanced at the grip indicator and saw a strip of red through the clear plastic. It was loaded with frags.

  "Can you shoot left-handed?" Shulman said.

  "I can learn," I said. I looked at Breck. "Isn't there any way we can avoid this?"

  "I'm open for suggestions," he said.

  I didn't have any.

  "When's the next shuttle due out?" I asked Shulman.

  He gave me a wry look. "What do you think this is, O'Toole, a commuter route? We're not exactly on the main line out here, you know. There's no schedule. A ship comes when it comes and then they send a shuttle up. Or one comes down. Your friend Coles said to get you to the terminal. All right, I got you to the terminal. Next move is up to him. And I hope like hell he makes it soon."

  "We might have a long, long wait," said Higgins. "And those people out there don't look very patient."

  "That's their problem," Shulman said, lining up a row of frag magazines on top of the storage bin beside him.

  "Breck!" the voice on the bullhorn called again. "This is Security Chief Blaisedell. We have a warrant for your arrest, and the arrest of Arkady O'Toole, Grover Higgins, and the Nomad female known as Tyla. Now we know you're in there. Come on out and nobody will get hurt."

  "I wonder what your friend Coles had in mind," said Higgins, glancing out the window nervously. "If any of those men out there are armed with plasma weapons, we're going to fry in here."

  "The consortium wouldn't risk arming Blaisedell or any of his thugs with plasma weapons," Shulman said. "Still, you never know. Things manage to get smuggled in." He snapped a plasma grenade onto the launcher attachment of his assault rifle.

  "Breck, O'Toole, stay put," said Coles, speaking to us through our biochips. "I've got a light battle cruiser heading your way. I've had it stationed out there in an asteroid belt, where the scanners on Purgatory couldn't pick it up. They should be there any moment."

  "Well, I hope they hurry," I said.

  "What?" said Shulman. "Who're you talking to?"

  "Coles," I said. I tapped my head.

  Shulman understood. "Well? Is he sending help to get us out of here or isn't he?"

  "A light cruiser's on the way," said Breck.

  "A battle cruiser?" Shulman said. "God damn! I might get off this lousy rock yet!"

  "Breck! I'm only gonna give you one more chance . . ." Blaisedell called over the bullhorn.

  Shulman slid open the window. "Blaisedell!" he shouted.

  "That you, Doc?"

  "Yeah, it's me. You'd better back those people off if you don't want 'em to get hurt!"

  "Can't do that, Doc. You're making a mistake. I don't know what they've offered you, but believe me, it's not worth it."

  "Oh, yes, it is."

  "They killed a girl, Doc. And they murdered Strang and Jarrett, too."

  "They tell me they haven't."

  "We got proof."

  "Fine. Come on in and show it to me and I might reconsider."

  "Now don't be a fool, Doc. You come on out. And tell those people in there with you that if they're smart, they'll come out, too. There aren't any ships up there. Nobody's going anywhere. You'd never even make it to the shuttle hangars."

  "I hope Mr. Coles knows what he's doing," Shulman said softly. Then he yelled out the window, "I'm warning you, Blaisedell, you better back those people off. We're armed with assault rifles in here, just like you are. And we've got some plasma, too. You start shooting, we're gonna have to shoot right back."

  "You always were a lousy poker player, Doc! You're bluffing!"

  "Call it, then!"

  "You asked for it, Doc!"

  Several rounds of fragmentation fire hit the sled. The rounds exploded and blew jagged gaping holes in the bulkhead.

  "Read 'em and weep, Blaisedell!" shouted Shulman, firing the grenade launcher out the window. It made a hollow, metallic, chunking noise and a moment later, it went off with a tremendous WHUMP! A huge cloud of orange and black flame blossomed on the tarmac behind the crowd and they scattered in all directions.

  "This isn't necessary!" Higgins said. "Can't we explain it to them? They don't understand!"

  "Even if they gave us a chance to explain," said Breck, "they'd never believe it."

  "You could show them!" Higgins insisted. "You could show them the living proof!"

  "And risk having them escape after all we went through to capture them?" Breck said. He shook his head. "I don't think so, Higgins. There's far too much riding on this. I'm not taking any chances."

  "You figure Coles is going to broadcast this?'' I asked Breck.

  Br
eck grimaced. "Somehow, I doubt it. Shooting up innocent civilians can't be too good for our image."

  He broke a window with his nysteel hand as sporadic fire broke out and let loose with several bursts from his assault rifle. Tali watched him carefully for a moment, then went over to another window, opened it, and started firing her rifle in short bursts to keep the barrel from overheating, just like Breck was doing.

  Shulman snapped on another plasma grenade and fired the launcher. Chunk . . . WHUMP! Another flame cloud burst upon the tarmac, making a huge burning crater just in front of the terminal building. The terminal caught fire. I started to get up off the gurney, but Shulman waved me back down.

  "You stay right where you are, O'Toole," he said. "I don't want you ruining any of my good work."

  Several fragmentation rounds hit the sled and sent shrapnel flying through it, missing me by inches. I ducked down and winced at the pain in my ribs.

  "I don't think it's much safer back here," I said.

  The sled was starting to resemble a cheese grater. I was bleeding from my shoulder and my forehead, where I'd been hit by flying shrapnel. Breck was bleeding on the side of his face and Higgins had been hit, as well. He was tying a makeshift tourniquet around his left arm.

  "If they manage to hit the fuel cells, we've had it," he said.

  "We can't sit here and wait any longer," said Breck. "We'll have to make a run for one of the shuttles and get airborne."

  "We'd never make it," Shulman said. "They'd cut us down before we were even halfway there!"

  "Not if we take the sled," Breck said, heading for the cockpit.

  "If we lift off and retract the landing struts, it'll expose the fuel cells," Shulman said.

  "So we won't retract the landing struts," said Breck, starting the engines.

  "Are you crazy?" Shulman shouted over the whine of the engines. "This thing doesn't lift any higher than six feet off the ground! The struts are five feet long! If we catch one, it'll flip us over!"

  A burst of frag fire stitched the bulkhead about a foot away from him, blowing a huge hole in the side of the sled and sending shrapnel flying across it to penetrate the bulkhead on the other side. Shulman screamed as shrapnel lacerated his face and chest.

  "Ahhhh! Jesus! Shit, go for it!"

  I felt the sled start to lift as Shulman propped himself against the bulkhead, beside the huge hole that had just been blown in it, and fired several plasma grenades in rapid succession. Tali fired repeated bursts with her assault rifle. Her hair was matted with dark blood. Higgins stood beside me, steadying me.

  "This is madness," he said, shaking his head helplessly. "Those people don't know, they don't understand . . ."

  "I know," I said, patting him on the shoulder with my right hand, forgetting it was injured and wincing with pain the moment I did it. I was hurting a lot more now that Tali's attention was occupied and the drugs Shulman had given me were wearing off.

  Another burst of frag fire slammed into the side of the skimmer as Breck turned it around its own axis and I was thrown off the gurney onto the floor. Higgins was knocked off his feet as well. I yelled with pain, clutching at my chest. Tali was there in an instant, lying beside me, sheltering me with her body. I felt the pain begin to ebb as she shut it off inside my mind and then I glanced at Higgins. The entire left side of his face was bloody and there was a large jagged piece of shrapnel stuck in his upper arm. He was grimacing, gasping with pain.

  "Tali..." I said, glancing at him, and she nodded. Higgins breathed deeply and looked up at her gratefully.

  "Can you manage both of us?" he said.

  "I will manage," she replied, picking up the pistol I had dropped and tucking it inside her belt at the small of her back. "For a while."

  "A while should do," I said. "I hope."

  "God damn it, Breck, keep her steady!" Shulman shouted as the sled lurched and almost banged a landing strut into the tarmac. He launched another grenade, trying to make it hit the tarmac between us and Blaisedell's men, so that the flame cloud would temporarily obscure us from view. The sled hovered six feet off the ground, moving toward the shuttle hangars. Blaisedell had the hangars blocked off with a row of vehicles.

  "Doc!" Breck shouted from up front. "I'm going to turn her broadside for a moment! I need you to clear the way!"

  "Got it!"

  Breck brought the sled around and Shulman took aim with the grenade launcher and fired. He scored a direct hit on the row of carts and trucks and they exploded in a cloud of black and orange flame. Now all we had to do was drive right through it.

  "Hang on!" Breck shouted. He straightened the sled and gave it full throttle forward.

  "Oh, shit!" said Shulman, throwing himself down onto the floor.

  Smoke and flame billowed through the gaping holes shot in the bulkheads as we drove through the burning wreckage. One of the struts caught on something briefly and we heard a horrible scraping sound as the sled lurched sideways, almost flipped, and then lurched straight ahead again as the strut was pulled free. Breck brought the sled up alongside the hangar, then fired his plasma pistol through the cockpit windows at the hangar door. White flame billowed against the side of the sled briefly as the plasma melted through the door, then Shulman was leaping down, jumping through the glowing hole in the hangar door, and opening it from inside. Higgins and Tali helped me down and then the sled moved off once again. Higgins stared after it in disbelief.

  "What the hell is he doing?" he said.

  "He's got to get the damn thing out of the way, doesn't he?" Shulman said.

  We watched as the sled started to head off in the direction of the terminal, where most of Blaisedell's men were, then Breck came leaping down out of it, running across the tarmac toward us, and drawing all their fire as the sled veered crazily out of control.

  "Come on, let's go!" Breck shouted.

  We climbed aboard the shuttle and started running down the companionway toward the cockpit when the door at the far end opened and Gil Cavanaugh stepped out, holding a rifle.

  "Don't even think about it," he said. "I'll know it in a second. Drop your weapons."

  "Cavanaugh!" said Higgins.

  "No, not Cavanaugh," Breck said. "There may have been a Cavanaugh once, but not anymore."

  "You suspected me right from the first," the creature said. "But you weren't sure, were you? I, on the other hand, never have that problem. I can see all I need to see by looking in your mind. You have something inside a special container in that pack of yours, Breck. Take it out and open it."

  "I don't think so," Breck said. "Why don't you come and get it?"

  "Don't be a fool," said the ambimorph. "I-don't, Doc! You'll never reach that rifle. Remember, I can read your every thought. The first one of you who even thinks about trying anything will-"

  Tali quickly reached behind her, pulled out the pistol she had tucked into her belt, and fired four times point-blank into the creature's chest. It dropped the rifle and went flying back against the cockpit door as the frag rounds hit its chest and exploded.

  "It could not read every thought," she said.

  "Damn!" said Shulman. "Let's go! Let's get the hell out of here before Blaisedell comes down on top of us!"

  Breck ran into the cockpit and we all crowded in behind him.

  "I sure hope you know how to fly this thing," said Higgins as Breck sat down in the pilot's seat and started flicking switches. The engines began to whine.

  "I think I can manage," Breck said. "If we have the time."

  As we started to roll out of the hangar, we saw several carts and trucks come barreling across the tarmac from the direction of the terminal, veering around the burning craters and heading straight for us.

  "We'll never make it," Shulman said. "They know we can't return their fire from in here. Shit! I knew I'd never get off this goddamned rock!"

  The front part of the shuttle cleared the hangar doorway and Breck had to turn sharply to avoid the burning wreckage in front of us
. We were moving, but we were moving far too slowly. Blaisedell's men were closing the distance fast and we could hear the sound of their weapons firing.

  "Come on, come on . . ." said Higgins.

  'They're going to cut us off!" said Shulman. "Damn you, Blaisedell, you son of a bitch ..."

  Suddenly the lead two carts veered crazily as two huge bursts of plasma struck the tarmac on either side of them and six more orange and black clouds erupted in twin, parallel bursts, bracketing the other vehicles as the fighter banked low over the tarmac and veered away, turning to make another run as a second fighter came in behind it. Shulman let out a whoop.

  "All right, Navy!" he shouted. "We're going to make it! We're going to make it!" He slapped me on the back and I saw stars. "Oh, hell, O'Toole! I'm sorry! I forgot!"

  He and Tali eased me down into a seat and strapped me in. I felt the shuttle lifting off seconds before I lost consciousness.

  EPILOGUE

  It had been a while since I had lived with a woman. I suppose it's arguable whether you can correctly refer to a nonhuman female as a woman, since "man" and "woman" are distinctly human terms, while "male" and "female" are not. In any case, that's what the xenobiologists tell me. I try not to get hung up about it. Everyone else-except the xenobiologists, of course- tends to think of Tali as a woman, which is fine with me because I prefer things to be uncomplicated. My life is confusing enough as it is. Most people who meet Tali don't even realize that she's not human. She looks more human than a lot of people you see nowadays, especially the cyberpunks with their rad, hardwired mods. Some of their style has caught on with the social set and those who don't know that Tali isn't human merely assume she's being fashionable.

  We didn't get to see much of each other for the first few weeks after we got back to Earth. I required some medical attention and anyone trying to see Tali would've had to beat the xenobiologists off with a stick. Still, we got to see each other for at least an hour or so each day. Tali had insisted upon that, otherwise she'd refused to cooperate with them. And when two people can achieve telepathic intimacy, you'd be surprised how much you can accomplish in an hour.