Deep Space Intelligence : Complete Series

by Gary Weston

  Kane looked at Crocker, who merely nodded. ‘Ok. We’ll help you.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Syrup.

  ‘You can help me bury Barry,’ said Thorne. ‘I’m exhausted.’

  ‘I’ll help you take him to the graveyard,’ said Crocker.

  ‘No,’ said Thorne. ‘less than half who die here end up in the graveyard. If the Masters find out one of us has died, they often demand the body for food. I was lucky to get this far without them probing my mind. I promised Barry I wouldn’t let them eat him. That was his dying wish and I mean to keep my promise to him. We bury him here.’

  Crocker said, ‘I’ll go get something to bury Barry with.’

  Crocker went back to the shanty-town and returned fifteen minutes later with a spade. He let Thorne rest and set about digging the grave. He had reached a depth of less than two feet when he stopped.

  ‘Damn. This is tough going. What is this stuff?’

  ‘No idea,’ said Thorne. ‘We think some meteorite made the crater millions of years ago. This sand could be made of anything.’

  Crocker said, ‘Well, I’ll not get down very deep in it. We’ll lay Barry in what I’ve dug and I’ll cover him up best I can with the loose stuff.’

  ‘Ok,’ said Thorne. He picked up the body and lay it gently down in the shallow grave. ‘Barry looks so peaceful lying there. Farewell, old pal. I kept my promise. Ok, Steve. Cover him up.’

  Crocker used any soft sand around the body to cover it up and patted it down with the back of the spade. They stood and stared at the grave for a moment, then walked solemnly away.

  Chapter 223

  Captain Mabel Syrup sat at the pointy end of the huge space-liner, delighted to have Su Kane and Steve Crocker alongside her. Not only did she need these two to fly the ship, she wanted to keep them safe if she could. Ok. Taking the problem from this planet to Tryzon, or whatever planet the Masters deemed most suitable for their purposes, wasn’t much of an alternative but it bought the humans time to strike back. Staying behind was a death sentence, pure and simple.

  ‘We need to get as close to the sea as possible, so we can suck up that crap,’ said Syrup. ‘Ok. We only need the landing thrusters. Steve. Tell me when we are in position. Here we go.’

  With a muted roar, the mighty ship blasted off using its six small thrusters. Syrup felt good to have the huge bird under her control again.

  ‘At one hundred yards elevation,’ said Kane. ‘Twenty percent power ratio adjustment port-side thrusters.’

  ‘Almost in position,’ said Crocker. ‘Compensate starboard-side thrusters ten percent.’

  Kane said, ‘Compensation starboard-side ten percent.’

  ‘Reduce thrust twenty percent.’

  Kane said, ‘Thrust reduced twenty percent. Forty two yards elevation.’

  ‘Five percent correction port-side thrusters,’ said Crocker.

  ‘Five percent correction port-side thrusters,’ said Kane.

  Syrup said, ‘Reducing thrust. Twelve yards elevation.’

  ‘Thrust down to seven percent,’ said Crocker.

  ‘Thrust at seven percent,’ said Syrup, ‘And we’re down. That should do it. Opening port side airlock. ok. Let’s take a look.’

  The three left the flight-deck and stood at the open airlock, staring down at the green sea. They couldn’t see any Masters near the surface. Syrup looked at the hose rolled up ready to fill the tank then the distance to the edge of the sea.

  ‘A little short, I’m thinking,’ said Syrup.

  ‘Not a problem, said Crocker. ‘If the hose is too short to reach, we just need to dig a channel and let the liquid come to us.’

  Kane said, ‘How will the Masters get into the tank?’

  ‘They can survive out of their environment for a few minutes,’ said Syrup. ‘The original door now part of the tank has been divided in half horizontally. The lower half, just below the observation window has been welded to the wall and floor. The top half still opens up. We fill it up to the top of the lower door, the monsters get in, we weld the top half of the door shut and then fill the tank right up using the new inlet. When that’s done, we put the cover on the inlet and job done.’

  Chapter 224

  Commander Felix Gordon grinned when Karma Casey walked in the communications centre. ‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep away, Karma.’

  ‘I’m addicted to the smell of engineering,’ admitted Casey. ‘Hi, Tilly. You kicking your heels as well, hey?’

  ‘Driving me nuts hanging around,’ said Tilly, sitting at the consul.

  ‘I like your new voice,’ said Casey. ‘Softer than before.’

  ‘Thanks. Boss said I don’t sound as sexy as before, though. Have you found a new job yet?’

  ‘I’m not looking too hard. And no. I still don’t want to be a D S I agent. These feet, on this planet. Still no news of any kind?’

  Gordon said, ‘Only from General Millet. They’re having their own adventures by the look of things.’

  ‘Tagg mentioned that to me. Invisible creatures. The mind boggles.’

  Tilly said, ‘It’s a big universe. I think there’s all kind of stuff yet to be discovered.’

  ‘So it seems.’

  Gordon said, ‘I’ve got my crew on your old ship, doing the maintenance. It’s not really due for another few months, but I wanted to keep people busy while things are grounded. Go take a look if you want.’

  Casey gave a non-committal shrug. ‘I might have a wander over. Just for something to do.’

  Casey left Jordan and Gordon and headed across the huge hanger to her old ship.

  Gordon said, ‘No way will she stop being a pilot. It’s in her blood.’

  ‘Like me being an agent. We find our place in the scheme of things.’

  Casey stood before her old freighter. She counted three lots of engineers working on the outside, and could hear at least one more team on the inside. One woman wiped her hands on a rag and approached her.

  Chief plasma drive engineer Zena Morrison said, ‘Karma. Visiting an old friend?’

  ‘More or less. How is the old girl?’

  ‘A good few years in her yet. How were the engines performing last time you were up? Computer diagnostics say ok, but I like to get the captain’s point of view.’

  Casey said, ‘All good, Zena. But with you and your team to take care of her, she would be.’

  ‘We do our best. You still have no intention of flying again?’

  ‘Everyone keeps asking me that. Even my mother. I get the impression I’m under her feet. No winning with some people. I do have a date for tonight, though. Maybe if we hit it off, Mom will see me settling down at last.’

  ‘Ah! A night of romance. I vaguely remember what they were like. Well. I have to be getting on.’

  ‘Don’t let me hold you up. I’ll see you around.’ Casey gave her old ship a final look then with a sigh she walked off.

  Chapter 225

  As Crocker had predicted, the hose being too short to reach into the sea was easily overcome by a channel and well being dug in the course sand between the ship and the sea. The well was dug three yards square and just over one yard deep. The channel to the sea from the well was opened and the liquid poured in. The powerful pump sat inside the airlock, and powered by the ships electrical system, coped easily with sucking up the liquid from the well, over the half open door and into the lower half of the tank.

  A Master occasionally swam close to the surface, watching the progress. The humans guarded their thoughts, not wishing their minds to be probed. Smithers and Thorne controlled the hose end in the well, Crocker constantly rebuilding the well to maintain sufficient depth so that not too much sand would be sucked up, possibly blocking the hose or pump. Syrup and Kane controlled the outlet end of the hose, fighting the pressure caused by the pump. It took half an hour to fill the half tank, one foot below the top of the half door.

  ‘Thorne,’ bellowed Syrup, above the noise of the pump. ‘Turn it off.’ />
  Thorned bounded up the ramp into the airlock and turned off the pump. He looked over into the tank, examining the door along the edges and the bottom where the metal had been fused to the walls and floor.

  ‘No leaks,’ he declared. It was time for the Masters to enter the tank. Only five humans were allowed to watch. ‘Now all the Masters have to do is to crawl into it. I’ll tell them.’

  Thorne stepped out of the ship and walked to the edge of the sea, allowing his mind to be probed. Nothing happened for a few moments, then in front of him, the sea churned as many Masters swam close by, the chosen ones ready to meet their destiny and begin the taking over of the human race, one planet at a time. The first Master, a male, pulled itself up, its head and shoulders above the surface, its clawed hands on the sand. Thorne knew what they looked like, but was still repulsed by a creature with a face that matched its evil nature.

  The head was about the same size as a human head. The two eyes were lidless, yellow irises bulging slightly out of the sockets. Two narrow vertical slits served as a nose, the nostrils flaring as it was forced to breathe in the air. A double ruffle of frills ringed its neck, a characteristic not shared with the females. The mouth was an extended snout, almost a foot long, and when it hissed at Thorne, the deadly rows of pointed yellow teeth glistened wet with saliva. Thorne knew that this abomination wanted to dive at him and rip him open with those hundreds of sharp teeth, but it was more important for the Master to reach the safety of the new tank.

  Dragging itself completely out of the sea, the Master stood on all four legs, the longer front ones having hands, rather than feet like those at the back. The green liquid dripped off its hide which was olive green on the top, yellow green underneath. The tail was held high, like that of a scorpion, a club of bony points at the tip could have easily killed a man venturing too close.

  With that tip swinging menacingly from side to side, the Master walked up the airlock ramp, hissing at the humans as it passed them. The Master reached the half open door to the tank, grasped the top with its clawed front hands and pulled itself up to inspect the tank. It turned to face Syrup and Kane and hissed at them, baring its teeth, causing the women to flinch away from it. Then it turned to the door and with its mind, beckoned the others.

  Its females followed, five of them. They were similar to the male, except they were smaller, had no frilled collar, and their colour of their backs was more brown than green. Their male stood aside as they ran through the airlock with scarcely a glance at the humans, and almost dived into the tank.

  The male followed.

  From the sea, another five males and their females, numbering between three and five per male, left the sea and dived into the tank. That was it. No more came out of the sea.

  ‘No young ones,’ said Kane.

  ‘They’ll make some when they get where we’re going, I suppose,’ said Syrup. ‘Ok, Sam. You can seal up the top of the door.’

  Thorne took a last look inside the tank and could see the Masters adapting to their new home. The very sight of them made him want to wretch. With his expression locked into a grimace, he closed the door and wasted no time in fusing it shut. It took another hour to fill the rest of the tank with the hose, then Thorne bolted the cover in place, completely sealing the tank.

  ‘That’s it,’ said Syrup. ‘In the morning, we go.’

  Chapter 226

  It was the third and final planet on their list. Everyone knew that even suggesting landing would be met with an angry retort from General Millet. To compensate, Millet ordered Captain Dorran to do two extra sweeps with the scanners, allowing Troy Warner more time to do a visual check of the surface, recording temperatures, air quality and consistency, ice caps, water quality and for any obvious signs of life. It would all be added to the knowledge already on the computer. They had not lost sight of the mission’s intended objective, which was to locate and if possible, engage the pirates.

  Shorty could sense Millet’s frustration. ‘It was always a long-shot. We’re still a long way from home. Maybe we’ll bump into them on our way back.’

  ‘I’d like that. Ok, Captain Dorran. Take us home.’

  ‘Yes, Sir,’ said Dorran, calculating the coordinates on the computer. ‘Six and a half days before we get there.’

  Millet said, ‘I’ll call Boss and give him the bad news.’

  * * *

  Miss Saltoe actually made Boss coffee without being asked. ‘We just had a call from General Millet. They drew a blank on that last planet. They’re on their way home.’

  ‘I’d have been surprised if they had found anything. There’s a lot of space out there to hide in.’

  Miss Saltoe said, ‘Maybe the pirates can’t contact us. Perhaps something happened to them. Crashed and died or something.’

  Boss shook his head. ‘And took the space-liner with it? I doubt it. Maybe we are thinking of it from the wrong angle. We are thinking too simplistically. A space-liner is hijacked, so we naturally assume a demand will soon be coming from them for the passengers. Suppose they need a big ship for some reason and never intended to demand ransom.’

  ‘But all those people.’

  ‘They just came with the ship. Superfluous to requirements.’

  Miss Saltoe shuddered. ‘I don’t like where this is heading. You think the pirates just wanted the ship and got rid of the passengers?’

  Raven got up and paced the floor in true Boss style. ‘It would be easy to do in space. Open the airlock when nobody is wearing a helmet. Three hundred people dead in less than a minute.’ Raven could tell from the way Saltoe’s face paled that he had gone too far. ‘Hey. Ignore me. More likely the pirates are just messing with our heads and know that the more we sweat, the more likely we are to cough up. Those people are worth money to those pirates, so they’ll be looked after.’

  Saltoe preferred that scenario. ‘That sounds more likely to me.’

  Raven said, ‘This pointless hanging around is a waste of time. We’ll take the rest of the day off. I’ve almost forgotten what Joy looks like.’

  ‘Right. I’ll just notify Commander Gordon and ask him to call you directly at home should anything happen. Have a pleasant evening with Joy, Boss.’

  Chapter 227

  Thorne was woken up by someone shaking him. It took a moment to realise in the dark space that passed for a room that it was Smithers.

  ‘What…?’

  Smithers put his fingers to his lips. ‘Shush,’ he whispered before pointing outside. Thorne pulled on his pants and boots and followed Smithers outside. He was about to speak, but Smithers stopped him, indicating towards the crater. They walked the dirt track between the dunes and dead bushes for the two miles that led to the crater. Only then did Smithers speak.

  ‘Sam. Are you absolutely certain the Masters can’t probe our minds while we are in the crater?’

  Thorne said, ‘Yes. As sure as we can be. To the best of our knowledge, no discussion we have held in here as ever been heard by them. Not picked up in our thoughts, either during or after talking in here. Why? What’s bugging you?’

  Smithers grinned. ‘When we were burying Barry. Something occurred to me, but I didn’t quite grasp it at the time. I woke up an hour ago and I had it.’

  ‘Had what?’

  ‘The answer.’

  * * *

  The Masters had made their selection from the humans to fly the ship and get them to their new home. Syrup, Kane, Crocker and Thorne. The minimum to make the journey. It would be easier for the Masters in the ship to control those four. The hundreds remaining behind would be controlled by the thousands of Masters still in the sea.

  The hardest part for Sam Thorne was to say goodbye to his daughter Shannon, but even though his heart was breaking inside, there was a new spark of hope. He picked up Shannon and held Elizabeth’s hand and led them into the crater just before dawn.

  ‘Please don’t go, Daddy. Pleeeease.’

  Thorne hugged Shannon, smaller than she shoul
d have been with the poor diet and even worse air. He kissed away her tears. ‘I have to go, sweetheart. You are safer here. With Elizabeth and the others.’

  The truth was, the choice of who went and who got left behind was not Thorne’s to make. The Masters had made the selection.

  ‘No, Daddy. I want to go with you.’

  Thorne felt as if a steel hand had gripped his heart, such was the anguish he had to leave his daughter behind. Something was shredding his very soul.

  ‘You have to be very brave, Shannon. I’ll come back for you, I swear I will.’

  Thorne smothered Shannon’s face with kisses, his lips tasting the salty tears.

  ‘Shannon. I must talk to Elizabeth alone for a moment. Just stay quietly here, please. Can you do that for Daddy?’

  With trembling lips, the girl said, ‘Yes, Daddy.’

  ‘What is it, Sam?’

  Thorne took Elizabeth’s arm and took her a few yards away from Shannon.

  ‘Elizabeth. I’m going to tell you something only three people on this planet knows. This isn’t for a child’s ears, because they might not be able to keep it secret. Now listen very carefully.’

  It only took a couple of minutes to explain to Elizabeth, then it was time to for him to go.

  ‘I know you’ll take care of Shannon. I couldn’t go if I didn’t know that. Shannon. Come to daddy, sweetheart.’ He picked his daughter up in one arm and held Elizabeth with the other. ‘I really do have to go. The others are on the ship, waiting for me. If I don’t hurry, the Masters will get angry. Shannon. Remember what I said about how much I love you, ok?’

  ‘Yes, Daddy. I’ll be brave.’

  ‘I know you will.’ Thorne kissed Elizabeth and said, ‘You remember what I told you, ok?’

  ‘Go, Sam.’

  Thorne put Shannon down and with a heavy heart, he walked away, out of the crater towards the big ship.