The Risks of Dead Reckoning

by Felicia Watson

  Ricci’s voice was rough as gravel when he asked Drawde, “What’s going on now?”

  “They are awaiting confirmation of the self-destruct. It is taking much longer than expected.”

  Bayer exclaimed, “Maybe it didn’t work!”

  “It did not,” Drawde answered.

  “Avery must have discovered the switch and disabled it,” Ricci said. Tal was still gasping with relief when Ricci added, “I need to give that man a promotion.”

  Vipin Aicilef’s voice suddenly filled the room. “Vipin Drawde, do you know why the Aurora’s self-destruct did not activate?”

  “Don’t tell them,” Ricci urged. “After all, we can’t be sure.”

  The captain shot a death glare at the Lignatian when Drawde ignored him to answer, “Yes, I do.” Drawde explained, “Foreseeing this possibility, I deactivated it after I helped Captain Ricci send the message to Tolu,” leaving Tal’s mouth hanging open in amazement.

  While the governmental chamber filled with blinding flashes from every Lignatian present, Aicilef asked, “How were you able to interfere with the functioning of the Aurora? You have remained in the human environment since the arrival of the Lovelace.”

  Millua said, “What does it matter? Drawde is a traitor and will pay dearly for this treachery. Your remaining days will be most unpleasant, Drawde.”

  “I was able to reprogram the Aurora, Vipin Aicilef, because I fully transferred my consciousness to this module, and cut the connection with my body.”

  “That cannot be reversed – you will die.”

  “Yes, I will. That is why the wayru’s threats do not touch me. What will you do now, Millua? Will you take Jileesa to war – merely to prove a point? How many Lignatian lives are you willing to trade for the human ones you crave? Jileesa has never engaged in warfare, while these humans most certainly have.”

  A reinvigorated Captain Ricci nonchalantly confirmed, “Quite right. We’re fresh from victory over a brutal and sophisticated enemy. One aligned with the Pakarahova you so dread.”

  No answer was given as the Lignatians could be seen conferring amongst themselves about their next move. While the debate raged on, Ricci turned to Drawde. “How long will you live in your present state?”

  “If I am very fortunate, I may be able to escort you to your shuttle. That is, assuming the Council’s current deliberation is brief.”

  Jacoway choked up as he asked, “Why?” He could say no more, but the Lignatian appeared to comprehend the question.

  “To save the humans I have so carefully nurtured, fulfill the obligation my predecessor left me – and die in peace.”

  “I understand.” Ricci nodded and smiled sadly at Drawde. “I would do the same…in your place.”

  Kaplita had been observing the Lignatian Council and pointed to the chamber. “Vipin Drawde, something’s going on.” They all turned to watch the bustle of movement; several Lignatians could be seen leaving the room.

  Drawde said, “Millua and the wayru’s immediate advisors are withdrawing from the chamber.”

  Bayer asked, “Do you think that’s good news for us?”

  “Indeed, I do. If the will of Millua had prevailed, the wayru would not miss the opportunity to gloat.”

  Yhanar Sicuru said, “Captain Ricci, you and the others may return to your ship – the Lovelace will be permitted to leave Jileesa unharmed. In return, we demand that you never disclose our planet’s location to anyone and that no human ever return to Jileesa, for any reason.”

  Ricci closed two-way communications momentarily to ask Drawde, “Can I trust Sicuru?”

  Drawde had been closely observing the yhanar and answered, “You can. Lignatians possess not the capacity to directly dissemble to each other.”

  The captain reopened communication with the Lignatians. “I thank you, Yhanar Sicuru. You have my word that your planet’s location will remain a secret. As I said before, once all humans are gone from Jileesa, we will trouble you no more.”

  “Before you leave orbit, provide the coordinates to where we should direct the transports for the rest of the humans. After that, we will consider all dealings between our people and yours as forever closed.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Good. We will send all members of Experiment Alktata to Uniterrae within two months’ time, as you calculate it. I hope your people are prepared for the burden.”

  “We’ll transmit those coordinates as soon as we’re back aboard the Lovelace. And these humans won’t be a burden to us, not in any way.”

  The barrier suddenly turned opaque and the landing party was alone with Drawde. Jacoway said to Ricci, “I wonder what Kennedy and Decker would say about your last statement there, Captain.”

  Ricci flashed a quick grin while admitting, “Well, Commander – as a human, I do possess the ability to dissemble.”

  Their attention was wrenched back to Drawde when Bayer exclaimed, “Vipin Drawde, are you okay?”

  The formerly blue figure was now flickering with a dim gray light. “No, am I not. I have called the boat for you. It will take you back to your shuttle as soon as the four of you are aboard.” The light went out entirely for a moment and then pulsed back on, as Drawde weakly added, “I wish you a safe journey home. Take good care of my….” The module went dark again for a time and only flickered briefly, allowing Drawde to finish, “…my people.”

  They all stared at the now dark, silent figure in shock and sadness. At last Jacoway offered, “Drawde expected to have no offspring. In reality – there are thousands.”

  As soon as they were back aboard the shuttle, Ricci hailed a greatly relieved Commander Ramsey, directing her to immediately contact Lindstrom and let him know they were on their way back to Tolu.

  Ramsey said, “We detected that message you sent to Commander Lindstrom, sir. In Chiricahua. What in the world happened down there?”

  “Quite a lot, Commander. The concise answer is – the Lignatians were not at all what I had assumed.”

  “Better or worse, Captain?”

  There was a pause, as Ricci smiled at his landing party while considering the question. “Both. I’ll fill you in shortly. Ricci out.”

  Chapter 17

  Steppingstones to Truth

  "...science has fallen into many errors—errors which have been fortunate and useful rather than otherwise, for they have been the steppingstones to truth." Jules Verne, A Journey to the Centre of the Earth

  On Tolu, Kennedy and Decker had barely arranged their camp outside the float-ways before Lindstrom hailed Kennedy. He flashed a proud smile at Deck. “Wow, that was fast – my wife is a genius!”

  Decker was listening in and clearly shared in his disappointment when Lindstrom said that Lateef hadn’t yet ascertained the root of the problem – let alone developed a work-around. Their disappointment turned to overt joy when Lindstrom told Con his news was that the Lovelace was on its way back to Tolu – with the entire crew alive and well.

  After Con signed off, he said, “Well, it seems like the Creator did start listening to you. Your dad and your boyfriend are both safe and, on their way here.”

  He’d expected some pushback on his extremely personal characterizations of Ricci and Jacoway but Naiche seemed too happy to notice. She announced, “This calls for a celebration. Care to join me in finishing off the last of my bison jerky?”

  “I’d love to.” Con pulled his pack out; he held up a tube of coffee concentrate, saying, “I think I’ll heat some water and whip us up some coffee to go with it.”

  “Sounds great. A feast to celebrate Lovelace’s triumphant return – and hopefully our successful trip to Intabah.”

  Decker and Kennedy had plenty of time to eat, drink, and be merry. It wasn’t until the next morning, well after they’d breakfasted and packed up camp, that their CO hailed them again.

  Con said to Lindstrom, “We’ve spotted at least three separate peerazu in the area so far this morning. It’s only a matter of time before they r
eturn the favor and spot us. I really hope you have an answer about the sensors.”

  “I’ll let Commander Lateef field that one.”

  Aqila’s voice came on the comm line wishing both Con and Naiche a good morning. She then said, “From our data analysis it certainly seems clear that the worms are evading the scanners. Either we were wrong about their ability to re-modulate, or we based the sensor modifications on too small a sample size – just as we feared.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “Meaning that diverse varieties of worms, which might naturally develop in separate float-ways, may be emitting signals which differ slightly in their micro-variances.”

  “Either way we’re screwed – right?”

  “Well, I don’t have a way to quickly fix the sensor detection problem – but we did find something pretty startling in the DNA analysis. I can’t explain it, but these creatures – well this one, anyway, has a temperature sensitivity mutation in its beta-secretase promoter region. Extremely unusual in a wild-type specimen.” Deck was listening in and rubbed her forehead in clear frustration at the science-ese.

  Rather than pointing out to his wife that, unlike her, neither he nor Deck had multiples degrees in astrogenetics, Kennedy asked, “What does that mean for us, Aqila?”

  “It means that the worms become completely paralyzed at higher temperatures. Anything above twenty-seven-degrees. We’ve tested it out on the sample we have here in the lab and it’s confirmed.”

  Decker interjected, “The skiffs have hull heating functions for dealing with icy water – we could use that to keep them away!”

  “Yeah.” Con nodded as more of their recent experience with the worms made sense to him. “And that’s why they’re so susceptible to the particle rifles. It’s not just the EMR blasts, it’s the heat they generate.”

  “So, the only option is you going back into the float-ways?” The concern in Aqila’s voice was obvious, even over comms.

  “With all of the evidence that the worms are paralyzed by heat, it really is our best bet – considering all of these peerazu flying around. We can even adjust our particle rifles to throw off more heat.” Kennedy declared, “I have a good feeling about this fix. You’re a life-saver, honey!”

  Lindstrom broke in to say, “You’re welcome, dear.”

  “Uh, sorry, sir. I guess I forgot you were still on comms, too.”

  “Evidently.”

  Kennedy signed off with an optimistic promise to check in when they reached Intabah, and then he grinned at Decker. “Ready to go back in?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She stood up and stretched and looked down at Kayatennae. “Until we get the heat on in the skiff, you’re our early warning system, buddy, so the important question is – are you ready?”

  When Kay barked energetically in response, Con said, “I’ll take that as a yes. Let’s go.” The three of them headed back down into the float-ways.

  ***

  Deck and Con both agreed that they should take it pretty slow to allow Kayatennae plenty of time to warn them of any near-by veil-worms. It was soon apparent that the creatures were paralyzed by heat, precisely as Lateef had theorized. At the very least, it was true of all of the ones they were encountering, and that was good enough for Decker. When any of the worms touched the hot sides of the skiff, their bodies turned their natural sickly beige color and went rigid, leaving them easily swept away by the current.

  With a disgusted scowl, Kennedy peered at one of the worms, stunned senseless by a close encounter. “I think they’re even creepier looking this way.”

  “Creepier looking? Yes. Harmless to us? Absolutely. Seems like a good trade.”

  “Considering how many we’re seeing now – it’s a great trade.” The warmth thrown off by the heated skiff had already forced both of them to shed their uniform jackets; Con fanned his damp t-shirt away from his sweaty chest. “Still, it sure is toasty in here.”

  Decker laughed in agreement since her own t-shirt was in an equally clammy state. “I hope either we have a chance to freshen up before meeting the Intabet, or they’re not the fussy types.” Kayatennae was watching the paralyzed worm float away from them, still barking as irately as when he’d first detected it. Naiche said, “Kay doesn’t like them any better this way.”

  “Since he’s our only warning system – that’s also a trade I’ll happily take.” Kennedy scratched the dog between the ears, murmuring a soothing litany of, “It’s okay – good boy.” When the dog stopped barking, Con said, “If it weren’t for him, those ones dropping down from above would’ve given me a heart-attack by now.”

  With a shudder, Deck agreed, “Yeah, those are the worst.” Now that the worm was out of sight, Kayatennae settled back down, his nose twitching furiously, allowing Naiche to relax slightly.

  As if their conversation had conjured it up, ten minutes later Kay ran to the front of the boat, growling and barking at the tunnel ceiling ahead. Kennedy automatically took up position at the bow, using his particle rifle to blitz the area with EMR pulses modified for maximum heat. Like before, the worm which had been lurking above their heads crumpled helplessly into the water. “They sure are thick in this float-way.” He stowed the rifle away and eased back into his seat. “The last switch-off is coming up soon – right?”

  “Yeah, about five-hundred-meters ahead.”

  “I’d give my last tube of coffee-con for finding fewer worms in that one.”

  Naiche smiled back at Con. “Even I’d take that particular bargain.”

  He squinted wearily at her, asking, “You think there’s any chance we’ll get that kind of break?”

  “No.”

  “Yeah, me neither.”

  Unfortunately, their prediction looked prescient when the last float-way proved to be the worst one of all. Every few minutes, Decker or Kennedy was called upon to blast a worm out of its hiding spot. The creatures were so thick in the water that Decker was constantly maneuvering the skiff around their petrified bodes.

  As they were nearing the end of their protracted journey, Deck took her turn using the particle rifle to clear the area ahead. She’d expected the scene to be grim, since Kay’s warning was particularly frantic – but was still unprepared for the reveal. The EMR pulses exposed a horrific web of veil-worms completely clogging the transit-way ahead. Open-mouthed with revulsion, Naiche watched the tangle slowly falling apart, as one-by-one the worms tumbled into the water.

  Shaking her head to clear it, Deck looked over at Kennedy. “Well – that scene is gonna pop up in the nightmare rotation, for sure.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  She was forced to rev the skiff into its highest power level to get through the mass of paralyzed creatures. A minute later, she docked the skiff near the exit steps, leading to their destination.

  Both officers were greatly relieved to leave the stuffy tunnels behind and get out into the fresh air – a relief that proved short-lived when they saw a couple of peerazu circling overhead. Crouching down in the shadow of the nearby mountain, they huddled over their scanners.

  Kennedy said, “We should be able to see Intabah from here – it’s about thirty kilometers up.” He pointed his scope at the approximate location. “Yep, there it is.” He stared at the mountain while calculating the journey. “So, thirty klicks, adding in about three elevation gain for every five of them…best case is what? With my leg…about a four-hour hike.”

  Deck had been surveying the foot of the mountain and said, “Hey, look!” She pointed at what looked to be a covered tram-way snaking its way up to the village above. “That could be the transport Kinlea Cassay told us about.”

  They headed over at a brisk pace, conscious of the peerazu they’d sighted, and ducked into the little station Decker had spotted. There were several small tram cars parked in the station and they decided to use the lead car to ascend the mountain. However, nothing they tried could get the vehicle to move so much as an inch. Naiche studied the corroded control pa
nel. “I can’t even figure out what the original power source was.”

  “Me neither.” Kennedy peered over her shoulder, shaking his head. “Looks like we should’ve brought Avery along.”

  Deck snorted at the notion. “I don’t think he would feel that way.”

  “Probably not.” Con threw himself down onto one of the dusty bench seats. “I guess it was wildly optimistic to think that something that hadn’t run for generations would work for us.”

  Decker craned her neck out of the open tram car window. “At least we can walk up the tracks. That way we’ll be under cover so the peerazu probably won’t spot us. That’s something.”

  Con nodded wearily. “Yeah – it is. Just give me a second to rest up and then we can get started.”

  Seeing how worn out he looked, Decker suggested, “I’ve got a better idea. Why not spend the night here? It’s gonna be dark in less than three hours, anyway.”

  “Nah, that’s not necessary.” Kennedy laughed. “Who knows? Maybe the Intabet are as hospitable as the Featay and will put us up.” He grinned as he added, “In tiny little beds.”

  The entire structure was suddenly rocked with a mighty quake, causing Kayatennae to yelp in surprise and almost knocking Decker off her feet. “Son of a bitch!”

  Naiche plopped onto the bench across from Con, who said, “On the other hand – a rest might do us both good.”

  ***

  Deck spent some time thoroughly scanning the town above, while Kennedy updated Lindstrom on their plan. After he signed off, she reported her findings. Their long-range impressions of Intabah were confirmed by the data from the hand scanner: there was little evidence of technology and only about 400 life-signs. “If the Intabet really do know how to avoid peerazu attacks, then why do you think there are so few of them?”