The revelation of this seemed to confirm Drake’s own suspicions.
“Ancient Kel? As in …”
Willet nodded. “From a thousand years ago. Its technology is more advanced than these Kel here. We found it buried on our world, lost from the last time the Kel were in power. Since that time they crumbled in civil war. They’ve apparently only just begun to rebuild.” He paused. “We came here with it. Point is, there’s only the one starship on Anitra. The Reaver is it. All we’ve got.”
He found his train of thought. “What you should know, however, is that on Anitra they’re gearing for an attack. We have a large military force, like you, global in scale,” he realized that was no longer true, the Earth militaries had been wiped out, but the comparison worked and no one made a comment. “After we went back with the Reaver our scientists began working on a way to send those forces here. To Earth.” Now the men surrounding him began to show signs of struggle. Another force? On its way here? “It’s not a rescue effort,” said Willet, “and I don’t have any specifics. It’s more of a defensive move. Earth is overrun. The thought is that if we can make a stand here, we can stop the Kel before they find Anitra and invade us. Because that’s what’s coming next. We’re just as vulnerable. Only difference is, so far, the Kel don’t know where Anitra is.”
Questions. The questions came. How will your forces get here? If the Reaver is all you have … without starships, how do you move an army between worlds? How do you even get between worlds? Then: other humans, on another world? The reality of that finally settled. Aliens like the Kel were one thing, but how could humans be on another world? The fact that neither Willet nor Zac were from Earth impinged all at once, a delayed reaction, and how were they here and how were they speaking perfect English and suddenly everyone wanted to know the answer to those questions and Willet had no idea. Which led to more questions and Willet did his best to answer—these concepts were, after all, almost as new to him as they were to them—but what he told them seemed enough to move forward.
“What kind of forces?” Drake wanted to know. “What are you bringing? How could you turn the tide here?”
“Again, I don’t have specifics. Our units are a little more advanced than yours, in certain ways, but by and large the same. And that’s just it. When Zac and I left they were working up the strategy, but honestly there’s no way we could win. Defeat the Kel on the ground, maybe, but the Kel control the air, space, and there’s no way we could field anything to attack that or take it down. My people have a plan, from what I was given to understand, but I don’t know the details.” He held up a hand in response to the next round of questions. Forced a pause, looking at each of them. “Obviously there are many things missing. But it got me thinking. What you’re suggesting, what you guys have been cooking up, some sort of hack to gain or interrupt their command and control, even if for a small span of time ...
“It occurs to me that there could be a connection. A way to use that to assist the armies of Anitra that will be coming. Problem is Zac and I didn’t come here as liaisons for this. This wasn’t our purpose for being here. We have no way to communicate. We got separated from our way back. We don’t know what they’re up to back on Anitra.” He drifted a little as he thought of that. We’re stuck. Then noticed the expectant faces staring at him. “When we left,” he moved on, “they were thinking to connect with any remaining Earth forces when they arrived. At least, as far as that goes, we, everyone here, should be ready.”
Everyone fell into silence. The rest of the room pulsed with activity; the noise of the bustle a perfect background for the scale of introspection in that small segment of the group.
So many possibilities.
Fang’s gaze was distant. “The problem is, even if we can develop the Trojan, it will need to be plugged directly into their network. Aboard a command ship. I’ve tried other means of connecting, but so far their access is locked down too well to allow remote entry. At least for something of this scale. I’ve got to physically insert the code at the command level.”
Willet glanced across the room at Zac. “He brought down one of their craft. Out of the sky while it was hovering. If we could get another, would one of those give you the link you need?”
Everyone looked across the room to the tall, dark-haired Zac; young, bearded—the strength of an entire army hiding beneath that façade of humanity. They’d seen him in action. Those were questions, remarkably, no one had yet touched, though Willet was sure the Earthmen were curious beyond measure to understand just what made Zac tick.
But Fang was shaking his head. “I’ve got to insert the Trojan at the command level. The way the Kel systems are configured we need to plug directly into the physical network, aboard a craft linked to their main command and control. This would have to be done aboard one of their capital ships or a flag ship. A lander won’t do.”
The small group looked to each other.
Drake spoke directly to Fang: “You said you might be able to spoof signals? At a low level, make the Kel see things that aren’t there, or disguise actions?”
Fang nodded.
Drake turned to the rest. “What if we could get one of the landing craft to touch down, where we want it, then we take it. Like you guys did.” He looked to Willet. “We set the stage and Zac does what he does. We conceal our breach, then send up a squad with the Trojan. To a command ship.”
“Suicide,” Cooper said, his rich accent punctuating the discussion. Willet had been told it was “British”.
“Maybe,” Drake held up a finger, as if he’d expected Cooper to disagree but had a plan. “Probably, yes. But we’re talking about something that could turn the tide. It’s worth exploring.”
Silence. Obviously the steps involved ...
“The red-headed girl,” Drake looked to Willet. The idea looked to be coalescing in his mind even as he spoke. “Satori. You were on your way to rescue her?”
Willet nodded.
“What if we do that? We stage a rescue. Make her our objective.” He looked to all of them. “We make her our objective and the Kel will be focused on that. A rescue. They think we’re there to rescue her and, in the bargain, while we’re aboard and fighting our way to what will, yes, probably end in suicide,” he glanced at Cooper, “we plant the hack.” Then he turned to Willet. “I’m not minimizing the importance of a rescue,” he explained, “but the truth is, even if we die in the bargain, it gives us a cover. If we force a boarding with no credible objective—the Kel would be looking immediately for what we’re up to. If, however, we conceal the plant behind a brazen, far more obvious act ...” He was rolling now. “They’ll think Satori is high value and that we took a risk. They could miss the Trojan as the real objective.”
Willet imagined that fiery end. But it would mean one last chance to see Satori, a chance to say goodbye, and to go with her, to wherever one went after death. Suddenly he wanted this opportunity. And if he could leave behind a way to hurt the Kel in the bargain …
“I don’t think they’ll be that dense.” Cooper crossed his arms, maintaining firm disagreement. Of the group the white-haired Brit was no doubt the most bleak. Willet wouldn’t necessarily classify him as lacking in all positive attitude, but so far it was clear he thought of things only in terms of realistic possibility, allowing little or no “hope” or wishful thinking. Perhaps that was a good balance. Mostly it just made him hard to argue against.
“Maybe,” said Drake. “But we’ve got guys here who would take the shot. If it meant uploading a hack that could give us the edge … there’s guys here that would die for that.”
Fang chimed in. “I can probably work something up that would conceal us. At least long enough to board. As for getting the craft to the ground, we would need an event. Something significant enough to draw them to us, but not enough to trigger a larger response. A riot, maybe? Or some sort of small military action?”
All Willet could think about was getting Satori. At least seeing her. He
and Zac had already been headed for that certain doom when Drake found them. Now, at least, there was good intel. Now he might actually have a chance to find her.
As they were standing there chewing on how to make this new idea work Bobby—Drake’s right-hand man—walked up. He had a device in hand.
“I put it back together,” he said and handed Drake the flat, clipboard-sized device. “Still can’t get it to come on.” Willet glanced at the device as Drake took it, then found his gaze drawn to it, scrutinizing the black tablet. He recognized it.
Was that …
It was. The Kel tablet from the Reaver.
His mouth dropped.
Drake saw him staring and held it up. “That night in the club. Zac and the girl were there; we think she dropped it in the scuffle. We came up with it but, so far, Bobby hasn’t been able to get anything out of it. You know anything about it?”
Willet was already walking over. He reached a hand.
“Can I?”
Drake handed it to him and Willet took it and looked it over, refreshing his memory. “We set this up for them,” he said. “Jess and Zac. It was our means of contact.
“This technology is the same as that of the Reaver. It will be more advanced than anything you’ve found so far on the Kel.”
Drake and Bobby shared a glance of understanding.
Willet looked across the room at Zac.
“Zac!”
Zac looked up and excused himself from the agent he was working with.
“It was keyed to them,” Willet turned the device in his hands. “Biometrics, I think. Maybe it will turn on for him.” Zac reached them and Willet handed it over: “See if you can turn this on.” Zac took the tablet, a wide-eyed look of surprise to match Willet’s coming over him.
“They found it in the club,” Willet explained.
Zac swallowed and looked it over.
As he did Willet watched, speaking to Drake. “When the Kel invaded and we saw the tablet was compromised we sent a reset signal to clean it. Not sure if there’ll be anything left on it.”
Zac swiped the front and showed them a live screen.
It was on.
Bobby was standing next to him at once, “You did it!” reaching eagerly for the tablet—restraining himself before putting a hand on it. This was Zac, after all, a man who could rip tanks in half. Best not try and grab anything he was holding.
Zac gave it to him. Hurriedly Bobby tapped the screen and began experimenting. “Do you recall how to use it?” his eyes were glued to the information coming up as he pressed and dragged. Then: “It’s in English!” He couldn’t believe it.
“Nani set the language,” said Zac. “I can show you what I know.” Fang had also come close, as had the others, the rest more out of general curiosity, Fang as eager as Bobby at what this meant, crowding to get a look.
“This is huge,” Fang looked to Drake, Cooper, then back at the small screen. “Even with no stored data, if I can reverse engineer the OS ...” Bobby kept tapping things on the screen. “And look!” Fang pointed as Bobby pulled up a particular item of interest. “Full language conversions.” Both of them were shaking their heads in awe.
“Huge.”
“This may give us everything we need.”
**
The night sky was filled with stars. An earlier rain had passed, the clouds had evaporated and in their wake opened beautiful, clear skies, filled with spectacular brilliance; tiny, twinkling suns, horizon to horizon. Jess breathed in the fresh, cool air. The smell of the recent rains, the tactile feel of the air on her skin—a full sensory perception of the cleansing storm that had washed the fields; the ground still damp, faint mist hugging everything.
Behind her, several hundred yards away, loomed the dark walls of the city. Osaka, casting its own light and muffled sound in a column straight into the air, an interruption of the serenity funneled into a column by the towering walls; like a chimney, keeping the noise and the lights from spilling too far afield. Beyond the city there was no ambient light, no ambient sound, and it was therefore a quiet, serene setting she strolled across. No one on the road in the distance. Still further away was the raised monorail, lit softly and stretching to the hills. It was the same way she’d raced back to the city what seemed an eternity ago, following a torrential rain just like this one, determined to rescue Zac, to find the Icon and go home. So much had changed in that short time. She now walked the same place a hero, contemplating the fresh, new difficulties that lay ahead.
Her friends were with her, Bianca and Egg, meandering in their own way.
“You sure you have to go?” Bianca asked, off to her left and behind by a few paces, each step an audible squick and suck as they trod the muddy ground, no destination in mind. They were simply hanging out, and Jess was making herself enjoy it. Like being a teen again, killing time with friends. She tried to draw strength from that sensation, to re-energize if she could.
“I wish I could stay. Anything but run off on my own again.” How much should she reveal? It seemed too soon to divulge much. Everything in due time, she counseled. Already the secrets she held were crazy. Beyond crazy. Telling Zac was hard enough. How could she spring it on Bianca and Egg? Should she even? Certain things she had to say, of course, otherwise what she did, the actions she took, would make no sense. Other things ...
Other things were probably better kept to herself.
Bianca sighed behind her. “I just don't get it.”
So far she’d continued to refer to the priestess as another person. So far she’d said nothing about anything else, nothing to indicate anything more major about her had changed, nothing to reveal any of her discoveries. She said nothing of the fact that she could move things with her mind, speak telepathically, knew the Kel language … nothing. She told them only that the Bok were hiding the Codes, and that what she learned on this other world had to do with that. Everyone seemed to understand the concept of such a thing, once explained. The Codex Amkradus; the Adeptus Codes. A super important, super secret bit of information from the distant past, dangerous if the Kel got hold of it. The concept of that at least made sense, in light of everything else. Likewise, they kind of understood that she had to go back and find them, and that she learned information about the Codex on that other world. They knew the Kel were a threat, and that the Codes were in danger of being compromised.
But why her? That was the burning question. As connected as she was, as at the center of the Prophecy and all else ...
She was Jessica. Teenager, friend, no different than either of them. Or so they thought. Just a girl, going on vague clues and now she wanted to rush off, on her own, track down these super-important Codes—something that could change the world—and make sure the Kel never got their hands on them.
“I mean,” Bianca pushed, “you want to drop yourself back there? Alone, right into the middle of an alien invasion, right into the middle of the bad guys ...
“Why can’t we send a team? Why you? I just don't get it.”
Jess was exhausted. “I can’t explain. But trust me. Your belief in me, your support … those things may be more important than anything else right now. I need you guys.” She paused, then stopped and turned to look at them both. They held short. “It’s just, when I was on this other world, and I went on that journey, I learned things. Important things, related to what’s going on with Earth and with the Kel and everything right now. Somehow I’ve made it through everything and I have to finish it. The priestess took the Codes to Earth to protect them way back then.” Again she felt the pang of speaking in the third person about what were, in truth, her own actions. She took a cleansing breath. “I went to Earth to get them. I need to go back.”
Their vague expressions in the starlight were unreadable. Jess was sure they were trying to be supportive.
“How are you going to find them?” asked Egg. “These Codes. A world is a big place. It doesn’t sound like there’s much to go on.”
With tha
t question Jess felt the millennia more than ever.
“I don’t know,” she said. She’d been having waking recalls, memories, no longer the dreams—which she now knew with certainty to be the framing of memories—and with these flashes of insight she was getting ideas. As yet there were no precise memories; she had a feeling they would come, but for now there was no “ah-ha!” moment where she suddenly remembered the Codes had been left at coordinates X, Y, Z.
What she did know was this. The Bok knew. Or, rather, they held clues. Likely as not they did not know, in the strictest sense. But if they didn’t actually know the location, they would be very aware of their past data and their archives and, the scariest part, would likely share that with the Kel. And the Kel …
The Kel would know what to do with it.
And so time could not have been more of the essence. She had to get to the Bok, somehow, and squeeze that information from them before the Kel. Each second put the enemy closer to the thing that could as easily free as enslave man and, suddenly, just standing there on that field was putting her further and further behind.
The Kel could have the Codes even now.
Forcibly she pulled back those rabbitting thoughts.
Bianca and Egg were silent. Jess took a regenerating moment to turn her gaze to the far hills, casting her attention all the way out to their dark shapes against the horizon, edges and peaks defined by the powdering of stars. It was spectacular. Far away, in that direction, was the little spot by the stream where she and Zac had their first kiss.
“I get that it’s hard to understand,” she said, staring out into the distance. “I do. But I just keep taking the next step. It’s all I can do. You know that’s what I have to do.”
“We believe in you,” said Egg. “I mean, look. You’ve united one world already. The Dominion, the Venatres … Anitra is now one. Look how the whole world is working together. All from what you’ve done.”
Star Angel: Prophecy Page 17
