by Various
It must be her language, Lydia thought. She didn’t understand a word, but it was calming. They were big into the calming thing around here, so Lydia relaxed. It sure beat some of the treatments she had gone through.
The sounds echoed off the walls of the small cave. Kari held out her hand.
“You want me to hold your hand?”
Without stopping her song, Kari nodded. That was definitely different than any of the treatments Lydia had in the past, but she was determined to do whatever they wanted. If they wanted her to stand on one foot and bark, she would do it. She would do anything to be given back her life with her family. Lydia reached out and took Kari’s hand. Her entire body flushed warm. Arms. Legs. Belly. Everything. Something was going on inside her. Something wonderful.
Lydia closed her eyes and listened to the lilting sounds from Kari’s voice.
Chapter 7
“YOU DON’T have to come,” Chief Deputy Lewis said. “I’ll introduce you to the unit tomorrow.”
“I’m here. I might as well see what’s going on. Besides, they said my wife would be busy the next couple of hours.”
Matt followed his chief deputy into the hovering Marshal’s Response Vehicle. A half-dozen deputy marshals were seated along the inside walls of the troop carrier. Each of them was in full body armor.
Lewis made quick introductions.
“I thought it was just a political speech issue,” Matt said.
“A precaution,” Deputy Lewis responded.
“I wish we had a Tactical Response Unit with us,” one of the seated deputies grumbled. “They were sent out on that supply shipment yesterday.”
Matt knew a Tactical Response Unit—or TRU—on this planet was a force of fifteen marshals and two highly armored vehicles. Why would they need a TRU on a speech issue in the capital city?
Over the last seven months on the flight to Altair, Matt had read all the daily operational summaries for the Marshal’s Service. He knew TRUs were used to support transports between the clinics—offering protection from the so-called free Ananke, who had not joined the humans—but there was no mention of a TRU being used in the capital city.
“We’re going to the Ghetto,” another marshal said, as though that explained everything.
Matt knew from his reading that officers referred to the Ananke’s settlement area as the Ghetto, and he wondered why. There was no mention in any of the literature or reports he had studied of problems with the Ananke who moved into the cities. They had become an important part of the community, or so all the promotional materials and official reports stated.
It was just the few rebels outside the cities who continued to resist in the wilderness. They were the problem.
The Marshal’s Response Vehicle pulled to a stop. The side door dropped down and the deputies exited the vehicle in what Matt recognized as a well-practiced deployment move.
Chief Deputy Lewis pulled out a body armor suit and held it out to Matt. Matt shook his head and walked out of the vehicle.
“I’d really recommend wearing it,” the chief deputy said as he followed Matt to the entrance to the Ghetto.
Matt recognized the gateway to the Ghetto as a high-tech protective device used in secure industrial and military applications. He had never seen it used for housing units. The scanners would take a retinal scan of anyone wanting to pass through the entrance and only allow that person through if they were approved.
“What’s going on here?” Matt asked. “There wasn’t anything about problems with the Ananke in the city.”
The deputies had all been scanned and were awaiting their orders to enter.
“We don’t have problems, because we don’t allow problems to develop,” Lewis said. “If you don’t want to put on your protective suit, why don’t you wait here and I’ll take care of things?”
Lewis pulled out his locater, checked the coordinates and gave the information to his team.
“Building three-alpha.”
Matt watched the team form into a classic diamond with two flankers. It was like he was watching military exercises. Chief Deputy Lewis checked communications with each member of the team and was about to lead them through the gate.
“Wait!”
Matt stepped in front of the group.
“Stand down.”
The men looked at one another and then to the chief deputy.
“I said stand down.”
Lewis nodded and the men lowered their weapons and appeared to relax.
“I’m going in to find out what happened.”
“We know what happened,” Chief Deputy Lewis said. “And we’ll take care of it.”
“The Ananke are warriors,” Matt explained. “They respect people who are strong.”
At least that’s what he remembered his dad saying when he was young. “Don’t show fear. Don’t threaten. Be strong.” His dad always added “Trust in God,” but Matt didn’t see any need for that. It certainly hadn’t helped his parents.
“You haven’t been here in twenty years. Maybe you should just watch for a few weeks before you bring your ideas into this world.”
“Maybe you should remember the chain of command, Chief Deputy.”
The deputy nodded and took a step back.
“Download your data to Roy.”
Matt let the scanner do a retinal scan on him and also told the computer to okay Roy.
“Does the marshal mind if his chief deputy joins him?” Lewis asked.
“Only if your weapon is secured.”
Lewis slipped out of his body armor and clipped his weapon into its holster.
“Glad for your company,” Matt said. “Feel free to share any insights you have about the Ananke.”
• • •
Matt walked through the electronic barrier at the gate. If he hadn’t been approved it would have leveled him. He’d seen pictures of people writhing on the floor for minutes after trying to run through one of these barriers.
Roy followed right behind him.
“I don’t like those,” Roy said. “Do you know what they could do to my circuitry?”
“It wouldn’t do me much good either,” Matt added.
Chief Deputy Lewis walked stride by stride with the marshal.
“This isn’t a wise move.”
“You don’t have to come, Lewis. Do you mind if I call you Charles? Or Chuck?”
“I prefer Chief Deputy Lewis.”
Great start, Matt thought. An effective Marshal’s Service required a good working relationship between the marshal and the chief deputy. This guy was going to take a little work, but Matt was used to that. He’d worked with some tough officers on the frontier.
“You can call me Matt.”
Since the area was called the Ghetto, Matt expected to see garbage and graffiti and gangs, but the streets and buildings were spotless. The few Ananke outside watched with sullen expressions as Matt led Roy and Chief Deputy Lewis through the nearly empty streets.
The radio crackled. “Are you okay in there?”
“The entry team is secure,” Lewis said into the radio. “Hold your positions and stay on alert.”
Matt couldn’t see any threats as they walked down the street.
“Give me an area scan,” Matt said.
Roy’s lights flashed as he moved out several yards in front of them and elevated to about fifteen feet above the ground. He was back at Matt’s side after only a few seconds.
“Looks good to me,” Roy said.
“You let it talk to you like that?”
Matt looked at Roy. “He wants department talk.”
“The area scan reveals no threats in the immediate vicinity. Three groups identified. Across the street, three females are watching our movements. Two blocks ahead of us, a lone female is walking in our direction. At the second floor window on the corner, a female and a child are watching us. No weapons identified on any of the subjects. Do I have to talk like this? Can’t I just say it looks good to me?”
“Yeah, that’ll work for me, Roy.”
Roy was a personal robot, but Matt had used him on all of his assignments and he was very good at spotting potential problems.
Chief Deputy Lewis had one hand on his weapon, and his eyes scanned every shadow or possible hiding place.
“What has you and the others so worried?” Matt asked. “A few women and a kid.”
“Where are the men?”
Matt looked around the streets and into the few windows that weren’t closed. He didn’t see any men.
“Roy?”
Roy’s lights flickered.
“No males,” Roy reported.
That didn’t make any sense at all. “Where are they?” Matt asked.
The deputy pulled his weapon out of the holster. “They’re where we’re going. Do you want me to call in backup?”
Matt shook his head no.
“Roy never lets me down. Lead the way, Roy.”
Matt knew Roy was just a machine but he was sure his friend appreciated the supportive words. The small disc moved about ten feet in front of the officers and hovered almost four feet off the ground. Its sensors monitored audio, video, thermal, and atmospheric conditions.
“Three Ananke twenty yards to your left. All female.”
Roy and Deputy Lewis saw two women, with a small child, peering out a window at them. Roy continued down the street at a steady pace.
“Secure your weapon,” Matt said.
Reluctantly, Deputy Lewis slid his weapon back in the holster.
As they passed a narrow alley, the deputy pointed. “That’s the best way to go.”
Matt continued to follow Roy.
“I have experience in the Ghetto,” Lewis said. “The alley leads to a back entrance to their meeting place. It’s a safer way to enter.”
“I appreciate your observation.” Matt continued to follow his robot. “Roy knows my methods for entering a hostile meeting place.”
“You’ve never dealt with Ananke warriors before.”
Matt glared at the deputy.
“I’m sorry,” Lewis said. “I forgot.”
Roy turned right at the corner and came to a stop in front of a darkened warehouse.
“They are inside,” Roy said.
“Numbers?”
“Fifty-seven,” Roy said.
“Layout?”
Roy projected a hologram of the inside of the building, showing all the people in real time.
“How can it do that?” Lewis asked.
“He’s smart.”
“I downloaded plans for all buildings on the planet,” Roy explained. “My thermal sensors indicate the location of all heat-generating bodies inside the building. My knowledge of Ananke physiology is applied to the known data. Then I simply—”
“You’re guessing,” the deputy said.
“Extrapolating,” Roy corrected.
“I’ll go in first,” Matt said. “Deputy Lewis, you follow me. Roy will guard our backs.”
“That’s your method?”
The deputy put his hand on his weapon.
“No weapons!”
“Don’t worry, Deputy Lewis,” Roy said. “I’ll protect you.”
Matt took a deep breath, pushed open the door and stepped into the darkened warehouse.
Chapter 8
MATT ENTERED the cavernous warehouse, followed by the deputy and Roy. It was dark and no one seemed to notice their entry. At the far end of the building, all the Ananke were gathered around one man, listening to him talk in their language.
“All men,” Roy said.
The men in the audience wore the orange jumpsuits required by law, but the man speaking was in the traditional garb of an Ananke warrior.
“It’s an illegal meeting,” Lewis said. “I really think you should let me call in support.”
“What’s illegal?” Matt walked toward the men.
“They’re not allowed to have gatherings with more than seven people unless they have a permit.”
“Roy?”
Roy scanned his data banks. “Altair Civil Code niner seven point zero three two. Ananke may not meet in groups of more than seven people without authorization from the Marshal’s Office.”
“What if they have a large family dinner?”
“The Ananke don’t have large families,” Deputy Lewis said.
“Is there a similar law for humans?” Matt asked his deputy.
“Of course not.”
“Then it’s a stupid law that will only lead to problems.”
The man speaking to the group looked to be in his early twenties. Even though he was thinner than the warriors in Matt’s memory, his muscles were well defined and there didn’t appear to be an ounce of fat on him.
“It is a law nonetheless,” the deputy said. “Our job is to enforce the law.”
As they drew closer Matt could hear the man clearly. It had been two decades since he heard the guttural sounds that made up most of Ananke speech. It was easy to understand.
The man was describing the history of the Ananke people. They were from a proud race of warriors. Their roots went back thousands of years. The men in the audience chanted a deep rhythmic sound meant to encourage the speaker and show their attention to what he was saying. Whenever the speaker made a point they agreed with, they bellowed their approval.
Matt wanted to add they killed innocent people, like his parents, but figured now wasn’t the time.
“Our fathers were warriors,” the man in front of the group said.
The rhythmic sound of support echoed throughout the building.
“We must never forget that we too are warriors.”
Bellowed grunts of approval.
“He’s on the edge,” Deputy Lewis said. “Is your robot recording?”
His deputy understood their language, Matt realized. That was good.
The Ananke still hadn’t noticed the intruders.
“When the humans take our sisters and brothers and make them slaves, we do nothing.”
Heavy guttural grunts of agreement.
“When the humans take our waters and our healers to help other humans, we do nothing.”
More deep sounds of agreement. The speaker noticed Matt and the deputy standing in the shadows, but he didn’t react to them. Instead he raised his hands and shouted.
“We, the warriors of Ananke, are the protectors of our people!”
Loud grunts of approval.
“We, the warriors of Ananke, are the line of protection for our families.”
More shouts.
“Whoever would harm our parents, our brothers, our sisters, our children must face our wrath!”
Deputy Lewis pulled his weapon, took a textbook defensive stance and shouted to the crowd.
“Everyone on the ground! You’re under arrest for treason!”
The Ananke spun around to look at the intruders.
“Put the gun away,” Matt growled to his deputy.
“They only understand power,” the deputy said.
“Now!”
Reluctantly, the chief deputy slid the gun into its holster.
Matt walked to the speaker. The men in the crowd stepped aside to allow him through. Lewis and Roy followed close behind.
Matt could sense the glares from warriors. Warriors who had been reduced to wearing ridiculous jumpsuits. He didn’t acknowledge their presence but kept his eyes on the speaker, walking straight toward the warrior at the front of the group.
Matt stopped just inches from the speaker. The Ananke warrior didn’t move or flinch.
There was a tense silence.
Chief Deputy Lewis placed one hand on his gun and slid the other up to his ear. Carefully he tapped three times on his communicator.
“I believe the deputy is trying to communicate with the team,” Roy said.
Matt spun around and faced his deputy. He ripped the communicator from the deputy’s ear and threw it to the ground, stomping on it with his boot.
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“The backup will be here within one minute,” the deputy said.
The Ananke didn’t react.
“We don’t need any backup.”
“No one will come,” Roy said. “The building has an electro-shield that stops all communications.”
“Good,” Matt said. He glared at Lewis. “If you so much as blink without my permission, I’ll see that you’re assigned to work traffic in a transport station. Do I make myself clear?”
Chief Deputy Lewis gritted his teeth.
“Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Matt turned back to face the Ananke warrior. He tried to go back to his stern face, eyes locked on to the eyes of his opponent, but he couldn’t hold it and had to chuckle. He tried to recompose himself but it didn’t help.
This initial meeting wasn’t turning out the way he planned.
“I am York. Son of Metis.” The young man spoke with an authority well beyond his years. Matt was impressed.
“I am Matthew Wallace, son of Roger.” Matt held his hand out flat with his palm up, a traditional greeting among the Ananke. “I’m the new lawman on this planet. It’s a pleasure to meet you, York, son of Metis. May the waters of the Ananke wash your soul.”
York, the warrior, made no effort to place his palm on Matt’s outstretched hand. A deliberate insult. In Ananke culture it was a challenge. If Matt withdrew his hand before the warrior placed his palm on it, they would be expected to fight. Matt’s father didn’t know that when he greeted the warriors who came to their house. Matt had watched the hologram of the meeting so many times and each time pleaded with his dad not to drop his hand, but he always did. His mom and dad were killed because of the Ananke’s stupid traditions of how to greet a warrior.
York stood ramrod straight, refusing to look at the marshal’s hand, preparing himself for combat. As much as Matt relished a chance to beat this Ananke warrior to a bloody pulp, his job required a different response. He was a marshal. His job was to see that justice was served even if he didn’t like it. Matt’s arm felt heavy, but he continued to hold out his hand.
Lewis gripped his weapon again. Roy scanned the area for any signs of additional threats.
“Where are your manners!” The voice of an old man boomed from just a few feet away. “He greeted you in the traditional way.”
