by E. R. Torre
“It didn’t get loose. It was brought in.”
“On purpose?” B’taav said, incredulous.
“Ships and personnel coming into Pomos were screened with passive and active scanners. Anyone that had so much as a simple cold was flagged.”
“Then how exactly was it brought in?”
“Piece by piece,” Latitia said. “The virus wasn’t biological. It was mechanical… and microscopic.”
“Nano-technology?” B’taav said.
“Yeah,” Latitia said. “Nano-probes have a variety of uses, from exploration to construction to medicine to… you name it. Every large corporation in Epsillon has money invested in their research and development. Some have made more progress than others but none made as much progress, even in the two hundred and fifty years since Pomos’ destruction, than Saint Vulcan. That was her big secret. All her factories and research were built on a nano-tech foundation. Turned out she wasn’t the only one researching it.”
Latitia paused before continuing.
“Our best guess is the virus was broken down into as many as a thousand individual pieces and smuggled into Pomos by merchant crafts over a period of years. Saint Vulcan’s scanners, as good as they were, didn’t see the danger in those components. When the pieces were here and assembled, the resulting single, very potent nano-probe was released. It multiplied. Quickly. In a single day it infected most of the planet’s Southern Hemisphere.”
B’taav pointed to the Space Elevator.
“You think the people behind the virus are also behind this?”
Latitia shrugged.
“Whoever built that is not some low level squatter. This kind of tech requires intellect, almost limitless funds, and an incredible amount of personnel. It’s the type of thing Saint Vulcan might do.”
“Or her enemy.”
B’taav stared up at the moon.
“The nano-probe infection was confined to Pomos,” he said. “Why did Saint Vulcan have the fleet take out Solyanna?”
“I don’t know,” Latitia said.
“She had control over her ships and their weapons,” B’taav said. “As far as I can tell, Solyanna wasn’t exposed to the virus. Why open fire on her?”
A heavy silence hung in the cabin for several seconds. B’taav pulled up records of Pomos’ destruction and skimmed through them. He found the information he was searching for. His face grew pale.
“What is it?” Latitia said.
“The last missiles targeted at Pomos fell thirty five seconds before the order came in to destroy Solyanna,” B’taav said. “Either Saint Vulcan survived Pomos’ bombing and then sent the order to bomb Solyanna or—”
“That’s impossible,” Latitia said.
She looked over B’taav’s shoulder at the data displayed on his screen. She read it. It was all there.
“By the Gods,” Latitia said.
“Saint Vulcan wasn’t on Pomos,” B’taav said. “She had Solyanna destroyed after the fact. Why?”
“Maybe…” Latitia began and stopped. “Maybe she was covering her tracks.”
“Saint Vulcan survived the bombings,” B’taav said. He stared directly into Latitia’s eyes. “Didn’t she?”
31
She lay at the top of the asteroid, her body pressed into the shadows of a narrow crevasse. She used the magnification in her space suit’s helmet to find the Cygnusa.
The ship and a cloud of fighter craft were heading in her general direction.
Inquisitor Cer turned. The Xendos was below her and parked against the asteroid she lay on. It too was hidden in deep shadow.
Inquisitor Cer checked her watch. There were only a few seconds left. She looked up, in the opposite direction of the Cygnusa, and at another cluster of asteroids.
Ten seconds…
She couldn’t see the debris she left behind it.
Five seconds…
She adjusted her magnification.
Three seconds…
She had a clear view of the rocks and the general area that—
Detonation.
The explosion was a momentary, noiseless burst of light. Debris spread out and flew in all directions.
Inquisitor Cer spun around and gazed at the Cygnusa. At first the large craft and her fighters didn’t appear to notice the detonation. Then, one of the fighter craft broke formation. It was followed by another. And another.
Inquisitor Cer got to her feet and, using her suit’s thrusters, floated to the Xendos’ decompression chamber door. She entered the craft and closed the outer door before quickly making her way to the cockpit. She checked her monitors.
The Cygnusa and most of her fighter craft altered their courses and were moving exactly where she wanted them to go: The source of the explosion.
A small group of fighters circled the area while others kept a wary distance. Magnetic hooks picked up stray pieces of debris. The Cygnusa was the last of the vessels to arrive. She parked beyond the outer wave of fighter craft.
Minutes passed. The intensity of the fighter crafts’ search bordered on zeal.
“Come on,” Inquisitor Cer muttered.
She hoped the smaller ships would congregate in a tighter area before beginning their outward search. The tighter their formation, the larger the window of opportunity to slip past them and to the Longshore Shipping Lanes.
“Come on,” she repeated.
The proximity of the fighter crafts to each other allowed the Xendos’ communication system to overcome the jamming devices and snatch garbled transmissions.
“We…ound bodies,” an unidentified woman said.
“How ma…?”
“Two,” the woman replied.
A long period of silence followed. The fighter craft slowed to a crawl.
“…ird body foun…”
“All units…in,” a rough voice replied. Inquisitor Cer recognized it as Inquisitor Raven’s. “…and by.”
Inquisitor Raven’s attention was on the central view screen. Beside the real time footage of his fighter craft exploring the area were fresh pictures of the recovered body fragments.
“Inquisitor Raven?”
Lieutenant Sanders stood at his side. She offered him a small computer tablet.
“I have the early DNA results,” she said.
Inquisitor Raven took the computer tablet and looked over the information.
“Overlord Octo,” he muttered. “Inquisitor Deveri.”
The tablet let out a beep. Inquisitor Raven refreshed the data.
“Inquisitor Loalla.”
Inquisitor Raven waited for the arrival of more information. It came.
“We have five hundred pounds of debris and three bodies,” Inquisitor Raven read. “Amount of debris, considering the size of the Xendos, is minimal.”
“Yes sir,” the Lieutenant said.
“The only passenger unaccounted for is Inquisitor Cer.”
“I’m sure we’ll find her remains in—”
“I doubt it,” Inquisitor Raven said and handed her the tablet. “Think, Lieutenant. We find an almost insignificant quantity of ship debris yet the remains of not one, not two, but three of her four passengers. You don’t find that remarkable?”
“Sir?”
“The debris and bodies were left for our benefit,” Inquisitor Raven said. “We were meant to assume, just as you did, that the last body was somewhere nearby. Based on that assumption, the Xendos’ sole survivor hoped we would devote our resources to a detailed examination of this area. We were expected to form a tight little circle, tight enough to allow Inquisitor Cer space to escape.”
The Lieutenant thought about that.
“Clever,” she said.
“Inquisitor Cer was a student of mine for a few months at the end of her sophomore year of training. She was a handful and it took me some time to break her.”
A frosty smile appeared on Inquisitor Raven’s face.
“To this day, I don’t know if I ever did break her all th
e way.”
The smile disappeared.
“We’re going to give our missing Inquisitor exactly what she wants. Have all Alpha through Pollox fighter craft converge on this area and continue their search for her remains.”
“Sir? If she’s waiting for us to—”
“While those fighter groups search, all Sigma craft are to circle around the port side of the Cygnusa and use her for cover while they make their way to the Longshore Shipping Lanes. They are to go dark and wait for any craft attempting to make its way out of the Norman Asteroid field. When Inquisitor Cer moves, and she will, they are to close in and intercept. Understood?”
“Yes sir.”
Inquisitor Raven nodded.
“We’ll have Inquisitor Cer in our hands before the day is over, Lieutenant.”
Just like that, the window of opportunity Inquisitor Cer hoped for appeared.
The Cygnusa drew in closer to the source of the explosion while the majority of her fighter craft followed their mother ship.
Inquisitor Cer reached for the Xendos’ controls. She made one last check of her surroundings. There were no ships between her and the Longshore Shipping Lanes. She plotted a course. When the last of the fighter crafts edged away, her path was clear.
She applied thrust and sat back, elated at the prospect of escape.
The Xendos didn’t move.
Inquisitor Raven impatiently paced the bridge of the Cygnusa. He stopped.
“Update?”
“Our status remains unchanged,” Lieutenant Sanders said.
“How long has it been?”
“Two hours.”
“Has any more debris been found?”
“No sir. It appears we got it all.”
Inquisitor Raven pursed his lips.
“Permission to speak, sir?” Lieutenant Sanders said.
“Granted.”
“Sir, I agree with your initial assessment. Inquisitor Cer is alive and in hiding and it greatly shames me to admit that if I was commander of the Cygnusa, the Xendos would have slipped away just as Inquisitor Cer intended. However, given the amount of time now passed, if she is as near as we suspect she will surely have realized we’ve finished searching this area and are now waiting for her to move.”
Inquisitor Raven nodded.
“Call back all fighter craft,” he said.
Inquisitor Cer couldn’t understand it.
The Xendos’ engines were running better than before the explosion yet the craft would not move. She desperately tried all means of getting her to go and take advantage of the opportunity to escape, yet the craft remained in place in the shadow of the asteroid.
She wasted over an hour of precious time in the engine room before giving up and returning to the cockpit. There, she checked the cockpit controls, desperately searching for the reason they were locked up.
She soon realized the Cygnusa and her fighter craft also remained in place. They did so for far too long.
“Clever,” she said.
She trained her ship’s cameras on the Longshore Space Lanes. She couldn’t see any fighter craft waiting in ambush, but she was certain they were there.
Both sides were frozen in place, waiting for the other to move.
Then, two hours after her window of opportunity first opened, the Cygnusa turned while her fighter craft spread out. Beyond them and in the distance, a series of lights came on. At least three dozen fighter craft hiding in darkness along the Longshore Shipping Lanes made their presence known.
“By the Gods,” Inquisitor Cer muttered.
Had she tried to flee…
Inquisitor Cer cycled through the cameras. The Cygnusa completed her turn and Inquisitor Cer’s blood ran cold. The ship was now heading at the Xendos.
Have they found me?
No. The asteroid she hid behind still covered her.
For now.
The fighter craft continued spreading out. Her communication equipment, silent for so very long, came to life and a crystal clear message was transmitted from the battleship.
“Inquisitor Cer, this is Inquisitor Raven on the Cygnusa. It is time to give yourself up.”
A great loathing bubbled up from deep within Inquisitor Cer’s soul and she had to force herself not to respond to the message.
“You won’t get your hands on me again,” she swore.
As she did, a deep chill passed through her body.
Even if she had to take her own life, she wouldn’t let Raven near her ever –ever– again.
Inquisitor Raven shut the communications off.
He waited for a reply from Inquisitor Cer but didn’t expect one.
You were quite the fighter, Inquisitor Raven thought.
After a few minutes, he walked to the center of the bridge and cleared his throat. All bridge personnel’s eyes were on him.
“Inquisitor Cer chooses the cowardly path,” he said. “As it is written in the Holy Texts, ‘those who hide have something to hide from’. Overlord Octo is dead and so too are his security personnel. Inquisitor Cer shows her guilt by her actions. It is past time she faces judgment.”
Inquisitor Cer did not bother with the ship’s engines. She did not bother with anything.
Even if she could get the Xendos moving, she was surrounded and there was no longer any possibility of escape.
She cradled her sole remaining fusion gun. Gently. Then tight.
On the monitors, the fighter craft circled her area and beyond. They were a mass of wasps. The Xendos floated closer to the asteroid. Its rear scrapped against hard granite.
How much longer?
She closed her eyes. The fusion gun felt so very heavy…
When she opened her eyes, she gasped.
An incredibly large shadow, the Cygnusa’s, settled over the Xendos. Her ship’s upper cameras captured the battleship as it flew directly over the asteroid she hid behind.
“The Gods have mercy on my soul,” she muttered. The grip on the gun tightened even more.
The Cygnusa was directly over her. Hundreds of lighted windows, heavy fusion cannons, and torpedo bays sailed over her. She saw fighter craft launch from the ship’s lower bay, thrusters firing in a kaleidoscope of colors and trailing off into the distance. Other fighters floated in, disappearing into the mighty vessel’s many landing bays.
Then, bright flood lights stabbed through the darkness and swirled around her.
The lights from the Cygnusa settled on the asteroids. Every one of the shadowy crevasses were exposed. The lights moved from one asteroid to another.
Toward her.
Inquisitor Cer looked down at the handgun.
Just a little pull and it’s over. A little—
Inquisitor Cer released the trigger. She angrily tossed the gun aside.
“No,” she yelled.
I won’t give that bastard the satisfaction.
Inquisitor Cer reached for the ship’s controls.
“You want me, Inquisitor Raven?” she yelled. “You won’t get me without a fight.”
Inquisitor Cer’s fingers pressed several buttons. Perhaps there was something she missed. Perhaps she could get the ship to respond. Perhaps…
It was a hopeless exercise.
Even if she could move, the many eyes surrounding her would easily spot her.
If she could move.
Defeated, Inquisitor Cer fell back into her chair.
She was a cornered animal with nowhere left to go.
Lights from the Cygnusa moved toward the asteroid she hid behind. In seconds, they would light her up and expose the Xendos to the entire fleet.
She whispered one last prayer.
As she finished, the lights of the Cygnusa blazed through the Xendos’ cockpit.
32
“I don’t know if she survived,” Latitia said.
“But you have some idea.”
“We do,” Latitia admitted.
B’taav’s eyes narrowed.
“Who do you work for
? Which Corporation?”
“Our group is a little beyond that,” Latitia said. There was a finality to her non-answer.
B’taav leaned back in his chair. He felt winded, helpless. Frustrated. Perhaps sensing this, Latitia said:
“It’s complicated. Very complicated. We’ll talk after the mission. I promise. In the meantime, let’s focus on that structure and who’s behind it.”
“At least tell me why it’s so damn important we do this.”
Latitia nodded.
“Whoever is behind it might be a threat.”
“Not to any Corporation?”
“No,” Latitia said. “To humanity itself.”
B’taav thought about it.
“Looks like I don’t have much choice,” B’taav said.
The Rover climbed a small hill and from there her passengers had their clearest view yet of the extended base of the Space Elevator. Beyond it and spread out for many miles were an army of enormous machines. They moved slowly, either breaking up, shoveling, or loading dirt and rocks. A group of machines close to them carried enormous drills that tore into the muddy, radioactive ground and dragged tons of material to the surface. This material was then deposited onto the backs of huge haulers that, once filled, drove back to the Space Elevator’s base. Other stationary machines were set up in a grid around the many miles of excavation overlooking the site. B’taav recognized these machines as powerful surface to air defensive systems capable of taking down any threat coming in from above.
“This is… incredible,” B’taav said.
The scale of the enterprise was beyond anything he had seen before. Latitia drove on, nearing a series of enormous, gaping holes in the planet’s surface. The holes extended down for hundreds of meters. Wide circular tracks lined the edges. It was the means by which machinery entered and exited the abyss.
“There’s no way to get to the Space Elevator’s base without being seen,” B’taav said.
“We have no choice,” Latitia said.
She moved the Rover forward. After a few minutes, they were in the dig site. Latitia darted in an around the machines and avoided their gaping mauls while moving closer to the Space Elevator’s base. At first the machines ignored the insignificantly small Rover.
