by E. R. Torre
“The man who destroyed the world –the man who saved humanity– is he the same Unknown Hero the Holy Texts talk of?” B’taav asked.
“Yes.”
“What became of him?”
“Exactly what the Texts say: he remained behind while the others fled.”
“Why?’
“Because his body was infected with Locust Plague nano-probes. He controlled them throughout most of his life yet feared his control was tenuous at best. He worried the Locust Plague could regain their power over the nano-probes and take over his mind and body. The Locust Plague would learn of his plans or turn him against humanity. That is why he chose to remain behind.”
“He sacrificed himself to save us all.”
A smile appeared on the hologram’s face. Realization dawned on B’taav.
“We’re here to rescue him?” B’taav said.
“Yes, B’taav. You are to rescue him before the Thanatos wipes this solar system –and the Locust Plague– out of existence.”
“This man… what was his name?”
“Spradlin. Paul Spradlin.”
43
“It’s been five thousand years since the Exodus,” B’taav said. “How can Spradlin still be alive?”
The Saint Vulcan hologram continued smiling. It was a programmed human reaction designed to comfort whoever it was talking to. It didn’t comfort B’taav.
“When the Exodus began, he was already over three hundred years old,” Saint Vulcan said. “The nano-probes within his body kept him young. There is no reason to believe they wouldn’t continue doing so.”
“For this long? All while trapped in a planet held hostage by this Locust Plague? You must have proof.”
The Saint Vulcan hologram motioned to David Desjardins. He cleared his throat and said:
“When the Thanatos reached the outer boundaries of the solar system six months ago, we sent a single, microsecond long transmission. It consisted of several questions only Paul Spradlin knew the answer to.”
“He replied correctly?”
“Of course,” Desjardins said.
“When –if– we find him, how will we know it truly is this Spradlin?”
“I’ve given Inquisitor Cer two other very personal questions to ask him,” Desjardins said. “In case she is unable to ask, I’ll give them to you. You must remember these questions.”
“Go ahead.”
“How old was Jessie when she died?”
B’taav nodded.
“Ok.”
“Where was she buried?”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“Who is this Jessie?” B’taav asked.
Desjardins shrugged.
“Do you know?” B’taav asked the Saint Vulcan hologram.
“I was given the questions and their answers,” Saint Vulcan said. “I have no information regarding this person. Clearly it was someone Paul Spradlin was familiar with.”
“Clearly,” B’taav repeated. “I understand using the Thanatos to destroy the Locust Plague threat, but sending us to Earth? Why risk exposing us to contamination?”
“Surely you know Inquisitor Cer and you were designed for this job.”
“The immunity?” B’taav said.
“You were also bred to be stronger, quicker, and more intelligent than others,” the Saint Vulcan hologram said. “You analyze situations and draw quick, logical conclusions. In the rare cases where you sustain injury, you heal faster than a human being should.”
The hologram moved closer to B’taav.
“You and Inquisitor Cer spent your lives walking among humanity yet never felt a part of it. How could you?”
“What exactly are we?”
“The next level,” the hologram said. “We ensured the right DNA was passed from parent to offspring for generations.”
“We? Who are you talking about?”
“The people who created you,” Saint Vulcan said. “The Locust Plague aren’t the only ones capable of making centuries’ long plans.”
“By the Gods,” B’taav said.
“Humanity’s first exposure to the Locust Plague was through their nano-probe Chameleon units,” Saint Vulcan continued. “These units watched and interacted with our ancestors and made sure we posed no threat to their master’s invasion. Like most their technology, the nano-probe tech was stolen from one of the many races the Locust Plague wiped out. But they didn’t anticipate what the technology was capable of. The first group of Chameleons sent to Earth not only observed, but evolved. They gained independent thought and, after many years, severed their ties to their masters. It was one of these Chameleon units that found and infected Paul Spradlin with nano-probes. The nano-probes in him are rich with technological data, information that even today could lead humanity into another golden age. Spradlin’s a valuable asset. One we intend to get back.”
“Who are you people?”
The hologram’s face remained passive, yet her tone changed.
“We are those who watch over the rest and ensure humanity thrives.”
“Whether we want your help or not,” B’taav said. He thought some more. “Even with the right responses to those two questions, this could be a trap.”
At this, David Desjardins let out a laugh.
“Inquisitor Cer said the same thing.”
B’taav shook his head. He frowned.
“She left because she thought it was a trap,” B’taav said.
“She knew you were getting better. She wanted to spare you.”
“Are you in communication with her?”
“At this point, we cannot risk sending any transmissions. The last thing we want to do is alert the Locust Plague of our presence.”
“You said I had enough time to catch up to her. Is that still the case?”
“By now she’s a little more than halfway to Earth,” Saint Vulcan’s hologram said. “At the Xendos’ top speed, you will reach her just as she nears the Moon’s orbit.”
“The Xendos was damaged in the trip here,” B’taav said. “Have the nano-probes had sufficient time to fix her?”
“Yes,” the hologram said.
B’taav faced the elderly man.
“Permission to depart, Captain Desjardins,” B’taav said.
“Permission granted.”
B’taav rose from his chair. He paused.
“Your body is also resistant to the Locust Plague nano-probes, right?”
The elderly man nodded.
“What about the Thanatos? Can her computers be breached?”
“It would take a long time, if at all,” Desjardins said. “The systems on the Thanatos were considerably simplified and insulated. She operates on a series of switches pulled in a certain order. Primitive but effective.”
“They created you out of whole cloth yet made Inquisitor Cer and I over several generations. Why?”
“I don’t know,” Desjardins said. “What I do know is the original David Desjardins was the only Captain willing to destroy Pomos when it was infected. My creators knew he –I– would do the same thing here. As for you, Inquisitor Cer, and Paul Spradlin, I suspect they have other plans.”
David Desjardins rose. His feet were unsteady and his arms shook.
“In forty eight hours the Thanatos’ fusion reactors will be fully charged,” Desjardins said. “By then, all I have to do is hit one last switch to set her off.” The expression on Desjardin’s face hardened. “I will set the switch off at that time, B’taav. I will not linger. I will not wait.”
B’taav calculated the Xendos’ speed and the distance between Jupiter and Earth.
“I’ll have four hours once I arrive at Earth.”
“Provided you don’t make any detours,” Desjardins said. “Your only escape from here is through the Displacer unit on the Thanatos’ starboard side. When this vessel is primed, I will activate the Displacer for exactly five minutes. If you’re not through her by that time…”
“Under
stood,” B’taav said. “Please, take me to the Xendos.”
44
Desjardins accompanied B’taav through the corridors of the Thanatos.
The elderly man’s movements were slow and unsteady and he paused to rest a couple of times. As impatient as B’taav was to leave, he didn’t rush the elderly man.
They used the elevators to go down to one of the lowest levels on the Thanatos and from there made the walk to the ship’s central docking bay. They passed several large but empty chambers designed for storage.
“Where exactly was Inquisitor Cer going on Earth?”
“To the location from which Spradlin sent his reply,” Desjardins said. “The coordinates are in the Xendos’ navigational computer.”
They reached the last of the double cargo doors, large metallic sheets that stretched over nine floors. Beside the door was a smaller one meant for human passage. It slid open noiselessly. Beyond that door was a large control room. The room’s walls were made of tinsel glass and looked into the docking bay. Five hundred feet away and directly in front of them was the Xendos. She was parked in the nearest landing pad, her body covered by the glass bubble.
Desjardins motioned to a monitor on the control panel. A timer counted down from forty eight hours.
“This is the time you have to make it back,” Desjardins said. He moved to a cabinet next to the control panel and opened it. The small cabinet held a fusion handgun.
“Take it,” Desjardins said. “Just in case.”
B’taav grabbed the weapon.
“I hope you find her,” Desjardins said.
“When I get back, I’m taking you with us.”
“Focus on what you have to do,” Desjardins said.
B’taav nodded.
“Thank you.”
Desjardins activated a control panel beside the door leading to the landing pad. It opened.
“Good luck, Independent,” Desjardins said.
“Good luck to you,” B’taav replied.
He walked to his ship.
B’taav stepped up to the Xendos and examined her.
From outside she appeared almost the same as when he last saw her aboard the Dakota.
B’taav wanted nothing more than to board her and leave at full speed after Inquisitor Cer. Instead, he forced himself to carefully check her before taking off. The Xendos’ surface glimmered in the hanger lights. The last time B’taav saw her up close, the Xendos’ surface was dull and scratched and showed every bit of her age. Now, she looked better than new. Light reflected brilliantly off her shiny silver surface.
Cautiously, B’taav reached up with his hand and, for a moment, hesitated. The ship’s hull was painted with a layer of nano-probes. In touching it –and them– he wondered if he could send or receive some kind of message from them.
B’taav rubbed his hand across the metal panels. They were smoother than ceramic.
“Please help me,” he whispered to his microscopic angels.
B’taav pulled his hand back and walked around the ship. He wasn’t sure which side sustained the damage from Overlord Octo’s sabotage, but both sides were now intact.
B’taav walked to the ship’s rear and stepped up to the doors leading into the decompression chamber. Inquisitor Cer’s remote computer panel lay beside the door.
“Hope you didn’t change any of the codes,” B’taav muttered. He snapped the panel over his left arm and pressed a series of buttons. A couple of seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
“Come o—”
The door opened and a stair lowered.
B’taav let out a relieved sigh. He climbed up the stairs and into the chamber. After he was inside, the stairs folded up and the outer door shut and sealed itself.
B’taav placed the fusion gun into a weapons cabinet in the decompression chamber. He then walked past the inner decompression door and climbed two flights of stairs before reaching the ship’s cockpit. The controls were mostly how he remembered them, including the few new panels and gauges. He didn’t know what they were for and, at the moment, decided it best not to experiment.
Let’s leave that for later.
B’taav stared out the front window and at the tinsel glass doors leading back into the Thanatos. Desjardins remained in the control room, watching. Besides him was a figure, the hologram of Saint Vulcan.
Or was it?
B’taav squinted his eyes. No, the figure wasn’t Saint Vulcan. It was that of a young woman, one B’taav didn’t recognize yet knew.
“Peace to you,” B’taav said. “And your wife.”
He settled into the pilot’s chair and flipped a series of switches.
The Xendos’ engine rumbled. For several seconds they warmed up. All readings were within nominal range.
B’taav clicked the radio on.
“Desjardins, this is the Xendos. I’m ready to go.”
“Understood.”
Within the Docking Bay control room, the elderly man reached for a control panel to his side and keyed in a command. The tinsel glass bubble surrounding the Xendos rolled away, leaving the ship free to move within the docking bay.
B’taav gripped the controls and lifted the Xendos off the ground. He retracted her landing gear before spinning her around. Her nose soon faced the far side of the hanger. The Thanatos’ outer doors slid open, revealing the darkness of outer space.
B’taav applied thrust and the ancient Phaecian ship made her way to the exit.
“I’m coming for you, Inquisitor,” B’taav said.
45
The Xendos flew past the Thanatos’ outer doors.
B’taav pulled at the controls and the ship rose up and away. Another burst of thrust and she climbed faster, passing hundreds of levels of the ship before sailing over her.
The Xendos was like a bug hovering over a large metal table. Beyond it lay the planet Jupiter. Her colors were incredibly vivid and her size overwhelming. B’taav watched in awe as his ship moved past the Thanatos and gained speed. He used the planet’s gravity to give the Xendos even more forward momentum. B’taav regretted this. He could spent days –weeks!– examining the wonders around him.
The Xendos was past Jupiter. On the rear camera monitors the Thanatos and the planet she orbited shrunk and shrunk. B’taav applied magnification until he had a clear view of the top of the ship. He saw David Desjardin’s beach and a pair of tiny black dots. They were the chairs he and David Desjardins sat on only moments before.
B’taav’s attention returned to the forward view screen. He wondered if that would be the last he’d ever see of the ship.
B’taav settled in his chair and examined the readouts.
He used every one of the Xendos’ outer cameras to get a three hundred and sixty degree view of the area around him. He commanded the computer to be on the alert for any vessels.
For the next five hours, he watched each monitor intently, looking for any sign of Inquisitor Cer’s shuttle.
His energy waned. Though he had kicked the nano-probes from his system hours before, he was tired. Without meaning to, he drifted off to sleep.
B’taav was violently awoken by the discordant blare of an alarm.
It took great effort to pull himself from his chair and focus on the Xendos’ controls. He scanned the monitors and snapped to attention when he realized a mind-boggling thirteen hours passed since he fell asleep. The Xendos was well into the process of deceleration for its approach to Earth. He looked up.
The Xendos’ cameras caught sight of Earth’s Moon and, even more fascinating, the planet she orbited. The Moon appeared intact, but what little he could see of Earth both excited and chilled him. He saw strange structures surrounding her, tentacle-like wires that circled and encased her.
He searched for Inquisitor Cer.
“Where are you?”
Just then, something else caught his attention.
A shadowy object moved parallel to his ship. It was half the size of the Xendos and bullet
shaped. It was a defensive drone not unlike those he saw on Pomos. A pair of red lights on her bow gave the appearance of bloodshot eyes. Her speed was nearly double that of the Xendos and she didn’t appear to notice him. She passed his ship and disappeared into the darkness.
B’taav took a deep breath.
Lucky she didn’t see—
Another ship, similar in shape and size, flew toward him. She too passed.
They’re in a hurry.
A fourth ship appeared in the distance.
Her speed was slower than the others. She was an older craft, her surface pock-marketed and scarred. Unlike the two that came before, she was rectangular in shape and almost as large as the Xendos. Instead of two red lights on her front tip, she had only one.
She was coming at him.
B’taav gripped the ship’s yoke and pulled the Xendos away. His free hand reached for the controls of the fusion cannons.
“How do you cloak?” B’taav muttered even as he activated the ship’s only weapon. He drew a bead at the craft’s dead center. “How do you cloak?”
The alien craft continued her advance.
B’taav’s finger hovered over the fusion control, ready to fire.
“Go away, Cyclops,” B’taav said.
She drew nearer. Her eerie red eye sparkled.
Do you see me?
B’taav’s finger lingered over the fusion cannon trigger. If he fired, he would surely alert the other drones.
“Go—” he began and stopped.
Cyclops continued her flight, passing a very close dozen miles over him.
B’taav let out a relieved breath. He checked the Xendos’ underside camera. From it, he had a direct view of the lower parts of his ship. Instead of seeing her gray metallic paneling, all he saw was darkness. The thin layer of nano-probes had altered the ship’s color to black. She was cloaked.
“Thank the Gods,” B’taav said.
The Independent switched cameras and focused on the last of the alien crafts to pass him. Cyclops continued her slow progress, converging on the area the other ships were going.
B’taav activated the Xendos’ receptors. Strong sensor waves emanated from the alien crafts. They were searching the area for something.
