by Frank Carey
"Ladies, I think we will get that time bonus after all," Shenda announced. "Try not to spend it all in one place."
"Right," Connie said as she looked out the forward viewscreen. "I need to call my kids."
Shenda smiled while she stretched. "You and your rug rats are just so adorable. Bree, what are you going to do this layover?"
Silence.
"Bree?" Shenda said as she turned to see what the cargo master was doing. She stopped when she saw the look on Bree's face. "What's wrong?"
"We need to talk, now, your office," she said as she got out of her seat and headed to Shenda's office on the starboard side of the bridge.
"What the hell?" Connie said with a look at Adaira who returned a shrug.
"Connie, take us in, please," Shenda ordered as she followed Bree into her office, shutting the door behind her.
Once inside, Shenda found Bree trying to pour two tall bourbons. She couldn't because she was shaking so hard. Shenda took the bottle from her and sat her down in a chair before going back to get her a drink.
"Hey, what the hell's happened to get you so worked up?" Shenda asked, while handing Bree the tumbler.
The older elfling took the drink and downed half of it in one gulp. "It's Harmon. Your father is dying."
Shenda didn't know what shocked her more; the news or that Bree even knew who her father was.
"Bree..."
"No. Listen. Did Harm ever tell you about what happened on Tralaska when he had his death vision?"
Shenda took the glass from her friend and downed the rest of it. Only family and close friends knew that story, and Shenda was sure Bree was neither. "Yes, he was shot with a blaster at close range and had a near-death experience."
"Did he tell you he wasn't alone?"
"His assistant was there, a woman by the name of Gretchen. She helped him get back to his ship. As far as I know, they never saw each other again."
"I'm Gretchen."
Shenda sat back in her seat and stared at Bree. "What did you say?"
"I'm Gretchen. I revived Harm after the blast. I watched the shooter and two companions take off in the ship Harm stole. Honey, I think your dad saw God while he was out. The look on his face was almost biblical. He... He gave me twenty million credits and told me to get out of the business. That was the last I saw him until nine years ago when I contacted him about you."
"Have you been sending him reports?"
"No! I send him ship's diagnostics when there's a problem which stumps Adaira and he sends back suggestions on how to fix it. We talk about kids, and sports, and all the things that we talked about when we were running Merch in the Conquistador. I knew you would react this way..." She stopped talking and started sobbing.
"Bree, I'm sorry. Please, what is wrong?"
Bree grabbed a tissue from the dispenser on the desk and blew her nose. "Lab accident. He's been trying to make improvements to something called an emergency AI rescue unit. I never understand half the shit that elf says, but I think he was trying to switch over from macrobots to nanorobots when a batch exploded. They ate his lab and infected him before your cousin Gloria could irradiate them with a gamma-ray laser."
"Oh my God. How long does he have?"
"A week, maybe. Losira has brought in her med team from Ventos Prime. She's working with Gloria, but the bots are resisting everything they've thrown at the little bastards."
Shenda reached over and hit the intercom switch. "Connie, call Halo control and request priority unloading. Use my personal code Irithyl-five-seven-dee and my retinal print. I want off that station in six hours. Tell them it's an emergency."
"Copy that, skipper. What's going on?"
"I'll explain everything shortly. Adaira, how fast can you get us to the Cube assuming we're not carrying cargo?"
"Ignoring the safeties and pushing the engines past their limits? Six hours, but you might have to refit all the systems when we get there."
"Copy that. Start your preparations. We'll be out in a minute. Shenda out."
"What did dad tell you about me?" Shenda asked.
"You’re good at what you do, and I would be a fool not to stick with you. Did he build this ship?"
Shenda nodded.
"That explains a lot. What he and I could have done with the likes of the Marta back in the day. You know, I was the only person to crew with him. He said he never wanted to have to make a decision that would kill anyone other than himself. Something happened to him, something bad, and it affected his thinking."
"Yeah, something bad did happen, and my siblings and I almost killed it."
Shenda saw the look Bree gave her.
"Feel up to getting back to work? You know we can't do this without you."
"What do we tell the others?"
"Everything. No more secrets."
Bree nodded. "No more secrets." They hugged and returned to work.
###
Harmon leaned against the table and watched his body die. In front of him was a one-of-a-kind, class-four medbed complete with AI control, shields, and FTL-enhanced diagnostic circuitry. Even with all this firepower working to save him, he was slowly, but surely dying.
"How are you doing?"
Harm looked to his right and saw Xura standing there, her black hair tied back in a bun. She was wearing a yellow dress, the elf color of mourning.
"I'm not dead yet," he said. Her dress reverted to her typical blue-white-black camo one-piece.
"Sorry, forgot."
"How can a super being forget anything?"
"Even I have my moments. Losira having any luck saving your sorry ass?"
"Nope. The only thing that can kill the nanorobots is a blast of gamma rays. Unfortunately, they would kill me as well."
"This is so wrong. I talked to the council, and they said their hands are tied. They can't interfere."
"Yeah, I figured. Still got a job open for me?"
"Damn skippy. I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances."
"Meh. It's just death. Nothing I haven't experienced before. Anyway, I get a chance to try out this new medbed. I have to remember to leave a message for the designer telling him of a flaw I found."
"A flaw? What kind of flaw?"
"They forgot to filter the outside comm channels. Since the bed has taken over all my autonomic and somatic functions, I'm free to traipse around the Cube and League networks. I..."
"Could you remotely control, say, a minotaur suit on a remote station?"
"Sure, as long as it's connected to a network, why?"
"I really shouldn't tell you this, but the shit's about to hit the fan at Halo station, and Shenda will be caught in the middle of it."
Around them, alarms sounded.
Harm turned to reenter his body when Xura grabbed him and spun him around. "What?" he said in a startled voice.
She held up a picture of an elf unlike any he had ever seen. This one had jet-black skin and eyes which glowed green. "Keep an eye out for this one. He's going to save your daughter."
Harm nodded, then disappeared just as the status lights on the medbed went berserk.
"My bad," Xura said while winking out.
###
Shenda and her crew walked down the ramp into the waiting arms of a delegation of station bigwigs. "Princess Shenda," the Station Master, a Goranthi male said, "We are honored by your presence."
"Right. Look, I have a family emergency at the Cube and I need to get out of here ASAP. What can you do to speed things up?"
He handed her a clipboard. "Initial the blue boxes and sign the yellow ones. Meanwhile, my people will offload your cargo while you are refueled. Say twenty minutes and you can be on your way."
Shenda hid the look of shock on her face. A normal offload and refuel took twelve hours minimum. When she got to the end of the form, she saw a box for her to add an optional gratuity. She wrote in an extravagant sum and signed the form. Handing it back to the stationmaster, she said, "That is my bonus for this
run. Consider it a sign of my appreciation for your dock crew's hard work. I promise you, your efforts will not be forgotten.”
The stationmaster walked off with tears in his eyes.
"I didn't know the Goranthi could cry," Adriana commented.
"Ladies, get what you need, but don't go too far. They may finish quicker than their estimate." Shenda said as she walked over to a stand and got herself a large black coffee. She sat down at a table and thought about her family and the decisions she had made over the years. A wave of sadness overcame her as she thought of a universe where Harmon Aymar, the Smuggler Elf, no longer plied the space ways moving illicit merch past borders and checkpoints.
"Captain, we're finished," The dock crew foreman said as she handed Shenda a form to sign.
Startled, Shenda looked at her chrono and saw twenty minutes had passed without her notice. "Thank you..." she squinted at the workers ID tag, "Thank you, Nana. Your crew's efficiency is phenomenal."
"Thank you, Captain..." Nana stopped and screamed.
Shenda jumped out of her seat, her coffee flying, as she turned in the direction Nana was staring and saw the impossible. Hundreds of robots were dropping to the deck. When they hit, they began firing energy beams at everything in sight. Shenda pulled out her blaster and fired back, taking out several of the things. She turned to Nana and yelled, "Get your crew back to the Marta. There are weapons in floor bin two-alpha."
Nana nodded and ran back to the Marta. Soon, more powerful weapons fire took its toll on the robot numbers.
"Boss, what the hell is happening?" Connie yelled as she and the rest of the Marta's crew ran up while dodging death rays.
"Don't know. Get back to the Marta and prepare for emergency departure. The ground crew is using our weapons cache to hold back these things, but I don't know for how long."
Station evac sirens sounded.
"Grab everyone within reach and put them in the holds. Fill until no one can move, then..."
Connie screamed as something large and mechanical grabbed Shenda and lifted her off the deck. Then, there was a flash of light and the deck bucked as if something had kicked the station. The thing’s grip broke, sending Shenda to the deck where she watched the thing split vertically down its center, the two halves falling away to reveal...
A tall, black male elf, his eyes glowing with green fire, stood there with a force field-encased sword. He stared at her before speaking.
"My name is Chasm, and we really need to go." He reached down, took her hand, and helped her to her feet while fending off bots with his sword.
"This way," Shenda yelled as he split a bot in two. He nodded and followed her back to the ship.
They had just started when ten of the things dropped between them and the ramp, making it impossible for the Marta's defenders to shoot for fear of hitting Shenda and her companion.
"Hello, Chasm," three of them said in unison.
"Out of my way, Chrome. I command it."
"Tsk, tsk, Chasm. I no longer take your commands. Your ship is gone. Your mission is over. You are obsolete. Let me put you out of your..."
The bot exploded as did the two on either side. Then, the rest of the bots were cut down by bullets and lasers as an eight-foot tall creature walked up, firing weapons embedded in its palms, horns, and tail.
"Hey, Shenda, you went to a party and didn't call your dad?" the creature said as it mowed down hundreds of former bots."
"Daddy?! But Gretchen said you were dying!"
"I am, and running this thing ain't helping. You must be Chasm. Xura told me a little about you. Nice job with the sword."
"Thank you, sir."
"You slowed that thing down when your ship exploded. I don't know what you use for fuel, but you damaged that big ship badly enough to force it to retreat. It dematerialized just as I was suiting up."
"I have to kill it, sir. It is my command, my responsibility."
"You sound like my wife. Get out of here while I hold these things off."
"Yes, sir," Chasm said as he threw Harm the sword. "Give 'em hell."
"Daddy, I can't..."
"Honey, I'm not here, and you have passengers and crew to take to safety. Go. Now."
She nodded, grabbed Chasm, and ran up the Marta's ramp followed by the armed passengers. Moments later, the Marta was gone, leaving Harm to deal with hundreds of leaderless former bots. With sword in hand, he yelled the war cry of the elves as he waded into battle.
###
"Seal that hatch!" Shenda yelled to Nana who was standing by the door controls. In seconds, the people inside the Marta McMurphy were safely separated from the outside by an inch of adamantine fiber reinforced durasteel plating. "Bridge, this is Shenda. We're clear. Get us the plark out of here."
"Roger that," Connie replied as the latches holding the Marta to the dock blew their explosive bolts, freeing the ship from the stations grip.
"Chasm, are you OK?"
He stared at her for a moment before replying. "Yes, I am unharmed. Ruby, status."
"Who the hell is Ruby?"
"My companion AI," he said, holding up his gauntleted wrist.
"Sir, we have a massive energy buildup from inside the docking area. It looks like Mr. Aymar is opening a large can of whoop ass. We need to put distance between..."
"Bridge! That Minotaur is going to blow. Adaira, we need speed," Shenda yelled.
"On it, Captain," the young engineer replied as the ship lurched, throwing everyone to the deck.
Ruby began a countdown. "Detonation in five... Four... Three... We have reached minimum safe distance... One... Detonation!"
Every porthole lit with the light from a small sun as Harm blew his suits power packs and remaining ammunition in a conflagration of energy.
"Shenda, this is Bree. The station is gone. We're getting the numbers in, so you should get up here."
"On my way." She looked around. "Nana, you did good out there. We need to get the injured taken care of and rations handed out."
"Copy that. Doc Lester, you got a minute?"
An Alturan emerged from the crowd and slid over. "Yes, Darlin?"
"How are we doing, Doc?" Shenda asked as she patted Nana's shoulder in thanks.
"I'll start handing out rations and water," Nana said as she walked away. She stopped by the port bulkhead and opened the emergency bins with help from the uninjured.
"No serious injuries, Captain," the doctor reported. "What were those things?"
"Ecoformer bots," Chasm said with a deep, troubled frown. "They were supposed to create a new home for my people. I am so sorry..." he said, not even noticing he was talking to someone who resembled a six-foot tall snarl of tentacles.
"I saw what you did out there, throwing your ship against that behemoth. Your actions probably saved thousands of station folk. You're a damn hero in my book," she said while putting a tentacle on his shoulder.
He returned the gesture by putting his hand on it and patting it. "Thank you, but it wasn't enough. I have to find a way to kill that thing before anyone else is hurt." He looked up at Shenda. "May I join you on the bridge?"
"Yes, of course. This way," she said as Doc returned to her patients.
As they made their way through the corridors filled with refugees, Shenda asked, "Doc said something about a ship?"
"The Ecoformer Harvest Moon. Five miles long, a mile wide at the center, and powered by three antimatter generators. Using its bots and satellites, it can turn a lifeless planet the size of Earth or Ventos Prime into a class M planet in under one hour. My mission was to meet it at a planet called Keystone to prepare it for colonization. Something has gone horribly wrong. None of this was supposed to happen."
"Easy boss, it isn't your fault. Something must have happened when it left Crystal," Ruby told Chasm with worry in her voice.
"Crystal?" Shenda asked.
"The home world of the elves," Chasm explained.
They walked onto the bridge, and everyone stopped and sta
red at Chasm. "Hello, there, tall, dark, and handsome," Connie said as she gave him a once over. Are there any more like you at home?"
Chasm looked at her and replied, "No. I am the only one of my kind. I was purpose built for one task and one task only: Ecoform Keystone."
Jaws dropped around the bridge.
"What did you say?" Shenda asked in a whisper.
"I am a genetically engineered life form. My DNA was assembled in a lab and I was gestated in in an artificial womb. I was 'born' two years ago at a biological age of thirty Standard years and have been in cryosleep for the last year," he said as if he were reciting a shopping list. "My mission is plarked. I must now destroy Harvest Moon, and along with it, the elves’ chance at creating a new home."
"You had me at genetically engineered," Shenda said, her tail twisting up over her shoulder.
"Shenda!" Bree said, while pointing to the younger elfling's tail.
"Oh! Oh my," she said as she pulled the offending appendage down and wrapped it around her waist.
The rest of her crew giggled.
Chasm just frowned, not understanding what had just happened.
"Ruby," he asked over the SAC. "Am I missing something?"
"Yes, but don't worry about it. It will become clear in due time. Now, sit down and talk to Shenda about her father. We need to know more so we can save him."
"Right." He sat down on the floor next to the hatch and stared at the viewer.
"Connie, ETA to the Cube?"
"Eight hours minimum. Adaira's down in the engine room trying to fix one of the sub-processor units."
"Perhaps Ruby can be of some assistance," Chasm said as part of his gauntlet separated and ran up to sit on his shoulder.
"I'm real good with drive systems," she offered.
Shenda looked at Bree who shrugged before activating the intercom. "Adaira, I'm sending down someone who can give you a hand. She's not from around here."
