Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 6)

by Linda Mooney

  “Rumor says the Prai Mer Principle was developed by the Bollians. According to what we know, they claimed they could transport solid and living matter from one location to ano—”

  The engineer paused as everyone realized what he was saying. Kelen saw Kyber glance at her, then exchange looks with the others. Pfeiffer noticed their expressions.

  “What?”

  “Good Lord, it never occurred to me,” Mellori whispered. “I never connected the dots.”

  “What are you talking about?” Williamsburg asked, more forcefully.

  Kelen turned to the lieutenant colonel. “There were platforms there that did just that. They allowed us to transport from one part of the planet to another.”

  Jules went back to the tablet. “Hold on. Let me show you.” He dialed up a still photo of the stone slab from the garden temple. “See that right there? See those colored buttons? We were able to figure out where each one of those buttons led to.”

  Williamsburg went over to examine the holo more closely. Kelen saw him studying the pattern. “There was a slab nearby, about three by three meters in size. If you stood on it and pressed the button, you were teleported to the corresponding location.”

  “If that location was dangerous, all you had to do was remain on the slab and it automatically returned you to your previous location,” Massapa expounded.

  “There was only one exception to our using it,” Cooter continued. “There was a weight limit. Don’t know exactly what that was, but we could only transport one of us at a time.”

  “Wait a minute. Wait a minute.” Fullgrath held up his hands. “Sorry. I don’t get what all the fuss is about. So we found a way to transport ourselves from one place to another. What’s the big deal? We got teleporters all over the place.”

  It was Mellori who answered him. “Yes, we do. But those are used mainly for packages and whatnot. They aren’t used for live cargo. And definitely not to send anything from one planet to another. Plus, we aren’t able to send anything over such a vast distance, much less through space itself.”

  The weapons master grunted. “We weren’t sent to another planet.”

  “How do we know that for certain?” Massapa countered.

  The implication left them speechless. After a few moments of contemplation, Kleesod spoke up. “We later found some of the panels destroyed, like someone was deliberately sabotaging them to prevent us from using them.”

  Baffrey addressed Jules. “Do you have any other photos of those panels?”

  “I have several. I took pictures of each one we encountered.” He began randomly flipping through the shots when Pfeiffer suddenly shouted.

  “Whoa, whoa. Back up. What was that previous picture of?” the colonel demanded.

  Jules reversed the flow one photo at a time until he was ordered to stop. It was the pile of skeletons they’d found in the nonagon. The colonel pointed to the holo again, turning around to look at them. “What are those? Are those skeletal remains?”

  “We found those in one of the locations,” Cooter offered.

  Sandow chimed in. “Someone had piled up the bodies. We don’t know who did it. And there was no way I could decipher the cause of their deaths.”

  Pfeiffer hurried over to his desk and hit the computer’s audio button. “Computer, voice verification.”

  “Verification matched. Hello, Colonel Pfeiffer. How can I help you?”

  “Display only known photo of a Bollian. Include physical description.”

  A picture appeared in midair. Kelen gasped in surprise. Her shock was echoed by the others.

  It was the holo of a two-armed, bipedal humanoid, approximately one meter in height.

  And its head was undeniably cubical in shape.

  Chapter 21

  Implication

  The little square-headed people.

  Kelen remained numb as the realization that the remains of the people they’d found on Neverwylde belonged to a species known as Bollians. A species that, presumably, had managed to conquer time and space. She whirled around to stare at the others standing behind her.

  “We’ve been blind all this time. We thought Five and his people were responsible for the teleportation slabs, but they weren’t. They created the glyphs and dug the tunnels. Hoov and its people migrated from the volcanic side of the planet to the ice side, but we’d assumed they’d done so via the panels because of their intelligence. We were wrong. It was the Bollians. The Bollians created all that technology.”

  “But the Bollians were not native to Neverwylde,” Gaveer reminded them. “They had crashed there.”

  “What is their home planet?” Jules sked.

  Mellori held out his hands. “The stories say their home world was destroyed eons ago, but they managed to flee before that occurred. They’re nomads, roaming space.”

  “So what you’re implying is the Seneecians are trying to keep these transport panels a secret from everyone else?” Fullgrath summarized.

  “If they can transport living beings over vast distances, especially between planets, it would revolutionize everything,” Sandow explained. “Just imagine, sending an infinite number of troops to besiege a planet.”

  “If the Seneecians were able to do that, think of what kind of dominance they could command,” Cooter added.

  “There would still be the factor of landing planetside,” Massapa noted. “They would need to set up a landing platform on that world.”

  Kyber looked at his crewmember. “True, unless a shuttle was outfitted with one of those panels. Send a handful of those specially-equipped shuttles all over the planet, and thousands upon thousands of troops could infiltrate that world.”

  Baffrey cleared his throat. “I believe everyone here is overlooking the forest for the trees.” He started to say more when Dox broke in.

  “Lots more there.”

  Kelen and the others turned their attention to him. At the same time, the major snorted with laughter. “The isotope must have read my mind. You are focusing on those transport portals and completely forgetting about the fact that there could be a hell of a lot more on that world in the way of technology and who knows what else. We’re only scratching the paint off this ship. We have no idea what’s beneath.”

  “Dox, what else did you see, if anything, that you might have recognized?” Kyber softly asked the young man.

  Dox gave a little one-shoulder shrug. “Parts. Nothing whole. Nothing working. Needs repair. Needs repowering.”

  “Yet you managed to take a piece of equipment from that stockpile and make a transmitter out of it,” Mellori pointed out. “Was that piece of equipment originally part of a communications console, Dox?”

  “No. Part of a soynus booster.”

  “A what? A soynus booster? What’s a soynus booster?” Mellori saw their confused expressions and shook his head. “I’m not familiar with the term.”

  “Soynus,” Dox repeated. “Synecular Neural Schematics.”

  Mellori instantly reacted. “Oh, sweet Jesus. Are you freaking kidding me?”

  “What is he talking about, Lieutenant?” Pfeiffer demanded.

  The engineer ran a visibly nervous hand over his face. “We’ve heard of Synecular Neural Schematics for several years. Always hush-hush, to the point where it’s pretty much brushed off as hearsay. Pure fiction.” He tapped Dox on the arm to get the young man’s attention again. “Dox, are you certain that box was intended to be a soynus booster?”

  “Ninety-seven percent certain,” Dox replied with flat confidence.

  “You still haven’t explained to me… Hold on.” Pfeiffer returned to his desk. “Computer!”

  “Yes, Colonel. How can I help you?”

  “Definition. Soynus booster. Synecular Neural Schematics.”

  “A term used to describe a weapon where any living body can be used as a weapon. Generally considered to be imaginary or a construct of fiction, as no proof of such a weapon has been produced to confirm its existence.”

>   “Computer, what would the booster, if it existed, be able to do?”

  “Such a booster could make all living tissue explode.”

  Kelen stood there, as did everyone else, unable to comprehend such a weapon. It was Kyber who asked, “Colonel, ask the computer if the booster would have to be directed at a person for them to explode.”

  “Computer, answer the previous question.”

  “No. The person would only have to be within range of its signal to make it explode.”

  “And what would be the range of this weapon?”

  “Presumably, four hundred thousand kilometers.”

  An icy chill went through her. Four hundred thousand kilometers? “That means a ship would only have to be in orbit around a planet in order to aim the booster at every living creature and wipe them out,” she whispered.

  “Imagine a species with the capability of being able to transport themselves to a planet, and then wipe out the entire population with a minimum of energy,” Cooter muttered.

  “And remember,” Mellori noted, “we’re only speaking of two pieces of technology. Two, where there could be hundreds more like it on Neverwylde.”

  Her legs could no longer hold her up. Kelen dropped to the floor as her mind tried to imagine the implications of what they had just discovered. A few meters away, Mellori prodded Dox.

  “Dox, could you tell if the booster had been used? Or had been damaged?”

  “Used, no. Damaged, yes.”

  “How was it damaged? Could you tell?”

  Again, the one-shoulder shrug. “No longer worked, but still had boosting components, so took it. Adapted it.” It was probably the longest sentence Kelen had ever heard the little man say.

  Another, stronger chill went through her, to where her body shuddered. If not for Dox’s incredible intelligence, they could have been using a previously fictitious weapon with disastrous results.

  Colonel Pfeiffer sat in his chair. Kelen suspected he did so before his own legs went out from under him. After musing over these recent revelations, the man checked his monitor, then leaned back to address them.

  “We have a couple of hours before the Kergocian ship arrives. I suggest we take a break.” He gave them all a stern eye. “I hope I don’t have to remind you that everything we’ve discussed and discovered today will not be taken outside of this office. You’re dismissed.”

  They slowly filed out of the room, all except for Williamsburg and Baffrey, who remained inside with the colonel. As they headed for the elevators, Kyber took her hand.

  “I am without words,” he admitted.

  “I can relate.”

  The elevator doors opened, and everyone got in except for Fullgrath, Sandow, and the two of them. Kyber leaned over. “We never got to finish our meal. Would you like to go back to the mess hall and have that dessert you wanted?”

  Kelen nodded. “Sounds good.”

  “I would also like some dessert,” he confessed.

  They took the next car down to their level and exited. Fullgrath and Sandow promised to see them later and entered their rooms. Kyber continued down the hallway, but as soon as the others had gone into their apartments, and their doors had closed behind them, he turned around, guiding Kelen along with his hand to her back. She started to ask him if he’d changed his mind, when she realized where they were actually going and why.

  She smiled, and was still smiling when he swept her into their room and into his arms for a passionate kiss.

  Chapter 22

  Ultimatum

  Her body continued to sing from the aftermath of her last orgasm. She would swear she could feel her blood racing through her blood vessels, leaving her toes and the tips of her fingers tingling.

  Kelen breathed in Kyber’s musky scent and burrowed her nose deeper into the soft, short curls covering his chest. She noted that his pelt was no longer coarse. Since their rescue, they had begun their recovery. Along with ample food, rest, and no longer being stressed with trying to survive on a minute-by-minute basis, they were healing mentally, physically, and emotionally.

  Yes, she knew it wasn’t over. There remained the problem with Kyber and his crew reporting back to Seneecia. Eventually, they would have to face whatever consequences remained because they dared to declare a truce between themselves and the Terran survivors without the permission of the Seneecian Triumvirate.

  As for herself and the remaining crew of the Manta, at some point they would need to be debriefed. Then, inevitably, they would be reassigned to a new ship. If any of them were lucky, a couple of them might discover themselves placed on the same docket, but chances were still slim, considering the number of warships in the fleet.

  “You are no longer relaxed,” a voice lovingly accused. “All that work for nothing.”

  She laughed softly as he kissed the top of her head. “I was thinking about the fate of the crew. What’s awaiting them. What’ll happen to them once all this is over.”

  “You are thinking about us all being split up, correct?”

  Tilting her head back, she looked up into his green gaze. “We’ve been through more together these past few months than most crews do in a lifetime of service. We work well together. We mesh. We have each other’s back, no matter how much crap is thrown at us. I just hate…” She shook her head and tried to stifle the tears that threatened to come.

  Kyber kissed her forehead. “You detest the thought of having to split up. I can commiserate. At least they are being given a short reprieve from that when they go back to investigate Neverwylde.”

  She agreed. “That’s something to be grateful for.”

  “D’har Kyber.” It was a voice they didn’t recognize.

  Kyber reached overhead to hit the comm button. “Kyber here.”

  “Colonel Pfeiffer needs you and Lieutenant Chambliss on the Bridge ASAP.”

  “On our way.”

  They untangled themselves, quickly re-dressing before heading for the elevators. Along the way, Kelen combed through her hair with her fingers and quickly re-braided it.

  When they exited onto the Main Bridge, they were immediately surrounded by what Kelen always thought of as organized chaos—a flurry of activity soaked in tension and purpose. Colonel Pfeiffer stood in the center of the room. They joined him in facing the huge viewscreen and the enormous Seneecian warship that hovered in its center. Kelen glanced up at Kyber.

  “That doesn’t look like the Den Tirim.”

  “It is the Var Yuheri,” he told her.

  “And captained by D’har Stek,” the colonel informed them, turning to face them. “I just cut communications with them before you arrived. We may have a situation on our hands.”

  “Has the Den Tirim arrived?” Kelen asked.

  Pfeiffer shook his head. “No, but the Aju Abalis has. It’s hovering on our northern pole.”

  “What is the problem?” Kyber requested.

  “D’har Stek is demanding, not requesting, demanding your immediate return to his ship, including your men.” He looked at Kelen. “And also the Terran crewmembers who associated with you. We were even given a list of your names.”

  “They have no legal jurisprudence over us while we’re here,” Kelen noted. “Do they?”

  “We are neutral ground,” Pfeiffer told her. “Under the terms of our treaty with the Bakkite Grand Council, we can only turn you over to Terran authorities.” He eyed Kyber. “Same goes for you and your men, Kyber. We can only turn you over to Seneecian authorities.”

  “Then why are they demanding our return?” Kelen inquired. “Have you told them you can’t hand us over to them without an okay from Terran officials?”

  “It would seem they don’t care about the treaty. They’ve given us forty-two minutes to comply.”

  “Before what?” Kyber requested.

  “By that time the other four warships, including the Den Tirim, will have arrived. And from what we can gather…” The colonel called out to one of his men. “Corporal Beedem,
throw up that diagram on the main screen again.”

  The viewscreen went blank and was replaced by a representation of Outpost Delta Six. Sitting almost directly above it was a bright red dot. Another red dot hovered off port, approximately in the middle. But what got their attention were four more blinking red dots that appeared to be converging on the space station. From their trajectory, once they arrived, a ship would be at the south end, with the other three surrounding them. In effect, the outpost would be completely surrounded.

  “Did D’har Stek say what they would do if you refused to obey?” Kyber questioned.

  “All he said was that I would be held responsible for the penalty.”

  Kelen grimaced. “In short, they’re going to fire on the outpost. They can’t do that!”

  “Obviously, they believe they can, if they have the Triumvirate’s permission,” Kyber countered.

  “But that’s against intergalactic law!”

  Pfeiffer gave her a worried look. “We are within two parsecs of Seneecian space. They could fire on us, inflicting so much damage to this outpost that all lives could be lost, and be back in their home territory before any troops arrive to aide us. And if we send our warships over to their sector, they could meet us—”

  “Initiating an all-out war,” Kyber finished “What is the latest on the Kergocian ship? Has it arrived?”

  “It docked less than half an hour ago. I was on my way to greet Egok Moad when I was summoned here.” The colonel glanced at them both. “I told D’har Stek I was willing to hand you and Kelen over, as official representatives of both races, but he refused. It’s all of you, or else. I’m sorry.”

  Kyber sighed heavily. “I cannot risk the lives of your people, Colonel. I will discuss this with the rest of our crewmembers.”

  “Colonel Pfeiffer, doesn’t this outpost have enough firepower to counter the Seneecians’ attack?” Kelen questioned.