by Frank Carey
"Go there, of course."
"You're cleared for emergency launch at your convenience."
"Thanks..." He stopped when Losira pulled his sleeve and mouthed, "I'm coming."
"Thanks, Ciara. Losira's coming with me as a medic. We'll leave as soon as I can get an emergency kit together and preflight Magog.
"Copy that. I'll file a direct-line flight plan between here and Vodalorn. Marta and Royce have diverted Searcher. They will rendezvous with you at Vodalorn. Let me know what happens. Ciara out."
"Let's go," Harm said, grabbing his duster and hat off the rack near the door. "We can call in for supplies on our way to the docks. Need to pick-up anything?"
Losira shook her head as she called the infirmary to arrange for a delivery of emergency supplies to the Magog. She followed Harm out of the lab, turning off the lights behind her.
###
Harm set the autopilot before heading back to the cargo bay to make a final check of the emergency supplies they had loaded right before launch. Losira walked in and looked around. "Nice. I haven't seen this ship before."
"I call her Magog. She's designed to be the ultimate smuggling ship." Harm grabbed a clipboard from the top of an equipment pile and checked-off items on the list. The ship's radio took this moment to chime. "Incoming priority message.”
“Losi, could you get it?"
"I'm on it," she replied. She headed to the front while Harm continued his inventory. Though outwardly calm, he was terrified of what his sister would tell him when she returned. He hated not knowing, but he feared finding out that much more.
He was closing-up when she returned. "That was Ciara. Still no word about the survivors yet."
Harms heart fell.
Losira continued, "Searcher will arrive about the time we and the Heart of Sokuhl do. They also got a reply from the Tench. They are aware of the situation and want you to check-in when we arrive."
"Yeah, I figured that would happen," he said.
"You know them?"
"Yeah, I delivered medical supplies to Vodalorn a few years ago. They wanted everything kept on the QT."
"I never heard of them."
"The Tench are distant cousins of the Storens. Unlike the Storens, the Tench are a little twitchy."
"Twitchy?"
"Paranoid."
"Oh."
"And they're about a foot shorter than a typical Storen, so they're nervous around taller, larger species."
"Even a lithe, statuesque elf queen?"
"Nah. They'll love you."
"You are so sweet. Listen, any problem with me using the computer system for a while. I have some work to do."
"No problem at all. We've got six hours before we arrive, so I was planning on boning-up on Vodalorn."
"Thanks," she said as she headed forward.
Harm retrieved his tea from a counter and sat down at a terminal, quickly getting to work while fighting his rising worry about Shenda's fate.
Chapter Twenty
Shenda looked up and down the corridor to make sure she was alone before typing her dad's access code into the control pad at the side of the door. She watched nervously as the red light blinked, but sighed with relief when the light went green and the door clicked, signaling it was open. With one final look around, Shenda opened the door and stepped inside.
The lights came on as the door latched behind her. Around her were mostly terminals of various configurations with single and dual-screen being the most prevalent. She walked over to her father's private terminal—the one with a dashboard hula girl attached to the top of one screen—and activated it. Sitting down, she typed in another access code, taking her to an area where she could search her father's numerous log files.
"This Cube never ceases to amaze me," Cleth said as he materialized. Shenda looked up and saw the being sitting on a countertop sipping liquid from the hollowed out horn of some beast. For all she knew, the liquid was blood from some hapless passerby. "Look at all this information available with a few simple keystrokes."
Cleth was right. The Cube Research Center stored copies of every byte of information collected by League researchers, citizens, and administrators. A copy of the vast League database was maintained on the Cubes almost infinite computer system while updating it on a continuous basis.
"Tell me, again, what they do here?" Cleth asked.
"Research into the unknown. Sometimes a freighter crew will bring back something space command can't handle, so they bring it here for study and disarmament, assuming it's a weapon or something just plain dangerous."
"I thought your dad worked with robots."
"He works with biocybernetic devices and their application in rescue situations."
"Ah, yes, search and rescue. The saving of lives about to expire. How quaint."
"Quaint? You think saving lives is quaint?"
Cleth did not reply. He just stared at her.
She continued her search. Finally, she stopped. "Found something."
Cleth peered over her shoulder as if reading the entry himself.
"Let's see... About a year ago, Dad was on an emergency medical relief mission sponsored by the Sokuhl. He took medical supplies to Vodalorn, a planet on the outskirts of the League between Earth and Ventos Prime... Vodalorans are diminutive relatives of the Storens... Local lore talks about a haunted plateau out in the middle of nowhere...."
"Stop!" Cleth barked. "That's it, that's my planet. We must go there. I have to return to the top of the plateau."
"Wait a minute," Shenda ordered as she cross-referenced the entry with other entries in the database. "That plateau is three miles high, and hundreds of square miles in area. According to papers by the Sokuhl xenoarchaeologist Vermeer, the top of the plateau is obscured by clouds and blanketed by an energy-dampening field. The walls are vertical with no hope of climbing them to get to the top."
"A minor problem which we will fix when we get to Vodalorn. So, how do we get there?"
Shenda typed in more commands. "There's a station orbiting the planet—Station Gamma—run by an Earth-Ventos Prime consortium. Ah, here it is. The LTV Rachel, a short-hauler out of Earth owned by a Tralaskan family and crewed by Tralaskans. They're looking for a first officer for a single run."
"You're not Tralaskan," Cleth pointed out.
"No, but I hold dual Earth-Ventos Prime citizenship, which is perfect for any ship owned by the consortium and making runs between the two planets." She typed more commands. "I just sent them an employment request and my resume. Let's see what happens. What about my sibs?"
"What about them?"
"Do I need them with me when you separate?"
Cleth thought for a moment. "No, we don't need them present. Only your presence is required. You 'contain' me and act as a conduit for the others."
"Great. Who thought this was a good idea?" Shenda asked as the terminal chimed. "The Rachel accepted my application. I need to get to Ventos Prime in a week. I told you."
"Yes, you did. Good work. We must visit here more often."
Shenda looked at him. "Nooo. I don't think so. Security doesn't like civilians accessing secure computer systems to get jobs."
"Oh. Oh well. Should we be leaving?"
"Yeah. Just let me erase our trail, and we'll be on our way." She typed a couple more commands before reaching up and powering-down the terminal. Satisfied, she got up and tapped the hula girl's head before heading out the door. For a brief moment, she looked up in the direction of the video camera hidden in the ceiling. Seeing all was in its place, she walked out, the lights automatically shutting off as she left the room.
###
A week later, Shenda was walking the dock at Earth Station One looking for the LTV Rachel's berth. One of the busiest stations in this part of the League, Station One was host to thousands of souls making their way from one part of the League to another, and all of them seemed to be walking past Shenda at this very moment.
"Ms. Aymar?" a voice said from
the crowd. Shenda looked up and saw an older Tralaskan woman walk up with an extended hand. "Captain Noona Laeterna, commanding officer of the LTV Rachel."
"Shenda Aymar," Shenda replied as she took and shook the captain’s hand. Noona was Shenda's height, in her fifties, with her greying hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"Your resume photo does not do you justice. I have to ask, are you related to Harmon Aymar?"
"He's my father. Will that be a problem?"
"Lord, no. It's just I met him once when he was setting up a bot for my father at Dad's volcano mine. Only time I ever saw a wood-fire powered robot. If memory serves, your father and my father were out drinking when Dad bet your dad that no one could make a wood-powered bot. My dad lost that bet in spades. The damn thing is still running around the mine, belching steam and smoke."
Shenda laughed. "That's my dad. He loves to do the impossible."
"So, tell me about yourself," Capt. Laeterna said as they walked up the dock.
Shenda told the captain about her time in at the academy and her ambition to someday captain her own freighter. She finished her spiel as they walked up to the Rachel's berth. "Well, here she is, the LTV Rachel. Small, agile, and comfortable for her passengers. There's no finer combohauler in the fleet."
Shenda nodded as she looked out the large vista window and ran her gaze over the Rachel's port side. "She looks wonderful, ma’am. What's our load look like this trip?"
"The Rachel is one of the new generations of ship where the crew is modeled after the old airliners of yesteryear. We have a crew of five—Flight Officer, Operations Officer, Cargo Officer, Engineering Officer, and Passenger Attendant. As my first officer, you’ll serve as the operations officer. I will be running flight while you run operations. We have six passengers and a full cargo haul this half of the trip. The passengers are a group of ornithologists heading to Vodalorn for an expedition."
"Does the Rachel go directly to Vodalorn?"
"No. we pick-up and drop-off at the station. A shuttle service moves stuff to and from the planet. The Vodalorans are a little shy of strangers."
"Ever meet one, a Vodaloran that is?"
"Several times. They're just smaller versions of Storens, yet they prefer to deal with the Sokuhl. Go figure. We should get inside and get you squared away."
They headed up the ramp and into the stout ship. Once the captain finished with a tour of the Rachel, she introduced Shenda to the passengers before sending the young elfling off to help with the preflight checklists for the various departments.
The six ornithologists were all elves from one of the smaller Ventosian universities. Shenda was relieved when none of the six recognized her as Princess Shenda, daughter of Prince Lucien Irithyl and inline to the throne of Ventos Prime. Shenda could not fathom why everyone made such a fuss over it, especially since her aunt, Queen Losira, regularly worked at several Ventosian hospitals in her role as a physician. This trip, at least, would be a normal one, one devoid of adventure and drama. She and the captain left the six to their own devices as the two of them went off to see to their duties.
###
As soon as the hatch closed, one of the bird watchers locked it while another pulled out a scanpad and swept the room. "Clear!" he yelled quietly so as not to be heard from the corridor outside. On cue, he and the rest of his group grabbed their duffel bags and zipped them open, revealing a wide assortment of weapons swathed in blue sensor-scrambler fields. Working quickly, the six retrieved their various guns and checked them before laying them out on the room's horizontal surfaces.
"Time check?" one of the birders, we’ll call him Alpha, asked.
"Launch in one hour," the birder, we’ll call him Beta, replied, "then twelve hours to station."
"Very good," Alpha said in acknowledgment. "You all know the plan. The moment they announce final approach to the station, we take the Princess hostage while our ship docks with the Rachel. We then take her to our rendezvous with Lortan who will be waiting in-system. Any questions?"
There was none. The kidnappers finished checking their weapons before returning them to their shielded duffel bags. Squared away, the kidnappers took out books and read while the chrono counted-down to launch.
###
"Operations, status?" the captain asked Shenda.
"All systems show nominal, Captain."
"Make the announcement, Ms. Aymar."
"Aye, Captain," Shenda said as the small ship prepared to finish the shorter leg of its trip. Her calm demeanor belying her inner turmoil. She still hadn't figured out how she was going to get down to the planet, release Cleth, then return to the ship within the twenty-four hours the Rachel would be off-loading and on-loading cargo and passengers.
Her preparations were interrupted by the arrival of four of the ornithologists as they walked onto the bridge with the engineer and attendant in tow.
They were all fully armed with pulse rifles and pistols.
They were wearing black combat gear, and all of them were smiling.
Bolting upright out of her seat, the captain demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"
Alpha shot her in the leg, sending her to the floor. While the attendant, engineer, and cargo officers ran over to help, Shenda walked between the group and the kidnappers. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
"Who we are is unimportant. What we want is you. Now, Princess, unless you want my men to start shooting hostages, you will come with us quietly."
"Come with you where? We're in the middle of empty space, and the Rachel isn't carrying a seven person yacht."
As if to answer her, there was a loud clunk from the starboard side followed by the docking alarm.
"Our ride is here. Come along, Princess."
"Where are we going?"
"To a rendezvous point outside the system. From there you will be taken to a location known only to our employer."
"And the crew of the Rachel?"
"They will be allowed to leave unharmed."
"He's lying through his teeth," Cleth said from his perch on top the helm. Shenda looked in Alpha's eyes and saw the lie there. She reacted.
All the kidnappers’ weapons discharged their power packs simultaneously and completely, killing Alpha and his team instantly. Before Shenda could stop him, Cleth went one-step too far by doing the same thing to the weapons aboard the kidnapper's shuttle.
The small craft exploded, sending shrapnel into the Rachel along with an energy pulse through the docking collar.
The Rachel dropped violently into real-space as the FTL system tripped. Systems across the ship exploded as Vodalorn grew in the forward windscreens. "Shenda, get us into an orbit..." The master alarm sounded, signaling the FTL system was on track to explode. Without even thinking, Shenda reached down, ripped a cover from a red lever embedded in the floor, and pulled the lever up with all her might. The ship lurched as the FTL drive sled separated from the Rachel and headed out into space where it could safely explode. Shenda made a decision. "Abandon ship!" she yelled to the crew gathered around the captain.
"Are you crazy?" the captain yelled back as alarms sounded throughout the ship.
"We're losing structural integrity, and you're hurt. I'm assuming command per merchant space code. Now, get your sorry asses off this ship! I'll follow, as soon as I can get her into a semi-stable orbit."
The engineer picked up the captain and headed to the escape pods with the cargo master and attendant in close pursuit. "I will ship with you anywhere, anytime, captain," he said in passing. Shenda barely nodded while working out the orbital vectors. Moments later, there was an audible thump as one of the Rachel's four pods ejected, taking the crew to safety. "Computer, launch disaster buoy. Launch EPIRB."
"Launch in three... Two... One... Buoy away, EPIRB Away."
"Open channel with station..."
"Working... Unable to comply. Comm system is inoperable."
"Dammit," she hissed as she input a new course and hit the engage button.
>
Nothing happened.
"Computer! Status of navigation system?"
"Automatic controls inoperable. Thruster system inoperable. Real-space drive inoperable..."
"Hold. What is available?"
"Atmospheric control systems are available."
"Computer, status of short-range scanners?" Cleth said from his perch near the Engineer's station.
"Short-range scanners fully operational," the computer replied.
"You can talk to the computer?" Shenda said as they entered the atmosphere. Two Vodaloran fighters appeared and took-up stations to either side of the doomed ship. "Computer, are our navigational marker lights working?"
"Aye, Captain."
"Start flashing S.O.S,"
"Working..."
She looked out the side windows and saw both ships waggle their wings while the pilots gave her a thumbs-up before giving her room to maneuver.
"Of course I can communicate with the computer," Cleth explained. "I just use your voice. Computer, scan for a plateau, height, three miles."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Hey, if life gives you lemons..."
"Working. Large plateau, height three miles, designated as off-limits. Heading, zero-seven-eight degrees, distance eighty miles."
"Can we land on it?" Cleth asked.
"Yes, if approach starts in next thirty-six seconds."
"Vectors, please," Cleth continued.
The computer obliged by putting up the flight path on the main viewer.
"Are you nuts? You want to try a controlled approach in a wrecked ship..."
There was an explosion, the force of which pushed the doomed ship directly onto the preferred flight path. "You were saying?"
Shenda said nothing, as she grabbed the pre-crash checklist and ran it. Their destination grew in the windscreen. Twenty minutes later, the wreck of the LTV Rachel hit the top of the plateau and slid for two miles before coming to an abrupt stop next to a large tree.
Chapter Twenty-One
Harm stood next to the rescue Minotaur suit and ran checks from its back-mounted control panel when he heard Losira scream his name from the Magog's cabin. Dropping what he was doing, he ran forward to find Losira standing in front of a terminal, staring at what was on the screen.
