“We need to get off GT 4,” he told her. “We can’t use the shuttle service. Cameron will have guards waiting for us.”
“Director Liu accused me of stealing his card keys. You took them, didn’t you?”
He admitted that he had. “I used them for access to a special floor.” His eyes turned to the immense glass spire rising in the center of the city. “What I found there is why they want to kill me — us.”
“Do you want to tell me? I deserve to know.”
Kinsolving considered. Telling Lark did nothing to further jeopardize her. If Cameron or his robot hunters caught her now, they would kill her. The more who know of the Stellar Death Plan, the better the chance of stopping it.
“Someone — maybe all the directors — has worked out a plan to destroy entire alien populations.”
“Why?”
Kinsolving shook his head. This went against the teachings of every instructor in college. Earth had adopted a policy of accepting its second-rate place in galactic society — temporarily. By work and application and learning to live with the scores of other, alien intelligent races Earth might rise and take its place as an equal.
That was what he’d been taught. That was what Barton Kinsolving believed.
“I’ve heard Humbolt say that the aliens are intentionally holding Earth back, keeping us a minor power.”
“It seems that way at times,” Lark said. “But there are so many of them and so few of us, why should they?”
“Exactly. We’re a nuisance, but not a threat. We’re the brash newcomer who has to find a spot to fit in. I don’t think any of the aliens seek to destroy us. They hardly even know we exist.”
“What’s the plan to get rid of them?”
“It’s ruthless and dangerous,” said Kinsolving, going cold inside. He hugged Lark tighter without realizing that he did so. “Humbolt has been pirating rare earths from the mines on Deepdig. After he fixed the records to show smaller liftings, the rare earths are sent to an assembly plant. I don’t know where.” Kinsolving heaved a sigh. “I thought at first their plan was just to rob the Lorr of taxes. It’s more. The plants use cerium to build electronic devices that act like drugs do on humans.”
“You don’t mean these will help the aliens enjoy themselves?” asked Lark. She frowned. Kinsolving took that as a good sign. The woman understood.
“The devices are illegal. Humbolt and the others smuggle them in to planets like Zeta Orgo 4, the natives use them and become helplessly addicted. Eventually the device burns out their brains. I got the hint that it might even induce others near the unit to use it more until they, too, died, their brains turned to charcoal.”
“This doesn’t sound illegal as much as it does immoral,” said Lark.
“The devices are engineered to addict and destroy. Imagine allowing the sale of drugs that only killed.”
“This still doesn’t seem that bad,” said Lark. “The aliens don’t have to use any gadget, much less the ones furnished by Humbolt.”
“I think they do. The evidence I saw in the files is sketchy but the simple operation of the machine is addictive. Anyone within a few meters needs more stimulation. And then more and more until the brain is physically short-circuited.”
“What would the aliens do if they found out about this?”
“I don’t know. Among their own people, they might send them off to that prison world.” Kinsolving spoke without a quaver in his voice. “If they think there is a concerted effort by the part of IM employees — or Interstellar Materials itself — the consequences might be dire. They might decide to destroy Gamma Tertius 4.”
“The entire planet?”
“Most of the alien races have that power.” Kinsolving swallowed hard. “They might decide that Earth is the cause and destroy it.”
“Maybe it’s better if we don’t tell anyone,” suggested Lark. “If the aliens find out … ”
“Is it better to let Humbolt and the others destroy billions of intelligent people for the sake of their xenophobia?”
“No,” she answered. “How can we stop them? I mean, I’m no crusader. I don’t want to do this, but it’s so … wrong.”
“We’ve got to get off GT 4,” Kinsolving said. “How, I can’t say. It wouldn’t do to steal a shuttle, even if we could. I’m sure that there are defensive weapons in orbit around the planet. If Humbolt is crazy enough to think all the aliens want to destroy mankind, he’s crazy enough to defend against a threat that doesn’t exist.”
Kinsolving held Lark even tighter as a blast of cold wind gusted around a rocky precipice. What would they do, even if they succeeded in getting to orbit? Locking the Nightingale would be too simple to do. Cameron might have overlooked deactivating Kinsolving’s identicard and flagging it in the company computer, but that had been a small oversight. Cameron wouldn’t make many more — if any.
“We can stow away,” Lark said. “Oh, this might be fun! You see it all the time in the tri-vid dramas. We stow away, get into orbit and then find a starship to stow away in.”
The woman made it sound so simple.
“Launch mass is carefully measured,” he told her. “We might be able to get to orbit but the Nightingale will be … watched.”
“You mean locked and off limits.” Lark sighed. “I love that ship. We’ve done so much together. But I imagine Daddy can get it back. All he has to do is ask.”
“You make that sound easy.”
“I’ve gone off with friends before and left the Nightingale. Then Daddy sends someone to ferry it to another planet. We always manage to make connections.” Lark giggled like a small girl. “We can do it that way. Let Daddy worry about the Nightingale.”
“What do we do once we get into orbit? I’ve got an idea on that score, but — ”
“Oh, that’s not hard. We just wait for Rani. She’d give us a free ride anywhere we want. She owes me. Besides,” Lark said in a harsher tone, “she obviously wants you. That’s all my fault, I suppose. I shouldn’t have told her how much fun you are.”
“Rani,” he said. Kinsolving’s mind raced. The dark-haired woman and her friends would be in custody by now. “Is she someone important?”
“Rani duLong? I should say so. Her brother is chief executive officer of TerraComp.’’
Kinsolving shook his head. TerraComp wasn’t the largest Earth-based computer manufacturer but its market gave it incredible potential. He couldn’t see Humbolt risking the life of the sister of TerraComp’s CEO.
Besides, what had Rani done? She used a few card keys to run around IM headquarters, nothing more. It had all been a part of the anniversary party fun and games. Cameron wouldn’t kill Rani or Dinky or the other two — he would just escort them off-planet.
Immediately.
“We’ve got to get to the Landing Authority, right now!” Kinsolving exclaimed. “I used Rani to create a diversion while I freed you. Humbolt and Villalobos will deport Rani without hesitation, anniversary party be damned. When they do, we’ve got to be ready.”
“For what?” asked Lark.
Kinsolving had no answer. But when the opportunity presented itself, they had to be alert enough to take it.
“I can’t walk another micron, Bart. I don’t know why you’re torturing me like this.”
“There wasn’t any way we could use public transportation without being noticed,” he explained again to the complaining woman. “My identicard is flagged by now. And so is yours.”
“Nonsense. My credit’s good. Always has been. Oh, you mean Cameron would use it to trace us. I don’t see why that’s so bad. He knows we’re heading for the LA.”
Kinsolving had to admit Lark had a point. Simply hiding in the city gained him nothing. They had to leave Gamma Tertius 4 or be caught eventually. All Cameron needed to do was cordon off the Landing Authority and wait. Sooner or later they would blunder into the guards and be taken.
Kinsolving smiled wickedly. Catching them wouldn’t be that easy. He had learned
much.
He sobered. Too much rested on his escape. Humbolt had to be stopped before the mind-burn device was sent to alien worlds like Zeta Orgo 4. Discovery by the aliens might mean the destruction of Earth, but Kinsolving didn’t want entire populations of alien planets to be destroyed, either. How he could walk this tightwire he didn’t know.
But he had to try.
“The LA isn’t fenced,” he said. “There’s no need because everyone coming here is on company business.”
“GTs hardly the garden and vacation spot of the universe,” Lark said dryly.
Kinsolving watched as robotic sniffers worked on every vehicle entering the main entrance. At points surrounding the launch site robot hunters patrolled. He saw occasional metallic glints off heavy body casing and whiplike antennae. Getting past them would be impossible.
Getting past the sniffers would merely be difficult.
“Barton, look. Isn’t that Cameron?”
Lark pointed to a vehicle waiting in the line for admittance to the LA. The vehicle immediately behind had four people huddled into the rear. Kinsolving recognized Dinky’s head and assumed the other three were Rani, Morganna and Chakki.
He jerked hard on her hand and they walked briskly along the path paralleling the roadway. Kinsolving maneuvered around so that Cameron would have to crane about in his seat to see all that happened in the vehicle behind. Stooping, he picked up a large rock and handed it to Lark. She started to ask what he was doing. He gestured for silence, them came up beside the driver and tapped on the window.
“What is it?” demanded the driver.
“Those Mr. Cameron’s prisoners?” Kinsolving asked.
“Who’re you?”
“Landing Authority clearance,” Kinsolving said, “Open the door, will you?”
“You don’t look like an official,” the man said, opening his door. “Let me check with Cameron.”
He never got any farther. Lark hit him with the rock Kinsolving had given her. Kinsolving pushed the man back into the vehicle and stripped off his jacket. Time crushed down heavily on him. His fingers felt as if they had turned into stubby sausage. He was sure that Cameron would turn around and see what happened behind. Already the line of vehicles began to move.
“There,” he said triumphantly, getting the jacket off the guard. Kinsolving slipped into it, wincing as seams split on the too-small garment. He grabbed the front of the man’s shirt and heaved, tossing him out and onto the path alongside the roadway. In a few minutes, he would either recover or be noticed.
By then Kinsolving hoped to be in space.
“What’s going on?” came Rani’s curious voice. “Why, it’s you, Barton. And Lark! Oh, this is ever so exciting. You didn’t lie when you said it was all — ”
“Quiet!” Kinsolving snapped. “Keep quiet until we’re in orbit.”
“They’re taking us to our ships,” said Rani. “Are you two going to stow away on the von Neumann?” Kinsolving nodded. “Photonic! Lark, dear, we’re going to be the envy of everyone when we tell them about this. Escape from brutal guards on Gamma Tertius 4!”
Kinsolving edged the vehicle forward, keeping his head down when Cameron turned and pointed at them. Cameron gunned his vehicle and shot forward, toward a shuttle readying for launch. Kinsolving pulled even with the guards. The robotic sniffers emitted shrill warnings.
“Wait,” the guard said as Kinsolving started to accelerate through. “The alarms went off.”
“Of course they did, idiot,” snapped Kinsolving. “Mr. Cameron told you that these people were being shipped out, didn’t he? Deported?”
“Yes, but — ”
“They’re all in the computer as undesirables. You should worry if there wasn’t an alarm sounded.”
“He said there were four. I count five back there.”
“You misunderstood him. Look, Mr. Cameron’s a very impatient man, if you know what I mean. You call him back to verify something this minor, you take the blame.”
The guard looked across the tarmac toward the shuttle. Cameron had already started to pace. He presented the perfect picture of a man ready to explode in anger. The guard motioned Kinsolving through without another word.
“Simply photonic!” cried Rani duLong. “Lark, this is wonderful. Wait until Tia and Pierre hear about our adventure!”
“What are you going to do now?” asked Lark, more concerned than her friend about Cameron.
“Keep in motion. No matter what, keep moving. You and the others get out and then run. Get into the shuttle. I’ll be along in a hurry. When I do, we’ve got to launch. See if you can convince the pilot about that.”
“Sounds like an interesting challenge,” said Lark.
Kinsolving drove at high speed, then killed the repulsor field suddenly. The vehicle hit the pavement, slewed and sent up a curtain of sparks. Cameron bellowed in anger as he sprinted to get out of the careening car’s path. Kinsolving’s vehicle crashed into Cameron’s and came to a noisy stop. Kinsolving gestured wildly, urging the others to speed. Lark followed instructions and herded them out and up the gangway into the shuttle.
Barton Kinsolving wondered what he ought to do now. In hand-to-hand combat he was no match for Cameron. Although the man didn’t seem to have a robot hunter with him, he might be armed. Kinsolving couldn’t stand against that.
Kinsolving cast a worried glance up and saw Lark waving from the shuttle air lock. Cameron had drawn the bulky tube from inside his jacket and stalked toward the downed repulsor vehicle.
Kinsolving waited, estimated, waited until he thought his heart would explode, then savagely twisted the repulsor field starter switch. The engine circuits overloaded and shut down almost instantly, but not before the vehicle lifted toward Cameron.
The front of the vehicle struck the man a glancing blow. Cameron screamed and triggered the weapon he held. The aluminum side of the car vanished in a flare of heat and a rain of molten droplets. Kinsolving abandoned the vehicle and scurried up the shuttle gangway, sometimes on hands and knees.
Lark dragged him into the air lock. Kinsolving spun around and sat down heavily. The last sight he had of the GT Landing Authority was Cameron lying facedown on the tarmac, his energy weapon a meter from his outflung hand.
“We did it!” cried Lark.
Kinsolving nodded numbly. The shuttle jerked as the heavy laser buried under the surface began pulsing, lifting them ever higher with every new lightning bolt of energy. They would be in orbit quickly.
What then? They hadn’t yet escaped from Cameron. Kinsolving wouldn’t believe it until they shifted into hyperspace.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“They’ll stop us,” said Barton Kinsolving. “I know they will. Cameron’s not dead. Humbolt beamed out the message.” He wrung his hands and sent himself tumbling head over heels in the zero gravity. The shuttle had launched and found its orbit, but Kinsolving worried over the turmoil on the planet below.
“We might not have much time,” agreed Lark Versalles, “but we have enough to get to the Nightingale.”
“No!”
“Why not?” she said petulantly. “I don’t want to simply leave it here. I’ve done that too many times. Daddy is going to get mad.”
Kinsolving’s mind raced. “The orbiting defense system,” he said. “We’ve got to get away from GT as quickly as possible. I’m sure that Cameron alerted the defense guards to laser the Nightingale if we try to get in.”
“You’re welcome to come with me,” came a sultry voice. Kinsolving caught a stanchion and held himself in position to see Rani duLong floating in a hatchway. Her billowing skirt floated seductively around her thighs — an effect she worked hard to achieve.
“Am I invited, too?” Lark asked caustically.
“Of course you are, dear. It might be even more fun if the three of us are together.”
“Perhaps not,” sniffed Lark.
“Your ship.”
“The von Neumann,” said Rani.
“First on this taxi’s route,” she assured Kinsolving. “We can shift out of the system within, oh, a few hours.”
“It takes that long for you to power up?” he asked, astounded. Lark’s starship had been fully automated and virtually ran itself.
“Not really. That’s the time I’m supposed to take to be sure everything is operational. My brother got mad at me once when I tried taking off too quickly. I did something to the engine. I don’t know what. That’s hardly my field.”
“There’s a safety override?” pressed Kinsolving.
“I suppose. I’m sure that you can figure out how to turn it off. You’re so … capable.” Rani rotated slowly, her skirt flaring around her body as she moved.
“Let’s get to your starship as quickly as possible,” said Kinsolving. The pressure of time sent his pulse racing. Every instant he thought might be their last. Cameron wouldn’t take their escape easily. Turning this shuttle and everyone aboard into superheated plasma might not be company policy, but Kinsolving doubted if many of the directors of Interstellar Materials would complain.
Certainly Kenneth Humbolt, Villalobos and Liu would say nothing. And how many of the others were privy to the diabolical Plan?
“Docking in five,” came the pilot’s voice over the intercom. “Prepare for docking in five minutes.”
“I’ll need all my cases,” said Rani. A frown marred her perfect features. “That silly Mr. Cameron didn’t load them. I don’t remember it. Oh, damn!”
“Don’t worry," Lark said sweetly. “All your clothing is so out of style that it’s better off left behind.”
“What about Dinky and the other two?” cut in Kinsolving. “Are they going to be all right?”
“The shuttle will take them to their ships. Imagine being thrown off a planet like Gamma Tertius 4,” said Rani. “The indignity.” She smiled widely. “The utter thrill of it!”
Kinsolving saw that Rani, like Lark, spent her time seeking new sensations, new diversions. He had worked hard all his life. Simply having a job when so many on Earth didn’t had been fulfilling for him. Lark and Rani were rich beyond his wildest, most avaricious dreams. For a moment he wondered how he would enjoy such immense wealth, money that allowed him to do as he pleased, roam where he would, see the galaxy firsthand.
The Stellar Death Plan (Masters of Space Book 1) Page 18
