T-47 Book II (Saxon Saga 6)

by Frederick Gerty

  Yeah, right, Lori thought, but seeing him waiting, she said, “How is the protection device activated? Who does so? Who will know of it, and how to activate it?”

  “The overall control is in the hands of the Council of Elders, who determine at any given time who is charged with monitoring and activation of the device. Actual activation is automatic, given the code, by the ATC computers. Once activated, it cannot be canceled without re-programing, which codes are also in the hands of the Council of Elders. It is the way all such devices are managed.”

  “Does the code go off-world? Is it portable, or easily removed from the Council’s control?” Now she was getting specific, and they knew of her concerns.

  “It remains at all times on Florez, and is not for sale or barter under any circumstances.”

  “What of military hagazzii which venture off world, away from Florez? Is the device removed, or rendered inactive?”

  Several of the elders conferred, once looking over at the bigboy, and one said, “That is not possible, the device becomes integral to the system of the hagazzii itself.”

  “Has the device ever been deployed against the hagazzii of Florez off world?”

  “No.”

  She asked, “And of this meeting, and any decision reached, who will know? What news of the new capabilities of the hagazzii will be public knowledge?”

  “The proceedings of this meeting, unlike the previous two, are sealed, and will be so for the life of the hagazzii.”

  Pleased to hear of that little bit of subterfuge, Lori’s face worked, her lips parting, she licked them once, her armpits now damp, she worried of this thing, this awful kill switch, she wondered in fact if one was already on Eagle One, and that was what was employed against her over the Caribbean, sure acted like that, and if, despite the assurances of the elders, it might be again. Nevertheless, she said, “Very well, if the protective device is integral to the other improvements, and necessary to assure the elders of the good intent of the future operation of the hagazzii Eagle One, the Family Saxon will accept that device, along with all the others here before demonstrated, save only the steering systems and military interior.”

  In her peripheral vision, Lori saw Lumu stand up and immediately sit again, and the others in the room look at one another and bump arms. She thought that was a good sign. It was. The elder said, “Very well, Lorelei Saxon, the council of elders hereby authorizes the requested enhancements to the hagazzii Eagle One, at fees to be determined and agreed upon prior to installation, and at a time of your choosing. So considered, so ordered.”

  “When might we begin?” Lori said.

  “Immediately upon adjournment. Are you prepared to go to the Wallacea Industries site?”

  “I am.”

  “Then you may do so today. The council sits adjourned.”

  Lori, almost in a daze of happiness, tinged with fear, stood as people gathered around her some shaking her hand, Lumu giving her a hug, and the bigboy taking her hand, and mumbling something about honor and courage. She accepted disks from the Elder, the military man, and the weapons woman, who said they contained the authorization for the installations, and to be careful not to lose them. Coffee service arrived, and a bit of a social event began, people asking her and Lumu about the horse riding trip the previous day, and then some aspects of Uta, and the Damai now visiting the planet.

  And within a half an hour, Lori and Eagle One flew up and away to Wallacea Industries, and the new equipment awaiting them there. She inserted each of the disks into her reader, plugged that into Eagle One’s dash, and said, “What do you think of these devices?”

  Various displays ran on the screen in front of her for a while, quick images, patterns, waves and tables, to finally stop with one fringed in orange.

  “This is the kill switch, as you call it. The device will override my control, and independent operation of the air car will cease. We will land, is all.”

  “Is this what hit us on Earth on the night of the attack?”

  “No, that was external, and affected programmed codes, connections, power supply, and others. This is internal, affects only operator and self-control, and cannot be self activated, nor from outside, save by one with a specific code.”

  “It is the cost of the others devices. Are they worth it?”

  “The additions are beneficial, and will enhance safety for you, your passengers, as well as this hagazzii itself. The balance is not for me to decide.”

  “I have decided. I will accept the kill switch as the cost of the improvements, and hope it will never be activated. It is supposed to only be employed here, on the planet Florez. We are too vulnerable without protection from the wave disruptor. I never want to see you impacted by that device again.”

  No answer, just the image of the device on the screen, a tiny thing, really, that slowly revolved, various connections and places glowing for a time, then others. Lori looked at it.

  They were expecting her, forewarned, no doubt by one of the elders. Eagle One flew itself into a bay in a remote section of the huge Wallacea plant. Inside, through three sets of security doors, the air car landed in a cradle in the midst of what must be a “clean room.” There, begowned technicians escorted Lori out of the room, into an adjacent control and meeting room of some sort, with wide windows that overlooked the clean room. An individual there asked for the disks.

  Several Pokoniry watched the screen, pulling in other screens, ignoring Lori for the moment, comparing long lists of figures, or something, looking at charts and moving sine waves and other technical displays, none of which Lori was close enough to understand. She went back to the window, and looked down at Eagle One. Already, there, exterior panels were raised, and a bunch of cables ran into the air car. More screens to the side of Eagle One showed moving jumbles of displays, again, nothing she could understand.

  She called Eagle One on the radio, said, “Status?”

  “Nominal. Several maintenance and system analyses underway.”

  “Anything out of the normal to report?”

  “Negative.”

  She turned back, to see the technicians staring at her, mouths fairly agape, looks of wonder on their faces.

  “How did you do that?” one asked.

  “What?”

  “Talk to the hagazzii?”

  Holding up her tiny radio, she said, “I called it on this.”

  The speaker approached, looked at the device in her hand, scanned it with something, and returned to the group, showing the readings. They all conferred, and went back their screens.

  Lori sighed, thinking, In trouble already. After fifteen minutes, the first speaker approached, and introduced himself as Dr. Sesepe.

  “Forgive my failure to properly greet you, Earth Lady Saxon. The arrival, once more, of the great hagazzii here at Wallacea is quite an event, one we have long anticipated, yet feared would not occur. Now that it has, we are most proud to be entrusted with the care, upkeep, and installation of improvements. However, it will take some time to prepare a proper estimate of what might be done, and at what cost.”

  “How long?”

  “Perhaps less than a day. Perhaps more. Most likely, less. There are many technical ...details to be determined. And proper permits secured.”

  “I thought those were granted on the disks, from the Council of Elders.”

  “Yes, in a general way. Yet, we must verify acceptance of specific installations, and obtain authority for testing.”

  On the firing range? Good. “Very well, may I wait here, or where?”

  “Yes, you may remain here, or you may be more comfortable in one of the hotels nearby...?”

  “I prefer to remain with my hagazzii.”

  “Of course. Then, perhaps you might rest in the adjacent lounge,” and he pointed to a door at the far end of the room.

  The offer did not surprise Lori, one had been available the last time she’d been here, years ago, but that was just for more or less routine maintenance, and
some minor repair, and she’d left the air car in their hands at that time. But no more. Not now. No, she’d stay.

  “Tha...” she started to say, and changed it to say, “That would be most acceptable. I will await your estimate there. Let me know if you need any information at any time.” She turned and left the room.

  The lounge contained everything she’d need for a short–or even long–stay. A small kitchenette on the far wall, a corner suite with what looked like a sofa that opened into a bed, a table and chairs, a stack of literature disks with a reader, connections to the Pokoniry Internet, a large TV on the wall, and best of all, a picture window overlooking the floor of the maintenance bay. She stood there, and watched what was going on with her air car, her arms folded over her chest, her body cool, her mind anxious. She called up to the Koyaanisqatsi, told them she’d be down in the gravity field for a few days, getting some work done on the air car. Then she called Tarue, still at Dak’s mansion, and relayed the news to her, to great excitement and approval.

  Sesepe knocked and entered in what would be the pre-midnight hour on Earth, here on Florez just a bit past the normal workday. Lori rose from the computer, and stood to greet him.

  He placed a flat screen on the table, and let it run. She stood, watching the information, a list–a fairly long one–of what was proposed, with a cost estimate, that continued to build in a small box on the upper right of the screen.

  After about six minutes, the screen changed, a security bar appeared, Sesepe had to enter a code, and it then played. Lori breathed in and out slowly, her eyes wide at what they proposed to do and how. After a minute, no more, it ended.

  Lori asked, “Will the new components add weight to the air car?”

  “No, in fact, they are lighter than those being replaced. Speed and maneuverability will be enhanced.”

  Lori nodded, and got to the core of her concern.

  “You need to open and enter the sealed memory core?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “There is where the control switch must be installed.” Sesepe tapped a couple of keys, and an animation ran, showing a very small device, carefully soldered onto two new connections, they also soldered with a micro-welder onto one of the inner cards of the memory core, with a thin wire running to a power bus. Another, shielded wire, ran to the communications hub.

  “Will the power be interrupted?” Lori said, her heart pounding.

  “No. But that is why it must be done precisely as shown, and in a minimal time frame.”

  “The core can be sealed once more, after that?”

  “Yes. Micro-welded with gold alloy, to match the existing exterior.”

  She didn’t know if she really wanted to do that. Here, they would expose for the first time since its manufacturing, the innermost core of the brain of her air car–brain surgery to be sure. One slip, one miscalculation, one drop of solder splattering anywhere, and the air car would be–brain dead, maybe totally killed, impaired for sure.

  “You have done this before?”

  “Never.”

  “Yet you think you can do it?”

  “We will perform the procedure on practice mockups until we get it perfect, then the robotic computer will do the actual work, as is usual in these situations. We will be prepared to halt, or override at all times.”

  “There is danger to the hagazzii, then.”

  “Yes, some.”

  Taking a deep breath, Lori looked at the estimate, quite a bit lower than she’d expected, actually. So she knew she had no choice. Risk brain death here, or outside, the next time a wave disruptor was deployed against them. She knew what her answer would be.

  “Request from the Council of Elders authority to perform all the proposed work. I will approve it for the Family Saxon, and arrange payment as indicated.” She turned to Sesepe, and said, “In you, and your fine technicians, I have total trust, and place my hagazzii in your hands. Treat it well.”

  “As our own,” Sesepe said, bowing as he left.

  With the flatscreen display still sitting on the table, Lori called Eagle One.

  “The radio calls concern the technicians here,” the air car said.

  “Is the building secure? Does the radio go beyond the walls?”

  “Negative, in so far as I can tell.”

  “Then ignore them. Here is what they propose to do. What do you think?”

  She connected the flat screen to her phone with a cable, and hit the “Replay” button on the screen. Eagle One must have provided a command of its own, since the replay ran at lightening speed, and stopped where it had earlier.

  “Proposed installations are within operating parameters, and will not over burden existing abilities. Additional memory and buffer, implements, and systems will enhance operation and defensive capabilities.”

  “And the kill switch?”

  “The procedure entails some risk, but it is nominal.”

  “I have authorized the proposed installations.”

  A single blip in her ear, nothing more from Eagle One.

  Lori said, “We must await permission from the Elders to do some of the work, meanwhile, normal maintenance will begin, probably early tomorrow.”

  “Acknowledged,” the air car said.

  With one long last look, Lori watched as the lights dimmed in the bay. She went to the kitchen area, found some Earth foods, prepared a light snack, and went to bed.

  Lori slept far longer into the morning than she’d planned, mentally exhausted by the stress and anguish of the previous days. Her physical wounds from the attack had long healed, and she’d suppressed the emotional ones. Going immediately to the window, she saw Eagle One like she’d never before–the outer gridwork exposed, many of the exterior panels off, and a half a dozen technicians working on it here and there. From the lowest framework, blasts of sparks flew in random patterns. With a cry of surprise, she rushed out, dressed only in her chemise and panties, and raced down and onto the bay floor. The techs wore coveralls, protective ones, she thought, not the clean room variety.

  “What are you doing?” she shouted at the people just beneath the air car, crouching there and holding cutting torches or something.

  Work stopped. A tech came to her, and said, “Did you know that half of the lower sub-frame connectors were cracked? One was broken through.” He held up a screen with an X-ray, or something, showing light lines in the midst of solid bars. “Other joints should be reinforced, also. However, the hagazzii is in amazing good condition, especially for its age. All damaged or failed components will be replaced, all joints rewelded and reinforced.”

  “Oh,” Lori said, looking from the screen to the air car and back again. “OK, continue on,” she said, with a shrug and a wave of her hand. She stepped back, watching where she put her bare feet on the cluttered floor.

  Everyone went back to work, checking connections, the welding resumed, two people took measurements and recorded them into a thin device, and yet another panel came off the exterior. Scattered about the stripped air car, the exterior panels showed their age–the interiors held patches, welds, the metal blotched in multi-shades of aluminum and steel.

  The tech said, “The armor has served you well, now, it is past due for replacement, not worth working with any more.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Yes, we have the original design specs. We are duplicating each section,” he said, holding up one of the smaller ones.

  “What will you do with the old ones?”

  “Ah, those we will examine, then reassemble as a display in the center museum. A unique addition, for sure. You will receive a credit for the value as a donation.” His expression led Lori to assume a large one.

  Lori nodded, as she continued her leisurely circumnavigation of the stripped air car. She’d seen the schematic, scans, plans, models, and some of the usually hidden interior, but not all of it, never like this. She saw the radar, radio, and weapons modules, AG grids, shielded lines and
armored cables, energy storage cells, fuel cells, water and air tanks, and the glistening, rounded heavily shielded sphere holding the main memory behind more armor, smaller than she thought they’d be, AG controls, and the outside of the passenger compartment and storage bins. She wondered what they’d say when they found the firearms hidden there. Also, somewhat improved mini-bots, better range, and more power for their tiny laser gun.

  She kept stepping on things on the floor, winching each time, but she went on. Back at the techs station, she asked, “Can I talk to it on the radio, is that OK?”

  The tech’s ears dropped, he said after a moment, “We would prefer that you do not. The signals may interrupt others in use here by our machines, and corrupt readings.”

  “Can I talk to it, then?”

  “You have a hard line?”

  “A wire? Yes, in the cockpit, to my headset, and P-suit, and...”

  “We can run that to the rest station,” he said, nodding upward to the lounge. “Would that suffice?”

  Sure, and get me out from underfoot here, too. Lori said, “Sure, be fine.”

  “However, at some point, all systems must be idle. No communications in or out. I will advise you when.”

  She nodded and stepped back and away, looking at the air car again, and turned and left.

  After a quick breakfast, not much in that line in the pantry, Lori began trying to call Dak, and finally reached her and Tarue. The flat screen showed a working schedule, various tasks, how long they were expected to take, the times planned, and progress made, individually and overall. The schedule stretched out over at least seven Earth-days, maybe beyond, with several open lines showing arrows. She told Dak, “There’s no way I’ll get out of here in time to catch the next starship to Kali, like I’d planned. Can you keep the Damai occupied until the next one? I think it’ll be weeks, a month, maybe. Damn.”