by C H Gideon
“That’s odd.” Geroux hunkered down to examine the rope. “It’s almost as if it’s forgotten the rope is there. I wonder—”
“I don’t care why it does it,” Jiya cut her off. “How do we get it off them?”
“Sometimes knowing the why can help us understand the how,” Takal said.
“You two work on understanding the alien fungus,” Jiya said. “I’m going to save our friends.” Feeding more rope over the light fixture to give her leverage, Jiya prepared to jump into the room.
“I’m going to hit them with my flamethrower,” Reynolds said. “Their armor can withstand the heat. You pull them up. We’ll start with Petro since she’s lighter.”
Reynolds fired at the prone maintenance worker, and the fire burned the lacy substance to ash. Jiya launched herself forward. The female tried to rise, but she couldn’t. Jiya dropped into the flames, straddling Petro. She poured fire directly onto her shipmate, burning the fungus on the side away from Reynolds. Then she pulled the other female to her feet.
“Turn around,” Jiya yelled at Petro. “Make sure he burns all that crap off you!” Reynolds continued to bathe them both in fire.
“Can you run?” Jiya asked, pointing at the doorway before pushing her that way. Petro nodded and ran through the path of fire Jiya provided.
“Get ready, Ka’nak,” Jiya said, striding toward the Melowi warrior. Reynolds kept his flames focused on Jiya’s feet while she burned Ka’nak free. “Go!” she cried.
Ka’nak rolled to his feet, hunched over to avoid the low ceiling. Pulling out his own weapon, he fired at the space in front of himself. Moving quickly, he burned away the fungus as he walked to the door. Jiya scurried along behind, her back to his, firing relentlessly into the lace entity. They reached the door and looked back.
Petro stumbled through the doorway, with Ka’nak ready to push her if she didn’t clear it quickly enough. Jiya backed out, and after one last round of fire, she pulled the door closed.
“That sucked,” Ka’nak offered.
“New rule. Right after ‘don’t pet the furry carnivore’ is ‘don’t step on the lacy fungus.’” Jiya continued to watch the door as if it would open and the entity would follow them into the hall.
“Let’s get out of here,” Reynolds replied. “We’re not getting any closer to finding what we came here for.”
“We can’t just go around to the next building,” Geroux explained, pointing to the map on her wrist comp. “This building is part of a huge complex of interconnected buildings. There’s a fault line under that section. Every structure along it has collapsed, and the ground is unstable. This side is still safe. The lab where the polybdinum is stored is in the middle of this complex."
“Tell me again why we didn’t just use the Gulg transport to zap in and grab the stuff?” Ka’nak said, rubbing his temples.
“Shielding in the buildings,” Takal repeated patiently for what felt like the fortieth time. “I’ve been pulling microscopic samples of the building materials as we go since something that can stop the Gulg is worth understanding.”
“Breaktime is over, kids,” Maddox said. “Let’s move out again. Ka’nak, Petro, do you need to go back to the Pod?”
“Hell, no,” Ka’nak said. “No fucking carpet is going to sideline me!”
Petro muttered her agreement.
“Let’s get this done, then,” Reynolds said, trying to hide his impatience over their biological frailty. A team of android AIs would be much more effective on a mission like this. They wouldn’t need to stop and rest or be susceptible to distraction. Maybe he should get bodies for all his personalities and leave the meatbags on the ship. It was an argument against integrating his personalities. He’d take it into consideration later, but for now, they needed polybdinum.
“Maddox, take point.”
They worked their way through the huge complex, looking for access to the center. Every door leading inward was blocked by thick panels that appeared to be melted into place.
“This is not looking good,” Reynolds said as they crept through another narrow hall. “Can we just burn a hole through the wall?”
“Theoretically,” Takal replied. “But with the age of the structures and the geological instability, we risk bringing the whole thing down on our heads. Besides, you saw how the floor in the lace room stood up to our weapons. Finding a safe place that is also permeable will be a challenge. Let me run some scans. The blocked doorways would be the logical places, but that material is impervious to anything I’ve got.”
“I would guess the original occupants didn’t want anyone doing exactly what we’re doing,” Jiya said. “At least there aren’t any furry vipers here.”
Ahead, the sound of weapons discharging echoed through the rooms.
“Die, fuzzy snake!” Ka’nak cried. “Clear!”
“I guess I spoke too soon.”
They entered the next room to find Ka’nak standing over the remains of another creature.
“I wonder what they eat?” Geroux mused. “We haven’t seen any other life forms, and those teeth look capable of ripping flesh. That isn’t the mouth of a vegetarian.”
“Maybe they eat the building,” Takal said, pointing at a scattering of debris in the corner. Under the ice, long grooves marred the wall. He crouched to analyze the debris. “Ah! I can get through, but we need to go back to that last blocked door.” He fairly danced with impatience as Reynolds recalled Maddox.
In the previous room, with Ka’nak and Petro watching the entrances, Takal and Geroux bombarded the door with their equipment.
“Half-life scans indicate this panel was installed many centuries after the building was constructed. There’s a compound in the debris by those grooves, probably from the saliva of the vipers, that might allow me to— Yes!” The older scientist turned to Reynolds with a triumphant grin, holding up his blaster. “Minimum power, ten-nanosecond green phase shift, thirty-cycle blasts.” Without waiting for a reply, he fired at the door.
A small section of the panel wavered, then crumbled.
“Nice,” Reynolds said, adjusting his blaster to Takal’s settings.
The team took turns firing at the panel, disintegrating small sections around the edges, then waiting for their weapons to cool down.
“If he did this using viper spit,” Jiya asked as she took her turn, “why didn’t those snakes eat through the door panels?”
“The modifications didn’t use the viper spit,” Geroux explained, grinning at Jiya’s name for the compound. “The viper-spit debris contained a trace element that isn’t present in the rest of the building but is in the panels. In fact, the last occupants might have used the viper spit to create those panels. The similarity in the molecular—”
Jiya cut her off. “You lost me after viper spit. Hey, I think we might be close!”
Reynolds strode up. “My blaster has cooled. Let me take a turn.” He turned his weapon on the door again.
“You just want to be the one who breaks through,” Jiya said with a grin. The words had barely left her mouth when the door panel groaned and twisted.
“Privilege of the captain,” Reynolds said, giving a quick blast to the remaining narrow strands holding the panel in place. It toppled inward with a heavy clang. Stepping to the side of the door, he poked his head through the opening for a quick scan. “Which way, Geroux?”
The tech looked at her wrist comp and pointed. “There’s a door to the basement right there.”
Reynolds nodded. “Jiya, you’re on point.”
She crept into the central room. The ceilings in this section were low, and her helmet brushed the occasional fixtures. She made her way around toppled furniture, angling toward a door on the far wall, head on a swivel, watching for threats. “Clear,” she called when she reached the far side of the room. “Door is locked.”
“Geroux, see what you can do,” Reynolds said.
The computer genius attached her equipment to a panel and started tweakin
g. “I’ve attached it to a power cell, and the system is booting,” she said after a moment. “Now to see if I can decipher it.” She poked and prodded for a few minutes. Something clicked, and the door opened.
“Good work,” Reynolds said. “What’s ahead?”
“Just stairs down to the basement,” Geroux replied. “Might be a couple more locked doors, but there’s only one way in and out.”
“Ka’nak, Maddox, you stay on guard here,” Reynolds said. “Jiya and Petro, you first. If you get to another locked door, call for Geroux.”
The two females crept down the steps, treading lightly, fingers itchy outside the triggers of their weapons. “We’re at the bottom. Send Geroux down.”
They worked their way through three more locked doors before reaching the containment room. “There,” Geroux said, pointing to a window. On the other side, a pile of bricks glowed in their night vision.
“Are they radioactive?” Petro asked, stopping with her hand over the door handle.
“Yes,” Takal said. “But your armor will protect you until we get them into the containers.” He pointed at the maintenance bots crawling into the room behind him. Then he turned and focused on the wall. “There don’t appear to be any traps in the walls or floor.”
Jiya laughed. “Are you expecting poison arrows or a giant boulder?”
“We’ve already encountered carnivorous fur snakes and suffocating lace,” Takal replied.
“Yeah...” Jiya’s mouth shut with a snap.
Petro opened the little room. She and Jiya stepped into the space. “There isn’t room for anyone else in here,” Jiya called out. “Send the bots in.”
They loaded the clear boxes quickly. The material was heavy, but the containment boxes were small. “You sure that’s all we need?” Jiya asked. “There’s a lot left.”
“That’s all we have room for,” Reynolds replied. “I hope the bots can handle the weight.”
“That load is within their mass tolerances,” Takal said, scanning each box as the bots emerged. “I think they’ll be fine. This is powerful stuff, and there’s more than enough to make our repairs and attempt some upgrades.”
Once Petro had exited the room, Jiya shut the door. “Do we want to just leave it here, or seal it in?”
“Is it potentially dangerous in the wrong hands?” Reynolds asked.
Takal shrugged. “Everything is. But this should be safe enough. No one knows it’s here except us.”
“We’d know if the raiders had followed us,” Reynolds agreed. “Let’s lock the doors and collapse the top of the stairway. That won’t keep determined folks out, but it’s the best we can do.” He turned and led the way to the surface.
Chapter Eighteen
Reynolds looked around the humming bridge. “You have become an excellent bridge crew,” he announced. “When I first picked you up on Lariest…and Loran,” he nodded at Asya, “I had my doubts. But I honestly wouldn’t trade any of you for a human.”
“Gosh, boss,” Jiya said. “You sure know how to warm hearts and influence people.”
“Hey, I’m trying to give a motivational speech, here,” Reynolds replied. “Our mission on Jeranth Four was successful. You’re all growing, both as crew members and supporters of the Queen.”
“Save the watches,” Tactical called.
Jiya and Asya exchanged a confused look. “What?” Asya asked.
“Never mind,” XO said. ”He’s just calling bullshit.”
“It’s my gift,” Tactical said.
“Contact,” Maddox said. “We’ve got a bogie. A ship is lurking just beyond that gas giant. I thought it was an anomaly, but it keeps popping out, and I got a good scan. Unknown technology, but it’s big. Almost as big as us.”
“Battlestations,” XO called, activating the ship-wide comm. “Gravitic shields at full power.”
“A ship hiding in the far reaches of a system, spying on us,” Jiya said, working her controls. “Been there, done that. Don’t want to do it again.”
“Takal and Alcott say we can make precise jumps at short distances now,” Reynolds said. “Let’s put their work to the test. Ensign, take us behind that ship.”
“Already calculating, sir,” Ria replied with a smile.
“Tactical,” Reynolds said, “warm up the railguns.”
“Damn straight, Cap’n!” Tactical replied. “Can I fire a warning shot?”
“No, don’t engage,” Reynolds replied. “They haven’t displayed hostile intent. Yet. Let’s let them think we’re oblivious while we sneak in from the rear.”
“Coordinates laid in, sir,” Alcott called.
“Excellent,” Reynolds said. “Make us a Gate!”
Ria engaged the Gate drive. It ripped a perfect oval in the fabric of space, and the Reynolds sailed over the event horizon.
Behind the gas giant, another Gate opened, and the Reynolds slipped out.
The Gate closed behind them. “Gate logs show all systems nominal,” Ria said in satisfaction. “We’re exactly where I plotted!”
“Target acquired,” Tactical said. “Can I blast them just a little?”
“We have met the enemy, and he is our very own Tactical,” Reynolds said. “Stay locked on, with systems hot, but do not engage unless fired upon.”
“Enemy ship has not responded to our arrival,” Asya said. “It’s just sitting there.”
“Scans show it’s active,” Jiya said. “Shields are up, but no weapons online.”
“Comm, give them a shout,” Reynolds said.
“Aye, sir,” Comm said. They waited. “No response to hails.”
“I can give them a little poke with my railgun,” Tactical whispered hopefully.
“We’re doing this the peaceful way,” Reynolds said, glaring at Tactical’s station. “Hail again.”
“Still no response,” Comm replied.
“Maybe they don’t recognize our communications?” Jiya suggested.
“They might not understand what we said,” Reynolds said, “but they sure as hell had to notice when a superdreadnought materialized on their six with weapons locked on their ass. Scan for life forms.”
“Scanning,” Jiya replied. “Negative. There is nothing alive on that ship. No offense,” she glanced at Reynolds.
“None taken,” he replied. “I’m not biologically alive, or at least I wasn’t before I got this body. But that’s a good reminder we may be dealing with a technological form of life, rather than a biological one.” He sat back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest. Then he nodded. “Jiya, put together a boarding party. Seasoned combat vets only.” He darted a look at Taneral’s currently empty station. “We don’t need any wildcards.”
“Yes, sir,” Jiya replied, putting out the notification. “They’re reporting to the boarding tube.”
Reynolds said, rising from his seat, “Ensign, bring us alongside so we can access that hatch on the port side. Jiya, Maddox, you’re with me. Asya, you have the conn.”
The boarding party gathered in front of the boarding tube hatch, with armor locked, helmets donned, and weapons loaded. Jiya worked the controls to extend the tube, and it latched onto the other ship with a clang.
No life forms, Geroux said through the comm, for the umpteenth time. Still scanning. No movement of any kind.
Keep me posted, Reynolds said.
If a camera so much as swivels, you’ll know, she replied.
“See, Tactical?” Reynolds muttered to himself. “Well-oiled. Anticipating my commands.” He cleared his throat, purely for effect. Ka’nak, Jiya, take point. Geroux, follow them and pop the hatch.”
Ka’nak opened the hatch and pushed off, sailing through the tube. Like Iron Man, he said.
You’re more like the Hulk, Jiya said. I’m Iron Man.
I guess that makes me Iron Woman, Geroux said.
Wouldn’t that be Wonder Woman? Jiya asked, activating her mag boots and dropping to the “floor” of the tube. She braced herself and aimed her b
laster at the hatch. Ka’nak thumped down behind her, aiming over her shoulder.
Wrong franchise! Tactical yelled.
Jiya ignored the AI personality and glanced back at Ka’nak. Are you using me as a shield?
He shrugged. Not intentionally. Not a lot of room in here. But if it works…
Geroux zipped past overhead and attached her boots to the ceiling so she hung next to the access panel. She attached her equipment and entered some commands. This programming is similar to that basement lab on Jeranth, she mused.
I hope there aren’t any fur vipers here, Ka’nak replied.
You and me both, Geroux said absently, poking and swiping. Okay, here we go!
With a pop and a hiss, the hatch swung inward. Geroux launched herself backward through the tube to clear the way for Jiya and Ka’nak, then spun and landed behind them. No movement. Atmosphere is close to Lariest standard. Geroux said. Almost identical to Jeranth. Gravity one-point-oh-seven of Earth normal.
Jiya reached out and pushed the hatch. It opened on its hinges, revealing an empty airlock. Ka’nak and Jiya exchanged looks.
After you, Jiya said, through the comm.
Ka’nak stomped into the space, his boots clanging on the metal deck. Geroux and Jiya followed him. Do you want to blow this, or should I see if I can cycle the lock?
We could be trapped inside if this ship isn’t as empty as it looks, Jiya cautioned.
Go ahead and try the controls, Reynolds said. If you get stuck, we’ll use the Gulg transporter to yank you back. Narrate your progress. If we don’t hear from you every thirty seconds, we’ll pull you back.
Roger, Jiya said, shoving the external hatch closed. Geroux, do your magic.
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, Geroux said, but if this ship is from Jeranth, I doubt the Gulg transport is going to work here.
Takal, check that, Reynolds said.
Scans show Geroux is correct, Takal said almost immediately. Similar composition to the buildings on Jeranth. No way to use the Gulg transport.
