by Alex Deva
“Ambassador,“ she said, swiftly. “I heard about the attack. I am sorry for your troubles. How can I help?“
“Thank you. I shall be short and direct. Chief, just before the attack, I was entertaining a visitor from a place called Earth, a newcomer.“
The other leaned a little forward.
“Do you have any reason to assume they may be a threat to the Saudade Conglomerate?“
“No, although I did not have time to make a proper assessment. However, they are under… compulsion by the Squares at the moment, and asked for help in the name of their world.“
“May I ask by which particular method?“ asked the Chief.
“Starlight blocking.“
“Ah. One more world lost to the Eight.“
“In all likelihood. However, the humans had somehow suspected, for what they think were reasonable grounds, that we might be able to help them against the Squares.“
The Chief of Warfare’s face was blank.
“Can’t imagine why,“ she said after a few moments. “If someone told them as much, they were lying. Our political stance relative to the Builders and the Eight is fragile enough as it is. We are not even investigating a way to attack either of them. And why would we? That road leads only to ruin.“
“Of course,“ said Jox, “I thought so, too. And yet, I wanted to make sure. Can you assure me that we are not in possession of a tool or weapon capable of standing against the Squares?“
“I certainly can, and we are not. I mean, we might possibly be able to hurt a single Square, if we could convince it to submit to very specific parameters, but we have nothing close to a weapon against their species.“
“And that we are not working to obtain such a device? Perhaps on a mere theoretical level?“
“Our areas of military research are diverse, Ambassador, but hopefully neither of them end with self-genocide.“
“Not even secretly?“
The Chief made a longer pause. “Ambassador,“ she said in a slightly different tone, “as diplomat and negotiator for the Saudade Conglomerate you enjoy a privileged position which entails, among some other enviable perks, a higher security clearance. At the level you are cleared, I am legally bound to answer, and my official answer is, again, no. But please allow me to put your mind at ease. As an exceptional one-off, this time only, I am willing to give you the answer to which someone with the greatest level of access would be entitled.“
“Which is?“
“Well, unsurprisingly: no. We do not work against the Squares publicly, we do not work against them secretly, nor do we work against them under a thicker cloak than you are allowed to see through. It would be, pure and simple, madness.“
Jox watched the falling droplets and said nothing.
“Will you meet the humans again?“ asked the Chief.
“Doubtful,“ she answered. “By the time the complex is fixed, they will either be all dead or thoroughly subdued by the Eight. Either way, as good as gone.“
“Yes. A shame,“ agreed the other. “Yet, there is nothing to be done.“
Jox nodded abstractly.
* * *
When Aram popped out of nowhere in the middle of the cell, Zi was huddled over Mark and Rrapi was waiting for him.
“Përshëndetje,“ the alien said to Aram.
“What?“ said Aram to the mass of limbs, trying to identify a head.
“Erm, it means hello,“ said Zi hurriedly, standing up and shaking Aram’s hand, who took turns between looking at the strange alien, which he had no idea how to feel about, and at Zi’s hand, which felt exactly as it should have — both things which were very weird, all things considered.
“For fuck’s sake,“ cursed Aram. “I’m the first Dacian ever to meet an alien and my first word was what? How lame is that. Hey, Mark. You look like shit.“
The Brit smiled vaguely. “Thanks, mate. Good to see you. What happened?“
“Well, you two… wait, can we talk in front of this thing?“
“I am not a thing, you insufferable xenophobe,“ said Rrapi. “I am one of the station managers, and you may talk in my presence, as I am bound by more non-disclosure agreements than you probably know how to count. And, just so you know, I could hear you anyway if I wanted, even if I wasn’t close to you.“
Aram seemed to consider what was the most efficient method to break the alien into seven relatively equal parts.
“It’s all right,“ said Mark. “Just go on.“
“Right,“ said Aram, still looking at Rrapi, before shifting his gaze back to Zi and Mark. “You two’ve been kidnapped.“
“By whom?“ asked Zi.
“That fucker with blue hair and new brains, plus a Square, with help from about a thousand defector soldiers.“
“Whoa.“ Zi was impressed. “And where are we?“
“At the moment, nobody knows, presumably someplace under the ground.“
“The LHC,“ whispered Mark.
“The what now?“
“Large Hadron Collider. Huge, underground circular tunnel, nearby Geneva.“
“Oh.“ Aram stopped a little, listening. “Jessica says that’s the working assumption, and good job for figuring it out so quickly.“
“Tell her Mark’s not doing so well,“ said Zi.
“She knows. She can see you, through me, which is either cool or creepy, and I’m not even really sure which one, which is also kinda creepy. She says to tell you that teaching Albanian to aliens was not part of your contract.“
“I may have misread some small print,“ said the big soldier, straight-faced.
Aram listened to his inner voice a few more seconds. “She also says to tell you that staff sergeant Seppänen saved her life, and that he was killed in the line of duty, together with dr. Lem and everyone else in the laboratory.“
Zi’s expression changed. Mark grunted and swallowed with an effort. The Albanian nodded and said:
“I’ve known Markku for fifteen years. If he saved Lawry, then I’m glad he didn’t sacrifice his life for nothing. I assume he managed to lock us in before he died.“
“Yes,“ confirmed Aram. “He did his job to the very end.“ And then, to Mark:
“Look, I don’t speak science too well, but they’ve made it so clear that even I could get it. Your, erm, transceivers… they’ve been permanently locked in order to prevent anyone to stop you in your mission.“
“I know,“ whispered Mark. “Zi told me about it.“
“Yeah, well, forever is a pretty long time. Doina may convince the ADM to…“
Mark smiled. “Aram.“
“No, really, she might.“
“Aram.“
“Fucking hell. I’m being pickled myself in one of those metal jars right now and, let me tell you, this isn’t the way to go. This whole idea was fucking stupid. I’d rather be shot than stabbed, and I’d rather be stabbed than go through that darkness again.“
“I know. And I am thankful that you came for us. As I knew you would.“
“Yeah, well. I figured that if you did it, how hard could it be?“ He smiled his usual devil-may-care smile, and then continued in the same merry tone: “Well, pretty damn, that’s how hard!“
He shifted his weight and looked upwards at the never-ending walls. “How about you boys?“ he asked, still looking upwards, blinking a few times. “What have you been, erm, up to?“
“Our station was attacked at about the same time as the laboratory,“ said Zi. “We suspected the two attacks were coordinated, but the one here was hasty and unprepared, so we think they thought we’d been up to something, and had to be cut off.“
“Oh really? What were you up to?“
“Not much, to be honest. Mark was meeting with the ambassador of a system of worlds called the Saudade Conglomerate. We assumed she could help with the Squares.“
“Did she offer to help?“
“No. In fact she said she couldn’t and wouldn’t, and that she had turned down hundreds of other s
pecies before us.“
“So, when you said that she could help… that’s only because you were prevented from talking to her more.“
“The attack was clearly rushed. And then we got separated, we assume they moved her away or disconnected her altogether.“
“Right. So what’s the plan?“
Zi walked back to Mark and sat down next to him. He opened his mouth, and then closed it. A wave of tiredness crossed his carefully simulated facial features.
“We wait until Rrapi’s people fix enough of the system to allow us to move around,“ said Mark, working hard for every word. “And then we find this ambassador and we get her to help us.“
“You can’t even stand up,“ observed Aram.
“Yes, I can,“ said Mark.
“I’ll carry him,“ said Zi.
Aram nodded vaguely and said nothing. “What if this ambassador isn’t even here anymore?“ he asked eventually.
“She’s here,“ said Mark.
“How do you know?“
“Because if she’s gone, then we’re all fucked,“ said the Brit, and closed his eyes to better focus on his breathing.
XXIII.
“Is it true?“ asked Ileana Toma. “Can you really unlock the feed and bring them back?“
Doina looked at her with a pained expression. “I really don’t think so,“ she said, a tinge of fear creeping into her voice. “Doi won’t do it if I ask.“
“Won’t?“
“Sometimes I don’t ask the way I should,“ said the little girl. “It’s happened before that at first she doesn’t want to do something and then, if I ask it better, she agrees.“
“But this time?“
“I’ve tried, and I keep trying,“ she answered. “I’m sure that, whatever locks you’ve put on the connection, Doi can break them if she wants to.“
“I know that your starship is fantastic,“ said the captain. “But this is serious, military-grade encryption. Our scientists say that it would take all the computers ever made by humankind a trillion times the age of the Universe to break it. They say it’s about as close to impossible as it’s possible to get.“
“Yeah well, my ship has a different definition of what’s possible.“
Toma nodded in agreement. “That much is obvious,“ she said. “Yet, my superiors wanted me to ask.“
“Of course they did. Everybody knows I would never abandon Mark or Aram.“
“Everybody does know that, indeed.“ The captain took a small step back, and proceeded to inspect the back of her hand. “How are you holding up?“ she asked, neutrally.
Doina didn’t even look up. “Thank you for asking, and you can tell that army of child psychologists that being alone without the rest of my crew does not frighten me.“
“Not like last time it happened.“
Doina turned to face her. “Are you going to jump at my neck and kill me?“
Toma frowned in repulse. “Of course not.“
“I wouldn’t advise it,“ said the girl. “This time I’m better prepared.“ And, although she said it very casually, the implications were clear.
“Good God, Doina, I would never hurt you,“ exclaimed Toma. “I thought you’d trust me that much by now.“
The girl blinked and gave a small smile, but that was all the answer she offered. Toma took it.
“So, does Doi know anything about this… Saudade Conglomerate?“ she said, changing the subject.
“Yes,“ answered the girl, and did not continue. Ileana Toma waited, then took the hint, sighed and said: “All right.“
For a while, neither of them said anything. They stood unmoving, each looking in a different direction. The Romanian captain took out her tab and tapped it quickly, then read the response, tapped again, then replaced it back in her suit pocket. Doina stared forward, focused, breathing slowly, probably engaged in some unimaginable conversation with her starship.
After a full minute, Toma took out her tab again, and tapped on it. She waited for an answer, read it, then swallowed and drew a big breath.
“Excuse me,“ she said.
“Hm?“ said the girl distractedly, still gazing forward.
“Just got this message. Colonel Karl Tiessler is requesting permission to come here.“
Surprised, Doina turned to her and raised her small eyebrows.
“Why?“
Toma shrugged. “He says he’d like to talk to you about something important.“
“Everything that’s been going on is important,“ said the girl. “He doesn’t need to come here just to talk.“
“This is different,“ said the Romanian. “Or at least so I’m told.“
The girl looked at her circumspectly. “You can’t…“
“Okay, stop right there,“ interrupted Toma. “He is not coming with any bad thoughts. This isn’t some ploy to attack you. I mean, really! Antagonising you, right here, right now, would be literally one of the stupidest ideas in the history of planet Earth.“
“I’m not counting too much on Tiessler’s intelligence,“ said the twelve-year-old.
“Well, look, maybe you should, because he’s got plenty of it. But that’s really not the point right now. If you don’t want him here, I can just tell him he’s not welcome.“
“Oh, nice,“ said the girl sardonically.
Toma rolled her eyes. “Sorry,“ she said. “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. Look, just tell me what to tell him.“
Doina frowned and looked at Toma, and for the first time she thought she saw something new in the Romanian’s eyes. She kept looking, and after a while decided that, whatever it was, it wasn’t a threat. The captain was not hiding back some secret evil plan to take over the starship. And Tiessler, she had to admit, was in fact far from stupid — or, until proven otherwise, particularly evil.
“Fine,“ she finally said. “He can come.“
* * *
“Raise your left hand.“
Aram raised his right hand.
“Come on, Aram. Just do it. We need to make sure we’ve left all your neural connections the way we found them.“
He switched hands and said:
“I feel fine. And we don’t have time for this.“
“How did you feel in there?“
He sighed. “The first part kinda sucked. You know, until I could feel stuff again.“
Jessica Lawry nodded. “Everybody hates that part, and for good reason. At least it’s only temporary.“
“Yeah. How about you? I heard you nearly died. How did they fix you up?“
“Accelerated cellular regeneration. I’d still be lying in some bed otherwise. I’m lucky to be alive… again. A Rook saved my life. Again.“
“Wait, you guys can grow back bones and stuff, like lizards?“
“Not anymore than you could. We just have some machines that help.“
The Dacian finished putting on his clothes and stood up. Lawry followed in her roll chair.
Aram approached the row of tables with people working, and could not help thinking how afraid they had the right to be, given what had happened to their colleagues. He discovered a new urge, an urge to leave the place as soon as possible, if only to take away some of the risk he was bringing upon the others. Careful not to disturb anyone, he walked past, trying to guess what they were doing, although he had not the slightest idea. There was no door; the laboratory was at the junction of five long corridors, and in front of each passageway stood an armed Rook soldier.
Jessica Lawry followed him back to her own desk. She authenticated into her console, and a map of the complex appeared on her screen.
The Berlin laboratory was not far from a Light zone, in the suburbs of the German capital. The overhead imagery was angled — probably coming from Earth orbit — and, through the pitch black darkness, the diffuse cone of light which followed the nearby Light zone looked fantastical.
“Strangest night I’ve ever seen,“ said Aram, slowly.
“Strangest we’ve all seen
,“ she said.
Lawry’s station was the last in the row. The entrance to one of the five corridors was close by, and the soldier guarding it was the same who had helped Aram with some Russian words. The Dacian watched him, again impressed by his battle gear.
“How was it?“ asked the soldier, without moving.
“Strange,“ repeated the Dacian, smiling. “Zi said to tell you hi.“
“Thank you. Next time you talk to him, say hi back.“
Aram nodded and turned back to Lawry. The satellite imagery was peppered with lights, some of them clustered, others lined up along major arteries. He had never imagined that the darkness of night could be so easily defeated by a tiny seed of light coming from he knew not what. Yet everything around him was bathed in artificial light, and entire cities defeated night by use of it. Once more, he pondered how his fellow Dacians could have used such an invention. Darkness could be an enemy or an ally; to be able to control it would’ve been a huge tactical advantage in their countless wars.
Yeah, leave it to the ancients to turn everything into a reason to kill someone else, he thought with some self-irony.
“Aram,“ called Jessica.
“Yes?“
“We need to report. Will you sit down, while I call my boss.“
Aram made a face, artistically overdoing it for the benefit of the soldier, who rewarded him with the beginning of a smile. He pulled a chair and sat down.
* * *
Jox woke up suffocating.
Horror overcame her instantly, just as she was beginning to fight it. She opened her large eyes and tried to see, tried to reason, to work something out.
Above her, carefully blocking her respiratory organs, stood a drone. She knew instantly that there would be no point fighting it; the robot was far stronger than she was. It held her limbs in vices, and it blocked her torso from moving.
“Do not scream,“ said the robot.
The first, insane thought she had upon hearing this, was that the machine was malfunctioning. That it might have been one of her own drones, suffering from some horrible programming bug, and that she was being the victim of an accident.
