by C H Gideon
Geroux attuned her suit’s senses to try to hear what was going on, but the nature of the atmosphere or the house or some unknown device—or all three—kept her from hearing the conversation.
She cursed under her breath and did her best to read their lips, but their interchange was short-lived. The cultist seemed to almost bark at Aht Gow, poking a finger in front of her face.
The emperor’s sister flinched with every jab.
The pseudo-conversation lasted all of a minute before the cultist reached out and handed Aht Gow a device Geroux thought she recognized.
A computer?
The cultist said one last thing to Aht Gow and spun on his heel, his robes flowing around him as he stormed from the room. The emperor’s sister nearly collapsed once he was gone, clutching the device.
He’s headed back your way, Geroux told Asya. I don’t know what went on between the two of them, but it was heated. And he gave her some kind of device. Think it’s a computer.
Asya growled over the link. What the hell’s going on here?
I don’t know, but the sister is powering up the device. I’m going to see if I can break through the resistance on this house and try and hack it. See what she’s up to, Geroux said.
The cultist is leaving, Asya reported. Damn it. There’s no time to do both without losing one or the other.
Geroux sighed. Guess we’re splitting up again.
Looks that way, Asya replied. Go ahead and do what you have to here, but don’t get caught, she warned. I’m going to follow our cult-dick. Maybe he’ll lead me to Phraim-‘Eh or Jora’nal.
Stay safe, she called to Asya before the connection went silent.
Geroux looked back through the window. Aht Gow had powered up the device and had begun tapping at its console. Geroux followed suit and opened her wrist computer.
There’s no way some backwater security is going to keep me from seeing what’s on that device.
Geroux snarled and got to work, pecking at her wrist console.
Chapter Seven
Ka’nak caught up to the crew a few moments after they’d departed, as the emperor led them through darkened and shadowy alleys off the main thoroughfare.
As he turned the corner and saw them, he realized he’d caught them just in time.
A guard surveyed the area behind the group suspiciously and went to the wall in a dead-end alley they’d entered. Ka’nak zoomed in with his optics and watched what the guard did as the wall swung open to reveal a hidden entrance to the building.
He waited until everyone had gone inside and the door had closed before going to the wall and taking a closer look.
The mechanism that kept the door locked was inventive, but with the advanced tech of his suit and knowing exactly where to look for the abnormality, it stood out against the otherwise plain wall.
He could see how it would be invisible to someone without his technological advantages, though.
Ka’nak waited a few moments, listening as best he could to make sure no one was standing on the other side of the fake wall before he triggered the mechanism and stepped inside after the others.
Darkness greeted him, and his suit adjusted to the lighting, the tiny room arrayed before him. It was a meter wide and three meters long at most.
Another secret doorway secured the far end of the room, the same type of device used to lock it.
Ka’nak went over to it and listened once more, hearing nothing. He sucked in a deep breath and opened the second door, finding a steep, narrow stairwell on the other side.
He eased down the stairs and arrived in what appeared to be a kind of sewer system, moisture dripping from the walls and ceiling. A tiny river of muck spilled from a massive pipe and ran down the slight incline toward an unknown destination. A slim walkway skirted the refuse water and disappeared into the distance.
It was the only way to go from there, plus, when he turned up the acoustics on his suit, he could hear the shuffling of feet in that direction.
Ka’nak sighed, glad that his helmet filtered out the smell of whatever was floating in the water. He had no doubt he had smelled worse, having been raised in the stink of the gladiatorial pits, but that didn’t mean he liked or wanted to smell it.
He started off after the footsteps, wondering what he, the emperor, and the crew were getting into.
He didn’t have long to wait.
Ka’nak drew close enough to see the rest of the group as they came to yet another dead-end. Once again, the soldier manipulated something on the wall and ushered them inside, closing the door behind them after they were all through.
Ka’nak went to the wall and triggered the same mechanism, making sure to barely crack the door rather than let it swing open wide.
While he wasn’t the best of the crew at stealthy maneuvers, he’d had enough experience sneaking around that he knew better than to rush in and leave himself and his crew exposed.
He eased against the wall and peered through the smallest of cracks between the wall and secret door, letting his visor adjust and give him a better view.
The room looked like a factory of some kind, and Ka’nak recognized the same material stacked around the place that Jiya had brought back in the damaged Pod.
He stared as Reynolds and the crew gathered around.
The guards moved off and took up posts around the room, giving Reynolds and the emperor space to talk without the soldiers being right on top of them.
The chamber they’d entered was massive. While simplistic, the level of tech barely effective, the room rumbled with a system of conveyor belts and devices that appeared to be processing the devium in bulk.
The ore was fed through machines that ground it into a powder and then transported to another machine that appeared to irradiate it before sending it along to the next, which filled a mobile containment box before it was wheeled away on tracks.
Krol Gow raised his arms and gestured around the room. “This is our devium processing plant.”
Reynolds didn’t know if the emperor was bragging or complaining, so the AI simply nodded in reply.
“This ore is what fuels the atmospheric boundary that holds out the majority of Muultar’s toxic air and keeps ours breathable,” Krol Gow explained. “It’s also the primary energy source for our vehicles and spacecraft.”
Reynolds glanced around the room again and realized that many of the machines in the back of the room were silent. Very little ore was being processed at the moment.
“Is production always so…slow?” Reynolds asked.
The emperor sighed. “That is why I have brought you here,” he admitted. “When Takal,” he gestured to the old inventor and smiled, “spoke of your ship's capabilities, I felt I had found the means to an end.”
“You want us to do something for you,” Jiya realized. “That’s why we’re here.”
“I do indeed.” The emperor nodded. “In exchange for your assistance in this matter, I will provide you and your crew the safe haven you requested, as well as supplies when you pass through our system in the future.”
“And if we decide not to help?” Reynolds asked, curious to see what the emperor’s response would be.
Krol Gow checked to make sure the guards were outside hearing range, and he sighed. “If you choose to refuse my request, it is quite likely that there will no longer be a Muultar for you to visit,” he answered. “The planet will remain for a time, but there will be no one alive to assist you with your needs.”
“What do you mean?” Maddox asked.
“Before I go on, I must swear all of you to secrecy,” Krol Gow stated. “I cannot have word of this reaching the populace. There would be chaos, and many people would die. Do you agree?”
Reynolds nodded. “We do.”
The emperor hesitated for a moment as if questioning Reynolds’ word before he went on, “Our supply of devium is at an end, I’m afraid,” he told them. “Until recently, perhaps a year ago, we were able to mine a nearby planet in our
system. Uninhabited, it is registered as MU-2693, though we’ve always referred to it as ‘Mu.’”
He pronounced it as if he were mimicking an Earth cow.
“What’s happened?” Takal asked.
“A powerful race of alien beings has claimed the planet and will not allow us anywhere near it,” the emperor went on. “They arrived one day without warning and destroyed four of our cruisers and numerous transport ships. That has left us scraping the asteroids for the remnants of devium that those old, destroyed worlds once possessed just to maintain our barriers and fuel our machines.”
“You can’t challenge them with your remaining cruisers?” Maddox asked, eyes narrowed.
The emperor shook his head. “Our technology is simple, as you have no doubt seen. The ships we had orbiting Mu were wiped out in moments by a single craft of the several they appear to possess. Our people weren’t even given an opportunity to fight back. Only a single transport escaped to report what had happened. We don’t stand a chance against such ferocity, and we no longer have the energy supply to expend upon the effort.
“To be blunt, our ships are little more than a deterrent to outside forces to warn them away. A bluff, if you will.”
“But you think we have the firepower to take these guys on?” Reynolds stared at the emperor, trying to see if the Muultu believed what he was saying.
It appeared he did. He looked downright forlorn at the prospect that Reynolds would refuse to help.
“I can only hope, Reynolds,” Krol Gow replied somberly. “We have no other option but to hope someone can chase the aliens from the planet so we can return to mining the devium.” He sighed and leaned against the nearest machine. “We are incapable of transporting our people off the planet, and even if our ships were sufficient to the task or we had the fuel, where would we go? We have no FTL drives or Gate technology, as Takal described it, and no one would take on over two million Muultu.”
Reynolds stood there for a moment, contemplating what the emperor was telling him. Even if the SD Reynolds assisted and carried the people off the planet, it would take forever. There were simply too many, discounting the fact that there was nowhere to drop off two million alien beings. No established civilization would take that many, and Reynolds couldn’t set aside his mission long enough to find sufficient worlds for everyone.
It was clear why the emperor had been so friendly to them; so confiding. He was desperate, and there was nothing he could do to extricate his people from the impending disaster.
“Have you attempted to speak with the aliens?” Jiya asked, although it was clear from her expression that she was simply running the problem through and already had a good idea what the answer was.
“They reject all attempts at communications,” Krol Gow explained. “As far as we know, they didn’t even attempt to contact our ships before they destroyed them.”
“Can you give us a moment to discuss this among ourselves?” Reynolds asked the emperor.
Krol Gow nodded. “Of course.”
He joined his soldiers as the crew gathered around so no one could overhear them. He chose not to use the internal comm so as not to reveal that they had they had a way to communicate privately
Jiya whistled, making a face that told Reynolds her thoughts.
“You don’t think we should help them?” Reynolds asked.
She shook her head. “No, I definitely think we should try to help them,” she answered without hesitation. “I’m just not sure we can. This alien race wiped out four of their cruisers in an instant.”
Maddox shrugged. “Well, their ships aren’t exactly world beaters. The Reynolds could take them out as easily.”
“That’s kind of my point,” Jiya went on. “That means we’re likely dealing with another superdreadnought, or more likely several of them, seeing as how that’s what Krol Gow said. That’s a lot of firepower to take on, even for the Reynolds.”
“She’s not incorrect,” Takal agreed.
“We’re just guessing here, though,” Reynolds added.
“Which is why I said we should try to help,” Jiya continued. “I know you’re willing to go out of your way to help the people of these planets we come across, and that’s a good thing, but correct me if I’m wrong: we can’t lay aside your Kurtherian mission to fight other people’s battles against an enemy we can’t beat, right?”
Reynolds was torn. He knew Jiya was correct, that the mission he’d been set upon was what was important, but he took a moment to think about Bethany Anne and what she would tell him about this situation.
He chuckled, imagining her response.
“Bethany Anne is a believer in Justice,” he stated. “While she would be pissed if we threw away our lives and assets in a futile fight, she would just as quickly put her foot up my metallic ass for walking away from people who are downtrodden and need our help.
“Were I to ask her what she thought, she would no doubt say something creatively crude and vulgar I couldn’t possibly mimic and then she would tell us to do what’s right, simple as that.”
“So, that means we’re going to evict these aliens?” Maddox asked.
“We’ll surveil them first,” Reynolds countered, “because Bethany Anne would also turn me into scrap if I went off and did something dumb for no reason other than trying to make her happy.”
“I haven’t met her, but I already like her.” Jiya laughed.
“As do I,” Reynolds admitted, “but she wouldn’t want us putting ourselves at risk for something stupid or as an empty gesture where we just get ourselves killed. We need to find out what we’re up against and we can go from there. Maybe we can negotiate something with these aliens, whoever they are. It could be that the Muultu are too simplistic to have recognized communications from them.”
“Or they could be hostile bastards who want to see everyone burn,” Maddox added.
“That is another possibility,” Reynolds agreed. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Information will be our friend, and we’ll gather as much of it as we can.”
The AI signaled the emperor that they were done discussing the issue. Krol Gow returned quickly, staring at the crew with expectant eyes.
“I make no promises, Emperor,” Reynolds started, “since we have no idea what we will be facing or how we match up against these aliens you speak of. However, we will do what we can.”
The emperor seemed to deflate as he let out a deep breath. “Thank you, Reynolds. I can ask for no more than that.”
“We’ll travel to Mu, see what we can see, and determine our course of action from there,” Reynolds explained. “I do, however, want something more than simply a safe haven and supplies should we succeed.”
The emperor stiffened at that, but he nodded regardless. “If you release us from our dilemma, you have only to name it.”
“Then we’re off to see what we can do for you and your people, Emperor.” Reynolds extended his hand, and Krol Gow clasped it in agreement.
After they shook hands, the emperor and his guards led the crew back to the hidden door.
Reynolds caught sight of it easing closed before they arrived, and he grinned. Once the door was open, he ushered the crew and soldiers ahead of him, trailing behind the group a short distance without anyone noticing.
He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and a shape rose out of the water at their backs.
Nice to know you care enough to follow us, Ka’nak, but shouldn’t you be elsewhere? Reynolds asked over the mental link.
Looked like you might need help, the Melowi answered. Figured I’d follow you while the ladies chased down the emperor’s sister.
I suspect you overhead our conversation from your post at the door?
I did, Ka’nak admitted. Guess we’re headed out to blow some folks up.
Just us, Reynolds told him. I want you to go back and assist Geroux and Asya while we’re gone. They’ll need your raw talents more than we will.
I wish you’d tol
d me that before I jumped in the sewer water to hide. Ka’nak groaned. I sure could use a good hosing off.
The AI chuckled. I’m sure you’ll figure out something. Stay safe, and protect the crew here on Muultar. We’ll return as soon as possible.
Reynolds left the Melowi behind and caught back up with the crew as the emperor led them out of the secret devium factory.
He didn’t know what he was getting himself or the crew into, but he suspected they’d appreciate him leaving the smelly warrior behind.
Chapter Eight
“I feel weird. It’s like we’re abandoning them,” Jiya complained when they were once more on the bridge of the SD Reynolds. “I don’t like it.”
She was sitting in the vacated captain’s chair where Asya should have been, and she twisted uncomfortably. Jiya had no issue going after the aliens who had cut off the Muultu’s energy source, but she didn’t appreciate leaving her people—her friends—behind.
“They’re safer there than we are, I suspect,” Reynolds told her bluntly.
“Oh, now I feel better,” she snarked. “Thanks for that.”
“If that’s the case, you can fucking leave me behind, too,” Tactical told them. “I don’t care if you’re suicidal, but I’m not, you ragweed-sniffing butt-stain!”
“Now, now, Tactical. Some decorum, please. You know this side mission is what Bethany Anne would want,” Reynolds shot back.
“I’m sure she would want me to live. She always liked me better than you,” Tactical returned. “Besides, you’ve got legs, asshole. You can walk your ass to the fight if you’re looking to make a last stand against some monstrous aliens.”
“No one’s dying, damn it!” Jiya cursed. “Stop saying that!”
“What crawled up your ass and bit it?” Tactical asked.
“A splintered AI with delusions of independence,” she snapped. She wasn’t in the mood for Tactical’s bullshit.
“Ouch!” Comm laughed. “Fire at Tactical’s position. AI down! Medic!”
