Call of Courage: 7 Novels of the Galactic Frontier

by C. Gockel

  “Why would it care?” asked Martham, “It’s just a hunk of metal.”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “Sure, we can shove it out of the lock. Or bash its processors in. Or find its power supply—”

  “Oxwell has a point,” Leroux said, “Last time we tried physical force it only made that thing angry. But if we can trick it, if we can make it think that it’s in its best interest to help us, we might be able to get it outside. But how do we get it out and the others back in ?”

  “We’ll get Liu to help,” said Alice, “We’ll make a— a transfer at the door. It’ll have to be fast.”

  “Are you certain you want Emery back?” asked Martham, “We still don’t know if she’s following its orders. We get it out there, she’d just let it right back in.”

  “Stop it! Do you even know what you’re saying? Any of you?” Blick said. “This is Rebecca we’re talking about. Her purpose this entire mission has been to help the people of the Keseburg. All she wants to do is prevent them from getting hurt. Why would she do this? It makes no sense.”

  “Maybe,” said Martham, “But we don’t know what that Issk’ath thing is capable of. It was alone with her for hours in the nest. It could have scrambled her brains. Used chemicals or electrical impulses. Or it could have just convinced her that killing us off would save all the other people on the Keseburg. She’s weak, Lionel, she has been from the beginning. And that makes her vulnerable to suggestion. It makes her dangerous.”

  “You— you soil shoveler— Rebecca’s not weak , she’s kind and compassionate. She has empathy for the people around her. You should admire her, not—”

  “You can hate me all you want. But it doesn’t change what’s happening here. We already have four dead. We know Issk’ath couldn’t have done it alone, so that means someone’s helping. Are you willing to bet your life that it isn’t Emery?” Martham fell silent and Blick fumed but didn’t answer. “I didn’t think so,” she said after a moment. “It’s settled then. We pull Liu away and explain things to him—”

  “I didn’t say I agreed!” shouted Blick.

  “Hush!” warned Alice.

  “No, I’m not going along with this—”

  Martham floated out into the hallway. Blick tried to push past Alice and Leroux to stop her but they held him back. “You can’t do this!” he yelled.

  “Shh,” said Leroux, “or I’ll have to sedate you. I’d rather not. Our supplies are so limited and I don’t want to do that to you, Blick, but I will. Help us get the robot out. We’ll get Emery back. If I have to, I’ll knock her out for the rest of the trip and we’ll figure out how to undo whatever that thing did. But I can’t fix the robot.”

  Blick stopped trying to wiggle past them. He stared at Leroux. “Issk’ath only ,” he said.

  “Yes, just the robot. No one else,” said Leroux. “I’ll even fight Martham if I have to,” she added softly.

  “Oxwell?”

  “Rebecca is my friend,” she said. This hadn’t gone according to plan, but at least she could save Rebecca.

  “Okay,” said Blick, “The robot then.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  “Even if I agreed to this, which I don’t ,” whispered Liu after they’d explained, “How would we trick that thing? We have nothing it needs. It doesn’t need to breathe, it doesn’t need to consume anything, it walked into an inferno without hesitating. We have no leverage. Why would it leave the ship, especially after Emery warned it not to?”

  “We can use its self-sufficiency against it. I don’t care if it dies, we just have to get it off the ship and lose it in space. If we make it think that it’ll be safe outside, and that something it cares about is in peril out there, it’ll go,” said Martham.

  “What’s out there that it cares about, Martham? You want me to rip off an antenna and toss it out the door? There’s nothing out there.”

  “Emery is out there,” she said tapping the door.

  “And?” asked Blick. “You keep coming back to her. She hasn’t done anything .”

  “That’s not the point. Whether she did or she didn’t, the robot cares about her.”

  “It’s the whole point—” started Blick, but Leroux cut him off.

  “Why do you think it cares about her? I thought you said it was using her, that it wanted us all to die,” she said.

  “It is using her. And it still needs her. It can’t act without her if it wants to keep us in the dark. It’s not going to get another chance to brainwash us—”

  “If it wanted to kill us,” said Blick, “why would it care about being secretive? It’s sitting on the bridge right now. It’s probably had access to our systems since Dorothy died. Why would it have even allowed us to take off? Why wouldn’t it have simply disabled the Wolfinger when we were still on the planet? Why risk its own existence?”

  Martham was silent. The whole thing was falling apart. Alice knew she should have kept them apart. Someone had to say something before the plan collapsed.

  “Because it thought it could convince us to stay away from the planet. Killing us was a backup plan,” she said. They all turned toward her. She could feel the damp prickle of sweat starting under her suit. “It was probably hoping that with the more intractable people out of the way, it could persuade the rest of us. It would have known, from Rebecca, that the med lab was only used by Titov, Leroux and myself. Titov was never going to agree to keep quiet. He thought Peter would be cured by the planet, no matter how often Leroux told him otherwise.” She glanced at Leroux who turned away from them, ashamed and saddened. Alice could see the others were listening though. She pressed on. “We were acceptable losses, if it meant the rest of you would forget about settlement. It still thinks the rest of us can be convinced. As you said, Liu, it has access to all of our systems. The capability is always there. Just flip a switch or two and our air is gone. Or our temperature controls. Or the Wolfinger’s dead in the void.”

  “Why wait until now ?” asked Blick. “It had us on the planet. In a foreign environment where it had all the advantages.”

  “Who said it waited?” asked Leroux. “It didn’t wait to kill Stratton. I certainly had nothing to do with the Captain’s death. And we still don’t know what happened with Spixworth. He was alone with Emery and Issk’ath— they said it was an accident, but how do we know? And maybe I was wrong about Dorothy. Maybe Oxwell would have been able to save her if it hadn’t interfered.”

  Liu rubbed his shoulder. “I hate to admit it, but there’s another good reason for waiting until we were out here. Maybe two. If we didn’t come back, the Keseburg might have sent a search party. The Hardcoop probe at least. If Issk’ath really does want to prevent us from settling, then it would have to start the whole persuasion process over again with a new crew.”

  Blick shook his head, but stayed quiet.

  “What’s the second reason?” asked Martham.

  “If it persuaded us to stay silent, to tell the Admiral that the planet was a hostile mess, that we’d never survive, Issk’ath would have to rely on our secrecy for the duration of our lives. It would have to believe that we’d never utter a word to another person. Not a spouse, not a child, not on our death beds. I don’t know how much of our files it has processed or what Dorothy has told it, but they probably don’t show us as reliably discreet. Why bother with us, when we’re taking it to the source of the threat? It could wipe us all out once it’s aboard the Keseburg.”

  “Flaming core,” breathed Blick.

  “If it kills us here, on our way back, the Keseburg will find us. They’ll find our bodies lying next to an alien robot and assume there is a threat on the planet. The Admiral won’t have to go looking for us. And they’ll bring Issk’ath aboard to study it. It’ll be able to keep an eye on our people. If they ever decided to try again or turn around in a few generations— Issk’ath will still be there to stop them,” said Martham. “So are we done arguing about this? Are you ready to do something to stop
it? Whatever its ultimate plan, we end up dead. Unless we get it off this ship.”

  “It doesn’t matter if we get it off the ship,” said Blick. “If it can just flip a switch and turn off the air or the engines, why would a door between us and it make any difference?”

  “We can figure out how to cut off its access to our systems,” said Martham.

  “We’re back where we started,” said Leroux, “and we’re running out of time. It’s going to come looking for us any second, or Captain Al Jahi and Emery are going to panic if Liu doesn’t start talking to them soon. Even if we figure out how to prevent it from killing us once it’s out there, how do we get that thing outside?”

  “We make it think Emery is in trouble. Look,” said Martham holding up a hand to stop Blick’s protest, “I don’t know if Emery has anything at all to do with this. It doesn’t matter. For whatever reason, that thing cares when she’s in danger. It stopped her from fighting the lab fire. She says it saved her from a nasty fall in the nest. It wanted to go out with her when she left to make repairs. We have to use that.”

  “How are we supposed to make it think she’s in trouble?” Blick pushed himself back to the doorway of the lock and peered into the bridge. “It’s talking to her right now. It’s going to know immediately if we lie.”

  “It doesn’t have to,” said Liu. “The feed can be shut off. We took care of the long-range communications before launch, but we can cut off the interior communications too. That will also kill its access to the Wolfinger. We couldn’t do it on the planet because we needed it while you were out in the field. But we’re all here now, we can survive another forty hours without it.”

  “Issk’ath will just turn it back on again,” said Alice. Her pulse sounded like an engine fan in her head, rapid and heavy. This is going to work, she told herself.

  “Issk’ath has remote access to our systems, yes, but those systems don’t just exist in thin air. I just remove a chip, and the feed is off. Just like the ship’s communications.” He glanced up at the dead feed camera. “Just like the equipment lock.”

  “But then Captain Al Jahi and Emery would be out there without any help. If something went wrong, we’d never know,” said Blick.

  “Yes,” said Liu, “and we wouldn’t be able to warn them. We also wouldn’t be able to risk bringing them back in once Issk’ath was outside. We’re only going to get one chance.”

  “No. I told you,” said Blick turning to Leroux, “the robot only. Not Emery and not the captain.”

  “There’s no other way,” said Martham. “It’s the two of them or all of us. And all of our families. Everyone we’ve ever known—”

  “No . We aren’t doing this. We’ll find another—” Blick broke off with a gasp as Leroux sunk a syringe into his filament port.

  “Sorry, Lionel. I did warn you,” she said. Alice clapped a hand over his mouth as he struggled for a moment and then went limp. He floated between them for a moment.

  “Put him in with Cardiff. Let em sleep it off together. By the time they wake up, it’ll be done,” said Martham. “Liu, tell me what needs to be done. You’ve got to get back to the bridge and make Issk’ath think everything’s normal.”

  Liu hesitated as Alice pulled Blick carefully into the hallway.

  “It has to happen. Think of Jared,” said Martham.

  “Yes,” said Liu, “you’re right.”

  He floated slowly back to the bridge. Issk’ath’s pallid eyes whirred as they shifted toward him. “Dr. Cardiff,” Liu said lamely, “The treatment made her a little— anxious. Everything’s all set now.” He pulled himself back into his seat and clicked the harness closed.

  “When will Emery return?” asked Issk’ath.

  Liu forced a smile. “Let’s find out how the repairs are going, hmm?” he asked. He clicked the feed on. Under the chair, he toed off the soft shoe of his left foot and pinned it below his other foot to keep it from floating into the open. “Captain Al Jahi, I’m back. How is the hull looking?” His toe found the panel. He had a momentary sensation of panic when he realized he wasn’t certain where the chip was. Just need an excuse to get down there, he told himself. He glanced over at Issk’ath. But first— I hope you remember your training, Chione. He put one hand in his lap below the console and clicked over to his private channel. He continued to speak over the ship’s communication feed as well. The fingers in his lap tapped furiously. Was it dot dash dash? Or dot dot dash?

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Rebecca finished hardening the sheet. She’d always loved the way it stiffened the flimsy metal into an unbendable plank. It fascinated her long after her father had expected her to become bored and run off when she was small and he was on deck repair.

  “Captain Al Jahi, I’m back. How is the hull looking?” Liu’s voice startled her. It had been so silent for the past several minutes.

  “Fair,” came Al Jahi’s voice. Rebecca looked up, the Captain floated several feet from her. “I’ve checked the rest of the Wolfinger now, we have two more small patches to make. The explosion wasn’t—” she broke off suddenly.

  “Captain?” asked Rebecca.

  “Do you— can you hear that Liu?”

  “I only hear you,” he said.

  “What about you, Emery?” asked Al Jahi. “It’s a— a high-pitched beep or something.”

  Rebecca listened hard for a moment but her own breath was the only sound. “Nothing here,” she said.

  “It’s erratic— I keep thinking it’s going to stop but then it starts again.”

  “Maybe it’s a suit alarm,” said Liu. “You got suit six, didn’t you? That one’s always shorting. It’s usually a glitch in the waste management system.”

  “But I haven’t used it. We’ve only been out an hour.”

  “Yeah, it’s usually an oversensitive reader. The beeps are in sequence. If you listen, it should give you the error code. But— you could always come back, just in case.”

  Al Jahi fell silent. Rebecca stowed her tool and made her way closer to the captain. Al Jahi’s eyes were moving under the lids as if she were dreaming. It was unsettling. After a few moments of silence, Rebecca tapped the glass of Al Jahi’s helmet.

  “Captain? Are you okay? Maybe we should just go back. Or— or you can and I’ll finish. I’m tethered, it’s just a few welds—”

  Al Jahi grabbed Rebecca’s arm. She couldn’t feel it through the suit, but Al Jahi’s face had drained of color.

  “Yes, we’re going back. Both of us. We can— we can sort it out later.” She started to pull Rebecca back toward the door.

  “But we could be leaking oxygen. It will only take me a moment to finish the sheets—”

  “No, I—”

  Everything went silent again. Rebecca could see Al Jahi’s mouth moving, but there was no sound. She shook her head. “Your suit, it’s not broadcasting anymore. That must have been the error code,” she said. She tapped her own helmet. “I can’t hear you,” she said calmly, “Don’t worry, we’ll get you back.” Al Jahi tapped her own helmet and shook her head. She couldn’t hear either. She yanked on Rebecca’s arm. “Liu, Captain Al Jahi’s suit is malfunctioning. She can’t hear or broadcast. Something’s up with her feed.”

  They slid down the metal skin of the ship, the tethers guiding them around its stern. “Liu?” she asked after a moment. Still no response. She caught herself on the back edge of one wing. Al Jahi was ahead, already up and over. Rebecca fumbled with the suit’s feed access, changing channels on the feed. She tried Al Jahi first. “Captain, can you hear me? My feed is dead. I thought it was your suit but maybe it’s mine. Captain?” She waited a long moment but Al Jahi wasn’t even looking back, just frantically pulling herself along the ship. Rebecca switched to Liu’s private channel next. “Liu? Liu, come in. Something’s wrong with our suits. I don’t know if you can hear me, but we can’t hear you. Or each other. We’re headed back. You need to open the door.” She pulled herself up the wing, guiding the tether gently o
ver the edge. There was no answer from Liu. She stopped again to hitch the tether to the second rail. She felt it click into place and let go to switch back to the general channel. Still silence. She shook her head and pushed herself down the hull. Al Jahi pounded on the door ahead. Rebecca grew concerned. It was not a gentle knock. Something more serious must have gone wrong with her suit. The door opened and a gloved hand shot out, grabbing Al Jahi’s collar. The captain tumbled through the door. Rebecca was only twenty feet from the door now, but something glittered gold in the Wolfinger’s exterior lights as it extended from the doorway. She squinted, pulling herself closer. Metallic and moving, it swung out and Rebecca gasped as Issk’ath’s pincer closed around a nearby guide rung and it emerged from the Wolfinger.

  “No, Issk’ath!” she yelled. She had no idea what kind of effect raw space would have on the robot. It was built for a sheltered subterranean existence. How had it even made it out here? She waved an arm frantically at it. “Go back! It’s not safe, go back!” she screamed it and could see the mist of her breath on the glass in front of her. It couldn’t hear her. Of course not. She shoved forward, anxious to reach it as soon as she could, before any permanent damage could be done. She saw the Wolfinger’s door swing closed just as she reached Issk’ath. Chione must have been in more trouble than I thought. We’ll have to wait for the lock cycle.

  Issk’ath looked at her. She didn’t know if it was speaking or just staring. She pointed back to the door and then to it. “We have to go inside,” she said slowly, wondering if it had picked up on lip reading in its short time with them. It seemed unlikely, but then, no one had expected it to learn their language as quickly as it had. Or ever. She found a spare suit clip on her belt and looked over at Issk’ath. It hadn’t moved. She tapped its free pincer with her glove. It extended carefully toward her and she slid the suit clip over the end. She pushed the pincer gently closed. “Hold on,” she said slowly. She had no way to know if it heard, but she turned back to the end of the tether still clipped to the Wolfinger’s guide rail. She hated this part. Her hand shook a little as she reached for the clip and she took a moment to close her eyes and take a deep slow breath. It sounded thunderous in the suit. She opened her eyes and unhooked the tether, gripping the rail with one hand as she rolled up the long rope and slid it into the pocket of her suit.