Earth Shout: Book 3 in the Earth Song Series

by Nick Cook

  Niki, sitting opposite me, just shook his head with a look of bemusement on his face. And Jodie, whom I’d finally persuaded to join us, was looking anywhere but at Mike as she endlessly stirred the ice in her third mojito of the night.

  Mike screamed barely comprehensible lyrics into the mic.

  Jodie allowed herself a brief glance at his rock-god antics on stage. She bit her lip as her attention snapped back to her cocktail.

  If I needed any reminder why relationships at work were a seriously bad idea, Mike and Jodie were the poster boy and girl for it. To say that the atmosphere had been tense between them since Lucy’s return would have been the understatement of the century. Yes, they were utterly professional whilst working. But they now only talked to each other when absolutely necessary. The tense atmosphere between them had become so bad that the rest of us steered well clear of them when they were within a hundred metres of each other. So quite why I’d decided to sit on the same table as Jodie tonight was beyond me. Probably a misplaced act of sister solidarity.

  Niki’s hand tightened round his beer glass. It was as if he was imagining the glass was Mike’s neck. Maybe he wasn’t a big fan of the Sex Pistols?

  My gaze flitted over to a table in a cosy corner of the cavern, where Jack was sitting with Alice. I couldn’t help but notice how their heads were angled together as they spoke – to the point of almost touching. There had also been way too much eye contact for my liking. It was hard not to feel a little bit jealous at the blossoming friendship between them. I just needed to keep reminding myself that Jack and I’d had our chance with each other but had decided not to go there. And that was the end of it.

  The thrash of the instruments on the karaoke track came to a rip-roaring end. Nearly everyone was whooping and applauding.

  Leroy, the Rastafarian with a heart of gold who ran the Rock Garden, ducked under the counter and leapt up on to the stage to join Mike. He hushed the audience with his hands and clicked a button on a small remote. The lyrics on-screen behind him were replaced with a curved graph. It displayed a large golden needle that was currently pointing to zero.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, do you think we just heard the winner of tonight’s karaoke competition?’ Leroy called out.

  Lots of affirmative cries came back from the audience.

  ‘Well, let’s see if it’s official. Let’s hear your appreciation of Mike’s rendition of “My Way” and see what our clap-o-meter says.’

  The cavern rumbled with an earthquake of applause and cheers. The needle immediately shot up, almost reaching the very top of the arc. Ninety-two per cent flashed on screen. The clap-o-meter was then replaced by the leader board with Mike’s name now firmly at the very top.

  Leroy held Mike’s hand up in the air like a boxer who’d just won the match. ‘We have ourselves a winner, ladies and gentleman!’

  I resisted the urge to cheer and punch the air as Niki’s frown deepened and Jodie’s head bent so far downwards she was almost kissing the table.

  ‘Thank you, guys!’ Mike shouted. ‘As a sign of my appreciation, the next round is on me.’

  The applause became ear-splitting as Mike jumped off the stage. Everyone surrounded him to pat him on the back or shake his hand. Even Ruby gave him a fist bump complete with finger explosion.

  Mike started to head towards our table, but, spotting Jodie, he veered away towards Jack and Alice’s table instead.

  I couldn’t help but feel a small victory as he joined them. Two’s company, three’s a crowd…

  The furrows on Niki’s forehead were so deep now they could have been carved from rock. I had no idea why he was developing such a problem with Mike. The atmosphere at our table desperately needed a different focus and quickly, especially now the ear-bleeding music had finished and conversation was possible again.

  I leant towards Jodie. ‘So, how is progress with Ariel?’

  Jodie’s eyes rose to mine and her face brightened. ‘Actually, really well, Lauren. The gravity field generated by the REV drive is nearly stable after all the improvements, thanks to the AI’s help.’

  Although most of Jodie’s quiet fury seemed to have been directed towards Mike, it was hard not to notice that she now refused to refer to Lucy by her name. At least AI was an improvement over computer, which had been her term for her only a week ago.

  Niki stopped glowering across at Mike long enough to turn his attention towards Jodie. ‘Does that mean you’re almost ready for the first test flight?’

  Jodie nodded. ‘Probably early next week if we keep making progress like we currently are.’

  Niki sighed. ‘That’s what I was worried about.’

  I tightened my eyes on him. ‘But this is what we’ve all been working towards. It will help even things up against the Overseers during any mission.’

  ‘Maybe it will, but I’m still not happy about the choice of test pilot.’

  ‘You mean Alice insisting she’ll be the one in the hot seat?’

  ‘Exactly. She’s far too essential to Eden. But she seems happy to risk the future of this whole organisation on what amounts to a joyride. Especially when the key technology has been supplied by that damned computer avatar.’

  I flinched, taken aback by Niki’s sharp tone. Jodie had every right to be hostile towards Lucy, even though she did a good job of keeping a lid on her emotions for the sake of getting the job done. But Niki too? And why the attitude?

  Jodie shook her head at Niki. ‘Actually, even I have to admit that the AI’s work is astonishing. The entire science team have been over all the schematics for the new REV drive components with a fine-tooth comb and can’t find a single flaw. Whatever else that AI is, she certainly knows what she’s talking about. As far I’m concerned, Alice has every right to be confident that the first flight will be a huge success.’

  I nodded. ‘Jodie’s right. When it comes to cutting-edge science, Lucy really does know her stuff. If Jodie and Alice are confident in her – as I am, and the rest of the team, then maybe you should be too, Niki?’

  ‘That’s as maybe, but we’re talking about a test flight here,’ he said. ‘You well know those are to shake down any problems, problems that might include the REV drive failing for some unforeseen reason. All I keep picturing is Ariel plummeting out of the sky with Alice on-board. So forgive me if I don’t share your enthusiasm.’

  Jodie held up her hand. ‘Before you get yourself too wound up, Alice and even the AI stated that we need a backup plan just in case that highly unlikely scenario happens. So we have a plan B for that eventuality. We’ve designed an escape pod system to cover any major technical malfunction.’

  ‘Niki, please relax and stop imaging the worst,’ I said. ‘Jodie and the team really have got every angle covered.’

  But Niki growled in a good impression of a bear waking up with a migraine. ‘There’s always going to be an element of risk, however good the preparations are. And what if something goes wrong, like a catastrophic explosion in the REV drive and our illustrious leader is killed?’

  Jodie pulled a face. ‘Well, for your information, Alice has even prepared for that scenario too. She’s left a list of key personnel who will take over the running of Sky Dreamer Corp. in her private safe. I happen to know that this includes you.’

  Niki didn’t reply, but this time made a sound like a bear gnawing on a bone. The person sitting before me seemed like a completely different guy to the relaxed person who’d taught me how to use a weapon properly.

  I leant on my elbows. ‘Look, Niki, let’s face it, Alice is a force of nature. You might as well accept it’s going to happen whether you want it to or not.’

  The imaginary bone splintered in Niki’s mouth as his jaw clamped down, emitting a humph sound.

  Over his shoulder I noticed that Mike had excused himself from Jack and Alice. As I watched them laugh together, my inner teenager felt something twist inside me, even though I’d no right to feel anything.

  My smart watch pinged
and I glanced down to see Lucy’s name on the screen.

  ‘I need you down in the lab, Lauren,’ her voice said from the watch’s speaker.

  It was as good an excuse as any to get away from this toxic atmosphere. ‘Looks like I’m needed elsewhere,’ I said to the others.

  Jodie peered at me. ‘Would you like me to come with you?’

  ‘If I need you, I’ll shout, but you should stay here with Niki and chill otherwise. You deserve a break after all your hard work.’

  ‘Not sure this is my idea of a good time at the moment, but OK.’

  You and me both, I thought as I nodded towards her.

  Niki just raised his chin a fraction at me, quickly returning to staring at Mike’s back whilst he joked with Leroy as he topped up his beer at the bar. Yes, the atmosphere in here was acidic and the sooner I got away from it the better.

  I entered the lab to see Lucy on the monitors of the Cage at an easel. She was gently dabbing her paintbrush on a canvas that had its back to me. Painting was definitely a new thing for Lucy and I found myself immediately desperate to know what she was working on.

  ‘Hi, what’s the emergency?’ I asked as I walked towards the AR room.

  ‘Nothing, I just wanted to give you an excuse to get yourself out of that awkward situation. Not to mention it was getting painful watching you smash your heart on the jagged rocks of unrequited love.’

  I pulled up short and stared at Lucy as she peered at me over her canvas with a grin. ‘What do you mean by that?’

  ‘Oh, come on. I saw those puppy-dog eyes you were giving Jack throughout the karaoke evening.’

  ‘Even if that was remotely true, how could you possibly know that?’

  ‘I got bored working here by myself whilst you guys were off having all the fun. So I hacked my way into Eden’s security system. I now have access to every camera in this facility. Now I can keep an eye on my favourite people.’

  ‘Anything to do with Mike by any chance?’

  Lucy grin widened. ‘Busted. Anyway, I also grabbed the opportunity to link into the communication network. That means you can now talk to me from anywhere within this complex.’

  ‘You do that realise that basically amounts to spying on everyone?’

  ‘Piffle. We’re all one big happy family. I’m only trying to help.’

  ‘So you’re telling me there’ll be no getting away from you now?’

  Lucy pouted at me, something I’d never seen my real Aunt Lucy do in her life. ‘I could take that personally.’

  I put my hands on my hips. ‘Maybe you should. But back to Jack. I so wasn’t making puppy-dog eyes at him.’

  Lucy just raised her eyebrows at me and crossed her arms.

  I pulled a face at her. ‘All right, maybe a little.’

  ‘That’s better. You do know you can be honest with me about these things. And especially if you need a girlfriend to talk to.’

  ‘If you say so.’

  ‘I most certainly do. From all the information I’ve been able to dig up about the human mating process, I think the nearest comparison is that you’re behaving like a hormonal teenager whose got the hots for the captain of the football team.’ A smile curled the corners of her mouth.

  ‘Thanks for that flattering analogy, girlfriend.’

  ‘Here to help,’ Lucy replied, her grin growing ever wider.

  ‘Anyway, you can talk, Miss Let’s Objectify My Aunt’s Body So You Can Get Into Mike’s Pants…if that’s actually a thing you can do?’

  ‘Oh, trust me, my homework on human intercourse wasn’t just for your benefit.’

  ‘Ewww!’ I held out a hand to stop her. ‘Whatever algorithm in your code is responsible for your behaviour towards Mike, you seriously need to have a word with it. You do know that you’ve turned the relationship between him and Jodie into a car crash?’

  Lucy shrugged. ‘Mike’s a big boy. He can look after himself.’

  ‘Maybe he can, but I can’t help but feel that you’re stirring things up deliberately,’ I said as I opened the door to the Cage.

  The AI fluttered her eyelashes at me as she briefly faded as I entered. ‘What, little innocent me?’ She looked back at her canvas and made several dabs on it with her paintbrush.

  This conversation was the equivalent of pushing a boulder up hill, so I decided to change the subject. I gestured towards her canvas. ‘I didn’t know you were an artist.’

  ‘Your species is fascinating in so many ways, but it’s your artistic expression that is one of your finest achievements. From music and dance to books and the visual arts, and everything in between, you as a race have really intrigued me. So I thought I’d give it a go myself and try to really understand this form of self-expression.’

  ‘You certainly take your homework seriously. So what are you painting?’ I began to walk round so I could get a clear look at her canvas.

  ‘Oh, nothing important,’ Lucy said as she grabbed the painting off the easel and placed it behind her back.

  However, this billions-year-old AI might have been smarter than the whole human race put together, but she hadn’t thought through the fact she was standing inside a reflective glass box. I could see a portrait image of Mike displayed across the transparent prismatic mirrors behind her. It looked as if it was painted in the style of the Pre-Raphaelites, so stunning that it wouldn’t have been out of place in the Tate, even if its subject matter was slightly unsettling.

  I obviously stared a fraction too long, because Lucy glanced over her shoulder and thinned her lips. ‘Damn it!’ The canvas dissolved away into particles, her paintbrush along with it.

  ‘I’m not sure what Mike would say if he knew you were immortalising him in that way.’

  Lucy wrinkled her nose at me. ‘Then it will just have to be our little secret – along with your puppy-dog eyes.’

  ‘That sounds like blackmail to me!’

  ‘No, just girlfriends looking out for each other,’ she replied. ‘Anyway, I did have a serious reason for getting you down here.’ Lucy clicked her fingers and a hologram schematic for the REV drive appeared, floating in the Cage. ‘I’ve made something of a breakthrough with Ariel’s gravity-disruptor drive system and we’re ready to go. And when I say ready, I mean as in a test flight tomorrow ready.’

  ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Seriously. I’ve downloaded the revised plans to the 3D printers and they will have the new components ready by the morning. After a quick installation, we’ll be all set. Bring your popcorn – it promises to be one hell of a flight.’

  Despite my irritation with Lucy, a huge sense of relief washed over me. This was the best news we’d had in a long time. And I knew one woman who would be over the moon when I told her, although Niki would be much less so.

  Chapter Five

  After all the frenetic activity centred on the Ariel prototype during the last few hours, it was almost eerily quiet in here now. The sense of expectation grew stronger by the minute in the launch silo, almost like the building of static before a thunderstorm. Jodie and the team of engineers were making last-minute adjustments to the REV gravity-reduction drive through an access hatch.

  Meanwhile, I stood with Jack, Mike and Ruby, watching the final preparations to get Ariel ready for her first flight. Niki and Alice, who’d positioned her wheelchair on a platform hoist that would raise her up into the belly of the craft, were locked in an intense conversation.

  Niki scowled at her as if it were an Olympic sport. ‘Look, all I’m saying is that you should let one of our other experienced pilots take Ariel out for her first test flight.’

  Alice sighed. ‘I realise you have the best intentions, but you need to respect my decision, Captain.’

  Ruby winced. ‘She only calls Niki that when she is seriously pissed with him,’ she whispered.

  Our head of security crossed his arms. ‘I will, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy with it.’

  Jodie glanced over at Niki as she finished fastening the last
bolt into place. ‘Please, you need to take a chill pill about this flight. I’ve run hundreds of simulations and they have all come up with perfect scores.’

  Niki shook his head. ‘With all due respect, Jodie, they were still only simulations. We’re talking about someone putting their life on the line here.’

  Mike whispered to us, ‘The problem for Niki is that Alice is the one in charge and she gets to make the rules.’

  He obviously hadn’t said it quietly enough because Niki’s head snapped round and he glowered at Mike. His look was so hostile that for a moment I thought the head of security might actually march over and thump Mike in the face.

  But Jodie had already crossed to Niki, placing a hand on his arm and shaking her head. That touch was like someone had hit the off switch on Niki’s anger and his shoulders dropped. Mike had a lot to thank Jodie for, since she’d somehow defused Niki’s fury.

  A voice-clearing cough echoed round the landing bay from the speakers. ‘I couldn’t help but hear what you were all saying,’ Lucy said. ‘And I have to say I have a lot of sympathy for Niki’s concern.’

  Niki pulled himself up to his full six feet two inches. ‘At least one person round here is listening to me.’

  ‘Actually, I think you have a point too,’ Jack said.

  ‘Aha, so you see, Alice. It’s not just me who’s worried about you unnecessarily risking your life like this.’

  Alice rolled her eyes at Jack. ‘I thought you might at least understand. You know how much this flight means to me.’

  ‘Yes I do, but you also know it’s risky,’ he replied.

  She shook her head and then turned in her chair to give me a challenging look. ‘And what about you, Lauren. I suppose you agree with Jack?’

  I raised my hands. ‘Hey, keep me out of this. I can see it from both sides.’