“He grows weaker.”
OxeroidR drew closer, his weapon pointed at the exposed cranium.
“Siru, keep this area contained for me,” he directed, creating direction code on the fly. He needed a faster processor than his own eyes. On the other side, Rachel moved in to protect his other flank. “We are looking for a kill switch.”
Was he wrong? If he was, they were doomed, but he could not believe someone so skilled—
“Is this it?” the small robot asked.
“Interesting it’s like a petunia in the thistle patch,” Rachel said.
“Yes.” It took all his skill and the help he received from Rachel and Siru to get close enough to try flipping this switch without triggering what they sought to avoid. Almost it slipped away from him again, but Rachel pushed it gently back toward him. It circled in an eddy, like a floating flower. He rubbed his face and gave the switch a careful nudge. Alarms went off. “It needs a password.”
He thought a word he could not say aloud in Rachel’s presence. It was possible she thought her version of that word.
The stricken robot stirred. “…I’m sorry, Savlf.”
“Captain—” OxeroidR almost managed to sound distressed.
“Try…it…Savlf…”
Valyr looked at Rachel. “If it doesn’t work…”
“I understand.” Her hand touched his hair fleetingly, making the blue streams swirl around them. “I’m sorry.”
“As am I.”
There was complete silence in the control room. Even the music had ceased. He felt sweat bead his skin. Could tell the robot was losing ground. I love you, Rachel. He wished he could tell her, but why would she believe him? They’d spent so little time together.
“Spell it,” he ordered and was surprised when the robot managed it. He typed it in and entered it as a command.
The code strands seemed to tremble, the alarms spiking for what felt like a long time—and then the strands felt apart in beautiful fragments. Except for two words.
Help me.
And behind the image was the terrible sight of the woman caught in a spider’s web. Only her eyes—her almost dead, desperate eyes—were visible. Webbing covered every other part of her.
Help me.
Rachel reared back, the blue streams shattering like the hostile code. Bits and pieces of code continued to drift across her vision, but all she could see was the terrible image of the woman in the web. She knew it was a woman, because the strands clung to her body, outlining her shape and securing her legs, arms, and head, leaving only her eyes uncovered.
Her eyes. Rachel shuddered. Had that sad, desperate captive managed to reach out to them? Or was she the next step in the plot to trap the robots and subvert their will?
She stared at Valyr and knew he’d seen it, too. The horror of it remained in his eyes.
“Doc?” City was suddenly next to her. “You okay?”
Rachel managed to nod. She licked dry lips. “You didn’t…see it?”
“All I saw was lots of blue streaming things.”
And she’d cut CabeX off from his link with the other robots.
“Is he optimal?” OxeroidR asked. His weapon was still pointed at CabeX.
“I’ve stopped the virus. He is rebuilding and repairing his code,” Valyr said. Slowly the robot withdrew the weapon, with a muted whirring as it retracted into storage on his bulky arm.
Rachel might have geeked out, but she was too freaked out by that last image. She looked at OxeroidR, then their human, Kraye? She thought that was his name.
“Do you have someone after you that…” she almost felt embarrassed to ask “…oh, I don’t know, makes webs? Or something that looks like webs…”
Kraye didn’t hesitate. “Xaddek.” He almost spat the word.
“Xaddek,” OxeroidR agreed, “has long sought to control us and our ship. We did not know he could follow us here.”
He used a comet drive.
Rachel twisted toward the sound of the words. Couldn’t seem to help herself. “What’s a comet drive?”
Towards the end of their occupation of these outposts, the Garradians developed the comet drive to travel faster through space and time.
“Everyone likes faster,” Rachel admitted, “but how would this Xaddek get his hands on one?” No one had told her they found anything comet drive-like, but she wasn’t at the top of the email chain.
“He deals in stolen technology,” their human said.
The drives were installed in several of the Garradian ships before they abandoned the outposts.
So one or more Garradians could have exited stage right in some of the ships. Her mind drifted to the three empty slots in the bay. “Dragon ships. Do they have comet drives?”
She wasn’t quite sure why it mattered, but it did because Valyr gave a decided twitch.
Yes.
Their gazes clashed a bit. Not like a mean clash, but hers had questions and his said, later. She didn’t nod or anything, but she did direct her attention back to the Kraye.
“So, this Xaddek and his webs…”
“He is Heteropodidatian. They are nasty.”
“Bangle? You ever heard of…that?”
Heteropodidatian is a species of sentient spiders.
“Crap,” Rachel said. “I hate spiders.”
“What happened?” Xaddek demanded as the screen went dark.
“I’m not sure,” Zougrets admitted, casting a nervous glance at Savlf, then looking away. Sweat beaded his forehead.
Xaddek turned to the webbed woman, hanging almost unconscious in the strands. While Zougrets had monitored the code, he’d entertained himself by making her dance for him.
“Savlf.” He might be surprised her lids lifted. “Did you fail?”
She licked her lips, her voice, even through the system, a hoarse whisper. “The reprogramming takes time. He will fight it.”
“Will he lose?” His voice was hard. He sent a little fire along a strand of web.
“Yes.”
The complete despair in the single word was more convincing than the word itself. “How long?”
Numbers flickered on the screen and eventually settled on a time.
“I have time for supper then.”
Both sets of eyes watched him warily. He drew the moment out, then keyed his comm. “Bring me the artifact.”
The light grew brighter, pulling him out of a dark tunnel. His oculars rebooted. Distantly he wondered why. Focusing took longer than usual, but eventually, CabeX saw the anxious face of his First.
“Captain?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. Now he sensed strands of weakened poison code still struggling inside him. It was losing with the aid of some new programming. Even as he began studying this new code, his attention shifted to the two humans next to Kraye. He had planned to stun them, he recalled now. It was fortunate he had not succeeded. He felt their presence around the new code. The male was highly skilled with robotics code. The female was less skilled but had managed to do less damage than the virus. The virus. Savlf. She lived, or she had been alive when she sent the kill switch code. Did she live still? Inside the code, she’d helped him unlock, was the image. If he read the image correctly, she’d been forced to attack him, but had managed to save him. If he read it correctly. The image could be the next move by Xaddek—though he did wonder why the spider would think such an emotional plea would work with them? It was common knowledge they acted against slavers, he had to acknowledge, but they’d never embarked on rescue missions.
Which brought him back to the essential question. Was the image part of a plea for help he’d been receiving or a new trap? The desperate gaze in the trapped face would be difficult to forget for a robot who could forget nothing.
“How do you…feel?” the man asked.
“I feel…more optimal than I did.” He met the man’s gaze—Valyr—somehow he knew his name—and realized Valyr knew the battle was not over. It should be, but the vicious, near
ly perfect virus had weakened him. It had not worried about collateral damage as it drove toward his self-destruct code. It was an unusual sensation to feel unwell. It had been a long time.
“Do they—the ones who attacked you—do they know you’re all right?” the woman next to him asked him. “Or that you will be?”
He shook his head. All these humans, he was not accustomed to being around so many. It brought back memories, not all of them negative, but with an undercurrent of less optimum. He knew there were others close by. Most of his sensors were active again. She’d deactivated his link with his crew. After a careful examination of the area around the breach—the woman might be better than he’d credited her—he activated it once more. It was a relief to find them there, still with him. Still themselves. He shifted his cranium until his optics found OxeroidR. If he could have smiled, he would have. Thank you, my old friend. Only the slight movement of his friend’s head acknowledged he’d heard CabeX’s message.
“Well,” the female said, “we should start with hello, but we don’t have a lot of time, at least that’s what your crew and mine believe.” She hesitated a moment, but when he did not respond, she added, “I’m Rachel. Dr. Rachel Frank. That’s Valyr who did the code surgery. This is Sergeant City—”
A female in a uniform he did not recognize, and with a marked military presence edged in—and then out of view.
“And then there’s Bangle. That’s who you really wanted to meet, wasn’t it?”
I’m pleased to meet you, Captain CabeX.
Finally, something he could understand. As the link opened, he felt it join his systems, spreading healing where the virus had burned him.
“While you’ve been out, we’ve been talking.” Dr. Frank’s gaze moved to OxeroidR, who nodded. “We’ve been putting together a plan to step on your spider.”
Xaddek. They had taken care to avoid him, but it seemed he would not be avoided.
“I am listening,” he said.
16
“No, sir,” Doc said patiently. “We can see all the outposts.” They could get into all of them, but— “Central is still there. We can see it. Can’t see inside it.”
She wasn’t sure why they’d been shut out again. The last thing they’d seen had been the start of the firefight. Not the end. That’s all I know. She didn’t repeat the words. For the thousandth time. Doc exchanged a wry glance with Hel and then with her brother, Robert. They could see the two new bogeys lurking behind the planet’s single moon. They could see the original bogey holding the orbit it had taken up when it arrived. They could see Carey’s squadron closing on the original bogey’s position. They could see a lot—but not what they needed to see to stop the steam from coming out the General’s ears.
Whatever had shut down their comm links with the outposts, it had kept the links down, and shut them out again. Which meant they had no contact with Carey or their people in the outpost. All they could do was talk to each other, something Doc could have done without.
They had a couple of new names. Valyr. Bangle. She knew the robots got in from their last view before the link went down. Were they ones who had shut down communications? Were Frank and the parrot okay?
“We should be getting a message from Colonel Carey,” she offered. The old-fashioned way: via subspace signal. Which felt more like sending smoke signals after the speed the outposts had given them. There would be an update on why the transport and an escort had peeled off from the squadron. There had to be a ship bay in Central Outpost. It was the only explanation for the transport ship heading down. It felt good to know Marines were down there. Feel better to know everyone was okay.
You wish you were there.
She slanted the love of her life a look. Maybe.
This is not our battle. I think the quiet Dr. Frank may surprise you.
If that wimp surprises me that would be a surprise.
At some point, Bangle had started filtering love songs throughout the outpost. Rachel noticed it when she went to look for a ladies room while City and Carey argued out the details of the cobbled together plan. Bangle made a path for her to follow. Apparently, Valyr followed it, too, because he was waiting in the kind of anteroom where she’d had to shed her body armor to accomplish her goal.
The miracle was, she hadn’t already accomplished it during one of the many traumatic events of her red-shirt day. Was it still one day? She’d lost track of time. Felt like more than one day. Might have been more. She looked down at her watch, but her eyes couldn’t process what was there.
He stood just inside the archway, sans body armor, too. His and hers lay on a bench in the center of the room that divided the other his and hers. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his coverall. He looked more like the man she’d met earlier, only with clothes. She knew him so much better it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Was it crazy to think she knew why he had the furrow between his brows? The reason for the straight, rather grim line of his mouth? The tense line of a body she knew so well, but didn’t know the way she’d like to know it?
And since they were headed into the spider’s den, their chances of any more knowing was pretty slim.
He looked up abruptly, catching her looking at him and some of the worry softened.
“Rachel.”
The way he said her name sent a cascade of shivers down her spine. The love songs didn’t help. They gave her hope and ideas. Stuff that made her want to plan things, future things.
I could fall for him, could love him. Her own little Hallmark movie moment. Only with robots and spider bad guys. But otherwise very Hallmark.
They must have both moved in each other’s direction because she found herself inches from him in the middle of the room. Not touching. Just lots of looking. Into each other’s eyes. Trying to find and give answers so they could—what?
This wasn’t the happy ending moment. This was—well, she wasn’t sure what it was. She just knew she could stay in it forever. Though maybe just a little closer…
Did he move? Did she?
He was tall. She not so much. But love—passion—found a way.
If he’d been cold before, he wasn’t now. Only his lips touched hers, but it was like being seared by a flame thrower. Or—since this was a new galaxy—a star going nova.
She didn’t know how long the kiss lasted. She wasn’t sure when his arms went around her. Had no recollection of her wrapping her arms around him. One minute it was lips and then her arms were full of man. Strong, straight man.
It felt too short when they both fell back a few steps. Both of them were breathing rapidly. Her heart was pounding. His probably was too. Both hearts had been racing when they were chest to chest.
She wanted to say something, but what? What could she say to him? What could he say to her? They hadn’t known each other long enough to say anything important.
“Rachel,” his voice was a rough caress of sound. He closed his eyes, his hands clenching.
Because he wanted to grab her again? A girl could hope.
“Please…”
She might have rocked a little closer.
“…don’t…”
She rocked a little back.
“…do this. Stay here. Be safe.”
Okay, that was sweet. Did he have any idea how much she wanted to stay here? She hated spiders. And webs. She’d traveled to a new galaxy, and that might seem brave, but she’d been in the follow-up group. And—it had felt more like a flight from the past than an act of boldness. This, what they were planning? It was all the things her trip here hadn’t been. This was a find-out-what-you’re-made-of moment.
“Why are you going?” she asked instead. It wasn’t his circus. The robots weren’t his monkeys.
He turned away, rubbing his face. “I feel—you saw—”
“I did,” she agreed. The webbed figure of Savlf haunted, horrified her, too.
He swung back. “It is not your—”
“Problem? It’s not you
rs either,” she felt impelled to point out. The Urclock had called him from sleep, not the robots or Savlf.
Was it a coincidence that Bangle’s playlist switched to “I Need a Hero?” Rachel wanted to tell her to stop it.
He looked up as if suddenly processing the words. “I am not a hero.”
She stepped closer again, her hand hovering over his arm for a second before she touched his forearm. Even with care, there was a jolt, heat surging up through the cloth to sear the palm of her hand. She didn’t know much about love, or passion for that matter. But this didn’t feel…fleeting. It felt more like…finally. You. The one. Me. Your other half. Maybe it was crazy to think she could make a life with an alien from the past, but love was crazy. Or so she’d heard.
She’d touched his mind while they worked on the virus, had seen the fineness of it, had had a front seat for the determined way he’d fought for the life of a stranger who’d almost shot him.
She didn’t need a hero. That opening had been filled in her heart. She let herself see her dad in her mind’s eye, and for the first time, the pain was more poignant than punishing. She could use a partner in her life though. Even if all the things were equal, and he wanted her, too, would the higher-ups in the Expedition let her keep him? She’d breakfasted with those who could and did keep their odd and alien matchups, but eating food with them was not an induction into that Breakfast Club.
She looked down where his hand covered hers. She didn’t want to watch his face as he tried to persuade her to let him go. To step back and watch him head into danger and possible death.
She didn’t want to die, but she didn’t want to live in a world without him. She knew what that was like already.
She couldn’t keep him. He wasn’t hers to keep. But she could go with him, fight by his side, die with him, or for him?
Greater love hath no man—or woman.
Yeah, she could do that. And if they didn’t die? She loved him enough to let him go if that’s what he wanted. She’d lost before. She didn’t like it, but she knew how to do that now, too. It was not her first master’s program, but it had been her hardest.
Lost Valyr: Project Enterprise 7 Page 21
