“I must admit, I thought the Najer had better scanning on its ship.” The spider was silent for a few moments as they all watched the ships track this way.
What did he want those ships to know was on this ship?
“I’m sure the Najer has heard my ship carries a Trozzerd Emitter 3DXZ and a Beugrimt Seeker 55THT. They are quite illegal, but I do not concern myself with trifles.”
A what and a who? Bangle didn’t rush to answer, but she might not know what those were either.
“Both are quite ingenious. When a Trozzerd is at full power, it fires streams of harmless energy particles. They are small enough to pass through even the most sensitive shield, but as soon as they interact with any shield energy, well, let’s say they become quite explosive on the other side.”
Rachel must have made a move forward because her web strands tightened. The spider laughed softly.
“If they drop their shields, then the Buegrimt, a most sophisticated heat seeking missile, will destroy them.”
Rachel’s hands curled into fists.
“Yes, I’m afraid they will all be destroyed. Such a waste. I would have liked to secure the robots loyalty. And inside the other ships, I’m sure there were tasty morsels aboard. Something new for my table.”
Suddenly getting blown to pieces was looking pretty good.
“But I’ll have CabeX as a consolation prize.”
He wouldn’t. They’d all be dead…
He sighed, the claws closest to his eyes flexing as if he already had the robot in its grasp. “Speaking of CabeX, where did he get to? Ah.” A pause. “How interesting. He is trying to free Savlf. Should I feel slighted he is more interested in her than in killing me?”
Now the tracking screen changed to a video view of Savlf’s prison. She hung in the web trap, her head lolled as far to the side as the web allowed. She looked barely alive though the system that monitored her showed a faint heartbeat. It distantly surprised Rachel that she could read her vitals without knowing the language labels. Apparently, there were a few things that were universal. Like breathing and heart rate.
“There is a price for betrayal. But she dances so beautifully, don’t you think?”
Lights tracked along the webbing. When the pulses reached her body, she arched in the vicious “dance.” Her mouth was covered with the web, but her eyes screamed. Bile rose in Rachel’s throat. Savlf’s vitals fluctuated wildly. She couldn’t take much more, but Rachel would bet this thing knew exactly how much she could take without dying.
“I didn’t realize she still had hope. I shall have to do something about that. After I deal with you. And CabeX, of course. Now, should I launch the new, stronger virus outside Savlf’s prison or should I let him inside so they can see each other? It would be entertaining for him to know she’d betrayed him before I take him over. Choices, choices…”
Oh, that was bad, but also, oddly good news. If he launched the virus now, they were all dead. If he waited, well, they had a slim chance. So slim, she didn’t have an equation for it, but a chance was a chance. As long as CabeX thought they had a chance, he wouldn’t trigger his self-destruct. Of course, if the spider launched the virus, it was over. It felt like the Urclock started ticking inside her head, louder than the music. And just like the Urclock, Rachel didn’t know the numbers counting down to all over.
The screens faded, leaving them in the dark with the eyes.
Rachel fought the despair the spider wanted her to feel. The inevitability of death or defeat. She couldn’t even count the moments of life left to them. All that was left was the darkness and the eyes, watching, waiting for them to react and let him enjoy their pain.
Pain. She knew about pain. About loss. About the gamut of emotions that went through you when your life changed between one heart beat and the next. She knew.
He—the spider—thought he knew, but he didn’t know everything.
He didn’t know what had happened down on the outpost when his first virus failed.
He didn’t know that CabeX was a bomb that would go off as soon as he tried to breach his systems again.
He didn’t know them. He didn’t know how hard her people fought even if the fighting was inside her head.
He didn’t know the caliber of the people who opposed him.
Not all of them would get out alive. Maybe none of them would, but the spider would be defeated.
One way or another.
She felt the inner darkness push back. She felt hope send up a tiny sprout, not much, but something. She wanted to live. She wanted them all to live. What could she do to help that happen?
“I will admit you interest me. Not terribly, but enough.”
That sounded super sinister. Enough for what? A brief reprieve? Bad guys who gave good guys a reprieve while they bragged always lost in the movies. This isn’t a movie. It wasn’t, but time was time. It was—an opportunity to excel.
“I will require a briefing about the species, important to minor, in this galaxy.” There was a pause. “And of course, I need to know who you are, and information about who you used to serve.”
Used to serve. That would never happen, she reminded herself. They’d either get out of this or die. It was hard not to think about Savlf, though. To fear this thing could win. He was curious, she realized. He knew he didn’t know everything. Was there opportunity in curiosity?
“I think you owe it to me,” the voice became even more gentle, “since you interrupted my dinner.”
The light came up, taking its time, flowing forward from behind the eyes so that they saw the spider first, the shadows in front of him getting deeper at first.
Rachel inhaled shakily. Totally a spider. A freaking huge spider. The sight of it almost took out her knees.
Eight legs to go with the eight eyes. A shiny, bulbous head around the eyes. A glimpse of the body behind the table or whatever it was he lurked behind. The arrangement of his legs was almost crab-like in the way the front ones curled around. But it was his mouth that grabbed the spotlight.
It gaped open, dripping a red that almost looked like blood—
The light reached the table. His dinner table.
She stared, respirations spiking. Heart rate, too.
It couldn’t be…
Interrupted my dinner.
Dinner. A human…his torso savagely ripped open—
More than bile surged into her mouth.
At least it was dead…
His eyes moved, finding them in a desperate plea for help.
She ripped at her headgear so violently the webs couldn’t stop her. A scream not silent, not willing to stay in her throat, ripped out just ahead of the vomit surging up…
The scream echoed around the spider’s lair, coming back at her waves that seemed to grow louder and louder…
She fell forward, at first catching on the web, but then it let her drop to her knees, as she retched again and again. Maybe it liked the sight of her on her knees in front of it…
Even staring down at her vomit could not erase what she’d seen.
Valyr.
Valyr’s clone.
Another parrot? City found it hard to keep her Marine stone face in place. They’d worked their way at considerable risk through this ship to find a…parrot?
Their parrot had already trotted through the hole the robot had made. Now the robot contracted his moose profile and followed the parrot in.
“The locking mechanisms are electronic,” Sir Rupert said, his cackle voice echoing around what must be a high, hollow space. “Can you release—”
City heard the echo of laser fire similar to that OxeroidR had used on the brig door. There were more shots than echo could account for, enough to make her wonder how many prisoners he was freeing. They didn’t have the resources to protect one prisoner, let alone more than one. City’s nerves stretched tighter as her danger, Will Robinson closed on its max setting. Their incoming was getting close.
According to the settings on her
head gear, they were due for an update from Bangle. She mentally counted down to zero, and her wider view did update.
Nothing. Not a life sign within two decks of them? Kraye looked back at her, tapping the side of his headgear as if asking the same question she had.
City bit her lip, then lowered her chin to the comm switch. “Bangle?”
I am here.
Was she? “Get ready to deploy Whiskey Papa Tango on my command.” If Bangle was still on the comm—
Preparing to deploy Whisky Papa Tango on your command.
So that wasn’t Bangle. She couldn’t meet Kraye’s gaze because they couldn’t see each other with the visors down, but she tapped the side of her headgear and shook her head. She shouldered her weapon and dug her shoulder into the metal side of the corridor, hoping Kraye got the message. Her suit detected motion in a corridor that her heads-up display, that Bangle, insisted was empty. So either she’d been co-opted or, their feed had been co-opted. Which meant she also wouldn’t be able to reach her Mikes on Golf Sierra Zulu.
She was about to lean out and fire when something touched her shoulder. She turned and found OxeroidR there, their parrot on his shoulder, his wing sort of wrapped protectively around another parrot. On the other shoulder was a squirrel. A moose and a squirrel? For just a second the voice in her head got a Russian accent. Then she noticed he was carrying a couple of hedgehogs in the crook of one arm. Using his free hand, he held it out. The injured parrot hopped on, followed by Sir Rupert. He extended them to her. After a brief hesitation, she angled her shoulder for them to make the transfer. Then OxeroidR gently set the two hedgehogs on his free shoulder.
City lifted her visor to ask, “How bad is—?”
“She is mostly traumatized and scared,” Sir Rupert said. One wing stroked the head of the female bird. He’d come here to get a date?
Before City could start to assess the challenges of a fire fight with two birds on her shoulder, both birds eased down her back, settling in the same position he’d taken on Kraye’s back. She felt his head tucked against her neck. The other parrot must have hunkered down.
“Could we take the bridge?” she murmured, as much to herself as Sir Rupert. Still take the bridge, she should have said. How badly were they compromised? There’d be no element of surprise now.
OxeroidR fell back to her side, animals perched on both shoulders and no sign this bothered him. Kraye, still weapons ready, slid over to join them in front of the gaping hole that had been the brig hatch. No one could say the robot wasn’t thorough.
“There are more sentient beings trapped in the hold of this ship,” the squirrel said.
The squirrel said.
City thought about objecting, but there wasn’t time. “Then we have to take the bridge.” They had to seize control of the ship to save anyone else, including themselves. It was possible the Mikes had already pushed back.
OxeroidR was quiet for a couple of seconds. “According to my display, there are more life signs in the direction of the bridge.” He pointed where he’d been.
“We can’t trust the display,” City said flatly.
“We could head back, try to fight our way to Golf Sierra Zulu,” Kraye said, though City sensed he believed it was not an option his robot friend would choose.
“We will seize the ship,” OxeroidR said, his neutral tone somehow carried more weight than City’s.
Good thing he agreed with her. If there were sentient prisoners on this ship, they couldn’t blow it without trying to seize control first.
“I noticed a repair access panel close by,” City said, “when I was studying our route.” It was also closer to the supposedly greater concentration of life signs. Were they trying to drive them back toward engineering? According to the schematic, there were fewer life signs between them and engineering. So that probably meant there were more. Had engineering had turned into a trap? If they had hostages…she shook off that thought. Her Mikes would not be an easy get.
“It would be difficult to protect each other in the life support ducts,” OxeroidR said.
“I was thinking about the animals,” she said. She hated getting separated, but how were they supposed to fight with their hands full of critters? “My headgear is supposed to be resistant to heat signature and other scans. They could hide inside until we take control of the ship.” She said this confidently like it was a matter of time. Just because the enemy knew they were here did not mean they knew about the other team, on the other ship, or the squadron closing in.
“The comet drive,” OxeroidR said, suddenly, “your human scientist said the technology was Garradian.”
“Yes, she did,” City agreed.
“What other technology might they have stolen?”
City felt her body chill. “Like Garradian scanning tech?”
“Yes.”
“Does the scanning technology see the phase cloaked ships?” Kraye asked.
“I don’t know,” City admitted. But it did see regular Garradian cloaks, like those Carey’s squadron, used. “But if they have it, then they know the squadron is with your ship.”
There was a short silence. “Then we definitely must take this ship.”
He had a point. It might be their only ride home.
CabeX was still assessing the protections around the chamber he believed held Savlf when he saw them begin to collapse. It appeared that the two humans had been successful in overcoming Xaddek and penetrating his system. Except that they had not informed him of their progress as was mission protocol.
On his headset, it appeared he was still on a live comm link with them.
Appeared.
He considered how to discern if the link was still live. He did not wish to alert any hostiles to his suspicions, but he needed to know.
Bangle?
I am here.
Was she? Initiate Staeps Stimsa. It meant nothing, was not an actual program. How she responded would determine if he was still connected to her.
Initiating Staeps stimsa.
Not Bangle, then. Where had their exposure occurred? It was possible the messages from Savlf had been a trap from the beginning, a way to get access to his systems, but the virus had not come through the message access point. That did not mean she was not the lure to draw him here to this chamber. When he entered, he would know.
It seemed apparent that the humans had failed to neutralize Xaddek, and it was possible all teams were compromised. He must assume this and make his decisions based on the worst case. If he did not, Xaddek would win the board.
If he were wrong, not all would be lost. The Najer, and the ships accompanying it would survive. The blast radius would ensure that no one on either ship would survive. But if the pincers of a trap were closing, death would be a mercy. Xaddek liked to play with his food before consumption.
Standing in this dank and dismal corridor, he wondered why he struggled so hard to live. What drove him, what drove all of those on his crew to keep going? To keep trying for what? To keep fighting for this…metal life? All his choices, all his struggles had been funneled down to this moment. This door.
He stood on one side.
Savlf might be on the other.
Whether willingly or no, she was part of the trap.
If she was in there…
Her eyes had asked, no, they had begged without hope for what he’d fought to secure and then keep.
Freedom.
He could walk through that door and free them all. End the hunting and being hunted.
Why did he hesitate? Did he still have hope? If they survived, then what? What did he want?
In his processor’s eye, he stared into her eyes and wondered…
With the enemy closing in on both sides, they elected to use the repair ducts, at least for a short time. The two parrots did a good job of being cling-ons. She might have winced a bit at this—the single positive about being separated from her Mikes. Oh yeah, they would have said it out loud.
OxeroidR�
��s cling-ons were hanging in there pretty good, too. When they found a spot that looked pretty safe for the animals, they all indicated they’d rather continue to cling. On. Oh man. Instead of shaking her head at her bad jokes, she looked around for a more secure, ride along solution.
She patted down the pockets of her suit. She’d stowed a few of her things in some of the pockets, but she thought she remembered seeing lightweight rope and webbing—yup. With Kraye’s assistance, they rigged a rudimentary backpack for OxeroidR’s critters. The parrots indicated their ability to keep their perches and refused to be separated when Kraye offered his back for one of them so that left City with two parrots on her back.
They resumed their climb with OxeroidR once more on point, but this time City had Kraye on their six, to protect the birds.
A few decks up, OxeroidR risked accessing the ship’s systems. There were so many alerts now, it seemed unlikely one of the crew would notice it, or act on it in time.
“They have isolated engineering, while they concentrate forces on finding us.” OxeroidR had also isolated them from the fake Bangle. “They hope to encourage our retreat to engineering and trap us between two forces.”
“They are arranged so that it will be difficult to take full advantage of your skills, OxeroidR,” Kraye murmured.
“Does that mean they know he’s on board?” City asked.
“I doubt they know,” Kraye said. “OxeroidR is most difficult to track.”
She nodded. “So they suspect he might be on board and are trying to minimize his effectiveness.” She’d sure like to see his full operating skills. Always something to learn. “Do you think they have taken engineering?”
OxeroidR studied the data. “We can not fully trust this data. They will know, if I am on board, that I can see this, too. But I do not believe engineering has been attacked yet. If we have secure transmission, that they can not stop, then we would know we can not retreat that way. They hope to neutralize or capture us first, then take engineering.”
Lost Valyr: Project Enterprise 7 Page 26
