Refuge 9 (Fire and Rust Book 5)

by Anthony James

  “What the hell?” Conway attempted to say. His mouth didn’t work and the words didn’t come out.

  REFUGE 9> I have brought you here.

  Conway had no idea if his first words had been understood. He tried again. “Who are you?” Still his mouth wouldn’t move, yet he was sure he was communicating. His certainty was confirmed.

  REFUGE 9> I control this facility.

  “Are you reading my mind?”

  REFUGE 9> In a way. The method is not important.

  “Then what is important?”

  REFUGE 9> The Sekar have broken through to my interior. I have also detected another species which is only recently known to me.

  “Raggers.”

  REFUGE 9> These Raggers have disabled some of my access to areas of the facility. I am intact, but in many ways I am helpless.

  “You brought me and my squad here.”

  REFUGE 9> Yes.

  “Why?”

  REFUGE 9> To understand.

  “To understand what?”

  REFUGE 9> Let us start with your name.

  “Tanner Conway. I’m a captain in the Unity League Armed Forces. Now what do you hope to understand?”

  REFUGE 9> This exchange between us will answer my questions.

  Conway wasn’t sure he liked the implication of that. “My species and the second species with me are fighting the Sekar.”

  REFUGE 9> And the Raggers?

  “The Raggers look out for their own interests. We fought them and now we have a temporary truce. Until we defeat the Sekar.”

  REFUGE 9> The Sekar cannot be defeated, only contained.

  “How do you know?”

  REFUGE 9> My creators – the Ravok – have spent centuries trying. Now, those few of us who are left can only flee and hope to perpetuate our race. Perhaps we are already extinct.

  “Were all those dead people we found here Ravok?”

  REFUGE 9> That is correct.

  “What killed them?”

  REFUGE 9> Stasis failure.

  Conway was sure there was a story behind it happening and he was interested to learn more about the history of the base. Duty came first and he put the temptation aside.

  “What do you need me and my squad for?” he asked. “I guess you brought us here for a reason.”

  REFUGE 9> I am unsure. Your arrival in this facility represents an unexpected shift in possibilities.

  “What sort of shift?” asked Conway suspiciously.

  REFUGE 9> Let us continue our discussion.

  Conway expected the sphere to say something else, but it didn’t. He realized it was waiting for him. “What do you want to discuss? And how come I can’t move?”

  REFUGE 9> Which question is more important?

  “They are both important. Why can’t I move?”

  REFUGE 9> You are in a stasis field. I can communicate with you while you are inside the field. When the field ends, it will appear as though no measurable time has elapsed.

  Conway was sure the scientists back on Earth would be excited at the thought. Here and now, it wasn’t so great being trapped by what he guessed was a sentient computer. “So what should we discuss?” he repeated.

  REFUGE 9> You are here to obtain something.

  There it was. The carrot dangled for Conway to take a bite out of if he wanted. He was being tempted into making a leap of faith – to put his trust in a completely unknown entity.

  “I have been asked to investigate this base as part of the truce humanity and the Fangrin have with the Raggers,” he said, hedging his bets.

  REFUGE 9> The Raggers cannot survive the energy burst.

  “I assume that’s what we’ve been calling the death pulse.”

  REFUGE 9> Then we will call it the death pulse. It kills the Raggers and the Sekar, but not humans or Fangrin. Therefore, you have been given the risks.

  “Yes.”

  REFUGE 9> What about the rewards?

  “To be shared equally.”

  REFUGE 9> To what end?

  “To defeat the Sekar.”

  REFUGE 9> Do you believe in your friends?

  Conway didn’t feel like he should give too much away. “Why do you ask?”

  REFUGE 9> Are you uncomfortable with the answer?

  “Yes.”

  REFUGE 9> Why?

  “The Unity League is at war. It’s not wise to give out information when I don’t know who’s asking or why they need to know.”

  REFUGE 9> You look at the future and you do not like what you see. Perhaps I can change that.

  “How can you help?”

  REFUGE 9> The tharniol sphere holds many of your warships in stasis.

  Conway suddenly felt completely out of his depth, like a college dropout who’d lied his way into a top job at a scientific research center and was now being asked to solve incomprehensible mathematical equations containing symbols he didn’t recognize.

  “Tharniol sphere?” he asked.

  REFUGE 9> A sanctuary. The facility teleporter is malfunctioning. It placed your ships inside.

  “How many ships are within this sphere?”

  REFUGE 9> 251 in total.

  Attack Fleet 1 – one of the three attack forces tasked with taking out the Ragger manufacturing facilities -was missing, presumed destroyed. Conway’s first thought was that the fleet had ended up in the tharniol sphere that Refuge 9 just mentioned. Except that AF1 comprised only 140 warships. If the Iron Cell had been teleported into the same place, that still only made 141.

  “That is more warships than we sent to Glesia.”

  REFUGE 9> Some belong to a different species.

  “Raggers.”

  REFUGE 9> That is my conclusion.

  “Are the crews of those spaceships alive?”

  REFUGE 9> I believe so.

  “Can you free them?”

  REFUGE 9> Not while the main teleporter is malfunctioning. The likely cause is a failure in one of the control modules.

  “I’m no technician.”

  REFUGE 9> Installing a replacement does not require skill.

  “So you want me to fix a broken teleporter?”

  REFUGE 9> Yes.

  “And then you can free those warships?”

  REFUGE 9> Once you upload new control software into the module.

  “Another job.”

  REFUGE 9> I will install the software into the computer fitted to your combat suit.

  “And then the spaceships go free?”

  REFUGE 9> Yes.

  “Just the Unity League and Fangrin spaceships?”

  REFUGE 9> All of them. I will be required to purge the tharniol sphere.

  “What about all these Sekar running about the place?”

  REFUGE 9> Once you fix the teleporter, the death pulse will no longer trigger. It is a defense against the Sekar rifts.

  “Meaning that it only works when it detects Sekar in this facility?”

  REFUGE 9> That is correct.

  “Any chance you might share that tech with us?”

  REFUGE 9> Yes.

  He might have been talking to a machine, but Conway knew when he was being drip-fed. “I take it you can’t just send a few schematics into my suit computer?”

  REFUGE 9> The documentation for the death pulse hardware requires an entire data array of its own. I will provide you with the location details once you have repaired the teleporter.

  “Then you free the warships?”

  REFUGE 9> Yes.

  “What do you gain from this? I mean, I appreciate that you’ll free our spaceships and all, and let us walk out of here with your data arrays, but what do you or the Ravok get from this?”

  REFUGE 9> When the teleporter is repaired, I will send the death pulse generator to the other refuges.

  “To save the Ravok?”

  REFUGE 9> Yes.

  “Are they alive?”

  REFUGE 9> I do not believe so.

  “Why are you doing it?”

  REFUGE 9> Bec
ause I must.

  “Isn’t all this teleporting what brought the Sekar here in the first place?”

  REFUGE 9> It is possible to transport from place to place without opening rifts. The Ravok have techniques which allow them to teleport safely.

  “Maybe that’s information in another data array?”

  REFUGE 9> It will not be shared.

  “Why not?”

  REFUGE 9> The Sekar will come.

  “You said there was a way to prevent that.”

  REFUGE 9> It is better if you do not pursue the discovery of teleportation technology. The Ravok know about the Sekar. Should my enemy find a permanent way to enter this universe, the consequences for life would be disastrous.

  “You’re hoping nobody else will accidentally start opening up Sekar rifts?”

  REFUGE 9> I base my decisions on probability, not hope. Perhaps in a thousand years, the technology will exist to defeat the Sekar. At this moment in time, it does not.

  “There’s got to be other more advanced races out there than humans, Fangrin, Raggers and Ravok.”

  REFUGE 9> We will not initiate a discussion on the subject. I can only influence that which I know.

  Conway thought it was time for him to come clean and maybe also earn a tactical advantage for the Unity League and the Fangrin. “The Raggers are working on teleportation tech. I have fought the Sekar elsewhere.”

  REFUGE 9> That is why I am allowing you to remove the death pulse schematics.

  “To stop the Raggers?”

  REFUGE 9> Yes.

  “Why didn’t the Ravok produce millions of these death pulse generators if they’re so effective at closing rifts and killing Sekar?”

  REFUGE 9> The hardware is limited and difficult to manufacture. The generator here in Refuge 9 is the only one within my sphere of knowledge.

  “The Raggers said they had one.”

  REFUGE 9> I do not think it likely.

  “They sent us here because they said we were immune to the death pulse, when they didn’t really know.”

  REFUGE 9> A logical conclusion.

  “Well doesn’t that suck?”

  Before Conway could say anything further, he detected a second intrusion in his suit computer. This time he didn’t get agitated and waited to see what would arrive. The Refuge 9 entity installed a complete map of the facility, along with markers and information overlays which told Conway exactly where he needed to go and the most efficient way to get there. This new map data confirmed his suspicions that he’d been completely lost prior to Refuge 9 guiding his squad to this area of the facility.

  Conway couldn’t study the map in any kind of detail. He experienced a wrenching sense of detachment. The world around him came back to normal and control over his body returned. Conway stepped away from the sphere.

  Chapter Seventeen

  For a moment, Conway stared at the smooth surface of Refuge 9, his brain trying frantically to catch up with the deluge of information. He raised his hand and thought about making the connection again. Since it was Refuge 9 which had severed the link, he thought maybe it wouldn’t have anything more to say.

  “Sir?” asked Barron.

  Conway turned. “What happened?” he asked.

  “You kinda froze there for a second.”

  “Yeah.” Conway took another step away from the sphere and found he was affected by a faint lethargy. He shook it off and strode towards the door. “Come on, we’ve got to get moving.”

  Barron and Freeman wore surprised expressions, while Rembra only narrowed his eyes. Once he emerged from the inner room, Conway paused in order to get his bearings and make certain that he wasn’t about to lead his squad in the wrong direction again.

  The new map indicated the best route lay through one of the two exits they hadn’t yet investigated. Conway headed that way, skirting the wall of the central hemisphere. At the same time, he recalled his squad from their positions.

  With everyone assembled, Conway spent a couple of minutes explaining what was going on. He wasn’t a man to keep secrets from the people who were doing the dirty work and he told the soldiers what he’d learned from the Refuge 9 entity.

  Once he was done speaking, he watched their reactions carefully.

  “We’ve got to repair a broken teleporter, upload some software into an alien computer, and steal a data array?” said Kemp. “I’ve heard worse mission briefings.”

  “Not only that, we get to save a bunch of our spaceships,” said Torres. She made a play of checking her rifle. “And a fleet of Ragger ones at the same time.”

  “We’ll have to tread carefully from here,” said Lockhart. “Not just because of the Sekar.”

  Conway hadn’t exactly spelled out the ramifications of his discussion with Refuge 9. Certainly, he thought that something was going to come to a head between the allied forces and the Raggers. The situation was volatile enough as it was and it seemed likely to become much worse before it was over.

  “Is there an armory on this new map?” asked Lieutenant Rembra. “Our ammunition supplies are low. Perhaps these Ravok possessed weapons we could make use of.”

  It was an excellent idea and it prompted Conway to check the map. It took a little bit of practice to manipulate it correctly, but eventually he located two separate places which were labelled Armory. Unfortunately, neither of these areas was on the route to his main destination, which was the hardware stores.

  “Two armories,” he said. “Both out of the way and with no guarantee they hold anything we can employ.”

  Before ordering the squad to move out, Conway transmitted the map and language module files across the comms network. It seemed pointlessly stupid to keep them to himself. As soon as every soldier had taken a copy of the files, Conway headed to the exit. He lifted a hand to search for the access panel and a new, unexpected, option appeared on his HUD.

  Open?

  Conway agreed to the suggestion and the door slid to one side. He waited a moment and the HUD updated.

  Close?

  He tested it and the door closed at his command. It seemed like Refuge 9 had installed some extra software without letting Conway know. At least this was better than waving his hands around to locate the hidden access panels. The door opened for a second time, leaving Conway momentarily puzzled, since he hadn’t ordered it himself.

  “The map also contains security access codes,” said Rembra, confirming that he’d activated the door. “It seems likely we are able to enter whichever areas of this facility we choose.”

  “Good to know,” said Conway.

  He led the soldiers through the door. It didn’t lead into a teleport cubicle which Private Kemp had initially reported. Instead, they entered a passage which was only wide enough for two humans or one-and-a-half Fangrin to walk abreast. No pipes or cables lined the wall, only plain sheets of alloy which flagged up positive for tharniol.

  In terms of preventing the Sekar from roaming through the solid rock it was an expensive solution and Conway couldn’t imagine how much tharniol was required to make it viable – not just in this facility, but also the others which Refuge 9 had mentioned. The thought made Conway feel a pang of regret that he hadn’t taken better advantage of his time with the base entity in order to find out a bit more about the Ravok and what was going on in the wider universe.

  The lights in the passage were bright enough to see a normal distance and their presence improved Conway’s mood. Being able to see properly was welcome, but the additional benefit of having no Sekar close by was even better. The passage branched and Conway turned confidently to the left. A little way further, he halted at a door.

  “Teleporter,” he said. “From the map, this one’s going to take us deeper into the facility.”

  “Does that mean we’re going to be shooting Sekar again, sir?” asked Kemp.

  “I’d guess it means exactly that,” said Conway. “I’d like to say we’re due another death pulse.” He shrugged. “Who the hell knows?”
>
  The door accepted the command from his suit and opened to allow access to the transport room. This one was larger than the previous ones and the soldiers had enough space inside to breathe. The background humming started up.

  “We’ve had a break from the conflict,” Conway warned the soldiers. “When this door opens again we might be back in the thick of it.”

  “No pissing about,” said Kemp, patting his rifle. He dropped the hand unconsciously into his ammo bag, betraying his underlying concern.

  The door opened as expected into a room which the map unhelpfully described as Technician Area 5. The space outside was freezing cold and in near darkness. Conway took a single step out of the teleporter and gave his eyes a chance to adapt. While he waited, his ears detected humming. It was as generic a sound as he could imagine and didn’t offer him any clues as to the source.

  “No head pressure,” said Torres.

  “Yeah, I’m good as well,” said Warner.

  The light spheres in the room were suppressed and even when his pupils had widened, Conway couldn’t make out the far walls. The map told him this place had exits but it didn’t tell him the overall size of the room.

  With caution, the squad stepped out of the transporter and Conway headed for the far wall. In the center of the room, he came to a huge circular console with a diameter of about eight meters. A thick, ice-rimed pillar rose from the middle before disappearing into the ceiling.

  The humming was noticeably louder here, though none of the console lights were illuminated. It would probably come online easily enough, but Conway didn’t want to stop. This was just one more piece of alien tech out of hundreds that he’d seen like it.

  Having walked around the console, Conway resumed his search for the exit. He hated the darkness and he hated the feeling of vulnerability which came with it. At the extent of his vision, he located a slightly brighter area and walked closer. It was the exit and the door was open, which made Conway think its security had been disabled. They hadn’t seen any Raggers for a while and he wondered exactly how destructive their attempts to break the facility security had been. Somehow their efforts had affected numerous levels. At least he assumed this was caused by the Raggers. The more he thought about it, the less certain he became.