“Jie, I can’t reveal my methods, for security reasons. But I can promise they will soon be gone. Watch the skies. The Carriers will leave. Here is my assurance: The day after the last Carrier leaves orbit, we will return. We will provide you with demonstrations of Slope travel. We will base a navigator and a small staff here to oversee installation of our tech in your best cargo transport.
“In addition, we have begun manufacturing a new technology that will make face-to-face, real-time communications possible across star systems. No more delays. Tamarind will receive exclusive rights to a device that will turn the Collectorate into a community and never have need of Earth again.”
Ulrich saw glimmers of temptation on both twins. James figured out what the Chinese truly wanted. Ulrich knew about the binary communicator and its potential, but James never talked about mass production – at least not until after settling their home world.
Jie raised her hands as she looked above.
“Snipers, stand down.”
Ulrich watched as the weapons lowered. He motioned for the immortal soldiers to do the same.
“What you promise,” Jie told James, “would in time make Tamarind the most influential colony. We are willing to offer our tentative support to Salvation in exchange for these assurances. You must make these things come to pass, or will we consider you a fraud and an enemy. Do you understand, James Bouchet?”
“I do. And it will be done.”
“As for today, I have one request on behalf of Zhang Wong. I wish you to use your abilities on him to extend his life. Please understand, this is not his personal desire. I merely wish him to live long enough to see the revolution you have promised.”
James stepped forward, his bulk towering over all present, including the twins.
“I can extend his life but make no assurances as to how long. He’s mortal, and his body is all but destroyed. I can restore on a temporary basis.”
Jie nodded. “Anything to make his sunset more pleasant.”
Ulrich breathed a sigh of relief. This was going to work …
His communicator exploded with panicked voices.
“The Carrier Newhouse has just launched two energy slews. We’re tracking and … Ulrich, they’re headed toward Mandewatt. You have less than forty seconds to get out of there.”
James stepped close to Zhang Wong and bent his knee.
We were so close.
And then, chaos.
62
Lioness
H ARRISON MALWOOD BRIEFED THEIR HOSTAGE at the lift. Ophelia thought he took great pleasure in this sorted business. Nonetheless, they listened carefully. His plan seemed feasible, but one wildcard could destroy everything.
“You’ll never leave this ship alive,” Ursula Amondala insisted, hand over her burgeoning belly. “Ophelia, I can’t believe you’d be a part of this. You are putting four children at risk.”
“Please, Ursula, just follow the plan,” Ophelia said. “No one here wants to hurt you. Isn’t that right, Malwood?”
“Blood is not my specialty.”
But you’ll shoot a man in the back. She fully expected him to kill anyone inside the lift if it was occupied.
“Magnus, please,” Ursula said. “We worked together for months.”
“Yes, we did, but we both know what will happen to the Chancellors in this fleet when we’re of no use anymore.”
“You’ll be rewarded and sent on your way.”
“Vented, most likely.”
Harrison intervened. “Enough chatter. Prepare to handle your roles. Rikhi, are you ready?”
The boy held a firm grip on a blast rifle that mocked his diminutive features. He nodded without a word. Harrison opened the lift, his laser pistol aimed.
Empty.
When the doors slid shut, Harrison leaned into Ursula.
“I know about the Jewel shared mind. You might try to warn them, but what can they do? Five are off-fleet, three are as pregnant and fragile as you, and the other is on the command bridge. Best not to place them in harm’s way. Yes?”
Ursula nodded.
“Magnus, take point. Ophelia, next to our young warrior.”
That left Harrison and his hostage pulling up the rear.
They stepped out onto the landing bay, which was loud and busy. Autoloaders moved heavy cargo, technicians used holotools to provide maintenance on uplifts, while others huddled on the transport dais to review holowindows of flight traffic data. This crew was a blend of immortals, rogues, and Chancellors. The immortals stood out – they maintained stationary positions equidistant, blast rifles at the ready. Everyone on Lioness knew the score: These soldiers were charged with firing on anyone not authorized to carry a weapon.
Harrison made certain all held their weapons in subtle, concealed positions such as bodysuit pouches. Rikhi, on the other hand, posed no such problem.
“Your turn,” Harrison told Magnus, who waved toward the transport dais. They waited to be served.
An immortal approached, weapon against his chest. Ophelia remembered him. One of the first to be liberated. Had not spoken to him in months. He’d be seventeen by now.
“Are you the duty officer?” Magnus asked.
“I am. Colonel Miguel Lennox. What is your authorization, sir?”
“We are not actually together, but we have the same destination, Col. Lennox. We need to inspect refractors onboard Scramjet Gamma. I believe the final line produced a critical flaw.”
“And you are?”
“Magnus Levinson, production supervisor. Of course, you know our chief of intelligence, Mr. Malwood, and Sister Ursula Amondala. Mr. Malwood is here to investigate potential sabotage if our findings suggest as much.”
He turned to the hybrid. “Sister Amondala, I was told the last of the refractors left earlier with Sister Rayna. Am I incorrect?”
Ophelia felt a wave of nausea. If Ursula wanted to be bold, she’d destroy everything right here.
“You are, Colonel,” Ursula said. “Admiral Valentin will be installing the final refractors himself on his next mission.”
Lennox nodded. “And you two are here why?”
Ophelia played her part. “I’m sure you know young Rikhi. He has struggled to assimilate into the army, but he’s making progress. Admiral Valentin gave permission for him to tour the bay, inspect a Scramjet. We’re working to make him feel at home. We literally ran into these three on the way here.”
Col. Lennox grimaced. “Syed is undisciplined, but he did well in his first training with the Mark 8. Soldier, why do you have a blast rifle?”
“Sir, Colonel, sir. I wish to relieve one of our soldiers for the remainder of the shift after I finish my tour.”
“Your gesture is duly noted, although it won’t be necessary. Please hand over the weapon.”
Rikhi did as told. “I’m sorry, Colonel, sir. I only want to serve.”
“And you will. I promise.” Lennox faced the group. “If you’ll follow me to the Scramjet.”
A few inquisitive eyes followed them across the bay, but Ophelia thought most were too enraptured in their duties to care. Harrison remained close behind Ursula, whispering into her ear. Ophelia saw how repulsed he made her. He was, in the end, a despicable figure. If her most misguided act was to help the Triumvirate escape SkyTower then working with this man took second place.
She carried no sense of impending victory, even as they approached the Scramjet and saw the starboard portal pixelate open. She understood why Ursula was chosen as hostage, aside from the precious cargo in her belly. She was a navigator, although Ophelia doubted she was Slope-certified. Didn’t matter. No one would attack the ship while she remained inside.
Are we actually doing this? It all seemed like a dream.
They boarded the Scramjet. The dream dissolved in an instant.
Magnus screamed. “Cudfrucker!”
The navigator’s chair was occupied by a severed head.
From behind, Admiral Valentin welcomed them on
board.
63
Tamarind
T HIS IS A TRAP,” ULRICH SHOUTED. “A Carrier has launched two energy slews. We have thirty seconds. Everyone, move!”
James leaped to his feet, the twins clustered around Zhang Wong, and blast rifles flailed in astonishment.
“What is this ploy?” Jie said. “You are trying to deceive us. I …”
Shouts followed as soldiers began running. Fingers pointed directly above, where bright yellow stars formed in the daylight.
Ulrich was dumbstruck. “Brother James, we …”
Their eyes met. Where would they run? The slews would ignite a firestorm throughout the forest.
Is this how it ends?
Yet Ulrich felt no sense of impending defeat. No resignation to the inevitable battle fought well until at last, they were outwitted.
Instead, he sourced a heat wave of fury. It coursed through his blood and took flight in his bones and tendons. His skin vibrated. His synapses catalyzed the latent Jewel energy given birth two years ago in another universe.
Ulrich Rahm left himself behind to become an animal bent on fire and decimation. He leaped into the air to meet the enemy.
His Berserker rose up to meet the incoming fire.
One. Two.
The atmosphere thundered. The fuel ingested the energy slews and hurdled their gelatinous, all-consuming madness upward through the clouds and into the stratosphere. Pushing, pushing, ever upward.
He saw a sky full of streaking flames, like a torrent of meteors crashing into the atmosphere. Then he felt weightless and collapsed.
A voice shouted in his ear, the message confusing. Rifles blasted. Arms wrapped around him and brought him to his feet.
He recognized the face, although the name eluded him. One of the immortal soldiers. Speaking to him, asking him … no, telling him.
“We have to go, Ulrich,” the girl said. “They’ll try again. Come.”
Ulrich swam dizzy as he pivoted. James fled past him, a titanic hulk carrying an old man in a chair above his head. Chinese women ran behind them.
He wasn’t sure how he dredged up the Berserker. There were no keywords, no spells, only an instinct. Of desperation. Of survival.
He held onto the arm of the immortal soldier and stumbled from the scene. Fire splashed the ground around him where his horrifying power shredded the nearby trees en route to the sky.
They reached the intersection where the path turned toward … yes, now he remembered. Spearhead.
I have to fly us out of here. They’re coming again.
He was right. The communicator in his ear warned of another pair of slews on their way, targeting the same coordinates.
He shook loose of the soldier as they neared Spearhead, whose bulkhead pixelated. James, the Chinese twins, and the Master of the Convocations disappeared inside along with a dozen other tribal leaders. The Carbedyne nacelles powered before he leaped onboard.
Indigos and immortals rolled across the cabin as Spearhead swayed laterally. Ulrich found his balance and raced to the navigation cylinder, where James slashed at the auto-spool program. Spearhead pushed hard against gravity to launch clear of the trees, shaking once as the nacelles swiped high branches. Again, the ship jerked as the concussive force of the slews slammed it broadside.
“Brother James, please. Let me take over.”
“Drop us into Slope,” he said. “We need to move clear of the planet.” James caught Ulrich stumbling. Ulrich saw through foggy eyes. “You saved us all,” James said. “But you can’t navigate like this. Hold on.”
James brought him into a bear hug, squeezing as if trying to restrict Ulrich’s breathing. But that was not the intent.
It happened all at once. A drug flowed through Ulrich’s blood, a sedative and restorative. A moment of perfect beauty. Ulrich saw inside the Jewels of Eternity as James did. For an instant, he felt the truth of the past and the future merge within.
Then it was gone, but Ulrich’s mind and eyes were clear.
“Where to?”
“Deep system. At least half an AU.”
“I’ll do it. Get them strapped in.”
In seconds, Ulrich reassembled the cylinder and stabilized the ship. He opened the Slope sequencing and prepared the catalyst drivers to spin the magnetic field that would open the aperture. He studied the quantum algorithms and entered new system coordinates. He had never worked this fast. His record for perfect arrivals was in jeopardy.
As the black matter substrata infused the drivers, he swiveled to check on his passengers, who scrambled to buckle up, magnetize against still-seats, or brace themselves with ceiling hooks. The twins, Jie and Mie, each held one hand on Zhang Wong’s medchair as they steadied themselves in still-seats.
“We’ll open the aperture in ten seconds, everyone. Hold tight.”
It didn’t occur to them that the leaders of Mandewatt were receiving an early preview of one of James’s bold promises.
Spearhead entered the aperture to great turbulence and metal rattling. Readings showed significant scarring along the port side of the vessel. Hold together, my friend.
She did. The aperture closed 29.3 seconds later and spit them out within fifty thousand kilometers of Ulrich’s target. The perfect record was lost, but he didn’t care. He brought Spearhead to a full stop. When he stepped out of the cylinder, Ulrich saw the stunned humility in James’s eyes. You never considered resistance.
He thought the sisters might blame them for this outcome. He thought wrong.
“The Chancellors were willing to kill all of us to destroy you,” Jie said. “Never in a thousand years have they tried to slaughter civilians not in combat. Our planet’s treaty specifically forbids Guard action except in the event of insurgency or civil war.”
James sighed. “You met with us. That’s all the cause they need.”
Mie, silent since negotiations began, spoke up. “We were betrayed by our own. They knew our precise time and location. They made sure all were present before they fired.”
Jie nodded. “It appears we have a larger problem in Mandewatt.” She faced Ulrich. “What you did will be remembered for generations. It was the most horrifying sight I have ever witnessed, but it gave us a future. We owe you a debt.”
Horrifying didn’t begin to cover it. Ulrich felt a deep well of revulsion, not at finding a way to survive but at seeing the monster inside him come to life.
“There’s no debt,” he said. “Just promise to be with us when the Chancellors leave.”
She eyed James. “And this you know will happen?”
“Sooner than I expected, Jie.”
“Then I have only one favor to ask.” She kneeled down beside Zhang Wong, who seemed exhausted to the brink of death. “Give him the life to see it done, and we will be your allies.”
For the first time in as long as he could remember, Ulrich thought James shed his trappings as a living god and reduced himself to a simple man. Perhaps he understood how close his arrogance came to destroying their plans.
James laid his hand upon the man’s cheek like a glove. The familiar blue globules of Jewel energy coalesced in his hand and drifted into Zhang Wong. The tribal leaders clustered around the scene and witnessed the miracle.
Ulrich had no time to relax. The soldier who helped him escape the second barrage of slews tapped his shoulder.
“Ulrich, we have a problem,” she said. “We’re missing two of our compatriots. They were right behind us. We think Spearhead launched before they … the firestorm must have consumed them.”
Casualties. We’ve never had casualties.
He couldn’t tell James. Not yet.
64
Lioness landing bay
Scramjet Gamma
V ALENTIN WAS PREPARED FOR A PREDICTABLE ending to the trap James insisted be sprung. They were all here, all playing their parts as expected. Except for the one neither he nor his brother foresaw. When Ursula Amondala stepped onboard the Scramjet, he reassess
ed. Why did James demand this public theater?
“Dropping your weapons would be smart,” he told them, his own blast rifle poised and ready to fire.
Ophelia collapsed to one knee as she obeyed. However, Magnus Levinson made a quick move, settling his pistol against Ursula’s belly. He grabbed her and retreated to the navigation cylinder.
“No, sir,” he said. “You’re not going to slaughter me like you did Nathaniel. You try anything, and I kill four hybrids in one shot.”
Nathaniel Cay’s head decorated the navigator’s chair.
“Oh, please now,” Harrison said, sporting a glorious smile. “It’s over, Magnus. You gambled, you failed. Life. Yes?”
Magnus’s stunned realization matched Ophelia’s.
“It was you, Malwood,” he said. “You set us up.”
“Of course. What other choice did I have? I follow orders.”
“I suppose that,” he pointed to Nathaniel’s head, “was your work, you cudfrucker?”
“As I said a short while ago, blood is not my specialty.” He turned to Valentin. “I assume Brother James ordered this. His flair for the dramatic is potent.”
“No, no,” Magnus did not let up. “Here’s what’s going to happen. Malwood, Valentin, you’re going to leave. Ursula will take us to another system. She’ll drop us off on a colony of our choosing. Then we’ll disappear. You’ll never hear from us.”
Valentin examined his options. One of them at a time.
“Rikhi, come to me.”
The boy straightened his shoulders and marched to his admiral, standing at attention. He leveled his right fist against his chest.
“Admiral Valentin, sir!”
“About face, soldier.”
Rikhi twirled around. Valentin waited for Ophelia’s reaction. Her dismay was palpable. Tears blessed her cheeks. She was speechless, a woman desolated by utter defeat.
Valentin grabbed the moment. “Rikhi and I made significant breakthroughs in recent days. He has seen the light of Salvation.”
The Impossible Future: Complete set Page 97
