by C B Williams
“My knives!” she exclaimed, catching a glimpse of the helpless sniffer floating nearby. “Hang in there, Wonder. Thank the gods old habits die hard.”
Slowly, Wren unsheathed a throwing knife and threw it at the wall behind her. She shot forward and slammed against the opposite wall, winding her.
Little Wonder let out a plaintive yowl when the ship shuddered again.
“I’m hurrying,” she said and maneuvered her feet around so she could launch herself toward the floating table.
This time she reached it and, with a sigh, pushed the fail-safe switch.
Nothing happened.
She pushed it again.
Still nothing happened.
“WHAT NOW?” Wren shouted.
The ship groaned...shuddered...then went eerily still.
Little Wonder squeaked.
“Oh, girl, I’m sorry,” Wren said. She abandoned the fail-safe button to glide over to the overwrought mini-sniffer, scooped her up, and reached for the closest intercom by the bed. “Aiko?” she asked.
“We’ve regained ship control, Wren,” Aiko said. “Grale is putting a field around the whole ship to maintain its integrity. Will get the gravity stabilized after that. So get yourself in a safe position and hang on. You did it, Wren. I’m going to contact the others in the med lab.”
Wren cuddled the trembling sniffer in her arms. “Hear that? Gravity soon, and lucky us, we’re floating only a couple of feet over the bed. Now, if we just don’t move, we should land okay.”
Little Wonder began licking her face and didn’t stop, even after they landed on the bed.
Wren rolled off the bed, threaded her way around the debris, and picked up her knife and sheathed it before she tapped the ship’s intercom located near the half-opened door panel. “Aiko, can you hear me?” she asked.
“The Kitten’s scrolling through our systems doing a double-check,” Grale said. “Looks like we can patch things up a bit more,” he said.
“Good. I’m going to make my way back to the med labs. Can you maintain surveillance on me?”
“Can do. I’d recommend taking the corridors. Initial visuals on the Solar Farm area show lots of downed trees. Looks pretty muddy, too. Like some sort of tidal wave went through there.”
“Yeah, I was there. The lake decided to take a solo and flooded all over. I’m going to get some dry clothes on and will ping you when I’m heading out.”
“Also think about picking up some portable food and water from the galley. Lots of broken stuff and possible contamination in the labs.”
“Will do. Eloch?”
“Safe. They buckled him in.”
Wren heaved a sigh of relief. “Can you patch me in?”
“Sure thing, kiddo. Later.”
There was a brief pause. While she waited, Wren began to peel off her wet clothing. Underneath, she was a mass of bruises, and she wished she had the time to indulge in a long, hot soak.
The intercom crackled.
“Wren? You okay?” It was Mink.
“Yeah.” Wren snatched up a towel and began to gingerly blot herself dry as she talked. “You?”
“We’re all safe. It was tough going there for a while. I’m still shaking.” A pause. “I think we’re all pretty shaken. You saved us, Wren. Thanks.”
“Thank my knives,” Wren said.
“What was that?”
“Never mind. I’ll tell you when I see you. I’m heading back. Going to check on the galley first and bring some food. What’s happening with Eloch?” She flung the towel on the bed and shimmied into dry clothes, tucking her knives into their places.
“We’re back to sciencing out how to scramble that signal. Spider and Genji are on it. Kalea and I are cleaning up. It’s a mess here. Wade’s monitoring Eloch while Perin’s watching the spike. Says the metal flower is still shooting out light.”
“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Taking the long way ’round.”
Chapter 11
Stopgaps
“We need to science out how to access the spike’s frequency and stop it before it does any more damage to Eloch,” Genji said, turning toward his info console
Wade glanced over his shoulder. “What about all our portable planetside scanning equipment? Could be something there.”
Genji raised a brow at Spider, who scrambled out of his chair to open the cabinet where the planetside equipment was stored. An avalanche of paraphernalia slid out and clattered onto the floor. Spider knelt. “I’ll start sorting,” he said.
“Here, Kalea, take this.” Mink held out a hair fastener. “Tie up your hair. It’s so long, it could fall into something nasty.”
“Thanks,” Kalea said and stood looking down at her covered feet. “But I can just do this.” She gathered her hair, twisted it a few times and put the end through, forming a tidy bun.
Mink shook her head. “I envy you. My hair never did that. One of the reasons I cut it all off. Take these gloves, too,” she said, holding out a pair of thick gloves. “I know Nuri have thicker skin, but still, we don’t know what these chemicals are, and I want to get them cleaned up ASAP.”
Kalea snapped the skintight gloves onto her hands. “Eloch would have cleaned all this up before I even got my hair tied.”
“Not only that, he would have broken all the chemicals down and reused them for...I don’t know what. Fertilizer, perhaps, for his forest.” Mink scrunched up her face. “I don’t think it really occurred to any of us how dependent we’ve become on Eloch,” she said with a grimace. “Not until we have to clean up the old-fashioned way, anyhow.” She knelt down and started sifting through the scattered debris.
Kalea frowned while she considered Eloch lying prone on his pallet and sighed. She squatted down beside Mink, who was gingerly picking through spilled canisters, vessels, and other receptacles. “Show me what you’re doing and how.”
Mink looked up and smiled. “I’m gathering all the broken pieces and safely disposing of them. While I’m doing that, why don’t you pick out any containers that are still intact, clean them up, and put them on that clean counter over there?”
Kalea began working. “This shouldn’t take too long,” she commented. “Fortunately, most of it was strapped into cabinets.”
“And hopefully not in the same condition as the planetside equipment.”
Kalea chuckled, then sobered. “I hope we can help him soon. Wren—”
“Wren is fine,” Wren said, entering the med lab with Little Wonder draped over her shoulders. “Where is a safe place for the food I brought?”
“Any of the counters where Perin is sitting,” Mink said. “I’ve already cleaned and disinfected them all. Glad to see Little Wonder safe and sound.”
“She’s surprisingly all right,” Wren said, setting the supplies on the counter next to Perin. “Hi, Perin, glad to see you’re not hurt. No, don’t move. You’re fine where you are. I’m using the other counter,” Wren said, then continued answering Mink. “So, yeah, Little Wonder is just fine, although she was pretty unhappy when I first found her. She’s settled right down, now, though, haven’t you, LW?” Wren asked, stroking the sniffer’s front paw.
Little Wonder butted Wren’s hand and churruped.
Mink smiled and returned to her sifting.
Having deposited her supplies, Wren crossed to the room where Eloch lay. She watched everyone in silence, then cleared her throat. “I don’t want to interrupt anyone, but I could use a status report,” she said, moving to Eloch’s side.
“Eloch is holding his own, although he is in pain,” Wade said. “In fact, whatever that fail-safe switch was, when you flipped it, Wren, it seemed to take some of the stress off Eloch.”
Wren nodded and rested her hand on his forehead. “Not surprised. That switch released his control of the ship and gave it back to us.”
Genji’s head shot up. “You don’t say? Don’t you think we should all have known about the switch and its location?”
“Nope,�
�� Wren answered, eyes remaining on Eloch. “I’m afraid its location is classified and will remain so. I promised Eloch I would tell no one.”
“But—”
Wren shook her head. “No buts. Not ever. This ship is Eloch, and Eloch is the ship, as you all, I’m sure, are aware of by now. He only created that switch because he loves and trusts me. Can you see what an invasion of his privacy it would be if we all knew where it was?”
“But all of us are dependent on the health of this ship for our survival,” Genji pointed out. “We should have access to that switch. What if something had happened to you, too?”
“We can’t let that happen, then, can we?”
“I don’t like it,” Genji said.
“I’m sorry you don’t, Genj, but that’s the way it is,” Wren said kindly. “Look, think of the Valiant as our little planet. Like Spur. There’s no fail-safe switch on Spur, is there?” Wren said.
Genji reluctantly shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, there is no fail-safe switch on Spur. And you are correct, Wren. The Valiant appears to be taking on more and more characteristics of a planet.”
Wren nodded. “It’s taken me a long time to understand this. And,” she thought for a second, “it requires a lot of trust in Eloch. However, the sooner he’s healthy, the sooner we can all breathe easier, because you know darn well Eloch will create a way to protect us if he ever does become incapacitated again. And without the need for a fail-safe. So, what’s the status?”
Little Wonder moved from her perch on Wren's shoulders to curl up by Eloch’s side.
“I’m checking through data while Spider is sifting through the planetside scanners to see what we can do to cobble something together,” Genji replied.
“A spectroscope,” Spider said, holding up the portable spectroscope. “It converts incoming waves into a frequency spectrum.”
“Perfect!” said Genji, reaching for it.
“And a polychromator,” Spider said with a grin, holding up his other hand.
Genji laughed. “Where’d you find that antique?”
“Luck,” Spider answered. “All the equipment no longer used was stuffed in the back and fell out last when I opened up the cabinet. So it was all on top of the mess. Which one do you want?”
“I’ll take the spectroscope,” Genji said, reaching for it. “We’re going to have to merge their readouts to get the info we want.”
Spider nodded and stood. “You’ll be able to do that, easy.”
The two joined Wren around Eloch’s pallet. “Let’s see what we’ve got here,” Genji said. He turned on the scope and pointed it toward Eloch’s right shoulder.
Wren gasped. “Perin’s metal flower,” she whispered.
“You can see it?” Perin called from her perch on the counter in the adjoining room. “It is real?”
“Very real,” Genji answered. “It appears to be some sort of transmitter, and whatever it’s transmitting, I will speculate that it is being powered by Eloch’s knack.”
“Get it out of him!” Wren hissed.
“That’s our first task, Wren,” Genji said calmly. “What’s your readout, Spider?”
“It’s some sort of high-energy frequency,” he said. “Looks like gamma rays.”
“What does that mean?” Kalea asked rising to her feet.
“The spectrum of light says we’re dealing with gamma rays,” Genji explained. “Something our bodies aren’t capable of withstanding, but what a planet is quite capable of processing, so in that respect, although he’s weakened, this situation will not kill Eloch.”
“But Eloch isn’t one hundred percent planet,” Wren said, her brow crinkling.
“Then perhaps that’s what is causing him the discomfort.”
“So,” Wren said after a moment, “you’re saying Eloch won’t die, but that part of him that is human might if we can’t fix this.”
“I’m not going to commit to that, Wren,” Genji said. “We don’t know enough to come to that conclusion.”
“I think I can jam it,” Spider said excitedly. “Come here, Genji, and see what you think.”
The two rushed to the monitor where Spider began entering equations.
Unable to follow their conversation, Wren reached for Eloch’s hand, stroking it. She stiffened when a pair of arms wrapped around her, and she automatically went for a knife, causing her to let go of Eloch’s hand.
It thumped lifelessly at his side.
“Have faith in Genji and Spider,” Kalea said gently, hugging her tighter. “They will heal him, Wren.”
“Those two can science out anything. You know this,” Mink said. “We’re all in this together, and we’re all very, very good at what we do.”
Wren sighed, released her grip on the knife, and leaned into her friends. “Thanks. I just hope it’s not too late,” she whispered. “I hope he doesn’t lose any more of who he is.”
Abruptly she reached for Eloch’s hand again. “Hold on Eloch,” she pleaded. “Just hold on. And come back to me. Come all the way back to me.”
The pain was intense. He could feel parts of himself burning away. He knew if he let that part go, the pain would be less. It would be so easy to just let that part go.
But then, through the pain, he felt something. Something important to him.
Her.
It was Her. She called.
Wren.
For Wren, he could endure.
For Wren, he would endure.
“We’ve got it!” Genji exclaimed. “We’ve got it, Spider!” He reached out with both hands and kissed Spider on the top of his head, his big hands all but burying Spider’s face. “I’m pinging Aiko. Need those coordinates, Spider,” he said and released Spider to ping the Bridge.
“Yes?” Aiko asked through the intercom.
“I want you to send out a pulsar flare using the coordinates Spider is going to read to you.”
“Okaaay,” came her reply. “But why? It’s just a big burst of light.”
“It’s more than that,” Genji told her. “It’s payback. We’re going to jam their invisible signal right down their invisible throats,” he growled. A wisp of smoke emerged with his breath.
Spider hooted and leaned toward the intercom. “I love it when the Nuri gets the better of him. Can you hear me, Aiko? I’ve got the coordinates.”
“Give them to Grale. He’s better at this than I am.”
Up on the Bridge, Aiko turned to Grale. "They want to send a pulsar flare. I told Spider you'd handle it."
"That I can, Kitten," he said and raised his voice so Spider could hear him. "I'll take those coordinates whenever you're ready.
Spider read them off as Grale punched them into the flare's settings. "Flare going active in three, two, one," he said and flipped the switch at "one."
A band of light shot out into the vast expanse, flared bright, then faded.
Grale glanced at Aiko. "Why are we doing this?"
Aiko shrugged. "Something about feedback. I think we're trying to jam the signal that's attacking Eloch." Aiko pinged the med lab. "Anything happen?" she asked.
"Again," Genji said. "Same coordinates."
"You heard the man," Aiko told Grale. "Maybe set it for a longer flash?"
Grale nodded and repeated the flare, but for several seconds longer.
After a few moments, Aiko pinged the med lab. "Anything?"
"We're going to hold with that and see what happens. Standby," Spider said after a brief pause.
"Copy that," she responded and closed off the intercom. She folded her arms and looked over at Grale again. "Now we wait."
"And while we're waiting, I'm going to continue assessing the damage."
Aiko shivered. "We almost didn't make it," she said.
"Yeah, I know. I don't think the others realize how close we were to breaking apart."
"I think Wren knows. She’s been roaming around a lot."
"Brave lady."
"She is. She always talks
about Caution First, but I've seen her do some pretty crazy things when it's necessary. Did I tell you how she risked her life to save her Kin back on Spur? Led a whole pack of sniffers on a chase to give her Kin time to escape when a hide went wrong."
"I've heard that one. That’s when she lost the leg," Grale said. "Like I said, brave lady." He squinted at her, "Reminds me of you."
Aiko barked out a laugh. "Me? You've been pounding too many rocks, Cowboy."
"Seriously. It takes a brave pilot to go on scouting missions for the colonizers. Many of those scouts never returned. You risked your life all the time. Most pilots would pick an easier life."
"Yeah, well...maybe my life wasn't really worth much, except for risking it."
"Come on, Kitten," Grale growled. "You don't really mean that."
She shot him a sad look. "Don't I? All I know how to do is survive and fly. I've got a goodly amount of knack and that's about it. If life is supposed to be about happiness and prosperity, well, I guess I missed that memo." She waved a hand. "Don't look at me like that. I don’t want your pity. I'm just stating facts. I've made peace with the way my life has turned out. And now—”
The intercom pinged, and Spider's jubilant voice filled the Bridge. "We did it! It worked! The signal's been jammed, and Eloch just fell asleep."
Grale and Aiko shared a smile.
"The Knack Man..." Grale said.
"...is back," Aiko finished. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. "I'm going to find a place to sleep, Grale. I've been up for too many hours, my eyes are blurring, and I’m having trouble concentrating."
She stood. "You've got this, right? Eventually that anomaly will be back. Once they see the signal is down, they're going to want to investigate. I want to be alert for that."
Grale nodded. "Smart. Sleep when you can. I'm fresh. I'll make sure we don't break apart while you're dreamin'."
Aiko snorted. "Okay, then, I'm heading out."
