Since the mountain we were climbing was not in the top five in height it was never sought as a destination until a child with a telescope found the weird ice formation on the ledge. I found it to be far more challenging than the others, three of which my wife and I had climbed together.
Cullves didn’t want to give back the earpiece but Lucy insisted she needed us. We would provide her with all she needed to know.
Loka decided to give her one of the blue sticks, #3. It would keep her happy. We had brought the extra adapters Lucy had made to use our readers with the gates sticks. Lord P found two in each plane and had been manufacturing his own as well.
Loka found it in the bag and gave it to her. “You’ll like this. Among other things, how to make the earpieces is on it.”
Cullves took it like it would explode. She talked to Lord P who said sure, and Cullves left. Just before that a strange look came over her face, then was gone. Lord P returned to the rest of the people in the room. “Ladies and gents, there really isn’t anything more I can add at this time. I will address the official Council meeting tomorrow and we will troop on and try to save our planet, perhaps in spite of ourselves.”
He left and it was soon clear the meeting was over. A young gentleman came up to Loka and I. “I climb, I saw that mountain, I always thought I had guts, but after all those teams and…and, you still went up and down it. Fantastic.” He shook our hands. “All I wanted to say.”
He turned and left as Loka smiled. “Exactly why did we take that job?”
“You wanted a diamond pendent and I couldn’t afford one so I took the job and you didn’t trust me with all those beautiful women climbers running around, so you tagged along, remember?” I said with a grin. We really just wanted the challenge.
“Hmmm, no, but don’t let that stop you, I still have no diamond pendent.” She put on such a crafted smile. Me and my big mouth.
I started to say something when Lucy came on line. “This is private to you two; if you’re not alone respond when you can.”
I looked around, not exactly alone as many were milling around, some clearly for the free food and drink, others to try and glean some tidbit of knowledge as yet undisclosed.
“Ten minutes,” I told Lucy.
We excused ourselves from the tangle of people and went back to our room. As soon as the door closed Loka said, “Okay, we are alone, Lucy.”
“That woman, Cullves, she trustworthy?” Lucy asked.
“Of course, she lost her husband up there and her hand coming down. Why?” Loka asked.
“Well, while you were talking I picked up a lot of the room chatter. Before she left she was warned not to say anything or she would die. It was one of the voices that spoke earlier and left. Lord P called him a spy.”
“Dang, we just gave her the earpiece and computer upgrades stick for study,” I said.
“Sorry, I don’t think she is a traitor to Lord P, it is not her way,” Loka said. “I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
I almost smiled, not quite. Loka said she was going to talk privately to Cullves, she would be back. I tried to get her to take her pistol and she laughed. The compound was surrounded with armed guards and she was just going to talk. I insisted and she said, “Okay,” then stuck the needler in a pocket and left. I went to the little desk and wrote a small note, which I took out to the hallway and gave to a passing maid. She read it, smiled, and nodded.
I started reading some of the tech stuff Loka had printed from a stick as I listened to them talking through the earpiece. Pleasantries at first and then Cullves saying what a fantastic find, the excitement in her voice was clear.
After a while Loka asked her why she was warned not to say anything and by whom? Cullves stuttered. “You heard?” she asked Loka.
“Yes, the earpieces have a long range pickup as well, it is in the plans,” she said.
“Sorry, Loka, I really am, but I can’t tell you anything, they just said if I sa—” I then heard two gunshots then the pop of the needler and Loka hollering, “Earth 2, Earth 2.”
Lucy said, “drop to the floor now!” Then, “Follow the vibrations, move the damn pistol, girl!”
Lucy told her, “Now!” and I heard three more pops as I was out the door and on the run toward Cullves’ apartment.
As I ran I saw armed guards also on the move. Before I could get there the area was secured by guards who would not let me past. I started to pull my needler when Loka said, “I’m okay love, honest, it is over. Wait there a few minutes.”
Soon I was permitted through. As I entered the door of Cullves’ suite I saw an armed guard, dead along a wall. I saw Cullves, she wasn’t moving, and no one was tending her. She was obviously dead: lying face down and two red spots in her back and a slowly expanding red circle under her. Across the room was another door leading into a bedroom—on the floor there was a dead guy, face up in a growing pool of blood. The young guy that was forced out of the meeting. He had a pistol near his hand.
I held Loka as she hugged me. “No chance at all, two shots and she fell.”
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Yes, fine, Lucy had me drop and shoot through the walls. I heard a scream, but yes, I am okay.”
A guard came in and said, “The other one was found dying, he said, ‘Hell burns’, well sounded like that.” He looked to us for answers.
“Never heard of it,” I told him. Loka said the same.
Lord Pitviper came along with a captain who was in charge of security. Loka filled him in on all she knew. Lord P assured us he felt Cullves was totally loyal. If she was keeping information quiet, he felt she had a justified reason. Loka tended to agree with him. Still, facts were facts.
We needed a few hours and some coffee to settle Loka’s nerves, well, mine more than hers. It was definite the man had help, two of Lord P’s private security force. It made no sense to me. The Security Captain was extremely agitated about that and the fact Loka would not produce the weapon that killed them. Lord P told him it was classified and he only needed to know it worked. I had spent more than a few minutes with some pliers removing exposed needles from various objects like bodies and walls. Those suckers are hard to find unless you touch one.
Lord P was extremely agitated at Cullves’ death. I felt it was a little more than was explained by just close friendship, but it was none of my affair. He called us to his private study several days later.
“Listen, this is getting nasty. I don’t know if they killed her to keep her quiet about something she may have done, or knew, or found out. The fact they would kill here at my home shows someone is desperate about something. I have a theory about what the guard said, well, my wife does really. I’ll let you know if it pans out.”
A week went by as they studied and speculated then Lord P told us, “On to the robot, Lucy. Tomorrow they test the first converted chopper and I have three earpieces built that work. I have conferred with that Lucy computer, and we are establishing a secured network from her plans. She will start downloading other information she says we need in a hurry, but she requests both of you return for some early scout work. Eldon, I agreed to send some of my security with you.” He looked to us both to see if we understood. First time he had ever used my common name. We did understand, he needed us out of his hair to reduce the security threat to him and his family.
“We need to get packed then,” Loka said.
“Be careful, someone here does not like the possibility of going to war and is willing to kill to stop it. See any irony there?” He laughed. “Oh, one more thing, I set up a private account in both your names. You get one percent of the proceeds from anything discovered up there. You already have a substantial sum and this,” he handed me a red velvet box about six inches long and two wide. I glanced inside and had to smile as I closed it and handed it to Loka. “Not my style,” I said.
As she opened it, her eyes went from curious to wet in a hurry. The maid had made a fantastic choice of a diamond pendent fo
r her. She jumped up and kissed me then wiped away a few tears.
Lord P smiled and said, “It was a bit more than she was told to spend, but it is covered. One last thing before you go. Well, two I guess. Be very careful and trust no one up there; second, if you both should die, who gets your money?”
I looked at Loka—we weren’t material people really. “The charity?” she asked.
“Good as any,” I said, as I borrowed a pen and wrote the name and address for him. It was a cancer institute we gave to after both our mothers died of breast cancer.
“Try not to have me need to do that, come back alive, please,” he said with a clearly dismissive tone, as he shook our hands and returned to his massive desk and to his work.
Loka made it clear that night that she was very appreciative of the pendent, but we were up and ready at sunup, as a big chopper arrived. Standing on the pad were six men and two women dressed in camogear, backpacks, and armed with rifles, new rifles. As I moved close enough I recognized the design, needler rifles—didn’t even know they could be made. The chopper was of a newer design, which carried ten passengers plus a crew of three. They had already loaded our climbing gear from the village.
Lord P came up and handed Loka three memory sticks. I barely heard him, “If anything happens, use these.”
Soon we were aboard as the big blades started to spin up. It didn’t take long before the wup-wup of the blades exceeded the exhaust roar of the two engines and the beast vibrated with nervous tension, like it was ready to leap at its prey.
Slowly we lifted, climbing higher and higher as Lord P’s grounds disappeared, then the capital, then pretty much everything as we went through a cloud layer. The pilot leaned the nose forward and we started moving. I could guess the altitude just by the change in our breathing.
We were still climbing, then the engine noise changed in pitch and a higher whine started to be heard, it became louder and louder. I soon had the feeling we were about the right altitude, but from where I sat I couldn’t see an altimeter on the panels up front.
For several hours we traveled as the inside of the craft started getting cold. It wasn’t insulated and the two heat exchangers mounted along the ceiling couldn’t keep us comfortable. I heard the pilot tell us, “All systems check out fine. They will have to do something about heat though, my tootsies feel like stubs.” He half laughed. “We land in ten minutes then we are to return to Lord P’s. He said to tell you all good luck by the way.”
I timed it: exactly nine minutes later he was feathering out just off the ledge. The winds were buffeting the chopper so the pilot just hovered, slipping back and forth along the ledge as we scrambled out the rear and jumped the last foot or so. As soon as all were off he increased height and the big chopper leaned hard right and disappeared over the ledge and into the clouds.
Along the flight route we learned the names of our guards. The two women were single, one was called Susan, a human/dwarf. The second preferred the more traditional name, she was Elf/Dwarf and went by Alejandra. Loka said the old-world meaning was man’s defender. She laughed.
The leader was an old gruff, human/dwarf. His muscles rippled when he moved, you saw it through his clothes. His name was like mine, Hyrime Hoylt Michael Victorum. His common was Mike of course. His mother was a Council member that Lord P assured me was on his side.
Mike asked if we camped out here. “No, follow us,” I said, as Loka took her pen and made the ice disappear as we walked into the mountain once again.
The guards were all flabbergasted at what they saw, ice that vanished, the doorway with the strange writing, the room, the halls with the magic doors that disappeared.
Lucy had us bring them to the Lab. As we went in, it was my turn to be flabbergasted. A human, well, almost, stood there, as beautiful as the model she had shown us. When she talked even most of the features moved correctly. She saw my look and smiled.
“Had to dress up, company coming and all,” she laughed. She told the guards up front, “Don’t get any ideas, just plastic covered metal.” I saw the two girls smile.
“Eldon, I talked to Lord P. He wanted to send more troops but I told him to wait. I need a lot more information we don’t have before we try to go on an offensive. Take the guards and get them each an apartment room near yours, show them how it all works. Leave Loka here, she has some more work to do to help me. She may have a way to save us all and I wish to talk over her ideas, alone for now. I will call you when we are ready to proceed.” It was clearly a dismissal, which, from Mike’s look, was not taken well.
I took them to the hall were we stayed. One by one I showed each how to open the door after a scanning, and how to make the various items inside work. Each room had a tray with an earpiece and a brand new ammo belt like we had when we left. We left each soldier in their new room—I told them further information would be coming and that brought me down to Mike. I was blunt, “You disapprove of us taking orders from a computer?”
“Well…yes, I do. It is a machine, we are supposed to dominate over them,” he finally said.
“Tell me Mike, what does a yellow card with a black propeller on it mean to you?”
“Nothing, what has that got to do with it?”
“Nothing, but if you open a door with that sign it may well be the last thing you do alive. If you open, or touch a lot of things you find here you may find it is the last thing you ever do. If you venture into the wrong portal you may become food for some rather nasty bugs, as well as maybe destroy us all. Nothing at all Mike, but she knows what is and isn’t safe, we don’t. She has kept us alive and taught us. Until I, or she, or Loka, say different, we do what she says and maybe live—we clear on that Mike? Or do I send you packing?” I didn’t see anything readable in his eyes.
“Still don’t feel right being bossed by no machine,” he said.
“We aren’t bossed, we give her the power to make some decisions for us, to our benefit. Give it a few days, if it still bothers you I’ll send you home, no hard feelings,” I told him, and he nodded.
I had him put on the earpiece and test it then told Lucy they were all hooked in. She came on and said, “Welcome to what Eldon calls Gods-Cut. It is nothing but an honor gate control center; you will all be taught what is immediately necessary for survival. Class will start tomorrow at 0600hrs sharp at storage room D-7—I emptied it. If you need directions to anywhere, ask. Keep the earpieces on 24/7, I can switch you in or out as needed for private time or sleep, but we need to be able to respond to any situation in seconds. Rest, explore the halls and rooms, but stay away from anything with a yellow or red sign. Any kind of yellow or red sign means death. See you all in D-7.” I heard a perceptible click.
I looked at Mike and smiled. “See?”
He nodded, barely. I honestly hoped we would have no problems from him.
As I went into the hall Lucy came back on. “Lord Pitviper will send additional troops as we are ready,” she said.
“Okay, but what is the game plan?” I asked her.
“Meet Loka and I in the eatery. Several others are trying to find it, they are hungry, or curious, so drag them along. I have most of the station’s basic functions running again.”
“Okay, be there in a few,” I said.
I picked up one of the girls, Susan, and two men along the way.
As we arrived all were given a quick course on operating the machines that actually made the food. “It is all assembled by molecular compilers. Food is built almost molecule for molecule from a common starch stock. Confusing, but very tasty. There is also a large quantity of dehydrated foods that are still eatable,” I told them.
Problem was it was all Earth human food so we didn’t understand what a lot of it was. Lucy had divided it into menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. “For now she recommends the top button from the dinner menu. A full meal. It changes each day.”
As we were receiving our instructions and guidance, the rest of the team arrived and sat down just as I
pushed it. What hit my nostrils a few minutes later made the mouth start salivating. Never had I smelled such aromas. I could hear it sizzling. Lucy said they called it steak. It had mounds of mushrooms on it, which I recognized. There was mashed potatoes; we also had those. Something called corn was different than what we called corn and another green vegetable called broccoli smothered in a wonderful cheese sauce. A brown gravy on the potatoes I had never tasted before. A wonderfully refreshing juice drink and coffee came with it.
Lucy was doing some writing while we ate.
We all stuffed ourselves. Never had I had such a wonderful meal.
When done she said, “I have a very basic outline of what we, as a group, need to get done before we can start any attempt at larger scale operations.
“I have never seen an MK close up, just the videos. I was made before they invaded where I was built but was placed in ship storage as emergency back-up for generations, as newer models came and went.
“We need several MKs, preferably alive, for some tests we need to do, to find weaknesses. Also, if we can find what was already tried before, as planets died, especially Earth, it will be helpful and save repeating failures. My problem is all the reports on them are fragments from dying people. My only encounter with them was a disaster resulting in my ship and crew dying.” She seemed reflective.
“Tomorrow I want to train for what we know now. You people are going to go into the field and find me some live MKs as our ultimate goal. Questions?”
“Besides humanoids, what do they eat?” Mike asked.
“Pretty much anything that has what passes for blood. Birds, animals, even each other. It is not wholesome to be a wounded MK.
“Unfortunately, my data is only based on what was in the memory banks of my ship when I was activated as a replacement for a failed unit. It is all based on speculation and bits and pieces of hundreds of years of rumors. The Earth bot only stored its basic job information.”
Mike said, “So we have come here on a fool’s errand? We have no clue what they think, what weapons they have, what their numbers are like, or what resources they have available. All you told me is what they eat. Us.”
A Planet's Search For History Page 7
