by T. R. Harris
“This is nerve-racking,” Copernicus said as he and Adam sat on the bridge, watching the forward monitors with their cameras focused on the main landing field. “We have no idea when Kanan will get back and what ship he’ll be on. I hope your ATD trick attracts him—and only him—and not a horde of the newer models.”
Adam could tell Coop was still upset about the ATD. Originally, he wasn’t going to tell anyone that he had one. But when a means of drawing Kanan to the ship was required, Adam was forced to tell him.
The plan was simple. Once enough of the DE ships were back, Adam would begin sending out a slow, rhythmic pulse through his brain-interface device. It would be subtle, but able to be heard by the orbs—and one orb in particular. Kanan made contact with Arieel’s ATD when they were on Arret. Hopefully, he would recognize the unique nature of the signal and come to the ship out of curiosity, wondering if Arieel and/or Adam were on the planet. At least that was the plan. And it would be best if he came dressed as a robot. It would make it easier to spot his approach.
Of course, they could also be deluged with a hundred of the cheap knock-off service modules, in which case they would activate the suspension field and beat feet off the planet, more likely than not only steps ahead of an armada of deadly warships.
It was times like these that kept Adam young…and his blood pressure high.
The two Humans began to fidget as the landing field filled with more of the black starships. They didn’t come in all at once and in formation. Instead, they trickled in. Each pilot module had its own orders and was operating in different areas of the battle theater, and once their assignments were complete, they returned to base. Adam kept a running count, and when nearly five hundred ships were spread across the vast field of the shipyard, he and Coop knew the time was near.
Adam would serve as the bait, keeping himself conspicuously in the open, relying on his ATD absorption feature to save him should any of the service modules get trigger happy. Coop hid away in a storage closet with speakers and closed-circuit monitors so he could keep track of what went on throughout the ship. He had a trigger for the suspension field, as did Adam. Either one could engage the field when the time came.
The mental pulse was going for fifteen minutes and still no reaction. It was a good bet Kanan was at the base by now, and both men kept close watch from their respective perches for any approaching robots. The problem was that the service orbs—Kanan included—didn’t have to walk onto the ship. They could just teleport. And they weren’t even sure Kanan was in robot form. Because of this, the Gracilian scientists had made a smaller, secondary field room where any loose orbs could be held if it became necessary to engage the main field prematurely. This would allow Adam and Coop to trigger the field multiple times and still keep the smaller orbs confined. The problem was that if they turned on the main field, there was a possibility Kanan could detect it from outside. The scientists said he shouldn’t, but Adam didn’t trust the statement. It only made sense that a machine as advanced and sophisticated as Kanan would be able to read the energy signals coming from the ship, especially if the signal encompassed the entire vessel.
“I see something!” Coop said from inside his closet. Adam could monitor his communications not only through a small ear mic, but also through his ATD, tapping into the ship’s comm system. Copernicus could only hear Adam through the speakers.
Adam was on the bridge and began scouring the four monitors in front of him. Fortunately, it was daylight outside, early afternoon on Tarenuga. The particular movement Coop was referring to was hard to make out; there were alien colonists moving throughout the landing field, with tiny, reflective orbs mixed in with them, guiding their actions. Obedient servants stood alongside the modules holding portable speakers, allowing the orbs to bark out orders to the biologics. Without an ATD or a nearby communications grid to tap into, the service modules did not have a voice synthesizer built into them. The original design didn’t call for it, since the ancient Aris could communicate telepathically with their service modules. The Gracilians hadn’t seen the need to include speakers in the new models since they would have access to the comm system aboard their starships. But out in the open, there was no way for them to communicate with the colonists without the portable speakers.
Adam finally zeroed in on what Copernicus saw. It was a figure walking among the crowds, but much shorter than the other aliens. Most of the colonists were tall, slender creatures made up predominately of two species, one pink-skinned, the other dark brown. This new creature stood out because of his diminutive stature and the fact that he was the only one of his kind.
“That’s him!” Adam exclaimed.
“I thought you said he had trouble walking?” Coop said. “He’s not having any problem now.”
“He’s learning. Look … there are four orbs hovering along with him. He’s definitely coming this way—”
“Wait one!” Coop said. “Two orbs just materialized in the launch bay.”
Adam saw the same thing on his monitors. He switched his communications to ATD, tapping into a voice converter tied into the bug in Coop’s ear.
Another two just popped onto the bridge. They’re looking at me.
“I see them,” Coop whispered in his ear. He probably didn’t have to whisper to keep the orbs from hearing him, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the moment.
They probably won’t shoot until Kanan gets here. They just want to keep an eye on me.
“Kanan’s coming in the back. Get ready. I’m going to trigger the field—”
Hold on. Let’s wait to see how many orbs he has with him. Besides, if he’s like every other megalomaniac, he’ll want to talk first.
“Don’t play with him, Adam,” Coop warned. “Let’s just zap him and get the hell out of here. They’ll be plenty of time for talking on the way back to Navarus.”
Relax; I’ve got this.
The short, Aris-like robot moved confidently through the corridors until he reached the bridge. The round, dark eyes surveyed the interior, a slight grin on his face.
“Where is your companion, Adam Cain?” Kanan asked. “It was her signal I detected the last time. Now it is yours. I was not aware you had the same capabilities. They were not evident on Arret.”
Adam consciously made his body shudder, doing his best to feign fear. He didn’t want Kanan to become suspicious if he acted too confident.
“I … I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Adam stammered. “I thought we killed you before.”
By now, Kanan had all the right facial expressions down pat. He laughed.
“You know better than that. You retained my first transport. Your scientists have the ability to learn the truth. And you, of all people, know the abilities of the Aris service modules. Yes, I have done my research since our last encounter. It is not hard to find references to the great Adam Cain in the electronic reference library. I have not been able to decide whether you are considered a hero … or not. The conclusions are vague. But now I must ask you—as I did before—why are you here, and apparently alone and in the Gracilian ship you took from Arret?”
“I came to monitor the battle. If you’ve done your research, then you know the Humans and Juireans are enemies. I came to offer our help against what we call the mane-heads.”
“Adam Cain, you misunderstand my intentions, and apparently my background. I have existed in your time for many years. I have been studied, probed—and indeed violated—by the Gracilians for all that time. I know the history of the galaxy, far better than you. All I needed was information on an individual being—you—to satisfy my curiosity. I am not some lost consciousness seeking enlightenment in a new age. I have a purpose and a destiny, which I’m in the process of fulfilling.”
“The orbs from the launch bay are right outside the bridge,” Coop whispered in Adam’s ear. “I don’t see any more except the two on the bridge with you and Kanan. Stop screwing around. Let’s do this thing.”
&nb
sp; “I suppose you’re right,” Adam said, now stretching out a thin grin at the alien robot. “You might as well get it over with.”
Kanan smiled. “That I intend—”
Coop took that as his clue and activated the suspension field. The four orbs on the bridge and in the corridor began to vibrate visibly, before shooting off aft, bouncing off the bulkheads in a mad dash to escape out the back. Coop did an emergency lockdown of the ship, closing all the doors and hatches and securing the controls. On the bridge, Kanan—now trapped in the body of the robot—looked shocked and confused, but only for a moment. He then leaned forward, dropping his heavy body onto Adam in the pilot’s seat.
“What the hell!” Coop yelled in his ear. “I thought they couldn’t move in the field.”
Adam was too busy to answer. Kanan’s robot limbs were strong, but fortunately not as strong as Adam’s Human limbs. He slipped out of the grip of the robot and spun in behind him, whacking a fist against the side of the head. That was a mistake. There wasn’t a lot of flesh covering the skull, so, Adam’s fist hit hard metal instead. Still, it had its effect. Kanan lost his balance and tumbled to the deck. Adam reached under the pilot’s console and removed the MK-88 he had hidden underneath. He placed it against the robot’s forehead.
“That will not kill me,” said Kanan.
“No, but it sure would make me feel better. Coop!”
“A little busy here,” came the instant reply. “These fucking globes can’t teleport, and they can’t shoot me, but they can still move and hover. Fortunately, they can’t operate the door controls. I have to round them up by hand.”
“Understood. I’ll take care of Kanan myself.”
Adam took the heavy android by the arm and began marching him down the corridor to the launch bay. He wrapped the robot in a cocoon of bailing wire he’d brought along for this very scenario. He finished off Kanan with a coating of trusty duct tape, leaving only Kanan’s head sticking out from what looked like a short, silver torpedo.
“Your efforts will be fruitless,” Kanan said. “I cannot be destroyed.”
“That’s what I heard.”
Copernicus charged into the room, holding one of the tiny shiny orbs in his hand while chasing another. With Kanan secure, Adam joined in the hunt. Along with losing their teleporting ability, the service modules also lost some of their coordination. They weren’t as fast or elusive as they once were, which allowed Adam and Coop to catch the orbs and place them in a metal locker in the launch bay with a heavy welding unit on top to keep the lid closed. They would work on a more permanent prison once they were safely off the planet.
“They should have told us about that,” Coop yelled between his winded breath. He was in the pilot seat, preparing the ship for lift off. “It would have been nice to know, that’s all I’m saying.”
Adam was in the co-pilot seat, using his ATD to scan for any comm signals leaving the ship. “At least what they said about them not being able to send messages is true. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been alerted. Get us going, but slowly. No need to attract attention.”
“I’m way ahead of you,” Copernicus said. The lifting gas obscured the monitors momentarily until the ship was moving into the clouds at a decent clip. “You know, if one of those things got out the back, we would have been screwed.”
“Try having to fight a robot when you weren’t expecting it,” Adam countered. “I nearly broke my hand on Kanan’s metal skull.”
“I know a couple of skulls I’d like to break about now,” Coop fumed, refusing to let the subject drop.
Adam leaned back in the chair and let out a deep sigh.
“Overall, that went better than I expected. I didn’t think we had a snowball’s chance in hell of pulling this off.”
“Don’t count your chickens. We still have six days before we reach Navarus. Who knows what other surprises are in store for us?”
“We’ll call ahead and pick up an escort,” Adam said. “After all, we’re carrying some very important cargo.”
“Why, thank you, Captain Cain. I feel the same about you.”
“Asshole.”
“Bitch.”
Chapter 14
Copernicus was still bitching as they reached the garrison and landed the dark-energy starship near the same hangar where the scientists installed the suspension field. During the journey, Adam and Coop moved their prisoners into a smaller room with its own suspension field so they could turn off the main one. It was a terrible drain on their power reserves, even in a ship that ran on dark energy. They didn’t detect anyone following them, and Adam became curious what the service modules back on Tarenuga were doing without their Fuhrer.
Were they autonomous enough to act on their own, to launch a search party or to even defend the base against attack? Because of this, Adam asked Jack Brown to send a force against the base to find out. It wouldn’t have to be big, just something to test the orbs’ reaction. But when they got there, they found the shipyard abandoned with no trace of where the nearly five hundred DE ships had gone. Was this a pre-programmed action in case Kanan lost contact with his flock or was this a decision made by the orbs? Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing, and because of that, alerts were sent out and Navarus fortified, by both Human and Juirean forces—what there were left of them. If the modules came looking for their leader, it would be one hell of a fight.
By then, the Humans had nearly a thousand warships patrolling the Zone, with most concentrated around Navarus. After the defeat of the Juirean fleet, both empires forgave their differences and started working together. They accepted the fact that the DE ships were far superior to their own, but they also knew they were of a limited number and with no reserves. With enough sacrifice, the enemy would eventually be defeated, but not without an incredible loss on the part of the allies. But that was a price they were willing to pay. This thinking wasn’t seen as an offensive strategy, but rather one of defense. The dark-energy fleet had to be whittled down to a manageable level, no matter the cost.
Once the DE ship was safely in the hangar and hooked up to shore power, the main suspension field was turned back on, allowing the Gracilian scientists to set up their disassembly equipment in the launch bay. The shuttle was moved out, giving them more room to work.
Adam, Coop and Jack Brown were present as Kanan was brought into the room and untied. Shackles were placed on the arms and legs of the robot before he was sat in a chair in front of the alien scientists.
“We must first remove the orb from the robot,” Vodenik announced. He seemed nervous, averting the eyes of the android as a wicked grin stretched across Kanan’s mouth.
“I have grown quite fond of this transport,” Kanan said. “I would prefer if you do not do any lasting damage to it as you remove me.”
The Gracilians didn’t respond. Instead they moved behind the body and began peeling away the back of the scalp. There was blood, and the scene was fairly gruesome. The eyes of the robot were now locked on Adam, showing no signs of fear or pain as the scientists cut into the skin.
“During the journey here, I wish we had had more time to talk, Adam Cain. If we had, perhaps I could have told you more about the Aris. You believe you know them, and that you understand the motivations of the ancient service modules.”
“I do,” Adam said. “And you’re not normal. I wouldn’t judge the other modules by how you think. You’re insane, just like Kracion.”
“Yes, Kracion. You know I knew him, or correctly, knew of him. My Aris was a Privileged, not a Technician. He was also opposed to the Grand Experiment, preferring to carry on the legacy of the Aris within mechanical bodies designed to last forever, through periodic maintenance, of course. He did not believe in some wild dream of an Apex Being, a natural immortal. And even if Nunki and his rebels could produce such a being, there was still no understanding of how that could help the Aris. Assimilation was a dream, a fantasy.”
“And yet the Apex Being was created, and Nunki and
his kind did achieve immortality.”
“A limited immortality, from what I have learned.”
“They didn’t die from natural causes. They were immortal, until that immortality was taken away from them. But even as they became immortal, they chose to sacrifice their eternity for the good of all living creatures, across multiple universes.”
Kanan laughed. “I have absorbed the fanciful tales that supposedly relate the stories you tell. There is scant evidence they are true. But even if they are, their efforts to create this Supreme Being took far too long. Imagine what the galaxy would be like if the Aris—my Aris—had followed a different path. Their civilization would have never died out. It would have continued within the modules for all the time Nunki—and Kracion—played with the genetic makeup of … of pond scum. My way was faster and with a guaranteed outcome. I have come to lead the way, the new way, the way the galaxy was intended to evolve.”
“Well, that was a nice speech,” Adam said. He looked past Kanan’s head at the scientists as they continued to work on opening the skull. Since it hadn’t taken Adam nearly as long to open the skull of the first robot—and with only a knife—he was about to offer them a hand when the lights in the hangar and the starship suddenly flickered.
Adam remembered what the Gracilians said about the loss of power, and how Kanan would be looking for any opportunity to escape the field. Had that just happened? Did he teleport away in the blink of an eye?
Adam stood up, moving closer to Kanan. The robot eyes continued to watch him, assuring Adam that Kanan was still inside the robot skull. He breathed a sigh of relief.
And that was when Kanan shot him with a bolt of dark energy directly in the chest.
Chapter 15
Adam was thrown back, landing hard on the metal deck and sliding into the chair he’d been sitting on. The brilliant flash of energy alerted everyone in the hangar that something was wrong. The first bolt was followed by several others throughout the ship and the hangar.