“Billings!” shouted Tee. “What does the Logan tell us?”
“Our sensors detected a brief, intense scan, sir. No point of origin. It’s like the whole ship pulsed. All is quiet now, sir.”
Tee is looking past Billings, probably counting heads. “Okay. Everyone vigilant. Let’s find a way in.”
Para is quick on the draw. “Like that one, maybe?”
A large round tube contraption is projecting from the ship, very close to Tee. “That should do. Not sure where it came from, but good enough. Let’s send a few floaters in first.”
There are two academic types with us, alien technology experts with careers going back to the first invasion. They’ve lined up in front of the... tube, like they’re waiting to order lunch at Robosushi or something.
The floater drones haven’t found anything. Nothing. It’s a smooth, sterile environment. We’re going in.
Okay. I’ve walked the entire deck. It circles a large sphere that takes up the center of the ship. At least, I assume it’s a sphere. We can’t get to the below decks. There are no consoles or anything. Just a deck and hull. The academics are at a loss.
Tee is at a loss. “Fierce, talk to the thing. Try every language you know. Say something like, we come in peace, take us to your leader. Whatever comes to mind.”
Fierce is game, but after five minutes of no response he has a suggestion. “Sir, why not delve the ship. That... I don’t know... it feels like the right thing to do.”
Tee has a why-didn’t-I-think-of-that look as he moves to the sphere and touches it to initiate a delve. His eyes go wide with an expression of surprise, that moves on to excitement, which turns into concentration. The ship is responding. A tube appears, allowing access to the under decks. Workstations, or something similar, take form, all around us, then resolve back into a hull section. The sphere glows in conjunction with a subtle vibration felt through the decking. Then everything returns to the original quiet, sterile environment.
Tee looks a little drained. “Well, that was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I delved with Communal once. It was a little like that, times a thousand. And the ship knows us. Or, at least it knows some of us. From somewhere. I’ll have to think more about that.
“A BID. Who has a Brain Interface Device? We need to try that.”
No one has a BID? Neither of the academics has a stupid BID? Since mine is fine-tuned to my brain, I get to be the one to try it with the ship, the Communal-times-a-thousand ship. That should make for the biggest BID-ache of all time. Do you ever get goaded into something just so you don’t appear weak? I mean, how hard would it be for Rock and one of the academics to port and grab a stupid BID? Yeah, here I go.
And I see what Tee means. At first, my mind swam with information. Then, it was as though the machine was willing to help, systematizing the information to help me choose an outcome. I almost made the mistake of requesting best speed to Earth, please. Hopefully the machine would have asked to be sure I was serious. Maybe it did, I don’t know, we’re still here.
The potential of this ship is beyond amazing. “I don’t know what to say. The ship does seem to recognize us. But I think it wants us to go about our business now. He said as much. Then, he said he’d see us again, soon. Whatever that means.”
Roll has that look of his. “I’ve sort of gotten used to an overabundance of coincidences in our Shockwave lives, especially since Viz likes to put them in the spotlight, all the time. Yes, Viz, I know you understand them to be providence. Fair enough. But this feels different somehow, though I can’t put my finger on it. Not yet anyway. How long did the archeologist guy say the ship has been here?”
Rock remembers. “She said the debris field and crater have been there 2,000 plus years. When her team gains access to the ship, I doubt that will help. With the ship floating there without a speck of dust, I’m not sure how they’d manage any sort of analysis.”
Roll has a point, as he points at Rock. “That’s just it. The ship has been waiting for us, for 2,000 years, or more. The shard isn’t an accident either. Viz touches a big rock and a hard outer casing blows away in the wind to reveal a glassy shard. This whole thing was planned.”
Well, that is kind of what providence is all about, but I can see Roll is thinking along a different line.
It’s hard to tell if the implications of Roll’s observation have grabbed Tee’s attention, or the fact that Roll articulated them. “You mean, something like the universe is involved in an event at this level?”
That has Roll’s head shaking a firm negative. “No. Actually, even the whole universe thing, my viewpoint, isn’t exactly as you’ve thought. I’ve known for a long time that there is someone or something... out there. I just wasn’t sure I had a name to put with the face. You know what I mean? Not until recently.
“But, to the point here, someone a lot like us put this ship here, for us to find. Well, like us at some point down the timeline. Anyway, some group, with vast processing power to help them with predictive analytics. Or, maybe they utilize something similar to our quantum glimpse tech, but much more powerful, more refined. They’re not perfect, as the intervention of the Dahnahaash shows. But, they set this up.”
I’m not sure how far Roll is taking this thing. “So, all the coincidences, even what happened at the lab before the first invasion; it’s all been the scheming of a cabal of high-tech aliens taking an interest in humanity?”
Roll has his head shaking back and forth again. “No, that’s not what I think at all. This setup, here, feels contrived. There may have been other times as well. But, no, most of the odd pile-ups of coincidences we’ve experienced had way too many moving parts to be arranged in an orderly sequence of events. This amazing ship, though, apart from the 2,000 years looks like a setup. Here, on Ahaam! With all of our interaction with those of Kreahaam, we would have ended up on Ahaam at some point, Commander Hartung in the equation or not.”
Tee is almost sold on the idea. “Still, I wonder at the timing. We’re too close to Viper/Goodnight for this one ship to make a difference. Maybe we were just meant to find it at some point. Still, the timing. With Rufus. And Hartung. Of course, then you have to consider the timing of the invasion of Kreahaam.”
Fierce has a thought. “Why does it have to be one, or the other? Why not a benefactor race that is opposed to the Dahnahaash, and a helpful omnipotent providential hand?”
I don’t always know when to just call it a day. “That makes a lot of sense to me. Still, a fleet of invincible ships like this one, for Viper/Goodnight, would sure be nice.”
Para probably has the right answer. “You know, we should probably expect to do some of the work, as long as it’s not beyond out capability, right, Lazy Bones?”
All that was interesting, and all, but like Para said, we do have a war to win. Time to go.
We’ve officially turned the ship over to the academics and their teams. I’m sure we’ll be in touch. After my interface experience I wonder if they’ll get very far with the ship. It somehow knows Tee. And me. But does it know the academics? And if not, will it cooperate with them, acting on some implied consent since they were there with us? No doubt, we’ll soon find out.
As we’re packing to leave, the science guys are certainly not being lazy bones. A continuous stream of equipment is passing through our camp. Well, it’s not our camp anymore, with more than a dozen plexidomes already in place. This is quickly becoming a town. From here, teams will move into the Ahaam ruins, and the super ship.
Roll is talking with... it looks to be a technician of some sort. “Hello, sir, what are you going to do with... that?”
“Hello back. You look to be SpecOps. Have any idea what this is?”
“I do. It’s a HORER.”
“Yup, the latest in High Output Reactive Electromagnetic Resonators.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
“I’m not at liberty to speak of the innards of the ship.”
“My team d
iscovered the ship and we’ve already been aboard, and in communication with it.”
“Oh my. You’re Shockwave? Is Para here too? Oh. Uhhh, sorry. None of my business. Anyway, we plan on viewing what’s inside the central spere.”
“Are you sure you want to hit the sphere with that? I’d ask the ship first, if I were you?”
“The ship talks?”
“Sure, if it likes you. But, seriously, don’t use that thing until you make contact through a BID. The ship might spit you out into a black hole, or something.”
“Mannequin. You’re not kidding, are you? Uhhh, thank you. Got to go. Boss calling.”
I’m not sure what to think. “Roll, why were you messing with the poor guy?”
Roll has a shrug. “I was serious. Well, maybe not about the black hole. Is Para here too? What’s with that? Anyway, they had better be open and honest with the ship. Just saying.”
Being ahead of schedule apparently has its perk-ups. Two days off, without restrictions. So, we’re all heading for Earth. Of course, it doesn’t make much sense to have some R&R time with the invasion of Prime only a week away. But this whole Ahaam time has been a psychological mess. Tee probably sold the idea upline that we needed a few psyc-days. I’ll take it. Rest and Relaxation is going to be my middle name for the next 48 hours.
***
It’s so good to be home, to feel the Sun on my face, and enjoy a bright blue sky. It’s June 4th.
Para and I wanted to see mom and dad so bad, but found out indirectly that they’ll be in downtown San Francisco for some important meeting. We didn’t want them to miss the meeting on our account, which they definitely would have done if we gave them the chance. All they know is that we’re staying at a spa in the outskirts of San Fran and plan to ride BART downtown to do some shopping. Their meeting is over at noon, so we’ll meet them for lunch. Perfect!
I haven’t ridden on BART since I was a little kid. And the line we’ll be taking to town is the same old light rail system from the olden days. It will be fun to ride in something other than a hyperloop tube for a change. Here comes the train now. How fun!
The city looks especially beautiful today, shimmering in the warm late morning sun.
It’s shaping up to be an awe-stounding...
Now what’s going on? Pid buzzing. The train is bumping like a thrill ride.
I don’t want to be a pessimist, but this is crazy. “Hold tight, Para. I hope this isn’t Cascadia slipping.”
“Grab on, Viz. Time to go. You just convinced me this is our stop.”
“What are you talking about? It’s a 40-foot drop. Hey, let go!”
“See, that wasn’t so bad.”
“I’m not a sack of potatoes, Para! And the quake is letting up.”
“Well, it could have been the ‘big one.’ Better safe than sorry. Besides, the initial estimate is magnitude 7, or greater.
“There may be damage downtown. Nothing’s going to be moving for a while. Let’s see if Rock or Roll can give us a lift downtown. Hold tight.
Hi, Rock. Yes, we’re okay even though Para leaped us off a moving train. Well, the train was stopped, but it was still moving from the quake. You must have felt the quake there as well. That’s messed up. Yes, we’re in San Francisco. Para and I were on old BART. We weren’t sure if this was the big one. Para actually grabbed me and jumped off the train. From elevated tracks!
“We were on our way to meet mom and dad downtown. Now, we’re worried about them. Are you or Roll available? Normal traffic is a mess. Could one of you give us a lift so we can make sure they’re okay? Thank you. You’re super-lume. Did my pid-ping get through? Rock?”
Rock is going to scare me dead one of these days, the way he sneaks up. “At your service, my lady, and my lady. Your chariot awaits.”
There’s got to be a teleportation sneak fix. “A bell! Somewhere, I’ll find the perfect bell to hang around your neck, so you can’t sneak up like that.”
Para is worried about our folks. “Be nice, Viz. Thank you, kind sir, for offering us a lift. Here’s the address where mom and dad are having their meeting. Do you know the area well enough to pop us to a safe spot?”
I’m a little worried too. “They’re not answering our calls. But they’ve been in a meeting, so they probably turned off their pids. They do that a lot. Turn them all the way off.”
Rock is looking at a map for some likely port spots. “Hang tight, I’ll be right back. Yeah, it’s a mess downtown. I can port us to a construction site close to the breakwater, near the wharf. It’s not far from the address you gave me.”
***
HELPING HANDS
We untangled within the fenced area of a very quiet construction site, probably a capacity modification job for one of the storm-water treatment facilities. As our little band hurried along, three guys came out from behind some big industrial pipes. One of them pulled a knife and demanded our money. The three rough-looking characters thought they had us cold. It always amazes me when I run into this sort, in this day and age. Opportunities to make a decent living are everywhere. Instead, there are a few who would rather take advantage of a situation for their version of easy money.
Rock stepped between us and the thugs. Para has definitely inverted, but she’s just standing by. Rock would have just ported us to safety if he didn’t want to teach these guys a lesson, and prevent them from finding another target of opportunity. The police have enough to do, what with the earthquake and all.
You’ve seen the warnings when a vid has professionals doing something stupid and dangerous. Well, they’re not always professionals, but you get what I’m saying. Don’t attempt this sort of thing unless you’re like one of us, with training and abilities. Handling the guy with the knife wasn’t dangerous for Rock, as long as the person isn’t a practiced teleporter with a nanite matrix. Anyone else is probably going to get stuck.
The nanite weave is fascinating, and has been producing changes in us ever since that day in the lab, when we received our capabilities. One interesting characteristic is... I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe I’ll call it a functional Zeitraffer phenomenon. The effect is also pervasive among military port-techs, after the nanite factory colonies they receive have stabilized.
Look at it this way. Normally, a person’s visual cortex sort of records our perceptions in discrete snapshots, frame after frame. Usually, those snapshots are spliced together seamlessly in our cognitive awareness, so we notice only a smooth-running seamless world going on all around us.
Now let’s focus on Rock. He can access those individual frames and react to them. With that, it’s as though time has slowed down for him. In appearance, his reaction speed ratchets up dramatically. The robust temporal dilation psycho-effect allows incredibly fast reaction times. From Rock’s perspective, the guy with the knife will be pushing the knife toward Rock at quarter speed, if the thug is a trained athlete.
Rock will never actually be in any danger. Even so, we’ll watch carefully, alert to move in if needed, or if the thug’s friends cause trouble. Oh, I’d better pay attention.
Rock is standing his ground, causing the guy with the knife to call him an idiot as he lunges in, attempting to stick Rock in the belly. It’s obvious, this guy takes pleasure in hurting people. Sick and mean to the core. His arm is shaking a little. Must be behind on his dosage, of whatever drives his messed-up world.
The guy is right-handed. As the next knife thrust moves in toward Rock, he twists clockwise just a little, while moving his right leg back slightly, most of his weight now resting on his right foot. At the same time, the palm of his left hand is moving to catch the guy’s knife arm at the wrist, to make double-sure the knife won’t hit him. Rock’s right hand follows to join his left as he forcefully grabs the guy’s wrist and tugs.
The bad guy is losing his balance and starts to pull back on his arm, the one holding the knife. As he pulls back on his arm, Rock follows along, shifting his weight now to his left leg and at the sa
me time rotating the tangle of arms up and over their heads in a counter-clockwise arc. The bad guy is losing his balance again, and twists around in an attempt to grab Rock’s arm and stop his backwards fall. That only adds momentum to the fall as Rock pushes, adding more of his own weight to the thug’s knife arm.
Rock has not taken his eyes off of the knife, though his peripheral vision would warm him of any movement from the other bad guys. All that motion adds up like a simple math problem. The creep is falling fast while Rock maintains his grip and pivots a little more to follow him down to the ground, landing with his right knee on the guy’s sternum.
I hear a crunch sound. Maybe some gravel? Maybe not. Rock is still holding the knife wrist with both hands as they land, the force loosening the thug’s grip on the knife, causing it to bounce away several feet. A muscle spasm caused by the knee to the stomach, and the need for oxygen, brings the bully’s head up off the ground. Rock is already in motion, delivering an elbow strike to the robber’s right temple. It was a relatively soft strike, more a warning than anything else. Rock could have really messed the guy up.
The two other hoodlums are standing there, gaping, not sure what to do. The one on the ground is gasping for air, barely conscious. We can wait. It’s not long before the leader of the riffraff has pulled enough air to groan and begin the slow process of getting to his feet. At that point, the other two woke from their stupor and realized they were probably next in line for a lesson.
The coward with the knife is on his feet, though he’s bent over with hands resting on his upper legs, still a little woozy. He’s breathing fine. But Para has one more lesson in mind as she picks up his knife, provoking a wide-eyed expression of fear. She snaps the blade once, twice, with one hand as she stares him down with her best evil eye. It was a very sturdy knife. The guy decides to sit down for a minute, but is shaking his head, yes. He understands. He’ll never do this sort of thing again.
Invasion: Journal Three (Shockwave Book 3) Page 28