The Kenval Incident

by Philippe Mercurio

  After zigzagging between stalks of colored bamboo, they perceived a shadow on the ground. As they approached, it resolved into an entryway to the giant aquarium they had noticed earlier.

  Mallory leaned into the opening and glanced around. The top of the sphere was just below. Endlessly waving, concentric ripples disrupted the force field that constrained the ocean plot. Only a slight shimmer at the end of the waves traveling through the bubble of water betrayed the presence of the energy field.

  Mallory asked Laorcq, “Are we jumping?”

  “Yes. No choice.”

  Fatalistically, she took a step into the void and let herself fall. He imitated her within a second. The aquatic ball welcomed them like a gigantic cushion. The mass of liquid, imprisoned by the force field, sank under their weight before returning to its initial form. The surface of the aquarium was freezing and extremely slippery.

  Mallory looked at the creatures in the bubble. Associating the sudden decrease in light instinctively with danger, the large red mollusks swam in every direction.

  As the energy membrane returned to its spherical form, the pilot and her companion struggled to stay on top. The force field, invisible and flexible, fled under their fingers in a strangely oil-like way. Even with their inelegant contortions, they would inevitably find themselves at the bottom.

  They understood their efforts were in vain and stopped fighting in order to evaluate the surrounding area.

  Evidently, Laorcq was used to this kind of task. In a few seconds, he had run through the possibilities at their disposal. “Since we’re going to end up falling, we might as well choose our trajectory. If we aim well, we should be able to reach the arches that support the aquarium.”

  Numb with cold and with a wildly beating heart, Mallory objected, “If we miss, we’ll kill ourselves against a walkway or at the bottom of the tower!”

  “And if we stay here, we’ll be executed without warning. Let’s go! It’s awe-inspiring, but not that difficult. Look…” Accompanying his words with actions, Laorcq pushed off with his hands and hurtled down the length of the globe. He ended his trip safe and sound on one of the steel supports.

  Mallory did her best to copy his movements and jumped. Sadly, things didn’t go as smoothly for her. She realized she was going to miss when she was halfway there.

  While she was losing control over her trajectory, she saw Laorcq throw himself onto his stomach on the metal structure and wrap his legs firmly around a beam. He stretched out his arms and got ready to catch her in mid-flight.

  The gulf—filled with murderous outcroppings—rushed up toward her. Terrified and screaming, she arrived at Laorcq’s level. Her veins full of adrenaline, she was barely able to control her fall. The insane trip ended when she caught the scarred man’s wrists.

  He managed to absorb the massive inertia Mallory had accumulated, but it knocked him over. She almost dragged him over the edge into the void. However, Laorcq’s feet, anchored to one of the iron arches, held them suspended above the abyss.

  Gamor made it easily to the passageway his targets had taken. One knee on the ground, he leaned down and studied the ocean plot. He was annoyed that the force field had held: It’s intact, but my EMP should have ruined all of the building’s electronics. This smells bad! If some of their devices survived, the lizards are going to reorganize quickly!

  He leaped down the passageway. The sharply tipped gauntlets of his combat suit made it possible for him to grip the energy field easily. It only took him a moment to pull himself up and to locate his prey, suspended between life and death. He laughed out loud at the sight. Finally, things were getting back to normal.

  Thanks to his armor’s AI and the numerous sensors with which it was bedecked, he calculated the ideal trajectory for reaching them. Trusting in his full-body armor, he threw himself into the void and landed nimbly a step away from Laorcq.

  Still hanging from the walkway by his feet, the latter couldn’t do anything without letting go of the pilot or being dragged down with her. Gamor decided to end them using the electrodes located between the fingers of his steel gloves, as he had done with the Vohrn. With detachment, he wondered if the woman would let go first or if the scarred man would release her so he could try to fight back.

  Reveling in the sight in advance, he prepared to release a full capacity charge. In the corner of his visor, a warning icon was blinking. Since he hadn’t taken the time to configure his armor or to deactivate the superfluous safety systems, he ignored it. The clock was ticking, and he certainly wasn’t going to interrupt what he was doing for such a little thing.

  He activated the electrocution system and got ready to grab the scarred man’s ankle. The electrical charge saturated the condensers located in his gauntlets. Simultaneously, a breach opened in the spherical aquarium’s force field: already damaged by the EMP discharge, the violent influx of nearby energy had overwhelmed its stability.

  Thousands of tons of liquid were suddenly freed. Surprised, Gamor was swept away like a twig in a storm. Before he could react, the current became too strong to fight, and he was promptly carried away.

  “No way! This can’t be happening!” he screamed as he fell.

  His metal armor protected him from the first impacts against the lower levels. He managed to grab onto a branch, but his grip, combined with the steel claws covering his fingers, was so strong that he sliced it in half despite himself.

  The uncontrollable tide carried him faster and faster. When his abdomen was pierced by one of the cables from a suspension bridge, he barely escaped being cut in half and lost consciousness. He continued like this all the way to the bottom, projected violently from one obstacle to another by the surge. When the armor reached the bottom of the well, it contained only broken bones and bloody pulp.

  Laorcq and Mallory were saved by their uncomfortable position. When the bubble collapsed, he just tightened his grip on her wrists. Hanging near the source of the spout of icy water, they weren’t subjected to a particularly strong current. Exhausted by the extemporaneous free-dive, he nevertheless remained conscious, unlike Mallory. The effort and the lack of oxygen made her pass out.

  Finally, the flood of icy water ran out. Laorcq feared he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. Cramps were tormenting his thighs and calves. Little by little, the pilot’s hands were sliding from his. At the thought of her falling to her death, he got a last wave of energy and managed to stop her descent. If we survive, my arms are going to hurt for weeks.

  He was starting to despair when a group of Vohrns came to save them. Hanging from a thin cord, an extraterrestrial of imposing size descended to retrieve them. When he gripped them both by the collars, Laorcq barely reacted. He was vaguely aware that he had been separated from the pilot. Lying on a floating stretcher, he saw the walls of a hallway marching past, while muffled sounds came to him, but he couldn’t understand them.

  When Mallory woke, she was lying in a bed, a thick cover tucked tightly under her chin. Weakened and tortured by aches, a dull pain pulsed in her muscles to the rhythm of her pumping blood.

  She stirred slightly and felt an IV in her right arm. Running over her body, her hands found round protrusions stuck directly onto her skin in a braid that zigzagged down to the ground, linking Mallory to a cubic device.

  She saw that the sides of the machine were expanding and contracting, as if it contained an abnormally large artificial lung. Lacking a display or any glowing lights, nothing gave a clue as to its purpose.

  Despite her suffering, she examined the room: white walls, a white table, a white chair, white sheets… White everywhere. Given all this, it’s blindingly obvious I’m in a hospital.

  Only a large window allowed her to see some color: a bit of the mauve sky, and, standing out against it, part of the mountain chain bordering Gloria City.

  Mallory let her eyes close and gave in to fatigue. The hours slipped by. When she woke the second time, her discomfort and weakness had disappeared. Standing, she
got ready to pull out the jumble of cables when a Vohrn came in.

  From the pilot’s perspective, Dahed could have been Hanosk’s twin: A tall creature with skin like a snake, whose wide torso underlined the absence of a head. He quickly recounted recent events: the last-second rescue, the progression of the new Omsyn plague among his people. Mallory noticed that at least his translator was working correctly. Hanosk’s replacement concluded his list of bad news. “We had to turn your companion over to Lieutenant Lafora. He’s accused of stealing equipment from the Earth embassy. Normally, we would have vetoed his incarceration, but we wanted to avoid attracting attention.”

  Mallory had no trouble imagining the police officer’s big smile when she handcuffed Laorcq. She now found herself alone, trapped in a tangled web of which she could only perceive a tiny part.

  Dahed then got to the meat of the subject. “The reappearance of Omsyn has been kept quiet for the moment. Since this strain only affects my people, the police could not verify the statements of Commander Laorcq Adrinov. We had to hide the existence of the epidemic to prevent a general panic. We searched Geekler’s residence. Further investigation is underway based on the information in the doctor’s files. Unfortunately, the data is not sufficient for us to be able to create a vaccine quickly enough.”

  “In short, you’re in a race against time,” Mallory concluded.

  The alien acquiesced and continued his explanation. “Unstable by nature, Omsyn mutates when it infects new hosts. In order to increase our chances of success, we have to find out exactly how this strain was developed. The only way is to find the lab where it was created. Then, we just have to go get the data we need.”

  “I don’t know your customs, but Earthlings don’t enter each other’s residences without permission.”

  “We are no different on that point. However, a properly filed complaint against the Idernax CEO isn’t going to get us anywhere. It’s pointless for us to demand justice from Earth.”

  Remembering how the judicial system had treated her father, Mallory groaned derisively.

  Unable to interpret this reaction, the extraterrestrial thought it best to explain further. “Our diplomatic relations with humanity are limited. Your leaders will be happy to let us die, if it means they can take control of Procyon.”

  Mallory confirmed, “Laorcq told me. Our politicos close their eyes to Morsak’s schemes. He planned this all out perfectly.”

  “As far as we know, you and the commander are the only Earthlings whose interests align with ours. We are therefore asking for your help.”

  Mallory had no choice. Helping the aliens was more important than her concerns or Laorcq’s vengeance. No way am I going to watch a whole species die without trying to help!

  Accepting this was one thing, but courting suicide was another. Mallory threw herself back into bed and said, “Okay. I’d be happy to help. However, if you want to send me back to Earth alone, I might as well stay here in bed and wait for the next owners of Kenval to settle their scores with me. Going up against a billionaire psychopath and his henchmen is beyond me. You were wrong to give Laorcq to the police—he’s the soldier, not me.”

  At the thought of no longer having the tough, tall, scarred man at her side, Mallory felt anxiety knot her stomach. How was she going to manage in an environment about which she knew nothing? A month earlier, she had never touched a gun, and now she was being asked to take over from a professional soldier…

  She tried another approach. “You own the entire system! Why are you worried about appearances? Get him back from Lafora!”

  “Things are more complicated than you know. We can’t risk attracting curiosity about this matter. It has all been taken care of, don't worry. We will take you to Mars, and then…”

  Tired of being carried along by events, the pilot imposed one condition. “Okay. I’m with you, but Torg is coming with me.”

  “Your request is acceptable. My compatriots and I are astonished by your cybrid. Since the destruction of Panja, their home world, they have become extremely rare. We never thought to find one in the company of a human… Please, don’t remove the medical equipment.”

  Mallory let go of the handful of cords she had just seized. “Watching what a woman’s doing under the covers isn’t very polite!”

  “I don’t see what’s impolite about it. The starganon sensors are restoring your health. Do not damage them.”

  “Yes, Mom, I promise!” she mocked.

  Dahed hesitated. Apparently, the human’s words had knocked him off-balance. “Excuse me. I need to go have my translator box checked. Unless you’ve confused me with one of your progenitors?”

  “Absolutely not. You’re right, go have it checked!” she replied with perfect composure.

  After having explained to Mallory that he also had to go prepare for their departure, the alien left the room. She was still smiling about her juvenile joke, when she realized what a trip to Mars would mean. To her knowledge, no Earthling had ever been allowed to travel on a Vohrn ship. Suddenly impatient to embark, she thought it would be quite educational…

  XVIII

  VOYAGE

  AFTER a short trip to the Gloria City astroport, Mallory and the cybrid left Kenval on a Vohrn shuttle. Aside from the two warriors who accompanied them, she noticed the small ship was empty. She was glad of Torg’s company. These lizard-soldiers seemed as tightly wound as androids to her.

  For her comfort, she had been provided a genotech lamp: the Vohrns’ style of genetic engineering. Equipped with an antigravity mechanism, this device, which looked like a cross between a bee and a firefly, followed her like a pet. She felt like she was living under a spotlight. The extraterrestrial reptiles didn’t need lights, and so their ships remained dark. Mallory would have to get used to it.

  Curious about the object’s organic appearance, she asked her bodyguard, “Torg? Don’t you think this tiny lamp looks like a fat bug?”

  Disinclined to speculation, the furred giant caught the lamp and examined it with his wide blue eyes. “It’s made of living material, but it’s not autonomous,” he concluded simply, before letting it go.

  Mallory looked around her again. A mix of the biological and the artificial seemed common among her hosts. Like their hollow tower, where the nakedness of the strictly functional hallways led to expanses of greenery. Here, the shining pseudo-insect illuminated an interior filled with hi-tech gadgets.

  Curious, she touched one of the controls on the arm of her recliner at random. The seat reacted, drawing a surprised hiccup from her, “Oh well! Too bad. The massaging chairs aren’t configured for human morphology.”

  She had the unpleasant sensation that someone was trying to pinch her butt with their elbows.

  The other armrest dispensed drinks. After the third stream of sticky liquid, projected into a cup that was too long and thin, she decided to stick with still water.

  On the passenger compartment’s wall, a screen showed the exterior with a striking realism. Holding her breath, Mallory saw the ship that would bring them to the solar system she called home.

  When the shuttle approached the Vohrn vessel, she struggled not to feel like she was being crushed. It was enormous; easily fifty times the size of the Aldebaran liner she had seen when they arrived at Gloria City. She wasn’t surprised they had to board in orbit. No astroport was large enough to accommodate it.

  This type of titanic vessel was born in the void of space and never left it. Its ovoid fuselage stretched out lengthwise, distended with hemispherical protrusions.

  With her expert eye, she examined it from stem to stern. She only saw one synergetic system, of colossal size. The reactor tube looked big enough to swallow a moon. “A block like that must be able to put out as much power as a nova,” she guessed, impressed. The absence of auxiliary reactors, which were used to steer Earth ships, proved that the Vohrns had perfect mastery over their technology.

  Giant symbols, incomprehensible to the human, appeared on the
cruiser’s hull. She used her navcom to get a translation. “Lyoden’Naak”. Carnivore of the Skies,” she read out loud, for Torg’s benefit. “Well that doesn’t leave any doubt about its purpose.”

  The small connecting vessel approached the warship, whose volume ended up filling the entire screen. A flight deck, looking like a huge scar, ran the length of the Lyoden’Naak’s flank. The opening engulfed the shuttle. Deftly, the alien at the controls maneuvered to land between two heavily armed fighters.

  Mallory preferred the Sirgan, but that didn’t keep her from looking them over with an envious eye. As slender as the cruiser was heavy, they could maneuver in all conditions. Capable of travelling through a Jovian storm or the void between systems, these warships surpassed the human equivalents by far.

  The airlock opened. Mallory and her cybrid disembarked, flanked by their two guard dogs. She realized suddenly that there was nothing between them and the void, at least nothing visible. In order to keep the passageway pressurized, the extraterrestrials were using a double force field.

  Each “skin” was activated and deactivated one after the other in a fraction of a second, allowing landings to operate just as at a regular astroport. Although an obvious improvement in terms of flexibility, it seemed like it would require an alarming amount of energy.

  The deck ended abruptly, leaving only the blackness of space. Kenval stood out against the background of stars. The large violet sphere drew a perfect circle on the radiant tapestry, looking like a well about to swallow them whole. The impression troubled her, provoking a sort of horizontal vertigo. To escape it, she turned toward the other end of the flight deck.

  The fighter jets were lined up as far as the eye could see.