by Craig Allen
Chapter Seven
Cody finished explaining his plan to Captain Gaston over the comm. Cody checked the security settings on the channel once more while he awaited Gaston’s response. Technically, Simmons wasn’t monitoring inbound traffic, only blocking traffic heading outside the system. That didn’t mean he trusted Simmons.
“That Simmons character sounds like a typical politician from Earth.” Gaston held up a hand. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Cody said. “I’m not a politician. At any rate, I’d like a way to reach the Spicans. Got any ideas?”
Gaston scratched at his beard. “Regular comm channels are out of the question, obviously. However, you could bounce a signal off one of our probes. You see, her transponder is out. Or, rather, it will be.”
Cody tilted his head back. “And you were hoping I could contact it and coax it back to life at this future date.”
“You’re getting the idea.” He stood. “I’ll make sure the probe gets launched and let you know in a couple of hours. I assume you still have high enough access to reach it?”
“I do, Captain.”
“You better still be on our side.”
~~~
Cody stared at a desk hologlobe in his assigned quarters on the Tokugawa. The last of the fleet had just arrived at Kali VIII. Every ship had parked near the ring orbiting the icy world, which served as a backdrop for the ring itself. According to the grapevine, the admiral wasn’t thrilled at leaving the fleet near the inner edge of the system, where the gamma-ray burst would be at its strongest.
Cody absently checked the timer. In a little over four days, the gamma burst would arrive, at which point all life on Kali Prime would be wiped out.
He’d started to access his comm when his door chimed. “Come.”
When the door whisked open, Sonja was staring at him, holding a wine bottle and two glasses. “Hey, stranger.”
“Hey.” Cody leaned back in his chair and gestured at the contents in her hands. “That had to be hard to come by.”
“You have no idea.” She waltzed in. “I’ve got to report for duty in ten hours. I’m all yours until then.”
Cody tried to maintain his smile, glancing at his comm all the while.
She lowered her hands. “Bad time?”
“Perfect time,” he said. “I just have to do something first, and I need you to keep quiet about what I’m going to do.”
She raised an eyebrow and set the wine and glasses down on the table next to the hologlobe. “Is this about the comm lockdown?”
“You know about that?”
“The whole fleet does. Some superpowered civvy took it on himself to restrict access to contact back home. No one is happy about it.”
Cody only nodded, not sure what knowledge he was allowed to share.
“Did you hear about the Hive?” Cody asked.
“That it destroyed a bunch of ships? Yeah.” She tilted her head. “Is that who you’re calling?”
Cody’s console flashed green as the probe Gaston had promised him shifted into position. “No, but that’s not a bad idea at all if who I am calling doesn’t come through.”
She bunched her eyebrows together. “Babe, you’re being really cryptic.”
Cody grinned as he pulled up his comm and made contact with the probe. He entered Deveau’s commands and blocked the call he was about to make from being logged. He then accessed the so-called dead probe and pinged the comm channel reserved for the Spicans.
In seconds, a Spican appeared, its torso filling a majority of the image. Spicans didn’t use visual interfaces the way humans did unless they were dealing with humans. From the color markings along its body, it looked like the same Spican that had been in the conference room.
The hollow voice from the Spican translator filtered over the comm. “First One, it is agreeable to see you healthy.”
“And you.” Cody had been called First One before, as he was the first to translate the Spican language and actually start a conversation with them. “I have a favor to ask.”
“The task is you wish to communicate with your people on your home world.”
Cody blinked. “Correct. You remember the conversation with Mr. Simmons.”
“We regret the war between our people, but we regret it less with certain members of your species.”
Sonja suppressed a giggle while Cody grinned at her. “I’m sending you the files we’d like transmitted, including the coordinates and codes for the nearest bridge-sat located outside the system.”
“It will be done, First One.” The message cut out.
“That’s that, I guess.” Cody leaned back. “I wonder if—”
The comm chimed, and a readout said Incoming Message.
Cody sat up. Any incoming message should have gone through Tokugawa’s main comm system, at which point the call would be redirected by the comm officer and logged. The message he was currently receiving had bypassed all that. He ran a quick scan of the message header. No sender information was present, nor receiver information, which made Cody wonder how the call was being routed to him. In fact, he doubted if anyone in the fleet was aware of the signal, other than him and Sonja.
Cody answered the call. “Hello? Who is this?”
The image showed one of the fliers up close, a strip of white hair crowning his head. Text appeared below his image.
“Interesting how your people keep secrets from one another. You are all one tribe, but you are not.”
“Stripe?” Sonja leaned closer. “Are you okay?”
Stripe gave a head bob, which looked more human than any other time he had nodded.
“Quite. I have access to much, and I know what must be done.”
“What has to be done about what?” She looked at Cody. “You mean the planet.”
“What is about to happen will happen. Your people cannot stop it.”
“Did you choose this?” Cody asked. “Stripe, did the Hive take you against your will?”
“I execute these plans because it is what I wish.”
“At least your grammar is better,” Sonja said.
Cody gave her a look then spoke to Stripe again. “Stripe, why are you contacting me?”
“You cannot contact your home world and have asked the Spicans to do so on your behalf.”
“So you were listening?”
“I listen to all comm channels.”
“You can do that?” Cody rubbed his chin, wondering what Admiral Jericho would think of that. “Will the Spicans’ message get through?”
“Yes, but only because I allow it. Simmons will attempt to block it, but the signal will get through nonetheless.”
“Thank you,” Cody said.
“Again, your people are one, but you are divided. You are an odd species.” His expression changed, and Cody could’ve sworn Stripe was smiling with a mouth that had no lips. “What is about to happen should be very interesting.”
An alarm sounded at his station. The system had detected the errant signal and was tracing it back.
Oh crap. “Stripe, I have to go.”
The signal cut off before Cody could do it himself. He checked the logs again, verifying nothing had been recorded. He then canceled the alarm and sent a false error message, hoping that would be enough to cover his tracks.
“Does Jericho know you still have Deveau’s security codes?” Sonja asked.
“Probably. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had me send that message.” Cody shut down the controls altogether. “How’s the new job?”
She shrugged. “It’s good, but I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” He stared at her for a moment. “This’ll be over soon, and then we can go wherever you want.”
“Yeah?” She kissed him. “What about your duties as ambassador?”
“You’ve seen Stripe,” Cody said. “Now that he controls the Hive, I don’t think he or the fliers will have much use for an ambassador.”
“What do you mean?”
> “They want to go home.” Cody folded his arms. “If they can’t, they can go anywhere in the universe with the Hive.”
She stared at him. “You’re going to miss them, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” He rested his elbows on the table. “But I’d rather be with you.”
“Just what a girl wants to hear.”
He leaned over to the other end of the table and picked up the bottle. “Want me to pour?”
She took the bottle from him, set it down, then dragged him toward the bed. “Later.”
~~~
Cody walked briskly toward the conference room. A day had passed since he’d asked the Spicans to send the signal, and he had heard nothing since. He could only assume the signal got through okay.
The conference-room doors opened as Cody approached, and he entered. Admiral Jericho stood at one end of the room, his hands behind his back. Hovering over the center of the table was a countdown to the arrival of the gamma-ray burst, just over three days. Simmons stood close by, his arms crossed. As soon as he saw Cody, Simmons walked toward him, waving a finger.
“You son of a bitch.” He stopped just short of Cody, who did his best not to flinch. “How dare you do this to me?”
Cody did his best to keep a straight face, not just because the little man believed he could be intimidating, but because Cody didn’t know how Simmons had discovered what had happened. The admiral knew, of course.
Cody furrowed his brow. “Is there a problem, Admiral?”
“A problem?” Simmons raised his fists. “You know damn well what the problem is.”
“That’ll be enough, Mr. Simmons.” Jericho didn’t bother concealing his smile. “Apparently, Dr. Brenner, the Spicans have broadcast a wide-band signal to the entirety of the UET Council and the UEAF, regarding recent events of the Hive and the ring facility.”
“It’s more than that,” Simmons said. “They broadcast it on an unencrypted channel. Anyone could have overheard it.” He pointed at Cody. “And you had something to do with it.”
“What gave you that idea?” Cody asked. “There was a Spican in the room during our conversation with the Reed Entity, as you recall.”
“My point exactly,” Jericho said. “If you wish, Mr. Simmons, I can contact the Spicans and—”
“That’s not the point.” Simmons kicked at a chair, missing it completely. “The signal was broadcast across known space. Tau Ceti picked it up, and judging from the strength of the signal, it could have reached Angel’s World.”
“That’s on the other side of known space,” Jericho said. “The Spicans couldn’t have sent a signal that strong, at least not that we know of.”
Cody gave a half smile. “I bet the Hive could.”
“They piggybacked the signal?” Jericho snorted. “Well, that’s a surprise. I wonder why they did that.”
“Yes, I wonder as well.” Simmons turned on Cody again, his display so comical that Cody could barely refrain from laughing. “You told them, didn’t you? You’re an ambassador to those animals, or something, aren’t you?”
“They’re not animals,” Cody said.
“Mr. Simmons, you are as aware as we are what the Hive is.” Jericho pointed in the Hive’s direction. “Who knows what that ancient technology is capable of? And weren’t you the one who suggested we use the habitat for the fliers?”
Cody blinked. He’d never known who had made that final decision.
“It seemed reasonable at the time.” Simmons faced the table, taking deep breaths. “How long until you leave to retrieve the exotic matter necessary to complete the project?”
Jericho regarded Simmons with amusement. “Within the hour. I’m sending the Odin to the facility.”
“One ship?” Simmons mouth fell open. “Do you have any idea how important this is?”
“Of course I do.” Jericho brought up a graphic on the holoviewer, showing the nearly two dozen ships in the fleet. “The Odin is equipped with quick-deploy Daedalus struts, newly implemented from her rebuild after our last battle with the Kali fleet. She can build an Alcubierre field in less than ten seconds.”
“But one ship?” Simmons asked.
“Well, technically two.” Jericho adjusted the holoview until it displayed the Spican ships. “The Spicans will send one of their vessels along as well, to cover the Odin while she extracts the exotic matter.”
“You trust the Spicans?” Simmons folded his arms and stood straight. “I can’t agree to that, Admiral. I insist you send the bulk of your fleet. And the Spicans do not need to be—”
“That’s enough, Mr. Simmons.” Jericho never raised his voice, but it was icy nonetheless. “You have jurisdiction over the ring facility and, apparently, communications in and out of the system. I, however, am in charge of this fleet, and I will decide how to accomplish my mission. Not you.” He stood and walked toward Simmons, who backed away. “I suggest you return to your duties, Mr. Simmons. We both have a job to do, and I would hate to hold you up any longer.”
Simmons glared at Jericho then turned to leave. He gave Cody a nasty look, that of a child angry at his mother, as he stalked out of the room.
When the doors closed, Jericho spoke. “Please keep in mind I don’t judge all Earthers based on just one.”
Cody smiled. “Being an Earther, I have to admit his type is not uncommon, especially if they are in charge of anything.”
Jericho chuckled then walked around to the front of the table to join Cody. “Contact the Hive, if you will. See if you can get any answers out of them.”
“Of course,” Cody said. “I’m kind of curious myself why they did it.”
~~~
Cody sat in his assigned quarters on the Odin, where he pulled up the channel to ping the Hive. In moments, he had an image of Stripe.
“Stripe? How are you?”
Stripe remained perfectly still as text scrawled across the screen.
“Better than I can remember. And you?”
Cody was taken aback. Given the fact that Stripe was able to control all communication channels and seemed to be literally psychic, it made sense that Stripe’s grammar would also improve along the way. But experiencing it still felt odd.
“I am well,” Cody said at length. “Thank you.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Cody had no idea how to move forward, but Stripe made the first move.
“You wish to know about the message.”
“Yes.” Cody leaned forward. “I thought you were just going to help get the message through, not broadcast it to the entire galaxy.”
One of the pink tentacles connecting Stripe to the wall twisted in place, as if reasserting its bond to the flier.
“Stripe,” Cody said. “Did those tentacles catch you, or…?”
Stripe’s head lowered slightly, a very human-looking gesture indicating disappointment.
“No, Cody Brenner. It’s as I told you. I understand now. I understand everything.”
Cody didn’t know what Stripe meant by that, but at that moment he didn’t care. “Why did you send the transmission so far across known space?”
“Because you wanted it. This much I know. Your people are easy to read, easier than you think. Language is only a small part of how you communicate, and often you don’t seem to know this.”
Cody stared at Stripe. He always hated secrets, especially when people would benefit from knowing the secret, but he had never told Stripe that. “Are you aware of where I’m heading next?”
“Yes, indeed. The globular cluster is a dangerous place, and I wish you would not go.”
“Then you know what we’re trying to get and why,” Cody said. “Will you cease your attack on the planet?”
“I am not attacking the planet.”
“Damn it, you know what I mean.” Cody found he had stood. He sat down again. “Stripe, what they are offering is of great benefit to our species.”
“What is about to happen, must. I do not have time to explain, as your pe
ople are leaving soon. Just know this.”
A file was transferred to Cody’s station.
“What’s this?”
“The truth.”
The comm channel closed at the other end.
Cody examined the file. The format was standard, found throughout most known space. He opened it.
An image of a yellow sky appeared. Towers of a material Cody couldn’t recognize rose high into the sky, some disappearing from sight. Creatures flew from one tower to the other, at first only a few, but over the next several minutes, the number increased to hundreds.
The yellow sky slowly turned a dark red. The birds in the sky fell one by one. One landed close to the camera, its head lolling to one side. The creature was remarkably similar to a flier.
The visual ended.
Cody stared at the last image of the recording. He’d never seen towers like that on Kali. No record of them existed in all their scans of the planet.
But maybe they used to be there.
Cody saved the file and shared it with Admiral Jericho. As soon as the message transmitted, an announcement sounded: “Transitioning to bridge space in thirty mikes.”
The door to his quarters chimed.
“Come.”
Sonja walked in. “Ready?”
Cody leaned back, thrilled that she had been assigned to the Odin along with the rest of the Olympus Mons’s crew. “You think we’ll see the toads there?”
“I’d bet on it. No way they committed everything they had when they attacked Kali Prime.” She took a deep breath. “I have to be in my hopper twenty mikes before we arrive at the mining facility. We have three hours’ travel time to the cluster.”
“That gives us some time.” Cody stood. “We don’t get enough time, do we? Don’t get me wrong—that ten-hour break was nice, as will be the three-hour one, but that doesn’t happen often.”
“That’ll change,” she said. “Right?”
Cody smiled. “Yeah. I just hope we can get the planet out of here in time.”
She stepped inside and let the doors shut behind her. “Look, I like the fliers, too, but their home is gone. And Stripe… Well, what if they decide their new home is the Hive and, with it, they can go anywhere and do anything? I just hope they’re still our friends because if they’re not…”