Synthesis

by Rexx Deane

  ‘Greetings, dear Sebastian,’ Shiliri’s voice said, startling him. ‘The Hesperidium need to know why you are here before they will agree to help you.’

  Voices echoed through the grove, rumbling deep into his mind – a hundred ancient voices, creaking through the branches with the weight of ages behind them. ‘Who approaches the Hesperidium?’

  He cleared his throat. ‘Agent Sebastian Thorsson, SpecOps, security officer from space station Tenebrae.’

  ‘Greetings, Agent Sebastian Thorsson … We know of Tenebrae station … Why have you come to the Hesperidium?’

  ‘An explosion occurred a few days ago and I need to determine the cause. I have been told by The Paper – sorry, Duggan Simmons – that the Hesperidium may be able to divine events on the station that led to it.’ He slowly walked around the central tree; if it was a council, he should address the entire circle.

  ‘Why should we help you?’ the voices thundered.

  Sebastian choked. He hadn’t expected resistance to his request. ‘I … Duggan believes that a thaumaturge may have been responsible. Terrorists seem to be involved. They hate alien—’

  ‘That does not interest us.’

  ‘People have died. I brought my disabled friend here because of this, and he could be injured, or dead. I can’t have come here for nothing!’

  A low murmur passed between the trees.

  ‘There is no questioning Sebastian’s motives,’ Shiliri said, her quiet song becoming a shout. ‘Tolinar has experienced proof of his actions. Share.’ Her diaphanous form thinned; blue tendrils of light reached out, touching each and every tree in the grove.

  Sebastian held his breath. Several long seconds passed.

  ‘The Hesperidium agrees. We do not condone the wanton harm and destruction of others. We will help you.’

  He eased out the breath as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. ‘What should I do?’

  ‘Lie down in the centre of the grove. We will attempt to access the memories of the weave associated with your presence.’

  He brushed a handful of leaves from the packed soil, forming a clear space in which to lie – he didn’t want the additional distraction of things sticking in him.

  ‘Close your eyes.’

  The sunlight shining through Sebastian’s eyelids dimmed and for a moment it was as if he were in the blackness of a half-remembered nightmare. No, he was safe. He was safe, and he could relax.

  Blurred, glowing forms appeared in the darkness ahead of him: an out of focus projection on the mist of consciousness.

  The images sharpened into the bulky shape of Nick Alvarez, the marine, and the slimmer form of John Kerl, the scientist who worked in the lab. Alvarez wore an engineer’s uniform, similar to Aryx’s, and stood next to Kerl, who wore a stereotypical white lab coat – exactly how Sebastian had imagined him. Kerl appeared to be instructing Alvarez to do something involving elaborate gestures, pointing at something invisible: Shiliri said only the participants would appear. Kerl’s face twisted in frustration at whatever he was trying to get Alvarez to do. He stopped talking, reached for something, and then held it up in front of Alvarez. The man stared at the object for what seemed like minutes.

  Alvarez repeated his actions; this time a broad grin spread across the scientist’s face.

  The scene shifted, and the actors in the bizarre play changed positions. Alvarez floated horizontally, three feet above the misty floor and Kerl stood by him, talking. Alvarez’s eyes were closed, his brow furrowed, while he mouthed something. His eyes snapped open and he tried to sit up from the invisible bed but seemed somehow restrained. He struggled, and snarled at Kerl. The scientist jumped back at the outburst, but looked strangely unsurprised. Had he been expecting it? Was there a scene he’d missed? It was so frustrating – why couldn’t he hear anything?

  The scene changed; an almost imperceptible change, marked only by the length of stubble on Alvarez’s previously clean-shaven face. He still lay on the invisible bed and Kerl once again stood over him, talking. The bed-ridden marine’s right hand fumbled with something, unnoticed by the scientist. Kerl jumped back as Alvarez, broken free of the invisible bond, brought his hand up to his neck and made a swiping motion across his own throat. His eyes widened and he began to gasp as Kerl put his hands to Alvarez’s neck, as though attempting to staunch the flow of unseen blood.

  Alvarez’s image faded away.

  The scene shifted again; Kerl stood over something, performing a rhythmic sawing motion. He took whatever he cut to the other side of the unseen room and sat hunched over on an invisible stool, apparently doing delicate work.

  Another shift of the viewpoint: Kerl was smaller, farther away. A blurry figure approached and stopped several feet away, unnoticed by Kerl. It put out its hand and leaned against something.

  The scientist staggered from his seat. Flailing around, he bumped against invisible walls and tripped over obstacles. Sebastian imagined him aflame as he fell to the floor. Kerl’s image faded away and the blurry figure outside ran off.

  The blackness gave way to the red glow of sunlight and Sebastian opened his eyes. He stood up, a little shaky.

  ‘This is as much as we are able to access,’ the myriad voices of the Hesperidium said. ‘Does it provide the answers you seek?’

  ‘I … I’m not sure, but thank you for your efforts.’ With no sound or surroundings, the vision was almost no help at all. He was no better off than before. He bowed deeply to the ring of trees, trying to mask his frustration with gratitude.

  The Hesperidium remained silent.

  ‘Shiliri?’ he said.

  There was no reply. He was abandoned.

  Empty, alone, and disappointed, he trudged back towards the lake. As he walked down to the shore and across the shallow waters, more questions ran through his mind. Kerl had obviously worked with Alvarez, experimenting on something, but what? Had Kerl cut Alvarez’s body up for some reason? After all, his DNA was on the metal frame – had he wired him up to that melted blob?

  ‘Aaargh!’ He shook his fists at the sky.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ Tolinar asked as Sebastian approached. Shiliri floated in a tree nearby, having most likely returned during the vision.

  Sebastian shook his head and shrugged. ‘Yes, and no. I wasn’t able to get anything useful from the vision, but the way one of the people in it freaked out reminded me of what I’ve read in the diary from Chopwood – the way William attacked Cullen … I can’t see how the two events could be related, though. I mean, the colonists disappeared over sixty years ago.’

  ‘I am sorry that it was not useful to you,’ Shiliri said. ‘Maybe Duggan could shed some light on events if you explained what you saw to him?’

  ‘I could give it a try. I just hate how my investigation is returning nothing but air and supposition. I like facts. I need facts.’

  ‘Do not be disheartened. I am sure you will make sense of it soon.’

  ‘What are you going to do now?’ Tolinar asked.

  ‘I need to find the ship and make sure Aryx is alright.’

  ‘Your ship is in the middle of the savannah,’ Shiliri said. ‘I will not follow you all the way, but Tolinar will guide you.’

  The Karrikin began making his way around the lake and beckoned. ‘Come, this way.’

  ***

  As the ship fell towards Aryx, time slowed with the adrenaline coursing through his veins. The vessel landed on the force-field supports with a resounding shing!, forcing them several inches into the ground. The mobipack hung, suspended in the air, and screamed under the weight.

  The cargomech stumbled back from the ship like a baby learning to walk, while the predator closed in; Aryx could almost make out the whites of its eyes.

  The creature reached the ship and, ignoring the immobile mech, tore at the ground, squeezing into the gap where Aryx lay until its horns were inches from him. The animal swiped; a clawed whoosh of air brushed his cheek.

  The mech ste
pped towards the beast and swung a yellow hydraulic arm. The prongs caught the monster across the head, batting it away, and it rolled over, righted itself, and shook as if to shrug off the blow.

  Aryx glanced at the indicator on the side of the pack. The power lights had begun to extinguish one by one. It wouldn’t last more than a few seconds. He made a grab for the cube.

  ‘No, leave me. I need proximity to the mech in order to control it. Your time is limited. Go!’

  Hand over hand, he crawled as fast as he could towards the ramp at the bow of the ship.

  The mech strode towards the stunned animal. The beast reared up on its hind legs and leaned back on its heavy tail for support, while its four upper limbs tore at the metal, ripping wires and scraping paint with each swipe.

  The power indicator on the mobipack continued to count down.

  ‘Hurry, Aryx, time is running out.’

  He scrambled for the side of the ramp farthest from the fight.

  The epic battle crashed and roared; dirt and dust flew on the air. The cargomech’s treads churned up the ground as the predator pushed it backwards. The mech lost its balance and toppled sideways and the horned animal seized the opportunity, leaping off towards the front of the ship.

  Flailing its arms, the mech rolled over and reached out with a gripper. It snapped shut and the creature bellowed in pain with its tail trapped between the prongs.

  Aryx glanced back at the pack suspended between the force-field struts. Only the last power bar remained lit.

  Blarp.

  With a final burst of effort, he heaved himself forwards.

  The ship slammed down, barely missing his legs, engulfing him in a dusty blast, and the creature raked the ground as it made its way towards him, dragging the cargomech’s weight with it.

  He staggered, excruciatingly, up the ramp on his stumps towards the door controls. They were too high! After a moment’s hesitation, he headed to the lift. Claws clattered on the ramp behind him.

  The lift made its agonisingly slow ascent and he lifted himself into the pilot’s seat. He activated the controls to close the ramp and turned on the monitors as clangs and scrapes echoed from below.

  The creature crossed the threshold even as the door closed. The mech brought a second gripper to bear on the predator’s tail and pulled. Claws screeched as the thing lost traction. The door stopped, leaving an eighteen-inch gap with the creature’s head jammed in the opening. The monster flailed and thrashed against the straining motors. The cargomech moved forwards, letting go of the tail, and grabbed the torso of the great beast. With a sharp twist and sickening crack, the creature fell limp.

  Aryx opened the door and made his way down to the hold.

  The cargomech was already pulling the gigantic flaccid corpse away from the ship when he arrived.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Aryx asked.

  The cube responded through the speakers on the cargomech. ‘There is a small depression beneath the ship. My casing is intact, and so is your pack.’

  He let out a sigh of relief. It was a surprise to find he was more concerned with the cube’s well-being than the safety of his precious mobipack. ‘Can you drag that thing a bit farther away from the ship?’ he asked. ‘I don’t want others coming after it.’

  ‘I will, but as my range is limited, you would have to retrieve me from beneath the ship. It is probably better for you to repair the damaged conduits and wiring before I move the corpse. It would be risky lifting the ship unnecessarily.’

  ‘I couldn’t agree more. I guess it won’t take long to fix – just give me plenty of warning to get out if you hear anything.’

  Once again, the cargomech lifted the ship, this time under the cube’s control. Aryx swallowed dryly as he crawled back under, pushing a plasma welder ahead; strangely, the possibility of attack concerned him more than the ship being dropped on him. When he reached the pack, he pressed a control on the harness and the capacitor power lights illuminated one by one.

  ‘That’s good, the fusion cell still works. At least it didn’t get burnt out.’

  ‘It is well constructed. I will run a diagnostic on it while you work, if you wish.’

  ‘That’d be helpful, thanks.’ He reached up into the wiring loom and resumed patching the loose connections.

  ‘I am sorry that I was unable to hold the ship long enough for you to escape without risk of injury.’

  ‘It’s okay, you did good.’

  ‘The animal would have killed you, and you are our only hope of survival. I had no other choice.’

  ‘I know, but thank you anyway. It’s a rare thing for me to be able to trust a computer nowadays.’ He finished connecting the patch wires, picked up the plasma welder, and turned his attention to repairing the ruptured conduits.

  ‘What do you think has happened to Agent Thorsson?’

  ‘I don’t know. There was no blood in the cabin, so he’s alive and gone walkabout, maybe looking for me. But wouldn’t we have passed him if he’d gone straight towards the pod?’

  ‘It seems likely.’

  ‘Once this is all up and running, I’ll try tracking his wristcom.’

  An hour later he’d finished repairing the first two conduits in the underside of the hull and dragged out the mobipack.

  ‘You can put the ship down now. I can’t repair the rest of these without using the supports, so I’ll wait until you come back.’

  The mech gently lowered the ship. ‘If I am to drag the body away, I will need to be attached to the cargomech. The mech’s transmission radius is not great enough to afford long-distance control.’

  ‘Can you drag it one-handed?’ Aryx said, strapping on the mobipack.

  The cargomech walked around the front of the ship and returned, dragging the creature behind it with one gripper.

  ‘Good, you can carry yourself in the other hand.’

  The mech presented its free pincer and Aryx handed over the cube.

  ‘Thank you. I will be able to travel as far as necessary.’ It trundled off in the direction from which they’d approached the ship.

  ‘See you later!’ Aryx stared after the machine as it trundled away with its load, leaving multiple furrows in the dusty, stubbled soil. The creature looked like nothing he’d ever seen before, but its savage claws and two pairs of eyes reminded him of stories he’d heard years ago: rumours of a giant four-armed, bear-like creature from Ruarda, a planet near the Cinder system. He’d scoffed at the tales – people said it would rip out the throats of those who spoke about it. If that were even remotely true, how did anyone survive to pass on the stories?

  He made his way to the port side of the ship and retrieved his chair. After closing the cargo bay door and stashing the mobipack and sack of remaining vegetables, he headed to the shield generator room. Thinking more clearly now, he assessed the damage to the suspension mountings. They were a mess, and the supports had sheared off completely on one side of the generator. In the long term, they’d need to be replaced; in the short term, a makeshift welding job would have to suffice.

  ***

  Aryx wiped the sweat off his brow as he finished the final weld on the shield support mountings. The intercom crackled into life.

  ‘Aryx, are you aboard?’ It was the cube.

  ‘Yes, I’m in the shield generator room.’

  ‘I cannot remotely open the door to return the cargomech to the cargo bay.’

  ‘I’m finished here. I’ll let you in.’ He wheeled into the hold and lowered the ramp. The mech stepped aboard, walking on its tracked feet. ‘How far did you take it?’

  ‘Four miles. It should keep predators away for a time. Have you heard from Agent Thorsson?’

  ‘Not yet. I’m about to try lifting the ship with the shield. If it works, I’ll fix the other conduits and we can take off and look for him.’

  ‘It may help if I lift the front while you raise the rear. That will reduce the strain on the generator.’

  ‘Good idea.’ The mech exited an
d headed up to the cockpit.

  The reactor came online without a hitch and he reconfigured the shield into a cylindrical shape – if he could roll that beneath the vessel, it might just work.

  ‘Are you in position?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes,’ the cube said. ‘Give me a countdown.’

  He clamped his wheelchair to the floor. ‘Three … Two … One …’ He turned on the shield and began rotating the generator so the cylinder rolled under the stern. The ship lurched forwards and he activated the landing struts. No alarms this time.

  ‘Okay, lower it slowly and I’ll move the shield back.’

  The ship listed and levelled out, coming to rest with a gentle bump. The console gave the all clear and, with the wiring and initial repairs completed, it took Aryx only fifteen minutes working under the ship in his wheelchair to finish repairing the other ruptured conduits.

  With the cargomech aboard once again, he performed the pre-flight checks. Lights were green across the range. He activated the launch controls. The thruster motors whirred into life and the ship lifted off.

  ‘I’ll take the ship up a short distance and do a scan to locate Sebastian’s wristcom.’

  A loud bang shook the forward section. Warnings sounded from the console and the ship swung sideways.

  ‘Take it down, Aryx! Something has malfunctioned in the propulsion mechanism.’

  He eased back on the thruster controls and shut them off before the ship had a chance to tip too far and flip over. The Ultima thudded to the ground and he made his way down to inspect the damage. The cargomech greeted him, holding out the cube in its gripper.

  ‘You should carry me. I do not want to get lost.’

  He tucked the cube in his pocket and wheeled to the airlock, where the ramp appeared, correctly this time.

  ‘Would it not be easier for you to use the mobility pack to get around?’

  ‘It might, but after hanging from the harness for most of the day, I’m quite sore.’

  He wheeled around the ship, running his hand along the hull. At the thruster intakes, he felt a tiny bulge and reached up inside. Several of the manifold plates were bent out of shape; something had wedged between them. Using his multi-tool’s pliers, he pulled out the shiny black carapace of one of the Tradescantia bugs.