Weight of Ashes

by Rook Winters

Kane stormed out and climbed back into his grav flyer. He didn’t need people witnessing his humiliation while being ridiculed by the Qyntarak. Even though the detention facility was part of Kantarka-Ta’s organization, somehow it would turn it around on him and make the loss of L37 his fault.

  As predicted, they were four sentences into their voice call when the Qyntarak said, “Enormous shame descends on you for this failure to ensure the proper safeguarding of the Aldebaran asset. The governor will be filled with much disappointment.”

  “Don’t think you can blame this on me. It was your people who brought them in and left them in this facility.”

  Kantarka-Ta made a sound that Kane was sure was accompanied by frustrated body movements. He couldn’t help but grinning. Despite his own frustration, he’d take any minor victory.

  “Tell whoever runs the detention facility to revoke her bail release and give me access to her tracking data. I’ll go pick her up before she gets too far.”

  “Your success in obtaining the human L37 was absent in previous attempts.”

  “I’ll go personally and take a stun gun. It won’t be a problem.”

  “I will fulfill your request. Do not fail again.”

  Kantarka-Ta ended the call and Kane collapsed back into the grav flyer seat. It wasn’t very comfortable when the flyer wasn’t moving, the smart foam having been designed with the primary purpose of absorbing the force from high acceleration.

  L37, the one called Bear, and the old woman had all been released on bail. Only mentioning L37 to Kantarka-Ta was a calculated risk. If it knew that three of the humans were loose, it might insist on using its team to clean up the mess. Once Kane had access to the tracking data, he would find them. That would look good for him and, more importantly, look bad for Kantarka-Ta.

  Kane’s wrist computer beeped and announced an incoming call from the human director for all Earth-based detention facilities.

  Good, straight to the top.

  Within minutes, the director had revoked bail for all three missing prisoners and the tracking data was feeding to Kane’s wrist computer. It surprised him that the three fugitives were in different locations scattered around the edges of New Boston. He synced the first location to his grav flyer’s navigation system, and the machine jumped to the sky, the smart foam cushioning Kane’s body as it moved.

  It descended into a green space that contained the rusted remains of a children’s play structure and a solitary light pole that was many years out of service. Kane double-checked the tracking data, and it pointed him at the light pole.

  “What the hell?”

  His wrist computer reported L37’s position as five meters and forty-seven centimeters off the ground. He set the grav flyer to hover at that height and opened the hatch.

  On top of the light pole, splattered with bird shit, was a transparent restin bubble protecting a silver box.

  “Those bastards.”

  Someone was spoofing the tracking signal of L37’s bracelet. He didn’t have the expertise to reverse engineer the device. He’d send someone to collect it.

  Kane synced the next tracker location and instructed the flyer to move at maximum speed with priority clearance. That would broadcast ahead to clear the flight path so he wouldn’t lose time avoiding other transports. It took him several minutes to confirm that the other signals were also spoofed.

  He screamed at the control panel of the grav flyer, a primal yell that wasn’t helping to solve his problem but felt cathartic.

  Once he’d composed himself, he called Petra.

  “I need your help.”

  “What’s up?”

  “They released three of the people we brought in yesterday on bail because we’re surrounded by idiots. Bail has been revoked but they are spoofing their tracking signals. I need you to get someone to collect the devices and figure out where the real bracelets are.”

  “Will do, boss. Anything else?”

  “Has anyone retrieved the kid in Toronto yet?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Then just leave him. I’m going back there. Maybe he’ll know something about where the others would go.”

  “It’s worth a shot. Send me the tracking data for the spoofed devices and I’ll work on that.”

  CHAPTER 54: BRITT

  Petra disconnected from the call with Kane.

  “Well, that’s inconvenient. Kane is also on his way to Toronto.”

  “But he doesn’t know where Court is, right?” Elle asked.

  “He thinks he’s still trapped in the university, but I don’t like the idea of him flying around the city while we’re there. It’s a bit close for comfort.”

  “We’ll just have to be extra cautious,” Britt said.

  Bear squirmed in his seat. The smart foam of Petra’s commandeered grav flyer wasn’t designed with someone his size in mind and the seat frame bit into various body parts as he shifted in search of a comfortable position.

  Petra noticed. “We’re almost there. Another four or five minutes.”

  Britt cradled a white box that would hold the data vault once they rendezvoused with Wilm. It looked so simple but she knew it was engineered to withstand the brutality of open space—the heat of direct sunlight, the extreme cold in the shadows, and the radiation that would fry the tiny data vault if left unprotected.

  Not so long ago, Wilm was the new guy. Now he’s guarding Ainsley, Court, and a data vault that can save humanity.

  Petra set the grav flyer down in the ruins of an old parking lot.

  “Let’s review the plan. Britt, you go retrieve the data vault from your people here. Then we fly to the warehouse to meet Bear’s contact. I’ll hack into their security systems to keep your faces off the networked video feeds. You’ll activate the transponder and Bear’s friend will give the box to the shuttle pilot. Once that’s done, I can get those tracking bracelets off and leave you here with your friends.

  “The Qyntarak collaborators will lose the bail money they fronted but they will consider that an acceptable loss if the data vault gets off planet.”

  “We’ll be on the run the rest of our lives,” Bear said.

  Britt reached over to squeeze his hand. “There’s still a chance it will be temporary. If the Reclamation can do some good with the data we’re sending, it will all be worth it.”

  A squeeze back was his answer and she smiled, knowing he believed.

  “I’m throwing out interference to local video cameras. I can safely do that for fifteen minutes in an area like this before anyone starts to care.”

  Britt disembarked and saw frightened stares from the handful of people outside. They attempted to look casual as they walked away from her. She resisted the compulsion to smile.

  If they only knew what was really going on here.

  Despite the small number of people visible outside in the waning daylight, this was a vibrant and well-populated neighborhood by modern standards. The previous residents had been early targets for the forced expulsions and squatters had moved in over the years, eventually creating a new community complete with shops and places to eat and drink. Wilm had inherited a modest establishment from his parents after they’d been trampled to death in riots a few years earlier. Britt supposed he’d inherited their disdain for the Qyntarak as well.

  The redheaded bartender took her to the basement. Inside the secure room, Wilm’s grin stretched wide across his face. He wrapped his arms around her, something she never would have allowed from her crew in the past.

  “I was so scared that I wouldn’t see you again. How are the others? Where’s Bear?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t stay long. Bear’s fine.”

  “What about Elle?” Court asked.

  To Britt’s surprise, Court looked better now than at any point in the short time she’d known him.

  “She’s safe, don’t worry. We’re going to deliver the data vault and then we’ll all figure out next steps.”

  “I want to go with you.”


  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The more people, the more attention we can attract.”

  “The only reason I’m here is to keep Elle safe while she sees this thing through. I can’t stay holed up in here.”

  “We have a plan that needs four people and we already have four.”

  “We both know that there’s something different about Elle. They don’t just want the data vault. They want her. I’m nobody. If there’s any risk of getting caught, you need to send me instead. Please, Britt.”

  He was right, she knew. Elle was unique for reasons she didn’t understand. There was nothing remarkable about Court other than his naive bravery and good heart.

  “You understand that you’ll be putting yourself at risk? If something goes wrong, we may not be able to do anything to help you. You could end up in a forced work program or even sent off planet to a red ship.”

  “I know the risk.”

  “With respect, I doubt that you do. You have a good soul, Court, but you’ve lived a sheltered life, and you’ve only gotten a glimpse of the suffering that happens elsewhere.”

  “Those nacking monsters killed my parents, they destroyed my village, they murdered Marsh and everyone else in front of me. Don’t tell me I don’t know about suffering. Elle is where I draw the line. They can’t have her.”

  Britt recognized the look of a person who’d made up their mind. She’d seen it in Bear’s eyes the day she proposed their first job. She’d seen it in Ainsley’s eyes and in Wilm’s. And she’d seen it in the mirror.

  “Very well. Now, Ainsley, I’m sorry about this, but we’re going to need to get that data vault.”

  “It’ll be fine. The doc gave me anesthetic and antibiotics.”

  She removed the wrapping from around her knee and Wilm pressed a needle into the flesh next to her wound. He counted down from thirty and when Ainsley signaled that she was ready, he peeled back a flap of skin and removed the data vault with tweezers.

  Wilm dropped it into Britt’s hand. She tried not to grimace.

  “Things won’t be the same after this, Wilm. Keep your head down, keep pouring that shit beer upstairs, and keep yourself safe, alright? If the chance comes to do more, I’ll reach out to you.”

  He pulled her into another hug. She felt a wet tear fall on her neck. Part of her wanted to hold on and cry herself. That would have to come later. They had a job to finish.

  CHAPTER 55: ELLE

  Petra opened the flyer’s hatch and motioned for them to hurry. Elle’s heart leaped when she saw Court walking back with Britt. The flyer was designed to seat four people but Court was able to squeeze in between the seats, with only Bear’s knee pressing into his ribcage.

  He surprised her by taking hold of her hand. She started to bristle but changed her mind. She was relieved to see him safe and his touch was comforting.

  It only took a few minutes for them to reach the warehouse. Petra handed out earpieces before they disembarked.

  “These are emergency communication devices. I’m programming them to run on an encrypted, off-network, peer-to-peer protocol. That means they’ll only work if you’re within a few hundred meters of each other or the flyer. Just stick it in your ear. Hold your finger against it to talk. Tap three times to lock the mic on. Three times again to turn it off. It’s a shared audio channel so everyone will hear what everyone else says. Got that?”

  Everyone nodded and put in their earpiece.

  “Good. Give me a minute to hack into the security feeds and then you’re good to go.”

  She tapped and swiped on her wrist computer and the flyer’s control panel.

  “You’re all set. Good luck, everyone. I’ll be waiting for you when the package is delivered.”

  Bear climbed out first and the rest followed him, with Court sticking close to Elle.

  “You don’t seem too worse for wear,” she said.

  “They patched me up after my fall down the stairs. Do you know anything about nanobots? They can’t control me or make me sick or anything, right?”

  Elle laughed and Britt flashed her a stern look over her shoulder.

  “Control you? What, like a nanobot zombie?”

  “I don’t know. We don’t have nanobots in the village. I mean, we didn’t.”

  The crack in his demeanor was brief but she saw it. He was still struggling to deal with the pain of losing his people. With all that had happened so suddenly, he still needed to finish grieving. She had at least had the handful of days in the village after that beast had taken Dr. Donovan from her.

  “Don’t worry about the nanobots. Your body flushes them out in six or seven days.”

  “Good. That’s good.”

  He looked relieved, and she remembered how different their life experiences were. Once again, she wondered when he would get to return to his home. Now that they were fugitives, it might never be safe for him to go back there.

  The warehouse in front of them was enormous, more like a geographical feature than a building.

  Bear led them to a door that was a speck on the massive wall. He punched a code into a numeric keypad and the door opened with a gentle buzz.

  “I worked here for several years, but there’s been a lot of changeover since I left so don’t talk to anybody unless I introduce you. Don’t even look at anyone. Understood?”

  Britt patted him on the back in acknowledgement and they proceeded inside. The warehouse was organized into collections of containers. A handful of humans and robots roamed the space, moving crates or examining tablets. They stopped at a makeshift office of crates stacked around a desk.

  “Why’s it smell so much like robot lube over here?”

  “Bear, you son of a bitch, how you doing, pal?”

  The man at the desk was heavyset with dark circles under his eyes. He came out from behind the desk and Bear clasped him by the shoulders.

  “It’s good to see you, Kamil.”

  “You brought a whole entourage with you.”

  “Look who’s been learning big words. These are some friends of mine. We need to get a package to the Willow Wisp. It’s important.”

  “No can do, compadre. Since your last shipment got snagged, management’s been making a bunch of changes. I’m getting rotated out. I’ll be working logistics in Arizona end of next week. By the time that shuttle goes up, there’s going to be all new ground and shuttle crew here. We won’t be able to drop anything off for the Wisp on that run.”

  “Well, shit.”

  “Unless the shipping schedules change, the Wisp won’t be back in range for months,” Britt said. “That’s too long to wait. What other options are there?”

  “None. You’ve got to have a human up there who can override the airlock and toss the packages out into space. The people we trust aren’t going on the next shuttle run now, and the people who will be going I don’t know if we can trust yet. All the other upcoming shipments are smaller payloads going up in automated pods.”

  “Please, this is unbelievably important. More important than anything you’ve helped us deliver before.”

  “I’m sorry but without a human component, it just doesn’t work.”

  “What if a person went?” Elle asked.

  “I just told you, we don’t have anyone on the next staffed trip.”

  “Not on the shuttle. What if someone was in the automated pod? Could they open an airlock?”

  “Those pods are glorified shipping containers. They don’t even have airlocks. In theory, someone could travel in a suit inside a pod and open the door, but that’s a suicide mission. It’d be a one-way trip.”

  “When does the next pod shipment go up?”

  “No,” Britt said. “We’ll find another way. I won’t ask someone to make that sacrifice.”

  “You don’t have to ask. I’m volunteering.”

  Elle didn’t have to see Court to know his reaction. She could sense it, and it was unmistakable in his voice. “Britt’s right, Elle, we’ll find another wa
y.”

  “You don’t know that. This could be our only chance. My options are to spend the rest of my life running or to go back to a prison to be a science experiment. Or I can do this thing and help the people who can literally save humanity. When’s the next pod launch?”

  Kamil looked at Bear nervously before he answered. “Tonight. In roughly ninety minutes.”

  “Can you put me in a suit and get me on it?”

  “Like I said, in theory, but—”

  “No buts. Too many people have already lost their lives over this. Better to lose one more than for all the others to be for nothing. Besides, there’s a chance the Willow Wisp would pick me up in time, right?”

  “A slim chance. A very slim chance.” Kamil looked to Bear again, his concern evident. “This is a lot different from sending some supplies up on the sly.”

  “I agree with Britt and Court,” Bear said. “This isn’t a good plan.”

  “Yes, it is. It just doesn’t make anyone feel good. The Qyntarak literally want to send starships full of humans to their planet to eat. How will we live with ourselves when that happens knowing that we stood here at this moment and didn’t try to stop it?”

  “They want to eat humans?” The horrified expression on Kamil’s face told Elle everything she needed to know. The others might not like it but she could get him to help, she was confident of that.

  “Yes, and we know how to stop them. We have to tell the Reclamation leaders on the Willow Wisp.”

  “No,” Court said, “this is insane. We are not having this discussion.”

  “There’s no discussion to be had. I’m doing it. It’s my choice. They’ve been telling me what to do my whole life but not anymore. This is how I finish the job that Dr. Donovan started.”

  Bear, then Kamil, and then Court looked to Britt. Elle saw a shimmer of moisture in her left eye before she blinked it away. Britt handed the little white box to Elle.

  “It’s not my preferred way to see this through, but you’re right. We all want our autonomy back and it would be hypocritical of me to say that you can’t decide this for yourself.”

  “There’s not much time,” Kamil said. “We must hurry to make the launch.”