by Sarah Noffke
“Area Eight…” Cheng pulled at his salt and pepper beard, his eyes off in thought.
“Sir,” a voice called from the entrance to Area Eight. Sark entered and ran in their direction. The Petigren’s clawed feet tapped against the floor as he scurried over.
That was another part of the plan Penrae had been against. She didn’t understand why the Petigrens had to accompany them. Sneaking onto the Federation Border Station had been difficult enough. Smuggling in the rat people had been exponentially more complicated. However, the elders thought the Petigren species should always serve them. They didn’t realize that this species, who would sacrifice themselves for the Saverus, were going to be their downfall. The elders weren’t happy unless something was dying to protect them.
Verdok whipped around to face the smaller creature. “What is it, Sark?”
“We have a disturbance on the lower level. There’s a military force sweeping the area,” Sark told him.
“What? That area was supposed to be clear,” Verdok said, his voice vibrating.
“These don’t appear to be Federation soldiers,” Sark informed them, his beady eyes looking between Penrae and Verdok.
“Pirates, then. They’ve probably come to steal, and will take off with the Tangle Thief if we don’t stop them,” Verdok at once assumed.
“Or they could be—” Penrae began.
Verdok cut her off and spoke to Sark. “Attack them. If nothing else, your battle will serve as a distraction so we can get out of here.”
Sark nodded obediently, backing up to the exit. “Yes, sir. Thank you for the chance to sacrifice myself for you.”
Verdok didn’t give Sark any more of his attention. Instead he turned back to Cheng, who was muttering equations under his breath.
“Where is the Tangle Thief? I’m running out of time,” Verdok said, frustration in his voice.
He’s running out of time, Penrae thought bitterly. Yes, because when they got the Tangle Thief he was going to take the credit. She should have realized that from the beginning.
Cheng held up his hands and began counting on his fingers the way a child would. He lifted a single finger, then raised two fingers on his other hand. “One and two and then…” Cheng held up three fingers on each hand.
“One-twenty-six?” Verdok yelled. “Are you telling me we are in the wrong place?”
“No,” Cheng said, staring intently at his shaking hands. “But we are. Area Eight is not where the Tangle Thief is located.”
“What? Are you serious?” Verdok said, shoving Cheng hard into the wall.
Cheng appeared unflustered by the assault and stared around the facility as if seeing it for the first time. He chuckled. “Oh, no. This is definitely not where it is. I remember now. This is my unit. His storage unit was Area One-Twenty-Six.”
“Your unit?” Penrae asked, suddenly confused. Every now and then the scientist sounded lucid when he spoke, sparks of his old intelligence shining through.
Verdok grunted. “You moronic human! You told us it was—”
The sound of running footsteps interrupted Verdok, and the three looked up in unison as two distant figures sped into view and halted in the hallway ahead.
Chapter Nine
Area Eight, Federation Border Station Seven
“Teach?” Julianna said, her voice cautious. “What’s in the box?”
Eddie held up the plastic box he was carrying with both hands. “This is the reason you’re going to call me a genius.”
“I think you’ll need a bigger box for that,” Julianna said dryly. She and Lars had already searched most of the rooms on this corridor before Eddie surfaced from the first.
“Seriously, it’s really cool. I’ll explain later,” he replied as they rounded into a second hallway. More rooms filled with glowing blue light lined the long corridor.
“Do you think it’s safe to remove something from here?” she asked.
“Yes. I sort of asked permission,” Eddie explained, clumsily sticking the box under one arm.
“Sort of?” Julianna shook her head. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“I found a small box in one of the rooms,” Lars said. “After a few seconds it morphed into a second box, then a third. It continued to do that until it shrank back into just the one.” He shook his head. “It was incredibly strange, but seemingly useless for our purposes.”
Julianna agreed with a nod. “Yeah, I found a bunch of jars with brains in them in my first room. You absolutely don’t want to know what was in the second room. And the third was empty, but I did hear voices in there.”
“Hearing voices, eh?” Eddie asked, peeking into a room.
“I’m still not sure what we should be looking for,” Lars said, sticking his head into a different lab area.
“Anything that someone would want to steal.” Julianna eyed the box under Eddie’s arm. “Is that what you found?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think an alien population would go to such lengths for this. It’s mostly something we’ll benefit from. The Saverus either want a weapon or something that’s incredibly useful.”
“Right,” Julianna said, turning back to the open room. She strode into the mostly empty space, wondering if she would find anything worthwhile.
“What? Are you serious?” A voice boomed down the hallway.
Julianna reversed out of the room, meeting Eddie and Lars in the hallway. They exchanged uncertain looks.
From their original direction she heard, “You moronic human!”
“Come on,” she whispered urgently, sprinting back the way they’d come.
Eddie shoved the box with the green blob into Lars’ hands. The Kezzin, being larger, handled it easily and didn’t complain about carrying it. Pulling his pistol, Eddie ran in the direction of the voices.
Leaving Lars behind, he and Julianna quickly made it to the intersection of the hallways and halted, taking in the strange sight at the far end of the corridor. The security guard who had scanned their badges had a strange-looking man pressed against one of the walls. The man’s head, which was covered in long black hair, lolled forward. He appeared to be unconscious as he slid to the deck.
The security guard faced Eddie and Julianna, who approached guardedly. The man gave the woman beside him an uncertain look. She wore a white lab coat and black glasses.
“What are you two doing here?” the security guard asked.
“I thought you didn’t know where Area Eight was,” Julianna called. The pair were roughly ten yards from the man.
“I asked you a question. What are you doing down here?” the security guard asked, flexing his hand over the weapon on his belt. The woman beside him backed up several paces.
“Did you find Area Eight after we said something to you?” Julianna asked.
There was something different about the security guard. He appeared as he had before, but any warmth was gone. It was as if he were a shell.
Oh fuck! Eddie halted, aiming his weapon at the man as his eyes darted to the passed-out man on the ground. What was going on here? These had to be them!
“It’s a Sav—” Eddie didn’t finish his sentence, because at precisely that moment the two figures shifted before their very eyes. The security guard morphed into a mirror image of Eddie and the woman grew in height and changed her appearance until she looked exactly like Julianna.
The Saverus darted out the exit. Julianna and Eddie sprinted after them. Once through the double doors, Eddie realized that one had gone right and the other left.
“I’ll take the left,” Eddie said, sprinting after the figure who looked exactly like him. However, he was proud to say that the imposter didn’t have his speed or grace. When he’d caught up with the racing man Eddie halted, lifting his weapon and firing once. The Saverus jerked to the right, as if hit. Feeling a momentary victory, Eddie strode down the hallway to the figure of himself, who was clutching the wall.
With his weapon still out, he approached slowly. “Hands
up there, buddy.” It was strange to talk to himself disrespectfully. This was a mind game, though, he admitted to himself.
Although Eddie had thought that the Saverus had been shot, he didn’t see any blood. Then the alien pulled the pistol from his holster and fired in Eddie’s direction, missing entirely. He stumbled after firing the weapon, but straightened and continued down a hallway to the right.
Damn it, Eddie thought. He shouldn’t have let the Saverus get off any shots, but it was distracting to walk up to himself believing he’d shot himself.
Eddie rounded the corner and halted. The short hallway was empty, and it split in two different directions. Cautiously and with weapon at the ready Eddie approached, sliding against the wall. He slipped around the corner, pistol first. The hallway was vacant. He spun around. Again nothing.
What the fuck? Where had he gone? This section of the Border Station was a confusing mess of intersecting tunnels and narrow corridors. It was a maze with so many places to hide.
Hearing footsteps at his back, Eddie swung around. He hesitated as Julianna bolted into the far end of the hallway some fifteen yards away.
Wait. Maybe Julianna, maybe a sniveling shapeshifter.
Eddie kept his pistol at the ready and his eyes intently focused on Julianna, who was regarding him with the same skepticism.
Fletcher stood vigilantly at the far end of the darkened corridor. There was something not right about this place. It wasn’t the absence of light or the nukes they’d found behind seemingly impenetrable glass. This seemed like the armory the Federation had taken from the bad aliens and was keeping safe. Fletcher liked that idea, but he didn’t like the scratching sounds he kept hearing overhead.
“Sir?” Kendrick called, recapturing Fletcher’s attention.
He turned to his surveillance specialist. “What is it?”
He motioned to an open storage facility ahead. “That door is open.”
“And?” Fletcher asked.
“All the rest were locked,” Kendrick imparted.
He was right. They hadn’t entered any of the units, only peered through the glass to see the contents.
Fletcher motioned to the soldier beside Kendrick. “You and Nona go check it out.”
The rest of the team had divided up to search this part of Area Eight, which was large and spread-out. The enclosed hallways did nothing to make Fletcher feel any better. He felt boxed in, like a sardine in a can. If something happened, there were a million places to run and no good places for cover.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
Fletcher looked up, listening to the incessant scratching. What was it? The tiled ceiling vibrated slightly, as if something had run across it. Was it possible that Border Station Seven had rats?
Fletcher shivered in disgust. He’d spent enough time in trenches and old buildings to have a thorough hatred for rats. Those fuckers had chewed through the explosives that were supposed to put a swift halt to a battle with a gang of dangerous pirates, so it had been their fault that the pirates got away. And that was the same band of pirates who had supposedly taken out his father’s squadron. Once again Rosco’s gang had gotten away and vengeance had slipped through Fletcher’s fingers. One day that would change. One day he’d avenge his father.
The words that rang in his head during every mission played now. “Keep your chin up, eyes open, and mouth shut.” Fletcher’s father’s words always came to him when he needed them most.
He halted. Raised his chin. Peered at the ceiling as it rattled louder than before. Something was wrong.
Taking several steps backward, Fletcher recoiled when he saw what spilled out in front of him.
Simultaneously, something hairy dove out of the storage unit at Nona and Kendrick as another creature dropped from the ceiling. Fletcher clamped his mouth shut as the alien rose from the floor. It was a man, but…not a man. The creature had patches of hair on his face. Whiskers. Pointy teeth. And…a fucking tail. It was a rat-man.
Although a foot shorter than Fletcher, the rat-man looked powerful as it dove at him. Fletcher rolled out from underneath the assault and whipped around, bringing the butt of his rifle down hard on the head of the beast. It screeched loudly.
Behind him, Fletcher heard a similar assault and shrieking as Nona and Kendrick battled their own rat-men.
The alien rolled over and crawled in the direction of Fletcher’s feet. His hands had long clawed fingers and they scratched at the deck. The monster was faster on all fours, making it to Fletcher’s feet in no time. Fletcher viciously kicked the creature, grimacing at the skull’s crunch. It reminded him of when he’d lived in a back alley for a week on a covert mission. This time it was worse, though.
Fletcher kicked the small rat-man to the side after he stilled. There were two more of the aliens at Nona and Kendrick’s feet, their rodent eyes wide and staring lifelessly at the ceiling.
“Good work. Search the rest of this area,” Fletcher ordered. “It appears we have an infestation.”
Julianna aimed her gun at her partner. It was the strangest experience. They were supposed to work together. Die to protect each other if necessary. How was she pointing her gun straight at Eddie? Or not Eddie…
He similarly had his gun pointed unflinchingly at her. The figure of herself she’d been racing after had shifted rapidly through three other forms and spilled through a crowd of scientists filing in the opposite direction. Then Julianna had lost her. But here was Eddie. Or whoever.
“Julianna, it’s me,” Eddie said, his eyes sharp.
“That’s what an imposter would say,” Julianna retorted.
“Well, how am I supposed to know it’s you? I saw that Saverus take your identity too. You might be the imposter,” Eddie said.
“I’m not a Saverus. I’m…” Julianna’s voice trailed away. How was she going to convince Eddie it was actually her? And how was he going to convince her?
“Tell me something that only you know,” Eddie said, glancing over his shoulder. She did the same. They couldn’t leave themselves wide-open for an attack.
The adrenaline of the moment overwhelmed her. How was she supposed to think while holding her partner at gunpoint and having a weapon pointed at her?
“What do you want to know?” she finally asked.
“Damn it, Jules, come up with something.” Tension gripped Eddie’s face. This was stressful for him too, but neither could be trusted until they were proved to be the real person. And if he couldn’t? Was Julianna going to shoot Eddie? The idea filled her stomach with disgust.
Give me something, Pip.
Tell him that he chews on his lip when he’s thinking.
For fuck’s sake, that’s not a real specific trait.
It’s true, though. Also, he waits until everyone in the crew is eating before taking his first bite.
Seriously, are you intentionally trying to be unhelpful?
These are genuine observations that no one else can make of the captain.
I’m looking for information—something I would know. Something about Ghost Squadron! Julianna’s mind was all over the place. She could say something about Hatch or one of the missions or the Q-Ships, but they didn’t really know how the Saverus worked. Maybe they had access to more than just a person’s appearance. She wanted to give Eddie something that irrefutably told him she was the real Julianna.
Tell him you know that he’s hiding a demon about his parents.
I can’t. I’m not ready, and he’s not ready to talk about it.
But that’s one thing you know that no one does. He’s hinted at it.
And I’m not throwing it in his face right now, Julianna yelled back at Pip.
Eddie lowered his weapon with a strange expression on his face.
“What? What are you doing?” Julianna asked, looking at him with shock.
“It’s you,” he said with a sigh. “I know it is.”
“How?” she asked, her weapon still pointed at him.
“That look o
n your face. You always get it when you’re talking to Pip. Only the real Julianna would have a conversation with Pip when she was being held at gunpoint,” Eddie said, and to her surprise he laughed.
Julianna didn’t know what to do. Maybe she should stand her ground? Then she realized Eddie had given her all the proof she needed. Only the real Eddie would recognize the subtle nuances that happened to her face when she spoke with Pip. She lowered her weapon and let out a relieved breath.
“It’s really you?” she asked, unnerved by having to chase herself and aim a weapon at Eddie.
“It’s really me, and all I wish right now is that I could still get wasted once we return to Ricky Bobby,” Eddie said with a wide smile.
It really was Eddie. Why had it been so hard to prove themselves to each other when it was actually very easy?
That’s the paradox of most relationships, Julianna, Pip said in her head. We can be ourselves, but still hide who we truly are. All we have to do is be honest with one another, and yet too often we hide who we are in our silence.
Shut up, Pip.
Chapter Ten
Interrogation Chamber, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System
Lars hadn’t just brought back the white container with the green goop, he’d also found the man the Saverus had been intimidating. Lars had the good sense to realize the man probably knew something, and had led him to the Q-Ship.
Julianna had worried initially that the man was a Saverus, but he hadn’t shifted and hadn’t tried to flee like the other two. He mostly babbled to himself.
“Has he said anything of use?” Eddie asked Lars at the door to the interrogation room.
The Kezzin shook his head. “He just keeps counting. I think he’s up to a hundred thousand.”
Eddie shot Julianna a look of disbelief. “Impressive.”
“Or a big waste of time,” she said. “Did we just bring a certifiably insane person aboard the ship?”