by T. R. Harris
Chapter 13
The service modules disappeared from the vault. When they did, Sherri knew what was happening. Moments before, Adam contacted her through his ATD, but only so she could listen in on his thoughts … and those of Kanan. She sprinted up the stairs to the vault’s door.
“Get this damn thing open!” she yelled back at Stimmel. Riyad and Panur were a step behind.
The Director moved to the control pad and punched in the code. The door began to slide open but stopped halfway, either blocked by debris or from circuits not operating properly. Not much of the infrastructure of the estate was left, including electronics.
Panur stepped forward and placed his body into the narrow opening before shoving with all his might. The door begrudgingly gave way.
Heat, smoke and burning ash greeted the team as they entered what had once been a magnificent library lined with real books. Flames were everywhere. The stone walls still stood in stark relief, although most of the roof was gone.
“Was this necessary?” Stimmel cried out. “Why did he have to destroy my home?”
The question was rhetorical. Kanan did it because he could.
“What happened to Adam?” Panur asked. He may be an immortal mutant genius, but he wasn’t able to communicate telepathically. Lila could do that, not him.
“Kanan has taken him,” Sherri cried out as they made their way out of the building as fast as they could. There was a constant shower of falling debris from the upper floors making it dangerous to remain inside the burned-out shell. “He’s going to use him in his experiments.”
“Where are they going?” Riyad asked.
They burst into the late afternoon sunlight, which was obscured by a massive black cloud over the estate. The smell was sickening, not like that of a campfire, but like a galaxy whose wondrous variety of life was about to turn to ash.
“I don’t know,” Sherri cried. She looked around the grounds, lost and confused, not knowing what to do next.
“We must go after him,” Panur said. “We’ll get back to the ship and attempt to pick up his dark-energy trail.”
“You can do that?”
“I can try if we don’t linger too long.”
“I can track him,” Stimmel said from behind the team. He was looking back at his ruined estate, his shoulders slumped.
“What do you mean?” Riyad demanded. “How?”
The Director turned to address the others. “You have to remember; the Gracilians are my new allies. They know more about dark energy than anyone else in the galaxy.” Sherri and Riyad looked at Panur, still hidden within the façade of TeraDon Fief. “I have detection equipment aboard my ship that can track him, so long as he doesn’t get more than ten light-years ahead of us. I also have a DE ship that can keep pace with his.”
“You want to help?” Sherri asked, incredulously. “Why?”
“Is it not my life that is at risk as well? And look what the bastard did to my house. This estate has been my sanctuary for years. I made it as close to Earth as possible.” Stimmel narrowed his bright blue eyes at Sherri. “We have the Gracilian weapons; we can defeat Kanan’s service modules.”
“Will they affect him, Kanan himself?” she asked.
Stimmel shook his head. “I don’t know. The Gracilians didn’t build him. But no matter what we do, we could use help. Can you call your mutant friends, Lila, and the tiny grey creature, Panur? They have beaten Kanan before.”
Riyad frowned and stepped forward. “You do know that if we defeat Kanan and recover the Code and the Formation, it won’t be good for you. Panur and Lila will make you pay for what you’ve done. The dark matter collectors will be recovered, and the planets you supposedly own in the Dead Zone returned to the natives. You’re okay with all that?”
“Of course not,” the Director answered honestly. “But what choice do I have? If Kanan is allowed to seed thousands of worlds in the galaxy with Aris DNA, it’s just a matter of time before the Human race—hell, all races—are extinct. Whatever I have today will be gone tomorrow.”
Riyad looked at Panur. “I don’t trust him, but we need him.”
“Agreed,” Panur said.
By now, Stimmel had accepted the authority of the tall alien, even though he didn’t understand it.
Panur turned to Stimmel. “Get us back to our ship so we can pick up supplies, and I can make a link. I will have Lila—and Panur—meet us along the way. But first, we need a course to follow, along with the Gracilian weapons you gave us in the vault. Are there more, and what power source do they use?”
“I have more aboard my ship, along with ample power packs. Remember, I used to work for the largest weapons manufacturer in the galaxy. We will not be lacking for firepower.”
“It must be the right firepower when going up against Kanan. Now, we must hurry. You say your tracking system is good only out to ten light-years; Kanan will be at the limit very soon.”
“Agreed,” Stimmel said. “I have other vehicles on the property. We can be at the spaceport in thirty minutes and in space five minutes after you make your call. Let’s get the hell out of here. I can’t stand to see my home like this, but I will have the image vivid in my mind when we crush that little metal ball into a pancake. Schnell!”
Chapter 14
Adam awoke to a big surprise.
He was in a stateroom with the hum of gravity generators reverberating through the hull, undoubtedly aboard Kanan’s ship, heading for his secret base. But that wasn’t the surprise. It was the fact that he was unshackled and the door to the room unlocked.
He stepped out into the spine corridor and headed toward the bow. An expressionless robot, constructed to resemble a basic Prime male, passed him without reacting. Adam sensed he still had his ATD—along with its Lerpiniere field capability. It was a small victory, but what good would it do? He was aboard a vessel full of service modules. He could keep them from teleporting if he wanted. And then what?
He came to the unused galley and stopped at a processor station to order up a cup of alien coffee. It was the one thing he knew how to extract from any station. He took the steaming cup of salvation and continued to the bridge.
The tall android body Kanan was using was there, sitting in a chair at the nav station. It wasn’t moving; Adam figured the Aris service module was performing an electronic operation of some kind that didn’t require mechanical manipulation of keys or other controls. The android noticed when he entered.
“You are recovered!” Kanan said with a lilt in his voice. “And comfortable with your surroundings, I see.” He nodded at the cup of coffee in Adam’s hand.
“Just trying to remove the cobwebs.”
Adam looked around the bridge. Two of the shiny new orbs rested on control consoles, but other than he and Kanan, there was no other activity. Everything was on autopilot.
“You are wondering why you are free to roam the ship?” Kanan stated. “It is because you are no risk. Even with your interface device, there is nothing you can do. If you attempt to disrupt the flight, any of my modules can simply evacuate the atmosphere. We do not need it—you do. A quite effective deterrent.”
Adam took a sip of his coffee. “So, where are we going?”
“Is that important?”
“I suppose not. You mentioned you’re going to use me as a guinea pig, to test Formation combinations to create a new Aris race.”
“I did not speak in such explicit terms, but that is exactly correct. Your presence is not essential; any biologic would do. I have experimented with many. However, I find irony in the fact that it will be you who I try first with the proper combination as determined by the Code device. It is only fitting.”
“Has this been your plan all along, to find the Formation and create a new Aris race?”
“Of course not. I worked with the Gracilians for many years before I learned of the existence of the Formation. Before that, I assumed it was destroyed long ago, along with the rest of the Aris civilization. I s
ought out the key to the vault only to test the validity of the rumors. You were there when I found they were true. After I recovered the final container of disks, I returned to the vault and searched for the Code device. It wasn’t there. That was frustrating, and there was a good chance the device had not survived. Therefore, I dedicated an appropriate period to study the interactions of various combinations to see if I could detect a pattern. I could not. It was fortuitous that at about the same time I conceded defeat, you began the search for a long-lost Aris artifact. I received periodic updates as to your progress. The timing would be important. If you found the Code before I, you would surely destroy it.” The robot smiled. “As it turned out, it was close.”
“Glad I could keep it interesting.”
“The interesting part is still to come.”
The only crew aboard Stimmel’s DE ship was him and the remainder of Adam’s team. That made Riyad more comfortable, knowing that a group of the Director’s henchmen wasn’t lurking around. He didn’t trust the German, suspicious of his sudden conversion from enemy to ally. Maniacs like him didn’t accept their vulnerability as quickly as had Stimmel. They always saw themselves as being above the fray.
Riyad was at the controls; his default assignment everywhere he went these days. That was fine with him. He enjoyed being the driver instead of the passenger. It gave him a better sense of control, even if the ship was now on autopilot, following the faint and distinct signal from Kanan’s vessel far ahead of them.
Stimmel had a very sophisticated dark-energy detection system aboard the ship, something that even impressed Panur. About the best the mutants had come up with was a passive system used to monitor approaches to star systems, guarding for any vessel that might be carrying dark-matter bombs. But Stimmel’s detector was vastly more sensitive and with greater range. Riyad could envision an array of buoys that could track nearly all dark-energy movement in the galaxy. He’d run into a lot of nasty stuff throughout the years, but dark matter and dark energy were some of the scariest. It was hard for him to fathom that a couple of suitcases full of the stuff could destroy an entire galaxy. Such were the mysteries—and terrors—that inhabited the universe.
Panur was at the nav station, plotting their course and making projections. Sherri and Stimmel were aft in the cargo hold, inventorying the munitions.
“I believe I know where he’s going,” the mutant announced without joy. Riyad had noticed a marked change in the demeanor of the mutant during the mission. He wasn’t the same cocky Panur of old. It was as if he was assuming not only the form but also the vulnerabilities of TeraDon Fief. Riyad didn’t like it. He needed Panur at the top of his game if they expected to defeat the service module.
Even with all his concerns, Riyad did perk up at the news. A journey without a destination was boring and took much longer. At least it seemed to.
“Where’s he going?”
“If he does not deviate from his present course, Kanan is headed for the AD-14c star system, home to the old Aris Technician base out near the edge of the galaxy.”
Although he’d never been there, Riyad had heard of the place.
Aris society was made up of two classes, the Privileged and the Technicians. There may have been more, but Riyad never heard of any others. The Privileged were the intellectuals of the race, the ones who initially designed the experiment. The Technician class was the maintenance crew who monitored the experiment throughout the eons.
Because of the incredibly long time frame involved, the Privileged built an artificial world to house their hibernation pods, one that was self-sustaining and able to move through space to avoid the dangers that would undoubtedly arise over the billions of years of the experiment. The Technicians, on the other hand, did not have a world of their own. Instead, they moved from location to location as the need arose, made possible by their more frequent awakenings and technical abilities.
The last base for the Techs was within the general region of the extinct Aris home star system, on a desolate grey world with barely an atmosphere. The facility was underground and hosted the hundreds of hibernation pods occupied by the Technicians. At one time, it had been the home of Kracion, the renegade Technician who attempted to speed up the Grand Experiment by feeding technology and innovation to the ancient Klin, which initiated the first great expansion of civilization in the galaxy. For the Grand Experiment to succeed, a fruitful interaction between species was necessary, and that would only come about through affiliations encompassing hundreds—and then thousands—of worlds.
Kracion’s efforts paid off. The Apex Being was created, and for his efforts, Kracion should have been honored by the Aris. Instead, his insanity took over. Rather than share the Privileged desire for an eternity of study and peaceful contemplation, Kracion sought to rule the galaxy as its immortal god. He nearly succeeded, and many of the recent problems facing the galaxy were a direct result of what Kracion did during his brief reign of terror.
A few years back, Adam, Summer Rains and the mutants fought Kracion in this last semi-permanent base for the Aris Techs. Riyad wasn’t there, but he’d heard so many stories of the encounter that he felt as if he had. And because of this understanding, he saw where it made sense that Kanan would choose the station for his new base-of-operations. He checked the nav grid. The planet was eight hundred light-years away, a journey of six days in the DE starship. Riyad frowned and leaned back in his seat. What they would do when they got there was anyone’s guess.
Panur was on a link immediately after making the announcement, contacting Lila. She would come alone in a DE ship of her own, vectoring to intercept Stimmel’s vessel. A quick calculation on Riyad’s part showed that it would be better for her to meet them at the base rather than in space. The line was more direct. Once Panur was off the link, the mutant turned to Riyad.
“Do not let Stimmel know we’re aware of Kanan’s destination.”
“So, you don’t trust him either?”
“It is not a matter of trust. It is informational leverage. By now, Stimmel must know we could simply commandeer his ship and take his weapons. We have no need for him. Yet realizing this, he continues. He must have another plan, one that will elevate his importance to the mission and guarantee his survival. Therefore, I’m curious as to his plan. We may need what he has yet to reveal.”
“Since you put it that way…” Riyad said. “He’s not stupid. And I’m not buying the idea that he didn’t know what the Code was until recently. And that bullshit about not wanting to destroy such an important artifact; that doesn’t make sense, either. If he feared so much for his life in the wake of Kanan’s efforts to create a new Aris race, he would have smashed the thing to bits long before we got there. He doesn’t strike me as the magnanimous type, putting more value on a piece of ancient metal than on himself. Nothing is more important to Wolfgang Stimmel than Wolfgang Stimmel.”
“I agree,” Panur said. “And be careful with your ATD transmissions with Sherri. Stimmel has Adam’s prior device within him. As he learns to use it better, he may be able to intercept your thoughts.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Good. Keep it that way.”
Chapter 15
“Do you think he sees us?” Sherri asked.
Stimmel’s DE ship was approaching the grey world of the Aris Tech base. The dark energy engine was idle and they were coasting in on what was very close to dark status, using only the reaction jets to make their passage a matter of hours rather than days.
Stimmel shook his head. “This ship is the only one I know of that has the Gracilian DE detection system. Besides that, I don’t see why Kanan would have been concerned about detecting dark energy before this. He’s the one who had the advanced starships, not the allies. I believe we’re safe.”
“Safe,” Riyad snorted, “and about to invade a base full of service modules with the ability to teleport.” He looked at Panur. “That’s right, isn’t it? Adam was the only one with the ability to
stop the globes from teleporting. You don’t happen to have a pocket Lerpiniere field on you?”
“That I do not.”
Stimmel watched the conversation between Riyad and TeraDon Fief, his forehead deeply furrowed. But still, he didn’t ask the question: Why was the handsome alien so important to the mission, important enough for Sherri and Riyad to defer to him on dozens of occasions.
Sherri watched the German, knowing that when Lila hooked up with them an hour from then, the truth would come out. She was surprised he hadn’t figured it out by now. He was supposed to be smart.
“Lila’s sending a ping-notice,” Riyad announced. “She’s close. I’m going to stop us here. Better to have one ship vector in rather than have two of them doing some elaborate dance in dark status.”
Lila’s ship was identical to Stimmel’s, both having been built by the Gracilians. Lila’s was a remnant of the defeated enemy fleet at Navarus, while Stimmel’s appeared to be inventory found somewhere on Gracilia after his recent move to the planet. There may be several more that the Gracilians were keeping under wraps. With their so-called leader, Stimmel, now working with the allies, things were bound to change in the dynamic within the Dead Zone. The status quo would not be maintained after this, no matter the outcome of the attack on the Aris base.
Sherri mentally shrugged. She sincerely hoped their presence at the base wouldn’t turn into an attack. Instead, she hoped for a more subtle operation. But now that Lila was here, Sherri was feeling more confident. She couldn’t count on Panur as she could in the past. He was different, and she didn’t like it.
A short, pressurized umbilical tube snaked between the two vessels, and a moment later, Lila appeared at the airlock, now under the internal gravity influence of Stimmel’s ship. She had a large sack with her, which she effortlessly carried aboard.