by R. A. Nargi
MoonRunners were basically slow-moving barges, with very limited maneuverability and zero in the way of weapons. If this shuttle was anything like a MoonRunner, we’d be lucky to get to the Fountain in a day.
“How is that going to work?” I asked.
Ana-Zhi jumped in. “We don’t have to get all the way to the Fountain.”
“Exactly,” the Sean bot said. “We just need to get out of range of Yates.”
“But if what you say is true, won’t the Mayir ship be somewhere nearby?”
“Of course it will,” the Sean bot said. “But I have a plan.”
We didn’t get to hear the plan, because at that moment my comm unit squealed.
“Jannigan? Come in!”
“Chiraine? We’re here.”
“Thank Dynark. Why the radio silence?”
“Who is she again?” the Sean bot asked.
“Chiraine Portelle, cultural anthropologist,” Ana-Zhi said.
“New hire?” the Sean bot asked.
“No,” I said. “She works for the Shima.”
“Sorry?” Chiraine said. “I thought I heard someone else talking. What’s going on over there? Did you find the comm station?”
“I’ll tell you when we see you,” I said. “I think we’re close.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. Just keep an open mind.”
When we returned to the circular chamber that surrounded the lift, we found Chiraine at the LVX. She looked up as we approached and then backed away in shock.
We must have been quite a sight: me, Ana-Zhi, a hulking combat bot, and the little MJ-13 drone which had reconnected with us and was buzzing along happily at the Sean bot’s shoulder.
“Is that an Aanthangan clone bot?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “As far as we can tell, my father transferred his neural array into this bot, and… well, you tell her.”
“Hello, Chiraine.” The Sean bot extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m sure you have a million questions, but it appears we don’t have much time. Jannigan and Ana-Zhi filled me in on what was going on.”
Chiraine circled the Sean bot, studying him in disbelief. “I never thought I’d see one of these for real. Wait a minute, did you say this thing actually works?”
“Either Sean’s in there,” Ana-Zhi said. “Or it’s a damn-good simulation.”
Chiraine looked from the bot to my father’s human body, still in hibernation on the sled.
“As I said, there is a lot to explain,” the Sean bot said. “But now, we need to get to the shuttle.”
“You have a ship?” Chiraine asked.
“From what I heard, ‘ship’ is being generous,” Ana-Zhi said.
“It can’t be any worse than the heap we flew in on,” Chiraine said.
“This way, people,” the Sean bot said.
He led us back into the lift, explaining that the shuttle hangar was on level 16.
“Don’t we have to clear the zones of security bots?” Chiraine asked. She motioned at the LVX.
“So you’re the one who has been messing with my friends?” There was a smile in the Sean bot’s synthesized voice. “No, they won’t bother us. And, besides, 16 is mostly clear. I do have to make one detour, however.”
“Oh yeah?” Ana-Zhi asked.
“You said your mission was to recover the Kryrk.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But like I said, Yates stole it.”
“Whatever he stole, it wasn’t the Kryrk.”
“What are you talking about?”
As we rode up the lift, the Sean bot explained that over the past seven years, he had explored every nook, cranny, and vault of Bandala. He had found thousands of artifacts, including many—such as the Kryrk—that were on Beck Salvage’s “list” of notable artifacts.
“Are you serious?” Chiraine asked.
“Absolutely.”
“What else have you found?”
The Sean bot tilted his head in a very human way. “Lots of things. The Sun Chariot of Lacedon, Qedowa’s Gate, the Burned Star Scrolls…”
“You found the Burned Star Scrolls?” Chiraine asked incredulously.
“Yes, and the Map of the Seventh Star.”
“Where are they?”
“Safe,” the Sean bot said. “But not where they used to be. I switched them.”
“What are you talking about?” Ana-Zhi said.
“I knew that there would be more expeditions and I just wanted to make sure that Beck Salvage had a leg up. No one knows the actual location of these artifacts besides me.”
Now I had no doubt that the bot was my father. That’s exactly the sort of thing he would do if he had the opportunity.
We made a brief detour to level 10, and while the rest of us waited in the lift chamber, the Sean bot raced away on his errand with his little drone flying alongside him.
“This is the most insane thing I’ve ever seen,” Ana-Zhi said. “And I have seen some very weird shit.”
“I don’t know,” Chiraine said. “It makes perfect sense to me. Quite ingenious, if you think about it.”
I was still having a hard time processing this. I was happy and relieved that my father was alive, of course, but the idea that his consciousness was now in a clone bot was still hard to accept.
Chiraine turned to me. “Jannigan, how are you doing?”
“I don’t know. This whole thing seems impossible.” I pointed at the unconscious body of my father, stretched out in the sled. “This is my dad, I know that. That bot? I’m not so sure.”
“Actually,” Chiraine said, “they both can be your father. I’ve done quite a bit of research on the Aanthangan culture and military protocol. Do you know how these clone bots worked?”
“Vaguely.”
“The Aanthangans would take their top soldiers and copy their neural array into their combat bots. One soldier might be cloned, in a way, into a million bots. But the process wouldn’t affect the original. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it’s just weird.”
I don’t know why I had such an aversion to the technology. It obviously saved my father’s life. But seeing him made of ceramic plating, smart polymers, rotary actuators and all that stuff just freaked me out a bit.
It turned out that I didn’t have too much time to dwell on my misgivings. The Sean bot returned a few minutes later holding the Kryrk. The real Kryrk.
It was larger than I thought. Sainecourt had estimated its length at less than a meter, but it looked to be a full meter long. Maybe even longer. And it was as thick as my fist.
“Can I touch it?” Chiraine asked.
“Of course,” the Sean bot said. “I’ve done some scans of the artifact and it’s quite sturdy.”
Both Ana-Zhi and I moved closer to Chiraine as she studied the Kryrk.
It was shaped like a crescent, but the arc was gentle—almost like a rounded boomerang. I ran my finger along the Kryrk’s top surface. It was made of an odd material. Not quite metal, but smooth and hard with a translucence about it. I didn’t know if it was my imagination or not, but it almost looked like faint little motes of light flickered within the crescent.
“If this is the Kryrk, what the hell did Yates take?” Ana-Zhi asked.
“A rocker arm from an old Flieger engine I found in a parts warehouse. It was roughly the same size and shape.”
“The Mayir are going to be pissed as hell,” Ana-Zhi said.
“That’s the idea,” the Sean bot said. “Let’s get going. I’ll explain on the way to the shuttle hangar.”
I had no idea if the Sean bot’s plan would work, but he told me he knew Yates well enough to bet on the traitor’s greed. So we all rehearsed our parts. It turned out that only Ana-Zhi would have a speaking part, though.
The shuttle hangar was much smaller than the landing decks we had been in. It was draped with power cables and cluttered with mech stations, cargo crates, and repair bays.
“Watch your ste
p,” the Sean bot warned.
At the front of the hangar stood an ancient shuttle, no more than a half dozen meters long. It was a boxy craft that reminded me of the small cargo barges you might see at a small-time orbital dock on Lekkadabra or Ardova.
“Okay, now I’m scared,” Ana-Zhi said. “Would you look at this thing? It’s ancient.”
Chiraine looked it up and down. “Yeah, the Yueldians were not really known for their shipbuilding.”
“That’s pretty obvious.”
“Well, we don’t have many other options,” the Sean bot said. “All aboard.”
Ana-Zhi and I carefully carried my dad’s body into the interior of the shuttle while the Sean bot moved into the cockpit and began running pre-flight diagnostics. On a vessel this small there was no artificial gravity, of course, so we set about securing everything—especially my dad’s body. There was no room for the sled, but we lugged the LVX on board, as well as some other gear, and the Kryrk, of course.
The Sean bot had installed a comm unit, but it was only a short-range unit, given the power limitations of the shuttle. I hoped it would work well enough for the Sean bot’s plan.
“What kind of engines are those?” I asked.
“They look like some janky old TMIs,” Ana-Zhi said. “Fifty-fifty chance of them exploding.”
“That’s comforting,” Chiraine said.
Even working quickly at robot speed, it took a half hour for the Sean bot to finish calibrating the repulsors and the thruster arrays and checking all the components—especially life support, which we’d need even with our exosuits. He also checked, adjusted, and double-checked the comm system, which was critical to the plan. Then he took the Kryrk and affixed a blinking egg-shaped device to it using friction bands.
I moved closer to examine the device. “That’s not a—”
“Skiphammer? Yes, it is. Minus the thermal charge, of course.”
“It looks completely real.”
“That’s the idea, son.”
With just less than eight hours left until the Fountain opened, the Sean bot announced that we were ready for departure.
“How are you feeling, Z?” he said to Ana-Zhi. “You remember the plan?”
“Of course I do,” Ana-Zhi said. “I just don’t think Yates will buy it.”
“He doesn’t have to. You said Agon Qualt is running this mission for the Mayir.”
“Yeah.”
“Good. That means you just have to convince him. So keep your cool, Z, and just stick to what we discussed.”
The Sean bot instructed me and Chiraine to power off our comm units and exosuit beacons. “As far as Qualt should know, Ana-Zhi is the only survivor. JJ, Chiraine, you’re going to need to keep quiet back there the second the comm is open.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chiraine giggled at me. “JJ? Really?”
“I’ll tell you later,” I said.
“Good luck, everyone,” the Sean bot said. “We’re going to need it. Z, you’ve got the con. Make sure you keep her belly down.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
“Wait,” I said to the Sean bot. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“Of course I am. I’m just traveling on the outside. Now, keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. Okay, son?”
I nodded as the Sean bot disappeared out of the air lock. Ana-Zhi closed the hatch and then settled into the cockpit pilot’s seat.
“Here goes nothing, kiddos.”
With that, she keyed the repulsors and the shuttle began to vibrate and hum as it slid towards the bay doors. Thankfully the doors opened and the shuttle lurched out into space. If I understood him correctly, it appeared that the Sean bot was riding on the shuttle’s lower hull.
The passenger cabin where Chiraine and I sat was ringed with narrow portholes which offered a view of our surroundings. As Ana-Zhi flew us away from Bandala, I gazed out into the inky darkness, expecting to see the Mayir ship with her guns blazing. But all I saw beyond the fortress was unfamiliar constellations of glittering stars.
The shuttle’s maneuvering thrusters rattled the craft as we drew away from Bandala.
“Do you know how far we are from the Fountain?” Chiraine asked in a low voice.
“Over three hundred thousand kilometers, at least,” I said. “But we’re—”
I cut myself off because I spotted a Lamprey-class scout hanging in space, just off the edge of the fortress. It was the Mayir ship.
Ana-Zhi had seen it too. The shuttle’s comm squawked and I heard her hailing the Mayir ship.
“Yates, you there?” Ana-Zhi asked.
“Well, well, well, if it ain’t miss sweet cheeks. You, darling, are harder to kill than a blessed cucaracha.”
I recognized the voice. It was Agon Qualt, captain of the Vostok.
“Listen, Qualt, I got no beef with you,” Ana-Zhi said.
“Really? I find that hard to believe. I blew up your goddamn ship—and your goddamn crew, come to think of it.”
“Yeah, well actually, you only blew up one of my crew—and I wasn’t particularly attached to her, given she was a Shima spy.”
I looked over at Chiraine, but didn’t say anything.
Ana-Zhi continued. “Bandala’s security bots got the other one. But the fact is, I’m willing to forgive all that and make a trade.”
“A trade? If I recall you were rather negativo on the whole ‘working together’ proposal I kindly offered.”
“Yeah, that’s because you didn’t have anything I was interested in. And now you do.”
“And what might that be, A.Z.?”
“Yates and Obarral.”
“Ah, Misters Yates and Obarral. Two men with a keen sense of cooperation—unlike you—if we’re going to get real with each other.”
“I want them, Qualt. Right here, right now. And safe passage back to the Fountain. It’s not a lot to ask for.”
Qualt exploded in laughter. “Not a lot to ask for? A.Z., I’m afraid you don’t know me very well.”
“I know you plenty well, Qualt.”
“Respectfully, I don’t think you do, Ana-Zhi. Because if you knew me—if you really knew me—you’d know that I am a man of honor. A man whose word is his bond. A man who values loyalty above everything else in this whole mud-pucking universe.”
“Uh huh.”
“Don’t ‘uh huh’ me, A.Z. You’re the one who called me, remember?”
“Qualt, you are harboring a pair of scum-sucking murderers and thieves—”
“Matter of opinion, darling. It’s a matter of opinion.”
“No, it’s a fact, Qualt.”
“I can see we’re going nowhere quickly, honey tail, so it’s probably best if you sign off. Permanently. Don’t worry, darling, I’ll make it quick.”
We were sitting ducks, with no proximity plates. My heart thudded in my chest as I braced for the blast of an ion lance or a kinetic torpedo. But Ana-Zhi kept Qualt talking.
“I’ve got the Kryrk,” she said quickly. “It’s right here. Check it out for yourself.”
“Bullshit. Yates found the Kryrk and now we’ve got it.”
“You’ve got a piece of junk, Qualt. A decoy. I didn’t trust Yates and Obarral from the start, so I got my girl to give them the wrong coordinates. Only I knew the real location of the Kryrk, and now I’ve got it.”
“That story’s laughable. Even for you, A.Z.”
“I’ll tell you who’s not going to be laughing. The Mayir. When they see that shit you brought them—that is obviously not the Kryrk—you can kiss any bonus goodbye. And any more jobs between now and, say, the end of time.”
“You’re blowing smoke, girlfriend.”
“Really? Have you done any material testing on that hunk of junk you think is the Kryrk? When you do, I’m betting you’ll see the manufacturer tag on the carbon nanotubes.”
“Hang on a second.”
The channel filled with dead air. Chiraine gave me the thumbs up, but I wasn’t sure. W
as Qualt really buying Ana-Zhi’s story?
20
Twenty minutes later, Qualt made contact. And he was pissed.
“Goddamn incompetents,” he fumed.
“I take it you examined that piece of junk Yates told you was the Kryrk,” Ana-Zhi said.
“It’s an engine part.”
“I told you.”
“Yes you did. But let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we, darling?”
“My pleasure. You drop Yates and Obarral off at Bandala where they stay indefinitely.”
“Uh huh, a little poetic justice?”
“Call it what you will.”
“Then what?”
“Then the two of us hail the Rhya. I tell them that the Faiurae destroyed my ship and I destroyed the Faiurae’s—in self-defense, of course—and you back me up. When they pick me up, I leave the Kryrk on the shuttle and you are free to collect it.”
“That’s your plan?”
“That’s my plan.”
“Okay.”
What? I couldn’t believe Qualt would agree so easily. And, apparently, Ana-Zhi had the same reservations.
“Okay?” she stuttered.
“Okay,” Qualt said. “I have no use for those incompetent sons of bitches. I’ll tranq them and drop them on the landing deck where your ship was—unless you want me to toss them out of an airlock.”
“No,” Ana-Zhi said, still a little flustered. “I want them to go through what they had in store for me. What’s fair is fair.”
“Good,” Qualt said. “But first I’ll come aboard and see this Kryrk for myself. I’ll run a ring scan on it and verify its age.”
“You don’t need to verify it. This is the real deal.”
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I’ve got a crux scanner with a geochron unit. We’ll see how authentic your Kryrk is.”
“Okay, Qualt, but I want you to take a good look at what’s attached to the Kryrk. Can you see that?”
“Yeah. It’s a skiphammer. I know you don’t fuck around, A.Z. There’s no need for explosives.”
“You come alone,” Ana-Zhi said. “Unarmed and alone. Or I will have no problem detonating this and blowing us all to the ether. You got it?”
“Always a hard ass, darling. That’s what I love about you. See you in a few. Qualt out.”