by Frank Carey
Kel knelt down next to his cousin. "Nayla. I want to make myself perfectly clear: NO MORE SAMPLE COLLECTING! Got that?"
"You can't order me..." He grabbed her by her shirt and lifted her up off the ground so that she faced him eye to eye.
"I swear to every deity there is that I will not allow you to endanger the lives of this crew or the League. If you try to collect a piece of this thing I will stop you, then throw you into an escape pod. Maybe a few days floating in space will knock some sense into that Hardy head of yours. Now, you could shoot me, but if you do, you better make damn sure you kill me with the first shot. You miss and you'll only make me angry and you wouldn't like it when I'm angry."
"Stop it!" Maeve yelled. "We have to save Sheila!"
Kel and Nayla looked at the angry Sokuhl.
"Major! You try to collect anything and I'll shoot you myself! Understand?"
Nayla nodded.
"Good. Dragon, put her down. We have work to do!"
Kel lowered his cousin to the ground, then stormed off back to the ship.
"Really?" Rex asked. "You tried to get a piece of that thing?" He shook his head as he followed Kel down the corridor.
Percy saw the look on the major's face. He ran after the other two.
"I guess that leaves you and me," Maeve said.
"I guess so. Thanks for the assist."
"I flipped a coin—either save you or shoot you. You won the toss." She handed Nayla a coin. "We should go."
Nayla nodded and they headed back to the ship.
###
As the Zephyr headed to Cerberus, Kel watched his cousin field strip and modify a comm unit to increase the speed at which it sent destruct codes to a samsar. He did this while perched on the back of a chair like a vulture watching a water buffalo die.
Maeve walked in and saw the tableau. "How the hell can you perch like that?" she asked.
"It's his tail," Nayla said as she removed a transtator module, setting it aside while she worked on the circuitry underneath. "It balances him."
"Oh."
"And I wish to all the hells he would stop it. He's driving me crazy."
"Oh."
"Did you two ever wonder why wombats are only found on two worlds in the League?" Kel asked.
"They're found on two worlds?" Maeve asked.
"Yeah, Malthusa and Maltura, worlds in nearby star systems," Nayla answered, then adding, "and no, I never wondered, but I bet you're going to tell us."
"Wombats have fascinating life cycles. Malthura is their home world where they're born non-sapient and stay that way until after they are past breeding age."
"What?" Maeve said. She grabbed a cup of tea before taking a seat on the couch. "You mean they have kids before they become wise enough to be civilized?"
"Yep," Kel said. "Until they reach a certain age, they're no more than animals. The sapient ones keep an eye on the young, but generally don't interact with them."
"That's nuts," Maeve said between sips.
"Ah, but it works for them."
"Are they spacefaring?"
"The young ones? Definitely not. The genteel? We think they were at one time, but gave it up for more cerebral pursuits."
"So, how did they end up on Malthusa?"
Malthusa was the home of a race of sapient tree dwellers who called themselves the Nesbit. Like Storens, Nesbit came in two flavors—we'll call them pine and oak—who had been at war since day one. One day, a group of pines landed on Maltura and came into contact with a pack of juvenile wombats. After a brief skirmish, the pines captured the group, taking them home for study."
"That can't be good," Maeve noted.
"They figured that they could use their technology to turn the wombats into weapons. The tech worked for about a week, then the wombat's unique physiology took over the tech. In two years, the pines and the oaks were no more. Meanwhile, the wombats had taken over the planet, which is why there are two planets filled with large, six-legged, carnivores."
"You’re just telling stories. Right, Gracie?"
"I'm sorry, Maeve. He is correct. In fact, he wrote the book on the subject of Wombat history."
Maeve's jaw dropped.
"It's not a big deal. The Malthusan ambassador wanted to set the record straight, so he contacted the Sokuhl ambassador who happened to know that Zor's grandson was a historian."
"And the rest was history," Nayla grumbled. "Go ahead. Tell her."
"Tell me what?"
"I got to meet the Malthusian ambassador. It was just me, him, and his mate. Very cozy. Great steaks."
Nayla threw down her stylus, turned and jumped up on Kel's chair so she could look him in the eye. "Listen, Dragon Boy, I've had enough of your shit. I'm a Major in the EMEF, so I know how to handle myself. I don't need your protection! Got it?"
He looked down at her feet. "Nayla... Fine. No more interference. You want to collect a piece of death? Then go right ahead. I won't interfere. You want to die in a blaze of glory? Then have at it. If your job is to capture this thing and bring it back to the League, then I will not get in your way." He jumped off the chair and walked out of the lounge leaving Nayla to wonder what just happened.
"He just wrote you off," Maeve said as she pulled her over to where Nayla was standing.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Sheila told me about this. Something in Kel just clicked. It told him that you no longer need him or his help, so he's focusing his efforts on saving his wife and child. You are no longer a concern."
"Wait. He can't just forget about us..."
"Not us. You. He'll take a bullet for me, or Dash, or Percy. Hell, he’d even step in to save Rex or Gracie. You, on the other hand, are now on your own. Sheila thinks something happened to him when he was a kid. Anyway, you will meet no further interference from Kel. You should be happy. Now, you can face the samsar without having to worry about Kel saving your petite ass."
"No. You're wrong. He's family..."
"Damn, girl, you really don't know a lot about your cousin, do you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"He's a BASILI! If you were a human, he would be a Neanderthal. You and him think differently. His people were barely civilized when your people unleashed that mutagen on them. Sure, the people of Nest are completely modern, just like their children, the Sokuhl. Kel, though, is the only Basili he ever knew until last year. As much as the guy is a genius, he's also a slave to his genetics and you just told those genes to plark-off."
Nayla climbed down from the chair, then sat in it. "This is not the way things are supposed to go," she said.
"It would help if you told me the plan. Are you supposed to retrieve a piece of this thing?"
Nayla tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "Yep. The League wants to study it."
"And you agree with this insanity?"
"Yep. If the bad guys have it, then so should we."
"Do you know what historians do?"
"They teach history."
"No. They uncover history, record it, then teach it to us so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past. I think the EMEF really needs Kel's help, which is why I'm going to patch things up between the two of you."
Abruptly, Nayla stood up, set her shoulders, then followed Kel out of the Lounge. "Thanks, but no. This is our mess. Dash! What's our ETA at Cerberus?"
"We enter orbit in fifty-seven minutes... Mark!"
Without another word, Nayla stepped through the doorway, leaving a smirking Maeve alone in the lounge. "Ah, it is good to use one's powers for good."
###
The doorway led to a corridor which connected the lounge with the aft cargo hold. Nayla walked up to the hatch. After a moment's hesitation, she gave it three hard raps with her fist.
"Come!" a voice said from the other side. Nayla stepped inside, closing the hatch behind her. Inside, she found Kel sitting in a makeshift easy chair made from packing crates, reading from a datapad.
"What'
ya reading?" she asked while pulling a crate over to sit on.
Kel looked at her over the top of his tome. "Tegan history. Maeve was able to download a copy into our databanks. You know me; I just love history."
"Are you angry with me?"
"I don't want to watch you die. It was only luck that I was able to ignite that thing and save us both. Why is the EMEF so interested in new weapons? I thought Elven Industries and the Cube were churning them out on a daily basis."
"Off the record?"
"Of course."
"I think Generals Aymar and McMurphy are running scared. The League's gotten too big for the EMEF to handle."
"You do know there are over forty other planets, most with their own versions of the EMEF. Hell, Earth's got over a hundred of them and some of them use big knives."
"It's a matter of elven pride..."
"So, have Ventos Pride run the damn thing. Nayla, look at the past decade. We've added how many planets to the League? We now span not one, but two galaxies, and every time we expand our borders, we find new ways to die. Bigger, badder weapons are not the answer. You need smart people and lots of them."
She got up and walked over to where he sat. "Are we good?"
He put the book down. "Yes. I heard what Maeve said, and she's right, I do cut people loose when they make it clear they don't need my help. Sorry about that."
She reached down, hugged him, and kissed the top of his head. "I need you. We all need you. Never doubt that for a moment."
He patted her hand. "Thanks. Any idea how we're going to pull this op off?"
She sat back down. "Truthfully? No. There are just too many unknowns."
"How do you kill a cloud of microscopic robots before they kill you?"
"That is the question. I need to get back to work on the comm unit."
Kel nodded and went back to reading as his cousin walked out of the hold. "How do you stop millions of microscopic robots hellbent on creating death, destruction, and terror?" he muttered while turning a page.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Gus’s Flashback
The Furball hung in space near a kilometer-wide spherical construct of metal, plastic, and composite materials. Around it, a swarm of construction bots put finishing touches on the massive enclosure.
"Interesting," Horus said as he peered out the forward windows. "What is its purpose?"
"The sphere contains some of the most advanced computer gear in the League. It was built by Harmon Aymar to find artificial intelligences."
"Ah, yes, the theory that an AI will form if one builds an information system of sufficient complexity," Horus said. "Poppycock."
Gus looked at him. "Poppycock?"
"Yes, poppycock. There is much more to having a soul than computing power. Why you mortals search for such things is beyond me. If you want to create an intelligence, have children."
Zeus and Athena just looked at the big immortal. Finally, Zeus questioned, "Was he always this deep?"
Athena shook her head. "No, this is something new."
"Why are we here?" Zeus asked Gus.
"You've been out of touch for a while. I thought you could live here while learning about the League by interacting with Harmon. The guy is a genius."
"And a smuggler," Athena noted. "Oh, and what about his doppelganger clone, Atmar?"
"And don't forget that he's also the Prince of Ventos Prime."
"A wonderful idea!" Zeus said. "Yes, I would like to meet this Harmon Aymar. How do we make this happen?"
"Harmon has hired me to find a list of items he needs to finish the system. I have the last one in that crate over there. We just need to drop it off, and in the process, you can transfer into the system."
"Simple enough," Zeus noted. "But will he not know me by name if I use 'Zeus'?"
"Yeah, I didn't think about that. The Olympians and humans would have a fit if Zeus and the other ancient gods suddenly reappeared..." He turned to his computer and tapped some commands. "OK, how about a name change?"
"Ah, an alias, a nome de plume. What do you have in mind?"
"Bob."
"Bob?" Athena said.
Horus chuckled.
Gus explained. "Bob is the diminutive form for Robert, one of the most common names in the League. Virtually every species has its own version of 'Bob.'"
"Then it is an excellent name. I will be Bob."
"Good. What about you two? Going or staying?"
"Staying," Athena and Horus said in unison.
"You do realize that I'm just a lone finder of lost things. Staying with me will be far less exciting or interesting than what Bob is facing. Look at the Furball. It's a little toy in the vast bathtub of the League."
Athena shrugged. "We'll stay if you'll have us."
"You are welcome to share my humble little ship. Speaking of which, we need to dock." Gus returned to the pilot's seat and prepared to dock with the massive sphere.
###
Bob sat back in his chair and waited for the show to start. It had been days since the Furball broke seal and had left to take care of Gus's other clients. Bob was pleased to see his two friends happy. They were truly looking forward to what lay ahead for them.
The lights in the outer lab came on and a tall elf with a waist length ponytail walked in with a stack of books which he laid down on the nearby interface console. He stopped and looked up at the holosphere where Bob sat, surrounded by a herd of unicorns. Off in the distance, a dragon sat on a mountain top, preening his tail like a cat.
"Hello," Harm said. Bob detected alarms going off around the sphere. "My name is Harmon. Who and what are you?"
Bob closed his book and set it down on a table before standing up. He walked up to the sphere wall, then through it, knowing full well the capabilities of the room's holoprojectors.
Stopping in front of Harmon, he extended his hand. "My name is Bob. Love what you did with the place." He detected two cruisers decloaking outside the sphere, one of them launching a shuttle.
Harm stood up and took the proffered hand, giving it a hearty shake before releasing it. "Are you an AI?" he asked.
"Sure, that works," Bob replied. He detected a squad of Marines about to enter the room. They were led by a woman with slightly odd DNA. Bob scanned his memory banks. "Ah, Director Devlin has arrived," he said as Ciara and her rapid response team ran in. She ran up to Harm as the Marines took defensive positions around the control console. It was obvious that their weapons were aimed at Bob.
"Hey, Buddy, what's going on?" she said to Harm while keeping an eye on Bob. "Who's your new friend?"
"Enchanté, Mademoiselle," Bob said as he took her hand and kissed the back of it. "My name is Bob. I seem to be your newest employee."
She took the hand away while looking at Harm for guidance. "Bob's an AI," he said.
"You're shitting me."
"He shits you not, fair lady," Bob informed her. "I live in there," he said while hooking a thumb in the direction of the holosphere. "Got any high-falutin math problems you need solved?"
"Excuse us for a moment. Um, why don't you go talk to Lieutenant Polydorus. She loves math..."
"She's Olympian?"
"Yeah... You know about Olympia?"
"I know many things. Excuse me. I must go talk to the Lieutenant."
When Bob was out of earshot, Ciara grabbed Harm by the arm. "You did it? You crazy genius, you created an AI."
"I created nothing," Harm said. "I built a house and someone moved in. I find it odd that he's in human form. I would have expected something more neutral."
"You put the League database in there, right? Maybe he's in Tralaskan form. You know we all look alike."
"I put all the databases in there. He has access to every scrap of knowledge the races have collected."
"That's a lot of data."
Harm nodded. "And memory, and storage, and processing power. I gave her the full options package."
"OK, what can Bob do?"
"Harm looked over at
the AI as he joked with the Marines. "Anything he damn well pleases. Imagine if Zeus was given access to the InterWeb. Think of the possibilities."
She patted him on the forearm. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around. Shall we go give Bob something to do?"
"Yes, let's," Harm replied. He took her by the arm and walked her over to where Bob was showing a Katalan guard twice his size some kind of wrestling move.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sheila and the other expedition members stood under a large staging tent, waiting for their guests to finish a meeting just out of earshot. She noticed several team members scanning the camp perimeter with fear-filled eyes. "Hey! If you could see that thing, then you'd already be dead, so stop it."
"They're nervous," Jarrus noted as he tore his gaze from the edge of the camp. "I feel like I'm facing a choice of death by small arms' fire versus death by cloud-like weapon."
"Danyr and her people are not interested in killing us. All they want is the weapon. I figure that once we find the damn thing, they'll grab it and leave us in peace. Anyway, the League knows what's going on. I bet they're watching us from orbit."
Jarrus looked up to the lightening sky. "You think?"
"Yes, I think, so why don't you look surly-bored. Remember, a good insurrectionist can smell fear."
Jarrus laughed. Sheila looked around and saw the rest of the group visibly relax. She smiled. There's hope for us yet.
Danyr and her entourage joined them a few minutes later. While Nero handed out scanners, Quinto explained the plan for the day. "There's a collapsed building nearby which we have identified as the resting place of the forward half of the crashed transport. About a mile from here is the aft section which contained the samsar's transport container. Since the bodies you found were the crew of that ship, we think the samsar may be sleeping off its last meal either in the ship or nearby, so we'll concentrate our efforts on the forward section. I've loaded the weapon's energy signature into your scanning devices, so all you need to do is survey the area in and around the ship. Let a guard know if and when you find something. You have free reign to go about your business, but I suggest you grab one of our men to accompany you. You know, just in case. Any questions?"