by J. N. Chaney
“Come again?” I asked.
“It identifies them to the system. I imagine it works the same as a badge or key card.”
“If that’s the case, how did you gain access to the armor, Siggy?” I asked.
“Carl assisted with my insertion,” the Cognitive answered.
“Alright,” I said. “Can you make it so a regular AI like Junior could operate a suit if need be?”
“I do not know if such a thing is possible,” said Sigmond, shaking his head. “The technology is quite complex. It required a great deal of processing power to operate the armor.”
I looked up from the pad. “That doesn’t sound good. Is it even safe for you to be inside one of those things?”
If Sigmond couldn’t control a suit without it posing a danger to himself, it wasn’t worth the cost. He was too important. Same went for Gaia back on Earth. Or Athena, once she woke up.
“It is safe,” he assured me. “I would not risk it otherwise. As a Cognitive, my capabilities are far greater than my previous iteration.”
“Based on how well you fought last night, I’d say that’s an understatement, Siggy.”
The conversation about the mobile armor was the last thing on my agenda for the day. By the time I made it to the Renegade Star, the bed was calling my name. Since Lex’s little adventure had woken us in the middle of the night, I’d been running on a few hours of sleep.
A message from Shaw stopped me from heading right to my quarters. I opened a transmission with him on the bridge and found that despite the late hour, he was still fully dressed, with a mug of something steaming in his hands. “Hughes,” he greeted.
“Shaw. What do you need?”
The older man hesitated, looking away as though he were uncertain.
I leaned back against one of the tables and crossed my arms. And waited.
Finally, Shaw looked up again and fixed serious eyes on me. “I’d like to propose an emergency plan to get Lex to safety should something happen. I want to offer my services to return the child back to Earth.”
My back stiffened immediately.“What do you mean something, Shaw? You have information I don’t?”
“Of course not. I’m speaking of an escape plan, should things take a turn for the worst with the Celestials. I presume that is why Lex wasn’t here to begin with,” he pointed out.
“You seem pretty eager. Why?”
The former Constable cleared his throat. “I’ve seen and heard enough to know you won’t have an easy time defeating the enemy. You know as well as I do that you might well lose against them. If all your people are fighting, you’ll want someone you trust to get her back to Earth.”
“Sure, that makes sense,” I said.
I could understand the sentiment.
He smiled a little. “Lex is a sweet kid. Reminds me of my granddaughter when she was that age. She’s in her twenties now. Of course, I haven’t seen her in a long time, and I don’t expect I will anytime soon, thanks to recent politics.”
Alphonse had told me once that Constables weren’t allowed to have families. Something of that must have showed on my face. “You’re wondering how I had a granddaughter,” he said.
“Yeah, something like that,” I answered.
“I married before the Union recruited me into the Constables. They gave me a choice: join them and make a difference in the galaxy but never see my family again, or miss out on a great opportunity and lose my clearance. They assured me that my wife and children would be taken care of, long after my death, if it came to that.”
“Sounds like the Union.”
“True enough. As I’m sure you already suspect, I knew about Lex’s genealogy before I ever came into contact with you. I understand her value, but that is precisely why she must be protected. So many parents tell their children how special they are, but Lex might actually be one of the few where this is actually true.”
“Given your level of clearance, it doesn’t surprise me that you’d know about her,” I told him.
“I kept my ear to the ground, especially after that nun broke her out,” he explained.
“Former nun,” I corrected.
“Right. Anyway, neither of you struck me as the cold blooded killer type. So, I followed your movement, reporting very little of it to my superiors. I couldn’t stop them from finding you, but I didn’t have to file every report.”
I was taken aback. “Followed us when? Where?”
Shaw grinned. “Here and there. Point is, by everything I could tell, you two were protecting the girl in a way that no one else could have, always on the run, staying a few steps ahead of Admiral-general Brigham and his fleet. It was all very impressive to watch.”
“You’re telling me that you sabotaged the flow of information about our movements to your own government?” I asked.
He smiled. “More than you could ever know, Captain.”
All of this came as a shock to me, but it confirmed the stories Alphonse had told me of the man and the kindness he had for those less fortunate than himself. I didn’t know their full relationship or why exactly Al trusted him like he did, but for anyone to earn that level of devotion from him—well, he had to be something special.
“Fair enough,” I said, after a moment. “We’ll discuss it more after I’ve had a chance to talk with Abby. Thank you for the offer to look after Lex, Admiral. When the time comes, I’m glad I know I can count on you.”
He nodded. “The feeling is mutual, my friend.”
After my talk with Shaw, I returned to my quarters and checked my comm. I found a message from Abigail stating that while Lex had stirred, the girl was still asleep. Though she hadn’t awoken, despite the previous estimation of only a few hours more, Abigail assured me she was doing better. I replied, but Abigail must have fallen asleep because there was no response. With nothing else to do, I tried to rest, but it didn’t come right away.
The Celestials had yet to show themselves, which might have been a good thing. I couldn’t be sure. Maybe they were still looking and simply hadn’t found us yet, or perhaps they’d broken off the chase in favor of more important work. I wouldn’t make any assumptions, however. Not until I had more information.
The plan had been to erratically move from one slip tunnel to the next, forming and reforming them in random directions until we reached our destination. This resulted in nearly thirty-five unique jumps, but Carl had assured me that it would make it far more difficult for the enemy to keep up with us.
Carl might even be wrong about them chasing us in the first place, since we’d yet to actually verify they were tracking us. With Athena’s memories, they would have access to everything Earth had accomplished since our rediscovery of the Sol system. It could be enough for them to start looking for it again, even after all these centuries. That was the thought that kept me awake, despite the weight of my eyes as I stirred in the dark, and I felt myself grow cold with the fear of what might happen next.
11
I received the call that Lex had finally woken up when I was on my way back to Novo.
The updates from Earth told us that all was well on that front. Whatever our enemy was up to, they hadn’t shown themselves.
When I finally arrived, Lex’s pod had been converted into a medical bed and she was sitting up in it. Her face lit up when we walked in. “Mr. Hughes! Mr. Shaw! You came to visit.”
“We did. How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Great. Can I get up now?” she asked.
Octavia nodded. “It would be good for her. Just take it slow.”
“Think you can handle that, Lex?” I asked.
She bounced in place a little. “Uh huh.”
Lex seemed fine, but Octavia still did another check once she was standing. Dressler came and gave her an examination to ensure nothing was wrong, taking a few vials of blood for later analysis.
Abigail didn’t want to leave the girl, but I convinced her she was in good hands. Shaw had, once again, offered to b
abysit, and thanks to our previous conversation I was more than comfortable with the arrangement.
Carl’s voice chimed in through the comm as soon as Lex was settled. “Sir, would you like me to reboot the facility now?” he asked.
“We were only holding off to avoid causing complications with the pod, so let’s get it done,” I answered.
“Initiating. Please standby,” he announced. The lights flickered briefly, while the nearby equipment went completely dead. We sat in near-darkness for a few seconds before the lights finally stabilized. I heard a low hum, which seemed to come from below my feet. “The facility is back online,” said Carl at last. “And I have the locations for the Tritium core and Hygeia’s Capsule, if you are ready to retrieve them.”
“Finally,” I said, looking at Abigail. “Let’s go get what we came for.”
Abigail and I gathered two teams so we could split up and save time. She, Freddie, and a Union soldier would go for the core, while I went with Rackham and Petra to get the capsule. Compared to all the other places I had been, Novo was certainly the least dangerous. Hygeia had been trying to protect the Eternals, at least in her mind, and her attack stopped once Lex was cured. Still, the place gave me the creeps and I was more than ready to get back to Tartarus for good.
With Carl in control of the facility, I wasn’t all that worried about getting armed to the teeth for our little excursion. Then I remembered going after Lex with just my pistols and the jam I’d been caught in. If not for Sigmond’s help, no doubt I’d be a pile of charred flesh on the floor of Hygeia’s lab. I didn’t want to get caught unaware again, so just to be safe, I loaded up on ammo and made sure to arm myself with a personal shield and pack for the capsule.
Most everyone else did the same, except for Rackham. The lieutenant wasn’t carrying a rifle, but a grenade launcher. “Planning on running into a mobile armor suit, lieutenant?” I asked him. “Maybe a Boneclaw?”
He gave the launcher an affectionate pat and grinned. “Hopefully not, Captain. But didn’t you just have some trouble with a couple of beam cannons a few days ago?”
“Fair enough,” I said. “I guess there’s no telling what else is waiting for us on this planet.”
The route Carl sent us on led to a sublevel of the facility we hadn’t known was there. Since Sigmond was working with Dressler on recompiling Athena, the Celestial Cognitive had offered to be our escort on this little outing.
“One moment please,” said Carl at the elevator that would take us there. “I must bypass security and gain access to the area. It is on a different network than Hygeia’s. I believe that occurred when she erased herself—the facility reverted to initial conditions.”
“Great,” I muttered.
“A simple matter, Captain. I have gained the necessary control. It wasn’t difficult, given my superior programming.”
“Well, aren’t we vain?” I asked, half-smiling.
The Cognitive didn’t bat an eye. “Not at all, Captain. Simply an accurate comparison.”
“And we don’t have to worry about the defenses coming back up, right?” I asked. Carl had already assured us it was safe, which was why it was only the six of us, but now I felt a little surge of concern. “I don’t want to get into this elevator and have laser beams tear us apart or something.”
Abigail laughed.
Carl bowed his head, but I still saw the smile on his lips. “I have shut off the defenses for this area, Captain Hughes. There is nothing to be concerned about.”
I rolled my shoulders as the doors opened. “Alright, let’s just get this over with.”
Despite his assurances, I didn’t plan on loosening my grip on my rifle. Our entire group crammed inside the car. Without all the gear, it would have been easy, but we had to squeeze to get everyone to fit.
“I can’t believe their first core isn’t depleted,” Abigail said. “All this time and it’s still going.”
“Makes sense to me,” I said. “Back on Lucia’s planet they had three facilities, and they were all much bigger than this one.”
“One core per, though,” Freddie reminded me.
“If the Boneclaws had not wreaked havoc, our cores might still be intact too,” added Petra.
We reached our destination level in a matter of seconds, then moved out into what looked to be a small lobby area. Like the one upstairs, it was spotless. Done in pristine white and chrome, it wasn’t hard to believe that a cleaning crew might have come by to tidy it up just before we’d arrived.
“Even so,” Freddie said, continuing the conversation. “Just think about it. Those facilities were doing more work. Operating in those conditions? If it weren’t for Janus those cores would have given out long before.”
I swept my arm to encompass the space. “Look at this place. Everything about it is in top condition. It’s obvious that Hygeia kept everything running smoothly. She just didn’t have to worry about an insane climate, free-roaming monsters, or all of those buildings caving in on themselves.”
Abigail cast a glance around and nodded. “This is what a perfect facility looks like. No extra burden or catastrophe to stress the system. It’s almost like stepping back in time.” She took a second to appreciate that. “We might never see anything like this again.”
“Right,” I said, not interested in letting myself get caught up with nostalgia. “Back to the issue at hand. Carl, can you bring up the map for this place? I don’t want to get lost if we lose our connection.” I pulled out my pad and waved it.
“Processing.”
The data pad updated a moment later. “What’s with all the twists and turns?” I asked, glancing at the rat-maze styled design of the layout.
“Due to the importance of the core and the Capsule, the design is intended to keep out anyone that doesn’t have proper access. We will need to pass through several checkpoints,” explained Carl.
“Good thing we have access,” Rackham said wryly.
“Yes, Lieutenant Rackham. Without proper authorization I’m afraid the labyrinth would cause some difficulty,” said Carl.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Potential threats would be neutralized,” he explained. “This floor is riddled with defense units.”
“Wait, are you saying we might get attacked?” asked Freddie, some of his usual nerves finally showing.
“Don’t worry, Frederick,” said Abigail. “I’ve got your back.”
The younger man swallowed hard but nodded.
Lifting a shoulder, I gestured forward. “Alright, Carl. Lead the way.”
Carl bowed and went to the room’s only door. “Hold for a moment. I will complete a scan of the other side.” He froze for a second. “I detect no issues. Opening now.”
The door beeped once and the small panel on the side lit up in green. With a final glance at Abigail, I followed Carl through, and the rest of the group fell into step behind us.
A light snapped on as soon as our boots went past the threshold. Like the upper levels, it was another hallway.
Carl took a right and paused a few meters down. “This is where you’ll need to split up, Captain. The central data storage unit and the tritium core are in opposite directions.”
“I guess it would’ve been too simple,” I joked, then looked at Rackham and Petra. “You two ready?”
They both nodded.
Abigail had her data pad out and studied it for a moment. “The core isn’t that far. I can go grab it and make my way to the Capsule after.”
“Works for me. Carl, you coming with me or going with Abby?” I asked.
“The Capsule will require my assistance, Captain,” he explained. “I will still be able to open anything Miss Pryar needs through remote access.”
Decisions made, we parted ways. Abigail and Freddie and the Union man set off in their direction while Carl took my team through an entryway on his left.
It opened to a darkened room, this one stark. It didn’t boast a single piece of furniture or
decoration. “What’s with the lights?” asked Rackham.
“One moment, please,” said Carl.
The next thing I knew, the Cognitive disappeared. His hard light construct was there one moment and gone in the blink of an eye.
“Carl?” I said, tilting my head.
Silence.
“Verifying voice pattern,” a computerized voice announced, booming through the darkness. It was female, familiar, and clearly not the Carl’s.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered. “Hygeia?”
“I’m sorry. Voice pattern not recognized. Please try again. Be advised that two more unverified attempts will result in lethal force,” the voice said in a tone far too cheerful for my liking.
“I thought Carl had this taken care of,” Rackham said.
“I’m sorry,” the voice repeated with artificial cheer. “Voice pattern not recognized. Please try again. Be advised that one more unverified attempt will result in lethal force.”
“Please refrain from speaking until I am able to override,” Carl advised.
We waited in silence for a few more seconds, and I tightened my grip on my pistol, ready to fight if it came to it.
Thankfully, the lights came on and the door slid open, all in the same moment.
I waited until we were clear of the room before turning my sights on Carl. “I think me and you need to clarify what being in control of the facility means.”
“Hygeia had a few fail-safes that I was unaware of. They activated during the reset,” he explained.
“What about Abby and her team?” I asked. “Are they running into similar issues?”
“Yes, another voice-activated door, but I managed both sets simultaneously,” he told me.
“Impressive,” Rackham said.
“Any idea what else is waiting for us?” I asked.
“If you prefer to wait, I can attempt to deactivate the following rooms one by one,” he suggested.