“Shit,” Beth said.
“Power levels are down to two percent,” Majel said. “It will take us some time to recharge.”
“Ive got the main engine still,” Dan said. He lit those thrusters off, blasting ice away from the rear of the ship. Ahead of them was the titanic station, floating out there in orbit. Already it was disgorging a host of small fighter craft to intercept them. Dan tried to bank the Satori away from the station, but the controls were not responding.
“Those damned fish must still be hooked to our maneuvering thrusters,” he said. And now they were stuck fast under two feet of solid ice. It wasn’t a pretty scene. They could still fly straight ahead, but that was taking them directly toward the station. Not the way Dan wanted to go.
“Talk about out of the frying pan,” Beth said.
The Naga fighters were surrounding the Satori, closing in from all sides. There was a jarring impact that shook the ship as several fighters fired something at them. For a moment Dan almost hoped they might fire on the ship. It might chip away enough ice to free them. But no - they weren’t using guns. They were firing anchored cable lines, the anchors grabbing on to the ice, letting the fighters tug the Satori along with them. They were being hauled in toward the station.
The Naga had them. And Dan had no idea how they were going to get out of it this time.
Fifteen
Linda walked back up from the beach with the last of her samples. This job was done, at least. Preliminary analysis was already underway, and looked promising. If she was right, the water here was teeming with life. But she hadn’t spotted anything yet which would be especially infectious to humans, and she didn’t think that her bacteria negatively affect the creatures that evolved here either. Too many differences.
Of course, it was too early to know for sure. She would need to do a lot of work with the samples before she had a better idea. She’d captured a few small animals, tiny analogues of Terran crustaceans and mollusks along with a few smaller arthropods.
“Still haven’t found anything alive above the waterline,” Linda said to Charline as she came back into the cave.
“Well, keep at it. I’m sure you will.”
“I’m not so certain,” Linda said as she set the new samples down into the crate with the others. “There should be tons of life out there, at least at the bacterial level. Even if the local flora hasn’t evolved its way onto land yet, why is the water full of bacteria but there’s nothing at all living on the land?”
Charline gave her a look, tilting her head sideways. “You do love a good mystery, don’t you? You’ll find one pretty much anywhere you look.”
Linda laughed. “It’s in my nature to look for challenges, I guess.”
She flushed a little as Charline rose and stretched. The woman was tall, lean, with blonde hair that she would have killed for. Well-toned muscles filled out the ship suit uniform they all wore perfectly. Damn, she was hot. Linda lowered her face, trying to hide blushing cheeks she knew had to be growing brighter by the moment.
“Well, you’ve got your work cut out for you with all of this,” Charline said, waving her hand at the plastic crates full of samples. She seemed to have missed the blush, thank god.
She was right, too. Charline usually was, and she was dead on this time too. This whole thing was a mystery. Why was there no life on the land? How the heck had sentient life evolved in the ocean before even bacteria made it onto the rocky shores? Damned peculiar.
Linda decided to go out over the island again checking just one more time in the likely areas for potential life. Anyplace that was wet, dark, and even moderately warm ought to be a good place to look. So far nothing, but that didn’t mean there really was nothing. It simply meant she hadn’t found it yet.
She was stepping outside when she heard the roar of engines passing overhead. It must be the Satori, back already! They’d made good time with the mission down below if they were already back. Linda went toward the entrance to wave them in.
Something crashed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground.
She struggled, but whatever it was held her fast. She was about to yell out for Charline when she realized that was who had knocked her down and was pinning her to the cave floor.
“Don’t move!” Charline hissed.
Linda froze.
A Naga fighter streaked by overhead, flying only a few score meters above the waves. It circled around their island a few times before gliding out in the direction the Satori had gone. Two more fighters joined it out there, flying slowly enough that they had to be scanning the sea beneath them.
“They must have tripped some sort of alarm or scan system,” Charline said, slowly rising back to her feet. She reached down a hand to pull Linda up. “Sorry about the rough treatment. If you’d gone out there they would have seen you for sure.”
“How did you know?” Linda asked. In thoughts she kept to herself she was wistfully thinking that Charline could knock her to the floor any time she wanted. She shrugged the thought away. They were in trouble. Time to act like an addled schoolgirl later, if she wanted.
“I recognized the engine sound,” Charline said. “It’s not something you forget after what we’ve been through.”
“Did they capture you, too?” Linda asked. She’d heard stories about Andy, about how the Naga had taken him onto their ship and tortured him.
“No,” Charline said. Her eyes had a faraway look, and Linda knew she was reliving memories as she spoke. “It was me they were after when they got Andy.”
Linda watched the fighters from the safety of the cave. They hadn’t been detected. Of that she was sure - the Naga would have been all over them if they’d known there were humans on the island. She watched their flight pattern. She wasn’t a pilot, but it seemed to her like they were looking for something. Probably the Satori.
“If they’re still looking for the ship, then that’s a good thing, right?” Linda said, voicing her thoughts. “It means they haven’t found it yet.”
“Yeah, but the fact they know to look right there tells us that the guys had to do something that alerted them. I can’t think of too many things that would do that. Radio, firing the guns, using the wormhole device?” Charline said. “They shouldn’t have been using any of those things. At least not if things went according to plan.”
“You think something went wrong down there,” Linda said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah, pretty damned sure of it.”
“What can we do to help them?”
“Right now? Not a damned thing,” Charline said. Her faced wrinkled in frustration.
A series of wavelets a few dozen yards from shore caught Linda’s attention. They looked like the wake from something coming to the surface. It didn’t seem big enough to be the Satori, but she wasn’t sure just what she was looking at.
As she watched the wake resolved into a more organized patter. Or rather, the wakes did - there were at least six of the things, whatever they were down there. They were still too distant to be able to see whatever was swimming out there. But the Naga flyby had her on edge. If this was another threat, she and Charline needed to prepare.
“I think we’ve got company out there,” she said.
“Out where?” Charline replied sharply.
“Out there,” Linda said, pointing toward the water. She had just enough time to say those words before the water exploded upward in a heaving wave of foam.
Sixteen
Andy checked his air gauge. They had plenty left, but if anything happened to the Satori they were in deep trouble. Never mind getting home, without a way to safely decompress aboard the ship they would have to do it the hard way, slowly returning to the surface to avoid getting the bends. They had enough trimix left in their tanks to manage it, but before long they would have to begin the ascent.
The whale which had swum off to go rescue the ship was returning. That was either very good or very bad. Andrew looked down at the creature stil
l wrapped around his finger, thinking questions at it. He knew it would send his thoughts out to the colonies nearby.
“The ship disappeared in a blaze of light,” the whale replied. “It entered the light and then vanished.”
“Wormhole?” Andy asked John.
“Probably. They must have seen the colony approaching and figured it was another attack. They jumped out to avoid getting hit.”
“But where could they go? Do you think the ship had recharged enough to just jump for home?” Andy asked. He was trying to recall how quickly the Satori’s drive recharged. He didn’t think there had been enough time to build power for such a long distance jump.
“No way,” John said. “They must have tried for a micro-jump.”
“Like when we almost crashed into Jupiter.”
“Exactly,” John said. He didn’t sound any more pleased at the notion than Andy was.
He knew they’d made the jump as a last resort. They would have tried everything before taking such a desperate step. But that still left them in deep trouble. The Satori might be anywhere. There was a solid chance it was simply gone, lost for good. He supposed in a pinch they could try to fight their way into the Naga base, maybe steal one of their ships. But that would be one hell of a battle. Their odds would not be good.
Those were thoughts for another time, Andy figured, putting the ideas away. It was way too early to write off Dan, Beth, and Majel. They were some of the smartest people he knew. If anyone could bring the ship safely through, it was them. He had to trust that they’d be back.
“How’s the conclave coming together?” Andy asked.
“It is not,” the colony replied. “It is not a matter of coming together. It is a matter of connecting minds. Our life is spread out across this world, in oceans far away. Conclave occurs when we connect with all of those beings to converse on topics of great importance.”
“How much range does your telepathy have?” John asked.
“We can still reach our brethren enslaved by the Naga floating above our world, but we cannot reach those brought further away,” the colony said. “By connecting one to another, we can reach all around our oceans, though.”
“Like a big telepathic daisy chain,” Andy said. It was pretty incredible. If he was understanding them correctly, each colony was acting like a retransmitting station for all of the others, spreading their signal.
“Yes.”
“So what’s the problem?” Andy asked.
“Not all are responding.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” John said. “Are some not responding because they are injured or sick?”
“No,” the colony replied. There was a long pause, before it continued its thoughts with an emotional resonance of deep sorrow. “Some are refusing to hear or be heard.”
“Why? John pressed.
Andy had a bad feeling he knew why. These colonies not responding had to be the same ones who attacked the Satori. For whatever reason, they were cutting themselves off from contact with the other colonies. Which would make it impossible for the colonies in the conclave to know what they were up to.
“This has never been done before,” the colony replied. It sounded confused, even lost. “We do not understand.”
“John, they’ve learned subterfuge,” Andy said.
“What?” John asked.
“They’re screening their communications. Standard procedure for a military action. These beings are in contact with the ones who are attached to the Naga, right?” Andy asked. “My guess is they’ve learned some new tricks from their slave-masters.”
“Military action. Against whom?” John asked.
There was only one target which made sense. He and John were protected. The Satori was someplace else, out of their reach. But the people they’d left behind on the surface… Andy felt a sudden pang for Charline. If they hurt her…!
John must have come to the same realization. “But they’re aquatic creatures. They can’t get on land.”
“They can if they control certain types of bottom crawling beings,” the colony corrected. It projected the image into their minds of crab and lobster like creatures in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some of the things looked damned big.
“We have to get up there,” Andy said.
“How? It would take us an hour to surface,” John said. “We don’t even have a radio we can use to warn them.”
Andy turned to the colony. “Can you intervene? Stop these rebel colonies from attacking our friends?”
“Attack our own kind? It has never been done. We cannot do that.”
“Damn it, you have to do something!” Andy said.
The whale swam in circles for another few moments, flipping its tail hard in strong, swooping motions. It was clearly agitated. Andy wondering if he had gone too far, if he had maybe pushed the giant animal that could squish him like a bug a little more than was smart. Whatever the whale colony was saying, it wasn’t being broadcast to them. If it was doing any talking it was just with its own kind.
“We have more news,” it said at last. “Your ship has been located.”
“Thank god,” John said. “Where is it? Are they OK?”
“No. The ship has been seen by those of us who are enslaved,” the colony said.
“What? Where?” Andy asked.
“They have been taken aboard the Naga station.”
Seventeen
Dan tapped the console in front of his wheelchair, trying not to feel trapped and helpless. It was a continuous effort to keep his fear in check. The controls were as dead as he was probably about to be. He couldn’t recall ever feeling so utterly helpless. The Satori was sitting on the deck of a landing pad inside the Naga station. At least all the ice around them had melted away. But they were stuck, and just then there was nowhere else in the universe he’d rather not be sitting.
The banging on the ramp door continued. Another minute or so, tops, and the Naga would be inside. They’d have him then, and there was nothing at all he could do about it. Everything that could be done had been. Beth cut the power from the main engines before hiding herself away beneath them. They were still hot, giving off a massive enough energy signature that they hoped her presence wouldn’t be noticed by their scans.
In the meantime it was his job to keep the Naga occupied enough that they wouldn’t tear the Satori apart completely. At least not right away. He had to buy Beth enough time to repair the damage and get clear.
If it were anyone else whose life was at risk, he didn’t know if he could have willingly surrendered himself to the Naga. But this was Beth. He had to get her out of here, no matter what. Nothing mattered more.
The Naga finally pried the ramp open a few inches. The hydraulics screamed as they forced the doorway down. Dan heard booted steps coming up the ramp as the Naga boarded.
“Come in,” he said aloud. He had no way of knowing if they understood him. Did any of them have Cyanaut earpieces to help them translate? “I surrender.”
He raised his hands, about as universal a sign as he could think of. Three Naga poured up the ramp, rifles held at the ready. Two of them turned immediately toward him, but they seemed to feel he wasn’t a significant threat. They left one guarding him while the others began a quick search of the ship. Three more Naga climbed aboard the ship, joining the others in their search.
It was the first time Dan had seen any of them up close. They were reptilian. What he could see of their bodies was covered in scales that ranged from a dull green to an olive color that was almost tan. Most of their body was covered with what looked like armor. The stuff was probably similar to the dragonscale body armor Andy had procured for the Satori’s team, but it looked a lot heavier. Probably more durable as well.
Two of the Naga searching the ship returned to the bridge and said something to Dan’s guard in a language that sounded more like clicks and hisses than intelligible words. The guard gave a small shrug, then turned back toward Dan. Raising its weapon, it
uttered a different series of hissing sounds at him.
“I don’t understand,” he said, keeping his hands carefully raised and his body as motionless as possible.
It repeated the sounds, but looked frustrated. Then it tapped something on its shoulder - a comm link? - and said something else. It growled in Dan’s direction. Then it waited. There wasn’t much else Dan could do but sit there and wait for whatever it was they had planned. He was sweating, though. Any moment now they might find Beth. He had to figure out a way to prevent that.
He slid his hands down to the control bar of his wheelchair and activated the motor. The guard’s eyes got wide, and Dan could almost see him thinking about whether or not to pull the trigger on his rifle. After all, Dan hadn’t done anything obvious yet… Just lowered his arms.
Dan nudged the control joystick forward. The wheelchair had a lot more power than he was putting into it right now, but he didn’t want to alarm the guard enough to actually shoot him. He just wanted to draw a little extra attention to himself.
“I want to see Kassresh,” Dan said, loudly enough to that any Naga nearby could hear him. He had no idea if the leader of the Naga they’d run into was nearby or not, but it was the only name he knew. “In fact, I demand to see him. Take me to your leader at once.”
He drove the wheelchair toward the ramp. If he left the ship, it ought to get a little attention. He made it as far as the top of the ramp before the guard came up beside him and brought the butt of its rifle down against his skull.
Dan tried to roll with the blow, but it still hurt like hell. His ears rang, and there was blood trickling down from the side of his scalp. The Naga uttered a few more very loud demands of its own, and held its rifle poised for another blow. Dan raised his arms, palms open and facing toward the Naga.
“OK, I get it,” Dan said. He groaned. “No wandering off.”
The commotion brought back the other Naga who’d been searching the ship. Dan hid a smile, despite how badly he was hurting. He’d done the job, at least. They were far more interested in him than they were in poking their noses about.
Adventures of the Starship Satori: Book 1-6 Complete Library Page 49