Barnes continued. “The Taleen research team believes the Diak may rely too heavily upon their advanced nano-architecture. That reliance might also be their greatest weakness. Secretary Rostenkowski may be right; perhaps our priority should be finding a way to exploit that weakness. We may not have to fight this battle solely with military personnel and equipment, and . . . ”
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
Rostenkowski’s mention of the Diak’s shape altering capabilities reminded Drew to let Benny in on the answer to the mystery of how a Camdu ship could “ . . . live in space twice.”
Drew studied the TSF commander as he addressed the meeting. Some women would find Barnes’s unsophisticated ruggedness attractive, and he was well-spoken. He visualized Letty sitting in his lap, kissing him, touching—stop . . . stop . . . stop. Still, the two obviously had a relationship beyond friends or boss to subordinate. No reason to jump to conclusions. Maybe they are just good friends after all. I don’t want to be that guy. His com purred: Acting Chief Curtis Walker. Before the meeting, he’d requested alerts only for communication marked urgent. He excused himself and found Curtis standing outside the hatch.
“What’s happening?” Drew asked. Curtis looked uncharacteristically shaken and even paler than usual if that was possible.
“It’s the object,” Curtis said.
“Yes?”
“It’s changed.”
“And . . . ?” Drew prompted.
“It changed into Fitz.”
Chapter 32: It Lives
Drew thought about informing those at the meeting about the new development, but he wanted to see the phenomena for himself first. Considering the unshakable Curtis’s shaken condition, he steeled himself for whatever he was about to witness.
As they watched through the observation window, the figure sat unmoving on the edge of the cot in the screamer cell. It was Fitz all right, or at least a statue version of Fitz carved from dull, lead-gray metal alloy. No remnant of the original object remained.
“Do we have a vid of the change? Has it moved?” Drew asked.
“A vid, yes. The object seemed to disassemble and reform. It hasn’t moved since. You’ll have to view it for yourself. It just . . . just crawled up onto the cot and became Fitz. The whole process only took about five seconds.”
As Curtis spoke, the statue’s eyes blinked. In unison, Drew and Curtis took a step closer to the window, not sure what they’d seen. The statue blinked again.
“Holy shit!” Curtis said.
Drew nodded; his own eyes stared unblinking for fear of missing something. He pressed the speaker control.
“Fitz?”
Pastel ripples undulated across the statue’s surface, settling back into dull gray stillness.
“Fitz, is that you?” Drew tried again with the same result: ripples and then nothing. He laughed.
Curtis looked at Drew as if he was going mad.
“I can’t help it, it’s funny. Don’t you think it’s funny?”
“Hell no,” Curtis said. “I think we should eject the cell.”
“I don’t know. Nothing has really changed except its shape.”
This time Curtis’s look echoed incredulity. “Are you kidding? It looks like Fitz and responds to Fitz’s name—that’s different.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Drew agreed. “Still, as much as I want to get rid of the beastly thing, I’m not sure we should eject the cell just yet. I’m going back to the meeting and let everyone know what’s happened. I don’t think it can leave the cell. But if it looks like it’s trying to get out or disassembles again, give the order to eject.”
Drew called Fitz’s name once more, and the statue rippled in response. “Tap if anything else happens.” He left Curtis staring intently through the window, his head thrust forward like a turtle from its shell.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
When Drew reentered the meeting, Rear Admiral Sullivan was speaking.
“. . . and to that end, by executive action of Earth and Provinces President Mwanajuma, we are appropriating all human TSF divisions, including ships, equipment, and supplies, to strengthen Earth Space Force until we recruit and train reinforcements to a level deemed sufficient to protect Earth and its colonies. In other words, indefinitely.”
Letty and Commander Barnes jumped to their feet at once.
Letty sputtered, “Y-you can’t do that—it’s illegal. We’ll get a court order to stay any action—”
Rear Admiral Sullivan cut Letty off. “It’s not only legal, it’s done. Your attorneys can file whatever they want, but under the Fourth Amendment to the Global Constitution, the action is justified by circumstances and supersedes civilian authority. As chairman of the board, you’ll receive written orders within the next forty-eight hours and if you don’t comply, members of the board, yourself included, can be held under military jurisdiction until the threat to Earth and its properties is ended. You could face charges of treason as well, but that’s not for me to determine.”
Drew cleared his throat. “Excuse me. As interesting as this is, I need to interrupt.” Everyone turned and looked at Drew.
He grinned witlessly back at his audience, not sure if he was giddy with fear or inured to the fantastic by all that’d occurred over the past few weeks. “The Diak object has transformed into a metallic replica of the missing chief of administration for Dark Landing.” He paused. No one spoke. “So . . . you wanna go see?”
As the group made its way to the screamer cell, Drew tapped Doc and asked her to join them. When they arrived, a mixed team of engineers stood with Curtis at the observation window. The newcomers crowded into the cramped space.
At Drew’s nod, Curtis spoke Fitz’s name, repeating it several times, and each time receiving colorful ripples in response. The room grew warm from the squish of bodies. After several rounds between Curtis and the statue, everyone except the engineers retreated to the corridor and back to the conference room.
Failing to reach a consensus of exclamations . . .
“What the hell?”
“Jesus Christ!”
“What the fuck was that?!”
. . . the meeting adjourned and everyone rushed to report to their respective organizations.
As Drew left the room, he watched TSF Commander Barnes prop his feet on the conference table, then fortify his coffee from a flask retrieved from of his uniform jacket. Another prick to Drew’s deflating ego. He was jealous of Barnes’s unruffled demeanor, and reluctantly admitted he’d never achieve that level of cool.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
The following week brought no changes to the Fitz statue. A new scan now identified the nanoids the engineers failed to detect previously. In the meantime, the station experienced its own transformation. When Letty received Taleen Industries’ Notice of Appropriation from Earth gov, Drew received a similar notice regarding Dark Landing, which also went to the station’s co-op board and CoachStop Management. Most of the evacuees had found passage off the station. This left command, the security staff, and other essential station personnel, who were asked to stay and oversee the day-to-day management of the station. Drew now reported directly to Rear Admiral Sullivan. He had leeway in what the rear admiral considered the mundane responsibility of keeping the station facilities and systems running efficiently. Since the station was to be armed and re-purposed as a military base and supply depot, Drew and his staff were basically reduced to janitorial status. Sullivan encouraged mezzanine and bazaar merchants still on the station to stay as well. They agreed since Dark Landing now enjoyed heavy defenses and a new crop of prospective customers
As Earth gov had no authority over Muck, Lt. Commander William William, in exchange for supplies and a weapons upgrade, dedicated his forces to transporting evacuees and escorting supply ships to and from the station. Muck also worked with ESF to rescue anyone still stranded on colonies or outposts, though the Diak made no further attacks and many workers chose to stay in place. A few evacuees even returned to their outposts. An incr
eased demand for raw materials to rebuild Earth’s military meant huge incentives for experienced miners to return to their operations.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
With the influx of military personnel, Curtis workload lightened by half. He revisited his plan to open a nightclub on Spud. He’d heard talk about Earth gov reopening the mine itself, but it had fizzled when they’d learned the existing mine was too played out. Excavating a new one would further stretch Earth’s dwindling resources.
Other than Nikko, Curtis’s resources were non-existent. He had to dismantle the monstrous ore crushing and separating equipment to make room for the club. He’d recruited Nikko for that purpose. The big guy could single-handedly break down the machines and, if he needed help, would have no problem coercing it. Later he would make a great bouncer. The problem was getting the bits and pieces off Spud. Shoving them out the airlock would create a hazard and be unsightly. He would never get away with it.
Nikko came up with the solution. “Droop dem en meen.”
“‘Droop dem’? ‘Droop dem en’ . . . ? Ah, drop the parts down the mine. Of course! That’s so simple. The mine is just a big hole now.” Curtis’s smile matched Nikko’s. “Okay, buddy, one down. The big issue is finding cash for building materials and decor to remodel the place. I have an idea. We still have the package that—” Curtis stopped talking when Drew entered HQ.
Drew came up to Nikko and slapped him on the shoulder. He received a dangerous smile in return. “Nikko, Nikko, Nikko . . . I’m reminded. Curtis, what the hell is Nikko doing here? He said you hired him?”
“I didn’t hire him, he’s my dependent.”
“Your dependent?”
“Yeah, you know, I provide room and board. He occasionally runs personal errands for me.”
“What type of personal errands?”
“Delivering and picking up my laundry, keeping my quarters tidy, that kind of stuff.”
“Still, you could have run it by me.”
“You know . . . it wasn’t my idea. He wanted to stay. What could I do? It’s a free space.”
“What’s he doing in HQ?”
“Nothing. He stopped by to say, ‘hi.’ He was just leaving.” Curtis flashed his well-practiced innocent look.
Nikko’s smile broadened.
“There’s a talk you and I still need to have,” Drew said dryly.
Curtis nodded and shrugged. “Yeah, okay, anytime.”
He delivered a warning glare at the two of them and headed to his office, shaking his head.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
Drew finished his logs and considered finding Letty for lunch when she and Toby showed up. The two had become inseparable.
“You busy?” Letty asked.
“No, I’m getting some lunch. You two want to join me?”
“Thanks, but we just had a bite. I was wondering if you knew that Anne and the Reagan are leaving in the morning.”
“I learned a little earlier. Are you and Toby going with them?”
“Yes. Along with my Dad, and those infected with the Diak nanoids. We’re up to ten now, not including Mattie, and the half dozen from the Temperance.”
“Ah . . . well.” Drew looked at Toby. He had plenty to say to her, but not with the boy around.
She went on. “So, I’m hoping we can get together tonight . . . maybe for dinner? You know, a goodbye . . . thing?” For once Letty seemed as awkward as Drew.
He was encouraged. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll be right here. Why don’t you come by when you’re ready—maybe around 1900?”
Toby had been following their conversation, his head swiveling from one to the other. As they left the office, he turned back to Drew with crossed eyes and a curled lip.
Drew mouthed, “Screw you,” and immediately regretted it, even though Toby spent any time he wasn’t with Letty hanging out with the men, learning to play poker, shoot pool, and swear.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
At 1800 hours, Drew’s com purred, Katherine Taleen. “Letty?”
“Surprise! Doc implanted me this morning. I got sick of the inconvenience. If you’re free now, can we eat a little early? I have to finish packing. Plus, I’m a little stressed about the possibility Toby will try to ditch me tomorrow. I thought it would be best to move onto the Reagan tonight. That way I can keep an eye on him.”
“Tell him if he doesn’t leave on the Reagan, I’m going to space him.”
Letty laughed. “Your threats are meaningless to him. I told you, he adores you.”
It was Drew’s turn to laugh. “We had this conversation before. Head over to the executive mess, I’ll meet you there.”
Drew and Letty arrived at the mess as Secretary Rostenkowski was exiting.
“There you are, Drew, I was going to tap you,” Rostenkowski said. “We’ve been discussing what to do with the Diak object. A consulting team from Earth wants to come out and study it. Plus, we’ve received requests from other Alliance members. Some of them think transforming into Fitz is their attempt to communicate with us. You’ll be pleased to know we made the decision to move it to an ejectable airlock, similar to your screamer cell, on the far side of Spud. Members can install their individual research domes in a configuration surrounding it.”
“You’re right, that makes me very happy,” Drew said.
“We mapped a spot that should accommodate the size facility we anticipate. Commander Barnes is going out for a visual now. I thought you’d want to tag along and see for yourself.”
Drew was shaking his head no, but before he could speak Letty piped up with an enthusiastic, “Yes.”
“We can grab some sandwiches to take along. I want to go.” She saw the look on his face. “Of course . . . space . . . if you’d rather not—”
Drew wasn’t letting her play that card. “It’s just . . . I was looking forward to a leisurely goodbye dinner with you.”
“Well, me too, of course, but—”
“And there’s nothing to see but a few rocks and some small impact craters. It’s like the back side of the moon; it’s the same as the front side.” His argument sounded weak.
“Right, but—”
Rostenkowski interrupted their quibbling, “Great. Get your sandwiches. Drew, you can inspect your new shuttle.”
“I have a shuttle?”
“Sullivan tried to commandeer mine for the station, but he doesn’t have the authority. I donated it anyway. When I get back to Earth I’ll do some commandeering of my own and get one that’s better appointed.”
While they chatted, Letty entered the mess and returned minutes later with a box of sandwiches, a water pouch, and an eager expression.
Chapter 33: The Marigold
Drew and Letty sat strapped into seats on the shuttle while Commander Barnes completed a seemingly unending pre-flight check and familiarized himself with the controls.
He’s supposed to be an experienced pilot, Drew thought. Maybe he’s not so experienced after all, or he’s never piloted anything as uncomplicated as a shuttle.
Letty sat with their box of sandwiches on her lap, her impatience evidenced in her annoying foot tapping.
Drew stared out the window into the docking bay trying to ignore Letty and regulate his breathing in anticipation of the launch. The window wrapped around the bow of the shuttle and continued halfway down each side. A large skylight was set into the upper bulkhead, its external canopy retracted. The shuttle held ten passenger seats, all with good views. A tiny head was tucked in the back next to the storage lockers. Drew was struck by how utilitarian the shuttle was. He could see why Rostenkowski was willing to part with it for something a little more luxurious and suited to her position.
As the first of four announcements sounded to warn anyone still in the bay to clear out, Curtis, Nikko, and Toby clambered onboard through the still-open side hatch. They scrambled into seats and the hatch closed behind them. The second announcement came over the speakers.
Depressurization in five minutes. Anyone not
appropriately suited must exit the bay.
The message would repeat each minute until launch.
“What are you guys doing here, Curtis?” Drew snapped.
“We’re just coming along for the ride. Is that a problem?”
“I hope you checked with Barnes first.” He wanted to add that protocol said to check first with your boss as well, but he held back.
Curtis’s only responded with an exasperated face.
Each day Drew dropped more of the pretense that he still ran the station. He made suggestions now instead of giving orders. Was it his mounting feelings of inadequacy or their very real circumstances that prompted the change? His men remained deferential to his suggestions, so it could all be in his head. They hadn’t discussed his joining TSF again; it was one of the things he needed to talk to Letty about.
There was no bulkhead between the passenger area and the command station. Barnes swiveled in his seat to address them.
“Everyone strapped in? We’re heading out. Curtis . . . you made it. Great! Hey, Toby, you want to come up here and give me a hand?”
Toby squealed and bounded to the front. When Letty laughed at the child’s enthusiasm, Travis winked at her.
Drew, catching their exchange, called out, “Toby, dammit, don’t touch anything.”
Barnes spoke over his shoulder as he strapped Toby into the seat next to him. “No worries. Toby’s training to be my navigator. Aren’t you, bud?”
Letty elbowed Drew and hissed, “What is wrong with you?”
The last announcement sounded and the dock lights dimmed. As the bay depressurized, the semi-opaque environmental shields shimmered and faded to reveal distant stars sparkling in the blackness. With a deft touch that spoke to experience, Commander Barnes activated the docking thrusters, and the shuttle moved gently into the void.
Drew’s stomach heaved while Toby nattered away up front.
“What’s the name of this shuttle anyway?” the boy asked Barnes.
Transmuted (Dark Landing Series Book 1) Page 24