by B. V. Larson
“I would be pleased to do so.”
I wondered why he was so cooperative. Probably he was eager to examine their technology in person. “Do it, then. Next topic Marvin, do you have any idea what Sokolov is trying to blow up with his nuke?”
“I can make logical deductions. I believe he’s trying to destroy the maze control center.”
“Control center? Where is it?”
“I have no information to give you. It’s only a supposition that a control center must exist.”
“What if the controlling intelligence is distributed? What if it has no center?”
“Then, in the words of a common idiom I researched recently, he’s screwed. You’re screwed. We’re all probably s—”
“I get it, Marvin. Oh…did you see any Macros when you were in here?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was not relevant at the time. I feel I must point out, in fact, that you took the opportunity presented by our last conversation to ask about some message that I may or may not have received decades ago instead. Lately you seem to have trouble focusing on the issues at hand, Captain Riggs.”
I tried to throw my arms up in frustration but found my arms pinned down. I’d forgotten my suit was immobilized in recharge mode. “Maybe it’s because the rules of the game keep changing.”
“Then perhaps you must regard the rules themselves as a game to be won.”
I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, so I moved on. “Marvin, can you link through this transmission and hack Sokolov’s suit?”
“No. The bandwidth is insufficient. We’re barely able to communicate by voice.”
Just then, our recharge period ended and Sokolov’s voice crackled into my ear. “Let’s go!” he ordered.
I found it irritating that I was obeying him in any capacity. I released my suit from its frozen status.
“All right Marvin,” I said. “Call me when you get Stalker free. Riggs out.” We began our journey again.
Kwon sidled up to me and spoke on a private channel. “I got Taksin on board. He’ll talk to some more marines—ones who can keep their mouths shut and act natural. But we can’t tell them all until the very last minute. Some private would give it away.”
“Understood. Good work.”
Our procession turned a corner and entered a room, leaving behind the stair-step corridors we’d been trudging through for the last several miles. This one turned out to be different. I don’t know how Sokolov was navigating, but clearly he knew where he was going because this new place had furniture. It also had doors made out of large pieces of steel on standing frames.
While nothing could be attached to the stardust walls with our technology, heavy metal pieces could be pushed into the portals to form barriers. These doors were only a bit larger than man-sized, so they would keep out all but the smallest beetles or Macros.
The chamber was small, but pressurized. I saw a bed, cabinets, air recyclers, a water tank and a kitchen, a small electric fuel cell that looked as if it had been jury-rigged to recharge on ambient power. All of us and our gear couldn’t comfortably fit in the chamber. The marines especially bulked large in their armor, so Sokolov told Taksin to take a squad through the opposite door and secure the next room.
“This is where I lived for two years—or so it seemed to me,” Sokolov announced. He paced fretfully here and there among his things. “I didn’t know that decades were passing on the outside.” He seemed wistful. “This is where my Natalia and I should have had a life.”
His Natalia? This is the first I’d heard of anyone else being with him other than his beloved bears. Sokolov had never mentioned a woman, had never even hinted at one, but clearly he had told the crew about her. Maybe it was a ploy to gain sympathy and there was no “Natalia” at all.
Then I spotted a picture sitting on an improvised desk: a dedicated screen showing a beautiful woman with dark hair and bewitching eyes. So Natalia was real.
“I know you’re all tired, but we’re near the end of our goal. After we plant this weapon, we can leave. When we return to Valiant, with luck this evil machine will be gutted, and we’ll be able to continue our journey home.”
I could see why they were following Sokolov. He did have a certain degree of charisma about him, especially when he spoke in ringing tones about things my crew wanted anyway. People yearning for home would stretch to believe impossible things were possible and their minds would transform unlikely events into certainties.
“The next room you will see is my workshop,” he continued. “After that, we’ll be passing through another portal where we have a task to perform, one final piece of work before we set the bomb. I haven’t told you the details of that place until now because…well, I suppose because they are too terrible. But when you see what I’ve seen, you will understand why we must destroy this abomination.”
Sokolov clearly was obsessed with something. His words seemed overly melodramatic to me, but with everyone so tired I guessed the hypnotic quality would be effective. Like a cult leader, the man manipulated people with the rhythm of his voice, his tone and his gestures. I wondered what his big revelation was going to be. The crew had been through so much I couldn’t imagine anything that would impress them as much as he seemed to think it should.
Sokolov kept up his harangue for most of the recharge period. I just tuned it out after a while and tried to watch the troops. The marines in the room looked like immobile statues, but the crew in normal suits displayed body language cues and, if I wasn’t mistaken, they weren’t happy at all.
I’d met guys like Sokolov in the academy: older professors there by choice because they couldn’t deal with the real military anymore. They liked to have a captive audience, and some of them could be quite entertaining to listen to for a while but soon enough I’d realize they weren’t really trying to communicate. They just wanted to hear themselves talk and imagine that everyone admired them.
What made Sokolov different was his force of personality coupled with his legal authority plus the dangerous situation. Marvin had said I needed to look at the rules of the game as a game. Now I tried to imagine what he meant.
Obviously I needed to depose Sokolov and regain my legal authority in the minds of the crew. I’d already figured out this part of “changing the rules.”
I couldn’t change Sokolov’s personality, though I might be able to counteract or undermine it.
But maybe I could change the situation. Without the fear factor, the threat of death hanging over everyone, the crew might swing over to me fast enough to avoid violence. I would be the savior of the situation.
I’d have to time my move just right.
-22-
Sokolov and the Valiant crew, fully charged now, stirred and shuffled out of the general’s old living quarters and into a vast space the size of a gymnasium.
I tapped into their suit cameras, which were on local net feed. I was impressed with the amount of gear he’d collected. There was a one-man cargo loader, which was basically a machine like a walking forklift. That explained how he’d moved the heavier stuff. There were hundreds of items such as tanks for liquids and gases, bins and crates of every shape and size, weapons and power packs, hoses and cables, fittings and fastenings. A long workbench with tools showed where he’d cut, welded and modified things to suit his uses.
“As I told you before,” Sokolov said waving his arms to encompass the whole scene, “I stayed here, salvaging everything I could. I fought off beetles and macros, I investigated the Machine, and I stayed sane and alive. I was a modern Robinson Crusoe, a castaway with no man Friday to help me, yet I did not despair!” He dramatically pounded his armored fist on his workbench, leaving a distinct dent.
In spite of my dislike for him, I had to give him credit. It was a respectable feat. Still, I wished I could yell for him to get on with it over the chat line—but I didn’t dare risk having my crew recognize my voice. I wasn’t read
y for that confrontation yet.
He blathered on for a couple of minutes about his ordeal, using far too many literary references that only those versed in the classics would get, until he finally wound up his speech. “But this isn’t what I came here to show you. Follow me.”
Sokolov had the marines drag open another steel barrier behind which was a doorway filled with the darkness of a ring. “I don’t even know if the room on the other side of this portal is nearby or a thousand lightyears away. It could be behind the next wall or halfway across the universe, but the surprises on the far side caused me to set up my quarters and workshop here. The reality is that distance doesn’t matter when working with rings. We can enter and exit freely. Have no fear.”
With that, he and Kalu stepped through the entrance and vanished.
This was my chance. Valiant’s people—my people—were now separated from their false prophet.
“Kwon,” I said urgently on our private channel, “Block that door! Reset your suit to show yourself. Tell Taksin and the marines to take control of the situation. Suit, deactivate the false signals and synchronize with the HUD network.”
Confusion broke out immediately as Kwon charged down into their midst, bowling over people who were carefully approaching the portal. He grabbed the steel barrier and swung it across to prevent anyone from going through in either direction. Gunnery Sergeant Taksin and two other marines moved to help him. Everyone else looked this way and that uncertainly, babbling on the general channel.
“Suit, command override on the short-range com-link,” I said, rushing to join Kwon at the barrier.
“Company, SHUT UP!” I roared. “This is Captain Riggs speaking! I order everyone to halt in place and be quiet.”
A beam blazed suddenly and I felt the heat of it as it struck my back. I dove forward and rolled, bringing up my own weapon, but it wasn’t necessary. One of the engineering techs was on the ground, disarmed. Two others stood over him with drawn sidearms. Apparently he’d shot me point-blank with a laser pistol. Fortunately my heavy marine battlesuit had taken the blast and saved my life. I didn’t know whether he was an assassin or had simply reacted to what he thought was a threat. For all he knew, I was an imposter or an apparition. Maybe it was as simple as one last stressful thing pushing the guy over the edge.
“He’s under arrest,” I said to the two loyal crewmen. Turning to address everyone, I raised my voice. “I know all of you thought Kwon and I died, but we didn’t. Someone faked our suit telemetry, probably Kalu. We’ve gone through Hell and back to get here, so I need you to stay calm and professional. I’ve spoken to Valiant, and the ship and crew are out of danger for the moment. If everyone follows my orders, we’ll all get out of this crazy place.”
The group buzzed among themselves in confusion, but no one else attacked me.
“Sir?” Kwon said. “I think Sokolov is burning through the plating from the other side.” Kwon pointed at the steel barrier the marines had put across the portal. It now glowed red with a spot of white in the center.
“Stay out of the line of fire,” I ordered as I strode up to the barrier, weapon in hand. Standing off to one side, I waited until a hole appeared and widened to the size of a dinner plate. When the beam from the other side disappeared I fired through it, a sweeping shot that was unlikely to kill Sokolov and Kalu in their armor.
I figured they must have realized something had gone wrong when no one had followed them through. Now I had to make sure they were isolated. No one was going to follow Sokolov’s orders anymore.
Still, I had no idea what was on the other side and I didn’t want to have to kill them. I had another worry as well. Each battlesuit was equipped with a basketball-sized grenade, a micro-nuke that doubled as a suicide bomb. Not enough to damage the square, but certainly enough to destroy my thin barrier and kill my crewmen. Was Sokolov enough of a fanatic to try to take out everyone with him?
“You two, machinist mates,” I pointed at pair of crewmen. “Slap some plating over this hole and weld it shut. Marines, pull the edge of the barrier back just enough to shoot past it and keep up intermittent suppressive fire. Make sure there isn’t enough room to roll a grenade through. If you see one, shove it back.”
Everyone I spoke to hastened to obey. I can’t begin to describe how good it felt to have a crew following my orders again.
“Somebody bring me a grenade,” I said.
“Hold on a minute,” said a familiar voice. Hansen walked up to me cautiously. “How do we know you’re really Cody Riggs?”
I punched him. Unlike many of the crewmen, he was wearing armor similar to mine. My fist and his helmet didn’t do more than shower sparks. He staggered back in surprise and fell onto to his ass from the force of the blow.
“I bet that felt real, didn’t it?” I asked. “Can anyone else hit you that hard, Hansen?”
Hansen chuckled in spite of himself. He got back to his feet and shook his head. “I don’t know. Probably not—not even in powered armor. You cracked my visor, dammit.”
“Can I do that too?” Kwon asked. “I bet I can flatten him.”
I waved Kwon back. “We’re not ghosts, Hansen. We’re real. We were scammed—all of us. I don’t blame you guys for following Sokolov, but he’s as crazy as a shithouse rat and I’m your real commander. He’s spent too long inside this maze. Frankly, I think he’s lost his mind. I want all of you to think about what it would be like to live here for twenty long years. Would you come out of it with all your marbles?”
They looked from face to face, muttering. Many said “no” under their breath.
Hansen walked up to me again. “All right,” he said. We’ll follow you for now, sir.”
“Good enough. You’re my exec again—for now.”
I waved the grim-faced marines forward. They handed me a heavy globe without comment. Everyone watching probably thought I was going to do unto Sokolov before he could do unto us, but I wasn’t ready to take such an extreme measure. It wasn’t so much that I minded killing him at this point, even without trial. He’d fired on us just now, after all—or at least I could argue that he had, even if he was just trying to cut his way back in.
No, I had a better idea, one with at least a fighting chance to work. I still needed information about this place, and Sokolov had more than anyone.
Hefting the grenade, I pulled up a schematic of it on my HUD and worked as I told the marines and crew my plan.
After a few minutes, which I spent explaining what I intended to the marines, I was ready for action. Sokolov hadn’t made another move, so I figured it was our turn to do something.
“Three, two, one, go!” I shouted.
Four marines lifted and carried the steel barrier out of the way of the portal. As soon as they were clear I rolled my grenade into it.
A split-second later it bounced right back out and rolled, coming to rest at my feet.
Thank God I had disarmed it completely by pulling out a couple of key components. I’d done so to make sure that even if Sokolov had swiped it, it wouldn’t do him any good.
“Something’s blocking the way from the other side, so get ready to clear the portal. Let’s try this again,” I said. I picked the grenade up again and launched it with an overhand toss up near the top of the doorway. This time it went through. “Go!” I said.
Kwon and Taksin charged like linebackers, leaning low to slam into whatever was in the way. They slowed as they hit something, but other marines followed up in a stack. When eight of them made it through the portal, I followed.
I’d wanted to go in with Kwon, but the troops had flatly refused. “Now that you’re back, we won’t let you get killed again, sir,” Taksin had said in his Thai-accented English. All of the marines had muttered support for his words. I chose to believe they genuinely respected me rather than they simply detested Sokolov.
Maybe it was a combination of both.
The space on the other side was also large: a room a hundred yards wide and m
aybe thirty deep. Close-set rows of thin vertical boxes like lockers lined the floor, but it was a zone of movement that caught my eye. I was through just in time to see the battlesuited figures of Sokolov and Kalu dive out of a portal across the room and disappear.
My ruse of war had worked. They’d thought we’d thrown through a live grenade. Rather than be disintegrated in the blast, they’d run for it.
“Secure that portal,” I ordered. “Use whatever you can.”
Wrestling with the scrap steel Sokolov had tried to block us with, the marines hastened to obey.
“Bring more through from the workshop if you have to. I don’t want him doing to us what we just faked doing to him.”
While my people followed my instructions, I looked around. I’d gleaned that Sokolov had wanted to show us something in this room, something that would justify or at least explain his actions. Walking over to one of the rows of tall boxes, I examined it. Featureless and made of golden-metal stardust, I couldn’t see anything to distinguish one box from another.
Turning slowly, I forced myself to look for clues as to what he’d had in mind. There was still a fair amount of junk and debris around, but most of it had been dragged or pushed into the corners. I noticed at the end of one row several rectangular pieces had been stacked like blocks to form crude steps. I walked over to them noting scuff marks in a line that indicated someone, probably Sokolov, had climbed them often enough to ding them up.
I tested the first one with a booted foot. No way was it holding up under my heavy armor.
“Suit, deploy and go into recharge mode,” I said. A moment later, I climbed out of it like a butterfly exiting a cocoon. Clad only in my skinsuit and inner facemask, I climbed to the top of the row of boxes.
The coffin-like lockers were not featureless from the top. Instead, each had a clear glassy square in the upper center about a foot across along with a row of unfamiliar characters etched into the golden metal. I bent down to look into the closest of them, seeing nothing at first.
“Someone hand a light up here,” I said. When I had one, I directed it into the glass.