by Frank Carey
"Speaking of Serena, how's she doing?" Ciara asked.
"She, her husband, and the babies are doing great. The plan is for her to be back to work in three weeks." John said while putting his ladder away in a storage locker.
"Orta children. I hear they look like ball lightning for the first year of life," Ciara observed. "John, how is Gloria doing?"
John closed the locker door and locked it before turning and looking at his ex-girlfriend and boss. "She's doing fine. She's tough and will get through this, but that isn't what you're really asking, is it?"
"Dammit, no. How are you two doing?"
"We're fine. We've talked and everything, and it's all good. How are you doing?"
"Confused, mad at myself, pissed at the world, how do you think I'm doing?"
"Would it be easier if I quit and left the station? Say the word and I'm gone on the next shuttle."
"Damn you, John Taggart, you know that isn't what I want. Anyway, if you left, Gloria and Serena would be walking out right behind you," she said as she walked over and took his arm in hers. "Anyway, if anyone should leave, it's me. I'm the one who screwed up."
"First off, I’d give this place five minutes after you walked out the door before it fell into a smoking mess. Second, you didn't fail at anything. The natural order of things just has different plans for you."
Gloria walked into the bay as they were talking, and she was obviously nervous. Ciara self-consciously let John's arm go as Gloria walked up to them. "How do I look?" she asked. She was wearing an outfit right out of a dungeons and dragons fantasy film: Knee-high boots, leggings, a short skirt, and a leather bodice complete with cape. She was even sporting a dagger and short sword.
"You rock the look, girlfriend," Ciara said after a short whistle. "Is that vest made from leather?"
"Butterfly," she said. When she saw the looks on their faces, she explained. "Elf butterflies are twenty feet long, weigh two tons and are raised for meat, honey, and skins. Oh, and they have really nasty tempers."
"Oh, well I think you look great," John said as he slowly walked around her. He then pointed at the dignitaries who stood there slack-jawed. "So do they."
Gloria's tail swished back and forth in nervousness. "I haven't spoken to Daddy in several years. What's he going to say?"
"'Hello' I would guess," John answered as he dodged the unruly appendage.
Ciara looked at the two of them trying not to interact for her sake. "Okay, you two. Enough," she said as she put her fists on her hips. "I assume you two are dating, correct?"
John and Gloria looked at each other before nodding vigorously.
"Then, John, hug her because she's scared out of her mind, and she needs comforting. Gloria, calm the hell down before you poke John's eye out. I'm fine and touched by your concern, but enough already. I've broken up with guys before and probably will do so again."
John put his arms around Gloria, and Ciara could see Gloria's tension recede. "I should have been a couple's therapist," Ciara said under her breath.
"This is Cube Control. Attention Shuttle Bay. King Montagor's shuttle is on final approach." People took position away from the door. Gloria walked to the end of the Honor Guard line with John and Ciara behind and flanking her.
The outer door opened as the atmosphere containment field kept the air in while allowing the shuttle to pass through. The king's shuttle entered the bay and landed where indicated by the marshaller. As its engines spun down, the starboard hatch opened and a dozen very armored members of the king's Protective Unit stepped out and formed a line along the length of the ship and stood at attention. The king emerged from the shuttle followed by a tall elf woman and a tall male elf bringing up the rear. The king stopped at the bottom of the stairs for a moment before walking swiftly up to Gloria and hugging her.
"My God, Daughter. How are you holding up?" he asked as she looked on in utter shock.
"Who are you, and what have you done with the King?" she asked with all seriousness.
"Darling, you're scaring the child," the woman said as she walked up and hugged Gloria while the second male stood to the side and watched. "Your father has come to his senses, haven't you darling."
"Yes, it seems I took my anger at your mother leaving me out on you, and I am truly sorry. When Dr. Taggart called, I realized how precious you and Royce are to me. I don't know if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, but I am truly sorry."
Gloria stood there in shock. She looked at her mother, who smiled back and nodded. Then Gloria turned back to her father and said, "Daddy," before running back into his arms.
"Damn, I think I'm going to cry," John whispered which got a kerchief and an elbow in the ribs from Ciara.
"Quiet or I'll send you to the dungeon," she whispered.
Seeing the king and Gloria were otherwise occupied, the Queen walked over to introduce herself to John and Ciara. "Hello. I'm Queen Mistrial Aymar and you must be Dr. John Taggart and Dir. Ciara Devlin. My daughter has told me a great deal about both of you," she said, extending her hand to John.
He took it and kissed the back of it. "My Queen, I see where your daughter gets her beauty," he said, releasing it. She gave him the smile of someone used to dealing with schmoozers.
Ciara took it next and shook it. "I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances."
"Yes, the last several years have been difficult, especially for Gloria. First the divorce, then Royce's capture, escape, and attempt on my husband's life, now this."
"My Queen, we're doing everything possible to find Royce and bring him back here to the Cube," Ciara said. "In the bay next to this one, we are prepping our best combat shuttle, the Searcher, for a mission through the rift to find your son. Understand, Your Highness, I do not take kindly to losing people under my command."
The three were joined by Gloria, the king, and his aide. Gloria introduced them while beaming like a kid at Christmas.
The King shook John's and Ciara's hands and introduced his aide, "This is Chancellor Lhoris. Director, Gloria tells me you are mounting a rescue mission?"
"Yes, sir. The shuttle Searcher is being prepared next door if you would like to see it."
"Yes, I would. Thank you. Would you have quarters for my people?"
"Yes, of course," Ciara said as she called over the Honor Guard leader and issued instructions.
"Ariel, stay with us, please," the king said to one of his guards. Ariel was a tall, raven-haired female elf with eyes that watched everything. Something about her didn't sit right with John.
With Ciara leading the way, they moved to the other bay where the Searcher sat in the midst of a crowd of techs and engineers as they prepared her for launch. Ciara and Gloria took the king and queen on a tour while John remained outside with Ariel.
"So, what do you think of our little station?" he asked as a way to break the ice.
"Primitive. I do not understand what the prince and princess see in this place."
"You know how it is. Sometimes people need a dose of primitive to really appreciate what they have. If I may pry, how long have you been the king’s right-hand elf?"
"I don't understand."
"Right-hand elf, the person he goes to for help, to get things done. The person who keeps his life moving forward."
"I have been the leader of his personal guard for twenty years."
"That's a long time. Tell me, did they ever figure out who snatched Royce and brainwashed him?"
He watched as her head snapped around to look at him as if shocked he knew about the kidnapping and attempt on the king's life. "No," she said, trying change the subject. "No leads."
Ciara and her group emerged from the shuttle and joined John and Ariel.
"Impressive. Your technology is much more advanced than I was led to believe," The king said while giving a sharp look in the chancellor's direction. "May I make a request of you?"
"Of course," Ciara replied.
"May Ariel accompany your team?"
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"Sire!" Ariel blurted out.
The king raised his hand for her to be silent.
"Your Highness is aware of the danger of this turning into a one-way trip, thus the need for an all-volunteer crew."
"Yes, which is why I want Ariel there to represent Gweyr. She is the best of the elven best."
"Sir, I have no objections," Ciara said. John looked at Ariel and saw her blanch while Chancellor Lhoris's frown grew deeper.
"Speaking of the mission." Gloria piped-in, "I'd also like to volunteer to go."
"No!" everyone said...except John.
"I was going to volunteer as well," he said. "I figured Gloria would want to go, and I refuse to let her go off into the great unknown without me before we’ve had a chance to go on our first date."
Dead silence.
"You’re dating my daughter?" the king asked as the queen almost fainted into the chancellor's arms. Ariel just stood there and watched.
"Damn! Sorry. Sire, may I date your daughter?"
More silence.
The king looked at Gloria who smiled back. "I would like time to think about this. May my wife and I be shown to our quarters?"
"Yes, of course," Ciara said. She signaled to one of her assistants and instructed them where to take the king, the queen, and the chancellor. Ariel indicated she would stay to prepare for the trip.
When they were alone, Ciara turned to John and Gloria and exploded. "What the hell is that all about? There is no way I'm going to let either of you go on this mission. Do I make myself understood?"
"Director..." Gloria started to say, but was stopped by Ciara.
"No. As for you, Dr. Taggart. You're supposed to talk sense to her."
"How dare you!" Gloria yelled. "I am not his chattel, nor am I a child!"
John motioned to one of the techs to bring him a chair. He sat down and watched the two go at it. Eventually, they stopped and looked at him. He looked at Ciara and asked, "Are you through?"
She nodded.
He then turned to Gloria and asked, "Are you through?"
She nodded as well.
"Good, I have work to do, and a life to save," he said as he walked out the door leaving them to look at each other.
###
John sat in the darkened lab and drew in his notebook while bleeding off some of the anger he felt toward the universe. Here he was trying save their son's life and it turns out Royce's parents are human-phobes. That irked him. Maybe everyone was that way, and he was the idealist who looked at people's souls before judging them. "Maybe I'm the only one who can see souls peeking out," he said to himself. "Did you ever think of that, you big lug?"
"Amazing. May I see it?"
John turned and saw the Queen standing behind him. "Where the hell did you come from...Your Highness?"
"The door was unlocked, so I walked in. I didn't want to disturb you, so I thought I would just watch. How do you do this?" she asked referring to the drawing of Gloria John was working on. It looked like a black and white photo.
"It's a gift. I had an accident many years ago, and when I came out of the coma, I found I had lost color vision but gained the ability to draw photos."
The queen handed the notebook back to him and looked around the lab. She saw the other pictures he had drawn over the years, some of Gloria and some of fanciful creatures. "What are these?"
"The creatures are designs I created for robotic frames. Most are used in search and rescue. The ones of Gloria are my guesses at what she would look like in corporeal form. I knew her for almost twenty years before I found out she had a real living body."
"She never told you?"
"Nope. She had her reasons, which I don't question."
The queen picked a picture off the wall and brought it over to him. "What is this one?"
"Ah, that's the forest elf, her favorite. I think I once read a story about a mystical land populated by people who were one with the forest, and this is what bubbled up. I added laser emitters to the eyes and tail along with adamantine steel claws. It's supposed to be a scout or a searcher, but she wears it to costume conventions held throughout the League," he said as he looked at the picture and smiled.
"But it’s her. You never saw her body, yet you created this form which is her. How?"
"My queen, I have no idea. The drawings just happen. At first, it was therapy, and then something happened. Now, I draw when I am troubled, and it’s always the same subject—Gloria."
John looked up and saw the Queen looking at him. It felt like she was trying to make a decision. "John, what is that creature on the table over there next to you?"
He picked up a hawkbot and handed it to her. "These are hawkbots. They're programmed to look for life signs. Gloria and I programmed them to look for elf signals similar to her own. When the rescue ship hits atmo, the crew will drop several hundred of these out the back door. They'll spread out and search for Royce. When they find him, they'll send back coordinates for the shuttle to home in on."
She picked up a ratbot. "And these?"
"That's a ratbot, the ground troops of this operation. A few hundred of these will parachute in and swarm outward from the landing site while searching for Royce's life signs. We also have snake bots, but they work better in rubble and caves, so we're keeping those in reserve.”
She put the ratbot down and looked him in the eyes. "Do you love my daughter?"
"With all my soul," John replied without hesitation.
She nodded. "I will leave you to your work, Dr. Taggart," she said as she walked out the door.
John wondered if he had just passed the audition.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I continued north on the road while keeping watch for any danger approaching from the forest, if one could call the collection of tree-things a forest. Looking down, I could see Dreya keeping watch as well. I felt safer.
I thought about the Anna synth that tried to kill me. She looked like a perfect physical representation of Anna, but her driving personality was all wrong, or was it.
"Parker, do you have access to a psychological profile for Anna?"
"Yes, sir. I have access to any record which would be considered germane to your treatment."
"Compare her known personality parameters to the actions of the Anna synth."
"Working... Ninety-seven percent match."
"You mean that synth was almost the real Anna?"
"Yes, sir. Sir, are you wondering why your perception of Anna and the real Anna differ?"
"Yes."
"Sir, your perception of Anna was clouded by feelings of love, respect, admiration, and hero worship. My records are purely clinical."
"And you're sure your records are secure?" I did not like where this was going.
"Absolutely, sir. My shield integrity is at one hundred percent."
"So, if the Anna synth program was from my memories, why was it not matching them?" I stopped Dreya and saw the only possible answer. They were someone else's memories.
The assassin, the thing in my head. The memories belonged to it. Whatever dossiers my torturers used to create it must have been uploaded to the virus, to be used to create opponents programmed to stop me from completing my quest. "Parker, could the virus have scanned the assassin in my head?"
"Yes, sir. If the virus did scan the assassin then you're in grave danger. The person you know the best will have the best chance of killing you. They'll have the best chance of slipping past your defenses."
Shit, Parker was right. Anna didn't have a chance because I could tell she wasn't Anna. What if I can't tell the difference?
I spurred Dreya on. We rounded a turn and found ourselves approaching a building. "Almost there, Parker. Any life signs or energy readings."
"Sir, energy reading coming in from the west. It’s a ship, and it’s in trouble. I looked up just in time to see a shuttle pass overhead with smoke trailing from its engines. It crashed a short distance from us. "Parker, full scan. Any survivors?" I said a
s we headed to where the ship had impacted.
"Unable to determine, sir. There is a great deal of interference from the ship's systems."
When we got to the site, it was apparent the ship had hit hard, but its fall was cushioned by a bunch of trees which were piled up against the bow. The engines were smoking heaps and its keel broken—it would never fly again. I looked at the hull and saw the starboard-side hatch had been blown open. Nearby lay the body of a female elf. "Parker, it's Gloria!" I yelled as I jumped off Dreya and sprinted over to the prone figure while pulling the first aid kit from my flight suit.
"Sir, I have a sensor lock. It's not your sister," Parker yelled, but it was too late, I had already knelt down next to her and was reaching to turn her over when she turned on her own and plunged a knife into my side. I saw her face and knew instantly it wasn't Gloria. Her look was one of pure evil.
I fell back and tried to get away as she stood up and grabbed a long, pole-shaped piece of debris. She walked over and stood above me, poised to thrust her makeshift spear into my hearts.
"I don't know how this is possible, and I don't care," it hissed as it savored the moment. "Any last requests?"
"Who created you? Who wants my father dead?" I said as things started to spin around me. Parker recorded everything and hopefully she would be retrieved someday.
"Not a problem," it said as it raised its weapon. "It was..." Before it could finish, a large shape appeared over me and screamed. It was Dreya. She spun around and speared the Gloria synth through its chest with her tail and picked it up off the ground before flicking it into the shuttle's hull, killing it instantly. The synth's lifeless body slid to the ground and lay there in a broken heap.
Dreya gave a snort of derision before turning her attention to me. She nuzzled me with her massive head, her eyes filled with concern. "Good girl. Thank you,” I said as I petted her muzzle.
"Sir, stay still," Parker said as I felt stings from the suit's back-up medkit, the built-in one. "Sir, the damage is minimal but the blade was poisoned, and I'm not familiar with the toxin. I'm giving you a full-spectrum antidote, but I don't know whether it will work or not."
"And if it doesn't work?"