by M. V. Kallai
“So, you have already thought of this.”
“Of course I have, I just don’t know if there is room in my lab for two of me.”
“Well, you won’t have a lab in another week. So, that doesn’t matter.”
“That’s a very poor argument.”
“Well then, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to do it? Imagine your brain without the limitations of a single lifespan…what you could do.”
“I’m sending the embryos in stasis, along with Ari’s clone to Myris on the shuttle,” Lee said.
“What? Why?” Dana asked.
“Because I can’t have babies running around my space…that’s why…doesn’t matter if they are me or not! Do you see?”
“Lee?” Dana asked. “Are you planning on being part of the Myris colonization?”
“I’ve always been part of it. It was my idea. I seeded a small region years ago, in an area that is hidden from telescopic view ninety percent of the year. Hopefully by now there is a small food supply. I have a shuttle pass available to me the minute I am ready.”
“Lee, I had no idea. Are you planning to go?”
“I hadn’t given it a thought in a long time. I’m losing my lab. That changes things.”
Dana took a deep breath, and then with a trembling voice said, “I’ll go if you go. I mean, what better place for a fugitive than off of this planet, huh?”
Lee gave her a strange look, like he hadn’t even considered she might not go with him when the time came.
“That was always the plan. When you were hired, you said you’d do whatever was needed. And, you said you’d be willing to travel.”
“True. I just never imagined you meant off of the planet. But, I’ll go with you, Lee,” she said again, “but only if you clone yourself. I’m young, and likely to live a lot longer than you. I’m not going to navigate Myris alone. I’ll need you there, even if that means a younger version of you.”
Lee mumbled something under his breath just as Camden returned to the table with a bottle of some very fine bubbly wine.
“To celebrate your birth, Lee Tripple,” he said and passed them each a glass, “Oh, and there is a present waiting for you at your lab. Courtesy of me and the loony bin.”
Lee perked up, wondering what it was.
“Do you remember our recent conversation about an altered cognition of time? And the potential phenomena coming from the ability to access parts of the brain that are normally unavailable to our conscious thoughts?”
“Yes, of course. I’ve noted some hypotheses. I’d like to test them at a time when it is conceivable for me to do so,” Lee replied.
“Well, that time may be sooner than you think, Lee.” Camden raised his glass and so did Dana out of politeness. “The body of Rhys Krell, perfectly preserved, is in your surgical area. I had it delivered, courtesy of Miss Maeve Daire. I believe you know her.”
“Rhys Krell? That engineer who went mad?” He’s dead?” Lee asked.
“What are you talking about?” Dana asked them both, feeling out of the loop.
Camden drank a gulp of wine and explained his brief relationship with Rhys and told them what really happened the night General Pike died. Lee seemed to absorb the information with detached interest and Dana thought about Bear, and how he had contributed to so much death with his biomer discoveries. She hated him even more…when she wasn’t missing him. After Camden finished talking Lee looked anxious to leave, no doubt to return to the lab and unwrap his gift. Camden recognized his haste and added, “It is packed for transport to your new place, wherever that is.”
“I’ll tell you where I am when the time is right, Cam.”
“I’ve got to say, Dana, I am a bit surprised you are going with him,” Camden said.
“I don’t know why. I’m his assistant. He needs me…and I need him,” she said. Lee froze at her words, looking a little embarrassed by them. Camden threw his head back and laughed.
“How surprising you have become, Lee. And you’re right, Dana…I mean Dan…he does need you,” Camden said. Lee pushed his wine away from him and motioned to Enira for another cup of tea.
On the other side of town, Maeve Daire was sitting at a dingy bar and laughing at Mace Magner’s disgusting jokes. He was easily attracted to her and she was playing her seduction scene well. Mace didn’t suspect her to be anything other than a low-level businesswoman in town for a convention, looking to have a good time. In truth, he disgusted her, but his crude attempts at humor were actually a refreshing change from their conversation three drinks ago. He had been going on and on about General Pike dying and how it was his fault. She listened and sympathized, but only because it was part of her job tonight.
He was an easier target than she anticipated, probably because of his recent grief, and several drinks later they were leaving the bar with their arms around each other’s waist.
“Let’s go to your place,” Maeve said. “I want to see where you live.” She leaned in and kissed his neck pretending to be as drunk him.
“Aren’t you staying in a hotel nearby? Let’s just go there. You don’t need to see my place tonight.”
“You’re so secretive, I love a mysterious man,” she replied, trying to choke down the vomit that surfaced in her throat as he stuck his tongue in her ear and his hand in her crotch. She led him to the seedy hotel she’d booked under the name Helen Adeo, just in case the night turned out this way. She’d put a cheap bottle of strong liquor in the room and hoped Mace would indulge to the point of passing out before he was able to engage in any sexual activity. Men like this were tricky. They didn’t trust anyone and had fragile pride.
After four shots of cheap booze that Maeve only pretended to drink, Mace pushed himself on her, ripping her dress with his drunken clumsy hands. She tried to stall his advances so the alcohol would get to him, but after a while, she just decided to get it over with. She finished undressing herself and when he entered her, to Maeve’s relief, he climaxed only a minute later. He tried to kiss her again, but finally passed out before he reached her mouth, letting his head fall on her naked breasts.
She waited a minute and when he started to snore, rolled him off and pulled a small bottle out of her bag. With a dropper, she released three drops of liquid into his open mouth. It was the same sedative she would use on the transport driver next week to get Lee’s shuttle container to and from the lab. She stood over Mace, naked and sick to her stomach, watching his reaction to the drug. It took thirty seconds to take effect. His snoring stopped and his eyes opened, looked at her, and then rolled into the back of his head. She noted the time and went to work digging through the pockets of his clothes that were carelessly strewn around the room, not bothering to dress first.
Maeve made copies of all of his keys, access cards, and sources of identification. After she put her tools away, she went to check on Mace. He was still out. It had been an hour and five minutes. She pulled back his eyelids to scan his retinas, and then recorded his fingerprints into her computer. Finally, she drew a vial of blood and took a hair sample. Maeve packed up all of her supplies in a black case, took it with her to the bathroom and locked the door. She took a quick unsatisfying shower. She would have stayed in for an hour if it hadn’t been as filthy as the rest of the room. She wrapped herself in a towel and sat in a chair opposite the bed and waited for the drug to wear off. Two hours and twenty-three minutes passed and then Mace’s breathing returned to normal and he began snoring again. “That seems accurate, three drops for almost three and a half hours…” she noted.
Maeve stayed in the chair until early in the morning. When Mace began to stir, she crawled into bed next to him and faked sleep. He got up, dressed quickly, and left quietly, without even a glance back at her.
Chapter Sixty
Maeve’s Mistake
“We’re ready to go, Director Fitzhugh. The crew is confident and the biomer is all accounted for, packed, and ready for transport to the launch site. We’ll load just befor
e the launch since security isn’t as strong there as it is here at the unit,” General Cline said to the director over the phone.
“Good, General. We’ll schedule the flight for two days from now, 5:30 a.m. I’d like to avoid the press as much as possible for this one.”
“I agree, discretion is vital so soon after General Pike’s unfortunate death,” Cline said.
“How are things progressing with Professor Riles?”
“So far, just fine. He shows up, works and goes home. His fascination with the project keeps him coming back…well, that and the threat of incarceration.” The two men chuckled at Cline’s response. “Is there any word on the Tripple Laboratory amnesty revocation yet?” Cline continued.
“Still under review,” Director Fitzhugh said. “This has been a highly debated topic with the board. A touchy subject, but hopefully they’ll reach a decision in another couple days.”
“You agree with me that Lee Tripple’s position is a threat to the Daxian government, don’t you?” Cline asked.
“Yes, I agree, but unfortunately, the Regent is not convinced. He respects the way Tripple’s amnesty came about. He is standing on principle, but I am pointing out a very real threat. Not to mention, he is suspected of hiding stolen government property.”
“I’m not worried. I believe the Daxian board will protect its government before a single crazy scientist,” Cline said.
“A powerful and respected scientist, General.”
“Ehem…of course… he is a valuable citizen.”
“I’ll see you at the launch, General. Good day.”
“Good bye, Director.”
On the night before the transfer, Maeve hid in the transport driver’s home. She’d retrieved the soldier’s name and address by using Charisa to hack into TRU’s files with the personal identity data she’d gathered from Mace last week. The timing of her plan would be tricky, but with Ganesh waiting at the TRU Building to release the transport to the driver, there was a good chance for success. The transport had already been loaded with biomer packed containers, and Ganesh was taking a huge risk by helping with the plan, but he had a feeling his time at TRU was growing limited. He’d noticed a shift in Quinn’s demeanor the last several days. It made him worry that Quinn’s assignment was coming to a close, which meant Ganesh’s life was in danger.
The driver, Gabriel, went to bed early, so he would be able to wake up in time to have the transport at the launch site by 4:00 a.m., an hour and a half before the launch. It seemed odd to him to cut the timing so close, but his clearance was limited, which prevented him from asking any questions. He didn’t know what he would be carrying or why he needed to be armed. Once Gabriel was asleep, Maeve went to work changing all of the clocks in his flat and re-setting his alarm.
When he woke, two hours earlier than he thought, he rushed to get himself to the TRU Building, feeling extremely tired. Ganesh was waiting to meet him with his clearance to release the transport. Maeve was already hidden in the back seat of the driver’s cabin when he arrived at midnight, thinking it was 2:00 a.m. Ganesh handed Gabriel his directions to the launch site and had him sign and time stamp a release form. Then, he gave him a cup of coffee, courtesy of the unit, with Maeve’s drug dropped around the rim. He was grateful for the steaming cup and climbed into the transport. Seconds later, he was out. Ganesh helped Maeve move him to the other side of the driver’s cabin and she was off. She drove at top speed through the clear night sky. Myris was the brightest of the three moons tonight; as if ready to welcome home the living biomer it lost.
Maeve first arrived at the nearby safe house, where she’d left Charisa and Luke to help organize the government resistance. She landed in a side alley where five young men, including Luke were waiting with wooden crates to unload biomer from one of the shuttle containers. They worked fast under the pressure of Maeve’s direction and were done in fifteen minutes. Just as she was closing the back of the transport to leave, Charisa ran out of the house, holding a letter in her hand.
“What’s this?” Maeve asked, taking the letter.
“I know this transport is bound for the shuttle mission, I found the details when I hacked Magner’s files. Anyway, please, if you can, get this letter on board. It’s for one of the mission soldiers.”
Maeve gave the envelope a quick glance and saw ‘Andreas’ written on the back.
“I’ll do what I can, Charisa. Thanks again for being brilliant.”
“It’s what I do.” Charisa smiled and ran back inside.
Maeve saw the outlines of Lee and Dana’s forms standing on the roof before she landed at Tripple Laboratories. They looked impatient, like they had been waiting hours for her arrival. This made Maeve smile. There were metal containers around them and the three of them went to work in silence as soon as Maeve hopped out of the driver’s seat and bid them “Good morning.”
Lee and Dana wheeled a very large cart holding the first sealed metal crate while Maeve opened the back of the transport. It took both of them to push it and it was almost as tall as the shuttle container it was going into.
“We have three of these crates to load,” Dana said to Maeve, who jumped in to help push the metal box into the container.
“Fine, but let me help you. I have to leave here in fifteen minutes if this is going to work.”
The three ran to the next cart, and then the last, pushing and loading as fast as they could. Once the final crate was loaded into the container, Dana started to cry. Lee looked at her like she’d lost her mind and Maeve didn’t have time to be compassionate.
“I have to go…right now,” she said. “So, whatever you’ve packed in there, Dana, say your goodbyes.”
“I have,” Dana said, stopping her tears and holding her head up.
“Good,” Maeve said, “And by the way, Bearden’s sorry for what he did. Just thought you should know.”
Dana was taken aback by this comment and looked strangely at her, wondering what she knew about Bearden. But just as she opened her mouth to ask, Lee cut her off.
“I don’t think anyone will be able to open those boxes,” he said to Maeve. “I plan to join them within a year, so I’ll need the exact landing coordinates from the shuttle. I assume you can get those for me.”
“You’re going to Myris? That’s good. I didn’t want you living at my house the rest of your life.”
“Nor do I want to be there,” Lee answered.
“I’ll send the information tomorrow. In the mean time, here are the directions to my beach home and the access codes to enter. Good Luck, Lee.”
“And to you, Miss Daire.” Lee took a small brown envelope from Maeve.
“I’ll be expecting a report next week on our weapon for Tyrine. I’ll contact you,” Maeve said just before closing herself into the transport and taking off again.
“Goodbye, my little ones,” Dana said softly as the embryo packed container flew away. Lee ignored her and shoved his free hand in his pocket thinking about the future on Myris. He’d had the foresight to pack in those containers a variety of plant life, also in stasis, suitable for the Myris environment, along with lab instruments and drugs that could cure just about any known ailment. He had begun to look forward to his future move to the first Myris colony, which he envisioned himself creating.
Maeve arrived back at the TRU building minutes before Colonel Talper showed up. It was now almost the scheduled time to see the transport off to the launch site. Gabriel had already started to stir a few minutes after leaving Tripple Laboratories and Maeve drove with fury to get back before he came to. She landed just where she’d taken off and Ganesh hurried to help move Gabriel back to the driver seat. He opened his eyes just as Maeve replaced his drugged mug with a fresh coffee that Ganesh handed her. Maeve had to duck down fast in the back. She saw Colonel Talper walking toward the transport and realized she’d missed her window of time to get out. Instead, she crawled through an opening in the back of the cabin that led to the load compartment. It was a ti
ght fit, but she managed to wriggle herself flat against the side of one of the containers. Ganesh leaned in the driver’s side window.
“So, if you don’t have any questions, Corporal, You are ready to go,” he said. “And I’d drink some of that coffee, I think you just dozed off for a second.”
Gabriel looked around with confusion as the drug wore off almost as quickly as it had taken effect.
“Um…I guess I did. I apologize, Colonel.”
“Just don’t let it happen again. This is an important package you are carrying. Oh, and here comes Colonel Talper.”
“Good Morning, Colonel,” Talper said to Ganesh. “I see we are ready to go.”
“Packed and secure. Colonel Talper, this is Corporal Gabriel Nash. He will be driving you to the launch site this morning.”
“Yes, we’ve met. Let’s go, Corporal. We’ve got a strict schedule to keep to and General Cline is waiting.”
“Yes, sir,” Gabriel said and lifted off toward the launch site. Maeve stood in the back cursing her timing. Ganesh wrinkled his forehead as he watched the transport drive away hoping Maeve would not be discovered.
About two hours later, Maeve felt the transport slow and then come to a stop. She positioned herself to crawl back through the opening between the passenger compartment and load area, where she was hidden. Pressing her ear against the metal, she heard Colonel Talper and Gabriel exit. She waited a few minutes and pushed the door…locked…from the other side. She didn’t panic because it was not in her nature. Instead, she pulled a small tool from her pocket and started to pick the lock just as the back of the transport was opened. The voices of military personnel flooded the load compartment and Maeve shot up quickly to her previous standing position, so she would not be seen. Still not panicked, she reached for her gun and peaked around the container, to gauge what she might have to face. There were at least thirteen armed soldiers and three very official looking men. If she got out of this unnoticed and without killing anyone, she’d later reflect on this moment as her closest call.