The Chronicles of Henry Harper

by Jacen Aster

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  Henry stared down at the world of Ixial VI, taking in the reddish-orange of alien plant life as he mulled over the unexpected plea that had brought him here. It had been a surprise to pick up a message from Sam, not having expected to hear from her until the new research outpost she was commanding was properly squared away. His surprise only increased when, rather than her usual letter to a friend, the message had contained a request from her and Lore for Henry to make haste to Ixial. A developing crisis on the planet was threatening the research station and nearby colony, a crisis they were requesting his help with, though he didn’t yet understand why.

  Henry had, of course, immediately booked passage on the fastest transport he could find headed in that general direction, eventually linking up with an Amaril Corp supply ship headed for the planet with colonial supplies. Even now, as that transport began its descent into Ixial VI's atmosphere, Henry wondered just what had possessed his old friends to call on him. No matter how many times he went over the information package they had passed along with the urgent request, the crisis at hand seemed to be well outside his expertise. Mentally shrugging, he dismissed the thought, again. He was nearly there and could ask them in person.

  The transport broke through a small cloud layer and Henry got his first proper glimpse at the colony of Shien. It was a very new colony, made possible only by the funding for the research station, but even at first glance it was immediately obvious that there was a problem. The atmospheric barrier around the colony was only to be expected, of course. Ixial's native plant life released spores into the atmosphere which were mildly toxic to most beings, thus the barrier to keep the spores out of the colony's airspace. No, the obvious sign of trouble lay in just where the borders of that barrier fell. Rather than covering the entire colony as it ought to, it was pulled tight in around the core of the colony, just barely covering the spaceport. Dozens of finished, and twice as many unfinished, pre-fab buildings sprawled outside the barrier, covered in so much reddish-orange plant growth that they appeared far more like old ruins half reclaimed by nature than like the virtually new structures that they really were. As the transport touched down at the spaceport, Henry scooped his battered duffel from the deck and shook his head again. What exactly was he supposed to do about that?

  His feet had barely touched local soil when he heard his name called.

  “Henry! Henry! Over here!”

  Henry swiveled towards Sam's voice, seeing her waving from just inside the dock entrance. He smiled and quick-stepped over to her. “Sam! It's good to see you.”

  She slapped away his outstretched hand and lunged forward, knocking the breath out of him with a tight hug. A long moment later, she pulled back, grinning. “Henry! I'm glad you're here. Lore's been driving me crazy since you sent your response.”

  Henry sighed, though his lips were trying to twitch into a grin at the exasperation in her voice. “Well, I'm here, though I'm not sure why. Not that I'm not glad to see you, of course. It's been a few years after all. But, really, attack plants don't seem to be in my area of expertise at all.”

  Samantha laughed and tugged his arm to get him moving. As they headed toward an Amaril Corp hover transport, she informed him, “It was mostly Lore's idea to bring you in. These plants are crazy. It's not really her area of expertise either, but from what we've been able to sort out, they actually feed on energy in nearly any form. Burn them and they absorb the heat and grow, blast them and the same, let them near a generator or energy field and they suck it up like water in a desert. It's annoying as hell.”

  Henry quirked an eyebrow as he threw his duffel in the backseat and climbed into the vehicle. “That's why you have the colony barrier pulled in so tight?”

  She slumped a bit as she took off. “Yeah, that's only a temporary fix though. It all started when we brought the barrier online and the plants began feeding on its energy. At least that's what we think happened. We pulled the barrier in as tight as we could afford to, but sooner or later the plants will reach it again and the colony will be completely overrun. The vines are almost as strong as steel cable and move pretty fast when they have a power source to drain. Otherwise, they just creep along slowly from absorbed sunlight. A dozen centimeters a day maybe, at most.”

  “That still doesn't explain why you, or Lore for that matter, thought I could help. I mean, I'm not exactly an expert on alien plants here.”

  She looked over at him in consternation for a few moments, then sighed and focused forward again. “We already tried the plant experts. They're working on a pesticide, but it could take months. Totally new stuff in this thing. No one's ever seen a plant even remotely like it before. They're also afraid of a runaway reaction that will kill all plant life on the planet.”

  She darted a glance over at him again then away quickly, making Henry frown a bit.

  “As for you, Henry, you're pretty much Lore's personal hero. The Nova, Risa Seven, not to mention some of the stories you've told us both. You and I both know she's way ahead of you in nearly every field of science. She knows it too really, but as far as she's concerned, she's the apprentice and you're the master. So now that she's at a loss, is it really that shocking that she'd argue for bringing you in? She thinks your particular brand of unorthodox crazy might be exactly what we need here.” Sam paused, gave a wicked grin, and added, “Plus, she's still got a huge crush on you.”

  Henry choked mid-response at her last jab. Coughing a bit, he sighed and admitted, “I knew she did, though I'm surprised she still does. Even so, this is way out of my expertise, Sam. Surely, you don't think I can actually help?”

  Sam didn't say anything for a few moments, seeming to carefully consider her response. It wasn't until she landed their transport that she responded, reaching over and stopping him from exiting with a hand on his arm. “You're not infallible, Henry Harper. Unlike Lore, I recognize that. But in this case, I think she's right. I'd never have called you if I didn't believe the sort of crazy lateral way you think might not offer a solution, Henry.” Letting him go, they both climbed out. Henry grabbed his gear, and they headed towards the facility entrance.

  Halfway to the door, Henry was broken from his musings on her previous statements by her teasing voice.

  “As for that crush…you're pretty hard to compete against, Henry. She wasn't the only one attracted to you, you know. I just recognized pretty quick, from how you spoke of her, that you were still deeply in love with Mira, even if she's long gone.”

  Henry stopped dead, staring at her in shock.

  Sam laughed. “Oh, come on, Henry. I don't invite every chief engineer to lounge around with me after hours. I saw it was no good hoping for romance, so I settled for intimate friendship instead.” She smirked, clearly enjoying his reaction. “Which is really just as good if we're being realistic here. It's everything good about a relationship minus the sex, which is hardly as important as popular conception would lead you to believe. A good cuddle is way more intimate than sex anyway. Plus! Fewer arguments.”

  Henry stood poleaxed for several long moments before shaking himself and sighing. “Sam, the day I understand you is the day the universe gets boring.”

  She just laughed harder.

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  Lore was obviously happy to see him, but being ever more reserved and focused than Samantha, she simply shook his hand and shoved a portable in his face. Half an hour of explanation followed, though Henry was pretty much lost after the first fifteen minutes. He caught something about photosynthesis, then a great deal of micro and macro biology that wrung out his limited knowledge in those areas. Even those bits he understood were based on shaky remembrance of classes he’d half slept through, half his lifetime ago. As she wound down, he finally got a word in.

  “So in essence, and ignoring the large quantities of that which might as well have been in an ancient alien language, the plant not only absorbs energy but also has eno
ugh rudimentary instinct, or something similar to instinct, to recognize and pursue energy sources. Hence why it is still creeping towards the colony despite the barrier being drawn in. It can sense all the energy to be had there and it's coming for it. Like earth flowers that actively turn towards the sun?”

  Looking a little unhappy at the simplistic summary, Lore nevertheless acknowledged, “That is essentially correct. The unique means by which it does so on a biochemical level, however, is—”

  “Is beyond my ability to grasp within a realistic timeframe,” Henry drily interrupted. “Moreover, as you've already talked to the super science-geek plant experts and they've not come up with anything, you're obviously looking for a less straight line approach from me.”

  This brought Lore, who had looked ready to protest, up short. After a moment, she nodded. “Of course, Henry, sorry for swamping you with the scientific details. What do you need to see?” She rocked back on her heels and looked at him expectantly.

  Henry hesitated. What did he need to see? Well, there was no real hope of him finding a scientific solution where Lore and the experts couldn't. Same with brute force. That left something tricky, and for that....

  Henry gestured to the holotable at the center of the room. “Can you bring up a detailed plan of the colony? The research station and the surrounding areas of both as well, plus a feed of where the plant is and has been. We need to find an angle.”

  Lore nodded firmly. Stepping up to the holo controls, she smoothly brought up a static plan of the colony. She continued tapping away, adding more area and detail as Henry started pouring over the presented data.

  She added a live feed of the colony just in time for the ground to shake.

  “What the hell!” Henry staggered and latched onto the table, barely keeping his feet.

  “NO!” Lore shouted and frantically adjusted the display. It zoomed in on the abandoned portion of the colony just outside the spaceport. Military mechs and ground crawlers stood facing the ruined sections and as they watched the vehicles opened fire. The largest mech was kneeling and seemed to be holding a large cannon while two smaller mechs reloaded it.

  “NO!” Lore shouted again. She stabbed a control and took in the readout it prompted. She paled, then started ranting, “That gibbering buffoon! He's firing negev thermal mines into the plants. That psychotic half-wit! The amount of energy in those mines—” She cut herself off for a moment before giving a growl of irritation. “What the hell does he think he's doing?”

  Henry grimaced. “If it doesn't fit, ‘get a bigger hammer.’ Whoever that is, is probably trying to overwhelm the plant's ability to absorb energy. Logical from a certain point of view. Who is it, anyway?”

  Lore looked half way to apoplectic with suppressed rage. “The mayor of the colony. And it doesn't work that way, damn it. These plants absorb energy near instantly. Even if some of the growth is overwhelmed, the energy has already been fed back up the roots and ten or twenty will return for every one destroyed. More, with that amount of energy.”

  “Yes, I understand that, actually.” Henry waved at the display, “but obviously he doesn't.”

  The ground shook again as another mine was launched. The mechs dropped the cannon and opened fire with more traditional weapons.

  “Doesn't look like he had many of those at least.”

  Lore sighed in relief and started rapidly tapping at her console. “Thank God. He shouldn't have had any, given how illegal they are. He must have snuck them in on the same transport you arrived on.” She cursed as her tapping conjured a projection of plant growth overlaying the entire colony. “Damn it. It doesn't look like it's going to matter. He fed enough energy in for the entire colony to be lost.” She slumped over the console in despair. “I'm so sorry I brought you here, Henry. I don't think we can fix this one. Though we might be able to get an evac in time. I hope.”

  Henry just stared at the display for a few moments before moving up beside her and punching in some calculations of his own. “Lore, how fast can those vines burrow through steel and concrete?”

  Lore perked up slightly. “Steel? I'm not sure they can get through steel at all, but they'd get through concrete in a few days, at most. Maybe even a few hours with enough energy. Why?”

  “You said they will seek out energy, right? Have someone call the spaceport. Pull the barrier in to the near side and evac the port. Have them set the power station there for max output, just dump the energy into the environment. Remotely lock down the port once everyone is out, seal all the emergency blast measures around the generator as well.”

  Lore perked up further. “Of course! At max, the port's generators will output way more than the rest of the colony if they ration their power. The plants will be baited to the spaceport and ignore the colony. At least until they can burrow into the generator room and either destroy it or suck it dry.”

  “Right. And we can shut it off remotely once they breach so they don't get any more juice from it.”

  Lore nodded and pushed off from the console, fast-walking to the exit. Speaking over her shoulder on the way out, she told him, “I don't have the authority to do all that, but Sam does, or at least she can talk them into it. I'll get her on it.”

  “Right.”

  Henry took a deep breath and switched off the display showing the mechs, which were now being overrun, and settled in to find a better solution.

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  While Sam didn't technically have full authority over the spaceport, it hadn't been that difficult to convince them to follow through with Henry's plan. Mostly because, by the time she reached them, the mechs had been destroyed and the plants were rapidly closing in on the spaceport. They had put up a token protest at Lore's additional idea of muddling their generator's containment fields to make a more tempting target, but had ultimately folded swiftly before Sam's aura of command. Sam proceeded to seize full control of the colony and locked up the mayor, who despite having personally commanded the mechs, had somehow escaped their destruction along with a small handful of militia. Militia who were now a bit less than amused with him. Sam, Henry, and Lore got together three hours later to figure out a plan for going forward.

  Henry eyed an irate Sam, who was pacing a hole in the floor of Lore's lab, and finally bit the proverbial bullet. “Soooo...what's our status?”

  Sam jerked to a halt. “The distraction worked. The plants are focusing on the spaceport. They've completely overrun it, which means no evac.” Her timbre changed to dust dry sarcasm. “The maniac mayor is in the custody of the remaining militia. Apparently, he's a military hobbyist nut of some sort and he's convinced that the plants are intelligent life that have declared war on us.”

  Seeing their looks of disbelief, she deadpanned, “Yeah, I know. He's bat shit crazy.” Returning to a somewhat more normal tone, she went on. “I've got control of the colony and have had them cut their power output as much as they can.” She waved for Lore to continue and resumed her pacing.

  Lore picked up the thread. “We got lucky with the port. Whoever engineered it over engineered it with all the chaos of a new colony in mind. The generator room is completely encased in high-density alloys that will take days for the vines to break through, if they can at all. There are weak points where power comes in and out that they will certainly get through in time, sadly. Best estimate on those is a couple of days, once they find them, which thankfully, they haven't yet. No word on any breakthroughs from the experts.” She motioned that she too was finished.

  All three sat in silence for a few moments. Eventually, Lore spoke up again. “Henry? Any ideas?”

  Henry sighed and leaned back in his chair. Raising one hand to rub tired eyes he told them, “Not really. If we had more time and outside resources, there are a dozen things we could do. With what we have? The only thing I can think of is to turn their collection on themselves. If we could suck the energy back out of the plants, it would solve the issue. Heck, it would even turn them into a resou
rce. I ran a dozen models though and couldn't figure out how to duplicate the effect without them attacking the equipment.”

  When neither of them said anything, he looked down through his fingers. Sam had stopped pacing and was staring at Lore. Lore, who was looking at Henry in shock, jaw half dropped and hand half raised to point at him.

  “What?”

  She surged to her feet. “That's it! Henry, you're a genius.” She grabbed Henry and nearly ripped his shoulder out of its socket as she pulled him to his feet with manic strength. Sam was swept up with equal fervor and she pulled them both, stumbling in shock at the sudden turn around, behind her to the main console.

  Releasing them, she began speaking in rapid-fire. “We can steal their energy back. The idea is brilliant. Your only stumble was not listening close enough to the biology I was going on about earlier.” She looked rather satisfied at that.

  Puzzled, Henry took the bait as she paused for effect. “Okay? So what did I miss?”

  Lore smirked and tapped a command. An image of the neriola plant, long vines connected to central pods, rose up on the main display table. “This is the neriola plant that we are facing. It has few natural predators save,” she tapped a few more keys and another neriola plant, this one a slightly different shade, appeared next to the first and attacked it, “save other neriola plants! Half the reason they haven’t completely overrun the planet is that, when two of them meet, they often fight each other to the point that both starve for energy and die. This was useless information before, even if we had introduced more of them, they would have ignored each other in favor of the colony. Plus, the current plant has so much energy now that it would never die to a little competition. The thing is, we should be able to take the vines from a different neriola plant, and use them as a conduit to steal the energy. They are genetically programmed to feed energy they siphon back to a main source, and so long as we can mimic that source halfway decently, they won't attack it. Hook them up and set them loose on our attacker plant and we're golden.”