Echo Rift

by G. S. Jennsen

  “Go ahead and give them a comm so they can start heading this way. But we don’t know how long we have, so we can’t wait around twiddling our thumbs.”

  “Nope. They’re on the way. Now, what can we do?”

  David had been studying the various components situated inside the container as much as he could from this vantage. The design and materials were all unfamiliar, but the rules of physics and engineering were universal, and there were only so many ways to craft working circuits. “Does this remind you of the mission on Radavi where we first met?”

  “What? No, not at all. Does it to you?”

  “A little bit.” He pointed to a blocky gray module stuck on the inner wall, near the top of the container. “This is the only possible control mechanism I can see. Everything else is padding and shielding or the antimatter core.”

  “Agreed. But is it acting as a timer, a remote detonation receiver, or a catch?”

  “I doubt the Savrakaths expected the bomb to be discovered and disarming attempted. It’s either a timer or a receiver. If it’s the latter, this thing could go off any second…” David shook his head “…no, it’s a timer. Otherwise it would have already gone off.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Imagine this scenario. Some Savrakath is talking the Barisan through placing the bomb. The Barisan hears you coming and says, ‘someone’s approaching.’ The Savrakath recognizes this is the end of the road and blows up this poor sodding soul. If they had the capability to do so, I cannot think of a reason for them not to immediately detonate the bomb as well.”

  Richard didn’t argue. “So it’s a timer. I don’t see anything so helpful as a countdown clock to give us a clue on how much time we have, so we’ll assume it’s not long.” He peered deeper inside. “I also don’t see any nanowires connecting the module to the orb.”

  “They could be built into the containment walls and threaded through the braces.” David activated his plasma blade and climbed on top of the container.

  “David!”

  “I am open to other suggestions.” He grunted, maneuvered around until his arm wasn’t at an impossible angle, then gingerly brought the edge of the blade closer to the module.

  “I don’t have any.”

  “Neither do I.” He paused, the blade two centimeters away from the edge of the module. “If I fuck this up…well, I know we’ll wake back up in a few days and see each other again. But it still feels like dying, so I want you to know how sorry I am about what happened with the Ghost. Genuinely, truly, sorry. If I’ve ruined our friendship, I will regret it for the rest of my days.”

  “David, now is not the time.”

  “I know it isn’t.” He squinted, winced and slipped the blade into the tiny gap behind the module, then worked it around. The module was secured in the same manner as the container top had been, and after a few wrenches it came loose and dropped into his hand.

  He fell off the casing, module lifted triumphantly above his head. “How about now? Is this a better time?”

  Richard shot him an incredulous look, grabbed the module from him, and took off running. “It could be wireless!”

  Oh, right. Good point. He sucked in air to burning lungs and sprinted along the gangway after Richard.

  Richard lurched to a stop fifty meters around the ring, knelt on the gangway and placed the module in front of him. “I’d throw it into the Zero Engine, but I don’t have the code to open an entrance in the force field. Shooting anything in here seems like a profoundly terrible idea. So….” He produced his own blade, hesitated for half a second, then started stabbing the module over and over.

  Sparks flew out of the object as it splintered into pieces, but any ozone that might have accompanied the sparks was subsumed by the natural ionization from the Zero Engine. Not satisfied, Richard picked up the pieces and tossed them over the edge of the railing. The ‘bottom’ of Power Generation was more than a kilometer below them; they’d never hear it when the tiny pieces finally landed.

  Richard sank down to the gangway and dropped his head against the curving wall. “That had to have done it. Right?”

  David collapsed next to him. “If it didn’t, I’ve got no more suggestions. I mean, other than how we should definitely get this antimatter far away from here as soon as possible.”

  Richard nodded wearily. “The hazmat team is forty seconds out. I say we let them handle it.”

  “Good idea.”

  Richard’s gaze cut sideways to him. “So, about that apology?”

  SAVRAK

  Site 2A

  0:03

  0:02

  0:01

  ——

  Was it done? Ghorek activated the comm channel to his man situated on the merchant vessel, who he’d ordered to retreat to twenty megameters away from the station after undocking, then wait.

  “Officer Khonarg, report. Has the station suffered any damage?”

  “Um…no, sir. I’m some distance away, but I’m not detecting any signs of explosions or venting. It, um…it looks the same as it did, sir.”

  Ghorek lashed out with a claw, sweeping everything off the table in front of him before spinning to punch the flimsy tent wall. No! It wasn’t possible that he’d failed in his grand act of vengeance. Concord must suffer!

  But he had nothing left; he’d played his last hand. He strode out of the tent in a daze, then cast his eyes to the orange sun above in despair. Concord ships would be arriving soon now to finish the job of exterminating his people, and the old gods weren’t going to swoop in and save them.

  CONCORD HQ

  Power Generation

  David huffed a winded laugh. The ionized air was a bitch and a half to breathe. “While Miri was…gone…I know I acted as if I had my shit together. I told myself I had to stay in control in order to keep Concord from falling to the Anadens. To keep everything she’d built intact. To be strong for Alex. But it was all a lie. I was a wreck, half out of my mind and headed swiftly for certifiably insane.”

  “You could have fooled me.”

  “My superior officers always did say my level-headedness and calm under pressure was one of my best attributes. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what they said my worst ones were. The point is, if I’d been in the slightest bit rational, I’d have come to you with Caleb’s request. I should have.

  “But…I don’t know. Saving Marlee felt like a proxy for saving Miri, and I would have done anything—anything—to make it happen. So I ran headlong off the cliff that looked to my grieving mind like salvation.”

  “I would have helped you and Caleb.”

  “I know. If I’d been thinking clearly, I would’ve known it then, too. Still, I have no excuse.”

  Richard shrugged, and his expression softened. “That makes for a pretty good one, as excuses go.”

  “Not good enough of one. We should have been partners, start to finish, no matter what. I am deeply, sozhaleniyem sorry.”

  The muscles around Richard’s eyes twitched, and after a beat he nodded. “Okay. Apology accepted.”

  David shot Richard a chagrined yet hopeful look. He had ten more minutes’ worth of mea culpas all queued up if needed. “You’re certain?”

  “I’m certain. I am sick of being the grumpy old curmudgeon who hauls his grudges around like a badge of honor. I’m sick of being angry and petty.”

  “You weren’t being petty.”

  “It felt like I was.”

  David offered his hand, sweaty and covered in greasy solvent though it was. “Friends?”

  Richard clasped David’s hand in his equally filthy one. “Always. And you know, as I think about it, this does remind me a little of the mission on Radavi where we met. Mostly in how it’s ended with us triumphantly flat on our asses.”

  “Well, you know what that means: next up, two rounds of beer on me.”

  “I think three this time.”

  “Da, that’s fair. Three it is.”

  A commotion broke out a
round the ring to their left to announce the arrival of the hazmat team, and they helped each other back to their feet. Richard cupped his hands and shouted, “This way! Careful when you get close to the container!”

  David gestured toward the bomb and the gaggle of hazmat specialists now congregating around it. “Time to clean up this mess. Together.”

  58

  * * *

  HAAFAN

  Every hour that passed without a renewed Rasu incursion only ratcheted up Alex’s impatience and, judging by the repeated flexing of the muscles along his jaw, Caleb’s unease. It wasn’t simple annoyance on their part, though—it was the fact that they were out of missiles and possibly out of tricks.

  If the Rasu outside woke up or more arrived, she and Caleb could save themselves by opening a wormhole where they stood and getting the fuck out of town, and Valkyrie could undock the Siyane and flee in less than a minute. She’d tried to convince Wyddoniiet to let her evacuate everyone on foot. However, the locals were determined to bring along not only their personal belongings, but a voluminous amount of equipment as well as their three ships. Their demands left only one viable option.

  Luckily for the Ourankeli, her mother had promised to deliver on this option soon. So long as they had time and warning, everything would be fine. They just had to get these aliens moving.

  They stayed close to the hangar bay, with Valkyrie constantly monitoring the sensor probe they’d positioned outside for any hints of Rasu activity while she and Caleb watched the Ourankeli pack up their lives and cram it all inside their ships. Most of the items they loaded served no identifiable purpose to her scrutiny, but now was not the moment to play curious onlooker and distract them from their work.

  So Alex paced ineffectually while Caleb fielded a barrage of questions from Marlee about the Ourankeli’s needs and quirks, of which there were clearly many.

  They were on their third circuit of the hangar bay when Valkyrie spoke up with dire news.

  ‘I am detecting a spatial disturbance eighteen megameters from the planetoid.’

  Alex grabbed Caleb’s hand. “A Rasu wormhole?”

  ‘A reasonable assumption, but…perhaps not?’

  Valkyrie was rarely uncertain about anything. Alex slipped into sidespace, choosing a spot five megameters outside the planetoid. In the distance, the fabric of space split apart to form a halo of golden light.

  That’s not a Rasu wormhole—it’s a Caeles Prism one!

  So it appears.

  Together she and Valkyrie watched as a stunning adiamene hull emerged through the opening, and for quite some time. When it finally cleared the wormhole, the vessel stretched for almost a kilometer in length. For all its grace and beauty, its profile was dominated by the weapons arrays lined up in rows along its belly.

  I heard you might need a little assistance over here in…wherever we are. How can we help?

  Her face screwed up in surprise, followed by delight. Malcolm? I didn’t realize you were back on a bridge.

  Only just now, but…yes. I am.

  She wanted to ask about Mia, but as with everything else, it could wait. Thanks to several recent conversations between Caleb and Mia, they knew she was safely back in her own persona and no longer a fugitive, if nothing else.

  Fantastic. Do you see those broken Rasu floating around way too close to this planetoid?

  We’re picking them up on scans now. What did you do to them?

  Used an improvised neutron bomb to disable their regenerative capabilities, then emptied my negative energy missiles into them. But they won’t stay broken for much longer.

  Here’s the situation: we’ve got five dozen and change aliens living inside this rock who need a new home straightaway. They should be ready to move in another…twenty minutes, maybe. I need you to keep an eye on those disabled Rasu, and if they start to fire up and reform, blast them with those tremendous weapons you brought along.

  Also, be on the lookout for new arrivals, since they might have gotten off a distress signal. And when we finally get these aliens packed up and ready to move out, I just need you to reopen your wormhole so their ships can get to Concord space. Have you received destination coordinates from the Embassy?

  We have. It should be a simple enough rescue, unless a few thousand Rasu show up.

  You’ve got a nice ship there. You can handle them. She smiled to herself. Oh, and Malcolm? I’m glad you’re back.

  Caleb had been standing in front of her scrutinizing her every facial quirk for the entire conversation, and she cracked a grin at him. “Malcolm’s here with his dreadnought and an express ride for the Ourankeli ships.”

  “Jenner, seriously?”

  “It sounds as if he’s returned to work, at least in some capacity.”

  “Hmm. Mia?”

  “It didn’t seem appropriate to ask him whether they’ve reconciled, in case they haven’t.”

  His gaze unfocused briefly. “She’s fine. She’s doing community service work with the Godjans today.” He shrugged. “I didn’t ask whether they’d reconciled, either.”

  She rolled her eyes but didn’t comment further. While she sympathized with both of them, if pressed, she’d come down on Mia’s side. Having lost Caleb once and moved the heavens and the firmament to bring him back, she understood where Mia was coming from.

  Hey, Alex? Looks like we got here in the nick of time. Long-range sensors are picking up a growing spatial disturbance on the fringes of the stellar system.

  Understood. Stand by—unless you need to start shooting, then by all means.

  She grabbed Caleb’s hand. “Reinforcements are here. We need to move.” She scanned the hangar bay until she spotted Wyddoniiet in the far left corner talking to Cyfeill, the Ourankeli who had grudgingly given them a tour of Haafan upon their arrival.

  They hurried across the bay and skidded to a stop in front of Wyddoniiet, attracting curious attention from every Ourankeli in the area.

  Alex started to touch one of Wyddoniiet’s arms, then thought better of it. How squishy would it feel? “Time’s up. We have incoming.”

  All of the alien’s limbs seemed to tighten up around their torso. “I see. I will inform the others we must depart.”

  ‘I have confirmed with Colonel Ettore that Rasu signatures are now approaching the planetoid. Estimated arrival: six minutes.’

  “Who?”

  ‘The Denali’s Prevo.’

  “Ah.” The time for subtlety and politeness was at an end. She stepped closer, into Wyddoniiet’s personal space, though she still didn’t touch them. “Now. You must depart now. You and whoever else is traveling on the Siyane, be on board in two minutes, or we will have no choice but to leave you behind.”

  Wyddoniiet’s eyes spun in a full circle, and they and Cyfeill rushed off without further comment. Was that agreement? They’d find out soon enough.

  She and Caleb sprinted back across the bay for the Siyane as the ramp extended in anticipation of their arrival. Alex fell into her cockpit chair and scanned the HUD, but Valkyrie had everything ready to go, so she pulled up the sensor readings from outside. A grouping of red dots—forty to fifty of them—grew steadily larger on the screen.

  Caleb peered out the open airlock as the clock ticked down, glancing briefly at her every few seconds. They wouldn’t leave Wyddoniiet here unless they ran out of all options, but hopefully she’d instilled a proper sense of exigency in the alien.

  The bedrock door to the hangar bay detached and began to open as the engines of the Ourankeli ships fired up one by one. Okay, where the fuck were their passengers?

  ‘Estimated arrival of Rasu within firing range of the planetoid: one hundred seconds.’

  Alex drummed her fingers on the dash and her feet on the floor. “Valkyrie, spool up the Caeles Prism the instant we’re clear of the door.”

  ‘All systems are prepped and ready.’

  Caleb’s fingertips flitted above the control panel that operated the ramp and the airlock. “Com
e on….”

  At the last possible second, Wyddoniiet appeared from the left with two Ourankeli trailing behind them. Caleb waved at them to hurry, and for the first time since meeting them, she and Caleb got to see what an Ourankeli looked like when they ran. Unsurprising that it resembled low-level flying. Were they actually flying?

  Malcolm, get ready to open the wormhole.

  Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you?

  Not my preference, believe me.

  Their three passengers reached the airlock, and everything happened at once. The ramp chased the Ourankeli up and finished retracting; Caleb closed the airlock; the force field protecting the open hangar bay shut down; their impulse engine purred to life, and the Siyane lifted out of the berth to trail the third Ourankeli ship out through the open door.

  A golden glow consumed the viewport as the Denali’s expansive Caeles Prism powered up directly ahead of them. In the distance to their port, the clumpy shadow of multiple Rasu vessels moved across the bright profile of the system’s star.

  We’re ready, Alex. Sooner would be better.

  She chuckled. Malcolm hadn’t even met the Ourankeli yet, and they were already perturbing him. “Valkyrie, are the Ourankeli communication protocols loaded in the system?”

  ‘A moment…yes.’

  She activated the comm. “Ourankeli ships, you are authorized to traverse the wormhole. Go now.”

  The vessels accelerated past the Denali, little more than gray dots against its massive hull—and vanished through the wormhole.

  ‘Estimated fifteen seconds until the Rasu are in firing range.’

  Malcolm, you’re clear. Get out of here.

  What about you?

  We’re right behind you. See you at home.

  The Denali disappeared as well, and its wormhole closed as the Siyane’s opened. The shadow of the first approaching Rasu vessel loomed like an advancing eclipse as the Siyane shot through the tear in space and was gone.