by Frank Carey
"At ease," Royce said before the six of them headed to the door.
Chapter Eleven
Harm sat in the conference room and drank ice tea while waiting for Liz and the others to show. As conference rooms go, this one was nice. Wood paneling, Pictures of other ships of the line, even a few models thrown in for good measure. Harm always felt at ease in this room. It was calm and cozy.
The hatch opened and Liz walked in followed by Cmdr. Sam Jackson, Royce, and Marta.
"Hey, Harm, when did you get in?" Sam asked.
"Today. How are the wife and kids?"
"Good, all good. By the way, she loves the books you got her."
"I'm glad. Let me know if she needs more."
"You two know each other?" Marta asked.
"Yes, ma’am. I've known Harm since I was assigned to the Septar five years ago."
Marta sat back and stared at Harm while Royce let loose with a low whistle. Harm just smiled.
"Let's get started," Liz said.
"Yes, let's," Marta said in a tone of voice which could freeze fire.
Liz started by repeating what was in the transmission from the Asgard’s emergency beacon. "We've been ordered to proceed to Maranta Five to render assistance to the survivors and get them off that rock. We are also to investigate these killer bots. Nothing like this has ever been reported in this sector or any other sector. Any questions?"
"Why did these bots attack when they did?" Harm asked. "Normal guard bots would have warned before attacking. These things swarmed which is a reaction to a threat. The Asgard is a type eighteen shuttle. Though derived from battle shuttles, she’s unarmed. There's something screwy going on down there."
"We'll be in orbit in a few hours," Liz informed them. "We'll figure this out. Sam, is there anything in the database about Maranta Five?"
"No. Nothing. Until it was in the path of expansion, it was only a rock."
"Well, now it has our full attention. Royce, you and your team, along with Harmon, will go down to the surface using Conquistador. You will assess the situation, rescue the survivors, and get out before our little mechanical friends get wise to you."
"Captain, I have a question," Marta said quietly.
"I bet you do. Shoot."
"Why the elf, and why Conquistador?"
"Conquistador has a configuration radically different from the Asgard or any battle shuttle. Hopefully, that'll keep the bots at bay."
"And the elf?"
"Marta, what you and Royce are about to hear has been classified as top secret. For the last ten years, Harmon has been working undercover for OffSec. His handler is Cube Director Ciara Devlin, and Septar was his base of operations."
"What?" Royce and Marta said. "That's impossible. We would have known?"
"You two arrogant..." Harm said before catching himself. "How the hell could you know I was here when you both assumed I was dead? Come on, admit it, you two, and the rest of the family, wrote me off when Marta left me. Hell, I could have sat next to you in the mess and you wouldn't have even noticed me."
"Harm, you didn't, did you?" Liz asked, horrified that he had broken protocol.
"Do you two remember a tech who insisted that the Ventosian Devils would win the League series after a ten year dry spell?"
"Oh my God," Royce said. "That was you?"
"Aye, matey, twas me and damned if they didn't go and win that series."
"Fine, you made your point, but why are you coming along?"
Harm looked down at the table. “I die in less than forty-eight hours when a round meant for Marta pierces my primary heart. This occurs in a room down on the planet." He then went on to list the people in the room, their conditions, and the clothes they were wearing including the camo pattern on Marta's battle armor.
"You had a vision, a death vision," Royce said, his voice filled with reverence.
"Were you drunk, high, or both?" Marta asked.
"Captain!" Royce said in shock.
"Sorry, sir, but the elf has lost his mind, or he's lying."
"Neither, actually," Harm said before explaining what had happened at the airstrip on Tralaska.
"Our physicians confirmed the blaster part of the story which is why he retired. Another blast like that and he would be permanently dead."
"So what?" Marta sneered. "He took a charge and had a hallucination. Big deal."
“We checked his description of the civvies currently on-planet with the university personnel manifest. He’s spot-on. As for your camo pattern, we upgraded it before harm came aboard. His description matches to a tee and the pattern is randomly generated after the upgrade.”
"Oh he saw something all right..."
"Marta! For God's sake, give it a rest,” Harm yelled. “I'll be dead in a few hours and you'll be alive, all of you will be alive. Hopefully, it'll make up for the grief I caused you. Oh, and if I don't die, I promise I'll sign those damn divorce papers."
"Wait a minute, you never signed them?"
"No. Things got a little hairy when the courier dropped them off."
"What the hell is wrong with you? Were you too drunk to sign them?"
"Marta, do not go there!" Liz warned, but it was too late.
"Liz, let me," Harm said as he stood up and leaned over his wife. "When I got the papers I did get drunk, then I went over to the house and threatened Tannith. That was when Royce beat me to a pulp—deservedly so, if I may add— so I went to a nearby bar, where I had what the psychiatrists call a dissociated personality event. When I left the bar, I was a different person. I, this Harmon, didn't return until four years later."
"Harm..." Marta said, realizing too late that she had gone too far.
"The other personality called himself Atmar, and he offered to take over while I rested. I looked up and saw myself standing there while the people in the bar were quickly leaving the room, frightened by my talking to the air. I agreed on the condition that he never bothers you, Tannith, Royce, Gloria, or any member of my family. He agreed, and I didn't return for four years. At that time, I took over our body, and Atmar was destroyed. "
"Harm, please..." Marta pleaded.
"No, it's fine. You only have to put up with me for a couple more days. OK?"
"Captain," Royce barked, then quieter. "Go compose yourself. That's an order."
Marta turned and left.
"I'll talk to her," Liz said as she walked out behind Marta.
"I think I'll head to the bridge," the commander said as he too exited the room.
Harm leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling. "That could have gone better."
"She's worried about Aerith...and you," the big elf said.
"Aerith I believe. Me? She'll be happy when I am permanently out of her life."
"You really believe that?"
"Yes, sadly, I do. Do you think Liz is going to tell her about Segue Six?" Harm asked.
"Probably. Worried?"
"I have no idea how I feel. Listen, I need to go finish preparing Conquistador. Stop by if you have a chance before we leave," Harm said as he got up and headed to the door.
"Copy that," Royce said as he followed Harm out. “First, though, I have to have a talk with Marta”.
###
Liz walked down the corridor thinking about Marta between sips of tea. The tea reminded her of when she first met Harmon. During her pre-meeting briefing, she had been told about Harmon's alter ego, Atmar, and the circumstances behind his creation. Liz stopped when she realized that Marta may not know any of this. Being that all the parties involved worked for the League in some fashion, Liz decided it was high time her cousin was on the same page as everyone else. Hopefully, Harm and the review board would agree during her court martial.
"Computer, location of Capt. Marta McMurphy," the captain called out into the empty air. The computer monitored all areas of the ship and was programmed to respond to the word "computer."
"Capt. McMurphy is in Observation Room Three," the computer repli
ed in its normal, sultry female voice. Liz would have preferred male, but it was found that most people, regardless of species, responded better to female voices.
After taking a detour to her quarters, Liz made her way to OR3 where she found her cousin staring out the window into the streamer-filled oddness of other-space.
"Hey, Cuz, you got a minute?" Liz asked as she walked up to stand next to Marta.
"Cuz? Isn't that a little informal during the workday, ma’am?"
"This meeting is strictly off the books," Liz said as she handed Marta a personnel folder for one Harmon Aymar.
Marta looked at the list of names of the people allowed to read the folder. It was short. “Why is Royce on this list.”
"He was read-in right after Segue Six. He found something aboard the rescue ship after the rest of your team left. You might call it a clue as to the identity of the pilot."
Marta opened the file and read. She suddenly stopped, her head snapping up to stare at her cousin. "Harm was the mad person flying that freighter?"
"Yes, Marta, your ex-husband took on two armed freighters and a platoon of heavily armed irregulars with nothing more than a Borash Gatling gun glued to the nose of his ship. That stunt he pulled is now required reading at Space Command Academy. Frankly, the experts say what he did was impossible."
“So, Royce knows all this?” Marta asked.
“Yes, I know,” Royce said as he walked into the room uninvited. He sat down next to Marta. “I found that damn hula doll you gave him stuck in a cargo net”.
"Why would he do that?" Marta asked. "He could have died. He never did anything which didn't involve profit."
"Atmar didn’t do anything except for profit. The Harmon at Seque Six, the one in the lounge, is the real Harmon Aymar."
"I can't. I can't do this. I can't let him back in my life or Aerith's life."
"If Harm’s vision is truly a portent of things to come, in less than twenty-four hours, you won't have to worry about him because Harmon Aymar will be dead," Liz said as she walked out of the lounge.
"Liz, why are you doing this?"
“He’s my friend. His past does not burden me. I have seen what he is capable of and his impending loss frightens and saddens me. I only wish you could see this.”
With those words ringing in her ears, Marta watched Liz walk out of the room, leaving Marta and Royce alone, with only the plasma will-o-wisps for companions.
Chapter Twelve
There was no sign of Aerith as night fell, which worried Tannith and the others. They had finished setting up camp and were having rations around a campfire when they heard a noise outside the range of the fire's light.
"What was that?" Doris asked as Mykkl got up and shined his flashlight along the tree line.
"Don't know. Can't see anything out there," he replied, pulling his weapon from its holster and thumbing it to full power. Unfortunately, Maranta Five had no moon, so darkness fell hard.
"Yo the camp!" a familiar voice called from the darkness. A moment later, Aerith walked out of the gloom carrying the body of a large herbivore. "Beware elves bearing gifts," she said as everyone rushed out to help her with her load.
"Where were you?" Mauro asked. "We were getting worried."
"I watched the bots from a hill top for a while before taking off. The damn things stripped the camp and took the parts back down the cliff to their garage. On the way back, I came upon a herd of these creatures grazing, so I made a spear and killed one." She stopped as Mykkl and Doris put part of the beast on the fire. "Damn, that smells delicious. So much for civilization."
"We elves never lost the hunting instinct, thank God," Tannith said. "We saw the buoy take off. Hopefully help will be here soon."
"I'm worried about the Tung'We. Was it destroyed or forced to bug out?" Aerith asked as she wiped her hands with a cleansing wipe from the remains of the xeno-pack. "How are you feeling, Mauro?"
"I'm fine," he said as Doris slid up and wrapped a tentacle around his wrist.
"Your pulse and temp are within norms. Try to take it easy, though. We don't want you to get all hot under the collar," she said, releasing his wrist.
"Got it," he replied while chortling at her joke.
"Anybody go down the corridor?" Aerith asked as Tannith handed her a cup of tea.
"Not yet. We were worried about you, so we decided to wait," Tannith said while touching Aerith in a mom sort of way as if to reassure herself that Aerith was OK.
"I don't know about you, but the curiosity is killing me. How about we go check it out after dinner? We can set some guard towers around the camp to keep an eye on things."
"In the morning. We've all had a rough day and need sleep," Tannith said in her 'don't argue with Mom' tone of voice. They all agreed and waited hungrily for dinner of rations and roast beast.
###
The next morning found Tannith awake before the others as Maranta peered over the horizon. The first person she saw was Mykkl standing guard between the entrance and the forest beyond. He glanced at her momentarily, as if he was making sure she was OK, before turning his attention back to the forest.
"Good morning, Instructor Tannith. I hope you slept well," he said while keeping a close eye on the tree line.
"Actually, I did. How long have you been up?"
"I never went to sleep," he informed her.
"What?"
"Halcyons have a variable sleep cycle which we can consciously control. If necessary, I can go seventy-two hours without sleep. I stood watch so you and the others could get some much-needed rest."
Tannith got up and quietly padded over to him. "OK, you made your point. You're not who I thought you were, so stop trying so hard."
"You weren't wrong, Instructor. My people are driven by fear. That's why we hid in the caves. For thousands of years the universe was populated by only one species—the Halcyons, then the Rebels decided to open our eyes, and what we saw scared the shit out of us. I have to fight thousands of years of conditioning just to stand here and keep watch. I would much prefer to be as deep in that cave as possible. Truthfully, I'm tired of hiding. Maybe that's why my parents sent me here, to learn how not to be afraid. Now I can stand here and talk to you, only mildly apprehensive instead of terrified for my life."
"I terrify you?"
"Not as badly as your niece, or gods forbid, Doris. I see now she is sweet, kind, and very addicted to nutribars, so that helps. Having the bots lurking around also helps. Nothing beats fearing a robotic horde to make you forget about your other worries."
"Let me get you some tea," Tannith said as she walked off shaking her head while he stood there and watched the trees for any sign of danger.
Soon the others stirred and greeted the new day. After a breakfast of roast beast and more rations, the group congregated around Mykkl to discuss the events of the night and make plans for the day.
"You stayed awake all night and guarded the camp?" Aerith asked Mykkl as she peered into the tree line while her ears swiveled in the direction of the forest.
"You can move your ears?" he asked.
She looked at him while touching one of the pointed lobes self-consciously. "Yeah. Most elves can move them small amounts. I've been told my mixed genetics gives me a greater range of motion than a normal elf. Does it bother you?"
"No. I find it...attractive."
Both ears immediately swiveled in his direction. He smiled. She smiled. They both got uncomfortable, so they turned their gazes back to the forest.
"Hear or see anything last night?" Tannith asked as she walked up to the pair.
"We were being watched for most of the night. Not sure if by bots or animals. The fire kept them at bay," he replied.
"Aerith, your thoughts?" Tannith asked as she relaxed into instructor mode.
"The bots are just too small and simple to be autonomous. The swarm screamed centralized control. Someone, or something, is running this show, and right now, it chooses to watch us. Our problems star
t when it decides to escalate to considering us a threat."
"I wonder how many bots we're talking about," Mykkl said.
"Remember the pile we saw down by the river?" Aerith asked. When the others nodded she continued, "How much you wanna bet those bots are gone? I'll bet credits to confections the bodies were collected and recycled, which means a lot more bots available to pay us a visit. I say we go explore the cave and see what we can find before our little friends show up.”
"Excellent idea," Tannith replied. She walked over to where Doris was performing a morning check of Mauro. "How are you doing this morning, Mauro?"
"Doing great," he said as he rolled down his sleeve. "Right, Doc?"
"He's fit as a fiddle," she said. "Mauro, just remember to take it easy, OK?"
"Got it Doc," he replied.
"Everyone, listen up," Tannith said. "Gear up! Grab water and rations. Let's go exploring."
They grabbed flashlights, weapons, and tools from what survived of the Xeno-kit before heading into the cave. With Tannith in the lead, and Mykkl bringing up the rear, the seven intrepid explorers headed down the dark corridor to whatever awaited them at the end.
"If there was any doubt before, I think we can now be sure this structure was constructed by a sapient race," Iolaus said as he shone his flashlight upwards to illuminate the ceiling. They could see light fixtures, conduits, and cable trays running from the entryway down to the darkness below. "Wait a minute," he said as he followed one conduit to what looked like a box mounted on the wall. He walked over and ran his hand around it, feeling for a cover, lid, or switch of some kind. He stopped and pushed the center or the box's front, causing it to swing up, revealing a simple toggle switch. He flipped the switch and the lights in the corridor activated, filling the corridor with light.
"Impossible!" Aerith blurted out. "Mykkl, didn't you say this place was ten thousand years old?"
"This switch is nowhere near that old," Iolaus said while running his scanner over it. It reads around one or two centuries in age, which puts it from about the time the League was getting off the ground."