by Chris Reher
Laryn watched muscle and sinew move under Toji’s skin when he then also pulled Ryle onto the lift, marveling at the sheer physical prowess built into these aliens. She recalled the ease with which Toji had punched through the other Kalon’s thick skin. Weak spot or not, that would have taken fearsome strength.
Toji turned to her as if he sensed her scrutiny. “Are you all right, Agent Ash?” he said. “Hold on to this. Careful.”
“Let’s go, folks!” Azah yelled through their coms. “We can still catch them.”
“What is she talking about?” Laryn said as they rose into the ship.
“Jex traced two ships leaving this valley while we were still inside,” Ryle said. Apparently, he had been conversing with her or Jex during their climb uphill. “The last of the Kalons, I’m guessing. Another one gave them a hard time, but didn’t have the hardware to match the Nefer. It just took off. I’d like to catch up.”
Nolan waited for them in the exit chamber. “They’re using our own ships. Jex identified one of them as another ghost ship we lost years ago. They’ve been collecting our ships all this time. Maybe the threads are a lot safer than we thought.”
“Don’t tell anyone,” Ryle said, stripping out of his gear. “Don’t want to lose the danger pay.”
He rushed into the bridge and relieved Azah at the helm. “Nice work,” he said. “Good to see you made it out of that damn mountain. I might have been worried, maybe.”
“Sure you were,” she said. “You guys are filthy! We’re ready for launch.”
“Is the camp all right?” Laryn asked as she strapped herself into her seat.
“Yeah, the mountain puked its guts to this side only,” Nolan said. “Gave Azah a scare, though.” He scrutinized Toji, silent and gray in his crash brace. “You all right?”
“I wasn’t scared,” Azah scoffed.
“I… I am well,” Toji said. “You plan to… to chase them?”
“Stabilizers ready when you are, Captain,” Nolan announced with an eye on the gravity rod display.
Ryle punched the ship into a vertical takeoff and they soon left the planet behind. Laryn worried briefly about the people in the camp, some of whom had hoped to leave with them. But what they had learned about the Kalons’ intent for the station made her wish they were already across the Hub and in range to warn Pendra.
“There it is,” Ryle said. “Old bucket of bolts. Get to work, Azah. Let’s not play nice. I’m heading for the filament.”
She nodded and worked with her tactical controls to target the fleeing ship with lasers. The Nefer took a hit into her forward shields when their quarry detected them but she returned the fire unhurried and with precision.
They watched the long-range scanner until it reported that the fleeing ship had suffered catastrophic damage.
“One down,” Ryle said. “The others are heading to Pendra with a brain that’ll talk to the AIs if they get access.”
“Huh, what?” Nolan said.
“It’s what Iko had in that box. Neural appliances. Not sure which AI, but I’m guessing it’s ANN herself. And meanwhile, they’ve got a damn army bred and ready to come in from Ophet.”
“They’re after the station?” Azah said.
“And Terrica, too,” Ryle said. “Although the Br’ll won’t be able to live there. A good place for Kalons, though. They just want to get rid of the Humans that come with it.”
“You think they can adapt the station for their own needs?” Laryn asked. “The Br’ll, I mean?”
“Wish I had even half a clue about what they’re up to,” Ryle mumbled, shifting his attention to the approaching filament.
Laryn’s eyes had wandered past Ryle to see Toji at the rear of the bridge, still looking a little lost. Was he injured? They could all use an examination of their cuts and bruises, along with some clean clothes and rest. “Toji?” she said.
He looked up and was about to say something when his eyes shifted and he seemed to change his mind. She started to unbuckle her belts, intent on taking a closer look at his injuries, when the Nefer’s engines changed their usual steady thrum.
“Bubble us, Jex,” Ryle said as warning to his crew. The shield configuration changed to create the necessary field for insertion into the filament. They were now only minutes away from the Hub countless lightyears in the distance. “Be ready for a welcoming committee, Azah.”
* * *
“Aaaaand we’re home,” Ryle said before the Nefer’s shield bubble had quite dissipated after the traverse back to the Hub. “Well, sort of.” He looked up to check the green signals from engineering and environmental systems, showing that the slide through the filament had been successful.
All eyes shifted from one screen to the next as the ship’s scanners displayed incoming information. The cameras showed only empty space, rich with its backdrop of stars, blurred and smeared along the horizon surrounding the Hub’s black heart.
“No visual of the Kalon ship,” Jex reported. “It’s already rounded the horizon.”
“Damn, they’re fast,” Ryle said. “That’s some fancy upgrade they’ve made to our ships. Remind me to ask them about it.” He glanced at a map of the Hub to find the station’s location within its slow orbit. “How long for us to get to Pendra at max, Jex? And what about them?”
“Four hours for the Nefer. Not knowing the precise maximum velocity of the Kalon ship, I estimate they’ll arrive at the station within an hour. It appears they have found a way to counter the Well’s gravitational pull.”
Laryn, at her station, tried to access the unmanned satellites that routinely orbited the Well, used by Pendra’s research team and to serve as a com beacon. They would have recorded the Kalon ship’s passing. Her request for a traffic report in this area went unanswered. “Hmm, this is odd,” she said. “I can’t hail the beacons.”
Ryle leaned toward her console and looked at the displays. “Jex, anything more you can do?”
“No, Ryle. There is no reply. Nor are they transmitting automated signals.”
“Is anybody else out here?” Ryle shifted the ship’s sensor displays to show activity around the Hub. “I’ve got some sigs out there.”
“Those markers are drones,” Jex said. “Autonomous dispatch in response to the beacon malfunction. That Entrada transport is about to launch to Orbel. The two others are outbounder corvettes.”
“Oh, lovely,” Azah said. “That’s the Chator. Our friend Ben Colsan. Our day is complete.”
“He’s hailing,” Laryn said.
Ryle looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. “Open com, Jex. What do you want, Colsan? Kind of busy here.”
The image of the rival company’s captain appeared on one of the forward screens, arms crossed, legs firmly planted as if riding the deck of some otherworldly pirate ship. The beard and rough garb added to the impression, although the design of his bridge, as sleek and well-equipped as the Nefer’s, belied the illusion. “You look in a hurry, Tanner,” he bellowed.
“Aye. Don’t want to miss dinner.” Ryle glanced at an overhead timer synched to Pendra’s schedules. “Breakfast.”
“You might want to stick to the slop you have on board. Something going on at the station.”
“Want to elaborate on that?”
“Got a recall order for all ships. When was the last time that happened? But not just the outbounders. They also recalled the Pendra cruisers and horizon patrols. Everybody.”
“Why?”
“Damned if I know. We lost contact with everyone that complied. This sounds like another rout. Search and seizure crap. I’m going to Terrica to lie low with my—” His eyes shifted to another part of his screen. Perhaps he was scanning Ryle’s bridge to see who was nearby. Laryn guessed the reason for his non-compliance had to do with whatever business had taken him out here. Besides the filament to Torren and Terrica, this sector of the Hub birthed the thread the Pendra mines, rumored to engage in activities likely frowned upon by the Corporation. He cleared his thr
oat. “Total silence now from the station and those ships,” he continued. “And the relay beacons.”
“Should check that out, don’t you think?” Ryle said.
“How about you check that out, Tanner?”
Ryle and Azah exchanged a long, meaningful look. Azah nodded.
“Something’s definitely going on,” Ryle said at last. “The Kalons… some of the Kalons are planning to take the station over. They’re on their way there now.”
After a startled moment Colsan barked harsh laughter. “The Kalons are too busy having tea and cake with the Pendra lackeys. Where did you get this idea?”
“From the Kalons. You didn’t happen to see a ship go by in a big hurry here recently, did you?”
“No. Got some strange data, though. We’re still trying to figure it out.”
“That would be them. They’ve got scramblers clever enough to confuse most sensors. We’re going to the station. Expect ships to emerge from the Ophet filament. They’ll be packed with Kalons on a mission.”
Colsan squinted at his screen as if trying to get a better look at Ryle’s expression. “You’re serious, Tanner.”
“I am. You’re close to the Terrica launch. Get over there and warn incoming traffic away from Pendra. I’m going to transmit a whole lot of data about what we found back there, in case we run into trouble at the station. We’ll also send a program to help with a jamming transmission they’re using. I’m guessing that’s why you haven’t heard from anyone on Pendra.” Ryle nodded to Laryn to collect the files for transmission to the Chator.
The captain’s belligerent expression faded as he considered the possibility that Ryle might not be staging some prank designed to embarrass him. Information sharing, among the outbounders, was not a common offer. He deliberated for a moment longer and then turned to a woman behind him. “Terrica, then. Fast.”
“Colsan,” Ryle said as he turned the Nefer away and accelerated toward the station. “If you run into Kalons, even aboard a Pendra transport, keep your shields up. They have damn nasty weaponry.”
This brought a grin to the man’s face. “Is that so? We’ll sharpen our swords, Tanner. You owe me a long explanation next time I see you.”
“Fine. Take a bath and I’ll do it over a draft at Toko’s.”
“Fuck you, Tanner.”
The transmission ended. Ryle turned to activate the central hologram. The others swiveled their chairs inward to face the image of the Hub floating above the projector. “We need to make tracks. Jex, see if you can shave an hour off the trip to Pendra.”
They all watched as the AI plotted a course around the Well at the center of the Hub to meet the station as it moved along its ponderous orbit. It took only a few moments before a clear path was laid out but none of them appreciated the result. The line that had appeared no longer followed the customary wide curve around the Well, in that safe corridor between it and the filament launch points, but had straightened to nearly touch the clearly marked horizon.
“Saving seventy-four minutes, local time,” Jex said.
“You’re kidding, right?” Nolan said.
Ryle scratched his unshaven chin. “Looks awfully tight, Jex.”
“It is. The proximity to the event horizon will strain the ship’s engines.”
“Just a bit!” Nolan said. “Unless we get caught in it. Then we won’t ever have to worry about the engines again.”
“I’m no expert, but that doesn’t look safe to me, either,” Laryn said.
“It isn’t,” Jex said. “But my recommendation calculates the desired result against the ship’s capabilities and Ryle’s customary navigation techniques. The Nefer has enhanced escape velocity parameters.”
“Which the agent didn’t need to know about.” Ryle’s tone suggested that he didn’t really care. “Let’s come into the turn a little later, Jex. Nolie, keep an eye on those grav rods. We don’t want another squeeze.” He glanced at Laryn before returning his attention to the display. “Get tucked in, everybody.”
Nolan stood up and went to the door to the corridor. “Come on, Toji. Let’s make sure he doesn’t turn the engines into spaghetti.”
Laryn followed Azah’s lead when the woman slipped into the crash restraints built into their seats. A shudder went through the Nefer as Nolan brought something online that he hadn’t used during their jaunts along the filament. She watched the ship’s reports on their acceleration and the general health of machine and crew, then shifted her gaze to Ryle. He had activated the helm but left the navigation to Jex. A small muscle in his jaw betrayed his tension as the marker on the hologram before him crept toward the Hub’s dark maw. His expression looked an awful lot as it had when they had careened through the lava tunnel.
“What’s that shimmy, Nolie?” he said although Laryn had felt nothing.
“Adjusting for the cargo we offloaded. Kinda forgot about that in all the excitement.”
“Ryle, there is a drone on an intercept path to this location,” Jex reported. A new marker appeared on the hologram. “Probe class, moving fast. It seems to have originated at the station.”
“Could be a message,” Laryn said.
“Could be explosive,” Azah added.
“It is transmitting the Kalon jamming frequency we’ve encountered before,” Jex said. “It will confound the echoes from the beacons. We must have quantum illumination to navigate around the gravity well.”
“So take it out, Jex.”
“I cannot. It’s Pendra property.”
Laryn raised an eyebrow. It seemed a strange time for Jex to remember his mandate. Perhaps it kicked in only in this region of space, where laws were set by the Ministry.
“Azah,” Ryle snapped.
“On it.” An array of tactical controls rose into the air before her, augmenting the hologram. “Definitely one of ours. Or used to be.”
A polite, mechanical voice emitted from the speakers. “You are experiencing a sensor malfunction caused by a gravitational flux in this area,” it said. “You may also experience disturbances with long-range communications. Please make visual contact with this probe. We will guide you to Pendra Station.”
The trajectory hologram seemed to fade in the air as Jex countered the Kalon transmission, even as the Nefer continued to accelerate, relying only on microwaves to feel her way. The ship’s external cameras still functioned and now showed the blinking signal of the probe as it approached.
Again, the transmission from the drone, apparently not compromised by the interference: “Please make visual contact with this probe. We will guide you to Pendra Station.”
“Take care of that malfunction, Azah,” Ryle said.
“Getting fuzzy!” she replied, working her console to keep her weapon on target. A moment later she whooped with glee as something flashed brightly in the distance. “Malfunction repaired, Captain!”
“Interference has terminated,” Jex confirmed. “Approaching trajectory apex above the horizon.”
Laryn breathed deeply, reminding herself that the JX.9 model would not exceed the safety parameters of the ship’s design. Or this region of space, which included a comfortable distance to the horizon. The shimmy Ryle noticed earlier became more pronounced and she began to rise upward to strain against her crash brace.
“Sorry,” Ryle said when Laryn gasped. “We’ll pick up a few extra G’s trying to pull out of this. More than the rods can mitigate.” His unheard command prompted Jex to roll the ship and soon gravity dragged them toward the accustomed place below their feet.
“Why is the ship shaking!” she said.
“She’s a bit unhappy, I guess,” Ryle said, sounding ridiculously calm to her ears.
“Vessel approaching on intercept course,” Jex said. “Unidentified.”
All eyes shifted to the object he had found, clearly heading their way. Asymmetrical and covered in peculiar lumps, it resembled an asteroid except for its pallid yellowish-gray non-color and an obvious energy field trailing it, dist
orted by the growing pull of the Well.
“Fucking flying turnip,” Nolan said, sounding awed. “Is that a Br’ll ship?”
“Vessel is on collision course.”
“Suicidal turnip,” Ryle said. “Azah!”
“Aye,” she replied and targeted the approaching ship. “Damn. That thing is slippery.” She tried a different configuration. “My guns are useless so close to the Well.”
“Get boxed, Nolie. You and the Kalon.” Fighting the increasing gravity, Ryle’s hands moved through the hologram, working with Jex to find an escape route and optimum velocity. A collision with the smaller ship would not faze the Nefer whose shields were designed to handle larger objects, but it would throw her off course.
“Thread shields,” he ordered and indicators around them signaled a change of the ship’s travel configuration as if in preparation to enter a filament. The external shields thinned but extended, and internal buffers ramped up to guard against increased radiation.
“You’re not going to evade?” Azah gasped.
“No time for that.”
Laryn wasn’t sure if he meant time to avoid the approaching enemy or the delay this would cause to reach Pendra Station. She stared, wide-eyed and disbelieving, at the proposed trajectory displayed on the hologram. It would graze the extended shield to where Jex believed the enemy’s own defenses ended. Ryle feigned, forcing the other ship’s navigator to recalculate the deadly collision. Time enough for the Nefer to swoop back on course to execute her maneuver. In the instant their shields threatened to merge, Ryle bumped the Nefer’s shield range and shoved the enemy ship aside like a drunkard in a bar brawl.
There was only a brief glimpse of the alien ship spinning away, toward the Well’s unfathomable void. The Nefer, too, sliced away from her course and Laryn cried out when the ship’s cameras showed nothing now but dark smears of light against the black backdrop of space.
The unrelenting pressure against her body continued, wanting to crush her into her chair as the pull increased in unpleasant increments. She tried lifting her hand and found it glued to her armrest. She should have warned Colsan about the deceptively benign drones being sent out to shepherd Hub traffic back to the station, she thought. She’d do that as soon as she was able to move, she promised herself. If she ever reached that point in her life, she added.