The pod was so cozy it gave her a false sense of security. Kinny had the orders, and now it was just a matter of seeing how this audacious scheme played out. The Kinetic's electrics were going down for certain; as they would be receiving ten times the discharge they took during the graze. So there would be no communication or readings, just quiet waiting. This would either work or go horribly, horribly wrong. If she were still breathing 8 minutes from now, she would know, and if she were fried into a black-charred crisp, she'd wouldn't.
Displays were still online. She saw the hub break off but could not feel the vibration of it from the stabilized shock chamber. She commed Aru. “Shields are down now huh?”
He commed back. “This inner hull... it's tougher than System realizes. You know that. We've flown this ship together for over a decade.”
“The best years of my life, you scoundrel!” she chided.
“Mine too, Mei. And I hope many more...” Aru's com cut out. Displays cut out. Even the lights went out.
Mei was left alone with only her heat beat to keep her company for 7 long torturous minutes. Her mind raced back to the Arathian nation of Tropica where she was born and raised: her school days, her martial arts instructors, her dear sweet wise master. How could he have dared to send her, his precious darling he had bounced upon his knee, into this mission, to place her in such peril? This had to be of the utmost importance to them. She knew one thing for certain: the reward she had in store for herself would be well worth the risk. If one’s master held such power it naturally followed that his disciple should inherit it, when her time came.
It would mean the end of her and Aru. She felt badly about that. She knew he loved her more than his House or even his career. She, in turn, loved him deeply as well, especially now, after all this. She always would, forever. She had from the moment she had set foot on this ship to serve as navigator, and then as first officer under the brave, intrepid, and very handsome Captain Psyron... It was a magic love, star-crossed and eternal. The future though, should it continue on for them, had other plans. Change was inevitable as they each moved forward along their destined paths, and hers was first and foremost the path to power. If only he could see his own life that way, things could be....
The pod door popped opened. She starred blankly out into the bridge for a moment, then literally jumped out and sprinted to the main holograph.
Aru emerged wide eyed, looking about as if he needed to remind himself he still existed. He smiled broadly and joined her at the station.
“Kinny? Kinny!” she called out. There was no holograph on display, the whole chamber seemed dead as a rock, but the lighting was on. That was something at least.
“System! System, respond!” Aru yelled out, only to hear his voice eerily echo from the bridge chamber walls.
“So....” she began, “we're not dead then, right?”
“Right,” he agreed “at least… well, I'm still not entirely sure. But assuming we aren't, that means we made it into the sphere's force shield and presumably are now encompassed within it.”
“We're going to need to anchor into it somehow to get out of here, you realize?” she said. It was a rather obvious obstacle, but they hadn't gotten that far in their improvised plans before carrying them out.
Aru seemed confident. “We can use an accelerated ion drill generated from the ships main circuit if System can fashion up a head for it. I don't care what kind of composition that material is, it can't hold out to that. All we need is a shallow anchor, a centimeter even, joined to the five spoke stubs.”
Mei nodded, that sounded right. “KINNYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. It seemed to do trick. The consoles re-lit and the holograph started flickering.
System's voice sounded broken and off. It let off a series of screechy machines noises through the com system, then began to normalize.
“C-C-Captain, Commander. I am back online. The overload shut down everything. Ship's systems will require several more minutes to fully reconstitute.”
“Get the holograph up!” Aru commanded.
“Negative, Captain. Holograph is still offline. I can tell you that we are in position around the sphere. The capacitor, our ejected hub, is still absorbing the current from the photosphere. I cannot predict how long it will hold out.”
“Kinny, we need to anchor into the sphere from the spoke hubs. Can you set up ion drills there?”
“Negative, Commander. Due to extensive and continuing thermal damage it is not possible to transport or configure equipment to those areas.”
“Crap! We can't sit here, and we can't leave til that thing is anchored.”
“Tetherweb?” offered Aru.
Mei considered it then cued the ship. “System?”
“Affirmative, Captain. We could fire tethers from the track of the inner ring crisscrossing the sphere and pull them taught. This should adequately stabilize our new hub.”
The holograph suddenly came online. Mei saw the old hub lit up like a fireworks show, sparking and flashing and vibrating violently. It was going to blow soon, and once it did, they would be next in an instant.
“Do it!” she ordered. “As fast as possible. Then without delay... fire up the engines and get us the hell out of here.”
“Aye, Commander.”
She watched the tethers flying across the center of the ship, up and over and under the sphere, and their ends reattach on the opposite side of the inner ring. It was a mesmerizing sight to watch them dance and weave themselves into a loose net-like structure. Then, in one sudden coordinated set of motions, the entire structure pulled taught, securing the sphere.
The Kinetic's thrusters began firing, moving the ship away from the unstable hub capacitor. They couldn't gain distance from that volatile sparking capacitor fast enough.
Aru, who was immersed in the shield readings, saw a very promising sign. “Our new force shield, it's holding!”
“We can make it through the corona then?”
“I believe so, but it doesn't solve our thermal problem. I suggest we make course for Carousel 7.”
No. That wouldn't do. How could they arrive at a Fleet Base in this condition –and with this huge conspicuous sphere bulging out their center?
“Absolutely not, Aru. We didn't go through all this to give our prize up to High Command.”
“We're melting down, and it's not going to get any better outside the star. We need some way to dissipate this heat.”
“One thing at a time, love,” she told him. “It's kept us going this far, hasn't it?” And it was truly a miracle that they were still alive. If it weren't for their new hub and the superior shielding it afforded them, they certainly would not have any chance of enduring this coronal exit intact.
The Kinetic's thrusters were at full burn to achieve escape velocity. What fortune their new shield generator allowed them to do that with no seepage at all. She remembered how slow and carefully they had approached this star; now they were hightailing it out with every last spit of thrust they had at their disposal.
Aru fretted on and on about the inner ring thermals. He even showed her a picture of the atrium on the opposite end of the ring. It was 230 C in there, and the plants were literally cooking. So much for fresh salad today, she thought. Then her mind turned to her bedchamber. It had been spared so far, but was queued up to come into the hot zone shortly. She could not deal with losing all her stuff, and ordered System to divert resources to protect her quarters. When that wasn't possible she ordered System to deliver all her belongings here, to the bridge. Crate after crate after crate, books and clothes and swords and armor, toy animals, pipes and herbs, knick-knacks and all the treasures of her hoarding. Seeing it all piled in one place like that made her wonder how it all had ever fit in her quarters to begin with. Aru hated, absolutely hated, all her stuff, or “crap” as he called it. But weighed against the crisis, he seemed to put it into context.
“I almost starting bitching about your crap,”
he told her “I'd say on the whole though, that's a good sign.”
She smiled. She initiated an ambient holograph called “Snowy Delight” that made the entire bridge appear to be in a flaky downfall of white powdery snow with pine trees and stars, and icy mountains in the distance.
Mei thought it might take the edge off all this thermal fretting, but Aru complained that the energy required to project that hologram was in fact just producing more heat.
Mei ate her first meal in... in she couldn't remember how long. She eyed her herb cabinet and vaporizer in her 'crap-pile'. It was quite the temptation, but this situation was far from resolved. They were still burning up from the inside out.
The course was plotted to exit at a high eccentricity from the solar ecliptic plane, below the southern tropic of Rubeli, to avoid the orbit of The Stones and almost certain annihilation by particle beam.
For the first time since they entered into this ordeal, open Taiji broadcasts started coming through. Aru tuned directly to the Fleet updates, and Mei went straight for Occitanian news networks. Fourteen messages from her mother… ugh! Later. In her homeworld news there'd been a successful extraction of Anarchy defectors by The Service. Mnemtech had finally begun to enforce his ban on gold-trading in her home nation of Tropica. That was not good news for her clan who conducted half their business in tax-free gold trading, but this had been a long time in coming and she felt confident they would adapt.
System announced: “Incoming transmission for Captain Psyron from merchant Captain Kiroxes of the Graincarrier Cargo Group.”
Mei stopped what she was doing. This was good.
“System, play,” said Aru.
A polished and well-spoken Rubelian commercial captain appeared on screen.
“Captain Psyron of the Kinetic Dream. This is Captain Kiroxes of the Graincarrier VIII Cargo Group. Hail and well met in the service and honor of our glorious Lords Mnemtech and Logos.”
Hahaha. He was playing both sides of it like most of those cowards in the merchant fleet. The message went on:
“We are coming out of a gravity assist around Rubeli bringing our freighter group on a return run to Occitania, tracking your position by some 60,000 kilometers, and we were quite surprised to see your vessel on our telemetry at this high eccentricity. Our readings also showed that you are coming out of there extremely hot. And I was just wondering if you needed our assistance?”
Mei jumped up. “See! That's a whole cargo group, they run biomass from Occitania to Rubeli, then return with machine cargo. Make up some bullshit, and get us some heatsinks, fuel, and sensor arrays so we can sail straight on to Occitania.”
Aru nodded in agreement and took a few moments to compose his thoughts. “System, record reply message to Captain Kiroxes.”
“Ready at your will, Captain.”
“Captain Kiroxes, this is Captain Psyron of the Kinetic Dream returning your video message. Hail Logos the Wise and Supreme. As you may have heard, we've been running experimental solar expeditions in the Kinetic. Our most recent run has put us in the midst of a thermal crisis, and we are in immediate need of heatsinks, a dozen if you have them. Please send them by way of your fastest drones. Also, if possible, we request you jettison us a 12 gram container of fuel-grade antimatter, 20 expeditionary probes, 5 particle accelerator drill heads, and a variety of replacement sensors and other parts that I will have my ship's system relay to yours along with this video message. I realize it is a tall order, Captain, and I will include a voucher of my personal seal guaranteeing that you will be compensated at 150% of these goods sale value by the Fleet and in a timely manner. Please confirm, and get those heatsinks out to us at once. I and my House are very grateful for your assistance. System, attach a parts list and send.”
“Message sent, Captain.”
Mei knew it wouldn't take long. There was no hyper-relay, but the communication delay at their relative distance was less than a minute.
Five minutes later system reported a new message from Captain Kiroxes.
“Captain, the heatsinks you requested have been dispatched and shall arrive to you in the hour by our fastest drones. We are still putting together the rest of your order. It seems a few of the sensor parts you require are unavailable, but we'll let our ships' AIs sort all that out. The fuel and probes you requested will be forthcoming. I'm very pleased to help you, Captain. You know, I am married into House Luxe on your homeworld, neighboring your House's lands. As a merchant trade captain, I've long sought an audience with Lord Psyron, your uncle, regarding a proposition for the use of your family's mineral rights that would be very lucrative for all involved. Well, if you have the time in the future, perhaps we could discuss it?”
This was great! The crisis was coming to an end. They would soon get this meltdown reversed and be flying back toward Cearulei Azur, to Occitania, the beloved homeworld she had not set foot upon for several long years.
Aru was delighted too. He replied to the message. “Captain, I am truly in your debt. I will personally arrange an audience for you with my uncle, and hear out your proposal myself so I may endorse its merits to my clan!”
They smiled and laughed. Life: they got to keep it. And Mei had her prize. Once the ship was back in something resembling working order, they were going to crack this nut and finally see what secrets it held.
“System, brandy. Two,” Mei ordered. Aru seemed surprised since she almost never drank, but she handed one glass to him and lifted hers. “Drink up, my Captain. We did it!” They clinked glasses and poured back their liquor. It burned Mei's throat and made her eyes bug out a bit, but even that felt good.
After a brief celebration Aru began obsessing over the maintenance readings again. Mei, knowing that relief was on the way, went back to the news broadcasts without undue concern over the matter.
Sports... blah blah blah. New virtual realm online.... who cares? Pangea: The Realms of Peace. “For the first time ever in recorded history, the secluded nations of The Pangea are without any states in declaration of war on another. With the final treaty between the States of Karnica and Scythe signed today, all corners of the continent are without violent civil or tribal conflicts. The credit goes to the Internal Service of The Order whose two decades long program has finally succeeded in achieving its highest aim. If only our Arathian side of the world could take a cue from the Pangea...”
Mei rolled her eyes. The Service taking the credit for that rather disgusted her. She knew very well who it was that had almost singlehandedly made that continental-wide peace a reality: The Wandering Monk, disciple of The Mountain Sage -the master of her master's master.
Crossing Paths
Adjusting to the hazy light of single lantern in a dark hall, Gahre's vision slowly came into focus. His eyelids closed and opened several times in groggy confusion. The drifting scent of sandalwood incense gently wafted in the still air. He felt warm and clean and dry. His eyes burst open in sudden awareness of his waking state. He was in one of a dozen rustic wooden beds with straw-stuffed mattresses, blanketed and loosely swathed in linens that covered an inner layer of bandaging over much of his body. Every muscle ached as he sat stiffly upright, and there was a tightness in his abdomen that turned to dull pain. On the simple wooden nightstand was a pitcher of water. His parched lips cracked as they opened to accept the liquid, which he drank all of in short order. His stomach immediately cramped, and he regretted acting so immoderately. A dozen beds in a chamber of crudely curved wall and ceiling, as though it had all been chiseled within living wood. The Tree! Yes, his mind was now reluctantly recalling the hellish night that had led him there. Comparatively speaking, he felt quite well. He set his right foot down on the floor and applied pressure to it. It hurt but not terribly so. Standing, he found his robing folded in a box at the foot of the bed, dry and laundered. There was a main double-doorway cut into the far end of the chamber and two smaller doors on his end, which he explored first. One led to a kitchen, which was open air on the far end, Cear
ulei’s rays shining in through a winding ceiling of root lattice. The area was clean and swept, but had otherwise not known any use for some time. The cabinets held some sacks of dried field peas, some rice, and there were jars of preserved greens and peppers, and an impressive collection of dry culinary spices, everything from salt to dill to anise. He imagined he should like to fix himself something here, but first he ought discern more precisely where “here” was.
The other door led to some carved stairs and down to a dank underground area that had the faint odor of stale sewage. It was a latrine that drained back into a dark under-root aquifer of some kind. He made use it then made his way back to the double doors. The opened them to reveal a spacious temple.
The large cathedral chamber was formed naturally by massive arching roots. The floor was laid with roughly hewn stone pavers, again swept clean. Flickering prayer candles illuminated an altar towered over by a lotus-seated wood carving of Fo, with his arms and hands held out in a particular manner. These statues always formed such gestures, and Gahre had often wondered at their meaning. It seemed to him that even in stillness they communicated a profound language of the divine.
The incense burner on the altar was mostly ash. An antique and finely carved cabinet astride the altar held more. Dharmaism was the most common religion in the realms and an influence on Gahre, though he seldom practiced. He remembered more flashes of the dreadful passage that had led him here. He recalled praying to Fo, with the desperation of man finding religion on the verge of death, and the last thing he remembered seeing was a living statue of Fo opening its eyes him. Based on that, he decided he had best to pay his respects.
He lit a handful of incense which he held above his head as he knelt before the altar, bowed, and said “Thank you, Fo.” He dropped the burning incense into the brass burner and made his way to the sunlit opening on the other end of the temple. It exited into a courtyard, with simple wooden benches and walled in by high roots that left in their gaps openings and paths. Looking up he could see the massive trunk and branches of the Great Oak towering over all. He wandered through this rhizome maze under the warm afternoon sun til he came upon a clearing with a fire burning neath a raised pot in a simple makeshift brew station. There he saw a thin, lightly robed and sandaled older man trudging toward him from the opposite way bearing a hefty bucket of water, which he set down at once upon sighting Gahre.
DUALITY: The World of Lies Page 12