by James Axler
Krysty joined them a few minutes later and forestalled any questions regarding her appearance by saying she was going to clean up first. After scrubbing off most of the muck she rejoined the others in Doc’s quarters where the console seemed to be on the blink with a dead orb.
She relayed her story to the others, heard Mildred’s, then the two women were struck dumb by Ryan, J.B. and Doc’s tale of what they had found.
The only good discovery was a bottle of something called Absolut Mandarin that Ricky and Jak had brought back from the maintenance room. It was a clear, potent liquor that tasted of oranges, and they passed it around while everyone told their stories.
Now Jak took the half-empty bottle back and raised it to his lips for a swallow. He lowered it, wiped his mouth and belched. “’Kay, everything sucks here. So when we get out?”
“Hang on a bit, Jak.” Ryan held his hand out for the bottle. “Ricky, did you find anything out about where the comp is located?”
The Puerto Rican kid nodded. “I did find a door marked with its name. It had a handprint reader as well as the keycard slot and number pad. I didn’t touch anything. I did not know what the comp might do.”
“Good boy.” Ryan still looked at Ricky. “What’d you find out about the suit?”
The teen cleared his throat. “It’s almost ready to go. All it needs is its batteries recharged. And the oxygen to be refilled.”
“Did it have a connection to AIDAN?” J.B. asked.
Ricky shook his head. “It did at one time, but the other engineers disconnected it.” He hesitated. “There is one thing...”
“What?” Ryan asked.
“The oxygen...it’s something I’ve never seen before. The operator must breathe a liquid oxygen to work this thing outside.”
“Liquid oxygen?” Doc asked. “I take it you are not talking about the fuel they used for the big rockets from the space program of the latter twentieth century?”
“Actually, Doc, he is,” Mildred said. “LOX is the same thing, whether it’s used in a rocket engine or for breathing at high pressures. That was how we kept our subjects going into the cryo-tubes—a very small portion of liquid oxygen was diffused through the solution to keep our lungs working at a low capacity. Since it was so concentrated, they didn’t have to use much.” She turned to Ricky. “Is there any down there?”
Ricky nodded. “Yes, lots.”
Now Mildred smiled. “Good. Because along with its breathable properties, it is an excellent explosive. And, so help me God, we are going to destroy this base if it is the last thing I do.”
“Amen to that,” Krysty said. “But how are we supposed to do it without AIDAN discovering what we’re up to?”
“And let’s not forget we still don’t have a way out of this place, either,” Ryan said. “Blowing the place sky-high won’t mean jackshit if our asses are still stuck here when it goes.”
“Actually, might sort have way out,” Jak said as he pulled a folded, grease-stained piece of paper from a pocket of his jumpsuit. “Found map whole place.” He stabbed a pale finger at a section of the base that stuck out from the rest of the complex, connected by a tunnel. “Escape pods here.”
“Now we’re talking,” J.B. said.
“Yeah, but Jak and I went to find them,” Ricky said. “It’s cut off from the rest of the complex by a cave-in. Hard to know if it was natural or if the comp made it happen.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Ryan said. “What matters is getting over there, seeing if the pods are still there, and whether they’re useable.”
“Hold up, lover,” Krysty said. “I’m seeing all sorts of problems with that idea. What if you don’t make it over there? What if you do, but get trapped there? There’s no way we’ll be able to get to you if, Gaia forbid, something happens to you.”
“The situation we’re in now doesn’t leave a lot of options,” he replied. “Die out there, die in here, there’s not much difference. Except out there I’m trying to find a way out of here for us.”
“True, but that still leaves the rest of us here,” Mildred said. “There has to be some way to get the rest of us over there, as well, otherwise it might as well be on the moon.”
“I think I’ve got that covered,” J.B. said. “Ricky, did you spot a welding torch down in maintenance?”
The kid nodded. “It works, too.”
“Even better. We’ll strip that submersible of anything it doesn’t need and weld the thickest plates we can find over the broken portholes. Assuming there’s a pod to get to, we all get inside and Ryan drags us over there. We’ll all have to get a bit close, but it’s nothing we haven’t done before.”
“And he’s going to haul us all over?” Doc asked. “The weight of the shell and glass and everything would have to be several tons all by itself.”
“I’m open to other suggestions if anyone’s got them,” J.B. said. No one said anything. “Okay, then we go with what we have.”
“You really think it’ll hold together long enough to make it?” Ricky said.
J.B. shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t rightly know. The pod can’t be that far away. It’s just got to make it over and hold up long enough for us to get out. You and I’ll probably have to do some figuring, see how long we think it can survive at this depth.”
“Sounds like something that can be done while I’m checking out the pod itself,” Ryan said. “Could be there isn’t even any power over there, which’ll put an end to our escape plans double quick.”
“What’ll we do if that’s the case?” Ricky asked.
Mildred answered before Ryan. “Then we destroy the base with us inside.” She looked around at everyone. “No way am I going to leave that electronic nightmare behind to make more monstrosities. No matter what, we’re taking that thing out before we go, no matter how it happens, with us inside or out. We have to.” Her tone brooked no argument, and the expression on her face dared anyone to disagree.
“All right, then,” Ryan said. “Right now, we all have to play our parts. Above all, keep quiet about what we found out about the procreation program.” He made sure he caught everyone’s gaze as he said that. “Right now this comp seems willing to work with us, and we don’t want to do anything to put it on its guard. Are you going to be all right in the lab, Mildred?”
She regarded him with the same thousand-yard stare she’d given the others. “I’ll be fine.”
“How about you, Krysty?” he asked.
“Once I make sure no other mutant plants are in there waiting to kill me, sure.” She snapped her fingers, as if remembering something. “Oh yeah, one of you maintenance personnel needs to take a look at the comm console in there. It’s burned out or something.”
“Best way to deal with the plants will be to send a couple ’borgs in first,” J.B. said, as pragmatic as ever. “As soon as that’s taken care of and we prep the suit, I’ll come over and have a look at the console.”
“All right, everyone should try to get some sleep,” Ryan said. “It’s going to be a real long day tomorrow.”
Chapter Thirteen
Of course, one of the first things Ryan and Krysty had done after quarters had been assigned was to move into the same room.
Freshly showered, she was lying facedown on the bed, dressed only in her bra and panties, while Ryan kneaded her limbs. They’d found that it often helped alleviate the stiffness and sore muscles that she could get after using the power of Gaia. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the massages usually turned into lovemaking, either.
“Mmm...you’re getting better at that every time, lover,” she purred, stretching her lithe arms.
“Trader always said practice makes perfect,” Ryan said, flicking a damp curl of black hair out of his eyes as he finished rubbing her thighs and moved on to her back. “’Course, I doubt he ever got the chance to practice on a woman as beautiful as you.”
“Well, aren’t you the silver-tongued devil today,” she replied through a lazy smile. “It’s a good thing he
didn’t, either—I liked the man, but I wouldn’t have put up with him laying a finger on me.”
“Trader was never like that,” Ryan replied, then fell silent as he thought of the grizzled man. They’d had to leave Abe and him in dire straits a while ago, with coldhearts and muties all around. Ryan knew the old man was canny, but he wasn’t sure if even he could have escaped that circle of death. But if there was a way, the old man would’ve found it, he thought. Just like we’re going to find one out of here.
“You all right, lover?” Propping herself on her elbows, Krysty flipped a thick strand of crimson hair over her shoulder as she looked back at him. “Noticed you stopped the massage.”
“Sorry...just spinning my wheels, I guess,” he replied. “Thinking about the old man.”
“And when we last saw him?” she asked, making Ryan raise his eyebrows. “Not hard to figure out, lover, seeing as how we’re in sort of the same predicament.”
“Yeah,” he replied. “Least he was going take the last train under the open sky.”
“You don’t think he’s gone, do you?”
Ryan shrugged. “Can’t say. But if there was a way out of that shithole, he’d have found it.”
“We’re going see the open sky again, too. I know we will,” she said.
“’Course we are,” Ryan said as he returned to his ministrations.
“Is that a note of doubt I hear?” she asked as she turned to lie down again.
“Mebbe,” he replied. He’d never lied to her before, and he wasn’t going to start now. “J.B. said we’ve never been in this kind of situation before, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right. Our options’re down to slim and none. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to fight to the last breath, but we’re in some real deep shit here, any way you look at it.”
“True. It’s not like we can just up and head over the next hill, or back to a redoubt. The possibility exists that we may not escape this place.”
“Now you’re starting to sound like Doc,” Ryan said. A thought came to him, but he paused, not sure how to ask it. Finally he shrugged and plowed ahead. “Have you ever thought about it?”
“What? About my death, you mean?” Krysty asked.
“Well...yeah. Don’t worry, I’m not stupe enough to say it’s not out there, ’cause it is, just about every day we draw breath.” Ryan licked his lips as he thought about his next words. “But...if the end came for you, and you knew it beforehand, what would you think?”
“About my life?” Krysty raised herself again to look at him. “I have thought about it, lover—I’ve thought about it a lot. I think we’ve brought light into a lot of dark places in the time we’ve spent together. And though we may not live to reap what we’ve sown, I don’t think there’s any doubt that there’s a lot of people who surely will. And if that’s all we leave behind, well, I can’t say that I’d be ecstatic about it, but it would be enough.”
“Yeah...so many of our days’re just running, fighting and surviving that it’s hard to recall if we left any good in our wake.” As Ryan spoke, he eased the bra strap down over her shoulder.
“Why, Mr. Cawdor, are you trying to change the subject?” she asked as his big hand drifted down under her arm to cup her full breast.
“Just resuming my duties,” Ryan said, interspersing his words with kisses on her shoulder. “Wouldn’t be right...of me to...massage your back...all this time...and neglect...your gorgeous front...now, would it?”
“No, it wouldn’t, indeed.” Krysty eased over on her side, slipping the other bra strap free and removing the silky fabric, leaving her magnificent breasts free as she lay back on the pillow. Her red hair slowly spread out, fanning itself around her on the bed, making her look like a welcoming, fire-haired goddess. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
“Just enjoying the view,” he replied as he pulled back to strip off his clothes.
“I imagine I’d enjoy your touch a hell of a lot more,” she said, arching her back so her breasts stood out in proud relief.
“Indeed,” Ryan said as he placed both hands on her, gently massaging her until she moaned with pleasure. Then he bent to kiss her hungrily.
There was no need for words after that—each had been with the other long enough to know what they liked, and each was more than happy to give and receive. But familiarity didn’t breed complacency or boredom for either of them. It served as just the opposite, allowing Ryan and Krysty to fully enjoy and savor every moment.
Afterward, they murmured words of love and comfort, then fell asleep in each other’s arms.
* * *
J.B. AND MILDRED’S evening went somewhat differently.
When they had gotten back to their own shared quarters, he sat on the bed and waved her over to join him. When Mildred did so, he simply put his arm around her, not saying a word. She leaned her head against his shoulder, trying not to tear up again. They stayed that way for a quite a while.
Finally, she raised her head to look at him with a wry smile. “Bet you never thought being the strong, silent type would pay off so well, did you?”
J.B. had removed his glasses and now looked steadily back at her. “There’s times to speak and times to stay quiet. Figured I’d do the staying quiet part till you were ready to speak, that’s all.”
“Thank you, John—for everything.”
“Nothing to thank me for,” he replied. “You’re no shrinking violet, Millie. ’Sides, I suppose finding those ’borgs are ‘alive,’ for lack of a better word, would rattle anyone.”
“Even you?” she asked.
“Sure,” he replied. “You know I prefer being master of my own fate. Can’t even bring myself to imagine what kind of hell that would be.”
She shuddered and leaned closer to him. “I can’t stop thinking about them...stuck in those...mutilated bodies for decades, forced to follow the orders of a mad comp. More than likely they’re all beyond insane by now.” She looked up at him. “We have to put them out of their misery.”
“Sure, just as long as we have our own way out first,” J.B. said. “I don’t like the idea of taking the last train with them, you know?”
Mildred was silent for a while as she digested that. Since beginning her intimate relationship with J.B., she’d grown more attuned to his laconic way of speaking and could usually tell when he was holding back or something was bothering him—like now. “You worried about us making it out?”
“Got lots of concerns,” he replied. “Too many variables, not enough options.”
She hesitated, then pressed on. “What do you give for our chances?”
J.B. exhaled a long, slow breath, then rubbed his hands over his eyes. “Mebbe seventy-thirty.”
Mildred’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
He looked down at her. “That’s against us.”
“Oh.” Silence reigned again for a moment, then she shook her head. “Nope. I’m not going to agree. We are going to make it out of here—all of us.”
J.B. hugged her tight. “That’s the Mildred I like to hear from.”
“Well, good, because that’s the one you’re going to get from now on.” She shook her head. “Been moping around ever since that damn swim under the tunnel. I just haven’t felt like myself. This place—” she looked around the stark, simply furnished room “—those things haven’t helped one bit, either.”
“Yeah, the place definitely doesn’t inspire much in the way of good feelings,” J.B. said. “Tell you what.” He gently disengaged from her and stood to unzip his jumpsuit. “Why don’t you and I go see if we can squeeze into that pitiful excuse for a shower in there, and enjoy a good wash? I feel like I’m still swimming in salt after that dunk, anyway.”
Mildred eyed him speculatively. “And what shall we do afterward, John?”
He looked back at her, a half smile crooking one side of his mouth. “Why, whatever you wish,” he said as he took her hand. “We can just lie on tha
t rad-blasted small bed and cuddle, or you and I can celebrate still being alive in our own way.”
Allowing herself to be helped to her feet, Mildred smiled genuinely at him for the first time since they’d arrived here. “Get in that damn shower,” she said as she also unzipped her jumpsuit. “And make it nice and hot.”
* * *
JAK HAD MANAGED to snag the rest of the bottle from the companions as he had left. He staggered back to his room, drained it and tossed the empty bottle into the corner. “Damn—nothing to do ’round here.”
He said the words out loud to mask his unease. Although he didn’t have Krysty’s connection to Gaia, Jak had been born and bred in the deep bayou country. While they weren’t what most people would call comfortable, at least his home was on real land, under a real sky, and he’d been breathing real air.
This—stuck at the bottom of the ocean in the weird redoubt base—wasn’t even close to where he wanted to be. The recycled air smelled like chemicals, the food was edible but as bland as hell, and there was always that feeling of being watched—
“Do you wish to access the entertainment menu, Mr. Lauren?” AIDAN asked.
More than a little drunk, Jak blinked for a moment, a throwing knife held loosely in his hand as he processed where the disembodied voice had come from. “Uh...yeah. You got vids?” With a twitch, he made the knife disappear again.
“There is a wide variety of films, television shows, and other programs available for your viewing pleasure. Please make your selection from the menu by simply speaking it.”
A bright light flickered on from above the bathroom, and Jak whirled to see a large menu projected onto the far wall. Ever since he’d first seen moving pictures, introduced to him by Johannes Ford a couple of years ago, he’d been addicted and tried to watch them every chance he got. “Damn...” He stared at the categories for a long time. “Umm...something with spaceships...and alien muties...”
“Scanning...” Another list popped up.
Jak chose the very first one. “Alien.”
“Your selected film is playing now.” The vid started, and the skinny albino sank onto the bed, quickly enraptured by the opening credits.