Terminus Shift (Targon Tales - Sethran Book 2)

by Chris Reher

  She looked up at him. “By telling your Air Command what’s going on here. If they’re such awesome guardians of Trans-Targon, they better be prepared to put a stop to this outrage.”

  He grinned at the Taancer. “Well, you heard her.”

  She turned back to her conversation. “We are looking for friends. In the pyramid. The big house. But we don’t know how to get inside. Do you?”

  “Door.”

  “Yes, but we need a door without the bad people.”

  “Shri-Lan.”

  “Yes, Shri-Lan.”

  The Taancer sat quietly for a moment before coming to its feet. It regarded her curiously, then looked to Seth. Finally, it pointed at the door. “Go below. Where the water is. Other doors underneath.”

  “Show us.”

  “Wait.” Seth indicated the emergency oxygen bottles. “Do we need those?”

  “No. Your air all over.” The Taancer went to the exit, apparently expecting them to follow. It moved quickly along the passage without looking to see if they kept up. They took a corner and then ducked into a low crawlspace lined with pipes and cables before emerging into a larger space. It finally stopped to point at a hatch on the floor.

  “Door,” it said. “Down to water, follow path to generator. Up from there. Pyramid.”

  “The Taancer’s talking about the oxygen generators,” Ciela said, recalling the building schematics. “Where they separate the oxygen from the water to supply the building. There are a few access shafts to the upper floors from there.” She bent to help the Taancer lift the hatch. “This entry isn’t on the maps.”

  The Taancer looked down into the narrow shaft leading into darkness. “We erased. When Shri-Lan start hurting the people. Sometimes people need hide.” It raised a clawed hand to touch the small ticker affixed to its head and then looked to a door behind them, likely leading outside.

  Seth adjusted his pistol to serve as a torch. “Let’s take a look.” He sat on the lip of the hatch and felt for a set of rungs lining the shaft. He already felt moisture rising from below. “Are there people down there?”

  “Sometimes. My people. Some Shri-Lan. Not many.”

  Seth stepped down a few of the rungs and waited for Ciela to also lower herself into the shaft. She looked up. “Thank you,” she said to the Taancer. “If we can, we will help you. Tell no one you saw us.”

  It tilted its head. “Counter-productive obviously,” their systems translated.

  Ciela snorted and quickly covered her mouth. “All right, let’s go.” She slid lower, between Seth’s hands gripping the ladder. “Are you worried I’ll fall or are you trying to cop a feel?”

  “Bit of both,” he said to her backside and began to descend, giving her a bit more room to make her own way down.

  They took their time to navigate the slippery metal rungs and to stop for a look around when space allowed. The shaft broadened into a cave system and the sound of rushing water seemed to vibrate the air. Some light source now reached them and they quickened their pace until they finally stood on a narrow catwalk. Rusted bolts fixed it to the cave wall above the underground river. Perhaps ten paces across, the river’s depth was hidden beneath the churning foam.

  “Someone’s down here,” Seth said, working with his scanner. “Multiple life signs.”

  Ciela looked along the deserted catwalk. It eventually disappeared into the mist rising from the water but nothing moved within sight.

  Seth held his arm over the low railing that would probably do little to keep a body from tumbling into the river. “In the water.”

  “Look!” She pointed to the shapes of some water creatures moving beneath the surface. Pale and flat, each of these was as long as she was tall with fins that looked like slow-moving wings. As they watched, two of them leaped out of the water, spun once and dove back to join their shoal. “Did you see that? I think it looked right at us. How beautiful!”

  “Must be what the Taancers have for dinner.” He smiled, touched by her enthusiasm. “Keep moving. Where’s the access shaft?”

  “This way.” She moved ahead of him. “The generators are fairly close to this side of the pyramid.”

  A movement at his peripheral alerted Seth before he was even aware of reacting. He pushed Ciela against the rock wall just as another of the enormous fish sailed out of the water. Its maw gaped to show backward-slanting teeth. Ciela shrieked when the massive jaws clamped onto the railing with a hair-raising crunch. Finding nothing edible there, the creature flopped back into the river.

  “Beautiful indeed,” Seth said. “Are you all right?”

  She pushed his arm aside, a little embarrassed. “Yeah, just surprised.”

  He bent to pick up a broken tooth. “Swimming is probably not recommended on this planet. Remind me to add that to my database.”

  She started to walk again. “There are monitors all through the generator station. Probably manned.”

  The roar of the water as the channel narrowed soon made it unnecessary to guard their footfalls on the metal walk. A sluice gate diverted water and the occasional winged fish into a broad basin from which massive tanks rose toward the roof of the cave. Grates at the intakes of the tanks kept the fish from slipping into the generators, evidenced by a tangle of decayed parts caught there.

  “Electrolysis,” Ciela said. “Hydrogen just gets vented outside.”

  They ducked out of sight when, among the jumble of pipes and support structures above the tanks, something moved on an open platform.

  “Engineers, probably,” Seth said. “Stay close to the wall. They don’t process the hydrogen?”

  “Not that I saw. Just some for cooling the generators.”

  “Does Pacoby know this?”

  “Huh?”

  “Hydrogen is flammable. If he’s planning an explosion outside we’ve got a bigger problem than we thought. He’ll be counting on the oxygen pipes going everywhere here for his fireworks, not the hydrogen outside when the roof blows off. Where are the vents?”

  “At the top of the pyramid.”

  He nodded. “That’ll help matters some.”

  She pointed to a door set into a metal wall and they sidled toward it, staying out of view of those above. “How do you know he’ll blow the place? He might just try to cut the air supply and be done with it.”

  “Because it’s not as spectacular. He won’t want this to look like an accident.” Seth scanned the space behind the door. “Clear.”

  They stepped through the door to find a circular staircase flanking one of the cylinders. The sound of the water still covered their steps and whatever creaks the not-quite steady treads made but they moved cautiously, hoping that the workers down here had no interest in scanning for intruders.

  “Is it necessary for the stations to be monitored?” Seth asked when they neared the next floor. “Two people up there.” He changed the setting on his gun. “If these are Taancers I’m going to drop them anyway. They won’t be harmed. We just don’t have time to keep explaining what we’re doing here.”

  She smiled. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “Worrying about me. Do what’s necessary, Mr. Union Agent.”

  He grinned back. “I keep forgetting you’re one of those murderous, evil, bloodthirsty Arawaj.”

  They crept to the top of the staircase to reach a platform overlooking the generators. Control stations kept the system functioning to separate hydrogen from oxygen and deliver each to its destination. A man and a woman, both Caspian, stood near one of the consoles, sharing some conversation.

  Seth aimed and shot first one, then the other. They dropped without a sound.

  “Now where?”

  “There’s a lift over there.”

  “An elevator? A box with just one exit? Are there no stairs?”

  “There are. One set per level, leading around the pyramid. We’d be exposed on each landing.”

  “Go. Lead the way. Stop when I say if my scanner picks something up.
”

  She headed for another open staircase beside the lift. The indicator on his wrist would soon be useless. Above them now and all around dozens, perhaps hundreds of life signs moved and merged, making it impossible to discern numbers. The electromagnetic interference from the power conduits leading down to the generators didn’t help, either. He poked at the sensor’s settings, hoping for more precision when he noticed that she had come to a halt on the next landing.

  “I told you—”

  “Look,” she said.

  They had reached the pyramid’s ground level. Massive pillars supported the roof of what seemed to be one open space. Equipment and construction parts littered this level along with drifts of dust and debris. Among this, they saw groups of Taancers huddled on the floor, busy with piles of ore spread out around them. Smaller slaves pushed carts of finished pieces or carried sacks of raw stone.

  Not one of them bothered to look up when they entered although surely some must have seen them. No one spoke but they could hear their rasping breath even from here.

  “Gods, Seth, can’t they even open this space to give these people better air? What would that take?”

  He tugged her along. “Not much. If they cared enough. Come on.”

  She followed, not without another look back at the misery behind them. They found the same conditions on the next floor and hastily moved along. Perhaps the Taancers thought them to be part of their Shri-Lan overseers. Perhaps they didn’t care who passed by here.

  “Next level are living spaces,” she reported. “Dorms, suites, kitchens, common areas. Kinda built like base station modules. The next five floors aren’t really used for anything. Storage, mostly.”

  “I’m guessing everyone is downstairs at the meet-and-greet. Try to look like you belong here in case we run into anyone. We need to find a com station with more access to the other systems.”

  They made it past the residentials to the level above, finding storage, indeed. Seth whistled appreciatively when they walked among crates of weaponry, ammunition, stolen goods of all description, and small machinery. He ran his hand over a stack of Air Command flight jackets, half tempted to take one for himself.

  “Why do they need diamonds?” Ciela ran her hand through a bin of the sparkling gem.

  “Worth a small fortune on Shaddallam. Oh, look, drugs, too.” He moved on to a row of wheeled bins and lifted a lid. “Whoa! Know what this is?” He raised another cover.

  “No. What?”

  He reached in to retrieve a small, shielded cube to show her the inscription. “Fuel tabs. Pure thorium, stolen from a transport going to the Magra Alaric base a couple of months ago.” He surveyed the number of bins here. “Could run the entire Shri-Lan operation for the next five years with this.”

  “And they just store it here in buckets? That’s crazy.”

  “They’ve been called worse.” He returned the cube. “I could use some of this.”

  “No time for looting! Stairs are over there. There should be a sub-station there that controls the air exchange for these levels. Might have more access.”

  Seth crept up the metal stairs, testing each riser for creaks. Someone less concerned about making noise walked around up there, not far from the stairwell. Ciela peeked past Seth’s shoulder to get a look at the equipment.

  She shook her head and indicated her neural node, then her hand. The model used for this station required a live handprint as well as a neural interface to operate. Seth nodded and cautioned her to stay behind. He shifted his weight and waited until the technician moved to the control console before he launched himself soundlessly at the Human. With just a few quick moves he had him firmly in his grip and his gun at the man’s throat. “Not a sound,” he said.

  Ciela came up and surveyed the control console. “Ancient,” she whispered. “Look at those levels.”

  “You’re an expert in air conditioning now?”

  “No. It says ‘warning’ on them. I’m guessing that’s a warning. You know, that something’s wrong somewhere.”

  Seth shuffled the Human to the interface panel. “Let’s see your hand.”

  The Human struggled weakly in some token effort at resistance but like most rebel encounters like this, Seth expected him to look after his own life before serving his cause. He appreciated that about rebels. It was Air Command personnel that didn’t give up so easily.

  Ciela pulled the man’s hand away from his body and held it to the console while she linked her interface. “Got it.”

  Seth discharged his weapon and let the man sink to the floor. Once Ciela had absorbed herself in the pyramid’s com system, looking for any sign or conversation about the captive spanners, he looked around the control room. A door nearby led into a hall, nicely appointed and likely reserved for more important residents. At the far end he saw a broad, paneled staircase, far less utilitarian than the one they were using. “See if you can find out where that goes,” he said to Ciela, who just nodded.

  Seth checked his scanner and stepped into the hallway, then peered into an adjoining room. An empty lounge. There was music playing somewhere up here. Perhaps not everyone had been sent below to keep an eye on the Arawaj visitors. The entire pyramid seemed strangely deserted.

  He moved a little further when a boot caught him in midriff to slam him into the wall and a fist met his jaw when he doubled over. Another shot to the side of the head dropped him. He groaned and looked up into the barrel of a gun. Someone stepped on his arm until he released his gun.

  Then someone else came into view. He squinted at the woman now bending over him and dropped back with something halfway between a moan and a laugh. “Whiteside.” He rubbed his jaw. “Should have known.”

  The tall, red-haired Human seemed less amused. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Leave him!” a new voice ran out behind them.

  The woman turned to face Ciela standing in the hall, gun in hand. She grasped it inexpertly but the look on her face showed clear determination.

  “Drop that!” Seth and the Human said at the same time.

  “Step away from him!” Ciela said, looking confused.

  The woman nodded to the Centauri that had brought Seth down and both backed away. “What’s going on, Seth?” she asked.

  Ciela blinked. “You know her?”

  Seth sat up, wincing. “Meet Captain Nova Whiteside. Vanguard.” He waved at the Human. “Nova, meet Ciela. Ciela, please put that down. They’re not Shri-Lan.”

  “Air Command, then?” Ciela said with obvious contempt but lowered her pistol.

  The captain glanced from Ciela to Seth. “Another of your Arawaj pals, Kada? It’s going to end badly with you some day.” She offered her hand to help him to his feet.

  “She’s my navigator,” he said.

  “Uh huh. So why are you here?”

  “Probably the same reason you are. How many on your team?”

  “Five.” Three more Union agents stepped into the hall behind her, weapons poised. “He’s one of Carras’ people,” she said to them and then turned back to Seth. “Two more in the west hangar. We couldn’t get more agents in here. Took us two months to get this far. Our initial mission was to take out the Brothers but then someone decided they want the spanners real bad.”

  “Well, that’s something we all have in common, then,” Seth said.

  “Mission priority’s shifted, in fact. I’m guessing someone on Targon is making noise. So here we are, sifting Shri-Lan for damn Delphians.”

  Ciela glared at the captain.

  “She doesn’t mean it,” Seth said. “She’s married to a Delphian officer.”

  Nova Whiteside smiled. “Who had the good sense not to try to disguise himself as a Centauri on a mission crawling with Centauri rebels. Navigator, huh?” She raised an eyebrow at Seth. “Something tells me this is the missing spanner. Who, for reasons utterly inconceivable to me, you decided to bring right into the lion’s den instead of straight to Targon.”


  “That’s a big cat,” Seth explained.

  “I know what a lion is,” Ciela snapped. “I’m here to find my friends. To you they might be just some prize but not to me.”

  “And she kinda brought me,” Seth added. “She’s not a prisoner. The others don’t really look like Delphians, either. So careful where you shoot.” He tapped his data sleeve. “So how’d you get past my scanner?”

  “Top secret.”

  “Don’t hold out on me, Red.”

  She exhaled a dramatic sigh. “New scatter pattern. We’re field testing. I’m sure Carras will let you work for your own copy soon enough.”

  “You people have all the fun toys,” Seth said. “Shall we team up?”

  “Seems wise, since you’re lit up like a Qivafest pole on the sensors.” Whiteside smirked. “Although you seem to have lost your touch. What happened to those cobra reflexes, Kada? You went down awfully easy.”

  Seth frowned at the massive Centauri beside her. She was right; he had been careless, convinced that the place stood empty. He turned to Ciela. “Did you find them?”

  “Yes,” Ciela still glowered suspiciously at the Human. “Did you people know the Taancers are being used like slaves?”

  “We do now. Air Command is launching a clean-up operation. Some ships should be here in less than ten hours. The Brothers will be long gone by then. So if you know where the… your friends are, this is the time to share the information.” She tilted her head in the direction of the main staircase. “We’re assuming they’re on the upper decks somewhere. But anything from two floors up is heavily guarded. We won’t be allowed through there, Shri-Lan or not. We were trying to find another way when you started stomping around here.” She tipped a wink to her silent companion. “Unfortunately, I didn’t see you before Retan did.”

  “Apology accepted.” Seth led the way back to the control room near the service stairs. “Ciela was able to hack into their database. She knows the layout, what with having a big Delphian brain.”

  “They’re on the same level where the planes are,” Ciela reported. She reactivated her open link to the console and quickly retrieved the schematics of the pyramid while all but one outlook crowded around. The space seemed to be some sort of lounge overlooking the valley. Three of the five sides were made of panoramic windows with a door at each corner leading onto the transparent terrace. From there, steps led down into the umbilicals to the parked ships. “My people are locked in this room there, on the side of this big open space. From what I heard, there are guards there, keyed up. Waiting for something to happen. The meeting, if that’s what is, is on the level above, beside the control tower. I didn’t find any recording of what’s going on in there but someone complained that they’re drinking a lot up there.”