Carbon Life

by HR Ringer

  The salarian’s mouth fell open in astonishment. No one had ever questioned his authority, especially not some lowlife human laborer! “Now listen here, human, I won’t…”

  “… you won’t what?” Xiùlán leaned in slightly and got right in his face, something she knew would really make him mad as she hissed through clenched teeth, “If you leave now, I may not have to rip those horns from your head and feed them to you!”

  Mouth still open, eyes wide in bewilderment, the Eclipse salarian took a step back from Xiùlán as he pondered the best course of action. Studying her face… her eyes… sent a chill down his spine; this brash human with no weapons or armor was threatening him with physical harm, and he suddenly had no doubt she would rip him apart with her bare hands if he didn’t back away from her… carefully.

  Yuán drew herself up to her full height as she continued to scowl at the troublesome salarian. Evidently deciding that pursuing the matter alone would be hazardous to his health, he turned and walked out of the ships’ cargo bay as nonchalantly as he could, intending to call for Eclipse backup.

  “Sà mǐ, did you get the other container?” Xiùlán carried on as if nothing had happened.

  “Shit!” Traynor had heard the entire exchange through Xiùlán’s comlink. “Did you kill that batarian?”

  “Not deliberately. Dhevile Creg’falak did say the blood vessels in their necks are rather susceptible to external pressure… our Mr Dha’kerr here must have had really weak blood vessels. I didn’t grab him that hard.”

  “Dammit! You know a postmortem inspection will show bruising on his neck.”

  “Can’t worry about that right now, my love. Did you get the other pod, and did you hack the cameras?”

  “Yes to both questions,” Traynor replied, her voice uncharacteristically flat. “Now get out of there – we need to get the ‘ell off this dock, now! That little salarian you intimidated is attempting to call for backup… I’m blocking his transmissions, but we need to get back to the shuttle so we can return to the Ionsaí and get positioned to follow the Laedar Medicus.”

  “Okay, Sà mǐ, I’m on my way.” Xiùlán worked her way past the scurrying workers and the mass of containers being brought into the ship. As soon as she was in the main yard, she walked a circuitous path out to the main gate, which was guarded by a pair of batarians, both wearing Eclipse armor overlaid with electronically generated tech armor. Fortunately, they had apparently not been informed by the salarian of his suspicions regarding the sudden death of one of their brethren, and they were not required to prevent anyone from leaving the docks.

  Traynor was already outside waiting for her; as soon as they were out of sight behind some heavy equipment, they relaxed just a bit while Sammy checked the signals being generated by the trackers. “Both signals are five by five, Luv… should be no trouble picking ‘em up once they’re unloaded on Zorya.”

  Xiùlán nodded. “Sounds great. Let’s get back to the shuttle. We can send a report to the asari councilor and our ambassador on the Citadel.”

  * * *

  The Ionsaí had jumped to Aquila in the Ismar Frontier, clandestinely shadowing the salarian freighter Laedar Medicus on its trip to Zorya, a garden world in the Faia system. The world was home to the Blue Suns, with headquarters in the colony capital of Thun.

  The diminutive transmitters placed on each target container were working perfectly and the small freighter continuously emitted multiple, easy to follow tracking signals – Samantha knew they only needed to follow one of them, but until the object of their extensive search could be definitively narrowed to one or the other of the two containers, they dared not lose track of either one.

  Traynor was seated in a chair at the weapons control consoles on the Ionsaí’s Command Bridge, watching the view screens alongside ship’s XO Traeria Shoni. It was a rare honor for anyone to be allowed an inflight seat on the Bridge of an asari warship; that Traeria had granted a human the privilege of observing their operations while underway spoke to the positive impression the human women had made on the asari crew.

  Navigator Haedi T'Gabri stretched out an arm and pointed to a small dot that had appeared on her screen. She had the computer place a circle around it so they wouldn’t lose it among all the ships coming and going near the Mass Relay… it’s IFF transponder code definitely identified it as the Laedar Medicus. Haedi looked at Traynor and said, “Since we already know it’s going to Zorya, wouldn’t it be more efficient to simply jump to Zorya, scope things out and wait for the Laedar Medicus to arrive?”

  Traynor grinned in response. “It would… but their flight plan could be a diversion. If they don't arrive at Zorya shortly after our own arrival, we’d have no way of knowing where they went.”

  Haedi fixed her deep green, amber flecked eyes on the young human beside her and replied, “Shadow them through the relay to make sure… we can most certainly do that, Ms Traynor.”

  * * *

  * ZORYA, AQUILA, ISMAR FRONTIER – 0235 LOCAL TIME *

  The Laedar Medicus had offloaded only some of its cargo, including the pair of containers they were tracking, before departing for its next destination in the Minos Wasteland – Traynor had confirmed the signals from the trackers were actually coming from the planet beneath them. What they could not confirm from orbit was the next destination for the two pods. The consensus among Yuán, Traynor and the command staff of the Ionsaí was that whoever was paying the Suns for the figurine certainly did not live on Zorya – there were a number of major cities on a number of planets where the ‘well-heeled’ could live without having to endure the persistent problems brought on by the choking pollen and spores circulating in the air close to the surface, or the political violence, piracy, and drugs plaguing the planet in spite of, or perhaps because of, the presence of the Blue Suns in every colony.

  Based on advice from XO Traeria Shoni, Xiùlán and Sammy had been ferried to the outskirts of the small freight forwarding yard by a pair of Ionsaí commandos piloting their own shuttlecraft; Traeria felt the appearance of the human’s beat up looking UT-47 would garner unwelcome notice from the turians guarding the yard.

  The tangle of trees and undergrowth choking the area had been cleared to bare dirt by heavy machinery around the perimeter fence, leaving no cover of any kind for 20 to 25 meters between the fence and undergrowth. After carefully observing the area from various angles, the humans energized their cloaking shields and carefully made their way to the rear corner of the compound closest to where they detected the signals coming from the two containers.

  Traynor was close enough to the main office to hack into the computer responsible for matching freight to appropriate transports, taking into consideration volume capacities, speed capabilities and schedule requirements. What she discovered was almost more than she could believe. “They’re moving ‘em back to Omega, Luv! What the bloody ‘ell?”

  “Are you sure that’s right, Sà mǐ? Why ship the thing out of Omega only to return it? Doesn’t make sense!”

  “That’s the point, I guess. Blue Suns don’t have to make sense. They’re all about making creds, however they can.” Traynor shut down her omni-tool and said, “Come on… let’s get back to the Ionsaí. I have the name of the freighter and scheduled departure time. We need to take a good long look at a system map.”

  Yuán led the way back to the edge of the forest; once hidden from direct view of the freight yard, they decloaked and began walking back to their rendezvous point. “Why back to Omega, Sà mǐ? Widow system is a straight shot from here, and I really felt the carving would end up in some billionaire’s collection on Bekenstein.”

  “I feel like we’re missing something, Luv. I need to look through some of my old notes.”

  * * *

  * ON BOARD THE IONSAÍ, ISMAR FRONTIER *

  Traynor sat with navigator Haedi T'Gabri in her modest compartment near the Ionsaí’s Bridge; they were looking at star charts depicting the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems, a
reas of space through which any freighter headed to Omega would have to travel. As soon as she saw the chart depicting the space/time corridor between Ismar Frontier and Omega, Traynor realized what the Suns were doing and called Xiùlán to join them.

  “Cartagena Station,” she blurted out when Xiùlán entered. “It’s the only logical reason they could have for seemingly shipping those containers back to Omega. Whoever is buying that artifact will take delivery in the Nemean Abyss.”

  Yuán could see the logic behind Traynor’s reasoning. “So, all we really need to do is follow the freighter when it slips out at the booster relay.” Thinking about the last time she had been on that station, she added thoughtfully, “We need to get Griffen Buchanan to assist us on this. I’ll put in the request, then talk to XO Shoni. Looks like we’ll need to make a quick trip to the Citadel.”

  Chapter 23: Infiltration

  You need a dragon hidden inside you. When you need, you let the dragon out – Anderson Silva

  * * *

  Húdié dāo: [ 蝴蝶刀– Butterfly sword (knife in English)]

  Ionsaí: Strike, or attack (asari)

  Liǔyè dāo: Literally, willow leaf saber (柳葉軍刀); short sword, continuously curved blade; some of these swords feature a sharpened back edge

  from the tip back about a third of the 96.5 centimeter length.

  Shuāng dāo: [雙 刀 – double knife]

  * * *

  * ASARI CORVETTE IONSAÍ – WIDOW SYSTEM *

  Samantha Traynor talked with XO Shoni as she walked with the asari commando to the hanger bay. “This shouldn’t take too much time, Traeria. Buchanan is supposed to be waiting for me at the Alliance docks, along with the equipment we requested.”

  “Are you sure we cannot provide you with a shuttle, Serviceman Traynor?” Traeria Shoni’s silver and copper-flecked eyes betrayed her concern for Traynor’s well-being in the decade-old UT-47 she planned to use to retrieve the third member of their team.

  “I appreciate your concern, Traeria, but we’ll be fine, really. The exterior of that shuttle is as much a disguise as anything Xiùlán or I wear when we’re on the ground. A lot of what you see… the rust and abraded paint, the dirt and apparent wear and tear, has all been carefully applied by Alliance Marines – artists in the application of equipment disguise. The important parts – the engines, Eezo core, Nav computers and flight controls?… All modern, current production equipment. That shuttle is as new as anything coming off the assembly lines today.”

  Still not convinced, Shoni replied, “It doesn’t appear to be safe, Serviceman.”

  Traynor smiled. “Unfortunately for Xiùlán and me, your opinion is shared by other members of the Ionsaí’s crew.” Chuckling, she added, “We had to ask several of them to stop attempting to clean the exterior.”

  The resulting look of horrified embarrassment on the asari’s face caused Traynor to stop and place her hands on Traeria’s shoulders. “XO Shoni! Do not be embarrassed by this! Your crew meant well, and there was absolutely no harm done.” Samantha grinned. “They actually added a bit more authenticity to the camouflage – it looks as if an attempt was made to clean a pair of proximity sensors on the starboard side. Xiùlán cleaned the same pair on the port side to complete the illusion.”

  “Goddess! I am so sorry, Samantha. Our crewmembers all know better than to touch anything belonging to a guest on this ship.”

  “Traeria! Please! Do not trouble yourself over this. It is nothing.” Traynor looked earnestly into the commando’s eyes and waited until Shoni nodded.

  “Because you ask it of me, I will not pursue this matter further, Ms Traynor.” Sam let go of her shoulders and resumed walking with her as she added, “It is strange… I have never been touched by a human before. Your hands… on my shoulders? You have a very solid grip, Ms Traynor. Are all human females so strong?”

  “Not at all,” Traynor giggled. “Xiùlán trained me in hand-to-hand combat. I have spent a lot of time in strength training, usually under higher gravity conditions than on Earth.”

  “How do you achieve higher gravity than standard?”

  “I hacked the environmental controls in the rooms I used,” Traynor replied with a grin. “I was determined to put on as much muscle as possible in the shortest amount of time, so I increased the artificial gravity in whatever room I was using. Working out at one and a half to two times Earth normal builds muscle quite fast.”

  The asari paused to think about the bare-chested view she had gotten of Xiùlán, then asked, “So, your upper body… your arms? You must look very much like SC Yuán.”

  Traynor laughed at this. “I guess so.”

  They had entered the hanger while talking and came to a stop next to the shuttle that had sparked their conversation; Traeria looked the shuttle over as Traynor opened the portside hatch to enter. “I still don’t like it, Samantha. It just doesn’t look… safe.”

  Traynor smiled at the asari as she said, “Please, Traeria… call me Sam. My mother was the only one that ever called me ‘Samantha’, and then it was only when I was in some kind of trouble.”

  Shoni’s face lit with a smile that crinkled the pale blue skin next to her eyes. “Okay, Sam. Give us a call when you touch down on the Citadel, okay?”

  “I’ll do it, Traeria. Be back soon.” Sam closed the hatch and began her pre-flight as Traeria retreated to the hanger entry.

  She began powering up the decrepit looking shuttle’s systems: inertial dampeners, navicomputers, turbo-fuel pumps, environmental pumps and impellers, ME generator… once everything was running to her satisfaction, Sam quickly decreased the shuttle’s apparent mass with increased power to the ME core as she lit the four ventral thrusters to lift the shuttle from the deck. With fore and aft main thruster pods alight for positional stability, she eased the ungainly looking craft out of the Ionsaí’s hanger; once clear of the ship, she turned and headed for the Citadel.

  * * *

  * ALLIANCE SECURE SPACE DOCKS – CITADEL, WIDOW SYSTEM *

  Systems Alliance Operations Chief Griffen ‘Griff’ Buchanan was lounging in the transient hanger bay when Traynor brought the UT-47t in to touch-down beside a row of similarly decrepit shuttles. As the moaning whines from the pumps, ME generator and HVAC impellers spooled down to silence, Traynor popped the hatch and stepped onto the platform. Spotting Griff leaning against a bulkhead, she walked over to greet him.

  “You leave that shuttle parked there any length of time, they’ll sell it for scrap along with the rest of ‘em there,” he smirked.

  Sticking out a hand, she snarked, “Then I hope they get a fair amount of creds for all the tech gear inside that thing.” Letting go of his hand, she looked around at their feet. “Speaking of gear, where’s yours?”

  “In a locker closeby. Didn’t want to have it all lying out here in the open, even if this is a secure dock. My momma raised me to trust that people will be dishonest if given half a chance.”

  Sam looked over her shoulder at her ride. “Guess I better lock the doors on my ride back to the Ionsaí then, unless you’re ready to go.”

  “Let’s get a bite to eat, first. I’m not that big a fan of asari food.”

  Traynor hesitated, then said, “Okay. Let me send a message to the XO on the Ionsaí, then secure the shuttle.”

  * * *

  * SMOKE HOUSE CAFE – CITADEL, WIDOW SYSTEM *

  Buchanan and Traynor sat across from each other at a small table in a modest, human-centric restaurant a half klick from the secure docks. As it was still mid-morning local time, they each ordered breakfast food, even though Sam had eaten a bit before departing the Ionsaí.

  Traynor had her favorite – fried eggs with hash browns, accompanied by a ‘meatless’ bacon substitute, toast and a mug of hot tea, while Buchanan had a mug of coffee and a stack of waffles, which he smothered in what passed for maple syrup this far from Earth.

  As they ate, Sam explained to Griff what she and Xiùlán had been doing the past several m
onths – the search for an ancient asari figurine currently in the possession of the Blue Suns – and of how it was soon to be on its way to Cartagena Station.

  “Research suggests getting to the shipping containers should be relatively easy there… the freight docks are not regularly patrolled by C-Pat, and overhead lighting is sparse… lots of shadows to hide in.” Sam paused as she swirled a forkful of potatoes in the liquid egg yolks, placed them in her mouth, chewed and swallowed. “The main drawback for us will be C-Pat’s members… their entire force is made up of batarians.”

  “Shit! That’ll make it really difficult, since they can see heat signatures,” Griff replied testily, as he used his fork to stab a couple of waffle chunks and put them in his mouth. “Personal cloaking devices are virtually useless.”

  She sipped her tea as she thought about the problem. “Exactly, but in an environment with a bunch of heat sources, like heavy machinery, it might be possible to remain undetected from the background heat sources, if you don’t move.”

  Swallowing his mouthful and taking a swig of coffee, he grumped, “Damned lot of good it does to be there if you can’t move about freely. The other problem with C-Pat is loyalty – as in, loyalty to creds… doesn’t take much to buy them off, particularly if the person flashing the creds is a batarian member of the Blue Suns.”

  Traynor nodded her head in agreement. “Didn’t mean to give the impression it’d be easy to get in and out, Chief. Once we’re on board, we’ll have to access the station’s servers to get a map of the thing – I haven’t been able to find any schematics or maps of the non-public areas – which we’ll have to transit in order to remain beneath their notice.”