Crystal Venom

by Steve Wheeler

Even though they were the centre of attention, Marko was bored spitless. In his entire career he had never got the hang of small talk. Consequently, he was thankful that Jan was at his side to quietly steer him through the evening.

  The ACEs had been ordered to attend by the admiral, much to their delight, and the rest of the crew’s disquiet.

  Marko looked down at the cat, who was sitting on his feet. ‘So, Nail, what are your thoughts?’

  Nail looked up at him shaking his head. ‘These humans are terminally stupid, Marko. They all want to take me home to see their progeny, or go on trips with them. And they all try to pat my head. I really want you to do something about that. The indignity of it. How about some sort of electrification of my fur, or maybe some nice toxic dust? Those would work. How about both: zap them, and then have them itch for a week. I now understand why so many ACEs, once they have served their indenture, take themselves off somewhere far far away. I want to bite one of these people just to see what reaction I get. Glint feels the same. He says this is a very rich hunting ground and wants many kilos of ground-up meat.’

  Marko cringed and was about to say something, but Nail continued. ‘He says he knows where he can find some calamari, which would also make excellent missiles. I’ve been marking targets for him. There are some very dumb people here. How do they get to be where they are? See that woman over there. She is the admiral’s wife. She has just asked the admiral for me to be given to her as a present. He said that you would have to do that as he does not have any control over me, Marko, but you would never do that to me, would you? Please do not smile like that. But she is insisting that as he is the admiral he can do anything he wishes. Flint has heard all this and says not to worry, he has a plan.’

  Marko groaned and wondered if he should intervene as Nail sauntered away, ignoring everyone. He turned to Jan. ‘They are up to something. What should we do?’

  ‘Nothing, Marko. Let’s just sit back and watch the entertainment. I loathe formal dinners.’

  Marko thought hard for a few moments then shook his head and went looking for the ACEs. He found them in the kitchen talking with the chefs and kitchen staff, who were all grinning in anticipation. Glint rolled little balls of minced meat.

  Marko sighed, knowing that he was not going to be popular, and said, ‘OK, ACEs. I am pulling rank. Behave, no pranks, not here, not now. We only just got away with a fairly mild reprimand over the slaver action because we are media stars and the Games Board sanctioned and paid for the damage we created.’

  Glint stopped what he was doing and walked across to stand with Nail and Flint in front of Marko. Marko knew that they would be having a high-speed electronic conversation.

  Flint answered. ‘You are correct, Father. But can we at least have a little fun sometime soon? These people are so stupid in their attitudes. We hate being treated as non equals.’

  Marko nodded and whispered, ‘I love you all and am so proud of you. And you are not equal to many of them as you are actually superior. Come on, let’s go enjoy what will be very good food.’

  As they were about to leave, after what had turned out to be a fairly enjoyable dinner from Marko’s point of view, the admiral shook him by the hand and then leant forwards and quietly said, ‘I wish you well in all your endeavours. And, yes, I am in the market for one of your ACEs. Please contact me soon.’

  As soon as they arrived back on board Basalt, Marko found a formal order and the specifications for the spider, with a very generous offer from the admiral to expedite the build. He acknowledged it then sent the file to Topaz and Ernst, knowing that they had little to do and were bored, even considering shutting themselves down until the work on Basalt was completed.

  *

  A few mornings later Jake arrived unexpectedly and asked if he could have a look at the Gunbus. After they fed him a cup of coffee, and piled up a tray full of fruit for him to take back, they showed him the Gunbus. He looked long and hard at the antigravity units and suggested that he take them back with him to Sledgehammer, as they had older units in the junkyard which were in better order than the ones from the ‘bus. He also suggested that Marko come down to the facility late that afternoon as 73 would be ready by then.

  Jan and Marko had met Jake and his partners, two very pleasant women, for a discreet meal the previous night. It turned out that their passion was ancient aircraft and they had built a reasonable collection, together with a large group of fellow enthusiasts, on one of the thousands of islands on the resort planet below. A number of them were craft that Marko had no knowledge of, which made him more interested than ever. Jake had given them introductions to the guys at the ‘aerodrome’, and when he suggested that they would be able to go for flights in some of the aircraft they were completely sold on the idea of a visit. Marko had told Jake that they had the surviving Gunbus from the show at 27’s foundry on board Basalt and he expressed a great interest in seeing it.

  *

  Just on 5.00 p.m. local time, Harry and Marko took a shuttle to collect the two fighters from the shipyard to return them to Basalt. They sat back on autopilot viewing the shipyards from on high. They watched as one heavy cruiser was lowered by three large brutish-looking tugs into what they both surmised must have been a specially built cradle, because the ship appeared to be missing over a quarter of its lower fuselage, which they knew would take months to regrow. Intrigued, they used the onboard link back to Patrick to first identify the ship in question and then have him look up the back story.

  ‘I have the information. It is a famous old ship called Napoleon. It went up against another recently discovered outpost of the Infant fanatics in what was supposed to be a simple mop-up operation. Well, as we all know simple operations are rarely that. They got seriously knocked around by yet another unpleasant weapon. It is a vapour which, once a ship has passed through it, condenses onto the hull. It then gathers itself into a gel which rolls down the hull to chew on the engine decks. The captain evacuated her crew forwards and to take care of the infection detonated a Compressor against her own ship, after she had vaporised the small base with a Buster. Gutsy effort!’

  Harry nodded in thanks. ‘So, Marko, we still have Infant nutters out there waiting for us, eh? Thought that we had dealt with that shit.’

  Marko’s mouth turned down. ‘Yeah, problem is, Harry, that the whole thing is tied up with the Games Board so who knows what else is out there. Nothing ever showed up with that whole Avian deal that White was talking about, so who knows, mate, who knows?’

  ‘For your interest, Harry and Marko,’ Patrick offered, ‘the specialist salvage Hauler, Barnacle, is high above you. Here are the coordinates.’

  Using the sensors in the Skua, Harry found the giant skeletal ship then ramped up the magnification to watch as it slowly powered its way up from the moon. Around its central core was an enormous framework which had great numbers of grapnels, line throwers, winches and lockdowns attached, together with an entire plethora of smaller units able to grasp ailing ships, and rescue the occupants, before securing the salvage. It was also bristling with defensive systems to fight off any others intending on getting the salvage first. Its attendant tugs were downsized units of Barnacle, any one of which would have been capable of taking Basalt inside it. Watching them dock, Harry said, ‘Seems in a hurry: must be more work to be done.’

  ‘Yeah, plenty of work in the salvage business these days, Harry. Wonder if they have had a look at our last battle site?’

  ‘Dunno, but I do know that I would really like to have a good close look at Barnacle one day. Rumoured to have some rather interesting non-Administration, non-Gjomvik tech on board in that it can neutralise a Compressor. Now that I would like to see. Would have to take Fritzy with me to explain it, no doubt.’

  They were once again given the royal treatment at the shipyard. 73 looked superb with the damage eliminated and its new gunmetal blue paintwork a perfect dull matt finish, and Marko said as much. They had a cup of tea with the management, afte
r which he made a point of thanking the individual techs and engineers who had worked on the Hanger, with Harry doing the same a few bays over.

  As they were about to depart, the manager gave a wrap-up speech. ‘The fighters are both fully functional and ready for theatre. They have been test flown. The reports and the craft are now handed back to you. It has been a great pleasure meeting with you both.’

  The man gave them a short bow, which they returned, with Harry saying, ‘That is most kind. Thank you, Mr Jacobsen.’

  *

  As soon as they had docked and were climbing from their cockpits, the first person they saw was Sirius, who called out to them, ‘Don’t worry about the last few days! I have just sold all the programs and the funds will be credited to your accounts in a few minutes. Nice little earners. GB is pleased with the bit extra and extends its thanks. So, did you miss me?’

  Harry walked across and hugged her. ‘Sirius! How long have you been here? Yes, we’ve missed you. How’ve you been?’

  ‘Well, thanks, Harry. Been here a few days. Edited a nice segment of you all out shopping as well. Priceless stuff of you, Marko, trying to hide from the crowds. And Jan looks great with a few extra kilos on. Suits her. Looks excellent in lingerie, doesn’t she? Really could do with bigger breasts, don’t you think, Marko? You should encourage her into a little tank time. And that Julie: wow, what a scrumptious body. Fills out her knickers very well. Wonderful, wonderful. They have a significant following in the fashion scene, no less. Everyone wants to know who they wear. I have even cut a deal with the lingerie manufacturer, and yes, there will be good spinoffs for the girls as well. And then a gloriously welcome ACE rescue and payback mission. That went off the charts locally and will do very well whenever it goes to air across the Sphere. You guys are getting the hang of being media stars without me! I trained you well.’

  She paused for a second, looking at them, then continued. ‘Now, guys, I am inviting myself along on your holiday. I promise not to get in the way. And which of you is bonking the amazons? God, but I so want to get some delightful imagery of them. Think that I will go with them wherever they go just in case. Do you think they would be averse to a little ménage à trois with me? That would be a real earner.’

  Just what we needed. A holiday in the offing and the family camera arrives — typical, Marko thought to himself. And she is getting more and more into the sleazy side of things as well.

  He could not remember the number of times she had sent him requests for him to act in age-restricted presentations for the Games Board. He knew of many of his colleagues who had cheerfully participated in screwing some movie star or other with everything recorded and marketed. It was not that he had anything against it, but there were boundaries that he himself had no desire to cross.

  *

  Four

  Basalt looked much better. Still very utilitarian and superbly functional, but all in all much better with the new off-white pearl coating over every exterior surface of the frigate, plus the airlocks had been serviced and recoated as well.

  Marko spoke to the hangar. ‘Very nice outer coatings, Patrick. You pleased?’

  Patrick’s voice came from all around them. ‘Yes, Marko. The tasks allotted to the shipyards are complete, on time and to specifications. Now I have high-level chameleon-ware at my disposal as well. Most satisfactory. Your craft looks very pleasing. Jake very kindly delivered three secondhand antigravity units for you to “play with”, as he put it. I attempted to pay him, but he would not hear of it.’

  Harry and Sirius left the hangar so Marko climbed back into Sledgehammer’s cockpit, rotated the craft and slid up against Blackjack. He directed his thoughts towards Blackjack and it reacted as he expected, folding out the deployment and lock mechanisms, taking hold of the Hanger and then tucking it up against itself. The airlocks connected and Marko willed himself inside Blackjack. The temporary seat did not move as smoothly as the Tux seat, but Blackjack compensated, lowering Marko back into the main cabin.

  ‘Tux, when I direct a thought towards Blackjack, do you actually read that thought and transmit the request?’

  ‘Of course, Marko. It is one of my many functions. If your thoughts are not specific, I do not on-send them.’

  ‘Is Blackjack alive, Tux?’

  ‘Define alive, Marko. It is an enormous parameter.’

  Marko cocked his head, looking around the interior. ‘OK, is Blackjack sentient and aware of us?’

  Tux sounded a little frustrated. ‘Of course. I understood that you knew this.’

  Marko shrugged. ‘So, can it speak to me, Tux?’

  ‘It will one day, Marko, when your rather glacial synaptic response time becomes sufficiently fast to be able to understand it. Blackjack operates on a level much higher than human thought. We are all waiting for you to speed up. My understanding of the octopoid technology now in you, is that it gradually rebuilds you by creating an entirely new brain and nervous system within your existing structure. I would suggest that you will be able to converse with Blackjack sometime within the next month or so. Until then it will continue to care for you and yours.’

  Marko was still pondering about Blackjack when Nail sauntered in.

  ‘Marko?’

  ‘Yes, Nail.’

  The cat swished his tail. ‘Am I allowed to bite Sirius? Stephine really does not like her, you know.’

  Marko laughed. ‘Bite her? Well, if she pisses you off that much, then a wee nip would not be out of the question. Would also allow you to analyse her blood, eh? Yeah, I would not object. Be interesting to see what she looks like at a base level now. Tux, give my regards to Blackjack and say that I look forward to speaking with him one day.’

  Tux answered. ‘She says that she finds you a most interesting sentient and also looks forward to that day.’

  Marko shook his head and smiled. ‘She? Why does that not surprise me?’

  Nail added, astounded, ‘What? You have only just worked out that Blackjack is sentient? We sometimes worry about your level of conscious intelligence, Marko.’

  They found Sirius still talking with Harry when they made their way up to the main hangar deck. She had grown in height a fair amount and as soon as she turned to look at Marko he could see the hardwiring which was now part of her. Her eyes were a startling iridescent blue, her ears elegantly enlarged and subtly reshaped, with the skin on her arms now covered with the latest fashionable bio-wetware as well. Sirius looked human, but she was Games Board through and through, and Marko decided he did not trust her one little bit. She assessed him briefly, her eyes lingering over his crotch for a few seconds longer than necessary. Marko glanced across at Harry and saw his slight nod, acknowledging that Sirius was still very much a hunter.

  Nail looked up at her appraisingly. ‘So you are still Sirius. As in mostly flesh and blood. Interesting tech you have there. I note that you are broadcasting a signal continuously as well. Why are you doing that?’

  Sirius turned to look at Nail. ‘So you are the now-famous Nail. Well, Nail, it is my job. Just like when you first knew me, though now I am much more efficient. I have an arrangement with the Games Board. I look after you and sell everything I can about this and a number of other interesting crews and ships to the Games Board, and they allow me to keep this beautiful human body of mine. The only thing that I cannot do is have children; they removed that ability from me as part of the deal. I do this work to stay alive. Do you object to that, Nail?’

  Nail took a few seconds, examining his extended claws on one paw before slowly replying. ‘I shall consider my response, Madam Sirius.’

  Behind them, Glint virtually hissed out, ‘As will I, Sirius of the Games Board.’

  Marco almost gasped out loud and had to restrain himself from spinning around to look at the ACEs, as he had never heard a response like that from them before.

  Sirius just laughed. ‘Oh my, you are beautiful, Glint. I saw you when you were being made but I have not had the pleasure of knowing
you. I have seen you in action and I consider you to be a wonderful sentient creature.’

  Glint, standing tall on his rear legs, said, ‘Thank you, Sirius. But believe me when I say that having observed humans for some time now I would consider their sentience overrated.’

  Marko looked at Glint carefully and mused about Sirius. Certainly she was very good for Basalt and crew and had padded their monetary worth, but he could not decide what to make of her and he had often questioned why the Games Board allowed her to go back to them. He wondered if she actually had their interests at heart, but doubted that very much, because she was a player in the Games Board’s manipulations. Looking at the ACEs once again, he hoped that Sirius understood they were lethal, and that they had made the decision that she would be watched very carefully. Sadly, he also realised that the mood of the whole ship changed when she was on board, with everyone careful of what they did and said around her.

  An announcement from the major broke through his reverie. ‘All crew, Basalt is back under our control. Check everything as per normal protocols so handover can be made official. Check in with me as you sort out your departments.’

  ‘Excuse me, please, Sirius.’ Marko said. ‘I had better go do that then I need some fruit. Can I get anything for anyone? No. See you soon. I’m on dinner tonight, and seeing that everyone is back, I had better get moving.’

  Lilly and Jasmine were tending the gardens and gleefully scolded Marko for letting a couple of things slip while they had been away. Jan was also with them, tending the potatoes, and asked what he needed for the meal. They passed a few notes between themselves in regard to Sirius, that she needed to be watched.

  A few hours after dinner the major called the shipyards to advise that the final checks had been made so handover could take place, and that they needed a tug to lift them away from the hangar. While that was happening the crew sat at their consoles, caught up on everyone’s news and sent farewell messages to their friends below.

  The major finally announced: ‘Crew, we are on our own again. Harry, please take us within hailing distance of Number Five Orbital Station. Has everyone decided on and logged their intentions while planetside? Right, thanks, I now have them all here onscreen. I see that you want individual interviews with us, Sirius. You have certainly helped our bank balances, so that’s a reasonable request, but it’s up to individuals to accept your invitation or not.’