by Scott Rhine
Reuben left the room to grab dry clothing.
Ivy grinned. “Your aura’s much healthier. The therapy seems to be working.”
Max covered his mouth for a cough. “Let’s see that infrared scan of the planet together with the maps the Bats gave us. We’ll plot a search pattern.”
“We have a preliminary proposal already,” Roz said. “We just need to adjust for population densities and new settlements. The real issue is who do we take down to the surface once we find the professor?”
“I was thinking that Reuben and I have trained the most together at hand-to-hand,” Max said. “He can also carry the professor out if necessary, and I can take care of any medical issues.”
Ivy drew herself up to her full height, which was still shorter than every other adult on the ship. “Absolutely not. MI-23 will not allow you to risk the future Black Ram.”
“Is that the intelligence community or his girlfriend talking?” Max asked.
“I have to be on the mission because of my ability to sense life at a distance and my infiltration training. You’re right that a doctor is also necessary in case the professor has been injured or severely malnourished.”
Deke’s expression went from bored to alert, ears erect. “I say we keep the nuns and other civilians aboard until we scout for hostiles.”
Reuben wandered back into the common room, clueless that his fate had been decided without his presence.
“We’ve seen no signs of the Phib ore hauler,” Roz said.
“They could have cannibalized it to make generators and a high-tech living space,” Kesh argued.
Reuben shook his head. “Bro, don’t use the word cannibal around people whose family has actually been eaten by those monsters.”
Max said, “I’ve been thinking. There’s no way a significant number of Phibs would have survived over a century. I doubt they had any females on their ship.”
“Good point,” Kesh agreed. “So if we avoid the guard station labeled on the map, we only need to worry about Bats reduced to primitive status, wielding spears and stone axes.”
“They could have stolen blasters during the uprising,” Deke argued.
“For heaven’s sake, Lisheen can stay safe on the ship. We won’t risk your lady,” Roz said. “We can remount the turret inside the shuttle’s cargo pod. With medicine and food to trade, the smaller cargo pod can hold four passengers. The large pod would make us too much of a target.”
The others nodded. Max said, “With the ramp down, the gunner should have a wide enough field of fire to stop the locals from swarming our ride home. The pilot can ride in the cockpit. Ivy and I will be first boots on the ground. We have to leave room for Professor Crakik as the third passenger. He’s the whole reason for this mission. That leaves one open seat.”
Roz said, “I’ll be the fourth passenger. I can’t manipulate your odds of success from here.”
“Out of the question,” Max replied.
“Actually, she’s pretty good with a ranged weapon, passes unseen better than you, and can listen to my remote instructions,” Echo said bluntly. “Shiraz is a better candidate.”
Roz experienced a twinge of doubt. Did Echo want Max to herself?
“Fine, we’ll both go,” Max said. “Won’t risking both pilots be a problem?”
“You need me as translator,” Deke insisted.
“Actually, Yenang can do that, and he’s better with a laser turret,” Roz said.
Kesh shook his head. “I don’t know. That thing sucks up seven Mahdra crystals at a time. We don’t want a massive weapon or those crystals falling into inmate hands.”
“So we rig them with a phoenix charge,” Roz said. “A thirty-second burst of gamma radiation and the crystals explode in spawn mode.”
Max nodded. “Fireworks. Anyone who overruns our position dies in the shrapnel, but we could still take off. She’s good at this contingency stuff.”
“You’re not going to take my blade,” Deke insisted.
Clearing his throat, Kesh said, “Strictly speaking the shuttle is owned by our corporation.”
Roz could sense Deke digging in his heels for a long battle. She decided to nip this in the bud. “Your protection of that shuttle is a function of your loyalty to your church and your crown.”
“So?”
“I submit that both have thrown you under the bus lately. You don’t owe them anything. Stay on the ship. If we screw up and die on the surface, you get to live the rest of your life with the lady doctor. Choose: your blade or a real life. Keep in mind that I’m going to tell Lisheen your answer.”
“Having Roz in the cockpit will give her extra armor,” Max said. “I’m willing if you are.”
Deke squirmed under the ultimatum. “This isn’t fair.”
“When you tell the story to others, you’ll have an excuse. We forced you to let a Magi fly your precious blade. Everyone will understand.”
“I don’t like you right now, Mrs. Ellison,” Deke said.
Roz understood now what the adversary role meant to those in other species. “My job isn’t a popularity contest. It’s to find the best alternatives for my triad to survive.”
“I hope you find you professor’s bones slow-roasted over a fire,” Deke said, leaving the meeting.
Kesh didn’t bat an eyelid. “Next agenda item, what should we take on the first mission as trade items. If the natives are friendly, do we give them the tools necessary to overthrow the guards and become independent?”
“We give them every opportunity for a long and prosperous life,” Roz said without hesitation.
“But anything potentially lethal?” asked Kesh.
Ivy snorted. “Anything can be lethal.”
“Our people have sworn not to take sentient life,” Echo replied.
The debate raged on for hours. In the end, no ranged weapons would be decided upon until they met with the leaders of the prison and determined their governing principles.
Chapter 36 – First Contact
Echo’s search for the professor lasted over ten days, so long that Roz began to worry about fuel. The amount required for the subbasement jump and reaching the next refueling station would take nearly everything they had left. She was down to a 9-percent safety margin. If they orbited too long, they might need to adjust the arrival point closer to the next colony and risk blowing their cover.
Nothing would make Echo hurry. “Seven of your years is but a heartbeat of the galaxy. This must be done properly. The underground structures are amazing. The miners must have appropriated one of the tunneling machines to build shielded homes. Were any of the prisoners architects?”
“Yes,” the Bat monk confirmed. Since Deke refused to take any part in the co-opting of his own shuttle, Brother Horcrasmus sat in on the partner planning meetings. As someone with church clearance, he had read all the files available on the prison.
“He was a genius.”
“The average IQ of a political dissident sent here for treason is 122,” said the monk. “We don’t consider the stupid ones a threat.”
Max grunted. “Like Russian prison camps after their world war. I read Dostoyevsky.”
“The smart ones figure out the wrong people are in power?” Roz guessed.
Echo reported, “Outside the official landing pad, I can’t tell the guards from the inmates.”
“What do you mean?” Max asked. “Everybody’s dressed in rags?”
“Quite the opposite. The population is twice what we were led to believe. Most people seem healthy, happy, and productive. Moreso than the border world of Little Flowers. Granted, the technology level is lower, but they appear very civilized here. The art is amazing, reminding me of the Earth period of enlightenment known as the Renaissance. Except I see no signs of churches.”
Roz smiled. “The signs wouldn’t be visible from a visiting alien ship, but I think the inmates have taken over. How cool is that? They took over hell and made it paradise.”
Max seeme
d more wary. “Querida, they won’t want their secret exposed.”
“So we won’t let them know that we know. We’ll keep it secret from anyone on the crew who may not be staying, including Mr. Doesn’t Share with Others.” This was Roz’s new nickname for Deke. Mr. Cranky Pants already meant something in Bat that made Jeeves wheeze with amusement every time he heard it.
The monk nodded. “I’ll be staying for the privilege of joining such an experiment.”
“You’ll be a national hero for the supplies you snuck them,” Roz said.
“How long do we continue to search?” asked Max.
“Give it at least a year,” Echo requested. “Then we can contact the guards and request their help.”
“How?” asked Kesh. “We have no ansible, and they have no radio.”
“Point-to-point laser,” Roz replied. “They have to know we’re here by now. They’ll be listening.”
Due to food constraints, the team bargained Echo down to two months.
This turned out to be unnecessary, as she located Crakik’s notch-eared bodyguard a few days later, the one Aviar had supplied. She then followed the Bat to where the professor was living. “I have the coordinates,” Echo said to Roz on the bridge. She felt well enough to make another visit in person “The hard part will be finding a surface access tunnel nearby so we don’t alert the natives to our rescue. The entrances are camouflaged from aerial view. I had to engage the ship’s gravitic probes so we could see them from orbit.” She displayed the network of tunnels on the bridge screen.
“Are they expecting an invasion?” Roz asked as she examined the bunker construction.
“Perhaps they merely wish to hide their prosperity from the Saurians so it can continue.”
“Just get us within a kilometer,” Max said. “We’ll be the legs. You and Ivy will be our eyes.”
Roz activated the intercom. “Deke to the bridge. Strike team to the cargo bay. This is not a drill.” She had been practicing on the flight simulator for weeks. Hopefully the real Bat shuttle would be just as easy to operate.
****
Roz followed the approach toward the prison intake site until the last possible moment. The moment she deviated, a warning beacon on the way in threatened to blow them out of the sky. She kicked in the emergency jets instead of slowing down. By the time the natives could have reacted, she had dipped below radar. No problem.
The guards knew they had trespassers, just not who or where. If all went according to plan, Roz would be gone before they suspected
Picking her landing zone, Roz had avoided the meager crop lands. If she destroyed the soybeans, the natives wouldn’t talk to them. Her landing in a rocky area at the outskirts of the underground town was bumpy to say the least.
When Ivy complained, Yenang defended the pilot. “We experienced a dip in power at the last moment. I’ll look into it.”
Roz crawled through the narrow airlock to the cargo area. She wore her blaster-proof armor for the occasion but not her normal boots. They all wore footgear that would blend in with the natives’. Her pistol was strapped to her right hip and the smoke grenade to her left. “I forgot how freaking short Deke is, and my butt wouldn’t fit in the chair right. If anyone makes a crack about that, then they’re flying us home.”
“Good job, babe,” Max said. “And I think you’re butt is perfect.”
Yenang looked shocked. “Where is Sir Deke?”
“We borrowed his shuttle for the first mission. He’ll fly the others.” Roz listened to the encrypted Turtle headset. “The guards dispatched a buggy to search for us. In the worst case, if they head straight for us, we have about forty minutes. A spiral search pattern is more likely unless we attract attention. Either way, we retrieve our man and blow this Popsicle stand.”
“What is a Popsicle?” asked Yenang.
“Don’t worry about it,” Max said. “You just sit behind that gun and protect the shuttle.” He pulled a clear Magi mask over his face, crudely decorated with black fur, and the women did the same. The team members also pulled up the hoods on their homespun cloaks. The disguise wouldn’t work closer than a few meters away, but it was better than standing out like cream in the coffee.
Yenang looked like he needed to visit the little boy’s room. “What is this mission all about?”
“We need to talk to someone,” Roz said vaguely. She couldn’t tell Yenang about revolutionary star drives or drift adjustments.
“Must be rutting important to come to this armpit,” said the weapons specialist.
Roz nodded. “Enough for the Magi to risk an interstellar incident if we get caught.”
“All three of your triad members are here,” Yenang said.
“Yeah,” Roz fibbed. “We didn’t want any other species to take the blame if this doesn’t work out.” She had just given Ivy and Anodyne Intelligence plausible deniability.
Ivy powered up her stun rifle. “The air outside looks reasonable as long as we wear a scarf. If you step in a fungal colony, cover your face. You do not want those spores in your lungs.” She looked to her side, as if speaking to an unseen person. Echo still found long-range communication easier with Ivy. “The target is eating dinner, as is most of the local population. The window is now.”
Max tapped a button. “Primary route and two alternates are programmed into or heads-up displays, along with flash codes. From here on, it’s silent running.”
Roz slapped the bay-door controls on her wrist unit, and the cargo pod’s door lowered to form a ramp. Yenang slid behind the blaster controls and powered up the big gun to cover their insertion into alien territory. Over his headset, the Bat said, “Telescopic sights show no hostiles.”
Max leapt from the shuttle.
After months of jogging at his side every morning, Roz matched Max’s pace and hovered inside his zone of artificial silence. Together, they hopped a barbed-wire fence. We’re a great team. Roz had to hold the wire down and wait for Ivy to catch up.
The steep ground was covered with a slippery moss that resembled grass. Inside the corral, knee-high snail creatures grazed. Near the lake, the algae and moss had combined into a lichen forest.
Together, they approached the timber-reinforced tunnel. Suddenly Ivy dove into the brush. Incoming. Max and Roz took different sides of the tunnel opening. Though the door wasn’t officially guarded, a male in dungarees came out to dump a slop bucket into a compost heap. Max paralyzed him, and Roz propped him on the hillside with his hat lowered over his eyes.
Ivy remained at the door, within sight of the shuttle. She unfolded a reflective shield that mirrored the greenery and sky and crouched behind it. Anyone coming from the tunnel wouldn’t notice her until he was already in range of the shuttle’s turret. Then, she closed her eyes to concentrate. After several moments, Ivy gestured for them to begin the next phase.
Nervously, Roz checked her grenade and pistol before following her husband into the tunnels. She projected her best “pay no attention to that janitor” vibe as she instinctively strolled to places other people wouldn’t be. They had to choose a circuitous route, especially when Echo appeared in one tunnel branch to wave them off.
After twenty minutes of dodging, the couple arrived in a room where the professor dined by candlelight with the notch-eared thug, a pure white Bat, and one other muscular specialist. Their target was the only one wearing glasses. Roz clutched the smoke grenade with her left hand in case they needed a quick escape.
Once Max took out the two largest Bats with darts, Roz stepped out of the silence and raised her mask. “Eesan Crakik, we’re here to rescue you and take you back to Union space.”
“I don’t want to leave,” said Crakik. “I’ve been waiting for a place like this my entire life—no church or royals, and a man can research or publish anything he pleases. Moreover, my advanced science skills make me desirable to a wide range of females.”
She wasn’t going to be able to drag him away. “What about the guards?”
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p; “Since the algae disaster, everyone works together to survive. There are no social classes here.”
“Then who are these guys?”
The white Bat held out his hands in the gesture of uplifting. His outfit had brass buttons that resembled something out of nineteenth-century Europe. “Mayor Feeveerkahn. I came to enlist our able scientist’s aid in contacting your spacecraft. I supposed I came to the right place.”
“Prince?” Max asked.
Feeveerkahn waved the thought away. “No titles here or inherited roles. They invited me here to lead because of my views on peace, but I continue to serve only by the will of the electorate.”
“Invited?”
The professor smiled. “A guard calls royal intelligence with a tip after one of us is ‘questioned’. We can get any sort of specialist we want here with a hint. Our mines are almost entirely automated.”
“What about the Phibs?”
The white Bat answered, “They left ages ago for someplace they called Glory Point. What is it you want here?”
Roz decided to trust these men. “Sir, our ship was sent as part of a Magi relief organization. We’ll trade you tons of medical and building supplies. All we need is a little time alone to consult with the professor. Nothing against his will. In fact, I believe he’ll welcome the challenge.”
“That seems equitable,” Feeveerkahn said, glancing at the professor.
Crakik nodded his agreement. “She’s wearing an Order of the Dolphin pin. I think I’ll be safe.”
The mayor put his napkin on the table and departed.
Max dragged the unconscious bodies out into the hall. “All yours, babe.”
“He’s so sweet to me,” Roz gushed as she hit record on her wrist unit.
“What’s so important that you would seek me out in this remote location?”
“Members of the academy of sages have been studying your math papers, and your theories have generated tremendous interest. They wanted your advice. I promise we’ll cite you in the resulting papers.” Roz neglected to mention that she and Echo were the only members involved.