Star Road

by Matthew Costello

  The same ramp they had entered, but now they would be climbing up curves, swooping down, watching their speed the whole time, making sure they hit the swirling vortex that was the portal at exactly the right speed and deflection angle.

  With the troop ship moving, it was time for SRV-66 to roll.

  “Here we go,” Annie said, pulling back on her wheel. She keyed the intercom. “All passengers. Please make sure your seat belts are properly fastened.”

  She did the same and, although there was no need, checked to see that Jordan had. The SRV was like a mosquito compared to the giant troop ship leading the way.

  Annie kept well back as the troop ship fired more engines and, with surprising deftness, navigated the twists and turns of the ramp. Within seconds, it was gaining speed.

  Down to a screen—and she could see Way Station One disappearing behind them in a blue haze.

  Now the SRV was traveling over trees the size of city buildings, and then down into gullies, past walls of stone and vegetation, to finally hit a flat straightaway before making the fuel-hungry charge straight up the final section of the portal ramp.

  Annie checked half a dozen screens all at once.

  All looking good.

  “Whoa,” Jordan said, tapping the cockpit window. “Take a look.”

  Flying things—Annie didn’t know what they were called—glided along beside the ramp. Their multicolored wings shimmered in the rays of sunlight that broke through the clouds.

  “Got some friends,” she said

  A few of the winged creatures ahead flew beside the troop ship, kicking hard with what had to be ten-foot wingspans to keep up with it.

  Then they fell back, flying beside the SRV.

  Close enough so that Annie could see the eyeballs of the one on her right. Filmy, huge ... with a big black marble at its center. The leathery skin around the beak and eyes was reddish but also streaked with faint shades of green and gold.

  The beak, like a cormorant’s but striped black and white, was closed tightly.

  This fun for them?

  Or are they just curious?

  But in seconds, as Annie left the last section and followed the troop ship up the last incline, the alien birds couldn’t keep up and fell behind, gliding over the treetops.

  ~ * ~

  Ahead, she saw nothing.

  But the screen directly below the wheel showed the swirling portal.

  Like a multicolored washing-machine basin, sending off ribbony slices of whatever unknown energy powered it.

  She’d love to watch it as they entered.

  But concentrating here was vital.

  “Ready for entry?” Lahti said, his voice clear and strong over the com-mlink. That would change once they were on the Road, where communications had a habit of breaking off.

  “Roger that.” She wondered if he caught the sarcasm.

  Hands tightened on the wheel.

  In an instant, the troop ship disappeared between blinks.

  One moment there, the next... not.

  Safely through the portal.

  Or one had to assume.

  Then: SRV-66’s nose tipped into the portal, the front disappearing, the shaking rumbling toward her even before the cockpit was engulfed.

  And then, like the troop ship, SRV-66 disappeared.

  ~ * ~

  13

  STORMY WEATHER

  Sinjira watched the Road station guy, Nahara, get up, leave his seat, and head to the back of the SRV.

  To the toilet, she guessed.

  And: He’s so edgy.

  Maybe rattled by the portal crossing? Roadsick?

  Whatever—he looked more than just green. He was sweating. Haludon Fever, maybe?

  Eyes looking around. Snapping back and forth. Guy has something going on, she thought. Some secret.

  Quiet... edgy.

  And for her ... interesting.

  As soon as he passed by, Sinjira got up and followed him to the back of the SRV.

  She touched his shoulder, and Nahara jumped and wheeled around fast.

  Really wired.

  “What?”

  She leaned close. This little convo was for just the two of them.

  “Gotta tell you, station master—I mean, that is what you are, right? A Road station guy?”

  “I work for the company. Yes. But what does—”

  Even closer. She could feel his breath—cold—on her cheek.

  “Just wanted to tell you that you are giving off some serious ... what do they call ‘em? Vibes? Yeah, vibes.”

  His eyes widened and were fixed past her, over her right shoulder.

  “I guess I’m a little sick. The portal—”

  But Sinjira shook her head. “No, man. Not that kind of vibe. As someone who makes chips, I can, like, see emotions and feelings. They’re like colors to me. That’s what makes my chips so good. And what I see coming off you ...”

  A whisper.

  “Fear. Anxiety. Maybe just a little bit of... paranoia?”

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

  “I told you. It’s a gift. But not to worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”

  She turned an imaginary key in front of her lips and tossed it over her shoulder. “Totally safe. But one thing...”

  Nahara looked directly at her now; she had his full attention.

  Eyes on her eyes. Or maybe her lips as well.

  This guy is still a guy, even if he is running scared.

  “If you ever want to pop a chip in and share those feelings with me ... I can use them. All kinds of freaks in the chip world, looking for all kinds of thrills.”

  He held her gaze steadily.

  And now she picked up something else coming off him.

  Below the fear. Under the paranoia.

  Something new.

  Danger.

  Maybe best not to push him too far.

  “You’re one sick lady. You know that?”

  “Me? A lady? I think you got the wrong chippie. Just think about it. For tapping into that”—her finger touched his forehead—”even for a just a bit... I’ll bet I could find ways to make it worth your time and effort.”

  Nahara shook his head.

  And yes, he had secrets.

  But now she also felt a ripple of what he might do to protect whatever that secret was.

  Nahara turned his back to her and walked into the lavatory, locking the door behind him.

  As for Sinjira, she was glad she’d had a chip in during that little chat. Got the whole roller-coaster ride of her own feelings—real time—all recorded.

  They say there’s a market for everything.

  Pleased with herself, she walked back to her seat.

  ~ * ~

  Ivan looked over and saw Rodriguez staring at the young Chippie walking down the aisle, sitting down.

  “Like what you see, Doc?” Ivan asked.

  The man turned to him.

  “And you don’t?”

  “Chippies—a little extreme for my tastes. Probably for you, too, I’m guessing.”

  Rodriguez pursed his lips and then turned away.

  “I’m just looking.”

  Ivan smiled. Then he got to his real point of talking to Rodriguez.

  “So, Doc, you’re going to Omega Nine, too?”

  Rodriguez nodded.

  Another smile.

  Good to know what everyone is up to on this small SRV.

  Would be best—but highly unlikely—if I’m the only one with a secret.

  It felt like everyone in the cramped quarters was hiding something.

  Made for a lot of unknowns.

  And Ivan didn’t like unknowns.

  “What are you going for?”

  “My company investigates and researches any new life forms found on the Road systems.”

  “So—they found something new on Omega Nine?�
�

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No. I did. Interesting, though. New life forms ... usually the Road Authority makes a big deal about any discoveries. Even something microscopic. Proof that the Road is about more than commerce.”

  “I didn’t say—”

  Ivan reached across the aisle and put a hand on the man’s forearm.

  “Easy there, Doc. Your secret’s safe with me. I don’t really care about old life forms. So, new ones ... not exactly my thing, either.”

  Rodriguez turned away.

  And Ivan thought: That’s not his mission. I can smell bullshit.

  The truth would come out, he knew. One way or the other.

  Everyone’s secret on this ship. Bit by bit.

  Before Omega Nine.

  Before Ivan did what the World Council wanted him to do.

  Something... that Ivan wasn’t even sure he would actually do.

  He’d have to learn everyone’s secrets eventually.

  But for now, he shut his eyes and let the steady rumble of the SRV lull him to sleep.

  ~ * ~

  “Whoa,” Annie said.

  She tapped the screen to her right, the one that tracked near-space for any anomalies ahead on the Road.

  Jordan turned to her.

  “Whaddya got?”

  “Not sure. Still pretty far away, but see those specks? What are they?”

  Then the voice of the troop ship commander in her ear. Sharp ... crisp.

  Alarmed?

  “Captain Scott?”

  “What is it, Commander?”

  “We’ve picked up an ion storm ahead.”

  Annie had traveled past these storms before, but just a few. They weren’t pretty. The noise, the light, the way it could rattle the SRV—all pretty disturbing. And it could bang up a SRV pretty bad.

  Enough time in a storm could rip a ship apart.

  But usually they lasted only minutes, like passing through a vapor cloud and momentarily losing all viz.

  Then—in seconds—all over. Done.

  But this one?... Looks big.

  “It’s directly ahead of us, Captain, and it appears to stretch all along the Road for quite a distance. Can’t tell how far yet.”

  Annie could see it on her forward screen now.

  The size of it...

  Shit.

  No goddamn vapor cloud they could pass through in seconds.

  The hair on Annie’s forearm prickled. Her stomach muscles tightened.

  “There’s a spur ahead. Small station. We need to get to there and off the Road.” The commander’s voice was beginning to break up as they got closer to the ion storm.

  Good call, Annie thought.

  Except that meant that they’d be in the storm for some time before reaching the spur. And if the storm was also affecting the spur ... ?

  “Yes, Commander,” Annie said, not letting the concern show in her voice.

  “We’re going to go as fast as we can. Follow in our wake. We might be able to clear the way for you.”

  “Okay.”

  Then ... nothing.

  She took a breath.

  “I’m gonna tell the passengers what’s going on. No way around it. It’s gonna get nasty.”

  Jordan nodded.

  The gunner simply said, “Yup.”

  She pressed a button, and cleared her throat.

  ~ * ~

  14

  VANISHING ACT

  “Attention. We are moving into an ion storm ahead. Everyone must take their seats and fasten their safety harnesses immediately.”

  Ivan looked out his porthole, seeing nothing unusual off to the side.

  Must be right in front of us.

  Then: “What’s that?” Ruth asked, looking out her porthole and then turning to Ivan.

  Ivan had been through a lot of ion storms. Usually, he’d pass through quickly, and everything would be fine.

  But he’d heard of other, bigger storms. Killer storms.

  “What’s what?” he asked casually. No sense scaring her.

  “An ion storm?” Ruth said.

  Ivan looked at her. Sinjira turned around so she could listen as well. She was probably recording the whole thing. Great. Just what he needed ... his face in a chip.

  Can’t avoid it now.

  “Ionized sub-particles,” he said. “I don’t know the actual physics of the thing, but the ions cluster together and collect. I always thought it was like a buildup of whatever energies power the Road. Anyway, running into them is a little like going through a sandstorm ... only the sand has teeth.”

  “Teeth?” Her face, at least what he could see of it under the hood, had gone pale.

  So much for not scaring her...

  “It’s bad?” Rodriguez asked.

  Ivan didn’t like that all of the passengers were now focused on him. Like he was the expert or something.

  Nahara had turned back. If anything, his eyes looked even more haunted.

  “Depends how big it is,” Ivan said, wishing the miner—the old-timer— would jump in. “Some storms can be real bad.

  “We’ll probably get through it pretty fast,” Ivan said. “It’ll get bumpy, I’d guess, but that’s all.”

  “And if we don’t?” the Seeker, Ruth, asked.

  No one touched that question.

  Everyone’s scared now, he thought. Let’s hope “bumpy” is the worst of it.

  ~ * ~

  Within minutes, Annie could see the cloud, like a huge weather formation back on Earth. A hurricane that sprouted too many tornadoes to count. It swirled ... billowing over the section of the Road ahead with the troop ship heading straight toward it.

  No way we’re gonna get to that Road spur before it hits.

  “Damn, that’s big,” Annie said.

  “Biggest I’ve ever seen,” Jordan murmured. Even he sounded a bit awed. And Annie knew he’d seen a lot.

  They couldn’t stop, she knew. If they did, the Road Bugs would swarm and make quicker work of them than the storm. At least with the storm, they had a chance.

  As for going backward? Any storm moving that fast was moving faster than they could possibly go.

  Not an option, either.

  There was no other choice than to head straight into it as fast as they could and hope for the best.

  She looked forward as the troop ship entered the swirling cloud. Shifting forks of static electricity shot through the swirling black mass.

  And immediately, the huge ship began to react to the barrage of energized microparticles.

  Huge electric-pinpricks, looking like fireballs, flaked off the troop ship’s surface as the particles battered the ship. Spears of blazing light shot out in all directions.

  “Shit,” Annie muttered.

  The troop ship looked like it was under attack.

  “SRV ... the storm ... we are ... maximum …”

  Lahti.

  Talking to her, warning her, but the message was garbled as the ionized particles wreaked havoc on communications.

  SRV-66 was seconds away from hitting the storm.

  Annie did a mental countdown, taking one hand off the wheel and adjusting her seat harness. As tight as could be.

  For a moment, she lost sight of the troop ship. It was gone in an instant, and she feared the worst, but then it reappeared, wavering in and out of view.

  She had the thought: Never saw one this big before, but saying that to Jordan wouldn’t help.

  How can he remain so calm?