Errant Contact

by T. Michael Ford

  By now, the neon indicator lights on the ceiling showed three mains in operation. Smaller lights beneath also lit up, probably indicating lift engines providing thrust. I knew from our previous talks that the entire fleet of wyverns was probably crawling along the underside of the Aurora at this minute clearing dirt and tree roots from the ship’s belly.

  One screen caught my eye. It showed a flock of airborne maintenance drones, like crows from hell, unceremoniously dragging the bodies of the MURGs, marines, and a few wolves and tossing them into disposal chambers or out airlocks. At the fourteen-minute mark, one screen showed the last of the corpses being propelled outward and the last airlock closed and locked down.

  The rumble coming up from the flooring was clearly discernible now, as Four Main came online, and the last of the thruster indicators followed suit. An outside camera positioned on the starboard side jolted slightly and the ground receded slowly. A graphic showed a bubble forming around the outline of the Aurora as she just hovered there a few hundred meters up. It must have been a majestic and awe-inspiring sight. Finally, the remaining human forces started tearing away in whatever mechanical shuttles and ground bikes were laying around. I suspected it was probably far too late, however.

  Then to my surprise, Kalaya did something totally unexpected. She reestablished communication with the Redoubtable and the Admiral. “You again?” he said snidely. “Haven’t the marines dealt with you people yet? You’ll be happy to know that your traitorous little implants aboard my fleet have been dealt with! I have full ship-to-ship communication back and I will have communication with my ground forces shortly.”

  “Don’t bother,” she said icily, then added, “You killed him!” I could almost feel the malice radiating from her hologram.

  Stupidly, the Admiral only smiled broadly, apparently unfazed by her predatory eyes or the threat in her voice. “Him? Oh, you mean your male companion? Excellent! From what I understand, he was the only real Quetanae on board anyway, so we can finally dispense with all this alien contact nonsense. Suddenly, this has become a clear-cut case of salvage rights, and I am here to get what I came for!”

  “Believe me, you will get everything that’s coming to you!” Kalaya spat out bitterly. “You, who have attacked my home and killed my mate, and for what? Pure greed and stupidity! No matter…Goodbye, Admiral!”

  Suddenly, a crewman to the side of Kittson called out. “Admiral, the alien ship is moving!”

  “Impossible! Recheck that!” he growled uneasily.

  My eyes shifted to another camera shot showing Fleece rapidly falling away from us. I also noticed multiple explosions erupting across the landscape, each almost large enough to reach up to our position. I could only assume that Kalaya had decided to leave no scrap of Quetanae presence behind for future plunderers.

  “It’s confirmed, Admiral. She’s at 10,000 feet and rising very fast!”

  “Plot their escape course and send the Andonov and Durante to intercept!”

  “Not necessary! She’s coming to us! As in, directly at us and fast, sir!”

  For the first time, it appeared that the Admiral’s cockiness took a serious hit as he looked around wild-eyed and barked, “Evasive maneuvers! All hands, brace for impact!”

  Stone cold and unflinching, my best friend, the Goddess of Death, watched with a hawkish gleam in her eye.

  Live feeds from Kalaya’s satellites began to pop up on the holographic screens before us, showing the Aurora bearing down relentlessly on the cruiser.

  By now klaxons were blaring and lights were flashing all across the Redoubtable’s bridge as Kittson triggered the now familiar “all hands, abandon ship” notification.

  “It won’t do any good, Admiral; all the escape pods and shuttles are still on the planet surface!” the navigator exclaimed nervously.

  “Order destroyers to screen us!”

  A couple of smaller fleet ships moved to intercept, railguns blazing, but to no avail. The screen on Kittson’s bridge began to fill, the view of the Aurora’s sharp bow getting larger and larger. The Admiral just let his arms drop uselessly to his side; he knew we were coming expressly for him. I don’t know what thoughts were running through the man’s mind, but I hope he was reflecting on his life…and hating it!

  A satellite view showed the bubble effect of the Aurora’s force field moving the interposed destroyers effortlessly out of the way like a blue whale among dolphins. Their flailing weaponry had no effect whatsoever.

  At the last second, the graphic of the Aurora showed Kalaya peeling back the force field at the front of the ship.

  Impact! I didn’t feel a thing, but the cameras showed us ripping through the hull of the Redoubtable like tissue paper as she cracked in two across our bow. Crackling electrical discharges and vented oxygen spewed behind us as great gobs of wreckage spun in silent vortexes out into space. Minor explosions rattled the parts of the large cruiser that still had an oxygen atmosphere, winking out almost immediately as her infrastructure disintegrated and the chill of space claimed her and her crew.

  Her chest heaving with emotion, Kalaya seemed to feel the need to steady herself on the console cabinet as she fought for control. Finally, she calmed down slightly, emoting only deep sadness and loss.

  I noticed the Aurora had made a wide loop and was coming about. The remainder of the fleet must have noticed as well as they scattered in all directions. A slight course change brought us in alignment with the Geoffrey Laird still station-keeping where she had been stuck for the past days. I knew Kalaya had no reason to destroy the Jeff as she had done the Admiral’s flagship, but we were definitely bearing down on my former home.

  Slowing, the Aurora slid in alongside the science vessel. Cavernous bay doors that I hadn’t even known existed because they were previously below ground opened. Two large mechanical arms snaked out and physically latched onto the Jeff’s mooring fairleads, swiftly guiding her in. It reminded me of a crab snatching a fish and pulling it into its lair. The entire operation took perhaps five minutes, and the great doors were already sliding closed. Once secured, it appeared our massive engines were given the green light to leave this place; to where, I wasn’t entirely sure.

  With a sob of finality, Kalaya’s hologram winked out of existence, plunging the room into darkness and leaving me utterly alone. I needed to find her, my gut telling me she shouldn’t be alone at a time like this, even if she never wanted to speak to me again. I should also check on Max and my friends to see how they were taking all this. Unfortunately, it was a long way back to the bridge and the damn transport tram was ruined.

  With a sigh, I kept the visor portion of my helmet in place and active in case I received any inputs from Kalaya. I lowered the bottom half of the clamshell so I could breathe normal air and talk without going through the suit. I hit the door actuator button and stepped out, nearly tripping over a sixteen-hundred-pound rug stretched across the sill.

  The wolf that I recognized as the one who had been so amorous with me earlier looked up at me with both sets of eyes. He whined slightly, lowered his head, and beat his shaggy tail against the floor decking in slow nervous thumps.

  “So it’s come to this, has it?” I asked, a little bit of snark edging into my voice despite the gravity of the situation. Oddly, I wasn’t the least bit afraid of the great beast; his demeanor was completely non-threatening, even submissive. As he caught me staring at him, his intelligent eyes became hopeful and the tail thumps increased in frequency.

  “Seriously? Fine, you can follow along, I suppose.” I stepped over him as best I could and headed down the passageway. Almost joyously, he jumped up and followed. Unconsciously, I named him Jocko since he reminded me of my first boyfriend in fifth grade. He had followed me around like a lost puppy for an entire semester.

  For the better part of an hour, we wound through passageways and doors, finally reaching the front of the ship where both the bridge and the crew quarters were located. Jocko was a perfect gentleman even thou
gh I heard none of the guiding whistles that I associated with Kalaya’s manipulation of the creatures. After a while, I concluded she hadn’t sent him to me and that he had attached himself to me for some other reason. I hoped he wasn’t planning on more of the groping treatment; I’m not the kind of girl to allow that on the first date!

  I decided to visit the bridge first as I wasn’t sure how long it would take with Kalaya or if she would even let me talk to her.

  When the bridge door slid open, I saw the astonished faces of my friends and heard a low warning growl from behind me. I turned to my companion. “Jocko, stay!” Amazingly, he looked at me and uttered a small whine then lowered his haunches to the floor; finally resting his massive head on his front paws, just watching.

  “Laree! What the blooming hell?” Max exploded. “What are you doing with one of those?”

  “This is Jocko. One of our ship’s new security detachment. I wouldn’t shake paws right now, best let him get used to you.” I stepped across the threshold and allowed the door to close, leaving the wolf guarding the outer passageway.

  They all started talking at once, relieved that I was still alive but quite panicked by what they had just witnessed with the fleet. I didn’t get the impression they knew anything about the fight on the factory floor or Kodo. “Calm down, all of you; talk one at a time!” I commanded. “Have you seen Kalaya?”

  “Not for over an hour,” Drik explained. “She was just sitting in the captain's chair monitoring the fighting, and then she suddenly screamed like she was in mortal agony and vanished! What happened?”

  I didn’t want to have to relive any of it myself, but I knew they deserved to know. “They killed Kodo,” I whispered, tears welling up in my own eyes.

  “Oh, God, no!” Hannah moaned, horrified. I could tell she thought that we were now all at the mercy of a deranged AI, a view a couple more of them probably shared.

  “How is Kalaya handling it?” Drik inquired tentatively.

  “Not well.”

  “You think? Did you see what she did to the Admiral’s ship?” Max said shakily.

  “Yes, and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!” I gritted angrily, reaching over to the pile of food bars. I savagely ripped one open and started munching it down; it didn’t taste so bad now.

  My eyes wandered to another table and I spotted a fully-loaded belt of spare ammunition magazines. “Are these for me?” I asked, looking over at Elleen. She nodded warily, and I walked over and enveloped her in a powerful hug. “Thank you so much, Elleen, for helping out and being my friend. It’s times like these when we all really need each other.”

  “You…you’ve changed, Laree,” my roommate stuttered, fixing me with her big brown eyes. “You’re decisive and confident now, like someone finally broke you out of your shell. You’ve seen some things.”

  “Elleen, I would do anything to undo some of what I’ve seen, but sadly, that’s not going to happen. Come on, I’ll escort you guys back to the rooms.

  “Umm, do you even know where the ship is going?” Hannah questioned uneasily.

  “Someplace safe, I’m sure. Kodo’s last request was for Kalaya to take care of us all. I don’t see her reneging on that no matter what her shattered state of mind. But it is important that I find her and offer what support I can.”

  “What about the Jeff?”

  “I’m sure they’ll be just fine in the cargo hold, at least until I can get some information out of Kalaya.'' The trip back to the rooms was uneventful. Jocko didn’t try to eat anyone, but I had to keep yelling at Elleen to stop petting the security detachment.

  Once my friends were safe, Jocko and I retraced our steps once again back to the front of the Aurora. The wolf and I were really putting on the miles! For the umpteenth time, I blessed Kalaya for making me this suit. I really didn’t even feel the fatigue.

  I ended up outside the door to the only place I thought she would go to be alone – her apartment. Entering, I was stunned to find out she wasn’t there. Where else would she go? Then it hit me, the only other place that made any sense at all.

  I ventured down the hall a few doors and put Jocko in a down stay. Placing my hand on the access pad, I opened the door and walked through the outer chamber area, marveling still at all the tools piled along the walls. Stepping around a few items, I entered the bedroom and found her there. She was curled up in a ball on his bed, sobbing silently. Saying nothing, I removed my weapons belt and dropped it on the nightstand. Crawling onto the bed next to her, I put my back against the headboard and just waited. After a few minutes, she crawled over and put her head on my lap as a fresh flow of tears poured forth. I did my best to comfort her all through the night.

  Chapter 28

  Kodo

  Huh…so this is the afterlife? I woke up, after a fashion, or at least regained some semblance of thought. It was bright and sunny, but I was walking waist deep through puffy white clouds. The last thing I remembered was the pain of what I did to Kalaya and that deep regret. Physically, I felt good, better-than-I’ve-ever-felt kind of good.

  I wandered there for fifteen minutes or so. There wasn’t much to see, kind of boring actually. I wondered for the umpteenth time if my actions had made a difference and if the Aurora was free. I probably would never know.

  “Really, Kodo, could you have imagined a more clichéd tableau?” asked a familiar female voice that I hadn’t heard in a long time. I turned around and found the expected beautiful blonde woman standing there with an affectionate, gentle smile on her face. I studied her likeness for a few seconds; high cheekbones, laughing eyes, and an encouraging smile. Not the megawatt smile I was used to from Kalaya, but then Kalaya wouldn’t be caught dead in a police uniform either.

  “Hello, Janneal.” I smiled shyly back at her. “Have you come to put the finishing touches on the job you should have done when I was thirteen?”

  “Hardly,” she grinned. “I am so glad to see you again, Kodo!” She strode forward happily and wrapped her arms around me. For the first time in my life, I could actually feel her, as if she had a real body! I chuckled a little and hugged her back enthusiastically. She finally extracted herself, kissed me affectionately on the cheek, and leaned back. Grasping both my arms, she took a good long look at me. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you over the years.”

  “I missed you, too, Janneal!”

  She reached up and smoothed away some errant hairs on my forehead. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jeen?” Then her eyes lit up mischievously for a second. “Or you can just start calling me Mom; that works, too.”

  “Mom?” I gulped in shocked surprise.

  “Of course! Don’t think I don’t know about you and Kalaya now. You two should have gotten together years ago.”

  I frowned, remembering my last conversation with Kalaya. “You know we could never be together. Besides, I’m pretty sure she hates me now; I’m afraid I hurt her badly, Janneal.”

  Rather than the flash of anger I expected, she just drew a cool hand along my cheek and shook her head. “A normal person and a synthetic could never be together in that way but you, young man, are far from normal. And Kalaya could never hate you; trust me! I’m her mother!”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Where exactly do you think you are?” she asked, veering off subject, but I was hardly going to correct her.

  “I died, I know that much. So that would make this the…afterlife?” I asked hesitantly.

  Her laughter peeled forth like a bubbling fountain. “You have been watching too many vids with Kalaya! Let’s get more comfortable, shall we?” Janneal asked and snapped her fingers. The surreal cloud scene vanished and we found ourselves seated on a pair of stools next to a small, high-top table like you would see at a bar. In fact, I am pretty sure we have one just like it in the flight crew lounge on Level 18; in fact, looking around, we were in the Level 18 lounge!

  “This isn’t quite where I imagined I would end up after
I died.”

  “Well, you most definitely died, that much is certain. You don’t just walk away from over a zeta joule of power scot free.” My heart sank even though I knew it already. “However, this isn’t the afterlife you were probably expecting. Coffee?” Somehow, during our conversation, a carafe of a hot liquid and two cups and saucers had appeared on our table. Janneal expertly poured for each of us. “This flavor and aroma grow on you; for once I think the humans may be on to something.”

  I nodded and probably had a mystified look on my face.

  “Let me explain,” she continued after taking a small sip. “I will have to take you back to when we first met. You remember your real parents?” I nodded grimly. “Of course you do. Anyway, the research they performed on you was illegal, immoral, and horrific in nearly any category you care to mention. However, speaking from a strictly scientific standpoint, it was revolutionary. Astounding as it was, it would only ever work on you.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Kodo, would it surprise you to find out that you aren’t who you think you are? You remember you were designed as the ultimate test subject. As their prize test subject, once they started exposing you to testing against live rounds, etc., it became very inconvenient for them on the occasions that you died.”

  “Huh?”

  “Even as skilled as you were, stuff happens in battle – bullets ricochet, shrapnel flies – you get the picture.”

  “So to circumvent the common irritation of constantly having to re-teach you everything, your brilliant but evil parents built in a backup plan when they made you, at least, your version…you are 5.0 by the way. Should you ever perish in testing, your complete dataset would be transferred to a storage unit for analysis. However, I noticed something the day we met and researched it some more. Your parents were sociopaths, but they were also deeply paranoid. They had a habit of concealing the true results of their findings and most of their reports to the government were complete rubbish, but they were hardly charlatans either. They pioneered a whole new field of research that no one had previously even considered. And you are proof that it actually works.”