by Kip Hartzell
“I am happy to meet you Honored Asa-Avion,” she said, moving forward to shake his hand.
“Pleased to meet you Honored Chief Councilor Abatea.”
“Please, call me Amand-A. Samari-A, you look well.”
“Yes, quite well,” Samari-A said with little affection.
“Honored Avion, your ship will take a few more days of repairs. We have credited your account, and the repair fees have been taken care of. Samari-A, you must be exhausted from your harrowing experience. Your health is of great concern. The Council wants you to take a week off to recover.”
“But, I am fine. I’ve already spent two weeks-resting. I wish to reassess my findings.”
“I already have people working on it. Now, go home and rest. Next week we are going to proceed with synthesizing. Your findings were a step forward. Honored Avion, would you escort Samari-A home.”
“But...but...”
“We can handle the details until you get back, now, go home, recover.”
“Come, Samari-A, I know a great restaurant in the Ecological District.” Asa began pulling her away, she gave up with little resistance.
Amand-A, just folded her arms, and watched them go.
Out in the hallway, Samari-A was furious. “They are stealing my project.”
“I know.”
Samari-A stopped her ranting.
“Let us not talk here. I know some people who might be able to help us.”
“Oh, this is good,” Jonah said, savoring the imported Terrahnian dish. “You only owed me a drink, but thanks for dinner anyway.”
“It’s the least we can do for what you did for us,” Asa said, as he looked affectionately at Samari-A.
“Should I have waited longer to rescue you two?”
“No, your timing was impeccable.”
“Asa tells me that you, or someone you know, can get sensitive information,” Samari-A blurted out.
“Samari-A! That is not how this is handled.”
“You are right, Asa, she is not very subtle.”
“My apologies, Jonah.”
“That’s alright, Asa. I think we are done here.” Jonah wiped his mouth, got up and started to walk away. “Is your ship available?”
“The inside has been cleaned and repaired. The outside will take another day.”
“Good, let us talk there.”
Asa jumped up, dragging Samari-A with him. They silently rode the tram to the repair facility, and soon, Asa was fingering the security code on his shuttle. When the hatch shut, Asa powered up the main computer. When he was satisfied, there were no listening devices, he told Jonah so.
Jonah walked around the main cabin. “So, what do you really want?”
Asa put his hand on Samari-A’s shoulder. “We would like to gain access to the Science Council’s computer information on Samari-A’s research.”
Jonah stopped, and then sat down next to the shuttles computer banks. “That is a tall order. What would I get in return?”
“So, you can do this,” Samari-A stated.
“It won’t be easy,” Jonah said, as he leaned forward, and casually took the data pyramid from the bottom of the console. “I may know someone...” he trailed off, and stood up, waving his other hand while, inconspicuously putting the device in his jacket pocket. “If you share your information with me, I will get you in.”
“What?” Samari-A said, not quite understanding.
“I deal in commodities, and information is one.”
Asa looked at her. “Sounds fair, otherwise we will know nothing while they stall, and the project will be lost to us.”
She squinted her face in thought. “Very well.” She relented.
“Good, I will contact you in a few days.”
Beep...beep...beep...
Asa moved Samari-A’s hair out of his face, and gently moved her over, and then rolled to the side of bed. He touched the audio only button on the comm and said, “Hello.”
“Asa, Jonah, meet me at the Industrial Section in one hour.” Jonah cut the connection.
Asa rolled back over and took a deep breath. He moved some dark hair away from her face and paused. Letting the moment pass, he woke her, and they ventured out.
The Industrial Section on Assillins was massive. It was mostly automated, but the large green park was set aside for the human workers. There were even birds and small animals loose on the grounds of the partially subterranean complex.
“Glad you could make it,” Jonah said from behind a long-forgotten statue of an honored woman. The two jumped a little, and then smiled at each other. “We thought you might have changed your mind,” Asa said as he steeple his hands and slightly bowed.
“No, this seems really important to you two. We should go. There is a small window of opportunity.”
They marched through an underground tunnel that led them through several noisy machine rooms. A few lefts, and then a right, found Jonah standing in front of a secured door. He waved his hand over the security pad, and then put in several alpha-numeric symbols.
Pushing a pictograph depicting a bird made the door slid open, allowing them to move into a dark room, with only small monitoring lights to see by. Jonah pressed a button, and the large quiet room hummed with monitoring devices all around. The control room made little protest as they moved further in, finding a sizable computer to work with. He brought out a data pyramid and set it on the console as a ghostly keyboard hovered over it. Jonah moved data around like a chess game, until he came to the one he was looking for. “There.” He pointed at the floating symbols. “I need a verification code before I can proceed.” He looked at Samari-A.
“They will track the break in to her, this is the highest level of treason,” Asa commented.
“I have a very sophisticated program that will not let them know we were here. Also, when the program is being chased, it moves further away from the host, erasing its path as it goes. It is quite remarkable and you’ll never be found out. Time is short, however. Do we have a deal?”
Samari-A looked at Asa, moved forward with a retinal scan, and then a password. Jonah went to work manipulating the symbols as if born to it. The two bystanders could barely keep up, until he came to an abrupt halt. He stared at the cryptic writing.
Asa finally put his hand on Jonah’s shoulder. “Jonah, what’s wrong?”
Jonah spun around. “Is this what you two have been working on?” He raised his voice, “Genocide!”
“What?” Samari-A asked, “No, what. Let me see.” She pushed Jonah out of her way, and began reading.
“What is it, Jonah?” Asa asked, not knowing if he should be scared or not.
Samari-A scanned the data, faster and faster. “No, no, this can’t be.”
“What is it?” Asa asked again, irritably.
“My research was to help, but...”
“The Council,” Jonah started, “apparently wants to synthesize a compound that will render the hosts docile, or near comatose, thus, being able to walk in and slaughter them like Aries mountain sheep.”
“Samari-A?” Asa said with disbelief in his voice.
“I, I think I can develop a vaccine, or cure. I need access to a lab.” She looked at Jonah.
Jonah shook off his shock. “I have gone as far as I can in the system. We will have to work with what information we have.” Jonah was backing out of the system when alarms went off. “We were in the system too long-we must go,” Jonah said as he began leaving diversions and traps along the way. He grabbed the pyramid and headed for the door. Asa and Samari-A followed close behind.
The two co-conspirators sat nervously on the tram to the Ecological Section, while Jonah manipulated his hand-held computer.
“Do you think we were discovered?” Asa quietly asked Jonah.
“They definitely know there was a breach, and are still searching. I think we just got very lucky.”
“Where to, now?”
“I’m going to take you two to a laboratory, where you
can work in peace. Asa, take us to your ship.”
Chapter Four: A Little Out of Control
Asa dialed in the flight plan Jonah had given him, and slid out of the hangar bay. Once out of range of prying eyes, Jonah directed him to circle around and slip into a maintenance tunnel that led to the underbelly of Pantheon, the largest city on Assillins.
“Clever,” Asa said to Jonah, in between instructions on where to go, “Hiding under their noses.” Jonah smiled. Asa brought the small ship to a quick halt as he faced a large wall. “You could have warned me.”
Jonah raised his data pad, and the tunnel wall rolled aside. The ship went through, letting the door close behind them. Jonah pointed to a landing pad, and Asa gently set the craft down. A force field flared up while a door opened to reveal an old man walking toward the ship as it powered down. The old man was at the hatch by the time Jonah stepped out with his entourage. The two men smiled and double-handedly, shook hands.
“Good to see you again, Honored Krios-Alcmeaon. It has been a long time,” Jonah responded to the exceptionally tall Terrahnian, with short gray hair, and chiseled face. His eight and a half feet height, towered over the group.
“The honor is mine, Honored Jonah-Athain. I didn’t expect you so soon. Now, who do we have here? Your message was very vague.”
Jonah led Krios to the disorientated two, and introduced them.
“Can we trust them, Jonah?”
“We have to. The situation is too desperate.”
“Very well, come with me.”
They made their way through the door he had previously come out. A few security checks, and they stepped through another door into a deceptively large room with walls of computers, work stations, tables with the latest tech. In the far corner was an isolation chamber. Jonah gave Krios the data pyramid. He set it on the computer and began pouring through the data.
Asa, and Samari-A, walked around with their mouths partially open. She saw several computers flipping through surveillance feeds from all over the planet, and others were running simulations.
“May the Great Creator forgive us,” Krios said loud enough for the two strangers to hear.
They moved in close as the blinking information raced across the air. Jonah moved away from the noise, and took out his data pad and spoke into it, “OEG Command, this is Agent Zeta Blue Fire, with an Alpha-Omega message, respond.” Jonah repeated the message, as a stunned Asa and Samari-A approached him. He got a buzzing noise from his device. “Damn, Krios, they’ve jammed off-planet communications.”
“Affirmative, only intra-planet comm only. The planet has been locked down.”
“You are OEG spies,” Asa said, not wanting to be ignored.
“More like-OEG sympathizers, as you used to be.”
Samari-A looked at Asa as if he betrayed her. “That was a long time ago. I prefer Independent.”
“What will happen to us now?” Samari-A asked, blankly looking at Krios, while he quickly sorted the data.
Jonah quit trying to communicate. He went to a console and pulled up security feeds. “Well, it appears you two have made the top ten most wanted list. You are now Old Enlightenment Group spies, congratulations.”
“This is not funny, Jonah,” Asa’s voice spit anger.
“I know Asa, sorry. I will do everything in my power to keep you two safe. But we must get this information out to stop a slaughter.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because, there is a plan for distribution as soon as human trials are complete.”
“Human trials,” Samari-A broke in, “we are nowhere near human trials.”
“That’s not what Chief Councilor Amand-A-Abatea thinks.”
Jonah pulled up several memorandums, showing dates, and how to distribute the chemical agent. “Biological warfare has been outlawed for centuries. This will only inflame the OEG into desperate measures.”
Asa became pale as he read. “She plans to use neutral passenger ships to get the agent deep inside the OEG, especially to Terrah.”
Jonah saw the distress in Asa’s eyes. “What is it, Asa?”
“My son and wife are coming here on a neutral ship.”
“Wife? Son?” Samari-A said in a wounded tone.
Asa snapped out of it. “Former wife, I was going to tell you, but things have gotten a little out of control. I am sorry.”
Samari-A looked as though she was going to cry from the information overload.
“Here, sit down, my dear,” Krios said, pulling her up a chair. She sat and stared at the computer screens.
“Krios, can we monitor the Chief Councilor?” Jonah asked, while he continued to manipulate the computer.
“Our programs have been infiltrating for months. We have been waiting for an emergency to use them.”
“I think this qualifies.”
“Alright, initiating, now.”
Several screens flickered and then refocused. The video was colorless, grainy, and only two-dimensional. Only the larger objects could be made out clearly. The screens flicked from one camera to another, until the Chief Councilor was spotted leaving her office.
“Program is locked,” Krios said, and got up. “It will automatically track and record her. Now, shall we get started on a cure?”
Samari-A still had a look of disbelief. Jonah put a hand on her shoulder and handed her some water. “Don’t worry, ironically, we will be safe here in the belly of the beast.”
“You got anything stronger?”
“It has been three days,” Jonah started, “are we making any progress?”
“No, not much,” Krios responded.
“Damn, the Councilor is going to try something soon, my observation of her tells me that.”
“Maybe sooner than you think,” Asa said, as he pointed to a far screen. “She has quartered off your habitat section, Samari-A. Troops have been moved in. People are trapped.”
They all moved to the screen and studied it. Doors were closed, people were screaming in the confusion, men, women, and children, huddled together in fear of the unknown. A soldier hooked up an apparatus to the ventilation shaft and gave the Councilor a nod. She handed him a vile and he attached it to the top of the device. It soon disappeared. Watching closely, their screen showed a vapor entering the section, the small group stood there in horror as the mist made its way through the section. People tried to filter it with wet cloths, or whatever they could find, but it was not use. They all succumbed in a matter of minutes.
“Did she kill them?” Samari-A asked. “Did she kill them because of me?”
“Look,” Asa said pointing to one screen, “there, see, they’re moving. They are not dead.”
Samari-A breathed a sigh of relief as person after person stood up, but there was no other movement. They stood up and stared straight ahead.
“I believe,” Krios said, “she thought she was going to find you hiding near your habitat section. They look only sedated. Thank the Great Creator.”
Soon, the mist was evacuated, and the troops moved in, leading the people calmly away.
“Well, if she can distribute this quickly, we may have a problem. But with a little warning the OEG can double the filtration systems, and this will all be forgotten.”
Suddenly, a mist started coming out of the vent.
“Do you smell that?” Krios asked, looking around. “Everybody, into the hyperbaric chamber. Samari-A got the closest, but, she too, soon lay unconscious on the floor.
Jonah rolled over and opened his eyes. A few seconds went by as he focused on the ceiling. Movement, and feeling, in his extremities came back. He rolled back over and was on his hands and knees when he saw Asa stir, and try to focus. Soon, the two were up. Jonah checked on Krios as Asa picked up Samari-A and placed her on a table. As he moved, she groggily opened her eyes. He left her on the table, and went to help Jonah move Krios to a padded examining chair. By the time, they made Krios comfortable, Samari-A was up, and testing her balance.
/> “How long have we been out?” she asked, holding her head with one hand, and her stomach with the other.
Jonah went to the computers. “About fifteen minutes.”
“That was a fast-acting neuro-toxin,” Asa said, as he walked up and studied the screens. “Why is Krios not waking up?”
“Neuro-toxins affect different people differently. We will have to keep an eye on him,” Samari-A sadly said. “Have we been discovered?”
“It doesn’t appear so,” Jonah went on, “They purged the toxin into the extraction tunnel, they accidentally got to us. The computer was set to warn us if anyone came close, we didn’t think of gas. Let’s keep working, and see what we can do for Krios.”
Hours went by, and their frustration grew. Krios had been moved to an adjacent room they had taken turns sleeping in over the last few days. Jonah kept trying to signal out, but it was no use. His next plan was to take Asa’s shuttle clear of the interference, but, he couldn’t move on that idea, yet.
Samari-A rubbed her eyes and stood up. “I’m going to check on Krios, do either of you need anything?” Both shook their heads, no. She disappeared into the adjacent room.
A few minutes later, a loud scream came from the room. Asa, and Jonah, ran to see what had happened. They rushed into the darkness. Jonah waved his hand in front of the light switch and the room illuminated. They stopped in their tracks at what they saw. In one corner of the room was Samari-A, squatted down, her back to the corner with her arms over her head. In the opposite corner was Krios, or what was left of him.
The humanoid that faced the corner had tattered clothes, and grunted as he slowly beat his head against the wall. Asa went to Samari-A, while Jonah went to check on Krios. Jonah noticed the heavy, gurgling, breathing, as he approached. He reached up to touch the back of the old man’s shoulder. “Krios?”
His breathing calmed, he put the palms of his hands on each corner wall and lowered his head into the corner. Jonah immediately noticed his hands were dark brown with wrinkles the shape of tree bark. His fists clinched, and then he jumped up and turned, facing Jonah. He growled like a wild animal. His friend and mentor was a crazed animal with thick brown wrinkled skin, sharp fanged teeth, with blood red eyes. Jonah was stunned into inaction, Krios had lost two feet of his height and Jonah found out where it went when he was struck across the room. The creature’s muscles were easily three times bigger than normal. It moved forward on long arms and short muscular legs. Jonah shook off the attack, as Asa and Samari-A came to his aid, and helped him up. “Krios, can you understand me?”