Over Ekno’s strenuous objections, Deck insisted on examining the “float-ways.” The tubes turned out to be plaster-like structures interposed with sets of hydraulic doors approximately every fifty feet. With some effort Decker was able to force open one set of doors and found a flight of stone steps leading down to a wide platform a few feet above a fast-flowing stream. With Moira observing from a safe distance, Naiche gave a cursory examination of the interior with her hand scanner. She detected no life-signs of anything bigger than a beetle. There was no time to explore further since Ekno was calling them back; the gathering basket was full and it was time to grind the bark.
The cherpcha was located outside the village pharmacy and turned out to be a small mill, consisting of a large, stationary stone cylinder upon which a smaller stone rotated. While Ekno was still pointing it out to them from a distance, Kayatennae took off in a mad dash towards it, barking frantically. Deck was at a loss to explain his strong reaction until she scanned the mill – the stone was kiatilium. She explained, “He associates this stone with…um…a kind of a game he played…not too long ago.” When Moira asked her to describe the game, Naiche said, “It’s a long story.”
“You have many long stories, it seems.”
“Yeah, it’s the hallmark of a challenging life.” Deck observed to Ekno, “This mill is made of a very rare stone. It’s highly prized throughout the galaxy. Do you know where it originally came from?”
“The cherpcha came to Featay in seasons earlier than star-burst times. Rare to we, like you speak, is the geide stone; the cherpcha is all we know of this.”
“Well, it’s worth a fortune. If you ever wanted to sell it, I could arrange an excellent price for you.”
“The cherpcha holds value great for grinding leckma. Featay find no lure from off-world wealth.”
“Good point,” Naiche admitted.
When they were leaving the village with a sample of the bark, Moira asked, “Why is the stone that mill is made from so valuable?
“We’ve found that it can be used to make a metal we call ‘steinium’, after the person who captained the ship that discovered it. It’s ten times stronger, while still being much lighter, than the vanadinlum which we currently use for ship hulls. Unfortunately, kiatilium is not only extremely rare but everyone else in the galaxy who engages in space travel wants it for the same reason.”
Moira had been listening closely but suddenly looked around and said, “Oh, we’ve headed off in the wrong direction.”
“Not really. This is exactly where I intended to go. I want to get a better look at those float-ways.”
“Do think that’s safe? What about those deadly worms Ekno spoke of?”
“I didn’t detect anything much in those tunnels. At worst, the water is probably infested with some kind of parasite. If that’s true, then as long as you stay out of it – in a sturdy boat, say – those float-ways could still be used.”
“Used for what?”
With a wide grin, Decker answered, “To pay a visit to the Intabet, of course.”
***
Moira wanted to explore the float-way with Naiche but had been instructed to stay at the top of the steps. She noticed Decker arranging her wrist light on her upper arm and offered, “I could come down a little lower on the steps and hold that for you. Wouldn’t that make it easier?”
She held her breath while Decker considered the question, and then finally acceded. Naiche trotted up the steps and handed the flat, slim band to Finnegan and demonstrated how to put the light on wide-mode. She headed back down towards the platform, followed by Kay. “Shouldn’t your dog stay up here with me?”
“No, he shouldn’t. He’s not my dog – Kayatennae is a corpsman, third class in the UDC and part of this mission.”
Privately, Finnegan believed that explanation had to be a stretch of the truth. How could a pet be part of the military? There was little she could do about it now; however, she planned to question Decker on the matter later. She watched Naiche sweep her immediate surroundings with the hand scanner and mutter, “Yep, nothing but insects….” She then removed something from her daypack and unfurled what looked to be a small collapsible tube on a long telescoping rod.
“What is that for?” Moira called.
“I want to get a sample of that water so Scientific can test it and tell me exactly what kind of parasite we’re looking at.” Decker crouched down and extended the sampling rig into the water.
So intently was Moira observing the sampling effort that, in the dim light, it took her a moment to notice that a piece of the tunnel ceiling was peeling away over Decker’s head. Finnegan supposed some decay was to be expected as old as these tunnels were and turned her attention back to where Naiche was closing up the sample tube. Suddenly, she realized that the layer of ceiling was still coming down and would most probably land right on top of Decker.
As Finnegan shouted, “Look out,” the horrific realization burst onto her that the curl of ceiling was alive – was in reality a gigantic flat worm which prior to that moment, had somehow managed to perfectly mimic the white tunnel walls. Her shout become a scream of terror when the worm attacked Decker, enveloping her body, and dragging her down into the water.
Moira froze on the step, desperate to help but at a complete loss as to how. If she ran for aid, surely Naiche would drown before she got back. Moira skittered down the steps, screaming Decker’s name over and over, keeping the light trained on the thrashing in the water. Still trying to figure out what to do, Finnegan watched in astonishment as Kayatennae dove into the water.
It looked for a moment as if Naiche and Kay would perish together until the dog bobbed to the surface with the tail of the giant worm in his mouth. He struggled against the potent creature for a stretch of seconds that seemed like an eternity to Moira until she heard the muffled sound of weapon-fire from underneath the water. Kay must have loosened the worm’s grip enough for Naiche to free a hand and reach her pulse pistol.
The dog maintained his grip on the tail as he jumped out of the water and continued to wrestle with the worm from the platform. At the same time, Decker’s pistol kept on firing – at least signaling that she was still alive. By now Moira was on her knees on the platform next to Kay but saw no sign of surrender on the part of the worm nor any sighting of Decker above the water line.
Abruptly the pistol stopped firing and the tail of the worm broke off from the main body, dangling in Kay’s mouth. The water took on a sickening stillness. At last, when Moira was losing hope, Naiche’s head broke above the water, desperately gasping for air. Finnegan held out a shaking hand and helped Decker climb up onto the platform. As soon as Decker made it up, she rolled on her back, eyes closed, breathing in enormous gulps of air. Moira collapsed beside her, light-headed from fear and stress. She was resting her head on her knees, her stomach roiling with nausea, when she heard Naiche say, “So that’s what a fucking veil-worm is.”
***
Decker would have liked to rest a little longer but didn’t know how many other veil-worms might be lurking nearby. She stood up on trembling legs and pulled Finnegan to her feet, as well. Though she wanted nothing more than to escape that tunnel of horror, she took the time to retrieve the piece of the worm’s tail that Kay had dropped. Removing her sopping uniform jacket to reveal the regulation t-shirt underneath, Decker used the jacket to wrap the specimen up. She re-donned her daypack, containing the sample of bark that had been the original purpose of this ill-fated outing and said, “Come on – let’s get the hell out of here.” Even Kay seemed eager to depart and charged up the stairs ahead of them.
As the exhausted trio headed slowly back to the Aurora, Moira gestured at the bundle under Decker’s arm asking, “What are you keeping the piece of that worm’s tail for? Is it meant to be a trophy?”
Managing a shaky laugh, Decker said, “No. I want it for the same reason I was trying to get that water sample. So, the folks in Scientific can examine it.”
“Why? You certainly know what the veil-worms are now.”
“True – but I have no idea how they can evade detection by a scanner, so no idea how to fight them.”
“Why do you have to fight them? Can’t you simply stay out of the float-ways all together?”
“The float-ways still might be the best way get to the home of the Intabet.” To circumvent another ‘why’, Deck explained, “I want to visit them and check out that story about them knowing things about the peerazu, ways to soothe them, avoid attacks, and all.”
They traveled in silence for a few moments, the dry grass crunching beneath their feet, until Moira asked, in a quiet voice, “Deck? Weren’t you scared when that worm attacked you?”
“Of course, I was.”
“Then how could you ever risk going back in those float-ways?”
“What can I say? Risk is my job. I can’t let fear stop me from doing what needs to be done – or I might as well hang it up.” With a shrug, Naiche admitted, “I thought investigating that float-way was a calculated risk – sure doesn’t look that way now.” She gave a weary chuckle. “I guess I need to check my math.”
Moira chewed her lower lip thoughtfully before saying, “Upon giving it further consideration, if I do join the UDC – I’m not so sure I’d want…your kind of job.”
Decker smiled to herself at that proclamation. “I knew you were a smart kid.”
Chapter 10
Our Universe Changes Directions
“…the unknown reveals itself, and our universe changes directions.” Paulo Coelho, Eleven Minutes
On the Lovelace, Captain Ricci entered the officer’s lounge at 2045 hours looking for a drink and some quiet companionship. After a long day of dealing with the not only his normal duties, but many of the ones Lindstrom usually shouldered, he needed a break. For an hour or two he wanted to think about anything other than the mission – or even the everyday concerns of commanding the Lovelace. He got a grappa from the automated bartender and then looked around for a likely spot. Matt noticed Tal Jacoway at a small table playing chess with Dr. Clemente and headed their way. After ensuring that they didn’t mind an audience, he whiled away some time composing a long message to his best friend, Zache Charani, on his hand-held computer and silently observing the tightly competitive game.
The combatants played to a draw and turned off the holographic chess module. Clemente thanked Jacoway for the game and then asked Ricci if he had any updates on Kennedy’s condition.
“No, sorry, nothing beyond what I learned from Naiche yesterday.” He chuckled briefly before adding, “Ramsey’s still working on the long-distance communicator and asked me to stay the hell off of it.”
“I’m quite sure Carla didn’t phrase it like that.”
“No, but she meant it like that.”
“I bet Con will be fine,” Tal interjected. “Naiche will make sure of that. He couldn’t have anyone better by his side.”
With a cheeky smile, Clemente asked, “What – not even me?”
“Oh...right...umm, sorry about that, Doctor. I didn’t mean to cast aspersions on—”
Rita reached over and patted Jacoway’s arm fondly. “Relax, I was joking. I knew what you meant. Your admiration for your girlfriend knows no bounds.”
That pronouncement elicited a shy smile from Tal. He soon excused himself and wished Clemente and Ricci a good night.
Watching him leave the lounge, Clemente ventured, “I’m guessing it won’t be long before that young man is your son-in-law.”
Heaving a sigh, Matt said, “I’m sorry to say, I don’t share your confidence right now. There’s a huge obstacle on the horizon for them.” The trouble had been weighing on him and he’d been longing to discuss it with Zache. Since she was back at The Rock, out of his reach at present, he impulsively decided to unburden himself to Clemente, who had always proved to be a wise and attentive listener. He first offered to get her another canelazo, which she accepted. Once he’d procured fresh drinks for both of them, he launched into his tale.
Rita listened quietly while sipping her cocktail, saying little until he finished with, “It kills me to have history repeating itself this way.”
“It hasn’t yet and maybe it won’t – she did promise to think it over. You’re going to have to trust in Naiche, to keep that promise and hopefully, to heed your wisdom.” A small smile lit her face. “Your daughter thinks the world of you; anyone can see that – so I believe she will.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “I hope you’re right.” He glanced around the deserted lounge, before adding, “If only we could learn from the mistakes of others as well as we do from our own.”
“Do we though – learn from our mistakes?”
Upon detecting an edge to that question, Ricci’s head snapped up and he stared at Clemente for a second. “And who was that bit of rhetoric pointed at? Me?”
With an exasperated chuckle, she said, “Do you even listen to yourself? Here you are – going on about not being so fixed on a certain path that you’re blind to a better one and….” She trailed off shaking her head.
As puzzled as he was irritated, Ricci demanded, “And what?”
“And yet you’re stubbornly refusing a promotion to commodore because you can’t loosen your death grip on the Lovelace!”
He looked off to the side and muttered, “Goddamn it, Nils.”
“Don’t blame him. That is the worst kept secret in the UDC.”
“Then the second worst one should be why I don’t want that promotion.” He leaned over the small table and his tone grew adamant. “I have no intention of being stuck behind a desk for the rest of my career!”
Rita thumped her forearms on the tabletop and leaned towards him as well. “Did you even read the new directive? That was not our intent at all.”
“Our intent?” He was mystified by her use of the possessive until then the truth broke over him. “Oh, that’s right. You were on the realignment committee.”
“Yes, I was. And we worked really hard to create a more fluid system that expands the opportunities for everyone.” Matt grudgingly asked her to elaborate. She explained, “Our intent was that after two or three years at the rank, commodores cede their ships to newly commissioned captains – who will naturally be less experienced and therefore given the less challenging missions. Our commodores will then be available for deployment wherever their expertise is needed most. Which is definitely not sitting behind a desk. It might be a short tour of duty on a Command ship bolstering a green captain on a tough mission, or at the helm of one of the new Star Streamers leading a Spec-Ops team into uncharted territory—”
The mention of the UDC’s cutting-edge exploration ships caught Matt’s immediate attention. They were extremely limited in number and the source of much speculation among UDC commanders. “Commodores will get to lead Star Streamer missions?”
Rita grinned at him. “No one commander is going to get permanent possession of a Streamer but…the UDC isn’t going to hand those 100 trillion unno ships over to just anyone – are they?” Matt rested his chin in his hand and stroked the late-evening stubble while considering this new information. “Well?” Clemente asked.
“Doctor, I believe I have as much to consider as Naiche – I’ll give it some thought.” He graced her with a warm smile. “What am I ever going do without you…and Lindstrom?”
“If you take my advice, Captain, it will only be for a couple of years. I’m sure you can manage with Ramsey and Uddin for that long.”
Matt found it impossible to commit to such a vast realignment of his future; he once again promised to think it over and wished her a good-night.
***
The next day, late into alpha-shift, the Lovelace reached the theoretical location of Jileesa, to find nothing but an extremely dense asteroid field at the specified distance from the central star, Alpha-Persei. While Jacoway established a wide orbit around the field, Ricci asked for an assessment from First Lieutenant Mars Kaplita, who
had charge of the science station in Lateef’s absence. Kaplita worked in silence for a few minutes before reporting, “There doesn’t appear to be a planet here, Captain. The largest object I’m detecting is about 500 kilometers in diameter.”
That pronouncement evoked a general murmur of surprise and disbelief from the other bridge personnel. Ricci asked Carla Ramsey, “How certain are you of your calculations that this is where Jileesa is located?”
Carla, as acting first officer, had taken up Lindstrom’s usual spot, and scanned the console before responding, “I’m positive. In fact, the message is still being sent from the Aurora – and received, right here.”
“Right where?” Ricci scrubbed a hand across his lower face, staring at the asteroid field visible on the main view screen. “It must be that the Lignatians are…a rather shy race and are in hiding. They’re obviously blocking our sensors. Kaplita, see if you can breach the block.”
Twenty minutes later, Kaplita said, “I’ve tried everything in our sensor arsenal but nothing is working. It’s definitely not a projection, nor any kind of technological block that we’ve seen before.”
Out of better ideas, Ricci said, “Maybe we’re over-looking the obvious. Evans, see if you can hail them.” The communications officer complied but soon reported that all her attempts at communication went unanswered.
“No one wants to answer our hails, these days. I’m starting to get a complex,” Ricci muttered as he paced the bridge. In a stronger voice he announced, “We’re not giving up that easily – not after coming all this way.” He turned to Ramsey with a wry smile. “Suggestions, Commander?”
Ramsey ran a hand over her wiry brown hair, before musing, “Since the message from Tolu is able to breach the planet’s defenses, there has to be a way for us to do the same….” She studied the data on her console for a moment longer. “I’m guessing there’s a receiver that recognizes native technology. If you give me some time, I could rig up a communication stream that could mimic the one from Tolu and slip through with it. Kind of like a Trojan Horse, I’d guess you’d say.”
The Risks of Dead Reckoning Page 11