by Jim C. Hines
Humans are resistant to pain and most forms of chemical sedation. A strong electrical charge can temporarily stun a human, but physical restraints will be required. Restraints should secure upper and lower limbs, as well as the jaw. (See Figure 23.2.)
All humans must be immediately tagged and cataloged upon capture.
PLEASE BATHE YOUR HUMAN BEFORE BRINGING IT TO THE MEDICAL FACILITY.
Addendum, to be added to Version 1.2: Humans require air to breathe. Transporting a human in a standard Krakau holding tank will cause the human to expire.
THE LOCK PANEL OUTSIDE their room was dead. Mops had to physically force the door open.
Light strips flickered on inside, revealing shattered furniture and spattered blood—both human and Prodryan. Mops searched the room, gun in hand, until she was certain the Prodryans hadn’t left anyone behind.
Behind her, Kumar paced the room, muttering under his breath. He hadn’t stopped moving since they handed Vera Rubin off to station security.
“Any update?” asked Mops.
“She’s stable. Currently unconscious in a medtank.”
Mops dumped the four Krakau into the closet. It was a tight fit. “You four know this place. What’s the easiest way to arrange a meeting with Theta?”
“Theta’s time is valuable,” said the warrior, her arms curling with disdain. “If you wish to meet with her, you’ll need to pay.”
“We’re not going after Wolf and Monroe?” asked Kumar.
“Not directly. Not with only two of us.” Mops smiled. “I doubt either of us has enough cash to attract the interest of someone like Theta. Fortunately, we have the four of you to contribute.”
“Now you mean to rob us?” the Krakau snapped.
“You meant to shoot us.” Mops leaned closer. “Would you prefer I follow your example?”
Contacting Theta was simple enough. The Tjikko was listed in the station’s directory as a permanent resident. He claimed to know nothing about Wolf and Monroe, nor about Heart of Glass, but after Mops transferred a generous amount of money into her account, he’d grudgingly agreed to meet with them in one hour, giving Mops time to do some preliminary research and set up a few precautions.
Forty-five minutes later, Mops double-checked her suit’s seal and air supply as she and Kumar entered the Tower Six main lift. The atmosphere was thinner here, with a higher concentration of carbon dioxide than was healthy for humans. So far, the patches to her suit’s gunshot holes and other punctures appeared to be holding.
She studied Tower Six through the clear lift walls. This tower had a more organic feel than the others, with exposed roots from the solar-powered plants outside the station clinging to moss-covered stone walls. Water dripped from the ceilings and fogged her hood. Mops’ monocle automatically compensated for the brightness of the warm, yellow light.
They shared the lift car with a Prodryan and a Glacidae, neither of whom looked happy about it. Though it was difficult to read much from the Glacidae, who wore an insulated environmental suit. The Prodryan, on the other hand, kept scraping the blades of his artificial claw together in a clear sign of hostility.
The lift stopped on level two, opening to reveal a field of dirt, rocks, and knee-high yellow grass. Green-barked trees grew like pillars, roots and branches digging into the floor and ceiling both. She studied the closest for a moment, prompting Doc to tag it a “Leafless Stanch, one of sixty-three trees engineered by the Tjikko for architectural uses” on her monocle.
Insects and gliding rodents flew from one tree to the next. Other creatures rustled invisibly in the tall grass to either side of the rocky pathways. It was quieter here than Mops was used to. She spied a few people moving between wood-and-stone buildings, but much of this level was open and empty.
The Prodryan and the Glacidae followed them out, the former muttering about human diseases and the foolishness of letting “animals” roam freely throughout the station. After several such comments, Mops moved to the side of the path and waited to see if they’d pass.
Instead, the Prodryan stopped to glare up at her, his antennae quivering with indignation.
“Shouldn’t we just ignore them?” Kumar whispered.
“No.” Mops aimed a smile at the Prodryan. “Do you have something you’d like to say?”
The Prodryan glanced behind him, as if making sure his Glacidae companion hadn’t fled. “What are you doing here, human?”
Mops relaxed. If he was working for Heart of Glass, assigned to follow or spy on them, he wouldn’t be trying to pick a fight. “Look, son. We’re in a hurry, so I’m going to jump to the end of this conversation. From the shine of your thorax, you’re barely old enough to call yourself a warrior. Probably still figuring out how to use that fancy new hand. That’s right, I see the scabs where you’ve cut yourself.”
The Prodryan started to protest, but Mops moved closer and kept talking. “I know what it’s like to want to prove yourself. You figure you’ll push around a couple of humans and act like a real warrior in front of your friend there.”
She unsealed and removed her left glove, letting it dangle from her cuff. Her right hand shot out to seize the Prodryan’s wrist. Squeezing the joint to immobilize it, she scraped the blades over her palm.
“What are you doing?” the Prodryan cried.
She shoved him away. “There you go. Your blades are now wet with the blood of a human.” She grabbed the bioglue and squeezed a line over the first of the two shallow cuts. “Take the win, son. Go home and tell everyone how you stood up to a human. Because if you don’t, I’ll make you eat those blades.”
He stepped back so quickly he stumbled over the Glacidae, who had curled into an armored ball. Without another word, the Prodryan flew back toward the lift, wings buzzing.
Mops treated the second cut and pulled her glove into place. To Kumar, she said, “Never ignore them.”
After that, their path remained remarkably clear. They passed a pair of Quetzalus rubbing their beaks against a tree, and a green-furred Merraban resting in a hammock, but nobody gave them a second glance.
Theta lived on the far side of the level. A barricade of trees and interwoven branches curved out from the tower wall. There were no guards, nor any security cameras she could see. The branches were covered in dark needles between two and three centimeters in length. Striped ratlike creatures scurried away as Mops ducked through a narrow opening. Branches wove together behind them, trapping them in a space the size of a small closet.
“Where is she?” whispered Kumar.
Mops spread her arms. “We’re standing in him.” Raising her voice, she said, “We paid for the chance to talk.”
Slowly, more branches creaked aside to offer passage. Needles scraped over Mops’ suit as she squeezed deeper into the tunnel of trees, but none penetrated. They emerged into a small, circular clearing, fenced in by interwoven trees.
Gnarled roots had cracked and crushed the rocky ground, turning the path treacherous. Warm light shone from glass bubbles in the ceiling. Insects stirred among the fallen needles and leaves.
The trees here were thicker, flush with oily plum-colored leaves with yellow veins. These were older Tjikko trees. Mops turned in a slow circle, giving Doc time to tag the various weapons tracking her from the branches. “Do you have a communications interface?”
“Over here, human.” The words came from a sapling to her left. Thick wires ran from a black metal cuff around the base of the trunk to a voder embedded in the bark about a meter up. “What do you want?”
“Two of my team were taken from our quarters earlier today. I want them back.”
“You think I took them?” Stilted, mechanical laughter boomed from the sapling. “I don’t get out of Tower Six very often.”
“I think you know who took them.” Mops glanced around. “Do the Coacalos know how much of the st
ation you’ve infiltrated? We tracked water usage patterns before we came to see you. Your roots spread through every tower.”
Branches rustled. A few leaves fell lazily to the floor. “The Coacalos are aware. We have a symbiotic relationship.”
“Meaning they get a cut of your profits,” Mops guessed. “The Prodryans who took my people. They work for Heart of Glass, right? Where can I find them?”
“I’m not sure. I have a hard time distinguishing one animal from another.”
“We know you sold Floyd Westerman to the Prodryans.” Mops paused. “We recently discovered his remains.”
The trees leaned inward, blocking more of the light. “Tread carefully with your unspoken accusations. Unlike the animals who roam this station, I don’t fear humans. Particularly human sanitation workers pretending to be soldiers. You’re correct that Westerman owed me a debt. When he was unable to pay, I found another way to collect. As for your other questions, those answers are . . . expensive.”
“We paid you—” Mops began.
“For a meeting,” said Theta. “A meeting which I granted. If you wish to know more, you will pay more. Or you can challenge me and pay that price. I’m always in the mood for additional fertilizer.”
“Human bodies wouldn’t make good fertilizer for a Tjikko,” said Kumar. “Too much oxygen, not enough nitrogen, not to mention the virus and medications and all the trace elements—”
“She knows,” Mops said wearily. “Theta, there are only eleven Tjikko in the whole galaxy, right?”
“Twelve,” corrected Theta. “Beta launched a new groveship two years ago.”
“Congratulations,” said Mops, not missing a beat. “Maybe you’ll understand when I tell you there are only ten thousand or so humans. I’m sure that sounds like a lot, but we’re not colony life-forms. We’re individuals, and we used to number eight billion. The tiny fraction of us who remain? They’re all we have left. They’re family. One of them died in this station. Another is in Medical after being attacked earlier today. And two more people—members of my team—were taken from our quarters.
“I know you have enough weapons in here to mow us both down. And I know, even if we could afford to buy your information, you’d only turn around and sell us out to Heart of Glass for an extra profit.”
Theta’s voder gave a passable imitation of laughter. “Perhaps humans aren’t as foolish as I’d believed.”
“Oh, no,” said Mops with a laugh of her own. “We’re plenty foolish. Always picking fights. If we were soldiers, we’d have probably tried to figure out a way to smuggle up weapons of our own. Flamethrowers and so on. But like you said, we’re just a couple of glorified sanitation workers. Sanitation workers who are very angry, and very good at our jobs.”
Theta’s branches stilled. “What are you implying.”
“All this security, but you did a piss-poor job locking down your plumbing,” Mops continued. “How painful do you think it would be if the supply pipe for a Glacidae acid wash got crossed with one of those water lines feeding into your roots? Or a malfunctioning decon process wiped out the microorganisms in your soil? Or your fertilizers became contaminated with lead or mercury or any of the other waste materials collected down in the station sublevels?”
The closest trees shuddered in unison. “Our species has gone to war for less.”
“You could kill us, but we’re the only ones who know what changes we’ve made to your support systems.” Mops waited. “Your computer interface is plugged into the equivalent of your veins, right? You control it by adjusting the pressure of those water-transporting cells? What would happen if someone introduced trace elements into your water supply to corrode those interfaces? Why, months from now, you might suddenly wake up mute, unable to control anything.”
“I don’t think Tjikko sleep,” said Kumar.
Mops stepped closer to the voder. “It’s possible the Coacalos would realize it was a technical problem and fix it. At a reasonable price, I’m sure.” She paused. “Or they might assume you’d died, and chop you down for firewood or building material. Do you want me to keep going? I can spend all day talking about the ways an experienced sanitation and hygiene worker can gum up the works. The things I’ve seen...”
The silence stretched for one minute, then two. Finally, the Tjikko chuckled. “I admire your initiative. Would you be interested in working for me?”
“No, thank you.”
“Heart of Glass has left Coacalos Station,” said Theta. “A Prodryan named Stab the Stars tends to things in his absence.”
“Stab the Stars?” Kumar repeated.
“I know.” Theta rustled his leaves. “Don’t get me started on the absurdity of animal nomenclature.”
“Why did they want Floyd Westerman?” asked Mops.
“I believe they meant to use him for chemical testing of some sort.”
They’d tested their bioweapon on Westerman. Once they knew it worked, they’d killed him and used the acid shower to destroy the contagion and eliminate any evidence. Mops swallowed her anger. “Where did these chemicals come from?”
Theta paused. “I’ve told you a great deal already.”
“Doc, send her the details on the modification we made to water line 6-2-17, as a show of faith.” Once Doc indicated he’d done so, she said, “We’ll reroute that infuser on our way out. Keep talking, and we’ll take care of the rest, too.”
“Heart of Glass and Stab the Stars took delivery from a shuttle. My sources couldn’t identify its origin,” Theta admitted. “I overheard Stab the Stars ordering a subordinate to contact someone named ‘Azure’ to confirm delivery.”
Doc flashed an alert, but Mops didn’t need prompting. The Prodryan they’d confronted outside Heart of Glass’ apartment had mentioned azure venom. “If you can tell me who Azure is and where to find them, we’ll fix everything we broke and give your water circulation system a full overhaul as a bonus.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have that information. I could, however, arrange a meeting with one of Stab the Stars’ people.” His tone deepened. “In exchange, you will reverse your sabotage and offer your expertise in helping me secure those . . . vulnerabilities. Do we have a bargain?”
Kumar stepped forward. “I can do that. If you cover Vera Rubin’s medical costs.”
Mops tried to keep her surprise from showing. That hadn’t been part of the plan.
Kumar watched her, his eyes pleading. He clearly knew he’d overstepped, but he wasn’t backing down. Nor should he, Mops decided after a moment’s thought. Rubin had been protecting them. “Those are our terms.”
“Vera Rubin is a stranger to you,” said Theta.
“That doesn’t matter.” Mops gave Kumar a small nod. “She’s still one of us.”
It took two and a half hours for Theta to arrange the meeting at Mops’ chosen location. During that time, Mops had Kumar reverse four of the six disruptions they’d arranged for the Tjikko’s plumbing and environmental regulation systems. The rest would come after confirming Theta hadn’t double-crossed them.
Mops tensed as a Krakau approached, but she was merely bringing a small, steaming bowl to their table. “Compliments of Cooks Good Meals. He says to tell you the sanitizer is working beautifully.”
Inside the bowl, carefully arranged in a pale blue pudding, were five Tjikko nuts. Each was tied with a black string, and a note clipped to the side of the bowl listed the different flavors the nuts had been infused with.
“I’m sorry, I can’t . . .” The Krakau had already left. Mops sighed and studied the appetizer, trying to ignore the saliva pooling in her mouth.
They’d chosen a table at the back of the Prodryan side of the restaurant, where Mops and Kumar could monitor everyone who approached. Almost two-thirds of the tables were unoccupied. Since arriving, Mops had watched two groups of Prodryans enter, notice the human
s, and immediately turn around to go elsewhere. She felt bad for Cook’s business, but it meant there were fewer potential enemies to worry about.
Mops’ stomach gurgled loudly enough to draw glares from two nearby Prodryans. “Just one,” she muttered, not sure if it was to Kumar or herself. “So Cook doesn’t feel insulted.”
If anything, anticipation made this Tjikko nut taste even better than the first. Mops was still chewing when Doc said, “Falls From Glory has just entered the restaurant.”
“I see her.” From Kumar’s abrupt shift, Doc had alerted him as well. Mops lowered a hand to her weapon as the one-winged Prodryan approached. She appeared to be alone. A few other diners glanced up, but most deliberately avoided looking at Falls From Glory. The sight of a “broken” Prodryan was almost as offensive to them as the sight of two humans.
“Hello again.” Mops gestured to an empty chair. “Take off that shawl so I know you’re not hiding anything. It’s Falls From Glory, right? Would you mind if I just call you Glory? It’ll save time.”
“I would prefer to minimize the duration of this meeting, yes.” Glory removed the shawl and set it on another chair, then sat. Her left wing rustled sharply. “What is it you want, human?”
“First, you’re going to return Wolf and Monroe, alive and unharmed. Second, you’ll give us the cure for the bioweapon you used against the Pufferfish. Third, I want information on everyone involved in developing that bioweapon and arranging the attack on the Pufferfish. And finally, another round of these Tjikko nuts.” She didn’t know when exactly she’d eaten the rest of the five nuts.
“Is that all?” Glory’s slender antennae flattened against the top of her head, conveying the sarcasm the translator couldn’t.
“Almost.” Mops moved in, resting one elbow on the table. “I want to know what Krakau venom is.”
“Krakau aren’t venomous.”
“Exactly,” said Kumar.
Glory stared. “What?”