Marta

by Frank Carey

  "You're doing fine, especially for a woman your age..." Bobby said.

  "Hey!" I yelled. "Watch it, young man."

  He smiled. "But Brenda is taking a beating. Your right arm is showing stress fractures on the struts and two actuators are out. I've got warnings on half your...I mean Brenda's systems. Try to finish this before something fails."

  Not good. "How are Tayla and Frasier doing?"

  "He looks winded. She's favoring her right side and left leg," Trent observed. The guy had a great eye for details. "From here, it looks like Tayla and Brenda are in similar shape."

  "Any word from the others?"

  "Not yet, but the night is still young."

  How poetic. The warning chime sounded. I boarded the platform and relaxed as the repulsor fields lifted me from its surface. I waited.

  The bell rang, signaling the start of the tenth and final round. Frasier and I guided our suits slowly toward one another as the crowd went berserk. As we came within range of each other’s fists, something happened.

  The lights went out.

  “What in the blazing hell?” I yelled as the platform’s emergency backup system gently lowered me. “Christa!”

  Bobby and Trent swarmed over the systems and consoles, but I didn’t think they’d find anything. The whole arena was lit with red emergency lights.

  “Mom, the shit just hit the fan,” she said as the rest of the family swarmed into the pit area. “The modified scanpads are lighting up like pinball machines.”

  “Where’s your father?” I asked as Frasier and several of his crew ran up.

  “He, grandmother, and Linka went to check out the source of the energy disturbance. It’s coming from the defunct fusion pod.”

  I grabbed a commlink off the table and dialed Harm. “Marta to Harmon, do you copy? Over,” I yelled. I got static. Shit. If that elf got himself in some shit… “Shenda, can the Algonquin still fly?”

  “Only on thrusters. At best, she can move around the station.”

  “Good. Take the family and prepare the Marta for immediate lift-off. On your way, I need you to stop by the Algonquin and set Protocol 4. Take a pendant with you.”

  My daughter stared at me with eyes wide. “Mom, protocol 4?”

  "Yes, we may need a large bomb in the next hour or so. Now, get going and call me when you're ready." I looked around and saw the crowd streaming out of the facility. Standing next to Frasier was Lady Sienna. Perfect. "Sienna, I need you to round up as many of the security people as you can, then use them to get everyone out of this end of the station, away from the fusion pod. Seal the pressure doors as you go."

  She nodded without a word before taking off, grabbing guards as she went.

  "Sana, this is Marta. Do you read? Over," she yelled into her commlink.

  "I copy, over."

  "Status?"

  "We're heading back to the fusion pod. We've lost contact with Harmon, Lenora, and Linka. They were supposed to reconnoiter the pod and report back, but we've been unable to raise them."

  "What part of reconnoiter does my husband not understand. Proceed with your plan, but do not engage any hostiles unless you have to."

  "Hostiles, ma'am?"

  "Remember Venecia?"

  "Shit! Yes, ma'am, vividly. Eloen out," she said before killing the link. That left Frasier and his team.

  "Frasier, feel like saving the League?" I asked.

  "Damn skippy, General. How many of us do you need?"

  "How many do you have?" I asked.

  He stepped aside to reveal members of every SFL team standing behind him. There must have been fifty of them.

  "How many of you remember weapons training?"

  They all raised their hands.

  "Then follow me," I said as I ran out the door. As we ran, I swore each and every one of them into the EMEF. In minutes, we arrived at our destination, the Algonquin.

  Shenda had just finished programming the ship when we arrived. She nearly ran into me as she hurried down the ramp. "Engines are hot, and I slaved her controls over to Torren's station on the Marta," she said. I saw the remote detonator hanging around her neck. "There are two more detonators inside. Protocol 4 is set and ready."

  "When we're clear, fly her over, then land her on the top of the pod. Blow her to hell if you see Grange escaping. No heroics. No rescue mission. You see a Grange and you press that button."

  She nodded, then leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "Be careful." With that, she was gone.

  "General, what's Protocol 4?" Frasier asked as he followed me inside.

  "Thruster fuel is allowed to enter the interior of the ship as a fine mist along with pure oxygen from the environmental system. This turns the ship into a fifty-kiloton non-nuclear warhead. When the mixture is correct, it's detonated, destroying the ship and everything around it."

  We walked up to the armory. I tapped the access command into the lockpad and stepped back as the door opened. I typed another command and the door to the rear compartment opened, revealing a large rack lowering from the ceiling. "Gear up, people," I yelled as I stepped inside.

  Finishing quickly, the others stood around while I fired up Harms menagerie. Robot snakes, cats, and squirrels ran past my people and out into the corridor. I called Sana. "Marta to Sana, do you copy?"

  "This is Sana, over."

  "Status."

  "The Grange have arrived. We have activity inside and outside the pod. The readings are very interesting, over."

  I typed commands into the Algonquin's computer. Screens lit up as a double-thump sounded at the back of the ship. In seconds, images of the outside of the pod formed on the screens above my head. "Second rule of smuggling: know the lay of the land," I muttered as I typed more commands. The screens flashed as the two probes I just launched activated their highly modified scanners. Ghostly silhouettes moved about the vast pod, performing God knows what nefarious deeds.

  Geared up and ready to go, my little army stood around me waiting for orders. "A few minutes ago, a group of aliens from another universe invaded the League. We are going to stop them. Several years ago, my husband, Prince Lucien Irithyl of Ventos Prime, nearly gave his life to stop this same group. He stopped them and lived to tell the tale due to the efforts of a freighter and her crew. You are all now sworn members of the Elf Marine Expeditionary Force with the rank of corporal, except for Frasier, here, who is LT and my second in command. I expect every one of you to give 120% and be willing to give your life for the League. Any questions?"

  There was none

  "One last thing you should be aware of. A contingent of ships of the Ventosian fleet is on its way while the League is taking a wait-and-see posture. That will change in a few moments. I wish us all God's speed and good luck." I tapped the transmit button on the comm console. "Sana, we're on our way." I stood up, reached over, and rammed my fist into the panic button, setting off a distress signal that could be detected on the other side of the League, the one I recoded into an invasion alarm. "People, move out," I yelled. I waited until the last person was off the ship before slapping the airlock seal. When I was clear, I called my daughter, "Shenda, we're clear. Deliver the package." The station shuddered as the Algonquin broke seal and headed for the pod. Damn fine ship; I was going to miss her.

  My little army ran down the corridor. We hit an intersection and paused. "Frasier, where does that corridor go?" I asked while pointing to the right.

  "It ends at the other side of the foyer in front of the fusion pod."

  "Take half the team and block off that route. Nothing from the fusion pod gets past, got it?"

  "Aye, aye, ma'am. And ma'am," he said.

  "Yes, Lieutenant?"

  "Thanks," he said with a salute. I smiled before returning a smart snap. He pointed to two dozen team members and led them down the corridor.

  "Sana, got anyone in the starboard corridor?"

  "Team Two."

  "Tell them they're about to receive reinforcements. Wha
t's your status?"

  "Holding outside the pressure seal leading into the pod foyer."

  "We'll be there shortly."

  "Who's joining us, if I may ask?"

  "About two dozen angry SFL team members. McMurphy out. Come on, people, time to kick some extra-universe ass."

  We soon met up with Sana and Team One waiting outside the massive seal. "Sana, need some help?" I whispered.

  She turned. "Thank God! Captain, assign these people to team members!" she said to her number two,

  "Aye, ma'am," the captain replied as he led the group away.

  "Report," I ordered.

  "We scanned the interior and detected elf life signs--one male and two females. They match Dad, Grandma, and Linka. As far as I can tell, they're unharmed, though their vital signs are up."

  "At least they're alive. Now, all we have to do is get in, get them out, and stop whatever nefarious deeds are afoot," I said as I walked up to the closed and locked seal. Easy peasy.

  Chapter 30 - Meet the Grange

  While the rest of the family watched the match, Harm, Lenora, Linka and the two EMEF teams patrolled the industrial sections of the station, searching for any sign of a gateway forming between universes. As a precaution, Harm rigged a pair of holoprojectors to display likenesses of him and his mother in the skybox. Anyone looking in would see the Prince and Queen Mother of Ventos Prime cheering for their champion.

  "Lucien, why don't you go back and watch your wife. We can handle this," Lenora said as she and he walked along running scans. Currently, they were near the fusion pod.

  "That's not going to happen. I lost you once and I won’t do that again. I know, you're the warrior queen mother of Ventos Prime, but I can't deal with the thought of you getting hurt or killed while I'm in a sky box watching a boxing match."

  She grabbed his arm and stopped him. "You care?"

  He gently took her by her upper arms. "I've always cared, even when I didn't know you or Losi or Father existed. Why do you think I went over the deep end? Muntz had to have something to lever against and you three were my fulcrum."

  "I... I never knew," she said while trying to hide tears. "I thought you were angry..."

  "At you? I don't think any of you can imagine the load that was lifted from my shoulders when I met you for the first time. It was like someone threw a bucket of warm sanity in my face, especially after that linking with Losi. Talk about drinking from a fire hose."

  She took his arm and continued walking down the corridor. "I missed you, Lucien."

  "As I missed you," he said. "The match must have started by now."

  She nodded. "You're proud of her, aren't you?"

  He nodded. "Who wouldn't be? Look at what Marta's done, at what she's accomplished. Marta is an amazing woman. I am lucky to still have her as part of my life."

  "As she is lucky to have you," Lenora said.

  "My Prince, my Queen, may I join you?" Linka said as she walked up to the two.

  "Please," Lenora said.

  "Find anything?" Harm asked.

  "Nothing. My teams have finished sweeping retail and industrial, but they've turned up zip. Where are you two off to?"

  "Storage," Harm said "then meet-up with Sana and her teams. They've checked the fusion pod and came up empty."

  The three of them continued on, passing Sana and her teams on the way. After checking storage a final time, Harm and his companions headed back to the arena when Harm’s scanpad lit up like a holiday tree. "We have company," he said while rotating around so the scanpad pointed toward the fusion pod. In response, the ladies pulled out their weapons while he pulled out his commlink and called Sana. "Sana, it's Harm; do you copy?"

  "I copy. Our scanpads show a disturbance in or near the pod."

  "I'm reading the same. We're heading there now."

  "Do I need to remind you to wait for us to get there before you do something ill-advised?"

  "When have I ever done something ill-advised? We'll wait, I promise. Harm out."

  Harm and his companions found themselves standing in front of a locked pressure seal beyond which was the fusion pod foyer. The seal was festooned with radiation warning signs.

  "This is wrong," Linka said. "The reactor was moved years ago and the area beyond the door never came into contact with radioactives. These signs are in error." She walked over and tapped a code into the massive door's lockpad. Nothing happened. "This is impossible. My code opens every door on this station." She tapped the comm panel above the lock. "Central, this is Veraska. I need a status on the port-side fusion pod foyer pressure seal."

  "Commander, Central. Both seals are locked solid as per standard operating procedure."

  "Is there any sign of radiation?"

  "None, ma'am. The area is clean and quiet."

  Open the port-side seal, please," she ordered.

  "Yes, Commander. Commander Veraska?"

  "Yes."

  "There seems to be a problem. The door is refusing our commands to open. It seems to be stuck."

  "Stuck? Pull-up the logs and see when it or its twin were opened last."

  "One moment... Ma'am, the logs are gone. Wiped clean."

  "What? How is that possible?"

  "I don't know ma'am. Would you like me to start an inquiry?"

  "No, we have too much on our plate already. Take station alert up a notch and standby," she said.

  "Aye, Commander. Station Alert Level 3, aye. Control standing by."

  She closed her communicator and looked at her companions. "Harm, can you get us in there?"

  A smile formed from ear to ear as the tall elf pulled a hacker ball from his pocket. "Just say when," he said as he placed it against the glass face of the lockpad.

  Linka and Lenora scanned the other side of the pressure seal. "Clear," Lenora announced. She pulled out her blaster and thumbed its power level to heavy stun. "Ready."

  Linka nodded. Harm pressed the top of the ball. The seal opened to reveal a dimly lit and empty foyer.

  "Should we call the EMEF and Station Security and wait for them to arrive?" Harm asked.

  Linka and Lenora each gave him a raised eyebrow as they stepped inside with weapons at the ready.

  "Scanning," Harm said as he moved the scanpad around the room. "Life signs and energy signatures beyond the pod door." He stopped and panned the device around the room. "Energy conduits," he said while pointing up at large black cables running from pod wall to station wall over ancient cable trays.

  "Impossible," Linka said while glancing at the scanpad screen. "All equipment was removed years ago during decommissioning. Are they live?"

  "Very."

  Linka made a decision. She activated her commlink. "Central, this is Commander Veraska. Go to level 5 and get security teams down here, ASAP." She walked over to the station wall and raised a protective cover, revealing a red mushroom button. As she hit it with her fist, the lights in the room went to red as emergency floods filled the room with red light. Meanwhile, the seal they had entered through slammed shut.

  "Ms. Veraska, please hand me your weapon and step away from the panic button." Linka felt the sharp tip of a blaster emitter pressed against her right temple as someone took her communicator from her and deactivated it. She handed over her pistol butt first as she stepped backwards. Turning, she found herself facing an older Tralaskan male with piercing blue eyes. Behind him, held at gunpoint by two unhappy looking Tralaskans, were Harm and Lenora. "Let me introduce myself," her captor said. "My name is..."

  "Josiah Muntz, ex-Director of OffSec Special Projects. I heard you were dead."

  "A minor oversight. You know how OffSec paperwork can get lost in the shuffle."

  "I can fix that. Just let me have my blaster back." Linka said with a smile.

  "I like her," Lenora said, getting a rifle poke for her trouble.

  "Gentleman, none of that now," Muntz said. He motioned toward the pod door. "Shall we go visit some friends of mine?"

  ###


  The interior of the pod was a huge sphere, perhaps two hundred meters in diameter. Suspended at its center was a fifty-meter diameter geodesic sphere, its interior covered with small objects. "Now we know where all the SFL mega-routers went," Harm said, pointing to the inner sphere. "Where did you get the rest of them, and what are those spheres attached to them?"

  "We stole them, a few here, a few there. It's taken months, but we did it. I would have turned this whole space into a gateway if I could have found the parts," Muntz bragged. "The spheres are compact field generators."

  "A gateway to where," Lenora asked.

  "Another universe, one populated by old friends of ours. Two million years ago, a race called the Logash opened a gateway into what we would call the AI universe, a vast continuum populated by non-corporeal beings calling themselves the Alue, many of whom came a visiting."

  "If I remember the story correctly," Harm noted, "a number of them decided to exterminate the Logash and rid this universe of all corporeal beings."

  "Yes, and a General Agenor and his lieutenant, Rutile, saved the day by killing thousands of AIs. Unfortunately, they were too late and the Logash died out."

  "Yes, and the Alue now live peaceably with the citizens of the League, most of whom think of the Alue as artificial intelligences born of modern technology." Lenora noted. "What you're talking about is ancient history."

  "Ah, but it gets better. The insurgent Alue didn't die like first thought. Due to a glitch in this universe's control systems, any being from another universe who 'dies' here is shunted to a third universe, a prison of sorts."

  "I do not like the sound of this," Linka said.

  "As well you shouldn't. You see, they weren't the only ones shunted there. They were joined by several thousand Grange who were supposed to go back to the Grange universe except Harmon's solution drove them to the prison instead."

  "Wait a minute," Harm said. "The Inspectors wouldn't have let this happen. Hell, Xura was once married to the Grange leader, Lorq."

  "You're right, if they had known. They had no idea that this prison universe existed. Frankly, the Inspectors are mostly bumbling fools and their leadership knows this, which is why they're trying so hard to recruit you, Harmon."