Tethered Worlds: Blue Star Setting

by Gregory Faccone

  In space, people had to protect themselves. Because of the Perigeum's edicts, they could not equip suit rifles. But Aristahl had his seeker drones, and Jordahk's sling bag was loaded with everything, including the hunting grister. Designing, manning, and maintaining a rigorous system for disarming all mining area workers was impractical. It was a minor point anyway, in comparison to their mother vessel's capability. Even the Perigeum didn't expect foreign ships to carry valuables great interstellar distances, unarmed. Piracy was not widespread, but it was not unheard of.

  "Will my uncle be okay?" Khai asked?

  She was wearing a mystic no-suit, like Aristahl, and like the one Jordahk had trashed above Adams Rush. The fine black scales of its skin, like those of a dragon, absorbed and reflected light at the same time. It made the wearer look like an area of space moving within an area of space. No-suits had large, crystal canopies shaped like an inverted teardrop. Through it, Jordahk could see Khai's hair was pulled back in a tight braid that came forward over her shoulder.

  The girl's unusual skill-set made her a natural for combat, but she wasn't trained with pistols and long arms. Alb-Sone had a non-mystic monomer knife among the scout's extensive set of repair and fabrication tools. She wore it strapped to her thigh, concealed beneath a layer of dragon scales. Jordahk had little doubt she could wield it effectively. Depending on tunnel size, a monomer knife might actually be the best weapon choice.

  Like Glick the year before, Khai had the ability to look good in a suit. Although it was easier in a no-suit, which didn't require as much bulk for potency.

  A "guide" waited for them at the entrance to Prep Area One. At his least nefarious, he was a government minder. He wore a suit similar to a light combat model. It looked purposely dirtied down and made to look civilian. He wore a grister openly on a retrofitted belt.

  He sat in a transport frame, which was little more than six seats within a cage of spars, tanks, and thrust nozzles. There was no way to ditch him without escalating the situation earlier than necessary. Fortunately, Humberto came along, insisting he finish the mission started by his grandfather. It gave them enough people to break into two teams if needed.

  They took their seats. If the minder thought a nurse bot wearing a maneuver pack out of place, he said nothing. But his eyes bulged in recognition of the no-suits.

  "Wixom, use resonance contact through the frame to compromise our minder's compy, please," Aristahl said over their secure comm.

  "I can do it, sir," Barrister said.

  "I know, but we do not know with whom we are dealing. His compy might be a hybrid. I just want to covertly monitor communications, Wixom, nothing else, for now."

  "Wixom looked at some of my routines," Max said, "but he didn't need them. We're in. Oh nice. Our friendly guide just called the patroller and mentioned the no-suits. A squad is coming down to trail us."

  "So," the minder said, "this your first time to the mine?"

  "In it," Aristahl answered. "If you do not mind, I would like my AI to drive. There are specific locations we would like to prospect."

  The frame spurted propellant, and they dashed along in airless microgravity. Jordahk sat next to Khai in the back row. She looked around through the light enhancement of her crystal canopy, enjoying the ride. She had the amazing ability to appreciate the experience of something one second and jump into combat the next.

  Alb-Sone called over their secure comm. "More friends joining you, Arh-Tahl,"

  Jordahk examined the transmitted visual. It appeared at arms length, but was projected discreetly on his crystal canopy. It showed another construction frame entering Prep Area One with six men dressed like their minder. They carried battle rifles instead of pistols. At least they weren't the more powerful, integrated suit rifles.

  "Another ship just arrived from HAB rock," Alb-Sone said. "It got here quick and is staying out of sight on the other side."

  "This is turning into quite the party," Humberto said. "Is it too late for me to change my mind?"

  It was the first time Jordahk had heard the man joke. At least he was pretty sure it was a joke. Was Humberto softening to their cause? Or perhaps he was taking on the mantle of his grandfather, the old war fighter.

  At the first few intersections, a glowball affixed to the wall came to life. At every intersection, they took the older path. After a few of these choices, the glowballs stopped, but the transport frame was designed for this environment. A multispectral emitter blanketed the area before them, lighting it up in the enhanced vision of their crystal canopies.

  Jordahk was following Gaspar's rough map on his canopy. As they scooted through tunnel after tunnel, he grew to appreciate the mine's size. Aristahl was having a back-and-forth with Barrister. Though he couldn't hear it, the map was streaming from them and updated with their ongoing decisions.

  The tunnels had changed since Gaspar's last update. Some had collapsed, some were compromised, others were sealed off. Up to now they were able to work around the changes, but the estimated ship chamber, not far now, had no clear entry.

  "Wixom, please nullify all transmissions from our minder and the frame," Aristahl said over their secure comm.

  "Why are we stopping?" The minder asked.

  "The way forward is unclear. Jordahk, you and Khai go to the right. Follow the route Barrister has worked out. It is shorter, so you should be okay with packs."

  "I must insist we stay together," the minder said. "All activities of non-nationals must be supervised." He looked away, as if having an intense conversation, and likely realized all his communications were down. He gripped a spar of the frame, no doubt trying to reset it and realizing it, too, was inert to his touch. "What've you done?"

  The man gripped his pistol, but Aristahl was already standing over him, holding his arm down so that it couldn't clear the holster.

  "Humberto, if you please."

  Sitting behind the minder, Humberto reached around and locked a grip on the man's shooting arm.

  "Perhaps a little C02, Wixom."

  The minder struggled, but Aristahl's enhanced strength inside a formidable no-suit did not budge. Civility was gone in an instant from their "guide."

  "You think you're home free if you immobilize me?" he ranted. "You don't even know who we are."

  "We can take a guess," Jordahk said.

  "And you have no idea what's arrayed against you."

  "Actually, I believe we have a good idea on that front," Aristahl said.

  The minder struggled to look back at Humberto. "I know who you are. You and your family have no place to run."

  "We do now," Humberto said.

  The man's words began to slur. "You've shown us the way... We'll leave this jerkwater system with its last item of value... the new order... will..."

  "Torious, dose him out for a couple hours," Aristahl said. The nurse administered something to the minder through his suit's pharma port. "Go, Jordahk. Stay in secure comm contact, but do not trust it. Minimal usage. And watch out for our tag-along friends."

  "Got it, Pops. Watch yourself."

  Jordahk and Khai released from the frame. Spars extended on their thruster packs. Flaming propellant gushed from their tips. In a bright flash, they were off.

  The transport frame jetted down another tunnel, the minder slumped in his seat. Hewn walls blurred by in the painted colors of AI guesses. Aristahl turned the interpolation off and cleared his rets. Arh-Tahl learned long ago that darkness could hide nothing from him. The scene took on dark grays and dim, natural colors. People saw the universe through contrast. He perceived some even in what other men would consider complete darkness.

  "Nothing," Barrister said. "This tunnel is devoid of any clue."

  "It will be hidden carefully. Keep working your way around."

  "So, 'not in it,'" Humberto said.

  "Hmm, yes?"

  "That's what you said about the mine to our guide. You've been to the Beuker system before."

  "Yes."

&nbs
p; "When my grandfather was still alive?"

  Aristahl paused. "Yes."

  "Another fork up ahead," Barrister said.

  They examined Gaspar's plans a moment and took the branch to the right.

  "I would like to know Jordahk and Khai's position," Aristahl said.

  "Longwave is not penetrating this rock."

  "Yes, and regular communication, even scrambled, might be detected." Aristahl examined the maps. "The tunnels get smaller on their end. I surmise if they found something, it would be the back door."

  He concentrated a long moment with his eyes closed. He reached out, trying to sense empty spaces. But the planetoid was so riddled with tunnels that the effort proved fruitless.

  He changed focus, and the khromathyst pockets, as yet undiscovered, came alive in his mind. Thin tendrils woven everywhere. He could travel along them seeing more clearly, but the range was limited.

  "Sorry to disturb you, sir," Barrister said, "but I am picking up static bursts from behind us. We are leaving a rather easy-to-follow propellant trail."

  Humberto looked behind them. "Will they close?"

  "I believe we have narrowed down the search sufficiently. I surmise they will close now to keep us from activating or destroying it."

  "Contact behind," Barrister said. "Seeker drones: count two."

  Aristahl stood in the transport frame and put his no-suit into combat mode. Its heavy-duty bracer sprang to life, but that would only stop one.

  "Are you up for an intercept, Barrister?"

  "Your seeker drones are very versatile, sir."

  Aristahl reached into his bag and pulled out a classic, his ochre beetle style, fortified with an iridium punch. He held it for a few seconds and it reconfigured strangely for a beetle but fitting for the airless environment. Hurling it clear, it flared to life and raced back down the tunnel.

  Humberto looked concerned but didn't seem fearful. He was wearing only a sturdy, civilian work suit. Aristahl doubted what passed for sturdy in occupied Beuker.

  He raised his bracer arm. "You best stay down."

  Barrister's calculations danced on Aristahl's canopy, and a flash blossomed in the receding gray. "First down, second approaching."

  A distant star appeared and grew rapidly. Lightning leaped from Aristahl's arm, and the transport frame was washed in light and debris. It was not a good vehicle for maneuvers, especially at the speeds they were traveling. One did not have to veer too far off course to run into a wall.

  "Charge it fast," Aristahl said. He thought for a second. "Their vehicle is similar to ours and likely running similar risks. Barrister, start looking for weakened natural phenomena that might suit our purpose."

  "How many of those do you have?" Humberto asked.

  "Three more, but I suspect we will need one for the way in."

  "I am detecting clues," Barrister said. "Following. The tunnel narrows."

  "Good. Find us a stone bridge or fault. We cannot let them get into rifle range." Aristahl found a victorious smirk suddenly on his face.

  "Is something funny?" Humberto asked.

  Aristahl reached into his bag, concentrated for a moment to reconfigure another seeker drone, then hurled it casually back over his shoulder. It blossomed into a flare of light, illuminating the tunnel as it pulled away. "No, I just thought of a tactical solution. Those boys are in too much of a rush in vehicles such as these."

  "Won't they have bracers? Even all of your seeker drones at once wouldn't overcome them."

  "I know. That was just to get them used to incomings. Do not make them sweat too much, Barrister. I want it to be an easy intercept."

  They slowed as the tunnels narrowed and the turns became sharper and more frequent. They passed through a straightaway marred in the middle by crags and a loose pile of rocks clinging to one wall.

  "I believe that area will do, sir," Barrister said.

  "Time it well. I want them to see it coming."

  "Ready... now."

  Aristahl tossed another of the seeker drones, and it rocketed back. "Telemetry, please."

  A display appeared on their canopies showing the tunnel blur by in painted colors. Suddenly, another construction frame registered in the distance, calculation lines branching off it. They didn't have much time to examine it. Only three men were chasing them, one standing confidently with his arm out. But the drone didn't close to intercept. Rather, it veered up at the last second into the weak crags.

  The last image of their speeding frame was it reorienting severely and spurting prodigious propellant. The men waved their arms as if they could steer the craft.

  Though there was no way to hear the explosion, it could be imagined as they saw the briefest hint of light flare behind. No doubt at the speed their pursuers were traveling, the frame couldn't avoid what had been blown down so unexpectedly into their path.

  Humberto sat up. "Well, that's good news." he looked at Torious who was acting as blase as a robot could. "We are through, and there's no work for you."

  "I like your optimism," the nurse said.

  Aristahl recalled that three seats on the pursuing frame had been empty. "But it is not good news for Jordahk and Khai."

  Kord's scientum combat suit was an excellent model, filled with extras. But to Jordahk, it felt like he was wearing it, like he was in it. It was hard to explain, but when he was in the mystic no-suit, it was almost as if it wasn't there. It was all just him.

  The tunnel walls zipped by but didn't blur. They had become more cautious about their speed as the passages shrunk. One didn't want to tumble into rock wearing a suit, especially in an airless environment.

  Khai took to hers in the natural way she seemed to take to everything. Jordahk fought back fleeting envy. He had to work so hard to get proficient, and was still working hard. Through discipline, envy was discarded. He smiled suddenly, finding himself glad she was on his wing.

  Why is it every time he took a dangerous space walk, a woman was nearby watching his back?

  A burst transmission came in on their secure comm. "Watch yourself. Three on your six," Aristahl said. "You can take them."

  He looked back instinctively, but saw no one. "You heard him, Max. Keep an eye out. And Wixom, you've got to lead me in."

  "These smaller tunnels are only hinted at generally in Gaspar's plans," Wixom said. It wasn't an excuse, just a statement of fact.

  Jordahk took a quick inventory. Khai's suit was formidable.

  She's formidable.

  Two bracers among them, a hunting grister, and a monomer knife. They were prepared and had defenders' advantage to pick the battleground. Then he thought of one other asset—the etch.

  "Khai, look for an ambush spot. I'm going to concentrate for a second. Max, keep driving."

  He pulled the etch out of the suit stor-all. It clung to his gloved hand as if magnetically attracted. He couldn't drop it if he wanted. He aimed in the general direction of their goal and concentrated. It wasn't fatiguing, but it required a level of focus one couldn't continue indefinitely.

  He tried to push his vision through the moving wall. The motion wasn't helping, and pushing through solid rock to find only more solid rock was difficult. The pressure would ease up if he reached another tunnel. There, he could focus the image. The etch, like a remote pair of eyes, needed something to see.

  Scanning on the move wasn't going to work. He needed to stop and focus, but only where he suspected there was something to find.

  "These side tunnels look promising," Khai said.

  "Yeah, that's good. Negate their rifle range and keep it close."

  They passed a number, looking for one best suited to taking on three men in combat suits of unknown capability and battle rifles.

  When did I get to the point where this kind of thing is just another obstacle to overcome?

  He had a brief memory of his octal friend, Cranium. There were many good ones, but the image brought forth, the octal's last dumbfounded expression before exploding, was n
ot one of them. Jordahk shook it out of his mind and took a moment to concentrate in his forehead. His focus cleared.

  "Picking up something behind us," Max said. "They'll be on without much warning. I suggest we set up."

  "Send discreet pulses down these side tunnels. I want something U-shaped. Two entrances. No dead ends."

  They picked up the pace to pass more prospects. Thrust packs gushed as turns brought them uncomfortably close to the walls. Finally, a prospect fit the bill, and they slipped up to the top of a relatively narrow U off their main passage.

  No one was pinging actively, potentially giving their position away. Their pursuers had an edge in that they were following propellant trails. But Jordahk also had an edge, or rather, an etch. He held it up and concentrated through the rock, down into the main passage. He swept back until he spotted them, their colors mostly machine blue with a hint of the human orange.

  "Show Khai." Two out in front, and one behind, they slowed at the first entrance to the U. One stopped and entered cautiously. Jordahk followed the other just long enough to see him entering the other end. "The classic pincer, and the commander staying behind to see what happens." He focused on the first again. "Time it right, Khai. It narrows at that last sharp bend. You'll be on him before he knew what hit him."

  Khai broke out the monomer knife, and held it, reverse grip. She studied the approaching rifleman in her crystal, no fear evident. That was her, but it was strange.

  "Will you at least deploy the scutum?" Jordahk asked. "Do it for my peace of mind."

  "It is not necessary. He will not be able to react swiftly enough to my approach."

  Concentrating through the etch, he couldn't give her a reproving look. Max displayed a couple of intercept solutions. She selected one and blasted off without giving Jordahk a chance to even say "good luck."