by Frank Carey
Bobby reached down and opened the inner hatch, revealing the outer surface of the asteroid's hatch. While the boys watched, Christa scanned the area on the other side of the hatch. "Clear!" She put away the scanner and pulled out her hacker ball, placing it on the control pad on the side of the door. A moment later, the door rolled out of the way revealing a dark space beyond. It took them less than a minute to gain access to the interior of the asteroid.
"Damn, this place looks new," Torren noted as he looked up and down the curving corridor. He heard a noise and looked down to see a small cleaner bot scurry by.
Christa panned her scanner around. "This corridor rings the asteroid. There are entrances into the interior every few yards. We've got almost two hundred mercs running around, probably cleaning out the place."
"What about Shenda and Aerith?" Bobby asked as he kept an eye out for mercs.
"Straight ahead, one hundred yards, then right-fifty. I'm reading a synth and a lot of power being utilized."
"Let's go," Bobby said as he took his safeties off. "Sibs, we're going against trained mercs and our sisters’ lives hang in the balance. Not to get melodramatic, but we cannot hesitate. If we're seen, we shoot for effect."
"Copy that," Christa said as she set her gun to full power and lowered her shooting glasses, the ones with built-in HUD tied directly into her scanpad.
"No guts, no glory," Torren added, "or something like that."
Both Christa and Bobby cuffed him, before they headed off down the interior corridor.
###
"Sana, any sign of the Mariposa?" Royce asked as he piloted the battle shuttle toward the asteroid.
"No, dammit. The damn thing is invisible," the young sergeant said as she hunched over the console. "Harm, what the hell did you do to her shields? Even our best equipment leaks."
"Sorry, I tweaked the system down to less than one-half-percent loss. You might see it if you were standing on it."
"What if you stop trying to see it and look for bare spots in the asteroids energy readout?" Losira asked.
Everyone looked at her.
"What?"
Harm leaned over and kissed his sister on the cheek. "I am no longer the genius of the family. She's right; the design parameters never included having the ship hide on the hull of an energy-emitting ship. You should be able to look for a small, isolated drop in the asteroids energy output."
"Scanning... Got it, dead ahead. On screen."
An energy output map was overlaid on the image of the asteroid. Just off-center was a dark spot. "Behold the Mariposa 2," Harm said. "The kids must be using the ventral hatch. You can land on top and use the dorsal airlock."
"Sir, how do we get into your ship? The kids have your keys," Zon asked.
Marta unbuttoned a pocket and took out an electronic fob. "I always carry a spare."
"Isn't she wonderful?" Harm said, with a glint in his eyes. "Normally, I don't bother locking my ships, but Mariposa 2 is special. Luckily, all my ships use the same lock code, just in case."
A short time later, Harm, Losira, and Team One were inside the asteroid, retracing the sibs' path. Unlike the sibs, they came across a group of mercs carrying crates. "EMEF Team One. Drop your weapons!" Royce yelled as his team dove for cover in doorways. Meanwhile, the mercs dropped their load and opened fire on Team One.
While Harm returned fire, his comm beeped. Ducking into a doorway, he activated the unit. Immediately, Shenda's panicked voice came from the unit. "Dad, it's Shenda. Do you read me? Over."
"Shenda, where are you? What's wrong?"
"It's Aerith. Atmar has her hooked to a machine. It's sucking out her mind..."
"Dammit. Christa. Can you reroute the outward data into a buffer, or a loop?"
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before."
"Okay, look for..." A grenade went off nearby, debris from the explosion knocking the comm out of his hand. "Royce, we've got to move! Atmar is killing Aerith!"
Royce and the Team laid-down suppressive fire while throwing grenades. In seconds, the mercs were dead. "Sana! Area scan! Full circle."
"Life signs and movement, all headed our way."
Royce grabbed his comm. "Pride of Ventos, this is Maj. Aymar. Code one. I repeat, code one. Our position is compromised. We are about to be overrun by mercs. Requesting immediate reinforcement. Hostages are in danger, over!"
"Copy that, Team One. We are breaching asteroid as we speak. Proceed to hostages at best possible speed. Pride of Ventos standing by."
"You heard the woman! Move out!" Royce yelled as he fired at a merc foolish enough to stick out his head from a nearby corridor."
Team One headed to the where the kids were, while firing at anything that moved.
Chapter Sixteen
With Bobby on point and Torren watching their six, the three teens made their way down the corridor. Oddly, they met no resistance. "Sis, where is everyone?" Bobby asked.
Christa adjusted her datapad. "Wow, Dad has jacked this thing."
"What?" Torren asked.
"I've got most of the mercs heading toward a large, cloaked freighter at the far end of the asteroid."
"They're probably loading booty," Torren noted.
"No doubt," Christa continued. "And I've got one, heavily armed, battle shuttle landing on top of the Mariposa. It’s got a Ventosian energy signature."
Bobby smiled. "Team One must have gotten away from the Ithians..." The three of them stopped. "Shenda!" Bobby whispered. They ran down the remaining corridor, stopping in front of a door like any other they had passed.
"In here!" Christa said.
"It'll take me a minute..." Torren started to say. He stopped when Bobby pushed his fingertips into the doorframe. He quietly and slowly ripped the door open.
Christa peered inside and saw Atmar standing in front of a control console on the opposite side of a large collection of equipment. Between him and the door was a pair of beds, one occupied by an unconscious Aerith.
"Free me!" A voice said in their heads. It was Shenda. Christa looked to the left and saw her sister gagged and bound to a chair. Shenda looked up and her eyes crinkled with a smile at the sight of her siblings, but the look turned to fear when she glanced at Aerith. "Aerith is dying."
Christa and Bobby made their way to Shenda and freed her, while Torren watched the doorway and Atmar. The synth was oblivious to everything around him except the task at hand.
Shenda looked at her siblings, and they nodded.
Their eyes went white as they walked to stand in front of their father's doppelganger. "Atmar!" they silently yelled as one.
That got his attention.
His head snapped up to behold the four eyeless elflings.
He screamed as they forced their way into his mind.
"Turn off the machine. Release our sister. They silently screamed into his positronic brain, blasting through his futile attempts at firewalls and shields.
"I can't. I don't know how. I was only interested in starting the process, not stopping it."
Shenda raised her right hand and swept it to the right. Atmar was picked-up off the ground and hurled into the far wall near a side exit. He slid unconscious to the ground as the kids eyes went back to normal.
"Christa, do something!" Bobby said as he ran over, took Aerith’s wrist, and read her pulse. "Pulse is thready." He lifted an eyelid, "Pupils are dilated. We're losing her."
Bobby grabbed Atmar's medscanner off the console and ran it over Aerith. "Confirmed. This thing is sucking her brain dry."
"I can't... I don't know how... Maybe Dad or Gloria..."
Shenda grabbed her comm and activated it. "Dad, it's Shenda. Do you read me? Over."
There was the crackle of static followed by her dad's voice mixed with the sounds of weapons fire. "Shenda, where are you? What's wrong?"
She pressed a button on the comm, sending him their coordinates. "It's Aerith. Dad, I need help."
"Okay, try to find…”
an explosion cut off the communication.
"Dad!" Christa yelled, but only static came from the radio.
"Shit!" Christa yelled as she went back to pressing buttons. "I need to link with Gloria, but I don't have the equipment..."
"Would these help?" Torren asked as he pulled a half-dozen red hacker balls from his pocket.
"Where, in the name of all that's holy, did you get these?" Christa asked as she grabbed three balls, attaching one to the comm unit, one to her scanpad, and one to the console."
"Found them," he said with a smile.
"Guys, hang on," she said as she got an unbidden idea. She pressed the top of the ball on the comm unit as her eyes went white. "Emergency connection, Gloria Aymar, Cube, priority ultimate."
"Gloria responding to priority ultimate. Who the plark is this?"
Christa's eyes went from white to elven orange. "Shit!" she said in Gloria's voice. "Where am I?"
"My name is Shenda, and that's Aerith on the table. This machine is draining her soul, and we can't stop it. Can you help us?"
Gloria looked at the console. "Yeah, I can do it, but I need both hands."
"On it,” Bobby said as his eyes went white. He placed his hand on the scanpad hacker ball which was linked to the other two. He nodded. "Do your magic, Cuz."
Gloria gave him a quick look before getting to work. While Torren monitored Aerith's vital signs, Gloria adjusted the console controls, her hands flying over the surface almost too fast to follow. Finally, the machine just shut down.
"Where the hell am I?" Aerith asked as Torren helped her sit up.
"Thanks, Gloria," Shenda said as Bobby removed his hand from the hacker ball, gently returning Christa back to her body and Gloria to hers.
"Nice job," Shenda said to her sister.
"It just came to me. Thank the Gods Moron lifted those balls."
"I heard that," Torren said as he gently removed the headset from Aerith's head.
"Hey, how do you feel?" Shenda asked Aerith, while the others stood around them.
"Tired, beat. What happened to Atmar?"
"He's..." Shenda pointed to the wall, but Atmar was gone. Just then, Team One, led by Harmon and Losira, ran into the room. While the Marines took defensive positions at both doors, Losira and Stal ran up to check on Aerith. Harm took the sibs aside. "What happened? We got cut-off when a merc grenade knocked my comm out of my hand."
"That's a little hard to explain," Christa said.
"Try me. I do have my moments of lucidity."
Christa took him by the hand and led him over to the control console where the four recounted what had happened. When they finished, they stood silent, watching him carefully examine the setup they used to save their sister.
"Damn," was all he could say. He picked up a ball. "Fused solid. The amount of energy channeled through it must have been staggering. He took out his comm. "Shuttle computer, recognize Aymar, Harmon."
"Recognized."
"Emergency call, Gloria Aymar, Cube, initiate."
"Working..."
"Harmon! Oh my God, are you all right? Is Aerith all right? Who the hell are those kids, and why are they calling me Cuz?"
"Gloria. How do you feel?"
"I feel fine. What the hell is going on? This place is in an uproar. I've got an investigation team in here digging through the paperwork for John's old mind-shifter apparatus."
"But, you're okay, right?"
"Yes, dammit. I'm fine!"
"Good, I'll call you back and explain everything. Harmon out."
He put away the comm and looked at the kids. "And you four are okay? No headaches, nausea, hives, need for frequent urination?"
The four kids tilted their heads in disbelief. "Dad! We're fine!"
"Excellent. You four have done well today. I know I should scold you about stealing my ship, going into combat alone, and taking on my doppelganger, but I know this won't be the last time you pull this kind of stunt. Anyway, you saved Aerith. For that, I will be eternally grateful."
They four of them ran over and hugged Harmon. "But you will have to tell Gloria everything. Oh, and she loves irises."
Finished with the sibs, Harm turned his attention to Aerith who was being attended to by his sister, wife, and Team One medic Sgt. Stal. "Losi, how is she?"
"She's fine. Whatever happened has left no lasting effect."
Marta took him aside. "What the hell happened here? Where's Atmar? Shenda said he had his goons tie up Aerith then strap her onto that table. That bastard was going to kill her and take her body."
"Listen up," Royce said as he came in from the hallway. "Ithian troops are securing the facility."
"What about the mercs?" Harm asked.
"Gone. The ones we tangled with, along with the ones guarding the transport ship, have boarded and left the station."
"Dammit. Now they have all those artifacts," Harm said.
"Not quite," Royce replied. "The ship disappeared from the scopes for a few minutes, then reappeared. It's floating out there, surrounded by League cruisers including Lenora's flagship."
"What do scans show?"
"According to Lenora, the ship is filled with artifacts, but no life signs. It seems the crew has vanished."
"Sirs, you should see this," Zon said, from the other doorway.
"What is it, Master Sergeant?" Royce asked.
"Blood, sir, and it ain't elf."
Royce and the others walked over and looked. Harm pulled a scanner from his coat and ran it over the droplets. "Synth. According to the signature, this blood is from one of the prototype supersynth bodies used for combat duties, you know, the ones that don't need battle armor."
"Sir, look," Sana said, while pointing to the wall panel next to the door. "Does that look like a body imprint to you?"
Royce stepped back and examined the dent. "Yes, it does. Assuming Atmar was over there working the controls and this dent is from his body, how did it end up way over here, at least five feet off the floor?"
"And hitting with enough force to draw blood?" Marta added.
The five of them looked first at Shenda and her sibs, then back to Harmon.
"Guys, lighten up. They're teenagers. Sure, they're fit, but throwing a two-hundred plus pound body thirty feet into a wall is preposterous. There's a perfectly logical explanation."
"Right," Sana said. "Logical. Got it."
"Team One, this is Pride of Ventos. Do you copy? Over."
"Mother, how nice to hear from you," Harmon said. "We're doing great, by the way."
"Can it, Lucien. We've got a situation out here. Royce, get everyone out and rendezvous with the Pride immediately. That goes for you as well, Lucien."
"Yes, ma’am."
"Yes, Mother."
"Lenora out."
They packed up their gear and headed back to the ships.
###
Harm, Losira, Team One, and the kids walked out onto the bridge and found themselves looking at a woman's head floating above the Bridge holotable. "It's for you," Lenora said to Harm as he walked up to the table.
"Excuse me?"
"We sent Team Two over to the transport where they found a tablet," Lenora explained. "It contained a recording directed at you by name."
Harm pressed a button on the table. A hologram of the city-ship appeared over the table. Standing in front of it was an older woman, her hair worn Tralaskan style. She wore a tattoo on her right forearm. "House Morell," Ciara said as she walked over.
"I never had dealings with House Morell," Harm noted.
"Hello, Harmon, or should I call you Lucien? I think I will stick with Harmon. My name is Mitrell, Head of the Tralaskan High House of Morell. You are probably wondering what the plark is going on."
"Smart woman," Harm muttered as his kids walked over to stand around him, almost as though they were protecting him.
"I have been tracking Atmar since my younger sister, Pressa died during one of his capers over a decade ago. And yes, Harmon, I
know about your special relationship with him. Atmar and his men are with me now. They will not bother you or the League again and neither will I. Good bye, Harmon. I hope you can find closure and happiness. Mitrell out."
The hologram disappeared leaving Harm to stare at the void above the table. He turned and looked at his mother. "Mother, you look like you have something to say."
"I know about what happened at the bar. I know about the choice you made. You made the right one. You could not have known the monster Atmar was. I did some checking. The caper was Pressa’s plan, and she blew it. There was nothing Atmar, or you, or anyone could have done to prevent her from being killed."
"I didn't know you cared."
"I've always cared. You are my son. You have been and will always be my son." She walked over and hugged him, something the Queen Mother rarely did to anyone, even Losira. She waved Losira over and hugged her as well. She then turned to her grandkids and hugged the five of them, shocking everyone in the room."
"Captain, the politicians are having their day. Let's go home."
"Aye, aye, Your Highness. Communications Officer, Give our regards to the fleet. Navigator, set course for Ventos Prime, Helm, engage at your pleasure."
"Aye, aye, Captain they replied. In moments, the mighty warship entered other-space as it headed back to Ventos Prime and home.
Chapter Seventeen
The Aymar house was all a bustle as family members gathered in the movie lounge to watch one of Harm’s many movies from the Golden Age of Science Fiction, a collection which included movies from Earth, Ventos Prime, and several other League member planets. Tonight, they were going to see, "This Island Earth."
With five minutes before movie start, Harm noticed Shenda was missing. "Bobby, where's your sister?"
"I saw her out on the back balcony. I think she's in a funk."
Harm walked out onto the balcony and found Shenda leaning against the railing, watching moonrise. "Hey, Kiddo, you okay? The movie's about to start."