by G J Ogden
“Correct, Tobin Rand entity,” replied Morphus. “In this configuration, we will be able to reach the subterranean complex where the Revocater is located without being detected.”
Liberty nodded and let her body relax, at least as much as the cramped surroundings allowed. “We really need to work on your communication skills, Morphus,” she said, closing her eyes. Then she had a terrible thought, and looked up at the metal above her head, as if it were Morphus’ face. “What happens if those spider-drones have already gotten inside the complex, and found the prototype Revocater?”
“Then we must fight, and destroy them, before they cripple the Revocater,” said Morphus, with a cool resolve. “The Revocater must not be lost. The survival of all corporeal life depends on it.”
CHAPTER 27
The journey to the surface of the Corporeals’ planet was the most uncomfortable Liberty had ever experienced. This was not only because of the cramped confines of the cockpit, but because of the risk of being discovered. It felt like hiding in a school locker, while the bully patrolled the corridor outside, looking for her next victim.
Morphus had assumed full control of the ship again, as they descended steadily towards the service tunnel. Other seed ships flew by, seemingly oblivious to their true nature, while the spider-like drones crawled over the surface. However, as Morphus’ ship dipped lower than the jagged remains of the smashed skyscrapers, it became apparent that the surface drones had now discovered the service tunnel too.
“Look, they’re already inside,” said Tobin, pointing to the image in front of him. “We’re too late!”
“There is no need for concern yet, Tobin Rand entity,” came the disembodied voice of Morphus. Liberty had certainly grown to appreciate the alien’s naturally calm demeanor. It helped to deflate the steadily rising tensions inside the cockpit. “In order to destroy the Revocater, the drones will need to reach its reactor core, and detonate inside,” Morphus continued. The ship then entered the tunnel and their tiny cockpit was thrown into near-total darkness. The only illumination came from the soft glow of Liberty’s iridescent skin. “But they will first have to cut through the hull to enter. If we move quickly, they may not yet have succeeded.”
Morphus reached the end of the tunnel, spun the ship around and set it down. Liberty could see the entrance to the service tunnel closing behind them.
“Won’t the seed ships alert Goliath once they see us coming?” asked Liberty, as the cockpit began to expand around her. Morphus was reconfiguring the vessel back to its previous shape.
“I have interfaced with the complex’s core systems and temporarily supplied it with power,” said Morphus. Then the entity rose up out of the floor behind them, like a lava lamp bubbling upwards, and assumed its female form. “Until my reserves are depleted, this will allow me to seal off the complex from the surface, and jam any outgoing transmissions.”
“But for how long will your reserves last?” asked Liberty.
Morphus thought for a moment and answered, “For around two of your Earth hours, then I must disconnect and replenish.”
Liberty shrugged and nodded, “I guess we’re on the clock, anyway, so what’s another deadline to worry about?”
“Once we have secured the Revocater, I can link its power systems to the complex instead,” Morphus continued. “Assuming we do not allow any of the seed drones to escape, Goliath will not detect us, until we launch.”
Tobin laughed, nervously, “And how exactly are us three supposed to stop them escaping?”
Liberty raised her eyebrows and turned to Morphus. She wanted to hear the answer as much as Tobin did. Two ‘corporeals’ and a single alien AI, against an unknown number of vicious-looking machines the size of rhinos, didn’t seem like great odds.
“I’m a terrible shot, so I won’t be much help,” Tobin added, continuing to point out the flaws in Morphus’ plan. Then he gestured to Liberty, and added, “And while Liberty is undeniably lethal with a pair of tonfas, a couple of sticks won’t do any good against those spider things.”
“Tonfas; interesting…” replied Morphus, which was not the response that Liberty had expected. And judging by the bemused look on Tobin’s face, it wasn’t the response he was expecting either. Then Morphus turned and headed towards the rear of the compartment, which reconfigured as it approached. Liberty and Tobin exchanged further confused glances, then got out of their seats to follow the alien.
“My combat capabilities are highly advanced,” said Morphus without ego, as two objects were slowly ejected out of compartments that had just appeared. “But I will still require your assistance.” Turning to Liberty, it added, “In many ways, this will be no different to what you called ‘hunts’ on the wrecked Revocaters,” and then to Tobin, it said, “or your rescue of the Tory Bellona entity.”
Liberty glanced at Tobin, but Morphus’ words of encouragement – if that’s what they were – didn’t appear to have convinced him. However, Liberty was more concerned with the contents of the compartments. Curiosity got the better of her, and she approached one, before cautiously peering inside. Then she laughed. It was mostly a laugh of surprise, but Liberty certainly also considered what she saw in the compartment to be a joke. In front of her was a pair of tonfas, fashioned from the same alien alloy that the ship seemed to be constructed from.
“You can’t be serious,” said Liberty, holding up one of the weapons. It had the exact weight and balance as the ones she had misappropriated from the torture room on New Providence. “I can’t fight massive alien spider drones with two metal sticks!”
Morphus appeared to be entirely unconcerned by Liberty’s incredulous reaction. “It is best that you fight with what you know,” it said, before moving to the second compartment. “But, like your own corporeal frame, I have modified this weapon, and dramatically increased its lethality.”
Liberty raised an eyebrow, and held the weapon a little further away from her body. “That doesn’t sound good…” she said, scowling at the tonfa as if it might suddenly explode.
Morphus didn’t respond, and instead picked up a pistol from the second chamber, before offering it to Tobin. It looked like a pretty typical nine-millimeter, except that it was cast from a single solid piece of alien metal. The only moving part appeared to be the trigger.
“Hey, I’m the last person you should be handing some alien ray gun to,” said Tobin, pulling his hands away from the weapon. “I’m just as likely to shoot one of you two as I am the spider things.”
Morphus was again undeterred, and held the pistol out closer. “This will ensure that you are an asset, rather than a liability,” the alien said.
Tobin now folded his arms and scowled, “Now you sound just like my mom.”
Morphus frowned, but continued, “To effectively use this weapon, you will require some minor augmentations to the musculoskeletal structure of your arm, and a small modification to your brain.”
Tobin’s scowl remained, “A what now?”
Liberty laughed, and cut-in, “You’ll get a bit of glowy skin, like me, that’s all. No big deal.”
Tobin shook his head, “Fine, it’s not like I’m going to stay here on this creepy ship all by myself,” he said, taking the weapon. “How does it work, anywaaaaaaaaaay!” His final word turned into a scream, as a part of the weapon’s frame became amorphous and wrapped around his wrist. “What is it doing to me?!” he yelled, shaking his arm as if he was trying to dislodge a snake that had coiled around it. Then he stopped suddenly and froze. He squeezed his eyes shut a few times, like he was trying to blink some grit out of them, then shook his head vigorously. After a couple of seconds, he stopped, and appeared to act normally again. Tobin glanced warily at Morphus, then turned to Liberty. “Well, that was just about the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced…” he said.
“Do you now comprehend how to use this weapon?” asked Morphus.
Tobin shrugged and then said, “That’s the weird thing; I don’t know how, but I do.
”
“Good, then one final thing before we proceed,” said Morphus, returning to the compartments. It then picked up and held out two jackets. Liberty’s appeared exactly the same as the relic hunter jacket she’d bought on Brahms Three, minus some of the holes and patches. Similarly, Tobin’s looked like a replica of the off-white Nehru fashion jacket he was already wearing.
“They look the same as what we already have on. So, what gives?” asked Liberty, taking the jacket from Morphus’ hand. However, although it looked the same, Liberty immediately realized it felt completely different. It was heavier, and as she examined it under the vessel’s vivid white light, it also appeared to shimmer.
“I have fabricated these with high-density fibers that will help to protect your fragile corporeal torsos and internal organs,” answered Morphus.
Liberty took off her jacket, and began to transfer the contents of her pockets to the new garment. This included the remaining few hundred hardbucks that she’d previously stored in her quarters on the Orion. She caught Tobin shaking his head at her. “Don’t look at me like that!” she snapped at him, “There are a lot of bars where you can only get a drink if you have hardbucks. And since that asshole, Werner, stole most of my stash on New Providence, I’m not letting these notes out of my sight.”
“Nice to see you have your priorities straight,” said Tobin, with a cheeky smile. Then he removed his jacket and pulled on the one that Morphus had given him. Liberty caught him checking out how he looked in the polished reflective surface of the ship’s walls, and smiled.
“Shouldn’t we have the same protection for the lower half too?” asked Tobin, pointing to his designer pants.
“I have no more resources to spare at this time,” said Morphus. “Though you could still survive the loss of a leg, if treated quickly enough. Your vital organs are more challenging to repair.”
Coming from anyone else, Liberty would have assumed this to have been an attempt at humor. However, coming from Morphus, she knew the alien entity was probably serious. She glanced across to Tobin, who appeared positively horrified.
“And what about our heads?” asked Tobin. “Do you have any resources spare to help protect our squidgy corporeal brains?”
“I do not,” replied Morphus, but the entity then appeared to consider this question in more detail, before adding, “I advise that you do not get hit in the head.”
Liberty and Tobin’s mouths fell open. “Please tell me that’s your idea of a joke?” said Liberty, hoping more than ever that the alien’s study of humanity had extended to satire.
Morphus considered this for a moment. “No, it is my idea of advice,” then it laughed stiffly, and added, “but yes, I can see how you may consider it to be darkly humorous.”
Liberty shook her head. “We really, really need to work on your communication skills.”
“And your sense of humor…” Tobin added.
Morphus shot them a confused frown, then turned to face the wall, before pressing a hand to the smooth surface. The ship reconfigured and a ramp lowered on to the deck outside. Lights flickered on, illuminating a perfect, sheer metal wall, built into the rock.
Morphus glanced back at them both. “Are you ready, Liberty Devan and Tobin Rand entities?”
Liberty shook her head, “Absolutely not.” She then picked up the strange alien tonfas and stepped beside Morphus. “But one way or another, this is going to be one hell of a last relic hunt.”
CHAPTER 28
Morphus led them inside the shipyard complex, still in its human female form. Some of the doors had already been forced open, and there were scratch marks in the floor and walls. Liberty knelt down and ran her hand along one of the scratches; the cut was deep and clean.
“What could have cut so deeply into metal this thick?” asked Liberty. Though she had a worrying suspicion that it was the result of the scythe-like legs of the seed drones.
“The seed drones were originally designed to help reform the landscapes on planets targeted for corporeal life,” said Morphus. “However, their tools also make for formidable weapons.”
“I think it’s better if we stop asking questions like that…” Tobin cut in, “because I get the feeling we’re never going to like the answers.”
“I will deal with any seed drones attempting to breach the Revocater’s hull,” said Morphus, as it advanced in the lead, barely making a sound.
“And what do we do?” asked Liberty, following on, and jumping at every little noise that filtered along the wide corridor, no matter how faint or distant.
“The seed drones will focus their attacks on me,” said Morphus. “The more you can destroy and prevent from attacking me, the greater our chances of success. Even a single seed drone detonating inside the reactor core would ensure the vessel is too damaged to operate. And alone, I have no hope of repairing it, before Goliath finishes it’s task.”
Liberty nodded, but wondered why Morphus had not changed its shape. “Wouldn’t you have more success fighting these drones if you morphed into a form that was a bit more…” she hesitated, searching for the right word, before settling on, “aggressive?”
Morphus led them into a corridor that did not appear to have any scratches or signs that the seed drones had been there. “I have grown accustomed to this form,” it said, forcing open another door.
“Sure, but human bodies are not well-suited to hand-fighting giant metal spider drones,” replied Liberty, following Morphus through the door. Liberty thought that if she had the ability to morph into something more capable of fending off the drones, she would do, and was curious as to why Morphus had not. Then, worrying whether her comment might upset Morphus, she added, “No offence… I like your current form. It’s just perhaps not the best one right now.”
“No offence taken, Liberty Devan entity,” said Morphus, coolly. “However, if I were to adopt another form, I would no longer be Morphus.”
This stopped Liberty in her tracks, and she huffed a surprised laugh. She hadn’t thought that Morphus considered its new form to be part of its identity, rather than something adopted merely to make it easier for humans to accept it. However, now she thought about it, what Morphus had said made perfect sense.
“But please be assured that this form will not hinder my combat effectiveness,” Morphus added.
Liberty remained unconvinced that two arms and two legs would be any use fighting the spider-like drones, but didn’t question Morphus any further. The fact that the shape-shifting alien had become attached to this one form made it seem more real, somehow.
Morphus then led them up onto a higher level, but the path ahead was blocked by a massive metal double door. It looked like the sort of door that could withstand the blast of a rocket taking off. To Liberty’s total astonishment, Morphus stepped up to the metal slabs and forced them open as easily as if it were a Japanese shoji sliding door. It was a herculean feat of strength that left Liberty dumbstruck.
“I think that answers your question about Morphus’ capabilities…” said Tobin, smiling, as he brushed past her.
The corridor widened into what appeared to be a large viewing gallery. The glass wall had been smashed through in several places, and a cold breeze swept in through the holes. And in the cavernous space beyond this, Liberty could see the unmistakable shape of an alien hulk; a Revocater. However, unlike every other vessel of its kind that she’d seen before, this one was not smashed and broken, and it wasn’t weathered by centuries of rain and dust. Despite the fact it was likely tens or even hundreds of thousands of years old, it looked brand new.
Morphus peered around the room, then pointed to a large archway on the far wall. To Liberty’s surprise, it opened into another space, which seemed to have no other exits. The alien turned to them; the expression on its human female face was suddenly grave and serious.
“Tobin Rand entity, you can engage the seed drones that attack me from this vantage point,” said Morphus. Then it turned to Liberty and added, “Wh
ile you, Liberty Devan entity, must defend our corporeal male ally, and ensure that he can complete his task.”
Tobin glanced out through the smashed glass, again looking highly dubious of his role. “Even with these augmentations, are you sure I can hit anything from this range?”
“Trust yourself,” replied Morphus, “and your aim will be true.” Then it pointed to the room through the archway on the far wall. “But, as I believe you human corporeals say, ‘do not be a hero’,” Morphus continued. “I cannot pilot the Revocater alone. If the seed drones come for you, run to this room and seal the door. There is a button on the wall to the right as you enter. Seal yourself inside and wait for me to return.”
Liberty nodded, but then spoke with a matching seriousness, “Agreed, but you’re not indestructible either, Morphus. And you sure as hell aren’t expendable. We need you in one piece too.”
Morphus cocked its head to one side, “Technically, I am not formed from individual pieces,” it answered, prompting Liberty to raise a weary eyebrow. Then, to Liberty’s surprise, Morphus offered a smile, “But, I understand your meaning.”
“Good luck,” said Liberty, placing both hands squarely on the alien’s shoulders, which felt like lumps of solid rubber. “To all of us…”
Morphus nodded and moved to one of the shattered holes in the window. Tobin and Liberty crept to the other side, and crouched low. From her new vantage, Liberty could now clearly see the spider-like seed drones on the hull of the Revocater. They were positioned directly in line with them, roughly a quarter of the way up from the ship’s massive engines. Liberty counted eight drones, and they were cutting into the hull with what appeared to be narrow lasers or beams of plasma.
Morphus turned to them and said, “Be ready…” However, before either Tobin or Liberty could respond, the alien had kicked off the deck, and flung itself out into the hangar. The power of the vault shook some of the loose glass from the wall, and Liberty watched in astonishment as Morphus soared towards the Revocater. Then the alien entity transformed in mid-flight, reshaping its arms into wide, blade like appendages, and using them to glide gracefully towards its targets.