Wars

by Alex Deva

  “Aram, Zi, are you alright?“

  When it came, Aram’s voice sounded a little different. It was somehow less metallic.

  “We’re fine, breathing this guy’s air. We’re in another compound of some kind.“

  “What happened?“

  “He brought us here and locked us in, hopefully on account of him not being able to breathe our stuff. He said he’d be right back.“

  “Where did he say he was going?“

  “He didn’t.“

  “Are you alright?“

  “Yeah, we’re good. How’s Doi?“

  “I’m good, thanks,“ intervened the girl. “Just a little spooked. We’ve had this weird talk with the man who kidnapped you.“

  “Really? What did the fucker want?“

  “How did he know where you were?“ asked Zi.

  “Even I can answer that,“ said Aram. “Someone saw your arse burning through the air, went to the nearest Square spy, and earned a day’s pay.“

  “Ah,“ said Zi. “Is that right?“

  “Apparently,“ said Mark. “But don’t worry about it.“

  “So what did he say?“

  “He tried to threaten us into staying out of what he called ‘Square business’.“

  “Conquering Earth, you mean.“

  “Yep.“

  “Well, I don’t give a fuck whether his business is square or round, it’s gonna get nicely ruined,“ said the Dacian. “We’ll personally make sure of that.“

  “Without involving the Builders,“ said Doina. “I think he’s a really bad man, but he was right about the huge war.“

  “Aha,“ said Aram, sounding rather less enthusiastic. “I’m sure that…“

  “He’s coming,“ said Zi, quickly.

  * * *

  The alien entered from what appeared to be an airlock, which hadn’t been outside the room before. He was wearing the same breathing equipment that he’d had in the other complex, and he was holding the same white box in his long hands. He sat down in the water and spoke:

  “Here is what I had in mind.“

  He placed the box between them as before, and spread his hands at his sides.

  “I help you talk with Ambassador Jox. But I stay on the winning side of any deal that you make with her or with anyone else in the Saudade Conglomerate.“

  “What do you mean by staying on the winning side?“ asked Zi.

  “It means exactly what you think it means.“

  Zi looked at Aram. “But why don’t you just…“

  “We’re in a hurry. We can discuss terms later. There’s no time now. Look,“ said the alien, and a thin curtain of water fell from the ceiling, made of drops so small and so precisely aligned that it looked like a sheet of glass, gently glistening in the light. It came to life with the image of a tall alien, who stood up and approached them, showing that the link was bidirectional.

  “Is that…“ asked Aram privately.

  “Looks like her,“ said Zi.

  “How can you tell?“

  The soldier had no time to answer, as the creature spoke first.

  “You! But… How can you be here?“ The translated voice had a slightly different quality; it sounded different from ken Selloa’s voice.

  “Hi,“ said Aram, unsurely.

  “I do not understand. Wait… have you been here all the time, even when you visited the Complex?“

  The Dacian looked at his partner.

  “No,“ he answered. “We were home on our own planet.“

  “But you could not have came so fast. It is not possible.“

  “We can explain,“ lied the Dacian, who could explain faster than light travel no easier than faster than horse travel. “But first we need to talk.“

  “What about? Talking to you got me where I am now!“

  “How?“ spoke ken Selloa for the first time. Jox turned and seemed to look at him from the liquid curtain.

  “Who are you?“

  “I am General Lord Top ken Selloa,“ he answered.

  “Like hell you are,“ snapped the ambassador. That caused Aram and Zi to shoot a quick glance at each other; Zi frowned, while Aram’s eyebrows shot up.

  “I sent you my credentials.“

  “And you hacked into a security drone in order to talk to me. A general would have simply called.“

  “I did not hack your drone. I merely…“

  “I may be a member of the diplomatic corps,“ said Jox, not letting him finish, “but I am not technically illiterate, nor am I socially ignorant. I know every lord and I know every general, and you are neither a lord nor a general. Who are you?“

  Aram and Zi watched the exchange with interest. For a long while, nothing was said, and then, the alien on their side of the conversation swayed a little, then turned towards them and rasped:

  “My name really is Top ken Selloa, and I am the best thief in the Saudade Conglomerate.“

  XLII.

  The humans traded another glance. “Well,“ said Aram, unperturbed. “Now I get what you meant by staying on the winning side.“

  “It makes sense now,“ added Mark in their earpieces, thoughtful.

  “What do you want?“ asked Jox on the screen.

  “I want… whatever they have. Or whatever they want to have.“

  “Which is?“

  “I was actually rather hoping that you might know.“

  Jox made a gesture which must have been the Saudade equivalent of a disdainful puff.

  “I see no reason to help a thieving impostor.“

  “You do not need to. You merely need to help them, as is your mandate.“

  “You have no idea what my mandate is, ken Selloa.“

  “This is getting us nowhere. And the connection may be seized at any moment.“ The alien turned towards Aram and Zi. “What was it you wanted with her?“

  Zi looked at Aram, then at Jox.

  “What did you mean, when you said that talking to us got you where you are now? Where are you now?“

  “Under arrest,“ came the answer in an unmistakably unpleasant tone. “Under suspicion of a murder which occurred while I was in the Complex.“

  “How could you…“ began Aram.

  “Whose murder?“ interrupted ken Selloa.

  “A scientist’s.“

  “What scientist?“

  “Leave me alone. I do not have to talk to you.“

  “Was it Bree ken Cudner?“

  It was Jox’s turn to halt and stare. The two humans stared, too.

  “Who was he? Or she? I mean,“ fumbled Aram, “the, erm, scientist.“

  “More importantly,“ said Zi, “how do you know?“

  “He hacked into the Chief’s data network,“ said the ambassador, and again her distaste was obvious. “Just as he’s doing now in order to drag me into this dangerous idiocy.“

  “Actually, that is not how,“ said ken Selloa, slowly, gazing abstractly into his favourite white box.

  “Of course it is,“ said Jox. “Even I had no idea who this scientist was! The Chief had to show me. I told her I had nothing to do with his poisoning, but she persisted. Of course she did not think that I’d killed him myself, but she assumed I knew who did.“

  “Why?“ asked Zi again.

  “Because apparently he was involved in some anti-Square research, and you“ — she said irritatedly — “had made a point of asking half the complex about the very same thing. He died, and then you came out of nowhere asking me questions about what seemed to have been his work. Most annoying, since I knew nothing about it then, and I know equally much now, and I certainly — hear this, Chief, if you’re listening! — have no idea whatsoever about who killed the poor fool!“

  “Ah. But… I do,“ said ken Selloa.

  And that plunged the room once more into stunned silence.

  “Mark?“ asked Aram, privately.

  “Yes?“

  “What the fuck have you landed us into?“

  Before the Brit could an
swer, the ambassador’s shock subsided enough for her to utter:

  “What…! What did you say?“

  “I said that I know who killed Bree ken Cudner,“ said the alien.

  “You… you! What have I done to deserve this? Why do strange people pop up around me bent on ruining my life? Was it you?“

  “Of course not. I am a thief, not a murderer.“

  “Spare me your deontology.“

  “But I know someone who is more of a murderer than a thief. I… might have sold her a way into ken Cudner’s datanet. Obviously I had no idea she meant to poison his water.“

  “And how did you find out?“ asked Zi, neutrally.

  “I make a point to follow up on my deliveries. A satisfied customer is important, you understand. I paid a visit to ken Cudner’s datanet not long after I’d sold the backdoor, and everything was just drenched in criminal investigations. I had my regrets, of course… but I cannot be held responsible for how people use my work.“

  “Your… work! Your so-called work is what…“

  And, just like that, the falling curtain of droplets became transparent again. The aliens hissed and swayed.

  “Get out of there,“ came Mark’s voice, urgently.

  “I said it wouldn’t last forever,“ said the alien.

  “Can you get her back?“ asked Aram.

  “No, in both senses of the question. I cannot reconnect to her drone, and I certainly cannot get her out of arrest. And, if I am not mistaken, neither can I stay here much longer.“

  “Where are we?“ asked Zi.

  “In a safe place. Well, it was safe until I made this call. Now I have to assume it is compromised.“ He stopped and pondered. “Were you really hoping for a weapon against the Squares?“ he asked.

  “Aram, Zi. Get out, now. That place is compromised,“ Mark said, again.

  “Yes, we really were,“ answered the soldier, standing up.

  “That desperate?“

  “Yes.“

  “What did they do? Block your sun?“

  “Yes.“

  The alien swayed. “That always works,“ he said. “I am sorry, but the good ambassador could not have helped you in any way. She cannot give you something that does not exist. There are literally thousands of civilisations who… well, no matter.“ He slumped, and then began to get up from the floor, dripping water all around him.

  “So, you kinda kidnapped us,“ said Aram, conversationally, standing up as well.

  “Yes. Hacking into the Chief of Warfare’s datanet cost me a fortune. I risked it all hoping that you might actually get your hands on something.“

  “Even though you said yourself that it doesn’t exist?“

  “Yes… well, nothing existed before it did, isn’t that so? I took a chance. Big risk, big gain.“

  The humans finished fitting on their helmets and sealing their suits. The alien opened the door into the airlock and held it open for them; they stepped in, closed the airlock, and as soon as the atmosphere changed, the alien took off his own helmet and opened the other door. He took off at quite a trot, which, considering the length of his feet, had the other two sprinting to keep up.

  “What now?“ asked Aram.

  “Now we run.“

  “Where?“

  “I would suggest your base in orbit.“

  “Why?“

  The alien stopped, and turned towards them. His hisses, right at the edge of human hearing, came muffled through their helmets, but Doi promptly supplied the translation.

  “Here’s why. First, because security is probably after us; if they catch us, whatever they will do to you, I can promise that they will not help your world. Second, because I have everything that they found in ken Cudner’s home, including the database of periodic full scans going back since the military moved him in. And third, because if our security doesn’t get us, the Squares undoubtedly will.“

  “Why would the Squares…“

  “Remember I said I knew who killed ken Cudner? It was the strangest thing, which is why I made the connection with Jox’s arrest. This… connection of mine, she paid me a ridiculous amount for the access I gave her, much more than my normal fee. And the reason for that was, she was getting ridiculously well paid herself, for what seemed like a relatively simple job. And the reason for that was that she had been hired by the Squares.“ He turned back and carried on walking fast, checking something on his white hexagonal box.

  “Why would the Squares,“ repeated Zi, “hire someone for a murder job? They seem more than capable of doing it themselves.“

  “Exactly,“ said ken Selloa, without turning. “Part of their payment was to buy a solid cover-up story. Apparently not quite good enough for our Chief of Warfare, but good enough for anyone else.“

  “He was on to something,“ came Mark’s voice.

  “The scientist had been on to something,“ echoed Zi, panting.

  “Well, if he was, nothing was found.“

  “That’s what ‘being on to something’ means. He wasn’t quite there yet, but…“

  “Sure. He might have been close to an anti-Square weapon. Or perhaps they killed him for even trying.“

  “Did your friend…“

  They came to an intersection and turned right. “My client. Not my friend. No, she took nothing. He had nothing. Nothing interesting, in any case.“

  “Anything hidden?“ asked Zi.

  “That is a stupid question. If I knew about it, it would not be hidden. But you can rest assured that people looked everywhere.“

  They had to sprint really fast to keep up, and Aram hated running in a space suit. “What’s the plan?“ he gasped.

  “We go to my private and, hopefully, still secret ship, we run in the direction of up, and we do our best to not get shot. At some point you tell me which way to turn to reach your hopefully still secret ship, after which you take me to your leader and I negotiate a price for ken Cudner’s life recordings.“

  “I’m not leaving Effo here,“ said Aram, stopping. Zi stopped too, breathing heavily; ken Selloa continued for a few more steps, then realised that he was alone, stopped and turned.

  “There is a third of you here?“ he asked, unsure.

  “My ship.“

  “Ah! I nearly forgot. Yes, I do suppose that returning minus a ship might sour the deal a little.“ He walked back towards the two humans, already fiddling with his box. “I can program a transport to take you to the hangar where your ship is held,“ he said. “But I do not have time to wait for you. Our window of opportunity is very small, if we still have one at all. Get your ship, find us in space, lead the way. Draw some fire too, if you can; and remember that your friend will share my ship.“

  “Right,“ said Aram.

  “Aram,“ began Mark.

  Zi grabbed his arm. “Are you sure? How are you gonna do all that?“

  “He can’t,“ said Mark. “The place was teeming with people. I’ll ask Doina to come over and distract them somehow.“

  “Don’t,“ said Aram. “I know how she feels about stuff like that. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.“

  “Don’t be a hero, Aram.“

  “I won’t. I’ll call you the second it looks like there’s something you can do to help.“ And then, to Zi:

  “Effo will find you by your suit.“

  “I’m not worried about Effo,“ said the soldier.

  “You’ll be fine.“

  “Oh, I’m not worried about me, either. I’ll probably be out of here long before you.“

  “I’ll be fine, too.“

  They looked at each other for two long seconds. Zi squeezed his arm, smiled, let go, turned around and sprinted after ken Selloa.

  Aram watched them disappear into a side corridor, and found himself alone. He looked at his feet, up to his ankles in water. He sat down in it, and softly began to whistle inside his helmet.

  XLIII.

  Despite all his training, Zi’s lungs were on fire. His suit had already decid
ed to pump pure oxygen, and he’d felt the tiny sting of a medication shot in his left shoulder, right before some of the pain subsided. He would pay for that shot later, of course; military space suits were designed to keep their inhabitant alive as long as possible on the very short term, in order to survive enough to qualify for a slightly longer term.

  He’d been running like all hell for the better part of forty minutes. Not jogging, but full-on running at whatever best speed he could get, ankle-deep in the omnipresent sloshing water. Top ken Selloa had to stop a few times, waiting impatiently; but there were also times when the alien halted and sent him into some lateral entrance to hide and wait out an all-clear. Zi was deeply grateful for those pauses, even though he realised that every second spent not running was wasted.

  When finally they arrived, he could almost not believe it. The alien had stopped suddenly and pointed down; at their feet was a triangular opening, about one metre to the side, filled with water.

  “I do hope that both your suit and your species can accommodate swimming,“ he hissed.

  “You… first,“ panted Zi.

  The alien stepped into the hole and plunged into darkness like an octopus.

  * * *

  The transport arrived in less than a minute; Aram saw it turning a corner and stood up, expectantly. The door opened, he stepped in and sat on the floor; then the capsule closed and left.

  When he arrived, after a few minutes, he instantly recognised the place: it was right at the entrance of the large hall where he’d last seen Effo. Getting out of the transport, he quickly mapped a route that would see him crossing the large hall as inconspicuously as possible. But, just as before, there were at least twenty aliens in the hall, most of them crowding right around his ship.

  Aram kept to one wall, walking casually, and then crouched behind some arcane equipment. He got to within a hundred steps of the ship, with most of the aliens on the other side of it. Still whistling softly inside his helmet, he began crossing the hall.

  Ten steps, then twenty. Nobody noticed him.

  Ten more steps… and then ten more. Nothing.

  After ten more, he began to suspect that he was invisible.

  And then, an alien turned towards him, and gestured to another, who gestured to two more.