by C. Gockel
“Trying to create a panic,” the man’s voice declared, and the holo vanished.
There was a moment of deep hush. There had been crying on the other side of the meadow, and soft utterances of reassurance by humans and med ‘bots. All those noises had stopped. No one said a word. And then a cloud passed over the sun, and a roar sounded overhead.
“Dragon!” cried Volka.
6T9 looked up. Sure enough, a great, crimson-scaled creature was flapping above them. It had a long slender neck, a bulky head, whip-like tail, and impossibly wide leathery wings that ruffled his hair with their downdraft as it passed over. Moments later, it flew through the shattered holodome and over the boundary wall that separated the park from the rest of Shinar, sending hovers scrambling to clear its path. The unicorns screamed and charged en masse toward a place fifty meters down the crevasse where the cut in the earth wasn’t as deep. They charged down into the ditch, up the slope on the other side, and exited through a hole in the shrubs. Humans began to scream, and then ran, following the unicorns.
“Sundancer is on her way,” Volka said.
6T9 grabbed her arm and pulled her close before he’d remembered that he’d just hurt her. Another shadow passed over the sun. “She’s—” Here, he almost said, but the shapes passing overhead were not their starship.
“What are those?” whispered Volka, huddling against him. Her fingers gently prying his own fingers loose.
He relaxed his hold but didn’t let her go.
“Manticore,” he whispered as the pride of lions with bat wings and scorpion tails passed overhead, following in the wake of the dragon.
“Can we leave?” Carl squeaked.
“Sundancer is here now,” Volka replied just as a new shadow appeared overhead. An instant later, they, and a portion of the ground they’d been standing on, were in a pearlescent-hued ovoid room—Sundancer’s bridge.
“We’re going to get in big trouble for this,” Bracelet said. “Listen to what the Local Guard channel is broadcasting!”
A strange man’s voice echoed from Bracelet into the small space. “Intercept that ship! Be prepared to fire phaser—”
“Bracelet, cut transmission!” 6T9 ordered. “Show the embassy. Volka—”
“Imagining it,” she whispered.
“Yes, sir!” said Bracelet.
Sundancer began to accelerate. And for a moment, 6T9 relaxed. But then, on Volka’s shoulders, Carl whimpered…because he was frightened or because of his broken tail? 6T9 took a step back and wished he hadn’t. Both of Volka’s arms were marked by vivid bruises in the shapes of his hands. His Q-comm went white. James had told him not to rush to change his programming, but he’d seen enough. Scowling, he tuned out the real world and rushed into his code and began an update.
17
Minister’s Service
Galactic Republic: Shinar
Sundancer’s interior became translucent. For a moment, Volka saw the blue of Shinar’s sky, and then phaser fire rippled over the hull above her. Harmlessly, but just for a moment, Volka’s breath caught. They had been fired upon, and that blast would have downed a regular vessel. She looked between her feet. They were hovering above the Consulate garden. Motion at Volka’s eye level, perhaps twenty meters above the ground, caught her attention. A hover was racing toward them on a collision course. She wasn’t worried for Sundancer. The people in the hover, however…
A whir came from Sixty. She looked over at him. His eyes were open and vacant, empty like they were when he booted up. His body jerked. Blinking rapidly, he touched his temple. “James and Noa are in the hover; they’re heading for the Consulate.” At his words, the hover lowered at a dangerous angle and came to a halt. A moment later, two vertical doors on the vehicle opened like a beetle raising its wings. James and Noa jumped to the ground at the garden’s edge and disappeared beneath the trees. Racing out from the embassy, directly toward the spot just below Sundancer, were the “Consular staff” that had come with Noa, carrying their metal suitcases. Volka blinked, and the staff shimmered like pavement on a hot day, and suddenly their typical business attire was replaced by Fleet Marine envirosuits. It made everything but their uncovered faces nearly invisible. Their faces shimmered too, and she recognized Lieutenant Young and other members of the team. Noa and James joined the staff, their own bodies shimmering, revealing armor. Volka belatedly realized what she should have grasped at the beginning. Focusing her mind, she pictured all the Marines, Noa, and James aboard.
Sundancer lowered, translucent hull becoming pearly, and an iris opening appeared at Volka’s toes, perhaps two meters wide. Sixty pulled her back, this time gently. “I won’t hurt you again,” he whispered. “Even by accident. I made sure.”
Before she could ask, James and one of the Marines leaped vertically nearly three meters, landing on the bridge with thumps that reverberated in Volka’s soles. Their armor instantly shifted from the greens of the garden to the ivory of Sundancer’s hull. James’s pale eyes scanned the bridge. His face, she noted, had been repaired. He nodded at her and Sixty and gestured to the team below. Seconds later, Noa was aboard. Sundancer was in the process of lowering, and it hadn’t been a three-meter jump, but the leap had been straight vertical, and Noa’s jump had been as easy and as powerful as a young man’s. Volka hadn’t realized Noa’s augments were that extensive. The rest of the Marines followed her. As the three new Marines came in, James introduced them. There was a female Marine, nearly as tall as Sixty, with short white hair, but youthful complexion. She had a strong jaw and wore no makeup; if it wasn’t for the relative thinness of her waist, the flare of her hips, and her scent, Volka wouldn’t have known she was female. “Sharon Rhinehart, our new munitions expert.” He named the other two, and Volka promptly forgot what he’d called them. One was a doctor, though.
The iris opening silently closed, and the hull became transparent again. Holding a tablet, one of the Marines said, “Local ethernet established.”
Admiral Sato’s dark eyes were focused above them. Volka followed her gaze through the ceiling and saw a small fleet of hovercraft there. All were blue and white with an emblem on their undersides that read, Shinar Local Guard.
Eyes on the hovers, Noa commanded, “Speak instructions aloud and route all incoming through audio. Volka doesn’t have a neural port.”
“Yes, Admiral,” was the reply that Volka just barely heard before there was a hiss of static from the tablet. Through its speaker came the voice of the same man who had warned them that they would be fired upon. “Admiral Sato, you have boarded an unauthorized vehicle.”
“Colonel, during an emergency, Fleet vessels are authorized to enter atmosphere of Republic colonies without exception to retrieve Fleet assets.”
“That is not a Fleet vessel,” the colonel replied, a waver in his voice.
Noa replied smoothly, “Despite this ship’s unique configuration, she is being utilized by Fleet, and is therefore a Fleet vessel and authorized. If you would like, I can read you the exact regulation.”
“That will not be necessary, but the emergency is over,” the colonel insisted. “You can return her to dock.” There was something in his words, something almost…pleading. Volka got the sense that he hoped by saying there was no further emergency, he could make it true. Like a child reciting a prayer.
“According to Fleet command, the emergency is not over. They estimate there is an 89.87 percent chance your volcano will erupt in less than twenty-four hours,” Noa said. “Colonel, you would be better serving your people if you prepared them to evacuate.”
There was a hiss of static before the colonel replied, “We’ll take that under advisement.”
The tablet went silent, and the man holding it said, “The connection ended, Admiral.”
Above their heads, more Shinar Local Guard ships arrived. Noa scowled, but lowered her eyes and said, “Volka, we have another place we need to go. I’m sending data to Bracelet. Will you please play it for Sundancer?”
“Got it and playing it,” Bracelet declared, and a moment later a hologram projected from her surface. At first, it just showed the city of Shinar and the volcano, but then it zoomed in, closer to the peak, to a drab gray building about eleven stories tall with high, barbed wire lined walls on its roof. There were more such walls on the ground surrounding the building, and in between those outer walls and the building proper was a yard of concrete.
“A fortress?” Volka murmured.
“A hospital for the criminally insane,” Sixty said over her shoulder, so close she could feel his breath on her ear. A frown was audible in his tone. For a moment, she expected to hear the plop of synth blood on the deck, but it didn’t come.
“That is where they are keeping Mr. Okoro?” Volka asked, her voice wavering. “It looks like a prison.”
“Shinar doesn’t have prisons,” Noa said, her voice frighteningly cold. “Ordinary criminals live on rehabilitation islands in quaint old-fashioned cottages, with access to fresh air and freedom of movement.”
Volka’s ears folded. “Oh.”
The holo zoomed in to the rooftop. In between the dark, barbed wire on the walls, there were poles that shone very brightly. Volka blinked, and one of the poles moved smoothly on a track.
“Robo sentries,” Sixty said.
“Yes,” Noa said. She took a deep breath. “Volka, I had hoped that this wouldn’t come up, but with the earthquake—”
“Do you need my help breaking Okoro out of there?” Volka asked. “Because I will. Sundancer will.” Volka had armor like the Marines’ in the back. She could be suited up in just a few minutes.
She saw the faintest sparkle in Noa’s eyes. “Thank you, Volka—”
Sixty had stepped toward Noa, his face hard and cold. Eyes on him, Noa said, “I’ll need you, Carl, and Sixty to stay in the ship to keep her ready to depart.”
Sixty’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. Volka’s ears went back. She didn’t really want to go in, but her nose and her aim might be helpful. Still, Noa was right. She would probably be most useful aboard Sundancer. On her shoulder, Carl was grooming his whiskers nervously. He might not be helpful anywhere at the moment.
Noa inclined her head toward the rooftop. “The sentries are authorized to fire phasers—that shouldn’t be a problem for Sundancer. We’ll be able to disable them and then take the roof. That is, if the Shinar Prime Minister doesn’t recognize our authority and grant us admittance in this emergency situation.” Her gaze flicked to James.
Hand on his temple, James shook his head. “The Fleet is in orbit, ready to help with evacuation of the entire population, but the prime minister is claiming that the aid isn’t needed.” He frowned. “If Fleet comes in without local acknowledgement of an emergency, Shinar can open fire. There could be loss of life on both sides.”
There was a moment of silence on the bridge. Volka remembered “Darlene,” the scientist Bracelet had shown her in the holo, predicting a volcanic eruption within hours, just like Noa had. How many people would be endangered by a failure to evacuate? And how could different sets of scientists have such different views? How could they be arguing about this when there were worse enemies out there—?
Noa interrupted her thoughts. “We’re rescuing Okoro. The lawyers can sort it out later. Let’s get this done.”
“Volka, would you let Sundancer know where we need to be?” James asked.
Saving Okoro was about more than the people of Shinar. Closing her eyes, Volka nodded. “Letting Sundancer know.” In her mind, she pictured the hospital-prison-fortress. There was a flicker behind her eyelids, and she felt Sundancer accelerate.
“The locals aren’t firing,” someone said.
Noa replied, “I am sure the Local Guard is about as happy with this standoff as we are.”
The tablet hissed to life, and the Shinar Colonel’s voice came on again. “Admiral Sato, with all due respect, there has been no official emergency declared. I am ordered to insist you leave atmosphere at once.” He sounded so unhappy Volka felt sorry for him.
Opening her eyes, she found the rooftop of the “hospital” rapidly approaching. They were being trailed by the Shinar Local Guard hovers, still holding fire.
“Colonel,” Noa answered, her voice filled with resolve, as though she were trying to impart that resolve to him. “I urge you to insist your superiors to begin issuing a general evac order.”
Carl chittered and ran paws through his whiskers.
There was a conspicuous silence from the colonel as Sundancer lowered to the rooftop of the hospital. Phaser fire arced off her hull, shot by the sentry ‘bots on the rooftop wall. Volka could also see a sort of turret on one corner of the roof that had a door.
“At the very least,” Noa reasoned, “you could move your people into position. You can’t stop our team, Colonel. We will retrieve our asset, and we have legal grounds to do so, no matter what your authorities say. I know you know that. I also know you’re only obligated to follow all appropriate orders.”
There was a moment of static.
“And Fleet is always recruiting,” the colonel said.
“You know we are,” Noa replied, her voice gentle.
It took Volka a moment, but then she realized what she was hearing was code. If I back down, I’m as good as discharged, was what the colonel was saying. She held her breath. The faint hiss of the tablet vanished. Above them, the hovers of the Local Guard moved away.
“Good man,” Noa murmured.
Volka’s lips parted. He wouldn’t just be discharged—he’d be tried, maybe found guilty. She thought of Darlene imprisoned after correctly predicting the earthquake—he might be found guilty even if the volcano did erupt.
To one of the men—Ramirez was his name; Volka remembered him from System 33—Noa said, “Ready?” Ramirez was holding a phaser rifle with a peculiar shaped stock upside down.
“Yes, Admiral.”
To Volka, Noa said, “Keep Sundancer two meters above the rooftop and keep her open. Corporal Jerome will stay here on comm. We’ll have a fireteam posted on the roof. The rest of us are going inside.”
Volka’s ears flicked. “I thought admirals didn’t get to do the fun stuff,” she blurted. At least according to her paperback education, admirals did boring paperwork most of the time.
There were a few chuckles around the bridge.
Noa grinned. “No, we don’t normally.” She sighed. “But this won’t be fun. We may have a brief standoff with hospital security. Legally, they can only be armed with stunners in a hospital. Our suits can withstand stunners—we’ll be fine even if there is a misunderstanding. After checking my credentials and the relevant regs, they’ll release Okoro into our custody as quickly as possible.”
“If they don’t?” asked Sixty.
“We’re prepared for that, too,” Noa said. She held up a stunner pistol, and Volka noticed that all the Marines were carrying stunners, not phasers. They should still work; normal police and security officers didn’t have the elaborate suits that Fleet did. Still…her ears flattened.
Noa inclined her head, face serious again, and Volka realized that she needed to act. Closing her eyes, she pictured the floor opening. She felt a breeze rushing in and smelled concrete. Opening her eyes, she found the iris exit wide open and the hull once more opaque. Ramirez’s eyes had become vacant. He held his upside-down rifle over the opening. The stock elongated in less than a breath, almost until the barrel touched the ground. The muzzle angled upward several degrees, and then it spun and fired so rapidly it was a blur, releasing an oddly curved, blue-white beam. Metal screamed on the rooftop. Ramirez remained eerily silent, eyes still vacant, but as soon as the weapon stopped firing, James and four other Marines jumped down.
“That wasn’t a phaser,” Volka whispered.
“Electrical disruptor,” Noa said. “The sentries have just been effectively hit with lightning. They’ll be able to repair themselves shortly.
The goal of this mission is to cause as little damage as possible and to make sure no one gets hurt.”
A moment later, Volka heard a muffled explosion. “That was them blowing open the door,” Noa said, and grimaced. “That was the only thing we couldn’t figure out how to merely disable.”
There were no words exchanged, but all of a sudden, all the Marines but Jerome jumped down. Noa was last. Winking at Volka, she said, “See, I didn’t get to do the fun stuff.” A moment later, Noa had disappeared beneath the ship.
Jerome said, “They’re in.”
Sixty moved between Volka and the opening. She couldn’t hear or see them, but she could smell Ramirez and three other members of the team just outside the ship. She also caught a whiff of metal, hot concrete, and more powerfully than in the Bestiary, the acrid scent of the volcano.
“Now all we have to do is wait,” said Jerome.
He sounded very assured, but Volka felt the hair on the back of her neck rise.
Carl squeaked pitifully, and Volka scratched his chin.
Sixty’s attention snapped to the werfle. “Carl, I can set your tail if—”
Carl’s necklace crackled. “No, it’s not that. It’s my whiskers…and…the wave…something isn’t right.” So saying, he began frantically grooming his whiskers again.
“Don’t worry,” Jerome said. “The admiral hoped this would be peaceful, but we did train for contingencies. They’ll be in and out in a maximum of…” His jaw got hard. He touched his port, and then scowled down at his tablet. “I’ve lost the team.” He tapped his port, his stare became vacant, and then the tablet hissed to life. Volka’s ears perked as a woman’s voice with the polished, professional tones of an announcer erupted from the device. “The unscheduled quake’s strength is in dispute. Of course everyone has seen the holos, but the chasm is, according to our experts, a doctored image—”
Jerome tapped his port and the tablet cut off.
Volka’s ears went back, processing the announcement.