Wings of Earth- Season One

by Eric Michael Craig

  “Cando,” he said. “Let me get my feet on my own deck and my crew back on the Dawn and then I’ll come down. Looks like you all have a party going on so I’m sure he’s busy entertaining, or whatever it is that he does when everybody’s in town.”

  “True beans is swinging loud and hard, but sure fact is that he wants the low on what you dug up. Soon as, so don’t waste air. Yah mon?”

  “Copy,” he said, glancing at Ammo as she logged off her console and got up to walk away.

  She nodded, her face broadcasting that she understood the command performance put them on a trajectory that aimed them into a bad place.

  “Thank you for the use of your ship and your expertise,” Ethan said, offering his hand as Carson slid into the seat she’d just vacated. He started into the shutdown systems check.

  “My pleasure Captain Walker,” he said. “You’re a truly fortunate captain and you’ve got a hell of a crew.” He paused and sighed, looking down before he added, “I hope that Lady Luck always keeps you in her favor.”

  Those last words sounded almost like a warning and Ethan shivered as he turned to walk away.

  Everyone had assembled in the cargo hold when he got there. They’d docked to the nearest service lock to where they’d tied the Dawn, so that Marti could get through the doorways without bending the bulkheads. It also gave them a place for Ethan to lay out his plan now that they were back.

  Not that he had a plan, since it looked like the topography had changed.

  “Quinn, and Ammo, you’re with me,” he said. “We’ve got a command call with Jetaar in Tortuga. I want the rest of you bringing the Dawn back up. Nuko and Charleigh get it ready and stand by.”

  “Stand by for what?” Nuko asked. “With that much hurt hanging around looking to dance, we won’t be leaving if they don’t let us go.”

  “I don’t know yet, but as soon as we’re done here, I want you to be ready to make legs.”

  “That means we’re flying blind again?” Kaycee asked, shaking her head.

  “Yah,” he admitted. “There’s been a bit of a change in the situation while we were gone, and we need to adapt the plan a bit.”

  “I think I should be part of that process,” she said. “No matter how this plays out, it involves how to keep them out of the Tacra Un.”

  “I don’t know that it’s a decision we have any control over, anymore,” he said. “Since you’re the only one who really knows how to do anything inside there, I want you on the ship and as far from those that could put pressure on us as possible.”

  She clamped her jaw down hard and said nothing, but the fire in her eyes made up for the silence.

  “Look, if nothing else, it keeps you as my anchor wager. In the meantime, you and Rene can dig into Marti’s corpse and see if there’s more to learn there.” He looked over at Angel to make sure she understood he was giving an order.

  She nodded.

  “I’ll try to buy us a line out of here, and hopefully it will all come together before it comes apart.”

  Strangely, there was no one standing at the bottom of the stanchion lift, although by the time they’d covered 500 meters, they had two security meso trailing them. They ducked into the first bar they could find and grabbed a table in the back. Ammo and Ethan ordered drinks, but Quinn passed. He sat with his back to the wall and stared at the door, obviously expecting trouble.

  Once the waitress dropped their glasses on the table and poured their drinks Ethan lowered his voice. “I didn’t want to say this in front of Kaycee, but with all the new hulls out there, I know we’ll have to give them what they want. Otherwise we’re not getting out of here.”

  “None of those ships look to be friendly,” Ammo said. “Most of them have coils to match their guns. Especially those last two that came in behind us.”

  “I doubt we can outrun them,” he said. “And the artillery on the ground would shred us before we got pushed back, anyway.”

  “What are you thinking?” Quinn said.

  “I have to give them something,” he said. “They want into the Tacra Un, but maybe we can slow-walk it and wait out an opportunity?”

  “We don’t even know if we can get in. If Kaycee’s right—”

  “Company,” the handler said, nodding toward the door.

  Jetaar and three flesh mountains almost the size of Quinn were angling across the bar toward them.

  “Welcome back, Walker,” he said, pulling up a seat and sitting down at the table. “I believe that Tanis gave you my invitation to come talk?”

  Jetaar felt much more menacing than he had before. Like someone threw a switch to his evil half and that dark light had come on again. Obviously, he didn’t like it when people didn’t accept his invitations.

  Ethan nodded. “He was rather nonspecific about the immediacy of your request.”

  He laughed. “I doubt that. But let me set things up for you so you comprehend where you are in this. I’ve done you some favors, now it’s time you do some for me.”

  “I knew that was coming,” he said.

  “I’m sure you did, Walker. You aren’t stupid.” He leaned back and scratched at his beard for almost a minute. “I’m going to lay my cards on the table here. The truth is, I brought you here more for your doctor because of what she is. And I know I need her.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “She’s a Fellow of the Institute,” he said. “What I didn’t know when I decided to bring you here is that you’re one too.”

  “I’m actually not. I’m more of a natural.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of a natural.”

  “I hadn’t either until recently, so don’t feel bad,” Ethan said.

  “You’re saying you haven’t been through a proxy chamber.” He shook his head. “Then you’re a plusser.”

  “You know what a proxy chamber is?” Ammo asked. She was intentionally deflecting Jetaar off his trajectory.

  “I’ve been in one. Twice in fact,” he said, smiling as she tried to figure that out. “By now you probably know I’m an engineer. What I’m sure you don’t know is that I was an STI trained propulsion dynamics engineer.”

  “If you’re a STIF then we’re redundant here.” Ethan said, shaking his head. Something wasn’t adding up square. “Why do you need us to get you in there?”

  “Because the second time they put me in the proxy chamber was to take away my upgrade. I discovered something I wasn’t supposed to see, and had the temerity to speak out about it,” he said. A momentary flash of some inner agony played over his face. “They also tried to take away the knowledge of how most of this technology works, but somehow they fragged that and ended up erasing most of the memories of my wife and children.”

  “Alright, I get that you have a reason to want to even that up with them, but you won’t be able to do anything with the tech if we get you inside,” he said.

  “The proxy chamber,” Ammo pointed out. “If we get him in, he can fix what they took away.”

  Jetaar nodded. “It won’t give me back my family after this many years, but it will at least give me some justice.”

  “I understand,” Ethan said. “If it had happened to me, I’d probably never stop either.”

  “Here is the crux of the problem,” he said. “The Council of Captains wants a demonstration of what the Shan Takhu technology can do. I’ve been digging my way into this Tacra Un for a decade, and honestly, they’re losing their patience.”

  “Let me get back to my ship and we’ll work on it,” he said.

  He shook his head. “You will work down here. We’ve got a top-tier lab. I’ve pilfered it from some of the best science vessels in the Coalition.”

  “Once Kaycee finishes with her analysis of what we found on Tamilis, I’ll see if I can talk her into working—”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You’re really not listening, are you? She will work down here. Effective immediately. That’s not an option.” The switch that had tripped ba
ck to his human side, flipped back to evil again, and it was clear there was no argument. “Her personal crusade will wait.”

  Ethan wanted to protest but Ammo shook her head. Don’t push.

  “I actually like you, Walker,” he said. “I don’t want to be an inhospitable type, but some of the others on the Council are far less amenable to letting you have your way. Many of them came all the way across Coalition Space to see a demo, and they will get results. If you understand what’s in the best interests of you and your crew, you’ll do what you have to, in order to give them some.”

  Ethan looked down at the table and clenched his teeth until his jaw hurt. “I can show them some of the tools in your office, but I don’t know what else we can do.”

  Jetaar shook his head. “They’re not interested in parlor tricks.”

  “If you were a STIF, you know you’re sitting on a dead Tacra Un,” Ammo said. “Something cratered the whole front door.”

  “I know that,” he said, letting out a slow breath. “but the facts aren’t important to people who don’t understand them. The Council’s given you forty-eight hours to figure out how to get us inside.”

  “There may not be anything we can do in two days,” Ethan said.

  “I won’t be able to keep them drinking any longer than that,” he said, standing up. “Once you’re set up in my lab, you’ll have full access to what we’ve learned so far.”

  “Maybe that will help, but there’s no guarantee.”

  “Listen Walker, I need for you to succeed. I hope for your sake that’s how this plays out.” Jetaar turned to face his security guards and nodded. “Take these two back to their ship and bring Dr. Caldwell to my personal labs.”

  Quinn wasn’t moving until Ethan nodded. “Tell Marti to send her Humanform automech along with Kaycee. We’ll need her science kit.”

  Jetaar nodded. “Whatever you need. Just understand that any thought of slipping out and running isn’t going to end well.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Ethan sat at a console, glaring at the screen. Jetaar wasn’t boasting when he claimed that Tortuga had a well-equipped science lab. It looked spectacular even if almost all the gear was outside anything that Ethan had ever seen or used. The purpose of most of the hardware was beyond him, but he could tell it exceeded almost anyone’s standards. Of course, when you had a passion for science and engineering, and no moral compunction against taking things by force, it was easy to build a sophisticated lab.

  Two older scientists had been waiting in the main room when they ushered him in. Jetaar introduced them and asked if Ethan anticipated needing their services. Not having any idea how they were going to attack the problem until Kaycee got there, he’d decided that not having anyone around to listen in on their strategizing was better than anything they could have contributed.

  When he declined their services, Jetaar ordered them out and gave them the next two days off.

  While he waited for Kaycee and Marti to arrive, he’d wandered through the various workshops and rooms looking at the equipment. He realized that most of it might be irrelevant, but he was trying to discern the extent of the security surveillance they had in place. It was a safe wager that they couldn’t escape even if they got out of the lab, but he wanted to know how closely monitored they’d be while they tried to pull off a Miracle Mike.

  It looked like both optic and audio pickups covered every section of the lab. There was no place where they could have a private conversation. Not even in the personal recycler stations.

  Kaycee showed up carrying a small bag of equipment with Marti following a few steps behind. The door closed and a second click told them they’d been locked in.

  Ethan pointed at his ear.

  She nodded, setting her stuff down and landing in the seat across the room from him. “It looks like a nice set up.”

  Marti slid into a seat beside her.

  “They’ve got a lot of Shan Takhu tech in lockers in the back room. Most of it is stuff I don’t recognize but I think there are at least a couple Urah Un in there, too.”

  “That might come in handy since yours still seems to still be giving you a brainache,” she said.

  He shrugged. “I’m wearing it now, and it’s working. I’ll tolerate it as long as I need to.”

  Getting up, she rifled her bag, pulling out a medical scanner and a pharma synthesizer. “I’m sure you’re just ignoring the pain, but you can’t do that indefinitely.”

  She walked over to him and pointed it at his head.

  “I’ll do what I have to do. We’ve got no choice and a deadline.” He glared at her.

  “You should be able to use any of them, but you might be better off sticking with the one you know. They all have adjustment phases and yours is tuned to your particular conditions.” She frowned. “I can dial you up a dose of something to make the pain more manageable.”

  “As long as it won’t put me to sleep again,” he said. “I doubt that I’ll have much time for that anyway, so the dreams won’t have much of an opportunity to bother me.”

  “I’ll make sure the meds don’t make you flatline. Quinn told me Jetaar gave us two days to get the Tacra Un working,” she said, pressing the derma syringe against his skin and loading him up. “I don’t see any way we can swing that but especially not if you’re sleeping.”

  “I got the feeling that Jetaar’s being squeezed, but I don’t know. All I can say is that he’s given us access to anything we need,” he said. “He did say specifically that includes access to the Dawn, but I’m sure that’s monitored too.”

  Marti had been watching them in silence and suddenly smiled. “You are wearing your Urah Un?”

  They both nodded.

  Sliding off the seat and coming over to Ethan, she reached out and grabbed his hand, turning it over and pressing a finger into his palm. His mind reeled as his Urah Un connected to the AA’s immensely fast thoughts. He could feel it slowing down to synchronize with his human limitations.

  I can connect to you directly. Her words formed in his mind as clearly as if she had spoken. I learned to do this while we were on Escabosa. However, I have never attempted it with two different individual minds simultaneously.

  Kaycee watched Marti curiously and when the automech reached out in her direction, she offered her hand. Ethan rode along as they both synchronized to Kaycee.

  You should both be able to communicate through me without speaking now.

  I can hear you, Kaycee thought across the link.

  I’d wanted to bring Marti down for secure comm to the ship but when I realized we had no privacy in the lab, I figured it was pointless. Ethan said.

  I can hear you both, Kaycee said raising an eyebrow.

  Since I am maintaining a link from my main body to my Humanform automech, I can still provide a secure comm channel to the ship, Marti said.

  That solves one problem.

  If they’re watching, they’ll know we’re up to something, Kaycee thought.

  So, we only use this channel when we’re planning our escape, Ethan thought. The rest of the time we can talk out loud.

  Our escape? You are an optimist, aren’t you? She snorted as she broke the connection.

  Ignoring her sarcasm, he leaned forward and activated the screen on the console he was sitting beside. “Let’s see if we can log into any of this hardware and talk to the ship. I want to know what is going on and how much we can count on our systems up there.”

  Marti stepped over to one of the other workstations and connected to the interface. “I have opened a channel to the Olympus Dawn,” she said. “It is encrypted, but I do not believe it is secure.”

  “Understood,” he said. “What’s your status up there?”

  Nuko’s face appeared on the screen in front of him. She looked worried but in control. “They’ve posted guards outside the airlock and told us to stay on the ship. Otherwise they’re leaving us alone. Quinn and Angel are covering access points, but it doesn’t
smell like they’re thinking to board. Just to keep us contained.”

  “We’re also looking at more active weapons than I’ve ever had to stare down,” Ammo said. “I’m particularly concerned about that one Percheron that followed us in. It repositioned into a holding position directly above us.”

  “Running is definitely out,” Ethan said. “Jetaar explained that was a bad idea before he locked me in. That means our only line through this is to give him what he wants.”

  “How do we do that?”

  Ethan let out a slow breath and shook his head. “No line I see yet, leads us out.”

  “Here is the problem as I see it,” Kaycee said from across the room. She’d logged into another console and was looking at Jetaar’s science research database while she talked. “We need to think about the Tacra Un Archive as if it were a living creature. No doubt, it’s a vastly complex life form, but it still has various autonomic systems that function independent of each other.”

  “I understand I think,” Ethan said. “Does thinking that way give us anything we can use?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I spent a lot of time on our trip to Tamilis working this problem. The language matrix looks like it’s completely obliterated but that doesn’t mean the body itself is dead. As far as STI knows, it only served to guarantee that a civilization that makes contact is able to interface correctly before it gets access to the rest of the archive.”

  “But there’s no front door now,” Nuko said.

  “Right and that’s the crux of our situation. While it may not be dead, it might still be inaccessible,” she said. “The way it’s supposed to work is that tickling that part of its body is like waking up a living creature from hibernation. Unfortunately, the impression I got from those who studied how the Tacra Un’s body functions, was that accessing that particular part of it sent the stimulus to activate the power core.”

  “And without power the brain doesn’t function. Until that happens, nothing will be operational?” he asked.

  She nodded. “That’s my point. Even if we get inside, there’s no guarantee that anything will work.”

  “We’re still reading that small power signal in there,” Ammo said. “That would imply it’s not completely dead.”