Sentient Page 9

  She wove past the cages holding Stastny and Harlen, both snoring loudly, and then between the ships, needing the distraction of work that was waiting on The Hawk. A shadow materialized in front of her.

  Physe softly called, “It’s me.”

  “Going on or off?”

  “Middle.”

  “Get any sleep yet?”

  “Only in my fantasies.” He sighed deeply, bobbing the silhouette of his head for emphasis. He paused, and then said softly, “I’m sorry about Cabot, Ma’am.”

  Ma’am? She stared at him. “Thank you.”

  “It was a terrible tragedy, Ma’am.” His face was uncommonly tense and he focused intently upon her. Now she understood: he was trying to reassure her, as much as trying to get reassurance for all of her men; he’d always been the self-elected representative of her cadets. They needed to know that they hadn’t failed and nothing would change. Their ‘family’ would continue through this tragedy without Cabot. They would survive. Pala would have to be very careful when choosing someone to officially replace her late boyfriend’s position, not only as unit second, but mission second as well.

  “Yes it was. Thank you, Physe. Despite everything Cabot may or may not have done, at one time he was one of us. We’ll all miss that person, our friend.” Later they’d all find out the truth, but not now. Now was still the time for grief and reassurance.

  “Yes, Ma’am, we will.” His voice sounded stronger, more confident than just a second ago. He’d make sure everyone understood.

  “Has anyone been to The Hawk?”

  “No one.”

  “Alert me on the ship’s frequency if anyone approaches. And I mean anyone.” She needed to be alone, let this yawning ache inside her mellow.

  “Righty-o.” He faded back into the darkness.

  Righty-o. That was the Physe she knew. She continued to The Hawk.

  Once inside, Pala settled into the pilot’s seat. The com emitted a quiet, low-pitched hum, a subspace resonance, repeating the contact request for Riyst on the Sultesque. Flipping the switch to live feed, she said, “Hawk to Sultesque. Hawk to Sultesque. Riyst, answer me!”

  There was no answer, but she hadn’t really expected one. “Look, Riyst. I know you’re still there. I know you can hear me, so listen good. Your plot to have us all killed has failed. We lived, and we’re learning names: Cabot, Stastny, Grollier, Harlen, Makel and you. It’s just a matter of time before we figure out the rest of what’s going on here. You know that. You also know that, as of now, your career is history. The only way you have of getting out of prison before you’re an old man is if you help us right now.”

  She waited, but there still was no response. Leaning her elbows on her knees, she held her forehead against the heel of one hand. If she could call straight to Earth or one of the IPC stations, she would. But that magnetic void, the Dijru, made all direct calls impossible. She sat like that, holding her head in her hand, thrumming her fingers against the tight braids on the top of her head. Whatever Cabot had been involved in had obviously been government sanctioned through General Grollier. But what was it? Her boyfriend had been involved in a plot to kill, not only her, but nearly everyone on Colossus. She found it hard to believe that the government had sanctioned that. Still, her boyfriend had to be the key to it all. Striking her forehead with the heel of her hand at every word, she repeated, “Cabot, Cabot, Cabot, Cabot.”

  She lunged to her feet and shut off the cabin lights. Facing the cargo area of the ship, she saw two rows of neat body bags. The Hawk was being used as one of the funeral ships? No, no. That wasn’t happening. Not her ship.

  Pala walked down the row of bodies, and realized that these were the men from the battle at her own Base Three, still waiting to be processed. The rangers assigned to body processing were working as fast as they could, but there were a lot of bodies from all the bases. She rubbed her thumb over the nametag of the one nearest her, and stared at the black bag. It was the new recruit she'd caught talking with Roccio just before Cabot had been killed. This hadn’t been his first mission, but it was the first with her unit. Even though she'd been displeased with him, he deserved more than to just wait in line for processing. She could do this for him. Lifting her hand, she traced it along the smooth edge of the nylon-metal alloy bag until she reached the crystallisis chamber in the corner. Then, she snapped the seal between her fingers.

  The unlocked pellets rolled down inside the bag. The alum combined with the shordite and they broke down the air elements zipped inside. As they combusted, the bag bloated with the let-off gasses. Then, the elements recombined into a fine sheen of crystal that coated the body, preserving it from further decomposition. As the bag again deflated, compressing tighter and tighter, Pala tucked it to lie smoothly against the body.

  She reached across to the next body and snapped that crystallisis chamber open. Then the next. And the next.

  CHAPTER

  20

  The cave quickly dropped into a tiny tunnel that lead to the large cavern where the Ancients dwelled. It was barely large enough for Trgyl to crawl on his belly. His claws scrambled and scraped on the smooth, slippery stone floor, finding no groove, no grip of any kind. By the time he reached the far end, his arms were shaking from the effort of pulling his body. He had a gouge down one shoulder blade. Two of his claws had torn off in ragged chunks, but he finally was in the large cavern. He stood in an attack stance, waiting, as dictated by the rules handed down for generations.

  The air glowed a cloudy red in the early morning sun. Waves of ruby light washed into and through the rock. It picked up green flecks and built spirit shadows on the walls. The dark shapes twisted and defined. The outlines rearranged themselves into tall lean shapes. Two of the five removed themselves from against the wall. Becoming smooth circles, they moved around Trgyl. The shapes still on the wall shifted into squat bulbs with several long tubers attached.

  Trgyl pivoted, cautiously, still in attack stance, keeping the circling two in front of him. Long tendrils separated from the dark bodies. The twining fingers feather-touched his skin. They traced the outline of each arm, each leg, each finger and each over-dry skin flap. They reached into Trgyl’s open panting mouth, investigating his needle-sharp teeth. He tasted bitterness each time they brushed across his tongue.

  Slowly, Trgyl raised his hand, palm up. Would the Ancients accept his offer of friendship after Kryn’s failure on the cliff-side? There were no rules about this. If they were angry, as he and Kryn thought, they would probably strike him dead. He hesitated.

  The form in front of him shifted into a smooth cone shape and held completely still. It seemed to be waiting. He touched the Ancient. Even as he felt a cool breeze eddy right through him, warmth radiated into his skin. A soft silver color glowed beneath the base of his claws.

  He pulled his hand back, but the silver remained. Scenes filled his mind. He saw the bodies of many of his people. He saw Kryn fail on the cliff-side. And he saw little Tylg lick his claws.

  He saw how the newcomers came from far away to visit his home planet. A tall dark one led them. They were different than the people of the barrio, yet the same. They were no threat, only explorers. Yet he saw a mass of their bodies.

  When that last image ended, Trgyl found himself standing alone in the cavern. The Ancients were gone. He dropped to the stone floor and scrambled out of the cave and down the cliff-side.

  His pouch-brother was still where he’d last seen him. He had been too weak to return to the bottom by himself. Trgyl told him what the Ancients had shown him, but Kryn was only strong enough to listen. Desperate, Trgyl tried force-feeding the tkrk and the bryl meat, but nothing seemed to help. Long before night, Kryn gasped his final breath. Sorrow rolled through Trgyl and he stared at his pouch brother, memories playing in his head of their youth together. There was nothing he could do for Kryn now.

  After a few moments, he rolled the body off the cliff and climbed the rest of the way down. At the bottom, he picked up
Kryn and carried him out of sight of the Ancients. There were rules to be obeyed. When he’d taken the body far enough, he gently set it down and walked away. The scavenger animals would take care of Kryn. Such was his people’s way.

  How could Kryn have died so quickly? From what? Trgyl stopped walking. He never found out if the Ancients were angry, if the cleansed paths of his people had been muddied, or if his people were being punished for some infraction of the rules. He'd never learned if he had appeased them on this journey. He turned around to view the Ancients' cave and took a step in that direction. Then he paused. They’d already shown him all they wanted. He would only anger them more if he returned for more understanding.

  He had to reach his barrio and tell his people what the Ancients had shown him. Trgyl hurried upright until he was permitted to soar in the wind. His trip would go much quicker now.

  CHAPTER

  21

  Physe’s voice softly announced, “Captain Justiss,” across The Hawk’s speaker.

  Immediately, the hatch pulled open and a bright pink dawn showed through the opening behind Quade’s silhouette. Then it tightened into a thin strip and disappeared as he closed the hatch behind him.

  “Quade, I’m officially making you Second Commander for our own unit. Our cadets respect you. So do I. I’ll need you to help me find a Second for the scope of the whole mission. Someone who is also respected and accessible. Most importantly, someone we know we can trust. Probably Khamasa.”

  He nodded slowly. He stood close, his gaze locked with Pala's.

  She took a step back and raised her chin to stay focused. “Keep me informed. You’ll both catch a lot of flack.” The appointment of him within their unit was just an IPC regulation.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but Physe’s voice, stronger now, interrupted. “Scientist Extraordinaire Denten looking for either one of you. He’s agitated.”

  Quade’s deep voice seeped through clenched teeth. “Send him in.”

  The hatch opened and Denten stepped in. Physe stood outside with his hand on the hatch controls, watching them through narrowed eyes. Pala felt sure he knew there was more to the story of the attack than what she’d told him earlier. But he’d have to wait until it was time for him to learn it. “Anything else, sergeant? Your shift ought to be coming to a close.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Done, just now.” He nodded to Quade, tapped the side post of the hatch with his fingers, and gave an offhand salute with two fingers as The Hawk’s smooth metal door hissed shut.

  Every movement Denten made was jerky, and he had a deep frown across his forehead. He studied Pala, “You don’t look so good.”

  “I slept a little. I imagine it will be a few days before any of us look good.” She was on the verge of asking Denten his business, but Quade beat her to it.

  “What’s up?” Quade’s tone was no more gruff than usual. She glanced at him, but his face was composed into a solid mask. Yes, he would handle command quite decently, keeping his emotions in check.

  “More bad news, I’m afraid.” The scientist pulled a tiny, liquid-filled vial out of his pocket and spoke directly to Pala. “This is what I found in Makel’s kit. I thought it was a dilutant, but it didn’t react accordingly, so I did some tests on it. It appears to be some kind of virus.”

  Shock jolted through Pala. “A virus?”

  “Yes, and a very quick spreading one at that. The kicker is that nothing is mentioned in his notes about it.”

  Quade took the tube, carefully rolling it between his fingers, staring at the crystal clear liquid. “Have you asked him about it?”

  Now Denten focused on the bigger man. “I have, but he still won’t talk.”

  That was it. The final straw. Pala snatched the vial from Quade’s hand and opened the hatch of The Hawk, wincing at the fulgent light. This time she would get some answers. Not waiting for the hatch to open all the way, she shimmied through, jumped to the ground and headed to Makel’s cage. Quade and Denten rushed to catch up. Physe joined them from the kitchen, falling in behind.

  Pala pressed her thumb on the lock to Makel’s cage. It sampled her DNA, matched it as acceptable, and turned purple. She jerked the door open and stepped inside the enclosure. Makel sat up at the back.

  “How long do you intend to keep me locked up in here?”

  “Shut up.” She jerked him to his feet by his shirt and shoved the vial in front of his face. He was taller than her, but she had him beat in strength and training. The constant drone of voices nearby and across the base faded and, through the periphery of her vision, Pala saw someone running across the clearing toward Khamasa's tent. “I’m tired of being given the run around. And most importantly, I’m tired of seeing people die. You either tell me what this is, or I’ll pour this whole vial down your throat.”

  His face blanched and his eyes widened. His lips parted and his breathing quickened. He whispered, “D-don’t.”

  Pala shoved him hard against the bars. Leaning her hip into him, she pinned him and reached for the top of the vial. “Start talking or you’ll be drinking this stuff.”

  Letting out a thin, quivering sigh, his gaze on the vial. “It's a new defensive weapon developed by the IPC to protect us from invading forces.” He squirmed to get away from her.

  Pala nodded. That explained Cabot’s involvement. Denten entered the cage, talking. “So it invades the ET and kills them.”

  Makel flicked his gaze to his colleague. “Not at first. It takes a while to show the infestation. Just enough time for the ET to get to its home planet.”

  From behind her, Denten asked, “And you were planning on testing that here?”

  The images of the dead and dying vegetation and the body of the carnivore flashed through Pala’s mind. “They already have. It’s already loose here.”

  Makel barked a short laugh, his voice sharp and disdainful. “We’ve been testing it on Earth for years, making it safe for humans and unsafe for any others. This mission is the next step. You were all injected with it while you were getting immunizations.”

  Pala rocked back onto her heels, letting Makel go. The non-Terrans had been pulled from all units because they'd die from the disease quickly, before the main part of the IPC mission was ready. It would have pointed to a problem. “How does it work?”

  “Right now, we’re still in the development phase. It bonds to chosen blood gasses, like the fluorine and helium of this planet, but sloughs off of others. Small amounts of the virus are harmless, but a higher concentration of these gasses makes for a higher concentration of the virus. That’s where it gets deadly. Of course, humans don’t even carry some of these gasses. Once we’ve finished with the humans we will tailor it to protect other members of the IPC, with just a little more bio-engineering.” His eyes gleamed, and he raised his chin.

  Denten’s voice was unnaturally high from close behind Pala. She wondered if there wasn’t an edge of panic in it. He leaned against her to get closer to Makel. “That still doesn't explain why someone is trying to kill us.”

  Makel didn’t answer.

  Pala kept her voice quiet, her gaze locked onto Makel while she answered Denten. “They want it to spread. It’s a planet killer. They know we’d try to stop it.”

  Denten leaned harder against Pala and spoke to Makel. His voice now was steel, the note of panic gone. “Where’s the antitoxin?”

  “Antitoxin? There is no antitoxin. That’s the point of the test. We need to determine if the virus works and the extent of damage it causes.”

  “You call this defense?” Denten lunged at Makel, his face red, crushing Pala in between them. She let go of Makel and cupped her hands around the vial to protect it from breaking. Makel lost no time taking advantage of her distraction. He scrambled for the corner farthest away. Quade snatched at Denten, pulling him away. Pala inspected the vial. No cracks.

  Makel spoke from his new refuge. “You know as well as I that it’s just a matter of time before an ET population decides to attack on
e of the Coalition worlds. We have to defend ourselves.”

  Following Quade and Denten outside the cage, Pala stared at the clouds scutting across the empty midday sky. So, the virus was why there were no birds and no buzzing insects. She pivoted slowly, viewing all the dry brown leaves and rotting vegetation. The trees would soon be skeletons. Now the ominous silence surrounding the base had an epitaph written within it.

  Quade softly said, “I’m thinkin’ of us diggin’ those chips out of our wrists and buryin’ them in the ground. I’m thinkin’ of how we cleaned our knives on the plants and traveled across country with open sores. I’m also thinkin’ of our blood spilled all over the ground out there. Animals will come into contact with that and spread it. Not to mention all the animals we've tagged the last few days.”

  Physe said, “The StarGazers’ cannons can sterilize a wide enough berth that most animals won’t want to cross it.”

  Pala nodded, thinking of the carnivore’s corpse. “Calculate the distance needed for the fastest creature here. Some will still try to breach the perimeter. We have to deal with the insects, birds and other flying creatures, too.” She turned to Makel. “What’s the residual life of our new friend?”

  “It’s all new in this environment.” The chemist shrugged. Plainly, he thought it wasn’t his problem that the biological tests were going according to plan.

  Quade clamped his hand on Physe’s shoulder. “Get all the rangers together who’ve had sleep from our unit. Send a runner to all the unit leaders for a meetin’ at the kitchen, pronto. I want all the scientists sent over to Dr. Denten. Shake everybody out of bed. Put together a crew at the ships to search for flammables. We’ll build a smoke wall high enough and thick enough the birds and critters won’t want to cross.”

  Physe nodded and took off at a dog-trot.

  “Physe!” Pala called after the jogging ranger. Physe bounced to a stop and pivoted back to her. “I need your eyes at that meeting. Let’s see if we can figure out those who are Stastny’s allies.”