Wrath of the Void Strider (16 page)

Cajun closed his eyes and drew an even breath.  He scanned the mercenary and located a reflex node embedded under the skin of his shoulder.  Moving his laser scalpel into place, he looked to Fogg and whispered, “Ready?”

Fogg printed, “AFFIRMATIVE,” and dispersed.

He breathed out.  Decisively, he cut through the flesh, exposing a bloodied chrome orb surrounded by a mesh of circuitry.  The mercenary stirred as Fogg flowed into the wound.  Cajun stepped back as Zerki held her gun steady.  She wrung the grip.

In time, Fogg coalesced once more as a tiny flying saucer and reported, “REPROGRAMMING IS COMPLETE.  HE IS REBOOTING.”

Zerki glanced his way and asked, “Is he safe?”

“THREE LAWS SAFE. :)”

The mercenary opened his eyes and coughed.

Zerki growled, “Don’t.  Move.”

Clearing his throat, he said, “I’m bound.”

“Tell me your name.”

“Nathan Rusche, captain of the
Gun Hawk
.  Where am I?”  He sat up as much as his restraints allowed.  “And who are you, baby girl?”  Meeting Zerki’s eyes, he grumbled, “Ah, hell.”  He eased back down.  “You’re Captain Ibarra.  This must be your hauler.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s all comin’ back to me, now.”  He winced slightly as he broke free of the zip ties binding his hands. “You killed my men and destroyed my ship.”  Calmly, he sat up and pulled off the ties around his ankles.  Absently, he rubbed his wrists.  “But somehow I survived, and you brought me all the way here to your little sick bay to patch me up.  Now, ain’t that sweet.”  He regarded her with a cold, crooked smile.  “But life ain’t fair, and I still have a job to do.”

Zerki cleared her throat.  “Fogg, he’s getting up!”

“THAT IS CORRECT.”

“Damn it, Fogg!  I thought you reprogrammed him!”

His lights flashed as he processed.  “PERHAPS I DID NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND YOUR INSTRUCTIONS.”

“Reprogrammed me?  Baby girl, I got backups of backups.”  Nathan eyed her plasma gun and scoffed.  “Go on now, and set that thing down on the ground.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’m not askin’.”  His expression darkened.  “Set it down, or I’ll take it from you.”

“No.”

He smiled dismissively.  “Suit yourself.”  In a flash, he was off the table.  Moving faster than Zerki could react, he snatched the gun from her hands and pressed it against the side of her head.  “Time to get this done.”  Looking to Cajun, he ordered, “Open the door.”

“Captain?”

Zerki shook her head.  “Lock it down.”

Cajun reached for the quarantine override, but Nathan warned, “That’ll be the last mistake you ever make.  You push that, and I’ll kill you.  Slowly.  Then I’ll ransom your pretty captain back to the crew in exchange for openin’ the doors.  And when they do, it’s over.  I don’t know who you are, and that’s really good for your health.  Means your name wasn’t on the list.  Open that door, and you live.  Push that button, and you die.”  He narrowed his eyes.  “You get me?”

Cajun breathed out and nodded.  He moved his hand away from the override.  “I get you.”

Zerki wilted, and Nathan took her by the arm, moving it painfully around to her back.  “Good.  Now open the door.”

He whispered, “I’m sorry, Captain,” and slammed his hand down on the quarantine override.  Immediately, heavy doors sealed them in, and disinfectant gas flooded the bay.

“You dumb son-of-a-bitch.”

Cajun spat in his face.  “Go to hell!”

Nathan wiped his eyes.  “Time for you to find out if there’s somethin’ after all this.”  He sat Zerki down on the deck.  “Don’t move, now.”  He chuckled raggedly.  “And don’t worry.  I’ll let you watch.”

She sprang to her feet and lunged for the plasma pistol.  With all her might, she strained against it, but Nathan didn’t even budge.  Releasing her grip, she snatched up the laser scalpel and whirled around to face him.

He laughed derisively.  “It won’t reach.”

“We saved your life, you
asshole
!”  She switched on the cutter, but it fell far short of her target.  “Damn it!” she hissed and threw it at him.  It bounced harmlessly off his wounded shoulder and clattered to the ground.

“Now, get comfortable.”  He pressed Cajun against the console, where his fingers hovered over Cajun’s eye.  “This’ll be fun.  A lesson in anatomy.”

“No!  You leave him alone!”  She wrapped her arms around Nathan’s wrist and heaved, but it felt like she was wrestling a stone statue.

Gritting his teeth, he balled his fist and snarled, “I said get comfortable.”  He reached back, but his eyes went wide.  From within his depths, a high-pitched whine emitted, followed by a distinct winding-down noise.  Frozen in his body, he listened to his heart rate quicken until it stopped entirely.  His grip slackened, and Cajun slipped free.

Nathan Rusche slumped over the console.

Zerki’s heart pounded.  “Is he dead?”

Shaking, Cajun retrieved the scanner.  After a moment, he reported, “His heart exploded, Captain.  He’s gone.”

She exhaled through pursed lips and glanced sidelong at Fogg.  “We’ll have to clear up a few things, moving forward.”

“AYE CAPTAIN.  I AM SORRY IF MY ACTIONS DID NOT MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.”

Her pulse began to even out.  “It’s okay.  I should’ve been more clear.”  She nudged Nathan’s body with her boot, causing it to topple sideways and pile down on the deck.  Zerki’s plasma pistol tumbled free, and she collected it.

Glancing to Cajun, she said, “Please dispose of this.  Get Collins to help, if you need it.  Feed him to the incinerator.”

“Aye, Captain.”  He entered the code to deactivate the quarantine protocol and sat down heavily in his chair.  His hands were still shaking as he wiped at his eyes.  “I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

“Very good.”  She squeezed his shoulder.  “That was very brave, what you did.”

He briefly placed his hand atop hers.  “Thank you.”

She stepped into the corridor and made her way back down to the aft hangar.  Somewhat shaken, she stepped outside and took in the sight of her crew as they busied themselves.  She blew into her hands and stared for a while.  As Valerie stepped close, she received a notification from Cajun.  It read, “He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?” asked Valerie.

Zerki pocketed her tablet.  “The mercenary didn’t make it.”

Valerie smirked.  “That’s too bad.”

“Want to take a look inside before we go?”  Zerki nodded toward the salvage site.

“Behemothylax?”

She nodded.

“I’d love to!  I’ll go see who else wants to come.”

“The more, the merrier.”

Valerie studied her captain.  “Are you feeling alright?”

Zerki smiled distantly.  “I’ll be fine.  It’ll be getting dark soon, so we should do this quickly.”

“Good point.  I’ll be right back.”  Valerie hurried away.

Chapter 12

Biting winds gusted, carrying sheets of drizzle.  Lighting flashed steadily, and the sky was a chorus of rolling thunder as the sun began to set.  Where it pierced the clouds, brilliant rays splashed upon crystal glistening with rain, casting prismatic diamonds upon pastel seas of glass.

Bundled in warm clothing, Zerki, Valerie, Gavin, Filan and Takeo gathered near the salvage site.  Most of the first segment had been harvested, and while it left a broad opening into the machine, the passage was cluttered with jagged steel, massive gears and the razor ends of cut wire bundles.  Convinced there must be a maintenance hatch, they decided to search for another entry point.

“Taryn and Fogg didn’t want to come?” asked Gavin.

“They did,” said Zerki, “but Fogg was concerned about being influenced by Behemothylax’s rogue AI, and Taryn’s committed to helping D’Arro direct the salvage operation.”

He crossed his arms.  “I can’t believe she wouldn’t rather see this.”

Valerie shrugged as she studied Behemothylax’s dorsal ridge.  “D’Arro’s very handsome, by ospyrean standards.  It’s understandable that she’s got a crush.”

Gavin quietly cleared his throat.  “She does?”

“Maybe more than a crush,” said Filan, and she squeezed Takeo’s hand.

“Well, that would be a first,” said Takeo.  “In all the years I’ve known her, for whatever reason, she’s never fallen for another ospyrean.  She kept mostly to humans, as far as I know.”

With a gloomy sigh, Gavin said, “Mostly.”

“That’s not unusual,” said Valerie.  “When ospyreans mate, it’s for life.  Since they’re pretty similar to us anatomically, they’ll often take human partners until they’re ready to settle down with one of their own.”

“Great,” mumbled Gavin.  “That would’ve been nice to know eight years ago.”

She regarded him curiously.  “You two seem to have a pretty healthy relationship.  I wouldn’t put too much stock in a crush.”

He shook his head.  “It’s not what it looks like.”

Suddenly, Filan sprang away, hurrying toward a weathered dome embedded in the top of a nearby segment.  “I found a hatch!” she declared, and she scaled the segment’s gentle slope to stand over it.  “Sorry, Gavin, I didn’t mean to cut you off.”  She practically bounced as she pointed at her discovery.

“Good eye,” said Zerki, and she led her companions to stand beside Filan.  “Everyone, take a step back.”  She stooped low and strained against an embedded handle, as a gust of wind buffeted them.  It slowly turned and opened with a hiss of icy fog.

“I’m glad we bundled up,” said Gavin.  “It looks even colder in there.”

“It probably is,” said Zerki, and she leaned over to peer into the guts of the leviathan.  “We’ll need light.”  With the rip of Velcro, she loosened a pouch cover on her jacket and tapped a small disc within, causing it to shine brightly.  “Everyone’s got one of these.”

Following Zerki’s example, her companions activated their lanterns.

Filan offered, “I can go full body, if we need it.”  Hiking up her sleeves, her hands and forearms faintly glowed.

“Good to know,” said Zerki, and she descended through the hatch ahead of her companions.

Darkness gnawed at them, shrouding recesses filled with glinting blades and jagged points.  Carefully, they made their way along the sub-dorsal service catwalks.  Below them, endless rows of devices sagged in immense ropes and stacks, hung over the scarred heart of the mountain so very far below.  The silvery blue wash of lighting danced up along vaults of machinery.

Zerki raised her hand, and the others paused while she checked her data tablet.  “We’re going to need to take this slow.  I’m not picking up any rust, but this thing’s been here for decades, and I’d be surprised if there weren’t regions where the infrastructure has been compromised.”  She looked long at the grime-coated, grated pathways.  “It’s possible we could find out why Behemothylax went haywire.”  A motivated smile tugged on her lips.  “We could be the first people in the entire galaxy to know the truth.  What do you guys think—is it worth the risk?”

“I’m willing to brave it,” said Valerie.

Filan said, “A chance to access its deep core?”  She beamed giddily.  “I’m in!”

Takeo chuckled.  Regarding Filan, he said, “Someone’s got to keep you safe.”

“Of course I’m in,” said Gavin.

Dusk gave way to night, as they threaded slick byways, silt-coated ladders, stuck hatchways and creaking stairs.  The earth around them boomed, rattled in the grip of thunder.

Up ahead, they spotted a bulkhead labeled “Vital Storage.”  It was dressed in dusty static warnings and maximum temperature requirements, as well as several power diagrams.  When they drew near, lights embedded in the jamb flickered on, pale and green, but they dimmed just as quickly.  The door slid aside slowly at their approach, revealing a vast chamber.

A recorded woman’s voice chimed, “Welcome to the reliquary.”

Takeo regarded the captain.  “Reliquary?”

“So it would seem.”

Valerie asked, “Why would there be a reliquary in the heart of a planet-shaper droid?”

“That’s a good question.”  Zerki pondered.  After a moment, she nodded and said, “Behemothylax had the most advanced AI for its time.  If it ever ran across something it didn’t prefer to process, it makes sense that there should be a place to store the things it wanted to keep.”

“What was the last world it visited?” asked Gavin.

“I don’t know,” Zerki answered, and she faced him.  “But I think it was in this system, back when Ixion still belonged to the Union.  Ixion Prime was the first world that Behemothylax savaged.”

Somewhere in the depths, generators came to life, giving them all a start.  Overhead, dull thumps rang in sequence, and pale green, hazy illumination lit up the expansive room.  All around them, display placards flickered to life, set before scores of crude displays.  Filan pointed to a pulsing sphere just under their feet, now sheathed in dense, luminescent gas.  It nearly brushed against the grating.  “Oh, wow,” she breathed, and she squatted down to test whether her fingers could fit through the gaps.

Zerki moved Filan’s hand away.  “It might be trapped.”

“Right, sorry.”  Her cheeks and forehead brightened somewhat as she blushed, and for a moment, light played along her visible circuits.

“Let’s have a look around,” Zerki suggested, and she straightened.  “Please stay close.”

The others followed their captain to a nearby display labeled, “Early Explorers.”  She brushed a fine film of dirt from a section of white-painted metal.  “Huh,” she said as she studied it.  Regarding them sidelong, she pointed and asked, “Do you guys know what this stands for?”

Filan’s shoulders sagged.  “Maybe if I could read it.”

Zerki winced slightly and squeezed her shoulder.  “Sorry, that was insensitive of me.”

“It’s okay.  Fogg’s going to teach me, starting tonight.”

After a moment, Gavin answered, “N-A-S-A.  It’s probably an acronym.”

“It is,” Zerki confirmed.  “NASA was one of Earth’s first space exploration agencies.”

Her comrades regarded her expectantly.

“It hasn’t been around for centuries!”

Takeo asked, “Are you implying that Behemothylax encountered an ancient Earth colony this close to the galactic core?”  He scoffed.  “That’s impossible!”