"Here it is," said Jackson, "Can you tell if it'll work?"
Morris began investigating the area. It was indeed the sensor and communication center, with the command center on one side and several large computer rooms on the others. This room held the control consoles, some of potential use. Further investigation, aided by documents they found in the office there, led to the actual 'comm and sensor arrays.
Morris felt awed as he examined the circuitry of the massive sensor array. Though large and, yes, primitive the delicacy and symmetry of the circuits and the logic flows connecting them were elegant and beautiful. He made careful note of the power level and data feeds; the protocols he knew by heart. Most modern data protocols, League and otherwise, had long roots back into the Imperium.
"It will work," said Morris, "I'll make it work!"
Morris identified what he'd need and worked out the way to get it with the least amount of damage to the rest. Before long they had a very large pile of parts. Lace and Eisley went back to the warehouse and located a few sturdy empty boxes and they began gently packing the components. They had a considerable load to ferry back but nothing they couldn't manage.
They found Harkin and Delroy at the bottom of the dropoff, waiting.
"We've been talking," said Harkin.
Delroy lost some of her pallor. She looked up at Morris once, then dropped her gaze again. Harkin examined their treasures gleefully. Morris suspected the man did regret not accompanying them.
When the rover emerged from the cave only part of the sun peeked above the horizon. That surprised only Morris; he hadn't checked his chrono once. The tents hadn't moved, they had plenty of air and a tank full of pure water.
"We could go on," said Jackson, "but traveling at night is begging for accidents."
Now that he had what they needed Morris wanted desperately to return to the ship at top speed. Unfortunately Jackson had a valid point.
"We'll stay another night," said Morris, "No sense wasting pure air and water."
Morris crypto-locked the storage compartment containing the Imperium components. He also put an active monitor on it linked to his toolbelt. He considered welding the door shut but even in his fatigued state that seemed excessive. While he worked the others prepared as festive a meal as they could with rations. They all gathered around a large crate with smaller ones for seats. Though eating through a respirator was tricky no one wanted to eat alone.
With a full stomach and a goal accomplished Morris almost fell asleep where he sat. Jackson reached out and stopped him from falling but Morris didn't feel it. He mentioned something to Jackson about locking down and securing the camp and setting watches but then his tent opened its 'lock and swallowed him.
Jackson removed Morris' respirator and told him to rest but only received a snore for his answer.
Lace waited outside the tent with an anxious look on her face.
"Don't worry, lady," said Jackson, "Our Tech may bend a bit but he won't break."
***
They came while he slept. Morris knew he slept and that only the phantoms of his dreams haunted him but his tired body refused to wake from them. Paralysis crept over him leaving him a mere puppet of his own mind.
Lydia was there. She, Harper, Blakeschiff and Kody had harsh words for him. Their injuries pulsed and glared at him as they accused him. Morris didn't understand them but he knew he failed them, even without their telling him. Delroy sat off to one side and wrapped him in strange, wrong graphs and diagrams. They vanished almost as quickly as she spun them which only made her work harder. Morris felt an obscene urgency, looked around and found himself inside the fusion chamber.
He wore no suit against the actinic glare and now the antirad tabs burned him from the outside in. He replaced the catalyst rings as fast as he could only to have them vanish all the faster. The chamber ejected him into the power 'net, which always malfunctioned just ahead of where Morris repaired it.
Kelven McCrory waited in Morris' room. He watched the crowds Morris recorded and pointed out a thousand patterns Morris missed. With a disappointed look on his face he handed Morris a capsule. When Morris took it his fallsickness abated.
The beast charged through the holocad. Morris scrambled for his laser but knew the beast would reach him before he could kill it. Then he saw Delroy drawing her weapon. She would kill it; she had a much better shot at it. Then the beam went wide. She missed Morris, the beast, the others in the lounge...
***
"Morris! Wake up, lad, they're gone."
Morris registered these words just before the hiss of a hypo. Iciness rushed through him and helped him rouse through the layers of dreams. When he finally woke Jackson stood over him.
"Are you awake, Morris?"
"Yes." Morris squeezed his eyes. "Yes. What happened?"
"Crystal's gone. I went to relieve Ron and both of them are gone."
"Burnit!"
Polov stared at them, frightened. Morris motioned him into a respirator, grabbed his 'comm and thumbed it to all-call.
"We have an escape. Assemble at the rover immediately."
As soon as the rest assembled Morris verified that only Garrett and Delroy were missing. Something started nagging at him but he had no time for it.
"Scanners, Jared. Find them!"
Jackson entered the rover and activated its powerful scanners.
"I have relatively high power levels inside the cave," said Jackson presently, "Nothing but us anywhere else."
As soon as they all boarded Jackson had the rover roaring down the tunnel. Morris didn't really want them all there but couldn't quickly think of a good reason to bar them. He kept his attention fixed on the scanner. As the rover closed the distance the readout sharpened. Before long it showed positive on two bioforms and as many active power sources. At what must have been the sound of the rover the readings began moving forward faster, from a walk to a run. They would reach the dropoff before the rover did but not by long. Morris puzzled over what Delroy hoped to accomplish but came up with nothing.
When the two blips reached the dropoff they merged into a single dot and the scanner hashed momentarily. When the image cleared it still showed two power sources but only one bioform. A sense of foreboding filled Morris.
***
When they reached the dropoff Garret lay near the edge, alive but unmoving. A handlight lay a few feet away, its beam pointing toward the wall.
"Help, sir," said Garrett, almost incoherent with panic, "She... She's crazy. I... I didn't know what... Help, sir."
Garret's left arm had a nasty burn down it surrounded by a charred hole in his sleeve.
"Where is she," demanded Morris, still half-covering Garrett.
"There, sir." He jerked his head toward the pit.
Leaving Jackson to deal with Garrett Morris picked up the light and aimed it over the dropoff.
"Burnit! Get a kit and get down there, Jared. I'll prep the hoist."
Sprawled on the hard stone at the bottom of the dropoff lay Delroy, still and unmoving.
***
Morris sat outside the rover, desperately wanting to pace but stopping himself from doing it. Now the others looked to him, fearful and not bothering to hide it. Jackson still worked inside. He spent a lot of time working before he dared move Delroy and when they did they hoisted her very gingerly up. As Morris drove slowly back to the camp Jackson worked in the rover's limited medical area. He worked until dawn. He worked well past sunrise. Just when Morris' nerves reached the shatter point Jackson emerged from the rover.
"She's alive. The fall did a lot of damage but nothing that can't be fixed. She had good stat-sat levels so I put her in stasis. It was a good freeze."
Morris nodded, glad of that. He motioned to Garrett. As soon as Morris spotted Delroy Rackwell, Eisley and Polov took care of Garrett. Before long they had him back to some coherency though he was still visibly rattled.
"Sir?"
"Tell me what happened. Slowly and clear
ly."
Garrett took a deep breath. "I just relieved Dr. Harkin. He told me she'd been quiet and when I looked in she was asleep."
Harkin nodded at this.
"I sat down and settled in. I guess I dozed off because the next thing I knew she slit the tent and grabbed my respirator and laser."
"Laser," demanded Morris.
"I issued it," said Jackson quickly, "It was hers and I thought Culle and Ron were level-headed enough to handle it."
"I'd agree," said Morris, "Go on, Mr. Garrett."
"She... She had my respirator, sir. She told me I could either find another one or choke on the air. By the time I did she had the laser charged and aimed at me. She told me to grab a light and that we were going to pay the sensors a visit. She knew you killed the commo on the rover, sir, and she said there was still plenty she could do.
"We heard you coming 'way before we got to the drop. She made me run, sir. She said if we didn't get inside the site before you did she'd fry me. I had the light, though, and when we got to the drop I flashed it in her eyes." Garrett fidgeted. "We... I didn't mean to do it, sir. I didn't! When I blinded her I went for the laser. She... We scrapped and she shot me. I got the laser but she connected a couple of times. I... I just hit back and she hit back and I fell down. I guess she slipped over the edge, then."
Morris motioned Garret to silence. The facts buzzing around inside his head all clicked into place.
"That's a nice story, Mister Garrett," said Morris, "Now try telling me the truth."
Jackson and Rackwell both started at this. Garrett looked at Morris, then them, then back. Morris drew his laser.
"First fact," said Morris, "Crystal Delroy didn't speak when silence would do. Second fact. She was terribly claustrophobic. If she went into that cave on foot she'd have a lightstaff, not a handlight, and you would not be the one holding it.
"Third fact, Mister Garrett, I know for truth you have a lot of time and training in space."
That startled Garrett.
"It's bothered me," said Morris, "I suppose since you had such a good meal when the gravity went off. Freefall affects everyone, Mister Garret, even me and I of anyone should be the most accustomed to it. Not only did you adjust instantly, which is the mark of a true spacer, but when Ms. Eisley reacted to linking for the first time you reacted just as fast as I did and I've done that before. You also told her it would be easier the next time."
Garrett's expression turned into a mask.
"When we started building the base," continued Morris, "You learned how to operate an exmap like it was second nature. Except for the integrated data system and readout. Workframes designed for use with vacc suits are basically identical except for the readouts, which mesh with the suit systems. Finally, Mr. Garrett, what exactly did you say when I started to walk up the ship's ramp?"
Worry and fear started to seep through Garrett's mask.
"You said 'Careful, sir, she may be juicy.' Quite an adept expression for someone who hasn't spent a lot of time in space."
Garrett looked at Rackwell.
"Answer the man, Ron."
Garrett shifted nervously. When he did a stranger looked at Morris.
"What'll happen to me, sir."
"That depends," said Morris, "As of now you're an accessory to treason and murder. Those are both serious crimes, punishable by death. I think anything you have to say will be an improvement."
Garrett reached under his respirator to scratch his jaw.
"I suppose I'll start at the beginning, then."
"The truth, Mister Garrett," said Rackwell vehemently.
"First of all my real name is Benjamin Lesceaux." Garrett looked at Morris and Rackwell expectantly. "I guess that name doesn't mean much to you but it's got some... incidents attached to it. Before I hit HAR space I was part of a free merchantman's crew out of the Anastasia Cluster."
"Pirate," spat Jackson.
"That, sirra, is a matter of opinion. We were operating under a letter of marque from the Rift Consortium and raiding the lanes between two enemies that were close to war. That's when we got caught. A bunch of soggies jumped the orbit on my shuttle and my mates and I were caught, tried and sentenced to hang. That was on a dead-orbit backwater colony settlement on the feces end of nowhere and my Cap'n decided to rescue us and loot the place.
"That's when Daddy Planet's muscle showed up and things heated up real quick after that. Turns out they negotiated protection from the Rift and we violated it. Up 'till then we built up a ruddy good haul so the Cap'n decided to divvy up the loot and scuttle the ship so we scattered to the stars.
"I hit the dirt on Port Noble, bought myself a clean, new identity and rode the low-slow to Helene where I decided to start my new life. My new clean life."
"And..." Morris knew there was more.
"After the, uh, accident in engineering, after you got the gravity back on I got a message on my terminal. I know engines inside out, sir, and I can patch any hull back to new but any computers outside that are 'way past my orbits.
"Like I said I got a message. My screen cleared and it told me my real name, what I did, when I did it, my Captain's name... Everything. Then it said I would '... perform as instructed or face dire consequences.'"
Garrett looked pleadingly at Morris.
"I didn't kill anybody, sir, I didn't. After we grounded I got instructions to put a blank chip in my terminal. It wrote a while then it popped out. The terminal said I was to put it in the zrock mixer then move it to one of the floats. That's all I did, sir, I swear it! I don't like killing, sir, but I've done plenty of it. That's so you know I mean it when I tell you I didn't here!"
Morris let him worry a moment.
"And Delroy?"
"When you... When she was... arrested I figured she was the one. She knew all about computers and she seemed like the type."
"Yes?"
"I didn't mean to hurt her, sir." These words rushed out of Garrett. "I saw how she reacted to putting on her suit, sir. I thought... I thought if I took her deep in the cave where it was nice and dark I could get her to... Hades, sir, I thought I could get her to shut up. Then I heard the rover and I panicked. I was trying to figure out how to get her down those stairs when she tried to run away. I grabbed her and we got turned around; that's when she fell off the edge. I shot myself in the arm and threw the laser away. That's the pure truth, sir."
Garrett sounded sincere but Morris couldn't decide for certain.
"I'll reserve judgment. Jared, I want him frozen."
Jackson nodded, eyes hard.
Garrett rose. He extended his hand to Morris.
"Thank you, Dr. Taylor. Whatever happens to me I enjoyed learning from you." Garrett dropped his eyes before continuing. "I'm just sorry I disappointed you. You too, Dr. Rack."
Jackson moved Garrett, or Lesceaux, into the rover. Morris felt empty inside. Ordinarily he loved the challenge of solving a puzzle, whether logical or mechanical. This one left him feeling sick.
A gentle hand touched Morris' shoulder. Lace handed him a tube of chog, steaming hot. Her hand delivered a comforting caress and her eyes brimmed with concern and confidence in him. It helped a little. By the time he finished his drink the others were ready to leave. Dawn wasn't far away; Morris thought about leaving the tents and other equipment in place but decided against it. By the time they broke camp the sun had risen and they had ample light for traveling.
Chapter 15. The Reality
They found the ship and prefabs undisturbed. Morris felt a vague wash of memory but not enough to disturb him. It wouldn't have surprised him to find the ship, prefabs and everything else gone but all stood just as they left it.
Lesceaux made the trip quietly; shackled in the back of the rover waiting for the prestasis drugs to reach appropriate saturation levels. He and Rackwell talked a while, then Rackwell moved forward. What they said Rackwell didn't share nor did Morris press. At Jackson's suggestion Morris took and kept the secondary position and doz
ed as he could.
"Right as rainfall," said Jackson after a quick check around the base.
Morris moved his treasures into an unoccupied and very secure prefab with a heavy, armored door. He removed it from the makeshift power 'net and hooked in the fusion plant from the other float. Then he started collecting equipment and before long he had an impressive pile of it. By the time he found the last few parts the life support system had the building full of cool, breathable air.
Bone-weary tired and chafing under unaccustomed command Morris nonetheless enjoyed the challenge of this work. An abstract part of him unconcerned with anything but technology took unabashed pleasure in what he did.
"Morris!"
Reluctantly he pulled himself out of the circuitry to find Lace standing beside him.
"You're working yourself to exhaustion. Stop and eat."
Something bothered him about her. Not the concern in her eyes but...
"Your respirator!"
Lace pulled him toward the 'lock. She took two respirators from the rack beside it and gave him one. When they both donned them she cycled through. His stomach started growling steadily.
Night had fallen. When Morris checked his chrono he found it well-advanced. The others waited in the main building but Lace hustled him past them and to a plate of rations and tea. This one had a milder and fruitier flavor than blackbean and Morris liked it. Lace and Jackson spoke in low whispers and Morris suspected himself as the subject of it. When he finished his meal he thought to join them but found himself guided to his bunk.
***
Morris woke tired. The burdens he set aside when he lay back awaited him when he rose. He knew he'd had a good, restful sleep and a long one. His body felt better; if he could just...
Pushing those thoughts aside Morris sought breakfast.
"Welcome back to the living," said Lace, "I hope you're with us today."
"I'm fine," said Morris, "Tired but fine. I still have a lot to do."
He looked around. Polov and Eisley worked at tidying and organizing the place. Harkin and Rackwell reviewed holos of the installation. Jackson gathered, sorted and stored medical supplies. That left...
"Garrett!"
"Easy, Morris," said Lace, "Jared. We need you."
Morris looked at the big man, puzzled.