Too Old To Die, page 18
If Keppler’s medication didn’t kill him first.
“We’re ready,” Zoe said, “patched in and looking for Chelsea’s last known comm ID. In three… two… one…” Lights all around them flashed as power from the base surged.
Gareth counted slowly in his head. Every second that passed was another for the Veldon to locate them, to bombard the moon and obliterate their position. He couldn’t believe he’d gone from helping a sick man to fighting Veldon soldiers on the ground to fleeing the planet in a mostly illegal civilian ship.
The day certainly took a turn.
When his counting reached sixty, Gareth started to sweat. Come on, Zoe! Find her already!
“Coordinates locked in,” Zoe said. “Her last known location was quite a ways out. An FTL buoy in a junction system. The network suggests she’s on her way to a fuel depot. No reason for course choice nor flight plan. But I do have the information and have plotted an initial course.”
Keppler asked, “What’s a junction system?”
Gareth said, “An uninhabited section of space where we installed a buoy to help space travelers. Alright, get ready to provide a reasonably efficient course to that location.”
“Wait!” Keppler frowned. “What if she’s not there when we arrive? If it’s a place to refuel, don’t you think she’ll be moving on?”
“Then we’ll be able to follow the same way we are now.” Gareth cranked on the thrusters, taking them toward the opposite exit. “We have a short corridor to fly through here then we’ll be back to open space. I’m guessing…” He checked scans. “Yep, the Veldon have a good amount of ships around the base.”
“You’ll fall under fire,” Zoe said, “but the shields will hold long enough for us to get out of here. You have a waypoint. Get to those exact coordinates and we’ll be able to launch immediately.”
Gareth’s shoulders slumped when he saw it. She wanted them to fly nearly a thousand miles from the base. Which made sense, but it put them in some serious jeopardy between the exit and their destination. Sat up straight, gripping the flight stick tightly as he settled in for the flight of his life.
I wish I paid more attention in flight school. The ship already sustained some damage when he battered into the walls of the canyon. Additional shots might put them at serious risk during their FTL trip. Enough so that he started fretting about whether or not they could repair anything too dangerous.
“Do we have environmental suits aboard?” Gareth asked.
“Yes, five. Why?”
“Because if things don’t go according to plan…” Gareth gave him a quick glance. “We might need them. The second we get out of here, we’ll run a diagnostic. Then you can administer whatever treatment I need.” Can’t wait to find out how that will feel. Given the misery before, I’m sure it’ll be another walk in the park.
Or instantaneous death. The first two had threatened his life from pain and suffering. Without Zoe, and this special something Keppler talked about, he may well have expired. Heart stopped, brain functions ceased. A vegetable at worse. Death in that case would be a mercy. And he still didn’t know exactly what it was supposed to do to him.
Gareth took a soft right through the corridor, leading upward toward the exit. This had been a maintenance tunnel when he’d been stationed there, a way for small craft to come in and fix problems with the shaft. A few fighters liked to use it to avoid the line in other hangars. They often got in serious trouble for going in the wrong way.
Emergencies only. Like right now.
“Here we go.” Gareth leveled them out. The exit loomed ahead. Open space became visible. He engaged the thrusters, picking up speed so they’d tear out of there at top speed. Should surprise our friends when we come out of there like a rocket. At least buy us a moment before they start shooting.
Zoe said, “You should be at the following speed when we arrive.”
“If it’s anything but full speed,” Gareth said, “then you might be out of luck.”
“Drop by four percent when I say.”
“That’s insanely specific!”
Zoe chuckled through the speakers. “It is faster than light travel math. Of course it’s specific.”
This is why I didn’t become a damn navigator. Or a full-time pilot. I wanted to leave this kind of stress for other people. Shoot at me all day long, but put me in a cockpit and tell me I’m holding the lives of everyone aboard in my hands, and I’m not happy. The thought helped distract him as they burst from the exit.
Veldon ships orbited the moon all around them. Their weapons lit up instantly, blasting the space where Gareth had just been. That answered the current rules of engagement. They want to blow us up. But they tried to raid Keppler’s lab! What did they want? Were they intending to destroy it? Or steal it?
I guess I know the answer considering what they’re doing right now. “One minute, twenty seconds,” Gareth announced. The blips formed up behind them, racing to get a decent firing solution. “Am I aimed in the right direction at least?”
“Affirmative,” Zoe said. “You will be fine if you maintain this course. Pull throttle back by four percent on my mark.”
“That will make it okay?” Gareth asked. “Wait… hold on.” They took the full brunt of a volley in the rear, enough to nudge them forward. It shook the seats, jostling them about. Safety harnesses bit into his shoulders. He winced, but maintained his focus. A glance to the right made him do a double take.
The screen, which had been blurry, appeared perfectly clear. He hadn’t even noticed the discrepancy before. He’d been compensating for his vision long enough that he just squinted the right amount, just a little to get a good look at something. This time, right then, he found himself able to read it without any trouble at all.
A hit to the starboard side brought him back to the moment. Shields dropped to twenty percent. Superficial hull damage marred the side of the ship. He desperately wanted to pick up speed, dump more power into the engines. But they’d overshoot their mark. If Zoe had to start another course, they’d be dead.
“Drop now!” Zoe shouted, “four percent!”
Gareth edged the throttle back minutely, watching the number decrease. His precision shocked him, almost as much as the vision thing. When the ship hit ninety-six percent thrust, they rapidly approached the waypoint. Scans showed a massive power build up as all the Veldon ships prepared to fire in unison.
That will be our end.
“Now!” Zoe said, “initiate the FTL drive!”
Gareth slapped the terminal.
The Veldon ships fired.
Engines whined deep within the hull, somewhere behind him and below.
Thrusters disengaged. A high-pitched sound filled the cabin. The blasts coming their way seemed to slow down, even as they came within a few hundred meters of making contact. Then… the ship was off. Hurled into light speed, racing away from Earth and the Veldon threat. Seconds from us not making it out of there at all.
“You did it!” Keppler shouted. “I knew I placed my faith in the right man! Congratulations, Commander! You are a real piece of work. The genuine article of a soldier! Yes!” He clapped his hands. “You’ve saved our lives, my research, even this ship! Thank you. Thank you very much!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Gareth waved him down, “we’re not out of this yet. We have a lot to do and not much time. First, the diagnostic. We need to know if the damage they caused will kill us in the next half hour. Zoe, can you get on that?”
“I’m working it now.”
“Great.” Gareth turned to Keppler. “Fetch the environmental suits. If something happens, we won’t have a lot of time to put them on. We’ll get the suits on and keep the helmets close by. That way we don’t waste the oxygen in them until it’s essential. Go.” He waited for the man to leave before slumping in his seat.
“Are you okay?” Zoe asked in his head rather than through the speakers. “You seem upset.”
“I’m fine,” Gareth muttered, “better than fine. In fact, I’d like a full diagnostic of me as well. Whatever the doctor did had some interesting side effects.” He glanced at the scanner again. He could make out the finest text as easily as he could when he was thirty years old. “Yeah, I need that as soon as you’re able.”
“Diagnostic of the ship suggests we’re okay. Minor repairs will be required. I can walk you through them when you’re ready. Based on what just happened, I’d like to point out how lucky we are. Another few seconds, and the full brunt of that attack would’ve obliterated this vessel. We’d be dead.”
“I got that,” Gareth said.
“I don’t entirely trust Doctor Keppler,” Zoe replied, “since you seem to be ready to change the subject.”
“Neither do I,” Gareth muttered, “what do you want me to do about it? I’m kind of at his mercy now that he’s done this to me. The fact I saved his life should get us far. I think he cares more about surviving than he does causing us any trouble. Considering he needs me to get him wherever he wants to go, we’re probably safe for the time being.”
“Injecting Franklyn like that… I mean, I’m glad he didn’t seriously hurt him. If we can trust that he didn’t. If what he’s done to you works though, I suppose I can see why he would want to defend it so much. I’d be a hypocrite if I spoke against his need for secrecy. My own work might’ve gotten me into the same type of trouble.”
“If you killed someone,” Gareth pointed out. “You didn’t. And your test results were spot on. There was no need to worry about what you were trying to do. The interface procedure ended up functioning exactly as you said it would. It’s not your fault command didn’t want to risk additional resources.”
“They couldn’t see the benefits,” Zoe said. “They didn’t know what this neural link might provide a soldier in the field. How it could help war efforts. Not to mention maintain pain thresholds and keep men and women from total despair. I wish they would’ve looked at my work from a holistic view.”
“Sometimes, they don’t give a shit,” Gareth replied, “then occasionally, they do. You happened in on the end of caring. I don’t get it, to be honest. They never worried about what would happen to young people when they dropped them in the middle of a hot zone against the Veldon. Where were they during peace talks?”
“War is easier than diplomacy because the people who declare it are rarely the ones fighting in it. Sorry, I don’t mean to be bitter. It’s been a long time. I shouldn’t be so upset about this type of thing anymore. Not when we’ve done so well. It helped keep you alive. That should be the only thing I care about.”
“We should’ve given one to Chelsea,” Gareth said. “I’m sure she’d love the assistance during some of her investigations. That stuff can be intense. A voice to bounce ideas off of, to keep track of all the data… invaluable. I’m telling you, eventually someone’s going to take up that research and everyone will have the implant.”
Keppler cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but I’m ready for you if you don’t mind. I need you to stay at the top of your game if we’re going to get through this. And that means the next injection. I’ll need you to keep me abreast of how you feel. No matter how small the change, let me know.”
“Why?” Gareth asked. He got out of the chair. Nothing hurt. No aches, no pains, no discomfort. “It might get annoying.”
“Because this is experimental,” Keppler said. “And you need three more injections after this. So it’s best if you keep me informed so I can try to mitigate the side effects. We’ll stretch as long as we can between three and four. If you get hurt though, if something happens, it might advance our timetable.”
“Understood… wait.” Gareth frowned. “What about the compound you made up before? Will I still be able to take that?”
“When you get the sixth injection,” Keppler replied, “you won’t need it. But until then, we’ll have to measure the doses. It can’t interfere with the rest of your body’s alterations.”
“I’m not sure what you mean. Why wouldn’t I need it?”
“Because your body’s ability to heal…” Keppler paused. “Let’s just say you’ll naturally generate the same type of material. It’ll take care of any injuries you might have. Until then though, you’re vulnerable.”
“Were you trying to make people younger?” Gareth asked. “Or create super soldiers?”
“Why not both?” Keppler narrowed his eyes at him. “Why not have someone who can mend a bone when they break it without having to go to a medical center, providing they set it properly? Or take care of a deep cut? A potentially wasting disease? I told you, I wanted to make people better. All around. Not just in one regard.”
“Hence your difficulties. You bit off a lot.”
“Indeed.” Keppler waved his hand and they started walking. “Any one of the things I sought to accomplish wasn’t so terrible. But the problem came down to making them stick together. And each person proved to have too many differences. At first, it seemed like I’d have to amend the serum based on the subject.”
“But not now?”
Keppler entered the lounge then took a left into an impressive infirmary. It only had two beds, but the equipment looked top of the line. He patted one of the two surfaces before stepping over to prepare the shot.
“I learned a lot since then,” Keppler said. “Specifically, I learned how to make an analytical virus. Something that could learn the makeup of the person. Think of it as the staging part of the process. But in the case of someone like you experiencing trauma, we didn’t have time to do that separate. So I combined it with the first curative.”
“How’s that work without killing someone?”
“One remains dormant until the other activates it.” Keppler shrugged. “Simple enough. The next shots are boosters, each adding a little more of the process until it’s complete. The magical sixth shot, making it permanent. Altering the DNA. Changing the way the entire body manages pain, immunity, and injury.”
“That sounds terrifying.”
“To a lesser mind,” Keppler said, “I could see that. But I don’t think you qualify. I think you’ve repeated what you think you’re supposed to say. Deep down, with that neural implant in your head, you know full well that science is only as terrifying as the people who use it for nefarious purposes. That’s not me.”
“But you sure didn’t slow down when you had complications that cost people their lives.”
Keppler fumed. “That wasn’t my fault! I warned all of my volunteers. I gave my reports to the military but those fools couldn’t understand them. So of course they were left in the dark! Of course they had no idea what would happen! Because they refused to read. Or even watch my presentation in full.”
“You don’t have to sell me on it. It’s working. I just don’t understand why you were so impatient when you worked with the military.”
“They were more so than me. Those idiots wanted immediate results. As if I could generate a super soldier without some trial and error. Without understanding this new path. Could I have made people slightly better? Given them a higher pain threshold? Yes. Would it have been of any value to the rest of humanity? Not so much.”
“So you wanted to use them,” Gareth said, “to ensure you got something decent out of it for the rest of us? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I wanted mutually beneficial work.” Keppler gestured for him to lay down. “Military application of my first efforts made perfect sense. But they have saved countless civilian lives as well. My employers and I didn’t have the same vocabulary when I agreed to work with them. They seemed to be saying soldier and I made it clear all of humanity.”
Gareth reclined. “So what’s next then? Now that you’ve escaped with your data, what do you want to do?”
“The most important thing you and I must do is ensure we get that sixth shot squared away.” Keppler leaned over him. “Until we have that, you’re in jeopardy. And my only real success might die. I don’t want that, and you surely don’t either. So we must figure out where to get the materials. Some lab. A planet. I don’t care. That’s our task.”
“And Earth?” Zoe spoke in Gareth’s head. “What about the countless people who died back there? The war with the Veldon? The attack on our fleet? What do we do about them, Doctor Keppler! Ugh! I need a speaker, Garry! I have some words for this man and I do not want them translated!”
“We’ve got a universal conflict going on,” Gareth said, “so we might be in a lot of danger. If we can link up with my daughter, then we’ll have a good chance of finding some help. Otherwise…” He sighed. “I’m not sure how we’re going to keep away from those furry bastards. If they want you, I mean.”
“They have no idea where we’ve gone,” Keppler replied. “And considering who I’m with, I am quite certain you’ll keep us out of harm’s way. Now. Prepare yourself for this shot. I suspect it will knock you out for half an hour. I’ll finish the diagnostics on the ship while you’re sleeping. When you wake, I’ll help with repairs.”
“Whoa,” Gareth held up his hand, “are you sure about the time? Because we don’t have the luxury of me…” He got a look at the shiny ceiling acting like a warbled mirror. Something about his reflection derailed his train of thought. He reached for his face, touching his smooth cheek…
Half a second before Keppler jabbed him in the neck. The hypo hissed… and Gareth was out.
***
Why did it work on him? August left Gareth sleeping on the bed as he busied himself about the ship. He double-checked the damage, noted the computer didn’t think it was bad enough to worry about, then headed for the cargo bay. Despite all that nonsense, it must be the neural link.
He didn’t want to believe in something intangible. Such a concept would be impossible to factor into his equations. Let alone ensure the next batch of serum worked on anyone but Gareth. No, he needed hard fact. That concept of the soul must’ve had some chemical associated with it. Something to map.
