Logos (Link Book Three), page 11
Jane had never heard it said so simply. “Good point.”
Even Lois seemed to contemplate his argument. “There’s a difference.”
“What?”
“Reasoning,” she said. “Humans are the only animal on Earth that reasons. We’re creative beings, but we’re extremely territorial. The Locus also fit this bill, so I’ll assume that the Hiphol reason as well. We’re not forest creatures, Curtis. It’ll be war.”
Jane absorbed both sides of the debate, coming to her own conclusion. “Can’t it be both? We’ve already encountered the Locus, and they didn’t fight Henry and Cal. They let them go.”
“What about the room we passed through two hours ago?” Lois asked. “What if…”
“Perhaps the Locus merely found the schematics for the Hiphol robots,” Curtis said, playing devil’s advocate.
Jane wished that were true, but her instincts said otherwise. “Maybe.”
“You don’t sound sold,” Lois said.
The Locus had modified the Link, but Henry was confident the Oniri Band was something else, built ages before the aliens ever encountered the material. They’d been working under the assumption that the Hiphol found the Link after the Control Rooms were abandoned, but what if the Hiphol were the Locus? It made sense, considering the only Hiphol they’d ever met came on the Zen-Class cruiser, chasing Calvin and Excursion through the wormhole from Pathos to Ethos only weeks earlier. And that triangular ship was filled with Locus, not the Hiphol they’d expected.
The stories weren’t lining up. Were Rallin and the Locus with him captives as they claimed, or were they Hiphol, trying to trick Calvin and the defenses of Ethos into making a grave mistake?
Jane wished they could communicate with Calvin, but the interference was too strong. There wasn’t any signal now that they were closing in on three kilometers below the surface. It was hotter with every level they reached, and Jane’s armored suit was repeatedly trying to cool her overheating skin.
She was about to stow the garbage when Lois kicked the empty MREs.
Jane picked them up, cinching the waste into a clear bag. “I’d rather not leave signs of our passage behind.” It looked obvious that no one had traversed these halls in a long time, but there was a reason the Locus had entered its coordinates into Command. She suddenly worried that it might be a trap, but why?
“The Locus can’t be evil,” Curtis said while they started down the next set of rungs.
“Why not?” Lois’ gun tapped on the wall as she descended below Jane.
“Because they were helpful in relocating the original colonists to Pathos.”
Jane got to the lower level, and the air was cooler all of a sudden. “Do you feel that?” Her visor detected a change in temperature, and she watched the centigrade scale dropping dramatically.
“We must be close,” Lois said.
“Go ahead, Curtis. What were you telling us?”
“If the Hiphol threatened our colonists, then why did the Locus come to save them before Ethos was attacked? This proves the Locus are innocent of your accusations.” Dr. Singh had his hands on his hips, nodding like his argument was the only one that made sense.
“You’re forgetting something,” Jane whispered.
“What?” Curtis demanded.
“It’s possible for an alien race to be both helpful and deadly. Think about the Solar War.” Jane waited for the message to catch up. “Humans fought one another, with the Deniers going into hiding when the battle was over. What if the Diplomats lost and the Deniers won? Maybe we’d be on a distant planet like Yezon, staying out of the way.”
Lois flipped her visor up, gazing at Jane. “I hope you’re wrong. We need at least one ally out here, or we don’t stand a chance against the Hiphol.”
Lois aimed her weapon toward the darkness beyond the round room, and the light snapped off. “Damn it. I’ve already replaced the charge.” She bashed the barrel into her palm, and it returned to life.
The beam reflected off something white, and the ray bounced around, filling the cavern with light.
Jane couldn’t believe what they’d found.
She stepped in, finding ten Locus frozen in cryochambers. Beyond them was a giant sample of Oniri, but unlike the transporter on Pathos, it was roughly shaped and lacking the clustered symbols denoting various destinations.
“Don’t touch anything,” Jane warned, but Lois was already halfway through. She called out when the first cryochamber released a stream of gas out of a vent near the Locus’ head. The other nine chambers followed suit, freeing the Preservers from their state of rest.
Lois stared at the Oniri stone as the air nearby shimmered.
“Whoops.”
SIX
“Where is Jane?” Calvin asked Kathy.
She didn’t respond, so Cal tapped her on the shoulder. “Kathy!”
“Sorry.” Kathy pulled out an earpiece. “I’m being inundated with constant issues. You’d think the colony was about to fail at every turn.”
“Is it?” Cal viewed the city as it grew around them. What had once been a rudimentary base, installed by none other than Fred, Linus, and Darius three centuries earlier, was now grand in scale. It went far beyond what Wallace’s initial plans had been. With the help of Vick, the new mayor of Memory, they’d sped up the construction, using his knowledge and experience from Pathos.
“Ask me again tomorrow, would you?” Kathy gave him her attention. “Can I help you?”
“Where’s Jane?”
Kathy shook her head, ignoring the chimes coming from her Slab. “Haven’t seen her all day.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” Apparently, no one had seen Jane since that morning. She’d disappeared, which, considering the large population, didn’t seem surprising, but it wasn’t like her. Sure, things had been a little turbulent since returning to Ethos, but he doubted she would intentionally ghost him.
“If you cross paths, can you ask her to contact me?”
Kathy gave him a blank expression. “I’ll do that.”
Calvin Brooks strode deeper into town, catching the odd stare as he wore military garb. The people of Pathos hadn’t formed any official coalition besides the security forces designed to protect them, as police once did on Earth. And their leader had turned out to be a ruthless man who’d killed their own mayor in a moment of tension.
What did they think when they watched him? Were they grateful to have a large fleet orbiting Ethos? How many of the relocated humans would rather be on Pathos, living out their days on an already established colony? He expected that most would rather have that alternative.
Unfortunately, in Cal’s experience, the population wasn’t always offered a choice. It was made for them by their governing bodies, or the fates themselves.
He reached Linus’ dome, but the hatch remained locked when he tried to open it. Cal knocked, peering through the tinted glass. “Hello!”
Linus arrived, squinting at him. “What is it?” he called.
“I’d like to speak to you.”
He waited while the locking mechanism spun and the hatch pushed outward. Fred Wallace was in the office along with Atticus, Thodoros, and Socrates. Command was noticeably missing, since they’d moved the old computer on William Trellis’ advice.
Cal couldn’t shake the feeling he was walking in on something sinister. Linus looked guilty, like he’d been caught red-handed. “What are you up to?”
Linus glanced at Fred but didn’t speak.
“Guys, if there’s something I should know, now’s as good a time as any to come clean.”
Still nothing.
“Atti, maybe you should—”
“Have a seat.” Fred gestured to an empty chair in the cramped office. As Calvin entered the second room, he heard the lock click behind him. He assessed the situation, wondering if he was in danger. Something in their demeanor unsettled him.
Calvin did as asked and set his palms on his thighs, then waited. The chair was too small for him, and the edges pressed into his hips.
“Try to stay calm,” Linus said.
“That’s never a good way to start a conversation,” Cal sighed. “What did you do?”
Linus had been filled with secrets since they’d discovered him in that very room. He claimed to have memory loss because of the cryochamber, and that added up, considering Darius Black had displayed the same side effects. Fred didn’t seem to have any issues recalling most of the events, though his transparency was equally frustrating.
What bothered Calvin the most was Atticus. He’d been rewired, presumably by the Locus. What if they’d done something else? If only Sanya Levine hadn’t shot him when they’d first explored Excursion One, they’d be light years ahead.
Socrates lived in the Hiphol city among the other fifty Automaton assistants, and Thodoros was the sole robot allowed to travel to Pathos with the exiles from Ethos. What did he know that Cal didn’t?
Cal began to stand after a silent minute. “There’s a lot to do, so if you’re not—”
Linus ran a hand through his thinning hair. “It’s about the Hiphol.”
“What about them?”
Linus paced and kicked a piece of electronics by accident. “I have a theory.”
“I’m all ears.”
“The Hiphol are made of alien races, banded together by trauma bonding and coercion. If they aren’t expanding, they’re dying,” Linus said.
That was precisely how Henry Abimbola spoke of humanity. “Go on.”
“When I was roused out of the cryochamber, Atticus told me something I didn’t want to believe,” Linus said.
Cal’s skin prickled. “What did he say?”
“That he was programmed to wait by the Link’s previous entrance, then to travel through when it reopened.” Linus observed Atticus, who was as still as a statue. “He was instructed to crash-land on the nearest planet.”
Calvin wondered why that would be. If the Locus wanted to help, ordering him to crash into Saturn would have the opposite consequence.
“We were looking at it all wrong. The Locus… they are the Hiphol,” Fred answered.
“I told Rallin the Locus are still on Yezon.”
“If you were captured by the enemy, wouldn’t you lie about your intentions?” Linus asked.
Cal considered the question, then nodded.
“He said something else,” Linus told him.
It was only then that Cal noticed Atticus hadn’t budged an inch since he’d entered. The other robots with them adjusted positions, and their eyes moved to follow the conversation, where Atticus’ were dark.
“Is he turned off?” Cal snapped his fingers beside Atticus, and the robot didn’t react.
“Yes.” Linus set a hand on Atti’s shoulder. “He was a good assistant.”
Calvin frowned at the duo. “What did Atti tell you?”
“I quote: ‘Don’t worry, sir. You’ve forgotten how to stop them, but I haven’t,’” Linus cited.
“Who? The Hiphol or the Locus?” Cal asked.
“Both.” Fred played a projection. “This was found on Atticus’ hard drive.” It showed a Locus, eight feet tall, wide-set eyes staring straight ahead. It wasn’t the anger in the alien’s face that drew his attention; it was the tattoos like Ambassador Cunningham’s that grabbed him.
“What else does Atticus know?”
“That’s what we’re working on.”
“Thodoros was also modified,” Cal said. “Is he compromised?”
“I have no information pertinent to the Hiphol,” Thodoros said. He’d spent the years since the colony moved to Pathos on Orbitus, the nearby space station.
“But you might have details on the Locus?”
“I do.” Thodoros clicked open a panel on his side, revealing blinking lights and the same strange wiring pattern that Atticus had been rebuilt with.
“I’ll work with William on the matter,” Linus said. “In the meantime, I can’t turn Atti on until I’m sure he doesn’t pose a threat.”
“But he claimed to know how to stop them,” Cal reminded them. “Maybe we can use him.”
“For what it’s worth, I believe they may be tracking Atticus, and perhaps Thodoros as well. There’s no world in which the Hiphol didn’t find us on Ethos, but I fear they want more than this fledgling colony,” Fred said.
“The Sun Colonies,” Cal whispered.
“Indeed.”
“Why haven’t you spoken of this to Cunningham or Abimbola…or Black, for that matter?”
“Darius was there when Atticus made this revelation, but when I mention it to him, he pretends he doesn’t hear my warning.” Linus tapped his own temple. “This is Black’s second cloned body.”
“Third,” Fred corrected.
“Third?” Cal knew the original captain of Excursion One had been cloned in the years after his return, but the body had failed and he’d aged prematurely. It was Dr. Lockerbie’s proprietary measures that had allowed him to survive the journey to Ethos. When he was too far gone, Kaze had once again given him a fresh canvas, and that iteration of Black was presently in charge of their entire fleet.
“He admitted they were incubating another before he left.” Linus wrung his hands. “I don’t see how it would have all his memories, but they kept his military knowledge. He isn’t meant to do anything but lead the defenses at Earth.”
“Against what?” Cal knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth.
“Invasion.” Linus slunk into the last chair, the years weighing on his drooping shoulders. Calvin remembered that this man was related to Jane. The beautiful historian was a distant relative, her bloodlines thinned with each passing generation, yet the link persisted. Link. He gazed at the projection, still showing the muted Locus.
“Have you seen Jane today?”
“Not since breakfast. She had just done her run,” Linus said.
“Did she seem different?”
“Come to think of it, she did.”
“Was she with anyone?” They had a war looming on the horizon, yet Cal couldn’t stop worrying about one person.
“Lois.”
“And Curtis Singh joined them at the table,” Fred added.
“Did you not hear us, Admiral Brooks?” Linus asked. “The Locus are the Hiphol!”
“What does that change?” Cal stood up and faced the pair. “They’re still flying starships, and I still have to defend Ethos. Who’s within the hull makes no difference to me.” He spoke with a calm reassurance he didn’t feel. Now that he was aware of the truth, their experience with the Locus on Yezon made far more sense. That faction had elected to part ways with the deadly group, who’d become known as the Hiphol. They were in hiding, and had already stuck their necks out three centuries ago for humanity by escorting them to Pathos. And Cal had just given away their position to Rallin, the Cadre Leader. If the captives remained in their custody, it shouldn’t matter.
“Gentlemen, you’ve given me a lot to consider,” he said.
Linus gazed at Atticus. “I believe there’s something within this robot that could tip the scales.”
“Then figure out a way to retrieve it, or we might not make it through what’s coming.” Cal gave them a curt nod and exited the dome. He fought to keep his breathing even and noticed Sanya running toward him from the nearby street.
“Admiral, we’re missing a ship,” she said.
“Let me guess, Lois didn’t turn up for her shift today?”
Sanya shook her head. “How did you—”
“Have you tracked the ID?”
“Working on it.” Sanya looked up when the streetlights kicked on. “Will’s sorted out the power issue.”
Calvin noticed a steady stream of Automatons exiting the power station. “I guess the breakers were printed and replaced.”
“There, I have a hit!” Sanya made room, and Cal was shoulder to shoulder with the new captain as she marked the location.
“Why is that so familiar?” Cal asked.
“Because it’s the coordinates we pulled out of Command for the underground Locus base.”
“Call Henry.” He felt a gnawing in the pit of his stomach while Sanya rushed off. “What were you thinking, Jane?”
SEVEN
The room was too bright, and Luke wondered if that was an interrogation tactic. After hours of sitting alone in the circular white space, he began to think no one was ever coming. His arms were loose, rather than bound as he’d expected. He flexed his fingers and noticed that his muscles ached from the last few days of hard work. During his time in the mines on Mars, he’d put in a solid effort, but nothing compared with the hell he’d endured in the pits on Zenoh.
Luke hadn’t shaved in weeks, and his stubble had continued to grow into a fully formed beard, the likes of which he hadn’t worn since first learning of the attack on Phobos. After seeing Lilly’s and Kennedy’s names among the deceased, he’d snapped, and his failure to recover had marred every aspect of his life. He barely remembered that year, until Callie had arrived with a cup of coffee and a promise of redemption.
But Lilly was alive. Kennedy too, even though she was on a Hiphol starship bound for Ethos. Luke had planned on escaping soon, but finding a Locus behind enemy lines changed things. Now he had to glean as much information as possible before leaving the system.
Luke wasn’t proud of how he’d lived, even before he’d joined the Deniers. He should have been there for Lilly. Other soldiers visited home more frequently during the Solar War than he had, simply because he couldn’t turn down a fight. There was something inherent in Luke, a driving force that demanded violence no matter how often he tried ignoring it. It was the primary reason he didn’t have a relationship with anyone in his family, despite reaching out when he needed them the most.
Luke rubbed his scarred knuckles and told himself that he’d be there for Lilly no matter what. That his days of choosing war over his family were done. He shifted in the seat, which was like the Hiphol benches he’d seen on Ethos while chasing after Linus Vanderbilt.
