Logos (Link Book Three), page 24
Now it was up to Will and Fred, their best technicians, to uncover the truth.
“Did Henry sign off on this?” Cal asked.
“Not directly.”
“Then I will,” he said. “They can’t name me admiral without expecting me to make the hard decisions. Get Atticus running. We can shut him down before they show up.”
Linus dabbed his brow with a white cloth. “Atticus would never intentionally do anything to put us in harm’s way.”
“He’s a robot,” Cal reminded him.
“Still…” Linus set a hand on Atticus’ wrist. “He’s my robot.”
The man claimed Atticus had told them he could stop the Hiphol. But how?
Cal didn’t have a minute to spare. “Let’s get this over with.”
William had the robot’s panel open and tinkered inside, using goggles to zoom on the interior panel, which had been rebuilt by aliens. “I’ve bypassed the new hardware and reinstalled a previous version. Atticus might have some memory loss, but I believe he’ll be able to access the files we’ve struggled to find.”
Atticus’ eyes brightened, and he sat upright, his chest wide open. “Don’t worry, sir. You’ve forgotten how to stop them, but I haven’t.” His voice changed accents, then returned to normal.
“How do you feel?” Linus asked while Atticus tested the metal manacles holding him to the rolling table.
“Why am I being restrained?”
“You’ve been altered by the Hiphol. We need to know how to fight them. Can you help?” Linus begged.
Calvin gazed through the viewscreen to the spot where the Hiphol would emerge within the next twenty-four hours. The wormhole was some distance from their secondary trap, but with the beacon running, he suspected the Hiphol wouldn’t hesitate to investigate, especially given the history they had with the vessel.
Atticus’ components made noise. “I feel different.”
“We’ve disconnected you from the new iteration. You may experience memory loss.” Will showed him a Slab. “Can you search for any unfamiliar files?”
Atticus went rigid against the restraints, and a plug-in slid out of his index finger. He wordlessly placed it into the Slab, and information scrolled onto Will’s device. “That is everything I could find.”
“Shut him down,” Calvin ordered.
“But he’s not a threat!” Linus stood protectively before his assistant.
“Then you can have him back when the Hiphol are dead.” Calvin turned his attention to Will. “What is it?”
The glow of his tablet reflected off his rebuilt face, and Will smiled. “That’s what Atticus figured out.”
“What?” Cal leaned over his shoulder, trying to decipher the cluttered information.
“Sir, can we speak privately?” Will asked.
Linus and Fred shared a look of betrayal.
“I helped you access those files!” Fred declared.
“Sir?” Will asked.
“You’re dismissed. And take Atticus with you,” Cal ordered.
“I trust you’ll do right by us,” Linus said, rolling Atticus from the bridge. Fred marched after him with Socrates and Thodoros in tow.
“Was that necessary?” Cal asked William.
“Someone hid these details, and I can’t rule either of those men out. Fred’s been acting strange, and Linus…well, you know how close he is to Atticus.”
Cal tapped the Slab. “What does this show?”
“The Hiphol ships have Oniri, like we saw on Rallin’s cruiser.”
“So?”
“It might help us stop their fleet.”
Calvin wished Henry and Jane had delayed their trip to the Oniri Band. He used the dash, contacting Sanya on their borrowed Hiphol vessel.
“Go ahead, Admiral,” Sanya said.
“Please ask Tellan for a volunteer. I have something Ambassador Cunningham needs to know.”
“The soldiers have shown up at the colony. He’ll send word and brief a volunteer. What’s the message?”
Calvin described what they’d discovered in Atticus and wondered if it was possible for them to stop the Hiphol before they attacked. Maybe they could save the bloodshed after all. He wanted to believe that, but Cal had too much experience with war.
It wouldn’t be peaceful. Lives would be lost.
But they would survive.
THREE
“We have an incoming message,” Henry said. “Someone came through the Starline?”
Jane peered at the secondary camera, which was aimed at the asteroid holding the Oniri transporter. “What’s it say?”
Henry read it silently, then put the communication on screen. “It doesn’t help us.”
The Hiphol vessels have Oniri on board. Is it possible to use this to our advantage? Perhaps there’s more to be done than shutting the Link off.
Jane held her helmet and wiped her dry eyes. She’d witnessed Cunningham being torn apart an hour earlier, and it took her a whole ten minutes to even speak.
Primum had withdrawn more, and sat with his hands folded on his lap. Only Henry seemed unbothered by the fact that his boss had disintegrated within the sphere. “I can get the tattoos and return.”
Jane pointed to the platform. “So you can be killed too? This was a mistake. What if the Locus didn’t enter this orb because they couldn’t? Maybe the race belonging to the original builders can survive within the sphere?”
“I went inside,” Henry said.
“But you weren’t trying to use it.”
“I feel responsible for Ambassador Cunningham,” he told her.
“He died on his own accord. Why are you so determined to join him?”
Henry spun in his seat. “Because death isn’t what it once was.”
“Care to elaborate?”
Primum lifted a hand. “He means the clones.”
Jane remembered what Kaze had talked about in his laboratory before she’d left. “You can be put into a clone.”
“That’s right.”
“Is it dangerous? Look at how it worked out for Darius,” she said.
“The technology has vastly improved. For now, we’re using clones, but we might one day be downloaded into synthetic bodies. Imagine not needing to eat or sleep.”
“What’s the point, then?” Jane asked.
“To learn.”
“I’d rather spend one lifetime enjoying the pleasures of life,” she countered.
“And have you?”
“I…”
“Researching and writing a book. Teaching children fake history designed to appease the masses. Jane, my dear, that is hardly living.”
“I was starting…”
“With our esteemed Admiral Brooks. What was your dream, Jane? To wed him on Ethos? To have a brood of little stoic children running around your home? We threw away our own selfish ambitions when we volunteered for this mission.”
Jane saw him in a new light. What did Henry Abimbola know about love? “Who was she?”
Henry’s jaw clenched. “It doesn’t matter. She’s not here, and I am. How do we control the Link?”
Light filled the cabin, and Jane became weightless. Images flashed in her mind. She smelled the incense burning in the Thinking Chamber, felt the floor of the tunnel leading to the Oniri Band sphere under her feet as she’d experienced it when Kelleg died on Yezon.
When she opened her eyes, the sphere was no longer black.
“It’s turned blue,” Henry said. “This must be significant.”
Jane’s arms itched beneath the armor. “I remember.”
“Remember what?” Primum asked.
“Kelleg died in the Thinking Chamber showing me how to use the Link.”
“But how could he?” Henry watched her in disbelief.
“Part of the reason Kelleg kept isolated was to avoid coming into contact with the Band again. But with the news the Hiphol were coming for the Sun Colonies, he wanted us to have an advantage against his enemy,” Jane said. Purpose thrummed through her veins, and she walked to the viewscreen, gaping at the intense blue light surrounding the platform. “It’s up to me now.”
“But you’re human. You’ll be torn apart like Cunningham.”
“Actually, she’s not,” Primum said, making both of them turn to look at the clone. “Well, you are human, but not entirely. Father kept it a secret.”
Jane struggled to get a breath.
“What do you mean?” Henry was on his feet. “If Jane isn’t human…what is she?”
Primum pointed past them. “You predicted this, right?”
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Henry stammered.
“Father said you believed that we’d need a descendent of the original mission’s crew. That’s why everyone was connected to the Excursion mission.”
“Is that true?” Jane demanded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Henry Abimbola’s posture changed as he deflated. “I assume you never read the medical files for Linus Vanderbilt’s wife?”
“No. They were sealed with the rest of the crew’s.”
“Why?” Henry asked. “She wasn’t part of the mission.”
Jane picked up on his train of thought. “She had something to do with this?”
“Hear me out. Linus’ son Alexander was born premature. Linus’ estranged wife and the child were kept in the hospital for nearly six months.”
Everything you’ve heard about the Link is a lie.
“I managed to see a copy of the bloodwork. There was something added into Alex’s DNA, and I assumed it was passed down between generations. But it disappeared…until now,” Henry said. “Thank you for confirming my theory, Primum.”
Jane’s ears ringed with the information. “What does this mean?”
Henry’s expression was dire. “You might be our only hope.”
____________
Luke stared down the line of soldiers. Mixed with his personal choices of Lois, Cleo, Jas, and Kendrick were eighty other human ground support fighters, as well as twenty Locus warriors just in from Yezon. They wore dark green armor, and helmets that left the long part behind their heads visible. The visors glowed dimly, and they held weapons twice the size of the T-51Ns his team carried. On their own, they looked like they could handle the mission, but Luke wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
“Why are we just taking a hundred?” Kendrick asked. “There are too many opponents.”
“Because I want the element of surprise. If we bring an army into those woods, we’ll tip them off in a hurry,”” Luke said. “Besides, they shouldn’t be armed.”
Luke glanced at Callie, who walked up wearing a full military kit. She held a T-51N and bobbed it as if weighing it. “This is much better than the crap I remember.”
He hadn’t told the rest of the team that Callista Huntington had once been a commander in the Deniers, or they’d never have let her come. Luke didn’t fully trust her motives, but figured it was better to keep tabs on her.
They stood outside the dropship, some of the human contingency looking nervous. “How many of you are going on your first mission?”
It took a moment for someone to raise their hand, but when one woman did, two dozen more followed quickly after. Luke rubbed his knuckles and finally understood what Calvin was dealing with. The fleet had numbers, but they were green. Nothing could make up for experience, including throwing bodies at the problem.
On best guess, the Hiphol would show up within twelve hours, so Luke needed to act. They couldn’t let Rallin and his crew send any details about the human camp to their allies, or the battle would be much more difficult.
They were right outside the city, occupying the parking lot between the giant colony ships. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and wouldn’t for four hours. Luke wanted to be back before it was up. He activated his Slab and sent a projection against the hull of Passage. “This is where the Hiphol are.”
It displayed a section of forest not far from the human settlement where they’d found Fred Wallace in a cryo chamber. They were a few kilometers apart, but he didn’t think it was a coincidence that was where the Hiphol had transported too. Now that Luke knew the Hiphol had that kind of capability, it made them even more dangerous. Leaders could transport between ships in the fleet, directing without a digital imprint. Or troops could be moved to different vessels, preparing for ground assaults.
“The mark identifies their position.”
“How did they get tagged?”
Luke shrugged, not willing to divulge Callie’s part in it. “Henry probably did it when they were inside the bay.”
No one argued with that, and Luke continued explaining the plan. “I’ll lead a small team, flushing them out. Team Albatross will flank them on the right, Team Blackbird to the left, and Team Canary behind. Anyone coming in my direction will be handled.”
Jas commented quietly and nudged Cleo with his elbow.
“Something to say, soldier?” Luke asked.
Jas cut it out and shook his head.
“We all have our roles, so stay in the dropship with your team. When we get out, you’ll be parading through the woods in the dark. Leave all flashlights off. Use your HUDs to direct you, and for the love of God, protect your team. They won’t be expecting us to attack tonight, and I doubt they’re aware of when the fleet is coming either. If possible, I’d like to leave Rallin alive, on request from Fleet Admiral Black.” Luke paused. “But that’s negotiable.” He marched to the nearest Locus, stopping a foot away. “Do you have a problem with killing your own kind?”
The words translated to the Locus, and the seven-foot-tall alien narrowed his gaze. “They are not Locus. The Hiphol don’t deserve to breathe our air after what they’ve done.”
“Glad we won’t have a problem. We all good?”
When none of the soldiers answered, Lois stepped out. “Team Albatross, you’re with me! Don’s leading Team Blackbird, and Beth has Team Canary. Board this ship or we’re leaving without you!”
Dr. Claus Gunther arrived, breathing heavily and carrying a medical pack. “Sorry I’m late. We had an emergency in town. I delivered Ethos’ first baby.”
Luke inhaled through his teeth. “Then I guess we have even more to protect.” He pointed to the dropship. “Grab a helmet and find a camouflage uniform.”
“What about the armor?” Gunther knocked on Luke’s dense suit.
“It’ll slow you down, and I don’t have time to train you.”
Gunther carried the pack up the ramp, disappearing into the craft.
Inside, the teams sat together in sections. Luke made the three teams as close to competent as he could by splitting up the newbies, experienced soldiers, and Locus evenly. He wished Sanya was at his side, but he understood she had a far more important task.
A robotic voice caught Luke’s attention as he boarded. “Wait!”
Kendrick stayed between the ship and the old model machine. “What do you want?”
Thodoros gazed at Luke. “I would like to help.”
He’d considered using Henry’s robotic army to flush the enemy out of the woods, but didn’t trust sending the Automatons to do such an imperative mission.
“Let him on.” Luke didn’t see the harm in having one extra set of eyes, especially if they weren’t organic. He set the HUD to link with the robot.
The dropship he’d just occupied sped into the region, the thrusters bright in the night sky. Luke squinted to see the pilot, and recognized Valentina as she landed. The young commander hurried out of the cockpit and rushed over, passing him a metal box. “I thought you might want this.”
He opened it, finding the personal cloaking device Henry had given him before he’d left for Hiphol territory. “Thanks, Val.”
She smiled and gazed into the dropship. “Do you need a pilot?”
“Nah, Lois has it under control.” He removed the unit and clipped it to his armor near the waist. His entire body vibrated, and his vision became blurry before it settled back. “Can you see me?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm… I guess it takes a moment to warm up.” Luke turned it off. Dr. Abimbola created the apparatus after studying the cloaking technology the Hiphol had used on their cities. He couldn’t even be certain it would work at all, but kept it connected.
“I’d better go.”
Valentina descended the ramp while he pressed the red button, retracting the steps. “Good luck!” She waved and backed up.
Luke closed the dropship and got to his seat in the front next to Lois. “Are they ready for a mission?” he asked when the door slammed between the bridge and the troop bay.
“They’d better be, because our enemy is arriving tomorrow.” Lois directed the ship into the air and moved away from the colony, taking a circuitous route to avoid making noise over the city. When they were ten kilometers away, aimed in the direction of the escaped Hiphol, she turned to him. “I don’t trust that woman.”
“Callie?”
A nod.
“Neither do I.”
“What are we going to do about it?” Lois asked.
“Leave that to me.”
The dropship sped across Ethos, and seconds ticked by on the dashboard, matching his escalating heartbeats.
FOUR
They’d received no response from the Oniri Band, and while Calvin was worried, he didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on it. He marched through Excursion, waiting for Valentina to arrive to escort him off. When he reached the lowest level, he decided to investigate Kaze Lockerbie’s laboratory, since Val was running late.
The laboratory doors, normally shut and locked, were wide open. A few of the cryochambers remained, some of them dismantled for parts to be used in the colony. Three of the cloning tubes were there, including the one that once held Morana, the creature Kaze had brought back from extinction.
He checked the other room, where the clones of the humans had been held, and found it completely stripped, down to the lighting. Much of Excursion looked similar, given the waste of resources if they let the vessel be destroyed with useful materials.
Calvin heard something in the walls and paused. Footsteps scampered by, and he followed the sound as his gaze drifted to the vents. “There you are,” he whispered.
