Gridlinked (41 page)

From
Quince Guide
, compiled by humans

The houses, fast-build plascrete domes rather like giant igloos, were scattered wide apart amongst the conifers and native chequer trees of an old forest. No thought had been given to roads, so the town was obviously a new one, in terms of Viridian's age, built after AGC use had become well established. The houses would also have self-contained energy sources and waste disposal. The only linkage they would have would be for optic cables and water: the latter essential, the former to prevent EM pollution. Stanton, watching the edge of this forest town from the shadow of a huge basalt slab, noted the AGC quartering the area. It's paint job immediately identified it to him as local police. He had no doubt it had been Cheryl who had informed them, but any silencing he would have done would have been too late. She had an aug. She would have sent out a call immediately after Pelter's damping device got out of range. At least this is what Stanton told himself. At the back of his mind was the knowledge that not so long ago he would have killed her, just in case.

Stanton moved from the slab's shade into the green sunlight, and set out at a jog for the edge of the forest town. Every household there would no doubt possess one or more AGCs. So the first house he reached would probably provide what he needed - for the moment. He was within a hundred metres of that house when the AGC swerved in the sky and accelerated towards him on a tongue of flame. He swore and broke into a run. Twenty metres from the house, and a voice bellowed out above him:

'Stop there! You, stop there!'

Stanton cut a swerving course across the boggy ground. There were two AGCs by a house, nestling under the spread of a huge chequer tree, its leaves the shape and size of playing cards casting a dappled emerald shade.

'Stop or I shoot!'

Ten metres.

There was a crackle in the air and Stanton's left arm jerked from electric shock. He dived and rolled behind a low, self-pruning box hedge. Another crackle and leaves fell from the hedge. Big space between him and the AGCs, and the man standing holding a pot plant. Small space between him and the door. Stanton ran at the door and took it out with his shoulder. Crashed into the room beyond. As he rolled from the wreckage, the air crackled behind him. He came up into a crouch, took in the woman standing in an open kitchen area holding some kind of package.

'What the hell?' the woman said.

'Sorry about the door,' said Stanton, and moved to peer through the window.

The police AGC crashed down through the trees, slid sideways towards the house, and landed heavily only a few metres from the door. Two policemen came from it fast, and headed straight for the door. They both appeared to be boosted. The first of them rolled through and came up into a crouch, with a stun gun levelled at the woman. He had half a second to realize his mistake before Stanton was on him. The mercenary stamped the back of his leg. As the officer reeled back, he caught him in a neck-lock, his right hand closing on the man's gun hand as he turned him. The second officer came through more cautiously, only to walk straight into the blast. He was flung, jerking, back through the door, with small lightnings lacing his uniform. The first officer continued to struggle as Stanton tightened his lock. Eventually his struggles ceased as he blacked out. Stanton held the lock just a little longer to be sure, then released him. He went down on his face. A glance round showed him that a back door was open and the woman was gone. As he collected the two stun guns on his way to the police AGC, Stanton considered how much he had changed. A sleeper lock rather than just breaking the man's neck. He felt almost civilized.

A blast of frigid air came in through the door as Thorn entered the shuttle. Cormac pointed to a bench seat and returned his attention to Blegg. The ancient Japanese undipped the mask of the suit and let it hang to one side. His breath fogged the chill air. Cormac could not help but wonder if he had put on the suit - which a technician had hurriedly fetched for him - out of politeness. In the containment sphere, in his thin monofilament overalls, he had shown no sign of noticing the cold. Cormac undipped his own mask.

'You knew about the dracomen,' he said.

'I knew,' Blegg acknowledged.

'What else didn't you tell me?'

'We knew about the artefact as well. It was discovered during the initial survey, and left where it was. It was whole.' Blegg leaned forwards and spoke loudly, as if Cormac was deaf. 'No hurry… y'understand?'

Cormac nodded. 'Is that all? Anything else you want to hold back, to keep me dancing?'

'We knew the egg was adamantium. Not much else could have been learnt.'

'The tunnel was made by the energy creature - or the dracomen.'

Blegg shrugged. 'The Maker, yes… if it could hatch from an adamantium egg, making a tunnel would have been no problem…' Blegg studied him carefully. 'What do you think of Dragon's explanation?' he asked.

Cormac said, 'I don't know. Still not enough evidence to confirm or deny it. What do you think?'

'Assume it's the truth. Dragon might not have a great respect for human life, but why should it? There's plenty to spare.'

'All right, I'll assume it's the truth. How do I react to that truth?' Cormac asked.

'Your decision,' said Blegg. 'You're in command here.'

Cormac snorted and studied Thorn. The Sparkind had a tightly controlled look to him. He averted his eyes from Cormac, then stared down at his hands. Abruptly he stood up and moved off into the wing of the shuttle.

'My decision would be to get some sort of recompense for the deaths of ten thousand people. Of course, I would have to go to Viridian to get… recompense,' said Cormac.

'Viridian, yes,' said Blegg, a hint of a nasty smile on his face. 'Funny thing about that place: lot of activity there.'

Cormac felt a sinking sensation. There was more. There was always more.

Blegg went on. 'On Cheyne you killed Angelina Pelter.'

'I did. What has that to do with this?'

'Young Arian shut things down,' Blegg said.

'How do you mean?'

'You gave your testimony. None of the cell leaders was apprehended. Every one of them was killed by a metal-skin android.'

'They had one… broken Golem?'

'Very likely. We don't know. Neither Pelter nor the android were apprehended either.'

'Go on.'

'Prior to these deaths, as I believe you know, Pelter managed to withdraw Separatist funds and his entire personal fortune from the Cheyne III Norver Bank. Shortly after those deaths the local police chased an AGC to the spaceport. It had, supposedly, Pelter and John Stanton aboard. The shuttle crashed and exploded. It took the police two solstan days to discover that the bodies they recovered were not those of Pelter or Stanton. A little retrospective investigation revealed that a trispherical craft called the
Lyric
launched just after the explosion. Your back-up team there was beginning to take an interest in this craft. It was, ostensibly, insystem and light cargo, only it had an underspace engine.'

Blegg looked round as Thorn returned. The Sparkind brought back three coffees. One he placed where he was sitting. The other two he handed to Cormac and Blegg. Cormac pulled the tab on his coffee and wondered why Blegg was studying the soldier so intently.

'Thank you, Thorn,' said Blegg. 'You know that personal agendas cannot be allowed.'

'I know,' said Thorn.

Blegg returned his attention to Cormac. 'You know Huma?' he asked.

Blegg's face was so close Cormac could see the strange gold flecks in the irises of his eyes. His breath smelt of garlic.

'It's where the arms were being smuggled in from. The
Lyric
went there?'

Blegg smiled. 'Yes, Pelter and Stanton were seen recruiting four mercenaries, and they had the android with them. This was information we recovered from what remained of a Golem ECS agent called Jill. The rest of her team has not yet been found. Pelter had them killed.'

'You sure?'

'Y'need to ask that?'

'I guess not. I still don't see how this all relates.'

'It relates because a trispherical ship was blown in orbit above Viridian only one solstan day ago.'

Cormac leant back and sipped his coffee. 'Coincidence is not that elastic,' he said.

'No, it is not.' Blegg reached up and undid his cold-suit. He went on. 'There are people on Huma who have taken to using a new and very efficient augmentation.' He tossed something down on the bench between them. It was bean-shaped and reptilian. Cormac inspected it, then looked round at Thorn, who had a puzzled expression on his face. He looked back at Blegg, then down at the aug again. He prodded it with his finger. It was soft.

'Biotech?'

Blegg nodded.

Cormac said, 'I had intended only to take Aiden, Thorn, and Cento - if he's in one piece by then.'

'Have to ask: y'want to carry on?'

'Yes.'

'There's the dracomen…'

'No, I don't want to take them.'

'I think you should. You need every… source of information.'

'Opinion or order?'

'Take them. Your decisions should be fully informed.'

Cormac nodded - an order, then. 'I'll take them, but I'm damned if I'll arm them. I'll also need more than that. Are there any more Sparkind available?'

'No, but there's a small force of ES regulars there.'

'They'll have to do, then. I'll also need energy weapons and a couple of contra-terrene tacticals. Yield forty should do.' He looked at Thorn. 'Get Cento - if he's in one piece - and Aiden down here ASAP. They bring the dracomen down with them. Tell them I want them watched at all times. Also, I want an ES uniform with rank, same for yourselves. Get going.'

Thorn crushed his empty cup and tossed it on the floor. He had an expression of grim satisfaction on his face as he headed for the door. Cormac pulled his mask across, until the frigid air had circulated a bit and mixed with the warmer air in the shuttle.

'Still a lot of holes,' he said.

'They're for you to fill.'

'OK, an energy creature moving about through our runcibles would have been noticed.'

Blegg smiled again, then leant back. He spoke at the ceiling. 'Come on, moron. I know y'listening.'

There was no reply; perhaps the listener did not like his insulting manner. Cormac decided to try.

'Samarkand AI, ask the Viridian runcible AI to search for an information lock of the type discovered by your predecessor.'

Samarkand II replied to him immediately. 'An information lock was discovered one hour ago. Viridian now acknowledges the arrival of a matter/energy trans- mission. It arrived in containment sphere B9 and then left the runcible facility by an unknown method. Viridian also informs me that this lock is secondary.'

'Secondary?' asked Cormac. He looked at Blegg, who nodded slowly.

'It means the lock was opened, then replaced. Someone knew where the Maker went before we found it out. Y'understand?'

'Dragon,' said Cormac.

Blegg shrugged. 'Planetary scan, what y'got there?' he asked.

There was a pause before Samarkand II replied. 'There was an airborne energy trace, originally dismissed as stratospheric lightning. Re-integration of the data suggests it grounded at the Chiranian ruin in the Magadar forest.'

'There's y'Maker,' said Blegg, and stood.

Cormac gave a short nod and looked at him as Blegg finished his coffee and placed the cup carefully on the bench. Without more ado he headed for the shuttle door. Without pulling his mask across, he hit the touch-plate. Cormac quickly got his mask into place as the door cracked open. He watched Blegg.

'Anything else you might have neglected to tell me?' he asked.

'Y'have facts. Y'have a mind. I'll get things set for you.' Blegg paused. 'I'll get that silicon moron on Viridian to give you the details.'

Great.

Blegg stepped out into the cold and trudged off in the direction of the containment sphere. As the door closed, Cormac pulled off his mask and lay back against the bulkhead. He kept turning over what he knew. Pelter was on Viridian, and was likely there with Dragon's help. Dragon would lie about the reasons behind this, if it gave any answer at all. Cormac dared not ask. He was still very aware that
here, now,
Dragon held all the cards. It could destroy the runcible, and it could destroy
Hubris.
Cormac realized he had to keep his mouth shut and work everything out for himself. He needed more answers and he needed a clear course of action. Despite Blegg's assertion, he did not have all the facts and his course was not yet clear. He summarized some of the more pertinent facts available to him.

Fact: the runcible buffers were sabotaged in a way easily within the capabilities of Dragon and of this Maker, if what Dragon said were true. Fact: this Maker had escaped from its containment vessel, if such it was, and escaped Samarkand by runcible. That they had not discovered this until recently bespoke the Maker's ability to interfere with AI programming, an ability Dragon probably had as well. Fact: the creature in the tunnel had not been made to withstand the cold, yet the dracomen had. Fact: Dragon probably knew about the Maker's departure long before it arrived here and threw its apparent tantrum. These particular facts made a lie of Dragon's story. But what was the truth? Conclusion: if Dragon was responsible for what had happened here, how would he find out for sure, and what the hell would he do about it?

Cormac closed his eyes and he began running through things again. He knew, in the end, that the explanation would be simple, and any solution perhaps less so. Right at this moment he just couldn't seem to get anything in order. He needed rest. The bench was padded and would have to suffice. He stretched out on it and was wondering if he would be able to get any sleep, when sleep crept up and got him instead.

The cracking of the shuttle door had Cormac sitting upright and pulling his mask across. Thorn entered with a large bag slung over one shoulder. He dropped it before Cormac as the door closed.