Alien Devices: Tesla joins crew to prevent alien zombie apocalypse (The Secret War Book 2) (15 page)

“Beggin' your pardon, your lordship,” he said in voice that had
surely grown up within hearing of Bow Bells, “But is it true that you're the
great Doctor Tesla?”

“I am Tesla, yes,” Tesla stated calmly, cup still in hand. “And
whom might I be addressing?”

“George Shears, rigger's mate” The man's face broke into a wide
gap toothed grin. “I had to make sure it was you,” Shears explained. He wiped
his hand on his pants and held it out. “My Ma, my younger brothers and sisters
was all in London when the Spiders came. It was you and your Shield what saved
them. I was with Rogers on the Nike see, and couldn't look after them me self.
Thank you.”

“If you were on the Nike, then it is I who should thank you,
sir.” Tesla sat down his cup and gravely shook the man's hand. “It was such
bravery that ultimately saved us all by taking the fight to the Invaders.”

Abigail noticed that Shears face had become that interesting
mixture of pleased and embarrassed that strong men sometimes get when praised.
Tesla was about to speak more when Mr. Rogers came up to them. Shears stood
aside for the First Officer. 

“Sorry Shears,” Rogers said to the rigger.  “Lady Hadley,”
Rogers greeted.  “Sir,” He said addressing the last at Tesla. Abigail was
secretly amused to see that Rogers appeared to be restraining himself from
standing at attention. “The Captain's compliments and he requests that both
Lady Hadley and yourself join him in his day cabin as soon as possible.” Taking
their leave of Shears, Rogers walked them through the bridge where the
inhabitants stopped what they were doing and stared at Tesla.

“As you were,” Rogers growled at the bridge crew. He knocked
once on the Captains' door, and then opened it for Tesla and Abigail to enter
before him.

William Hunting Owl sat in his chair looking for all the word
to Abigail as if he hadn't moved from it since the previous night.

“Abigail, Tesla,” Will greeted them warmly. “Have a seat. I
hear that you had breakfast. Hope that it was to your liking, and you are
feeling better after some sleep.” He directed this last at Abigail. She was
sure that somehow he knew all about her trouble sleeping.

“Quite better, thank you Will,” Abigail replied stiffly as she
sat down. “May I ask what you require?” She was perversely damned if she would
admit to any difficulties, especially after making such a fool of herself with
Saira.

“Your hospitality is very good Captain,” Tesla said, also
sitting down in one of the wicker and cane chairs. “I assume that you wish to
discuss the plague detector?”

“Right,” Will said, leaning back in his chair. “I want to make
sure that you get what you need. We have a metal workshop if that will help.”
He looked at Abigail, “You have some idea of what we have, Abigail, so I'm
looking to you for any suggestions.” 

“We were just discussing that over breakfast,” Abigail said. “The
workshop would be an ideal area to work in. I believe that a brief consult with
Devi should give us what materials we need. Also, I am sure that she would like
to meet Tesla as well.”

“Alright, I'll call down to Devi to expect you,” Will said. “You
have my say so to get whatever you need that's within reason. If someone tells
you that its without reason, send them to me, and take it anyway. We're making
good time, near as we can figure. Unless we run into trouble we should be there
about this time tomorrow. I want that plague thingamabob by then. Is that going
to be a problem?” 

“I do not believe so, Captain,” Tesla replied. “The device is
rather simple to construct, given the materials. But if I might inquire, what
trouble are you anticipating?”

“You do know that outside of Hong Kong and the little town they
call a Free City at Shanghai, the rest of the country is full of bandit-like
warlords and Smoke-blasted areas?” Will gave Tesla a look that Abigail
interpreted as questioning how much the Savant was in his right mind. Hunting
Owl folded his arms across his chest. 

“Some of those warlords might not take too kindly to us flying
over their territories,” the Capitan said.” Some of them have air ships, if the
stories are right. I doubt they have anything that Dancer can't handle, but
they could throw off our schedule a might.” Will was sometimes so much the
Inscrutable Tribesman that Abigail had difficulty knowing when he was being
sardonic. She suspected, from his tone of voice, that this was one of those
times.

“Ah,” Tesla said with relief. “So long as it isn't anything to
seriously inconvenience us then.” Tesla turned to Abigail, “In that case, shall
we go build the detector, Lady Hadley? I believe that you will find the
exercise of some interest.”          

Chapter 16

“
V
isitor for you, Milord,” Bates
announced.
He could see Lord Graves within, sitting at his desk, the
flicker of the oil-lights causing strange shadows to cross His Lordships face. 
Lord Graves dwarf, mute secretary, Treacle, stood near the door. He looked up
at Bates in that fashion that always made him feel as if something had walked
across his grave. Despite his long service to his Lordship, Bates was never
comfortable around the personal secretary. 

Bates had commanded Lord Graves air yacht since he had joined
the secret society the Lux Invictus. As a former British Air Navy officer,
Bates was very capable of donning the guise of a serving officer with ease. The
courier boat
Mercury
was one of the more useful disguises that the yacht
could assume to enable Lord Graves to travel without attracting attention. That
was important. Lord Graves held the position of First Secretary to the Foreign
Minister in the current British Cabinet, as well as being a Master of the First
Circle of the Light in the Lux Invictus. Both positions often required Bates to
fly wherever Lord Graves ordered with no reason given as to why.

It seemed that the reason for this particular trip was the
broken doll woman that had shown up at the hatch. By Lord Graves’ orders, Bates
had escorted her directly to His Lordships office. The small woman was
incredibly beautiful, and Bates could not help wondering who she was, and what news
of import she bore.

“Thank you Bates, you may go,” Graves said without looking up. “Mr.
Treacle, please show our guest in.” The dwarf turned from the door with a
courtly gesture for the woman to enter.  Bates felt the warm glow that he
always felt when Lord Graves addressed him personally. As the doll-like woman
stepped into the room, Bates discreetly touched his fist to chest in salute to
Lord Graves, and turned away. His curiosity about the woman would not be
satisfied today it seemed.

Illiya Petrov's fear had started when she was informed that the
Master who had been placed in charge of Operation Jade had flown out to see her
in person. It had taken her two days to reach a physical state where she could
obey the summons to his air ship, after falling from the commercial air tower.
Even the miracle of Transformation could only restore the body vitality to a
certain level. Her fear leaped in intensity when she felt his power even before
entering the room. She was all too aware of her recent failings. A true servant
of the Light would not have been weak enough to fail as she had. Perhaps he had
summoned her for Culling.  

She advanced into the room as swiftly as she could, inwardly cursing
the frailty of her still-knitting legs. If the half-breed had not gotten so
lucky as to nearly disembowel her during that fight, the damage from the fall
would have been healed by now. Petrov heard the servant close the door behind
her, and move into position behind her. Standing before the desk, she tried to
awkwardly shift the canes so that she might give the Master his proper salute.

“Do not try,” the figure behind the desk snapped without looking
up from his papers. “Showing your weakness will not aid your case.”

“I am the Master of my Fate,” she croaked from a suddenly dry
throat. She spoke the private greeting words of the Society of Light
Invincible. 

“I am the Captain of my Soul,” the figure replied, still not
looking up.

“Lux,” she responded as strongly as she could.

“Invictus,” came the counter-sign of the Society. The man
called Lord Graves looked up at her. He was a tall, thin man wearing a black
suit, with black hair and dark eyes that glittered like obsidian in the
flickering oil lights. Petrov judged him to be in his mid-thirties. She had
been told that such appearance could be deceptive. Her own Master appeared to
be in his late forties, and had told her that he was twice that age.   Graves
placed both elbows on the desk and regarded her over his steepled fingers. He
did not invite her to sit down, and despite the pain in her legs she would not
ask.  “Whether that is true for you remains to be seen,” he finally stated.
Petrov could feel his voice reaching deep into her soul, vibrating her core
being. She thought that she was prepared for the power of another First Circle
initiate to be able to affect her with only voice and mind. She was shaken to
realize that she wasn't prepared at all.

“When you were put forward to lead Operation Jade,” said the
man who had been called Lord Graves, “I was assured that you were both capable
and competent. Reviewing your reports indicates that assurance was questionable,
at best.” Though the tone of his deep baritone remained mild, Petrov began to
feel as if her skin was being slowly flayed by razors. The pain began at the
surface of her skin and exquisitely cut deeper with each syllable he spoke. She
knew that this was the manifested power of a Master. She gripped the handles of
her canes harder. 

“Before we review your recent actions, answer this question,”
Graves flicked up a picture for her to see. “Is this the man that you detained
thinking he was Lord Hadley?”

“Yes,” Petrov said without hesitation. “He maintained that he
was someone from Great Britain who knew Hadley. He said his name Charles Tombs.
His papers bore this out. I had thought to use him as leverage, or perhaps
bait, to draw out Lord Hadley.”

“And then you lost him to Lord Hadley's daughter and this band
of mercenaries she had employed. In the process, your companion from the Moscow
circle was killed. Two local servants met their demise, and a safe house was
burned to the ground, causing public scrutiny. Is that correct?” Graves
continued to hold up the picture.

The Okhranka had taught Illiya Petrov to never offer excuses.

“Yes,” she said evenly. Graves dark eyes bored into hers
remorselessly at that answer. He continued relentlessly. 

“You then proceeded to the commercial air tower in an attempt
to retrieve this man. A number of local assets you had recruited were killed.
You were publicly defeated, bringing a danger of our abilities coming to public
notice. Can you explain your actions?”

Though he continued to speak in that mild tone, Petrov had to
restrain herself from writhing in pain as he spoke. Each syllable now felt as
if it were acid eating into her skin.  What answer could she give? That her
pride had been insulted when a slip of a British aristocrat had defied her?
That she wanted revenge against Hunting Owl and his crew for the death of Pitor
in Cairo? 

“I was told that Lady Hadley and her father were top priority.
I felt that immediate and direct action by myself was required,” she finally
said.

“Study this picture well, Illiya Petrov.” Graves nodded at this
without expression. “The man you had in your fingers was Nikola Tesla.” 

Petrov's stomach fell through the bottom of the deck. Target
One! She knew that standing orders directed that Tesla, as Target One, was of
such priority that he was to be taken alive and delivered to the nearest
Master, regardless of the cost. And she had let him get away! Her anger at Lady
Hadley and Hunting Owl burned as a hot coal inside her. After a long moment,
Lord Graves placed the picture face down on the desk.

 “I have already taken steps to ensure that Target One and the
Hadley's are dealt with. They are no longer your concern.”  Graves continued to
regard her, his countenance emotionless. “Your reports indicate that you have already
succeeded in your objectives for Operation Jade, and that you were ready to
advance to stage two. Is that correct?”

“I have taken control of the smaller local crime organizations
that believe I am only an Okhranka agent aiding them in liberating the colony,”
Petrov said. “They will provide the brute force for the operation. I have also
suborned all British government Aetherwave, according to the plan. It is my
judgment that we are ready to proceed with stage two.”

“Fortunately, your judgment does not matter Illiya Petrov.”
Graves smiled thinly. “It is my judgment, and that of the First Circle, that
Operation Jade is suspended now.” He raised an eyebrow as if to invite her
comment.

Petrov opened her mouth to protest the decision, and thought
better of it. She remained silent. Graves nodded as if she had passed a test.

“You have the government Farley crystals from the colonial
assistant I believe? What was his final disposition?” Graves asked. Though his
tone had not changed, Petrov almost sighed in relief as the pain his voice had
been tormenting her with receded. She began to hope faintly that she would be
allowed to continue live and serve the Light. She allowed no hint of that hope
to enter her voice.

“The assistant is dead by my hand,” Petrov reported. “Clues
have been placed that will suggest that he has fled the colony with a male
lover to avoid scandal.” She indicated the purse at her hip. “I have the Farley
crystals here.”

“Give them to Mr. Treacle, please.” The servant moved around to
her side. Transferring her right cane to her left hand, she balanced on both of
them as she presented the box of crystals into the dwarf’s waiting hands. The
dwarf walked them over to a cabinet against the wall and placed them within.

“Mr. Treacle, place a chair for Miss Petrov, if you please.”
Graves ordered. The dwarf crossed the room, and drew up a chair behind her.

She knew a moment's relief as she realized that she would not
be immediately ‘culled’ by this Master. Gratefully she lowered herself into the
chair facing Lord Graves across the desk. As every member of the Second Circle
had seen, she knew what a Culling by a Master would be like. While such a death
was a great honor in its way, Petrov wished to continue to serve the Light in
other ways first. When he spoke, it was as if the Master knew her thoughts.

“If you have any questions as to why you have not been culled
for your weaknesses, it is because we have decided that you may yet be made
stronger.” Graves tilted his head to one side regarding her. “Do you understand
what our duty is to the Lux Invictus?”

“Lord Graves,” Petrov said with bowed head. “It is to perfect
ourselves that we may better restore the world and ensure our place in it,
defeating all lesser beings that would pollute the world.”

“Exactly,” Graves said. “There is a natural order to the world,
a rightful process by which all life works in harmony. That order is perilously
imbalanced today. We are in a decedent time when those of lesser nature rule,
and the sub-races rise like a tide to swamp the world. It is only by the
scientific knowledge of the Great Masters from Beyond and our own natural
superiority that we of the inner circles of the Lux Invictus are able to become
Homo Vertis, True Human.”

“I remind you of this Illiya Petrov, because being true human
in this polluted world is a great burden.” Graves leaned forward, his dark eyes
bright. “We are not in the Lodge; I ask no oath of you. I only ask if you will
re-dedicate yourself to fighting to restore that order, and if you will do so
at my side.”

A glorious vision unfolded before her mind, of Illiya Petrov,
striding forth with sword and fire. To wash clean with blood, the world of its
pollution, leaving in its place a garden where the benign wisdom of the Greater
Masters ruled with order and harmony. The strength of the vision took her
breath away. Never had she experienced such a thing. Dimly, she was aware of
Graves, awaiting her answer.

“What, what of my duties to Father in Moscow,” she asked
hesitantly, dazzled by the vision. It had been the Master known only as Father
by the members of the Okhranka who had initiated her into the Lux Invictus. She
had only served him directly until now.

“I will address that,” Graves responded. “The only question is,
will you grow in the Light, and follow me?”

“Yes,” Illiya Petrov said. “I will grow in the Light.”    

 “I know you will little sister,” Lord Graves said softly. He sat
back in his chair. “Is there any business that you must conclude in this city?
Any prized possessions that you should retrieve? I wish to depart this filthy
city of beasts as soon as possible.” 

Petrov blinked to clear her eyes, thinking. She felt as clean
as the new snow somehow. She knew that entering Lord Graves’ service was the
right thing to do. It was as if she was ordered by the Great Masters Beyond
themselves.  Possessions, she considered the question. She had her kindjal with
her, as always. Nothing else was important. She should, however, lay the
foundation for their continued control of the criminal elements; they may still
be useful tools.

“I should pay a visit to the criminal gangs to assert control
if I am to be gone for a long time,” Petrov answered.

“Retaining control of the lesser beasts is always a wise idea,”
Graves said. Lord Graves nodded, and for the first time Illiya sensed approval
in that nod. It left a sense of warmth inside her. 

“Operation Jade is merely suspended, not abandoned,” Graves
continued to speak.  “Arrange it that another may take up control of them at a
future time. I suspect that you are destined for greater work, Illiya Petrov.”
The warmth became a glow that spread through her being at his words. “Speak with
Bates for any needs you may have.”

Petrov struggled to her feet. Strange that her legs did not
feel as bad, even though they were as balky as ever. She pressed her fist to
her heart in salute to her new Master.

“Lux” she said, fire lighting in her eyes.

“Invictus, Illiya Petrov,” Lord Graves intoned. The dwarf, Mr.
Treacle, showed her to the door. Petrov moved down the corridor with a renewed
sense of purpose. She had not felt so much a part of the Lux Invictus since her
Transformation.

Chapter 17