Eternity's Mind (10 page)

“All hell is breaking loose,” he said. “The Shana Rei and their black robots are attacking planets. The Confederation is in an uproar, the Ildiran Empire reeling.” He stared hard at the captain's face on his comm screen. “You're better off here where it's calm and sensible.”

He left the security team behind as he dove through the atmosphere toward the sterile main dome. Tamo'l became aware of her surroundings, as if awakening. She looked at the unfamiliar planet below, the misty atmosphere, the escort ships following them. “Where are we?”

“Your new research facility. My employer will be glad to have you as part of the team.”

She showed no sign of alarm at the answer; in fact, she showed no reaction at all.

Although Zoe's interests focused primarily on human diseases, the intensive genetic knowledge Tamo'l had compiled over years of analyzing the misbreeds made her a profoundly talented researcher—one that Zoe could certainly use.

Though she asked no questions, he continued, “My employer has gathered cures and treatments for countless human diseases, and by adding your Ildiran work, Pergamus will contain the greatest collection of medical information anywhere in the Spiral Arm.”

Tamo'l nodded distantly, not understanding the magnitude of what he was saying. “What about my misbreeds? Are they on Pergamus too?”

“You don't need to worry about them. I helped to get them away as I promised, and now you're with me. You have work to do here.”

Alarm finally penetrated her expression. “But where are the misbreeds?”

“Safe,” he said. “Not your concern at the moment.”

“I need to let them know where I am. Shawn Fennis and Chiar'h are quite skilled, but if I am not there, the misbreeds will worry.”

Tom Rom needed to stop the conversation. “If you like, I can check on them and bring you reports, but you'll be much more interested in the work my employer has for you.”

Tamo'l didn't look convinced, and she retreated into herself again.

He guided the ship through the buffeting chemical mists. The fog lifted and the bright daylight revealed only a barren brown landscape blotched with black and gray lichens. The main hemispherical outpost was armored and reinforced, consisting of multiple nested domes leading into the protected central chamber where Zoe lived in sterile isolation. Clusters of satellite domes were separated widely enough that if any emergency fail-safe detonations occurred, the collateral damage would be minimal. Orbital Research Spheres conducted the most dangerous work in the perfect quarantine of space.

After docking, he and Tamo'l passed through the security interlocks into one of the outer-hemisphere rooms. He sat the halfbreed researcher in front of the large comm screen and activated it.

Zoe was waiting for them, her dark eyes eager. He could see her relief that he had come home again safely. He reassured her, “I was successful, Zoe. I've got all the genetic research, and I also brought the lead researcher from the sanctuary complex.”

Zoe regarded her on the screen, and Tamo'l responded with a formal nod. “I have much more data, but I need to care for my misbreeds,” Tamo'l said. “I have to be sure they are tended, that they are kept safe.”

“Not my concern,” Zoe said. “We intend to continue your research. I will provide an entire dome for you to analyze the data you brought us.”

Tom Rom cut in, “You can do more to help the misbreeds if you stay here, Tamo'l—develop treatments, maybe even a genetic cure. You won't need to worry about the Shana Rei or contamination or distractions here on Pergamus. You can do pure research, use equipment and facilities far more extensive than anything you had in the sanctuary domes.”

“The Mage-Imperator always provided what I needed,” Tamo'l said.

“But now you'll need more,” Zoe responded. “Use our equipment to create a full genetic profile of all the misbreed specimens. We have modeling programs and biological-analysis capabilities that will help you obtain insights. Unravel the secrets, find every possible disconnect in their genes, and then use our methods to develop repairs that will help them survive.”

Tom Rom was pleased to see how well Zoe understood the incentive that would drive Tamo'l. He expected the Ildiran researcher to resist what she might view as imprisonment, but instead Tamo'l wore her strange disoriented look. She averted her eyes, and her attitude changed. “Yes, I need to analyze the misbreeds. They all have interesting, undocumented strengths. The combination of kiths led to many unexpected results. I wish to understand them. I will use your facility and find the necessary answers.”

“Then this will be a beneficial partnership for all of us,” Zoe said.

 

CHAPTER

14

GENERAL NALANI KEAH

Wiping out the horrific biological black market on Rakkem had been a satisfying mission for General Keah, but not satisfying enough. There were worse enemies abroad in the Spiral Arm—and she had a lot more ass-kicking to do.

“We accomplished a good thing there, General,” said Admiral Haroun on the bridge of the
Okrun
as the CDF battle group returned to Earth.

None of the CDF ships had taken any damage in the Rakkem engagement. Not a scratch. The despicable biological black marketers and illicit medical researchers had offered no resistance when the Confederation Defense Forces had cracked down on the place.

“It's always good to clean up the neighborhood,” Keah said. “But we shouldn't have had to bother with nonsense like that in the first place. The Shana Rei and the bugbots are raising hell across the Spiral Arm.” She made a disgusted sound. “We've got more important things to worry about.”

Haroun frowned at her. “What we did was important enough to anyone who was tricked or killed by those charlatans on Rakkem, General.”

An unwanted flood of images passed through Keah's mind as she remembered the breeding warehouses, the organ-storage facilities, the horrific and ineffective “treatments” designed to prey upon desperate people, the embryos and newborns harvested for biological material.

“You're right, Admiral. That place was a noxious weed that had to be pulled from the Spiral Arm. But now it's time to get back to saving the human race for a better tomorrow.”

The returning battle group cruised into the Lunar Orbital Complex at Earth, the CDF's main operations center, which had been constructed in the rubble of the destroyed Moon. Trading ships, delivery vessels, and construction crews flitted around the numerous spacedocks.

Keah was glad to see dozens of operational Mantas flying about in military practice maneuvers. Emergency repair crews had worked around the clock to reconstruct the ships damaged in the encounter with the Shana Rei and their black robots in the Onthos home system. The creatures of darkness wished to wipe out all intelligent life, and they weren't the sort of enemy King Peter and Queen Estarra could negotiate with.

That meant this war against the Shana Rei and their black robots was going to be a balls-out fight, and it wouldn't be over until either the enemies were defeated, or the human race was extinct. General Keah preferred the former outcome.

As the strike force returned to the LOC, the comm filled with a flurry of transmissions, including a long list of “urgent administrative matters,” which General Keah ignored. Rakkem was horrific, but she had enjoyed being away from the paperwork, at least for a little while.

“I'm glad to have the
Okrun
back home, General,” said Admiral Haroun, “but I admit, it felt good to be doing something active and important.”

Keah felt a warm glow to hear him say that. Haroun was one of her three lead admirals, all of whom had been promoted for bureaucratic reasons during the decades of peace after the Elemental War. She would have preferred that officers be promoted because they demonstrated spectacular prowess on the battlefield—as she herself had done early in her career. Twenty years of peace had been a wonderful respite for the human race, but calm stability was not conducive to producing seasoned commanding officers.

Haroun, along with his colleagues Admirals Handies and Harvard, were collectively called “the Three H's.” The emerging threat of the Shana Rei and the need for aggressive defenses had forced those three to step up to the plate, but General Keah wasn't sure they had it in them. At least Haroun had performed well during the recent Rakkem crackdown. Now if only she could see the same improvement in Handies and Harvard …

The returning Mantas separated to their assigned positions in the Lunar Orbital Complex, while the
Okrun
cruised to the headquarters spacedocks, where Keah saw a sight that gladdened her heart. She smiled to Haroun and said, “I like your Juggernaut just fine, Admiral, but I prefer mine.”

Her flagship, the
Kutuzov,
hung there with running lights aglow. A bright patchwork of new repairs across its hull bore witness to the damage inflicted by the Shana Rei and the bugbots. The stardrive engines were new, the destroyed decks now restored. The
Kutuzov
looked absolutely beautiful. “Now that's what I like to see.”

On the comm screen, jowly Admiral Harvard smiled at her. “Welcome back, General. You've noticed the surprise we have for you?”

“It's a pleasant surprise indeed. I wasn't expecting the
Kutuzov
to be finished for another week.”

Harvard nodded. “We completed all inspections, but someone needs to take the flagship out on a shakedown cruise. We thought you might like to do it yourself.”

“Absolutely.” Keah was anxious to be back on her own bridge. “I'll come to LOC headquarters for a briefing—and the operative part is
brief.
What else has fallen apart in the Spiral Arm while I was gone?”

“There have been many disturbing reports, General,” said Harvard. “Please keep your schedule clear. I'll set up a succession of briefings.”

Keah frowned. “Brief, Admiral.
Brief.
” The Three H's seemed to think meetings could solve everything.

*   *   *

Despite her reservations about sitting in a room and talking, General Keah found the briefings informative and necessary. With reports of all the shadow cloud sightings and bugbot encounters, she could dispatch her ships—preferably loaded to the gills with enhanced sun bombs.

Admiral Handies presented his preliminary report with so much excitement she expected him to announce a substantial victory over the Shana Rei. Instead, he summarized the progress of ship repair and presented the dispersal of currently deployed CDF Mantas and Juggernauts, as well as full budgetary breakdowns for new battleship construction. The costs were offset by drastically reduced stardrive fuel costs, thanks to the reliable supplies and generous discounts from Iswander Industries.

When the main briefings were finished, a flustered Dr. Jocko Krieger appeared in the conference room. The weapons scientist was fifteen minutes late, but when he walked in and unrolled his projection pad on the table, he just started talking as if everyone had been waiting for him. “I'm pleased to report that we now have six fabrication stations in full operation throughout the LOC. Each station is producing enhanced sun bombs at the rate of five per day.”

Keah was pleased. “Now that'll do some damage. Are they being deployed?”

“Since you departed for Rakkem, General, twenty-five Mantas have been fully loaded and dispatched on patrol. All they need is something to blow up.”

Admiral Harvard spoke up. “I can give you the full mission plan, identify which systems they're visiting and what their patrol routes are. Sooner or later they're going to encounter a Shana Rei infestaton.”

Keah set aside the lengthy document. “I'll review it later. Is the
Kutuzov
loaded with sun bombs, too?”

Krieger gave a vigorous nod. “Fully loaded, plus an extra ten percent, General. I thought you'd want that.”

“Yes, Dr. Krieger, I definitely do.”

The scientist kept talking about his accomplishments, patting himself on the back if no one else would. “The orbital labs are manufacturing at full capacity, ma'am.” He quickly added, “With full safety systems in place this time.”

“Good.” Keah turned to Handies. “What else did you have to report?”

The other Admiral displayed a succession of starfield images; each one showed black blots, as if someone had smeared an ink-covered thumb across space. “Shadow clouds are appearing, dark nebulae that haven't been mapped before. They seem to be … leaking out of space.” He shook his head. “I suspect it has something to do with the Shana Rei.”

“No shit,” General Keah said. She looked down at the images—swirling blobs of opaque smoke that seemed to be expanding from numerous origin points. “Are they threatening any star systems yet?”

“Some, but not directly. The shadow clouds seem to be moving, and we're trying to map them. Several Mantas have gone out to take images. The largest cloud is on the outskirts of the Relleker system.”

Keah immediately made up her mind where the
Kutuzov
would go on the shakedown cruise. “We'll head out as soon as possible.”

“But the shadow clouds have made no threatening moves yet,” Admiral Harvard pointed out.

Dr. Krieger let out a loud snort—a snort that Keah agreed with.

“Their
existence
is a threatening move, Admiral,” she said. “Now, if we're finished, here? Give me summaries of this data, and I'll take it back to the
Kutuzov.
I've decided to move up my launch. We'll be out of here before the end of the day.”

 

CHAPTER

15

ARITA

After dreaming of serving the trees, Arita considered the betrayal of Kennebar's voidpriests and the Gardeners the greatest treason imaginable. They meant to bring about the downfall of the verdani mind, and they wanted to watch her die.