Read Icarus (Interstellar Cargo Book 1) Online
Authors: Matt Verish
Tags: #firefly, #Adventure, #space exploration, #action, #Space Opera, #dark matter, #icarus, #artificial intelligence
“You people are crazy,” Rig said, clapping his hands.
Lin laid a delicate hand on Forester’s shoulder, and he reluctantly moved away from Cole and stood behind her. Her Rook hovered beside her, and she met Cole’s gaze. “There will be no more threats made to you. On that you have my and Director Forester’s word.”
Cole wore his skepticism. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”
“Regardless, we are in your debt, and you have earned my respect. What you choose to do next will meet with no resistance.”
Cole took a deep breath, carefully considering her words. “And if I contact the authorities?” He did not intend to invite any more unnecessary complications into an already complicated situation. While the archived footage may clear him of being a criminal mastermind, he was not certain it would completely absolve him of all misdeeds.
Lin’s mouth twisted nervously. “I hope you decide against such a reckless decision, but no, I will not intervene.”
“
You
might not,” Cole said, then pointed at Forester, “but
he
might.” And he really did wonder if the secretive director would make an attempt on his life. After the unbelievable escape he had managed from Terracom 3, he knew the man was hiding a dark secret.
“Our mission was to be a peaceful one,” Lin said. “Our intentions were to free my father and avoid—”
“Casualties?” Cole finishing. “They’re exactly what you have achieved.” He indicated everyone on the bridge. “All of us have blood on our hands. Lots of it.” He sighed. “And your father’s dead. I’d say your ‘peaceful mission’ was anything but.”
Lin wiped tear streaks from her cheek. “What, then, do you propose we do?”
Cole motioned for Rig to follow him toward the living quarters. “Gather the troops and head for the nature center to discuss everyone’s future. Or lack thereof.”
“Then you have no intention of reporting us to the authorities?”
Cole shrugged, his back still turned. “Art, right now my intention is to stay out of a debt colony. It’s the one thing any of us should be considering. The only way that’s going to happen is if we put our heads together and decide our options.”
Cole envisioned both Lin and Forester nodding their agreement as he walked away. The mechanic joined him on his right, snapping his fingers jovially.
This guy!
“Are you enjoying being a fugitive? You won’t be so chipper when Terracom snatches you up again and decides to put you in a debt colony on the sun.”
Rig boomed a full belly laugh. “Why wouldn’t I be enjoyin’ myself? I’m facin’ a slow, excruciating death either way. Might as well have some fun ‘fore I get shoved in the ass-crack of another terraformer.”
Cole could find no fault with his logic.
I like him more all the time.
“Well, you best stay on your game if you want to continue enjoying your freedom.” He slowed before the door leading to the room which held Emmerich. “She might have a broken wrist and a bum ankle, but your girlfriend inside is no creampuff.”
“You sure you want to bring her out if she’s as much trouble as you say she is?”
“She’s as much a part of this fiasco as any of us, and she deserves to be a part of the discussion.” He shook his head, preparing to open the door. “Believe me, I’m not looking forward to kicking this hornet’s nest.”
“She tied up in there?” Rig asked.
“No.”
Cole felt the sidearm slide from the holster as Emmerich uttered the single word answer for him. The barrel was pressed hard against the back of his head before he could react. He froze, only able to see Rig out of the corner of his eye. The mechanic had stepped away from the scene, his arms raised and wearing a bemused expression.
Shit!
“Hey, Inspector,” Cole said, keeping his voice level. “I see the ankle’s feeling better.”
“Shut your damn mouth, or I’ll paint that door in front of you with your brain.”
Rig chuckled nervously. “You Emmerich?”
“This doesn’t concern you.”
“Like hell, it don’t,” he countered. “You were hidin’ in that room across the hall, so I’m sure you heard what flyboy, here, was sayin’.”
“I couldn’t care less about his discussion.” Her voice was tense, angry. “On your knees, Musgrave. Put your hands under your kneecaps. Slowly.”
This is going well.
Cole did as was asked, preparing himself for the execution to come. He wanted to plead his case, but he knew any words he spoke would only anger her more. He was at her mercy. Only Rig could save him now, and that was not a comforting thought.
“Yer gonna put a hole through his head because he stopped you from blowin’ up that Terraport?” Rig asked.
“That would be as good a start as any,” she said, pressing the sidearm barrel harder against Cole’s head. “You best leave before I shoot you next.”
“Aw, c’mon,” Rig said, holding out his arms in a pleading manner. “Don’t be stupid. What good’ll that do you? He’s the pilot, and I’m the mechanic. I’d say that’d be a terrible start.”
“If you don’t leave in the next ten seconds, I will—”
“What was your rank in the military?” Rig asked, interrupting her.
“
What?
How did you...?”
Rig slowly lowered his arms and scratched under his chin. “Eh, it’s obvious,” he said. “I was a tactical spacecraft mechanic for Starforce during the Carbon War. You’re not much older than me, so I’m guessing we served around the same time.”
Emmerich hesitated. “I was First Sergeant, sixth star division under Admiral Musgrave.”
“Musgrave...” Rig pondered the name. “As in Argina Musgrave II? The same Admiral who helped bring about the end of the war?”
“The very one,” she proclaimed proudly.
“Shit, Emmerich! What are you doin’ wasting your time on Nugget, here? Yer a damn hero! The three of us should be working’ together, not plotting each other’s executions.”
Emmerich smiled, though it was grim. “This
‘Nugget’
is Admiral Musgrave’s traitor son, and he can’t be trusted.” She pressed the barrel against the back of Cole’s skull until his head hit the door.
“Musgrave’s kid, eh? So what if he’s a traitor. He saved everyone’s life from that nutcase Kingston,” Rig said in Cole’s defense. “Yours included.”
“I
told
Dartmouth saving the Singularity was a lost cause!” Cole’s head bounced off the door in her anger.
Ow.
Rig held up his hands in. “Yeah, well, he’s dead. The plan to save him failed, and a lot of good people died as a result.”
“The plan was to take out the Terraport and all the executives aboard it.”
Rig shrugged. “Instead, Terrorcom lost an entire debt colony and one of its terraformers. It ain’t what you wanted, but it definitely pissed them off.” He took a step toward her. “C’mon. Killin’ him ain’t gonna do nothin’. ‘Sides, he’s got the right idea. We should do what he says and talk this all through.” He pointed at the sidearm. “It’s better than the alternative, don’t ya think?”
Emmerich was silent for a time, but her eventual belabored sigh signaled her decision. She lowered the barrel and allowed Cole to stand. “I’m only allowing this because of your—”
The violent thunk of bone and flesh colliding interrupted Emmerich’s words. She dropped to the floor in a heap, the sidearm skittering across the floor. Cole rounded on Rig, his fallen jaw unable to speak the necessary words.
The mechanic rubbed his reddened fist, his face devoid of sympathy. “Never got along with military officers,” he said as though it explained his actions. “And this bitch gives us a bad name.”
Cole wasn’t about to argue with him. A part of him wished he had done the deed himself.
Now we’re going to have to carry her.
He collected the sidearm and holstered it. “I can only imagine what must have happened to make her hate Terracom so much.” He knelt down and slipped his hands under her armpits. “Grab her legs; she’s still coming with us. We can’t trust her to leave her alone.”
“Obviously,” Rig said, reaching down to collect Emmerich’s lower half.
They hauled the unconscious inspector down the hall toward the lift at the ship’s stern. As they descended the loading ramp, both Lin and Forester were waiting for them, unable to mask their confusion. Cole stopped at the bottom and acknowledged the ship.
“Cain?” Cole said, calling out to open air.
“Keep me informed of anyone approaching this building.” He considered something else. “Not only is Terracom going to be hunting us down, but I’m sure SolEx is interested in finding us as well.”
The sheer conviction behind CAIN’s confident words opened Cole’s eyes. He met Lin’s gaze, knowing she had heard the sentiment as well. Her expression was troubled, though she said nothing of the AI’s definitive response.
Cole’s mouth twisted. “Sounds good,” was all he could say. He glanced down at Emmerich’s head hanging slack to one side, then up at Rig, and finally back to Lin and Forester standing on the unkempt path leading toward the closed nature center. He suddenly felt ill. In spite what CAIN promised, he couldn’t help but feel that the real problems were still to come.
“H
uh. Did you know Olympus Mons is nearly three times higher than Mt. Everest?”
Cole blinked and approached the waist-high sign touting random park. He frowned at Rig. “Have you ever seen Everest?”
Rig scratched his beard and shook his head. “Never even been to Earth.”
He patted the mechanic on his broad shoulder. “You’re not missing much. Besides, it’s probably five times higher than Everest since the Collapse on good old E. It’s a little wet there.”
The two of them continued past the display and wandered into the nature center atrium. The dim glow of the setting sun cast an orange pall on the building’s interior. There was no power of which to speak since the park center had shut its doors nearly ten years ago. A heavy layer of dust had collected on all the surfaces and forgotten memorabilia. The entire building was a time capsule on a planet that had yet to celebrate a full century of human habitation.
The group gathered around a massive, circular table with a detailed two-dimensional schematic of Olympus Mons. Emmerich was still unconscious, her legs and arms retied and secured to a nearby couch. Nobody said anything, watching as Lin silently instructed her Rook to hover toward the center of the table. The cube began a slow rotation, a thin beam of light emitting from the bottom. The table illuminated upon contact with the laser, and an image of a red sphere projected above the surface.
“An Ocunet connection would be a grave mistake,” Cole warned, having already severed all ties with the outside world. He patted his pocket to make sure his lens case was still there.
“For you, perhaps,” Lin said. “Likely your lenses were mass produced with a distinctive digital signature.”
“And yours aren’t?” Cole asked. Even with his lenses’ internet access deactivated, someone searching hard enough could find him. He hoped his open communication with CAIN would not be the group’s downfall. “You’d have to design your own unique...” His words trailed when Lin nodded her agreement.
“Correct. And I did.” She looked up at the translucent red sphere. “I was allowed unprecedented access to all manner of materials during my time with SolEx.
That
was a grave mistake on their behalf.”
Brains
and
attitude! Why oh why did she choose the life of a radical?
The sphere changed to a vivid green, and all power was restored to the building. Lights brightened, appliances whirred to life, and the sphere dimmed to a soft white, assuming the shape of a crude, androgynous, humanoid face. It regarded Lin.
“Greetings, Dr. Dartmouth.”
She nodded and took several steps back. “I need you to open the lab.”
“Of course, Dr. Dartmouth,” the face said, and there was a loud metal thud that sent a tremor through the floor. The face, along with the rest of the table, rose upward to reveal a hidden entrance to a lift. The door slid open, inviting the group to enter.
“I don’t remember this part of the tour the last time I was here,” Cole said, shaking his head.
“This nature center doubles as a research facility for the science community elite,” Lin explained, stepping toward the lift. “My father had it built in secret as a means of conducting advanced experiments. The scale of his research eventually outgrew this building, but it remains fully functional.”
“Okay,” Cole said, nodding. “So, what are we doing here?”
Lin glanced down at the orange cube in her hands, then up at Forester. “Salvaging what I can of my father’s memory.”
Rig grunted. “You plan on pullin’ some Frankenstein shit in this lab of yours?”
Lin’s look of revulsion spoke volumes.
Not an altogether unfair question,
Cole thought, forcing away his grin.
Resurrection’s a bit difficult with the body still aboard the ship.
He too wondered just what miracle Lin was hiding in the secret nature center basement lab. He followed her into the lift, eager to visit her father’s former playground.
Below the surface of Mars was a pristine, sterile environment. Seemingly untouched by human hands, the laboratory was the complete antithesis of the forgotten dustball above. It was by no means impressive in size—claustrophobic, even—though there was a certain sense of intrigue revolving around the only noticeable piece of equipment which inhabited the space. Cole had not the slightest idea upon what he was gazing.
“This is the Colossus Collider my father was working on before he was wrongly accused...” She swallowed, seeming to reconsider her choice of words. “Before he was taken into custody.”
“You mean like a particle smasher?” Cole asked, admiring the cylindrical object.
Lin met his gaze. “More of a particle creator.” She approached the collider, laying her slender hand across its nondescript metal surface. “He and I were—at least I thought we were—attempting to create a specific energy mass in order to open a gateway into the multiverse. I salvaged the collider and brought it here before it could be confiscated as evidence.”