Parker Interstellar Travels 6: The Celaran Ruins (14 page)

Maybe
it wasn’t Siobhan,
she
told herself.
Maybe some wild animal got in. The electrical creature. No,
that can’t be it. They have her.

Telisa
ran from the spot in a wide circle, looking for more signs of struggle. Her
imagination flashed images of pieces of Siobhan laying scattered on the ground,
but reality produced no such horrors for her to find.

Nothing.
She could have gotten away.

Telisa
headed back to the rendezvous point. She was still worried. When Telisa arrived
at the fence where they had entered, she saw the repair machine had finished
its job and moved on. It did not surprise her. It had still been less than an
hour.

Telisa
waited. She brooded over whether she should be back searching or waiting, but
most of the time had elapsed anyway. It would be worth waiting if Siobhan
showed back up. When time ran out, Telisa cut through the fence with her
super-sharp tanto and ran behind some of the largest vines at the edge. There,
she uncloaked and checked her link.

Siobhan
was not nearby. Telisa contacted Cilreth.

“Siobhan
isn’t back yet. Have you heard or seen anything?”

“No!
Should we come help?” Cilreth asked.

“No,
not until we make a different plan. I don’t want to get anyone else shot or
captured. I saw a destroyed guard machine, I think she must have had to kill
it. I’m going back in to look for her. If she contacts you, tell her to stay
outside the perimeter. I’ll find her.”

“And
if you don’t come back?”

“Then
you’re in charge.”

“Cthulhu
sleeps! You’d better come back.”

Telisa
cloaked herself and ran back inside. The repair machine had not yet been
summoned.

First,
that distraction.

Telisa
took out a grenade and approached the nearest tower from inside the compound.
Telisa told the grenade to go magnetic and detonate in ten seconds. The device
clamped onto the surface of the tower. Telisa silently thanked the Five
Entities that the tower had some ferrous material in its composition.

Telisa
ran off deeper into the compound at her top augmented speed. She spotted the
repair machine headed out. For good measure she rolled out a grenade targeted
for it just as the first grenade exploded behind her.

Kaboom!

A
second later, the next explosion destroyed the repair machine, sending its
frame flipping through the air. It hurled away in a spectacular pyrotechnic display.

Kablam!

Wow.
It wasn’t as heavy as I would have expected.

Telisa
selected one of the largest buildings in the area and ran for it as glider
machines started to show up all over the complex. She thought of her smart rope
as she ran, but she caught sight of a lower series of extensions to the
building on one side. She ran toward the lower part of the building. As she
neared it, she launched herself into the air with a powerful leap.

Seconds
went by as she hurtled through the air. She asked for a small boost from her
attendants and got it, delivering her onto one of the lowest roof surfaces. She
landed off balance so she rolled with it. Her training and new agility paid
off, allowing her to regain control of herself gracefully.

The
exhilaration of the jump made her think of Siobhan.

She
would have loved that. Please let her be in here.

Telisa
glanced back at the smoke and debris she had left behind on the field. One
large machine had emerged to clean up the mess, while the armored glider
machines crisscrossed the field, searching for the enemy.

The
roof was a gray-turquoise color. It slanted crazily in two or three different
panes that adjoined the lower level she was on. Telisa climbed up like a
spider, accenting her route with jumps as needed. At the top, she saw two doors
and a collection of six windows in a long line.

If
I break in, that would be more alarming to them, right? They will sense the
door mechanism... but what choice do I have?

Telisa
walked forward and hopped down onto the closest door. The portal opened under
her weight and let her slip inside.

The
interior of the huge building extended wide and open in all directions. Telisa
landed on a small white platform that shook under her weight.

This
is a launching platform. From here, I would glide where I need to go. It’s for
flyers, or for creatures that have some kind of flying assist.

Telisa
thought over alternatives. Was her conclusion correct? She looked around at the
huge space. To get here from below, she would have to be able to jump very
well, glide, or fly.

They
could have been merely gliders. Gliders turned flyers by technology. With
boosters like my attendants, a light glider could get anywhere in here in a
matter of seconds.

Did
I make a flawed assumption? Maybe this building is purely robotic. Maybe real
Celarans are not even supposed to go inside here. Then why does the door let me
in? Why all the open space? Wouldn’t machines make do with a denser work area?

And
where the hell are they?

The
building was filled with machines and equipment Telisa could not begin to
understand. To her left was a series of enclosed cylinder tanks that looked
like liquid or gas storage. To her right she saw five huge fabricators or power
plants or... what? Pipes ran everywhere like a refinery or chemical plant. The
space in the center of the building was oddly empty.

Clearly
industrial... not a place to keep prisoners. I should search somewhere else...

A
thin break line along the main floor caught her attention. The line cut right
through the middle of the open area. Telisa caught sight of more seams in the
floor to either side abutting the areas holding the machinery.

This
is a big gateway in the floor!

Telisa
glanced upward. Another giant crease along the ceiling made it clear the entire
roof was meant to open to the sky.

Spacecraft
hangar! I think... aircraft, at least? But Siobhan won’t be here.

Telisa
forced herself to stop looking for a way down deeper into the complex. Siobhan
could be waiting outside due to a mix up, or she might be dead, lying on a
table being dissected by Celarans. But if she had been captured and was still
alive, Telisa had to find her and get her out.

She
spotted a cylinder on one of the struts that supported her wobbly platform. She
took a closer look. It was a separate piece. Telisa reached out and touched it.
Nothing happened, so she grabbed it. The rod came away from the strut easily.
She held it in her hand. It was about the same size and weight as the first rod
she had taken in the other building. Telisa added it to her loot.

Telisa
started to climb back out of the building. It would have been easier to send
her smart rope ahead, but she did not want to give the Celaran security system
any more glances of her equipment. Best to leave them unaware of her general
position in case they had snatched Siobhan and were looking for another
intruder to grab.

Telisa
became aware of a saucer shaped glider approaching from her flank. She turned
to watch it. The machine closed on her position, but its angle of approach was
slightly off.

It
knows I’m here, but it doesn’t see me. That’s what I get for using the door.

Telisa
stopped. The machine slowed to a halt five meters from her. The top rotated one
direction slowly while the wider bottom section spun the other direction
quickly. It was odd to watch. She stared at the machine and thought of Siobhan.

If
I get caught too, will that help or not?

Telisa
compressed herself downward and told an attendant to go fly out over the main
floor and record everything. She gave it an evasive course. The attendant
flitted away, then the Celaran security machine launched itself after. Telisa
jumped straight for the door with her hands forward like an upward dive. It let
her through smoothly.

As
soon as she emerged from the door, she saw three more of the gliders patrolling
the roof of the building. They converged on her fast.

Okay,
now they know I’m here.

Telisa
leaped through the air to land on another facet of the roof. She ran up an
angle of about twenty degrees, leaning into it. The machines peeled off after
her.

And
they can sense me! It’s only a matter of time before they grab me, too.

Telisa
took a sharp right and headed for the side of the building nearest the
New
Iridar
. A flexuous machine appeared ahead. It had eight metallic tentacles
arranged around a central hub that was smaller than her own torso. Each
tentacle extended over three meters from the hub. The uncanny arrangement moved
efficiently.

Not
going to happen.

Telisa
launched herself over the machine with a strong leap. The machine twitched as
she passed overhead, confused. When Telisa landed on the far side, she kept
running but dared a peek back. The machine had somehow re-acquired her.

Kerflump!

A
bundle launched out of its midsection. Telisa turned sharply away, using her
superhuman speed. Whatever the bundle was, it did not change course to pursue.
She came to the edge of the building. The bundle fell away on her previous
course. It opened into a net in mid-flight, covering the area she had been. It
caught only air, then flipped over the side of the building.

First
a net creature, now a net robot. Time to leave.

Telisa
did not bother with the rope this time. She dropped straight off the edge.
Instead of telling her attendants to lift against the gravity, she told them to
push her toward the wall. In an instant she told her Veer suit to glove up her
hands with her link. Her knees and hands scraped against the surface, slowing
her fall. She grabbed at one ridge and then another as she passed them, slowing
herself further.

She
glanced upwards and saw two of the net launcher machines peering over the edge
above her. The net that had been launched was floating back to the machine that
had deployed it. The other machine was ready to fire at her.

Kerflump!

Telisa’s
lightning-fast reflexes were enough to give her time to push off from the side
of the building before the net came hurtling down. She flew through thin air
away from the building.

Now
if I could only land without breaking my legs.

It
seemed to happen slowly to Telisa’s hyped nervous system. She told her
attendants to thrust upwards as hard as they could. She rolled in the air
before opening up her arms to increase her drag to land legs first.

An
odd memory flashed through her brain of the first time Magnus had trained her
to fall. He had made her fall over and over again in the simulation until her
legs broke—

Smack!

The
impact was manageable. She rolled with the impact, absorbing some of the energy
in her legs as they bent, then the rest came through her Veer suit across her
right shoulder as she rolled through it. Between the attendants, the Veer suit,
her training, her augmented strength, and the lower gravity, Telisa was able to
land, roll, and come up running in one smooth motion.

The
VR stars got nothing on me.

Telisa
ran in a zig zag pattern for the fence.

These
are machines. If I let their guard go back down, then I can sneak back in and
find her. Or maybe I can make a plan with the whole team.

Telisa
decided against going back to the old rendezvous. She could check for Siobhan
with her link once she made her way outside the compound. She took a left to
skirt a building and find a new spot by the fence.

Vincent
scuttled along the side of the building ahead.

By
the Four.

The
plant creature moved up to the side of the gray building and probed at the wall
before it. Then it moved on. It did not seem to be moving urgently, though the
creature was so alien it would be impossible to tell for sure.

Telisa
felt angry at the alien for a moment. Was it working with the machines? Was it
their ally? Or did the machines just leave things that looked like plants
alone? Wouldn’t a vine cutter come along and remove it?

How
are you running around in here and what in R’lyeh are you doing?

She
watched Vincent move along. One of the security gliders move by within forty
meters of the alien. Vincent did not freeze, but neither did the glider pay it
any attention.

Siobhan
had better not be missing because of you
, she thought grimly, then ran for the fence. As she
approached, she launched herself onto it with one superhuman leap. She used her
tanto to cut enough strands to let herself through, then retreated back into
the vine jungle.

Chapter 13

Telisa
reappeared on Caden’s link map. He waited the space of three nervous breaths.
Siobhan did not appear. He strode back and forth atop the Celaran vine-spire
that served as the lookout above their camp.

No.

Telisa
moved toward base camp. Caden held himself from initiating a connection, just
in case there was a valid reason for Siobhan’s absence that was about to be
announced. At the same time, his annoyance and fear rose.

Telisa
should know we want a report right now!

“Why
isn’t she reporting?” Caden asked aloud. Beside him, Imanol had a look on his
face that said it all: bad news.

“Is
she talking to you?” Caden demanded.

“She’s
not dead, Caden. Captured. They captured her,” Telisa reported.

“Who
captured her, exactly?” he asked, struggling to stay calm.

They
expect me to freak out. Fine. I won’t. I’ll stay calm and get her back.

“The
security machines, as far as I know,” Telisa said from the group link channel.
“I have no reason to believe there are any Celarans. We went in, but turns out
her stealth suit is not good enough. Whatever this stealth sphere is, it’s a
step up. I’ve been snooping around, but I don’t know how to get her back yet.”

“You
can’t find her?” Jason asked.

“No.
A net casting machine came after me, so I think she’s been netted and pulled
into one of the buildings. The machines out there can’t pinpoint me, but they
know I’m around. I could probably go back in later and avoid detection for a
time. That’s one plan.”

Telisa
leaped up to their overlook and joined them. The ledge around the massive trunk
was crowded, so Telisa hopped over to a nearby vine. They heard rustling down
below.

“Vincent
is back,” Imanol announced.

“Was
Vincent inside the complex?” Jason asked.

“Yes,”
Telisa said. “Turns out he can wander around in there all he wants. He may be
key to getting her back. If only we could really communicate with him.”

“Then
that’s what we’ll concentrate on,” Caden said.

“I’m
impressed. I expected you would be the first to demand we go in there guns
blazing.”

“We
are
going to go in there guns blazing, if we don’t come up with
something better,” Cilreth said vehemently. Caden felt pleased to hear her
express loyalty but he tried not to show it.

Telisa
held up a black bag.

“I
have some items. This race is most pointedly devoid of
stuff
. But maybe
we can learn something from these knickknacks to help us get Siobhan back.”

“Well
we decided all their things have multiple functions,” Caden said, thinking
aloud. “So they don’t need much stuff.”

“As
good a theory as any.”

Telisa
pulled something out. It was a black section of flexible material, with some
kind of built-in shiny objects of various shapes and sizes.

“What
the—” Cilreth said.

“Exactly,”
Telisa said. “I have no ideas here yet.”

Caden
examined the black material. Along one edge the black layer came together in
thicker, denser cords like fasteners. It easily bent, stretched, and folded in
his hands. He handed it to Cilreth, who stood eagerly by to get her own look.

Cilreth
gave it a once over with some kind of scanner.

“It
has a battery. That’s all I’ve got,” Cilreth said. “And it’s damn complicated.
Advanced.”

Caden
reached into Telisa’s bag of loot and pulled another item out slowly. It was a
cylinder about the length of Caden’s forearm, though thinner. Caden took it in
his hand. It felt incredibly light.

“Careful!”
Jason urged. Imanol beamed like a proud father.

“That’s
a mystery too,” Telisa said. She did not seemed worried about Caden’s handling
of the object.

“A
simple club or structural beam?” Imanol suggested.

“I
don’t think so,” Telisa said. “It’s a complex powered device. I have another
about the same size, but it’s less complex, not powered.”

“Wait.
We have something going on out there,” Imanol interrupted.

“What
is it?” Telisa asked.

“One
of those glider snakes just got taken down out of the air.”

“Who
cares? We need to concentrate on getting our team member back!” Caden said.

“What
if the Celarans are coming after us out here?” Imanol asked. He brought his
projectile pistol out.

“This
could be something dangerous,” Cilreth said. “I’m reviewing the footage. It wasn’t
a force tower pushing the glider away. Something
shot it down
.”

“Siobhan?”
Caden asked. He stood. He checked several visual feeds. He did not see his
girlfriend, but something caught his eye.

The
debris on the forest floor shifted. Then he saw it. A long brown monster
scuttled over the surface. It was heavily camouflaged.

“We
have visitors. On the ground,” Caden said.

“Do
they have guns?” asked Jason.

Caden
frowned. The creature he watched was about the size and height of a young
crocodile, perhaps three meters long. It had several stubby appendages that
each split into three long spikes which sank into the detritus beneath it. Its
head thinned into a snout that extended forward like the proboscis of a
mosquito. The creature darted out of sight with surprising speed.

That
thing is damn ugly. And dangerous, I bet!

“No
guns I think,” Imanol said. Apparently he had spotted it too. Caden saw one of
their attendants go offline.

“It’s
attacking the attendants, too,” Caden said.

“Grab
your gear now! There’s more than one. Several, at least,” Telisa said.

Suddenly
Jason’s neck burned like fire. He yelled out in pain and slapped his neck. His
hand came back covered in smoking blood. His Veer suit had gloved his hand
before he could touch his own neck. Caden fell to his knees in shock.

“Caden!”
Telisa said, dropping to his side. “Hang on. I’m checking your neck. Everyone
take cover!”

Several
things happened at once. Caden’s suit told him it dropped painkillers into his
blood and the pain faded to an ugly ache. His head throbbed with every
heartbeat. The team brandished their weapons and dropped prone or to their
knees. Imanol started to shoot his projectile pistol. Telisa poured water over
Caden’s head.

Is
this it? Am I dead in the next few seconds?

Caden’s
suit extended to cover his head. The world blurred for a moment until his
flexible faceplate hardened into a shape that provided no optical distortion.

“Acid,”
Telisa broadcast. “Those things are shooting wads of strong acid or base at
us.”

“I
see them down on the ground,” Jason said.

“My
weapon is having a hard time deciding on the signature,” Imanol rattled off
quickly.

“I’m
putting three attendants on it,” Telisa said. “We’ll have a signature within a
minute. Just get going! Back to
New Iridar
!” Telisa told his suit to
open at the neck. She took out a can of artificial skin and sprayed it across
the back and sides of his neck. Then his suit sealed back up. Telisa pulled him
upright.

Caden
did not know if he could run in his muddled condition, but when he came to his
feet, he felt good to go. Adrenaline and painkillers made for an odd couple in
his system. He felt mentally calmed yet his heart beat hard in his chest.
Telisa lingered beside him as he hustled down the vine they had arrived on. He
asked the attendant for a course back and the machine provided it through his
link.

I
should be returning fire.

Caden
reached for his sniper rifle.

“Wait
until we have the signature. I want you to get ahead of us,” Telisa said.
“We’ll cover you. Then you stop, take the sig, and cover us.”

Caden
focused on the route his link had brought up. He ran down another vine, hopped
to an adjacent one, then ran through a hole in the giant leaves. He still felt
like a tiny ant in a huge garden. An ant being pursued by a mantis.

“I’m
hit!” Cilreth said on the channel. “My suit is holding for the moment!”

“It’s
burning through, let me pour some on there—”

“I’m
hit too!” Jason said. “On my faceplate!”

Caden
ran up to a complex vine junction. Directly before him sat Vincent. The
Blackvine did not move. Caden let his hand rest on his stun/projectile combo
pistol.

Is
it making a move against me? No. Frozen in place. Great.

“Don’t
bother to help,” Caden said aloud to the alien.

“What?”
Telisa asked.

“Vincent
is in my way.”

He
received a signature for the alien creatures advancing below. The target sig
lacked precision. Apparently the things were so good at camouflage that the sig
was hard to nail down. Or maybe they had a wide range of sizes and shapes.
Despite Vincent’s apparent lack of cooperation, Caden took a half second to
convince himself the signature would not accept the Blackvine as a target.

Caden
loaded it into his rifle. He leaped to one side, getting onto another vine. He
saw droplets of blood fly as he landed. His own blood. It dribbled down his
Veer suit.

So
much for the fake skin. And there’s a leak in my suit.

He
pulled his rifle from his back and turned. He rested the rifle over the huge
stem of a leaf and prepared to shoot. He realized a laser rifle would have been
more useful in his situation, because it would have enabled him to carve out a
longer shooting corridor through the leaves. He told one of the attendants
flitting below to cut away some leaves ahead of him.

“Okay,
I’ll cover you from here,” Caden said. “See if you can get around Vincent or
just boot his ass to the ground.”

Jason
transmitted a nonverbal signal for distress.

“Got
one but it got me too,” Imanol said.

“Out
of ammo,” Telisa said. “Gimme your weapon.”

Caden
did not know who she was talking to. He focused on the feed from his rifle. The
vines were dense and it was hard to see far, but he picked something up. He
could tell from his tactical it was not a team member. Caden fired off two
rounds.

Crack! Crack!

He
would rely upon the signature to turn the rounds away if his target was
something or someone unknown. It was risky, but his team was in trouble.

A
round reported a strong hit probability on something matching the sig. Caden’s
suit fed him some noise from over on his right. An attendant reported another target,
then it died. Caden shifted and fired off two more rounds.

Crack! Crack!

He
got another hit report but three more possible targets showed up on his
tactical. He took a deep breath. The attendant cutting leaves ahead of him
darted forward, then dropped to the ground in a smoking spiral.

What
if Siobhan’s out there trying to get home with her cloak on?

Caden
suppressed the thought. He would rely upon the rounds’ ability to match the
signature against the target. They were sophisticated. Besides merely veering
away from non-matches, the rounds could even decide to stick together and
inflict a through-and-through rather than disintegrate inside the target
depending on a sig match or miss. Besides, the chances of accidentally hitting
one Terran target in all that jungle were low.

Nice
and calm. Take them out.

Caden
started to fire more rapidly.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“Way
to go Caden! We’re moving past your position,” Telisa said. “I’ll hang back
beside you. Let’s give the others some time to get ahead. Jason’s leg is still
injured from the other day.”

Caden
sent the nonverbal ack signal and fired again. The last attendant ahead of him
dropped off the tactical.

“We
lost our spotting. It’s going to get dicey,” he said. His effective range had
just dropped below fifty meters. There were simply too many vines, spires, and
leaves in the way without something ahead to sense the targets for him.

“They
need another minute,” Telisa said. “Wait. Or they don’t! Fall back now, that’s
an order!”

Caden
did not understand Telisa’s mixed signals, but he picked up and retreated. His
neck felt stiff. He did not dare touch it. Caden assumed the damage was causing
inflammation despite the likelihood that his suit would try to counter it with
drugs.

Caden
walked down one vine at a slope, then stopped to climb up one of the artificial
spires covered with smaller vines.

“Pick
it up, Caden,” Telisa said.

“I’ll
try—”

Caden
was pulled up to the next vine in a second’s time. He gasped in surprise,
relieved to see it was only Telisa hauling him in.

“I
never took you for the slow poke of the group,” she said.

Caden
ran across the next thick vine, then grabbed a leaf stem to keep from falling
when it curved to the right. He could hear himself breathing inside the helmet.
It sounded raspy.

A
huge swath of forest erupted into bright light.

Vooosh.

Nuke!

Caden
froze, waiting for his life to end. Instead, a wave of smoke rolled over him.
His Veer faceplate did not let any smoke in, so instead of coughing he stared,
helpless, as smoke roiled past his face.

“What
the hell!” Imanol sent out.

“Keep
moving toward the ship,” Telisa said. “All we can do is hope that thing’s
targeting is good.”

That
thing? Of course. The battle sphere.

The
smoke abated to the point that Caden could see a blackened section of leveled
forest directly ahead. Then light came again. Caden cringed, but the light was
farther away than the first one.

Hrm,
those creatures probably won’t stand in the open? So that’s where I should be.
Lightning never strikes twice.