Authors: Saxon Andrew
The woman opened her eyes, “That was nice. Perhaps I should pay you for another.”
He leaned forward again and kissed her as the Nebula vehicle passed the front of the restaurant. He managed to remain in the shadow created by the woman’s head and the vehicle’s scan came up empty and it continued up the street. “Thank you.”
He stood and the pretty woman looked up at him, “Where are you going?”
“I need to find a transfer to take me to the river.”
“I’ll take you.”
“No, you really don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind. My trans is right over there.”
He looked to the right of the building and saw a new sports trans. He smiled and said, “If it’s not a problem.”
She leaned over and said something to the woman sitting next to her who nodded as she stood. He followed her out to her vehicle. They entered, lifted the small trans, and turned up the side street. He glanced behind him and saw more ships arriving.
They arrived at the river and he stepped out, “I appreciate you bringing me. Thank you.”
“No problem.” She watched him walk over to a huge transhauler and enter the cab. The huge vehicle drove away and she sighed; he was a great kisser. She wished he had asked to stay with her for a while. But she wasn’t the kind of woman that would ask him.
• • •
“I told you this was stupid.”
“I know, I know. They came in faster than I thought.”
“You were lucky.”
“What do we do?”
“Well, your mind is shielded now from everything in orbit but a scanship. I don’t know how they got a reading but it’s clear they did. We need to move far away from here before we attempt an exit. There are two Nebula Warships in orbit and they’re staying stationary above this city.”
He thought for a moment and said, “Then they’re not certain I’m here.”
“I wouldn’t bet the farm on that.”
“They haven’t brought in a scanship.”
“I’m keeping my scanner out for that. If one shows up, we’ll have to make a run for it.”
The transhauler left the city and accelerated on the freeway. It matched the six hundred miles per hour traffic and headed away from the huge city.
• • •
The Nebula Officer walked along the street and let his mind go free. He was tall and his black uniform made him look imposing. It fit him perfectly and it was easy to see he took pride in his appearance. He felt the people in the buildings that lined the street and didn’t sense what he was looking for. He arrived at the front of the restaurant and stopped. Something…wasn’t…quite right. He went inside and felt the residue of a High Genetic. He went to the area where it was the strongest and stared at the now empty table. He recalled the agents that had scanned the building and looked at what they had seen. He saw the group of women and the couple that was kissing. He couldn’t see the couple’s faces because they were turned away from the scan. He looked again and saw the face of the woman sitting next to the couple and she was looking directly at the agent. “Find this woman.”
The agent moved out of the restaurant. He returned in thirty minutes and said, “She lives six miles from here.”
“Take me there.” The Officer boarded the carrier with three agents and arrived at the address and found the woman sitting outside with a small male child. The four exited the carrier and the tall officer smiled, “I’m sorry to interrupt you but I need some information.”
The woman saw the Nebula soldiers approaching with three of them holding blasters. She immediately felt fear for herself and her child. The stories of their brutality had been told by all the planets in the Union. She stared at the Officer and agents and tried to maintain her composure but her voice was shaky, “I’ll assist you any way I can, Sir.”
“Who was the woman sitting to your left today at the restaurant?”
“That was Natalie Weston.”
The Officer looked at an agent and he pressed the gold colored circle on his collar. He spoke quietly and said, “I have it.”
The officer leaned down and patted the young boy on the head and said, “You have a beautiful child.” He looked at the woman for a long moment and she knew she was going to die, but he stood and walked toward the carrier. One of the agents looked at him and didn’t see him look back. They boarded and arrived at another residence ten miles away. The four entered the building and went up three floors. An agent kicked the door in and the three carrying blasters rushed in ahead of the Officer with their blasters raised.
Natalie was watching the monitor when the door crashed in and she pushed herself away to the end of the couch. The Officer entered and looked around. He smiled and said, “I need you to remember the man that was kissing you earlier.”
The man’s face flashed into her mind and the Officer saw it. He was able to see surface thoughts of anyone who was not a High Genetic. “Do you know where he went?”
The Officer saw the transhauler in her mind and said, “He’s here on the planet.”
Natalie said, “Have I done something wrong?”
The Officer smiled and said, “I’m afraid you aided an enemy of ours.” He turned to leave and the agent saw him nod. The agent turned and fired his blaster into the pretty woman’s face, burning it off her shoulders. The beam set fire to the furniture beyond the dead woman. The four walked out and boarded their carrier. The officer never looked back at the building that was going up in flames as residents were forced to jump out of windows to save themselves.
The Officer pressed the gold circle on his collar and said, “Bring a scanship now.”
• • •
The transhauler finally moved over the horizon from the city, turned off the freeway, and moved up a road into a field. It began changing shape and morphed into a small ship. It rose quickly just above the field, took a steep angle away from the distant city, and exited the atmosphere with the planet between it and the ships in orbit over the large city. A blue field appeared around the ship and it instantly disappeared. The scanships arrived a moment later and scanned the planet.
The Officer sat in the restaurant still feeling the residue, waiting for word from the scanships. He heard from the gold circle, “He is no longer on this planet.”
For the first time since arriving, the Officer’s expression turned angry and he slammed his arm into the table, shattering the hard top. He collected himself and called for the two agents that had scanned the restaurant. They rushed in and went to attention. He looked at them and removed their minds. The agent’s bodies collapsed to the floor and he said in a flat voice, “Don’t make this mistake again.”
The agent’s commanding officer remained at attention standing behind the Officer and said, “We won’t, Sir.”
The Officer stood, stepped over the dead agents, and walked over to the counter. He ordered a drink from the bar, paid for it, and walked slowly out the door. The Commander released a breath. Euclid was not the only planet with genetically improved leaders. The ones created by the Nebula were deadly. This one was the deadliest of all.
“I
an, I told you it was stupid to stop at that planet.”
“E, we had to gather stores and any planet would have been a risk. At least I was able to acquire what we need.”
“That’s when we should have left. That woman wouldn’t have had to die if you had listened.”
“WHAT!”
“I intercepted a transmission. One of their genetic leaders tracked her down and killed her for assisting you.”
Ian sat in his chair and felt shock, “How did he find her?”
“One of the ones sending the communication said he tracked the residue of your mind to a restaurant. Evidently they are further along than we thought.”
Ian slowly shook his head. After an hour he said, “I won’t make that mistake again.”
“That’s just it; you must not be found and more are going to die if you manage to survive. Her life was worthless if you didn’t escape. If they discovered you were on the planet, they would have bombed it into radioactive rubble. She would be dead along with everyone else.”
“She didn’t deserve it, E.”
“No one does.”
Ian leaned back in the chair, “I guess I was wrong to leave Euclid.”
“That’s hindsight. No one knew how long the Obelisk was going to be down. We also didn’t know they were sending a war fleet. You made the best decision possible with the information available.”
“If I had stayed, this would be over.”
“If a frog had pockets he could carry a blaster and not be afraid of snakes.” There was a moment of silence and the ship said, “I’m sorry about Ariene.”
Ian sighed, “We weren’t close. She was the one chosen to be my mate. I really didn’t get an opportunity to know her.”
“The scientists said your children would have been a giant leap forward.”
“Marrying her was my duty. Her defense of my parents told me more about her than anything I’ve seen so far. Her bravery was more than I thought she was capable of. I believe I would have eventually found happiness with her.” Ian paused, “How did they find us?”
“I’ve not gone to full speed and I see what caused it.”
Ian sat up, “What do you see?”
“The Nebula has spread out their ships and is sending a pattern through the dark matter in the galaxy. If I go to high speed, I can’t see it. At this speed I can see how they’ve covered the major pathways between the worlds of the union. I think I flew through one of the patterns and they got a line on the direction we were moving. The planets on that line included the planet we landed on.”
“So they really didn’t know if we were there?”
“It was the optimum choice of the fifty on that line. I believe that’s why that Genetic Officer went there first. There are more patterns appearing at this moment.”
“Do you think they’ll be able to cover them all?”
“They don’t have enough ships to do that. I see that most of the patterns are forming around the main allies of the Union. I expect they think you’ll go to them to start a counter to their rebellion.”
“I was considering doing just that.”
“They won’t hesitate to nuke any planet they know you’re on. The Union hasn’t built warships in centuries and the Nebula has the upper hand at this moment. They’ll exploit that strength and attack any planet that represents a danger.”
“I guess I was lucky to have escaped.”
“The Lead Scientists needed a member of the Royal Family to link with my systems to make sure they operated properly. You were the obvious choice. You were fortunate to be at the lab and not at the Royal Quarters.”
“Are there any more ships like you?”
“No, I was the prototype. My processor is really nothing more than your intellect in mechanical form. That’s why you were needed to link.”
“I don’t think like you do, E.”
“You do, but just not as fast.”
“Were you armed?”
“I was, however, I need the release code to activate my weapons and I don’t know what it is.”
“Do you know anything about the code?”
“It’s one word spoken five times.”
“Well, work on it.”
“I can’t; that is a restriction my software can’t get around. I’m sure you’ll have to find it. I am not allowed to look.”
“Well, I have no idea on what it could possibly be.” Ian paused, “Do you have a suggestion on where to go next?”
“The Nebula’s rebellion is being slowed by the search for you. Now that they have confirmation that you are alive, they’ll direct all their efforts toward finding you. There’s good news and bad news associated with that.”
“Give me the bad news first.”
“The more ships they use to form a pattern in the Union, the better their chance of finding you.”
“What’s the good news?”
“The ships producing that pattern have to be in space to do it. The more ships they use, the less chance of them attacking large numbers of planets. They will also be forced to keep that fleet at Euclid to prevent your return.”
“Then in the interest of the Union, we need to stay hidden.” Ian thought a moment, “What did they mean by a residue?”
“Ian, your mind’s electrical activity is off the scale compared to most humans. That electrical activity excites the area around you. If you remain in one place very long, it can be detected.”
“So where do we go?”
“What do your senses tell you?”
“I thought you were faster than I am?”
“I am but I don’t have your mental ability, only your intellect. The Royal Family’s ability to chart a path is unmatched. Tell me what you sense and I’ll analyze the possible consequences of it.”
Ian closed his eyes and let his mind go free. Millions of choices were made and discarded. After a minute he opened them and said, “It’s got to be a place outside the Union.”
“That can only mean we have to go to the Wilderness.”
“Without weapons, that can be dangerous.”
“You have your personal weapons. I’ll just have to make sure I’m not seen arriving.”
“I also saw one possibility that we might want to explore.”
“What is that?”
“E, there’s no way they can know you’re not armed. I suspect they’re concerned about the ship I’m in and we can use that.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Before we go to the Wilderness, fly a high speed line toward the Nebula’s governing planet and then turn away.”
The computer started laughing; “Now that is a great idea.”
Ian looked at the star that map appear on the computer display and saw the line to the Orion Nebula located at the edge of the Milky Way. The small ship oriented on the line and went to full speed, passing through fifty of the Nebula patterns. An alert went out and as the small ship turned from its path and slowed, E said, “Half of the patterns have been removed. It appears the ships making them have been recalled to their planets.”
“Now would be a good time to make a run to the Wilderness.”
“I’m ahead of you. We’re already headed that way.”
• • •
The Dictator stared at the Officer and was close to yelling. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was a respect for the Officer’s talents. The Officer looked at the display with a calm expression and said, “It is to be expected that the Prince would attack you after you killed his family.”