9

The unified Xad and Wallach fleet departed from the slip tunnel in a disorganized fashion. It started out well, but it was clear not everyone understood the chain of command or the post slip tunnel formations the leaders of both fleets had agreed upon.

Two-thirds of the ships lined up in order of the operational plan. Another group started to patrol and set up defensive contingencies, while a third headed for an asteroid belt to search for resources.

Captain Younger was the highest-ranking officer in the Xad fleet and had operational command. Gen. Karn and Admiral Hutton of the Wallach forces would also get a turn every ninety standard days.

Captain Younger had requested my presence on the bridge for the exiting of the slip tunnel. We had discussed best practices and then watched as the best-laid plans unfolded in unexpected ways. I admired the way she worked, taking control when needed but not interfering with her subordinates. As captain of the Xad flagship, and leader of the unified fleet, she was in control of the entire operation.

She approached when she had a free moment. “My apologies for the disorder. It seems the mission to Macabre will be delayed unless you can take a smaller team on your ship to investigate the claims Doctor Ayers has been making.”

“I can do that Captain, but I will need to take Ayers,” I said. “I doubt he has told us everything, and if there are surprises, I’ll need to ask him some questions.”

“As long as you can provide enough security to keep him from escaping custody, then you may take him where you like,” Captain Younger said. “I will advise my security chief to assist you in any way needed.”

She went back to managing the larger situation.

I left the bridge and headed for the brig. On the way, I made sure X-37 contacted my team and sent them to the Jellybird. We had expected something like this, and everyone knew what to do. My job was to work with the Xad guards to move the prisoner to the Jellybird.

Doctor Ayers wasn’t happy to see me, but he complied with the guards and did what he was told. Soon we were on our way to the flight deck.

“You surprise me, Ayers,” I said.

“In what way, Reaper?”

“To be honest, I thought you were maneuvering toward Macabre. It makes sense that you left something there and want us to do your dirty work to retrieve it, but I expected you would demand to go there yourself,” I explained.

“It’s a horrible planet,” he said. “I suggest you take people who are expendable.”

“What?”

“That came out wrong,” he said, “but you know what I mean. It is very dangerous. People will die.”

“Maybe fewer people would die if your life was also at stake.”

“Nebs would’ve sent his Archangels.” He seemed very distracted and had a tremor in his left eyebrow. “They are better suited for the environment.”

“X, how many suits of the Archangel armor do we have unlocked?” I asked.

“As many as you need, Reaper Cain. I make this assessment based on the maximum number of people you can transport on the Jellybird and the Lady Faith,” X-37 said.

Ayers waited until I concluded my internal conversation. After that, he spoke more like a normal person.  “I am thankful to be out of my cell, but it does me little good without access to a ship AI to assist me.”

“Assist you with what?” The last thing I was going to allow was a mad scientist messing with our ship.

“Processing my theories and assisting the away team in a remote capacity. I’m better suited to be in the control room providing my expert analysis than stomping around on the planet surface,” Ayers said. “I would only slow you down and I have no fighting experience or training in harsh environments.”

“Well I guess it will be on-the-job training for you because you’re coming with us,” I said. “I’m not going down into whatever mess you created without having you close at hand to give me answers when I need them.”

* * *

The Jellybird slowed as she approached Macabre, establishing a high orbit. Both Elise and Tom were on the bridge. Path guarded Doctor Ayers in our makeshift brig.

Two Xad soldiers, Largo and Asis, both Soldiers First Class, and two Wallach soldiers, Horvath and Carrie Decker were on standby on the Jellybird to provide security on the ship or in case we needed more guns in a fight on the planet. Carrie was a good pilot and would be an extra resource for an away mission. We also had a shuttle and two micro-fighters attached to the Jellybird now.

Not far from us, Henshaw piloted his yacht, the Lady Faith, in case we needed a second ship. It also made it easier to control Henshaw’s access to Ayers, which I thought was necessary. They seemed far too interested in each other’s work.

Two Xad soldiers had volunteered to assist on the Lady Faith. The opulent amenities of the yacht probably stunned them. I also assigned Bug to Henshaw’s ship, mostly to annoy him. He had been too lax in his duties monitoring Doctor Ayers. I hoped pulling him off the job for a time motivated him to do better in the future.

“I have completed an initial scan, Captain,” Jelly said. “From a geological perspective, this is a very interesting planet, though I must advise against going down to the surface if it can be avoided. There is a great deal of seismic and volcanic activity.”

“I see what you mean,” I said, looking at the images of molten lava and collapsing ridgelines. “There must be someplace the Union could have squirreled away the research.”

“Maybe Ayers was lying,” Elise said.

“That’s a possibility we need to think about,” Tom said. “I can’t see any place they can have a base or even a storage facility. Hopefully, we will learn more as we complete subsequent passes around Macabre and continue to run scans of the surface.”

I stood and prepared to leave the bridge. “This is exactly the reason I brought Ayers with us.”

“Do you need my help?” Elise asked.

“Path and I can handle Ayers. Get ready for the away mission,” I said.

Her eyes went wide. “Down there?”

“Start working out an operational plan, then hope we don’t have to use it,” I said. “Worst environment imaginable. A perfect place for the Union to hide something. I will get the rest of the story from Ayers now…or die trying.”

“This planet is so far outside of Union territory it’s ridiculous,” Elise said. “If what Jelly is telling me is correct, we’re even farther than we were in the Wallach or Xad systems.”

“Nebs left Union space for over two years and never accounted for what he did during that time. We should be ready for anything,” I said.

“You’re right, Reaper,” Elise admitted.

My mind was spinning by the time I joined Path outside of the makeshift brig. Images of the glowing red planet reinforced my belief that Ayers had tricked us somehow. Despite what I had told Elise, I doubted there was any way the Union could use this planet. It didn’t even have moons. I’d been to several worlds where the moon was more hospitable to humans than the planet.

“Good morning, Reaper,” Path said. “Did you know the doctor sleeps standing up sometimes?”

“Sometimes he’s just thinking deep thoughts,” I said. “It’s hard to tell the difference.”

“I can tell,” Path said, keeping his attention on the scientist who had lured us here.

“Are you awake, Ayers, or shamming?” I asked.

The man eyed me. “I am a doctor, you know. Not one of your rough friends. I would appreciate a little more respect.”

“I will address you by your honorific as soon as my family is safely awakened from the cryo-pods,” I said. “We have arrived at Macabre. It’s an interesting planet. I’m wondering how the Union could have any type of facility here.”

“I understand your skepticism. Too bad the engineer in charge of building the facility on Macabre died when you destroyed the UFS Black Wing,” Ayers said. “ It’s submersible. What better way to hide something than sink it in an ocean of lava.”

“I bet Nebs loved that,” I muttered, struggling to imagine how we would reach this facility.

“Jelly, contact the Nightmare and any other ship that might have an expert in this field,” I said.

“Right away, Captain,” Jelly said.

“Have you located the satellite?” Ayers asked.

“Our prisoner says there’s a satellite we need to find,” I said.

Jelly responded immediately. “I will endeavor to locate it. With your permission, I would like to ask Doctor Ayers direct questions.”

“That’s dangerous, Jelly. I don’t trust him, and he seems far too interested in gaining access to an AI.”

Ayers waited patiently, only hearing half of the conversation. His version of calm meant an almost spiritual serenity that would rival Path on a good day, interrupted at random intervals by twitching and nervous sweats.

“I can look after myself, Captain,” Jelly promised. “I will report any attempts he makes to act inappropriately to X-37.”

“Jelly, I trust your judgment.” I made eye contact with Path. “What happens if Ayers attempts to pull a fast one?”

Path tapped his sword hilt.

“I’m no good to you dead,” Ayers said.

“My sword saint is very accurate. He’ll take a finger at a time. But don’t worry, you won’t even feel it until after it happens,” I said.

Ayers paled. A tremor swept through his body from head to toe. I made a mental note to get him another medical check as soon as we were back on the Bright Lance.

“I have located one functioning satellite of the planet Macabre,” Jelly announced. “There is, however, no way to access it remotely. This is strange and defeats the purpose of having a satellite. What can it do with no way of communicating from a distance?”

“Is that a question for me?” Ayers asked. The scientist seemed less of a wreck when he was engaged in conversation or working on something.

“Please explain how we can use the satellite,” Jelly asked.

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” I muttered.

“Jelly is doing an excellent job, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“Agreed.” With the ship asking the questions, I was able to watch Ayers more and decide whether he was lying or trying to pull a fast one. So far, I wasn’t detecting anything nefarious—which made me suspicious.

Ayers cleared his throat. “Can I see what you have found?”

Jelly presented a small holographic representation of the satellite that had been discovered. It looked like a needle about ten meters long that was thicker in the middle. I’d never seen a satellite that was so plain and free of antennae.

“That is the one.” Ayers leaned toward the image, eyes bright with interest and his mannerisms less twitchy and weird.

“There are no others,” Jelly said.

“Bring it on to your ship and I will open it,” he said. “Inside, there is a pod that will have to be fired from your ship. It will penetrate the surface of the lava sea and seek the floating vault.”

“You’re telling me that thing contains a drone that can survive in molten rock that has to be well over a thousand degrees?” I asked, crossing my arms.

Ayers tried to back away but there wasn’t a lot of space. “For a time. It is a single-use tool. We only planned to come here once, and only in an emergency.”

“What type of emergency?” I asked.

“Perhaps you should ask Nebs,” Ayers said.

“I don’t like your tone, Ayers,” I said.

“I hold multiple doctorates. Why must you needlessly disrespect me?”

“What. Type. Of. Emergency,” I said, staring straight into his eyes.

He swallowed, revealing he was human after all and feared death just like the rest of us. “We were only to come here in the event that we lost our research.”

“Or to wake up my family and the other people locked in cryo-pods,” I said.

“That would not have been necessary if you had kept Nebs alive,” Ayers argued. “You can blame the condition of your family on your own hotheaded decisions.”

“Be calm, Reaper Cain,” X-37 ordered.

“You’re lucky I still need you, Ayers,” I said.

He answered without pause. “I am. An intelligent and rational man like myself would endeavor to remain useful.”

“Don’t forget it,” I said. “Jelly, capture the satellite. Tom, meet me inside the main bay so we can look at this thing.”

“Sure thing, Hal,” Tom answered.

“I will assist you remotely,” Henshaw offered in my earpiece.

“Great. I love it when a plan comes together. Path, keep an eye on Ayers.” Nothing about this mission was good but if it had been easy, I would’ve been seriously suspicious.

Path nodded that he would watch the crazy xenobiologist without fail.

“I’ll take Horvath and Carrie to help me modify the Archangel armor we brought,” Elise said. “I don’t see any other way to operate on the surface. Tom agrees with me it should be able to withstand more heat than maintenance gear or EVA suits.”

“Good,” I said. “Keep me updated.”

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