10


The satellite looked much bigger lying across the deck in the Jellybird’s main storage area. Tom managed to open it without much difficulty. We were looking at the contents when I received a message from Path.
“Ayers wants to know if we need his help opening the satellite,” Path said.
“We already have it open,” I answered.
A pause followed.
“He doesn’t believe you,” Path said.
“He’s never seen our mechanic work,” I said. “Let me know if he says anything else useful.”
“He doesn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to be present when the satellite was recovered,” Path said. “I told him he hadn’t earned our trust and now he seems to be pondering that like it’s a scientific theorem.”
I watched Tom work. He wasn’t in a rush, but he did get things done quickly. The man was confident in his abilities and had such a broad base of technical knowledge. He never ceased to amaze me. His methodical, patient approach was faster than someone who rushed into mistakes and was forced to make several attempts before getting it right.
“We are very lucky to have made such talented and loyal friends,” X-37 said to me privately.
I gave my hand signal that I agreed.
Tom stepped back, still looking at his work. He indicated what he had done with one hand, palm facing up. “And there you go, one Union super drone meant to be fired from a ship.”
I moved closer and studied the small oblong pod.
“It’s a shame to waste a machine like that,” Tom said. “The metallurgical uniqueness is fascinating. I wish I could put it in a laboratory and study it with Henshaw’s help,” Tom said.
“Do you think the Union made it?” I asked.
“I’m sure that’s the case, but it is very cutting edge.” Tom barely took his eyes off the device as he answered.
“Maybe we’ll find another someday,” I said. “Can you figure out how to load and fire it at the planet?”
“No problem at all. Once we finish our safety checks, it can be loaded, then shot into the lava sea,” he said. “If Ayers is telling the truth and the secret vault does rise to the surface after the drone makes contact, I’m still not comfortable with anyone going down there. We’ve done a lot of dangerous things, but this is unusually… dynamic.”
“Earthquakes and volcanoes are like that,” I said. “Good work.”
With Tom working on the drone, I checked in with Elise. “How are you doing with your new toys?”
“Not bad,” she answered. “But there’s a problem—if you want Ayers to go on this mission. I don’t think giving him these types of weapons is a good idea. Removing the guns has been difficult.”
“If you can’t disable the weapons, remove the ammunition and power elements from them,” I said.
“We already did that,” Elise said quickly. “But these are tightly integrated units. Their limited artificial intelligences are actually just one digital entity networked across all the Archangel gear. It keeps them all functioning at maximum capacity—and makes communication on a squad level freakishly fast. Or that’s what our test runs show. As soon as we started taking things off, they began to malfunction—even the units we didn’t modify. Horvath, Carrie, and I have worked around the problem, but we will need to practice with them before we jump into a volcano or something.”
“We don’t have time for that,” I said, and immediately felt ridiculous. X-37 and Elise corrected me at almost the same time.
“Actually, Reaper Cain, progressing more slowly would be advantageous,” X-37 said.
“Aren’t you always the one telling me not to rush to failure? If we take some time to practice, the only thing that’s going to happen is that the rest of the exodus fleet will get here and possibly help us,” Elise said.
“Okay, okay. We can practice with the Archangels,” I said.
We discussed a few more details as I went to the armory and allowed Elise to instruct me on the best way to use the modified gear.
“First of all, I have to give credit to Tom even though he is still messing with the drones. He was the one that insisted we bring all the accessories these golden goodies have,” Elise said, motioning toward one of the large durable crates near the Archangel armor and workbenches.
I walked around each piece of the armor that was able to stand like Doctor Ayers taking one of his weird naps. The surface of each Archangel had a faint golden sheen, something in the alloy that made it different from other combat armor I’d seen. There were times I thought it was just a reflection of Nebs’s vanity, but I wasn’t an expert on metallurgy or engineering.
Each piece of gear now had a new layer of frangible armor. “That seems redundant, but I get it.”
“The outer layer is a lot like the drone were sending down, single use,” Elise said, walking around and pointing at different things she’d done to improve the setup. “The schematics we were able to read thanks to Jelly and X decrypting their security codes advocate a fairly loose connection of these add-ons, allowing for ease of movement. We decided to put more time into it and make every piece fit very precisely, to minimize the amount of molten rock slipping into the cracks and touching the actual armor.”
I examined their work and knew it was good. “This should be more than enough protection since we’re not actually going to be getting our feet wet. So try not to fall in.”
Elise gave me one of her special whatever grins. “Having said that, and done all of this extra configuring, the Archangel armor itself is extremely resistant to heat and all other forms of physical assault. If we knew exactly what we were getting into, and could keep to a very tight time schedule, we might not need the extra layers.”
“This is good work. You’re right about not rushing to failure. We will need to practice—some on the ship and some extra vehicle activity drills just to increase the training intensity,” I said.
Path brought Ayers to the equipment room we had turned into an armory. There were tools and pieces of armor scattered across magnetic workbenches. Elise, Horvath, and Carrie were already in their modified Archangel armor. I decided to put Ayers in his weaponless outfit next, then assist Path in getting ready.
“Why are you going last, Reaper?” Ayers asked.
“Because I’m the only person who can put this stuff on unassisted,” I said. “And I can do the job faster than most.”
“I refuse,” Ayers said. “Away missions are not what the Union trained me for. My value lies in my intellectual output and willingness to see what others deny as the truth.”
“Good for you,” I said.
“I’m not going to the surface of Macabre. Send some of your soldiers. That is what Nebs would have done,” Ayers insisted.
“I’m not Nebs, and you don’t have a choice. Cooperate and help me save my family, and maybe someday you’ll get to do your research,” I said. “Refuse and I will send you down there by yourself.”
“That is unfair, Reaper. You know I must acquiesce. My research is very important,” Ayers said.
“Life isn’t fair. At least I’m letting you wear protective gear on this mission. I’m told it’s theoretically possible to survive where we’re going as long as you don’t get too close to the edge of the safe zone or get hit by any splashing lava,” I said.
“Or fall in a rift when there’s an earthquake,” Elise added.
“There probably aren’t any fire-breathing monsters on the surface,” Horvath said.
I nodded like my friends were making exquisitely rational arguments. “I definitely believe you could do this without the armor, Ayers.”
“You and your friends are wildly optimistic,” Ayers argued.
I shrugged, motioning toward his new ride. “You’re going with us, and you’re wearing what we tell you to wear.”
The Archangel armor opened like a standing clamshell when I issued the command. Ayers gaped in horror. I motioned for him to climb in.
“I’m not a mechanical engineer but that doesn’t appear structurally sound,” Ayers said. The way he said mechanical engineer suggested he thought people like Tom were lesser beings than alien DNA tinkerers like him.
“This makes it easier to get in,” I said. “If it’s properly closed and latched, it’s as strong as it would be if it was all one piece. We’re not expecting to fight. This is just an insurance policy for when the Union’s clever vault bobs up and down in the lava. Climate control, basically.”