Axis crossing, p.21
Axis Crossing, page 21
“Dangerous?” Laura yelped.
“All the pieces fit,” Escher replied, offering the councilor a shrug.
There was silence from the SADEs.
However, Escher noticed their faces remained reactive. Heads turned. Eyes tracked. Expressions shifted. “Wow,” he said in a soft rush of air. “You’re communicating among yourselves, aren’t you?” Belatedly, he added, “Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Cremsylon waved off the apology. “We’re able to communicate and participate in other functions simultaneously,” he said.
“And all this without losing your human mimicking,” Escher said in awe of the entities. “I wonder. Do you have avatars that aren’t humans or even biological in appearance?”
Consensus was swiftly achieved on that point. It revealed too much to Naiad’s council, whose members already appeared shaken by the revelations.
“Are you considering helping Escher?” Claudia asked. She saw the SADEs regard her, and she thought it better to proceed without waiting for an answer. “I’m asking, because we could use your help too.”
“To do what?” Miranda inquired.
“We need help identifying the source of clone cultivation and shutting it down,” Claudia replied.
Ceda regarded Claudia. Her eyes glistened appreciatively.
“A worthwhile effort,” Miranda remarked, which brought a smile to Ceda’s face.
“We would need Naiad agents to record what’s discovered,” Commandant van Dysen suggested to the council.
“That’s true,” Councilor Ferraro replied.
“Are you saying that alien testimony is undesirable?” Miranda demanded, flexing her enormous torso.
The councilors were stunned into silence, but Escher smiled and applauded silently.
Miranda replied with her own grin.
Escher gazed at the shocked individuals at the other end of the table. “My apologies, councilors, if I offend you with this comment,” he said. “You need to loosen up. Miranda was kidding. If the SADEs had aggressive intentions, we’d have suffered them by now.”
“Would you allow me to accompany you as an observer for Naiad security?” Stacey asked. She couldn’t believe she was volunteering, but she’d come to believe in Escher, and if he supported the SADEs, then she’d take a chance.
“You’re welcome, Lieutenant,” Cremsylon replied.
David regarded the commandant and tipped his head toward Johann. In turn, Paul touched Johann’s sleeve, got his attention, and nodded toward Cremsylon.
“Are you to be a reluctant guest, Captain?” Cremsylon inquired.
Johann swore he saw a twinkle in the SADE’s eyes. As he requested transport, he wondered how Cremsylon had managed that.
“We would confirm our route to these stars,” Z said. From his palm, a holo-vid inlay projected a star map. Overlaying the star map was a set of the area’s anomalies.
Escher left his seat to regard the star map that hovered above Z’s hand.
“Interactive?” Escher inquired.
“Assuredly,” Z replied.
Escher poked a finger into the projection, and it blew up into a shower of sparks.
“Humorous,” Escher commented drily.
“Apologies. I couldn’t resist,” Z replied. He restored the star map, and Escher studied it.
“You came through the Calabas wormhole,” Escher said, indicating the exit point. As he moved his finger, a yellow line was drawn to Naiad. “From here, you take the Everett loop.”
Escher continued to describe the journey wormhole by wormhole. He finished by saying, “You exit into this area of space called Axis Crossing. The star is Filium, and the corporate planet is called Geneva. It’s where we’ll find my sister and the mickies.”
“And from your planet to the location of the second ship?” Z inquired.
In response, Escher traced the new route. He said, “From Axis Crossing, you loop to Beta One and from there to Beta Two.”
“I know that I left Beta One to travel to Geneva,” Ceda said. “I was young, but I can’t recall being on any other planet.”
Johann and Stacey took note of Ceda’s remarks. She’d given them a target location for their investigation, providing the SADEs cooperated.
Z ran some quick calculations. Then he announced, “Travel by the anomalies will be approximately six point two six times faster than by transits.”
“Do we have four passengers?” Cremsylon asked. He disregarded the commandant’s indication of his two officers and waited for Johann and Stacey to each assent to the trip. As he expected, Escher said nothing and stared at no one, allowing Ceda to choose without pressure. In the SADE’s calculations, Ceda’s choice was a foregone conclusion. The moment his gaze settled on her, she nodded vigorously.
“If Ceda is traveling with us, Escher, I suppose you want to come too,” Cremsylon said drily.
“May I pilot the ship?” Escher inquired.
The request was so absurd and, therefore, comical that the SADEs loosed a cacophony of sounds, which frightened much of their audience.
During the ruckus, the SADEs noted that they’d acquired two more understanding humans. In addition to Escher’s laughter, Ceda and Stacey were smiling.
“Can I presume that the four of you will be ready to travel tomorrow at eight hours, your time?” Cremsylon asked.
“We can,” Ceda responded. “We’ve only this one change of clothes with us. We placed the remainder of our wardrobe in public storage. Also, purchasing another wardrobe isn’t an option. As a clone, I’ve never possessed any credits, and Escher’s accounts were frozen soon after he evaded the X-Ore agents.”
“Not to worry,” Miranda said. “We’re able to fabricate anything you wish to wear.”
Johann and Stacey indicated they would be available to travel at the requested time.
“Should we take our vac suits?” Johann asked.
“Negative,” Z replied. “We aren’t familiar with the quality of your suits. We’ll outfit the four of you with our equipment.”
“Let’s make this easy,” Cremsylon said. “At eight hours, be at the Limnad shuttleport. We’ll set our traveler down there.”
“Escher and Ceda, please come with me,” Miranda requested and escorted them from the conference room.
In the vestibule, Ceda asked, “Where are we going?”
“We’re returning to your confinement space,” Miranda replied. “Although, there will be adjustments to your conditions, which are being negotiated now.”
Escher would have asked another question, but the trio reached the agents guarding the corridor entrances to the vestibule.
Swiftly the agents gave way to Miranda, and Escher and Ceda found it easier to remain in her wake.
In the conference room, Cremsylon gazed at David, the presiding councilor, and he said, “I’d like to know the statuses of the charges against Escher and Ceda.”
“There are none against Ceda,” David quickly responded.
“When her status as a clone was confirmed, she was merely considered a witness to events,” James added.
“Yet, you confined her,” Z pointed out.
“We considered that she’d rather have stayed with Escher,” Ricardo said defensively.
“Did you give her a choice?” Z inquired. His tone had deepened. The Naiads might have been interested to know who the SADE imitated. Then again, they might not have cared.
“No, we didn’t,” Claudia admitted.
“What about Escher?” Cremsylon asked.
“The Talons boy is another matter,” Laura announced harshly. “By his own admittance, he’s guilty of kidnapping, cid theft, and traveling under an assumed identity. Furthermore, if the mickies travel to Naiad, they’ll be charged with aiding and abetting the same crimes.”
David maintained a straight face, but the other three councilors winced at Laura’s harsh delivery.
“Is this the judgment of the council?” Z asked.
“There’s been no formal hearing,” David replied, balefully eyeing Laura. “Although, Escher has extenuating circumstances. If convicted, these types of charges have mandatory sentences attached.”
“Does the council have the power to drop the charges against Escher?” Cremsylon asked.
“It requires a unanimous vote,” Laura replied. Her smile was as nasty as they come, and it promised Cremsylon that unanimity would never happen.
“So be it,” Cremsylon said rising. He sent a quick message to Miranda, notifying her of the council’s resistance.
“That’s it?” David asked anxiously. “But we’ve so many questions to ask you. We want to discuss a future with you.”
“I imagine you would,” Z replied, “but your attitudes bear an unpleasant similarity to races we’ve met before. Perhaps, in time, your treatment of others and your sense of what constitutes justice may improve.”
“When can we expect the return of our citizens?” Laura asked.
“That depends on our mission,” Cremsylon replied. “As soon as we’re able, we’ll send your officers back to you.”
“You failed to mention Escher and Ceda,” Laura pointed out.
“Yes, I did,” Cremsylon replied. Then Z and he exited the conference room.
As the door closed, the accusations broke out among the councilors. Laura was belligerent. Ricardo, James, and Claudia charged her with disrupting a first contact opportunity. Laura retorted that Naiads could do without aliens in their midst. David tried to keep the peace, but he was sympathetic to both sides.
On one of the lower levels, Miranda greeted the corporal, who was still on duty. As before, the door to the cell row slid aside at the SADE’s approach.
This time, the corporal greeted Miranda with courtesy.
As Escher and Ceda walked past the corporal, she said, “Welcome back.” It was only after the trio disappeared behind the closing door that she realized how inane her greeting had been.
In the privacy of the cell, Miranda said, “Tomorrow morning, events might become problematic for the two of you.”
“Negotiations didn’t go well, I take it,” Escher said.
“You’d be correct,” Miranda said. “The council believes that charges must be pressed against you, and that mandatory sentences will apply if you’re convicted. We assume that will happen.”
“What about the mickies?” Escher asked.
“They would face the same charges if they set foot on Naiad,” Miranda replied.
Escher sat heavily on a cot. “I promised them help,” he lamented.
Ceda stepped next to Escher. She pressed a leg against his and laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Focus on one step at a time, young Escher,” Miranda advised.
Collecting his thoughts, Escher brought his head up and regarded Miranda. “The council will order Director Breneman to shut down my access,” he said.
“Diana’s been at work,” Miranda said. “Samuel has been taken offline. However, she’s been unable to remove Cremsylon’s super user access.”
“Do you have a workaround for us?” Escher asked hopefully.
“Dear boy, we’re SADEs,” Miranda said, imitating a particular New Terran’s wolfish chuckle. “Come here,” she directed. When Escher stood beside her, she continued, “Address any panel with one word ‘scan.’ Then place your palm on the panel,” Miranda explained. “After the scan, make your request known. Finally, remember to say ‘retire’ when you’re finished.”
Escher practiced the instructions. After his hand scan, Samuel’s face appeared. Escher directed the door to open, which it did. Then he requested it close. Finally, he retired Samuel.
“We’ll expect you at the shuttleport tomorrow morning,” Miranda said. “It would be best if you could arrive there through your own machinations.”
“If we can’t make it?” Ceda asked.
“Then we’ll come for you,” Miranda replied. “We’d rather not have to confront Naiad agents with force, which is why we’re asking you to do whatever you can to make the port under your own power.”
“I understand,” Escher replied.
“Good fortune, young ones,” Miranda said, and exited the cell.
Ceda sat on the cot. Her face was taut. “This isn’t right,” she complained.
It was Escher’s turn to provide comfort, and he sat beside her.
“We should consider —” Escher began.
“If you say it, I’ll smack you,” Ceda interrupted. “Don’t ever suggest to me that I would be better off if we split up. That is unless you don’t want to be with me anymore.”
“I won’t. I’m sorry,” Escher said gently.
“What we did we had to do to save ourselves from X-Ore,” Ceda argued. “People were inconvenienced, even scared, but no one got hurt.”
“But we broke several laws,” Escher rebutted. “I keep thinking about the mickies. They had their hearts set on making it to Naiad.”
“Do you think the council knows the extent to which the mickies were complicit?” Ceda asked.
“I think Miranda is probably right. If the council members don’t already know, they’ll probably know by the time the trial is underway,” Escher replied.
Ceda and Escher sat on the cot, each thinking entirely separate thoughts. He was trying to visualize safer future pathways. Being a survivor, she was focused on their present circumstances.
“Why are we waiting for tomorrow morning?” Ceda suddenly inquired. “If the council intends to prevent us from joining the SADEs in the morning, why aren’t we developing an alternate plan?”
Escher nearly missed what Ceda was saying. He shook his head to shift focus. Replaying the words she’d spoken, he kissed her cheek. “Brilliant,” he said and hurried to the panel.
19: Scan and Retire
“Scan,” Escher requested, placing his hand on the panel.
“Greetings, Escher,” Samuel replied, as his face appeared on the panel.
Ceda laughed softly. “It seems the SADEs enjoy personalizing their avatars like you do.”
Escher grinned at Ceda and returned to the panel. “Samuel, I need to leave this building undetected. Please advise.”
“Working.”
Samuel was quiet for so long that Escher thought that the virtual assistant might have been halted.
“Escher, there is no singular manner in which your request can be supported.”
“Determine a method that requires multiple steps,” Escher requested.
“Working.” Moments later, “The process requires eleven movements and requires two point seven hours to complete.”
“Acceptable. Detail the first step.”
“The corporal, who is now on duty on your cell row, usually visits the cantina for several minutes. Timing varies. You have a narrow window in which to leave your cell.”
“To where, Samuel?” Ceda asked, joining Escher.
“Exiting the cell row, proceed to the corridor’s end. Then turn right. A utility room is located eight meters farther. Hide in there.”
“Is a panel located inside the utility room?” Escher inquired.
“Negative.”
“How long do we hide?” Ceda asked.
“Eleven minutes,” Samuel replied.
Ceda touched Escher’s arm. “Agents took our slates. Can you count off the time?”
Escher winked and touched his temple.
Ceda smiled and nodded. Escher had always been uncannily accurate at marking the passage of time.
“Detail the step after we exit the utility room,” Escher requested.
“Proceed farther down the corridor to the freight elevator. Take it down three levels. Exit the car. Three doors on the right is an unoccupied office. Enter and wait until one forty-five hours.”
“What next?” Escher inquired.
“Unknown. When in the office, please request timing on next step.”
Unsure what Escher was about to say or request, Ceda quickly placed a finger on his lips. Then she requested Samuel repeat the instructions from the point at which they left their cell until they reached the office.
When Samuel finished, she whispered in Escher’s ear, “Only one of us has a superb memory for lengthy instructions.”
“Well, we better start packing,” Escher said.
Ceda gazed at their barren cell. “What a mess,” she remarked. “It’ll take us hours.”
They laughed, sat together on a cot, and waited.
Samuel monitored the duty corporal. The agent stood, stretched, and tapped his pad, which shut down the display. When the agent disappeared around the corridor’s corner, Samuel said, “Now, Escher.”
Galvanized, Escher and Ceda leapt off the cot, and Escher triggered the couple’s cell door. “Samuel, retire,” he said before they left the cell.
Running to the end of the cell row, Escher selected the panel icon to open the door, which slid aside.
As they ran to the corridor’s end, Escher realized what Cremsylon was allowing Samuel to do. Rather than activate Samuel at each panel, the virtual program was acting as a super user and removing panel security for a brief window.
This was why Miranda had requested Escher retire Samuel at every opportunity. Otherwise, a virtual program assisting at this level of authority would soon be spotted by comtech and deactivated.
At the corridor’s end, Escher halted and Ceda crowded against his shoulder. She glanced behind her to ensure that no one had exited the several doors they’d passed. Her hand was in Escher’s. So, when he slipped around the corner, she swiftly followed.
Down the second corridor, Escher located the utility room and tapped the panel icon for the door. When it opened, they stepped inside. The room’s light turned on, and the door slid closed.
