Vortex Incursion, page 8

 

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  Johann offered.

  Miranda warned.

  Escher pointed out.

  Miranda replied.

  Escher started to send.

  Ceda replied sternly.

  Z queried Miranda.

  Miranda replied.

  Escher sent, He was comforted that Gat’r took Ceda’s other side. However, that sense of security was soon to be short-lived.

  Z sent.

  Z stepped into the corridor, scanned it, and converted the images into a wire diagram, marking the various doors. Then he linked the eight team members and assigned positions.

  Miranda joined Z in the corridor. She crossed to the opposite side and slid to the first door.

  Bethany saw that she was next in the order, and she directed her suit to assume a stealth mode. Quietly entering the corridor, she stayed on Z’s side and snuck to the first door.

  Z sent, proceeding to the next door.

  In coordination, Miranda and Bethany crossed their doors and approached the next pair. Simultaneously, Escher and Gat’r entered the corridor and took positions by the doors previously vacated by Miranda and Bethany.

  On Z’s next command, it was Johann’s and Stacey’s turns to play their parts.

  When Z signaled again, Ceda guarded her door, as the others moved along the corridor together.

  Z coordinated the team twice more. Each time he’d waited a few seconds to give the security agents an opportunity to respond. Miranda and he swept for frequencies that might indicate comm communications.

  Miranda sent forcefully, when she detected comm emanations near her.

  Two squads of six agents each and their commander burst from hiding. The commander had planned the attack well. With the use of security vid cams, he’d let the aliens, as he referred to the visitors, enter the middle of his agents’ ambush zone.

  Z and Miranda employed facets of their avatars’ capabilities. Comm attacks on mods debilitated two agents, freezing them like mannequins. Grasps of wrists and flips of the arms sent two more slamming against the thick walls. Palm strikes into chests folded armor inward, and the agents struggled to breathe.

  Six suited figures took on eight agents. Relying on the numerous training sessions, the Alexander’s humans executed lightning strikes against the agents. In short order, the agents were down and disarmed.

  Only one agent remained standing. The commander held his stun weapon in front of him, and he faced Miranda.

  “Your agents are down, dear Commander,” Miranda said. “Do you really want to join them? If you do, please inform me of your preference.”

  The commander took his eyes off the massive entity who faced him to glance at his squads. His agents were either frozen in place, lying on the floor and struggling to breathe, comatose, or seated on the floor with their hands held in surrender and weaponless.

  In resignation, the commander deactivated his weapon and placed it on the floor. “What now?” he asked.

  “Now we wait,” Miranda replied.

  After Escher’s second adversary had hit the wall from a boot strike, he’d snatched the agent’s weapon. Then he’d swung his head to search for Ceda. She stood over an agent, with his stun weapon in her hand.

  Ceda inquired proudly.

  Escher lied, and he heard Ceda’s laughter.

  In the port’s passenger lounge, Lisa accessed her slate and connected to port control. “Hasn’t the shuttle landed yet?” she asked.

  “Chairperson, it’s been down for ten minutes,” the director replied. “We saw eight individuals cross the pad and enter the airlock. Eight more started across. Then, suddenly, that group halted and scurried back to the ship.”

  Lisa frowned. Then she uttered venomously, “Gant,” and ran for the freight elevator.

  7: Schism

  KILMER, DAIMLER SYSTEM

  PURE POUR PLANET

  While waiting for the freight elevator to reach the sublevel, Lisa impatiently tapped her foot.

  “Why did you say Gant’s name in that derogatory manner?” Karl Denham asked.

  “Miranda and Z would have led the entourage onto our premises,” Lisa explained. “The SADEs are nothing except deliberate and punctual. They should have made the lounge long ago. I told Gant to stay in his apartment, and I didn’t think to see if he had issued orders. It was foolish of me.”

  Karl lost his opportunity to reply. The elevator door had swung overhead, and Lisa had dashed out.

  The other chairpersons hurried after her. Rounding two corners, the men nearly smacked into her. Lisa stood with hands on hips, staring at the bodies crowding the main corridor.

  “Chairperson Dyehouse, your welcome has been less than cordial,” Miranda commented drily.

  “If you’ll give me a moment, Miranda, I’d like to clarify the situation,” Lisa requested. When she received the SADE’s nod, she approached the commander, who drew to attention.

  Lisa glared unrelentingly into the commander’s eyes. “Why are you and your agents here?” she asked.

  “Orders, Chairperson Dyehouse,” the commander replied rapidly.

  “Gant?” Lisa inquired.

  “Yes, Chairperson.”

  Lisa took her eyes off the commander to gaze down the corridor. “Did you know these were my guests?” she asked, and she saw the commander swallow heavily.

  “No, Chairperson,” the commander replied. “We were told to repulse the ... the ...”

  “Speak up, Commander, the what?” Lisa demanded.

  The commander turned his eyes to take in Miranda, who cocked an eyebrow upward. “Repulse the aliens,” he replied lamely.

  Lisa’s chuckle was harsh. Her amusement was directed as much at herself as the commander. She had set the pattern for operational control of Kilmer, and she’d approved the hiring of Gant Borden.

  “Tell me, Commander, what did you learn about the aliens?” Lisa asked. “Take a good look at your agents.”

  Miranda sent to the suited figures.

  The commander regarded his agents in various positions of submission. Then the face of an attractive woman near the giant entity caught his attention. She was grinning at him, but her eyes held no warmth. A quick sweep of the other individuals wearing the unusual suits proved them to be human too.

  “We were unprepared for this encounter,” the commander managed to reply.

  “Miranda, could greater damage have been rendered to my agents?” Lisa inquired.

  Swiftly, Z ducked inside a bay door, grabbed a piece of hardened metal pipe, and returned to the corridor.

  Lisa pointed toward Z, and all eyes regarded him.

  Z smiled congenially, and, without any attempt to maximize his strike position, he swung his arm and rammed the pipe through the thick rock wall.

  Lisa regarded the commander again. His eyes were as wide as those of his agents.

  Miranda and Z stepped toward the two agents struggling for breath, gripped their chest armor, and bent them outward. Those in the corridor heard deep sucking sounds.

  “Miranda, please allow us to see to these agents first. Then I’d like to welcome you and your entourage properly,” Lisa said.

  To two agents’ surprise, their mod functions were immediately and fully returned. The other agents were shocked to be helped to their feet by the visitors. When their weapons were returned, they quickly holstered them.

  “Commander, take no more orders from Director Borden,” Lisa directed. “Am I understood?”

  “Absolutely, Chairperson,” the commander replied. Released from Lisa’s attention by the tip of her head toward the freight elevator, he ordered his conscious agents to expedite the exit of the comatose individuals.

  “I understand there are others in your party,” Lisa said.

  “Many others,” Miranda replied. “Senior individuals wait aboard the traveler.”

  “We’ll wait for you in the passenger lounge,” Lisa said, and she ushered Karl and Frank in the direction the agents had taken.

  “Are you sure it’s smart to invite these individuals into your domes, Lisa?” Frank asked. “I mean the injuries they caused were shocking.”

  While the elevator returned to the sublevel, Lisa eyed Frank. “Who attacked whom?” she asked.

  “How do we know the agents would have done more than detain them?” Frank argued.

  “And how were my guests to know what the agents intended?” Lisa retorted. “Think on this, Frank. If the aliens cross the wormhole, what capabilities would you want your allies to possess?”

  In the sublevel, Miranda linked to the traveler. she sent.

  Nira sent.

  Miranda replied.

  Miranda and her companions returned to the bay and organized their environment suits, which they’d quickly disregarded.

  As the remainder of the traveler’s passengers arrived, they were helped out of their environment suits. Soon, the entire contingent had made the bay, and they headed for the port’s surface level.

  “That’s something I hoped to never see,” Frank muttered when he saw the visitors approach.

  “We were told there were aliens beyond our worlds,” Lisa remarked. “What did you expect them to look like?”

  “Chairpersons, perhaps we should retire to a more convenient location for introductions and our initial discussions,” Miranda offered.

  Having noted the visitors’ numbers and races, Lisa swiftly agreed.

  During the trip to a large conference room in the administration dome, citizens’ slates recorded the passage of the visitors. Messages had circulated for more than a half annual about the aliens who’d arrived in Axis Crossing space and visited multiple worlds, but none had set foot within Kilmer’s domes.

  Furthermore, images attached to messages from other worlds showed the initial digital entities preferring to affect human appearance. In fact, they were often extremely striking. Now, the Kilmer population was treated to their first sight of an ambling Hyronzy and a gliding Lemgart SADE.

  Then there was the collection of individuals encased in decorative skintight suits, whose faces were hidden behind masks, and the two giant entities, who individually massed more than a security bot.

  To say that Kilmer onlookers were stunned was an understatement. The only thing that calmed them was the sight of the three chairpersons walking comfortably beside the entourage’s leaders.

  For the visitors’ parts, images flew between them, and questions were sent to the Alexander’s humans.

  Dorsa sent, attaching a vid of two humans who passed her.

  Ceda replied.

  Gistamia queried.

  Ceda replied, and there was no mistaking the anger in her thought.

  In the conference room, Z took up station inside the entrance, and Miranda occupied a place behind Ceda.

  When everyone else was seated, Lisa said, “Let me formally apologize to you for the inappropriate welcome you received.”

  Nira sent to Miranda.

  Miranda replied.

  “Chairperson Dyehouse, to clear the air, we would know who’s responsible for the inappropriate greeting,” Z requested.

  “As the Pure Pour chairperson —” Lisa began.

  “My partner wishes to know who was directly responsible for the order,” Miranda interrupted.

  “That would be Director of Operations Gant Borden,” Lisa admitted. “He did it without my authorization.”

  “We’ll speak on him later,” Miranda said. “When you visited Delhart, you were offered an exchange of our services and tech for gradual changes in your corporate policies. That offer is rescinded.”

  Lisa started to object, but Miranda halted the words in her mouth. “We have a different proposal,” the SADE said. Directing her attention to Karl and Frank, she added, “At present we’re addressing Chairperson Dyehouse only. Your proposals will vary slightly, and we’ll cover those later.”

  “Are you withholding tech or your services?” Lisa inquired.

  “No,” Miranda replied. “Neither you nor we can afford a protracted timeline. The Krackus have rendered that moot. Instead, we must accelerate the exchange.”

  “We can’t implement overnight the policy shifts that we discussed,” Lisa objected. “It would ruin the company. Is that your intention?”

  Gistamia sent privately to Captain Hershey.

  Yerli mused.

  “Hear our proposal before you object,” Miranda cautioned, and Lisa held up a hand in apology.

  Then Miranda indicated Yma, who was seated across from Ceda. “Yma is a sister and a communicator to forty-four other sisters who wait aboard the Aquaria stationed above,” she said. “The sisters have volunteered to implement on Kilmer the opportunities we discussed on Delhart.”

  Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the catch?” she asked.

  “There are multiple conditions,” Miranda replied. “You will be absent from Kilmer for the foreseeable future, and Director Borden, due to his hatred of us, must have no authority. Captains Gistamia and Dorsa mya Jaknas will govern the domes’ changes.”

  As Gistamia and Dorsa were introduced, they tipped their heads toward Lisa.

  “If it isn’t too impolite to ask, what are the two of you?” Lisa requested.

  “I’m a Hyronzy, a biological from alliance space,” Gistamia replied proudly. “I’ve served with the outpost fleet for the better part of my life.”

  “And I’m a SADE, the daughter of Myseth mya Jaknas, a prominent Lemgart, another world in alliance space.”

  “Captain, you don’t look like a SADE,” Karl said.

  “We covered this topic with Chairperson Dyehouse, when she visited Delhart,” Escher interrupted. “SADEs and sisters can move their kernels from one avatar to another. It’s their choice how they wish to appear.”

  “In my case, I honor my mother, who wore her beautiful hair with style,” Dorsa said. Then she flipped the luxurious drape of silver and cream crown hair from one side of her head to the other. It was an artistic statement.

  “Yma, what is it that you and your sisters intend to do for Kilmer?” Lisa inquired.

  “We’ll be the engine of change,” Yma replied, quoting a favorite saying of Dorsa. “We’ll multiply our numbers to implement the changes at an accelerated rate.”

  Lisa blinked in surprise.

  “You’ll make more of yourselves?” Frank asked incredulously.

  “Humans create children,” Yma replied. “Ours is a faster method.”

  “How many are you proposing?” Lisa asked.

  “We’ve agreed to limit the number to a total of four hundred,” Yma replied, indicating Gistamia and Dorsa with a wave of her hand.

  “I don’t think our citizens are ready to be inundated by hundreds of sisters and ... and others,” Lisa said.

  Gat’r signaled Hephaestus’s mask-helmet to recede. “I’ve a question for you, Chairperson Dyehouse,” he said. “Don’t supervisors to senior managers appreciate greater productivity to receive larger annual bonuses?”

  “Yes,” Lisa agreed cautiously.

  “And you appreciate improved mining employee well-being at no cost to the company. Yes?” Gat’r continued.

  “Inarguable,” Lisa conceded.

  “Then I think your citizens would quickly get used to the presence of the sisters and the aliens, which you carefully refrained from saying,” Gat’r concluded, grinning.

  Ceda signaled Alice and revealed her face.

  “The clone,” Frank muttered.

  “Yes, a clone,” Ceda replied calmly. “I wear that distinction with pride. Thank you.” Turning to Lisa, she said, “There will be significant changes in the lives of your clones. First and foremost, you’ll cancel any orders to Beta One for more clones.”

  “Impossible,” Lisa replied tersely.

  It was Escher’s turn to trigger his mask-helmet. “Chairperson Dyehouse, what is it that you’re failing to grasp?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?” Lisa replied.

  “A sister works consistently around the chronometer,” Escher explained. “Each one is faster and more efficient than three or four humans. Plus, they’ve no need for rest or food. Now you calculate what four hundred sisters mean to your production output.”

  A light dawned in Lisa’s eyes. “What else is on the table?” she inquired.

  Nira shared with the senior individuals.

  “Chairperson Dyehouse, my name is Minimalist, and I’m a SADE.” Then he introduced Luther. “My associate and I, in cooperation with Z, can locate future mineral reserves for you within days.”

  “Days?” Karl echoed dubiously.

  “Days, Ser,” Luther replied.

  “I saw how they did it,” Lisa affirmed. “I was told that Z transferred his kernel into a machine that bored beneath Delhart’s ice into its bedrock.”

 

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