Forbidden sanctuary, p.26
Forbidden Sanctuary, page 26
part #2 of Star Lawyers Series
Suzie grasped both arms of the chair. “You can freeze and reverse time?” It was the first time Tyler had ever seen awe in Suzie’s eyes.
“Yes, dear, but only short segments,” Abuela said kindly. “Don’t try to hack my network for the science, Suzie. You are quarantined to this garden. Besides, you wouldn’t understand it.”
“They’re all time-frozen in this crystalline block?” Tyler picked up the cube. Warmth could indicate lifeforms within. “Kichirou, the ship, and his entire crew?”
“Not the ship. That was destroyed.”
“But you extracted the people?” Tyler said.
“It was our only option. Rather than reintegrate their matrices and risk exposure to violent primitives, we stabilized the bio-patterns in a loop which—forgive me, I cannot go deeper without crossing into the how.”
“And the Yamato really exploded?”
“Yes,” Abuela said. “Sorry about your Sioux City, but protocols forbid recovering inorganic devices from a time freeze.”
The cube looked like an acrylic paperweight. “If you can reverse time and seal bad guys in glass, why are you worried about pirates?”
“We are not omnipotent, Tyler. Time bends only slightly. Very few cultures have this capability. And, as Suzie noted, Andromeda is a huge galaxy. One trillion stars. No one can be everywhere.” Abuela touched the cube. “We can stop and reverse what has happened a few moments past, but none can roll back time endlessly and undo acts of violence once committed. The chaos of such power would be unimaginable.”
“What do you want me to do with this?” Tyler asked.
“As I said, take the cube back to your galaxy. Store it safely. Someday your people will learn how to extract the troubled souls and heal their penchant for violent conquest. Meanwhile, they cannot harm the innocent, or themselves.”
“My first inclination is to toss this block out the nearest airlock.”
“Why does your species scorn compassion as weakness?” Abuela touched Tyler’s hand with the warmth of a human grandmother. “I can read the emotional matrix you humans call the heart, young Mr. Matthews. You mourn the loss of your friend.”
He cleared his throat. “I accept your second condition.”
“Are you ready to depart?” Abuela stood.
Tyler retreated behind his boyish smile “Okay, how are we supposed to get home? No Alpha Gate, no ship. Just click our ruby slippers?”
“Something like that.” Abuela kissed Suzie’s forehead.
Suzie embraced her and started to sniffle.
Abuela laughed softly. “Hasta la próxima, Nietas.” Until next time, Grandchildren.
The walled garden, wrought iron chairs and orange trees disappeared. Tyler found himself on the bridge of an unknown starcraft with a crystal cube in hand. He could tell from the layout of the command deck this was a small ship, slightly larger than his beloved Sioux City, now a frozen dust cloud drifting along Andromeda’s rim.
A black-haired, Mediterranean beauty in a yellow jumpsuit occupied the command chair. Suzie’s shriek of recognition confirmed who she was.
“Arabella!”
“Captain!” She hugged Suzie. “Where did you come from?”
“Captain?” Tyler smiled. “Way to go, babe. Your first ship is still in one piece. More than I can say about mine.”
Arabella waved at Tyler. “Welcome aboard the Scourge of the Stars, sir. Your new captain’s yacht, liberated from Kichirou-san.”
“God-awful name for a yacht,” he said. “And from the look of those tactical and weapons readouts, she’s outfitted like a corvette.”
“That’s what Abuela thought, too!” Suzie turned to her holographic XO. “What happened after I left you?”
“We got close enough that Rodney felt we could safely burst-transmit the other holograms.”
“Lieutenant Peppy-Puppy has joined the cause?” Suzie said.
“Sure! He’s on deck two, realigning the drive sequence inducers. Did you think I spaced him?” She grinned. “He’s too cute.”
“No, I thought you seduced him.”
“No comment.”
“Can we catch up on boyfriends later?” Tyler said. “Where are we?”
Arabella nodded briskly. “Oh, right. We were in FTL, headed for Suryadivan Prime, and wham! A blazing white energy field appeared in the Cumberland Tunnel, and it happened too fast, and we flew right through it. And we dropped to black space, and here we are. And there you are. And I have no heavenly idea what happened or how, as Allah is my shepherd. It’s a miracle.”
Tyler shook his head. “Advanced technology. How far to Suryadivan Prime?”
“That’s the biggest mystery of all. Look!” Arabella pointed the starboard bulkhead, where a gold and blue world filled the viewport.
Suzie’s voice was a whisper. “I am absolutely gobsmacked. How did Abuela’s people do it?”
“Damn my luck,” Tyler grumbled. “Home already.”
“Excuse me?” Suzie said. “We hopped galaxies, twice in one day. Door to door delivery. Positively brilliant. That’s good to celebrate.”
“Sure, sure. Right after I figure out how to tell Mom about you.” Tyler leaned against the bulkhead and looked out at the homeworld of the Suryadivan Sacred Protectorate.
“She’ll think I’m bloody marvelous,” Suzie said.
Arabella squealed. “Ooooh, oooh, you two really are a couple!”
“I am a doomed man.” Tyler went to the command chair. “Let’s make for Sweet Ass Field.”
“Already receiving flight vectors,” Arabella said. “They assigned us Sioux City’s vacant berth cross from the Patrick Henry. They’re asking for this ship’s name and registry.”
“That could be a problem. It’s stolen,” Suzie said.
“It’s a war prize,” Tyler corrected.
Suzie smiled. “Want to name her Sioux City Two?”
“No. That was special. She was you.”
“You sentimental sweetheart.” Suzie kissed his cheek.
“Is she a good ship?” He touched the backrest of the command chair.
“Faithful as a watchdog,” Suzie said. “She kept us alive under a mountain of ice, surrounded by pirates. And the little bitch can bite or run. Good firepower, good speed.”
Tyler turned to Arabella. “Tell them we’re the Legal Beagle, registered to Star Lawyers Corp, Terran Commonwealth.”
“You got it, sir.” Arabella sent the response.
Tyler gestured to the comm station. “Suzie, see if your bio-energetic form can access the MLC and get a news update.”
“I’m into the net.” Suzie’s blue eyes looked upward, as though listening to distant music. “Fantastic! They’re reporting the new Acting Supreme High Pontiff is the former top dog’s son, Jazmir.”
“Fantastic, indeed.” Tyler scratched his head. “They put Luther in charge of the Vatican.”
“Oh, good!” Suzie cried. “The Mindorian light cruiser Belouk survived the battle with all hands.”
“Why is that important?” Tyler said.
“Rodney Rooney’s brother and sister were hostages aboard that ship,” Suzie said. “You need to tell our forces they are good guys. Noncombatant VIPs, son and daughter to the head of the Energy Consortium.”
Tyler laughed. “Spawn of the devil. Don’t tell my father. He’ll eject them into a black hole. Dad hates the Energy Consortium.”
“Entering descent program,” Arabella said. “Spaceport touchdown in sixteen minutes.”
“Take us down, Lieutenant.” Tyler slipped into his safety harness and checked the ship’s chronometer.
What did Suzie call it? Hopping galaxies in one day? I wonder what waits for me at Deiro Yord. I wonder whether Dad already knows what I did to his labor of a lifetime, the Matthews Legacy Project. I wonder if my biggest leap into darkness hasn’t happened yet.
I wonder if we should have stayed in Andromeda.
Twenty-Seven
Tyler was exhausted, but he took the time to file a fairly detailed summary of events with Matthews Corp HQ. His stomach knotted while entering the text. He re-read the transmission, then sent it.
I just tossed a string of firecrackers at a sleeping dragon. Well, my lone consolation is that, from this distance, Dad won’t read it for two or three days.
Tyler stretched, yawned. Sleep. Good idea. He crashed on the bed for a few hours. Sometime during his deep slumber, Suzie slipped beside him and they napped together. When he awoke, he found her still asleep. It was probably the first time she had ever known fatigue. He curled up with her, dozed another couple hours, then slipped out of bed and checked the time. How long had they slept? Late afternoon.
He saw the date and smiled. The third of April—Easter Day.
Tyler texted the senior staff to meet him at 1800 hours in the Patrick Henry’s large conference room. He shaved and showered quietly as possible, but Suzie awoke with a yawn.
She washed her face. “It’s good to be alive. New feeling for me.”
Tyler kissed her wet cheek. “Staff meeting, twenty minutes.”
He found Rosalie and Julieta in the corridor, both in skin-tight, tiger-striped evening wear with ragged strips running from waist over shoulders, barley covering nipples along the way. They carried matching, full length saris to prevent arrest by the Religious Police if donned quickly enough. They were headed toward the Henry’s exit ramp where Tyler awaited.
He crossed arms like Demarcus Platte. “Where are you going, dressed like that?”
“Sorry, Ty, but Julieta and I voted to ditch your meeting.” Rosalie touched up her lip gloss.
“Christ the Lord is risen today, and so we’re off to celebrate tonight,” Julieta said. “Who says the pagans are the only ones who can have fun?”
“You have responsibilities first,” Tyler said.
“As Harry Truman liked to say, we’re off to ‘strike a blow for freedom.’”
“By doing what?”
“We’ll find a tavern frequented by expatriates and Terran flight crews,” Rosalie said. “Get stoned, and single out two—”
“Maybe three,” Julieta said.
“—maybe three young star sailors with clean health cards and good abs, and wear their asses out.”
“Amen!” Julieta chimed.
“Please!” Tyler frowned at his sister. “I don’t want the gory details. A few weeks ago, I thought you were the Virgin of Guadalupe.”
“That’s one of my disguises,” Rosalie said. Julieta snickered.
Tyler held up a hand. “Wait! What if they get rough, or try to force themselves on you?”
Rosalie counted on her fingers. “First, we like it rough.”
Julieta nodded. “Definitely.”
“Second, they won’t need to use force.”
“That would be unnecessarily rude,” Julieta agreed.
“And third, if they do, we’ll kill them.”
Tyler gawked. “Are you crazy?”
Julieta cackled like a witch stirring a cauldron. “Kill, kill, kill!”
He smirked at their meagre attempt at humor. Sister and cousin laughed so hard Rosalie couldn’t speak.
“We’re shitting you, Primo,” Julieta finally said. “We only kill them with amor.”
He shook his head. “Night on the town, sí. Ditching my meeting, no.”
“Aw, Tyler—give two horny girls a break,” Rosalie said. “We voted—”
“This ain’t a democracy. Playtime in town starts after the meeting.”
“Ayeee, Rosie!” Julieta wailed with an absurdly enhanced Spanish accent. “I liked your brother better when he was a worthless play-boy.”
Rosalie matched her inflection. “Suzie has ruined him, no?”
Tyler was not amused. “Let’s go, ladies.”
Tyler took a seat and waited for the rest of the staff to trickle into the conference room. Someone, probably Dorla, had stocked the table with pots of coffee and tea and a platter of apricot scones. Tyler poured a cup of tea and helped himself to a pastry.
Suzie arrived last, offering a tiny smile as she sat next to Tyler. Dorla León announced everyone present except Mr. Blue and Yumiko. Blue wasn’t a surprise; he’d been missing since before the battle at Jump Gate Alpha, although nobody knew where he had gone. But where was Investigator Matsuda?
Dorla recalled Yumiko was the last person to speak with the floppy-eared alien before he hurried down the gangplank into the fading light the night before the Alpha Gate battle.
“Here’s the new bad news,” Chief León said. “Two hours ago Yumiko resigned her position. She left a note, apologizing for the inconvenience. Nothing specific.”
“On Adao-2, Yumi-san told me she was part of our household now,” Rosalie said. “I can’t believe she jumped ship so abruptly.”
“Inspector, did you know she was leaving?” Tyler said.
“No, sir. But her computer station indicates she was researching current media reports from the Quirt-Thyme Empire.”
“Indigo’s people,” Rosalie said. “Their disappearances must be linked.”
“Back on Sedalia, Officer Matsuda always got along with Mr. Blue,” Demarcus said. “He had an apartment facing the bay, near police HQ. She rented a room from him to stretch her salary.”
“Makes sense,” Tyler said. “My father doesn’t pay diddley.”
“Yumiko said the little Quirt always had plenty of ‘good-good’ food on hand,” Platte said. “She treated him like a puppy.”
“That’s probably why he came running to police HQ when the pirates were killing people in the streets,” J.B. said.
Rosalie nodded sadly. “Looking for his only friend.”
“Now she’s looking for him,” Julieta said.
“Maybe she’ll be back,” Rosalie said.
Demarcus sighed. “She took her sword.”
Tyler asked Suzie to monitor all comm channels and news media for mention of Mr. Blue’s lengthy, incomprehensible, Pharmaadoodil name, then he suggested they move onto other matters.
Demarcus began the formal debriefing with the current situation in Deiro Yord. “The civilian government has passed legislation to uphold the traditional faith of the Suryadivan people,” Platte said. “But here’s the good news—the Acting Supreme Pontiff, our good buddy Jazmir, demanded and got new laws establishing freedom of religion and abolishing all crimes based on heresy and blasphemy. I think we have a Reformation moment here.”
“He kills his father, and they hand Jazmir his job.” J.B. smiled. “Give you any ideas, Ty?”
“Hell, no—I do not want Dad’s job!” Tyler said, then laughed. “You got me, Bro.” The laughter around the table felt good. These people—his people—had been through an ordeal.
Before the meeting continued, Chief León said, “I can’t figure what happened to the nukes at the Gate. When you fell through the event horizon, I triggered the ten-second detonators.”
J.B. raised a hand. “Here’s a theory—Kichirou’s dampening field froze the Gate open and deactivated your destruct signal.”
“So, why did it blow after Kichirou—oh, damn!” Tyler said. “His jump reset the timer?”
J.B. nodded. “To the standard demolition sequence for asteroid mining.”
Paco snapped his fingers. “Five minutes, kaboom.”
“With a timer set at ten-seconds,” Tyler said, “I never dreamed anybody would follow me to Andromeda.”
J.B. leaned forward on the table. “What happened over there, Ty?”
Tyler and Suzie took turns describing Abuela’s miracles of teleportation, time reversal-suspension, and acrylic-frozen Kichirou.
He picked up the crystal cube. “Don’t know what to do with—”
“Goddammit, Tyler!” The broad-shouldered figure of his father filled the conference room hatchway.
“Happy Easter, Dad. I assume you read my report?”
“You were supposed to save my Jump Gates, not blow them to smithereens!” Noah Mathews thundered. “Both Gates, in one day! You travel five million light years round trip to destroy the whole goddamned, century-long Matthews Legacy Project in one day?”
“Dad, I can see the veins throbbing in your temples. Is it really you, or a projection?” Tyler looked to Suzie. “Must be a projection. I’ve never seen The Old Man without a parade of lackeys behind him.”
“Apexcom, originating on Terra,” Suzie said. “Great holographics.”
“How’s that possible?” J.B. said. “The Henry doesn’t have Apex capability.”
Tyler smirked. “When did your stooges install Apexcom? It had to be on Sedalia.”
“I had a unit on hold for you at Safe Harbor. The last thing Shipyard Master Zhao did before the pirates killed him was to load it aboard, to be activated by my signal.”
“Apexcom is firewalled from the ship’s network,” J.B. said. “The hackers couldn’t steal, re-write, or erase the program.”
“Did you get hacked?” Noah said.
“Long story,” Tyler said.
Noah glanced around the room. “They told me you’d reconfigured a whorehouse into my newest corporate office.” He approached the conference table. “Rosalie, J.B., Julieta, Esteban—I can’t believe you’re co-conspirators in this fiasco. And you other people—can I assume the rest of you are Matthews Company employees?”
“Yes, sir.” Paco extended his hand. “It is an honor to meet you, Señor Matthews.”
“You’re all fired. Get out.”
Tyler leaped up. “Belay that order. Nobody is fired.”
His father laughed sarcastically. “Really, Tyler? You want to challenge me?”
Okay, Dad. Let’s have it out, right here, right now. You’re on my turf. The battle is joined.
“Yes, sir. To demand that you honor your word.”
Noah’s eyes flashed. “Honor my word? When have I ever done otherwise? Let me remind you—”
“No, Father—let me remind you. I came to the Rim to clean up the mess your immortal Legacy Project was causing. You made me managing partner of an independent law firm. Well, you’re looking at Star Lawyers Corp, and the only person who fires anybody here is me.”
His father shook a fist. “Do you have any idea what you have done?”
