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  He stood. “If you all will excuse me, something has come up I should handle. It was a pleasure meeting you both.”

  His father shot him a look. “What’s come up?”

  “Nothing you need concern yourself with—merely the usual complexities of running a charity which must be everywhere at once. Good night, Mother, Father. Gentlemen.”

  Ivan Echols, the leader of the New Babel cell, materialized on holo three minutes after having been summoned. “Jude, what’s going on?”

  “Time to rally your people, Ivan. Time for them to prove their dedication to the cause.”

  Ivan fidgeted. “Do you doubt their dedication? Let me assure—”

  “I didn’t say I did. We can argue semantics later. You need to move against the Zelones cartel. Tonight.”

  “What? We can’t take them on!”

  Ivan, along with Faith and four others, was a member of his innermost circle. This did not mean he wasn’t expendable if the endeavor was worthy enough. “Not the entire organization. You’re going to infiltrate and destroy their Artificial and tech lab.”

  “Jude, you know I’d love to do it, but why now? Why the sudden urgency? We’ve known they have an Artificial for months.”

  “Because I have intel strongly suggesting they’re about to ‘upgrade’ their Artificial into something that violates the laws of nature. I’ve learned a terrible secret. The government is merging people with Artificials—joining their minds into some sort of freak hybrid creation.”

  “Oh my god. They’ll take over everything.”

  “They may be doing so even now. The Prime Minister and the Fleet Admiral are both under the control of these…things, and probably other leaders as well. I’ll be formulating a plan to address this on a larger scale soon, but tonight we must act quickly. I have reason to believe the head of the Zelones cartel, Olivia Montegreu, has discovered how these hybrids are created and intends to undergo the transformation herself. We cannot allow this to happen. She will eliminate the other cartels and take control of the entirety of New Babel.”

  “And that will be just the start—I get you. But I don’t have enough people to break into the Zelones compound. The local OTS chapter has over two hundred members, but most of them aren’t fighters.”

  “Then they’ll have to become fighters. Marching in protests and tossing Molotovs is necessary work, but now they will act or they’re not worthy of the cause. You have guns?”

  Ivan nodded. “We have a stash, and I can put my hands on another dozen or so.”

  “Explosives?”

  “Not really. A few small, improvised devices.”

  Jude opened a screen to his left. “You’ll be contacted by a man named Orozco. Do as he says, and he’ll supply you the necessary munitions.”

  “Do I need to pay him?”

  He shook his head. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll also send you a team of mercs to boost your strength.” Most mercs weren’t crazy enough to sign on to attack Zelones directly, but he’d come across a group of former Triene employees with a grudge against Montegreu for killing their boss. He figured they’d jump at the chance to settle it.

  “Thank you…that will help. We know where the lab is, so locating it won’t be a problem. Hopefully the explosives can get the job done without us losing too many of our people.”

  Jude leveled a cold stare at Ivan. “I don’t care about the losses. Take out that Artificial. Keep me up to date.”

  The holo faded away, and he stepped out onto his bedroom’s balcony to breathe in the chilly, damp night air. The Thames flowed a murky gray under a blanket of heavy clouds, and Battersea Park was an inky moss canopy beneath him. Then the rain began to fall in earnest, and he retreated inside. There was much to do.

  It was time for the Order of the True Sentients to move to Phase Two.

  PART V:

  ALL THAT WE ARE

  “The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”

  — Muriel Rukeyser

  PORTAL: C-2

  SYSTEM DESIGNATION:

  KAMEN

  23

  KAMEN-1

  * * *

  “I TAKE IT BACK.”

  Alex glared at him with her one visible eye as her head was shoved into the dirt, her arms were wrenched behind her and restraints were locked around them. “Couldn’t have said that before we landed?”

  A large hand grabbed Caleb’s wrist restraints and hoisted him up to his feet. He ground his teeth to bury the scream of pain as his dislocated left humerus scraped against the edge of the shoulder blade.

  “Ehak skan hingleh iyece, nihi nupiya tawacki kte!”

  “Valkyrie, a translator program would be most welcome.”

  ‘I am working on it. But creating one is not as simple as it was with the Ruda. I am capturing some of the aliens’ transmissions, but theirs is not a mathematics-based language. Thus, it will be more arbitrary and will not follow strict rules.’

  “I understand. Hurry.”

  Alex was lifted to her feet then propelled forward until she stumbled into him. He concentrated on staying upright; he needed to appear capable and competent in their captors’ estimation.

  “What do you think they’re going to do to us?”

  Caleb eyed the four hulking aliens they were being prodded toward. “If they were going to kill us no matter what, we’d already be dead. The fact we’re not means we have a chance.”

  They had picked up signs of an advanced, space-faring civilization as soon as they’d reached the system. Artificially generated signals originated from all three planets in the habitable zone. They’d opted to investigate the innermost one first.

  The residents utilized substantial planetary defenses, and they approached under stealth rather than launching a probe that would be detected. They’d landed several kilometers from the outskirts of a large city and, since the air was breathable for humans, departed the Siyane wearing tactical gear but not environment suits. In retrospect, however, they really should’ve waited on the translator program to be ready.

  The aliens had ambushed them twenty minutes later. Too far from the Siyane to flee, they’d fought back—which was when they’d discovered not only were the aliens large in size, they were as strong as mountain gorillas.

  The instant a swat from one of their claws sent Caleb flying ten meters through the air to crash into a boulder, he’d screamed at Alex to surrender. Thankfully she’d only suffered a black eye—and likely a bruised ass from being shoved to the ground—before complying.

  ‘The Siyane’s weapon is too powerful to eliminate your captors but leave you unharmed. What should I do?’

  Valkyrie sounded uncertain and anxious—a rare thing, but he could appreciate the sentiment. “Nothing. Stay cloaked and wait. You’re our best weapon, but we can’t risk exposing you until we have a plan and the advantage.”

  Alex exhaled harshly in response to another rough prodding. “What he said.”

  ‘I need to help you.’

  Eight aliens surrounded them now, all of whom were armed with laser weapons and electrified staves. They were outnumbered and laughably outmatched. Compliance represented their sole chance of living to fight another day.

  “You will, Valkyrie, when the time is right. But for now you need to sit tight.”

  The aliens were tall—three meters on average—and built sturdily, with broad chests and powerful arms and legs. They had thick, fully formed tails, which seemed to operate almost as a third leg or a speed assist. Their heads were unusually wide and even longer, with semi-detachable jaws and four deep-set eyes. Long, muscular arms ended in massive hands with seven similarly long, dexterous fingers each.

  The most dramatic feature of their appearance, however, was their fur. It covered their bodies in a silken coat resembling mink pelts. It came in a variety of colors, though natively it appeared to be limited to a single color per alien. They adorned it in multi-colored painted-on patterns and baubles.

  If more than
one sex was present, he hadn’t yet been able to see the differences. That or the females didn’t fight—an easy assumption to make, but he didn’t know nearly enough about them to make it.

  Another easy assumption to make was that they were a violent species, brutish and aggressive—and they certainly were aggressive. He’d paid dearly for the seconds he’d fought before recognizing he stood no chance of overpowering a single one of them and negative odds of doing so against all eight of them.

  If he tried, he would die.

  But based on the data they’d acquired before landing, the species was also advanced, perhaps between two and four hundred years behind human development in most respects. They had cities, aerial transportation and starships. It wasn’t clear yet whether the aliens had FTL capabilities, but they’d detected several small orbital stations and beacons on their way in, which meant they traveled within their stellar system.

  “Kut egn tsinnaa iyayh!” Another series of shoves followed, and they were herded into the hold of a utilitarian—likely military—vessel. Six of the aliens remained in the hold to keep weapons pointed at them. “Enaon nahahn. Ptekela anzach.”

  Are you hurt?

  She’d wisely switched to communicating via pulse in the confines of the ship, where any sound they made could be interpreted as belligerence on their part.

  I’ll live. These are close quarters, so don’t make any sudden movements that might startle them.

  A rumble beneath their feet signaled flight. There were no viewports in the hold and no clues as to where they were being taken, except it was a short trip—minutes spent in strained, hazardous silence. Alex radiated angst while their guards towered menacingly over them. He studied the details of how the aliens held their weapons, noting trigger mechanisms and possible safety catches.

  The vessel descended vertically before coming to rest on a level surface. He caught only the slightest glimpse of nearby buildings as they were forcibly moved out of the hold and into an enclosed docking area. Several wide, high corridors lined in sandstone followed. In the corners of his vision other, less heavily armed aliens traversed intersecting corridors.

  He offered a silent prayer of thanks when he and Alex were tossed into a single room. If they’d been separated, it would’ve made everything far more complicated. At least now the actions required for keeping her alive, keeping himself alive and gathering intel for an eventual escape came relatively close to converging.

  Two of the aliens followed them in, and the door shut behind them.

  “Nupiya enaon woshdee.”

  Alex growled and spun around. “We still can’t understand you! Since you can’t understand us, I would think you—”

  The larger of the two leapt toward her. Caleb steeled himself and stepped between them, physically nudging Alex back while he met the gaze of the alien’s two forward-facing eyes. Assertive, but not overtly combative, his demeanor sent the message that he was not going to allow her to be threatened. If they intended to hurt someone, hurt him.

  Be quiet and follow my lead.

  Sorry. I’m just…sorry.

  The guard didn’t need to give him a show of intimidation, as its presence alone provided plenty. Caleb held its gaze and held his ground, but didn’t otherwise attempt a challenge.

  Seconds passed. Finally the alien muttered something and gestured to the rear wall. It included several appurtenances that must be seating of some kind. They had concave bases and tall backrests, with open air in between the sections.

  The seats dwarfed them; he’d be lucky if his head reached the top of the backrest. But he wanted to show them he could be compliant without the need for violence. He turned and surveyed the wall, faced the guard again and nodded in a manner he hoped conveyed understanding, then retreated toward the wall.

  “We’re not actually supposed to sit on those things, are we?”

  He kept his voice measured and soft. “Alex, watch your tone. They may not be able to understand us, but they can read vocal tenor and body language.”

  She scowled at the ‘chair’ then hopped up onto it as gracefully as she could manage with her hands restrained behind her back. “Wouldn’t they expect me to be angry?”

  He hefted a leg atop the base and used it to hoist himself up, trying not to visibly grimace from the agony it caused his shoulder. “They would expect you to be frightened.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  He stopped himself from rolling his eyes lest their captors take offense and swallowed a chuckle despite their legitimately dire circumstances and his legitimately extreme pain. She gets taken captive by towering, 250 kg, super-strong aliens with advanced weapons and the brains to use them, but she’s not afraid. She’s annoyed. But then he remembered the story Navick had relayed of her fourth birthday party…he considered her reaction in a new light. It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid—it was that being afraid annoyed her.

  He gave her a small smile, grateful to have gained another insight into her wild, beautiful mind. Now to ensure they lived long enough for him to enjoy it.

  A third alien, one they hadn’t seen before, entered the room. It carried a tool half a meter long and glowing from multiple digital readouts.

  It approached him first, but stopped a safe distance away and began waving the device in front of him. A scanner of some sort; possibly a medical analysis tool. Two of the alien’s eyes stared at him as two studied the scanner, which was a bit disconcerting but made sense if he thought about it. The alien grunted and moved to Alex.

  Her eyes narrowed and her lips quirked around viciously while the alien scanned her, but she heroically kept her mouth shut. Finally the alien went over and conversed with the other two in a short interchange of what sounded to his ears like guttural snarls and barks. The third alien hurried off, leaving the first two at the door.

  “Nupiya sni wicoha sica.” Now they too pivoted and departed.

  The instant they were gone he swung around to face her. “Alex, you need to listen to me. If we want to make it out of this alive, we have to be very, very careful. Despite their apparent intelligence, they clearly value strength. We can’t appear too weak and submissive or they’ll decide we have no value, but we also can’t appear antagonistic, because if we force them to resort to violence they will kill us. Above all we need to be calm, compliant absent an impossible order, but resolute.” He paused. “And you have to let me protect you.”

  “Caleb, I know you’re a better fighter than I am, but I—”

  “This isn’t about who’s tougher or better in a fight. If it comes to a fight, I will lose. They aren’t merely larger and stronger than me, they’re also agile—enough to counteract the one advantage I might otherwise have had.

  “This is about assessing and manipulating members of a society that both respects and fears strength. This is what I do. So please let me do it, and maybe, just maybe, we get out of this in one piece.”

  24

  KAMEN-1

  DETENTION FACILITY

  * * *

  ALEX TRIED TO ROLL HER SHOULDERS and work out some of the tension seizing up the muscles in her back. Thanks to the wrist restraints, she failed miserably.

  “When we get back to the Siyane, we need an hour long steaming hot bubble bath, followed by a half-hour massage each. You can do me, then I’ll do you.”

  Caleb made a weak attempt at a laugh. “That never works. I start giving you a back rub, one thing leads to another, and we’re occupied for the rest of the night.”

  She could tell he was in pain, and if anything she was simply hoping to distract him from it for a little while. “Are you complaining?”

  “Not in the slightest. I’m just saying I never get my back rub.”

  “But if you go first I won’t get a back rub. And I epically need a back rub.” She sighed. “Valkyrie, how’s the translation program coming?”

  ‘I believe I have identified a set of ninety to one hundred thirty common words. When next you speak to one of the aliens,
I will provide the translation of these words if they are used.’

  “Are any of them by chance ‘peace’ or ‘no harm’ or ‘friendly’? Or maybe ‘hungry?’ ”

  ‘As I believe I’ve identified their method of negation as well as the word for ‘ill intent,’ yes, I believe you can express ‘no ill intent.’’

  Caleb’s smile more closely resembled a grimace. She began to get concerned about exactly how much pain he was in. “Excellent work, Valkyrie.”

  Abruptly he straightened up in the chair as the door to their cell opened.

  Remember what we talked about.

  Resolute but not antagonistic. Reward non-violent behavior with greater compliance. Keep my voice tone even. Model prisoner—that’s me.

  Two aliens entered the room…the same two as before? She thought so. One had neon orange fur with painted black swirls, and the other’s was the color of a grizzly bear. They stopped two meters inside and adopted semi-threatening stances. As before, they wore a sort of utility belt with a baton and what she suspected was a firearm attached.

  “Tktenhtahaan hei? Ca-ni woshdee?”

  “Valkyrie?”

  ‘I recognize ‘where’ and ‘purpose’—I think they’re asking you where you came from and why you’re here.’

  “Time to translate. Do the best you can.”

  Prepared for the possibility of an encounter with the local residents, they had worn their wrist transmitters when they’d departed the ship. Caleb met the aliens’ gazes, more or less. “We come from far away. We mean you no harm—no ill intent.” His wrist transmitter translated his words into a series of stilted noises that sounded reasonably like an electronic version of their language.

  As one, both aliens jerked. The orange one stepped forward and yanked Caleb out of the high seat and spun him around, then wrenched his bound arms upward. Caleb winced but didn’t yell or try to pull away.