Chapter 14

Subject: Drone N436Z984A026 [AKA Naza]

Species: Unknown

Species Description: Humanoid

Ship: Grand Vessel of the Universal Omni-Union

Location: Grand Shipyard of the Universal Omni-Union

"Evacuate!" I shouted.

A flurry of activity began the moment I finished shouting. All but a few drones practically trampled each other trying to get out of the room. Nizi and his helper scrambled over to see what was happening as the foreman ran up to us.

"What's going on?" the foreman demanded.

"The antigrav generator still has power," I explained. "It's on the verge of going overcritical. Standard Operating Procedures dictate that an evacuation is necessary."

"Can we fix it?" Nizi asked.

"Doesn't matter. SOP is law," the foreman replied. "Let's go."

"Foreman, I might be able to shunt the power and prevent a meltdown," I explained. "But..."

"But you might fail. How long do we have?"

"Indeterminable."

"The void take it," the foreman spat. "I am not allowed to physically remove you, but I order you to evacuate. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary action, if you manage to survive."

"What sort of disciplinary action?" Nizi asked, vicariously offended.

"A fine worth about twenty cycle's pay and an overtime requirement for ten cycles."

"I'll take it," I said. "Get going."

The foreman narrowed his eyes in a respectful gesture. Then he and Nizi's helper evacuated. Nizi, Forty, and I remained. I put my hand on Nizi's shoulder.

"You need to go, too," I said.

"I can help," Nizi replied.

"You can, yes, but you have a hive. A hive that loves you and depends on you. I don't have a hive, I'm expendable. You're... less so."

"You're my friend! My oldest friend! We've survived so much! I don't want to leave you. I can't..."

I patted his shoulder and sighed.

"It's the nature of things. Look, I can't have your fate in my hands while I'm trying to fix this. That's too much to juggle. Go."

"I can hold my own fate! How could I leave you behind?"

"Just... Look, buy me a drink or something if I survive, okay? But your hive needs you far more than I do, even now. GO!"

Nizi scowled, fighting back tears.

"I... Don't die, okay. And I don't want to hear any jokes about me being a coward, got it?"

"Deal," I laughed. "Now go."

Nizi turned and began to run. I looked at Forty, who was correcting the circuitry on the boards as fast as she could.

"And what are you-"

"I don't have a hive, and you need help," she interrupted. "Get to work."

The ridge above my upper eye shot up in surprise. I hadn't expected such bravery from someone young enough to be my great-grandchild. My lower jaws clacked together as I considered her seriousness.

"Fine," I said. "My plan is to shunt the power."

"To where?"

"Wherever it will go. I'll need to reconfigure some of the cables, though."

My body temperature regulator hissed as I reentered the generator. We aren't even allowed to sweat because a single drop of it can ruin some of the delicate machinery we're tasked with. Yet here I am, risking my life for the Grand Vessel and the Minds that designed it.

With a measure of bitterness, I searched for a piece of metal that could act as a good ground for the charge currently contained within the core. After removing a few more circuit boards, I found a decent spot to attach a cable. Trying not to look at the core every few seconds, I grabbed the bundle of merged cables and measured their length. Too short.

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"I need this to be longer," I said, tossing the cables to Forty.

"On it," she replied.

While she worked, I gave the generator another once-over. If it was somehow still receiving power, this could make things worse. I winced when my scan came back positive.

Not all of the kill-switches had engaged. The one for the core still had power running through it. I marked its position, and muttered a curse when I realized that I would have to scale the generator to reach it.

"Gotta get up there," I sighed. "It's still getting power."

"How?"

"The core's kill-switch failed to engage. Going to have to manually pull it."

"Careful not to shock yourself."

"Right."

I glanced at the core and tried to convince myself that it wasn't getting any brighter, then activated my pry-hook. Using the hook to grapple along the generator's surface, I climbed the fifteen feet to top, steadying myself with the mag-locks in my feet. The panel I needed to remove was stuck, but I was able to get it open after a few moments of tugging, nearly losing my balance in the process.

Cursing under my breath, I steadied myself and began searching for the manual shut-off for the kill-switch. I pulled boards and shuffled wires until, finally, I found it. A simple little switch that just requires a little twist.

I grabbed it and gave it the little twist that it usually required, but it didn't budge. Shifting my position to give myself more leverage, I tried again with a bigger twist. But the switch still wouldn't move.

"Did you find it?" Forty called from the other side of the generator.

"I did, but it won't deactivate. Can't move the damn switch," I called back.

"Did you try twisting it the other way?"

"Of course I did," I lied.

Just in case, I tried twisting in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, that wasn't the problem.

"Just cut it in half," Forty suggested. "All you have to do is break the circuit, right?"

"Good idea," I replied.

Impressed by the suggestion, and ashamed that my slightly panicking mind hadn't thought of it, I activated the laser in my left palm and began to slice through the kill-switch. It stubbornly resisted the focused energy beam, and I grew more panicked as I felt my battery drain. After what felt like an eternity, the circuit finally broke and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Alright, that'll keep it from going overcritical when we shunt the power," I shouted. "How are those cables coming along?"

Only the eerie humming of the core answered me.

"Forty? What's wrong?" I asked.

I craned my neck to try to get a look at her, but couldn't see her over the bulk of the antigrav generator. Feeling uneasy, I climbed down the generator and walked around it. The first thing I saw was Forty on her knees with her hands above her head. The second thing I saw made my jaw flop open.

Mechs, the likes of which I'd never seen, stood in front of Forty. Reflexively, I stopped in my tracks and raised my hands. One of the mechs noticed me and raised its weapon at me. I snapped my jaw shut and braced, but it didn't fire. Instead, it gestured to the ground next to Forty. Taking the hint, I walked next to her and got on my knees.

The mechs seemed to pause for a moment, then spread around the room as if they were looking for something. Two of them stood watch over Forty and I, their weapons not quite pointed at us.

Once the shock of it all wore off, it occurred to me that these mechs were quite strange. First, they were much smaller than normal mechs. Larger than programmable platforms, though. Were they some sort of hybridization?

Second, their weapons weren't integrated. Nor were they standard. I couldn't spot any of the tell-tale signs of a Directed Energy Weapon, but what else could they be?

Third, their movements were much more fluid than that of a mechanized being. There were none of the characteristic pauses or jerks as they moved around the room. As if they didn't have to actually think about moving.

Are these new, state-of-the-art mechs? Or could they be...

Forty leaned over to me slightly and said, "I think-"

The mech that was guarding her had its weapon up before she could say anything else. Forty froze, her three eyes squeezed closed in preparation for it to do what mechs always do. But the mech didn't fire. Instead, it said something to us. A sort of barking noise.

Forty slowly opened her eyes and realized that the thing just wanted her to move back, so she did. I, however, had lost control of my jaw once again. Could it be? No, it's not possible. Unfathomable, even. How could five armored organics end up on the Grand Vessel, in the very heart of Omni-Union space?

After checking the room one of them took position near the door, another began guarding the hole in the wall, and the third came back over to us. It approached the side of the two guarding us, and stood in silence for a few moments. Then, it took a step toward me, pointed toward the ground, and said something.

Forty and I looked at each other, then back at it. In response, it knelt and jabbed the ground with its finger, saying the same thing it had said before. Forty and I once again shared a glance, and I decided to try to speak to it.

"I don't understand what you're saying," I said.

It paused, then tapped the ground again, once again repeating the alien phrase.

"I'm sorry, I still don't know-"

"Floor," Forty said. "That's the floor. Floor, ground, deck."

The alien paused again, then nodded. It rose and pointed up, saying a new phrase this time. Perplexed, I looked at Forty, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Ceiling. Roof. Above. Up."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"They must have uni-tran tech, or something like it. They're trying to figure out our language... I think."

"No need, apparently," the alien said. "Looks like Omega figured it out."

Forty and I stared at it, dumbfounded.

"Not really, I found a file that contained several languages in both written and verbal formats," the overhead speakers said in an odd voice. "Somewhat like a Rosetta Stone. I was able to confirm which language they speak thanks to your efforts, Staff Sergeant."

"Did you find anything else that we can use?" the alien asked.

"No. Security is pretty tight. Brute forcing my way through would alert the OU to my presence. Which would be bad for me, but worse for you."

"Damn. Okay, you two," the alien turned back to us. "What is this machine that you're working on?"

Shock sent me reeling. It took a moment for me to gather my thoughts, but Forty was quicker on the uptake.

"It's an anti-gravity generator," she replied.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It was damaged in a reactor meltdown."

"And why are you two the only ones working on it?"

"Because it could go overcritical at any moment," I interrupted. "We have to get the remaining charge out of the core. Please-"

"That doesn't sound good," one of the other aliens muttered.

"What happens if it goes overcritical?" the 'staff sergeant' asked.

"It will either shoot everything around us into space at around half the speed of light or drag everything around us into its core at around half the speed of light, creating a singularity. Either way, many people will die. Please... Please let us fix it."

The alien paused and stared at the antigrav generator for a moment. A few slight movements gave me the impression that it was having a silent conversation with someone.

"Well? Will you let me continue my work?" I asked after a few more moments.

"No. We've got other plans for the generator," it replied. "And for you."