All Fall Down (10 page)

“Yes, there are always specific issues in military investigations. Sophie has full authority to work on…”

Admiral Kim's face loomed in Kate's mind and instead she spoke to that image, “…specific issues, as I was saying, around using your secure comms channel back to MI, Administrator,” Kate numbed the feelings of conflict within her, “that Admiral Kim has ordered, so that I can report on the situation.” Was that a slight tightening around Daoud’s eyes? Of annoyance or something else?

“You come with an excellent reputation, General Leland, and I expect, therefore, similarly excellent work. It surprises me, therefore, that you would feel the need to check specific issues around a communications policy that I wrote. Now, if that’s all? Good. Gentlemen. Sophie, I will leave you to discuss the specifics.”

Kate watched Daoud turn and walk away from the holopit. He reached the doors and disappeared into the silhouettes of the hallway before the doors had closed behind him. Sophie politely cleared her throat. Kate turned to her and saw one of her eyes was widened slightly. “Perhaps we could start with your consequence map, and get into some operations planning?”

Kate looked at Win, who gave the smallest of nods in return. She gathered her hair into a bun, holding it up with a stick which she took from her belt pouch. She would save her anger for later. There was a mission to run. “Yes, perhaps we should. We are to report back to Admiral Kim in three days. Djembe, Win, can you walk Sophie through the map, please?” Kate held her hand over the holopit, which flowered into life in response to an instruction from her wrist band.

On either side of her, Win and Djembe began to talk. Kate kept her eyes straight ahead. Her annoyance at Daoud kept her quiet, and she knew it was unprofessional. All she'd wanted to do was go on R'n'R, go home, see her family.

She focused on Sophie. Kate thought she had the beginnings of a rapport with Sophie, after their short conversation in the corridor. She broke her silence, “Your Colony Administrator likes to show his control.” The others fell quiet.

Sophie glanced at the door then back to Kate, “He is comfortable with leadership, yes. This Colony was his idea. He oversaw the design, the research, and the establishment of this second Colony.” Sophie shrugged, “Sometimes he ventures from leadership to, well, ownership isn't the right word. Maybe parenthood would be more accurate?”

Kate nodded. She thought that Daoud, too, must be benefiting from the Colony's bio-research. He also did not look old enough to have been involved with the Colony for the four decades humans had been on Fall, nor the decades before that to plan it, convince the Cadre and controlling AIs to grant the necessary resources, nor work his way from youth to a position of power to put such plans into motion. Kate was eager to meet this Doctor Currie who was in charge of the scientific research.

Djembe interrupted her reverie, “Excuse me for asking, but I did not catch the Administrator's first name.”

“He's simply called Daoud,” Sophie folded her hands at her waist, “that is the only name any of us have ever known him by.”

Djembe looked at Win, who shrugged in return.

           
“To business, perhaps?” Sophie turned back to Kate.

           
“Of course.”

           
Kate focused on Admiral Kim's face again, and used it to guide her back to a professional demeanour, to one befitting a General.

Back in his office, Daoud sat at his desk and looked over the data from the wormhole.

           
The MI ship's ion trail was apparent. The comms relay net had picked up its entrance. He scrutinised the data. As they'd reported, the ship had entered the system very quickly. And there were other discharges from the wormhole. Particles streaming out before MI had arrived. And still a faint trace.

           
Something was trying to break through into the wormhole and come to Fall.

           
“Good. Everything's going to plan.”

           
He opened the Colony's remaining secure connection to the Cadre. While
 
he waited for a secure connection, he attended to some routine Colony matters, and thought over his briefing with General Leland. He had calculated his approach. He wanted to annoy her, to push her, see what she was made of. At the very least, her thinking would be clouded by his brusqueness, and she would make mistakes keeping her away from the truth.

           
From the base of the sculpture on his desk he pulled out an infochip. He sealed his room from AI oversight before he activated it. A basic holo formed in the air. It was of a dying soldier he'd found drifting in a wormhole. Daoud had dragged the soldier into his cargo hold. The soldier's space suit had been made of an exotic biological material. Something alive. Daoud's voice cut over the holo, “What's your name, soldier?”

           
“Stendahl.”

           
“And who are you, Stendahl?”

           
“Marine, Special Operations. Where am I?”

           
“On my ship in a wormhole near the Canis sector.”

           
Stendahl shook his head, “Impossible. I'm on mission to the xenos' homeworld in the Perseus sector.”

           
“Xenos?”

           
The marine coughed up blood, “Yes, Sir. The war.”

           
“War?”

           
The marine had just looked at him as if it was Daoud who was talking strangely.

           
“What year is it, Marine Stendahl?”

           
“Thirty seventy two.” Again, the confused look. The marine coughed up more blood.

           
In the holo, Daoud his older self whisper, “That's four hundred and fifty years in the future.” To the marine, he asked, “And the... xenos?”

           
“Caught us by surprise. Everywhere.”

           
“And you're at war with them?”

           
“How can you not know about the war? We're losing. My ship was hit. Species Eighteen. Millions dead. The lemurs were coming, didn't you see? We're all dying. All of us. We're dying. We're losing the war.” And before he'd died, Daoud had managed to get some key information from him. How it had started. The date, the place. “After the Event. None of us knew. Secret for decades. Around the great eclipse. Planet Fall.” Those had been his last words.

           
It had taken Daoud some time to check what the soldier was suggesting. The wormhole they'd both been travelling in had been subject to energy discharges. Perhaps from a huge explosion – the soldier's ship – or an exotic weapon. Whatever had happened, it had interacted with the strange wormhole physics. Either the soldier had come back from the future, or Daoud had flashed through it. His ship's log contained enough sensor readings to confirm the anomaly, although he'd never been able to recreate it.

           
The encounter had precipitated his trip to the Sol System, to the Jupiter archive. His Cadre-level clearance had given him access to some very interesting information. It was where he'd formulated his first plan. If war was coming, it was better to be prepared.

           
Back in the present, the holo came to an end. Daoud mused at it. To his side, the comms link to the Cadre flashed. He turned towards it and activated it.

           
Admiral Kim's head formed in his hologram space.

           
“Daoud.” Her tone was clipped. There was no greeting or formality of rank or protocol. Just his name, steaming with dry ice.

           
“Admiral Kim. So nice to talk with you again.”

           
“What do you want?”

           
His tone changed to match hers. “I admit I had hoped for a little more... geniality.” Admiral Kim remained silent. “As you wish. Your investigation team is here. They are with my Operations Director setting out their approach and requirements.”

           
“Good. Perhaps now we will find out what you've been up to these last decades.”

           
“You still believe this Colony is a cover, then? The old argument still survives?”

           
“You are a man of singular purpose.”

           
“I prefer the phrase 'compassionate vision'.”

           
“I am not going to be drawn into your semantics, Daoud. What do you want?”

           
“I'm interested in this little team you've sent me. What are you trying to do?”

           
“General Leland shows great promise. I presume you've accessed her file already, so I will spare you her achievements. We've identified her as future Admiral material.”

           
“So it's a test for her?”

           
“An opportunity, Daoud. Such as you once had.”

           
“You have greater access to my file than you once did, Kim.”

           
“Much has changed since last you deigned the Settled Quarters with your presence. I note that some things haven't changed. You appear no older. Your biological research goes well, then?”

           
“Better than I'd hoped. The research will be delivered to the Cadre on time, with some additional developments.”

           
“The Cadre appreciates everything you do for it.”

           
Was Admiral Kim softening after her initial frostiness? She had no idea what was stored on the planet, the secret research he was conducting. Or did she? This team she had sent, this General Leland in whom she placed so much faith, was it here to find out what he'd “been up to these last decades,” as she termed it? He knew she was fishing. The Cadre had no idea, he was sure. Only four of them knew, and those other three had been carefully chosen and prepared. He decided to play to her softened tone, “And I appreciate everything the Cadre has allowed me to do here. The supply of AI minerals is one thing, but the benefits of our medical research. Well, it is a great thing to be involved with.”

           
“Was there anything else Daoud?” The frosty edge was back. Perhaps it had never gone. His friendship, perhaps camaraderie was a better word, with Kim had ended years before he had conceived of Fall. For a moment he had thought there may still be some of the professional respect left.

           
“Simply that your team is here. I will give them every assistance.”

           
Admiral Kim's mouth tightened, “On behalf of the Cadre, thank you. I look forward to General Leland's report.”

           
Daoud tired of the conversation, which anyway appeared to be at an end. “Daoud out.”

           
The connection was killed from Admiral Kim's end.

           
Daoud called up Kate's file again. A xenophile and future Admiral? Perhaps 'interesting' could be turned into 'useful'. After all, he thought, he would soon have need of an extra pair of hands to see his plan through to fruition.

Doctor Peter Cassel pressed his thumb to Doctor Masjid Currie's office access panel. A moment later a light turned green and the door slid open. He walked in and waited for the door to close before blinking his eyes slowly, twice: a signal.

           
Masjid pressed a control on his wrist pad. A little holicon glowed above it. “Yes Peter? We're unmonitored now.”