All Fall Down (7 page)

“But what makes Fall classified,” Djembe had finished with his system description, “is the minerals they produce.”

“What about them?” Win was suddenly interested. His environmental analyst background suddenly useful.

Djembe brought his hands together before his chest. “We haven’t been at war for almost four hundred years, because of the Starquake AIs that control resources across the colonies.” Djembe pulled his hands apart, “Well, the Starquakes depend on certain classified minerals. We are taught about them in our consequence planning courses: Diraclium, Hyperite, Anxate. I'm not allowed to talk about them without permission. Fall is the only planet that produces all three, possibly due to its binary star system, but who knows?” Djembe looked up to the ceiling for a second, then looked at Kate, “Our primary mission objective is to keep the minerals flowing.”

“Yes.”

“How could a scientist's death affect the flow of minerals?” Win looked confused again.

“Good question” Djembe played with his food, suddenly uninterested. “The scientist isn't connected to the mining operation?”

“No. I said we had a classified mission as well. MI received a coded message from Fall. We are to investigate the Colony's Administrator, a man called Daoud.” Kate activated a holicon and the coded message shone to life between them.

“Is that it?” Win grabbed a copy of the hologram and held it in front of him. “Eight words?”

“What does it mean?” Djembe looked as confused as Win.

“That's what we have to find out.”

Djembe repeated the coded message that floated between them, “Fall. Human hybrid. Murder. Not human DNA. Help.” They were all quiet for a moment before he continued, “Shouldn't they send in investigators?”

“I thought that, too. But the official briefing is to investigate this death. We are Disaster Support. They're a classified installation. If news gets out because of a grieving family, then the Colony's status is compromised. That could compromise mineral flow.” Kate shrugged, “It makes some sense that we go in.”

“And?” Win still looked confused.

“And we're a good cover to look for an illicit biological research programme. Djembe, you're a Consequence Planner and a systems analyst. While you build the consequence map, looking at the effects of this news getting out and the classified status being lost, you can poke around in the Colony's AI, see what you can find. And Win, you're an Environmental Analyst. You can see if there's any trace of a biology programme outside of the research labs. And...” Kate trailed off.

“And?”

“And it's also a test. Think of it as a career progression opportunity.”

Win and Djembe looked at each other. There was hope on Djembe's face.

“There are some temporary changes to our authority,” Kate opened up the holo of Admiral Kim and took it forward to the point where she gave Kate
 
a field promotion to General.

“Congratulations.” Win smiled, “You've earned it.”

“Not just me, Win. Both of you have both been given a field commission of Commander. I suggest you use it wisely.”

Djembe looked to the table, forming the word “Commander” silently.

Win nudged Djembe, “That should get your parents off your back.”

“Now, I think it's time we got on with mission planning. Djembe, consequence map; Win, environmental analysis.”

The two men rose from the mess table and went to leave. Kate said one last thing before they disappeared to their quarters, “And I suggest you read up on the responsibilities of command. You might need them if we discover what's behind this message.”

Kate had been getting up to speed on Fall's basic construction when the klaxon went off.

           
The Colony was built on a desert planet, with no water table down to seventy kilometres. There was no moon. The system had three other planets. A gas giant on the inner edge of an enormous cloud of gas and dust which cloaked the system from external eyes: a good place for a classified installation. And two minor planetoids which orbited the system's yellow star. Also orbiting the yellow star was a smaller blue star. The system had two suns, which led to complicated planetary dynamics and orbits. The wormhole leading to Fall was also difficult to navigate. It appeared on no official charts, and the course given to Kate as part of the mission briefing had been a revelation to the ship's pilot, who had marvelled at the beauty of the mathematics needed to get there.

           
Kate felt sorry for the ship's pilot. She would have to undergo a memory wipe on return to base so that the secret didn't get out.

           
The flashing yellow light in her quarters shocked her from her mission planning. “Pilot, report.”

           
The pilot's face appeared on the holopit in Kate's desk, “General, I need your team on the flight deck. There's something in the wormhole.” She grimaced and started manipulating her holicon flight controls.

           
“I'll be right there.” Kate ran out of her quarters. Win and Djembe were already in the corridor. “Flight deck, now,” she ran past them and looked back briefly, “the pilot needs our help.”

           
The ship, the
In The Palm Of Your Hand
, was less than fifty metres long. They were on the flight deck within seconds and took up positions at the stations. “Pilot, report.”

           
“Ma'am, I think another ship's trying to come through. Look, there.” She pointed through the cockpit.

           
Outside, the normally dark wormhole fluoresced in one part of its topography. Sickly greens and yellows bruised the tube and formed contour lines.

           
“Djembe?”

           
“It's big, whatever it is. Win, can you send a dampening field?”

           
“Already on it.” Win's hands flowed quickly through a series of holicons, building trees of holographic commands. A pale blue light appeared outside the cockpit, purpling the bruise on the wormhole tube wall.

           
Their ship rocked back and forth, and Win fell from from his seat.

           
“Are you alright?” Kate looked round, trying to keep an eye on the ship's systems overview.

           
“Fine, it obviously didn't like that,” Win got back into his seat as the ship bucked violently.

           
“Everyone strap in,” the Pilot pulled down an emergency control column which was wreathed in angry red holicons.

           
“What are you doing?” Kate looked at the column and put her hand on the pilot's shoulder. Around them the ship was starting to shake. The bruising outside in the wormhole grew uglier as something tried to occupy the same subspace volume as their ship. A red emergency light started flashing.

           
“Don't worry, no weapons unless you authorise it. It's an emergency boost. Hyperion engine and rapid wormhole exit. Whatever's trying to force its way in here and straight into us is going to get kicked back into normal space and give us a boost to our destination.”

           
The pilot pulled red icons from the column and merged them with her normal command console.

           
“Hurry up,” Djembe sounded on the edge of panic. The ship bounced and shook, and a worrying creaking sound reverberated through the ship.

           
“Engage.” The pale blue field around the ship turned brilliant white. The
In The Palm Of Your Hand
lurched. The wormhole colours streaked and faded to black. A green circle approached and as quickly as they'd accelerated, the ship plunged through the green circle and re-entered normal space.

           
Kate breathed a sigh of relief. “What the hell was that? Win?”

           
While the pilot brought the ship under control and checked they were in the Fall system, Win analysed the data from the wormhole intrusion. He looked at Kate, shaking his head, “No idea. Not a standard transport. Doesn't match any of the military ships on record.”

           
“Something classified, then.” Djembe's normally dark skin looked ashen, “Fall is classified. They will be using the wormhole to test new ships, new navigation controls.”

           
“Well, we're in the Fall system as planned. Ship's on course for the planet.” The pilot sank back in her seat. “If you don't mind, General, I'd like to make an official complaint about whoever's testing in a wormhole.”

           
“Don't worry, pilot, I think we'll all be signing off on that one.” Kate looked through the cockpit at the smudge of ochre in front of her. Beyond lay Fall, hidden in the night.

Chapter 5 – In The Eye Of The Storm

“Commander, MI ships are now in the system. ETA is oh seven fifteen. A little over three hours.”

“Thank you, Sophie, please alert all commands.”

Daoud was again on the upper deck of the central air shaft, looking down through the Colony’s sleeping heart. His wrist pad quietened. The air shaft was dark. The Colony operated on a standard day length, free as it was from a surface solar cycle. It was night, several hours before most of the Colony would rise. Daoud felt the quiet chorus from the sleeping minds around him. Dreams flowed through the Colony.

           
He thought about the colonists’ responses to Huriko Maki’s death. The miners had barely blinked. Deaths from mining accidents were rare now, but miners had a long memory. They knew Fall was a harsh place, above ground and below. Death was inevitable.

The Research Facility staff were not reacting so well. Although training for surface work was thorough, the Facility scientists spent most of their life in the lab: in sterile environments, working with holos or immersed in AI environments. Everything about their world was constructed, controlled and made safe. There was abject shock at the incident. Would one of their own really have allowed themselves to be delayed so long, knowing the storm and double sunrise was approaching? For appearances’ sake, Daoud had asked Masjid to conduct a formal enquiry and to hold a service of remembrance. Things had to be done properly. Emotions managed while they could be.

           
Daoud left the platform and went to the Research Facility on the third floor. A few researchers on shift work walked past him with their heads down, some glancing up and nodding at him as they passed by. Here everyone reported to Masjid. Daoud was a distant person for them. He understood this. His time in MI had once blinded him, too, to civilian life.

           
He stopped at a door, differentiated from the others only by the identifying number 3-11-8, floor three, section eleven, door eight. Masjid looked up as he entered, welcoming him.

           
“Good morning, Administrator. Our guests are giving us an early start today.”

           
“Doctor. How are our specimens?”

           
“Quiet. I have them on visual surveillance. Eight are now showing activity: subtle levitation at first, a few millimetres; then gradually higher. The more advanced are moving around in the air. Then there's the energy discharges, which are increasing in frequency and power. Specimen twenty three, the first to show behaviour, the one you saw earlier, has lost mass. Only about eight grams, but it’s the first time we’ve seen anything approaching metabolism. At this rate, I expect all twenty three to be active within the next few days.”

           
Daoud walked around Masjid’s office. On one wall was an artwork. Loops of what looked to be organic matter were held together at junctions by orange crystals, like softened kidney stones. “I’ve always found this an interesting piece. Tell me about it.” Daoud remained by the artwork, with his back turned.