Ally or Alien: A Sci-Fi Novel (12 page)

Bellrock said,

"You're going to help us with the long-distance transmission, right?"

"Of course," she said matter-of-factly.

"We can transmit data via the extranet, which is a series of buoys placed across our sector. They were specifically designed to enable real-time communication between vast distances."

"Sounds like a plan."

Good.

Bellrock watched the surface of Mars flashing by. It wasn't as terraformed as he had thought. The landscape still appeared canyon-like, colored in various red tones. But he recognized domes and gravball field-sized parcels fitted with massive solar panels. He also detected factory-styled buildings in organic shapes, maybe refineries for the Martian resources. He knew the red planet was rich in carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, available in readily accessible forms such as carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen gas, water ice and permafrost. In the far distance, Bellrock recognized sharp, mechanical structures that protruded from the crimson soil like giant thorns. He had no idea what their purpose was, but it wouldn't surprise him if they carried a military function.

"What is the matter?"

eVax again, carrying a low-level of acid in his voice.

The Newtype couldn't probably read his mind, but he must have sniffed out Bellrock's suspicion.

"What do you have inside these giant domes?"

"These are life habitats for our compeers which also store cargo."

"And those streamlined structures that look like antennas with rifle barrels?"

eLoom wanted to answer that one, but eVax intervened.

"I fail to see how that is relevant for your mission success."

"It isn't. I was just making smalltalk."

"According to our agreement, we are required to assist your biomorph assessment. We do not need to disclose any information about our colony that is not related to the operation."

What a douchecrack, blabbering straight from the book of conduct. It was both scary and hilarious to see that bureaucratic jargon flourished even over 55,000,000 kilometers away from Earth.

"If you say so."

Bellrock's fingers were itching.

Enough with the blahblah.

Bring on the big sensation. All this smalltalk and sightseeing tired him more than the sleep inside the Pilgrim II. Besides, it was remarkable how everyone stayed calm around here—not a single Newtype in the spaceport seemed worried about a hostile life form having crash-landed on their planet. Either they were all incapable of feeling emotions, or they were so divorced from reality that they couldn't gauge the real danger. Or maybe they did really possess the know-how and technology to deal with it. 

Well, he was going to find out very soon.

During his pondering, eLoom translated the latest update from her B2B connection.

"We'll be arriving at the Farsight facility shortly. ETA: 19 minutes and 34 seconds."

Finally.

Bellrock addressed Dr. Rao to his right and winked.

Secret speech for Get Ready.

Conflict was incoming...

32

Distance to the biomorph: 277.5  kilometers.

The MagLev came to a humming halt at the outpost's platform which was shielded from the Martian atmosphere. The Earthlings and Newtype stepped through the slide door and touched ground. Bellrock scanned the perimeter—the station was embedded into the facility itself. eLoom took charge and led everyone to the main corridor which opened up its shutter gate. Dr. Rao arrived last and touched the surface of the white hull.

"I'm curious—how does it function?"

eVax wanted to speak again, but eLoom was faster.

"It is a smart bioplast. It can change its consistency on the nano level, depending on the temperature."

"Can it absorb sunlight?"

"Of course." 

Dr. Rao nodded with an approving smile.

"So the entire surface structure is basically an endless array of morphable solar cells?"

"That is correct," eLoom said. "Every Newtype cluster is self-sustainable. That is why a lot of the structures can be set apart thousands of kilometers without being connected to a centralized power grid."

Bellrock soaked up all the information. 

This was the hotzone now, and he had to become vigilant. Every information about the perimeter would help him deal with the real threat. eLoom concluded the tour by guiding them to the central intersection of the Farsight Optimal facility.

Curved corridors wherever he looked.

"You have only a handful of folks operating the entire facility?"

"As you may know, we believe in sustainability. The majority of the station is automatized, and with the assistance of the Exec, a couple of Newtype can handle the workload of at least a hundred humans. Efficiency, you see."

eVax grinned next to her. 

Bellrock swore, every time these shells boasted with their so-called superiority, he moved one step closer to punching their smug faces with an enhanced fist. 

"Let's just get moving."

They strolled by a room with rows of displays and dashboards. A couple of Newtype were hooked to the system and seemed to remote-control unmanned robots. 

eLoom clarified.

"They are operating the droids that supervise the biomorph inside the containment area. Do you want to see the footage?"

"I want to see the biomorph with my own eyes. We've wasted enough time with the traveling."

"But don't you need time to prepare?"

Bellrock looked at the doctor who unpacked his drone equipment.

"You're all geared up?"

"Ready to recon, sir."

Bellrock faced eLoom with the brightest smile.

"You see? My man is fit for action. I guess that's human passion."

He paused.

"Besides, Earth is dying to know what's going on with the creature. Let's not disappoint billions of people by wasting any more of their tax money."

"Very well," eLoom said, "I'll lead you right there."

She waved her asset and eVax over but Bellrock intervened. 

"I think Mr. Passive-Aggressive over here can cool down inside the station. He's a bit too wired up for a field trip. I can't have an unpredictable bomb joining this high priority operation."

eVax stepped forward and narrowed his eyes. His blue orbs shone through the slits.

"Whom do you call a bomb you monkey?"

"See?"

eLoom mediated.

"The Exec have assigned eVax to our mission."

"Well, he can stay here and protect the facility or something. You and your asset, that's all we need."

She looked at eVax who ignored the duo from Earth. As far as Bellrock could tell, the shell was infuriated. 

Let's see if his rage could cook up his plastic body.

"You can not be serious. You do not have the authority to make that request."

eLoom nudged his left arm.

Bellrock watched them. The Newtype stared at each other without moving lips or eyes. He guessed that they spoke via their internal B2B connection again, arguing whether to accept his request or not. eVax twitched, which put a smile on Bellrock's face. He realized who had won the discussion.

eVax moved away and spoke to eLoom in a clear voice.

"If that human causes any trouble, send me one ping and I come to your aid."

eLoom unleashed a nervous smile.

"That will not be necessary. So far, these gentlemen from Earth have shown nothing but pure willingness to cooperate with us."

Bellrock waved the disgruntled Newtype male away.

"Laters, Vaxxy."

The unit gnarled but abided and left them alone. When he was out of range, Bellrock addressed the female in charge.

"What's the man's problem?"

"You mean eVax?"

"Yeah."

"When both of our races were still at war, he was a defender unit."

"Really? 

"He lost his body five times during the escalation. The Exec punished him for resource abuse, lowered his level of tasks and limited his respawn rate. He is still mad about that."

She sighed.

"This may be hard to believe, but some of us still cling to emotions, even the negative ones. Maybe a vestibule from your race."

Bellrock nodded.

So vexed eVax was a soldier.

Who would have figured?

Maybe that was why he seemed so familiar—even though most Newtype were lookalikes, the peeved male stood out. Was he one of the many clones Bellrock and his Spec Ops team had annihilated during the sabotage missions? Didn’t matter.

"How far is that creature from us?"

"About 270 kilometers."

Close and yet so distant.

He'd never admit it, but Bellrock felt fear creeping up his spine. The creature seemed like an abstract concept up until now, something everyone talked about but no one really grasped due to the absence of live footage. A lot of truthers from Earth claimed the whole biomorph hype was just a manmade conspiracy to distract from the AC's many problems—mostly unemployment and overpopulation. It sounded absurd, but Bellrock could understand the underlying fears. In the history of mankind, governments had always picked a group to blame when problems riddled their lands, but this time was different, or so he believed. But the only way to really know was to find out. That's the reason the AC sent him here on the taxpayer's behalf.

To find out the goddamn truth.

He stepped closer to eLoom and said,

"Take us to the biomorph. Now."

33

eLoom inspected Bellrock's face with her artificial iris. The blue orbs bounced around her sockets and targeted different parts of his facial features. He wondered whether she was scanning him, or gathering more info from her internal network. 

"Very well," she said with a calm voice. "We will departure now."

The magic words Bellrock longed to hear ever since he had set his boots on the Martian surface. The female Newtype and her asset guided the two males toward the hangar bay. An array of vehicles presented themselves in front of Bellrock's eyes—most of which he had never seen before. One looked like an oversized drone, the others like wheelless bikes and one like a glider, a damn hoverglider with five seats.

Bellrock couldn't detect a single weapon system, but he was sure these vehicles could function as military units. Newtype tech was effective and stealthy. It was likely their firearms lurked beneath the hull, extractable via a digital command. Besides, this showcase spanned only one fourth of the bay, who knew what remained hidden behind the other walls. 

eLoom approached the hoverglider and waved the two Earthlings over.

The vessel was basically a lovechild between a recon jeep and a space shuttle, enhanced with the trademark slick/white design. There was a mount on the roof that remained empty.

Maybe a placeholder for stationary turrets? 

Bellrock would soon find out.

"This is an LRV Explorer," eLoom said, "one of our basic all-around hovergliders. It is fast, agile and allows for the seating of five people, as you can see. It also holds a decent amount of cargo where you can store your equipment."

LRV—Light Reconnaissance Vehicle. Even the label was military. 

The two Earthlings boarded the vehicle. Bellrock sat in front, next to eLoom in the driver's seat. eKazumi took the back position where Dr. Rao drooled over the vessel's interior design. The same ergonomic pattern that every other ship in the known Newtype arsenal had used—adaptable seating that changed according to one's size, form and spine.

Bellrock looked at the dashboard on eLoom's side—there was no control mechanism whatsoever. Just a flat display, blacked out.

He said,

"How do you control this thing?"

"I'm syncing myself to the vehicle and choose the fastest and safest route to the crater."

"Syncing?"

She flicked a glance at him and added a polite smile.

"The B2B connection, remember? It is how we communicate with everything."

"Right."

So, without using any kind of physical steering device, the machine came to life. The clamps on the ground gave way and allowed the vessel to float an arm-length over the hangar ground. Bellrock could feel a faint vibration of the vehicle through his EVA suit. A pleasant humming, much more subtle than any Earth-based vehicle. 

eLoom said,

"Are your EVA suits ready? We will come in contact with the Martian atmosphere."

"I am ready," Bellrock said, "doc, you?"

"Yep. EVA is sealed, oxygen stable around 94.5%."

Bellrock hit the dashboard with his right glove.

"Let's roll. I mean, hover."

eLoom mind-steered the vehicle toward the bay's front gate decompression section. When the pressure was evened out, the final gate opened and flushed everyone with the fox light of the Martian atmosphere. Thank God Bellrock's helmet dimmed the glow—otherwise, the men from Earth would have received permanent eye damage. The hoverglider blitzed forward into the vast landscape of the crimson planet. Even this part of Mars seemed barren except for the occasional array or technical tower.

"Colonization is pretty slow around here, eh?"

eLoom could steer the vehicle and talk at the same time.

"We choose not to use that loaded term. We want to grow with responsibility and make sure every expansion is justified with a regard for the environment."

Sounded like the driest text book example Bellrock had ever heard. Maybe that philosophy was responsible for their low population. Both in the ringstation and down on the planet, he saw relatively few Newtype. Did they impose some kind of population limit on themselves?

Would fit their ideology.

Dr. Rao touched the ergo seating and chatted with eKazumi who seemed to enjoy answering just about every question. He overheard some talks about solar electric propulsion but tuned out when the topic became too dense. Instead of listening to the nerdversation, he watched eLoom's face. She looked as if she stared forward, but her spine was stiff, eyes glassy. 

She seemed to be in trance.

"I can hear you just fine."

Freak out moment deluxe.

"Sorry, I just haven't seen anyone drive like that."