Deviation (32 page)

Matt started to move, intent on finding a clearer shot, when Kate grabbed his arm. He frowned at her, realizing a moment later that she couldn't see the expression through his mask. Then the Dromodus moved, its taloned foot turning to hurry away from them. It roared as it went, the sound bursting through their little hiding space and mingling with the snap and crunch of branches under its feet.

"Romberg is in position," Chamberlain's voice startled him. "The Dromodus is moving for the Femina. I suggest we move now, sir."

Matt didn't hesitate; "Do it."

He gathered Kate as best he could and began leading her out of the tree. When he could stand again, he lifted her and made for the perimeter. Chamberlain met him there, half dragging Myron with him.

"Newbill?" Matt asked.

"Checking on Pitts," Chamberlain said.

Matt nodded and lowered Kate to her feet. She was still unsteady, so he held her elbows while he gave the order for Romberg to lock on her safety beacon. The beacon hummed to life, its magnets triggered by the Io, and then the girl was airborne, drawn upward toward the underbelly of the ship.

Chamberlain readied Myron for extraction and Matt turned to face the jungle. He could see the path the creature had taken. Several feet away, the brush quivered and shook under relentless force. Several shots rang out, but it wasn't aimed at them anymore. He deliberately tried to ignore the female voices crying out. They'd just tried to kill them, he reminded himself.

"Pitts is dead," Newbill announced as he dropped out of the tree. "Looks like he caught a round at the base of the neck while he was retreating."

"Damn," Chamberlain muttered.

Matt looked up. Myron was secure to the ship. Rescuing Myron had been impractical. Each extraction had to be separate or they risked colliding with each other midair, so taking on the extra body didn't really make sense. And yet, Matt hadn't really thought about it when the choice was presented to him. That seemed odd to him, like the logical, calculating side of himself was at war with a newfound sense of morality.

"You're next, Boss," Chamberlain didn't give him a chance to argue. "Romberg, engage Borden's suit."

A high-pitched whine flashed through Matthew's suit as the magnets were initiated. A breathless moment later he was in a stomach-dropping ascent, out of the tree, out of the jungle, and straight up to the underbelly of the Io. His suit secured to the metal of the ship, directly beside Myron. Matthew had never been forced to use the emergency extraction before so it took a moment to settle his stomach. He decided it was altogether disturbing to be attached to the outside of the ship.

The banyan tree had left an impressive hole in the canopy of jungle leaves, revealing a skyline that was just barely coloring with the sunrise. Heavy clouds still curled above them, sporadically letting loose rainfall. He could see the battle clearly. There were only two heat signatures left in his infrared, and one of them was the Dromodus. The single Femina left alive was running hard and fast to the south. The Dromodus wasn't far behind.

Newbill's armor plunked into the ship, magnetized and secure, and then Chamberlain's body was immediately lifted. As the Io turned, heading for a safe place to hover-drop and allow them all into the vessel, Matt craned his neck to view Kate. Her hair lashed everywhere in the turbulence and her arms, legs and head dangled in limp, unconscious fashion, but damnit all if the woman wasn't still alive.

Matthew closed his eyes and thanked god for that.

"
Hedric Prosser, Captain of the infamous Lothogy vessel, was seen arriving at Outpost 9 on Mars earlier today. The ship was reportedly shot down during the attack on the Novo Femina Temple and could be seen undergoing repairs upon arrival. For the crew of the Lothogy, only Hedric himself was seen being carried into the medical hanger."
- A.P. Sunday, November 25, 2998

Hedric stood in Mesa's room, ignoring the sounds of Keats and Jellison as they battled the Lothogy back into functioning order. He should help them, he knew. But instead he stepped into her quarters and let the door shut behind him.

When he'd first lost her, Hedric had felt a strange grayness overwhelm him. It settled in his core like storm clouds, but without the rain. He'd known that beyond the gray lurked something darker; something sharp enough to hurt. Every now and then he'd felt that black grief pierce through the grayness and stab him in the guts. Like when he'd first seen Kate, or when he'd read that cursed book.

And right now, as he stared at her empty room.

He didn't know why it bothered him so much. She'd spent precious little time here. They'd shared the Captain's room just adjacent on most days. These quarters were for show, to keep Loyalists from scowling at him. There were many who deemed Mesa as grossly independent and believed Hedric showed her too much favor.

Looking back now, Hedric thought he'd given her too little favor. She deserved much more than the life he'd given her.

He turned to leave but stopped. Something flowery peeked out of the far corner; something that did not belong there. Frowning, he limped to it, cursing the metal bracing on his leg for hindering the movement. Stooping down, he lifted the object and turned it over. A white paper fluttered out of it, twirling to the ground again. Hedric gathered the paper too, realizing at once what he was holding.

This was Reesa's bag. She'd been wearing it the day they took her.

The paper had only two words on it and they made little sense to him. "Patient Zero," it read.

"Reesa Zimms is the greatest prophet ever to have lived," his mother's voice rang through his mind.

He remembered the beach scene and all the scantily clad people. He was newly repulsed by the memory and wondered what could possess people to such a display of immodesty. It was disgusting.

He finally connected the words 'prophet' and 'patient zero' and realized with a start what his mother was after. Crumping the paper in his fist, Hedric moved to the door. He wasn't certain what he meant to do, he just knew he had to get to Reesa again. Preferably before his mother did, or she made some other damning proclamation that killed off the populace.

Keats was waiting on the other side of the door, his space suit soaked through with sweat and stained with grease. Hedric didn't acknowledge him, just turned and started down the corridor.

"Captain," Keats said, following him toward the cockpit. "We've got the ion drives back but it's going to be some time before she's ready."

"She'll fly."

"Well, yes, but not at full capacity ... "

"I don't need full capacity, I just need her in the air."

"What? Now?" Keats grabbed his elbow and forced them both to stop.

Hedric looked between his arm and Keats until the man let him go. He watched as Keats nervously swiped his forearm over his brow, smearing oil and sweat across his skin in the process. The man took a deep breath before facing him again and Hedric almost applauded his courage.

"Captain," Keats said quietly, "It's no use. They're probably already dead."

Hedric digested his words carefully. It took him a moment to realize the engineer meant Kate and Myron. He felt another stab of grief and looked away from Keats. The feeling lingered this time and he swore it was a physical ache right in the center of his chest.

He thought of Mesa and Freeman and Myron, his crew, and realized he had betrayed them all. He'd betrayed Mesa the moment he'd accepted his mother's job, forcing himself out of his bereavement prematurely. And he'd betrayed his crew when he'd kept the details of their mission private.

Without a word, Hedric left Keats. When he reached the cockpit he strapped into the pilots chair and initiated the flight computers.

***

Matt watched a nameless scientist as he worked to repair the damage in Kate's chest. The video screens gave him a clear view of where the branch had skewered her. She really should be dead already, he thought. But she wasn't dead and he was grateful for that. Myron was on a cot beside her, mostly sitting up and ignoring the prodding of the male nurse tending him.

It did not escape Matthew that Myron's attention was fastened on the surgery next to him.

"Well, now that I've got you, what am I supposed to do with you?" Matt asked the unconscious woman.

Myron snorted a laugh but didn't comment.

"Explain to me again how you were separated from the Lothogy?" Matt spoke without looking at the pilot.

"Hedric went crackers. He called me a mutineer for trying to save Kate. Running was better than getting shot."

"And where exactly did you find Kate to begin with?"

The pilot was silent.

Matt turned from the surgery to face him. The man looked like hell; scruffy day-old beard, snarled hair with remnants of the tree still tangled in it, and he was pale from the drugs pumped into him. By the bitter contortions of the man's mouth Borden knew Myron had qualms with betraying information to him. No matter that they had just saved his life, there was a traditional enmity that Myron struggled to cross.

For that matter, even Matt was keeping his knowledge of the situation private.

"I ... am not really sure," Myron said at last.

"Mr. Degenes, I can respect that you are in a difficult position," Matt clasped his hands behind his back. "But I ask you to respect mine as well. If I am to see Miss Kate returned to her home, I must first know where that home might be."

Myron's eyebrow hiked, "You're letting her go?"

"I've no interest in her except seeing her safe."

"But ... " Myron looked back at Kate. "But ... look at her."

"I have, thank you."

Myron continued to frown, then shrugged and said; "It's the craziest thing you'll ever hear."

Matt thought of Reesa telling him that she was his creator and smiled. "I very much doubt that."

"Well, we went through a wormhole and on the other side things were ... different. I don't know where Hedric got her specifically. He was following a device his mother had given to him. But when he got back to the ship, he had both Kate and Reesa with him."

Wormhole, Matt thought.

The intercom flicked to life; "Mr. Borden, we are about to disengage from the elevator."

Matt moved to answer, depressing the button in the wall. "Thank you, Romberg. What is my wife's status?"

"Wife?" Myron blinked in surprise.

"Communications with the Balor VII are scrambled, Sir. We cannot raise them."

Matt paused. "Scrambled?"

"Scrambled, Sir. There is some sort of outside interference."

He looked back at Myron. "How many men does Hedric have left?"

The pilot shrugged. "Freeman and Keats were both considered mutineers as well, but I was a little busy avoiding the Dromodus to really notice where they went."

"Son of a ... " Matt flicked the intercom back on. "Romberg. Take the back way in. Newbill. Chamberlain. Gear up."

He turned to frown at Kate. The surgery was completed. The screen showed the sutures as they were grafted into her skin with laser-fine precision. It would be several minutes before the doctor would wake her. And it would be several more weeks before she was fully healed. Reesa had asked him to get Kate safely away from Hedric, but he could do one better.

"Can you get her home?" Matt asked after a moment. He needed to hurry. He knew, down to his core, that Reesa was in danger.

"I'd need the coordinates from the Lothogy but ... yes. I could."

Matthew's eye twitched.

Yet another reason why he couldn't just blow that stupid ship to pieces.

"Very well," he said through his teeth and turned to leave.

He was not a gambling man but at that moment, Matt would have bet his entire company that the Lothogy was docked somewhere with the Balor. Incognito, of course, but docked nonetheless. And with half his Fomorri dead, there was very little standing between Hedric Prosser and Reesa Zimms.

Reesa Borden, his mind corrected.

His wife.

Matthew started to run.

"What's the trouble, Boss?" Newbill met him at the sleek corner that led into the main cargo bay.

"Hedric is docked with the Balor," Matt said.

"What for?"

"Reesa."

Newbill whistled low. "She's a looker, but I thought Hedric was one of those monogamous types."

Matt ignored the comment and slid down the ladder into the bay. Their armor was neatly arranged on several tables, awaiting repair. But he didn't imagine they needed their full suits. He saw Chamberlain walk in from the main engine room, frowning in confusion as he approached. Matt snagged a combat vest from his personal table and started to put it on while Newbill relayed the gist of the problem.

"Hedric's gone a little bonkers. Which if you ask me is no surprise, but apparently he'd rather have Mrs. Borden than the Mesa clone, and Boss-Man doesn't take too kindly to that." Newbill glanced at Matt. "That's the important bit, right?"

Matt smirked and nodded, strapping the vest tight around his torso.

"You're sure he'll go for your wife?" Chamberlain asked, but he was reaching for his own vest in the process.

Reesa's voice flashed into his memory; "Hedric blames me for the death of his wife."

"I'm sure," Matt said.

***

The first thing Reesa noticed as she fought her way out of drugged sleep was the light shining off a crystal glass. It seemed to sear into her vision, blurring just at the edges with a deep shade of blue. Bit by bit the glass came into focus, mostly empty but for a small pool of effervescent liquid right where the stem met with the sleek, tear-drop bowl.

Her scalp hurt.

In fact, all of her body hurt.

Reesa blinked once and had to force her eyes open again.

David was beside her, humming something low and cheerful as he set the glass on her bedside table. It took him a moment to realize that she was awake and then his face brightened with an expression that could only be described as triumphant. Reesa thought that she should have found her surroundings to be more alarming than she did. Whatever drugs she'd been given had kept her from dreaming, but she was certain that the growing sense of normalcy she had with being several hundreds of years into the future wasn't right.