Farthest Reef (31 page)

As
Diver
began to descend, her engines tore into the field, sending a cloud of green and yellow debris into the air. “What now, Commander?” Alex asked, holding
Diver’s
drive stick steady.

“I see
Tai Chi
,” said Tony happily. “On radar this stuff is transparent.
Tai Chi
is about ten meters down … pointed 45° downward. Listing … maybe 10°?”

“The clicker men are agitated,” announced Johnny out of the blue. “They’ve gotten more active as we descended.”

Matt Howarth had been quiet. Hearing mention of the clicks apparently woke him up. “You brought the clicks?” he asked. “Why?”

“In case,” was Stubbs’ terse response.

“But …”

Stubbs cleared his throat. “There is a theory – you’ve all heard it by now – that the spread of life could go from Earth to the stars, or that it springs uniquely where conditions are right. Gas giants are more common than planets like Earth, at least in our galactic neighborhood, and nearly all of them have vortexes.”

Alex saw where Stubbs’ argument was going. Stubbs was right, but he couldn’t see why that explained the presence of the clicks in
Diver’s
bay. At the moment Alex didn’t feel like arguing. He was focused on the fate of the
Tai Chi’s
crew.

Alex interrupted Johnny and Matt. “Any sign of Jeanne?”

“I’ve been looking,” offered Sciarra. “The high density radar is doing a pretty good job of mapping the wreck. But … well, let me flash it on the screen.”

A deep blue image flashed onto the main viewscreen. In the middle of it was a triangular black mass. As Tony adjusted his settings the image became sharper but still difficult to read. “You can see what I’m dealing with, Alex,” said Tony. “But if you look carefully …”

“They are cocooned, I’ll bet,” said Mary. “Were you unconscious after the crash, Matt?”

“Sure. Jeanne was the first to wake up. Her suit was gone when Connie and I …”

“I see what Mary’s getting at,” said Stubbs. “Something sealed you off from the environment and Jeanne got caught in the process.”

Out the window, in the distance, Alex happened to notice movement, like tall fronds waving. He lowered his tactical visor to use its telescopic abilities. Sensing the tactical visor in use, the computer silently assumed military readiness and activated
Diver’s
weapons. He didn’t notice the blinking words, WEAPONS READY, in the corner of his vision. He was concentrating on the line of spindly stalks with round orange topknots moving at the edge of the green plateau. They wobbled back and forth like spears on the shoulders of hidden soldiers. As he watched, zooming in on the details, more of them appeared. Then he noticed something huge approaching slowly in the sky above. “If we’re going to do something, we’d better do it now.”

With a few quick jerks on the drive stick, he adjusted the tilt of the ship and moved it toward the spot. At the same time he turned up the null-gee drive. “Johnny, I’m going to fire a wide field pulse with the sonic weapon. Our null-gee field might make the work easier.”

“Proceed,” said the Professor, almost formally.

Diver
responded, driven now by its military computer guidance. Sensing Alex’s movements because his visor was down, the position of the ship realigned slightly, then red letters in his visor said, “APPROVAL FOR .2K PULSE MEDIUM DISPERSAL.”

“Fire.”

The ship shuddered as a splash of green lifted skyward in front of the ship.

3
“Jeeps,” said Mary, staring through the cabin window at the strange airship looming in the distance. “That thing’s big.”

“Not much of a hole, Alex,” said Johnny. He had raised his bubble but still sat hunched forward, pondering his instruments. They could all could see the airship advancing toward them.

“Computer,” said Alex, “We need to dig through the material to get to
Tai Chi
.” He paused. “Do you understand?”

“
Yes, Alex
,” said the androgynous voice of the computer.

“Can you use the weapons system to dig down to, but not harm,
Tai Chi
? Note that something near the ship may be the cocooned body of a crewman.”

“
Evaluating query
,” answered the computer.

There was a moment of silence. Then Matt’s voice startled them all. “How are the clicks, Professor?”

Johnny frowned and looked down at his instruments. “Matt … I …”

“
Excavation plan ready.
”

Mary shifted uneasily in her seat, watching both Alex and the approaching threat.

“What do you think, Stubbs? Johnny?” asked Alex.

“Do it,” said Stubbs.

“
Commander Stubbs’ command imperative Alpha
,” said the computer. “
Firing for effect.
”
Diver
lurched in midair as the computer aimed the sonic barrage at the alien field. Everyone gripped their chairs and gritted teeth as the ground beneath them exploded in a pale green spray. Sooner than Alex expected, a hole had been dug and he could see the outline of
Tai Chi
. The computer brought the lasers on line and began trimming away methodically at the alien turf that still clung to the disabled ship.

Sitting up in his seat Alex stared at the massive hole. “Nice work, computer.”

“The stuff’s organic, according to the sensors,” remarked Johnny. “The laser blast is a good spectrometer. As I suspected, they use photosynthesis … or something like it. Pity we have no samplers.”

“Johnny,” said Alex. “Look there …” At the bottom of the hole, visible now that the smoke had partially cleared, lay
Tai Chi
. Her bruised and grimy hull had something attached to it that resembled a large black root vegetable.

Without a word to anyone, Tony unbuckled from his seat and leapt across the cabin to the cabinet that held the space suits.

“What are you doing, Sciarra?” asked Johnny.

Tony didn’t answer. He threw open the locker and began suiting up as quickly as he could manage. He looked back at Alex, adjusting glasses that had slipped down his nose. “Monoprong utility cables!” he shouted. “Where are they?”

“Can you see us? Is Jeanne outside?” injected the feeble voice of Matt Howarth.

Alex tore off his helmet. “We see you well enough, Matt,” he shouted. “Computer … move us as close as possible to
Tai Chi
.”

“
Recommend docking position and attitude.
”

“You took the words from my mouth, computer,” muttered Alex. “Execute maneuver as recommended.”

“
Executing maneuver,
” said the computer.

Mary jumped from her seat to assist Tony. Alex wasn’t sure if there were any patch cables aboard, but to his surprise Mary quickly found a twenty foot coil.

Sciarra was suited and at the hatch the moment the ships were in position. “Two things,” he ordered. “Outside, we’ll plug her in the utility port, and connect the cable to
Tai Chi’s
port.”

“Brilliant,” said Johnny. “Jump start
Tai Chi
! Can you hear me, Matt?”

“Yes … Commander,” answered Matt.

“Can Connie fly the ship? Assuming you have power, I mean?”

“I think so,” said the voice of Tsu. “We can feel your null-gee field.”

Alex locked down the drive stick and left his seat. “Computer … maintain our position,” he said loudly. Inflate side ramps. And pressurize the airlock.”

Mary stood beside Tony, suiting up to go outside. Alex grabbed the helmet from the locker. “Let me,” he said, holding it out of reach. “I don’t want you to go out there.”

“I’m up to this,” Mary said, inspecting the polyweb seams of her suit for defects. “You’re the pilot, Alex. Your job is to fly us out.” Her bright eyes met his and she smiled lovingly. “Isn’t that right?”

Tony was waiting by the airlock. “Let’s go!” he demanded. His helmet was on but Alex could hear the urgency in his voice.

“Okay,” said Alex. “But why don’t you take my pinger … for personal protection.”

“The gun? Are you crazy?”

“Crazy in love,” he said. “I want you to have a weapon out there.”

Mary looked at him and frowned. “Moving Jeanne into the hold will be a bit awkward holding a gun.” The red safety light above the airlock door began to flash. Mary pulled on her helmet. “They’re frail creatures, these reef dwellers, Alex.” Her voice was barely audible. “If I swatted one it would shatter. How can they hurt us?” She turned and activated the airlock, and the door opened. Tony carried the patch cable and Mary followed, pulling the door closed behind her.

“
Outside atmospheric pressure at 1.98 atmospheres,
” volunteered the computer. “
Carbon dioxide, 62%; Nitrogen, 20%, Oxygen; 3%, Ammonia, 10%; Water vapor …
”

“Higher pressure outside, Mary,” said Alex through the intercom. “If you smell a stink …” But Mary Seventeen had already opened the outer door and blue light was streaming into the airlock. Wasting no time, she and Tony stepped out, dragging the cable behind them. It took only a few seconds for Tony to plug one end of the cable into a receptacle near the airlock door.

“The port is active,” announced Johnny.

Mary put up her thumb as a signal to Johnny. “I can see the plug.”

Tony’s voice added: “It’s clear.” Mary and Tony tested the inflated rampart that now filled the gap between the two ships. When the platform proved solid, Mary made a dash over to
Tai Chi’s
hull. She rapped her gloved knuckles against the plating.

“I hear you,” said Matt’s voice. “Thank God.”

Tony began hefting the bulky cable toward the other ship while Mary cleared debris from
Tai Chi’s
utility port. Tony handed her the plug and she secured it easily. She saw Alex, watching nervously at
Diver’s
cabin window, and waved. “The umbilical cord is tied, Alex,” she said. “Do your stuff.”

Mary focused her attention on the black cocoon glued to
Tai Chi’s
hull, near the airlock door. She reached out with her gloved hand and touched it, testing its hardness and the strength of the strands that connected the mass to the hull. Pulling a knife from her belt, she began severing them. They cut away easily, producing little puffs of yellow dust as they broke.

Alex was torn between watching Mary and the rim of the crater. The hole in the alien soil looked like it had been cut from a block of gray foam. Tubular, tapered, spikes of plants hung from the rim and dropped into the crater floor. Ruined specimens clung together in sticky clumps at the edge of the rim. Some hung from the fluffy black material that held them in place, and others lay shattered like glass around the hulls of the two ships. Alex was watching for the company he knew would soon be at the rim, or in the sky. “Are you keeping track of the radar, Johnny?”

“I’ve been watching it, Alex,” said Stubbs. “The blimp is approaching our position. I also see ground movement nearby. Just traces, I’m afraid, but my guess is the troops are here.”

Outside, Mary had cut the cocoon free and Tony was helping her maneuver it to
Diver’s
hatch. “You can power up
Tai Chi
,” announced Tony.

“Computer, channel power to the outside utility port,” ordered Johnny. “But don’t cut any of our systems.”

“
Command executed
.”

“Great!” shouted Matt. “The lights are on. “

“MPCs charging. Systems starting to power up …” added Connie’s voice. “Ahhhh,” she added, “Air!”

The sky above the hole suddenly darkened as a long armature glided into view. At the same time Alex spotted movement at the rim of the crater. Several jointed stick-like appendages poked out from the edge and began waving back and forth.

“Mary! We have company,” shouted Alex. “Get Jeanne inside fast and seal the hatch!” Then he froze. “Dingers, I sure hope those cables will release automatically.”

“Yup,” said Tony’s voice. “The bolts can be blown.”

The viewscreen showed Mary and Tony lift the cocoon and haul it inside
Diver’s
hatchway. Mary appeared at the inner window of the airlock and waved. “Secure the hatch, Johnny,” said her voice on the intercom.

“Another ten seconds and
Tai Chi’s
power cells will be hummin’,” added Tony.

“We can’t leave the cables outside,” said Stubbs. “Contamination.”

“That’s okay, commander,” said Alex. “We can sterilize the hole with the lasers.” He was still keeping an eye on the rim and saw more spidery legs come into view. Something that looked like a yellow and blue striped carrot emerged over the edge and dropped a shiny silver ball into the hole. It fell a few meters, then stopped, dangling on a thin line above the ship. Alex guessed it was a probe or some kind of weapon.

It turned out to be neither. The glassy bulb began to glow, bathing the crater in an eerie blue light. Despite the glare Alex was able to see the ever increasing ranks of creatures at the rim peering down into the hole. But he saw nothing that looked like the creature’s bodies, only legs waving in the air.

“
Tai Chi
powered up,” said Howarth. His voice sounded stronger and much more confident.

Now the airship above them had moved into full view, eclipsing the glowing white sky. The thing was translucent and Alex could see the ghostly shape of a great wheel turning slowly inside. Though he couldn’t see the entire vessel, he could tell that it was shaped like a clam shell topped with a carousel of armatures which hung out beyond the perimeter of the vessel, ending in different shaped tips, presumably to perform different tasks. One of them, a long silver arm that terminated in a flawless glassy blue orb, was being lowered toward the crater.

“It looks like a sky crane,” said Alex. “Maybe they want to haul us outa here.”

A bell sounded, announcing the airlock was pressurized. Mary and Tony rushed into the cabin and hurriedly shut the door behind them. Inside the airlock the black cocoon remained, secured by a mesh net to the side of the chamber.

Minus the environmental suits they’d left in the airlock, Tony and Mary went to the head.

“I guess we’ll have to do this together,” said Tony, sporting a subtle grin. “Decontamination cycle for two, coming up.”