The Evolution of Vaughn, page 15
“There’s no easy approach,” said Vaughn. “We’re just going to have to rush it.”
“I know you prefer the direct confrontation, but there is another way. We could drop the armor and pretend to be one of them.”
“That’s crazy, Fre. If they figure it out, they’ll infect you.”
“You’re immune though, Vaughn. And the Maxists seemed to think you gain some kind of super-power when you’re bitten.”
“I’m not risking Matty’s life on that chance. I’m going in.” Vaughn took off at a run, straight for the facility.
“Fucking Vaughn,” mumbled Fresia, taking off after him.
Vaughn was faster than Fresia, and made it across the barren, muddy flat nearly a minute before her. He was looking at the on the corner of the building. “It needs a code. I don’t have a code.”
“Let me take a look.” Fresia kicked the panel, knocking the cover off. Inside, dozens of wires ran between computer chips. While she worked, Vaughn pulled out the cylinder and extended the line of ionic plasma. He drove it into the door. Molten metal sparked out. When he was finished, he put the cylinder back in his wrist. It was almost out of power.
“Dammit, Vaughn, I could have done it.”
“Sorry Fre, time to go.” Vaughn stepped back just as a large circle of the door crashed outward into the mud.
The two stepped into a long hallway that ran along the outside wall. “At least there isn’t an alarm,” she said.
“We need to find a terminal and see what’s going on here.” Vaughn reached around to the small of his back and pulled out a small, clear bag covered in thin wire mesh. “Be sure you bag any we come across.”
The pair crept silently down the hallway. There were windows to the left, and doors on the right. Vaughn checked the first door. Inside a man sat at a desk, working on a terminal. A look of surprise crossed his face as two intimidating looking armored people rushed his room. Vaughn leapt over the desk, shoved the metal bag over his head and then twisted, breaking its neck. He twisted farther, pulling the head from the corpse completely and set it on the desk, still inside the mesh bag.
Fresia closed the door.
Vaughn looked at the head on the desk. “What do you do here?”
The head’s eyes rotated towards him. “Research,” the head replied.
“What kind of research?”
“We are not at liberty to discuss. You will never make it out of here alive.” Thick, black blood ran out of the head, pooling on the desk.
“Who is Matthew Troupe,” said Vaughn.
“We know nothing.”
“Where is he?”
“We know nothing.
“You are cut off from your counterparts by the bag. You’re a head on a desk. If you talk to me, I’ll end you. If you don’t, I’ll leave you bagged for eternity, and deliver you to our scientists to study until you rot. Then you’ll be a pile of bugs living for eternity in a small pool of goo, separated from your collective, while our scientists use you to learn how to wipe out the rest of your kind.”
“We are not afraid.”
“You will be,” Vaughn snarled. He tied the bottom of the sack and looped the knot through a small ring at his waist. He turned and faced the data terminal. His visor translated the words on the screen for him. “They’re building a weapon here. Grab a crystal out of my pack. I want to get this research to Halle.”
Fresia pulled a small crystal out of the front pouch of Vaughn’s backpack and handed it to him. He set it on the terminal and started downloading everything the E’Clei had access to while Vaughn looked for any sign of Matthew.
“I can’t find anything about him here. Let’s go room to room.”
Vaughn moved to the next room with the first E’Clei’s head bouncing against his leg. He extended the blades mounted above his wrist, opened the next door, vaulted the desk, and drove them into the head of the parasite before it could react.
Room by room, they cleared the offices. Each had a single occupant in a small cubicle-like office. At the end of the building, the hallway turned right and ran the depths of the offices, where it ended in a closed door with a large window.
Vaughn peered through the window into a hangar. They were building a ship. Apparently, a ship that had some sort of massive weapon system on it, from the bit of research he looked through. “What kind of research would require such a small group on such a remote planet?” Four E’Clei were working inside the hangar.
Vaughn lightly tapped the window. “Think that railgun would shoot through this?”
“Maybe.” Fresia stepped forward and lined up a shot on the nearest E’Clei. He was standing at a terminal, staring at the display. Two Geraldinians were working on the inside of the ship, carrying two large containers up into the vessel. Vaughn drew his plasma pistol.
She fired the weapon through the glass. The group of E’Clei looked surprised at their sudden appearance and then tried to scatter away. Using the moment of surprise, Vaughn stepped forward through the door and fired at the two Geraldinians. The fourth was behind the ship, rapidly scurrying for a weapon of his own. Fresia ran forward into the room until she could draw on him and fired again. The last E’Clei dropped to the ground and the room was silent.
“The collective will recognize that none of us are part. They will send more to investigate,” the head said from Vaughn’s waist.
“Then we’ll just have to get out of here. Is the ship functional?”
“We do not know.”
“Damn, you’re useless,” he muttered. “Fresia, get inside the ship. See if it’s operational. If it isn’t, we’ll blow it and I’ll call Halle to rendezvous here. If it’s space-worthy, we’ll take it.”
She ran into the ship, while Vaughn checked the terminals. The ship was smaller than Halle, and more than sixty percent of it was used in power generation. Another twenty percent was the weapon. Vaughn could find no information about what it actually did.
“The ship is complete,” Fresia said through the com unit in her helm. “The weapon is… Well Vaughn, you’ve gotta see this.”
“Give me a minute.” Vaughn placed the data crystal on the terminal, and left it there while he found the bay door controls. He opened the roof, and then started setting explosive charges throughout the hangar.
“Fre, we have to go release the Sliuvarg’s hatchery.”
“Why would we do that? They’re fucking monsters. That’s not our business,” replied Fresia. “They killed and ate millions of people.”
“Only because they were forced to. I gave my word to the king.”
“Alright. You’re the captain, but while we’re helping those fucking things breed, Matty is somewhere being tortured.”
“I know. Believe me, I know. But I don’t think Matt would want me to leave them either.”
“I’ve started the pre-flight systems diagnostic. The computer isn’t being very helpful. Maybe it’ll be done before we get back.”
The pair jogged out of the building, and headed in the direction the Sliuvarg hatching grounds. As they neared, there were four armed E’Clei facing the hatching grounds. Towers at all four corners of the area were probably the sound generators that kept the Sliuvarg away.
“Take them out,” Vaughn said. Fresia fired the rail gun four times, while Vaughn hit the towers with his plasma gun. In seconds the E’Clei corpses were surrounded by Sliuvarg, who ripped them to shreds. When they were finished, they circled Vaughn and Fresia.
King Sslex stepped forward out of the crowd. “It iss good. You have honor. You are friend of Sssliuvarg. You keep King Sslex tooth. Bring good fortune and keep you safe.”
“Thank you, King Sslex. Please make sure your people stay out of the building. It is going to explode.”
“Sssliuvarg hear friend Vaughn Troupe. Ssstay out of building,” he ordered. They all nodded their heads.
“Farewell, Sslex, King of the Sliuvarg,” Fresia said.
The pair ran back into the building. The ship was flight ready, and space capable, although the primary weapon was not complete. They rocketed out of the hangar. When they hit the upper atmosphere, Vaughn pressed a few buttons on his arm and the building below exploded.
Once in orbit, Vaughn docked with Halle, powered down the E’Clei ship and sealed it off.
“I don’t trust their ship, Halle. When we get out of this, I’d like for you to hack their system and make sure it’s on our side.”
“Yes, Captian. However, I would like to point out that the E’Clei don’t use artificial intelligence. It is unlikely their ship is for us or against us.”
“Whatever. Just make sure it’s on our side, okay?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Get us to a hiding place and calculate the fold to the next spot.”
“Already calculated, sir. I’m moving into position now.”
“How did you pre-calculate?”
“It took more time to add in the planetary drift variables, but I needed something to do while you were on the planet.”
“But planetary drift is random,” said Fresia. “How would you calculate for it?”
“It is random over time. But over the course of a few hours, it’s just a matter of finding a route within tolerance, Commander. The trip will be a little longer than it would have, but it’s faster than calculating on the fly.”
“How much extra power will it take to include the docked ship in our Alcubierre field?”
“Twelve percent.”
“Excellent,” Vaughn said, reaching up for the railing.
“Brace for the fold,” said Halle.
Chapter 22 Wedding in the Garden
Date: 415th Year of Emperor Valek Foger XXVI
Years earlier, Vaughn and Sarah walked along the Essil River in the Emperor’s compound. The path wound through perfectly manicured gardens, with the flora of Foger on full display. Each leaf was perfectly manicured. Thousands of the Emperor’s personal gardeners tended to each plant every day. If a single leaf showed any sign of blight, disease, or trauma, it was treated and repaired. The path they were walking on was made of small stones, the size of Vaughn’s thumbnail, individually gathered and placed in the path by hand. Every day, the stones were relayed, as careless footfalls displaced them. It was an honor of the highest order to be allowed to walk the gardens alone.
Vaughn was wearing his dress uniform. Brown form-fitting pants with black stripes down the outside of his leg, tucked in to tall, superbly polished brown boots. His shirt was white and perfectly fitted and his brown, floor-length gnarg hide coat sparkled with insignias and Vaughn’s medals for valor, heroic action in combat, and the most prized Exemplary Service to the Emperor, the medal that had earned him the right to be in the gardens. Sarah was wearing a long, white gown. The low-cut bodice was beaded with tiny, intricate gemstones, forming a beautiful swirling pattern that outlined her figure and highlighted her features. Her long, brown hair was braided in a hundred intricate braids, and filled with tiny white flowers, and had a long gossamer veil trailing down her back.
“I love you,” Vaughn said. “I know that we’d always planned to explore the universe together, but I don’t feel like I can do that with this leg.” He tapped his steel leg with his cane. “There are options. On Loe, I can buy a completely cybernetic leg. Covered with real skin, that has real nerves and behaves just like a real leg. Several Humans have done it with amazing success. I could be whole again.”
“Whatever it takes, baby. I’m always right here by your side,” Sarah replied.
“I’ve never told anyone what I’m about to tell you. But now that you’re my wife, I have no reason to keep it a secret from you. When I first graduated from the War Institute, I was sent out into an unknown location in deep space. The challenge was to figure out where I was, and to make the fold calculations to get home.”
“Okay,” Sarah said, waiting for him to get to the new information.
“I told everyone that I was sent to the same area as Kinfron, and we were attacked by pirates. That wasn’t exactly true.”
“You lied on an official mission report? You got a commendation from the Emperor!”
“I left a part out of that official report.” Vaughn had been telling the pirate story for so long he almost believed it himself. “Mid-fold, my ship had a coolant leak, and I was forced to unfold somewhere in deep space. The coolant leak forced me to shut down the ship. Luckily, there was a small moon orbiting a gas giant in the system. I was able to make it to that moon to make the necessary repairs to the ship before finishing the fold and ending up at my destination.”
“Why did you leave that out of the report?”
“Because the planet is covered in Argimonium. Enough to set us up for life. There’s so much money there we could build a fleet of ships. In just a few years mining that moon, we could explore the universe in a comfortable ship.” Vaughn reached into his pocket and pulled out a vessel. Inside, a stone floated in clear liquid. The lump gave off a faint blue glow. “Just before I left the moon, I filled up a water bottle with sand from the ground. Literally I just scooped three double handfuls of sand into the container. This is the Argimonium that was in that sand.”
“Holy shit,” Sarah gasped. “Put that away before someone sees it! How much is that worth?”
“It’s enough that you could quit your job. No more hauling. No more heavy labor. It’s enough that we can afford my new leg, the materials to build a house, and mining equipment.”
“But it was always your dream to explore. You wanted to expand the Empire’s star charts and find a galaxy without the E’Clei, where people can live in peace.”
Vaughn looked at his new wife, his eyes filled with excitement and passion. “And I still want to do that, Sarah. I want to do that with you. But what if that galaxy has something worse than the E’Clei? What if I get sick? What if we have a child? What if we travel for five years and don’t find anything at all? Outfitting a ship that will keep us safe, healthy, happy, and comfortable for all those years is expensive. This is our ticket.” He shook the small bottle for emphasis. After she gave him a warning look, he put the container away.
“That’s my Vaughn. You always have a backup plan to your contingency plan,” She said, giggling as she squeezed his hand. “I love you, Vaughn Troupe. I have since I was ten years old, and I will continue to love you until my last breath. If you want to mine, I will be there with you. If you want to explore deep space, I couldn’t imagine a more exciting life. As long as we’re together, there is nothing we can’t do.”
“I love you too. I have one more secret to tell you, Mrs. Troupe.”
“You mean, other than that you’re soon to be the richest man in the galaxy?”
“I have a ship. I’d like to introduce you to Halle.” Vaughn handed Sarah an ear piece.
“Hello, Mrs. Troupe. I am excited to have you aboard. Vaughn has told me so much about you, I feel like I already know you.”
“Uh, Hi, Halle,” Sarah said, making a face at Vaughn.
“Halle is aware. Talk to her like a person.”
“This is kind of weird… I’m pleased to meet you, Halle. I look forward to you telling me all about yourself. And to hearing stories about Vaughn,” she said, giggling. “For now, I’m going to sign off and spend some time with my husband.”
“Good night, Sarah. Congratulations.”
“Good night, Halle.” Sarah handed the ear piece back to Vaughn.
“You built an artificial intelligence? Isn’t that illegal?”
“Well... Not exactly illegal... It sort of happened by accident. And once it was done, I didn’t have the heart to kill her.”
“This is a lot to take in,” she said, slowly shaking her head. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?”
Vaughn stopped walking and pulled his new bride close. “Just that I love you with all that I am, and all I’ll ever be. You are the reason I wake up in the morning. Everything good in my life starts and ends with you, Sarah Troupe.”
Sarah hugged him back, and kissed him passionately. Vaughn broke the kiss and turned her to look out over the river. “There is one more thing, but it’s a show, not something to tell you.” Vaughn put his arm around his wife and pointed her towards the river. They stepped off the path onto a viewing platform that led out over the water.
Directly across from them, thousands of fireworks rose into the air, exploding in rings and circles.
Sarah screamed in fright as red and green arcs of colored fire shot outward from each explosion. “It’s perfectly safe. They’re just pretty,” Vaughn whispered, holding her tightly. “This is how my heart feels when I look at you.”
All through the city people stopped and looked at the sky. Thousands of people throughout the city took cover, thinking the mid-air explosions were some sort of attack. After ten minutes with no damage, people started venturing out to watch and marvel at the display.
Fourteen million people saw fireworks for the first time, celebrating the marriage of Vaughn and Sarah Troupe. Years before, Vaughn was watching a recording from ancient earth. The video footage was salvaged from Queen Willa’s private collection, showing wildly colored flying caricatures of people and earth animals, held down by Humans with ropes walking down the street. Thousands of Humans lined the street to watch these things fly past. Almost every one of them was holding pieces of paper or cloth with red and white stripes, a blue field in the upper right corner covered in white stars. At the end of the show, the audio worked well enough to make out the words “Parade” and “Fireworks.” Vaughn spent years figuring out how they worked, and had hired a dozen scientists to recreate them.
During the grand finale, thousands of rockets flew high into the sky, exploding into hearts and stars, perfectly aligned. Each trajectory and height of the explosion perfectly coordinated in the clear night sky. High above their heads, The Emperor stood on his balcony and wept at the beauty of the colored explosions in the sky.
Chapter 23 E’Clei
Date: 432nd Year of Emperor Valek Foger XXVI
