Chapter 36
Alice
He had come for her. John Doe. He seemed like a rash she couldn’t get rid of. Just as she had been allowing herself to mellow into the fact that she now had help, he had reared his ugly head.
Okay, he wasn’t that ugly; by human standards he was probably incredibly handsome. But that was not the point.
He was the last person in the universe she needed on her back. And the fact that he had found her meant one thing; John Doe had been looking for Alice. She really doubted that he had been taking a stroll in full, incredible armor along an abandoned section of the docking ring of Orion Major only to run into her.
Not wearing that kind of armor. Alice knew enough about the Union Forces and their upgrades to realize that what John had been wearing was top of the line. It was the kind of stuff you brought out when you knew you were about to fight a war.
He had come prepared.
Shaking her head again, rubbing her hands over her bare arms, Alice tried to catch hold of her courage.
‘It is not recommended that you allow this incident to affect you,’ Helper said from her side. Though his tone was, as always, competent and quick, Alice could tell that the little electronic bubble was about as surprised as she was.
Neither of them had detected John. Helper was an ridiculously sophisticated piece of technology who could integrate easily with the ICNs all around him. He was far beyond any of the technology in the docking ring. And as for Alice, she was an Old One. Her own senses were incredible.
Yet neither of them had seen John coming.
Still shaking, her skin cold as the energy within her body destabilized slightly, Alice pressed her eyes closed.
‘It is not recommended that you let this affect you,’ Helper said again, but his tone was quicker this time, his chirped electronic voice almost slurring.
She could tell that he was distressed by what he was seeing, and there was good reason for that.
Alice was an amazing creature, capable of astounding things, but nothing in this universe was perfect. And for all her wonderful abilities, she had problems that far exceeded them.
Yes, she had access to some of the most fantastic energy in the universe, capable of re-energizing Old Technology. But it came with its problems. When Alice was healthy, of sound mind, and had complete control of herself, there was almost nothing she wasn’t capable of. When she was unhealthy, damaged, or had faced some kind of situation that undermined every scrap of courage and control she could muster over her emotions, things got serious.
It felt like she would go into meltdown. All of that energy swirling around in her suddenly became chaotic, and started to do the strangest of things to her body. A part of her left arm suddenly stiffened so much that the skin around it almost felt like it would start to crack. And her left foot became so heavy that it started to dig down into the metal gangway underneath her. A section of her hair began to change color, and her left knee started to buck forward and backwards faster and faster.
‘We are out of immediate danger,’ Helper said very quickly, darting closer to her, resting barely 30 centimeters from her face as he hovered there, one of his electronic beams scanning over her body. ‘It is not recommended that you let this affect you,’ it repeated for the third time.
She knew that, God did she know that, but she couldn’t stop the fear from rippling through her. She couldn’t regain her control and stop the meltdown.
‘It is recommended that, although the plans I have suggested are imperfect, we immediately pick one and enact it. We must get off this planet,’ Helper darted around her head in a circle, and came to rest on her shoulder.
It was such an odd move and reminded her of a Dopring jungle cat. Despite the fact Helper was a simple electronic ball, he had a deep warmth, and the import of his move managed to cut through Alice’s fear and still her for a moment.
It reinforced one simple fact. She was no longer alone.
Reaching a hand up to him, waiting for him to dart into it, she brought her shaking arm around and stared right at him.
He didn’t have a face; he had no eyes to stare out with as every single one of his sensors could work in every single direction. Nonetheless, she picked a point and she stared right at it.
‘Thank you,’ she croaked.
‘Statements of thanks should wait until we have left the atmosphere and are steadily on our way to escape,’ Helper chirped.
She muddled her way through a laugh and smile, her stomach twitching forward, one of her legs tensing, and the skin of her right arm prickling.
But while her sensations were still chaotic, they were starting to wane.
‘Just pick a plan, any plan, the best one you can think of, and direct me,’ she told Helper as she took the opportunity to stare out around her.
When she had jumped off the railing only to grab Helper and let him fly her towards safety, he had taken her well out of sight of John Doe, up to the top of the docking ring, and had not landed until they had reached one of the outermost layers.
So here she was, standing on the very top of a curved roof with the view of nothing but clouds and ocean in front of her, and the docking ring full of ships behind.
She could not stay here. She would be in plain view of anyone walking along the gangway and no doubt John Doe had already recalibrated the docking ring sensors to search for her.
‘I will interfere with their scans and attempt to restrict access to their ICN,’ Helper told her in a ringing voice.
He did not move from her palm, and his distinct vibrating energy fed back into her skin. He was warm, not the same warmth you might feel from a living breathing organism, but something distinct, something unique.
‘How long will that take?’
‘Minutes; unfortunately I will not be able to access it quicker. Security protocols have been heightened. As we speak many systems are being locked down.’
Alice bared her teeth, squeezing her eyes closed for a moment. When she opened them again, it was to the view of sky and ocean.
She was standing on top of a floating doughnut-shaped city, kilometers and kilometers above the planet’s surface. Below her was nothing but cloud and ocean, above nothing but sky and space.
And she felt trapped. In this enormous advance of space and sea, somehow she felt as if she was being squeezed into oblivion.
‘Do whatever you have to,’ she said in a single breath.
‘It is recommended that we move towards the central engine unit,’ Helper finally darted out of her hand and a meter to her left.
She followed his move, her gaze flicking beyond him.
Though she was unfamiliar with the floating docking rings of Orion Major, she knew how to sense her own technology.
And underneath this epic floating city she could feel it.
The Old Ones.
The trace they always left in their devices. The sense of something more.
She could taste it on the wind.
‘The central engine unit utilizes a form of floating, anti-gravitational technology based upon Old Technological design,’ Helper said as he darted forward.
He did not stop to turn around to see if Alice was following him, or maybe he did; he didn’t have a face, after all. But Alice did not hesitate. She ran at full pelt after her darting little friend.
‘With simple manipulation, you will be able to overcome the central engine unit’s internal protocols, altering the field dynamics,’ Helper sped up.
Alice had no trouble in matching its speed. The two of them were now heading across the roof so quickly that Alice’s feet hardly touched the metal.
She could see what they were headed towards. A section of raised roof with a single, tall, long spire that pulled up into the sky. Whereas most of the rest of the docking ring was painted in blacks and grays and whites, the spire was a curious shade of dark green. And the closer Alice got, the more curious it seemed. The green appeared to dance and move and shift around, as i
f the color itself was bending in towards some incredible source then breaking around in a wave.
‘If it comes to it, you will be able to alter the technology of that field to generate a complete shield,’ Helper finally finished.
Alice’s mouth descended into a frown.
While she was an Old One, there was a great deal about her kind that she did not know. And that included the finer subtleties of their technologies and theories. Pumping air through her cheeks, she kept her eyes locked on that strange green spire. ‘What do you mean? What is a complete shield?’
‘Simple. The greatest shield technology that the foundational races possessed. There is nothing within this universe, nothing that the Union possesses, that will be able to break through it,’ Helper kept on darting forward.
Just for a second Alice slowed. It was not because she suddenly ran out of energy; his words had shocked her. Not because she had not expected her race capable of creating such powerful technology. But because of what Helper was actually suggesting.
‘I can’t, I just can’t,’ she wobbled and stumbled over her words. ‘If I create a complete shield, I’ll draw attention to myself. They’ll know what I am,’ her voice shuddered so badly that it was hard to force it through her throat.
‘I know who you are,’ Helper pointed out simply.
‘You know what I mean. I can’t run the risk of the rest of the universe finding out that a member of the Old Ones is still alive,’ her voice was choked, her words practically indistinguishable. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact she was talking to a sophisticated piece of technology, Helper would not have been able to pick up what she had just said.
‘Though I agree this is a functional strategy for now, it may not always be the best option.’
As she ran her features crumpled into a twisted look of confusion. ‘The alternative is suicide.’
‘The alternative is not suicide,’ Helper corrected. ‘There are many different scenarios that could ensue from this eventuality.’
‘I’m never going to do it,’ certainty rang through her voice.
‘If you find yourself fighting for something worthwhile, you will. It is only logical. At this point in time you have no good reason to reveal yourself. If circumstances change, you will do what is best for your own survival,’ he corrected her again.
Her lips parted, her jaw dropping open. She was ready to tell him that would never happen. There was no eventuality that would force her into willingly revealing herself to the Union.
Then she stopped. Because he was right. Helper was just computing the possibilities, as he always said. And no matter how limited Alice’s imagination was at that point, even she could appreciate that there were things out there that would get her to do the unimaginable, to reveal herself and her powers.
She just hoped that would never happen.
‘Once we have arrived at the central engines, I can manipulate their field to ensure it is impossible to track you. They will also make it far harder for anyone to get a transport lock on our position,’ Helper pointed out.
Transport lock.
The very possibility of it made Alice speed up. Her brow was covered in sweat, her hands moved like lightning by her side.
If John had managed to find her, then it was not outside the realm of possibility that he would try to transport her again.
And that would no doubt end in tears.
But she knew she had a chance. If she stayed with Helper, if she relied on his ability to objectively read the situation to keep her safe, just maybe Alice would get out of this.