It suddenly occurred to her that back on Earth, the maneuver she’d just performed would have been recorded. They also may have received some unsettling transmissions from Providence over the last few days. The folks in Houston and Washington were probably beside themselves with worry and apprehension. She’d need to send them a reassuring message ASAP. But that would have to wait a few more minutes.
“Ok. Let’s just stay here for a while, then,” she said abstractedly.
“Full stop, Qua’dux?”
Jane sighed. “Yes, full stop.”
“It would be advisable to don protective gear before approaching the vessel.”
“Ei’Brai—”
“Your colleagues are not themselves; their actions, unpredictable. I urge prudence, Qua’dux.” His voice vibrated with insistence.
Jane turned a corner and stopped short. A single suit of armor squatted in the middle of the hallway. Ei’Brai had sent it there to wait for her.
Jane shook her head, remembering Alan’s response to the armor. “I don’t want to frighten them.”
“That hardly matters,” Ei’Brai countered disdainfully. “A single ballistic missile could bring dusk upon you. Prevention is preferable to remorse.”
His reasoning was selfish, but he was right, she conceded. She’d harbored a childish hope that the ionic burst alone would instantly cure them. That wasn’t realistic. If she really was to save them, she had to protect herself from them. She stripped down, wadded up her clothing, and shoved it into an armored compartment, then stepped into the suit.
The suit conformed to and integrated with the brace she wore on her right leg. It enveloped her, squeezing her lightly, like a warm hug. The HUD came up. She silenced its prompts with a thought.
Ei’Brai’s voice vibrated in an effusive manner that she hadn’t heard before. “This endeavor has proceeded more than satisfactorily, Qua’dux Jane Holloway. We work proficiently together, despite our nascent alliance. As I predicted, we comprise a union far superior to the sum of its components. An illustrious future awaits us. There will be elaborate tales woven into great tapestries of narrative about this exalted day. The female Terran, Quasador Dux Jane Holloway and the sislix Kubodera, Ei’Brai.”
Jane didn’t reply. She wasn’t in it for fame and glory on some remote planet. He knew that.
He wasn’t really either—well, not much anyway. It was just easier for him to say these kinds of things than to express gratitude for her companionship, for accepting the role he knew she didn’t really want. But she knew how he felt. It was an undercurrent in every conversation. She wasn’t ready to acknowledge it yet. It was too fresh.
She stretched and flexed within the suit, retrieving the muscle memory she needed to operate it smoothly, and turned to resume her course toward chamber 246.
The capsule was locked from the inside. No one responded to her attempts at communication. Standing outside, she could hear muffled voices. From time to time the capsule vibrated.
Finally, Jane activated a cutting tool embedded in the armor and carefully circumscribed the outline of the hatch. There was a loud hiss as the pressure between the two environments equalized. Jane grasped the hatch and lifted it outward with exceeding slowness, so as not to alarm anyone inside.
Even with Ei’Brai’s preparation, she was shocked. Walsh was slumped in a corner, his eyes vacant and glazed over. Ajaya was perched on top of Gibbs, hammering a fist into his face, repeatedly. Gibbs pulled his knees to his chest and used them to push Ajaya off him. Ajaya picked up a piece of analytical equipment and raised it over her head when she caught sight of Jane.
Jane backed up a step. “Ajaya? It’s me, Jane, inside this suit.”
Ajaya growled. Her eyes had gone feral. She launched herself at the opening in the hatch, clambered through, and knocked Jane to the floor.
The HUD flashed several options. One of them was an anti-combatant sedative injection. That sounded like a fantastic idea. The suit calculated Ajaya’s mass and prepared the dose.
Ajaya raged on top of Jane, spittle flying, hair whipping around her face.
Jane stayed limp and rocked in the suit until the dose was ready so she wouldn’t inadvertently hurt Ajaya.
A sound came from the capsule. It was Gibbs climbing out of the hatch. His face was bloody, contorted and swollen. Ajaya ceased beating Jane’s armored head against the floor and turned, eyes wild.
It was the perfect opportunity. Jane injected her in the stomach.
Ajaya bucked and screamed, but fell limp on top of Jane a second later.
Jane eased Ajaya to the floor and rolled to her feet. She held out a hand. “It’s me, Ron. It’s Jane.”
He shook his head slowly. He circled her in a crouch. He was like a coiled cat, ready to pounce, but warily exploring his options before deciding his next move.
Jane realized he might slip out the door into the hallway. She didn’t relish the idea of chasing him around the ship. Ei’Brai shut that door before Jane could even formulate a question.
That seemed to make the decision for Gibbs. He barreled into Jane, knocking her back into the capsule with a crash. She was ready with the sedative. It was over a second later.
Jane slipped Gibbs to the floor and staggered back to survey the scene. She felt a little weak from the emotional turmoil of the day. What would she have done if the decades-old sedative hadn’t worked? She didn’t want to contemplate that.
Ei’Brai was silent. The nanites had not been his fault. She couldn’t blame him for this. They’d taken a million different risks when they stepped aboard the Speroancora and a million more when they’d gone in without protective suits. The nanites were programed to seek out and attach themselves to humanoids. It was a small miracle that she and Alan had remained clear.
The tight quarters of the capsule must have allowed the nanites to infect all three of them and replicate rapidly. Ei’Brai had been correct when he’d dissuaded her—she wouldn’t want to be in any of their heads right now. All three of them needed some quality time in the Sanalabreum. She just hoped it would be able to reverse the damage done to them.
She slipped back into the hallway for the stretcher she’d left there and piled all three of their bodies onto it. It was undignified, but they’d never know as long as she got them all to the medical chambers as soon as possible.
She retracted the helmet as she pushed off for the nearest deck transport. The worst of this business was over. It was time to tie up the remaining loose ends from her past and look ahead.
The future seemed inscrutable, formidable, frightening, but…exciting.
She couldn’t wait.
27
The Squid said Jane was in the captain’s quarters—the Qua’dux’s quarters. Whatever. She’d taken up residence there, called it home, apparently, and that’s where she was. Bergen was pacing the corridor just outside her door, attempting to minimize his limp, and rehearsing what he hoped to say to her…if he could just get it to come out right.
Where are we?
Where do we stand, Jane?
Or….
Where do I stand, in your life?
Do we have a future?
Do you want one?
What do you want?
Is it…my leg?
Ugh. No. He looked down at the leg, disguised inside a fresh flight suit. Don’t say anything about the goddamn leg. Just relax. Smile. Be charming as all fuck and it should be fine.