Lutzger could not believe his luck gaining full access to the cull master's pad. But after investigating the Synth section in the Prophesy, there was still a piece missing- a communications device, used to issue sub-vocalized Synth activation. Something so powerful it would never be out of the cull master's possession. The Kharg must have it on him.
He knew that the only way to cull specifically was through this device. He was helpless to perform his duties much less kill Slang and whoever else threatened him. Getting access to the control Synths was going to be difficult and culling through Kharg's pad would be grossly indiscriminate to say the least, but he did not see any other options.
His cabin door announced Slangtong again.
Lutzger opened the door quickly, again startling Slang. "What is it now?" he said leaning in close to Slang's distorted face.
"The radiation sickness is worse than originally thought," Slang muttered.
"What? Explain."
"The Navis experienced many seconds of intense radiation," Slang said. "It appears Commander Johnston 31 tried to destroy the Navis several weeks ago. She somehow transited over two hundred nukes into null space just before the Supreme Command closed the barrier and saved us all. Many of the slave goodlife were in poorly shielded parts of the ship. Current estimates are over 80 percent mortality within six Sol months."
Lutzger looked Slang up and down with disgust. "Percentage of arrivals post irradiation?"
Slang seemed to cower even more than usual. "Nearly 20 percent, Master."
Kharg's pad had indicated at least three times that number of survivors would be the minimum necessary to support the Leadership.
Lutzger could not care less, except now he knew what the Leadership would expect of him.
"And Captain Abdiel requires your presence, Master." Slang added cautiously.
"Abdiel can wait," Lutzger said. The last thing he wanted was to meet the ship's captain. It would be inevitable, and he was sure that it would also result in the ruse as cull master ending miserably. "I must personally oversee the inventory process. Notify Sukat and the other hub commanders to prepare to restart goodlife transits immediately. I presume there is still sufficient inventory in planetary stations?"
"Of course," Slang said looking away from Lutzger. "Your wisdom in delaying the cull prevails," he mumbled, barely discernible.
"Then I will inspect the onboard transit stations personally to ensure we are ready to receive the new stock," Lutzger said confidently. "And I will start with Sukat's input pens."
Lutzger pushed past Slang and headed down the corridor rather than take inter-ship transporter. Kharg's pad showed him a path to the correct transit deck and station. Without looking back, he said to Slang, "Make my apologies to Abdiel, and then meet me at the transit station." He hoped the walk to the transit station would take some time.
Lutzger found the transit station nearly empty. He did not have a clue why he was really here; it was just better than meeting Abdiel.
A few goodlife were attending what he assumed were transit control panels. And what looked like a six-legged, giant mechanical spider sat twitching in a corner presumably overseeing the few goodlife in the station.
"Reform the grading tracks," he ordered several nearby goodlife.
Kharg's pad had extensive diagrams of the grading as well as culling
procedures. "Restocking is about to begin," he announced, trying to sound official.
As the goodlife moved to reform the grading tracks that would guide graded slaves to the appropriate decks, Lutzger noticed a strange multi-limbed creature that appeared linked to the main control panel. It was square in stature and only as tall as his waist.
"Master," Slang called from behind him, "Abdiel still insists on your presence."
Lutzger turned quickly to face him. Slang now would be dead if he had the control device.
"Your orders are to see the captain," Slang said. "I will oversee the restart. The feeding hub to this station is in danger. There is no time to delay," Slang said as he tried to push the squat creature off the control panel, but its appendage linking it to the panel would not budge. He then started to kick the creature that remained mute during the onslaught.
Lutzger enraged at the insubordination, pulled Slang off the creature and began to beat him unmercifully. Slang fell upon the deck and tried to defect the blows, but he was no match for Lutzger and quickly fell into bloody unconsciousness.
Lutzger wiped blood from his fists on Slang's limp body as another goodlife came to the squat creature's aid. "Take Administrator Slangtong to his quarters," Lutzger said to the goodlife as he kicked the unconscious Slang for good measure. Lutzger noticed clumps of missing hair from the man's head. He assumed it must be radiation poisoning.
"Yes, sir," the man replied with a bit too much bravado.
Lutzger looked at him closely. The three parallel, blue waveforms on his left forearm stood out. "You're the professor, McNinik!" Lutzger was astonished at his recall of the face after so long, but that had always been a talent of his.
"It's Mack-in-awe," the man replied with a cough as he attended to the creature rather than following Lutzger's orders.
Lutzger looked around and as his gaze fell on the mechanical spider, it stood up. "Take Slangtong to his quarters and confine him there," he instructed it.
The machine strode over to Slang and delicately picked him up with its front appendages and ambled out the transit station with him.
"Come with me, both of you," he told Mackinac as the squat creature finally disconnected itself from the controls.
Lutzger led them to an inter-ship transporter alcove next to the transit platforms that were now in full production of new goodlife from the planet. Lutzger relaxed a bit taking a long look at the alien. The professor was much older than he remembered, but it had been a while since he had seen an image of him.
"What's that?" Lutzger asked, pointing at the alien.
"A Calma. The 8th Prophet of Possibility, as if it makes any difference."
"You don't know who I am," Lutzger said.
"Am I supposed to?"
"I guess not. What universe are you from?"
"This one," he said cautiously.
Lutzger was getting the impression this Mackinac was not the professor Cliff had under surveillance years ago. "How long have you been here on board the Navis and where did you get captured?"
"So that's what this piece of shit is called," he replied. "A couple months at least. Kind of hard to tell time here. My family was taken in Ohio, just outside Columbus."
"You have family on board?"
"Not any more. They died from the radiation poisoning."
Lutzger suspected he was lying to protect them. It did not matter.
"How are you still alive?"
"This Calma and I were in a slightly safer part of the ship at the time of the event."
Lutzger looked at the alien. "He doesn't say much."
"Nope," Mackinac said. "And why you are pretending to be the cull master?"
How could he have guessed? Lutzger thought and then chuckled trying to cover his shock. "I could kill you for that. Explain yourself."
"Easy. My friend here just read your mind."
Plus: 24 Jan 2076
Jen fiddled with a piece of John's gear attached to various holds on his special ops pack. They were both naked standing in Jens office; their uniforms and gear in a pile next to them.
"There," she said finally getting a secure fix.
"Thanks," he told her nervously. He wore Kharg's control device around his neck; its long metallic cord made it hang near his navel. "Are we ready?" he said after Tye appeared in front of them wearing Amhrán.
Tye was holding a small box. "The modified nano-weapons, Colonel," she said to Jen. She had already taken Zhong to his rendezvous with the Chinese diversionary forces and Nysas was in the process of borrowing the Forever again.
"I'm ready," Jen said.
Me, too, Luca added.
John knew Tye was immediately returning to the Mountain to support defense efforts with Higgs and Cale. "Good luck, Tye," he said.
"Thanks. And the same to you. You will need it," Tye said as she touched their bare shoulders and translated them all to the enemy's Taklamakan base.
Plus 1: 13 Feb 2085
They were instantly in a hallway. The bright white walls, ceiling and floor were disorientating as the floor curved away from them in both
directions. There was no sign of Tye, except their gear lay in a pile nearby.
John retrieved phasers for them both, before hurriedly dressing.
"Let's see if this works," Jen said holding an access card to the wall.
Zhong's first incursion team had acquired it as well as a detailed scan of the base's interior that John now displayed on the pad he held.
A doorway materialized in the wall next to the card.
"Nice," John said. "Through here and left," he added, studying the pad's map.
They were inside what appeared to be a white-on-white circular maze, but one where you occasionally had to make a new doorway to progress. The plan was to make their way to an area close to one of the transit platforms and wait until the attack started. It would not be a long wait.
Jen quickly held up a fist. She pointed ahead then crouched with the phaser pointed to the near side of the bend ahead. Two men with rifles slung over their shoulders stopped abruptly when they saw Jen and John.
They both moved to bring their rifles around, but vanished in orange vapor as soon as they touched their weapons' slings.
Jen had taken them both out with one dispersed burst.
"Why are we in dark uniforms in a white building?" John said and then cringed just as the building shook.
"I think we're late," Jen said referring to what must have been the start of the Chinese and Rori's diversionary attack.
"There on the right," John shouted, looking at his pad as they ran.
Jen touched the card against the wall revealing a much wider hallway full of people, at least eight abreast, all heading to the left. Their clothes were dirty and worn, most in bare feet; they were goodlife slaves.
"Where are you going?" Jen asked one, but got no reply, only a blank stare. She tried again in Chinese, then again, in German, Spanish,
and then several languages John did not recognize but the result was the same.
"Let's follow them," he said, "They're going in the right direction."
They merged into the moving mass and positioned themselves in the middle. It was several minutes before the throng emptied into a large room. John counted at least ten transit platforms set up at the far end of the hall. The base shook again and a platform in the distance on the far right overloaded sending debris and sparks showering on the still moving goodlife slaves. They all seemed oblivious to the attack, but kept moving toward the platforms and then vanishing.
John saw multi-legged machines working their way between the lines of slaves. Some machines had four legs others had six. "Over here,"
he said as he pulled Jen over two lines to avoid the nearest spider-like machine.
"Think we'll make it?" she whispered.
"I think there're too many people in here for them to keep track of."
They were only a few meters away from the nearest platform.
"Shit." Jen cursed, looking behind her.
John turned and saw a machine at the far end of the hall that had somehow elevated itself over the crowd. It began to scan Jen with a translucent blue beam as they neared a transit platform.
Heads up. I detect increased machine code com, Luca told them.
The other machines stopped and turned toward them, then accelerated directly at them throwing goodlife into the air that were in their way. The machines' victims bounced against the ceiling or died under mechanical legs. He felt concussive airbursts nearby as the machines focused weapons of some sort on them.
"Run." John shouted and grabbed one of Jen's packs holds, pulling her in the direction of the nearest platform just in front of them. He heard her phaser fire.
One last step, John pleaded to himself with clenched jaws. He gripped her pack with more resolve, and then his head hurt.
Null Space
John heard voices in the distance, but could not make sense of them over the ringing in his ears. He barely made out the large sign above him that read: Transfers- Base 42.
Contact lost with Colonel Scott, Luca reported but John barely heard her even as the ringing inside his head subsided.
"Why has the processing stopped?" he heard a man shout. "Get these goodlife down the tracks."
"Yes, Master," another replied
The voices seemed close, and then faded away completely into the renewed ringing inside his head.
"You there, why are you not under control? What's happened at the feed?" someone said with now stinging clarity.
Pain seared his head, as more meaningless voices said nothing understandable. He looked up only to see the goodlife had resumed their march, leaving him alone with the voices. Jen was not there.
"Get up soldier, quick," A man's voice whispered in John's ear and took the phaser John clutched loosely. "Damn, he's in no shape to walk.
Grab his arms and get him on the inter-ship transfer platform."
As they pulled him to his feet, John tried to walk but his legs protested as despair fell over him at the loss of Jen and the mission.
They materialized in a smaller room and the first thing he saw was obviously an alien. From its squat and square body, too many thin arms waved over and around him. The alien seemed excited or perhaps agitated. John could care less and just hung his head feeling the full loss of Jen. Tears streamed down his bloody, dust-caked cheeks as he fell onto a chair.
"Kill me and get it over with," John said, now struggling to sit up and keep some sense of composure. He looked at Jen's pack strap still clutched tightly in his hand before releasing it to fall to the deck.
"Today, you're not so lucky," the man said.
"What's the matter Prophet?" another voice said with a tinge of strangeness then began violently coughing.
Head down, John wiped his eyes and then looked up at his captor who was still holding his phaser. It took a couple of seconds but the realization slowly dawned on him that he recognized this person.
"William Lutzger. I should have guessed," he said spitting to empty blood from his mouth.
"And fuck me. What luck: two Micinaks," Lutzger replied.
"It's Mack-in-awe," John managed to say not fully comprehending what Lutzger had just said.
"You've got to be joking," another said stooping to look at John closely.
John looked up only to see his gaunt face staring at him.
Fascinating coincidence, Luca remarked casually.
Lutzger lowered the phaser. "Seems we've got a few things to discuss."