The Plague Forge [ARC] (7 page)

“Yeah,” Skyler said. “Minimal baggage, okay? It’s a small bird.”

“And if we’re not there, you’ll hike in and help us.”

“Or finish the job, if you made a bloody mess of it.” His words broke a tension Sam hadn’t realized had fallen upon them. She snorted a laugh and out of old habit glanced at Skadz.

The other man, however, looked worried. “It’s complicated, lots of ifs. In my experience that’s rarely a good thing.”

“Granted it is a complex task, and there’s still one more if.” Prumble paused long enough to let the words settle. “
If
we yet live, we’ll all fly back to Belém with you and finish the job from there. Clock’s ticking, everyone. I suggest we get started immediately.”

“Agreed,” Skyler said. Tania Sharma echoed the sentiment.

“Time’s up,” Kip whispered. Without ceremony or goodbyes, the link dropped.

Chapter Four

Belém, Brazil

27.MAR.2285

When the climber door swung open, Tania found herself staring at Ana, not Skyler as she’d hoped.

The day was clear and bright. Drops of rain still dappled every flat surface, shining like diamonds in the rare naked sunlight. Insects danced about, so many that they simply became part of the landscape.

“Welcome back,” the young woman said. She wore khaki pants and a maroon tank top. Her brown hair hid under a silk scarf tied over her head. Mud caked the bottom halves of her brown hiking boots. She had a pistol strapped to one hip, and a small machine gun slung over her shoulder.

The outfit made Tania feel suddenly very unprepared for what lay ahead, despite all the training she’d been doing. Three times a week she brawled with old Beram in Melville Station’s common room. Karl had told the soft-spoken, unassuming man to go easy on her, or so Beram said. She had suffered dozens of bruises and sore muscles that said otherwise, but the end result was worth it. Her body had changed as much as her mentality. When she stepped out of the climber, Tania could feel the change in her own presence. The way she held herself, the way she walked tall and yet somehow coiled at the same time. She found herself appraising everyone she came in contact with, thinking how she’d block if they suddenly struck out at her, how she’d counter. The simple mental exercise made her look at everyone differently than before.

She thought Skyler must make the same calculations, only at a subconscious level, and she understood how it was that he always seemed in command no matter who was present.

“Hello, Ana,” Tania said, her feet clanging on the metal ramp as she walked down. “It’s good to see you.”

The young immune smiled politely. “Skyler’s not here,” she said, reading Tania’s face. “We don’t expect him back until this evening.”

Tania resisted the urge to ask where he’d gone, what he was doing. “Fine. We’ll visit Karl first. There are a lot of preparations to make.”

Ana squinted at her, glancing down briefly at the simple jumpsuit Tania wore. “You’re going after Emerald wearing that?”

“Emerald?”

“The towers that went northwest had that color to their light.”

“Of course. Yes. I mean, no. I brought an environment suit, of sorts.”

“Oh,” Ana said. “Of course, you’re not immune. Forgive me.”

Whether or not this comment was an insult, Tania wasn’t sure. She decided to let it go and simply waited.

A thin, compassionate smile crept onto Ana’s face. “Come to the armory after you speak with Karl. I’ll help you pick out some gear.”

“Thank you,” Tania said, surprised. Between Karl and Beram she’d been instructed on how to break down, clean, assemble, and shoot just about every gun the colony had available, but there was an implied offer of tacit friendship in Ana’s invitation that took Tania off guard. Skyler’s lover had all but outright avoided Tania in the past. Yet she knew a peace offering when she heard it and accepted it gladly.

Tim stumbled out of the climber car behind her. He had a backpack in one hand and a briefcase in the other. He’d chosen to wear a jogging suit, comfortable on the space stations and in a climber, sweltering here on the ground.

“See you later then,” Ana said, and walked away.

Tania watched her go while Tim swatted at mosquitos, a task made all the more awkward by the gear he carried. “Karl better heal quickly,” he grumbled as he smacked the back of his neck, his backpack now lying on the black alien disk at their feet. He inspected his hand and frowned in disgust.

“Let’s go find him,” Tania said, and led the way to the infirmary.

Karl sat on the edge of his bed, his broken leg outstretched before him. “I’m not saying you’re not ready, Tania. I just think it’s unwise for you to go.”

“Why?” she asked. “Not that I need your permission, but I’ve trained hard. Ask Beram.”

“He’s given me regular reports,” Karl admitted. “I suspect you could break my other leg right now if you wanted to.”

Tania shrugged, forced her voice to remain casual. “Waste of a strike; you’re already hobbled. I’d go for the bones on the top of your good hand, which is exposed and in easy range, in case you had a gun or a knife hidden somewhere—”

“Jesus,” Tim said. He stood by at her right.

“At the same time I’d kick Tim in the stomach and flip him on top of you. By the time you two even knew what happened—”

Karl held up that good hand in defeat. “Okay, all right. Beram’s done his job well, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Tim echoed.

Tania smiled victoriously. She tried to ignore Tim’s slack-jawed expression and kept her focus on Karl. “I think,” she said, “Beram should start working with Tim next. He’s the weak link now.”

“No kidding. Sign me up,” Tim said. “Wait, did you just call me weak?”

Karl winced, tried to scratch his leg, and gave up. “But this mission, it’s not about training Tania. It’s about you not being here.”

She’d expected this argument. Indeed, she’d already had it with Skyler, Tim, and Zane. “You guys are plenty capable of making decisions without me. Tim will be down here until you’re healed, and Zane is improving every day. Besides, I’ll be with Vanessa and Pablo, who’ve more than proven themselves in Ireland. Skyler can’t be in two places at once, and with your condition I’m the next-best choice to lead the expedition.”

He opened his mouth to speak but Tania waved him off. “We have no idea what we’ll find out there. I’m a scientist, I’ve got experience in the field—Hawaii, and in the rainforest here—plus I’ve been inside the Key Ship. I know what we’re looking for.”

Karl frowned. A light rain began to tap against the tent above them, and the sunlight dimmed as clouds began to cross the sky.

“On a lighter note,” Tim said, “we brought Russell Blackfield down with us.”

A dark scowl crossed Karl’s face. He shifted on the bed again as the news settled. “I suppose it’s for the best. It’s too easy to sabotage a space station, and down here at least he can be put to work.” His focus moved back to Tania. “There’s no talking you out of this venture into the Clear?”

“No.”

He nodded for several seconds. “When do you leave?”

“As soon as a suitable aircraft—”

The sound of roaring engines drowned her words.

“Easy,” Skyler said.

Vanessa tapped the stick with a gentle deftness, pushing the bulky aircraft back over the clearing just outside the colony’s gates. “You can take over,” she said.

“Your bird, your landing.” He grinned at her reaction and studied the array of instruments before his co-pilot’s chair just to be safe.

The aircraft, designed for coastal patrol and rescue, had ample storage and crew capacity, excellent range, a full medical bay with supplies, and even a winch to lift people or gear while hovering at one hundred meters. Skyler felt a little jealous, in truth. The Magpie’s only advantage was top speed. Well, that and luxury, but Skyler had no use for the latter. Given the choice he’d take this craft any day, but given the circumstances he felt it better that he make do with the lesser aircraft.

He tested the intercom as Vanessa descended. “You boys okay back there?”

“Copy that,” the one named Colton replied. The young man, one of the better scavengers Skyler had trained, spoke easily despite the thunderous noise around the craft. Out of necessity he’d worn an environment suit for the mission, and he had apparently figured out how to plug it into the intercom. “Some bits weren’t quite secured, but Nach’ and I have it all sorted.”

They’d spotted the aircraft in one of the gigantic collage picture layouts they’d assembled of the city. A barge, run aground on the shore of the Pará just north of the city, had caught their attention. It was listing as it deteriorated, revealing a portion of the tarp-covered cargo it carried: the tail wing of an aircraft. It was a hell of a piece of scavenging work, he thought, and had told them as much. He could only imagine what kind of operation Prumble could run with these two geniuses working for him, and grinned at the idea. Maybe it would come to pass, if everything ran according to plan.

The aircraft rotated at a leisurely pace as Vanessa pointed the nose toward the colony’s gate. Water and dust began to stir from the ground below, filling the air around them. Skyler saw colonists on the wall now. They held hats to their heads in the press of the powerful wind. He waved at them.

The craft had a similar design to the
Melville,
with four cap-driven engines out at the ends of four broad wings. Unfortunately it did not have the plating required for atmospheric reentry, an exceedingly rare feature given that it made sense only for people or parties with access to the space elevator in Darwin. Even on the other side of the planet, Skyler had only seen a few such vehicles in his years searching.

He could hardly complain, though. This bird had a larger cargo capacity, bigger crew compartment, and could even lift heavy loads. It was a boon.

The gun felt cool in her hand. Perfectly weighted, solid.

In a way, she could appreciate the art of it. The masterful combination of ergonomics, design, and engineering were beyond question. Tania had never cared much for guns. She’d seen them as a tool for killing, and she saw killing as something human beings should not be in the business of. Even after the subhumans arrived it had been easy for her, from her isolated, almost utopian place aboard Anchor Station, to take the position that there must be a more humane way to deal with the former people.

Her opinion had changed.

“That’s my favorite,” Ana said quietly.

Tania thumbed the clip release, pulled it out, and slapped it back in. “It’s a Sonton?”

“SIG Sauer, actually. Not as common, but I like the way it feels and since the ammo is the same …” She shrugged. “No laser sight. I find those distracting. Of course, Skyler chides me for it, but—”

Footsteps on the stairs cut her words short.

“What do I chide you for?” Skyler stepped into the windowless room and paused to let his eyes adjust. Tania heard the reinforced door clicked closed behind him.

The armory had been set up in a storage room within the university that overlapped with the colony on the western side. A courtyard just outside served as the impound yard for the aura towers, and most of the rooms that fell within the subsequent protective aura were dormitory-style bedrooms, put to good use by the colony. This room, probably once for cleaning supplies, Tania guessed, was off an interior hall below a stairwell. Concrete walls kept it cool and dry, even at this time of year, and at some point a pair of metal plates had been welded to the door. A heavy lock had been installed, too, just in case. Tania thought it telling that Ana knew the combination and clearly knew the room like the back of her hand.

“Laser sights,” Ana said without turning.

“Ah.” Skyler offered Tania a bunch of bananas. He held one, half eaten, in his other hand. “Quite useful when shooting from the hip.”

Ana turned finally. She waved off the bananas when Tania offered them. “I’m standing there trying to figure out where that stupid little dot is when I could just be shooting.”

“Waste of ammo,” Skyler said over a mouthful of the fruit.

Ana’s eyes flared. In answer she gestured to the wall of boxes behind her. Boxes of every size, shape, and style of bullet.

Skyler took another bite, chewed. “All that matters is what’s in the clip.”

“You want to sleep outside tonight,
pendejo
?”

Tania, stuck between the couple, with nowhere to go, turned her focus to peeling a banana. The girl’s tone, playful and flirtatious, nevertheless had a note of challenge to it. She might be Skyler’s lover, but she was also part of his crew. Tania didn’t consider herself an expert, but she’d seen enough of the old romance sensories to know mixing business and pleasure was rarely a good idea.

Skyler just grinned, though, and looked to Tania. “The others are gathered in the
Helios
’s crew cabin. It’s time to make our plan.”

“Helios?”
Tania and Ana asked simultaneously.

“Vanessa’s name for the new aircraft. Something to do with her jujitsu.” He said the words over his shoulder as he departed. Deep down, he probably felt more uncomfortable than Tania, though he did a good job of hiding it.

When his footsteps faded and the door clicked closed again, Tania turned back to the weapons. She picked up the SIG again, hefted it, and cracked a smile toward Ana. “I don’t really like laser sights, either.”

The young woman chortled.

A paper map lay splayed out on the crew compartment floor of the
Helios
, located just aft of the cockpit.

Skyler had marked the location of the Ireland object with an hourglass shape drawn in pencil. Similar markings noted the crash sites in Belém and Darwin where objects had been recovered.

Then he’d drawn lines out of Belém marking the two remaining paths taken by aura tower groups. At the extent to which they’d been explored, he’d expanded the lines into cones, indicating a best-guess search area for the ultimate whereabouts of the crash sites. One went north and west, toward the Gulf of Mexico and on up into North America.