Keystones: Tau Prime Read online

  His Uplink pinged again. Another file coming through, a much larger video file several minutes long. Deklan’s finger hovered over the screen. His unanswered calls and Cheshire’s last video had awakened doubt and fear. He didn’t want to open this new file; he didn’t want confirmation.

  Deklan bit his lip and tapped the screen.

  Susan burst into life on his wrist. She was leaning against a pole on a train, her posture betraying both exhaustion and satisfaction after a long day of work. Deklan took in the rest of her surroundings, including the tunnel flashing by in the window behind her. Everything looked normal and harmless. He’d taken trains like that five times since reaching the Terra Rings. Then came the red lights, however. They blinked the universal signal for warning. A voice came over the train’s speakers: “Habitat breach! Extreme caution advised! Habitat breach! Extreme caution advis. . . .” The speakers went dead.

  Susan’s reaction was immediate. She reached for her Uplink, a small and sleek tablet model, and pressed its surface with increasing intensity to no effect. Around her in the car there spread an air of panic. All electronic devices had died.

  For a moment Deklan wondered how there could be a recorded video if everything else nearby had died, but the playback pulled him back into the images.

  The maglev train canted forward at a crazy angle and slammed into the ground. The car’s front section tore into the metal below, while the aft section spun up like a pendulum, tearing through the steel ceiling above the train as though it were the softest of paper. Only an instant before impact with the ceiling, Susan’s body reacted.

  The timer in the bottom right of the screen slowed, showing the passage of time now in hundredths of a second.

  Deklan watched the transformation ripple through Susan’s body. A flame-like tongue of light appeared on her forehead and spread through her body and clothes. Instead of ash what it left behind was her new body composed entirely of light.

  He then saw her lose momentum and cease her forward motion. Walls caught up to her as she was pushed along by the tumbling train. Bodies careened into walls around her. Susan curled into a defensive ball, but Deklan could see that she weathered the storm of damage without injury as the train bent and tore around her. Sounds of rending metal screeched at Deklan from the video.

  The train next surged upwards, hitting something with violent force. Susan’s body configuration shifted as she uncurled and flew to the center of the moving carriage, hovering in the center of the chaos. Her face no longer held terror but instead a serene look of dispassionate interest. There was no disdain but no compassion either. With one final crash the train came to a stop.

  Susan was the only survivor in a cabin littered with broken bodies. Ignoring them, she flew over to a cracked window and pushed herself through the glass. For a second she did nothing. Then she left the wreckage of the train behind and headed down the track to the next station. Her speed made the sides of the tunnel appear to be nothing more than a blur.

  Susan didn’t pause at the next station, which was closed, but darted further down the tunnel. Moving lights ahead indicated an undamaged maglev train. Susan slowed and matched her velocity with the train’s before she pushed through the rear window.

  Again Deklan wondered how the footage had been acquired. Cheshire’s resources were alarming.

  Once inside the train Susan bolted through the crowds of people, flying over or under them when they wouldn’t leap out of the way of her glowing form. Fifteen carriages later Susan pushed her way out of the train and flashed down the tunnel, leaving it far behind.

  Moments later she flew into the next station. The video feed angled upward and centered on the roof, an enormous window to space. Susan darted to the glass and slipped through it.

  The screen’s display showed a total elapsed time of less than five seconds.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Offer

  Deklan finished watching the video of Susan’s accident and frowned. She apparently was okay, and Cheshire seemed to have told the truth about her entering the wormhole. If he were going to help her, he would have to follow Susan there. He’d let Tommy down, but maybe he could help another friend. He just needed to find a way to do so.

  A new message came through on his Uplink. It was a job offer. The timing was convenient, perhaps too convenient, but it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Deklan read it again to make sure that he understood its contents, then smiled to himself. The old adage “Be careful what you wish for” was indeed accurate. He put in a call to his mother.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Deklan, we still haven’t sorted things out regarding that redwood. I think it’s definitely mine.” His mother sounded worried. She’d been distracted yesterday by all of the plants that she’d grown, but today it seemed that the redwood issue was weighing on her again.

  Deklan noticed that the room behind his mother looked like a jungle of tomato vines. “Yes,” he replied, “that’s very possible, but I was calling because I’m going to an interview.”

  Tricia rolled her eyes. “Someone needs a stuntman on the Rings?”

  He kept his tone neutral. “No. Actually, they’re looking for a lawyer.”

  His mother’s face brightened. “That’s fantastic! I’ve always wanted you to go back to using your law degree. Where will you be working?”

  “Serenity.”

  “That sounds more like a yoga retreat than a legal firm. Does this have something to do with personal-relief forms?”

  “No, it’s actually a ship, recently purchased by Calm, for private exploration of the wormhole network. I’d be joining it as a crew member.” The name didn’t feel real coming out of his mouth. Calm was the nearest thing to a modern-day legend. He’d been a Keystone before The Sweep, renowned for his ability to negate any and all forces within about seven meters of his body.

  Tricia fainted at the news, and her husband looked askance at his son. “Why are you doing this? And when would you be leaving if you took the job?” Brice asked.

  “According to the offer we’d be leaving within an hour of my acceptance.”

  Brice failed to look any happier at this update. “And what am I supposed to tell your mother?”

  Deklan signed off from the call, packed his meager possessions in a shoulder bag, and headed to the Serenity. He wanted the job, and he wanted the chance it represented. He wouldn’t be withholding important information from anyone; he wouldn’t be failing a friend; he wouldn’t be neglecting a responsibility. He would be mapping the wormhole network.

  Deklan’s thoughts were interrupted by his first sighting of the Serenity. She was a large vessel for a private craft, resembling a mechanical hybrid of a shark and a hawk. Sharply swept aerodynamic features made it appear on initial inspection that the craft was capable of atmospheric flight. Rear-mounted fusion thrusters didn’t discourage that impression.

  The hangar in which she sat was open to space. One had to either walk through a docking airlock or wear an EVA suit to get to her. Deklan stopped to look at what he hoped would be his new home for at least a while. Having lost his apartment on Earth, and believing that he’d never see his parents’ house again, he craved the idea of a long-term residence, even a roving residence in a ship.

  A retina scan at the entrance of the airlock walkway identified him as Deklan Tobin and cycled open the door. After he stepped through with his bag, it shut behind him. He was now on the end of a mobile airlock that moved toward Serenity itself. As the craft loomed closer, Deklan was better able to take in its physical appearance. At a distance the ship appeared to be a matte black color, but on a closer view grey tones were evident, an indication that she hadn’t yet seen much use. Ships were darkened by the bombardment of ionic particles and radiation in space, as he’d learned from any number of documentaries, and the absence of such darkening suggested that this was a maiden voyage.

  Although unfamiliar with anything more than the basics of spaceships, Deklan still could se
e that she was an all-purpose ship. She even had a wheel for artificial gravity generation in the event that they weren’t using the Doppler Bubble Drive. It was the sort of ship that he had seen on a screen but never expected to set foot aboard.

  With a gentle tap the airlock connected to the ship and cycled air into the dead space between the airlock and the ship’s door. Smiling, Deklan crossed from the approach walkway into the ship’s airlock. It closed behind him before opening the second door into the ship.

  The ship even smelled new, and some fixtures were still sheathed in plastic. “Welcome aboard,” came a voice over the com system. “You can find me on the bridge.” The voice was polite without being overly friendly.

  Deklan shrugged, dropped his bag, and synced his Uplink with the ship to find schematics and a path to the bridge. His eyebrows popped at some of the highlights: two rejuvenation tanks complemented a high-end medical bay, crew quarters for ten, an impressive galley, and a repair bay for two shuttles that themselves were capable of atmospheric flight, with enough cargo space to go prospecting.

  He proceeded slowly to the bridge, taking in the ship’s features. He was about to meet and work with Calm, the most famous Keystone alive. Calm whose Keystone ability was the selective negation all forces within a small bubble of protection that radiated out from his body.

  Deklan looked at his left hand where three of his fingers had grown back. He was a Keystone now too. Somehow meeting Calm, one of the original Keystones, drove that point home more than any of the tests he’d undergone in Boa Vista.

  Deklan entered the bridge, which had ten seats, each with large displays, and a single massive viewport to space. Adding to the atmosphere of exclusivity was the celebrity pilot. Despite the job offer, despite the voice when he came aboard, seeing him was another thing entirely.

  Calm swiveled in his chair and spoke in the same voice that Deklan had heard over the intercom. “Does she meet with your expectations?” he asked.

  It was a welcoming question that asked for his opinion. Deklan felt more at ease about what would come next. “Yes,” he replied, “but are you planning on more crew members?”

  “No, but you can’t find ships this size and with the amenities I wanted without at least this much space dedicated to living quarters. With you here I have all the crew I need.”

  “All the crew you need?” asked a surprised Deklan.

  “Indeed, a captain, doctor, lawyer, and”—a smile ghosted over Calm’s lips—“survival expert.”

  It seemed odd that Calm wanted a lawyer on the crew. Deklan would have wanted an engineer. “Who are the other crew,” he asked, “and what do you mean by a survival expert?”

  “Dr. Beal will minister to the injured aboard Serenity. It was she who recommended you for the position. She described you as ‘a lawyer who isn’t useless.’” Calm smile. “It seemed like tall praise from her. As for our survival expert, Mr. Day has the interesting ability to spray an unlimited quantity of a variety of liquids from his palms, including, but not limited to, beer and water.” Deklan wondered how Jamie Beal had known that he was a lawyer. “In effect, Mr. Tobin, we have provisions for a flight of indefinite duration.”

  That revelation would have been a great deal more surprising had Deklan not witnessed his father’s producing Twix bars at every turn. “What about repairs?” he asked.

  Calm responded with a shrug. “Any repairs serious enough to require an engineer will mandate return to a shipyard. Anything else can be repaired by a layman following instructions from the diagnostics stations.”

  Deklan repressed a frown at the response. Calm’s casual attitude toward problems was world-famous, and he knew that any argument would meet with failure and might cost him the job. Instead, he nodded and said, “The job offer didn’t explain what your goal was beyond exploring the wormhole network.” Deklan wanted to find Susan. He couldn’t do it on his own, but exploring the wormhole wouldn’t be a bad beginning.

  Calm pulled up an image of the pulsing wormhole on the mammoth screen below the main viewport. “I want to explore, and I need people who want to explore as well. Before The Sweep I’d been to every region in space where people had decided to build a home.” As Calm turned away from the display, his intense voice and gaze held Deklan’s attention. “I’d thought that I’d seen every frontier, seen all that there was to see. Now it can be new all over again.” His voice didn’t grow louder but conveyed excitement and wonder. He sounded like a man who had been given a second chance.

  Deklan didn’t know how to respond to the speech. He’d been a stuntman for the excitement and the fun. There was a chance that on some level he and Calm were alike. That spoke well for his spending time on board Serenity.

  “So tell me, Mr. Tobin, why do you want to be a member of my crew?” asked Calm.

  Deklan decided not to disguise his motives. “A friend of mine, Susan Anthony, was in an accident, and turned into a being made of light. She was last seen flying through the mouth of the wormhole.”

  Calm crossed his arms and seemed more amused than sympathetic. “How noble.” Calm pointed in the general direction of the wormhole. “Whatever is out there, I want to know about it, and I want to know about it first. If I bring you along, your search for your friend will be secondary.”

  There was no way for Deklan to begin a search on his own. These were the best terms that he could expect. “Agreed,” he said.

  Calm made a steeple of his fingers with their tips just under his nose. The silence lasted for at least ten seconds. Deklan felt trickles of sweat form on the back of his neck before Calm spoke, his voice still even. “Well then, Mr. Tobin, you will be a welcome addition.” His eyes twinkled a little. “You bring us up to a full complement of people. I think it’s time for a celebration and a launch.” He tapped an icon at his station. “Mr. Day, Dr. Beal, please come to the bridge for a celebratory toast. Bring four glasses, and I’m certain that Mr. Day can be relied upon to provide appropriate refreshments.”

  Jamie Beal appeared at the bridge like a summoned genie and said in her perky voice, “Jonny’s on his way. I passed him on my way here.”

  Deklan couldn’t deny the flush of pleasure at seeing her again and knowing that she’d recommended him for the position. Having her around would make things more tolerable if he had to be on the ship for days or weeks or months on end.

  Jonny Day made his entrance before she’d finished speaking. Deklan’s first impression on seeing him was one of self-assurance. The man entered the room as though they were all his guests. He wasn’t rude to Calm; he just radiated confidence. His immaculate dark hair and spotlessly white clothing further differentiated him. He held up four glasses. “You wanted a toast?”

  “Indeed I do, Mr. Day. What can you offer us?”

  “I’ve added a fine Scotch to my repertoire,” replied Jonny.

  A tug at the corner of Calm’s lips expressed approval. “That seems appropriate. Kindly proceed.”

  Jonny held the first of the glasses up to the light. “Are you sure that you want a demonstration? It is, after all, still early in the day.”

  “The Scotch, Mr. Day, the Scotch.”

  Jonny placed the glass on a table and held one finger above it. A thin stream of amber liquid poured from his fingertip. Jonny stopped when the glass contained a generous measure and passed it to Calm before filling the three other tumblers.

  With a silent toast they drank.

  Jonny asked the Serenity’s captain, “Does it meet with your expectations?”

  Calm took another sip before he answered. “Careful. I may have to raise your pay.”

  “You haven’t told me what my responsibilities are yet,” interjected Deklan after a moment.

  “Ah, yes. I told Mr. Day that we needed a doctor and a lawyer on this little venture. Dr. Beal was already aboard at that point in time and recommended you as a lawyer with a useful Keystone ability.”

  Jamie winked at Deklan and raised her glass in his directi
on.

  “That doesn’t answer my question,” said Deklan.

  “The one thing that wealth has taught me,” replied Calm, “is that lawyers are a necessary evil. I don’t know what we’re going to find, but I’m going to need you as a witness when we find it. When we return, you will be responsible for ensuring that there is paperwork documenting what we’ve done.”

  “There’s no legal precedent for the exploration of wormholes,” commented Deklan.

  “Exactly, but there is legal precedent for the annexation of planets, correct?” Calm spoke in a way that made it clear he knew the answer.

  Calm obviously expected Deklan to secure for him the ownership of all discoveries he made while in the wormhole, including intergalactic real estate. The venture could be worth untold billions, if they were successful.

  “Yes,” answered Deklan, “as in the annexation of Mars. Do you wish to annex the planets that we encounter?”

  “And the Lagrange points.”

  Those would be important too, Deklan realized. No one simply colonized planets, they were dangerous with unpredictable climates. Papers had been written on the subject. Even if they found “Earth-normal” planets, biospheres would have to be created or altered for human safety. Space-based habitats set in stable orbits within Lagrange points were the way forward for humanity. “Why me?” asked Deklan. “I haven’t practiced law in years.”

  “You will draft documents that will then be worked over by a team of lawyers I retain here, but you have one advantage that my corporate lawyers do not.” Calm sniffed at his Scotch. “You, Mr. Tobin, will be an asset to my crew in other ways.”

  “What are my responsibilities that don’t involve legalese?” inquired Deklan.

  “You have a durability that Mr. Day and Dr. Beal lack.”

  So it was back to his Keystone power of regeneration, or what Jamie earlier had called the Lazarus Syndrome. “I think we’re going to work well together,” Deklan declared.