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Gaea - Chapter 03

From Betamountain.org


Gaea

Chapter 3

by Baybelletrist



Site of the Widner Building, Mars City

7/29/2098, 0739

 

 

As Ridley brought the van to a halt at the curb, Doc whistled in dismay. "The newsghouls are out in force, guys. Up for running the gauntlet again?"

"Sure," answered Goose, cracking his knuckles with an unpleasant smile.

Niko, peering through the window of the van, decided that the Widner Building, even in its heyday, could never have been very impressive. Its charred, skeletal hulk squatted among buildings that had obviously been much larger even before the fire. Rubble lay everywhere, and the neighboring buildings showed signs of scorching as well. A few paint-blistered cars were still parked nearby; idly she noticed a small pile of parking tickets affixed to one of them. A yellow crime scene barrier, generated by small pylons placed every three meters, kept the camera crews and the curious out of the site.

Zach swung open the door, and as Niko's teammates piled out, Lee opened her own door and stepped out of the van. The crowd of reporters surged forward, yelling questions. She strode toward the site, shouting to the two officers guarding it, "I want a clear corridor all the way into this site from the street! Now!"

Niko watched, bemused, as the officers stepped forward and began ushering reporters and camera crews away from the van. Predictably, protests went up. Niko wrinkled her nose. "The people have a right to know!" shouted one particularly plastic-looking man. She rolled her eyes.

"Niko?"

She started and looked at Zachary, who gestured for her to join the group on the sidewalk.

"Sorry, Captain," she said as she stepped down to the curb. "Shall we head down to the basement so I can try getting a reading?"

He blew out a breath. "Are you sure you'll be all right? People died here."

"I'll be all right," she answered quietly, squaring her shoulders.

 

 

The Series Fives and Ridley scrambled gingerly into the building's basement. Goose wrinkled his nose at the pervasive reek of burnt chemicals and building materials. The rubble had been cleared from some sections of the room, but in other spots charred debris covered the floor knee-deep. Pale marker tags gleamed on the blackened flooring, marking the places where three people had burned to death. Goose stole a glance at Niko from the corner of his eye. She looked her usual calm self, but he thought he could detect faint signs of strain, as if death had an odor she could scent, one that disturbed or sickened her.

"Forensics says this was the flashpoint," Ridley explained in his deep, quiet voice, pointing to a spot near the east wall. "But why don't I let them speak for themselves?" He pulled a disc-shaped object from his pocket and bent and placed it in a clear spot on the floor before activating his commlink. Goose saw Niko cock her head curiously, and Doc leaned forward a bit to peer at it. Made of some dull metal, the thing was about the size of a large man's palm, with a crystal about two centimeters in diameter in its center.

Ridley spoke into his commlink. "Langley, you there?" he asked. "We're ready for you if you've got the time."

A thin beam of light shot from the crystal to a height of about two meters and then widened to encompass a cylindrical holographic field about a meter across. Within the light stood the image of a tall, skinny young man with straggly, dishwater-blond hair caught in a rough ponytail. He looked slightly disheveled, as if he had neglected to hang up his clothes after washing them. His shirt—a hideous and discordant pattern of lurid green, violent orange, and an unfortunate shade of pink—was buttoned unevenly. He wore an archaic pair of spectacles with small, rounded lenses. The input port at his left temple was his only visible concession to the twenty-first century.

"Hey, Ridley," he said by way of greeting, and squinted over his specs. "Those your pet Rangers? They look kinda—ordinary." Niko stifled a laugh. Goose grinned and noticed Doc was smirking openly.

"Be polite, now, Langley," chided Ridley in his mild voice. "Do you think you could talk them through what you've managed to piece together of this little mess?" His gesture took in the charred surroundings.

"Sure, Ridley," Langley answered. "We've managed to rough out a timeline. At 1718 on the 27th—that's two days ago—one of Mars City's central ops AIs routed a squeal from the Widner building AI to MCPD's central dispatch AI, reporting shots fired. 7.6 seconds later, the Widner building dropped off the 'net. Dispatch AI Claudie spent 8.264 seconds querying the Widner building AI without getting an answer before sending a patrol car to check things out. By the time the car got there, the building was what we call in the forensics trade fully involved, which is to say toast."

"Your report said the box containing the main trunk line into the building was torn off the wall," said Doc.

"Yeah, man," Langley confirmed. "Schematics place it on the east wall—" a holographic image formed "—and we found it lying in the northwest quadrant of the room. From the damage, looks like somebody ripped it off the wall—you can see the shearing on the bolts—and threw it sixteen meters across the room, hard enough to dent the casing." He pointed to where a charred metal box, about a meter on a side, still lay, surrounded by notations on the floor, near the scorched remains of a trash dumpster. "We're still trying to figure out how it was done."

"Any reason I couldn't move that now?" Goose asked. It took all his self-control to speak diffidently.

Langley snorted. "Yeah, man, it weighs about a hundred fifty kilos and it's bulky and awkward and hard to get a grip on."

"But you're done taking evidence?"

"Sure," the gangly technician answered with a shrug. "Hey, Ridley, if you've got a lifter pack on you—"

Ignoring him, Goose strode across the room and lifted the metal case off the floor with one hand. Like lifting an empty cereal box.

Langley fell silent, staring wide-eyed over his specs.

Goose turned the box over so that the sheared bolts were clearly visible and then set it back down. "Niko, you ready?" he asked quietly, glancing over at her.

She stepped forward to stand by him, lightly touched her badge, and laid both hands on the box. Only Goose was close enough to see her pause for a split second before her skin touched the metal.

Niko closed her eyes, and—

Goose, standing at her elbow, saw her body tense, the steady rise and fall of her chest stop on an inward-drawn breath, and the beat of the artery at her throat flutter weakly.

"Niko!" he grated.

She didn't answer.

"Niko!" "What's wrong?" "Niko?" The room rang with shouts. Zach leaped forward, hand outstretched, but Goose's arm barred his way.

"She's too far in, Captain," he said urgently. "Don't touch her."

"Gooseman, she's in trouble!" Zachary snapped.

"I know." Goose wheeled, touched his badge, and seized Niko's slender hands, the muscles rigid under her cold, pale skin. Gently he raised her hands to his face, the only exposed skin on his body, and closed his eyes.

Concentrate, Gooseman, he told himself. You did this once before, when it was just your own sorry ass on the line.

Niko... he called. Niko!

His biodefenses activated, and a shimmering golden glow raced over his skin, as if hundreds of tiny fireflies swarmed over and around him. He felt oddly electric inside his own skin. 

Niko! he called. Girl, you've got to pull away from it! It's not your death—breathe, live—come on...

No psychic himself, Goose heard nothing of Niko echoing back along their tenuous link. He had only a sense of a vast empty place that reminded him, frighteningly, of the deep ocean where he had once swum alone with only sonar to guide him. Niko!

Seconds passed, slowed to a crawl, and fear began to gnaw sickeningly at his vitals. Viciously he shoved it back. Niko! The death's only a memory, an echo. You are here, now, alive, with me in this room...

Darkness, silence.

Niko! Dammit—Niko! Help me! I need your help!

Silence. Silence. Despair and fear churned in his belly.

The darkness answered.

His eyes flew open. Her hands, icy on his face, twitched, and she heaved in a tremendous, gasping breath, eyes opening slowly. He supported her with one solid arm as her knees buckled slightly.

"I'm okay," she gasped, pressing a hand to her face. "Ah—that was careless. Ariel would drag me by one ear to the novices' practice room."

Goose still kept her right hand cupped against his cheek. "You gave us a scare, lady," he chided her gently. He knew that, skin to skin, she could feel him holding rigid to avoid shaking. "You need to sit down?"

"She's going to sit down," Zach said firmly. "In the van. Right now. You can give us your report once you're off your feet, Niko."

Langley, wide-eyed in his holographic field, shook his head. "Ordinary, not," he decided.

Ridley flashed his co-worker an amused glance. "Thanks, Langley," he said quietly. "We'll be back at the station later."

The skinny young man gave a thumbs up. "Right. Later." The holographic field flickered and went out. Ridley scooped up the disc and pocketed it.

Goose kept one arm around Niko's shoulders to support her. "Can you walk okay?" he asked her quietly.

"Goose," she protested, "I'm—" She tried to pull away, and her knees took an alarming dip.

"You're not fine," he said firmly. "You can walk with my help or I can carry you. Take your pick."

Color flooded her cheekbones. She fell silent and let him help her across the floor. He hid a smile.

Quiet? You? What have you done with the real Niko?

"Interesting toy," Goose heard Doc murmuring to Ridley as they all moved slowly out of the ruined basement. 

The rawboned cop had a smile in his voice as he answered, "It comes in handy."

Ridley's comm came to life. "Are you people done down there or what?" Lee's voice demanded. "We got an ID on our girl and I'm gettin' really sick of newsghoul patrol. And what's all the yelling about?"

 

 

Unknown location, Mars City, Mars

0823

 

As with most transmissions piggybacked onto legitimate comm traffic, the picture was slightly grainy.

"Sir, the situation is escalating," the operative began, but the man at the other end cut him off, dark eyes stony.

"I'm aware of the situation. You've let things get out of hand. The Galaxy Rangers should never have become involved."

The operative bowed his head. "Yes, sir. The Rangers have completed their initial investigation of the site and appear to be headed to their hotel to rest. We're continuing surveillance of the apartment as well as combing the city, but there are only four of us left." He hesitated. "Sir... we've intercepted radio chatter among the police. They've put together enough of a description to find her under the ID she's using here and they're staking out her apartment. What are your orders?"

The man stared coldly at him. "My orders haven't changed. Find Gaea. Bring her to me. Failure is not acceptable." Light winked off the breather at his throat as he leaned forward to cut the connection.

"Sir—"

The screen went dark.