Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [219]
Jess called from outside, "Pass through, and I'll hold it together. You have to hurry. The battle is growing worse all around us."
Tasia had already accepted, and endured, more than her share of impossible situations. What difference did one more crazy thing make? She grabbed Belinda and pushed her through the opening into the wental bubble. "Come on! I thought you all wanted to get out of here."
A frantic Keffa stumbled through. Tasia and Robb helped the other captives, and then climbed together into the unusual escape vessel. Inside, the air smelled of ozone and fog. Each breath was incredibly delicious after such a long confinement in the hydrogue cell.
When Jess passed through the bubble film, Tasia realized just how much she wanted to run to him, to throw herself into the protective arms of her big brother. The last time she had seen him was when he'd flown past the lunar base, transmitting a coded message to EA that their father had died. But Jess warned her away, explaining about his deadly touch.
"Well, I promise you more than a thank-you note--as soon as we get out of here."
For the first time since her capture, Tasia saw a glimmer of hope in her fellow prisoners' faces. Jess's water bubble detached itself from their hated cell, then rose up and away from the hydrogue citysphere.
128
KING PETER
Peter prayed that Chairman Wenceslas was sufficiently distracted by the hydrogue attack to let them slip cleanly away. "You're sure you can fly this derelict, OX?"
It tore his heart to escape now, when it meant leaving so many people to die if the hydrogues did break through Earth's line of defenses. But Basil's decisions had brought them to this impossible situation. If mankind was ever to have a second chance at survival, they could not rely on the Chairman's irrational leadership. King Peter and Queen Estarra were humanity's last, best hope.
The Teacher compy stood at the confusing and intricate bank of controls for the derelict's engines. The colorful panels were inlaid with jewels and crystals that bled downward into the block of translucent polymer, like blood vessels pumping strange chemicals. "The research team compiled an enormous amount of data. I have to assimilate it all."
Looking exhausted and clutching her swollen belly, Estarra tried to find a place to sit inside the alien ship. She rested against one of the smooth protrusions on the slick alien wall. "Did they learn enough?"
The compy remained intent on the alien control systems, perhaps too intent. For the first time in Peter's memory, he saw OX hesitate. "Yes, I have sufficient data from which to compile the knowledge I require. These engines are far more complex than the Ildiran stardrive or any propulsion system used by the Earth Defense Forces. However, if I utilize all of my processing power, I can create a paradigm overlay that will enable me to pilot the ship to Theroc."
"I knew we could count on you, OX," said Estarra.
With only the slightest pause to gather his resolve, the compy swiveled his synthetic body to face Peter. "Unfortunately, because our plans were made so swiftly, I did not have the opportunity to bring separate downloads. As you know, my memory storage is already filled to capacity with personal history. I have needed upgrading for some time."
"What does that mean?" Peter said. "You don't have the processing power to run these engines?"
"I have sufficient processing and storage capacity. However, in order to employ that capacity to comprehend the intricacies and nuances of running this ship, I will need to delete all of my memories."
"That's three centuries of experiences!" Peter gasped. "We'll do something else. We'll find another way to fly this ship--or we can just hide here on Earth until the emergency blows over."
"No, King Peter, you cannot. You