Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [214]
Gently, Jess settled the sphere down on top of the crashed Aquarius. The flexible membrane that formed the outer surface of the wental ship puckered and folded. The sphere enveloped the smashed Roamer vessel and drew it entirely inside the bubble. When all the seals had closed over once more, Jess lifted his alien vessel from the surface with the Aquarius inside the watery globe, like a rare specimen in an aquarium.
Dressed in his pearlescent garment, Jess swam through the interior of his ship and drifted around the scarred and blackened hull of Nikko’s ship. The other wentals were delighted to be reunited with the rest of the liquid entity.
Inside the microcosm of an alien ocean next to Jess, tiny creatures—from planktons to minuscule shellfish, rippling worms, and protoplasmic jelly creatures—drew together, attracted to the wreck of the Aquarius, as if it were a new reef they could call their home. Guided by Jess’s thoughts, they had a task to do.
Barnacles attached to the broken sections of hull. Microorganisms drew minerals dissolved in the seawater while others spun threads out of the framework of the wental vessel. Membranes folded over the gaps torn in the hull, separating oxygen from the water and allowing it to bleed into the sheltered compartment. The tiny oceanic army set to work on the Aquarius, rebuilding and modifying it.
Trapped inside the vessel, Nikko gaped at the furious activity bubbling around them. But he was obviously breathing easier now. Cesca, though, had not stirred. She had passed into a deep unconsciousness.
Submerged in the amniotic water, Jess stared at Cesca through the curved, transparent window. Soon the wentals would make it possible for him to enter the Aquarius, but for now he drifted on the other side of the barrier.
Nikko stared out at him, still holding Cesca. He touched her forehead, took her pulse, and looked back at Jess, distraught. “She’s dying, I think!” he shouted.
In the water outside, Jess placed his hands against the window, once again close but separated from his love. With burning urgency, he sent a command to the sea creatures and the wentals to hurry. Hurry!
Chapter 109—TASIA TAMBLYN
With the hydrogue warglobes swarming around them, the tension reached its peak, and Tasia felt as if her heart would explode. All of the dunsel human commanders had already issued the order.
Sixty rammers would charge with concentrated EDF weapons blazing before the final flash of deadly impact. Grinning with long-anticipated satisfaction, Tasia gripped the arms of the command chair, ready to sprint for the evac pod as soon as the rammers lurched forward.
But the Soldier compies did not respond.
“Rammers, full forward!” she repeated after a brief hesitation. “Engines primed for overload. Come on, you won’t have any trouble finding targets.”
It took Tasia less than a second to realize that something was terribly wrong. The compies just stood there. “Launch, dammit! Fire all weapons and begin full acceleration. Attack the hydrogues!” Now she noticed that none of the sixty rammers had moved forward. Not one.
All of the Soldier compies on her bridge turned from their stations. One spoke. “No.”
Since her veins were on fire with adrenaline and her attention focused on the enemy warglobes in front of her, Tasia did not immediately absorb what the compy had just said. “What?” Until now, she hadn’t realized the Soldier compies could speak of their own volition.
Implacable, the compies stood quietly in position, optical sensors turned toward her. They seemed to be having thoughts of their own, which was absurd for an obedient military-model machine. Of all the ridiculous times for a malfunction!
“Didn’t you hear me? I said full forward! Ramming speed. Go, go! Get the weapons—”
The nearest Soldier compy cut her off. “These battleships are now forfeit to us. All of them.”
Tasia studied the robots, and as they stared back, her