7: Opus 11

Shek, are you there? Are you receiving this transmission? Shek, if you are receiving this transmission, please respond. Hyubais ... Ryal Hyubais? Is that you? It's me, Shek. It's been a while. Where are you? Where is this transmission coming from? Don't worry. I was sent by the agency. As soon as they learned you had gone down in this sector they sent me to investigate. It wasn't hard to find you, all I had to do was look to where the Pfhor were sending all the armor units. I'm currently hanging over the northern pole waiting for the Pfhor to leave. The bulk of their fleet has gone into FTL space, but a ship remains in orbit. That would be the ship bombarding the area and sending all the troops down, right? Yeah. It's not like any Pfhor ship I've ever seen, though. It looks to be a composite of several different ship building styles and technologies. Don't worry about that now. My watcher was in the Diablo when she went down. I lost contact with him about an hour ago. Scan the wreck and area to see if you can spot his life signs. I already have scanned the area. There's nothing but a smoking crater where the wreckage was. What? How can that be? The Pfhor did that? Yeah. Remember how I said their ship was composed of different technologies? Yes. Well, the ship has an ion driver system on board. It looks inoperative at the moment, though. From what I can tell, it seems the Pfhor fired the ion driver at the Diablo, and the weapon caused some power problems on the Pfhor ship. That's why it's still here. It doesn't have enough power to get into FTL space. Hmm ... That, and the Pfhor no doubt want to eliminate me and the colonists. Well, that's the other thing. There's someone else causing just as much trouble for the Pfhor. He's currently in some kind of old training base. It looks like the training base is in the same area as a massive spacial disruption. Some how this large area of the planet is in a state of spacial flux. I imagine it probably has to do with the research the Pfhor were conducting. I've done my homework, I know about their transporter experiments on this planet. The important thing, at the moment, is to get off this mudball and get back to Alpha Centauri. The man causing the Pfhor so much grief is named Kahn Zhang. He can be our diversion. My current mission for the agency is to protect as many of the colonists here as I can until the Centodyne Security force arrives in two days. If we destroy the Pfhor ship in orbit there's no reason to remain here. What are you thinking, Shek? Simple. First, transport me up to your ship. Sorry, no can do. My ship's power core isn't strong enough to transport you out of that mine complex. The ore in that place would scatter your atoms to the wind. I'd need some kind of pattern enhancement device to get you out of there safely. Shit ... All right, what about Zhang? Can you transport him? Yes, but whatever you want me to do, you'd better say it fast. He's about to step onto a long range transporter. The coordinates put his destination several light years from here. Epsilon Indi star system, I think. All right, here's what you do: Intercept his signal. Send him to the Pfhor ship. I have a trump card I can play, he'll do what I want. Secondly, see to it that the coordinates of his destination make it to to the Aegis space forces. After he finishes his work for us they'll provide a nice welcome home party for him. Aegis space forces? Are you sure? If the director of agency operations get's wind of this, she could be very angry. Shouldn't I call the Centodyne Security forces instead? No. I'll handle the director, she'll understand. One more thing, strip him of his weapons and ammunition. I want to drive the point home of just how little control he really has. Zhang is a resourceful fellow. He'll make due. Quickly now. Okay ... I have redirected his signal. He's on the Pfhor ship. All of his weapons and ammunition were stripped, I have them. Good. Can you monitor his activities? What is he doing? Fascinating! He seems to have an AI with him in some type of biomolecular data chip. I've never seen anything like this. He's conversing via a terminal with it as we speak. Display their conversation and patch me in. I want to speak to him. All right ... Displaying... ****** Doctor, are you getting this? "Sister, what are you up to?" I've infiltrated this terminal. I'm accessing the situation ... Apparently we've been redirected here by a signal sent from a small ship in orbit. "Explain." Seconds before we teleported off the planet's surface, a secondary beam intercepted our own. It redirected our signal to a cargo transporter aboard this Pfhor ship. "We don't have time for this. How do we get out of here, and where are my weapons?" **Warning: Remote override in progress, signal origin undetermined** "Come now, Zhang. Do you really think it's going to be that easy?" "Nohe? You again ... What have you done?" "It should be painfully obvious to even you, Zhang. I've sent you on a little side trip, you have work to do." "Do your own dirty work, Nohe. I have more important things to take care of." "Is that what you believe, hmm? Well there's only one way off that ship, Zhang, and it's called total compliance with Shek. Got it?" "Sister, trace the origin of this transmission immediately." Of course Doctor, one moment. "She will fail, Zhang. As we speak, the alterations I made to her matrix are beginning to take effect. Within an hour she'll be nothing." "You're not very good at lying, Nohe. Sister is more advanced than you could imagine. Try blowing smoke up someone else's ass." "Indeed! Your arrogance is your greatest failing, Zhang. While she was busy warding off the Pfhor's dilapidated Tycho clones she was very open to attack from the planet, her child's personality made her naive. It was a simple matter to infiltrate her matrix and-- ****** The transmision has been blocked. Change frequencies. If he wants to be so defiant then he can watch his precious creation die. All right. We're on a different channel now. I may have something. There is a transporter deeper in the mine facility. However it looks unpowered. It probably needs a type 4C Pfhor power chip. There's bound to be one somewhere in the facility. Any idea where one might be? No. I suggest try checking the terminals in the area. A planetary survey team from the government checked over most of this planet after it was taken from the Pfhor. It was quite common for the teams' members to leave messages in terminals for later survey teams to find. You might find a few clues that way. Okay. Send down whatever ammuntion you can. I'm off. I won't be able to send any ammunition down to the mine itself, however there is a small open area near your location that I might be able to get some ammo to. I'll monitor your activities and send it to you when your near that location. Fair enough. Shek out.