Master of Shadows, Chapter 12: Negotiations

Jack looked at the elderly man in wonder. “You’re the Joe Taylor?”

“That’s what they tell me!” he replied cheerfully. “But who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

“Wow. Um, my name is Jack Rossman, and this is my wife Lily.”

Lily stepped forward and shook Joe’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Joe replied. “Pardon me if I’m wrong, but are either of you Starmen?”

Jack shook his head. “Oh no. We’re just two innocent bystanders who made the fatal mistake of working late one evening. Are you looking for Alice Montaine?”

“As a matter of fact I am,” Joe replied. “I thought one of you might be her but I see I’m very much mistaken. When I got here I scanned the planet for life signs and the two of you were the only people I found.”

“Alice is about a mile underground,” Lily replied. “She probably just didn’t show up on your scanners.”

“That makes sense,” Joe said slowly. “I can see how I might have missed her. I was looking for a campsite on the surface.”

Jack spoke up. “If you don’t mind my asking, what are you doing here? We really weren’t expecting visitors.”

“It’s pretty simple, actually! I’ve spent many years trying to figure out where the First Races disappeared to. I was over at Larson’s Folly when I got a call from Caedmon, who told me that Alice had made a fascinating discovery. When I heard the details of what she had found I got over here as quickly as possible. It was really quite exciting!”

“We’re very glad you came,” Lily said fervently. “Is there any chance you could get us off this planet and take us back to Ahmanya?”

Joe looked puzzled. “Well, of course, ma’am. But if you don’t mind my asking – exactly how did you get here? This planet isn’t exactly a tourist destination. Are you two explorers or something?”

“We’re actually hostages,” Jack explained. “Alice kidnapped us as a part of her evil scheme to steal the Third Treasure and blow up this planet.”

Joe’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious! Do you mean to tell me that Alice Montaine kidnapped you?”

“Among other things,” Lily replied. “On two separate occasions she nearly killed us both.”

“That’s horrible – simply horrible! I had no idea that was going on. What happened?”

“It’s actually pretty straightforward,” Jack said. “From what I understand Alice believes there’s something very dangerous on this planet that’s going to kill us all if it gets let loose. However, when Caedmon wouldn’t let her borrow Tharsos she decided her only option was to steal the Third Treasure, bring it here, and use it to blow up the planet. I wasn’t willing to help her do that so she kidnapped me and my wife.”

Joe shook his head. “I can’t believe how out of touch I am. I didn’t even realize the Third Treasure had been stolen! Caedmon did tell me that Alice thought she had found a weapon of some kind, but Caedmon and I were under the impression that she had returned here to gather more data. I actually came here to her help research the matter.”

Lily looked surprised. “How could you not know the Third Treasure was stolen? Hasn’t it been all over the news?”

“I don’t really pay much attention to the news,” Joe said apologetically. “I spend most of my time in places that have few creature comforts. Space Station Zane is the exception, though. It’s actually extremely nice there. Ingrid has excellent taste.”

Lily looked at Joe’s shuttlecraft. “I hate to push you, but do you think we could get out of here? Like right now? I’d like to get as far away from this place as possible. It’s not safe here.”

Joe frowned. “I’d really like to talk to Alice before we do anything else. If she has done everything you’ve told me then she is in a lot of trouble. Where is her starship?”

“She blew it up,” Jack said. “While we were on board, actually. We got out just in time.”

Joe looked at Jack in shock. “She blew up her starship? Why would she do such a thing?”

“Because it turned on her,” Jack replied. “When Rachel – that’s the AI that was on her ship – found out what Alice had done it tried to stop her. So Alice decided that Rachel had to be eliminated. In her first attempt to destroy it all she managed to do was knock the Raptor out of orbit.”

“While we were still on board,” Lily added.

“Right. Anyway, after it was on the ground I managed to repair it, and when Alice saw what I had done she sent a missile our way and blew it into tiny pieces. She told us she couldn’t risk having her ship compromise the mission.”

Joe shook his head. “And you were on board both times?”

“Yup!” Jack replied. “We survived the first time because we managed to find an escape pod and bail. We survived the second time because Rachel warned us to run for our lives just before the missile hit. If it hadn’t been for her we’d both be dead.”

“Did Alice know you were on board?” Joe asked.

“She did the first time,” Lily replied. “But she said she didn’t have a choice. The mission was too important.”

Joe was silent for a minute. “That’s terrible. I can’t believe it. Taking hostages, stealing priceless artifacts, and recklessly endangering the lives of others are all staggering violations of the Starmen’s code. No Starman has done anything like that since the days of Ronald Mortimer.”

“Can we talk about this later?” Lily pleaded. “We’ve got to get off of this planet immediately. Remember, Alice blew up her own ship. Why do you think she won’t blow up yours?”

“Maybe if I just talked to her,” Joe said slowly. “She is a Starman after all, and Starmen are chosen to represent the best and brightest of each generation. Alice is a very intelligent person and will surely listen to reason. Maybe she just doesn’t realize that Starlight Enterprise is taking her discovery very seriously. She may just be doing what she thinks is right.”

“Oh, she definitely thinks she’s right,” Lily replied. “And she’s completely unhinged. We’ve already tried talking to her and got nowhere. I’m telling you that she’s out of her mind.”

“Did she deliberately try to kill you?” Joe asked.

Lily reluctantly shook her head. “No, she didn’t. But she knew we were on board when she attacked her ship. She just said she wasn’t able to take the time to beam us off. The mission was too important, or something.”

“So she knew you were on board and yet attacked anyway,” Joe said seriously. “That is really bad. She deliberately endangered your lives.”

Lily nodded. “She claimed she had to do it in order to save civilization. She told us we were too stupid to understand.”

“That’s not quite the way she said it,” Jack replied.

“But that’s what she meant,” Lily shot back. “She was just too polite to come right out and say what she was thinking.”

Joe shook his head sadly. “So Alice has started endangering the lives of others in order to save them. That is a dangerous road to go down. Once you have decided that the end justifies the means there is no telling what else you might do. Any action becomes justifiable. Based on what you’ve told me this is much too serious to simply wait for the authorities. We’re going to have to go down there and arrest her before she puts someone else’s life at risk.”

“We?” Lily exclaimed. “Why we? Why can’t you do it without us?”

“Two reasons,” Joe said. “First, Alice knows the two of you but she doesn’t know me. You may be able to help me talk her into giving herself up.”

Lily shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. Everybody knows who you are. You’re one of the most famous Starmen of all time. That’s like saying no one knows who the Starlight family is.”

Joe tried to suppress a smile. “Point taken. But when it comes to negotiating her surrender you may be more effective than I.”

“What’s the second reason?” Jack asked.

“I’m an old man,” Joe confessed. “I don’t get around quite as well as I used to. If she decides to do things the hard way I may need a little help. You look like a strong, healthy young man.”

Lily giggled. “I think you mean he’s a young, overweight couch potato that would fall over dead if he had to run a mile. But since he’s all that you’ve got he’ll have to do.”

“Lily!” Jack said in an admonishing tone. “Where did that come from?”

“It’s true!” she replied.

Joe held up a hand, grinning. “I see the two of you really are married. But seriously. If Alice is about to blow up this planet we need to stop her, and I don’t think we have the time to wait for backup to arrive. Will you help me?”

Lily shook her head. “Absolutely not. I mean no disrespect, but I think you’re out of your mind.”

“I’ll go,” Jack said. “If you think it will do some good.”

“It won’t,” Lily replied.

Joe spoke up. “Here’s the plan, then. Jack and I will go underground, confront Alice, and bring her to the surface. Then all four of us will cram into my tiny starship and we’ll go to the nearest outpost. There’s a space station about a day’s journey from here. I can contact the authorities after we get into space and have them take her into custody once we arrive.”

Lily sighed. “If you want to shoot yourselves in the foot then go right ahead. Don’t let me stop you! Have it your way.”

“We’ll be right back,” Jack promised.

“Sure you will,” Lily replied.

Joe looked at Lily. “I promise I will return your husband to you safe and sound. This won’t take long.”

“Just hurry back,” she sighed. “I love you, Jack.”

“I love you too,” he told her.

Joe turned to Jack. “Come with me. We’ll need to use my ship to pinpoint Alice underground.”

The two men waved farewell and then walked to Joe’s ship and boarded it. Joe sat down in front of a computer console and brought up a map of the area. He worked at the desk for a few minutes while Jack stood behind him, watching. “I see what you mean,” Joe said at last. “About a mile underground is a large network of tunnels.”

Jack nodded. “Alice said the only way to get there was by transporter. She claimed that none of the tunnels led to the surface.”

“She’s right. And according to my computer she is standing right there,” Joe said, pointing. Jack saw a small, white dot on the holoscreen.

“Can we beam down there?” Jack asked.

“I think so,” Joe replied. “It would be impossible to do this from orbit, but as long as the ship remains on the surface I think we’ll manage. Are you ready?”

“Do you have any weapons?” Jack asked.

Joe looked thoughtful. “It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to carry a weapon. But you are right. This situation does warrant that precaution.” Joe stood up and walked to the back of the ship, where he opened a small panel in the wall. He took out two holsters. Joe put one around his waist and then offered the second one to Jack. “Do you feel up to it?”

“Absolutely,” Jack replied.

While he was securing his holster in place Joe reached into the back of the compartment and took out two laser pistols. He checked them briefly. “They’re both fully charged,” he said with satisfaction. He put one in his holster and gave the second to Jack, who did the same thing with his.

“Ready now?” Joe asked.

“Ready,” Jack agreed.

“Then let’s go!” Joe reached over to the arm of his suit and pressed a small button that activated his ship’s wormhole transporter. The two men were suddenly engulfed in a brilliant white light. When the light faded they found themselves deep underground, in a large room with blue metal walls. The room was filled with crates and partially-assembled equipment. Jack immediately recognized it as the same room where he and his wife had encountered Alice the day before.

Starman Alice was sitting on the floor in front of a computer terminal, hard at work. When the two men appeared she jumped to her feet. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

“I’ve come to talk to you,” Joe said quietly. “There’s no reason to be alarmed.”

Alice looked at him closely. When she realized who he was she took a step back. “You’re Joe Taylor! What are you doing here? How did you get here? You’re supposed to be on the other side of the galaxy!”

“Didn’t Caedmon tell you that he was going to send me a copy of your report?” Joe asked.

“I think so,” Alice said uncertainly.

“Well, at any rate, he did. I read the report and was fascinated by what you had discovered. I immediately came right here. I landed just a few minutes ago.”

“Ok,” Alice said slowly. The computer at her feet made a small chirping sound. She glanced down at it nervously and then looked back at Joe. “But why did you come here? I didn’t ask for help.”

“This planet is one of the most important discoveries of the past fifty years!” Joe replied. “How could I not come and see this place? Why, the implications are staggering. This has the potential to completely rewrite our history books.”

“You mean this has the potential to kill us all,” Alice replied. “This planet has got to be destroyed. We can’t allow the evil in that chamber to get out. In the few days I’ve been here someone has already tried to break in twice. My equipment has been sabotaged. I’m not the only one that knows about this and we are rapidly running out of time.”

Joe nodded. “Believe me, I understand your concern. I will personally make sure that after we leave Lemura the best minds in the galaxy will be sent here to continue your research.”

“What do you mean, after we leave?” Alice asked. She glanced down at the computer again. “What’s going on?”

Joe paused for a moment. “Alice, Jack and his wife have briefed me on what you’ve been doing lately. You have committed a series of gross violations of the Starmen’s code and put many lives in danger. I have no choice but to place you under arrest. I want you to come with me.”

Alice shook her head. “You don’t understand! I had to do those things. This mission is too important! Don’t you get it? If that attacker breaks into the chamber then we’re all dead! We’re not going to get a second chance at this. We can’t just sit idly by this time and let Zip Foster save our skins.”

Joe looked Alice in the eye. Jack was surprised at how angry he looked. “You are way out of line, Starman. You have stolen one of the most prized artifacts of the Ahmanyan people. You took hostages. You knowingly endangered the lives of innocent civilians. There is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things, and you have really, really blown it. Your Starman days are over.”

Alice glanced at the holsters that both men were wearing. “You plan to take me by force,” she said slowly.

“I would rather you surrendered willingly,” Joe replied. “That’s why I came down here to talk with you. Things will go much better for you if I can tell the authorities that you cooperated with us.”

“Don’t give me that!” Alice snarled. “Only a moron would have come down here before talking to the police and making a full report. I bet your friends will arrive in orbit any minute now. And while they are arresting me the shadow is going to break into that chamber and set loose something horrible, and then we’re all going to die. I’m sorry but I can’t allow that to happen.”

Joe swiftly drew his laser pistol and aimed it at Alice. “You don’t have a choice.”

“Oh, but I do,” Alice said eagerly. She nodded toward the computer console at her feet. “You were fools to come here. I saw you land, you know. I knew what was going to happen.”

With his pistol aimed squarely at Alice, Joe slowly circled her. When he was ten feet behind her he looked at the holoscreen that was at her feet. What he saw frightened him. “What did you do?”

“I did what any intelligent person would do! As you can see, I destroyed your ship. But that’s only part of it. I also reactivated the city.”

“I don’t understand,” Joe said.

“The city is hostile,” Jack explained. “It’s tried to kill us before.”

“The city was built to protect what is in the chamber,” Alice explained. “It took me a while to realize that. As soon as I saw your ship enter orbit I realized what was going to happen and I turned the city back on. It is now in full combat mode. When your police force arrives it is going to be blown out of the sky. And while the city is defending itself I will have time to finish the mission.”

“But that’s impossible!” Jack exclaimed. “We blew up the city’s power plant yesterday.”

“You are such a fool!” Alice replied. “Do you really think that was the only generator in the entire city? Yes, given the city’s weakened condition that was enough to take the power grid offline. But I’ve spent the past twenty-four hours repairing the breach in case something stupid like this happened. And the city is back online now, as dangerous as ever.”

“But my wife is up there!” Jack screamed.

Alice smiled. “Not anymore. The city has already reached her. She’s put Lemura in danger for the last time – and the two of you are next.”