CHAPTER 10

  "I...I was standing.

  You were there.

  Two worlds colliding,

  And they could never tear us apart..."

  -Inxs

  ...

  Andy went back through the rift first, just in case the jet-pack failed. Then it was Carl’s turn. He flew through and came to a stop in the rift room, leaning against the wall. The adrenaline had burned itself out, leaving him weak and unsteady.

  Andy tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Hey. You okay?”

  “I’ll be alright,” Carl said.

  “I just need to lie down. Tell Royles I’ll debrief after, would you?”

  “Yeah. I’ll let him know. Go get some rest.”

  Carl nodded. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a clear shard of alien armor, its surface smeared with blue residue.

  “Here. Give this to Matt. I’ll explain later, but it might be important.”

  Andy turned it over in his hand, studying it for a moment, then nodded. Carl pulled a small nanotech vial from his belt. A blade slid out from beneath his wrist, and he scraped dried dark-green blood from his armor into the container.

  “This too,” Carl said.

  “Alien bug blood.”

  Andy took it. Carl hadn’t said much since coming back through the rift, just "let’s go". Andy watched him carefully.

  Carl started down the hallway toward his apartment, head lowered. Halfway there, he stopped and turned back. He removed the body cam from his armor and tossed it overhand. Andy caught it instinctively. The casing was cracked, the lens shattered.

  “Tell Royles we’re gonna need a tougher housing,” Carl said.

  Then he disappeared into his apartment.

  “I don’t know,” Andy said later.

  “He just said you might want to study it.”

  Matt held the armor shard up to the light, rotating it slowly.

  “How strange,” he murmured.

  “Yeah. And he said this is, quote, ‘alien bug blood.’”

  Matt glanced at the vial.

  “Interesting. What’s this silver container?”

  “I think it’s part of his armor. He’ll probably want it back.”

  Andy hesitated, then remembered what he still held.

  “Oh, and his body cam. It’s busted.”

  Matt took it from him, turning it over. “I might still be able to pull something off it.”

  Andy set the items down on the worktable. Penny entered the lab a moment later and smiled.

  “I heard Carl’s back.”

  Andy nodded.

  “He’s resting. He got pretty roughed up. I think I saw blood in his beard.”

  “Oh.” She glanced at the table.

  “Did he say what was over there?”

  “So far? ‘Alien bugs.’”

  Andy checked the time.

  “I’m starving. Anyone want to run to Belly Burger?”

  Both Penny and Matt shook their heads.

  “Suit yourselves.”

  Andy left. Penny stepped closer as Matt carefully tipped flakes of dried green blood onto a tray.

  “Can I help?” she asked.

  Matt looked up.

  “You any good with computers?”

  “Yeah.”

  He slid the broken body cam across the table.

  “Think you can recover anything from this?”

  “I can try.”

  “Good. Don’t hesitate to ask if you get stuck.”

  She picked it up, pried apart the cracked casing, and sighed.

  This was going to be tricky.

  Roughly an hour later, Royles entered the lab.

  “Andy gave me what little he knew,” he said. “Where are we with what Carl brought back?”

  Matt pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d been hunched over a microscope for too long.

  “This blood doesn’t match anything I’ve ever seen. And the shard, honestly, it may be a new element. Or something engineered. I’m very interested in hearing his debrief.”

  Royles picked up the remains of the body cam and turned to Penny.

  “Anything salvageable?”

  “So far,” she said carefully,

  “only one image. But… you should see it.”

  She tapped a few keys. The monitor flickered, then resolved into a grainy still.

  No one spoke.

  The image showed a lone figure hovering in midair, oval head, black eyes, encased in clear armor. Across from it loomed a massive insectoid shape, its size difficult to comprehend even in still frame.

  Royles inhaled sharply.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Matt straightened and stepped closer. “Holy shit,” he said.

  “No wonder he’s beat. Look at the size of that thing.”

  They stood in silence, staring.

  Hicks poked his head into the lab. “Hey, Carl’s back? Where is he...”

  He stopped mid-sentence and followed their gaze to the screen.

  “Is that from a movie?”

  Matt shook his head.

  “That’s from rift number two.”

  Hicks leaned in, squinting.

  “Holy crap.”

  “Yeah,” Matt said quietly.

  Carl stood in his shower in full armor. He watched the dark green blood swirl around the drain. He was beat, so much so that he could barely keep his eyes open.

  "Note to self, no more late night gaming sessions with Andy before a mission."

  He mumbled to himself and stepped out of the shower, dripping on the tile. Fuck it, he would clean that up later. His armor retracted and he stripped down to his boxers. He stumbled over to his couch and flopped down. Right before he drifted off, he wondered, I wonder where Jeff is right now?

  Nano waited until Carl was asleep before dripping out of his body into a big silver puddle on the floor. He stood up in the form of the armor. Nano looked down at Carl snoring, he needed the rest.

  He walked out quietly and headed to the lab. Matt was alone, hunched over a table scribbling notes.

  "Hello. Have you seen Mr. Royles?"

  "Yeah, hes in his office...wait "Mr. Royles"? That's a little formal dont you think?"

  He turned, but Carl was gone, his voice had sounded weird.

  Royles was at his desk, going over some papers when Nano walked in.

  "Good you're up. Why are you still in your armor?"

  "Carl is sleeping. I am Nano."

  Royles put the papers he was holding down.

  "Is this a joke?"

  Nano opened the helmet, there was nothing inside.

  "I do not make jokes sir."

  "I didn't know that you had this capability."

  "I do not allow Carl to share this information casually."

  "You work for me, I need to know everything..."

  Nano cut him off.

  "That is incorrect sir. Carl works for you. I work for Carl, and only Carl."

  "I see."

  "I mean no disrespect Mr. Royles. I have learned that information is power. Withholding certain information has kept me and my user safe. Do you understand?"

  "I believe I do."

  "Good. Please do not be cross with Carl. I know you want a briefing about the events of the excursion. My primary function is to protect Carl, right now he needs rest, I am here so you do not interrupt that rest."

  Royles stared at the suit of armor for a moment.

  "Fine. Let Carl get his rest. Let's go to the conference room, I'll gather the others."

  "Thank you for understanding Mr. Royles."

  Andy was the last to arrive, he had a bag of Belly burgers and fries for everyone. Everyone was looking at the armor that sat at the end of the table. Penny was the first to say what everyone was thinking.

  "Why are you still in your armor Carl?"

  Again the helmet snapped back, revealing nothing inside.

  "Carl is laying down, you can call me Nano."

  The room was silent, only Royles had had time to process this information. He stepped to the end of the table.

  "Nano has agreed to give the brief while Carl is recovering. Nano, the floor is yours."

  Matt immediately raised his hand. Nano acknowledged him.

  "Yes Dr. Skagerty?"

  "Call me Matt. I have so many questions but...uh, first and foremost, if you're autonomous, why are we sending Carl into dangerous situations?"

  "I understand your concern. My power cell is regenerative, but it can only sustain me in this form for a brief period. The more I move the more power it drains. For example, sitting here, talking to you without moving, I can function for roughly three hours and twenty seven minutes. If I'm walking, it cuts that time in half. If I must enter a combat scenario, I can operate at full capacity for fifteen to twenty minutes before the power cell must recharge."

  "Ok, so its a symbiotic relationship then?"

  "Yes."

  Royles cleared his throat.

  "Can we get back to the events that happened in the rift."

  "Of course Mr. Royles. Rather than try to explain everything, I will show you."

  Nano held up his hand and a lens appeared in the palm. It projected on the wall to his right. Penny and Andy were on that side of the table, they stood and circled around so they could watch.

  "You handled that like a pro."

  On the wall Andy smiled and said

  "Its not my first time dropping in to a new location."

  "Your military has jetpacks?"

  "No, I've used parachutes, same thing kind of..."

  SEVERAL HOURS LATER...

  Carl rolled off the couch and stood up. He was stiff from sleeping on the couch, he needed it though. He hadn't been sleeping great the past couple nights and after the taxing fight in rift two, it had caught up to him. As he finished stretching, he realized he still had to give Royles a briefing.

  "Shit. How long was I out buddy?"

  "Eleven hours and four minutes."

  "Crap, I gotta go brief Royles before he..."

  "It is taken care of Carl."

  "What? What do you mean?"

  "I briefed the team while you slept."

  "Are you serious? Was Royles cool with it?"

  "Yes."

  "Oh, you're a lifesaver! So all I have to do is the written report. I can live with that."

  "Carl, look down."

  Carl looked down, on the coffee table sat a written report in impossibly neat handwriting.

  "I dont know what to say bud. Thank you!"

  "You are welcome Carl. I have been monitoring your sleep patterns. I knew you needed the rest."

  "You have no idea. Hmmm, I should still go check in, Matt's had some time to analyze that shard of alien armor I brought back."

  He got dressed, his black BDUs. He was about to walk out the door when he remembered something. He ran back to the bedroom and grabbed the "Department 7" patch off the nightstand and velcroed it to his shoulder. He left his room and headed to the lab.

  The lab was empty.

  "What time is it?"

  "Eleven fifty one."

  "Damn, everyone went to bed. This is gonna jack my sleep schedule all up. I can't win man."

  He walked slowly down the hallway toward his apartment.

  "Hey."

  Penny was poking her head out her door.

  "How you feeling?"

  Carl shrugged.

  "I'm good."

  "Nano said you were wiped earlier, we were worried."

  Carl walked over to her door.

  "Oh, nah, I'm ok. What are you doing? Its almost midnight."

  "I couldnt sleep. Wanna come in for a nightcap?"

  "Sure, why not. I haven't tried this world's alcohol."

  She opened her door to let him in, she wore a full set of blue silk pajamas.

  "Ooh, nice PJs."

  "Thanks."

  Carl sat on her couch while she retrieved a bottle of amber liquid and two glasses.

  She sat on the other side of the couch, they were both very aware of the space between them. Each wanting to respect the other. She poured and handed him a glass.

  "Whoa. This is strong."

  "This is the good stuff."

  Carl scrunched up his face and blew out as he set his glass down.

  "I'm gonna be honest, when I drink its usually just beer. I'm a lightweight when it comes to this stuff."

  Penny chuckled as she brought her legs up and tucked her feet under her.

  "So, we saw the footage, Nano showed us. You met a real alien."

  "Oh, yeah. Jeff. He was something, huh?"

  "Yeah, and the giant insect...oh my god! You didnt even hesitate..."

  "Well, there was another injured alien. I dont know, since I've gotten this armor, I've felt a sort of responsibility to use it to help others. Human or otherwise."

  "Thats very noble."

  "Maybe. Really, I'm just doing what my father taught me to do."

  "He sounds like a wise man."

  "Oh, he was the best. He had a way about him...I dont know if I can put it into words. He always made me feel seen. When I got in trouble, he wasnt quick to anger, he would sit me down and tell me why what I did was wrong."

  "I wish my father had been like that."

  "What was your dad like?"

  A crease formed on her forehead as she looked down.

  "Barely there. A military man that was married to his job. When I was thirteen he was deployed and never came home. They say hes "missing in action" but I'm pretty sure he died over there."

  "Oh. I'm so sorry."

  She gave him a weak smile.

  "It's ok. I made peace with it. I sometimes think thats what motivated me to enlist, I wanted to be like him."

  There was an awkward silence between the two of them, neither made eye contact.

  Carl took another sip and coughed. Penny laughed at him.

  "Easy there killer."

  "Oh, I'm already feeling it. I should probably go, I dont make the best choices when I'm drunk."

  "I understand. I'll see you tomorrow."

  Carl stopped at the door and looked back at her.

  "Thanks Penny. You still have a way of comforting me."

  "Happy to help. Now get out of here, I also make bad choices when I'm drunk."

  Carl smiled and took one last look at her. She really was quite attractive. If things were different... He caught himself and left. Closing the door softly behind him. He stood in the hallway for a moment, on the precipice of a bad decision. He shook his head, which was now buzzing from the alcohol and went back to his apartment.

  Matt got up far earlier than usual. He had spent most of the night lying in bed, scribbling questions into a notebook, tests he wanted to run, variables he needed to isolate. Almost all of them circled back to the shard of alien armor.

  He made himself a cup of coffee, entered his lab, and got to work.

  He tried cutting the shard, unsuccessful.

  He dripped acid onto its surface, no reaction.

  Finally, he ran electricity through it.

  The material was conductive. That was something.

  The line on the readout twitched, subtle but unmistakable, moving in a steady rhythm. Matt frowned and amplified the signal. The twitch became a waveform.

  The shard had its own frequency.

  “How strange…” he murmured.

  He stood there staring at the table, not really seeing it, his mind racing ahead of his hands. Then his eyes landed on the silver vial nearby, it was a part of Carl’s armor.

  Matt picked it up, turning it over slowly.

  “What if…”

  He connected the sensors to the vial and ran the test again. The line jumped to life almost immediately. Another waveform bloomed on the screen, similar, but not the same.

  A separate frequency. Unique.

  Matt froze.

  Something clicked into place. His thoughts snapped together so suddenly it made his chest tighten. He dropped the vial onto the table, his mouth hanging open as the implication settled in.

  “This… this could change everything.”

  If this worked, if he could refine it, it might be the key to getting Carl home.

  The urge to run down the hall and pound on Carl’s door was overwhelming. To tell him. To give him hope.

  Matt clenched his fists and forced himself to breathe.

  No. Not yet.

  If he was wrong, it would be cruel. False hope would hurt more than silence. He needed proof. Data. Repeatable results.

  He was going to need better equipment.

  Matt grabbed his notebook and headed for the door.

  Time to talk to Royles.