The Fall of the Absolute

by Karen Page

Chapter 26

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Chapter 26

For the last three hours, she'd managed to move the phone closer, millimetre by millimetre. The rough, uneven floor hadn't made it easier. It had fallen out of her pocket as she'd been beaten and tied to a chair, landing unnoticed just out of reach. Her feet were the only part of her that could almost reach it, and she'd strained to get to it.

At first, she was scared that she might knock it further away, but the closer she managed to bring it, the more risks she was able to take.

Now it was in reach. Using her left foot, she managed to remove the boot from her right foot. Stage one. Now the sock. That was harder. It was sweaty and took many attempts to get it off. The exertion caused her chest to burn, and she coughed up some blood.

Holding the phone in place with her left boot, she swiped up with her uncovered right foot. Biometric needed. 'Thank you, David,' she thought as she pressed her big toe to the symbol and her phone unlocked. Registering a toe as an alternative had been one of the craziest ideas he'd suggested, and it turned out to be a good one. If she got out of this, she'd have to buy him a beer.

She couldn't ring headquarters or even overwatch. That would put them in danger and reveal that she was undercover. Always keep your cover had been drummed into her.

"Hello?" came a groggy voice from the phone.

"Father, I've sinned," she croaked in Italian, and then coughed up more blood.

"My child," the local priest said, more alert. He thought he recognised her voice and didn't like how ill she sounded. "Are you okay?"

"No," she gulped, trying not to think about the pain in her chest. She didn't know how many ribs they'd broken. "I don't think I'll last much longer. Will you give me the last rites?"

There was a pause and in a shaky voice, he did just that. She sighed in relief. Her asking for the last rites was a signal to her phone. Her Hail Mary. A protocol buried deep inside. Piggy backing the call, it would let Overwatch know.

"Silly girl!" He was back. The call was ended and the phone thrown out of reach. "Nobody is going to rescue you."

Once again alone, she hoped that call, albeit brief, was enough to be tracked. A life of not wanting to be traced, and now it felt like her life depended on being found.

* * *

The five of them were in Astraea, just beyond the rim of explored space. Kelly had said it was an exploration vehicle and with the longer hops, had decided they were going where no human had gone before.

"I don't think we'll be heard here," Hope said in English, and Kelly checked they weren't in any danger.

English had become the current language of Astraea to help Reggie. The only other time she got to speak English was when the shop was quiet and that was becoming less frequent. The latest craze shoppers were going for was cheese. Cheese with biscuits, wine or port.

"Okay. What did you want to talk about?" Theo asked.

"The situation with the Urattr. Star Bright have created an alternative tunnel structure that doesn't conflict with the third tunnel, which we think is created by the Urattr. The distance is longer, but the speed is about the same. They have shared the details with the group. It's a major enhancement for everyone. For humans, it is just a software update. I've no idea about the others."

"They just gave it?" Reggie said, shocked.

"It was the easiest way to make sure everyone moved to a structure that didn't cause problems. It will take time for each species to process and change. The Reginadde said they wouldn't accept it because it wasn't theirs. It was pointed out that it was just mathematics and physics so perhaps they will. He muttered about the Signatories not liking it."

"That can't be," Reggie said, confused. "They are frightened of not being able to hop."

"It sounds like they don't want the situation resolved," Theo remarked.

Reggie's head fell. She didn't like hearing things like this. Even if the facts pointed to that conclusion.

"It was also announced that humans have another six tunnels calculated, five of which use a different dimension. They require hardware changes, which this ship has. The details of those structures were not shared."

"What does this ship use?" Reggie asked.

"It uses the new structure that they shared and the one structure that doesn't use new hardware that wasn't shared. Technically we could jump into the Zone of Silence. But the Rohastin hasn't updated yet, so we wouldn't be able to connect there. Earth-1 is going to be updated next week, with Mars acting as gateway during the upgrade. If we needed to communicate using the new structure, it would be direct to one of the Earth or Scorpion gateways."

"Is it safe to use untested structures?"

"They have been tested. And just in case you hadn't realised, the journey back from Earth used the unshared alternative structure. The new dimension tunnels, the ship is capable, but they haven't activated yet."

"I think you said the previous tunnel, we could go just under five hundred light years. What about the new ones?"

"The one shared is the same speed but can go further. We can hop over a thousand light years. I've not been given definitive distances. The structure they haven't shared is quicker. It can still go over a thousand light years, but the jump time is smaller. For instance, a normal hop from Earth takes about three seconds. It took us 1.3 seconds."

"And Earth aren't sharing it?" Reggie sounded hurt.

"Star Bright aren't sharing it," Jennifer corrected. "How long does it take for a Reginadde ship currently to go from the Rohastin Station to Earth?"

Reggie sat there for a few moments as she converted ticks to human seconds and base eight to base ten. "About twenty human seconds."

"So, you are still getting a huge speed improvement," Hope pointed out.

"Did your Ma tell them about the tunnels they aren't sharing?"

"Just that they had them. They are only going to be available in explorer ships, going out into the unknown. Hopefully having a range of tunnels will mean there is less of a chance of them getting stuck."

"It's a certainty," Reggie stated.

The other four winced. "Never say that. Nothing is ever certain. You were certain the current interdimensional drives were unstoppable. They were, until they weren't. You were certain the Poaart type of implant could never be removed. It was."

"The only thing certain is there are uncertainties," Kelly stated.

"The Reginadde aren't exploring at the moment," Reggie said, more to herself than the others. "I don't think they need the extra confusion."

Jennifer smiled to herself. This was the first time Reggie had considered not sharing something she'd learnt.

"You didn't just drag us all the way out here for that, did you?" Hope said.

"No. This is a discussion about the power struggle inside the Signatories. Reggie is the expert on Reginaddes. She has previously stated that this type of thing doesn't occur. Vers'am even said it wasn't something he understood, as the Alphonians don't have that either. Alphonian, Reginadde and Frotanian are some of the most stable of species. They are mature and work via consent."

Reggie nodded.

"The Reginadde don't think like this. Not naturally. So, assuming there is a rogue Signatory, who is coaching them?"

In a flash, Hope said, "The Yvestigans."

"Earth First," Kelly added.

"Trudy," Theo said after a small thought.

"Who?" Kelly, Hope and Reggie said in unison.

"Someone who came to see us. I'm always suspicious of things like that," Theo said. "So, I did some digging. She was sanctioned when it was found out she'd been having an affair with Trposin, the Yvestigan Ambassador."

"You're talking about the Chief Advisor, aren't you?" Reggie said. "She was ex-Ambassador to the Rohastin. The normal promotion that has happened for centuries is the Reginadde Ambassador would become the next Law Bearer. She didn't because of the scandal."

"If anything happens to the Law Bearer, the current Ambassador would be the primary person to replace him?" Kelly asked.

Reggie nodded.

"So, if she was trying to become the Law Bearer, the only way would be to remove the current Ambassador, which has been attempted twice."

"Did you report, or see via implant, the current Ambassador's relationship status?" Jennifer asked.

"No. He asked me not to. I didn't want to ruin his career."

Jennifer looked impressed, which Reggie noticed and seemed pleased.

"Who's he seeing?" Hope asked, feeling everyone but her knew.

"The human Ambassador," Reggie admitted, forgetting to filter.

"Good," Kelly said. "I've not heard of her having a relationship since she was transformed. If someone is making her happy, it is about time."

Reggie seemed surprised and then realised it was no different from when they became her friends. Two humans who became friends with a young Reginadde. Reggie had always been a loner. Other Reginaddes were intimidated because of who her grandfather was. Then came Jennifer and Kelly. Two humans who didn't care what others thought and accepted her for who she was.

And now, even though they had jobs that seemed to conflict, they all tried to not trip over each other's jobs and maintain their friendship. Introducing Theo and Hope wasn't a surprise, but that they treated her as friends too was so unbelievable.

Humans were so different from each other. Someone could be standing at the side of the street protesting and someone else protesting about the protester. So much emotion. So much passion. How did their hearts survive such turmoil?

"Any other ideas?" Jennifer asked.

None of them did.

"I sent an email earlier to request information from Earth. Nobody from Earth First who were released from prison have left the planet. If there were conversions, they weren't direct." Jennifer glanced at Reggie before saying, "We have people in place with them."

"You shouldn't be having this conversation while I'm here," Reggie said, a slight panic in her voice. "I feel so much pressure from both sides. I feel torn."

"Don't feel torn," Jennifer said gently. "I'm talking about it because I said I wouldn't disown you because of your job."

Reggie undid her belt and floated towards the back of the ship. None of the other four followed her, giving her the space she needed.

After what seemed an eternity, she turned and said, "You've been gently steering me since you joined. Are you trying to recruit me for whoever you work for?"

"No. I'm trying to help you become a better agent. Let me ask a question. Don't rush the answer. Who does your grandfather work for?"

Reggie didn't need to think and gave a small smile. "The Rohastin."

Jennifer turned around and gave Theo a high-five. Hope laughed at her friend's antics.

"What is the only way for Earth to leave the Rohastin?" Kelly asked Reggie.

"To destroy it," Reggie said, floating back. "Earth First want that. The Yvestigans want humans gone."

"And Trudy wants the job she was denied."

"They can't all be working together though," Theo said. "Earth First and the Yvestigans would never get on."

Jennifer shook her head. "Yet they did work together to try to stop Earth joining. The Yvestigans worked out where the factory was and got what would become Earth Fist, the militant wing of Earth First, to attack. The Yvestigans told them how to shield my Ma so the nanites couldn't communicate."

"Here is the big question," Theo said. "Who does Trudy work for?"

There was silence. Reggie broke it. "We don't know. She might be innocent and work for the Law Bearer. She might be working for herself. She might be working with Trposin, but I couldn't imagine she would work for him. She might be using Trposin to get power. I still don't see Earth First mixed up with this."

Reggie looked nervous. "There is one other possibility."

"Oh?"

"What if the current Reginadde Ambassador is not working for the Rohastin? What if he is causing the issue and faked the attacks on himself? What if he wants the leadership now and the Human Ambassador is helping him?"

"We'll add it to the list," Jennifer said, not wanting to tell her friend she was bonkers for thinking her grandfather staged the assassination attempts.

"I was there when someone tried to kill him the first time," Kelly said, not being as tactful as Jennifer. "That was a real attempt."

Reggie seemed to relax at that. If Kelly had thought it was real, it was real. She trusted Kelly and Jennifer. The other two she was still getting to know.

"We have no idea where Trposin is and if he is in contact with Trudy. Our knowledge of other species is limited. Reggie, Trudy said she was also the person who is at the top of the chain in Reginadde Intelligence. If so, she will see all your reports."

"I didn't think so," Reggie said. "She purely advises the Law Bearer and does talk to some of the Signatories on his behalf."

Theo and Jennifer shared a look, unsure what, if anything, Trudy had said had been the truth. It didn't seem to match what Reggie knew. But that could be Reggie not knowing the full hierarchy.

Technically it was an internal Reginadde issue. However, it was impacting the Rohastin. And they'd been shot at.

A simultaneous ping jarred them from the discussion.

"It seems we aren't far enough for the new comms range," Kelly muttered, more to herself than the others. The ship was acting as a communications hotspot.

They glanced and saw the words, Code Orange.

"We're hopping," Jennifer called to Reggie, who was still floating around. It was more out of habit as a hop wouldn't change Reggie's position at all.

"What's wrong?" Reggie asked, pushing off the roof so she floated back to her chair.

Hope answered as both Kelly and Jennifer were working out the destinations. It was too far for one hop. "An investigator is in trouble. We're being notified, which means there is some overlap. I want to be closer before I call someone."

"It doesn't mean we get involved," Theo reassured. "We just need to understand."

They didn't hop all the way. There was no need. They were about twenty light years from Earth.

Jennifer grabbed her rucksack, removed the DTD and hooked up her phone. For Reggie it was the first time she'd seen it but didn't query it. She just thought it was the human way of doing things.

She dialled the automated number. "Information on Code Orange."

She put her finger to her lips and put the phone on speaker, so they could all hear.

The automated response came, "Voice match confirmed. Agent invoked Last Rites protocol. Overlap with your investigation."

There were gasps in Astraea's cabin. "Which agent code?"

"Delta Three Alpha. Connecting you to—"

Jennifer interrupted, her adrenaline spiking and her heart rate picking up. "Stop connection. What is Delta Three Alpha's location?"

"Location was shielded and unknown. Connecting you—"

Jennifer terminated the call. She didn't want to speak with anybody. There was no sign of tears. She didn't have time for that. Forcing her breathing to steady, she asked, "Does anyone have any ideas?"

Her colleagues were silent apart from Theo. "They have a team on standby for things like this. They will know what phone masts it bounced through. They have a starting area. We need to let them do their job."

"We also need to go back to the Rohastin Station," Hope said quietly, not wanting to upset Jennifer. "Just in case this was a coordinated attack. We need to be at our post."

"Take us back to the Station," Jennifer said to Kelly.

"Aye," she replied and requested the docking coordinates. They didn't move. Kelly said, "We are getting no response from the Station for approved docking coordinates."

"Take us to coordinates near the station. Is that possible?" Jennifer asked.

"No, it isn't uncontested space. The only authorised approach is via the station. Trying again."

They held their breath.

"Still no response. Could they be upgrading the comms?"

"It was still under discussion. I'd not heard of any timescale," Jennifer responded. "You, Theo?"

"No. The Reginadde were still pushing back on any changes."

They all looked at each other. For the first time in centuries, the Rohastin Station was quiet.