Marcus got up and stretched his back out, glancing absently at the statues. “The thoughts are Human, for sure. They don’t like any of the other people we’ve met out here all that much. In fact, whatever it is seems to be pretty upset at the current status quo.”
“And we built Penumbra?” Justin looked up, not quite ready to rise.
“Humans? Yeah, looks it. Well, not Penumbra. But the Relic Core, whatever it was.” He moved down toward the water’s edge, where the liquid lapped softly against the metal shore. “I think it must have been some kind of research facility, or last-ditch secret weapon at the end of the war between Humans and the Variyar and … everyone else, I guess.”
“And they never used it, despite losing the war, and left a ghost behind to haunt the first Human to stumble into their little museum thousands of years later?”
“Tens of thousands of years later, and I never said it was a ghost.” Marcus looked down at his friend. “I think it might have been something like the base computer, artificial intelligence, or whatever. Although a lot of the thoughts have different … I don’t know … different flavors, to them? Like they’re from different people.”
Justin grinned again. “So you have a schizophrenic computer ghost in your head.”
Marcus was getting angry, and didn’t know if it was him getting angry, or the voice again, and forced himself to take several deep breaths before responding. “I don’t know. And it’s not just in my head. It’s everywhere. It’s been here, and aware, since long before the ship we now call Sanctum landed, long before all the other ships were fused with the Relic Core and the city was born. From what I can figure out, the AI, or whatever, can pass through nearly any conductive material. As new ships were added to the city, it simply locked them into the system it had created. That’s why they all got power; this force, or being, or whatever made itself useful, so it could spread its network. At this point, it’s everywhere.”
“And you have everywhere in your head.” Justin rose unsteadily to his feet, and Marcus moved to help him.
“No, but if I close my eyes, I know pretty much anything there is to know in the city. It’s like it used to be with the Skorahn, but a thousand times more sensitive. And it happens without me thinking about it half the time.”
“So, you knew when I landed?” Justin rubbed his hands together as if there might have been sand or dirt on them.
“Yeah. I’ve known where you were since you docked.”
“And you didn’t motivate your sorry ass up to meet me? Damaged as I am?”
“I’m going to push you into the water if you don’t take this seriously.” Marcus’s face was expressionless, his voice flat.
Justin only smiled wider. “Meh, a swim might be just the thing. So, what are you planning on doing with the…” He made a circle with the tip of one finger pointing at his ear. “What are you planning on doing with the thing, then?”
Marcus gave him another flat look and then turned away. “I don’t know.”
“But you’re not going back to Earth?” There was more of an edge to Justin’s voice now, of fear or something else, Marcus couldn’t tell. “You thinking of going home?”
This time it was Marcus’s turn to laugh, but it was a hard, dark sound, nothing like the genuine mirth Justin had given voice to moments before. “With this in my head?” It was his turn to trace the little circles around his ear. “I don’t think that would be such a great plan. It’s not really happy with the idea of Earth right now. I could go insane and try to take over the world if I went back right now.”
Justin nodded as if reassured. “Without Taurani or any other Council assholes screwing with you, you could probably do some real good around here, by staying.”
Marcus looked at him. “Have you not heard anything I’ve said?” He was almost shouting, and Justin cast another nervous glance at the statues, but they remained still. “This thing in my head hates all of them! Everyone on this station but you and me! It’s looking at the galaxy through a lens that’s tens of thousands of years old! Everyone is either an enemy or a traitor, and it’s railing against them day and night!”
Justin backed away for a moment. “That sounds … bad.”
Marcus shook his head and stalked off, his hands in tight fists. “I can ignore it when I’m busy, or focused on other things. I’ve been working, just like you said, trying to build those networks, bringing people together, tying Penumbra back into a community. I’ve even had some success. The Kot’i are responsive, and of course the Namanu, Diakk, and,” he tilted his head back at Justin. “The Mnymians, are willing to work with me. The Leemuk and other staff have returned to the control center as well.” He shrugged. “So, I’m making progress. But every night, when I go back to my rooms, the thoughts are there, and it’s angry at me for working with our ancient enemies!”
Justin put a hand on Marcus’s shoulder. “That’s not right.” He nodded to the Skorahn, laying against Marcus’s chest. “Have you tried to take that off? Maybe have Angara fly you out-system, see if the voices leave you alone?”
Marcus felt his shoulders fall, exhaustion sweeping over him. He looked down at the amulet, the icon clear on its gleaming surface. “I don’t want to take any chances. And I haven’t had time to leave the city. Like I said, I’ve been trying to keep busy.”
“And you’re running from something.” Justin said it quickly, almost interrupting him. When he looked up at his friend, those dark eyes were burning into his, but his stance was hesitant, almost as if he were gauging whether he should be ready to flee.
“Running from what?” His eyes narrowed, focusing intently on Justin’s face.
“From what happened at the end of your battle.”
That struck a chord, and he shot his friend a hooded look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Justin reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve both done a lot of crazy shit since we got here. How many Ntja have we killed? Before we got here, neither of had killed anything bigger than that cat you hit with your car back in high school. Now, we both have too much of that thick, black blood on our hands. That’s going to mess with your head no matter how you slice it, Marc.” He hesitated, looking away, and then met his gaze with more force. “And I heard what happened with Taurani.”
“Taurani was a bastard! He deserved what he got! Who told you about that, K’hzan? He’s just angry that he didn’t get to preside over some dog and pony show trial!”
Justin raised both his hands to ward off the anger, eyes wide and white with surprise. “Whoa! No! I don’t talk much to K’hzan, even if I am on his ship. No, Angara told me. And I know you. I know how something like that would haunt you.”
“Something like that? Something like what? I put down the dog that caused all of this!” Marcus stormed away, flinging one arm wide to indicate the entire city, or maybe the whole mess his world had become. “I put an end to the monster that drenched this city in blood!”
“And killed him as he knelt before you, unarmed and helpless.” Justin’s words were flat, but there was no anger in them. They brought Marcus up short. “You think I don’t see those dog-faced bastards in my dreams? You don’t think I have nightmares about all the blood I spilled? I was a damned businessman, for Christ’s sake! I’ve heard how many of those armored assholes you killed, and I’ve heard how you did it. It must have been even bloodier. That can’t be leaving you alone at night.” He shrugged. “And striking down an unarmed man, or whatever, isn’t something the Marcus I know would be easy with either.”
“Maybe I’m not the Marcus you knew.” He spat the words before he could think, but when they were out, he realized how true they might be. He was afraid of how true they might be.
“Nope, that won’t work. You’re you, no matter who else might be rattling around in that head of yours. And I know you can’t be right with the way that went down.”
And as he heard the words, he knew they were true. Deep in his mind h
e felt the alien presence stir at the suggestion that Taurani’s death had been anything but proper, but he forced it back down. He looked down at his hands, curled into claws, and forced them to relax. Then he turned away and folded back down to sit, legs crossed, looking out over the water once more.
He didn’t speak for a while, and Justin settled down beside him, willing to give him the space he needed. They sat side by side on the alien shore, watching the oily surface of the water undulate off into the distance.
“It wasn’t right.” The words were muffled. He wasn’t proud, and the words came hard. But he forced them out. “I know. But so many people died! And I thought you had died, and I saw the sword Angara had thrown at my feet …”
“Well, you should probably know, not everyone thinks you made a mistake. Angara happens to agree with what you did completely. It’s made for some … heated debates.”
The silence stretched on again, and Marcus didn’t want to fill it, but knew he had to. He needed to.
“So, what should I do?” It was almost a whisper. Half of him was afraid Justin wouldn’t hear him, while the other half was afraid of the reply.
“Well, I’m no priest, but I think you just go forward, doing the best you can. All this talk about voices in your head actually makes me feel better about what happened.” Justin turned toward him, his face sober. “And if you know this thing is whispering to you, you know to watch for its influence. Have you thought about talking to Master Nhan? I don’t know much about the Thien’ha, but he is sort of mysterious … maybe that’s close enough to a priest?”
Marcus shook his head. “No, he hasn’t been much use since the battle. Helping us defied some ancient belief of his, some pledge of neutrality or something like that. And he still blames himself for Ve’Yan’s death.”
Justin sat in silence for a moment, then nodded. “Well, you can always talk to me, man.” He felt the hand on his shoulder again, and it meant more than he could have said.
Again they lapsed into silence, but this time there was more peace, and a little less pain. Or, at least, a little less isolation.
“So, what’s next?” He knew, or guessed, that Justin was relieved he didn’t want to go back to Earth. But it was only natural that his friend would want to know where they might go from here.
“Well, there’s a lot of damage to be repaired, both physical and emotional.” He tilted his head back, his eyes unfocused as he thought. “A lot of trust to rebuild. Taurani spent a lot of time and effort sewing discord the whole time he was here. The scars from the battle and its aftermath won’t go away anytime soon.”
Justin nodded. “And when you’ve set everything right? What’s the future hold for the Savior of Penumbra?”
He felt his face twist in a sour frown, but shook it off. “Well, I hope to get things back on track. Bring everyone back together, and try to make this place more of what it could be; a place where folks who’d rather not live in the Council’s utopia can come and forge their own future.”
“They’re not going to leave us alone, you know. They’re going to come back. No way was Taurani out here on his own. Not with an entire fleet at his beck and call. And they can’t let an insult to their rule like this exist, not after the slapping you just gave them.”
Marcus sighed. “I know. And K’hzan thinks that their admiral, Ochiag or whatever, was on that big ship that got away. So, they’ll know what happened. When they come back, they won’t just stumble blindly into whatever meat grinder caught them this time.”
“I heard it was pretty spectacular. Some kind of antimatter ray gun or something like that?” Justin couldn’t keep the excitement at such a prospect from his voice, and it brought a smile to Marcus’s face despite the turmoil churning in his gut. “No one seems to know what it was, really. I figured the lord of the manor might have a clue.”
He snorted at that. Between the two of them, science had never really been his strong suit. “I’m not sure either. It was nothing anyone can seem to identify. The best the Kot’i can guess, it was something called dark energy, which even to Galactic science, is only theoretical.”
“Tell that to the dogs you blasted out of the sky.” It was nice to hear Justin’s excitement. There was enough guilt associated with the battle already. Knowing his friend didn’t see the whole thing as a moral failing was a small comfort. Of course, the fact that he had been unconscious on one of the Variyar ships threatened by the Council fleet might have something to do with that. Justin had always been something of a pragmatist.
“Well, it did the trick, anyway.” Marcus agreed.
“But you don’t think it’ll be enough if they come back?” Justin had turned to face him as the conversation wandered farther from the emotionally charged topics.
“Well, who knows what the range of the weapon is? I don’t.” Once he started talking, the words rushed out of him like a flood. “The Council could send a fleet in to stand off at a distance and launch something at us from half way across the system. They might be able to strike us with beam weapons from even farther away. They could shatter the planet with something while hiding behind its shadow, and we could be destroyed in the resulting cataclysm before we even know they’re there. As far as anyone can tell, Penumbra has always been a static target, and will always be a static target. If we can’t move, eventually, they’re going to hit us with something we can’t deal with.”
“As far as anyone can tell?” Justin perked up at that. His face had fallen as Marcus had ticked off all the possible attacks they might be facing. “There’s a chance it might not be static? That it might be able to move?
“Well, if you think about it, it’s not a great secret weapon if its trapped in a backwater system with no ability to get to where it can do some damage. So, one theory goes that if it is the secret weapon it appears to be, there has to be some way to move it. You’d think I would know how to do it. I seem to know everything else. But apparently there are some secrets the big scary voice wants to keep to itself for now.”
Justin nodded at that and settled back, his face lost in thought. “You’re not going to be able to deal with the Council alone, no matter how mobile the city might turn out to be.”
Marcus frowned. “No. Even if we try to take a live and let live approach, and I’m not at all convinced that’s an option, we’ll need friends to help watch our backs, and stand the Council back if they try to make another run at us.”
“Any ideas?”
Marcus looked at his friend out of the corner of his eye with a thin smile. “Well, I might need your help with that.”
That seemed to amuse Justin. “Oh yeah? With what?”
He settled back on his hands. “The Variyar, for one. K’hzan threw in with us on this one, but almost everyone agrees that the fleet that he brought against the Council here can’t be everything he’s got. Most of us are hoping that he’s in for the long haul now. It’s not like he was going home anyway.”
Justin nodded thoughtfully. “He is sort of stuck. Not that I think he minds.” He smiled at Marcus with a wide, open grin. “I think he sort of likes you, but God knows what the price for his help might be, down the road. I don’t get the impression he’s big on charity.”
Marcus shrugged. “We’ll deal with that when it comes up. And that was the easy one. I’ve got another idea that I was hoping you might be able to help me with.”
“Yeah? Anything. You know that.”
Marcus paused, looked at his friend almost in apology, and then said, “Angara’s people.”
That seemed to give Justin pause. He blinked a couple times, a line of confusion appeared between his eyes, and then his head tilted to the side. “Angara’s people?”
Marcus nodded, rushing forward before his friend could stop him. “Angara’s people; the Tigan. They’re supposed to be amazing fighters. They live on their ships, for God’s sake! And they’re independent. They sound perfect, if we’re trying to build an alliance against the Council.”
> Justin’s eyes stayed wide, drifting off as he thought about Marcus’s words. “Angara and I haven’t spoken much about her people. They kicked her out, you know. She won’t talk about the details, but they can’t be good. And I’m pretty sure they’re not in the Council because no one on the Council trusts them. I didn’t get the impression anyone can trust them. Hardly sounds like an ideal alliance to me.”
Marcus shook his head, warming to the topic. “No, but beggars can’t be choosers. And if they’re good fighters, and we can get them to fight beside us, can’t we work around any other problems that come up along the way?”
Justin looked skeptical “I can think of good fighters from our own history that we wouldn’t want beside us, just for starters.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, Marc. All I know is that Angara doesn’t trust them, and they raised her. And I trust Angara. So, if possible, I think we might want to look elsewhere for allies, if we’re really desperate.”
Marcus bowed his head. “That’s just it. We are desperate. I don’t think there is anywhere else to look.”
The mere thought of even asking for help from K’hzan Modath, or the Tigan fleet, or any other alien or Human half-blood drove the voice in his head half-mad, and he gritted his teeth against the pain. He knew there was no way to keep Penumbra free from an enraged Galactic Council now, but –
“What about Earth?”
He looked up. “What?”
Justin looked him in the eye. “Earth. What about them? It’s still a prison, whether they know it or not. Are we going to just leave Earth as it is, oblivious and isolated? The punch line for a thousand alien jokes?”
That stung, and the thing in his head surged at the thought. He realized now that it had been sidling in that direction all along. Now that he saw it, he realized he should have recognized it much sooner. The entity in his head, whatever it was, was vehemently pro-Human. It wanted to reestablish a galactic order that had existed tens of thousands of years ago, with Humans as the preeminent species. As much as he hated the thought of Earth as a prison, and his people trapped there against their will, by all the reports he had found, the galaxy at the mercy of Humanity had not ended well for anyone, including the Humans.
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