by B. V. Larson
“You got it.” Loco cocked an eyebrow. “When’s the wedding?”
“No idea. I haven’t even asked her yet. Probably just a small affair aboard ship.”
Loco drew back with exaggerated disbelief. “You have got to be joking… Only, you’re Derek Straker, so you’re not. Listen to me. You just conquered an empire, and it’s nearly intact. Even so, the people are scared. The Mutuality is all they know. They’ve heard of the Liberator only as a boogeyman come to eat their children. If you really want to make their lives better and help your new Senate and your Director govern, you need to get the people on your side.”
“Yeah, so? What does that have to do with a wedding?”
Loco rolled his eyes. “Bread and circuses, you told me, and a wedding is the biggest circus of all. Get the Committee’s staff to plan the event and they’ll be buying in to your legitimacy. It’s something positive to do, something that will bring people together behind you. It’ll show them you’re human. Bigger than human, though, larger than life, like a fairy story. The Prince and the Princess, pomp and ceremony, all that. Nothing better than true love to make women everywhere swoon, and it’s the women who are the heart of every society.”
“I’m impressed, Loco. You’ve really thought this through.”
“Not really thinking. It just seems obvious to me. If there’s one thing I know about, it’s women.”
Straker clapped Loco on the shoulder. “Like military ops seem obvious to me. Okay, big wedding it is. Set the wheels in motion, but quietly. I haven’t even proposed.”
“You have a ring?”
Straker stopped short. “Damn. Nope. But I’ll find something.”
Loco grabbed Straker in a bear hug and pounded his back. “Congratulations, Derek. Now get your ass in gear before she decides to dump you for someone better-looking. Like me.”
“Get off me, you clown,” Straker said with a grin, shoving him away. “See you at the wedding.” He stepped into his open mechsuit and closed up so he could walk it aboard the lifter.
Instead of heading straight for Indomitable, he comlinked Indy to bring Gryphon to meet him in high orbit. Once he docked and made his way to the bridge, where the weird rejuvenation coffin still stood, he said, “Indy, I need a couple favors.”
“Favors? I am under your command.”
“Ah, sure.” Straker still felt odd about being in charge of an AI inhabiting a ship. But if Indy were really a person, she’d have similar instincts and values to those around her—probably. She’d feel a need for structure, and to be part of something greater than herself, and to do something good in the universe.
Well, so he hoped. “Okay, one favor, because it’s personal, and one military order.”
“Go ahead please, Admiral.”
“I need a set of wedding rings for Carla and me. You’ve got machine shops aboard, so I figure you can make something. That’s the personal favor.”
“Of course, Admiral. Do you have preferences of style or materials?”
Straker shrugged. “Not really. Surprise me.”
“I’ll begin immediately. And the military order?”
“Indomitable’s pretty beat up, and I need her operational as fast as possible.”
“I would suggest a trip to your shipyards at Kraznyvol. That would be a good political gesture as well, a tour of inspection by the New Republic’s flagship.”
“That’s a good idea, but I was thinking you could help right away. If you hooked back into Indomitable’s systems, you could use your robots to speed up repairs.”
Indy paused, perhaps thinking. “I do not wish to be a party to more weapon-making and war.”
“A great man once said, ‘if you would have peace, prepare for war.’ Indomitable’s very existence will reduce the chance of civil wars and rebellions breaking out, and will make the Hundred Worlds think twice about attacking us. Now isn’t the time to look weak, Indy.”
Straker heard a rustle and turned to see Zaxby enter the bridge. The arrangement of electronics on his head now seemed sleeker and more developed, less like a prototype.
“Hello, Zaxby,” said Straker. “Good to see you again.”
“This is merely the Ruxin portion of me now, Admiral,” Zaxby replied. “In reality, I am functionally melded with Indy, and with the mind of Doctor Nolan as her body is restructured. We are three who have become one. A trinity, if you will.”
“So…this is permanent?”
“I do not see why not.”
“What about your dreams of becoming male or female? Having children, moving up in your society?”
“In this configuration I may become immortal, and with a visit to Ruxin, I am sure we can acquire biotechnology sufficient to make this body into whatever we wish. Perhaps more Ruxins and humans will join us here and we will procreate, using these available bodies. We will create a family.”
Straker rubbed his jaw. This was getting weirder by the minute, but he couldn’t rightly forbid this ‘trinity’ from doing what they wanted—not if he wanted to stay true to the concept of freedom and liberation. “Well, I guess there’s room in the galaxy for all sorts of, um, families. You don’t seem to be enslaved, so I hope it all works out. In the meantime, though, will you help refurbish Indomitable?”
“Yes, we will. The Zaxby part of me agrees with your viewpoint, Admiral, and has been persuasive. We shall help with Indomitable until after the wedding, and then accompany you to Kraznyvol. We would like to avail ourselves of the shipyards and materials there as well, for upgrades to ourselves.”
Straker chuckled ruefully. “So much for a honeymoon on Old Earth.”
“As Liberator, your life is not your own. Perhaps you should abdicate now that your main goal has been accomplished, and retire to a pleasant planet.”
He thought about DeChang, and ambition. “I don’t believe that’s a good idea.”
“You cannot control this New Earthan Republic forever.”
“No, but for now, it needs all the stability it can get—which means me—and you, Zaxby. I really wish you hadn’t decided to do this right now.”
Zaxby smiled—well, his body did, anyway—and gestured expansively with his tentacles. “I am still here, Derek Straker. We will need a place in your new society, and we have already thought of many possibilities far greater than being used as managers of warship repair. For example, if you need a master administrator for the new government and its economy, we can fulfill that role. AI is particularly suited for managing the complex interactions necessary, while also maintaining surveillance on all persons involved in case of corruption or malfeasance.”
“You want me to put you in charge of a police state?”
“Of course not. Police states are counterproductive. We would respect whatever constitutional protections were put in place, but we could identify patterns and actions that warrant further investigation by the legitimate authorities.”
“I’ll think about it.” The whole idea made Straker uncomfortable, machine minds watching people’s every move. And yet, if the oversight had the right boundaries, and if the AI-meld itself resisted corruption, it was tempting…
“I’ll think about it,” he said again. “First, though, let’s make some wedding rings.”
***
Seven days later.
Carla Engels—Legally, Carla Straker, she thought, though she’d keep “Engels” on her uniform to avoid confusion—admired the natural diamond set in the platinum-gold alloy of the ring that rested on her finger. Though the materials weren’t particularly expensive—diamonds and metals were plentiful on asteroids—the artistic setting was exquisite. It had been a perfect complement to the enormous wedding Unison City had thrown for the happy couple.
Not that the populace had a choice. They were still used to following any order given them, even if framed as an invitation. Still, they’d celebrated it enthusiastically, as if the wedding were a symbol of better times to come.
“I’m still shocked at
how beautiful this ring is,” she said to Derek as he dressed after showering in the new, rebuilt flag officer suite aboard Indomitable. With plenty of room on the battleship, and Trinity—that’s what they called themselves, the meld of beings aboard Gryphon—acting as designer and remodeler, the Strakers now had something resembling a real home aboard. “I didn’t think an AI would be so creative.”
“Zaxby and Nolan had a part in it. I guess the meld did it together.”
“Trinity, you mean.”
“I can’t get used to that. And to lose their individuality…” Derek shuddered and shook himself. “Yech.”
“They seem happy.” She embraced him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning back to look into Derek’s icy blue eyes. “Don’t you like it when we make love, and we feel like we’re two halves of the same whole person?”
Derek smiled, but there was a hint of unease on his face. “I do, but that’s temporary. That’s like a vacation on Shangri-La—a nice place to visit, but you can’t live there.”
“I could.” She snuggled into him.
“Yeah…but it’s not the real world. It’s a break from it.”
Carla shrugged, ignoring his objections.
“Hey, what’s this?” He rubbed at a bit of derm-seal on her arm.
“I took out my implant. Remember, we talked about having children.”
“We did, didn’t we… but is this the right time?”
“There’s never a right time,” she replied. “There’s always some crisis for people like us. We’re not homebodies, but that doesn’t mean we give up on a full life.”
“We might end up raising them aboard Indomitable.”
“I’m all right with that. I’ve lived most of my life aboard ships.”
Derek gently broke free, and spun his own filigreed wedding band with his thumb as he held it up. “I’ll have to get used to this.”
“You will. Now get dressed, Admiral. We’re due on the bridge.”
When they arrived in their dress uniforms, spontaneous applause broke out from the doubled watch there. Engels waved down the noise and took her chair, looking over the hologram to see that all was in order.
It showed Gryphon docked and grappled with Indomitable like a remora on a whale. Already, the AI-meld’s robots had run cables in to hook into the battleship’s computer systems. The blended mind was using tele-operated repair bots and all the machine shops at its disposal to repair and upgrade the ship. They were so efficient that the new flag suite had taken only a few hours to create.
“Initiate the separation,” said Engels. “Helmsmen, make transit for Kraznyvol in sequence.”
***
A day later, Indomitable arrived at Kraznyvol, the system containing the New Earthan Republic’s main shipyards. Before the sections could even begin reassembly, Straker could see something was wrong. Instead of green icons marking fully functioning facilities, the main hologram showed the reds of utter destruction.
“What the hell happened?” Straker said, standing to stare at the display above his head. “Tixban, I need an analysis. Was it some kind of civil war?”
“Give me time, Admiral. I will activate the intelligence cell. This is unexpected.”
What an understatement, Straker said to himself, but kept his teeth shut against the urge to demand answers. It would take time to sort out the flood of data Indomitable was collecting.
“Do your best, but tell me what you find out as you do. Conjecture is fine. I don’t need perfection,” he said.
Engels moved to a console, bumping out the watchstanders there, and zoomed the display in on one section. “These are the wrecks of the four monitors stationed here. They’re floating near K-2, the gas giant the shipyards orbit. Orbited, I should say, since they’re wrecks too.”
“So unlike at Unison, the monitors stayed near the planet to defend. Is that significant?”
Engels nodded. “It means the attackers didn’t have bombardment weapons. They had to get in close, and the monitors stayed in close, where all the defensive bases and weaponry could support each other. Not that it saved them.” She pulled back to take in everything around K-2. “By the results, though, I don’t think this was a mutiny or internal struggle. Everything’s completely trashed.”
“You mean, if it were a civil war, there’d be something left that the winners would hold. Instead, it’s all been torn apart. Comms, I need to talk to someone, anyone. Is anybody broadcasting? Are there survival beacons transmitting?”
The answer came quickly. “No, sir. There are no transmissions.”
“None? There should be dozens of beacons, maybe hundreds!”
“I’m sorry sir. I’m not getting anything,” said the comtech.
Indy—no, Trinity, Straker reminded himself—spoke. “Admiral Straker, may I suggest that we perform reconnaissance while Indomitable reassembles. Our speed and sensors are far superior to yours.”
“Good idea. Go.”
The destroyer detached and hurried in toward K-2. “Damn, she’s fast,” said Engels. “That AI really knows how to get the best out of machinery.”
Even so, long hours passed as Indomitable reassembled and Tixban’s people gathered information, until Trinity sent a message, delayed by lightspeed of course.
“Our reconnaissance reveals no survivors. All facilities have been systematically dismantled or destroyed. Many critical parts have been hastily removed. All data cores we could access have been wiped or demolished. All orbital facilities are on course to fall into K2. Admiral Straker, this was a massacre, and intended to be ‘scorched earth’ in your common parlance.”
“Who did it?” Straker said loudly. “Dammit, who did it?”
The message continued playing, but Trinity’s next statement answered his question anyway. “We were able to retrieve pieces of wreckage that were not manufactured by human, Ruxin, or other known technologies. We cannot be entirely sure, but the materials are consistent with only one known species: Opters.”
“Opters,” Straker breathed. “Bastards. Why am I not surprised?”
Engels turned worried eyes to him. “So much for our honeymoon. Old Earth will have to wait.”
Straker nodded. “Looks like we’re still at war.”
The End
From the Authors: Thanks Reader! We hope you enjoyed BATTLESHIP INDOMITABLE. If you liked the story and want to read the next one soon, please put up some stars and a review to support the book. Don’t worry if you’re a fan of another series, more books are coming!
-DVD & BVL
Books by David VanDyke:
Stellar Conquest Series:
First Conquest
Desolator: Conquest
Tactics of Conquest
Conquest of Earth
Conquest and Empire
Books by B. V. Larson:
The Undying Mercenaries Series:
Steel World
Dust World
Tech World
Machine World
Death World
Home World
Rogue World