“Why is Cyrus watching behind that mirror?” Jasper asked.
“If I need help—”
“You’re angry with him,” Jasper said. “Ah, he refused to shock me.” The telepath raised his voice. “That’s very noble of you, Cyrus. Why don’t you come out here where I can see you?”
“No,” Wexx said. “He’s going to remain behind—” Wexx looked up angrily as Cyrus floated out of the room and near the cot. “Can’t you ever do as you’re told?” she asked.
Jasper grinned up at her. “He’s a slum dweller and you hate him. Why is that, Doctor?”
“You will exit her mind or I shall begin the pain,” Argon said in a deep voice.
From the cot, Jasper nodded. “Done. I’m out of her head. Are you satisfied?”
Argon’s big thumb twitched onto the button.
For a second, Jasper groaned and twisted on the cot as power surged through the pain centers.
“Let us set the record straight,” Argon said, who let up on the pain switch. “We are serious and we hope you realize just how much. If you fail to cooperate, I will kill you by keeping my thumb on the switch. Cyrus may have objections to killing a traitor such as you through these methods. For me, the task will be a pleasure. And the more painful your death is, the better I will enjoy the process.”
“You hate me,” Jasper said through gritted teeth, “I understand. My kind is the wave of the future, the future that the Highborn lost.”
“That you are attempting to antagonize me does little to assure me you will cooperate with us,” Argon said.
“Maybe I don’t like being shocked.” Jasper said. “Did you ever think of that?”
“Neither do we enjoy your attempts at mental domination.”
“What I did doesn’t hurt like that,” Jasper said.
“Please, Chief Monitor,” Wexx said. “I would appreciate it if you allowed me to question Jasper. He belongs to Psi Force and—”
“I’d like to point out that this setup violates several Psi Force strictures,” Jasper said. “I want to lodge a formal complaint.”
Dr. Wexx picked up a computer slate and composed her features before facing the telepath. “Special Second Class Jasper, we are attempting to assess your collusion with the alien psi-masters of New Eden.”
Jasper laughed and glanced at each of them in turn. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“If you would look at the screen, please,” Wexx said. She tapped her slate.
The long-faced alien with a metal baan and tall collar appeared on the screen. With another tap, Wexx focused the shot on the rearward alien pressing his baan against two discs. She played out the first battle with the habitat and then the second battle with the teardrop-shaped battleship.
“Did you notice their ability to stop the laser for a time?” Wexx asked.
“We’re actually in the star system then?” Jasper asked. “We made it to New Eden?”
Wexx gave him a wry look. “We will do the questioning today, not you.”
“Show me the system in its entirety,” Jasper said.
Wexx hesitated before complying. The screen showed the system planets and star. Then Wexx showed him a close-up of each planetary body. Several larger habitats became visible around each gas giant, as did the destruction to AS 412 III, the farther Earth-like world.
From the side, Cyrus watched Jasper. The telepath seemed surprised and drank in the details with his eyes.
“I don’t believe it,” Jasper finally said.
“Can you be more specific?” Wexx asked.
“I’m not sure I trust the chief monitor with the kill switch,” Jasper said. “I’m afraid he’ll either torment or kill me if I speak my mind.”
“Don’t you possess a conscience?” Argon asked. “Don’t you care that you’ve jeopardized the entire ship with your greed? You should be mortified at what your treachery has wrought and willingly tell us everything.”
“Are you mortified at treating me like a mutant?” Jasper asked angrily. “Does it horrify you that I and the other Specials have felt like outcasts our entire lives? You should willingly absolve me of all so-called treason in order to show me you repent of your former misdeeds.”
“This was a mistake,” Argon told Wexx. “We should put him back in stasis.”
“You have a point,” Wexx said slowly. “Yet… he, too, has a point.”
Argon stared suspiciously at Jasper. “I told you to keep out of her mind.”
“I’m not in it,” Jasper said. “But I doubt you can believe that. Go head, kill me.”
Argon lifted his big hand, with his thumb poised over the switch.
“No!” Wexx said. “Please, Chief Monitor, you must refrain from your judgments. Your worldview is radically different from Jasper’s and his from yours. I request that you inflict pain only if Jasper attempts mental domination upon me. Otherwise, I ask for your silence and restraint.”
“It doesn’t take a telepath to realize that he’s never going to forgive me,” Jasper told Wexx.
“I’m not sure that’s the question,” Wexx said. “Do you want to live or do you desire death? That’s what you need to consider.”
“I’m listening,” Jasper said. “Make your pitch.”
“Were you in communication with the aliens?” Wexx asked.
“The answer is obvious. Yes.”
“What did they offer you?”
Jasper shook his head. “It wasn’t that simple. The connection was brief and weak. I did get a sense that they lived on a bucolic world, a literal Eden of forests, glens, and huge butterflies. I also sensed a primitive society and them as elders or wizard-priests, if you will. I tried to calm their fears concerning us.”
“Why didn’t you tell us about this contact?” Wexx asked.
“No. I’ve seen the fear reaction all my life. Those like Argon think we’re mutants. They would have wanted to bomb the aliens out of existence. I couldn’t permit that or even take the chance.”
“He lies,” Argon said. “He is a traitor and colluded with the aliens. This story of his, it must be a pure concoction.”
“You’ll never shift out of this system, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Jasper said. “From what the Doctor has shown me, you know they need a radio or other link to help pinpoint us from a distance. How do you think they reached out so far the first time to Venice? It happened when we used the tele-ring. The moment you turn it on, the alien psi-masters, as you’re calling them, will reach out and mentally attack the ship.”
“Then we must self-destruct,” Argon said. “We have no other choice.”
“What are you talking about?” Jasper asked. For the first time, he showed what appeared to be genuine surprise.
“I think we should let Jasper peek into my mind,” Wexx said. “Let him see that you mean to destroy the Teleship if you think the aliens will capture it.”
“That’s criminally insane,” Jasper whispered.
“Call it what you will,” Argon said. “It is what I will do.”
“And you have me hooked to this thing?” Jasper asked Wexx. “He’s the mental patient.”
“I’ll ask you the same question as before,” Wexx said. “Do you want to live or do you want to die?”
“Of course I want to live,” Jasper said. “What kind of stupid question is that?”
“If you desire life,” Wexx said, “you must help us escape from New Eden.”
“How do you propose I perform this miracle?” Jasper asked.
“The answer should be obvious,” Wexx said.
Jasper snorted. “It’s always up to the telepath in the end. Do you realize how many like Cyrus I hunted down and located for Psi Force? They would have never found all the talents by themselves. I did it. I’m the one who allowed Psi Force to grow to its present size. And do you know what they did for me, what they gave me for all my hard work? Nothing but to call me a second-class Special. I’m tired of being the mutant. Maybe death is pr
eferable.”
“You don’t mean that,” Wexx said.
Jasper stared up at the ceiling. To Cyrus, it seemed the telepath worked at keeping his features neutral.
“Suppose I agreed to help you.” Jasper said. “What would that look like for me?”
“We would hook up a similar system as this one,” Argon said. “I would hold the pain switch as we shifted. You would use your telepathy to protect Cyrus as we attempted to jump out of range of the psi-masters.”
“I’d already figured out that part,” Jasper said. “I mean criminally or legally or however you want to say it. I’d want you to drop all charges of mutiny and sedition against me.”
“The charges are already recorded on the ship and security logs,” Argon said.
“So alter them,” Jasper said. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“No. What you suggest isn’t possible. It would also be a crime against Premier Lang’s trust.”
“It’s possible if you want my help getting home,” Jasper said.
Argon looked away.
“Is that such a large price to pay for being able to warn Sol about these aliens?” Jasper asked. “I made my play and failed. That happens often enough in life. In some systems, the loser still gets to walk away with his life and freedom. That’s all I’m asking for.”
“I suspect a more nefarious reason,” Argon muttered.
“I would have been surprised if you didn’t,” Jasper said. “But I would suggest you hurry up with whatever it is you’re going to do. By what the doctor has shown me, we’re running out of time.”
Argon became reflective, finally turning to Wexx. “I do not trust him.”
“I’m not sure I do either,” Wexx said. “But what other choice do we have? We can’t fight the entire system.”
“What do you think?” Argon asked Cyrus.
“I think the aliens used you,” Cyrus told Jasper. “I told you they were dangerous.”
“You knew about them?” Wexx asked.
“You put inhibitors in our brains,” Cyrus said.
“For our own protection,” Argon said. “Look what happened when Jasper freed himself.”
“You made us slaves,” Cyrus said. “Slaves want freedom and will do anything to get it. You don’t have to worry about me. I don’t want to be slaves to those aliens. I don’t think Jasper does either.”
“That should be obvious,” Jasper said.
“They tricked you,” Cyrus said.
“I know,” Jasper said, and he turned away.
Argon took a deep breath. “Yes, we must make the attempt. But I will hold the pain switch and the self-destruct button for Discovery. If we fail to shift away, we will make sure the aliens never gain our critical technology.
10
The techs repaired the tele-ring with twelve hours to spare in the eighty-four hour race with the alien dreadnought. They also jury-rigged the tele-chamber. Some of the procedures would now have to take place from the bridge module, but in the larger scheme of things that didn’t really matter.
Or so Cyrus thought as he readied to enter the cylinder with its blue solution.
Jasper sat nearby in a cushioned chair bolted to the deck plates. Straps bound his neck, chest, wrists, and ankles. Pain leads stuck to his skin, the most prominently to his neck. Beside him in another chair towered Chief Monitor Argon.
Captain Jones and Dr. Wexx had talked Argon out of holding the ship’s self-destruct button too.
“You should concentrate on your primary task and not have to worry about the ship at that point,” Wexx had told the chief monitor.
Argon buckled in and kept a flinty gaze fixed on Jasper. “I will reward treachery with pain,” he rumbled.
Jasper didn’t answer. His eyes were on Cyrus.
I can feel you, Cyrus told the telepath.
Do you see how they use us as pieces to a machine? They don’t truly think of us as people, but as mutants, as component parts for their greater glory.
Cyrus had to admit the man had a point. I don’t think the aliens will treat us any better, though.
That was my mistake. I thought they might be better. There’re not really aliens, by the way, but humans like us.
I don’t see how, Cyrus thought.
I’m not sure how, either, but they’re humans nonetheless. You saw them. Can you doubt they’re people?
Are you saying they’re originally from Earth?
Either that or we’re originally from here, Jasper thought. Maybe the name Eden is more accurate than we realize.
Cyrus twisted around to study Jasper.
“Is he communicating with you?” Argon asked.
Cyrus didn’t answer, but put the induction helmet over his head. It was a tight fit. He strapped on the breathing mask, slid down into the solution, and listened to the air move through the tube. Goggles protected his eyes and a slick-suit his skin.
Who are the Illustrious Ones? Cyrus thought.
I don’t know, Jasper told him. Besides, I don’t trust them to tell me the truth anymore. They lied to me. They tried to trick me. I want to get out of this system just as much as you do. But don’t let Argon know that. I despise the man. He thinks he’s superior to us, which is a gigantic joke on him.
I’m going in to link with Socrates. I’ll need it quiet for a few minutes.
Relax, Cyrus. You and I have had our differences, but you refused to torture me. I’ll remember what you did.
There was a buzzing sound in Cyrus’s helmet and a sense of disorientation.
“Special Fourth Class Cyrus,” AI Socrates said. “You’ve returned. I’m glad you’ve decided to help me shift once again.”
The AI sure had a warped sense of reality. But he couldn’t worry about that now. He had a job to do. “Do you recall what happened during the last shift?” Cyrus asked.
“The shift anomalies remained within the accepted limits. Ah. Are you referring to the enemy psi-attacks after we crossed though the null field?”
“That’s right,” Cyrus said.
“They assaulted Special Second Class Jasper. Is that why he is not helping me today?”
“I’m sure it doesn’t matter. I was just curious. Are you ready to shift?”
“Ready,” Socrates said. “The tele-ring will activate in nine seconds. Have you composed yourself?”
Cyrus took a deep breath. This was it. They had found an alien species, well, if Jasper was wrong about them being the same as Earth people. The aliens looked humanoid, of that there was no doubt. But they didn’t seem like normal people. Discovery had defeated two attacks and now a third attempt was hours from reaching an engagement point with the Teleship.
“Six seconds,” Socrates said.
By a Herculean effort, the techs had repaired the critical damage to the shift structures. Now they had to hope the fusion engines held long enough to get them home. Later, they could probably wake Roxie to help in the shifting.
I’m ready, Jasper thought at Cyrus.
“What did you say?” Socrates asked.
“Did you hear that?” Cyrus asked the AI.
“I heard a voice. It was faint.”
“We’re speaking by brain waves, right?” Cyrus asked.
“The tele-ring is going online,” Socrates said.
Get ready, Jasper thought. The psi-masters will attack—
Cyrus was operating through the AI now. The moment he linked with the tele-ring, the alien psi-masters struck.
Inside the cylinder, Cyrus roared with pain. Bubbles slid past his mask and burbled upward. His concentration slid away from the tele-ring as he instantaneously raised his mind shield to full strength.
I’m here, Jasper told him. There are more of them than last time. These are stronger, too, the sons of bitches.
The psi-masters battered at Cyrus’s mind. Each psi-bolt struck his shield, driving it a little closer to his ego.
“There are so many voices with us today,” Socrates said. “How is this
possible?”
Cyrus heard the AI as from far away.
They’re trying to shut down your senses, Jasper told him. Don’t let them. Keep up your shield.
The mind attack was relentless. Once Cyrus deflected one thought, another struck from a different direction. There was no way for him to concentrate on the tele-ring and pick a location, never mind attempting to warp it open into the null portal.
He felt Jasper battling beside him. The telepath was doing his damnedest to stop the aliens. For a moment, Cyrus “saw” a psi-master. This one wore a red robe and had a shinier baan than the first one he’d seen several days ago. Like the others from before, the psi-master pressed the forehead baan against two discs, against the amplifier.
We need some of those, Jasper thought.
Cyrus reinforced his mind shield, and he began pushing outward. He heard his harsh breathing and the slush of the blue solution around him.
You’re going to have to reach out with the tele-ring while I hold them back. It should take just a few seconds. Are you ready?
I’m ready, Cyrus thought.
Now!
Cyrus kept up an automatic shield as he reached out with his mind, linking with the tele-ring.
“I was wondering where your concentration had gone,” Socrates said. “We have little time left. I have analyzed the ‘voices’ and believe they are alien to our vessel.”
Combined with the tele-ring and aided by AI Socrates, Cyrus reached out nearly 0.8 light years. He began warping space—
Someone screamed horribly, although it was a muffled sound. The next second, psi-masters struck Cyrus with precision mind bolts.
Cyrus’s telekinesis slid away from the tele-ring as he used every ounce of his mental energy keeping up his mind shield. He had a vague idea that the psi-master had switched targets. They’d hit Argon and taken over the mobility of his thumb, causing it to press down on the switch. The physical pain jolting through Jasper had broken the telepath’s mental concentration and obliterated his telepathic shield.
The knowledge came, and then Cyrus battled for his mind. He was so close to shifting. If he could hang onto the tele-ring for three more seconds, he could make the needed null portal and Discovery would sail away out of danger. They would be on their way home. He would be a hero.
Alien Honor (A Fenris Novel) Page 19