by M. D. Cooper
“I’m…I’m really sorry about your brother,” Seraphina said quietly. “That was all my fault.”
Kara’s lips drew into a thin line, and she shook her head vehemently. “No…” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “We were all dupes. Whether it be of Airtha’s or my father’s, we were not acting of our own will.”
“Still…” Seraphina whispered.
“We’ve all done stuff,” Katrina broke in. “Stuff that we did while under another’s influence—or that we made others do. Sometimes we can’t tell if we would have done those things if we were free or not.”
She paused and glanced at Tangel before continuing.
“All our lives, we’re told that we’re the sum of our parts, a large portion of that being our pasts. But if you were not the architect of your own actions in the past, what are you? What are we?”
Fina shook her head wordlessly, and Kara shrugged, while everyone else looked on stoically.
“We’re what you do right now, and what you will do tomorrow. I don’t know if Tangel intended it or not, but this team here, all of us around the table together, we’re the team of new beginnings. Some of us knew we were collared, some wore collars,” Katrina glanced at Malorie. “Some still do—though they can take them off whenever they wish. But we are now our own people, free to make our own choices.”
“I just want to say,” Finaeus interrupted, tapping a finger against the side of his head. “Never been collared. Wits, here. Wits.”
“I didn’t say the collar was some nefarious entrapment by another entity,” Katrina winked at Finaeus. “I was ‘collared’ by my father back in Sirius, and he never had to use any tech or mind control to pull it off.”
Tangel saw Finaeus and Jeffrey share a look. “Fair enough,” the ancient engineer admitted with a nod.
“Let’s wrap up the intros,” Tangel said when no one spoke for a moment. “In the corner, we have Malorie, former captor of Katrina’s, later captive of Katrina’s, now…somewhat reluctant crewmember?”
“And nightmare,” Malorie hissed.
“Really, Mal,” Katrina said, rolling her eyes. “Sometimes you lay it on way too thick.”
“Second to last, we have Katrina, former Sirian spy, Governor of Kapteyn’s Star, Warlord of Midditerra, Space Pirate. Am I missing anything?”
“A few,” Katrina winked. “A lot can happen in five centuries.”
Tangel chuckled before glancing at the overhead. “And finally we have Troy, who has been rather quiet thus far.”
Tangel chuckled and shook her head. “Stars, I’ve missed you, Troy.”
“I don’t mean to join the downer parade.” Finaeus looked around the table as he spoke. “But I don’t see any AIs in the mix other than Troy—and my take is that he doesn’t like to go on away missions.”
Troy replied tonelessly.
Finaeus smirked. “Just needling you, Jen.”
“I’ll admit, we’re low on AIs. Most of New Canaan’s—well, those who wish to be in combat—are managing dozens of ships. I have a few candidates I’ve reached out to, but nothing solid yet—this, as you can imagine, is a volunteer-only type of op.”
“I might have another candidate,” Katrina said hesitantly.
“Sam?” Carl asked, locking eyes with Katrina. “He and Jordan said they’re out. They took the Castigation and disappeared.”
“Not entirely,” Katrina replied with a slow shake of her head. “I have a pretty good idea of where they are.”
Tangel cast Katrina an appraising look. “I don’t know that we’re so low on AI candidates that we need to initiate a galaxy-wide hunt for reluctant ones.”
“Remember how I mentioned that we’d been to Orion space?” Katrina asked, to which Tangel nodded. “Well, when we were there, we just might have nabbed a shard of Airtha.”
“Sorry. What?” Jeffrey blurted out. “There was a shard of Airtha in Orion space? Where?”
“New Sol,” Katrina replied with a sly smile. “For someone who publicly eschews AIs and hyper-advanced tech, Praetor Kirkland is very willing to look the other way when it comes to his own comfort.”
“You went into Orion space to get AIs?” Sera asked. “And then one of your crew ran off with them?”
Katrina nodded. “It would take some time to tell the whole tale, but that’s the gist of it, yeah.”
“And you think that one of these AIs is a shard of Airtha?” Jeffrey pressed.
“There were a lot of cores, but one was clearly marked as ‘Airtha’. The name meant nothing to me then, but now…”
“And you didn’t do anything with it?” Tangel asked. “If you were freeing AIs, why would you expect Sam and Jordan to still have it?”
Katrina pursed her lips for a moment. “They may not, but it had a lot of warnings on the shard’s case that it was an unstable multi-nodal AI’s shard. We didn’t want to fire it up at the time, but neither did we want to get rid of it or leave it with Kirkland.”
“That would be a game-changer,” Finaeus nodded emphatically. “Since our current goal—as I understand it, at least—is to take out Airtha in as non-destructive a fashion as we can manage.”
“Yes, it is,” all three Seras said in near-unison, then set to eyeing one another.
“We considered a destructive strike on the ring,” Sera continued, but there are just too many people on it, and whether or not they’re under Airtha’s sway, we just can’t condemn them all to die because of her.”
“I’m glad you feel that way,” Seraphina said, leveling a cool stare at her sister. “But I’m a bit surprised to hear that you considered it.”
“Really?” Sera asked. “You didn’t evaluate all-out attacks on New Canaan or Khardine?”
Seraphina pursed her lips, but didn’t reply.
“This is war, not teatime,” Fina said, her gaze flicking back and forth between her sisters. “And we all evaluated all the options. We should all take comfort in the fact that none of us selected wholesale destruction as our primary course of action.”
“Thank stars for that,” Jeffrey muttered. “I’d like to see Airtha before we blow it up—the ring that is, not the thing.”
“And I’d like to keep it in one piece as well,” Finaeus added. “You women are all too ready to run and gun. Took me centuries to build Airtha.”
“Well, it’s rather well-defended,” Fina replied. “Would take a lot to knock it out.”
“Let’s talk about what we’ll expect there.” Tangel directed the conversation back to the team’s goal. “We’re agreed that we need to destroy Airtha the AI, and not Airtha the ring. Too many people, and, to be honest, destroying the ring provides no evidence that we’ve taken out the AI. From what our new Seras have told us—and from what Kara saw, as well—Airtha is now an ascended being. She may no loner require what you think of as a corporeal form to survive.”
“Do you?” Finaeus asked, raw curiosity writ large across his features.
“Yes,” Tangel replied. “For reasons of my own, I do not intend to leave this mortal coil in the foreseeable future.”
Finaeus tapped a finger against his chin. “Indeeeed…”
“Hush, Fin,” Jeffrey scolded, and Fina laughed.
“Now that is something I recall the old Dad saying.”
A look of consternation flickered across Jeffrey’s face, and he continued. “Back on topic. Katrina, you may know the location of an AI who has a shard of Airtha, along with other undisclosed intelligence about New Sol, I’d imagine.”
He paused until Katrina nodded, and then continued.
“And we have a team of proven infil
trators in my daughters, who I’m learning are a rather dangerous group of spitfires.”
“Spitfires? Is that some sort of ancient compliment?” Sera asked.
“I like it.” Fina grinned.
“It certainly fits,” Tangel said, winking at the Seras.
“It does.” Jeffrey gave a curt nod before continuing. “We do, however, need to get an on-the-ground assessment of Huygens’s current defenses. I know you two, Fina and Seraphina, have a lot of intel on that front, but we must assume that Airtha will know you’re captured, and will alter her defenses to ensure that what you know is as harmful as helpful.”
“She’s a tricky bitch,” Finaeus added with a nod.
“Doesn’t take a bitch to be smart,” Tangel interjected. “I would have done the same. It’s just sound strategy.”
Finaeus winced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to conflate the two things. I think she’s a bitch regardless of whether or not she’s smart.”
“That’s my wife you’re talking about,” Jeffrey said quietly.
Finaeus turned on his brother, fire in his eyes. “No, Jeff, it’s not. Airtha may be the Seras’ mother—sorry, girls, sad but true—but she is not your wife. Your wife died when she went to the core. Half the shit we’re dealing with now is because you couldn’t get that through your thick skull, and you let her get her hooks into you!”
The room fell into shocked silence at Finaeus’s outburst. Tangel considered her past interactions with the ancient terraformer and realized she had no memory of him ever raising his voice in anger.
From the look on Jeffrey’s face, it was not a common occurrence for him either.
“We need to know that you’re onboard, Jeffrey,” Tangel said after a half-minute. “Airtha is a clear threat to both humans and AIs, and I can’t allow her to continue as she has.”
“You can’t?” Jeffrey asked in a caustic whisper. “Who died and made you the ruler of everything?”
Tangel bit back the response she wanted to give: ‘Tanis and Angela’, and instead said, “Airtha has directly attacked my people and yours. My duty to my people outweighs nearly all other considerations—as should yours.”
Jeffrey Tomlinson’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Tangel, but then the fight seemed to leave him and his shoulders slumped.
“OK.”
“Just OK?” Finaeus asked.
“That’s all I have right now, Fin. I understand and accept Tangel’s decision here. I don’t like it, but…”
Finaeus placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I can accept that.”
“I don’t think you should go on the mission, though,” Tangel said, directing her gaze to Jeffrey. “If the Seras are going to infiltrate Airtha, the Transcend needs a leader.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” Jeff asked, a twinkle of expectancy in his eyes.
“You want it, don’t you?” Tangel asked bluntly.
He gave a short laugh. “From my standpoint, I never lost it. For me, I’m just a week past my last cabinet meeting.”
Tangel inclined her head. “So yes?”
“Is it yours to bestow?” Jeffrey’s voice had taken on a sharp edge.
“Not really,” Tangel shrugged. “Your daughter would have to instigate it—or a full convention of her cabinet.”
“I would do it,” Sera spoke up. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that being president is not all it’s cracked up to be—not that I needed to do it to know that.”
“Then what is your role in this?” Jeffrey asked Tangel. “You say you’re not bestowing crowns, but you act like you are. Sera obviously takes direction from you.”
All eyes turned to Tangel, and she knew it was time to tell them all what she’d shared with Sera the prior night on the dock.
“The Scipio Alliance states that the Transcend’s Field Marshal has the authority to direct all war efforts for member states. It goes on at length about the definition of ‘war efforts’, but suffice it to say, the list is expansive.
“I am the current Field Marshal of the Transcend. It would take a full cabinet, or the president and half the cabinet to change that.”
Sera nodded resolutely. “And I don’t think either of those things are likely to occur.”
“Thanks,” Tangel sent her friend a smile. “I appreciate your support. So to answer your question, Jeffrey: yes, to an extent I do sit above the Transcend’s president—so long as the war is raging. I have no desires beyond that. I still have a nice lakehouse waiting for me on Carthage.”
“You hold a lot of power, Tanis Richards,” Jeffrey leveled a judging stare at her. “Are you really going to relinquish it so easily? I have to admit, I find the thought of an ascended being retiring at their lakehouse a bit hard to swallow.”
“Father!” Sera exclaimed.
“It’s a valid question.” Katrina raised a quelling hand. “We don’t have secrets here.”
“She’s right.” Tangel nodded to Katrina. “Secrets aren’t useful, and it is a valid question. I don’t want to be responsible for everyone forever. It’s exhausting. I’ve spent most of my life wanting that house on the lake, to raise a family, or two or three, and bring them up with grass stains on their knees and dirt under their nails. Why do you think I want to keep my body? I truly enjoyed being a mother, and it went by too fast—too much other nonsense kept me away from my girls. I think they did alright—Joe’s a heck of a dad—but I missed out. Who knows, maybe they’ll give me grandkids before long to bounce on my knee.” Tangel laughed as she imagined the scene. “And then hand them back when they mess themselves.”
“I suppose that will have to do for now,” Jeffrey said with a guarded nod.
“It will,” Tanis replied evenly.
“OK, arguments about who gets to be the big boss with the big britches aside,” Finaeus said, before a new silence could settle in, “It sounds like we have two teams. Katrina will need to go find her lost AI and friends, while the rest of us have to swing by Khardine, install his majesty, my brother, on the throne, and then start gathering intel on Huygens.”
“And we’ll need a rally point,” Katrina added.
Sera cast Tangel a knowing look. “And another ship.”
“I have plans for Sabrina. I need her to perform recon in Corona Australis—though I was also considering sending them back to Aldebaran again, though it may risk a case of whiplash.”
“You don’t need Sabrina to go to either of those places…well, I suppose I can see how it would be useful for Aldebaran, but there must be others you can send—stars, you and Bob should just go speak before the League of Sentients. That would straighten them out right smartly.”
Tangel sighed. “I’d really like to get to the Trisilieds at some point.”
“Me too, she’s earned it. Either way, I don’t know about taking Bob to Aldebaran,” Tangel added. “I don’t really want the I2 that close to the Hegemony of Worlds. Not yet, at least. But I could put in an appearance, maybe even take that ship Amanda left me. The fleet’s stretched thin right now.”
“Amanda?” Katrina asked.
“Stars, that’s a story and a half.” Tanis rolled her shoulders and drew in a long breath. “Let’s just say for now that I have personal proof that the multiverse theory is real. Ask Jessica sometime about what really happened on Cerka station in Virginis.”
“But you were never at Cerka.” Finaeus frowned as he tilted his head. “We hadn’t even left New Canaan for Scipio during all that.”
“Tangel! You never told him?” Sera asked with a laugh.
“Told me what?” Her uncle’s scowl deepened. “I thought we weren’t keeping secrets.”
“It all starts with a bar story that’s far too long to tell right now,” Tangel replied. “Next time we’re having a drink, I’ll share it with you. You’re gonna be ridiculously jealous.”
“So, all of that aside.” Sera’s eyes lit up as she glanced at her sisters. “We’re taking Sabrina.”
“To Khardine, at least,” Tangel replied. “Remember, this is a volunteer-only mission.”
“What about the rally point?” Katrina pressed.
“Ever wanted to visit a black hole?” Sera asked with a mischievous grin.
Tangel shrugged. “I suppose that’s as good a place as any.”
“Excellent.” Sera clapped her hands. “Everybody, we’re going to Styx Baby-9.”
RECTIFICATION
STELLAR DATE: 09.01.8949 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Damon Silas
REGION: Interstellar Space, coreward of the Vela Cluster
Roxy ambled down one of the corridors near the Greensward’s starboard dock, doing her best to pretend she was there on some sort of official business.
She took care to ensure that her gait was steady, eyes forward, and shoulders relaxed.
Inside, she was a mess.
she shot back.
Carmen let out a long mental sigh.
Roxy considered Carmen’s proposal. The AI had a point. Everyone on the Greensward was used to Roxy expressing her sexual appetites. While not everyone pressed her for sexual favors, the few who had discovered that Roxy quite literally couldn’t say ‘no’ made use of her with considerable frequency.