Selena

by V Guy

  Evelyn met him inside to announce that eight planned modules were finished and that more scrap was needed. Lallis greeted him with a nuzzle and a tackle. The Fates were less physical, yet more intimate. Li and James rose from their game of Empire to nod and say hello.

  Malik ate, exercised, then called his crew into the simulator.

  “Stellar Clipper has entered the Hardress system,” he said. “They appear to be making for the Hardress-Alpha channel. That’s an eight-day channel. The ship probably operates on Earth Standard, which means that we have an eight-hour window in which to catch them at night before they become unavailable.”

  “Doesn’t sound too bad,” said Evelyn. “Have you broken the bug’s noodles?”

  He shook his head.

  “Then how will we reach them undetected?” asked James. “What’s the approach?”

  “I don’t need to sense the mind. I can see the physical location remotely and evaluate the areas without impacting the occupants. The absence or presence of one of the creatures can be confirmed or denied, and Selena and the Paladin’s location can be confirmed.”

  “What if there’s a bug?” asked Li.

  Malik paused. “I’ll try for her anyway. A warning within me says that letting them reach Hardress-Alpha is a terrible idea.”

  Evelyn cocked her head. “A warning? Like there could be others?”

  He shrugged. “It’s unspecific. Perhaps.”

  “Then we try tomorrow,” said Li, examining the overhead chronometer. “Time doesn’t matter with my scenarios, although night works best.”

  Malik motioned. “Tell us what you have.”

  “The first and simplest is for you to pull her away from her quarters while she sleeps. She awakens here, untraumatized by the transition, and she’s free.”

  “Won’t the paladin detect this?” asked Evelyn.

  “I’ve modified an interface to scramble the strands of control,” said Malik. “She won’t be silenced, but she’ll be severely muted.”

  Leala raised a hand. “That by itself could be traumatic; you should let her decide. She needs that opportunity.”

  “She could simply decide otherwise,” said Violet, shaking her head. “She’s not in her right mind; she’s a Creative slave. Their minds are powerfully bound, they’re intensely loyal, and they believe it’s love they feel. Her master is her life. Would you have chosen to die?”

  “The second option is to generate a fatal accident for her,” continued Li. “You pull her free in advance, use the interface to hide her presence, and the paladin believes she’s dead. There’s no threat against him, and there’d be no need for a warning. The bonus is that you aren’t suspected.”

  “Wouldn’t he soon realize otherwise without a corpse?” asked Evelyn.

  “One scenario sucks her out of the hull. The other incinerates her. With either event, we could create a fake body as a substitute that Malik could push over. A blank wouldn’t take long to grow.”

  James scrutinized Li. “Will this appear directed toward her? An improbable accident that just happens to kill only one person?”

  “That’s why I have a third idea,” replied Li, smiling. “It involves a more likely accident and could kill everyone. The upside is that she’ll know he’s in danger, warn him, the ship will be evacuated, and she’ll be left behind. Then Malik does his push-pull thing to save her. The ship gets obliterated, the paladin survives, and we get Selena. It’s the cleanest, albeit most destructive, option.”

  “Couldn’t this be construed as an attack?” asked Evelyn. “It’s designed to be fatal.”

  He shook his head. “That’s the beauty of it. It is a danger, but it isn’t aimed at him. In fact, it’s designed to let him slip free, supposing he’s quick enough.”

  Malik smiled. “What’s our window for three?”

  “Onset of accident to destruction of the vessel is five minutes. Enough for the crew to get clear, but not enough to free her. I expect Selena to give advanced warning and allow them better chances to escape.”

  “Won’t she be evacuated?” asked Violet.

  Li shook his head. “We’ll wait until she’s isolated. She’ll be stuck, because I’ll electronically jam the lock.”

  “And if she doesn’t decide to come?” asked Leala.

  “It’s death otherwise. Her slave programming will dictate living for her master.”

  Malik was thoughtful as he rose. “This operation will commence tomorrow morning, Evaline time. We’ll arrive at Catricel tonight and gather Britton’s treasures, stay to gather scrap until the late Catricel afternoon, then travel to Harris for the rescue. A rest is planned before we deliver the collectibles. Catch a nap if you must. We’ll be busy. Catricel will require everyone, and a full day’s rotation will be enforced on the bridge.”

  “Have you decided?” asked Evelyn, narrowing her eyes. “Will Selena know?”

  He shook his head. “There are two good, very different ideas, and I’m torn. Plus, I’m lacking mission intelligence.”

  “You’re being deliberately indecisive.”

  Malik made a snort. “I’ll give this decision all the time it deserves.”

  ***

  Stellar Clipper was a beautiful ship, and that facet alone caused Malik hesitation. Pathfinder approached to within three hundred meters astern, and the crew was careful to keep clear of the escorts that shielded the luxury craft. A scan was made of the other vessel.

  “How does it look, Li?” asked Malik.

  “I have good sabotage points available for plans two and three.”

  Malik nodded. “Let me search the vessel.”

  A shielded breach formed in his claw and he grew still, mentally reaching outward. He lingered in that pose for fifteen minutes then withdrew from his trance. “There are no monsters on board. Selena is asleep in her quarters and her master is resting. How long to institute either plan?”

  Li stood and motioned to two labeled satchels on the floor. “I’m ready for both. Push me and I’m on it.”

  Malik paused to admire the lovely ship then sighed in resignation. “We’re proceeding with plan three.”

  ***

  Selena awakened with a start. It had been some time since she had felt a genuine warning concerning her master, and even two months of resisting the mantis and uncovering a past to her youth were insufficient to block it. She jumped from her bed and desperately touched her comm as tears wet her eyes. “Get my master off Stellar Clipper, get him off now! He must leave the ship.”

  The reply was hesitant. “Say again?”

  “You need to get him off this ship now or he’ll die!”

  There was no hesitation about the evacuation alarm that followed. Selena gathered the bags packed for Harris and waited. When waiting became too traumatic, she paced. “You’ve got to get him off the ship,” she said excitedly and urgently into the comm.

  “We’re on it,” replied the speaker in a tense voice. “Stand by.”

  That was the most ridiculous thing to say; she was far too anxious to sit. Selena gathered any unpacked items and added them to the largest suitcase. She closed it then crossed back and forth before the door. A check revealed it to be locked.

  Selena was antsy for her master, but the locked door caused additional concern. “My door is secure,” she cried into her comm. “Let me out.”

  “Understood.” There was an energy on the other end usually absent from their conversations.

  A new alarm sounded, the lights turned red, and a voice sounded through the overhead. “Abandon ship. BELEN breach imminent. Abandon ship.”

  She knew enough of BELEN and breaches, and the lights and the tone left her in agony. Selena pounded the door, tearing the skin on her knuckles. “Get him out, get him out. I’m locked in. Let me out!”

  There was no reply; no one came. She collapsed against the door, sliding to the floor, sobbing and protectively holding herself. Vibrations were felt through the deck, caused by escape pods rocketing away fr
om the ship. She hesitantly rose, realizing those vessels of salvation had abandoned her, and strangely felt at peace. A new expectation entered her frame, an unquenchable feeling greater than flashing lights and warnings.

  An odd sound caused her to turn. Before her was a giant of a man, bigger than any her master commanded. He certainly seemed nicer.

  “Would you like to come with me?” he said, reaching a hand out. “I can offer you freedom.”

  Understanding came quickly; it was the sensation of a closing net. She ran to her luggage. “I’m ready!”

  The man started in amazement then shook his head in disbelief. Her bags blurred aft and disappeared. He withdrew an interface.

  “You’ll need to wear this. It will help prevent your master from hearing you.”

  Selena darted to him, yanked the interface from his grasp, and placed it on her head. “Get me out of here,” she said in an excited, trembling voice.

  He made a cheerful, incredulous, surprised laugh. “Close your eyes and hold your breath.”

  ***

  Baron Hess was awakened with similar quickness. Living on the edge had a way of keeping you alive; it also awakened you in a moment’s notice. He was on the side of his bed and dressing when Grant rushed in.

  “Good, you’re awake. We need to get off this ship. The oracle sounded an alarm.”

  “What is it?” asked Hess, throwing on clothes. “Did she indicate the cause?”

  “She was frantic.” Grant grabbed Hess’s bags and placed them by the door. “We’ve got to leave. There was no time frame, but the warning was hot enough to generate an evacuation order.”

  “The interceptors?” Hess threw on some shoes and grabbed his device.

  “They’ve been alerted but haven’t detected anything. The gunship is circling to get a lock.”

  Baron Hess found a few final items and stuffed them into his pockets. His last acquisition was a coat. A porter arrived, staying only long enough to remove his luggage.

  Grant pulled Hess forward. “Let’s go.”

  They were a few steps down the corridor when the announcement changed and the lights turned. Hess cursed.

  “We’ve got to get the files,” he said breathlessly.

  “A portable copy is being moved.”

  “The safe? We need the safe!”

  “Two men with antigrav lifts have got it. Hurry.”

  The rest of their trek was a blur, and men were moving all around him carrying emergency gear. He was shoved into his pod with Grant following closely behind. The remaining crew assigned to his pod boarded, the hatch rolled shut and sealed, and the roar and weight from rocket motors flung them away from Stellar Clipper. The relief of escape fell upon him, and he took deep breaths to calm himself. He looked beyond the ports to see what ailed his home.

  “Has everyone been accounted for?” he asked, fumbling through his emergency bag to discover what he may have forgotten.

  “All but one,” said Grant, frowning.

  “That’s good, that’s good,” said Hess. “Where’s the oracle?”

  His aide paused and pointed outside. “She was the one.”

  Hess stared in shock at his undeniably beautiful ship; he watched it get torn asunder by crimson fire erupting along its midline. The oracle’s voice, already faint, faded from his mind.

  ***

  Malik closed the breach, lowered his shield, withdrew from his trance, and opened his eyes. He smiled as he observed his new guest.

  “Welcome home, Selena.”

  55: Sisters

  Day 884: Evaline, Pathfinder

  If anything, Malik was diligent. Sunday’s delivery of collectibles went smoothly, and their focus turned to his quest to find the people responsible for Salient. A short period of rest during the early morning hours precluded his departure to more interviews in Silas. He arrived back at the ship during the early evening, stretching and cycling his joints. Sometimes he took the Dart.

  Today’s encounter was nearby. He had run the distance both ways—a satisfying exertion that was becoming increasingly rare.

  Selena was waiting just inside the forward passage when the hatch opened. She impatiently crossed her arms. “When do we start?”

  She had wanted to begin her sessions immediately, but Malik wished to work on a schedule and give her time to adjust. He had promised Newday evening; she remembered.

  “When I’m ready,” he replied, acknowledging her eagerness and petulance. “What’s the rush?”

  “Your harem has been hovering over me all day while I lay flat on my back, doing nothing. I want to be involved in getting something accomplished.”

  Malik made a light chuckle and raised an eye ridge. “Harem?”

  Evelyn released an exasperated sigh as she drew alongside the woman. “I need a refresh. This has been a long day, and she wouldn’t quit talking.”

  “I let up,” said Selena, protesting.

  The other woman rolled her eyes. “A little.”

  Malik proceeded through the process to revive Evelyn’s system.

  Selena was enraptured, stepping back in awe when Evelyn straightened. “See? It’s stuff like that that keeps them fawning over you.”

  Evelyn scowled as she walked away. “You’re sleeping all day tomorrow, I guarantee it.”

  Selena grinned, running her fingers through the soft fur on Malik’s flanks. “She’s a keeper; she says you saved her life.”

  He smiled at the thought, striding to the galley. “She saved mine.”

  She followed jauntily alongside and moved ahead of him, walking backward to keep him in view. “What’s the plan? How do you normally do this?”

  “An hour a night, four nights a week. Allows for adjustment and reduces the discomfort.”

  Selena shook her head. “That was for a ship full of women, when your time was limited. It’s only me now. Two hours a day, every day.”

  He stopped, examining her to see if she understood the request’s significance.

  “I’m quite familiar with pain,” she continued. “The worst was uncovering Bedele Creative when the pain was magnified. My last memory is of high school. I gained a few days last night.”

  “Let me do that. You need breaks.”

  Her visage hardened. “No breaks. This isn’t finished until he’s gone.”

  Malik observed her with a fresh appreciation. “Can you hear him?”

  Selena’s features relaxed slightly, and she shook her head. “I was keeping him comfortably distant when the mantis was in the room next door. After the monster died, he was significantly quieted. Your device has made him almost mute. I’m doing my best to avoid contact altogether.”

  He examined the tattoo-like subdermal interface before, below, and behind each ear. “We’ll make him go away permanently.”

  She touched her neck. “It itches.”

  Malik considered the situation while making a final examination. “You’d have needed to sleep while wearing the standard interface, which would likely have dislodged it and left you vulnerable. You can shower and brush your hair, but what you can’t do is access the network. Your mental connection must stay secure. We’ll extract the interface when we’re done.”

  “When will that be?”

  He moved to the cooler and accessed prearranged meals. “Three weeks at the longest, using this accelerated rate. The damage you self inflict could either accelerate or prolong it.”

  Selena eyes flashed in challenge. “I’ve gotten myself this far.”

  “I know, but I don’t want you hurting yourself. I’d need to repair the damage first.”

  She nodded, watching as he set the first meal into the warmer. “I should’ve been the one to take the ship, not Serena.”

  “I thought the same. Martin disagreed.”

  “I always wondered why he doubted you.”

  Malik removed the first meal then set a second one in the warmer. “He was jealous of my freedom.”

  Selena rose to gather a beverage. “
That’s ironic, considering you were the slave.” She returned to her seat with a glass of lemonade. “I first saw Serena and focused on her to access my memories, mostly because of our similarities. After learning more about her and understanding her actions, I sought you. She seemed different in the surveillance than in my memories, and I don’t mean physically.”

  “She is different.”

  “What happened?”

  Malik paused, pondering the incident at the bluff. “Chief Heinrich oversaw your purchase and had you carried away. He then chose to abuse Serena to punish Martin instead of paying her. She was at death’s door when she was discovered.”

  Her expression softened. “How was she?”

  “Multiple rapes, brutal assault, extensive mutilation, and a concussion.” He vividly remembered Serena’s appearance. “She didn’t want to die, that stubborn woman, and I was complicit—she lived. It took some time, but in the end, she was whole, healthy, and best of all, was no longer reactive to the world.”

  “And she changed her opinion and attitude?”

  He made a snort of disgust and began his first meal. “Oh, no. You’re speaking of Serena, remember? That miracle took another long, painful period.”

  Selena’s eyes narrowed. “What was the clincher?”

  “I died one too many times. That and she saw firsthand just how truly bad a person could treat her.”

  She wrestled with his first statement. “I see you’re still fighting the war we started.”

  “It’s changed some.” He started his second meal. “I almost beat them, then they started cheating. They almost beat me.”

  “Cheating,” said Selena, scowling. “Probably Serena’s idea.”

  Malik made a soft chuckle. “Strangely, unbelievably, she was the sole detractor. Said it violated the whole purpose of playing.”

  Selena pondered the revolution that transformed her sister and glanced around. “Why isn’t she here?”

  “Serena needed space and time to process her emotions, and then she went into hiding after her life was threatened. When Evaline became too dangerous, she fled to Petra. She’s staying with your father in exile.”