by V Guy
The final gunship lost the Rumbler when it rocketed out of range, and by the time the gunship returned, Li had eliminated survivors from the Rumbler’s first strafing at five. Malik sprinted across the center to catch stragglers from the other pods.
The gunship returned, coming in hot. Malik leaped free of the intense barrage, shielding and diverting momentum to stop what was unavoidable, while Jum transitioned Lallis back to the ship for her safety. Drelas teleported away.
Explosives and gunfire kept Malik off balance until a steady cadence of heavy cannon fire from between pods five and six tore into the gunship’s sides, severing the craft’s power conduits and causing it to tumble out of control. It nosed over and plunged into the ground. Malik reversed direction and charged, yanking off the dorsal hatch to gain entry and dispatch the occupants.
An instinctive warning caused him to jump free and generate the quickest body shield possible. Several guided bombs from directly above obliterated the gunship, alighted its ordinance and fuel, and flung him away in a blast of heat. Malik attempted to regain his balance, staggered by his injuries and the explosion, but follow-up shots from the new antagonist hit him square. A fresh crater appeared on the battlefield.
When the smoke cleared, Malik was gone.
The fighting at pod five ended and except for the crackling fires, the field of battle went quiet. The hush was profound. The cloaked Intruder, which had delivered the final munitions, stopped firing and departed.
Li was finished at pod five and walked to the crater, his cloak still active. “You were right. It was one enemy too many.”
He paced the ground, looking for Malik’s remains.
“I pushed the pieces to the substrate,” said a voice from behind. The figure uncloaked, revealing a second Malik in a battle harness and toting multiple cannons. He was bleeding from open wounds, and streaks of blood pointed to freshly healed scars. He paused to effect additional healing. “If Evelyn wants a memento for her hard work, another clone must be grown. Too little remains.”
Sirens sounded from Silas.
Li glanced at the sky. “I guess they’ve gone?”
Malik nodded. “Their mission was accomplished.”
The commando paused. “Intent and determination needed to be established. I’m expecting this could have been avoided altogether?”
“Maybe. Killing them in advance would have simply postponed the matter, while letting them survive for a later assault would have provided time to gather additional resources. This matchup was difficult enough.”
Evelyn returned to retrieve Li, and Jum transitioned Malik to the cargo-deck passage, where he continued his healing. The Rumbler arrived, the lights returned, and the craft’s occupants stepped free. James, Jenna, and Amal moved to help Malik remove the harness.
“What about the Intruder?” asked Evelyn.
Malik lowered his head for the removal of the forward weapon assembly. “We wait until the observers are recovered then kill the crew and leave the vessel adrift.”
“They’re no longer combatants,” said Li, frowning and releasing the clasps on his own armor. “They’re out of the fight. You mentioned ‘unjust’ earlier. Doesn’t this qualify?”
“They were supposed to be observers.” Malik’s visage hardened as he released the fasteners on his right foreleg. “They are irregulars, and irregular soldiers can die in an irregular fashion.”
Evelyn moved to the infirmary to assist Violet with Lallis’s injuries.
Malik stepped free from the support assembly with assistance, which his wings had made especially constricting and uncomfortable. Li returned from storing his armor to help Amal and Furaha shutdown the hovercraft.
“What about Amalam, the ship that dropped the troops?” asked James, disassembling the harness. “Do they receive the same treatment?”
“They go free, along with the other support staff.” Malik made a conniving grin. “I extracted the ship’s drop modules prior to the mission; they’ll evacuate the support team, arrive at the channel, and then discover the equipment necessary for entering the channel is missing.”
James caught the inference and cocked his head. “Drop modules are supposed to be officially registered and calibrated.”
Malik nodded. “Which will cause them significant delay. They may be in the Evaline system for quite some time, waiting for the new equipment to be approved. I’ll pull the incriminating remains of our ASPs from the debris, and then we’ll travel to Taipei to continue this episode.”
During the Marshall councilman job, Malik had been obligated to mentally search home by home to locate the perpetrators. Finding the attack force staged for the Evaline assault had been relatively easy, and his “questioning” of select expedition members had provided an excellent sense of the command chain.
A brief trip to Taipei located the next staging area. This was followed by trips to three other systems to track the chain of command, retrace the movement of the equipment used in the assault, and reach the Third Fleet base at Imperium. Pathfinder carefully navigated through busy traffic, sensors, and shield arrays to take position near the target station.
Malik moved to the simulator again during the early morning, but this time he was alone. A fresh program appeared, reproducing a scene of a line-officer’s quarters. After a few tweaks, the program perfectly matched the original location. The lights were dimmed, Malik opened a shielded breach, and he concentrated. Admiral Redina appeared through transition, comfortably asleep on his bed.
“Awaken, Admiral,” called Malik. “We must chat.”
Redina jerked in his sleep. A second call caused him to rise and sit on the opposite side of the bed. The lights rose.
“There are things to discuss,” he said to the man’s back. “Stand, wash your face, do whatever is necessary. This has been a busy day; I wish to be done with it.”
The admiral abruptly turned, his decades-old terror resurfacing. He retreated to the far wall. Becoming alert was easy. “You’re supposed to be dead. I saw the reports.”
Malik rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t made to die. I face you after you ordered a force to kill me, and that’s the only thing you imagine saying?”
“I didn’t…” said Redina. He reconsidered the denial. “Am I about to die?”
“It depends. Why did you reawaken hostilities? For over twenty years I went my own way, not bothering you. Why do you now seek my demise?”
The admiral was deeply torn—he knew but was prohibited from relating the situation. Telling would have been a salvation. “I don’t know.”
“That’s a lie,” said Malik, advancing and cocking his head. “But only because the bulk of the truth is prohibited. Do you wish to tell me?”
Redina’s body was rigid. He made a minute nod.
“Good—honesty. Do you truly seek my death?”
He nodded again, this time more freely.
“A mixed truth,” said Malik, frowning. “Flavored by fear and compelled by control. What if I promised peace? I don’t kill you, and you don’t kill or order anyone to kill me or my associates.”
A wave of emotions touched Redina’s countenance. “Would the nightmares end?”
“I can’t speak for them, but I can attest to reality; killing you was always someone else’s idea, not mine. Release me and I’ll release you.”
Redina bit his lip and vigorously shook his head, a spontaneous response. “I can’t.”
“If you could, would you?”
It was difficult, but the admiral made a slight nod.
“Would you be free?”
Redina was close to tears, the enslavement battling his personal willpower. There were no nods, but his eyes indicated a strong affirmative.
Malik placed an interface before him. “Put this on.”
“I saw what happened to Captain Wynn,” said Redina, glaring at the device. “Freedom isn’t worth that.”
“Wynn came by his bad behavior naturally. I freed Melody San from a powerful bi
nding and can do the same for you.”
Desperation, pent-up anger, indignation, and humiliation covered Redina’s visage. In a sudden, spontaneous motion, he grabbed the skull interface, placed it on his head, and activated it.
Malik searched the man’s mind, finding the characteristic bindings and secured areas of the paladin’s slaves. It is the paladin.
Mental links throughout Redina’s mind touched the three, characteristic Dynang binding points, and Malik constructed fresh links to bypass them and buttress the admiral’s mind against their absence. This done, he carefully severed the man’s lesser-strength, natural mental ties. Once the smaller links were hewn, the corresponding nodes and links pulled away and faded. The primary binding point took substantial effort to replace, as a substantial, substitute junction needed to be constructed; the attached links were both numerous and fundamental. This was freed like the others. Malik conducted a final search of Redina’s mind, located no other strands of control, then withdrew.
He removed the interface and pondered the admiral, a little astonished by the ease of the liberation. Redina collapsed to the floor in relief and surprise.
Malik’s gaze hardened. “You drowned Paradise, and for that you deserve to die. I hunted you once and haunted you for more than two decades, and for those I supposedly deserve the same. An enormous favor was done for you, Admiral—I granted you freedom. Now do one for me. Grant me life.”
63: Home
Day 976: Petra
“You need to learn how to teleport,” said Selena. “It’d save you the climb.”
“Or I should learn how to fly,” said Malik, stretching. “That would save me the climb.”
Two weeks of peace followed the Silas incident, and except for Malik’s multiple debriefings with Silas police and the military, the ship and its crew returned to normal. One weekend was spent in the Whisker National Forest working telepathic shielding experiments, the next was at Petra.
Pathfinder parked on what Petra locals called the roof of the world. It was an arid, scrub-laced, boulder-graced plateau that came to an abrupt end at a sudden drop. After a morning of unsuccessful shielding experiments, Malik chose to vacate the rest of the day. He momentarily perched at the cliff’s edge, spread his wings, and jumped. Drelas sprang from Selena’s shoulders to join him, chirping words of encouragement and instruction.
Violet joined Selena, careful to stay clear of the edge. “That’s a long way down.”
“Seven hundred fifty meters,” said Selena, lifting powered binoculars to her eyes. “Or that’s what Malik says.”
“He isn’t cloaked.”
“There isn’t anyone within fifty kilometers, ships don’t come here, and few satellites are in orbit.”
“But the ship is cloaked?”
Selena lowered the field glasses and shrugged. “It’s a precaution. He’d jump at night if necessary.”
“Malik should cloak,” said Violet, frowning. “After Silas, who knows what would happen?”
“They won’t attack.”
Violet scowled. “Do you know that?”
“He believes it.” Selena searched for Malik again. “And life isn’t decided by hindsight.”
“I dislike uncertainty. Don’t you have family here?”
Selena nodded and pointed. “They’re four hundred kilometers that way.”
“Don’t you want to go home?”
“I’m uncertain. My sister and I never got along. Plus, she sold me into slavery, which is a major detractor. Why do you remain?”
“He’s interesting,” replied Violet. “Even if he confounds me. He rescued me from slavery, and I stayed to help free the rest. Now? I don’t know. I’m unemployed without a good excuse for my absence. Saying I was rescued from Bedele Creative isn’t exactly an option, and no witnesses can vouch for my absence.”
Selena tracked Malik until he landed. “One of those initiates partially owned a large company. If you wanted a job, she’d grant it.”
Violet sat on a rock and hugged herself. “Any job after this would be boring.”
Selena smiled. “No kidding. Malik is running back. He’s incredibly fast.”
“I was informed he cheats, mentally assisting in every physical movement. Even holding on to slick surfaces should be an impossibility, but it isn’t.” Violet corralled her hair in the breeze as she squinted. “It’s cold out here.”
“I told him the same; he said it was refreshing.”
“I don’t get it. How does he find the positives?”
“Half the time he creates them—it’s a survival instinct.”
Violet shook her head in disbelief. “I’m going inside where it’s warm. I’ll give Jenna a break on the decoy. Have fun.”
Selena made a nonchalant grunt then sat on the rock. Evelyn exited several minutes later, better dressed for the temperatures.
“How far?” asked Evelyn.
“He’s improving,” replied Selena. “Passed the watercourse.”
Evelyn cradled a cup of hot chocolate. “What else should we upgrade? Months of insanity make lazy days seem evil.”
“You need a hobby.”
“Hobby?” she asked, sipping her beverage. “What’s a hobby? I exercise every day, study manuals and systems, frequently man the bridge, and just finished restoring hold three. When have I ever had time for a hobby?”
“You could play me in Empire,” said Selena. “We’ve never met on the field of battle.”
“I could be murdered by you in Empire.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “You beat Malik three days ago; I’ve never seen that happen.”
Selena beamed with pleasure. “First time. It was a game for the ages.”
Evelyn stepped closer. “We should officially get everyone on board. If you think a dorm is incriminating, imagine women who aren’t supposed to be there, suddenly showing up. You’re one of them.”
“Maybe I should go home,” said Selena, gazing into the distance. “I’m torn concerning Serena, but I’d love to see my dad.”
“She’s a different woman. I heard Malik’s recollections of her youth, saw her when she awakened after months of rehabilitation, then observed later when the truth of Malik’s commitment struck. It helps that a man abused her affections and endangered everyone.”
Selena turned in surprise. “She had a boyfriend?”
Evelyn nodded and smirked. “He was pretty hot, too. Malik knew instantly he was a user, but Serena was smitten and wouldn’t listen. We were attacked at Harris and Turin-Alpha because of him, and he tried to kill me at Taipei. After Malik cut off the guy’s hand in revenge, he decided that the game was too dangerous and left. Malik had made dents in her attitude during the months, but the man’s exit was key. The finale was her seeing Malik’s head severed at Catricel and then being left alone with another, very dangerous man. Suddenly Malik didn’t seem so awful.”
Selena’s eyes widened. “What? Decapitated?”
“We grew a clone and he linked to it, just like he did at Silas.” Evelyn smiled. “Couldn’t even tell them apart, and both of them were equally proficient at everything. It was doubly annoying.”
“Will we be growing another one?” asked Selena. “Plenty of people are bound to want him dead.”
“Only if he gets a warning. Kroes knew of Malik’s first clone and would be prepared for another. For him to exist as both, the original and the clone would need to remain in relatively close proximity, never mind that we might not have the time to grow another. Kroes started this adventure by using us as objects of blackmail. She might again if she thought he cheated.”
“Do you think Redina will keep his word?”
“You’ve been relieved of slavery, your implants are removed, your nerves have been normalized, and all your sessions are done.” Evelyn turned toward her. “How would you have responded?”
Selena paused. “Do you have family, Ev?”
“Not worth speaking of.”
“What if they had a complete change of heart
and wanted to make amends?”
“They wouldn’t.” Evelyn made a disgusted huff. “One was absent. The other blamed me for everything.”
“Well, I can’t imagine Serena changing. Besides selling me, she was horrible. Never a kind word, persistently accusing, ultimately selfish, and even killed a roommate because the girl called out her attitude. Later, Serena got us kicked off our health coverage, although that last bit now seems a little trite.”
Evelyn hugged herself to stay warm. “Malik says you torpedoed your work to give her academics to embrace.”
“That was a waste.” Selena spit angrily on the ground. “Only hurt me and made her especially arrogant.”
“You were hopeful.”
“That ended on a bluff near Silas. I don’t believe I care anymore.”
Evelyn edged closer. “He also says that when Serena learned about it, she was noticeably humbled and troubled.”
“Humble is a word that rarely applied. She was always troubled.”
“She was lost. Everything about her life was turned upside down, and she finally realized her mistakes.” Evelyn rubbed her hands together. “We need to return to Salient. The ground facilities aren’t finished, and we should install a fabrication unit for use with the space scrap. Most of the terraformed worlds are mineral poor, and Salient is among the poorest.”
“Did the channel reform?”
Evelyn nodded. “The Nowhere entrance is a little out of position. If no one from Salient uses the channel, I doubt anyone would realize it’s back.”
“And this war of retribution Malik fights because of it?”
“Will only get uglier. There have been complications—sort of like the war you and Malik suckered Serena’s alliance into. He’ll find a way around it.”
“Like the war,” said Selena, smiling. “He’s advancing more quickly now than at the beginning, taking four cantons this month alone. He could soon win.”
Evelyn shivered as a breeze swept over them. “I’ve been too busy to stay current, but like Violet, I’m getting cold. We have mount modifications for the destroyed ASPs to remove. I think even Li occasionally gets cold. The boys are returning; you’ll soon have someone to keep you company.”