Deus: The Eurynome Code, Book Six

by Gorman, K.

  Kalinsky nodded. “Thank you, Grand Regent Makos. When it pleases you, I have something that you will very much like to hear.”

  “Can it wait until I wash the blood out of my hair?”

  “Yes. I imagine he’ll still be alive by then.”

  She stared.

  Well, that’s both intriguing and cryptic.

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you in an hour.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Soo-jin gave the room a low whistle. “Ho-lee shitballs. You certainly upgraded.”

  Taking in the room for the first time, Karin was inclined to agree. Whatever the former Grand Regent might have been to her, he’d certainly lived in style. The Grand Quarters had a broad, open look. Where she had been expecting something more in line with the rest of the ship’s style―elegant, but clinical and practical―the suite was a sprawling indulgence with high ceilings, luxurious sets of furniture, and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the starscape and part of the Artemide’s wings.

  It looked as though it had come straight out of the holos of a design catalog or a luxury hotel.

  She stared around at the room, temporarily speechless.

  “The Commander sends her apologies, as we have not yet removed some of the former Regent’s belongings,” Malouf said, giving her a small bow.

  In the background, Nomiki never took her eyes off him.

  Karin nodded, reading between the lines. “You weren’t sure if I’d move in.”

  “There’s usually a ceremony,” he said tactfully.

  “Well, I’m here now.” She moved forward. “And, as it happens, I don’t care about his stuff.”

  “Unless there’s something racy,” Soo-jin put in. “Then we might giggle at it.”

  Karin winced, the joke hitting a little too close. She’d already met with two people the former Grand Regent had slept with. Both of whom she’d recently murdered.

  “I believe those were removed in the first and second sweeps,” Malouf said. “Is there anything else you need?”

  “Med unit?” she asked.

  He gestured to the far end of the room. “Around the corner. Tap the interface in the wall to have a Med tech sent up.”

  “Is it a direct line to Med?”

  “Yes.”

  Good. She’d been wanting to check up on Tylanus.

  “Thank you, Specialist Malouf. That will be all for now.”

  He bowed and left.

  After the door closed, Soo-jin let out another low, appreciative whistle. “Man, he’s kind of cute.”

  Karin glanced back to the door. “Well, maybe he’s single. You can finally get laid.”

  Soo-jin flashed her a grin.

  A small silence took the room as everyone looked around.

  It was really nice.

  After a few seconds, Marc approached her. His hands lifted, making a gesture to her armor. “Come on. Let’s get you out of that.”

  She nodded, letting herself be led to where Malouf had pointed to the Med unit.

  “Don’t worry. It’s mostly not my blood,” she said, repeating her line from earlier with a flash of a smile.

  “It’s the not that we’re concerned about.” Nomiki put her belongings on the nearest table and followed them in. “Takahashi, with us, please.”

  “Of course,” the doctor said, unfolding the now-familiar diagnostics crown from his pocket.

  They eased her out of her armor and into some new clothes that Nomiki and Soo-jin had raided from her locker on the Nemina. They had also brought her wallet and a netlink. She pulled the other netlink out of her suit pocket and synced the data, noticing the thirty-three missed calls and messages.

  “So, what’s the scoop on Reeve?” she asked.

  “About the same as before. He works for Fallon first,” Nomiki said.

  Karin grunted. “I trust Baik more. He took a knife for us. Plus, Alliance is being less sketchy at the moment.”

  She wasn’t sure if Baik could hear them from around the corner, but she was willing to bet that he could.

  She didn’t care. Her actions had already said as much.

  So, if Reeve wants to get back into your inner circle, would taking a knife suffice? Tia teased.

  He’d likely be falling on Fallon’s own sword, in that case. I’d rather not push it. It’d be weird.

  “Yeah,” Nomiki said. “Although I’m sure Fallon regrets how everything unfolded.”

  “I’m sure they regret it, too. But they’re the ones that damaged that bridge. I’ll continue to save the universe. They can either play along or stay out of my way.”

  Nomiki scrunched her nose and shook her head slightly, strands of her dark brown hair catching the white-blue light behind her. “Saints, and they were being so helpful before all this, too. What will you do with Reeve?

  “He will be unharmed, but will not wander without an escort.”

  Though Nomiki had alluded to him having very proficient combat abilities―ones that Karin had yet to see―she doubted he could outmaneuver one of her new cyborg soldiers. Not if Tillerman was in charge of who provided escort.

  “Tit for tat.” Nomiki nodded. “And the Centauri?”

  “Divided and fractious. You might have noticed my dispute with Center Core.”

  “Finlai? Yes. I’m not sure anyone missed that. Did you really split their ship in half?”

  “Yes. They instigated. I escalated.”

  Marc was watching her as she and her sister spoke. She was aware of his stare, felt his eyes on her. But he didn’t comment.

  He had something to say, she was sure of it. But he was probably going to wait until she was alone.

  At the rate she was going, he’d be waiting a while.

  “Were there people on it?” Takahashi asked.

  “Yes. Including their Grand Regent. I warned her to evacuate a different ship. She instead armed up. I decided that she would continue to be a nuisance and a direct interference with my ability to save the universe, so I ended her.”

  There was a small, uncomfortable silence as they all processed that.

  Suns, I hope I didn’t become their Grand Regent with that move.

  She didn’t think she had. Based on how former-Regent Leisler had fought her, the battle needed to be one on one.

  And surely, Tillerman would have told her if she’d acquired a new fleet. She had been the one to tell her that Nolen was confirmed dead, so one would have thought she'd bring up any sudden promotions or acquisitions within a few sentences of that.

  “That’s…” Nomiki trailed off, staring at her.

  “Logical,” Takahashi supplied.

  “Yes. That’s one word for it.” Nomiki’s upper lip curled. An intensity took her expression, green eyes flicking across Karin’s face. “No, this is wrong. She’s changed. You―” She made a half-gesture, stopping herself. “Don’t you feel something? You just killed thousands of people.”

  “No,” Karin said, her tone cool and clipped. “I don’t. I’m like you, remember? Except for anger, all my emotions are on the other side of an analytical wall, and they will remain there until I either die or have my regular personality stuck back into my brain―and in the case of the latter, even now I have doubts as to whether I’ll be able to completely return.” She took a breath. “We knew this was going to happen. I accepted it. Now, Doctor, please. Would you administer a check-up? The power shift earlier taxed my system much more than I had anticipated, and I would like to know if it’s caused anything permanent.”

  The next silence was more hostile than awkward. Nomiki stared her down. Karin met her gaze evenly and unblinkingly.

  Eventually, as Takahashi moved partially between them and lifted the crown over her head, Nomiki jerked her gaze away and left the alcove.

  Karin closed her eyes as Takahashi continued to work, listening to her sister’s retreating footsteps. The crown on her head beeped.

  “I think it would be good to get a few Centauri medical tests run,” she
suggested. “It looks like they have an advancement in some areas.”

  “Oh, most likely,” Takahashi said. “Regardless, I would still like to care for you, Karin.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, Doctor. You’re not going anywhere.” She opened her eyes into slits and directed her gaze to Marc. “And you? How are you doing?”

  “Alive,” he said.

  His tone was little more than a grunt, and his body had a tension in it.

  She sighed and closed her eyes again. “What is it? I think we’re all friends here.”

  He hesitated, and she felt Takahashi shift, but otherwise, the doctor gave no indication that he’d heard.

  Then, Marc spoke. “Why didn’t you tell me about the Centauri?”

  Ah. So that’s what it was about.

  “Frankly, there wasn’t enough time. I only found out I was Grand Regent about an hour before I left. Soo-jin gave me the information, and then we tracked down Commander Tillerman and spoke with her in the Shadow world. When we switched back over, I was immediately summoned to the war room.”

  “And then?”

  “And then I fucked off, had a real fucking weird encounter with a Shadow, came back, got checked out, and then discovered that Fallon had invited fucking Seirlin to come investigate both Tylanus and the Cradle.”

  “So, you went to Soo-jin, but you didn’t come to me?”

  “Because she was there, and we both happened to be standing next to each other when we started speculating about Tillerman, and she offered to find out for me. What do you want from me, Marc? I can’t be the woman you want, not right now. You know this―”

  “I just want to help you, Kar. I care about you, and I am worried about you.”

  “Great. I appreciate it, Marc, but I’m fine. Or, at least, I think I am. Doctor?”

  She turned to the side to where Takahashi was standing. The crown on her head chose that moment to beep, the sound like a period in the middle of a sentence. A bar graph popped up on his netlink, along with data too tiny for her to see in his eyepiece, but he wasn’t looking at it. Instead, his gaze was slipping between her and Marc.

  Great. Of all the times he had to ‘check in’ and pay attention, it was now.

  “I think it would be better if I finished my diagnosis at another time,” he said carefully. Gently, he removed the crown from her head and stepped away. “I will go over the initial scan and inform you if I find anything that is concerning.”

  His shoes tapped quietly on the tile, the sound muffling when they hit the rough carpet of the next room and walked away.

  She let out a heavy breath, closed her eyes, and shoved a hand through the front of her hair. Dried blood caught at her touch.

  For a long moment, neither of them said anything.

  “Karin,” he began. “I―”

  “I appreciate that you want to help, but I won’t apologize for not coming to you. Things happened the way they happened. I wasn’t avoiding you, it’s just how it worked.”

  “Yes, I realize that.” He moved then, something on his upper body that she couldn’t quite see. The soft light of the Med bay bed reflected off the rich texture of his forearm. His hand had clenched and unclenched when they’d been speaking, his fingers active and moving, clearly stressed. She felt something was hanging between them, heavy in the air.

  I’ve changed, she thought. He’s just going to have to accept that. Or not. It doesn’t matter.

  All that mattered was that he and the rest of the universe continued to live.

  I’m not sure I even care about going back to the real me. Does the real me even exist, anymore? There’s no way I can go back to being the old Karin anymore.

  Still, there was a small, tiny part of her that cringed at the thought.

  “Marc, you knew I was going to change. We both knew it.”

  “Yes, we did both know. And it upset you.”

  “It did, but I accepted it. I have to do this.”

  He didn’t answer right away, but she could feel his eyes on her, roving her shoulders, looking at the fall of her hair.

  “Kar, this is more than that. You killed a lot of people today. A lot. I think they’re still trying to recover the bodies.” He swore a little, his voice breaking.

  “I told you what I’d become, Marc. It’s not my fault that you didn’t believe me.”

  “No, no. You weren’t like this when I first saw you after the tank. You―you said that a part of you could still feel, you said it. You had regret, even if it was only a little.”

  “That part is small and insignificant,” she told him. “I have killed lots of people today, and for some of them, I enjoyed it. Right now, the smell of blood both sickens and excites me. It’s fucked up, but that’s how it is. That’s the me that I am now.”

  Her words sounded hollow, disconnected. As if she were pulling a pre-prepared speech out of the emptiness of her chest cavity. Something her mind had rehearsed to give him, should he interfere.

  A small part of her crumpled when she realized that.

  His hand came up, but he stopped himself, retracting with a hesitancy.

  Most likely, he’d thought better of it.

  Good. Maybe he was finally realizing just how fucked up she was.

  Then, his body shifted. She read the intention in his muscles a second before he stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Kar, I love you. I want you to know that. I love you, and I am not going away. One day, all of this death is going to hit you, and you are not going to be okay. But I’ll be there, and we’ll get through this.”

  He squeezed, his hand warm on her shoulder. Unexpectedly so. And big. She caught his scent, the familiar soap they used on the ship. A memory twinged. Him on a hot day, working on the ship next to a beach on Enlil when they were hiding out, the sun casting down on his sweat-slicked arms. Back when she’d first started feeling something for him.

  “Have a shower. Get the blood out of your hair. Try not to die.” He gave her a pat and left, his long, lanky strides careful and strong.

  She huffed. “I’m not going to die in the shower.”

  “It’s happened. Don’t be a statistic.”

  A smile twitched her lips. Inside, she felt the flutter of…something.

  It wasn’t what she’d felt before; she knew that much. More like a shadow, or a shape in the mist. A mixed pressure in her chest, one part light and warm, the other crumpling like a hole.

  She let out a long, slow breath as the emotion slid through her lungs.

  Then, when it passed, she stood and set out to find this suite’s sani.

  He was right. A shower would make her feel better.

  * * *

  Centauri showers were…interesting. She wasn’t sure what type of liquid had come down on her, but she was sure that a part of it was water. And more of the water part mixed in when she tried poking at one of the buttons on the wall.

  Yeah…she may have to learn a few words in Centauri before this mission was over. At least agua had enough of a familial root with her native English to give her a decent idea as to what the button did.

  She emerged from the shower, plucked a towel off the rack, gave it a quick sniff to make sure it was new-ish―psychopath that she was, she still didn’t feel like drying herself off with the same towel that had also dried off Leisler’s junk―and came back out into the suite wearing one of the changes of clothes Nomiki and Soo-jin had brought from the Nemina.

  A new, Centauri combat suit lay stretched out on the main table, surrounded by the crew from the Nemina and a half dozen plates filled with food.

  “We found the fridge.” Soo-jin shot her a smile. “Figured you wouldn’t mind. Say―I’ve never seen your hair wet before. Does it always go that color?”

  Karin gave a look at the tail of damp locks that trailed down from her shoulder. In the light, the blond had gone from its normal dark tan color to more of a green shade. “I think there’s something in the water.”

 
“I’ll say. Remind me not to wash my hair here. Grape?” Soo-jin offered up her plate.

  “Thanks.” She popped it into her mouth and frowned down at the suit. “New delivery?”

  “Yes. Tillerman had it made, apparently.”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “I didn’t realize she had my measurements.”

  “Maybe that’s the real reason she’s been staring at you,” Soo-jin suggested. “She was really just memorizing the curve of your ass so you could fit into this custom beauty.”

  Down the table, Cookie snorted. “Nah, man. This is Centauri. Have you seen the tech they have? They likely scanned us in such detail, they could make each of us a suit.”

  “I’m down,” Soo-jin said. “This is a fine piece of technology.”

  On that, Karin had to agree. Like many of the cyborgs she’d seen, the suit had a light metallic look―like mercury, or quicksilver. What appeared to be fine metal plates shifted perceptibly at her touch, indicating a decent level of nanotechnology present in the structure. Higher-hit areas, such as defensive areas on the arms, shoulders, hips, and legs, were visibly more armored, with a thicker appearance even on the table, whereas more high-flex areas appeared to have a type of scaling in their fabric. Panels and strips stood out on the table, clearly meant for more high-function areas like her shins and forearms. The boots on the floor below had a viscous-looking strip of folded metal that ran from the tip of her toe to just past the knee.

  If she kicked on that point, it would drive the entire force of her kick into that small wedge, and she had the choice of striking with her knee, shin, and the ridge of her foot.

  “Tillerman dropped this off?” She stole another grape, this time from her sister’s plate. Nomiki glanced over, then swayed to bump shoulders. Her way of showing affection. “Did she say anything?”

  “Said to call her when you came out of the shower,” Nomiki said. “You should eat first.”

  “Yes, Mom.” She grabbed a fistful of grapes and moved off, munching on them as she slinked her way to the fridge. “Anything good in here?”

  “No cake,” Soo-jin said.

  “Nor ice cream,” Shinji added.

  “There’s a package of mystery meat labeled ‘pollio,’” Nomiki said. “It’s either a nasty disease or chicken.”