No one moved. John turned his head slightly to look at Ari and saw that she had shouldered her rifle and was pointing it at the crew.
“You’d better do as he says,” began Ari. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”
“What the hell is this, Ari?” said John.
Ari motioned with her rifle. Ray allowed his shotgun to fall to his side.
“If anybody goes for their sidearms they’ll be shot,” said Ari calmly. “Move toward the ramp.”
Everyone slowly walked toward the ramp. The three figures remained where they were. The one on the left was a Residerian with obvious cybernetic implants. The one on the right was a Kau’Rii with multiple ear piercings and colorful garb. The man in the center was a clean-cut military Umberian with an unwavering expression.
“Everyone,” began Ari, “this is Aldebaran.”
Fernwyn drew in a breath of shock and terror. Aldebaran took a step forward.
“Are you here to liberate Umber?” he asked flatly.
“That’s the idea,” said John defiantly.
“Don’t bother. Arianna, come aboard.”
Ari circled the crew, heading for the base of the ramp. She had a smug smile on her face and looked amused. John stared at her as she walked and made eye contact with her once she arrived at the ramp.
“What the hell is going on here, Ari?” John asked. “Who is your new friend? Why are you doing this?”
Ari slung her rifle on her shoulder. She looked at John whimsically. She smiled broadly and walked up to him.
“John Scherer. You’ve always been so kind to me. You never did realize something, though. Not everyone has the same high standards of morality as you. Your greatest flaw is assuming that we all strive for the same level of perfection. Didn’t it ever occur to you that some of us are quite happy with our imperfections? Some of us are tired of it. Whether you’re waiting for us to prove ourselves or you’ve already made up your mind about us doesn’t matter. Your standards are arbitrary.”
“What are you talking about? I never asked anybody to be anything other than they are. I never asked you to be anything other than you are!”
“You asked me to be your friend when I wanted more. You never allowed yourself to go beyond your own standards and see me for who I really was.”
“Except your idea of a romantic relationship is a possessive noun. Silas may have been a jerk but at least he knew enough to recognize indentured servitude.”
Ari drew her Glock and stepped closer to John. “Silas knew what he was doing. So did you. So do you now. I intend to let you live past today, but don’t remind me how much you left me wanting, John. You know what frustration can lead to.”
Ari tapped John’s shoulder with the side of her pistol.
“I know you better than anybody, Ari. I know this isn’t really you talking.”
“Don’t let your emotions blind you,” said Christie. “Ari is speaking from the heart.”
“I think she is, too,” said Richter. “I want to know why you’re doing this, Ferro. I thought I could trust you to do what was best for your friends. I thought we trusted each other.”
“Of course you wouldn’t understand, Richter. You’ve always been content to be second in command. Even when you had the chance to be number one in my life you conceded to him. You’ll never be anything more than a good shot and an errand boy.”
“That’s easy for you to say now, Ferro. Don’t forget the only reason you and I never rocked the Casbah was because nobody had thought to bring any protection out here.”
“A tragic oversight, I must admit.”
“You seem poised to fuck us all, regardless,” said Ray.
“You should thank me, Bailey. Aldebaran didn’t see the point in leaving you alive. Loose ends mean a lot to him, you see. I do appreciate you as friends and I wouldn’t want to see you dead. Do yourselves a favor and don’t try and follow us. If we meet again we won’t be so forgiving.”
Ari headed back to the ramp and glanced at Byron as she passed him. She stopped, smiled, and turned to face him.
“What’s the matter, Byron? No pithy comments? No smart aleck retorts? You were never in short supply before. Is this not what you thought fate had in store for you? Tell me how this falls in line with your destiny.”
Byron remained silent, an expression of doom on his face.
“Come on, Byron, not a single bit of your old arrogance? I need an excuse to finish you off for good, you know.”
“Leave him alone, Ari,” said Christie.
“You’re not sticking up for him, are you Tolliver? After all the trouble he’s caused you? Wouldn’t you like an excuse to take him out?” Ari laughed, looking at the ground. Her fingers tensed around her pistol. She looked up at Byron and brought the weapon to bear. “Fuck it, I don’t need an excuse.”
The shot echoed throughout the glade, seemingly louder than anything that had ever met human ears. Byron fell to the ground limply. A thin line of crimson swept across Ari’s face and the echo faded. Ari holstered her pistol and walked up the ramp to Aldebaran’s side.
“If you oppose us you now know how far we’ll go to protect ourselves,” she said. “So if we ever meet again, let it be as friends.”
“That day will never come,” said John.
The Reckless Faith’s engines came to life, and the ship began rising slowly from the ground. The ramp began to close and Ari threw her rifle to Richter, followed by the magazine pouch. Richter caught the rifle without taking his eyes from Ari.
“I think you’ll need this more than I,” she shouted. “Have a good life, everyone. It can only improve from here.”
The invisibility shield was activated, and the last thing the crew could see before the ramp closed was Ari’s face. Taking a breeze along with it, the ship disappeared into the starry sky. Silence returned to the glen.
18.
Richter checked the chamber of his rifle and walked over to Byron.
“The kid’s been brain-panned. There’s nothing we can do for him.”
“Some friends you people keep!” exclaimed Fernwyn, shaking off her shock.
“Ari wouldn’t have done that on her own,” said Ray, picking up his Remington.
“Actually, you’re probably right. It’s Aldebaran.”
“You know that guy?” asked Christie, edging closer to peek at Byron’s corpse.
“Well this is great,” began Dana, throwing up her hands. “Just frigging great. What the hell are we supposed to do now?”
“Aldebaran is the most infamous pirate in the galaxy,” said Fernwyn. “Your friend may have screwed us all over but she undoubtedly saved our lives as well. If Aldebaran wanted your ship he would have got it anyway, and we’d all be dead. And don’t feel bad about your friend’s betrayal. She most likely wasn’t acting on her own accord after all.”
“Aldebaran was exerting some sort of influence over her?” asked John.
“Yes. He has some sort of telepathic power unlike anything else in the galaxy. Nobody knows how he does it, but it’s a real power. He’s not just good at reading people or manipulating them. He can actually effect their minds. It’s one reason why he’s such an effective pirate; people are terrified of his ability. They call it Aldebaran’s Will.”
“Can no one resist him?”
“I don’t know. Most of the stories are anecdotal. Nobody who has ever met Aldebaran in person has lived to tell about it. That’s why I can’t believe he left us alive down here. Either the stories exaggerate or that wasn’t really Aldebaran. But... I’ve run into him before. Seven years ago, when I was just starting out as a shuffler, I tried to capture him. I heard his voice over the radio... that was him. I’m sure of it now.”
“You were a shuffler? What’s that?”
“It’s slang for bounty hunter. I tried my hand at it before I became a police officer.”
“What’s the bounty on Aldebaran?” asked Ray.
“One hundred million credits.”
“Holy shit.”
“No kidding there. Everybody and their brother with a shuffler’s license was out there gunning for him. They kept him quite busy for awhile, but he was too good. His ship was the latest production run from the Umberian fleet before the war, a Mark Seventeen fighter. He beat out odds as bad as five to one. When I faced him I almost got killed. Only the sudden appearance of a squadron of SPF fighters saved me.”
“Can you help us track him down?” asked John.
“I’m sorry, but if I were you I’d forget about your ship. The configuration you described to me sounds just like a Mark Seventeen. If Aldebaran has been unstoppable with one of them, how do you expect to defeat two?”
“Because if we can get through to our artificial intelligence computer we can tell it to help us. Right now it probably doesn’t realize there’s a problem. It’s not very good at independent deductive reasoning.”
“Even if you could find your ship, how do you expect to communicate with your computer?”
“I don’t know, but it’s something we should consider. I’m not going to give up now! I don’t care how far we have to go. That ship is ours and we’re going to get her back!”
“It’s suicide, my friend. Plain and simple.”
“I don’t care. You guys are with me, right? Ray? Richter? Christie?”
The others were silent.
“This looks like the end of our mission, John,” said Dana. “Maybe you should start coming to terms with it.”
“Son of a bitch,” said John, kicking the ground. “We’ve come this far and you’re just going to give up?”
“We need to consolidate and reorganize,” said Richter. “Then we can think about our next move.”
“Fine. First things first. Rylie, can you help us get off this moon?”
“Probably. My ship only seats two but I should be able to make other arrangements. Where will you go?”
“If you can get us as far as Beta we should be able to function on our own from there.”
“Okay. But I don’t know how much more I can help you after that.”
“What about the tracker device?” asked Richter.
“Oh yeah,” said Fernwyn, removing the device from her pocket. She pointed at Byron’s body. “It’s still on him.”
“Shit,” said John.
“You felt it was your duty to come after us,” said Christie. “Are you so scared of Aldebaran that you’re willing to abandon your duty now?”
“My duty is to ensure the safety and security of the Solar United Faction. Aldebaran isn’t going to precipitate a war with the Zendreen. He may have the ultimate defense with two Mark Seventeen fighter ships but that doesn’t mean he can launch an offensive against anyone.”
“So what’s he going to do with the Faith?” asked Ray.
“How should I know? Like I said, he probably just wanted to bolster his defensive capabilities as well as his ability to take pirate prizes. He’s always had a penchant for Umberian technology any...”
Fernwyn trailed off. John stepped closer to her.
“What?”
“Aldebaran won’t attack just anybody. After the war, the Zendreen put out a standing bounty on all Umberians. Aldebaran made a name for himself tracking down his own kind and handing them over for the corral bounty. The last Umberians who were dumb enough to stick around the nebula were rounded up long ago. Since then Aldebaran will only attack ships that have some sort of Umberian technology aboard. I always figured he was looking for repair parts or ways to upgrade his ship. But there was something else that occurred to me earlier that I didn’t mention, something that might just be a coincidence. You called your AI Seth, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Seth is Aldebaran’s first name.”
__________
“I’m sorry, who are you guys again?”
Ari leaned against the wall on the bridge and gestured toward her two new friends. Aldebaran had asked her to show them the command center before wandering off on his own.
“I’m Harrish,” said the Kau’Rii, “and this is Leitke. I’m the first mate and he’s the engineer.”
“Seth, grant Harrish and Leitke full access to all systems.”
Seth did not respond. Ari frowned.
“Your computer is named Seth?” asked Leitke, sharing a glance with Harrish.
“Yes. Seth, wake up, damn it.”
Again, there was nothing but silence. Ari crossed to her station and checked the systems.
“What’s up?” asked Harrish.
“It says that Seth’s processing usage is up to one hundred percent. That’s never happened before.”
“What’s he doing?”
“It says he’s running a sim, but that can’t be right. Where’s Aldebaran?”
Harrish pulled out his communicator. “Cap, where are you?”
There was no reply.
“Holy shit,” breathed Leitke. “This is it, isn’t it?”
“It could be. Captain, are you there?”
“What’s going on?” asked Ari.
“We’ve got to find Aldebaran.”
“Wait a minute,” said Leitke, grabbing Harrish’s arm, “what does this mean for us?”
“I don’t know,” replied Harrish. “Nobody ever thought that Aldebaran would actually find Seth. Our first duty is still to the captain, though. Arianna, we need to search the ship.”
“Call me Ferro, please. There’s only one place he could be. The orb room.”
Ari led the others off of the bridge and down the hall. They descended the stairs to the galley and crossed into the orb room.
Aldebaran was standing in the room, his arms wrapped around the orb in a bear hug. His eyes were closed and there was a big smile on his face. Harrish and Leitke looked very surprised. Ari furrowed her brow.
“Aldebaran, can you hear me?” she said.
“Captain?” said Harrish.
Aldebaran didn’t budge. Harrish reached tentatively for him, and Ari stopped him.
“Wait. He’s merged with Seth. The only way to get him out is to cause him physical pain. Otherwise we have to wait until he chooses to separate.”
“That may not happen.”
“What? Why?”
Harrish gestured back toward the galley. Ari and Leitke led the way. The three sat down at the table at Harrish’s suggestion.
“Aldebaran was a soldier in the Umberian military,” Harrish began. “Eleven years ago he volunteered for a special unit assigned to the Umberian System Way Station in orbit around the first planet in the system. This unit was comprised of the best non-commissioned officers and was intended to supply military men for certain scientific experiments. There was full disclosure at the beginning that the volunteers could be subject to physical and psychological damage, but for the most part they were not exposed to unreasonable risk. Aldebaran volunteered for the most dangerous experiment, an attempt to find a way to copy a person’s consciousness and store it artificially. When initial attempts proved unsuccessful, Aldebaran personally suggested going beyond what the scientists considered safe. The result was success. Aldebaran’s consciousness was copied and stored. There was a costly side effect, however. Aldebaran lost his ken-kiai.”
“What?” said Ari. “My translator didn’t get that last word.”
“The mind can be thought of as three distinct parts. One is the do-katsi, which controls basic animal needs and desires. One is the do-kiai, which is the aware conscious. The other is the ken-kiai, which is the subconscious.”
“Oh, I see. You’re talking about the id, ego, and superego.”
“Aldebaran became a different person. He was cold, ineffectual, and sometimes cruel. If he wanted something, he would simply take it. He did not lose his ability to distinguish between right and wrong, he simply no longer cares.”
“Sounds like pirate psychology to me.”
“Well, that falls in line with what happened next. The Umberian scientists were not wi
thout sympathy for what had happened. Half of the staff on the project were committed to finding a way to restore Aldebaran’s mind. The other half continued to work with his superego and created the first truly effective and self-aware artificial intelligence. That’s what Seth is. Unfortunately for everyone the Zendreen invaded before they could find a way to restore Aldebaran. He disappeared during the chaos and soon emerged as a pirate.”
“A pirate with a penchant for Umberian technology,” said Leitke.
“Yes. And what Aldebaran revealed only to his most trusted crew was that his ultimate goal was to find Seth. He spent years going after Umberians that had escaped from the invasion, and handed them over to either the Zendreen or shufflers out of spite.”
“Shufflers?” asked Ari.
“Bounty hunters. The Zendreen put out a reward for all Umberians.”
“Did they do that out of spite as well?”
“No. The Zendreen invaded Umber to gain their superior technology. Unfortunately for them all such knowledge was eliminated during the last days of the invasion. Rumor has it that a ship was launched that contained all of the data, and the Zendreen were determined to find it. Thus the bounty.”
Ari leaned back in her chair. “This ship proves that Seth was the repository for that data. Is Aldebaran going to hand it over to the Zendreen?”
“No way. Nobody, not even someone as disgruntled as Aldebaran wants the Zendreen to have higher technology. Just because he hates Umberians doesn’t mean he’s pals with the Zendreen. They still invaded his home planet. Even a reward of twenty million credits can’t make up for that.”
Ari stood up and walked to the kitchenette. She opened a cabinet.
“Alcohol?”
“Sure, why not?”
Grabbing a bottle of bourbon and three glasses, Ari returned to the table. She poured the drinks, which were met with the approval of the aliens.
“So now that Aldebaran has found his subconscious, can he restore himself?”
“I don’t think so,” said Leitke. “Seth shouldn’t be any different from when the original schism occurred, except for any experience he gained since then. The captain is obviously experiencing some level of simpatico right now, but I don’t know what will happen once he’s separated from the orb.”
The Tarantula Nebula Page 23