“A lie?”
“A necessary and effective lie,” said the red-skinned alien.
“What happens if they don’t protest? What if it doesn’t go as you plan?”
Honnas as a race had an obscure, strange sense of humor. With their bizarre frames and cracked red skin, they didn’t seem funny to any other species. Kiluth decided to give his crew a joke though.
“If they don’t like protests, maybe we’ll let them vote next.”
Across the conditioning center, the novorians snorted and laughed loudly. Wrinkled chins wagged as they repeated the joke.
A young blond man was full of righteous fury at the news that their rescuers had violated the dead. He was healthier than most, and could barely be constrained. In front of thousands of awakened, he expressed doubts about the soldiers’ motives. The Reminders let him speak. He strongly stated the case for respecting the dead.
When he ran out of breath, Muuk spoke to the assembly. “This is our ship. These are our ways. The Old Ways. We will not allow people whose ancestors weren’t even born when we left Alpha Centauri hinder our course. Retaining the dead is right. We will take this to Councilor Ulay and challenge him on this. If he doesn’t bow to our wishes, if he doesn’t want to follow the Old Ways, then he can leave the AndroVault and we will awaken our families on our own!”
CHAPTER 9
Terrors of the Flesh
The medical staff left the sick bay with looks of annoyance. Dr. Hack Fector, the senior officer, had kicked them out temporarily. Grumbling and distrustful, they returned to their cramped quarters.
Hack surveyed his sick bay. The medical robots remained. They finished their duties and floated into a row, awaiting orders. The door opened and the robot Leech floated in.
“Doctor,” Leech said.
“I sent the biological technicians out,” Hack said.
“Wise choice, doctor. You do not want to take any chances. Where is the subject?”
Hack pointed to a chamber, a clear dome in the center. Inside a young man with blond hair paced back and forth.
“How did you choose this subject?” Leech asked.
“Done for me by Kiluth and his staff. The noves said this one was causing trouble. They kidnapped him and brought him here. For my purposes, he wasn’t spoiled by genetic drift and has recovered from cryosleep.”
“Why one of the defectives?”
“Simply put, they’re different. We’re immune to diseases that they’re susceptible to and vice versa. I believe the test will be successful, but that’s what tests are for.” Hack brought up the subject’s profile, with his vital statistics.
“I understand you questioned Dr. Spierk about his research,” the robot said.
“Spierk was an arrogant madman who wanted power and control. He wanted to be god. Gods don’t exist.” Hack sent instructions to the medical robots. They floated away to check statistics. One left the room.
“What about you, doctor?”
“Doctor is a title. I’m a body engineer. When I can’t repair it, I make sure its parts are saved. Profit motivates me like everyone else.”
Leech watched as the blond man in the transparent bubble yelled at them. No one could hear him.
“I’m a space child. I was born and raised in artificial air. Born in an escape pod, fleeing the destruction of a capital ship off the giant star Zeta-Cygnus. I’ve never known anything else.”
“What would happen to Dr. Fector if he were to earn enough to retire?” Leech asked in his rhetorical tone.
“Retire? Retire where? And do what? Become a farmer? I’ve already outlived them. Parts break down. They get more expensive to replace, so I’ll never have too many credits. Besides, there are two kinds of people in the galaxy: those that work themselves to death, and those who work others to death. I know which one I am.”
A robot returned to the room, carrying a gray case. It floated to a table and opened the case. Inside were tubes with a clear, milky fluid. The robot slowly lifted one of the tubes from the case, and carefully placed it in a slot in the table. The slot closed with a click and a hiss.
Hack said, “Are you here to report on the test or analyze my childhood, Leech?”
“It is my purpose to probe, doctor. However I have no specific instructions regarding your motivations. I am here to provide the results to Admiral Slaught when he returns.”
“Then observe.” Hack pressed a button.
Inside the bubble, the blond man glared at them. Then he scratched his shoulder. Suddenly he wrenched his hand back and saw it covered in blood. Before he could react, he fell to the floor and jerked. The wall of the dome was sprayed red when he exploded.
“It took a few parts-per-million to produce that effect,” Hack said.
“Under perfect conditions,” Leech said with a mocking tone.
Hack had learned not to react to the robot. It was just a machine. “Other conditions such as wind dispersal are quantifiable. This Venicarce strain of flesh-eating bacteria can be deployed by airburst missile and still produce a desirable effect.”
“And what is the desired effect?”
Hack shrugged. “Genocide.”
CHAPTER 10
Turning
“Can I hope that one of you is the captain? Or maybe the hacker that nearly destroyed my ship?” Slaught said in a gruff voice.
Neither Steo nor Glaikis replied. Glaikis sat against a wall. Steo knelt in front of her. She fingered her gun and Steo moved his leg to hide the motion.
“No?” Slaught said. “If your ship escapes, I may keep you for ransom for either of them. Tell me now though why you stole my experiment and attacked my ship.”
Steo glanced at the decoy drone he had attached and activated. At that moment the carrier was transmitting the signal of the Eye of Orion, loud and clear.
He had lied his way past guards before. In fact he had misled police well enough to be set free. It was important to keep his story close to the truth.
“We’re independent pirates, but not the type to attack first and scoop up the remains later. We wanted the bounty on Dr. Spierk. He’s on your ship isn’t he?” Steo said. That gave them reason to be there.
“Let me save you the effort. Dr. Spierk is dead and gone. I had him killed.”
“Ah well, a shame. The bounty was big.”
“The chase is over. The carnivore pack has caught the ill-prepared herd beasts. Your skills could only last you so long. I look forward to adding the Eye of Orion to my own fleet as we begin our offensive.”
“I didn’t think you would be the long-winded kind,” Glaikis grunted.
Slaught knelt down a short distance from them. “I’m a predator. I don’t play with my food, but I enjoy the kill.”
The door at the end of the room slid open. Cyrus walked in. Slaught stood up at the new threat.
Cyrus removed his helmet. “I came when I heard shots but I couldn’t get the door open!”
Slaught stared at Cyrus. Cyrus surveyed the scene: four mercenaries, a spreading pool of blood around another, and Steo and Glaikis by the wall. Then he faced Admiral Slaught.
“Cyrus Majeure,” Slaught whispered.
“Admiral Slaught?” Cyrus said in a wavering voice.
“You recognize me. You came back. You came home.”
Cyrus looked at Steo, then back to Slaught.
Slaught said, “Where do your loyalties lie, I wonder? With these petty thieves who stole you from your rightful place? Listen to me! Focus! You have a future with me. You have a role, duties to perform which only you can fulfill. Achievements, glory, authority beyond what you could hope to find by accident. Your success was designed!”
Cyrus seemed mesmerized by Slaught’s face and words.
“What’s going on? Cyrus, you’re our friend, don’t say anything,” Steo said.
“Cyrus, you are one of a kind,” Slaught said. “Your triumphs will be no accident! I can make you a star messiah. I did make you a star messiah! Was I r
ight? Were you designed to reach out and take what you want?”
“I want …” Cyrus said.
“Whatever you want!” Slaught said.
“I want to go home.” He stepped forward to Slaught and bowed his head.
“What?!” Steo shouted.
“Are you insane? He’s a madman! Get away from him!” Glaikis yelled.
Admiral Slaught put his hands on Cyrus’s shoulders.
A steady beep came from the console. The mercenaries didn’t notice it, but Steo did. He was furious.
Steo said, “Cyrus, a job doesn’t define you! You define yourself. Don’t listen to Slaught. Come on, we have to get out of here.”
Slaught said, “Where do you think you’re going? You were an annoyance. I thought about selling you or putting you to work, but now I think I’ll kill you here. What do you think of that, Cyrus?”
Cyrus shrugged and looked at the mercenaries behind Slaught. Steo and Glaikis were in disbelief.
“Cyrus, come on man,” Steo pleaded. They were cornered and Cyrus had shown no concern that they were about to be killed.
“Pathetic. I hope I don’t beg for life when I approach death,” Slaught said.
“You better get ready for that then,” Steo said, “Because if that incoming missile is nuclear, we’re all dead.”
All of a sudden the room tilted sideways and clutter flew everywhere. There was a deafening boom from elsewhere in the ship. Rust-colored dust rained from the ceiling. Everyone’s ears popped. A sizable metal plate fell from the ceiling and crushed one of the mercenaries. The ventilation system spewed dirty air.
Steo grabbed Glaikis, pulled her over his shoulder and ran from the room. She got a few shots off as they fled.
“Oh oh!” Yuina said. “What was that?”
“A high-yield explosive missile just struck the ship we are inside of,” Hawking reported.
Renosha said, “Steo must have succeeded because the carrier is giving off a signal identical to ours.”
“The carrier is moving from the force of the explosion. We can’t stay in here long!” Yuina said.
The room settled down and Slaught looked around. Cyrus was fine and two mercenaries survived. The two crewmembers of the Eye of Orion were gone.
“Who fired on this ship?” a mercenary in black armor said.
“Probably one of our own,” Slaught said. “Cyrus, that equipment, is it transmitting a signal?”
To Slaught, Cyrus looked slow-witted. The symbiant hadn’t been grown for a high intelligence.
“I don’t know. I think so. They didn’t include me much.”
Slaught jumped the bodies and twisted metal to get to the console. He touched a few buttons and growled, “One of those was the hacker. Probably the woman. She looked experienced. There’s no shutting this down.”
Slaught led Cyrus and his men out of the room. He used his personal communicator, which was linked to a more powerful one elsewhere in the ship. “Cease fire! Cease fire!” he roared.
Pesht knew that humans changed colors when they felt different emotions. It wasn’t something most species did. He knew if he were human he would be pale now. He had just watched a cutter fire a missile into a ship under repair. Admiral Slaught was on that ship.
The shouts commanding cease-fire were coming in. His own crew screamed at the cutters.
“Boc,” Pesht called to the shuttle moving to the carrier.
“Here,” Boc said and laughed maniacally.
“Don’t know if you saw, but the carrier was hit by a missile.”
“This is my favorite part. Let the bad times roll!” Boc said.
“The admiral is on board and we detected him calling cease fire. Move quickly!” He was the same rank as Boc and couldn’t order him.
“I’ll murder those cutter crews if they fire again. What’s the rush?” Boc said with a dismissive snort.
Pesht climbed up to the top of his chair, indicating he was nervous and angry. “Admiral Slaught is on the carrier. It’s emitting the Eye of Orion’s signature. That probably means they know he’s on board! If they’re within range, they’ll blow it to cold-space!”
“Whoo! Quick thinking Pest. We’ll get there double-time. Boc out. Heh.”
Slaught organized the men on the carrier, including mercenaries and repair techs. The ship was worthless now. His orders were executed promptly and they prepared to leave. A shuttle was coming to get them. Slaught knew he was unprotected. He didn’t live this long by coincidence.
The cease-fire was working so he pointed to his mercenaries.
“They were running somewhere. Go find them. Probably a shuttle or escape pod. Don’t let them escape.”
He was willing to leave without these men, possibly sending them to their deaths. Just the same, he mostly thought about how proud he was with himself. Cyrus was with him. The plan had worked.
Steo was skinny. Everybody told him that when he was younger, and he hadn’t put on much weight since then. The stress of the current mission meant he hadn’t eaten much or done much exercise. He could only carry the heavyworlder over his shoulder for so long.
“Got to put you down,” he groaned.
“Aaagh,” Glaikis said as her feet hit the deck. She slumped against the wall.
“The corridor directly back to the ship is crumpled. We can’t go that way. There’s a long way around. Rest for a minute.”
Glaikis took long breaths. Each one pained her.
“Are you going to make it?” he asked.
“I’ve suffered a few broken bones before. Cyrus?”
Steo was boggled. “He went with Slaught.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know! I don’t want to think about it.” He looked back up the corridor. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered.
He helped Glaikis get an arm over his shoulder and pulled her a short distance.
“Not going to outdistance them like this,” she said.
“Don’t start thinking about heroics. Let’s get in here.”
He lifted/tugged her into a short corridor that ended in a sealed door. She leaned against the wall and began to sink. She was sweating.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I have an idea.”
“Your ideas are dangerous, did you ever notice that?”
Steo skimmed his fingers across the red disc on his leg. Nothing happened.
Glaikis said, “I don’t know if I can lift this gun much longer.”
Steo concentrated. He tapped, scrolled and otherwise tried to produce anything from the light manipulator. The footsteps came closer down the hall. Steo took his hand off the red disc.
Glaikis dropped her pistol, no longer having the strength to hold it. She sank the rest of the distance to the floor. They were both unarmed.
Suddenly a wall appeared where Steo was looking. Before she passed out, Glaikis heard the mercenary run past their short corridor.
CHAPTER 11
Infirmary
“The hit to the carrier bent beams inside the bay,” Yuina said.
“We are not completely trapped, Pilot Yuina. There is a path out. See it on the left panel? It will take expert flying,” Hawking said.
“Aren’t you an expert?” Renosha asked.
Yuina said, “Yes. I think I can do it, but not from here. It will take precision maneuvers.” She got up from the pilot’s chair and walked back to the holobridge. “Send that hologram back here, Hawking!”
A 3D image of twisted beams appeared in the holobridge. Yuina brought up control icons. “Okay I’m ready. What do we do now?”
“You are the pilot,” Renosha said.
Yuina watched the hologram. The carrier moved slightly, pushed by the missile’s explosion. The Eye of Orion floated inside its giant bay. She tapped the control icons to adjust the corvette.
Governor appeared in the bridge. “I have finished loading the medical applications into my memory. I have arranged such materials
as I could find in the dining room in case of emergency. Master Steo? Is he back?”
Yuina looked through the icons and holograms suspended in the air.
“No. They’re not back, and we’re not leaving until they get back.”
“A long wait will not be necessary, Pilot Yuina,” Hawking said. “Since you didn’t tell me not to, I have been scanning for them. The way they took into the ship is blocked. However they have found an alternate route. I marked the door and walkway they will use to return.”
“They’re all right? They’re coming back?” Yuina said excitedly.
“Not all. Just Steo and Glaikis,” Renosha said.
“Where’s Cyrus? What happened to him?”
“He is with Admiral Slaught now,” Renosha said.
Yuina moved the ship inside the bay. She edged it slowly between beams until they arrived at a new gantry.
“Master Steo and Navigator Glaikis have approached the door. I cannot get health readings from them, nor whether their suits are still functioning.”
Steo checked Glaikis’s helmet and verified her life support was active, then checked his own. He pressed a button on her arm and her unconscious body lifted in the air. He had only remembered their suits could lower gravity after she fell unconscious.
Opening the door, the air rushed out into the bay. To his surprise, the Eye of Orion rose to meet them at the end of the gantry. He guided Glaikis down the walkway to the ship, carefully but speedily.
“Oh my space!” Yuina said once they were safe inside.
Steo took off his helmet. “She’s injured.”
Governor said, “I will take her down to the dining room, where I set up medical facilities.” The robot led her down the hall, her unconscious body floating beside him.
Steo said to the rest, “We were ambushed. Admiral Slaught is on the carrier. He took Cyrus.”
“Took him?” Renosha asked.
“Cyrus is with Slaught now. We should get out of here,” he said with a grim expression.
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