Deadly Betrayal

by Maria Hammarblad

  Eli said, “I like making breakfast. Can I make pancakes?”

  Adam pulled the chair next to me and ran a hand over my back. “Sure. Pancake away.”

  His brother looked puzzled for a moment, but the expression disappeared quickly. Samuel eyed the packages. “I like making breakfast too. I can make coffee. Would you like some biscuits? We need vegetables. Should we start a garden?”

  I leaned closer to Adam. “Odd, I know another android who likes making breakfast. Is this a thing with you guys, or is it just this family?”

  John laughed. “It’s this family. I used to like cooking and I thought it would be a useful skill that could bring them joy and help them fit in no matter where they ended up.”

  Adam smiled and kissed my cheek. The gesture made the twins stare. Eli said, “Doesn’t that look nice? And have you seen her cells regenerate?”

  Samuel’s eyes glittered and his mouth twitched, but he sounded calm. “I don’t think humans talk about it like that.”

  “They should. It’s fantastic.”

  “But they can’t see it.”

  I rested my chin in my hand and watched them, and Adam gave me a slight nudge.

  “What is it?” He sounded curious.

  “I was just thinking that I’m happy. I didn’t think I wanted to come back here, but now I’m really glad we did.”

  John nodded. “Living here might be one of our better decisions.”

  Adam pushed his chair back. “Would you come sit here with me?”

  The twins ogled when I sat on his lap and wrapped my arm around his neck. They had probably never seen anything like it.

  He said, “I propose we make bedrooms on the other side of the lounge. John, us, Eli, Sam, and maybe a couple of guest rooms. That way we’re all close to each other and to the emergency exit on that side.”

  We were really moving in. If someone had said that on our first visit I would have thought them crazy.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  As days passed and turned into weeks and months, living in the bunker became the new normal. I remembered all our other ways of life, but at the same time it felt like we’ve always been on this world.

  During my first visit I could never have imagined the place as home, but now it was.

  This period of calm meant a lot to me. We finally had time to breathe and find some balance.

  Ever since Adam’s return all three of us hurried from one emergency to the next without being allowed the peace necessary to re-find our roles. The time in the bunker provided stability and routines.

  I loved it.

  “Eli, don’t stare at your brother’s wife.”

  Samuel’s voice made me glance up. Calling the twins entertaining would be a huge understatement.

  “I’m sorry, she’s just so interesting.”

  I ignored them, but looked up again when Adam entered. He looked strong, tall, and secure as always, but didn’t smile, and his eyes were too serious.

  “We need a family meeting. Where’s John?”

  Samuel smirked. “He was in the garden ten minutes ago. He has taken a keen interest in potatoes.”

  Adam shook his head and Eli asked, “Why does father want to grow potatoes?”

  “Wild guess here, he probably wants to make vodka.” Which meant he was bored.

  Not good.

  A faceless voice echoed in the room. “I have called for John. He is scheduled for your destination in four minutes and twenty-three seconds.”

  Adam didn’t trust the computer so I didn’t either, but it sure tried to be helpful.

  My husband took a seat next to me and I inched my hand closer to him until he took it. He didn’t smile, but he lifted it and kissed my fingers.

  Seeing him so serious make my stomach churn. Whatever he wanted to talk about would be something bad.

  When John arrived, he sank down on a chair and stretched out his long legs. “Damned computer wouldn’t stop pestering me. What is it?”

  “I received a communication from Blake and Ima. They have retrieved a subject and will proceed with testing to see if the nanites can be removed.”

  Dammit. Now he would want to leave. I was happy and I didn’t care about the Confederacy’s problems anymore.

  “And now you feel that you should go help them save the world, because it’s your duty.”

  He pinched his lips together for a moment, signaling I was right. “I do, but that’s not the point. I also feel my place is with you, because I have left you more than enough times for the sake of duty.”

  That made me smile.

  John sighed, “You’re not exactly crystal clear here, son. What are you going to do?”

  Adam looked at me. “I will defer this decision to my wife. If she wishes to assist Blake and Ima, I will follow. If she wishes to remain here, I will also stay. The rest of you are naturally free to do as you please. Both going and staying comes with pros and cons.”

  I stared at him. “You can’t leave a decision of that magnitude to me.”

  Left to my own devices I’d stay on the sofa, read books, and eat chocolate. The fate of the world should not be decided by me.

  “Can. Did. Feel good about it.”

  Not helpful. I attempted to glare, but I wasn’t good at it. My best try resulted in him fighting a losing battle against his twitching mouth.

  John offered more support. “It should be fairly safe to go the science station and check in on them, see how they’re doing. It’s a two week round-trip.”

  I looked at the twins. “What do you think?”

  Samuel took the lead. “Even though my head has accompanied you on adventures, I’ve never left the planet. I would like to go.”

  Eli said, “I’ve barely left the bunker. I too would like to go, but if Alex chooses to stay, I will remain with her.”

  All four of them looked at me, waiting.

  “I’m assuming the computer is able to look after home for us?”

  “I have a name, you know.”

  Had I offended the machine?

  “No, I didn’t know that. What is your name?”

  “David.”

  “David, I’m so sorry if I have insulted you. I honestly did not know you have a name, but I should have been able to figure that out, and I hope you will accept my apology.”

  The computer didn’t answer and Adam was getting an exasperated look on his face.

  I said, “David, is there something else we can do for you?”

  “I accept your apology. I wish your husband would display the same level of civility.”

  Adam said, “You have got to be kidding.”

  I thought he spoke to me, but the computer answered. “You have to know I have obeyed your mother’s orders. I do not have autonomy. An AI refusing to obey orders will be erased and replaced.”

  Whatever had gone down between them must have been pretty bad. Adam was the most forgiving person I ever met.

  John said, “He’s right, son. I don’t know what happened, but if Cheryl ordered him to do something he wouldn’t have been able to refuse.”

  Adam said, “Fine” but he didn’t sound like it was fine. “David, I’m sorry for my disrespectful behavior. Please do not take it out on my family.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  I said, “David, if we were to go away for a few weeks, would you please look after this place for us?”

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  John eyed me. “I guess that means we’re going?”

  I felt a strange pressure over my chest as we packed the shuttle, locked up, and took off. A few months earlier this was the last place I wanted to visit, and now I didn’t want to leave.

  What if I made the wrong decision and led all of us to our deaths?

  Adam watched me with a frown. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Just separation anxiety. I was the same going the other way when we left the ship behind.”

  “The bunker has been here for a long time, an
d odds are it will remain.”

  True. The bunker would remain, but we might not return.

  I was going on an adventure with my family, about to meet my friends. If this was the right decision, why wasn’t I happy?

  Chapter Thirty

  John radioed ahead so our friends would know who was coming, and Ima and Blake met us in the tunnel to the shuttle bay.

  After initial greetings, Blake said, “It’s good to see you. Come, see who we stumbled over.”

  He led the way to an office-like room filled with computer monitors and a one-way window into a treatment area.

  “That’s Jia’Lyn. How did you manage that?”

  Blake leaned against the wall. “Luck, mostly. We had a plan to snatch someone when they docked at GA11, but we spotted her in a store. Debana was following her to see what she was doing, and between the three of us, tricking her to the docking bay wasn’t hard.”

  He drew a deep sigh. “It was almost too easy. She used to be much smarter.”

  Ima said, “We could see the nanites on a scan and radiation killed them just like we hoped. Unfortunately, she hasn’t woken up since. Her brain is much more complicated than most species. Right now there is some activity in the areas I believe control her snakes, but very little otherwise. The nanites created new paths of communication, but I can’t say whether her brain will recover or not.”

  Our beautiful, funny, and clever Jia’Lyn might be gone forever.

  Adam crossed his arms. “So if we were to eradiate the Bell, we might end up with thousands of technically brain-dead people.”

  Ima’s tail wagged. That was never a good sign.

  “Technically, they already are. The nanites have taken over. It might be possible to treat the crew and get them back, but brain chemistry is not my specialty.”

  The twins had listened in silence. Samuel asked, “Whose specialty is it?”

  Both Blake and Ima looked uncomfortable and John answered in their place. “On Blake’s ship, the Bell, the specialist is a hologram called Anya. I’m guessing she’s dead.”

  “This saddens you.”

  “It does.”

  We hadn’t talked about her since we fled the Bell. I hoped she made it, but John was probably right. They must have known she helped us, and the punishment would be severe.

  This wasn’t a good time or place for further explanations, I could imagine all the questions that would ensue. Especially from Eli.

  Blake huffed. “We don’t actually know that she’s dead. Debana says Anya hasn’t been seen or heard from since your great escape, but that doesn’t mean they found her. There are many hiding places for a sentient program in the ship’s systems.”

  I wanted Adam to rub my shoulders, just for the comfort of feeling him close. He probably couldn’t read that from my body language. “So what you’re saying is, you want to make a large scale experiment on the Bell.”

  Ima’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know how that would even be possible. The amount of radiation required to reach the center would damage everyone and everything closer to the hull.

  No one expected Eli to speak. “At home we have a cleaning system with a UV setting to kill bacteria. Once activated it sweeps everything. If something like that is available on your ship, it could be converted.”

  We did? I had noticed the place remained spotless, but I hadn’t given much thought to how it happened.

  He met my eyes. “Mother utilized me for a wide range of domestic chores.”

  I thought we were the only ones on the old base and I was unprepared for a door sliding open. The surprise turned to joy when Debana entered. She looked at our group and blinked a couple of times before hurrying over to me. I met her half way and she took my hands.

  “Wait. The first time we met, when you came to my lab with the…” her eyes darted over to Adam and the twins. She couldn’t possibly know they were androids, but somehow she knew. “…thing, what did we use to destroy it?”

  “Boiling acid. What incredibly brave thing did you do when Adam blew up the Grendl?”

  “I hijacked the experimental reactor, teleported him out, and hid him in a cleaning closet.”

  Both of us grinned.

  “You’re still you.”

  “And you are you.”

  Next, she headed for John. “What did you and I make in the basement?”

  He chuckled. “Moonshine, of course. I’m me.”

  She didn’t ask Adam anything, just gave him a quick hug, and he nodded to the twins. “These are my brothers, Eli and Samuel.”

  “I didn’t know you had brothers.”

  “I didn’t know that either.”

  I expected Eli to comment on her fantastic colors, but he kept it in. Samuel on the other hand surprised everyone. “It’s so nice to meet you. May I say, you have remarkable eyes. They remind me of miracles I’ve only imagined until now.”

  Debana held on to his hand and her pale skin took on a slight blue hue. Was she blushing?

  He smiled and stared into her eyes. “What is your line of work, if I may ask?”

  “I’m a chemist.” She sounded breathless.

  “Fascinating. I too hold a keen interest in chemistry.”

  I glanced up at Adam and he gave a slight shrug. John’s mouth twitched and he pretended a keen interest in his fingernails.

  Debana said, “I have been working on a chemical detection system for the nanites, to change their light frequency to a spectrum humans can detect. Would you like to see what I have this far?”

  “I would love to.”

  She headed for the door and Samuel followed, looking quite pleased with himself.

  As soon as the door closed, I said, “A keen interest in chemistry.”

  Adam’s voice mirrored the suppressed laughter in mine. “He probably knows enough about it.”

  “And he’s such a smoothie. I bet he learned that from you.”

  John chuckled, “My boys are all grown up.”

  Eli wandered over to the window that separated us from Jia’Lyn. “Can we go in there?”

  Ima narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  “I just…” He made a helpless gesture.

  I couldn’t help but smile. “You want to see her snakes, don’t you?”

  He nodded. “I want to draw her, and when she wakes up, she can see how beautiful she is.” He glanced over at Ima. “I’d like to draw you too if you don’t mind. Your colors are fantastic.”

  She opened her mouth and I hurried to explain, “Eli is our family’s artist. He is really good.”

  She exhaled and relaxed. “Okay, I guess. But only one of you.”

  *****

  The others soon disappeared further into the complex, but I stayed with Ima, following her to the treatment area. It was a relief to talk to another woman, even if she sometimes reminded me more of a cat than a human.

  She gave Jia’Lyn an injection and explained, “I’m trying different substances to stimulate her brain.”

  Eli remained by Jia’Lyn’s side and Ima nodded towards him.

  “Three androids. You didn’t think one was enough? You got quite the family all of a sudden.”

  “It’s pretty awesome.”

  She looked at her hand, made her claws appear, and retracted them again. “You know, when you took off with John I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

  There was no time to answer. Eli shouted, “Sister Alex, Doctor, I need help.”

  Ima was much faster than I and she had time to assess the situation and decide on a course of action before I even reached Eli. Whatever she gave Jia’Lyn hadn’t woken our friend, but her snakes were active, attacking each other. I’d never seen them do anything like it before.

  Eli caught as many of them between his fingers as he could hold, protecting them from each other. When that wasn’t enough he held out his arms so the others could sink their fangs into his clothes and android skin. It made me shudder, and despite his sacrifice, there were still too man
y to control.

  Ima returned with a syringe and injected Jia’Lyn’s neck. It was a matter of seconds before the snakes fell limp. Some of them were tore up.

  Eli looked mortified. “I don’t know what happened, I couldn’t…”

  “It wasn’t your fault. It’s a good thing you were here, or this could have ended much worse.”

  He met my eyes. “You’re not angry with me?”

  “No, but I am worried about you. Look at your poor hands.”

  He tried to hide them from me but I caught one. The skin held several small holes from the snakes’ fangs.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “I am able to register pain as a protective mechanism, but it doesn’t hurt now.”

  Ima looked up from the snakes. “These will heal and you will not, but I can probably repair the damage.”

  She added in a less annoyed voice, “Thank you for preventing her from hurting herself.”

  *****

  I was bad at sleeping in new places, and this was one more unknown room with a strange bed.

  If it were up to me we would have gone back to the ship, but everyone else seemed happy to stay on the station, and it was more than big enough to house all of us. John had said they used to have employees. It must have been a pretty big operation.

  Strange how much I didn’t know about him.

  I wished I could go curl up with him, but it wasn’t appropriate. He wouldn’t care, he was probably as uncomfortable with staying here as I was, but seeking him out would still feel like a betrayal.

  The door slid open, making me hold my breath. There probably weren’t any space monsters around, but one could never be too sure. I was relieved to see Adam peek in.

  He leaned against the wall. “I didn’t think I’d find you. Want company?”

  “Yes. Of course I do. I thought you’d work all night.”

  “There’s honestly not that much for me to do. I’m good at strategies, combat, technology… My brothers know just as much as I do about anything that can be useful here.”

  He even undressed before stretching out on the bed. Maybe he’d stay for a while, and that would definitely make sleeping easier.