by Dave Bara
“We should kill him now, kill him for what he has done to my people. Isn’t that crime enough?” she said. Renwick grabbed her arm. She was strong and sinewy, and he wasn’t at all sure he could disarm her if she resisted him fully.
“There will be a time for justice for the Gataan, Reya. Now is not that time,” he said firmly. She glared at him, hate for Zueros in her eyes for a few passing seconds, then reluctantly released the weapon to Renwick. He powered it down and holstered it, then turned back to Zueros. “But the time for justice may be coming soon.”
“Ask me what you want to know,” Zueros said. “I’ll tell you everything.”
“Very well,” said Renwick. He started walking around the room, pacing slowly. “This ship,” he said, gesturing expansively, “all this technology. Very advanced, even for a human civilization at its peak before the Void came, wouldn’t you say?”
“I have limited knowledge of your history,” said Zueros, clearly avoiding the question.
“I doubt that very much,” replied Renwick, then he leaned forward on the table and pressed his question. “Who built this ship, Zueros? Did you? Did the Preservers?”
Zueros said nothing.
“This is my ship,” insisted Yan. “It was brand new when I came aboard.” Renwick looked around.
“Yes, and it’s still new. Not a speck of dust, even after three hundred years. But my guess is that the Kali is much older than that,” he turned back to Zueros. “And so are you.”
“Speculation,” said Zueros.
“All right then, let’s speculate, shall we?” said Renwick. He took Reya’s pistol and charged it again, then rushed to Zueros’ side and stuck it to his temple, keeping the alien between him and Amanda. The android, for her part, never flinched, staying completely immobile.
“Let’s speculate that an alien race, an ancient one, fell, its civilization collapsed, but before it did, some of that race decided to preserve their being through a genetic Diaspora of their own DNA, into the successor races we have today. Let us also assume there were those from this fallen race who did not share this benevolent point of view about the successor races,” said Renwick. Amanda eyed his every motion, but she didn’t move. Yan and Reya stood to one side, watching the confrontation.
“These members of this alien race, let’s call them dark agents, worked at cross purposes with the more benevolent members of their society, perhaps even taking charge of creating one of the successor races, let’s call them the Soloth, and planned on using them to fulfill their own plans. How am I doing so far?” said Renwick, still holding the weapon rigidly against Zueros’ head. Zueros said nothing still. Renwick continued.
“Let’s further speculate that these dark agents built a fleet of ships like this one, a long time ago, as a weapon, intended to be used if these successor races ever emerged from their cradles. And when we did, these dark agents saw that we were progressing too fast, that we were becoming a threat in our own right, so they arranged for this technology, these ships and perhaps a base, to be found by one of the races, one prone to perhaps acting impulsively at times. And once these ships were deployed, the dark agents had everything they needed to execute their plan; bury the new races in darkness. Separate them using the Void. Keep them from uniting and becoming stronger perhaps than even the original parent race,” Renwick said.
“You’re forgetting one thing,” Zueros finally said.
“And that is?” challenged Renwick.
“Any such race, any such agents, would have weapons far more powerful than you can even imagine. Weapons that not only don’t look like weapons, but don’t even know that they are weapons,” said Zueros.
“You mean-“
“Amanda, ko da toth!” Zueros grunted the command. Amanda swung into action, sending Yan and Reya flying across the room with a single kick and then leaping at Renwick in the same motion. He barely had time to raise the coil pistol from Zueros’ head when she knocked it from his hand and sent him sprawling with a sharp backhand slap. He crashed against the wall, his head hitting hard as the room faded to black around him.
RENWICK WAS THE LAST to awaken. The human crew of the Kali were all on the bridge, laying on the floor against a wall facing the command console, their hands held behind them in electronic field restraints. Zueros was at the command console, hands flickering over the controls, while Amanda stood watch. Next to her Yan was motionless, seemingly immobile.
“What have you done to Yan?” said Renwick.
“Captain Yan is dead,” said Zueros sharply without looking up. “She has been for three hundred of your years. And this android here belongs to me, regardless of its superficial similarities to your former captain.” Renwick tried to swallow into a dry throat.
“Did you... delete-“
“Oh don’t worry, Senator,” Zueros said, tapping the console with his finger. “She’s safely stored, for now. But don’t tempt me. I may find I need that file space for something more important.”
Renwick let out an audible sigh, then checked on his companions. Reya looked the worst for wear, a large welt forming on her forehead. Mischa and Kish were uncomfortable but uninjured. Renwick turned his attention back to his nemesis.
“I knew we should never have trusted you,” he said.
“I never gave you any reason to trust me,” said Zueros. “I only told you we wanted the same thing; to stop the emitter station. I never said I wanted you to be in control of that action, or the outcome. And your natural curiosity was something I knew I could use to my advantage, to once again get control of the Kali.”
Renwick shifted on the deck, trying to find a new position and some semblance of comfort. “What’s your game, Zueros?” he said, still probing. “Why do you want to shut the station down? I know why we want to, but not you. And I doubt we have the same agenda.”
Zueros turned from the console for the first time, looked at Renwick, and then turned to the Yan android. “Release him,” he said to her. “And then put these others in the safe room.” The Yan android approached him, helped him to his feet, and released his restraints, all without a hint of any conscious thought or a glimmer of Yan’s personality. He rubbed at his wrists as she escorted the others back to the safe room.
“Yes, I’m confident I have nothing to fear from you, Senator, at least not physically, with Amanda here,” said Zueros. He returned his attention to the console as Amanda stepped between them, just to emphasize the point.
“You haven’t answered my question,” said Renwick.
“No, I haven’t,” said Zueros. “Look here.” He pointed to the main visual display, a 3D representation of a sector of unknown space. In the center of the sector was blinking amber light. “That is our destination. The emitter station. She lies in a section of Void Space that was, to your kind anyway, empty for all practical purposes. Yan may have been there once, to take the Kali out, but she would never have found her way back. I saw to that.”
“You wiped her memory,” stated Renwick.
“I adjusted her capacity to remember, yes. Without me you would have never found the station. So that’s another thing you can thank me for,” Zueros said.
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t,” said Renwick. Zueros shrugged again. It was a very human, and very practiced.
“As you wish.”
Renwick stepped up to the console. Neither Amanda nor Zueros seemed the slightest bit disturbed by his approach. “How far out are we?” asked Renwick.
“Just two hours now. The station should be coming into visual range soon,” said Zueros.
“We’re still two hours out, and we’ll be able to see it?” said Renwick, astonished. Zueros nodded, then looked at Renwick.
“It is great and terrifying, Mr. Renwick, and you should fear it,” he said. Renwick didn’t know how to take that, but he wanted answers.
“Who built the station?” he asked.
“Why, the androids did,” said Zueros, almost casually. “And this one here, she
built the Kali, for me. You see, I was the first captain of this vessel. Tell him how long ago, my dear.” Amanda turned to Renwick.
“The Kali was built over four hundred thousand of your years ago, Senator. The station, and hundreds more like it, were here long before that,” she said.
“There are hundreds more of these stations?” said Renwick. His stomach tightened with dread.
“Oh yes,” said Zueros. “We planted them all over this spiral arm of the galaxy, and some of the others, long ago. Think of them as a defense grid, designed to be activated when required. And your situation is not unique. This same scenario is playing out on hundreds of other worlds across this little corner of the galaxy, Mr. Renwick. For you see, yours was not the only group of races seeded from our forebears.”
“Then you never intended for the successor races to mature,” said Renwick.
“Of course not,” said Zueros. “Our ‘group’, if you will, did not wish to go quietly into the night. We did not share the desire to merely pass into history, as many of our contemporaries did. Nor did we agree that the successor races were a good idea to preserve our civilization. We still intend to be masters of our own destiny. Your race, and the others, could be useful to us as, shall we say, servants, to help us rebuild our civilization to its former glory.”
“So we’re to be slaves?” asked Renwick. Zueros nodded, as if he were explaining the obvious to a child. “And the Void is designed to repress us so we can be more easily conquered?”
“Oh no. The Void was merely to soften you up. You’re still far too dangerous to be allowed to run free in the galaxy. The next part of the plan is at hand now, and you’re to be a witness. A perfect witness in many ways. You’ll be able to speak sense to your people when the time comes, to tell them of the wisdom of subservience. After the war,” said Zueros.
“After the... war?” said Renwick. At this Zueros actually smiled.
“Oh yes. You see, the Void has served its initial purpose. We now have the most powerful of the successor races set against the other three. When the Soloth arrive they will annihilate the Raelen fleet, and then they will report back to their superiors that their enemies are weak and vulnerable, and then they will come, not with this tiny force, but with everything they have, and bring you to your knees. For that to happen we must clear the Void, create channels for the attacking fleet to traverse while keeping your own fleets pinned down. That’s why the emitter station must be destroyed, and the remaining scoop vessels activated,” said Zueros.
“Yan said there were more ships like the Kali,” said Renwick.
“Six,” said Zueros, still smiling. “Two more at the station, and three placed in strategic locations, unknown to you. So you see, plans continue apace, and there is little that you can do about it.”
“And the Soloth-“
“The Soloth have been a special project of mine. They are fierce warriors, bred to conquest. And they hate all of you,” said Zueros.
“Hate us? The Known Races?” said Renwick. “Why?”
Zueros actually offered a laugh. It was cold and humorless. “Because I’ve convinced them that the Void that encases their own stars was caused by you, as a means of repressing them. I’ve told them that the emitter station is designed to be used against their home world,” he said. “So you see, the plan unfolds perfectly. What better way to eliminate the successor races as a threat than to have you destroy each other? We will simply withhold key technology from the Soloth at critical times, and both sides will be decimated by the war. Then we will arrive, and offer you peace, as our servants of course.”
Renwick crossed his arms in frustration “We can stop you, if we work together,” he said. Zueros shook his head.
“You don’t understand. My masters are creatures of incredible power. They measure time in galactic years, a day to them is thousands to you. They are patient, and so much more robust than you fragile beings are. They live much longer lives, even in relative terms, than yours. You cannot resist them. For all practical purposes, to you they are immortal,” said Zueros.
“Nothing in this universe is immortal,” challenged Renwick.
Zueros smiled one last time.
“What a childish concept,” he said, then with a wave of his hand he turned back to his board as Amanda took Renwick forcefully by the arm and led him off of the bridge.
21. at the emitter station
They were all gathered in the galley again, watching the display screen as the Kali approached the emitter station. The Yan android had sealed them in with a suppressor field. What Zueros was up to down the hall on the bridge was anyone’s guess.
One look at the station was all Renwick needed to know about it. This place was death.
It had twelve menacing emitter scoops dangling from its crown, like the arms of the Hindu goddess from which the Kali got her name, belching death and darkness into the cosmos.
The main body of the station was a dark gray cylinder, vaguely symmetrical, with uneven bulges and bumps that were, quite frankly, ugly. Layer after layer of station decks, like rolls of fat on an overfed tribal queen, cascaded down to a flat, open base. Large sections of the station had been torn out, as if they’d been ripped open from the inside, while others seemed to have collapsed inward.
Beneath her were six docking ports, two of which held the sister ships of the Kali. The other ports were empty, as Zueros had said they would be. Renwick was sickened by the thought of the missing Void Ships even now cutting through the darkness with their scoops, not to bring light to the Known Cosmos, but to carve paths of death and destruction for the invading Soloth fleet. He sighed. There was nothing to be done.
Soon the Kali was safely docked in one of the ports, her systems going into an apparent rejuvenation mode, drawing dark strength from the station. The lights on the Kali dimmed into an eerie twilight.
“Now what?” said Kish. He held Mischa closer. Renwick realized he’d been so busy fighting his many battles that he’d failed to notice that the engineer and the pilot of the ill-fated Phaeton had bonded. It was normal, he supposed, in light of their circumstances, on the run for so long now and under the threat of destruction nearly every moment. Vaguely he felt sorry for them, believing it likely that they would never know any peace before their lives were ended far too soon.
He pulled Reya, his Gataan ‘wife’ of the En’obli clan, closer as well. She had been listless since Amanda had taken her out with the kick to the head, and he feared she had a severe concussion, or even a fractured skull. But there was little he could do for her now. He regretted not having treated her with more respect. She was as brave as any of them, and the kind of woman who deserved it.
“My head,” Reya said, “it aches.” She put her hand to her head and moaned. Renwick nodded.
“I think you may have a concussion,” he said. “You need treatment. If only we had an automedic on board.”
“We do,” said Kish, surprising Renwick. “There’s one built into the walls of the safe room, at least that’s what I think it is. I saw it there the first time they locked us up.”
“It makes sense to have one there,” agreed Renwick. Reya moaned again. “We need to get her in there, and soon,” he said. Renwick helped Reya over to Kish and Mischa, who took her in their arms. She groaned in protest. Renwick went to the display console and hailed the command station. He got no reply, so he repeated the hail again. Zueros answered on the fifth call.
“What do you want Senator? I’m very busy up here,” Zueros said.
“I understand your predicament, but your android has injured my... wife. She needs time in the auto-medic located in the safe room. I fear she could die. It might be a fractured skull,” said Renwick.
“If this is some primitive attempt at escape-“ started Zueros.
“It isn’t,” said Renwick, holding his hands open, palms up to the visual monitor in a well-practiced show of subservience, knowing they were being watched at all times. “The threat to her is re
al.” The line stayed silent for a few seconds.
“Thorne will see to it,” said Zueros in his emotionless tone. Then, after a second’s hesitation, “but as a guarantee of your behavior the other female will be locked in as well. Any attempt at escape again and I’ll terminate them both,” he finished.
Renwick noted the clinical use of the term for death. Like a scientist would feel about a lab animal. “Agreed,” he said quickly. Zueros cut the channel from the other end.
“You can’t give him Mischa too!” protested Kish. Renwick tried to comfort the man.
“We have to. If not Reya could die,” he turned to the Phaeton’s pilot. “I would never ask this of you if I wasn’t certain it was serious, Mischa. But I won’t force you to go.” She nodded.
“It’s all right Lindale,” she said to Kish, comforting him with a squeeze of his arm, then turning back to Renwick. “I’ll do it, Senator.”
“Thank you,” said Renwick. At that the vaguely male form of Thorne came down the hallway, activating a suppressor field behind him to block bridge access, then deactivating the field that had locked the prisoners into the galley. Renwick picked up Reya in his arms and carried her limp body down the hall to the safe room, Mischa and Kish following, with Thorne taking up the rear. Once inside the safe room Kish activated the auto-medic. A panel lifted away from the wall and a slab slid out. If Renwick hadn’t seen Kish manipulate the controls with his own eyes he never would have guessed there was a medical unit embedded in the wall. Renwick placed Reya on the slab gently, slipping a bolster under her head. She moaned again. He wasn’t really sure if she was conscious or not.
“Will this really work?” he asked Kish.
“It should be able to stabilize her, at the very least. Even do some repair work. If her vital signs get too low it will likely initiate a cryogenic cycle and freeze her before she goes critical. At least that’s what ours do, and I would expect theirs would be more advanced than our technology,” said the engineer.