by Jaine Fenn
‘True: that’s something. So, back to my original question: what the fuck do we do now?’
‘We could go to the Consensus and demand an Extraordinary Session—’
‘Ah, right, so we’ll unleash the full force of Alephan bureaucracy on the bastards who just tried to murder us, will we?’
‘Please, hear me out! The Consensus is the site as well as the mode of government. There is a large habitat in a close polar orbit around the sun – known to lingua as the Egg – and all important decisions are made in the Star Chamber at its heart. The Consensus hab is also the site of the beacon manufactory. And, most importantly for you – for us – it is the only truly neutral inhabited territory in the system: any patron who launched an attack on the Egg would be condemned to shiftdeath.’
‘Shiftdeath?’
‘It is the ultimate sanction, not used for many centuries. A group of patrons force the condemned patron into shiftspace, permanently.’
‘Nice. Okay, so it sounds like we need to head for this Egg of yours. I’ll need some coordinates.’
Ain looked uncomfortable. ‘Navigation and logistics data was stored in the— in my ship.’
‘And where’s your ship?’
‘It— When I was chosen to liaise with you, it was built into the core of the habitat intended to receive you.’
‘Ah. Guess we won’t be using that then. And I don’t suppose you can remember much without your ship’s comp?’
‘I am sorry. I am not used to operating without access to my comp. If there had been time to download the data— But there was not . . .’ She looked distraught.
‘It’s all right, that wouldn’t have been my priority either.’ Jarek thought for a moment. ‘Can we com the Consensus to get directions, once we’re a bit closer? Or were the Consensus’ com frequencies and encryption algorithms all in your ship’s comp too?’
‘They were,’ said Ain, her voice small.
‘It’s not your fault. I’d be lost without the Heart of Glass. We could broadcast a wide-beam request for aid, but that would confirm our location to our enemies. I guess the only option we’ve got is to run away and hope to shake off any pursuers, then swing back in towards the primary and hope we can locate the Egg.’
‘I wish I could be of more use,’ said Ain miserably.
‘No, you’ve done everything you could. If you don’t mind, you can check over the data I’ve gathered so far from this system. You’ll know more than I do even without your comp.’
‘Of course; please tell me what I can do to help.’
‘I’ll be in my cabin,’ said Nual out loud. When Jarek glanced at her she added silently,
‘Sure,’ said Jarek, ‘see you later.’
He chatted to Ain for a while longer, keeping half an eye on the sensors, and once he’d concluded that if anyone was coming after them, they weren’t doing it quickly enough to make their intentions obvious, he discussed the ship’s course with Ain.
They had to make sure they headed out of the disc on the correct side, Ain said. She had been on secondment to the out-system sector nearest Aleph’s beacon and was not entirely sure where the Egg currently was in its orbit, but she had an idea it was passing through the disc of the ecliptic about now. That was good news, because they wouldn’t have to go right through the disc and out the other side if they got it wrong; though if the Egg was just one domain amongst many, they might have trouble spotting it.
By the time Jarek had chosen a course, the lingua’s attempt to maintain a calm and equable facade was failing, and when her voice broke as she let slip that the ship at the heart of the now-destroyed hab had been her home for the last few years, Jarek took pity on her and suggested they take a break.
CHAPTER TWENTY
After their little chat, Device told Taro to go back into the cell ‘for the moment’. Just as he turned to leave, he asked, ‘How is my idiolect?’
‘Your idiot-what?’
‘My speech patterns and vocabulary, Taro. Would it pass for human? I have studied linguistic drift in human-space, but I find slang and casual speech do not come naturally, and I have had only a reduced dataset – until now.’
‘You sound great, Device. Very convincing,’ he said as casually as he could. And I’m not your fucking dataset.
Back in the cell, Taro turned and squinted at the near-invisible outline in the white wall. A handle would be too much to hope for. The door probably only opened on Device’s command.
Vy was sitting on the floor of his cage, rocking slowly backwards and forwards. He looked up when Taro came over, then went back to muttering. At least the little sod had stopped shouting.
Taro sat down against a wall to think.
He wasn’t going to live his life out as some crazy Sidhe’s pet, never seeing Nual or Jarek again. When it came to it, he’d fight Device, whatever the consequences.
He did have one advantage: he was pretty sure Device didn’t know about the blades implanted along the length of both his forearms. If the whole flight thing had been a surprise, that implied the Minister hadn’t actually mentioned Angel implants. Maybe he’d left it out because he didn’t totally trust the locals himself? Good call that, given how the bastards were treating his avatar. And the males here were probably used to humans bending over whenever the ‘patrons’ told them to. He could use that attitude; Device had already given away some prime info by telling him about the Gatekeeper and admitting that the locals wanted Vy out the picture – even if the bastard wouldn’t say why.
He decided to try and contact Nual; maybe she could come and get him out of— Well, wherever this was. And even if she couldn’t help him right now, he had to let her know he was alive, and warn her that, despite what Ain said, the locals were out to shaft them.
The problem was, the few times they’d managed to mindspeak long-range, Nual had always made the first move. All he could do was make sure he was ready for her when she tried to enter his mind, and that meant being lightly asleep, or in a trance – and he was crap at entering the trance state. She’d tried to teach him a couple of times, but no matter how hard he tried to totally empty his mind, some thought always ended up trickling back into it, even if it was only the thought that it was really fucking difficult to totally empty your mind.
That left sleep. He was tired enough, but he sure-as-shit wasn’t relaxed . . . He lay down anyway, and closed his eyes. The soft floor was quite comfy, and the room was warm, almost too warm. He sighed, and imagined himself sinking into the floor. A sudden thought made him tense up: what if the floor swallowed him? Nah, that was dumb. He just had to chill, let it all go. He tried counting breaths, and as he did so, he remembered the sound of Nual’s voice – Breathe out for longer than you breathe in – and that made him relax more, which was good. Idle thoughts intruded; he let them. He wasn’t making himself go into a trance, just trying to sleep.
There! He thought he felt her presence, but it was so faint . . .
He wanted to reel himself in on the slender connection, but the more he tried to focus, the more it slipped away from him; he just wasn’t strong enough to hold onto it. Keep relaxing, that’s the way. The link strengthened: she must have picked up on it. He’d be fine now, because she’d made contact. Or not . . . this wasn’t like before. It was so faint, and there was some sort of background ‘noise’. What was that? No, don’t get distracted: he had to stay relaxed and focused if he was going to have any chance of—
‘Don’t!’
Taro snapped back into full consciousness. He blinked and sat up.
‘Don’t leave me!’
Taro sighed. ‘Vy, you stupid little fucker, I’m not going anywhere. I’m just—’ I’m just resisting the urge to throttle you! ‘I’m just trying to get some rest, all right?’
‘I need you,’ whined Vy, holding his arms out. ‘There’s no one else.’
‘Looks like you’re right,’ muttered Taro. Had he imagined the contact, d
reaming Nual up out of desperation? ‘All right, how about I come over there for a while?’ He got up and walked over to the bars. He had no idea what they were made of, but they looked too thick for his blades to cut.
Vy reached out through the cage and Taro gave the boy an ungainly hug. Vy quieted down at his touch; perhaps if he could get him to settle he’d leave Taro in peace to try and sleep again, though he’d find it a lot easier to relax if he wasn’t so hungry and thirsty. Maybe he should have asked Device for something to eat when they’d had their little chat, but it hadn’t occurred to him then. The thought gave Taro an idea.
He began to whisper to Vy, hoping that whatever Device was using to spy on them wouldn’t pick up his words. By the time he was reasonably sure Vy understood what he was on about he realised that, on top of everything else, he needed a piss.
He untangled himself from the boy’s grasp. ‘Hey,’ he shouted into the air, ‘Device, can you hear me, friend?’ That last word tasted sour, and he carried on quickly, ‘I don’t wanna be rude, but we could really use something to keep us going – food and water, y’know? Also, I need to— I need to use the facilities. Only problem is, there’re in Vy’s bit. Don’t suppose you could help me out here?’
There was no response.
Vy sat down and hugged his knees.
After a while Taro tried calling out again, ‘Hallo?’ but still there was nothing.
Vy began to mutter distractedly to himself.
Looks like he’s about to go off again, Taro thought. And if I don’t do something soon, I’m gonna piss myself.
He unclenched his thighs and staggered over to a corner. If this didn’t get their host’s attention, nothing would.
‘Sorry ‘bout this,’ he said to the air in general as he fumbled with his belt, ‘but I can’t wait no longer.’
Even as he let out a long relieved breath he noticed how the liquid was absorbed by the floor. Freaky. He was glad to get himself sealed back up again.
He picked a different bit of floor to sit down on, one with a good view of the door.
He hadn’t been waiting long when Device came in. The avatar had the gun in one hand and a tray in the other. Taro got up slowly. ‘I thought you’d forgotten us,’ he said, making like he was hurt, but glad to see the avatar.
‘My apologies,’ said Device with what probably passed for sincerity where he’d been made. ‘I heard your request; it took a while to synthesise sustenance suitable for the human metabolism.’
‘That’s all right,’ said Taro. He tried not to look at the door, which stayed open even after the avatar had stepped into the room. His plan might just work. ‘That for us?’ He nodded at the tray.
‘Yes, it is.’ Device held out the tray, and Taro walked up and took it, slow and easy-like. As he put it down on the floor he said, ‘I’ve been thinking about what you said, about how we should be friends? Reckon you’re right.’
‘That is good. Please, consume food and water now.’
Taro didn’t need to be told twice, though sitting down in front of his enemy made his shoulder-blades prickle. The water was flat and warm, and the ‘suitable’ food made the recycled gloop they usually ate on Jarek’s ship taste nice. He’d had worse, and he’d have had no trouble finishing the meal, but he made himself stop when he’d eaten half, then sat back and said, ‘You really don’t need that gun, you know.’
‘For now I think I will keep it. Please, finish the meal. Or is it not suitable?’ Vy had been getting more restless while Taro ate, and Device had to raise his voice to be heard above his moans.
‘No, it’s pure blade’ – if you like eating shit – ‘but I thought the rest was for Vy.’
‘That was not the intention.’
In his cage, Vy made a kind of strangled begging noise.
‘He’s in a really bad way,’ said Taro.
‘I know. Fascinating, is it not?’
‘Yeah, but if you don’t feed him, his body’ll give up before his mind goes. Won’t that be less interesting?’
Device thought for a moment. ‘A valid point. He does suffer the limitations of a humanoid body. You may give him some water.’
Taro took the cup, which was made of the same grey stuff as the bars, and offered it to Vy. He tried to keep eye-contact with the boy, willing him to remember what he’d told him to do.
Vy edged up to the bars, one hand outstretched. Then he hurled himself away with a screech. That’s the way, thought Taro, even as he jumped at the sudden outburst.
‘It does not appear to want the water,’ observed Device.
‘No, no, he’s just freaked. Listen, I know him pretty well. Let me take the tray in there, and I’ll get him to eat and drink.’
‘I do not think that would be wise.’
‘If I don’t, he’s gonna fade real fast, I’m sure of it.’
‘Your concern for the broken avatar is intriguing.’
‘Yeah, well, that’s what you keep me around for, ain’t it? To show you how humans tick. You said I’d get what I wanted if I behave, and what I want is to help Vy.’
‘Even though your effort will only prolong what you perceive as its suffering?’
‘Yeah, well, maybe I want to help him because he’s so fucked. We humans are funny like that.’
‘All right, take the tray inside. See if you can convince it to take sustenance.’
Taro bent to pick up the tray. When he straightened, a section of the bars had gone. Device had moved away and was standing well back, his gun trained on the opening.
‘I’m coming in, Vy,’ said Taro. ‘Just stay calm, right? That’s it, calm, and . . . whoa!’
As he drew level with the opening, Taro jerked back, flinging the tray over his shoulder, just as Vy rushed forward.
Taro flew up and back, tensing against a possible shot in the back, and was barely clear of the cage door when Vy hurtled out of it, his arms flailing.
Something crackled like distant lightning, but whatever it was, it missed him. He flipped and turned in midair, poised to dive down from above, but Vy had flung himself at Device, forcing the avatar back towards the door. The Angel combat mods were fully online now, and Taro had plenty of time to adjust his plan accordingly. He landed just as the grappling figures staggered into the central room.
The crackling sound came again, and for a moment the two avatars froze. Then Vy sagged.
Taro’s body wanted to obey its programming, but his mind was too busy being furious and fearful for Vy, and getting ready to die if that was the only way out. He ran through the cell door with an incoherent cry just as Vy slid to the floor. Then the mods took control again, squashing his brief moment of passion.
He let the Angel conditioning take over. There wasn’t time to take flight, but with a simple step and twist he was coming at Device from an angle the avatar wasn’t expecting.
The gun discharged again, and missed again.
Device moved his hand, ready to shoot once more, but he was too slow: Taro batted the gun away. Device was no faster than an ordinary human, he noted coolly.
The movement carried on, smooth as a dance: back arm round in an arc, turn using the opponent as a pivot point, and stop.
As the gun clattered to the floor Taro came to rest, looking down on Device from one side. The hand he’d disarmed him with was hooked around the back of the avatar’s neck; his other arm was drawn back, piston-like, and pointed at Device’s chest. The tip of his fully extended blade rested on the point where the heart would be in a human.
Taro heard himself draw breath, and the world began to settle around him.
In a voice of infuriating calm Device said, ‘You have disrupted my investigations. This is not acceptable behaviour.’ At the same moment, all the doors closed silently.
The original plan had been to take Device hostage and demand he let them go. Taro now saw that the avatar wasn’t going to give in to threats. Plus, the fucker had just shot Vy.
‘Fuck you an’ your “accepta
ble behaviour”!’ spat Taro, and stabbed Device.
The blade caught on Device’s ‘skin’ for a moment before breaking through. Between the unexpected resistance and his adrenalin-fuelled anger Taro misjudged the attack and the blade only stopped when his open palm slammed up against the avatar’s chest.
For a moment nothing happened. Then the avatar twitched and made a faint noise, somewhere between a buzz and a whisper. He felt the weight of the body as it went limp.
He stepped back quickly. The avatar slid off his blade. Its body jerked once when it hit the ground, then lay still.
Taro stared at it. Was it dead? How would he know? Thick clear fluid was leaking from the wound. He prodded the avatar with his foot. If it was faking, then it was doing a top prime job. Before he could think better of it, he stabbed the fallen avatar again, through the head. That’d take the smug expression off its stupid golden face. This time the fluid that seeped out was dark as old blood.
There’d be a price to pay for the calm of the fight; he needed to act before the crash hit. He went over to Vy.
Khesh’s avatar lay sprawled on his back, body still and eyes glassy. When Taro bent down he saw the boy’s chest rising and falling; he wasn’t dead. Thank fuck for that.
As he got up, he saw all three doorways were back: the doors must have opened when the avatar kicked it. He went over and picked up Device’s gun, which had odd protrusions and a tiny opening in a chunky barrel. Taro pointed the gun at the wall and tried squeezing what might be the trigger. Nothing happened. He examined it more closely, if carefully, tried again, and finally gave up. It probably only worked for the avatar. He’d just have to trust to his blades if he met anyone.
He picked the leftmost exit and went through it cautiously. The room looked like some sort of bedroom, with a person-sized platform against one wall and something that might be a table against another. There were no exits.