by James Wilks
“You’ll need the new code,” Charis offered.
Templeton favored her with a sideways glance, then tapped in an eight-digit sequence. The door slid open.
Jang’s deep voice sounded behind them. “I took the liberty of keeping Mr. Templeton updated on the new codes.”
Charis smiled, and Templeton climbed up into the belly of the ship.
An hour later the entire crew was assembled in what had become the town center of their tiny community, the mess hall. Typically Templeton and Staples stood at one end and addressed the crew, and the first mate had insisted on not altering tradition. Jabir had been quite adamant about Templeton getting as much bed rest as possible, but he admitted that under the light gravity of Titan standing for short periods of time would likely not be a major strain on his system.
The mess tables were currently down, and most of the crew occupied them. John and Charis sat together, and Gwen sat nearby playing at thumb wrestling with Jabir. Bethany had been moving around the ship and sleeping in her own quarters for the past two days, but the exhaustion from her injuries caused her to abandon her usual far corner and take one of the seats near the center of the room. She looked less than comfortable with the spot, but Staples reflected that two months prior she would have likely fled the room rather than sit there, so that was progress.
Brutus stood on one side of the hall, a respectful distance from the tables, and Staples noted that Dinah had taken up position on the opposite side of the room from the automaton. Whether this was to distance herself from him, to keep an eye on him, or both, she did not know. Ian Inboden, the ship’s mechanic, stood against the wall near her. Yoli, her arm finally free of the sling that she had worn since the pirate attack, leaned against the rear wall not far from Kojo Jang, the brooding chief of security. Staples had wondered about their relationship for some time, but she felt no particular need to pry beyond a tiny urge to gossip. She simply couldn’t imagine Jang dating someone, and indeed if the two were involved romantically, they were certainly keeping it to themselves.
Evelyn was also seated at a table; her bright eyes were wide and her hair was plaited into twin braids that dangled from the back of her head. Overton sat across from her wearing a drab olive jacket, his hands on the table. Staples noted that he and Dinah were not particularly near one another, and in fact, the engineer stood behind him. She was far more curious about the nature of that relationship.
“All right,” Staples began, and the light din of conversation drifting through the room immediately ceased. The crew was unquestionably curious about what she had to say and what their next move would be.
“First things first. I think everyone has met the newest members of our crew, but I’d still like to officially welcome them. Evelyn you know, of course.” She paused for a moment, and Evelyn raised her chin, not a bit shy, though she blushed lightly. “This is Carl Overton,” Staples said and gestured to the man seated across from Evelyn.
Overton seemed less comfortable with the attention, and he lowered his head slightly even while he raised his right hand in a general greeting. “Pleased to be here,” he smiled. “Sort of.” Those around him took his meaning and there was a smattering of laughter. Good start to breaking the ice, Staples thought. Let’s see how this next one goes over.
“I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve also decided to make Brutus a full member of the crew.” Staples had expected some reaction to this, and she was not disappointed, but the murmuring was respectful, and no one objected outright. Since he had come on board, the AI had been confined to quarters when not on duty. Staples had originally ordered that he have an armed escort when moving about the ship, but they were far too thin on security personnel for that to be practical, and there had been an unofficial easing of the restrictions placed on the robot. Rather than allow them to dissolve completely over time, a move that might have allowed for a smoother integration but also chanced eroding her authority, she had decided to be proactive in the matter. She had discussed it with Templeton, and though he had his reservations about her choice, he had agreed to keep them to himself in front of the crew.
She allowed the conversations to continue uninterrupted for several seconds, then continued. “He has proven himself on many occasions, and while his past actions don’t necessarily reflect well on him, things have changed.” She paused again before launching into her prepared speech. “This ship,” her eyes flicked up to the ceiling for a moment, “was named for Sir Gawain’s horse. Sir Gawain, at the end of his journey, learns a valuable lesson. He learns that he is not perfect. He stands in front of the Green Knight and curses his weakness in choosing to keep the belt that he thought would save his life. The Green Knight tells him, in so many words, to take it easy on himself. He had lied only out of a desire to preserve his own life, and that’s something we can all understand. He might have been beheaded for his crime, but really, his crime was being human, and being human is about learning from your mistakes and, if possible, trying to make up for them. He got a second chance.
“For me, this ship has always been about second chances.” Here she stopped and looked around the room. She thought about Templeton next to her and the family he had left behind. She thought about Overton and the life he could no longer return to. She thought about Evelyn’s bright career cut short because Victor had picked her for her looks and the color of her hair. Her eyes rested momentarily on Bethany and she thought of the terrible trauma the young woman had endured. She eyed Dinah most significantly, and she wondered if the woman’s past would ever stop haunting her. If Dinah took any meaning from her gaze, she did not show it outwardly.
“I don’t know if Brutus is human, but I believe he deserves that second chance. So I’m welcoming him to the crew, not because he’s a shield against Victor, but because he’s a valuable contributor and because I trust him.” There was silence, and though Ian shook his head, perhaps in disbelief or derision, no one spoke. Gwen had resumed her habit of staring at the robotic form, and Staples was amused to note that Overton was frequently doing the same.
“So, I guess that’s my cue,” Templeton said as he stepped forward. “I’m happy to tell you all that this ship is ready to fly!” The assembled crew, happy for a change of subject and eager to support Templeton, gave forth a chorus of cheers. Gwen clapped emphatically, and Brutus actually issued a celebratory whistle. Several of the people closest to him looked over and laughed at the unexpected noise.
“Yup, the repairs are all done. The hull is patched up, the damaged cannons were replaced, our missile port is back in operation, and we’ve got several new panes of polycarbonate. Also, thanks to Mr. Brutus here, I was even able to add a few upgrades.”
Staples glanced over at him and feigned astonishment. He favored her with his slow smile. “I hope you don’t mind, Captain, but our friend here gave me the budget to work with, and I wanted to surprise you. The chairs in engineering, the cockpit, and several of the crew quarters have been replaced. They have grav-cushioning now, and probably most importantly, head restraints. If we’re gonna keep letting Bethany over there pull three Gs and the like on us, we need to protect our butts and our necks.”
Bethany pitched her head down demurely and let the loose hair that framed her face cover it, but she was smiling. Staples was tempted to scold her first mate for changing things on her ship without her permission - in private of course - but she remembered the acute strained neck muscles that resulted from Bethany’s maneuvers and decided to quash the impulse. If she were going to trust the man to do what was best for the ship, then she needed to trust him.
There were smiles around the room, and they increased when Templeton continued. “I also quieted the decompression alarms some and added override permissions for the bridge.” He looked at Gwen and then John, and the second engineer looked back at him gratefully. “We’re fully stocked on ammo and ordinance, and Dinah tells me the engines have been scrubbed from stem to stern. We’re refueled and ready to go.”
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br /> The mood change in the room was palpable. There were grins and a feeling of positivity that Staples had not anticipated. She had thought that they would be hesitant to get underway. It did seem like every time they went anywhere of late, they had been attacked. Space travel was dangerous for a number of reasons, but the crew of Gringolet could add pirates, the Doris Day, Nightshade class warships, and exploding space stations to their list of recently encountered hazards. She would have thought they would be happy to stay on Titan Prime as long as possible, even with the threat of local assassins.
It took only a moment of consideration, however, for her to realize why they were eager to leave. They all wanted to be clear of this threat, to go back to living normal lives, and on some level or another, they all knew that that meant moving forward. Every person in the room was already looking at her expectantly when Templeton, with a grin on his face, asked, “So where are we going?”
“Mars,” Staples said.
“Yes!” Gwen shouted, and that brought more laughter. Dinah, Staples noticed, was as stoic as ever, but she had not left the room, and that too was progress after the last meeting between the terse engineer and the robot.
“I’ll tell you why, though I’ll admit that it’s a little thin. We all know that the only way that we can go back to our normal lives is to somehow get out ahead of this thing. We can’t just expose Victor with what we have now. We’d be sacrificing Brutus if we did, and it’s likely no one would believe us anyway. What we can do, however, is try to expose his plans. Take away his weapons, if you will. It would be great if we could sit down for a nice dinner without being shot at.”
“What do you mean ‘at,’ Captain?” Templeton asked, and then laughed at his own joke. John, Charis, and Ian chuckled with him, but his laughter devolved into a coughing fit. Staples moved to attend him, but he waved her away with a hand. Once he was breathing normally, he motioned for her to continue.
Reluctantly, she did so. “I think our most pressing concern is the warships Victor has at his disposal. Dinah and Charis have assured me after examining their maneuvers that these things are not manned. The movements they make would severely damage or kill any human crews.” Brutus had of course told her this after their first attack, but she thought that it would make the crew feel better to hear it confirmed by people known to them. Some people still didn’t trust Brutus, though his actions saving the lives of John and Gwen and his efforts to get Declan and Bethany to Medical had improved their collective opinion of him.
“So while there’s no doubt that the ships are being controlled by Victor and likely being run by OS programs created by him, the question remains: who is making them? Thanks to some impressive if not entirely subtle investigations by our would-be sleuth here,” she nodded at Evelyn, who blushed brighter this time, “we know that Teletrans Corporation is selling products to Ferrile Electronics. And Ferrile, we have it on good authority, is a dummy corporation that buys for the US military.” She did not mention Dinah, though she noticed that several people glanced at her. There was no hiding the fact that Dinah was ex-military, and indeed Dinah did not even try, but at the same time everyone knew that it was a matter not to be discussed.
“You’re saying the military… the United States military is building a fleet of warships for Victor,” Ian said incredulously.
“It looks that way,” Templeton nodded.
“How the hell are they hiding that?” Overton asked. “It’s been a little while since I served, but the defense budget is public information. You can’t just build warships in orbit around Earth and expect no one to notice.”
“Yeah, the US military has always been plain about how they spend their resources,” Templeton shot back, and Staples realized that they might be straying into a difference in political beliefs that she did not want derailing their meeting.
“Look,” she interjected. “You’re not wrong, either of you. Wherever these things are being built, it’s not somewhere public. And it’s not in the public budget. I think we would have heard about it, agreed?” There was silence which she took as tacit assent. “Which branch of the military is building these things? Where are they being built? Why is the military buying OS programs to pilot them? These are the things we need to know.”
“Why don’t we know?” Ian asked, and he was looking not at Staples but at Brutus. “Shouldn’t we have all the answers right here?” He pointed an accusatory finger at the robot.
Suddenly everyone was looking at Brutus. Staples opened her mouth to defend him, but Templeton put a cautioning hand on her arm, and she stopped.
Brutus addressed Ian directly. “I’m afraid I do not know the answers. I learned of the existence of the Nightshade vessels from an… argument with my father, but I never was able to ascertain where or how they were built. It was my discovery of their existence that prompted me to join you on this ship, as I said before. I wish I could tell you more, but I just don’t know.” He hung his head, and again Staples found herself wondering whether the gesture was crafted to garner sympathy or genuine, and again she reminded herself that the same question applied with every person in the room. Even Gwen was capable of dissembling to get her way, even if that only took the form of wheedling extra ice cream.
“So how do we find out?” Charis asked.
Staples sighed. “It’s a long shot, but I have a friend who deals in these sorts of shady secrets. Her name is Jordan, and I believe she is on Mars. The plan is to contact her directly and set her to work. Maybe we can find where the ships are manufactured.”
“And then what?” John inquired. “Surely you don’t plan on attacking a military shipyard that produces cutting-edge warships.”
“We expose them.” Jabir chimed in for the first time. “The Captain and Mr. Templeton are suggesting that there are many parties who would not be altogether happy with the United States of America’s choice to build a secret fleet of warships, especially one controlled by Artificial Intelligence, albeit a non-sentient one.”
“Parties?” Ian asked.
“Forgive me,” Jabir amended. “Countries. India, China, Korea, Russia, they all have an uneasy truce with the US. It would be difficult to construe the construction of such a fleet as aught but a first strike weapon.”
“Jesus Christ,” Ian nearly shouted. “You’re talking about causing an international incident. Maybe starting a war! I know you’re not American, but I am, damn it, and I’m not sure that exposing information like that wouldn’t count as treason.”
“I might point out, Mr. Inboden, that if indeed the United States Military is constructing these ships, as it seems they are, the action is in violation of its own laws. The budget is public for a reason.” Jabir’s tone was an even and controlled contrast to Ian’s bluster.
“Look,” Templeton said before the two men could get any more heated, “the first step is to get the information. Once we know what’s going on, then we can decide what to do with it. But we need to do something. Can we all agree on that?”
Reluctantly, Ian agreed, and the rest of the crew nodded or remained silent.
“All right,” Evelyn said brightly, seemingly unperturbed by the conflicts in the room. “When do we leave?”
Staples smiled. “Now.”
Thirteen days after it first put in at Titan Prime and two days ahead of schedule, Gringolet was released from lockdown. Sheriff Martin Glover had been more than happy to authorize their departure, and had only mildly insinuated that they would not be welcomed back should they return. Staples had not taken it personally; the man had a town to protect and a peace to keep, and trouble would unquestionably be following them for the foreseeable future. Dinah’s treatment of the deputies cost her a few days in jail, a formality really, as Staples provided monetary compensation for them in the form of a full year’s salary. Dinah served her time in silence, and Glover glossed over the whole thing in the interest of good relations and finally being rid of them.
Once berth control retracted the
clamps, Bethany gave the thrusters a small boost and the ship moved easily out of the light Titan gravity. Staples wiggled around in her new chair a bit, not yet used to the added cushioning and different contours. She ran her fingers over the small control suite on the armrest at her left hand. The chairs, Templeton had assured her, would make time spent at high thrust more comfortable. The gel packed into the cushions behind her could be hardened or softened at a touch, and another switch produced braces from the headrest that would cradle her skull and help to prevent neck injuries in cases of high-G maneuvers. She had tried the new features out, and they had made her feel like she was strapped into a roller coaster back on Earth, but she supposed that was the point.
Charis looked to be struggling to adjust to her new seat at the navigation station as well. Bethany was as swallowed by her new seat as she had been by the old one, and the only part of her that was visible were her hands from time to time as they made minute adjustments to regulate their gentle break from the thin and toxic atmosphere. Staples was glad for the new chairs her first mate had arranged, most especially because it meant that there was no longer a hole in the back of Bethany’s serving as a reminder of how close they’d come to losing her. Brutus sat in a new chair as well, though the automaton clearly had no need of the added comforts and protections it afforded. As she looked at it, Staples supposed that it really wasn’t Yegor’s chair anymore; the transition of the coms position was complete, and she felt his ghost haunting her less and less. It did not make her feel better to acknowledge it, but she had newer concerns to haunt her.
They had left Declan on Titan Prime, perhaps to be hunted down and killed by Victor. The man had not wanted to make a big show of his departure, and for that Staples had been grateful. At their recent town meeting the crew had not evidenced any outward bitterness towards her for that debacle, but Templeton assured her that it was not forgotten. She thought that Ian and Yoli in particular seemed to be harboring grudges, but it was hard to tell.