by Jake Bible
“You always did like forcing everyone to listen to your thought processes,” Roak said. Roak waved a hand at red eyes. “How’d you do this? How’d you get the ability to what? Possess beings?”
“Roak, come on, think it through,” red eyes said. “What did I teach all of you from the very beginning?”
“Corruption comes in many forms,” Roak said.
“Corruption comes in many forms,” red eyes echoed.
“Implants,” Roak said.
“Implants,” red eyes echoed.
“These new acolytes of yours, because these aren’t beings I know or remember,” Roak said, pointing at the corpses. “You installed implants in them? That goes against everything you taught us.”
“Life changes, Roak. The galaxy changes,” red eyes said. “You must change with it or you stagnate and die. I died once. Very unpleasant. I do not intend to die again.”
“You lied,” Roak said. “Only way you can be here right now is if you had implants all along.”
“I never lied, Roak,” red eyes said. “Corruption comes in many forms, remember? I taught you all to keep your bodies free of impurities, but at no time did I say I would do the same. One does not reach my age without making hard compromises in life. Yes, I deceived you all by hiding my own technological corruption, but think back, think hard, Roak, when did I ever tell any of you that I was pure?”
“Never,” Roak replied without having to think. “And not one of us ever thought you were. You don’t go through what we went through and think that the being doing what was being done is pure. I’ve met mindless monsters that had more purity than you.”
“Oh, I could say the same about you, Roak,” red eyes said. “But let’s not get all tit for tat right now.”
Red eyes pointed at Roak and twirled the finger in a slow, tight circle.
“Talk to me about the comm,” red eyes said. “Undetectable? Very nice. Who designed it for you? That is a question I haven’t been able to answer.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Roak said. “No one designed a thing for me.”
“Fine. You want to be like that then be like that,” red eyes said and huffed. “I was curious, is all.”
“What now? Huh? What’s the point of this talk?” Roak asked.
“Oh, yes, right!” red eyes exclaimed. “The point! Let me get back to that.”
Red eyes swiped a holo menu into existence and studied it for a moment before banishing it with a second swipe.
“Soup and stew. Ugh,” red eyes said. “But you always liked stew, didn’t you, Roak? The others saw it as punishment, but you ate bowl after bowl of the stuff.”
“Eat what you can when you can,” Roak said.
“Precisely,” red eyes said. “But enough about food. The point I was getting to was that no matter how hard you tried to isolate and insulate yourself from interpersonal attachment, you couldn’t help but make relationships.”
Red eyes held up a hand and began to tick off fingers.
“Let’s start with Tala Berene, Roak,” red eyes said. “You married into the Cervile royal class. Congratulations on that. Not sure what you were thinking since who you are is in no way compatible with that type of lifestyle, but I applaud you for thinking outside that narrow box of a head of yours.”
“Didn’t work out,” Roak said and shrugged then hissed as the meat of his shoulder tore some more.
“I bet a med pod sounds nice about now, doesn’t it?” Red eyes snickered. “Too bad. But, back to Tala, why did it not work out, Roak? I am sure you have thought a lot about that.”
“Not really,” Roak replied. “I wanted to keep hunting and she didn’t want me to keep hunting. I chose hunting.”
“Oh!” Red eyes clapped and laughed. “Let us count the lies in that statement!”
“Let’s not.”
“Right. Why waste the time?” red eyes replied, nodding at Roak. “Time is not on our side.” He sniffed the air. “The bodies will get really rank soon and this diner will become unbearable. That is the problem when using the reanimated as your weapons.”
“You killed their minds, but kept their bodies active,” Roak said quietly. “You always threatened to do that.”
“It became a necessary evil, Roak. I did not want to become that being, but as I said before, life changes.” Red eyes sighed. “With Tala gone from your life, I needed to find a new target of betrayal. She dodged a plasma blast there, let me tell you.”
“So, you found Bishop,” Roak said.
“What? Bishop? No, not yet, Roak,” red eyes replied. “I found that maddeningly allusive AI friend of yours.”
Roak froze. His insides twisted and bunched until he thought he’d shit himself or throw up or both.
“That was you,” Roak hissed.
“That was me.” Red eyes nodded and held up a hand. “But, in your friend’s defense, she did manage to get free of my influence rather quickly. That AI was extremely loyal to you, Roak. I am unsure of what your relationship is now, but I suspect she still helps you when you comm her. Am I right? Does she help you? Do you still comm her when you need something?”
“If you don’t already know the answers to those questions, then don’t expect me to help you out,” Roak replied.
“Incidental information, not really relevant to the now,” red eyes said. “Which brings us to Bishop.”
“Three years,” Roak said.
“Three years I made him dangle from my threads of control,” red eyes said, nodding in agreement with Roak’s statement. “Oh, he fought, trust me, but Bishop is not cut from the same cloth as you and I, Roak. He’s very good at making relationships and keeping them strong. It is why he was such a perfect asset for you. What’s the saying? Bishop had a guy in every system? Yes. For a being such as yourself, having a Bishop made up for all the connections you have burned over the years.”
“Still missing the point here,” Roak said, sounding highly unimpressed. “Are you getting to it soon?”
“Betrayal!” red eyes bellowed. Then he grumbled and shook his head before giving Roak a huge smile. “I’d forgotten that about you. The only one of my children that could get to me.”
“Not your child, none of us were,” Roak said.
“Is that so? Then why did you all call me Father?” red eyes asked.
“Because we had to.”
“No one has to do anything, Roak. Existence is about choices. You could have not called me Father.”
“We saw what happened to those that refused.”
Red eyes shrugged. “There was still a choice. Argue all you want, there was still a choice.”
“We chose to keep our limbs attached and sanity intact.”
“Wise choice,” red eyes responded. Then he brought the menu holo back up. “You know what, Roak? This body is hungry. I personally do not like stew, but perhaps this body does.” He slapped his palms on the counter. “Oh, waitress!”
“She’s long gone,” Roak said.
But, surprisingly, the waitress appeared from the kitchen. The glazed look in her eyes made Roak shake his head.
“You couldn’t even let her go,” Roak said as he shifted his position. Red eyes snapped his head around and glared. “Calm down. Only getting comfortable. If you’re gonna eat some stew, then we’ll be here a while, won’t we?”
“I think we will,” red eyes said then turned back to smile at the waitress. “Do you have any vegetarian stew? I’m vegetarian.”
Red eyes’ head swiveled slowly back to face Roak.
“But I would enjoy some meat since I am not vegetarian.”
Roak heard the words and started laughing. He had a hard time stopping.
32.
When Roak was able to get himself under control, mostly because the laughing shook his body and hurt like all the Hells, he cleared his throat and said, “You created Ms. Lika.”
“That is not entirely true,” red eyes said. “I had her created then set her loose. She
was given certain directives, but otherwise, I left her alone to develop on her own. To my great delight, she ended up exactly where I had hoped she would.”
“How delighted were you when she got turned into pulp?” Roak asked.
“Oh, I was extremely delighted,” red eyes said. “You bested a being who was designed specifically with your downfall in mind. She was my backup plan in case all this Bishop fun didn’t work. She would have never killed you, Roak, so really what you did was murder, not self-defense. I thought you should know that.”
“Yeah, I think she went off book a few times,” Roak said. “She was trying to kill me.”
“Like I said, she developed on her own,” red eyes said.
A bowl of steaming stew was set in front of red eyes. He picked up a spoon, smiled at the waitress, then grimaced and said, “Go kill yourself.”
The waitress’s glazed eyes flickered with fear briefly then returned to their dull state. She turned and walked back into the kitchen.
“Did you have to tell her to do that?” Roak asked.
There was the sound of metal clanging on metal then a loud thwack followed by the distinct noise of a body falling onto the floor.
“Have to? No. Want to? Yes,” red eyes said as he sniffed the stew then put a spoonful into his mouth.
He immediately began spitting and gagging, shoving the stew off the counter and away from him.
“No!” he yelled. “That does not taste good to this being’s body! Why does stew even exist?”
“To piss you off, obviously,” Roak said. “So, Bishop…?”
“Yes. Bishop,” red eyes responded, wiping his mouth aggressively with a napkin. Then he began wiping his tongue as his body shivered with disgust. Red eyes wadded the moist napkin up and threw it over his shoulder, swiveling the stool to face Roak again. “Bishop. For the record and so you know that Bishop is a true friend, he did not break easy. But he did break eventually.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“It took a good deal of planning and maneuvering, but eventually, the stars aligned and here we are,” red eyes said. “I will say, though, that if you had met that Ally woman a couple of years earlier, then she would have been my tool against you. You two are so cute together.”
Roak glared. He tried to push the emotions down, but they refused to be held in check.
“Did you harm her?” Roak snarled, his face flushed with rage.
“Harm her? I can’t find her, Roak,” red eyes replied. “I know she’s Tcherian and born to be able to hide, but that woman has taken going off the grid to a whole new level. Even with the vast resources at my disposal, she’s gone. Same with that Sha Tog fellow. I am assuming they helped each other disappear, but one must never assume. Where do you think they could have gotten off to?”
“If staying off your radar is the end result, then I don’t want to know where they are anymore,” Roak said. “I’d rather not lead you to them.”
Red eyes patted his chest. “Oh, but what about your poor little heart, Roak? Does it not yearn for the Tcherian woman? Does she not enter your thoughts at night, just before you drift off to sleep?”
“I keep strange hours, so I don’t sleep much at night,” Roak replied.
“You know what I mean,” red eyes said, patting his chest again. “If I did know where she was, you’d want me to tell you, right?” Roak didn’t reply. “Yes, you would. Don’t deny it.”
Roak shifted again. Red eyes wagged a finger. Roak stopped moving and closed his eyes.
“You have me where you want me,” Roak said. “Can we get on with this?”
“I don’t have you where I want you,” red eyes said, looking shocked and surprised. “You’re on Stefbon and I’m having to talk through a body that is probably not in good enough shape to take you on even with the state you are in. I know you, Roak. You’ll fight to the end. And, besides, I don’t want you dead. Aren’t you seeing that?”
Roak rubbed at his face. “I’m not seeing much of anything right now.”
“Regardless, I hardly have you where I want you. Let’s be clear about that part of this. You have so many outs it almost makes me proud. Almost.”
“Then where does this leave us?”
“That is a fine question. How about I make you a deal, Roak?”
“How about no?”
“Just listen.”
“Don’t have much of a choice.”
“Roak…? We’ve already established that everyone has a choice.”
“You established that. I never said I agreed with you.”
“Fair enough.”
Roak grimaced at how much he heard himself in that response.
“Would you care to listen to the deal or no, Roak?” red eyes asked.
“Get on with it, old man.”
“Name calling. Beneath us both. But, I’ll continue.” Red eyes cleared his throat. “I need you to work for me again.”
“No deal.”
“Oh, but you haven’t even heard what the job is. And it is a great job, Roak. The job of a lifetime for a bounty hunter like you.”
“Spit it the fuck out!”
“Tsk tsk,” red eyes said and wagged his finger. “Temper, Roak. Temper.”
“The job…”
“I need you to find Mother.”
The range of emotions that crossed Roak’s face could not be tracked except by the most adept AI.
“I thought that might do a number on you,” red eyes said. “It certainly did.”
“Who?” Roak finally managed to ask.
“Mother,” red eyes said. “If I am Father, then there has to be a Mother. That’s just nature, Roak. From two comes one.”
“Mother?”
“Mother.”
“Why?”
Red eyes cocked his head. “I’ll need some clarification on that question. Why…what?”
“Why do you want me to find her?” Roak explained.
“Oh, that why. I thought you were maybe asking why I’d never told you, or any of you, there was a Mother. Or perhaps you were asking why now or why is she called Mother and I am called Father, so on and so on.”
“Why do you want me to find her?” Roak repeated.
“She’s not exactly a her just as I am not exactly a him,” red eyes said. “But that’s semantics. To get to your question of why I want to find her, it is because the time is right. That simple.”
“I don’t think simple applies to any of this shit.”
“No, perhaps not. I have slightly more complicated reasons, but to be honest, it’s because there is only so much room in the galaxy for the both of us. I’m feeling…crowded. So, I’d like you to find Mother and bring her to me. Can you do that?”
“You did all of this, had Bishop betray me, nearly killed me more than a few times, so I would take a job for you?” Roak asked. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath then opened his eyes again. “I’d ask what’s wrong with you, but I know the answer to that.”
“What? No, I did all this to torture you, Roak,” red eyes replied. “I really thought I was clear on that point.”
“Torture me into doing a job for you? Don’t know why I’m questioning that,” Roak said.
“Neither do I,” red eyes said. “So, Roak, will you take the job of a lifetime?”
“No,” Roak replied instantly.
“No?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
“Super sure?”
“Not taking the job. I guess you’ll have to kill me.”
“I guess I will. Or try. Like I said—”
“Stop.”
“Excuse me?”
“Stop saying like I said. It’s annoying. Just say what you mean and get this shit over with.”
“Fine. What I mean is I will try to kill you using this body. If that does not work, then I’ll go to my backup plan.”
“You probably have a few of those.”
“Only th
e one. It’s a good one. I’m almost wishing you do kill this body so I can set the backup plan in motion.”
“You say the words, but I don’t believe the words. You’re gonna try to kill me.”
“Unless you take the job. Last chance, Roak. What do you say?”
“Same as before: no.”
Red eyes shrugged and slid off the stool. He made a gesture for Roak to stand up.
Roak stood up. And fired his other Blorta 22, hitting red eye’s body center mass.
Red eyes coughed and looked down at the smoking hole in his chest.
“See, Roak. This is why you were always my favorite.”
“Funny way of showing it,” Roak replied.
Red eyes poked and prodded at the hole, studying it with great interest, then he looked up at Roak and said, “See you in a second.”
The red eyes faded to black and the being that truly owned the body looked at the hole in his chest in pure horror. Then he toppled to the floor, dead.
Roak steadied himself against the booth, tested the strength of his legs, grimaced, then put one foot in front of the other as he made his way slowly to the front door.
“Gonna need a ride, Hessa,” Roak called into the comm.
“We are taking off now,” Hessa said. “How injured are you?”
“Not my worst, but not my best either.”
“Average day?”
“Above average.”
“Be to you in approximately five minutes,” Hessa said.
The door to the kitchen burst open and the diner’s cook, a massive Urvein that was well over eight feet tall, came rushing out with meat cleavers in both hands. One of the cleavers flew towards Roak and knocked the Blorta from his grip before he could fire.
“Hurry,” Roak said as he turned to the oncoming Urvein. “No, seriously, hurry!”
33.
Roak had come across some incredibly large Urveins in his travels around the galaxy. He’d even come across Urvein halfers that were mixed with other races like Gwreq. Halfers like that were gigantic.