by C. T. Phipps
Many Xerxes had fought in the Third War against us.
“Identity confirmed,” a female voice said in Crius, a language loosely descended from Old Earth’s Chinese and Germanic tongues. An image of my doppelganger appeared on the screen. “Welcome General-Duke Mass.”
“General-Duke?” Munin asked.
“The revolutionaries promoted my imposter,” I said, looking at his image on the console screen. It listed his rank, accomplishments, and security clearance that was to the entirety of the ship’s defenses. Which meant my doppelganger and I had identical DNA. Dammit. That complicated things. Was he a clone? A bioroid? My father reborn?
Munin, meanwhile, wiped the console image away and started analyzing a dozen images at once. “Jackpot. I’ve got full access to everything. Logs, research data, controls, and onboard systems. We’ll need to download them from the main computer, though.”
“Is the research data all still contained here?” Hiro asked, his voice suddenly an octave lower.
My eyes darted to the younger officer and I noticed his demeanor had changed tremendously. Gone was his usual inexperienced, peppy, all-too-eager stance and in its place was one of a hardened soldier. I also noticed he’d moved to a place in the cafeteria that gave him a perfect position for gunning us all down with his fusion-repeater. Indeed, he seemed to be moving it into position.
“No,” Munin said, frowning. “Dammit, all of it was sent via an encrypted jumpspace transmission to a relay station system from here. The computers then wiped themselves and destroyed all the backups. Everything is empty.”
In an instant, Hiro’s demeanor changed back to its relaxed and peppy demeanor. The one I had known him to sport for the entire time he’d been a part of the crew. The only thing different was his expression took a little longer to fake and there was a mix of frustration as well as anger across it.
“What was being researched here?” Clarice asked, looking up. “This is some crazy-ass security, even by Crius standards.”
“Who cares?” William said, interrupting. “What matters is Munin can find out what killed everyone, deactivate it, and get this thing moving so we can get off of it. Right?”
“Pretty sure,” Munin said, tapping something rapidly into her hand-held infopad.
“Pretty sure is not very comforting,” Clarice said.
“Whoever designed this is good,” Munin said. “Perhaps better than an illegally-modified grease monkey spacer can manage. I have access but there are a lot of protocols, which doesn’t make much sense to me.”
“I can help,” I said, looking to her.
“Actually, I’d like you to go to the bridge with Isla,” William said. “If you can override a bunch of stuff then it’s probably best to do all that there. Munin, can you confirm there’s no booby traps or psycho robots lying about?”
“Pretty sure,” Munin said.
William glared at her.
“What?”
“Why aren’t you coming?” I asked.
“I intend to talk about you behind your back with Clarice and the others,” William said. “I thought I’d send Isla because it’d be mean to send you alone. Plus, I intend to talk about her, too.”
“Et tu, William?” Isla said.
“Who?” William responded.
Honestly, I saw this as an opportunity rather than a punishment. Whatever the Watchers knew about this business, it was more than they were willing to tell me. I understood their suspicion and I was suspicious right back, especially knowing that Ida hadn’t shared all of the facts with even the higher-ranking members of the Melampus’ crew. Getting to the bridge and knowing I was authorized to view the material within would provide me with an excellent opportunity to do some snooping and find out what was really going on, as well as learn whether or not I should share all this with the others.
“I trust Isla completely,” Clarice said. “Cassius, like…eighty percent.”
“That’s generous,” I said.
“I’m in a good mood,” Clarice said.
“We’ll talk about it in a minute,” William said, staring at me.
“Requesting permission to go with them, sir,” Hiro said, sounding a trifle off before clearing his throat.
“Denied,” William replied.
“By your leave,” I said, giving the cafeteria a once over. “Good luck, Munin.”
“I’m still pissed at you and Hiro for the fighter,” Munin said, “but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“I’ll buy you another when I’m rich and powerful,” I said.
“It won’t be the same.”
“Can you buy another Holtz?” William said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Yes, and with better manners,” Munin said, growling at him. Turning to me, her expression softened. “Try not to get killed by any psycho ex-Crius fanatics out to bring back the Archduchy. I’ve seen holos with them.”
“I’ll try,” I said, thinking I was probably the only one left on board.
Walking with Isla to the elevator, she and I stepped inside before I hit the controls for taking us to the main deck. The doors shut in front of us with a whoosh and proceeded to start taking us down.
“William doesn’t trust you,” Isla observed, her voice low.
“Why should he?” I said, flatly. “I’ve lied to him for three years. Oh, and there’s the small matter of the rape, pillage, and slavery my people inflicted upon his people.”
“That’s not your fault.”
“I fought for the government who did those things,” I said, correcting her. “That’s as close to a tacit endorsement as you’re going to get.”
“You could apologize,” Isla suggested.
I snorted.
“He was a slave, too, you know,” Isla said, taking a deep breath. “When Clarice and I were involved with him, I thought telling him would bring us closer together. He’s had a renewal treatment, so you wouldn’t think it, but he experienced the Xerxes Occupation first hand. They had him trained as a blood pornography gladiator. He killed people for the amusement of Crius.”
I closed my eyes. “Another reason why he won’t ever trust me again.”
“His trust is not easily regained but perhaps it’s worth it to try,” Isla said. “Our relationship ended when he found out I was a bioroid.”
One of my fists balled involuntarily. “I see. Then perhaps his trust is not worth seeking.”
“Because of the lies, not the fact I was born from a machine. Xerxes don’t believe lies are ever justified.”
“I don’t believe in cultural stereotypes, Isla. Unless you think all Crius are well-mannered, efficient fascists.”
Isla stared at me.
I put my hand over my heart. “Hey, I’m a drunk.”
Isla reached down and took my balled hand in hers and then ran her fingers between mine. “I don’t believe that, Cassius.”
“Then you don’t have eyes.”
“There’s nothing I don’t see, hear, or know on the Melampus. It’s the only way I’ve managed to survive. Some people have found my secret out and tried to inform on me. They ended up on my table and never woke up.”
I blinked. “Uh—”
“I don’t think we can trust Hiro.”
I pushed away my suspicions of Hiro’s earlier actions. “I think you’re exaggerating.”
The doors in front of us opened and I saw the large octagonal hallway leading to the bridge was full of corpses. Men, women, and children. They were all wearing Crius military uniforms without their insignias, the children garbed in the Youth Brigade versions. Mechs were lifting up the bodies and sterilizing the spots where they had retched, vomited, or soiled themselves as they lay dying. Some of the children were as young as eleven. Whole families had died here.
“My God,” I said, looking at the sight before me.
“Unfortunate,” Isla said, looking at them. “There’s nothing we can do for them, though. You should listen to what I have to say. Hiro is older than h
e appears, and his alterations are top notch. The healing scars from battle wounds are microscopic with Commonwealth medical tech but there’s a lot of them in his body. Also, he offered to get me off the ship and into a new life if I ignored it. I get paid for keeping his secret.”
I did a double take. “Okay, that is suspicious. Have you told Ida?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Ida is a Watcher and her loyalty is to the Commonwealth. My loyalty is to myself…and my friends. Which I have very few of.”
“Am I one of them?”
“Perhaps more if you’re willing.”
I closed my eyes. “I’d like that.”
“Good.”
I tried to shut out the image of the dead, taking note Isla didn’t consider them a matter of relevance. I couldn’t do so and saw all the bodies in my dreams, conjuring memories of finding similar mass slaughters that brought back dreams of battles in space. My memory drugs were usually able to keep the worst of the Combat Stress Disorder at bay, but I hadn’t been able to get treatment for it at a proper neuro-facility. They’d helped me through the space battle but now they were insufficient.
I shook.
“Come with me.” Isla took me by the arm and the two of us walked past the slaughter. We didn’t stop until we were in the large two-story chamber with its bowl-shaped front, showing hundreds of linked viewscreens, forming a holographic depiction of the ship’s exterior as well as all relevant objects. There were a dozen workstations present on the bridge as well as a single captain’s throne. It was very similar to the Melampus’ own bridge, only lacking a place for the ship’s bio-computer interface.
All of the crew’s bodies had, thankfully, been disposed of.
Isla shut the door behind us.
“Thank you,” I said.
“It’s all right,” Isla said. “It happens to me all the time. Mostly, the cocktails I whip up keep them at bay.”
“Maybe I should have come to you for my drugs.”
“Yes, you should have.”
The chamber was steel-metal gray with shining floors and I saw, for the first time, the symbol. This was a group that held to the old ideals in a flag draped over the side of the second story of the chamber’s balcony. The flag was red with the Lucifer’s Wings being purely golden with a shimmer-fabric underlay of several star clusters underneath that had never been part of the Archduchy. The modified version of the war flag seemed vaguely ominous in ways I couldn’t understand.
There was something else, too. I swore, for a second, I saw something move in one of the ceiling corners.
I shook away those thoughts before saying, “Well, we should get to work, I suppose.”
“There’s something else,” Isla said.
“Yes?”
“My scanner picked up the presence of your DNA on the ship.”
Chapter Twelve
“My DNA?” I repeated. “Are you sure?”
Isla narrowed her eyes. “Yes, because I’m in the habit of making sarcastic dramatic revelations.”
I stared at her. “Just in response to them.”
Isla paused. “Point taken.”
“But just to be clear, there’s no chance this is a mistake?”
“No,” Isla said. “It is identical to your DNA.”
“So I’ve been cloned,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Or it’s my DNA donor.”
“Your father?” Isla said, surprised at my mentioning the possibility. “No, I don’t think so. I believe this is a bioroid of you.”
I did a double take. “What now?”
“Do you know how bioroids are made?” Isla asked.
“I’m afraid the process is unknown to me.”
“Muscles, blood, and organs all made separately before being toughened with chemicals as well as micro-machines. They’re woven together on an assembly line with their machine brains and nervous system at the center. Onlookers who originally believed we were people frequently changed their minds once seeing the disgusting process. The fundamental organic material is drawn from multiple sources to make sure it belongs to no single person—”
“But there’s no reason it can’t.”
“Yes,” Isla said. “Ares Electronics can and has made perfect genetic duplicates of people. Unlike clones, they can also be made in the image of those they are copied from without all the troubles of nature versus nurture.”
“I feel diminished.”
Isla raised an eyebrow.
“No offense,” I said. “Though I imagine you’ve grappled with similar feelings.”
“Not really,” Isla said. “I have ten million sisters scattered around the cosmos, each awaiting liberation. That does not diminish me. It only diminishes the people who want to keep us enslaved.”
I frowned. “My apologies.”
“It’s all right. You changed your opinion when it was explained to you, which is better than most.”
“He is still impersonating me and using my identity to commit acts of terrorism.”
“Whoever created him is likely to be responsible for that,” Isla said. “Do you know who might have done that?”
I paused. “I do.”
Isla blinked, a surprised expression on her face. “You do?”
I closed my eyes. “I had my brain copied, neuron for neuron, by the Science Orders. They were planning to try to copy my ability with starfighter piloting, tactics, and that special something I seemed to have with inspiring people that I’ve since lost.”
“I’m surprised you let them do it.”
“My sister asked.”
Zoe. I hoped she wasn’t involved in all this. We hadn’t spoken in years, but it was clear the real Thomas had survived the destruction of Crius. If Thomas had survived, then he very likely had made sure Zoe did as well. I would have been ecstatic about this news except for the fact I was now suddenly on the other side of a war from my surviving family. Was their Judith a bioroid or the real thing? She’d had her memories copied as well due to Zoe believing her ability with machines rivaled mine with starfighters. If that was the case, did it matter if she was the original? I couldn’t process that, so I pushed those thoughts away until I had more information.
“It gets worse,” Isla said.
I closed my eyes, trying not to think of the corpses outside. “How can it get worse?”
“I analyzed the bulkheads and energy-flow patterns throughout the ship and noticed they’re identical to those faux-Chel ships outside. This ship also makes use of third-quantum drives. That’s Chel technology. There’s also samples of their DNA in the air. Real Chel. Not the fakes we fought.”
I stared at her. “The Chel are supporting this group?”
“Yes.”
“The Chel don’t even talk to other races.”
“That appears to have changed.”
“Fuck,” I said, realizing why Ida wanted us to be here. She knew much more about this than she’d let on. It also explained why she’d launched the attack with Chel fighters, despite her claims to the contrary. Ida had wanted to leave evidence this group’s sponsors had turned against them. That was when I noticed something else. “Wait, Isla, when did you become an expert in near-human construction?”
Isla smiled. “I can download the secrets of the universe as long as they’re available and my brain can handle it. Do you think I stopped with medicine?”
That explained it. At least one person could be trusted here. “Good for you. Smart girls are sexy.”
“Smart women,” Isla suggested.
Truth be told, what she said frightened me more than the massacre I’d found. The Chel were a race perfectly adapted to space, who had mined mobile dreadnoughts and city-ships that made them far better suited for exploring the galaxy than even cybernetically-enhanced humans. They could extract more resources from a single asteroid belt in a year than some planets did in a lifetime.
If the Chel were responsible for this Free Systems Alliance, it potentially mean
t they had the ability to fight the Commonwealth on even ground. It also explained how they might have replicated an armada capable of destroying a Commonwealth fleet.
“Well, I suppose we should examine what this ship has to say about what happened,” I said, walking over to the control panel.
“Do you know how to work that kind of technology?” Isla gestured to a crystalline matrix interface. “I’ve only seen this in textbooks about the Chel.”
“How hard can it be?”
“Uh, Cassius—”
The crystalline matrix was a ball built into the control panel which, as the title implied, was made of crystal. Placing my hand on it, I fell to my knees almost immediately as my mind was assaulted by a flood of information. I saw the crew alive and well, everything from their arrival to their grizzly demise.
I saw schematics. I saw science experiments in the cargo bays converted into labs, with a mixture of human as well as Chel crew. The seven- and eight-foot albinos were beautiful in an eerie, almost ethereal way, but also deformed like someone had combined old Earth legends of giants with elves. I saw communications between this ship and a hundred other vessels across the galaxy, including ones with my doppelganger.
I saw my sister Zoe.
My brother Thomas.
Judith.
All of them had been here.
Focusing my thoughts and trying to concentrate on a single thread of information, I found my consciousness expanding throughout the ship. I could hear William talking about how, as a Crius nobleman, I wasn’t to be trusted and they had a responsibility to figure out what was really going on in this ship.
I saw we weren’t alone on this ship.
I saw we weren’t alone on this bridge.
I turned to Isla. “Get down!”
Isla threw herself on the ground and moved behind the captain’s chair, withdrawing her fusion pistol. As I threw myself away from the crystal matrix, a pair of fusion blasts shot forth as seven-foot-tall humanoid forms shimmered in the air.
Chel.
Cloaked Chel.
Hells.
Isla fired twice as I reached for my fusion pistol, my combat reflexes dulled by years of disuse even with my enhancements. The pistol blasts bounced against an invisible shield surrounding both assassins and told me we were in for a rough ride.