Lucifer's Star

by C. T. Phipps

  “No, he’s right,” Ken said, looking at him. “I was born here and if not for you, Ida, I would have died here in bondage. Even if only bioroids are actually traded officially, just about every citizen is owned by someone else or trades in lives. I don’t know how the Commonwealth is going to clean the place up.”

  “The Commonwealth doesn’t clean up anything,” Jun said, her voice bitter. “It just says it’s going to then makes things worse.”

  Thankfully, we were spared any political arguments by the Planetary Commerce Authority hailing the Melampus.

  “This is odd,” Jun said, holding her earpiece as she looked at her communication’s console screen.

  “Odd is something I never want to hear,” Ida said, looking over. “Are we talking odd ‘Oh, my shoelaces are untied’ or ‘odd, we’ve discovered an Elder Races marker that has turned us all into ravenous cannibal monsters?’ “

  “That’s an oddly specific example,” William said, looking down at Ida.

  “This is an oddly specific ship,” Ida said. “So, how odd is it?”

  “Odd as in we’re being hailed by the Commerce Commissioner,” Jun replied.

  “So, not that odd but still pretty damn odd,” Ida said. “Put the bastard on screen.”

  Commerce Commissioners were, essentially, the Commonwealth’s taxmen. Unlike in other worlds where such things were handled by accountants and men in suits, Commerce Commissioners tended to do their work with mercenaries and armies. To keep the Commonwealth afloat, it supervised all trade and made sure Parliament got their cut by any means necessary. Sector 7 had been peculiarly handled in that the majority of Commerce Commissioners had come not from Albion or its allied planets but the Archduchy’s former nobility. Indeed, many of them had been free to loot the holdings of those who had hoped the Commonwealth would overthrow them.

  As such, it was not too surprising to see the Commerce Commissioner was a member of the distinctly redheaded, almond-eyed ruling ethnicity of Shogun. It was, however, surprising to see his name written in Interlang at the bottom of the screen as Kristoph Rin-O’Harra. Clarice had mentioned her other cousin, Janice’s brother, several times. While it was possible this was another citizen of the planet with the same last name I sincerely doubted it.

  Kristoph, himself, was a beautiful man and I rarely noticed such things. His long scarlet hair was braided to one side and his face was so long and angular you might have been able to cut glass with it. Kristoph’s eyes were an impossible shade of blue but also strangely sleepy as if they were akin to a snake’s. His Commerce Commissioner uniform was a repurposed General’s, affixed with various awards and medals that had crap-all to do with warfare or risk, diminishing any respect I might have had rather than enhancing it. His fingers were covered in various rings like a proper Shogun merchant-prince, several I recognized the meaning of, including that he had murdered for the clan.

  They were interesting.

  “Greetings, Captain Claire,” Kristoph said, his voice low and subdued.

  “Huh,” Ida said. “Either you’re the most congenial Commerce Commissioner ever or somebody has been squealing on my ship.”

  I inwardly cringed. Ida’s attitude usually got her what she wanted but would get her killed here.

  “Why should I not welcome my cousin?” Kristoph said. “You’ve been taking such good care of her.”

  “I’m more concerned about how you knew where we were going to be and when, Commissioner.”

  Kristoph just smiled. “My sister cordially invites you to visit her at the Water Palace. She has a great deal to discuss with you and your associates.”

  He then, unceremoniously, cut the connection.

  “So much for undercover,” William muttered.

  “Any change in plans, Ida?” I asked.

  “Not a one,” Ida said, getting up. “Get your people together. I am going to have to do some housecleaning.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “I don’t like this,” William said, following me down the halls of the Melampus as we remained parked at Daimyo Station.

  The Melampus was too large to enter the atmosphere of most planets and, instead, we needed to take a shuttle down to the surface. Before then, though, I wanted to speak with my sister (or whatever I should consider her).

  The Rhea had already arrived and been confiscated by the Commonwealth authorities present, meaning the crew was being paid even as we spoke. That, at least, would provide a distraction as we investigated the Rin-O’Harra connection to the Free Systems Alliance.

  “We investigated,” I whispered too low for William to hear.

  God, it was so easy to fall into the pattern of serving others. Clarice was right. I wanted to have the familiar structure of service. It sickened me to realize it didn’t matter who was giving the orders as long as they were being given. I needed to become my own man and fight my own battles, but could I really do that? Or was I destined from birth to be a figure who only embodied the will of other men?

  It didn’t matter now. “Which part, the fact the Sector’s greatest crime family are inviting us for tea despite the fact we know they’re smuggling weapons to terrorists or the fact I’m being asked to lead the team despite this being your job?”

  The hallways were, thankfully, empty. Over eighty percent of the crew had already disembarked, and I had a sneaking suspicion we’d be dealing with more than a few desertions now that payment had been cleared. It would not be difficult to press more lost souls into the ship’s service but that wasn’t my concern. Instead, I just breathed in the stale recycled air and continued down the dirty white halls to the hydroponics gardens where the ship’s computer said Isla and Zoe were.

  “Both,” William said, looking over at me. “Also, you’re pretty free with the terrorist designation for the fact these are your people.”

  “It is because I used to be one of them. I know exactly what the Crius Reborn movement is capable of, whether it is controlled by the Chel and funded by the transtellars or not. The addition of ships, funding, and manpower will only broaden their lust for revenge. I know their pain and to what depths it may sink them.”

  “Which is a polite way of saying it takes one to know one.”

  I rolled my eyes. “If you like.”

  “But no, I don’t like that she’s grooming you to become one of her agents,” William said, surprising me with his response. “It’s not a matter of jealousy or the fact you’re a Crius nobleman or the fact I think you’re a complete bastard—”

  “And I thought we were getting along so well.”

  “Or your sarcastic tone or the fact you smell of alcohol from two feet away—”

  “Or the fact I’m sleeping with the same woman you were.”

  William’s eyes flared. “That has nothing to do with it.”

  I glanced back at him and raised a single eyebrow.

  William frowned. “Well, not very much to do with it.”

  “Perhaps we can get to what it actually has something to do with rather than you prattling on about my immense number of flaws.”

  William surprised me by cracking a joke. “But I was having so much fun listing them.”

  I snorted. “I’ll also have you know my liver is artificial. I can filter out any and all alcohol or other toxins from my system at will with no long-term side effects. I do that whenever I need to be sober.”

  Which hadn’t been often these past five years.

  But had very much been the case now.

  “Handy trick,” William said. “Amazing what prosthetics can do for the bored rich. To answer your question, though. I don’t like it because I think Ida is taking a big risk. I think she’s on the outs with the Watchers and you’re part of something she’s playing at to get back in their good graces. Clarice too. Hell, this entire thing reeks of a plot to distinguish herself as an agent they can trust.”

  I stopped in mid-step. “What makes you say that?”

  “I’ll spare you all the moving p
arts of her plans you already know. The whole business with your robot sister and this spying business,” William said, stopping as well. “Instead, it’s Hiro. He’s a spy working for the Watchers, except, he’s not here spying on us or Ida’s enemies but Ida herself. I think it’s his job to keep an eye on her and terminate her if things go south.”

  “That’s a very serious accusation.”

  “During the Great Rebellion, we had mullahs or holy men implanted with our resistance cells whose job it was to preserve morale. They also had a secondary job of keeping a watch for spies or those who might betray the cause. I got a feel for the true believers, no matter how well they hid it, and I’ve seen him debate killing us all on occasion.”

  I opened my mouth to object then shook my head. As much as I wanted to deny it, I’d seen Hiro’s willingness to kill on the Rhea. He had saved my life, though, so I wanted to believe there was more to it.

  But what?

  “I’ll be careful,” I said. “Huh, it’s almost like you care whether I live or die.”

  “Don’t get too used to the feeling,” William said. “Just because I don’t want anyone going up with an exploding ship who doesn’t have to, doesn’t mean I’m joining your fan club.”

  “Do you intend to turn on Ida?”

  William looked down. “No, I owe her too much.”

  “Like what?”

  William shrugged and looked guilty. “Ida has a way of collecting favors from people. She never forces you to work for her, but you’re always indebted to her. I think her best gift is finding the kind of people that would mean something to.”

  “I know what you mean.” I paused. “Which isn’t an answer.”

  “My sister got picked up by a Crius noblewoman early on in the war as a present for her husband. I searched a long time for her but never found anything until Ida provided me with information telling me where she was, strung out on jack and merrily hallucinating everything was fine as another soldier’s property. Ida got her cleaned up, deprogrammed, and now she’s married to a woman back on Xerxes. All she wanted was that I be her hatchet man for as long as she wanted. Even if it gets me killed.”

  “Sounds like a bargain.”

  “It is.”

  I was about to talk more about Hiro when I heard the young man’s voice coming from behind the hydroponics garden doors. “So, how, exactly does artificial gravity work if it doesn’t exist?”

  “There’s no such thing as artificial gravity because there’s just gravity,” Zoe responded. “It’s a layman’s term to describe the mostly-indistinguishable force of acceleration we use to keep things from floating around space. The engines of the ship provide thrust when operating, pushing up against the deck. That’s why the engines are at the bottom of the ship because down is always towards the engines, against the direction of the push. When we’re docked, we have the gravity wells of the existing objects like space stations and so on to provide it but—”

  “I’ve explained this to him a thousand times,” Munin said. “He just uses it as a conversation opener with techy-types. Are you drunk?”

  Zoe snorted. “A little bit. I really shouldn’t be having this while I’m on all the drugs Doctor Hernandez gave me.”

  Heading through the doors, I was washed over by an immense amount of moisture in the air. The artificial sunlight above our heads was blinding and I briefly moved my hand in front of my eyes even as they adjusted. I took a second to look at the lengthy greenhouse around me. Officially, it existed for the purposes of assisting the ship’s reclamation filters as well as helping the crew’s diet, despite providing nowhere near enough food for the entire crew. Unofficially, the hydroponics garden served as a lounge to alleviate the claustrophobia so many grounders suffered from after months in space.

  Row after row of tables full of fruits, vegetables, and oxy-plants were separated by wooden tables with mechs tending the plants. Munin, Hiro, and Zoe were all dressed in crew jumpsuits around one of the central tables with pre-packaged meals in front of them as well as an open bottle of champagne. Clarice, having cleaned herself up, stood next to Isla. It looked like the gang was all here.

  Isla shot me a dirty look. It appeared I would have to do more than simply apologize for planning to leave. I decided on buying her jewelry. I had my fortune back and that was, at least on Crius, the universal way of getting back into a man or woman’s good graces.

  “Hello, everyone,” I said, taking a moment to make sure no one else was present. “I wanted to talk to my sister about some details.”

  “You mean the fact she’s a robot?” Hiro asked.

  “That’s a racial slur,” Zoe said, revealing she knew she was a bioroid.

  “My apologies,” Hiro said, putting his hand over his heart. “Some of my best friends are robots.”

  Isla glared at him, which was a welcome relief.

  “We need you guys for yet another mission to the heart of something incredibly dangerous and ill-advised,” William said, taking the conversation away from me.

  “Did Ida find another cannibal mind-control marker again?” Munin said, biting into her peanut butter and gelatin sandwich, then talking with her mouth full. “Because, that didn’t work out last time. You weren’t there but it didn’t. At all.”

  “Is that a ship-wide joke or—” I started to ask.

  William raised his hand. “Clarice, your crazy psycho crime boss cousin is also a terrorist. Will you come with us to meet with her and possibly get horribly killed?”

  “You got it,” Clarice said, looking uncomfortable.

  “I volunteer as well,” Isla said.

  “As do I,” Hiro said, making me uncomfortable.

  “I want to help in any way I can,” Zoe said, smiling. “It’s, after all, why I was created.”

  Munin chewed on her food. “Yeah, if anyone is expecting me to go then they can kiss my very shapely posterior.”

  “We don’t need you on this one, Munin. It’s on planet and not tech-related,” I said.

  Munin finished her mouthful and took a drink of artificial milk. “Well, now I feel insulted.”

  “Don’t be,” I said, smiling. “You’re still our favorite shapely engineer.”

  “I was on a magazine cover, once,” Munin said, lifting her half-eaten sandwich. “Granted, it only had a circulation of like five ships, but it’s still true.”

  “If Janice is involved with all of this Free Systems Alliance stuff, it’ll probably only take a better deal to get her out of it,” Clarice said, not meeting mine or William’s gaze. “I’ve never known my sister to be involved in any sort of politics other than herself. She’s a slaver and, at heart, all slavers only care about themselves.”

  “It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself of that,” I said, without thinking.

  Clarice’s stare became as deadly as Isla’s.

  “Wow, you’re just rolling sevens and elevens today aren’t you?” William said, slapping me on the back.

  I removed his hand. “If you don’t mind, I would like to take my sister for a moment to speak with her in private.”

  “She’s not your sister,” Isla said.

  “I believe that’s up to me and Cassius to decide,” Zoe said, her voice rather haughty and condescending.

  Isla shook her head and turned away.

  “Brr, frosty,” Munin said. “Oh, Cassius, while you’re on the planet, do me a favor and use your newfound fortune to buy us some decent eats. Also, something expensive for the crew members you like, or just me. Up to you.”

  “I’m glad to see my newfound wealth isn’t going to change our relationship,” I said, dryly.

  “I have a list of tools I’d like,” Munin said, pulling out her infopad and tapping it. “I’ve transferred my wish list to your infopad.”

  “Right.”

  Zoe got up. “Either way, Cassius, I would be happy to speak with you alone. Please don’t steal my food while I’m gone, Munin.”

  “What kind of
girl do you take me for?” Munin said, immediately taking her dessert cup.

  Zoe rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like, “Peasant.”

  Oh yes, she was going to get along great here. Then again, as an open bioroid, she might actually be in danger. I’d have to speak to Ida about informing the crew they’d have to pay for her if she was injured. That would do more to keep her safe than a promise to space anyone involved in violence.

  Walking out of the hydroponics garden across the hall to the groundskeeper mechs’ station, Zoe and I found ourselves in a hall full of a dozen slots for humanoid-sized mechs to stand in, as well as next to a bunch of gardening equipment. Closing the door behind us, I locked it, then clasped my hands together. “Before we begin this conversation, a few questions. First of all, you remember everything Zoe did?”

  “Yes,” Zoe said.

  “You have her personality?”

  “I am Zoe for all intents and purposes,” Zoe said, smiling. “I am my finest achievement.”

  “Excellent,” I said, taking a deep breath and trying not to freak out. “So, for the purposes of this conversation and all future ones, I will treat you as my sister. This acceptable to you?”

  “Of course,” Zoe said. “Consider me Zoe II or your younger sister/daughter as well as your niece. A situation you’re already familiar with as a clone of our father.”

  I nodded. “Very well, then let me begin by saying, what the fuck were you thinking?”

  “Which time?” Zoe said, blinking and taking a step back.

  “The time when you created a goddamn clone of me and sent it on a mission to create terrorists? That thing? Aiding the Commonwealth? Aiding terrorists against the Commonwealth? Building a Cognition A.I.? Cloning yourself mentally? Where should I even begin? Is that other Judith a clone of her brain? What other sort of unholy necromancy have you been practicing?” I hadn’t been expecting to yell at her, but I found myself a lot more upset than I expected. It turned out I was better at suppressing than I thought.