by B. V. Larson
Hughes twisted up her mouth into an expression of disgust and put her hands on her hips.
“I came to see if you were all right, since you didn’t report to sick bay for stitches, or anything. I can see now that you’ve been well cared-for.”
Despite her disgusted tone, I took her words at face-value.
“Thank you much, Colonel. All I need is a shower and a good breakfast. I’ll be back on duty in an hour.”
“Take your time,” she said sarcastically, and she closed the door firmly. It wasn’t quite a slam—but it was close.
“She likes you,” Jillian said.
“You think so?”
“How can you be blind about that when you know what everyone is thinking the rest of the time? I’m taking your words as an attempt to throw me off.”
“If you say so.”
Dr. Brandt was smart and watchful. Did I have two jealous women on my hands? I shrugged, deciding I didn’t care. They’d have to sort it out. There were bigger matters to worry about.
As Jillian brushed her hair, she stared at me thoughtfully. It seemed like she thought I should say something.
“Jessup invited me to join his crew,” I said suddenly.
I knew I couldn’t accept, but part of me wanted to talk about it.
My statement made Jillian blink and shift gears. “Don’t do it,” she said. “He’s an ass. A drunken, tyrannical ass.”
“You’ve got a point there, but he did perform well in this first-contact situation.”
“So did you. You should have your own command out here on the front lines.”
I laughed at that. “Captain a ship? That’s not what I do.”
“We’re going to need captains. We’re going to build more ships, and it would be nice to have people man them who had experience with aliens.”
I blinked at her. A second recruitment attempt? It’d only been ten hours ago we’d been fighting for our lives outside the Sphere.
“Those kinds of decisions aren’t up to me, Jillian.”
She shook her head. “You’re wrong. If you don’t pursue them, if you just continue to take missions and drift, you’ll never be your own man, Gray.”
That line deeply troubled me. It was closer to heart than she could possibly know.
“Um…” I said. “Let’s get a shower and eat.”
“Invitation accepted.”
She smiled at me, took my hand, and we had a nice morning. It was rushed, and we were stared at, but it was still nice.
An hour later I was back prowling the decks, checking security data and talking to every officer on the ship.
“You’re like a watchdog, Gray,” Jessup said good-naturedly.
“That’s right, Captain,” I said. “I like to keep an eye on everything.”
The flight back home went quickly. We relaxed more every day as Earth drew closer and nothing terrible happened.
There were reports and debriefings, of course. Everyone back home in at the Ministry of Control wanted reassurances and details—endless details.
I knew the drill. I knew they were picking apart every scrap of testimony, asking us to make statements which were transmitted via encrypted messages back to Earth. Even before we reached orbit, they had their recriminations, promotions and demotions all lined up. That’s how Earth Gov operated these days. They liked to get their ducks all lined up in a row early.
When we arrived back home at Dulles Station, which was parked over North America, there was a delegation waiting for us. They met us at the docking tubes.
The gaggle of officials didn’t surprise me, neither did the fact they were mostly grim-faced investigators and MPs.
What did surprise me was the man who led the whole mob. It was none other than Lieutenant Shaw. The very man I’d kicked out an airlock roughly a month ago.
To my way of thinking, one of my best traits is how unflappable I am when confronted by surprise. Instead of gasping and sputtering, or running away to hide on the bilge deck, I gave Shaw a warm smile.
“Nice to see you again, brother,” I said.
“Really?” Shaw said, his eyes taking on a predatory cast. “I thought you might be annoyed—or at least surprised.”
“Never,” I said. “Our kind—we’re hard to kill… and even when you do… Oh, wait a second… you’re not seriously pissed off, are you? I hope you didn’t take our little disagreement personally.”
“How could I?” he asked tightly between clamped teeth. “This way to your cell, please. The Ministry will be conducting a very thorough investigation—starting with you and the obliterated station.”
I walked away with them calmly, ignoring the armed spacers and Shaw himself. I continued to speak in a conversational tone. Sometimes that threw people off their game.
I considered breaking his neck, of course. If I grabbed a weapon, and I got a lucky shot off—well, he’d be dead for sure.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t see how such an approach wouldn’t lead to my death as well, moments later. As far as these guards were concerned, Shaw had the clearance and the rank. I was just some kind of renegade. Sometimes when you drew a tough hand, you just had to throw it all away and draw new cards.
The worst part of it was Shaw seemed to know more about me than I knew about him—or me. That probably had to do with our mission parameters. I tended not to awaken with any unnecessary information planted in my brain.
When we reached the interrogation chamber—because that’s what it was—Shaw dropped all pretenses of civilized behavior. He threatened me, banged heavy objects into the walls behind my head, and generally behaved like a bully.
He didn’t strike me directly, however. Maybe he was still afraid to do that after what had happened the last time.
I could have told him none of his efforts at revenge were going to work. I’d completed my mission. Humans had escaped our Sphere and returned again safely—most of them, anyway.
That was all I cared about, right now, and it was time for some real rest.
Closing my eyes, I felt a sting on my face.
Waking up with a start, I snorted at him. “Finally grew a pair and hit me one, did you?” I asked.
Red-faced, he stood breathing and nodding tightly to himself.
“This isn’t over, Gray. You’re not getting away from me again. There will be an investigation. A thorough investigation into everything you’ve done this time. Nothing will escape us!”
That actually piqued my interest for a moment.
“This time, huh?” I asked him. “So you’ve pestered me before?”
Shaw blinked, then frowned. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of our past conflicts. I’m informing you that this time will be different.”
I shrugged disinterestedly. “Whatever you say, Lieutenant. What’s next?”
Shaw worked his mouth for a second. “Due to a number of requests for your release, I’m going to have to free you until the next step in this procedure. You’re not to leave the area.”
“You mean Dulles Station?”
“I mean the capital. Everyone is leaving Dulles. There’s been some kind of security issue…”
“Huh…” I said, barely interested.
“You’ll be watched,” he assured me. “You’re not a free man—not really. Don’t get any cute ideas.”
“You mean… like disappearing for years?”
His face reddened. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”
Standing up and stretching, I walked out of the place a few minutes later.
Shaw couldn’t hold me. He had nothing. He’d apparently arrested me on trumped-up charges, hoping Viper’s crew would testify against me. He’d thought maybe they would come to dislike me as much as he did—but the opposite had happened.
Maybe, if he’d caught up with me right as the ship was about to launch, he’d have gotten a few of them to sign complaints. But as it was, no one would help him on his little witch hunt. He had nothing, and we both knew it.
>
“So,” I asked him as I was processed out of the station’s detention center, “how many times have we met before? Just an estimate?”
He blinked again in confusion. “You mean since you fucked-up that deal back on Titan?”
When he said Titan, I experienced a trickle of memories. Cold oceans of liquid methane... I remembered the place. It was a thoroughly unpleasant moon circling Saturn.
“Uh… right,” I said, having no recollection of having worked with him anywhere. “How about since Titan?”
“I don’t know…” he said. “Five times, maybe? Why do you ask? Are you senile or something?”
“I’m not sure,” I laughed, letting him wonder if I was serious or not. He shook his head, muttering. “Maybe not. You are way older than I am. No one knows how old, actually…”
At that moment, the clerk gave me my walking papers. Taking my cue, I strolled outside. I was followed by some whiny drones, of course, but I ignored my tail and went into the Old City.
Who were those following me? Who sponsored them and Lt. Shaw? I didn’t know and I barely cared at this point. My mission was finished, and I needed a break.
The Ministry of Control had been operating for over a century, and it was sometimes called the Tower of Babel for good reasons. It was standard procedure for the various departments of the Ministry to spy on each other.
Why? Well, when you were running security for an entire planet, things became complex. There wasn’t any realistic way to get thousands of departments with thousands of different interests to all agree on anything. We often got in each other’s way—today, in my case, things were no different.
It was late winter now, and the urban landscape of the Old City was lightly dusted with snow. The street sounds were muffled by it. My world was gray, hushed and cold.
A full week went by, during which I did as little as possible. I spent my time doing mundane things in boring places. I ate food, experienced modern sensory-recordings and walked the streets of the Old City without purpose.
I just—lived.
At last, I decided the time had come to shake my pursuers. It was a simple matter, I’d done it before many times.
My first move was to confront them. I bought a bag of sandwiches, and I took it to their mobile station. That was inside an auto-driving van, which I found sitting in a parking lot near an empty sports stadium.
Tapping on the doors and looking into the windows, I eventually got one of the men inside to open up.
“Can I help you?” he asked coldly.
“Is Lt. Shaw in there?”
The man stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir. Could you please move along? We’re conducting government business, here.”
“I understand. I’ve done this sort of stake-out myself. I’ve been watching you gentlemen for a week.”
He squeezed his eyes into tight lines. “Is that a threat, sir? I’m afraid—”
“Here,” I said, handing him the sandwiches. “No threats—just a peace-offering. Not a bribe, or anything.”
He took the bag suspiciously, and it vanished into the van. A moment later, as I was walking away, I saw him toss it outside. The bag and the sandwiches splashed over frosted concrete. They’d probably thought it was a bomb—but it wasn’t.
Shrugging, I walked away and returned to the city streets. There was no making peace with some people. They were just too paranoid.
It wasn’t until I got to the second corner that I activated the tiny magnetic bottle I’d slipped under the van’s front fender. It popped, and an EMP blast fried everything within twenty meters.
I took another hundred steps—less than that, maybe.
Then the first of the drones that had been following me fell. It had been left without a master to guide it, so it drifted down and landed on the snowy sidewalk nearby.
With a smile, I walked to it and stomped it flat. The casing crunched quite nicely.
Ten minutes later, I was off their radar completely.
* * *
Reaching the old, creaky hotel I’d emerged from two months ago, I found a very special elevator. I rode the clattering car until everyone got off, then I pressed the button that never worked for anyone but me.
Quickly, all the other call lights died, and the car whisked me away deep underground.
When it chimed, I stepped out carefully. Without having to think about it, I began to follow the path. It was the only path that didn’t lead to death down here.
I wondered as I counted steps, hopping and ducking now and then, why I could remember this elaborate maze so perfectly but be unable to recall more than flashes of my past.
It didn’t matter. My mission had been completed successfully. What mattered to me now was this golden opportunity for rest.
The debriefing went smoothly. I spoke to her—to the Watcher who knew me best. She asked impersonal questions about the Vehk and Viper’s crew. Eventually, she dismissed me, and I walked the frosted streets again.
I felt good inside, because I was going to rest now. I was going to be allowed to fully shut down. I’d sleep the way normal men slept—or perhaps even more deeply than they did.
Looking forward to my vacation, I finally made it to a shadowy area of the city. An area that was several blocks wide and dwelt in the looming shadow of the Ministry of Control.
The Ministry itself, when I glanced up at it, resembled a vast, gothic tower from centuries past. It was taller than the tallest mountain on Earth, they said—but I had nothing to measure it by.
I found my way inside, passing security without a hitch. Deep in the heart of the building was an inner sanctum full of bubbling tanks. It was attended by a sole receptionist.
She looked at me blankly. “Can I help you…? Chief Gray?”
She’d looked up my identity. She hadn’t recognized me, and I hadn’t recognized her. Perhaps she was new—or I was old.
“I’m here to rest,” I said.
She frowned. “Um… oh. I see here in your file… All right.”
Still frowning, she got up and led me to a tank. The system must have turned on the tank and prepared it for my arrival. It resembled a bubbling cauldron, and I watched in fascination as it slid away from the wall and exposed its unidentifiable contents.
The steamy smell of it…
I stopped walking and stared into the thick liquids for a long moment.
“Do you need assistance, Chief?” the woman asked me.
“Uh… no. No, thank you.”
I removed my clothing, but still I stood there, naked.
Staring down at the tank, I felt a moment of regret. I’d made friends here in this time, in this slice of my life. It would be hard to give all that up. Maybe…
“Get into your receptacle, sir,” the receptionist said gently.
“I will.”
“It’s time for you to rest.”
“I know…”
Still, I hesitated. Was it my imagination, or were there tubes moving around with purpose inside that soup? I supposed there had to be. Something must attach to my bloodstream, to feed me oxygen and nutrients.
“Could I wait a week?” I asked aloud. “I’ve made… friends.”
“That’s not possible. The computer says you’re overdue as it is. There are toxins that must be removed. We’re also monitoring tissue damage that hasn’t been fully repaired.”
I frowned. What the computer said was possible, but I felt fine. I almost always felt… fine.
After a further brief hesitation, I got into the tank, and I lay down inside it.
Like a warm bath, the liquid enclosed me. It gurgled thickly into my sinuses. Soon, those squirming tubes found a dozen entrances and dug in. Where there wasn’t an opening for access, they bored a new one. The pain was brief.
Sleep began to overcome me. This was true sleep—not just a quiet shut down like those peaceful moments I’d experienced aboard Viper and during nights in various hotel rooms. This sleep was
much more total than that.
As I faded away, I had second thoughts. I considered breaking free. These liquids… they felt almost corrosive. They were stinging my skin.
Could it be this slop was caustic? Did it etch away my flesh until later, when it grew me back again? When I was needed once more?
Was that the key to my long life—that I lived it in fits and starts?
Maybe I was already dreaming. It didn’t matter now, because it was too late. I was too far gone.
At long last I let go of consciousness, and I slept as only the dead can sleep.
THE END
From the Author: Thanks Reader! I hope you enjoyed WAR of the SPHERES. If you liked the story and want it to become a series, please put up some stars and a review to support the book. If you’re a fan of another series, don’t worry, more are on the way!
-BVL
More SF Books by the Authors:
The Undying Mercenaries Series:
Steel World
Dust World
Tech World
Machine World
Death World
Rogue World
Blood World
Dark World
Storm World
Rebel Fleet Series:
Rebel Fleet
Orion Fleet
Alpha Fleet
Earth Fleet
Star Force Series:
Swarm
Extinction
Rebellion
Conquest
Army of One (Novella)
Battle Station
Empire
Annihilation
Storm Assault
The Dead Sun
Outcast
Exile
Demon Star
Starship Pandora (Audible Only)
Visit BVLarson.com for more information.