Forever Series 4: The Forever Quest

by Craig Robertson

  I hit a working man’s bar in the spaceport and asked where I might locate cheap lodging. They’d heard that question before. They directed me to a hotel a few blocks away. I guess he bought my cover because the hotel was so sleazy I almost took a pass. But then again, I figured why break my cover? It wasn’t like their fleas could bite me. I walked to the desk and asked about a room. Weekly rates, pay in advance, no fighting, sheets and towels were extra, and no more than two whores at a time. I could live with that. I plopped some bills down and told him to keep the change. He called me a bad word in colorful vernacular and threw a handful of coins on the floor at my feet. Nice place. Maybe I could rent to own.

  Over a few weeks, I hung around spaceport bars and asked about work. I got a lot of offers. I became quite the expert at saying no. That destination was too far, that planet smelled funny, I was wanted in that system, or my favorite, all the girls there are ugly. I always thanked them for their offers and said I’d think about them. They always asked me not to do them any favors. The job was take it or leave it. So, I left it. One thing I mentioned in every conversation was my twin brother. Oh, boy, did I miss him and was he ever a bastard for sleeping with my wife, and the jerk owed me a fortune in gambling debts. I always pretended to be drunk when going on about that darn twin of mine, so I don’t think anyone got suspicious. No one said they’d seen my twin, but no one got hostile either.

  I had just paid for my third week at the marvelous Hotel Delux—no comment—when I got a nibble of a lead. I was spouting off to some drunk about my saint of a twin brother, how I wanted to find him so I could tell him our mom died. The bartender inched in closer, pretending to clean the counter. That caught my attention because the bar was sticky and littered with crumbs. He wasn’t routinely a clean freak. I gradually included him in our drunken conversation. I told him if my brother was there right then, I’d kiss him on the lips, I’d be so happy to see him. I also recounted what a star athlete he was in school. He played all the sports and got all the girls, the lucky so-and-so.

  The bartender said my twin sounded like a real nice fellow. I confirmed he was. The barkeep said he just might have seen him, unless it had been me he saw a couple days ago. I said it probably was but asked where’d he seen me anyway. He reported it was down on Lectur Street by one of the warehouses. I opened my eyes like I’d seen a ghost. I said I had no idea where that was and hadn’t ever been there. I pressed him to recall details. I slipped him a few bills to jog his memory. He said it was in front of a bar. Yeah, now that he thought about it, it was a bar named Conyers.

  I tried to appear like I was going to jump out of my skin. There was, realistically, little chance his story was legit. But I wanted to stay in character and, most of all, if it was a real lead, I wanted it. I figured he had some agenda. Maybe he owned the place and wanted a regular like me to do my drinking there. I looked up the directions while he was saying he’d be such a proud man to have reunited two loving brothers. What a con.

  I took my time making it over to Conyers. I didn’t want to seem too motivated. Drunks were never motivated. If someone was trailing me, I’d blow my cover. I had Al see if he could find out anything about the place. He did some checking and reported back that it seemed like a run of the mill gin joint. He said I’d probably like it because Conyers had twenty-four seven strippers. I asked what species the performers were. He said he was surprised that mattered to me. Ah, my Al.

  It was getting late by the time I walked into the club. It was loud—sounded like boulders falling off a cliff. And though there was technically a stripper pole-dancing, I was betting she was ugly to whatever species she belonged to. It sure wasn’t mine.

  I forced my way to the bar and ordered what had become my usual on Balmorulam. They called it a liar’s promise. Yeah, stupid name. But it combined the qualities I’d come to appreciate. It was strong, and it was cheap. As I nursed my drink, it became obvious the bartender was nicer to me than he had to be, even if he was angling for big tips. I’d been in enough bars to know cordiality was not a part of the man’s job. But I played dumb—don’t even say it. It was an act. As the evening went on, I noticed my drinks were coming faster and were stronger. There was a new element finding its way up the concentration level too. I did a discreet check. He was cutting in larger and larger quantities of a sleeping medicine. Knock-out drops. The dude was trying to put me on the floor. There went his chances for a five-star rating from me.

  I acted like I was in a stupor. I bobbed my head like I was on the verge of passing out but then I’d rally. I was ninety-nine point nine percent certain the bartender was scamming me. But it wasn’t impossible that Uto wanted me blurry before he met with me. That way … crap in a basket! What was I not thinking? Uto knew I was an android. Liquor and sleeping pills would have zero effect on me. I could be such an idiot.

  At that juncture, a man sat down next to me at the bar. I turned to inspect him, still pretending to be drunk. Wow. He was a big man. Wait, he wasn’t a man. He was humanoid, but … did I mention he was huge? He looked back at me, cool as a cucumber. His breath was as hot as it was voluminous. It didn’t smell like roses either.

  Out of nowhere, the beast snapped, “What’d you call me?”

  Huh? “I didn’t say anything,” I replied. How dumb was that?

  “You call me the son of a thousand fathers? How dare you. I’ll kill you for that insult!” He looked like he was quite capable of making good on his threat.

  “Whoa, pal,” I said, a lot more lucid. “I don’t…”

  That’s when he pushed me and my barstool to the floor. Asshole. I got up faster than I should have been able to, but he didn’t notice. I don’t think he considered me an opponent, only a victim. I had a quick decision to make. I could kill him, maybe the bartender too for good measure, but that would terminate the cover I’d worked so hard to establish. I could pretend to be knocked out and escape later when there were fewer witnesses. Or…that’s when a bottle crashed against the back of my head. I ran the numbers quickly. If I were human, if that blow didn’t kill me, it sure as hell would have rendered me unconscious.

  I dropped to the floor in a heap.

  Do you know what’s annoying? Pretending to be unconscious while two clumsy, ham-handed jerks are moving you out of a bar and into a van. I hit more object than I missed. Plus, the big guy who’d pushed me and was helping lug me out had a real issue with intestinal gas. I don’t know what he ate, but he shouldn’t have eaten it.

  I stayed on my back in the van as the van sped away. I couldn’t sense anyone nearby, but they might have cameras. I’d escape when we got to wherever they were taking me. I could hear the driver talking with a passenger. It wasn’t the same behemoth who had pushed me because the passenger up front spoke words without grunting.

  The only reason I listened in was because there really wasn’t anything else to do. I checked in with Al a couple times, but he could be entertaining only in small doses. Their initial conversation had concerned what a loser I was, how easily they’d bagged me, and how much they’d get for me. I guess I was being sold, maybe into slavery? Didn’t matter. The person who bought me was going to want to return me for a full refund, guaranteed.

  Then they mentioned something I did not anticipate. They said I was as unlucky as “those assholes from Earth.” They shouldn’t have known about Earth. Sure, maybe their scientist sent a UFO there before Jupiter rammed it, but scum like those two shouldn’t be aware of its existence. Plus, they talked about assholes from Earth. Could they possibly be referring to the worldship fleet? If so, why were they unlucky? They were alive, multiplying, and steaming toward a permanent home. Nothing unlucky about that. Unless they were privy to the fact that the humans’ luck was about to change.

  I let Al know I wouldn’t be home for dinner anytime soon.

  FIVE

  Toño De Jesus sat in his lab, elbows on the bench top, hands supporting his chin. He was staring at the biggest headache he’d been saddled wit
h in over a century. He looked in consternation at Kelldrek in her cage. She was the only Berrillian to survive the attack they mounted against Azsuram. Why Jon had felt it necessary to capture her was beyond Toño’s reckoning. That the android scientist was stuck with her for good was plain. No one else would tolerate her. She was uncooperative, disruptive, and she smelled revolting. More importantly, she was a constant threat to anyone who strayed too close to her cage. She stated repeatedly and unambiguously that she wanted to kill as many of her enemies as she could. He surrounded her metal bars with a plexiglass barrier, but there was always a chance she’d manage to snag a hold of someone not paying enough attention.

  He kept her alive initially because he hoped to learn something from her or about her species. She done her utmost to foil any such attempts. He could simple euthanize her, but that went against Toño’s nature. He was loath to kill anything, especially a prisoner. She did eat well. Whenever he tossed a chunk of meat near her cage, she pulled it in and ripped it to shreds impressively. Still, eventually, he’d either put her down or at least confine her elsewhere.

  For her part, Kelldrek never warmed one tenth of one degree toward Toño or any of her captors. Whatever she said was easily translated. She cursed endlessly, threatened continually, and mocked, with stunning creativity, anyone within earshot. Unfortunately, the recipient of her abuse was usually Toño. He longed for the days when he was left alone to perform his research in peace. He doubted those days would ever return.

  “My dear,” he said to her one day, “why is it you behave so poorly? Honestly. You’re a prisoner here for the remainder of your life. Escape is impossible, and rescue even less likely than that. Why can’t you make peace with that reality?”

  “I make peace with no being or concept,” she snarled back. “What would you have me do? Watch your holo-programs and read your nonsensical books?”

  “I just don’t understand why you must be so unpleasant. It can’t be fun for you.”

  “Why not? I take great pleasure in making you miserable. Wait,” she said bringing a paw to her mouth, “or is it that you are lonely? I rarely see you leave, and no female of your species ever visits. No male either, for that matter. Yes, with the disappearance of your lover, Jon Ryan, you’re alone and sad.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Shame on you.”

  She was pleased to have gotten him going, yet again. “Would you like me to press my backside up the cage to help ease your pain?” She purred loudly.

  “How revolting.”

  “A remark no male has made to me, but have it your way. But keep in mind my offer remains, even if your masculinity doesn’t.”

  “That about does it.” Toño lowered an opaque dome over her confinement area. It was totally soundproof. Toño could finally get some work done without her interference. One of the AIs would monitor her, in case something happened that required his attention. He reflected, and not for the first time, that it was too bad Azsuram had not founded a zoo yet. When they did, if she was still alive, she’d be the first exhibit.

  Before he could begin a creative train of thought, JJ wandered into the lab. He hadn’t mentioned he was going to visit, but Toño felt his casual pace meant there was no new crisis on the immediate horizon that forced him to come. As much as he liked Jon’s eldest son, Toño was irritated that he was not to get any work done for however much longer this visit would take.

  “Evening, Doc,” said JJ. “Nice night for a walk, don’t you think?”

  He did not. Moreover, Toño did not want to take a walk even if the night was transcendently beautiful. “JJ, what brings you by?”

  “Just missing an old friend,” he replied.

  Then you should go visit them. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve only just silenced the she-beast from Berrill. Any period following contact with her is cursed to be unpleasant.”

  “Awe, come on. I think you two are becoming the best of friends. Your relationship has turned the corner. When was the last time she threatened to eat your beating heart?”

  Toño shot his face quickly to one side. “It has been days.”

  “See,” JJ said raising his arms, “the very best of friends. Hey, are those wedding bells I hear in my imagination?”

  “If so, I’m not a good enough physician to cure your hallucinations.” He realized the convivial JJ was drawing him into conversation despite his not wanting to. He had more Jon Ryan in him than genetics alone could account for. “So, what does bring you here so late?” He hit the word late with increased force.

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  So, you decided to plague me. My company is on par with insomnia. How very flattering.

  “Any reason in particular?” Toño asked with absolutely no enthusiasm.

  JJ growled the shrill, oh-I-don’t-know growl of his species.

  Toño opened a drawer and removed a small crowbar. “Do you mind if I use this to pry the information out of you, thus avoiding hours on unwelcome preliminaries?”

  JJ tilted his head. “Might be fun.”

  Toño narrowed his eyes.

  “Or maybe I’ll just share some reservations I’m having.”

  “That would be welcome.”

  “There’s a council meeting tomorrow.”

  “You’re worried about a routine, mind-numbing council meeting? Aside from the threat of death from terminal boredom, what could possibly concern you?”

  JJ sniffed loudly. “Dolirca is being difficult again.”

  “I wasn’t aware she was difficult in the first place.”

  “Maybe not to you.”

  “What has she done to cause you concern? She’s always been the very picture of sweetness and forthrightness.”

  “Maybe to you.”

  “Have I mentioned before you talk as annoyingly as your father?”

  “Maybe to you.” JJ smiled when Toño visibly tensed. “Okay, look, the deal is that she seems to have her own agenda. When I mention some future direction or action, her eyes are a million kilometers away.”

  “I’m a bit confused. Everyone should have their own thoughts on a matter. Dolirca is brighter than average and more motivated than most. Those are admirable qualities. Maybe you’re too sensitive?”

  “I wish it was that. No, after knowing her since she was in diapers and working with her for years, I think it’s different. She… isn’t a team player. Yes. That’s it. She parades around with One and Two like she is royalty. She acts better than the rest of us.”

  “She has a couple Toe pets. That’s not a factor in any sense. The Toe are agreeable creatures of very limited intellect.”

  “They’re not all that friendly. Have you interacted with them lately?”

  Toño was taken back. “No. But they’re clones of Ffffuttoe. She was the picture of congeniality.”

  “One and Two bite when confronted and block direct access to Dolirca when she tells them to.”

  “I find that impossible to believe. I will, of course, check their status first thing tomorrow. We can’t have ill-tempered mutants threatening the children.”

  “Check her out while you’re at it. If she ever was a sweet innocent child, she isn’t any longer.”

  “I find that harder to believe. But as the colony’s medical director, I will have a conversation with her. She hasn’t come in for a physical in quite a while. I can use that as an excuse to speak with her.”

  “Honestly, Doc, I’d feel a lot better if you did. If Dad was around, I’d lay this on—”

  “No need to explain. I’m happy to help. You run along to that darling family of yours and leave the worrying to me. I’m a pro.”

  SIX

  Pilot, protested Al, your plan of action is unjustifiably dangerous. I will not condone it by becoming an accomplice.

  Al, you can’t be an accomplice, I responded via our mental link. For one thing, you’re not alive, and for another, I’m giving you a direct order. This is not a discussion. Just do as I say. I can’t move the vortex unles
s I’m physically in contact with it. It’ll just have to remain where it is while you and I go wherever it is they’re taking me.

  No, he replied, I demand you escape, and then I’ll bring you back to the cube.

  No can do. I need to know if the human fleet is in danger from these bozos. Stay as far away as possible without losing contact. Hopefully they won’t be able to detect you. If they can, there’s not much they can do about being tailed.

  Very well, pilot. For the time being, I will play it your way. But I’m on record as thinking it’s a bad idea.

  “Al, seriously, who you going to complain to? I had him there. Who cared what I did? Sapale was gone, Amanda Walker would encourage me to find out the facts, and General Saunders was dust orbiting inside Jupiter. I’ll update you as it becomes necessary. I terminated the link.

  With Al’s input, I’d determined I was aboard a freighter heading directly away from the star system. Our destination wasn’t obvious. There were no known planets in that direction, even on the list Kymee supplied me. The ship moved at about half the speed of light, so most likely, we wouldn’t be arriving to our destination for quite some time. Great, another long space flight. I’d forgotten how tediously slow conventional engines were. Oh, well. I had nearly endless entertainment stored in my head, and sooner or later, they were going to have to wake me up to feed me. No sense going to all that trouble capturing a prisoner if you just going to let him starve to death.

  A few hours later, someone opened the door to the tiny space they’d dumped me in. I don’t know how long I was supposed to be out, but I figured it was better to err on the side of too long versus too soon. Several hours after that, two men came to check on me. One stepped into my space and kicked me. I groaned but didn’t otherwise respond.

  “This ass is really out. Oh well, a passed out prisoner is better than an awake one, at least for now. Tell the captain his newest crewman is still sleeping like a baby. I’ll check back on him later.”