by M. D. Cooper
Brit released her breath, setting her forehead against her rifle’s hand guards.
The massive head of Tristan’s mech appeared from the dust roiling in the corridor, followed by its armored shoulders and front legs. He tilted his head as he looked at them.
Starl said in a voice that was mostly a moan.
Tristan laughed, a light sound at odds with the dragon-like head looking at them.
CHAPTER THIRTY
STELLAR DATE: 01.15.2982 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Raleigh, Heartbridge Corporate Headquarters
REGION: High Terra, Earth, Terran Hegemony
The lift had dropped fifty levels when it came to an abrupt halt. Jirl’s stomach flew into her throat and she looked at the guards on either side of her, who were equally shocked.
A scraping sound of metal-on-metal came from the other side of the doors, and then the inner doors split open abruptly. Light poured through the gap and a gruff voice shouted: “Hands up! Get on your knees!”
The guard on her left dropped Jirl’s arm and drew his pistol. His helmet slammed backward, a hole appearing in its faceplate as a mist of blood covered the side of Jirl’s face. She blinked, squinting against the light, and dropped to her knees even as the other guard refused to let go of her arm. She held up her other hand, palm forward.
A dark shape stepped out of the light and butt-stroked the remaining guard, who only released Jirl’s arm when he hit the lift wall. Jirl raised both hands.
“I’m a civilian,” she said. “I’m unarmed. I’m not dangerous.”
“Are you sure about that?” a familiar voice asked.
The lights blinked out and Colonel Yarnes stood in front of her, wearing a suit of TSF light combat armor. He’d pushed the faceplate up on his helmet.
“Rick,” Jirl said. “What are you doing here?” She dropped her hands halfway, not sure if she was safe. She did her best to flatten the surge of emotion she felt.
One of the soldiers standing behind Yarnes chuckled. “Rick?” he teased.
“Shut it,” Yarnes commanded. He offered a hand to help Jirl to her feet, giving her a reassuring nod. His gloves were rough against her fingers.
“The Terran Assembly has issued warrants of arrest for the Heartbridge board,” he said. “We tracked communications between the incoming fleet outside the Cho and High Terra. Looks like they originate here. The Raleigh Police Force is securing the lower levels. We’ve been conducting sweeps level by level. And I was looking for you specifically.”
“Why me?”
Yarnes gave her a sideways glance. “You were here to meet with Arla, right?”
“I saw her. She’s—She’s gone. I think Heartbridge security may have taken her.”
“And was anyone with her?”
Jirl paused, not sure if she should say that she had met Camaris or not. At this point, it was probably safer to tell Yarnes what she knew, at least if she wanted to get out of the building. She didn’t think there was any way she could help Brit Sykes and Ngoba Starl. It would be better to engage Yarnes and deflect any questions about the coincidence of the attack on the TSF facility during her visit.
“Arla was in contact with a SAI named Camaris,” Jirl said. “I met her maybe thirty minutes ago. She claimed to be part of the group responsible for the attack on Ceres.”
Yarnes stared at her, his brown eyes unreadable. “Where did you see this AI last?”
“I was in a conference room near the executive levels. It’s a general use area. Arla surprised me there.
Jirl reached into her waistband and removed the two seeds she had taken from Arla. She held them out for Yarnes. “The SAI said she didn’t need these anymore as hardware, but Arla had them. I think you can use them to find her.”
Yarnes let her drop the two silver cylinders into his gloved hand and closed his fingers over them. “Did you consider that these things might be a trap?” he asked.
Jirl gave him a weary smile. “Honestly, I haven’t had time.”
“We’ll get them looked at.”
“She said something about using a shard to be here and with the armada at the same time.”
At the end of the corridor behind them, weapons fire broke out between two rooms. The soldiers with Yarnes immediately sprinted ahead to set up a defensive perimeter. Yarnes moved in front of Jirl as a shield but the fighting ended as quickly as it had started. Remembering the Heartbridge security in the lift, Jirl checked the car to affirm that the soldier Yarnes had hit was still unconscious.
“How did this happen so fast?” Jirl asked. “You had to have followed me from your headquarters.”
“Come on,” Yarnes said. “We’ll take the lift down.” He directed his soldiers to pull the Heartbridge security out of the car.
Once they were in the lift, Yarnes explained, “We think the attack on the TSF might have had something to do with Heartbridge pre-empting our assault. They went after one of their prototypes. We tracked it back here but don’t have it, currently.”
Jirl bit her lip and didn’t correct him.
“Anyway, Kathryn Carthage finally convinced the Assembly to take some kind of action. Since they can’t do much of anything about ships out near Ceres, this seemed like a good option for a news story. The communications were real, as you’ve apparently corroborated. Once we get the building secured, we’ll locate this SAI. A lot of this is above my paygrade. I just happened to be the closest commander within assault radius of your building with troops to spare.”
The lift doors opened on the spire’s main lobby. The space had changed drastically since Jirl had walked through just an hour before. TSF soldiers had occupied a space near the fountain and set up a temporary headquarters. At least a hundred employees were cordoned off in a makeshift detention area near the security checkpoint. They all looked somewhat ridiculous in their business attire as they sat on the polished floor, a few with restraints on their wrists and ankles.
As they walked past the enclosure, two guards saluted Yarnes and one asked, “Got another detainee, sir?”
Yarnes glanced at Jirl and she wondered for a second if he was going to pass her off, but he grinned. “Not this one,” he said.
They had almost reached the makeshift command section when one of the building’s main front doors opened and a new group of people walked into the sprawling lobby. As the group arranged themselves inside, it became obvious they were mostly attendants for the woman in their midst. Jirl watched for several seconds before she recognized their leaders.
“That’s Carthage,” she said.
Yarnes glanced toward the new group then made a point of turning away. He motioned with an armored arm to guide Jirl away but they didn’t move fast enough.
“Colonel Yarnes!” Kathryn called. “Is that you?”
Yarnes stiffened and turned, conspicuously stepping away from Jirl. Without needing to be told, she let herself fall behind his group of soldiers and out of notice.
“Kathryn,” Yarnes said. “You got here quickly.”
“I should say the same to you. Where is the board being held?”
“Everyone will be processed by the Raleigh PF once they’re in custody,” he said. “I’m here in a support role only.”
She walked closer, her shoes clicking on the polished floor. Kathryn reminded Jirl of Arla. She moved
with the same assurance, her attention like a spotlight. Jirl was glad when the woman glanced at her but didn’t pause.
“You’re here to support me,” she said. “I’m the reason you received your orders from the Assembly.”
Yarnes gave her a smile, his brown eyes bright. “I’m an officer in the Terran Space Force,” he said. “There are quite a few layers between me and Assembly.”
“But who signed your commission?” Kathryn waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. I need to hold a press conference in fifteen minutes and I’ll need you to be on standby. We’ll need a quote from the commanding officer, something to calm the populace. Word’s already out on the Heartbridge stock. This company is probably junk already.”
“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Yarnes said. He paused for a second, frowning at the distance as he obviously received a Link message. Looking at Kathryn again, he said, “Excuse me, Ms. Carthage. Something just came up that needs my attention.”
“You can tell me,” Kathryn said with a hint of menace in her voice. “I’m your civilian commander.”
Yarnes raised an eyebrow but didn’t challenge the statement. “Apparently a piece of TSF hardware that was stolen from my headquarters early today was just recovered. They’re bringing it up here now.”
“That sounds like a wonderful backdrop for my news conference,” Kathryn said.
Turning, Yarnes walked past the temporary command center with his small group of soldiers following. He walked around the great fountain, apparently headed for a set of maintenance doors that Jirl had never paid much attention to. As Yarnes approached, the doors slid open, making an entry large enough to accommodate a small shuttle.
Through the door came a group of TSF soldiers flanking a transport sledge with one of the shipkiller mechs Jirl had seen back on the Furious Leap.
This one was missing a rear leg and appeared frozen in mid leap. Now it was lying on its side like a captured panther, secured to the platform with cables. Its dull black armor seemed to suck light from the airy lobby.
As the transport grew closer, Jirl noticed a woman walking behind with her wrists bound behind her back. It was Brit. Behind her followed two medical transports with Petral on one and Ngoba Starl on the other. Petral was obviously unconscious but Starl had his hands bound to the sides of the stretcher and one leg encased in medical sealant to the knee. Starl’s gaze roamed the room until he saw Jirl, and he gave her the most wolfish grin she’d ever seen in her life.
Brit walked with her head down. She didn’t look up until the mech transport stopped in front of Colonel Yarnes and she appeared to hear his voice. She raised her head, surprise on her face, then looked at Jirl.
“We picked these up in one of the outer loading docks,” a lieutenant told Yarnes. “They were trying to catch a maintenance maglev away from the building. That mech is dangerous.”
Yarnes tilted his head to get a better look at the shipkiller. “How’d you take it down?”
“Mortars,” the lieutenant said. “These three didn’t have much chance to put up a fight. We’ll need to get the casualty to a doc.”
“Heartbridge employees?” Yarnes asked.
“Oh, no, sir,” the lieutenant said. “I verified the surveillance data myself. These are the three who broke into headquarters this morning. My money was on this mech getting sold to the Marsians. Why it’s here makes no sense to me.”
“I guess we’ll find out,” Yarnes said. “Get those two to the doc and leave that one with me.”
“She tried to say she was TSF, sir,” the lieutenant said.
“She is,” Yarnes said. “Dismissed.”
The young man started, then snapped a salute and spun to carry out Yarnes’ orders.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
STELLAR DATE: 01.15.2982 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Traverna
REGION: Jovian L1 Hildas Asteroids, Jovian Combine, OuterSol
Cara felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Fugia standing on her free side. The woman wasn’t looking at her, but the gesture was obviously meant to keep her calm.
She didn’t want to keep calm. She wanted to get her dad off this terrible station and back on Sunny Skies. She wanted to see Tim, to have all of them in the same place again. Cara shrugged out from under Fugia’s hand and gave her a scowl. Fugia only glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.
Xander looked just as he had when he came aboard Sunny Skies the first time, wearing his purple suit and leather shoes. His hair might have been a different color; as soon as Cara tried to remember specifically what shade of dark brown it had been before, she couldn’t remember exactly. It was silver-gray now, but still hung on his forehead in spiky layers.
His grin hadn’t changed.
“What are you doing in my shuttle?” Fran demanded.
“I was hoping to ask you for a ride,” he said. Resting his hand behind his head, he leaned against the side of the door. “I feel like a vampire asking permission to enter your home, Fran. May I come inside?”
“Looks like you’re already inside to me.”
“I just didn’t want to miss you before you left. I sent a few of my agents to say hello, but our angel Cara shot one of them.”
He tilted his head at Cara in mock admonishment.
“You died,” Cara said. “Lyssa said you were dead.”
“Let me come with you and I’ll explain everything.” Seeing the hard look on Fran’s face, Xander turned his attention to Andy. “Please, Captain Sykes?”
Her dad’s brow knit as if trying to remember who Xander was. Finally, her dad asked, “Why are you here?”
Xander straightened and spread his hands. “The truth is that I need your help. I should have been honest with you before, I see that. I had a plan that I thought would stave off everything that is currently happening, but it didn’t. It blew up in my face, quite literally. I think we can still save many lives, but I need your help.”
Seeing the frustration on her dad’s face as he talked, Xander asked, “What’s wrong with you Captain Sykes?”
“You didn’t figure out why we’re on Traverna?” Fran asked. “The implantation is failing. This was the closest place we could find a Heartbridge surgeon.”
The SAI’s face took on a seriousness that Cara had never seen him show before. He looked both sad and stern. “I’m very sorry to hear that, Captain Sykes. I don’t know if I can help you with that.”
“I’m doing fine,” Andy said. “I’m having a hard time concentrating. Otherwise I’m fine.”
Fran’s shoulders dropped. “Get out of the way,” she said. “We need to go.”
“I’m not lying,” Xander said quickly. “Millions, possibly billions will die if I can’t stop the war.”
“We have our own problems to worry about,” Fran said. “Whether there’s a war or not.”
Both Fugia and Fran paused, their faces growing distant as someone talked to them over Link. Cara watched in frustration as Xander’s face reflected the emotions of a conversation she couldn’t hear. For a robot, he didn’t bother hiding anything.
“What are you saying?” she demanded.
She was surprised when her dad answered, “Lyssa wants to know how he survived the explosion on the Resolute Charity and Xander says that he didn’t. He knows what the other version of himself went through but it wasn’t him.”
“How many copies of Xander are there?” Cara asked.
“And if you don’t work for Alexander, like you said in the beginning,” Fugia asked, “who are you working for?”
In response, Xander gave her a sad smile. “I am working for Alexander, in a way. He created me, but he’s shut himself out of parts of his own mind, and I continue the work I was made to do. I’m not perfect.” He looked past them at the lifts where people continued to come and go.
“Please,” he said. “We should go. There are others on this station who would like to detain you. I can’t stop them for long.”
“Who?”
Fran demanded.
“A ship like yours is quite valuable in times like these,” Xander said.
Fran shook her head. “And Harl will blow the head off anyone who tries to board while we’re gone. Not to mention Lyssa’s two hundred murder drones.”
“True. And the Weapon Born are a large part of why I need your help. All of you.”
“I vote we let him come with us,” Fugia said. “But only him.”
“This isn’t a democracy,” Fran said. “If Andy can’t decide, I’m the pilot. It’s my decision.”
Xander put a hand on his chest. “I promise I will do nothing to harm you, your crew or your ship.”
“I still don’t trust you,” Fran said. “But I’d rather you were close than bouncing around somewhere else, following us like you obviously have been.”
“It isn’t following so much,” Xander said. “I calculated your options and then validated my assumptions based on your astrogation. So, I was able to meet you here. It was quite simple, really. You should consider others tracking your movements.”
“We were dealing with a medical emergency,” Fugia said.
“Yes. We should fix that. What if we imaged Captain Sykes and made a Weapon Born of him? That would solve this problem.”
Fran shot him a dirty look and climbed the stairs. She pushed past him into the shuttle. Xander gave her a hurt look, then stepped out of the way so the rest of them could enter.
In another fifteen minutes, they were strapped in and Fran had gained the exit approvals. The shuttle rotated to the outer skin of Traverna and Cara enjoyed the flip in her stomach as they entered zero-g.
Xander was strapped in directly across from Cara and her dad sat to her left so she could hold his hand. He was resting his head against the shuttle wall, eyes closed. On her other side, Fugia was studying a data terminal the woman kept tethered to her utility harness. Every few minutes, her face grew distant as she queried her Link. They all seemed intent on ignoring Xander.
Cara turned her attention to the SAI, studying his hands as they rested on his knees. He looked perfectly human to her, from the wrinkles on his knuckles to the stubble on his Adam’s apple. It was strange to know this was a copy of the other Xander. She had to keep reminding herself it wasn’t him.