The Counterfeit Captain

by Henry Vogel

  “Silence, woman!” The AI’s words boomed from all of the robots, rage and panic filling the voice. “Your lies reveal your true nature. Dissatisfied with the destruction your ilk wrought early in my journey, you have returned to belittle me and sow dissent among my people.”

  “You’re taking this all wrong, AI.” Damn, damn, damn myself for thinking I could curry favor with an insane AI. And damn the AI for finding such a paranoid interpretation of my words. “Lies and dissent are the farthest things from my mind. I want nothing more than to find a way to return to my own people.”

  “At last you utter something truthful!” Rage washed out the last vestiges of panic from the AI’s mechanical voice. “Behold, people of the ship, after hiding among you for centuries untold, our true enemy reveals itself at last. Behold, my people, the very essence of evil stands before you.”

  Throughout the dormitory, the children muttered and backed away from me. I don’t know if they truly feared me or simply feared to be near someone drawing such vehement condemnation from the AI, but their fear was evident. Mauris glared at me with such fervent hate that I hoped the AI didn’t simply turn me over to him. The blondes, their expressions equal to Mauris’s and once again armed, leveled their lasers at me. Only Sko looked upon me without fear, though this sudden change of fortune obviously confused him.

  Even as I noted these reactions, the AI raged to the inevitable conclusion. “Behold, Captain Nancy Martin, liar and mutineer!”

  “We must kill the mutineer!” screamed Mauris.

  The blondes took aim with their lasers and one shouted, “Give the order and we will burn her down where she stands.”

  “No, not yet. The evil one will die, my people, but she is my only link to the rest of the mutineers.” The AI shifted from its raging shout to a menacing purr. “I must find out what she knows. Mauris, lock her away while my robots prepare for the interrogation.”

  As Mauris strode toward me, I saw Sko’s hand raise so he could thrust it into his pants and draw the laser. Catching his eye, I shook my head. To my relief, his hand dropped to his side again.

  Backed by the blondes, Mauris shoved me toward the door leading back toward the shop floor. “Move, mutineer.”

  I started toward the door and Sko fell in beside me.

  “Sko,” the AI said, “where are you going? You are not a mutineer.”

  Sko squared his shoulders and gave me a smile. “I go where my Captain goes.”

  “Then let your words condemn you to share her fate,” the AI proclaimed. “Mauris, take them away.”

  Mauris and his blondes marched Sko and me down a corridor we’d passed coming from the shop floor to the dormitory. It felt as if days had passed since that walk, but it was less than an hour ago. I also realized this could be my only chance to pump the trio for information without robots around to relay everything back to the AI.

  “So, Mauris, how long have you been manager down here?” I asked.

  One of the blondes responded, “He’s the youngest manager ever appointed. Arktu said so when He promoted Mauris.”

  “We shouldn’t talk to the mutineer, Lilla,” Mauris admonished.

  “Who am I going to tell this stuff to?” I asked. “It’s not like I’ll get out of this alive.”

  “The mutineer is right, Mauris,” the other blonde put in, a note of pleading in her voice. “And it’s not like Lilla and I get to brag on our man much.”

  “Not you, too, Milla,” Mauris tried to sound stern, but it came out smug—just like any teenage boy would sound if he was lucky enough to have two pretty girls telling him how wonderful he is. Mauris heaved a dramatic sigh. “All right, just this once.”

  One of the girls—Milla, I thought—squealed in delight and then the two girls talked over each other telling me all about Mauris’s sterling qualities. I half listened, in case they said anything remotely interesting, and fought to push down memories of high school hell, where Mauris would have been the star athlete and Milla and Lilla—they had to be sisters—the cheerleaders competing for his attention. And then, in the midst of the blondes’ chatter, something caught my attention.

  “And Mauris does such a good job getting the little kid- I mean, the new assets trained and productive that Arktu can transfer older assets to the next section earlier than ever before.”

  “Well, that is impressive, Mauris.” I stopped walking and turned to face him. “What do the…assets…do in the next section?”

  “They go to work for Het, I guess,” Mauris answered. “I took his place when he got promoted two years ago.”

  “And when Het gets promoted again, we’ll all get promoted to the next section!” Lilla exclaimed.

  “How exciting,” I said. “What do they do in the next section?”

  “We don’t know,” Milla responded.

  “I guess we’ll find out when we take over managing that section,” Lilla added.

  “Huh.” I turned away from the teenagers and resumed walking.

  “What does that mean, mutineer?” Milla bristled.

  “Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing.” I flashed my most insincere smile over my shoulder at Milla and Lilla.

  “What is nothing?” Milla demanded. “Mauris, make her tell us.”

  “Mutineer, tell us you what meant by that.”

  “If nobody working here in D Section knows what they do in the next section…” I stopped and turned around again. “What’s the next section called?”

  The three teenagers exchanged glances and shrugged. Mauris answered, “It’s never come up.”

  “So, none of you know what they do or even what the section is called.” I gave Mauris a hard stare. “What makes you think you’ll go into the next section as the manager?”

  Mauris gaped at me as Lilla and Milla exchanged a worried glance. Mauris recovered his voice first. “We’re the managers. Of course we’ll be managers in the next section. Right, girls?”

  I’ve got to say the two girls proved a bit quicker on the uptake than their manager and lover. Instead of answering Mauris, they turned horrified looks my way.

  Shaking my head in mock sorrow, I asked, “Mauris, were you made a manager when the robots first brought you here after the cull?”

  “Don’t be stupid, mutineer. I didn’t know what Arktu expected me to do and He didn’t know how hard I would work.” Even before Mauris finished speaking, his eyes widened slightly.

  “What about Het, the manager you replaced?” I hammered on their sudden doubts. “Was he the manager back then?”

  “Um, no. He was a senior worker…”

  “Thought so.” I spun away from them again and resumed walking. Sko, a knowing smile tugging at his face, walked along with me. Mauris, Milla, and Lilla followed slowly, holding a whispered—but completely audible—discussion.

  “We can’t go back to living in the dormitory again,” Milla insisted. “How could we…be together…out in the open, where everyone could see us?”

  “And what if we ended up with shift bosses we managed when they worked in this section?” Lilla added. “They could make our lives feel like earth on the ship.”

  I let them argue and worry for a little longer before offering them salvation. “It’s too bad these poor managers can’t go to the next section and look around for themselves. Don’t you agree, Sko?”

  “I’m sure they’d be missed, Captain. After all, they’re like admins down here. Who would make the decisions if they weren’t around?”

  “Exactly,” I nodded. “It’s a pity they can’t send someone else to find out for them. But how could they trust a worker to tell them the truth? The worker might lie in the hopes of giving himself a better chance of becoming manager in the next section.”

  “I’m not sending the two of you, mutineer,” Mauris said flatly. “You’d just run off and never come back.”

  “Wait, Mauris,” Milla purred, “send her but keep him locked up here.”

  “She’s a mutineer, Milla,” Mauris sai
d. “What makes you think she’ll come back for him?”

  “Can’t you see it, Mauris?” Lilla asked. “She loves him.”

  What the hell? I bit back a denial, since the blondes’ claim helped my plans. But I most certainly don’t love Sko. I admire his intelligence and skill. I’m at ease around him and feel like I can talk to him about anything. I’m definitely fond of Sko. But I don’t love him. Nope. Not a chance.

  I gave Sko a sideways look and found him staring at me in amazement. To my astonishment, I felt a blush rise, coloring my cheeks crimson.

  “Oh my gosh, Milla,” Lilla giggled. “She didn’t even know it until just now.”

  I struggled to regain control of my emotions and mostly succeeded. “Now that you know I’ll come back for Sko, how often does the AI promote workers to the next section?”

  “Whenever the AI needs workers in the next section,” Mauris said. “A robot is taking three workers after their shift today.”

  “Then all I have to do is follow them to the next section, scout it out, and come back here to report.” I folded my arms and glared at Mauris. “I’ll tell you what you need to know, but only after you’ve released Sko.”

  Mauris thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded. “Okay.” He turned to one of the blondes. “Lilla, take the mutineer to the work floor. Make sure she’s in position to follow the robot, but also make sure no robot sees her.”

  “You’ve got to let her kiss him goodbye, first,” Milla insisted. Lilla nodded her agreement with her sister.

  Mauris waved an impatient hand my way. “Whatever.”

  Determined to make it look good, I wrapped my arms around Sko. He pulled me close and our bodies just fit together. And suddenly, I was starving for Sko’s kiss. Our lips met, parted, and everything around me faded into insignificance.

  And then Mauris was pulling us apart, the blondes watching with knowing smirks.

  “Told you,” Lilla crowed to me as she led me away.

  Looking over my shoulder, my eyes met Sko’s as Mauris and Milla led him in the opposite direction.

  “I’ll come back for you,” I said.

  Sko smiled. “I know.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Lilla

  Turning away from Sko, I found Lilla watching me, a thoughtful look on her young face.

  “That was…sweet.” It wasn’t quite in the form of a question.

  “For an evil mutineer, you mean?” I filled in what the girl had not said but most definitely had meant. “That’s because I’m not a mutineer.”

  Lilla shook her head. “No, Arktu says you’re a mutineer and He knows everything.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “And did Arktu tell you that?”

  My comment scored a direct hit against the girl’s certainty. Of course it did. Growing up onboard the ship can’t change human nature—and it’s human nature for teenagers to rebel against authority. Even if that authority is like a deity to them.

  Made uncomfortable by the direction I’d moved the conversation, Lilla changed the subject. “How long have you known Sko? It can’t be long, if you never even kissed him before.”

  “We’ve known each other for…good God, just two days.” It stunned me to realize how little time had passed since the space battle with the Fringer fleet. The battle felt like half a lifetime ago.

  “Only two days and you’re already in love with him.” Lilla spoke more to herself than me, a wistful note in her voice.

  “How long have you and Milla—she’s your sister, right?”

  Lilla nodded. “Milla’s a year older than me.”

  “How long have the two of you known Mauris?”

  “All our lives. We’re from the same village and were all taken in the same crew cull. Milla and I were terrified.” Lilla shivered in memory, then added defensively, “We didn’t know the important work Arktu needed us to do when the robots took us.”

  “How could you?” I asked. “Arktu never tells anyone about the work until after he has them dragged down here. I mean, if it’s so important why doesn’t Arktu tell everyone in the ship about it? I bet a lot of villagers would be happy to help if they knew. Doesn’t that seem like strange behavior to you?”

  Almost too quietly to hear, Lilla murmured, “Yeah.”

  I’d pressed her beliefs far enough for the moment. Time to get back on more familiar ground. “But you were telling me about your culling?”

  Lilla shrugged. “Mauris took care of us. He made sure we got food and defended us from older kids—especially older boys who wanted to…to…” Shivering again, Lilla trailed off.

  “How old were you when the robots brought you down here?”

  “Eight. Milla and Mauris were nine.”

  “When Mauris got promoted, he made sure you and Milla got promoted, too?”

  Lilla nodded. “He’s taken really good care of us.”

  “And you’re grateful to him.”

  “Of course!” Lilla responded with more vehemence than was necessary. “Wouldn’t you be?”

  “Sure. But gratitude doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of your life with Mauris.” Maybe I can’t figure out my own feelings without teenage interference, but I’m great at figuring out how other people feel. It’s a necessary skill for a commanding officer. “Gratitude doesn’t mean you’re wrong to want to get to know other boys.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Lilla declared, hugging herself.

  A moment later she opened a door and led me into a room which was once an office. On the far side, a large window looked out on the shop floor, where children went about their tasks under the watchful gaze of robots. Normal office furniture—all made of metal, the surfaces dulled by the passage of time—was pushed up against a far wall. Behind the furniture stood cabinets filled with who-knows-what. Pallets much like the ones in Mauris’s quarters lay on the floor, along with other personal items.

  “I’ve got to go out on the floor and make sure everyone is working hard. I’ll also find out when the robots are taking the three promotions to their new job.” Lilla shook a red metal wristband out of her sleeve and went to the door we’d come through. She touched the band to the contact plate. “The door will be locked, so don’t even think about going back to rescue Sko.”

  Using the wristband on the door to the shop floor, she left the room. Through the window, I saw her touch the wristband to another contact plate, locking the door from outside, before heading off toward the work area.

  I still had the robot contact and was tempted to run off to rescue Sko. But now I also had a chance to get out and explore the ship on my own and even find out what other work the AI had the children performing down here. I decided to play along for now. Having made that decision, I set about searching the office.

  I made my first discovery within seconds. Poking through the personal effects piled around the room, I found several food-encrusted data pads. With a start, I realized the kids were using them as plates. Could there be other pads somewhere in the room? And maybe another one of those wristbands to use instead of the piece of robotic arm I’d been carrying around with me?

  Energized, I climbed over the desks intent on getting a look inside the cabinets. It took a lot of effort to clear enough space to open the first cabinet. Looking inside, I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Score!”

  Two rows of data pads nestled in charging stations, a steady green light glowing on each station. Below the pads, I found a shoulder-carry case designed to hold a pad. I stuffed two pads into the case. The fit was tight, but who knew the next time I’d have a chance to charge these things?

  The real treasure was piled in a box in the second cabinet. Dozens of wristbands of various colors lay in the box. I found a bunch of red, blue, green, and white bands, along with two gold bands. I thought I could guess what each color represented, but for the moment I just grabbed one of each and slid them onto my arm and up under my sleeve.

  By the time Lilla returned, I was sitti
ng on the floor acting bored.

  “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the case slung over my shoulder.

  I opened it and showed her the two pads. “I just want to take a couple of plates for Sko and me to use once we’re free.”

  “Whatever,” Lilla shrugged. “It’s time to go. The robots are about to leave.”

  Lilla led me out of the office and into the shadows surrounding the work area. We dodged around any place with good light, working our way toward the door I’d first used to enter D Section. Despite her caution, Lilla’s mind was somewhere else. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was thinking about. Knowing I might need a friend inside D Section, I took the opportunity to play the big sister.

  “You know you can ask me anything you want to, Lilla,” I said in an offhand manner.

  Lilla bit her lower lip. “I don’t know… I mean, you are a mutineer.”

  “You don’t believe that any more than I do. Come on, Lilla, would a mutineer have just waited around in that room for you to come back?”

  “You didn’t have a choice—I locked the doors.”

  I fished the piece of robotic arm out of my pocket and showed it to her. “I could have left any time I wanted to, slipped back to where Mauris is holding Sko, gotten him out, and then disappeared into the ship.”

  Eyes wide in surprise, Lilla asked, “Why didn’t you? Don’t you want to keep Sko safe?”

  “Of course I want to keep Sko safe, but I also want to help all of you slaving away in D Section.” I looked Lilla in the eyes. “Is that the kind of thing a mutineer would do?”

  “Um, maybe?” Lilla’s eyes filled with tears of frustration. “I don’t know.”

  I caught Lilla’s shoulders and gently pulled her into a hug. The girl resisted for a second, then wrapped her arms around me, laid her head on my shoulder, and let her tears flow. I held her, stroked her head, and made little shushing sounds as the girl released God knows how many years of suppressed emotion.

  Hoping we weren’t missing the departure of the robots but also certain I could catch up to them if necessary, I waited until Lilla’s crying eased. “There now. Do you feel better?”