Chaos Space (Sentients of Orion)

by Marianne de Pierres

  ‘So you think I am motivated by greed?’ said the muscular woman.

  The Baronessa didn’t flinch. There seemed to be a weight of feeling between them. ‘What do you call it, then, Rast Randall?’

  The woman, Rast, balled her fists in anger and turned to Thales. ‘Your story: quick and to the point.’

  Thales licked dry, nervous lips. ‘I am indebted to the Baronessa and her... servant for—’ He nodded at the one whom Mira had called Latourn.

  ‘Yes. Yes,’ said Rast. ‘But why did you help her?’

  ‘It is not a simple tale. I am not who I appear to be. I am a philosopher who has been wronged. I took work as a courier to help a friend; to help myself. Life had become difficult for me on Scolar.’ Thales swallowed several times before continuing. ‘My misfortune continued, though. When I boarded the OLOSS craft, my nemesis was destined for the same trip.’

  ‘Sophos Mianos?’ asked the Baronessa.

  ‘Yes. He had me wrongfully imprisoned on Scolar and more. He kept me from my... my wife. When he spoke of imprisoning you and your organic craft, I... I... became rash... I would admit... impulsive. My wife tells me it is my biggest failing. I am recovered now and regret any inconvenience.’

  ‘Regret any inconvenience, eh?’ Rast Randall sucked in her cheeks as though she might be on the verge of exploding.

  The Baronessa nodded her head politely at Thales. ‘I am indebted to you...’

  ‘Thales Berniere,’ said Thales.

  ‘Msr Berniere, I have, I am afraid, put you at further risk.’

  He returned her nod. Despite her fragile appearance the woman had fine manners and strength of mind. ‘I have a work obligation to fulfil. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to convey me as far as Scol station?’

  The Baronessa smiled at him: a beautiful shy smile that warmed his numb senses.

  Rast frowned at them both. ‘Catchut,’ she said to the man at her shoulder, ‘find him a cabin and show him the cucina.’ She then gave Thales a hard look. ‘We’ll take you to Scol station. In the meantime you are in one of those two places unless you are with one of us. Understood? Nowhere else. If I find you roaming around the ‘zoon, I’ll spit you out into the black.’

  MIRA

  Rast eyed Mira unpleasantly when Catchut Latourn and Berniere left the buccal. ‘I can only think that you are missing your own ilk, Baronessa? Why else would your risk your own and Latourn’s life for him.’

  Mira? said Insignia.

  Just a moment.

  ‘It happened quickly. I-I made a decision.’ Mira braced herself for further ridicule but it didn’t come.

  Instead Rast slumped down into Autonomy. ‘At least you made a decision, Fedor. Now what do you propose?’

  Mira sank opposite her into Primo. The warmth of the vein pulsed around her and she could feel Insignia’s receptors flirting across her skin, gently pricking places to allow the transmission of fluids and sugars. Within moments she began to revitalise but with the energy came a welling of tears. She turned her face to the vein wall, letting it absorb the trickle of moisture.

  ‘I am at a loss. OLOSS will not help Araldis, at least not quickly. Perhaps not at all, now that I have done this. I-I am failing.’

  They stayed in silence while Mira let Primo subsume her. When the process was complete she immersed herself in Insignia’s propulsion and self-repair of the egress scale.

  The OLOSS craft was still becalmed. Had Mianos and his guards survived the tear? Had her decision killed more people?

  ‘There is an alternative.’

  It took Mira a while to realise that Rast had spoken. She dragged herself from her immersion, enough to speak. Rast was still in Autonomy.

  ‘What is that?’

  ‘You could raise your own intervention.’

  Mira waited.

  ‘Consilience, Fedor?’

  ‘What? An organisation that opposes everything!’

  ‘That perception is nearly as outdated as your society, Baronessa. Consilience is not an organisation—it’s an assemblage.’

  ‘Why would an assemblage wish to help my world? I have no money to pay them.’

  Rast sat up straighter and ran her fingers through her short white hair. ‘Don’t you understand? OLOSS was a coming together of races and species that shared common beliefs about law; but more than that, common beliefs about evolution. They believe that it is a natural process that should not be interfered with.’

  ‘And so?’

  ‘On the other side are the Extropists—a multi-species group that opposes those beliefs. They believe that they are in charge—destined to control and shape their own evolution. They don’t give a crap about moral and ethical debate. They’ll do anything to advance themselves. Their genetic manipulation is extreme.’

  ‘Si. Monsters and so on,’ Mira murmured.

  ‘It sounds childish but it is scientific and utterly ruthless.’

  ‘And so?’

  ‘So Consilience sits between them. It wants neither body to have the upper hand and believes that diversity is the key to sentient survival.’

  Mira was silenced by Rast’s eloquence. The woman was such a contradiction.

  Rast guessed her thoughts. ‘Mercenary does not equate with stupid or uneducated, Baronessa. That’s where your blinkers go right back on.’

  ‘But you are mostly so crude. You speak in a way—’

  ‘I speak in a way that will get me understood and I need you to understand.’

  Mira withdrew from her immersion and felt her ‘external’ mind reawaken properly. ‘The cryoprotectants you brought on board are for the Extropists. Are you one of them?’

  ‘I brought cryoprotectants to trade with the Extropists. They struggle to get what they need. Without that stuff their society will degrade.’

  ‘You are helping to keep the balance of power,’ said Mira slowly, making the connections. ‘You work for Consilience.’

  Rast merely stared at her. ‘I can help you meet the people who might mount an intervention. But you have to tell me what you know.’

  Mira hedged. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘You know something about the invasion. You’ve viewed something you brought from Araldis. I checked your add-on history. I want to know what you learned.’

  Fear twisted up her stomach. Rast had been spying on her. ‘Why would you care to help me?’

  ‘Because it may suit me to. Now tell me.’

  Mira closed her eyes. The mercenary was impossible to predict. What else does she want? Should I trust her?

  She is a potential ally when you have no other. You must rest again now. Your baby needs it, Insignia responded unasked.

  Mira opened her eyes and climbed stiffly out of Primo. She felt the sting, and the loss, as the last of the vein’s receptors withdrew.

  ‘I was given an audio recording of a meeting between one of the Cipriano nobles and a Lostolian visitor. He was purchasing minerals from a certain mine on Araldis. It produces quixite, a naturally occurring alloy that is normally only found in minute quantities. I think that the invasion was a way of securing this substance. Yet that seems ridiculous. Why would anyone commit genocide for a mineral alloy?’

  Rast’s face went whiter than her hair. Her eyes glittered. ‘Shape-metal alloy. Are you sure?’ she whispered.

  ‘It is called quixite. That is all I know.’

  Rast took one large step across to Mira and gripped her shoulders. ‘Who was the buyer?’

  Mira hesitated again. Her senses warned her against divulging all, yet she needed Rast’s strength, her pragmatism and, perhaps, her contacts. ‘His name was Tekton. She—the negotiator—referred to him as an archiTect. He is currently a tyro to the newly discovered Entity.’

  Rast began to tremble.

  ‘An OLOSS member.’

  Mira nodded. ‘I suppose so. Lostolians in general are.’

  ‘What does he want quixite for?’

  ‘I cannot imagine. You called it a shape-
metal alloy. What does that mean?’

  ‘An alloy is a mixture of minerals—’

  ‘I am not a fool, mercenary. I know what an alloy is but what is special about this one?’

  ‘It remembers its shape. That is more than useful for some of the evolved Extros.’

  Mira?

  Si?

  There are some things you should know.

  Si?

  We have just joined the Scol shift queue. However, the OLOSS craft has made its repairs and has gained significantly on us. It is faster than I am at sub-light speed.

  How close is it?

  It will be in shift queue within an hour.

  Proceed with haste, then.

  Station security is requesting that we dock.

  Can we ignore them and go straight to shift?

  Yes. Although the situation will be the same as Intel. They could fire upon us.

  Mira took a deep breath. I will speak to Rast.

  There is one more thing.

  Si? Her concern translated as impatience.

  My contract has just expired.

  Mira’s entire body went cold. She swayed in Rast’s grip.

  ‘What now?’ Rast’s question sliced through the air between them.

  ‘The OLOSS craft has caught us. We are about to enter the shift queue but station security is insisting that we dock. Sophos Mianos has ‘casted a complaint.’

  Mira’s knees gave and she sagged back towards Primo, but Rast held her up, refusing to let her sit.

  ‘And?’

  ‘Insignia’s contract has expired.’

  Rast’s sudden alertness shifted to intense focus. ‘Time for more hard choices, Fedor. Sit and wait for OLOSS to catch up with you. Or run.’

  ‘To your Consilience assembly?’

  ‘Theirs, not mine, but it seems to me like your best chance. I mean, if they catch you now with cryoprotectants on board, your Araldis story won’t hold up.’

  Rast was right in that. They might even think that Mira was the instigator of the invasion. Rast would certainly not claim responsibility for the purchase of the illegal substance.

  Reluctantly, Mira nodded.

  ‘You’ve got a few minutes to strike a bargain with your ‘zoon, then, Fedor. Make it good,’ said Rast.

  Mira stared at her. ‘I need some quiet.’

  The mercenary let go of Mira’s shoulders, easing her gently down into Primo. ‘I’ll be right here.’ She gestured to Secondo. ‘You make the deal and I’ll get us a clear path through shift.’

  ‘How will you do that? You have no friends in the shift queue this time.’

  ‘Just do your bit. I’ll do mine.’

  Mira sank back and waited for immersion. As the receptors crawled under her clothes and penetrated her skin her link with the biozoon heightened.

  Insignia?

  Yes, Mira.

  We are in a delicate position.

  I think that you mean you are in a delicate position. I am free to do as I please.

  But OLOSS wish to impound you also.

  It is you they wish to question.

  But you they wish to examine. And they must stop you to get me.

  Not if I withdraw my humanesque life-support and expel your bodies into space.

  Mira’s breath seemed to run out. You would do that?

  I’m not sure. It is a possibility, I suppose.

  But I thought we had... a bond.

  We do, Mira Fedor. As I had with your father. You are my Innate. But that does not prevent me making decisions that concern my well-being. My culture is not the same as yours. Humanesques make that mistake. One of their greatest failings is that they suppose other sentients to be and to think the same way.

  Mira gasped in some air. Insignia was neither angry nor vindictive; simply pragmatic and she must approach this the same way. What is it that you wish for, then? What would rebind you to me?

  I have told you of my desire for ‘rafa.’

  You wish to travel to Orion?

  Yes. And further.

  But I must return to Araldis. I have to find Vito. And the korm child...

  I am prepared to wait some time for you to deal with immediate concerns. But then...

  Mira thought through the consequences of such an agreement. It was not something to be made lightly. With it she committed to the life of a ship-bound wanderer. She had thought that to be her deepest desire but now, faced with it, she was not sure. I n-need time to think. This is a decision... I cannot make it quickly.

  Indifferent amusement. But I do not think that you have much time.

  Are you threatening me?

  No. But understand. If there is no accord between us I will act without thought of you or your company. That is how it is.

  Will you take us through shift now?

  It is unlikely. Scol station security is maintaining an aggressive stance. They wish me to withdraw from the shift queue and dock. I do not wish for injury. My scales are already damaged. Self-repair is tiring.

  Mira felt a pang of guilt. She had ordered Insignia to such an act without real thought of the effect.

  Rast/Secondo: Tick-tock, Fedor!

  Possibilities whirled through Mira’s mind and yet each led back to the same place: survival. Marchella Pellegrini had taught her that.

  She ignored Rast and spoke to Insignia. If I agree to your desire for ‘rafa’ can I bring those I deem to be my familia with me?

  Indeed. Your choice of family will be mine.

  Will our contract be enduring?

  Yes. Until you die.

  Or you?

  It is unlikely to be me.

  One last, long silence. Agreed.

  Mira felt luscious warmth spreading through her limbs, a cocktail of endorphins that were her reward for her agreement. Then Insignia made her ultimate demand.

  I will need some assurance of your commitment until such time as you have retrieved the child Vito from Araldis.

  The flow of endorphins thinned.

  What is that?

  Once your child is born it will stay with me. It must not leave me.

  Mira gasped. No! But a baby needs to be fed, to be cared for by his mother...

  I have the facility to do that. I can grow any tissue, replicate any nutrients. The babe will be cared for more adequately than if it is in your care...

  A spinning, sickening feeling consumed Mira.

  Rast/Secondo: Fedor—now or never.

  Mira/Primo: What, Rast?

  Rast/Secondo: We’re at a point where we can scrapshift from the refuse loop. But if we move any further in the queue we are stuck. Sec is already stationed on the final lip. Make the deal work, Mira. Now. NOW!

  Insignia. I agree.

  Prepare!

  The biozoon’s visual shift-schema flickered and altered. Mira sensed adrenalin building through the biozoon like the bunching of muscles in an animal preparing to leap.

  Rast/Secondo to the rest: ‘Find a nub.’

  Impressions flared and extinguished: Latourn hauling the screaming philosopher to a tubercle, Catchut praying again, Rast fighting her desire to urinate, Mira’s own uncontrolled panting.

  They were all caught in the building energy, helpless to affect it in any way.

  At your mercy. The words stung. Then they began to blaze. Then every micro-measure of Mira’s body and mind caught fire. Not a hot white sizzling but a core-deep burning pain, as if holes were being drilled in her nerves while she lived and breathed and watched.

  Rast/Secondo screamed. Latourn and Catchut and the philosopher too. Screaming... screaming.

  But Mira did not join them. She folded the pain inward and clasped it close, smothering it with her own brand of coping.

  It bucked inside her, contorted and fought her, building to a peak of pain-energy where she knew it would rend her open: disperse her.

  But then its final rush came and a silhouette engulfed her, deluging her vibrating pain with stillness. The meeting of sensations tram
polined Mira’s molecular structure high and wide, and as it fell back into an arrangement that felt more or less like her own she became aware of Insignia’s long and heartfelt Aaahhhhhhhhh...

  * * *

  When Mira could think again, a question waited in the forecourt of her mind. Insignia? The sentients who work on the Savvies. How do they survive this experience repeatedly?

  She sensed approval of her questioning from the biozoon.

  They have ways to soften the experience. My own biological adaptation makes it possible but not comfortable. I would not choose to do this under normal circumstances.

  Mira wondered how the mercenary felt. Rast?

  Yeah, Fedor. Everyone should experience this once.

  Only a sadist would believe so, Mira thought back.

  Your protected upbringing is showing again, Baronessa.

  Mira did not bother to disguise her annoyance.

  Where do we shift to now? Where do we find your Consilience?

  We have found them, Rast answered.

  Here? Insignia, virtual representation, per favore.

  A stimulus passed through Mira’s occipital cortex. She sensed the mercenary’s brain pattern altering as she interpreted the same images. They both saw the biozoon’s unique representation of an ancient white- dwarf star in its dying phase, and the cool light it cast across a dozen AUs, and as many planets. The star system was unremarkable, even dismal, compared to Leah’s blue-hot brilliance.

  An unbearably cold place, thought Mira.

  Rast’s reaction was different. Mira sensed her satisfaction. Almost... pleasure.

  She also felt an incongruity that she could not understand flowing from the ‘zoon’s data collectors.

  How fascinating! Insignia’s excitement cut into her thoughts.

  The map began to fill with detail: colourful representations of planet densities and a scattering of moving colours between them.

  The moving lights are the Savvies, came Rast’s thought.

  They are different sizes.

  The smaller ones are the tugs. They tow things around.

  What things?