The StarMaster's Son

by Gibson Morales

  Reaching out, she noted his highlighting of her past. Of course he would. That was a major reason he wanted her on his side, whether he said it or not.

  She parsed the data node. Because of the StarMaster's death, the Invectials, an entirely aggressive species in a neighboring star system would continue a conquest they'd only halted due to Union Omega laws. In theory, the Union Omega would intervene, but many species only remained in the cosmic alliance due to assurances of being left alone. And the Invectials had already been dipping their claws into Burkos's territory—they had sponsored the development of the Mistmen as their own sort of spies.

  Damn, these Invectials were annoying. What if they'd already killed her target?

  "Is something wrong?" Jace.blek asked as a massive yellow six-legged mongrel lumbered their way.

  Kai ducked under the compound eyes running along its belly and said, "Hey, I'm an inquisitor. I can't give away all my secrets. Maybe you should tell me why the Invectials are attacking us and why you can't use your resources to combat them."

  "The Invectials have a highly stubborn form of justice. A bit like the Anunnaki. They'll want my life for past transgressions, and I lack the funds to wage war against them."

  They stopped at a circular doorway. Following Jace.blek, Kai entered into a small chamber that managed to fit the four of them.

  Spontaneous shifts of the slime drew her eyes to the layer of pale fungus on the walls, and she noticed a couple black terminal screens.

  "You screwed them over in a deal, didn't you?" she asked.

  Jace.blek leaned against one wall, strands of the slime latching onto the edges of his body almost affectionately. "If I'm to escape their detection, I'll have to travel very low-tech. I can move this nest of mine, but it won't be able to emit the same powerful godweb. I'll need physical soldiers like you to defend it."

  "Defend it from what?"

  "Fortunately, nothing too deadly. I've arranged to escape to a peaceful Type I planet a couple light-years from here. The Invectials consider it holy ground, so they won't raze it for resources. The only problem is its low gravity has allowed the evolution of vicious beasts as large as starships."

  "Hiding right under their noses, huh? Bold."

  "Should I send you a request to link to my network? You will still be quarantined, however."

  Kai felt ashamed at the pang of longing in her. She'd been born a Hellion. Technically, it hadn't been a formal network back then, but still. She should spend the rest of her life a Hellion. Or at least trying to restore the Hellion network to its rightful owners.

  "Your old homo sapien instincts hold you back then." A statement, not a question.

  Kai hesitated and gestured to Raksamat and Sarvill. "I'll want some time to discuss this with my allies."

  "Would you like me to upgrade your nexus before or after you make your decision?"

  She gave him a look.

  "I joke, of course. In all seriousness, I will give you one sol."

  "And until then?"

  "While my nest looks primitive, underneath the fungus, it's constructed of utility fog. You and your team may stay in this living capsule. I must confess that this base is built on the remains of very old Terran colonist vessels, so you shouldn't get lost."

  That explained why there were wall terminals, which most sapients considered an obsolete means of communication thanks to nexuses. Using one inside the pod, Kai checked the nest's facility list. Sure enough, it had been updated with technology one would expect to find in a standard Union Omega structure. Specifically, encrypted ansible messaging and InfiNet use.

  "I have a request," she started.

  "You want to contact your family using my encrypted ansible?" Jace.blek deduced. "That's understandable."

  "And it might help sway my decision," she grinned. Even though her nexus held the QUARANTINED designation on her HUD, she could manually contact someone on a terminal.

  With that, his form dissolved into the writhing fungus wall of the chamber. As soon as he disappeared, a fresh spread of utility fog peppered out the white fungus surface, decorating the room in a sleek dark metal and revealing a few bed niches and shelves in the walls as well as a small side room. At the same time, a door sealed off the cabin's opening.

  It was a start.

  They accessed the cabin's refueling system—a newer addition.

  "Go ahead and replenish your living frames," she ordered, energy waves surging up her feet and into her frame as she grabbed a packet of raw materials off the wall. "Sarvill, I want you to explore this nest. Think of it as a scouting mission for me." It was not that, though. Somewhere on this planet was her target. She wanted the other species in Jace.blek's network to know Sarvill was here. Because word would spread and once her target heard, it would likely come to her.

  "And Raksamat, I'd like to discuss terms of our agreement later." She'd thought long and hard about it. Given her lack of allies, it would be better to get him fully invested in this operation instead of secretly working against her.

  A few minutes later, when her feed pinged with an update that her living frame's energy and resources were topped off, she physically logged into the base's guest communications system and sent an encrypted chat invite to her mother's alias. Her request included a few details that only she and her mother would know—personal stories only they'd shared.

  She didn't expect her mother to pick up, but she did. Kai took the conversation into the side room, where a holodisplay of her mother appeared.

  "Is this a trick?" her mother asked. She didn't look a sol past thirty, but cynicism hardened her voice, her brown eyes fierce and cold.

  "I should ask the same thing," Kai said, though she had a sneaking suspicion her mom was referring to the outdated method of establishing contact. "I'm going to assume it's really you and not one of the Starbleeder's trying to assimilate our network."

  "Whether it's really you, a sophont clone, or a psionic hallucination, I'll assume the same. Status update." A command. Kai grinned more out of disbelief than genuine happiness.

  "What do you think, Mom? If you had to guess."

  "I don't have to guess. I ran dozens of analysis algorithms to determine the likeliest scenarios. Since you disappeared, I have learned nothing to indicate the Starbleeders were actually behind the attack. Nor one of our other enemies. And don't call me mom. This is business. I am your progenitor."

  She held off a wave of shame. "Thanks for the reminder."

  "Now are you going to answer me?"

  Kai tilted her head to the side and frowned. "I'm on Burkos in the Outer Rims. The warlord Jace.blek has offered me a position in his network. Given the status of the Hellion network, I'm inclined to accept."

  Her mother's eyes darkened for an instant. "My protocol informs me that the Invectials will attack Burkos in short order."

  "Maybe they'll do my job for me then and kill off our target."

  "Kai, you're an inquisitor, but I don't believe you would break your ties with our network. You're better than that."

  Kai shrugged. "I could eliminate my target. I'm sure if it's so important, whoever hired us will still reward me."

  "Kai..."

  "Alright, Mom, relax. I do plan to kill off our target. But considering my setbacks, I'm going to need a little more information. You know, if you want to gain the karma from this bounty and help restore our network. This operation is still an important one, right?"

  Her mother's words were injected with a hint of glee. "Time has only increased its value. If you can succeed where others have failed, it could be the reboot our network needs. You could return as the prodigal daughter. That said, I have limited updates to this operation's file. And it would require at least a week to procure a means of securely transmitting those to your nexus."

  "That doesn't make any sense."

  "Kai, your target is more powerful than you or I could ever be. The longer we speak of this, the greater the odds it will sense your approach."

/>   Was her mom going crazy?

  "Um, is this a trick?"

  "Everything you need is in your core. You'll know your target when you see it."

  "What you're saying is that I'm searching for a piece of space dust and all I've got to go on is random chance."

  "I wouldn't say it's that hopeless. You're on the right planet, for starters."

  That really narrowed it down. "Great."

  "By the way, what destroyed Euphrates?" The neural virus must've killed her other two bodies before they could share any useful data with her family.

  "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

  "The algorithm I used to determine likely scenarios provided some unusual possibilities."

  Kai took a long breath and brushed her hair back only to notice it wasn't there. She explained the assault by the rogue ship then said, "Someone said it might be the black goo. Have you heard of that?"

  "I have."

  "Crazy, huh?"

  "Insane," her mother said quietly.

  "Listen, Mom, I've got my work cut out for me and that's fine. But what about you and Dad and Ovett? How did..." Anger surged through her, but she managed to control it. Calmly, she continued, "I know the Starbleeders started rumors that you tried to kill me off. I know a neural virus killed off my other two living frames and karma pylon backup, but how could you let them use such a stupid lie to their advantage?"

  Her mother cast her head from side to side. "The Starbleeders are truly effective liars. They are hitmen, after all," she said with an odd blend of jealousy and admiration. "We'll discuss this after you complete your mission."

  "Fine, but what's the time frame? How long do we have before they assimilate us?"

  "Fortunately, time is on our side."

  "I need specifics." The uplinker's words echoed in her mind. And everything suggests they'll do so within six lunar cycles.

  "Our estimates range from five to ten solar cycles."

  Kai gritted her teeth. "Five to ten solar cycles my ass. Something's going on here, Mom. You can either tell me the truth or let me create my own paranoid delusions. Maybe I'll run a deductive algorithm. The choice is yours."

  "There are some problems in our network right now. That's all you need to know."

  The uplinker informed her that the Starbleeders spread rumors about tensions within the Hellion network. But there'd always been tension in their network, between her parents. Suddenly, all the pieces came together. "You wanted our network to merge with the Starbleeder's didn't you? I remember all the times you tried to convince Dad that Voke-lanaris would eventually beat us. Better to let them assimilate us, you said. I'm never supposed to complete this mission, am I? It was all just to help get me out of the way to let you go through with working behind Dad's back."

  And she didn't even need a deductive algorithm. She wouldn't have been surprised if her mother had launched the attack on Euphrates. But the woman had seemed genuinely perplexed by it. Though she might've simply been using a deceit mod.

  "Kai, everything I did, I did for us. Once they assimilate our network, Ovett's crimes will be forgiven and you can return safely. You'll have a place in the new network. You—"

  "Fuck that. Fuck Voke-lanaris and the Starbleeders. I'm not working for them." She turned away. "I'm going to complete this mission. And I'm going to give the credit to the Hellion network."

  Her mother laughed. "Good luck with that. You couldn't even capture that 16GX937. How do you think you'll complete this mission?"

  "Answer me this," Kai asked, knowing she was truly screwed if her mom lied to her here. "Did you truly implant something in my core to recognize my target?"

  "I did. On the off chance that you ran into it. But you won't eliminate it. It's too difficult. At best, I hoped you would locate the sapient. That alone would be a profitable outcome."

  "Father wouldn't know about my mission's specifics, would he? I wonder how much he knows about your scheme."

  "Nothing's stopping you from contacting him. But I don't think he'll be that interested considering he already learned it's too late to prevent me. I'm the proto of our network. It wasn't hard to force him out of power. I simply leaked some of his past crimes."

  "Past crimes? You really think I'm going to fall for that."

  "Don't then. Reality doesn't care whether or not you believe it. But consider that we're inquisitors. We're not exactly known for following the rules perfectly."

  Her mom had a point there, but Kai wasn't about to fall into her mind games. "Well, progenitor, I don't think there's anything more to say. Just know that when Dad is the proto again, I'm not going to shield you from his wrath."

  Chapter 17

  FELIK

  As far as planets went, Nebiru was a giant one, several times larger than Old Terra, with slightly greater gravity and longer sols. Thousands of solar cycles of polluting and over-farming had damaged most of the planet's surface, leaving it red and barren.

  Technologically, Nebiru's spawn, the Anunnaki, were like trilobites. Relics that chose not to evolve. Following the Great Cosmic Wars, they'd inherited some of the universe's greatest technologies. Access to advanced smart dust, protean-based bodies, godwebs, and karma pylon cerebral repositories. Yet in the fifty solar cycles since, life for the average citizen of Nebiru was virtually the same as it had been for centuries. That was the Anunnaki's way.

  Felik didn't fully understand it, but he didn't have to. The Anunnaki were the Terran's oldest allies, and any cultural differences had been worked out long ago. On that note, he was here to seek help from a particular Anunnaki.

  New Terrans pigeonholed Nebiru as ancient and crude because of an Anunnaki preference toward ziggurat and pyramid structures, but Felik didn't see any of those here. Instead, massive spires of black orichalcum larger than any Old Terra skyscrapers surrounded him, dominating almost every direction. Yet they were alive with Anunnaki walking across their surfaces thanks to alternate sources of gravity. Far above, the composition of the atmosphere gave the sky an orange tint.

  And between the structures, vimana ships—sleek personal cruisers and skiffs—swooped through the air alongside those like himself, flying with a godweb or anti-gravity boots.

  It felt odd flying so much, but even on Nebiru, the Anunnaki's local transit portal system only got you so close to your destination—laws prevented outsiders from warping in directly to a specific spot—so that was one limit of older technology. His nexus displayed AR arrows that guided him through the living sphere and avoided any midair collisions.

  At the top of one tower, canopies of hovering gray platforms darkened the orange sky like looming storm clouds. He stopped and rode up to the spire's fin-like pinnacle, a cluster of the wide platforms spread around it. Each hosted groups of Anunnaki seated on liquid metal apparatuses. Hovering drones attended to their needs, which weren't many.

  A white hot coin of a sun exuded radiation, driving the Anunnaki into a lustful high as they consumed powerful intoxicants to expedite the effects.

  The sun bar was the closest thing to an Old Terran bar he'd been to in solar cycles outside of a sim.

  His nexus had brought him here based on surveillance footage of the Anunnaki he was looking for. But that Anunnaki had apparently found his way out of full-on location detection. And hacking into their network to find him would be an exceedingly rude gesture as the new Envoy.

  He'd have to do this the old-fashioned way. In the center of several platforms, a holodisplay of a planet crawled with colors. Even the entertainment on Nebiru was ancient. The holodisplay showed footage of planets engaged in localized war. It was all sent through the Anunnaki's World Tree, not ansible, so it was probably outdated by a couple centuries. The Anunnaki didn't care, though. Age-wise, some were into their millions. What was a few hundred solar cycles to them?

  He touched down on the nearest platform. None of the humanoid Anunnaki gave him a second look with their big silver or orange eyes. Yet their pale, gray faces, devoid of
hair, and serpentine orifices gave them a cold disposition.

  "If it isn't the wannabe Chief Philosopher," barked an old Terran woman. "Excuse me, I mean Envoy."

  At his spark of curiosity, his nexus identified the speaker, The Green Devil. A living legend from the Great Cosmic Wars.

  He whirled around to find her seated on one of the floating apparatuses, throwing back with a couple Anunnaki. Felik was using a fake ID for his nexus, so nothing should've given him away. Someone must've tipped her off that he'd be coming under his present ID and physical appearance.

  "Hey, Envoy, I've got some advice for you." Her nostalgia was obvious from the elderly appearance she chose for her body to the dark green Cosmic Fleet pilot uniform she wore.

  He'd heard she spent most of her time in Old Terran stations and planets like this where karma bits didn't matter because she tended to be a jerk. And that lowered your karma fast. Now he knew it was true.

  "Believe it or not, I'm not here to talk to you," Felik snapped.

  "What's the matter? Did I hurt your feelings?" she turned to her Anunnaki friends, muttered something, and laughed. The Anunnaki hissed in amusement. If cropped from a photo their faces could almost pass for human. "Fine, I'll make it worth your while. Come over here for a minute and I'll guarantee no one tells the universe where to find you."

  His current location getting leaked could complicate things. Without an immediate wormhole, he'd have to push his way past an influx of Union Omega citizens wanting to voice their complaints. Then he'd have to buy a warp-gate, which would make him look like a pretty crappy Envoy and get his karma downgraded.

  He succumbed to the deal and glided over to her.

  "Let's get a chair for you," Steeger said, motioning.

  Wisps of smart dust swam out of the platform's surface and formed a hovering seat. He reclined into it.

  Steeger's wrinkled smile was full of challenge. "You picked a hell of a sol to pay a visit to Nebiru. A million other species out there face crises on a daily basis and you come to the capitol of the second most technologically advanced species in the Union Omega. Not exactly one for the sapient masses, are you?"