Steo didn’t mean to fall asleep, but like the rest of the crew, he couldn’t resist the pull. He was emotionally and physically drained from their narrow escapes. Stars and planets filled his thoughts, sometimes peaceful and sometimes mysterious. A lingering sense of remorse pervaded his dreams, for both the past and the future. Soon spider eyes floated through, connected to nothing. Explosions in space and bodiless screams followed them. His breathing deepened and quickened. Who was dying? What caused the explosions? He couldn’t tell. His sleep grew restless when he saw a planet on fire. Smoke filled the atmosphere of the dying planet as the ground heaved and forests burned. He could feel the heat and smell the smoke just like the inhabitants did, but he was unharmed and could do nothing.
Strong hands shook him awake.
Glaikis said, “Cyrus is up.”
Steo shook off the image of the planet’s death.
Cyrus was groggy but awake. They gathered around him.
Renosha returned at that time.
“Where have you been?” Yuina asked.
“Learning and unlearning.”
Glaikis and Steo checked to see if Cyrus was feeling better. Governor said, “Perhaps it was a headache due to the recent stresses, or an after effect of your birth.”
“Stop fussing over me. I need to talk to you!” Cyrus said impatiently.
“Okay,” Steo said, sitting next to him.
“I remember everything now. The experiments, my intended purpose. We have to stop them!”
“Stop who?” Steo said.
Renosha leaned on his metal rod. “Take a deep breath, Cyrus. Tell us what you remember.”
Cyrus talked and everyone listened. “I’m a symbiant, I know that now. My past memories are implants but they weren’t designed for me, they were designed for people to hear. I had no reason to doubt them if the people around me acted like they were real. When I spoke them, they were designed to stir people up, evoke an emotional reaction. The prophesied miraculous birth, an evil alien overlord, the journey into exile, the vengeful return to my rightful throne: it’s all a myth!”
“Dr. Spierk was a deviant geneticist. He tried to create you as a perfect physical specimen. He must have delved into the realm of mind-control too,” Glaikis said.
“Who did he create you for? Who was the customer?” Steo asked.
“Slaught,” Cyrus said. “I can see his face in my mind’s eye. Every detail. Admiral Slaught was the customer.”
“Oh that can’t be good,” Yuina said.
Steo said, “Somebody like that can command men who only need credits to fight. He must have needed you to lead someone else, right?”
“He has an army.” Cyrus shook his head. “Millions of sleeping people ready to believe I was their star messiah, come to bring them out of bondage, to end their hardship. He was to be my prophet, the one who would guide me. I remember a name: Councilor Ulay.”
Renosha said, “Millions of sleeping people? That sounds like a –”
“Sleeper ship,” Hawking finished.
Everyone knew the myths about them: freighters the size of moons filled with zealots on their way to paradise.
Cyrus said, “Slaught will control them. He has the secret police: his mercenaries. They were supposed to be my loyal bodyguard. Then we were to seek Ino, the paradise planet. It was ‘lost on star charts’ so we would travel for a long time before finding it.”
Hawking said, “That’s why we can’t locate it, sir. It doesn’t exist.”
“The sleeping people, they hate aliens. They left wherever they were from because they didn’t want interaction between humans and aliens. They thought that made them impure. They believed that the only good belief is one that’s held strongly, violently.”
Governor said, “Oh dear.”
Renosha said, “And each time they encounter an inhabited planet that isn’t occupied by only humans who agree with them?”
“War,” Cyrus said grimly.
Steo said, “But they can’t be done yet. They just showed up days ago to get Cyrus. They would have to wake up the people on the ship, do introductions, speeches, get them ready for war. Slaught isn’t ready to act. What could they do with one or two ships anyway? Generation ships aren’t warships.”
“Right, they can’t be that much of a threat, can they?” Yuina said nervously.
Renosha said, “Hawking has informed us previously of Admiral Slaught’s skills in leading fleets. With his experience, he could recruit a fleet of his own.”
Hawking added, “With millions of single-minded extremists, he could man many more ships. It only requires a few people to operate the Eye of Orion. Technically, it only requires one.”
Cyrus said, “That’s what he wants. A fleet of mercenaries. A charismatic, handsome hero as his figurehead in front of an army of hateful extremists.”
“Seeking something they can never find,” Renosha said.
Absorbing the realization, Steo slumped back. His heart sank. The tiny mission he had chosen to set out on turned out to be tied into an enormous threat, and he hadn’t stopped it. Now it was gearing up thousands of light years away, and his ship was damaged and weaponless. “I failed.” He shook his head.
Cyrus looked up. “Why?”
“I didn’t know what I was getting into, but this is bigger than I imagined. There’s going to be a galactic war. It’s inevitable. There’s nothing I can do about it.” There were no options this time, no ways his inventiveness could be applied to help anyone.
Glaikis sat down too. “You didn’t fail, Steo. It wasn’t for nothing. Someone stood up to Admiral Slaught and disrupted him. A little, at least. I have to agree though, we’re powerless to do anything about it.”
“Are we?” Renosha asked.
“Yeah old man, we are,” Yuina said. “We’re missing two key ingredients: where they are and the ability to do something about it. I know I’m droning but come on! We’re unarmed. What are we going to do, chase them down and use our little tricks? We don’t even have any allies.”
“Is that so?” Renosha said.
Steo said, “Well, the first of those may or may not be true. We can locate the Vadyanika no matter where it goes, but not the Fire Scorpion, and we don’t know where the generation ship is, do we? Cyrus?”
“Not specifically. I don’t have coordinates. The people are in a bad place, somewhere you wouldn’t normally want to go. It suggests a place of death, so that they will feel resurrected. I would lead them out of the burial place to new life.”
“A graveyard?” Renosha asked.
Steo sat up. “Generation ships are old. Where do old ships get towed to, Hawking?”
“Ship graveyards, sir. Once back on our ship I can search for any in this spiral arm.”
Renosha nodded. “Yes.”
Glaikis said, “The charts we downloaded from Kurzia Station should show anything in this region. I doubt there are many, since it’s not a heavily populated region.”
Hawking said, “Ship graveyards are in unoccupied systems off major trade routes due to their toxic discharges and leakage. I can devise more search criteria later.”
“Hold on. Are we off on another half-cocked adventure? I’m not sure I’m willing to sign on for that,” Yuina said. “I’m serious.”
“You heard everything we heard Yuina, there’s going to be a galactic war and we have a chance to stop it,” Steo said.
“Oh, here we go. No. You go without a pilot unless the mission parameters change.”
They began bickering. It went on for over an hour, discussing how as well as why. Even Steo vacillated, realizing the absurdity of it all. They were deadlocked when Ema returned.
She bounded down the steps to the benches. Once there, she tossed small things up to the monkeys who snatched them out of the air and gobbled them.
“I am Gleen. We remember,” she said. “We find species and study them. I will tell you of one such species. You will listen. If you are capable, you will remember.<
br />
An ancient species of elephant-like mammals evolved on a world poor of salt and water. The species grew nodules of salt on their backs. Tribe members would pick the nodules and eat them. This kept the salt from being wasted within the tribe. Since the nodules also included other elements, it balanced the tribe. A sick member would be fed extra nodules, gaining key vitamins and minerals to fight off illness.
The nodules had a pronounced social effect, too. The act of sharing, picking and eating them increased bonds between tribe members.
Eventually the species evolved. They built salt mines. They built factories to manufacture salt pellets. When they found this insufficient for nutrition, they added vitamins and minerals to the pellets. Soon no one needed to eat the nodules from others. The act of eating them was considered barbaric.
As their science advanced, they could produce what they needed, and their civilizations grew. They no longer had lives of bonding within a tribe, eating from each other. Alienation crept in. The ‘right to deny’ became a rallying cry for some, who voted to allow each to keep whatever they had.
War was inevitable. The species didn’t survive their 8th world war. Now their planet is ruined. It is a dead world.
We Gleen found this world and its computers, and so we learned of it. We remember it. What you may not understand is this: we would not have saved them.”
“What? Why?” Steo stood. This offended his sense of right and wrong. Given a chance to save lives, he would always opt for at least trying.
“We protect sapience, not sentience. We value wisdom, not intelligence,” she explained.
Yuina whispered to Glaikis, “You were right. We are the only good guys in the galaxy.”
Steo said, “Let us go. We have a right to go about our business.” In his excitement, he stepped toward her.
Ema didn’t back down. She pulled a thin rod from her back and pointed it at him. “You know too much. If you were to reveal the second planet and its denizens, they could come into danger. It might result in the loss of wisdom. With this dartflare, I could incinerate you and your whole party, ending any chance of that.”
Yuina inched away from Steo.
Hawking said, “Dartflare: A weapon that shoots highly-compressed beads of plasma that explode at over 1400 degrees.”
“Now is not the time, Hawking,” Glaikis said.
“You said you would study us and decide,” Steo said to Ema. He took a step back, hoping the gesture showed he was no threat.
“I have studied, and come to a conclusion. I think it is a good one.” She didn’t lower her weapon.
“You’re going to help us?”
“Help you?” she said. “That was not why I studied you.”
“Then what were you deciding?” Steo asked.
“My quandary was whether I should kill you or let you live.” She waved the weapon at the group.
They looked stunned.
“My conclusion was the latter.”
“The latter? That’s ‘live’ right?” Yuina said. “She said ‘live’ second right?” She looked back and forth between Steo and Renosha.
“Correct,” Ema said. She slid the dartflare back into its sheath.
“Okay thanks for the hospitality. Whoo! We’re out!” Yuina ran up the steps to the door.
“However,” Ema said.
Yuina stopped and slumped her shoulders. She turned and moped back to the bottom.
“I have a second decision. Renosha has asked me to consider assisting you. I have concluded your cause and values are not entirely inconsistent with my own. I will speak with each of you. Steo first.”
He walked with her across the amphitheater and made his case for her help.
“I appreciate you listening to us, Ema.”
“Steo, I have no love of man-things. Had they encountered you first, my scions would have destroyed you and I would have praised them. We know your species; humanity is irresponsible and warlike.” She sprang up a tier of the amphitheater in one step. He clambered up it clumsily.
“People fight for resources,” Steo said.
“Humanity won’t become peaceful after it finds unlimited resources. After humanity finds peace, then it will realize resources are unlimited.”
He chewed on that as they walked.
“You have your calling, mother Gleen. This is mine. You said you protect wisdom. I want to protect life. Where can wisdom grow except in the fertile ground of intelligent life?”
“Have you noticed that you change your views when speaking of them? At times you’ve spoken of protecting life, justice, rights, peace and self-determination. One being’s idea of justice often overlaps another’s rights.”
“I guess I protect what I believe in.”
“Maybe you protect what you believe in at the time. Perhaps you protect whatever values your mood takes.”
“I think I’ve been consistent in my choices.”
“Your choices often lead to conflict, Steo. We will see how committed you are to your ideals,” Ema said.
She sent him away and asked for Glaikis.
“Hello Ema,” Glaikis said.
“Do you also ask for my help, Glaikis?”
“It’s a worthwhile cause. You’re unmistakably powerful and can help us. I’m not like Steo. If you want an impassioned speech, I don’t have one for you, but there are monsters out there in the darkness.”
“More than you know,” Ema said.
“Well, we have a chance to stop one. I’ve spent my life on ships hunting murderers, rapists and torturers. Here’s one more who deserves a trip to cold-space.”
“Can you kill them all?”
“Probably not, but this one we can, with your help. Our friend Tully died, sacrificing himself to help us get free.”
“Revenge? Do you ask me for the wisdom in revenge?”
“If we just fly home, and a galactic war breaks out, it wastes his sacrifice. He wouldn’t want us to quit. Tully wouldn’t want us to run away. So that’s what I’ve got: help us avenge our friend and stop a galactic war.”
“Do you trust your leader?” Ema asked.
“Steo?” Glaikis said. “Yes.” She pondered her answer and concluded that he had earned her trust.
“I’m glad I could help you make your decision, Glaikis,” Ema said.
“What?” Glaikis said, confused.
“You were undecided before. Please send the child Yuina.”
Yuina walked hesitantly to the Gleen’s side but said nothing.
“What do you think of your crewmates’ plans, child?” Ema asked.
“Sometimes I think they’re Demoran fly-nuts insane.”
“How long have you been on your own?”
“A couple years now,” Yuina admitted.
“How long can you maintain this façade?” Ema faced Yuina with her hands on her hips.
“What façade?”
“That you only care about yourself and no one else.”
“Uh, it’s worked so far?” Yuina said sarcastically.
“Has it? The other man-things need you,” Ema said.
“They can hire another pilot,” Yuina said noncommittally. She didn’t like making eye contact with Ema.
“Not one who they care about. You insult them, yet they tolerate it. Does friendship count for something?”
“I don’t know. I suppose.”
“Will you support their cause?” Ema asked.
“Maybe.”
Ema’s expression was hard. “Child, do you deny the truth? If you cling to only your own interest, you will remain as you are. There is no wisdom in this, and it offends me. Grow or die! This time, your choice has consequences. I tire of your childishness. Go.”
Yuina looked distressed by the conversation.
“Cyrus,” Ema called.
Cyrus walked up the tiers to her and bowed. He gave her a smile.
“You are supposedly the peak of the man-thing condition? The perfect man-thing?” she asked.
&nb
sp; “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m passable,” he said modestly.
“Demonstrate.”
She started at a trot. He followed, jogging alongside her.
Ema took off at a blinding speed around the top tier of the amphitheater. Cyrus was left behind quickly, but his competitive side rose to the challenge and he bolted after her. Everyone watched the circling racers. The alien Gleen was swift, always accelerating whenever Cyrus got near. He sweated but she remained cool and collected.
“Come on Cyrus!” shouted Yuina.
Governor said, “My, his headache is certainly gone now. Try going faster, Mister Cyrus!”
The room was a half a mile around. Ema and Cyrus circled it once, twice, three times. Glaikis and Steo cheered him on too. Hawking calculated their speeds. Ema was a blur. Cyrus sweated profusely but found a rhythm that challenged her.
The crew shouted louder and louder. Cyrus heard it, smiled, and found another gear. He pulled up next to her.
Ema tripped him.
His legs no longer supporting him, Cyrus tumbled forward and fortunately hit the grass instead of the stone steps. There was an outcry as he rolled.
Ema slowed. They saw she was panting now.
“Cheat!” Yuina yelled.
“No fair,” Steo said.
“How so?” Ema said from above.
“You tripped him,” Glaikis said as she jumped up the tiers to help him.
“And?” Ema said.
“He couldn’t win,” Yuina said.
Ema didn’t reply.
Renosha said to Steo, “I don’t think that was a test of speed.”
“What was it?” he said.
“She wasn’t watching Cyrus’s reaction. She was watching ours. I think the tests are complete.”
Ema stood at the top of the steps, prancing to flex her leg muscles. She said loudly, “Make your decision. What will your mission be? Do you want to pursue your enemy or fly home? I will return briefly.” She left the room.
“Cyrus, are you all right?” Glaikis said.
Through gasps of air, he said, “Yeah. Nothing injured but my ego. Governor was right though, my headache’s gone.”
“Good. Let’s decide then,” Steo said. “Who wants to go after the Fire Scorpion? If we get weapons and repairs from Ema, if that’s what she’s offering, we might surprise them. We have a real chance to do something important. Who’s in?”
The Eye of Orion_Book 1_Gearjackers Page 26