I shut down all but the Ghost again. I knew damn well who the author was. I now understood why Leilani and Doctor Toyami had been angry with him and why he was now aware of the need to get permission from Begum and Raul before he published their song. When Leilani and Toyami realized what he had done, they must have wanted to take turns beating his nose to a pulp. But it was a beautiful song and I had learned of another hidden talent within the team.
She continued, “Here and now, everyone is afraid. That song brings hope that we are not just another band of looting pirates. Viceroy Fenghuang may fulfill the hope in the song and I believe the Emperor has the same dream, but I am afraid that Viceroy Wolong is in fact just a looting pirate. I do not understand anymore why the Emperor trusted him in such a critical position. What a mess.
“Traitor, you will remember the dreams my idiot medics watched? We have been running our own simulations for years and they are every bit as bad as yours. You, of course, do not feature in any of them. They are why we are here. The Belt was about to explode because the Sultan Mustafa has been inciting treachery everywhere. We are almost certain he is here, somewhere around the Earth. I am curious enough to have arranged this meeting. Have you ever seen his picture?”
I braced myself to see an updated picture of myself.
She finished, “This is an image we got from one of the former slaves of the traitor Rouseth after her arrest.”
She flipped out a picture and I was suddenly hearing Valkyries riding through my head, one after the other. Every time I tried to reset to the Ghost, the terror would trigger me back to being the Cripple and another Valkyrie would trample my conscious mind under the hooves of her steed. I could scarcely breathe and choked every time I tried to scream. Nasruddin jumped up and dialed up a tranquilizer on my field station. It helped but only allowed me to enable both the Ghost and Cripple at the same time. Memories flooded back that I had suppressed for ten years, memories of hatred, contempt and murder. Together with one common image: a tall, bearded man with a turban, his shoulders wrapped in a cloak. In spite of the thick beard, he looked oriental, possibly a mix of Russian with Tibetan or Chinese. His cloak was pinned with a Maltese cross on each shoulder.
She stated, “You have seen this before. Where and when? Tell me now!”
I slowly took several deep breaths. “I told you once that when I returned from Mars I was captured by a group that I call the Exterminators. They wanted to kill everyone on Mars.”
I shuddered and had to stop, wrap my arms around myself and consciously will myself not to vomit. Two or three more long, slow breaths and I could continue.
“This picture, this exact picture, was in every one of their offices, in each training room, in every shower and locker. I killed all the Exterminators I could find, but they still exist. The Sultan Mustafa must be the leader of the Exterminators. He is trying to start the war that will sterilize Mars and after that all of human space.”
She shook her head. “Not this man. He died two hundred years ago if he ever existed at all. But someone in near-Earth space is the current commander of the conspiracy. We thought when we arrived that it might be you. We searched all the earth stations and both lunar stations to find you. Without success. Did you walk right past us? Neither of us believes anymore that you are the Sultan. You were incapacitated or asleep during most of the events you were nominally commanding. After that reaction, I am certain of it. But we have failed to convince many others. If you step off the Moon or even move to a different city, they will still arrest you.
“The Sultan is so dangerous that our orders are to execute on capture, without even checking that we have the right suspect. If we believe either of our simulations, we know where that would lead.
“The search would continue until all of the candidates are dead. That includes your wife if you have one. Probably everyone you have worked with over the last ten years. And I am convinced now that it would all be for nothing. What a hopeless disaster.
“You have confessed to being somebody else we want to capture. I know for a fact that you are not who you claimed to be. That does not leave many candidates.”
Nasruddin interrupted, “Benevolent Ones, after that medical shock, there are five security guards and Surgeon MacFinn coming. They will be hammering on that door in a few minutes, trying to keep this man alive long enough to complete his mission, which is almost the same as yours. Please, let them in. They are on our side.”
The door buzzer rang. With the Poloffs permission, Sa’id let in a small army of people. The guards glanced at Sa’id and the Poloffs, nodded, said, “Our apologies, Honoured Sirs,” and stepped back out the door. Only three remained; MacFinn, a Medic from the Lansdorf, and the elderly Healer from Qinghai Mining. I had not expected the Medic and Healer and it was evident that Sa’id had not either. The old woman’s face and arms were exposed and she was sweating in the warmth, but her skin was clear of brown spots, which had been replaced by new, pinkish skin.
MacFinn, the Medic and the Healer bowed low, silently, before the Imperial Poloff, then before the Qinghai Poloff. Afterwards, they turned to me and my field station. MacFinn commented, “Lad, that was a dreadful fright, but brief. It dinna cause much stress, but y’whole body prepared for a fight it could na win. When ye get back home, ye’ll start a new workout regime. These shocks come too often. We need t’build y’resilience.”
Poloff Badami commanded, “Speak plainly, Surgeon.”
MacFinn bowed to her again and switched to his precise classical Mandarin.
“Like myself, the Medic and Healer were waiting in the Commerce lobby, in case the Political Officers needed their help. When you had a crisis, they decided they needed to be closer.
“You took a cut on the arm coming to Commerce. I know, you say it is nothing but a scratch. Healer, could you apply a clean bandage here? Good – no festering or putrescence. All you heroes are the same. You get a broken leg with the bones sticking out and claim it is a bruise. But that blade could have been poisoned. Three seconds of thrashing and afterwards we would all be dead.
“Do not pretend to be innocent! We would all be dead. I know what your dreams are like. I discussed them a bit with the Medics on the Lansdorf and with the Banshees since we got back. Medic Bashir here can tell you. Everyone else is terrified to talk about it, but you have scared me enough already. I am taking it as a sign that you are thinking about it, that things will work out better than any of us expect.”
Poloff Badami almost jumped. “Banshees? Are you saying that you believe those superstitions?”
MacFinn paused and collected his wits, “The Banshees are a group of real people, not magical spirits. I believe I have even met one or two of them and spoken to a few more over the comm.”
He stopped and smiled gently. “I believe the small woman is one. Best doctor I ever met and the sweetest soul. Her armour made her look like a Banshee. But I do not know and refuse to ask.
“The songs you hear are another story entirely. Do not trust a word of them. It is hard to tell if any of what they say is real because the Banshees do not appear in the official records. But look up what happened on the earth station Deng. Keep digging until you find the young couple who started healing people themselves. There is some amazing footage on the news feeds from that day.
“If I may be so bold, while you are at it, look up the Terrestrial Constitution and the Three Laws. They are hard reading, but if you want to understand the Banshees, they are a must. The Moon has its own versions of the Constitution and Laws, mostly copied from the Earth, but adapted to an airless planet where everyone lives underground. The Lunar versions may be more adaptable to Mars and the Belt. Either set will answer most of your questions about why we are all so odd here.
“The Medics and Healers tell me you have nothing like them, that the Governors just told you what to do until everyone stopped obeying them. Forgive me. I am too forward. I just thought it needed saying.”
MacFinn might have mention
ed another Banshee of his acquaintance. I appreciated his restraint.
Poloff Vo casually mentioned, “Surgeon Kaahurangi said the Banshees were involved in another incident with a ship called the Manila Bay.”
I knew that most of the Manila Bay incident would still be deeply classified, wondering briefly how he had heard about it. Of course, the name had been mentioned during the greeting of the crew of the Hammerhead. LR would have been watching the evacuation for their own edification and Kaahurangi must have contacts within the TDF. MacFinn thought for a few moments, then said, equally casually, “The Captain of the Manila Bay was driven mad with emojis and blew up the ship, but most of the crew were safely evacuated. Many of them will be in therapy for months trying to recover from the stress. The Banshees helped in the evacuation. Real people helping real people.”
Poloff Vo continued, “The Western Textiles Master and Weapons Master, the ones you saved from immediate execution? They were both victims of emoji attacks. We did not realize until we installed the LE token. Their entire behaviour changed immediately. The Master ordered the attack, but only because zer Sub-Admiral ordered zim to do it. We do not know who ordered the Sub-Admiral, but the emojis on the commands the Master received were the same as the ones on the commands from Sultan Mustafa trying to make us attack the Quetzalcoatl. We will never know if their Sub-Admiral was also under attack because zer ship was hit with a missile and vaporized. The Weapons Master tried to confess to protect zer Master, a heroic action in its own way. The Master and Weapons Master are here now, just a few squares over, but under a suicide watch. They know they deserve to die for their treason and want it all to be over.”
Poloff Badami said quietly, “Like Sub-Admiral Gambarov. Ze was the first on the Lansdorf to receive orders to attack the Quetzalcoatl and is also under a suicide watch. It is why we are all here.”
We sat silently for several minutes more before she continued, “The whole crew of the Lansdorf is here. They tell the public that we are here for rest and relaxation, whatever that means. It is only to protect our privacy before we are convicted of treason and executed. Sometimes they add that we are taking therapy, which would itself be an act of treason. Neither I nor the Captain obeyed the Sub-Admiral when ze ordered the attack. Ze laid charges of mutiny before we could install the tokens. Ze has tried to retract the charges since then, and for that is now under suspicion of treason as well. Ze wants to kill zimself in remorse. But ze was right to lay charges. We are guilty of mutiny and installing tokens from an enemy service without explicit orders is surely an act of treason.
“You have no jails to hold traitors like us. Instead, we are exposed to public shame, living as though we were honoured guests amongst our enemies. I feel like the Cannibal in that song. Sir traitor, if you were really on Mars, you must understand our shame.
“We are forbidden to leave this district, even by suicide. Same for all eight ships that accepted the LE token and shut down the emoji attacks. We are imprisoned in different districts throughout the city, all under suspicion of treason.
“It was easier when we allowed the emojis to guide our responses. I always knew who to honour and who to hate. Obedience brought an instant reward and disobedience an instant punishment. Since then, the only reward is the knowledge of a job well done. I have to read and understand every command for myself. Half of them seem so foolish I do not want to obey them and I find myself doubting my own superior officers. In my heart, I am guilty of treason.”
Poloff Vo interrupted, “But we had to do it! We realized at last that our command stream was poisoned by hate-filled orders from the Sultan Mustafa, orders that commanded us to rebel against the Imperium and attack the Quetzalcoatl!”
Poloff Badami continued, “And it hurt. Even without the emojis, zer orders were clear and well thought out, if your goal was to start an unstoppable war. If I had not known what the consequences would have been, I would have obeyed zim gladly in preference to the Emperor. Which proves that I am a follower of the Sultan Mustafa at heart, a traitor. I remember my treason and the treason that saved us from that treason. Like the Master, Weapons Master, and our Sub-Admiral, I just want it to be over.”
I could not hold myself back, “Benevolent One, you are not a traitor! You installed the LE token explicitly so you could continue to be loyal to the Imperium and you were successful. You just wanted competent commanders, as we all do. Loyalty requires sacrifice and difficult judgements. You judged correctly, far better than I did when I was in command. My own treason was that I obeyed without question the orders of vicious fools who held me in contempt, then turned against them when I realized where my true loyalties lay.”
I blacked out as the screaming overwhelmed everything else.
I revived slowly. I was curled in a ball on the floor, still attached by the catheters and feeding tubes to the field station on the wheelchair. Sa’id was gently rubbing my back and humming the Challenge of Hope. Poloff Badami held one of my hands and stroked my forehead, while Poloff Vo tried to rub circulation into my legs.
Sa’id said quietly, “Flower told me about this after the Soiree. Used to happen all the time, apparently.”
Poloff Vo objected, “Banshees.”
Sa’id replied quietly, “Just a name they invented. He was aware earlier than anyone that something big was coming. At every step, he found a way to preserve the peace. He has a plan that he believes will save us.”
Poloff Badami shook her head. “He told us that he has to surrender and face trial, but not on Mars. Only here. The Moon will enforce an honest confession. Then Martian Justice will execute him in public. I do not understand how that will help. It will just inflame more angry passions. I think we will all die in the war.”
I forced out a groan. It was the best I could manage.
A few slow breaths later, my mind cleared enough to remember who I was. I could talk over the comm about things that could not be said. I could talk to Sa’id. I had an example that worked. Sa’id could give it to them if they really wanted to see the file.
To Sa’id/private, “I have a gift for Poloff Badami. The dream I showed you and Surgeon MacFinn. Still a nightmare to start with, but one that ends well. If she even reads the text version, she will know who I am but also why I believe it will work. I think we deleted it from the field station but the Banshees have a copy.”
I had to lie quietly for a while.
Sa’id/private, “Leilani is willing to give us an unencrypted version for immediate viewing. Are you sure you want to do this? If so, should I do it now or after you have left?”
Me/converse, “Now. I am not trying to deceive the Poloffs. There will be consequences and our guards should be prepared to move out immediately.”
Badami asked, “What are you doing? I can tell you are using the comm for a large transfer.”
Sa’id replied, “Benevolent Ones, he has given me another one of his dreams, which will explain his grounds for hope. Surgeon MacFinn and I have both seen this dream. It was terrifying, but the ending showed the effect his confession can have on Mars. I will leave it with you if you want to take it. We can view it on the field station right now.”
Badami objected, “Those dreams drove all my Medics mad. What kind of game are you playing?”
I tried to speak again, grating out, “If you watched all of it, this one might too, but we do not need the details. We can skip through to view just the important parts. I believe you already know who I am. This dream will confirm everything. We only need a bit of the confession and can skip the executions. Watch how Mars reacts throughout the war. Be sure to understand the ending.”
Then I had to stop and gasp again. This was so close to suicide, the Censor kept screaming, but Badami and Vo already knew who I was. They might give me a pass today if they could understand this one dream. I gradually uncurled, listening to their reactions as they watched the surreal flow of dream images on the field station’s monitor and followed through the text I had transcribed. Wh
en I could open my eyes again, both Poloffs had haunted expressions, watching the destruction of half the Belt, the seemingly endless slaughter on the Earth and Mars. But Mars was different this time, working hard to reconcile the factional hatreds, finding compromises, calling the most violent commanders to account. Gradually, the war subsided, trade revived, justice was restored, and peace broke out over more and more of human space. The people of the Belt, their people, started to design the ships that would take us to the stars.
When it was over, Badami shook her head slowly. “For the first time, I feel pity for my foolish and disobedient medics. That was horrible and only the ending justified the effort. Our simulations were much less vivid. I will keep the document, if I may, but will wrap it in deep layers of secrecy. No, wait, I will first force every idiot medic who is still sane to watch it, so they know why we needed the emoji-blocking token, why we still need help, even from the uthikoloshe. Healer, do you understand what you just saw?”
The old Healer was flattened against the far wall of the room, her eyes wide with horror. “No, Benevolent One. Was that the end of civilized life? I thought I saw everyone in Qinghai Mining being murdered.”
Badami smiled very grimly, “No, that was the bare survival of civilized life. It is the first hint that survival is even possible. You saw the destruction of the factions that still called themselves Qinghai Mining and Syrtis, but the Imperium survived with a new mandate for justice. My fool medics watched versions of these simulations that all ended in the extinction of humanity. That is why Bashir here is crazy with despair. They all are.
“Medic Bashir, do you understand what you just saw?”
He nodded slowly, not filled with hope by any means, but not filled with helpless despair either.
She grunted and continued, “Healer, I am calling a meeting of all the medics after dinner. Kamel is excused because he might have a heart attack if he has to watch one more of these dreams. Aside from him, attendance is mandatory, regardless of which shift they are working. You must attend as well. You too, Bashir. You are all going to watch this dream and discuss what must be done to make it work, better than the dream if possible. Did you hear the stupid song they are debating outside?”
Lord Banshee Lunatic (Nightmare Wars Book 3) Page 14