The Kaithian’s head twitched, causing his head-tail to swing to the right. “That’s rather debatable, especially when you consider the damage losing the galaxy’s capital will do to public morale. There’s also the inconvenient fact that you failed to protect the shipyards.”
“Nevertheless, the reasoning was sound.”
“Was it? I think you’re skirting the truth, Captain. You weren’t choosing between Abdera and the shipyards at all. You were choosing between Abdera and your ex-wife.”
Husher blinked. He hadn’t expected that. I guess you don’t become galactic president without being perceptive. His cheeks began to heat up, and he wondered whether they were close enough for Chiba to spot his shame. “Listen, Kaithian,” he said, partly to mask it, and partly from genuine anger. Chiba’s guards shifted their weight at his change in tone. “Let’s get one thing straight. If you’re here to try to remove me from command, then you’d better have your men shoot me, because that’s the only way that’s going to happen. Otherwise, I stay in the command seat. Understood?”
A brittle silence took hold in the conference room, and for a moment, Husher wondered whether Chiba would give the order to kill him. If he did, Husher had enough faith in his crew that he doubted they would react positively to that.
“I haven’t come to remove you from command,” the Kaithian said at last. “Attempting to do so has already proven a burdensome, aggravating experience. For the duration of this war, at least, we’re stuck with you.”
“Then what have you come to do?”
“After the Quatro evacuated myself along with thousands of other government officials and civilians, we owe them an even greater debt. I’m here to require you to turn over the Quatro aboard your ship, and to standby without interfering while we apprehend those aboard the Quatro warship in your battle group.”
“I can’t believe it,” Husher snapped. “Are we really doing this again? You know what I’m prepared to do to prevent the Quatro with me from becoming political prisoners. I wouldn’t recommend pushing me on it.”
“Captain Husher, I don’t think you fully comprehend the delicate balance I’m trying to strike here,” Chiba said, and to Husher, the Kaithian almost sounded like he was pleading.
“The Quatro need us just as much as we need them,” Husher said. “We offered them safe refuge in a galaxy we control, and without us, they’d fall to the Progenitors even faster. They don’t get to pretend they can push us around and make demands.”
“Clearly, you don’t understand the Quatro,” Chiba said. “Or at least, you don’t understand their Assembly of Elders. They’re willing to gamble with everything to get what they want.”
“Then they’re psychopaths. I don’t strike compromises with psychopaths. It isn’t possible. Sorry, Mr. President, but Rug stays on this ship, and I’ll blast from space any ship that makes a move against my Quatro vessel.”
Chiba’s face hardened. “Then you’ve left me with only one option. I’ll have to take other measures to placate the Elders, because without them, we’re finished.”
“What other measures?”
“I’m afraid you don’t get to know yet, Captain.”
Husher’s jaw tensed. “I’d suggest you carefully consider whatever it is you’re about to do, President Chiba. You and your friends have already done enough damage to the galaxy. It can’t take much more.”
“There’s a lot you don’t understand, Captain. You command a starship, and I hope you realize that comes nowhere close to the complex demands of governing a galaxy.” Chiba paused, slim shoulders rising and falling more rapidly. “The loss of Thessaly and Abdera has made one thing clear: we need to begin evacuating systems.”
Husher’s eyebrows twitched at the near-echo of what his daughter had said to him inside his office. “Evacuate them to where?”
“That’s yet to be determined.”
“How about the Kaithian home system?”
That brought another prolonged pause from Chiba. Clearly, he was uncomfortable with the idea. Or at least, he thought it would be difficult to get the Kaithian Consensus to agree.
“You know it makes the most sense,” Husher went on. “In fact, it would be criminally negligent to evacuate civilians to anywhere else. The superweapon you call a moon may be our last hope of survival.”
“The Preserver was not meant for use in war.”
Husher laughed. “What was it meant for, then? Decoration? Don’t try to fool me about this, Chiba. It’s shameful for you to try. I was with Captain Keyes when your superweapon gunned down the Ixa chasing us, and he told me how your brethren characterized the Preserver. They said it was programmed only for defensive war. And that’s exactly what this is.”
The galactic president met Husher’s gaze for several long seconds. At last, he said, “You’re right, and I believe the Consensus will agree. We’ll begin the evacuation to Home immediately. Many supplies will be needed, and temporary structures. Our planet’s land will be covered with beings.”
Husher raised his eyebrows, a little surprised at how quickly Chiba had jumped on board with the proposal. “Yes, it will,” he said.
“As for you, Captain, I want you to carry out a mission given to you at the very start of this conflict. One you still haven’t completed.”
“What might that be?”
“Go to the Gok, and find a way to forge an alliance with them.”
Husher’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious. They helped Teth fight us in Concord.”
“Their government has been distancing itself from the Gok who did that. They say those were rogue ships.”
“And you believe them?”
“Not necessarily. But I do believe that any chance of victory now depends on taking long shots. And this is one of them.”
Husher was about to continue arguing, but the president was right, he realized.
“Very well,” he said. “I’ll approach the Gok.”
He’d hoped to remain in this area of the galaxy for a little longer, in case Fesky returned. But she wasn’t coming back. And as his conversation with the president had just attested, it no longer paid to remain in any part of the galaxy for very long.
Chapter 20
Lucid
As the Vesta’s crew made final preparations for her to depart Feverfew for the journey to the Gok home system, a shuttle entered the system from Hellebore.
Shortly after, a message arrived from a woman named Eve Quinn, who said she represented Invigor Technologies.
“I’d like to meet with Captain Husher,” the message read. “I have a proposition that could change the war.”
Husher read that with extreme skepticism, but like Chiba had said, it was time to start taking long shots. And they weren’t slated to leave Feverfew for another three hours. So he could fit in a meeting.
Based on the name of the company Quinn represented, Husher figured that having Ochrim present would be a good idea. And so, after receiving Quinn on Flight Deck Delta, he led her toward Cybele.
“This place is actually less of a ghost town than I expected,” Quinn said, peering around as they walked through the city streets toward Ochrim’s residence.
Husher nodded, trying not to notice the smell of sanitizer, or to think about what it might be covering up. With the recent riots and general neglect that had come with a smaller population living in the same amount of space, the street-cleaning robots had increased the amount of sanitizer they used. Oculens overlays had also gotten more elaborate, to cover up the damage done to several of the buildings.
“A lot of the people who move to one of these starship cities do so for a reason,” he said. “An agenda. That type of person isn’t going to be turned off by unrest, or by flying into the middle of a war.”
“Zealots,” Quinn said.
“Basically. IGF Command welcomes them, since they’re a major source of funding. Either way, Command’s still dissatisfied with our population numbers.”
They
found Ochrim waiting for them on his front step, arms crossed. “I hope you don’t have any more technologies for me to develop, Captain. I’m kept rather busy trying to find a way to move bigger ships through dimensions.”
“You’re in luck,” Quinn said. “This one’s already developed, and extremely straightforward to integrate with the Vesta’s existing systems.”
To Husher, Quinn’s words sounded exactly like the sales pitch he’d been expecting. “I only want your input, Ochrim,” he said. “On whether whatever Quinn has come to propose is a good idea. We’ll meet in the lab.”
Ochrim uncrossed his arms to open his front door. “By all means,” he said. “Not that I’m under the illusion that I have a choice in the matter.”
“Good,” Husher said. “We have enough illusions in this city as it is.”
The Ixan led them to the back room where the lab’s entrance, hidden in the floor, was now kept open. Without ceremony, he began descending the ladder, and Husher motioned for Quinn to follow.
As his foot left the bottom rung, Husher noticed two of Ek’s six offspring swimming in the enormous tank that took up one wall of the lab. The Fins’ exoskeletons allowed them to walk the ship freely, but to completely avoid the negative effects zero G had on Fin bodies, they had to regularly perform calisthenic exercises inside the tank.
It has to be better than living in there twenty-four-seven. That had been their situation before Ochrim had developed the exoskeleton.
Husher turned to Quinn. “What do you have for us?”
She grinned. “Right to business, I see. I like it.”
“War doesn’t leave much room for formalities.”
Quinn’s smile broadened, and then Husher’s Oculenses notified him of an invitation to a shared overlay. When he accepted, a MIMAS mech appeared in the center of the lab.
“We already have mechs,” Husher said, walking around it. “Unless you’re one of the companies contracted to build more of them?” Whenever he beheld one of these machines, he couldn’t help but admire the engineering that went into it. The mech bristled with artillery, and it vaguely resembled a human who’d broken free of the bonds of evolution to merge with technology.
“It isn’t the MIMAS itself I wanted to show you,” Quinn said. “It’s the technology that allows pilots to control the mechs.”
“Lucid, isn’t it?” Husher said, still circling the mech.
“Yes. The pilot dreams she is the mech. And we’ve expanded on the tech; modified it for use with almost any vehicle.”
Husher’s eyes snapped onto Quinn’s face. “Lucid is Darkstream tech. How did your company come to acquire it? My understanding was that the entire Darkstream board was sentenced to life imprisonment.”
“That’s true. But we’ve partnered with a lower-level employee, who was exonerated.”
“Who is it?”
Quinn’s smile tightened. “Invigor considers that information proprietary.”
“Fascinating. Well, I’m surprised you’d come here to waste my time with Darkstream tech. You are aware of my history with the company, aren’t you? Not to mention the universe’s history with almost getting destroyed by it?”
Quinn managed to keep her chipper demeanor intact. “I can assure you, this isn’t a waste of time, Captain. And the only reason you’re surprised I would propose this is because you haven’t seen the tech in action yet. Lucid would give the Vesta and her Python pilots a big edge in combat. Watch.”
Apparently Quinn had sent her Oculenses a command, since the MIMAS disappeared, replaced by a battlespace in miniature. Inside it, a digital scale model of the Vesta was surrounded by gnat-like Pythons, all engaging an enemy that struck with particle beams and Ravagers. But Husher could see that the rate at which enemy fire found its target had been dramatically reduced, with Pythons turning on a dime. The Vesta also seemed to respond faster than should have been possible, given the time required for a captain to give the Nav officer orders based on information relayed by the sensor operator.
“Using lucid, a properly trained Nav officer can see and process what the ship sees, and respond accordingly. They can become the ship, and you can limit your orders to cases where you want the ship to move in a way that’s counterintuitive.”
“It’s impressive,” Husher admitted. “But we also don’t have an abundance of time. The way I see it, our time is much better spent figuring out a way to get a ship like the Vesta to the Progenitors’ home system. Preferably before they wipe out every last system of ours.”
“But that’s the beauty of this technology,” Quinn said. “As I said, it can be seamlessly integrated with existing systems, and it doesn’t take long to do that. You’ll likely be finished well before you arrive in Gok space.” She cleared her throat. “For all you know, Captain, this upgrade could buy enough time to make the discovery you just mentioned. And if you ask me, lucid will prove even more important for the war effort than interdimensional warship travel.”
Husher drew a deep breath. “I tend to doubt that. But I do see your point.” He expelled the air in a rush. “All right. My primary Nav officer happens to have a minor in sensor system engineering, so provided she agrees to this, she can probably be brought up to speed fairly quickly. All of this is contingent on her consent, however.”
“I understand, Captain,” Quinn said. “I think you’re making the right choice.”
I wish I did, Husher thought, still very apprehensive over using tech that had originated with Darkstream.
He reminded himself of Chiba’s words. Husher and the president didn’t agree on much, but in this they were united: it was time to start taking long shots.
“What about your Python pilots?” Quinn said. “Should I start work on having them outfitted with the tech as well?”
Husher shook his head. “I doubt we have the time. Besides, I want to see how the first upgrade plays out before converting my entire Air Group. If all goes well, we’ll see to that later.”
“Hopefully the war will afford us the opportunity to do all that, Captain.”
Chapter 21
Lavender
As the Vesta sped through a dying galaxy toward the Gok home world, Doctor Bancroft suggested that Jake use the time wisely. “Getting a little fresh air would be good for your recovery,” she said.
He’d quipped that fresh air wasn’t available aboard the Vesta.
Bancroft hadn’t seemed amused by that, no matter how true it was. The closest he could get to fresh air was Santana Park, where the simulated sun shone from above but provided no heat. Not that it was cold—the heating units out in the fake desert kept Cybele at room temperature, and the ceiling lights did emit UVB rays that triggered vitamin D production.
It’s still not quite the same, he reflected.
He was used to being away from a real sun. He’d grown up in a great artificial habitat called Hub, which had shared a heliocentric orbit with the asteroids of Kuiper Belt 2 in the Steele System.
Still, he cherished the few memories he had of walking on Eresos outside of his mech. Real sunlight on real skin, unmediated even by the mech dream.
Santana Park pulsated with life, today: couples strolling the cobbled paths, youth chasing each other between the trees, students studying. It was as though the galaxy’s rapid deterioration had chased everyone from their residences, to snatch what pleasantness remained to be had. No one seemed to be pushing a political agenda, today. Everyone was just living.
This is what I’m fighting to protect. Exactly this.
Except, Jake wasn’t confident he could fight anymore. He could join Gamble’s marine battalion as regular infantry, but he’d accomplish far less than he would in his mech, especially with the dizziness that continued to plague him. He could walk unaided now, but he still had a long way to go.
According to Bancroft, his prefrontal cortex had taken a beating after Lisa’s shot caused his meninges to swell. Maybe that’s what’s interfering with controlling my mech.
Odell had suggested switching to one of the empty MIMAS mechs, but Jake wouldn’t hear of it. Something deep inside him railed against the notion of abandoning the alien mech, and he justified it by pointing out how much more powerful it was. The war effort required everyone to strive toward their maximum potential, and for Jake, that meant piloting the thing, even if he had to master it all over again.
His gaze fell on a young woman wearing the spaced-out expression of an Oculens user. Another student studying….and he recognized this student.
“Hey,” he said as he neared, trying not to hobble too much.
Iris looked up, and as she did, he caught the scent of flowers. Lavender?
“What do you want?” she said.
“To thank you. For saving my life.”
“I would have done it for anyone. The fact that I saved you is proof of that.”
Jake furrowed his brow. “What does that mean?”
“I’ve heard how you pushed for my father to meet with the Brotherhood. How you thought he should try to form an alliance with them.”
Jake shrugged. “I thought they could lend us some muscle, in case the IU tried to put us in a position we didn’t want to be in. And we could have used the muscle, it turned out.”
Iris shook her head. “So, allying with the Brotherhood, that’s a situation you’d prefer?”
“At the time, I thought it might help. Maybe I was wrong.”
“Yeah, I’d say there’s a good chance, considering they attacked a Union colony soon after that!”
“What’s your problem with me, anyway?” he asked. “You were the first person I saw when I woke up. You were waiting by my bedside, for God knows who long. So I can’t be all bad.”
Iris rose to her feet, bringing her scowl close to him. It’s definitely lavender.
“I felt responsible for you,” she said. “Apparently that happens after you save someone’s life. Hopefully you’ll actually do something good with it, this time around. Because from what I’ve seen, you act first without thinking. You don’t consider what the effects might be on other beings. Excuse me.”
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