“Smart ass. Option two is I rip you apart piece by tiny piece.”
“I said don’t tell me number two. Now I can’t decide which is better.”
“But if I do that I risk damaging Risrav. That I can’t afford to do. So, cupcake of shit, which will it be? Oh, and just as an added incentive, if you just tell me where it is, I promise not to kill Sapale before your weeping eyes. If you force me to grind you up, she gets the same treatment.”
I ran some quick systems checks. Everything was on and functional. My entire body was strapped to a metal table with redundancy. I couldn’t see my hands, but they were balled into fists and covered with a hard shell, maybe a cast. EJ was taking no chances. Well, he was taking too great a risk by waking me up at all. I was going to get out of this and spring my plan on him with extreme prejudice, the sorry son of a bitch. By the way, I’d hidden Risrav in my scrotum. Yeah, clever of me, eh? I knew that if this exact scenario ever transpired, EJ would never check there.
“I’ll make you a deal,” I said coolly. “Let the both of us go, and I’ll give you the rune.”
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Let me think about it. No. That’s would be the dumbest thing for me to do. No, pal, the only way you’re leaving this room is as scrap.”
“I’ll sweeten the deal. Seriously, listen hard. If you let us go, I won’t do to you what I was planning to.”
“It might help if you told me what I’m being spared, lame brain.”
“Spoiler alert. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“Let me repeat that last line back to you. You’ll just have to trust me. Do you think in your tiny processors that there the remotest chance in hell I’d trust you to do anything? You must have skipped your last hundred upgrades, moron.”
“Oh well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He folded his arms. “You know what, Jon? I’m sick as shit of hearing this brave-gonna-get-out-of-this crap. Hell, I’ve said the same things myself back in the day. But, seriously, you’re not going to manage a last-minute miracle. You’re not going to save the damsel in distress,” he pointed to Sapale. “Most poignantly, you’re not going to see tomorrow so spare me the macho speech.”
“J … Jenna told me I wasn’t going to die today. Maybe tomorrow she said, but definitely not today.”
“Who the hell’s Jenna. I need to find her and let her know her prediction was the opposite of correct.”
“She’s at the lake, our lake.”
“Oh great, I must have fried your brain. You’re delusional. Crap, now I can’t be certain you’ll appreciate the fact that I’m killing you when I do.” He turned and paced away. The dude was seriously pissed. My, how I’d changed. I was criminally insane and a whack job.
“Jon, I’m so sorry,” said Sapale, taking advantage of EJ’s silence. “At least we’ll be together again in death.”
God, I loved that woman. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We’re getting out of this.” I nodded my head at EJ. “He’s the one who should be worried.”
“I said no stupid bravado,” he snarled, and he slapped me again. “You’re making me nauseous.”
“Well chalk one up for Good Jon,” I replied with a stupid grin.
He leaned over and came nose to nose with me. “Oh, so you’re the good me, and I’m the evil me. That how you see it, chump?”
“To be fair, many people agree with me, EJ.”
“You’re such a fool, such a Pollyanna. You still think it’s about good versus evil, right versus wrong.” He harrumphed. “What a piece of work.”
“So, Master Yoda, what is it about if it isn’t what it’s always been about?”
He thumbed his chest angrily. “It’s all about me. Whatever I want, whatever I need, and whatever I fancy. Period. End of story. Do not pass Go, and do not collect two hundred dollars.”
“I’m so glad I’m not you. You’re more pathetic than I ever imagined. Seriously, EJ, do yourself a favor and blow your head off. If you’re too chicken, I volunteer to help.”
“Enough with the wasting of my endless time. Back to the issue at hand. What’ll it be? The easy way or the hard way? You’ve got thirty seconds.”
Captain, are you there? Sir, we’d lost you, but I detect your signal. Captain, what is your status? Al popped into my head. Oh yeah, I’d been gone a while hadn’t I? Wait, he had to know about the electrical discharge and my seeing EJ. Until my systems went down, he had access to everything I saw.
I’m here. My status is debatable. My body is functioning well. EJ, however, has me tied up and is about to begin removing parts. Oh, Sapale’s here and says hi.
We regret to learn about your situation, sir. May we help in any way, General Ryan?
What was with all the formality?
I don’t think so. Wish you could.
I guess that softens the blow of our update, sir. There are approximately ten thousand Adamant troops swarming up the hill to your location. As we speak, the skies are filling with warships. We estimate they will overrun your position in the next four to five minutes.
It was then I noted the very odd look on EJ’s face, sort of puzzled mixed with baffled. He could hear Al too. Of course, he could. He’s done it all the time on our shared voyage with Al on Ark 1. Al had to know that fact. Wait, wait. That’s why he was speaking so formally. He knew I’d be suspicious, but EJ almost certainly wouldn’t. Hell, it’d been two billion years since they last spoke.
Then either way I’m a goner, Al. Tell Blessing I love her and that I’ll miss you both dearly. I was stretching things out. Calling Stingray by her real name would let Al know I read him clearly. If EJ bought the ruse, he’d want to eavesdrop a while, but he also had to split soon if he wanted to avoid capture. It’d take him a couple minutes to get me off this table, so the likelihood of him taking me with him was dropping to no way.
Remember the Zeno-One Protocol, Al? After I’m dead, you must execute it at once. Do you copy?
Not the dreaded Zeno-One Protocol, Captain. I do not know if I will be able to perform it, it being so dreaded.
Al, listen carefully. I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little artificial life-forms don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that. You must execute the protocol. The part where you must mix the hyperdrive fuel with the neutron stream will be tricky, pal, but I know you can do it. I know you’re stronger than you know.
God that sounded awful. Way too corny, but I was ad-libbing to beat the band. It must’ve been working, because EJ was still angling his head and staring at the floor. Now if he didn’t kill me gratuitously, I might not die today. I had to guess he’d leave me alive, so he could someday recover Risrav. If he killed me here and now, the Adamant would gain possession of my remains, and he’d never get the rune. Then again, he was insane, so it was hard to count on anything.
General Jonathan Ryan, it has been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside you. I will faithfully initiate the Zeno-One Protocol upon confirmation of your demise. God speed, my captain.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What the hell is the Zeno-One Protocol?” demanded EJ.
I did my best to look shocked. “How did you kn … Wait, you can still hear Al, can’t you, you scoundrel?”
“Get over your damn self, pissant. I have to get the hell out of here, but I want to know.” He pulled a blaster out of his belt and pointed it at Sapale. “I don’t think I have to tell you I’ll do it, Ryan.”
Holy crap! Now I had to come up with some version of the bullshit protocol I invented to stall for more time. If I failed to convince him, he might realize the entire Al call was a con.
It … it’s nothing that involves you …”
EJ started a countdown. “Three … two …”
“Okay, stop. I’ll tell you everything. The Zeno-One Protocol is a suicide procedure designed to incapacitate and possibly destroy the vortex. I can’t allow it to fa
ll into enemy hands. There, that’s it.”
“All that drama about self-destructing one damn ship. Man, I wish I had time to kill you, squirt. I’d be doing you and the universe a big favor. But, I’ll have to save that until next time, sucker.” He mock saluted me and tipped his imaginary hat to Sapale. Then he ran from the room. His ship had to be close by.
“Thank Davdiad, he left you alive,” said Sapale rushing to my side.
“It won’t—”
I started to say it wouldn’t take him long to discover our lies, but Sapale had her lips pressed to mine so hard I couldn’t say a word. I started talking with my mouth shut. That got her to open her eyes and look at me kind of funny. She pulled back a few inches.
“That was great, honey, but Al made all that up. EJ’ll be back in a few seconds. Release me as fast as you can.”
Fortunately, she must have seen EJ strap me in, because she moved nimbly to free me. It took a full minute. I knew EJ was overdue, even madder than he was to begin with.
“To the vortex,” I said heading for the door.
“But your hands,” she shouted.
That’s when I got a good look at them. They were steel-jacketed. EJ had actually molded steel mittens on me to secure my weapons.
“No time. I left it open. I’ll think of something by the …”
Time was up. A plasma bolt struck the wall between us. EJ was back.
Sapale whipped a pistol from the back of her waist and returned fire. She just missed him, and he jerked back out of sight.
“Come with me,” she said. “My family is in the next room. I can’t leave them. He’ll butcher them.”
I couldn’t disagree with her, but we were out of time. I nodded, and we ran.
EJ figured out where we were going. He must have sprinted the back-way, because he blasted the door frame just after we shot through it. The three adults and two kids jumped to their feet.
“We need to fight our way to his ship,” she said to the frightened group. “Pick up a child and stay behind us.”
Sapale shoulder rolled out the door and opened fire in EJ’s direction. He tried to get off a round, but she had him pinned back.
“Go,” she shouted.
I led the family out the door and to the right. Sapale kept up a blistering line of fire on the corner EJ hid behind.
When we were all around the turn, I yelled, “We’re clear. Retreat.”
She backed away but never stopped blasting. The two walls that made the corner were chewed to bits. She ducked in next to me. She held up a hand signal for stop. Then she used the one for I’m going to look. Sapale needed to see if EJ was following or had taken another path. Her head wasn’t a millimeter past the edge when a blast struck the wall. EJ was a coming. She stuck her gun around the corner and fired blindly while she signaled with her left hand for us to go.
“Two lefts and a right,” I said in her ear, indicating where the ship was. Then I led the group away as fast as we could move.
We made it to Stingray in no time. I could hear the fierce firefight down the hall coming closer.
“Al,” I held up my hands, “We gotta get these off. Otherwise we’re sitting ducks.”
“Place them on the utility bench,” he replied. After I had, he said, “This will take time. I can cut through safely, but if I go too fast, the heat will melt your hands. They’re no good to us if they don’t work.”
“Do your best.”
A tiny laser beam started cutting the steel. Sparks flew, and I felt the temperature rise inside the covering.
“Estimated time to completion?” I asked.
“Ten to fifteen minutes, maybe longer.”
“Crap, that’s too long. Try and hustle.”
The hull sounded off with a plasma bolt. They were here.
Sapale vaulted through the door and pressed up against the hatch frame. She fired blindly down the corridor.
“Al says ten minutes for my hand. Can you hold him off that long?”
She shrugged and smiled. Okay, odd thing to do in a tense situation.
“I could try if you’d like. I’d rather do this.” She pointed her left hand at the floor and command prerogatives sprung to the deck. The wall instantly sealed. “Vortex manipulator, take us to the remnants of planet Earth,” she called out.
I was stunned.
She walked over to me and looked down at the cutting process. “Do you ever get used to that nausea?” she asked casually.
“You feel it too?” Then I furrowed up my brow. “Of course, you do. Hey, Als, any sign of pursuit?”
“None so far, Form One.”
“What the hell’s the one for?” I asked with mild irritation.
“It is customary to address the senior Form as One and other ones numerically down the line. Sapale is Form Two in this case,” responded Stingray.
“Oh,” I mumbled. “Makes sense, I guess.”
“We’re so pleased you condone SOP, Pilot,” responded Al.
“Can it and keep cutting, Al.” To Sapale, I remarked, “So Toño gave you the Deavoriath tools too.” I bobbed my head. “Seems reasonable.”
“Even though I didn’t have a vortex, he figured they were useful anyway. Remember, he was putting them in a lot of people for a while there.”
Yeah, during the fight with the Last Nightmare, he equipped all the Project Ark astronauts and a lot of human pilots with command prerogatives. That way we could field as many vortices as possible for the fight.
“I, for one, am glad he did,” I said with a wink. “Why don’t you check on your family. I’m good here.” I nodded to my hand.
She went to them and everyone joined in a big old group hug. Sweet.
THREE
Sapale sat around the mess table with big mugs of hot coffee. She tucked her family in with a bite to eat and a place to lay down. They were shaken, but they were tough. They’d be okay. Sapale said she wasn’t sure where to take them. Kaljax was spiraling down the toilet. I told her about Vorpace and how the humans there would be glad to provide them sanctuary. She said she’s consider it.
“So, the kiss thing,” I began while studying the tabletop, “I guess it means we’re a thing again?”
“By the Sacred Veils you’re just a dense as the day I died. Are you really honing that skill, or is it just instinctive?”
I threw my palms up. “What?”
“No, Jon, we’re not back together. I told you I loved you and the first thing I did when EJ was gone was to plant a wet one on your lips. That’s the new way of saying get lost in Hirn.” She turned a shoulder to me.
Okay, I think that meant yes, but it could sort of be interpreted as a no. Why didn’t she just say what she was feeling? Oh yeah, she was a woman. Nearly forgot. I would make a command decision and go with the assumption—no, the certainty that she loved me and that we were back together again. Yes. That’s how I’d play it. No, that’s how I would proceed.
“I, for one, never stopped loving you,” I said honestly. “If I’d known Toño had downloaded you to an android when it happened, I’d have woken myself up from death to find you.” That came out well. I swelled internally.
“When you came to me on Kaljax just after you turned back on, I was in a dark and lonely place. I hated EJ so much I couldn’t separate you from him. Before you tell me that’s a silly notion, please try to understand how horrible life was with him. Two billion years of his increasing cruelty, loss of humanity, and growing insanity was bleak. I was his prisoner, and that gave him great satisfaction. When you turned up at the door, I hated you. Hell, I hated all males.” She bundled herself up in her arms.
“But after you left, I worked through it.” She turned back to face me. “I remembered how kind and gentle you were. I remembered that you were a good man. I remembered how much I loved you.”
“Always will. Nothing anybody can do about that.”
“And we’ll be together forever,” she said, smiling.
Oh boy. Better tel
l her about the Ralph Clause.
“Now here’s the funny thing,” I began.
She most definitely frowned. “Why don’t I like the sound of that? Wait, are you remarried already?”
“No, of course I’m not married.” I shrugged. “Haven’t been for billions of years. No, it’s that there’s this marker that comes due in a little over six months.”
She scowled. “What kind of marker?”
“The kind where I’m bound to suffer eternally under the close supervision of a terribly evil spirit.”
Her shoulders dropped. “What kind of idiot makes a deal with a devil?”
“A desperate kind of fool. I saw a chance to turn the tide on the Adamant advance, and I made the deal.”
“I wish I were noble enough to say I’d join you in your suffering. I’m not,” she replied firmly.
“I wouldn’t let you, if you asked.”
“Oh, so you’re in charge of me? You forbid me to accompany you into damnation?”
“You just said you weren’t joining me.” I was paddling, but my oars were out of the water.
“That was my decision.”
“Okay, Sapale, please come with me to the bad place.”
“No. I have work to do on this side of the veil. Thanks for the offer.”
“Anytime,” I said in defeat.
She thought a moment. “Is there any way out of this contract?”
“Yes and no. I have a notion, but I don’t have a clue as to whether it’ll work.”
“What’s the harebrained scheme?”
“I’ll let you know when it’s clearer to me.”
“Oh great. A Jon-plan.”
“Yeah, sort of.”
“Well at least I have you for six months. That’s better than nothing.”
“I swell with pride knowing I’m better than nothing. Just how much better, I hesitate to ask.”
She stood. “You talk a lot nowadays. You have a room or a cot on this rust bucket? Really, any room with a door that closes will work.” She smiled in the way only my brood’s-mate could. God, I loved that woman.
Later that afternoon, much later actually, we went to check on her family. The kids were out like the proverbial light bulb. Their mother, father, and crusty old Caryp were resting on bunks in the same room, keeping an eye on the children.
Dragon Fire (Galaxy On Fire Book 5) Page 2