by Paris Singer
Still looking around me in awe, I had to force myself to focus. “There’s nowhere to sit,” I said, remembering every square meter of the surroundings.
“There is now,” she replied, nodding to something behind me. I turned and saw a gray stone bench, identical to the ones in the large foggy space. I did as she asked and sat down.
“Why have you brought me here?” I asked.
“You don’t like it?”
“Yes… But it’s not real.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it, though, does it?”
I remained silent. I wanted to ask her so many questions, but I couldn’t settle on any, so filled with them was my mind. Instead I looked at Iris, almost expectant she would somehow just tell me all I wanted to know.
“I come here from time to time just to walk around. Things were so much simpler then.”
“You tricked me,” I said, a feeling of disappointment rising inside me.
Iris grinned. “You mean Tagasi? Yes, I did. Don’t look at me like that. I had to find out why you were here, and if you and Alana were telling me the truth. I only wished he’d stayed in character a little longer so I could find out a few more things. He doesn’t like it when anyone says anything bad about me; gets defensive. I think he sees me as a surrogate mother, or something. If you see him again, don’t be too hard on him. He was just doing what I asked him to.”
I felt used by Iris. I understood that she had needed to gather information, and using Tagasi had been an effective way of doing so. Still, I didn’t care about the logic. I cared that it was Iris that had tricked me to get what she wanted. If I hadn’t needed her help I wouldn’t have said another word to her. “What else did you want to know?”
Iris cocked her head to one side and squinted. “You would willingly tell me anything I want to know?”
“Why not?” I replied. “Though I think I’ve told you everything.”
“So, if I understood right, you were here, on the Sky Drifter, with me and Pi. Right?”
“Yeah. Sort of.”
“Right, but you were really on a Morex research ship, where they were using you, or something.”
“Right.”
“And what you lived were really Alana’s memories.”
“Right.”
“Right.”
Still squinting, Iris approached me, her arms still crossed, and walked around where I stood. “So, if what you said is really true,” she continued, “you won’t mind answering some questions about it, will you?”
Every moment that passed was time wasted where I could have done something to rescue One. As my frustration continued to build, I said, “Ask me anything.” I hoped that Iris would soon accept that I was telling the truth, and that she would then help us, or let us go so I could find a way to help my brother.
“What used to happen every morning in this very spot?”
“You banged on my door to get me up, threatening to kill me if I made you late for class.” The interrogation reminded me of when Sally had asked for proof that I played Sphere. It would have been nice to have been taken at my word for once.
“Hmm,” she replied. “What did I do every lunch time?”
“You played on the Equinox. With me.”
“Where did we all hang out most?”
“Easy: Shabli’s.”
Iris stood in silence and watched me a moment. “You are telling the truth, aren’t you? You really did live Alana’s memories.”
“It’s as I told you. Everything I’ve said is true.”
“It must have been tough to find out the truth,” said Iris. “I don’t know what I’d do if I discovered my whole life had been part of someone’s experiment. How did you adjust to the real world? To your planet?”
I remembered then she knew everything I’d told Tagasi. “Badly,” I replied, a rush of memories from my time in Laurea academy flooding back. “I was treated like trash, like an outsider by most people. I hated it there.”
Iris watched me pensively. “I’m sorry that happened to you,” she said. “No one should be made to feel like that. So, I guess if you get your brother back you won’t return there with him? If there’s anything left after the Morex are through with it, that is.”
Something didn’t sit right with what Iris said. The thought of Simia’s destruction hurt my stomach. Ever since escaping Simia, my sole concern had been to rescue One. But my home planet was under attack from the Morex. Even if my time at the academy hadn’t been the happiest, I had still met and made good friends, and I needed to find to them. Sally, Milo, Sova, Tanks: what had happened to them during the attack? They’d likely been in the city during the invasion. I needed to find out if they were okay. If they’d survived. And could I really ignore the millions of people who lived there, too? To leave them to their fate knowing there may be a way to help stop the Morex attack? Doing so would make me no better than them.
“Iris, the invasion is happening right this second as we waste time doing this,” I said. “Do you remember Ms. Photuris?”
Iris smiled. “How could I forget? She taught me Zoology. She was so strict: nobody messed with her. Not even me. I wonder what happened to her.”
“She’s the principal of an academy in Simia. She was inside when the Morex blew it up.”
Iris tried in vain to suppress the shock she felt at my words, and turned away from me.
“Every second we waste is one we could be helping to stop the invasion and prevent senseless deaths from happening. Some things have changed about you from when you were my age, but I know the Iris who does the right thing, the one who cares and worries about others despite her short temper, I know she is there inside you. Alana said you would help us. Was she wrong?”
“I’m not inclined to listen to any requests she may have.”
“What happened between you?”
“She betrayed me. Let’s leave it at that.”
“I can’t. Not when it stands in the way of saving lives. Tell me what happened.”
Iris turned back and gazed at me coldly. “You may have her memories, but I don’t know you. Don’t think for a second you can presume to stand there and make any demands, understand?”
“Please. Please tell me what happened. You were—are—the best of friends. What could be so bad that you would throw it all away?”
“You share her annoying trait of being persistent.” Iris seemed to deliberate whether to tell me. “I can’t explain it, but I feel a certain affinity with you, like I owe you an explanation. As we were friends, in a sense, you must also be aware of my race. We are very proud hunters. My father is the chieftain of our tribe so, as his daughter, certain things are… were expected of me, the most important of which was to take his place when he passed. I hated the pressure of measuring up to him and my ancestors. The expectations. So. I wandered off to parts of Acedia forbidden to us. Places where illicit, dangerous activities took place. Places where dangerous other races would roam. This excited me. I wanted to know more. I wanted to find out for myself. I confided in Alana. I wanted her to go with me. Thought it would be fun. But she… She became upset. Told me I was throwing everything away. Pushed me to stop. When I didn’t, she told my father. Immediately, he brought the entire tribe together, and in front of them all renounced me as his daughter and cast me out for the rest of my days. Alana took everything from me.”
“That can’t have been what she wanted, though,” I said. “She would never willingly do anything to hurt you.”
“What she wanted is irrelevant. She did what she did. She stabbed me in the back. She can never take that back.”
“Iris—”
“You asked a question, and I answered it. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
I now understood Iris’ anger, but I was certain that Alana had meant well. Telling Iris’ father must have been a last resort to stop her from doing something she worried would hurt Iris.
“I’m sorry,” I said, uncertain I could do an
ything to mend their friendship.
“You don’t need to be. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Iris?”
“Yes?”
“I still need your help.”
Iris furrowed her brow. “To save your brother? Your friends?”
“Yes. And all those people on Simia. They’ll die if the Morex take over.”
“When did you hear me say I would help you?” she said in a grave tone.
I looked down at my feet. “You didn’t. But I think you will.”
Iris chuckled. “Tell me,” she began, “did my younger self like your arrogance?”
“You tolerated it. Sometimes.” She chuckled again, louder this time.
“That sounds about right.”
For a while there was silence. Then, Iris sighed, and said, “I don’t know what she told you, but I can’t take on a force like the Morex. Their fleet is too strong. Too big. There are but a few of us. I’m sorry. I really am.” Iris turned away from me and lifted her forearm in front of her. She spoke words I couldn’t discern into a long dark metal bracelet she wore around it. A shimmering gray orb appeared just ahead of where she stood. “It’s impossible.” Without looking back, she stepped inside it, out of sight, and the orb closed behind her. She was gone.
CHAPTER FIFTY NINE
“Iris?” I walked over to where she had stood. “Iris?” I looked all around but she wasn’t there. She had really left. I hung my head, a sense of utter defeat washing over me. I closed my hands into fists and squeezed them tight, but the anger I tried to summon was gone. Any strength I’d had, any hope, had left with Iris. I walked back to the stone bench, struggling to stay upright with every step. I slumped down onto the cold seat and rested my elbows on my knees, my face in my hands. It was over.
“On the other hand…”
I jerked and turned to look behind me. Iris was leaning against the door frame to my quarters grinning, her arms folded. “The Morex have been a thorn in my side for far too long. How can I pass up an excuse to disrupt their operations?”
I stood up, my breath caught in my throat, my heart beating hard against my chest. “You mean…?”
“Now, listen,” she began, “just because I’d enjoy bringing a little chaos into the Morex’s lives, doesn’t mean I can guarantee it will happen. Far as I’m aware, no one has ever been stupid enough to even attempt infiltrating them when their entire fleet is gathered. And I’m not willing to sacrifice any of my crew: It took me forever to find them, I’m not about to lose them. Understand?”
I nodded, trying not to smile.
“One more thing,” Iris added. “Getting me to agree to help you was one of your biggest hurdles. Your next one is to get the others to agree to do it.”
“But, don’t they have to do what you tell them?” I asked.
Iris raised an eyebrow. “I’m their Commander, yes, but they’re only here, and only listen because they choose to. They have their own wills and never have to come along with me if they don’t want to.”
“Have any of them ever refused before?”
“No. They’re a good bunch, and trust me to know what I’m doing. Which I do. But with what you’re proposing… You’ll need to ask for their approval. Now, come on. Let’s get out of here.”
I took a last look around the Sky Drifter simulation while Iris summoned the spherical portal. A moment later, we stepped through it, and were back inside the large room with all three of the orbs. The same crew members that had escorted us into the room were standing in a row along the far wall.
“You can relax, Many,” said Iris.
All at once they whistled. Then, the three on the left, and the three on the right all dashed toward the one that stood in the center, and merged into him, until he was the only one standing. As if in answer to my perplexed expression, Iris said, “It’s quite something, isn’t it? He’s a small army unto himself. Very useful. I call him Many.”
“Doesn’t he have a name?” I asked.
“Says he doesn’t need one.”
“You understand him?”
“Not at first. But then one day soon after he came aboard I suddenly could. It’s weird, but it works for me. Come on, let’s go back to control.” She started toward the exit.
“Um, you forgot Alana. She’s still in that orb cell thing.”
“No, I didn’t forget,” replied Iris, without turning to face me. “I’m not ready to see her, yet. I just… I need a little more time to think it over. Come on.”
I wanted to argue with Iris, to tell her to forgive and forget, but I was also aware of how headstrong and proud she was. I thought it best not to push it yet. She would come round. One thing was for certain: whatever happened, I would not leave there without Alana. I followed Iris and Many out of the room, into the tunnels.
***
“Some introductions would be best.” Iris stood in front of the table with the large screen behind her, facing the rest of the room, with me next to her. Every eye had been on me ever since we walked back inside the control room. The Morex, Tagasi, sat on the steps leading down to the table. He nodded when I made eye contact, but looked away before I could respond. The boy, Ira, was standing on the other side of Iris. Unlike Tagasi, he gazed at me with clear aggression, almost without blinking, as if he didn’t want me out of his sight. His arms were crossed, his legs shoulder width apart like he wanted to make himself as big a presence as possible. Lastly, there was the VAIA, who sat at a console along the wall behind Ira. Being a VAIA, he wasn’t looking at me in any discernible way. The being Iris had called Many was nowhere to be seen.
“As you are already aware, this is Seven. You’ve already met Tagasi,” she said addressing me. “He is much stronger than he looks. He once defeated twenty three Barbaks by himself. This is Ira, my nephew. He’s excellent at handling long-range weapons. Behind him is Scrap. Technically, he’s called, what was it…?”
“01100110 01110010 01100101 01100101,” said the VAIA.
“Yeah, that’s it,” said Iris clicking her fingers. “There are few systems he can’t gain access to—if any.” The VAIA called Scrap raised his hand and waved, so I reciprocated. “Many you also met,” Iris said, pointing her index finger up. I looked up at the cavernous ceiling to see Many crouching upside down. He clicked and whistled something I didn’t understand. “Lastly, there’s Ruál. He’s our mechanic of sorts. He prefers to stay in the hangar with the ships. You might meet him later.”
“Why is he here?” said Ira in an angry tone. “I thought you said he’d stay in the endless bubble, along with the other one.”
“I said I would keep them there for as long as I saw fit. Now I’ve spoken with Seven, I see he’s no threat.”
“How do you know?” persisted Ira. “How do you know you’re not just being tricked, lied to? I bet he’d say anything to save his own skin.”
“You think I don’t know what I’m doing? That I don’t know what a liar looks and sounds like? If I say he’s no threat, then you better believe it.”
Ira frowned harder and turned his head away.
“Don’t mind him,” said Iris facing me. “He’s just like his aunt: full of fire. Now, to the reason at hand,” she continued. “Seven needs our help. Tell them.” Iris said, nodding once to give me the go-ahead to speak. The rest of the marauders listened in silence as I recounted the events up to that point. The room remained silent. It was as if the crew was avoiding any eye contact with either Iris or me. All, except Ira, who glared at me with an aggressive air.
“You all know how difficult it has become ever since the Morex presence has spread,” began Iris. “How they took down our ship Tuhinga when we were raiding the merchant convoy, almost taking our lives with it. It’s always been important to me that you’re all here because you want to be; the choice has always been yours. What we’re being presented with today, though, falls outside mere choice. Today we are being presented with the opportunity to fight back, to take revenge for what the Mor
ex took from us all. I have no idea how we could even attempt anything and be successful, but it’s high time we do something against this rising army.”
“It has nothing to do with us,” spat Ira, slamming his fist on the table.
“Control yourself,” growled Iris. “The Morex have been a problem for a long time. Or have you forgotten? Whether you realize it or not, anything relating to the Morex expanding has everything to do with us.”
“From a logical standpoint,” said the VAIA called Scrap, “the more the Morex control, the more guarded, and therefore more difficult for us to raid, the galaxy will become.”
“Scrap gets it,” said Iris to Ira. “Tagasi. Thoughts?”
The lanky Morex sat up a little and rested his arms on his legs. “My race do not stop. They never stop. They live to conquer. To destroy. To take. One day, they will own this galaxy. It will all be theirs, and so will everyone inside it. One day, they will be too big. Too big to stop. Then, everything will be lost.”
“That’s two who understand.”
“So what—you’re saying we’re just going to tell them to stop? Is that it? They’ll kill us before we’re even close enough to see them,” said Ira.
“So why even try, right?” said Iris. “Let’s just do the easy thing, and continue to look the other way while the Morex take over everything. Then what?”
“Why is it on us to even consider it?” said Ira. “Who are we that the responsibility should be ours? We’re marauders, or have you all forgotten that? We’re not exactly welcome anywhere. We’re even hiding out on an asteroid. We’re not heroes—we’re criminals.”
“Yes, we don’t abide by any laws other than our own,” said Iris, “but what do you think would happen if the Morex ruled everywhere? Do you think they’d just leave us be to continue as we are? Or hunt us down until we are all dead? I know we cannot hope to defeat an entire army. I know. But we can at least cause them to falter. We can damage them. News of such success—even if small—would resound around the galaxy. Maybe even further. Who knows what fires may be born from such a spark?”
