Pirate Throne

by Carysa Locke

  “He’s been through a lot,” Mercy said. She weighed how much to say. “I think he misplaced some of his anger about that onto you.”

  Feria didn’t say anything for a long, uncomfortable moment. Mercy realized she’d never seen the other woman looking this disheveled before. Dirt smudged her forehead, and her chin length hair was a tangled mess. Blood and mud smeared her leg and streaked her hand and arm.

  “Well,” Feria said finally, “maybe we’ve all been holding onto misplaced anger.” She flashed Mercy a rueful smile.

  It’s clear, Reaper’s voice sounded on a wide band. Come in.

  As he spoke, light shone from within. He and Ghost must have found a power source. If so, it was the only still functioning source Mercy had seen on this planet so far.

  “Time to see if this has been worth the effort,” Cannon said, and they walked inside.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Sebastian, wake up! Please wake up.”

  Groggy, he thought at first it was Lilith’s voice calling him. But when he opened his eyes, he was still in the same tiny crew cabin on the Dragonfly, not in Lilith’s mental landscape. He hadn’t heard from her since their single conversation. He tried not to worry about that.

  Octavia knelt next to his bunk. Her pretty face was anxious, her dark eyes wide with anxiety. She kept glancing toward the door.

  “Octavia.” He processed that she was somehow in his cabin, despite being kept on what he assumed was a very short leash. “You have your abilities? You teleported in here.”

  “I don’t know if she can block more than one person at a time. And there’s nowhere for me to go in space,” she said. “Not unless we get near another ship, like when — like when I grabbed you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s all right. I understand you had no choice.”

  “We don’t have much time.” Nervously, she twisted her hands together. “We’re almost to Arcadius V. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. I grabbed you because I had to take someone, and I thought—” She stopped, biting her lip.

  “You thought I would help you?”

  She nodded. “You were always nice to me on Nemesis. And you never asked for anything.”

  Anger sparked in him once again, thinking of those who had asked things of this bright young woman.

  “I’m sorry others were not so kind, Octavia.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.” She was whispering the words. Her hands shook.

  Sebastian reached out and covered them with his own. “It’s going to be all right.”

  She swallowed. “I think—I think the planet will be our best chance to escape. I can teleport wth you. I don’t know what that will mean for your Talent, if we leave while it’s still blocked.”

  “It doesn’t matter. How many times can you teleport? They’re going to come after us.”

  “We’re going to the planet because that’s where Mercy and the others will be. I can get us to your ship, and then, if we can take off, we can get away.” She hesitated. “If she doesn’t block my Talent. I think she’ll have to choose between you and me, and I’ve done everything they asked me to do.” She swallowed. “My shields are good. Strong. I used to have to keep Willem out of my head.” She lifted her chin. “They won’t pick anything up from me that I don’t want them to know.”

  “That’s good,” he said, smiling encouragingly. He wasn’t so sure this was a smart decision, but he wanted to bolster her shaky confidence, so he kept that to himself, thinking.

  Her plan basically boiled down to grab him and run, and hope they could reach the others before the Killers caught up with them. It was too dangerous.

  “I have another idea,” he told her. “Treon is on that ship with Mercy.”

  Octavia’s eyes went wide.

  “You’ve met him, right?” Sebastian asked her.

  She nodded, but her expression was still frantic.

  “It’s all right, he’s a friend of mine. He’s nothing like Wick or Xavier, so you don’t need to worry about that. He’s the most powerful telepath I know. If you reach out to him, he’ll hear you. It would be best, easiest for us to get away with help. Treon can provide that.”

  Octavia looked dubious. “I’ve never actually talked to him. He’s — why can’t we just teleport away?”

  “Because you’ll burn out trying to stay ahead of them when they come after us, and they will. Trust me. We need help. All right?” Not to mention the planet they were headed to was lethally dangerous. There were no safe places to run.

  Before she could answer, the lock on his door clicked. Octavia squeaked in fear and vanished with a faint pop of displaced air just as the door slid open. Koal stepped inside, his face taking on a suspicious expression.

  “What was that? Who were you talking to?”

  “The ship,” Sebastian said easily, sitting up. “Sorry, it’s a habit, even if she can’t hear me right now.”

  Koal looked around the room. Nothing was out of place. It looked exactly the same as the last time he’d been here. Finally, he gestured to the doorway. “Let’s go.”

  Sebastian rose to his feet and followed Koal without question or protest. Far better to play the meek prisoner at this point. He felt the telltale shudder of a space jump and tensed. Were they already to Arcadius? Things would move quickly now.

  They didn’t go to the galley this time. Koal took him to the command deck and sat him in one of the crew chairs. Thirteen, Kieran, and Akyra were already present. The elusive Desmon must have been the young man he didn’t recognize sitting in the pilot’s chair.

  Sebastian glanced at the holoview, but it still displayed an astrogation map.

  Thirteen stood from where she’d been casually leaning against a console. “We’re going to take a little trip to the surface, and you’re coming along for the ride.”

  “I recommend you gear up properly,” he said. “I’ve done quite a lot of studying regarding Arcadius V, and pretty much everything on that planet is going to want to kill us.”

  She smiled. “Including your friends, I suppose.”

  “I would be less worried about them than the local wildlife.”

  “Mmm.” She flicked a hand, and the lid to a storage bin along the far wall flipped open. “As it happens, I’d already planned to equip for the worst. Put this on.” A chestplate floated over to him. He took it and pulled it on without comment, taking a few moments to fiddle with the seals.

  The others either added armor and weapons, or were already wearing them. Kieran was already outfitted and occupied the time by staring unnervingly at Sebastian. His gaze never wavered.

  “Just so we’re clear,” Thirteen said. “Kieran here has orders to kill you if you try to escape. No second chances. No games. If you won’t cooperate, you’re useless. Got it?” Her voice was cold, her tone indifferent, as though his survival was meaningless to her.

  Maybe she was still angry about his earlier comments. He nodded.

  “Good.” Thirteen turned her attention to Desmon. “Any word from our friends?”

  He shook his head. “Both the Nebula Hunters and the Black Company say they’ve lost contact with their respective landing parties. The Nebula Hunters want to know if they’ll be compensated for their lost personnel.”

  “Compensated.” Thirteen shook her head. “They knew the risks before they sent anyone down. They’re only being arrogant because they think their Destroyer outmatches our Dragonfly. Remind them who they’re dealing with. Cut their power. No propulsion. No life support. No weapons. Wait long enough to make sure they get the message, and if they’re really apologetic, let them leave the system. Don’t give them weapons control back.”

  Sebastian stared at the back of Desmon’s head. All he could see was smooth dark skin. “You’re like me,” he said.

  “Quiet,” Akyra sneered.

  “No, it’s all right.” Thirteen turned a smile on Sebastian. “Yes. We already have a mach
ina telepath. So you see, we really only need you for one purpose. Keep that in mind. Let’s go.”

  Kieran nudged him with a boot and Sebastian stood. He was having a hard time reconciling this woman with the one Treon had met. The way Treon had described her, she’d been conflicted in her loyalties. On the one hand warning him to keep him safe and even helping him, and on the other, reluctantly serving her Queen. He wished for a hint of Cannon’s Talent to read her better. He was certain his earlier assessment was correct, and she was deeply unhappy. Unfortunately, she now seemed entirely committed to her cause. Treon must have met her at a real low point.

  Akyra shoved him forward. The girl laughed when he stumbled. She really was the most disturbing Killer he’d ever had the misfortune to meet.

  He avoided looking in Kieran’s direction. He just had to hope that Octavia followed his advice, and that when the time came, she could teleport faster than Kieran could kill him.

  There weren’t shelves lining the walls as Mercy had thought, but odd divets that seemed more form than function. Shelving units were lying haphazard on their sides all around the room, as though thrown there violently. They were empty, a few scattered data crystals and empty boxes the only indication that they had once been full. A thick layer of dust covered everything. Their feet left footprints in it. The only others were three sets of footprints clearly from Reaper and his party.

  Had someone beat them here and cleaned the place out long ago?

  Dust from their movement stirred into the air, and Mercy coughed into her sleeve. Her eyes watered uncomfortably.

  Make sure you agree with the… Archivist, Reaper said cryptically from wherever he waited deeper inside.

  The what?

  You’ll see.

  There was a console by the door. Soft light glowed from the ceiling. Structurally, everything was completely intact. Walls, roof, floor. There was no hint of the damage the rest of the planet had suffered here, and everything was made from the same black glass looking material as the door. Mercy scuffed her foot, disturbing more dust, and the translucence gleamed in the spot she’d cleared.

  Ten to one, whatever this stuff was, it was the reason Ghost couldn’t walk through the walls.

  There was also a huge hole in the middle of the room, cut into the floor with stairs leading down. From the lines scraped into the dust on either side, Reaper and the others must have opened it.

  She glanced back at the door behind them. “Can we close that?” She thought about those creatures finding their way in here and shuddered. Cannon walked over to the console. The moment he touched it, those odd divets in the wall opened up, and turrets popped out. They looked alarmingly functional.

  Everyone froze. A disembodied female voice spoke aloud. “You have entered the Acradius V Scientific Enclave Archives. Destruction of property will not be tolerated. Stealing will not be tolerated. Materials may only be removed from the Archives accompanied by the seal of the Head Archivist. Violators will be executed. If you suspect someone of theft or destruction of archival material, you are required to report your suspicions immediately. ” The voice paused. “Do you acknowledge that you understand these rules and agree to follow them?”

  No one spoke for a tense few seconds. Then Cannon cleared his throat. “Yes?”

  “All entrants must acknowledge.”

  A chorus of people saying yes followed.

  The turrets slid back into their alcoves, and vanished. “You may proceed.”

  A few moments later, the door slid shut. It felt a lot like being locked in, all of the sudden, rather than keeping dangerous creatures out.

  “Down here,” Declan called from down the stairs. “You need to see this.”

  Mercy, Cannon, and Feria trooped down the stairs, each step lighting up with a soft glow. It went down for a long time. She supposed it would have to be deep to be safe from anything bombarding the surface of the planet, but it still seemed to take forever until they reached the bottom.

  Mercy’s mouth dropped open.

  The stairway opened up into a room at least ten times the size of the one above. Here, shelves stood only a few feet apart, all across the room, from floor to ceiling. Each one held databanks, sealed in stasis blocks. Below these were more blocks of actual printed material, the kind of thing only done to safeguard information from being copied or stolen, as well as stasis cubes holding various items not as easy to identify at a casual glance. Some looked like scientific samples, slides, vials, and various tubes filled with who-knew-what. It was wall upon wall of glinting blue stasis crystals.

  Mercy took a few steps forward into one of the aisles and turned a slow circle. The cost of the stasis blocks alone was so far beyond calculation that she couldn’t fathom the number.

  “How… how has this stayed powered all of this time?” She peered down the aisle. She couldn’t see the end. “This has to be the largest data archive in the Commonwealth.”

  There wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen anywhere. Everything gleamed like it had been freshly cleaned this morning. There was a humming sound, and she looked up to see a drone buzzing down one of the aisles. She watched it warily. After the turrets upstairs, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

  It paused by a shelf and extended something that swept over the top of a stasis cube. A maintenance drone. No wonder there was no dust.

  “So what do we think?” Feria asked. “Up above was a decoy? A security measure?”

  “That would be my guess,” Cannon said. “If people want to leave here with anything, they have to walk through that gauntlet. Added to that, and a casual glance through the room makes it look like the place has long since been looted.”

  Mercy was still overcome with the scope of what they’d found. Reaper appeared in her aisle farther down. She couldn’t see it, but there must have been cross sections spaced at intervals for moving to another aisle. The whole place was laid out like a giant grid.

  He came to stand beside her and she put a hand on his arm.

  “We found it,” she said. Her heart pounded. She’d set off on this mission on the basis of a rumor, and a stolen file from the Commonwealth so redacted it didn’t confirm anything beyond the existence of Arcadius V.

  But it was real. There had to be something here about the Alpha Queen. The question was how would they find it in something this vast?

  “Is there a way to search all of this?”

  “Come this way.” Reaper took her hand in his and led her down the aisle. He stopped at the cross section of the grid and turned to face the end cap. There were no stasis cubes here, just a console. Each end cap had one from what Mercy could see. He waved his hand in front of it, and the figure of a woman appeared.

  Her form was simplistic, outlined in a shimmering blue not unlike the color of the shelves all around them. She looked like a real person. Her long hair was twisted up and pinned to her head in a neat bun. Her features were pretty, and she wore a simple bodysuit with no distinctive markings. Modern AIs often didn’t have projections like this one, or if they did, it could look like anything, often appearing as mathematical shapes that moved as they spoke. Rarely did they look human, as this AI did.

  “How may I be of assistance?” She spoke with a melodic voice. It was the same voice that had spoken before.

  Mercy hesitated. She glanced at Reaper, but he gestured for her to speak.

  “Is this the entire Archive?”

  “These are the Archives of the Arcadeus V Scientific Enclave, colloquially known as the Vault. This is the only location.”

  Even expecting it, Mercy still felt a thrill of excitement at the confirmation.

  “Are you the Head Archivist?”

  “No. I am Vera. I can answer questions regarding the Vault and its contents. Please be aware that I am also programmed to defend the Vault from intruders seeking to steal or destroy this collection.”

  “Yes, we are aware.” Mercy took a deep breath, suddenly nervous. Time to find out if this had been worth it
. “Can you direct me to anything pertaining to the creation of the Talented?”

  For a long moment, Vera didn’t answer. Mercy’s anticipation wavered. Had they come all this way for nothing after all?

  “The first Talented units were deployed in the year 3189. The research leading to their creation began in the year 3124. All relevant data to this subject is located in section 132B. I have highlighted the section for you.” A holomap appeared showing the room. Mercy had been expecting maybe a small section of one aisle, but instead a square of the map lit up, encasing three aisles. As she stared at it, a green light began to emanate from the black glass floor beneath their feet. “If you follow this tracer, it will take you to section 132B.”

  “Uh, thanks. Hey, Vera. What material is this place constructed from? The floor and walls, and the door at the entrance.”

  “The substance you are referring to is orturium. It is an alloy composed of hematite, orgonite, and titanium.”

  Interesting. Mercy wondered if the technology could be duplicated. They might have to look up how the stuff was made before they left. Assuming they could even effectively search for the information they came for in the giant section devoted to Talent and the Talented.

  "Shall we?" Mercy and Reaper started following the green tracer. Everyone else fell in behind them.

  Something occurred to Mercy as they reached the first aisle of Section 132B. "Vera?"

  A new projection of the AI appeared from the nearest end cap. "How may I be of service?"

  "Is there some place to sit down and sift through some of this?"

  Vera gestured down the aisle, and benches with a length of table rose up and formed from the floor.

  "It's like nanograph!" Mercy was shocked. Nanograph's ability to form shape was a fairly recent development within the last couple of decades, long after the creation of this archive.

  "Will that suffice?" Vera asked.