by AJ Super
“Yes.” Erebus’ voice echoed over Nyx’s comm. “I programmed them to repair you.”
“I know. But will they harm someone else?” Nyx looked at the camera. It was unsettling that Erebus was a part of the ship, and she could see everything from everywhere, but wouldn’t communicate with anyone else. However, it was helpful to be able to communicate with her in moments like this, when Nyx needed to make a difficult decision. It was like having her own personal sentient conscience. Almost like she could hear the voice of god. After all, the Star of Erebus was a god.
Erebus was silent for a moment. “No. I believe they will function as enhanced nanomedics in Matthews, and that their primary programming to initiate the Star-code in your DNA will become secondary to the problem of the time dilation sickness. That is what you are going to do, isn’t it?”
Nyx swallowed. “Yeah. That is what we’re going to do.”
Lenus adjusted his glasses. “I think that’s the right decision.”
“I don’t really care what you think.” She bit her cheek. “Next time, put him in lockdown in his quarters, not in here. You’ll monitor the nano-medics closely and keep me apprised of the disease’s progress.” She couldn’t have an immortal Matthews becoming disabled because of malfunctioning tech and time dilation sickness. The one was bad enough because of the symptoms of violent behavior, but if her decision caused him further distress, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. He was her mother’s oldest friend, her last friend, the closest thing she had to a father now. He also knew more about her powers and how they worked than anyone else.
She palmed the lock pad next to the door to the cell. The barred gate slid aside. Matthews stood and brushed his pant leg.
Nyx stepped in the cell and held out a hand. “Come on. We’ll go to the infirmary.”
Matthews’ hazel-green eyes sparkled. “Infirmary? Is something wrong?”
“You need a check-up,” Nyx said, her voice soft. “I don’t like that you were in here.”
Matthews walked to the open gate. His eyes widened, seeing Doc Lenus for the first time. Lenus still held the silver hypodermic gun in his hand loosely, with his thumb hooked on the pocket of his white lab coat. He pushed his glasses up on his face and nodded to Matthews.
Matthews worked his mouth, eyes bright with fear. He glanced at Nyx and his pupils dilated. “You’re not her,” he whispered, hoarse. “Where’s Nue? What did you do with her?”
“Matthews. Leo.” Nyx held up her hands. “Easy. It’s fine.”
Matthews grabbed her hands and spun her around, swinging an arm across her throat in a choke hold and barring her right arm tightly behind her back. Nyx grabbed at his arm with her free left hand, gasping for air.
“Where is she? Nue? Nue!” Matthews bellowed.
Her lungs struggled for air, and the world around her turned red. The nano-medics wouldn’t let her die, but without oxygen, she could easily go brain-dead. An all-powerful AI god in a permanent coma.
Lenus walked into the cell, brandishing the silver hypodermic gun.
Matthews tightened his grip on Nyx.
“Don’t,” she croaked.
Lenus tucked his head.
“I’ll break her neck. Stop,” Matthews warned.
Les Étoiles that would be painful, but she wouldn’t be suffocated to brain-death, and the nano-medics would heal that injury. She grit her teeth, sucking in as much air as she could, clawing at his leather-jacketed arm.
Lenus lunged forward and planted the hypodermic gun on the back of Matthews’ hand, quickly pulling the trigger.
Matthews squeezed Nyx harder, then suddenly relaxed, shoulders drooping, arm falling away from Nyx’s neck and grip loosening from the arm-bar behind her back. She stepped forward and slid away from his grasp as he stumbled to the side.
Lenus adjusted his glasses. “Sedative mixed with the nano-medics. Didn’t know what they would do. Didn’t know how he would react to being injected. Better safe than sorry.”
Nyx shook her head and dove forward as Matthews’ knees buckled.
She guided him to the bunk inset into the wall with a freshly laundered mattress, pillow, and blanket. At least Emlyn did her job as Quartermaster quite well and the brig was outfitted in a sanitary and comfortable manner. The tiny bathroom in the cell even looked spotless.
Matthews slumped onto the lowest bunk. Nyx peeled off his brown boots and put his feet on the bed, covering him with the soft, navy blanket. He snored softly.
“You’ll monitor him.” Nyx stood.
“Of course.” Lenus nodded, placing the hypodermic gun in his pocket. Now that it was empty, it was useless. It was almost as if he had been waiting for a chance to use it.
She set her jaw. “Wasn’t a question. That’s an order from your captain. If anything happens to him, I’m going to hold you responsible. There will be consequences.”
Lenus’ Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard and saluted. “Oui, mon capitaine.”
What those consequences would be, she didn’t know. Lenus was as much a part of her crew and family as Matthews was. But the man was starting to cross lines, and she didn’t know if his interest in her blood and tech would be enough, or if it would bleed over to Yoon, or Erebus and Phoebe, when they found them. As much as Nyx wanted to understand what made her special, that knowledge was power that no one but the Stars themselves should have, and if Lenus kept digging, he could find out secrets that were better left to the black.
Nyx walked out of the brig and to her quarters, leaving Lenus to attend the unconscious Matthews. She sat heavily on her richly covered bed and lay her head on a furry cushion. Lily the Kitten walked up Nyx’s belly and butted her head into Nyx’s cheek with a loud purr, her soft silver fur surrounded in an easy lavender glow.
For now, she would let Lenus study her, Lily the Kitten, and the nano-medics. He had already happened to find out that Matthews was infected by the previous Star of Nyx, so be it. He was keeping his mouth shut. And without Nue’s blood sample, it would be difficult to do much more than form theories and suspicions, and he was a consummate scientist if anything; he would want more than theories and suspicions before making any big moves. More than that though, she would need to find ways to keep him from exploring further, or he could become a danger not only to her and the Stars, but to himself. The other Stars probably wouldn’t want a human poking around in their tech.
6
Nyx grimaced at the flavorless protein wafers on her plate and the green vegetable slurry piled next to them as she slid her metal tray along the white-lit buffet line. “I wish we had more to offer than regular rations. But we haven’t been planetside for a restock in a while and treats are hard to come by, even when you’re raiding other ships.”
Yoon raised a dark brow. “You really are pirates?”
The cook behind the buffet tapped his heart with two fingers and nodded his head as Nyx turned away. The religious salute was now becoming the norm on the Thanatos. Nyx shook her head. More and more of the crew were beginning to accept her identity as the Star, as the God, not just as a captain. They saluted with so much deference it was almost like they knew Nyx was the controlling force of the other AI-gods, the operating system for a bunch of disparate programs floating in the universe. Maybe it was somewhere in the lore of the Star of Nyx. She wasn’t versed enough in the religion to know.
She walked her tray to one of the metal tables in the crowded mess hall and pulled out a chair. The two crew members sitting shot up and tapped two fingers to their hearts.
Yoon made a noise under his breath.
Falak, Emlyn, Raphael, and Sarama sat at the table next to Nyx. Falak snickered, and Emlyn hushed him. Sarama pushed out her chair, chattering it across the metal floor. She walked around to Nyx’s side and puffed her chest, jaw set. “Salute votre capitaine correctly,” she growled low, her dark skin flushed with rage. “Or I’ll have the Quartermaster put you on swabbie duty for a month.”
The two cre
w members looked at each other. One brushed his hand across close-cropped curly hair. The other fidgeted and lowered her impossibly dark brown eyes.
“B-b-but,” the Black woman whispered. “She’s a Star.” She glanced up, eyes shining. “And so is he,” she said, with awe in her voice.
Sarama tensed. “She’s your captain. Salute.”
Nyx put a hand on Sarama’s shoulder. “Grace.” She shook her head. “It’s fine. We’ll talk about it later. Let’s just enjoy our rations.” She glanced at her tasteless food. “Or at least the company in the mess.”
Sarama turned to Nyx and leaned in. “Are you sure? This could get out of hand. Quickly.”
Nyx exhaled. It was already out of hand. She wasn’t sure it would stop if Sarama gave out swabbie duty to every person who saluted her as a Star. She had to find a way to harness the growing fanaticism, or she’d find herself with a cult on her own ship. She nodded and smiled. “It’ll be fine. We’ll figure it out. We always do, right?”
Sarama tipped her head, short black curls bouncing in her tight topknot. “If you say so.” She turned, walked back to her tray, and picked it up. She strode to the rack of empty, used trays and dropped it off, then palmed the door pad and left the mess hall.
Nyx bit her lip. “I think I upset her. Putain.” She would need all the allies she could get with the fanatic behavior on the ship escalating. Distancing Grace Sarama, her First Officer, was a bad move. She’d have to make it up to the woman, somehow. She was just doing her job, after all.
She turned back to the two crew members who stood uncomfortably, fidgeting. “At ease.” She grinned at them. “Sit down. Finish eating.”
“Oh, no. We’re—we’re done,” the close-cropped Black man stuttered. “Please sit and enjoy your rations.” He made a face. “I mean. As much as they can be enjoyed.”
Nyx laughed. “We will. Thank you, crewman. What are your names, by the way?”
The woman’s eyes widened. “Mae—Maeve Greene. And this is my brother.”
“Jack.” He stood tall and proud, nodding.
Nyx raised her brow, “Siblings? I didn’t know we were recruiting families now.”
Jack shook his head. “We just heard about a ship that’s got good morale and treats each other like family. So, every port we were in we looked for you.”
“You looked for her?” Yoon piped in, startling Nyx. She had forgotten the silent man had been standing next to her with his tray of rations this whole time.
Jack shrugged with a little smile on his face. “We were with Underground on Elysion for a while, looking for a place to be permanent like. But it didn’t feel like home.”
Maeve gestured wide. “We like being out in the black. Planetside is too confining. Crius and Rishi told us about a ship that might suit our taste.” She looked sourly at Jack. “But Crius never told us that their own sibling was going to be the captain.”
Nyx snickered. “They wouldn’t.” The Star of Crius would have let that be a surprise to the two siblings, especially if the siblings were religious fanatics. In fact, Crius and their partner, Rishi Patel, likely were having a great laugh over leading the Greene siblings to Nyx. Crius, one of the leaders of a network of displaced Downsiders on Elysion called Underground, wasn’t likely to enjoy being treated as a god.
Jack gathered the trays off the table and bowed slightly, hands full. “Have a wonderful meal.”
Maeve lifted her hand and gave a small wave.
Yoon nodded to the two and pulled out a chair. Nyx hooked her foot on a chair leg and slid it out, flopping into it and settling her tray on the cold table. She picked up a protein wafer and nibbled at it. “We’ll hit planetside soon. We’re going to need water in a couple weeks anyway. It’s just a matter of finding a safe port.”
Yoon shoved a spoonful of green slurry into his mouth and grimaced. “Interesting texture. Cross between slimy and stringy, with a hint of gritty.”
Nyx crunched her face in disgust. “Yeah. Grâce aux Étoiles, it’s tasteless.”
Yoon snorted. “We’re the Stars. You just thanked us. You do know that.”
She rolled her eyes. “Old habits.”
Erebus whispered in the comm stuck behind Nyx’s ear. “Can I talk to you?”
Nyx put her hand up to her mouth and hushed the incorporeal AI. “This isn’t a good time, Erebus.”
“It’s important,” Erebus said quickly.
Yoon set his spoon down and leaned into Nyx’s ear. “Hello, Erebus. How are you, sister?”
“Tell that traitor to get off my ship,” Erebus growled, emerald energy pulsating erratically through the tech in the mess hall.
Nyx’s eyes widened. She smiled at Yoon. “Do you two not get along?”
“Is she bad-mouthing me?” He shrugged. “Nice to not see you again too, sister,” he muttered softly in Nyx’s ear, so Erebus could hear.
Nyx felt her face turn red as the heat of his breath warmed her neck. She rubbed her cheek and cleared her throat. “What’s up then, Erebus?” Whatever Erebus had to say, she seemed a little in a hurry and a little upset. It would likely be best if she were in a place where she couldn’t make a scene, especially since she was the ship and could foul up any number of systems if she was feeling spiteful.
Erebus paused. “You’re right. This isn’t a good time.”
“Erebus…”
“There are too many people here,” Erebus whispered.
Nyx waved her hand. Erebus had never been shy about whispering in her ear before. The only thing that had changed was Yoon sitting beside her. There was some kind of historical family strife she was missing. “If it’s Yoon, he’s fine. He’s family. Like you. He won’t say anything. He can’t hear you anyway…” She looked at Yoon. “Can he?” she growled at him.
“No, he can’t.” He held up his hands defensively, protein wafer still in his fingers.
“Fine,” Erebus pouted in Nyx’s ear. “I got a message from Crius just now.”
“You’re still on Elysion?” Nyx spooned a heap of green goo into her mouth.
Yoon squinted. “On Elysion? Erebus infected a planet?”
Nyx chewed her vegetable slurry and nodded.
“She controls the technology of an entire planet?” he squeaked.
Nyx continued nodding.
He leaned forward. “What are you going to do with a whole planet?”
Erebus huffed. Nyx sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Nothing,” Nyx said tersely. “The people there are miserable enough. Trying to make it better will only make it worse. Replacing regimes is like roulette. The odds are never in your favor, and chances are you’re going to get a bullet in the brainpan. The people themselves have to make it better or it’ll never work.”
Yoon leaned back. “Oh. Well, that’s not very Star-like. Nue worked hard to make Elysion better after—”
“Maman made lots of mistakes. They got her killed.” Nyx tensed up. She knew very well what the people on Elysion thought of her maman. Senator Nue, was always said with derision. Yoon may have had some iteration of himself around when her maman was trying to ‘save’ Elysion, but Nyx didn’t care. She wouldn’t be making the same mistakes of trying to save people who didn’t want to be saved.
Erebus exhaled for emphasis over the comm to get Nyx’s attention.
“What was Crius’ message?” Nyx muttered as she fingered a protein wafer on her tray. The last she talked to Crius, they had said they didn’t want to see Nyx unless… Unless she was ready to upload them.
“They want to talk with you. They have information about Phoebe. About my Sia unit.”
“Then we’ll all go together.” Nyx looked at Yoon.
“I’d like that,” he exclaimed. “I haven’t seen Crius in eons. Not since the AI Wars, at least.”
Erebus’ voice tightened. “They want to talk to you alone. No one else, Nyx.”
Nyx sighed. “Well, that’s not surprising.” Underground, while secret, wasn’t the best kept
one and ever since her last foray into the Downsiders’ market in Elysion where Underground was raided by Phoebe’s Queensmen, it was likely that Rishi and Crius were being even more secretive about where their troupe of misfits congregated. She pushed away from the table and picked up her mostly empty tray. She didn’t want to think what Crius may want her to do. She wasn’t ready to have one of her siblings take residence in her head. “I’ll have Navigation set a course for Elysion. It should only take a day in jump space. Let Crius know, please.” She turned to Emlyn, who huddled over her tray, whispering with Falak and Raphael. “Quartermaster Emlyn Rice, this is Yoon Chung-Ae. You are now officially in charge of finding him a position and quarters.”
Emlyn popped up and saluted, hand to her forehead. “Oui, mon capitaine!”
Nyx smiled. Sarama would be happy someone was saluting her properly.
She turned and strode to the door with her stomach churning. Crius may be more secretive about where Underground was hidden, but to purposefully leave out Yoon? Something was wrong. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Crius left something out of their message to Erebus, too. If it was to be Nyx’s last moments with her sibling… Or rather, her first moments with her sibling forever in her head… Crius wouldn’t want Erebus interfering. All this secrecy couldn’t be a good sign.
7
The back of the shuttle opened wide as Nyx stood at the top of the lowering ramp, black raincoat hanging loosely around her shoulders. The humid stick of Elysion swept into the back of the sleek shuttle. She turned to Raphael as he toggled a couple switches in the cockpit. “I’ll be back by curfew. If not, just stay put until morning. Don’t come looking for me. And don’t send anyone after me.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “You sure, captain? What if something happens?”
“I’m not planning on anything happening. Just meeting with Crius. No fireworks this time.” She frowned running her damp palms down her hips. At least, that’s what she hoped. No fireworks. No uploading. No complications. Just a conversation.
