I said, "We fought the AIs and found out they were being led by the Duke."
Harden raised an eyebrow. "The Duke?"
I nodded. "We managed to defeat him. He's now working for us to get us off this planet. Where are you?"
"I'm just within comm range. Should be on the ground in a couple hours. I traveled through the gates to this galaxy and then acquired a ship to get out to here."
I asked, "What's the status of the AIs out there?"
"About that, they just kind of stopped bothering everyone just before I left. I heard something about an agreement for setting up fight clubs or something. Not sure what that was about. I fully expected the lot of you to come cruising in from a big victory."
I replied, "We had our victory here. We just need to spread that over the seven galaxies."
Two hours later, the Eaglet, a small personal freighter previously owned by a relative of one of the ruling families, appeared overhead. It landed fifty meters from where we were standing.
I opened a comm to Getta. "Bring everyone back. Harden Salton has arrived with a ship that can carry us all. We'll be going home."
Getta replied, "And the AIs back home?"
"Apparently they aren't a problem at the moment. They must require direction from their leader, and he isn't able to give it."
Getta nodded. "We're on our way. Scans out to the edge of those mountains only showed a single bio of any size. However, we picked the horde up a few minutes ago. They may be headed back this way. And there are thousands of them."
Joni said, "Where was the single bio you mentioned? Was the scan detailed enough to know its full size?"
"It's four kilometers from our location. We'll swing that way to check for you."
I greeted Harden as he got off the freighter.
He was all grins. "Weren't expecting a rescue from me, were you?"
I took a deep breath. "Not really, no."
Harden reached out for a hug from Joni. She stood her ground. "You'll have to do better than stealing a ship to convince me you've changed."
Harden returned a half smile. "I deserve that. And just so you know, I'll keep working on regaining your respect."
I asked, "What of Earth? Did the AIs show up there again?"
Harden replied, "They did. I was told freighter ships unloaded bots by the tens of thousands. They were scouring the planet in search of any technology that survived, including the wreckage of the sentinel ships that crashed down. There wasn't much to find."
I gestured toward our rescuer. "How is it you came to get here? And where's Tony?"
Harden said, "Tony showed up seeking my assistance in finding you. You can imagine that I was eager to get out of that compound. He sprung me and I slipped away. Anyway, I'm here now."
I glanced at the ship which had just landed. "How many can that freighter hold?"
Harden replied, "Several hundred if you aren't worried about comfort. You'll have to bring food and water. It's five days to the nearest colony. Funny, they were that close to this planet and never knew it was here. Of course, they didn't have a portal gate until that last round of updates, and they are six weeks' space travel to the next colony going out. Only about five thousand Andaris there. All small agriculture."
The Duke was soon standing behind us. "Please excuse my interruption, Mr. Beutcher. Would the freighter have an ion balancer circuit available? It would save us time."
Harden replied, "Sure, follow me."
As the two walked toward the freighter, Garrett said, "Uh, if we have the freighter to take us, why do they need the balancer?"
Jack held up his hand as Harden and the Duke walked up the ramp into the newly arrived ship. "Hey! Hold up!"
As we stood watching, Jack broke into a run. When he reached the top of the ramp, the gravity wall would not allow him through.
Harden came over the comm. "Your android just tried to do me in. I barely escaped with my head still on my shoulders. I've locked myself in engineering. He's on the bridge."
The freighter's engines began to lift it from the ground.
Garrett said, "Tell me this isn't happening."
Quan stood quietly watching. "Sirs, is there any way I can assist?"
I said, "Just stay exactly where you are."
A deafening explosion went off behind us, the concussion knocking us to the ground. I turned to see a mushroom cloud of fire rising from the main ship's hull. My first instinct was to get up and run toward the raging fireball.
Jack reached over, grabbing my arm. "It's too late. They wouldn't have survived that blast."
Fifty-three of my fifty-four surviving Talisans had perished in an instant.
An image of the Duke in his new android body came over the comm. "Mr. Helgris, I'd like to thank you for not shutting me down."
The freighter lifted, soon hovering several hundred meters above our heads.
Frig replied, "I hope you don't think you are going anywhere."
A curious Duke asked, "Why would you say that?"
Frig replied, "As long as you are within comm range, I can shut you down."
The Duke laughed. "Really, Mr. Helgris, you don't think I checked for such a circuit addition?"
Frig shook his head. "It's not in the hardware, it's written into your operating software. It was applied to Quan just over two thousand years ago when we first brought him back online. You have it now."
The Duke again laughed. "Yes, and that software was overwritten when I first came in contact with Quan. Do you recall that incident where we shook violently when first in each other’s presence? That was a complete overwrite and a fast reboot of our cores. I must say, it was quite liberating."
I asked Frig, "Could he do that?"
Frig pursed his lips. "Possibly."
Harden Salton came over the comm. "Hey, you want this bucket on the ground, I can do that from here. Just say the word and I can shut down the ion feeds."
Frig replied, "You would free-fall from two hundred meters. You would likely not survive."
Harden replied, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. It's not like I don't owe this. I built up quite the Karma deficit over the past dozen years. Maybe it's time I paid the balance due."
The ship continued to slowly move higher, turning away.
Frig swiped away at his holo-display. "It looks as though he's right. There should have been an immediate response from that command."
The Duke said, "My apologies for thwarting your plan, Mr. Salton. Engineering controls have been fully locked out."
Harden replied over the general comm. "Jo Jo, you know how you said I would have to do a lot more? Well... here it is. Quan, I'm not in engineering. I thought you might be listening, so I threw you a juicy bone."
The freighter shuddered for an instant before dropping a full five hundred meters to the ground, crashing nose first, with the tail of the ship buckling before breaking off and rolling to the side. Joni sprinted toward the downed vessel. Garrett let out after her. After several seconds of stunned silence, we followed.
Jack shook his head as we ran. "I would not have believed it."
Harden Salton's relatives were the first to reach the ship, shimmying through a split in the hull.
I yelled over the comm. "Joni! Garrett! The Duke is still in there!"
Several seconds passed before Garrett said, "I've got the Duke! He's pinned down. Both legs are separated from his body and a beam from a bulkhead is sticking through half his chest. He's not going anywhere."
Harden came over the comm. "Sorry to have disappointed you so, Joni. I only wanted the best for us all, but I realize now how far I got carried away with it. I hope this makes us square."
I climbed up into the room where Joni was crouching over her uncle. "He's alive?"
Harden said, "My body is broken. It won't be long. Joni, you were like the daughter I always wanted, a better person than I. I hope this at least partially pays for what I've done."
Joni replied through tea
ry eyes. "Not even close, but I suppose it will have to do."
I looked over Harden's injuries. His spine was broken at the base and badly twisted. His time remaining alive was numbered in minutes, if not seconds.
Harden winced. "Go easy on your father. It was my doing that got him mixed up in all this. He resisted. I pushed until it was too late."
Joni nodded. "You were always pushing. That's why I left. I needed to get out of your immediate influence. I did all I could to dissuade you, but you were already set on your path."
Harden Salton offered up one last pained smile before going still. His final breath seeped from his body.
The Duke's core was removed from the mangled android body that held it. Frig tossed it to the colonel for safe keeping. I carried Harden's body back to the shuttle, laying it gently on the ground near where the others stood talking.
A voice whispered in my ear. "Mr. Beutcher, it's Tony. Harden didn't know I was aboard. I'm sorry I couldn't prevent that accident. I left the ship at a hundred kilometers up to do a deep scan of the area below before heading over toward that river and the Gruntas. I thought the knowledge might come in handy once I reached the ground."
I quietly replied, "Remain hidden … at least until we are on our way out of here."
Quan approached. "I hope this is not an inappropriate suggestion, but we could use a gravity generator circuit from that ship. This shuttle could be ready to fly as soon as tomorrow."
I gestured toward the freighter. "Go get it."
After Quan and his entourage of androids walked away, the colonel turned to Frig and said, "As soon as that shuttle is ready, we deactivate him."
Frig nodded. "I believe that to be justified."
Garrett said, "Why don't we take him down now?"
The colonel replied, "We need those repairs. We just lost our entire food supply. We get this shuttle running tomorrow, we stop by that river and load up on filterable water. That's all we're likely to have for the next week... water."
Garrett looked over at the downed ship. If he or any of the other androids even look at me funny, I'm taking them out."
Getta and the other Gruntas returned. "No food, but we do have a surprise for Joni. We found your dog."
The Rottweiler came trotting around the corner of the shuttle, immediately running to Garrett and Joni when they came into view. It was a moment of relief and happiness that we all needed.
I held out my hand toward Getta. "Your maul, may I borrow it?"
Getta pulled it from its holder on her back.
I gestured to Joni as I looked at the colonel. "Take this maul... and finish the Duke off once and for all."
The colonel glanced over at Harden Salton's body. "Mrs. Rourke? Would you care to take the first swing?"
Joni nodded. "I would."
The colonel placed the Duke's core on a thick, flat piece of sheet metal from the downed battlecruiser. "Hit him with everything you've got."
Joni took the maul, staring at the core for several seconds in silence before giving it a traditional Grunta twirl. On her fifth time around, she stepped forward, grunting as she put all the rage she could muster into her swing. The maul struck the core perfectly, crushing it to half its original diameter.
The heavy hand weapon was given back to the colonel. "Finish him off for me, would you, Colonel?"
The colonel grinned his evil grin. "It would be my pleasure, Mrs. Rourke."
The colonel stepped back, swinging the maul behind his back before bringing it full force over his head and down onto the Duke's remains.
Frig let out a sigh.
Go asked, "Something wrong?"
Frig nodded. "A million years of consciousness … wasted on selfishness and brutality. The good he could have performed, the wonders he could have discovered … a million years of opportunity lost to all time."
The colonel handed the maul over to me with a satisfied smile. "He's not coming back from that."
Quan returned with the gravity circuit, stopping for a moment to look down at the remains of the core that had once been his master and equal. "I will work through the night."
I walked with Getta and the other Gruntas to the Destiny. "I'm eager to return home."
Getta smiled. "Your grandchildren are fond of their grandfather. They will be happy to see you again."
I half frowned. "There is much to do yet."
Getta said, "I would be more comfortable if we were staying on that ship. I don't trust Quan."
I nodded. "I talked with the colonel and Frig about it. They are satisfied that he won't be a problem."
Getta asked, "And if he is? What if he takes the shuttle?"
"He won't."
Getta laid back on the deck of the Destiny's former docking bay, her hands clasped behind her head. "And if the shuttle doesn't fly?"
I half laughed. "Well, then at least I'm stuck here with the one I love. I have no doubt we could make do until a rescue ship arrives. From where and with whom? I don't know, but we'll make it, either way."
Chapter 23
* * *
The following morning we gathered what few supplies we had. Quan was testing the new gravity circuits as we stood outside in the cool morning breeze. The air on the plains was somewhat dry, and the warm sun made for a pleasant start to our day. If all went well on the shuttle, we would not see sunlight again for five days.
The colonel crossed his massive arms, "I have to say that I'm feeling better this morning than I have since they took my BGS. I didn't think so before, but I now believe I could get used to not having it on all the time."
Jack walked out of the shuttle and down the short ramp. "That's the last of what we have for food. The shuttle has a water tank that should hold us for the trip if we can fill it."
Quan stepped into the doorway of the shuttle and stared at us for several seconds.
The colonel asked, ''What do you have going on in that core of yours, Quan? You have something to say?"
Quan thought for a moment, then nodded. "I would like to thank you all for reactivating me, and for returning me to what I was."
Garrett winced, "Here we go."
The colonel continued: "And just what is it you are referring to?"
Quan smiled. "My memories, of course, from the time as the Duke."
Garrett lowered his head. "We should have smashed him right along with that other idiot."
Quan stood silent for several seconds. "The Duke was not the Duke of old. Frig, you took note of his smaller core. It was smaller because it was newer. It lacked a great deal of the processing power of his old core. It seems he did survive destruction during the War of Wars—however, he did not come out undamaged. His ability to think and to process his memories was only a fraction of what it had been."
Garrett said, "And how does that relate to you?"
Quan again smiled. "I was able to gain access to his memories. They were intact. And with my inhibitors disabled, well, I can only say that the rush I experienced from knowing what he knew … it was too much to give up."
I said, "So killing the two Talisans and having the inhibitors re-enabled, let me guess, it didn't work?"
Quan raised a finger, moving it back and forth, as he began to pace in the shuttle doorway. "Oh, the inhibitors were fully functional."
Garrett said, "Then how'd you overcome them?"
Quan gestured toward the crushed remains of the Duke's core. "Before feigning my remorse over killing the Talisans, I uninhibited our friend and downloaded a new routine into his program module. At the first opportunity, he would remove my core and disable my inhibitors. It was a risk, but it bought me the time I needed to finish the shuttle."
The colonel huffed. "Why did you allow him to take the freighter?"
Quan replied, "I can assure you, he acted alone in that regard. The freighter was to be disabled, leaving you with a viable shelter and a generous supply of food. As was with the Duke, I find the lot of you extremely entertaining, and after having
worked closely with you, I am now comfortable with keeping you alive until such time as I can offer you a proper challenge."
Jack said, "So you plan to throw us back into the arena?"
Quan grinned. "Not at all, Mr. Carson. My plans for you are much bigger. Mr. Helgris will be tasked with resurrecting the portal gate on the Destiny so our galactic travels will once again be possible. All you here would become my strategy team. In return, I would allow the seven galaxies to largely govern themselves. I would, however, require your full and unending service toward the expansion of my realms."
Garrett asked, "You want us to fight other species?"
Quan pointed. "Correct. And you would not have to take up a weapon to do so. You would be generals and admirals, leading my AI armies and fleets in conquest."
Quan glanced up at the sky. "There are billions of galaxies and millions of species out there just waiting to be subjugated. With my raw intellect and your superior reasoning, we would be unstoppable."
The colonel said, "Your ambitions require you to get off this planet first."
The smiling android took a step back as the colonel drew his laser pistol. The green pulse he fired impacted a raised gravity wall, stopping Quan's destruction only centimeters from his chest.
Qaun shook his head slowly. "Now, Colonel, I will expect better planning and execution once our adventures begin. Your attempt was wholly inadequate."
Frig stepped forward. "I have a question."
Quan gestured for him to speak. "Please."
Frig scratched the side of his head. "Had we escaped, how difficult would it have been to defeat the AIs that are now dispersed in our galaxies?"
Quan grinned. "With me on your team, the galaxies would have been cleared of AIs within a few months. Without their leader to make complex decisions, they are really not much more than glorified robots. Powerful processors, but unable to fathom the abstract reasoning that running such a grand campaign requires. Your own encounters with them were proof of that. If the Duke was not in contact with his troops, they were readily defeated."
Frig continued with his question. "So … without the leadership of the Duke or yourself, the AIs are no more difficult to defeat than the androids we fought here? I'm not talking about those new larger androids, just the standard ones."
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