by Han Yang
“You have a cut in your spacesuit. I can’t hide that yet. Soon though. And events can transcend a moment. You taking a knife to the heart and living, while positive, is grave toward my image. I can’t let it be known that the favored hero of the fleet was almost assassinated,” Darcy said.
“Not almost.”
“My point exactly. You stumbled out of your pod and vomited because two reckless criminals triggered an unexpected release. I put out in the news, someone wanted you to drop in your ranking, which I shouldn’t have hyped up.
“I take partial blame for being proud that our newest citizen is in first place. I should have never openly proclaimed that. No one blames me for someone trying to hurt your ranking. This goes from assassination to sabotage.
“From there, I control the narrative and guide the people to root for you even in the face of adversity. Your real opponents will realize I out maneuvered them yet again, and everyone walks away happy,” Darcy said.
“Besides me.”
“Well, besides you, and the criminals in confinement. Oh, and Olivia. I now know so much about her from this attempt. Silly of her,” Darcy said in a conceited manner. “The juice was not worth the squeeze.”
I reached the showers and saw the closest stall already billowed out steamy hot water.
“I placed a moon coin donation for a shower and outfit cleaning. Raised the moon coins in all of three seconds. Such charitable people, the Citizens of Hope. They make me so proud,” Darcy said, happiness oozing from the robot's tone.
“I have coins and I don’t like being a political tool,” I said, stripping and entering the shower.
“Well, you either retire or bask in the light. I support both, but need you to pick,” Darcy told me. “Right now, I need insider information on humanity. Besides inbred tiny tribes, I’ve found nothing of note above the ground. I’ve slipped small drones in, but Theo, these guys are smart.”
I rinsed the bile off my suit and a regular drone arrived to set a regal looking space suit in place of the one with a hole in the chest. It wasn’t lost on me how quickly she made the whole thing vanish.
“How so?” I asked, letting curiosity get the better of me.
“There’s small drones. The problem is they can’t open doors and their charges die fairly quickly. I need to medically assess some of the bigger groups, and they all have endless traps and secret doors and paths. I can see some of the routes through wear and tear, but they lock those ways in,” Darcy said in complaint.
“Didn’t the Alaska group get in?” I asked.
“Yes and no. They met on the surface. I did study those humans and they showed promise. Far less denigration of the human DNA. When you screw your cousin, it tends to have negative effects.”
I enjoyed the shower while she dropped some hard truths on me.
“I need you Theo. I need someone I can rely on to get access. You’re charming and put people at ease. A robot can’t do that. Humanity needs to survive, and I need to add people to the Dominus. A lot of people. Your diplomacy is not diplomacy at face value,” Darcy said.
I nodded with a flustered exhale.
“You want me to spy?” I asked.
“You and I both know that they quizzed poor Otana on everything she saw. That three-year old is smart. I don’t want you to be a spy. I need you to be a spy. I… This is not about making friends, Theo. This is about humanity’s survival. Get in, stall, and when I finally have some data, I will be able to present options.”
I scoffed. “Why not bug Otana?”
“She is. But they live underground, and I doubt they’ll let you see her during negotiations. If they do, even better. Also, Theo. They may have found her enhancements. A decent scan will have revealed she’s altered. We can never assume humans are stupid. Today proves it,” Darcy said.
I lathered up the soap washing my body.
“I’ll have to assume they know you changed her. I said as much. What if things turn sour?”
“Yes, I can bore into their home at a moment’s notice, but I’d rather they came as friends. The moment we cross a line from friends offering a new home to demanding they move, they lose their freedoms. It is no longer a choice and if I can keep things civil, I shall.”
I shifted topics, not wanting to get into the debate of servitude to a species versus free will. “I picked Roma,” I said with a smile.
“Roma is a fine woman and I have already prepared a document folder for her about everything she has experienced. It will hopefully soothe her. I was rooting for Hariet, secretly,” Darcy teased.
“I… I feel alive in Snagglewood. I can affect and change so much there. Here… it's clear you’re in control of everything,” I mentioned.
She tsked me.
“Maybe, but. I need to know if you’re in or out. Otana’s people need someone to deal with them, and not to be pushy, but this could help humanity’s survival odds. I have the power plant ready, and you have a window to depart Hope today. I’d rather send you now, then when everyone expects you to go in a few days,” Darcy said.
The shower flicked off, an air dryer blasted the water off me, and I stepped out to get into my new outfit. I had a choice to make. I could walk back to my cryopod and return to raiding Opo, or I could establish contact with quadrant 117.
The thing was - I loved being alive. Even if Darcy pulled the strings, I could be the difference between life and death, victory and defeat. In a way, I was born for this.
“I want a gun, not a spear. And you… have some compassion too, you’re a person,” I said.
“Do you really want to be coddled?” Darcy asked.
“You telling me I’m going to live, as I’m dying, would be nice. Instead, you schemed for your interests. If you weren’t being the hero in the big picture, you might make me wonder,” I said, leaving the showers.
Any barrier blockers were removed, and I quickly headed toward the shuttle bay. About halfway there, Darcy’s drone flew away. Her grandmother shell waited for me at an intersection. She carried a box and a futuristic rifle.
“This is the power core. Stick it down. Tap in the code 6969 and it will hum to life. Before you say some wisecrack, a human scientist made this and thought the code was hilarious,” Darcy said with furled brows.
I held in my chuckle, showing I was mad at her.
“Stop that, I can tell you found that funny but you’re holding onto hate. It won’t help. I can’t be the leader I have to be if I don’t make sacrifices. I’m your friend, not your mother,” Darcy said.
Tough love. I was used to that. Both Mom and Darcy had a way of kicking me while I was down. In this case, I did rise above it, carefully grabbing the weapon out of her hands.
“Compassion matters. You have a soul, try not to forget that you’re more than what your creators intended,” I said.
“Deep. The weapon is called Trinity. It should be a duality, but humans and their names. The Trinity is the best of the best. Holds twenty rounds of armor penetrating grenades. The left thumb button triggers those. The energy beam that this beast emits makes the mining tools look rudimentary. Careful, at full squeeze, they’ll literally blind you. Well not you, the regular humans sure,” Darcy said.
“How much charge?” I asked.
“Limited. You want to kill a big monster? This will do it. But guess what, it takes a whole lot of power. Recharging that power takes time. That is why I gave you the spear option. Why use a limited tool when you can kill with an unlimited one?” Darcy asked.
I scoffed. “I won’t always be the fastest predator on the field.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then throw the spear. You were put in a western where ammunition management mattered for a reason.”
I held up the power plant. “6969.” She nodded. I pointed to the grenade launcher. “This button goes boom. The trigger makes me go blind,” I summarized.
“Excellent. You killed him, by the way” Darcy said with a wicked grin and batting eyelashes. “He stabbed y
ou in the heart while you were fully gassed for sleep, and you killed him. I let him die before bringing him back. That is where I went instead of talking to you. I chose to watch his suffering for trying to kill you. I’m not human and I play for keeps.”
“I - I - I can only hope you restore your humanity. Without you, there’s no us. Without us, there’s no you,” I said.
“I saved him in the end, and you, too. I may not be perfect, but I am on your side. Even if we should all be on that one side,” Darcy said, walking towards the bridge of the ship.
I almost stopped her, choosing to let her go instead. I had a mission to complete and arguing with the smartest being on the planet wouldn’t help. Humanity had to survive, and I hoped visiting Otana’s Tribe would help.
30
Starship Hope
Day 20 above Earth
The trip to the shuttle bay went smoothly and a sleek vessel waited for me with its doors open. I hopped in, sat in my seat, noticed the harness didn’t strap me in, and soared out of Hope all in a few seconds.
“Time to destination, six minutes,” the robot voice said.
I frowned. Close. Not close enough for Darcy to have suspected the attempt on my life, but still pretty damn close.
I pulled up the reports.
Quadrant 133 - Southern England.
Surveilled area: Cities. Rivers. Intense canopy breaches.
Narock threats: 104 species seen. Full number unknown.
Humans living in the area: Estimated 27,000 in ten tribes that answer to one government.
Survival ratio for colonization at 20 years: 100%
Survival ratio for colonization at 100 years: 32%
Exploitable rare resources: Minimal.
Conclusion: The battle over Quadrant 133 is fierce. To this day, this local government has had the most success in the post-apocalyptic world out of everywhere we have searched. A series of preppers built as fast as they could during the early days of the narock creations. These people were led by a zany man named Colin.
Due to their diligent preparations and overly cautious survival skills, the group has ballooned and expanded. This group even has spread the word by constantly releasing messages in bottles and carving trees in their expanding territory.
Fight underground. Live below the surface or feed the monsters. Initial contacts have been less than ideal. Drones are treated as kill on sight. The entry ways are well guarded and we have not sent a human contact yet.
I couldn’t help but smile. We surmised bunker living would work depending on the preparation of the group. The British did it, and not the government by the reports, just common folks.
Finding myself excited, I combed over every bit of detail. Apparently these ten groups took security so seriously that we couldn’t get in. They even had energy weapons. The early prototype hydrogen plasma guns were weak compared to what Darcy invented, but they could do some damage.
“Colleen Reem, not sure who you are, but I wish you luck,” I said, seeing there was an assigned diplomat.
It wasn’t lost on me that the survivors of humanity found their own mines and eked out a living anyway they could. This left me thinking about both Craig and Yilissa.
“It’d have been nice if those dicks would have unsealed me during the river ride to Opo, not as we got to the city,” I said.
The ship slowed, not letting me stew in the sudden turn of events. I just had to hope Yilissa and Craig were coping.
I closed my linker, realizing the trip was already over.
A loud hiss escaped a tube and the door slid open. I stepped into the long grass by the gate, feeling the warm rays of a sunny day blasting onto my skin. A quick scan revealed a quiet setting.
I walked to the gate and pounded on it three times.
“Who is it?” a confused female said.
“Santa,” I replied.
“Huh?”
“I saved Otana, I’m starborn, and I have a power source for your people,” I said bluntly.
“Oh,” the timid voice muttered.
I heard the scampering of feet fading away. The shuttle lifted in the air. With no one to talk to, and a big fancy weapon in my hands, I did the logical thing any man would do.
I leveled Trinity, aiming at the towering tree the snake killed Otana from.
“It might not be the same one though, eh, screw it,” I said.
I thumbed the button with a smirk.
Thump!
The round whistled as it arced toward the tree’s base. The munition spun, boring into the tree before sinking into the trunk.
Ka-Boom!
The entire bottom of the tree exploded, causing my eyebrows to shoot up my forehead in shock. I expected a boom, just not one this big.
My suit deployed a helmet, sealing my head in a clear container instantly. I turned my back to the explosion, feeling tiny shards of shrapnel ping off my fancy suit.
“Ah, it's armored,” I said, turning once the bits stopped hitting me.
I watched the tree fall in the distance, crashing against other trees before landing away from the gate. A jarring thud reverberated through my bones when it smashed into the jungle floor. If I ruined any nest or home for narocks, I didn’t notice it.
“Those are expensive,” Darcy complained.
“I shouldn’t be taking untested weapons into the field,” I grumbled.
“You’ve shot this. In the science fiction realm of Espon. You are certified as a ten out of ten on the Trinity,” Darcy countered.
“I thought it looked familiar, lead with that next time. Also, while it’s fun to shoot, it’s different.”
“Shouldn’t be.”
“I can argue with you until I’m blue in the face. Either Earth’s gravity has changed, I’m not used to real wind, or whatever. It hit my mark, so there’s that but it landed lower than I -”
“Fixed,” Darcy said.
I raised the extra-large rifle to test it when a throat cleared behind me, “Can I help you?”
This would be the voice from before, the one who told me to come back later.
“How is Otana?” I asked.
“Fine!” the little girl said from behind the gate. “That’s him.”
“She’s only three,” I said in surprise.
“You need to be around children more. Otana could talk before she was two. She is smart for her age, well, besides not being mindful,” the old man said with a sigh. “Thank you. Again.”
“I did very little besides return her. Our technology did the rest.”
“We scanned her, you made her better,” the old man said. “We did find her enhancements interesting.”
“Without them, she would have died. I’m sorry, and at the same time I’m not sorry. Sometimes you have to make hard choices, and I don’t regret seeing Otana return home,” I said, knowing the diplomacy could already be over. I wouldn’t be thrilled if they rescued my daughter and altered her. “Am I going to be let in? Because standing out here is not ideal.”
“I supposed. Otana has been in fantastic shape, and we want her to stay that way. Weapons stay at the gate. May our scientist study them?” he asked.
“Yeah, just make no mistake. They’re leaving with me. Oh, and I’m Theodore Karo, born on the starship Hope.”
“Braxis. Otana’s grandfather and leader of the stronghold,” Braxis said.
The door jostled open with the main gate staying firmly shut. I stepped into the entrance. A flickering light illuminated a small guard station. To the left, a second small door rested behind a portcullis of sorts. To the right, a larger door held multiple defenses.
The guard station had a weapons rack and cubbies. If I had to guess, they had visitors regularly. The fact the desk was worn with repairs and heavily scratched, warned that the gate only protected so much.
I handed over my weapons and removed my helmet, deciding to give diplomacy a try. Especially since Darcy’s attempt to spy didn’t work.
“Where to?” I asked.
/>
“Both paths are equally dangerous. Neither are where we are going,” Braxis said, heading to the left door.
He removed a rug and flung open a hatch. We descended a dozen feet and I saw the water barrel used at the river on that fateful day. The water rested high, filled to the brim. If I had to guess it was water for the guard or visitors.
“How long have you been feeding the big guy near the waterfall?” I asked.
“Gremmor, that is Gremmor the vast. Since my great grandfather founded the colony. We have recurring attacks on our gates from wandering narocks. They lose their minds at our scent, smashing the fortifications endlessly. Gremmor tends to eat them when they become distracted. Please don’t attack him,” Braxis said.
I followed him down a winding stairway. The corridor was so tight, it made sense why the water was left at the top. When we reached the bottom, we crawled through a slot and reached a widening tunnel on the other end.
The walls are smooth, even had paintings hanging. Limited lighting flickered much as it had above. Staggered stones echoed our steps in the confined areas.
“Why would I attack him?” I asked.
“For generations the young and the foolish think of ways of slaying the mighty beast. We never let them and for good reason. While Gremmor is a big target, its best to leave him alone,” Braxis said.
“No desire to disrupt the status quo,” I said. I could tell he struggled with this translation. “More than happy to just be friends.”
“I mostly understood. Your technology is advanced. We… we struggled to come to terms that you were from the past ships that we tell stories about. The Desso Tribe refused to believe you were from the stars and instead said you were from that group to the north,” Braxis said, and he stopped me. “We are going here.”
He shifted a painting and pulled a hidden lever.
“My defenses are wholly inadequate,” I said in awe as a ceiling ladder fell down.
“You live on the surface too?” Braxis asked.
“We are experimenting, but yes. I have a mine home, like this in an odd way, with nothing but a single entrance and a single stop,” I said.
