Void Contract

by Scott Rhine

  “The feed cut out during the initial attack, likely something your girl did which blew the local network. When it came back the whole squad from the Damascus was dead. As soon as I was notified, I sent some troops to check on her. When they entered the room they all collapsed. Omar, those were good soldiers, men and women who’ve been with the Fleet for years and she killed them with a thought.”

  “Let me talk to her.”

  “I can’t let you go in there. Whatever she’s done, walking in there is a death sentence.”

  “Then get me access to the comm.” Veronika reluctantly agreed. Omar decided to try to talk to Zane first.

  “Zane, its Omar. Can you hear me?” The young man seemed drugged. His eyes lifted slightly and his head wobbled as he looked around the room.

  “Boss?” He replied. “Yeah, I hear you.”

  “Good. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, Sasha fixed me.” Zane’s eyes got a little crazy as he struggled to focus. “Did you know she could do that? She put her hands on me and she fixed me. I was dead, Boss. I know what a wound that kills looks like. I felt everything go dark but then she fixed me. I’m just a little short on blood at the moment.”

  “That’s good. Is she all right?” At this, Sasha looked up from the corner a feral look on her face.

  “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!” She shouted. The video started to flicker as well as the lights in the hallway. The soldiers began to back away slightly. Veronika did the same. “You’re always talking about me when you think I can’t hear you. You think I’m some kind of strategic asset, a Frankenstein’s monster you can point at your enemies.”

  “That’s not true Sasha. You mean a lot to us.”

  “Liar!” The lighting in the corridor burst into a cascade of sparks, leaving the already frightened soldiers in darkness. “All you care about is your damned guilt complex. You took me from my family just so that you could have your precious answers. I’ll never see them again and it’s all your fault!” Omar could hear Sasha’s voice cracking as she held back sobs through her anger.

  “I thought if I did like you wanted that everything would be great. I studied your equations, read your books. I even helped your Fleet sack an entire planet. What was my reward? You lock me up in this room like a prisoner. Then men come to kill me. Why couldn’t you just leave me alone, find someone else to turn into your experiment?”

  “I’m sorry Sasha. I didn’t realize…” She cut him off.

  “Didn’t realize! Didn’t realize that you were going to ruin my life? Didn’t realize that you were going to turn me into a monster? That you were painting a target on my head?

  “Well if it’s a monster you want, it’s a monster you get!” Omar felt the ship shake. Veronika began to speak into her comm. frantically. She turned to him, eyes wide.

  “She’s taken control of the ship, my ship. Omar, if Conrad finds out he’ll turn us into slag. You have to stop this.”

  “I’m trying.” He turned back to Sasha. “Please, listen to me.” Bella motioned for him to stop. She stepped up to the screen.

  “Sasha, this is Bella.” Sasha tilted her head at an odd angle, listening. “I know how you’re feeling right now. We’ve talked about this. I felt the same way once, like the Fleet was turning me into something I didn’t want to be. What you’re doing, it isn’t going to make anything better. If you keep this up a lot more people will die, good people.”

  “Why do you stay with him? Omar’s mad quest for redemption has only served to turn you into a killer just like him. He sacrificed you lover, Franklin, because it suited him to do so.” Sasha rocked her head back and forth while talking. “You know, I hear his voice sometimes, Franklin’s. There’s a little piece of him caught in the machines. I never met him but I know him. He was twice the man Omar is. It should have been Omar that day instead of him.” Omar winced at this. It was the same thought he had felt a hundred times before. Bella seemed not to notice.

  “No, Sasha. It could have been no one else. No one but Franklin would have lived long enough to save us that day. No one but him could have wrestled with the machines and make it possible for you to have the gifts you have today. He died so that we might be able to save more lives. That’s his legacy. That’s what keeps Omar going every day. You call it his guilt and maybe it is but I choose to stand by him because he is still human enough to feel that guilt. That’s what separates him from the rest of us. We turn away from our pasts and move on. He can’t. He carries every painful memory with him, lets them drive him to find justice in a galaxy that has given up on it.

  “Maybe his mistakes make him a monster. What he did to you may have been wrong but it’s done. Now it’s up to you to decide what kind of legacy you will leave behind. Will it be like Franklin’s or Zane’s?” Zane looked up at his name, confused.

  “Like Zane’s?” He whispered. “Is my existence that terrible to you, Bella?”

  “No, my boy. You’re just what you were made to be, a soldier.” Zane dropped his head, unable to reply.

  “No,” Sasha cried. “I’ve fixed him. I made him better.” Zane turned to her.

  “Better? What do you mean, Sasha? What did you do to me?”

  “I fixed you. Your brain didn’t work right, didn’t make emotions like it should. I fixed it though, so that you could love me. I knew you would if you could so I made your brain work better.”

  “The feelings I’ve had recently, you did that? They weren’t real?” Zane began to cry softly. “I really am nothing more than Pinocchio, playing at being human. Pull my strings and watch me dance.”

  “What does it matter where the emotions came from? They made you happy. I know they made you happy.” Omar could feel things derailing rapidly.

  “Sasha,” He began, hoping whatever he said next would be the right thing. “You had the best of intentions, I am sure. I chose to give you the nanocytes because I knew you were a good person at heart. Please, I’m asking you to stop what you’re doing. Let us help you.”

  “Omar…” Sasha’s voice had lowered to a whisper. “I’m tired, Omar. I don’t know what to do. I know I’ve made a mess of things. You’re mad at me. Zane’s mad at me. I killed all these men. I can’t take it back. I tried, like I did with Zane but it didn’t work. There just wasn’t enough left to bring them back. I tried. I’m just like you now, a killer.” She slumped back into the corner.

  Omar glided up to the room and opened the hatch. No instant death greeted him. He floated through the maze of bodies to the now helpless girl and wrapped his arms around her, tears forming in his eyes. This is my fate, he thought to himself, to make monsters out of those closest to me.

  Chapter 20

  They were given a wide berth as they left the room. Omar held Sasha in his arms, the poor girl asleep in his arms. Bella helped Zane who was nearing collapse as well. Together, they returned to the Moving Finger. Omar was disappointed but not surprised to see Veronika posting armed guards outside the airlock to the ship. He didn’t have to check to know that his ship’s access to the Sikorsky mainframe was revoked as well.

  Omar laid Sasha on the mattress in the medbay and left her in Pulan’s capable hands. Omar examined the wound Zane had suffered. From its size Omar agreed with Zane’s assessment that it should have been fatal. Instead of pouring blood into the air, the wound was stitched together with fine threads of silver. Omar recognized the nanocytes and marveled at Sasha’s ability to use them to heal the soldier. Even as he watched the wound seemed to grow smaller, tissue being moved from other regions of his body and repurposed to replace the missing tissues in his side. He guessed that by the next day there would not be a trace of the injury left. Omar brought Zane to a bunk and let him sleep.

  Bella joined him in the cockpit, her features drawn and ragged. Omar wanted to tell her to rest as well but he needed her council now more than ever.

  “Well, we’ve really managed to screw up this time, haven’t we?” She said, trying to force a s
mile.

  “Not we, me.” Omar replied. “I should have heeded your warnings. You tried to tell me it was a bad idea to take Sasha away from her home. You warned me that she could be growing unstable. I didn’t listen.”

  “All true. There is no use worrying about what could have been done differently. What are we going to do now? The Fleet is going to go apeshit over this once it leaks, and it will.”

  “It probably already has. We played into Conrad’s hands on this one. This is exactly what he needed to prove his point. He’ll have no trouble convincing the Fleet that Sasha is too dangerous to be left in our hands. After today, I’m not sure even Captain Kharzin will disagree with him.”

  “We can’t give her up to him. Whatever else happens, we can’t do that.” Bella stared him down. Omar shook his head.

  “Of course not. I’ve made enough mistakes that Sasha has had to pay for. I don’t know what else to do though. Leave her on the next planet we come across? Depending on what we find it might be a mercy.”

  “We’re not abandoning her, Omar.” Bella’s voice was harder and colder than he had ever heard before. “You’re going to think up a better solution than that. Besides, this situation is going to come to a head long before the Fleet moves to transit again.” They were interrupted by Pulan, who slid into the cockpit soundlessly.

  “Discussions concerning the girl might be moot.” He interrupted. “We have scanned the girl’s neural system. She has slipped into a state resembling a coma. Whether the result of trauma or the nanocytes beginning to cannibalize her system, we cannot say. Without knowing more we cannot advise on a course of action. She may recover on her own or this catatonia may be permanent.”

  “Great.” Bella said.

  “Actually, it might be. This might just give us a little breathing room.” Omar turned to the comm. systems and contacted Veronika.

  “Captain Hadi.”

  “Veronika, can you contain this situation? Sasha is not a threat right now.” He filled her in on Pulan’s assessment.

  “It doesn’t really matter, Omar.” He could hear the tension in her voice as she slipped and called him by his first name. “It has become obvious that the girl’s abilities can’t be contained. I warned you that this might happen.”

  “What can I do?” He replied. “There has to be a way out.”

  “There is no way the Fleet will allow her to continue to live among us. The memory of how close we came at Unity is too fresh. I’m sorry Omar. I can’t help you. There is only one choice left, at least only one a man like you can take.” Omar felt her pulling away from him already; closing herself off from what she knew was coming.

  There was nothing left to say. Omar broke the connection. Veronika was right of course. There was only one choice. He called Eliot Nasi.

  “Omar, what the hell is happening over there? I’ve got conflicting rumors coming in, all of them bad.”

  “Whatever you heard, the truth is probably worse. Eliot, I need a jump drive small enough to be equipped on the Moving Finger. Do you have one?”

  “A what?” He blinked and tapped on a console. “Yes, with the advancements we’ve been able to get from this system my guys have built a smaller drive that could be fitted to your ship but it’s only a prototype. It hasn’t been tested.”

  “It’ll have to do. If I docked right now, how long would it take to get it installed?”

  “Do you have any idea how expensive one of these will be, even if it wasn’t our prototype? Then there’s the cost for the specialists…”

  “Damn it man! Either I get that drive or an innocent girl is going to be killed and the rest of my crew along with her because I’ll be damned if I lose one more soul to protect my hubris. Every bit of credit I have can go toward this. I won’t need it anymore.”

  “Mine too.” Bella added.

  “You could throw in the kitchen sink and it still wouldn’t be enough,” Nasi replied. “Screw it. I’ll cover the loss somehow. The real question is whether the Damascus will hole my ship before we can get it installed. For that matter, I don’t know how you’ll get that ship over here without Conrad blowing you out of the sky. I’ll do my best to cover your approach but it won’t be much.”

  “Thank you Eliot.”

  “Thank me if you’re still alive tomorrow. If you don’t make it, it’s been an honor knowing you, Omar Khayyam Hadi. Good luck.”

  Omar grinned at Bella. “Up for a suicide run to save a dying girl who may just kill us all if she recovers?”

  “Anytime you’re ready.” Bella replied, strapping herself into the copilot’s seat. Omar began to detach the ship from its moorings when another call came in.

  “Omar, what the hell are you doing? You disengage from my docking clamps and the Damascus will blow you to hell and back before you can blink. Where do you think you’re going anyway? The locals will roast you alive once they find out you’re responsible for their defense net going down. Conrad will make sure they know too.”

  “I’m not trying to get planetside. My only chance is to get to the Westinghouse for a refit. I’m betting Conrad hasn’t lost his mind enough to fire on them directly. You want to help, launch some drones to give me some cover.”

  “God damn you Omar!” There was a pause. “Adjusting position to place you between us and the Westinghouse. Damascus is moving to keep you in sight. We’ve launched drones and fighters with instructions to intercept anything coming your way. It’ll be a miracle if you make it five meters. Good luck and good bye.”

  “Goodbye Veronika.” Omar paused, knowing it was an open channel. “I love you.”

  “I… love you too,” Omar saw tears pooling in her eyes. He wanted to say something more, quote his poetic namesake. Before he could, Veronika spoke one more word, “Idiot.” And cut the connection.

  The little ship dropped away from the Sikorsky and angled toward the Westinghouse. In the distance, the hulking destroyer Damascus struggled to bring its arsenal to bear. Still attached to the other main ships by the corridors used when the Fleet was in a peaceful or pacified system, it was unable to aim its largest weapons at the Moving Finger. Those remained pointed at the planet’s surface in the event that the locals managed to launch some sort of attack.

  The smaller railguns began tracking and firing on the Moving Finger but the Sikorsky’s drones threw clouds of countermeasures and at last resort intercepted the weapon’s fire with their own frames. The bigger threat was the squads of fighters being launched from the Damascus’s hanger bays. Omar knew from experience how deadly those ships could be.

  He wove a path through the spacecraft, using the Finger’s engines to their fullest. He had not lied when he told Bella so long ago that the ship could outmaneuver most of the Fleet, but with so much firepower aligned against them, his hopes were not high.

  By some miracle Omar managed to land the ship inside the hanger of the Westinghouse. Once inside, Conrad broke off his attack, unwilling to sever his own supply lines. It seemed the peace in the Fleet would hold for another day. Technicians began to swarm the hull of the ship even as the engines spun down. Omar called Captain Nasi from the cockpit, unwilling to risk leaving the Finger again, even on a ‘friendly’ ship.

  “Omar, good to see you made it here in one piece.” Eliot said as the call connected. “The bad news is that Conrad has stationed his fighters outside my docking bay. He won’t fire inside but he’s calling for me to surrender you and your crew to him. I can rig up the drive you want but I’m not sure if you’ll get a chance to use it.”

  “Thanks, Eliot. Maybe we can solve this with diplomacy. He wants Sasha either in his hands or destroyed. Maybe he’ll settle for far, far away.”

  “We can try but word is getting out that your pet project nearly took control of one of the biggest ships in the Fleet singlehanded. I’m not sure you’d have the backing to sneeze right now.”

  “Just buy me a little time.” Omar cut the connection.

  “Ideas, suggestions?” He a
sked. Bella looked concerned but seemed to have nothing to add. He heard a grunt from behind him and found Zane hovering in the hatchway. The young man must have awakened during the mad dash to the Westinghouse.

  “I dunno, Boss.” Zane said. “We could try to get to the planet’s surface but I can’t see us outrunning the Damascus’s big guns.”

  “The planet…” Omar thought for a moment. “If their defense network came back online, that would be enough of a distraction, wouldn’t it?”

  “It sure would be.” Bella replied. “Wouldn’t make us any friends among the Fleet captains but that seems like a lost cause. Doesn’t matter though, Sasha shut those down and without her there is no way was can get them back up again.”

  “Then we just need to go and wake her up.” Zane said.

  “A good idea, but we don’t even know what’s wrong with her, much less how to wake her up. Pulan, any ideas?”

  “As we have stated, her body is comatose.” Pulan pulled up his current scans. “The coma is irregular though. There is significant action in certain parts of her brain but motor function and sensory input are gone.”

  “She’s isolated herself.” Bella said.

  “What do you mean?” Omar asked.

  “She’s just been through a traumatic experience. Between pacifying an entire planet and killing a dozen armed men and women with her mind we think of her as a powerful being. Inside though, she’s still just a young girl. She’s hiding from the reality of the terrible things that have happened. There must be a way we can reach her.” Pulan seemed to hesitate before responding, a very human gesture for the creature.

  “There may be a way. In the past, atomo have been exposed to severe trauma, resulting in the individual becoming unresponsive. Through consensus we have been able to help the atomo process the trauma effectively and return to health.”