by Rachel Caine
“Woke,” the Phage suddenly said. “Bathed in light of god-king. No longer just hunger.”
Marko leaned forward, elbows on knees. “You mean, you became . . . aware? Because of the god-king’s presence?”
“Yes.”
Marko raised his eyebrows and looked at me. Did this mean all the Phage that had swarmed off with Lifekiller now had individual consciousness? Or did that mean this one was weird? Either could be true, provided it wasn’t a super-elaborate trap that was about to blow us all to kingdom come.
“EMITU, scan the Phage for explosives,” I said, because why not cover that base?
“Already done,” EMITU replied. “Alas, we will all die.”
I snapped to attention. Marko did too.
“Someday,” EMITU finished, now that he’d gotten his desired response. “But not from blowing up. The Phage contains no dangerous materials. I also completed a virus scan but found nothing recognizable. If you die of something, it will be gloriously new.”
“Great.” I glared at it. “I’m going to reprogram you into a toaster.”
“Then you won’t be needing me anymore.” EMITU tossed off that salt, then rolled into his dock and powered down.
“Jerk,” I said to it, and turned back to the Phage, who might not have understood any of that. I wasn’t sure how nuances translated, though Starcurrent seemed to get by okay. “Okay. So, you . . . woke up. Did any others?”
“Others of the swarm? A few. They do not follow.”
“Follow what?”
“The trail of hunger.”
“To the Leviathan?”
“Yes.”
“But you did.”
Silence. The Phage finally said, “I was hungry. I only aware of . . . of nature of prey when felt consciousness within. Kindred mind. Sorry for pain.”
In its clumsy way, this thing was describing . . . empathy. Awareness that it was causing pain, and regret. “Holy shit,” I said to Marko. “It understands what it’s done.”
“Yes,” the Phage said. It almost sounded eager. “Understands. Individual. All individual.” Pause, and a long one. “Few of my kind are so. Most content to be . . . one. Directed by the Mind.” Somehow, I knew there was a capitalization on that noun.
“You mean, the god-king?” Marko asked.
“No. God-king newly arrived. Mind there always.”
“Something else is . . . ordering these attacks, then?”
The Phage shook all over, a definite vibration, and I was reminded of some boring vid I’d seen once in rehab about bees, and how they communicated by complex dances and vibrations. Huh. That probably meant something to another Phage. It just looked freaky and disturbing to me. “No,” it said. “Mind is Mind. All of us together in swarm.”
“Collective consciousness,” I said. “Like a hive. Only I think maybe the Phage aren’t so specialized. They just . . . swarm, eat, move on.”
“Yes,” our Phage cell affirmed. “But different. Now god-king plans. Swarm obeys.”
“Can you still hear it? The Mind?”
“Yes.”
“What is it saying?”
The Phage shifted a little, and every time those razor-edged nightmare limbs started moving, I got a little sick and sweaty, but it didn’t seem to be contemplating an attack. “Following god-king. Will do as god-king commands. Much food to be seized. Much . . .” The Phage stopped and vibrated again. “No. Do not wish to listen. Very bad.”
“Hang on a second. You said you could track the swarm. Can you actually disrupt it?”
“I must surrender to the Mind to do so. Must be released from . . . flesh prison.”
I really wasn’t sure if it meant the restraints, or containment, or Nadim, but whatever way, that was a hard no. “Get used to being on a leash. You’re lucky you’re not in a thousand pieces right about now. When you surrender to the Mind, don’t you just become, I don’t know, a mindless drone again?”
“Yes. No. Not sure. Possible I remain I alone within the swarm. Others may be within. Can link together. Direct the Mind.”
So, an internal revolution was what he was offering. But what if these mutated Phage, the individuals, were few and far between? Seemed to me that hive behavior would be to turn on them and rip them apart, and get on with things. The death of a few drones wouldn’t bother the Mind a bit.
“Too risky,” I said. “You can give us valuable intel for now.”
“Will keep me alive?”
“For now,” I repeated.
“How long alive?”
Great, the Phage was a damn negotiator. Five hot seconds ago, it was a mindless killing machine. “Let’s say until you do something that makes us not trust you anymore.”
“Define.”
“Trying to eat something except what we give you to eat. Being aggressive to any of us. Damaging any of us even accidentally. Drawing more Phage to us. Do you understand these conditions?”
“Yes.”
“Marko? Anything to add?”
“Us also means any and all Leviathan,” Marko said. “Nadim, Typhon, any others we might encounter. In fact, any conscious being of any type, ever. No eating. No killing. No hurting unless in defense of others.”
Basic stuff, all good. “Hear that? What he said too.”
“I understand these things. I will not violate.” The Phage hesitated a second, then went on. “And in turn . . . ?”
“We’ll give you food,” I said. We had stores, but I figured we could barter for something gross on the Sliver that could be used exclusively for the Phage. We might need to buy a whole lot of it, though. These things could eat. “You stay in containment, and don’t stray from where we put you without permission. Follow the rules, you’ll be safe. Break them, we’ll kill you. No questions asked.”
“Yes,” it said. “I agree.”
“Remember: we’re taking a risk with you. Don’t screw it up. We’ll kill you.”
“Can get up now?”
“Yeah, let me—” I started forward to release the restraints, not that I was eager to do it, but as soon as I spoke, the Phage effortlessly sliced through all of them with one easy gesture and got out of the chair. I backed away, hand on my gun. Marko stood so fast the stool overturned, and EMITU buzzed out to set it upright again with fussy care. “Okay, stop there. Stop!”
The Phage obligingly paused and stood quietly. It twitched a little. Maybe still unconsciously trying to communicate with motion and vibration. I took a breath, looked at Marko, who was also on guard, and we both nodded and took our hands off our weapons.
“So,” I said to the Phage. “What the hell do we call you?”
It cocked two of its cutting arms at a weird angle and said, “I do not know. My kind do not have names. Only the Mind.”
“Well, you get to pick your own now.” Because if I named it, I’d probably pick something like Bug-Ugly.
“I will think,” it said. “Need more data.”
“EMITU, make yourself useful.”
“How may I be of service, Honor Cole? May I rub your feet, or—”
“We need to figure out the best delivery mechanism for information to the entity we just, uh, acquired. And anything else you can determine about it.”
EMITU spun in place, faced the Phage, and made a totally unnecessary hmmm sound, then spun back. “This life-form’s senses operate best in limited light. It has limited hearing, although it can communicate in its way by biological movement. It has excellent visual perception. It also senses very minute organic particles. It does not need to breathe, but it does need to eat at periodic intervals to sustain its processes. I would assess that visual information delivered in specific bandwidths would be best for information exchange. It seems to learn rapidly. Is that enough, or should I break out a Ouija board and crystals?”
“Thanks,” I said. “Go back to bed.”
Marko looked at me oddly. “What are you thinking?”
Why did people look so worried when I had promisin
g ideas?
I left the Phage in the media room, absorbing great gobs of Earth culture. Nothing top secret that could let it head an invasion, fluffy stuff that might familiarize it quickly with human customs. Marko agreed to stand guard. Made sense, as he was stuck here for a while. Yusuf and Chao-Xing had gone back to calm Typhon, and we still had only one Hopper. That meant my mission to Bacia would require facilitation.
I hated asking for anything, especially under these circumstances. Swearing quietly, I activated the comm and got in touch with the docking center. “Patch me through to Bacia. Please.” I added the latter grudgingly. Never hurt to be polite.
“They are waiting for your call.”
That . . . was not reassuring. Within seconds, Bacia’s face was on my screen. “Did you complete your task?”
“About that . . .”
“Where is he?” Their voice rolled like thunder, and I could feel them trying to exert presence, but the technology connecting us dimmed some of Bacia’s pull.
“I’m not sure. We couldn’t stop him.” That was a massive failure, and I strangled the urge to make excuses as I outlined the situation.
“You are useless!” Judgment boomed out, and Bacia looked like they were ready to start a war over this. “You insignificant pustule—”
“Look, I get that you’re mad . . . and probably worried too. I mean, you did dig up a huge threat to the universe and somehow lose control of it when we delivered it to you safe and sound, with all the tools to keep it asleep. But hey, let’s not argue over who owns the problem because we played a role in that too. That’s why we’re not running. We have to find this thing and kill it, and you still owe us some drones. We need them.”
“You dare?” They looked like they couldn’t believe I’d interrupted. “There is no payment for failure!”
Time to play our ace in the hole.
“Look, I don’t know what plans you had for that relic, but one of our crew took some genetic samples while it was on board. I guess if you’re not interested, I can ask around for a buyer. You’re probably not the only collector of god-kings in the universe. Or the only drone manufacturer.” Actually, I was bluffing, testing the waters. I had no idea if either of those statements would be true.
Bacia immediately folded their cards. Boom. “I will send a shuttle. Let’s talk in person. Bring the samples, or we have nothing to discuss.”
It surprised me that they remembered that our Hopper had gotten jacked on the dead planet. They didn’t seem like the type who remembered the trivial things. Then again, they ran a complicated, criminal-heavy outpost, so maybe they were better at details than I could imagine.
“I’m on the way,” I said.
Before heading to the docking bay, I took a deep breath. “Nadim, do you think handing off the god-king DNA that Starcurrent collected is a sound idea?”
“I don’t know.” He sounded as worried as I felt. Like me, he was being forced to handle a lot of shit in a hurry, all of it new and incredibly dangerous.
“Seems like our two options are bad or worse. Bacia probably won’t try to take over the universe with it, right?” Probably.
Nadim was silent for a bit, and I could feel that he was weighing our situation, sorting through memories for anything helpful. Finally, he answered, “I feel there is some danger to that, but Lifekiller is the immediate threat. Even Typhon has never encountered a life force so voracious, so destructive. Alongside the Phage . . . together, they would be devastating. If there is a long-term cost for bartering with Bacia, it is a problem for later. We must fight what’s in front of us first.”
Hearing Nadim articulate my own thoughts shored up my resolve. “That’s what I think too. If we’re in this together, we’ll be okay.”
I wanted to say more, but words were never my best friend. So even though time was ticking down, I pressed my hand against the wall and just felt Nadim, all shades and layers. It was like being lifted and twirled, all exuberance, even if we were worried. That moment of union left me feeling lighter but also like I could face down a whole pantheon of gods and devils, as long as I had Nadim.
“Thank you, Zara.” Three words, but he was saying so much more.
As far as he was concerned, I was the damn chosen one, destined to bond with him and save the universe. Hell, maybe it was even a tiny bit true.
I swaggered a little on the way to the docking bay to await my ride. “Starcurrent?”
Ze answered right away. “Problem with the Phage?”
“No, I need backup for a meet with Bacia. You down for it?”
“Am on this level, Zara. Is not down?”
I tried again. “Will you come? And bring the samples you took from Lifekiller.” I threw that in like an afterthought. I hated being sly with my friends, but it seemed important right now.
“Pleased to. Going now.” The translation matrix gave a little trill that made me think ze really was happy to be asked. I felt bad about that. I was dragging zim into something without proper intel, but . . . priorities.
Five minutes after we both got to the bay, Bacia’s shuttle arrived. It delivered us to a private docking area, directly adjacent to the Peak—I’d thought something like that must exist, a secret landing area away from the unwashed masses. Bacia would only travel in style. An honor guard of six of Suncross’s people—the Bruqvisz—marched alongside Starcurrent and me, herding us as much as escorting, I thought. There was no security check, either. Bacia clearly didn’t think we had the stones to hurt them.
Bacia waited for us in what I’d come to consider their throne room and didn’t waste time on pleasantries. “You have the samples?”
“Not so fast. You knew we had no chance in hell of stopping that thing when you sent us out there. I’m not thrilled with being sent on two suicide missions. We’re not your pawns, Bacia.”
The gigantic, shimmering being shrugged. “Thought you might destroy each other. Good for me, either way.”
At least they were admitting to the bullshit, even if I didn’t like it. They were also copping to the fact that they saw the Dark Travelers as a threat, which was interesting. Now that Nadim and Typhon were geared up for war, they ought to be worried . . . and thinking about how to stay on our good side. They’d have to save face while doing it, of course.
“I could have my tentacled friend here smash these samples you’re so desperate to have all to shit. I’m petty like that.” I smiled. They pushed at me, trying to drive me down, but I was developing a certain immunity. “Let me guess: when you started to take samples, Lifekiller’s dead ass woke up again. And you didn’t have the right stuff in place to stop him. So even though we handed him over, you didn’t get what you wanted before he blew out half your station and left.”
Bacia made a sound of pure rage. “Do not destroy the samples. That would be . . . unwise. They are your only bargaining chip.”
Which meant that they were a bargaining chip, which up to that moment I hadn’t been a hundred percent sure about. Nice.
Considering this was zis first encounter with Bacia, Starcurrent was faring well. Ze didn’t get sucked in, and the trilling sound ze made didn’t translate, but I recognized a pissed-off alien when I heard one. I had some explaining to do when we got back.
At a gesture, the six-pack of Bruqvisz stirred and closed in around us. I took a defensive position. Starcurrent flared zis tentacles, which went purple, and zis ruff stood up. “Fighting, Zara?”
“We could. Or we could hammer out the terms of our agreement. Your choice, B-ball.” That was a purposefully disrespectful nickname. “Are we allies . . . or enemies? And remember, we’re the only ones in the universe who’ve got what you want right now.”
The crime lord swore, or at least, I assumed they did. Those sounds didn’t come across as words I could understand, but Starcurrent’s filaments turned a pasty peach. Must have been impressive.
Eventually, Bacia snarled, “Fine. We deal.”
My time in the Zone came in han
dy as we haggled for a good half hour. In the end, I was happy with the terms—and the number of drones we’d receive on the regular, arriving in self-piloted fleets under our command. We did a DNA-breath deal, like the one I’d signed with Suncross, and then I turned to Starcurrent. “Hand over the samples.”
I hoped this didn’t turn ugly, but Starcurrent’s filaments floated like ze was giving in over zis better judgment. Then ze gave the case to the honor guard. To Bacia, I added, “Pleasure doing business.”
“I truly loathe you, softskin.” Bacia’s starry eyes narrowed.
For some reason, hearing that made me happy. It felt like an admission of respect. “Likewise. We’ll be expecting the first drone shipment within half a Sliver day.”
“Understood. And after that?” Seemed like Bacia wanted to know our plans.
“We go hunting.”
I started to leave then, but Bacia’s question stopped me. “Why are you keeping silent, one wonders?”
“About what?”
“You have avoided any mention of the Phage cell you’ve separated from the swarm. What are you planning to do with it?”
“None of your business.”
“Perhaps I could offer you a better deal. If you add the Phage sample to our original agreement, I’ll double the number of drones.”
Damn, that was tempting. But I couldn’t be sure that pure mechanical assets would outweigh the benefit of a live wiretap on the swarm. For one thing, our Phage cell was a built-in early-warning system, if we kept it happy. “Sorry, no bargain.”
“I must have it!” Bacia thundered. “Phage are rarely seen alone, and never captured alive. This splinter cell is unprecedented.”
“What are you, a collector? Do you have a secret display room where you hoard weird shit?” It was a joke, but the honor guard seemed not to think so. They were eyeing me like I’d pulled my pants down in public.
“That creature is unique, the only one of its kind.” Softer, Bacia added, “Like me.”
Maybe if I was tenderhearted, I’d have been moved by that, but I shook my head. “Our business is concluded. We may not be back for a while, so watch your six. Lifekiller probably holds a grudge.”
