by Reiter
“Might I presume that not many know your secret?” Dungias asked.
“You’re the only one still living,” Taas answered before looking down. “Sorry about the bag trap.”
“We cannot learn trust if we never demonstrate the lesson ourselves,” Dungias said, touching the back of his finger to her face. “But I believe we were in the middle of a mission.”
“Well, this is it,” Taas stated. “Somewhere in all of this… mess is the real computer system for this ship.” Dungias turned when he heard the weapons of the security robots firing against the door.
“Then we need to be about this and quickly!”
“No we don’t,” Taas argued. “Goneo and his boys think they’re firing on one of their doors. I had the original door reinstalled months ago. It’ll be five or six full volleys before they even chip the paint!”
“How long have you been a prisoner here?”
“That’s not the important thing,” Taas answered as she walked over to her case. She hit a button on her belt and the case opened, tilting so that she could read the monitor more clearly. “Besides, you were right. My objective is not escape… at least not for me. Because somewhere in this room is Kiaplyx!” Taas said softly, taken with the wonder of the moment. “If you ask me, that’s the name of the ship.”
“Indeed,” Dungias thought as he did not have to extend his senses far to feel the presence of an intelligence; a very frightened and confused intelligence somewhere within the clutter of cases and debris. “Can you hear me?” Dungias closed his eyes, hearing the softest whimpering before feeling a sharp rise in fear. He opened his eyes and looked at Taas.
Still in the euphoria of possibility, Taas slowly reached her hand toward one of the computer banks and instead of enjoying the contact, she used the construct to keep herself upright as the entire room jostled. “Shit! What the hell was that?!”
“That did not come from the security robots,” Dungias quickly concluded. “We are under attack!”
“Fate, damn me for the fool I am!” Taas cursed as she came away from the computer banks. “Ray-Ray, form seven!” Taas jumped up from the floor to be enwrapped in the flow of Ray-Ray that landed in a kneeling form that Dungias was more used to seeing.
“Most intriguing,” Dungias commented. “This is number seven?”
“Later,” Taas said as she approached a console. She quickly activated it and brought up a direct line with the infirmary. As she expected, she could see Zaylo being helped out of a regenerator by two fellow Tohgrunn. The alarm lights were flashing and sparks were flying from the walls. “Right now we need to figure a way out of this mess.
“Zaylo, this is Taas.” Zaylo looked up at the camera, looking confused and angry. Taas shook her head and then spoke again. “Girl-Trick!” Zaylo’s eyes flared with recognition and even more anger. “Look, you can either stand there and snarl, or we can deal with this problem. I’ve never felt this ship get hit that hard before, have you? That felt like it got through the shields!”
There were several things Zaylo wanted to do to his computer tech and even for the one option normally meant to deliver pleasure, he wanted that to be painful as well. But the dimming lights of the infirmary said much to the Tohgrunn Captain. The medical facility was on a separate circuit from all other systems so that power would not be lost in times of combat. For those systems to be in trouble meant the ship had suffered severe damage. “What you do?” Zaylo asked.
“Indeed,” Dungias thought. “What should we do?” Dungias looked around the room before closing his eyes. Though the Stars in the InterVoid were a different color, still they were Stars… he could feel them. If that sense was available, surely their sight was within his reach. “Yes, many options,” he considered. “… we must trek the path that brings the ship out of danger. There are too many innocent lives here.” His eyes opened and a grin formed on his face. Two blinks of his eyes, and the pride he had allowed himself to feel was wiped away. This was a time for focus and precision. “I know what path to take!
“Drop your shields,” Dungias said, stepping up to the console. “… and make it appear that your main weapon is offline!”
“You fool!” Zaylo shouted.
“You’ve got me agreeing with a Tohgrunn here, Dungias,” Taas quickly added.
“It will suggest to them that they can board the ship in order to come and get me,” Dungias explained. “Place yourselves in defendable locations inside the ship and put me in a hangar!” Taas looked up at Dungias and started shaking her head, but stopped as her eye squinted. She pressed the button to open her console’s microphone.
“I trust him, Zaylo,” Taas said, trying to force a smile. Dungias smiled bright enough for both of them and patted her hand. “I can work most of what he wants from here. I suggest you and the drones secure the rest of the prisoners.”
“We go to ars’nal!” Zaylo cried before running out of the room.
“Now that he is gone,” Dungias said, turning to face Taas. “… I must ask you to do something for me.”
“What do you need?”
“I need you to betray me,” Dungias directed.
“What?!”
“Systems are failing and you fear for your safety,” Dungias said as he moved for the door, stopping for a moment to pick up the shield Ray-Ray had made for him. “If they can guarantee your safety, give them the locations of me and the Tohgrunn. And if you need to, tell them you are in the computer room where you normally do your work.
“And we will continue our discussion later,” Dungias projected.
“I’m not sure I like this plan,” Taas said softly. For the first time her eye did not waver from his stare.
“Now I am assured of it,” the Traveler replied as he exited the room. “Keep an open channel on me and do what I ask of you, please.” Dungias did not wait for an answer. He opened a channel on his PC and received the directions he needed to take to reach the smallest hangar on the ship. He did not like the fact she had chosen the smallest until he heard it was the only empty hangar. Looking at the layout of the ship, he left instructions for Taas to offer the small empty hangar as a fitting landing point. Though she was confused at the instruction, she nodded in agreement and Dungias gave her a very specific script to follow for the conversation. He then started for the hangar.
“There is a small weapons storage bin on the way there,” Taas advised. “The Tohgrunn never knew about it, so I doubt it’s been opened since I’ve been at my post. There won’t be much there but–”
“I’ll make use of what I can,” Dungias replied as he ran. When he reached the lift, the doors of the car were just opening. The efficiency of motion appealed to the Malgovi side of Dungias and he smiled that he only had to break stride to keep from running into the back of the car. He smiled again when Taas allowed him to listen to her conversation with the commander of one of the ships that was attacking. His name was Ejdren and Dungias was not surprised to not recognize his race, which was called the Athun. If nothing else, the InterVoid was good for diversity... and proving that no one race was responsible for the evils of existence. Dungias could now add to his violent encounter list red-skinned and yellow-haired hominoids who were very fervent about an entity by the name Nyx’Zynkor. Dungias had no knowledge of that name either, but looked forward to his rapidly approaching education.
The weapons store bin was indeed small, but the last party responsible for the maintenance of the bin had been at the very least thorough, if not slightly fearful of things going wrong enough to warrant an armed response. Filling his weapons belt’s dimensional pockets, Dungias stuffed weapons at the small of his back and continued onward for the hangar.
“I still don’t feel right about this,” Taas said after she closed the channel with the Athun Commander. “I’ve already managed to get a few of the dead computer banks powered up. There’s no telling what I will find in them once they’re accessed.”
“I concur,” Dungias said, checking the wea
pons which were new to him. “Perhaps you can ask the Tohgrunn to prepare and serve some sort of luncheon while the Athun patiently wait for such a high-bounty prize.”
“But we don’t know these people!”
“And they do not know us,” Dungias quickly replied. “Bear in mind I have no delusions about what is going to happen. Which is why I need you to slowly increase the pressure in this hangar if you can. While that is happening, see if you can rotate the ship so that the door of the hangar faces the closest enemy vessel. After that, close whatever pressure holding doors the feeding corridor might have and increase the pressure in that corridor, but only a fraction of what will be in the hangar with me, and put an Iro-Barrier seal at the entrance of the hangar.”
“A what?”
“An energy wall that will allow entry and exit of a life-form but will maintain pressure in the chamber,” Dungias explained.
“What the hell are you playing at?!” Taas asked.
“The unexpected!”
To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
Sun Tzu
“I know this is a bad time to get chatty,” Taas said as Dungias sat in the middle of the floor. Dungias was impressed with the quality of sound over the intercom system. Normally it was the sort of item given the least amount of attention in a ship’s construction; a very short-sighted standpoint to be sure. For the moment something unwanted came through the hangar, suddenly communication would become absolutely necessary. Dungias amused himself with the possible scenarios; the crew shouting for assistance and the bridge crewmember asking over and over again for them to repeat themselves as they were being eaten by an aggressive alien life-form, or sucked out into the Void because the seals around the doors had failed.
“It’s quite all right, Taas,” Dungias assured her without opening his eyes. He was still in a meditative state, preparing himself for what might be a very physical encounter. He reviewed his training, especially the list Kynsada had been told him to make, and he reviewed the information Alpha had gained in the time they had been apart.
“There has got to be another way,” Taas argued.
“Generally speaking, most often there is another way to do many things. Another way, however, is not necessarily a better way. Did you tell our soon-to-be-arriving guests where they could find me?”
“I did,” Taas replied before sighing.
“I must admit, her concern is touching,” Dungias thought.
“How did you know they would insist on landing at a different hangar on the ship?”
“Did you use the voice and exact wording I gave you?” Dungias inquired as his brow drew down toward his closed eyes.
“I didn’t think – with you risking your life and all – that now would be a good time to start dancing to no music!”
“And that is appreciated,” Dungias replied. “Taas, you made yourself appear far too willing and cooperative to their desires,” he advised as a soft smile formed on his face. He could feel the floor and the hangar – even the ship itself. Nothing had docked yet, so he had plenty of time.
“And that whole bit about the Order of the White Star?”
“This is the InterVoid,” he replied. “The stars here are black and very dark colors. A white star would be extremely difficult to see. An order naming themselves after such… one could assume that a group of this nature would be a theocratic organization.”
“I’m still fuzzy on this,” Taas replied.
“For one with your gift of voice, you should learn to add to it,” Dungias remarked. “Try to recall what was said… how many references were made to Nyx’Zynkor by the Captain? I counted five, and that was in a brief conversation. Did you notice whenever he mentioned the name there was a verbal response of no less than two of his bridge crew? Could you hear when one of the crewmen uttered that name as he was leaving from our field of view? He received the same response. It is not too great of an assumption to make that they are highly religious in nature, and this Nyx’Zynkor is either their spiritual leader or their deity. The Athun would only allow themselves to trust those of similar leanings. To make it quite clear you did not hold to anything resembling their figure–”
“You create the Order of the White Star,” Taas said, and Dungias was comforted to hear the smile in her voice return. “And when I offered that hangar as their first option, it became the one room where they would never land. You didn’t control their exact landing location…”
“That was not necessary,” Dungias added.
“But you definitely made sure that whatever you’re cooking up in that room wasn’t going to get spoiled by their arrival. Oh, I don’t believe it,” Taas gasped, “… and you also put them to sleep on why we turned the ship.
“Fine!” Taas snorted as she laughed. “Fine, fine, fine!” she said before sighing. “I still don’t like it… but this is your show. Just tell me what you need.” Dungias tilted his head to the right, feeling a slight shudder through the floor.
“One-quarter the distance around the ship from my location,” Dungias whispered.
“We’ll talk later about how you knew that,” Taas replied.
“It is a strategic maneuver that tells us one thing,” Dungias said, opening his eyes. “They acknowledge you. Their landing point puts the Athun between me and the Tohgrunn. They mean to contend with both points of interest.”
“Then I’ve got them,” Taas proclaimed.
“Hardly,” Dungias quickly argued. “They could just as easily conclude that you are not a threat to their aims in taking me… and quite possibly the ship!”
“No!” Taas said in a tone that could not be mistaken for anything other than defiant.
“Interesting response,” Dungias muttered, taking hold of his shield. “Perhaps this is a good time to ask you when you first thought about taking this ship.”
“I don’t know,” Taas answered, sounding flustered. “It’s been on my mind for some time now.”
“How long?”
“Is this what we should be talking about right now?!” she barked.
“It’s all right, Ray-Ray, I am on your side,” Dungias said as he stretched his legs and back.
“Ray-Ray?” Taas questioned.
“I think, however, you owe Taas the truth,” Dungias continued as Taas tried to say something but was too curious as to where Dungias was going with his words. “I can appreciate your concerns. There are times when she can be incredibly self-involved, but I believe that comes from being a very small body in what seems to be a world of giants. At her core, however, there is a heart worth trusting. She has my life in her hands and I am trusting her.” There was a slight clicking noise that came over the speakers on both ends of the conversation.
“What the hell was that?” Taas asked.
“And I am trusting you, Malgovi Traveler, designation Gethees-11,” a synthesized voice spoke. Taas stammered, looking around the computer room without finding the source of the voice.
“I prefer Dungias.”
“And I prefer Kiason,” the voice responded.
“Where is this coming from?!” Taas shouted.
“It is very good to make your acquaintance, Kiason,” Dungias said calmly as he felt footfalls far off in the halls. “But it looks as if we must postpone this conversation for the moment.
“Taas, the only way you can see who is speaking is to either look at a reflective surface or step out of Kiason!” Taas stammered until she did what she had been told. The Kwilek female had seen Kiason without any form, moving like liquid metal, and she had seen it in all of the twelve forms she had trained it to assume. Seeing a giant version of herself looking back in the paneling of the console was very much a surprise for her. Dungias chuckled when he heard her scream. “Yes, I can imagine that was a rather unsettling experience. Are you still with me, Taas?”
“I’m with you, Dungias,” Taas answered. Her
voice was filled with a mixture of emotions, but it seemed as if she would be able to focus through all of it to do what he needed. “But we are having one helluva conversation after this!”
“I would expect nothing less. Room pressure?”
“I’m surprised you’re still standing,” Taas replied and she sounded distracted.
“Is there something wrong?”
“Not on my end,” Taas quickly answered. “Hey, would you prefer a more physical event with the Athun?”
“My preference would be a rousing conversation and herbal refreshment,” Dungias stated and he slowly moved his feet to take a battle stance. “... but I do not think that is within the teachings of Nyx’Zynkor.”
“Probably not, but he’s not the only name in the miracles business. Just give me a couple of seconds,” Taas requested as the doors to the chamber started to slide open.
“Do what you can,” Dungias said, squinting at the first form running into the room. “… our talking time has expired!”
“No!” Taas cried out, furiously hitting keys and switches as the first Athun soldier ran into the room, lifting his weapon. It appeared to be some sort of non-energy projectile weapon, though its size led Dungias to believe there would not be a simple missile launched from it. He dove to his right, planning to do a cartwheel. When his shield stuck the ground, his body was suddenly made to move faster. He could feel something from his shield pull at his arm. Alpha, without being asked, joined in the effort and Dungias was literally thrown three trams before he could land on his feet. A net-like device hit against the bay doors and Dungias could see the actual range the device had covered. His intended dodge would not have been enough to avoid the weapon.
“I do not suppose you have a name you would prefer to be called, do you?” Dungias asked the shield.
