Zero Recall

by Sara King

For an insane moment, Jer’ait felt like telling the Human everything anyway. Then he shrugged it off. “Once Flea stabilizes, I would like to talk to you about the remedies I have for your phobia.”

  “It’s not a phobia,” the Human said, a bit too defensively. “It’s just the shakes.”

  “It’s the sign of a hasty medical remedy that’s crumbling as we speak.”

  Joe flinched. “How’d you know about that?”

  “You had me research what Kophat meant to you.”

  The Human snorted, though there was an uneasiness in his eyes now.

  Which made sense. If it was revealed he was chronically claustrophobic, he could be discharged from the Ground Force to repay his debt in manual labor. As high-protein, chemically compatible exotics, Humans often had the ill fortune of having a Dhasha buy their contract.

  Warily, the Human said, “How long did you screw around in my file before you gave up and called for help?”

  “I didn’t call for help.” Jer’ait gave his Prime a long, sober look. “Kophat meant you’re probably the most loyal citizen of Congress on this planet.”

  Joe’s gaze flickered across his face, startled. Then he snorted again. “I didn’t have a choice. They were shooting at me, I shot back.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about, Joe.”

  The Human flinched and gave him a sideways look.

  “I’m talking about the choice you made with Na’leen,” Jer’ait confirmed for him.

  The Human’s brown eyes widened a little and he tensed.

  “Yes,” Jer’ait said. “I know why Na’leen let you breach his bunker. He thought you would lead his army to victory against Congress, as the Trith predicted.”

  Joe looked away, swallowed, then looked back. “You really just figured it out? On your own?”

  “You’re a Congie. That’s what Kophat means to you.”

  “Ghosts of the Mothers.” The Human now looked at him in nervous awe. “Just how smart are you?”

  Not a fraction as smart as the creature we’re up against. Jer’ait watched him, wondering if he could trust him. “There’s something we need to talk about, Human. Away from your Jreet.”

  “To hell with that!” Daviin snapped, suddenly popping into existence in a gigantic crimson coil taking up the corner of the room.

  Joe turned to glare at the Jreet. “I told you to leave!”

  “And I ignored it. Believe me, Joe, the last thing I’m about to do is leave you alone in a room with this mother-killing scum.”

  “Who killed his mother?” the Baga asked, sitting up on the bed. He buzzed his wings, then crawled up the wall until he was staring down at them from the ceiling.

  “We need to talk alone,” Jer’ait insisted.

  Joe went to the door and locked it. “There. You can say it in front of them.”

  Daviin shot Jer’ait a triumphant gaze. Jer’ait stifled his anger. “It’s private.”

  “I’ve got nothing to hide,” the Human said.

  “No, but he does,” Daviin said, his golden alien eyes never leaving Jer’ait’s face.

  Jer’ait almost went back to Koliinaat right there. Almost. Instead, he closed his eyes. “Joe, I’m here to kill you.”

  “I know,” Joe said. “Daviin had Flea follow when you wandered off a few times. Heard you talk with that other Huouyt.”

  Jer’ait stared at the Human, completely flabbergasted. “You… You knew and you didn’t kill me?”

  “Figured you’d change your mind.”

  “Joe…” Jer’ait said, “that’s…”

  “Stupid?” the Jreet offered. “Yes, I told him that. Repeatedly.” The Voran’s eyes were piercing as they stared back at Jer’ait. Obviously, he still wanted to murder him.

  “Did you change your mind, Jer’ait?” Joe leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched him. “That gesture you made…that’s a Va’gan oath, isn’t it?”

  “It is,” Daviin barked. “It’s the only reason he’s not dead yet.”

  “Joe,” Jer’ait said, his eyes flickering to the Jreet and back, “I think we’re being used.”

  “You didn’t answer the question,” Daviin said sharply.

  “Yes,” Jer’ait snapped. “I changed my mind. Are you happy?”

  “No.” The look in the Jreet’s eye told him Daviin would never trust him, no matter how many times he swore not to hurt his ward. He’s the smart one, Jer’ait thought.

  “How are we being used?” Flea asked, dropping down onto Joe’s shoulder.

  “The Dhasha Vahlin,” Jer’ait said. “I don’t think he exists.”

  Joe shifted against the wall as he considered. Whether or not he was grateful for Jer’ait’s honesty about his mission did not register on his impassive face. “Why?” he asked finally.

  “The last crawl. I met the prince. We talked. He’d never seen the Vahlin. None of them had.”

  When his three companions merely stared at him blankly, Jer’ait tried another approach. “What kind of Dhasha is capable of designing a new kind of ekhta?”

  “Could’ve been a Takki,” Joe said. “They’re smart, when they’re not getting eaten.”

  Daviin twisted to give the Human a look of distaste, but Joe continued to hold Jer’ait’s gaze.

  “Whatever took out Aez was something Congress had never seen before,” Jer’ait informed them. “It was too hot to be one of ours. How many turns did it take Congress to develop the technology to build an ekhta?”

  Joe grunted. “I dunno. Like five hundred thousand. Why?”

  “How old is the Dhasha Vahlin, Joe?”

  The Human’s eyes registered understanding.

  “So what does that leave? The Huouyt are the smartest creatures with a Representative in Congress, and it would take us another two and a half million turns to come up with a new kind of ekhta, even if Congress allowed us full access to the technology, which it wouldn’t. Ekhtas are built in forty-seven different stages, with each set of manufacturers completely independent of the other and in total lockdown from the outside. There is no way to piece the puzzle together.” Jer’ait hesitated. This was where his companions either joined his cause or shoved him aside as Yua’nev had. “There is only one creature who might be capable of building an ekhta in his spare time, without Congressional support.”

  “Who?” Joe asked.

  “Forgotten.”

  The Baga fluttered its wings. “You mean Jemria?”

  Jer’ait glared at the pest. “Where did you hear that name?”

  “From you. When I was spying on you. Then I went and looked up the Geuji on the net. I think you’re right, you know. That Yua’nev guy’s a furg.”

  Jer’ait cocked his head at the Baga. “You think I’m right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then why would he start a war, only to slaughter the rebels?” Jer’ait demanded.

  “That’s easy,” Flea twittered. “He wants to kill off the Dhasha.”

  “Or,” the Human said, leaning forward, “He’s on our side. Daviin told me about his guardian angel. And how you killed him. Brilliant work, you two.”

  “He’s alive,” Jer’ait said.

  “He’s what?” Daviin roared.

  “If it is a Geuji we’re dealing with, the last thing he’s gonna do is piss him off by killing his agents,” the Baga said. “I read his file. Scary crack. His entire body is one gigantic moldy brain. Smarter than lots and lots of supercomputers.”

  Daviin frowned at the Baga, then at Jer’ait. “I thought the Geuji were a myth. Extinct.”

  “There’s one out there Congress hasn’t managed to capture,” Jer’ait said. “The rest are locked in the Space Academy cellar.”

  Joe frowned at Jer’ait. “And you know this how?”

  “He’s second in command of the Peacemakers,” Flea said, faceted eyes glinting. “He knows everything.”

  “Hardly,” Daviin scoffed.

  “Let me get this straight,�
�� Joe said. “You think this creature…this Geuji…blew up Aez and faked the rise of a Dhasha Vahlin so he could start a Dhasha rebellion? Why do all that, unless he planned to carve out an empire for himself? Having the Dhasha all camp out on Neskfaat isn’t exactly the best strategy, if you get my drift.”

  “I don’t know,” Jer’ait said, frustrated. “That’s where my theory falls apart.”

  “Okay,” Joe said. “So say this Geuji blew up Aez and started the war. What does that have to do with you coming here to kill me?”

  Now for the leap of faith. “My superior received a message from a Trith. Supposedly. It predicted Aez’s destruction and the Dhasha insurrection.”

  The Human stiffened visibly. “So?”

  “What are Trith?” Daviin asked.

  Jer’ait ignored the Jreet. “It also predicted you would kill the Vahlin, Joe.”

  “Trith are full of ash,” Joe snapped, his face flushing in a show of Human rage.

  “I don’t think it was made by a Trith,” Jer’ait offered.

  Joe opened his mouth, then closed it again, a frown creasing his brow. “You’re saying this Geuji is predicting I’m gonna kill a Dhasha Vahlin that doesn’t exist?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why would he do that?” Flea demanded, looking from Joe to Jer’ait and back. “What’s he trying to tell us?”

  “He’s trying to tell me,” Jer’ait said, “Not to kill Joe.”

  Joe’s face darkened. “This is stupid. Trith or no, nobody can predict the future.”

  “Damn it!” Daviin boomed, “Who are these damn Trith you keep speaking of?”

  “You’ve never heard of them?” Flea asked.

  “No, damn you,” the Jreet snarled. “What are they?”

  “They see the future,” Jer’ait said.

  “No they don’t,” Joe said stubbornly.

  Daviin glanced between them. “Well? Do they or don’t they?”

  “They do,” Jer’ait said. “They’re the only species Congress has not conquered.”

  “Unless you count the Geuji,” Flea said.

  “The Geuji are conquered,” Jer’ait said. “Only one remains to be caught. When he is, he’ll be imprisoned with the rest of his people and the Geuji will never be heard from again.”

  Daviin had a troubled expression on his face. “These Trith you speak of. Do they have bulbous heads like Joe, but bigger? And they’re small, like this? Gray skin? And they smell like unwashed cheese?”

  The tension in the room suddenly increased a thousandfold.

  “They spoke to you?” Joe asked. He sounded like he’d been punched.

  “Tried to,” Daviin said. “The Welu interrupted us.”

  “What’d he say to you?” Joe asked.

  The room fell silent as the Jreet shrugged. “Something about killing someone. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

  “What about you?” Joe asked, looking at Jer’ait. “What did the Trith say to you?”

  Jer’ait gave him a puzzled look. “No Trith came to me.”

  The Human’s eyes narrowed. “Flea said they did.”

  “No,” the Baga corrected, “I said they were sighted in the area. They were also killed. All three of them.”

  Everyone stared at the Baga. “Excuse me?” Joe finally said.

  “Got it on security footage. They all died of accidents. Like one slipped on a soapy floor, fell down and cracked his huge ugly head open. Another one had a cooling unit fall on him from thirty stories up when a cable snapped above him. And the last one got run over by a haauk. And here’s the weirder thing: Like half a tic after each accident, a couple Ooreiki walked up, grabbed them by their little feet, and carted them off. Nobody can figure out where the bodies went. Government doesn’t have ‘em. Overseers are stumped.”

  When Jer’ait found his breath again, he said, “So Forgotten is at war with the Trith.” He groaned. “It makes sense.”

  “Why?”

  “The Trith betrayed the Geuji, billions and billions of turns ago,” Flea said.

  Daviin and Joe glanced at Jer’ait, obviously waiting for him to confirm.

  “One and a half million turns ago,” Jer’ait amended. He tilted his head at the Baga. “No offense.”

  “None taken.”

  The other two waited for him to go on. Jer’ait took a deep breath, feeling their stares like coals. “It’s true. When the Geuji tried to peacefully break away from Congress to form a government of their own, in a very distant part of the galaxy, the Trith told Congress where to find them. Congress surprised them. Surrounded them. There was never clear legal evidence to lock them away, but Aliphei and the Tribunal did it anyway, then threw away the key.”

  “No evidence?” Daviin demanded. The Jreet, of course, despised a dishonorable trial like nothing else.

  “Technically, they were illegally detained,” Jer’ait admitted. “The Geuji had never sworn oaths of loyalty to Congress—they were too smart for that—so they technically weren’t committing treason by attempting to form their own government.”

  “Then they should be freed,” Daviin grunted.

  Jer’ait glanced up at Daviin. “Perhaps. But it will never happen.”

  Daviin bristled with indignance. “Why not?”

  “Look at what he’s doing, Daviin,” the Baga said. “Jemria could crack up all of Congress without breaking a sweat.”

  “But he’s not,” Joe said. The Human was following the conversation with an alert gleam in his eye, and it was clear he wasn’t liking what he was hearing. “He hasn’t sicced those Dhasha on anyone, just left them there to die.” He cocked his head. “And, from what I hear, most of them were rebel furgs anyway, even before this whole Neskfaat thing. You ask me, he just put them all in one place for PlanOps’ convenience.”

  Which was true enough. And that bothered Jer’ait even more. He shook his head, trying to return to the facts. “Jemria’s after something. Something we’re not seeing. After the Geuji were first discovered on Neskfaat, they—” Jer’ait froze. Neskfaat. He swore suddenly, cursing his own blind stupidity. The other three watched with curiosity, waiting.

  Jer’ait actually had to collect himself before he could continue. “Neskfaat,” he said softly, “was the Geuji’s planet of origin, one and a half million turns ago.”

  The Human paled. “You’re kidding me. I thought it was a Huouyt planet.”

  It was the Baga who said, “I thought you guys knew that! You know those annoying little land-crawler pests that are everywhere? The ones we’ve gotta check we’re not carrying in our gear before we get back on the ship? The vaghi? The Huouyt intentionally introduced them here. The continents used to be covered with Geuji, nothing but slime-mold as far as the eye could see. Then the Huouyt set the vaghi loose and the vaghi ate them all. Well, all but a couple. A Jahul gave his life to protect a few of them. Fought the vaghi off with stones. Saved the species, extracted them to ships. It’s in the history books, guys, don’t you read?”

  “Oh burn me,” Joe said. To Jer’ait, he said, “Is this Geuji sootwad doing a reenactment or something?”

  “If it was a reenactment,” Jer’ait said slowly, “I’m pretty sure our troops would have been eaten alive by vaghi, not ripped to shreds by Dhasha.”

  “But it’s a message,” Joe said.

  “Clearly,” Daviin growled. The Jreet looked upset, his big fists tensing at his sides. For all their arrogance and battle-hardened rages, Jreet had a soft spot for misfortune.

  “So, what, this is a war against the Trith?” Joe asked, sounding incredulous. “I don’t see it. Where are all the little gray corpses? Three dead hardly constitutes a war.”

  “Three dead is more than Congress ever managed in all of its existence,” Jer’ait said. “Besides, how else do you explain Forgotten killing all the Trith except for the one who visited the one creature who’d never kill you?”

  “Two,” the Baga said proudly. “They met with me, too.”

  �
�And what did they say?” Daviin demanded.

  “They said Joe would destroy the world,” Flea said.

  Jer’ait froze.

  “What?”

  “Flea,” Jer’ait said. “You know a Trith cannot lie.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  Jer’ait lifted his gaze to stare at the Human, awe and fear suddenly warring within him.

  “Oh, get over it,” Joe snapped at him. “They’re fucking with me.”

  “But why you?” Daviin demanded. “Why would they only fuck with you, Joe?”

  “Damned if I know,” Joe growled, looking livid, now. To all appearances, their Prime wanted to put his fist through something’s face, preferably something small and gray. “They did it on Kophat and they’re doing it again. I don’t know why.” He sounded…pissed. Not at all reverential or humbled that the Trith had found him worthy of their words. Just…pissed.

  And, in that moment, seeing his Prime’s rage for what it was, the truth hit Jer’ait like a Congressional freighter. He felt his breja curl in a cold, clammy wave. In a soft breath of awe, he whispered, “He’s a vortex.”

  CHAPTER 27 – Headcom Wars

  “By this point, Jer’ait will have told the others what he’s learned.”

  “You allow Jer’ait to know about our plans?!” Rri’jan cried.

  “No, fool. They won’t be able to put that together. But they’ll suspect I’m behind the Dhasha rebellion, as well as Aez’s bombing.”

  “And this doesn’t hinder your plans?”

  “Absolutely not. They won’t connect me with a future attack on Mekkval. It’s beyond their capabilities.”

  “So this next tunnel crawl…if your two groups are still alive at the end of it, will it be time to send them against him?”

  “No,” Forgotten said. “The two that survive this crawl will need to go down one more time. We only need one team.”

  “Only two will survive?” Rri’jan asked, curious. “Out of eighty? What are you doing to them this time?”

  “I’m not giving them a ride home.”

  #

  As the shuttle entered Neskfaat’s atmosphere, Joe wondered how many of the eighty remaining teams would die this time. Looking out the window at the corpses that matted the ground beneath them, he guessed a lot.