by M. R. Forbes
He had just opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by a sudden commotion from outside.
"What's going on out there?" Colonel Knight said, getting to her feet and heading for the door to the tent.
Donovan followed her, exiting at her back. He saw the cause of the uproar immediately.
Ehri was standing to his left. Juliet St. Martin was opposite her, on his right.
They looked like they were ready to kill one another.
SEVENTEEN
"EHRI?" DONOVAN SAID.
SHE looked over at him, making sure to keep her head tilted to watch her twin out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, Major?"
"What are you doing?"
"Do not trust this thing, Major. It is false."
"What are you talking about?" Juliet said. "You're the one that's false."
"Both of you, calm down," Colonel Knight said. She looked at Donovan. "I have to admit, Major. I'm a little confused."
"Permission to handle this, Colonel?" Donovan said.
"Granted."
Donovan stepped between them, facing away from Ehri.
"Colonel Knight tells me that you're Juliet St. Martin," he said.
"Yes. That's correct."
"Juliet St. Martin would be almost eighty years old."
"Yes." She smiled. "Lord knows, I understand your doubt. Major Peters, is it?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"I understand your doubt, Major Peters. I can assure you that I am Juliet St. Martin. If Theodore were here, he would be able to confirm as much."
"Excuse me, Major," Ehri said.
Donovan turned around. "Yes?"
"The age of Juliet St. Martin is not in question."
"It isn't?"
"No. Only the identity of this clone is in question."
"I'm not a clone," Juliet said. "You are the clone. One of many produced by the bek'hai."
"Wait a second. Ehri, there has never been a question of whether or not you're a clone. Has there?"
She hesitated for a moment. "Not previously, Major."
"What do you mean, not previously?"
"It is a long story. I have not been completely honest with you."
Donovan froze. "What? I asked you, after we gave the weapon to Captain St. Martin, if you had any other secrets. You said no."
She looked at the ground. "I know. I am sorry. I had to. You would never have believed the truth, and you would never have trusted in me."
Donovan cringed to ask the question, because he was afraid of the answer. He had to put it forward regardless. "And what is the truth?"
She looked up at him. "I am Juliet St. Martin."
Donovan stared at her. Then he looked at the other Juliet. Then he looked back at her. "No. You aren't."
"Yes, I am."
"Major?" Colonel Knight said. "What is going on here?"
"I'm not sure yet," he replied. "Ehri, don't you think it's a little odd that there's another clone of you here that is helping the rebellion, and thinks they're Juliet St. Martin?" He looked at Juliet. "Don't you?"
"Not at all," Juliet said. "Some of my clones have been programmed to believe they're me. To activate when they come in contact with humans. It isn't a mistake. It was intended to help the rebellion fight the Dread."
"I would have said the same thing, had you asked me, Major," Ehri said.
"You would not," Juliet replied.
"Yes, I would."
Donovan wasn't about to accept that idea that either one of them was the real Juliet St. Martin. Even so, the tension between the two clones was obvious.
"Hold on," he said. "Both of you. If that's the case, how do either of you know you're the real thing?"
"I have memories of my time with Theodore," they both replied in unison.
Ehri paused, her face flushing. She looked at her twin.
"Name one," she said.
"I still remember the day we met," they both said.
Ehri froze again. So did Juliet.
"Major," she said. "I believe there has been some mistake."
"It can't be," Juliet said.
"Major?" Colonel Knight asked.
"I'm sorry," Donovan said. "Without definitive proof, the fact that you are both clones is the only thing that makes sense."
Ehri nodded. "I know I am Juliet St. Martin. I feel it in my soul. Down to the deepest core of me."
"So do I," Juliet said.
Ehri paused for the third time. Then she looked at Donovan, her expression frightened and sad. "I need to consider this."
She fled the scene, making her way around the tents and heading toward a dark corner of the platform. Juliet stood her ground, watching her go.
"We can't have the same memories," she said. "They don't copy memories."
"Can they?" Donovan asked.
"Yes. But they don't."
"What if they did?"
"Then any clone with the memories would believe they were Juliet St. Martin. They would believe it with everything in them."
Donovan stared at Juliet.
"It can't be me. I can't be a copy."
"Why?"
A tear trailed from her eye. "I just can't. I remember seeing the Magellan over the planet. I remember the moment when I realized who I am. It isn't my imagination. It can't be."
"What if it is?"
"I don't know."
She stood there, silent. What else was there to say?
"Major, you're suggesting there are two Juliet St. Martins?" Colonel Knight asked.
"At least two," he replied. "And probably more. Something is going on here. Something we don't completely understand yet."
"All I need to know is if these clones are on our side or not."
"They are, Colonel," Donovan said. "At least, I believe they are, and I've never had a reason to think otherwise."
"Then that's good enough for me. We're preparing to go to war, Major. We can't worry about a pair of Dread clones who think they're the same human."
"Maybe not, ma'am," Donovan said. "But we need them to be part of this. We need them to fill the roles they were made to fill."
"What do you propose?"
"I don't know. I'll go and talk to Ehri. We can't afford to lose our best pilot. Not when we have so few."
"Agreed." Colonel Knight walked over to Juliet. "Juliet, maybe you want to take a little break, clear your head?"
Juliet's eyes shifted to her, and she nodded meekly. "Perhaps that's best. I will be in my tent if you need anything, Colonel."
Donovan watched her go. Then he looked back in the direction Ehri had gone. He could think of a lot worse things than having multiple copies of Juliet St. Martin on their side.
Now they just had to convince the copies of that.
EIGHTEEN
DONOVAN DIDN'T HURRY RIGHT over to where he had seen Ehri disappear. He needed a few minutes to himself, to consider what was happening, and to figure out what he wanted to say.
He thought about what he knew of her. First, that she and her superior, Tuhrik, had concocted a plan to bring a human into the Dread capital, ostensibly so that she could study them. It was a plan that the Domo'dahm had known about and approved, with the understanding that Ehri would return to the fold within a few weeks, after gathering information about how the rebels lived, and perhaps tactical details that he could use to finish his eradication. Tuhrik had expected to die in the process, or at least had known there was a risk to it, but he was nearing his time for retirement regardless and really, had nothing to lose.
She had joined them as a clone scientist, aware of her source genetics but otherwise ambivalent to them. At least, that was what she had said. Looking back at the way she had integrated into their society, such as taking care of the children with his mother or showing a level of compassion she said the Dread rarely felt, he could sense that there must have been some part of her that was relating to what she knew of General St. Martin's wife.
It was an understandable part considering they sh
ared the same DNA, and she had never said anything about actually being Juliet St. Martin. Of course, if she had turned around and made the same claims as the Austin Juliet, would General Rodriguez, who had known the original personally, have believed her? Or would she have been putting the security of the base in jeopardy at a time when they most needed to be able to trust her, with the Dread closing in on their position and the entire war teetering on the edge.
If she had believed she was Juliet St. Martin then, would there have been a benefit for her to tell them? Would any of them have really believed, when they knew so little about the Dread in the first place? Would he?
He didn't think he would have, and it made it easier for him to accept the omission. In hindsight, he believed she had done the right thing.
He made his way past the tents, over to the corner of the platform. The rebels had stashed a large portion of their edibles there, in the form of thousands of handmade cans stuffed and sealed with whatever vegetables they had been able to scavenge, along with a large, functional refrigerator that he imagined was stocked with game. Ehri was sitting on one of the crates filled with cans, her back to him, her head in her hands.
"Ehri," he said.
"Please, Major," she said. "I'd like to be alone."
"I understand that, and given other circumstances, I'd be happy to comply. In this case, I can't. We're gearing up for the biggest battle in fifty years, and I need to know where you stand."
She lifted her head but didn't look at him. "Where I stand, Major? How am I supposed to answer that? I don't even know who, or what, I am."
"You've always been Ehri dur Tuhrik."
"I don't want to be Ehri dur Tuhrik. I don't feel Ehri dur Tuhrik. That was a disguise. A mask that Tuhrik placed on me to hide me from the Domo'dahm. At least, that is what my memories tell me." She paused. "Apparently, I can't trust my memories."
"When did the mask come off?" Donovan asked.
"When I heard his voice," Ehri said. "Theodore's voice. When I heard him speak. I wanted to help you before that. I always felt it within me. But when I heard him I knew who I really was. Or who I thought I was."
"Juliet St. Martin couldn't fight like you do."
"I had training, as Ehri dur Tuhrik."
"You know what I mean."
She turned to face him then. Her eyes were red and moist. She looked tired and miserable. "My enhanced abilities. Yes. In here, they come from the maturation capsule." She tapped the side of her head. "But to consider it scientifically, Tuhrik may have altered the cloning process in some way to make me stronger and faster."
"I didn't get the impression the other Juliet has those traits."
"Perhaps not. The weapon, Big Bertha, that is a technology the Dread do not possess. Not at that scale. Maybe she is smarter."
"Different clones with different strengths?" Donovan suggested. It made sense, although he had no idea how the bek'hai scientist could have done it.
"Or the personality helps determine the strengths. But to accept that is to accept that I am a clone, and that is very difficult for me to do. I feel like Juliet St. Martin. I feel the love of God. The love of my husband. And Gabriel." She looked down again, shaking her head. "I almost told him, when we met him on the mountain. I almost gave myself away. I wanted to touch him, to hold him. How can that not be real?"
"Nobody is saying it isn't real. Whatever is causing your emotions, they're completely real. Whatever is motivating you, that's real, too. Who you are is real. The truth is additive to that. There isn't one of you fighting for us. There's a multitude. Who knows how many? Think of what you could accomplish if you all worked together, instead of being at odds because you believe there can be only one."
Ehri was silent for a moment. "I understand what you are suggesting, Major. And logically, it makes complete sense. Emotionally? I desire to be unique. To be the one Juliet St. Martin. I don't want to share Theodore and Gabriel with the others."
"But do you want them to survive? Do you want them to have the opportunity to return to Earth?"
"Yes."
"Are you willing to sacrifice your ability to be with them to give them that?"
"I would sacrifice my life to give them that."
"Then what's the problem?"
Ehri looked up at him for the first time, meeting his eyes with hers. He could sense the immediate change in her, the sudden resolve. He was right, and she knew it.
Loving someone wasn't about being loved. It was about sacrificing anything and everything you had for them, without resentment, without remorse, without regret.
He hoped Diaz had felt that way before she died.
"I cannot argue your point, Major," Ehri said, getting to her feet. "Thank you for giving me some perspective. I won't say the truth isn't painful, but at least I have something to fight for."
"You're welcome. Let's go see what we can do to help."
NINETEEN
GABRIEL RETREATED FROM HIS father's quarters, intending to return to the bridge. He was interrupted when Miranda appeared at the end of the corridor, heading toward him.
"Gabriel," she said, smiling as he neared.
"Hey, Randa," he replied. "Colonel Choi let you off the bridge for a while?"
"She dismissed almost everyone. There isn't much we can do up there until Reza gets some of the systems online. A skeleton crew is good enough to sit here."
Gabriel glanced out one of the transparencies that speckled the outer hull. There was nothing to see but stars floating on a sea of black.
"Where were you headed?"
"I was going to check on Wallace for you, and then make my way to the Magellan."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"Never."
She flinched then. Gabriel wasn't sure why until he noticed the dark shape near the corner. It crossed the corridor and vanished into an access tunnel.
"I'm not used to them yet," she said about the cleaner.
"I'm not used to any of this," Gabriel replied.
"Like Zoelle?"
"Especially Zoelle. I just finished talking to my father. He said she told him about things nobody else would know. I don't know how that's possible, but it's sure got him convinced."
"What if she really is your mother?"
"Don't tell me you believe that."
"You're so sure she isn't. I'm just worried you might be missing a chance to get to know her. I mean, even if she isn't, she knows things about her that you'll never know any other way."
The statement reminded Gabriel of all of the time he had spent avoiding his father back on Alpha. He regretted that loss now, even while he was thankful to have the real Theodore St. Martin back.
"Maybe you're right. And what's that old saying again? Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?"
"She's not our enemy. You told me she saved your life."
"Yeah. Maybe. Do you think I'm being stubborn?"
"Probably a little. It seems to run in the family."
"I think I'm going to take a pass on our walk if that's okay with you?"
"You're going to find Zoelle?"
"Yes. I want to see what Reza's up to, anyway."
Miranda nodded and leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll see you later then, Major St. Martin."
"As you will, Spaceman Locke," Gabriel replied, smiling. "By the way, thanks for looking out for Wallace for me."
"It's no trouble at all."
He watched her walk down the corridor for a few seconds before heading on to the bridge. When he entered, he found the entire thing nearly deserted, save for a few of the Magellan's crew scattered around the terminals, and Colonel Choi sitting slouched on the command dais. She looked exhausted, too, but she straightened herself quickly as he approached.
"Colonel Choi," he said, saluting.
"At ease, Major. What can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for Reza and Zoelle. Do you know where they went?"
"Reza said something about the phase
modulator, and Zoelle suggested that they get the schematics into the ship's replicators so they could try to match it."
"Replicator?"
"I'm assuming it is what it sounds like."
"Do you know where it is?"
"No. Zoelle said she would show him. I sent Diallo with them, just in case. She didn't seem thrilled with the idea, but too damn bad."
"Okay. I could stand a little exercise anyway. I might as well get it exploring this place a little bit."
"I don't know if that's the best idea. We can't be sure all of the mothers and the drumhr loyal to Gr'el are taken care of. Besides, you might get lost."
"I can take care of myself," he replied. "I'll grab a rifle before I go too far, and Tea'va showed me how to use the communications systems. I'll be able to call for help if I get into any trouble."
"Be careful."
"I will. You should get in touch with Colonel Graham and have him take over for you. You look like you're ready to collapse."
"I would, but Colonel Graham is busy with the repairs to the Magellan, and I don't want to interrupt him. I'll give your father six hours, and then he's coming back up here whether he likes it or not."
"Are you going to be the one to tell him that?"
She laughed. "At that point, I might be overtired enough to do it."
Gabriel left the bridge, heading down another corridor to the space where they had stashed their collection of Dread weaponry. Spaceman Ewing was standing in front of it.
"Major," he said, saluting as Gabriel approached.
"Spaceman Ewing. At ease. I need to borrow a rifle from the armory. I'm heading below decks, and I'm not completely sure what I might find down there."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, sir?" Ewing asked, moving aside and pressing the wall so the room would open.
"I'm sure it's not a completely bad idea," Gabriel replied.
He entered the armory. It was as simple and bare as any other in the Dread starship, save for the neatly assembled rows of plasma rifles they had collected from their defeated enemy. Rifles they would use to invade Earth with the entirety of the New Earth Alliance military, once they finally returned home.
