Trapped

by Scott Bartlett

  Over Iver’s shoulder hung a replica of the original Providence. Seeing it humbled Husher, making him pause before sitting, and sending him into a quiet moment of remembrance. Every detail on the old supercarrier was perfect.

  At last, Husher took his seat and met the admiral’s eyes.

  “How’s Major Gamble?” Iver asked.

  “He’s in med bay, along with half the marines we were able to drag out of that mess. But the doc says he’ll live.”

  “Not a surprise.”

  “He’s a tough SOB,” Husher agreed. There wasn’t much more he wanted to say about it. Lots of other tough SOBs hadn’t made it.

  “Let’s get to it, Vin. You disobeyed a direct order from a commanding officer and engaged in an operation that almost resulted in the loss of your ship. For that, you should be demoted.”

  Husher nodded. “Guilty as charged.”

  Iver poured himself a whiskey and offered one to Husher, who happily accepted. “On the other hand, your fast action to attack that hive mind and send your marines down there resulted in them blowing it up, rendering every Brood unit under its influence instantly inert. In doing so, you saved the battle group.”

  Husher held up his glass, grinning. “That deserves a promotion.”

  Iver held up his own glass, and they tapped them together.

  “So which one is it going to be?”

  “Neither,” Iver said. “Call it a wash, and be happy with it.”

  “I had a feeling you were going to say that.”

  Iver took a long swig of his whiskey and nodded. “Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to drink this whiskey.”

  “I hope you have more where this came from.”

  The admiral smiled. “What’s this I hear about the Scion running around blowing, up every single one of those dead Brood ships?”

  Husher sucked in his cheeks. “We couldn’t stop them. As soon as the ships went dead in space, we came to a full stop. Then the Scion showed up—at least, the promised fighters did. And when they saw that the Brood were floating dead in space, they brought the rest of the cavalry with them.”

  “I don’t know if ‘cavalry’ is the word I’d use. Considering their timing.”

  Husher shrugged. “The Scion had a quick powwow with their leaders on their home planet, I assume. Either way, they seemed pretty intent on destroying every last Brood they could find. Last I heard before coming over here, they’re dragging Stomachs to one of their plasma cannons, to blow each giant husk back to its original elements.”

  “Did they leave us anything to study?”

  Husher’s voice fell. “There’s plenty of biomass on the Relentless to study.”

  Iver grunted. “How close did they get?”

  “They reached the inner chamber. Another thirty seconds, my engineers tell me, and the reactor would have been compromised.”

  “Do we know yet how the hive mind was coordinating the Brood?”

  “No. There were no signals on any frequency we could detect. It’s like the thing had a direct link into every one of their brains.”

  “That sounds like the kind of thing we’d like to understand better,” Iver said. “I imagine it might lead to some breakthroughs. First things first, though. We need to figure out how to leave this universe.”

  “And before that, we need to find a cure for the contagion. The Scions say it’s only a matter of time before the Polymorphs transform more crewmembers. Even the sterilization procedure we initiated throughout the battle group is probably too little, too late. ”

  The admiral nodded. “Tell me that, in addition to the…remains…on the ships, we actually have some examples of their other life forms?”

  Husher frowned. “We have Pseudopods, but no Stomachs. Apparently, the Scion are refusing to allow us to keep any of them around.”

  Iver grimaced, then tipped his whiskey, finishing off the glass. “Well, there’s more news on the alien transmission front.”

  Husher raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “Apparently there’s some doubt that the original distress signal actually originated here.”

  Husher almost dropped the remainder of his drink. “What?”

  “Now that we’ve been able to actually get our hands on Scion tech, it’s pretty clear that the probe that brought us that distress signal wasn’t theirs. And it definitely wasn’t Brood.”

  “Is it possible it was from one of the other species that the Brood destroyed?”

  “The Scion don’t think so. We gave a few of their people access to the probe—I have it in one of my cargo holds. They told us it contains elements that aren’t even on their version of the periodic table. So that seems to prove it didn’t come from this universe.”

  “But the coordinates it came from—”

  “Could have been faked,” said Iver. “Ochrim couldn’t know that. None of us could. We were looking at technology that was completely alien to us. We wouldn’t have known what to look for, even if we did suspect funny business.”

  Husher furrowed his brow. “But we used that message to understand the Scion language. It was in their language.”

  “Yes. Which means…”

  “It came from someone who knew who and what the Scion are.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Someone who wanted to lure us here. But who?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” Iver smiled. “Though, I think if I asked the people outside this office, they’d take your guess over mine.”

  “That’s not true.”

  Iver poured himself another whiskey. “You saved our asses. We wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you.”

  “Well, we’re still trapped in an unknown universe with a powerful enemy, dwindling ships, and no hope of repair or reinforcement. Not to mention some unknown force, now, apparently orchestrating things from the background.”

  The admiral shrugged. “All that’s true. But you did give us a fighting chance, Husher.”

  A silence passed between them, and Husher drained the rest of his glass. His eyes fell on the replica of the old Providence once more. Then, he spoke. “You said my guess is as good as yours. But you already know what my guess is, right? In terms of who sent the fake signal, to trick us into coming here?”

  Iver’s mirth faded. “Yes. Unfortunately, I know it all too well.”

  They lapsed back into silence, each of them alone with their thoughts. Husher knew the admiral’s likely mirrored his own. Thoughts of wars they’d thought had ended, and enemies they’d believed dealt with once and for all.

  Chapter 60

  Captain Husher’s office

  UHC Relentless

  “What am I going to do with you?”

  “A fair question, Captain,” Fesky said, hands behind her back, standing at attention. She didn’t allow her voice to waver. She wouldn’t let herself show any emotion. She stood ramrod straight.

  Husher held up a thin folder. “This is a medical report from our good Doctor Guzman. Can you guess what it says?”

  “I’d rather not.”

  “Well, you don’t have to. Because it’s the same report he gave me when we left dock. It says you aren’t fit for duty. He never gave me a revised report, because he never decided otherwise.”

  Fesky nodded. “That makes sense.”

  Husher wore a smirk on his face. Normally, that meant he was teasing her, but this time Fesky wasn’t so sure. She didn’t trust herself to make the assumption. And there was still something frightening about being this close to Husher.

  She didn’t want to tell him—she would never tell him—but that little smirk he was wearing was the same one he’d had on when he’d tortured her, right down to the little twinkle in his eye. When he’d used pliers to shear off her talons, laughing as she shrieked in pain, he’d worn this grin.

  Maybe this was why her ability to read humans had regressed so much. Everything about their expressions meant different things to her now. She was afraid she’d never be able to
reconcile the two.

  But it wasn’t Husher, she told herself. It was that other bastard. You know that. You know that.

  She realized she’d been quiet for too long and had missed something. “Sir?” she asked, when she could think of nothing better to say.

  “I said, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  “Only that I wanted to get into the fight. And I didn’t believe that sitting in my cabin was a good use of my abilities, under the circumstances.”

  Husher grimaced. “My God, I can’t even imagine doing that.”

  Fesky blinked. “But that’s what the doctor wanted me to do, sir.”

  “Yes, I know he did. Crazy.”

  Fesky frowned. “Sir?”

  “We need you, Fesky. Now more than ever. I’m not sure how much of our situation you understand. We’ve kept you in the dark, for the most part.” He paused. “I’ve kept you in the dark. For your own good, I thought.”

  “I know you had good intentions.” She wasn’t sure if she meant that yet, but she wanted to mean it.

  “I should have told you about that bastard in the brig. I’m sorry you had to find out the way you did.”

  Fesky winced at the memory. “I won’t do what I did to him again.”

  “No.” Husher snorted. “You won’t. He’s no longer on the ship.”

  “Sir?”

  “I’m going to lay out everything that’s happened for you soon enough. But for now, just know that we need you. I need you. We aren’t getting reinforced out here, and we aren’t going home. So whatever we have right now, it’s all we have.” His lips pressed together in a thin line. “All we have is each other. Do you understand?”

  “I think so.”

  Husher nodded, then his shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. He pulled another folder out and opened it. “Care to guess what’s in this folder?”

  Fesky shook her head. This time, she genuinely had no idea.

  “It’s a letter of honor. From one Major Callum, Relentless’ CAG.” He thumbed through it quickly. “I’ll spare you the details, but he gives you credit for saving the lives of dozens of his pilots. And for distinguishing yourself with any number of acts of valor under fire.”

  “I did what had to be done.”

  Husher nodded. “You did, indeed. And now you leave me to do the same.” He held up the report from Callum. “This report is grounds for an official commendation. Perhaps even a promotion.” He set it down on his desk and picked up the report from the doctor again. “But, of course, I can’t do anything of the sort as long as this report stands.”

  Husher’s smirk grew even larger. Fesky was pretty sure she knew what it meant, now, but she still didn’t trust herself to jump to conclusions. He took the folder from the doctor and dropped it into the trash.

  “You are hereby reinstated to active duty and restored to full rank and responsibility, Commander Fesky.”

  She immediately saluted.

  Husher stood up and reached out his hand in the standard human gesture. Fesky took his fingers in her talons, which had been artificially regrown in the years since her awful experience in the Progenitor universe.

  “Congratulations, Commander,” Husher said. “Now get out of my office. I have to call the doctor and tell him I lost his report.” He chuckled. “Then, I have to explain my latest wild theory to my XO. If I’m right, this is all about to get much worse.”

  “Without knowing any of the details…I think you’re right. You usually are.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  Fesky turned to go, then stopped at the closed hatch. “Does this mean we aren’t going to have another session together with Doctor Guzman?”

  For a moment, Husher didn’t answer. “If that’s what you want it to mean,” he said at last.

  She slowly shook her head. “No, I think I would like to go again. I think it might actually do some good.” She smiled. “Just because I’m fit for duty doesn’t mean I have everything figured out yet.”

  Husher leaned back in his chair. “That makes two of us.”

  She opened the hatch, but Husher spoke again. “Oh, and Fesky?”

  “Yes?”

  “When it’s just the two of us, you can drop the ‘captain’ and ‘sir.’ We’re still friends, you know. That hasn’t changed.”

  For a long moment, she stood in the open hatchway, considering his words. At last, she said, “I don’t think I’m ready to do that, yet. Sir.”

  His face fell for a moment before he composed himself again. “I understand. Dismissed.”

  She turned and exited the office, closing the hatch behind her.

  Chapter 61

  Captain Husher’s office

  UHC Relentless

  “How is she?” Shota asked as he entered. Husher had already told him his decision about Fesky, before he’d even met with her.

  “She’s fine. But the doctor might have me committed.”

  Shota sat down. “I don’t know her, but I know we need her.”

  “Agreed.”

  The XO took a second to glance around the office. That made Husher reflect on his recent visit with the admiral, aboard the Providence. His own office was nothing like Iver’s. It was one desk, two chairs, and bare bulkheads.

  In the admiral’s office, he’d waited for permission to sit, despite the fact that he had about as informal a relationship with Iver as a captain could have with an admiral.

  “Stand up,” he told Shota.

  The XO lowered his eyebrows. “Why?”

  “Because a subordinate shouldn’t sit during a reprimand.”

  For a long moment, Shota looked at him, eyes narrowed. Husher met his gaze. A younger Husher might have barked at the XO to jump to, but he just waited.

  At last, Shota stood.

  “Attention.”

  The XO stood at attention.

  “Commander, your comportment during the recent engagement with the Brood was unacceptable. The next time you’re harboring tidings of doom, you are forbidden to share them with the crew. You may share them with me, in private. But around the crew, you will keep a stiff upper lip. You will be the very picture of command and control at all times. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir.” It was said stiffly, with a clear undercurrent of resentment. But at least it was said.

  “You will also learn a proper respect for your superiors. That includes the admiral—even when he makes calls you don’t like. If you don’t respect superior officers now, then you won’t deserve respect if you ever get your own command. And that’s a big ‘if,’ Commander. Because right now, I wouldn’t recommend you to captain a space dinghy.”

  Shota met his gaze throughout the whole thing, his eyes burning. When Husher stopped talking, he stood just as stiffly as ever, and said nothing.

  “Are we very clear, Commander?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Permission to sit.”

  “I’ll stand, sir.”

  “Sit down, Shota.”

  The XO sat.

  With that, Husher smiled broadly. “I’m glad to see you take criticism like a man. There may be hope for you yet.”

  Shota forced a smile. He was clearly fighting gamely to shrug off the displeasure Husher’s critique had brought on, and Husher had to give him credit for that.

  “Sir?”

  “Yes, Shota?”

  “What’s a space dinghy?”

  Husher laughed heartily at that, a belly laugh, and that dissipated some of the tension.

  “So what do you really think?” Shota said. “I mean, about what’s going on with this universe. Not about my failings as an XO. You were very clear about that.” He retained his grin, which made the words seem less bitter than they otherwise might have.

  Husher had already told him about Iver’s bombshell—about the distress signal originating from somewhere else. “I think we’re being manipulated by an AI.”

  Shota frowned. “From the Progenitors?
”

  Husher nodded. “As we know, they installed their AIs with a failsafe, preventing them from traversing the multiverse. My best guess is that this one is trapped in a universe somewhere, trying to figure out a way to escape. The probe it sent us is part of that effort.”

  “What did Iver think of that?”

  “I didn’t get into too much detail about it with him.”

  Shota smirked. “So why tell me?”

  “You won’t think I’m crazy.” He paused. “Am I crazy?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Thanks.”

  Shota looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  The XO shook his head. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. The AIS can’t travel interdimensionally…so this one is pulling the strings of species in other universes. Which means it’s probably been watching us for a while.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  Shota gave a humorless chuckle. “If you can’t come to dinner…”

  “…lure dinner to you,” Husher finished for him.

  “So the way the Brood operate, with their hive minds….that’s probably not a coincidence then, is it? It would be the perfect mechanism for this master AI to direct them at will. Sort of like the way the Ixan were harnessed toward the end of the Second Galactic War”

  “Exactly.”

  Shota smiled again. “You’re right. You are crazy.”

  “I’m not finished, either.”

  “Do tell.”

  “If I’m right, then humanity is in great danger.”

  Shota said nothing.

  “By now, this AI knows we have the ability to cross the multiverse, if it didn’t before. If it could study one of our drives, or even just capture someone with the know-how to reverse engineer it for them, I’m sure that breaking the failsafe the Progenitors installed it with would be trivial.”

  Shota nodded. “And it clearly already knows humanity’s location within the multiverse, given it sent us the probe.”

  “Yes.”

  The XO seemed to think about that for a few moments. “Well, we’ve lost ships, but nothing was captured, right? So their plan hasn’t worked. At least, not so far.”

  “I wouldn’t quite say that.”