by Michael Rose
Sullivan nodded. “According to the official reports, he went off the deep-end and was killed in a standoff with the police. I believed those reports at the time. Just about everyone did. But once I went into the special forces, I began learning the truth about the Squamata. In addition to tracking down rebels, my unit went out on what we called ‘Squam hunts.’ We’d go out to the jungle, find cave entrances and go into the tunnel networks belowground, killing the Squamata that were left over from the initial purge.”
Sullivan paused and stared off into the darkness outside the ship. “I’m not proud of the things I did when I was in the military. Killing rebels was one thing; they could fight back, for the most part, and they knew the risk they were taking by opposing the government. But the Squamata… they were so frightened whenever we came across them. They cowered, they seemed to beg for mercy. We slaughtered them. Adults, adolescents, babies, it didn’t matter. We smashed the eggs we found in the spawning pools. Some of the men cut off their fingers and made necklaces out of them. Some of the men… some of them raped the adolescent Squamata. ‘Nice tight holes,’ they said.”
Sullivan swallowed hard and closed his eyes. Kate hugged him more tightly. “But you never did those things, Rick.”
“No. But I watched them happen. I let them happen.”
“You’re not that same man. You’ve changed.”
Sullivan opened his eyes. “Maybe I have, and maybe I haven’t. But this isn’t about me. There were other things we found in those caves. The Squamata could build fires, make tools. They even made little stick dolls for their children to play with. And you should have seen some of the cave drawings. There was one cavern we found that must have been a hundred meters long and thirty meters wide. And every surface of that cavern was covered in drawings made from the soot of their fires. Depictions of the Squamata, of other plants and animals on Edaline, even some images of humans. And there were symbols that we couldn’t identify, things that looked like an alphabet of some kind. These creatures could write; they had a language, a culture. And we destroyed it. We scorched the walls of the cavern with flamethrowers, obliterating the drawings. Any material items associated with the Squamata, we were ordered to destroy.”
Everyone sat silent, considering what Sullivan had just told them. After a few minutes, Allen spoke. “I’m sorry, Rick. I’m sorry you had to do that.”
Sullivan nodded. “So am I. But the point is this: what could we have learned if we had tried to communicate with the Squamata? We could have built a relationship with them, I’m sure of that. They were what would have been called a Stone Age culture on Earth, but they were gentle and intelligent. And the entities that live out here in hyperspace seem to be intelligent, too. We have to respect that. And if we encounter them, I agree with Frank. We can’t ignore them.”
Kate nodded. “You’re right, of course. We’re in their space now, we have to respect them.”
“So what’s the plan?” asked Hammond. “If we encounter something, what do we do?”
“First,” said Sullivan, “whoever has the encounter has to try and get one of the others. It’s a small ship, so that shouldn’t be too hard, but we’ll have more strength if we’re together.”
“Agreed,” said Hammond.
“Then what?” asked Allen.
Kate lifted her head from Sullivan’s chest. “Then we say ‘hello.’ We talk to them. We tell them we don’t mean to cause them any harm or inconvenience and that we’re just passing through.”
“That sounds just about right,” said Hammond.
“Just about right,” echoed Sullivan, kissing Kate on the forehead before pulling her back into an embrace.
IT WAS HAMMOND’S watch. Sullivan and Kate had one cabin, Allen and Hammond the other. Allen was having trouble sleeping, so he switched on the light above his top bunk and reached down for his tablet on the side table. He froze with his arm outstretched. At the far end of the cabin, in front of the door, stood a shadowy figure. The small reading light was not bright, but it should have been able to clearly illuminate the features of anyone in the cabin. This figure, however, gave Allen the impression of a dark mass in the shape of a human. It had depth and form but no detail.
Allen brought his arm back up and placed his hand on the ship-wide intercom. His finger rested on the talk button but halted there. The figure was changing. As Allen watched, the shadows fell away, and the features of Liz Wagner replaced the blackness. Allen removed his finger from the intercom button.
“Liz?”
“Yes, Frank.” She took a few steps toward the bed. “It’s me.”
“But is it you? Is it really you or are you… something else?”
She reached out a hand and Allen took it. It was warm and felt exactly like the hand of the woman he loved. “You can feel me, Frank.”
Allen squeezed the hand. He closed his eyes tight and shook his head. “Please, I have to know.” Tears began streaming down his face. “I have to know if it’s you or if you’re something that’s using my thoughts to… to….” He began weeping openly.
She moved closer and put her hand on his shoulder. Allen slid off the bunk and pulled her into a full embrace. Together, they sat on the bottom bunk, still in each other’s arms.
“Don’t cry, Frank. Please.”
Allen kept sobbing into her shoulder. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and lifted his head. “Please tell me.”
She smiled sadly. “There’s so much pain. I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you. I thought you would be glad to see me… to see her.”
Allen nodded. “Then it’s not you.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m her as much as I can be. I’m her as much as you ever knew her.”
“Why?”
“Because I felt your longing. I felt you loss, and it saddened me. I’m sorry.”
Allen broke their embrace. He wiped his eyes and tried to compose himself. “No. It’s all right. I understand.”
She put her hand on the side of his face. “Do you want this?” She leaned in and kissed him deeply on the lips. He resisted at first but quickly lost himself in the taste of her mouth. She tasted just like Liz.
They kissed for several long seconds before Allen finally broke it off. He shook his head. “This isn’t… it’s not right.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s just… not. Why have you appeared like this? Like her?”
“I heard the conversation you had with the others. You want to communicate with us. You want to develop an understanding with us. I thought this was the best way. This way, we have a head start.” She smiled and caressed his arm.
Allen swallowed. “I want to have her back more than you could ever know, and you picked up on that. I understand why you’ve appeared this way. But I can’t do this. I can’t look at you and see her.”
She stood up and stepped away from the bed. Liz Wagner’s features began to dim. After a few moments, only the black mass remained. It spoke again, not in the voice of Liz but in a voice that sounded like a thousand voices speaking in unison, across the range of sound detectable by the human ear. “Do not be afraid of us. The four of you are safe here. You will return to your world unharmed. But we do not wish for others to follow. We have tolerated your hyperspace travel, as it does not actively interfere with us. You travel at the far edge of our universe. But this ship—and others like it—cannot be allowed to travel this deeply into hyperspace on the same scale. We cannot have thousands of your vessels passing through in this way. It would be too much of a disruption, just as our incursions into your universe have caused similar disruptions in the past.”
“I understand,” said Allen. “The man who built this ship has put an end to the project. We are only here because it was a unique circumstance. I promise that as long as I have anything to say about it, no more vessels will travel this deeply into hyperspace again.”
“Thank you,” it said, nodding. As Allen watched, the mass began to dissolve. It lightened
to gray, grew opaque and within moments, it was gone.
11
HARVEY SURVEYED THE room. Casually, he stepped over to the table and stuck a small listening device to the underside of it. He sat in the chair and eyed the decanter of whiskey on the table. Benjamin Alexander would have only the best. Harvey hoped he’d offer him a drink.
As Harvey sat contemplating the whiskey, Alexander strode into the room. Harvey stood, shook the man’s hand then sat back down as Alexander gestured for him to take a seat.
“Mr. Harvey,” said Alexander, taking a tablet from his pocket and unfolding it. “You’ve been an Assembly-licensed bounty hunter for twelve years, yes?”
“Yes, sir.”
Alexander scanned the information on his tablet. “And in that time, you’ve brought in over twenty criminals.”
“That’s right, sir.”
“You’re very good at what you do.”
“Thank you.”
“Tell me, am I under investigation for anything?”
“No, sir, not at all.”
“Then why have you asked for this meeting?”
Harvey took out his own tablet and pulled up his file on Sullivan. “Are you familiar with a man named Richard Sullivan?”
“Yes.”
Harvey smiled. “In what capacity do you know him, Mr. Alexander?”
“I don’t know him. You asked if I was familiar with him.”
Harvey arched an eyebrow. “So I did.”
“I know of Mr. Sullivan because he is the man who rescued my daughter from Orion Zednik on Abilene. He is also the man who, I presume, will try to rescue her again.”
“Right. Do you know if your daughter is on Damaris?”
Alexander leaned forward and poured himself a drink. Harvey waited to be offered one but was disappointed. “I know my rights, Mr. Harvey. I have no obligation to answer the questions of a bounty hunter.”
“That’s true. But Sullivan is a dangerous criminal, Mr. Alexander. Don’t you, as a citizen of the Assembly, want men like him behind bars?”
“As a citizen of the Assembly, I want bad men punished and put behind bars.”
“So that means you’ll help me?”
Alexander cracked a slight smile and took a sip of whiskey. “It means exactly the opposite, actually.”
Alexander stood and gestured toward the door. “You know the way out, Mr. Harvey.”
Harvey smiled thinly. “I do.”
He left the room and was greeted in the hall by one of Alexander’s servants. He was shown to the front door and ushered through it without ceremony.
Harvey had taken a gamble in coming here. He didn’t really think Alexander would give him information about Sullivan, but that wasn’t the purpose of his visit. Planting the bug was.
He could have chased Sullivan back to Damaris after their encounter on Trenton, but with Ross dead and no backup, he didn’t think he’d be able to take Sullivan down. Besides, Sullivan was out to rid the universe of Orion Zednik, and Harvey didn’t mind that so much. But once that was done, once Kate Alexander was freed, she’d be coming back to her father. Harvey had a hunch Sullivan would be coming with her.
Harvey took the elevator down to the parking garage below Alexander’s building and got into his car. He put in his earpiece and, using his tablet, tapped into the audio feed from the bug. He heard the sound of a glass set down heavily on a table. In the background, Alexander’s grandfather clock ticked away the seconds. He had a good signal; he only needed to monitor it and, if his hunch paid off, Sullivan’s whereabouts would be revealed eventually.
12
ALLEN HAD ACCOMPANIED Sullivan, Kate and Mr. Alexander back to Alexander’s penthouse. Alexander had met them in a car at the spaceport and spent several long minutes hugging and crying with his daughter. When he had regained his composure, he’d pulled first Allen then Sullivan into an embrace.
They had spent the day resting and were now with Mr. Alexander in his study. They had been telling him the story of Kate’s rescue and were at the moment sitting quietly, relieved that the ordeal was finally at an end. Alexander turned to Kate and smiled at her again. “Kate, why don’t you show Mr. Allen the observatory on the roof? I’d like to speak with Mr. Sullivan alone.”
Kate pursed her lips but led Allen out without argument. Alexander watched them go before turning back to Sullivan. “Mr. Sullivan….”
“Please, sir, call me Rick.”
Alexander nodded. “Very well, Rick. I’ve been studying your history. I can’t say that I approve of your actions on Earth.” Sullivan broke eye contact. “But I understand them.”
Sullivan looked back at the older man. “Thank you, sir.”
“And Frank Allen seems to think rather highly of you. That’s a solid character reference if ever there was one.”
“Sir, if this is about Kate….”
“No, Rick. We’ll come to that in due time. But I understand you have a more immediate concern.”
“Yes, sir. Edaline’s liberation.”
Alexander took up a box from the side table and opened it. He withdrew two cigars, clipped the end off of each with a cutter and handed one to Sullivan. Sullivan took it and leaned forward as Alexander offered him a light.
“How do you propose to accomplish that?” asked Alexander after lighting his own cigar.
“The only way they’ll allow it to happen, sir. By force.”
“This Faris rebellion?”
“Yes, sir. Reportedly, there are several thousand Edalinians on Faris who are organizing.”
“And they have money for arms, for ships?”
“Not a lot, sir. But they do have will.”
“Is will strong enough to overcome death? Because without weapons to match Edaline’s military, that is what the rebellion faces.”
“I understand that, sir. We’ll find a way. But even if we have to die for it, we’ll find a way to bring freedom to the cities of Edaline.”
Alexander looked off toward the far end of the room, his eyes unfocused. “As far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.”
“Sir?”
Alexander turned back to Sullivan. “I’m sorry. You just reminded me of something. Epicurus. In my younger years, I made a study of Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. Do you know what it means?”
“We live in a city without walls?”
“Ancient Earth cities were often surrounded by walls to keep them safe from attack. But no wall could ever keep out death. There is nothing you can do to keep death away. Even if your rebellion gets the best weapons, the best ships, trains its men as well as Edaline’s soldiers, you still might all meet a terrible end.”
“And as I said, sir, we’re prepared for that.”
Alexander nodded. “Would you consider an exchange, Rick?”
“An exchange?”
“Yes. If I supply you with ships, with money to fund your rebellion, would you agree to….”
“If you want me to give up Kate….”
Alexander waved his hand. “No, son, that’s not what I’m asking. Quite the opposite. If I fund this rebellion, would you agree to—once it is over—let other men take on the job of building a new government? Assuming you’re successful, of course.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“My daughter cares for you a great deal. I can see that. And I haven’t gained my fortune, my position, by being a poor judge of character. I know you are an honorable man, a dedicated man. But I felt I was those things as well. I felt that despite my focus on my business, I would still be able to make time for my wife and that I would never let my work get in the way of our marriage. I failed in that, and now that she’s gone, it’s the biggest regret of my life. I won’t see Kate’s heart broken. I won’t see her become a widow to your ambition. You must promise to return here. Even if you must leave your work unfinished on Edaline, you must promise to return to Kate once the planet is secure.”
Sullivan sat in s
ilence for a moment. Alexander filled the silence. “Did you imagine yourself becoming a public figure on Edaline? Forming a new government, rebuilding after the revolution, becoming a leader?”
Sullivan cleared his throat. “I confess that I did, sir.”
“Can you give that up for Kate? Can you end your wandering once this is done? Can you come back to Silvanus and live a quiet life?”
Sullivan took a deep breath. “Even if I wanted to, I don’t know that I could. I’m a wanted man as long as I’m on a Stellar Assembly planet.”
“I’m owed a great many favors, Rick. If I take care of your legal troubles, would you be able to come back here and settle down?”
“Yes, I think I would.”
“Good. Then the next question is, will you?”
Sullivan nodded. “I will, sir.”
Alexander rose and held out his hand. Sullivan stood and shook it. “I know your word is good, Rick. And I thank you for this.”
“Thank you for supporting the cause.”
Alexander looked toward the window. “The sun’s set. We’ll work out the details of what the rebellion will need tomorrow. Let’s go join Kate and Mr. Allen in the observatory.”
HARVEY GOT UP from his chair, a smile on his face. This was his opportunity. Sullivan would be too difficult to confront once he was on Faris and surrounded by other refugees from Edaline. But here on Silvanus, his guard would be down.
Harvey pulled the curtain of his hotel room window back a few centimeters. This was too perfect. He could see the dome of the observatory and could just make out two figures within. Through a scope, he’d be able to see who was who. He began assembling his sniper rifle. He’d have to be careful. He wasn’t likely to get a second shot at Sullivan.
THE OBSERVATORY ATOP Alexander’s building took advantage of the dark sky ordinance on Silvanus. All street lamps were carefully designed to leak as little light into the sky as possible. This made viewing the stars, even in the middle of the city, a rewarding experience.
Alexander set his cigar in the ashtray next to him and typed a command into the large telescope’s computer system. It swung around and settled on a bright speck in the northern sky.
