Star Raider

by Vaughn Heppner

  Ursa drained her container slowly and slotted it into a table holder. Finally, she regarded Tanner in a thoughtful manner.

  “You’re not an ordinary centurion, are you? You bluster and act like a common legionnaire, one quick to fight and draw his gun. There’s more to you, though. You have a brain behind that cocky grin, and I imagine you’ve melted many a girl’s heart with your roguishness.”

  “You’re going to make me blush if you keep talking like that.”

  Ursa turned away and sucked on her upper lip. Her brows drew together. “I’m not sure you can understand.”

  “Uh…which am I then, the rogue or the smart plebian? You’re confusing this simpleton with your bait and switch.”

  She smiled. “You can understand what I’d say in the technical manner, but not the possibilities for Remus. It’s a subtle plan, a very clever plan that will take a sure hand to implement. Consul Maximus came up with it a long time ago. Believe me, he worked on it the entire time the AirSpace Service fought the Coalition in our home system. It was the most secret project of all, the ultimate weapon that none dare wield. Now, our Remus is almost gone, throttled by secret police tactics, social unity propagandists and masses of new Coalition colonists. We have to give the old Remus life before it dies forever. That has given me the courage to attempt to reach for the ultimate weapon. The other reason is Acton. I’ve never met anyone like him. His knowledge about Planet Zero dwarfs my own.”

  “Where is Planet Zero? How come I’ve never heard about it?”

  “But you have heard,” Ursa said.

  “I don’t remember, then. Enlighten me.”

  “You do remember,” she said.

  “Look. We can play cat and mouse all afternoon. But what’s the point, eh? Either you’re going to tell me or you’re not. If not, then I have to go to plan B.”

  Ursa raised her eyebrows. “What’s plan B?”

  “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” he said suggestively.

  Incredibly, the patrician blushed. Tanner found he liked that.

  Ursa studied the table. After a time, she shook her head. “Long ago, all humanity lived on Manhome, on Earth. Those first humans invented space travel but knew nothing about the hyperdrive. Soon, humanity lived on every moon and asteroid in the Solar System. They lived in kilometer-deep cities on the homeworld. They had colonized Venus and Mars.”

  “Where are those places?” Tanner asked.

  “If you knew your ancient history, you would know those are the second and fourth planets in the Solar System.”

  “By Solar System, you mean Manhome?”

  Ursa nodded.

  “So…?” Tanner asked.

  “Humanity expanded in the mother system and reached overpopulation levels. Wars began as they fought over resources. Someone decided their side needed better soldiers. Those people made the first cyborgs.”

  “I’ve heard of cyborgs,” Tanner said.

  “Yes,” Ursa said. “The cyborgs brought about the terrible Dark Age to the Old Federation. My point about earlier ancient history…” She shrugged. “Maybe that doesn’t matter. The humans of that time barely defeated the worst menace people have ever faced. The machine-flesh men proved to be deadly opponents. Unfortunately, those oldest, Sol humans didn’t stamp out all the cyborgs in the mother system. Some of the terrible enemy got away into the greater universe. It time, humanity found the hyperdrive. They expanded everywhere on a thousand planets, a thousand star systems. When the Old Federation came into being, humanity expanded more and more. Then one day, they bumped into the ancient enemy, the cyborgs.

  “The cyborgs had gone far, far away. They had built their own empire. They had cultivated human slaves for their tissues. Once the Old Federation found the Cyborg Empire, the two clashed. It brought about a galaxy-wide war.”

  “I’ve never heard that,” Tanner said. “I thought it was confined to the Orion and Perseus Spiral Arms.”

  Ursa sighed. “Yes. That’s true. I was being poetic. I should have known better than to use that on a centurion.”

  “You mean on a plebian,” Tanner said.

  Ursa sighed again. “The cyborgs converted billions of humans on hundreds of worlds into their kind. They grew more powerful. The cyborgs prospered, but in the end, the Old Federation managed to defeat them. Unfortunately for our distant ancestors, the vast war drained the spirit from the Old Federation. The galaxy-wide dominion fell apart. Even worse, mankind’s drive failed. Too many technicians had died on too many worlds. All over the Orion and Perseus Spirals, planets fell into bronze ages or worse. Men fought with swords and spears instead of nuclear-tipped missiles and ray guns.”

  “A real tragedy,” Tanner said.

  Ursa’s nostrils expanded. “The Old Federation had burned every world where the cyborgs had dug in. On some planets, radioactive fires still roar due to the hell-burners the cyborgs or humans dropped. As the last Old Federation starships retreated, they set up sentinels on some planets. On others, they landed grim, automated defenses.”

  “Why?” Tanner asked.

  Ursa looked up. “They had learned the hard way that some cyborg devices tunneled deep into a planet’s mantle. There, the devices would wait for a different era to emerge. The cyborgs had learned from the first Solar Wide War. Always prepare for defeat so you can rise again. That was one of their great powers. The cyborgs always rose again to renew their war with humanity. All the cyborgs have to do is win one time and they will win forever.”

  “Uh… you’re not going to tell me Planet Zero is one of these ancient cyborg worlds, are you? I mean, I know about one or two places like that. No one goes there because wicked crazy defense systems still operate to obliterate anyone foolish enough to…”

  Tanner stopped speaking. He could see that’s exactly what the patrician was thinking.

  “That’s crazy,” the centurion said.

  “The places you’re thinking about won’t help us in the slightest.”

  “Why not?” Tanner asked.

  “Because they’re devoid of any ancient cyborg devices,” Ursa said.

  “And we know that… Oh. I get it. Lord Acton told you all this, right?”

  “Yes,” she said in a soft voice.

  “How does he know?”

  “He’s a Shand.”

  “They’re just a fairy tale. You know that, right?”

  “No!” Ursa said, reaching across the table, grasping one of his hands.

  He pulled his hand free, making a fist with it. “Look, I know Acton talks about being like a Shand. Greco likes to think that, too. But they’re not real as you guys are thinking about them.”

  “I’ve studied ancient history,” Ursa said. “The Shands helped the Old Federation defeat the cyborgs. If humanity hadn’t stumbled onto them in the distant past—”

  “Hold on,” Tanner said, interrupting. “You’re making it sound like Shands aren’t human.”

  “They’re not,” Ursa said. “Acton certainly isn’t.”

  Tanner’s face grew cold. “Wait, wait, wait,” he said. “You’re telling me I took an alien aboard my ship?”

  “I suppose that’s true.”

  “He’s not an Earthman then?”

  “He may have been born on Earth.”

  “But he’s no man, right? I mean, that’s what you’re telling me, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “No. I don’t want any guesses. Either it’s true or not. Is Acton human?”

  “No.”

  “He’s an alien then?” Tanner asked.

  “One that can mimic human ways quite well,” Ursa said.

  Tanner shook his head before staring at Ursa. “Why did Shands help the Old Federation against the cyborgs?”

  “The cyborgs absorb everything in their path, or they did. I’m sure in the distant past they tried to turn Shands into cyborgs. Humanity was the lesser of two evils for the Shands. Thus, they aided our side for their own good.”

  “I s
ee,” Tanner said. “I suppose that makes sense. Now tell me this. Why is Acton aiding us this time around?”

  “He fears that hibernating cyborgs on Planet Zero are about to break out of their ancient cocoon. If they do, they could restart the ancient war. That would be the best outcome for us.”

  “If that’s the best, what would be the worst?” Tanner asked.

  “That the cyborgs would run away and hide and rebuild until they’re very powerful,” Ursa said.

  “So you’re telling me that Lord Acton is doing this out of the goodness of his alien heart?”

  “You make it sound silly saying it like that, but the answer is yes.”

  “Ah,” Tanner said.

  “You don’t trust him, I take it.”

  “You take it right, Patrician. I think you may be insane for trusting him.”

  “I’m not, you know.”

  Tanner searched her eyes. “Okay. I take that back. You’re not insane. You’ve been tricked, though.”

  “No I haven’t. I know this is a risk.”

  “What are you hoping to gain on Planet Zero, an ancient weapon?”

  Ursa nodded grudgingly.

  “What kind of weapon?” Tanner asked. He was interested in spite of himself.

  “I don’t know yet, as I don’t know what’s on the planet.”

  Tanner laughed. “That’s rich. That’s just great. We’re supposed to sneak past super-powered ancient Federation defenses in order to land on a crazy weird planet with hidden cyborgs ready to pop up and restart war with humanity. But we’ll land and find these super-weapons without a hitch or without getting killed or turned into a freaking cyborg or—”

  “If you’re frightened—”

  Tanner laughed harder, and he slapped the table. “You’re damn straight, I’m afraid. This is a lunatic’s dream. Do you realize how crazy your idea is?”

  “You haven’t thought this through like I have,” Ursa said.

  “Okay, Patrician, explain to me what I’m missing.”

  “If the cyborgs are indeed stirring as Lord Acton believes, who will stop them?”

  Tanner kept staring at her.

  “You see that I’m right,” she said.

  “I see you’re twisting things around so that you think—”

  “You know I’m right,” Ursa said, interrupting. “Think about it. The Coalition attacked Remus before we were ready. The social unity ideologues defeated us, but at least they’re human. If the cyborgs hit the Backus Cluster before anyone is ready for them, we won’t all become socialists, as bad as that is, but machine-flesh beings attacking the rest of humanity.”

  Tanner scowled.

  “We can stop that possible nightmare,” Ursa said. “And while we’re at it, we can find a weapon to drive the Coalition from our world. So, not only are we saving humanity from a horrible fate, but we’re rescuing Remus from socialist slavery.”

  Tanner stared at her while in his mind he searched for flaws in her reasoning.

  “Do you really think Acton is legitimate?” he asked.

  “I have no reason to think otherwise so far,” she said. “Besides, we’ll all be watching him.”

  “Watching him on a planet full of sleeping cyborgs,” Tanner said.

  “No one said saving our world would be easy. I imagine saving humanity is going to be even harder.”

  Tanner finally looked away, drumming his fingers on the table. “If this is all true, we should gather a hundred battleships—”

  “You mean tell others,” Ursa said, interrupting once more. “I’ve thought of that. Firstly, I think that’s too risky. It’s hard to trust people with power. What if others believe they can use the cyborgs for their own ends? Many people have made that devilish bargain in the past.”

  “According to you,” Tanner said, “we’re going to try to use the cyborgs.”

  “No. We’re. Not,” Ursa said firmly. “Using them is letting the cyborgs come back to life. We’re going to destroy any waking sleepers and take the greatest weapons for ourselves. That’s a different thing altogether.”

  “Hmm…” Tanner said. “Okay. What’s the second reason why we shouldn’t get a bunch of battleships together and destroy Planet Zero?”

  Ursa looked away.

  “Well,” Tanner said, “what is it?”

  She licked her lips. “Planet Zero is far from here.”

  “The way you say that makes it sound like I’m not going to like what you say next.”

  “Planet Zero is on the galactic rim,” Ursa said. “It’s the last planet before leaving the Milky Way Galaxy.”

  “Is this more of your poetic license?” Tanner asked.

  Ursa shook her head.

  “We’re pretty far out as things go,” Tanner said. “But we’re not at the galactic rim. That would take some traveling.”

  “Yes.”

  “More than a raider like mine can do comfortably.”

  “We have plans for that.”

  “What kind of plans? I hope you’re not going to say we should all enter hibernation.”

  “Maybe you don’t want to hear our plans just yet.”

  “Great,” Tanner said, “we’re supposed to race to the galactic rim, Planet Zero, the last planet in our galaxy.” He shook his head.

  “The Old Federation chased down the cyborgs to the very end. It was a long and brutal war. Planet Zero was the cyborgs’ last stand, a fortress world meant to survive mighty armadas. If ever there was a war-world, a vault world containing many fantastic treasures, Planet Zero is it.”

  “And we’re supposed to be able to land on it just like that?” Tanner said, while snapping his fingers.

  “No. Not just like that,” Ursa answered.

  Tanner sighed. “I think I’m beginning to understand. This is why we need stealth equipment.”

  “Of course,” Ursa said. “We’re going to have to sneak past the worst, or best, I suppose, guardian devices in the galaxy.”

  Tanner snorted. “I’m hearing a lot of big talk. One, are we sure about this Planet Zero, that it still exists? Two, are we sure the vault system has these workable deadly devices in storage after all this time? And three, if those powerful weapons are stored down there, can we figure out how to use them?”

  “Do you remember Tribune J. M. Majorian?”

  “More by name than sight,” Tanner said.

  “His raider and crew—”

  “Let me guess,” Tanner said, interrupting. “He found Planet Zero.”

  Ursa nodded.

  “But when he attempted to land on the surface, the old defenses destroyed him and his crew?”

  Ursa nodded.

  “And you know this…” Tanner laughed grimly. “No doubt you know this because you watched them from a safe distance.”

  Ursa nodded once more, although more slowly than before. “Centurion, our time to act is fast running out. Those of Remus that remain free are almost all gone. The Coalition was and is too powerful for us. It always was too strong. Once we’re gone, who is going to go in to stop the cyborgs while it’s still possible to stop them from wakening?”

  “The Shand can do it,” Tanner said.

  “I’m not sure he’ll care to try if we fail him. Acton doesn’t like working with humans. He finds it tiring.”

  “I find Lord Acton tiring,” Tanner said.

  “That’s the wrong way to view him. Acton is a priceless opportunity for us and for Remus. We have to do this, Centurion. We have to move before the Coalition captures us.”

  “Let the Coalition destroy the cyborgs.”

  “What if they do?” Ursa said. “Then they’ll have the exotic weapons. That’s not as bad as revived cyborgs, but it’s still very bad. The truth, though, is that I think Planet Zero is too far away for the Coalition to send a battlefleet there. They’ll wait until the cyborgs have built up again and are too strong for anyone in the Backus Cluster to defeat.”

  Tanner stared down the corridor. “I have to tal
k to Greco about this.”

  “You’re evading the issue. Do you believe me or not?”

  They stared into each other’s eyes. Slowly, Tanner nodded. He realized that he did believe her.

  This is crazy. This is absurd. I’m agreeing to do something that will get us all killed.

  “I still don’t trust Lord Acton,” he said.

  “Do you trust me?” Ursa asked.

  “A little more than I trust him.”

  “Then do this. You already agreed to it back on Calisto Grandee anyway.”

  “Yeah, I agreed in order to get my ship back.”

  “Tanner—”

  He swore under his breath. “Okay. I’m in. I’m crazy for saying this, but you’ve convinced me. Now, I have to think about it and make sure we get what we need at the Petrus Hideaway. I don’t think we’re going to get a second chance at doing this, right?”

  “True,” she whispered. “If we fail the first time, we’ll all be dead as the best possible outcome.”

  -23-

  The remainder of the hyperspace voyage from the Nostradamus to the Petrus System proved uneventful until the very end. Everyone was too busy on their particular projects to worry about the others.

  Lord Acton ministered to the Lithians, nursing them back to health from their radiation poisoning.

  “I’d like to know how he’s doing that,” Tanner told Greco.

  The apeman worked on the transfer nodule. A bright light and a hiss showing he welded two tiny pieces together. Greco wore dark goggles and delicately used a slender fuser rod.

  “Is the Shand withholding a critical process from us?” Tanner wondered.

  The hissing and bright light quit. Greco looked up. “Boss, I have to concentrate or I’m never going to get this done in time.”

  “Sure,” Tanner said.

  The centurion left Greco, floated past the junction to the Varus’s corridor and considered knocking on Lacy’s hatch. She was still staying in her cabin. Was she really Acton’s niece, another alien or was she human and controlled in some manner like the Lithians? What if Acton was a cyborg in disguise? That would be a neat turnaround, them helping their enemy wake up the rest of his people. How did they really know Acton was a Shand and not something more sinister?