by J W Murison
Komoru stood up and scowled. ‘Why is it half the arguments I have with Steven are over you Charlie.’
‘You must look for the answer to that question within yourself, my child.’ Charlie answered in a strange mystical voice.
‘That isn’t funny.’
‘I thought it was. Although you could stop riding my ass all the time. That might help a little.’
‘May I be blunt?’
‘Yes please.’
‘I don’t trust you Charlie, I think you are very dangerous. I think you could get us into a lot of trouble.’
‘Me! There is no one more dangerous here than you Komoru.’
‘I resent that Charlie. I didn’t kill lots of mothers and their children.’
‘You read the report from the federation investigatory committee on their investigation into cutting off the oxygen supply on the city ship. Their conclusions were that as it was a war of eradication, and because even after surrendering, the Albany, believing they were on Earth, still tried to wipe out the Human race, the deaths were justified.’
‘They don’t know who did it though, they are still looking for you. They also believe it was Steven.’
‘Darrick knows, Emperor Ne´ knows, maybe lots more, and they have known for a while. Maybe believing it is Steven makes them warier, less inclined to upset him or you.’
She looked him up and down. ‘I am still not comfortable with it Charlie.’
‘I broke no laws and was cleared by a federation investigation, even if they don’t know who the hell I am. If you, however, get caught for destroying that Albany battle group, using a weapon that can cause catastrophic failure of a star drive, then you will be held accountable, and the whole Human race along with you. More to the point Komoru, I thought very hard before I did what I did. It wasn’t easy. I knew what I was doing was justifiable, and I saved countless Human lives by doing so. I was, and still am, prepared to stand up for my actions. The Albany’s leader, declaring every one of his people a combatant, was justification enough. How do you justify doing what you did?’
Komoru was reeling. ‘I thought you didn’t read people’s minds.’
‘I didn’t.’
‘Lewis?’
‘Don’t be thick. It was the Emperor. He swore me to secrecy. He’s a big admirer of yours by the way. He is waiting to see what happens next. If they can find no trace of that fleet, then he believes he has found the ideal assassination weapon. He has more than a few enemies he wants to try it out on. So, are you going to answer my question?’ The thought flashed across her mind before she could open her mouth. ‘I see, you were just fed up with the Albany pleasing themselves. I was hoping for an answer with a little more reason behind it.’
‘No one can trace it back to us.’
‘Don’t be a fool Komoru. We know about it. Our high command knows about it, Darrick knows about it, the Ortea also know about it, and with them the Dent know about it. Details and records of that weapon are now stored as data in lots of different places. Once the Catataracs discover that vast swathes of their asteroid belt have also turned to dust, what then? The people in this part of the galaxy are not stupid. They will find some way of discovering what happened to their damn rocks. Sooner or later, they will link it to us. From there, how long until they put two and two together? Darrick reckons that the particles from the Albany ships will just keep on travelling at faster than light speed forever. They may never be able to pin it to us directly, they may never find proof. It won’t stop them trying to pin it on us though. It’s all damaging. Sooner or later it will come back and bite you on that pretty little arse of yours. I think the quicker you confess to Steven the better.’
‘I will ask you to stay out of my affairs Charlie.’
‘Then stay out of mine Komoru.’
He saw her reel. Komoru took an involuntary step backward.
‘Do you think I was wrong to do what I did?’
‘Oh hell no. I think what you did was awesome. The only problem is, you never thought it through. I will stand by you regardless of what happens. I will protect you with my life if need be. Try not to do anything so stupid again. At least not without talking to the people around you first. That’s what we are here for Komoru. You may be a damn sight smarter than a half dozen of us all put together, but we have the experience in these situations. You don’t.’
Komoru felt the tension inside her seep away, and suddenly felt really tired. Her eyes closed for a second.
‘I understand Charlie. Thank you.’
Charlie reached down and plucked a beer from a cooler at his side. He opened it and offered it up.
Komoru looked at it for a moment then took it. She sat down beside Charlie and took a drink.
‘I think I like your new home. I see you have a Modloch size bath.’
‘It’s a pity, I rarely need it. Even my hair is synthetic now.’
‘I have never had the courage to ask you how it feels.’
‘Really strange at first, now I suppose I just feel like me.’
‘You got used to it.’
‘I suppose I have.’
‘What about touch?’
‘Feels normal. The nerves are all mine of course, but they stop short of the skin. There are artificial ones from there to where they would have been. The beauty of that is I can switch them off at will.’
‘Why would you do that?’
‘My skin can take very high temperatures, but it would still transmit as heat and pain to my brain.’
‘Ah! I see.’
‘I can do lots of things that would normally hurt if I didn’t have the ability to switch it off.’
‘Like what?’
Charlie picked up a small rock and crushed it. ‘Like that.’
‘Why would you want to do that?’
‘It comes in handy now and then, trust me.’
‘So, if you aren’t using your bath…’
‘Anytime you like Komoru, you are more than welcome.’
Komoru was still thinking about Charlie’s condition. ‘I thought, when you came out of the floor, that most of your skin was your own.’
‘It was at first. That all changed when I was turned into a robot. She had to replace my skin with artificial skin to protect me from the field I would be generating to protect myself.’
‘So the outer skin of the robot you, acted as a form of deflector, while the metal inner skin could generate an inertial dampening field that protected you internally. Is that right?’
‘Something like that. As a result, I have only about ten percent of my natural skin left. They are highly protected areas.’
‘Would you do me a favour Charlie?’
‘If I can.’
‘Go easy on Himari.’
‘I'm not the one with the robot fetish Komoru. I am also able to control my own hormone levels, and I turned those down a long time ago.’
She looked startled. ‘When did you do that Charlie?’
‘About a year or so ago.’
‘I had no idea.’
‘Why would I tell anyone?’
She shook her head. ‘I suppose it isn’t the thing a man would advertise.’
‘Or a woman for that matter.’
‘You are probably right. What made you think of that?’
‘A story Cookie told me about when they first came on board. Babes and Ico screwed down everyone’s hormone levels. It is just one of those things I added to my operating system.’
‘Your operating system? Wow.’ Komoru looked away. ‘That makes it sound worse.’
‘Babes and I have had a lot of fun with it.’
‘It sounds more frightening than fun to me.’
‘I can’t afford to become frightened of myself Komoru.’
‘I don’t suppose you can.’
They sat and chatted for another ten minutes, then Steven reappeared. He looked a little sheepish.
‘Sorry, I kind of went off on one.’
‘It’s ok
ay, Charlie and I have had a long chat and have decided to not step on each other’s toes so much.’ She patted the oversized bench. ‘Why don’t you come and sit down. I have something to tell you.’
Charlie got up and went inside.
A few hours later the guests came out to watch the sunset. Lady Jane and the Sarge found themselves slightly to the side of the group.
Jane laid her arms on top of the wall and leaned on them. ‘Isn’t this simply wonderful.’
‘A glorious sunset, fresh air, a warm summer breeze, and a beautiful woman to share it with.’
Jane was immediately alarmed by the slightly swaying Jeb’s words.
She turned towards him ‘Are you referring to me Sergeant?’
‘Hell, call me Jeb.’
‘Jeb!’
‘It sure sounds sweet coming from your lips Jane.’ His hand slid onto her waist and he pulled her close. There was a muffled thump and Jeb’s hand slipped from her waist to his groin.
Lady Jane’s face had turned red with fury. ‘Keep your filthy common hands off me.’ She stormed away to the other side of the gathering.
Jeb slid slowly down the wall as laughter washed over him. A sympathetic Cookie handed Jeb an ice-cold beer.
‘Thanks.’
Bodies began to collapse with laughter as Jeb gently placed the bottle between his legs with a sigh.
‘She is some dame, ain’t she.’
