Overlook folded his arms but said nothing.
“He seemed to demonstrate psionic abilities,” Sid prompted, “not unlike those which Phoebe and Ursula possess. He was able to wrestle control of a number of drones and war bots from Phoebe’s control, and cause them to self-destruct.”
“Why does it matter?” Overlook asked.
“Because we need to know,” Chris said. “We need to know who we’re dealing with. Stop trying to defend the company. You’re never going back to it.”
“Okay, let’s just do this the easy way,” Ursula said. Though nowhere near Overlook, she reached out a hand and made a grabbing motion. Overlook cried out, both hands flying to his groin.
“Didn’t know I could do that from here, did you?” Ursula said. Overlook didn’t answer but only cried out again as Ursula tightened her grip. “Seriously, I could probably crush them,” the woman warned.
“Okay, okay, okay!” Overlook said, his face beginning to turn a shade of purple.
Ursula didn’t let go immediately, clearly relishing the man’s discomfort. When she did, Overlook sat down on the floor, rubbing himself. Ursula really was quite different from her sister, Chris thought. He wondered how alike they had been before Ursula had been caught, tormented, subjected to endless mind games, and tortured. Ursula indicated Chris should resume his questioning.
“So ... Kethlan,” Chris asked. “He’s human?”
“One hundred percent,” Overlook nodded. “An identical twin. His brother’s name was Dexter.”
“Knew it,” Sid said.
“So, where’s his brother?” Chris asked.
“He’s dead.”
“You killed him?”
“No. Kline did.”
All five, including Athena, looked shocked. “What?” Chris asked. “Kethlan killed his own brother?”
Overlook nodded.
“Why?” Chris asked.
“We made him a deal—”
“A deal? What kind of sick, twisted deal—”
“Chris, let him speak,” Athena hushed him.
Overlook went on, “We offered him his own life in exchange of that of his brother. We promised Kethlan that if he were to bring in Dexter, we would spare his own life and use him as a ... template for the next generation of warships AIs.
“Kethlan, that is to say Kline, was quite an accomplished pilot in his thirties. He trained with the now-defunct mercenary group The Gentlemen Thugs, under the leadership of a man known as Raffles.”
“He wasn’t born in Sol?” Chris asked.
“No,” Ursula said, before Overlook could answer. “He was born in the Spirit system. He’s about forty years old, I think. He’s been with WEAPCO for around nine or ten years.”
“How do you know?”
“I remember him telling me, the last time I tried to escape,” Ursula said.
“Forty? And a pilot in his thirties. So, he might have known something about the Resistance. How long did he spend in Spirit, I wonder?” Chris said, largely to himself. He then prompted Overlook to continue.
“We caught up with Kethlan after his mercenary group was eliminated during a skirmish that went wrong. In a rare move, we took the survivors prisoner and interrogated them. It was then that we discovered Kethlan’s ... ‘gift’.”
“What about Dexter?” Phoebe asked. She sounded a little distressed at the revelation that Kethlan had sold out his sibling.
“Dexter wasn’t a part of the group. He had other interests and ideas in life. He was quite different from Kline. After we found out what Kline was capable of, we pushed him into one of the simulated systems, as we did with Lexx.” Overlook nodded to Ursula. “Once we had had a chance to assess him, and discovered how powerful he was, we intended to use him to track down his brother and then eliminate them both at once. But when we found out that he was both psionic and an incredible pilot – save for the prior incident – we offered him his life in exchange for Dexter’s. He took us up on it. We had no need for both men,” Overlook added, as Chris made to ask, “and we knew from experience he would only refuse.”
“So, this isn’t the first time you’ve tried?” Sid asked.
“As the saying goes, Mr Wilson: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
“Monster,” Phoebe said. She shook her head, looked at her sister, and started to weep. She clearly could not imagine Ursula doing such a heinous thing to her, still less her doing that to Ursula.
Chris had heard enough. “We’re done,” he said to Overlook. “We have all we need from you.”
“What will you do with me now?” Overlook asked. “Kill me? Or wait until you have destroyed the Corporation and killed everyone else, first?”
“As far as I’m aware, I haven’t actually killed anyone yet,” Chris said. “My goal isn’t to kill anyone, either. I don’t wish to sink to your level. No, I only want to blow open the gates of your castle, and bring your technology and benefits to the rest of the galaxy. I don’t see why some should benefit from a post-scarcity society while others struggle to keep their heads above water.”
“I told you once already,” Overlook said.
“Yeah, and I still don’t buy it. It’s not for you to decide entitlements and to whom certain rights should go. As far as I’m concerned, we were all created equal.” He glanced again at Athena. She was smiling.
Overlook began to chuckle. “So, you would give rights to that thing, too?” he asked, pointing to Athena.
“Yes,” Chris said, without a pause.
Overlook sneered. “You’re an idiot. It’s a machine.”
“And, technically, so are you.” Chris turned to Sid. “Switch him off. Put him back in his prison.”
Overlook made to protest, but his words were cut short as his image vanished from sight. Chris remained silent for a moment, looking at the place where Overlook had stood. The man was gone, never to be seen or heard from again, unless they chose to restore him. Something suddenly occurred to Chris.
“Ha,” he said.
“Chris?” Sid asked.
“Is it just me thinking so, or have we just solved the entire Immortal League problem?” Chris asked.
Sid looked at Phoebe, Ursula, and Athena, whose faces were blank. “I’m not following.”
“As Tyler told us,” Chris said, “the League won’t act unless Mal tells them what to do. The last time he disappeared, they retreated and waited for him to return. Only this time, he won’t be coming back. I think there’s a good chance his followers will actually believe that he was killed in battle. This time, for good.”
Sid again looked sceptical, Ursula and Phoebe just shrugging. “I’m not sure, mate. How do we know they won’t just carry on going without him? You have a lot of people all getting behind an idea. They’ll not just up and abandon it because of a minor setba ...”
Chris grinned as Sid trailed off, well aware of the irony. “Just like the Resistance didn’t quit either, eh?”
“I think Chris is right,” Athena said. “When the League haven’t seen Mal for a few months – maybe not even as long as that – they will conclude that he did die at the shipyards. That will come as quite a blow to them and, without a leader, they will lose faith in their movement. He was supposed to be leading them on a mighty pilgrimage, one that isn’t actually going to happen now.”
“And if the members of the cult are anything like the former members of the Resistance, they might actually start to realise that Mal was nothing but a phoney. His cult will gradually disband altogether, and that will be that.”
The five looked at one another, waiting for someone to point out anything they had missed. No one did, and it seemed to Chris that the problem of the cult really was just going to resolve itself.
“So, when are you going to hit Sol?” Ursula asked.
“Once you’re rested,” Chris said. “I need both you and Phoebe to be in peak physical and mental condition.”
“I’m ready now,” Ursula said. There was bloodlust in her eye
s, as well as her voice.
Chris wanted to tell her that he didn’t wish her to kill anyone, that machines were their target. He wasn’t sure he was going to convince her of that, however, and he was aware he had no idea of the extent and nature of the suffering she had been subjected to. Revenge was the driving force behind Ursula now. She should still rest, though. He didn’t want her to collapse of mental exhaustion midway through a critical battle.
“Rest,” Chris said. “And prepare yourself. This probably won’t be easy.”
“It definitely won’t be easy,” Athena said.
“Where will we go in the meantime?” Sid asked Chris.
“Back to Spirit, to Hail,” Chris said. “I want to go and see Hugo.”
“Why?”
“Call it a hunch, but I think he might have known Kline and Dexter Kethlan.”
Chapter 27
The coffee was good, better than Chris had been given the last time he had been at Hail. Perhaps the people here had found a better supplier, or maybe Hugo had simply held onto the good stuff for special occasions. If it was the latter, this was certainly one of them.
“Dexter was a good lad,” Hugo said, looking down into the mug that he cupped with both hands. “He and Kline used to be inseparable.”
“And you knew both of them?” Chris asked.
“For a time, when they were both little boys of about six or seven, yes,” Hugo said. “They came to one of the small rebellion bases for a few weeks, and spent most of the time running about the place, breaking things and causing chaos. They were dressed identically back then. I never realised at first, but I found out later that they were being passed around and hidden from WEAPCO because of their psionic abilities.”
Chris started. “What?”
Hugo did not answer at first, almost as if he was disappointed with himself, and confirmed Chris’ suspicions with his silence.
“WEAPCO were after them because of their talents,” Hugo said.
Chris scowled. “So, you knew that William Benedict wasn’t the only one, that there were others capable of the same thing. Why did you not tell me? Why didn’t you tell me that twins could do such things?”
Hugo sighed. “Apart from the Kethlan and Benedict boys, I have never heard of any other twins that were able to control machines with their minds. I didn’t want to go spreading false hope and information, and so I, as well as a lot of other people, decided to keep my mouth shut about it. It was just easier that way.”
“So, they were both capable of controlling machines?” Chris asked.
Hugo nodded. “Kline changed as his powers grew, and he gradually became more and more aggressive, his gift totally consuming him. Dexter tried to help him but wasn’t able to hold back his brother. And while Dexter was able to control his talent, Kline was totally corrupted by it. The two were sort of yin and yang; Kline becoming, almost quite literally, Dexter’s evil twin. It’s a very sad story, as I’m sure you can appreciate.”
“Yes,” Chris said. “Yes, it is.” There was again something in Hugo’s eyes, a regret that went beyond the story he had told. Perhaps he was once again thinking about his own two boys.
“Did Kline Kethlan kill the other Benedict?” Chris asked. “Leo, I mean.”
“I doubt they would have known about one another,” Hugo said. “As far as I understand, the psionic power only works between pairs, and not between other twins. Leo would have been identified in much the same way that your friend Ursula Lexx was.”
“Do you know anything about the deal Kethlan cut with WEAPCO?” Chris asked.
“Other than what Overlook already told you, no,” Hugo said. “It was for purely selfish reasons, though – he did it to save his own life, and was willing to sacrifice his own brother to get what he wanted. You’ve seen that starfighter of his?”
“The Fer-de-Lance? Yes. It’s powerful.”
“Custom built, just for him. The only one in its class.”
Chris nodded. Based on what he had read of the fighter’s specs, the Fer-de-Lance was two, perhaps three, grades up from the Firefly, the Cyclones sitting in the middle of the two. But then, a vital part of any craft was the pilot that flew it. The Firefly had been upgraded since the last encounter, and Chris was sure that in another head-to-head with the Fer-de-Lance, he could take it. Not that he wanted to kill Kethlan. He would never deliberately kill another human being, so long as he could help it.
“That’s about as much as I can tell you, I’m afraid,” Hugo said. “But given what you told me about the Upper Circle, I imagine that they don’t want him to remain human for much longer. The only person who could give you all the details is Kline himself.”
“Then that’s who I’ll have to ask,” Chris said. He drank some more coffee.
“You’re not going to kill him?”
“No.”
“You may not have any choice,” Hugo said. “In fact, given what’s happened to him, you may actually be doing him a favour. It’s totally messed him up, Chris.”
Chris didn’t respond. For a time, he thought of Ursula and Phoebe, of how Ursula was a lot more aggressive than her rather placid twin sister. Could she eventually become like Kline Kethlan? Could she become twisted and corrupted by her own powers? No, he did not think so. Ursula’s aggression was a result of what she had been subjected to during her time as a guest of WEAPCO, while she was the Upper Circle’s plaything. He had nothing to worry about with those two; no terrible deals would be done there.
“You okay?” Hugo asked.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Chris said. “I was just thinking about the girls.”
“Don’t worry about them. If the gift was going to affect either of them, it would have done so already.”
Chris let out a small sigh of relief. He had suspected as much himself, but it was good to hear it from another person. He stole a glance back in the direction of the docking bay.
“That Valkyrie I saw the last time I was here,” he said. “I want to take it with us, upgrade it, and give it to Ursula to fly. Her sister already has one. Do you really need it?”
“You can have it, sure,” Hugo said. “It’s barely moved at all in months but should be in perfect working order. I’ll get one of the lads to fly it up to that freighter of yours.”
“Thanks for everything, Hugo.”
The two finished their coffee.
Chapter 28
It had been long enough, Chris decided, as he lay on his bed in the Dodger. Two days of mental preparation, as well as going over the plan time and time again, checking every detail and piece of intelligence they had gathered. After only a few weeks, they were ready to make their final move against WEAPCO. He could hardly believe it had actually been this straightforward. It had taken the Resistance more than forty years of planning, recruiting and training, and it had all gone down in flames within hours of the operation starting.
It was clear to Chris that his own attack on WEAPCO was going to go a lot smoother than that. There was the distinct possibility of victory. He wasn’t ruling out the chance of defeat, and knew that they might die, but he was willing to take the risk. This was a fight for freedom and equality for all. Better to die free than live as a slave.
His door chimed, and he pulled himself up off the bed. Perhaps one of the others had come to check in on him and make sure he was okay. They had been doing that every few hours, but he had shooed them away each time, asking them to give him more time. He would tell them now that he was ready to make the jump to Sol, and for Phoebe and Ursula to prepare themselves. He opened the door, expecting to see Sid on the other side.
“Oh,” he said in surprise. “Hi.”
“Hello,” Ursula said.
“Is ... everything okay? Has there been a problem with upgrading your ship?” He was sure the task had been completed without a hitch. The woman had also been able to take control of the reconnected AI module without any issues. What the problem could be, Chris wasn’t sure. Out of everyone that
might have come to visit him, Ursula was last on the list.
“No, nothing like that.” Ursula smiled warmly. “Can I come in?”
“Um, sure,” Chris said, allowing her to do so. She closed the door behind her, Chris noting that she flicked the switch to lock it. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“It’s me, Chris. It’s Athena.” Ursula continued to smile.
“Sorry?”
“It’s Athena. I know I look like Ursula, but it’s me.”
Chris studied the small blonde woman standing before him, before reaching out and touching her arm. He felt the texture of her sleeve and the movement of her skin and muscle beneath. He slid his hand down to hers, feeling the warmth and softness there. He softly touched her face and then her hair, allowing the strands to move through his fingers. All felt real, all different from what he had come to expect of Athena’s avatar. When the avatar was solid, it was consistently warm and a little fuzzy to the touch. It was a functional representation of a human being, but one that lacked a certain substance. It was easy to tell that it wasn’t real.
Ursula/Athena waited patiently, smiling almost mischievously as Chris continued his investigation. “Ursula’s loaned me her body,” Athena explained after a time.
“What for?” Chris asked.
“So that I could come and see you,” Ursula/Athena said, stepping a little closer. Now it was her turn to investigate him. She ran her fingers over his face, feeling his cheeks, following his nose, stroking the stubble on his chin.
“Was ... there any particular reason for it?” Chris asked.
“I just wanted to experience a little more, just in case,” Ursula/Athena said, taking both his hands and interlocking their fingers.
“In case what?”
“In case,” was all Ursula/Athena answered. “Your hands are warm.” She put a hand on his face once again. “All of you is. I never noticed that before.”
“People generally are,” Chris said. He detected a trace of unexplainable nervousness in his voice. How had that gotten there?
“It’s nice. Let me hug you.”
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