Ophelia was sitting on a stool at the counter, wearing a light blue dress, her legs exposed below the knee. Her hair fell in golden streams on her shoulders. She even wore makeup. A man in his early twenties was sitting next to her, and Adrian found the two of them engaged in a lively conversation.
“Ophie, what’s going on?” he asked in lieu of a greeting.
Her face blanched as she turned to him. Her eyelids fluttered like the wings of startled butterflies, and she set her half-finished cocktail on the counter. “Father? You’re here?”
“No, I’m a hallucination,” he deadpanned sternly. “Ever heard of delirium tremens?”
“No, no, father, I’m not drunk. I’m just…a little tipsy.” She giggled, probably finding that last word funny.
The boy scrambled to his feet, mumbled an apology, and scampered to the bar’s exit. The security detail stood at attention, expecting a reprimand.
Adrian crossed his arms on his chest. “Tipsy. You find that funny. What did I tell you about alcohol? What are you doing here, dressed like that? Do you realize how special you are? You have a gift, Ophie. You’re unique. You’re probably—”
“The key to the future of our species!” Ophelia shouted, imitating Adrian’s voice. “Yes, dad, I know. You’ve told me that a thousand times. How special I am, how unique I am. Know what? I never asked for any of this. I never asked to carry that burden, the destiny of an entire species. I may be a genetic freak designed by the Taar’kuun, but it also happens I’m a woman. And I want to live my life.”
Shocked by his daughter’s outburst, Adrian remained speechless.
“I’ve been locked up in a cell my entire life,” she continued. “I know more about the mysteries of the universe than about simple things, like hanging out with kids my age or having fun.”
She turned to the other customers who watched the scene from a distance and spread her arms. “Fear me, mortals!” she shouted. “I can wipe out an entire fleet with a snap of my fingers! Hidden forces of the universe obey my will! I’m a living weapon of mass destruction!”
Then she turned to Adrian again, grabbed her cocktail, and raised the glass. “I’m no god, father. I’m not a god, a weapon, or an asset. I’m a living, breathing human being. You want to take me back to my cell? Then I toast the end of my short-lived freedom.”
She tossed back her cocktail, then coughed, tears streaking her cheeks.
Adrian wanted to hold her in his arms and comfort her, but he stood petrified.
“I’m very sorry about that, sir,” the sergeant in charge of the detail said in low voice. “She had only two drinks. We didn’t know that could have such an effect on her. We’ll escort her to her apartment.”
Still in shock, Adrian nodded absentmindedly. He realized he had a lot to learn about being a father.
*****
While Ophelia was taking refuge in the ladies’ washroom, Adrian received an emergency call.
“What now?” he snapped.
“I know you’ve been through a lot, but we need to talk.” That was Winsley’s voice.
Adrian cleared his throat. “I’m very sorry, admiral. I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I’m just…tired. I’m on the Capitol. Don’t ask why.”
“I read your report with interest, and I wanted to talk about that Jotnar you brought with you.”
“We still call him Nine, but we should find him a proper name. Prof. Tenev is keeping him stable with daily injections. We’re also working on a retrovirus to revert him fully to Jotnar genotype.”
“I support your decision, doctor, and I agree it was unethical to stimulate Jotnar’s aggressive behavior through genetic manipulation. How long before we can start producing a virus to retroform the Jotnar?”
“We’re almost there. We already synthesized a few samples, but we need to test them. Finding volunteers for such a clinical study will be difficult, as you can imagine.”
“I see. It’s not like we had frozen Taar’kuun warriors in ample supply, but that can be arranged.”
“Weaponizing and delivering the retrovirus will be a challenge,” Adrian continued. “The Taar’kuun know about our research, and they’ll deploy countermeasures to prevent the infection from spreading.”
Winsley said after a brief pause, “In other words, we no longer have the element of surprise. That’s unfortunate.”
“Have you given thought to my proposal regarding the Rhizome?”
“I have. It’s a brilliant, but risky plan. I see many question marks. We know so little about the Rhizome. We’re not sure how it will affect spacecraft, mechanical or biosynthetic.”
Adrian glanced at the washroom doors impatiently. Ophelia was taking her time. They were near the hangar bay, and he could see the next shuttle to Base Alpha through a transparent wall. Boarding had already started.
“I’m working on this,” he said to Winsley. “We need to study a Rhizome cluster up close. The Remembrance would be my first choice for a risky scientific expedition, but I suspect the Rhizome won’t react well to a ship of Taar’kuun make. The Mirage would be a better choice.”
“Agreed. There’s no time to waste. Given the importance of this mission, I’ll put Captain Hunt in charge of the ship, and Commander Blaze will pilot it.”
“I volunteer to lead the expedition. We should also take Nine with us. I believe I started forming a bond with him, even though inter-species communication is challenging. Just give me a few hours to deal with…an urgent family matter, and I’ll be ready.”
“Of course, doctor. I’m glad to have you back. One thing concerns me though. You’ve been taking huge risks lately. With due respect, it’s out of character for you. Is it Blaze’s adrenaline addiction rubbing off on you? Or is there something else going on?”
“Believe me, I’m shaking in my boots every time there’s even a hint of danger in the air. But I want mankind to succeed, and I’ll do whatever it takes to help the Alliance. Besides, I’m not as defenseless as I used to be. On the way back to Neo, I had a few bionic upgrades installed.”
“As long as you’re careful and don’t lose your head, I’m fine with you taking calculated risks. But remember—relying on luck is not a valid long-term strategy. Winsley out.”
Ria appeared next to Adrian, casually leaning against a wall, her slender arms folded across her generous bust. “So it’s all about duty to the brave new humanity,” she said with irony.
“Oh, gimme a break, Ria. Are you gonna tell me I’m nothing but a congenital coward trying to convince himself and others of his bravery? Or maybe you’ll go Dr. Freud on me again and say it’s my inability to find a sexual partner that drives my risk-taking behavior?”
Ria shrugged. “You might be the smartest guy in the galaxy, but you’re still driven by basic instincts. Desire to be accepted and admired by your peers, desire for a woman who rejected you, desire to protect your offspring...”
“That’s what I hate about shrinks—you reduce human behavior to basic things, like lust or gregarious instinct. Can’t you admit we’re complex, enlightened beings driven by ideas and ideals?”
“You do realize you’re arguing with your own unconscious, Adrian?” Ria offered him a knowing smile. “Maybe Takamori was partly right; this new humanity is your unintended creation, and that creation frightens you. Yet you fell in love with it. You want to protect it, and you value it more than your own life.”
“Okay, that’s enough. I can’t afford to waste more time.”
To the female marine who was part of the security detail, he said, “Could you please go in there and ask Ophelia to hurry up?” He pointed at the washroom door.
She nodded and marched to the washroom. The three other marines, including the sergeant, waited with Adrian in the corridor.
A few seconds later, the female marine dashed out the washroom and shouted, “She’s gone!”
The other marines rushed inside, blasters in hand.
Anxiety compressed Adrian’s chest. Ophie has
been abducted!
In panic, he ran to the hangar bay, his eyes dashing from one craft to another.
The shockwave from an explosion hit him in the back and threw him to the floor. As he staggered to his feet, he felt the prick of a laser syringe on his neck. The hangar bay wobbled and spun around him, then gave way to darkness.
*****
Adrian regained consciousness in a ship’s cabin. It was narrow and contained only two bunks. He lay on one of them, and Ophelia was sitting on the other.
“Ophie, what happened?” he slurred.
She dashed to him with concern. “Father! You’re okay?”
Adrian rubbed his neck. “Think I am. A laser syringe, that’s a radical method to knock people out.”
“I’m so sorry for what I’ve said. I disappointed you.” There was sadness in her wide blue eyes. “You hoped I was the perfect being who combined all the qualities you admired most in humanity. I’m so sorry I broke your dream by not measuring up to your standards. The truth is, I’m as flawed as other people. You’ll never love me again.”
Adrian hugged her. “Ophie, everything you said was right. You didn’t disappoint me at all; you only showed me I still had a lot to learn about being a father.”
Ophelia gave him a little smile. “You mean…you’re not mad at me?”
He set a hand on her shoulder. “Worried, yes. Mad? No. We don’t love people because we find them perfect. We love them for their qualities, despite their imperfections. Sometimes, we love them because of their imperfections.”
The door whooshed open. “Very touching.” Takamori stood in the door frame, clad in full body armor. “I’m glad you’re still alive, Darus. I’ll give you a chance to make things right and honor your promise. You’ll lead us to Earth.”
Adrian shielded Ophelia with his body. “Leave my daughter out of this.”
Takamori shook his head. “Sorry, can’t do that. She’s as important to our cause as you are. But don’t worry, we mean her no harm. Follow me.”
Adrian gathered his courage, rose from the bunk, and stepped forward.
As the door closed behind him, Takamori pushed him toward a room with an operating table in the middle.
“Hey, what’s that for?” Adrian protested, pointing at the table.
Several people were gathered in the room, all in green coveralls. Earthists. Two of them, both strongly-built males, grabbed his arms and dragged him to the table. He resisted and yelled, but his efforts were vain. He heard Ophelia banging on the cabin door and shouting.
Restraints pinned him to the operating table.
“I admit I made a mistake,” Takamori said. “I believed you betrayed your children, but now I know it wasn’t your fault. You’ve been manipulated.”
“What?” Adrian was as surprised as frightened by the turn of events. “Manipulated? By whom?”
“The relevant question is—by what,” Takamori corrected him.
One of the Earthists wearing surgical gloves and holding a laser scalpel stepped to the operating table.
“Don’t worry, doctor,” Takamori added in a soothing tone. “We’ll set you free.”
“You’re all insane here!” Adrian yelled, tugging at his restraints. “Free from what?”
“From the Biozi parasite controlling you,” Takamori replied.
“Ria? You want to extract my PA?”
Takamori nodded, confirming to Adrian that the man who’d abducted him and Ophelia was very misguided, or maybe even ripe for the asylum.
32
Earth undefeated
The wailing of the ship’s siren announced that the Earthist’s plan was compromised. Takamori froze, his mind probably focused on the silent conversation with the ship’s pilot.
“The ASF will chase you to the end of the universe to rescue us,” Adrian said. “You better free us, if you value your lives.”
Takamori recovered his mobility and looked at Adrian. “We expected the ASF to chase us, but they won’t stop us. We’re going to Earth.”
Adrian repressed the impulse to roll his eyes and tell the Earthists they were delusional. “All right, I’ll help you,” he lied. “Free Ophelia, and I’ll guide you to Earth.”
“I’m sure you will,” Takamori said with a nod. “But first, tell us how to extract the Biozi parasite from your brain. Our surgeon needs to know the details. If you don’t comply, she’ll extract it anyway, but you might suffer brain damage.”
Adrian wondered how the Earthists knew he had a bionic PA, and why they thought the Taar’kuun were using it to control him. He wasn’t the only human with a Taar’kuun AI grafted onto his brain, and he found arresting the idea that such implants could be used to control behavior.
“Reassure me, you’re not a Taar’kuun agent, are you, Ria? Don’t answer; that was a rhetorical question.”
Out loud, he said, “Extracting my PA without killing me is impossible. She’s fused with my central nervous system. But your leader knows that. Shana Multan isn’t on this ship. She isn’t stupid. She doesn’t want to be involved in kidnapping. If you get caught, she’ll deny any involvement.”
Takamori’s nostrils flared, but Adrian glimpsed doubt in his eyes. “Don’t try to stall. We jumped to another system, and the ASF won’t follow us here. It’s not on their charts.”
“So how do you know about this system?”
“One of the smugglers, an Earthist sympathizer, provided us with the gravimetric map of this region. Now quit stalling and tell us how to extract your so-called PA.”
“I’m not stalling, I’m explaining that you’re the one being manipulated. Shana Multan doesn’t want me to lead you to Earth. If she knows about my PA, she also knows you can’t extract it without killing me. In truth, Multan wants me dead. Why? Because she has no intention to seek out the so-called Holly Planet. She’s not a true believer, unlike her adoptive parents. She seeks power, not spiritual enlightenment.”
Takamori frowned and opened his mouth to reply, but the siren bellowed again, and the lights in the room turned red. “Dammit!”
“Let me guess—the ASF followed you,” Adrian said.
“No, there’s an entire Biozi fleet led by a dreadnought. How’s that possible?” Takamori fulminated. “But we will reach our objective. We’ll use the Rhizome to travel to Earth.”
Adrian stared at him in disbelief. “Don’t tell me we’re near a Rhizome cluster! If so, I can help. Free me.”
“Not until the parasite is removed,” the Earthist said firmly. The ship shook, and he froze again for a second. “The bugs are going to board us. Everyone, prepare to repel boarders,” he shouted to the crew.
The Earthists stormed out of the room, leaving Adrian alone, still strapped to the operating table. “Damn religious zealots!” he yelled in frustration at their backs.
“Calm down,” Ria told him. “You know there is a solution.”
“Of course, my new implants!”
He had a small bionic compartment in his right forearm containing a laser syringe. He activated the implant using a mental command, and the syringe appeared in his hand. He used the laser to cut the restraint on his right wrist, then repeated the operation on all other restraints.
A series of clangs shook the ship, and Adrian recognized the gut-wrenching screech that followed. The ship had been hit by Taar’kuun bioshells, ordnance that punches through the hull and unleashes biosynthetic organisms designed to wreak havoc.
Once free from restraints, Adrian put the syringe back into his secret compartment and ran to the cabin where Ophelia was detained. It was locked.
“I’m here, Ophie,” he shouted through the door. “Hang on, I’ll find some tools and get you out.”
He instructed Ria to interface with the ship’s cyber-system and try to unlock Ophelia’s cabin, or find tools that could cut through its door. While she was working, he sprinted toward the rear of the ship where he hoped to find a workshop, a storage room, or a cargo bay containing tools. The corridor led h
im to a vast room equipped with a holo-projector.
Adrian activated the screen…
…and immediately regretted yielding to his curiosity. The panorama that unfolded around him was breathtaking to the point of being terrifying.
The network of Rhizome branches gleamed against space, spanning enormous distances. The cluster was probably as large as a stellar system, though the individual branches composing it were no thicker than a hundred meters. One of the branches disappeared into the black disk of a wormhole.
Following their craft, a fleet of Taar’kuun bioships was deploying. Adrian hadn’t seen such a concentration of hostile ships since the Battle of Chloris. The intimidating shark-like shape of the Megalodon-class dreadnaught occupied its center.
They’re here for me and Ophie. Unwittingly, Takamori brought us right to them.
Ria reported she couldn’t take control over the ship’s cyber-systems, but she downloaded the layout plan and found a laser cutter in a nearby storage room.
The sound of battle intensified. The Earthists were putting up a hell of a fight, but they were no match for Taar’kuun boarding technology. They were so absorbed by the fight they didn’t pay Adrian any attention.
He reached the storage room Ria had highlighted on his map and found the laser cutter, then ran back to Ophelia’s cabin.
A thick fog crawled through the corridor, indicating that a boarding squad was about to charge. The disks of assault drones burst from the smoke, spraying the ship’s defenders with corrosive darts. Leaving their agonizing comrades behind, the Earthists retreated to the next intersection. They barricaded the corridor with crates and unleashed a barrage at the charging troopers.
Adrian wondered how the Earthists had managed to obtain military-grade blasters. No doubt the smugglers had a hand in this. But he had other priorities than to think about the connection between the Earthists and the criminal underworld.
He shouted to Ophelia to get away from the door and started cutting.
Ria alerted him she was receiving a call on his emergency ASF channel. It could be a trick, but Adrian took the call. The authentication code was valid.
Survival Strategy Page 23
