Forbidden System: A Benevolency Universe Novel (Fall of the Benevolence Book 1)

by David Alastair Hayden

  “Where did I go wrong?”

  She tapped her temple.

  “The chippy malware I bought was crap, wasn’t it?”

  “It’s quite good, actually.” She winked. “The police department spent quite a lot of time crafting it.”

  “Well, shit.”

  The museum’s security team met them on the way out. After a scan of Shira’s credentials and his body, to make sure he hadn’t taken anything else, they were allowed to proceed. As they headed toward her police skimmer, Gav caught sight of a coffee stand half a block away. He could pick out the rich aroma all the way from there.

  He gazed up into a nearly full moon and sighed contentedly. “Could I at least buy you coffee?”

  “You know,” she said sternly, “I’m starting to regret this.”

  But he knew she was joking. He knew—how he had no idea—that the instant connection he’d felt with her ran both ways. And inexplicably, it probably was love.

  She pulled up to the stand and bought them both coffees. But she didn’t take his cuffs off. He had to sit and smell it without getting a taste. Punishment, he supposed.

  And she billed him for it the next day.

  Three years ago…

  It was a Sunday afternoon, much like any other, and Siv was five and a half. It was raining, large droplets pattering against the windows of their apartment on the fiftieth floor. Gav was about to leave on an expedition that would have him away for at least nine weeks, many more if he found what he was looking for. Gav hugged Siv and gave the boy his usual speech about how he would come back safely and this was his life’s work and it was what he had to do. The guilt speech. He had it memorized now.

  He loved Siv, he did, but he had never been able to fully wrap his head around being a father. Admittedly, he was often away on expeditions for weeks, sometimes months at a time. And while he missed his family, it was Shira he came back for, not Siv. Shira was his heart, his compass. Siv was a sweet, precocious boy, but Gav had never felt the intense bond he’d expected to.

  Siv hugged him back and smiled. “Daddy, I understand. Mom takes down bad guys. You dig up old stuff that’s important…for some reason.”

  “Well, there’s a little more to it than that.”

  Siv ran over and grabbed a box off the shelf. It was wrapped in bright green paper. “I got you a going away present. I used my allowance. All of it.”

  “That’s a lot of credits.”

  “It’s all my birthday money and what I earned for doing chores.” They had cogs to do all the cleaning. Siv’s chores were to help the cogs, for character building, and to complete a large set of daily brain teasers. “I wanted you to know how much I love you, and I didn’t want you to forget me.”

  He ruffled Siv’s brown hair. “I could never do that.” He shook the box. “I wonder what it is…”

  Siv shoved him. “Just open it.”

  Gav unwrapped the gift, slowly peeling the paper back to tease Siv, who began to bounce on his heels impatiently. When he finally opened the box, Gav’s eyes went wide. Stunned, he sat down in the middle of the floor, staring at the present.

  “It’s an ancient artifact!” Siv said proudly. “I found it for you! I wanted to help you out.”

  “You…you found this?”

  “At an auction site online. I know you work really hard to find Ancient artifacts, but this one didn’t take any work at all. I didn’t have to go anywhere to get it!”

  Shira barely restrained a laugh. “He found it all by himself. I just helped him purchase it.”

  “Now that you’ve got this,” Siv said, “maybe you won’t have to be gone as long this time.”

  Utterly amazed, Gav stared at the Vrazel Mask fragment he’d once stolen. This bogus artifact had brought him and Shira together and had ultimately led to Siv’s birth. And now here it was in his hands again.

  He looked at his son and suddenly saw himself and Shira blended into something…someone unique and precious. Just like when he'd first touched this mask and met his wife, Gav was speechless.

  “You do you like it, don’t you, Daddy? Mom said it was a perfect gift. She said you’d love it.”

  Gav looked up into his son’s eyes and smiled. “I love it. It’s absolutely perfect.”

  Siv danced around. “Knew you would, knew you would.”

  He corralled the bouncing child in his arms and hugged him tight. “You know what, Siv? This is actually the most valuable artifact in the whole galaxy. I can’t believe you found it.”

  “Really?” Siv twisted his face up in confusion. “I only paid a hundred credits.”

  “It is priceless to me.”

  The boy’s face lit up. “Does that mean I’m an archaeologist now, just like you?”

  “Yes, you are. And now, I want to put this in a case so I can take it with me and put in the cabin on the Outworld Ranger. Whenever I look at it, I’ll think of you.”

  “Can I go with you? Someday, I mean.”

  “Someday, Siv. Someday.”

  The Present…

  Gav relived his encounter with High Priestess Lyoolee Syryss on the deck of the Ancient ship. And it was no less wondrous the second time. If anything, he appreciated it more since he was no longer overwhelmed by a mixture of awe and confusion.

  And then suddenly, he again found himself in the chair in the Ancient outpost, staring at the pedestal holding the Ancient weapon. He was nearly out of breath, and tears were running down his cheeks. He hadn’t merely thought about those moments in his life, he had experienced them all over again…every sight, sound, and smell…every beat of his heart.

  The cold voice returned. “You have just revisited your three most cherished memories. Choose the one you will forget.”

  Gav nearly leapt out of the chair. “Those are my choices?!”

  “Those are the seminal moments of your life.”

  “The last one…it just happened. I hardly have perspective on it!”

  “Was it not something you longed to experience nearly all your life? Was it not your greatest professional achievement?”

  “Well, yes, but…how do you know?”

  “I was built for this purpose. I know.”

  He flopped back into the seat. “I refuse to forget the day I met Shira. And Siv…”

  Gav loved his son. He couldn't forget the day Siv had become something more to him than a mere child, the day he had become his cherished son, the day they had forged an unbreakable bond.

  And he would rather die than forget the day he met Shira. If he couldn’t remember that, then there was no point to anything.

  He would…he would have to forget meeting Lyoolee Syryss.

  But that would be okay. He was going to save her by doing this. And she was going to call to him when she returned to real space. He would find her again, and she would remind him of what had taken place. It would all be fine. He didn’t have to remember talking to her. He didn’t have to remember being on the… Damn.

  “If I forget meeting Lyoolee—”

  “High Priestess Syryss.”

  “Yes, if I forget that experience, will I even remember the purpose of having forgotten her? Will that also erase the memory of what I must do to save her?”

  “Perhaps?”

  “You don’t know?

  “The mind is a fragile and complex system. And the High Priestess’ instructions were artificially implanted in your mind. It is impossible to predict how they will fare.”

  “If I choose to forget meeting the High Priestess, could you then tell me the sequences I need to follow to save her?”

  “No.”

  What was he going to do? If he forgot the sequences Lyoolee had implanted in his mind then he would have lost his greatest professional achievement for nothing. He might end up sitting pointlessly in this chair, knowing less than he had a few moments before.

  Gav gripped the arms of the chair, clenching his eyes shut.

  “Sir, are you alright?” Silky asked.
/>   Gav gave the okay sign half-heartedly.

  “I’m getting some strange readings on your vitals, sir. I will continue to monitor.”

  Lost in thought, Gav barely managed a thumbs up.

  “Time is running out, Gav Gendin,” the outpost’s mind said, sounding entirely unconcerned. “You will not be able to survive the chair much longer. It will soon begin to take a toll on your body and mind. Make your choice.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Gav Gendin

  Gav couldn’t forget the priestess. She was his destiny. And if he didn’t rescue her now, she might never get saved. Centuries would pass, and eventually her stasis pod would fail or the ship would fall apart, and the last of the Ancients would be lost. He couldn’t let that happen.

  But he absolutely would not forget meeting Shira under any condition. There was no memory more precious to him.

  So that left only one option.

  Gav tugged at his hair and groaned. He really was a bastard of a dad, and that he was even considering this was proof. He was already hardly ever home, and he was never there for his son, especially these last few years when Siv had probably needed him the most. Instead of rallying around Siv after Shira’s death, Gav had thrown himself into his work, going out on longer and longer expeditions. All because he couldn’t stand the thought of being home without Shira. All because the mere memory of Shira was still far more important to him than the son they’d had together.

  He was a terrible father. Taking extraordinary risks in far away systems and leaving his boy at home to fend for himself. To purposefully forget that day would be the ultimate insult to his son, the ultimate admission of his failure as a father. And it would forever ruin their relationship. He would have less connection to a son who needed him, a son he was already running away from. He could tell himself whatever lies he wanted about video recordings and Siv recounting the day he’d given him the mask and the chances for forging new bonds. But he knew the truth. The sacrifice the outpost offered was about the future as much as the past.

  He couldn’t give up his family for anyone, not even the last living Ancient. He couldn’t give up that part of himself. He might die in a few minutes, in a few days, and in the end he would rather have thoughts of Shira and Siv in his heart than Ancient priestesses and their lost starships.

  “Outpost mind, if I choose to forget the priestess, could you please at least tell me my purpose before I interface with the ship?”

  “I could try, but if you lose the context, I’m not sure it will matter what I tell you. You may hear the words and not even understand them.”

  “I have to try.”

  “You have made your decision then?”

  A knot formed in Gav’s stomach and he felt as if he might vomit. “I choose to forget meeting High Priestess Syryss.”

  “So be it.”

  “Wait! Give me a minute to prepare.”

  “As you wish, but do not take long.”

  Gav thought of holding the Vrazel Mask in his hands. It was cruel irony that he was giving up meeting an actual, living Ancient on one of their starships for memories centering on a fake artifact. But maybe he could bend those emotional connections to his advantage.

  All three of those emotionally charged memories had one thing in common, the Ancients, so he focused everything he knew about the priestess and what she had asked him to do on the image of that mask lying in the opened box Siv had given him. He tried as hard as he could to associate the memories, so he could hold onto as much of what she had told him for as long as possible.

  He imagined the mask in the box being complete. He imagined Shira wearing the mask as a joke. He imagined High Priestess Lyoolee Syryss wearing that mask in an elaborate ceremony. He imagined it was actually her mask, left behind in a temple as she fled from her enemies.

  Holding onto those images, he took several deep breaths then told the outpost mind he was ready.

  “I am now extracting the memory.”

  Gav locked his mind on the mask.

  He jerked suddenly, his brain reeling as if he’d just suffered a concussion.

  “Your purpose is to recall an Ancient ship,” a cold voice said.

  Picturing the mask in his hands…on Shira’s face…in the gift-wrapped box Siv had given him…worn by a strange and beautiful alien woman… He opened his mind to the ship trapped in hyperspace, allowing the reboot sequence to flow out from him. He didn’t resist anything that came from his mind. He entertained no thoughts but simply focused on the mask.

  By focusing on the mask, he would reset the Ancient ship so it could return from hyperspace so he could save…so he could…

  Gav convulsed, and nearly passed out.

  “What…what happened?”

  “You rebooted an Ancient ship,” a cold voice said. “It will return from hyperspace and land on the neatest outpost world.”

  “Which world?”

  “Not this one. I know no more than that.”

  His eyes drooped. “What ship? Why?”

  “I can tell you no more, Gav Gendin, save that you did well. Rest now. You have earned it.”

  “I did?”

  “We will not speak again, you and I. You cannot handle the strain of another session. Farewell, Gav Gendin.”

  Gav woke from a dream about the Vrazel Mask to Silky screaming in his mind.

  “Sir! Wake up!”

  He stirred and looked around. He was still in the outpost. He had slumped from the chair onto the floor. His head was throbbing. His body was so stiff he could hardly move.

  “Sir, you need to drink some water and eat. You’ve been unconscious for two days. Your vitals are plummeting, and I’ve done all I could for you. I can’t do any more till you get fluids.”

  Gav moaned through parched lips as he twisted around and reached into his backpack. He drew out his canteen and drained it. He wanted to drain the other, but knew better than to drink too much at once while dehydrated. He’d need to pace himself a little.

  “Silky, I interacted with the outpost mind. I recalled an Ancient ship from hyperspace.”

  “You…you spoke to a mind and summoned an Ancient ship?”

  “I rebooted it, so it could return.”

  “You remotely rebooted an Ancient ship that was still operational?”

  “Somehow. And now it’s going to land.”

  “Here, sir?”

  “Somewhere else. An Ancient outpost world, the mind didn’t know which. There was more to it all, I’m certain. But it’s not coming back to me.”

  “You sure you didn’t imagine it, sir?”

  He considered the possibility. “No, I’m sure of it.”

  “Well, that would explain your crazy vital signs, sir, and why you couldn’t communicate with me. You must’ve been communicating in the Ancient language. I’ve seen Eyana experience something like that.”

  “I have a feeling there was a lot more to it all, but…I guess it was too much for my mind to comprehend and hold onto. I was interfacing with technology intended for another species, after all.”

  “Sir, maybe you could sit in the chair and interact with this mind again to find out—”

  “Can’t. It told me I wouldn’t be able to handle the strain of using it again, that another session would kill me”

  “Then I don’t recommend it, sir.”

  He drew out a protein bar and took a few bites. He started to fall back asleep, but as the food hit him, he began to relax and what had happened dawned on him fully. He had done something, somehow, that was going to recall an Ancient ship from hyperspace, a ship full of unknown technologies, artifacts, maybe remains. A spark of excitement and hope lit within him.

  “Just think, Silky, somewhere out there, an Ancient ship is emerging from hyperspace. It will go to the nearest outpost world and land. So all we have to do is figure out where that might be.”

  “Hopefully not on another Krixis world, sir. I’d like to spend some time back in the Benevolency.
Assuming, I get to stay along with you for the ride. Most likely, I will be returned to military service.”

  When Gav woke again a few hours later, he felt stronger. He drank more water, ate two whole bars, and decided to go back to sleep, using a sedative.

  When he woke the next day, mists were starting to form along the edges of the outpost and the yellow lights had begun to shift back and forth. Every time he moved, his head hurt and a wave of dizziness made him think he might vomit.

  “The hyperphasic sickness is returning.”

  “We should leave then, sir. Put the amulet back in the drawer. Let’s see if that will take us out.”

  Gav stumbled over to the pedestal and placed the amulet in the drawer. It snapped shut, and the world shifted around him. He wretched several times when he reached real space, but he didn’t have enough in him to really throw up.

  “Level five scan commencing, sir.”

  Gav drank water and downed a meal packet. “And?”

  “The Krixis warship is gone, sir. Shall I signal the Outworld Ranger now?”

  “Is there still a way out of here for me?”

  “There is, sir, though it’s rather dicey, and I don’t know that you have the strength to climb through.”

  “I’ve got one stimulant injection left.”

  “I’ll send a coded signal to your ship. You’ll need to move fast. I think they keep this system monitored. As soon as they detect a ship again, they’re going to move in.”

  “Let the crew know.”

  Gav walked around, stretching his limbs.

  “The crew is prepared, sir. Are you ready?”

  Gav headed toward the exit. “Let’s do it.”

  When he reached the door leading out into the tunnels, he dosed himself with the stimulant, exited the outpost, and took off in a loping run.

  “Broadcasting the repulsion signal at full strength, sir, to keep the beasties away. I’ve loaded the route you need to take into the primary window in your HUD. It’s a tight squeeze, but I believe you can manage it.”

  Enic and Rina helped Gav onto the ship. He refused his cabin and had them dump him into the command chair. He donned the interface circlet as they returned to their stations. Tal Tonis already had the ship rocketing toward space.