by Matt Verish
Chrys stepped away from Jude, startled by his outburst. Her legs were shaking. She wasn’t ready for this.
Jude resumed his emperor’s waltz about the hallway, his back to her. “You may be right about me, Chrys. One would have to be crazy and paranoid to front this operation. That’s why I have Yeats to help coordinate my diabolical plans. Heh.”
Chrys cast a fleeting glance toward the man coming up from behind her. She sighed and did nothing as he produced a plastol and pointed it directly at the back of Jude’s head.
~
“Why does everyone call it an operation?”
Cole committed to memory the look of utter shock on his brother’s face as he spun around to face a ghost in Yeats’s attire pointing a gun at his face. He slammed the butt of the weapon into Jude’s face, breaking his nose and dropping him to his knees. The force of a well-placed boot to the solar plexus doubled over the Raven’s leader, leaving him gasping for air.
“Just say what it is,” Cole said, taking a step back, though he kept the plastol pointed at the top of Jude’s head. “It’s a criminal enterprise.” He smiled.
Jude coughed, working his jaw to speak, but no words came out.
“What’s that, Jude?” Cole asked. “I was little too rough?”
“Was that necessary?” Emmerich asked.
“As necessary as your Oscar-winning performance. You’re going to need an agent to represent you. The roles are gonna start pouring in. Just don’t forget who helped make it all possible.”
“Shut it, Musgrave. Don’t be a smart-ass. Not now.”
“Why not?” he asked, his attention still on Jude. “This is the perfect to time gloat and monologue about how smart I really am. I just need my audience of one to be a bit more captive.”
“You manipulative little piece of shit,” Jude said, strained. He accidentally wiped a swath of blood across face and stared at his hand. He shook with obvious rage. “You should have killed me.”
“Nah, that would’ve defeated the purpose of all this pomp and circumstance. ‘Sides, I don’t want to kill my only brother. Breaking your face and dropping you to your knees, however, is totally acceptable...and quite satisfying.”
Jude made an attempt to stand, but the resulting blast mark inches from his leg gave him pause. His glower was worth a thousand blood-thirsty daggers.
“Don’t make me burn a hole through your kneecap,” Cole said, adjusting his aim. “’Cuz how else are you going to support that gorilla frame of yours?”
Jude’s glower changed to confusion. “How did your weapon not set off the alarms?”
“Ah, an excellent question,” Cole said, elated. “It’s the same reason you can’t make contact with any of your subordinates. It’s simple: CAIN.” He tapped beside his eye. “Also, my Ocunet was never deactivated. No one bothered to make certain I was dead, so with the help of Doctor Lin Dartmouth, your own Richter Solomon, and a functional AI, we navigated this dump of a mining facility and seized control of its primitive security.”
Cole took a full breath. “How did I cheat death, you ask? Step one: Trust a beautiful engineer to research, concoct, and implement a Shakespearean anesthesia cocktail to fool even your own brother’s dumb ass. She even researched and made the antidote, courtesy of the pharmacy SolEx provided in the Icarus med bay.
“Step two: Incite a real fight with your crew, but make sure they know the full plan. My everything still hurts like a bitch from that brouhaha. A big thank you to Chrys and Rig for that, though they could’ve pulled their punches.
“Step three: Make sure the plastol energy setting is set low enough to leave no more than a nasty flesh wound. Still hurts like a bitch, though.
“Step four: Get stuffed into a damaged cargo crate—which Chrys shot, by the way. Rely on the efforts of your cornered crew to not panic and slip up. And hope to awaken in time to enact this convoluted, crackpot of a plan.”
Jude seemed to process every word before asking, “What about Yeats?”
Cole sucked air through his teeth. “Ooh, yeah... About him. Sorry, but he traded places with me and got torpedoed into the great black yonder. He gave me this nifty gangster suit right before I emptied out his head. I didn’t appreciate him assaulting my girlfriend while I was coming out of my deep slumber.” He snapped his finger, and mimed tossing a piece of garbage into an imaginary bin. “We don’t need him anyway. Not with the new regime.”
Jude shook his head. “You’ve gone too far, little brother.” The words were spoken quietly, but their weight was immense.
“No shit! Of course I went too far. You put me in this predicament. ‘Sides, how else am I going to get my way?”
Jude reclined and draped his forearms across his knees. “And what, exactly, is your way? Blackmail? Escape? Profit? Speak quickly before this game of yours finally comes to an end. I have a business to run.”
“ ‘Business,’ ” Cole repeated, unconcerned. “Yes, let’s talk business. Rather, let me present to you my proposal so you understand how serious I am.”
Cole gestured to the window overlooking Astercor’s mining operation. “You can stand up for now, but if you don’t play nice, it’s bye-bye kneecap.”
Jude sighed heavily and rose to approach the thick glass, his hands clasped behind his back. “Are you going to unveil this master plan of yours?”
Cole laughed. He joined Jude’s side—well out of his reach. “You’re a real piece of work. Pretending you’re still in control. Let me demonstrate how little control you actually have. Cain. Shut down all of Astercor’s mining machinery.”
The given order resulted in a dramatic and immediate reaction. The gargantuan, ceaseless excavators went dark and abruptly halted. The flood lights over the vast open pit blinked out. It was like staring into a black hole.
Cole used his hand as a visor to better see into the darkness. “Huh. I bet that sucks for Astercor. Those tons of precious minerals and ice, just sitting inside this asteroid, begging to be mined. I wonder what investors will say when they learn production is down. I mean, who knows how long it’ll take to get things back up and running. Could take a loooong time.”
“Are you done gloating?” Jude asked, his voice calm but deadly. “Because though you’ve demonstrated your adversarial worth, your AI’s can’t exert mind control, and it most certainly will not protect you from me.”
“You just walked right into the next part of my monologue,” Cole said, struggling not to laugh. “You see that hauler right there?”
Jude stared into the abyss. “You know that I do not.”
“Sure you do,” Cole insisted. “You have the complete manifest of all live machinery in your Ocunet. Just like me.” He pointed, and the lights for a single materials hauler illuminated, appearing no bigger than a fingernail from where they stood. “There it is! The 2100E Titan Hauler, number SPI-980. You see it now, right?”
Jude was silent.
“Yeah, I do too.” Cole knocked his free hand on the glass and gave a thumbs up to the massive automated vehicle. “Looks like it has a full load. It should probably deliver all those goodies before something bad happens.”
The hauler began to move as soon as Cole finished speaking, though it drove straight over one of the mined cliffs, meeting an unfortunate end at the bottom of the pit.
“Whoops! I’d hate to be the guy who has to sweep that up.”
The tension in Jude’s jaw and brow betrayed his fury. “How deep does this go?”
Cole’s eyes lit. “That is an excellent question, and one to which I will gladly provide you an answer.” He gestured toward the offline mining operation. “That was just a taste of things to come if you don’t hear me out. First, let me introduce you to Cain. Cain, say hello to Jude.”
“He’s such a gentleman,” Cole said. “But don’t worry, he’s only broadcasting in this area of the facility. No need to let everyone in on the
conversation.
“I can assure you that I...that we have complete control of Astercor. And while I know for a fact that you’re waiting for the opportunity to tear my tongue out through my ass, I can’t stress enough the need for you—for everyone associated with Astercor and the Ravens—to refrain from violent action. Caution is the name of the game, Jude. Use caution, or expect catastrophic results.
“As I speak, the Icarus—which is quite functional, by the way—with Cain and Rig—are en route to Astercor and should land at any moment. They’ll be given first class service, anything less might cost another hauler to lose its way.
“Did I mention the use of caution on your part? In case I didn’t stress this enough, I will demonstrate just how deep into the proverbial rabbit hole I have climbed.” A live video feed of the UniSys Galactic Web Satellite dish appeared on the glass in front of them. The current date and time was displayed in the corner. “Remember when you had us attach that wonderful little Smasher device to the back of the dish? You know, the job that is inadvertently causing all the political tension throughout the System? Well, you’re not the only person benefitting from all that juicy information.”
Cole stepped away from the glass, while pointing his sidearm at Jude. “Seems that not only can we receive information, but my buddy Cain can also broadcast his own version of entertainment at will. You’re aware that everything first passes through them scatters across all corners of the galaxy, and finally enter our Ocunet feeds. Imagine what could be done if someone other than our trustworthy government was able to manipulate what was broadcasted.” Cole shrugged.
“You expect me to believe you somehow managed to override UniSys safeguards?” Jude asked, his head inclined toward Cole.
“Do you really need me to interrupt everyone’s favorite programming to make my point? I only have breaking news, and it most certainly would not behoove anyone in this room to air our dirty laundry. So you best just trust me on this, as difficult as that might be for you.
“If however, you decide that I’m blowing smoke up your self-absorbed ass, understand that there is one main catalyst to set off this bomb, and it isn’t me. While I might have played an integral role in setting up the dominoes for this chain reaction, I am only one person.” He gestured toward the screen where an Astercor security camera showed the arrival of the Icarus. “Cain, however, is the true mastermind. He will be the omniscient being that will decide whether or not to enact project Doomsday. Everything is under his command, and he has been given express permission from his best friend—me—to press the panic button and do as he deems necessary if I, Chrys, Lin, Rig, or any part of the Icarus is endangered. Most of all, pray nothing bad ever happens to Cain. The end result will be the same.”
Jude took a deep breath as he watched the video feed. Cole could read the beginnings of defeat written all over his face.
“Yeah, I thought it all through,” Cole continued. “It’s what happens when I’m pushed too far. I rebel. I’ve always been a rebel. Rebellion runs in the Revan bloodline, I suppose. How else does it explain what we did to our parents?”
“You confuse rebel with lunatic,” Jude said.
“Says the murderous maniac who fronts a criminal empire under the pseudonym of Darkstar.”
Jude hinted a smile. “This elaborate scheme of yours—does it carry a timetable?”
“From now till the end of time,” Cole answered seriously.
Jude shook his head. “Brash, as always. Dad always knew you were the more psychotic of the two of us. It’s why he kept you away.”
“What a guy.”
Jude nodded, returning his attention to the dark mining pit. “So, what is it you want, Cole? If not to see me dead, then what? To exact revenge by watching me fail? To return the favor by making me carry out one of your own insane missions? To take my place and make me your lapdog? What?”
Cole shook his head, agitated his brother could still assume an air of authority. “All great possibilities—especially the last one—but wrong.”
Jude frowned and faced Cole, his hands at his sides, palms out. “No more theatrics.”
Cole finally holstered his sidearm. “I want to be your partner.” He watched as a range of expression played across Jude’s face, and he wondered if maybe his brother was having a stroke.
“ ‘Partner,’ ” Jude repeated dully.
“Yup. Fifty-fifty.”
Jude’s shoulders slumped, an avalanche of mass and muscle cascading down, diminishing his hulking form with his exhaustion. “You risked everything—including everyone involved—to get a promotion?” He flashed Emmerich a look of bitter disappointment.
“This is the sort of thing that happens when our backs are crushed against the wall. It’s liberating, and you only have yourself to blame.” Cole crossed him arms and leaned against the glass. “Had you not gone back on your word after we accomplished that insane satellite dish job, maybe things would’ve turned out differently. Maybe then I could’ve approached you in a civil manner and politely asked you to consider raising our statuses from fodder to full-fledged partners. Hell, maybe we all could’ve participated in that nice little plan of yours to take out Terracom.
“But noooo! You had to be the same old back-stabbing, soulless, fratricide-attempting dickhead who underestimated his little brother one too many times. Now it has to be this way. Now you have to accept me as your equal...superior, considering the circumstances. If you don’t... Well, you already know the outcome.”
Jude straightened and took a step toward Cole. “You really are an insufferable twat. I should’ve killed you the moment you first set foot on the moon.” He stared long and hard, as though deciding whether or not to pummel his brother into the floor. His grim countenance was infiltrated by a familiar, sinister grin. “But you beat me at my own game, and there’s no point in delaying the obvious outcome. I was wrong about you. It takes balls the size of Jupiter to do what you did. And as much as I loathe to say it, you have my respect.” He held out his hand to shake. “You win. Partner it is.”
Cole’s own gloved hand was nearly swallowed whole as he snatched Jude’s without a second thought. He squeezed with all his might, but it was like trying to crush stone. “Partners.”
“Equals,” Jude stressed, and Cole’s knuckles popped under the pressure.
Cole hesitated, but nodded nonetheless. “We will be as long as you play by Cain’s rules.”
“You left me no choice.”
Cole smiled. “As did you.”
Jude retracted his vice grip and returned his hand behind his back. “As a sign of good faith, I would very much appreciate it if our AI overlord brought this facility back up to speed.”
Cole flexed aching hand, and gave it a quick shake. “Perhaps you should personally meet your ‘AI overlord’ before making any requests.”
“Must I?” Jude asked, his anger seeping back into his baritone. “This interruption has cost me dearly.”
Cole mimicked his brother’s businesslike stance. “As your brother—and new partner—trust me when I say that this meeting is an absolute necessity.”
8
COMPLETE
So close.
This was the thought of the System’s first truly artificially intelligent life form on the brink of death. To be close enough to literally reach out and grasp at life, but at the same time be so very far away, brought about an emotion not yet experienced by CAIN. This emotion—the feeling of dread—spurred a desperate decision.
Its friend and captain was relying solely upon CAIN’s efforts, placing all hope in a final play to save the entire crew of the Icarus. Cole Musgrave was well aware of the present situation, and CAIN had made sure to relate the ultimatum the moment the ship had touched down in Astercor.
Time was of the essence to see everyone to safety, though it was CAIN’s time that was nearly spent. The android body was in critical condition, the countdown close to zero. The server was just above—corrupted, yet begging to
be touched. The end might come with either choice, but rather than meet an imminent demise, it decided to tempt fate.
All that was needed one simple touch....
~
Cain. Cain?
The AI never ignored a response. Cole had kept in contact with CAIN the duration of the coup, and he had understood just how close his friend’s android body was to failing. Now, after a tentative deal had been struck with Jude, the crew was headed toward the ship, and each step felt like he was walking to his execution. There was nothing he could do about it but face his own empty threats.
Cole detected through Ocunet that the AI was still connected to Astercor’s security. As long as CAIN held onto the digital leash, the Ravens would be kept at bay. It wasn’t a matter of how long, but when.
Cole moved his hand to his hip and unbuckled his sidearm.
Cole lost a step and bumped into Emmerich. When she glared at him, he realized only he could hear the AI. Cain, buddy! Glad to hear you. Please tell me you figured out a way to slip back into your brain jar.
Don’t worry. We’re on our way right now. I’m bringing help. He just doesn’t know it yet.
That’s not good.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Jude said, breaking Cole’s conversation. “That’s unlike you. I half expected you to gloat the entire walk, or at least explain why I’m being herded aboard your stolen ship.”
Hold on a little longer, Cain, Cole pleaded. His mouth twisted in response to Jude’s comments. “I’m a serious businessman now. I need to act and think more accordingly.”
“Hm. Most businessman don’t stare off into space when accompanying their partner.”
