The Darkness: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 2)

by William S Frisbee Jr

  Luke winced and checked the time. 0500. Early. Damn.

  His gym clothes were where he expected them. It felt like home, but it didn't. It was larger, more spacious. Topa Suresh had some very detailed scans of the Ultio and had transferred most of those details, but it was still different. The manufactories were already at capacity working on uniforms and warbots.

  Stretching out, Luke debated telling Musashi he would have to delay the workout. There was a lot to do, but Musashi wouldn't let it slide. Today he might get by with some minor injuries, but if he delayed, Musashi would be less 'kind' and the healing pool would be well tested.

  * * * * *

  There were more rag dolls for Luke to destroy. Musashi was going easy on him. Luke slammed the last rag doll into the ground, the stick it had been wielding flying off to crash into the mirror. The mirror didn't break being designed for it, but still it was a loud crash. The rag doll, in the form of Tonkan looked up at Luke with a wry smile. Luke's foe had the arm dislocated and nearly wrenched out of the socket. Luke stepped back and slammed a kick into its head before collapsing to one knee, gasping for breath. Two more rag dolls leapt to their feet coming at Luke, they both had sticks as well. Musashi must think Luke needed a beating. Luke looked for the stick that had slammed into the mirror. Too far away. The smell of blood and feces was strong and unmistakable. Musashi liked realism.

  The first one moved in swinging. Luke ducked underneath it and came up to grab the arm, pulling him close as the other moved in. Luke shifted his body to pull the first one off balance and into the way of the second.

  The door to the dojo slid open and Leonessa walked in to see bodies lying all over the floor. Musashi standing against the back wall glanced over at her as Luke slammed the foe he was holding to the ground. There was a snap as something in the rag doll broke. The second one moved forward as a third rag doll leapt to its feet.

  Once white mats, now had blood streaks, and there was no pattern to the shattered rag dolls. It looked like a massacre since there were at least ten bodies lying around.

  Leonessa's eyes grew wide as she moved to help Luke, the resolve on her face hardening.

  "Hold!" Musashi yelled as Leonessa came at one of the rag dolls with its back to her.

  Everyone froze, including a surprised Leonessa.

  "What are you doing?" Musashi asked her. Luke dropped to a knee, gasping for breath. He now had the stick the first one had been wielding.

  Leonessa looked around and Luke looked at her. Now Leonessa looked confused as she glanced at the frozen rag dolls that had been about to attack Luke.

  "Did you think this was real?" Musashi asked her.

  "Well," Leonessa said looking at Luke, covered in his own blood. One eye was almost swollen shut and there was a large purplish lump on his cheek. A trickle of blood coming from his mouth made his face look better than the rest of his body.

  Leonessa looked at Luke, finally understanding. "Do you usually train this hard?"

  Musashi smiled, Luke nodded.

  "It. . . has been. . . a while," Luke said in between breaths.

  The second droid struck, smashing the stick into Luke's head. Luke instinctively grabbed the wrist of the attacker as he fell back seeing stars. It hadn't been a real attack Luke knew, just a reminder to not drop his guard. Luke pulled the rag doll forward and off balance, then stepped in and threw the rag doll over his shoulder, slamming it into the ground, then twisting the arm he was still holding until it snapped.

  "That was a mean trick," Luke said, shaking his head.

  Musashi shrugged as if Luke has mentioned there was a ceiling above them.

  Leonessa moved closer to Luke, her eyes still flickering between them and the room. Luke knew he looked terrible after a quick glance at the mirrors. The damage couldn't be that bad. Could it?

  "That is enough for the day," Musashi said and the two surviving rag dolls moved about collecting weapons. Smaller repair bots came out and collected the fallen rag dolls while another set of robots came out to clean up the mat.

  "I don't want her to cry," Musashi sent privately to Luke.

  "Shut up metal head," Luke sent back.

  "It has been a while," Luke said standing up. His knee hurt, internal diagnostics reported it had been twisted, and the tendon was strained. It wasn't too bad, but it hurt.

  Taking a step Luke realized his right leg wouldn't support his full weight, so he limped.

  "You need help?" Leonessa said, moving forward to take his arm, putting it over her shoulder to help support his leg.

  "I'm okay," Luke said. "Time to put the healing pool to work, see how well it works."

  "Healing pool?" Leonessa asked. Luke's first response was to pull away from Leonessa and walk on his own, but maybe this one time he would accept help. Although she smelled like regular soap, there was another smell Luke couldn't identify, but he liked it.

  Musashi was also less likely to try something with Leonessa close.

  In the next room, a gentle mist hung in the air covering a large hot tub, the bubbling water and lights below the surface made the pool look warm and inviting. The wood paneling on the floor and walls was calming, and the ceiling looked like it was open to the stars. The air was chilly encouragement to get into the pool. Luke pulled off his shirt and sweat pants, thankful he was wearing shorts underneath and threw them into a basket. Leonessa stood by, helping as she could but she seemed to be watching Luke, his bruises and injuries.

  "I'll be okay, really," Luke said. "Thank you. It usually takes me an hour or two to recover and it gives me time to go through messages and research while my body heals."

  Leonessa nodded, her expression guarded.

  "The dojo should be presentable now," Luke said. "It doesn't take long. Be careful with Musashi, he is in a mood. I don't think he will take it out on your but I would recommend going for a run and doing weights or you will probably join me."

  Leonessa's smile brightened the room in Luke's opinion and Luke sank down into the pool with a contented sigh.

  "Okay," Leonessa said, but it looked like she wanted to say more as she turned and headed back out.

  * * * * *

  Musashi was standing there watching the robots clean up the dojo when Leonessa came out and turned to her as she approached.

  "So?" Musashi said. "What shall we do today? We can practice karate, ju-jitsu or maybe some weapons or-"

  Leonessa kicked him between the legs. It was almost a reflex on her part and she put little thought into it. Musashi came up a few centimeters with a look of surprise on his face and then fell back into a karate stance.

  Almost collapsing from the pain in her foot, Leonessa realized that Musashi was not a real man, and he was made of hard materials.

  "Fiddle sticks!" Leonessa said wanting to grasp her foot but not willing to lower her guard as Musashi inched backwards.

  "Karate then?" Musashi said. He wasn't smiling.

  "You third rate, metal headed, over priced, junk yard robot!" Leonessa said trying to stand but not yet willing to put her full weight on the foot now in agonizing pain.

  Internal diagnostics reported a broken bone in her foot and nanites were repairing it. It should be healed in less than an hour.

  Musashi remained silent watching her, unsure. He obviously didn't understand what was going on.

  "You are one sadistic bucket of bolts, aren't you?" Leonessa said. Pain killer were easing the pain, but the bone was still broken and putting her full weight on it to getwasn't a good idea.

  "Polymer, ceramics and plastic actually. Why did you attack me?" Musashi asked staring at her.

  "Why did you attack Luke after you called a hold?" Leonessa countered.

  Musashi nodded and dropped his stance, maybe understanding now.

  "Ah, I don't want him to drop his guard," Musashi said. "This is a dojo. I would never seriously injure my students but I must make sure they will not fall prey to distractions or deceit out in the real world."

&
nbsp; "You enjoyed it though, didn't you?" Leonessa asked and Musashi looked surprised.

  "Why would I enjoy it?"

  "Fiddle sticks," Leonessa said, shaking her foot, getting the blood to flow, taking the pain killer to different parts of the foot.

  "I came in and thought he was fighting for his life," Leonessa said. "Or you were directing the robots to kill him."

  "We call them rag dolls," Musashi said. "They are specialized robots we only use in the dojo. They have soft parts and a basic structure like people so he can train against a very realistic foe and doesn't have to hold back or go easy. My students get used to fighting different body types, weights and capabilities."

  "I understand the concepts," Leonessa said. "I didn't expect to see Luke so beaten and covered in his own blood."

  Musashi nodded, "I see. My apologies lady. You were moving to assist him. Admirable."

  Leonessa glared at Musashi.

  "So perhaps with your foot being broken, running or martial arts is out. We have weights over there and I can increase the gravity if you like."

  "Leave me alone," Leonessa said and turned away from him.

  Musashi stared at her, not sure what to do.

  Limping over to the weights, Leonessa chose the free weights and sat down on a bench and dialed them up to a less comfortable level and did curls.

  Musashi walked over and looked down at her. She studiously ignored him as she lifted the weights.

  "I'm sorry," Musashi said quietly.

  Leonessa looked up at the ceiling but studied him from the corner of her eye. Musashi's body language and facial expression made it look like he was being apologetic.

  "I should have known," Musashi continued. "Seeing him bleeding, battered and under attack is not something you enjoyed."

  "An understatement," Leonessa said.

  "Do you care for him?" Musashi asked.

  The weight paused and she looked up at the black droid.

  "What do you care?" she asked.

  "I care," Musashi said. "I know he cares for you."

  "He is a good leader," Leonessa said looking back at the ceiling and not wanting to give Musashi any information.

  Musashi's trademark half smile appeared on his face as he looked at her.

  "I may be an android, a human analogue and not a real human, but that doesn't mean I'm unintelligent or clueless," Musashi said. "Which has advantages. How is your foot?"

  Leonessa scowled but didn't answer.

  "You caught me by surprise," Musashi said. "It may not have been the most appropriate attack, but I have learned a great deal from that attack. Thank you."

  Looking up at the droid the scowl didn't leave her face.

  "That isn't what I wanted," Leonessa said. "Next time my response will be more measured and accurate."

  Musashi nodded. "It is good to learn from your mistakes. I will be on my guard, however."

  Leonessa just answered with a deeper scowl.

  "Isn't it customary that when two people like each other, they spend more time with each other?" Musashi asked.

  "I am in his chain of command," Leonessa said. "Check the regulations metal head."

  Musashi nodded. "I know of the regulations, but I also know Luke is not a real stickler for rules and regulations."

  Leonessa had nothing to say about that as she changed hands and lifted with the other arm.

  "Yes," Musashi said. "Luke makes the same argument. You are both consummate professionals."

  "How do we get around that?" Musashi said looking back at the dojo. "I think you would both be happier together. Luke has never been this sociable around other humans in my experience, and I have known him for decades. It is something I would like to encourage. Even I feel he is not living his life and neither are you."

  Leonessa remained silent and switched arms again.

  "How secure is this dojo?" Leonessa asked.

  "It is secure," Musashi said. "I have swept it for surveillance devices almost hourly."

  "Can you keep a secret?" Leonessa asked looking up at him.

  "No," Musashi said. "Not unless I want to."

  "It seems like everyone wants me to get involved with Luke," she said and Musashi nodded. "Especially Commodore Morals."

  Musashi's eyes narrowed as he looked at her.

  "I don't have Commodore Morals identified as a kind, caring type of person," Musashi said.

  "He is not," Leonessa said. "He is a fanatic."

  Musashi tilted his head, encouraging Leonessa to continue.

  "Perhaps I'm missing something," Musashi said and Leonessa sighed.

  "My mother still lives on Athena station, which is still under the jurisdiction of the Jupiter Alliance."

  Musashi nodded.

  "This means that Jupiter Alliance Intelligence has authority to conduct operations aboard Athena. If I didn't love my mother, it wouldn't be much of a problem."

  "Oh," Musashi said, seeing the problem.

  "But you like Luke, right?" Musashi asked and Leonessa rolled her eyes.

  "I don't want to spy on Luke for Morals you dumb droid," Leonessa said. "Do you want me to get crayons and diagram this out for you?"

  Musashi chuckled but Leonessa didn't feel like laughing.

  "Humans are so complicated," Musashi said. "I think I see some of the problems."

  "Some of the problems?" Leonessa asked looking up at Musashi again before switching arms for another rep.

  "Any ideas?" Leonessa asked.

  "My solution would be to kill Morals," Musashi said. "I'm not sure if Luke would complain too much but I think it would cause him some grief with the Prime Minister."

  "Seriously?" Leonessa asked.

  Musashi shook his head. "If I had to make a decision that is what I would do. Another option would be to black mail him in return but I'm not good at such subtle, less honorable approaches."

  Leonessa grabbed another type of weight, dialed in her number and leaned back to push them against the ceiling. Her arms were burning.

  "What are you going to tell Luke?" Leonessa asked.

  "Right now? Nothing," Musashi said.

  "Nothing?" Leonessa asked, wasn't his loyalty to Luke?

  "Nothing," Musashi confirmed. "I think he would kill Morals, and I'm not sure that is the best solution. But I will share this information with Duncan."

  "Duncan?" Leonessa asked and Musashi smiled.

  "His new assistant," Musashi said.

  "But he is new," Leonessa said. "What good will he be?"

  Musashi smiled.

  "He was named after a fictional character in a book from long ago," Musashi said. "A loyal and capable teacher. Duncan's focus is not on a specific combat art, or a combat function, it is a general assistant. The fictional Duncan was a warrior, a diplomat and teacher. Lots of leeway there. He is learning quickly, consuming books at an incredible rate. His favorite book is The Prince by Machiavelli as I understand it. Not typical reading for others in Luke's service."

  "Thank you," Leonessa said.

  "You're welcome," Musashi said. "You should dial your weights up a few pounds, you can handle it. We wouldn't want you to get soft and weak, do you?"

  Leonessa scowled at Musashi. When her arms extended Musashi reached over and dialed up the weights a few more pounds.

  "There," Musashi said with a smile.

  "Oh fudge," Leonessa said lowering the weights and feeling it.

  "Same reps," Musashi said. "Unless you want me to dial them up."

  "This hoovers," Leonessa said struggling to push them back up.

  "If you have enough energy to complain, you have enough energy to increase the weight," Musashi said and Leonessa shook her head.

  * * * * *

  A half hour later Leonessa limped into the room with the healing pool and stripped off everything except her shorts and sports bra. Luke did his best and tried not to stare and think of other things before his body betrayed his interest.

  "Martial arts workout?" Luke
asked and motioned at her foot, which was swollen and still healing.

  "Not exactly," Leonessa said. "I did weights but Musashi 'helped'. He is sadistic."

  "You just figured that out?" Luke said with a chuckle.

  The door opened and Brita came in, dripping sweat. She froze as she saw the two of them there.

  "Am I interrupting something?" she asked, her eyes going back and forth between them.

  "No," Luke said. "We were just talking about what a wonderful coach Musashi is."

  Brita laughed and stripped, throwing all her clothes into the corner where the robots would take them.

  Luke and Leonessa averted their eyes as she slipped into the pool nude.

  "Oh, this feels wonderful," Brita said sinking down to her neck. "I missed this."

  Brita opened her eyes again and looked at the two of them. "I'm really not interrupting anything?"

  Luke and Leonessa shook their heads.

  "I did a run," Brita said. "This ship is three kilometers long and there is a workable running track. Musashi gave me a time limit and told me if I didn't make it I would get to do a half hour of sparing with him."

  "I beat the time he gave me by a minute," Brita said.

  "Bad move," Luke said. "Should have aimed for beating his time by a few seconds. The next time he gives you a run he will drop the time by a minute."

  Brita shrugged. "That's fine. I'm feeling good today, going out with a Sandla rep to look at the frigates and upload your control codes. Should be fun. They seem to be a lot better than your old ones. You have names for them yet?"

  Luke shook his head and rubbed his bruised cheek. "Not yet. Number them for now. Any word from Captain Simmons?"

  "Sounds like he has moved most of his things to the Crusader," Brita said. "Turns out there was no provision in the contract for the fate of an old ship in the contract so he is stuck with a broken battle cruiser. He is looking to bolt on some additional cargo holds and upgrading the AI to make it an autonomous merchant ship."

  Luke nodded.

  "Amanda said we can carry about seventy-two fighters," Leonessa said. "Twice what the Ultio carried, and she is trying to get a price from the Nalee for those fighters. Jeremy is working with Gray to increase the warbot stores. We will have to get more raw material though to bring it up to a full regiment. The other droid officers seem to be integrating well and Colonel Gray is doing a lot of virtual reality exercises with them. Falla Shum is going through the security permissions and systems, trying to download as much as he can from the Conglomerate military on station."