“Not as dead as you might think.” The dwarf turned his head, his movements hindered by his restraints.
“Hey, it is Zane! How’s it going buddy? Here to get us out?”
“Sort of.” Zane hesitated. It was against all his training to work with the enemy but the people on this ship weren’t the enemy, least not the enemy he had been programmed to think of as the enemy. Still, it might be treasonous to even be considering working with them.
“Can I have a minute?” He asked Omar. The woman seemed prepared to argue but Omar nodded and pressed the button which slid the door shut. “I’ve been offered a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” The suspicion was clear in Serena’s voice.
“The kind that keeps us alive and gives us half a chance to stay that way. Listen, we have a simple choice: help them gain access to a station or get spaced.”
“This station, is it of strategic importance?” Franklin asked.
“You could say that.” Zane proceeded to fill them in on what he had been told. By the time he finished Serena looked hesitant and Franklin looked thoughtful. He waited for one of them to speak. There was a long silence and Zane feared they wouldn’t agree.
“Makes sense.” Franklin said at last.
“What does?” Serena couldn’t keep the suspicion out of her voice.
“Zane has made the correct choice, given the circumstances. There are too many variables to be certain but this is the only way we can gain more information. Our deaths serve no purpose. Our lives may yet accomplish that which we have been designed to do.”
“How can you think it is a good idea to let these outsiders gain access to this station? Especially if what they say is true and our creators live inside it.”
“Easy. I have had access to many databases over the time I have been alive. I have never heard of a station orbiting that planet. Nor have I heard of an attack taking place on the surface. It is an anomaly. There have been actions to control every rock bigger than a ship in the rest of the system but nothing concerning this planet. It is astounding that I would overlook a planet of such strategic importance, much less the untold iterations of myself created before now. I’m inclined to believe it was a deliberate blind spot placed in my cortex. I’d like to know why. Working with these ‘outsiders’ will give me access to that information.”
“And if it results in the death of our creators?”
“It seems that they will destroy the station if we do not help them. We have already seen that their firepower is far superior to our own. If the creators really are on this station then our helping these people may be the only way to keep them alive. As well, you may consider this our best chance of hitting the enemy at its core.”
“Ok, if Franklin is going along I will too.”
The other two members of the team accepted the implants without any trouble and soon were preparing to enter the station. Omar pulled up a surface scan for them to work from. The structure had been a ship at one time but now it resembled nothing so much as a skeleton of a ship stationed in orbit around a world. Scans of that world showed heavy industrial systems and mining operations but no human life. Franklin said what they were all thinking.
“Why is it empty? I thought we were protecting the homeworld. It looks like someone stripped it bare long ago.”
“Where are the cities?” Serena asked. “There are massive excavations but no cities. Did anyone ever live there?”
“Doesn’t look like it.” Omar answered her. “Scans show a world which would have responded well to the terraforming systems a colony ship like this one would have had access to. Now with the massive pollution from the industrial work being done it would take as long to clean it up as it would to make it a viable biosphere. Seems like a waste of a perfectly good world.”
Zane took all this in silently. The answers to these questions would come once they were aboard the station. He didn’t waste time on conjecture. It served no purpose.
Boarding the station was almost too easy. There was no security on the airlocks. The group moved quickly into the first corridors, weapons drawn. Omar had made a point of showing them that the energy weapons they had been given would not fire directly at him or Bella. The creature, Pulan, stayed behind on the ship.
Zane took point and as he turned the first corner he almost ran into a young woman. The woman’s eyes got wide as she took in the squad of heavily armed men and women coming into view. Her clothing seemed to serve no purpose other than covering her skin and was colored in sharp contrast to her surroundings. He dismissed her as a threat almost immediately.
“You aren’t supposed to be here.” The woman said, her voice high and shrill. “You need to leave, now!” She pointed a finger back the way they had come in what could be interpreted as a commanding gesture. Zane heard Bella choke back a laugh behind him.
“We aren’t going anywhere without answers.” Omar said.
“You don’t understand. You’re carrying those.” She pointed at the weapon in Zane’s hands. “All that is for outside. We don’t do that kind of thing here. We are civilized beings after all.” The woman’s voice changed as she acclimated, becoming aristocratic and haughty.
“Well, it’s inside now so get used to it. Take us to your leader.” Bella growled.
“Which one?” The woman asked. “Pela or Fogerty?”
“Whichever, both.”
“They are likely in the arena, debating. They never seem to tire of debating.”
“Fine, take us there.” Omar said. The woman seemed hesitant but Bella and Serena’s dark eyes and the unwavering muzzles of their weapons convinced her. She led them toward the center of the ship. Zane kept a watchful eye out but the other men and women they passed seemed as harmless as the young woman. There seemed no point in detaining any more of them. The woman led them to an entryway and pointed at it, distaste in he gaze.
“They’re in there. I don’t have anything to do with politics myself. I find it uncouth. May I leave?” Omar nodded. He reached into his belt and started to pull out what Zane figured to be explosives when Bella reached out and slapped her hand on the door panel, causing it to slide open. The group entered a room large enough for a hundred to float in comfortably. In the center of the room was a massive table split down the middle with a screen of some kind which extended some distance beyond the edges of the table. There were several men and women on each side of the table, none armed.
Zane moved to a better defensive position and examined the table and its occupants more carefully. From his vantage Zane could see that each side of the table had a hologram simulating the solar system. Each was peppered with colored dots, but they were different on each side. The occupants, seven in total, were so caught up in what they were doing that barely registered the entrance of the team. Finally an old man who was seated at the end of the table nearest Zane noticed the red dot from a weapon pointed at the screen and looked up.
“What is the meaning of this? We are in the middle of a debate session!” The old man screeched. The others stopped and looked up as well at the sound of his voice.
“Are these interlopers the reason I haven’t gotten a reply to my last edicts?” The leader of the other side of the table asked, also looking up, visibly upset but unafraid. “Did you arrange this Pela? It is clearly against the rules of debate. Quite unorthodox. I must admire your gumption though. There may not be specific rules concerning outside forces.”
“Me? That is clearly a Z class soldier, one of yours. If anyone is responsible here it is you, Fogerty. Don’t think there won’t be sanctions for this.”
“Shut up, both of you!” Omar’s voice boomed in the small room. Zane had a hard time believing the voice came from the usually soft spoken man. Omar continued. “We aren’t here for the benefit of either side. We’re here to discuss your complete surrender.”
“Surrender? Whatever do you mean?” The man identified as Fogerty replied.
“You will both order your troops to
cease all offensive actions and submit to the will of our Fleet.”
“We can’t do that? We are in a critical debate right now. Can’t you come back in a month or so? Once we resolve this aspect of the dispute we will be happy to hear any suggestions you may have concerning the disposition of land and resources.”
“Critical debate? What are you talking about?”
“The war effort, obviously.” The nearer man, Fogerty said, clearly exasperated. “I had this old goat on the run when your ships arrived, interrupting all convention. Then you proceed to open negotiations with his,” The man sneered the word and pointed a finger at his opponent. “his forces and ruin the debate entirely. How can we be expected to come to a fair and equitable agreement with you upsetting the balance of power?”
Omar looked dumbfounded at the man’s rant and was clearly trying to formulate a reply and failing. It was Franklin’s voice that broke the silence, his words quiet but somehow echoing. “This is a game to you? Thousands of us die daily and you call it debate?”
“It is no game!” The man replied indignantly. “We are deciding the fate of the world below. It was decided long ago that we would not begin terraforming until we could resolve certain conflicts about how the planet was to be run. When normal diplomacy failed, it became necessary to use stronger measures to press our points.”
“If the planet has been ruined from all the industry and mining done, what is there to fight over anymore?” Bella asked.
“That was his people’s fault.” Fogerty said. “The rules of debate expressly forbade landing troops on the planet. It was to be kept out of the conflict.”
“We didn’t land troops.” Pela retorted. “There was nothing in the agreement about landing automated mining equipment. And it didn’t take your people long to land your own mining drones.”
“We had to restore the balance of power, didn’t we? We have a right to defend our positions from your illegal activities.”
The two men began shouting at each other and Zane slid toward Franklin and Serena. Omar and Bella seemed occupied with trying to stop the two from arguing. He turned to Franklin, an eyebrow raised in questioning.
“It’s all a stupid game to them.” Franklin said. “We’re out there dying and they sit here in comfort and safety divvying up this planet.”
“Well, what can we do about it?” Zane asked.
“I know what we can do.” Serena said coldly. “Which one is the enemy?”
“The enemy?” Franklin seemed dumbfounded at her question. “What does it matter? That one said Fogerty was our boss so he must be in charge of the other side.” He pointed at the man on the far side of the room. Serena raised her rifle and calmly blew the man’s head across the room. Silence followed the report of the weapon, then all eyes turned to the little group. Serena slid forward toward the other leader.
“Sir, we have eliminated the opposition. Victory is yours.” She snapped a salute at the horrified man.
“No!” Fogerty moaned. “Not like this! You weren’t supposed to hurt him. What have you done?” The man stood and pushed his way toward the body. “You monsters!”
Serena stood where she was. Zane could see the sense of triumph in her eyes giving way to uncertainty. Beside him, Franklin muttered under his breath, “You foolish girl. You poor, foolish girl.”
Zane watched his leader, the man who was responsible for his existence cry over the enemy’s body and something broke in him. Serena had started shaking, her mind unable to grasp what she had done wrong. Fogerty turned to her, anger in his eyes.
“You monster! I’ll see to it you’re killed for this.” He rose and started toward her. She raised her rifle instinctively, its end hovering toward but not at her creator. Omar, who lay in her field of view, raised his own and began to shout a warning, telling her to stand down. Serena turned her attention to him and her aim focused. Zane heard Franklin’s whispered, “No…” a moment before he saw the bomb implanted in her neck explode.
The flash of light was almost blinding. Zane didn’t even hear the blast, only the deafening silence that followed. Franklin moved slowly to Serena’s side and held her hand lightly in his own. Zane let his eyes flow across the room to Bella and Omar. The woman’s hand was still holding her wrist where she had activated the explosive. For all her bluster, the woman seemed distraught. Zane watched numbly as Omar put his arm around her in comfort. His eyes though, locked with Zane’s own, their expression unreadable.
The room was silent for a long while, each occupant trapped in their own misery. Zane felt nothing but a low tension and a buzzing in his ears. He had no reason to feel pity for the dead leader of the enemy, nor for the large woman who had just killed a member of his team. He thought he ought to feel something for the death of Serena but in his mind it was merely a waste of a good soldier. There was an emptiness inside him where he knew such feelings should reside. In truth the only thing he felt was a sense of detachment from those around him. He wanted to act, to resolve the situation. The feelings of those around him felt wasteful.
While the people around him moaned and cried, Zane walked up to the table and tried to discern how best to send a stand down signal or at least disable the device. The technology was beyond him but it seemed like it would be up to him to complete the mission. He was able to find menus for actions and started queuing orders for the troops to halt operations and not to interfere with the fleet from outside. Walking to the other side of the table he repeated the commands for the other side of the conflict. As he finished he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Good job, soldier.” Omar stood behind him, his eyes careful, guarded. “I’ll tell Pulan to stop jamming long enough for the orders to go out.”
“Thank you… sir.” Zane answered. “What else would you have me do before I return to my prior service?” Omar seemed upset by the question and responded with one of his own.
“Does any of this make a difference to you? Do you really want to return to killing others for men like this? I won’t stop you if you do. I’m just trying to understand.”
“What else can I do?” Zane replied, his voice sounding dead even to his own ears. “I am a soldier. It seems obvious that I cannot remain on this station. I don’t make sense here. My only other choice is to return to my kindred and die with honor.”
“I won’t go.” Franklin’s voice came ragged and sharp from where he sat by Serena’s body. “I can’t return to that life after seeing how pointless it all is.” He turned to Omar, tears in his eyes. “Please, kill me now. I don’t have anything left to live for.”
Omar looked from Franklin to Zane, his eyes clouded. He moved to Bella and the two spoke in low whispers for a minute. Bella looked doubtful at the outcome but shrugged.
“I’d like to offer you a third alternative.” Omar said. “You could come with us. We have room on our ship for at least two more. We’ll transport you to another system and give you a chance at another life.”
“Why would you do that?” Franklin asked, the tears in his eyes drying in confusion.
“I know something about despair, young man. I also know something about feeling trapped in your circumstances. Bella saved me from myself at a dark time in my life. The Fleet gave me a choice when I had none. I’d like to give you both the same chance, if you want it.”
Franklin turned his gaze to Zane and the two shared a long look. Something ineffable was decided between them and Franklin nodded slightly.
“Yes, we will go with you.” Zane replied.
After the stand down orders were issued to the troops, Omar asked Zane what he wanted to do with the great table which had decided the lives of so many. Zane thought about it for a long while before Franklin gave him an answer. The troops were ordered to begin the long process of cleaning up the planet which should have been their home. They would work to terraform it with the resources at their disposal. It would take a long time. Hopefully in that time they would find a way to peace. Then they destroyed the machin
e and the arrays which sent out the transmissions. In time the troops would find the small station orbiting the planet. What they did then no one could know.
Chapter 7
Zane and Franklin found themselves aboard a ship of the Fleet once more, this time as guests and not as prisoners. The alien called Pulan removed the explosive implants in their necks soon after the ships left the system, Omar believing there was no further need for them. Zane wondered silently if that was true. He had seen the look in Franklin’s eyes as the woman, Bella, passed them in the corridor. He said nothing to Omar though. Zane’s loyalty to the sole remaining member of his squad was more fervent than ever, as though it were concentrated by the losses. He waited until he was alone with Franklin to speak his mind.
“Franklin.” He said. The small man glanced up from the circuitry he was examining. Even in the midst of his grief he seemed fascinated by the advanced technology of the Fleet ship. His eyes were red and rose slowly to meet Zane’s.
“Yeah?” Franklin’s voice was dull, lifeless.
“I need to know if you’re planning on doing anything rash.”
“What do you mean, Zane?”
“Don’t make me spell it out. Look, we’re alive. She’s dead. We can’t change that. She died fighting a war we aren’t a part of anymore. We need to leave that behind us.”
“Do we? Do we just forget that she was killed by that woman?”
“Yes, we do. Bella was protecting her CO. She acted as a good soldier would in the circumstances. I’d have done the same if someone aimed their weapon at Richards, before. We can’t blame her for doing her duty.” Franklin turned to him, rage burning in his eyes.
“You don’t think I know that!” He shouted. “You think I don’t know Serena brought it on herself? She was confused. She thought she had just accomplished what we only dreamed of doing. She had ended the war. She did her duty better than anyone else and she was killed for it. How am I supposed to let that go? Tell me!”
“I don’t know.” Zane replied. “I just know that you have to. If you can’t, you’ll get us both killed. Is that what she would have wanted?”
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