“The AI installed in your computer system is very intelligent,” Kaufield informed her, tapping his right temple for emphasis. “And nothing is impervious to a sophisticated, wireless intrusion. This entire facility is now under my control using a link with our warship up in orbit. They supply me with anything I need in terms of power or information.”
She reached out impulsively and touched him on the shoulder, watching a soft blue glow instantly form around her fingertips at the point of contact. A faint electronic crackling noise reached her ears. “You have truly allied yourselves with powerful aliens,” she admitted. “Who can stand against weaponry like this?”
“It isn’t just handed out to anyone,” he told her in response. “That’s one of the major reasons why it took us fifteen years to come back. We were given the general concept, but had to take it from there and design our own hardware.” He fell silent for a moment and allowed her another moment to gain back some of her composure. “So,” he asked finally. “What are you planning on doing with the rest of your life?”
The question caught her by surprise, for obvious reasons. “I don’t know,” she mused thoughtfully. “Don’t war criminals usually end up in jail? Aren’t they tried for crimes against humanity? Executed?”
“That depends,” decided the President, mildly amused. “Are you a war criminal?”
She dropped her head into her hands and began sobbing again. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I am any longer. I used to think so, but lately I’ve been working harder against the Brotherhood than for it.”
Kaufield leaned back in his chair expectantly. “How so?”
Valiana turned finally and looked him directly in the eyes. “Helping those who are endangered by Hobak’s operatives is a full time job.” She smiled softly, finally finding something worthy to talk about. “Durgon and I organized a huge, unofficial fifth column within the Brotherhood along with ways of getting people off world as soon as they were threatened. We couldn’t reach them all, of course, because Hobak would have been even more suspicious of us than he already was.”
“Now that’s very interesting to me,” acknowledged Kaufield. “I’ve heard similar stories from our Proteus friends. The soldiers who guard the portals – when they’re open – have regularly reported that some of your people appeared to be smuggling people off planet. At times they asked specific, pointed questions, but none of your clones would ever admit to doing anything untoward.” He smiled at her. “Were I in their position, I would have remained silent too. How would you know who to trust?”
“According to the rules as established by the Proteus soldiers, people were free to come and go as they pleased,” nodded Valiana in agreement. “Hobak knew that to be true, which is why he worked hard to have his agents in place all over the globe. If information surfaced that revealed a rebellion forming or someone committing a traitorous act, he wanted to be able to eliminate that pocket of resistance as swiftly as possible. Durgon and I got pretty good at intercepting the reports from his operatives and approaching the targeted civilians first. Since the portals are usually open all over the globe, all we needed to do was guide them to the nearest one. Until recently, enough people were rotating back to Earth to keep our population relatively stable. But lately, the past few years… it’s all gone steadily downhill.”
“Yes,” said the President softly. “You would be astonished at how many people, even living in a new, virtual paradise, miss their home. Even a bombed out, irradiated, devastated home. Many of them kept volunteering to come here and help because they want to participate in the restoration process. It’s killing them inside to see additional nuclear bombs going off. That’s one of the reasons we acted now.”
“We can’t go back to the old home,” she told him somberly. “It’s gone.”
“Perhaps I can help you move to a new one.”
She stared at him with genuine astonishment. “Why would you do that?”
“Why did you help people you could have ignored?” he asked of her by way of response. “Why did Durgon give his life in the defense of mere normals? This wouldn’t be the first time that war opponents became peaceful allies once the conflict was over. I see this as a unique, healing opportunity for both of us.”
“I would like to think so,” said Valiana truthfully. “But there isn’t much I have to offer.”
“Oh yes there is.” Kaufield smiled menacingly. “There are still a lot of bad guys out there, people only you can identify.” He pointed at her sternly. “You, Valiana 001, are the last surviving member of the Triumvirate. That makes you the new, acting head of the Brotherhood, at least on a temporary basis.”
She shrugged her shoulders indifferently. “The Brotherhood has been at risk of civil war within the folds of its membership for quite some time now… Hobak’s death will only accelerate the process. His allies will kill me as soon as they learn that I shot him.” Her expression echoed her clear frustration. “He was the devious one, the one who made Durgon’s death look like an accident. I am not nearly so clever, and waited only as long as I did to shoot him because I wanted to make certain that you would succeed in your effort to defeat us. If you had been unable to complete your mission, Hobak and I would have returned to our same old game, privately stalking one another while publically pledging that we were still strong and loyal allies.” She gestured toward the dead body lying on the floor. “But I can’t explain away that.”
“Yes you can,” Kaufield told her. “I broke into this place and surprised you. Your guards out in the hallways have all been temporarily disabled. That means both you and Hobak made a heroic last stand here, and he was accidentally killed in the process as you both defended the Brotherhood from an enemy intrusion. What other explanation for his death could there be?”
There was a prolonged pause as she thought the matter over. “That explanation might work, but to what end?” Valiana stared at him with growing, genuine interest.
“I want you to continue running the Brotherhood for a while,” the President told her. “I’m asking you to do this because we need to find out which of the clones are loyal to Hobak and which favor you and Durgon.”
“There are files that I have already compiled identifying many of them,” she responded. “They are on a database hidden in my quarters. Durgon and I needed to know who they were in order to intercept their intended targets for assassination.” Her face reddened with sudden embarrassment. “Some of them are female clones from my own line… murderers just as ruthless as Hobak was.”
“Every individual makes his or her own choices,” Kaufield pointed out. “Where I come from we have many home worlds. The primary is named Tranquility, after the original Moon Base.”
“It sounds like a nice place.”
“Oh it’s beautiful,” he told her with a light laugh. “Unfortunately, not everyone who passes through those portals you’ve seen ends up on Tranquility. The Proteus aliens have a very serious attitude when it comes to law enforcement, and since we’re living as guests of their government we have to abide by their laws. Primarily we’re left to govern ourselves, and we’ve been allowed to send our own representatives to speak for our interests in their Assembly. However, those who misbehave inevitably end up imprisoned or – worst case scenario – exiled to other planets.”
“Exiled?” She spoke the word with a quizzical tone of voice. “We have heard rumors of what happens to our Brothers and Sisters captured in engagements with the Proteus aliens, but nothing more…”
“Yes. Our new world isn’t perfect,” the President explained to her. “We still have criminals, murderers and terrorists. The difference is that they don’t last very long. Those who cannot live peacefully amongst the civilized are judged, sentenced and exiled to other worlds within the Proteus galaxy. The planet they end up on is determined by the severity of their crime.” He smiled grimly. “Some are colonies in tough conditions that require the hardcore, lawless, physically aggressive personality type. Others are
primitive, wild and just as dangerous as the cold-blooded killers that we exile there. For those who are cruel beyond measure, as your Hobak was, those planets are the worst type of prison… populated by dangerous plant and animal wildlife.”
“That doesn’t sound very fun,” she decided. “I would not like to end up on one of those worlds.”
The President chuckled. “It’s a way of assigning people who lack morals and common sense an entirely new set of priorities,” he continued. “Once sentenced to a penal colony, inmates either learn to fend for themselves and for their neighbors or they kill each other. It’s quite literally their choice.” He fell silent long enough to let the impact of his words sink in. “On some of the more dangerous planets, those who are exiled have even less of a choice. The absolute worst among us, imprisoned on those worlds, end up destined to work hard each and every day to find their next meal or else they end up becoming a meal for whatever already lives there.”
The first glint of optimism shone brightly in Valiana’s eyes. “Are you possibly offering hope to me and my clone brothers and sisters? Is that why you are telling me all of this?”
“To the ones who agree to help atone for the actions of the Brotherhood, yes,” agreed the President. “The others will be turned over to the Proteus government alliance for judgment and sentencing.” He held out a hand and reached toward her. “Will you assist me in bringing to justice those amongst you who still want to kill?”
“I will do so with the greatest enthusiasm,” responded Valiana confidently, shaking hands with him.
“Then I believe you have already partially atoned for your previous actions. We’ll help you make it the rest of the way.”
PROJECT EARTH
Pathfinder Series: Book Three
Chapter VII: Fika
Planet Earth, southwest of Bethany, approximately A.D. 27
The hot afternoon sun was shining brightly overhead as Adam and Thomas Roh continued to make their way south of the Jordan River. For two grown men out walking in the desert-like conditions, that ordinarily would have presented a problem. However, their brain implants were working as intended, siphoning off enough of the heat and light from the solar rays to keep minimal, protective shielding active. Within, a cooler, breathable atmosphere circulated, allowing them to remain relatively unaffected by the changing environmental conditions that surrounded them. Trees and plant life were fast becoming a scarcity, and the ground was now more rocky and sandy than fertile.
“Do you have a particular destination in mind, or are you just roaming?” wondered Adam curiously, unable to resist pestering his brother. “For that matter, where exactly are we?”
“We’re holding position along the northern edge of the Judean desert.” Thomas paused just long enough to take a lengthy look around them. “Qumran and the western shore of the Dead Sea are that way,” he indicated, gesturing toward their left. “The village of Bethany and Jerusalem are to the right.”
They continued steadily walking south. Some sort of reptile scuttled away from their approach, vanishing behind a large rock. Adam watched it warily, unable to identify the species based on a quick glimpse. “Reptiles,” he grunted with annoyance. “I suppose there are snakes too.”
“And bats,” pointed out Thomas more enthusiastically than Adam expected. “There are lots of different species to choose from. If you get hungry, all we have to do is find a way to catch something.”
“No thanks, I’ll stick to the standard MRE packs,” his brother responded wryly. “I never thought I would prefer them to anything, but hey… I guess anything is better than eating scales and locusts.”
They continued walking for another hour, watching the landscape around them gradually transitioning into a rocky, barren desert. On the southern horizon they could see a lengthy mountain range curling gradually toward the southwest. Parts of them were obscured by the landscape closer to them, namely the rocky, scoria-colored chalk hills and deep ravines formed out of the remnants of old riverbeds long since dried up and gone. Both men had removed their sandals and put their boots back on as the ground was fast becoming very difficult to walk upon. Above them there was just the scarcest trace of wispy cloud cover. Other than that, the sky was a deep and breathtaking blue.
Several times along the way they detected life signs, blinking red dots that appeared on their eye HUD map display of the immediate area. Each time Thomas would get his hopes up, only to be disappointed when the people who appeared turned out to be travelers moving steadily toward the north. A few of them were walking west, but most appeared to be doing their best to take the shortest route out of the desert. One of the men flashed them a quick wave, but most simply changed direction as soon as they noticed the Roh brothers. Travelers in the Judean desert were primarily on their own so using it as a shortcut was always a risk. Everyone knew full well the dangers of becoming lost or running into scavengers or criminals. Adam figured that most people were avoiding them simply because of the extreme distrust strangers would naturally feel toward each other while traveling in so nefarious a location.
Several more hours passed, with the brothers moving toward each humanoid life sign as soon as they noticed one or more red dots. Each time they did so was even more disappointing for Thomas, who remained fully convinced that they were meant to speak with Jesus of Nazareth. Adam tried to point out on several occasions that their simple interaction with the farmer back at the town of Bethany might prove to be dangerous. Anything that happened differently than it was supposed to, due to their presence, could potentially snowball forward and alter the future that they had only so recently left behind. The younger Roh refused to acknowledge the possibility Adam referred to as anything worth worrying about. After all, the mysterious ‘behavior’ by the silver watch was proof enough for Thomas that they were ‘meant’ to be in the past… that they had in fact been deliberately sent here. After casual conversation threatened to turn into loud arguing on more than one occasion, the two men reluctantly decided to walk primarily in silence.
It wasn’t until early evening that things suddenly changed. Both men were still walking through the afternoon heat, the ground crunching loudly beneath their boots. Adam was curiously watching several multi-colored birds that were sitting in a scaly, leafless bony tree. The birds were also staring at him, which was more than a little annoying to someone who remained mostly convinced that he was on the proverbial wild goose chase. Suddenly, at least a dozen blinking red dots appeared on the inside of his eyeball, positioned directly to the southwest of them. As he watched the crisscrossed, green map grid shift toward that area, even more dots were detected and immediately added to the display. “This doesn’t look good,” he growled suspiciously, turning to look at his brother. “We had better find cover somewhere until we know more.”
“Worst case scenario, we activate our invisibility screens,” his brother replied tersely. “Ten minutes or so with that function in use will take our weapons off-line, but we’ll still have enough energy in reserve to last through the night. We need approximately ten percent of maximum in order to maintain a minimum shield.”
“I’d rather have weapons available as a last resort,” Adam countered dryly. “The hair on the back of my neck is standing on end. That’s never a good sign.”
His instincts proved to be right. Lying down in prone positions, they maneuvered themselves behind a large rocky outcropping and waited as the detected life signs continued to draw closer. The relative silence was unexpectedly broken by the faint, guttural sound of men speaking… lots of men. Watching from their concealed location, Adam and Thomas waited patiently until a long line of Roman soldiers appeared in the distance. First they saw flashes of sunlight reflecting off of gold and silver helmets, armor and weaponry, but it didn’t take long before the first members of the fighting unit appeared from behind a low line of rocky hills. They were marching in rows of four, tough, well-muscled men whose red cloaks were wrapped tightly around them as they moved steadily
but surely through the desert heat. They were sweaty and haggard, talking and marching relatively informally so as to increase the speed with which they passed through the desert.
Adam leaned in close toward his brother and whispered, “Coming from a fight or moving toward one?” Thomas glanced back at him and shrugged his shoulders in response.
By the time all of the soldiers were visible, they numbered at least four hundred strong. Adam was watching his eye HUD tag all of them, and the count in the lower right corner of his eye indicated that there were 438 of them. “Holy crap,” he muttered softly. “That’s a lot of soldiers. What are they doing in the desert?”
“I don’t care,” Thomas hissed back at him. “Let them pass. I’m in no hurry.”
They ended up doing just that, lying perfectly still while watching the line of Roman soldiers tread swiftly past their position and on toward the northwest. It only took about fifteen minutes before the long line of them vanished in the distance, but only after the column passed less than one hundred meters from the brothers’ hiding spot. Adam exhaled softly as soon as they dwindled away against the horizon before rolling smoothly back to his feet. “Did that look intimidating to you?” he asked Thomas curiously, watching the faint sparkle of sunlight still reflecting off of the metal armor. “Because I’ve been in battle zones before, in the midst of large numbers of soldiers, and I think that looked intimidating.”
“It most certainly did,” acknowledged Thomas with a firm nod. “Not the kind of people we want to run into when we’re not at full power.” He looked at his brother, grim faced. “I think I’m going to put in some additional time on my laptop tonight. We need to get our implant connections to the Lexington back on-line in case we have to fight these jerks.”
The Pathfinder Trilogy Page 95
