by Terry Mixon
Jared had been thinking along the same lines. It wouldn’t have been easy for this Kelsey to get him away from his ships and into Omega. Then she’d need to convince the alien to open a way back to her own universe.
Daunting obstacles, but as his father said, desperate people would take terrible risks. He should know.
“I think the safest way to scotch that plan is to lay it out for her,” Jared said after he took a sip of his whiskey. “If she knows we’re on the lookout for her to try anything, then she won’t. We need to give her hope though. Despair is a terrible thing.”
“That’s why I’m sending her into the Rebel Empire with you,” his father said as he set his drink down on the table between them. “She must be part of the success. I want you to take her back to Omega with you and assist her in gathering some of her people to join you. A trusted cadre, but not a group that is a threat to you or your people.
“Limit the number of people on your mission that are duplicated. They won’t have implants, so identifying them should be simple enough, as long as your crews are diligent and the computers keep track.
If you send anyone to her side, be certain you have passwords and code phrases. And make sure Kelsey understands that. Once again, we’ll keep the honest people honest.”
Once Jared nodded his understanding, his father continued. If she had her own people along, they’d learn what obstacles they had to overcome when they went for a repeat back in their own universe.
“Then you will complete phase one of your mission,” his father continued. “Send the report the Rebel Empire expects from Harrison’s World. That buys us critical time. After that, you’ll probe toward Terra. That means you’ll need the Imperial Scepter.
“I’ll also send the small transport ring with you. Sadly, a situation may arise where you are forced to send the override back to your ships in a hurry.”
Jared understood his father’s meaning at once. It might become necessary to send the override back because they were trapped by the AI’s forces. A suicide mission, in other words.
“Finally, I’ve changed my mind about how much force to send with you,” the emperor said. “You’re going to need Invincible and a strong escort in case the way is blocked or you have to provide a rear guard while someone sprints for home with the override.”
That would be the worst case scenario. If they got the override and had to make a stand while others got it safely away. Worth it, though.
His father leaned forward. “The best result is for you to slip onto Terra like you did Dresden. Then you could do the same while moving toward Twilight River. Use weak flip points to get into unexpected locations, if it seems safe. Use stealth to bypass enemy strong points when it doesn’t. In any case, your orders are to retrieve the override and take the fight to the master AI.”
“I’ll do my best,” Jared said, inclining his head. “Let me urge you one more time to allow Commander Michaels to accompany us. His assistance could be critical.”
The emperor shook his head. “No. You may trust him, but I’m not quite there yet. Coordinator West will be a better source than the good commander in any case and she’s already on the mission.”
Jared sighed. He really wished he could change his father’s mind, but he’d just have to make do.
This mission was his most daunting one yet. So many things could go wrong. The way might be blocked. The Imperial Palace might be destroyed. The AI might be too heavily protected.
No matter how he went about this, the mission would be a long, difficult one. One fraught with risk. One he had to make happen.
10
Kelsey stared at her father’s personal physician—her other father, that was—with some confusion. “What are medical nanites?”
“Extremely small machines programmed to perform repairs on a continuous basis,” he explained in what she assumed he meant to be a reassuring tone. “They come from a reservoir inside your body that continually refreshes them. Or that would if they were operational.”
The thought of little machines running through her made her skin crawl. Particularly ones installed by the damned Pale Ones.
“And everyone has that kind of thing here?” Judging from his expression, she hadn’t entirely kept the horror she felt out of her voice.
“Yes and no,” he said patiently. “Everyone with implants has them. That was true in the Old Empire, too, by the way. These are not harmful in any way. Far from it.
“That said, the Marine Raider implants come with nanites of greater capability. We’re still studying them, but once again, there is no danger. Your doppelganger in this universe provided the samples I have on hand and has been living with them for years now without any ill effect whatsoever. Quite the opposite, really.”
“How can you trust anything done by the Pale Ones?” she asked after a long moment. “If I could undo everything they did to me, I’d jump at the chance. The idea of these things sends a shiver up my spine.”
“Princess Kelsey didn’t complete the procedure you went through,” he said slowly. “I’m very sorry for bringing these traumatic memories back to you, but you need to hear this and consider it with as clear a mind as you can.”
He took a deep breath and continued. “Princess Kelsey was scanned by the Pale Ones for implants and had them forcibly implanted. Admiral Mertz and his people rescued her before they altered the programming in her implants.
“I’m told that is the reason your nanites are dead, by the way. The computer controlling the Pale Ones didn’t allow its slaves to have any healing capability other than what their bodies normally provided. We surmise the nanites might have had some negative effect in allowing it to maintain control.”
He held up a hand when she tried to speak. “Let me finish before you reject the idea out of hand. The code I pulled from your implants is very similar to what our people worked out, but not identical. We’d need to overwrite what you have now to allow the nanites to function—and which would also prevent them from overwriting it themselves—so, we’re not talking about anything that could even be done immediately.
“Yet, you need to know the differences between your history and your doppelganger’s. I have implant recordings and marine helmet cam video. It will be extremely upsetting to watch, but I cannot think of any other way to bring this home for you.”
He sent her a set of files through her implants. She was shocked. She’d had no idea that was even possible between people. She’d only used them to work her armor and weapons. Nothing else her people had had would interface with the dammed things.
With more trepidation than she cared to admit, she opened the file listed as first. To her horror, it was the same implant recordings she’d made automatically when the Pale Ones butchered her. She paused it almost at once and examined the still image.
The marines trapped with her were different. One of them was even familiar. That Talbot guy she’d married. No, that her doppelganger had married. It was best to get into the habit of thinking that way.
In her world, none of the marines captured with her had made it. Some had died in the fighting when Commander Roche came for her, sadly fighting for the Pale Ones against their comrades. Other had died during the implantation process. Those were memories she wished she could get rid of.
She’d had to fight her own people, too. They’d used neural disruptors to stun her. She was deeply grateful she hadn’t killed or seriously injured anyone.
Struggling to keep from hyperventilating, she restarted the playback. The events deviated from what had happened to her almost immediately. The marines managed to distract one of the Pale Ones and this Talbot fought one by himself to give her time to do something.
In the end, this Kelsey managed to kill the Pale One and the marines ended the other one. She never went into the final machine. This other her was so blessed.
The next major deviation was when the rescuers arrived. They came much more quickly than in her world. There, she’d spent several
days as a Pale One being brutalized in every way imaginable by the savages and the AI.
In this universe, only minutes passed. To her shock, the Bastard was there. How could he have come for her? That made no sense.
More amazingly, he seemed relieved to find her safe. He’d actually risked his life for her, something she would’ve considered impossible.
Unlike in her universe, she was awake to hear what happened as they fled the orbital and arrived on the destroyer. It can’t have been Ginnie Dare. It was another ship.
The video ended there so she opened the second one. It was a marine helmet cam. It showed the damage to her body just as she remembered it. The scarring had been there too long for the regenerators to deal with in her case.
She opened the final video and immediately knew why the marines with Mertz had recoiled. This Kelsey didn’t have the scars anymore.
Kelsey refocused her attention on the doctor. “I see. Your Kelsey was very lucky. I think I hate her for that.”
The man nodded sadly. “I suspected as much. Still, in conjunction with multiple targeted regeneration sessions, the nanites could probably eliminate the visible scarring that remains. There would likely be some internal damage left at a cellular level, but the amount of pain you suffer from it would be greatly reduced.”
She allowed one corner of her mouth to rise. “I’m not in pain, Doctor. The drugs inside my implants keep it under control.”
“That probably isn’t healthy over the long term,” he cautioned, mirroring what Doctor Guzman on Spear had said. “You really should take what I’m saying as sound medical advice.”
“I will, Doctor. Forgive me, but I have to think about this for a while before I make a final decision.”
The doctor stood right away. “That’s all I can ask. Let me leave you to consider it and thank you for coming down.”
She sat there after he’d gone considering what she’d seen. The Bastard had actually come for her. Not to kill her, but to rescue her from the worst days of her life.
The mere idea boggled her mind. It was, quite literally, inconceivable.
Worse, it meant she needed to make a real effort to determine what the truth here was. This Mertz was obviously not the same man as in her universe. And that might be the hardest thing of all to accept.
Elise insisted on accompanying Breckenridge to see Kelsey once she’d finished her consultation with the emperor’s personal physician. If there was going to be trouble, she wanted to be right there to stop it. She’d arranged to use an intimate little seating room for the get together.
She needn’t have worried. Kelsey smiled widely when she saw Breckenridge and came over to hug the flummoxed man.
“Nathaniel, it is so good to see you,” she told the senator warmly. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for this moment.”
Elise had trouble imagining the senator at a loss for words, but all he could do was stare over Kelsey’s shoulder at her in shock, his mouth moving but no words coming out.
“I take it you know one another,” Elise said wryly.
Kelsey turned to her and seemed mildly scandalized. “Of course we do. His nephew saved my life. He sent me many messages and helped the Empire organize its response after the expedition. I still haven’t made it home in my universe, but I feel as if we’re family.”
“Me too, Highness,” he said in a strangled voice. “I’m just not used to you being so friendly to me. We work well together here, but there’s…tension.”
She stepped back from the senator and frowned. “Why? Is my doppelganger an idiot?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Far from it. Might we sit? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
Kelsey sat and seemed relaxed. Perhaps that was because both Elise and Breckenridge were her close allies in the other universe and she felt at ease. Whatever the cause, Elise was happy there was no tension.
Breckenridge took control of the meeting. “I regret that we’re meeting in a situation where I have to discuss business, but events are marching on and we need to get in front of them. There is some concern that you represent a threat to the Empire. Our Empire.”
The other princess considered that and nodded. “I’m an unknown outsider with a familiar face. You have no idea what I’m capable of. I get it. I can’t do anything, though. You know who I am. It’s not as if I’ve secretly replaced your Kelsey.”
“That’s where the problem comes in,” he said. “With implants becoming more commonplace, so are the computers that interface with them. Computers that know you as the heir to the Imperial Throne.”
Kelsey frowned. “I’m not following.”
“Consider Gibraltar, the superdreadnought you saw in orbit,” Elise said softly. “Its computer would recognize you as the heir. There’s quite a bit of havoc you could cause. Computer’s aren’t like people. They wouldn’t know you’re not our Kelsey.”
That made Kelsey sit back and frown. “What the hell would they let me do?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea and no one else really does either.”
“I’ll grant you that is a problem,” the other woman admitted. “What do you have in mind?”
“His Majesty has come up with a solution that shouldn’t inconvenience you too much,” Breckenridge said, crossing his legs. “He’d going to have the senate declare Kelsey Bandar medically unfit to serve as heir for the time being. Since our Kelsey isn’t here, that won’t cause anyone any problems.”
“Okay,” she said. “It makes perfect sense, though I don’t understand why you’re consulting me about it.”
“I needed to meet you so I can answer any questions my colleagues have. And I wanted to see you for myself.”
Kelsey nodded. “I felt you tense up, so my friendliness wasn’t what you expected. Are we enemies here in bizarro world?”
“Our relationship is…complicated. Our Kelsey didn’t have the best rapport with my nephew. He tried to imprison her and supported the coup attempt. Sadly, he was responsible for a lot of needless damage and loss of Fleet lives.”
The other woman laughed a little bitterly. “Of course he was. Why is nothing the same between my universe and yours? So, if we have a complicated relationship, does that mean we get along on some level?”
The senator gave her a lopsided smile. “We do, though not in the way you imagine. I’m probably about to cause other me some serious problems, but it sounds as if his life is going more smoothly than mine did. He probably deserves this.
“Elise tells me that you know the emperor isn’t your father by blood. Due to some youthful indiscretions, I’m actually your biological sire.”
Kelsey’s eyes bugged out. “You’re my what?”
No, she hadn’t known. Elise reached out and took the other woman’s hand in hers.
“It ended before you were born,” Breckenridge said. “Neither of us knew this until the attempted coup so we’re still trying to figure out how we feel about it. Needless to say, our version of you is still angry with me.”
“Then she is an idiot,” Kelsey declared, rising to her feet and pulling the man up and into an embrace. “That’s the first thing I’ve learned that actually makes my life better. I already respect you. While I miss my father every day, I couldn’t be happier to have you be even closer to me.”
It was hard for Elise to keep a straight face at Breckenridge’s expression. Flummoxed no longer seemed adequate. Flabbergasted was better.
Then Elise stopped trying and just laughed.
Kelsey gave her an odd look and then saw the expression on Breckenridge’s face. That made her laugh, too.
“I’ve stunned you, haven’t I? I’m sorry.” The grin on the woman’s face told a different tale.
“I may never understand you,” he said in a bemused tone. “But no matter what universe you come from, I am and shall remain your friend and steadfast advisor, if you’ll have me.”
After one more hug, Kelsey resumed her seat. “I trust what yo
u both say more than so many other people here. Let me ask you about medical nanites.”
Elise listened to Kelsey tell them of her current condition and what the emperor’s personal physician wanted to do to address it with growing horror, pulling her into an embrace when she finished.
“Oh God, Kelsey. I’ve lived my life fearing exactly that fate. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s done,” the other woman said sadly. “I’m going to have to live with it for the rest of my life. I’m ruined. A travesty of a human being.”
“Don’t believe it,” Elise said. “Don’t fall into the trap that this ends your life. It doesn’t.”
“Have you seen the horror they left behind on my body?” Kelsey asked with a shake of her head. “I’ve often wondered whether I’d be better off dead.”
She stared into the other woman’s eyes and held her hands tightly. “Listen to me very carefully, Kelsey. Let them put the nanites inside you. They’ll heal your body. Maybe even more than the doctors expect. It’s the right thing to do.”
“Allow me to second Princess Elise,” Breckenridge said as he too leaned forward with an expression of sympathy. “Our Kelsey has recovered mentally and physically. I know it seems impossible to imagine, but you are far stronger than you give yourself credit for. You can triumph over this adversity. Let us help you.”
Kelsey looked at them both in turn and slowly nodded. “If you say to trust this doctor, I will. Would it be possible to have a someone I trust do this, if he’s available? Doctor Guzman might not know me here, but I know him. I trust him.”
Elise nodded. “He knows you and has examined our version of you. He’s at Erorsi, but I can get him, I’m sure of it. Take one more piece of advice from me and allow Doctor Lily Stone to do the work. She was with you every step of the way here. She knows your implants almost as well as you do. If anyone can fix your body, she can.”
The other princess seemed to shrink into herself. “Will you stay with me?”
“Every step of the way,” Elise promised fiercely.
