Keel furrowed his brow. “How’s this for a reaction?”
“Hoo, hoo.”
Sticking a finger in the hologram’s face, Keel said, “Keep it up and you’ll see a whole other reaction that you’re not going to like.”
“The two of you,” Bombassa said, “seem at odds, for being partners.”
Keel turned to face the shock trooper. “Your soldiers tried to kill you. You don’t get to comment.”
Ravi laughed again.
“Oh, ha ha,” Keel said. “Don’t push it. I’m not in the mood.”
“Oh? Are you not in the mood?” Ravi wrung his hands as though distressed. He looked out the side viewport window as the ship descended, landing on autopilot. “Well this is different. Usually you are the very model of amiable likability.”
“I don’t have time for this.” Keel stepped out of the cockpit, trusting Bombassa to follow him. He reached the lounge at roughly the same time as Exo.
“That was a quick jump,” Exo said. “Something wrong?”
“Yes, something’s wrong!” Keel threw his arms wide. “Your buddies tried to kill us!”
“He meant, is something wrong with the ship,” Bombassa offered.
“Yeah, like the hyperdrive breaking again?” Exo said.
“Oh.” Keel crossed his arms. “No, nothing’s wrong with the ship. She’s fine. But that doesn’t go the same for your little Black Fleet, or Empire, or whatever else your space wizard leader wants you to call his little outfit.”
Exo held out his arms apologetically. “Look, Wraith, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what got into them.”
“Nor I.” Bombassa appeared to burdened. It was as though the actions of his crew—his former crew—were a personal failing.
Keel held up a hand to indicate there was no offense taken from either of them. “You want my guess, your team was probably Nether Ops and got the order from the Republic to cozy up to the MCR and take over the mission. That, or your magic star warlock fearless leader got impatient waiting around.”
Exo and Bombassa exchanged a look.
“I guess Nether Ops might have wormed their way into the Black Fleet,” Exo said.
Keel retrieved his armor from his quarters and sat on a bench to put it on. “Well, once Ravi gets the ship cycled for de-boarding, we’ll be able to get an idea of just what’s going on in the galaxy. Because it seems to be a different place than it was while we were still at the bazaar.” He strapped on his chest plates and looked up at the two shock troopers. “But nothing changes for me. I’m still going to find that fleet, and I’m still getting back my crew.”
“Something has obviously changed for us,” Bombassa said.
“I hear that.” Exo rotated his arm in a circle as though his shoulder was sore. “Like, I mean, double-crosses aside, how you gonna be able to even get to the fleet? You said you needed Maydoon’s bio-signature. Well, that’s on the shuttle, right? So I’d say all our plans have changed.”
Keel gave a lopsided grin. “Not exactly…”
“What do you mean, not exactly?” Bombassa straightened himself, as if to show off his full, imposing height.
“Don’t get excited, big guy.” Keel invited Bombassa to relax with an easy roll of his wrist. “In my line of work, it pays to make yourself… indispensable. It also pays not to trust anybody. I didn’t trust your group a lick, and now we can all be glad for that.”
Exo quickly put two and two together. “You mean to say, the hand you gave me back on Porcha…”
Keel allowed himself a wide smile. He was proud of what he’d done. “Yeah, that case just has some burnt-up old MCR hand I found. But… I did snap off a finger off the real commodity.”
“And that’ll be enough?” Exo asked.
“Oh, sure. It’ll be enough to get us where we need to go. In fact, all you need is a very small sample size. Just a few hairs, really. That’s just basic bio science.”
Ravi cleared his throat, but didn’t otherwise remind the professorial Keel that he hadn’t known that back when they’d first recovered Maydoon’s hand.
Bombassa remained silent and brooding. Keel decided it would be up to the big man to determine whether he and Exo would provide backup on his rescue mission, or if Keel would have to go it alone.
“So what’s it gonna be?” Keel asked. “You two are good in a blaster fight, you’re former Legion, and at least one of you I trust with my life.”
“I say we go with Wraith,” Exo said.
Keel nodded emphatically. “Yes. Good call. But there’s no pressure here. I can always let you get away from it all by dropping you off on some rock somewhere.” He looked around. “Like this one.”
Ravi spoke up before Bombassa, who looked perturbed, could reply. “I think you will have a better perspective from which to answer this question once you become aware of some of the goings-on in the galaxy. You are aware of Article Nineteen’s declaration, but there is more.”
Ravi caused a curated selection of holo-film to play on the lounge’s big screen—a series of clips detailing various turning points that had contributed to the current galactic turmoil. In particular, it included reporting on the Legion’s take-no-prisoners invasion of Ankalor; Legion Commander Keller’s formal invocation of Article Nineteen and subsequent execution of a zhee warlord; and the House of Reason, now seemingly led by Delegate Orrin Karr, denouncing and declaring invalid the Legion’s use of Article Nineteen. Karr promised “unified resistance” against the Legion’s “naked grab for power,” which the House would make possible by immediately ending all hostilities between the Republic and the MCR, so that the two groups could form a peaceful alliance. Both sides promised the support of loyal planets.
The three soldiers watched the clips Ravi presented to them. They seemed to share a certain awe over the obviously monumental events taking place in the galaxy.
But Ravi wasn’t done. He’d saved the big one for last. The game changer.
Orrin Karr’s declaration that the House of Reason would seek a peaceful alliance with Goth Sullus’s Empire.
Ravi froze the view on an image of Goth Sullus himself. As Keel looked at it, his arms dropped from his chest and hung limply at his sides. Shaking away his shock, he approached the holoscreen.
“That’s…” he began. “I mean, he’s wearing Rechs’s armor. That’s Tyrus Rechs’s armor. Cleaned up a bit, but it’s the same suit of Mark I Legion armor. I know it is.”
“Yes,” agreed Ravi. “That was my analysis as well.”
Keel wheeled around to face Exo and Bombassa, both of whom looked just as shocked and disconcerted as he felt. “So this is your big savior of the galaxy? A guy who, the first chance he gets, throws in with the House of Reason to oppose Article Nineteen?”
Bombassa gave a low growl. “This was… not what I would have expected. All throughout training, the cries shouted by our generals were ‘Death to the Republic.’ But it would now seem that the Republic was merely a stand-in for the Legion. I do not understand why else this decision would have been made. I do not understand why the Black Fleet would align itself with the House of Reason.”
Ravi twitched his mustache. “I know something of Goth Sullus. More, I suspect, than anyone else in the galaxy, save perhaps two. I find it likely that the House of Reason is seeking allies against the Legion wherever they may be found. As for Goth Sullus, his purpose is domination—though he has convinced himself otherwise—and I would surmise that he is seizing the opportunity to get close to Utopion and the House of Reason not in order to destroy the Legion, but in order to topple the Republic and place himself at its head. So, I am saying he has not done such a betrayal as you imagine, Exo. Though the real betrayal may yet still happen.”
Exo shook his head. “Nah, man. See, all this means is more fighting. More leejes getting killed. This is exactly what was not supposed to happen. We were supposed to go in and take Tarrago, get those shipyards pumping out destroyers so the Black Fleet could
dictate terms for a new order in the galaxy. Something that the Legion could look to and say, ‘Okay, that’s it. We’ve had enough of the House of Reason. The Republic is dead and beyond saving.’”
His jaw clenched tightly, Exo shook his head. There was a savage anger behind his eyes. “This was supposed to save lives. To undo all that was done under the shadow of points. And now it’s the Legion against the entire galaxy. It’s all worse.”
Keel shrugged apologetically. “Yeah, well, that’s why they say not to put your trust in princes. Look, Exo, I’m not telling you what to do here. But I am saying that you can still be loyal to the Legion. Even after throwing in with the Black Fleet. You can still help the people in this galaxy. The ones who count, like Chhun and the rest of Victory.”
“I thought you said you didn’t really stay in contact with them.”
Keel raised his eyebrows. “Well, I mean, you know… we talk. Sometimes. It’s not like I have them over for dinner or anything.”
Exo frowned in a manner that suggested he didn’t believe Keel was telling him the whole truth, but he didn’t press it. “Fine. I’m in to help however I can. After we get your crew?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll help, too,” Bombassa said.
“The galaxy is changing at a rapid place,” said Ravi. “We should consider what it is we truly desire before taking action.” He pulled up images of the pitched battles taking place all across the galaxy, on diverse and scattered planets. Legion against MCR. Legion against Republic. Soon the three men were engrossed in the display. Keel chewed his thumb nervously. Exo looked agitated, as though he wanted to jump into the screen and join the fight. Bombassa looked on somberly. The big shock trooper seemed to Keel to be almost regal, and it was clear why the man had been placed in command of his unit, even if his soldiers had turned on him.
“Ravi,” Keel said at last. “You think you can get a bead on where Victory Squad is in all of this?”
“I believe I can find that out, yes. You are perhaps thinking they may need a rescue? Because your plate is rather full of those at the moment.”
Keel wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Except that the galaxy had gone completely to hell, and that every friend he had, save Exo and Ravi, was in a predicament. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just want to keep an eye on them. Case this all goes south. Far south. This is the biggest confrontation the galaxy has seen since the Savage Wars, and I don’t think either side is going to show the other much mercy. Not after what Keller did to the zhee, and not with the way the Republic is backed into a corner.”
“Perhaps the time to move is now,” suggested Bombassa.
Keel kept his focus on Ravi. “Is there anything worthwhile on this mine, Ravi? Seems like it’s been forever since we visited.”
“You are thinking of asteroid RX-17732. But that is not where we are.”
“So where are we?”
“We are on a similar asteroid, one that was in close proximity to our troubles at Porcha and made for an easy jump. I apologize for not clearing this with you beforehand, but since the asteroid was left to you, I thought we may as well visit it.”
Keel raised an eyebrow. “Left? Like in a will? By who?”
“Tyrus Rechs.”
Silence fell over the lounge. Bombassa and Exo both gave Keel a look of wonder.
“Yes, I knew him,” Keel said.
Ravi continued. “Its deed belongs to a proxy corporation Rex owned. One of many. He seems to have thrown it in as part of your payment for… services rendered. When I was cycling through your statements, reconciling after the last job, I saw that it was included. Initially I thought the old man was trying to get out of paying the full credit amount by giving you a deed and overestimating its value—a quite common tactic among scum and bounty hunters. However, this deed was given in addition to the full payment received.”
“Is it worth anything?” This was not really the time to count his credits, but Keel couldn’t help himself.
“It was initially a cooperatively held mining colony. It failed, but records do not indicate why. Only that Tyrus Rechs took ownership decades ago. Based on shipping manifests, it never went back into operations. Rechs likely used it as a waypoint or remote base of operations.”
“Swell. I own Tyrus Rechs’s clubhouse.” He had to admit that did have a little cachet, even if it had no monetary value. “Listen, Ravi, I’ve got a crew to rescue. Let’s get moving.” Keel turned and headed for the cockpit.
“Captain Keel,” Ravi said. “Please wait.”
Please? That got Keel’s attention. He turned back around.
Ravi pursed his lips, causing the curl of his mustache to do little dance. “We are reaching a point of monumental importance in the galaxy.”
Keel gave a get-a-load-of-this-guy look to Exo and Bombassa. “I’m so glad you’re here to tell us this, Ravi.”
“I was not finished. This is the reason why I have remained when the rest of my people have moved on.”
Keel’s ears perked up. He knew what this was—knew the importance of it. Ravi was going to say his piece. Was going to fill in the backstory. “Sorry. Keep going.”
Ravi nodded. “There are forces beyond the edge—incomprehensibly far beyond the edge—that have forever toiled for ruin and destruction. My people, the ones you call the Ancients, experienced these forces firsthand. That is why we fled this galaxy, leaving for you only mystery… and me.”
Keel was speechless. Ravi, an Ancient? He didn’t know what he had expected, but it wasn’t this.
Ravi continued. “Goth Sullus obtained a power known to my people. Older than my people. He imagined he would use it to stop this threat. But that power has consumed him, though he does not realize it. And now we all stand in the breach.”
Exo stepped toward the hologram… or whatever Ravi was. “So you’re saying Sullus… that stuff he can do… the mind tricks and telekinesis. It’s some kind of ancient magic?”
“I am saying that the forces that made the ancients flee this galaxy, leaving it to be inherited by you, are nearly at our doorstep. I am saying that the destruction of the galaxy is upon us. My task was to find the one could put a stop to this destruction. I fear I may not have done so in time, for Goth Sullus is not the answer.”
Keel teetered on the brink of believing what he was hearing and writing it off. It was the absurdity of the whole thing that tipped the scales to the latter. He scoffed. “Spare me the hooey, Ravi. Did something get into your programming? You’re an AI. A sophisticated AI, sure, but you’re still just an AI.”
Ravi smiled. “Do you really think so? Despite the many, many times I have shown myself to be independent of this?” He swept his arm in a motion that seemed to encompass the entirety of the Indelible VI and all the time he’d been together with Keel, “I am more than that, as you know. And in one way I am like you, Captain Ford—Keel, Wraith: I take on the appearance of that which will most help me achieve my purposes.”
Ravi was up to something, Keel was sure of it. For the sake of Exo and Bombassa—their unease was palpable—Keel was playing this off as some coincidence, but he had no doubt that, eventually, Ravi would have found a way to maneuver them to this location. He wondered whether Tyrus Rechs had even really left this asteroid to him in his will, or if that was just an excuse Ravi came up with.
He gave a wry smile, large enough for all to see. “Okay, agree to disagree, Ravi. Let’s get back to what’s outside and how it fits into your plan to survive the galactic apocalypse. We come here to Tyrus Rechs’s secret hideout, bury ourselves deep in the asteroid’s mines, and hope that when the galaxy comes crumbling down, we’re still safe? Deep down in the dark?”
Ravi frowned, clearly annoyed.
Pressing on, Keel said, “I’m sure it’s a fine plan, Ravi. I have no doubt that you’ve figured the odds and this is what’s best for everyone. But I’d still like to rescue my crew before settling into a doomsday bunker.”
�
��This is not what I am saying,” Ravi said with obvious petulance. “I am saying that we should learn whatever we can about Tyrus Rechs. In my research I have come to the realization that he, too, was more than he let on.”
“Aha!” Keel wagged a triumphant finger in the air. “You brought us here for a reason. ‘Closest jump point,’ my last charge pack. Fess up. I trust you, Ravi, but these guys might not, and it feels a bit like we’re dragging our feet here when we need to be heading for the fleet.”
Exo and Bombassa were watching the exchange like spectators at a tennis match. But Keel could see that they felt he was speaking up for them, arguing on their behalf. Good. He needed them.
Ravi’s face grew impassioned, almost severe. “Captain Keel. There are so many variables in what we are about to undertake, beginning with the rescue of Prisma and the rest of the crew, that I cannot even begin to reasonably say what we should expect our chances of success to be. So yes, you are correct: this was not the closest jump point. But it was the correct one. This is where we must now be. Do you really believe that Tyrus Rechs gave you this asteroid as a mere accident? An oversight? No. You do not believe that, and neither do I. I did not spend my time away attempting to clear my mind. I studied all that had happened to us since we first took the job from Lao Pak, and that included extensive investigations into Tyrus Rechs. He wished for us to be here. I do not know what we will find, but I am confident that visiting here will be worth our time.”
Keel stared at Ravi for just a moment, then sent him a quick, surreptitious wink. “Let’s go then.”
03
The landing lights of the Indelible VI were the only thing guiding Keel and his makeshift crew through the pitch black that was the asteroid’s surface. There was no distant sun, no particularly brilliant star twinkling down… just a hunk of rock drifting in the darkness of deep space.
Apparently, it hadn’t always been that way. The massive landing pad the Six settled on was large enough to handle a deep space hauler and the supplies it carried with it—and presumably it had once served just such a purpose. But now the pad and runway were dark, their illumination strips probably no longer even functional.
Message for the Dead Page 3
