by M. D. Cooper
CHIPS AND CARETAKERS
STELLAR DATE: 10.09.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Command Deck, ISF I2
REGION: Outer Silstrand System, Silstrand Alliance
“It never rains, but oh how it pours,” Sera said with a long sigh. “First this mess with the nano and Scipio ready to invade, then the Rhoads Revolution Fleet, then Garza, and now Peter Rhoads’s angel.”
Tanis nodded, chewing her BLT thoughtfully. “I assume you’re thinking Peter’s angel is the same thing as the Caretaker.”
Sera nodded. “I am. And the fact that Peter got his hands on this compliance tech…it’s disconcerting.”
“How so?” Tanis asked.
“There’s a group out on the far side of the Praesepe cluster—or there used to be—called the Genevians. A decade back, they developed a compliance technology called ‘Discipline’. They used it to keep their reluctant cyborg army in line.”
“The Genevians sound like bad news. Still, it can’t be the first time someone made tech like that,” Tanis replied.
Sera nodded. “You’re right. It’s not the first, and I bet it won’t be the last. I had Bob compare the chips we’ve been pulling out of the Rhoads’ people to what we know about the chips the Genevians used. They’re very similar.”
“Do you think the Genevians supplied Peter with the tech?” Tanis asked.
Sera shook her head. “No. Genevia is no more, and their conquerors—the Nietzscheans—abhorred Discipline.”
“Sounds like the right move,” Tanis replied. “So, the good guys won out there.”
Sera laughed. “Tanis, you and I have been in this long enough to know that there are no good guys—especially in that conflict.”
“So if the Genevians are gone, and the Nietzscheans abhor this compliance technology, you think someone is selling a stockpile of the stuff that they nabbed after the war?” Tanis asked.
A strand of Tanis’s hair came lose and brushed against her cheek. She reached back and undid her pony tail before pulling her hair tight and wrapping the band around it once more.
“Let me guess. The Nietzscheans are in contact with Orion. Garza is our link.”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you,” Sera replied. “But remember what Kylie told us. Garza didn’t seem to be in the know about what Peter was doing.”
“He could have been lying too. Knew he was going to die and didn’t want to rat out his clone buddies.”
Sera laughed. “Clone buddies. Is that what we can call him and his…buddies?”
“Works, doesn’t it?” Tanis asked with a grin.
“You make a good point, Angela,” Sera replied. “I wonder how well-aligned Garza and Kirkland are?”
Tanis leaned back in her chair and let out a long breath. “Then we’re back to our friend the Caretaker.”
Bob replied.
“Sera, we need the Hand to dig into this. There must be more sightings of this being, or ascended AIs operating like him in the Inner Stars.”
Sera nodded. “Going to be a mountain of nutjobs talking about aliens and angels out there. Will be some serious work to sort through it.”
“Bob will help. Right Bob?” Tanis asked.
Sera nodded. “At the very least we need to shore up alliances there. The Praesepe Cluster is on the edge of the Nietzschean empire. In that part of the Orion Arm, they’re effectively the front against the Orion Guard.”
“Then let’s not dally any longer than we have to,” Tanis said as she rose. “Once we get the treaty ratified, and finish with the Rhoads people, we’ll head to Praesepe.”
THE NEW CREW
STELLAR DATE: 10.09.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Barbaric Queen, Dock A1, ISF I2
REGION: Outer Silstrand System, Silstrand Alliance
Winter greeted the security detail Captain Espensen of the I2 had sent down to take the Barbaric Queen’s former crew into custody for eventual transfer to Silstrand authorities.
“Nice to finally clean up this place,” Winter said as he reviewed the information on his HUD and passed an approval along to the officer in charge of the detail. He uploaded the roster he had pulled from the Barbaric Queen, and delivered it along with the approval.
Winter scowled. Sounded a lot like he was the police or working in authority. He wasn’t that guy, was he? What if he was becoming that guy?
He peered at himself in a moderately reflective panel and thought he looked just as much a thug as he always had. So why did he suddenly feel so responsible? Damn, that was the last thing he wanted.
“I’m not leaving here without talking to Winter!” someone screamed from down the passageway. “Winter! Show your pale ass before I start blowing shit up!”
Damn. That was Bubbs. Can’t she do anything quietly?
Winter sprinted down the passage, and when he turned into the brig, he found Bubbs barricaded inside her cell. She’d wedged her bunk was into the doorway and was hissing at the I2’s team.
The soldiers, in turn, had their weapons drawn, ready to make Bubbs very much not a problem.
“She’s not cooperating,” the sergeant in charge of the team growled. “I’m not against getting messy, but it’s your ship.”
“I’ll handle it.” Winter sighed. “What the hell, Bubbs? Don’t you know when you’ve been beaten?”
Bubbs leaned her one hand onto her hip. Her other arm ended right above her elbow, missing her gun-arm for obvious reasons. Winter currently had it mounted on the wall of his quarters as a souvenir.
“If I go with them I’ll only see the inside of a cell. I know the crimes I’m charged with.”
“So what’s that to me?”
“You know where I’m coming from. You have a record too…don’t pretend you don’t.”
Two of the female soldiers shifted their attention to Winter, but he ignored them. “You think I’ll help you, Bubbs? After you tried to kill me?”
“You tried to poison me.”
“That’s beside the point,” Winter said. “You’re not loyal to us. You’re not loyal to anyone. You’re a gun for hire.”
“So are you. Or you were,” Bubbs said. “I’m not loyal to The Black Crow, Orion, or any of the other bat-shit names I’ve heard thrown around over the last few days. All I want is be free among the stars and fight. I’ll fight for your captain if she’ll let me.”
Winter ran his tongue over his lips and gazed into Bubbs’ good eye. He didn’t see deception, he saw hunger and it was a hunger he recognized. But damn if she didn’t scare him a little bit. “You say your piece to my ca
ptain. If she decides you go with these fine ladies, you go. No grandstanding and no trying to kill anyone.”
Bubb’s brow furrowed for a moment but then she nodded. “Fine.”
Winter edged in closer and whispered. “And if you try to harm Kylie, I’ll kill you before I space you. Or maybe the other way around.”
The officer behind him cleared her throat. Damn, Winter had forgotten she was there. “Metaphorically speaking, that is.”
* * * * *
In her first change of clothes in what felt like a lifetime, Kylie sat down beside Rogers on the large bed in his spacious quarters. His eyes were back to normal, but he moved his head differently when she sat down. She couldn’t put her finger on it exactly, but something about him was different.
“You sure about this?” she asked as she steepled her fingers together.
Rogers nodded. “It’s the only way.”
“We could get another ship. We could get regular controls reinstalled. These folks on the I2 are pretty savvy.”
“We’re not getting rid of the Queen, Captain. I can’t do that. I love piloting her. When I extend into her, it’s like I become more. I’m not ready to let that go.”
“Even if it means you lose your sight? Even if it means you become someone different? I met and talked with Raye. I’m not sure…that’s what I want for you, Rogers.”
“Raye can see, he just sees differently than we do. I want…I need to do this, Captain. Don’t take it away from me just because you’re afraid.”
Kylie thought it over and studied her friend, her oldest crewmate. “Okay,” she said softly, “but if things begin to change too fast, we find a way to stem the effects. Maybe even give you my nano.”
Rogers laughed. “Pretty sure Field Marshal Captain-of-the-Universe Richards wouldn’t like that very much.”
“That’s out of her hands now. Literally.” Kylie slapped Rogers’ knee before standing. “C’mon, lets finish this inspection before we ship off. I’m going to need all the support I can get.”
“I’m guessing that’s a veiled comment against Nadine,” he said with a long, drawn-out breath.
He wasn’t wrong.
* * * * *
Kylie couldn’t believe the Barbaric Queen was hers now. Somehow—in his wheeling and dealing with Samuel—Grayson had actually secured her letter of marque. That made the Queen a legitimate prize ship. And while the thought of the Dauntless lost in the valleys of Jericho saddened her, she was ready to start a new chapter.
Now, there was nothing left tying her to Maverick, and with a little luck, she might not have to see him ever again.
Kylie looked out into the yawning space of the I2’s main bay from inside the Queen’s main bay and saw a familiar figure approaching.
“Permission to come aboard, Captain?” Nadine asked when she drew near.
Nadine was dressed in formal black pants and a simple off-white blouse, attire that Kylie wasn’t used to seeing her in. Nadine had always either been dressed as a junker or dressed for a party. Never anything in between.
“Permission granted,” Kylie said with a heavy heart.
“Nice ship,” Nadine said once she stood on the Queen’s deck.
“Thanks for getting her for me and getting Rogers off Jericho.” Kylie shrugged. “Winter too.”
Nadine smiled. “It was important to me that I get them back together with you. My fate was already sealed, but I wanted better for them than that.”
“Is that why you’re here? To make cryptic amends?” Kylie asked; her words coming out harsher than she’d intended.
“Yes,” Nadine whispered. “Because in all my life, I was never happier than I was as a junker. I know I can’t explain away what I am. Blame it on daddy issues or mommy issues, if only I had gone left instead of right…” She expelled a shaky breath. “But I will miss you. I will miss your crew. And I’m sorry.”
Kylie nodded and the pain in her chest was so strong, she could barely draw a breath. “They were your crew, too. For a while.”
Tears rimmed Nadine’s eyes. “Indeed.” She used her finger to swipe the droplets away. “If you tell Tanis or Sera that I cried, I might have to shoot you.” She cringed. “Stars, that was a bad joke. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” She shook her head, looking so pathetic that Kylie couldn’t stop herself from placing her hands on Nadine’s shoulders and leaning forward.
She pushed her lips against Nadine’s. “Maybe you work for The Hand. Maybe you’re some Transcend…operative, but you’ll always be a junker princess to me.”
Nadine’s face fell, melting into a puddle. “Oh, Kylie…” Her fingers stroked Kylie’s face gingerly. “If only things were what they had been. If only I was someone different.”
With a brave face and a strong stomach, Kylie stepped backward. “Time for us to ship off.”
Nadine stood straighter. “Yes, Captain. Say good-bye for me, will you?”
“Anything special you want me to tell them?”
Nadine stood stone-faced for a moment, then broke out in a bittersweet smile. “I’ll see them in the black, one day. You too.”
Kylie watched as Nadine left and felt a part of her heart crumble. Kylie’s hands balled into fists. Nadine slipped away from her and Kylie let her go.
She had to.
Both Grayson and Nadine were on the I2. She was leaving a part of her heart behind with them. But now Kylie needed to stand on her own, and, for a little while, be her own person.
Other than her obsession for glaring and eating BLTs? Kylie thought to herself.
The notion sent a chill racing down Kylie’s back. She wondered what her father would’ve said about that. Homicidal as he had turned out to be, meeting these people had given her a nagging worry that he had been right—at least about AIs being far more powerful than she had ever imagined.
Kylie shook her head and continued through the Barbaric Queen.
Kylie raced up the ladder to the command deck and entered the bridge. She stood and watched as they passed out of the I2’s maw, as the black greeted them, punctuated by the glow of a thousand starship engines and the beckoning of the distant stars.
The too-clean I2 was behind them. They were back out where it was dirty and raw, and somewhere out there—her brother was up to no good.
A smile crept across her face. “C’mon Rogers. Show me what this thing can do.”
EPILOGUE: A NEW MASTER
STELLAR DATE: 09.24.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: GFS Satisfaction
REGION: Gedri System, Silstrand Alliance
Maverick awakened in slow stages. His head throbbed with pain as though a jet engine had chewed on it and his neck was stiff as a board. He blinked, focused on the ceiling and the bright lights above him.<
br />
“The President is coming to,” an orderly said to someone over her shoulders. She was a pretty woman with tight red curls—Maverick liked her very much. If she wasn’t so skilled, he’d have thought to add her to his collection of beautiful woman. “How are you feeling, Mr. President?”
Maverick tried nodding, but the movement just made his head spin. “Water?” he croaked—his throat felt as if filled with sand. He struggled to lift his head as the orderly held a cup with a straw to his mouth.
Sylvia stepped up beside him. “Good to see you awake, Mav, baby. Do you feel any differently?”
Sylvia, what a pleasure to be with her again. He was glad she had come from Persephone to oversee the procedure herself. He wanted the best.
Maverick considered her question as he rested his head back on is pillow. His body felt no different than before the surgery, but something had changed. Something did make him feel…strange. As though he was sharing headspace with a presence—a big one. One that would help reshape everything for him as he worked toward the biggest challenge of his life—professional and otherwise.
“Is it locked down?” Maverick asked.
“We stripped several of his key functions and he should do everything you ask. He won’t be able to take you over. Don’t worry, Mav, I’ve done this a million times.” Sylvia puckered her lips and blew him a kiss. Delicate she was not, but a welcome change in pace to how he usually liked his girls.
Excellent. Really Excellent.
“Why don’t you try talking to it?”
Maverick sighed and closed his eyes.
There was a long silence and then finally a voice spoke up from deep within his own mind, but it had its own distinct sad tone.
A wide grin broke out on Maverick’s face.
THE END
(for now)
