The Smuggler's Ascension: The Ties That Died

by Christopher Ingersoll

  “Have the crew leave the artifact where it is for now,” Kristof instructed the Captain.

  “Yes, sir,” Captain Gerris responded as he and the copilot began shutting down the engines.

  “Let’s find Sabine,” Anasha said impatiently. “I want to know what happened up here, and what’s wrong with Max.”

  “Let’s get moving then.” Kristof said just as impatiently. They stripped off the life support suits quickly and left them laying in the ship’s corridor as they went, and then rushed off of the Phantom and up through the mammoth dreadnaught.

  ~22~

  The techs had laid Max out on a table as they ran diagnostics, and Sabine hovered nearby like an anxious mother watching her child be examined by the doctors. The android had saved her life, and he’d done it without a second’s hesitation to consider the consequences. It was a debt she would never be able to repay, and she prayed that the android’s selfless act hadn’t cost him his own life in the process.

  The lighting strikes had destroyed Max’s left arm and created great, burnt gashes in his torso and face. In several spots Sabine could see Max’s internal hardware beneath the heavy insulated armor that made up his outer shell. It was a miracle that, once the armor had been pierced, that the android hadn’t had his primary power cell ruptured, which would have caused a tremendous explosion on the command deck.

  The techs were rapidly opening the android’s chest so that they could repair the damage that was threatening his memory core, which was in a protected cavity in his chest rather than in his head. The lightning damage had ignited a small plasma fire inside his chest, which while not a danger to the ship around them, was threatening to incinerate Max’s cerebral power cell.

  Across from the table where they worked, a door opened and Kristof appeared with Anasha close behind. Sabine stayed where she was, watching Max, as her two loves rushed to her side. Her fear for the android had immobilized her, and it wasn’t until Kristof wrapped her in his arms that she could bring herself to move at all as she sank into his embrace as she watched.

  “He saved my life,” Sabine whispered, her voice near tears as the techs lifted away Max’s chest plate at last and began spraying a small stream of foam into the android’s chest that would seek out and smother the plasma fire. “It was Karina,” she whispered, “She did this to him.”

  “I know,” Kristof told her softly, “We could feel what happened through you. We felt Max, too, somehow.”

  Sabine managed to take her eyes away from the stricken android at last, as she looked up at her husband in amazement and shock.

  “It’s true,” Anasha agreed, “I couldn’t believe it at first until Kristof said the same thing.”

  “How is that even possible?” Sabine asked as her eyes returned to Max laying upon the table. “I thought only organic lifeforms could be felt by the Su’Tani.”

  “We don’t know,” Kristof said softly, also watching Max intently, his voice showing signs of his emotions as his old friend lay upon the table.

  The techs, having apparently extinguished the fire, were removing damaged components so they could access Max’s cerebral core. They took a pair of power cables and plugged them into the core to ensure Max’s brain did not lose power. Sabine had given orders that, under no circumstances, was Max’s memory to be lost.

  Above the table, a three dimensional diagnostic image came alive on the monitor, showing the techs the extent of the damage and the status of all of Max’s systems. Too many systems were colored in yellow, while more than a few had gone red. Sabine didn’t need to be an engineer to know the yellow and red systems were bad. What appeared to be the power cell for Max’s memory core was yellow, while his primary power cell had gone red.

  Kristof hissed as he surveyed the readouts, confirming Sabine’s own assessment as she watched the techs continue to work. She was glad the techs had been able to attach external power lines to Max’s brain, she only hoped that they had done so in time. The thought that everything that had made Max who he was might be gone was not a good thought, but she couldn’t seem to make it go away.

  After a while, the feverish pace of the techs slowed, and the lead engineer in the android facility came to Sabine and her small group.

  “We were able to stop the plasma fires before they reached his memory core,” the engineer said, “But his memory power cell was damaged. We attached external power, but we have no way to know if there was any damage to his cerebral matrix. It seems we are locked out and can’t perform diagnostics.”

  “Locked out?” Kristof asked. “Locked out how?”

  “We don’t know,” the engineer admitted. “It is as if there is an extremely elaborate encryption algorithm that our diagnostic gear either cannot penetrate, or it does not understand.”

  “Repair the damage,” Sabine said, “And get him back online. Once he’s online, we will just have to hope.”

  The engineer nodded and returned to the work as Sabine finally turned away and laid her head on Kristof’s chest. Anasha enfolded her from behind and Sabine let herself just rest in the circle of their love.

  “I was worried when the Clovani appeared and you were both exposed on the planet,” Sabine whispered against Kristof’s chest. “And then we lost contact and I feared…”

  “Shhh,” Kristof whispered as Sabine sobbed. “It was close for a few minutes, but we’re ok.”

  “Come,” Anasha said as she pulled Sabine into an embrace before looking into her teary eyes. “Let’s let the techs do their thing while we get you back to our quarters so we can tell you about what we found.”

  Sabine seemed unwilling until Anasha add, “Father says hello, by the way.”

  Anasha smiled and laughed as a look of shock and wonder spread across Sabine’s face, and Sabine no longer resisted being led from the android service center as Anasha began recounting the events on the surface. Sabine stopped her often for details, especially when it came to the conversation with Subat.

  “I miss him,” Sabine said sadly as she sat curled in Anasha’s arms once back in their quarters.

  “As to I,” Anasha said with a sigh, “But seeing him today helped me feel better about the loss than I have since it happened. I was finally able to let most of that pain go.”

  “He seemed happy,” Kristof added. “I know he misses us too, but he said he was in a good place with Cassandra, and your mother,” Kristof added, giving Anasha a wink.

  “It’s good to know this Cassandra isn’t another scheming God like Death or the Phoenix,” Sabine said after a long, thoughtful silence. “I don’t care for the thought of her standing by idly though. She is at least partly responsible for the mess we’re in, she could help to clean it up.”

  “And if by helping someone else you knew either Anasha or I would die, would you do any different?” Kristof asked, though not meanly.

  They all knew the answer. None of them could ever aid in the death of one of the others, it would go against everything that they felt for each other.

  “She’s not going to like us just showing up and demanding that help, then,” Anasha said as she touched Sabine’s stomach to quiet the baby, who had grown restless from sensing his mother’s anxiety and fear. “He’s quite the kicker now,” Anasha said suddenly with a smile.

  “You wouldn’t be smiling if it were your ribs he was kicking at night,” Sabine said, though she also smiled as she lay her hand over Anasha’s. “So what’s the plan with this armillary sphere and how does it work?”

  “We will have to figure that out once we get home,” Kristof said. “It didn’t come with instructions, at least none we could read right then. There is a ton of engraving on the rings, so hopefully some of it is instructive.”

  “I hope my father doesn’t get in trouble for helping us,” Anasha said quietly, her smile fading. “He said Death had made the Underworld into a nightmare and we’ve seen it to know it is true, what if Cassandra gets mad enough to cast him into that hell?”

  K
ristof came and knelt before his two wives and joined his hand to theirs on Sabine’s stomach. Sabine smiled as she felt the three of them together like that, even as Kristof set Anasha’s mind at ease.

  “The way he talked about her,” Kristof said, “I don’t think she would be so cruel. I got the sense from him that Cassandra truly loves her people.”

  Outside the view ports, the rainbow pattern of hyperspace flew past as the Queen’s Honor started the return trip to Purannis. Per Sabine’s orders, the repairs on Max were being meticulously done to the point where even undamaged parts were being upgraded with newer, better ones. There had still been no luck in performing a diagnostic of the android’s memory core, so they had no way to know how badly the attack had affected it, if at all.

  Sabine took some of the time to make the trip down to the hanger bay so that she could see Cassandra’s sphere on board the Phantom. It had been decided to leave the artifact there for the return trip, rather than having to move it twice. She had watched as several crew members from both the Phantom and the Honor had tried to move it, with absolutely no success. It turned out that even anti-grav lifters were unable to budge the sphere.

  “It definitely makes sure to never be stolen by the wrong people,” Anasha had said as she stood with Sabine watching the show.

  “Indeed,” Sabine agreed with a giggle.

  The golden armillary shined in the cargo bay’s lights after having been cleaned up by the crew. The writing on the rings gleamed in bright silver inlaid into the gold, making for a magnificent contrast. The obsidian base had also been exquisitely fashioned. Sabine knew obsidian would break easily, so to find such a large, finely crafted block of it was amazing. She considered that Cassandra might have had a hand in the black volcanic stone not breaking, however, though it did not take away from the amazement Sabine felt at the beauty of the finished piece.

  “The writing almost reminds me of Old Puranni,” Anasha said as she examined the writing on one of the rings. The crew had not been able to move the rings, either, though they spun easily for Anasha. Sabine did not feel any desire to try, she didn’t want to find the rings immobile for her.

  “Perhaps it is another of those meditation devices,” Sabine suggested, “Like the temple replica on Durani.”

  “Maybe,” Anasha said. “I feel like there’s something more to it this time, though. The temple replica was left for us to find and worked on its own once we took our proper spots. This thing predates all of that and had a specific function. We just need to know how to make it work, I don’t think it will on its own. The clue is in the Su’Tani heritage somehow.”

  “How did you make that leap of logic?” Sabine asked curiously as she found a place to sit on a crate in the hold. Her back hurt from carrying the weight of their son, and she found herself sitting and resting every chance she got now.

  “The Su’Vanii worship Anza’Tai, the Mistress of Knowledge and Visions,” Anasha said in the tone she often used with her cadets. “We now know Cassandra is in fact Anza’Tai, so we know the Su’Vanii know her on some level when they are in their ethereal forms. Also, father called the Su’Tani Cassandra’s people, which explains why only those of us with Su’Tani blood or Su’Tani power can move this thing.”

  “Makes sense so far,” Sabine said as she considered it.

  “Somewhere in our past we knew how to use this thing,” Anasha went on. “Perhaps the Su’Vanii can help us.”

  “I don’t know how helpful they’ll feel after Kristof’s rather rude visit last time,” Sabine pointed out. “We really need to work on his diplomatic skills,” she added with a giggle.

  “I forgot about that,” Anasha said ruefully. “He does have a rather abrupt manner to him when he’s irritated. Where is our sexy diplomat, anyway? I haven’t seen him all morning, not even when we checked in on Max.”

  Sabine giggled at hearing Kristof called a sexy diplomat, it conjured all the wrong images. Sabine had the sudden urge to have her husband take her on her desk in the Senate Building, and she quickly had to change her train of thought. Anasha gave her a shocked look, which told her she hadn’t changed her thoughts quite fast enough.

  “You’re so bad,” Anasha laughed.

  “I can’t help it,” Sabine laughed, her face warming. “Our ‘sexy diplomat’ has been down in the science division trying to help them find a way to prevent this teleporting ability that the Dark Priestesses seem to have.”

  “Umm, Kristof is even less a scientist than he is a diplomat,” Anasha said in astonishment, “How in the world is he helping anyone down there.”

  “His power can catch and kill a God,” Sabine said quietly, her humor dying off as she remembered her son would likely replace Death should they succeed. “He wants to see if the science division can get any readings on that power and maybe replicate it artificially. If they can, maybe we can create some defenses with it at least.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Anasha said after a moment. “I’m surprised he thought of it all by himself,” she went on, trying to make Sabine laugh and forget her sudden melancholy thoughts. Her effort was unsuccessful, however.

  “I think he’s afraid to leave my side for any length of time now, if he can’t get to me quickly,” Sabine said sadly. “You can at least defend yourself if needed. Me, I’m pretty much a turtle on its back right now.”

  Anasha came to Sabine’s side and lifted her chin so Sabine was looking into her eyes. Sabine lost herself in the blue of Anasha’s eyes as she always did, loving how they seemed to have a life of their own as they sparkled and shined. Suddenly she wanted nothing more in that moment than for her wife to kiss her, and her wish came true even as the thought formed in her mind.

  “We’re not going to let anything happen to you, my love,” Anasha whispered softly so only Sabine would hear, though the crew was leaving the hold to give them some privacy anyway. “And you know that we will try and save our son as well, if there is any way we can. It isn’t definite that he has to take Death’s place.”

  “You said “our son’ all on your own, finally. He’s so powerful already, though,” Sabine said just as softly. “I feel it every day, all of the time, the way his power grows and grows.” Anasha pressed her forehead to Sabine’s and held her tight, saying nothing.

  “Come on, my love,” Anasha said finally, “Let’s get out of here and go find a hot bath to ease your back.”

  “Why Anasha, my love,” Sabine said with a coy look, “I do believe you are trying to romance me.”

  Anasha laughed and kissed her wife.

  “You’re incorrigible. I know how much you love your baths these days,” Anasha said as she pulled Sabine to her feet and they began walking down the Phantom’s boarding ramp hand in hand.

  “I like them better when you join me,” Sabine said, still acting coy and smiling.

  The two women laughed together as they made their way to the lift, eager to get to that hot bath together. Sabine let her sadness over her son fade away for the time being as she basked in the love she and Anasha shared.

  ~23~

  The smell of bath oils filled the air as Kristof entered the quarters he shared with his wives, and he knew Sabine had found her way to her daily hot bath. He didn’t envy the physical load she was trying to carry on her tiny frame, and he was glad she’d found some relief in the hot bath water. He found Sabine and Anasha asleep in their bed, nude beneath the sheets, and Kristof did not have to imagine hard what had happened.

  For all of her awkwardness and aches and pains, Sabine’s passions had grown as well. The diminutive woman’s hormones were still a bit wild and tended to flame her already heathy appetite for loving her husband and wife. Her baths, when shared with either Kristof or Anasha, frequently ended with them making love and if they weren’t careful some very wet floors.

  Kristof stood for a long time just watching Sabine and Anasha sleep, and once again felt the amazement he always felt when he thought about how truly lucky he was. It was
often rare for two people to find true love, but to find it in two people who also truly loved each other; it made for an amazing and unique event.

  It was therefore rather tragic what had transpired between Cassandra, Pyreus, and Azrael, Kristof thought as he went back into the common area and sat at the computer terminal. In his mind he had begun calling the Gods by their real names now that he knew them. He wondered if their union had been doomed from the start, or if it could have been avoided if only Pyreus and Azrael had been more open minded.

  Kristof admitted to himself that his own triad would have been more awkward for him had the third been a man rather than Anasha. He certainly could not imagine himself kissing a man or making love to a man, no matter what he felt for him. Was that the whole problem, then, with the triad of the Gods? Just something as simple as male dominance and jealousy? They had certainly felt the jealousy between Pyreus and Azrael, so he wondered why Cassandra had not seen it as well. Would the war have been avoidable had Cassandra been able to choose one over the other, or not been so blind?

  It seemed arrogant on Kristof’s part to be sitting in judgement of the Gods, but the Gods had brought chaos to the universe and placed Kristof and his family right in the center of it. Kristof was ready to dispatch all three of them for their reckless behavior if he could just get his hands on them. The constant delays in tracking Cassandra down were beginning to make him edgy, he knew, as he remembered the dark brush against his mind while on Suthanara.

  The science division had no luck in helping Kristof with his idea, which also served to make him edgy. Sabine coming under direct attack by Karina while he had been on Suthanara had upset him terribly, but he had kept that anger tightly bottled up inside. Karina acted on the commands of Azrael, he knew, which fueled the anger more. If not for Max, Sabine would likely be dead now, and the android’s reward was to be half disassembled in the android service center, possibly fighting for his life since they couldn’t run a diagnostic on his memory core to know if he had survived.