by Rob Steiner
Nestor frowned. “Well…”
Kaeso looked at Nestor. “What did she do, Medicus?”
“She, um, shot him and then locked him up in Cargo Two.”
Kaeso cursed. He turned around and was about to storm up the ladder when a wave of vertigo hit him. He staggered forward, fell to his knees, and then all fours.
“He is all right,” Nestor said, helping Kaeso up. “She shot him in the liver, but the bullet went through his body. I cleaned the wound and was about to surgically repair the liver but...well, the liver was almost healed. I thought he might be a golem, but he is human. That’s not all. His skin is covered with a fabric that projects a different skin.” Nestor stared at Kaeso with haunted eyes. “He is a different man beneath that fabric.”
The ship continued to spin, so Kaeso squeezed his eyes shut. Nestor helped him up and back to his bunk. Kaeso lay down without resisting. He knew the implant reactivation would take at least another six hours to complete. But Kaeso couldn’t wait six hours. Not with a mission to prepare for, a crazy first officer, and a wounded Vessel in his cargo bay, who happened to be his crew's only hope to survive after this mission.
“Stay here and sleep,” Nestor said. “That's an order from your medicus. There are no emergencies at the moment. I'll check on you in an hour.”
“Nestor,” Kaeso croaked, “don’t mention the Navigator’s skin to the crew.”
Nestor clicked his tongue.
“You already told the crew, didn’t you?”
Nestor nodded, then left Kaeso’s quarters.
Kaeso screamed in his mind. Why had Lucia shot Galeo? The bastard could be arrogant and bossy, but those were not reasons to kill him. Was it self-defense? Had he attacked her? Kaeso doubted he'd sleep until he found out. All he could do was wait out the vertigo so he could storm up to the command deck without vomiting all over it.
And now Nestor had seen Galeo’s Umbra cloak and told the crew. If the deal Kaeso made with Galeo was off, then his crew was dead.
To occupy his mind while the vertigo receded, Kaeso concentrated on his newly reactivated implant. The neural connections with his brain continued to build, and the implant's information was already seeping into his mind. The implant had all the memories from his years with Umbra: every mission, procedure, wondrous Umbra tech, contact he developed in Roma. The confidence, the wisdom, the bravery. It was all there. Despite his body's weakness from the reactivation, Kaeso wanted to go to Roma now and use those dormant skills. Skills he missed more than he ever realized.
The Magisterium, however, was still a “black hole” in his mind. It was the Magisterium that fed all Umbra Ancilia their mission intelligence. Through Muse tech, the communication traveled light years in an instant, whereas the fastest communication the rest of humanity used were starship couriers via the way lines. The implant com was more like a broadcast, however. Kaeso could not send a message back to Libertus, even though his body's vital signs were. Umbra explained this was for security—if the enemy ever caught an Ancile and figured out the implant, he could send an electronic virus back to Libertus to wipe out the implant network.
Kaeso now understood the caution. The “black hole” proved the Romans could at least jam Umbra coms. From there, it wasn’t too much of a leap to access them. Kaeso hoped Libertus was simply being jammed. He didn’t want to think the Romans had slagged the entire planet.
Memories of Claudia suddenly flashed through his mind. Her laughing, six-year-old face while she and Petra played fake instruments to the tune of some popular new song. Then tears streaming down her eight-year-old cheeks, the orange and yellow flames of her mother’s funeral pyre reflected in her eyes. The snarl on her ten-year-old mouth when she told Kaeso she hated him and wished it had been him who died in that explosion. It was his last memory of her.
Kaeso closed his eyes, opened them, and found the room no longer spinning. He knew it wasn’t an hour since he lay down, but he couldn’t sit still. Sleep was elusive, especially when he didn’t know what was happening to his crew and his ship. He could have used his collar com to call Lucia, but he didn’t want to give her time to collect herself and come up with an excuse for what she did. A surprise visit would throw her off balance, which would most likely get Kaeso the truth.
Once again he stood up from his bunk, the vertigo all but gone, and left his quarters. At the ladder to the command deck, he said a silent prayer to Fortuna that the vertigo would not return while he climbed and then began to ascend.
Lucia sat in the pilot's couch, her chin in one hand and her other hand scrolling through data on her console.
“Why did you shoot Galeo?”
Lucia flinched, then turned to him. “You should be in your bunk.”
“Why did you shoot Galeo?”
“I didn't kill him.”
Kaeso slammed his hand on the wall, making a loud reverberation through the deck. Her eyes were wide like a child who'd been caught stealing candy. “Godsdamn you, Lucia, give me a straight answer.”
“Me?” she asked. “What about you, Kaeso? You're the one who sought out these Liberti agents. You're the one who won’t bring your own crew on some job you won't tell us the half of. You're the one who let this Navigator aboard the ship and let him turn you into some bootlicking slave who jumps when he lifts a finger. Never mind he has some holographic fabric covering his entire body. I think you are the one who owes me—and your crew—straight answers.”
Kaeso knew he should have been angry. I'm her centuriae and she is bound by honor and law to obey my orders. But that was not his first thought during her rant.
Freedom was his first thought. With Umbra no longer broadcasting from Libertus, there were no concealment protocols on his implant. Days ago he would have been doubled over clutching his head for merely considering to tell her what he knew. Now he felt nothing. And it was the greatest feeling of freedom he could remember.
“You're right,” Kaeso said. “You deserve answers. You all do.”
Her eyes narrowed.
Kaeso tapped his collar com. “All crew meet in the galley.”
He glanced at Lucia, who didn’t move. “Do you want answers or what?”
She stood up, walked past him, and descended the ladder. He followed her down.
Nestor and Blaesus were in the galley when Kaeso and Lucia arrived. Daryush was the last to enter, and the big Persian stood in the corner, his arms folded. It was the same location and stance Dariya adopted for the all-crew meetings.
With all of them sitting there, Kaeso was suddenly uncomfortable. He was used to giving orders, not bearing his soul and his past to them. He wondered what they’d think of him when they found out what he once did, especially Blaesus and Lucia.
Just to break the silence, he turned to Nestor. “How’s the Navigator?”
“He's lost a lot of blood and he's still unconscious. He should have died.”
Kaeso glared at Lucia, but she did not meet his gaze.
“But the way he's healing,” Nestor continued, “I’d say he's only going to have a small scar in a few days. I can't explain it. Not even golems heal that fast. I would love to know who...or what...he is.”
Nestor left that non-question hanging as he studied Kaeso. “Dariya?” Kaeso asked, avoiding Galeo for now.
“She sleeps,” Nestor said. “All vital signs are normal except her body temperature. It increases a tenth of degree every twelve hours. I believe this is due to the virus.”
Kaeso nodded. The sleeper crib would give Dariya another week if she stayed in it the whole time. The crib wouldn’t stop the virus from spreading, only delay it. Her best chance was Ocella’s alleged cure. Kaeso didn’t want to think about what he'd have to do to Dariya if that cure didn’t exist.
Kaeso looked at the crew. “You want answers. I don't blame you. I've wanted to give you answers for a long time. So now is your chance. Ask me what you want.”
The crew glanced at each other, as if they all had a jumble of quest
ions, but didn’t know where to start. As always, Blaesus spoke first.
“Just who is this Navigator, Centuriae?”
Even without the implant’s concealment protocols in place, Kaeso hesitated. He realized if he told them what he knew of Umbra, he was potentially killing them. Kaeso verified the deal Galeo had made, but he didn't know if that deal was off because of Lucia’s attack. If it was, and he told them what they wanted to know, then maybe not today or tomorrow, but some day an Ancile would kill each one of them. It was a brutal policy, but one that kept Libertus safe for over two hundred years. Once the jamming was lifted from Libertus, his implant's restrictions would return and it would send back everything Kaeso had done while out of contact. And he and his crew would be marked.
But if the deal still stood, then Kaeso could tell them whatever he wanted, and they would not be harmed. During Kaeso's years with Umbra, he knew the Muses to be brutal when the situation called for it, but they always honored their deals.
He had to trust that now.
“An organization called Umbra Corps is what has kept Libertus free for over two centuries,” Kaeso began. “The simple fact that I told you its name may have put your lives in danger.”
The crew stared at him.
“I was once an Umbra Ancile,” Kaeso said. “I was stationed in Roma. I spied on Roman Senators, bureaucrats, generals, patricians, and centurions. I also assassinated Senators, bureaucrats, generals, patricians, and centurions. Among others. I did many things to prevent Roma from gobbling up Libertus. Things with tools so amazing you’d think they came from the gods. Like the Navigator’s Umbra cloak.”
“Umbra cloak?” Nestor asked.
“Ancilia wear it to conceal their identity,” Kaeso said. “It works well unless it’s torn or examined by a medicus.”
Kaeso looked from one set of eyes to another. “Six years ago I was discharged from Umbra. Well, you never really leave Umbra. I have an implant in my brain that let me communicate with Umbra when I was an Ancile. Once I left, my implant was mostly deactivated. Except for one function, which prevented me from talking about Umbra or my service with them.”
“Why?” Blaesus asked. “Every planet has its spy agencies, and every planet makes their names known. It builds the mystique. Any one of you would quiver in fear if you knew the Praetorian Guard were after you. So why is this Umbra so different that it kills anyone who learns its name?”
“Umbra has built a mystique. You've heard of the Liberti numina, right?”
Blaesus chuckled. “You’re saying Umbra Ancilia are numina?”
“No, but Umbra can do things that would make some think they’re numina.”
“Kaldeth,” Lucia said. “The ‘spirit’ I saw on Kaldeth. Was that...?”
Kaeso nodded. “Roma was in an expansionist mood. They’d craved Libertus for almost as long as it’s been settled, so Umbra knew it was high on Roma's wish list. Umbra did what it’s always done: divert Roma's attention elsewhere.”
Nestor furrowed his brow. “But Kaldeth started that war. The religious castes had been calling for ‘death to Roma’ for decades. Kaldethian terrorists even set off bombs in Terran cities...”
Nestor's voice trailed off as he realized what he'd just said. “That was Umbra?”
“I don't know the operational details,” Kaeso said, “but I know Umbra had a hand in starting the conflict. Umbra instigated the Kaldethians without them knowing it.”
Blaesus shook his head. “I always thought the Kaldethians were mad for provoking Roma. Apparently they weren't mad. They were puppets.”
“I know this sounds dishonorable,” Kaeso said, “but Libertus doesn’t have a large space fleet. It cannot withstand a direct assault, as we all witnessed two days ago. That’s why it must protect itself in other ways.”
Kaeso didn't know how to make his crew understand what it was like to live on Libertus. Yes, it was a wealthy world. Its economy was bigger than all the Lost Worlds combined, its cultural output one of its largest exports, its cities and islands a source of tourism revenue that kept it from taxing its own citizens like every other world or nation.
But it lay between two hostile empires—Roma and the Zhonguo—who would like nothing better than to take the Liberti jewel for their own treasure vaults. As a school child, Kaeso endured constant drills of running to bombardment shelters. He remembered speeches from Liberti Senators thanking the gods and the numina for protecting Libertus from foreign invasion. Without a large space fleet, the only weapons Libertus had were economic, cultural, and diplomatic. Those seemed like a flimsy shield to most Liberti. Since they could not fathom why Libertus was still free, they just assumed the planet had the gods’ favor. In some ways the Liberti were more religious than the Romans. Their “religion” was to work hard and make a lot of money. If they did that, they would continue to enjoy the gods’ protection.
“That’s why Umbra encourages those numen legends,” Kaeso continued. “To make other nations think twice about attacking. Umbra is in almost every nation in human space. It listens to politicians, military leaders, and the ruling classes. When someone advocates an aggressive policy toward Libertus...Umbra takes care of the problem. No need for large space fleets or wars when you can take away your enemy's desire to attack you.”
Blaesus frowned. “I suppose it is more humane than targeting entire cities and worlds. Dishonorable, but humane.”
Nestor asked, “How did Umbra get all this 'magical' technology to fight its secret wars? I've been to Libertus. It is more prosperous than most worlds, yet its technology is not that different. Are you saying the gods have favored Umbra with tech that not even the Romans have?”
Kaeso hesitated. Speaking of Umbra, a crime worth assassination under normal circumstances, was one thing. But to discuss the Muses, secret alien allies of Libertus since its founding, would be stretching Fortuna's grace. Kaeso decided to be cautious and keep the Muses to himself.
“Libertus is a prosperous world,” Kaeso said. “Prosperity brings many things most worlds don't have, like a good education system. What can I say, the Liberti are clever.”
Blaesus snorted. “My Roman heart takes offense, since it’s widely known Romans are the most clever race in the universe. But my Roman brain concedes that if half of what you say is true, then the Liberti must be very clever.”
Kaeso grinned. “Only you could admit a shortcoming while also complimenting yourself.”
“One of my many talents.”
“So why does Umbra really want us to go to Terra?” Lucia asked. “It's sure not out of concern for Dariya.”
“You're right,” Kaeso said. “You heard some of it yesterday.”
Kaeso glared at Blaesus. The old Senator shrugged. “It's not my fault you don't know how to keep your voice down.”
“So it's true,” Lucia said. “They want us to kidnap the Consular Heir. They must be mad. It's impossible. There's no way we can get close to him.”
“The Consular Heir wants to defect to Libertus,” Kaeso said.
The crew stared at him in stunned silence. Blaesus and Lucia shifted in their seats. While they did not practice most Roman religious rituals, they were still Roman, taught from birth that the Consular Family, especially the Antonii, were gods. That was a hard faith to abandon. Even when the belief was no longer there.
“The Consular Family,” Blaesus said, “rarely leaves their walled palace on the Palatine. An army of Praetorian Guardsmen protects them. They cannot just come and go as they please. Many attempts have been made to infiltrate the Consular Palace over the centuries. None have succeeded.”
“None that you know of,” Kaeso replied.
“Well perhaps your Umbra comrades have found a way, if they're as all-knowing as you say they are. But getting in is one thing. Getting the Consular Heir out is another.”
“He's already out,” Kaeso said. “Three weeks ago, an Ancile got him out of the palace. They've been on the run ever since. At least, that was their
status before the Romans attacked Libertus.”
“That is why the Romans attacked Libertus?” Blaesus asked. “Because they think Umbra has the Consular Heir?”
“It’s not just that,” Kaeso said. “Being the Consular Heir, he knows things about the Roman government even Umbra doesn’t know. Supposedly he wants to tell Libertus everything. Including this cure for Cariosus.”
Lucia shook her head. “It just doesn't make sense. A member of the Consular Family doesn't defect. Especially the godsdamned Heir. Why does he want to leave Roma? It's never happened.”
“We don't know,” Kaeso said, “but whatever information he has, the Romans are willing to go to war with Libertus to get him back.”
Nestor asked, “Our deal for Liberti citizenship? Does that still stand after…” He glanced at Lucia, who frowned.
“There are few things Umbra believes in,” Kaeso said. “One of them is sticking to their contracts. They will honor the deal I made with Galeo.”
The rest of the crew seemed unconvinced. Blaesus drummed his fingers on the table, Lucia stared at her hands, and Daryush kept glancing out the door. Kaeso himself was unconvinced. I have to trust in the deal I made with the Muses. It’s the only way I can save my crew…and get back into Umbra.
Nestor nodded thoughtfully, then said, “What if I told you there was another way?”
“What do you mean?”
“There may be a third party that would like to meet the Consular Heir.”
“The Zhonguo?” Kaeso asked. “Of course they’d love to get their hands on the Heir.”
“Not the Zhonguo.”
Kaeso stared at Nestor, who held his gaze without speaking. A strange look came over the medicus, one Kaeso never saw before. The medicus usually avoided eye contact with those whom he conversed. This time the medicus stared directly at Kaeso, and it was Kaeso who wanted to turn away from those hard eyes. But he held Nestor's gaze and asked again, “What do you mean?”
