Star Bridge (Space Rogue Book 4)

by Jay Toney

That left random selection. I chose a selection in the center of the panel and touched the screen. There was no sensation of movement, yet we were no longer in the hangar bay. The door simply opened and we were on the surface of the ringworld. We stepped out of the chamber and into an alien world. I couldn't tell whether the atmosphere was breathable or not. My lungs simply processed the atmosphere, extracted its oxygen, and expelled everything else. The rest of the party seemed to be breathing without any ill effects.

  Ahead of us was a city, and above us, we could see the planet that we were orbiting. We walked towards the city. Persephone's image joined our group. The city was a few miles distance and would take some time to reach. Jewel tried calling our ship. All she got back was static. Our signal was either too weak to get out, or it was being shielded. It was strange that our communications signal was blocked, but Persephone was able to appear with us at will. If needed she could be our communications link, or so I thought.

  Persephone became my anchor, helping me with my sanity. Persephone sang:

  "A captain without a lady,

  is like a ship without a sail.

  It is like a ship without a rudder,

  or a shirt without a tail.

  A captain without a lady,

  is likely to wreck upon the sand.

  But if there is one thing worse in this universe,

  it is a woman, without a man."

  "Persephone, why were you singing? Is there a message behind your song?"

  "I simply enjoy singing, I always have, I think. The sirens were jealous of my voice and singing. That is why they murdered me."

  "A memory?"

  "I don't know. I think for a moment it might have been. As for a message being behind my song, there is none that I am aware of. It was just something that popped into my head."

  Persephone's singing made the time pass quickly. Before we knew it, we were on the outskirts of the city, or what was left of it. The city was in ruins. Litter was strewn everywhere. Most doors stood open. Nearly every window was broken. The streets were deserted, but the buildings were not. Black sooty smoke billowed out of the occasional window, from cook fires. Occasionally we heard the sound of hooting calls. We continued exploring the city.

  It was clear to me that we wouldn't find a civilization that we could trade with. We would have to harvest what we needed. Surely there were farms nearby. There was no evidence of destruction or catastrophe. The people here had simply reverted to barbarians.

  Some of the people had gotten over their fear of us and began gathering in small groups. All avenues of retreat were cut off. With every turn we made, larger groups were forming. I wish we had come in powered armor. It was to late now. The men were armed with clubs, spears, makeshift swords, and knives.

  A spokesman came forward, in a language we could barely understand, he said, "You are not Anglo, nor are you engineer. You will come with us."

  We were given no choice. The weapons we faced were primitive, but they had superior numbers, too many to fight. We surrendered and allowed them to lead us away. We were led to a large building. Surrounding it was a high fence topped with barbwire. Four guard towers were manned, in each corner. The building had strong security doors and its windows were blocked with bars. I had heard tales of buildings such as these, but I never saw one. It was a prison.

  I had seen a wide range of treatment of criminals. For minor crimes, memory adjustments were made to correct minor infractions. For more serious crimes, sometimes a memory wipe and new personality were the accepted correction. The most common means of dealing with serious offenders was too have them pay for their crimes by servitude doing hard labor in mines. If it was thought that the prisoner couldn't earn his own keep, he would most likely take a walk out an airlock without a spacesuit. No society was taxed for housing prisoners.

  We were led down a corridor to a large prison cell. It was about 2Oft square. It's barred door was locked behind us, locking us in the room. Its plumbing was ripped away from the wall and floor. The place stank of filth, even with its open windows. We could escape easily. We still had our weapons. Escape would have to wait until it was dark, and most people were asleep.

  "Strangers, you will wait here for judgment. It won't be a long wait. Our cook pots need filling."

  Sticking around long enough for dinner wasn't an option. Our being served for dinner wasn't on my agenda. Our escape would have to be done tonight.

  When evening came, torches were lit, illuminating the area around our cell. Most of the guards had wandered off, seeking a place to sleep. We were left with two guards watching over us. They weren't paying much attention to us, content on sharing some form of alcoholic beverage.

  We waited until it was completely dark, before making our escape. "Persephone, walk through the bars and scare the prisoners."

  "I'll scare the hell out of them if it will get us out of this stinking hell hole." She hesitated only a minute before passing through the bars.

  "God, that feels bad. I hope this works. I'm not doing it again." She walked up to the prisoners and cleared her throat. The guards froze. "I am Persephone, Queen of the Dead. You have invoked my wrath. I will see you suffer every torment imaginable for all eternity. Your souls are mine!" They weren't frozen any longer. One of the guards lunged towards her and passed right through her. He recovered and ran. The other guard remained frozen, unsure what to do.

  "Scat!"

  That was enough. The decision had been made for him. He ran in the same direction of the other guard. I activated my energy sword, and adjusted its blade, making it smaller and thinner. I slid the blade down the door. I was showered in sparks as the blade cut through the locking mechanism. When the cut was complete, the door opened. I readjusted the blade and deactivated my sword before clipping the hilt to my belt.

  "You did great Persephone. I could almost believe your threat. It sounded so real."

  "Who said it was a threat, and it wasn't real?"

  Now I believed it. The look in her eyes convinced me more than anything else. I would hate to be on her bad side. She could be terrifying when she wanted to. I was starting to believe that she was the Persephone that I named the ship after.

  We followed the path that our fleeing guards took. The prisons exit was unguarded and we made our escape. We chose a direction to go at random and ran. Someone had seen our escape. We could hear hooting calls behind us. We didn't stop and continued to run. We passed several empty buildings and came to bare dirt. Low hills and rock formations were just a short distance away. Once we got there, we would be able to lose any pursuers or defend ourselves with the cover it provided.

  I saw something fly past me in my peripheral vision. It was a crude spear, crude but still deadly. We began firing back with blasters. A mix of blue and red bolts of energy struck the mob chasing us. Some pursuers were stunned, others killed. They didn't even slow down their pursuit. We were nearly at the rocks and safety. If we could just make the last 100 meters, we would be safe.

  I felt a burning sensation in my back and had to stop. The metal point of a spear was protruding from my abdomen, and blood began soaking my shirt. Jewel and the Keshians fired back at our foes, this time pausing their pursuit.

  "I'm sorry," Nugget said, "it has to be done."

  Two Keshians stopped firing and held my shoulders. Amber stared at me in horror, then began cutting strips of cloth from her clothing to use as bandages. Nugget took my energy sword and used it to cut the shaft of the spear. He grabbed the protruding spear tip and pulled. At first, it resisted, then suddenly it came free, sliding out of me. Amber bandaged my wounds, front and rear. I didn't think I could go on. My vision was starting to fade to black. The Keshians didn't wait or gi
ve me time to complain. They half carried me, and half dragged me to the safety of the rocks while the rest of the party continued firing on our pursuers.

  "Beginning diagnostics."

  "Diagnostics complete."

  The pain I felt was gone, replaced by the feeling of numbness. I let the veils of darkness that surrounded me, take me. Nanites flooded my system, stopping the flow of blood and repairing the damage.

  "Estimated time for repair... 6 hours."

  Persephone made a discovery. Hidden amongst the rocks was what she called a chariot. It was old, but if it was still functional, we could use it to escape.

  "Nathaniel, wake up!"

  I heard her voice and fought to open my eyes.

  "Help him up. We have to get going before more reinforcements arrive."

  Two of the Keshians got me to my feet. They dragged me to the chariot. The chariot wasn't a horse drawn cart. It was a flier, similar to a land speeder, but able to reach high altitudes. It was large enough to carry our entire party. It still had power and came to life when I touched the controls. A touch screen panel lit up, on the console. I couldn't make sense of the many commands and options. If I couldn't get us airborne and out of here, the flier might become our tomb.

  "Allow me, Nathaniel. This is just like the chariot I use to fly ages ago."

  Persephone couldn't possibly operate the controls. She didn't have a corporeal body in which to do so. She wasn't giving me any instructions or help either. Instead, she merged her body with mine. It felt creepy, having her meld with me. Was it just a hologram though? My thoughts were pushed back, as her thoughts filled my head. For the moment I knew everything about Persephone. I knew who she was and what she was, her memories became my memories. We were one. My hand reached out and began selecting different menu options. It wasn't me doing it. They selected functions without my having time to study the menu choices. The flier came to life and we were airborne. We started traveling eastward, at high speed. Persephone exited my body, and her memories faded.

  "I set the autopilot to take us home."

  "We are going back to our ship?"

  "No. Its home. It had to come from someplace, so I set its autopilot to bring us there, wherever it might be."

  "It felt strange when you merged with my body. It shouldn't have. You're just a holographic projection."

  "Am I?"

  "Well not just a projection, but still... ."

  "I know what you are trying to say. Now you know how I feel when I pass through walls."

  "Walls don't have any consciousness."

  "You would be surprised at what they have to say. They record everything in their presence. They are something like memory crystals, but they cannot be used to upload or download data."

  "When the cyborgs were remaking me and you said that you and Astrea were with me, was it more than just in spirit?"

  "We were with you the whole time, in body and mind. We shared everything that you experienced, and blocked what we could from your mind."

  "It wasn't the machines probe in my mind that was blocking the pain?"

  "No. Astrea and I did that. If it wasn't for us, you would have felt every bit of pain during your reconstruction. The machine was there to keep you alive, and to reprogram your mind to accept your new cyborg implants. The cyborgs lost whatever humanity they had long ago. They are truly biomechanical entities, living for centuries past their lifetimes."

  "Thank you. I owe you much more than I thought."

  "Your welcome. It's what friends do for each other."

  Even though her memories had faded from my mind, I knew that she somehow retained all of my memories. I could see it in her eyes. I wondered how she coped with it, without losing herself in my thoughts.

  Our flier started descending towards a cliff wall. We were moving straight at it. I pulled on the controls, but they wouldn't respond. We all braced for impact. The flier flew right through the cliff wall. It was a holographic projection. We found ourselves landing in a hangar. There was an elderly man dressed in a silver jumpsuit waiting for us. "It's about time you all got here. When I got to the shuttle bay you all were gone. We have much to do and little time to waste." He began leading us away to his office. "I am one of few remaining engineers. We have been waiting for the arrival of people such as yourselves."

  "Waiting?"

  "Yes. We have had visitors before, trying to get aboard our ringworld. Few have passed the test."

  "What is it that you need from us?"

  "Are you blind. Didn't you see what has happened to our inhabitants."

  "We saw a city. It was in ruin. The people there have degenerated into barbarism and cannibalism. We barely escaped with our lives."

  "Long ago our ancestors built this habitat. The world you see below us was nearly destroyed in a nuclear war. The shield was established and this ring system built to give the planet time to heal. We once lived in luxury, with little to do but wait. The people became lazy, then turned to savagery.

  They would have destroyed this habitat if they could. They destroyed their cities. They now live in their own filth, without power or services. We tried repairing the cities, bringing back basic services. The more we tried to repair the essential systems, the more savage the people became. We can no longer train our replacements. There are no volunteers to undergo the necessary training. That is why we need your help. You will be the next generation of engineers."

  "We cannot. We have to get back to our ships and continue our search for the Star Bridge. We came here hoping to trade for fresh food."

  "We have food in abundance. But it won't do you any good. By the time you learn enough to find your way back to your ship, your friends will be long gone."

  "We have to get Nathaniel back to the ship. He was injured by the savages."

  The engineer stopped examine Nathaniel's wounds. "That's a nasty looking wound. What caused it, a spear? It looks like it is healing just fine though."

  "It was a spear. Repairs are at 34%. It will be another four hours before repairs are complete."

  "What are you, some sort of biomechanical mechanism?"

  "I am or was human. I'm not sure what I am any longer. I was captured and taken to a world of cyborgs. They made me more machine than man."

  "We stopped our cybernetic programs long ago. There were just too many problems with the people we enhanced."

  "May I suggest a trade?" Nugget asked.

  "A trade for what?"

  "Six volunteers, to stay with you and fix the damage that has been done over generations."

  "You mean six more?"

  "No, just six total."

  "I have all of you now."

  "No Keshian has ever been made to do anything we didn't want to do. I doubt you will be able to convince Nathaniel or his lady friends either. I assure you, we can be worth more trouble than we are worth."

  "What do you propose?"

  "I will trade six Keshian volunteers, to fix this broken down habitat, in exchange for our freedom, food, and some shared technology. We are experts on getting things done."

  "Just how would you go about setting things back on the right path?"

  "Tav, explain."

  "All cannibalism stops at once. The punishment for practicing cannibalism is a public execution. I expect, only a few demonstrations will be necessary. Provisions to the people will be cut in half. This will make them more compliant, and give them the motivation to earn more. We will review your data on the populace. From our review we will choose leaders and engineering students. We will teach the leaders what is to be expected, and how to d
o it. They, in turn, will select people from their villages to train in the construction trades. Meanwhile, the populace will clean and repair what they can.

  Any who refuse will have their rations cut off until they comply. Hunger is a powerful motivation. They will learn that if they want to eat, they will have to earn it. The droids you are using for agriculture will be reprogrammed for other tasks. The people will now be responsible for learning to grow and harvest their own crops. Handouts will stop when we begin training. We will give the people purpose and make them productive again. I expect the people to return to civilization in three years, and all evidence of their savagery gone within 10 years."

  "I think we can come to a deal. What technology do you seek? We will not trade in weapons technology though."

  "I am interested in two things. First is the force field technology you use in the shuttle bays. Our technology requires multiple forcefields, and uses a great deal of power to operate them."

  The engineer spoke into his comlink. "A force field projector and a power plant for it have been loaded into your shuttle, as well as the technical specifications for it. What is the other thing you wish?"

  "A means to make a corporeal body for Persephone."

  "I believe you already have the technology for that. Tell me, in your simulations, are your holograms solid or just images?"

  "They have form and are solid."

  "I thought so. One emitter doesn't provide enough information for the hologram to take form. It requires multiple emitters to make the image solid."

  "We have multiple holographic emitters throughout the ship."

  "Their fields only just touch or slightly overlap. It isn't enough. It will take three emitters in close proximity to give her form." He turned and started rummaging through his shelves. "This will do nicely, I think." He made some adjustments on the device, synchronizing it to the portable emitter I wore on my belt. Then he fastened a chain to the device and hung it around my neck, "Give it a try." I tentatively touched Persephone's shoulder, then embraced her in a hug. She was real.