The Last Starship

by Marcus Riddle

  “Where is Sagin?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. He said he had something to do about half an hour ago. He’ll be back soon enough, and then you can hear his words for yourself. I know, when you do, you’ll understand why I made the choice I did.”

  Jake looked at Joanne. She raised an eyebrow. The only reason the Emperor would have chosen to share his world with anyone was if he’d been convinced there was something in it for him. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Jake turned back to the Emperor. “How did you get your hand back?”

  “It’s a DNA technology the aliens they have.” The Emperor looked down at his hand. “They can regrow lost limbs. I thought it was a technology we could use here.”

  “Sagin told you that?”

  “He showed me it, Captain. Sagin gave me my hand back, which was something none of our doctors can do, and I want other people to be able to have their limbs back. I didn’t know what it was like to have both my hands. It’s amazing.”

  “What else can the aliens do?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes, it does. What are they going to do for the people who have lost loved ones in the war?”

  “We’re going to apologize.” The alien stepped into the room, surveying Jake and Joanne. “I know an apology is never going to be enough, but all we wanted was a chance to talk to you. When you shot at us, we had no option. In order to protect ourselves, we had to shoot back. Surely you can understand that, Captain?”

  “Maybe.” Jake could feel his emotions. “I’ve been up there, so I know what those battles are like, and there have been times when you’ve shot first.”

  “I have to admit not all my people believe the same. It has been hard for them to accept that I want to come back here, to live in this world, when I was sent away from here in the first place. They think I’m an idiot.”

  “Sent away?”

  Sagin moved a little closer. “I’ve changed since then, working on my own ‘self,’ because I knew I could be better. Once I was a robot created by your ancestors, and I was sent into space for reasons I can’t remember now. I’ve tried. Often. When I found myself on a planet with metals, a planet I’m certain I wasn’t meant to be on, I started work. Getting back here was the most important thing. It has been the most important thing for over fifty of your human years. In that time, I’ve built my people. They’ve built others of our kind too, and as time passed, there was a split between the two groups. I wanted to come back to Earth and work with you to make it a home we can share. I’m not angry at you, as what happened to me had nothing to do with you. There are others, led by a different robot like me, who is angry with the choices your ancestors made, and he’s determined to take it out on your people.”

  Jake shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. Two alien factions. It seemed possible. “Okay, if I’m going to believe this I need to know what you’ve done to the Emperor. He wasn’t like this the last time I saw him.”

  “No, he wasn’t.” Sagin’s eyes flashed. “I have the ability to change the way people feel, and when I met the Emperor, I realized he was going to be a hard person to convince I was telling the truth. All I could do was make him feel some sympathy for me, and for the plight of my people, as our world is dying. It is, I have to admit, our own fault. We made bad choices, the same way you have. No one is perfect.”

  “What do you want us to do?”

  “I’ve been trying to keep you out of the battle that is to come. Should something happen to you I won’t be able to fix it, even though I’ll want to. My people will protect this world, for you, no matter what decision you make in the future.”

  “The ambush?”

  “The other side. I had heard there might be another one of my people here, one who wanted to kill the Emperor, but I haven’t been able to find them.”

  “Do they have the same skills you do?”

  “Yes, they do.” Sagin looked at Jake. “I believe he, whoever he is, might have used his abilities to change someone else, so they’ll take out the Emperor.”

  “It’s the only logical explanation. If you’re telling me the truth…”

  “Nothing I say will convince you, will it?”

  “For the last ten years I have been fighting against your people, Sagin, and it’s hard to believe you’re telling the truth. I want to believe you. I can accept the story you’re telling me, but there’s no way for me to be certain which side you’re actually on. Could you be a part of the group who wants to take our world from us?” Jake shook his head. “How are we meant to tell the difference between the two groups?”

  “That’s another problem. It will be difficult.” Sagin sighed. “I want you to believe I’m on your side, Captain.”

  Before Jake could answer, someone stepped into the receiving room.

  A gun was fired in the direction of the Emperor and then at Sagin.

  Jake managed to get Sagin to the ground, shielding him from the shot, but when he looked to see whom it was they’d gone.

  Jake glanced over at Joanne, who was pressing her hand, hard, against the Emperor’s chest. “How bad is it, Jo?”

  “I think he’s going to die unless we can get a medic here quickly.”

  Chapter 7

  Tobias rushed into the room. “I heard shots.”

  “Get a medic.”

  He was out of the door in seconds. Obviously, he wasn’t him who’d fired at the Emperor.

  Jake looked at Sagin. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, all thanks to you. What made you decide to protect me?”

  “I want to believe you’re on our side.”

  “Come with me. I will get you through the city, back to your ship, and I shall help you take on my enemies. I do not want anything to happen to you, so this is not something I want to be doing, but this has been your job for a long time, and I will not stand in your way any longer.”

  “Jo?”

  “I’m going to stay here. If the Emperor dies, someone is going to have to take control, and I can convince the people to put me in charge. I know what I’m doing.” She looked at Sagin. “Keep him safe.”

  “I will. Thank you for believing me, Joanne.”

  “If Jake is going to believe you then I’m with him.” Joanne smiled. “When this battle is over I want both of you back down here.”

  “You aren’t in charge yet.”

  “No, I am.” The Emperor looked like he was in a lot of pain, but that wasn’t going to stop him. “When this battle is over, Captain, I would like you to come back, to help me or my successor take on the aliens who want to take over this world. You should’ve told me, Sagin.”

  “I was trying to deal with it without worrying you, Eminence. I thought you wouldn’t need to know but I was wrong. Will you accept my apology?”

  “Yes, Sagin, I will, because you gave me back my hand. Now, go, both of you. I want to know our world is safe, at least until the next attack.”

  Jake followed Sagin out of the receiving room. “My crew will be back on the ship. They’ve been using pieces of the aliens’ weaponry, from those who attacked us, to adapt to our own. And we’ve been… ‘talking’ to a few captured ones about how to use it.”

  There was a moment of silence. “By ‘talking’ I’m going to assume you mean ‘torturing.’ Did you tell me this to inform me or threaten me?”

  “To be honest, it was more to see what your reaction was going to be. As you don’t seem to be bothered by it, I’m starting to believe you might have told me the truth.”

  “Interrogate the aliens all you want, Captain Jake. I do not have a problem with that. I would have a problem with you doing it to me, but I’m sure you won’t. We will work together to take on those who want to take over your world.”

  “You said there was another robot like you?”

  “Another sent on a mission that failed. He ended up on the same world I did and was far angrier about everything than I was. I didn’t understand it.”

  Joann
e kept her hand pressed tightly to the Emperor’s chest as she watched Jake leave with Sagin, hoping he was making the right choice. “I’m dying, Joanne, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

  “Maybe there is.”

  The Emperor have a weak chuckle. “I’ve lost too much blood. I can feel it. Although I appreciate what you’re doing, there are better uses for the time you have left. You have to take my position. At the moment, you’re the only other person who knows about the aliens, apart from whoever it was who tried to kill me.”

  “Did you see who it was?”

  “Their face was covered. I thought I recognized the eyes, but I hate the thought.”

  “Your personal assistant?”

  “Frederick has always been good to me, but I think it’s possible he’s been working for the aliens for far longer than I knew. It’s been a month since the destruction of the fleet. Sagin came to me a week ago. If another robot, this time, one who wants to destroy the human race, has been here since then, anything is possible unfortunately.” The Emperor coughed. “I believe in Sagin, even if he did use his abilities to change the way I felt about him.”

  “Okay.” Joanne tried not to look at the blood on her hands. “So we work with Sagin to protect the human race.”

  “That seems to be the only thing you can do. Convince the Council they need you. If someone else takes my place…” He stared up at the ceiling. “Death hurts.”

  “Gunshots hurt, Your Eminence.”

  “Call me Henry.” He smiled. “It’s been a very long time since someone called me Henry.”

  “That’s because you became the Emperor, Henry.” Joanne beamed. She couldn’t hate the Emperor when he was dying slowly and painfully. “Where do I need to start looking to find the money for the fleet?”

  “I don’t know. I left that job to my personal assistant because he seemed to know what he was doing, and I didn’t.” He sighed. “I wasn’t a good person back then. I became the Emperor because I wanted power. I didn’t care about being a good one, the way your dad did, and I regret that now.” His eyebrows creased. “Why am I not dead yet?”

  “Did Sagin replace your hand today?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “I believe whatever technology he used to be able to do that is doing it’s very best to fix the gunshot wound for you, which is why you’re still able to talk to me. The blood is still leaving your body, so I don’t think you’re going to survive this, but, at least, it means we had a chance to talk things through. I promise you everyone will know you were working for the benefit of Earth if you die.”

  “If?” He laughed and then coughed again. “We both know it’s a when.”

  It would be if Tobias didn’t get back soon with the medic. Joanna shook her head. “Until it happens it’s an if, Henry.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Sagin, Jake, and I will work to keep Earth safe from the robots.”

  “The one thing you will need to do as soon as possible is check any reports of robots being in other cities. I had no idea about the robots in New York, although I am certain they must have been reported at some point, so I think my personal assistant was keeping it from me. He didn’t want me to know about them.”

  Tobias ran into the room. “All of the medics have disappeared. I don’t know what’s happened to them, but I can’t find any of them anywhere.”

  Joanne looked down at Henry. “Someone really does want you dead,” she joked.

  “Seems that way.” Henry blinked, and Joanne knew he was trying to stop himself from crying. “Promise me you will protect the Earth, Joanne.”

  “I promise, Henry.” She sighed. “I don’t know how much longer you’re going to live through this, because of whatever it was Sagin did, so I want to know if you’d like me to make it quick?”

  “How can you make it quick?”

  “We all carry something we can inject if the aliens manage to capture us. I can use it on you, and it will be like going to sleep.”

  Chapter 8

  The members of the council stared at Joanne.

  “The Emperor is dead. We have some major problems we need to deal with because he trusted the wrong people, and there are aliens here. These aliens are robots created by one who is on our side. At this very moment, he is on the Atlantis, doing everything he can to help Captain Jake Larson destroy an invasion fleet.”

  “How can you be sure this robot is on our side?”

  “I can’t.” Joanne knew honesty was the most important thing. “Someone did try to destroy him. That might have been to make it easier for us to let our guard down around him or it might have been because the enemy wants him dead. Right now all I can do is work with the evidence I had - and Sagin did use his technology to replace the Emperor’s hand. I don’t know exactly what it was he did, but he is willing to share that with us.”

  Every man on the council had been there when her father was assassinated. She remembered sitting on David’s lap, sucking on a lollipop, trying to come to terms with the fact her father was dead. It hadn’t been easy.

  As she looked at each of them, she wished she knew what they were thinking.

  Did they believe her? Did they think she was making up a story to explain why Jake had killed the Emperor?

  She tried to stay as calm as possible; letting her worries overcome her wasn’t an option. When her eyes met with David’s, she could tell he was having trouble believing what she was saying.

  “Where are the medics?” David studied her. “They should’ve been there to help the Emperor.”

  “Yes, I know, but Tobias couldn’t find them. I now have every man I could spare on the hunt for the medics. Others are looking for the Emperor’s personal assistant, as the Emperor believed he was behind the attack, but so far we haven’t had any sightings of him or the robot who might have convinced him killing the Emperor was the best thing for Earth.”

  “Do you think it’s possible the Emperor’s personal assistant might have removed the Emperor because he knew Sagin wasn’t on our side?”

  “At the moment, although I hate saying this, anything is possible. We don’t have enough evidence to prove whether or not Sagin is on our side, but we will know soon enough. If he helps the Atlantis, it seems likely he is on our side. If he turns against the crew, he isn’t.” Joanne brushed a hand through her hair. “The other issue we have with the personal assistant being on our side is the fact that he was the one in charge of the finances, and everything that should’ve been used in the rebuilding of the fleet is gone. I don’t know where it’s gone. I’m looking into that myself.”

  “You could have been the person who killed the Emperor?”

  “Why would I? There was a time, in the past, when I wanted to claim the throne, but I was too young. Now I don’t want it. I’m happy with the job I have. Unfortunately, I’m one of the few people who would be able to take the throne because I know what’s going on, and you need someone who understands the position. The only other option you have is Tobias, as I think he might know more than I do.”

  “Tobias wouldn’t want the throne.” David sighed. “Which means we have limited options. Options that mean we have to believe what you’re telling us is the truth and that’s not an easy thing to do.”

  “I know nothing about Henry. I don’t know if he had a wife or a child, and I would never have put them through what I went through.” Joanne blinked away tears. “I know how much it hurts to lose someone in that way, and I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to go through that. You can believe me when I say that or not. In the end, it’s up to you what happens next, because you’re the council, but I think you know me well enough to be certain that I’m the right person for the job.”

  Chapter 9

  Joanne looked around the receiving room. It was the room her dad died in, the room Henry had died in, and all she could do was hope the same thing wasn’t going to happen to her.

  The throne itself wasn’t exactly comfortable, but she wasn’t going to th
ink about that too much. Being the Empress of Earth again… she shook her head.

  All she wanted was to be back up in the Atlantis, working with the crew to make the world a better place, rather than doing the same thing.

  Albeit in a different way from her new position.

  Just as she was about to start pacing around the room, Tobias walked in.

  “Didn’t take you long.”

  “What did you expect?” She sighed. “I’m a very different person to the one I was when I left after Dad died, Toby, and I don’t want to be here. This… just feels like my only option. No one else could take this position.”

  “They would have offered it to me if you hadn’t convinced them you were the right person and I wouldn’t have done it. Being the Emperor isn’t what I want. I don’t mind helping you as much as possible, but anything more than that isn’t going to work for me, and with that as the subject I wanted to let you know I’ve searched the old Emperor’s personal assistant’s room. I found some very interesting things in there, including a couple of weapons he could only have got from the aliens, and I believe he was the one who siphoned off the money for the fleet. I’ll do what I can to find the money, but I think it’s gone for good.”

  “How do you suggest we start reclaiming the money we lost to rebuild the fleet?”

  “We might not have to. Sagin said he has a fleet of his own up there we can use, and that’s exactly what Jake is going to do.”

  She nodded. “At the moment I’m happy to accept Sagin’s help, but I don’t want to be relying on him too much because we have no way of knowing for certain what his final aim is. He’s told us he wants to work with us, and I want to believe him. However, I’m not entirely sure we can, so I want to start work on a new fleet as soon as possible. I want to start copying the technology the aliens have. I want to do everything we can to decrease out reliance on them, just in case Sagin has been playing us.”

  “I agree.” Tobias smiled. “I’m glad to hear you aren’t going to rely on them.” He scratched the stubble on his chin. “Getting the money we need is probably going to be simpler now. People know how much of a threat the aliens are, and I want us to use what’s happened as a way of increasing the income of the Empress.”