“You’re right. And the tracking system is showing only five percent of Terran military traffic we registered upon arrival.”
“Is there any chance the rogue elements introduced this? Are we still hacked and don’t know it?”
“Well there are Trilisks around. Who knows what they could do?” Cilreth pointed out.
“No. You know what? The Trilisks of old would just take over the whole ship in a heartbeat. This was Shiny’s doing. Magnus was right all along.”
“What can we do?” Cilreth said.
“Attack the big bug back. We have the Clacker.”
“He’s got several…”
“We know which one he’s in. If we’re lucky, maybe we get him. Or take out his Trilisk AI.”
Cilreth nodded. “Okay. You’ve got offense. Target him. I’ll see to our defenses.”
It’s easy to agree with myself, even on the radical ideas.
Cilreth diverted power to the defenses of the massive starship. She kept one eye out for the cyber attack to return. Part of her thought its demise was too good to be true.
Maybe I finally plugged all the holes Shiny can use to get in.
Vovokan ship to ship weapons were mostly energy-based. Cilreth fed the Clacker’s EM shields to a large power reserve and put the ship on an erratic course. Since the other ships were farther than a light minute away, having an erratic course could help to avoid counter attacks.
Cilreth saw the ship’s energy reserve drop in half.
“Salvo away,” Cilreth2 said. “We’ll see what Shiny thinks of that!”
Cilreth waited nervously. It would be a while before they could discern results. The round trip for light all the way out to the belt would ensure that.
“Cilreth?” It was Jason.
“Yes Jason. What news?”
“Well we fried several Trilisks, but Vovokan ships have been wiping out the Space Force.”
“I know. We’ve attacked Shiny. But it’s just the Clacker against all the others.”
“If you can point out the location of the other ships, I can pass that along,” Jason said.
“I’ll send you their last known locations,” Cilreth said. She sent Jason the pointer.
“Have you heard from the rest of the team?” Jason asked.
“No, but our computers were attacked. We lost communications for a long while.”
“I say contact them directly,” Cilreth2 said. “We have to disconnect. I think this link traffic could help Shiny pinpoint our location and hit us.”
“Good luck,” Jason said, then disconnected.
The other Vovokan ships in the system flickered then disappeared from the system scan.
“I’d like to say that means you got them, but since you shot at one and they all disappeared, it just means he’s alerted to our hostility.”
“R’lyeh rising! They’re coming for us!”
“Did that damn centipede betray us or was he taken over by Trilisks?”
The Clacker shook violently.
“What’s that? There’s no way he could have returned fire so quickly!” Cilreth said.
“Returned fire, no. Maybe he already fired before ours got there.”
“I took evasives.”
“We need to modify our algorithms. Also, who knows what those rogues accomplished?”
“That took most of our reserve,” Cilreth said. She checked the damage report. It became clear they had been hit by more than one ship. “Three of them! We’re fighting three of them. And they’re closer than we thought.”
“If we can take one out, it could mean a lot for Terra.”
The ship shook again.
“We’re being hit again!”
The energy reserves drained to zero. The Clacker shuddered more violently. Cilreth watched giant pieces start to break off the ship in her PV. Massive explosions ripped through the remains and flickered out quickly in the vacuum. The deck under them just kept shaking. The artificial gravity went dead.
“That shuttle,” Cilreth2 said. “You go now. You know I can catch up.” She pointed out an escape ship on their ship map.
“You better,” Cilreth said, clumsily releasing herself from her seat. She called for attendants to help pull her to the escape vessel.
I’m not equipped for this. I don’t have my pack. Not even a flashlight.
Cilreth hoped there still would be a shuttle there when she arrived.
Chapter 24
“He has us,” Telisa3 announced.
The Thumper held Telisa’s shuttle in an invisible grip. It drew them in for docking.
“He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near this close to Earth,” Telisa pointed out.
“Really? I still don’t know most of the plan. For instance, I suppose I’m headed back to stasis soon?”
“I don’t know,” Telisa said.
Telisa’s mind had been racing. Was Jason seeing the data fed to Earth as part of a Trilisk deception to rally the populace against what should be their liberators? Or had Shiny actually ruthlessly attacked Earth?
There is so much of it. So many dead. He must have switched to competition mode. The lure of a whole system of his own was more valuable than our alliance.
Telisa felt sick. If it was true…
The massive Vovokan ship consumed the tiny shuttle and brought it into a massive bay. Then, the lock cycled and the doors opened.
“Here’s where we get off,” Telisa3 said nervously.
Telisa walked side by side with her double down the ramp. They walked onto a huge bay floor, looking for Shiny. Nothing moved. The openings of dozens of Vovokan caves beckoned from several levels adjoining the bay.
Reality flickered. It was almost not noticeable.
“What just happened?” Telisa said. She flinched. Telisa3 was gone. Telisa checked her link.
“You there? Did you stealth?”
There was no answer.
“What? What’s wrong?” even as she asked, she realized she suddenly had memories of Telisa3, walking up in a column room and getting instructions from Shiny. Then she had flown to Skyhold, alone and nervous, worrying about the lack of information. She had actually been glad to meet her original, because it made her feel better about going into a situation on Shiny’s word alone.
We’re synced up. Telisa3 will know about Magnus now. She’s probably inside a Trilisk column.
“Why did you sync us up?” Telisa sent the question to Shiny.
Finally the alien answered her. “Telisa duplicate not meant, intended, planned to survive mission.”
That’s not a good start.
“Tell me what’s happening,” Telisa said.
“Trilisks neutralized. Shiny taking control. Cooperation no longer optimal.”
“You attacked the Space Force? Our plan was to distract them and minimize casualties.”
“Shiny taking control. Space Force damaged, crippled, disabled. Terrans subservient, dependent, enslaved to Shiny.”
It’s all true.
Telisa fell to her knees, overwhelmed. Her worst case scenario was true. Shiny had betrayed them, and killed huge numbers of people doing it. A huge proportion of the blame fell upon Telisa.
“The Bismarck?” she dared ask.
“Terran battleship destroyed in attempt to escape, elude, evade,” Shiny reported.
At least Magnus didn’t live to see his fears were warranted. He could saying ‘I told you so’ about now, her inner monologue said. But Telisa knew he would never have said it. He would try and fix it. Still, it took her a long moment to continue.
“Shiny. I want to negotiate a release of my race. We will pay you handsomely. Serve you in many ways. But total servitude takes away all hope from us. We won’t accomplish as much under your heel as we can on our own. Terrans do not function optimally when forced to serve. We want cooperation, not competition. We’re not Vovokans.”
“Understood. Cooperation not optimal at this time. Other deal, bargain, arrangement is possible. S
hiny delineate, explain, propose?”
Hopelessness assailed Telisa. She was perhaps the greatest traitor Terra had ever known. And Magnus… so long gone.
I want to die.
“Go on,” she said, though her voice broke.
“Telisa copy departs, flees, leaves Earth. Shiny controls Earth. Telisa forbidden interference, resistance, defiance. Telisa copy collects artifacts. Give, submit, provide artifacts to Shiny. Comply for period of ten Earth years, Shiny returns Magnus copy to Telisa.”
“What! You have Magnus? Where is he?” Telisa exploded. She jumped to her feet.
“Trilisk column set aside. Column contains Magnus data. Possible to create Magnus clone. This is offered compensation for surrender, compliance, obedience.”
“Which one? Where is it!” Telisa sent queries from her link to ship’s services. The Thumper denied her access.
“Consider, contemplate, evaluate offer,” Shiny said.
“If you’re worried about my resistance, why don’t you just kill me, like you did to those thousands of Space Force men and women?” Telisa asked bitterly.
“Telisa useful, skilled, beneficial. Known quantity. Shiny will not kill, destroy, eliminate unless optimal. Space Force threat removed, eliminated, destroyed with minimum loss of life.”
Minimum? The minimum in this case is very high.
“You deceived us all,” Telisa said. Tears began to stream down her face. “You’ve lost your trust forever. Prove to me he’s still alive. Show me. Make him.”
“Not optimal for Shiny at this time.”
“He is my motivation. I won’t serve you without proof. I refuse your deal.”
Shiny did not answer.
I believed in him. I won’t ever do it again.
Telisa waited for a minute, wondering what would happen next. Finally, her link received a pointer. She accessed it, causing a green routing line to appear. She followed it.
Maybe he revived Magnus.
Telisa started to run. Past the first door, the floor was covered in sand. The inside of the Thumper held only dark Vovokan caverns. Telisa ran on desperately. She slipped in the sand, struggled to get up, then kept going.
The route led deeper into the ship. Part of her worried about a trap for a second, but she dismissed it. Things could not get any worse. Telisa’s hope soared when she saw a square, sand-free room with Trilisk columns. She staggered forward, dropping grains of sand all over the floor. Then she saw him.
Magnus. Telisa did not care which copy he was.
He looked confused. Telisa ran into his arms.
“Hello?” he said.
“You were right about Shiny. He took over Earth. You’re dead. I mean, the first you is dead and I think the second one is, too. You were made from a Trilisk column.”
Magnus4 held her tighter.
“I see things are getting complicated. I’m confused of course. I don’t even know when I am. If that’s true… Telisa, listen to me. You have to run away. I’ll cover your escape. Find someplace safe, then figure out what to do about Shiny.”
“He says he’ll let you live free again if I don’t interfere for ten years,” Telisa said.
“Can we escape this place?”
“No. We’re on his ship. He has control of everything.”
“You can’t serve him for ten years. He might not let me go, anyway.”
“I will. That’s what I intend to do. I’ll figure out how to make sure it’s in Shiny’s best interest to release you. Then I’ll have you again.”
Magnus4 pushed her back and looked into her teary face.
“I think you could accomplish that. But what damage can he do in the meantime? He’ll solidify his hold over Terra. That’s why he wants time.”
Telisa shook her head. “I know it’s selfish but I don’t care. I have to have you back. I have to. I’m not strong enough alone. With you, I know we could do anything.”
“Think it over when your head clears,” he said. “In a few days, you’ll see it differently. Investigate your options, just in case. I’ve lived a fantastic life. You don’t need to sacrifice Earth to get me back.”
But there’s nothing I can do anyway.
She nodded. “I’ll think about it every day.”
They embraced one last time before reality skipped a beat again, stealing him away.
***
Telisa3 awakened inside a Trilisk column. The last clear tube receded into the floor allowing her to exit. She tested her strength, leaping high into the air.
That’s what I thought. I’m the copy now. Well, I’ve always been the copy, but now I have the memories of the original. The meeting with Magnus. I’m supposed to go out and work for Shiny.
The alien summoned her to another part of the ship. She followed a mental lane indicator. It led out of the room and into a sand-filled tunnel.
I’m on the Thumper.
As she walked back, surrounded by the odd caverns preferred by Vovokans, her sorrow started to channel into anger. But she was thoughtful.
Shiny won’t free us unless it’s in his best interest to do so. I have to defeat him, or blackmail him. Offer him something he needs.
The tears came again, but only for a minute. She had better control by the time she came to report to the alien. When she appeared before Shiny, or a Shiny copy, the alien gave her a status report on the PIT team.
“Clacker destroyed,” Shiny said. “One Cilreth captured. Other PIT team members survive: Imanol, Siobhan, Caden, Jason.”
“And the original me. And Magnus.”
“Magnus not available, usable, assigned for your next mission, undertaking, objective,” Shiny said.
“I’ll be more effective with Magnus. You still have our homeworld.”
“Shiny offer delineated, explained, proposed.”
“The others will work for you? Are you blackmailing them, too?”
“Others obey, work, listen to Telisa,” Shiny said. “Telisa prepared? Target world selected, chosen, planned.”
Telisa3 stared at Shiny with a look of raw hatred. Her cheeks glistened with moisture from her tears.
“I’m ready,” she said.
The Trilisk Revolution (Parker Interstellar Travels) Page 14
