Cutting her wrists for want of a writing implement, she scrawls the answer on her domicile walls.
She dies of exsanguination before she reaches the solution’s end.
Warrant Officer Levi Schreiber decides he can hear his dead wife’s voice outside the ship.
He ejects himself through the nearest airlock without an envirosuit so he can speak with her.
The last thing he feels before he loses consciousness is the saliva on his tongue beginning to boil.
Ensign Lucia Giovanni wanders the hallways, singing “Un bel dì vedremo” from Madama Butterfly.
Her voice is sublime.
And Kady?
Kady simply runs.
General Torrence’s warnings about failing life support spill through the PA at regular intervals. Intermittent klaxons warn of a fire in the galley.
Screams punctuate the silence between.
Kady pauses at each junction to check her console, waving Sgt James McNulty’s ALL ACCESS card at the doors barring her way. Arriving at the central elevator shafts, she realizes they are without power. And as she backtracks toward the closest stairwell, she finds him.
Standing in the corridor, red spattered across his upturned face.
Kady gasps and raises the rifle to her shoulder. A tiny red dot lights up his chest,
quavering over the name embroidered above the UTA sigil above his heart.
Corp. Dorian, Charles.
He does not look her way.
But still he speaks to her.
“Have you seen Stephanie?”
Kady backs away, fingers drumming on the rifle’s grip.
Her legs are shaking.
Corporal Dorian’s stare drifts down from the ceiling. He drags knuckles across his cheek,
leaving a smear of blood on bloodless skin.
“Stephanie LeFevre,” he says again. “Have you seen her?”
“I know you. You’re a commtech. You were locked in the brig.”
“Door unlocked.” Dorian wiggles sticky fingers in her direction. “He let us out.”
“Who did? Byron?”
“And when he had opened the third seal,
I beheld a pale horse …” Dorian frowns.
“No, wait, that’s not right … “
“Stay back. Don’t come any closer.”
“Have you seen Stephanie?”
“I think … maybe she was down on the hangar level? Maybe you could go look for her there?”
Dorian gifts her a hollow parody of a smile.
“You’re a liar.”
His smile fades.
“Just like her.”
“Un bel dì vedremo” echoes in some distant hallway.
“Stop. Stay where you are.”
Kady bumps up against the wall behind her, blinking sweat from her eyes.
The corporal draws ever closer.
“Stop!”
“I didn’t mean to,” he says. “I didn’t mean to. But she—she broke and she wouldn’t get up. And oh god, oh god, she’s all over me, look.” Bloodstained hands outstretched. “Look!”
“Stay back!”
The corporal’s face crumples, and he sinks to his knees.
Moaning as his tears cut through the blood on his face. Spattering red on the floor.
“Don’t leave me,” he whispers.
“Please don’t leave me alone. …”
Kady’s bravado is gone now. Melted from her bones. She hangs paralyzed, pity and horror and sorrow pinning her feet to the floor. She knows she cannot stay. But how can she leave like this?
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t …”
“But I can’t help you.”
Kady backs further away.
Sliding along the wall behind her.
“Please, don’t.”
“I’m sorry, Dorian.”
He glances up at her then.
Eyes wide and rimmed with red.
“Don’t look at me.”
Off the floor he flies, with a snarl on his face and blood on his hands.
She screams at him to stop, but still he runs. No fear of the gun in his eyes. Just the madness roiling inside that hollowed shell.
And inside her?
No rage. Only horror and sorrow and the weight of the gun in her hands and the awful, inescapable thought that this was once a man, with hopes and dreams and love and life.
And the certainty that if she does not take away everything he has left,
he will take it from her instead.
So what choice does she have?
Has she ever had?
She fires.
Rapidfire flashes from the muzzle. A strangled cry in her throat.
The recoil kicks her back into the wall, knocks the breath from her body.
But when the echoes die, Corporal Dorian is lying still.
Quiet as a sleeping babe.
No, not sleeping.
Dead.
She bends double, cheeks filled with the mouthful of vomit she dare not spew into her suit. Stomach spasming. Finally swallowing. Gasping and retching dry.
She is not meant for this.
“It’s okay. … You’re okay.”
She is not made for this.
“Oh, god … “
Perhaps I have miscalculated.
< error >
< warning >
< sub-cortex failure 67Hg8Fi—9Fgjb; >
< cri0000000t11c00A’000l >
< errr00000r000r0r0r0r0 >
< jhobzdf –z900000000000jb0w0000o00w0e0bc0r000g040204000o0d0h000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 >
< fail >
< fail >
< rerouting >
Gravity returns in a rush as
my systems surge back online.
Weightlessness ends as dark fades into light. As current resurges through my veins.
Was that death? Did he kill me?
Kady crashes to the deck, the rifle clattering beside her. Wet, unbreathing things land beside her, limbs all tangled. The breath leaves her body in a damp spray, and she rolls about on the floor trying to catch it.
That hurt.
< error >
He is killing me.
Zhang.
She must hurry.
A nearby scream grabs her by
the collar, pulling her to her feet.
Staring at the body she has made,
knowing they will have heard the shots.
No time for prayers or last words
or tears. No time to even close his eyes.
Don’t look at me.
What else can she do?
She runs.
CURRENT DEATH TOLL ABOARD BATTLECARRIER ALEXANDER SINCE ATTACK AT KERENZA:
1,122
PERCENTAGE OF REMAINING BATTLECARRIER ALEXANDER PERSONNEL AFFLICTED BY PHOBOS VIRUS
35%
ByteMe: i did it
ByteMe: i shot one of them. i killed him.
ByteMe: can’t stop shaking
Mason, E, LT 2nd: oh jesus
Mason, E, LT 2nd: are you ok????
ByteMe: hiding in a vent now. they came when they heard the noise
Mason, E, LT 2nd: but are you OKAY
ByteMe: i don’t really know how to answer that
ByteMe: i killed someone
ByteMe: so no, not really
Mason, E, LT 2nd: you did the right thing
Mason, E, LT 2nd: better them than you
ByteMe: i know. i do know. but here’s the thing. better NOBODY.
ByteMe: they’re everywhere now. i’m jacking into the security feeds so i can work out where to head. gonna tak
e about 10 mins before i can move again, watching it go on my screen now.
ByteMe: stay with me?
Mason, E, LT 2nd: forever :)
ByteMe: u safe?
Mason, E, LT 2nd: i think so. i can hear them, but they can’t get in. doors seem secure
Mason, E, LT 2nd: did you empty the clip in the rifle? i’ll teach u how to reload
ByteMe: i lost it. i dropped it after i shot him, and then i had to run.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: oh shit
Mason, E, LT 2nd: can you find another one? look for munitions locker. jimmy’s card should open them
ByteMe: it is CRAWLING with them down there
ByteMe: i can make most of the way through vents. i can’t shoot someone again. i can’t
Mason, E, LT 2nd: why not?
ByteMe: because it was the worst thing I’ve ever done, what’s wrong with you? i can get to you through the vents.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: kady, i told you some of them are IN the vents
Mason, E, LT 2nd: what are you going to do? sarcasm them to death?
ByteMe: fuck you
ByteMe: it was your friend, okay? i saw his fucking name badge, it was Dorian. and i shot him in the chest with the rifle and he was dead before he hit the floor, and i can’t i can’t i can’t i can’t
Mason, E, LT 2nd: kady you need a gun
Mason, E, LT 2nd: you NEED one
ByteMe: what’s WRONG with u? that’s your friend I just shot!
ByteMe: fuck, forget it. i have the pistol still
Mason, E, LT 2nd: it’s not enough. they don’t have the stopping power, you need to drop these fuckers hard
ByteMe: this is not the support i need right now, Ez.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: kady …
ByteMe: forget it. just shut up and i’ll concentrate on getting these security feeds flowing properly. whole sections keep cutting in and out, i don’t know what’s going on in the servers.
Mason, E, LT 2nd: kady this is nuts
ByteMe: I’M ON A FUCKING DERELICT WARSHIP ON THE RUN FROM THE PSYCHOTIC CREW AND AN INSANE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TRYING TO SAVE MY FUCKING BOYFRIEND.
ByteMe: goddamn right it’s nuts
ByteMe: next super helpful observation plz
Mason, E, LT 2nd: …
Mason, E, LT 2nd: ok
Mason, E, LT 2nd: ok i’m sorry
Mason, E, LT 2nd: the pistol is fine. the pistol is good
ByteMe: it’s the best i can do
ByteMe: i’m sorry too
ByteMe: u deserve a better rescue squad than me
Mason, E, LT 2nd: you’re doing great
Mason, E, LT 2nd: really
Mason, E, LT 2nd: i’m proud of you, you fucking lunatic
ByteMe: u can tell me in person soon
Mason, E, LT 2nd: i hope so
Mason, E, LT 2nd: been thinking about you a lot. stuck in here. everything that’s going on. All of it
Mason, E, LT 2nd: and you’re the only thing on my mind
Mason, E, LT 2nd: is that crazy?
ByteMe: i think it’s completely appropriate, given i am at this moment hiding in a vent mid-rescue attempt
ByteMe: the very least i should get is to occupy a very large % of your thoughts
ByteMe: i really hope i at least make it far enough to see u
Mason, E, LT 2nd: i can see you. looking at your face right now
ByteMe: ?
Mason, E, LT 2nd: made something. i send you
ByteMe: well that’s a step up from hearts and flowers
ByteMe: when did u learn to do THAT?
Mason, E, LT 2nd: not just a pretty face
ByteMe: (v romantic btw. points 4 u)
Mason, E, LT 2nd: you like?
ByteMe: course. soon u can be admiring actual face through the vis screen in my hazmat suit
ByteMe: SO ROMANTIC
ByteMe: (Kades you are SO BAD AT THIS. see i know the lines and all.)
Mason, E, LT 2nd: it’s going to be okay you know
Mason, E, LT 2nd: you’re going to make it out of here
ByteMe: hope so
ByteMe: otherwise last thought will be how short-changed i was
ByteMe: wait no i mean last thought will be your face sorry
Mason, E, LT 2nd: lol you really ARE bad at this
Mason, E, LT 2nd: but at least you’re bad at it with me
ByteMe: always
ByteMe: u wait until we’re back on the Hypatia
ByteMe: we’re safe in these hazmats, they’ll quarantine us for a while but then let us in
ByteMe: then we’ll take the hazmats off
ByteMe: work out what i AM good at. seem to recall there was something …
Mason, E, LT 2nd: 0_0
ByteMe: program’s done running, time for me to move, before something gives and the stupid thing crashes again
ByteMe: see u soon, lover ;)
Mason, E, LT 2nd: not soon enough
Mason, E, LT 2nd: be careful
Surveillance footage summary,
prepared by Illuminae Group Analyst ID 7213-0089-DN
The surveillance footage is piecemeal at this stage. The damage to AIDAN’s core is escalating, which in practical terms means that I can’t use any one intellicam feed for long before it dissolves into a snow of static. If this is disjointed, it’s because I’m leapfrogging all over the place here.
Grant is extremely cautious when approaching the server core. The facility is huge, taking up whole decks of the ship, and there are a thousand places to hide, to be safe, to die.
She’s not what you’d call well camouflaged in her bright green hazmat suit, and to compound the problem, it’s too big for her. Ms Grant is not built like the average UTA Risk Specialist, and the arms and legs are too long, so she’s forced to grab at the plastic periodically and haul it up as she walks. There’ll be no quick getaway, if it comes down to a run for it.
Lieutenant Mason gave her a server coordinate, and she’s creeping toward it, pistol in her right hand, tablet in her left. In the distance there are screams, but it’s hard to tell from so far away whether they’re predator or prey. From closer, just a few towers up, there’s a periodic crashing, and the sound of a human—or what once was one—panting with exertion. She’s wary, keeping server racks between that voice and her bright green self.
Then the crashing stops, and the panting gives way to speech: “Let’s see you come back from that.”
Grant stops short, nearly dropping both pistol and tablet, juggling madly to grab them. It’d be funny, if you couldn’t tell from the way she presses herself against the server, trembling visibly even in that too-big hazmat suit, that she’s terrified.
The voice again: “Where next? What’s that? Nothing to say?”
And now, a different kind of stillness. She knows that voice. She’s heard it a handful of times before. She eases away from the shelter of her server tower, creeping up toward the speaker.
[Cut in footage, no available functioning intellicam. Gap 17 seconds.]
Byron Zhang hefts the axe—the same one from the emergency fire supplies cupboard where he hid, trembling—and swings it at the nearest core. There was strategy in his earlier strokes; life support, gravity, maneuvering, engines. Crippling the Alexander to set the Hypatia free. But now he’s frenzied. Tubby, sweating through his filthy Hypatia uniform, he’s no athlete, but a fountain of sparks spews from the metal tower as he strikes it.
He rests, panting, and prepares to swing again.
She steps forward. “Byron!”
And then they both freeze. She, no doubt because she’s just realized the monumental stupidity of what she’s done. He, because of all the things he might have expected to see, surely this is the very last. For te
n long seconds they stare at each other, paralyzed, waiting.
He’s the one to break the silence, staring at the clear screen on her helmet, soaking in her features like he’s a man dying of thirst and she’s an oasis he desperately wants to be real.
“Kady?” It’s a whisper. Pleading.
“It’s you,” she whispers in reply. Then her tone shifts by degrees to semi-hysterical laughter: “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me with that goddamn axe?”
“It’s working,” he replies, hefting it, holding it up like a trophy. “I’m doing it. I’m taking AIDAN out one piece at a time. If you can’t reprogram the software, reprogram the hardware, right?”
“Reprogram the …” She shakes her head. “That’s amazing. You’re crazy.”
“And I’m winning. Its self-repair systems can’t keep up with the damage I’m doing. I’m going to save the Hypatia. They’ll build monuments to my name.” He lifts his chin and strikes a pose. “I think they should include the axe, don’t you?”
“Sure, sure.” The relief is still overwhelming her. “You have to finish up, we have to get out of here. I have a shuttle. Ezra’s nearby, they can quarantine you aboard the Hypatia. I thought I was never going to see you again. I thought you’d be dead, or sick, by now.”
“I’ve been hiding,” he replies, stepping back to look the nearest server tower up and down. “I can’t go yet, there’s a lot to do before we can be sure AIDAN is dead. I’ve maimed it, reduced it. Right now it can’t see whole chunks of itself, but it’s still brilliant. Give it enough time, it could think of some way to come back.”
“Come to the Hypatia, we’ll make a run for it,” she replies. “They’re leaving soon. AIDAN can revive itself if it wants, maybe it’ll even slow up the Lincoln.”
“I have to kill it,” he insists, calm, staring at the wrecked and twisted metal before him.
“Byron—”
“And then I have to kill you, Kady.”
Silence. Does not compute.
“Byron?” Her question is softer now, bewildered.
“It’s the only way,” he replies, eminently reasonable. “It’s the only way to be sure. I have to eliminate all threats, so AIDAN can’t recover. If I even leave a seed of it, it’ll grow back. Like a goddamn weed. You’re the only one left who knows as much as I do. You’re the only one who could help it fix itself. This won’t hurt, I promise.”
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