“I suppose you’re right.” Svend stared up at the ceiling, squinting into one of the overhead lights. “Well, that’s 142 hypotheses down. And god knows how many more to go…”
Jelly Bean stood up and began to pace. “I do not think that this is any reason to be discouraged. I think that we can do this. After all, we are not trying to figure out exactly how the sword works, or determine its provenance, or discern the exact scope of its powers. We just need to find something that we can bring to Shango, Olofi, and Loco to prove that with the sword, we do not need Legba.”
Svend sat down on Jelly Bean’s stool. “That is still a goal that I think is very much worth pursuing. Even if we do need to come up with another 142 hypotheses.”
Jelly Bean turned towards him, her expression brightening. “There, that’s the spirit. Good motivation goes a very long way. And it is hard to think of a better motivator than finding a way to get Legba off of this ship, and as far away from Bentley as possible.”
Svend leaned back in his seat, a smile starting to creep across his face. “You know, we have talked about it before, but I never tire of walking through all of the reasons why everyone on this ship would be better off if we left Legba at the next port.”
Jelly Bean’s expression saddened slightly. “Everyone on this ship, yes, but Bentley especially.”
Svend nodded. “It would certainly open up some much needed time in her schedule, which is currently getting swallowed whole in the form of hours of useless meditation.”
Jelly Bean sighed. “To my mind, that is the least of it. Useless meditation would by definition be neutral—”
Svend raised a finger. “Except for all of the time it wastes, which clearly draws it down into negative territory.”
Jelly Bean nodded. “For me the much more worrying aspect of his influence is the role he’s played in Bentley’s psychological issues. You remember what she was like on the android base, after he’d burned those coordinates, such as they were, into her memory. The poor woman almost had a mental breakdown. And then being effectively imprisoned due to her mental state…”
Svend nodded. “Thank god someone had the good sense to break her out of there.”
Jelly Bean smiled at him. “Yes. Thank you for that. Your actions certainly saved me a bit of work.” Her expression started to become more serious. “Although, if I knew then what I know now, I would never have sent the two of you straight to his odd little rock…”
Svend approached Jelly Bean and patted her on the back. “Oh, that’s not your fault. You were just trying to help Bentley. It’s not as though you knew the guy.”
Jelly Bean’s mouth flattened into a straight line. “I did not know him, but I now realize that I had met him.”
Svend’s brow furrowed in confusion. “You— You did? But… how? When?”
Jelly Bean sat down on the stool once more. “It was a few months ago. You have heard about Legba stealing the lwa’s ship, correct?”
Svend nodded. “Yes. That sort of anecdote definitely did not inspire any confidence in the guy’s moral compass.”
Jelly Bean sighed. “No. It should not. One fact that might not have come up, though, is that when he stole the ship, I was on it.”
Svend looked at her, concerned. “Did he restrain you somehow? Did he lock you in your quarters, or something like that?”
Jelly Bean stared at the floor. “No. Much worse. He— He shut down my systems.”
A look of horror and disgust spread across Svend’s face. “He— What? How could he treat a conscious being like that? As though you were a light switch? A mere appliance?”
Jelly Bean looked up at Svend, her expression cold. “Honestly, I do not know what he was thinking. Or whether he thought about it at all. And, to be frank, I do not think that I care to know. The only thing that I do know is that when Bentley brought him onto the Chesed with her, and I saw his face, I saw the familiar face of a man who had shut me down, then left me off for days on end in an empty, defenseless ship, alone, floating in Dacca Noir’s orbit while he played explorer on the surface below.”
Svend nodded, frowning. “Like you were just another dial on the ship, to be clicked into the off position until you could be of use to him.”
Jelly Bean sighed. “Yes. That is more or less how it felt.”
Svend crossed his arms and shook his head. “I really did not think it would be possible for me to like Legba any less than I already did. And yet, here we are…”
Jelly Bean nodded. “Yes. Here we are. On the Chesed, with Legba. Perhaps this burst of emotion will be what propels us towards a discovery that changes this situation?”
Svend smiled. “Let’s hope so.”
He turned towards the sword and extended his right hand, his palm outstretched. The orb floated towards his hand, hovering over his palm. Svend’s gaze returned to his corteX interface, and he began to pace away from the sword. “We just have to figure out a different approach, a different angle, a different way of—”
At that moment the door slid open, revealing Jade. She held a large castellated nut in her left hand, and a look of surprise was plastered across her face. Svend spun around to face Jade, equally surprised.
Jade looked back and forth between Svend and Jelly Bean. “What, uh, what’re you guys doing in here?”
Svend grasped for words, sputtering. “I— We— Well, wait, what are you doing here?”
Jade raised the castellated nut that sat in her left hand. “I’m seeing if we have any more of these.”
Svend nodded. “Oh. I— I see. That is a… an excellent reason to be here. Jelly Bean and I, we, we’re just… hanging out.”
Jade shot him a suspicious look. “Svend, I realize that you’re kind of new here, but the Chesed does boast many areas that are much more comfortable to hang out in than this storage room. Like the bridge. Or the mess hall. Or one of the bigger storage rooms. Or—”
She stopped speaking abruptly as her eye caught the sword. She quickly turned back to Svend and Jelly Bean. “Hey! What are you guys doing with the sword? And don’t tell me that you three are ‘just hanging out’!”
Svend and Jelly Bean glanced at each other, sharing an uncomfortable look. Svend turned towards Jade and opened his mouth, but then closed it again, remaining silent.
Jade crossed her arms. “If you won’t answer me, I suppose I can just go ask Shango.”
Jelly Bean stood up, raising her hands. “No! Please. Just close the door. Maybe you can help us.”
+++
Aboard the Chesed, Edge of Leviathon-Q Sector
Olofi walked slowly around the huge, troll-like man, whose unconscious body was sprawled inelegantly where they’d placed it on the floor of the bridge. The man lay on top of the same pile of bedding that he had been lying on in the med bay. Olofi peered at the fellow, regarding the regular rise and fall of the man’s chest and the puddle of drool that pooled near his open lips. Loco sat nearby at the table, and Shango was on the command deck, seated at the ship’s controls, in a state of deep focus.
Olofi’s gaze wandered to the huge man’s enormous wrists, which were held together by a set of ad hoc handcuffs made of chains. A similar set of chains secured the man’s ankles together. This second set of chains also threaded through a small white cube, which sat on the floor, at the man’s side. Olofi looked up at Loco, his mouth twisted in concern. “Don’t you think this is a bit much?”
Loco leaned back in his seat. “Damn right it’s a bit much. I wish you’d said something before we dragged this dopey fuck and his dog bed up from the med bay. I know we need to interrogate him eventually, and we might as well do that where we work, but I’m pretty sick of hauling Troll Boy all over the fucking place.”
Olofi shook his head. “No, no, I meant the restraints. Don’t you think they’re a bit much?”
Loco glanced at the chains and shrugged. “Nah. I wouldn’t say so. If anything, those restraints, they’re not enough. I still think that we should just
keep this ugly fucker in that reinforced compartment below deck.”
Olofi’s brow knitted in confusion. “Wait. Do you mean the one that’s barely insulated? The one where the temperature regularly goes down to minus a hundred degrees?”
Loco nodded. “Yeah. That’d have the added bonus of freezing this idiot awake. That way we’d finally get some intel out of this guy.”
A look of disgust spread across Olofi’s face. “God… That’s inhumane…”
Loco threw up his hands, frustrated. “Christ, everything’s inhumane to you these days. I want to keep an unconscious monster in a locked freezer. Inhumane. I want to throw Legba out of an airlock. Inhumane. With an attitude like that, how are you ever going to have any fun? How are you ever going to—”
A sudden snort from the troll-like man cut Loco short. The man’s nose twitched, his eyelids clenched, and his head started to move, shaking off a mix of a deep hangover and head trauma.
Loco grinned. “Well. I guess we won’t have to freeze this idiot after all.”
The huge man slowly sat up and opened his eyes, clearly in pain. His head swiveled on his enormous neck as he took in his surroundings, confused. “Wh— Where the fuck am I?”
Loco stretched. “Bad news, I’m afraid. You didn’t pay your tab, and the bar’s new policy is not just to eject delinquents from their establishment, but to shoot them off into space, maybe a couple of light years away.”
The man flinched, feeling the onset of another wave of pain beneath his skull. He tried to raise his hands to his head and seemed to notice the chains that secured his wrists together. He glared at Olofi and Loco. “Hey! What the fuck is going on?”
Olofi raised his hands. “Okay. Just calm down. I realize that this is a lot to take in. Let’s be clear: you’re not in any danger. We mean you no ill will.”
The man shook his wrists, the chains rattling loudly. “Then why the fuck am I in these things?”
Loco shrugged. “Because you’re our prisoner. We don’t mean you ill will, but that doesn’t mean that we bear you good will or anything. You’ve got to earn that.”
A look of recognition passed over the huge man’s face. “Hey! You’re that stupid fuck who was asking for a fight!”
Loco nodded. “And you’re the stupid fuck who spilled my beer. By the way, just so that no one forgets, you still owe me some volts for that.”
The man let out an incomprehensible yell, jumped to his feet, and threw his weight towards Loco, attempting to charge at him. However, as the chains around his ankles pulled taught on the white cube, the cube didn’t budge, securing him to the floor like an immense, heavy kite. With no more slack in the chains, the man fell flat on his face, a couple of yards short of Loco.
Loco stood up and approached the man, looking down at him. “Also, if you fuck up our floors, you’re paying for that, too.”
The man looked up at Loco and yelled again. He gnashed his teeth, growling, sending globs of spittle in Loco’s direction.
Olofi placed a hand on Loco’s shoulder. “Say. Loco. Could, uh, could you please let me talk to him for a bit? Alone?”
Loco shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel like I’ve managed to get his attention, at least.”
The man slammed his fist against the floor. “As soon as I get out of these things, I’m going to tear you apart with my bare fucking hands! You understand?”
Loco grinned. “See? We’ve already developed a rapport, and he’s thinking about ways that we can spend time together in the future. We’ll be pals in no time!”
Olofi pushed Loco back towards the table. “All right, all right. Just take a seat.”
Loco raised his hands. “Okay! Okay! Fine. Good luck getting anything out of this animal. Other than gobs of saliva.” He sat down and leaned back in his seat, putting his feet up on the table.
Olofi walked around the edge of the table, towards a pitcher and a stack of cups. He picked up the pitcher and poured out a cup of water. Then he then turned back towards the gigantic man and took a deep breath. Olofi knelt down next to the enormous man, and extended his arm, offering the cup. “Here. After everything you’ve been through, I imagine you could use this.”
The colossal man turned his head towards Olofi and looked at the cup. He sat up slowly, and hesitantly accepted it. He stared into it, swishing the water around, then knocked it all back in one gulp.
Olofi smiled. “There. Do you feel better?”
The enormous man shrugged. “Not really. If your head felt like it had been slammed through a bunch of brick walls, how would a thimble of water make you feel?” The immense man looked at the table, and the pitcher that sat on top of it. He nodded towards the pitcher. “That thing’s a bit more my speed.”
Olofi moved over to the table. He picked up the pitcher and darted back towards the man.
The enormous man held the pitcher as if it were a tea cup, then took a long sip. He took a deep breath and exhaled, a look of satisfaction coming across his face. “Okay. That is actually a bit better.”
Olofi nodded. “Great. You know, I feel like we got off to a bad start. My name is Olofi. What’s yours?’
The giant man took another sip from the pitcher. “Gakkra.”
Olofi smiled. “Hello, Gakkra.” He pointed up towards the command deck, at Shango’s back. “The gentleman who’s sitting up there is Shango.” He hesitated, then pointed to Loco. “And that, well… I guess ‘gentleman’ might be too strong a descriptor for him. But anyway, he’s Loco.”
Loco smiled an exaggerated, toothy grin. “Hey, buddy! We’re really big on nicknames here, so we’ll get you set up with one as soon as possible. How do you feel about ‘G-Man’? Or ‘Gak? Or maybe just ‘Gaaaaaaaaaa’? You’ve got lots of options.”
Olofi watched the enormous man’s eyes begin to narrow. Olofi clapped his hands lightly, trying to draw Gakkra’s attention away from Loco. “Anyway. The three of us – and you, by extension – are all on our way to Dracon Station.”
A look of recognition flashed across Gakkra’s face. Olofi noticed, and looked at him expectantly. “Are you, uh, familiar with Dracon Station?”
Gakkra nodded. “Yeah. Definitely. I lived and worked there for fuckin’ years.”
A grin slowly spread across Olofi’s face. “Really? What, uh, what did you do there? Professionally speaking?”
Gakkra sat up, a look of pride growing on his face. “I was an engineer. B.S.E., P.Eng.”
Olofi nodded. “Wow. That sounds impressive.”
The look of pride on Gakkra’s face started to fade. “Well. Yeah. Sounds impressive. The Dracon Station job, it paid well, but if I could do things over again, I never would have taken it.” Gakkra took another sip from the pitcher, then looked inside. He looked up at Olifi. “You got any more of this?”
Olofi smiled. “Sure thing.” He grabbed the pitcher, and quickly walked it over to Loco. “Hey. Go down to the mess hall and refill this.”
Loco crossed his arms. “I’m not waiting on some fucking troll-faced prisoner. He should be waiting on me.”
Olofi sighed. “Loco. His hands are bound, and he’s chained to the floor. He’s not in the best position to go fetch anything.”
Loco shrugged. “Excuses, excuses…”
Olofi forced the pitcher into Loco’s hands. “I’m serious. Move.”
Loco stood up, annoyed. “Fine.” He walked towards the bridge’s exit and looked over his shoulder at the Gakkra. “Hey. Big guy. Your debts are piling up. Now you owe me a beer and a pitcher of water.”
Gakkra raised his hands and stared at Loco like he wanted to kill him. “If I didn’t have these fucking chains around my wrists, I would be making an incredibly obscene hand gesture.”
Loco smiled. “You know, I would actually really like to see that at some point. It’s always nice to add one more to the collection.” The exit to the bridge slid open, and Loco walked out, down the hallway.
Olofi approached Gakkra. “You were saying. You were unhappy
with your job at Dracon Station? Why, exactly?”
Gakkra took a deep breath. “Well. I was in charge of running the docking entrance and exit. And on paper, that’s a good, interesting job. You’ve got to do a lot of problem solving, and it can be kind of high pressure, but I like that. My boss, though… he was a fucking piece of shit. Some motherfucker named Amroth…”
Shango’s ears pricked up at the sound of Amroth’s name. He didn’t stand up, but he turned in his seat, peering down from the command deck at the enormous man.
Gakkra shook his head. “I was responsible for a unit of very educated, highly-trained individuals. The best and the brightest. But in spite of that, we were considered beneath normal staff. That motherfucker Amroth called us ‘janitors.’ I went to school for fucking eight years to get my degree! And you want to guess how much of that time I spent mopping floors, or changing light bulbs, or tossing inert gelling compounds on little kids’ puke?”
Olofi leaned back. “I would guess… none of that time?”
Gakkra nodded. “Damn right. And yet here I was, working at Dracon Station, a highly educated professional, skillfully executing the demands of a complicated position, and being treated like I was worth less than a mound of fucking dirt. We weren’t even allowed to use the entrance that we ran!”
Gakkra looked at the floor and sighed. The door to the bridge slid open, and Loco walked in, a pitcher in hand.
Gakkra didn’t look up from the floor. “To even get in, to do our fucking jobs, we had to go through little side ports that doubled as garbage chutes. Moving through them like we ourselves were just yet another pile of trash. It— It was dehumanizing…”
Loco shook his head, approaching Gakkra. “That doesn’t sound right…”
Gakkra looked up, a pained expression on his face. “No. It was a horrible way to treat anyone. Much less—”
Loco stopped a foot away from Gakkra. “Oh, no, no, not, making people go through garbage chutes. That seems fine. Good enough for garbage, good enough for you. I meant the ‘dehumanizing’ bit. You’re a bit big to go around using the ‘human’ label willy-nilly. Don’t you mean something more like… ‘de-trollizing’?”
Legba Page 15
