He grunted. “We’re taking you back to the prison. The president will decide what to do with you. Now. Shut the hell up.”
Ahead of us, a small group of people huddled in an intersection. I looked around, noticing several more groups as well.
“Hey, Sarge, something’s up,” said one of the men behind me.
“Keep close,” responded the leader. “I’d rather not have to deal with civilians. Stay alert.”
As we passed the first group, they turned and started following us. The groups down the corridors also started making their way toward us. The guards were on edge. Nervous. By the time we arrived at the detention center, close to twenty people followed. Ahead of us, at the entrance, ten more waited.
“What’s the meaning of this?” barked the sergeant. “Don’t you people have somewhere to be?”
Andy smiled. “Yes, sir. We do. Right here. Now, let him go, and we’ll be on our way.”
“This man is a terrorist and is awaiting sentencing. Clear out of here before we arrest you lot as well.” No one made a move. Andy stood his ground, back straight, shoulders squared. The crowd drew in, equally ready for a fight.
“Sergeant!” bellowed Andy. “You seem to be under the misconception that we are asking.” Andy leaned forward slightly, dropping his voice to a near whisper. “Let me be quite clear. We. Are. Not. You will release Bishop Jones. Then you will choose to march beside us or lock yourselves in your own jail.”
“You dare threaten me, old man?”
Andy said nothing. The two men stared each other down for several tense moments. The sergeant broke eye contact first. He glanced around at the thirty gathered civilians and his four men who accompanied him.
“I have a duty to see this man to justice.” His voice quivered.
“You have a duty to protect your people. Your leadership is corrupt. We will change that.” Monitors on every wall lit up in sequence and began playing Elyssa’s video. I smiled. About damned time…
“What is this?” asked the sergeant.
“Proof,” said Andy. Everyone watched in silence as Elyssa outlined the president’s plan to exterminate all genetically modified citizens of the colony and everyone aboard the Grey Wolf. When the video ended, it was replaced by a second video.
“Well, I hadn’t expected this,” I said with a chuckle. The screen showed the president’s office. Then I walked into view. It played both encounters. When it finished, the videos looped from the beginning. The body language in the guards had changed. They were rigid. Angry. Betrayed.
“All this time…” said the sergeant. “All the lives lost. My parents. My brother…”
“Sergeant, look at me.” Andy’s voice and body language softened. The man looked him in the eyes. “We’ve all lost loved ones to that tyrant’s schemes. Help us put an end to it once and for all.”
The sergeant nodded once and turned to his men. “You’re all relieved of duty. I’m following them. I want some payback for my family, and he’s right. I have a duty to the civilians. You’re free to make your own choices.”
One of the men undid my handcuffs. “I think I speak for all of us, sir, but we’re with you.”
The sergeant smiled. “You boys do me proud.” He turned to Andy. “All right then, what’s next?”
Andy smiled. The crowd visibly relaxed. “We march on the president’s office.”
The sergeant nodded. “Ready when you are.”
“Excellent,” said Andy. “Let’s go for a walk, shall we?”
28
By the time we arrived at the president’s office, the size of our crowd had grown to several hundred. Guards, workers, civilians, and children marched in our ranks. And everyone was armed. Even the children carried makeshift clubs.
Two guards, with rifles drawn, barred entry to the president’s office. The crowd stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Andy stepped forward, arms to his sides with palms facing up.
“We wish to see the president.” Andy managed to keep his demeanor calm.
The guard looked out at the crowd. For a moment, I thought I noticed a slight twitch of a smile touch his lips. Then he banged loudly on the door until it opened.
The door flew open, and an outraged president stormed outside. Five more guards followed him out, flanking him.
“What is the meaning of this unlawful gathering?! Guards! Arrest these men!” None of the guards moved. “What are you standing around for—” He looked over our heads toward the wall-mounted displays. Each monitor showed either a live feed of the courtroom or Elyssa’s video playing on repeat. Every citizen aboard Colony Ship Two-Seven had seen both broadcasts several times by now. For the guards, it looked like their first time.
He began to shake and backed up gingerly. His back hit the first guard. All five reached out and grabbed him, forcing him to the ground. They turned their attention back to the monitors.
Andy gave the guards time to see the videos in their entirety. He walked up casually, grinning. “We, the people of Colony Two-Seven, find you guilty of too many crimes to list.”
“You can’t arrest m—” One of the door guards kicked him in the face with an armored boot.
Andy nodded once to the guard and kneeled next to the president’s bleeding face. “Benny, my old friend… I just wanted you to know... Steve is still alive. We’re going to put him in charge. Just the way it was supposed to have been.”
The now ex-president’s eyes bugged out as he squirmed and sputtered. The guards held him down with a knee between his shoulders as they roughly handcuffed him.
“I’ll see you all hanged for treason! TREASON! Do you hear me?!” Specks of saliva splattered all over as he screamed. Veins pulsed at his temples as he struggled to free himself.
Andy turned away from the temper tantrum. “Take him to the holding cells. We’ll figure out what to do with him later.”
“Don’t fucking ignore me, you piece of shit!” screamed Benny.
The guards nodded. They picked him up, kicking and screaming, and elbowed him in the gut, silencing him. As he tried to catch his breath, they carried him off toward the detention center.
Andy turned to me. “Well, Bishop? What now?”
“It isn’t over. We need to get back to the bridge.”
“Okay. Let’s not forget that fancy chair will need your helmet as well.”
“Right. Thanks. In all the commotion, I’d almost forgotten.”
“What are you going to do with the president?”
Andy shrugged. “We’ll figure something out. Did you know Captain Rogers and his son were related to the president?”
“Nope. I only just found out Rogers was Winston’s father. He was pretty upset that I’d killed him. Now it makes sense. How was the president related?”
“He was Rogers’ uncle. One big happy family.”
“Yeah. Corrupt to the core…”
Andy smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. “Not for long. You and me, we’re fixin’ that. Steve’s the rightful heir of the colonial presidency. It runs in his family. Some sort of genetic modifications all the way back before the ship launched. Steve’s a natural leader and bred for it. So, it’s only natural that he should be in charge.”
“Whoa, I wasn’t aware of that.”
“There’s more, too. Did you ever wonder why you can use that interface the way you can? Or why your sister is such a Goddamned amazing pilot at sixteen?”
“No, I’d never considered it. You know something we don’t?”
Andy grinned. “You could say that. Your own great-grandfather was genetically enhanced. One of the best cruiser pilots in history. Sacrificed himself to make sure we survived. You and your sister have his gift.”
My jaw hung open. Holy shit. This all makes sense now. All of it makes sense. Steve. Elyssa. Anne. All of it. “How extensive were these modifications? And why did they do them?”
Andy shrugged. “No clue. And quite extensive. Natural abilities were multiplied five- to tenfold i
n the original subjects. I would guess that with each subsequent generation, accounting for gene splitting and recombining with active and passive traits, that there’d be a reduction each time you roll the dice. Some kids would have all of the talents, or none, or a bit of everything from both parents. Typical genetics stuff.”
I stood stunned. “How do you know all this?”
“Eclectic memory,” he said, tapping his temple. “My own gift passed down through my line. If I interact with information in any way, I remember it. Smell, touch, sight, sound, taste, all the senses. It’s a curse, really. But I can recall anything in perfect clarity.”
“That could come in handy. How is it a curse?”
“You know how sometimes you lay down to go to sleep and your brain doesn’t quiet down?”
“Yeah?”
“Imagine that. But every second of every day. Even in your dreams.”
“Damn. I’d probably kill myself…”
“Yeah. I’ve come close a few times. But that’s also part of the gift. Being able to handle that much data flowing around in my noggin.”
I looked to my right, remembering the crowd. They waited patiently, taking in the conversation with Andy. He seemed perfectly at ease discussing his genetic modifications in front of the crowd.
“Don’t worry about them,” he said, as if reading my mind. “Our differences are no secret. Just makes us special is all.” Several nods and murmurs came from the gathered crowd. Good enough for me.
“All right then. Let’s make a stop at the Gilmore and grab the helmet. We won’t have Sami’s help while the helmet is disconnected.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Andy. “He’s infected so much of the colonial network I think he’s near cloned himself.”
“I didn’t even think that were possible.”
“There’s a lot to learn, kid. Let’s get going.”
When we arrived at the bridge, we were greeted by an armed patrol.
“Halt!” bellowed the lead guard.
Andy stepped forward. “We need to get in there, son.”
“The president said no one—”
“The president is no longer in control of the colony. Didn’t you see the broadcasts?”
“Uh, no. What broadcasts? The monitors here haven’t worked for decades, old man.”
“Well, son, you have a choice. Step aside, or my friends here will make you.” Andy hooked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the crowd. The guard glanced at the crowd and seemed to shrink visibly. He knew his squad was no match for them.
“Yeah, we’ll be on our way.” He turned to his men. “Let’s get out of here. This isn’t worth our lives.”
“Yes, sir!” they responded in unison.
The lead guard turned back to Andy. “Good luck, old man. I don’t know what you got planned, but it’s gotta be better than working for that tyrant.” The five guards marched away in the direction we’d come. A couple of them cast nervous glances back at the crowd but relaxed as they drew farther away from the threat.
“Well, Captain Bishop,” said Andy. “What’re you waiting for?”
“Uh. Right.” I turned to the door and keyed in my code. It slid open. I stepped inside, Andy on my heels. “Do you have any clue how any of this works?”
Andy smiled but said nothing. He simply pointed at the big chair.
I examined it thoroughly. Doesn’t seem so special… I noticed the synapse cable harness dangling from the ceiling. It had the same connectors my helmet did. I plugged them in, and the helmet power indicator glowed softly.
“I guess this is it then. Hopefully, this thing still works.”
“One way to find out.”
I nodded once and climbed into the chair. It dropped a few centimeters before solidifying under my weight. The cushions made hissing noises as they seemed to reconfigure themselves to support the contours of my body. Next, I placed the helmet upon my head and pressed the connect button. Nothing.
“Something’s wrong,” I said. “I’m still here.”
“And I here,” said Sami over the comms system.
“Well at least the network connection is stable. The neural link isn’t working.”
“The link is working just fine,” said Sami. “You just need to realize it.”
“Then how am I still conscious?”
Andy chuckled. “The chair. It lets you be in both places at once. Close your eyes for a moment. I think you’ll be quite surprised.”
I did so. Blueprints and statistics flooded my mind. I was the colony ship. In its entirety. And I didn’t die. “Whoa…” I opened my eyes, and I was back on the bridge. “That is really cool. So, in theory, I should be able to handle both realities at once.”
“Precisely,” said Sami. “That last ten percent enabled you to handle this level of bandwidth. You should have complete control over the ship now.”
Andy moved over to the console with the large display monitor. “I’ll keep an eye on things from here. Feel free to ask questions. I’ll answer what I can.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to try to get used to this thing. Sami, is the network to the bridge actually at full capacity?”
“Yes. Everything seems in order. I am ready to begin whenever you are.”
“All right. Any advice before I start?”
“Follow your instincts. This is just like the Gilmore, just bigger. It turns slow. Lifts off slow. It does everything slow. Just keep that in mind, and you’ll do just fine.”
Andy chuckled. “Getting a pep talk from a computer program. Amazing.”
“I’m much more than a computer program, thank you very much,” replied Sami.
“Now, children, don’t make me pull this ship over before we even start…”
“Sorry,” they both responded in unison.
I closed my eyes and thought about the thirty backup generators located throughout the ship. Only ten were running. And barely at that. “It looks like a third of the generators are up, just giving out enough juice to keep the lights on.”
Andy grunted an affirmative. “No surprise there. See if you can bring them all up to full?”
“On it.” I instinctively brought the other twenty generators online and began running diagnostics on them. As soon as everything checked out, I increased their output to their nominal levels.
“Excellent,” said Sami. “With the power at this level, I can begin running diagnostics on all major systems. There’s even enough power to start the reactor chamber cascade sequences. This is good news indeed.”
“Very,” said Andy. “I don’t think we’ve powered any of these systems in the last century. Will be nice to give the ol’ girl a shakedown.”
“Bishop,” said Sami. “I’ve found something which may prove quite useful.”
“What is it?” I asked, quite curious.
29
“Allow me to show you,” said Sami.
The larger monitor next to Andy changed to that of a video. We watched, mouths agape.
The video finished. Andy broke the silence first. “Well, that definitely puts the last nails in his coffin.” He turned to me. “You thinking what I’m thinking, kid?”
“Call him. Make sure everyone hears it.”
Andy smiled. “Yessir.” He pressed a few buttons on his console then nodded to me.
“Captain Walters, this is Bishop.”
Several minutes went by before he finally answered. “Go ahead, Bishop.”
“I figure it’s time we had a conversation…”
“I’m all ears; however, it’s only fair to warn you that we are recording this conversation.”
“No worries. I’m broadcasting it to the colony ship and the rest of the fleet as well.”
“Very well. What’s on your mind?”
“I found a video on the colonial network that might be of interest to everyone. I figured I’d play it and see what you all think.”
“Well, that does seem unorthodox, but I assume you’r
e going to show it even if I decline your offer?”
“Yup. Uploading video. I’ll be in touch privately afterward.”
“Acknowledged. Awaiting transmission then…”
I nodded to Andy, and he began playback of the video.
BEGIN TRANSMISSION:
“Tony, do you even realize what he found? The secrets in that freighter could bury us all. It’s in our best interest that those secrets never see the light of day.”
“What would you have me do? Execute him? Wouldn’t it be better to simply arrest him?”
“Look, Tony, I don’t care what you have to do. Bishop Jones Must. Not. Reach. Us. Do I make myself clear? Blow up that bloody ship for all I care. Just keep him away at all costs. The information he has is a threat to our powerbase. If I go down, you and your pirate-leader son go down with me and we lose control of the colony.”
“I understand, Uncle. I’ll see to it personally. We’ll attack the Grey Wolf as soon as it’s in range. You can count on me.”
“Don’t let me down, Tony. Just because you’re my nephew doesn’t mean I won’t send you to the mines.”
“Yessir…”
END TRANSMISSION.
Andy chuckled. “Hey, Bishop, you have an encrypted comm request from the lead ship. Bidirectional video not audio.”
“I hoped he’d call. Put him through.”
The main window glowed for a moment, and an image of a uniformed man in his mid-thirties appeared.
“Well, that wasn’t exactly what I expected to wake up to this morning.”
I grinned. “I figured not. You still trying to arrest me?”
“In light of recent events, I think we can work out a little ceasefire for the time being. We all saw the video feed from the courtroom as well as the one from the girl.”
“I do apologize for the wild goose chase. But desperate times and all…”
“I can’t blame you. I might have done the same in your position.” He looked up for a moment then nodded to someone off screen.
Bishop's Gambit Omnibus Page 16
