The Path of Andromeda (RFIX), Chapter 12

Spoiler alert: This is the first draft of the ninth book in the Reckless Faith series, now with the working title of The Path of Andromeda. You can start with the prologue here: https://devonai.wordpress.com/2024/10/17/reckless-faith-ix-prologue/

In a dark corridor on the Fortuna, by the port-side airlock, John and his friends waited. They had set up a defensive position using old crates and broken anti-grav skids, which at least provided concealment, if not effective cover. Vecky was doing well, for the most part, but looked exhausted. Though the team was aware of the negotiations that were occurring, the mood was still tense. Richter had taken up a position behind one of the skids, pistol at the ready, and hadn’t budged from there for a solid ten minutes. If Captain Sinfonietta was aboard, she still hadn’t made herself known.

A voice call came in on Ray’s PDA, on a normal encrypted channel. His eyes widened, and he answered it.

“Team, this is the Reckless Faith,” said Ari’s voice. “How do you read, over?”

“Lima Charlie,” replied Ray. “It’s good to hear from you.”

“How is Kitsune?”

“She’s still in the fight for now.”

“Good. I’ll cut to the chase, Bailey. The Serpentites have declared our railgun specs to be an inadequate trade, because the entire contraption has the maneuverability of a turtle, according to them. While we’ve found a way to defeat the dampening field that’s been hindering our communication efforts, we have not been able to spoof their sensors as I previously described. We have another plan, copy?”

“We’re listening.”

“Is it plausible that Helena could have been hit by enemy fire?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have somewhere that Helena can hide?”

Ray looked around. “We can stuff her in a crate, I guess. Why?”

“Our NDSS is producing a perfect view of you and your location. We’re going to do a full-body scan of Helena. Then, we’re going to transport a copy of her to you, with only the brain stem in place. Shoot it, make it look like you tried to treat her, then stand by. We’ll tell the Serpentites that she’s dead, and arrange to hand over the body.”

“That’s horrible!” said Helena, turning pale. “Will it be alive?”

“Yes, but without higher neural functions. It won’t be you, Cygnet. Not in any sense of being an actual person.”

“I had no idea that kind of technology even existed.”

“We’re still trying to perfect it,” said John. “So far, our replicants haven’t survived for very long. This should work for our purposes. Ferro, proceed with the plan.”

Helena turned around. “I can’t watch this.”

“You’ll need to stand still for several seconds,” said Ari. “You won’t feel a thing.”

“I don’t understand how any of this is remotely ethical.”

John said, “Richter, do you want to handle this?”

Richter nodded. “Sure. Bailey, come take my place.”

Ray swapped positions with him. Richter holstered his pistol, dropped his rucksack, retrieved a tourniquet, and passed it to John. Richter drew his pistol again.

A few seconds later, a point of light appeared in the middle of the corridor, grew in intensity, then created a brilliant pale green shaft from the ceiling to the deck. A sound like sand being poured onto a hard surface filled their ears. The shaft expanded in width, glittering with dancing energy, and a form appeared inside. The light abruptly ceased, leaving behind a copy of Helena. The doppleganger immediately dropped to the deck, completely limp.

Richter approached it. Though he couldn’t be sure in the dim light, it appeared to be a perfect facsimile of her, minus her accoutrements.

“Scherer, get ready with that tourniquet. Everyone, cover your ears.”

Richter aimed just to the left of the body’s groin, and fired a single shot. Blood began to seep through the hole in its trousers, and soon a steady, pulsing flow followed.

John grimaced. “It looks like you got the femoral.”

“That was the intention.”

Vecky said, “I’m sorry Helena, this isn’t easy for us, either.”

Helena continued to look away. “Just get it done.”

John gave Richter the tourniquet. Kneeling by the body, Richter put two fingers on its neck. Two minutes later, he applied the tourniquet to her leg. By then, a large pool of blood had formed on the floor, and he did his best to avoid stepping in it. Ray keyed his PDA, and spoke.

“Ferro, the deed is done. Pass it along and let us know what they say.”

“Roger,” she replied. “Do you need any weapons, in case this thing goes south?”

“I think a SAW would be enough discouragement for this situation,” said Richter.

“You got it.”

A moment later, the cascade of green light appeared again, this time leaving a M249 with a 200-round box, and two other boxes in bandoleers. Richter holstered his pistol, donned the extra ammo, and loaded the weapon.

“Heads up, we’ve got company,” said Ray.

Down the corridor, the first furtive flickers of flashlights could be seen. Richter set himself up on a crate on the right side and got ready. Another crate was open at the top, so John tipped it over and gestured at Helena.

“Get in,” he said.

Helena crawled inside, grumbling. Someone peeked around the corner, briefly shining their flashlight down the hallway before withdrawing it.

“That’s far enough,” said Richter.

“Take it easy,” said a voice. “We don’t want a repeat of what happened earlier.”

John and Richter recognized her as the security guard John had shot. John stepped forward and got behind a skid before replying.

“Have you talked to your leadership in the last few minutes?”

“Yes. We understand they’ve agreed to trade your freedom for a corpse. That doesn’t sound like a fair deal to me. How do we know you didn’t kill her out of spite?”

“Does it matter? Cygnet paid for her crimes as far as you’re concerned. But since you asked, your buddy is the one that shot her, with that blind round he sent through the door. He should start thinking about an apology to Lieutenant Ember right about now.”

“Fine. Back off down the corridor so we can inspect the body.”

“No. First we get confirmation that our ship is docked.”

“Agreed, but that door doesn’t open until we see it, otherwise we start shooting.”

“Have it your way. Ray?”

Ray relayed the message to the Faith, and a response came back. “They’re on their way.”

After what seemed like an eternity, they felt a mild thump, and heard the sound of air rushing into the space beyond the airlock. A green light appeared on the control panel, and Ray’s PDA beeped. Ray smiled and gave a thumbs-up, and John yelled down the corridor again.

“Stay where you are. We’ll bring the body to you.”

John beckoned Ray over, and the two men picked it up. They began shuffling ahead.

“Stay to the left side,” said Richter.

They continued forward until they were about ten feet from the corner, then put it down. From there, they could see that there were multiple people gathered in wait. They backed off slowly, then returned to the airlock. John nodded at Vecky, and she activated the door. The Zero-G room appeared beyond, along with what looked like most of the crew of the Faith. Though they were ecstatic to see each other, everyone remained where they were. At the far end of the corridor, the two guards from earlier took up defensive positions, and two others knelt by the body, examining it with their flashlights. They spoke quietly to each other, then the first guard spoke again.

“Get out of here,” she said, “and never return.”

“Helena, now,” whispered John.

Helena crawled out of the crate and crept forward until she had cleared the threshold of the airlock. Then, the rest of them bounded back one at a time, with Richter the last one through. Ari, who was standing by the interior door, hit the controls, and a moment later they were safe. Also waiting for them were Dana, Eva, Kyrie, Cane, and Tycho.

“Friday, get us out of here,” Ari said.

The next two minutes went by in a blur, as everyone excitedly greeted each other. The joy and relief were overwhelming for everyone but Helena, who stood silently in the corner. After a long series of hugs, and freely-flowing tears, the group began to settle down.

“That was a hell of a distraction you provided for us,” said Ray. “What did you do?”

“We turned the Tempest into Swiss cheese,” replied Ari.

“Shit. That’ll do it.”

“Y’all desperately need a shower,” said Dana.

“C’mon, let’s get to the bridge,” said Eva. “We’ve got to link up with the Antares and withdraw to a safe distance. Then we can have a proper reunion.”

Eva winked at Richter. John extricated himself from Ari’s grasp, and turned to Kyrie.

“Devonai,” he began, “bring our guest to my quarters, and show her how to use the shower, and the console, to replicate some clean clothes. Helena, I’d like you to remain there until we’ve had a chance to figure out our next move. Take whatever you want out of the min-fridge if you need it.”

Helena nodded morosely. “Okay.”

“Ari and I will be right behind you.”

“Don’t get distracted,” said Richter, smirking.

Everyone else headed out. John embraced Ari again, and kissed her.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again,” he said.

“I wrestled with that, too. It wasn’t easy. But soon after we got to the Eagle, Maoko was sure that Vecky was still alive. I was certain that if she was, you must be, too. I’ve been holding on to that hope for weeks.”

“I want nothing more than to take a shower, then cuddle with you and Friday alone. But I know we have more pressing matters.”

Ari looked down at herself. “Yeah. I’m going to need a shower now, too.”

“Sorry about that. It wasn’t an easy day.”

“Don’t worry. When we get the chance, we’ll do it together.”

__________

On the bridge of the Kestrel, Lieutenant Ember watched from the command chair as her brother guided the ship back to its normal spot along the body of the Serpent. The mood among the crew was somber, as they were still reeling from the death of their captain, and all Ember wanted to do was to make sure the ship was securely docked and crawl back into bed. Unfortunately, there was still much to do first.

“Gantry connection locked,” said Brittele.

Wearily, Ember stood up. “As I said before, not all of you need to come with me.”

“And as I said,” began Ash, “if Yovisha says it’s Helena, it’s Helena.”

“This is something I have to do. I don’t know how else to deal with the rage I’m feeling.”

Ash stood up. “I know. I feel it, too. Jerrod was the beating heart of this ship. You go. The rest of us will prepare his body for a proper burial.”

Ember wiped a tear from her eye. “Burial? Where?”

“I can think of no better place than the void.”

“Wandering, for eternity. I think he’d like that. Thank you, Ash.”

Glancing briefly at the door to Strouth’s quarters, Ember exited to the corridor and headed to the port-side airlock. She passed through the gantry, and stepped out onto the concourse. There, she heard something she’d never heard before in that space: sepulcher-like quiet. While there were people there, they moved around as if they’d be startled by their own shadows. Pausing for a moment at the strangeness of it, she then headed toward the side corridor that would lead her to the Fortuna. On her way, she walked past abandoned belongings, including some valuables. The scene only added to her anger; in all her time on the Serpent, nothing had disturbed it like this.

Just as she reached the spot she wanted, the door slid open. Yovisha and Merlis, who were part of the security team for the Flying Fish, appeared. They were carrying Helena’s body on a stretcher. They were followed by several other citizen volunteers.

“The threat has ended,” Ember said. “The rest of you can go home.”

The volunteers dispersed. Yovisha and Merlis set the stretcher down.

Ember turned to Yovisha. “Are you okay? I heard you took a round.”

She nodded. “I’m fine, my armor stopped the round completely. It hit like a sledgehammer, though.”

“Why don’t you go get checked out? I’ll take over for you.”

“I will soon, thank you.”

Ember kneeled by the body. Helena’s eyes were locked open, dull and lifeless. In Ember’s experience, that was the worst thing any humanoid could ever see, even if they were the eyes of the enemy. Blood and viscera were far easier to deal with compared to gazing into what once was. For Ember’s purposes, it worked. Soon, she moved on to examine Helena’s wound.

“It looks like they tried to save her,” said Merlis.

“I can see that,” Ember replied.

“Do you have any idea why she killed Captain Strouthionum?”

“I’m not sure I can tell you right now. I don’t want rumors spreading.”

“Huh? Without any info, there will be nothing but rumors.”

Ember stood up, sighing. “She wanted to go to Ibnal’saffar. Her reasons died with her. That’s all I can say. Anyway, it’s definitely her. I suppose I should thank you for killing her.”

“I would have preferred to capture her alive. I took no pleasure in that.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that.”

Merlis nodded. “I know.”

Ember’s PDA beeped at her. She answered the call, sending the audio to her earpiece.

“Go ahead, Brittele.”

“We’re being hailed by the Reckless Faith,” said Brittele’s voice. “Do you want me to handle it?”

“No, I’ll take the call. Put it through on standby, I’ll answer it in a minute.” She looked at the others. “Excuse me, please.”

Ember walked across the concourse. As it happened, the Nepenthe was directly across from the corridor to the Fortuna. She tried the handle on the door, and it opened. She walked into the darkened main room and closed the door behind her. The bar was as she remembered from not long ago. She sat down in the nearest booth, and answered the call.

An image appeared on her PDA. Though the screen was small, she could tell she was looking at the bridge of a ship. She could see several people that she recognized, a few she didn’t, and there was a cat sitting on the front console. John Scherer was next to the cat, and he spoke.

“I’m sure you’d rather not be hearing from us again,” he began, “but I was hoping we could leave here in peace, even after everything that happened.”

“We already talked about the peaceful part, Scherer. If you leave and never come back, then we’ll have achieved it. I don’t see why it needs to be more complicated than that.”

“Nobody wanted this outcome, Lieutenant. We feel we owe you one. You have our SRC frequency. If you ever need a favor, call us. Ours is a fast ship, and we might be able to help you out someday.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Where are you headed next?”

“Somewhere safe, for some rest and recovery. Ember, I’m sorry about Jerrod. He was nothing but fair to us, and loyal to the Serpent.”

“I already knew that.”

Ember terminated the call. She got up, and moved to the back of the bar. She grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and was about to take a swig, when she noticed that the door to the back room was open. She walked in and turned on the light. She found a storeroom that also served as Helena’s office. At first glance, there wasn’t anything unexpected there. Ember sat down at the desk, and took a long pull from the bottle. On the desk, she noticed a small silver pendant, so she picked it up. It was a swan, posed with wide pinions, and its head in profile.

She put the pendant in her pocket, and drank from the bottle again. “So long, Cygnet.”