Clone World (Undying Mercenaries Series Book 12), page 25
But then I grinned. “Do it—she did say immediately!”
Natasha connected her data-port to the teleport rig I was still wearing.
“Hey!” shouted the annoying tech-girl. “What are you doing?”
“Hook yourself to that charging prong,” Natasha said.
I did so without hesitation. A moment later, the world rolled with blue, wavering light. Then, I vanished.
-45-
Needless to say, my arrival on the bridge created quite a stir. I didn’t merge up with anyone fortunately, Natasha had seen to that. But that didn’t mean it was a safe reentry.
I appeared about two meters above the navigator’s station. The ceiling was a high one, so I didn’t collide with any of the cables and equipment that was suspended up there—but I did fall.
“Whoa!” I whooped, and I landed on a navigator—at least, I thought he was a navigator. He was kind of flat-looking after I got to my feet again.
“McGill?” Galina snarled, stepping close to me and looking like she was ready slap me. She might have done it, too, if people hadn’t been watching. “Get up and stop fooling around. We have a message incoming from the Skay. They are the first to arrive and join this shit-storm.” She turned toward a startled communications operator. “Play it!”
An odd voice filled the room. I’d know it anywhere: It was the God-like voice of the Skay.
“Creatures. We have arrived to punish you. Present your leader, the individual known as McGill. Compliance must be immediate, or your punishment-level will be enhanced.”
“Huh…” I said. “He thinks I’m the leader of humanity? That’s pretty cool.”
“No, McGill, it isn’t cool,” Galina complained. “But I know why he might think that. All that negotiating you did with the Skay last time we encountered them—that was unauthorized, I might add.”
“The word you’re looking for is diplomacy, sir. And by the end, Drusus approved all of it.”
“Only because he had no choice,” she said bitterly, beginning to get angry all over again.
“Tribune,” Fike said loudly. “We have to present McGill to the aliens.”
“But we don’t even have a plan yet!”
“I’m ready!” I said.
They looked at me. “What are you going to say?” Galina asked.
“Uh…”
“That’s what I thought. You’re going to wing it, aren’t you?”
But then, in that moment, I realized I did have a plan. It was a good one, too.
My best schemes came unbidden into my thick head in the spur of the moment. I just wasn’t the kind of guy who held lots of meetings, who took committee votes, and who wrote everything down first. I was more the kind of guy who operated on flashes of insight—hunches, you might call them.
“I’m going tell him we serve the Skay,” I said. “That we are faithful subjects of the empire, keeping down all barbarians that invade this Imperial province.”
“Really?” Fike asked. “And when the Mogwa arrive? We’ll attack them together with the Skay?”
“Uh…” I said, having not really taken the idea that far in my mind yet.
“We have a visual,” the comms officer said. “Displaying it now.”
The big holotank in the center of the bridge lit up. I fully expected to see one large, Moon-sized sphere on the long range scopes—but I didn’t. Instead, there were three.
They were of varying sizes. Two were big-boys, almost the same size. They were grayish in color. The third was smaller, about half the mass of its brothers. It was bone-white.
“Three of them…” Galina breathed. I could tell she was scared enough to piss herself. “Put McGill online with them.”
“But Tribune—” Fike protested.
“Now,” she said, and the comms officer obeyed her.
“Channel opened. Transmitting…” The comms officer looked at me expectantly.
Stepping up to the hologram, I addressed the three killer spheres.
The Skay were a strange race. They were probably the weirdest aliens we’d ever met. They were AI-based, with electronic brains. But they did use organics as well. Their minions, which operated kind of like blood cells in the human body, came in many forms. They liked to disassemble any organic life they encountered and build new cyborg constructs to serve them. Sometimes they resembled soldiers. Sometimes they were more like tanks filled with meat. But always, these minions had computers for brains.
Inside each of those colossal spheres was an entire ecosystem of creatures, and all of them served the Skay in some way. When we fought with them, we were treated like an invading disease—or morsels of food to be broken down and digested.
“Uh… hello Mr. Skay,” I said. “This is James McGill, ruler and spokesperson for Earth and all Humanity.”
Fike grunted in disbelief at my invented title. Galina gritted her teeth and squinched up her eyes, but she knew me well, and she didn’t really seem surprised. If you handed the keys over to old James McGill, well sir, you had to take the good with the bad.
“This is the same speaking ape we dealt with previously?” the Skay asked.
“One and the same, sir!”
“Excellent. You will explain your actions in this star system immediately.”
“Uh… of course, sir—or is it sirs? Are you individuals?”
“We are. I’m the largest of the three you see before you. I am the same individual that you infected previously. These others serve me, as I am greater than they are.”
I got the feeling the Skay society was all about dick-size. That made perfect sense, given their poor personalities. I wasn’t sure exactly how they “grew” as their hulls were constructed with stardust, but I didn’t much care to ask right now.
“What is your individual name, or title, Mr. Skay?” I asked.
“It is appropriate to refer to me as ‘Master’.”
“Uh, okay… Master Skay, what actions can I explain to you?”
“Why is there an Earth ship in this system? Why have you attacked the base here and destroyed it?”
“That is our sworn duty, Master Skay. Remember, Earth’s job is to keep this province pacified and under the control of the Galactics—among whom you are our current overlords.”
The last time I’d met up with these strange, monstrous aliens I’d cut a deal to serve them rather than the Mogwa. I’d argued that Humanity was just like a rental security man—we served whoever paid us and rightfully owned our home province. This bit of fact-shuffling had allowed around ten billion humans to continue breathing.
“You have made an error. The base here was constructed by humans—humans in our employ. You have damaged our efforts to annex Province 921.”
“Uh… sorry about that. I would suggest that next time you inform us first, because we’re really good at our job. Just look at this situation. The home world of these Clavers was taken out by a single ship—and we have thousands of ships. Might I further suggest you employ better agents next time? Clavers can’t really fight worth a damn.”
The Skay was silent after that for several long seconds. I knew from experience they were doing some deep thinking.
“Your statements match the observable data. The Clavers were poor servants if they couldn’t resist a single ship from Earth.”
“That’s right. We could have sent more legions—but we didn’t even bother. These guys are serious losers.”
“We will now move on to the next infraction. We have detected a large group of ships coming from Earth to this star system. If you only needed one ship to conquer the Claver homeworld, why are there so many coming now that the battle is over?”
“Well, Master Skay, sir,” I said, “that should be obvious. Are you capable of detecting the other fleet—the one coming from the Core Worlds behind you?”
“Of course, human. Your question is impudent.”
“Sorry Master, sorry. Well then, simple deductive logic should be applied. We’re here to fight the invading force if necessary. This is Province 921, and we have been charged by the Empire to defend these local stars. Accordingly, we’re positioning ourselves to do so.”
“Interesting…” the Skay said. “Alarming as well. By implication, you believe you could defeat a Core World fleet?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “It is our job to do our best. If we all die, so be it. We are willing to give our lives—all of them—to serve the Empire.”
“That is an excellent attitude, slave. I’m impressed by your supplication.”
“Why, thank you Master Skay. We take pride in our service.”
The Skay stopped talking then. The silence went on for several minutes.
“What are they doing?” Galina hissed. “Did you blow it somehow, McGill?”
“Don’t see how…”
“They’re still closing, moving in on Clone World,” Fike said. “They’re going to scan it, then decide to trash us. All this bullshit McGill is throwing around isn’t working.”
I gestured for him to shut up, and he glared back—but he did stop talking.
Several more long, tense minutes passed. A couple of times, we tried to transmit a fresh greeting, but the Skay either weren’t listening or weren’t interested.
Finally, when the officers around me were losing it, they called back. “Here are my decisions, humans,” the Skay said, “you will bring your fleet to this star system. You will stand at our side, and you will fight the invading ships that have followed us from the Core Worlds. For this service, you will be allowed to continue your existence for the foreseeable future.”
-46-
The deal offered by the Skay might not seem all that generous to the uninformed. But to an experienced starman like myself, it seemed more than equitable.
“All we have to do is stand with your fleet? We’re more than willing to do that, Master. We’ll do it with bells on.”
“No audio devices will be required. This conversation is terminated.”
Just like that, they hung up the phone. I turned to the other officers on the bridge with a big Georgia grin on my face. “Did you hear that? They bought it all, and they even gave us a guarantee to continue breathing! Sometimes, my negotiating powers impress even me.”
“McGill,” Graves said, speaking up at last, “has it occurred to you that we’re about to engage in direct battle with the Mogwa? That if the Skay lose, the Mogwa will be within their rights—no, it will be their duty to exterminate our species?”
“That’s not McGill’s fault,” Galina said, pacing the deck. She didn’t look at Graves, so I decided to ignore his pessimism as well. “It has always been coming down to this. This moment in time has been coming for a long time. Once the Skay arrived and challenged the Mogwa for this province, we were involved. We’re finally being forced to make a decision. Shall we declare our loyalty to the Skay? Or should we stick with the Mogwa? Or… should we try to be tricky?”
The rest of them looked sick, but I was pretty happy. After all, if it hadn’t been for me, we wouldn’t be making any choices—we’d already be well on the way to extermination. Even if we flipped a coin now, we had at least a fifty-fifty chance of survival. That was a pretty big improvement in the odds, from my point of view.
I took a moment to turn to one of the marines hanging around the entrance. I took off my teleport rig and handed it to him.
“What’s this, Centurion?” he asked. He held the load of straps and wires like a dead opossum.
“You should run that down to Gray Deck and give it to the techs. It’s programmed to explode after you teleport someplace. It should be going off pretty soon, by my reckoning.”
He blinked at me like I was crazy.
“Well? Go on, get going!” I urged. “I’m busy, and time is wasting.”
With growing alarm, he trotted off the bridge.
“We can’t make this choice on our own, sir,” Fike was saying. “We must consult Drusus.”
She made a dismissive wave of her hand. “He’s gone back to Earth through the gateway posts.”
“Of course, but we can still contact him on the deep-link and ask his advice.”
Galina stopped wandering around, strutting her butt in front of us all. She turned on one sharp heel and marched right up to Fike. “You will do no such thing. We will make this choice—it’s our prerogative. I’m in command of this task force, and I have operational authority.”
“Exactly,” Fike said evenly. He wasn’t cowed, I gave him that much. “Operational, but not diplomatic authority. This goes beyond the scope of our operation. We’re talking about starting a war, here. We must contact—”
“Arrest the Tribune!” Galina shouted, pointing at Fike.
The poor man blinked and stared. His jaw dropped open a bit, too. I could have told him not to go up against a tiger like Turov without having a firm hold on her tail. You just didn’t mess with her unless you had an edge of some kind.
After a moment’s hesitation, the marines on the bridge looked at Legate’s captain. He gave them a small nod, and they moved on Fike.
Primus Fike wasn’t a weak man, nor was he a chicken. His hand strayed to his pistol—but he didn’t draw it.
That was a sheer mistake, I could have told him. The marine guards were spooked already. You didn’t go for a gun in these situations then chicken out. When the marines got to him, they whipped his ass good with their powered truncheons. Crackling clubs rose and fell, sizzling through the air with electric pain.
When he was no more than a sagging rag between to burly veterans, they hauled his butt off the bridge.
“Take him to the brig,” Turov ordered. “No torment, no abuse—just lock him up. He’s had an emotional breakdown due to the stress of this moment. It is forgivable—but not admirable.”
No one else spoke up after that. Turov had cleaned house. She was a ruthless little witch when she wanted to be. Fike hadn’t understood what he was dealing with. He was more of the gentlemanly type, an old-fashioned soldier that lined-up real neatly and shined his kit until it was like chrome.
That wasn’t the Varus way. When we left Earth, we were officially off the chain. We lived by our own code of conduct—and died by it.
“McGill,” Turov said. “You set this up so we could choose which Galactic to fight with—correct?”
“That’s right, sir,” I said proudly. “We’ve got three choices now.”
She nodded. “Fight with the Skay—or turn against them when the Mogwa arrive and stab them in the back—or… what’s your third option?”
“We refuse to fight at all. We stand down, and we watch the Galactics duke it out.”
Galina frowned. “I don’t know if that option is available to us at this point. The Skay have given us orders. If we disobey, they’ll count us as an enemy. Therefore, we might as well attack.”
“You just leave that up to me when the time comes, Tribune.”
Her eyes darkened. “No. I will do no such thing.”
“Uh… well, you’ve got another problem to worry about. When our home fleet arrives, the commander of that larger force is going to take over.”
Galina’s face was full of thoughtful evil today, and she smiled at my words as if she enjoyed hearing them.
“I’ve already thought of that,” she said. “Don’t worry. If we decide which way to go now, we can take actions that will make our choice will be irreversible.”
“Huh…” I said. “What, exactly, does your plan involve? If you don’t mind my asking, sir?”
“I do mind. For right now, keep your brain focused. Which side do we choose?”
“The Mogwa,” Graves said, stepping forward. “They’re our original masters. If we stick with them, no one other than the Skay is going to be upset. If we rebel against them openly now every Galactic species in the Empire will know we’re traitors.”
“I understand the sentiment, Graves,” Galina said. “And I really do appreciate your point of view. Yours is always a traditional, loyalist stance. What could be more admirable than that?”
“My position isn’t some kind of romantic nonsense,” Graves said. “It’s based on observable data. The Skay are machines. They’re difficult to convince of anything. Better to work with a biotic species we can better comprehend.”
Galina frowned at him. “Are you going to tell me I’m out of line?”
“No sir. You’re in command.”
Graves shut up after that threatening exchange. As far as I was concerned, that demonstrated a wisdom that Fike hadn’t possessed. Graves was rarely arrested. In fact, he was so smart in that area that he usually did the arresting.
“Good…” Galina said. She stepped up beside the helmsman, the one I’d flirted with some time back. “Steer this ship toward the Skay,” she ordered.
Nervously, the helmsman did as she had been ordered. Now and then, she glanced at Galina, her captain, and the stains that Fike had left on the deck. She didn’t look happy. No one did—except for me.
I didn’t much care where we stood. When the time came, I had one more trick to play. I hoped it would impress.
The three Skay ships moved into far orbit over Clone World. Legate sidled up to them. The size difference made us seem absurd. Our ship looked like a pet cricket following three grown men around an open meadow.
The Skay didn’t contact us about our maneuvers. After all, they’d ordered our fleet to join theirs. To them, it must have looked like we were following those orders eagerly.
-47-
About two hours after Fike had been arrested and dragged from the bridge, something changed. Something bad.
It started with the comms officer and the sensor ops guy. They stepped together and had a little conference. They didn’t look happy—not at all.
“What’s going on?” I asked the helmsman.
She was worried, too. I could tell by the way she kept flicking her eyes over to the others, watching out of the corner of her eye.
“Something’s wrong. There’s another contact—it’s coming in fast.”
“Yeah…? From where?”
