The Dead Sun Read online

  “Colonel Riggs?” Jasmine asked again, more insistently.

  “Yes, what is it, Captain?”

  “There is another contact closing on our position.”

  Frowning, I looked down at the board, then up at the holotank. An orange contact flickered there. It was small, no more than a cluster of pixels.

  “What the hell is that?” I asked.

  “Unknown, sir,” she said. “The Worms released it as they made their final approach.”

  “Released it?” demanded Newcome, perking up. “It must be a bomb or a mine of some kind. Please sir, allow me to maneuver out of its path or shoot it down.”

  I frowned at the screen, uncertain. I’d understood we were involved in a show of bravery between our two species, two warriors meeting on an open plain and beating their chests before clasping arms—something like that. But why drop an object into our path?

  “I don’t get this.”

  Newcome sensed my uncertainty and grew braver.

  “May I take action to protect my ship in that case, Colonel?”

  I glanced up at him. It was a reasonable request. “All right. Don’t shoot it down, but you have the helm.”

  He shouted a stream of orders. The navigational people all went into action, and we evaded the incoming object. It sailed past us at a rather sedate pace.

  “If that was an attack, it was a pretty lame one,” I said.

  “You can never be too careful, sir,” Newcome said.

  I tossed him an annoyed glance. That was all I needed, another nervous officer on my bridge. I was already regretting bringing Newcome along.

  “May I shoot it down now, Colonel?” Newcome asked.

  “What? Certainly not. For all we know it’s a Worm fruit basket. There’s no need to—”

  “Sir?” Jasmine said, speaking up again.

  This time, I gave her my immediate attention.

  “We’re being hailed, sir.”

  “Ah, good. Finally, the Worms are going to explain their bizarre behavior. It’s about time.”

  “Possibly, Colonel, but the transmission isn’t coming from the Worm ships or Helios. It’s coming from the object.”

  My frown returned. “Well, pipe it through.”

  She did, and a familiar voice echoed on the command deck. It was faint, but I recognized it immediately.

  “Star Force ship?” Kwon hailed us. “Could you maybe pick me up or something? I’m drifting, and the Worms didn’t give me any kind of propulsion.”

  -6-

  We slowed down, turned around and hauled Kwon into our vessel. Newcome was even paranoid and objecting about that, spouting some nonsense about fake Kwons and parasitically infected personnel.

  “I assure you, Admiral,” I told him, “the Worms have neither the technology, motivation, nor the personality to try something like that. They just gave him back to us, that’s all. They probably got tired of him. He eats a lot.”

  Glowering, Newcome followed me to the sally portal where we deployed marines in battle—or in this case, retrieved them.

  We processed him through the airlock and, when there was enough air in the chamber to talk, I opened my visor.

  “Kwon, you have some serious explaining to do,” I told him.

  “Good to be back, Colonel.”

  “I beg your pardon, Colonel,” Newcome said. “But can’t we at least bring him through the decontamination center? It is standard operating procedure.”

  “All right, all right,” I said, closing my visor again.

  Ten minutes later, I met up with Kwon again in a small pressure-sealed chamber. Only the Imperial ships had rooms like this, designed to hold people who’d done space exploration before they were allowed back into the general population of the crew. They were quarantine centers, really. I didn’t see the point, but I figured since we had the facility we might as well use it.

  “It was very interesting living with the Worms, sir,” Kwon told me.

  “I’m sure it must have been quite an interesting experience for the Worms too, since they dumped you out of their hold like a sack of trash.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. That’s just their way. They aren’t a soft people, you understand.”

  He laughed then, and I realized belatedly that Kwon had made a joke. The Worms were squishy, like huge leather pillows filled with squirming muscle. Physically, they were soft people.

  I chuckled politely, then continued to question him. On hand, I had Admiral Newcome, who looked as if he smelled rotten meat. Marvin had managed to tag along as well, and seemed very interested in the discussion. He wasn’t saying much, but his interest in unusual events was always alarming to me. He often knew or suspected more than he was letting on. I knew enough not to ask him what he was thinking, of course. Marvin would only clam-up harder if he thought I was on to him. The best thing to do would be to watch him closely for clues as to what he was thinking.

  “All right, let’s hear your report, Kwon. Where is the rest of the delegation I sent to Helios?”

  “I don’t know, sir,” he said. “But I think they all died.”

  “Died? How?”

  “The Worms had a contest with us. A constriction contest. That’s what they like to do for fun, you know. They squeeze each other. It’s like wrestling for them.”

  I nodded slowly. “Let me guess, they squeezed you, and you won.”

  “Yeah. The other guys didn’t make it, though. Internal injuries, probably.”

  “How the hell did all this start?”

  “It was the chief emissary’s fault, I think. She didn’t quite understand the Worms. She talked about learning their customs. She told them she wanted to form a relationship with them—to be treated as a Worm citizen.”

  “Uh-huh. So the Worms took her at her word and wrestled with her.”

  “Right. I don’t think she was even nanotized. She made a funny little sound, and then there was blood all over the inside of her visor.”

  Newcome was squirming like a Worm himself. “Beastly barbarians,” he mumbled.

  I glanced at him. “True,” I said. “The Worms are probably the most culturally barbaric species we’ve encountered. They’re kind of tribal and believe in blood sports. If it was anyone else, I’d take this personally and be angry with them, but they might not understand. After all, the ambassador asked for it.”

  I turned back to Kwon. “What happened after the Ambassador died?”

  “Well, the rest of the diplomatic team kind of freaked out. They shot a few Worms—it didn’t go too well.”

  “Hmm,” I said, sighing. “A diplomatic incident. Now I understand their message better. The Worms were speaking of mending our lost ways. I would wager from their behavior they’re angry and considered a warlike response.”

  “I think they were pissed off, yes, sir.”

  Newcome was still eyeing Kwon suspiciously. “Your story is quite fantastic, First Sergeant. What was your part in it? How did you survive?”

  “Well, I didn’t pull a gun. Instead, I got up like this.”

  Kwon stood and crouched with his hands out to his sides. His knees were bent, and his hulking form was clearly in the posture of a wrestler. In fact, he looked like a sumo wrestler to me.

  “They didn’t try to kill you, then?”

  “Well—they tried. They sent in a Worm about my size. I was glad he wasn’t one of the really big ones—you know, the Granddaddy Worms. Anyway, he was tough, and strong, and I didn’t have an armored suit or a knife or anything. We thrashed around, but I finally managed to tear him apart.”

  “How do you even go about getting a wrestling hold on a Worm?” I asked him.

  He shook his head. “No, no, I didn’t do a wrestling move. I grabbed one half with my arms locked around the middle, see, and I squeezed him until he came apart in two halves.”

  “Ah, you literally tore him apart.”

  “It was the only way I could figure out to win, sir.”

  I chuckled. Admi
ral Newcome looked disgusted.

  “So then they were impressed,” I said. “They decided you could live, and they shipped you up here when we came by. When did the wrestling happen?”

  “About a week ago, if I had to guess. I’ve been living in my suit. Not much to do. Not much to eat, either. Could I go to the mess now, Colonel?”

  “You certainly can, Kwon. You’ve earned it.”

  I clapped him on the back and sent him on his way.

  Newcome turned on me the moment he was out of earshot. “Do you believe all that nonsense, Colonel? I mean, seriously?”

  “It makes sense, sir,” said Marvin suddenly. He hadn’t spoken much throughout the briefing, but he came to life now that Kwon was gone.

  “Sense?” demanded Newcome. “What kind of sense? These aliens crushed our entire diplomatic team without a warning, and Kwon is returned by ejection from their ships? This isn’t civilized behavior.”

  “Agreed,” I said. “But Marvin’s right. You have to understand the Worms, Admiral. They aren’t like you or me in personality or culture. They’re rough around the edges compared to us.”

  “Rough around the—I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You’re defending them.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Like I said, you have to understand them. Our chief emissary clearly failed to do so. She went into a shark tank, then invited the sharks to do what came naturally to them. I recall certain British explorers making similar mistakes a few centuries back. These are aliens, Admiral. Not primitive people who need more education. You have to deal with them as they are, not as you wish them to be.”

  Newcome didn’t seem to get what I was saying, and I lost interest in the conversation. I knew I didn’t really need to explain it to him. If he stayed alive long enough out here on the frontier, he’d figure it out on his own as Kwon had. You just couldn’t judge aliens by human standards—and if you did, you’d likely make a fatal mistake at some point.

  I dismissed Newcome and turned to Marvin.

  “What do you think we ought to say to the Worms, Marvin?”

  “You’re asking me, Colonel?”

  “I believe I just did.”

  “I rarely am queried for advice in diplomatic matters.”

  I rolled my eyes. Marvin had served as my translator on countless occasions. He was the best at it as his brainbox contained the best set of neural chains in the known cosmos. But, although he’d asked for more autonomy in his communications, I’d always denied it to him. I just plain didn’t trust him to negotiate on Earth’s behalf as a free agent.

  “Well, I’m asking for your advice now, robot,” I said.

  “Sometimes I wonder if the term ‘robot’ has a negative connotation for you, Colonel. Your usage in this instance suggests—”

  “Look, let’s just stick to the subject. I asked what you would suggest, and I still haven’t heard anything but complaints. How can you expect me to elevate your status in these matters if you don’t even provide constructive input?”

  That comment seemed to get Marvin’s attention. His cameras reshuffled themselves, and his tentacles stopped rasping on the floor.

  “You’re suggesting a promotion in my status?”

  “We’re not cutting a bargain if that’s what you mean. I want to hear what you’re thinking about this situation.”

  “We have several viable options,” Marvin said at last. “We could declare war on the Worms for their misconduct, for example.”

  “Not going to happen. What else?”

  “I wasn’t suggesting that course of action. I was simply offering up alternatives.”

  “Well, keep going.”

  “We could send a scathing communication to them, telling them of our displeasure. Or we could send our apologies for the behavior of our envoys.”

  “Both sound weak, but plausible. Is that it?”

  “No, sir. There is one other option: we could ignore the incident entirely.”

  I looked at him. “What would that do?”

  “It would show that we understood their actions, but that we neither applaud nor condemn them. That we haven’t changed the nature of our relationship over the incident.”

  I thought it over and rubbed my chin. I nodded at last.

  “I like that,” I said. “They’ve got to be wondering what we’ll do. When they came at us playing chicken, I resolutely flew onward. They broke off. That shows they aren’t angry enough to start a war themselves.”

  “Not angry enough nor foolish enough.”

  I shook my head. “No, that’s not how they think. The Worms would rather fight to the last and die than hide in their holes as a beaten people. If they wanted to fight us, they would have attacked regardless of their poor odds. But they didn’t. That means they’re annoyed, but the situation can be repaired.”

  I stood up and slammed my fist on the table. It rang and dented with the impact. I loved smart-metal furniture as it allowed me to express myself fully and then quietly self-repaired afterward.

  “I’m going to take your advice, Marvin. I’m going sail on by the Helios system without a complaint, an apology or a single missile fired. As far as I’m concerned, we’re still allied peoples, and when the time comes, we’ll fight to the death against the machines side by side.”

  “Your statements are appealing, but I can’t take credit for your reasoning. My advice was merely a matter of listing options and consequences.”

  I laughed as I left the room. “Don’t sell yourself short, robot. Sometimes, the best advisor is one that serves as a sounding board for his commander’s thoughts.”

  I left him then and moved back to the bridge. My flotilla accelerated without a transmission to the Worms. We headed toward the Eden ring at flank speed. The Worm ships silently watched us slip away. They didn’t fire or follow us. They just waited until we exited their system a few days later and then returned to their home space and parked in orbit over their planet.

  By that time, I’d had the opportunity to second-guess my choices. In particular, I wondered about Marvin’s “advice”. He’d made a point of giving it to me, then clearly stating that he hadn’t given it to me. Why would he want to play both sides of the issue?

  I had to wonder about Marvin’s true motivations. He always had his own private, oddball goals.

  I knew he really wanted to perform an experiment out in the Thor system. Could that be why he’d suggested doing nothing? He’d known that if I did shoot at the Worms, it might have created a distraction, delaying us. There was nothing that slowed down an expedition like a diplomatic incident that needed cleaning up.

  “Damn,” I said aloud to no one.

  The trouble was rooted in a simple fact: the robot was at least as smart as I was. He always had been. That was the real problem. How could a mere human outthink an artificial genius?

  -7-

  When we finally arrived in the Eden System, I felt like I’d come home again at last. I immediately headed to the ship’s tiny observatory and gazed out the frosted window, mesmerized by the local star and the shimmering planets that circled her.

  I remembered wanting to leave Eden and head home to Earth. In retrospect, that seemed insane to me. How could I have pined away for Earth when all this natural beauty awaited me here, circling a perfectly stable yellow sun? I chided myself for not having visited for so long.

  The Eden System was made up of six habitable worlds that circled a lone star many light years from Earth. There were actually seven habitable worlds, if you included the homeworld of the Blues. But that was a gas giant, and as only the Blues could survive there, it didn’t count in my book.

  Such lovely worlds…they were like jewels floating in space. Eden-8 was probably my favorite. It was the coolest of the human colony-worlds. I’d built my sanctuary there, Shadowguard. It was a castle-like structure, and it clung to the tallest peak on the planet, the only spot where natural snow fell regularly.

  I felt a sudden yearning to visit Shadowguard a
gain. Once I had the feeling, I couldn’t shake it. Inexorably, my thoughts moved from Shadowguard to thoughts of Sandra, my dead girlfriend. She’d been my companion through many years and adventures. We’d been happy on Eden-8 if a little restless and homesick.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” said a quiet voice behind me.

  I jumped a little. I hadn’t heard Jasmine come into the chamber.

  “I haven’t held a penny in my hands for years,” I said, smiling at her.

  “Well, tell me what you’re thinking about anyway.”

  “Right now, I’m thinking we were crazy to ever leave Eden. What is it about us humans that causes us to take a good thing for granted? To become restless and bored when we have it too good? We just have to go out into the wilderness and stir up some trouble.”

  She laughed quietly. “You should know. You’re the very best at stirring things up.”

  I nodded and returned to the view. She was right about that. I had a knack for finding trouble wherever it hid and whacking it with a stick.

  “Why are we out here, Kyle? Really?”

  I glanced back at her for a moment. I thought about Marvin’s plan, and my face darkened. “We’re about to whack another wasp’s nest, I think.”

  “Why not go home then?” she asked, coming near and clasping my arm. Her touch was as gentle as that of a butterfly alighting on my artificially toughened skin.

  “Maybe we should, but I think it’s time we learned what our adversary is planning. If we wait any longer, they might be ready.”

  “Who? And ready for what?”

  “The machines—our first enemy. Our real enemy.”

  “Do we absolutely have to mess with them again? Can’t we just leave them alone? Perhaps they won’t come again. Maybe they never will. Maybe their minds are caught in some kind of endless loop.”

  I shook my head and sighed. “No. They’re building up. They’re preparing a surprise for us. If we do nothing, they will have the initiative when the time comes. They’ll be ready, we won’t. I don’t want to play their game. I want to force them to play ours.”

  Her hands gripped my elbow, but she didn’t argue further. I liked that about Jasmine. She wasn’t a fighter—at least not in our personal relationship. She’d always accepted me as her commander whereas Sandra never really had.