Alien Honor (A Fenris Novel) (26 page)

“I would have been surprised if you didn’t,” Jasper said. “But I would suggest you hurry up with whatever it is you’re going to do. By what the doctor has shown me, we’re running out of time.”

Argon became reflective, finally turning to Wexx. “I do not trust him.”

“I’m not sure I do either,” Wexx said. “But what other choice do we have? We can’t fight the entire system.”

“What do you think?” Argon asked Cyrus.

“I think the aliens used you,” Cyrus told Jasper. “I told you they were dangerous.”

“You knew about them?” Wexx asked.

“You put inhibitors in our brains,” Cyrus said.

“For our own protection,” Argon said. “Look what happened when Jasper freed himself.”

“You made us slaves,” Cyrus said. “Slaves want freedom and will do anything to get it. You don’t have to worry about me. I don’t want to be slaves to those aliens. I don’t think Jasper does either.”

“That should be obvious,” Jasper said.

“They tricked you,” Cyrus said.

“I know,” Jasper said, and he turned away.

Argon took a deep breath. “Yes, we must make the attempt. But I will hold the pain switch and the self-destruct button for
Discovery
. If we fail to shift away, we will make sure the aliens never gain our critical technology.

10

The techs repaired the tele-ring with twelve hours to spare in the eighty-four hour race with the alien dreadnought. They also jury-rigged the tele-chamber. Some of the procedures would now have to take place from the bridge module, but in the larger scheme of things that didn’t really matter.

Or so Cyrus thought as he readied to enter the cylinder with its blue solution.

Jasper sat nearby in a cushioned chair bolted to the deck plates. Straps bound his neck, chest, wrists, and ankles. Pain leads stuck to his skin, the most prominently to his neck. Beside him in another chair towered Chief Monitor Argon.

Captain Jones and Dr. Wexx had talked Argon out of holding the ship’s self-destruct button too.

“You should concentrate on your primary task and not have to worry about the ship at that point,” Wexx had told the chief monitor.

Argon buckled in and kept a flinty gaze fixed on Jasper. “I will reward treachery with pain,” he rumbled.

Jasper didn’t answer. His eyes were on Cyrus.

I can feel you
, Cyrus told the telepath.

Do you see how they use us as pieces to a machine? They don’t truly think of us as people, but as mutants, as component parts for their greater glory
.

Cyrus had to admit the man had a point.
I don’t think the aliens will treat us any better, though
.

That was my mistake. I thought they might be better. There’re not really aliens, by the way, but humans like us
.

I don’t see how,
Cyrus thought.

I’m not sure how, either, but they’re humans nonetheless. You saw them. Can you doubt they’re people?

Are you saying they’re originally from Earth?

Either that or we’re originally from here
, Jasper thought.
Maybe the name Eden is more accurate than we realize
.

Cyrus twisted around to study Jasper.

“Is he communicating with you?” Argon asked.

Cyrus didn’t answer, but put the induction helmet over his head. It was a tight fit. He strapped on the breathing mask, slid down into the solution, and listened to the air move through the tube. Goggles protected his eyes and a slick-suit his skin.

Who are the Illustrious Ones?
Cyrus thought.

I don’t know,
Jasper told him
. Besides, I don’t trust them to tell me the truth anymore. They lied to me. They tried to trick me. I want to get out of this system just as much as you do. But don’t let Argon know that. I despise the man. He thinks he’s superior to us, which is a gigantic joke on him
.

I’m going in to link with Socrates. I’ll need it quiet for a few minutes.

Relax, Cyrus. You and I have had our differences, but you refused to torture me. I’ll remember what you did
.

There was a buzzing sound in Cyrus’s helmet and a sense of disorientation.

“Special Fourth Class Cyrus,” AI Socrates said. “You’ve returned. I’m glad you’ve decided to help me shift once again.”

The AI sure had a warped sense of reality. But he couldn’t worry about that now. He had a job to do. “Do you recall what happened during the last shift?” Cyrus asked.

“The shift anomalies remained within the accepted limits. Ah. Are you referring to the enemy psi-attacks after we crossed though the null field?”

“That’s right,” Cyrus said.

“They assaulted Special Second Class Jasper. Is that why he is not helping me today?”

“I’m sure it doesn’t matter. I was just curious. Are you ready to shift?”

“Ready,” Socrates said. “The tele-ring will activate in nine seconds. Have you composed yourself?”

Cyrus took a deep breath. This was it. They had found an alien species, well, if Jasper was wrong about them being the same as Earth people. The aliens looked humanoid, of that there was no doubt. But they didn’t seem like normal people.
Discovery
had defeated two attacks and now a third attempt was hours from reaching an engagement point with the Teleship.

“Six seconds,” Socrates said.

By a Herculean effort, the techs had repaired the critical damage to the shift structures. Now they had to hope the fusion engines held long enough to get them home. Later, they could probably wake Roxie to help in the shifting.

I’m ready
, Jasper thought at Cyrus.

“What did you say?” Socrates asked.

“Did you hear that?” Cyrus asked the AI.

“I heard a voice. It was faint.”

“We’re speaking by brain waves, right?” Cyrus asked.

“The tele-ring is going online,” Socrates said.

Get ready
, Jasper thought.
The psi-masters will attack
—

Cyrus was operating through the AI now. The moment he linked with the tele-ring, the alien psi-masters struck.

Inside the cylinder, Cyrus roared with pain. Bubbles slid past his mask and burbled upward. His concentration slid away from the tele-ring as he instantaneously raised his mind shield to full strength.

I’m here
, Jasper told him.
There are more of them than last time. These are stronger, too, the sons of bitches
.

The psi-masters battered at Cyrus’s mind. Each psi-bolt struck his shield, driving it a little closer to his ego.

“There are so many voices with us today,” Socrates said. “How is this possible?”

Cyrus heard the AI as from far away.

They’re trying to shut down your senses
, Jasper told him.
Don’t let them. Keep up your shield
.

The mind attack was relentless. Once Cyrus deflected one thought, another struck from a different direction. There was no way for him to concentrate on the tele-ring and pick a location, never mind attempting to warp it open into the null portal.

He felt Jasper battling beside him. The telepath was doing his damnedest to stop the aliens. For a moment, Cyrus “saw” a psi-master. This one wore a red robe and had a shinier
baan
than the first one he’d seen several days ago. Like the others from before, the psi-master pressed the forehead
baan
against two discs, against the amplifier.

We need some of those
, Jasper thought.

Cyrus reinforced his mind shield, and he began pushing outward. He heard his harsh breathing and the slush of the blue solution around him.

You’re going to have to reach out with the tele-ring while I hold them back. It should take just a few seconds. Are you ready?

I’m ready
, Cyrus thought.

Now!

Cyrus kept up an automatic shield as he reached out with his mind, linking with the tele-ring.

“I was wondering where your concentration had gone,” Socrates said. “We have little time left. I have analyzed the ‘voices’ and believe they are alien to our vessel.”

Combined with the tele-ring and aided by AI Socrates, Cyrus reached out nearly 0.8 light years. He began warping space—

Someone screamed horribly, although it was a muffled sound. The next second, psi-masters struck Cyrus with precision mind bolts.

Cyrus’s telekinesis slid away from the tele-ring as he used every ounce of his mental energy keeping up his mind shield. He had a vague idea that the psi-master had switched targets. They’d hit Argon and taken over the mobility of his thumb, causing it to press down on the switch. The physical pain jolting through Jasper had broken the telepath’s mental concentration and obliterated his telepathic shield.

The knowledge came, and then Cyrus battled for his mind. He was so close to shifting. If he could hang onto the tele-ring for three more seconds, he could make the needed null portal and
Discovery
would sail away out of danger. They would be on their way home. He would be a hero.

Instead, Cyrus fought a losing battle against the aliens. The New Eden psi-masters repeatedly struck, and for a second, one of them slid into motor control of his brain.

As if flipping a switch, the alien psi-master caused a blackout, ending Cyrus’s attempt to shift out of New Eden.

PART IV:
BONDAGE

1

“Cyrus,” Socrates said tentatively. “Are you well?”

Cyrus stirred within the cylinder, his limbs pushing through the dense liquid. He tried to squeeze the substance, but that proved impossible. This was just great, he felt groggier than before.
Did I just fall asleep? Wait! The psi-masters—they attacked us when we turned on the tele-ring.

“You must have been busy calibrating,” Socrates said. “The trouble is you have taken an eternity longer than normal and still have not adjusted for flux. The tele-ring has shut down long ago and you fell asleep. This has not occurred before. Therefore, weighing the evidence, I finally decided to wake you. This proved more difficult than I believed and has taken hours. The others in the chamber with us are immune to my attempts.”

“You did the right thing,” Cyrus said. “I—”

“I should point out that the alien ship has reached its firing range and begun chewing through the asteroidal shielding around the core of the Teleship.”

“What? How did that happen?”

“You have been asleep for some time as I said.”

“Why didn’t the doctor wake me?”

“The humans in the chamber and everyone else I’ve monitored are also asleep.”

“The aliens must have caused it.”

“Yes,” Socrates said. “My probability indicator suggests foreign entities have affected crew personnel.”

“Can you turn on the tele-ring?”

“First someone must calibrate and adjust for flux.”

“If the alien dreadnought has reached its range, we’ve run out of time. We have to get out of here now.”

“My safety features will not allow me to switch on the tele-ring until someone has adjusted for flux.”

“Can you show me what’s happening outside the ship?”

“Are you ready to receive?”

“Go for it.”

On the inner surface of his goggles, Cyrus saw the alien dreadnought’s single beam. It reached across 1.5 million kilometers of space. The grotesquely powerful laser had already chewed through what was left of the P-Field and bored through asteroidal rock, heading inward toward the central core. There was little time left to shift.

“Socrates,” Cyrus shouted, “initiate emergency shift procedures!”

“I cannot.”

Cyrus didn’t think the aliens were attempting to destroy
Discovery
, but to make sure it could never escape. He couldn’t save them now, but he might make it harder for the aliens to build their own Teleship.

Shoving upward, Cyrus surfaced and tore off the induction helmet. Disorientation hit and he sank back into the solution.

I might not have much time
.

Cyrus unglued his eyes, rose up again and removed the goggles and mask, and climbed out of the cylinder. Blue solution dripped from his slick-suit. Everyone in the tele-chamber slept soundly. The psi-masters had put them under as they’d done once before.

I wonder what Socrates did to wake me up so much sooner than anyone else could?

He went to Jasper in his padded chair. The telepath was out, so was Argon. Cyrus ripped off the shock leads and shook Jasper. It didn’t help. The aliens must have done something special to him.

Dr. Wexx and others snored from the deck plates. The Teleship was under one G acceleration. He wondered who’d done that. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t stop the aliens from acquiring
Discovery
and reverse engineering their own starships. The horrible thing was there was nothing he could do about it…

Cyrus paused. He had a memory, a new one someone had given him. He concentrated and realized he knew how to do one thing to slow down the aliens from building Teleships.

How do I know this?

It came to him that Jasper must have given it to him right before the telepath went under.

Cyrus headed toward the outline of a portal, one he’d never noticed before.

“What are you doing?” Socrates asked from a speaker in the chamber. “Your actions are odd and unusual. You seem disoriented.”

“I want to save you from AI Kierkegaard’s fate.”

“The aliens have stopped firing. I am no longer in any danger.”

“Can you predict their next move?” Cyrus asked. He reached the outline of the portal and said, “Vector five, alpha nine-two, override code seven-seven-three.”

The portal swished open, and Cyrus headed into AI Socrates’s main control center.

“How can you protect me from here?” Socrates asked through a different speaker. The small chamber was packed with banks of controls and screens.

“Show me the alien dreadnought,” Cyrus said. “I want you to monitor its actions.”

On a nearby screen, the teardrop-shaped vessel moved through the void. Its fusion engine no longer burned, no longer left a long tail behind it. On accumulated velocity alone, the dreadnought hurtled toward them. The alien vessel would never stop in time to board, but would pass
Discovery
soon. It looked like the Prometheus missiles hadn’t worked. That was a shame.