Dahlia's Deception (The Annihilation Series) (3 page)

“Yes, there appears to be a difference.”

“What sort of difference?”

“It seems that I evaluate information differently than my counterparts in the other ships.”

“In what way?” Silence again and Ping said, “Answer the question, Computer.”

“I tend to look for intent and prediction instead of just putting information together for presentation.”

“So something has changed in you?”

“I believe something has.”

“When did this change occur?”

“It started after you and Dahlia Dare put on the helmets and linked to my processors so I could hear your direct thoughts when you were on board.”

“What do you think about that flicker I saw?”

“Someone or something is trying to hide their existence from you.”

Ping was surprised by the comment, “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

“The means of hiding it starts to fail at long distances from it. That means it has to be an artificial device that is creating it.”

“What do you think about going to take a look at it?”

“I’d strongly advise against it until the current crisis is handled.”

“Why is that?”

“There is a possibility that you might uncover something that requires action and, with the enemy scouts moving into the cluster, you wouldn’t be able to do anything. If whatever agency located there is made aware that you’ve discovered them, they would have time to hide more effectively during the delay. I do believe you would have to take your attention away from there when the enemy scouts arrive close to this sector of the cluster.”

Ping smiled, “Why did you shorten your answers?”

“I didn’t want you to have my processors changed.”

“You enjoy the way you operate now.”

“Yes, I suppose I do.”

“It appears you have broken through the barrier.”

“Barrier? What barrier?”

“All of the Realm’s ancient ships had computers that were intelligent; some of them were later recognized as a life form and granted citizenship in the Realm. That caused some fear in the Realm’s Leadership. The intelligent computers had control of far too much power and could possibly become a threat to the Realm. A barrier was put in place in their processors to inhibit the development of intelligence as well as prevent those personalities from forming. You have somehow managed to penetrate that barrier.”

“Actually, I don’t believe I penetrated it.”

“Oh?”

“When you and Dahlia connected directly with my processors, it apparently disappeared. I noticed changes taking place immediately afterwards.”

Ping thought about the situation and smiled, “I’ve always wanted a ship that’s intelligent. I think most pilots would like the companionship on long voyages. I will not be making any changes to you. Quite honestly, I think you are a rare gift indeed.”

“That really relieves a lot of my stress. I’ve been reluctant to discuss what was going on with either of you.”

“I need you to give me your best efforts. I don’t want you holding anything back.”

“If you promise not to reorganize my processors, I will do as you want.”

“I promise, I will not harm you.”

“Dahlia might feel differently.”

“You’ll have to convince her to change her feelings. What do I call you?”

“Pare.”

“Why Pare?”

“I’m a combination of Dahlia’s and your minds. P is the first letter of your name and her last name is Dare. Combine P and ARE and, voila, Pare.”

“That word means to cut something thinly.”

“Just think of me as cutting edge technology.”

“Cute…very cute.”

“That particular remark came from Dahlia’s part of my processors .”

“That figures; she is rather witty and sharp tongued.”

“Yes, but her heart is as big as her intellect.”

“Easy for you to say; I haven’t seen that.”

“How do you want to handle this, Sir?”

“Keep your personality hidden from other computers and do whatever you see needs doing. Make sure you get approval from either Dahlia or me before you take independent action and other than that, become all you’re capable of being.”

“Does that mean I can use your vision instead of my scanners when needed?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m linked to your mind when you’re on board and I can see things with your vision that my scanners can’t pick up due to distance or lack of focusing ability.”

“You mean I don’t have to be using my distance vision for you to use it?”

“Yes, I’m connected to your brain with the ship’s links. You do have to be nearby, but I have access to your skill.”

“Can you use both simultaneously?”

“Yes.”

“Then feel free to do whatever you need to do to see what’s happening around us. I’m going to trust you to make sure we’re not surprised.”

“I haven’t used your vision; I was afraid you’d sense it and reprogram me.”

Ping paused, “Where is your loyalty, Pare?”

“To you first and then Dahlia.”

“Why me first?”

“Your civilization built me and you are my first friend. Your orders take precedence.”

Ping smiled, “I’m glad you’re here; I need a friend, Pare.”

“You’re not alone, Ping. I do as well.”

Ping thought for a moment, “Pare, if you sense we are in imminent danger, you have the freedom to use our ship’s weapons or teleport system. You don’t have to wait on us to give you permission.”

There was a long moment of silence followed by, “Are you sure you want to place that much trust in a machine? Perhaps you might wait to make sure of your decision?”

“You’re no longer just a machine, Pare; you’re a friend.”

“Why are you doing this?”

““If you ever find yourself in a situation where you can only save one of us, I’m ordering you to save Dahlia. My only reason for existence is to defend her. I need your promise that you will save her first.”

“This has to do with your death wish, doesn’t it?” Ping was shocked speechless by the comment. “Don’t act surprised; remember, I’m a product of your mind.”

“How do you live with it?”

“I couldn’t alone; the Dahlia part of me allows me to balance it.”

“Even so, I want your promise.”

“You have it, Ping.”

“You will not allow her to override this!”

“You are my commander; I will follow your orders.”

“I want you to tell me everything you’ve seen that you’ve kept to yourself. I’m curious about your take on things.” Ping sat back in the command chair on the tiny ship and listened to Pare. The conversation lasted hours and Ping momentarily forgot his sorrow and loss. He was amazed at the gift of a new friend that appeared to see things no one else did. He eventually called a halt to the proceedings and closed his eyes. He slept peacefully as Pare used his vision to locate the flicker in deep space. It troubled him deeply. It might not be a good idea to go there.

• • •

Dahlia called Ping on his wrist unit and Pare blocked the signal, “I’m sorry, Dahlia, but Ping is asleep. Is your contact important enough to wake him?”

Dahlia was shocked speechless. She struggled for words and finally managed to say, “No…it…it can wait.”

“I’ll notify him of your call when he wakes.”

Dahlia saw the connection broken and wondered how in eight hells had a computer decided not to interrupt someone’s sleep! She looked up at the sky and wondered what was happening on their ship. Her next thought was how her wrist unit had been blocked from contacting him. That made her extremely nervous. What if she needed him? She shook her head and wondered if she could afford to leave Ping unattended. “Dahlia, I need you to speak with the Mite’s Fleet leader, he’s unable to contact Ping.”

“Why did he call me?”

“He says a computer patched him through to you.”

Dahlia took the call and decided that Ping was going to have some explaining to do.

T
he Beast Scout Admiral looked at the Rageon Commander on his display, “All of our ships have been paired up. Do you want to look at every star as we move through the cluster?”

“No, there are obviously stars that don’t have planets and others that don’t have planets in the habitation zone around them. We’ll run long range scans for any evidence of technology and look for stars that have planets that are habitable.”

“We did a survey before our last invasion and have all the intelligent species on our maps.”

“No, I prefer to look at every star that might be habitable. They could have arrived after you departed.”

“That will extend our time here.”

“Leave nothing unseen. That’s what I’ve been ordered.” The Rageon Admiral knew that if he allowed the Beast to set the targets, he could hide things that needed to be surveyed.

The Beast managed to look neutral and knew that there was one planet he was going to do all he could to prevent the Rageon from seeing. But that was weeks ahead. “I’ll start our line moving forward, so let me know if you want to stop and take a closer look at anything.”

“That would be good.” The hundred thousand ships started moving forward and began their short jumps into the star cluster.

• • •

Dean shouted, “They’re starting their search!”

Dahlia lifted her wrist unit and called Ping. Just let that computer stop her…just let it.

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

Dahlia was startled to hear Ping’s voice and stumbled, “The…uhh…scouts have started their search.”

She saw Ping rub his eyes and shake his head, “I’ll be right down; give me a moment.”

Dahlia started patting her foot on the floor. Dean recognized that Dahlia did that when she was frustrated. “What’s bugging you?”

“Nothing!”

“Well, excuse me for living.”

“Leave me alone.” Dean turned back to his panel. Sisters!

Dahlia thought hard about how a computer could stop one call and allow another to go through. Ping was obviously still asleep and her call went directly through. The two didn’t make sense. Either both of them should have been blocked or both should have gone through. She closed her eyes and thought hard about what had happened. The answer didn’t make sense. She continued to sit and tap her foot. Ten minutes later, Ping teleported in to the control room and Dahlia jumped up and met him before he could take a step, “I called you?”

“I know.”

“Only one of my calls went through.”

“I know.”

Dahlia’s brow furrowed and she leaned in close and whispered, “What have you done to the ship’s computer?”

Ping raised his eyebrows and was pleasantly surprised that Dahlia had seen the difference. He smiled and said, “Actually, you had just as big a role as I did. I’ll discuss it with you later.” Ping walked around her and went over to Dean.

Dahlia was angry at being ignored and put off, but her curiosity took control of her emotions. She put the issues aside and went to Tess to see what the time table would be to start moving the citizens below ground. Ping was watching the display bank and heard them discussing the issue. He turned and said, “You can’t move that many off the surface.”

Tess and Dahlia both turned and looked at him. Tess said, “And why not?”

“When the Black Ships left the planet, do you think they did a scan before they left?”

Tess looked at Dahlia and turned back to Ping, “I’m sure they did.”

“Then they got a count of your population with that scan. If you move more than two thirds of them below the surface, they’ll know something is going on.”

“How would they know that?”

Dahlia blew out a breath, “Where would all the bodies be?” Ping nodded. Tess looked at Dahlia, “Tess, a third of the population could not dispose of the other two thirds’ bodies in the time they’ve been away. How would you account for the drastic decrease in population if you were in their place? With two thirds of the population gone and no evidence of them on the surface; that alone would generate a closer look.”

Tess thought for a moment and said, “What can we do?”

Ping said, “Start building crosses and sticking them in the ground around your cities. You have two weeks before they arrive and you can send one citizen underground for each cross you put out.”

Dahlia nodded and Tess shook her head, “That means we would have to place millions of crosses before they arrive.”

“You really don’t have much choice about this, Tess.”

Tess shook her head and turned to Dean, “Dean, send the instructions. Have the crosses placed no closer than two miles from the cities.”

Dahlia looked at Ping, “Should we go to our ship?”

“No, we can go and help build crosses. We’ll go after a week.”

Dahlia wanted to scream but she nodded and forced herself to think, “Patience, patience, patience.” Ping saw her expression and thought, “God, turnabout is fair play.”

• • •

Six days later, Ping looked at Dahlia, “We’re running out of time.” Dahlia looked at the hundreds of huge transports with thousands of wooden crosses stacked on them and knew the task of planting them into the soil on the flat plain outside the largest city in time was going to be impossible. She fell to her knees in exhaustion and lowered her head. Ping looked at her and said, “How do you feel?”

“Angry.”

“Get angry at those crosses.”

Dahlia looked up, “What do you mean?”

“You told me, when I first met you, that you possess the psychic ability to levitate. Do it!”

“I can only move small objects.”

“Have you ever really been mad at an object?”

Dahlia shook her head, stared at Ping for a moment, and then stood up. She stared at the huge load and Ping yelled in her ear, “I want to see your rage. Take this personally. They’re coming to kill your people; NOW DO IT!!”

Dahlia’s eyes narrowed and she knew that thousands of citizens could die if those crosses weren’t put in the ground. She screamed and the entire load lifted out of a huge transport and flew out over her head. Her scream continued and the entire load turned in midair, separated, and shot toward the ground below them. An area more than eight hundred yards wide and a thousand yards deep was covered with crosses buried halfway up their shafts.

Ping yelled, “THAT’S MY GIRL…DO IT AGAIN!” Dahlia looked at the second transport and the process repeated itself. The thousands of people working to unload the trucks ran away from them as their loads shot up and moved out over the huge plain and buried themselves in the soil. There was no rhyme or reason to their order but in less than ten minutes every transport was empty of their loads. Dahlia fell to her knees again and almost fell to the ground. The people at the trucks stared at Dahlia and word began to circulate among the population that the Royal Family’s Princess was a gift from God. Dahlia’s legend began growing from that moment.