Muses of Roma (Codex Antonius Book 1) (13 page)

Kaeso had barely awakened from his delta sleep after
Caduceus
left the way line, when a stern voice came over the ship’s com.

“
Caduceus
, this is Libertus Way Station Control. Proceed to cargo docking port 1201. Any deviation from your course and you will be fired upon. Acknowledge.”

“Acknowledged, Control,” Kaeso said. “Setting course for cargo docking port 1201.”

The stars shifted in the command window as Lucia reset
Caduceus'
heading. She growled from the pilot seat, “I'm tired of hearing we’re going to be fired upon.”

Kaeso shared her feelings, but said nothing. The Centuriae was always in control, always knew what to do. Especially when he was
not
in control and did
not
know what to do.

One more mission and I may be back in Umbra working alone. And not responsible for seven other lives.

It had been a long time since Kaeso last visited Libertus. He gazed at the familiar sunlit northern continent with longing and dread. He grew up in the continent’s center, in a province called Fabricium near the provincial capital Alexandria Novus. As a young man he'd made his home there with Petra and Claudia. At least until Petra's death, and the day he abandoned his daughter.

“Sir?” Lucia said.

Kaeso blinked at her.

“I asked for your orders after we dock. They're going to board us, right?” Her tone was all business.
She’s still mad.

“We do what they say.”

Lucia nodded slowly. “Yes, sir.”

Kaeso went back to watching Libertus grow larger in the command window.

It had been ten years, Kaeso decided. Yes, ten years since he last walked on Libertus. His last day on the planet had been the day he joined Umbra. The day he died to his family, friends, and his old life. After that day, Umbra had secreted him away to the moon of a gas giant in the Liberti system. He still didn't know—or remember—the moon’s name till this day. His implant made the details hazy, but he remembered the moon was a cold, barren rock with no atmosphere. Most of his training was underground in air-filled caverns. During surface drills, he remembered staring through his EVA helmet past the red gas giant above toward the bright blue light of Libertus. And he would wonder what his daughter was doing.

Kaeso squeezed his eyes shut, then quickly opened them. The pain had not abated since Galeo mentioned Spur— Ocella. He welcomed the chance to return to Umbra, to clear his name. But now he saw his daughter every time he closed his eyes. It was always that last image of her, with a red face and tear-streaked cheeks, cursing him. And he knew he deserved it.

“Approaching way station, sir,” Lucia said.

Kaeso tore his gaze from the planet and watched the approaching Libertus Way Station. It started as a speck of blinking light, turned into several specks, and then tiny starships flitting to and from the wheel-shaped way station. Unlike the hollowed-out asteroids of Roman way stations, the Libertus Way Station was entirely artificial, like a silver, rotating wagon wheel. It was built from the abundant ores mined from the lifeless moons and asteroids in the Libertus system. It had been a monumental effort often criticized in the Liberti Senate for its cost and scope, a project taking over twenty years to complete. Its saving grace, though, was the rotation it used to simulate gravity rather than expensive gravity generators that required fuel Libertus had to import from other star systems. The way station made Libertus the crown jewel of the Lost Worlds, and the center of commerce and culture for worlds that refused Roman rule.

While all eighteen Lost Worlds were different in culture, religion, and language, they were all united in their desire to be left alone, to live their lives without interference from Roma or any other human empire. It was a Roman Consul that first called the Lost Worlds “lost”—since they refused the benefits of Roman rule—but they kept the name over the centuries as a proud display of independence. Libertus became their
de facto
capital. While there were no official political ties, the Lost Worlds were a trading bloc that gave them the economic openness of a nation without the entanglements of a unified government.

A ripe fruit such as Libertus would have fallen long ago to Roman or Zhonguo dominance but for one thing: Umbra Corps, an organization few Liberti knew existed. Oh, there were rumors and conspiracy theories among the Liberti—most invented by Umbra—of a secret army keeping Libertus free. How could there
not
be such an army? Though Roma grew weaker each year, its Naves Astrum far outnumbered all the warships in the Lost Worlds combined. In a one-on-one fight, Libertus and the Lost Worlds would never stand a chance. It was a common assumption that
something
protected Libertus from Roma and the Zhonguo Sphere.

That
something
was what kept conspiracy theories clogging up the tabulari bands. Kaeso smiled inwardly at the theories, anything from the gods’ intervention to economic blackmail. Some theories even suggested the Zhonguo secretly protected Libertus, since Libertus was a lucrative market for their goods.

Kaeso wondered how the Liberti would react if they knew the only thing standing between them and Roman slavery was a thousand patriots allied with a sentient alien virus Umbra called the Muses.

Not even Kaeso had believed it when he was first recruited. A thousand Umbra Ancilia against humanity's greatest empires? All with the help of an ancient alien virus that infected the first Liberti settlers when they colonized the planet? Kaeso had never been a religious man, but he had found it easier to believe in the entire Roman Pantheon than an
intelligent
alien virus. A virus had helped Libertus not only gain the prosperity and technological superiority she now enjoyed, but ensured her safety through means that made “clandestine” a description too laughably mild.

The proximity alarm startled Kaeso. He glanced out the window, saw the way station’s docking port a quarter-mile away.

Lucia reached out to a control pad between them and tapped a button. The wailing stopped. “Sorry, sir. Forgot the alarm.”

He noticed her set jaw and furrowed brow.

“You need to smile more.”

Her eyes widened, and Kaeso saw the reddening skin around her neck. “Yes, sir,” she said.

Kaeso hadn't meant to make her feel uncomfortable, so he added, “The whole crew needs to smile more.”

She nodded and then hurriedly said, “Ion drives disengaged. Docking thrusters online.”

Lucia completed the docking procedure flawlessly, as usual. The moment the ship switched over to the way station’s power and air, a stern voice came over the com.

“Centuriae Aemilius, you and your crew will proceed to the cargo hold with your infected crewman. You will remove all clothing and await decontamination teams. Acknowledge.”

Kaeso gritted his teeth. “Cargo One is not a private or warm place for decontamination.”

“This is not a negotiation, Centuriae. If you and your crew are not there when the decontamination teams board, they will forcibly move you there. Acknowledge.”

“Who do they think—?” Lucia growled.

“Acknowledged,” Kaeso said. “
Caduceus
out.” He thumbed his collar com. “All crew report to Cargo One and remove your clothes for decontamination. Let's go, Lucia.”

Still grumbling, Lucia unlatched her couch belts and followed Kaeso off the command deck.

When he and Lucia reached Cargo One, Daryush was the only one there. He stood naked, his hands on the sleeper crib containing Dariya. Kaeso stood next to Daryush, and looked at Dariya through the frosted window. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open, and her short black hair floated around her head. A single bubble escaped her nostril and floated to the sleeper fluid surface.

Daryush turned to him with pleading, teary eyes.

“We're going to help her,” Kaeso told him. “I swear it.”

Daryush turned back to the crib, sighed, and continued to stare at his sister.

Behind Kaeso, Blaesus and Flamma entered the bay.

“Not that I'm opposed to displaying my prominent manhood,” Blaesus declared, “but isn’t there a better place for this? It's freezing in here.”

“It’s not up to me,” Kaeso said, walking to the connector hatch.

Nestor followed behind Blaesus and Flamma. “It makes sense,” the Greek medicus said. “The cargo bays have the most room for their decon equipment.”

Blaesus grunted. “I’m not removing one article of clothing until they get here. Otherwise they'll find a frozen old man with a huge—”

“Get undressed,” Kaeso ordered. “They're here.”

Kaeso watched on the external cam as seven decon crewmen filed into the docking tube. All were dressed in white decon suits with helmets and faceplates covering their heads. Five carried metal cases, and two held each end of a metal trunk. Kaeso unlocked
Caduceus's
connector hatch, which opened with a hiss. The two men in front dropped their cases and aimed pistols at Kaeso.

“Into the cargo bay, Centuriae,” a man said from behind the two gunmen.

Kaeso turned and walked back to Cargo One. His crew stared at the decon unit as they stormed onto the ship.

“Your whole crew here?” the leader asked. He and the others—besides the men with guns—set down their cases and opened them. Each contained expanding trays of electronic instruments, syringes, tubes, bandages, and other medical supplies. The two carrying the large trunk set it down, opened it, and began removing what looked like a portable shower.

“Yes,” Kaeso said, standing between the decon unit and his crew.

Six more decon members came through the portal carrying instruments they waved in the air. One went into Cargo Two across the hall, while the others proceeded down the corridor.

“You will all remove your clothes and step into the shower,” the leader said.

“Hold on,” Kaeso said. “We've done everything you asked, now we—”

“I'm not asking, Centuriae,” the leader said. The two men with pistols raised them at Kaeso.

“Neither am I, Medicus,” Kaeso said, staring past the gunman at the leader. “We are not your enemies. So you will treat my crew with some godsdamned dignity. Understand?”

“I don't have time for this,” the leader said. “Get them in the showers.”

A gunman tried seizing Kaeso. Instinct made Kaeso grab the gunman's wrist with one hand, disarm him with the other, and twist his arm behind his back. Kaeso put the gun to his head. The other gunman stumbled backward in shock, but kept his gun aimed at Kaeso. He half-turned to the leader as if wondering what to do.

“Jupiter's cock!” the leader yelled. “We’re trying to save your lives!”

“We both know there's no cure for the Cariosus,” Kaeso said. Behind him, Daryush gasped. “What’s in the ‘showers’?”

The man Kaeso held struggled, but Kaeso wrenched his arm up further. The man grunted, then went still.

“It's just a shower! It’ll wash off any virus on your skin.”

“The virus can't survive outside the body. It’s blood-borne.”

The leader blinked, his mouth opening and closing. “Of course it can. It's like any other virus, it can survive up to—”

“This isn't 'any other virus.' What is in the shower?”

A voice came from the connector hatch. “Centuriae Aemelius. Is there a problem?”

Kaeso kept his focus on the decon leader. He knew the tall man in the decon suit stepping through the hatch was Galeo.

“Not unless I get some simple answers,” Kaeso said. “You his boss?”

“I am,” Galeo said. “I'm Medicus Pullo. What answers will make you put down that pulse pistol?”

“To start, why do you have gunmen in here,
Medicus
Pullo?”

Galeo entered the Cargo One and stood next to the decon leader. Galeo still wore the same face he'd worn when he last talked to Kaeso.

“For our protection,” Galeo said. “Cariosa are quite violent. Which you’re demonstrating right now. If you or your crew were infected, we would need to stop you if you attacked us.”

“If I was infected, I’d be chewing on this man’s neck right now,” Kaeso said. “What's in the shower?”

“Hot water. Soap. An antiviral agent that’ll remove the dead skin from your entire body.”

“Sounds painful.”

Galeo shrugged. “It itches.”

“Where did the other men go? The ones with the instruments?”

“They're checking your ship for contagion. They should be done with their sweep in a half hour. This is not a big ship.”

“Dariya?”

“We’re preparing a facility, but it’ll take a few days before it’s ready. In the meantime, she’ll be quarantined here, in her sleeper crib. Any other questions?”

Kaeso shook his head. He pushed the gunman he held toward his partner. The gunman turned around, as if to attack Kaeso, but Kaeso kept the pistol pointed at him. The gunman's partner grabbed his arm.

“Tell your thugs to leave,” Kaeso said. “And bring us some privacy curtains for our showers.”

Galeo nodded. “Of course. You men, go find some curtains for your patients.”

Both gunmen turned to the decon leader.

“Now,” Galeo said quietly. Both men hurried out of Cargo One and back into the connector tube.

The lead medicus turned to Galeo. “Sir, you told me this was an emergency. If these people are Cariosa—”

“The only carrier is in that sleeper crib,” Galeo said. “The rest are clean. If they weren't, we'd know.”

“You can't be sure.”

“There's no such thing as sure. That’s why you and your men are here. You are a precaution, not the solution.”

The medicus leader’s mouth became a thin line, then he turned and began organizing the instruments in his case.

Kaeso lowered the pistol, flipped its butt to Galeo, and handed it to him.

“Can I speak to you alone, Centuriae Aemilius?” Galeo asked.

“Of course,
Medicus Pullo
.”

“Sir, what should we do?” Lucia asked from behind him.

Kaeso turned around to the shocked stares of his crew. He realized they'd never seen him disarm someone like he'd just done. He frowned, for it was one more piece of his history they'd ask him about. One more piece he couldn’t reveal.