Molly Fyde and the Blood of Billions

“Yeah.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone? Didn’t contact the Navy?”

“Are you kidding? Everyone on Lok saw them. They’ve been flying overhead for weeks and gathering in orbit. It hasn’t been a secret. And then the big one came through, and everyone thought that one—”

“Wait, go back to the Drenards. Why the bloodshed if they’re supposedly protecting us?”

“I didn’t say they were protecting us, they’re protecting the entire galaxy. That’s why they never push the war past their arm. Why they just defend their territory.”

Saunders rubbed his face. “That’s nonsense. Why wouldn’t they just tell us? And your little theory falls apart now that they are pushing out and attacking our planets.”

Molly thought about that. “Maybe it’s because the Bern are attacking here,” she said. “Maybe they’re looking for the other rift, or something.”

It sounded horrible, even to her own ears, like Cole trying to rationalize one of his theories by fitting the data to his bias.

“The timing sure is strange,” Saunders admitted. “Unless this is just a two-pronged attack—”

“Look at this,” Molly said, picking up the bundle and unwrapping it. “And don’t be freaked out, it’s not human.”

He stepped back, despite the warning. Byrne’s arm looked extremely lifelike; the flesh hadn’t even discolored. Saunders took it and immediately looked at the interior, which was neatly cut and seemingly made of some alloy with a few bits of detail, like metal piping and wires.

“What is this?”

“It’s the arm of a Bern, but my—I know someone who thinks they might not all be like this, that most of them are flesh and blood, just like you and me.” She grabbed the towel from him, then looked around. “Where’s the other one?”

“You have two of these?”

“Somewhere. I—well, the rest of the guy is in hyperspace for all I know. And this is why I don’t feel comfortable telling your staff about everything, and also why the Drenards couldn’t tell us about the rift. The Bern look just like us. They’ve probably infiltrated our Navy, even our government. I mean, this might be the only reason that we keep attacking the Drenards.”

“Flank me.” Saunders set the arm on the workbench and staggered to the center of the cargo bay. He looked outside before turning back to Molly. His jowls were sagging, his mouth open. “It makes perfect sense.”

“It does?”

He pointed at the arm, crossed back over and picked it up. “You’ve seen one of them?”

Molly nodded.

“And they look like us?”

“A lot.”

“I—” Saunders looked around the cargo bay. “There’s nobody else aboard, is there?”

Molly couldn’t help but glance at the cargo cam.

“Just us,” she said.

“We’ve been getting some weird orders lately. And there’s been a ton of sealed communiques between interfleet staff, stuff I can’t even access. Then Alpha fleet was called out of Earth orbit and sent to— Flank! They’re defenseless. Earth—I how could I be so stupid? We need to get to a long-range radio. We need to—”

“And call who?” Molly asked. “Don’t you see the problem? Call a Bern, and you’ll get yourself killed. Call a human, and you’ll start a panic and get everyone killed. Trust me, I was in the same place as you not that long ago. Hell, you’re coming around faster than I did.”

“Your parents knew this, didn’t they?”

Molly nodded. They know this, she thought, but kept that secret to herself.

“I feel so idiotic. It never occurred to me that orders could be questioned. You obey, right? How many kids did I teach to obey? Oh, gods, the Academy. I—”

Saunders fell silent; his face went white, his fat, rosy cheeks turning to ash. Molly reached out for him as he stumbled forward, his eyes becoming unfocused. She grunted with effort, catching him under his arms and guiding him gently to the ground.

“Admiral? Saunders, are you okay?”

He didn’t respond. She reached up and grabbed the towel from the counter, placing it under his head, then ran for some water. The ship’s collection of assorted cups and mugs were completely gone, so she held a clean rag under the faucet, then twisted most of the moisture out of it. She ran back to Saunders and draped it across his forehead.

“Sir, are you okay?”

He blinked several times before his eyes gradually came together, focusing on Molly’s face. He looked up at her in shock, his pupils twitching back and forth between hers.

“Lucin—”

“I’m sorry?” Molly leaned closer and dabbed the cloth across his forehead.

“Lucin,” he said, his face contorting into something between nausea and fear.

“What about him?” Molly asked, but the answer started coming as Saunders whispered his name again.

“Lucin—”

It was all he could say.

“Lucin…”

Over and over.

41

Cole whipped his head forward, snapping the welding mask in place and causing the world around him to fall black as blindness. He pulled the torch’s trigger and a blast of plasma illuminated his workspace in an eerie, greenish glow. Popping a few dollops of steel at a time, he worked along the joint and tacked the sheet of metal into place. Once it held, he ran back the length of the seam with a steady burn of the flame, concentrating on making a good, strong connection. Behind the torch’s passing, he left a long bead of beautiful, red, puddling steel.

The weld complete, he shut down the torch, lifted his visor, and watched the molten alloy cool—the rivulets of lava turning gray and then a dull silver. Cole stood up. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and surveyed the nearly completed box. On the opposite side of the cage, two other workers finished the wiring as they secured the last connection between the grav panels and the three separate power supplies. Cole nodded to one of the men who kept glancing up to survey his work, then moved to the next joint that needed welding. He was just about to flip his visor back down when a voice like dripping honey interrupted him:

“I hear you came up with this.”

Cole turned. Penny stood behind him, her hair as bright as liquid steel.

“Yeah,” Cole said, beaming. “Ryke said I get lifetime clever points for this.”

Penny pouted. “If it works.” She appraised the box skeptically, one hand perched on her hip, the other reaching out to touch a vertical strut. “You actually think anyone’s gonna risk their lives in one of these things?”

“Are you kidding?” Cole smiled at her. “It’s flawless. C’mere, step inside.” He ducked under one strut and stepped over another, entering the cage of steel. Penny followed. She even accepted Cole’s proffered hand and allowed him to steady her as she crawled through. When they stood up, they found themselves in a box just two meters on a side, divided in half by two solid walls of steel, pressed up together. Cole’s head had just enough clearance to stand upright.

“A little tight to jump inside of,” Penny said.