“I won’t make it if I lose Jolo.”
“He always returns.”
“He’s been gone a week. No communication.” She jabbed a finger towards the larger of the three boats. “And we’re scheduled to leave in two days.” She stared at the big ship and shook her head. “It’s called an IST, Inter Stellar Transport. The pirates always referred to those boats as Incredibly Slow Targets. Yet up we’ll all go, into the unknown. That thing ain’t even got a gun. It had one turret but we mounted it on a hover craft awhile back.”
Merthon took a sip of tea. Humans need to release, he thought, wondering if she had fully let go of her emotions. He put his thin hand on her head like a father. And she reached up with her soft, warm, human hands and held his. He like humans, he decided. At least this one. She looked up at him and he was struck by her beauty: brown, almond-shaped eyes and high cheekbones. He knew he must say something. Something a human would like to hear. But what? We are out-gunned and out-manned, the Fed has fallen asleep, and soon we will all be living in a transport pulled from a scrap heap. He gathered his last tiny bits of hope and said, “Take heart, child,” his voice calm and measured. “The battle has just started. We do not know God’s plan for any of us.”
Merthon turned to go but she spoke. “Merthon. Can he, uh, I mean… He’s never been receptive.”
“You mean physically?”
“No. I mean a capacity to love,” she paused a moment. “But, now that you mention it, can he, you know, do it?”
“He can do everything. He’s a man. Just enhanced a bit here and there.”
“Then what’s wrong with him? With me?” She sighed and hid her face in her hands.
“My dear, human males are notoriously ignorant concerning females. Have you told him you love him?”
“You mean just walk up and say it?”
“Tell him.”
Merthon stepped into the dark lab and instantly smelled smoke and dust. He flipped on the lights and checked the tanks, the samples, the logic array, and everything was normal. But the video stream of the makeshift cell showed nothing but bare white walls with bits of metal on the floor. He sucked in a big gulp of air. How did she do it, he wondered. She’s not strong enough to break through reinforced rock walls. The door was alacyte. And then he looked to the corner of the lab near the stairs that led to the lower levels. He could see the edge of big door laying flat on the ground, the thick top edge reflecting the lights.
He stepped over the door and stared into the empty cell. His med bot lay in pieces on the floor. She’d torn the thing apart in rage and kicked the door in, he thought. But that wasn’t possible. He of all people knew what she was capable of. And then he saw the holes where the hinges had been sunk into the concrete and the laser on the floor.
The monitor logs showed her power had fully drained an hour earlier. So she had to be somewhere close by in hibernation. Merthon grabbed the rifle from the corner, checked it had a charge and stared down into the dark stairwell that led to the lower levels. Would she hide there? He knew he should call for help, but he was the one who’d brought the synth in against Marco’s wishes. He needed her. He needed her alive so he could figure out how to kill them all.
He sent the tank bot down first with its lights full on. It made it down to the bottom, a big circle of light cutting through the darkness, and he could see the side of an old hover craft and some other long metal tubes that were covered in rust. Next to greasy, black bits strewn across the floor, boxes sagged against the wall full of small parts pulled from some poor Fed ship caught unawares, most likely liberated by the notorious Jolo Vargas.
Merthon eased down the stairs, then flipped on the lights in the large storage room and waved the gun around as if he were expecting the thin-armed synth to attack. When nothing jumped out at him--and how could she, her power was out--his breathing steadied and he sent the bot out into the big room to search for her. Usually she’d give off a heat signature, but her power had been off for some time and even that wouldn’t work if she was hiding behind a big piece of metal. But two sets of eyes were better than one.
He knew he had to find her in the next hour or so. He had to do it now before morning came. Evac teams were already up and moving around. Time was running out and no one would want to clean up the Vellosian’s mess. Marco would say leave her. But he couldn’t leave her. He must find out. Jamis altered her in some small way. Altered all of them.
He sent the bot off to the left along the wall and he went right, next to a pile of thick plastic tubing at least a meter in diameter stacked up one on top of another. He peered into each one, rifle first, the light on the end of the barrel reflecting the smooth walls of the tubes. Next to that was some sort of old ship with strange
