The Last Flight of the Argus (46 page)

“
He wanted to see me squirm?”

“
For as long as possible.”

“
Is that a unique skill of yours? Reading the mind of a psychopath?”

“
Takes one to know one?” B’taav said and smiled. “Mind reader or not, we’ve gotten away from the
Xendos
group. As a bonus, we've disabled the last of their muscle. And I don’t think they had any suspicions about you and me. The game isn’t over, but I’d say our work so far has been remarkably successful.”

“
We should turn the beacon back on,” Inquisitor Cer said. “We wouldn’t want the others to think something is wrong.”

“
All the more reason to get Balthazar,” B’taav said. “I'm sure he's the only one who has the proper—”

The Independent didn’t finish his thought. An orange light flickered on the central computer monitor. Both he and Inquisitor Cer hurriedly returned to it. Inquisitor Cer pressed a series of keys. Her mouth opened wide in disbelief.

“
What is it?”

“
Someone’s accessed the
Argus'
central computer. They're searching through the files.”

“
How can that be? Aren't all computer systems on military vessels hardwired?”

“
It would appear the
Argus'
computer system has a backdoor,” Inquisitor Cer said. “I can only imagine the complex access codes required to get through.”

Inquisitor Cer pressed some more buttons before shaking her head.

“
They’re not using any of the active computers on this level.”

A frightening thought occurred to B’taav.

“
Whoever did the link intends to download the
Charybdis
bomb schematics,” B’taav said. “Damn. My mind reading skills could use some sharpening. They were waiting for us to get power to the main computers so they could make their connection from the safety of the
Xendos
. You don't need the actual bomb when you have the plans.”

“
It's a good bet whoever's doing this linkup got everyone they didn't need off the
Xendos
and into the
Argus
to search for the bomb. Once they have the schematics for the
Charybdis
device, they're gone.”

“
Looks like you’re something of a mind reader as well,” B’taav said. “Anyone not on board the
Xendos
at the time of liftoff gets to sit around and experience this ship’s self-destruct mechanism first hand.”

“
If they can fly the ship, maybe they’ve done so already. Maybe they're searching for the bomb's schematics while the
Xendos
is parked outside the
Argus
.”

“
No. This ship’s hull is too dense. Look at what it did to the communicator signals. Attempting a computer link from outside the ship is probably impossible.”

“
What do we do?”

“
We need to disconnect the central computer's power cell. It's the only way to stop them.”

“
Agreed. But wouldn't that tip them of? Wouldn't they suspect we know what they're doing?”

“
They might think it was something else. A short circuit.”

“
Would you believe that?”

“
Not for a second.”

“
In which case they’ll fly the
Xendos
out of the
Argus
and wait from a safe distance for our environmental suits to eventually fail. All they have to do is wait a couple of days. Afterwards, they fly back, reconnect the electrical systems, and finish their work.”

“
So we leave things as they are and hope we finish our job before they finish theirs.”

“
We need to get back on board the
Xendos
quickly and without their knowledge.”

B’taav eyed the crevasse.

“
We won’t have time to go after Balthazar.”

“
I don't like leaving loose ends.”

“
Neither do I.”

“
We could split up. One goes to the
Xendos
, the other after Balthazar.”

“
We could, but the
Xendos
is our primary objective. For all we know, the Merc is already dead.”

Inquisitor Cer took a breath and nodded.

“
Let's move.”

CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN

Francis
Lane adjusted the power level of the yellow disk, increasing the sharp stabs of pain shooting into young Nathaniel. The boy’s face was as pale as bone. He shook as a fresh charge of electricity shot through his tiny body. The wires connected to his forehead were gone. The heavy black box and crystal cube lay to his side.

“
You’re only prolonging this,” Francis Lane said. “You can end it. All you have to do is talk.”

The child's frightened eyes focused on his tormentor. The boy opened his mouth a fraction of an inch. His swollen tongue rolled forward.

Francis Lane leaned in close, until her left ear was near the boy’s mouth.

“
Come on,” she said. “Talk to me.”

Instead, the boy spit in her face.

Francis Lane drew back and wiped the saliva away before slapping him hard. Nathaniel fell over. His eyes, so dead all these days of travel, were very much alive. They stared up at Francis Lane and silently defied her.

“
You bastard,” she said.

Francis Lane grabbed Nathaniel by his hair and pulled him back up to a sitting position. She reached for the yellow disk once more. Her finger floated just over it, ready to apply another jolt.

“
Tell me the code,” she said. “Tell me the code or we’ll explore every single level of pain in this disc.”

“
You... don’t...scare me,” the boy muttered. But the defiance in his eyes wavered. His guardian let out a cruel laugh.

“
We’ll see about that,” she said.

Francis Lane pressed down on the disk and the boy once again shuddered.

Saro
Triste was pale with fear.

Stephen Gray and he wandered the tight corridors of level 12 of the
Argus
for more than a half-hour and only now did he truly understand just how lost he was. The Phaecian Cardinal, for perhaps the hundredth time, checked his radio communicator settings. Green lights indicated the system was on and functioned. He desperately punched a series of buttons and tried to communicate with Francis Lane.

There was no reply.

“
That bitch,” he muttered. “Why doesn't she answer?”

“
She can't,” Stephen Gray said. “The radio amplification beacon was shut off a while ago.”

“
What? How do you know this?”

“
I tend to keep track of important things like that,” Stephen Gray replied. He pointed to the display screen on the sleeve of his environmental suit. A single red light blinked on it. “She can't hear us, and we can't hear her. However, it doesn't change much. She meant to lead us in circles until we were completely lost.”

“
How do you know this?”

Stephen Gray didn't reply and instead offered the Cardinal a beaming smile. For the first time since losing contact with Francis Lane and the
Xendos
, the Epsillon industrialist took the lead in their trek. He stepped past one of the many doors on either side of the corridor they were in. Saro Triste followed close behind. They entered yet another dark and clutter filled corridor. After twenty meters, they found a door.

Nothing around Saro Triste was familiar. Nothing at all.

“
I can’t go on like this,” the Cardinal said. “The walls feel like they’re closing in.”

“
That's probably what the crew of this ship felt, right before they died.”

“
Please—”

“
Why Saro, are you begging? I didn't think a man of your high status would ever do such a thing. It seems...undignified.”

“
Mock me all you want, but please,
please
get us back to the
Xendos
.”

“
I wish it were that easy.”

Saro Triste took deep breaths and felt a heavy tremble work its way through his body. From the moment they first stepped onto the
Argus
' landing bay, Stephen Gray became silent. Saro Triste tried to engage the man in conversation and was frustrated when he didn't join in.

Now, Stephen Gray appeared eager to talk, and Saro Triste feared what he had to say.

“
When I was a little boy, I used to capture bugs in our family garden,” Stephen Gray said. “I’d put them in glass containers and set the containers on a shelf in my room. After a day or two of flying around, desperately hoping to find some way out, the bugs’ energy was spent. They'd stop flying and begin dying. Slowly. They'd walk around, one day on the inner lid of the container, the next on the side. Finally, I'd find them on the bottom. This ship…it’s like those glass jars I used to have, and we're the bugs.”

“
Please...get us back.”

“
That’s how Francis Lane planned our deaths.”

The Epsillon Industrialist opened the door before them and stared in the room beyond. It was one of the ship’s many kitchen areas. A long metal table lay in the center of the room and several chairs were stacked in the corner. Against the wall were food dispensers and cooking utilities. A half-open door lay to Stephen Gray’s left. On the opposite side of the room were three meat locker doors.

Stephen Gray walked to the half-opened door and shone his light in all directions before turning back into the kitchen. He found Saro Triste before one of the meat locker doors, staring at the contents within. Unseen by the Cardinal, Stephen Gray worked the remote controls on his environmental suit sleeve.

He checked to see if the communication amplification beacon was still offline. No sense in others hearing this conversation. Satisfied it remained off, he readied another program. When he was done, he noticed Saro Triste was on his knees before the meat locker.

“
By the Gods,” the Cardinal whispered.

Inside the locker were the frozen remains of at least two dozen people. Every one of the bodies were cut open. Some were missing viscera while others were missing entire limbs. Stacked neatly next to the bodies were body parts, the remains of what could be another twenty or more corpses. There were arms and legs and, wrapped in a bloody rag, what looked like a woman’s head. The crude tools used in this butchering lay on the floor.

“
Cannibalism,” Saro Triste gasped. “When their food ran out, they resorted to cannibalism. This was their refrigerator.”

“
They had to eat.”

Saro Triste was incredulous at the man's cavalier tone.

“
These were your people!”

“
They lived longer than anyone else stationed in Erebus at the time of the explosion.”

“
You call this living? The Gods will punish you for your words. Unless I do first.”

The pent up fury within the Cardinal was about to explode. Saro Triste reached for his gun, but as he grabbed for it he stopped. Stephen Gray’s fusion gun was already out and aimed at Saro Triste’s stomach. Saro Triste raised his hands while Stephen Gray took the Cardinal’s weapon.

“
You surprise me,” Stephen Gray said. He tucked the spare gun into his belt. “I was told you were one of the more intelligent members of the Phaecian guard. I can't believe you didn't notice Francis Lane was leading us in circles.”

“
You...you knew?”

“
I knew what she was up to even before we left the
Xendos
.”

“
How?”

“
I look around, Saro. I notice things. Like the fact that three environmental suits were gone before we dressed up.”

Saro Triste frowned.

“
Who?”

“
Come on, Saro. Do I have to spell out everything? Francis Lane's Merc, Balthazar, took the third suit. When she said he was looking around the ship for medication for Nathaniel, he was actually suiting up and heading out. He left the ship before us, no doubt sent by Francis Lane to take out your Inquisitor.”

“
You knew she was betraying us, yet you let her lead us out here? Why?”

“
Because in this game, sometimes it pays to let your opponent show his –or her– hand before making your move.”

“
What…?”

“
Neither of us are trustworthy, Saro. I knew you talked to Francis Lane back at
Titus
and planned to get rid of me once you got hold of the bomb, just like you and I planned to get rid of her on the
Xendos
. You've tried to be smart, playing to the party you hoped would come out ahead. Unlike you, I always knew everyone was in this for themselves.”