Lingering discord, p.17
Lingering Discord, page 17
“But . . .” Toshi couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. Helios was going to be destroyed, and they none of them were going to be able to prevent it.
“I had these ships built for space exploration,” Thaxter said. “And now we shall use them to evacuate the planets.”
“I don’t think everyone will fit in,” Toshi said finally.
“We won’t be taking everyone,” Thaxter said, a hard edge to his voice. “Only the useful ones. We don’t have the time to build more ships, and we have to choose. We’ll need to leave in a month if we are to be clear of the planet system before Aitheras implodes. So, we need to work fast, to choose who to take.”
Toshi nodded. It was practical, but he would need to get word to Alexander somehow. He didn’t think the Resistance would make Thaxter’s lists. It was a pity, but couldn’t be helped. He had to save Alexander somehow, and if the man managed to save the rest, good. He wasn’t bothered one way or another as long as Alexander was safe.
“Where will we go?” he asked. “And can I bring my cat?”
Animals were the only things he had allowed himself to form attachments to since Misaki’s death.
“The planet of Cyr,” Thaxter said. “It is part of our galaxy, but in a different system. It can support human life, though none of the other planets in the system can. But since our population will be reduced, it shouldn’t be a problem. We can create an atmosphere and start terraforming the other planets on arrival so we can use them if needed. And of course, you can bring your cat.”
“How far away is the planet?” Toshi asked.
Thaxter grimaced. “These ships would get us there in five years,” he said. “Don’t worry. We won’t be spending generations as space travellers.”
Toshi gave a weak smile. “Of course,”
“Shall we return?” Thaxter asked as the horizon lit up again.
“Definitely,” Toshi said. “If we’re to start in a month, we need to start quickly. I’m assuming Rishabh will help me?”
Thaxter nodded. “Of course. The two of you are my most trusted lieutenants, you know.”
We’re not soldiers and this isn’t a fucking war!
He kept the thought to himself, allowing himself to bow slightly. “Wasn’t there a technology that could keep Aitheras stable?”
“For a limited time, yes. It would buy us a few years, but why bother? This is best. A fresh start, a clean slate.”
Toshi felt nauseous. But he nodded. A few years would have given them time to build more ships.
“We’ll take the cryo chambers with us,” Thaxter said.
“Why?” Toshi’s question came sharper than he intended, but Thaxter only lifted an eyebrow as if the answer to Toshi’s question should be self-evident.
“The ones inside may have turned against me, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t useful. They were all loyal once and they will be again. You see, I know why they deserted me, and I won’t repeat the same mistakes. Just imagine how powerful we’ll be with them by our sides.”
“Even Elena?” Toshi probed. “And that criminal she turned into one of us?”
“Not him,” Thaxter said. “And Elena can stay inside for a few centuries, obviously, but everyone else shall be freed once we reach the new planet.”
“Have you found a way then?”
“Not yet, but we will have five years in space to figure it out.” Thaxter smiled at him. “We’re not like the others, Toshi. We’re special. Immortal.”
“That’s because of a man-made chemical,” Toshi couldn’t help saying.
Thaxter’s face clouded. “Perhaps. But we do have it, and the power to make others like us. It will be a whole new world, Toshi. You’ll see.” His tone had a dangerous edge now.
Toshi bent his head. “Of course,” he said, even as nausea threatened to overcome him. It would not be wise to speak any further. He just needed to find a way to get word to Alexander.
T
he room was quiet, and it was no surprise. Everyone was in varying stages of shock and distress. Nolan envied them. He wished he could feel something. Anything. But he didn’t. Even the news that the world as they knew it was ending soon and that Thaxter was going to leave them all to die was not enough to break him from his numb cocoon.
Will I die? When Cynfor was no more, would he end with it? Or was he destined to stay alive, floating in the void like space debris?
“Are you certain about this?” Lucas was the one to break the silence, his eyes trained on Mr. Selwood.
Why do I still call him Mr. Selwood? He isn’t my boss anymore.
Mr. Selwood nodded. “My informant is amongst those chosen by Thaxter to live.”
“The bastard!” Zain said, cold fury radiating from every inch of him. “What gives him the right to choose who should live or die?”
Nolan felt something within him move and stir. He didn’t like it. He wanted to stay numb. Being numb meant he didn’t have to feel. It meant he didn’t have to think of Dylan, or Mom or Dad. He didn’t envy anyone anymore. It was all right as long as he could stay numb.
“We all know what he’s like,” Mr. Selwood said.
Nolan felt an impulse to laugh. I really should start calling him Alexander.
“You said he had a tech that could slow down the destruction of Aitheras.” Zain said now, a determined expression on his face.
“He won’t use it, and it’s too secured,” Alexander said.
There! Nolan felt victorious.
“How long will it give us?” Zain looked to the right where Joyce and Dr. Okilo sat together.
“A few years if the specifications I got are correct,” Dr. Okilo said. “I would say anytime from four to seven years.”
“We’ll have to force him to use it,” Zain said, again that determined look on his face, his expression granite hard. “Can we find some way to disable the ships?”
“I don’t know,” Alexander said. “But we can try.”
“Not good enough,” Zain snapped. “If we can’t do it remotely, get their locations. We’ll blow them up!”
Nolan again felt that stirring within his chest, as if something buried deep was struggling to escape. He couldn’t understand it. What exactly was he feeling?
A small smile was on Alexander’s face. “I’ll tell you by this weekend if we can do it from here.”
“Good. We don’t have time. Micah, we need to create six teams and train them. That way we will be prepared if Alexander and Amir are unable to disable the ships from here.”
Micah nodded. How was he doing it? Staying involved? He’d lost a child. How was it that he still managed to feel invested in the Resistance when all Nolan wanted was to die? His eyes went to Davu and Lishan who sat next to each other, their arms around each other. How could they sit there so calmly? How could they bear to be away from their only remaining child? His eyes searched and found each of the people who had lost someone. How did they do it? Why was he not able to do it?
There was movement around him as people got to their feet. The emergency meeting was over. Was he going to be part of a team? As much as he wanted to curl into a ball and die, he also wanted to go out there and blow up some things. And people. After all, it was people who had killed Dylan and Mom. Did they enjoy it? Would he enjoy killing people? Or blowing things up?
“Are you all right?” Zain stood before him, concern in his eyes. He looked tired, his sunken eyes and the stubble on his jaw testimony to the stress he was labouring under.
“I’m good,” Nolan lied. It was easy these days to lie. After all, it had been months. He should be over Dylan’s death by now.
“You don’t have to lie,” Zain said quietly, something in his eyes that made Nolan feel an uncomfortable tightening in his chest.
“You shouldn’t worry about me,” Nolan said. “You have more than enough on your plate already.”
Zain smiled at him. “I can’t stop worrying about you, Nolan. You’re my friend.”
Nolan bent his head, somehow not able to look at the strange expression on Zain’s face that made him want to cry. “I’m really fine,” he croaked, surprised at how his voice came out. He cleared his throat. “Can I be part of the mission?”
“That’s up to Micah,” Zain said.
“I’ll ask him then,” Nolan said, rising and Zain took a couple of steps back, giving him room.
“We can use everyone we can get,” Zain said. “And you’re an immortal.”
“Do I sense a but coming?” Nolan asked, looking curiously at Zain.
Zain’s expression didn’t change, but his face did something weird before smoothing out.
“No buts,” he said. “Not as long as you are careful.”
“Why shouldn’t I be?”
“Exactly,” Zain said. “After all, you still have a sister. You have to be careful for her sake, don’t you? Who else has she got?”
He patted Nolan on the shoulder before leaving. Nolan started after him, feeling as if Zain had punched him in the gut. There was no air in his lungs.
How could he have forgotten Ash? Was he that selfish? God, she must be feeling so lonely, and she was only a child. He was the adult, and he was so involved in his own grief that he had forgotten that she was grieving too and that she needed him. Was this how Micah and Davu and everyone else had done it? By focussing on the ones they still had instead of the ones they had lost?
Nolan sat down again, feeling as if his legs couldn’t support him anymore. He was angry with Zain, but he was also grateful. He needed the reminder, because he had been too full of his own shit to actually spare a thought to his sister. He closed his eyes and felt tears trickle down his cheeks from behind his lids.
T
his wasn’t what they had expected nor what he wanted. Zain was no stranger to uncertainty or hard decisions, but this time he felt so completely out of his element that it was as if he wasn’t able to even breathe if he were to stop to think. But he couldn’t really afford to give in to anxiety, could he? He couldn’t break down. He couldn’t panic. Not now when everyone was looking to him to save them. Not when they all depended on him.
Even Alexander seemed to depend on him. How simply he had said he trusted him to get them out of this mess. But that had been before. When they had time. Or at least they had thought they had time. Now they no longer had that luxury and he had no fucking idea what to do, how in hell he was supposed to save them.
He stopped in front of the door to the small room that had somehow been designated as his office. Not that he needed one, but it was a refuge, somewhere where he could be private, where there was no chance of anyone barging in without his permission.
When did I start needing so much space?
He opened the door and entered the small room. It was a cramped space with three chairs and a desk which was actually a console. One of the chairs needed to be pushed out of the way for the door to be opened. But it was still his.
He sat down on a chair, facing the desk. Would the room be less cramped without it? What need had he of a console right now?
“Quinn, can you remove this?” He waved towards the console. Would Quinn know what he meant? It was so easy to forget Quinn wasn’t human. Except at times like this when he couldn’t be sure if Quinn would understand him. Could Quinn see? How did all that work anyway?
“Do you not require the desk?” Quinn asked.
Huh. So, he did get it.
“Not right now.” Zain said. “So, could you please take it away?”
The desk disappeared, leaving the room not as cramped as before.
“Thank you,” Zain said. It no longer felt weird thanking Quinn.
“You’re welcome, Mr. Baako,” Quinn replied.
There was a knock at the door. For a moment, Zain wanted to ignore it; wait for whoever it was to go away. But when had he ever been able to do something like that? He had always made himself available. Since when did he start resenting the demands made on him?
He sighed, pushing the chair to the centre of the room so he could open the door.
“We need to talk,” Micah said, and Zain stepped aside so he could enter. Lucas was with him.
“Have a seat,” Zain said as he sat down.
“Didn’t there used to be a console here?” Lucas asked as he too sat. He looked tired, and unkempt. But then, most of them did these days.
“It’s about this plan of yours,” Micah said. “Alexander got us the details of the six ships. They are all well-guarded and highly secured. Everything is controlled by the Sentient in the Central Console. There’s also an in-built teleportation blocker in each ship, again under the control of the Sentient. From all appearances, I would say it is next to impossible to destroy those ships.”
Zain could feel his heart sink, but the part of him that was unsure of their plan was relieved.
“Since it’s all controlled by the Sentient,” Lucas said, his eyes sharp and keen as they rested on Zain, “it’s unlikely that Alexander or Amir would be able to disable it remotely.”
“Perhaps it’s for the best,” Zain said. “I mean, this way at least some people will survive. If we destroyed the ships . . . What if that other tech doesn’t work? What if we can’t slow down what’s happening to Aitheras?”
“Based on the details we have, Kanye is certain it would,” Lucas said, speaking calmly.
“What if we’re too late?” Zain asked. “What if we destroy the ships, but that tech is used too late?”
“Kanye is confident that the timing is not a big factor,” Lucas said. “It has to be before Aitheras implodes is all. The tech stabilises the planet’s core and atmosphere for a short period, but it is still enough to buy us a few years to figure out a more permanent solution.”
“But how can Kanye be so certain?” Zain knew he was arguing and probably not very logically, but it was the fear that had haunted him from the time he had given the order to destroy those ships. “What if the information he got isn’t correct?”
“No reason for them not to be,” Micah said. “That informant of Alexander has not let us down so far.”
“Doesn’t it make you wonder?” Lucas asked, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Zain refrained from asking him to elaborate, instead waiting for him to elaborate.
“Who is this mysterious person?” Lucas asked. “He hasn’t told anyone. Yes, I know, he has to protect his identity, but look at all the information he’s provided. The schematics of the ships, the details of security, details of tech no one should have access to.”
“What are you trying to say?” Zain asked, though he knew the answer.
“I’m saying that Alexander’s informant knows things only an Elite would.”
“Are you saying it’s an Elite?” Micah looked astonished. “How is that even possible?”
“Why not?” Lucas asked. “Alexander is an immortal and most Elite do turn Rogue sooner or later, if history is any indicator. Alexander did know Mason before he became an Elite. Is it so outside the realms of possibility that he could have known others as well?”
At least, Alexander hasn’t slept with an Elite and had a child.
Zain didn’t know where the thought came from, but he suppressed it. Lucas might choose to ignore their larger problems to deride Alexander, but Zain wasn’t going to encourage him, not now when they had so little time.
“So, what if it’s an Elite?” Micah asked. “I was a Defender once. If an Elite wants to help us, good for us, and them.”
“Besides which, we don’t have the time to waste on these speculations,” Zain said. “If Kanye is certain the tech will work, we have to trust him. That means if we don’t find a way to disable those ships, we are all dead.”
“I have a plan,” Lucas said. “It’s not perfect, but I think it could work. Micah agrees. We thought we’d discuss with you as well.”
Zain had a feeling of foreboding, but he nodded, keeping his tone neutral. “Tell me.”
“You see these teleportation blockers only prevent people from teleporting out, not in. The State almost always sets up their blockers that way. Something to do with power consumption, as also the fact that they don’t want any saboteurs to get away easily while wanting their own reinforcements to get there without any problem. Also, the blockers are built into the ship, so if the ship is destroyed, the blocker is also destroyed. Which means that our people should be able to teleport out afterwards.”
“An explosion that could destroy something that large would certainly destroy anyone in its vicinity,” Zain said, frowning. “Also, how will we teleport in? Only two are on Prith. The others are on the other planets.”
“I know,” Lucas said and Zain knew he wasn’t going to like what Lucas was going to say next. “But we do have three people who can’t be killed by explosions and who can be safely transported into other planets through Nishati.”
“Are you out of your damn mind?” Zain couldn’t believe it. “You will be blown to bits. You may regenerate, I don’t know, but you will probably be captured as well.”
“In theory, it should be possible for Quinn to identify and hone in on our DNA and to teleport us back here,” Lucas said. “But there’s always a risk that something may be left behind, and even a bit of DNA would be enough for the State to identify us.”
“And track you,” Zain said. Of course, they were safe here, but that was beside the point. “Also, the attack may cause Thaxter to speed up the departure with his available ships.”
“I know,” Lucas said. “If the plan is to work, we have to strike all the six ships at the same time.”
“How can the three of you strike at six places at once?”
Lucas took out an empty syringe from his pocket.
“I was thinking we could ask for volunteers,” he said carefully, as if to gauge Zain’s reaction.
“No!” Zain jumped up from his chair. “Absolutely not!”
How could Lucas even think of it? Didn’t he know what a slippery slope it was?
