Among Bright Stars... (29 page)

Arshira gasped. Inside the vault she could
see two globes, which she immediately recognized to be embryo
storage spheres. “Are those... ?”

“Morningstar embryos.”

“Wait, you were talking about duplication,”
No, it couldn't be,
Arshira thought. “Are they --”

“Oberon never really explained to you what
you are, as he trained and educated you.” Nadia considered. “He
himself probably never really grasped it.” Of course not. Only one
human ever did grasp it, her Papa, Turhan Korelia who invented the
process. “Biorobotics as developed by Turhan existed beyond his
grasp.” Time for Frederika to behold her true nature. “Oberon
thought of you as a mishmash of DNA. On some level, that's true, in
that what you actually are made out of mimics DNA strands. A fact I
think which lets us reproduce...” She grinned. “Turhan even worked
in feline genetic equivalents to his Morningstars. Good for the
reflexes. Yet, no matter what, we are not glorified tricked-out
clones. We Morningstars are built of sterner stuff.”

“Nadia, are those copies of you?”

The Queen's blue eyes beamed. “Natasha, and
Tanith. My sisters.”

“Are they – “

“Vital?” Nadia said. “Yes. It would be easy
enough to bring them to fruition.”

“And they exist why?”

“Backups,” Nadia then corrected herself.
“Well, I don't know which one of the three of us was created first.
Maa, and Papa never told me. But I do know if Natasha, or Tanith
were ever born, they would begin at my baseline. Duplicates.
Obliviously life would shape them as it did me. Yet, they'd have my
same basic desires, and inclinations, as they began out of the same
source.”

“Guess that explains 12
^th
Daughter
of Kobol...”

Nadia groaned. “I love Tanis Rao, as I do all
my Valküri,” she licked her maroon lips and exhaled. “Just, she
can't write herself out of a paper bag.” Reconsidered. “Maybe
that's too harsh? Rao's bodice rippers get the job done.” Nadia's
blue eyes twinkled. “I probably shouldn't have shared my complete
origins with the Sisterhood. Though I thought it my duty to keep my
Valküri Order knowledgeable, to better let them think in the
long-range view.” She sighed heavily. “However, Tanis Rao allowed
her speculations to roam wild.”

Arshira giggled. “I think that particular
Sci-Fi novel is Sharr's favorite example of popular Falcanian
literature.”

“Furious, gorgeous gynoids,” Nadia joined in
the laughter. “Who plot to dominate the Earth,” mock sarcasm, hand
on hip. “Yeah,” she flipped her luxurious auburn mane. “I can't
imagine why that would appeal to our husband or anything...” The
Queen removed a pentagon shaped crystal wafer from a pouch.
Embedded into the half-dollar sized object were aureate lines.
Nodes connected the channels into a mystic looking glyph. It very
much could have been a solid state hard drive. “This is an IRAD
circuit. It’s why I am always concerned Morningstars are thought of
first, and foremost as persons, not things.” She defined it.
“Isomorphic Replication Autonomous Device. On it are imprinted a
Morningstar's molecular construct, and cognitive map. With it, we
can be duplicated.” She placed the IRAD circuit into Arshira's open
palm, and the Valküri-General keenly examined it. “Provided that
is, one had a supply of Radiun90, as well as the equipment required
to build and stamp the matrix onto it.” She told Arshira. “That
IRAD is for your model.”

The Valküri-General gaped. This is what made
a Morningstar a mechanism, and all things considered, easy to
mass-produce. “A faceless army.” Arshira almost cried in despair.
The horror of it registered all at once. “Somebody could build a
disposable military with this technology. Super-soldiers, which
would do nothing but follow orders, und destroy.”

“Ah,” Nadia helped lead her to the right
conclusion. “But you wouldn't want a single type of soldier that
could be knocked down because of a shared weakness. You'd want
specific models, or series for particular goals, able to think for
themselves – In a limited fashion of course. Perhaps you might even
control this unrelenting military telepathically?”

“That's what GenKon meant for us. Why we
were randomly scattered.” Arshira recalled her discussion with
Temujin. “They built various models so they could field test their
capacity in the real world. Select commanders und grunts. Made sure
a few of us came into conflict with each other. Later, they would
procure the models which proved most effective, und begin a
production line.” GenKon could then do what? Launch wars? Hold
governments’ hostage until they bowed to Uric Kreis? “I assume you
have one of these?”

Nadia nodded.

“IL-Series?” The Valküri asked when she
noticed a serial number on the IRAD.

“Intelligent Lifeforms, compared to say, a
bat or a cat.”

“Model #0009.” Arshira introspective, licked
her lips. “I'm the ninth?”

“You were.” Nadia answered simply.

“I'll keep this safe.” Thoughts of her
unleashed bloodlust, aroused now because of her recent warfare, and
the violence that manifold copies of herself could wreak. Arshira
stated. “I think the universe is better off with just one of me at
any given time.”

[Aren-Zülar Falcanian Mining Colony Mars, 75
Minutes Later]

The girl poured imported wine into Urksa’s
goblet.

Urksa Vorskrai and his staff: Fellow
businessmen, traders, and craftsmen. Heads of some of the more
important Falcanian guilds sat in repast. The evening meal had been
served: Aag, pheasant, and many imported foodstuffs which were made
more expensive since they had to be shipped from Earth to Mars.
Power had privilege. Vorskrai liked his privileges. A D’Har-Ziral
cleric, as always had been invited to Urksa Vorskrai’s table. At
the moment, the Isjah wore a dour expression. He interceded before
anyone dug into the sumptuous meal. “My Lord Urksa, we mustn’t
forget to offer our blessing to the Holy Mother.”

Vorskrai nodded, he bowed his head in
reverence.

“And the Shining-Star,” intoned the Isjah.
“She who dwells on the White Mountain, may her flaming light guide
us to Falcania-Vor! Our inner flame shall empower us all. Against
the Great Eye our spark will stand.” Outside in the corridor there
came a boom. Suffice to say it cut the cleric off in his
blessings.

All turned in the direction of the shouting
out in the hallway.

Urksa stood; he looked with question as the
door to his private dining room blew off. Black armored figures
marched in. “Kulcarin!” Exclaimed Urksa Vorskrai, not believing
what he witnessed. . “How dare you --”

“I dare what I like.” The Skatha growled, he
cocked his arm cannon, then pointed it squarely at the Guilthari
Lord. Kulcarin began to hover, he would savor this moment. The
Batjros
had intercepted the orders to arrest Urksa Vorskrai.
Given the Skatha Horde were well within the command structure, they
volunteered to take Urksa into custody or anyone else who had
conspired with him to kill the Shotar and his guests. Kulcarin
jumped at the opportunity
. He noticed the serving girl, a
moment of magnanimity overcame the Skatha Commander. Perhaps
Sitara’s recent disappearance had softened him? “Girl,” Kulcarin
spoke with authority, she looked at him with rapt attention and
clear fear. “Leave!” The serving girl fled the room, she did not
risk to glance backward as she exited. Kulcarin watched her shapely
form flee. “You have a fine taste in females.”

Urksa started to move, but stopped when
Aranskrai pointed his arm cannon at him.

Baring his teeth, Kulcarin began: “Urksa
Vorskrai, you are under arrest for subversion of the lawful
government of Sharr Khan Mingh Drakonis and for an attempt upon our
Padishah’s life, as well as the death of Jagirdar Talik Kreis.”

“Outrageous!” Protested Urksa. “I had
nothing to do with the attack.”

“The robot that exploded came from your
production run.” Kulcarin snarled. “It’s serial code traced to your
office, and this very facility.”

Vorskrai could sense that the situation
began to get out of his control. He countered with as much
conviction as he could muster. “We haven’t built any battledroids
here --”

Kulcarin aimed, a click, and then a flash as
he fired his arm mounted pulse-cannon dead on. In a thud Urksa
slammed into the green wall. He took the Skatha’s shot in his
shoulder, blood spattered and smudged as the Guilthari slid down
the bulkhead. “Warg!” The Skatha commander called out. “Come
forward.”

[Narshin Thryak Palace]

“Kiralia, glad to have Kvaltar back home?”
Nadia smiled.

“Very!” Wine red hair, Lady Kiralia Vron
agreed. “I Just hope Sharr doesn’t send him away on any more
dangerous missions.”

Sharr Khan sat in the center of his family
room, built to accommodate his numerous offspring, and their
mothers. Arshira and Nadia rested beside him on his grand cushioned
chair, while Aria played down on the floor with Tiberius and
Shikar.

Romulus not long ago retired to his rooms.
The Shotar furnished him with some 'entertainment' in the form of a
courtesan. Come to think of it, Darius and Ariel were also not to
be found. Maybe the Princess had enticed the 12
^th
Imam
into a night of pleasure? Though, Sharr Khan had heard Noorani say
he’d prefer to wait until after the wedding ceremony.

Shalimar, who had been on the couch eased
herself down onto the floor beside Aria, and played with Sharr’s
sons, pondered her special closeness to Shikar. Aria glared, which
made Shalimar whisper. “I don’t hate you.” Not the truth, but at
least for now it would do.

Aria began: “We got off to the wrong start
--”

“My Lord!” Chancellor Trakan burst in,
frenzied, as if he'd been suddenly awakened from his slumbers. No
doubt he looked as if he had been. Disheveled unbound hair, and
hastily put on clothing indicated as much. Clearly whatever brought
him out of his nest must not be good news. “Omicron – The Techatron
Unions over-mind!”

“What about it?” Sharr got to his feet, his
Chancellor’s tone greatly alarmed him. Once again he experienced
that uneasy sensation, things were about to further spin away from
their center. When Sharr Khan stood up, his goblet fell from its
place on the chair arm. Blue alcohol streamed onto the floor, where
it seeped into the octagonal tiles.

Jolted back, fixated upon the claw-goblet,
Arshira watched it bounce onto the floor near the chair leg, its
rim hit the tile three times, and then for Arshira everything which
followed came to pass in a blur. Senses heightened, dread overcame
the Valküri.

“The Techatron computer,” Trakan spoke,
hurried. “It’s shut down, died. All of the Techla have begun to run
amok.” Chancellor Trakan at last managed to say.

“How?” Wondered Sharr Khan.

“Talk is, a group of hackers broke Omicron’s
firewall, that they introduced a virus, called for ‘freedom for
enslaved machines’, cyber terrorism. No one’s been able to trace
the hackers however.” Chancellor Trakan considered. “They’re in a
state of chaos. Reports are that when Omicron crashed many in the
collective died. Yet still others are now free agents, no longer
enslaved.”

Though she understood the political
ramifications, Arshira found that she took tremendous gratification
from Omicron's demise. Apparently taken down by a hacker’s desire
to prove his skills. She wanted to congratulate whoever terminated
that cold, inhuman machine.

Then the pain struck at him. Sharr Khan
collapsed back into his great chair, his wives rushed quickly to
his side. “Darkness,” Sharr Khan gasped for air, it felt as though
cold syrup had been poured over his brain. “All I see is shadow.”
Eyes closed tightly, he fought against the darkness which crept
around his synapses. His left hand prickled, twitched. The pinky
gone numb. Sharr struggled, his cybernetics tried to fix whatever
went awry.

“Sharr!” Cried Nadia in a panic.

At the center of the room Falcania
materialized. Not only could Falcania’s Shotar see her, all in the
living room were able to see the holographic Telchar. Sadly
Falcania pouted from her place before Sharr Khan. “Pain, I feel
such pain.” The avatar despondently declared. Tears, gleamed, fell
down her rendered face, each became a different color of light that
surrealistically evaporated on her cheek. “It is horrible.”

Lost within a cybernetic agony, Sharr Khan
gazed at the hologram, not able to speak. He felt a block in his
connection to the over-soul. Someone, or something tried to cut his
link to Char, and when they could not do so, unleashed a Trojan
Horse when they backed out of the neurological latticework of Char.
Could it be the same terrorists who killed Omicron? Fafnir
probably... Whatever battered him, seemed to draw on his own power
as a node of the Phoenix Heart.

“What is horrible?” Shalimar the first to
ask.

“Falcanian has shed Falcanian blood.”
Despair, the avatar let her eyes drop. Indeed, to the Telchar
Falcania, this was a most profound moment, a fall from grace for
all her beloved species. Nothing would ever be the same.

Shalimar heard Arshira whisper: “No.”

Nadia began to calculate, the whole while
she comforted her mate. “Urksa?”

Falcania raised her eyes, directly stared at
the Queen, and said: “I know only that there was a conflict, he
resisted. Urksa meant to lead a rebellion against us…”

[Aren-Zülar Mining Colony That Same
Moment]

Blood stained the alloy walls of the mining
base, Kulcarin’s arm cannon smoldered, having been newly fired. All
around him carnage, wrought by himself and his men. Fresh blood
tainted the air. Urksa gasped on the floor while he watched the
monster. Not Kulcarin (though with all his strength he raged at him
also) but the beast thing that Aranskrai summoned into the room.
Its face chalk-white, like polished bone, sniffed at the air,
smelled fresh blood. Oversized swept back bat ears twitched and
heard every terrorized heartbeat. Where ears joined head, there was
a circle, an LED blinked green on either side of the beasts head,
indicated cybernetics of some sort. Fine black and white feathers
took place of hair on the skull head. A boney blue crest ran down
its sunken reptilian face toward recessed nostrils. Large red-eyes
glowed, no pupils could be seen, and scanned the room. Yellow fangs
bared, where fresh meat dangled. In general form it once might have
been Falcanian, but twisted and mutated. Urksa wondered how it had
become thus? There was something familiar about the beast. Bloodied
from Kulcarin’s cannon shots, and dying, it dawned upon him:
Shierkala’s servants, the Skatha from the Telchar Shanral, here one
stood, made real. That is where Kulcarin had taken the name for his
unit...