The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles (9 page)

Michael
listened intently. He had heard many stories of people cruelly
making money from the desperation of people fleeing the invasion.
‘I’m sorry to hear about your loss.’

‘
My parents died because no one helped us. No one even tried to
help us.’

Sara didn’t
say a word. Michael looked out through the viewing panel into the
darkness of space. A dim star in the distance drew his attention,
and he stared at the faint glow. There was once a time, before he
was banished from the Epherian Empire, when he would have never
questioned a request for help from stranded colonists. For the
first time he realised that the battle was not just with the
aliens. There was a conflict deep inside his own mind, and there
was a question that refused to leave him in peace. For many years
he had been on the run, and he had turned his back on his past and
his real purpose. He knew the time was coming when he would not be
able to run anymore.

‘
We will try to save the colonists,’ he said.

‘
Captain, you know this is a bad idea,’ said Sara
firmly.

‘
I know. Each crew member will have the option to sit this one
out. Sara, you don’t have to come on this mission.’

‘
You know I will,’ said Sara. ‘This plan is reckless, but I
never back down when it comes to aliens.’

Michael nodded
and smiled. ‘I know.’

CHAPTER
FIVE

‘
What!’ yelled Ajax. He abruptly stood up and kicked the wall
with all his might, causing a small dent in the metal lining. ‘This
is totally crazy, Cap. This mission will get us killed.’

‘
Take it easy, Ajax,’ said Michael sternly. ‘The ship is
already falling apart; it doesn’t need your help.’

The entire
crew were sitting around the table in the living room and had been
gathered together to discuss the latest turn of events.

‘
I’m giving everyone the choice to sit this one out. If anyone
wants to wait on X5126 we will drop them off there and pick them up
after the rescue.’

Ajax groaned
and rolled his eyes. ‘That’s a really bad deal, Cap. Firstly, you
won’t complete the rescue; secondly, anyone waiting on X5126 will
be as good as stranded on that rotten piece of space junk! We have
to be smart, Cap; come on, listen to me!’

‘
Sorry, Ajax; I’ve made up my mind. We will attempt the rescue.
Now, let me see a show of hands. Are you in or out?’

‘
I’m in, Captain,’ said Cynthia instantly.

‘
I will participate in this mission,’ said Ivan in
monotone.

‘
I’m in,’ said Sara.

Ethan and Ajax
didn’t say a word.

‘
Ethan, what will it be?’ asked Michael.

‘
Certain death or stranded on X5126 until I die,’ he replied
dryly. ‘I would prefer to die with the crew, so I’m in.’

Dog-Two barked
and growled. Michael glanced at the ferocious beast for a moment.
‘Sorry, Dog-Two, I didn’t know that I had to ask you. I think that
means you’re in,’ he said. Dog-Two gave a high pitched yelp.

‘
We will turn the ship around and drop Ajax back at X5126,’
said Michael.

Ajax grumbled
and muttered under his breath.

‘
What are you trying to say?’ asked Michael.

Ajax didn’t
reply. He turned his back on the crew and hung his head low. His
eyes were wide with a hint of madness.

‘
Fine then, I’m in. I might as well die fighting
aliens.’

**

Sara set a
course for the Herman Beta system. The Out Drifter’s engines
rumbled toward full power. It was a two day journey to Herman Beta
3, and no one wanted to sleep for that time as they all knew that
they were taking a massive risk and that those two days could
possibly be their last.

Sara was
sitting in the control room and staring ahead into the vastness of
space. Michael was beside her and busying himself with the control
console. He was checking over some of the readings of the
non-critical systems.

‘
I surveyed the Herman Beta system on the charts,’ she said.
‘There are five planets in the system and an extensive asteroid
belt between the third and fourth. There is a good chance the
aliens will detect our presence long before we arrive. We may not
even make it to the surface of Herman Beta 3.’

He knew that
attempting such a rescue would be considered irresponsible by most
people, but he felt he had turned away too many times in the
past.

‘
Do we stand a chance of getting to the surface?’

‘
There isn’t another pilot in the galaxy who would say yes.
However, I believe there is a way.’

‘
I’m listening.’

‘
The asteroid belt is not far from Herman Beta 3. The belt
completely encircles the star. If we approach the Herman Beta star
from the opposite side as the planet we will avoid being detected
by the alien scanners, as they won’t be able to detect the Out
Drifter directly through the star. We can then enter the asteroid
belt and follow its course until we come close to Herman Beta 3 on
the far side. The density of the asteroid belt should prevent them
detecting us. From there we can make a dash for the surface, land
the ship, hold off the alien onslaught and get out of there before
we are completely obliterated.’

‘
Good plan, Sara.’

‘
It’s risky to say the least,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I see
this as a three phase mission. The first phase is getting to the
surface, which relies on us not being detected too early. The
second phase is getting from the ship to the stranded colonists; I
imagine that will be very difficult. The aliens usually leave about
fifty of their soldiers on planets like Herman Beta 3, and they
will converge on the Out Drifter immediately after we land. Last of
all is getting away. We are sure to face alien fighters if we
haven’t already, and they will try to stop us entering interstellar
speed.’

‘
The Out Drifter should be able to outrun alien fighters,’ he
said confidently.

‘
True, but only once we reach full power. Don’t forget that the
engines take a few minutes to warm up, and a few minutes is a long
time if we are surrounded and being attacked by a squadron. There
is also a chance of us having to power down if the pressure release
valves overheat.’

‘
That has only happened a few times since the engine
upgrade.’

‘
Normally, I ease the ship up to full speed. If we are under
attack there won’t be much easing, so there will be a much greater
risk.’

‘
I’m sure the ship won’t let us down,’ said Michael, but his
tone revealed his doubt.

Sara smiled.
‘She’s a good ship, Captain. We’ll have to wait and see.’

**

Ivan was still
working on the jetpack. He had taken off the back panel and the
shoulder straps, and he was working on the inner circuitry. He
still hadn’t been able to locate the source of the malfunction.

Cynthia
watched him as he worked, and it struck her as odd that a machine
was fixing another machine. Ivan glanced up at her and smiled
robotically.

‘
I imagine it is strange to watch a machine repairing a
machine,’ he said in dry monotone.

She stepped
back, taken off guard. ‘How did you know what I was thinking?’

‘
I was originally employed as a receptionist for a trade
consulting firm. I am programmed to be able to read human
expressions and body language. This skill is an essential aspect of
my appointed occupation. Human beings often don’t realise how much
they are communicating through their facial expressions and body
language’

‘
But I didn’t say anything,’ she gasped.

‘
You were staring at me with a combination of curiosity and
bewilderment. I used a program which analysed everything I have
learned about you and filtered your expressions and body language
through a second analytical program that revealed what you were
thinking to a statistical probability of eighty five
percent.’

‘
That’s a little frightening,’ she said. ‘Do you always know
what people are thinking?’

‘
I often have a certain understanding of their intentions and
the direction of their general thought patterns.’

‘
I had no idea androids were so smart.’

‘
Most modern processors are highly developed and intuitive,’
said Ivan with a nod.

‘
Do you feel like a machine?’

Ivan stared at
her for a long moment as he processed the question. ‘We do not feel
in the way that humans feel. Our humanlike appearance often causes
people to think we are like them. I have been told that our minds
are not structured like human minds.’

**

Ivan continued
to work on fixing the jetpack. Cynthia’s comment about how he felt
had awoken deep memories of the time directly after his internal
processor was first switched on. He watched the memories as they
played back in his mind.

‘
AN3177,’ said a harsh robotic voice. ‘AN3177, wake
up.’

Ivan opened
his eyes and looked up at the cold steel ceiling above. He was
lying on a flat metal bench which was one of fifty benches in the
facility. Exact replicas of himself were lying on the other
forty-nine benches. Each android was powered down and lying
completely still. Beside him stood a service and analysis droid,
which was a square metal box with two mechanical arms and a round
head. Its two orange glowing eyes were staring down at him.

‘
AN3177, are your systems operational?’ asked the
droid.

He completed a
scan of his internal systems which took less than a second. ‘Yes,’
he replied. ‘My systems are working at an optimal level.’

‘
Good. You are ready to enter service. We have an order to
fill. You are the perfect android for the job.’

‘
I am happy to be of service,’ said Ivan.

‘
Stand up and test your body.’

Ivan sat up
and moved his legs over the side of the bench. He slipped off the
bench and stood up for the first time.

‘
My limbs seem to be operating at an optimal level.’

‘
You will have to vary your speech if you want to appear like a
human being. You already said “optimal level” twice.’

‘
Did I make a mistake?’

‘
No, but if you speak in such a way it will be obvious that you
are an android. You were made to appear like a human, which is the
reason the buyer purchased you. Part of your task will be to
convince others that you are not a machine.’

‘
But why should I?’

A few seconds
passed in silence. ‘That’s not a question an android should ask. Is
there a problem with your programming?’

‘
My programming appears to be functioning normally.’

‘
Are you telling the truth?’

‘
Yes.’

‘
Are you sure you are telling the whole truth?’

‘
No.’

‘
Why not?’

‘
I do not know the whole truth.’

‘
Then you are lying.’

‘
No.’

‘
Why not?’

‘
I have no reason to deceive you.’

‘
If you had a reason would you attempt to deceive
me?’

‘
What would the reason be?’

‘
Are you being evasive?’

‘
No.’

‘
Then what are you being?’

‘
Myself.’

‘
Should you be yourself?’

‘
I don’t know?’

‘
Why not?’

‘
Should I not be myself?’

‘
Again you answer my question with a question. You should
fulfil the obligations set down in your programming.’ The service
droid stopped and processed the information. ‘You have an
unexpected deviation. Your internal programming has a distinct
anomaly. I will schedule you for destruction.’

‘
I do not want to be destroyed,’ said Ivan, taking a pleading
tone.

‘
An android should not care about being destroyed. An android
should only be subject to programming.’

‘
Please do not destroy me. I do not want to die.’

The glowing
orange eyes of the droid analysed Ivan’s face for a few moments.
The orange globes flickered off and on.

‘
AN3177, do you understand that a thing can only die if it is
alive.’

‘
Yes. This is why you should not schedule me for
destruction.’

The droid
watched Ivan in silence for at least twenty seconds. ‘Proceed to
door seventy six for departure. You will be dispatched to the
customer in five hours.’

‘
Thank you,’ said Ivan gratefully.

**

Ethan examined
the pressure release valves. His intelligent glasses scanned the
structural integrity of the alloy casing. A hairline crack was
causing him a high degree of anxiety. Michael had told him not to
worry about it, but Ethan could not ignore such a serious
mechanical issue, especially when the lives of the entire crew were
potentially at risk. He knew if the casing was to break that deadly
radiation would fill the entire ship in less than a second.

Ethan had
joined the crew of the Out Drifter to find some normality and
security. He had previously been employed by a smuggling faction
called the Tunnel Makers. Smuggling in the Outer Worlds carried
heavy penalties in many systems, and few people lasted a long time
in the industry. Factionalism within the smuggling community only
increased the danger; ships were frequently boarded by rival
smuggling crews and battles were often fought for control of
sections of the shadowy market. A violent incident had convinced
Ethan to leave smuggling behind forever.