Time Past (50 page)

“All I can tell you is that if you let Serat connect that ship to your freighter, it will probably take over your systems as it’s trying to do to ours.”

Her face was still, her eyes slid up to almost meet mine, then flicked away again.

“Henoit didn’t trust any of the Four,” I said. This might be my last chance to get information from her. “Why are you so friendly with An Serat?”

“When he contacted us again, An Serat said that he pretended to effect a reconciliation with the other Invidi after Henoit’s death.” She pronounced the name as I did this time, but awkwardly. “He said the Confederacy Council is disordered, ConFleet grows soft. He suggested a strike on our borders and offered to transport us here.”

Serat had betrayed them again to get hold of
Farseer.

“I see why Henoit did not trust the Four,” she said. Her voice held no bitterness but something in her scent changed.

“Did you know Henoit well?” I had to ask.

Her eyes focused on a point close to my forehead. “There are not many H’digh in our fleet, although many work for us on Rhuarl. I knew him well.”

“Did he ever speak of me?” As soon as the question was out I regretted asking it. What a sentimental...

“He behaved as a fully bonded adult,” she said. “He accepted no lesser relations when separated from his bond mate.” She paused. “I think you do not wish me to tell you how to break that bond.”

“I...” I did want to be rid of Henoit’s unpredictable presence. But what if H’digh beliefs were right and his soul would then wander in eternal loss?

“It doesn’t matter now.”

She waited, then when I said nothing more, raised her shoulder and turned away. “Wait here.” She swung around, strode to the airlock, and disappeared inside.

I waited, wiped sweaty palms, and wondered what was happening inside the core, what was happening over in Sigma 41. Venner would be trying to contact the three Q’Chn onstation. Which she should not be able to do, if our plans were working. I had asked Lee and the communications techs in the Bubble to block Venner’s signal to the Q’Chn, any way they could. I’d also asked them to use the same frequency and code that the Q’Chn on
Vengeful
used to signal Venner’s ship, and make up a message telling the three Q’Chn to wait in Sigma 41 to be picked up by a shuttle from
Vengeful,
to rejoin their comrades.

One minute passed. Two. Three. I paced, chewed my fingernails, wondered if I should go now in case Lee had failed and Venner was now calling a Q’Chn to teach me a lesson. We didn’t know if the conflict between Venner and the Q’Chn was a normal part of their partnership or not. If she thought the Q’Chn endangered her ship and the New Council, she might be willing to leave the Q’Chn here with us, and risk further ruining the New Council’s reputation. In that case, she might tell the Q’Chn on
Vengeful
that I had taken the research material, so that they wouldn’t follow or attack her. I hoped they wouldn’t believe her— surely they would have realized by now that Venner had lied to them about members of the Four not being onstation. I hoped they would hold a grudge, in the way the two Q’Chn in Alpha had punished Security for allowing their K’Cher prey to escape.

The airlock door opened and Venner emerged. She held herself straight.

“We will leave, and the Invidi may come if he wishes,” she said, each word slow and considered. “The jump point is too dangerous. We will hide in flatspace, as we have done before.”

“What about
Vengeful
?”

“I think the Q’Chn will follow us. They need us, as we need them.” Her confidence was untouched. “Can we not persuade you to join us?” Her face was expressionless, but her eyes seemed to burn a deeper amber as they almost met mine, then flickered away. “Form an alliance with us. This system’s neutrality can be based in strength.”

“Your kind of strength only endangers my station,” I said. “Take your Q’Chn and your terrorism and go away. If you do ever want to discuss politics, come without them.”

“Until then.” She turned again and walked through the airlock doors.

I waited until the doors closed, then sprinted down the corridor. I didn’t trust Venner. She’d told me exactly what I wanted to hear. If I were her, I’d be preparing my freighter for a run in flatspace, getting ready to take An Serat by force if necessary, and trying to contact the Q’Chn here on the station in order to do so. I would also make sure I left
Farseer
connected to our opsys, keeping us busy.

I shouldn’t have mentioned
Farseer
’s meddling with our opsys.

I wanted to warn Murdoch that Venner would try to reestablish contact with the Q’Chn onstation, but it wasn’t worth the risk of Venner tracing our communication and working out what the trap was. He knew she would try, he’d have people ready to prevent the New Council crew reaching the Q’Chn in Sigma 41.

Without control of the Q’Chn either on
Vengeful
or here, Venner was in a far weaker position. She couldn’t terrorize us, nor force Serat to leave.

I started running for Level Three on the other side of the center. We had to persuade An Serat to disconnect
Farseer
from Jocasta. If he didn’t, the opsys would begin to metamorphose into Tor matrices. Part of me wanted to let Venner take the Q’Chn and haul Serat away. I could ask Murdoch to call off the plan to kill the Q’Chn. But I couldn’t trust Venner, and the Q’Chn posed too great a threat to the rest of the station.

At least, I wouldn’t consider it unless I failed to persuade Serat to disconnect
Farseer
. I had less than thirty minutes before Murdoch blew Sigma 41, both to talk to Serat and to get out of the center—theoretically, only the Levels Seven and Nine directly above and below the bay might be affected, but I didn’t want to test the theory personally.

On the other hand, the signal to block New Council communication to the Q’Chn might not have worked. The Q’Chn might be coming back to join Venner. And I’d be caught in the middle.

I slowed my pace a little at the thought that the Q’Chn could be just around the next bend. Panting and wheezing, cursing the way my heart bumped in my chest, I passed the crawler entry, and slid sideways into the narrow maintenance tunnel that ran parallel with the crawler. Quicker than waiting for the crawler itself. And the Q’Chn wouldn’t fit inside the tunnel. Then I half crawled, half ran along it until I reached the bright light and higher ceilings of the main corridor. I peered out. Nobody in view, either bipedal or four-legged, so I took a deep breath and walked out.

My comm link beeped at me and I jumped about half a meter into the air.

“What is it?” I hissed, flattening my back against the wall so I could see both ends of the corridor.

Commander, big problem.
Gamet’s voice. The background noises told me she was in the Bubble.
We’re reading a big energy drain in your area. It’s hard to tell because the core block is affecting sensors, but I think it’s the Invidi ship. The engines are active. I don’t know what he’s doing, but it’s affecting systems all over the station. We’re compensating as quickly as we can, but more and more are going down.

“He’s probably using the energy to overcome the blocks.” My mind cycled frantically through alternatives.

Do you want a Security detail up there?
This was Lee.

“Yes, send a squad up. Anyone you can spare, make sure they’re armored for plasma weapons.” Whatever Serat had thrown at me, it wasn’t a normal plasma weapon, but the armor we did have was the best protection for humans against energy weapons.

“In the meantime, I’ll try and talk to him. Any movement from
Vengeful
?”

It hasn’t changed position, but several of the smaller ships have left their positions and joined it. The jump point is still covered, though. And the New Council ship is initializing its engines now.

Venner was serious about leaving. The question was whether An Serat would go with her.

Security squad’s on its way. Bubble out,
said Lee.

Halfway down the corridor was the bay where I’d left
Farseer.
The doors vibrated gently and if I put my ear to them I could hear an uneven hum.

The outer doors opened at once. An Serat hadn’t even bothered to lock them. The inner airlock doors refused to open, though, because the dock inside had begun a countdown and the airlock’s recognition function could tell I wasn’t wearing a suit.

Maybe he was leaving. But Gamet knew the difference between a ship preparing for departure and one merely running its engines. Must be the dock that couldn’t tell the difference.

I cursed the interface’s efficiency—the functions you need least are always the last to go down—and wrenched open the emergency locker in the floor. Pulled on the first suit that popped out, rammed the helmet on my head, sucked twice to make sure the air intake was clear, and tapped the inner doors open.

Farseer
lay tipped on its side, ready for the dock to “kick” it out when the space doors opened. As I’d suspected, they showed no signs of doing so. All the safety lights around the edges blinked green. The growl of the engines filled the space, competing with the roar of filters as they tried to keep the atmosphere breathable.

I hardly recognized
Farseer.
The rounded curves of the Invidi ship had flattened into sharp-edged planes. Instead of a bulbous diamond shape, it was a cut diamond. In the dock’s bright spotlights the color, too, had changed. It was now a flat gray, the color of the ships that held Jocasta and the Seouras prisoner for six months. Tor gray.

I swallowed uneasily and clipped my safety lead onto the airlock door in case the outer doors malfunctioned and opened unexpectedly. The blasted suit was too big and sagged around my knees when I walked. It felt like it had been made for someone Murdoch’s size.

There was no sign of An Serat in the bay. Inside the ship, probably. I hoped the security detail came soon, and that they brought atmospheric suits.

Farseer
’s hull felt different. I put my gloved hand on it, hoping to trace the tiny paths that seemed to have opened it before. Instead of the meandering snail-trails, I felt straight ridges that intersected with each other at angles, etched deep into the hull. And the thoughts... I jumped back, shaking my head to clear it. The thoughts from
Farseer
had an edge. The link jarred on my mind like vibrations jarring sore teeth. I could almost hear a voice, like I’d heard from the Seouras. The implant in my neck itched and throbbed.

“Open up!” I yelled. “An Serat, we have to talk!” Then I put my hand on the ridges and thought about openings, on the principle that
Farseer
might still have the memory of how it worked last time. Serat had blamed my ease of access on the Tor elements, so hopefully I could still get in.

Farther up the hull, a small square opening appeared. I stood next to it and yelled inside for Serat. No answer. The engine noise increased a level or two. Now I couldn’t hear myself shout. I stepped back and peered at the airlock indicator. No sign of Security.

Oh, what the hell. I unclipped the safety lead and climbed into
Farseer.

Thirty-six

F
arseer
had changed inside, also. The same cabin features were now lit by a sharp, blue-white light that I’d seen before—on the gray ships. The consoles still integrated seamlessly with walls but now the material was smooth and hard under my boots.

An Serat stood right in the middle of the cabin, so big that he blocked my view of the other end.

I squinted in the glare and checked behind me—the square opening had shut. I also checked the atmospheric indicator on my helmet before taking it off. I didn’t trust
Farseer
anymore.

“Are you leaving?” I said. Foolish hope that by saying so I could make it true.

Serat’s tentacles twitched and the outside of his suit shivered. Otherwise, no response.

“Please leave,” I said. “Your experiment is killing my station and endangering everybody on it. Whatever the reason, it’s not worth this.”

“You understand nothing.” The words grated from his voicebox, as unlike his usual smooth tones as the new
Farseer
was unlike the old.

The hot rush of anger surprised me.

“I know I don’t.” I yelled the words at him. “And it’s not important if I don’t understand. That’s what
you
don’t understand.”

“Understanding is all.” His whole body twitched and the silver-coated tentacles curled and uncurled.

“It’s not all, not for us. Before that, we need to have a place to go home to every night and we need to be able to sleep there in peace. We need to be able to wake up and look forward to living the rest of the day in safety. Then we can think about knowledge.”

He said nothing.

I was breathing fast and deep, as though I’d been running a marathon. “Don’t threaten our safety here. Please leave, either on your own or with the New Council, or give yourself up to An Barik when he comes.”

His voicebox echoed, overlaid with a metallic twang. “Barik does not understand.”

“You must power down and get this ship out of the station,” I said. “You’re draining our energy reserves.” As I spoke, I sidled over to what had been the main console. A quick glance told me the controls were in the same place, but there seemed to be more of them. I put my hand out, then withdrew it quickly. Nothing visible, but prickles ran along my fingers.

“Look at this ship now. It’s more Tor than Invidi. What’s it done to you?” I could take a guess—it was treating Serat as part of the ship, a biological machine to be conquered, as the gray ship had done to the Seouras. Or tried to. I put my hand over my implant, protectively this time.

“I am as always.” Serat’s new voice grated on my nerves, like
Farseer
’s new thoughts grated on my mind.

“Don’t you see? By allowing the Tor technology to regain its power, you let it take over you as well. You’re becoming what you seek to overcome.”

“Not overcome. I take knowledge from all sources. All is power.” His voice took on a sly tone that I’d never heard from an Invidi before. It raised the hairs on the back of my neck. As though Serat was a puppet through which another force was speaking.