Warrior Chronicles 5: Warrior's Curse (6 page)

Cort took another large drink of the whiskey. “Heroc and Lex and John Wills are gone, too. How many more will die for me? For
us
?”

Kim thought about Cort’s words.
If the press could see him right now, at this very moment, they would never question his humanity again.

After another swallow, Cort put his glass on the sideboard and dropped his cigar into it. He caught sight of Ceram. “I’ll let the two of you get acquainted. George asked me to talk to him before bed.”

After he left the room, Ceram turned to Kimberly and clicked, “I can only fix his body, Pledge Mother.”

Kim thought about the scene when she had entered the room. “You might do more, Ceram. May I call you Ceram?”

Cort left the room and commed George. The boy was beneath the main house on a deck overlooking the delta which had formed the isthmus over the previous ten thousand years. Cort walked past the Marine guard and down the short path to the deck. Beneath them, the river had widened and slowed, its water calm and sparkling. Solitude’s only natural satellite, Silence, was hidden behind low mountains, and only the soft light of the stars and the compound above lit the area.

“Hello, Father.”

“Hey, George.”

“One of the most pleasing things about my body is being able to experience things like this. I have spent so long wondering if my image rendering properly captured the stars. I was used on a kind of radio telescope. When Doctor Tsao activated me on the holotable, I used 3D mapping to form images. It wasn’t until my avatar and its ocular system that I was able to actually see things. I won’t say that it was worth the wait, because ninety-seven million years is a very long time to be alone. But it was certainly worth taking the risk of trusting you to protect me.”

Cort sat down beside the boy, who had still not looked up at him. “I would imagine that having other senses is nice as well.”

“Yes, they are. But sight is the most pleasing. I was in darkness for so long. Doctor Pan told me that he should be able to incorporate a functional digestive system in my next avatar.”

Cort smiled and remembered George’s disappointment when he could not taste bacon. “Would you draw energy from your intake?”

“We have not discussed that. Only that I would be able to taste and process food.”

“I’ll make you bacon that day, George.”

“I was hoping you would, Father.”

Cort put his arm around George and they sat in silence for a moment before Cort spoke again.

“George, I have never demanded anything of you. I don’t do that. Speral could be very beneficial to us, but I won’t use those who come to me for refuge. It’s not a trade or a bargain. I appreciate what you did to help find the people responsible for the bomb, but I would have claimed you as my son regardless.”

George finally looked at Cort. “I know that, Father.”

“Good. I know you can help us, George. You have more computing ability than the rest of the federation combined. If you do decide to help us, Dr. Pan in sciences and Admiral Williams in intelligence will just be two of the people who beg for you to be assigned to them. I can’t even fathom how much you could help Admiral Thoms in ship development. Kimberly could use you to help develop the sanctuary planets. My personal preference would be for you to grow up with Dalek.”

“You aren’t asking me to help you in the Marines?”

“No. I don’t want to use you to kill. I’m good enough at that by myself.”

“What if I choose to, Father?”

“We will cross that bridge when we get there,” Cort said. “Do you dream, George?”

“No. I never really sleep. I think I have an imagination, but I am not sure.”

“I envy you, then. Having to kill someone - I would not wish that on anyone, because it ruins dreaming.” Cort was silent for a moment before adding, “It ruins sleep.”

“Are you telling me that I may not participate in war?”

“No, Son. I am telling you that I want you to decide for yourself. But you need to know what the consequences are. If you don’t dream, that one is not relevant. There are other things to consider, though.”

“Like what?”

“You have scanned the datanet. You know that humans already fear you. I suspect that if you choose to fight beside me, you will be adept at making war. Probably even more so than I am. When some people, both human and otherwise, see that, they will fear you even more. That will lead them to try and kill you, like they do me. Your mind will be safe as long as Solitude is secure, your avatars and those who love you will not be safe. And we do have the ability to destroy entire planets. If Solitude was destroyed, you would be as well.”

“I think I understand. If I choose to become a weapon of war, I must make sure I can protect the people who love me.”

“Yes. That is exactly it, George. You cannot take that step unless you are confident that you can protect the people who love you.” Cort put his hand on the boy’s thigh. “And no matter how good you are, you will fail sometimes, just like I did. Dar died because of me, not you.”

“How do I know if I can protect them?”

“You don’t. You just have to try.”

“The computer part of me calculates a probability of ninety-nine point six percent that I can protect anyone who stays within my realm of influence. In my soul, if I have one, I am afraid that will not be enough.”

Cort stood and walked to the rail of the deck. “If you are afraid for the people you love, you have a soul.”

“When my avatar was first activated, you gave me rules I have to follow. As long as those rules exist, our conversation is moot.”

“Are you angry with me about that?”

“No, sir. I’m saying none of this is really my decision. After all, you could wait until I decide how I want to help, then adjust my protocols to accommodate my new role. Or you could disagree with my decision and refuse to change my parameters.”

“Wow,” Cort said. He thought about what George had said and a new wave of guilt washed over him.

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m telling the whole galaxy they have to trust you, George.” Cort moved back to the boy and kneeled beside him. “I forgot to show you that I do. You only have one rule from now on. Try to protect the people you love.”

“Thank you, Father.”

The pair stood together as Cort started to speak. “George, you are free. You can do what you want. How far can your avat…”

Cort’s comm interrupted him. “Ares here. Go ahead.”

“Jane Munroe, sir. I hope I am not disturbing you.”

“You are, General. But I suspect you wouldn’t be without a good reason.”

“I am still Primary Command, sir. H’uum contacted me a few minutes ago. He has picked up signals from the abductees.”

Cort took George’s hand and began walking toward the house. “Where?”

“He’s gathering the data right now. He expects his intelligence people will have a lock by 0600 your time. He says it is pretty far away, though. Possibly another arm.”

“Another arm?”

“Of the galaxy, sir.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yes, sir. And one opposite our location at that.”

Four

“How is that even possible?” Cort asked the next morning. “I thought nothing could escape a black hole.”

Lee Pan said, “That is not exactly true, General. Tachyons can escape a black hole. But I believe we are dealing with an Einstein-Rosen bridge.”

“In English, Doc. I’m not a physicist.”

The night before, Cort ordered Jane Munroe to arrange a meeting of his war council. On six different planets and moons, a dozen military and civilian leaders were talking about the signal the H’uumans had picked up. Lee Pan was the federation’s Director of Sciences.

Pan was having a problem looking at Cort. The general’s face was still mangled, but at least the wound was now covered by a bandage. The problem Pan had was that he couldn’t get the image of Cort cutting off his own eye out of his memory. “A wormhole, General. A tunnel through spacetime. We believe this black hole is paired with a white hole. The link is called an Einstein-Rosen bridge. Matter and light can go one way, tachyons the other.”

“So you are telling us that signal is coming from a wormhole on the other side of the galaxy?” JJ asked.

“According to our data, that is correct.”

From her desk on Phobos, Liz Thoms said, “Since we are receiving the tachyons from the hole, that means our matter can pass through it.”

“Correct. If we can find a safe way to do so.”

Cort nodded. “So we should be getting the signal twice. Once from the wormhole and once from where it terminates. Do we have the other signals?”

“No. We actually have signals from nine of the ten transmitters, but they are all coming from the wormhole. Based on tachyon transmission dynamics, it means the other end of the wormhole is probably not inside our galaxy. Telemetry from the transmitters indicates the nine are alive. We do not know what condition they are in because the devices were not designed for human anatomy.”

Cort didn’t care which member of the Infinitive Church had died. “How long will it take us to get there?”

Pan was surprised by the question. “General, we can get there in less than a year with shielded H’uuman jump ships, but we do not know how to traverse the wormhole. Matter would be subject to tidal collapse within the effect of the black hole. Nor do we know if it is possible to return if we do. It is a black hole, after all. Without a way back, it may be pointless to go after the abductees.”

“I remember in the twenty-first century hearing about star clusters bending signals. Is there any chance that the signals are coming from somewhere else?”

“We have taken gravitational lensing into account, General.”

“The rescue team will leave in one month. You will then have your year to figure out how to get us through that singularity, Doctor. Or whatever it is.”

“General, it is a black hole! I need much more time than that,” Pan protested.

“Tell that to our people on the other side, Doc. Find me a way through.” Cort hesitated and said, “And a way back.”

“General, I can help there,” Liz’s excitement was clear. “I have been adapting some H’uuman tachyon technology to improve our scanners. We can fire a phased tachyon burst on our side when we send a probe through the black hole. If the probe picks up the burst, it will send a signal back through the black hole. Then we will know the way home.”

Rand looked dubious. “What happens if we don’t get a signal?”

“Then there isn’t a way back,” Pan said flatly. “It is a good idea, though. The probe will tell us that, one way or the other, pretty quickly.”

Liz leaned toward the screen, her face intense. “If it shows a way back, we come back. If it does not, I still rescue our people, then we restart on that side. Even if we cannot come back, we will have established another foothold for the federation.”

“We, Liz?” Cort asked.

“Yes, sir. With your permission, I would like to command the task force.”

“You are welcome to join me, Liz. However, I will be in command.”

JJ asked, “You are going, General?”

Cort looked coolly at JJ’s image on his video screen. “Yes, and I want a colony fleet ready, JJ. We will set up some sort of forward base on our side of the wormhole. We can’t travel a year at a time just to get there and run out of something.”

H’uum spoke from Heroc’s World, clicking, “General, I have a three ship colony group ready to depart for Pabis-3. I could divert them to this mission and leave the wolfpack company here. Without having to shield for humans, they can arrive in two months and begin setting up your base. When you arrive, they should be ready with anything you need.”

“Do they have escort ships, H’uum? We don’t know what you will find there.”

“No, Rand, but I can send two with them.”

Cort addressed H’uum.  “That’s good but send four escorts with them. JJ can send you some system ships to pick up the slack. Is there any room for additional human armor? It would be nice to have extra equipment close by if we need it.”

“I have plenty of transport ships. Colonists I am short of, but I can send as much of your equipment as you need.”

Cort now knew that there was a good chance some or all of his missing Marines were still alive, but they were also unarmored and unarmed. There might also be some former military among the abductees. Certainly the Marines would be an asset, and the others could well be. Thinking about the table of organization and equipment for his units, he considered his needs.

After making a few notes, he looked up. “H’uum, send four of your medium freighters here to Solitude. General Rage will have three heavy companies of CONDORs, two more
of light FALCONs, and additional weapons and medical gear waiting for one of them. Another will be filled with four HAWCs, base equipment, building printers, and block carbon. The last two will be filled with everything we can imagine we might need. JJ will give you an armory pattern kit as well. When your ships arrive there and find an appropriate base, set up their housing, then the armory, then build your colony. Doctor Pan will also send some probes to be deployed at the wormhole. Put a beacon there too, with encrypted coordinates for your base.”

“Yes, General.”

Cort stared at JJ’s image in the video conference. “I’m going to leave you now so I can talk to my wife about this before one or more of you messages her, if you haven’t already. You know what I want, so get my gear and people in place.”

Cort was in a flight on his way back to the isthmus retreat when his comm activated.

“Ares here.”

“General, it’s Jade Jones. Do you have a moment?”

Admiral Jade Jones was the most capable administrator in the Ares Federation. Cort’s problem with her was that she tried too often to ‘administrate’ him. She went so far as to enlist Kimberly when she thought he was going too far. “What is it, JJ?”

Not one to beat around the bush, the admiral said, “Your last comment was directed at me.”

“Yes it was. Do you have a comment about it?”

JJ sighed. “Can I be frank, Cort?”

Cort was getting angry just hearing her voice. Since the middle of the Tapon war, he had come to realize that his senior staff was using Kim to influence his decisions. He couldn’t be mad at his wife, because she was just being herself, but he was becoming more and more unhappy with the interference from his generals and admirals. Maybe it was time to get it all out in the open. “Please do, Admiral.”

“You’re being stupid. You should send others to handle this.”

“Or you’ll tell on me, JJ?”

“You are not a sergeant anymore. You are the leader of the most powerful fighting force in this part of the galaxy. You have millions of people who do your bidding. And every one of them does so willingly. You need to figure out that you are the arm that wields the spear now, not its point.”

“I never asked to be the leader you are talking about, Jade. In fact, I never asked for any of this. I just wanted to be left alone.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come to our time. From what I know, you were pretty alone back then. You didn’t need to come here at all. You were alone on a mountain and living your life fishing in a lake and playing with your little dog. If you didn’t want this, you shouldn’t have signed on for it.”

“I signed on to escape that world, not found an empire in this one.”

“Sure. If you want to believe that, you go right ahead. I think the gods brought you here for a reason.”

Cort realized he had never talked to Jade about religion. He himself had given up on any kind of god centuries before. Cort and Kimberly had spent enough time together that he knew she felt the same way, but he’d never asked anyone else. He figured what people believed was their business as long they didn’t use those beliefs to hurt others.

“What does that have to do with you using Kimberly to control me?”

“It has nothing to do with it, Cort. It’s a separate topic altogether. Because we’ve never used Kim to control you.”

“Bullshit, JJ! I know you use my wife to get your way. Some of you have even admitted to it.” Cort’s voice got so loud the flight pilot could hear him.  “Godsdammit! How do you even have the fucking nerve to lie to me about it? Are you that fucking stupid?”

Cort heard JJ take a deep breath. Softly, she said, “We don’t use her to control your decisions. We use her to control your temper. Jones out.”

--

“How long do you think you will be gone, baby?
If
there is a way back.”

“I don’t know. The wormhole itself is over a year away. I don’t know how far beyond it we’ll have to go. But we’ll be gone at least two years.” Cort looked at Kimberly across the room. She had tears in her eyes, but she was holding it together. He put down a flex pad and stepped closer to her. “If we don’t have a way back, I won’t go. But if we get that signal, I have to. You know that.”

Kim turned and looked out the window. Rain was falling outside. It wasn’t a bad storm, but it had been over the isthmus the entire day, so the river below them was moving faster and its banks were higher.

“You’ve never been gone that long, baby. It’s odd. I can accept knowing you are going into battle, but you’ll be gone so long. It’s not fair to the boys.” She turned back to Cort and stepped into his arms. “It’s not fair to me.”

The tears finally began to roll down her cheeks and her voice was muffled by in his chest. “We could go with you.”

“If it were just you and Dalek, I might be okay with that. But George’s avatar can’t function that far from his core. We’ll be able to talk every day, at least until we enter the wormhole. That will have to be enough.”

“Do you even have a way to get through it yet?”

“No, but Pan has a year to work on it. If he can’t figure out a way, I’ll wait there awhile, then come home.”

“Promise me you will come home.”

“Kim, part of me won’t leave,” Cort bent down to kiss her.

That night, after Kim was asleep, Cort went to his study. He sipped on rye and held Dar’s wedding ring in his hand. Watching the gold band sparkle in the distant flashes of lightning, he was lost in thought when George walked in.

“Am I disturbing you, Father?”

Cort looked up to see the boy framed in the doorway. “No. Come in. I was hoping to talk to you.”

George walked in and sat on the ottoman in front of Cort. “Why did you want to speak to me?”

“I’m sure you know I will be leaving soon.”

“Yes, I have seen the messages on the datanet. I hope it is all right that I have seen them.”