July 10, 2361 AIA

The Rising’s New Home Base

When the Golondrina had arrived at the new Home Base, Captain Vas was sent to General Falk. Jordon was also there, but since Falk was Jordan’s favorite disciplinary technique for Vas, he was happy to leave the captain to his fellow general.

Falk yelled.

It was officially known as a “dressing-down,” and while the general said he didn’t believe in public humiliation, a closed door was not enough to keep it private. The general might have possessed the only voice in the galaxy that could be heard off planet. You couldn’t move. You couldn’t respond. You had to stand there and take it. If you were new at it, it felt like you were being eviscerated by sound waves and wrath.

Vas was not new at it. He stood at attention, eyes straight ahead, and endured. They’d already been at it for some time.

“And now this! What kind of moronic crap are you trying to pull, Captain! This is beyond even your usual stunts! Are we running a daycare? Do we have to babysit her? You bring a Supremacy scientist right into the heart of the Uprising—No warning! No explanation!—then look at us and have the balls to say, ‘she followed me home, can I keep her?!’ If I wasn’t so damn fond of you, I’d think you were a traitor!”

Vas had endured a multitude of encounters with the general, so he’d plenty of opportunities to learn how to survive one of Falk’s dressing-downs. It helped if you pretended you were a wall. Bricks don’t have a soul or ears to worry about.

“You’ve locked down your ship—locked down all your information—refuse to report—and refuse to even offer an explanation to anyone—not me, not Jordan—until you see with your own two special, oh-so privileged eyes the blood tests that proves we are who we say we are! What are you thinking, Captain?! Can you offer me one good reason why I shouldn’t demote you down to janitor’s piss-boy?!”

You also didn’t bother answering the questions Falk yelled at you—at least, not for roughly the first twenty minutes. If you tried, he would yell at you for interrupting him. Only after he was done with his initial roaring monologue would you be allowed to explain yourself. Falk was the kind of man who wanted information afterward, in case there was a good reason for what you did that might ruin his chance to yell at you.

“On the assumption that you’re pretending to follow someone’s directions, I need to know whose orders you’re under, Captain. I have to get their approval to have you flogged and thrown onto that desert planet we found two weeks ago!”

That was another one of Falk’s techniques. You could take some comfort in the fact that, for all the soldiers that had been told they would be beaten then abandoned on some godforsaken planet, no one had actually had that fate meted out to them. It was, however, less assuring because Falk seemed to get angrier and more vehement each time it didn’t happen. The officers working at Home Base had started a money pool years ago—a five coin for each threat. It would be given to the poor soul who was unlucky enough to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Well?” Falk yelled.

That was the cue to start answering. “You didn’t read my file, sir?”

“No, I did not read your file, Captain! I had neither the time nor the heartburn medicine for that crap!”

“I’m currently acting under General Ito’s orders, sir.”

“What orders are those, Captain?”

“Protection. I’m acting as a bodyguard, sir.”

“For whom? I doubt it’s that little biologist you brought home with you!”

“Former Sergeant Major Alix Reyer, sir.”

It took a while for the ringing in his ears to fade, but when it did, Vas realized the room had gone silent.

“Reyer’s here?”

Vas had not known the general could talk that quiet.

“Yes, sir.”

“Where is she?” The same reasonable, almost human tones.

Vas tried to calculate how long he’d been standing there. His legs weren’t as tired as on other occasions. “She’s probably still down with Dr. Jane, sir.”

“If you’re up here, who the hell is protecting her now?” Falk’s voice started rising again.

“My copilot, Lynx, is guarding her until I can resume my duties, sir.”

“The bot?!” Falk had achieved his normal volume. “You think a bot can offer adequate protection?”

“Lynx is a capable fighter who responds quickly to her instructions, and Alix—”

“Alix?!”

Vas saw his life flash before his eyes. “Miss Reyer,” he amended, “isn’t helpless, sir.”

In the brief silence that followed, Vas wondered exactly how much money the pot had reached.

“What’s she doing with the biologist?” To Adan’s wonder, Falk was back to an almost conversational voice.

“They’re friends, sir. She knew that Dr. Jane would be incarcerated when she arrived and intends to stay with her for a while.”

“And you still have nothing to say?”

“No, sir. Not until I see the tests.”

“Captain Adan Vas, you had better have one hell of an explanation for this, and you can bet I’m looking forward to hearing it. Jordan will be done with his work shortly. You are to resume your duties as outlined by General Ito, until such time as we decide exactly what you’ve done wrong and how dead you’ll be when we’re done beating you for it. Do you understand, Captain?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Go get Reyer this instant, and bring her up here! I have a few things to say to that girl.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re dismissed. I expect you back in under five minutes.”

Vas left the room, shut the door behind him, and took the time to enjoy a few deep breaths. A second lieutenant passing in the hall smiled in sympathy.

The new Home Base was located on a planet the Supremacy had evaluated almost a century ago. They had dropped their exploration staff on the only part of the planet that wasn’t barren. It was a range of low mountains whose gently sloped faces led from one high plain to another. During half the year, the water soaked up from the ground and pooled in the valleys and plateaus, creating small floodplains were life could flourish. But during the long cold winters, only the deeply rooted trees could reach down into the underground caverns to siphon enough water to survive. The rest of the area went into hibernation, leaving nothing but a frosted yellow wasteland.

The explorers had constructed a modest building on one of the larger plateaus, then abandoned it when they had found nothing to make the world worth developing. Now the central intelligence of the Rising and a few high-ranking officers had moved in. Everyone else had to make do with tents while building supplies were procured and plans were finalized. It was the dry winter season, so this wasn’t particularly comfortable. During the day you only needed a decent jacket, but the cold night air bit through any tent.

Dr. Jane should have felt honored; the officer on watch had grudgingly arranged to turn one of the coveted rooms in the building into her holding cell. As Vas approached it, the two guards on duty brought their XM4s up in a salute.

He knocked on the door. “It’s me,” he called.

“It’s not locked, sir,” one of the sentries said.

There was the distinct noise of a lock being undone. Vas gave the guard a look, then passed through the door that Lynx was holding open.

“How is everything out there?” Reyer asked. She and Jane were both seated on the bunk. Their only other choice would have been the floor.

“It’s…uh…well, I’m hoping it’ll calm down once we can tell them what’s going on,” Vas said. “Is everything all right here?”

“It’s quiet.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Jane grumbled.

“They’ve been treating you well, Doctor?” Vas asked.

“No one’s tried anything. They haven’t even asked me any questions.”

Vas nodded.

“Is all my stuff safe?” Jane asked.

“Yes. They would have yelled different questions at me if they were able to break past Ciro’s locks.”

“Where’s Ciro?”

Vas shrugged. “The moment we landed, his team started bombarding him with problems. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to see him when he faints and has to get something to eat.”

“Aren’t they mad at him too?”

“They can be as mad as they want, he’s still their techie. Miss Reyer, I have orders to take you somewhere.”

“Where are they taking her?” Jane stood up.

“Vas, you know they can’t order me around anymore,” Reyer said.

“No, but they can still order me around. Falk wants to see you.”

Reyer laughed and used the bed beneath her and her friend’s arm to rise to her feet. “Falk? Yes. I should go see him.”

“You know him?” Jane asked.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Oh, yeah. He’s an old softie.”

Lynx had to call Vas’s name twice before the captain could be roused from his amazement.

“Captain,” the bot said, “am I to stay here or follow Miss Reyer?”

“Uh…no. No, you stay here. Keep an eye on Dr. Jane. I’ll look after Reyer now.”

“I am to stay here and contain Dr. Jane. Is that correct?”

“No—yes. Yes. I mean, contain Dr. Jane if you have to, but I’m more concerned for her safety now. Your orders are to both contain and protect Dr. Jane.”

“The order to protect will mirror the order given by you regarding protection for Alix Reyer. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“If I am forced to pick between primary objectives?”

“Choose both.”

“That’s not logically feasible, Captain. If I am forced to pick between them, I cannot choose both.”

Vas could feel Reyer and Jane watching him. “Find a way.”

“Captain—”

“Lynx,” Alix said, walking to Adan’s side, “you’re good at guessing. Guess what’ll happen if Jane learns something she shouldn’t while she’s here.”

The robot’s head turned down to indicate he was processing. When he looked up, he said, “She would either be detained indefinitely or executed by the Rising. Or she would be detained and possibly tortured by the Supremacy unless she willingly decided to turn in all the information she had.”

“And all those things would be bad for her well-being, wouldn’t you say?”

“In those circumstances I would advise her to surrender all the information at her disposal, as it would be the least traumatic option. This does assume there would be trauma. If she had forged any social-emotional connections—”

“Lynx, shut up.” The bot shut up. Reyer went on, “Don’t you see? Keeping her detained and being careful what you tell her will keep her from learning things she shouldn’t know, which will keep her safe and healthy.”

“That does seem logically sound.”

“Then your two primary objectives aren’t in conflict.”

“No. That would make them redundant.” Lynx turned to Vas. “Captain, you have given me redundant orders again.”

Vas rubbed his forehead. “Then it should be twice as easy to follow them.” He tapped Reyer on the elbow. “Come on. I only have a few minutes left to get you there.”

When they were out in the hall, Vas said, “You know, you could always learn to work with their programming instead of becoming an expert on how to manipulate them.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

When they got back to Falk, Vas knocked on the door. At his shouted order, the captain and Reyer entered the room.

The general, seeing who it was, dropped the paper he’d been reading and walked up to her with his arms out wide. “My baby-girl!” he said. He almost squeaked it. He sounded like a completely different person. “Come give an old man a hug.”

Reyer wrapped her arms around him. They squeezed each other for a moment, then the general kissed both her cheeks. “How have you been, sweetie? You never wrote me, you know.”

“General, I was in hiding—”

“General? Being formal today, I see. You used to call me Grandpa, you know.”

“Yeah. Before I enlisted.”

“Oh-ho-ho! Aren’t we a tough little girl? I don’t care. You used to call me Grandpa, and I’m never going to let you forget it.” He hugged her again. “Oh my word, it’s good to see you.”

“Ah! Careful!” Reyer said.

“Right, your back.” The general released her from the hug but seemed loathe to let go of her arms. “What are you doing hanging out with a character like Captain Vas?” He motioned his head toward the man in question.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Reyer said. “That’s privileged information.”

“What? Are you thirteen again? You’re not going to tell me anything?”

“Not until you pass the blood test.”

The general let go of her arms when he rolled his eyes so hard it turned his body. He went back to his desk and sat down. “You’re in cahoots.” He motioned to the chair across from him.

Reyer took the seat. Vas came forward but stayed off to the side.

Falk continued, “I leave base for one minute, and the star of my life, the best soldier in the world for obeying orders, gets tangled up with a rogue like him.”

“Captain Vas is a good man,” Reyer said. “He’s saved my life several times, he works hard, and he didn’t hesitate to do everything he could—everything he needed to—to get the job done.”

When the general glanced his way, Vas submitted to the inspection with helpless resignation. He had no idea how someone worthy of that kind of praise was supposed to stand.

“And this job you’re referencing,” Falk said, “that’s what you’ve been up to? The job that ends with you being friends with a prisoner in one of my cells?”

Reyer smiled. “You’ll like Dr. Jane. You two have a lot in common.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be retired?”

“I’m not doing this as a soldier, sir. I’m doing it because it’s important.”

The general groaned and put his hands behind his head. “And I can’t even order you around anymore. What am I going to do with you, Alix?”

“You could try trusting me.”

Falk’s glare was interrupted by a knock at the door.

When Jordan entered and saw the gathering, he grunted. “Good. We’re all here. My schedule’s cleared out, so I have all the time in the world for dealing with you, Captain Vas. Miss Reyer, I’m glad to see you’re still all right.”

“Thank you, General.”

“Shall we get started?”

“I’m afraid not, General Jordan,” Vas said.

“They want to know we’re not xenos,” Falk explained.

General Jordan’s head dipped in a nod. “Considering the fact we have a xeno in custody that we didn’t expect and only found because of the ping you sent us, I’ll grant that your caution is reasonable. You obviously know something we don’t. I want that something communicated to me as quickly as possible, but I’m willing to wait for a blood test.”

“I’ll send for a bot,” Falk said, picking up his com.

“General Falk, sir,” Vas rushed to interrupt him. “I wouldn’t bother.”

“Why not, Captain?”

“The only result I’ll accept as evidence has to come from Lynx.”

“Your brother’s Frankenstein creation isn’t that special, Captain Vas.”

“He is, sir.”

Falk put down his com. Both he and Jordan waited.

Vas went on, “He’s the only bot where I know exactly who programmed him, sir. And he’s currently guarding Dr. Jane, so we’ll have to go to them.”

Reyer realized she’d forgotten to mention how brave Vas was. The two generals stared at him with expressions that seemed to say “this had better be a damn good story.”

[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]

The story did not disappoint.

After Lynx cleared all four of them (Vas and Reyer included), Jordan and Falk listened to the captain’s report. When Vas and Reyer had said everything they needed to say, the generals had Jane brought into the room. She was blindfolded again and cuffed. No names were used during the interview.

Primarily, they asked her about the xenos. She answered them as best she could, only throwing in occasional growls about how much easier it would be to explain if she had her notes.

“Why did you offer to come here, knowing you’d be a prisoner?” Falk asked.

“Someone has to study that human-xeno you have in custody. Bet you a ten coin I’m a hundred times more qualified than any other person you’ve got.”

“This isn’t a job interview, Dr. Bonum…Bonon—” Jordan tried to say.

“It’s Bonumomnes. But, Dr. Jane. Please. I beg you. And, trust me, I’m not looking for a job here. I’ve already said I’m not getting involved in your war. I don’t agree with it. But I wanted to make sure that if the xeno was going to be studied, it would be studied properly.”

“You were told that you would have limited access—” Falk started.

“Yes! Limited access. Limited contact with other people. No access to any computer except through a vetted Rising medium—”

Jordan’s eyebrows rose. He hadn’t thought of that one.

“—daily invasive personal searches. Probably only seeing one or two rooms. No privacy, and no gratitude either! Geez! You do know that I’ve been wearing this stupid blindfold the whole time, right? I’ve had it on since before we launched, and I only got to take it off when you were kind enough to put me in my drab little cell.”

“And you’re still willing to do it?” Falk asked.

“I did choose to be here, Swifty.”

Falk and Jordan had her taken out after that. When she was gone, they turned to Vas.

“What agreement did you make with her?” Falk asked.

“She keeps all her notes, recordings, supplies, specimens, and equipment. We get a digital copy of all her notes and a copy of the videos she records while doing her experiments.”

“And when we’re done, we simply put her back?” Jordan asked. “Unconditionally give all that information to the Supremacy?”

“Why not?” Reyer said. She was standing at the edge of the room. “If the xenos have picked a side, they haven’t picked ours, so we need that information. If they are working for the Supremacy, then they probably won’t learn anything new.” She walked toward them. “What’s the worst that could happen if Jane tells them? They learn how to identify and kill their allies. The only piece of information we don’t want falling into their hands is the location of the home planet. Jane’s seen it, but she doesn’t know where it is.”

“Do they know she doesn’t know?” Falk asked. “Is Dr. Jane aware of what they might do to her if they think she’s withholding information?”

“She knows.”

Jordan said, “Captain, you had no authority to make that kind of a deal on behalf of the Rising.”

“I didn’t make that deal on behalf of the Rising,” Vas said. “I made that promise myself—”

“We made that promise,” Reyer insisted.

“—during the time we were otherwise without orders. We had no intention of bringing her back to base, sir. If everything had unfolded the way we thought it would, we would’ve come back here with a nan-card full of useful information and videos.”

“But then we caught the xeno.” Falk rubbed his eyes. “Because of the information you sent us.”

“You mean the genetic filter that Dr. Jane gave us.”

“We’re going to have to think about this, you two,” Jordan said. “We’ll converse with Ito and reach a decision. In the meantime, the biologist and the xeno stay where they are.”

“Alix,” Falk said, “is the Supremacy still looking for you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll arrange quarters for you in the building. It won’t be much.”

“I can sleep in a tent.”

“Not this time, baby-girl. A tent is almost impossible to secure. You and your guard dog get to stay indoors.”

Vas felt relieved he wouldn’t have to try to be in five places at once to protect Reyer, so he did his best to hide how much the label rankled.

“And Alix,” Falk said after he and Jordan were standing, “I fail to see any commonality between me and Dr. Jane.”

When the generals were gone, Reyer turned to Vas.

When he saw the smile on her face, he closed his eyes. “Please.”

“Please what?”

“Not one comment—not one word—about me being a guard dog.”

“All right. No teasing.”

Vas stood up.

“So,” Alix said, “do you want to go for a walk?”

Vas grit his teeth and pointed at her before sighing and letting his arm drop back to his side. “Sure. Why not?”

The walk turned out to be pleasant. It was midday on the planet, but their exhausted bodies were winding down as if it was evening. The gentle warmth of the distant sun bolstered the effect. When they were out past the churned mud of the encampment, there was a thin layer of frost still coating the husks of dried grass and reeds. It crackled under their boots as they walked.

“That worked out about as well as we expected,” Reyer said.

“Now we wait for the fallout,” Vas added.

“Are you worried?”

“I don’t regret anything. Do you?”

“Nope.”

“I’ve learned that if you regret what you’ve done because you might be punished for it, you probably shouldn’t have done it in the first place. We did what we thought was right. I’ve already decided to stand by my choices, so all that’s left is to find out what they’ll do. And that’s out of my hands. If I can’t do anything about it, it’s not worth worrying about.”

Reyer said with a smile, “I’m slightly appalled by the fact you have a process for this kind of thing.”

For a while there was nothing but the sound of the dried grass under their feet.

“You still look thoughtful, Vas,” Reyer observed. “If you’re not worrying, what are you thinking about?”

“I’m trying to purge the memories of General Falk calling you ‘baby-girl’ from my mind.’”

Alix laughed. “I told you he was an old softie. I know it’s cheesy, but given all the memories you must have, I’m surprised those are the ones you want to get rid of.”

“The next time he’s dressing me down, if I remember, I’ll start laughing, and then that’ll be my dead body hitting an alien plant from high atmosphere.”

“Grandpa would never do that.”

“Grandpa? Really? And why wouldn’t he?”

“He knows I’d never forgive him.”

Vas shook his head. “I don’t know what kind of demon witch magic you wield, Miss Reyer, but I’m impressed.”

[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]

General Ito rolled out of her bed and stumbled over to her communication console. She laid her hand on the screen, gave her number, and submitted to the retinal scan. She said the clear code as she struggled into the chair in front of her. The beep pattern stopped.

“Falk!” Ito cried. “What’s wrong?”

“Ito, you look like hell. Nothing’s wrong. Well—nothing more than usual is wrong.”

Ito put a hand to her face. She pulled it back from her mouth to say, “Do you have any idea what time it is on this planet?”

“Not really.”

“This is an emergency channel. Why are you calling me if there’s nothing wrong?”

“Because I knew you’d answer. I have a very important question for you.”

Ito lifted her head and let her arm drop to the desk. “What is it?”

“You set them up, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know. Jordan’s too nice, but I call bullshit when I see it.”

“Falk, explain yourself. I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

“Alix and Adan Vas—”

“Are they there? Are they all right?”

“Yes, they’re fine. Now admit it—you set them up. On purpose. I always knew Vas was your favorite. It’s some twisted version of military match-making, isn’t it? You might have at least consulted me. She’s my baby-girl.”

“First of all, General Falk,” Ito snapped, “Alix Reyer is my ward.”

Falk huffed.

“Second of all, I did nothing of the kind! I received her messenger and took exactly one second to turn to a reserve officer I trusted and send him out to help her. There wasn’t enough time for me to plot some kind of romantic conspiracy. I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t be so ludicrous—or at least not use the emergency channel to do it.”

There was silence between the consoles.

“Why?” Ito asked. “Is there something I should know about?”

“See! This is why women shouldn’t be generals. Interfering bat.”

“I’m cutting the line now.” Ito paused with her hand over the button to add, “Sexist old donkey.”

“No—wait! Wait. I have some other stuff to tell you, General. There’s some classified nonsense about xenos and the trouble your meddling has caused.”