“I never took you for a traitor.” Dr. Philips spat as he walked. Miles himself didn’t respond—he knew it was true even if he never intended it. That was the thing with Tannis. He always made you a liar in the end.
The bureaucrat led the small group down the winding, ancient passages of the derelict. Circular hallways built by the ever-mysterious Andromedans greeted them around every corner. Somehow, both crude and yet possessed a haunting purpose to their design. The ship was the last effort of a civilization, and Miles could believe it.
Behind Tannis, Dr. Philips walked with his hands held behind his head. They had taken the man alone from the bridge. He had been coordinating the effort across the derelict, and so was an easy capture. Someone would no doubt notice in a few minutes, but by then it would be too late.
And behind Dr. Philips, Miles walked with his pistol pointed forward, making sure the Doctor didn’t step out of line. However, that was not on Miles’ mind. He was somewhat insulted by Tannis leading the group so brazenly. The bureaucrat practically walked with a gun pointed at his back as well. And yet the man never once glanced behind his shoulder.
Tannis may not have been able to predict each individual choice of Miles Kieth, but this was something else entirely. The choice presented to Miles again and again was a decision which he could not make—not without betraying himself as well. And so that shield protected Tannis all the way from the Hyperion to the impossible derelict.
“You should not be so glum, Mr. Kieth.” Tannis put his hands in his pockets. “You’re getting a fine ship out of all this. Though in my humble opinion, it could stand a few hours of repair in dry dock.”
“You’ll never give me the ship,” Miles muttered. “You’ll stab me in the back long before that happens.”
“If you truly believed that, you would’ve shot me already,” Glen almost happily told him. “I told you before, Mr. Kieth. It’s the quality I most admire you for. You’re a man of hope. You’ve seen now that the game is rigged, but you’re still willing to play. If just for the chance that I’m telling the truth.”
“Hope isn’t a virtue when it’s a delusion,” Miles snapped back.
“All hope is delusion, Mr. Kieth.” Glen Tannis stopped as they rounded one last corner. “It’s nothing more than a wish that the world turns in your favor.” He finally glanced back at Miles. “And yet all men must hope, otherwise they can never move forward.”
Miles took a deep breath as he saw what was in front of them. He had seen many of the impact sites from the comfortable view of the Hyperion, but standing close up to one was an entirely different matter. In front of them, a good portion of the wall had been blown away, leaving only a small golden barrier and the cold vacuum of space.
And, just a few meters beyond that, a door opened up to the redundancy station that Tannis had mentioned. But even that airtight door was in vain, a significant chunk on the other side had been torn out as well. While it seemed damage to the interior was minimal, that didn’t change the fact that they were mere inches away from horrible death.
What’s more, Miles could see the shield emitter attached to the ceiling. The boxy object was no more than a meter long and the metal corroding. The metal fasteners all looked to be worn and straining to hold the device secure. On one end was a thin grating, which pulsed with a humming—albeit unsteady—energy.
“You said there were several other redundancy stations.” Miles glared at Tannis. “We go to another one.”
“Right now, our biggest advantage is time, Mr. Kieth. Should anyone discover our intrusion, I want them searching as long as possible. Besides, that emitter has held steady for at least a decade now. I don’t think it will fail for some time yet.”
Tannis’ tone made it clear he had made his decision, and so it was out of Miles’ hands. The only question was how much time Miles would waste.
Dr. Philips eyed the hallway, just as uncertain. From his posture, Miles could tell that the man was looking for a moment to react. Tannis went first into the small room, leaving the two outside for a second.
“Don’t do it yet.” Miles leaned in and whispered. “Tannis says that Commander Terese has some of her men aboard the derelict. They’re going to try to sabotage the FTL drive.”
“If that’s true.” Dr. Philips’ voice betrayed suspicion. “Then shoot him, and we can go looking for the traitors together.”
“I can’t take that risk,” Miles whispered back, and prodded the man with the gun. “Don’t do anything stupid, and we might find a way out of this.”
“You’re the one holding the gun,” Dr. Philips muttered spitefully as he began walking towards the control station.
Miles took one last glance at the thin, golden barrier. He stepped up to it and peered into the infinite black. Death, it seemed, was closing in all around him. He had told Dr. Philips not to act out of fear of what might happen—not because he believed that there was hope for what was coming next. Tannis truly held all the cards. As long as he could hold the safety of the derelict over Miles’ head, there wasn’t any other choice in the matter. And the man was too smart to allow otherwise.
It was a terrible thing to be presented with nothing but bad choices. To be imprisoned not by concrete or steel, but by the invisible thread of fate. Miles could not imagine a worse existence for a man. And yet the cruelest thing was that Tannis was right. Deep down, Miles would stake it all on a rigged game because, for him, there wasn’t any other life worth living.
I hope you can forgive me, Captain. Miles suddenly thought of Singh. Knowing what the Free Exchange was capable of, the man was likely dead for all he knew. Terese could be quelling the last holdouts of resistance before finally turning her eye to the derelict.
Miles quite liked Captain Singh. He even admired him. There was a man who could risk it all on faith alone. He snorted. Never thought I’d say that about the Butcher of Three Systems. Miles could hardly believe the man was even capable of such an act. The Captain had put everything on the line for a people he never even met. All because the man wanted to do the right thing.
His fingers tensed as he suddenly realized the answer might be before him. What could change a man from the murderer of billions to that? And might it also work for him? The Captain was clearly a different man than he was. All Miles needed to do was figure out how.
But it’s not as simple as that. Miles lowered his eyes. He knew he was hoping for some painless trick. Some esoteric solution where he could flip a switch to change himself and beat Tannis. Maybe even turn back afterwards. But that wasn’t how things worked. No matter how much he tried to squirm, the world was set in stone.
And perhaps that was the only way men truly changed. They realized they couldn’t run from the truth any longer. All the tricks and excuses and delusions fell away, and all the cleverness in the world couldn’t buy you a second of time. At that moment, you had to confront hell… or burn with it for the rest of your days.
The only way out meant a sacrifice. The choice presented itself again and again: a slave to the Free Exchange—or something else. And Miles knew there was no easy way out. Even if Tannis was being truthful, even if he let Miles ride off into the stars, that might just be a worser hell.
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Deep down, he knew that if Tannis was being genuine in his offer; it was just more of the same. The Free Exchange was letting Miles Kieth go, a tool that had now it served its purpose. There was no real freedom in that. Only an old dog being put out for everyone’s good. He shook his head. Somehow, I never quite imagined it would end like this.
He instinctively reached for his cowboy hat, only to realize that he left it back at the Hyperion. Miles’ fingers grasped at empty air before they fell at his side. The man stood still for a moment before finally going into the control station.
Glen Tannis already had Dr. Philips working the computer systems. Miles didn’t even know what he was looking at. There were dozens of computers and monitors, all surrounding a central pillar filled with contraptions and wiring. Several empty seats indicated several people were meant to man the station at a single time.
Miles’ eyes kept glancing at the large hole in the wall, but he forced them away to look at what Dr. Philips was typing.
The Doctor sighed. “What’s your game plan? Once control of the bridge is rerouted here, there’s only so much you can do. We barely have access to basic protocols.”
Glen Tannis’ hand fell upon Dr. Philips’ shoulder, and the bureaucrat leaned in close. “Luckily, I just need atmospherics.”
“So, that’s how we do this?” Miles asked. “We threaten to take the air away? I could’ve come up with that.”
Well, on principle, he could’ve. The reality was that Miles had no idea of the capabilities of the derelict, or even what extent they could use it. He was a pilot. He hadn’t been keeping track of progress on researching the vessel.
Glen nodded and crossed his arms. “The problem was never stopping the saboteurs. Last I checked, the FTL drives needed another six hours to be repaired.” Tannis glanced down at Dr. Philips, who silently nodded in affirmation. “Erika will take control of the Hyperion before then. The real game begins when she contacts us.”
Always buying time. Miles snorted. Tannis always presented more and more problems that only he could solve. While Miles never thought too far into the future, he knew that even when Terese was dealt with, there was going to be another problem that only Tannis could solve.
“There is one issue, though.” Glen looked towards Miles. “There are several key redundancies built specifically into atmospherics. The Andromedans didn’t want to take the chance of an enemy securing one of the control stations and killing the rest of the ship. You need to go to another one and enter the same protocol.”
“You think I’m stupid?” Miles laughed in disbelief. “I’m not leaving you alone.”
“He’s telling the truth.” Dr. Philips gave Tannis a scowl. “Changing atmospherics from survivable levels has to be done manually. Probably because of the entities. Anything else could be too easily hacked.”
“Still.” Miles whipped out his pistol. “I say we go with a different plan. Give me the names of the saboteurs, and I’ll hunt them down myself.”
Glen rolled his eyes and took a step forward. “I believe this is the third time now you’ve threatened me with that gun.”
“Makes me feel better.” Miles shot back.
“I’ll explain the options for you. Either we go with my plan, or Terese takes the derelict long before you can get the drive operational.” Glen gestured with his head to the hallway. “So get on with it.”
It was getting ridiculous how many times Miles had reached for a gun against Tannis, but the man was right, as always. Captain Singh had likely now been removed from the equation. Miles had to think of the future. Not that he really expected to shoot Glen this time around. It was just an empty gesture.
He lowered the gun. “I can’t help but notice you’ll be with Dr. Philips. No offense, but I don’t see you winning in a fight.”
Tannis raised an eyebrow. “I thank you for my concern, but that won’t be necessary.”
Of course it wouldn’t. Miles somberly thought. When you knew what a man cherished—what he loved the most—it wouldn’t ever take but a few words to bend him to your will. And Tannis didn’t just know that, he knew you better than you could ever possibly know yourself. He knew your weaknesses and your strengths. He knew exactly what to say to make it hit the hardest. Philips would probably try to attack as soon as Miles left, but by then it would already be too late.
Miles glanced over at Dr. Philips. He wondered what words would be enough to take the man’s soul, but it didn’t matter at this point. There was a job to do, and there was no point wasting anymore time.
He turned to leave, but Tannis stopped him. “Here.” The bureaucrat tossed him a personal communicator. “I’ll guide you to the control station.”
Miles caught it with one hand and strapped it to his wrist. He walked out of the control station without another word.
Miles walked down the empty halls of the derelict while Glen Tannis relayed his threat to the saboteurs over the comm. It seemed the man was impatient to get on with it although Miles barely even listened. He was tired. His feet dragged behind him as he pushed himself onward to his future.
He felt as though an animal languishing in a snare. The panicked thrashing had come to an end, and now he was too exhausted but to wait until death. And in his bones, he knew the end was coming soon. One way or another, his fate would be decided. A part of him just wanted to get it over with. Tannis could gut him for all he was worth, but at least then he would find some rest afterwards.
However, another part of him wanted to delay the inevitable. As long as he was still here, he had time. He wasn’t sure what he could do with that time, but he wanted it anyway. Tannis said I was a man of hope. And Miles knew he was still looking for a way out.
His thoughts once again turned back to Captain Singh. What had their little conspiracy been doing? Thinking to challenge the gods of mankind? It was all so laughable now. Miles felt some resentment well up within him as he trudged forward. The good Captain had led them all to their deaths. All because he wanted to save the Andromedans.
Miles supposed there was some virtue of having such blind faith. At least the man stood for something; there was a compliment Miles could not extend to many. Still, what madness took him that he thought to go against the Free Exchange? What madness took them all?
He stopped as he saw the control station was finally in sight. Miles sighed as he lifted the communicator and contacted Tannis.
“I’ve arrived.”
There was silence on the other end. Miles raised an eyebrow. Maybe Tannis underestimated Dr. Philips. He snorted in laughter as he imagined the two scrawny men strangling each other. If so, then good. Dr. Philips could do what Miles couldn’t.
“Hello?” He repeated, but there was still no reply.
As much as he wanted to believe that Dr. Philips had done it, he knew that wasn’t the case. Tannis would never allow something like that to happen. If so…
Miles curiously poked through a few of the other channels on the communicator. They had established a relay device on the derelict where they could receive transmissions from the Hyperion and broadcast back. He turned to the channel and a surprising voice came over the comm.
“I repeat.” Captain Singh’s voice echoed from the device. “Gravity core has been destroyed. Requesting dispatch of all shuttles for the immediate evacuation of the Hyperion.”
Miles hollered, and he almost jumped in the air as he heard the Captain’s voice. I can’t believe he’s alive! He fell back against the bulkhead in relief. Miles chuckled and let himself sink to his knees. Maybe there was more hope than Miles gave credit for. It seemed Captain Singh had a knack for disrupting Tannis’ plans.
He was sure he never grinned wider in his life than to hear that man’s voice. Commander Terese hadn’t beaten the man—at least not yet. That meant… Miles didn’t know what that meant, but it was something. It was not over.
And that was how he felt; new life breathed into him. Miles relaxed against the metal wall and closed his eyes. He was certain that nothing in the world felt better than a reprieve. And hearing Captain Singh’s voice filled him with a new hope that had long departed from him.
“Acknowledged, Captain. I’ll send the shuttles back.” Dr. Philips’ voice answered on the comm.
And just as quickly, that hope crashed back to the ground. Miles’ heart sunk to his chest again. There was no way that the Doctor had beaten Tannis. If so, then this was just another plot. He made to hit the transmit button, but his finger paused.
Doing this meant betraying Tannis. It meant that whatever hope of the man giving him the derelict was gone. But that was never really true anyway. Tannis’ gambit relied upon Miles never having any other option besides the smug bureaucrat. That was the only way Miles would ever work with the man.
But now a new option was on the table again. Tannis had been wrong about Erika taking the Hyperion. He could be wrong about other things as well. Miles’ grin was starting to hurt. Maybe the universe was kinder than he thought. Maybe, just this once, it had given him another way out.
Besides, there was no longer any worry of sabotage. If the gravity core was destroyed—well that was terrible for all of them—but it also meant none of the traitors aboard the derelict would dare harm the FTL drive. He no longer needed Tannis. What he could say next, he could say with little consequence.
“Negative! Negative, Captain!” Miles shouted through the comm. “Tannis is in control of the derelict! I repeat! Tannis is in control of the derelict!”