Void Ship Read online

  Renwick thought about this for a moment, then, “What was your mission, Yan? What was the test?”

  Yan leaned on the console with her hands, a very human gesture for a hologram. “Our mission was to test the Void generator on an uninhabited system. Essentially the emitters send out dark energy particles which envelop the interplanetary magnetic field of the subject system. The interplanetary magnetic field is an electrically charged plasma generated by the system’s sun, and carried by the solar wind of the star. The dark energy bonds to the positively charged particles of the interplanetary medium, and essentially fills the space outside the realm of the solar wind of the star, encasing the target system, and thus neutralizing the system with dark energy.” She said it in a very mechanical manner, almost like she was reciting a learned program.

  Renwick contemplated this. “We’ve always believed any system enveloped by the Void was destroyed,” he said. Yan shook her head.

  “Not so,” she said. “The system is still intact, the star still burns and the planets inside still exist. Life goes on. But the target, the enemy, is encased inside their star system, and thus made more malleable to our demands,” she paused and began checking systems on the console again. “At least, that was the theory.”

  He sighed. “This brings up a greater problem, you realize.”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as all the systems we thought were destroyed still exist within the Void. And now that we know that, we have a moral obligation to help them,” he said. “If the emitter worked correctly, these systems are not dead, but they are cut off from the rest of the universe, thousands of them.”

  “Perhaps you have a moral obligation,” she replied, “but I doubt that I will be able to help.”

  Renwick decided not to press the point further, for now. “Where was the initial test carried out?” he asked.

  “The Pendax system,” she said, not looking up from the board. Pendax was a neighbor star of Minara, where the skiff had entered the Void. “But the emitter station was located much closer to Gataan space. We were trying to reign them in. Piracy was rampant among their culture, even in those days, we were trying to deter them, and there was a lot of political pressure from the Merchant Networks back home,” she paused, then continued.

  “When the scoops stopped functioning, we couldn’t clear the Pendax system. So I went for help, I assume.” She looked up to him. “That part wasn’t stored in my memory. My last recollection is just after the scoops failed. I assume my corporeal half didn’t have time to update me before she went for help.”

  Renwick looked at her with pity. “You feel it, don’t you, the emotion, the loss, the sense of failure.”

  “I do,” she admitted. “I may not be a real girl, Renwick, but I feel real, to myself, anyway. I feel emotion, I feel myself breathing, my heart pumping. Hell, I’ve even felt sexual arousal. But I know I’m not really real.”

  “So,” he said, changing the subject back to the Void, “Apparently you failed somehow to stop the emitter station from starting?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure that would have been my first priority. The emitter station was designed to be automated, and set to be deployed three days after our initial test.”

  “So, either you never made it to the station to shut it down, or you made it and somebody decided to launch the system anyway,” said Renwick.

  Yan’s head snapped towards him at this suggestion.

  “You’re saying someone could have done this intentionally?” she asked.

  “I’m a negotiator. I consider all possibilities. You did say the Merchant Networks were involved, correct?”

  “I can’t see how cutting themselves off from ninety percent of their markets could help them,” she said.

  “Perhaps that wasn’t their intent, and the whole thing just got away from them, like an oil spill in water, or a hydrazine pump gone wild,” he speculated. Yan looked away again, an act that would have indicated a sense of shame in a ‘real’ person. “One last question,” he said. “Who built the emitter station, and the Kali?”

  Yan shook her head. “I don’t know that,” she admitted. “When I came out to the station it was fully operational. I was in the Commonwealth Navy, but I had left to pursue a career as a private merchant. I was recruited by an intelligence wing of the Navy, on a private contract, to do the Pendax test.”

  Renwick looked around the bridge. “This technology is far beyond anything we have today.”

  “Or in my time,” she said.

  “So who built it?” he pressed. She looked at him.

  “I don’t know,” she said. It seemed to Renwick to be an honest answer.

  “And that,” he said, “is the most disturbing thing of all.”

  THEY ALL GATHERED BACK on the landing deck, inside the environmental bubble that held the skiff. The Kali had stopped just outside normal space, near the Minara system. Renwick had put Poul Rand in charge of collecting supplies for the journey back out of the Kali’s stores, mainly to keep the three junior negotiators busy. They had done an admirable job and the skiff was loaded down with food, water, and medical supplies, enough to keep them for close to a month if they had to jump from star to star to eventually get back to a Unity base. Of course that would be shortened considerably if they found Captain Aybar and the crew of the Phaeton all in good order.

  The androids, led by the speechless Thorne, had been of great assistance with the heavier items. Amanda and Yan had been absent up until now.

  “I think we’re ready to go,” said Rand to Renwick. Renwick looked around the skiff’s cabin, pleased. “You’ve done a good job, Poul,” he said. “Are you sure you’re comfortable with the controls? I’m trusting you to get Myra back to a Unity base safely.”

  “I am sir, and I’ll do my best to get us all back sir,” Poul said.

  “I know you will,” replied Renwick with a pat on the shoulder. “Makera and I will be taking the skiff over to the Phaeton, with luck we’ll find Captain Aybar and her crew waiting for us.”

  “With luck, sir, yes,” said Poul, then he stopped and pointed out the window of the pilot’s nest. “What’s this now? A send off?”

  Renwick looked out the window and saw the android Amanda approaching the skiff via the gangway. “I doubt that,” he said, then went to the airlock door.

  Amanda came though the environmental bubble, her always-pleasant smile locked on her face. Renwick went down the ladder to face her as she approached the gathered crew.

  “I’m going with you,” she said in a calm voice.

  “Um, that’s really not necessary,” said Renwick.

  “Yes,” agreed Makera, “I insist you stay.” Amanda’s pleasant smile didn’t waver.

  “You don’t understand,” she said. “I am not Amanda. It’s Captain Yan, and I insist on going.”

  “Yan? You’re really inside that thing?” said Renwick.

  “Yes, I am. Amanda suggested it, and I took her up on the offer. The transfer process was really quite simple, and since as a digital construct or clone, I’m mostly limited to the Kali, I thought I’d take this opportunity to ‘stretch my legs’ such as they are.”

  Renwick looked to his companions. He was stumped.

  “Um, what about your body?”

  “Safely stored in stasis,” she said.

  “Very well then. We were about to depart,” he said.

  “Do you mind if I fly her?” Amanda/Yan asked.

  “I do indeed mind,” said Makera. Renwick held up a hand to her.

  “If you wish,” he said to Amanda/Yan.

  “Well, let’s go then,” the captain said. Then they all took their places.

  THE TRIP TO THE Phaeton took six hours through normal space, after the Kali had punched a final hole through the Void. Renwick and Makera agreed to take turns in the co-pilot’s couch to monitor Amanda/Yan. Makera took the first watch while Renwick rested. Clearly the two women did not like each other much, but that didn’t s
top Amanda/Yan from starting a conversation.

  “What’s your interest in Renwick anyway?” said Amanda/Yan. Makera contemplated the android, which housed the digital body of someone she disliked intensely.

  “I don’t think that’s any of your business,” the Ambassador said.

  “I’m still in command of this mission. That makes it my business,” said Amanda/Yan.

  “You are collection of digital files stored and organized in such a way as to simulate a real person, and you currently reside in an android body. Conversing with you would be like talking to a computer program. I have no interest in conversing with computer programs.”

  “Oh c’mon now, just think of me as one of the girls!”

  “I will not,” said Makera.

  “I’ll just tell him that you’re jealous, then.”

  Makera’s faced flushed. “Jealous? Of what?”

  “Like it or not, Ambassador,” said Amanda/Yan, “you have to admit that Amanda is attractive, perhaps even more so than you. And judging by the way he reacts to her physically-“

  “You can detect such things?”

  “Oh, yes. This body is full of exceptional qualities, and fully functional. I’ll bet I could get him interested in-”

  “Stop,” said Makera, holding up her hand. “I really do not wish to continue this line of conversation.”

  “Then answer my questions,” said Amanda/Yan. Makera glared at the android woman.

  “Very well,” she finally said, resigned to her predicament. “My interest in him is both personal and scientific. With this treaty Humans and the Raelen will live in close proximity to each other. It has occurred to our scientists that eventually, interbreeding may occur. It is my desire to see if it is not only feasible, but desirable.”

  “Wait, you mean you’re trying to get pregnant by him?” said Amanda/Yan.

  Makera shrugged. “If I must, yes. It would be a great honor. But he has said he is sterile, by human standards. My hope is that Raelen doctors can determine if some accommodation can still be made.”

  “Forget I said anything,” said Amanda/Yan, quickly turning her attention back to her flight controls. “I’m sorry I asked.”

  Renwick relieved the Ambassador an hour later, after Makera had secured a promise from the android not to share their conversation.

  “Did you ladies enjoy your time together?” he asked Amanda/Yan after Makera had left, sliding into the co-pilot’s couch.

  “Oh, yes,” said Amanda/Yan. “Most illuminating.”

  THE SKIFF APPROACHED the Phaeton in stealth mode, just in case there were any of the Gataan pirates still in the area. Makera had rejoined Renwick and the android on the flight deck.

  “I’m detecting remnants of a small ship,” said Amanda/Yan.

  “The Phaeton destroyed one of the Gataan corvettes just as we escaped,” said Renwick. Yan/Amanda nodded. It was an almost human gesture.

  “That would be consistent with the debris pattern. Scans indicate that your cruiser is still intact. Life-support and power systems are operating, but I’m not detecting any life signs,” said Amanda/Yan.

  “Could they all be dead?” Makera asked Renwick.

  “I doubt it, with all the systems still operational. They could be aboard but hiding, some kind of stealth field technology,” he said.

  “Or they could have been taken prisoner by the Gataan,” said Amanda/Yan. “In which case we are too late to help them and should proceed with our mission to the emitter station.”

  “Dock this ship,” said Renwick to Amanda/Yan, like it was an order. “We’re going aboard.”

  “I will not!” said Amanda/Yan. “If your friends have been taken prisoner then there’s nothing we can do.”

  “If my friends have been taken prisoner than I have an obligation to rescue them, captain. The Void has been out there for three centuries, it can wait for a few days more. Now dock this ship, or I will do it myself,” Renwick said.

  “You forget your situation, Senator. I am far stronger than any of you in this body, and I will say where we go,” said Amanda/Yan.

  “I think it is you who forget the situation, captain,” said Renwick, specifically addressing the Yan personality. He looked back to Makera, who stood across the flight deck, the coil pistol leveled squarely at the android. “Once we left the protective field of the Kali I recharged the pistol and gave it to the Ambassador when we changed watches. So you see, captain, we will be going aboard the Phaeton, with or with you.”

  Amanda/Yan’s android face revealed nothing of the thoughts going on inside but eventually she tapped the control board and relinquished control of the skiff to Renwick.

  “With me, I should think,” she said to Renwick, who took the controls and started the docking procedure. “But I think this is a very bad idea.”

  RENWICK LED MAKERA and Amanda/Yan out of the air lock and into the lower corridors of the Phaeton. He left the others behind with Poul for safe keeping. The walls of the corridors were scarred with energy weapon burns and the air smelled of ionized gas. “There was a fight here,” Renwick said, holding his pistol at the ready.

  “That’s obvious,” said Amanda/Yan. She may not have acted fully human, but she was talking like one. More and more of Yan’s abrasive personality seemed to be coming through the android body.

  The crept along the walls, Renwick first, followed by Makera and then Amanda/Yan, moving slowly through dimly lit corridors. Silence and darkness closed in on them.

  “I don’t like this,” said Renwick. “It’s too quiet. I don’t even hear the sound of the EV system pumping.”

  “There’s air in here,” agreed Makera, “but the EV system has either been shut off or it’s not working.”

  “There is too much residual heat onboard for the system to be broken,” said Amanda/Yan as they crept along the main corridor of the Phaeton towards the bridge. “Someone shut it off intentionally, likely when they detected us entering the system again from the Void, in an attempt to stay hidden.”

  “Which means there are still pirates on board,” said Makera.

  “Gataan pirates,” reminded Renwick. Descendants of what was once the most feared fighting force in the Known Galaxy.

  “But why would they leave a crew behind if they were in such a hurry?” asked Makera.

  “Salvage,” replied Renwick. “The first rule of piracy is you unload the hottest merchandise first. You store the rest for when things quiet down.”

  “I see,” said Makera. “I should learn more about piracy practices, obviously.”

  Renwick nodded in agreement, but he had already moved on to his next thought. “I wish we had a bio scanner. It would be nice to know if there are any surprises waiting for us up ahead.” Amanda/Yan moved past Makera and put a hand on Renwick’s shoulder.

  “We have a scanner,” she said, “me.”

  “Are you serious?” said Renwick. Amanda/Yan nodded.

  “This body is equipped with a variety of tools, but unfortunately not weapons,” she said. “I think it would be best if you let me take the lead,” she said, taking the coil pistol from Renwick. He looked back to Makera with concern, but she said nothing in protest. They continued their slow approach to the bridge.

  The corridor curved just enough to keep the main hatch to the bridge out of their sight. Amanda/Yan held up a hand. “Stay here,” she said. Renwick started to protest but she was already moving up the corridor. He watched her go about ten meters from them and then pause, her head turning slowly from side to side. She kept the pistol in her hand, but at her side in a non-threatening manner. After a few moments she turned and came back towards them.

  “There are two guards outside, one to either side of the bridge hatch, hidden behind the support beams,” she said.

  “How can you tell that?” asked Makera.

  Amanda/Yan managed to get an annoyed look on her face. “I told you, this body is equipped with a bio scanner, amongst other useful tools. I scanned through the
beams and detected two Gataan pirates outside the hatch and one inside, on the bridge.”

  “But how do you know their Gataan?” challenged Makera. “They could be human survivors.”

  “Gataan have a core body temperature that is three degrees Celsius cooler than humans. It is what makes them such resourceful fighters. They don’t overheat as easily and they recover quicker than humans,” said Amanda/Yan.

  “Are you convinced yet?” said Renwick to Makera. She gave him a sour look.

  “What’s the configuration of the hallway up there?” Amanda/Yan asked Renwick.

  “Can’t you just use your x-ray vision?” said Makera. Renwick quieted her with a hand gesture of impatience.

  “There’s a cross corridor just behind the main hatch, it leads to a supply compartment on one side and the armory on the other,” he said. “The halls curve away, contouring to the bridge layout. I’d say they’re what, maybe five meters to either side of the hatch to the compartment doors?” he looked to Makera.

  “Six point five,” she said, correcting him. He looked at her, annoyed. She shrugged. “So I measured it once. We are a precise race, Renwick. And it’s always helpful to know how far away you are from the nearest weapon.”

  “There is likely to be gunfire,” said Amanda/Yan. “Please stay safely back here until I have resolved the situation.” Then she turned and walked back down the corridor. Makera put her hands to her hips in an annoyed gesture.

  “She’s just showing off! Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a coil rifle right now!” whispered Makera.

  “It’s odd how she seems to have taken on some of the android’s personality, or lack thereof,” he said as he watched Amanda/Yan move down the hall. “It’s an odd mix. Sarcasm one moment, cold calculation the next.”