“I know it well, Admiral. I lived it.”

  10

  I N THE FIRST THIRTY MINUTES of their walk, Kara, Cando, and Ham learned more about Ecostem 1944’s flora and fauna than they might have gleaned from a nature guide. Michael knew the plants by heart, as if he’d lived here for life. More likely, Kara reasoned, he memorized Aldo’s reports. He seemed fascinated by the six varieties of rodents who lived in burrows. The two species of snakes, he said, looked fearsome but weren’t poisonous. Not that immortals need worry, you understand. Kara smiled when Ham called his bluff.

  “Sounds like Aldo Cabrise has been of great benefit. I hear he documented hundreds of ecostems with this manner of detail.”

  “Oh, sure. Nobody quite like my man Aldo. He’s a fool, though.”

  “Why’s that, Michael?”

  “He still claims he’ll catalog the whole damn planet before he kicks off. No chance.”

  Kara jumped in. “He seems determined. His life’s work, he says.”

  “He’s eighty-five. That don’t mean he’s ready for a tombstone, but it’s coming. Shit. You saw him. That limp? I been on him for a year about that. Doc Ranke scanned his knee. Damn near bone on bone. Phasic surgery with a little rehab? Be back in business in a week, give or take. He weren’t interested.”

  “Did he not trust the doctor?”

  “Aldo trusts nobody. Only thing he cares about is making a name for himself after he’s gone.”

  Kara nodded so Ham and Cando understood: I’ve got this.

  “I think everyone would like to have a legacy.”

  “Can’t rewrite your own history. Aldo spent most of his life working for a dying empire. Then he tried to come back here and prove the whole sorry lot of ‘em wrong. Too late. The Chancellors put him in the rearview mirror.”

  “Perhaps he has stopped trying to prove himself to his caste. Maybe he wants your people to remember what he’s accomplished. After all, you’ll be his witnesses for centuries to come.”

  Michael set down the massive case he lugged around.

  “That’s poetic, Kara. Great stuff for his eulogy. Witnesses. I’ll make a mental note.” He brushed his hair back, a frequent habit. “See, here’s the problem. Aldo does good work, but he ain’t the best at sharing. He don’t like turning over the goods to authority. I nearabout had to wring 1944 out of him because my boys heard about the butterflies.”

  “He doesn’t send the data to Promise?”

  “On his schedule, which ain’t a schedule at all. In a way, I get it. Every time he tried to do right with the Admiralty, they spit on him.” He eyed Ham. “You know what happened here in 5320.”

  “I do. It was suppressed for decades. Aldo was Carrier Fleet Admiral on the day the Jewels of Eternity destroyed brontinium mining. He reported a global event with accuracy; the leaked vids confirmed his reports. It was unprecedented, and not at all his fault. The Admiralty decided it was. They needed a scapegoat. The man in charge seemed a reasonable target.”

  Michael snapped his fingers.

  “Ruined his career. I found him on Tamarind nine years ago, running a secret experiment inside a hole in the ground. Experiment worked, but those fucking Chancellors left us both to die. We made it out, and he did not mind seeing those assholes surrender to me. Supreme Admiral Angela Poussard herself. That was my finest takedown.”

  “And now you’re the authority?”

  “The one and only. No offense, Rafael.”

  “None taken, Michael.”

  They agreed to shed titles early in the journey. Kara pressed on.

  “Why did he turn on you?”

  “Don’t know that he did. Aldo’s just a bitter old man.”

  “He seems to love his work. Why bitter?”

  “Because he never fulfilled his promise. At the surrender, Aldo said he’d search for a cure to what’s gonna kill off the Chancellors. He had a beef with the Admiralty, but he wanted to give the children a fair shot. You know? I can respect that.”

  “He never found the cure?”

  “Nah. It was always a longshot. You can’t science your way to winning the lottery. It all comes down to luck.”

  “Thank you for clearing up the picture. You’re right, Michael. Aldo needs to do a better job looking after himself.”

  He grabbed the case and walked. Kara followed at a slower pace. She connected with Cando and Ham minus words. Later, as Ham and Rafael flanked Michael in heavy conversation, she walked beside Cando and muttered.

  “What do you think?”

  “If I heard Michael’s story first, I’d believe it. He’s an arrogant ass, but I don’t think he’s lying.”

  “Is there any chance Aldo’s playing us?”

  “I don’t know what he’d gain.”

  “Maybe we should hold off on taking the data.”

  “Let’s talk to Ham whenever we find the right moment. And while we’re at it, maybe negotiations will start sometime soon.”

  Before their arrival at the grove of sehoya trees, they reached agreement on a framework for the discussions, promising to start with the issue of Amayas/Valentin. Yet Michael skirted around any details, as Kara feared.

  The sehoyas provided deep shade beneath their umbrella spread. Michael tossed everyone a small blanket from the case followed by cups with seals. He pointed to the trickling creek close by.

  “If you’ve never had pure water – and I mean, shit that ain’t touched by nothing but sweet nature – you’ll love this. Go fill ‘em up, and I’ll spread out lunch.”

  He promised the best and delivered. Kara didn’t know water tasted like this. Sweet and robust, cold and refreshing. Her senses tingled. The food? A warm au gratin of vegetables and fish topped with fresh herbs, followed by Michael’s favorite dessert: Blueberry cobbler. Every bite left her hoping it wouldn’t end.

  “Can Aeternans cook, or what?” Michael proclaimed.

  “It’s satisfying,” Ham said, his voice restrained.

  “Do you eat like this every meal?” Kara asked. “Or was this made special for us?”

  “I got twenty-five hundred big-time eaters keeping their muscles toned. Ain’t that right, Rafael?”

  “It’s true. We do many things well. Eating is near the top of the list.”

  “Got to say, though. I nearabout pissed my pants when I discovered blueberries in Ecostem 70. Biggest, sweetest jewels anywhere.”

  “There’s much to love about Aeterna,” Ham said. “So much so, I find it remarkable Valentin Bouchet would leave it behind.”

  Rather than take Ham’s obvious bait to start the talks, Michael enjoyed another bite of cobbler, a slick grin forming as he chewed.

  “I reckon some people ain’t cut out for paradise.”

  “Whatever his reason, we need to confront the issue at hand: Specifically, the man he has become, the Alliance he has formed, and the Splinters he possesses. Michael, we’ve been dancing around this issue for weeks. We appreciate how much your people have shared, and we’ve been more than happy to reciprocate. We’ve learned from each other.”

  “Maybe too well, considering how the Games turned out.”

  “Be that as it may, the War Games are not the issue. You’ve brought us to a beautiful location, and I’d say everyone is comfortably situated. We need to reach resolution on how to move forward.”

  “I agree, Michael.” Rafael seconded the motion, surprising Kara. “You and I know Valentin’s history, but they’re better informed about events in the Alliance. It’s time.”

  “Sure. I’m good. Just wanted to finish my cobbler. Tell you what: You start. What do you think our old friend is up to?”

  “Redemption.” The Admiral paused until the word soaked in. “I’ve thought about little else the past few weeks. I recalled conversations I had with him during the transition from Salvation to Aeterna. He was always on guard while his brother lived. Less so afterward. I believe Valentin became consumed with guilt. We killed millions in our crusade. Valentin regretted following his brother, regretted the death and destruction, and regretted the family name. I believe he is trying to make up in some way for the Bouchets’ devastation.”

  Ham nodded.

  “It is remarkable how one family in effect reshaped the galaxy. I might be inclined to accept your motive, but too many of his actions suggest otherwise.”

  “It certainly explains the new face and name,” Cando said. “No chance he’d build a following if people knew his true identity.”

  Michael threw aside his dessert plate and reached for his pipe.

  “It’s simple why he’s doing this shit. He has a hankering to be Number One. Think about it. What does a Number Two want most? Plant your flag on top of the mountain. Valentin couldn’t compete against James. Hell, James was ready to bury him toward the end. Then I came along and stole his thunder. Aeternans wanted to do things my way. Second fiddle again. He lost to stronger men.”

  Kara disagreed.

  “If all he wanted was power, there were easier ways. Why not challenge you? How about a coup? He’s been building the Alliance for years with ten planets. Ten. He restarted Artemis Station and brought in clients. He showed them the Splinters. He convinced them to keep quiet. He was running underground experiments, designing technological marvels. He betrayed Exeter. He sentenced that boy to a war in another universe. I could go on, but I think you’re both wrong. There’s something we’re missing.”

  “Which,” Ham said, “brings us to the core questions. Where is he? Do we work together to find him? What steps do we take when we meet him? I doubt we’ll resolve matters by simply sitting down with him and asking a few questions over tea or café.”

  Michael pulled from his pipe.

  “If he plays hardball, we got tech that’ll yank the rest out.”

  “Keep in mind, Michael, he’s a public figure now. Any move we make against him may have unforeseen consequences. Any operation must be strategic and balance all our interests.”

  “Ham’s right,” Rafael said. “We’re walking a fine line. Valentin obviously did not want Aeterna to be involved. He built his warships without the ability to jump into our system. He’s trying to protect us.”

  “From what?” Michael said. “He knows we’re untouchable.”

  “You are?” Cando stared down Michael. “Even without a worm drive, we have enough firepower on Scylla to incinerate your fleet, your orbital platforms, and Promise. If Ham gave the order, we could end you in an hour. They’d call it the True Last Day’s War.”

  “Sounds like a threat, my man.”

  “No. I’m stating the obvious. Sure, you can hold off conventional forces. And you claim to have a way to track incoming wormhole traffic. So you’re sitting pretty, for the most part. But what happens when the game changes? And it will. You’re vulnerable, and you know it.”

  “Don’t care for your tone, Cando.”

  Rafael said, “Michael, he’s making a larger point. We have no enemies who can challenge us now. But we risk creating some if we mishandle Valentin. We must not publicly expose him. If the Alliance realizes who he is, we will have at least ten enemies.”

  “Why the hell would that happen?”

  Ham took it from there.

  “Michael, don’t forget who they are. The colonists lived under the Chancellors for centuries. They’re free of their old masters. They’re trying to build something for themselves. Amayas Knight has shown them a path toward prosperity. Whether his vision can succeed is irrelevant. If they discover who he is, they will assume he is your agent. They will believe the Aeternans are trying to build a new empire. In effect, replacing the Chancellory.”

  “Shit. We’d counter that fiction toot-sweet.”

  “You could try. Disavow Amayas. Say he went rogue. Say you’ve been trying to hunt him down for years. Any number of half-truths or outright lies might quell some unrest, but it won’t solve the bigger problems, which are legion. One, Aeternans were created by the most notorious Chancellors in modern history and you live on a planet terraformed inside thirty years. What sort of nightmare technology do you possess? They will ask. Two, the Splinters had to have been developed by a race with extraordinary abilities. Your agent gave us these Splinters so we could experience life in other universes. And all he asked for was loyalty. Are the Aeternans brainwashing us? Are we being converted to their followers? Again, they will ask. I can go on, but I think you see the point.”

  “The questions won’t stop there,” Rafael told his Minister. “Our trading partners may lose faith in us.”

  “There’s no accounting for stupid. If they want to lose what we offer, that shit’s on them. We don’t need their business.”

  “We vowed years ago not to be isolationists, Michael. We built a strong defense before we reached out. If we go dark, no one will trust us.”

  “Sounds like a lose-lose for little ol’ Aeterna. Maybe we’re better off cutting bait. Let Valentin … Amayas … whatever … let him finish his business. If he makes it work, good on him. If he falls on his face … well, screw that guy.”

  Ham intervened.

  “Michael, if this were merely a trade pact between planets, I might agree with you. But it’s much more. We began this mission with a warning about the Splinters. He’s going to break down the barriers between universes, we were told. These cubes offer some kind of bridge. I’ve no doubt Amayas knows their secrets. Cando, why don’t you share the latest reports from the Bluebirds?”

  Cando retrieved his tablet and displayed holos from data collected by Scylla’s orbital drones.

  “We left behind a network of Bluebirds above three Alliance worlds. They’ve been our best resource for real-time intelligence. In the past two standard days, transports from the warships Charybdis and Hermes have offloaded massive shipments of Splinters. We intercepted enough transmissions to understand one critical fact. The locals have orders to distribute the cubes in a wide, global net. They intend to provide Splinter access to as many people as possible.”

  “Do you know why?” Rafael said.

  “No. They’re publicizing it as a gift from the new Alliance.”

  “How many?”

  “Our Bluebird nets are limited in scope, but low six figures per planet seems likely. If it’s consistent across the Alliance? Millions altogether.”

  “Aside from the issue of how he acquired or constructed them, it’s obvious he’s accelerating his plan. I can’t believe Valentin would do this if he knew there was a danger to the universe itself. He’s trying to make up for his past mistakes, not destroy what’s left of us.”

  “Regardless,” Ham said, “we have to find him. We know he has a security force. We know he has two warships with particle weapons. Aeterna cannot look away. The crew of Scylla most certainly will not. We must come to agreement. We need a plan, and we need to act with discipline and speed. Michael, it’s time.”

  Michael sat back against the sehoya tree blowing smoke rings. He gave each of them the once-over.

  “I’ll play along, but I got one condition. You ain’t gonna like it.”

  11

  K ARA WASN’T SURPRISED by Michael’s demands. She was, however, shocked when Ham agreed to them. In fact, Scylla’s Captain offered token concern before backing off. Negotiations moved forward without delay.

  Three hours of fine-tuning produced an agreement for Scylla and Aeterna to work together until they resolved the issues of the Inventor and his Splinters. After that, they’d fulfill Michael’s condition: Destroy Charybdis and Hermes and turn over Scylla to the Aeternans, minus the particle weapons.

  The return hike to camp clarified the picture.

  “Ham anticipated Michael’s demand,” Cando told her as they lagged behind the other three. “From day one, he thought Michael had an ulterior motive for allowing Scylla into Aeternan space. The system had been off-limits to all other ships for nine years.”

  “Ham never said anything to me.”

  “He’s taking extra care since the close call with Francois Adobo.”

  She couldn’t help feeling disrespected.

  “He promised to discuss everything with the leadership team.”

  “Now he dispenses information on a need-to-know basis. With all this team sharing, we’re scattered much of the time. He doesn’t want anyone compromised. You heard Michael’s boast. They have powerful interrogation tech.”

  “You mean torture?”

  “He wouldn’t call it that, but we don’t want to find out.”

  “Do you and Ham actually believe Michael would go so far?”

  Cando wrapped an arm around her.

  “I think there’s no limit to what he’d do to keep Aeterna safe. He tried to take out those ships on Euphrates. Now, he’s in uncharted territory, just like us.”

  “If he destroys those ships, the Alliance will be pissed.”

  “And unable to do anything about it. Michael will study Scylla’s designs and build countermeasures. At least, that’s his plan. Ham has no interest in doing anything they’ll consider an act of war.”

  “Are you saying we won’t take out the warships?”

  Cando’s smile told her she had nothing to worry about.

  “Our mission hasn’t changed. Amayas Knight. Splinters. We won’t touch those ships unless they pose an imminent danger.”

  “When Michael realizes we reneged?”

  “By then, it won’t matter.”

  Kara wanted to feel reassured, but when was the last time anything on the mission proceeded as planned? She thought Cando’s confident air was a cover. He and Ham must have discussed contingencies.

  They entered the butterfly fields, less than a kilometer from the campsite. The mountains dominated the landscape, a thin cloud cover hiding the peaks.

  Ham waved them forward.

  “Michael has an idea,” the Captain said. “Hear him out and tell us what you think.”

  “I wanna throw a party,” Michael told them. “A knock-you-on-your-ass blowout. We’ll announce our partnership. My people need to know what we’re up to. After that, we let her rip.”

  “It sounds fun,” Kara said, “although I’ve seen how Aeternans party.” She chose her words carefully. “Your people are very committed to letting go.”