“Demanding?” asked Jon. He glanced at Gloria. She looked worried.

  Jon knew why. Bast had blown up with rage six months ago, accusing him of ill will and other perfidious things. Last Jon had heard, Bast was roaming the Earth drunk, making a minor nuisance of himself.

  “As if I don’t have enough problems,” Jon muttered to himself.

  “You want me to send him away, sir?” Shaka asked.

  “No,” Jon said slowly. “Go get him.” To Gloria, he said, “I should listen to him.”

  “I don’t know why,” Gloria said. “You’ve helped Bast more than anyone else, and he just spits in your face. You don’t owe the Sacerdote anything.”

  The sergeant waited.

  “Go,” Jon told Shaka, maybe too sharply. “Bring the big lug in here. Let him spit some poison and get it out of his system.”

  Shaka left.

  “You feel sorry for Bast, don’t you?” Gloria said.

  “At least talking to him will be something different,” Jon said. “And it will make it seem like old times again.” He shook his head. “Who would have thought that fighting to the death with the AIs would be the good old days?” He snorted, wondering if he should call more security just in case the Sacerdote went into another rage like last time.

  -10-

  Jon decided to do this alone, although he had a shocker hidden on his lap. If the Sacerdote charged him, he would shock Bast into submission until he could slip out the hatch.

  Gloria had left. The hatch opened and Shaka poked his head through.

  Jon nodded.

  Shaka disappeared and huge old Bast Banbeck entered the ready room. The Sacerdote’s eyes weren’t as bleary as the last time they’d spoken. That was something anyway. His clothes didn’t smell and he seemed groomed. There was a haunted quality to the Sacerdote, though.

  “I appreciate this, sir,” Bast rumbled in his deep voice.

  “Glad to see you, Bast. Come in, come in.” Jon stood up, placing the shocker on his chair, and came around the desk. He held out his right hand.

  Bast blinked owlishly. “Before I do that, I want to apologize for my harsh words last time—”

  “Done,” Jon said, interrupting. “I accept.” He pushed his hand forward. The truth was he had always felt bad about not being able to keep his pledge to Bast.

  The big Sacerdote took his hand in his massive one and shook hands.

  Afterward, Jon returned to his desk, sitting down, putting the shocker on the desk.

  Bast noticed as he sat, the chair creaking under his immense weight.

  “What can I do for you?” asked Jon.

  Bast fidgeted for just a moment. Then he looked up and began talking. He related what had happened in Baker, Nevada, how he’d downed a man with a whiskey bottle.

  “Nice,” Jon said. “You did the right thing. I would have hated to lose you to a robot assassin.”

  “There’s more.”

  “Oh?”

  Bast told him about the man, a Kames rep—

  “Wait,” Jon said, interrupting. “You hit Lugo Malagate in the forehead?”

  “You obviously know him,” Bast said.

  “I do. He came here asking about you. I should have put two and two together just now. You knocked out the Kames rep. Are there going to be any repercussions?”

  Bast nodded solemnly.

  “Let’s hear it,” Jon said, suddenly feeling tired again.

  Bast told him about Lugo losing his post.

  “Anything else?” asked Jon.

  “I want help reinstating Lugo to his position as a Kames rep.”

  “Sounds like it would be hard to do,” Jon said. “The Kames did this to save face.”

  “I understand. But I must help Lugo. This was my fault.”

  “Only sort of. Lugo shouldn’t have rushed you at night.”

  “And while I was drunk. You were going to add that.”

  Jon shrugged.

  “Jon,” Bast said, leaning forward urgently, “I must help Lugo. He holds the most important information in the world.”

  Jon didn’t like the Sacerdote’s sudden intensity. “What are you talking about?”

  “The Kames know where I can find other Sacerdotes.”

  Jon froze as the information hit him. He should have known that Bast would never see or talk to him again unless it was about the most important thing in existence to the big lug.

  “Tell me this part slowly,” Jon said. “Help me understand what you’re talking about.”

  Bast explained how Lugo knew the news, but not the details.

  “Maybe we can talk to the other Kames rep,” Jon said. “She’s on Titan, I hear. It will be a short trip—”

  “No,” Bast said. “You must help me restore Lugo Malagate to his post. You owe me, Jon Hawkins. You know you do.”

  Jon stared at Bast, finally nodding. “I do. I swore you an oath. Okay. How can I help Lugo?”

  Bast shook his Neanderthal-shaped head. “I don’t know. You’re the military genius. You’re the—”

  Jon slapped the desktop, interrupting the Sacerdote. “That’s it, Bast,” he said with heat. “I’ve had enough of your sarcasm and rage. Will you forgive me for not having found other Sacerdotes until now?”

  Bast blinked at him owlishly.

  “Well,” Jon said. “Yes or no?”

  Bast blinked again.

  “If yes,” Jon said, “then you have to let this go. I’ll help, you know, but I may or may not succeed. If you say no, I’ll still try to help you, as I gave you my word and you kept your end of the bargain. But you’ll have to leave, and I won’t want to see you again. Not because I’ll hold a grudge against you, but because I know you will still hold one against me.”

  Bast nodded solemnly. “I forgive you, Jon Hawkins. I realize in this moment that I have shamed myself. It was never in your power to keep your word. You tried, but we never found evidence. Yes. I’m sorry for holding a grudge all this time. I do forgive you. Will you forgive me?”

  “Done,” Jon said. He stood again and once again came around the desk. “Let’s shake on it.”

  Bast rose to his towering height. “No,” he said, “let’s embrace on it. Like men.” And he grabbed the smaller human, hugging him and slapping him on the back. Jon tried to reciprocate as best he could, Bast’s blows feeling like sledgehammers.

  The problem was, though, he had no idea how to go about reinstating Lugo Malagate as a rep for the strange unified Kames race.

  At least it will be something different. Jon smiled. That it would be.

  -11-

  Jon decided the direct approach might be the best. He thus sent a message to Titan, to the Kames rep there.

  The reply took time, not only because laser relays only traveled at the speed of light, but also because the Kames rep must have taken her time deciding.

  Forty-nine hours later, Jon sat in his ready room before a computer screen. A woman appeared, an old lady with dyed black hair and a surgically smoothed face.

  “Supreme Commander Jon Hawkins,” she said. “I am speaking to you as the Kames. You have requested my presence, and I have gladly responded. Please let me know how I can be of assistance.”

  That was it, short and sweet, leader to leader, as it were. One Kame was all Kames, linked by their semi-telepathic connections with all Kames everywhere.

  Jon composed himself and pressed a send button. “This is Supreme Commander Jon Hawkins, speaking for Humanity. I am grateful for your time. It pleases me to deal with you. An unfortunate incident occurred several days ago. I speak in reference to the severing of your link to Lugo Malagate as he performed his service to the Kames.”

  Then, Jon retold the story as it had happened to Bast, at least how Bast Banbeck had related it to him.

  “I understand that Bast Banbeck committed a crime against the Kames,” Jon finally added. “Bast is a Confederation member and thus the Confederation is at fault. Yet, the Kames are also Confederation members. Does that mean the Kames must eliminate the Kames as part of the Confederation in retaliation for the crime? No. That would be illogical, as you cannot commit a crime as one type of self against another type of self. Yet, if that is the case, should the Kames harm the Humans for what a Confederation Sacerdote has done? Again, I would say no, as the Humans have not harmed the Kames. Only the Sacerdotes have done this. However, if Bast Banbeck perishes as acceptable punishment for what he has done, the Sacerdote Race will become extinct. The Confederation is composed of the Humans, Seiners, Kames and the Warriors of Roke. Yet, in saying this, we have overlooked the Sacerdotes. In the Great War against the death machines, we have need of all races, including the temperamental Sacerdotes. They, in the number of Bast Banbeck, gave us the anti-AI virus that allowed us the first edge against the killing machines. We pray thee, then, O Kames, that you would reinstate Lugo Malagate as your representative and through him, the Kames would relate the location of captive Sacerdotes. This would increase the number of Sacerdotes and make their extinction that much harder to achieve. We ask this as a personal favor from and to the Kames, both as a separate species and as belonging to the whole of the Confederation. The Confederation is strengthened if all the races can continue and thereby keep aiding us in the Great War. This is Jon Hawkins speaking for the Human Race.”

  The message took time traveling from Earth orbit to the moon of Titan that orbited Saturn. It would surely take time for the Kames to decide, as well.

  The rock creatures known as the Kames were considered mercurial in human terms. Frankly, Jon was surprised at times that Kames and Humans could work together. It was Red Demeter the Seiner that had originally bridged the communication gap between the Kames and humanity.

  Zeta, the energy-being Enoy, had been right about humanity’s need for the telepathic Seiners.

  Jon got up, deciding he could work while waiting for the Kames’ answer.

  Six and half hours later, as Jon leaned back in his chair, realizing that wasn’t a good enough stretch, he stood and arched his back. He needed to hit the gym. All this sitting, reading, talking—

  There came a buzz at the hatch.

  He leaned forward and pressed an intercom button. “Come in.”

  The hatch opened and a worried Sergeant Shaka stepped in. “Sir,” he said. “Lugo Malagate is screaming. Every time he takes a breath, and before he starts screaming again, he begs for you.”

  “Why’s he screaming?”

  “I think the Kames are killing him, sir.”

  Jon muttered an expletive under his breath as he headed for the hatch. “Go!” he shouted. “Let’s see if we can save the poor bastard.”

  -12-

  After sprinting for so long, Jon would have rushed through the hatch into the medical chamber. The Centurion stopped him, physically holding him back.

  It took Jon a moment to realize who was in his way. He moved back, brushing off the Centurion’s hands.

  The Centurion was older, with a worn face and was likely the toughest soldier in the Confederation, including the big bear-like Warriors of Roke. The Centurion was lean but quite strong. He never spoke if he didn’t need to, and he had been one of the original sergeants that had stormed the first cybership with Jon leading the attack.

  The Centurion shook his head.

  Bast Banbeck stood nearby, staring into a bulkhead. The Sacerdote must be staring into a two-way mirror.

  Jon hurried there, looking through the two-way mirror into a padded chamber.

  Lugo Malagate wore a straitjacket as he foamed at the mouth and rolled around frantically across the floor.

  “When did that start?” Jon asked.

  “Less than ten minutes ago,” Bast said bleakly, still staring at the thrashing man.

  Jon looked a moment longer. Lugo kept howling, “Kames, please stop. Kames, I did not mean it.”

  “Damn it,” Jon growled. He headed for the hatch. The Centurion blocked the way again. “Move aside,” Jon said.

  The Centurion shook his head.

  “That’s an order.”

  The Centurion stared at him, finally saying, “The Kames are punishing him for humanity’s sake.”

  “Not you too,” Jon said. “Now, move it.”

  “The Kames might use Lugo to hurt you,” the Centurion said.

  “Bast,” Jon said. “Pick up the Centurion. I have to help Lugo.”

  The big Sacerdote stepped away from the two-way mirror, heading for the Centurion.

  “We can’t afford to lose you, sir,” the Centurion told Jon.

  “You’ve been speaking to my wife, I see,” Jon said. “This is it. I want you to move now.”

  The Centurion stepped away from the hatch.

  “If he tries to grab me while I pass,” Jon told Bast, “stop him.”

  The Sacerdote grunted.

  The Centurion did no such thing.

  Thus, Jon opened the locked hatch and rushed within. It stank in there. Lugo Malagate continued to roll and rave.

  “Stop hurting him,” Jon shouted. “He’s human. He’s one of ours.”

  Incredibly, Lugo did stop rolling as he lay panting on his back. The man no longer raved and no longer seemed to be in intense agony.

  Jon hurried to him and began unbuckling straps. Soon, he helped an extremely sweaty and smelly Lugo out of the straitjacket.

  Lugo stretched his arms but still lay on the padded floor. He breathed in and out while his eyes remained closed.

  Jon sat down cross-legged, waiting.

  Finally, Lugo opened his eyes. With a grunt, he sat up, and he seemed amazingly composed, even stern, after undergoing such a hideous ordeal. The man stared at Jon for some time.

  Jon finally understood what was happening.

  “I am Kames,” Lugo said slowly.

  Jon had used a Kames rep before to communicate with the rock creatures. One of the strangest aspects of using a Kames rep was that united Kames thought moved faster than the speed of light and could communicate across star systems in the blink of an eye. Not even Seiners could do that. The Kames, with their reps, gave the Confederation a massive advantage—faster-than-light communication. It was a radical advantage, although the Confederation hadn’t used it during battle yet, as the AI Dominion hadn’t attacked in space for five long years.

  “If you’re Kames,” Jon said, “why are you punishing your tool?”

  “The man is not a tool. He is part of the Kames.”

  “Why punish yourself then?”

  “He is also human and committed a crime that caused the Sacerdote to attack us.”

  “Does that mean you made a judgment in error?” asked Jon.

  “No. The…” Lugo paused, which probably meant the Kames paused.

  “The link—the other-than-Kames—caused the crime?” asked Jon.

  “You are clever, Jon Hawkins. You know that we have taken great pains to understand the concept of individualism. It is so alien to us, to our very understanding of Life. AI machines are individual, and they are evil. How then can you be an individual and be good?”

  “The universe is full of contradictions,” Jon said.

  “Not so,” the Kames said through Lugo. “The universe is orderly and logical. Humanity is a contradiction. If you had not helped us against the AIs five of your years ago, we would not listen to your blasphemies today. Why do you care what happens to the one you call Lugo Malagate? In your terms, he is not of you, for he is an individual.”

  “We have need of him and you.”

  “That is a contradiction.”

  “Not to us,” Jon said. “We ask this as a favor.”

  “You have already told us that.”

  “Yes,” Jon said.

  The human link shook his head. “Lugo Malagate is flawed and lacks the wisdom to remain part of the Kames.”

  “Perhaps with more training he could overcome the flaw,” Jon suggested.

  “Perhaps, but he has shamed us, and we no longer want him to represent us.”

  “We humans are prone to errors,” Jon said. “Thus, we have learned to judge each other less harshly than otherwise. That means we do not judge you as harshly as you judge yourselves.”

  “By your own admission, humanity is a frivolous race. I do not understand how you defeated the machines.”

  “We did defeat them, though. That’s all that matters. Perhaps you understand less than you think you do.”

  “Let me think.” Lugo Malagate closed his eyes and lay back. He twitched several times and finally opened his eyes.

  “Yes,” Lugo intoned, sitting up. “I have reinstated him as a Kames rep. He is on probation. Another lapse like the first and I shall purge him from me.”

  “The Kames are wise,” Jon said.

  “Yes,” Lugo said. “This is so. We lack your luck, but we make up for it in seriousness.”

  “Humans deeply value our treaty with you.”

  Lugo nodded sagely.

  “Now that you’ve decided,” Jon said. “Can you tell us about these captive Sacerdotes?”

  Lugo looked away. He shivered as if he was about to fall and roll on the padded floor in an epileptic fit. He breathed heavier, and finally sagged, almost folding in half. “Are you ready for this, Jon Hawkins?”

  “I am,” Jon said.

  “Then listen as I tell you.”

  -13-

  Jon listened. He knew that Bast and the Centurion also listened from outside.

  The Kames through Lugo Malagate spoke about a captured AI brain-core they had taken apart, flushing the data from the memory banks. They had captured the brain-core three years ago from what they deemed a cybership-scouting vessel.

  There was a star system one hundred and sixty-two light-years away, with a red dwarf star. The star system in question had a small terrestrial planet and a host of asteroids rich in iron, nickel and other metallic ores. Because the ores were so readily available in asteroid form, a mighty Main, one bigger than Main 63, slowly swept through the system, gobbling the ores so it could add to its fantastic bulk.