Ilox Saga 1: Eris Monroe: More Than Human (29 page)

“
Do you think the device had something to do with the mutated miners and Vortex mercenaries?” Eris asked.

“I don’t know
for sure…but if you asked me to guess I would say yes. The ancients were accomplished at incredible feats of engineering and technology, so I wouldn’t put it past them to be capable of such a thing.” Eli looked expectantly at Eris.

Eris brought up a ho
lographic image of the Holdfast. “Commander Malik, I want you and your team to study all of the data we have available on the Alliance Holdfast. I want recommendations on how to destroy it – if it comes to that. If we can ascertain that all of their research is isolated in a single location within the Holdfast and we are able to disable or destroy it, then our mission will have been successful and we will have averted a galactic war.”

“Captain, I’ll get my squad working on that right away…but it is obvious that
planting a thermonuclear device would be the easiest method of taking out the Holdfast. It’s just a matter of getting one close enough and inside their shields and armor,” Arnav Malik spoke with a somber face. “We could easily do that with the Sparta being undetectable to their sensors…”

“I’ve seen more death and destruction
than most people here in this room and I’m sick of it.” Eris paused for a moment and continued – her eyes shone. “I would much rather not use a nuke on our enemies. I would do that only as a last resort, if everything else we try fails.”

“The Alliance has shown
that they are an enemy of the Republic…why try to save their lives when they deserve to die?” Arnav asked the question but everyone else in the room wanted to know the answer as well…they waited on the Captain’s response. A hushed silence permeated the room. Everyone could
feel
the tension. Eris was silent for a few moments as if lost in her own thoughts before she replied.

“Every
sentient deserves to be treated decently – with dignity and respect. Especially the working grunts that have no say in what they are ordered to perform. I refuse to believe that every living soul on the Holdfast deserves to die for what their leaders have decided.” Eris was growing tired of the back and forth with her executive officer, but it was cathartic to let all of her emotions out for once – she had kept them bottled up inside her for far too long. Arnav spoke decisively.

“
Death comes to everyone at some point…it’s inevitable…and life is fucked up so why bother trying to be decent or good at all? In my book, those people made their decision when they chose to join up with the Alliance military. They deserve whatever they get…and that would be justice.” replied Arnav. His eyes shone with sincerity.

“I’ve dealt death in the name of justice all my life, but I refuse to take the lives of those who had nothing to do with trying to start a war…unless there is absolutely no other way…” Eris Monroe’s voice rang with steel – all sentients in the room knew that hers was the final word on the subject. As all of the officers filed out of the comm room Kizzara stood waiting and then moved to stand by Eris. She put her hand on her captain’s shoulder.

“Captain…I believe in justice too.
Long ago, my people were once slaves to the K’Tosk and we were freed only by those that stood for decency when all others called for endless war. I will do whatever you think is best – I
believe
in you…” Kizzara left the conference room leaving Eris to herself. She quickly ordered the computer to initiate a quantum relay link to her employer. After a few minutes the holographic image of Dominic Gray appeared.

“
Nice to see that you still call…” Dominic said with a bemused expression on his face.

“We destroyed the Valdren device as you wanted,” Eris cut him off abruptly.

“Excellent. I knew you and your team would be able to perform to specifications.”

Eris furrowed her brows when she replied. “Is that all we are to you
- some kind of organic machine that is ordered to perform tasks…to specifications?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him.

“Captain, I can assure you…”

“Let me finish...you have been enigmatic at best…and that’s being generous. You are eccentric. I get that, I truly do. A MEK shows more emotion than you…” Eris was just getting started. Gray was silent and letting her have her say. “I don’t know which is worse, the fact that I signed up to kill for you or that I actually believed you.” She unfolded her arms and began pacing, her combat boots making a metallic
thunk
with each step on the corrugated decking. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you’ve told me.”
Thunk
…a boot on the deck.

“
You never told the truth about T’sell T’savri…a lie of omission is still a lie.”
Thunk
– another step shod on durasteel grating. “You offer half truths as statements of fact…Hasephrey thinks you’re going to take the Valdren technology for yourself and make weapons.”
Thunk
…and Eris stopped pacing and jabbed her index finger at his three dimensional image. “It’s always been about power…hasn’t it?” Eris suspected she was right. Dominic Gray was not smiling.

“Are you
quite finished?” Gray stated with no hint of emotion. The corners of his mouth were turned down. He was clearly displeased.

“No…why didn’t you warn us about the sickness on Furnace? Another omission
…another calculated risk?” Eris waited to hear what he had to say and stared at his image.

“As much as you may think I have all the answers…I don’t. I am not some magical fountain of information that you may drink from.” He looked wounded, as if the words Eris had stated actually had hurt him. “I am sorry that you think so little about me that I would purposely withhold information
from you for these missions. If I had known about the inhabitants of Furnace being sick, I would have told you. I am not sorry that you were successful in your mission, and I am grateful that you were there to destroy the device instead of the Alliance obtaining it.” Dominic Gray was not overtly remorseful and seemed defensive. “Eris, what do I have to do to make you believe that I only want what is best for the Republic…and for humanity?”

“
Why don’t you come and do these missions yourself?” Eris was not serious…no one with the power Dominic Gray held would ever do such a foolish thing.

“I may not look it, but I am
old
…far too old to go traipsing across the galaxy to right the numerous wrongs that people foist on one another. Ask yourself why I put together a team of the most skilled and accomplished sentients I could find. Ask why I spent over a trillion credits building the most sophisticated starship humanity has yet devised...ask yourself why I spent time and treasure bringing
you
back from the brink of death…” He paused for a moment and let his words sink deep.

“Eris, you may not trust me, but you must respect my intention to help humankind.
All I have ever wanted to do was to build and create lasting institutions that help the people of the galaxy…not to make weapons…not to destroy. You speak of power…that is what the Alliance wants, except they want
unlimited
power and they will have their way unless they are stopped. They will succeed unless we stop them. Every master craftsman uses tools to build with – unlike a hammer however, you have a choice in whether you are used at all. You can walk away from this if you wish. Give up command, let Malik take over and you can be out of the picture. Of course, I don’t think he would be as successful as you have been with these missions…and likely he would fail, resulting in the death of the crew and the destruction of the Sparta.” He glanced at Eris soberly.

“It
is your decision, Captain.”

Damn him…he was right
.
Every instinct she had said that Dominic Gray was a manipulator, and that he craved power
.
Did that mean he was nefarious
?

“Okay, you win. I…” For the first time in her life, she didn’t know exactly what to say.

“That’s alright…understand, that for me, this is not a contest between you and I. I don’t get upset by
winning
or
losing
– labels mean nothing to me, only results. Go and get me results, Eris…” Dominic disconnected the connection before she could say anything.

That was foolish of me
.
Maybe I am too tired to think clearly
. She left the comm room and headed down to deck three and the laboratories. Outside of lab one she heard Eli talking with Gelkar Ruz’zel.

“Yes, that is correct
, Mister Bowman, the Valdren technology was much more advanced than what we are capable of today, but that doesn’t mean we cannot study it…and learn from it.” As she entered the workshop, she saw Eli, Gelkar and Lia standing around a table containing a slew of delicate equipment.

“Captain Monroe, Gelkar was just telling us how he has been researching the Valdren for the last six years by visiting planets where they had outposts,” said Eli
. He was grinning. “He even built a prototype for a portable shield generator…remember - down in the mines? He
built
that!” Eli was acting like a schoolboy and his excitement was contagious.

“It was my prototype…but we left it, as we left the mines in quite a hurry.
Remember? I asked you specifically if I could take it with me, and you said there was no time.” He looked at Eris expectantly. “I can build another from what I’ve seen of the material fabrication processors here on this ship,” stated Gelkar. His wings buzzed for a few seconds. Eris ignored him.

“Doctor Xinhao, did you analyze the blood and tissue samples you took from the mercenary…and from T’sell and Eli?” Eris was curious to know what exactly had happened.

“Yes, I scanned the samples and should get an answer from the medical computer within the next few minutes. From my preliminary work, I can rule out all known human related communicable diseases…the computer is cross-checking to see if the pathogen is of alien origin.” Lia looked expectantly at Gelkar as if waiting on him to speak. She finally nudged him with her elbow.

“Ah…yes, of course, forgive me Eris Monroe
- I was lost in thought. I had promised to tell you everything about why I was in the mines below Platinum City when you rescued me.” Gelkar stood only a little over a meter tall, and he backed up to crane his gaze to look Eris directly in the eyes. His wings fluttered for a moment and then quieted. The quick sound of his insect-like wings was a soft buzzing that was pleasant to the ear.

“This should be good,” murmured Eli under his breath.

“I am a researcher of Valdren antiquities and ancient sites. I work for myself mainly, though occasionally I receive grants from the Arrasian Concordia. My research had led me to the Zaniah system and the mining colony located on Tempest, a frozen planet that held quite a few rare mineral deposits and a few Valdren sites. There was no governmental structure on the planet and it was quite lawless.” He cleared his throat. “Ahem…excuse me. Where was I? Oh yes, there was little to be found there, but I did discover one clue that led me to Furnace.”

“What was the clue?” asked Eli, eyes wide.

“I was interpreting a data module that had been badly damaged. It was coded in the Valdren tongue, at a time just before they were destroyed in an extinction event. My algorithm could not completely restore functionality to let me read the device, but I managed to learn a few things.” The small alien seemed to be smirking.

“
A device was built by the Ancients composed of several parts. What the device was for is unknown as that part of the manual had become so corrupted it was not legible. The machine element that
was
named was also the part I was seeking - called the ‘Precursor’ in the ancient language. Are you following me?”

Eris nodded her head and Eli sat down. Doctor Xinhao was busy with her lab equipment and was partially paying attention to the story
told by the Arrasian scientist.

“I was able to decipher cryptic parts of the manual, which led me to believe that the Precursor had been moved to the Ekaph system by the Valdren
…naturally I travelled to the mining planet NSP362 and landed. This happened forty-one days ago…” He cleared his throat again and walked to get a cup of water. After taking a few sips he continued.

“On
NSP362, or Furnace as the locals termed it, I found a prevailing sickness amongst many of the miners and station crew.”

“Wait, how did you get past the Alliance? They had
the planet quarantined with vessels blockading the planet…” Eris stated flatly. She watched Gelkar closely to see how he would react.

“Ah, that was easy. Once I knew of the sickness, I told them I was a doctor and offered to help try
to find a cause for the sickness and then produce a cure. Naturally, they accepted my help.”

“You worked for the Alliance?” Eli was baffled.

“No…I offered them my services as a doctor to understand what was going on and seek a cure, they never paid me remuneration for my services – there was no contract involved, thus I was not an employee.” Gelkar seemed agitated and his wings buzzed for a few seconds. “However, they insisted that I be escorted everywhere under their direct supervision. At first this was not a problem…”