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Elara, Royal Spaceport
Pulling into Elara's space dock a week later felt almost like coming home. Tessa hadn't expected that. The idea of coming face to face with Sirius still sent a shiver of revulsion through her belly, but the flare of concern she felt for Gaia whenever she looked at the CEC suggested there was more good feeling there than bad.
As she said to Magnus, "I might not trust her, but I don't hate her, and I'm not angry anymore."
"From what you've told me, Sirius isn't directly responsible for what happened on Earth. And he's her brother. Can you really blame her for protecting him?"
"He let it happen, and he lied to me. I don't think the first is forgivable. At least, not to me. As for protecting him... She had a lot of reasons for what she did. I can try to understand that, even if I can't get behind it."
The conversation had ended there, but it gave her a bit to think over. By the time the Oracle docked, Tessa had reconciled the situation enough to leave the ship with Magnus and meet Gaia, and only Gaia, in a nearby receiving area.
The room was a long oval, populated with gel-couches and low tables. The walls held a mixture of artwork and viewscreens tuned to various Simoi planets. One image depicted a water planet, the waves moving ceaselessly under star and moonlight. Tessa watched it, the shoreless oceanscape casting white arabesques in silken ripples across the planet's surface. There was a pattern there, its rhythm captured by the artist with such subtlety that the viewer was mesmerized.
"My husband, Bardan's terra." Gaia stood behind her suddenly, startling Tessa so that she almost dropped the tablet she was holding.
"Your Grace," she said, recovering. "I didn't hear you come in."
"Tessa, we gave up titles long ago," Gaia said. "I didn't travel through the doorway. I thought you might want our meeting to be more... private... than that, so I materialized here, directly from my rooms in the palace."
"Meaning Sirius doesn't know I'm here," Tessa said, guessing.
Gaia inclined her head. "Was I wrong?"
"No, it's better this way. Thank you." Tessa held out the tablet. "The package is from a Tri-Planet Intergalactic. They said you had agreed to look at their product and consider their proposal."
Gaia frowned and called out to her personal DEVA. "Stella2?"
"Your Grace received a liaison working with this group and three other interplanetary consortiums thirty-four days ago. A Ms. Bellarum?" Gaia nodded and Stella2 continued. "This company and the others are offering alternatives to certain materials the Simoi tribes can no longer obtain from the Vladdinians due to the new labor resources boycott you put into place."
"Ah yes. I recall now." The frown eased. "Has Solas been notified?"
"He has. He is meeting with the council now and will pass along your decision to them."
"Very good. He is learning to delegate." She looked at Tessa. "The council has enacted anti-slavery agreements which prohibit the Simoi of all tribes from trading in slave-produced goods."
"The Vladdinians can't have been happy about that," Magnus said.
Tessa snorted. "No, but even they aren't crazy enough to take on the Simoi clans. That's several hundred planets to one. Not good odds, even if you are a warrior culture."
Gaia gave the tablet a cursory glance and reached for the container, but Tessa stopped her.
"Before you open that, you need to know something." She described the encounter with Dahmer and ended with, "We thought you should know before you opened it. That guy was sketchy as hell, and we have no idea what's really in this thing."
"Thank you for the warning." Gaia moved the box into the center of the table. "Stella2?"
Blue light speared down from the ceiling, playing over the CEC like a miniature strobe. "There are no explosives inside, nor anything with a chemical composition that might prove a threat to you or any organic being. There is a high metal content, and a message."
"A message? From whom?" Gaia asked.
"Unknown," Stella2 responded. "It is to be delivered in auditory format rather than written. The packaging is keeping it from playing for me."
"But it isn't a threat?" Tessa asked.
"Not in any way that I can detect using this method," Stella2 replied.
Somehow, the statement didn't offer Tessa the reassurance it should have.
Gaia picked up the tablet and tapped in the access code. "Might as well see what it is, then."
The top of the CEC split down the middle, the two panels sliding back and down into the box. Steam rose from the interior, clouding their view for a moment.
When it cleared, Tessa caught her breath on a gasp. "No. That can't be."
Magnus leaned closer, but Tessa grabbed his arm and propelled him to the door. "Tessa, what the hell? Stop it!"
"Get out, Magnus, you have to–"
The scratch of metal on metal spun her in place, her hands morphing into blasters as she turned. "Gaia, get out of the way!"
"There are no nanocytes, Tessa," Stella2 said. "My scan would have detected them."
Tessa glared at the thing sitting up in its container. A bulbous head perched on a spindly body. The thin arms and legs seemed scarcely capable of movement, let alone support. "Then how is it moving?" she asked.
The robot had been looking up at the ceiling until she spoke, but her words attracted its gaze. The black eyes stared through her like those of a broken doll, blank and empty.
"Our message is for Gaia Komisi, holder of the Black Throne," it rasped. "Are you Gaia Komisi?"
"I am the Queen." Gaia stepped forward, placing herself between Tessa and the android. "Give your message."
"Gaia Komisi, you have been convicted of genocide, of critical sabotage, and of conspiracy to commit mass murder. We, the Human Defense League, have found you guilty and sentence you to death. You will be executed at our earliest opportunity."
The creature fell silent.
"What is that thing?" Magnus pressed against Tessa's hold and she reluctantly moved out of his way.
"It's a reaper," Tessa said. "HiveZ created them to help them kill humans. I thought we'd found and deactivated all of them, but apparently we missed a few."
"The reapers each had a tiny host of non-replicating nanocytes. That is how HiveZ directed them," Stella2 said. "This one has none. Which means either HiveZ withdrew them before abandoning this reaper, or someone cleansed and reprogrammed it."
"Withdrawing the nanocytes doesn't change their programming," Tessa said. "They're prime directive was to murder humans, and we have no evidence that has changed. Magnus, you need to get out of here."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "If that's true, you're just as much at risk as I am, and I'm not leaving."
"Identify yourself," Stella2 ordered the creature.
It turned its gaze upward again, seeking the speaker. "I am Reaper511. I have fulfilled my primary purpose and will now rest." Its misshapen chin settled onto the concave chest, the black eyes closing.
"How many others are out there?" Tessa whispered the question, unsure whether she really wanted the answer or not.
"I'll give this one to Sirius and see if he can access its memory data." Gaia stared at the reaper as if hypnotized.
"Are there other humans on Elara right now?" Tessa asked.
"A few. Diplomats and their entourages, mostly." Gaia studied her carefully. "You think it might be a danger to them?"
"I think it would be safer to bring Hermie in." Tessa tapped her mindlink and sent a quick message. "He can scan them as well as Sirius without exposing others to it."
"Who is Hermie?" Gaia asked.
"He's a converted reaper I captured during the battle for Solara." Finishing the transmission, Tessa turned to the others. "He's on its way. If there are any memories left, Hermie will find them."
"If he can do that," Gaia said. "It will make our job a good deal easier."
"What will you do now?" Tessa asked.
Gaia blinked rapidly. "Do? I should think that was obvious. I'll use whatever information Hermie can give us to–"
"Forgive me, Your Grace," Magnus said. "But the HDL has just declared themselves your judge, jury and executioner. And it doesn't sound like they're going to sit around waiting for you to track them down."
"He's right," Tessa said. "They've made their intentions clear, and though I think tracking them down is a smart move, you can't leave yourself exposed while that's happening."
"Excuse me, Your Grace. But the Venture just docked. Captain Demyanov says she has a delivery for you?"
"Two in one day? For me personally?"
"There is no such thing as coincidence, Gaia," Tessa said. "Have them torch it."
Grim amusement lit Gaia's eyes. "And if it is a legitimate diplomatic message? Tessa, I receive official packages and correspondence nearly every day."
"Val and Alex were needed on a different mission. That's why I took this delivery instead of them. Now they're here, with a delivery meant expressly for you," Tessa said. "That doesn't sound odd to you?"
"I trust Val. She wouldn't bring me anything that would hurt me," Gaia replied.
"Neither would I. And yet, here we are. Aren't you even a little concerned?"
"Of course," Gaia said mildly. "But the truth is, it isn't anything I haven't dealt with my entire reign. Monarchs make a lot of enemies; those who don't aren't doing their job correctly. Threats aren't all that unusual, though they seldom come via outside courier."
"All the more reason–"
Gaia raised a hand, cutting Tessa off. "Stella2? Send Val to me with the package. Have tech and bio-hazard teams standing by."
