2


No one spoke. No one moved. No one wanted to drag Doctor Jaxon Ayers into an interrogation room right now and squeeze him for information more than I did. Ventilation and other sounds I normally ignored roared in my ears as adrenaline flooded my system. Even X-37 was at a loss for words.
“You built your own aliens?” I asked.
Ayers must have sensed my mood, because his grin vanished. “What are you afraid of, Reaper? That they might be better than us? Are you worried humans aren’t meant to rule the galaxy? Maybe they even have a replacement for someone with your unique skills.”
“We need to put him someplace secure, or increase the guards of this section,” Elise said.
“Agreed,” I said. “X, call the on duty medical supervisor and get us cleared to move him.”
“Right away, Reaper Cain.”
Moments later, Doctor Samantha Xeres marched into the room. She froze me with her gaze. Behind her came an army of nurses, orderlies, and two guards.
“Good evening, Doctor,” I said.
“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.
I held up both hands. “It’s not what it looks like. I’ll respect your decision, but I also need to put him in the brig for security reasons.”
Rejon and a squad of his soldiers arrived in the hallway. “AI Mavis alerted us there may be a problem. Can we be of assistance?”
Xeres looked at Rejon and his men, then crossed her arms as she stepped toward me. “What security reason?”
“We may have located some illegal research Ayers was trying to hide,” I said. “The entire ship could be in danger.”
“Everything is a danger to the ship for you security types. I’d hoped this would be better than working for that tyrant Nebs,” Xeres said, motioning for her assistant to check Ayers and the man’s medical wrist monitor. “But I will admit that Ayers has basically recovered from his incident. If you will please wait in the hallway, we will prepare him for a transfer to the brig. The medical monitor must stay here, so we need to be sure he’s eligible to be released.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I said.
She stepped close. “I know what the man was into, but he is still a patient. I don’t have to like him to care for him.”
“What do you know about what he was into?” I asked, voice low enough that it was just me, her, and X-37 in the conversation.
Xeres didn’t hide her annoyance. “I don’t know the details. Several of his volunteers had to be admitted to the emergency room after his experiments.”
“Where are they now?” I wanted to hear her answer, even though I had a good idea what it would be.
Her expression hardened. She held my gaze like I wasn’t a Reaper but someone she was ready to battle. “They died of heart attacks, which I assumed was something he did.” She nodded at Ayers. “Now I know whatever is happening is even worse.”
“Would you be willing to share medical histories of the patients?” I knew what her answer would be.
“Why did you even ask that question, Reaper Cain?” X-37 asked.
I ignored my LAI and Xeres couldn’t hear the question.
“You know I can’t do that,” Xeres said. “But I can discharge this patient. He will need checkups. Also, Reaper, you and your people should be ready to submit to a complete medical examination. You can’t avoid my staff forever.”
“No problem,” I said. “X, mark that on my agenda.”
“Already done, Reaper Cain.”
“It must be nice to have an LAI,” Doctor Xeres said.
“You’re not convinced the recent deaths are because of Nebs,” I said.
“An astute observation, Reaper,” she said. “I’ll need to watch what I say around you. Please remember that every life on this ship, and in this fleet, matters to our long-term survival.”
* * *
X-37 located Bug and explained I wanted him to start spying on Ayers as soon as he could hack into the security cameras. Two guards, one Union turncoat who knew his way around the ship, and one Xad soldier led the way to the brig.
“Do you gentlemen have names?” I asked.
“I am Corporal Orson Day, formerly of the Union.”
“Soldier, First Class Amon Ben of Xad.”
“Path and Elise, you’re with them. The rest of Rejon’s soldiers can be our rear guard in case Ayers has confederates waiting to liberate him when we move.”
“None of that is necessary,” Ayers insisted. “Where would I find confederates among these dredges?”
“Be quiet, Ayers,” Henshaw said. “Security isn’t my specialty but I’m with the Reaper on this.”
I leaned close enough to Henshaw to lift a cigar and a lighter from his jumpsuit pocket. “Keep your eyes open. Watch the doctor. Tell me if you think he’s up to something.”
Henshaw stood a little straighter. “Certainly, Reaper.”
“You are being ridiculous,” Ayers said. “Not even Nebs treated me like this. I’m not a prisoner.”
“You are a prisoner, Doc. Get used to it,” I said. “Give me a second, then we’re moving.”
Rejon took me by the arm. “You have my soldiers for as long as you need them, but I want to visit some of my people while I’m here. Some will never recover from the battle to take this ship.”
“Thanks, Rejon. I wish it had been easier,” I said.
“It is what it must be,” he said. “Please keep me informed. I do not trust Doctor Ayers.”
We moved out, creating more of a spectacle than I had planned. Prisoner transfers weren’t something I had prepared my team to handle. This was on-the-job training but at least we had Xad soldiers for support.
Crew men and women—polite and serious, as most Xad workers were—gave us room as we moved from one hallway to the next.
I’d come a long way since Dreadmax. Now I had a prisoner.
“This is for your safety as much as ours,” I said.
Ayers didn’t agree. “I see what is happening. You’re angry about the cryo-pods. That wasn’t my decision. I didn’t even put them there. Technicians did that, and all I did…”
“What’s the matter, Doc, Reaper got your tongue?” I asked. “What did you do that the technicians couldn’t—set the codes that keep them as frozen prisoners?”
Ayers looked at his feet as he walked. “Nebs forced me to do it.”
“Don’t lie. I bet there wasn’t that much coercion. He promised to fund your research, and you did whatever he asked. What do you think the penalty should be for a man who froze a Reaper’s family? Rule one, don’t mess with a man’s mother. Rule two, don’t go near his little sister.”
“She is a very capable adult,” he said.
“Still my little sister,” I said, genuine anger heating my words.
“That is just like an ignorant trigger man to oversimplify a complex set of circumstances.” His expression was resentful, but it also concealed something. “You’re just a killer with no thoughts for building a better future.”
“Is that what you’re doing?” I asked, doubting altruism was a primary motivator for Ayers.
“Humans must embrace other sentient forces in the universe,” he argued.
“What if we’re alone?” I asked, knowing my question would goad him into talking. Hopefully, it wouldn’t give him another heart attack.
“I have nothing to prove to you,” Ayers countered. “You will accept the truth or you won’t. Either way, people like you are irrelevant to the future of humanity.”
“We’ll see,” I said, watching him.
He quit talking. Every instinct warned me this conversation wasn’t over.
No one accustomed to playing high level Union politics and intrigue gave up this easily. He was planning something—an escape, sabotage, or a direct attack.
“You’re a smart man, Ayers,” I said, unleashing a cigar from my pocket and firing it up with a minimum of extra movements. Sleight of hand could be practiced a hundred different ways, and this was one of my favorites—invisible movements ending in a flourish of smoky goodness.
“The smartest you’ll ever meet,” Doctor Ayers responded.
“Can you believe this guy, X?” I asked.
“His arrogance is unmatched. He does not seem to fear pain or death,” X-37 said. “My analysis suggests this will cause a problem with your future interrogation efforts.”
“It’s so quaint when the over muscled killer has to ask his LAI for help,” Ayers said. “It’s a definite limitation of humans.”
Instead of responding to his jab, I took a long pull from my cigar, breathing in the smoke and relaxing as the nicotine hit my system.
The man was fearless, despite his propensity for fidgeting and backing away when I got angry. It was hard to blame him for that; it was about the smartest thing he’d done since we met.
Some of his behaviors made him look unsure, frightened, or ruled by nervous energy. I saw through his act. X-37 had explained that some of the man’s eccentricities might be the result of neurological trauma he’d experienced over the years. I just thought he was a sneaky, double-dealing bastard.
We reached the brig and passed through security, double checking Ayers for concealed weapons or other hidden devices before locking him in a cell. I instructed the detention supervisor to monitor Ayers and be aware he had just come from the medical bay.
Bug whispered in my ear. “I’ve got eyes on this weird old man. How long do I have to watch him?”
“Indefinitely,” X-37 answered for me. “You do not need to whisper. No one can hear you but Reaper Cain.”
“And you, right? Don’t sell yourself short, X. You’re pretty awesome,” Bug said, too loudly this time.
“Thank you, Bug. That is a nice thing to say, if totally unnecessary,” X-37 responded.
I gave my LAI a hand signal to shut down the conversation for now.
The rest of our escort returned to their regular duties. I noticed that each Union turncoat had a Xad partner—Corporal Orson Day and Soldier, First Class, Amon Ben being an example. It was a simple first step to integration that might work—or go horribly wrong, depending on the various levels of culture shock they were experiencing.
“What now?” Elise asked.
“We let him sit for a while while we compare notes,” I said. “Let’s hit the gym and grab some food.”
* * *
X-37 and I had a private conversation while Elise and Henshaw were reviewing security footage in the next room. I could see them through the monitor and guessed they would be a few moments.
“The man is a hot mess,” I said. “Ideally, I would have a lot more background information to go on before we began. I think he’s a typical scientist, a one trick con artist only concerned about his research. Those types are easy to intimidate but I’m never sure if he’s scared of me or just playing a role.”
“I believe many of his behavioral inconsistencies are products of his experimentation. The man, much like James Henshaw, has served as his own test subject more than once,” X-37 said.
“You think he’s like Henshaw?” The thought had occurred to me more than once. Both men had worked for Vice Admiral Nebs and both had conducted plenty of illegal research.
“Not precisely, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “My recommendation is to base your evaluation of Doctor Ayers on direct evidence only.”
“Noted.” It had taken me a long time to trust Henshaw. “I doubt I will ever trust Ayers.”
X-37 continued the analysis. “There is plenty of direct evidence that he helped imprison your mother and sister, and that he believes he can bring back an alien race we know nothing about. There is no evidence that he understands human psychology, sociology, or politics as much as he thinks he does. For Doctor Ayers, the only worthwhile goal is resurrecting a lost, intergalactic civilization.”
“Maybe we should force him to watch some alien invasion holos or read some of that pulp fiction Tom devours between technical manuals,” I said. “Then maybe he would stop and think about how wrong his experiments could go.”
I took a moment to clear my head before entering the cell. “I want you to watch and listen, maybe take notes. If you have a question or observation that is important, have X-37 relay it to me.”
Elise and Henshaw nodded, then went to the observation room. When I stepped inside the cell, Doctor Ayers was ready for me.
He maintained a perfect jumpsuit, the remnants of a uniform from when he had been in Nebs’s good graces. His hair was neat, his fingernails trimmed, and his posture schoolboy perfect.
But his eyes looked too many places, and he often seemed to stare at something far in the distance. Even when he was talking to somebody as dangerous as me.
He was skilled at this game, resisting interrogation. I removed a stogie from my jacket and took my time nursing it to life. The room was dimly lit except for a circle of harsh light around the two of us. Nebs had kept all the cells prepped for interrogation. The environment almost made me uneasy, and I was definitely a person most rational people feared.
Exhaling smoke, I leaned back. I wasn’t trying to breathe it in his face. That was cliché, an amateur tactic better left in holo vids. I wasn’t trying to intimidate him, or gag him, or whatever.
There were a lot more tools in my toolbox than that.
“It’s been a long time since I was with the Reaper Corps,” I said.
He nodded, focused on me now and listening intently. I wasn’t sure if it was something I said, or just the distracted thought process for a man thinking such big, crazy thoughts.
Either way, we were almost talking like normal people. “You are going to awaken my mother and sister, ensure their safety, and help me protect the people of this fleet,” I said.
“That is acceptable and necessary,” he answered. “I appreciate the fact that you have not threatened me this time. As long as I can pursue my research, I will do anything you ask.”
“I need you to be a little more specific on what that research is about,” I said. Every time we broached the subject, my gut tightened, and I felt a sense of dread.
“The universe is large,” he said. “Humans are not the only sentient life that exists. In this galaxy—or the next—there are wonders you can’t imagine.”
“Show me some evidence,” I said.
The smile he gave me was unnerving. “We’ve been through this before. And I’m sure your limited artificial intelligence has briefed you on all the applicable theories regarding sentient, nonhuman life-forms that must exist.”
“Yeah, I’ve been reading all the conspiracy theories from crazy people like you,” I said.
This didn’t offend him. He smiled and nodded as though he expected my reaction.
“I will never trust you, Ayers,” I said.
“That is not a commodity I require. If I need you to believe in something, I will prove its existence,” he said.
“When?”
He held my gaze. “Soon.”