This Day All Gods Die Part 44

Dolph may have wanted to argue with her, but his own pain stopped him. His dark face closed around the thought that he, too, had been compromised.

Morn held Angus' gaze. "Why am I going to do all that?" she asked him bitterly. "Captain Ubikwe has a good point. Why am I going to trust you that much?"

Even though she'd set him free from his priority-codes, repeatedly staked her life on him, she still didn't know what to believe about him.

Angus let out a burst of grotesque laughter.

"Because I was programmed to keep you alive." Acid mirth left his voice raw. "I wasn't supposed to be. Hashi Lebwohl told everybody my instruction-sets were written to prevent that. You were supposed to die. But at the last minute Dios gave me a new datacore. Right before I left UMCPHQ. He sent me to Billingate to get you away from Succorso. That may have been the only reason. Blowing up the installation was just an excuse.

"He let Succorso have you in the first place to protect you from Fasner. So Fasner couldn't suppress suppress you. As far as Warden Almighty Dios is concerned, you're more important than you. As far as Warden Almighty Dios is concerned, you're more important than G.o.d." G.o.d."

Her mouth sagged open. Standing behind Angus, Davies gaped like her twin. He must not have guessed-it had never occurred to her-that Warden might have had a good reason for selling her to Nick.

But Angus wasn't done. Without a pause he raised his face to the ceiling, stretched out his arms. Standing rigid, as if he were remembering a crucifixion, he shouted, "And you're going to trust me because I'm free!" because I'm free!"

The sheer intensity of his cry shocked the bridge like a static charge. In an instant it seemed to transport Morn into the heart of the gulf; drop her down the long wall of a chasm. She knew at once that he meant a freedom far greater than any mere relief from the compulsion of his priority-codes.

Free to rape and kill; demean; betray.

While she fell, he whirled toward Min Donner.

"You made a deal." His voice sank to a malign whisper. "Morn is in command. And you keep telling us how you believe in Warden Dios. You talk about 'rest.i.tution.' Show me you mean it.

"Hold up your hand."

Min faced him like the muzzle of a gun. Mounting violence beat in her temples; in the veins of her neck. She must have recognized the threat of Angus' demand. Nevertheless her commitments required her to accept it. Slowly she lifted her right hand, the palm open and outward, as if she meant to take an oath.

"Min," Dolph cautioned her tensely, "I don't like this."

Morn tried to say Angus' name, urge him to stop. But an obstruction in her chest blocked her voice. She continued falling; plunging into the depths of an immeasurable realization.

Because I'm free!

Warden had- Before anyone could react, Angus aimed one fist at the ED director. A thin streak of crimson fire shot out from between his knuckles. Instantly his laser burned a hole through the center of Min's hand.

Morn gaped at the wound as if she'd struck the bottom of the abyss. Betray- Angus had turned against them.

Warden had turned him against them?

No, this wasn't the bottom: she had farther to fall.

Across the bridge, shouts of dismay and anger rang off the bulkheads. Too late, Davies hauled Min's pistol out of his pocket; charged at Angus. Frantically he jammed the handgun at the side of Angus' head. "You sonofab.i.t.c.h!" he yelped. "What do you think you're doing?"

Roaring, Captain Ubikwe hurled his bulk at Angus. Glessen and Sergei Patrice were already halfway to the command station.

Min froze them with a raw shout: "Stay where you are!" "Stay where you are!"

Dolph stumbled to a halt a stride away from Angus. His boots skidding, Patrice stopped. Glessen waved his fists, driven by fury; but Min's authority held him back.

Terrible self-coercion intensified her features. Her cheeks and forehead seemed to burn, set afire by the heat of their underlying bones. Murder and restraint wailed against each other in her eyes.

"Don't you understand?" she rasped at Dolph; at Glessen and Patrice. Her pain echoed as if she were screaming. "We don't have time for this."

Angus lowered his fist. "Oh, put that thing away," he sneered at Davies. Cruel humor twisted his face. "You're too scared to think. Deciding to let the Amnion have you has turned you stupid. She'll heal. h.e.l.l, laser burns are self-cauterizing. She didn't even bleed. bleed. And I made a point of not hitting bone." And I made a point of not hitting bone."

Involuntarily Davies lowered the gun. He didn't know how to meet Angus' scorn.

Not hitting bone?

Angus was a cyborg: maybe he could be that accurate.

If this wasn't a betrayal, what was it?

Trembling, Min stalked over to the command station; displayed her burned hand in front of Morn. She'd been called Warden Dios' "executioner." Her arm shook with the force of blows she chose not to strike.

Transfixed, Morn stared at the wound. From Min's palm she caught a faint whiff of roasted meat.

Even this hurt, this indignity, the ED director tried to endure in the name of her beliefs.

"Just so you'll know," she snarled like the cut of a drill, "I also have orders to keep you alive. They're practically the only orders Warden gave me. He sent me aboard this ship to make sure you survive.

"If you decided to surrender yourself to Calm Horizons Calm Horizons, I would have to stop you."

For a moment she fixed a killing glare on Angus, She didn't speak: at first she kept her fury to herself. But then her damaged fist flashed out like lightning; struck him high on the cheek. Despite her burned flesh, she hit him so hard his head rocked sideways.

He responded instantly. His return blow reached halfway to her head before she could react-before Morn even saw him move- -carried that far and stopped. A forearm's length from Min's face, his fist paused, then withdrew. He lowered his arms. A red welt swelled on his cheek.

Grinning like a beast, he remarked, "I guess that's fair."

Deliberately he pushed his hands into the pockets of his shipsuit.

Poised on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet, Min studied him as if he confused her. Dark speculation thronged in her gaze. Then she seemed to see something she recognized in him. She nodded once, harshly, and turned away.

"Warden must want you alive for a reason," she told Morn. A stifled clamor frayed her voice. "I sure as h.e.l.l hope it's a good one."

She might have been shouting, Make up your mind! mind!

Stiffly she went back to the communications station.

Morn opened her mouth and found herself gasping. Her heart jolted as if she'd been struck, not Angus; as if the blow Min delivered and the one he repressed had both been aimed at her.

For a reason- With a flash of laser fire and an instant of restraint, Angus had made the terms of her dilemma clear. He'd demonstrated his freedom-and his self-control.

In some way Warden had let him go. She was so precious to Warden that he'd released Angus altogether.

And now Min challenged her to make the choices she'd been given. Trust Warden. Trust what he'd done to Angus. Set aside her fears and her shame; her visceral revulsion.

Or reject- There: that was the bottom; the final question. Earlier Min had talked about "rest.i.tution." She believed Warden wanted to end Holt Fasner's power over human s.p.a.ce-and humankind's future. She'd said, He's going after Fasner. He's trying to bring the Dragon down. He's going after Fasner. He's trying to bring the Dragon down. That was rest.i.tution of a kind. And submitting himself to That was rest.i.tution of a kind. And submitting himself to Calm Horizons Calm Horizons was another. By that means he'd preserved his authority over-and his responsibility for-the UMCP: he'd created the conditions under which Min could lawfully refuse Fasner's commands. was another. By that means he'd preserved his authority over-and his responsibility for-the UMCP: he'd created the conditions under which Min could lawfully refuse Fasner's commands.

And now- Because I'm free!

Was that yet another form of rest.i.tution?

Warden had freed Angus because she'd already done so. Before he caused Angus' collapse, he'd said, You know him better than I do, Morn. I'll trust your judgment You know him better than I do, Morn. I'll trust your judgment.

Her judgment? Hers? Hers?

Here was the floor of the chasm. Humankind's future, as well as millions of lives, depended on her judgment. judgment. And self-destruct was the only answer she'd ever truly understood. And self-destruct was the only answer she'd ever truly understood.

It's got to stop.

"Glessen," Dolph ordered distantly, "get a first-aid kit for Director Donner." Impotent pa.s.sion seemed to drive him deep into himself, where he couldn't be reached. "Help her take care of that hand. I doubt she'll agree to go to sickbay."

"Aye, Captain," the targ officer answered through his teeth. Cursing under his breath, he moved to obey.

"You can sit down, Sergei," Dolph went on. "Director Donner will let us know when she wants us to do something for her."

Without a word Patrice did as he was told.

Morn inhaled with a shudder. A pa.s.sion of her own gathered in her. I need a better answer. I need a better answer. She felt it mount behind her eyes; flush like fever across her cheeks; burn in her wounded arm. For a terrible moment she seemed to understand everything-and she hated it all. Too many people had asked too much of her; cost her too much. She felt it mount behind her eyes; flush like fever across her cheeks; burn in her wounded arm. For a terrible moment she seemed to understand everything-and she hated it all. Too many people had asked too much of her; cost her too much.

Her time had come.

"Angus, listen to me." Her voice ripped at him. "Listen good, because I've had all of you I can stand."

In time to the labor of her heart, she struck the edge of the command board with her cast, sending small shards of hurt like splintered gla.s.s along her arm.

"That's Min Donner Min Donner you shot. She's been honest with us ever since we came aboard. She's told us the truth. She's kept her word. She's left me in command, even though she knows why that's wrong as well as you do. you shot. She's been honest with us ever since we came aboard. She's told us the truth. She's kept her word. She's left me in command, even though she knows why that's wrong as well as you do. You You are a butcher and a rapist, and you are a butcher and a rapist, and you sell people to the Amnion! sell people to the Amnion! I will not I will not tolerate tolerate any more damage from you! any more damage from you!

"Is that clear?"

With all her strength she hit the board hard enough to shatter her cast.

An instant of pain stopped her. At first she couldn't tell whether the partly healed bones of her arm held. She didn't care. Peeling away broken pieces of acrylic with her good hand, she flung them one at a time at Angus' face: accusations with ragged edges; raw demands; threats. But when her arm came free from the remains of the cast, she found that she could flex her fingers and elbow without too much discomfort.

Angus didn't flinch as the light fragments struck him; made no effort to avoid them. If he blinked to protect his eyes, she didn't see it. Instead of reacting, he faced her like a man who no longer knew anything about fear. Or maybe his fears had become so profound that they made him sure. He waited until she was done before he let himself rub a hand across his stung cheeks and forehead.

"I didn't hit her," he murmured thickly. "Don't you get it? I could have broken her skull."

He might have been echoing an earlier appeal. I could I could have stopped you. But I didn't. Because I made a deal with you have stopped you. But I didn't. Because I made a deal with you.

"Yes, I get it!" she flamed at him, fierce as impact fire. "I get get it, G.o.d d.a.m.n you. Warden removed the restrictions. Now you can hurt UMCP personnel. You can hurt anybody you want. But you haven't answered any of my questions. it, G.o.d d.a.m.n you. Warden removed the restrictions. Now you can hurt UMCP personnel. You can hurt anybody you want. But you haven't answered any of my questions.

"I'm sick sick of it. You're going to start of it. You're going to start now. now. Or I'll tell Davies to shoot you where you stand!" Or I'll tell Davies to shoot you where you stand!"

Davies may not have understood her; but he didn't hesitate. He moved quickly away from Angus-out of Angus' range-and raised his gun at his father. Like her, his eyes were shouts of panic and determination.

Still Angus faced her without faltering. The muscles at the corners of his jaw bunched and loosened.

"We're going to rescue Dios," he told her. "I said I know how. Isn't that what you want?"

He shocked her out of her fury. Despite the glimpses of clarity he'd given her, she hadn't grasped the full truth about him; hadn't gone far enough to guess the changes implied by his new power to harm-and to withhold.

"Did you think Dios was playing playing when he talked to me?" he asked her stricken face. "Knocking me down just to show he could do it? You know better than that. You know when he talked to me?" he asked her stricken face. "Knocking me down just to show he could do it? You know better than that. You know him him better-He has codes he never told me about. Commands I can't block. And he untied me." better-He has codes he never told me about. Commands I can't block. And he untied me."

A note of exultation began to beat in Angus' rough voice.

"When he said 'apotheosis,' every d.a.m.n database in my computer came on-line. Most of that stuff is there for emergencies. I couldn't access it unless my programming decided I need it. But now I have it all.

"I know everything there is to know about this ship." He indicated Punisher Punisher with a jerk of his head. "I know everything DA ever heard about Amnion equipment, weaponry, capabilities. s.h.i.t, I even know why I was designed this way." with a jerk of his head. "I know everything DA ever heard about Amnion equipment, weaponry, capabilities. s.h.i.t, I even know why I was designed this way."

By degrees Davies' grip on the pistol loosened. His hand sank, pushed down by the weight of Angus' words. Like Morn, he stared as if he'd been rendered helpless.

Min waited, silent and motionless, while Glessen slathered tissue plasm onto her hand, covered her wound with a bandage. Bloodshed filled her eyes; but she did nothing to interfere.

Everyone else on the bridge listened like cold death.

Angus leaned his eagerness closer to Morn.

"But that wasn't all. By itself it wouldn't do me any good. When he said 'vasectomy,' he shifted my core programming. Erased the command that protects UMCP personnel. I shot Min Donner in the hand. You saw me. I could shoot her in the head head, if I felt like it. If she quit being honest."

Without warning he wheeled away from Morn and yelled savagely, "I could go around this bridge and cut every one of you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds in half!"

But I didn't.

An instant later an unnatural calm settled over him. He must have triggered his zone implants. Whether it happened voluntarily or involuntarily didn't make any difference.

He faced Morn again.

"That's why you're going to trust me," he informed her. "Because Dios could have forced me to do what he wants. I'm sure there's a self-destruct code he could use. Or he could have given it to you. But he didn't. Instead of putting a gun to my head, he let me go.

"Before he sent me to Billingate, he told me it's got to stop. Crimes like welding me." Reflexive anger darkened his gaze. "Making me into a machine. Or suppressing that antimutagen. He said they've got to stop.

"Well, he stopped one of them. He kept that that promise. promise.

"Once I get him off that f.u.c.king warship, I'm going to ask him why he picked us to stop the rest of his crimes for him." At last Angus allowed himself a trace of sarcasm. "If I don't like the answer, I'll probably kill him."

Still no one spoke. Davies and everyone else waited like Min for Morn's response.

Kept that that promise promise.

Smiling across the bridge, Ciro announced, "I know what to do. He told me all about it."

The look in Mikka's eyes as she watched Morn was bleak and beyond hope; desolate as a derelict.

Because she'd lived so long with self-destruct, Morn recognized that in his own mind Ciro was already dead. There was nothing she-or Mikka-could do to save him.

Angus seemed to press himself against the edge of the command board. "I'll tell you anything you want to know." Despite his eagerness for freedom, he did his best to persuade her. "But you don't need that. You just need to accept it. Stop suffering over what Dios wants, or Fasner, or Vestabule. You know what you came here to do. So get started. Leave the rest to me."