This Day All Gods Die Part 45

Morn flexed her sore fingers; rubbed at her aching forearm. She felt strangely naked without her cast, as if she, too, had been released.

Her judgment.

Warden Dios thought she was more important than more important than G.o.d. He'd saved her from the consequences of his own dishonesty by selling her to Nick. Then he'd welded Angus to rescue her. When the crisis of G.o.d. He'd saved her from the consequences of his own dishonesty by selling her to Nick. Then he'd welded Angus to rescue her. When the crisis of Calm Horizons' Calm Horizons' encroachment became too great for him to control, he freed Angus to carry out his designs for him. encroachment became too great for him to control, he freed Angus to carry out his designs for him.

Humankind's future depended on her.

Ciro knew what to do.

The decision was one she could make.

Nevertheless she postponed it for another minute. Studying Angus closely, she asked, "How much of all this is in your databases?"

She meant, How much do you know about what Warden wants?

If the UMCP director kept one promise, he might keep others.

Angus scowled at her delay. "Some of it." He contained his frustration, however. "Resources, mostly. Possibilities. Applications. I don't think even Dios saw this exact disaster coming. He's just good at planning for emergencies.

"But I know how to use it," he avowed. He might have been taking an oath-the same oath Min took when she'd raised her hand as a target. Then he laughed like a burst of thrust distortion. "Maybe that's that's why he picked me. There's n.o.body better." why he picked me. There's n.o.body better."

When she felt sure he'd told the truth, she was ready.

Days ago, in another lifetime, he'd pleaded with her to let him edit his datacore. I made a deal with you I made a deal with you, he'd reminded her. I gave you the zone implant control. You let me live. I gave you the zone implant control. You let me live. Then he'd said, Then he'd said, I kept my end. Whether you kept yours or not I kept my end. Whether you kept yours or not.

As far as she could tell, that was the truth as well.

When I hurt you, I hurt myself.

She knew how to trust him.

"All right." To herself she sounded unnaturally calm; as calm as he was. Somehow she reached past her fears to the answer she needed. If lost Deaner Beckmann's hypothesis was accurate, the sheer gravity of her plight had pulled her to a new kind of clarity. Davies had already agreed to take the risk. "We'll do it your way. As soon as you tell us exactly what you've got in mind. You're playing by new rules. So am I. Maybe we can change the rules of the whole game."

Then she leaned back in her g-seat and let an unfamiliar quiet settle over her heart.

WARDEN.

Warden had plenty of time to think while he waited for Morn to reestablish contact; all the time he needed. More than enough to realize how much he'd staked on her.

G.o.d, he'd gambled everything- everything- Unless or until Hashi found the evidence he hunted, she was the only witness who could support Koina's accusations against Holt Fasner. Without her, anything Koina said depended solely for its credibility on Warden's personal statements-which might be dismissed as self-serving fabrications.

In addition Morn was in command of Punisher. Punisher. She'd reached some kind of accommodation with Min Donner; enlisted Min's fierce integrity to back her up. Now she held the physical force to plunge the whole solar system into battle and ruin if Warden couldn't convince Marc Vestabule to agree to her terms. She'd reached some kind of accommodation with Min Donner; enlisted Min's fierce integrity to back her up. Now she held the physical force to plunge the whole solar system into battle and ruin if Warden couldn't convince Marc Vestabule to agree to her terms.

She and Davies had helped Angus edit his datacore. She'd admitted as much. And she'd known about Viable Dreams Viable Dreams before she made that decision. For some reason he'd told her the most d.a.m.ning thing he could about himself. Yet she'd trusted him. before she made that decision. For some reason he'd told her the most d.a.m.ning thing he could about himself. Yet she'd trusted him.

Warden Dios was directly, personally responsible for much of the abuse and degradation she'd experienced since Starmaster's Starmaster's death. But now he had no choice except to leave the fate of everything he needed and desired in her hands. death. But now he had no choice except to leave the fate of everything he needed and desired in her hands.

He could have killed Angus. Hashi had told him how to do it. Instead, however, he'd elected to risk humankind's future on Morn's judgment.

Angus' death would gain nothing.

On the other hand, setting him free might be worse- The UMCP director had time enough, and more, to consider all these things while he waited to hear from Morn again. Five minutes at least-probably closer to ten. If the small chamber where Vestabule kept him held a chronometer, he couldn't read it. But there wasn't enough time in all creation for him to convince himself that he'd made the right choice.

The best he could say on his own behalf was that he'd committed his loyalty-and surrendered his life-to the two people in human s.p.a.ce who had the greatest right to demand such things from him.

Finally an indicator on the alien console caught Vestabule's attention. With his human hand, he activated incomprehensible controls; and at once Morn's voice entered the room.

"Director Dios, this is Morn Hyland."

The sound was almost frighteningly clean, immediate. Calm Horizons' Calm Horizons' equipment filtered out equipment filtered out Punisher Punisher's thrust distortion with preternatural ease. Morn might have been speaking to him from the far side of the room.

Warden took hold of the edge of the console, pulled himself closer to the pickup.

"This is Warden, Morn." Despite the potential cost of anything he said, he responded firmly. "We need to resolve this now. I can't keep Calm Horizons Calm Horizons waiting any longer." waiting any longer."

"I understand that, Director." Morn's calm was deeper than his: it hinted at depths he couldn't measure. "But our position hasn't changed. Vector and Davies have agreed to surrender themselves. I refuse. And Angus-"

Vestabule hardly moved. Nevertheless his posture conveyed an increased tension; a poised threat.

"Director," Morn went on as if she feared nothing the Amnioni could do, "Angus can't make this kind of choice. When you spoke to him, he collapsed. Whatever you said hit him hard. And since then he's been like a crazy man. If I begged him to do what you want, he wouldn't listen to me. If I held a gun to his head, he would probably laugh at me.

"As I've already told you"-her severity could have drawn blood-"I will not impose the decision you want on anyone. I would rather die fighting. If Angus can't choose to go of his own free will, then he isn't going."

Warden flicked a look at Vestabule's closed face. "Morn-" he began urgently.

She overrode him. "I heard you the last time. The Amnion don't consider that acceptable."

The accusations she might have leveled against him were present in the room; as clear as her voice.

"Director Dios, I'm willing to fight about this"-for a heartbeat or two she paused-"but I would prefer to reach some other agreement. Tell Vestabule he can have Trumpet Trumpet instead of Angus. She's intact. Her drives failed-we had some sabotage-but everything else is undamaged. Datacore, weapons systems, everything." instead of Angus. She's intact. Her drives failed-we had some sabotage-but everything else is undamaged. Datacore, weapons systems, everything."

He can have Trumpet? Trumpet?

Caught by fear and wonder, Warden stared at the console speaker. The place where her words reached him was all he could see of her.

Have Trumpet? Trumpet? Are you serious? Are you serious?

That's brilliant!

Or insane.

She was saying, "Punisher "Punisher doesn't have a shuttle. Vector and Davies will be using the command module. But that's not a problem. The module can piggyback doesn't have a shuttle. Vector and Davies will be using the command module. But that's not a problem. The module can piggyback Trumpet Trumpet at the same time." at the same time."

Crisply she finished, "Tell Vestabule that's our best offer."

Before Warden could reply, Vestabule silenced the pickup. He faced the UMCP director squarely. His human eyelid fluttered with discomfort in the acrid air. Colors which might have indicated distress seethed through his aura.

"It does not suffice," he p.r.o.nounced.

At once Warden cried, "It must!" "It must!" He no longer cared how much desperation he betrayed. The time had come to show it. He no longer cared how much desperation he betrayed. The time had come to show it.

You inhuman b.a.s.t.a.r.d, are you bluffing?

Vestabule shook his head. "You cannot control your cyborg," he stated inflexibly.

Perhaps he meant to accuse Warden of lying. Earlier Warden had said, There are codes I can use that will affect Angus. There are codes I can use that will affect Angus. He'd deliberately misled the Amnioni. Now he had to accept the outcome. He'd deliberately misled the Amnioni. Now he had to accept the outcome.

Nevertheless he protested falsely, urgently, "Something happened when he edited his datacore." Protecting Angus as well as he could. "He made changes I don't know about. They must have corrupted parts of his programming. Are you going to throw away Davies and Vector and millions of lives over that?" that?"

Through his teeth, he countered, "I'm not the one who taught him how to edit a SOD-CMOS chip. You You are." are."

Again Vestabule shook his head. That motion of denial may have been the last remaining vestige of his former ident.i.ty.

"There is human treachery here."

If he knew that, he wasn't bluffing.

Still Warden tried to argue. As if he were breaking under the strain, he croaked, "What do you want from me? You can have Davies. You can have Vector. You can have Trumpet Trumpet, for G.o.d's sake. You've even got me. What more do you think I can do?"

Vestabule didn't use his throat pickup; didn't speak to any other Amnioni. Apparently he felt no need to consult with his kind. He'd been invested with decisiveness.

Slowly he extended his human hand, palm upward, toward Warden. "Give me your suicide capsule."

Your humanity- Quietly, as if he no longer needed it, Warden's heart seemed to stop. He stared at Vestabule for a long moment, trying to guess how much treachery the Amnioni understood.

But Vestabule's features made it clear that he'd come to the end of his capacity for negotiation. He gazed blank, brutal ruin into Warden's face.

When he saw that there was no other way he could save his kind from Holt Fasner and war, Warden jerked up his breathing mask, took Hashi's black capsule out of his mouth, and placed it in the Amnioni's palm.

Vestabule accepted it stolidly. His conflicted features gave no hint of triumph.

For the last time he activated the console pickup. "Tell Morn Hyland that her offer has been accepted. We require that Punisher's Punisher's command module will be detached to convey Davies Hyland, Vector Shaheed, and command module will be detached to convey Davies Hyland, Vector Shaheed, and Trumpet Trumpet here within ten minutes. here within ten minutes.

"If you are wise, you will remind her that the consequences of any false dealing will be extreme."

Warden nodded dully.

He'd seen Vestabule dispose of the "slow" mutagen with which he'd been threatened earlier. Maybe that particular mutagen was in short supply aboard Calm Horizons. Calm Horizons. Maybe there was none left. Maybe there was none left.

The man responsible for humankind's future had nothing else to hope for.

DOLPH.

Six minutes later Captain Dolph Ubikwe sat where he belonged: at the command station on the bridge of the UMCP cruiser Punisher Punisher.

His restoration pleased him.

Everyone else was out of place, however. Only Davies Hyland and Vector Shaheed kept him company. All his duty officers had left the bridge, taking the rest of Trumpet's Trumpet's people with them. They'd pa.s.sed through the aperture to the main body of the ship as the cruiser's command functions were transferred to the auxiliary bridge. Even Min Donner and the woman who'd usurped him, Morn Hyland, were gone. people with them. They'd pa.s.sed through the aperture to the main body of the ship as the cruiser's command functions were transferred to the auxiliary bridge. Even Min Donner and the woman who'd usurped him, Morn Hyland, were gone.

Now servos whined as they closed bulkhead doors to seal the aperture, isolating the module. At the same time the module's separate maintenance systems and power came to life. Between the hulls, relays unclipped instrument and computer leads, shut down atmosphere connectors, disengaged communications channels. When the module's thrust drive had warmed enough to take over from the energy cells, and diagnostics had confirmed her integrity, her s.p.a.ceworthiness, the ma.s.sive clamps which gripped her to the rest of the cruiser would release, and she would drift free.

Then she would begin the short voyage which would deliver her lonely human cargo to the doom of the Amnion.

In a sense, nothing was as it should have been. Calm Horizons' Calm Horizons' guns held Suka Bator, UMCPHQ, and much of the planet hostage. And Director Dios was effectively a hostage as well. Grimly he bartered human beings to satisfy the Amnion. Meanwhile the new PR director, Koina Hannish, had been sent to Earth to level appalling accusations against the organization Captain Ubikwe served-charges which were apparently true. Morn Hyland intended to contact the GCES so that she could add her testimony to the specifications of malfeasance and corruption. guns held Suka Bator, UMCPHQ, and much of the planet hostage. And Director Dios was effectively a hostage as well. Grimly he bartered human beings to satisfy the Amnion. Meanwhile the new PR director, Koina Hannish, had been sent to Earth to level appalling accusations against the organization Captain Ubikwe served-charges which were apparently true. Morn Hyland intended to contact the GCES so that she could add her testimony to the specifications of malfeasance and corruption.

On top of all that, Dolph had nothing except the command module. Ensign Hyland still held the rest of his ship. And the UMCPED director, Min Donner herself, had given her loyalty to Trumpet's Trumpet's people, despite the personal harm they'd done her. people, despite the personal harm they'd done her.

Beyond question the whole situation was an atrocity. Captain Dolph Ubikwe, a good cop, and Punisher's Punisher's rightful commander, should have writhed in chagrin and outrage; seethed with counterplots to recover his place in the moral order to which he'd committed his life. rightful commander, should have writhed in chagrin and outrage; seethed with counterplots to recover his place in the moral order to which he'd committed his life.

Well, he must have lost his mind. All this stress-chasing Trumpet Trumpet and fighting and fighting Calm Horizons Calm Horizons, dodging betrayal, absorbing terrible revelations, losing his ship-must have stripped the gears of his cerebral mechanism. He wasn't upset. h.e.l.l, he wasn't even angry. While he ran his board, prepared the module for detachment, a song seemed to tug at the edges of his heart. From time to time he caught himself whistling through his teeth.

Separation from Punisher Punisher freed him from an essential conflict. He no longer needed to oppose events, or suffer indignities in silence, or watch pa.s.sively while other people played for humankind's future. He was back where he belonged. His insubordinate spirit surveyed a solar system crowded with terrors and treachery, and approved. freed him from an essential conflict. He no longer needed to oppose events, or suffer indignities in silence, or watch pa.s.sively while other people played for humankind's future. He was back where he belonged. His insubordinate spirit surveyed a solar system crowded with terrors and treachery, and approved.

From the simpler, cleaner perspective of the command module, Dolph saw that Min was doing the right thing. By her own standards, so was Morn. The decision which both Vector and Davies had made to surrender themselves showed a kind of courage which left Dolph in awe. And that d.a.m.n cyborg, Angus Thermopyle- Angus was doing the right thing absolutely.

While they'd repaired Trumpet's Trumpet's drives together, Angus had revealed quite a bit about how his mind worked. Apparently he had a talent for desperation, an instinct for extreme solutions, which Dolph couldn't help admiring. When Angus explained how he proposed to rescue Warden, drives together, Angus had revealed quite a bit about how his mind worked. Apparently he had a talent for desperation, an instinct for extreme solutions, which Dolph couldn't help admiring. When Angus explained how he proposed to rescue Warden, Punisher's Punisher's captain had been the first to approve. captain had been the first to approve.

Despite the danger, Dolph Ubikwe was positively delighted to offer that malign, welded rapist and butcher all the support he could.

Now he ran helm, scan, data, and communications-the only functions the module still possessed-from his board alone. He didn't need help. All the other stations had been shut down. The module was no more than a shuttle; almost a cripple. But her commander had no complaint. Small as she was, this vessel was his. Angus had given him that, and he was satisfied.

Perhaps Angus had recognized the piratical nature of Dolph's approach to law enforcement. In a situation like this, the cyborg could trust Dolph completely.

When the last of his diagnostics showed green, Captain Ubikwe looked up at his companions and growled happily, "Christ on a crutch. If my dear, departed mother had known I was going to end up in a mess like this, she would have drowned me at birth. It's a good thing she couldn't see the future. One look at the entrails of a chicken would have sent her off her head. Then they probably would have had to tie her down to keep her from killing my father, too."

Neither Davies nor Vector laughed. They were in too much peril for jokes: if anything went wrong, they would be the first to pay for it. Nevertheless the geneticist mustered up a wry smile. "If I may say so, Captain," he murmured, "your mother must have been a remarkable woman."

"Say what you like," Dolph allowed expansively. "There aren't any rules here. This is about as down-and-dirty as it gets. If you worry too much about being polite, you'll just wear yourself out."

After a moment he asked more seriously, "Do you have everything you need?"

Vector had settled himself into the helm station g-seat. Davies sat at the blank targ board. Both of them had already put on their EVA suits, leaving only the helmets and gloves aside. Vector's expression was calm, but wan; worn by fatigue and the old pain of severe arthritis. He rested as much as possible, husbanding his strength.

For a while earlier Davies had conveyed the impression that he'd been exhausted by the moral strain of making his decision to surrender. But now his features had recovered some of their intensity. His gaze showed better focus: the lines of his face were sharper: he paid more attention. Paradoxically, the change seemed to increase his resemblance to both his parents. He'd inherited Angus' calculation as well as Morn's conviction: he, too, understood extreme solutions.

He didn't answer Dolph's question with words. Instead he picked up his left glove, reached into it, and pulled out one of the weapons Angus had given him. It was a meter of monofilament line weighted at both ends and crusted with fused polysilicate granules as sharp as diamond chips-a tool normally used to saw steel in small s.p.a.ces. Then he opened his belt pouch to reveal a shard of rigid plastic whetted like a dirk. According to Angus, they would escape detection, but anything more useful-especially a gun-would be caught.

Davies returned the coil to his glove, sealed his pouch, and referred Dolph's question to Vector.

Shaheed also carried a dirk; but he didn't appear to consider it important. Instead he held up a vial. "This is the antimutagen Hashi Lebwohl gave Nick," he said slowly. "What's left of it, anyway. We've used more than I thought we would." He shrugged. "We're down to two capsules. They're good for roughly four hours each.

"Davies will get one when we reach Calm Horizons. Calm Horizons. I'll take the other." He cleared his throat. "Just in case Marc Vestabule turns out to be more treacherous than we are." Then he looked squarely at Dolph. "Unfortunately, that doesn't leave any protection for Director Dios. We'll have to hope he can defend himself with his suicide pill." I'll take the other." He cleared his throat. "Just in case Marc Vestabule turns out to be more treacherous than we are." Then he looked squarely at Dolph. "Unfortunately, that doesn't leave any protection for Director Dios. We'll have to hope he can defend himself with his suicide pill."

Dolph frowned. Warden's vulnerability worried him. Ever since he'd heard about the mutagen which had ruled Soar's Soar's captain and damaged Ciro, he'd felt a visceral alarm on Warden's behalf. The bare idea of such a mutagen made his skin crawl. The possibility that Warden might be injected with it- captain and damaged Ciro, he'd felt a visceral alarm on Warden's behalf. The bare idea of such a mutagen made his skin crawl. The possibility that Warden might be injected with it- But Warden's fate was out of Dolph's hands, at least to that extent. He was doing everything he could for the UMCP director by transporting Davies, Vector, and Trumpet Trumpet to to Calm Horizons Calm Horizons.