Chapter 33: Lost and Found
Sellis' men dug up the ground around the Darrex ship, looking for the Focus. I don't know what they thought it would look like--I guess they assumed it'd be something other than dirt, random hull fragments, and skeletons. All the digging, they did by hand. Attempts to scan below the surface failed--interference. No backhoes allowed, couldn't risk destroying the very thing Sellis sought.
I filled Jack in, while we waited. There was a lot of "holy shit!" and "what the fuck?" and "you're making that up!" But he believed me (eventually). The Oolians were still pressing the President to let them quarantine this whole area. Once I told Jack what Sellis said about the Focus, he became even more convinced we couldn't let that happen.
There's no telling what the Oolians might do with power like that. Even if they intended to do good things with it, you can't predict how it would affect us.
I agree completely, Jack. Whoever controls this thing has a lot of leverage. Maybe we can come to an agreement not to use it, or even to destroy it. But Sellis fully intends on using it, and I'm doing my best to stay on his good side until I've got him under control. You just need to stall for me. Keep the Oolians out of here--the Koraxians, too, for that matter.
One other detail I got from Sellis, a bit of blank-filling about the Oolian Cruiser the rebels had me acquire for them: the technology involved, Sellis believed would be incompatible with Koraxian ships. He was probably right, they didn't seem to have standards compliance in mind when they designed those things. But an Oolian ship--those were meant to be universally plug-and-play. But the rebels seemed to give little thought to how the Oolians would react to the theft of their technology and the murder of their personnel.
And when I asked exactly where the ship was: "Somewhere safe. I'll call for it when the time is right."
Fine. When it did show up, I fully intended to kill my "parents," make sure my surviving crew members were okay, then extract my pound of flesh from Sellis for destroying the Protector. I had to stay focused on the Focus. Revenge would come later. I took a deep breath.
Sellis gave me a strange look. "Trying not to hyperventilate? Nervous?"
"Relaxed. We'll find the Focus, everything will be fine. What're you planning to do with the Conviers?"
"You might imagine I am of two minds on that subject. They are enemies of both the Terran Alliance and the Koraxian Empire. By that token, I am obliged to both incarcerate and thank them."
"If this helps you decide: I believe we managed to kill Korath. Lana lost a son and a husband in the process. You could consider letting them go."
"I could, but what would I tell my men? They know quite well who these people are. And what of the Darrex? Legally, they are the property of the Empire. Your government may find use for them as bargaining chips."
"That's assuming any of this is even necessary, once you find the Focus. I mean, we're going to go back and kill Korath or something, right?"
"I have yet to fully formulate my plans. But killing Korath, in any time period, I would say has been the crux of my agenda. More important, dismantling his military machine in favor of a Changer-driven government."
"Put it in terms that make me care, Sellis."
"No Koraxian War? I assure you, my kind are largely pacifistic xenophobes. Like the Pap'rians, only more isolationist."
"So you say. I hope your guys dig up this thing soon, we're going to run out of time."
"Time is about to be the least of our problems, Robert."
"Either way, there's no reason to keep the Conviers here. They did their part. They helped me. Indirectly, they helped you. There's a corvette docked to the top of the destroyer. It might still be in working order. Just put them on it, send them on their way, and I'll be inclined to say we have a good working relationship."
"If that will prove my sincerity to you, so be it."
He got right to work on it, actually. Diverted several men to unshackle Lana and Byron, both of whom exchanged a few words with their guards before coming up to me.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lana snarled.
"Sending you home. I can't give you back your son or your husband, but I can do this."
"Sending me home? To what? Empty beds? You got what you wanted out of this. You left me with nothing."
I sighed. "You still have a daughter, don't you?"
"Don't deflect," Byron snapped. "She's right. We helped you--we saved you--and you cost me a father and a brother. You think you can send us away and wash your hands of it? This is the honor of the Terran Alliance? This is what makes you better than us?"
No, it didn't make me better. What did she want, an apology? I'm sorry the universe is a cruel place. The future is built by those left standing. Some of it's luck. Some of it's skill. Sometimes there's no reason at all. "This is war, Byron. War has casualties. Arcturus and Jeremiah didn't want to die the way they did. But that's what happened. They went toe-to-toe against the single vilest creature I've ever encountered, and lost their lives. We all knew this was the risk, going in. Sometimes, people don't come back. What do you expect me to say about it? That I wish it had been me? Were the result the same, then fine--let it have been me. Can I trade my life for theirs? Can you wash their blood from the scales and replace it with mine? If I ever get the opportunity to make this up to you, I will. If you'd rather hold onto your anger, waste your life being pissed at me, fine. But it won't change anything. You're not the only person who's lost anyone, Byron." I made eye contact with Lana. "Same with you. All I can say is, grief is something you can share. It will help you deal with the pain. You still have each other, and what you've lost may be the only thing you have in common."
Byron didn't seem very impressed. Lana looked a tad calmer, but neither one was pleased with me, you could safely assume. They didn't say anything else. What was left, really? No words would give them back what they'd lost.
Sellis had them escorted to the corvette, along with Theo. Some Navy guys checked it out, shrugged, cleared it for takeoff. The little ship detached from the destroyer and rocketed off into the upper atmosphere.
But I'd meant what I said. I'd find a way to make it up to them. Even if they never knew about it, I'd make sure Jeremiah and Arc hadn't died for nothing. So what if Korath was dead? Could that really be enough? It meant nothing if it failed to stop their war machine, if it did nothing to halt the slaughter of innocents.
And then, one of the diggers struck something. "Over here!"
Oh, we rushed right over. Jack, stand by. We might have something. We bent over a hole about a meter-and-a-half deep, with a flat, metallic bottom. What made this particular bit of metal interesting was that it had a handle.
"Open it!" Sellis ordered the digger.
The man nodded, moved to one side, and yanked the handle. The metal swung up like a hatch, revealing a hole that we couldn't see through, even as twilight approached.
"What do you think?" Sellis asked, eyes on me.
"I think we should dive in, of course."
Chapter 33
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