Author's Preface
If you know Humans, you probably know them as the the upbeat, friendly, occasionally awkward people who can't help but try to make your life easier.
Keep it at that.
Never look too deep into the hidden corners of their souls. Never dive too deep into their history.
Where they bring light, it's the brightest light.
Where they bring darkness, you will forget there was ever a light.
— Author unknown. Date unknown.
The Sleipnir had become warmer. Not that Gerber cared. His blood was still boiling.
They almost had them. If Drake hadn't pulled everyone back, they would have caught the head of the Oligarchy right then and there, a year ago, and nothing of the last week would have happened.
"Eleri, how long?"
"We're entering Mercury's orbit in five minutes. Are you sure you wanna do this?"
Opposite him sat Karrn with his dog, Mandy. The dog had begun to pant, partly because of the rising temperature, partly because of excitement due to the unexpected travel.
"Yes, stop asking."
Back at the Embassy complex, André had noticed that Mandy, Karrn's dog, looked a lot like Gladys, FuckItImOut's spawn creature friend. Maybe Gladys had seen Mandy or a member of her race somewhere. It didn't matter, he was gonna use this fact.
Karrn sat there, petting his dog. He hadn't said a word since Gerber had told him about his plan, or their destination, Purgatory.
"Karrn, you're silent. What are you thinking?"
The depth of Karrn's voice always surprised Gerber after not hearing it for a while.
"I'm rethinking what I know about Humans. For example, why you build a prison in this place, or why no one's allowed to know about it. I'm thinking what else I don't know about your species."
"You're judging us."
Karrn moved his head to one side, his ears lowered a bit.
"No… maybe… André, what you did surprised me, what you're about to do shocks me, to be honest. And this whole installation. What do you call it? A black site. Your agency makes people disappear there."
André didn't have time for moral hairsplitting.
"It's a necessary evil. Some people…"
How could he explain how dangerous some Humans could become?
"Some people, some Humans, are so dangerous you can't lock them up in ordinary prisons. For some people, an ordinary prison is just another chance to do evil."
The brown eyes of his Shraphen friend stared at him, as the Sleipnir turned hard, the orbital insertion burn.
"And who, André, decides who gets locked up here? Without a process, without anyone knowing they're locked up here. Without the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones? Hmm."
"The AIN, some Senators. The council… I don't care."
"You'd better care. One day they might decide you need locking up. Maybe one day soon, if you follow your path."
"You're exaggerating."
"It was a Human philosopher who once said, 'The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.'"
Gerber nodded.
"Dostoevsky. How do you know it?"
"You do remember I spent a lot of time in your Library of Alexandria. So, what does this prison here, Purgatory, tell me about Humanity?"
The transporter landed in a subterranean hangar.
Gerber stood up, watching the massive hangar doors close. He could feel it getting colder as the shadow of the doors crossed the Sleipnir.
"I don't know. That monsters are real, and that we don't know how to deal with them?"
Karrn stayed seated.
"I'll wait here until you finish your business. Or until you know an answer to my question. Don't you dare harm Mandy."
"Never would, trust me."
"It is telling that I can trust you with my dog more than with a prisoner, another Human. Tell me, André, what does that say about you?"
The door opened to the hangar as Gerber turned around, holding Mandy in his arms because of the hot floor plating.
"That I fucking hate criminals and conspirators who attempt to kill me."
Stepping down the stairs, Gerber tried to push away Karrn's accusations. The fact that Karrn had voiced what he himself believed in his heart was right hurt a bit. Why didn't Karrn see how different this situation was?
Why didn't he understand that sometimes, sometimes you have to break your rules in order to defend what's important to you?
That some people, some organizations were simply too dangerous, or too corruptive, to be dealt with by laws that were never made to govern them.
How can you deal with people who drown normal legislation with lawsuits, lawyers and papers until the system chokes? People who treat any fine just as a cost of doing business. People so rich they not only think they are above the law, but factually are.
Sometimes they need a bullet, and sometimes, they need Purgatory…
—————
The irony of entering the solar system only to turn around and fly back out an hour later wasn't lost on Admiral Sanders.
You lost your touch, Cassidy. You should have pieced it together faster.
But blaming herself didn't help now.
"Admiral, we're closing in on the Node's position."
Commander Löwe's report ripped her out of her thoughts.
The screen showed the Node. The installation wasn't large, barely 50 meters long and sleek. Only at the center was a slight thickening for the small control hub and the Sleipnir dock.
The hope that the saboteur was still on the installation had been crushed. The dock was free.
The final tally of her crew was back. The only members missing were an engineer called Tech Huston, and a Marine officer, Lieutenant Chedwick. It stood to reason that one of them, or both, were the saboteur.
On their way back out of the system, Sanders had studied their personal files.
Tech Ellis Huston, born in New York, Tech 3rd Grade, and placed on Niobe by the Navy Corps of Engineers while the ship was in refit at Burrow.
Arrived at Burrow with Admiral Russo's relief fleet.
Lieutenant Robert Chedwick, born in the British New Commonwealth, also arrived with Russo's fleet at Burrow.
Other than both being placed on Niobe while the ship was in refit, their papers were absolutely ordinary. And even that small detail was nothing, viewed in isolation.
The 1st and 7th Fleets had suffered massive casualties in the first battles. So getting replacement crew was daily business.
"Prepare a boarding team. Tell them to be prepared for traps or other surprises."
Going over there was urgent, but the saboteurs had proven to be exceptionally tricky.
"Aye, Sir."
Captain Abfalter walked into the CIC. It had been his off-shift.
"Lieutenant, you might want to tell the Marines to send a Shraphen team, just to be sure."
The lieutenant shifted his look between Sanders and his captain, getting a more and more helpless look by the second. Until Sanders nodded, much to the relief of the poor man.
Abfalter crossed the CIC quickly to stand next to Sanders, whispering,
"Sorry, Sir, I didn't intend to—"
"—It's fine, first of all, it's your ship, and secondly, it's a good idea."
The idea was sound. For the foreseeable future, each commanding officer could only trust the Shraphen fully. While in the academy, she had learned about the Cold War. She wondered how the leaders back then dealt with the growing paranoia that everyone could be a spy.
Abfalter looked at her, his mustache twitching.
"And lastly, it's better for morale that I give this order than some admiral we picked up along the way."
Sanders had to smile. Who said Germans had no humor?
On the screen she could see the Marines' Sleipnir leaving Gneisenau 's hangar, followed by five googly eyes.
Pointing at the screen, she asked Abfalter.
"How would you proceed?"
The captain had obviously thought about the matter and answered quickly.
"Orbit the hub for about an hour, create a full sensor profile, then advance slowly with one or two googly eyes, scanning passively for any surveillance probe or sensor."
That made sense.
"Good plan, let's do it that way. You've got command. I'll go for lunch and some rest. Call me when we board."
"Dinner, Sir. Ship time is 1900 hours."
Damn, she was still on Niobe time.
"Yeah, right… thanks."
Leaving the CIC, she followed the colored guide markers to reach the mess hall. She had learned, to her surprise, that the mess hall bordered the arboretum, or, more precisely, that the mess hall was the diner she had seen inside the virtual arboretum.
The crew could actually eat their food on the terrace or even on the many resting places inside the garden.
Eating dinner under a tree, enjoying the sunset, Sanders' mood rose instantly.
The ship had an extra line for officers, but Sanders didn't want to bypass the ordinary crewmen and enlisted. Naturally, the small talk in front of her stopped instantly. The feeling of not being at home was back. Her crew would have continued joking around, maybe even invited her.
Ranks were irrelevant in Niobe 's mess hall.
To no one's surprise, one of the meals to choose from was Spaghetti Bolognese. Naturally, with a Shraphen crew of more than 20 percent.
—————
André stood in front of the guard, presenting the all-access pass awkwardly while still holding Mandy in his arms.
"You want to see Prisoner MRT-294, correct?"
André had the feeling every prison guard he knew was made from the same two genetic lines. The guard in front of him was what he called line one, the brute. Part great ape, part caveman. With almost two meters in height and shoulders of almost one and a half meters, the man was a walking wall. Probably with the same imagination as well.
"Correct. Any problems?"
"No, it's just rare for a Mortuus to get visitors."
"Mortuus?"
Eleri had never been to Purgatory before and didn't know the term.
"Yeah, MRT stands for Mortuus, dead. If I read it correctly, it was you who killed him."
Without looking at her, André could feel the heat of her stare on his face. There was very little Eleri hated more than not being in the loop.
They followed the walking wall into an air-conditioned waiting room. Mandy jumped out of André's arms and went to lie down under the AC unit.
"Wait here. We'll prepare an interview room."
Eleri waited until the guard left, then continued to stare at André.
"Anything you wanna tell me?"
"Peter Norton. AIN was able to get to him in time and save his life."
"The fucking slaver billionaire?"
Anger, real burning anger. André had rarely seen her in that mood. Suddenly, the idea of being in a confined room with her didn't appear that smart.
"Yes, but listen, he can be a viable source."
"He's responsible for the deaths of millions. He's a worse mass murderer than Hitler or Mao. We don't even know how many millions he sold into slavery. He's not an asset. He's a waste of resources with every breath he takes!"
Screaming. André had never heard her scream.
"He is, but he's also a part of Oligarchy leadership."
"Was. He was. Every name he knows might be useless already."
She was right, but they didn't lose anything by questioning him. Before he could answer her, she continued.
"And how long has he been in this prison? Over a year. What has AIN learned? Did he talk?"
André shook his head. "No, he claims this arrest is illegal and he won't talk without a lawyer."
"Of course he won't. His knowledge is his last bargaining chip. Just shoot the bastard and be done with it."
"Not before he meets Mandy, aka Gladys."
Eleri's eyes became small slits. "What is your plan anyway?"
"AIN has stopped some reports from going public about him being imprisoned here. The Conclave is scrubbing the network in order to help keep a lid on… some sensitive information."
"And?"
Eleri grew more and more restless.
"Only a source inside AIN can leak this. It stands to reason that if information is leaking out, it's leaking in too. If so, Norton knows about our pet spawn. I'll present Mandy as Gladys. Let's see how he reacts to being in a room with a spawn."
Eleri's mouth twitched, betraying her angry stare as she fought a smile.
"You're evil, André Gerber."
—————
Eating inside the gardens was everything Cassidy had expected it to be. The air was fresh, the simulated sunlight energizing, and the sunset made her forget being on a ship for a second.
"Good evening, Admiral. I must say, your virtual representation of your planet is masterfully executed. Funny."
She sat there with her eyes closed, enjoying the artificial warmth of the last sunrays on her face.
Yurdantho, his voice, the clapping of his beak, and the almost unnoticeable odor of bats of all things were unique.
"What is so funny about it?"
She opened her eyes and sat back up straight.
Yurdantho sat next to her, a plate of spaghetti, of all things, in his hands.
Maybe Earth can start exporting it to allies. It seems every species except the mostly vegetarian Gliders is addicted to that stuff.
Yurdantho ate a large forkful of his meal. A surprisingly funny thing to watch, considering the food wasn't designed for Nuk.
"You know you can simply cut the noodles, right?"
"My studies of Human culture and cuisine told me that this is a ritual dish served in a nation called Italy, once an empire dominating large parts of your planet, and it is seen as a great affront to cut or break the noodles. I do not wish to disrespect an honored and ancient people."
Sanders wasn't sure about the ritual food, but then thought about how Russo talked about it. Yeah, r itual fits every Italian food.
"I assure you, they won't be offended. It isn't made for beaks."
"Then I will train to eat it with a beak. Order has to be upheld."
Sanders shook her head, smiling.
"As you wish, High Ordinator. So… what is so funny about the gardens?"
The Nuk put down the fork, the claw of one of his flight arms pointing at the diner and the surrounding scenery.
"This, all of it. You Humans are a martial people. Almost like we Nuk. But you're also scientists, like the Gliders, and artists, like the Shraphen. But none of them had the audacity to take their home with them."
While Sanders thought about his words, Yurdantho ate another forkful and then continued.
"You yearn to be home on your planet. I see it in the faces of the people entering this room. You waste massive amounts of power and time to keep this place. I asked maintenance. The ground underneath your feet is at least one meter of soil. More under the trees. No Nuk would waste that much mass for a garden on a ship. But for you, it works."
Then he leaned back, closing his eyes and posing demonstratively, enjoying the last sunrays.
"And it seems something my people should adopt, too, if you ask me."
“Maybe”
—————
The interrogation room was the same one André knew from previous visits. A clean white room. The ground was intentionally not fully leveled, to give the prisoner a feeling of being out of balance.
The light slowly changed its hue between lighter and darker, inducing an uneasy feeling.
A clock on the wall ticking in a rhythm between 0.9 and 1.1 seconds. Not enough to fully register it, but subconsciously it did.
In short, it wasn't the room where André ever wanted to be on the other side of the table. Even the water served had a slightly bitter taste. Hinting at medication put into it.
He had to take care not to show his unease, as the interrogator was subject to almost all manipulations inside the room. But he had one advantage. He knew of the them.
And I can always walk out.
The prisoner chained to the other chair had his head covered with a bag. Old style, but effective.
André had Mandy on a leash, and without acknowledging the chained man, he placed a small doggy bed and a water bowl in a corner.
Then came his pièce de résistance. A prisoner's shoe, stuffed with cow bone and dried meat so the bone jutted from it like a gnawed stump
The dog immediately began to chew on it, growling as she did so.
Then he took the bag off the man.
As expected, Norton first looked to where the growling came from. And as he saw Mandy chewing a 'leg in a shoe,' his face turned white.
It was evening, and Norton had been sitting in the chair for three hours, blindfolded.
André sat down on the other side of the table, opening a thick folder.
"Good morning, Prisoner MRT-294. Let us begin. We have a long day ahead of us. Glass of water?"