Chapter Twenty-Two
“Can this ship make it to Tunria?” The colonel asked Amelagar.
“Yes, but even with the cloaking device it might be impossible to get to the surface and the clone temples.”
“And we have to find a way to warn earth what’s coming at them.”
Colonel Farnham frowned. “We take one of their ships and we go and bomb those clone temples back to hell.”
“This ship cannot fall into their hands if we are captured,” Amelagar said.
Agrippa didn’t know why he wanted to send the clone temples to another place, she didn’t think they had the tech to do that, but she was beginning to think her brave cyborg could do anything.
Anatu made a strange sound and all of them surged upright. Anatu looked over her shoulder at them, her eyes enormous. “The ship is talking to me.”
They all rushed back to the bridge. The space was too small for everyone to crowd around Anatu so they took their seats. Amelagar held Agrippa back until the marines were seated. “What is it saying?”
“It says it likes us. We painted his name on the ship which he calls as his body. Now it will help us with our mission.” She frowned and looked up at them. Looking bewildered. “He said if we tell him a story he will help us take one of the clone ships for our mission.”
Everyone looked confused, but Agrippa remembered little Tansyn telling her ship liked stories. Why wouldn’t this ship like stories also. She cleared her throat. “I know a story I think it might like.”
Amelagar nodded. “Go ahead.”
“A long time ago a young male fell in love with a female. They were different and therefore could not be together. That was a time lost in myth, before Tunrian had ryhov. They pined for each other and would have died if the goddess did not take pity on them. She gave them ryhov, but split it in two, which reflected the souls she put into their new synchronised bodies and thereafter all their descendants had ryhov.”
The marines muttered among themselves, clearly not impressed with her story telling skills but she didn’t care. They needed the help of the ship.
Anatu’s tablet lighted up again. “The ship says it prefers stories about wolves.”
“Wolves?” They exchanged baffled glances.
Anatu looked thoughtful. “I believe the human child told the Rising Sun stories about wolves.”
The Tunrians glanced at the marines.
“Sergeant Bjorn, tell the story of the three little pigs,” Colonel Farnham barked.
Sergeant Bjorn looked ready to commit murder, but he told his horrific story through gritted teeth.
“You tell this to children?” It was a miracle human children grew up to be normal.
“Human children love that story.”
“So does this ship,” Anatu said. “It will help us take one of the clone ships.”
“Just like that,” sergeant Scott muttered.
“How?” Colonel Farnham was clearly sceptical.
Anatu looked at her tablet. He says with stories.”
“I thought I’ve seen some fucked up shit, but this beats it all. Pardon my French.”
“Why do you keep asking pardon for French when you are not speaking French ?” It was driving her crazy.
“Focus Agrippa, sergeant. We have the chance to steal a clone ship,” Amelagar reminded them.
“If it can enslave a ship, for us to steal, can you widen the range of the cloak?” Amelagar asked Anutu.
“Yes, with Agrippa and your help, I can do it.” Anutu said without looking up from the tablet. “Little Big Ship says it will enslave any of the clone ships we choose.”
“Can he do it without alerting the other ships?”
“Yes, and please call him Little Big Ship,” Anatu said with a pointed look.
“How long will it take?”
“Little Big Ship is already in command of some of their ship functions. He is making it so that the other ships don’t realize when we take one.”
“Hot damn, I like this little ship,” sergeant Scott muttered. Little Big Ship must be careful to work during cryo cycles when the crew sleeps.”
Sargeant Bjorn snorted. “Saying that all the time is going to get irritating real soon.”
“Also, before it is completely enslaved, we don’t want the ship we are stealing alerting the other ships. Little Big Ship can make the cryo chambers inhospitable to clones and kill any of them in stasis.”
Amelagar nodded. “Agrippa, get maps and start showing the humans where we need to go to take over command of the enslaved ship.”
“There is one thing we have not considered,” colonel Farnham said quietly.
“What is that?” Amelagar did not look away from the viewscreen showing the clone ship.
“Should we do this? With the help of Little Big Ship, we can take out most or maybe all of these ships.”
Amelagar sighed and turned his chair to face them. “We have no idea how these ships are getting faster with regular intervals. Any improvements they make will be transmitted to the clone temples.”
“So, these ships will still be destroyed?”
“The temple will produce a new ship within days. You are dealing with technology millions of years older than your own.”
“So, we take them out and they send replacement at super speed?”
Amelagar had explained this before, but the humans didn’t quite grasp how efficient the clone technology could be.
“Yes.”
Amelagar looked at the large screen where they tracked the progress of the fleet. “If we don’t bomb the clone temples, all our people are going to die.”
“We should bomb them from orbit. I think I can get precise coordinates from the Rising Sun database I have and from this ship,” Anatu muttered.
“Hit and run, I like it,” Scotty made a sign to the others. “They won’t be suspicious of their own ships.”
“I’d better get back to my human after this,” Anutu mumbled without looking up.
Agrippa smiled at Anatu. “You will.” The cyborg female was fading away from missing her human. If she had to face the possibility of fifteen years of separation from Amelagar, she would fade away too.
Col Farnham you and I will work out our plan of attack.”
They took the clones by surprise. Agrippa and Amelagar opened the cargo door remotely and they flew inside still cloaked.
“Remind me not to tell the story of Jonah and the whale,” sergeant Scott mumbled.
The ship stopped dead and Agrippa could feel her heart following suit.
Anatu sighed. “Little Big Ship said story first.”
“Sergeant, remind me to kick your butt later,” Colonel Farnham said.
The sergeant told a fantastical story about a man living for days in the belly of a whale.
To their relief Little Big Ship started up and landed in the hangar, exactly as they planned.
Amelagar leaned down and kissed her. A quick hard kiss. “Stay behind me.”
She nodded and weapons ready, they stepped out into the enormous hangar space.
They found one clone on the bridge, oblivious to what was happening with his ship and crew. Colonel Farnham shot him without hesitation.
Amelagar sneered at the body. “I wish I could say that was one less clone.”
Amelagar kill the remaining three clones without mercy. It chilled Agrippa to see how mercilessly and without hesitation he killed them. It reminded her of how he killed the Captain.
No one sounded an alarm. It was only when they got to the bridge that they found two clones obviously bored and half drunk.
The marines despatched them and Agrippa swallowed bile. She would never get used to such casual killing of people.
With the clone ship now enslaved and aiding them, they stood looking down at the clones in the cryo pods.
“It is murder,” Agrippa said, but she couldn’t mourn them and she knew he others could hear her lack of sympathy over how the clones died. Maybe she was turning into a monster.
“Remember they are clones.” Amukkan didn’t even try to sound as if he cared. “Their replacements are being grown on Tunria as we speak.”
It was when they reached the engine room that their mission almost fell apart. A clone, much more alert than the bridge officers, issued a command and an alarm sounded. It cut off almost immediately.
“I hope that was our Little Big that stopped that alarm.” Sergeant Scott shot the clone who aimed his weapon at them. Sergeant Bjorn raised his voice when the engine room were cleared.
“Anatu, I know you can see this. This is why the clearance of a room need to be practiced.”
No answer and he smirked.
“We will use the bigger ship, for day to day living but Little Big Ship will monitor the clone ship all the time.”
“LBS, how did you get us away from the other ships unseen? This was too easy.”
Colonel Farnham nodded in agreement. Amelagar, you’ve been telling us how dangerous those clones are, but this makes twice you have stolen one of their ships right under their noses.”
Before Amelagar could answer, the ship shuddered. Anatu’s voice came over the intercom.
“Sergeant Scott, you meant to say Little Big Ship and not LBS?”
The ship shuddered again.
Sergeant Scott did not miss a beat. “Nah, he’s one of us. Our buddy. Buddies give each other nicknames. That’s why the others call me Scotty and my friend here Blackie.”
Silence.
“Ask him if he wants to be our clever buddy LBS?”
Silence, then Anatu said. “LBS likes that name.”
They could hear the sigh in her voice. “He is ready for a story now.”
Scotty smiled huge. “I just happen to know a story about a little guy beating a giant with only a piece of leather and a small rock.”