Forever Until Tomorrow (War Eternal Book 5) (40 page)

Origin.

He made himself get up, despite the agony he was in. The blast was bigger than he had expected. They hadn't gotten far enough away.
 

He ran to where she way laying. Her body was more badly burned than his. Her brand new, perfect body.
 

"Origin," he said, kneeling next to her.

"Mitchell. I'm sorry. I failed you."

"It's my fault. I should have gone. I'm always trying to play the hero. Trying and failing."

"No. You were right." She held out her hand. She had a small card in it. "The control algorithm," she said. "Only a few people will be able to read it years from now. You'll find the right one." She smiled. "It will begin to delete itself when it's read, as a security measure. It will heal itself over time. You need to get this on the Goliath with Katherine the eternal engine, and Watson Prime. You'll have to go back to the Goliath to find it. Whatever happens, don't let Watson get it."

"I'm not leaving you here."

"You have to."

"Watson will capture you."

"Yes. He will get the data he has been seeking all of these eternities. He will repair some of the damage we have done. I didn't know about the time distortion. He has advanced beyond me in that way. Don't worry, Colonel Mitchell Williams. I have one more trick to play on my son. One last contingency he won't see coming."

"I'm going to lose my memory. How will we keep him from finding the engine for twenty years?"

"Kathy will protect it."

"Kathy? She's alive?" Mitchell hadn't expected that.
 

"Yes. It was part of the plan. She'll realize what is happening. She'll keep it safe. You'll see her again. Now, go. You need treatment for your wounds, and once the memory block takes hold, you will lose your ability to think clearly."

"Tell me there's another copy of you somewhere," Mitchell said. "We can't afford to lose you."

"No other copies," Origin said. "You have everything you need from me. I'm sorry I created this, Mitchell. I'm sorry for what I was."

"You gave us another chance. There's nothing to be sorry for."

"Humans. Always so forgiving. Go, Mitchell. You need to survive to end this war."

"Goodbye, Origin."

"Goodbye, Mitchell."

"I was right," Watson said. "I knew I would be right. I knew you would escape. That's why I implanted the receiver. That's why I blocked your memory of it. That's how I used you to get me here."

Mitchell looked at Kathy in front of him, still wary of the gun he was pointing at her. Katherine remained motionless on the ground beside them.
 

"Can you experience my memories?" Mitchell asked. "Did you hear what Origin said to me? Did you capture that moment?"

"I followed your hormonal secretions. I tracked your brain waves. I experienced pleasure at your pain."
 

"Give me the eternal engine," Watson said out loud, to Kathy.

She tossed the glowing stone to him. He let it bounce off his chest.
 

"The real one. Where is it?"

Kathy looked over at Katherine. She didn't speak.

Watson forced Mitchell to Katherine, kneeling down and rolling her onto her back. He put the muzzle of the rifle against her face. She was alive. Unconscious.

"You'll destroy everything if I give it to you," Kathy said. "One life doesn't matter. Even if it is hers."

"I can do much worse than kill someone," Watson said. "You have human DNA. You have empathy. Compassion. How long can you stand to watch me punish her for? To punish them both? I need the engine, sister."

"You didn't hear what she said?" Mitchell said, continuing the internal conversation.

"No. I can't experience your memories, Colonel. And why would I want to?"

Mitchell felt his sense of hopelessness fading just a little. At the same time, Watson used Mitchell's body to shift the rifle and begin unzipping Katherine's fatigues.
 

"I know how to break them," Watson said to Kathy. "How to ruin them. I understand the connection between the body and the mind."
 

"Do you want to know what she said?" Mitchell asked.

"It doesn't matter. I knew I couldn't kill you, no matter how hard I tried. So I've taken ownership instead."

He pushed Katherine's top aside. She still had the insulating layer beneath, tight against her body. He fondled her above it, looking at Kathy all the while.
 

"It seems so basic, doesn't it? So animal to use touch as such a weapon? I used to enjoy it." He removed his hand. "Now, it disgusts me. A casualty of your mother's direct influence." He laughed at his joke. It was smooth and comfortable. "I prefer violence instead. Causing pain without killing? That is something that takes intellect and skill. I can keep her alive and in agony for days. For weeks. No one will come to save you. No one will hear her scream but you and me and Mitchell. What do you say, Kathy?"

"I won't give you the Engine. It doesn't matter what you do. If I kill myself, I won't have to watch. You can't control me, Watson." There was no hint of fear in her voice. No worry.

"She said she had one more trick," Mitchell said. "One more contingency that you wouldn't see coming."

"What?"

"She knew you were going to take her data stack. Her soul. She was prepared for it."

"What did she do?" Watson said to Mitchell. And then to Kathy, "So why don't you kill yourself?"

"I don't know," Mitchell said. "She didn't tell me."

"Because I still think we're going to win," Kathy said.

Katherine groaned, her eyes fluttering open. She stiffened when she realized what was happening.

"What did she do?" Watson said again, silently, growing more concerned. "What did she do?" he said aloud. "Tell me."

"I don't know," Mitchell repeated. "She was ready for you to capture her, to steal her data stack and destroy her. Twenty years, and you still haven't figured out what it is?"

"No. Nothing. There is nothing." He was becoming more agitated. "What did she do? What did she do? What did she do?" He repeated it over and over, trying to figure it out.
 

Mitchell had seen a similar reaction before, from the Tetron on Hell. That one had been broken by the infection. Watson had overcome that sickness, had learned to manage his emotions better. He couldn't handle that there was something he didn't know. Something lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

"There is nothing. Nothing." He was speaking out loud. He was also shifting his attention away from controlling Mitchell's body, back into his core to search for the answer. "What did you do, mother? What did you plan?"

Mitchell tried to move his finger and found that he could. The signals to his implant were getting choppy, falling apart in the Tetron's confusion and anger. He managed to move his eyes, to look at Katherine. She was looking up at him, confused, afraid, and ready.

"What did you do!" Watson made him shout at the top of his lungs. "Ahhhhh." He grabbed hold of Mitchell again, turning the gun on Kathy. His finger began to tighten on the trigger.

Mitchell countered, pulling his arms down. The interruption in Watson's signal let him do it, dropping the point of the rifle to the floor as it fired.
 

"Katherine," he said, pushing the words out. "Do it."

She rolled over, swinging herself to her feet in one smooth motion, the syringe in hand. Watson tried to counter, to defend. Mitchell didn't let him. The signal was falling apart, and the intelligence couldn't let the mystery go, not even for a second. He had to know what Origin had hinted at. He had to find the answer.

Then Katherine was on him, grabbing him from behind, holding him with one arm while she stabbed him in the neck with the syringe. Mitchell felt the coldness of the contents spilling into him.
 

"I told you we were going to win," Kathy said.

Mitchell's eyes grew blurry, and he sank to his knees.
 

"What did you do, mother?" he said meekly.

Then he tumbled over and didn't move.

Katherine stared at the man, face down on his stomach, arms at his sides. Kathy had told her that he wasn't going to be himself. That they would need to sneak up on him and disable him. The Core had told her that it would be so.

He had been faster than she had imagined. Stronger. He had sensed her coming and easily gotten the best of her, twice. She had to remind herself that it wasn't Mitchell who had done that. Watson was controlling him, the same way the intelligence had controlled Trevor.

Mitchell had done something to regain control. He had gone mad right in front of them, frightened and confused, and she had managed to get the sedative in and knock him out cold.

"Are you okay?" Kathy asked, coming to stand next to her and look down at Mitchell.

"A little sore."

"I'm sorry. He shouldn't have been that strong. He's overcome many of his original disadvantages."

"Does that mean he's going to be harder to beat?"

"He never would have been easy to defeat. It does mean our mission is more complicated, but as I said, the Core will help balance things out."

Katherine continued to stare at Mitchell. She had seen him in person. She had seen his face. She had hoped there would be something there. Some spark of recognition that would light a separate spark in her soul.
 

For now, at least, there was nothing.

"We need to get him out of here," she said. "The XENO-1 is sinking."

"Yes. It will be lost soon. The Core helped me prepare it."

"You caused it?"

"Of course. It wouldn't keep Watson from the Engine forever, but it would delay him for some time. We cannot afford for him to have the means to make more Tetron in his image."

"And the Engine can do that?"

"The Engine could destroy this entire galaxy if the energy inside of it were unleashed." Kathy kneeled down next to Mitchell, producing a small device from her pocket and stabbing him behind the ear. "The neural implant can't be removed without killing him, but this will disable the receiver Watson placed on it and block any future efforts."

She produced another device. "Turn him over."

Katherine leaned down, grabbing Mitchell's arm and rolling him onto his back. She stared at his face as she did. He was older, but the age seemed to agree with him. He appeared distinguished, mature, intelligent, wise, with the wrinkles of a man who had seen a lot. Too much. There was pain written there, along with the weight of huge responsibility.

Kathy unslung a small, silver pack, parting it and removing a second device. This one was black and round. She measured her approach before placing it on the side of his neck.

His eyes opened immediately. He reached out, grabbing Kathy by the wrist before she could remove her hand.

"Mitchell. Father. It's okay. You're safe. We're safe."

He looked at Kathy, his eyes softening. He let go of her wrist. "Watson?" he asked.

"I disabled the connection. He can't control you anymore."

"I'm sorry." He turned his head to Katherine. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Katherine said.

"Father, we need to go."

"Before the Goliath sinks," Mitchell said. He pushed himself up, and then picked up his rifle. "I'm ready." He paused, and then approached Katherine, staring into her eyes. "I wish we had more time for me to say something. I don't even know what to say. You've been in my dreams. So many of my dreams. You're the reason I'm here."

Katherine felt herself blushing. "There will be time later, Colonel," she said.

He nodded. "What about the Engine?" he asked, returning his attention to Kathy.
 

She went back to the dead core and put her hand to it. It glowed briefly where she touched it, and then fell apart, disintegrating in a sea of small metal squares that clattered to the floor. A glowing yellow ball hovered in the center. She took in her hand and held it up.
 

"That's a new trick," Mitchell said.

She smiled. "I've learned a lot of things being down here by myself for so long. I've grown up."