The Bright Black Sea (129 page)

'It is offered on the basis of friendship, Captain,
as you yourself indicated. And the value of the ship is of no
concern to the Directorate. We have no use for credits within the
Machine Directorate. However, there may be more balance in the
trade than is apparent. Directorate policy is to collect any
illegal machine in the human drifts, so it not only has an interest
in collecting the plot bot, but is also very interested in what
that pilot bot can reveal concerning the historic ties of Cimmadar
and the Nebula at large. It will be a small piece in the puzzle of
the Tenth Star, so the exchange is not as uneven as it may appear
to be.'

It still was. An Ividar ship is a premium, First
World machine-built ship, and the SilverStar line is their premium
line of ships. I doubted the pilot bot data, once extracted. would
be that valuable. Still, I knew that the Directorate could easily
afford to give us an Ividar ship – they needed very little from
humans, and traded with us more or less as a way of keeping their
ties with us alive, which, for some reason, they seemed to think is
important.

'I must say, Botts, that's very, very generous of the
Directorate... ' I said. 'Please express our deep gratitude. But
I'd appreciate it if you'd give me several days to assess our
situation and think. I need time to think everything through.'

It nodded, 'Yes, of course. We have time'

05

The following day, still confined to the medic bay,
but feeling stronger, I asked Botts to step around to see me.

'We know who did it, and why – the dead tell no
stories of the Pela. What I don't know is how? How could a class 7
machine attempt to kill us? I thought they had programs to prevent
that.'

'Strictly speaking, it wasn't the pilot bot that took
control of the ship. There was a low order AI pilot install within
the pilot bot pod – one that was too simple to need to be programed
not to kill. It was located before the actual pilot bot and
designed to intervene before the pilot bot took control, under
certain conditions. I suspect it could be triggered to destroy the
ship when the authorize pilot thought that the ship was in danger
of being used by non-Cimmadarians to reach the Pela. A sort of
anti-pirate kill switch.'

'How likely was that? I mean, I assume the key drive
had certain wards and secret procedures to protect it from being
used by just anyone.'

'People can be forced to do things against their
will. The failsafe would allow someone being forced to apparently
cooperate while insuring that the secret would still be kept. You
must remember, we're talking about a secret that has been kept for
perhaps twenty thousand years or more. Over that period of time,
just about everything could happen.

'The pilot bot predates the revolution, so it's at
least 11,000 years old, and likely much older, which is one of the
reasons why the Directorate is so interested in its history. I
suspect that the pilot bot has been in the service of Cimmadar
since before the Revolution – likely installed and re-installed in
the ships that sail the Nebula. Indeed, I suspect that to keep
their secret, only pilot bots know how to find the Tenth Star. In
that way, no corruptible person in their employment could ever
compromise the location of the Tenth Star. The only link between
the Neb and the Pela is an incorruptible pilot bot, guarded by a
kill switch.'

'Makes sense, though, Glen Colin could've found his
way back, when he was loose in the Nebula. But , his talent wasn't
known when they allowed him outside the Pela. I suppose that's what
made him so very valuable to Vinden. Even without the
Starry
Shore
, he had Glen Colin stashed away in a sleeper-pod who
could, if necessary, find his way home. Old Glen Colin knew his
value...' I mused, recalling our conversations.

'Glen Colin was, indeed, a dangerous oversight, as we
are now.'

'Well, you and the Directorate can find your way
here, or will be able to soon enough. I doubt we will. Though it is
ironic that because they tried to kill us, we're now able to if we
cared to chart a course to the Tenth Star. That's something we'll
have to ponder, Botts. Do we really want to know?'

'I believe I can trust you, Captain, to make the
right choice.'

'Not a question I really want to think of, at the
moment. The more pressing question is what activated the suicide
switch? We've been sailing the ship for decades without tripping
it.'

'Vinden must have activated it before he left the
ship, and set it so that as soon as we set out, the suicide bot's
trigger was tripped and usurping the pilot bot's priorities, took
complete control of the ship to do one thing – to destroy it.
Fortunately it was not a sophisticated program, so that running the
ship onto the rocks of a reef close at hand became its course of
action, never mind that by starting from zero velocity it was not
the most effective way to destroy the ship. Had it been programed
to take over some point later, while at interplanetary speeds and
hit even a small meteor, it would have insured our complete and
immediate destruction'

'I suppose, given complete control of the ship – we
were trapped aboard it – there was no reason to get too fancy. It
would've succeeded it you weren't onboard and knew where its weak
link was.'

'True, Captain.'

'We are very lucky to have you as a shipmate. Thank
you Botts. Again.'

'I'm blushing, Captain,' it replied. 'But the truth
is that I'm the one who's lucky. Discovering the Tenth Star more
than pays for anything I have done for you and my shipmates.'

'We've both been very lucky, Botts.'

'Yes we have.'

06

Later.

'I've been thinking,' I began, pausing when Illy
sighed, to give her a look and add, 'Well, I've had plenty of time.
'Mostly about the
Starry Shore
and Cin, and what I could've
done, or not to have prevented these losses.

'Aye, Wil, So what have you been thinking about
now?'

'Botts thinks that the pilot bot is the way Cimmadar
keeps the Pela secret. Only pilot bot knows how to reach the Pela,
and only someone with the key can activate it, and only with the
proper procedure or ID. And, as we know, the crew isn't allowed to
track its course.'

'So?'

'Well, it always struck me a little strange that St
Bleyth would send the
Sister Sinister
after us. We'd been on
Despar for ages, so they had plenty of time to kill Min and me
prior to our departure. And with all the darter fights around the
port, it would have been very easy to slip a few fatal darts into
the nightly melees.'

'From all you've told me it was your Naylea Cin's
assignment...'

'She's not mine...'

'Right. The point being – they were simply waiting
for the assigned assassin to arrive. Code of honor and all.
Besides, compared to their level of involvement in the Despar
troubles, killing you and Tallith was likely a minor matter for St
Bleyth. They sent
Sister Sinister
after you only after Cin
failed again and we were on our way to the Unity where it would've
been very hard to get the job done, once again. It was merely the
most expedient measure to wrap up an unfortunate affair.'

'Well, that's what I thought. But knowing what we
know now, I think there may be more to it than that. I think the
Lost Star
itself had a bounty on her because of the pilot
bot it had onboard, which was the key to the Pela, and out of
Cimmadar's control. They may not've been in a great panic, as long
as Prince Imvoy had it, and someone would have had to discover, and
compromise the pilot bot security, but once it was out of Vinden's
control, that became, at least, a remote possibility. A very remote
one, but , I think we can safely say, they don't take any chances
at all. So the
Lost Star
was a loose end that they wanted
tied up – captured or destroyed. Little could be done within the
Unity, but once in the drifts, it was a different story. Cimmadar
may have hired St Bleyth to capture or destroy the
Lost
Star
, which puts D'Lay's insistence that we were the only ship
for his mission in a slightly different light, seeing that really,
he could've chartered any number of drifteer ships in orbit,
despite what he said.'

'You're suggesting that D'Lay chartered us to capture
or destroy the
Lost Star
?'

'Well, he needed us to deliver his force to Boscone
first, but after that...'

'Didn't he promise to keep us safe after our
arrival?'

'From Cin. And he may not have been privy to the
Order's ultimate plans for the
Lost Star
. He didn't strike
me as the type that would simply destroy us when he was done with
us, especially in light of his concern for our safety when Explora
Miner arrived. But, if and when the orders came down, who knows? In
any event, once the
Lost Star
was no longer of use to St
Bleyth, and as soon as it became vulnerable to capture or
destruction – which is to say, as soon as we were out of sight of
the Patrol in Despar – they wasted no time sending a frigate after
us, and spent little effort trying to talk us into surrendering
before launching their missiles. Sending a warship to kill two
people hardly seems cost effective, and St Bleyth is, despite its
trappings, a business.'

'So?'

I glanced at her, and shrugged. 'So nothing. Like I
said, just thinking.'

'Is that all you're thinking about?'

'No. I've been thinking that Vinden needs to be
exposed for what he is and brought to justice. He was ready to take
the
Starry Shore
back to the Pela without Min when we first
crossed orbits with him. And I've no doubt that should Min prove an
impediment to his ambitions, or when he no longer feels he needs
her, he'll discard her, as well as Vyn and Ten, just as ruthlessly
as he did us.'

'What can you do?' Not that she didn't know
already.

'I can go back – as the sole survivor of the wreck of
the
Starry Shore
, just to keep everyone a ghost should
things go adrift – and show Min what Vinden did to her shipmates
and her ship. Hopefully this will be enough proof to decide that
Vinden is too dangerous to keep about.'

'I doubt Min'll welcome you back – for any reason.
And Vinden would do everything possible to silence you. You can't
go back, Wil. You'll have to trust that Min can handle her
uncle.'

'She still, I think, admires him. And yes, I'll have
to be very careful, and contact Min secretly. But we owe her that
much.'

'So you've decided to go back.'

'I'm thinking about it,' I allowed. Mostly a lie.

Illy considered that for a moment, and said, 'I think
you should think very carefully and concretely about what you could
expect to accomplish. Min is quite capable of looking after
herself. And we survived Vinden's attempt and will see home. The
Starry Shore
would always have been in danger of being
discovered, so the new ship the Directorate is offering is a far
better solution than renaming the
Lost Star
yet again. And
how many times over the years have you bemoaned the drifteers'
penchant for pursuing revenge? That's what this is really about.
Vinden failed to kill us. Let's just get on with our lives.'

I shrugged, and left it at that for the moment.

She was right, of course. I was driven by revenge and
the shame I felt for once again being outwitted by Vinden. And the
guilt I felt in my careless failure to protect my prisoner. And
guilt for so readily abandoning the promise I made to Min on the
Yacht Club field. Oh, I'd left her without too much guilt, but now
I couldn't – the Unity side of my heritage saw to that. My St
Bleyth ancestors, of course, simply wanted Vinden dead. So rarely
did both ways of looking at the Neb correspond, that it felt
unavoidable, And I needed to do something – and as soon as I was
able to. It was how it was written.

07

I'd one last item to take care of. I asked Botts to
step around to my office for a talk.

'Captain?' it asked, as it entered. 'Have you come to
a decision on the Directorate's offer?'

'Slide that door closed, will you?' I asked, and
after it did so, I said. 'I have a counter proposal to make.'

'I take it you are uncomfortable with the
proposal?'

'I'm not uncomfortable so much as I don't think it is
necessary. I believe I can buy both the ship and its cargo. If the
Directorate sends the ship to rescue us from a long passage, well,
that can balance the service we did for the Mountain King. If they
owe anyone for the Tenth Star it's Vinden, not me. And as I said,
your expedition was a way of repaying you for saving our lives on
several occasions. So what I'd like to do is simply buy a ship and
cargo from the Directorate.'

'While I'm sure the Directorate could supply a ship
and cargo we could now afford with Min's generosity, I don't think
it's necessary. We've little need for credits. Think nothing of the
credits involved. It's a way of expressing their regard for you.
You'll owe them nothing.'

'I believe you, Botts, but, well, I'm an irrational
human, so I would like to pay for the ship and goods. And since I
can easily do that, it'll keep our relationship in balance.'

'Have our shipmates agreed to this?'

'It's not necessary. I'll have you know, Botts, I'm
far, far wealthier than even you can imagine, assuming, of course,
this is what I've been told it is,' I said, drawing out Captain
Miccall's ring and handing it over to Botts. 'Look through the
small opening in the inside.'

It brought the ring up to its eye/sensors and
examined it for fully a minute. I was beginning to get worried it
had become lost in the gem's dark maze. And it turned to me.