The Tabit Genesis (20 page)

She found herself on a ship with no name, surrounded by a faceless, angry crew.

They were in great danger, but Vespa’s every attempt to help earned a shove aside and bitter excoriation. The harder she tried to be involved, the more the crew resented her. Ashamed, she finally gave up and retreated to a small corner, hoping to avoid any further disruption.

It was then, only when she was voiceless and invisible, that she noticed something ominous about the bulkheads: they were perspiring. A dark, heavy fluid had formed where they met with the ceiling.

As the viscous ooze grew larger, Vespa tried to warn a crewman of the danger. But she was scorned for her trouble, even as the seepage spread relentlessly, dripping from the ceilings and creeping up from beneath the floors. Another crewman stepped in a small puddle, then tracked the vile substance across the deck. She watched in horror as the spatters coalesced and raced after him. Terrified, she screamed at the officers on the bridge. But they kept conversing as though nothing was amiss, even as the dark shadow ran up their legs, torso, neck and head. When they were completely engulfed, their blackened forms liquefied and splashed onto the deck without a trace of human flesh.

Suddenly, the bulkheads separating her from the adjacent compartments melted away. The decks above collapsed in a gushing cascade of ebony. A sinister shape rose from the bridge: a demon of death and devastation. It glared at her, unwavering, as the ship disintegrated around them, then it vanished when the final bulkhead gave way. The vacuum hurled Vespa into space, flailing and desperate as the air was sucked from her lungs.

Vespa tumbled through the void, her last views alternating between the bubbling black mass that was once her ship, and the distinct contours of the
Tabit Genesis
some distance away, ablaze like a torch in the deep of night.

She had awakened short of breath, violently sick with fear. More than once, she needed to collect herself as she recounted the dream to ORPHUS.

‘And you cannot remember the name of the ship?’ the AI asked.

‘I told you, no,’ Vespa answered.

‘Then I am confident this was no vision,’ ORPHUS said, in his synthetic yet calming voice. ‘This dream emerged from challenges in your life. The constructs you encountered are consistent with recurring personal themes.’

Vespa shuddered as she thought of the demon.

‘What about that … thing I saw?’ she asked.

‘An abstract representation of your distrust of people,’ ORPHUS said. ‘The darkness is your anxiety about the outcome of your decisions.’

‘
Tabit
,’ she whispered. ‘Why does it burn?’

‘That construct is unrelated to this dream, but a persistent concern,’ ORPHUS said. ‘It remains a plausible outcome. Would you like to review the sequence map again?’

The AI was referring to a visualisation of all the possible paths from her visions that could lead to the destruction of
Tabit Genesis
.

‘No, thank you,’ she said.

Arturus was visiting today, at last. Vespa had not shared his presence in three decades. The prospect stirred unwelcome feelings.

Above all, she wondered if he was terrorised by these nightmares as well.

For the historical implications alone, the arrival of House Alyxander ships to Inner Rim space would have been sensationalised by the Orionis media. But the spectacle was drawing huge audiences due to the sheer enigma of the Houses. To the firstborn population of Tabit Prime, House Alyxander was akin to an alien civilisation. They gathered around news feeds in homes, schools, and offices to gawk at the peculiar U-shaped corvettes and disc-shaped freighters gathered between the orbits of Amnisos and Eileithyia.

The visitation agreement between the two governments prohibited the convoy from approaching the
Tabit Genesis
directly. So House Alyxander entertained its viewing audience by delivering a spectacular lightshow; huge arcs of electrostatic energy danced between enormous volumetric adverts for the merchandise on sale.

Several of the barges were so large that they held biodomes, and they offered a variety of services for every age, habit, and interest. One allowed children to pilot real combat mechs in mock battles. Another showcased live animals reconstituted from the Earth gene pool, trained to walk with custom magnetic fittings. And then there were the ‘x-barges’, promising tailor-made fantasies in which customers were analysed to determine the ideal combination of stimuli to invoke the most unforgettable experience.

The House offered it all completely free of charge, a ploy ostensibly designed to lure business from Orionis corporations already furious over their presence in the Inner Rim. Navy frigates kept sentry alongside the streams of spacecraft bringing eager tourists to the show while corporation warships lurked nearby, with Vulcan Industries having the most visible presence of all.

Chancellor Vespa Jade kept a proud, confident appearance while waiting for the House delegation to arrive. Accompanying her in the main hangar of the
Tabit Genesis
were four senators from the Orionis parliament: Senators Brandon Tice and Landon Hsu from her own Genesis party, and Senators Stefan Martin and Helena Kjanik from the main opposition Freetracks Guild. Whatever Cerlis Tarkon was doing to protest, Vespa was determined to show her brother a unified front in here.

Her pulse quickened as the House shuttle rose on the transfer elevator. A company of Navy soldiers dressed in parade uniforms lined the path between them and the boarding ramp, while the Orionis government flag hung prominently from an overhead cargo gantry.

‘All this pomp and circumstance,’ Senator Tice pouted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. ‘Isn’t it a bit excessive?’

‘I’d have sent a customs drone,’ Senator Hsu muttered.

Vespa made an effort to smile a bit more broadly.

‘I’m sure you understand the necessity of diplomatic honours,’ she said.

‘Not when it means a hero’s welcome for someone who isn’t here,’ Senator Kjanik hissed.

Vespa nearly rolled her eyes. No House had ever before sent a diplomatic delegation to Orionis. Lance Alyxander was the first to send so much as an envoy – who in this case happened to be her brother Arturus.

‘Hard to trust a man who sends someone else to conduct his affairs,’ Senator Tice said.

‘Is he even a man?’ Senator Martin quipped. ‘I heard he was androgynous.’

‘No, a hermaphrodite,’ Senator Tice scoffed. ‘And he fucked himself by not coming here.’

‘Did Cerlis Tarkon tell you that?’ Senator Hsu sallied.

‘If anyone knows what’s beneath his trousers …’ Senator Martin began.

‘
Anyone’s
trousers,’ Senator Kjanik corrected.

‘Do you speak from experience?’ Senator Tice smirked.

Vespa had heard enough.

‘Did you two always act like menstruating cunts in the Navy?’

‘
Excuse
me?’ Senator Kjanik demanded.

Vespa smiled at them.

‘It would explain why we lost the war,’ she said, just as the shuttle ramp door lowered.

The first to emerge were House guards; each was seven feet tall and completely covered in gold armour, including a full face mask. They were as beautiful as they were intimidating; a grotesque human face, locked in perpetual suffering, was carved upon the shoulder plates. House Alyxander called this icon Angustia, a representation of suffering as the inevitable condition of the human species. There were eight of them in all, women and men alike, each with gender-tailored armour to match. Per Orionis regulations, they appeared to be unarmed.

Then Arturus stepped out.

Dressed in resplendent, lavish robes lined with precious stones, he strode down the aisle with ramrod-straight posture, one hand upon a strange sceptre shaped like a human figurine. He was unashamedly and openly augmented; silver circuitry extended from his tear ducts across his cheekbones and down the sides of his neck. He appeared much younger than his twin sister; his pale skin contrasted sharply with rouge lips and violet eyes that were clearly not his own.

His every step was a measured display of regal authority, and Vespa knew it was all an act. Arturus halted an arm’s length away from the Senators, glaring down his nose at them.

Everyone was uncomfortable. Vespa cleared her throat.

‘On behalf of Orionis, it’s my sincere pleasure to welcome you—’

‘In our culture, it is custom for a new host to kiss the Lady,’ Arturus interrupted, holding his glare on the Senators. ‘Who shall oblige?’

Vespa caught the Senators exchanging confused glances at each other. She took a step forward, but Arturus recoiled in disgust.

‘Not you!’ he hissed, looking directly at Senator Tice. ‘
You.
Come here.’

The blood drained from the elder statesman’s face.

‘Don’t keep her waiting,’ Arturus scolded, narrowing his eyes at him. Senator Tice advanced two steps, then froze in place.

‘Now, if you please,’ the envoy insisted. ‘Kiss the Lady.’

Senator Tice glowered at Vespa.

‘Not her!’ Arturus said, again with disgust. ‘
Her.
’

He nodded towards his sceptre, which was in fact shaped roughly like a lady. Arturus was holding it in one hand, directly in front of him, resting the top well below his navel.

Senator Tice’s eyes widened as he looked down.

The stern demeanour of Arturus imploded in a fit of maniacal laughter.

‘
Priceless
,’ he wheezed, slapping Senator Tice on the back like an old friend. ‘Go on, check your corelinks, I just sent you something. All of you, hurry!’

Vespa, completely embarrassed, complied and found a new message; it contained an image of Senator Tice staring incredulously at Arturus’s crotch. He was playing a game, an egregious dance intended to provoke them.

‘Ambassador Jade,’ she said, her voice cool. ‘A pleasure to welcome you.’

Arturus performed a mock bow.

‘Chancellor, the pleasure is all mine,’ he gushed. ‘We’re delighted with your hospitality. The station looks fabulous from eighty thousand kilometres away. And all these guns pointed at us! It’s enough to get a man
excited
!’

‘Your visit will go a long way towards easing tensions,’ Senator Martin assured him.

‘Speaking of tension, do you work out?’ Arturus asked, giving the Senator a very inappropriate slap on his rump. Everyone gasped. ‘Those glutes are
tight
for a man your age!’

‘We’re unaccustomed to being insulted by ambassadors,’ Senator Kjanik said. ‘Why did Lance Alyxander send you rather than come himself?’

‘Oh, Senator, you know how it is when you get rich,’ Arturus said dismissively. ‘He’s double-booked with a manicure. But he gave me everything I need to negotiate a juicy trade agreement that your constituents will just love … Oh, where are my manners? There’s an election coming! The stress must be unimaginable. You should visit us on the barges. We have ways to help you relax.’

‘Perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere,’ Senator Martin murmured, glancing about.

‘Mmm, someplace private?’ Arturus said with a wink. ‘I know how twisted you are, you
naughty
Senator!’

‘Can we even let someone with his augments into the station?’ Senator Kjanik huffed.

Arturus slouched to one side.

‘Darling, the only things illegal about me are my good looks.’

Then he strutted past them out of the hangar, with his elite guard in tow. Vespa and the Senators hurried after him.

‘The corporations aren’t happy with the publicity stunt you’re pulling out there,’ Senator Tice warned. ‘It makes our job much more difficult.’

Arturus didn’t break stride.

‘Lance Alyxander offered those gifts to the
people
of Orionis, not the oligarchs who run this shithole,’ he informed him curtly. ‘He is well aware of corporate interests and prepared to make a deal, provided that it sets
equitable
terms for free trade.’

Arturus whirled abruptly, nearly causing the procession behind him to crash into one another.

‘What he will
not
do is let them establish Outer Rim monopolies. I think this bears repeating: if they want access to our markets, then House Alyxander must have access to theirs. I hope none of you are champions of the status quo. That would bore us.’

‘I think the timing of your visit is interesting,’ Senator Tice said.

‘Oh, how so, handsome?’ Arturus said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

‘With the
Archangel
nearly finished, you picked a great time to be on your best behaviour.’

Arturus smiled, twirling the human-shaped sceptre in his hand. It must have been heavy, but glided smoothly between his fingers.

‘Are you rattling that shrivelled sabre of yours?’ he said, sashaying dangerously close to the Senator’s personal space. ‘Do you expect House Alyxander to tremble before the Grand Admiral’s fleet? So much for the goodwill of this arrangement. There, there, Senator
Tice
,’ Arturus hissed, patting his shoulder as if consoling a child. ‘The distance between our worlds is great. And the
Archangel
is just one ship. You have your toys. We have ours.’

‘If I may be blunt,’ Senator Hsu said. ‘It’s your relationship with Ceti that people find threatening.’

‘Peaceful relationships are about learning to coexist,’ Arturus said, resuming his stroll. ‘Consider our location on the far side of the Belt. We would be unwise to upset the neighbours.’

‘You’ve attacked ships registered to Orionis corporations,’ Senator Kjanik said. ‘That hasn’t made Lance Alyxander many friends here.’

‘Tsk. I hate violence,’ Arturus said. ‘Those incidents were tragic. But I’m afraid our recollection is that it was
their
ships which attacked our own – and lost. They learned the hard way that exploitation of the Outer Rim is not without consequence. One of my goals this visit is to propose the formation of a neutral council that will draft the rules for intersystem commerce. Then these matters can be judged objectively. Whether or not you can convince the corporations to play along, well, let’s just say I don’t envy you.’