The Final Flight Of The Phaseship Lelantos
Parts One, Two, and Three
By
Cory McCoy
“I'm angry Vel. Really fucking angry,” Aariel said.
“That's putting it mildly,” Vel knew how deep her pain ran. He could sense it, it was his curse. He felt the rage eating away at her like a cancer as she stood over her twin brother's dying body.
“Why did it have to be a prim?” She asked, knowing that no explanation would suffice. “Any one of the god damned civs and he probably would have pulled through.”
“You know as well as I do that we don't choose the targets,” Vel replied. She was right though, any med ship in the civs probably could have saved him. The target knew that though, he chose a Prim because it meant that only a handful of Hunters would be able to follow.
“This droid gives me the creeps. Why does he insist on having one follow him around like that?” Aariel asked, glaring at the ship's droid.
“Apologies, ma'am. I can leave if you'd like,” The droid offered.
“No. He wanted you here, so you get to watch him go just like the rest of us, Captain Copper-ass.”
“I appreciate that ma'am,” The droid told her, giving her one of its creepy metallic smiles.
“System report, Lelantos,” Vel said absent-mindedly.
“All systems secure. Subluminal pursuit ships fully fueled and armed. Lelantos Main is undergoing AI overhaul, 73% complete.”
“What? Who ordered the overhaul?” Vel asked.
“Aaric did sir,” The droid replied, handing him a paperthin data pad. “Before losing consciousness, he began performing major AI upgrades. He said they were to be his parting gift.”
“What kind of upgrades, Lelantos?” Aariel asked.
“System efficiency will be increased tenfold. Logic subroutines have been updated to current Civ-wide maximums, some exceeding threshhold. Aaric also left a few surprises that I do not have primary access to, sir.”
“Did you know about this, Aariel?”
“No, Vel. He's too far gone for my intuition to pick anything up. The last emotions I felt were when you phased back into this Civ. He was in pain.”
“That bastard damn near tore him in half...”
“He feels more distant with every passing moment, Vel.” Aariel said, gently clasping her brother's hand. “Aaric's leaving us.”
“Lelantos, prep for takeoff. I want to clear the system and phase back to the Prim. I'm going to make this bastard suffer.”
“Sir, I'm sure you're aware that we're currently without a pilot.”
“I can fly the damn birds myself. Start the prep.”
“You can, but you wont need to Vel,” Aariel told him, the tears barely masking the fury in her eyes.
“Absolutely not. I won't be responsible for both of you dying.”
“You know that I can't just let this go. Our culture demands that I see it through.”
“Don't tell me you've had a fuckin religious awakening all of a sudden.”
“No, but you can be god damn sure that your target is going to have one before the end.”
