Eradicate (Manipulate, Book 3)

Chapter 27

Planetary Orbit

Rik Homeworld

Akemi once again circled a planet, but this time it was not Earth and she was not a space station. And this time, instead of a handful of curious people waving at her, there were thousands of aliens staring at the sky. Hundreds of thousands.

She had circled the Rik planet four times already over the last two days, altering her trajectory to cover all the settled continents with her cameras. She'd needed to see each continent during the night, and now she was on her fifth and final pass. She'd been counting the votes as she went and had now cycled from exhausted to elated to hyper.

"I'm done, I'm done, I'm done," Akemi called out. Sam jerked upright. Indentation marks lined his sleepy face from where his head had rested on the control board. Basher was fast asleep on the floor in the corner, with Claire curled up against his side, her head pillowed on his arm. She was still fast asleep too. They all had cabins they could be in, but they'd been waiting to hear the results of her final pass around the planet.

The Rik had been told of Sage's (arguably crazy) plan. If they agreed to undergo the switch and relinquish all rights to the technology thereafter, they were supposed to come outside to be confirmed and counted.

Nat had slumped sideways against the bulkhead and now straightened, rubbing her neck. "What time is it?"

"It's counting time! Happy time! Rub-the-Merith-noses-in-it time!"

Sam waved a lazy hand at her voice simulator. "What are you on and where can I get some?"

"It's just the tree talking. Wake up!"

She and Drench had accomplished an impressive feat, hacking into the Pontifex's communication system. Unfortunately, that had been the last of the miracles. They couldn't figure out how to separate the two of them. So Drench was, in fact, stuck with her.

His bulk filled a large part of the storage facilities on this ship. Akemi had learned how to use the external processor on Drench's trunk to access the ship's network on her own, so he could go dormant during the trip. A Crosspoint expert had helped her figure out how to do it.

So Drench was dormant now, because he hated space travel, but Akemi thought he was becoming rather resigned to her presence. After this mission, which she'd begged him to let her do, they were going to be taken back to Melifleur.

The Crosspoint were rather perplexed at Drench's situation, and eager to see what could be done.

Drench was eager to be home, and though he didn't often express it, eager to show Akemi his planet.

The others were stirring groggily now, and Akemi waited for them to view the stats for the five passes she'd made. "I'd call that a success," she said.

They nodded dumbly.

"Sage still has his work cut out for him, but this should expedite things a bit," Sam said.

"Should I call the Pontifex?" Akemi asked. "And Greg?"

"Go for it. Only promise me you'll wake them both the same way you woke us," Sam said. "Now I'm going to bed."

***

Sage stared down at the planet below him. His planet. His responsibility.

He had never considered it profoundly. Always the plan was to migrate; always his focus had been on Earth. He studied the contours of the continents of his homeworld and wondered if he could grow to love it the way he'd loved the idea of Earth.

It would be difficult. For so long he'd had nothing but contempt for his own species. Could they truly become a worthwhile people without stealing the essence from others? He didn't know. Six months ago, he would have said no. But now he had known Claire, who had begun to change him. Now he had known Juliet, who had changed him more.