Levi blinked when he heard the crash of the laser weapon's bolt hitting the shields Sonny erected the moment Stiles stood up. The attacker did something to his suit, and he appeared to vanish. Sonny turned the fire suppression system on, and a light fog quickly filled the room. At the same time, the security men were instructed to stay where they were and prevent anyone from leaving. Levi scanned the room but just couldn't make out any movement. Suddenly, Levi heard two chirps. The next instant, he saw sparks from across the room and heard something fall to the floor with a thud. Four security men rushed inside to collect the unconscious Stiles. Levi released from his protective shielding, fumed. The whole thing took less than fifteen seconds.
"How the hell did that happen?" Levi indicated the resulting chaos.
"I suspected Stiles to try something, but I didn't know what form it might take. I made some modifications to the room in advance of the meeting. He found some way to cloak his weapon from my sensors. He tried to evade by remaining still. The fire suppression wasn't working. I used echolocation instead to determine his location and overloaded a panel he stood next to and stun him long enough for security to apprehend him."
"I saw that part! Why did he do it in the first place?"
"Captain, I am detecting mass movement. Captain, I... will... be... busy... for... a... while."
"Shit! They must have loaded the cyberware. Stiles had been a diversion!" Levi shouted in his brain over the inner comm channel. "ALPHA, DELTA, DELTA, BREAK, OMEGA!" Levi repeated it two more times. He went to the terminal and contacted the bridge. "Bridge, if you read me, ALPHA, DELTA, DELTA, BREAK, OMEGA!"
"This is Commander Bales, Captain. We read you. Initiating protocols now. Security has already taken positions at all accesses to the bridge. Be advised, the enemy is moving in your direction. I say again, the enemy is moving in your direction."
The captain didn't bother to hear the warning the second time, he already sprinted down the hallway and towards the secondary location. They expected him to make his way to the bridge, but plans were in place to control the battle another way.
It was a desperate time. Levi had to sneak his way there. He had no weapon or protection. If Levi was spotted by the rebels, he was a dead man. While he kept a low profile, Levi heard two simultaneous explosions. One was near, and one sounded distant. He didn't know what was happening. He had to get to the war room! Levi had nearly arrived at his destination when he was confronted by three men coming around a corner. Startled, he fell into a defensive stance ready to fight.
"Captain Metcalfe?" One of the men said. Levi saw the men dressed in Navy uniforms. The captain did not relax. "Alpha, Delta," the captain said with a steely glare.
"Delta, break, omega." The lieutenant finished the coded orders.
Levi visibly relaxed. "Good to see you, boys!"
"We were looking for you but did not know when you would get here. Come with us. The war room is just over here. Stay close to us. Our bodies will protect you from sniper fire." Levi wore the same material used in almost all military jumpsuits. It responded to impacts in nanoseconds to harden into something far better than the old Kevlar. The sentiment, however, was comforting. He did not argue and proceeded to follow the escort the rest of the way to the war room.
The war room had been located underground in an alcove by a bank of sleepers. There, some officers were directing security forces using the manual video feeds and sensors. The captain remembered all the battle plans, the minute detail of the ship and the rebel's forces and numbers. He knew what to do. They had quietly installed laser fences at choke points leading to the bridge. Between the fence and a large security force there, he figured the bridge safe. Unfortunately, the rebels somehow managed to blow the two main spinal columns which served as a superhighway for Alice and Sonny. This must have been the explosions he heard earlier. Cutting those lines limited traffic between the two machines. They had to use indirect routes which took longer. The machines foresaw this and were ready for it. It had to be an inside job Levi thought, and someone will pay dearly for that.
Everywhere on the ship, a good deal of maintenance, service, and construction robots were doing their assigned work. Commander Bales executed the emergency protocol and activated the robot contingency. He sent the coded wireless signal over repeaters all over the ship to the robots. They dropped whatever they were doing and picked up anything which could be used as a weapon. The robots sought out the nearest rebels and attacked them. The new recruits had images in their brains of every one of the refugees put there by Sonny a few weeks ago, just in case the humans needed help. Many rebels caught off guard was killed straight away. When the insurgents caught on with what happened, they realized just how many fighters were on the Atlantis. Approximately six hours later, Sonny and Alice had jumped back into the fray, and the rebels were easily mopped up. Sonny had control over the many security laser guns dotted around the ship. Facing massive opposition and laser turrets all over the ship, the insurgents were surrendering in mass, and the coupe was put down. Humans and robots were rounding up the rebels and locking them up in the waiting rooms for sleeper processing when the jails were all full.
"Levi! Levi!" Alex's urgent voice on his inner comm rung in his head.
"Yes, Alex, I am here. It is good to hear your voice."
"You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice!" She sounded nearly in tears.
"If you are alright, we will talk later in the morning after things settle into a groove here."
"Yes, I'm alright. We have a cleanup of our own here. I love you. See you soon."
"Copy that! Looking forward to it. Love you."
It was nearly midnight, ship time when the coup had been put down. It had lasted just seven hours. Clearing up the aftermath was going to take much longer. Levi sat down for a moment to catch his breath. Suddenly he shook all over and had a little trouble breathing. Is there something wrong with the bots? He thought. A major came over to him to see if he was alright. Sonny whispered in his mind. "Take a moment. It is over. You are safe. We prevailed. Keep breathing. That's it. You know what to do."
Levi closed his eyes and took several cleansing breaths. His nerves were responding. The chemicals in his body were balancing themselves. It was going to be alright. He realized he had not had anything to eat in several days. Levi asked the Major to send someone to get him some food. In no time, some food materialized for the grateful captain. Refocused and determined, Levi bent to the task of directing the cleanup and making sure the prisoners were secured. He also wasted no time in getting wounded to the hospitals where Dr. Lim and his staff were no doubt overwhelmed. There were one hundred and eighty-four hospitals on the ship. However, much of the skirmishes took place in concentrated areas. Wounded had to be logistically spread to all the hospitals to deal with the load. Later, Sonny had told him there had been over seven thousand Atlantis crew killed and over twelve thousand wounded. Of the rebels, over sixty thousand killed, and twenty-eight thousand were wounded. This left around ninety-five thousand which needed to be incarcerated.
By 0900 the cleanup details and rounding up prisoners needed no direct supervision from Levi for a while. He took his leave of the bridge and handed it over to Commander Bales. Levi shook his hand as he approached the command chair to relieve him. "I just want you to know your performance during the uprising was exemplary. I am glad you are on our side, Commander."
"Thank you, sir. I have learned from the best. Now, go get some rest, sir. Take the day off. We've got it here."
"That sounds like a vacation now. I will let you know. You have the con."
"I have the con, aye sir!" He stepped up and sat in the command chair.
Levi walked slowly to his apartment trying to unwind his brain from the day's events. The weary captain wasn't very successful. He opened his door, and Levi was pounced by a beautiful woman. "You're really here!" Alex said through some tears. She kissed his face all over. At first, Levi recoiled from the attack. Then in the next instant, realized what he could have lost and returned the passionate kisses. They held their embrace for an extra-long time, reveling in the touch, smell, and warmth of each other. Alex and Levi sat down on the couch to talk.
Alex recounted her adventures during the uprising. "We were caught by surprise when it started. As you know, Colonel Weston and I head up the engineering section on this end of the ship. It is also one of the last offices and shops before you get to the command section. In retrospect, the refugees must have been told to act natural but start sauntering their way up to the command section. I noticed there was more people traffic than usual, but I could not tell the mix of Atlantis people with the refugees. Well, it turned out they were all refugees! They must have gotten some signal because the refugees suddenly moved as one. The laser fence went up. A few people in their zeal were sliced to bits. I went a few floors up to a vantage point and saw a massive line of security had taken up a position of cover behind the fence line. If anyone came close to the fence, a sniper would put him down. At some point, people tried to launch bombs into the air with a trajectory which took the payloads into the fence or security forces. The snipers were good. Using their rail gun rifles, they picked every one of them off before any damage could be done. While the insurgents were stalled at the fence, some thought they could use the surrounding buildings for sniper positions. I quickly came down to defend the building. The building did not have enough weapons to go around, so some of us had to improvise. While the ones with weapons were temporally holding them off, the Colonel, and I quickly constructed a sonic deterrent which hurt the invading force like driving nails into their heads. This went a long way to keep them away from our offices, but they overran other buildings. This went on for about an hour. Then I could see from the upper window, robots of all types were rushing the refugees followed by other Atlantis people who were not from security and had weapons. The refugees were caught between the robots and the fence. It was not pretty. The rebels had to fight through all of that to escape. I could not imagine a more terrible thing to witness, Levi. I have never seen war. It was nothing like I had thought. I never want to see it again if it's all the same to you."
Levi closed his eyes and sighed. "I am just grateful you are alright. That reminds me, I need to start having Dr. Lim set up clinics for survivors and wounded for any psychological treatment they are going to need. He is probably already dealing with the immediate problems, but a more expanded service is no doubt needed. There. Sent the memo."
Alex commented, "I really envy that feature of enhancement,"
"Well, there are drawbacks, you know," he said.
She raised her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips. "Not from where I'm sitting."
"Well, for one thing, at least right now, it is sometimes lonely. The machines are the only ones which can talk at my speed. Speaking can be a tedious thing sometimes. It takes too long."
"Don't you do other things while engaging with other humans?" When she said it out loud, it sounded weird. "I mean, the rest of us which are slow, that is."
"After you do a thousand tasks before breakfast, you start running out of things to do. Even as captain of this enormous ship I can run out of things to do. I have lived with this for over ten years. It was nice when the other captains agreed to be enhanced. I had visitors. But then we shipped out right after that."
"What about Bill?"
"Unless he is on the ship, communication does not work well. Communications are still light speed, and this makes it impossible. For similar reasons, you cannot communicate while in flight. Bill would have to be sub-light and close. This hasn't happened hardly at all."
Alex looked at him with hopeful curiosity. "What about me?" They had talked about this before, and Levi had reservations.
"You know I am not sure what will happen to our relationship if you enhance. We have talked about this. I like what we have."
Alex sighed and took Levi's hand. "I know. But once you told me of the dreams about a world of people which are all enhanced. How it would take humanity to the next level. Are you afraid of our relationship going to the next level Levi?"
It was Levi's turn to sigh. "Yes, I remember. However, I am still human. Yes, I am afraid. I don't want to lose you. I am alone now. I don't want to experience the loneliness in a universe without you."
"Wow! That is about the most romantic thing I have heard you utter. I am truly touched. But, let's be practical for a moment. The chief complaint is the people you want to talk to are inconveniently away. That would be the perk of having me enhanced. I will always be around."
"But this process cannot be undone. Like a girl's name tattooed on your chest. The relationship goes sour, and now you have your ex-girlfriend's name tattooed on your chest."
"Although it is not quite the same analogy, I prefer to think of it more like getting married. Most people do not marry anymore, but the ones that do, see it as making a commitment to each other on another level than before. There are no guarantees in life and love Levi. It all comes down to trust. What does your gut tell you, Levi? Look past your fear. What do you see?"
Levi struggled for a few moments grasping for the right words to say. "Part of me thinks you are pressing this because of what you have just been through. However, your words move me Alex. I guess I have never had to put any real weight on our relationship before, and I am just uncertain about its strength under these circumstances. We would be the first, you know Alex. The first enhanced couple. I have no reference. We will be immortal. Levi smiled sarcastically. If it doesn't work out, you will be a pain in my ass forever!"
Alex, grateful for a little levity, smiled as well. "And I would too. So, we better do it right!"
"If you are this sure, I do not want to jeopardize our relationship by denying you the chance to try. I trust you with all my heart. Just try not to step on it, Okay?"
"I can't make any promises, but I will give it my best effort."
"That will just have to be enough," Levi said accepting the conditional promise. "Sonny."
"Yes Captain," Sonny's voice popped into thin air.
"In all the hub-bub, I forgot to check in on you. How are you? Is Alice Okay? What about the cyberware?"
"Alice and I are still running diagnostics to be sure any remnants of the malicious code have been eradicated. The attack was as we feared. The master program had been introduced as bits of code in other innocuous programs. When triggered by a signal program, the bits assembled themselves into a sophisticated weapon. Like bringing parts of a gun past security, then reassembling the gun past the checkpoint. The attack on us is not something a human could have produced quickly. This had been planned for some time. The malicious code kept Alice and me on the defensive for over four point nine hours. We knew how to defeat it, we just could not defeat it quickly. Like going around a mountain instead of over it. It is unclear whether the move against us was to delay or disable. It is also unclear what they thought they could do if they succeeded. They must have known what would happen if we were not disabled. Once free of its hold on us, we quickly assessed the current situation and mobilized the ship to repel the aggressors."
"Yes, that sounds about right. We could not operate the laser guns since you and Alice are the only ones authorized to use them. Stiles must have known this somehow." Levi stood up. "Well, I think it is time I got some answers from the people who have them. Alex, why don't you stay here and rest. I will catch up with you later after I take care of a little ship's business." The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
"Give him a few choice words for me, will you? I will be here when you get back. See you soon."
Levi headed out the door but now spoke to the machines at their speeds.
"Give me an update on the prisoners," Levi said with his jaw set.
"There are ninety-five thousand, eight hundred, and fifty-five prisoners currently. As wounded are treated and released that number will be growing. Investigations are still ongoing. Prisoners who look to be the leaders and main henchmen of the rebellion have been segregated into the ship's holding cells. They are being questioned first."
"Do you have the video of those investigations and interviews?"
"Of course."
"Feed it all to me now," the captain directed.
"Certainly, Captain."
Levi almost reached the auto station when all the data hit him. Security had been busy. The rush of data made him stop a moment while he had Sonny throttle the data stream to a more comfortable level. He hopped into the first auto and directed it to security headquarters and the holding cells. While in route, he finished assimilating the data given to him, and now he had questions. "Sonny, why do you suppose Stiles and the others are not talking except to give sarcastic replies?"
"Sometimes it is because they wish to speak to the man in charge. Sometimes it is because they are under some obligation not to talk. It could be other things at work here, but those are the two bigger reasons. Would you like me to go on?"
"No, that's alright. What is your assessment of the two instigators?"
"Charles Stiles continues to display arrogance even in the face of defeat. This speaks of overconfidence of his situation or pathology of megalomania or a similar diagnosis. Igoryok Kochetkova seems to be content just sitting and brooding. Harder to read. His facial expressions show he is apprehensive about something. He doesn't move much, so his body language is not saying anything but fatigue. I suggest interrogating Kochetkova first, then Stiles."
"Yes, the data you sent on previous interviews did not yield much. Major Patel is a good interrogator, but I think it is time to take it up a notch. I have a plan."
"I am all ears, as the humans say. But of course, I do not have any."
Levi walked into the headquarters and spoke to the Officer of the Day. "Good day Lieutenant Reeves. Would you have someone notify Major Patel I am here and I wish to speak with him?"
The Lieutenant snapped to and saluted. "Yes, Captain."
Major Patel came out of an office just then. "Sonny notified me you were arriving. Would you like a briefing?"
"Can we speak privately Major Patel?"
"Certainly, come this way." He led the way to an office down the hall.
"I have seen all the video interviews and reports from those interviews. I would like to hear your views on the prisoners, Major."
"All the vids? Sorry, I forget what you can accomplish in a short time. Well, sir, I don't believe we are going to get much of anything from Stiles and Kochetkova. However, I have been working on his lieutenants instead, hoping to shake some fruit from the trees. They are a tight-lipped bunch, Captain. I have not found the right motivation."
"Motivation is why I am here. I have a different approach."
The captain and the major went down to the cell blocks and approached Igoryok Kochetkova's cell. The room measured twenty by ten with transparent aluminum modified for incarceration. He was lying on his bunk and sat up when they approached. "Ah, the Captain. Now we get somewhere!"
The captain took stock of Igor quickly as he approached the cell. Levi noted and understood how Igor reacted to his appearance. "I understand you have not been forthcoming about what we want to know. Just so you know, the why is not all that important to me. I hate for you to think there is much importance to my arrival, but the truth is the major needs my personal authorization for certain things. So, I had to come down. If I wanted you out an airlock, I could have just called down for that. But since I am here, I do have something I need to say to both of you." With a more authoritative tone Levi called, "Major if you could escort Igor here to Chuckey's cell, I don't want to have to repeat myself."
The Major had a sergeant and two security men unlock and escort the prisoner to Stiles's cell on the next cell block. He played it cool, but Igor had clearly been thrown off by this move. As they approached Stiles's cell, he was sitting at his desk. He saw them coming and stood up. The sergeant instructed Stiles to stand back while Igor entered the cell. A small section of the transparent wall melted away. Just big enough to enter sideways, Igor entered the cell. The hole which had been there solidified and became like the rest of the wall again.
"Have a seat, gentlemen. There are a few things I need to clear up." One of the security men brought two chairs for the major and the captain. "I don't know what you thought you were going to accomplish on this ship, but you two have made a hell of a mess. Maybe you both think you're the walking dead now and nothing is going to change the fact that you're going to die. This is not true. Personally, I do not take any possibility off the table until a decision is made. So, we can talk and see where things go. As I have indicated to Igor there, I did not come down here to shove you out an airlock. It is still a possibility, but I like to keep my options open.
Both men were silent for a moment. Then Stiles stood up. "Pretty casual words for someone on the other side of the wall. But words are just words. Deception is well ingrained in the human condition. Why should I believe anything you say?"
The captain shifted in his chair. "That is a valid question. However, you are laboring under false assumptions. Although we come from the same planet, we are from different worlds. It is understandable struggling on Earth for survival for the last ten years or so have made you ruthless and devalue human kindness. It is those elements which have hampered humans since we were running around on all fours. The neutron star did us a favor. It gave humanity the kick in the pants it needed to live a life somewhere else. The tricky thing about starting over is, if your habits do not change, you end up right back where you were messing up the planet and everyone else on it. This changing of our spots is difficult and painful. There are people which think we should just take what we want and damn the consequences. History is replete with people who have seized power only to misuse it. Humans struggle to be responsible. Now, we cannot afford the luxury to lose people too stupid power grabs and misuse of power. There is not enough of us left. So, to answer your question, you may think you cannot trust my motives. However, you can bet your life that I'll do what I say. My promises have meaning here. Even to you. And that, you can trust."
Stiles stared at the captain with a poker face. "You know, you talk too much. What do you want? I'm kinda busy here. I have all this work to do." He gestured to his empty cell.
"Sometimes, I think there is no reasoning with this destructive part of humans. Maybe we should cut it out like a cancer. Major," the captain called out.
"Yes, sir."
"You may escort Igor here to the airlock. I grow weary of these games. If you want to die, I can help you with that."
The major was shocked. "But sir, you can't sink down to their level! Compassion is the carrot. Do not resort to the stick!"
"Major," the captain said in a firmer tone. "I believe I gave an order. I do what I do for the safety of this ship. Do I make myself clear, or do I relieve you and have someone else do it?"
"No, sir. I understand." The Major reluctantly signaled the sergeant and his men to remove Igor from the cell.
Igor went wild. "You can't be serious!" He shouted. "Charles, you said he didn't have the balls for something like this!" He glared expectantly at Stiles. Stiles stood like a mannequin. Only his eyes moved as the security men were half dragging Igor down the hall shouting, "you can't do this! You can't do-o-o this!"
"Sonny, turn the monitor on. I want Mr. Stiles to watch this."
The monitor came on and followed the security men and Igor as they took him to the nearest airlock about one hundred yards away. A few minutes went by while they were securing Igor into the airlock. Stiles was stock still as he watched the monitor.
Major Patel called from the airlock comm panel. "Prisoner secured sir. Awaiting your orders,"
Levi's eyes never left Stiles. "Evacuate the airlock, Major," The airlock indicator showed green. Major Patel stepped over to the control panel and punch four buttons. This lit another button he then depressed. The indicator went from green to red. Igor was there one moment, then the chamber became empty. Stiles took his eyes off the monitor.
"So, it seems you do have balls," Stiles said with some respect. "How do you feel about your values now, Captain?"
"As I said earlier, I don't mind cutting out cancer to save the body. Now, it is your turn. You seem to be a clever fellow. No more games. Tell me what I need to know. It really is not all that much to save your life. How easy it is to throw someone else's life away, but different when it is your own. So how about it?"
Stiles probed the captain. "Just so we are clear, what is it you want?"
"I need names of any Atlantean crew which went over to your side. Specifically, the ones who participated in the sabotage of the two large data bundles. I know it was an inside job. Our investigators have a list of suspects, but it would be nice to have corroboration."
"Oh, that. They were freedom fighters. I do not rat out heroes."
"I thought I was clear," Captain Metcalfe snapped his fingers. The sergeant appeared with his men. "No games."
"I confess I underestimated you. You were lucky in the conference room, Captain. History is written by the victors they say. I suppose I will go down in history as a villain. The truth is I just wanted greener pastures but on my own terms. You see, I have a problem with authority."
"I am not going to ask again." The captain's final warning was clear.
"Alright," he spat. "Lieutenant Jameson doctored the logs to cover Corporal Matthews planting the charges during routine maintenance inspections on two separate occasions."
"Major, have Jameson and Matthews arrested and brought here for questioning."
Major Patel had just come back from the airlock. "Yes, sir!" And he turned on his heel and strode out of the cell block.
"Sergeant, send a medic in here. Our guest needs a sedative." The sergeant turned to leave. Levi stepped close to the transparent wall and said in a low voice, "I just want you to know before you go under, I might put you into a sleeper. Then again, the airlock would solve a lot of my problems. I still haven't decided. Goodbye Mr. Stiles."
He turned to leave. "But you said you would spare me if I gave you those names!" Stiles started to panic. "You said your word meant something here!"
Captain Metcalfe spoke loudly over his shoulder, "I lied!" He kept walking with a screaming Stiles at his back. "Sonny, instruct the medic if he offers more information, get him to spill it before he is put under. Make sure the situation is secured for this part. I do not want the medic to get hurt."
"Yes, Captain. On a side note, you handled Charles Stiles well. It would seem you know a little about human psychology as well."
"Well, it is the last we will see of Mr. Stiles for a while. I still don't know what to do with him. What would you do with him, Sonny?"
"There are many variations to this ending. It depends on how dark the ending you want it for Mr. Stiles."
"I want him to pay for his arrogance and recklessness."
"Any scenarios which allow him to live will instill resentment and vengeance. If you think he can be properly supervised, I would suggest you let him clean up his own mess."
"That would be a good start," Levi pondered. "Sonny, would you be up for a therapist job?"
"You wish to rehabilitate Stiles?"
"If that is possible. Stiles could put on an act and perhaps fool a human therapist by telling them what they want to hear. But not you."
"If you wish. However, might I suggest Alice instead of myself? Stiles may resent me, and Alice is relatively unknown."
"You may be right there. Alice, if you heard, I think that is what we will do.
"Yes, Captain. I will begin as soon as he is conscious."
"If he cannot be rehabilitated, then we shove him out an airlock. Is Igor back in his cell?"
"Yes, Major Patel took care of it. I monitored the transfer," Sonny replied.
"I will have to have Major Patel over for breakfast tomorrow to thank him for his performance and help with our little scheme. I am a little surprised Stiles took the bait. He should have realized the video feed could have been faked."
"The Major believes you should have really put him out the airlock."
"A part of me does too, Sonny. Growing up is always difficult. Ancient behaviors are hard to put down. They served us well when we needed to survive long enough to be intelligent. Now we spend the rest of our species lifetime learning how to live without them. But what to keep, and what to throw away? I would like to think we will figure it out."
"You will," Sonny said. "The first steps are always the hardest."