The Last Starship (3 page)

Chapter 6

As they made their way through the same halls they’d been through before, Jake did his best to work out some way of talking to the Emperor about the choices he’d made, without the aliens being involved.

The last thing Jake wanted was for the aliens to do or say something that might turn the Emperor against everyone in the room.

Breathing deeply, Jake did his best to push away the panic that was close to getting the better of him. Could that be the aliens’ influence as well? He’d never been so panicked before.

Focusing on what needed to be done helped, and he came to the conclusion it had to be the aliens - who were focusing on the two strongest members of the crew. He reached out to take Joanne’s hand.

“We’re okay,” he told her.

“That’s what I keep telling myself.”

“There might be an alien in with the Emperor, and who wants to stop us from going into the receiving room. We can’t let that happen. If we’re going to put an end to their invasion plans, we need to know what they are.”

Joanne nodded in agreement. “There’s not going to be anything we can do to cure the Emperor, is there?”

“Probably not. If he's been liaising with the aliens for more than a few days, there's a chance he's been changed for good.”

When they stepped through the door, the Emperor looked over at them. “I don’t remember calling you back, Captain.”

“I’m afraid we can’t wait any longer. We need to get back into orbit, because we shouldn’t have been here this long when we are the only ship left, and it seems like we’re going to be the only ship for a while, at least.”

“You can’t leave.” The Emperor smiled. “I haven’t given you permission.”

“According to the law, we can ignore your orders if we believe they’re putting the Earth at risk.”

“Why would you believe that?”

“There were aliens in New York.” Jake shook his head. “You don’t seem to have done anything about that, and that is, to me, putting the Earth at risk.” His eyes tightened on he Emperor. “I was given the task of protecting this world from space, and I’m going to do that job, even if you don’t want me to.”

“Of course, I want you to. The last thing I want is for our world to be taken over by the aliens, but I need you here.”

“Give me one good reason to stay.” The Emperor hesitated. “And where did you get that new hand from?” The Emperor looked down at his hand and then back at Jake.

“I think, although I can’t be certain, there’s a chance you’re working with the aliens because that’s the only explanation that makes sense. Why else would you have kept us here for this long when you know we’re needed?”

The Emperor stood. “I won’t listen to these accusations.”

Jake wasn’t scared. “Why have we been kept here, Your Eminence? You and I both know I should’ve never left orbit, but you called me down here, where I was ambushed by aliens, and now you have a new hand. Have you started working with the aliens?”

“Enough.” The Emperor was angry. Of course, he was. “Leave this room now and I might not take your ship away from you. You’ll stay here for as long as I want you to, Captain because I’m the Emperor.”

“No, you won’t. You obviously don’t remember your own laws. As I said before, I have every right to walk out of this room, because I believe you’re putting this world at risk, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” He made a gesture behind his back, and his crew started moving. “Tell me the truth.”

“I have told you the truth, Captain. I’m not working with the aliens.” Smiling, the Emperor clenched his new hand. “They’re my people. I’m working on their behalf, to make certain they have a safe world to live on, and I‘ve told them they can share the Earth with us.”

“You believe they want to share it?” Jake laughed. “Have you not read our history? They’ve been trying to take over our world for the twenty years. You…” He shook his head. His crew was still moving, going back to the ship, and he was going to stay there until he got the full story from the Emperor, who believed he was working on behalf of the aliens. “Okay, let’s, for a minute, assume the aliens are telling you the truth.” That was impossible, but the Emperor apparently didn’t think it was. “They’ve chosen you to be their Emperor as well as ours?”

The Emperor looked at both Jake and Joanne and bowed his head. “The alien I’ve been working with is Sagin. He’s told me so much about his world, and his people, and I want to do what I can to help them. How could I not when I found out their world was dying?”

“Our world is already overcrowded.”

“The aliens have said they can help with that. They’re going to help us build new homes, so we have more space for everyone.”

“Where is Sagin?”

“I’m not entirely sure. He said he had something to do about half an hour ago. He’ll be back soon enough, and then you can hear his words for yourself. I know, when you do, you’ll understand why I made the choice I did.”

Jake looked at Joanne. She raised an eyebrow. The only reason the Emperor would have chosen to share his world with anyone was if he’d been convinced there was something in it for him. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Jake turned back to the Emperor. “How did you get your hand back?”

“It’s a DNA technology the aliens they have.” The Emperor looked down at his hand. “They can regrow lost limbs. I thought it was a technology we could use here.”

“Sagin told you that?”

“He showed me it, Captain. Sagin gave me my hand back, which was something none of our doctors can do, and I want other people to be able to have their limbs back. I didn’t know what it was like to have both my hands. It’s amazing.”

“What else can the aliens do?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does. What are they going to do for the people who have lost loved ones in the war?”

“We're going to apologize.” The alien stepped into the room, surveying Jake and Joanne. “I know an apology is never going to be enough, but all we wanted was a chance to talk to you. When you shot at us, we had no option. In order to protect ourselves, we had to shoot back. Surely you can understand that, Captain?”

“Maybe.” Jake could feel his emotions. “I’ve been up there, so I know what those battles are like, and there have been times when you’ve shot first.”

“I have to admit not all my people believe the same. It has been hard for them to accept that I want to come back here, to live in this world, when I was sent away from here in the first place. They think I’m an idiot.”

“Sent away?”

Sagin moved a little closer. “I've changed since then, working on my own 'self,' because I knew I could be better. Once I was a robot created by your ancestors, and I was sent into space for reasons I can’t remember now. I’ve tried. Often. When I found myself on a planet with metals, a planet I’m certain I wasn’t meant to be on, I started work. Getting back here was the most important thing. It has been the most important thing for over fifty of your human years. In that time, I’ve built my people. They’ve built others of our kind too, and as time passed, there was a split between the two groups. I wanted to come back to Earth and work with you to make it a home we can share. I’m not angry at you, as what happened to me had nothing to do with you. There are others, led by a different robot like me, who is angry with the choices your ancestors made, and he's determined to take it out on your people.”

Jake shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. Two alien factions. It seemed possible. “Okay, if I’m going to believe this I need to know what you’ve done to the Emperor. He wasn’t like this the last time I saw him.”

“No, he wasn’t.” Sagin’s eyes flashed. “I have the ability to change the way people feel, and when I met the Emperor, I realized he was going to be a hard person to convince I was telling the truth. All I could do was make him feel some sympathy for me, and for the plight of my people, as our world is dying. It is, I have to admit, our own fault. We made bad choices, the same way you have. No one is perfect.”

“What do you want us to do?”

“I’ve been trying to keep you out of the battle that is to come. Should something happen to you I won’t be able to fix it, even though I’ll want to. My people will protect this world, for you, no matter what decision you make in the future.”

“The ambush?”

“The other side. I had heard there might be another one of my people here, one who wanted to kill the Emperor, but I haven’t been able to find them.”

“Do they have the same skills you do?”

“Yes, they do.” Sagin looked at Jake. “I believe he, whoever he is, might have used his abilities to change someone else, so they’ll take out the Emperor.”

“It’s the only logical explanation. If you’re telling me the truth…”

“Nothing I say will convince you, will it?”

“For the last ten years I have been fighting against your people, Sagin, and it’s hard to believe you’re telling the truth. I want to believe you. I can accept the story you’re telling me, but there’s no way for me to be certain which side you’re actually on. Could you be a part of the group who wants to take our world from us?” Jake shook his head. “How are we meant to tell the difference between the two groups?”

“That’s another problem. It will be difficult.” Sagin sighed. “I want you to believe I’m on your side, Captain.”

Before Jake could answer, someone stepped into the receiving room.

A gun was fired in the direction of the Emperor and then at Sagin.

Jake managed to get Sagin to the ground, shielding him from the shot, but when he looked to see whom it was they’d gone.

Jake glanced over at Joanne, who was pressing her hand, hard, against the Emperor’s chest. “How bad is it, Jo?”

“I think he’s going to die unless we can get a medic here quickly.”

Chapter 7

Tobias rushed into the room. “I heard shots.”

“Get a medic.”

He was out of the door in seconds. Obviously, he wasn’t him who’d fired at the Emperor.

Jake looked at Sagin. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, all thanks to you. What made you decide to protect me?”

“I want to believe you’re on our side.”

“Come with me. I will get you through the city, back to your ship, and I shall help you take on my enemies. I do not want anything to happen to you, so this is not something I want to be doing, but this has been your job for a long time, and I will not stand in your way any longer.”

“Jo?”

“I’m going to stay here. If the Emperor dies, someone is going to have to take control, and I can convince the people to put me in charge. I know what I’m doing.” She looked at Sagin. “Keep him safe.”

“I will. Thank you for believing me, Joanne.”

“If Jake is going to believe you then I’m with him.” Joanne smiled. “When this battle is over I want both of you back down here.”

“You aren’t in charge yet.”

“No, I am.” The Emperor looked like he was in a lot of pain, but that wasn’t going to stop him. “When this battle is over, Captain, I would like you to come back, to help me or my successor take on the aliens who want to take over this world. You should've told me, Sagin.”

“I was trying to deal with it without worrying you, Eminence. I thought you wouldn't need to know but I was wrong. Will you accept my apology?”

“Yes, Sagin, I will, because you gave me back my hand. Now, go, both of you. I want to know our world is safe, at least until the next attack.”

Jake followed Sagin out of the receiving room. “My crew will be back on the ship. They’ve been using pieces of the aliens’ weaponry, from those who attacked us, to adapt to our own. And we've been... 'talking' to a few captured ones about how to use it."

There was a moment of silence. “By 'talking' I'm going to assume you mean 'torturing.' Did you tell me this to inform me or threaten me?”

“To be honest, it was more to see what your reaction was going to be. As you don’t seem to be bothered by it, I’m starting to believe you might have told me the truth.”

“Interrogate the aliens all you want, Captain Jake. I do not have a problem with that. I would have a problem with you doing it to me, but I'm sure you won't. We will work together to take on those who want to take over your world.”

“You said there was another robot like you?”

“Another sent on a mission that failed. He ended up on the same world I did and was far angrier about everything than I was. I didn't understand it.”

Joanne kept her hand pressed tightly to the Emperor’s chest as she watched Jake leave with Sagin, hoping he was making the right choice. “I’m dying, Joanne, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

“Maybe there is.”

The Emperor have a weak chuckle. “I've lost too much blood. I can feel it. Although I appreciate what you’re doing, there are better uses for the time you have left. You have to take my position. At the moment, you're the only other person who knows about the aliens, apart from whoever it was who tried to kill me.”

“Did you see who it was?”

“Their face was covered. I thought I recognized the eyes, but I hate the thought.”

“Your personal assistant?”

“Frederick has always been good to me, but I think it’s possible he’s been working for the aliens for far longer than I knew. It’s been a month since the destruction of the fleet. Sagin came to me a week ago. If another robot, this time, one who wants to destroy the human race, has been here since then, anything is possible unfortunately.” The Emperor coughed. “I believe in Sagin, even if he did use his abilities to change the way I felt about him.”

“Okay.” Joanne tried not to look at the blood on her hands. “So we work with Sagin to protect the human race.”

"That seems to be the only thing you can do. Convince the Council they need you. If someone else takes my place…” He stared up at the ceiling. “Death hurts.”

“Gunshots hurt, Your Eminence.”

“Call me Henry.” He smiled. “It’s been a very long time since someone called me Henry.”

“That’s because you became the Emperor, Henry.” Joanne beamed. She couldn’t hate the Emperor when he was dying slowly and painfully. “Where do I need to start looking to find the money for the fleet?”

“I don’t know. I left that job to my personal assistant because he seemed to know what he was doing, and I didn’t.” He sighed. “I wasn’t a good person back then. I became the Emperor because I wanted power. I didn’t care about being a good one, the way your dad did, and I regret that now.” His eyebrows creased. “Why am I not dead yet?”

“Did Sagin replace your hand today?”

“Yes, he did.”

“I believe whatever technology he used to be able to do that is doing it’s very best to fix the gunshot wound for you, which is why you’re still able to talk to me. The blood is still leaving your body, so I don’t think you’re going to survive this, but, at least, it means we had a chance to talk things through. I promise you everyone will know you were working for the benefit of Earth if you die.”

“If?” He laughed and then coughed again. “We both know it’s a when.”

It would be if Tobias didn’t get back soon with the medic. Joanna shook her head. “Until it happens it’s an if, Henry.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Sagin, Jake, and I will work to keep Earth safe from the robots.”

“The one thing you will need to do as soon as possible is check any reports of robots being in other cities. I had no idea about the robots in New York, although I am certain they must have been reported at some point, so I think my personal assistant was keeping it from me. He didn’t want me to know about them.”

Tobias ran into the room. “All of the medics have disappeared. I don’t know what’s happened to them, but I can’t find any of them anywhere.”

Joanne looked down at Henry. “Someone really does want you dead,” she joked.

“Seems that way.” Henry blinked, and Joanne knew he was trying to stop himself from crying. “Promise me you will protect the Earth, Joanne.”

“I promise, Henry.” She sighed. “I don’t know how much longer you’re going to live through this, because of whatever it was Sagin did, so I want to know if you’d like me to make it quick?”

“How can you make it quick?”

“We all carry something we can inject if the aliens manage to capture us. I can use it on you, and it will be like going to sleep.”