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Nellie and the Nanites - Bk3 - Ch.36
🕑 Added 2024-06-11 08:00:06 +0000 UTCChapter 36
A Warning is Issued
The Council room had been cleaned up, and a new table found by the time the comm call came in from the Bly’s Rest. Duke had spent the time in between calming down and then spending almost a full day turning the entire Colony upside down in the search for ‘the child.’
Brenda and her crew had been especially helpful, offering to continue the search well into the night in apology for the actions of their First Officer.
Both Nancy and Hadrian had been noticeably absent since the incident in the meeting room, but Duke was well aware that his actions had probably shaken them.
Now, standing in front of the small mirror in his quarters, Duke took several deep breaths and reminded himself of all the reasons he was not the same person he used to be.
A decision had been made, and he had kept to it for all these years—a conscious choice not to be like the people who raised him for even one more day in his life. A new start and this Colony was the fruit of that dedicated effort. There were teething problems, he knew. Tragedies had occurred, some of them avoidable, and perhaps he did share some of the blame. He had been too soft with people. Too trusting, but there was still time to salvage everything.
The loss of Leo was a blow; it really was. The man had been a part of this from the very beginning. Stars above, Duke had led the mission where Leo found the damnable child in the first place—even helped him smuggle her off that hellscape of a planet. So, yes, it was a blow.
Duke felt his anger surge at the betrayal, at the fact Leo, of all people, had become a spy for that scaled bastard Crush and pushed the old instinct away.
Leo had his reasons, and Duke knew that Leo would have meant the best outcome for everyone. Hells, it had been Duke that taught the man to think that way.
No, it was time to take charge properly, and it would start with him formerly adopting the child.
His datapad chirped, and he saw the notification about the comm call from Nellie’s people and sighed.
Whatever new problem this was, he would ask them to wait.
The child came first.
Duke felt surprised to see the entire Council gathered, but it was probably a gesture of respect given what Brenda had told them of the Captain’s progress—a long overdue one.
“Put it up,” Duke said as he sat down, turning to face the holographic display and ignoring everyone else. Unless they had found the child, he had nothing to say to any of them.
The lights swirled and flashed before stabilizing into the form of Nellie standing next to her assistant. Duke struggled to remember her name. Salen? Salem? Solemn? Either way, he really needed to encourage Nellie to spend more time around real people. All those synthetics could not replace a real human confidant. They just couldn’t.
Then, he noticed the space between the two was occupied by the very child they had been searching high and low for.
“Good evening,” Salem started, “We are contacting you due to a rather serious matter.”
“How do you have that girl?” Duke asked, fighting a wave of rising anger as suspicions banged around in his head.
“We will get to that in a moment,” Salem said calmly.
“You will get to it now!” Duke snapped, immediately regretting it as all three women glared at him.
“If you wish,” Salem replied. “The young lady arrived at our embassy earlier today, bearing a message from her father entrusting her to the care of Captain Bonne-Chance.”
“Bullshit!” Brenda snapped. “No kid can cover that distance on her own, let alone that fast.”
“She can,” Duke growled. “Be quiet, sister.”
“Yes, brother,” Brenda sat back immediately.
“I demand to see this message,” Duke said, glowering at the holograms in his simmering anger.
“Naturally,” Salem smiled. “I have included a copy of it with this transmission.”
Duke looked at the smiling face of his old friend again, watching the message for the third time.
It wasn’t a fake. He knew the man better than anyone, and the hidden signs they worked out years ago were all there. It was real. And Leo must have still trusted Duke to some extent, or he would never have included them.
A small part of the pain Duke had felt melted away, knowing that his friend had not turned on him entirely.
“I see,” Duke said as he placed the datapad on the desk.
“With that out of the way, I will continue,” Salem said smoothly. “We were informed of the recent events by the young lady in question. They are a major source of concern to her and to us.”
“That is an internal matter and none of your business,” Duke said, offended that this synthetic was sticking its nose into a personal matter.
“He was my friend, Duke,” Nellie spoke for the first time. Her voice didn’t waver or shake, but it carried a lot of anger in it. “That makes it my business just as much as if something happened to you.”
“He was a fucking deckhand to you,” Duke felt his temper flush too late to bite the words off. “Did you even know his name?” The moment the words were said, Duke regretted them. It was a dick thing to say, coming more from his own guilt than anything Nellie had done.
“His name was Leo,” Nellie said in a dead voice. “I collected stuffed animals for him whenever I searched an abandoned village. He was kind but never liked to show it. Leo always made flirty jokes but never meant anything to them. He never forgot a friend and never made an enemy if he could avoid it. Leo found a lost little kid and became her father.” Nellie went on and on, “He was injured in the landing, bleeding out from a bad leg wound, and my Lucy saved him while your people ran around like chickens with their heads cut off!” She stopped and took a deep breath. “And he chose me to look after the person he cared about more than anything else when he died.”
“Why?” Duke was more wondering out loud than expecting an answer.
“For the fluffies,” The voice was rougher than you expect from a child, but it was still a girl’s voice. Duke had not even been aware she could speak.
“What?” Brenda’s head snapped up.
“Because I risked my life to get the fluffies,” Nellie ruffled the girl’s hair, getting a glare for her trouble. “It must have made sense to Leo.”
Duke stared for a long moment, feeling a lot of things all at once. He remembered Leo always coming back with one of those things, but he never even saw the girl play with one. She just collected them. Duke felt his mind wandering off down tangents, wondering if he had collected the things, would he be the one with the girl now? Would Leo never have spied?
It was a lot to deal with, and he simply didn’t have time right now. So, Duke pushed all the feelings into a box and tossed it aside to deal with later. He had plenty of practice with that when he was younger. It was another thing he had promised not to do again, but needs must…
“We have dealt with the matter,” Duke said simply. “Leo was being taken for questioning, a fight ensued, and a tragedy occurred.”
“What about Beratta?” Nellie asked.
“What about him?” Duke said. “He was injured but survived. I’m sure my sister has confined him to the ship?” He looked at Brenda.
“I have, brother,” Brenda nodded. “He will not set foot out of my ship while we are here. Now, or in the future.”
“Then it is done,” Duke nodded. “Is there anything else?”
“Not good enough,” Nellie replied.
“What?” Duke frowned.
“You heard me,” Nellie said simply. “I want him to face questioning to determine if there was EVER a chance Leo would live.”
“My sister has assured me there was no intention to kill him,” Duke left out that it was dependent on whether Duke wanted him killed; that would just complicate matters. Brenda should never have moved on Leo without his say-so, but she would not have killed him. Not without Duke’s agreement. She was a little wild, not stupid. “Is that not enough?”
“She’s a fucking pirate, so no,” Nellie retorted.
“She is MY sister,” Duke snapped back. “You need to remember your place, Bea!” Duke had never in his life experienced an ‘Oh, shit!’ moment. He was normally a controlled person, but everything lately had just left him reeling.
“My place?” Nellie asked, her voice like a tidal flow of ice.
“I just meant you are not a part of this colony,” Duke tried to backpedal. “You have no control here. Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant.”
“I see,” Nellie responded in tones of permafrost. “I will act accordingly in the future.”
“Wait,” Hadrian found his voice in desperation as Duke failed to find his own. “This matter need not—”
“Salem, take over,” Nellie said to her second in command. “We will keep matters formal from now on.”
“Yes, Captain,” Salem said, stepping smoothly into the center of the projection. “Council Member Hadrian, is it?”
“Correct,” Hadrian nodded. “Synthetic Crew Member Salem, I assume?”
“My name is Salem DuLesprit, Administrator of the Bly’s Rest. Let us not drop to common insults. It is surely beneath us.” Salem said with no trace of anger.
“I gave no insult,” Hadrian sighed. “Among our own people, artificial life forms and servants are simply addressed as such. I apologize if the truth is a touchy subject.”
“I see, Inept and Corrupt Fleshy Council Member Hadrian; please forgive the confusion,” Salem replied in the same friendly tone. “I will ensure to add an additional packet formally announcing the fact that Synthetic, Robotic, and Artificial Intelligence life forms all have equal standing to Organic ones to this message to avoid further confusion.”
“I think this meeting has gone off the rails a little,” Brenda said, poking her brother meaningfully.
“I agree,” Duke said, standing. “I suggest we conclude this matter.”
“Very well,” Salem said brightly. “In that case, I formally request that First Officer Baratta is made available for questioning by our authorities.”
“Denied,” Duke replied flatly.
“I formally request that First Officer Baratta be subjected to questioning by a third party, such as the other Colony,” Salem said simply.
“They were spying on us!” Hadrian protested. “They are hardly considered a neutral party in this matter.”
“Agreed, request denied,” Duke nodded to Hadrian.
“I formally request further punitive action be taken against First Officer Baratta in light of his actions,” Salem’s tone had not changed.
“Not your Colony, not your ship,” Duke said angrily, “Denied.”
“Understood.” Salem nodded. “I can take this as you formally announcing the matter is closed as far as you are concerned?”
“Finally, the robot gets it,” Nancy muttered.
“Indeed I do,” Salem nodded. “With your permission, Captain?”
“Granted,” Nellie replied.
“Council Members,” Salem said happily. “I must formally relay the decision to declare you all persona non grata within the areas under the control of the N.S.S. organization. All diplomatic means having been pursued, we will take what action we deem necessary.”
“Is that a threat?” Duke asked, feeling shock and anger. Who did they think they were?
“No, Council Member Duke,” Salem responded. “We do not issue threats. I have merely relayed the decision of our leaders to you, the leaders of your colony.”
“You put a single boot on the ground, and it will be war!” Duke growled. “I will not have my territory threatened.”
“We will not enter your territory,” Salem replied, her unflustered and friendly voice grating across his nerves like a cheesegrater. “And you will not enter ours.”
“Your tiny Embassy is of no interest to us,” Duke huffed.
“Pleased to hear it,” Salem nodded. “Now, onto the formal cutting off of diplomatic ties?”
“Get this robot off my fucking screen,” Duke waved a hand. “Before I say something I will regret.”
“You just did,” Salem’s voice came over the line a second before the comm line was cut. It was still friendly and warm.
Fuck her.
“I want your ship finished within the week,” Duke snapped at Brenda. “If she starts something, I want you to finish it.”
With that, he stormed out of the meeting room, slamming the door behind him.
===<<<>>>===
A few hours later, Duke was washing his face for the fifth time. How the hell had things gotten so far out of hand so fast?
It was a question he had been asking himself since he left the meeting room. Almost immediately, he had been shocked at his own actions. It was just not like him, not the person he wanted to be at all.
The truth was, he had been off kilter since the moment they entered the Jump Transit. Everything had simply gone wrong from there, and when they finally made it down to the moon, it just got worse. He could still remember the anger he had felt when Nellie slapped him. Even if it was what he needed at the time. None of it had been his fault, after all. People had lied to him, and a lot of people had died. If it hadn’t been for Nellie, they all would have died. That was just a fact.
Then those bloody morons schemed behind his back, taking advantage of his kindness to build their own power as if that even mattered out here. They were all in this together; why didn’t they see that?
Then Crush called him incompetent. That had been the final straw. The fool just didn’t understand what Duke was trying to do.
He was trying to be nice.
But you could only be nice if people let you. That was the simple truth that Duke had not appreciated. And people kept taking advantage of his kindness, seeing it as a weakness instead of a choice he was making.
So, today, he decided it was time to be stronger. To let himself slide back, just a little. To stamp his authority on the council once and for all.
Then, the girl was with Nellie instead of him, and everything just went south. It seemed that authority and arrogance went hand in hand. He couldn’t be the farmer AND the prideful son. It really was one or the other.
His people, his colony, didn’t need a farmer right now. They needed him as a leader.
His relationship with Nellie could always be fixed later. Once he had control again, Duke would reach out and make amends.
It would be fine.
No matter how she acted, Nellie was still just a woman who ran a junkyard and always would be. He was born to power, and eventually, she would realize that.
In the meantime, she could be pissed up there on her space station.
Duke almost chuckled at that.
It seemed that everyone would be learning lessons. He learned that being nice only worked if people played along, and Nellie would learn that throwing your weight around and having a tantrum did not work.
Everything would be fine.
Duke, the farmer, was put away in a box for better days, and Duke, the Scion of his family, was unboxed for good or ill. It was time to take his colony back under his control and make everyone dance to his tune.
It would be for the best; they would see that. In the end.
Duke stepped out of his quarters just as a runner from the Last Chances approached. The kid, some junior if Duke was any judge, saw the family crest on Duke’s shoulder, where it had not been yesterday, and saluted.
“What is it?” Duke snapped, feeling free to be himself for the first time in years.
“Captain DaVore requests your presence out at the work site immediately, Sir!” The junior kept their eyes on the floor, as he should in front of a family member.
“I hope this is good news?” Duke asked.
“I couldn’t say, Sir DaVore,” The junior shifted uncomfortably.
“You just did, lead on,” Duke said sourly.
The walk through the Colony and out to the worksite was utterly silent, leaving Duke fighting his instinct to make amiable conversation. Those days were done, at least for a while. The entire way, people turned to watch, only to look away if his eyes swept their way. Whispers raced ahead of them, and he felt the familiar feeling of people fearing his steps as he walked by.
For heaven’s sake, they knew he was a DaVore, given Brenda never hid who her family was. Did they really think he was so different? Or was it merely the sight of the emblem that he wore that inspired fear?
His family was known as brutal and somewhat unforgiving at times, but they were always fair.
Always fair.
He hadn’t even been a combat officer, naturally finding intelligence was a better fit for his nature. Yet a single insignia on his shoulder, and everyone acted like the Butcher of the Stars himself was stomping through the streets.
A guilty little pleasure flared in Duke as the crew saluted him as he passed. No matter how long you were away, it was always nice to feel the respect he was born to once again.
“Brother,” Brenda’s eyes widened when she noted the insignia. “Things have changed?”
“For the moment, sister,” Duke smiled. “Why did you ask for me?”
“That,” Brenda pointed at a section of the ship as a plate fell free, showering components.
“You stored spares in a vital console?” Duke asked.
“Those aren’t spares,” Brenda kicked the components aside as another part of the ship clunked. “It’s coming apart around my fucking ears!”
“Did you ever come in contact with Nellie’s people?” Duke asked quickly.
“We docked at the station, remember?” Brenda growled as a panel flashed and died before the layers separated and slid slowly down the angled console.
“I see,” Duke growled. “Follow me.”
There was no calm march this time. He ran, knowing every second was more of the ship taken apart. Brenda kept pace with him all the way to the council room, where he noticed that Nancy and Hadrian were huddled together with their pet Mayor.
He made a note to see to that after the comm call.
“Contact the Bly’s Rest. Immediately!” He roared, pointing one finger at Hadrian.
The comm line opened less than a second after he asked.
Duke was greeted by the smiling face of that stupid synthetic again.
“Council Member Duke. What can I do for you?” Salem asked with a polite smile.
“This is above you, synthetic. Get me Bea.” Duke waved her away.
“No,” Salem replied, “I was told to deal with this matter.”
“Then you leave me no choice but to order an immediate strike against them,” Duke shrugged. “Good day.”
“Against who?” Salem asked.
“Your confederates,” Duke sighed theatrically. “It is unfortunate, and I was hoping to avoid it, but if you refuse to allow me to speak to Bea, then I have no choice.”
“One moment,” Salem sighed.
Duke smiled, knowing it had worked.
“Now you want to speak to me?” Nellie appeared on screen.
“Cut the shit, Bea,” Duke snapped. “Stop the attack on the ship, or I will kill your confederates.”
“I don’t have confederates,” Nellie said angrily, “As you well know.”
“Actually,” Duke held up a finger. “You expressed interest in the death of a spy belonging to the other Colony. I am forced to assume the two of you are working together.”
“You would attack Crush and his people?” Nellie looked genuinely surprised. “That doesn’t sound like you, Duke.”
“You don’t know me, Bea.” Duke smiled. “I tried to be a farmer, but it didn’t seem to work out, did it? So I will be who I was born to be until everyone learns to leave me and mine alone. Once that happens, things will be different. Stop your attack, or I will kill the other Colony.”
“I stopped the attack the moment you told Salem of your threat,” Nellie smiled, which was not according to plan. “And you are right, Councilman, we do not know each other.”
“I’m glad you could see reason,” Duke smiled back. “Once I have things in order here, and I feel we can once again speak in a friendly manner, I will contact you.”
“No, you won’t,” Nellie laughed.
“What?” Duke sighed. “I have no time for games.”
“Neither of us do, Councilman,” Nellie said. “You will not contact me or mine again. Any attempt to do so will be met with force. If you decide to attack the other colony, I will land troops and defenses before you can get there, and we will be in a state of war. Any attack or threat against me or my allies from this point forward will be considered an act of war. Goodbye, Councilman Duke.”
The comm line clicked closed.
“I have confirmation the attack has stopped,” Brenda offered quietly. “A silver material left the ship and turned to ash shortly afterward.”
“We are changing plans,” Duke said, “I want both ships combined into a juggernaut immediately.”
“Yes, brother,” Brenda nodded. “You will command?”
“No, you will,” Duke said with a smile. “And do not worry, I am sure Bea will get over herself in time.”
“Do we move against the other Colony?” Brenda asked after a moment.
“No!” Duke said with surprise. “That was just a bluff. Luckily, she didn’t dare call me on it.”
“Unless she believed you,” Brenda offered. “I did.”
