Dolph Ubikwe [Spoilers]
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Warden set that whole thing up. It could not happen while Nick and Angus were together. The fact that Nick left Angus alone in very short order is the direct cause of losing control in very short order. And the direct cause of that was Nick's ambition, combined with his certainty of success.
So some of it was Warden. And some of it was Nick's greed and hubris. I am happy with that assessment.
So some of it was Warden. And some of it was Nick's greed and hubris. I am happy with that assessment.
.
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Possibly worth the entire cost of five books, reading that. Angus' nickname for Dolph is just so utterly perfect, capturing both Angus and Dolph in some sort of pure literary essence. You can hear it when you read it. And it's funny to boot.In [i]This Day All Gods Die[/i] was wrote:"All right, fat man," he announced. "That's far enough."
.
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Despite being very emotional internally, Dolph can usually keep it cool on the outside, and find the humor in unexpected moments. He can appreciate when he's being cut some necessary slack by Min, as well.
In [i]Chaos and Order[/i] was wrote:"But, Captain--" Helm [Sergei Patrice] hesitated.
"Spit it out," Captain Ubikwe rumbled. "I'm already in a bad mood. You aren't likely to make it worse."
"Sorry, Captain." Patrice grimaced humorlessly. "I just thought I ought to say we can't go into combat like this. We can't afford the inertia. At some point we'll have to choose between defending ourselves and being able to see."
Dolph smiled back at him. "I was wrong. You can so make it worse."
_______________________________________
He clicked off his pickup and turned to Min.
"Director Donner." His tone was steady, incisive, but the dull combative smolder in his eyes made him look desperate. "This is your mission. I have to ask you. Is there any reason why we shouldn't cut all thrust and let ourselves coast while we fight this fire?"
Min allowed herself a sardonic snort. "If I tried, I could probably think of six. But none of them will matter if we let a fire cripple us. Do what you have to do, Captain. We'll deal with consequences later."
A flicker of gratitude showed in his gaze. He didn't take the time to articulate it, however. Wheeling his station, he began, "All right, Patrice--"
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wayfriend wrote:Warden set that whole thing up. It could not happen while Nick and Angus were together. The fact that Nick left Angus alone in very short order is the direct cause of losing control in very short order. And the direct cause of that was Nick's ambition, combined with his certainty of success.
So some of it was Warden. And some of it was Nick's greed and hubris. I am happy with that assessment.
Me, too. Good summation!
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Sometimes. though, the seeming impossibility of what is being asked of him by Min is enough to make Dolph Ubikwe's control slip. A case in point is when Min Donner sees Calm Horizons heading towards the Massif-5 system ahead of Punisher. Her demand is almost enough to make our good captain go into a nuclear meltdown of fury, just for a moment.
His ability to quickly grasp possibilities keeps him and his ship going. The tension between him and Min is at least part of what makes Chaos and Order such a fun read for me.In [i]Chaos and Order[/i] was wrote:"Captain Ubikwe," she said harshly, "we've got to go after that ship."
He didn't look at her. His eyes studied the displays while his hands worked his board. "Is that an order, Director Donner?" His shoulders clenched as if he were suppressing a shout. "Are you instructing me to ignore the fact that we're on fire?"
"Yes," Min snapped, "that's an order." Then she added, "No, I'm not instructing you to ignore the fact that we're on fire."
For a moment Dolph didn't react. He bowed his head: his bulk seemed to shrink down into itself as if his courage were leaking away. He looked like a man who'd been instructed to kill himself.
But he didn't comply. Instead he slammed his fist onto the edge of his console, launched his station around to face her. "Then what do you expect me to do about it?" he roared. "I can't take on a goddamn Behemoth-class Amnion warship if I can't maneuver--and I can't maneuver without killing my people fighting that fire!"
Min held his angry glare. Her gaze was as strict as a commandment, absolute and fatal.
"Captain Ubikwe," she articulated through her teeth, "you have enough plexulose plasma sealant aboard to reinforce the entire inner hull. Pump some of it between the bulkheads onto the fire. Use it to smother the flames."
Dolph's mouth dropped open: he closed it again. Shadows of outrage darkened his gaze.
"Bydell"--his voice rasped like a scourge--"how hot is that fire?"
Data consulted her readouts. "According to the computer, it must be"--she named a temperature. Then, inspired by her fears, she jumped to the point of Dolph's question. "Captain, that's hot enough to set the sealant on fire."
"No." Min was sure. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of everything that went into UMCPED's ships. "Plexulose plasma doesn't become flammable at that temperature until it hardens."
"He can't get that close to it!" Captain Ubikwe protested like a man who wanted to tear his hair.
Min faced him without wavering. "Tell him to put his people in EVA suits." she retorted. "They'll be able to work right on top of the blaze--at least for a couple of minutes."
Until the suit's cooling systems overloaded and shut down.
Dolph's mouth twisted as if he were tasting another yell. Gradually, however, the darkness in his eyes cleared. An emotion that might have been amazement or respect pulled at the lines of his face.
"You know," he breathed, "that might work. It's crazy, but it might work."
His surprise lasted only a moment. Then he slapped open his intercom and started issuing new orders to Hargin Stoval [his command fourth in charge of fighting the fire].
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The fire vanquished, Captain Ubikwe settles into the role of commanding pursuit of an Amnion warship with ease. I get the feeling that Min appreciates Dolph more than she will ever verbally admit, but that somehow Dolph understands this.
In [i]Chaos and Order[/i] was wrote:Over the babble of voices and needs, the incessant demands and the thronging decisions, Captain Ubikwe presided like a man impervious to chaos. His bulk appeared to have settled in his g-seat as if he couldn't be moved; as if he were the stable point around which Punisher's alarms and struggles revolved. Min had to catch herself repeatedly on the arms of her g-seat because she couldn't know which direction the cruiser would jump in next; but she never saw Dolph lean or recover.
She liked watching him. He was good at this. Of course, she would have preferred to take command herself; use the ship as a personal weapon. Her hands burned for action. But since her rank required her to respect Dolph's relationship with his ship, she was glad that he was who he was. She was lucky to be with him, instead of some more cautious or unimaginative commander.
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Now we're at the part where Punisher is actually approaching the Massif-5 system, looking for Trumpet, Calm Horizons--and maybe some help from another UMCP ship.
![Screwy :screwy:](./images/smilies/Screwy.gif)
I find it amusing that sometimes the seeming impossibility of his ship's situation makes Dolph want to explode, and at other times it seems to cheer him up! I can't explain it, but enjoy it nonetheless.In [i]Chaos and Order[/i] was wrote:"What about our replacement?" Dolph asked. "UMCPHQ must have sent somebody to take over for us when we left."
The sarcasm in his voice may have been aimed at Min, but she didn't take it personally.
"Aye, Captain," Cray [communications officer] answered too loudly; always too loudly. "VI reports that Vehemence arrived an hour before we left."
Vehemence. Min sneered the name silently. That ship didn't have what anyone could call "a glorious record" around Massif-5. Nathan Alt had been court-martialed for his actions as her commander. And his predecessor had been patently incompetent. But later officers and crews hadn't fared much better. Some ships were jinxed--doomed to futility by fates which human will and skill couldn't alter.
"They say," the communications officer went on, "she's been charging around like a juggernaut, trying to be everywhere at once. But at the moment she's on the far side of Greater Massif-5." Occluded by the star. "They can only talk to her if they use mining platforms and other ships as relays.
"Even if she knew we need her," Cray finished, "she would take forty or fifty hours to get here."
"Fine," Dolph growled. "Perfect. So we're on our own.
"Sometimes I think space is just too damn big. We're wasting our time pretending we can handle it."
He sounded almost cheerful.
![Screwy :screwy:](./images/smilies/Screwy.gif)
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Now we go forward in the story to where Trumpet is moving toward the fringes of the Massif-5 system after visiting Deaner Beckmann's lab, and Punisher is locked in exchanges of fire with Calm Horizons ahead of Trumpet's path.
Dolph probably understands completely that Min was only guessing. That makes his remark even funnier to me. ![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Remind me to be more respectful. If Min ever does need to remind him, does anyone think it would do any good?In [i]Chaos and Order[/i] was wrote:Cray gaped at her board for a couple of seconds, then wheeled her station to face his.
"Captain, it's from Vector Shaheed." Her voice was hoarse from overuse. "Aboard Trumpet."
"Maybe," he [Dolph] mused, "that's how our friend out there knows where she is. We'd better look into this.
"What does Dr. Shaheed have to say for himself?"
Cray bent to her readouts again. "He isn't talking to the Amnioni," she reported. "Or he says he isn't. He claims this is a general broadcast. For anyone who can hear him.
"Captain"--she struggled to clear her throat--"he says he's developed a mutagen immunity drug. He says he's been working on it ever since Intertech shut down their research. Now he's succeeded. Then--" Cray's voice failed momentarily. "Then he gives a formula."
A formula? Christ! Min knew how the communications officer felt. She had difficulty containing her own amazement.
A mutagen immunity drug, the drug, the one Hashi had developed from Vector Shaheed's research. The one Hashi had supplied to Nick Succorso so that Succorso could play Hashi's games with the Amnion.
Trumpet was broadcasting the formula?
Cray hadn't paused. As soon as she mastered herself, she explained. "That's just the first part of the message. But all the rest is test designs. To help whoever hears him prove his formula is effective."
Min should have been filled with dismay. Hadn't Warden agreed to suppress Intertech's research for a reason? Hadn't he told her that his survival as the UMCP director depended on his complicity with Holt Fasner? General broadcast! Surely this was a disaster? But what she felt wasn't dismay: it was an acute, visceral sense of pride. God, this was wonderful! A mutagen immunity formula on general broadcast. If Vector Shaheed had thought of this and carried it out all on his own--
No, she didn't believe that. Trumpet was too small: with Angus to help him, Nick Succorso could too easily control everyone around him.
There was only one person aboard who might have persuaded Nick or Angus to permit this; only one person aboard who'd been trained in the same ethics and responsibility Min herself served--
"After that it all repeats," Cray finished. "Continuous broadcast. I guess Trumpet is planning to beam it out as long as she can."
A grin stretched Captain Ubikwe's fleshy mouth. He may actually have been amused.
"Well, we can count on one thing, anyway," he remarked. "Our friend [the Amnion ship Calm Horizons] as sure as shit doesn't want to hear that.
"My congratulations, Director Donner," he drawled over his shoulder. "When you told me Trumpet was headed for a bootleg lab so Dr. Shaheed could do this, I thought you were guessing. Remind me to be more respectful."
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/wink.gif)
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Last edited by Cord Hurn on Fri Nov 06, 2015 4:55 am, edited 5 times in total.
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By realities of travel, I assume you mean dealing with g-force complications, concerns about effective timely communications, and the like.Avatar wrote:I've always liked how SRD injects the realities of travel across such distances into the story.
--A
And I agree, it all gives the story that feel of "realism".
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Dolph's ability to control his insubordinate tendencies (in the name of the moral justice of protecting humankind, in this case) is put to the test when Min orders him to disregard the fleeing Amnioni ship to pursue Trumpet.
Dolph will wait until it's time to hail Trumpet.In [i]This Day All Gods Die[/i] was wrote:"Damn her to flinders," Dolph growled. He was studying the Amnion's escape trajectory. "It galls me to let her run. She's a goddamn loose cannon." He may have been talking to Min. "Who the hell knows where she'll go off next? Could be anywhere."
Min swallowed bile and frustration. She understood his implied complaint. He might conceivably have been able to finish the big defensive--if Min hadn't ordered him to go after Trumpet instead of pressing his advantage when the Amnion's sinks began to fail.
"Can't be helped," she answered harshly. "We're in no condition to chase her.
"Program a courier drone for UMCPHQ," she went on. Punisher had only two left--too few--but Min didn't balk at using one. "Bring Director Dios up to date on what's happened. Launch it. Then get after Trumpet.
"If the Amnion think she's worth an act of war to kill, she's probably worth anything we can do to protect her."
Almost as an afterthought, she added, "She probably isn't safe. We still haven't accounted for Free Lunch."
Dolph swiveled his g-seat, turned his dark face toward her. A combative hunger smoldered in his eyes, promising trouble. He'd already declared his loyalty to her, however. He'd obeyed when she'd told him to turn away from the Amnioni. Despite his desire to hunt and kill the defensive, he didn't argue now. Any trouble he caused her now would take some other form.
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Well, you certainly won't get any argument on that from *me*, Sorus! ![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/wink.gif)
Ah, but the frustration Captain Ubikwe feels from the situation so far is nothing compared to the frustration he'll feel with the situation that unfolds on Punisher shortly after Trumpet's people come aboard!
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/wink.gif)
In [i]This Day All Gods Die[/i] was wrote:"If you're quite ready, Captain," she said sarcastically, "I want to hail that ship."
"I haven't forgotten." Dolph shifted his station to face her. "But I'm not sure I am ready." He made no effort to conceal his weariness. By some trick of personality, however, he appeared to draw strength from it: fatigue fed his stores of insubordinate anger. "Earlier we were up to our ass in alligators. Well, we let that damn warship get away, but I can feel something still chewing on my hams."
Here it comes, Min thought. Right now, while everything depended on contact with Trumpet, Dolph Ubikwe was about to make good on his promise of trouble.
Damn him, anyway.
"We've had to swallow a hell of a lot since you joined ship," he began. "Nick Succorso, who is supposed to be working for DA, just happens to be the only human being in space with a mutagen immunity drug. By some amazing coincidence, DA reacts to Succorso's presence aboard Trumpet by giving Free Lunch a contract to destroy her. But of course Succorso has his own personal geneticist with him, just in case he feels like having his antimutagen analyzed. That probably explains why Hashi Lebwohl wants to get rid of him.
"Unfortunately"--Dolph's deep, rumbling tone sharpened trenchantly--"Director Dios is on a completely different page of the UMCP Code of Conduct. While Hashi Lebwohl tries to kill Trumpet, Director Dios orders us to supply Succorso with a cyborg's priority-codes. In effect, handing Trumpet to Nick Succorso.
"Are we confused yet?" Captain Ubikwe drawled sourly. "Sure we are. But there's more.
"Much to nobody's surprise--certainly not yours--Succorso heads for a bootleg lab. And when we see Trumpet again, Vector Shaheed is broadcasting the goddamn formula. Suddenly Succorso has been transformed. Now he's a philanthropist. He's an illegal and a covert operative, but he doesn't want to profit from what he knows. He wants to share it.
"And he's coasting. He's been on the run all the way from forbidden space, and suddenly he's by God waiting for us."
Min clenched her fists, held herself still. Dolph obviously wasn't done.
He took a deep breath to contain--or focus--his outrage, then went on.
"Naturally Free Lunch has disappeared. Director Lebwohl must have canceled her contract as soon as he suspected that Succorso was going to make his precious secret drug public. That makes sense, doesn't it? Especially when you consider that as soon as this story gets out Director Lebwohl is going to spend the rest of his conniving life in lockup for malfeasance. Betraying his office, the UMCP, and most of his entire species.
"Meanwhile the Amnion have just committed an act of war, even though Thermopyle thinks they already have Shaheed's formula. In any case, if they didn't before, they do now. They heard it from Trumpet."
Min tightened her grip on herself. She didn't need Dolph to remind her that her decision to abandon the attack on the alien might have serious consequences for the whole human race. However, she believed that there was more at stake than Shaheed's formula. She risked everything on that conviction.
Captain Ubikwe made a visible effort to calm himself. Slowly he sank back into his g-seat. When he spoke again, his voice was unexpectedly mild.
"Tell me what's going on here, Director," he finished. "I don't think I can stand any more surprises."
Min ached to snarl at him, Surprises? You don't like surprises? You self-righteous, overweight sonofabitch, what makes you think I care what you like and don't like? But she restrained the impulse. Despite the fire in her nerves, she understood him. For him what might happen to humankind if the defensive survived with Shaheed's formula was a secondary concern. He cared more about his relationship with his people; the moral authority which empowered him to hazard lives.
"All right, Captain," she answered like acid. "I'll tell you what's going on. As soon as you tell me what Director Dios' message to Trumpet really said."
The words had been plain enough. Warden Dios to Isaac, Gabriel priority. Show this message to Nick Succorso. But they'd been embedded in some kind of machine code which Min hadn't recognized and didn't know how to interpret.
Dolph winced. Baffled indignation twisted his features. "God damn it, Min," he rasped softly. "You know my people haven't had time to crack that code. They've been at battle stations, for Christ's sake."
Min met his glare without remorse. "Too bad. That's where the answers are."
He bared his teeth. Still softly, he asked over his shoulder, "Cray?" Deciphering code was one of communications' responsibilities.
"Aye, Captain," Cray responded as she hunted her readouts. "As you say, we haven't had much time. But before we went to battle stations"--she found what she was looking for; pointed at her screen while she raised her head to face Dolph--"we set up a sequence of parameters to test the code. Turned them over to data. They should have been running all this time. Maybe--"
She glanced uncertainly at Bydell.
Flustered, Bydell croaked, "I'm checking, Captain. She hit keys as fast as she could; too fast. Biting her lip, she canceled mistakes, reentered commands.
"I've got the results," she announced abruptly. The computer ran those tests. It doesn't recognize the code. But it thinks it's some kind of specialized programming language. Something similar to the one we use to write the instruction-sets for datacores."
By God. Min held her breath. By God and Warden Dios. Under other circumstances--in another life--she would have flourished her fists and shouted aloud. Now she kept herself still while her heart burned like thrust and her nerves were etched with incandescence. Yes! Programming language. Wrapped inextricably around the words which had betrayed Angus and Morn and humanity.
Intuitively she understood what Warden had done. With one coded stroke he had outplayed Hashi Lebwohl and Nick Succorso and Holt Fasner. She thought she could feel the future striving for begin to take shape all around her; become real.
"Do you call that an answer?" Dolph asked in a congested voice, as if he were choking on uncertainties.
"Yes, I do," she asserted without hesitation. "It doesn't explain what's happened to Free Lunch." Hashi's proxy had probably died in the asteroid swarm from which Trumpet had emerged broadcasting Shaheed's message. "But it tells us everything we need to know about what's going on aboard Trumpet."
"Which is what?" Captain Ubikwe murmured helplessly.
Min scrubbed sweat like hot oil off her palms. "Director Dios has reprogrammed Angus Thermopyle." She was sure. "The same transmission that turned him over to Succorso gave him new instruction-sets. New code.
"This is Warden Dios' game."
"Then what was the point?" Dolph protested. His tone hinted at anguish. "Why did he bother giving Succorso those priority-codes at all, if what he really meant to do was change them?"
Min shook her head. "That's none of our business." She didn't need inspiration to guess that the reason involved Warden's secret, unexplained struggle with the Dragon. "The point is that this is Warden's game. The Director of the United Mining Companies Police," she pronounced fiercely, "is pulling the strings here."
This was why Warden had sent her aboard Punisher: to ensure that the game would be played his way.
"He hasn't told me what his game is. Are you going to say he's wrong?" She challenged Dolph squarely. "Are you going to claim he isn't doing exactly what his oath of office requires?"
No, Dolph wasn't going to make that claim. She could see it on his face. His resistance slumped like heated paraffin on his heavy frame. Like her, he'd been under Warden's spell for years. He would have followed Warden through the gates of hell as willingly as any of Punisher's people would have followed him.
He spread his hands to concede defeat. "Then I guess we'd better find out what's happening aboard that gap scout." A glint of humor came back into his eyes. "Before Director Dios decides to chew off anything the alligators haven't already eaten."
Finally.
Min made no pretense that she wasn't in a hurry. Slapping off her belts, she flung out of her g-seat and strode swiftly toward the communications station.
By the time she reached it, Cray had already opened a channel so that she could hail Trumpet.
Ah, but the frustration Captain Ubikwe feels from the situation so far is nothing compared to the frustration he'll feel with the situation that unfolds on Punisher shortly after Trumpet's people come aboard!
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When Morn and company come aboard Dolph's ship, readers will probably recall that they get into an argument about protocol and proper respect for authority. Then Morn tells Angus things will be done his way, and both Morn and Angus attack Min Donner while Mikka, Davies, and Vector move to draw weapons on the rest of Punisher bridge crew. (Ciro shrinks back and stays out of the way.) That's where this next quoted passage comes in.
![Evil or Very Mad :evil:](./images/smilies/icon_evil.gif)
Clearly, Dolph has iron discipline when he needs it, because you just know he wants to leap at Angus and try to tear him apart, even though it's obvious he'll die for it.In [i]This Day All Gods Die[/i] was wrote: Mikka confronted the command station: a gun in her fist covered Dolph. She must have grabbed it from the bosun. He lay dazed on the deck; eyes dull; holster empty. Min knew at a glance that Mikka was both able and willing to use her weapon.
Captain Ubikwe must have seen the same thing. Nevertheless her threat--and the attack on Min--left him almost apoplectic with fury.
"I don't have to touch the intercom, God damn you!" he raged like a bullhorn. "This is a UMCP cruiser! A ship of war! You can kill all of us. You can kill everyone who comes onto the bridge in the next ten minutes. But after that you're finished!
"By then the rest of my crew will have guns, too. And they aren't stupid, no matter what you think of the cops. They'll override everything from the auxiliary bridge. They'll seal you in here, they'll cut off your goddamn air. And you won't be able to stop them because you don't have the goddamn codes!" Only Punisher's senior officers had the codes he meant--the cruiser's essential priority-codes. Even Morn wouldn't be able to prevent it if, say, Hargin Stoval invoked these commands in order to take over the ship from the auxiliary bridge.
"Either shoot me or get that popgun out of my face," Dolph demanded hotly. "I don't deserve to be insulted."
"You fat asshole," Angus drawled with a grin, "what makes you think we care?"
Min was angry, too; as angry as Dolph. But her fury was cold and hard, like forged ceramic. Somehow she dredged her head up from the deck. With a brutal effort, she levered her good forearm under her.
"You should care," she croaked hoarsely.
"You'd better kill me now. Otherwise I'm going to crucify every one of you.""
Abrupt hands grabbed the back of her shipsuit. They were strong; impossibly strong: they jerked her upright as if she had no mass, no substance. They planted her on unsteady feet, then released her with a negligent flick that nearly sent her sprawling.
She flexed her knees against the weight of her pain and turned to face Angus and Morn. Her right arm dangled useless from her numbed shoulder.
Angus held Min's pistol aimed at the center of her chest. His free hand clenched and unclenched slowly, as if he were pumping it full of violence.
"Why?" he jeered at her. "You're the one who reqqed me from Com-Mine Security so Hashi fucking Lebwohl could play his little games with me. After that you pretended you didn't like it, but you let him have me anyway. The way I see it, I owe you nothing but damage. Why should I care?"
Min took a deep breath, reached inward to find a center of balance beyond the clamoring pain. Distinctly, she answered, "Because I won't let you do this."
Angus widened his eyes mockingly, then narrowed them into a scowl. "Oh, I get it," he rasped. "You're planning to stop me, aren't you." He sank his teeth into the words; seemed to tear them loose one at a time like shreds of meat. "You're going to use my priority-codes, turn me back into a toy. Aren't you.
"Well, go ahead," he challenged her. "Go ahead and fucking try it."
His manner warned her: everything Trumpet's people had done since Punisher spotted the gap scout on scan warned her. Nevertheless she didn't hesitate; didn't second-guess herself.
"Isaac, this is Gabriel priority." Her voice recovered its force as she spoke, filling the air with compulsion. "Give me that gun."
Angus Thermopyle was a welded cyborg, ruled by zone implants and exigent programming; absolutely controlled. Hashi has assured everyone in UMCPHQ that he would never draw another free breath as long as he lived.
But he didn't surrender her weapon.
Instead he laughed like the hunting growl of a predator.
"Well, what do you know? I didn't do it. Isn't that amazing?" His eyes concentrated on her like coherent light.
"And you know what's even more amazing?" he went on. "I don't have to hold back from hurting UMC-fucking-P personnel. Not now. Not ever again."
He turned his free hand as if he were aiming a punch in the direction of the command station. Without warning a ruby shaft as thin as a needle lanced between his fingers toward Captain Ubikwe's feet. First the laser scored the deck, deliquescing metal with a plume of smoke, a stink of heat. Then it touched the side of Dolph's boot.
The captain sat like a stone in his g-seat. Not a muscle moved. If he felt so much as a lick of pain, he didn't show it. But the glare he fixed on Angus promised murder.
Through his teeth Angus told Min, "I already hit you hard enough to get your attention." Slowly he shifted his laser away from Dolph's boot. "I can amputate his damn legs if I feel like it." At last he turned the beam off.
A faint sigh crossed the bridge as Bydell, Porson, Cray, and even Glessen let themselves breathe again.
"We changed my datacore," Angus stated scornfully. "I don't have to take your orders anymore, or let you turn me off, or make me break my promises. You don't have any restrictions left on me. Do you hear me?" he raged suddenly. "I'm done with you! The next time you give me an order, I will push it back down your throat with my bare hands!"
"Morn," Davies put in, half demanding, half-imploring, "tell him to stop. He's made his point. We don't need more threats."
Mikka's grip on her gun held steady: her aim hadn't wavered a centimeter. "Whatever it takes," she muttered. "Whatever it fucking takes."
"But he is telling the truth, Director Donner," Vector offered as if he wanted to placate her. "He doesn't accept orders from us either."
![Evil or Very Mad :evil:](./images/smilies/icon_evil.gif)
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But Min thinks fast about what's going on before further violence happens and escalates out of control.
In [i]This Day All Gods Die[/i] was wrote:Min stared back at Angus without moving. For a moment she thought her heart might stop. Her grasp on reality seemed to unravel in the face of is ability to disobey his priority-codes.
Changed his datacore? How? That should have been impossible. Everything was impossible.
Hashi, you miserable, goddamn sonofabitch, this is--
But then another explanation struck her with the force of an electric shock.
--your doing?
No. It wasn't Hashi's doing. It wasn't his game at all. It was Warden's.
Warden had used Punisher to convey a message to Trumpet. The text of the transmission had given Angus' codes to Nick Succorso. But the plain words has been embedded in some kind of specialized programming language. And now Angus was free. Something similar to the one we use to program datacores.
Warden's doing.
Beyond question the future he was fighting for depended on what happened here.
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I can't blame Captain Ubikwe for being incensed at the idea of giving up his ship, but it's good he can keep the outrage under some control while Min struggles to understand what's REALLY going on.In [i]This Day All Gods Die[/i] was wrote:Morn didn't reply to her son's demand, didn't say anything to Angus; didn't glance away from the ED director. May Min was wrong: maybe it wasn't doubt that darkened her gaze. Maybe it was grief.
"We're not going to kill anybody." Her tone was full of resolve--and hints of sorrow. "Not unless you don't leave us any other choice. We don't want bloodshed. And we don't mean to hurt you. We don't even want to insult you.
"All we want," she said firmly, "is command of this ship."
Porson gave a low gasp of surprise. Glessen swore viciously under his breath. Even stolid Emmett flinched.
Dolph was too angry to keep quiet. "And you expect me to allow that?' he barked at Morn. "What are you, crazy as well as stupid? If you think I'm going to give up my ship just because you're waving a couple of little guns around, you should go check yourself into sickbay. You've gone too far over the edge to function without medical help."
Min held up her left hand, mutely commanding him to silence. This was between her and Morn--and Warden Dios, whose nameless needs hung over them like a shroud.
"What for?" she asked sternly. "What do you propose to do if we let you take command?"
"'Let'?" Angus sneered. "'Let' has nothing to do with it. We don't need your goddamn permission."
Snarling deeply, Dolph bit back a retort.
Still Morn kept her attention on Min as if no one else had spoken; no one else mattered.
"For a start"--her voice was low, but steady--"we'll go home. Back to Earth." She shrugged. "After that it depends on who tries to stop us."
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This information about where Trumpet's crew wants to go prompts further quick mental analysis on Min's part.
In [i]This Day All Gods Die[/i] was wrote:Back to Earth. Exactly where Min would have taken them.
All at once she seemed to feel a nagging burden of uncertainty and confusion drop from her shoulders.
Between them Morn and her companions carried the most explosive body of information in human space. Morn could testify that Angus had been framed: that UMCPDA had conspired with Milos Taverner to steal supplies from Com-Mine so that the Preempt Act would pass. Vector Shaheed had analyzed the formula for an antimutagen which the UMCP had kept secret, despite its obvious importance to humankind. Mikka and Ciro Vasaczk surely knew about Nick's dealings with the Amnion on DA's behalf. They could describe the Amnion near-C acceleration experiments Angus had mentioned--experiments which might give forbidden space an insuperable advantage if the present uneasy peace turned to war. In some way Davies Hyland represented the knowledge the Amnion needed to create artificial human beings who would be indistinguishable from real ones. And Angus had changed his datacore: therefore everything Hashi Lebwohl had done with welded cyborgs--and, by extension, all humankind's reliance on SOD-CMOS chips--was untrustworthy; founded on a false premise.
If Morn and her companions returned to Earth and revealed what they knew, every dishonorable action the UMCP had taken in recent years would be exposed.
The result would be chaos. At the very least the GCES might dismantle the UMCP. Or pass a Bill of Severance. But the damage would almost certainly go further.
It might go far enough to bring down Holt Fasner.
On the other hand, if Min fought for Morn and won--if she outplayed or outwaited Trumpet's people, and took them all prisoner--the harm might be contained. Certainly the Dragon would do everything in his vast power to contain it. the stories Morn and her companions had to tell would be suppressed; lost.
Yet eventually Warden's hand in these events would become known. Angus' datacore would play back every bit of input it had been given. Then Fasner would have no choice but to destroy Warden. It would be all too obvious that Warden had tried to destroy him.
That fact would be significantly less obvious if Morn Hyland was in command when Punisher reached Earth.
Min was unaccustomed to surrender. the concept violated her combative spirit: the word itself seemed to violate her mind. But she had larger responsibilities to consider.
"I guess"--for a moment her voice stuck bitterly in her throat--"I guess you didn't believe me when I said," swore to you, "I'm not going to suppress Shaheed's broadcast."
Morn's head twitched back as if she were reacting to a flick of pain. "Oh, I believe you, Director Donner. My whole family trusted you." Then the corners of her mouth knotted with self-coercion. "I just don't believe you'll have the final say."
She was right: Min knew that. The Dragon was too strong for her.
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So Min makes her decision, her "call", influenced by her understanding of what's at stake--and Dolph has his most frustrating moment yet in the story. It's all vivid drama!
He may follow a decision he doesn't like, but sees no need to take it graciously. (Understandable!)In [i]This Day All Gods Die[/i] was wrote:"In that case," the ED director announced like acid, "you win. The ship is yours."
Bydell gaped at her in astonishment. Glessen covered his face with his hands.
From the aperture of the bridge, Davies crowed, "Yes!"
"Min!" Dolph cried out. "You can't--!"
"I can!" Min wheeled to face the command station; overrode his protest with a shout like a flail. "I am!"
"Listen to me, Captain Ubikwe. Listen hard so you don't make any mistakes. As long as Ensign Hyland wants to head home, we'll take her there. And we'll take her orders along the way. We are not going to resist her or sabotage her. We aren't going to cause her any trouble at all."
"Min, please--" His eyes beseeched her.
"No!" She refused to be swayed. Returning sensation sent needles of fire down into her stunned hand. "I won't have any more bloodshed. We've just taken aboard the only six people in human space who've been through more hell than we have. I want all of us to survive the experience, all of us. If that means letting a mere ensign issue instructions for a while, we will do it."
If we destroy Warden and bring down the whole UMCP, that's on my head, not yours.
"These people are not the enemy, Dolph." She lowered her voice to a cutting edge. "Maybe they're out of line. And maybe they're too dangerous to mess with. We'll sort all that out when we get home. Better yet, we'll let Director Dios sort it out. But for the time being"--she delivered each word as distinctly as an incision--"you will not risk any more of your people.
"Is that understood, Captain Ubikwe? Have I made myself clear?'
"Shit, Min." He slumped as if he were collapsing in on himself. "Of course you've made yourself clear. You know that." With the back of his hand he wiped sweat from his dark forehead. "But I have to say"--his tone reeked of bile--"you sure as hell know how to rub salt in our wounds."
He slammed to his feet, brushed Mikka aside as if she didn't hold a gun. Gesturing at his g-seat, he growled, "The bridge is yours, Ensign Hyland. I'll be in my cabin. Throwing up."
Without waiting to be dismissed, he headed for the aperture.
"Sounds like fun," Angus snorted past his grin. "I'll go with you. Just in case you decide you don't want to be a good boy. Or Director Donner changes her mind."
He handed Min's gun to Davies as he followed Dolph Ubikwe off the bridge.
Min understood, although no one said the words. Dolph had just become a hostage.