Commonwealth
Universe
Downfall
Era/Era I
The
Sorendaal/Pirate novels
“What’s been going on outside?” Niall finally asked, when the hubbub finally calmed down and people went back to their
bunks, got in line to use the sanitary cabinets now that there was hot water
available, or gathered at the other table groupings to talk. Kimber and Sureena
and the leaders of the prisoners in the other compartment joined the command
team and Dr. Hallbar. It was time for a serious conversation, to finally get
facts and decide what they could do.
“All clear, Doctor.” Selendon’s
voice came through the medical insignia pin on the doctor’s collar. “Tell them
whatever they want to know. It’s the only way we’re going to survive.”
“Tell me, Commodore,” Niall said,
struggling to keep his voice calm, though it still felt like his throat had
been scraped with sand, “did you authorize--“
“Absolutely not. And you should
know that the ship punished those skabblenaqs before we even knew what was
going on.”
“How?” He met Dr. Hallbar’s gaze,
saw the shift to bleakness mixed with something like weary horror.
“Everything that could go wrong in
the room where they conducting their questioning,” the doctor began.
“This is no time for niceties, Dru,” Selendon cut in.
“Call it what it was, torture, plain and simple. The ship turned everything
backwards in the room. We’re still trying to untangle the programming, figure
out if it was a cascade failure on a massive scale, or this ship of … it’s our ship, not mine any longer.” A
gusting sigh came through the connection, buzzing a little. “Our ship might
just be sentient. Somehow. An angry, confused, hurting, frightened child,
lashing out at the ones who hurt its friends. Or maybe even part of its
consciousness. Who knows? We have no access to any of the research, any of the
theories or science behind what the researchers were doing when they built the
ship. Too much was either lost or deliberately destroyed and hidden.”
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