The Emperor

Butcher of New Caledonia

Former military man, turned renegade

The Emperor burns down Orion's Reach Headquarters

"The fatal outbreak of a particularly lethal strain of Legionnaires' disease on Feren 2, which has cost an estimated 1,500 lives and continues to ravage across the colony, has been traced back to a contaminated water tank. It has been verified that the contamination has been introduced deliberately and maliciously by the terrorist known as 'Red'."

Thousands rally in support of the terrorist "Red."

Former Crew of the Aphelion Speak out in defense of "Red," who they claim is a former Captain.

Those were just a few of the titles. Red took his hands away from the interface and stared out the window in silence watching as the Aphelion's docking bay loomed closer. There were other titles suggesting he had a faction of supporters, a bevy of followers ready to come out and join him. A report even suggested the dark web was amassed with people just waiting for him to give the command. Red had never ventured onto the dark web before, hell he was supposed to arrest people for that kind of thing. People were coming out as augs and being arrested on the streets again. 

It was The Purge 2.0.

Shit.This is what Jack was talking about, a riot on the streets, people needing a leader... I should have seen that coming. Fuck him.

"Hey, you can't have that one! That was me!" Null gasped as she leaned over to see what he was looking at.

"What?" Red snapped out of his thoughts and shifted away from her. He couldn't go far as he was buckled into the small shuttle seats next to her. He still wasn't used to Null, her eyes always watching his every move. She didn't trust him any more than he trusted her.

"I did that. Orion's Reach. That. Was. Me." She jabbed her own chest emphasizing each point, huffed and leaned back into her seat. "You were still in jail and they gave you the credit."

Red held up both hands. "Happy to give it to you."

"Don't you pay attention to the news?"

Red turned back to the window. "I haven't had access to any of it in seven years. I don't even feel like plugging into it." That wasn't completely true. He'd been dying to see what was happening in the outside world. But at the same time, he knew what was coming. It was the same playbook used over and over again. To take someone down you had to destroy them utterly. When their reputation was damaged it was impossible to come back from that. That made arresting them with public support easy.

It had happened to him over seven years ago.

The network didn't feel the same when he looked into it. It didn't have the familiar presence of others sifting through the binary scene. Not even the usual AIs who dominated the system were there. It was a barren landscape.

"How's Adam?" He changed the subject.

Null immediately brightened. "He can fly again."

She didn't have to explain, Red remembered Ember's momentary loss of control in the prison when she was talking about not being able to fly anymore. They clipped my wings...

His own experiences were similar. 

"So, he's no longer a threat?"

Null turned to look at him, suspicions aroused. She stiffened in her seat, the message clear. "No."

Red turned away from her and stared out the window again as she looked ahead in stony silence. Part of him was glad they'd done something for the Echo. Another part of him worried what would happen if Adam ever sensed Ember's presence.

"You would have just killed him." Null's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Wiped him out because he was inconvenient."

"I would have protected Ember," Red corrected turning to her, anger coloring his features. "He was hurting her."

"He was in pain himself. What makes him less important than Ember?"

"Really?" Red's hands curled into fists. "Are you telling me that if Lars was under threat you wouldn't do whatever it took to save him?" He let that hang in the air for a moment waiting for a vicious rebuttal, but nothing happened.

Null looked straight ahead and Red couldn't read the expression on her face. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something but didn't.

Red looked out the window and watched the Aphelion look almost planet-sized as they moved closer.

"That's no moon, it's a space station," he whispered to himself, coining a phrase from an old flick. He wished Ember was there to share the joke with him. Maybe, when this was all over, they would spend hours watching all of those old classics in bed together. IF not WHEN, he corrected himself. He wasn't a fool, knowing that once Jack got his claws in him, he wouldn't be seeing this to the end even if he wanted to get out of it.

"What?" Null snapped at him.

Red glanced at her. "Inside joke," he muttered.

"You didn't answer the question," she said as she altered the course slightly.

"Neither did you," he countered.

Null went silent again. It didn't matter, Red already knew what the answer was. She'd walk through hell to save Lars, something told him she'd done it already. Somehow after all those years thinking he was dead it was comforting to know that Lars did have someone like Null watching his back, even if Red wondered if she was a bit psychotic.

"You know what Lars's last memory of you is?" She whispered as the docking bay came into view. The smooth white interior gaped like a large jaw ready to swallow them whole.

Red didn't answer, he just held his breath waiting for the answer.

"Them pointing an EMP at him, to fry him to bits. The moment his life ended. That's the thing about being an AI, perfect recall. The last thing he saw was you, coming to stand between him and the shot. Even though you should have known how useless that was. You, the most rational human being he'd ever met, acted irrationally to save him. In that last moment, he knew that at least you of all people thought he was worth saving." Null eyed him. "He didn't understand it, I still don't think he does."

"That was different," Red said. "He was my friend."

"So you don't care if he was an AI."

"No. He always asked me if I thought he had a soul. I think he did... does. But it's not the same situation."

She shook her head. "What makes Ember different? Or Lars?"

"I love her," he admitted. He crossed his arms and looked away as she brought the ship down. That he admitted it to anyone surprised him, that he could admit it to a woman he'd once called the Brothel Commander was an even bigger surprise.

Null turned away as she landed the ship. It shuddered as it hit the surface "I had a man love me once. It hurt. He did things..." Null shuddered and looked forward again. "Lars tries to tell me that is not love. That it was obsession..." She looked at him, sideways, hands still at the controls. "I swear to God if you hurt Ember like that with your love, or whatever you call it... I will put a bullet through your forehead and not even Lars will be able to stop me."

She hopped up with surprising speed and grace and hit a button near the door. The sides popped open, as she turned and climbed down the ladder leaving Red staring at her with his jaws hanging open.

He ran a hand through his hair when Ember's voice popped through on their private channel. How is it going over there?

Oh, you know the usual, Lars, Null, unpredictable and threatening to kill me as always.

#####

Red climbed out of the ship slowly, nostalgia filling him as his gazed roamed their surroundings. This used to be his and now Jack was foisting it on him again.

His feet hit the floor and it was all he could do keep standing up right as a wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm him. He hadn't expected the rush of emotions or memories when he'd agreed to this. He took a deep breath, keeping one hand on the ladder.

"Sir, are you all right?" Lars was next to him, shoulder's straight and for a moment Red found it hard to look at him considering the conversation he'd just had with the body's other inhabitant.

"Just brings back a lot of things I didn't want to remember," he got out as he straightened himself.

"I'm sorry about Null," Lars said as they both started walking for the elevators that would take them to the top deck.

All around the people were running to and fro unpacking supplies, moving boxes, small shuttles were landing, it was all reminiscent of ants.

"Don't be. I can handle her."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Lars did not look at Red and Red knew he'd hit a nerve. It was a strange in the way they held this conversation. Lars used to be larger than Red, his round body had been thicker than Red's with larger robotic arms and legs. But now he was talking to Red out of a strange chimeric woman who stood no taller than Red's shoulder.

But unlike Null, Lars did not cause Red any anxiety.

"Is what she said true?"

"Which part?"

"Well... All of it?"

Lars considered this for a moment. "Null has a strange sense of love. But she also has guilt."

"Guilt? For what?"

"For being alive, Sir. When she should have been dead."

They got to the elevator when Lars's demeanor changed abruptly.

"I think we can get past talking about me like I'm not here," Null snapped as she slapped the elevator buttons. "I'm supposed to show you the way."

"Now that's an interesting theory," Red looked at her. "I can find the way in my sleep. This is my ship, remember?"

"I stole it," she countered. "Finders keepers."

Red paused and hit the button, "I'll find my own way up thanks." He stood in the way as Null started forward but the doors closed on her.

He smiled as the doors closed, but sighed when the elevator started up without him. Sorry, Lars, he thought. I needed a break, I don't know how you deal with all of that suspicion wrapped into one person.

He started for the shaft and place his palm against the door, it opened revealing a gaping tunnel where the elevator had been. He reached inside and placed his palm on a panel. A door slid open inside, just large enough for a person. Red smiled as he ventured in. Most people did not use these, and he doubted many knew they existed but these tunnels used air to shoot a person quickly from place to another. A normal person would probably be injured, but Red loved using the emergency tunnels.

He wondered if Lars had mentioned them to Null, now that they were halfway up the elevator.

He stepped in feeling a sense of exhilaration as he felt the air start to tug at him. Within seconds he was shooting to the top, a grin on his face. Ember was going to have to try this with him.

#######

"Where is Larsson?" Jack asked him when he entered the bridge.

"I'm sure she'll be along shortly." Jack's face snapped towards him.

"What did you do?"

"Took the detour route."

Jack smiled. "I can see that you two are going to get along just fine."

Red ignored him and moved to stand at the center console. It looked just as he remembered, a sleek flat interface panel, where he'd placed his hands and from there he could tell the exact location of every ship in his fleet. There were marks of wear where it had been hastily reassembled. Jack came to stand next to him. "We've had to reconvert the ship to fit the plug-ins," he remarked running his fingers across the surface.

Red nodded and placed his hands on the familiar surface, an interface he hadn't touched in years. In front of him the beautiful black of space expanded for light years, places humanity ha yet to explore, and he was actually looking at it again, thanks to Ember. 

The door slid open behind him and Larsson strode in.

"Nice of you to join us," Jack called.

"Do you need me for anything else, Sir?" She managed to make the "sir" sound like an insult. Red smiled where he was. He couldn't blame her.

"Yeah, just wait a minute, I want to see if Red can even link in."

He turned back to Red, "everything is ready, we just need to know that it works."

"What would you do if the fleet showed up now?"

"I have scouts watching, so far they haven't broken through."

Red nodded, he placed both hands on the console and closed his eyes. The information flowed into him so quickly it sounded like static. He almost dropped his hands off the console when his augments took over. The sound dropped away to silence, he straightened his shoulders and spread his senses out.

Like riding a bike. Whatever that is...

"Does it work?" He heard Jack ask from next to him. He considered ignoring him and then finally nodded.

The Aphelion was incredible, the size and scope of it was bigger than the prison he'd resided in for the past seven years. Inside its hull, it also had forty-two fighting Tiberion class fighters. He could see every one of them at rest. He stretched further surprised to find that the other ship was connected to the scout ships keeping watch on the belt.

And then there was one small ship he checked in on. The Ember was docked on the other side of Ehring Station. And inside, he knew Ember was waiting, watching as they applied the bases for her rail guns.

Red withdrew back into the hole that was his own body, it felt as if he were shrinking down into size, fading into a smaller version of himself.

Reluctantly he pulled his hands off the console, finding both Jack and Lars staring at him.

"Well?" Jack waited like an excited schoolboy. It didn't make Red not want to punch him, but he could understand Jack's excitement.

"It works, even better than I thought it would..."

Jack turned to Larsson, "Ok, Commander you're dismissed. Thank you." Larsson rolled her eyes and retreated.

Jack turned back to Red, his expression serious. "About my sister..."