Personnel Sacrifice - Exploiting The Void
Personnel Sacrifice
He shivered and though his breath misted in the air before him Ackeron knew it wasn’t the cold that sent a tremor through his bones. It was fear. The thought of it disturbed the weight burdening his heart long enough for the thought of a smile to prickle his lips. He hadn’t thought he had enough of a soul left to feel fear. He hadn’t thought he had enough left to feel grief.
“Don’t do this,” insisted M’ra.
It wasn’t the first time the chief medical officer had voiced dissent, and her tone told him she was ready to give a long tirade to back it up. At least she had the courtesy to do this away from the crew.
“Ackeron you can’t do this.”
“Ha!” he barked. Ackeron rose to stand over the savior pod. The man inside was a ruin, his body a mangled mess of radiation damage and injury and no mater what M’ra did or how desperately Ackeron wanted otherwise the man inside would die. Was already dead in every way that mattered. “Late of you to say so now doctor.”
“You can still turn back, you haven’t crossed the Rubicon, not yet.”
Ackeron’s gaze lifted from the savior pod to the iron-black casket that sat next to it. “And what, throw away a year’s worth of profit?”
“Damn the calcs!” she spat. “This thing is evil Ackeron. Truly evil. Space it, junk it, sell it to someone as desperate as you but don’t use it! That thing is a nightmare, that thing makes demons.”
Ackeron walked around the savior pod to the casket and hesitantly placed a hand on it. Some part of him expected it to bite, expected to feel the evil lying inside or a cold dread grip his heart but it was just a box of cool metal like any other piece of technology, at least for now. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“That—” she stabbed a finger at the casket but refused to get any closer as though its presence would corrupt her. “Is the most profane piece of technology in the galaxy! I can’t count the laws we’re breaking. The bounty you put on this ship by it being here the danger you—”
“Don’t! Don’t talk to me about dangers brought by bounties on my ship! Where was your conscience when you were carving up letcians? Where was your adherence to the law when you poisoned the Lotus? Spare me your sanctimony.”
M’ra was quiet a long moment before nodding. “My hands are stained with blood, but my soul is clean. Would you damn yours?”
Did he even believe in the soul, really believe in it? He stood now at the foot of both devices, the savior pod on his left, the casket on his right and a decision before him.
“He’s dead Ackeron,” said M’ra, her voice absent the fury and venom. “He’s gone, and this won’t bring him back.”
“It will—”
“The thing that comes back won’t be him. Won’t be an echo of him. It will be a mad thing, a murderous thing. This technology nearly broke the Coalition. The singularity will condemn him to a life of madness. You would condemn him to a life of madness.”
“But he would have a life, again.”
“But would he want it?”
Ackeron exhaled. Would he? Or would he condemn me for robbing him of his humanity?
“Let him die Ackeron. He served you well, now he needs to rest.”
“No,” it was whisper so soft he wasn’t sure it had even left his lips. “No. I need him. I am his captain, and I decide when his duty is done. If he feels otherwise he can walk out an airlock when he wakes.”
“And if he takes you with him, takes us with him?”
“I will accept that.”
“I will not,” determined M’ra. “If you press that button, if you do this thing you will not have me on this ship.”
Like climbing from the gravity well of a collapsed star Ackeron summoned the willpower to speak. “I know.”
***Some Time Later***
//This is Control to the Nuada Airgetlam you are cleared for docking at coupling seven//
“Thank you control,” answered Ackeron finally allowing a fraction of his exhaustion to manifest as he sat in his command chair. “My XO has sent you all relevant data about our cargo, crew and necessary resupply.”
There was a faint chirp from the other side of the communications line before the figure spoke again. //Recieved Nuada, passing the info to our logistics departments.//
“One more thing Control. Could you please put us in contact with whatever personnel supply departments you have available. I am in need of new hands and desperate need of a new chief medical officer.”
//I can imagine, it gets hard out there in the uncharted, what happened to the last one?//
“Lost to the void control.”
//Shame, I’ll arrange contacts, expect queries within the hour.//
“Thank you. Nuada out.”
***
I hope you enjoyed that my dear readers. Until next time, take care and God bless;
~S. Wallace