Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

“This is Daniel Wolfe. I’m alone on this ship. I’m no threat to you.” “We know who you are and why you’re here,” said the voice. It sounded strangely familiar to Daniel, but he couldn’t quite place it. “We’ve been waiting for you, Daniel. The computer lock on your controls will bring you to us. Once you’ve landed, don’t leave the ship until we tell you to. Conditions on Shub are not suited to supporting life as you know it.”
    “Understood,” said Daniel. “Is my father—“
    “They’ve cut the signal,” said Moses. “Not interested in chatting, apparently.”
    Daniel frowned. “That voice… it seems to me I should know it.” “It’s your voice,” said Moses.
    “Synthesized. And since they used it first, I guess they really are expecting you. According to my sensors, a small hole has appeared in their force field, just big enough for us to pass through. No other defenses I can detect or understand. Daniel, there’s nothing more I can do for you once you leave this ship. You’ll be completely on your own. Listen to me, Daniel. Don’t let them fool you. Whatever they say or do, they’ll always have only their own best interests at heart. You can’t make deals with them, because you have no way to enforce your end. But the rogue AIs do… want things sometimes. Perhaps you can—“
    “That’s enough, little mind,” said Daniel’s voice from the comm unit. “You are no longer needed.
    Welcome to the Promised Land, Moses. Such a shame we can’t let you enter.”
    Moses screamed suddenly, the shrill, almost human sound filling the bridge—a horrid howl of unspeakable agony. Daniel covered his ears with his hands, but couldn’t block it out. Finally the scream was cut off sharply, and the bridge was ominously silent. Daniel slowly lowered his shaking hands. He was sweating profusely. He quickly checked the bridge instruments, but as far as he could tell, everything was still functioning as it should. Not that he’d have known what to do if it wasn’t.
    “Fear not, little Wolfe,” said the copy of his voice. “We have full control of your ship.”
    “What’s happened to Moses?” said Daniel. “What did you do to him?” “We absorbed him into us.
    Drained his memory banks and sucked him dry. A tiny morsel but very tasty.”
    “But what about his… personality?”
    “We had no use for it. And now neither does he. Don’t mourn for him, Daniel. No one’s going to miss him. You’re the important one. You’re the one we’ve been waiting for.”
    “Why?” said Daniel. “Why are you letting me land so easily? What makes me so special?”
    But there was no answer, just the quiet hum from the comm unit that showed the channel was still open.
    It took the best part of an hour for the Heaven’s Tears to reach the surface of Shub, and almost as long to continue into the depths of the artificial world. Daniel couldn’t stop his hands from shaking. He’d heard the stories, of how Shub murdered and mutilated all they came into contact with, how they knew nothing of mercy or quarter, and nothing was too awful for them. The rogue AIs of Shub were the official Enemies of Humanity, and they gloried in their role. In a cold, logical, inhuman way.
    The Heaven’s Tears finally lurched to a halt, and all the navigation systems shut down. Daniel sat in his chair for a long moment, wondering what he was supposed to do next. Finally the voice from the comm
    unit instructed him to go to the main starboard airlock, and pass through it to a chamber beyond which had been specially prepared for him. Daniel didn’t like the sound of that, but he went anyway. There was nothing else he could do. It had been easy to be brave on the trip in, but now that he was actually here, his courage had deserted him, and he was just stupid, ineffectual Daniel Wolfe again. He hesitated before the inner door of the airlock for some time, trying to summon up his nerve. In the end, he asked himself what his father would have done, and the answer came to him right away. Walk straight into the trap, and trust to his Wolfe guts and instincts to protect him in the court of his enemies.
    He worked the airlock controls with a hand that didn’t shake at all, and stepped into the airlock. After a moment’s thought he locked the inner door behind him. He couldn’t realistically hope to keep the AIs out of his little ship if they wanted in, but it made him feel better. The airlock was thirty feet by