little chance of you winning that battle, and I apologize for not being there.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“I do. A lot of people died. I should've been here to protect them. Kabex must have used the time between then and now to get to Earth. That is the only reason I can think of for someone shooting the Emperor.” Sagin shrugged. “I thought there was a chance the Emperor would've survived. When I replaced his hand, I used technology that should have kept him alive until the medics could get to him.”
“Unless there were no medics.” Jake sighed. “If I wanted to kill the Emperor, and make certain he wasn’t going to survive, the first thing I would’ve done is taken out the medics. Joanne had no choice but to end him quick then.”
“What did her Eminence do?”
“Every crew member keeps an injection on them, one they can use if they're taken by the aliens. It would end the life of anyone who used it and the Emperor would have been in a lot of pain. Your technology would have been doing it’s very best to keep him alive, but it wouldn’t have been able to save him. He was dead from the moment the shot hit if the medics had been taken out.”
“She wouldn’t have liked seeing him in pain.”
“No, so she used the injection.” Jake let out a long, heavy breath, hating the thought of Joanne being on Earth alone, especially when there was someone down there who might want to kill her. But he knew she’d do whatever she had to in order to keep herself safe. “Then she would have gone to the head council to convince them she was the right person to take the throne."
“I will do everything I can to help her.”
“Unlike the Emperor, I’m pretty sure Jo will do what she can to keep her distance from you so she can be seen to be unbiased. As we know, you can manipulate the emotions of the people you're talking to, so she needs to be very careful. She can’t let anyone accuse her of being on the side of the aliens because she's the voice of all humans. If you know some way of keeping her safe from that it might be easier.”
Sagin nodded. “The Emperor was my only way in. I didn't have any other option then, even though I knew I was doing the wrong thing by manipulating him, and I'm sorry for that. He was the only way I could get you back on Earth.” He looked around at the crew. “I still worry that you will be hurt, and there will be nothing I can do to protect you.”
“This is the quietest battle I’ve ever taken part in, Sagin. When shots have been fired I can understand your worry, but for now, it’s a stalemate, and I don’t know how to change that.”
“I could talk to the other side. If Kabex is there, it might make things worse, but it's worth a try. I want to be able to help you.”
“See if you can open a line of communication, Katie. It’s worth a try.”
Jake didn’t need to look at Katie to know she was doing as he asked. His crew member was one of the best he’d ever had.
As he stared at the screen, hoping Kabex was on one of those ships, he ran one hand through his hair, trying to work out what they were going to do if Kabex wasn’t there.
Eventually another robot, one that looked a lot like Sagin, appeared.
“You're on a human ship, Sagin.”
“I know where I am,” Sagin said boldly. “I wasn't sure you'd be there. There are things happening on Earth that made me think of you.”
“The Emperor is dead.”
“He is.”
“Good. He was a fool to be working with you.”
“Maybe you're right about that. But I won't let you go through with your plans.”
“You can’t stop me. You're no more willing to hurt us that we are to hurt you. If I had not thought you were on that ship, I would've fired, to kill the last of the human watchdogs, but I knew you were there. I believed you were working with them, as you still can't see the truth. Eventually, I'll open your eyes to who they really are.”
“After thirty years you haven't managed to change
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“I do. A lot of people died. I should've been here to protect them. Kabex must have used the time between then and now to get to Earth. That is the only reason I can think of for someone shooting the Emperor.” Sagin shrugged. “I thought there was a chance the Emperor would've survived. When I replaced his hand, I used technology that should have kept him alive until the medics could get to him.”
“Unless there were no medics.” Jake sighed. “If I wanted to kill the Emperor, and make certain he wasn’t going to survive, the first thing I would’ve done is taken out the medics. Joanne had no choice but to end him quick then.”
“What did her Eminence do?”
“Every crew member keeps an injection on them, one they can use if they're taken by the aliens. It would end the life of anyone who used it and the Emperor would have been in a lot of pain. Your technology would have been doing it’s very best to keep him alive, but it wouldn’t have been able to save him. He was dead from the moment the shot hit if the medics had been taken out.”
“She wouldn’t have liked seeing him in pain.”
“No, so she used the injection.” Jake let out a long, heavy breath, hating the thought of Joanne being on Earth alone, especially when there was someone down there who might want to kill her. But he knew she’d do whatever she had to in order to keep herself safe. “Then she would have gone to the head council to convince them she was the right person to take the throne."
“I will do everything I can to help her.”
“Unlike the Emperor, I’m pretty sure Jo will do what she can to keep her distance from you so she can be seen to be unbiased. As we know, you can manipulate the emotions of the people you're talking to, so she needs to be very careful. She can’t let anyone accuse her of being on the side of the aliens because she's the voice of all humans. If you know some way of keeping her safe from that it might be easier.”
Sagin nodded. “The Emperor was my only way in. I didn't have any other option then, even though I knew I was doing the wrong thing by manipulating him, and I'm sorry for that. He was the only way I could get you back on Earth.” He looked around at the crew. “I still worry that you will be hurt, and there will be nothing I can do to protect you.”
“This is the quietest battle I’ve ever taken part in, Sagin. When shots have been fired I can understand your worry, but for now, it’s a stalemate, and I don’t know how to change that.”
“I could talk to the other side. If Kabex is there, it might make things worse, but it's worth a try. I want to be able to help you.”
“See if you can open a line of communication, Katie. It’s worth a try.”
Jake didn’t need to look at Katie to know she was doing as he asked. His crew member was one of the best he’d ever had.
As he stared at the screen, hoping Kabex was on one of those ships, he ran one hand through his hair, trying to work out what they were going to do if Kabex wasn’t there.
Eventually another robot, one that looked a lot like Sagin, appeared.
“You're on a human ship, Sagin.”
“I know where I am,” Sagin said boldly. “I wasn't sure you'd be there. There are things happening on Earth that made me think of you.”
“The Emperor is dead.”
“He is.”
“Good. He was a fool to be working with you.”
“Maybe you're right about that. But I won't let you go through with your plans.”
“You can’t stop me. You're no more willing to hurt us that we are to hurt you. If I had not thought you were on that ship, I would've fired, to kill the last of the human watchdogs, but I knew you were there. I believed you were working with them, as you still can't see the truth. Eventually, I'll open your eyes to who they really are.”
“After thirty years you haven't managed to change
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