Beyond the Shroud of the Universe by Chris Kennedy Page A

have an Efreeti ship that is nearly untouchable. If we hadn’t gotten lucky, we would all have died aboard the Vella Gulf the first time we fought them.”
    “That’s true,” Night agreed.
    “And yet, we have the base we just hit. It was barely defended, almost as if they expected the walls alone to hold out whoever they thought was going to attack. I don’t know who they were defending against, but it sure as shit wasn’t us.”
    “Yeah. Keep going,” Night urged.
    “Okay, so the Efreet are the most uncoordinated race we’ve ever seen. They have a couple of great weapons, but generally, most of their stuff is crap. Flechette guns and flamethrowers are cool and all, but our weapons can kill them well before they ever get in range of us.”
    “Unless we’re on a ship or in a tunnel.”
    “Okay, granted, their weapons are great for enclosed spaces, but certainly not for defending a fort against modern forces.”
    “True.”
    “And then you have Captain Nightsong, who appears to be a respected member of Aesir society, but I’ll bet my next three paychecks he’s the one who has the CO. What the hell is up with that?”
    “Are you saying the Aesir can’t be trusted, or just Nightsong?”
    “I don’t know. I mean, we really don’t know the Aesir. Maybe their whole race is a bunch of liars. Steropes vouched for them, though, so I’m guessing it’s just Nightsong. Besides, it’s easier to believe there’s one bad apple than an entire race of liars.”
    “I’d agree with that. The Mrowry seem to trust the Aesir, too, and the Mrowry have been nothing but honorable since we met them.”
    “So what does Nightsong get out of taking the CO?”
    “I don’t know, but I agree with you…it doesn’t make sense.” Night thought for a minute. “Here’s something else that’s odd. When we came down from the Terra, the CO brought his Progenitor’s Rod down with him. I’m sure of that; I remember seeing it. But then, a couple of days later, it was gone, and he had no idea where it went. Before this mission, I went and looked at the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters’ security tapes, and you know what I found?”
    “It walked off on its own?”
    “Close,” Night replied. “Shortly after we arrived, Calvin went into his room, took the rod and left with it. Why would he have done that? Even better, why wouldn’t he remember doing it?”
    “He did get hit on the head a month or two ago, so it’s possible there’s some brain damage. But to not remember taking it out of his room? I doubt it. You’re sure it was him?”
    “Positive.”
    “Okay, so how is it possible for him to do something, and yet not have done it? The only answer is that he didn’t. But if he didn’t, who did? ”
    “I don’t know,” Night replied. “My mind keeps returning to the Aesir Eco Warrior teams. It’s almost like we had a Life Warrior here…you know, someone who could change their shape to match the CO’s.”
    “But the only Aesir here is Nightsong, and he is fire-based.”
    “Is there any reason he couldn’t be both?”
    “I don’t have any fucking idea how that works, sir. I guess it’s possible…but if he is life-based, then he could be anyone he wanted to. He could appear like anyone or anything he wanted to, and we would never know it.”
    “No, we wouldn’t.”
    “Sir…work with me on this. What if…what if Nightsong really wasn’t Captain Nightsong? Remember all those times he talked about Wayland? I mean, he knew everything about the man. It was almost like he was Wayland. What if Nightsong didn’t kill Wayland…what if Wayland killed Nightsong and took his place? Instant credibility. No longer is he a man on the run; he is now a senior member of their space navy, and he’s in charge of a ship that can take him anywhere he wants. Once there, he can change his shape and become anyone he needs to be.”
    “Like Calvin, when he walked into his room and removed the Progenitor’s Rod.”
    “Exactly.