Two days after Sydney went off to start college, Ven-Ghan was back at the base and Max actively sought him out the moment he heard about it. Not that the tall alien was hard to miss.
"I think I never thanked you, so: thanks for the rescue," he told the bounty hunter.
Ven-Ghan regarded him stoically. Max had no idea what he looked like underneath the helmet, whether he looked as sternly at him as Uncle Ferrus sometimes did, or smiled, looked amused, or confused. Steel had no information about Kadoun to help him in his assessment. The planet had perished long ago, long before Max had been born, and Ven-Ghan was apparently the only survivor of his kind. Even if there were others out there in the whole wide universe, he might never know about them.
So aside from the gray-green skin visible on his arms and five-fingered hands, and seeing he had legs unlike a humans, there was nothing to go on. Max couldn't even be sure the Mohawk was part of a Kadounnian or simply something Ven-Ghan used.
Both had talked from time to time, even about this particularly painful subject. Ven-Ghan had little to no memory left about his home world. He had been small to remember, but someone must have rescued him, must have saved him.
"You are welcome," the Kadounnian now replied. "It was my honor."
"What you said about Steel and me being seen as allies and protectors… that's why you wanted to talk to me that day?"
"Indeed."
"So, lucky me." He smiled a little. "Otherwise Steel and I might not be around now."
"Deg'ne-rok is despicable scum and gives my profession a bad name," the bounty hunter stated coldly. "He has no honor. He worked for the Black Star Council once, a long time ago, and I had some encounters with him. Even back then he would turn on you and sell his bounty to another bidder. He would have been no match to you without the illegal weapon he had acquired."
Max barely caught himself from touching the sensitive area where the lance had punched through the armor and him. Ven-Ghan looked at him, long and hard.
"You are a formidable warrior, Max McGrath. I believe you would have survived against him."
"I was about to blow him up with an overload of Takion energy."
"As I said."
Max laughed roughly. "Might have killed me."
"There is no proof of that."
"Right. Because the past few times I overloaded went so well."
"I believe with training you could master this ability."
Steel made a noise of disbelief. "You do know who you're talking to, right?" he blurted, stabbing a hand at the other alien. "The kid is a walking energy core! Without me he goes super nova!"
"So part of your training should be to channel that energy into controlled blasts. The two of you were connected at the time," Ven-Ghan said. "You are his conduit, Steel."
"I know what I am!" Steel crossed his arms. "You seem to forget that being a conduit doesn't mean I'm a miracle worker! Especially when my host is about to break apart because he had been skewered!"
Max shoved his Ultralink partner back a little. "It was a last, desperate attempt, Ven-Ghan. In oh-so many ways. I'm not sure it would have worked. And training that particular… method… is dangerous."
The Kadounnian inclined his head. "I believe it would be best to consult with your father, Max. He is Takonian. He would understand what you could possibly do best."
Or not, Max thought. Because his father was one hundred percent Takonian and didn't have the problems his son had with his heritage.
"Right. Because I want to blow up."
"It is a matter of applying the correct technique to stop self-destructing while taking out an opponent."
"Easy for you to say," Steel muttered, glaring at the bounty hunter.
"Well," Max declared with a wide smile, stepping in front of Steel again, "I could eat right now. A lot. So how about we grab a bite and you can tell me all about that big protection act and Steel's amnesty?"
"I believe Commander Ferrus briefed you already."
"Nah. Yeah. Well. In his own way. I want a second opinion," Steel quipped. "Maybe he forgot to mention a few of those facts again. He has a failing memory sometimes."
Ven-Ghan was silent for a second, then nodded. "Very well. I will relay to you what the Council has decided."
XxXxXx
It was exactly what he did. While Ven-Ghan didn't eat human food, and Max had never seen him eating at all anyway, probably because he couldn't or wouldn't take off the helmet, he had no qualms watching Max decimate a large plate of food.
Not that they got more information out of the 'lunch date'. Forge had really told them everything, left out nothing.
::Huh:: Steel muttered. ::First time for everything. Even for the great Commander Ferrus::
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
It took Berto a whole week to get behind what the alien weapon was, which a new negative record for him in his own opinion. As Chief Science Officer he had all the latest tech at his disposal, even alien technology, as well as not only his brilliant mind, but also that of Jim McGrath, and the input from Ven-Ghan, who knew where to get the parts used for the weapon on black markets or through not so legal dealers.
Between them, it had still taken a while.
"So, what is it?" Max asked, eyes on the lance, spear, whatever, that had been stuck through him not too long ago.
"Well, it's a spear," Berto started.
Steel, hovering next to his human partner, huffed. "Brilliant. And it only took you a week. How come?"
Berto glared at him. Forge, arms crossed in front of his chest, scowled.
"What?" Steel looked at them, unrepentant. "It's a valid question. I knew it was a spear the moment it punched a hole through Max's body!"
"Yes, it's a spear," Berto repeated sternly, eyes narrowing at Steel, "made up out of the same bio-organic technology that's an Ultralink."
Max gaped and even Steel was flummoxed, his eye wide.
"That's an Ultralink?" Max blurted.
"No. I didn't say that. I said it's made of the same stuff an Ultralink is."
"Sounds like it's an Ultralink to me," Forge growled.
"Well, it might sound like it, Chief," Berto supplied. "But it's not. Whoever created this weapon used several different techno-organic parts… scraps… and molded them into what you see here. It's combined with the technology Ven-Ghan uses when he separates an Ultralink he hunts from a host."
Steel made an unhappy noise, suddenly so much closer to his own host, and Max gave him a reassuring smile. Over the connection he let his partner slide even more intimately close. Right now, the simple reminder of what had happened to them before at the hands of the bounty hunter, had Steel flash a little. He was rather sensitive in that regard. Nearly losing Max just a week ago had him react more emotional than usual.
"Ven-Ghan doesn't stab anyone with his weapon," he reminded the scientist.
"I only said it's the same technology. It's the same basic principle of forcing an Ultralink to disconnect from its host body permanently, with one big difference: whoever made it used dead Ultralink shells for parts, too. He fused them with the already present tech used by hunters and that's what made it possible for the spear to penetrate the suit."
"I think I'm going to be sick," Steel muttered, hands in front of his simulated mouth.
"This weapon was made to destroy the host if necessary to get to the Ultralink, even accept the destruction of both," Berto added with a grimace. "You know, Ven-Ghan's weapon looks like a sword, but it's not? This is a spear and it's supposed to work like one. It's been created to kill."
"Who made it?" Forge asked, matter-of-fact, brows drawn down.
Berto scratched his head. "No one knows. Jim's asking around, as is Ven-Ghan. Hopefully it's a one of a kind thing. It's an amazingly complex weapon system. You don't just whip that up by throwing the parts together and give it a shiny new coating."
Steel floated closer to the spear, eyeing it with disdain and caution. He poked it with one tip of his hand.
"We should destroy it," Max said.
"No."
He turned to look at his uncle. "No?! That thing nearly killed Steel and me!"
"And it's an asset."
"In case of what?" he demanded.
Forge gave him a cool, unimpressed look. This was the N-Tek Commander in Chief, not his uncle. This was the man who made decisions based on more than family and friendships.
Max felt something inside of him boil and he clenched his teeth.
::In case of me:: Steel mumbled over the link.
::Us. The two of us, Steel. In case we turn against N-Tek::
::We never would!::
"So far you and Steel are unique, kiddo," Forge said reasonably. "We don't know if, in the future, we might find ourselves confronted with someone who is as resilient and hard to take down as you. Steel's ultralink to you is one of a kind, but it might not stay that way. You know how difficult it is to contain an elementor, let alone their joint version. If Berto can turn this technology to our advantage, shorten a fight against such monsters, I want that weapon. If it can remove the Ultralink from whatever it assimilated as a host. I really want it. And it if permanently offlines the bugger, it's going to be in my arsenal!"
Max flexed his fingers, then stared hard at the only weapon capable of actually killing him. Well, so far. Everything else hadn't really put much a dent into him.
"Max." His uncle's voice had dropped from the Commander to a more familiar tone. He placed both hands on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "I don't think you or Steel or both of you could turn against us." His eyes strayed briefly to the symbiont. "I think we got that behind us, don't you? I trust the two of you. I trust Steel."
"You do?" Steel blurted. "Really?"
"I thought I had made that clear in the past?"
"Weeell…"
Forge held up his left hand. His cybernetic left hand on a cybernetic left arm. It was the arm he had lost while pushing Steel out of the way of something about to eat him. It had gotten Forge's arm instead.
The Ultralink looked apologetic and a little chastised. "Yeah. That. Uh. Okay."
"I know you are on our side. You were nearly deactivated or worse a few times, and Makino wasn't a fan of you either. Or of your host choices."
Max grinned a little.
"But," Forge went on, "this is a weapon that might give us an advantage should something threaten you or all of us again. Makino might be out of the picture for now, but I have my doubts when it comes to Dredd or whatever Ultralinks escaped."
"I know," Max murmured, hanging his head. Even without Makino the Ultralinks were dangerous. They were following their programming, no matter what, and if someone caught one and used it for his purposes, all kinds of bad stuff could happen.
"All the weapons we have here at N-Tek are deadly for any single one of my people. The stuff we shoot at an elementor can kill us, too."
"I know, Uncle Ferrus."
Forge curled a hand around Max's neck and squeezed briefly. "And if we figure out how this thing works, we can do something against it next time."
"Yeah." He sighed. "I know. Sorry about that."
He seemed to be apologizing a lot lately.
It got him a manly pat. "I know there were a few rough patches in the past, but I want both of you to know that I do trust you."
"Thanks"
"And I'm proud of you, Max. You, too, Steel. You've come a long way, both physically and mentally, in this partnership."
Max smiled. Yeah, they had.
"As for our Chief Science Officer…"
Berto cleared his throat as Forge looked at him, prompting him to explain whatever else he knew about the weapon.
There wasn't much and it all boiled down to more testing, trying to take the thing apart, and hoping Jim or Ven-Ghan might find something on its creator or origin.
"Keep it under lock and key," Forge ordered. "No one gets near it without my express permission, as well as your and my authorization. Not even Jim, should he come visit."
"Yes, Chief."
The Commander draped an arm over his nephew's shoulders and steered him away from the weapon. Steel followed, shooting the lance a last, distrustful look. Forge herded them toward the mess hall where Jefferson was already halfway into decimating a plate of food probably meant to feed a small family. Kat was watching, her burger already finished.
"Hey!" she called and waved at them.
Forge pushed Max to sit down and went to get them some food.
Max relaxed in the company of their friends as Steel watched Jefferson eat.
"Where does he put all that food? Has anyone ever scanned that man?" the Ultralink asked. "He must be a mutation. No one can eat that much and not gain a pound!"
Jefferson shooed at him, good-natured and still chewing.
"He's a growing boy," Kat laughed. "And he turns it into hours of battle training and running."
"Ah. Yes. Very commendable."
"And Max isn't any better," she added with a grin. "He eats for two or three people, too."
"Takonian metabolism?" Max hedged a guess.
"Teenage boy," she countered.
"Teenage hybrid human with an Ultralink," he told her.
"Hey, I don't eat," Steel protested.
They launched into light teasing banter, interrupted only when his uncle brought over a tray of food. Steel zipped around the mess hall, but he didn't really stray far, and they finally left when Jefferson was done.
tbc...
