Chapter Sixteen
It began out beyond Neptune, among the icy objects of the Kuiper Belt, where multi-generational colony vessels mined ore for transport by ships licensed by the Space Corps' Jupiter Mining Corporation.
A signal of warning, sent by a four-man Space Corps patrol scout, lit up transmitters on Triton Base. Minutes later, blinking blue, red and yellow lights cut through the darkness of Narvi, the droids there passing the coded alarm on to Mimas and Titan, to Amalthea and Ganymede, Europa and Io, then on to Mars:
ATTN: COMMAND. REPORT SUSPECTED HIJACKING. SIX SPACE CORPS PATROL SHIPS SPOTTED OFF COURSE, FLYING TOGETHER AT TOP SPEED. TRAJECTORY INDICATES A HEADING DIRECTED TOWARDS JUPITER, ETA IN 11.39 HOURS. NO RESPONSE TO REPEATED HAILS, BUT SENSORS SHOW ALL SHIPS FULLY ARMED. REQUEST—
And, abruptly, the signal stopped.
11.22 Hours Later...
Arnold Rimmer reactivated his hard-light drive and leaned against a thick, marble pillar at the back of the main house, trembling all over as he slid down to a crouch and pressed his forehead against his knees.
"Arnie?" the Wildfire computer queried. "Arnie, your vitals are spiking like mad. Are you all right?"
Rimmer shook his head, sucking in air like a middle-aged businessman who'd sprinted for, but failed to catch, his morning bus.
"No," he said. "No, Computer, I'm not all right. You know how much I hate phasing through things – and people especially! I know, I know, it's probably all in my mind. But, every time it's like…like I can feel them passing through me. Their skin, their pulse, their scent, the heat of their bodies… Yiiick!"
He shuddered even more violently, then leaned his head back against the marble.
"God…" he moaned. "I really am a ghost." He snorted darkly and stared up at the looming mansion. "A dead man from the future, returned to haunt his past…"
"Don't you start that," the Wildfire said. "You behaved like a real hero in there, Arnold. You saw a trap and you acted at once to protect your brother and your friends – all without a thought to what it might cost you."
"That's as may be," Rimmer grunted, standing up and beginning to pace, mostly to help shake off the skittery tingle still tickling his spine. "But honestly, Computer, what can I hope to accomplish here? Janine is out there right now, waiting for a husband who looks more like King Kong's stumpy, half-melted cousin than the dashing officer she married. John and Howard may as well be welded to that General Metzeler loon for all the concern they've shown. And my parents…"
He blew out a harsh breath and shook his head.
"Sure, I can march out there as Ace. Confront the pair of them about Frank and that general's mad experiments. But, the moment they realize what I am…what I let myself become…"
He closed his eyes and swallowed, hard.
"I've told you how they feel about the dead...how they trained me and my brothers to feel… They firmly believe that holograms are a waste of photons. And, don't think I can keep that little nugget about my non-living status to myself, Computer, not after what I just did back there. Even without that smegging H branded onto my forehead, they'll still be able to tell. They'd smell it on me, somehow, like bloodhounds nosing a dead skunk."
"You could explain to them that, because of the nature of the brain scan you underwent, your hologram is actually—"
"Ha! You can't explain a hologram's nature to a couple of zealots," Rimmer retorted, and growled. "What do you expect me to do, Computer? Sidle up to them and say 'Hey! Remember me? I'm the son who divorced you to follow his own path up the ziggurat of command, only to die a lowly Second Tech who wasted what little life he had servicing chicken soup machines on some rusty, oversized, clapped out mining ship! Sure, my hologram eventually learned how to be a dimension-hopping Ace, but only three million years after my flesh and blood body was flash-charred to radioactive ash.'"
He snorted.
"Even if I did, they wouldn't listen. I may know I'm me, you may know I'm me, but to them… To them, a hologram isn't a person. To them, a hologram is just a program, a digital copy: a computer-generated simulation in the shape of an ex-human being."
He moved back to the pillar and sank down again.
"It's no good, Computer," he muttered. "I appreciate what you tried to do for me…returning to my home dimension, bringing me here… But, I can't fix this. I can't undo what's been done to Frank, to Janine – to any of us. Smeg…" He sighed. "I doubt even the original Ace could guide this fiasco to a positive conclusion."
"Have you tried?" the Wildfire asked.
"What?" Rimmer scowled. "What do you mean, 'have I tried'? Of course I've tried! You just said—"
"I said you behaved like a hero back there. That doesn't mean you've finished your task. Not by any means."
"My task," Rimmer repeated blankly.
"The task you set yourself, Arnie," the Wildfire said. "You know what needs to be done. And, I know, deep down, beneath all the doubt and fear that's bubbling around in your guts right now, you actually want to do it. You've wanted this for a long, long, long, long time."
Rimmer pressed his lips together and arched his nostrils.
"If I do this, it's bound to backfire," he said. "Everything always does for me."
"Then, you have the advantage," the Wildfire said. "Don't you."
Rimmer snorted.
"I'm serious, Arnie," she said. "Think about it. You've had your life literally blow up in your face. You've slammed head-on into practically every barricade, diversion and minefield that's lurked in ambush between you and your goals. No one paved the way for you to get to where you are. You railed and you struggled and, in the end, you faced down your setbacks and cut out a path for yourself. Which of your brothers can say the same?"
"Hmm," Rimmer grunted. "Somehow, I suspect most of that 'facing down setbacks' malarkey has more to do with your relentless training schedules than anything that came from me. And, for all that railing and struggling you spoke of, just where would you say I stand on this rough-hewn path to my so-called 'goals'? Despite Ace, despite all my adventures with you, I never did make it to the top of Mother's precious ziggurat of command. In this universe, my home universe, I'm just a private, a second tech. And, a dead one to boot. Hardly the résumé to impress my parents…"
"You're here, Arn," she said. "With me, and with your friends. You're here for Frank and his family, for John and Howard—"
"And for myself, I suppose," Rimmer said dryly and sighed, looking down at his flight suit as he rose slowly to his feet. "Still…"
He pulled his lightbee remote from his pocket and frowned, as if weighing a decision in his palm. A quick adjustment, and Rimmer stood straight in the uniform he had died in, the well-polished insignia of a Second Technician gleaming on his starched, gray shoulder loops.
"Well. It's time to see if the legend can stand without the wig and costume," he said, his leg jiggling and his protuberant Adam's apple bobbing nervously as he smoothed a hand over his short, wire-brush hair. "I suppose I asked for this, didn't I..."
He snapped his heels together and straightened his shoulders.
"How do I look, Computer?"
"Ace," she said sincerely, and he actually smiled. A real smile, if a touch resigned.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
"Making their way towards the main dais overlooking the gardens," she told him. "They'll be presenting the cake any moment now."
"Then, I guess this is it," he said, and straightened his already straight tie. "Wish me luck, Computer."
"Good luck, Arnie," she said with genuine warmth, and his pinched expression softened.
"You want me to say it?" he teased her.
"Only if you mean it," she teased right back.
"Then, smoke me a kipper," he said, and flashed a quick grin. "I'll be back for breakfast."
Their comlink cut, Ace marched swiftly toward the far side of the building, the Wildfire following him with her sensors as she sighed, "What a guy."
To Be Continued...
Happy Easter! :D I know I was planning to have this be the concluding chapter but, unfortunately, shifting weather triggered a stupid migraine attack. grrrr...! Luckily, it's started to fade in time for the holidays, but it has knocked my writing plans off track. So, rather than wait to post the whole conclusion, which may take at least another couple of weeks (upcoming family parties, etc.) I split the final chapter up and I'll be posting it in bits like this one. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading! Your reviews are more than welcome! :D