Jace was certain that was true of the Osiris. He also sensed that Gehenna was created for this purpose, but her origins and her purpose were a little murkier. He did wonder why she had been imprisoned. This idea that maybe there were two warring factions within the Altaeth who had perhaps very different ideas about AI and maybe how to defeat the Khul sounded reasonable. He didn’t yet know though for certain. That worried him. Slightly. Or maybe a lot. But he did trust the two AI, yet he was sure they were keeping things from him. But that was a thought for after this hearing. He certainly wasn’t telling Nova that.
“I will also be more than willing to hear from my eventual crew, who, as I said, will be chosen from among the many species of the Alliance who will have unique viewpoints and many things to add to my knowledge base,” he added.
“The Alliance will never accept your rule,” Nova said flatly with a slice of her hand through the air.
“You mean the Council won’t. The Thaf’ell probably won’t. But I am betting the people that you’ve frozen out of power will be very excited for this opportunity,” Jace corrected her.
“You will only find those unfit to lead or serve outside of the current power structure,” she countered.
“In your opinion, but you already know what I think of that,” Jace told her. “Thinking the same way about anything is slow death. If something is not working, you need to do something else, not keep doing the same thing and expect something different.”
This was something that both his parents always said and it was a bastardization of an Einstein quote. It was so easy to get tunnel vision, to think that something should work, but if it was not working then a reassessment needed to be done. The Alliance--or at least the people in charge at the current moment--appeared unable to do this for whatever reason.
“Nothing you have shared with me encourages me to assist you with your plans,” Nova said, folding her hands in front of her.
“That is because you aren’t truly understanding your current position,” Jace said, his voice growing cooler by the moment.
She lifted an eyebrow.
“I am going to do this. The only question is whether you, the Council and the Thaf’ell are simply grounded on Haseon without ships or military technology as onlookers,” Jace said, “or whether you are still a vital part of the Alliance.”
She stared at him. “How could you accomplish that? Take away all our ships? Impossible! We will fight you at every turn. Remove our weapons? Only from cold, dead fingers. The Thaf’ell are a martial society. Everyone fights. Everyone will oppose this.”
She really doesn’t understand the extent of your powers, Jace, Gehenna said with a sigh.
We should show her, the Osiris suddenly said, speaking for the first time since they entered the chamber.
How so? Jace asked.
By turning off the Haseon Defense Grid, the Osiris answered.
There’s no Khul in the area? Jace queried. He wouldn’t risk the people of Haseon to make a point.
None in the star system, the Osiris assured him.
And there would be no danger in turning off the Defense Grid? Jace asked. The Altaeth technology was old--more like ancient--and he worried that if they turned it off it might not turn back on. We could turn it back on immediately without delay?
But his fears were unwarranted as the Osiris answered without hesitation, Correct.
Jace weighed this action. It would frighten the Thaf’ell and not just those in power, but civilians. He understood the terror of the Khul showing up on Haseon’s surface. But it would bring his point home. All Altaeth technology was under his control.
All right, let’s do this then, Jace said. Let me just warn Khoth first.
He is a member of the crew. What happens to Haseon should not concern him any longer, the Osiris replied coldly.
That’s not how people work, Osiris, Jace answered. His love for his people is what has given him the strength to leave them and join us. Of course, he cares what happens to them.
The Osiris didn’t respond, but he had the sense it felt like this was divided loyalty and didn’t like it.
I understand, Jace, Gehenna assured him. The Osiris was only built as a war machine. Its programming on emotional intelligence was quite abbreviated.
Jace turned to Khoth. Like his Commander had done, he turned his chair around so that no one could see his face, but Khoth. Khoth turned in his chair to the side.
“Pilot?” Khoth asked.
“I wanted to give you a head’s up about what I’m about to do,” Jace said, letting the breath whistle out from between his teeth.
Khoth tilted his head to the side. “You are going to do something to demonstrate to my mother that you have the power to take the Altaeth technology away from the Thaf’ell.”
