He crossed back to the door. "As soon as you're all ready, come on over to the Advocatus Diaboli. I've decided to stay aboard for the trip to Iota Klestis." His face tightened a little. "And to make sure that Death weapon is well and truly destroyed."
"I would be happy to assist in that," Draycos offered grimly.
"I was hoping you would," Braxton said. "See you all soon."
He left, his footsteps retreating again down the corridor. "Well," Alison said. "What do you think of that?"
"I don't know yet," Jack said. "This is all coming way too fast."
"You've got time," Alison said quietly. "The point is that you're finally safe. You're safe, and you're among friends. Just like Draycos and his people are."
"You're safe, Jack lad?"
Jack frowned at the computer module. It had been Uncle Virge's voice . . . but there'd been something odd about it. "Yes, I think maybe I really am," he said. "Who'd ever have guessed, huh?"
"The people responsible for your parents' murder are dead?"
"Dead or in custody," Jack said. "Why?"
"Just a minute."
There was a long pause. "What's going on?" Alison asked.
Jack shook his head. "I don't know."
There was a click from the speaker. "Hello, Jack lad," Uncle Virge said.
Jack tensed. Because it wasn't Uncle Virge, the personality Jack's uncle had programmed into the Essenay's computer. This voice was subtly but definitely different.
It was Uncle Virgil himself.
"I apologize for speaking to you through this recording," Uncle Virgil went on. "I presume from the fact that you are listening to it means I'm dead or in jail or otherwise unavailable to give all this to you in person.
"But I wanted you to know how it was you ended up living with me aboard your parents' ship."
Silently, Draycos got to his feet and crossed the room to stand at Jack's side.
"It was their ship, if you haven't already figured that out. A beautiful Judge-Paladin ship, loaded to the intakes with all the finest equipment money can buy.
"Unfortunately, not all of us have that kind of money. So seeing as I was a thief by profession, I set out to steal it."
Jack glanced at Alison. She was staring at the speaker, an intense look on her face.
"Not that I specifically targeted your parents' ship. That was just . . . I don't know. Luck? Fate? I can never tell about these things. I just needed one of the ships to put down at some out-of-the-way place where the alarm would take a while to get out. The Hreenwoth Canyon on Semaline was the perfect spot."
Jack looked down at Draycos. All that time they'd spent in that canyon, all that danger, and he'd never even known its real name.
"I knew the Golvins had requested a Judge-Paladin to come mediate their dispute with Triost Mining, so I got there first and arranged to have myself arrested. Nothing serious, just some minor theft that would give me an excuse to hang around the valley. Once your parents arrived and settled down to business, I slipped out of custody and got over to their ship.
"I had just popped my way through the lock when the Lesser Assembly Hall blew up."
Jack closed his eyes. The image of that explosion . . .
"I didn't have time to think," Uncle Virgil went on. "My first instinct was to get out, and to get out fast. I got to the cockpit, froze out the computer that was trying to block me, and took off."
"Must have been fewer guy wires linking the pillars back then," Draycos murmured. "Otherwise, the Essenay could never have landed in the canyon."
"I figured that whoever had had the chutzpah to kill a pair of Judge-Paladins would have been smart enough to have some air backup ready. But he'd missed out on that one. I got into space and on ECHO before the planetary space control even realized anything was wrong.
"It was only then that I found out I had a passenger. You.
"It was quite a shock, as I'm sure you can imagine. You were in your bunk, sleeping like a—well, I suppose like a three-year-old, a remote sitting beside you."
"A remote?" Draycos asked.
"It's an electromechanical robot linked to the ship's computer," Jack said. "Huh. I'd forgotten all about that."
"Not entirely," Draycos said. "Do you remember when we stumbled into that Wistawki bonding ceremony on the Vagran Colony?"
Jack nodded. That had been right after he and Draycos had met, while Jack was still trying to get out from under the theft charge Neverlin had framed him with. "I called you my electromechanical assistant."
"The remote had stopped when I froze out the computer," Uncle Virgil continued. "I got rid of it right away. Hate the things. Then you woke up, and—well, again, there wasn't time to think. I got you something to eat and spun you a story about your parents asking me to watch you for a while. I figured I'd drop you off with the authorities on the next planet.
"Only before we got to the next planet I finally did have time to think. I didn't know why whoever it was had killed your parents, but it occurred to me that if it was personal rather than business, he might not want their son to live, either. So I decided to hang on to you until I had a better handle on what was going on.
"But that was going to take some time, and meanwhile you were starting to ask questions. So . . . well, you know the rest. I told you I was your uncle Virgil and that your parents had been killed in a mine accident. And I sort of . . . adopted you."
"And turned me into a thief," Jack murmured.
"I know you're probably not happy with some of the things I did," Uncle Virgil said, an odd note of pleading in his voice. "Changing your name and . . . well, teaching you something of my profession. But you have to remember that I didn't know who or what we were up against. I had to keep your real identity hidden from everyone, including you. At the same time, I needed to give you the tools you'd need if I didn't solve the puzzle and you had to track down the murderers yourself.
"But you're safe now. Somehow, you're safe. Otherwise the computer wouldn't have been able to find and unlock this recording. You don't need me anymore. And for that I'm glad. I really am.
"So I guess this is good-bye, Jack lad. I know you'll probably hate me for what I did to you. I wish I could have done better, but it's too late for that now. Just please try to believe that I did the best I knew how."
The voice stopped. Jack took a deep breath, let it out in a slow sigh. "So," he said, just to fill up the silence.
"Do you hate him?" Taneem asked quietly.
Jack looked at her. "No," he said, and was rather surprised to discover that he meant it. "He made mistakes. We all do. But he kept me alive for eleven years." He considered. "And I guess he really did give me the tools I needed to bring Neverlin down."
He looked back at the computer module. "Thanks, Uncle Virge."
There was no answer. "Uncle Virge?" Jack called again.
"Good afternoon," a courteous feminine voice said. "How may I assist you?"
Jack swallowed. "Never mind," he said.
"I'm sorry, Jack," Alison said gently.
Jack blinked back sudden tears. "Don't be," he said. "Uncle Virgil died a long time ago." He looked at Draycos. "And he was right. I don't need him anymore."
He took another deep breath. "So what are we hanging around here for, anyway?" he said, forcing some cheerfulness into his voice. "Let's get over to the Advocatus Diaboli and wreck a Death weapon. And after that, we can introduce Taneem to her people."
"Will you stay with me awhile, Alison?" Taneem asked, almost shyly.
"As long as you need me," Alison promised. "I'm looking forward to meeting your people, too." She picked up the carry bag and looked at Jack. "You ready?"