Nightfall_at_Algemron

"Possibly I shouldn't say this without counsel present."
Gabriel said, "but I very much wish I had killed her myself." "If I understand the circumstances correctly, you were trying." "And now Helm's going to take the blame for it."
"Well," Kharls said, "there are some aspects of this business with which I can involve myself without there being a conflict of interest. This was a battlefield situation."
"But it—"
"Those who understand the issues," Kharls interrupted, "are already calling this not the Battle of Algemron, but the Battle of Argolos—with good reason, especially after we started to analyze the inbound data tracks on the External vessels. We realized that, excepting the sweep past Ilmater and Calderon, all of them were heading in your direction—right past Galvin or Alitar or anything else of interest in that part of the system, so a battlefield situation. Witnesses saw that Delonghi was infected with something clearly identifiable as not part of a normal human organism. Those witnesses will later be able to identify this as a teln, when we remove a tangle to show them from one of the sources we've acquired. Further investigation will, I believe, show that if the organism had succeeded in what it intended, then the whole battle would have been lost with tremendous equipment and personnel losses to the Concord and the associated stellar nations. I rather think all that will be set in the side of the scales containing acts to your friend's credit—not to mention his exploits later on down deeper in the facility, where he apparently bought you the time needed for reserves to arrive. An amazing feat, really. If he were in any of the services, I would have thought they would have decorated him so heavily he could barely stand, though plainly that would take a cartload of medals." Kharls stretched his legs out in front of him. "So I think you can put your mind to rest on that account."
Gabriel nodded.
"As for Delonghi." Kharls said, then fell silent a moment. "You know, I think the standard treatment for a spy when you know that one has been placed in your organization is the fungal treatment. Keep them in the dark, feed them." He smiled.
"Waste products," Gabriel said.
"It can be very difficult to do that," Kharls said. "I have suspected such emplacements in my own organization for a long while. It can be very hard to let them continue doing damage while trying to contain the larger damage they might do otherwise. or which might be done if they were forcefully removed. Off the record, I will thank you for doing me a favor. As for the others"—he shrugged—"there is no doing everything at once. These Externals are not a problem to be so lightly solved. We have won an engagement with them, but it will be many years, I think, before we have enough intelligence about them to know how major or minor an engagement it was. Meantime, good intel practice at my end involves leaving their present agents in place. and making sure I have a big enough bag of waste products handy."
Gabriel nodded at that, too.
"So," Kharls said. "I'll be moving over to Lighthouse for at least a few weeks. Meanwhile, you will be held here, in what I hope you will find reasonable comfort. I would have preferred something a little less spartan, but the Marines—"
"I just saved a whole lot of their asses," Gabriel said, rather more hotly than he had intended, " and half the Verge, as an incidental. You'd think that would count for something."
"Well, I would," Kharls said, "but you should know, as a former Marine yourself, that the lives of your own people count for more than anything else. If you don't take care of yourselves, who will? The deaths of the Marines from Falada and the pursuit of this trial remain important to the organization, and I am unwilling to do anything that might impair morale at this point. such as show undue favor to the accused."
Gabriel made a rueful face. "Well, yes, I do understand, even though at the moment I don't much care for • , tt it.
"That said," Kharls continued, "I am willing to listen to anything for which you might personally ask me." Gabriel looked at him quietly for a few moments then shook his head. "No," he said at last.
"Unusual," said Kharls, after a pause nearly as long. "Maybe not," Gabriel said.
Kharls was quiet for a moment. "You have given us," he said, "perhaps the one tool that will turn this struggle in our favor. It may take years yet to tell, but this kind of defense leaves us freer than we would have thought possible to turn our attention to offense."
"Always my preferred mode," Gabriel said.
Kharls gave him a look. "I wonder. I was about to accuse you of mellowing, but possibly that's premature. It's probably just as well, for you have a lot more searching ahead of you after you serve your sentence. and that edge will help keep you alive."
Gabriel nodded. "One question, though."
"Certainly."
"VoidCorp."
"Yes," said Kharls. He stood and stretched again. "There is a situation that will want to be looked at closely in the coming weeks and months. It was interesting to note"—he looked sideways at Gabriel—"that during the battle, though there were a surprising number of them there, none of their vessels seemed willing to do anything on either side. It is. suggestive."
"Yes," Gabriel said. "Almost as if they were unwilling to annoy a potential ally, before they knew which way things seemed to be going."
Kharls nodded, then he seemed to stand indecisive for a moment. A strange sight, one which Gabriel had never seen. "Tell me something. You have apparently been through something. very strange. Who were they? The Precursors, I mean."
It was a question that had been on Gabriel's mind. "Administrator," he replied, "I wish I knew. The Patterners seem to have been built to be very like them, and the Patterners have almost no sense of self as such. In what I have inside me now, which is everything that was there—a great library of practical science material mostly, and directions to other facilities—there are no images of them. Either they had a
religious injunction against it, or"—he laughed once, softly—"or we are them come back again after a great failure for another chance at success. Who knows? The Patterner seemed to think so, but even it was unsure."
Kharls nodded slowly.
"And you," Kharls said. "Who are you, now?" "You mean, 'What are you?' " Gabriel said. "No," Kharls said. "Who?"
Gabriel smiled slightly. "I am a man. Maybe not just another human,' but definitely a man, and very confused."
"And not guilty."
"Of murder," Gabriel said, "no. Not guilty."
Kharls made for the door, paused there. "After this is all over, I think I can tell you that, should your oaths guide you in that direction—as they seem to have done for the last year—the Concord would deeply appreciate your service."
"After this is over, Administrator," Gabriel said, "I would certainly meet you in the gym of your choosing and attempt to knock your block off for all the trouble you've caused me." He smiled, but it was one of those smiles he had borrowed from Grawl, with fangs showing. "After that we'll discuss service."
"Yes," Kharls said, "that I did expect. I would say we will certainly have some dealings outside the judicial process." He went down to the door at the end of the corridor, rapped on it, and the guard let him out.
The trial happened about a month and a half later and lasted for several weeks. They did not try to rush it. There was too much attention being paid to it in the media, for whom interest in Gabriel had greatly increased after news of the events at Argolos got out. Gabriel tried to contact his father during that period and got the expected response. Silence. It would be a while before that particular disjuncture in his personal universe would be healed, if ever.