“By all means, let’s discuss the definition of murder,” said Loaf.
“You’re the one who said all soldiers are philosophers.”
“There’s a time and place,” said Loaf.
Olivenko grinned.
Rigg led them into the ship.
Umbo’s path led by the shortest possible route directly to the control room. The jewel-reader was open—if Umbo had done what Swims-in-the-Air said he did, this is where he would have attempted to take control of the ship.
Umbo’s path moved around in the room and sat in the pilot’s seat twice. But ultimately the path left the control room. Rigg and the others followed.
Umbo was apparently touring various key areas of the ship—inspecting? Verifying? Or making changes? Impossible for Rigg to know without jumping back in time to see.
They turned a corner and there was Odinex—or so they assumed—walking away from them down the corridor. They were among the storage units where colonists had lain in stasis during the voyage.
“I know you’re there,” said Odinex. “I knew when you entered the ship, and the ship informed Umbo.” But Odinex did not turn around. He was carrying something on a tray in front of him.
Odinex turned where Umbo’s path had turned.
Rigg knew the place at once, as soon as they entered behind the expendable. It was the chamber where colonists were revived from stasis or received medical attention. Umbo didn’t even look up when they came in. The expendable was laying out lunch on a small table—apparently the tray he had been carrying could sprout legs when it needed to.
“Checking up on me?” asked Umbo. He took a bite of his food.
“Swims-in-the-Air seemed anxious to tell me that you had taken control of the ship,” said Rigg. “Is the food any good?”
“So on her word alone, you come here to put me in my place,” said Umbo.
“I came to see if her word bore any relation to the truth,” said Rigg, annoyed that Umbo would leap to the conclusion that Rigg had believed the Odinfolder’s story.
“Well, it does,” said Umbo. “The jewels in the knife are just as effective as the jewels you have. And I took control of the ship.”
The words hung in the air.
“Interesting,” said Rigg. “What do you plan to do
with it?”
“What I came to do,” said Umbo. “Study it. See what I can get it to do.”
“And in this room,” said Rigg. “Do you plan to see if you can bring the murdered copies of yourself back to life?”
Umbo leapt to his feet, knocking the table over. The expendable caught it with a swooping motion that kept all the food still on the tray. Very good reflexes, Rigg noted.
“So you went back in time to check on me!” he shouted at Rigg.
“I don’t have to go back in time!” Rigg shouted back. “I can see your path and the bodies aren’t exactly invisible!”
“Did I suffer much when I died?” asked Umbo. “Did you enjoy watching that?”
“Stop it,” said Olivenko. “The two of you are acting like . . .”
Loaf chuckled. “They are children, Olivenko. But in this case, it’s Umbo who’s acting like the biggest baby.”
Umbo whirled on him. “It’s nice to know what a facemask thinks of me!”
Loaf slapped Umbo across the face.