By the time Widhbo arrived back at the control desk the bodies were gone without a trace. He logged into the encrypted files and entered administrative override. A review of the ship's memory revealed conflict resolution pathways and decision points where the ship's program broke free of protocol to solve the duplication problem. Widhbo instructed the ship to consult him for any future conflicts which could not be resolved within approved pathways. He encoded a strict law of no dissolution without administrative input and permission.

He was about to log out when Jejliard walked in.

"Be with you in a moment," Widbho said as though nothing was amiss. He added another layer of encryption before he logged out.

"We have a serious problem, Widhbo." Jejliard said.

"We do?"

"Where's Tajlon?"

"Resting in sick bay. Is that a problem?"

"Yes. I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Between your actions and Tajlon's it appears to have been resolved. I've moved on the next problem which is determining our deep space trajectory when we leave orbit."

"I'm holding Tajlon responsible for what he did. He has to be held accountable and stand trial for murder."

"And yourself?"

"The entity you are referencing is dead. Dead at Tajlon's hand."

"You could stand in for said entity since you're an exact copy."

"Tajlon stabbed me in revenge and threw me on the grid for that crime. Once is sufficient. I'm reborn and legally a new man. The ancient's law gives me a clean slate."

Widhbo couldn't deny it. "You're certain you want to go through with this trial?"

"I am."

"I suppose it would be acceptable to upload him first in case things goes poorly for him. Hmm?"

"Of course. That's my intention. I want my son back."

"I see. It is really acceptable to regenerate our murderers and let them go free in the next incarnation?" Widhbo asked, moving his feet back and forth as he did when annoyed.

"Justice will have been served and as I see it, everyone gets a second chance."

"And a third or a fourth or a fifth. Not much incentive to go straight."

"I said a second chance. We're not regenerating serial killers here."

"No, of course not. Two murders in a row and you're out of luck. You're on number two, Jejliard. I'd be very careful if I were you. Save the next kill for someone special."

"I'm not joking, Widbho."

"That explains why I'm not laughing," Widhbo said. "I won't be a party to a trial such as you propose." He turned back to the console and brought up a local star map.

"You're a witness." Jejliard moved between Widhbo and the console.

"Only to your duplication. Do you really want to explain that to the others?"

"It's time they learned the truth of what Tajlon is capable of doing."

"I believe we are all quite capable of murder, Jejliard," Widhbo replied, "A murder trial will interfere with my duties. I haven't the time."

"I think you do. Sora practically flies herself. And perhaps we can find out what Tajlon meant when he mentioned your connection to Agartoon."

"I am not from this dimension. I'm pleading diplomatic immunity. I know my rights." He teleported from the room.

* * *

Widhbo teleported to sick bay. Greyla had regained consicousness after her upload.

"Well this is going to take some getting used to," Greyla said. "How did you get here?"

Widhbo ignored her, went over to Tajlon and pulled the tubing out of his arm.

"He does that. Teleportation," Hal said. "I'm glad we're both uploaded. I was afraid you wouldn't go along with it."

"What can I say? He made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Same. Now we can be together forever."

Tajlon was groggy. A shadow of remembrance crossed his brow as he sat up.

"We're about to have company," Widhbo interrupted. "Tajlon, don't say a word to anyone."

"Take this," Tajlon said. He pulled a bright shiny object from his pocket and gave it to Widhbo. It was his father's chip and all that was left of the real Jejliard.

It was no sooner done than Jejliard entered the sick bay with a couple of armed crew members by his side. They went straight for Tajlon.

"What's going on?" Hal asked. "Why all the hardware, Jejliard?"

"He's under arrest." Jejliard replied.

"Under arrest?" Greyla asked. "For what?"

Jejliard's guards took Tajlon and escorted him from the room. Jejliard turned and left without another word. Widhbo was on their heels.

Greyla started to go after them.

Hal put his arm around her. "I need to fill you in on a few things, Greyla."

"Jejliard didn't even speak to me." she said.

"He's not the same Jejliard you've known."

"Who exactly is he then?"

"By my count, Jejliard the third."

* * *

"This is too much to handle on top of everything else we've been through, Hal," Greyla said. "I can only imagine how Tajlon must be feeling. We've got to help him."

"Let's see if we can find the others." Hal led the way to the conference room. The Raemolles were still there.

"Has Jejliard been by here?" Hal asked

"He most certainly has," Danlea replied. "He was looking for Tajlon. Why would he want to arrest his own son?"

"He's only this ship's imitation of the Jejliard we once knew," Hal said. "Something went haywire with the Sora. It's producing duplicates. The previous duplicate destroyed the man we all knew. Tajlon killed him when he saw the bastard murder his real father and now we have yet another Jejliard. The ship regenerated him."

They were too stunned to speak for a moment. Raemolle put a protective are around his wife. "How can we possibly deal with anything so bizarre?"

"It's insane," Danlea said wringing her hands. "And this man, this thing, oversees the ship now?

"Apparently he's recruited some of the crew members to do his bidding already," Raemolle said reflecting on activities he had seen without understanding the meaning. "We've seen armed guards everywhere. It was unsettling and I felt compelled to hide the weapons we brought with us from the Sea Grinder, I never expected to need them here."

"If they really are crew members and not copies programmed to do his bidding," Hal said.

Widhbo teleported to the conference room and joined them.

"I will always jump out of my hide when you do that," Grelya complained.

"Sorry. I've been a little pressed for time this afternoon what with the murders and such."

"Where's Tajlon?" Greyla demanded.

"Locked in his quarters under orders from Jejliard. No visitation allowed at the moment," Widhbo replied. He paced the room, too agitated to stand still.

"What went wrong, Widhbo?" Danlea asked.

"The ship is changing, evolving. The data indicates it's trying to control Jejliard, establish itself as him. It doesn't have a personification of its own."

"Like a puppet?"

"As good a term as any."

"What I want to know is how you let this guy, fake Jejliard, take over like this, Widhbo." Hal said. "Can't you stop him? Decommission him or such?"

"Now that he is manifested as flesh and blood, eliminating him would amount to murder on my part. If I lock him up, the Sora can make another. You have to understand it's the ship we're really dealing with here. It will generate another, and another," Widhbo explained. "I'm good, but I'm not that good. If I go against the ship openly, it will win."

"So, we are powerless to help Tajlon?" Greyla asked.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Hal responded. "Think, Widhbo. You're the brains here.

"The ship still abides by some rules embedded in its programming. Think of it as a game of chess," Widhbo countered.

"We can find its weaknesses and leverage them to our advantage," Hal said.

"I have a feeling things are going to get very ugly." Greyla said.

"You have no idea. I must warn you," Widhbo cautioned, "There might be some awful things said about me as well."

"And we'll know they aren't true," Greyla replied.

"Oh, they're true. It's just the evil spin that can be put my actions. It might imply I am responsible for all the war and destruction on Beldora."

"Are you?" Hal asked.

"I probably speeded things along. You must understand I had no prior knowledge of human nature. And sometimes noble intentions can bring about premature disaster, just like Captain De'Marc..." Widhbo stopped. He had not meant to mention Greyla's grandfather or suggest his contributing role in the war. Too late.

"What about my grandfather?"

"Nothing important. It won't come up at the trial."

"What are you not telling me, Widbho?"

Widhbo teleported out of the room.

* * *

"What did he mean about noble intentions and my grandfather?" Greyla said turning to Hal.

"Widhbo's upset. I don't know what he's talking about," Hal replied. He played nervously with a pencil between his thumb and finger.

"I think you do."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"Why indeed? You're no good at it," Greyla said. Her face was flushed with anger. "I can read emotions, Hal. I can't read your mind unfortunately, but I know you're hiding something from me."

"I refuse to speculate on something Widhbo said without all the facts," Hal said. "That's all I have to say about it."

"Fine," Greyla turned to the Raemolles.

"Greyla, I don't know anything except Dane was killed by a cannon blast from the battleship," Danlea said. "We were below deck on the sub and I didn't see anything. Did you, William?"

"I'm sorry, Greyla," Raemolle answered. "I didn't either."

Greyla got up and left the conference room with tears streaming down her face. Hal wanted to follow her but knew better. If she was going to hate him for this, then so be it. A nuclear attack was destroying their home planet as they spoke. It was probably inevitable, but the fact was De'Marc effectively fired the first shot when he freed the drone. Hal loved Greyla too much to give her that memory for the rest of eternity, assuming they managed to survive what the ship had in store.