by Ben Wolf
He gave Justin a stern stare and then stood aside for Hallie to enter the house.
Justin matched his stare and waved with his prosthetic arm.
The other guy didn’t wave back. He just headed back inside and closed the door behind him.
[Don’t think he’s gonna be your friend any time soon.]
Justin shook his head. “No, Key, probably not.”
[But look, dude, you nailed it. I mean, I was seriously impressed. Your game was perfection today. Like a damned sharpshooter.]
“Thanks.” Justin started to say something else as he turned back, but he stopped when he saw a curvy Latino woman with purple-tipped hair standing on the sidewalk several yards down the street, staring at him.
Glaring at him.
Lora.
Then she turned and stormed away.
[That’s bad news, JB,] Keontae said. [It’s more than romantic interest with her. It’s obsession now. Better watch your ass.]
Justin sighed. “I will. Wouldn’t mind your help with that.”
[You already know I got you.]
“I do.” Justin shook off his concerns. “Let’s head back into downtown. Find a place to crash for the day, do some shopping. You’ve always had a better sense of style than me. You can help me find some new clothes for tonight.”
[You know it,] Keontae said. [My sense of style is classic and refined. You’re gonna look pimp by the time I’m done with you. Don’t even worry about it. Just get me in the store, bro, and I’ll take care of the rest.]
Justin wasn’t sure exactly how much he’d spent on new clothes, but it was a lot. Most of the cost came from the one killer outfit Keontae had helped him put together, and the rest was a bunch of basics like socks, underwear, denim pants, and long-sleeved shirts, all of which he could wear when working on the rig.
With four shopping bags in tow, two in each hand, Justin checked into one of the nicer downtown hotels. That, too, cost him big time, but if the Ikari were by some chance still after him, it would be worth it to have the added security and distance from the Asian District that night. He’d sleep better knowing they couldn’t get to him there.
Inside his room, Justin dropped the shopping bags on the soft comfortable bed and then he flopped down on it as well. “You can come out now, Key, if you want.”
Justin’s arm shuddered, and green light mingled with the artificial sunshine pouring in through the windows. They’d nabbed a spot on the thirteenth floor, about two thirds of the way up the hotel, and the view was pretty great.
Justin didn’t care, though—he just wanted to get some rest.
“Yo,” Keontae said.
“Yeah?” Justin replied.
“I appreciate what you said back there.”
“When?”
“With your girl. You told her you had to get back to Bortundi Prime to see my mom. I know we already talked about that, but I was glad you re-upped on your commitment. Meant a lot to me.”
“Happy to do it, bro.” Justin waved his hand and sat up. He was exhausted, but he’d never fall asleep with the curtains open—not with all that light pouring in.
As he began to pull one side of the curtains shut, the sound of his hotel door unlatching caught his ears. His first thought was that housekeeping was coming in and that he needed to hide Keontae.
But when he saw a plasma repeater pointed at him instead, Justin realized exactly how wrong he was.
10
“Justin Barclay,” Captain Marlowe said, chewing on another of his metal sticks. “And… your green friend, whoever he is.”
Arlie stood at his side. As usual, her repeater pointed at Justin.
By now, she’d done it enough times that the sight of it no longer surprised Justin, but it still unnerved him to have to stare down a deadly weapon.
Justin glanced at Keontae, who didn’t move either. He continued standing there, aglow in his usual green light. They’d been caught. The secret was out.
“I knew something about you was off.” Captain Marlowe nodded toward them both and folded his arms across his burly chest. “You couldn’t possibly be as good with tech as you are while also not knowing a damned thing about what you were doing. I think an explanation’s in order, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Arlie agreed. “Definitely. And no lies.”
Justin looked at Keontae again, who met his gaze. Fighting back wasn’t an option, nor did Justin even want to. And there was no escape, either. Hopefully Captain Marlowe and Arlie would recognize the value of what Justin and Keontae had to offer and not decide to do anything rash.
The thought crossed Justin’s mind that Captain Marlowe might try to kill him and take Keontae for himself if he knew Keontae’s true value. Even though Keontae would never go for it or go along with it, that didn’t mean Justin wouldn’t pay the price anyway.
Well, I’ll just have to make it clear.
“This is Keontae.” Justin gave a half-hearted wave toward him. “Remember the friend I told you about who died back at the mine? This is him.”
Arlie aimed her repeater at Justin’s face. “I said no lies.”
Justin recoiled a step. “Easy! I’m not lying. It’s true.”
“He’s not lyin’,” Keontae echoed.
“You’re some sort of hologram,” Arlie snarled. “An AI program, at best.”
Keontae shook his head. “No. I’m a lot more than that.”
“Explain.” Arlie’s icy gaze landed back on Justin.
Over the next few minutes, Justin described the sequence of events that led to Keontae’s death and resurrection—so to speak—and Keontae filled in what details he could. The whole time, neither Captain Marlowe nor Arlie changed their incredulous expressions.
When Justin finished, Arlie still hadn’t lowered her repeater, but she wasn’t talking anymore, either.
Captain Marlowe finally said, “Suppose I choose to believe you’re telling the truth. That would mean you stumbled upon something that, as far as we know, is unprecedented in all of history, and it happened to turn your friend into this ‘tech ghost’ thing.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Justin said. “There is no better explanation for it.”
“Or he’s an AI, like I said,” Arlie muttered.
“I’m not a damned AI,” Keontae insisted.
“Prove it,” Arlie countered.
“How?” Keontae asked. “I got a mother back on Bortundi Prime. I had a work history before I ‘died’ workin’ for Andridge. I’m a real person, or I was, anyway, ’til the accident.”
“I’m not convinced.” Arlie shook her head. “All of that could be taught to an AI program, along with your entire personality matrix.”
“I can’t be copied or replicated,” Keontae said. “AI programs can be.”
“Even if that were true, we got no way of testing it here and now.”
“Look,” Keontae held up his green hand, “I don’t gotta justify shit to you, lady. I know who I am, and I know what happened to me because I was there.”
“You do have to justify it if you want your friend to stay alive.” Arlie’s grip on the repeater adjusted, and she took more careful aim at Justin.
Okay… this is getting out of hand.
“Hey, easy,” Justin coaxed. “In the end, what does it matter whether he’s AI or not? I’ve been nothing but loyal to you both, and—”
“Except for completely lying to us about your capabilities,” Captain Marlowe interjected.
Damn. Good point. “Well, if I had told you, would you have given me a chance in the first place?”
“We give idiots, assholes, and freaks a chance all the time.” Captain Marlowe pulled the metal stick from his mouth and flicked it across the room. It clacked against the hotel room window and disappeared somewhere on the floor. “How else do you think we ended up with Rowley Pine on staff?”
Justin cursed under his breath. “I can’t argue with that. But can you try to see why I wouldn’t want it getti
ng out that I’ve got my best friend living in my prosthetic arm? I had no idea you’d be okay with it or that you’d take me seriously. And even if you did, I didn’t want the rest of the crew knowing.
“After everything that happened at that mine on Ketarus-4, and with ACM still breathing down my neck from across the galaxy, the fewer people who know about this, the better,” Justin continued. “My concern isn’t about myself as much, though that factored in, of course. My main concern is making sure Keontae gets back to Bortundi Prime to see his mother one last time.”
Both Captain Marlowe and Arlie stayed quiet for a long time, and Justin reacclimated to the prolonged silence as he had the last few times they’d given him this kind of treatment.
Finally, Arlie shot a glance at Captain Marlowe. Again, they only made eye contact and didn’t convey any other visible or audible communication, and then Arlie lowered her repeater and tucked it in the back of her waistband.
How she’d known to put the repeater away instead of shooting, Justin had no idea. Had they practiced this beforehand or something?
Whatever the case, the tension in Justin’s chest subsided, and he exhaled a long breath.
“We’re not sure we believe everything you’ve told us,” Captain Marlowe said, “but thus far, aside from this lie, you’ve given us no reason to distrust you. And, for what it’s worth, I do understand why you’d want to keep it a secret, especially if your friend is what you say he is.
“His existence is potentially devastating for Andridge, knowing what he knows and having seen what he’s seen. On top of that, he’s probably worth a mint to their R&D department. Having a sentient life form who can manipulate virtually any network and computer system is a powerful tool.”
“A weapon,” Arlie added.
“Better if he didn’t end up in their possession,” Captain Marlowe concluded.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Keontae said.
“So suffice it to say, your secret’s safe with us—under one condition,” Captain Marlowe said.
“And here’s the ask,” Keontae mumbled.
“Which is?” Justin held his ground.
“You keep working for us. With your friend’s targeting accuracy and technical knowhow, there’s no reason we can’t all make a fortune together and finally break free of all the oppression in the marketplace.”
Justin hesitated. “That’s not my agreement with Keontae.”
“Yeah,” Keontae agreed. “No disrespect, but my only priority is keepin’ this kid alive so he can get me home to Bortundi to see my mom before she passes on.”
“And then after that,” Justin said, “I can’t speak to what his plans are gonna be. He’s mentioned finding a body of his own instead of staying in my arm forever.”
“Jump into the rig, then,” Captain Marlowe suggested. “What better body than an entire spaceship?”
“Not exactly what I had in mind, Cap’n,” Keontae said.
“Why not?”
Justin began, “It’s kind of a touchy subje—”
“I got this, JB. Let me put it to you this way…” Keontae held out his hands as if to frame the circumstance for Captain Marlowe. “You got this fine lady with you. You love ’er. That’s clear as day. You wanna make ’er happy. You with me so far?”
“Sure.” Captain Marlowe folded his arms.
“Now imagine you died but your soul lived on, and your options were to either find a new body with all the anatomical parts that you need to make ’er happy… or you could jump into a damned spaceship.”
No one said anything for a long moment.
“I’m sayin’ your spaceship doesn’t have a dick,” Keontae clarified.
“Yes. I know what you’re saying.” Captain Marlowe waved his hand. He glanced at Arlie, who shrugged. “Point taken.”
“But that does not leave us with much incentive to keep your secret,” Arlie added.
“How about because you’re decent people?” Keontae said. “Or, if not, how ’bout because you hate Andridge as much as we do and don’t want ’em gettin’ ahold of me?”
“That doesn’t do much for our bottom line,” Arlie said.
“Perhaps this time, our bottom line isn’t as important as keeping something like this quiet,” Captain Marlowe countered.
Arlie squared herself with him. “So it’s better for us to sleep in that vermin-infested rust-bucket you call a rig? Better for us to scrape by with meager rations and even fewer amenities?”
Captain Marlowe remained silent and let her talk.
“I want toothpaste, Enix!” Arlie snapped. “Just some damned toothpaste! Is that too much to ask?”
“This is a nice hotel,” Justin said. “I’m sure they provide it. You could just steal some from here.”
Arlie’s wrathful eyes shifted to Justin, and he regretted speaking.
“Or not.”
“It’s not just the toothpaste.” She turned her scorn back onto Captain Marlowe. “This is not the life I was promised when we bound our fates together.”
“This isn’t a conversation we can have right now, Arlie,” Captain Marlowe said, his voice calm.
“The hell it isn’t,” she almost shouted.
“Not in front of our subordinates.”
“I don’t care.” Arlie stomped her foot. “This has gone on for long enough. We finally catch a break, and you aren’t man enough to take advantage of it!”
Captain Marlowe didn’t utter a word. He just stared at her with sad anger in his eyes and a rigid, albeit somewhat hunched-over posture.
Justin glanced at Keontae, who returned his look of uncertainty. They’d gotten caught in the middle of this marital spat, and neither of them wanted to be there.
What surprised Justin the most wasn’t Arlie’s venomous words but rather Captain Marlowe’s tempered reaction to them. He didn’t fight back. He just stood there and took it.
Justin doubted he would’ve been able to hold his tongue half as well.
“Nothing to say?” Arlie hissed. “Just gonna stand there like a mute?”
Finally, after an interminable silence, Captain Marlowe replied, “I don’t have anything kind to say in response, so I’m choosing not to say anything at all.”
Arlie fumed, her fists clenched, and she stormed out the hotel room door, leaving the three of them alone.
Captain Marlowe turned toward Justin and Keontae again. “Sorry about all that. But look—I think I may have thought of a way to make use of your friend’s abilities without having to restrict the both of you to the rig forever. And it’ll be another chance to re-demonstrate your loyalty to me.”
Justin and Keontae exchanged another glance. Justin asked, “What is it?”
Late that afternoon, after a solid nap and once they were certain the docking bay mechanics had left for the day, Justin and Keontae accompanied Captain Marlowe aboard the Persimmon.
All the while, Justin kept checking the time. It was a bit after 5:30pm now, and he was supposed to meet Hallie at the restaurant at 7:00pm. Hopefully he could do what needed doing and still make it back into the city in time to catch her.
Inside the Persimmon, Justin admired the ship’s clean lines and sleek design—a stark contrast from the rough, grimy interior of the rig. Jumpseats lined the small cabin area, replete with harnesses and straps and everything else that was supposed to give the impression that flying was safe.
A series of metal panels along the back wall had handle slots in each of them. Probably pullout cupboards or drawers or something.
Justin placed his metal hand on one of the ship’s dark screens, and his fingers tingled as Keontae jumped into its system. The screen began to glow with green light, and two lines in the center wriggled as Keontae spoke, his voice quiet and tinny from the small speakers embedded on either side of the screen.
“Security’s tight in this network,” he said. “Gonna take me a bit to penetrate the shields. Lotta layers here.”
“Go as quickly as you can,�
�� Captain Marlowe said. “Our time of being unseen is short.”
“Yup,” Keontae confirmed. The two lines swirled together and formed a rotating circular symbol.
Justin approached a cylindrical container on a stand. It was mounted to the floor on the opposite end of the ship from the cockpit, but before the back wall. The cylinder’s curved metal wall held up a rounded black top, but the wall only reached about halfway around. A matching base extended from the half-wall on the bottom.
“I think I found your suspension crate,” Justin guessed aloud.
“Yep.” Captain Marlowe nodded. “When it’s powered on, the beams create a force field around whatever’s inside. Impenetrable, they say, but not impossible to bypass, of course.”
“Whatever was in here, it’s already gone.”
“Right now, I’m less concerned about whatever was in there and far more concerned about the surprising amount of blood on the cockpit floor.”
“What?” Justin headed across the ship’s interior toward Captain Marlowe, who stood at the cockpit entrance, staring down.
“I’m ashamed to admit I missed it the first time around.” He pointed down at the metal floor, but Justin didn’t see anything. “You gotta look closely. They cleaned most of it up. It’s subtle, but it’s there.”
No matter how closely Justin looked, he couldn’t identify even a single drop of blood. The lack of adequate lighting in there wasn’t helping, either.
“You don’t see it, do you?” Captain Marlowe asked.
Justin considered lying, but he decided against it. “No. I don’t see anything.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll learn.” Captain Marlowe nodded toward the cockpit’s console. “See that?”
The left side of the console looked as if someone had detonated a small grenade inside it. Metal stabbed and twisted outward, curled and tinged brown around its edges.
“Whatever did that, it killed the guy whose blood is all over the cockpit floor.”
