by Barry Solway
“How smart is this AI?” Mel asked. “More powerful than you, Anna?”
“It’s hard to say,” Anna replied. “In technical sophistication, my android system was likely more advanced. I was a top-of-the-line construct before the war.” Mel thought Anna sounded smug again. “But my processing power now is a fraction of my android unit. Maybe twenty percent. And this other AI is connected everywhere. It gets data feeds and has access to all computer systems. The amount of information at its disposal is staggering. I have to hack systems that it can just walk into. So even if I am more powerful in one respect, it still has the advantage.”
“What does this mean?” Gorgeous asked. The silence was deafening, as no one had an answer.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Mel finally said. “The Viro Kara have been evading it for years. We just have to keep doing that. And then stick with our original idea. We need to make enough money to get a ship to get us back to Earth.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Jon said. “Are we supposed to take the hyperports back to Earth?”
“We can’t. There aren’t any that go out that way,” Anna said.
“Anna, go ahead and tell them,” Mel said.
“Really? You’ve been hiding information from us again? I’m shocked,” Jon said, glaring at Mel.
“We’re only hiding information from you, Jon. I have to do something to entertain myself,” Anna cut in coolly. Jon tried to glare at Anna, but it was hard to catch the hologram’s eyes.
“Enough, you two,” Riley said. “I’m kind of on Jon’s side this time. It would be helpful if we all knew what was going on.”
Mel shook her head. “It’s been like two days since we were on the space station. There hasn’t been time. We aren’t hiding anything. Have you guys invited me to every conversation you’ve had? Anna and I talked when we were alone. This is the first time we’ve had a chance to discuss it.”
“Always seems to work out that way,” Jon muttered.
“Your drama would be amusing if it were happening to someone else,” Beats said, rumbling with displeasure. “Let Anna talk.”
“The problem is that modern spaceships don’t have hyperdrives built in. That’s why we had to use the hyperport when we had the architect’s ship. But Kathor’s ship, the Insight, did have an onboard drive. That’s how he got to Earth, because his ship is five hundred years old and has much more sophisticated technology than what’s available today.”
“And you said there are no hyperports near Earth?” Riley asked. “So there’s no way to get back home then. That kind of sucks.”
“I believe some Order ships do have onboard hyperdrive systems. The one that followed us when we first stole the architect’s ship, for example.”
Beats leaned forward, his tone one of obvious disbelief even without the benefits of the translators. “You aren’t seriously suggesting we steal a starship from the Order?”
Gorgeous’s eyes glowed a brighter green, and she failed to suppress the angry-looking expression that was her way of laughing. “That would be very stupid.”
“So it’s hopeless,” Jon said. He barked a quick, mirthless laugh.
“There’s another way,” Evan said quietly.
Mel looked at Evan in appreciation. He returned her gaze, smiling ruefully. There was another way, and it was fairly obvious. Riley looked back and forth between Mel and Evan.
“What other way?”
“We find Kathor’s ship,” Mel said.
“Yes, that is the most obvious solution,” Anna replied.
Jon jumped to his feet. “Are you guys frickin’ kidding me? We just got away from his ship! It hasn’t even been a week. And now you want to go back?”
Mel cut in. “Calm down. No one’s suggesting we’re going to let Kathor kidnap us again. We need his ship, not him. And he’s a criminal, remember? If we take his ship, it’s not like he’s going to report us.”
“To be fair, it’s unlikely he’d let us just take the ship either,” Anna said. “We’d probably need to kill him, assuming he’s not already dead.”
Jon started to give an angry reply, then suddenly sat back down. “In that case, maybe I can get behind this plan.”
“This is just the beginning of a plan,” Anna said. “But our only options to get back to Earth are stealing Kathor’s ship or stealing a classified ship from the Order. Either the probably impossible or the completely impossible. So, we go with the probably impossible. There’s work to be done, starting with trying to find him. But let’s hold off on that for the time being, because we have another problem. To do any of this we’ll need resources. Including money.”
“I suppose I could break into my college savings,” Beats said.
“Dude, this isn’t a time to joke around,” Riley said. “Wait, how much do you have?”
“Even if you were planning a seven-year degree at Ta Hasona on Agprith, I don’t think that will be quite enough,” Anna replied dryly.
“Hmpf,” Beats replied. “I suspect you underestimate the cost of Ta Hasona.”
“Some things don’t change regardless of which galaxy you’re in,” Evan said. “The Viro Kara doesn’t really have money. It’s too easy to trace. They keep their assets in the real world, like computers and ships and things.”
Sheila sniffed. “We wouldn’t help even if we did have money. Why do we care if you get home? Plenty of us don’t have homes either. Does Gorgeous have a home to go back to? Our mission is to create better opportunities for our people, not run a lost-and-found. Besides, I like our Evan. I want to keep him!”
“I love you, too, Sheila,” Evan said with a smile. “Sorry, guys. We can spare sleeping quarters and maybe transportation. Food and clothing and medical care… technical assistance and planning. But not the resources you need to find Kathor.”
“Anna said something a few days ago about hacking into banks or something to get money. Why can’t we do that?” Gorgeous asked.
“Because of this new player,” Anna replied. “The AI. Any transactions too invasive or large will definitely set off flags. We may be able to generate a bit of income that way, but we’ll have to take it slow and careful.”
“Full circle,” Jon said. “You guys keep thinking there’s actually a way home, but there isn’t. It’s always one impossible thing after another. And if we are lucky enough to catch a break, there’s just something else in the way right after that.”
“It’s called life, Jon,” Mel said. She took a deep breath. She didn’t know about Anna, but apparently no one else was considering the other obvious step. “But you’re right. It is full circle. There is a way we can make the money we need. We go back into the gauntlets.”
Anna laughed. “Darn it, Mel. You stole my idea.”
Chapter 16
“You have got to be kidding me!” Jon jumped to his feet again, Riley and Beats just a moment behind.
“That’s insane, Mel,” Riley said. But his face was flushed, and he barely suppressed a smile.
“You would have to be crazy and desperate to go back into the gauntlets,” Beats said.
“I’m definitely desperate, and I feel like I’m going crazy,” Mel responded dryly. “Look, Jon’s right. Almost right. The odds of getting home aren’t good. I sometimes forget that. I start to have hope, too much hope. And then I get disappointed. This probably won’t work. We’ll probably die. But what other choice do we have? Do what Sheila says and just… what? Get a job here on Latanu or some other planet?” Mel faced off against Jon, Riley, and Beats. “I didn’t choose this. I don’t want to be here. I have family and a life back on Earth. It’s my home. Maybe I won’t make it back, but I don’t intend to stop trying. Do you understand that? The question is, who’s going to help me?”
“I will help,” Gorgeous said. Her expression was solemn. “I will tell you the truth. The gauntlets are the first place I’ve been where I felt important. Where I felt that someone cared about me and I could help others. I’ve been desperate f
or most of my life. But… I have nothing. No family, no home. Until I met all of you.”
“Gorgeous,” Mel said as tears formed. “You’ll have me as a friend regardless of whether or not you do the gauntlets.” Mel took Gorgeous’s hand in her robotic one. She could feel her fingers twitching unconsciously and concentrated on relaxing them. “Are you sure you want to do this? I know I’m asking a lot. But I can’t give up.”
“Yes, I am sure,” Gorgeous replied.
“I’m in. You know that,” Riley said. “Hell, I barely had a chance to stretch my legs last time. We have a great team here. We have Anna to guide us and we don’t have Kathor to worry about. We can do this. We can win the gauntlets.”
Beats looked away. “I need to think about it. The violence… it’s not good.” Beats turned his back and walked away. Riley called after him, then excused himself to follow Beats.
Jon paced around his chair. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t do the gauntlets anymore.”
“Why not?” Evan asked.
“Because Mel killed a bunch of guards and an architect in the last game, that’s why.”
“I shot one guard and I didn’t kill that architect. Kathor did,” Mel shot back.
“Yeah, that might be a problem,” Anna said. “No plan is perfect. There are plenty of criminals in the games. Or maybe we can go in disguise. I’m not really sure how we convince them, but it’s the best idea I have at the moment for raising lots of money quickly.”
“Do I even have a choice?”
“Do you want to get home?” Mel asked. “If you have another suggestion, I’m all ears.”
“You know I don’t,” Jon said, his tone thick with condescension. “I guess we’ll just all follow our fearless leader into battle again. That worked out really well for Jeff and Mirage.”
Evan stood up, obvious anger on his face. “That’s bull, Jon, and you know it. When did it become Mel’s job to save everyone? Where were you when all that happened? When I almost died? Stop blaming her for your own incompetence.”
Jon’s eyes widened, his face flushing as he stepped towards Evan. “You think I’m afraid of you? You’re even more of a freak than before.”
Evan sighed in exasperation, but didn’t back away. “I don’t care if you’re afraid of me. Look at me, Jon. I had an entire city block fall on me. I’ve been cut to pieces and cobbled back together out of spare parts. Do you really think I care what you think? But you need to stop insulting Mel when she’s the only one coming up with useful ideas.”
Mel stepped between them. “Take it easy, both of you. Jon, it’s just an idea. A proposal. We haven’t decided on anything. You need to think it over and decide what you want. No one’s going to force you to do the gauntlets. Just… just go.”
Jon glared at her, then turned and stalked out of the room.
“Such drama! Drama people!” Simon shouted, shuffling out of his chair and stalking out of the room. “Is there any food in this shack? I’m starving.”
“Oh, wait up, dear,” Sheila said, scampering off after Simon. “I’d like to find a bite to eat as well.”
Mel turned to Evan. “Thanks for standing up for me back there.”
“That dude is seriously a pain in the ass,” Evan replied.
Mel brushed her hair out of her face and looked up into Evan’s eyes. “You’ve changed. Since the gauntlets.”
Evan stared back at her blankly for a moment, then blinked and looked quickly away. “Yeah. Becoming a cyborg will do that to you.”
“What about you? Would you join the team?” Mel asked.
“Mel, I…” Evan ran a mechanical hand through his dark hair. “It’s just that…. Maybe. I don’t know. I need to think about it, I guess.”
Mel touched Evan’s shoulder lightly. She ran her finger across the seam, feeling the cold metallic arm, the hard puckering of skin and the soft, smooth warmth of Evan’s shoulder. Realizing what she was doing, she hastily withdrew her hand and stepped back. Evan looked down at her, a strange look on his face.
“I understand,” Mel said, talking fast. “It’s going to be tough for you, going back home. Maybe we can get better parts, parts that look more human. Think about it. We don’t need to decide right away.”
“Um, yeah. Better cyborg parts.” Evan stood awkwardly, then half-turned to the door. “We’ll see.” He turned back and started to say something, then stopped before turning away again. “I’m going to go talk to Riley and Beats, see what they think. I’ll catch you later, Mel.”
“Sure. Sounds good.”
Once Evan left, Mel plopped into a chair, letting out a whoosh of air. Was she really attracted to Evan? She had to admit that having him stand up to Jon like that had been surprising. Something the old Evan wouldn’t have done.
Gorgeous leaned forward, an irritated expression on her face that meant she was smiling. “You like him?”
Mel looked up, caught off guard. “What? Who, Evan? No. Well, I mean, of course I like him, he’s my friend.”
“That’s not what I mean. You like him,” Gorgeous said, her expression growing more angry-looking by the second.
“Oh stop. You’re being silly. We’re stuck in space and being hunted by murderous government thugs. I don’t have time to like anyone,” Mel said. “And he’s messed up from the gauntlets and he’s a… a…”
“A cyborg,” Anna finished. “Is that a new -ism? What would that be? Cyborg-ism? Mech-ism? Mechan-ism? Ha, I just made a joke.”
“Really, Anna?” Mel said, rolling her eyes.
“Sorry. But you shouldn’t judge Evan because he’s a cyborg. He’s really sweet on the inside. Assuming he’s grown past those psychotic episodes and the painkiller addiction he had from almost killing you.”
“That is so hilarious coming from you. Is that how you picked up all those guys back in Bermuda? Ignoring their looks and peering deeply into their souls?”
“We’ve all had opportunities to grow, I suppose,” Anna said, tilting her holographic head. “Anyway, with that cyber hand of yours, you two are becoming the perfect match.”
Mel flexed her bionic hand, feeling one of the fingers spasm before clenching it into a fist. That was definitely not something she wanted to think about. “Enough with the matchmaking. Can you poke around and figure out how to get us into the gauntlets? It’s me and Gorgeous for sure, and Riley sounded like he was in. That leaves us three short. I’m sure Jon will come around, but I’m not sure about Beats and Evan. We may have to get other players. Do you think Simon or Sheila would join us?”
“Sheila won’t even give us money, you think she’s crazy enough to fight in the gauntlets?” Gorgeous said.
“Yeah, probably not,” Mel said. “And if we had to split our winnings, it would give us less money to find Kathor’s ship. I wish you could join us, Anna.”
“Kind of tough when I don’t have a body. Even if I did, they would eventually figure out I was an android. But I’ll be around for strategy and tactics. I’d like to see if I can rig a system to communicate with you on planet during the gauntlets. It’s cheating, but it’s not like I care.” Anna’s holographic face looked thoughtful. “I think I’ll start looking for signs of Kathor’s ship, too.”
“Don’t do that yet,” Mel said, standing up to stretch. For some reason, these discussions wore her out almost as much as fighting in the gauntlets did. “You might get traced back by that other AI system. We can’t do anything about Kathor’s ship until we have money anyway, so I’d focus on the gauntlets first. And we’ll need to set up a training area. I wonder if Simon would help with that?”
Anna didn’t respond and Mel glanced at her. Anna’s image was looking away, frowning slightly.
“Is everything okay?” Mel asked.
Anna quickly replaced the frown with a smile. “Of course. I’ll get information on the gauntlets and leave Kathor’s ship for later.”
“Uh, great,” Mel said. Anna’s expression seemed oddly familiar to her, but she couldn’t
decide from where. “Let us know if you need anything. I’m going to find Simon and Sheila. I’m getting hungry too.”
“We should start training!” Gorgeous said as she leaped up after Mel. Mel nodded in agreement. She glanced back to see Anna staring after them. Something was bothering her, but Mel had no idea what it was.
***
They gathered in the kitchen for dinner, although she had completely lost track of the time and couldn’t even remember how long it had been since they escaped from Kathor’s ship. Was it almost two weeks ago? It had taken days to do all the jumps and land on the Latanua space station. They had been there less than a day before fleeing and crash-landing on the planet. Then a day for the surgery on her hand and the attack by the Order. She had to remind herself that had happened just this morning. All of it had only taken a week. It seemed like forever.
The Latanua equivalent of a television was embedded in the wall, showing a view of a forest and a bubbling stream. The leaves on the trees were an odd shade of blueish-green, and the trees almost black, yet it was familiar enough. Sheila manipulated a control and the forest disappeared, replaced by a Latanua woman and a scene behind her that Mel recognized as the Chandir space station.
“I thought you should see this,” Sheila said.
The Latanua on the screen waved her face tentacles, giving the impression of being excited and breathless. “We’re reporting from Chandir today after the horrible and inexplicable terrorist bombing that happened just yesterday afternoon.”
“Seriously, that was yesterday?” Riley said. “I thought that happened last week.”
Sheila shushed him, and the commentator continued. “The damage has been contained, and the authorities are seeking any information on the perpetrators, including a rare white Maneshee, a young Ankhen female, and three Asadharans. The authorities are indicating they believe this horrible act was committed by the terrorist organization known as the Viro Kara.
“In a heartwarming show of solidarity, hundreds of volunteers came together yesterday right after the blast.” The scene cut to footage showing people milling through the shopping district, picking up aquatic creatures. “A major effort to rescue the fish and other creatures that were senselessly harmed in the violence that destroyed the aquarium has brought the community together and helped them cope with the trauma and devastation these vicious acts have caused. We can only hope the violent criminals are apprehended swiftly, before they can bring any more death and destruction to the Order.”
