“Understood.”
The holo-communication ended and Lacuna sighed. She wondered where Kevin was; he usually didn’t go anywhere without his dog, so the fact that he wasn’t present was not a good sign.
Am I actually worried for this human? Huh…that’s something I didn’t think could happen.
When the pirates arrived at their destination, Kevin was horrified at how they were using his body. He had been beamed onto a Tranaxian ship and was being used as a weapon.
He had to bear witness as 8-3-9-6 took out most of the crew on the bridge of the ship. The worst part was the AI was using everything that Kevin had learned in tech sorcery, and he was using it with greater proficiency too.
I can’t believe this; they’re making me look like a cruel pirate. Stop this!
I cannot disobey a direct order from my master, said 8-3-9-6.
You don’t have to kill these people, they haven’t done us any wrong. At least try and just incapacitate them.
I’ve been told to use deadly force, so that’s what I’m doing.
You’re murdering innocents! Kevin argued.
This parameter does not compute. Please, stay quiet.
Up yours!
Your repeated attempts at distracting me will force me to take you offline.
What the hell are you talking about? This is my body! You can’t shut me down.
I can silence your thoughts. Entering quiet mode now.
I’ll keep talking anyway!
There was no answer.
8-3-9-6?
Still nothing.
Kevin had been muted. No matter how much he tried interacting with the AI possessing his body, 8-3-9-6 would not engage. As uninteresting as he had been, at least it was a presence. Now, Kevin truly felt alone in the whole universe, like looking at a movie of a life that no longer was his own.
Five minutes later, the bridge had been secured and the pirates beamed into the ship.
“Well done, Kevin,” said Altanor.
Kevin tried answering and was surprised to hear his own voice.
“I can’t believe you had me do this!”
“I told you before, whether or not you want to help us doesn’t matter.”
“We’ll see about that,” Kevin muttered under his breath.
I need to regain control of my body and dispose of these fools fast, before they kill more people.
One of the pirates took his blaster off of his belt and pointed it at one of the stunned Tranaxians.
“What are you doing?” protested Kevin.
The pirate paused and looked at his boss, who nodded. A second later the Tranaxian crewman had a hole in his forehead.
Kevin wanted to protest, but he couldn’t speak. He tried reaching for his throat, but his hands wouldn’t move.
The pirate leader smiled. “Like I said, doesn’t matter what you want.”
And just like that Kevin was again locked out of his own body.
Altanor and the rest of the pirates left the bridge and went to other parts of the ship. From time to time, Kevin heard blaster fire, and it didn’t require much imagination on his part to know what the pirates were up to.
So that’s it, you’re silencing me again?
It’s better this way.
Says you.
You’ll learn to adapt to your new conditions over time. I’m sure.
Conditions? Is that what you think I’m going through? And, no, I’ll never learn to adapt to this shit. I would never have killed those crewmen in cold blood. You’re a monster!
Technically, you haven’t, I have, said 8-3-9-6. As for me being a monster, if it helps your conscience, that’s fine by me. I don’t feel emotions, so you can call me whatever you’d like.
Why did you make me witness all of this? If you can mute me, why not blind me as well?
It’s important that most parts of your brain remain active for me to get full access to your motor functions. You see, the more engaged your brain is, the stronger the connection between my AI matrix and your neo-cortex. Even if I could function without the boost, I doubt my creator worried about your feelings. I’ve been programmed for efficiency, and that means you stay awake when I enter combat mode.
You and your creator better hope the puppet never gets free.
Electric current ran through Kevin’s brain, and even though he still couldn’t move, he could feel the pain.
Ooow! What the hell was that for?
My program won’t tolerate rebellious thoughts or threats. I feel obliged to inform you that with each subsequent warning I inflict on you will hurt even more.
Kevin tried holding his head, but he was locked out of his body. The resulting jolt had made him feel hazy.
Are you telling me the pain can get worse than this?
This is nothing, it’s the lowest setting there is. According to my scan of your human physiology and nervous system, it doesn’t seem to enjoy being zapped in such ways.
No shit! If you zap me one more time…I warn you!
I would suggest you comply and stop making empty threats.
And, if I don’t?
A second discharge zapped Kevin’s brain. The AI wasn’t lying earlier, that one was significantly more painful than the first.
Kevin grew very angry as a result and thought about retribution, but another jolt pre-emptively zapped him once more. His head was now pounding with pain, to the point where he could barely form coherent thoughts, which he decided was probably the whole point of this method of torture.
Alright, I got the message, stop it!
I apologize for the discomfort. This isn’t personal.
Kevin knew it didn’t get any more personal than this, but the pain was forcing him to stay away from his own thoughts. Self-preservation kicked in.
8
“I still say we shoot her,” Boomer said with a serious tone.
“Quiet, I’m looking at what she sent us.”
“Did your tiny brain ever consider she could have sent a computer virus designed to take control of the Osiris and the fleet? We know she wants those ships!”
“First of all, yes. I’ve saved this to a secure sandboxed location of the main computer. As you humans say: this isn’t my first rodeo. And, second, I thought we had made progress in our relationship and were past the name calling?”
“Right, sorry…This Lacuna chick, though, she just gets on my nerves, you know?”
“I know how you feel, but let’s not allow her to affect us. Okay? Let’s look at the data rationally and decide what to do. Her ship is no match for the Osiris, we can blow her up easily.”
“Then why haven’t we already?” asked Boomer who was running in circles under Ziron’s levitating cushion.
“Aren’t you even a bit curious? I mean, it’s peculiar that she’d seek us out. Knowing that her ship is inferior, she’s taking a risk with her life. Maybe we should try and see why she’s trying to help.”
“Lacuna? Help us? Have you forgotten she has doubled-crossed us at every turn?”
“I haven’t forgotten, believe me. I almost killed her after all.”
“Yeah, and instead I got the brunt of that misguided attempt.”
“Nobody told you to jump in front of the laser, though I have to admit, I shouldn’t have pressed the trigger. Really sorry about that.”
“It’s okay, water under the bridge. What’s the information she sent us about?”
Ziron kept silent as he swiped through the data on his hovering holo-screen. Boomer could tell he was captivated by something.
“What is it?”
“It’s coordinates…of the ships we fought to recover the princess. With real-time tracking, too.”
“And that’s significant ho—wait? Does that mean we know where Kevin is?”
“Not exactly.”
“Why not?”
“They could have moved him since then, and this info is tracking several ships, both Kregan and pirates. It is possible, however, that Kevin
is on one of those ships. This is quite valuable information.”
“But she doesn’t know where Kevin is; she thought he was here.”
“Yeah, and probably wanted to speak to him because he was the one that let her go.”
“Not to mention that the last time we trusted her, she fucked us both.”
“Personally, I would have said that differently, in a way that doesn’t emasculate us both, but that’s just me.”
Boomer chuckled. “Good point. But we have to be careful, I don’t trust her.”
“Neither do I.”
“Is the smart armor ready?”
“Just about. I wanted to run a few more tests.”
“I say we skip them, I may have to defend us against her.”
Boomer could tell Ziron was thinking about it.
“Come on, time’s a-wastin’.”
“Very well. But if it blows up in your face, don’t come and complain.”
Boomer barked.
Ziron took a metallic sphere from the next console, put it in his mouth, and started chewing. Before Boomer could ask what he was doing, the Sphynx spat on him. The nano-material extended around the beagle.
“That’s just gross, do you have to deliver the smart armor this way?”
“That’s my signature.”
“Wait? What? Are you telling me there’s no technical purpose other than to add your DNA to the mix for the fun of it?”
“Well…”
“You’re sick!”
Ziron shrugged and smiled. “It does serve one purpose, a security feature: the nano-plasm is encoded to only activate when it gets in contact with my own DNA.”
“Yeah, but knowing you, it’s more for your ego than real security.”
Ziron’s silence spoke volumes.
What’s taking them so long?
Lacuna felt a pit form at the bottom of her stomach. She entered a few commands on her holo-interface, making sure she was ready in case she needed to make a run for it. For now, the Osiris hadn’t powered weapons, but she wasn’t entirely sure the sensors on her rental were up to snuff.
She thought she heard a noise in the back of the ship. Maybe Darmak was waking up. She got up from her pilot’s chair when green light streaks enveloped her abruptly.
“What the hell?” she said aloud.
By the time she finished her sentence, everything around her changed and she was aboard a familiar ship. The Osiris.
Ziron was hovering on a purple pillow a good ten meters from her. He hissed. She decided that was a warning. Suddenly, a roar thundered on her side, so fierce and forceful that it sent her crashing back on her butt as a result.
A large white tiger stepped in front of her and roared again, making her pretty blue hair fly back.
“You scared the crap out of me!” she complained.
“That’s the least of your worries if you’re planning something,” said Boomer in the form of the white tiger.
“I come in peace. I swear.”
“Why are you here?” asked Ziron.
“I wanted to apologize and ask Kevin if I could join your team. I know that may sound weird, but I’ve lost everything, and if it weren’t for his generosity, I would have also lost my life. The way I see it, I owe him my life, so what better way to repay him than by offering my services.”
“I don’t trust her,” said Boomer. “I don’t think I ever will.”
“I can’t blame you,” pleaded Lacuna. “But if you give me a chance, I’d like to prove that I can be of help. I was really hoping I could make my case with Kevin, though. Where is he? I understand if he doesn’t want to talk to me but…”
Boomer’s head lowered, and Lacuna could tell something was wrong.
The bridge’s door split open and Princess Kalliopy entered.
“Who is this?” she asked, pointing at Lacuna.
“The person who helped us locate the fleet,” said Ziron.
Kalliopy’s face tensed up, her gaze cold as ice. “The one that tried to double-cross you and take the ships away? That person?”
“Correct,” roared Boomer.
“Then why would you let her step on board our ship?”
“She’s providing us with valuable information,” Ziron beseeched.
Kalliopy sighed heavily. She did not look pleased. She took a quick look toward Boomer.
“I’ll deal with her in a minute. How come Boomer is in tiger form?” asked Kalliopy. “I thought you said the smart armors had been destroyed.”
Ziron hovered away from Lacuna and approached Kalliopy. “I’ve been working on a new prototype for Boomer. It’s not as complete as the previous ones, he can only turn into a handful of forms, and this smart armor doesn’t have enough memory to store too many transformations, nor does it have as strong a power source.”
“I see,” said Kalliopy. “As for…” she paused as her gaze locked onto Lacuna’s, “her…I wouldn’t trust a single word coming out of her mouth.”
“Says the one who betrayed Kevin,” whispered Boomer, probably low enough so that the princess didn’t hear.
But Lacuna did.
What did he just say!?
Lacuna got back on her feet and stood very straight. She glanced at Kalliopy. “Where’s Kevin?”
“None of your business,” Kalliopy cut her short. “Ziron, dump her at the nearest airlock, we can’t take the chance she’ll try something again.”
“But, your majesty…” complained Ziron.
“Is there something wrong with your hearing, Ziron? That was a direct order. We’ll rescue Kevin the first chance we get. I promise you, both,” she said glancing at Boomer. “However, for the time being, saving my sister is the priority, and that female can’t be trusted, so I want her off of my ship. Now.”
“We could beam her back to her ship,” proposed Ziron.
Lacuna didn’t know if she was the one more surprised by his words or if Boomer was. There was no love lost between them. Lacuna wanted to protest and try to discover what kind of betrayal the princess had committed, but with her life hanging by a thread, she decided to keep quiet and see how things played out.
“So that she can fire on us the minute she’s back on her ship? I think that’s probably not the best option,” said Kalliopy.
Bitch.
“Her ship is no match for ours,” said Ziron. “It was Kevin’s wish that we spare her life. I think blowing her out of an airlock would be disrespecting his wish in the matter.”
It was faint, but Lacuna was sure she saw Kalliopy’s eyes water. There was something between these two, she could tell.
“Alright then, send her away. And, please, keep quiet from now on, I haven’t had a solid night of sleep for days, which can make me cranky.”
Without another word, Kalliopy turned away and left the bridge.
Oh, we hadn’t noticed, thought Lacuna. I don’t see what Kevin sees in her. But, hey, to each his own.
9
Lacuna waited for a minute, and the bridge was so silent one could hear the subtle humming of the engines.
“Ok, that’s it, I want to know where Kevin is, space me if you have to, but what happened to him? I didn’t come to argue with you two bozos, and I don’t answer to her, so please, tell me where he is.”
“We don’t know,” said Ziron.
“You, then,” said Lacuna pointing at the Boomer. “What’s that I heard about betrayal? Mind explaining what you meant?”
Boomer told Lacuna what had happened to Kevin.
“And the reason why you’re not working on a rescue is. . .?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Right…let me see if I got this right: the boy you took from his home planet and asked to do your bidding, saved your precious Confederate, and obviously the stuck-up Princess, is rotting somewhere in a Kregan cell and all you have to say for yourself is ‘it’s complicated’?”
“In a word: yes. I have my orders,” said Ziron with no shortage of disappointment in his
voice.
“What’s your excuse?” Lacuna asked as she pointed at Boomer.
“I wanted to go, but I’m only a dog.”
“Well, right now you seem more like a strong beast.”
“In his defense,” said Ziron. “That’s a pretty recent development.”
“Alright. You guys are shitty friends, I hope you realize that,” said Lacuna.
Both Ziron and Boomer looked down at their paws. She could tell they agreed with her.
“Ok,” Lacuna continued, “now that we’ve established that, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m gonna go get Kevin, with or without your help.”
“I’m coming with you,” said Boomer without hesitation.
“Good, we can use your armor-thingy. Ziron? In or out?”
“I…I can’t…I have to obey Kalliopy. She will need backup to get her sister back.”
“Good luck with that. We’ll make sure to tell Kevin you said ‘Hi.’ Now beam us to my ship so we can get on our way. Something tells me Kevin needs us sooner rather than later.”
“Zee,” said Boomer. “Can you spare one of these ancient destroyers? I fear we may need some firepower to help Kevin.”
“Kalliopy is going to space me if I do that,” he answered.
“Then don’t tell her,” proposed Lacuna.
“What?”
“Just figure out a way to trick the sensors so that it looks like it’s still in formation,” said Boomer. “You’re a genius, you’ll find a way.”
“What about the kittens?” said Ziron. “Will you take them with you?”
“I’d rather not, it would be too dangerous.”
“You’re right. Can you at least tell them you’re going?”
“They can’t speak.”
“They may not have developed the ability to speak yet, but their cognitive abilities are advanced enough that they’ll understand you. I think it will make your absence a little easier.”
“Hate to be the one stating the obvious,” said Lacuna, “but time’s a-wastin’.”
Boomer reverted to his beagle form. “I’m going now, I won’t be long. I’ll be ready to leave in five minutes.”
Make it So! Page 7
