Rogue Protocol

by Martha Wells

  Miki sent into Abene’s feed, Please Don Abene, Rin is my friend. Please say you knew Rin was here.

  I thought there was no way Abene would take the word of her pet robot. (And granted, her pet robot was being loose with the facts, and phrasing the plea in a way that made it unclear that Consultant Rin and the SecUnit were actually the same, so its word wasn’t worth much.)

  Abene’s angry gaze went from Wilken to Gerth. She said, “I didn’t know Rin would be on the facility. GI informed me before we left. The oversight division was sending Rin to provide additional security—” She threw an opaque glance back at me. “Consultant Rin sent you?”

  Fortunately I hadn’t just been standing there like a moron and didn’t drop the perfectly good opening she was trying to hand me. “I’m Consultant Rin’s contracted SecUnit. Consultant Rin is on the station, and sent me to the facility on her shuttle.”

  Gerth said, “We weren’t told about this.” Wilken snapped a glare at her. Still no conversation between them on any private feed connection. There were a lot of questions they could ask. The scenario I had described, a client sending a SecUnit out to provide security for another set of clients, was technically possible, but would violate bond company regulations and warranties. But Gerth took her weapon off me and pointed it where it should be, on the still-open corridor where the hostile had taken Hirune.

  Abene snapped, “I don’t care what you were told! We need to find Hirune! Brais, you have to get Ejiro back to the ship. Gerth, you go with them. Wilken, either help me or give me a gun and go back to the ship with the others.” She switched to her feed to say, Kader, inform the station PA of our situation. Tell them we’re not sure what attacked us yet. Tell them to be wary of possible raiders in the system. Kader acknowledged.

  I can’t help it, I like it when the humans are decisive. (Especially when it’s the human who’s in favor of not shooting me.) I said, “Consultant Rin has instructed me to help you in any way necessary.” I kept my gaze on Abene because I was a SecUnit and that was what a SecUnit would do. You talk to the client and leave the people holding the guns to decide if they should feel threatened by what you said or not. (They should, they should feel really threatened.)

  Wilken said hurriedly, “We’re your security team, Don Abene, of course we’ll go. But you should get back to the ship with Gerth and the others, and I’ll go after Hirune with Rin’s SecUnit.”

  Ejiro struggled to stand and Brais got under his good arm and levered him upright. Brais said, “I’m on the feed with Kader, Abene. Vibol’s prepping the medical bay.”

  Since I was the SecUnit now and everything, I said, “Don’t take a lift. The hostile may take control of the system and bring a lift to its position.”

  “I know that,” Gerth snapped.

  I know you know that, asshole.

  Brais nodded at me and promised, “No lifts.” She told Abene, “Please be careful.”

  Abene said, “You, too. Keep in contact with Kader.” She turned to Wilken. “I don’t have time to argue. We need to go.”

  Miki turned and started down the open corridor. Gerth had to step out of its way. Abene picked up her helmet and followed Miki. Wilken hesitated but gave Gerth a tap on the feed. Gerth motioned to Ejiro and Brais. “Come on, it’ll be okay.”

  I waited until Wilken started after Abene, lengthening her stride to get in front. I moved up level with Abene, and backburnered Brais’s feed so I could keep tabs on the group heading back to the shuttle.

  Chapter Five

  SOUNDING PROFESSIONALLY COMPETENT and not at all like someone who had just let a client get abducted, Wilken said, “My scan’s not showing anything, but my range is limited. As long as Hirune’s feed is still up, we can track her with it.”

  Really, you think? Miki had already set that up and informed Abene. I hadn’t done anything yet but try not to panic.

  I tapped my private channel to Miki and then had no idea what to say. (“Thank you for not exposing my lies” seemed a little too blatant.) Then Miki said, You saved Don Abene, Rin/SecUnit.

  I had the feeling I needed to review my conversations with Miki and see where I went wrong. Did you know I was a SecUnit, Miki?

  I don’t know what being a SecUnit means. It’s not included in my knowledge base. What should I call you if you’re not Rin anymore?

  Call me SecUnit. I had somehow committed myself to acting as a security consultant and I wasn’t even going to get another hard currency card for it this time. As usual, I had no one to blame but myself. I thought it could turn out okay, though. All we had to do was retrieve Hirune, and then I’d think up a reason for why I needed a ride back on their shuttle, say I had to return to Consultant Rin, and then run off.

  And possibly it could turn out better than okay. If GrayCris was behind the attack, then I could get video evidence of it to send back to Dr. Mensah along with my geo pod data.

  The corridor was dark, and from her camera video Wilken was using her night-filter. Marker emergency lights on the floor and walls came on as we passed. Swearing softly, Abene tried to get her helmet back on, but I had broken the tab getting it off. She leaned down to leave it on the floor and asked Wilken, “Do you have any idea what attacked us? Some kind of bot? A retrieval device?”

  That was a good guess, actually. I had one good image of the spidery hand thing, and I figured a comparison with the inventory of the bio pod would show it was something intended to work with or as part of a device designed to obtain surface samples. With the facility’s system cores removed, there was no way to run that inventory. My theory was that the hostile that Miki had heard approaching had activated and used the retrieval device to distract the team while it grabbed Hirune. Wilken said, “My camera didn’t pick it up. I believe raiders are in the facility and using the equipment left behind here against us. SecUnit, does Consultant Rin have any confirmation of that?”

  I said, “Consultant Rin has no additional intel,” because why should I do her work for her when I wasn’t even getting a hard currency card, am I right?

  On the feed, Abene asked Miki, Miki, are you sure about this Consultant Rin? When did she contact you?

  On the station, Miki replied. Rin is my friend. GI sent Rin to help you stay safe. It added, You were almost hurt, and Wilken and Gerth didn’t try to help you at all.

  They were trying to protect Ejiro and Brais, Abene said absently, her mind obviously on something else, probably how terrible my cover story was. There was no time.

  I didn’t want her thinking about the likelihood of mysteriously appearing SecUnits and their (possibly apocryphal) security consultant contractors. I tapped her feed and said, Don Abene, you can speak to me privately on this channel. I maintain contact with my clients at all times. Please note that Consultant Rin has specified that you are my principal client, not your security team.

  I was trying to let her know I was on her side, not theirs. I probably could have phrased it better. But I was pretty certain there were going to be sides, since Wilken and Gerth clearly didn’t believe it would be possible to recover Hirune.

  That’s the other problem with human security: they’re allowed to give up.

  Abene took a second to regroup, then asked me, Do you know what took Hirune?

  I noted she had asked me again, directly, despite having heard the exchange with Wilken. Abene figured there were going to be sides, too. I said, I think you’re correct, I think it was a retrieval device. The hostile intended to take at least one member of the team and kill or injure others before retreating. That is not something a party of raiders would do. I added, Its plan is probably to draw you further into the facility to kill the rest of you, and hopefully cause more members of the team to leave the shuttle so it can kill them, too. Trying to make things sound less dire than they are never helps. The client has to believe your assessment of the situation is accurate. (And I know, not my client.)

  She took three seconds to process the fact that we were doing what the hostile
probably wanted us to do. But we have to find Hirune. Is there a way to counter it?

  You’ve already countered it. It doesn’t know you have a SecUnit with you. For a human, that would be a hormone-fueled ego talking. For a SecUnit, it’s just a fact. Like I told Tlacey before I killed her, I’m just telling you what I’m going to do.

  Abene went quiet for five more seconds while we walked along the dark corridor. Then she asked, Did you know there was something dangerous here? Did you know we would be attacked?

  I didn’t know, not until Miki alerted me that something was approaching your position. That was true. I would much rather be hiding on the shuttle watching entertainment media right now. Consultant Rin had no intel on hostiles inside the facility.

  Where were you? What did Rin really send you to do here?

  I flailed mentally. Did I lie, did I tell the truth? It had to mesh with what I’d already told Miki, which was only partly a lie, sort of, and Abene might not register my hesitation but Miki would notice it unless I answered right now—I was in the geo pod, I said in desperation. I was gathering data about a possible violation by GrayCris of the Strange Synthetics Accord.

  Ah, Don Abene said. This begins to make sense. She hesitated. Can you save Hirune? If she’s still alive.

  Yes. I’m pretty sure.

  Abene let out her breath. Good, then. We’ll work together.

  Telling the truth was sort of working out for me.

  We came out of the dark section into another corridor with low but active lighting. Wilken said, “Have you ever worked with a SecUnit before, Don Abene?”

  “No. They’re illegal in the homesystems.” She was impatient. Right now she didn’t want to hear anything from Wilken that didn’t involve getting her friend back.

  We were nearing a junction. Wilken signaled a halt through the feed, and paused while she took a scan. I was scanning continuously, but my readings were shit. The static had to be interference from the storm. Wilken continued, “I know you’re close to your bot, but that thing is not like Miki. It’s a killing machine.”

  Abene looked up at me and it was probably a mistake, but I looked down at her. It was surprisingly easy to make eye contact and not be nervous, maybe because I was used to seeing her face through Miki’s feed. She touched her neck, the mark where the helmet rim had pressed in when the retrieval device had tried to wrench her head off. Her gaze went to Wilken’s back again, but on our private channel she said, I’ve never worked with a SecUnit before—I’ve never seen or interacted with a SecUnit before—so please tell me if you need any information or instruction from me.

  I had never had a human ask me how to give me orders before. It was an interesting novelty. I have standing orders from Rin to assist you. I can do the rest.

  Wilken’s scan picked up some interference, the same static at the edge of the range that both Miki and I were getting. We started to move again, taking the right-hand corridor leading away from the junction. Abene asked me, Can you tell me why GI didn’t inform me that there was a second assessment underway?

  I had an answer for this one and everything. GrayCris has been accused of killing the members of a DeltFall survey team and attacking a PreservationAux team on a Corporation Rim assessment world. When you have access to newsfeeds again, check references to Port FreeCommerce for more information. There was reason to suspect GrayCris used this terraforming facility for interdicted activity and might try to prevent a reclamation effort. That was all true, and it even sounded good when I said it.

  I see. Abene sounded grim. So GrayCris was using the facility to mine strange synthetics instead of to terraform, and they suspected a detailed survey of the remaining equipment would reveal it.

  Probably. I was certain of it, but it was longtime habit to give myself wiggle room if it turned out I was wrong. It didn’t usually manage to prevent punishment from the governor module, but it was always worth a shot. Until the geo pod data is reviewed and analyzed, we won’t know for certain. Consultant Rin decided it was best to combine the data retrieval with additional security for your team.

  Ahead the corridor ended in an open space. Wilken signaled a halt, five seconds after I would have done it. The schematic said this was a transition zone between pods. The shadows ahead moved, but I could tell it was reflections from outside. There was a large view port to the left, like the one in the geo pod but in the wall, and the play of light and clouds cast shadows across the floor.

  Wilken used her scan unit, then motioned us to move forward with her. The interference was worse but I was getting nothing on audio. I asked Miki, Can you tell what’s causing that scanner noise?

  No, SecUnit. I compared it to the static caused by the weather, and it looks the same, but it has a different source. That’s strange, isn’t it?

  Wilken led the way into the large space, into the shadows from the storm churning on the other side of the transparent wall. Most of her attention was still on her scanner. Supports curved and twisted overhead, solid stationary metal somehow mimicking the constant motion of the cloud layers outside. There were three tall arched locks, open now to dark corridors leading off toward different pods. A gallery ran three quarters of the way around, opposite the transparent wall, with more corridor accesses. Miki’s feed locater pointed toward the third corridor on the right on this level.

  It’s not strange, it’s strategic, I told Miki. Something is using the interference caused by the weather to mask a signal. It was also frustrating. I missed having a SecSystem to do a real analysis. Even if we could break down the signal, I just didn’t have the databases to match it to anything.

  Miki switched to the general feed, Don Abene, there is a signal using the storm interference to—

  I sensed motion, the whisper of sound as joints moved, and I flashed a warning to Miki just as a shape exploded off the gallery overhead. I caught Abene around the waist and bolted for that third corridor on the right, because that was the direction we needed to go to achieve our mission objective. Step one was to get there while the hostile was busy with Wilken.

  I stopped far enough down the corridor to get Abene out of range of any stray friendly fire. (Wilken’s weapon was discharging so rapidly I assumed she didn’t have a lot of time to aim.)

  Miki arrived a second later. I deposited Abene on her feet and she staggered before Miki caught her. Now this is something else I hate about human security. If Wilken was a SecUnit, my priority would be clear: continue ahead to retrieve Hirune, get her and Abene to safety, then return to retrieve/clean up what was left of Wilken and the hostile. But Wilken was human, so I had to go back and retrieve her stupid ass now.

  Miki sent an image into my feed and said, It’s a combat bot!

  Yeah, thanks for the newsburst, Miki. I’d managed to get a clear picture of it while it was in mid-leap, when I was crossing the room with Abene. I told Miki, Stay with Don Abene, and ran back down the corridor.

  Again, I know in the telling it sounds like I was on top of this situation but really, I was still just thinking, Oh shit oh shit oh shit. Combat bots are faster, stronger, and more heavily armed than me. Even if a SecSystem feed had been available, I couldn’t hack a combat bot without making a direct physical connection, and trying for that would result in me being torn apart. (I’ve been torn apart before, and on my list of things to avoid, it was right up there at the top.)

  The only good thing about combat bots is that they aren’t combat SecUnits. Those are worse.

  I exited the corridor at close to my top speed and had time to get one clear image of the situation to plot my attack. (I should put “plot” in quotes because it’s really hard to plan under these circumstances.)

  Wilken was on the floor and her large weapon had just been knocked out of her hands. The combat bot stooped over her. In shape it was close to a human-form bot. Sort of like Miki if Miki were three meters tall, had multiple weapon ports in its chest and back, four arms with multiple hand mods for cutting, slicing, delivering energ
y bursts, etc., and a not very endearing personality.

  I went up the wall just enough to give myself the right trajectory, then pushed off into a jump and landed on the combat bot’s head. Its cameras and scanners were up there, but the place where it did its actual processing and kept its memory was down in its lower abdomen. (So was Miki’s; it was more protected down there since people always shoot for the head.) (At least, people always shot for my head, so I assumed they did it to bots, too.)

  The combat bot knew I was a SecUnit because it sent a pulse through its skin that caused my pain sensors to max out. (I’d anticipated that and already dialed them down, but it didn’t feel good.) The next pulse was meant to fry my armor and my explosive projectile weapon. Since I left both back at Port FreeCommerce, it didn’t do much of anything to me and the mistake gave me the half second I needed to shove the port of the energy weapon in my right arm up against its sensory input collectors. I fired it at full capacity.

  I had needed that half second, because just as I fired the bot swept its arm up and slammed me off its head. I hit the floor and slid three meters but the bot staggered sideways, temporarily (and I can’t stress that “temporarily” part enough) blind, deaf, and with no ability to scan for movement or energy, no ability to acquire a target with any of its inbuilt weapons.

  Wilken was just rolling over as I shoved upright. I grabbed an explosive pack off her harness and threw myself at the combat bot. From the burst of static in the feed, it had just cleared its sensory inputs, but I’d already hit the spot just above its right hip joint and slammed the explosive pack into place.

  It grabbed me by the head and shoulder, big hand gripping me, and I felt the shift in the metal that meant something sharp was about to come out of its hand. I thought, Well, okay, that didn’t work. It could have destroyed me with any one of the many weapons in its chest, but it was mad and it wanted to make me hurt. Then there was a small muffled thump from the explosive pack.

  The pack had two charges, and that was the first one, the one designed to bore a tunnel through heavy shielding and would do much the same to a combat bot’s carapace. I still had the channel open to Wilken’s feed and heard the pack’s countdown start.