I THOUGHT I RECOGNIZED THE GAME AS WE CAME IN, he sent. IT’S A REPEAT OF THE GRUDGE MATCH BETWEEN ALEMDAR QUICK AND THE PREVIOUS CHAMPION, VOID 34.
THE GAME WAS PUT ON IDNET SEX DAYS AGO. BUT PALASIAN SYSTEM WAS ENCLOSED TWENTY DAYS AGO. THERE’S NO WAY THEY COULD’VE RECEIVED THIS GAME FROM IN HERE.
Roche stopped to look at the game with renewed interest, but Synnett urged them forward irritably.
POSITIVE. I WATCHED IT IN THE REHAB UNIT WHEN MY IMPLANTS WERE INSTALLED.
She thought it through carefully, while following Disisto and Mavalhin out of the bar.
THAT’S THE PRIZE-WINNING QUESTION, ISN’T IT?
She frowned.
Disisto, ahead of Roche, halted at the entrance to a transit corridor.
Again, no response. Then:
Roche felt a terrible dread radiate from her gut.
Haid didn’t respond either, but his worried eyes met hers just as the transit cab door opened to reveal Shak’ni glaring down at them. Another Kesh stood there also, along with three Pristines in gray security uniforms. All were armed, and their weapons were pointed at Roche.
“The reave and the clone warrior have disembarked,” Shak’ni said to Disisto. “This charade can end now.”
4
Galine Four
‘955.01.20 EN
1575
Roche reached automatically for her side arm, only to encounter the hand of Synnett standing behind her. The silent security guard wrenched the weapon from its holster before she could even touch it. At the same time, the other security guards pointed their weapons at Haid. The Kesh standing behind him disarmed him before he could resist.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Roche said, trying hard to keep her voice level. She aimed her words at Disisto, but he wouldn’t look at her.
Field Officer Shak’ni stepped into the ring of security guards facing them.
“Morgan Roche and Ameidio Haid,” he said with barely concealed satisfaction, “you are jointly charged with violating restricted space in contravention of quarantine laws. You are also charged with conspiring to compromise the safety of the region, including the N’Kor Republic. This charge is punishable by death, and any attempt to resist arrest will be seen as an admission of guilt and will result in your immediate execution.”
“You can’t be serious,” Roche managed.
He stooped to thrust his face into hers. “We are, Commander,” he said, the red markings under his eyes inflamed with repressed anger. “By the time we arrive at the docking bay, the creature you call Adoni Cane will be firmly under our control. We will not make the same mistake as those who have already died in this system—the mistake of underestimating his capabilities, or his destructive potential.”
Clone warrior, Shak’ni had said. She groaned inwardly. They had known all along who Cane was.
“This is crazy,” said Haid. “We should be working together, not—”
“Quiet, cyborg!” Shak’ni rounded on him. “Pristines are bad enough. Their puny attempts to improve themselves only fill me with disgust.”
Haid’s biomesh rippled, and one skeletal hand lashed out to strike the Kesh. Before the blow could fall, however, the guard behind him rammed the butt of a gun into his back.
Haid’s hand withdrew, but he kept his eyes locked on Shak’ni’s.
Mavalhin edged closer to the door, visibly distressed at the turn of events.
Shak’ni faced Roche with a slight sneer creasing one corner of his mouth. “There is no use calling for help, Commander. We are safe from your meddling AI in here.”
“I don’t understand.” Frustration and the smell of the Kesh made her voice shrill. “How do you know all this?”
“That is not your concern. It suffices that we know how you attempted to deceive us.”
“Don’t be a hypocrite, Shak’ni,” Roche snapped. “What you’ve done is no different—”
“What we did, we did in the interest of security. We gave you enough opportunities to reveal the truth, and your failure to do so demonstrated the maliciousness of your intentions.” Shak’ni’s features tightened into a mask. “Were you lucky enough to have been born a Kesh, you would be dead already.”
From the corner Roche could make out Mavalhin staring at her. Even without returning his stare she could tell that he was nervous. And understandably so; he was just an innocent bystander caught up in what could easily become a major diplomatic incident. In fact, she sympathized.
Then:
Easier said than done, Roche thought. She looked around, trying to find a palm-link. The only visible one lay on the far side of the cab, adjacent to the pad used to key destinations manually. It was only two meters from her, but Disisto stood in the way.
The cab shuddered beneath her feet as it neared the outer shell of the station.
A thought struck her. There was another link in the cab; all she had to do was gain access to it...
Haid swayed as the cab crossed another boundary mismatch. She reached out to steady him, ignoring the jab the guard behind her delivered to her shoulder blades.
“His balance is poor,” she said, gripping Haid’s shoulder tightly.
“It’s true,” Disisto said evenly. “Let her be.”
The guard behind her relaxed slightly, and Roche dug her fingers into Haid’s biomesh, pulling him minutely toward her. Their eyes met. Although it was impossible through his artificial lenses, she thought she saw a look of understanding pass through them.
The cab reached the point at which he had stumbled the first time they had made this journey, earlier. It shuddered right on cue.
Haid’s legs gave way beneath him, sending him lurching into Roche. His shoulder along with the weight of his biomods acted as a battering ram, forcing her away from him and across the cab. She grunted, reached out to break her fall, and spr
awled untidily at Disisto’s feet.
Shak’ni hissed impatiently.
“Sorry,” said Haid as he tried to regain his footing. Roche kept her legs carefully out of the way as he did so; the guards also avoided his artificial limbs, wary of a potential trap. He made it onto his hands and knees, and made a great effort of almost standing up before slipping back down onto one knee.
While the guards were busy watching him, Roche reached out to Disisto with her left hand. He reached out with his, to help her upright.
The moment their palm-links met, she triggered her implants and spoke as quickly as she could:
The link broke as Disisto let go of her hand. She blinked, realized that she was on her feet again.
“Thanks,” she said. “I was a little dizzy there for a moment.”
Looking down at his hand, he frowned and shook his head. “So was I,” he said. “The weirdest thing ...”
Haid was also on his feet. She made no move to stand next to him; being together would only make it harder for one of them to break free. The motion of the cab beneath her feet had slowed dramatically; it was already difficult to tell whether it was moving or not.
Be ready, the Box had said. But for what?
The doors opened on an empty corridor. Disisto stepped out first, closely followed by Mavalhin. The pilot looked around him, and backed quickly out of the way.
The guard behind Roche nudged her in the back. She stepped through the doors with her escort close behind. Haid and Synnett came next.
For a brief moment, Roche thought, the numbers were almost manageable. If they were going to break free, their chances were never going to be better.
She tensed.
Then, as Shak’ni, the remaining guard, and the Kesh moved to exit the cab, the floor lurched and a sudden gust of wind swept past them.
“We’ve been holed!” Disisto shouted over the sudden wail of alarms. “The area’s being sealed off!”
Roche froze, her space instincts taking over.
Behind her, the doors to the cab slid shut, cutting off Shak’ni’s shout of protest.
Before anyone could even contemplate overriding the seal, Roche spun on one leg and knocked aside the pistol of the guard behind her. A second kick knocked the wind out of him and sent him back into the doors of the cab.
Beside her, Haid had Synnett in a wristlock, the narrow fingers and strength of his new arm provoking a hiss of pain. The security officer’s weapon discharged a single bolt of energy that earthed harmlessly into the wall. One blow with Haid’s free hand made Synnett drop the pistol, and Roche was there to scoop up the weapon and point it at Disisto.
Two side arms faced one for a split-second, until Disisto dropped his to the floor and raised his hands.
“That was fast,” he said over the wail of the siren. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or annoyed.”
“I don’t care either way,” said Roche, approaching him while Haid covered Mavalhin and the one conscious guard. “Just give me your hand. Your left one.”
He held it out to her, and she gripped it tightly. Making certain the gun was placed firmly under his chin, she activated her implants again.
The Box sounded defensive, as well it might, Roche thought. She fought the urge to curse her decision to bring Maii to the station; regret was worse than useless.
The siren was getting on her nerves. The sooner they were on the run again, the better. They would have to move as soon as the pressure doors opened around them.
Roche looked at Disisto’s face, twisted in pain from the gun digging into his chin. She hadn’t realized she was pressing so hard, but she did nothing to relieve him.
the Box protested.
Disisto flinched as she pulled the gun out from under his chin,
“We’re leaving,” she said, keeping their palms together.
“But—”
“Don’t argue. Just do your best to keep up.” She turned to Haid. “You catch all that?”
“Yes,” he said. “Give me a moment to tidy up and I’ll be ready.”
He used his pistol to knock the second guard unconscious, then turned to face Mavalhin. The pilot backed away with hands raised.
“Morgan!” he said “Please—”
“Sorry, Myer, but we don’t have time for this.”
“But I—I want to come with you!”
Haid hesitated; Roche frowned. “What?”
“Well, you’ll need to get off the station, right?” Mavalhin’s words came out fast. “I can help you do that.”
“We already have a ship. Daybreak was a COE courier; if it’ll fly, I can use my old overrides to assume command.”
“Oh, I’m sure it will fly,” he said. “But you don’t expect to be able to just blast out of the docks in one piece, do you? I mean, how will you disengage?”
“He’s just wasting time,” muttered Haid, raising his pistol.
“No, wait,” said Roche, remembering the Box’s uncertainty and the fact that it still did not have high-level access to the station’s systems. “What are you suggesting, Myer?”
“That I use my codes to get you away.”
“In exchange for...?”
“Passage, that’s all. A chance to get out of here.”
“Why?
”
“It’s time to move on, time for a change, and...” He hesitated slightly. “And other reasons.”
Beside her, Disisto spat on the floor at Mavalhin’s feet. The pilot flushed red, but did not respond.
“Don’t trust him,” Haid said.
“But he does have a point,” she replied. “We might need those codes.”
“We don’t know whether his codes will even work!” said Haid. “Once they know he’s with us, they could just change them.”
She thought a moment longer, then finally dismissed Haid’s objections with: “Okay, Myer, take us to Daybreak. But don’t push your luck.”
Mavalhin grinned. “Thanks, Morgan. I owe you one for this.”
“Just get moving.”
Haid indicated the corridor ahead with the pistol, and Mavalhin headed along it, checking once to make sure they were following.
“You’re crazy if you think you can get away with this,” Disisto said to Roche. “You’ll hardly leave the dock before someone fires on you.”
“Tell me something,” she said. “Are your implants programmed to monitor your well-being?”
“No.”
“Then bear in mind that I don’t need you alive,” she told him. “Now shut up while I concentrate.”
His lips whitened. She felt sweat trickle from her left hand, and wished she could let go of him, if only for a moment.
Within seconds they reached a sealed blast-door. It slid open as they approached, before she could wonder how they were going to get through it, and closed behind them.
said the Box.
The Dying Light Page 16
