“How does it know where a gate is going to end up?” she asked.
Sean got up and stepped over. “Go on,” he said, helping her into the chair.
She held his hand as she climbed up into it. As soon as her weight was on it properly, it recalibrated for her mass and tipped her back into it properly. A harness released three quarters of the way down, and she figured she could just pull it and strap herself in, if she were staying.
At the same time, controls appeared under each hand, and something fuzzed in her brain.
Molly. You still there?
Yeah. What was that, Oz?
I dunno. Something is trying to access my security.
Molly was frowning. “Sean - what’s it doing? It feels fuzzy in my head…”
Sean’s voice was calm. “It’s okay. It’s just communicating with you,” he explained.
Molly relaxed a little. “Well, Oz says it’s trying to hack his security protocols.”
“Oh, shit!” Sean slapped his thigh and laughed out loud. “No way?”
Molly tried to sit up a little. The buzzing in her head was distracting and over-stimulating.
Sean held onto the arm of her control chair as he laughed.
Molly frowned as she fought the chair’s recline. “Damn it, Sean, not funny.”
Still laughing, he stepped closer to see the console. He swiped at a screen and flicked a setting. The buzzing stopped.
Molly’s face relaxed. “What did you do?” she asked.
“Well,” he explained, composing himself. “These babies aren’t designed to be flown by people with their own onboard security that hasn’t been put there by the Empire.”
“I,” he tapped his head, “am of course fully integratable, as it were. Your AI, however, is alien tech; and therefore, not able… or perhaps willing,” he said emphatically, “to interface.”
I am willing. I just don’t like being violated like that.
You and me both, Oz.
“Okay,” she said, relaxing back into the console chair and tipping back slightly. “This normally integrates with the navigator’s brain. To what end?”
Sean pulled over the control chair next to her, and perched against it, as he had previously. “The tech integrates psychically. It’s much faster and more accurate than any key pressing or EI. However, it’s normally only used by trained navs.” He turned and indicated around to the other consoles. “The reason being that they’ve been taught to control their instructions and thought processes under pressure.”
“Ohhhh,” Molly mouthed. “So that goes for the gate, as well? Instead of finding some kind of coordinate for where I want to be, I could just…”
Sean was nodding. “Just think of where you want to end up.”
Molly’s eyes were wide. “Wow!” Her eyes scanned the console trying to figure out what she could. “Can I try? Without actually gating us, or jumping, or whatever?”
Sean nodded. “Sure. Here, you’ll need to interface though.” He leaned forward and grabbed a device that had two curved prongs on it. “These bits,” he told her, pointing at the tips, “need to go around your temples.”
Molly took the device and turned it over in her hands. Then she turned it over again to figure out how it went on. Finally, she resolved to putting it on how she might a headband, and then flipped it back to sit on the back of her head while the prongs sat on her temples, as instructed.
“Now what?” she asked.
Sean made a half-smile as he straightened up a little. “Now, think of where you want to be.”
Molly thought hard about the only place she wanted to be. The only place she could think about since this whole base started unfolding for them. Within a second, the console screens had illuminated and started displaying star maps and coordinates.
Sean jumped up and his mouth dropped open as he watched the display. “Fuck! That’s classified intel. How did you know that location?”
Molly smirked. “I didn’t. I just interfaced with your psychic tech… which found the location, as it’s meant to.”
Sean’s eyes were wide again. “But… That’s-”
“The location of the General,” she finished his sentence for him.
Sean took a deep breath and relaxed. “I see…” He looked half-inspired and half-nervous.
Molly grinned. “And it worked!”
“It did,” he conceded, shifting his weight onto the other foot and leaning his hand on her armrest. Then he grinned in genuine delight. “You sound impressed,” he noted.
She pulled the corners of her mouth down. “More surprised,” she quipped. She pulled the device off her head. “How far away is that, anyway?” she asked, handing the device back to him.
Sean looked at the map. “A gazillion light years,” he announced. “But thanks to this baby, maybe twenty minutes.”
Molly’s mouth dropped open this time. “It takes nearly that to get out of the hangar.
Sean winked at her. “Exactly!” He paused. “Although, you haven’t seen me fly,” he added.
Molly shook her head. “Wow. Wow. Wow,” she breathed, looking around the cockpit again.
Sean couldn’t help himself. “So… does this earn me negative dickhead points?” he asked, looking a little sheepish.
Molly half-smiled. “Yeah, I guess.” She paused. “Some.”
Sean popped the head device back into its slot and stood up. “Right, then,” he told her. “I guess we both have stuff to do before our training session.”
Molly shuffled awkwardly out of the control chair. “Yeah. We should get moving,” she said, noticing the time on her holo. “I’ve got some details I need the guys to check into before we firm up our plan for tomorrow.”
Sean flicked a few switches, and the ship started to power down. Then he led Molly back through and out to the invisible stairs. He went down first, but turned around to make sure that she had the handrail okay.
Molly tried not to watch her step, as there was nothing to watch. Logic dictated that the stairs would either adapt to her, like the chairs in the op room, or that they would be spaced for the most effective descent. She trusted, and stepped down one after the other.
She turned her head so that Sean could hear her. “So when you come to Sark, it must feel like you’re coming into the Wild West, or something,” she called forward to Sean.
He turned slightly as he kept stepping down. “Yeah, a little bit,” he called back. “Obviously, the outer system is far less developed than the central ones… but sure. Even Estaria is a bit backward, compared to most places in the Etheric Empire.”
Molly’s mind felt that it had just been stretched by their little show and tell. “That’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to see…”
“You’ll see soon enough, I’m sure,” he commented. They headed up the stairs to the upper level just as Maya and Paige were coming through to the hangar deck.
The two girls seemed engrossed in conversation, though that was nothing new. They were always either talking or laughing, ever since they clapped eyes on each other at the hospital. Molly tried to hear what they were saying. She thought she heard the words “PR” and “nail varnish,” as she and Sean whisked by with waves and appropriate head nods, depending on who was doing the acknowledging.
Please tell me I’m not going to end up helping run another business, Oz.
That, I cannot guarantee, I’m afraid.
Molly shook her head, smiling as she followed Sean back through the double doors to the Demon Door corridor.
CHAPTER THREE
Gaitune-67, Safe house, Common area
Paige came running up to Maya, her heels clicking on the safe house flooring. “Hey, have you got time to talk about those PR connections we discussed a few weeks ago?”
Maya stopped walking and turned to see her. “I was just heading out with Joel to Estaria,” she pointed towards the basement door in the direction she had been heading. “But walk with me…”
Paige grinned
and linked arms with her, and Maya squeezed her arm as they trotted down the stairs together.
“So, what do you need?” Maya asked.
Paige shrugged as they made their way down the second flight of steps. “I’m not sure. I’m thinking I need to understand which departments to target first, I guess.”
Maya held the door open for them to head down to the basement. “Sure. So how far along are you with it right now? I mean, have you got anything in production yet?”
Paige shook her head, and pulled her lips to one side, as she started down the stairs. “Nope. Molly has just nailed the formula down. We’re looking at places that might be able to manufacture, then we’ll get some quotes in.”
They stepped into Brock’s workshop. Brock was working away at a new holo terminal they had installed recently. He had his back to them, but heard them coming and waved his arm.
“Hey, Brock,” Paige called. “Hi, Brock,” said Maya in passing.
Then, turning back to Paige, she had serious task face on. “Okay, so we can’t send samples yet. This means you want to start building relationships for now. Tell them what’s unique about what you’re doing; the story behind it. Talk about the science, too. Maybe even see if you can get Molly involved. This is editorial stuff. It’s gold.”
Paige frowned. “So, we don’t actually pre-sell anything, yet? You know, talk about the actual product?”
Maya smiled. “Oh, my dear, this is pre-selling. Editorial is waaahaaaay more powerful than any ad you can place. I’d jump in on this window while you can!” she exclaimed excitedly.
Paige still looked confused. “I don’t understand. You’re saying I just talk about the science, and that will sell it? I thought people hate hearing about the science.”
Maya grinned more broadly. “Well, science and the story. People love a good story. And the reason this is more powerful, is because people’s BS meters are low on editorial.”
Paige seemed to get it. “Ahhh. And high on adverts!”
Maya clicked her fingers and pointed at her friend. “Exactly!”
Paige skipped a little as they headed through the demon door and into the corridor towards the hangar.
Maya thought for a moment. “You know, I have a couple of peeps I could hook you up with for that kind of thing. Lemme see what happens now when we talk to my old boss, and if it’s safe, I’ll make those intros.”
Paige swiped at the door and it whooshed open. Maya stepped out onto the hangar deck staircase first. Paige followed her through. “So that’s the PR taken care of,” Paige smiled, satisfied.
Maya grinned again. “Yeah, this is going to be fashion world domination by the newest nail varnish technology!” They giggled.
Just then, Molly and Sean appeared, coming up the staircase. Paige waved vigorously, grinning her excited grin. Maya beamed, and did a playful, yet respectful, mock salute at the pair.
Molly and Sean seemed engrossed in conversation and simply nodded politely with their characteristic space-marine nods.
Once past them and down on the hangar deck, Paige chuckled again and spoke in a low voice into Maya’s ear. “You know, they must think that we’re a pair of teenagers.” She rolled her lips inwards, considering. “We should probably be more professional around the base.”
Maya shook her head. “Let’s not,” she winked.
Paige opened her mouth in shock, trying not to smile; her eyes giving her amusement away. “You’re kidding?” she asked.
Maya shook her head. “Hell no. Why should we have to pretend to have a stick up our ass? What purpose would it serve?”
Paige frowned, considering. After a moment she yielded. “Yeah. I mean, the military has their way of doing things, and ways of being; but if we’re respectful and get the job done, I can’t imagine anyone would care.”
Maya grinned. “Exactly.”
They had arrived over at the pods, and Joel was already there, waiting. “What are you two plotting?” he called as they approached from the walkway.
Paige and Maya looked at each other and then back at Joel, looking as wide eyed and innocent as possible. “Nothing!” they said in unison.
He smirked. “You said that faaaaar too quickly!” He swiped at the access panel of the nearest pod. “Anyway, Paige, I’m going to have to borrow your partner in crime for a little while. Think you can manage without her till we get back?”
Paige unlinked Maya’s arm, made a pretend sad face, and sniffed as if crying. “I’ll try,” she said, brushing an imaginary tear from her cheek.
Maya slapped her arm playfully. “You’re such a drama queen!”
In perfect timing, Paige grasped at where Maya’s tap had hit her arm, and pretended to clench it in pain. “Oowwwwwww! I’m not!”
Joel turned and got into the pod to hide his smile. “Oh, these two are trouble with a capital ‘T’!” he mumbled to Oz as he got in.
Oz clicked into voice mode. “I’m modeling their behaviors. At this time, I can’t see them negatively impacting any of the operations at all. Am I missing something?”
Joel sighed. “Yes, Oz. I was referring to their social dynamic. When women pal up like that, it normally means they can end up giving us guys more shit than we bargained for.”
Oz was silent for a moment.
Paige and Maya hugged, and Maya bounced over to the pod, waving over her shoulder.
“Okay. I’ve factored that variable into my heuristic,” Oz disclosed quickly, before Maya swung herself up into the pod and plunked down next to Joel.
Joel chuckled a little. “Okay Oz, lemme know how that evolves. I’ll be interested in the model you come up with.”
“Will do,” Oz agreed. “We’re off to Newstainment, correct?”
Joel reached back to grab his harness, and nodded for Maya to do the same. “That’s correct, Oz. Make it so!”
The front panel of the pod started to close, and Maya and Paige waved vigorously to each other.
Joel raised his hand a little in a goodbye. “You know you’re going to see her again in a few hours.”
Maya didn’t even look at him. “I know,” she said, unencumbered by the natural seriousness of the military that she, Paige, and Brock seemed to naturally unsubscribe from.
Joel said nothing, but wondered what Oz was making of it. A moment later, the pod lifted off and whisked them out into space on their usual route.
“Hey, there’s something I was going to ask you about,” Maya said as they swept away from the asteroid.
Joel glanced down at her. “Yeah?”
“Molly,” she stated.
Joel raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Yes?”
Maya sighed, choosing her words as carefully as she could. “Erm… So. I, er, had a strange conversation with her after the team meeting earlier.”
Joel frowned a little. “About?”
Maya naturally mimicked his frown. “Erm. I’m not sure. It was… odd.” She paused. “I… I wonder if she was coming on to me, or something.”
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