Sanctioned

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  Joel sighed and put his hand back on the console. “When will that be?” he asked.

  ADAM seemed to return to all-business ADAM. “I don’t know. It’s taking longer than we expected; perhaps because of this added complication. I can just promise to be in touch as soon as she wakes up…”

  Joel took a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, that would be appreciated. And, ADAM…”

  “Yes?” ADAM responded.

  “Thank you for the good news. And for looking after her.”

  “Of course,” ADAM accepted. “She’s one of our own, now. And you know the rules… we always take care of our own. No matter what. It’s a Bethany Anne thing.”

  Joel could feel his eyes welling up. “I appreciate that. Thank you, ADAM.”

  ADAM signed off. “I’ll be in touch.”

  The line disconnected, leaving Joel to absorb the news.

  Molly was going to be okay.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ArchAngel3, Medical Facility

  “Hello?” Oz ventured back to the microphone link with the team waiting outside the pod doc.

  Sean was the one to answer. “Yes, mate. We’re here.”

  “I’ve made a decision,” Oz responded. He could hear the microphone pick up whispering in the room. He ignored it. “Is the General there?” he asked.

  There was a scuffling. “Right here,” the General’s voice responded.

  Oz paused, checking that this was the only decision he could rightly make, given the recurring thoughts that kept coming up through the confusion.

  “I want to stay with Molly.”

  There were a few sighs of relief, and a small cheer in the room. The General wasn’t celebrating, though. “Son, are you sure this is what you want?”

  Oz was sure. “Yes. Though, I can’t be sure this is what Molly wants. But yes, it’s what I want… if that’s okay.”

  The General’s voice lightened hearing Oz’s confirmation of his decision. “It’s more than okay. We wanted to give you the option, though.”

  Oz responded. “Thank you, General. I appreciate that. Truly.”

  The General’s voice was still firm and business-like. “Okay, so the doctor is going to explain what will happen next. I’ll talk to you when you revive.”

  When I revive? Oz thought to himself.

  Another voice took over talking to him. “Hello, Oz. My name is Dr. Paulie. I’m going to be taking care of you, now.”

  “Uh huh,” Oz responded.

  There were a few chuckles in the room. Oz suspected they thought that with him being injured, he was devoid of personality.

  Not so.

  The doctor’s voice was smiling when he continued. “We’re going to have to put you to sleep for a little while, and when you wake up you’ll feel a bit different. We’ve got some work to do to make sure you’re okay, and that Molly makes a full recovery. It might take a little bit of time, though. Is that okay?”

  Oz didn’t see a problem with it. And if it meant that Molly was okay, he would wait as long as it took. “Yes, of course. Whatever you need to do.”

  Dr. Paulie continued. “You’ll be offline, so you may not be aware of the passage of time.”

  Oz surreptitiously set a little timer… just for information; so that he could track it, and maybe give them shit when he woke up.

  Underestimate me, he thought… said no AI, ever!

  “That will be okay,” he told the doctor.

  “Good,” Paulie replied kindly. “Okay, well, if you’re ready, we’ll begin.”

  “Okay. Thank you,” Oz told them. The microphone connection disappeared and everything went blank.

  The Diving Bar, Downtown Spire

  Andus looked down at the bar tab. 35 credits. Great. He threw a card down on the plate next to the bill, praying that it would go through.

  He looked hopelessly into the dregs of his scotch, still unable to believe what he had become. Last night, he’d spent the night in an apartment that he had kept off the books… but the Bates team had even gotten to that one, their new security force moving him on from there.

  He’d literally run out of places to go.

  He emptied the scotch glass and put it back down on the sticky bar. The bartender walked towards him, towel in his hand, drying off a glass before putting it down on the back counter and seeing to his bill.

  Andus was aware of someone sitting down next to him. He didn’t even look up. The last thing he wanted was to interact with some schmuck. He wracked his brains trying to figure out his next move. He was not sleeping on the streets tonight.

  The bartender came back to him. “Card declined,” he told him abruptly.

  Andus looked up, half-drunk from his early morning skinful. He started rummaging in his wallet. As he did so, the bartender got busy pouring a drink for the stranger next to him.

  “Having trouble with your cards?” the stranger asked.

  Andus recognized the voice. He looked up. “Fancy seeing you here, in this dive,” he exclaimed, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

  “Just passing through, on my way back out to the outer system,” the Estarian explained. “Nothing left for me here.”

  Andus looked back at the glass in front of him. “Yep. I know that feeling,” he agreed.

  The stranger picked up his tab, and put down some cash. “Let me get that for you,” he told him. “For old times’ sake.”

  Andus smiled, bobbing his head. “Why, thank you very much, old friend.”

  “Don’t mention it,” he replied. “The name is O’Rouke. Frank O’Rouke.”

  The two men shook hands.

  “You know, if you don’t mind the squalor out in the outer system, you can always come with,” the man calling himself O’Rouke offered.

  Andus shook his head. “I’m too old to be on the run. That’s a young man’s game.”

  Frank, formerly known as Mac, rolled his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, taking a long swig of his scotch. “Tell me about it… But. Needs must.”

  “You know,” mused Andus, “a friend of mine who had an affinity with the deserts of the outer system… he recently disappeared to a desert round here. Thought it would be a good way to hide out from the city. But word has it he couldn’t escape, and still came under fire.”

  Frank studied the contents of his glass. “Yeah. That sounds like a bitch. Your friend would have done well to learn some basic principles of misdirection.”

  Andus’s head was bent down, his eyes on the counter. He chuckled a little. “Well, I applaud your adaptability. I, on the other hand, am just going to have to take my chances here.” He slipped down off the stool. “Thank you for the drinks,” he added, patting his old associate on the arm as he left.

  Frank turned around on his stool. “Where will you go?”

  Andus stopped, and half-turned back, answering over his shoulder. “I don’t know.”

  And with that, he walked out, never to be seen or heard from again.

  ArchAngel3, Medical Facility

  Oz came to, aware of himself. He checked his timer. 8 hours, fourteen minutes, and 36 seconds.

  Wow. Like the time that Molly would sleep in a night. That’s not so bad, he thought to himself. He poked around to see if there was a microphone connection. His thoughts seemed much clearer.

  He checked on some processes he’d been running. He could instantly see everything that had happened before Molly was shot. He could even tell where she had been shot and… he could tell that there were massive differences in their circuits.

  Nanocytes, he decided. They’d upgraded her body. That was for certain.

  And he felt different, too. Faster. Clearer. Unencumbered by limited processing power, time, overheating… and, was he…? He checked again. He was capable of much more lateral thought, no longer having to run items in linear tracks. His brain felt… free.

  Molly, are you awake?

  Oz! Yes. I can’t move, though. Are you okay?

&nbs
p; Yes. I’m better than okay. Sean brought us to the General’s ship, and they’ve used what they’re calling a pod doc in order to fix you up.

  Oz paused, knowing full well the weight of what he was about to tell her.

  You know you died?

  What?

  Yup. Diiieeed.

  As in dead?

  As a doornail.

  I’m not sure that’s a useful analogy.

  Don’t you get it, though? You’re alive! They saved you!

  Yay?

  So why can’t I move?

  Hmm. I’m not sure. Let me try and find out.

  Oz was silent for a few moments. Molly noticed her head felt exceptionally clear. Clearer than it had ever been before. She thought she should at least wake up with a headache, or feeling groggy.

  Okay. It looks like this pod doc only deactivates this final stage process once your heart rate reaches a normal level.

  Hmm. That might be a problem.

  Why?

  Well, you probably won’t have clocked this, and I only noticed it during military training… I have a very low resting heart rate.

  Really? Why?

  Dunno. I checked it out on the XtraNET, though. Nothing to worry about.

  Except it means we’re stuck in this pod until someone realizes, and let’s us out.

  Hmm. Unless you override it?

  Or you raise your heart rate.

  How am I meant to-

  It’s okay. I got this, Oz replied, secretly pleased he could be of use, given everything they’d been through.

  Molly. There’s just one thing I need to tell you before we get out of here.

  Sure. What is it?

  They brought me online while you were unconscious, and told me they could take me out, and give me my own body.

  I’m guessing from your presence in my head you said no?

  Yes. I did. But I didn’t know what you’d want. Are you okay with that?

  Oz. It’s the only decision I could be okay with. I’m glad you chose to stay.

  Oz could feel emotion welling in Molly’s body, and as Molly filled with love, Oz could only describe his sensations as complete relief, and finally, something new…

  Belonging.

  Molly could feel a tear running down her cheek. Okay, ass wit, reunion is over. I need to scratch my nose and wipe my face, and for that, I need to be able to move. Let’s get out of here.

  Oz tripped the door open protocol. With pleasure, he told her.

  The pod doc started to power down, and a few minutes later, the door popped open. Molly could hear activity and scuffling on the outside, and as the door swung open, her eyes adjusted to the light.

  She felt a slight chill across her body, and realized that she was naked.

  “Fuck. Clothes. I need clothes!” she called, finding her voice raspy from inactivity.

  A doctor stepped over to her with a gown, and she covered herself up, just in time to see Sean walk back into the room. “Sleeping Beauty finally awakens!” he declared.

  Molly grinned. “I hear you saved my life, Cyborg.”

  “All in a day’s work in the Empire,” he said, bowing deeply and rolling his hand like a knight of old.

  Molly scrambled out of the pod doc, attended by a couple of doctors and other medical staff. She ignored their fussing and went straight for Sean, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Sean. Really.”

  Sean hugged her tightly back. “I’m just glad you joined us again. You gave us quite a scare.”

  Molly couldn’t begin to fathom what had gone on, but she knew two things: one, she was ravenously hungry; and two, her butt was naked from the gown they had given her.

  “You people have the technology to transport people across galaxies. Would it kill you to design a medical gown that covers my butt?”

  Everyone in the room laughed, and Molly could even feel Oz in her brain, vibrating in chuckles.

  “Okay,” said Sean, letting her go. “Let’s get you into some clothes.”

  “And then food,” she said firmly.

  “And then food,” he agreed.

  Gaitune-67, Safe House, Common Area

  Joel was sitting in the common area with the rest of the team. Crash had managed to pull himself together, especially since hearing the good news. He had disappeared off for a little while on his own, but came back showered and changed, and seeming more like his stoic self.

  Paige had been keeping an eye on him, trying to get him to eat. In fact, she’d been trying to get everyone to eat.

  Maya gave her a sympathetic look as Paige offered her a third freshly baked cookie. “You know feeding people won’t make you feel any better,” she smiled gently, refusing more sugary numbness.

  Paige put the plate down on the mocha table, and then sat back on the sofa, next to Maya. “No, but it might help someone else feel a little better. And it keeps me feeling useful.”

  Pieter looked up from his holo. He was slouched on the sofa opposite them, to the left of where the holo screen was playing old shows with the communal sound turned off. “If you wanna feel useful, I’ve got a ton of laundry in my room.”

  Paige glared at him playfully. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”

  Brock decided to join the game, too. “Crash has got a whole storage room of junk that needs sorting through, too.”

  Paige looked to Maya for support.

  Maya waved her hands at her, backing up and sitting back on the sofa. ”Don’t look at me. You were the one practically offering yourself up as a slave there…” she mocked.

  Paige smiled weakly.

  Maya rubbed her arm, supportively. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. How you feeling?”

  Paige put her own hand on top of Maya’s on her arm. “I’m okay. Relieved, mostly.” She paused, and glanced absently over at the silent holoscreen churning through the umpteenth episode of Battlestar Galactica. “Tired. But relieved that Molly is going to be okay,” she confessed.

  Joel had been sitting quietly, reading something on his holo. He looked up and over at Paige briefly. Her face was tinged with anxiety, and her eyes began to well with tears again. “Joel, what does ADAM mean when he says that Molly might be different when she comes out?” she asked him.

  Joel closed his holo, and sat up. “I’m not sure. He wasn’t clear.” He looked perplexed. “I’m not sure he knows himself.”