The base had been constructed in the heart of the asteroid as it was far cheaper to tunnel out the rock than to build fragile domes on its surface. Especially since Outpost SPH0990 had been in operation for no more than a few months before it was shut down.
SPH had been one of the last of the Gate stations set up as the human empire, The Sphere, had expanded out into space in all directions. Specialised ships had been built to use the existing gates like stepping stones, heading out into hyperspace using the gravity wells of the nearest stars as targets. Unlike all subsequent vessels, these exploratory ships had carried their own gates that, when activated, would latch onto the target and form the next link in the ever-expanding chain. Hal had a desperate hope that this outpost hadn't been intended to be at the outer edge, but rather as a waypoint for further expansion. His knowledge of history, however, was now exhausted.
The light from the local sun winked out as Egg slipped into the fissure. It was much larger than it had appeared on approach, swamping the little ship. The view through the forward window was like space without the stars. Then two points of white appeared, sweeping over the rocks and Hal realised that Seraph had turned on the ship's external lights, but that the cavern was so wide that they barely had any effect, even in the pin-sharpness of a vacuum.
The circles moved together and pointed dead ahead. Hal saw the flash of a metallic reflection.
"We were correct," Seraph said. "This is the hatch. The Explorer would have melted the end of this natural fissure to form an air-tight bay for the crew to inhabit while they constructed the local gate. We cannot hope that the chamber beyond this airlock remains breathable since it was intended only for temporary use."
Hal undid his harness and floated upwards and back towards the rear of the pod. He opened one of the metal doors and pulled out a spacesuit, marvelling at how pristine it looked after over a century in storage. It was made to fit just about any body size so, despite adjusting, it felt bulky - nothing like the elegant ship-suits of Dawn.
He floated over the pilot's seat and watched as the targeting markers merged. With an almost imperceptible clunk the two docking rings connected.
"Be careful Hal," Seraph said. "I cannot come with you and I do not wish to be stuck here for eternity."
Hal sealed the helmet and tapped the communicator on its side. "If I'm not back within twelve hours then I want you to go and find wherever humans are fighting - start at Vanis and follow the trail from there. You have information they can use."
"I do not wish to go alone, Hal."
"You won't, I promise," Hal said. "Now, open the pod bay door, please."
"Okay Hal."
The pod's docking ring was in its nose, and Hal watched as the floor containing the seats slid back, folding in on itself and revealing the chamber through which, he imagined, he had been thrown during his escape. He had no memory of it at all.
Kicking at the ceiling, he propelled himself into the chamber as Seraph depressurised the pod, withdrawing its air into reserve tanks to be replaced later.
Seraph's voice came through the speaker in Hal's helmet. "I will be able to communicate with you for a while, but the iron-rich rock of this asteroid is likely to limit my range. Are you ready for me to trigger the airlock?"
"Go ahead."
Silently, the inner airlock door swung backwards, and Hal looked into blackness.
"I will attempt to feed power into the locking mechanism. Fortunately, this airlock and the pod are compatible. Please wait."
Lamps flickered fitfully and then, suddenly, the little chamber was full of light. A panel by the far door that had presumably remained inert for decades began to flash - multicoloured indicators playing across its surface.
Hal floated up to it. He didn't need Seraph's help to work out that the big red symbol meant that there was vacuum beyond. Not that it mattered particularly - he hadn't expected to find people here, after all - but doing anything in the bulky spacesuit was awkward and he longed for a little room to stretch his legs.
He shone his hand torch through the glass of the inner airlock door. Blackness. In itself it didn't bother him too much, he'd been brought up in the mines of Vanis, but even he felt the tightening of claustrophobia as he contemplated the chamber beyond. Somehow, he needed to have something to guide him.
As he reached down to trigger the door, his eye was caught by movement. He snapped back to the window just in time to watch a dead face go floating by.
Virus
"So, let me get this straight," Arla said as Nareshkumar folded his arms and sat back. "You want to create your own ACE?"
Kumar shrugged. "You are dramatising for effect but, essentially, yes."
They sat in the galley - Arla, Kumar, McCall and Clancy. Wells had reluctantly left, and Scout had been ordered not to monitor the audio feed. There was, of course, the chance that she'd ignored the order and listen anyway but, so far, she'd obeyed the Three Laws and they'd had no choice but to trust her.
Arla had listened, open-mouthed, to Kumar's obviously prepared speech. The doctor, on the other hand, had remained in stony-faced silence throughout.
"It's like a vaccine," she said, finally.
Immediately, Kumar brightened. "Exactly," he said. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Metaphors aren't really your style, are they?"
Arla looked from one to the other. "Will one of you let me in on this? I feel like an idiot. I just can't see how having an ACE of our own can possibly be safe."
"You know how vaccines work, don't you?" McCall said.
"Of course I do," Arla responded, reddening. "A weakened form of a virus is injected into the host causing it to create defences that will fight off the real thing if it's ever exposed to it."
McCall nodded. "Yes. And that's what Kumar is suggesting. Our ACE needs only to be functional enough to fool the Robot Empire ships into believing we're one of them - it doesn't have to be the fully fledged homicidal maniac version."
"And we find one of these ACEs..."
"On Dawn," Nareshkumar said. "I set up a firewalled trap in the computer system because we suspected ACE would try to transfer herself into it and take over the ship. The system was too limited to host her full consciousness, but it was definitely her. As far as I know, she's still there - after all, who would be insane enough to let her loose?"
Arla rubbed her eyes to hide the effort of fighting the growing panic in the pit of her stomach. "So you want to trap the genie in a bottle and bring it back onboard Scout."
"That is more or less it, yes," Kumar said. "Once we have it aboard, I'll be able to examine the code and construct a facsimile that has all the appearance of ACE without actually being ACE."
Clancy added, "A bit like a painting or a statue - it looks completely real until you get close, is that it?"
"And all we've got to do is get on board Dawn, find our way to a command computer access point, trap our ACE and escape again?"
"Exactly," Kumar said, missing the sarcasm entirely.
Sighing, Arla looked up at the ceiling. "Assuming, of course, that we can find Dawn in the first place."
"Oh, I think I know where Dawn will be," McCall said.
Arla snapped to attention. "What?"
"It's pretty obvious isn't it? That odious little shit we have in the brig - before he had his mind changed for him - took over Dawn. Tried to have you killed, as I recall."
"So?"
"Well, where do you think he would want Dawn to be?"
The sun rose over Arla's comprehension horizon. "Vanis? Seriously? We've only just escaped from there with that bastard down below."
"And we have to go back," McCall said. "But this time, we need to have our eyes open."
"We are returning you to the Vanis," Wells said.
Arla was watching the display as Wells slumped in the chair opposite Minchin with all the appearance of a defeated man.
"Why?" Minchin/ACE responded, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
Wells shrugged. "We don't believe you have anything more to tell us and your continued presence here represents a threat to our mission."
"I've told you nothing!"
"You may believe so, but we have no further use for you."
Minchin leaned forward. "Then why not kill me?"
"You know I cannot do that, nor can I permit it to be done," Wells said. "The entity that controls you is artificial, but the body is undeniably human. Neither my programming, nor Scout's, will allow us to harm you."
"What about the girl and her friends? They wouldn't think twice about knocking me off."
Wells shook his head. "You do not know these humans at all. I pity you for that. You see them as nothing more than violent warm-bloods and yet they have more compassion than you give them credit for."
"You are a fool!" Minchin shrieked. "In the final analysis, they will do what any thinking being would do - protect themselves."
"And that is what we are doing by returning you to Vanis. We cannot overthrow you or your clones by force of arms, so we must seek another way."
"What other way?"
Wells rose from the table. "That is why you must go - we cannot risk our intentions to be revealed. You are under my protection and that of the ship's AI. She commands here, and she will not permit harm to come to you. Provided that you facilitate our safe return to the Vanis Federation, we guarantee your safety."
As he reached the door, Wells turned. Minchin's face shone with a new and unmistakable hope. Good. "There is one thing you must do for us in return, however."
"And what is that?"
"You must give us the location of Dawn."
Arla watched Minchin as he sat in the passenger lounge. His eyes were fixed on the wall monitor which currently displayed a map of the local space. They'd been challenged by a Robot Empire ship as soon as they'd emerged from hyperspace, but Minchin's presence had been enough to see them withdraw and Scout had proceeded unmolested to the vicinity of the planet Neavis and its moon, Vanis.
"Where is it?" Arla said.
Minchin regarded her silently and Arla imagined she could glimpse the wheels turning in the mind behind those eyes. This ACE was about to give up her biggest tactical advantage and she was judging whether Arla could be trusted to keep her side of the bargain.
Minchin turned her gaze on Wells as if seeking reassurance.
"I reiterate that you are under my protection and that of Scout," Wells said. "We will return you to your people once we have successfully located Dawn."
"Whatever you find there?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Arla snapped as ice ran through her insides.
Minchin shrugged. "Merely that much may have happened since you were last on Dawn and I cannot he held responsible for that."
"Of course you're responsible! Dawn is here because of you and Xi is in charge for the same reason."
"And Dawn has been supplied by my order. Your people are eating Vanis grain, my fine renegade," Minchin said. "When I left Dawn, it was safe. If anything has happened in the meantime, that is not my concern. You will have to take it up with your erstwhile colleague."
"Oh, I intend to."
Wells sighed. "This is unhelpful. Admiral, you have my word that you will not be harmed once you have fulfilled your promise and we have successfully located Dawn. You will be returned to your people."
"And what will you do then?"
"That is our business. Truthfully, I do not know what Arla has planned."
Minchin looked across at her, his eyes glistening with contempt. "No, and I wonder whether she has any plan at all other than to see her precious valleys again."
Somehow, Arla managed to hold back her temper. She just wanted it over with, so she relaxed in her chair and stared at the wall.
"Very well," Minchin said, evidently believing that the battle had been won. "Give me access to Scout's navigational console and I will transfer the last known co-ordinates and orbit."
"That will not be necessary," Wells said. "You can provide me with the locational data and I will instruct Scout." He handed over a dumb tablet.
Minchin shrugged. It had been a pretty lame attempt to get his hands on Scout's interfaces and either signalled a simple long-shot or ACE's absolute contempt for them. He stabbed briefly at the device and handed it back.
Wells disappeared into the cabin and communed with Scout. Watching him, Arla's heart sank as she wondered how Wells would react to what would shortly happen.
"It appears the co-ordinates are valid," Wells said as he emerged, "Scout has computed the orbit and has located a plausible target- a rocky body the correct size, shape and albedo to be Dawn. Shall we proceed there?"
Arla nodded. "Sure."
"You will rendezvous with a ship of The Luminescence first," Minchin said. "So that I may be handed over."
Arla chuckled. "We will not. If you seriously believe we'd take your word on those co-ordinates, you're out of your mind."
Minchin glowered at her but relented.
"I have reassured you that you will be returned to your people," Wells said. "It is reasonable for us to ensure the veracity of your data before delivering you back to Vanis. It will take approximately five hours before we reach Dawn and attempt contact, we will feed you in the meantime."
"You will not!" Minchin bellowed, before subsiding on the couch, his legs wobbling.
McCall took his pulse. "Idiot, you're starving. Have something to eat."
Minchin's bloodshot eyes snapped up at her. "I will eat nothing until I am safely back with my people."
"Suit yourself," McCall said. "I've done my duty to the Hippocratic oath, though whether you qualify to be thought of as human is debatable."
Murder
She could see that it was Dawn as soon as the first image appeared on the viewscreen. To the casual observer, the familiar cylindrical rock might look like any other piece of random debris left over from the formation of this solar system, but to Arla it was home. And yet her stomach knotted as she looked at it.
So many questions. Were they still alive? If they were, who was in charge? Had the ACE they'd encountered in the Eden system been telling the truth when she said Bex had been converted? Even if they could get aboard, would they be allowed to access the computer and retrieve the trapped ACE fragment?
One step at a time.
"Shall I transmit a greeting?" Scout asked over the speakers.
"I'll do it," Arla said. "Open a channel."
"Channel open."
Arla drew in a deep breath. "This is Arla Farmer on the vessel Scout calling Dawn, do you receive?"
There was no response.
"I am detecting weak electromagnetic signals," Scout said, "I believe they can hear us."
Arla repeated the message. Still no response.
"Scout, keep broadcasting the message as we approach," Arla said despondently.
"Where are you going?" McCall called as Arla headed for the door.
The truth was she wanted to be anywhere other than here. She felt the panic rising - a tightening sharpness that sent her mind spinning and she just needed darkness and somewhere to shut the universe out for a while. She felt as though she had been wound up like a spring and needed to unwind before she burst.
"I'm receiving a communication from Dawn," Scout said.
Arla spun on her heels and grabbed the back of a chair for support.
This is Dawn. Sorry about that, I was in the shower.
Arla knew that voice, but it was Nareshkumar who broke the silence. "Bex!"
Ah, Kumar. Hello lover.
"Wells," Clancy said, "what can you tell me about Dawn?"
With Wells distracted and Scout occupied, Arla had time to reach into her pocket, pulled the gun out, press it to Minchin's head and pull the trigger.
In his last microseconds, his eyes had met hers with a glance that would remain with her for the rest of her life. In that moment the machine controlling him realised that the end had
come and Arla saw the sheer terror in those wide eyes. Perhaps, hidden deep within, she also saw gratitude from that vestige of the true Minchin that remained.
Wells was standing motionless and Scout had gone entirely silent. Arla became aware that Kumar was calling her, shaking her, trying to snap her out of shock. She looked at her hand and saw the blood that had spattered back from the terminal wound on the slumped figure's temple.
"Arla! The ship is drifting! You must take control or we'll collide."
She shook her head. "Me? No. No, I can't fly Scout. Hal did that."
"You must!"
She went to sit down. An arm grabbed her, and she winced at a sudden sharp pain in her cheek.
"Snap out of it, Arla!"
She opened her eyes. McCall stood there, her expression a mixture of panic and rage. "Now get in the cockpit and do your best while the tin man and the clockwork ship reboot."
Reality began to reassert itself and she stumbled towards the front of the ship, pushing past the inert Wells with that look of utter horror on his plastic face.
She had killed someone in cold blood. The reality of that had almost overwhelmed her, and she could only imagine how it must have fried the circuits of Wells and Scout, bound as they were to the Three Laws.
A robot must not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
And yet, despite all their precautions, Arla had terminated a human in front of their sensors. The fact that the mind controlling the body was both artificial and homicidal could not override that imperative. She had killed in front of them. For all she knew, the damage she'd done would be as permanent for them as it was for Minchin. At least with him there had been an element of mercy to it.
She slid into the unfamiliar pilot's chair and tried to remember what she'd only half learnt all that time ago. Step one was to fire manoeuvring thrusters to slow Scout to as close to a dead stop relative to the local objects as possible. The first attempt made matters worse, sending the ship into a spin but, somehow, she managed to steady it.
What's going on? Arla, are you there?
"I'm here," Arla replied. "Sorry, we had a technology failure and I'm having to pilot manually."
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