Programmed To Protect (The Tau Cetus Chronicles)

by Jenna Ives

  Chapter Seven

  Help me…

  Eighteen hours had passed since Ginger had made her impassioned plea for protection, and here Wyatt stood at 0630 the next morning on a dusty airfield, still in shock.

  Sentient. She was sentient.

  In the moments following that stunning realization, Wyatt had very briefly considered if one of the programs Ginger said Veraine had run on her was intended to feign sentience – another possible ruse by Verraine to manipulate Wyatt in some way – but he’d quickly dismissed the idea. What would Veraine or Anson Carron gain by the deception?

  Unless it was to make him fall so hard for the Doll – incredible sex and implied sentience! – that they could control Wyatt through his access to her.

  Ironically, considering the way he felt about Ginger, they could actually do that. She was beautiful, sweet, and the sex was incredible. She was the perfect woman.

  But he didn’t give Carron or Veraine that much credit. No. They were more interested in recording his sex with the Doll simply to get him fired and off their backs.

  Which had failed.

  Wyatt could still remember the apparent glee on Anson Carron’s face when Wyatt had reported to Carron’s office after his session with Ginger to discuss the transportation details for the robot army. Not even Veraine could keep the smile off his face as he’d teased Wyatt about Ginger’s energetic ride ‘em cowboy technique, which led Wyatt to wonder if Veraine’s cameras had not only recorded the sex but also allowed him and Carron to watch it live.

  Good thing he hadn’t known that beforehand. It would have really put a crimp in his reaction.

  Wyatt had firmly steered the conversation to the logistics of the army’s travel, which had sparked an idea. He’d insisted that he needed Veraine’s expertise loading the robot soldiers onto the planes, which would effectively keep the programmer far away from Ginger until their mission to Terra Acer was complete. Wyatt was determined to give Veraine no opportunity to run more programs on her, or, more importantly, to realize that he had succeeded and that she was already sentient.

  At least that was Wyatt’s plan until he could figure out what to do about the situation.

  Of course he was going to help Ginger. He just didn’t know how yet.

  Buying time will give me a chance to think…

  He and Veraine had left Carron’s manufacturing facility at 1400 yesterday with the first military transport truck carrying the initial one-hundred robot soldiers to the airfield. They’d spent the rest of the day and well into the night overseeing the loading of the entire army of five-thousand onto the two airships, with Wyatt only pausing briefly when Theus had sent him an FEO for-eyes-only message on his personal communication device.

  Digital disc delivered. Doll’s damned impressive!

  So. Anson Carron had sent Theus the recording. But, dear God, had Theus’ comment meant the premier actually stopped to watch it?

  Best not to think of that.

  Considering there was no mention of his dismissal in Theus’ message, Wyatt was reassured the premier had turned down Anson Carron’s demand that Wyatt be fired for slacking off on the job.

  Hell. He would have loved to have seen the frustration on Carron’s face when he’d realized his plan had failed.

  After an exhausting day at the airfield, Wyatt had finally sent Veraine home at 2300 last night with an order to get some sleep, confident it was too late for the programmer to go back to the lab to run any more programs on Ginger.

  Sleep for Wyatt, meanwhile, had practically been nonexistent, since potential plans to rescue Ginger kept running through his brain. And now here he was, 0630 in the morning, back at the airfield. Today he’d finally dressed in his one-piece duty uniform.

  The trip to Terra Acer would take three hours, and thankfully, the cloudless sky promised good flying weather. The two transport ships were already lined up near the airstrip, loaded with the robot soldiers and ready to go, so it was only a matter of waiting now for the human passengers.

  A dust trail in the distance alerted Wyatt of the first to arrive. It was Zan Talesin, the military strategist from Callex Industries. Talesin pulled his transport within six feet of Wyatt, parked, and eased out of the driver’s door gripping a no-nonsense backpack obviously packed for the trip.

  Wyatt looked him over. Dark hair. Late thirties. An air of quiet competence. Wyatt liked him from the first handshake.

  They discussed Theus’ strategy for the deployment while waiting for Anson Carron and Titus Veraine.

  “I’m to stay in Terra Acer with the army until the situation there is diffused,” Zan said.

  Wyatt cocked an eyebrow. “Until the situation is diffused, or until regulator Egidia is defeated?”

  Zan tilted his head and gave Wyatt an enigmatic smile. “The choice is Egidia’s, isn’t it?”

  Damn. Wyatt liked this Zan Talesin. And he found himself secretly hoping that Egidia didn’t have those stinger missiles. He would hate for Zan to become collateral damage in this skirmish.

  Talesin must have seen Wyatt’s thoughts on his face.

  “I know the risk,” he admitted. “But I’m happy to take it. Keeping the peace on Tau Cetus is what’s most important.”

  So. They were brothers-in-arms in that regard, too. At least in spirit. “Watch your back,” Wyatt warned. “Danger doesn’t always come from in front of you.”

  Zan nodded. “I will. Thanks.” He threw a glance at the two massive airships standing-by, their engines whining quietly.

  Wyatt followed his gaze, a sour taste settling in his mouth. “I hate flying.”

  Zan laughed, and then slapped Wyatt on the back. “Spoken like a true police agent. You guys hate to give up control. Even if it’s control of gravity.”

  Wyatt grimaced. Let Zan think that if he wanted to. It was far more complimentary than the truth. In reality, Wyatt would be fighting off nausea during the three-hour trip to Terra Acer, even if it was a smooth flight. He’d never liked flying. Hell, that’s why he’d become a police agent and not a military pilot. He needed the ground under his feet.

  Another dust trail in the distance signaled the approach of Anson Carron and Titus Veraine. As their transport vessel neared, Wyatt lowered his voice. “I think we should split up. I’ll go in one ship with Carron, you go in the other with Veraine. That way we can keep an eye on both of them.”

  “Done,” Zan agreed.

  Carron’s vehicle came to a halt next to Zan’s, and the doors swung open. Wyatt was shocked to see the buffoon Loris Rhean step out of the car along with Carron and Veraine. Since Zan had never met the Beautiful Dolls owner or his programmer, Wyatt formally made the introductions, then cocked an eyebrow at Rhean.

  “He’s to be our man on the ground in Terra Acer,” Carron informed them as Rhean gave the men a gap-toothed grin and pulled a small suitcase from the trunk of the vehicle.

  Wyatt’s eyebrow reached his hairline. He couldn’t believe Anson Carron would trust an assignment this important to a subordinate this insignificant.

  “I have perfect confidence in my employees and my soldiers, agent Wyatt,” Carron said tightly.

  Right. Then again, maybe you’re thinking this idiot Rhean would be the least important man to lose if those two stolen stinger missiles are fired into your robot army lines.

  Wyatt shrugged. He sent a quick message to the premier to let Theus know they were departing, and then guided Zan, Veraine and Rhean toward the second airship while he and Carron headed for the first. Wyatt checked in with the military pilots in the cockpit to let them know everything was ready for takeoff.

  The flight went smoothly, but even so, Wyatt felt the need to leave his seat and pace the narrow aisles between the rows of hibernating soldiers. It was easy enough to tell Carron he was simply making sure that the robots were secure, but in reality, it was to help keep his stomach steady. And he purposely stayed far away from the airship’s windows. Hell, if he dared even one look at the ground far
, far below, he’d be lightheaded and heaving up his morning nutrition pill in an instant.

  Not so brave now, are we?

  They landed at the airstrip of a military base just inside the southern border of Terra Acer, which Wyatt knew had recently been constructed because of the tensions created by the belligerent actions of regulator Egidia of Terra Radix. The good thing about the location of the base was that the robot soldiers wouldn’t have to be moved far in order to be set in position.

  A handful of men met them on the dusty airstrip as Wyatt and Carron came down the metal stairs rolled up to the plane’s door. Wyatt shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight as he stepped onto the ground, and noted that regulator Collis Jaqan was personally in the forefront of the small group. It was a signal to Wyatt of exactly how critical the situation was here.

  “Welcome, welcome,” the regulator blustered, wringing his hands and focusing his attention on Wyatt once he recognized his uniform. “I’m so glad to see you, agent Wyatt. I’m sure all will be well now that your robot soldiers are here.”

  Carron took a step closer to Wyatt. “My robot soldiers.”

  Jaqan threw a bewildered glance at Carron.

  Wyatt frowned, then made the introduction. “This is Anson Carron, sir. He’s the creator of the machines.”

  Jaqan bobbed his head several times. “Then thank you, too, Mr. Carron.” He waved a hand toward the military base. “As you can see, we are all quite anxious at the aggressive stance of our neighbor, regulator Egidia, especially after his recent attack on Terra Domus.”

  “That’s why we’re here, sir,” Wyatt soothed. “To keep Terra Acer safe.”

  “I can’t tell you what a relief that is, agent Wyatt. Please let premier Theus know how grateful I am for this protection, and that I owe him.”

  “You owe me as well, regulator,” Carron corrected quietly. “These are my men.”

  Wyatt’s teeth clenched, even as Jaqan threw another bewildered glance at Carron.

  “Yes, yes, then I owe you as well, Mr. Carron.”Jaqan waved a hand to the four men standing behind him. “I’ll leave you to discuss your plans with my generals. I need to get back to the capital and out of harm’s way.”

  Out of harm’s way...

  Wyatt quirked an eyebrow. He’d give Jaqan the benefit of the doubt. Of course the regulator was only thinking of his people and their need of his leadership, not of his own personal safety. At Wyatt’s nod, the regulator waved his goodbyes and hurried to a nearby two-seater hovercraft, manned and ready, which quickly took off into the blue sky.

  Wyatt ignored Jaqan’s men for the moment to turn to Carron. He clamped a hard hand on his shoulder.

  “Let’s get one thing straight, Carron,” he hissed. “The High Council owns these robot soldiers. They are not your men. Regulator Jaqan does not owe you anything. You are merely here in an advisory capacity. One more comment like that and I’ll have you dragged back to the airship and restrained until we’re ready to leave here. Is that clear?”

  A serene smile spread across Carron’s face. “Of course, agent Wyatt. Whatever you say.”

  Wyatt frowned. Carron had backed off too easily. Either that, or else Carron had already made the point he’d wanted to make with the regulator. Which, frankly, was a dangerous one. You owe me.

  Something would have to be done about that. But first, there were soldiers to unpack.

  He turned back to Jaqan’s generals. “Is one of you in charge?”

  The man on the far right saluted. “That would be me, sir. General Siljan Drew.”

  “Well, general, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to discuss the deployment specifics with you while your fellow generals help oversee the unloading of our soldiers.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Wyatt turned and motioned to both of their airships “There are twenty-five hundred robots on each aircraft. It should take us most of the day to unload them. Mr. Carron is purposely keeping the machines dormant while they’re being positioned.” Wyatt signaled the trio of men just now making their way to the group. “This is Zan Talesin, our military strategist. And Titus Veraine, the computer programmer who will activate the machines. And Loris Rhean, who will be Mr. Carron’s representative here on the ground if you should have any questions about the soldiers.”

  After the other generals briefly introduced themselves, the men broke off into two groups. Veraine and Rhean accompanied the four generals to oversee the unloading of the robots, while Wyatt, Zan, and General Drew headed for a war room on the military base where they could strategize the best placement for the soldiers along the border. Carron insisted on accompanying Wyatt’s group, even though Wyatt thought he’d be of more use with Veraine.

  No doubt he thinks he can have a part in the planning.

  General Drew explained that the border between Terra Acer and Terra Radix was twelve miles long, so it was agreed to position the robot solders along the border at every twelve or so feet, hoping to intimidate regulator Egidia with that impressive show of force. Hopefully, the sheer size of the army would make Egidia think twice about attacking. Wyatt thought it best not to mention the possibility of Egidia owning stinger missiles.

  After the hour-long strategy session and a quick break for lunch with everyone in the mess hall, Veraine signaled to Wyatt that he wanted a quiet word.

  “What is it?” Wyatt asked, after they’d wandered off into a corner of the cavernous room.

  Veraine covertly opened his hand, and Wyatt recognized the plain felt pouch resting in his palm. “This is from soldier number one. We haven’t unloaded soldier one-thousand-one yet, so if you’d like to come with me, we can check that one and the others. Then you’ll believe what I told you.”

  The presence of the diamonds still proved nothing. Wyatt still believed Veraine could have planted them himself in order to frame Carron. Not that Wyatt would put it past Carron to use the High Council’s soldiers to smuggle personal goods. “When is your handoff?”

  Veraine frowned. “I’m supposed to call Mr. Carron’s contact once I have all the packages. I’ll probably wait until dark, so that the man has a better chance to slip onto the base unnoticed.”

  Wyatt wasn’t too happy with what that meant for the level of security here if Veraine was confident that his underworld contact could so easily gain access to a military installation. He’d have to speak with General Drew about that later. “Fine. Call me before the handoff.”

  Veraine’s frown deepened, and Wyatt felt a certain satisfaction knowing Veraine was frustrated in his efforts to manipulate him. If that’s what this was. And if indeed that’s what this was, Wyatt was forcing Veraine to take one additional step to convince him of Carron’s double-dealings.

  As he turned to go, however, Veraine grabbed his arm. “Listen. If Mr. Carron can smuggle diamonds in his robot soldiers, just think what else he could hide in the future. Weapons? Drugs? You know his reputation. He has no loyalty; he’s a man who’ll sell to the highest bidder. If he ingratiates himself with the High Council by the success of these robot soldiers, he’ll basically have free rein to put anything he wants in them, depending on where they’re being sent. Now, if the Council chose to work with me instead…”

  Wyatt pointedly pulled his arm out of Veraine’s grasp. “Call me before the handoff.” He turned and left the mess hall before Vertaine had the chance to say anything more.

  During the long afternoon hours, Wyatt pitched in with the grunt work of helping bring the robot soldiers down from the plane and loading them onto the vehicles ferrying them to the border. The mindless work couldn’t keep his thoughts off what Titus Veraine had said about the machines. Wyatt already knew Anson Carron was an evil man, and Veraine was proposing another possible sin to add to the list: Carron could use these soldiers for his own personal agenda under the guise of the High Council’s official operations.

  As if that weren’t upsetting enough to consider, every time Wyatt thought of the machines his train of thoug
ht inevitably drifted back to Ginger.

  What was she doing now? Was she standing, naked and alone, in her utility closet? Was she aware that she was naked and alone? Was she aware of her surroundings even while in hibernation mode? What did sentience mean for a machine, anyway? Dear God, did it mean she felt lonely in her small, dark room?

  Hell, he had to figure out some way to get her away from Titus Veraine before he discovered he’d succeeded in making her sentient.

  And he just might have an idea how. An idea courtesy of Veraine himself.

  By the end of the day, the massive undertaking of unloading and positioning the robot soldiers was almost complete. Even with the help of dozens of General Drew’s men, Wyatt was exhausted by the time the dinner meal was served in the mess hall. He picked at his high-protein meat patty and vitamin-rich vegetable substitute, wishing he could just take another nutrition pill and be done with it.

  But that would insult their hosts.

  Zan Talesin sat on his right, looking just as exhausted as Wyatt felt. And definitely far dustier. Zan had been directing the placement of the soldiers from out in the field.

  “How close are we?”

  “We have another two dozen robots or so to position, but we’re almost there,” Zan answered. “Thank God we started at the far border and worked our way back toward the base here. I’m so beat I’m ready to fall down.”

  “I hear you,” Wyatt agreed wearily. “When will they be ready to be turned on?”

  “An hour after we get back to work.” Zan shoved at his tray. “In fact, the sooner I get back to it, the sooner we can get these machines up and running. This tasteless gruel is not exactly tempting me to linger.”

  Wyatt’s thoughts exactly. Zan stood, slapped Wyatt on the shoulder, and headed off.

  As if he’d been waiting for Talesin to leave, Titus Veraine brought his tray over and sat on Wyatt’s left.

  Veraine looked fresh as a daisy, which pissed Wyatt off no end. Veraine’s technical expertise had exempted him from helping unload the robot soldiers; he’d claimed he was busy working on setting up the war program under which they’d be operating. Anson Carron, meanwhile, had been MIA all day, probably sitting in an air-conditioned office somewhere with a glass of iced tea.