Awakening of a Predator (Gravity Book 2)

by Jeremy Kester

  “We’re getting transmissions requesting that we resume our course to Neptune,” Hirl responded.

  “Ignore them for now. We lost our ability to transmit and are having engine troubles. Lie to whatever ends you intend to accomplish.”

  On the Yorktown, David terminated the transmission with the operative. Some thoughts entered his mind about the possibilities of leaving her behind and completing the mission without her. Her decision making was frustrating. The travel to Uranus 13 delayed their rendezvous to a great extent. He leaned over the communications console with a scowl on his face. He hated the deceit of operatives. Lying for whatever the purpose was still lying, and that bothered him. Misleading superiors was unfamiliar to him.

  “She’s not in charge, sir,” one of the officers remarked.

  David shook his head. “Yes she is. She may not have rank, but instructions were explicit that she was to be treated as though she were commanding the ship.”

  Looking at the small cache of supplies they picked up using some of the credits from the failed job, Haden instructed, “we’ll need to pick up another transport job to keep things going and the questions at bay.” Trike, Haden, and Olaph moved through the corridors towards the crew quarters.

  To Haden’s surprise, the availability of jobs seemed to be quickly escalating. There were whispers of increased raids on the Alliance borders capturing ships. Fewer transports were available and fewer were willing to take any more risks. Haden knew that efforts were growing beyond that. It only benefitted him now to take the work and hold onto the money he gained in terminating his former client.

  It seemed his handy work hadn’t gone too long before it spread. Officials on the station called it a robbery gone wrong and put no effort into tracking anyone down. Policing both trading disputes and farming contracts were all that they cared about. As Julius was partnered with someone who had no ties to the event in any manner, no cash transfers, no violence on record (and in fact was the easier of the two to deal with), they let it go. Many of the employees actually cheered when the news spread. The misdeeds of this man had not gone unnoticed.

  In any case, Haden decided to allow the crew to reap the benefits of the high demand. It helped to keep their minds off of what he truly desired.

  “We can check with that café near the end of the docking area,” Trike suggested trying to sound off-handed. Olaph rolled his eyes.

  “That’s fine, check there,” Haden agreed. “I’ll let Olaph take the lead on that. You can go see if you can find a couple more recruits. We can’t keep moving with this skeleton crew.”

  “What’ll you be doing?” Trike asked pointedly.

  “I am going to take Ned to remove the thorn in our side.”

  Adrianna moved through the crowd and found a small café near the end of the docking area where she could get some food. She realized that she hadn’t eaten in nearly a day. She was very hungry and thought it a good idea to try the non-replicated food the café offered.

  Inside the café, patrons were noisily recounting various stories of privateering in the solar system. Some of them told tales of encounters with the Alliance. Adrianna paid them no mind; she went straight to the counter.

  It was an older style service model from what she could see. There was no holographic menu, no self-selection process, no taste mapping was done.

  Off from the side, a small, slender woman walked out to the counter. She looked jovial even despite the large gash on the side of her face exposing some of her skull.

  “That looks rough,” Adrianna said to the girl, sounding genuine.

  The small woman was an android. Androids were an increasingly prominent part of most of the Alliance societies. The Alliance still treated them as third-rate citizens, but did so with some sense of fairness. Long ago had the issues with artificial intelligence been mostly resolved.

  There were continued issues, however. One such issue is where ordinary people felt that they had the right abuse androids as the belief was held that androids can take it. Androids became just another group for humanity to direct its anger upon.

  “It’s ok. It’s what I get for wanting to be free of the Alliance,” the girl responded bluntly.

  “Is it really that bad for you in Alliance territory?”

  The girl shrugged but gazed at Adrianna almost knowingly. Some androids kept a constant uplink to the net. Some chose to be cut off in order to be more like humans and keep themselves from being as easily traced. “Why do you ask?” she questioned Adrianna.

  “Just curious. I don’t pay attention to android rights,” she admitted.

  “Not that you would,” the girl scolded. “We’re a fifth class citizen for the Alliance. At least here we can fight back. I handled the bastard that did this to me,” she tersely sneered as she pointed to the rip in her face. It seemed a lie.

  Adrianna remained calm, unaffected. The girl glared at her slowly lowering her hand. Though androids were relatively common in Alliance space, most were difficult to distinguish from normal people. Each was tattooed with a symbol and a barcode on the side of their neck. Sometimes that was even unreliable as they were easy to hide and there were humans that chose to be tattooed simply to counter the system despite its illegality.

  The juxtaposition of the metal against the synthetic flesh still bothered Adrianna, though she hid it well. Surrounding the gash was the portrait of a beautiful, young girl. Most androids were built to be aesthetically pleasing to the average human. Some decided to break away from that mold, but most chose to remain in the appearance of attractive people.

  This android had a slender pale face with deep, golden blonde hair littered with pink highlights. Her eyes were a sharp blue. Her skin was dotted with freckles, a modification to better make the synthetic flesh appear human. She wore tight, brightly colored clothes that accentuated her form. She was only about an inch or so smaller than Adrianna, with a thin, yet curvy frame.

  At their initial creation, androids were unisex. Designs for either woman or man involved intricate circuitry to closely match true sexual differences between man and woman as possible.

  Along with the physical designs some variants in programming were also put in place to make natural physical behaviors. Even sexual attraction was found to result from the small hormonal-like program.

  Aside from what was inside, androids were remarkably human.

  “I really meant no bother,” she offered to calm the girl.

  Relenting, the girl apologized. “I’m sorry. What are you here for anyway?”

  “I am looking for someone, but found myself a little hungry,” Adrianna explained while taking a seat on one of the empty stools at the counter.

  Pulling a menu from under the counter and handing it to Adrianna, the girl responded by saying “this is a strange place to be looking for someone.”

  Adrianna accepted the menu. “Something told me he would be here.”

  “You have an image so I can see if this person’s been by here?”

  Adrianna recalled the image on her sheetcom and showed it to the girl. The girl’s eyes widened a little, but then she paused. “He is quite a catch, but I haven’t seen him,” she said guardedly. “He belong to a ship?”

  “I think he might be with a ship called the Regalia. Since no one registers any ship and everyone is so guarded, I can’t find if it’s docked here.”

  The girl shook her head. “Haven’t heard of it.”

  Adrianna felt that she was being lied to. Most of the clients in stations such as this were untrusting of Alliance and other outsiders. Adrianna perfectly fit the part of an Alliance supporter. Her attire and appearance was too well maintained and not of a high enough social class. She looked as though she was an individual able to take advantage of an Alliance lifestyle. Such an appearance was not enough for anyone to move against her as she still moved unlike one would expect from Alliance.

  “That’s alright. Can I just get a bite to eat?” she asked trying to drop the topic
finally.

  “Pick what you’d like,” the girl motioned to the menu in Adrianna’s hands. “Can’t promise it’ll taste as good as the engineered stuff those replicators put out, but it’ll be more honest.”

  “Honesty would be nice for a change.”

  Xaviera’s eyes narrowed. The comment’s dual meaning wasn’t lost on her.

  Replication was developed decades before. Most individuals using one gave a quick DNA sample, a temporal scan with taste mapping. Taste mapping was a distinct mapping of taste buds. Then with the information, the system would spit out the perfect desired taste. Of course it was also manipulated in such a way as to best suit the body nutritionally.

  In the outlands, the old styles were becoming new again. Cooking as an art was becoming a new wave. It still existed on Earth, but was generally reserved for either the ultra-rich, or ultra-poor.

  Adrianna looked up from the menu. “What’s a cheeseburger?”

  “Cow meat,” the girl said plainly. “We put it on two bread pieces typically with some cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion.”

  “You have all of that?” Adrianna felt the list was impressive.

  “We grow a lot of stuff here. We have to. When you don’t have your mother’s teat to suck upon, you’ll find other ways to feed.” Her arms crossed awaiting a reaction from Adrianna. She was referring to the lack of regular supplies coming from anything like the Alliance. Many colonies and stations also had their own farms and green houses. Uranus 13 boasted as having the largest, but it was really Io New Richmond, an Alliance colony, that had the largest.

  Adrianna shrugged. “I’ll try it,” she said unsure of the choice.

  The girl disappeared to a room behind her. She was gone for a brief time before reappearing with a plate holding the food upon it. She placed the burger on the counter and slid it towards Adrianna. “Now it’s a little juicy,” she said. “I think they are better still a little red in the center of the meat.”

  Adrianna picked up the burger and wondered for a second whether it was the right choice for her. It had been a long time since she had had anything of this nature.

  “It won’t bite you,” joked the girl. “Unless I put in some peppers.”

  Adrianna smiled politely and then took a large bite. The juices from the tomato and the burger spread through her mouth like nothing she tasted before. She was unsure of the feeling, but knew that she liked the taste.

  Adrianna asked the girl, “so what do I call you?”

  “My serial number is 87UI5-“

  “No,” Adrianna cut the girl off. “What’s your name?”

  The girl appeared to be taken aback by the question. “Xaviera is the name that I had chosen.” Most androids are given a serial number. They choose a name on their own.

  Humans rarely care about the name an android chooses.

  “Pretty,” Adrianna answered before taking another bite.

  As she nearly finished the burger, Xaviera leaned into the counter. “I’m sorry. My owner doesn’t like me giving out any information.”

  Adrianna tilted her head a little confused by Xaviera’s mention of an owner. “You have an owner?”

  “I was indentured for my debts when I emigrated from Alliance space. It cost a fortune to bypass the security.”

  “Wow. I guess that I don’t pay attention to immigration laws. They don’t allow androids travel rights outside of Alliance space?”

  “Like me? No,” she pointed to herself referring to those that look human. “You don’t see it, but most ports have scanners that prevent bio-mechanical matter from going through. Cyborgs have trouble too, but it is designed to keep non-organic artificial intelligence regulated. I’m technically here illegally.”

  “So it was your owner that did this to you?” Adrianna asked while pointing to the gash. Xaviera looked back sternly refusing to answer. Adrianna continued trying to change the subject. “I hope no one from the Alliance figures that out.” Xaviera’s eyes shifted nervously while Adrianna spoke. “You know, I could help you; you could help me.”

  “As intriguing as that is, I’d like to stay out of trouble. But I will at least tell you that your guy was here as late as this morning.”

  Adrianna almost leapt from her chair to hug the girl. “Is he still here? Where is he? Where is the ship?” Adrianna rattled off excitedly. The news of him being close to her again made her forget the mission.

  Xaviera laughed at Adrianna’s reaction. “I didn’t think you were looking for him to kill him,” she commented sounding relieved. The words quickly reminded Adrianna of the Alliance’s expectations. She sat quietly back down suddenly aware that she had to figure a way out of it.

  Or she had to satisfy her superiors.

  Xaviera looked at Adrianna cautiously. “I take it that something’s wrong?”

  “No, no,” she tried to wave off. “Nothing’s wrong. Can you tell me anything more? Was he talking with anyone? Did he say anything? I understand if you don’t trust me and I can just go.”

  Xaviera dismissed Adrianna’s change in emotion. “He was with a really short guy and they were talking about being followed by some ship they couldn’t see.”

  Adrianna knew that they were referring to the Yorktown. “I need to know where they’re docked at. Do you know?”

  “They probably aren’t here anymore. Nobody stays long at Uranus 13 who doesn’t already live here. Despite being such a haven for food, we’re just a place to stop.”

  Adrianna stood up and placed some credits on the counter for the food. As she was about to walk away, she looked up at the android who had returned to tidying up the counter. Xaviera’s face held upon it a look of regret.

  “Come with me,” Adrianna urged.

  “I can’t do that. My place is here.”

  “I’ll get you out of your indenture.”

  Xaviera looked frightened by the idea. “Shhhh! Don’t say that out loud. He’ll kill me.”

  Confidently, Adrianna leaned in with one last attempt to convince Xaviera to leave with her. “I am an Alliance operative, and I am trying to go rogue. The man I showed you was once my lover and the only man I know that can help me. He was an operative like me and we all thought he was dead. I need help finding him. I can’t escape the Alliance without him.”

  Xaviera stepped back, not trusting in her customer’s story. Adrianna regretted the half-truth, but she couldn’t help being so close to finding Haden and not risk everything to find him.

  There was a look that Xaviera saw in Adrianna’s eyes. It was a look she rarely saw in another human. “I’ll help, but you need to protect me and deactivate my leash. He won’t sell me. He won’t sell off my indenture. He’d never do that. Can you help me?”

  A smile grew on Adrianna’s lips. “I sure as hell can.”

  Oberon orbit

  DASS Yorktown

  “We need you back immediately,” David said to 356Q.

  “I am not completed with my tasks here. Your request will have to wait,” an emotionless 356Q replied. She was standing outside of the Regalia’s dock doors. She knew what she wanted was in there.

  “We have an intruder on the outside hull of the ship. We’ve already lost two trying to dislodge.”

  356Q immediately spun around and rushed back to her transport. Behind the airlock, Trike cautiously watched the beautiful predator change her direction running off. He had been hiding as he watched her persistence in trying to enter the ship. Haden’s firewall prevented all of the normal hacking methods an operative would use to gain entry.

  “The bait is working,” he spoke into his communicator. “That woman is on her way back now. She’s definitely creepy,” he added.

  “Good,” Haden’s voice returned. “Open back up the bay doors and finish loading the cargo before we lose these new jobs.”

  “Understood, Captain,” Trike replied. Behind him, Olaph began prepping the carriers.

  It took 3 minutes for Haden to reach another of the access vents after t
he second person he dispatched from the ship by piercing their suit with his sword and pushing them off of the ship.

  The access was for engineering and was encrypted. He was sure that they were airlocked, but he couldn’t be entirely sure.

  Typically, external access panels were not overly secure when compared to the primary airlocks. Being that they were single-point with room enough for little more than one individual, intrusion was of little concern under normal circumstances as they were easy to expel intruders from the inside. In either case, he had an EMP device that would overload the encryptions. A locking device was then placed down on the latch. It was designed to scan and detect the locking mechanisms. Once the device overrides the encryptions, the secondary device secures the timing and unlocks the hatch before secondary locking measures kick in. The devices were designed to function within millionths of a second, faster than most protocols could react.

  Haden connected to the devices remotely through a control screen on his wrist. With a few swipes of his finger small flashes emanated from both devices, and then the panel flew open.

  Haden quickly pushed through the escaping volume of air and then manually closed the internal airlock. He was surprised that it hadn’t automatically engaged when the outer panel was opened.

  Once he was inside, Haden laid the sword on the ground and began to remove the environmental suit. He left the suit off to the side hidden as best as he could manage. He’d need it again soon, but he didn’t want to keep it on and possibly incur damage on it as it would compromise his chances on getting back to the Regalia. He then sheathed his sword and continued.

  Surprisingly, no one met Haden at the airlock. It was a small passage. Haden would have had to fight furiously to get through it. “Skeleton crew,” Haden thought aloud.

  He climbed down a narrow ladder to the main halls of the ship. Once he stepped down onto the hall where he was met by 356Q.

  “I expected you to take a little longer,” he commented as he drew his sword.

  “I didn’t expect you to still be alive.”