Kim headed toward the front door with Rache. “I will also thank you for helping, especially since it means you’re helping the Kingdom.”
“The Kingdom can hang itself. I’m helping my doctor. And you.”
Again, she wished he weren’t wearing the mask, because a weird tingle went through her, and she had the urge to see his face. Or maybe touch his face. But she didn’t like touching, so that couldn’t be it. She was glad that, for whatever reason, he was willing to risk himself to help them. To help her.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
When they walked out of the building, a robot identical to the ones Casmir had suborned in the shuttle bay said, “Good afternoon, sir and ma’am. If you are in need of protection, you may hide behind me.”
Rache laughed shortly and gave Kim a long look as they passed it. Even with the mask, she could tell he was oozing sarcastic thoughts.
Kim was glad Casmir had altered the robots and hoped it made a difference. After all the people here had endured, they needed someone to stand up for them. Even if that someone was robots.
Casmir was about to join Asger in searching the rooms adjacent to the control room when a beep came from the comm panel. He looked around. Since the secretary of education had fled, and they’d stunned the door guards, only he, Asger, and Tork were in the area.
“Do we answer that?” Casmir asked.
“It’s the pirates.” Asger eyed the flashing indicator as if it were attached to a venomous, armor-piercing snake.
“Who do you think they’re expecting?”
“Not a knight.” Asger looked at him.
Casmir lifted his hands. “I’m positive they don’t want to talk to a Kingdom roboticist either.”
Asger pointed at Tork. “That’s our only alternative, unless you want to poke through all the rooms and see if we can find someone who actually lives on the station.”
The comm flashed again. What if this was the main control room for the entire station? And what if the pirates opened up fire if they didn’t get an answer?
If that happened, Casmir hoped Ishii would command the Fleet to swoop in and stop the pirates, especially since Jager had interests here, but since the Kingdom ships were outnumbered, he doubted they could count on that. Casmir reached for the comm, praying he wasn’t about to instigate an attack.
“Good afternoon,” he said in as polite a tone as he could manage. “This is Professor Casmir Dabrowski. How may I assist you?”
“This is Admiral Chaos Cutty, head of the deadly Rogue Asteroids,” a bass voice said. “I will speak to your president.”
“The president isn’t available.”
“If he’s seen my fleet, he should know he must make himself available.”
“We’re experiencing a tiny bit of civil unrest at the moment, and it’s making it difficult for people to come to work. Why don’t you give me whatever message you have for him, and I’ll make sure he gets it. I hope you’re having a nice day, by the way. Are you here to enjoy the station amenities? I understand there are nice brothels.”
Asger dropped his face in his hand. That couldn’t be a good sign.
Did Casmir sound nervous? Was he babbling? It seemed understandable, given the situation.
“Are you in charge, Professor?”
“Of the brothels, no. I’m in charge of a small but cutting-edge lab doing important research into bipedal self-aware robots.” No need to mention that it was back on Odin and he didn’t even live in this system… “Do you wish to leave a message, Admiral? I’m not sure where the president is, but we’re trying to locate him.” He turned around to Tork and whispered, “Can you start recording this in case we need to play it back to someone?”
“Yes, Professor Dabrowski,” Tork said.
“I command whoever is in charge to surrender the station to us immediately. We are taking it over as our new base of operations. You can make it easy on us and open all your airlocks and shuttle bays, but if you resist, we will take it by force.”
“That is an interesting method of acquiring real estate,” Casmir said. “Is it legal in System Hydra? I may need to consult with the station lawyers before I pass along the message. Lawyers bill by the hour and like to draw things out, as you may know. I’m going to need three or four months to get back to you.”
“Give the message to the president, roboticist. You have fifteen minutes to get him on the comm to give his answer.”
The channel went dead.
Casmir flattened his palms against the control console, vaguely aware of how damp they were. And how fast he was breathing. “Is this typical? I had no idea the other systems were so—what’s the word I’m looking for?—insane.”
“Your voice is getting squeaky, Casmir,” Asger said.
“That’s what it does when I’m on the verge of a panic attack. Where are the leaders of this place and why aren’t they here to answer the completely unreasonable demands of self-aggrandizing pirate admirals?” Casmir spun toward Asger. “Do you think they’ll open fire? Why would pirates want this station? What are they even doing in this system? I thought Hydra was reasonably stable. Aren’t there local governments with militias that help keep this station safe? And what about our warships? Why aren’t they telling the pirates to go get screwed?”
Because they were outnumbered. Casmir knew that, but shouldn’t Ishii and the other captains be doing something? They weren’t just sitting in their chairs and watching this unfold while they munched popcorn, were they?
Asger rested his hands on Casmir’s shoulders. “Calm down. You and Tork check those rooms and see if there’s anyone helpful hiding back there. I’m going to go find that secretary of education. She’s more qualified than we are to answer demands about the station.”
“The brutes that attacked us on the tram are more qualified than we are to answer demands about the station.”
“No time to debate that now. Don’t fall apart.” Asger patted him on the shoulder and ran out of the room. “And don’t have a seizure,” he called back.
“I’m having a panic attack, not a seizure. Anyone with basic first-aid training should recognize that.” Casmir tried to slow his breathing, well aware that stress could lead to a seizure. “I need to be calm and rational. Tork, will you check those rooms and cabinets, please, and see if anyone is hiding?”
“Yes, Professor Dabrowski.”
In the meantime, Casmir would find some contact information for the leaders on the station. He had all of the network addresses of people. Surely, someone would accept contact from him. And even if they didn’t, if their chips were connected to the local network, he could probably use his new access to force contact.
The comm flashed before he’d done more than bring up a list of the president’s cabinet.
“What now?” he groaned, not wanting to accept another comm, but knowing he dared not ignore it.
“Good afternoon, Tiamat Station,” a cultured voice with a Kingdom accent said. “This is Ambassador Romano, authorized to negotiate on behalf of King Jager of the Star Kingdom. We’ve noticed that you have what we believe to be an unwelcome pirate infestation loitering near your station.”
Casmir stared at the comm panel. Was this the snooty guy he’d seen walking out of Ishii’s office?
“We had originally come to Tiamat Station hoping to acquire a few goods for a research mission,” Romano continued, “but since we are in the area, we are prepared to come to your defense and drive these pirates away. They did bring a large number of warships, however, so it would be dangerous for us to engage them, likely resulting in the damage of our vessels and loss of men. We would wish something in return. With whom am I speaking?”
As Casmir looked around at the empty control room, he felt a manic—or maybe maniacal—laugh bubbling up in his throat. He swallowed hard, trying to force it down.
“Uhm, this is Professor Dabrowski. Sir Asger and I have… I guess you could say taken over the control room. But we haven�
�t found the president or any of his cabinet or anyone even vaguely in charge yet. Other than the secretary of education, but she ran away from us. Oddly.”
“Dabrowski!” The ambassador said it like a curse, his smooth cultured voice turning into something close to one of Ishii’s sputters. “What are you doing over there?”
Casmir wondered if Romano was comming from the bridge of the Osprey and if Ishii was standing next to him. He dared not get Ishii in trouble for looking the other way when Casmir, Kim, and Asger had left the ship.
“Taking initiative, sir.”
“Where’s President Chronis?” Romano snapped.
“We’re looking for him, among other people. It’s kind of a war zone over here. Oh, and about those pirates… An Admiral Chaos just commed and said he was going to take over the station in fifteen minutes if we don’t surrender.”
“We’re aware of what he plans to do.”
At first, Casmir assumed that meant the Kingdom had been listening in on the conversation, but he realized they wouldn’t have been surprised when he answered the comm if that were true. Romano must have already spoken to the pirates—it did seem likely that the warships would have chatted each other up when they all realized they were going to be sharing the same space—or…
Casmir rocked back on his heels. Was it possible Romano—or even Jager—had arranged for the pirates to show up? So they could threaten the station and the Kingdom could rescue the station?
“If you want the people here to be beholden to you,” Casmir said, “maybe you could drive off the pirates preemptively. Without that being contingent on deals. To show good faith.”
“Dabrowski,” Ishii said, sounding like he was standing right next to Romano, “that’s a big request. You may have noticed we’re outnumbered here. Can you find out if the station has any defenses?” He didn’t sound as surprised to be negotiating with Casmir instead of the station president.
“I’ll check.” Casmir looked around the panel, then started checking the networks for something that looked like external defense systems. “Can you—”
An alarm beeped.
“Incoming attack!” a computer announced.
“What?” Casmir blurted. “That was not fifteen minutes.”
He queried the network database for information on weapons and found the control panel on the far side of the room. This place was meant to be manned by multiple people. People who lived and worked here and were familiar with the controls.
As he raced over to turn on the station’s defenses, the first attack hit. Whatever it was struck close enough and hard enough to make the floor shake. Casmir slipped, tumbling shoulder first into the defenses station. The alarms shifted from beeping to wailing.
He lunged to his feet and quickly learned two things. The station had defenses—that contoured gray stuff that coated the exterior could energize and harden to repel simple attacks. And the defenses weren’t adequate to keep six pirate warships from blowing them to pieces.
21
Kim let Zee and Rache lead the way through the station, avoiding groups of people, though she had to pause and gawk when someone with two extra arms and head growth that looked more like tentacles than hair ran past. She had no idea if that represented genetic engineering or some post-birth modification.
Before leaving Odin, she’d never encountered anyone genetically modded in person. Meeting Qin had been a surprise, but it made sense to her that people would slice and dice DNA to create superior warriors. To create tentacle hair… Her rational mind struggled to find the purpose.
“The streets are a lot quieter now,” Rache murmured, pointing at one of the Aegis robots stationed in an intersection with two young women and a group of children sitting beside it. Safe, at least for now.
Even though Kim worried that Casmir would one day get himself into more trouble than he could handle by snubbing authority to help others, she was glad he cared enough to do so. Few people did, not to that extent. She liked helping people through her work, but she wouldn’t sacrifice her own life or career in order to aid some stranger. She just wished Casmir wasn’t quite so cavalier with his own future, that he would weigh his own self-interest against the risks of aiding others.
But if he did that, would he be here, helping her?
“We’re almost to the gym.” Rache pointed to a group of signs at the next intersection.
They were moving through corridors again, the sky replaced with the high ceilings of Level 6. Catwalks ran along those ceilings, and now and then, a set of curious eyes peered down at them from above.
The station shuddered, the faux pavement quaking underneath them, and Kim dropped into a low crouch, arms spread for balance.
“What was that?” She eyed the nearby structures and the catwalks as the shaking stilled.
“An attack,” Rache said, never stopping. If anything, he picked up his pace. “My people say one of the pirate ships has started lobbing shots at the station. I don’t know what its defenses are, but let’s hope someone is manning the control room and can get them up.”
“The Kingdom warships should stop it.”
Rache gave her a long look over his shoulder. “We’ll see.”
“Will your ship do anything? The Fedallah?”
“Against no fewer than six pirate ships? And with the Kingdom warships that loathe me like no other lurking in the background? No.”
“Not even to save you?”
“I won’t need saving,” he said firmly.
They turned onto a new street, and she glimpsed two men in gray combat armor standing outside glass double doors under a large sign that read Astrikos Health Spa and Gymnasium. Rache, Kim, and Zee veered into an alley. The gym was two blocks away, and Kim didn’t know if the men had spotted them. Zee stood out, but there was a large Aegis robot sitting in the middle of the street that would have impeded the view.
“We need a plan.” Rache stopped now that they were out of sight. “I can go charging in with Large and Hulking there—” he waved at Zee, “—but since those two men are armored, I’m sure more men inside are armored. I’m not opposed to facing numerous men at once—if you’re fast enough, you can usually get them caught in each other’s crossfire—but if there are unarmored civilians in an open space, it could turn into a bloodbath.”
“Casmir Dabrowski would use subterfuge rather than a forward assault,” Zee announced.
“That’s because he’d get his ass kicked in a forward assault,” Rache said.
“He would not. I would protect him. I am a Z-6000.”
“And you’re quite impressive.” Kim patted his arm, since she knew that was what Casmir would do, and also because she didn’t want her two allies to waste time arguing.
“Yes,” Zee agreed.
She was positive Rache rolled his eyes behind his mask.
“Let’s figure out a way I can help and we can avoid blood baths,” Kim said. “You brought me along to be a distraction, right?”
“I brought you along because I was afraid your mobile waiting would get you in trouble,” Rache said.
She gave him a cool look.
“And because I’m certain you can help,” he said, losing his sarcasm. “What do you suggest? Those two were wearing helmets, so your vials wouldn’t do anything, but it’s possible, even likely, that not all of the guards inside will be.”
“Would it help if I could get in, get the layout and how many guards there are, and send that information back out to you? Then you could decide whether to come in with guns blazing or try something else.”
Another jolt shook the station, and an alarm wailed in the distance. Maybe their plans wouldn’t matter. Maybe the people holding the hostages would flee the gym any second and try to get to the shuttle bay to escape the station. Except that the other side held the shuttle bay—or had. Who knew what the president’s Civil Security was doing now?
“Yes, but if you’re suggesting letting yourself be taken prisoner, they would search
you and remove your vials. If they wanted you for a prisoner at all. They’ve been selective about who they’ve taken.”
“I have an idea,” Kim said.
“Will I like it?”
“I think Casmir would approve.”
“Does that mean it’s harebrained and too creative for its own good?”
“I see you’ve worked with Casmir before.” Kim waved Zee closer. “I’ve seen you morph into other shapes. What all can you turn yourself into?”
“Anything of equal mass without sophisticated moving parts.”
“Have you ever seen a Trojan horse?”
Rache snorted.
Zee said, “I am not familiar with that reference.”
“How about a dog?” Kim considered his mass. “A large dog.”
“I am familiar with numerous breeds of dog, but I cannot change my color. Or grow fur.”
“No, I wasn’t expecting that. You’ll still look like a robot, and that’s fine. I just want them to think you’re more of a pet than an intelligent, thinking creation.”
“I understand.”
Zee morphed before their eyes, melting like a candle and then re-forming into a dog-shaped creature with four legs and a stout stubby tail. His head was level with Kim’s, and he had the stocky build of an ox, but he also had pointed canine ears and a semblance of a tongue that lolled out slightly. As promised, he was all the same shade of tarry black.
Kim smiled slightly, thinking he still needed a pink bow tie.
“What do you want me to turn into?” Rache asked dryly.
He was eyeing one of the catwalks that ran near the gym, so she suspected he already had ideas of his own.
“Just do what you do. I’ll send you video footage of the interior, and then I’ll get out of the way. Or at least duck down and hide behind Zee.”
Kim pulled out her vials and considered them. Assuming this worked, and the guards were willing to let her in, Rache was right that she would be searched. They would take her stunner. They might take everything. If she were a guard, she would find the vials suspicious.
“Zee, can you hold these?” She held them toward him.
Crossfire (Star Kingdom Book 4) Page 29
