by Jake Bible
“A friend?” Osol asked with obvious sarcasm.
“Colleague that I know when to trust and when not to,” Sno said with a shrug. “I have no reason not to trust him now.”
“Pol Hammon? What is this tech he created?” Osol asked.
“I do not know,” Sno replied.
“Sno…”
“I don’t,” Sno insisted. “My job does not require knowing that information. My job requires safe delivery of Pol Hammon to the Galactic Fleet main headquarters. Pure and simple.”
“Hardly simple,” Osol grumbled.
“True,” Sno said. “It has been mostly painful so far. But Pol still lives and I still have a mission to complete. Which makes our travel to Bgreete a problem. That will add several days onto the trip and poses a serious security threat.”
“Because of the energy vortex the Bgreete System’s suns create,” Osol said, rubbing at his face. “I know. But the captain will not deviate from the new destination.”
“And the guests have no problem with this?” Sno asked.
Osol leaned forward, frowning. “Surprisingly, no. These are a class of people that do not enjoy surprises nor do they enjoy changes of plans. But I haven’t heard a single complaint from those that have become aware of our changed destination.”
“I overheard a guest at the Captain’s Table sound almost excited to get to Bgreete,” Sno said. “Which is odd considering Bgreete is nothing special.”
“Other than the energy vortex.”
“Yes, other than that. Would the captain intentionally take us to Bgreete to trap the ship in the vortex?”
“That would put everyone at risk, including himself,” Osol replied. “Captain Loch is many things, but brave is not one of them.”
“Yes, I did not get the heroic vibe off the man,” Sno said with a smirk. “I do get the self-serving, profit-off-others vibe, though.”
“That is Loch in a nutshell,” Osol said. “Which means there is something waiting for us in the Bgreete System.”
“We need to find out what,” Sno said. A thought hit Sno. “J’gorla. When did she die? You were on the comm with her when I was in my room with Velly.”
“No, I was on the comm with Ested and put the android in touch with Pol via the comm,” Osol said. “I never spoke to J’gorla directly. She was indisposed. Which only added to my irritation.”
“Holo of J’gorla’s office?” Sno asked.
“Wiped.”
“Not easy to do. Unless you’re an android.”
“Or Head of Security,” Osol added. “I can wipe any holos I want, but my ID would leave a trail a mile wide.”
“J’gorla found something out,” Sno said. “And Ested killed her for it. We need to see that holo. We need to see if there was a confrontation between the two and if possibly J’gorla, or Ested, revealed any pertinent intel.”
“Good luck with that,” Osol said. “I’ve had techs working on it, but the holo is gone.”
“The recorder was damaged?”
“No, I had that checked. Perfect working order.”
“Then the holo is not gone. It can be recovered.”
Sno stood up and walked to Pol’s doors. He knocked loudly.
“Pol? Time to get to work,” Sno said. There was no answer. “Pol? Wake up, old man, you’re needed.”
Still no answer. Sno brought up his holo and the protocol showed Pol securely in his room. Sno tried the doors, but they were locked. He stepped aside and glanced at Osol.
Osol stood and crossed to the doors. He popped open a panel on the wall and presented his wrist to a hidden scanner. The light under the scanner flashed green then flashed red. Osol frowned and tried again. Same result.
“Someone doesn’t want to be disturbed,” Osol said.
“Dammit,” Sno said. “That little SOB better be in there. If I find out he’s hacked my tracker and he’s left this stateroom, then I swear I might kill him myself.”
“We’ll have to take the doors off,” Osol said and activated his comm. “I need an extraction bot on me now.”
“This trip could have been a breeze,” Sno said, looking about the stateroom. “It could have been nice.”
“You’re from this class, Sno,” Osol said when he was done with his comm call. “Is there anything nice or breezy when these people are involved?”
“Far from it,” Sno said and moved to the wet bar. “Drink while we wait?”
“Might as well,” Osol said with a sigh.
25.
It took the extraction bot more than an hour to remove the doors to Pol’s room. No matter how much Osol yelled at the bot to simply tear the doors out of their tracks, the bot continued in a slow, methodical manner, all the while apologizing. The bot’s directives prevented it from destroying ship property and even Osol’s security overrides didn’t work against the very basics of its programming.
Sno wavered back and forth between intense frustration and ironic amusement as the bot worked at the doors while Osol spat a string of profanities at the slow machine. Then the doors were off their tracks and the room was wide open. Both the amusement and frustration were gone in an instant and Sno sprinted past the bot and the still fuming Osol, and into Pol’s room.
The old tech sat upright in his bed, his back resting against a mound of pillows. His eyes were closed and chest was moving up and down in a slow, constant rhythm. Sno rushed to the old man’s side and checked his pulse. Strong, even.
“Pol? Wake up,” Sno ordered.
The old man sat perfectly still other than the rising of his chest.
“Pol!” Sno shouted. “Wake up!”
The old man did not wake up. He didn’t even twitch as Sno shouted in his ear.
“What’s wrong with him?” Osol asked.
“Call a medic,” Sno said.
He lifted one of Pol’s eyelids and saw nothing but white. Sno brought up a holo and swiped through a short menu before finding the simple protocol he needed. He waved his wrist up and down and back and forth across Pol’s body.
“Son of a bitch,” Sno said. “He’s connected.”
“Connected? To what?” Osol asked. Osol brought up his own holo and studied it. “Not to the ship’s mainframe. I’d see that connection here.”
“He’s piloting,” Velly said from the doorway.
She was leaning against the frame, ignoring the extraction bot’s protestations for her to move so it could repair the tracks it damaged getting the doors off. She’d received her new clothes and had opted for her usual flight suit. Velly sneered at Sno then returned her attention to Pol.
“Yep. He’s piloting,” she said.
“Piloting?” Sno asked. “Piloting what? And how do you know?”
“Been in that technotrance many times in my career,” Velly said. “Remote piloting. Sometimes I’m hired to go into environments that even my ship cannot protect me from. I get as close as possible then remotely pilot my ship from there.”
“Pol is not a pilot,” Sno said. “I know that for certain.”
“Ships are not the only machines that can be piloted,” Velly said.
“Can he be disconnected?” Sno asked.
“Not from here. Not unless you want to kill him,” Velly said. “The connection can be severed from the other side. It’s a failsafe protocol in case the piloted machine is destroyed. Keeps the remote pilot from having their brain annihilated.”
“He did this to himself,” Osol said. “He has a reason.”
“What is that reason?” Sno asked. He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “This mission has been out of control since we arrived. I can’t get a handle on it.”
“Sometimes even Agent Prime gets confused,” Velly said, amused. “Welcome to how the rest of us feel.”
“I don’t need your shit,” Sno said and pointed at Velly. “What I need is your help. How do we trace this connection? How do we find out which machine he is piloting?”
Velly glared.
&nb
sp; “Sorry,” Sno said. “I am. How do we find out which machine he is piloting?”
“You don’t,” Velly stated. “Not unless you want to jack directly into his mind.”
“I do not want to, but we have to,” Sno said.
“Then you’re gonna need a medic,” Velly said. “And a pilot that’s been through trances like this. You have one of those two.”
Velly pushed away from the frame and stood with her hands on her hips.
“Got a medic you trust?” she asked Osol.
“I do,” Osol said. “I’ll call her now.”
Osol stepped out of the room. Velly stepped fully in and walked to Sno’s side, her eyes on Pol.
“This takes prep,” she said. “Even for a tech like Pol, remote piloting anything takes prep.”
“I do not doubt it,” Sno said. “I’ve had this feeling that I have only seen a glimpse of the entire picture ever since I met the man. I chalked it up to the SSD and Fleet Intelligence playing the need to know card. But this here, this trance, is more than that. That is what you’re saying, yes? That Pol has possibly been playing us all from the beginning.”
“He’s Pol Hammon,” Velly said and shrugged. “The greatest manipulator in the galaxy.”
“I doubt he’s the greatest,” Sno said.
“Have you met a man named Roak?” Velly asked.
“I know of his reputation, of course,” Sno said. “But I have never met the bounty hunter.”
“Roak was hired to rescue Pol from Razer Station,” Velly said. “Or that is the rumor. The station ended up being destroyed and Roak was left empty-handed when Pol disappeared on him.”
“From what I know of the man’s reputation, he is not one to anger that way,” Sno said. “I hear even the syndicates are afraid of Roak.”
“Yet Pol played him and everyone else,” Velly said.
“According to the rumor,” Sno said. “I doubt reality lines up so perfectly.”
“I don’t know,” Velly said, gesturing to Pol’s still form. “Look at him. To do this, he’d have to know he would be protected. I could stab him right now and he wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it.”
Sno snapped a harsh look at Velly. She sighed.
“I’m not going to stab him,” she said. “I’m saying that Pol knew he’d have you looking after him. He knew security would be good enough that he could take a risk and remote pilot…something.”
“That is quite a risk,” Sno said. “Relying on only me.”
“Except he isn’t relying on only you, friend, is he?” Velly asked. “There are more than a dozen guards assigned to keep this stateroom safe. That beats hiding in a dank cave to stay safe, which I’ve done before. Look at the guy. He’s not exactly suffering.”
“He saw his chance and took it,” Sno said.
“He did.”
“Medic will be here shortly,” Osol said.
“You trust him?” Sno asked.
“Her. I trust Zan with my own life,” Osol said.
“Zan?” Sno asked with a smile. “She helped me when I was attacked by the Tcherians. Very competent medic. Attractive, too.”
“Good for Zan,” Velly said. “How soon will she be here?”
“Seconds,” Osol said. “I had her standing by just in case anyway. Dealing with this wasn’t what I had in mind, but she’ll handle it fine.”
“With my help,” Velly said.
“I hope so,” Osol replied.
“Good,” Sno said. “As soon as Zan arrives, you and I are going to find the other end of this tether.”
“You’re leaving me here with Pol alone?” Velly asked.
“Not alone,” Sno said. “You’ll have Zan here, a dozen security guards, and V.”
“She is still snoring on the couch,” Velly said.
“I’ll wake her up,” Sno said. “She’ll stay out of your way, but be close enough to keep an eye on everything.”
“You really trust her that much?” Velly asked. “Are you sure?”
“Not up for debate,” Sno said.
There was a commotion in the foyer and Zan appeared, flanked by two guards. Osol waved them off and waved Zan in.
“Zan Woqua meet Velly Tarcorf. You two are going to get inside Pol’s head and figure out what is going on from this end,” Osol said.
“While we hunt for the other end and ensure Pol is not making an already out of hand situation worse,” Sno said.
“I’m telling you he has this all planned out,” Velly insisted.
“We’ll see,” Sno said. “Osol? I’m going to need a pistol.”
“I can make that happen,” Osol said then faced Zan who was looking perplexed. “Listen to Velly, but remember that your primary job is to keep Pol alive and safe.”
“I’m a medic, Osol,” Zan said. “My job is to keep everyone alive. Safe, however, is your job. And you’re leaving?”
“Alright. I like her,” Velly said.
“Get in that man’s head,” Osol said to Zan.
“Comm us if you need to,” Sno said. “But be vague when we speak. No doubt the comms system is monitored by Captain Loch.”
“Guaranteed,” Osol said. “Let’s get geared up.”
“I need to wake V first,” Sno said as he left Pol’s room and marched over to the couch where Veben was still passed out.
He watched her for a moment then went into her room and searched her bags. He found what he needed and returned to Veben’s side.
“Sorry, love,” he said as he stabbed the injector into the side of her neck. “Has to be done.”
Veben came awake with a scream and flailing arms. Sno jumped out of striking distance as Veben lurched up from the couch, eyes wide and confused.
“Good. You’re awake,” Sno said when Veben was able to focus on him. “Got a job for you, V. Can we pretend water is under the bridge for a bit until all of this over?”
“You know I can’t refuse you, love,” Veben said, her voice a harsh croak. “But we will have words at some point.”
“Of course,” Sno said and explained everything she had missed.
26.
“I’m sorry, you want to go where first?” Osol asked as the lift descended at express speed, ignoring calls from the many decks they passed. Osol overrode the controls to get them to their destination as fast as possible. “Why?”
“Because I need to check something,” Sno said. “I have a hunch.”
“Oh, great, a hunch,” Osol said. “It all makes sense now.”
“Bear with me,” Sno said.
The lift stopped and the doors opened to a pair of guards waiting next to a roller.
“Get in,” Osol said to Sno. “You two, get back to the search of the ship. If you see any bots acting strangely, report it to me personally. Do not report it to maintenance or any curious techs. To me only.”
The two agreed and saluted as Osol drove the roller away from the lift and down the corridor.
“See, that’s what is bothering me,” Sno said as they took several turns before racing down a straightaway to another lift. “Pol is a good enough tech that he shouldn’t have to take over a bot for it to do what he wants.”
“Velly is probably a good enough pilot that she could use a tablet to run a ship,” Osol said. “But she says she’s used remote piloting before.”
“Exactly,” Sno said. “She needed perfect control of her ship as if she was in the cockpit. By tethering mentally with the controls, the ship reacted to her piloting as if she was handling the controls like normal. A tablet interface will not give you that kind of precision. There is always a small lag. A lag that could end up destroying her ship.”
“You think Pol is piloting a ship?” Osol said. “How? Where? I thought we were hunting for a bot.”
“No, I don’t think he’s piloting a ship,” Sno said. “I think he is piloting something else. Something that he needs to merge with so he has perfect control.”
They entered the lift and Osol leaned back
in the roller’s seat.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, Sno,” Osol said. “I’m exhausted and don’t have the energy to play guessing games.”
“Be patient,” Sno said when the lift stopped and the drab corridor of bureaucracy appeared. “Let me check one thing first before I explain. If I’m wrong, then I’m wrong.”
Osol sighed and drove the roller down the corridor, stopping before Investigator J’gorla’s office. Two guards stood outside and nodded at Osol.
“Has anyone been in here?” Osol asked.
The two guards both looked alarmed.
“No, sir,” one said. “You said no one was to enter. We’ve kept the office secure the entire time.”
“Good,” Sno said.
“Thank you,” Osol said and let him and Sno inside the office.
The place was a mess. Furniture was broken and there were holes in the walls. Fist-sized holes. Sno studied the destruction then looked at J’gorla’s office door, which was a bent and broken hunk of metal alloy and faux wood paneling.
“Is the body still in there?” Sno asked.
“Suspended animation bubble,” Osol said. “Frozen to the moment she was discovered. I needed the scene to be preserved so I can study it later once we’re done with our other mess.”
“Undo the suspension,” Sno said, walking into the office. J’gorla’s huge body was hovering half a meter off the ground, surrounded in a brilliant blue bubble of energy. “I have to check something.”
Osol brought up his wrist interface and ended the suspension protocol. J’gorla’s body was slowly lowered to the floor before the bubble fizzled out and disappeared.
“Thank you,” Sno said as he crouched next to the body. “She was found here?”
“Yes,” Osol answered.
Sno looked about the office and frowned.
“Not as destroyed in here,” Sno said. “Barely looks like there was even a struggle.”
“They must have fought out in the entry area,” Osol said. “Either Ested followed J’gorla in here to hand her the killing blow or J’gorla was mortally wounded and made her way in here on her own.”
