The remaining team members shook their heads, looking at each other to see if there were any flies in the ointment they needed to fish out. After a few seconds it was apparent no one could think of anything else.
“Okay,” Molly chirped. “Let’s go download us a baby AI!”
She clapped her hands a few times signaling the end of the meeting, then turned and slumped down on the chair she had been kneeling on.
Okay, Oz. We need an appointment scheduling. Are you down?
I am. And I do believe our dear Bourne may even be happy helping with this.
Excellent. Let’s do it, and then ask Emma to have a pod ready for our journalist.
On it!
Chapter 13
50 meters out from the main Security Gate, Nefertiti Military Research Facility, Ogg
“I don’t see what the big deal is. Obviously they all know what a 4077 is. I don’t see why you can’t just tell us…”
Maya hopped down from the pod, carefully landing on her toes so as not to damage her ankles, or high heels, when she landed on the undulating grassy sand.
“Just focus on the mission,” Molly’s voice instructed her through her audio implant. “You don’t need to know anything about my discharge to do this mission.”
Maya wasn’t buying it.
Maybe she would ask Lugdon herself…
She tottered over to the edge of the asphalt and straightened herself up in time to turn and see the pod disappearing over the grassy desert before shooting back up into the stratosphere. Emma knew precisely where the edge of their weapons capabilities were.
Maya stamped the sand from her shoes and started walking towards the security gate. “You guys seeing this?” she uttered as loudly as she dared.
Joel responded. “Yep. We’ve got you. Three armed Estarians on the gate. One human in the hut. You’ll be fine.”
Maya simply smiled when she would rather have scoffed. It wasn’t his ass down here, risking itself for the good of the mission. Still, it was good to be out of the base and doing something exciting for a change.
The last truly exciting mission seemed a long distant memory now.
As she approached the gate the closest Estarian guard ambled over to the bars. “You have business here?”
“I do,” she declared confidently. She pulled her old i.d. from her pocket and held it up to the gun toting Estarian. “I’m Maya Johnstone from Newstainment Media. I have an appointment to interview Captain Lugdon.”
A bright smile radiated from her face. The guard couldn’t help but smile back. He caught himself, and buried his eyes in his holo, his weapons still suspended in his arms across his chest.
Maya glanced around, trying to look calm and nonplussed.
“Okay,” he said looking up from his holo. “You’re cleared to go. Your escort will be here in a moment.”
“Thank you,” Maya beamed as the gate in front of her started to open up. She stepped inside and stood over near the hut in the shade where the Estarian guard had pointed to.
After a few minutes a buggy rolled up, carrying an Ogg of rather small stature.
“Maya Johnstone?” he called out to her as he brought the buggy to a stop.
Maya waved and strode towards him, now holding her hand out to shake his.
He ignored her outstretched hand, and didn’t even dismount from the buggy. “Hop in,” he said, jerking his head to the back of the cart. Maya walked around and seeing the bench seat on the back, hauled herself up using the hand rail and plonked herself down. She grappled in her mind for something to say, to break the ice, but came up with nothing. She needn’t have worried. Without a second to spare, the cart pulled away again, driving them back into the base.
She swiveled to see if she could wave good-bye to the guards, but none were making eye contact. “So much for being invisible,” she thought to herself as she regained her balance and straightened up in the seat.
The buggy’s speed quickly increased until they were going at quite a pace through the base. They passed buildings that looked purely functional, each one similar to the last. These were offices and aircraft hangers, she realized.
The residential areas must be elsewhere.
She kept her wits about her, logging as much intel as she possibly could. Discretely, she patted the pocket of her tunic, reassuring herself that the data hub she had brought on base was still there.
Eventually the buggy slowed to a stop in the parking lot of a particularly grey and mundane looking building. The Ogg dismounted and came around the back of the cart to speak with her. “You’re here. Just head into the reception area and give your name. Someone will be out to collect you soon.” He nodded at the double door entrance to the building.
Maya thanked him and stepped carefully down from the cart. She walked away, glancing back again. The Ogg was already back in the driving seat and nodded once at her before pulling the cart away again.
Maya arrived at the doors and heaved one open. It was on a heavy spring and it took almost all of her effort to get through it.
She approached the desk and gave her name to a very bored-looking Estarian female wearing a full military uniform like she’d seen in pictures of military personnel for the Estarian Guard. Maya looked around the sparse, functional waiting room of two chairs and a notice board as she awaited her next escort.
She didn’t have to wait long before she heard footsteps approaching down the corridor.
“Maya Johnstone?” a human voice called out.
Maya spun round to see Captain Lugdon standing in the waiting room, holding the door open. She jumped to her feet. “That’s me! You must be—”
She held out her hand. Lugdon took it. “Captain Lugdon,” he told her, finishing her sentence before she could. He shook her hand warmly and smiled. For a second Maya felt like he was flirting with her.
She put the thought aside, focusing her attention on the mission.
“Shall we?” Lugdon asked, releasing her hand and ushering her through the door. Maya complied and walked into the corridor. Lugdon led the way through the winding corridors.
“So what made you want to do a profile piece on me?” he asked.
Maya had expected this question. “Well, I was always curious about what our good people in the Estarian military do out here… so I’ve been waiting for an opportunity. And then I came across your award listing a few months back, for the work you’ve done in establishing more productive shift patterns for your teams, and I logged your name. It wasn’t until this week when my supervisor said he wanted a profile piece on someone fascinating that I had the opportunity to pitch him on you. He agreed and I called and set up the appointment. I’m so glad you could see me on such short notice.”
Lugdon glowed, even though he tried to keep his face straight. Maya could tell she was affecting his ego. “Well, I’m glad it all worked out,” he said affably. “We’ll just head to my office and you can interview me there if you like. And then afterwards, if you have time, I can show you some of the base.”
“Oooh, I’d like that!” Maya exclaimed, secretly hoping that the opportunity to escape might present itself before that happened.
Lugdon showed her into his office. “May I have someone bring you a tea? Mocha?”
Maya shook her head. “No, thank you. That’s very kind though.”
“Not at all,” he said, walking around to sit at his desk. “Please,” he said, indicating where Maya could take a seat across the desk from him.
Maya sat down and opened her holo. She looked at her questions, and then at Lugdon. She paused, then looked around the office, taking in the almost-empty bookcase containing a handful of actual paper books. She let her eyes rest there as a starting. “Tell me,” she said slowly, controlling the pace of the conversation. “Why would a young man like you have physical paper books?”
She leaned forward, her elbow resting on her knee, and met his eyes seductively.
She waited patiently, allowing the conversation to run its course and finally he got up from his chair. He inspected the books, looking for a particular one he thought she might appreciate. With his back mostly turned to her Maya saw her chance. She carefully slipped her hand into her pocket and activated the data hub.
“Okay. We’re live,” she heard Joel say through her implant. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Lugdon turned around, book in hand. “I hope I’m not boring you, Ms. Johnstone,” Lugdon jested.
“Absolutely not,” she smiled, getting up to look at the book with him.
On the Nefertiti Military Base, EtherTrak
Meanwhile, it was action stations in the EtherTrak.
Pieter saw the data gauge on the hub active. “Okay, it’s happening,” he called out to Molly, sitting a couple of seats over in the lounge.
“Good,” she called back.
Oz, how’s it going out there?
He’s dropped the firewall without any effort. In the process of uploading. Should be done in a few minutes.
The two waited in silence as the clock kept ticking.
Shit!
What’s happening?
Pieter called over again. “Security breach on site. They’re in red alert!”
What’s caused it? Was that us?
Yes, it was us. It looks like Bourne tripped out a processing switch by doing too much in one go.
What happened to him being able to leave the base ‘without a trace’?”
Clearly that was overly optimistic.
Can we shut the alarm off?
Working on it. But Bourne is going to have to slow down to stay under the threshold.
Can you talk to him?
Already done. He’s dialing it down.
And the alarm.
One second… it’s off now.
Thank the ancestors. Now what about Maya?
Probably time she started making her way out.
Paige appeared in the doorway between the lounge and the cockpit, her face drawn with worry. She looked over at Pieter and then at Molly. “What’s going on?”
Nefertiti Military Research Facility, Ogg
“Let’s start at the cafeteria and we can grab a quick bite if you like,” Lugdon said as he held his office door open. Maya stepped out into the corridor ahead of him. She flashed him a smile as she walked past. “Sounds great!”
Just then an almighty alarm went off in the corridor. The sound was deafening, and a bright white strobe light and flashing red emergency lights went off in a cacophony of distress.
“What’s that mean?” she shouted, covering her ears with her hands.
Lugdon put his fingers in his ears and looked at her as if they were under fire. “Cyber alert,” he mouthed to her.
Maya frowned, looking as confused as she could.
He started ushering her back into the office and suddenly the alarm stopped. He relaxed. Maya did the same. “Wow, that was… bracing!” she exclaimed. But she saw that Lugdon had a serious look on his face. He glanced up and down the corridor as if watching for insurgents.
Maya did the same. Waiting. “You think something is wrong?” she asked.
Lugdon shook his head. “No. No. I’m sure everything is just fine.” He closed his office door again and started walking Maya down the corridor.
“False alarm then?” She asked.
He nodded. “Probably…”
Maya felt awkward. “Hey look, I’m sure it’s probably nothing, but I’d hate to get you into trouble when you might be needed.”
She stopped walking and looked up at him. “How about we put a pin in the tour… and maybe do it another time when you’re not so busy?”
Lugdon still looked distracted. He started nodding his head as he scanned the corridors. “Sure. Yes. That sounds like a good idea,” he agreed, putting his hand on her back to guide her down the corridor and back to the front doors.
Maya allowed herself to be steered, and kept quiet while leaving Lugdon with his own thoughts about the alarm.
“You should start moving now,” Pieter hissed into her implant.
Maya didn’t reply. She hoped that they would understand from the cameras on her contact lenses that she was heading out.
“Okay, I see you’re on the way,” Pieter confirmed. “Bourne will be uploaded in five… four… three…”
Maya kept walking, hardly daring to breathe. Her footsteps echo out of synch with Lugdon’s, and at odds with Pieter’s count down.
She turned to Lugdon as they approached the foyer. “Thank you very much for your time, Captain.” She held out her hand again for him.
He shook it, his eyes looking through her and at the door beyond the foyer. “Thank you for coming in,” he told her. “Do let me know if there is anything else I can help with.”
Maya smiled, but he wasn’t paying attention anymore. “I certainly will. Good luck with everything,” she added. They shook hands and Maya left, carefully picking up her feet so as not to trip as she made her way out onto the stone slabs outside.
* * *
Lugdon headed back to office on autopilot. Still distracted by the alarm going off and then shutting down, he pulled up a holo screen at his desk. He rummaged for the security report, found it and pulled up the details.
Alarm tripped. Cyber security breach.
He frowned. This didn’t settle his concerns at all.
He connected a call with the AI lab.
“Sue? Is that you? What’s going on down there?”
Sue’s voice came through to his own audio implant. “Nothing… anymore. It all seemed to have settled down again,” Sue reported back to him. “Probably just a sensor.”
“It said it was a cyber breach,” he added.
There was a pause on the line.
“Sue?” Lugdon said.
Sue’s voice rang through the connection. “Ohhhhhh shit!” Her voice was serious.
“What?” he asked impatiently. “What is it?”
Sue’s voice was hesitant. “I’m just pulling up the detailed report on the cyber alarm. It looks like it was tripped by the new bandwidth protocol.”
“And?” he asked, not seeing the relevance.
Sue started talking quickly. “Well, it seems that there was a spike in processing power, tripping the alarm, but then it dropped, the alarm was canceled and then…” Her voice trailed off at a mutter.
“And then, what?” he asked again.
“Well,” she explained, “it looks like the transfer of data out of the EtherTrak continued… but just underneath the threshold.”
There was a pause on the line.
Sue was muttering to herself again. “It’s almost as if there is a data transfer still happening.”
Lugdon’s mouth dropped open.
He immediately closed the call and nearly fell over scrambling for the door. He practically ran down the corridor back to the foyer where he had left Maya.
“Captain? Captain?” Sue called over the now closed connection. “Charming,” she said going back to her work, muttering about the way these people treated her.
Lugdon practically flew down the corridors back to the foyer.
“Where did she go?” he demanded of the receptionist, his eyes searching everywhere. The receptionist, too bewildered to respond vocally, pointed at the door.
Lugdon was outside in an instant, looking frantically around the parking lot. He ran out and stopped in the middle of the road, looking it up and down, searching for the mysterious journalist whose visit had coincided with a massive download.
She was guilty. Of that he was sure.
But there was no one around. No buggy, no cars, no vehicles she could have taken. And no girl in high heels trotting down the road.
> She was gone.
He’d been had, was his next thought, and the only question now was what to do about it.
He pulled up his holo to call the main gate as he ran back into the building.
* * *
Maya sat back in the pod, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thanks Emma. I had no idea how I was going to navigate back to the front gate. Especially not in these heels!”
“I had considered that your footwear was probably inappropriate for moving fast,” Emma replied over the pod intercom.
“Yes, but totally appropriate to the mission.” Maya responded. “Maybe.”
She peered out of the pod window, watching the light outside turn into space as Emma jettisoned them up and beyond the stratosphere.
She replayed the moment again, remembering the excitement that had bubbled up in her as Emma guided her behind the building, how she had stomped up into the pod just in time for Emma to lift them up from the ground, the door still closing, so they were well above eye height by the time Lugdon had made it outside.
And once they were out of his view, Emma had carefully plotted a course through the blind spot around the side of the base in order for them to escape in their tiny pod, undetected by the base weapon system.
Maya sighed. “Great job Emma, really great job.”
“You’re welcome Maya,” Emma responded. “I was glad to be of assistance.”
“You know, next time I might rethink the high heels,” Maya mused as Emma whisked them back off towards The Empress. “I wonder what Molly does…”
AI Lab, Nefertiti Military Research Facility, Ogg
Lugdon blustered into the lab, his voice reverberating from the walls. “Have Bob, or whatever he calls himself, track that woman who was just in my office with me!”
Sue spun around as Lugdon approached. “You mean Bourne?”
“Yes,” Lugdon confirmed, disinterested in the name correction. “She must have gone somewhere and there isn’t a place on this base that isn’t covered with cameras.”
Sue glanced anxiously about the lab. “Charles just popped out,” she said.
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 165