by M. D. Cooper
He turned and spared his brother an amused glance.
Ever the taciturn one, Logan just sat there, and blinked.
“En route to the Vale. Shots fired, but he’s evading.” Logan’s words were clipped. “Tobias is headed his way in case he needs an assist. Terrance and Kodi are in transit as well.”
Jason was her human, the one she’d bonded to as a kit, and the cat was not taking the news of his pursuit well.
“Can’t let you do that. You know this system has no uplifted animals. They would tranq you on sight the moment you stepped off the ship,” Landon reminded her quietly. “Trust Tobias to help, if he needs it. And we both know he won’t.”
Tobi bared her teeth at him once and thumped her tail hard onto the sole of the deck in agitation, but then subsided.
“Okay, then.” Landon shifted gears. “What do we know about station command structure? Let’s send this through official channels while we work up our own solution. How do we lodge a complaint and begin the process of extracting her from Barat’s clutches?”
The profiler sent his assent, and Landon felt the anxious knot inside him ease the smallest bit at the thought of the three AIs and the havoc they were capable of, should the situation call for it.
First, his brother was one of the finest warriors he knew. Then there was Tobias; the Weapon Born’s prowess was legendary. As for Charley, his heritage had yet to be truly tested, but as the scion of a Weapon Born and a multi-nodal AI, the Tau Ceti native was truly formidable. Combined, Landon would pit those three against all comers. If anyone could find a way to get Calista back, it would be them.
Losing a team member was Landon’s biggest fear, his one weakness. It had happened to him before—and it had, quite literally, killed him.
He quashed the urge to begin prowling the ship to assure himself that the Avon Vale’s offensive and defensive systems were running at peak efficiency. It was unnecessary; he knew they were.
For, unknown to their hosts, the Vale was a commercial vessel with teeth; a predator, lying placidly in its berth, playing at being a lamb.
TRADE RELATIONS
STELLAR DATE: 03.08.3272 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Godel Trade Commission
REGION: Phaethon Duty Station, Little River
30 minutes earlier…
Deb Weir glanced up from the holosheet Terrance Enfield had handed her and gave him a pleased smile. Enfield had requested a meeting with Godel’s Trade Commission when his ship had entered Little River’s heliopause, and she had accepted with alacrity once she’d heard his initial overture.
He returned her look with a smile of his own as he leant back, leg crossed and ankle resting on the knee of his other leg. She set the holosheet down carefully, smoothing it and giving it a little pat as her smile turned into a dimpled grin.
“I think I can say with a high degree of confidence that Enfield Holdings will be welcome on Godel,” she began, but paused politely as she saw his expression take on a distant stare—sure indication he was being contacted by someone.
The man’s gaze refocused briefly on hers and he shot her a grimace of apology, which she waved away.
She snagged it and rose to afford him a bit of privacy while she went to fulfill the errand. She was more than a bit excited about the new technologies Enfield Holdings would bring to Little River, pleased that Terrance had agreed to open a branch of the company on Godel.
Stars, true stasis! Not cryogenic, but honest-to-stars cessation of atomic movement. Deb’s mind boggled at the thought, and she considered once again the impact this kind of advancement might have on the star system.
The potential it had to save lives, by giving medical personnel the time they needed to respond. Transportation benefits, as proven by those on the Avon Vale, who’d made use of it themselves en route to Godel.
And the impact on industry! To be able to deliver foods as fresh as the day they were harvested…. With her back to her two guests, Deb indulged in a wide grin as she envisioned all the possibilities.
“Stars!”
Terrance’s exclamation caused her hand to jerk in surprise, and she blew out a short breath of annoyance as she reached for a napkin to mop up the coffee she had just spilled. Turning, she retraced her steps, one brow raised in query as she set Terrance’s coffee before him.
The expression on his face caused her to check her own feed. She’d placed a ‘do not disturb’ suppression on her Link for this meeting. Releasing it, she caught her breath as data flooded in with reports of the skirmish in the bazaar moments ago.
Stars, I’m such a fool!
Deb had seen Barat make this kind of move before, but in the past, the few times the Humans’ Republic had made such a play, it had always been against a political or business target visiting from Godel. Why had it not occurred to her that they might consider a visitor from outside Little River just as high-value?
She shot a terse message to the duty station’s security chief, instructing him to make the recovery of the Avon Vale’s captain his top priority. Her stomach knotted as she turned to face her guest.
“Mister Enfield, Kodi. I am so sorry. We’ll do everything in our power to help recover your captain,” she began, but was interrupted by a hand from Terrance as he leapt to his feet, uttered a hasty apology, turned on his heel, and exited the Trade Commission.
* * * * *
Sergei was stationed toward the front of the maglev car alongside his fellow Citizen soldiers, his weapon trained outward. He stood with one hand wrapped around a support pole, legs braced to offset the sway of the car as it curved inward toward the station’s center and the Barat compound. He grimaced as he mentally replayed the escape of target number two.
Citizen Lieutenant Maritz was not pleased with the loss of their second bargaining chip, and he suspected he was on her shit list right now because of it.
As if his thoughts had conjured her, the Citizen Lieutenant’s voice cut in sharply over his implant.
Reluctantly, he turned and began to trot past the citizen soldiers lining each side, weapons trained outward.
For all the good those weapons will do, he thought sardonically. We’re traveling so fast, we’ll be well past anyone who decides to take a shot at us, with no way to return fire.
He skirted the occasional soldier’s pack littering the center aisle, and ducked under a protruding elbow, bent back to accommodate the length of a pulse rifle held by a greenie.
He shook his head mentally at that one. Overcompensating, are we?
He reached the back of the car where the mag-cuffed woman was being held. Maritz nodded toward the prisoner as he ground to a halt.
He waved toward the seats set against the far side of the maglev car. Motioning for the two soldiers flanking
the woman to relocate her, he took one of the seats and rifled through his kit, while they forced her into the one facing him.
He could scan her with his own internal mods, but Sergei opted to use the more powerful external unit connected to his implant. Flipping it open with one hand, he trained the unit on the woman in front of him who was busy staring stonily out into space just past his left ear.
As the unit moved up her body, it revealed pilots’ mods, typical of those found in any space navy. Carbon nanotube reinforcements were woven into bone and lay dormant in vital organs, filaments awaiting the command to weave their protective reinforcement throughout soft tissue. The unit reached her head, and it identified high-caliber, military-grade optical implants.
But then….
Elitist trash.
He could see by the folds in her brain that she was one of the privileged, her augmentation determined before she’d even been born. Data matrices, the likes of which the common citizen would never see, and which those born of a lesser caste could never hope to afford. These were interleaved throughout the gyri and sulci—the complex peaks and valleys—that were uniquely hers.
Every Republican child had learned of Sol’s shameful past—the Era of the Haves and the Have Nots, when only the wealthy had access to implants. In the Humans’ Republic, every child was chipped at birth; that chip was then traded for an implant upon neural maturity.
It was a guarantee given every citizen of Barat, and the Republic’s preeminent tenet of ‘equality for all humanity’ one of the first things taught in school.
He snapped his unit shut and rose, nodding to indicate to the two soldiers guarding her that he was done. As he stepped away to report his findings to the citizen lieutenant, he caught the target’s condemning stare.
How dare she.
* * * * *
The station map on the Avon Vale’s bridge holo updated as Noa zoomed in. He dropped an icon to highlight a location, and then turned to address Landon.
“It looks like their destination is here, the Republican Central Compound. From what I can tell,” Noa cautioned, “their headquarters is shielded, and we will most likely lose the signal once she’s inside.”
“But we should pick her up again if she’s moved?”
Noa hesitated. “So long as she’s not hit with an EMP that would kill all her trackers,” he qualified, “then yes.”
Landon nodded his understanding. “Then we’ll just have to make sure we don’t give them time to relocate her before we can get her back.”
He turned toward Hailey as he reached out to manipulate the smaller holodisplay from the Enfield woman’s feed. Highlighting the notification about Calista’s kidnapping, he asked, “Where did this information on Barat detaining the captain originate from, Hailey? Did you hear it first from Terrance?”
Hailey shook her head. “No, sir, it came from the Barat Precinct House. The system sent an automated notice that the captain had been detained without bail on three counts of robbery and suspected corporate espionage,” she added, her mouth grimacing in distaste. “According to Barat, they have witnesses that corroborate the accusation, and the merchants from whom she allegedly stole the merchandise have filed affidavits against her.”
Shannon’s avatar sprang into view again. “That is a crock of shit and you know it, Landon! Calista would never steal anything, she’s a former Space Force top gun, for star’s sake!”
Landon raised his hands in an effort to calm the AI embedded with the Vale. “We all know that, Shannon. But we need to gather every bit of information we have. It’s possible that in their attempt to frame the captain, they may have made an error we can exploit. In the meantime, can you touch base with Khela and see what you can do to help her get the Marines ready for insertion, in case we need to make a quick snatch-and-grab?”
As he’d hoped, the mention of possible action that could be taken to retrieve her friend had Shannon responding with alacrity, and once more, her avatar winked out, leaving Landon to the task of sussing out the best way to recover his missing teammate.
* * * * *
Terrance breathed a sigh of relief as they approached the Vale and he saw Jason weaving adroitly through the crowd, closing fast on the umbilical that led to the ship’s cargo bay. Tobias’s humanoid frame was standing guard at the entrance; next to him was a petite, raven-haired woman, a younger version of Noa Sakai.
She shot him a sharp-eyed, measuring glance, assuring herself he had come to no harm, before her gaze returned to scanning their environs. One hand rested by her thigh, ready to draw her laser-dagger at the first sign of danger to him.
He knew better than to restrict Khela’s motion when she was working, so he made no move to touch her. Instead, he clapped Jason on the shoulder as the Proxan silently transitioned into the ship. By unspoken agreement, both the Marine and the Weapon Born brought up the rear.
As they entered the bridge, Logan spoke, indicating the holotank in the bridge’s fore section.
“While you were in transit, I talked with the officers in charge at Godel’s station precinct. I tried to reach an actual person over at the Barat precinct; no answer.”
“The officer I spoke with over at Godel recommended we get in touch with Barat’s embassy for advice on how best to get the captain back,” Logan continued. “But the NSAI taking calls over at their embassy is now denying that anything ever happened. It questioned where I got my information, and informed me that no patrol routes were scheduled at the bazaar today.”
Kodi’s acidic comment caused Terrance to scowl, but he didn’t disagree with the assessment.
“The database I managed to…lift…from the duty station shows a pattern of this kind of behavior, yes,” Logan confirmed. Terrance noted the slight hesitation and used a private connection to send the profiler his approval.
Logan swiveled his frame toward Jason. “I take it that the map you were using to guide you never indicated you had trespassed into Barat territory?”
Jason shook his head. “No. I had it up on my HUD the entire time, and according to the map coming over the public feed, we were still within Godel’s borders when they struck.”
Landon shook his head. “No, actually, you weren’t.”
The main holo displayed the station’s bazaar. The AI dropped two pins to indicate Jason and Calista’s location at the time of the interception. Overlaid was the boundary where Godel gave way to Barat.
“Well, shit.” Jason’s voice was laden with disgust. He glanced over at Tobias. “Someone hacked the public feed in order to send us a spoofed map.”
He angled his head toward Noa. “Any chance we have a solid lock on her location inside the compound yet?”
Noa shook his head. “No, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll get anything that specific with just the colloids—at least, not inside their headquarters, not with the security measures they have in place.” He glanced over at Logan. “Any additional information you can get from our friends on the Godel side of the station would be helpful.”
Terrance’s head shot up at that, and he snapped his fingers. “Almost forgot. Just as we got back to the ship, Commissioner Weir contacted me privately. Asked if we could discuss the situation in a more secure setting.”
Kodi added, and Terrance nodded his agreement. “We need to reach out to her to set up a time and location for a meet.”
“You don’t need to shadow me. I’ll behave,” he promised her once the lift doors closed.
Dark eyes turned to scrutinize him as the conveyance began to move.
“It’s not your behavior I’m worried about,” she said, leaning into him and looking up into his eyes. Terrance wrapped one arm around her waist as she went up on tiptoe and kissed him. “It’s you. If they could have captured Jason, they would have, you know that. I’d prefer it if my husband wasn’t the next one they try to acquire.”
She stepped back as the lift doors opened onto the Vale’s dock. “Understood?”
He smiled over at her. “Ma’am, yes ma’am.”
She swatted his backside as he led the way out.
SETTING THE TRAP
STELLAR DATE: 03.09.3272 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Barat Citizen Guard HQ, Republican Compound
REGION: Phaethon Duty Station, Little River
Sergei stood at attention in the citizen lieutenant’s office, located in the Republican Central Compound, housed deep inside Barat territory and more than a hundred kilometers away from the Godel marina.
He did his best to remain impassive, but knew he’d failed to keep the dumbfounded look off his face as he repeated the order.
“A lawyer, sir?” he parroted stupidly, and was rewarded with a flash of sharp annoyance crossing his superior’s face.
“Our…guest…has requested legal representation,” Maritz said. “We’ve been ordered to attempt a straightforward trade first, before we escalate any further. Therefore, we need to keep her unharmed and be willing to verify fair treatment until the Avon Vale delivers the stasis technology in exchange for her safe return.”
Sergei nodded mutely, uncertain exactly why the citizen commander had singled him out from his guard unit to confer upon him this dubious honor.