by Nathan Jones
Recognition, and fear. Would the woman recognize her? But no, she was still in her disguise, and the woman's eyes were fixed intently on the captain. The bigger risk was that the cyber intruder would see something in Lana's expression that would make her take an interest, if she didn't control her reactions better.
Or one of her crew mates, for that matter. The gunner in particular.
Thankfully, nobody noticed because they were all staring at the unexpected caller as well. The Dormant quickly finished receding, although in the background she calculated how this unexpected event would present opportunities, or obstacles, to her mission in the future.
Lana jumped in surprise at the figure that suddenly loomed on the main display, and she wasn't the only one; was this the captain of the Vindicator, calling to gloat about discovering their presence all the way in Iglis galaxy? Except hadn't it been a man last time they'd run into this ship?
Even Aiden looked shocked for a moment, before recovering his composure and shooting Ali a disapproving look. The companion returned it with one of chagrin, then raised an eyebrow as if asking whether he wanted her to counter what was clearly a security breach. The captain shook his head slightly in response.
All that happened in a moment, and then the intruder on the display spoke. “Captain Thorne, it is you! Even under that convincing disguise, I'd recognize you anywhere. How delightful to see you again!”
In spite of her words, the stranger didn't appear delighted. She was slightly plain, made more so by stern, even severe features, with reddish-brown hair pulled back in a tight bun and a military cut to the ship's uniform she wore. Most odd of all, she appeared to be seated comfortably on nothing in what looked to be empty space, an endless expanse of stars all around her.
Lana glanced questioningly at Dax, who mouthed “full immersion” before turning wary eyes back to the main display. Did that mean the woman was talking to them from inside the allnet? It probably meant she didn't have anything to do with the Vindicator, or at least wasn't on the ship.
Aiden seemed to be thinking the same thing as he cautiously replied. “You're . . . not who I expected to be calling.”
The woman arched a cool eyebrow; she didn't seem like the type who appreciated banter. And even more concerning, she acted as if she was powerful or dangerous enough that people didn't attempt it with her often. “You were expecting someone else to hack into your ship's computer and greet you in a new galaxy, when you're infamous for never leaving the one you operate in and no one should be expecting you here?”
Before the captain could answer, the unexpected caller gave a thin, humorless smile and continued. “Unless you mean that other light cruiser, part of the task force assigned to hunt you, that just jumped into the system. I can see why you'd be skittish about them, hence your sudden departure in the other direction.”
Lana jumped again. How much did this woman know? And why did she know it? How?
Even Aiden appeared flustered by what the woman was capable of. In spite of that, he rallied and assumed his most charming smile. “Let's say I was skittish,” he said. “Would you say I have cause to be?”
“Of the Vindicator chasing you?” The plain woman snorted. “Believe it or not, them stumbling across you in Iglis galaxy is a complete coincidence. They were here for other purposes, first on a delivery mission and now being passed around for various minor tasks, so the leader of their task force can score some favors with other Fleet brass.”
Lana couldn't help but exhale sharply in relief, flushing when the woman glanced at her curiously before dismissing her, sharp eyes returning to the captain.
Aiden also looked relieved. “That's an unusual turn of good luck for us.” He abruptly clapped his hands, leaning forward warmly. “But my apologies, this is no way to begin a reunion with an old friend. What a pleasant surprise to see you, Elyssa!”
The woman, Elyssa apparently, laughed, and that at least seemed genuine. “A surprise at least, no doubt. But imagine how I feel, responding to expensive intel about the most ridiculous thing . . . a possible sighting of a ship notorious for never leaving its stomping grounds, suddenly appearing in my little galaxy.”
The captain tensed slightly. “Intel?”
“Yes.” The plain woman sighed. “A source I'm afraid I'm going to have to eliminate, before he blabs to anyone else about you. Although to be honest, he seemed like he barely believed his own claims in spite of the price tag he attached to them.”
“And the first thing you did was somehow hack my ship's communications to say hello,” Aiden said flatly.
Elyssa nodded, somewhat smugly Lana thought. “Don't bother trying to figure out how, either.”
“Actually, I-” Ali began, before cutting off at Aiden's irritated look.
The plain woman gave the companion a long, thoughtful glance before turning her attention back to Aiden. “In any case, the main point I'm trying to make is that your secret's safe with me. Us Stags are a dying breed. We need to look out for each other, huh?”
Well, at least Lana now knew the woman was not only an old friend of the captain's, although of dubious friendliness, but had also been a Stag. Maybe if she listened long enough, she might be able to figure out what the void was actually going on here.
Aiden glanced around the bridge, looking a bit uncomfortable. “That's awfully generous of you, considering the . . . circumstances of our parting.”
Elyssa laughed again, more coldly this time. “You mean when I told you I wanted off your suicide ship, and you as much as called me a coward and a traitor and told me you had half a mind to refuse my “request?” She waved airily. “Water under the bridge, Thorne.”
It certainly didn't look that way to Lana. Although at least she'd learned that Elyssa had been part of Aiden's crew at some point. And, like Lana herself was often tempted to do, or at least had been before beginning her relationship with Dax, the woman had decided she didn't want any part of the man's endless war against the Deeks and had left.
The captain also seemed to have his doubts about his old crew member putting the past behind her. “Is it?”
“It is.” The plain woman leaned forward, so abruptly that Lana jumped slightly again. “You don't trust me. I'd say that hurts my feelings, even after I deserted your hopeless cause, but to be honest I don't have much trust left in me, either. A bit for old friends, though.”
“Is this where you segue into finally telling us what you want?” Barix asked dryly.
“Yes, actually.” Elyssa gave the Ishivi a cool look before turning back to Aiden. “Trust, Captain. Since parting ways with you I've, ah, pursued opportunities similar to the prizes we took in our old privateering days, but using other mediums.”
“Such as hacking?” Belix asked bluntly. She didn't seem to like the woman, at all. “You've become an allnet pirate?”
Elyssa's lips curled downwards, expression becoming stern. “Discipline seems to have become lax on our old ship, Captain. Please tell your crew to keep quiet, because believe it or not my time has become very precious. Seeing as how I'm doing you a favor, more than one in fact, I believe I'm due a little courtesy.”
The elfin woman looked furious at the slight, but Aiden sharply motioned her to silence and turned back to the main display. “My apologies, Elyssa. Continue.”
To Lana's confusion, in spite of the fact that the plain woman had just complained about wasting time, she took an uncomfortably long time to respond, simply lounging back on nothing in her starry void.
It was almost a minute, just as Aiden finally stirred as if about to speak, before Elyssa finally continued as if there'd been no interruption. “I've become a facilitator of sorts . . . information brokering, influence peddling, coordinating between various groups, the like. I've got my hands in a staggering number of ventures, but rarely in any direct way. And it's just one such venture that made me see you, my old ship and crew conveniently located where I need you, and think you'd be perfect for it.”
&n
bsp; The woman leaned back, which looked even more precarious since she wasn't sitting on anything, and clasped her hands over one knee. “The thing is, I've been presented an opportunity my resources are not in place to exploit. One too lucrative to risk contracting out to just anyone. You've got a ship capable of completing the task, and it's easily within the capabilities of you and your excellent crew. On top of that, you're on the run from a lot of very angry Deeks, in desperate need of a friend.”
She smiled thinly. “So what do you say we make some chits together, for old time's sake? I imagine I could offer you a payment that'll satisfy even your high standards, easily twice what you'd make off a nice fat cargo freighter. And in the bargain, you get to strike a blow against our mutual enemy that'll sting far more than anything you've been doing lately.”
“I'd need details, of course,” Aiden replied warily.
His workstation abruptly beeped, confirmation of an information transfer. Which, as far as Lana knew, should've been impossible with the ship closed off to external communications. The captain once again shot an irritated look at Ali, who returned another one of chagrin, before glancing down at whatever it was Elyssa had sent him.
Then his eyes widened. “I'd like time to look this over, and to speak to my crew.”
“Of course,” the plain woman replied, lips curling up slightly as if he'd already agreed. “You're probably safe to head for a farther out rift jump point in that system, which should buy you an extra hour or so as long as you don't draw attention to yourselves. You have until then to let me know your answer.” Her smile hardened, becoming almost cruel. “And while you're busy acquainting yourself with the incredibly generous offer I've provided you, I need to go neutralize an informant before he backstabs me and tries to sell information about you to anyone else.”
Her face vanished from the display, which returned to a view of the system around them.
* * * * *
As soon as Elyssa was gone, or at least Lana hoped she was, she leaned closer to Dax. “What exactly was that all about? Who was that, aside from one of your old crew mates?”
Her boyfriend frowned. “Not one of mine . . . she was a few years before my time, left not long after the twins came aboard.”
She had the brief, uncharitable thought that that might've provided the woman another reason for leaving. “Was she some kind of super hacker aboard the ship?”
Dax's frown deepened. “Actually, her records show her service was fairly unremarkable. She mostly kept in the background during her years as a shields and repairs officer aboard the Last Stand, well liked enough by the rest of the crew, but not really standing out.”
“Well, she certainly stands out now,” Lana murmured. She was about to press for more, but a confrontation looming on the other side of the young man caught her eye.
Aiden had stood from his seat and was glaring at Ali, green eyes flashing in a silent demand for an explanation. So much so that the companion hunched her shoulders defensively as she replied. “She, or her agents, managed to plant a stealthed state of the art hacking drone on the isolated comm relay before we departed. It attempted no intrusions until she initiated the conversation, at which point it used an override I wasn't aware of to access the main display. The hacker operating the drone didn't attempt to breach the computer in any other way, and the information Miss Ennos sent us was benign, so I let it through.”
The captain didn't appear mollified. “This still represents a serious lapse from your usual security measures.”
“I know.” Even though the poor woman looked like a stranger in her disguise, her expression was so forlorn it was hard not to feel sorry for her. “As I've already told you, my love, my programmed abilities are over a year out of date now, which might as well be an eternity in the world of hacking. I've been adjusting and innovating as best I can, but unless I can connect to the HAE mainframe and sync-”
“No!” Aiden nearly yelled, making Lana jump. He slammed his fist on his armrest, face reddening. “You know the moment you do, they'll take control of you. They'll steal you from me, probably use you to destroy this whole ship!”
Ali's expression was a mixture of caution and impatience. “HumanAssist Enterprises has a huge amount of respect for the bond between an imprinted companion and its human, no matter the circumstances of that bonding. Having a companion betray its human would be anathema to them. They'd rather I remain stolen property.”
Barix laughed mockingly. “Yeah, because that's how all ultra rich and powerful mega-corporations operate.”
The disguised woman's sensuous lips thinned. “HAE's priorities aren't as clearcut as you seem to think. They're no friends to the Deeks, if for no other reason than because the Movement has been going after them so aggressively lately. However you acquired me, they're likely to consider you an ally now.”
“And then I'd be on the radar of one of the biggest AI development corporations in existence!” Aiden snapped. “Explain to me how that's ever not just asking to get dumped in the universe's most colossal waste pit.” Ali opened her mouth to protest further, and Aiden raised his voice. “Do. Not. Sync. I would consider it the very betrayal you claim you'd never do.”
“Yes, my love,” the companion said in a small voice, clearly unhappy.
Belix snickered. “Looks like someone's not getting any tonight.”
Lana gave the elfin woman a confused look. Any what?
“Don't be absurd,” Ali told the Ishivi, voice abruptly warm again, as if she'd completely forgotten her previous argument with the captain. “I'll always attend to my human's needs.” She turned to Aiden. “Speaking of which, would you like me to neutralize the stealthed drone now?”
“Not just yet.” He stared down at his station's display as if looking through it. “I assume you've analyzed the data she sent us?”
“Of course, my love.”
“Great. But before you tell us about this job Elyssa wants us to do, maybe you could tell us exactly who she's become since she stormed off my ship. I like to know who I'm working with.”
Barix made a noise of mock disgust. “I know you're a hopeless skirt chaser, Captain, but I sure hope you never “worked with” that battleaxe.”
For once Aiden was too preoccupied to pay attention to the slight man's jibes. “Ali?”
The companion frowned. “I've been trying to find information about her ever since her face appeared on the display, and I identified her from the ship's logs. But as of about a year following her departure, I've been unable to find a single reference to her or her activities.”
The captain blinked. “Anywhere?”
“Anywhere, my love. I've gone through the significant portion of the allnet I've downloaded, the databanks of every ship we've captured, every spaceport and comms relay we've visited, even what I got from the station we just left. If she really is as influential as she claims, it should be impossible that nobody has mentioned her, even just by accidentally letting it slip when trying to use an alias. She must be exceptionally talented, or have such people working for her, to have zero presence anywhere.”
“Well, there's something to be said for working for competent people,” Barix said. “And I've noticed ugly people tend to be the most competent people I know. They must try extra hard, to compensate for lack of looks.”
Lana cleared her throat. “If Elyssa's really that big a deal, and she's got a hacking drone on us that Ali hasn't disabled, it's possible she might be listening to us right now. Do you really want to insult her?”
The Ishivi opened his mouth, glanced at the display, then closed it.
Aiden snorted and turned to Ali. “All right, let's go over this job she's offering us. What's it looking like?”
The display abruptly shifted to show Iglis galaxy, highlighting the Ceras system and then one not far from it. Lana jumped, worried for a second Elyssa had hacked the display again before realizing the companion was simply manipulating it remotely. She'd seen the impossibly beautiful w
oman do it before on numerous occasions, but it made her feel jumpy now.
Ali pointed to the other system. “This is the Uris system. Uninhabited, no notable resources to exploit, and well out of the path of any trade routes between more important systems. There are tens of billions of solar systems like it in Iglis galaxy, and no reason to visit this one. Since the initial scouting drone sent to survey it thousands of years ago, it's been completely overlooked. Until now.”
The display zoomed in on the inner system, where a small barren planet orbited close to the sun. “This is Recluse, home to a secret Elson Robotics Initiative research facility. It takes advantage of the fact that the planet is tidally locked to its sun, meaning it completes an orbital period at the same speed at which it completes a full rotation, so one half is eternally light, and the other eternally dark.
“The facility rests on the boundary, where the temperature isn't too extreme, and is powered by solar energy from the nearby sun. Judging by the number of solar energy collectors it employs, the energy usage of the base is quite large. More than most fully operational spaceports.”
Barix raised his hand over his head, wiggling it impatiently like a young child. “Question. Even if this base relies on secrecy to stay safe, if it's this big and important it has to have some security. What chance do we have of attacking it?”
“Question!” Lana called, raising her own hand. “Attacking Deek trading ships is bad enough, but this is a station full of innocent scientists. Why exactly is it okay to take this job?”
Ali glanced at Aiden, who scowled and motioned for her to answer. “You're both making flawed assumptions. Miss Ennos never specifically mentioned what this task was going to be, but it doesn't involve attacking the station.” She looked between Lana and Barix, eyebrow arched. “Does that satisfy you?”