by Susan Hayes
Once she thought it through, the answer was obvious. “I trust you both with my life. I’m sorry I doubted you, Owen.”
Both men exhaled, and Royan’s smile reappeared. “Good answer,” he said.
“I was taught never to trust anyone but my family. When you told me who was chasing me, I questioned my decision to trust the two of you. I thought I’d been stupid.”
“You’re not stupid,” they both said at almost the exact same moment. She smiled, and the tightness in her chest finally eased.
Owen reached out a hand, and when she took it, he pulled her over to him and drew her onto his lap. “That’s better.”
“I was being stupid, though. I should’ve known you weren’t working with them. If you were, you wouldn’t have told me.”
“Also, I’d be wearing pants right now,” Owen reminded her.
“Nothing wrong with nudity. Though if post-coital crises are going to start being a thing, I’m going to put in a request for seat warmers,” Royan said.
“I really hope this was a one-time thing. There’s no way they’d follow us to the Drift. Risk of capture is too high, and there’s no way they’d ever get close enough to Tia to try again. This isn’t their usual kind of job, anyway. They do hit-and-run raids, not murder for hire.” Owen said.
“I’m still trying to get my head around the idea that someone wants me dead. Now you’re telling me it was a paid hit?”
“It would have to be a big payoff, too. Scrip is the only thing that would motivate my mother to take a job like this. She couldn’t be the one who blew up your ship, either. Whoever did that had to have inside information and some impressive connections to get the explosives aboard. My mom and little sister don’t operate that way. They were always very direct. They see something they want, they fly in and take it. If they were better at planning, my brother might still be alive.”
“Later, I want to hear that story.” Royan placed his hand on Owen’s shoulder, his fingers grazing her hair.
“Later,” Owen agreed, tipping his head to press his cheek to Royan’s hand.
The look they shared made her feel like an outsider. It wasn’t intentional. Even after her angry words and accusations, they weren’t pushing her away. She was part of their lives, at least for now. It was just that when this trip was over, she’d be on her own again, and they’d still have each other. Now that she’d had a taste of them, going back to her lonely life looked less and less appealing.
Royan wanted to pace, but there was barely enough room to stand. “Now that we’ve made our escape, do you think we can move this conversation elsewhere?”
“Lounge?” Owen suggested.
“There’s cold pizza in the galley,” Tianna said.
“I was going to suggest bed, but damn it, now I want pizza, too.”
“Lounge and pizza it is.” Owen looked at him with amusement. “You’re too hyper to stay in bed right now. It’s killing you to be standing still. If we’re in the lounge, you can pace while we figure out how the fraxx they found us, and how we’re going to keep Tia safe once we get home.”
“Once we’re at Astek, my safety will be handled by my father’s people. All of this, us, it has to stop when we get there, remember?”
“Your father’s people are the ones that let your ship get blown up. I’m not thrilled at the idea of putting your safety back in their hands.”
“We agreed this was a short-term thing.” Tianna untangled herself from Owen and got to her feet.
“This isn’t about keeping you in our bed, sweetheart. This is about keeping you safe.”
Tianna scoffed. “Somehow, I doubt it.”
“Can’t it be about both?” Owen asked. There were times Owen’s quest for the middle ground drove him crazy, but right now Royan was grateful for it.
“Maybe,” she conceded.
Royan would call that a win.
They met in the lounge a few minutes later, dressed, sombre, and ready to talk.
Tianna claimed a chair for herself, leaving Owen to stretch out on the only couch by himself while Royan paced the room. “Let’s start by eliminating the obvious. Sprite, please display the comms log from the moment we received the Alacrity’s distress beacon. All incoming and outgoing messages.”
“Displaying now.” The wall-sized monitor they used for watching vids activated, quickly filling with the requested data. There wasn’t much to see, and all of it was expected.
“No surprises there,” Owen said.
“Sprite, would this log include messages sent from devices other than yourself? Comm units, things like that?” Tianna asked.
“Negative. Would you like me to display that data?”
“I would.” Tianna shifted in her chair, her gaze bouncing between him and Owen.
The data on the screen changed. Now, there was only one entry. A locational data burst sent around the same time they had arrived at the colony. It was a short transmission, a single ping. But that was all it took to give away their location to anyone who knew what to look for.
“What the hell is that?” Owen demanded, getting to his feet and stomping up to the monitor as if proximity could provide him with more information than what was on the screen.
The ship’s AI assumed the query was directed at it. “That is a single ping issued from the communication device brought aboard by temporary crewman Tia Maran.”
Tianna paled. “What? No it can’t be. My device has been in standby mode since coming on board.”
“You sure about that?” Owen asked.
“Of course I’m sure, I put it in standby mode when I recharged it.”
Royan pointed to the monitor. “You might want to check your log. Because either Sprite is wrong, or your unit gave away your location.”
“Fraxx.” Tianna looked almost apologetic as she touched a key on the side of her bracelet. “Tink, wake up. I need you.”
He and Owen exchanged confused looks.
“Hello, Tianna. How may I assist you?”
“You can check your system and confirm that you didn’t ping the colony’s datasphere a few hours ago.”
“Checking. I’m sorry, Tianna. I cannot confirm that. My records show that activity occurred.”
“How? You were in standby mode.”
“You’ve got an AI on your wrist?” Owen sounded as incredulous as Royan felt. The price of even a basic Artificial Intelligence system was more than most people could afford. He couldn’t imagine what it would cost to miniaturize that tech and make it wearable.
“I’ll explain about my virtual assistant in a minute,” Tianna said. “Tink, I’m waiting for an answer. How did this happen? You gave away our location and placed me in danger. That’s against your programming!”
“I’m sorry, Tianna. I cannot answer your question. I do not know how this happened. I would never put your life at risk.”
“But you did.”
“I have endangered your life. I will begin the shutdown and deletion process immediately.”
Tianna didn’t say a word, but for a second her mouth tightened and her eyes closed.
“Did your program just say it was going to terminate it’s existence?” Royan asked, stunned.
“Don’t let it! We need to access its memory and find out how this happened,” Owen stated.
Tianna’s expression softened into relief. “Tink, belay deletion protocols.”
“But that is standard procedure for these circumstances. I am a threat to you, Tianna.”
“We’ll never know what made you do it if you delete yourself. Plus, pathetic as it sounds, you’re the closest thing I have to a friend.”
“Order confirmed.” The AI was silent a moment before adding, “I am pleased that our relationship has not yet reached it’s termination date.”
“How close to sentient is that program, exactly?” Owen asked.
“Tink’s programming is all within the limits of the Pinocchio Protocol, but not by much. My father gave it to me as
a gift when I was still a child. Tink has been with me ever since, receiving regular upgrades.”
“You brought a highly evolved AI on my ship without bothering to tell anyone?” Royan had recently heard rumors of an evolved AI that went rogue, going on a killing spree that had nearly claimed the life of some of his friends at Nova Force. He was fond of the Sun Sprite’s AI, but it was far too simple to ever be a threat to him or the ship. This Tink program though…
“Seems like I wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.” Owen’s words were terse and edged with frustration.
Royan couldn’t blame him. She should have told them about Tink. They couldn’t protect her if they didn’t have all the facts. And now I sound like Owen.
“I never thought Tink could…” Tianna unclipped the bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Owen. “I put it in stand-by mode the first night I was here. I thought that would be enough. It should have been more than enough.”
Owen glowered at the bracelet distrustfully. “Has it ever done something like this before?”
“Never,” Tianna said.
“When was it last updated?”
“It gets regular updates. I’m not sure when the last one was. Tink? When did you receive your last update?”
“I was last updated fifteen days ago. It was a standard security patch.”
“Or it was made to look like one,” Royan mused. “We should have the Sprite’s AI run a diagnostic on Tink.”
Owen groaned. “Sprite. Tink. There are too many fraxxing fairies on board this ship.”
“You know Tink was named after a fairy?”
“I used to read to my siblings a lot. Katy, my little sister, loved the story of Peter Pan. Of course, she always rooted for the pirates.” Owen smiled, but there was a shadow in his eyes, too.
“She’s still with your mother?” Royan guessed.
“She was the only one of us who really took to that life. Connor and I did it because we didn’t know anything else, but Katy loved it. When I left, I asked her to come with me. She refused.”
“I’m a little slow today. I just realized you named yourself after your brother,” Tianna said, softly.
“I didn’t want to be a Valentine anymore. Becoming Owen Connors felt right.”
“I know how it feels to want to be someone else. I might have been raised in luxury, but none of us had stellar childhoods... or parents.”
“More proof that you were rescued by the right ship,” Royan said. “Do you think your AI can play nicely with ours?”
“I think so. Tink, I want you to deactivate all security protocols and allow the ship’s AI to run a diagnostic.”
“Affirmative.”
“Sprite, I want you to run a diagnostic on another AI program. Enact all necessary safeguards to ensure that Tink has no access to the ship’s systems,” Owen ordered.
“Affirmative. Please connect the device using any charging port and I will initiate the diagnostic,” Sprite stated.
Royan snorted. “I feel like we should buy them dinner, or at least introduce them, first.”
“It’s a diagnostic, not a date.” Owen walked over to the nearest charging station and made the connection.
Tianna smiled a little. “I’m with Royan on this one. Tink, say hello to Sprite.”
“Sprite, this is Tink,” Royan chimed in and they both laughed.
“Hello,’ both AI spoke at the same moment.
“You’re both crazy,” Owen muttered.
“And you like us this way.” Royan started prowling the room again while Owen took his seat.
“Sprite, how long will it take for you to complete this task?” Owen asked.
“Six hours and forty-seven minutes. Tink is a complex program, it will take time for me to do a thorough scan of its systems.”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Tink responded.
“You are quite welcome, Tink.”
Owen pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “And now they’re flirting with each other. Great.”
“It’s kind of cute,” Tianna said.
Owen shook his head and changed the subject. “So, now that we know how they found us, we need to talk about next steps.”
“After we’re done here, I’ll send an encrypted message to Zura. She can let Corp-Sec know our situation. They’ll make sure we get to Astek safely once we transit to normal space.” It had taken some time, but Royan now had complete trust in the corporate security force that acted as the Drift’s only real law enforcement.
“And once we’re on the station, I’ll be perfectly safe.”
Royan turned and stared at her. “You know that’s not true. Owen said it already. His family is just the hired help sent to mop up. They couldn’t have smuggled the explosives onto your ship, and it’s not likely they hacked your AI.”
“I can’t run away and hide. My father sent me to oversee Astek station, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I never suggested you hide. Honestly, I’m not sure that would even work.”
“Doubtful,” Owen agreed.
“Then what do you think I should do?”
That was the moment he knew she had finally decided to trust them. Now he could bring up his idea. The only one he had. “I think that the only way you’re going to be safe is if you have someone you can trust to watch your back.”
“I can’t trust anyone.” Even as she said it, he heard the doubt in her words. She didn’t believe that. Not anymore.
Owen spoke before he could, proving that they were of the same mind on this. “You can trust us.”
“Are you both out of your minds? You’ve got jobs already. You can’t just walk off the Sprite and announce you’re going to be my bodyguards.”
“My sister already knows what happened to you. When she finds out you’re still a target, she’ll do whatever she can to help.”
“Because she wants to be in Astek’s debt?”
“Because she knows what it’s like to be on a killer’s hit-list.” When they’d moved against the corporations, they’d all known the risks, but losing Zale and seeing Zura’s name on an assassin’s kill list, made the risk feel much more real. He wasn’t the only one feeling that way, either. It was why Owen had agreed to take the job as the security officer on the Sprite, and why his brothers-in-law weren’t getting much sleep. Echo, the Gray Men’s assassin, had worked and lived at the Nova Club. If she hadn’t had some leeway in picking her targets, more of the people he cared about might have died.
“What?” Tianna’ asked, horrified.
“Your father didn’t tell you about the Gray Men?” Owen asked.
“The shadowy group manipulating the corporations, turning them against each other? Of course. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been sent to Astek. The last man to permanently hold the position I’m filling was murdered by one of their agents…” She stopped and swallowed hard. “No one told me there were civilian targets.”
Why had Tianna been sent out here without all the information she’d need? It didn’t make sense. “I’d say there’s a lot you weren’t told. Your employee was killed by Echo. The same assassin who killed our friend and had a list of targets that included a lot of other beings we care about. To make it worse, Echo was a friend, too.”
“I knew she was employed by your family. It was a matter of some concern, in fact.” She got to her feet, grabbed a slice of pizza from the table, and sat down again, this time claiming the seat beside Owen. “I really wish I’d been able to read the rest of the files.”
“Doesn’t your AI have copies?” Owen asked.
“Tink was tethered to the ship’s computer, so I didn’t see the need to copy the data over. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Good policy. Always assume things aren’t going to go as planned.” Owen gestured around them. “Please see our current situation as evidence of that.”
She took a bite of pizza before answering. “You really think Zura will let you do this?”
“She’ll agree to it. Besides, once we get back, the Sprite is going in for maintenance. We planned it that way so I don’t miss the moment I become an uncle. I am going to be there from day one, so I can make sure the twins are corrupted in all the best ways.” At least, that was his story. The truth was he wanted to be there for his sister, the way she’d been there for him. He’d gone a long time without a family, or a place to call home. Now that he’d found both, he’d fight to his last breath to keep them.
Tianna didn’t look convinced. “If I agree to this, it couldn’t be the way things are now.”
“You keep saying that. Is it because you don’t want anyone to know you were slumming with a couple of cargo jockeys?” Owen asked.
Tianna’s mouth fell open. “What? No! I’m not ashamed of you.”
“You sure about that?” Owen asked.
“No. I mean yes. I mean – dammit, maybe a little, but not for the reasons you think.”
“Then explain it to us, sweetheart.” Her admission stung, but Royan was used to being a source of embarrassment for others.
She huffed in frustration, her hands fluttering in front of her as she tried to explain. “The first rule of being an Astor is to never show weakness. And when I say weakness, I mean emotions. You’ve seen a side of me I haven’t shared with anyone in years, and when we get to the Drift, Tia the cargo trainee goes away for good and I go back to being Astek’s resident ice queen.”
Royan walked straight over to her and crouched at her feet, his gaze locked on hers. “You’re no ice queen.”
“I can be.”
“And I can be a lunatic, and Owen can be a killjoy. None of us are perfect, sweetheart.” He winked her. “Though you have to admit, I come pretty damned close.”
“I’m not admitting any such thing.” A tiny smile played over her lip.
“You know we’re not going to let this go, right? Someone needs to keep you safe.” Owen leaned in and put a hand on her thigh.
“And we’re volunteering for the job. Frosty or friendly, you need us.”