Selena

by V Guy

  45: Protector

  Day 811: Hardress-Alpha, Stellar Clipper

  Baron Hess’s Stellar Clipper slowed as it approached the station Arcades. Five interceptors stayed in protective postures, while an escort gunship released a troop pod to dock at an adjacent port. Hess was serious about his security.

  The large luxury craft entered the protection of the station’s shields, nestled next to a customized port, and docked with the station. Once his craft was secure, the escort craft docked at a smaller, nearby station for their fuel and crews to be refreshed.

  Hess’s internal security was no less stout. His aide delivered the news of their arrival and he rose, exiting to the passage beyond. Two of his protective detail awaited. Four more guarded the hatch.

  Along with Selena. Her demeanor around him had changed during the last few months, and her mental presence within his mind was notably controlled. Gone was the spontaneity, replaced by a disciplined mindset similar to those of his protective detail. It half made him angry, yet she was always obedient and submitted to his demands. He was never rejected, resisted, or dismissed, but the vibrancy once within her was gone. It perplexed, angered, and humiliated him, and he was forced to contain his temper when he saw her.

  “Do you sense anything?” he asked, narrowing his lips.

  “No, Master,” she replied politely and professionally. “The path is clear.”

  What is it? he thought. She’s still in my mind, but it’s like the light is dimmed. More like occluded. At one time he was angered by how much she attracted him; now the opposite was true. “What about the business with the lizard?”

  Selena’s voice was warm and she responded promptly, but it was with the passion of a soldier returning a salute. “I cannot confirm Malik’s involvement. The net continues to close, and I sense no involvement with you.”

  He felt his temper rising. “And how would you know that the creature isn’t involved?”

  There was no hint of distress or concern on her face; she anticipated violence with an attitude of que sera, sera. “I can’t know that he is or isn’t; I can’t know that anyone or anything would be.”

  Hess noted the use of the personal pronoun. “He?”

  “Yes, Master. The creature exhibits greater intelligence than any of us and conducts dealings that reflect cleverness, attachment, passion, skill, and a loyalty exceeding conditioning or training. ‘He’ seems appropriate, especially since Malik is supposed to be male.”

  A twinge of jealousy touched Hess, and a feeling of shortcoming was sparked within him. “Don’t make this personal. Your evaluations need to be precise.”

  Selena was once distressed by such brusqueness, but this time she was nonplussed. “A more precise prediction is impossible. That isn’t how my sight works. I can give a time, but the culprit must be determined by the situation, location, and any additional clues.”

  She’s apathetic, thought Hess in disbelief, his anger moderated only by her honesty. “Remain on Stellar Clipper. An attendant will be available should you sense something. Return to your normal routine.”

  “Yes, Master,” she said, bowing and turning away. His words were meant to denigrate, but she was infuriatingly agreeable.

  Hess turned to his assistant as they walked to the hatch. “Is she well?”

  “You mean healthy?” asked Grant. “You asked the same question last week. She’s in exceptional condition, strong, flexible, and fit.”

  “I meant mentally.”

  His aide cocked his head. “Well, she was correct concerning your friend Kine. Police investigated, found some interesting and compromising details, and he broke under questioning. Her suggestions to raise Rhinehold’s attractiveness by investing in the regions surrounding those plants were well received by the board, and they rarely listen to anything involving additional expenses. She also discovered that a Gemini manager was concealing safety issues at a facility just by studying their operational logs, check sheets, surveillances, and procedures. She correctly conjectured that we were receiving substandard materials at our Leilen facility by watching product line statistics. Her most recent conjecture was the likelihood of embezzlement at a Taipei facility; we’ve got someone investigating that possibility. I would say that her mind is not only fine, it’s excellent.”

  Another wave of insecurity touched Hess. Business with the Dynang, the Fleet, his businesses, and finally the challenges of the mantis project must have dulled his critical thinking. “I never told her to examine those issues.”

  “I offered,” said Grant. “She has displayed an unusual ability to see depth in data. There were idiosyncrasies in some of the reports, and I was curious what she could determine. She didn’t seem to mind.”

  Hess walked with him to the hatch. “It’s the challenge.”

  The portal opened, and Hess was met by Winn, Jameson, and additional members of his security team.

  “Has something happened?” asked Winn, looking about in concern. “Is there something we should know?”

  “People have been trying to kill me.” Hess greeted the staff and turned to the director. “Let’s see the product.”

  She led the group to the observation chamber. More of her staff awaited. Only two of Hess’s security entered. A hatch on the opposite wall of the large chamber opened, and an adult Mantis entered, ducking its head as it crossed the threshold. Its long, bent legs brought a barreled body into view. The creature stopped in the middle of the chamber and looked at Jameson.

  “The legs are shorter,” said Winn, standing and walking to the mantis. “That was done to reduce their vulnerability. Additional armor and joint reinforcement were added and in turn, we increased the mass of corresponding muscle equivalents to compensate. The ending claws can better grasp slippery surfaces, and we added dexterity to the forward graspers, offering them better options around doors and obstacles. Some forward blade length was reduced, but we figured that considering its quickness, the change wouldn’t be a problem.”

  She stroked the mantis’s armored flanks. “The security problems with a hybrid organic/cybernetic organism were considered, and we programmed in signal-dampening layers on their flanks. Some nanobots produce signal and frequency corrupting interference, a capacity we borrowed.”

  “Their telepathic connections remain unaffected by the insulation,” added Wolfe. “The range per unit has been improved, and we’ve discovered that the more mantes you have, the greater the expressed range. We successfully tested their connection to Paradise, Imperium, Irenia, Nowhere, and Harris. When I was at Leilen, I could ‘hear’ crews passing through this system.”

  Jameson stepped forward. “We’ve also upped the security of the internal programming, both the electronic and the organic variety. Nested conditioning routines have been integrated with multiple encryptions, and there should be no concerns about having one hijacked.”

  Hess was taken aback and impressed by their thoroughness. “How many are available?”

  “Eight adults,” replied Winn. “All of the newer variants lay eggs, and there are two juveniles. We’ve gotten them homed at the mining station with plenty of metal, silica, and organics, and a reactor is running with an enriched tank of BELEN.”

  The many questions Hess had accumulated for this meeting had been quickly and satisfactorily answered. “What are their sustenance requirements?”

  “Nymphs and replicating adults require the materials, but the adults need only a power source and an interface.”

  He smiled as he observed their work. “Boundaries in the programming?”

  “We installed cutoffs and safeties,” said Jameson. “Reduction modules have been installed in the link programming to lower mental volume during idle connections. We’ve slept during links without issue. I’ve actually slept better.”

  “Did you take the queen with you?”

  “It wasn’t necessary. Any of them will do.”

  Hess nodded. “Mission parameters?”

  “Fully flexibl
e, but they must be accessed with the local equipment. The security is too important to have it worked on elsewhere.”

  Hess’s smile expanded, and a warmth flooded his body. “You’ve all done extremely well. Link me with her.”

  ***

  Selena walked back to her quarters, disappointment, rejection, loss, and emptiness coloring her mood. Part of her was devastated, another part felt unconcerned, while another felt relieved. It was all very confusing.

  The one thing she was certain of was that no matter his response, there was more to her existence than his presence or approval. The life she felt she once possessed had matured to a rich existence she believed she could regain. Even if she did not, there was an assurance that she should be greater than a slave. No matter what happened to her body, her spirit would understand freedom.

  That freedom was yet to be fully realized. Every step in its direction was a torture.

  Her initial exploration into her past seemed an exercise in masochism; while she felt a greater depth afterwards, the effort involved an agonizing tearing of her mind. She was determined. The cloud that hung over and muddled the past with her master slowly cleared, clarifying memories and experiences that threatened to be lost. This disciplined search for the woman whom she was now convinced was her sister led to the smarting discovery of her existence at Bedele.

  If the beginning efforts were painful, the search at Bedele was exponentially more agonizing.

  Every new day of memories involved the continuous torment, and the actual events of Bedele caused her to relive double and triple the amount experienced there. The people at Bedele Creative had been unmerciful; the abuse she experienced far outshone anything her master could do. Initial progress had been slow; eventually she acclimated to the torment and learned to steel herself for the reward.

  The first month of recovered Bedele memories involved that adjustment to excruciating pain. The second and third months exposed her to a fresh set of emotions—despair, a pervasive loneliness, and the truly unexpected sensation of independence. These sensations persisted as she uncovered another three months of memories, and while those three qualities remained consistent, the independence and certainty of her sister grew. Her links to her master correspondingly weakened.

  She and her twin had parted on bad terms; she could feel it. It was like knowing the winner of a race, and much of that conviction hinted at the other woman’s responsibility for her slavery. Another impression emblazoned within her mind was of her and Malik’s closeness. Selena’s mental investigations then centered upon him.

  Her master had been convinced the creature was responsible for Bedele Creative’s demise. Now she was as well. Unlike the previous impressions of him and her sister, this one was partially substantiated by rumors and reports on the network. She embraced the question her master had dismissed; Malik destroyed the slaver because he wished to cover his tracks, and because he decided the slavers should die. He decided they should die because of her and every other slave on the facility; he acted this rashly because of his passion over the injustice. Recorded events at Harris, Angelis, and Evaline demonstrated the lengths to which he would go.

  Selena secretly smiled and her heart warmed. This was a creature she wanted to know. Her master would remain unaware of her convictions, just as he would never realize her certainty that Malik was the searching mystery.

  She exercised and bathed and was exiting the shower when she felt her master’s mental presence erupt from a small light to a blinding glare. The increase was both welcome and unwelcome.

  She sat on the edge of her bed and cleared her mind, the intensity of his presence persisting. It was as if he were suddenly standing next to her, his thoughts blaring loudly into her ears. Selena calmed her racing heart. After drying her hair and dressing, she began constructing barriers to mute the noise and shield his mind. She had been successful with the smaller efforts to camouflage her mental searches, but this would be considerably tougher.

  ***

  Baron Hess was staggered. He glanced around the facility, looking at the station’s occupants and at sights beyond the bulkheads.

  “It takes a bit of adjustment,” said Winn, a humored expression present on her visage. “There are routines built into the link. You should be able to see them.”

  He nodded. “I do. This is extraordinary.”

  Every mind on the station was easily noted and tracked, and the links to the mantis facility and its seven other mantes were strong. He could examine the occupants of the small, nearby patrol refueling facility. Most of his remaining subject minds, like the admiral, were ruffled by the change and awaited his summons. His oracle was surprised but adjusted quickly, her mind quiet and close in response to the link.

  Waiting for a command, thought Hess, turning his mind toward the system trade route. He touched a passing ship, detected its crew, and immediately withdrew. “Talk about seductive.”

  Winn chuckled. “Noisy and mostly worthless.”

  Hess located the controls within the link and lowered its volume equivalent. His mental servants dropped to their normal background hum, the nest of mantes faded, and the surrounding ships quieted. His oracle was less of a presence within his mind yet was the most palpable. The mantis’s mind was transparent, willing and able to perform upon his command.

  “I want to see your test programs,” said Hess, examining the creature. “This isn’t the queen, is it?”

  “No,” said Jameson. “She’s back at the hive.”

  “Hive?”

  The man smiled. “Where else would an egg-laying, insect-like matriarch be?”

  Hess cocked his head as he pondered the thought. “Secure all the research, sanitize any potentially insecure equipment, and have critical equipment put into deep storage. The local security crew will keep an eye on the station.”

  “How are we supposed to do our research?” asked Wolfe in distress. “There are still possibilities remaining.”

  “You’re going on paid vacations,” replied Hess, smiling. “Three months’ worth, supposing you take care of my requests. I believe this project has reached a hold point.”

  ***

  Baron Hess returned to Stellar Clipper with full project data files in his grasp and the mantis in tow. After finding his new protector a place to reside, he went to his office to organize the data.

  His aide arrived and sat in nearby. “We’re away. Considering how you feel about projects and personal security, I’m surprised you let them live.”

  Hess made a snort and an incredulous chuckle. “Killing them on the station would have been too obvious. They’re going on vacations, remember?”

  46: Hope

  Day 821: Pathfinder

  The next group of initiates was ready to depart on schedule. A celebration was enjoyed the prior Friday evening, and the first of them was ready to depart first thing Saturday morning. The hovercraft safely returned after delivery, the passage brightening for Evelyn’s disembarking.

  She approached Malik and punched him in the shoulder. “The worst two weeks are over.”

  “Oh, I don’t know…the first two were pretty bad.” He watched as three women worked on the craft. “The remaining weeks will be considerably easier, with only eight initiates in strengthening sessions and three in reverse-conditioning.”

  “We could look for Salient.”

  Malik watched as Ileana strode to them. “You don’t realize the scope of what you ask.” He examined the list presented to him and stood. “Your life may be easier, but my week keeps going.”

  Another successful delivery and return happened two hours later. Evelyn joined Malik where he waited. “She’s well settled. I don’t think she’ll sleep tonight; she talked non-stop all the way down.”

  “Good to have a cheerful soul making a new life. Not all of them are as certain.”

  “Like tomorrow?”

  He nodded.

  Evelyn grimaced. “What did you mean when you said I didn’t realize wha
t I asked? We have the modules. We should use them.”

  “We will, eventually. Retrieving Salient is a nontrivial process; it isn’t even an established process.”

  “Then tell me about it so I can know enough to argue.”

  “Information must be found within Fleet records about the adjusters’ distribution; I must finish modeling the effects of when a channel is distorted; the twisted, branching channel in the substrate must be mapped; and the mass adjusters themselves must be found and shut down.”

  She frowned and paused. “You’re right…I didn’t realize. How’s the progress?”

  Malik shrugged. “The first could take a month to discover, the second will need more data from channel travel but I’ve already started, the third could take three weeks to a month of nightly efforts with our current sensor modules, and the last would be easy, supposing I could actually find them.”

  He saw her expression and smirked. “The mass adjusters’ measurable impacts on the channel are minimal. A relative few of them are spaced across an astoundingly enormous area, and they may be buried under multiple layers of compressed channels. It’s daunting.”

  Evelyn thought for a moment. “Then I shouldn’t get my hopes up.”

  “Well, the chances are still greater than zero.”

  Counseling sessions preceded eliminations of potential Exeocorps executives, which led to more sessions and investigations of specials linked to Kroes’s targets. The next initiate delivery occurred in the early afternoon. Another name was crossed from James’s list of executives in the same system, while submersions and skates took them to another delivery destination. Although the next woman was hesitant at exit, her mind had been set; Evelyn returned alone.

  “We should go to Catricel and let you try your wings,” she said, stretching her legs. “Now that they’ve hatched.”

  Malik turned, observing as he unfurled all four wings; they were undersized but still growing. “I’d need some dragon magic to get off the ground. In a fantasy world, I wouldn’t be restricted to a ship, hiding.”