Felix, spotting them, suddenly looked frightened. “I think you’re right.”
“Come on." She grabbed Felix by the hand and led him towards the closest exit.
In the corridor, five Templars were waiting for them. All of them had their hands on their swords hilts. They stepped forward and grabbed Felix and Crystal by the arms.
Felix struggled. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Get your hands off me.” Crystal tried to access the ship but her AI had crashed.
One of the Templars smiled at Felix. “Someone wants a word with you.”
Moments later, Tynan appeared in the corridor with the rest of his Knights.
“Ah, Mr. Tebbitt. Finally we meet." He smiled silkily.
“Who’s Mr. Tebbitt? I think you’ve got the wrong man. I’m Horace Belloc."
“Of course you are Felix. Now if you’d be so kind as to come with us." Tynan laughed. “Oh yes. Its not like you’ve got any choice really.”
He led the way down the corridor. Felix and Crystal followed behind, almost being carried by the Templars. Felix looked at Crystal. “What are you doing? Call the ship and get us out of this shit." Crystal looked almost apologetic. “I tried. My AI’s not working.” She paused. “Felix?”
Felix shrugged and looked sheepish.
Tynan, turned his head slightly as he walked. “I took the liberty of disabling the ships access from here to our quarters. My Knights here have also temporarily shorted out your AI. Sorry about that.” He didn’t sound very apologetic.
Felix was beginning to get frightened. Where was Logan and Tarquin when he needed them. “What do you want with us?.”
Tynan arrived at an AG lift, stopped and turned to face Felix. “There is no “us." I just want you. This woman…”
“Crystal”
“Whatever; just happened to be in the wrong place. Now as to what we want with you, well, all will be revealed in the fullness of time. I can tell you this much though, it looks like you’ll be going on another cruise. And this one won’t be quite so pleasurable."
Tynan, Felix and Crystal along with the other Templars all piled into the lift, exiting at level 50. Tynan led the way down the corridor and stopped outside double wooden doors with “executive suite” written on a discrete golden plaque. The doors swung open and they found themselves in a well appointed and spacious lounge. Felix and Crystal were plonked down in desk chairs, flanked by two Templars apiece.
“What now?, said Crystal sarcastically. “Perhaps some entertainment? A beverage? Make mine a bubbly." Felix smiled, nodded and held up two fingers.
“You’ll find out soon enough," a smug Tynan replied.
“You seem to have the advantage," said Felix. “You seem to think you know me, but I’ve got no idea who you are”
Tynan performed a short bow. “Knights Captain Tynan of the Areopagite’s at your service.”
“If you’re at our service, how about letting us go?," said Crystal.
“I think not."
The doors slid open and Simbiel entered the room.
Tynan and the other Templars bowed. “Felix Teppitt, allow me to introduce the Lord Simbiel, Power of the Sixth Order”
“Who’s Felix?” said Felix. Crystal tried unsuccessfully not to laugh.
Simbiel walked over and smiled down at Felix. “Being a bit unco-operative are we? I’m sure the trip to Arabot will cure that." He looked at Crystal. “And who’s this pretty young thing? A Hedonistic whore I think.”
Crystal glared at him. “Go fuck yourself."
“And a feisty whore at that. If it weren’t for the Proscription, I’d take pleasure in adjusting that attitude of yours. Perhaps Captain Tynan and his men will oblige me."
Felix struggled in the grip of two Templars. “Leave her alone tosspot."
“Certainly. If you give us the data on the Overdrive."
“I don’t know what you’re talking about."
Simbiel shrugged. “We’ll see." He turned to Tynan. “Put them in one of the bedrooms."
Four Templars grabbed them, threw them into an empty bedroom and shut the door. It was pitch black.
“Well, what now," asked Crystal. There was silence. “Well?”
“I shrugged. Its a bit dark in here. You probably missed it."
“What’s with this Felix business anyway? You lied to me."
“Yeah, sorry about that. I was under my employer’s instructions to remain incognito." He quickly explained about the Overdrive, the death of his colleague’s and his supposed rendezvous with a representative of his employer.
“I’ve got a confession to make," said a subdued Crystal.
“Here we go. Yes?”
“We share the same employer. I was sent here to escort you to the rendezvous and make sure nothing happened to you on route."
“You’re doing an excellent job so far. And what’s with this shit about me lying to you. You lied to me.”
“Well I was under orders as well. I was to keep you safe, but not to reveal my identity until we arrive at our destination."
“And what is our destination exactly?”
“The asteroid Fever."
“Odd place for a rendezvous. Isn’t that a retro disco place?”
“Yep”
“Well, why couldn’t you tell me who you were in the first place?”
“We were trying to ferret out who intercepted the Overdrive data. Looks like it was the Areopagite’s but it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s other interested parties. Your invention has the potential to change the galaxy."
“So your interest in me was purely business related?”
“Possibly."
“Possibly? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’m considering other possibilities."
“Oh?”
She leant over, and after two failed attempts at finding his lips, gave him a firm, moist kiss.
“Oh” Felix, finally recovered his power of speech. “So who do we work for anyway? I take it Nebula Inc is just a cover?”
“Yes, but I can’t tell you in case the Areopagite’s squeeze the information out of you."
“Your confidence in both my abilities and yours is reassuring."
“Don’t you worry. I’ve got a few aces up my sleeve."
“Well, in the meantime, I hope my erstwhile bodyguards put their clothes back on and come to the rescue."
“Good luck.”
“Got any better suggestions?”
“One or two things suggest themselves," she said archly, putting a hand on his leg.
“Oh."
◊
“So, what do you do for the Angels?”
“Pardon?." Logan looked up at the naked woman under his duvet, pausing to remove his coverall which was half way down his thighs. “What did you say?”
“Those Angel guys. They’re fabulous. I just love those Angels with their gorgeous wings. They told us to come and talk to you, and, you know, have a good time with."
Logan and Tarquin had taken the Vampires back to their respective rooms. Tina the vampire hadn’t wasted any time. Almost as soon as they got through the door, her clothes were off although she’d left her little red horns on. Logan thought they were cute.
“Not that we needed any incentive,” she continued, giving him a seductive smile. “Any excuse would have done to talk to you."
“Fuck." Logan started putting his coverall on again.
Tina looked confused. “What are you doing?”
“Leaving. What exactly did they say to you?." He’d managed to get his coverall on and waited while it assumed his desired look. He had programmed it for black pants, shirt and a long black leather jacket which it was gradually becoming.
Tina sat up exposing her large firm breasts. Logan had to drag his eyes away from them. “They told me that you were business associates and we were a surprise. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just gotta go, that’s all. I’ll see you later.” Logan turned and r
an out the door.
Tina sat back and pulled the duvet under her chin. “Typical."
Outside in the corridor, Logan was about to access Tarquin’s door code when the door slid open and Tarquin emerged, trying to pull his Coverall on.
“Looks like we’ve been set up," Tarquin said, catching sight of Logan. “Not a bad set up either," he said looking wistfully back into his room. Logan grimaced.
“Minx," Logan said aloud. “Location of Horace Belloc please."
The Minx’s sultry voice emerged from an overhead speaker. “I cannot currently locate Horace Belloc. He has either left without my knowledge, which is highly unlikely, or is in an area that I do not have audio or visual access over.”
“Has any Areopagite ship docked with you in the last couple of hours?”
“Yes. The Divine Retribution."
“Can you give me the current location of the crew please?”
“No, but I can tell you that a short time ago they left the Meat and Two Vege Club accompanied by Horace Belloc. I cannot detect them on board but my sensors report that the doors of their reserved Executive suite No. 50001 have recently been accessed, although I do not have audio or visual access at the client’s request.”
“Is it possible for a person to be forcibly removed from your ship against their will and without your knowledge?," asked Tarquin.
“Unlikely. I currently have a 98% coverage of the ship. In that scenario, I would eventually track that person down somewhere on board. In any case, a ship cannot leave the docking bay without my permission.”
“Well that’s something. At least we know he’s still on board. Come on."
“Where are we going?," asked Logan.
“Back to my ship. I suspect we might need a few items."
“You do realize of course, that the ship won’t let us bring any weapons on board?”
“Yep, but I hardly think we’re gonna rescue Felix armed only with sarcasm and good intentions.”
“Good point."
“Is there something you gentlemen wish to tell me?," said the Minx.
“Umm, yes. We think our friend, Horace Belloc is being held against his will by the Areopagite’s. Would it be possible to send a security team to investigate?," asked Logan.
“I’ll look into it."
“Thanks Minx."
◊
Technological development had long since outstripped human mental capacity. Even on late 21st century Earth, humans no longer possessed the reaction time needed to cope with the speeds modern air and space craft could generate. An aircraft traveling at Mach 15, passing another air craft in mid air, would be 10 km behind before the pilot knew he’d even passed it. At these speeds, conversations between pilots and co-pilots usually consisted of:
“Did you see that?”
“What?”
“Never mind."
The gap between advancements in technology and the ability of the human brain to process the information continued to widen over the centuries. The development and implementation of widespread AI technology in the 22nd century closed the gap somewhat. Biological AI implants were imbedded in humans neural cortex at the age of 5, and continued to grow and expand in conjunction with their hosts own growth. These implants enabled the host to not only interact with a society that was largely maintained by AI’s, but also to enable better communication between humans.
The AI’s imbedded in nearly every human’s brain consisted of communication links, analytical and processing power which exceeded that of its host many times over and an encyclopedia and research function that was being continually upgraded. In addition, the AI could copy its host brain patterns and thought processes, speeding it up to enable that person to communicate with other AI’s at a similar speed. Thus, a human pilot on board a space ship could communicate with the ship’s AI at speeds far exceeding standard human reaction time and make decisions in conjunction with the ship even without knowing they were taking place. The pilot, navigator etc, would find out later what decisions had been made via their AI and be reassured by the fact that the decision had in part been made by a faster, artificial copy of themselves.
When humankind began exploring the galaxy, most spacefaring ships were run and controlled by normal, non-human based AI. Despite the fact that the AI’s were more competent, faster by many orders of magnitude, and made comparatively few errors, their human minders were reluctant to let an artificial intelligence make all decisions. Bridges were installed in all ships, and a supervisory crew kept contact with the AI at all times. Even by the 29th Century when AI technology had been proven to be error free and 100% reliable, humans felt compelled to install a bridge on all ships and have a human supervisory crew on board. The human crew, however, had hardly anything to do, except in the cases where an Areopagite Angel was on board and a route via a Shiva controlled part of nospace was required.
Perhaps it had something to do with insecurity or the basic human compulsion to be anything other than completely redundant, but whatever the case, the end result was that most human space ship crews spent their time drinking, fornicating and playing cards to fill in the time.
The Dirty Little Minx was no different in this regard. The ships AI controlled every aspect of day to day ship board life, consulting occasionally with its human minders if (and this rarely happened) a situation arose that it was not authorized to proceed without human interaction. The Dirty Little Minx had been commissioned by the Hedonist Pleasure Society some 30 years previously. In those 30 years, the AI that contained the personality of the late Tina Hogsworth had not once been overruled by a human overseer in regards to a command decision. If, for any reason, the ships AI should malfunction or otherwise become inoperable, basic internal programming took over the ships support functions and any droids (security, maintenance etc) became independent using their own inbuilt and low level AI’s.
Captain-Pilot Roger Lapont had been chief supervisory Pilot aboard the Dirty Little Minx for the last two years. Prior to that, he had been Pilot on the Minx’s sister (or in this case, brother) ship, the Big Member. Since gaining his Pilot’s license some six years previously, Roger had done little in the way of actual work. The same could be said for most pilots, but a Hedonist Pilot was something special. Being on board a Hedonist StarCruiser was what made Roger’s job tolerable. He was free to mingle with the guests, in any capacity whatsoever, and in fact, was encouraged to do so in order to spread the word (amongst other things), so to speak, in regards to Hedonist society. This Roger undertook with gusto. A handsome man, tall and with a cheerful disposition, equipped with the uniform and epaulettes of a Captain, he was rarely lacking for female companionship. Roger did take his job seriously however. His AI was in constant contact with the ship, and would ask his opinion about a ship related affair as often as once a month. Other than that, Roger’s time was his own – time well spent socializing and enjoying all the other activities Hedonist society excelled in.
Continuing to take his duties seriously, Roger was currently firmly ensconced in one of his favorite bars aboard the ship. The Empathy bar was well named. Smallish and cheerfully appointed, it consisted of small cozy booths and long comfortable sofas. The lighting was dim. Not so dim as to diminish the green tinge pervading the bar however, but dim enough not to be able to see your potential bed partner too clearly. The green tinge came from fern-like plants clustered amongst the furniture. The plants, known as Empathy ferns, had been discovered fairly recently on a lush, jungle type world known as Utopia. They possessed the innate ability to act as emotion conduits between nearby creatures.
Roger, and the bars other regular punters, found the ability to read the emotional state of prospective sexual partners (who could in turn read his) as an excellent short cut to actually consummating the relationship. With that end in mind, he was currently involved in a rather flirtatious conversation with blond twins. The twins, (Donna and Wendy, his AI reliably informed him) were wearing matching red plastic outfits consis
ting of low décolletage revealing blouses, equally leg revealing shorts and long, knee high red boots, euphemistically known as CFMB, or Come Fuck me Boots. The emotional feedback he was currently receiving from the Empathy ferns told him in no uncertain terms that the twins were Up For It. So engrossed was Roger in the conversation, that he failed to notice the approach of three men dressed in the uniforms of Templars.
The leader of the three stopped and addressed Roger.
“Captain Pilot Lapont?."
Roger tore his eyes away from the twins, well, technically their respective cleavages, and turned to face the man.
“Yes?”
“My name is Knights Captain Tynan of the Areopagites. I require a moment of your time." Tynan thrust out his hand which Roger briefly shook.
Roger looked back and forth between the twins and Tynan and then found himself meeting the Templar’s gaze.
“This isn’t really convenient. Perhaps I could contact you tomorrow?”
“It is a matter of some importance. It concerns ship security”
“That would seem to be a matter for security then. Or even for the ship itself."
Roger couldn’t be sure - due to the proximity of the twins - but the emotional feedback he was getting from the Templar seemed to be a cross between scorn, contempt mixed with agitation, and even irritation. He couldn’t read the other two Templars. They were both carrying large cases.
The Templar Captain showed no emotion on his face. “This is a matter that I believe you would like to address yourself. I would require only a few minutes."
Roger sighed. “Oh very well." He nodded and smiled at the twins. “I’ll be back as soon as I can ladies. Duty calls." He winked, and placing his drink down on a nearby table, allowed himself to be escorted out of the bar by the three Templars. Once outside in the deserted corridor, he turned and faced the Knights Captain once again.
“Now what’s all this about?”
Knight’s Captain Tynan smiled grimly. “It seems we’ve uncovered a plot to blow up the ship."
“What! By whom? When?”
Tynan’s grin broadened. “Yes," he said, mimicking the Pilot’s strident tone. “By us. Very shortly."
Overdrive Page 9