Hal Spacejock Omnibus One

by Simon Haynes

  Sonya emerged from the ship, shielding her eyes against the sun with one hand while carrying the briefcase in the other. She was dressed in faded jeans and a white blouse, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail.

  "Watch the flies," called Hal. "They've had a taste and they seem to like it."

  Sonya descended the ramp, holding the briefcase steady as she scanned the trees around the clearing. Before she reached the ground, Clunk appeared on the platform.

  "Mr Spacejock, did you touch the generators?"

  "No. Why?"

  "According to the logs, they've been overheating again."

  Sonya glanced at Hal. "That sounds serious. You'd better get your robot to check it out."

  Hal nodded. "Clunk, can you give the generators a once over?"

  "No need. There are no entries in the backup logs, which means this is almost certainly spurious data. Forget I brought it up."

  Sonya frowned at Hal. "That doesn't sound very safe. Can't you order him to check things over?"

  "He'd have the whole ship in pieces if he really thought there was a problem. He's a born worrier." Hal looked around the clearing. "Nice place for a camp. Where do you want the stuff?"

  "But the errors in the log! You can't just ignore them!"

  Hal shrugged. "If he's not worried, I'm not worried."

  "But —" Sonya forced a smile. "You're right, it's silly of me. I just didn't want anything to happen to you." She hesitated. "Can we unload in a moment or two? Right now I could use a walk."

  "Good idea. Where shall we go?"

  "I need to take some readings," said Sonya, lifting the briefcase. "I work best on my own. I'm sure you understand."

  "Oh." Hal's face fell. "Well, don't be too long. We've got a cargo to deliver."

  Sonya smiled and patted his cheek. "Don't leave before I've had a chance to say a proper goodbye."

  Before Hal could react she'd turned away. He watched her walk to the trees with the briefcase swinging from her hand, and saw her vanish into the undergrowth. A moment or two later he turned and trudged back up the ramp to the flight deck, where he found Clunk hunched over the console. "How's the atmosphere?"

  "It will do," said the robot.

  "What was all that about the generators?"

  "Nothing. Don't worry about it." He glanced at Hal. "We must unload her boxes and leave immediately if we're to meet the Central Bank deadline."

  "Let's get to it, then." Hal led the way to the hold where he stared at the six large crates in amazement. "How did you get those aboard?"

  "All by myself, no thanks to Lee."

  "Lee? Oh, the new robot." Hal looked around. "Where is it?"

  Clunk looked uncomfortable. "It broke down."

  "You're kidding! How?"

  "We were cleaning Ms Smith's cabin, and her briefcase had a red cable and Lee sort of accidentally connected to it."

  "You didn't sort of accidentally think that might be a bad idea?"

  "It was too late," said Clunk miserably. "By the time I intervened there was smoke coming out of his ears."

  "Well, you'll just have to unload the cargo by yourself, won't you?"

  "Yes Mr Spacejock."

  "If you need me, I'll be in the flight deck studying our insurance policy. With a bit of luck we're covered for stupidity."

  *

  Sonya hurried through the forest, putting some distance between herself and the ship. Rex's plan had seemed simple enough. Get the Volante to a deserted planet and delay Hal until the Central Bank deadline had passed. But what if Hal took off and left her? She wouldn't put it past Rex to leave it a few days before rescuing her - if he bothered at all. And what's more, the damned briefcase weighed a ton. "I wish you had legs," she growled, easing her aching shoulders.

  The briefcase beeped. "I notice you're trying to cross an uncharted forest. Would you like some assistance?"

  "Sure. Got a map?"

  "No."

  "A drink, perhaps?"

  "Negative."

  "So what kind of help are you offering?"

  There was a pause. "I notice my system software has yet to be unlocked. You do realise this is a criminal offence?"

  Sonya made a noise. "That's Dent's problem."

  "Was the information on the lost civilisation any good?"

  "Didn't really need it." The briefcase had given her a reams of info, but after five minutes she noticed Hal was barely listening. That's when she started making crap up, and he'd still nodded and smiled the whole time. "Can you tell me what happened to the errors you inserted in the log? Hal's robot said something about a backup."

  "They must be running a duplicate logging server in parallel," said Bobby. "Tricky, that. The second copy must have been well hidden."

  "Great. So how am I supposed to delay them?"

  "Dent gave you a robot. Why don't you use it?"

  Sonya made a face. "Whatever Hal's done, he doesn't deserve Tinker. No, I'll just have to disappear for a while and trust them not to leave me here."

  "I thought Spacejock was notorious for doing exactly that? Abandoning refugees on deserted planets?"

  "So Curtis said." Truth was, now that she'd met Hal she had trouble believing it. Sonya hefted the briefcase, winced at the pain in her shoulder, and pushed on through the forest. It was a pleasant walk, with the sunlight filtering through the leaves and an earthy smell in the air, and only the buzzing of an occasional fly to disturb the peace.

  After another ten minutes the briefcase felt like a lump of lead. Sonya stopped for a rest, and as she was turning her head to loosen her neck muscles she spotted a clearing through the trees. In the exact centre were four weathered columns, marking the corners of a large stone slab. She blinked, hardly believing her eyes. Rex had suggested the lost civilisation yarn as a cover story, and yet here was evidence of civilisation not a kilometre from the ship. He'd only picked Canessa because it was uninhabited and away from the major shipping routes.

  Sonya entered the clearing and approached the columns, her shoes clicking on cracked paving slabs underfoot. A gust of wind shook the trees, and she shivered as a shadow passed over the sun. As she got closer to the stonework she convinced herself it had to be relatively modern. Perhaps a couple hundred years, and maybe a secret lab or an outpost or something. They wouldn't show on Rex's civilian maps.

  Sonya hesitated, uncertain. She wasn't far from the Volante and Spacejock would probably find the clearing if he came looking for her. She ought to keep moving, to put more distance between herself and the ship, but in the end curiosity won out and she went to investigate the structure.

  *

  Clunk pushed the first of Sonya's crates to the back of the hold, where he gave it a nudge to send it sliding down the ramp. He watched with satisfaction as the heavy box slammed into the turf and crashed end-over-end, then went for the next one. He'd just pushed the last crate down the ramp when he heard footsteps inside the hold.

  "Have you seen Sonya?" called Hal.

  "No."

  "She's been a long time."

  "All of thirty minutes."

  Hal looked down at the crates. "Why are you laying them on their sides?"

  "It was more efficient."

  "Okay, carry on."

  Clunk hesitated. "Mr Spacejock, I know Sonya hasn't returned yet, but we really must leave."

  "We can't abandon a passenger."

  "This is where she wanted to be."

  "What if she's in trouble?"

  "Do you intend to stay here until she leaves? Wait while she completes her studies?"

  "Well no, but … you know. I've got to say goodbye. She promised me she'd …" Hal stopped. "Well, I thought we were going to …"

  The intercom buzzed. "Clunk, are you there?"

  "Yes, Navcom. What is it?"

  "I have the results of those tests you ordered."

  Clunk glanced at Hal. "Oh yes. What did you find?"

  "The logging errors were introduced via the data socket in the cargo
hold."

  "Estimated time?"

  "Niner fifty, one-oh-two," said the Navcom.

  "Negative. Repair underway. Repeat log confirm?"

  "Log confirm. Niner fifty, one-oh-two. Manual check?"

  "Negative. Cache same?"

  "Cache clear."

  Clunk turned to Hal. "There is something very strange going on."

  "You're telling me," muttered Hal. "What was all that about?"

  "You remember those generator warnings I mentioned after we landed?"

  "The ones you wiped?"

  "Actually, I set them aside for further study. It seems they were deliberately introduced to our logs."

  Hal shrugged. "Probably just a computer error. You know how those things go wrong all the time."

  Clunk frowned.

  "Some of the time," amended Hal.

  "The logging aboard this ship takes place in parallel. The hidden copy doesn't have any faults in it, as I told you earlier. Whoever introduced the errors made a mistake."

  "Like I said, the computer went wrong."

  Clunk shook his head. "Mr Spacejock, those errors were added by hand."

  "How do you mean?"

  "Think about it. If I thought the generators were overheating I'd have to give them a thorough check. That could take hours, making us late for the Central Bank delivery."

  "So who could have messed with the logs?"

  "Someone with a portable computer. Someone with unsupervised access to the ship."

  Hal stared at him. "The mechanics! They were working on the generators and the old guy had a notepad thing with a little prick."

  "Not them, Mr Spacejock. Someone who came aboard recently. Someone with a portable computer hidden in a briefcase. Someone who …"

  "Oh, you mean Lee." Hal frowned. "I don't think he had a briefcase, though."

  "Oh, for goodness sake!" Clunk waved his arms. "I'm talking about our passenger!"

  "Sonya's got nothing to do with this."

  "Don't be so sure. She had the opportunity, the equipment, the —"

  "Motive? Go on, why would she do it? Why would she mess with logs and caches and whatnot?"

  Clunk looked thoughtful. "Who stands to gain if we don't make this delivery?"

  "Central Bank. They'll hit us with a whacking great penalty fee."

  "No, they only use dirty tactics on their customers. I meant someone else. Someone who threatened to ruin you if you took this job."

  "Rex Curtis!" exclaimed Hal.

  "Correct," said Clunk. "Sonya Smith could be working for him."

  "That's a bit of a stretch, Clunk. I mean, she's a historian."

  "Not a very good one."

  "She's got a theory. She told me about it."

  "Oh well, she must be above board, then." Clunk crossed his arms. "If she's working for Curtis, the best thing we can do is take off right now. If you're worried about her safety we can check on her after delivering the paperwork."

  "I've got a better idea. We'll look for her right now, and when we find her you can present your loony spy theory. She'll love it. She has a great sense of humour."

  Clunk looked uncomfortable. "I don't think that's the best way to resolve the matter. It might lead to unpleasantness."

  "Cold feet, eh? If you're going to make accusations, you can make them to her face. Come on."

  They went down the ramp and crossed the clearing to the spot where Sonya had vanished into the trees. Hal analysed several fallen leaves and a broken twig, then set off to the right.

  Behind him, Clunk cleared his throat. "There are footprints going the other way."

  "She must have doubled back." Hal retraced his steps. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go this way."

  "Whatever you say, Mr Spacejock."

  Chapter 23

  Up close, the concrete structure looked as solid as mountain rock. Sonya was no expert, but the crumbling edges looked more like a thousand years old than a hundred. Bang went her spy base theory. She made her way around, pausing to examine each column. They were carved with lines of flowing script, the edges blurred with age. It was nothing she'd seen before, of that she was certain.

  The central slab had a smooth, flat surface, and was the size of the landing pads she'd seen at the spaceport. Three sides had steps cut into them, while the fourth had a rectangular hole in the middle. As she approached, Sonya realised it was an entrance with steps leading underground. They were thick with leaf mould, and a dank smell rose from the hole.

  Sonya trod on the first step, slipped, and almost fell headlong. The briefcase slammed into the wall as she struggled for balance, and she realised it was madness to take it with her. She put the case down next to the entrance and steadied herself, putting both hands on the walls and descending the steps with care.

  It grew darker and darker, and she realised she'd need a torch to go any further. Turning, she made her way back up the steps, treading carefully on the slippery leaves. She'd barely reached the mouth of the stairwell when she heard a distant shout. Sonya cursed silently. It could only be Spacejock and his damned robot.

  Bending double, she ran for the trees, finding cover just as Hal and Clunk emerged on the far side of the clearing. She heard their excited voices as they saw the ancient concrete structure, and she crouched lower as they approached the ruins. She grinned as she pictured the robot falling down the slippery stairs, leaving Hal to drag it back up again on his own.

  The grin vanished as a flash of silver caught her eye. She'd left Bobby the briefcase right next to the steps!

  *

  Hal approached the ruins, staring at the weathered concrete. "Do you think they're human?"

  "No aesthetics, no windows and built in a clearing carved from the living forest." Clunk nodded. "Probably."

  "I told you Sonya was legit! It's her lost civilisation!"

  "And that's her briefcase," said Clunk, pointing it out.

  Hal hurried over to pick it up, and as he approached the concrete slab he spotted the dark opening in the side. "Clunk, there's a staircase! Shine your light!"

  Clunk activated his chest lamp and shone it down the steps.

  "Stinks a bit, doesn't it? But that's where she went."

  "Without a light?"

  "There's her footprints." Hal cupped his hands around his mouth. "Sonya!"

  "… onya … onya," echoed the entrance.

  "Come on, we've got to find her. She might have broken her ankle or fallen into a pit or something."

  "That staircase looks very slippery, Mr Spacejock."

  "You go first, then." Hal nodded at the briefcase. "What about that?"

  "It's not going to get stolen, is it?"

  "What if it rains?"

  "It's going to be hard enough negotiating these steps as it is. You don't want to burden yourself with hand luggage."

  "I'm not going to. You are."

  "I could lose my balance!"

  "Come off it. You could cross a tightrope with a pyramid of fighting cats balanced on your shoulders."

  "Your confidence in my abilities is gratifying, but occasionally misplaced."

  Hal grabbed the briefcase and thrust it at the robot. "Get moving. Sonya could be hurt."

  Clunk tucked the case under his arm and trod on the first step. His foot skated off the slime and shot into space, and he landed heavily on his back. The briefcase flew out of his hands, bounced off the step and disappeared with a series of loud crashes.

  Hal winced at each echoing blow. "I hope the instruments weren't as delicate as she made out."

  Clunk looked at him incredulously. "A fall like that would turn granite into gravel. I can only imagine what it's done to the briefcase."

  "Sonya could be lying at the foot of these stairs in terrible pain, and here we are launching lethal missiles. How's she going to feel about that?"

  "If the briefcase hit her she won't be feeling anything."

  "Do you think you can take these steps without falling over again?"

&n
bsp; "Only if my hands are free."

  "Come on then, lead the way. And be careful! Compared to you, that briefcase was just a warning shot."

  *

  Sonya watched Hal and Clunk moving around the entrance, cursing under her breath when she realised they were preparing to descend. Sure, Hal was as thick as a plastic girder, and could be expected to go charging into danger without a second thought. But robots were supposed to be smart, and if this one thought she'd negotiated the slippery steps in pitch darkness it was as dumb as its owner.

  When the robot slipped she stopped breathing, and when she saw the case fly out of its hands and vanish down the stairs she buried her face in the dirt, covered her ears and waited for the explosion.

  Nothing happened.

  Cautiously raising her head, Sonya saw Hal following the robot underground. She suppressed the urge to call out, to get them back out of the slippery, dark stairwell. After all, who was going to take her home if they never came back?

  Cursing to herself, she settled down to wait. Then she brightened - if they took long enough they'd be doing her job for her.

  *

  Hal watched Clunk's head bobbing up and down, silhouetted in the glare of the robot's light. The walls sparkled with moisture, and slime squished underfoot as they made their way down the narrow staircase. Now and then Hal saw a long, silver scar on the wall, evidence that the briefcase hadn't just hit the steps on the way down. At the foot of the stairs the walls and floor were lined with smooth, featureless concrete. Opposite the staircase, an archway led into a narrow tunnel.

  Clunk shone his light along it, revealing a smooth floor and curved walls. The briefcase was lying on the floor several metres into the tunnel. Beyond was darkness.

  "At least that's still in one piece," said Hal. He cupped his mouth with both hands and shouted, "Sonya!"

  There was no reply.

  They stepped into the tunnel and began to make their way along its length. On the way, Hal collected the briefcase. The corners were dented and the silver case was heavily scored, but it seemed sound enough.

  After a hundred metres or so, the tunnel ended in a bare wall.

  "How strange that it should end suddenly," said Clunk.

  "Yeah. You wouldn't think they'd build a passageway like this without having it go somewhere."