“Sir, that planet is heavily protected, and the Karyot have the most advanced sensors. There would be no way for an OTKE ship to get there. An unauthorized wormhole point would be detected immediately. Even a stealth ship would have issues and need at least a week to get there if they didn’t want to be seen.”
“You impress me with the knowledge of your dominant race.”
The assistant stood more upright after the compliment.
“Mr. Hunt’s companions are an intelligent lot, but I need to make sure we delay them if I’m to make things grander and grab Mr. Hunt’s attention. So, what I had originally planned for Dr. Katalina’s uncle will need to change as well. I have an idea on how I can use him for our benefit and will relay an order about that later. First, we need to deal with the main details.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, here is what I want you to do. One: send word to the Karyots about the favor and have our ship with the uncle set a course to the Morto System. Two: since we will not get Mr. Hunt’s little gang together, I will alter our little surprise for him. Have one of our techs splice into the multiple communication relays on all bands. I want the universe to see what we are capable of, and it will ensure Mr. Hunt is a witness to my greatness.”
“I will get on this right away, sir. Anything else?”
“Yes, have my more colorful wardrobe sent up. I’m feeling more…alive. You’re dismissed.”
The assistant bowed and left.
Fredrick moved across the room and leaned on the floating pedestal, which adjusted to his weight. He stared at the jester’s hat and tapped the bell with his finger. He giggled at the ting it made.
“Don’t worry, my friend. They will never see me coming.”
The Tempus didn’t waste any time getting to wormhole speed and entering the conduit. Once the ship had settled in, Nora and Commander Tucket headed up to see Commander Gordon.
The command deck of the Tempus was a buzz of activity. It was the first time Nora had seen the ship fully staffed.
Commander Gordon swiveled in his command chair to face them as they entered.
“Tucket, nice to see you again,” said Commander Gordon, getting up to greet his old friend.
Commander Tucket made a turn to take in the command center and gave a whistle of acceptance. “Nice ship you have here, Commander. Not like the old clunky troop transports we used to jump around in.”
“I recall those days quite well. Surprised those ships ever held together,” said Commander Gordon, who now looked over to Nora. “Nora, you’re looking well.”
“Of course I do. I am performing at peak performance. If you will excuse me, I see Tilli over there.”
The two men waited for Nora to leave before continuing.
“As always, she’s a great conversationalist,” said Commander Gordon.
Commander Tucket laughed. “Yeah, but fun to tease. It throws her off her game.”
“More your style than mine, Tucket. Now let’s discuss this mission.”
Commander Tucket nodded. “What do we have?”
“Our intelligence is reporting two Earth Consortium transport ships will be docking at the Dima spaceport near the edge of Woland space.”
“That doesn’t raise any red flags to me. Earth Consortium transports are always making runs between ports,” said Commander Tucket.
“You are correct, but the signatures of these two are listed as destroyed in the Earth Consortium records. Plus, with the recent declaration of war, the Woland don’t seem to be in a hurry to intercept them.”
“When you put it that way. Are you sure the intel is reliable?”
“Yes, it comes from a reliable source. We also have specialized deep space scanning ships monitoring for any wormhole activity in that area. We’ll know if any ship enters or leaves.”
Commander Tucket crossed his arms as he thought through the scenario. “All right, that makes me a little more comfortable. Will your ship get us there in time?”
Commander Gordon smiled. “We’ll be able to get to Dima before they arrive, and then it’s up to you and Nora to get on the ship or grab Seymour during the transfer.”
“I’m sure there are plenty of Woland on that station, and Fredrick’s mercenaries are not going to leave Seymour in the open, but I have some ideas,” said Commander Tucket. “Bring up the schematics of the station.”
Commander Gordon gave an order and a virtual screen popped up detailing Dima station for them to review.
Nora identified Tilli at the navigation and research station and headed over to socialize. As always, Tilli was head down, fingers racing around the virtual screen, quickly opening and closing research notes and diagrams.
“Greetings, Tilli. What are you researching?”
Tilli’s tense expression relaxed when she recognized the voice and spun around. “Nora, I assumed you were off with Ryan and Dr. Kat.”
“I am not. My mission is with Commander Tucket and separate from what Mr. Hunt and Dr. Kat are working on.”
“The team is truly split then. That’s a shame. I thought we all functioned well together. I’m sure I will find out soon, but is there anything about this mission you can tell me?”
“No, but Commander Tucket and Commander Gordon are reviewing the details. I am sure Commander Gordon will let you know soon enough.”
“I’m always the last to know.”
“While we wait, have you discovered anything new about the orb?” asked Nora.
Tilli smiled and her face lit up. “Yes, I have. Using some of the information from the Gravel data crystals, I modified the engine conduit connections to the wormhole generator. It took some sneaking around to get hold of exceedingly rare metals and organic wiring, but I was able to speed up the ship’s wormhole travel using only a small part of the orb’s stored energy.”
“That is an exceptional achievement.”
“There is more.” Tilli spun around and brought up the schematics of the ship’s systems. “Outside of the orb enhancing the shields and hull integrity, I figured out how to divert power to other systems from it by updating the energy flow conduits.”
“Do you mean every system? Like weapons?”
“Unfortunately, yes…and as powerful as everything might be, the orb we lost is potentially a hundredfold or more powerful than the prototype we have. Plus, it would supply infinite power.”
Nora’s eyebrow raised. “Excellent work. Let us hope no one is as smart as you.”
Chapter 4
Back to Diero
Kat was relieved when her ship’s AI alerted them to their arrival at Diero-342. She was growing tired of arguing with Ryan over placing a pirate flag or shark teeth across the side of her ship. Plus, she was becoming frustrated by him changing the subject every time she brought up their relationship.
“Wow, that seemed quicker than the last time we came here,” said Ryan.
“It was,” said Kat. “Tilli’s updates to the engines made a big difference. If everything holds up, she’ll have a new engine recommendation to present to the OTKE tech leadership team.”
Ryan nodded. “She knows her stuff. I can see her overseeing some tech research lab or something like that someday.”
He moved his fingers along the virtual screen to zoom into the planet. There was an abundance of ships jumping into wormholes, and it seemed to increase every few seconds.
“Is it me, or are there a lot of ships speeding away from the planet?”
Before Kat could say anything, the ship’s AI played the incoming communication.
“This is Diero-342 Spaceport docking authority. We are picking up your signal. What is the Retribution’s business here today?”
“Visiting some friends. Is Revo there? This is Dr. Katalina Winslow.”
“Retri
bution, please hold your course.”
“Wow, they’ve gotten tough on landing approvals compared to last time,” said Ryan.
“Yeah. This is odd.”
“Hey, Dr. Kat. Revo here. Sorry about the formalities.”
“You had me worried, Revo. I thought something happened to you.”
“Glad you worry about me, Dr. Kat, but there’s nothing to be concerned about. We have additional staff filling in, but I do need to know what business you have today. The planetary commission has implemented new security guidelines with all the recent pirate raids in the local systems, the impending war, and we’ve had some security issues on the planet.”
“Sounds like a blast, but there isn’t much in the way of a security concern. It’s only Ryan and me. We’re coming to see a friend. Shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”
“Did you say Ryan is with you? As in Ryan Hunt?”
“Yes, is that a problem?” asked Kat.
“Always forcing me to do more work, Dr. Kat,” Revo said, laughing. “Please make sure to have Mr. Hunt report directly to the Security Station. It’s noted in his record that he shot someone here a few years ago, which now requires him to check in with Captain Trelis.”
Kat looked over at Ryan. “Aren’t you the bad boy?”
“I was shy and innocent until I started hanging out with you.”
“I’ll give you shy, but innocent…not a chance. Revo, I will personally take Mr. Hunt to the security office to get him approved.”
“Sounds good. I’m sending your ship AI the platform beacon code. Let it follow it in, and have a good day.”
“Thanks, Revo. Kat, out.”
Kat leaned back to stretch. “I’ve never seen this place locked down like this. There has to be more going on.”
“Probably, but what do you mean I’m not innocent?”
“You really want to go there?”
“I’m a saint. If my mother was still alive, she would back that up.”
Kat laughed and then looked at Ryan with a stone face. “Cleavage and naked vampire.”
“Yeah, well…I…not my…”
“And you’re now blushing. Once again, point goes to Kat.”
Ryan crossed his arms and turned away, mumbling.
Kat put her hand up to her ear. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
“Nope. Just enjoying the landing.”
“That’s what I thought,” said Kat, grinning ear to ear.
The docking bay’s arm swung out to give the Retribution a platform to land on and then pulled back into the spaceport.
Ryan and Kat exited the ship, and the vibe was noticeably different from the last time they were here. Planetary security forces and hovering AI las-gun platforms were everywhere. People were loading ships with a purpose, and as fast as the docking platform extended out so a ship could blast off, another was in line waiting to be positioned on the platform for takeoff.
“Ouch! Watch where you are going! That is my bad foot!” a man yelled over a staticky communication device as Ryan stepped on his foot.
Ryan spun around. “I’m sorry. I was…”
He stared at the man, and then a smile crossed his face when he recognized the guy in the old-style globe space helmet looking back at him. It was the ex-mercenary Mirt, who was now carrying a fancy high-tech broom instead of a las-rifle. Mirt was the mercenary he had stopped from smuggling Florarien children, and who he had shot in the foot a few years ago.
“Mirt, what a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“You! Of all the people. Come to shoot me in the foot again?” said Mirt.
“Hey! Look who it is,” said Kat, walking over and putting her arm up to lean on Ryan’s shoulder. “Small bracelet on the wrist and a disinfecting sweeper. I’m guessing you were found guilty as charged?”
“Oh, great. The crazy lady too. And yes. I am now stuck here doing the job of an AI for the next five years.”
“Well, Mr. Hunt, if I must say, he appears to be doing a great job,” said Kat.
“Actually, I think he missed a spot, but I’m sure he’ll improve over time,” said Ryan, smiling at Mirt.
Mirt’s face turned red as he gripped the sweeper handle harder.
“Well, on that note, I think we should keep moving,” said Kat.
“I concur, Dr. Kat,” said Ryan. “Well, you have a good day, Mirt, and try to be more protective of that foot of yours.” He patted Mirt on the top of his globe helmet, gave him a smile, and headed off with Kat.
Mirt watched them walk away and limped over to a communication panel on the wall. “Red-Zone building 1304a.”
“This is Olive Lynn Exports. How may we help you?”
“This is Mirt. The items you were seeking have been imported and are on Diero.”
“Any idea where the imports are headed?”
“Not a clue, but remember who gave you this information.”
“Your assistance is noted.”
The communication ended, and Mirt went back to disinfecting the hangar floors, but this time with happy thoughts of Ryan Hunt dying in painful ways.
Kat led Ryan to the Diero security office located near the spaceport exit. It was a location she knew quite well for other reasons, but Ryan had one-upped her by getting caught after shooting someone. She had gotten lucky that Mirt’s deathly looking friend turned to a pile of dust after she blew its head off, or she would also be on the naughty list.
A patrol of two planetary security guards and a hover las-gun platform went by them as they entered the security office. For all that was going on, the security office was dead. One security guard was transferring a prisoner to a cell, while another was arguing with a merchant who was complaining about someone damaging his transport.
“I would’ve expected this place to be busier,” said Ryan.
“It usually is. I’m not sure what’s going on.”
A security AI with battle armor walked over to them. Its head was a round sphere with two digital eyes and a mouth. Based on its configuration, Ryan figured the head may drop down into the battle armor during a fight, shoot lasers from its eyes, or something like that.
“Hello, I’m Ryan Hunt. I was asked to come here and check-in.”
“I am SO-290. Please do not move,” the AI said in a deep, commanding voice.
A red beam of light emanated from the AI, and it slowly moved in multiple directions over Ryan’s face.
“Ryan Hunt confirmed. Please hold while I alert the captain of your presence.” The security AI paused for a moment as it sent a secure communication via its embedded communication chip.
Ryan quickly blinked a couple of times and rubbed his eyes. “Next time warn a guy about the light thing.”
“Surprised you’re still alive, with that whining and being a bad shot and all,” said a voice from their left.
Kat and Ryan turned toward the voice to see Captain Trelis standing in an open doorway. Just like the last time Ryan had seen him, the captain was wearing lightweight battle armor, a shiny las-pistol on each hip, and held what looked like a cowboy hat in his hands.
“Captain Trelis, always a pleasure to see you,” said Kat.
SO-290 nodded to the captain and went back to its duties.
The captain looked the two of them up and down. “I’m hopin’ you and your friend are not here to stir up anything again.”
“If I recall, we saved a bunch of children your guys didn’t know were being kidnapped. Isn’t that a good thing?” asked Ryan.
Captain Trelis squinted as he stared down Ryan.
Kat elbowed him, and he gave her a dirty look. She gave him a ‘what the hell are you doing’ look in reply.
“So, Captain, are you expecting trouble?” said Kat, trying to change the subject.
Captain Trelis smiled and turned his attention to Kat. “Diero is always trouble. The planet is the center point to many homeworlds and is usually the first to be conquered in a conflict. You two adding to its problems is not something I need right now.”
“That whole being conquered thing would put me on edge as well,” said Ryan. “Captain Trelis, if it makes you feel any better, we’re just here to talk to a friend and move on. Plus, since I came to check-in, I’m showing what law-abiding guests we are by following the proper protocols.”
The smile on the captain’s face vanished, and he squinted at Ryan again. “Yeah, this comin’ from the Foot Shooter.”
Kat burst out laughing at his nickname, and Ryan drooped his head. It was not a name he wanted to be remembered by.
“Appreciate that, Captain. It will now be a long flight home. Can’t we just put that incident behind us and move on?” said Ryan, putting his hand out.
Captain Trelis looked at it and then back at Ryan’s eyes.
Ryan hesitantly put his hand down. He had forgotten that no one seemed to want to shake hands anymore.
Captain Trelis shook his head, walked over to a nearby console, and put his hat down on top of it. A virtual screen popped up, and he started moving items around.
“I’m sure you two will be on your best behavior, except for the fact that Mirt has promised to hunt you down and kill you, Mr. Hunt.”
Ryan shrugged. “These days, I’ll add him to the list of people out to get me.”
The captain’s head slowly lifted from the screen. “Is there something goin’ on that I should know about?”
Ryan made an oof sound when Kat’s elbow connected with his side again.
“Mr. Hunt is exaggerating some internal issues, but I assure you we are here to talk to a friend and then leave.”
Captain Trelis stared blankly at Ryan.
“Yup, exactly what she said. Quick conversation, and then we’re out. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”
Second Life of Mr. Hunt: Book 3: Failover Page 4