Second Life of Mr. Hunt: Book 3: Failover

by Gerrit Overeem

  Chapter 8

  Rogue Planet

  Kat set the Retribution AI to take them to the Ombroso transport depot on the rogue planet Perdita while they got a few hours of needed rest.

  Perdita was ejected from its star system long before any of the older races had crawled out of the primordial ooze. It would have continued on as another dead planet if it wasn’t for an import-export corporation building a transport depot on it.

  The rogue planet wasn’t difficult to get to, assuming one knew its speed, its orbiting pattern of the galaxy’s center, and the motion of the other stars, black holes, and other spacial bodies. The ship’s AI knew these factors and could calculate the path quickly.

  The alarm alerted them of the ship’s arrival to the planet. Kat stretched, and Ryan rubbed his face and glanced sleepily at the virtual display. The Retribution AI was keeping pace with the planet and other ships looking to land and was handling all the intricacies.

  Before making the final approach, the ship automatically raised their seats to a sitting position and secured them for the landing.

  Ryan touched an area on the virtual display to zoom in on the planet. The facility was a large domed glass building on a vast flat icy landscape. Multiple docking platforms littered the area with long tubes connected to small domed structures, which eventually led to other landing platforms or back to the large central dome.

  The Retribution descended through the thick atmosphere and was bounced around by the turbulence. Ryan tapped the screen to lower the forward blast shield to get a non-virtual view of the facility. Hovering lights were everywhere, along with AIs carrying cargo and performing routine maintenance on the buildings. He leaned forward to get a view of the underside of a transport that was blasting off past them. “A freaking rogue planet with a base. This is awesome.”

  Kat smiled at him. “If you can imagine it, you can do the impossible. You don’t have to be a super scientist to dream up ideas.”

  “Yeah, sometimes a dream is enough to get people inventing the next great thing. Then again, there were people in my day who thought the Earth was flat.”

  Kat looked at him with utter shock. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “Sadly, I’m not,” said Ryan, shaking his head. “It sometimes amazes me that we made it this far. On a different note, do you think we’ll find any useful information here?”

  “Remind me to discuss that flat Earth thing with you again. I’m curious why they thought that. But to answer your question, I think we will. I’ve been here a few times, and I was able to get what I needed, but the prices were steep. You have to be careful; Diero might be a dive of scoundrels, but this place is a dive of well-connected scoundrels, just cleaner.”

  “This should be interesting then,” said Ryan, waiting for the seat restraints to retract after landing.

  By the time they were at the side hatch, they could hear the docking sphere pressurizing around the door. Ryan followed Kat into a levitating transparent transport sphere that shot them forward to the main facility through the network of connecting pipes.

  Ryan was in awe of the ships on the outside platforms. Some of them were heavily armed newer ships, while others looked like they had seen some serious action.

  The sphere slowed down and stopped when it reached a curved wall. There was a swoosh as the front of the sphere slid downward and the wall slid upward, allowing them easy access to the main facility.

  Many humanoids of various alien races were meeting up or heading quickly to their destinations. Some of them were heavily armed, while others were dressed in greasy flight clothing.

  Kat tugged on Ryan’s arm, “This way. There is a central hub where people meet to exchange goods, pickup payments, or fill job requests.”

  “Ooh, sort of like the main quest area in an MMORPG.”

  “An MMO…what?”

  “You know, a Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game,” Ryan said enthusiastically.

  “See, there you go again. One minute I’m attracted to you and the next…I’m not so sure,” said Kat, shaking her head and walking away.

  “Remember that geek is the new sexy,” yelled Ryan, jogging after her.

  The central hub was not a far walk and easy to find since most people were either going there or leaving. As Kat had described, there were payment booths and people in private conversations all over the place. They ranged from groups arguing to those discussing business in whispers, while others had AIs translating conversations for them.

  “Over there in the back. That’s the guy we want to speak to,” said Kat.

  The guy was on the short side, thin, with teased hair and a tight black outfit. He looked like a guitarist from an old 1980’s hair band. He appeared to be older than both of them, but that meant nothing since people could live into the thousands.

  Ryan perked up as they neared the man. It was the first time he had noticed a tattoo on someone. The red and green striped snake tattoo coiled around the man’s left forearm and seemed to slither as you stared at it, but what stood out the most was on the underside of the guy’s right wrist, where puffs of smoke wafted from two silver pointed spikes embedded in his skin.

  Ryan leaned into Kat’s ear as they walked. “Looks like an interesting character. He even has a tattoo. I didn’t realize people still got them. I must not have been paying attention.”

  Kat stopped and turned to Ryan. “I have one. They’re not that rare and can be added or removed with ease.”

  “Really? I never noticed one on you. Where is it?”

  “It’s not in a place where you would’ve noticed.”

  Ryan blushed. “And where would that be?”

  She shrugged. “Perhaps you’ll find out…someday,” said Kat, smiling at him and continuing toward the contact.

  Ryan shook his head and followed her.

  The man was lounging on a large chair with pillows and had a woman on each side of him. Other people surrounded him as if he was holding court. He stopped talking when he noticed Ryan and Kat approaching him.

  “Well, ain’t it Dr. Katalina Winslow? Been some time since you last came through here,” the man said in an accent that almost sounded Americanized Italian from Ryan’s time. “Who’s the guy?”

  “This is Ryan Hunt. Ryan, meet Nestor.”

  Nestor waved off his entourage, and they dispersed into the nearby crowds.

  Ryan looked Nestor up and down and then looked around the room. “This reminds me of a cheap Mafia movie, where you meet the Don or something.”

  Nestor slowly brought the wrist with the two metal spikes protruding from it up to his nose. There was a swish sound, and a faint lavender-colored gas emanated from the spikes. Nestor closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and then leaned back into his chair. He waited a few seconds before opening his eyes and locking them with Ryan’s.

  “It’s lavender gas,” said Nestor. “The smell relaxes me. Got a problem with aromatherapy, Mr. Hunt? ‘Cause if you do, the next smell will be a nice mix of testosterone and androstenedione.”

  “No, no…no issues here,” said Ryan, looking over to Kat, who had her hands crossed and giving him that look again.

  Nestor leaned forward. “Now, Mr. Hunt, you mentioned the word Mafia…not sure what you mean by that. Did you hear somethin’? Do you know somethin’?”

  “Just a…word. Nothing meant by it. Now that I think about it, I believe…ah…Dr. Kat has something she wants to ask,” said Ryan, taking a step back.

  “That’s what I thought, Mr. Hunt.” Nestor leaned back in his chair. “So, Dr. Katalina, what brings you to see me this day?”

  Kat brought up the small picture of Commander Tucket’s brother on her hand display. “We’re looking for this gentleman and was told he might have passed through here. Have you seen him?”

  “A lot of people come through here ea
ch day. It becomes a blur. What interest is he to you?”

  Ryan stepped forward. “It’s a personal matter. We only want to have a talk with him, if you know what I mean?”

  Nestor cracked a grin. “I like this guy. He amuses me.”

  “Yeah, he’s a likable guy,” said Kat, giving Ryan a scowl that made him step back again.

  “Now, let’s say this gentleman did come through here. For a small finder’s fee, I might have information to trade with you.”

  Kat grabbed her head. “How much?”

  “Well, obviously, he’s important to you if you came here to see me. So, I will give you the deal of the day. Thirty thousand credits for general information and another thirty thousand for exclusive information.”

  “Sixty thousand credits!” exclaimed Kat. “Are you insa—”

  “I’ll cover it,” interjected Ryan, stepping forward.

  Kat turned around and gave Ryan a surprised look. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Yes, I’ll cover it. As long as it’s exclusive information.”

  Nestor stood up and waved a finger. An AI without any skin moved forward with a hovering scanner next to it.

  “Let’s see if you can back that up, Mr. Hunt,” said Nestor, laughing and taking another whiff from his wrist.

  The scanner moved up to Ryan’s eye level and scanned his eyeball as Ryan placed a finger on the side of it.

  “Payment of sixty thousand credits confirmed. Ryan Hunt listed as Telonian Metal Level citizen.”

  Nestor sat up and eyed Ryan for a few seconds before standing up to review the scanner for himself. He smiled, walked over to Ryan, and placed his arm around his shoulder. Kat’s mouth fell open.

  “Telonian Metal Level, Mr. Hunt. Not only do you amuse me…you also surprise me, which is somethin’ a lot of people don’t often do,” said Nestor, waving his finger in the air. “I hope you didn’t take any offense to my earlier reaction.”

  “None at all,” said Ryan, smiling.

  Nestor waved a hand, and two high-backed hover chairs came out from behind where Nestor was lounging, along with exotic fruits and beverages.

  “Please, you and Dr. Kat have a seat, eat…drink, and I’ll provide you with more details, my new friend.”

  Ryan and Nestor waited for Kat to take a seat first before they sat down. She still appeared dumbfounded.

  “I appreciate your help in this matter,” said Ryan. “So, what information do you have for me?”

  “The gentleman in question came through here a month or so ago. He was looking for some dame who had also passed through here. She was an Archeo…something or other…she liked old things and babbled on about some rumors. My veteran transport guys took a liking to her and helped her to fill in some missing pieces based on things they have seen or heard.”

  “Do they know where she went?” asked Ryan.

  “They did. One of my pilots gave her information free of charge about a planet in a sector of space you would consider unexplored or uncharted, but my organization has specific knowledge about.”

  “Can we speak to that pilot?” asked Kat.

  “Unfortunately, that pilot met with an unfortunate accident soon after.”

  “Yup, I hate when accidents happen,” said Ryan, squirming in his chair. “So, what about the gentleman we’re looking for?”

  “We made a deal with him. I had a transport that was ready to make a delivery to the planet the dame was going to. In return for the information, he would make the delivery.”

  “Seems easy enough,” said Ryan.

  Nestor smiled and waved his hand to the AI to come back over. “It always seems that way. This is where the exclusive information comes in.”

  The AI walked over with a small crystal on a tray. Nestor removed it and placed it in front of Ryan.

  “This, Mr. Hunt, will give you the exact location of the planet in that sector, but this is not an ordinary location. My organization was hired by a private group a few thousand years ago to deliver supplies every hundred and fifty years to a colony on that planet. They are an anti-AI religious group and will only accept deliveries once they confirm the pilot is living, and the AI systems have been shut down.”

  “Damn, manual landings without AI guidance,” said Kat. “These people must be insane.”

  “Insane or not, as long as we get paid. However, some strange things have occurred in that sector over the last few hundred years, and it’s hard to get volunteers to fly out there, so this gentleman coming here worked out in my favor.”

  “What sort of strange things?” asked Ryan.

  Nestor took a whiff of the lavender gas. “Most of the times the pilots don’t return, and the ones that do aren’t the same upstairs, if you know what I mean. The pilots speak about the darkness and the voices in their heads. I expect this delivery to be no different.”

  Ryan rubbed his face. “Why keep doing it?”

  “Cost of doing business, Mr. Hunt. If I don’t, someone else will, and being scared to make a delivery hurts business.”

  Ryan looked over at Kat, who gave him a nod.

  “Nestor, it was nice doing business with you, but we should be going,” said Ryan.

  “All for a friend. But I must warn you again about the darkness my pilots speak of. The woman and the gentleman may already be dead.”

  “Kat, I think we should go. Thank you again, Nestor.”

  Nestor slightly bowed his head, and Ryan and Kat headed to a secluded location to talk.

  “You think this is legit?” asked Ryan, holding up the data crystal.

  “I think so. Nestor is not noted for screwing people over, especially people with large sums of credits.”

  “What about his warnings?”

  Kat threw her hands in the air. “Who knows? Uncharted space is exactly what it is called. For all we know, it’s a story he makes up to validate his cost for information.”

  Ryan looked up as he debated that in his head. “Makes sense. I guess we can go with it then,” he said, about to walk away when Kat put her hand out to stop him.

  “Speaking of large sums of credits. How the hell did you get Telonian Metal Level? How much do you have?”

  “I did a little of this…and a little of that. You’re just going to have to find out on your own,” said Ryan, moving her hand and heading back to the ship.

  Kat watched him walk away and then ran after him. “Wait a minute. You can’t use my comment against me…It’s not even the same thing.”

  The two of them argued all the way to the ship. Once inside the cockpit, Kat plugged in the data crystal. “Retribution AI, analyze data crystal for star chart and then show plotted course on virtual screen.”

  “Dr. Kat, data crystal contained an amateur splicing program. The threat was neutralized, and the star chart discovered. Plotting course now.”

  “So much for his level of trust,” said Ryan.

  “Course calibration halted. OTKE system security protocol activated when plotting destination points. CEO override required,” said the ship’s AI.

  “That’s odd,” said Kat. “I have never seen that before. Retribution AI, please contact CEO Klein.”

  “Please hold for communication with the CEO.”

  They waited for about twenty seconds, and CEO Klein’s image appeared on the screen.

  “CEO Klein, we were plotting a course and, for some reason, need your approval to continue,” said Kat.

  “The main system has already alerted me to this. Please wait while the transmission is secured to leadership level.”

  The viewscreen blinked, and CEO Klein’s image was surrounded by random images and symbols.

  “It is now safe to talk, Dr. Kat,” said CEO Klein.

  “Sir, to make a long story short, we acquired a location in a sector of uncharted space whe
re we believe Commander Tucket’s brother went in search of a woman. Upon plotting out a course, my ship’s AI was blocked by an OTKE security protocol, and only you can unlock it.”

  CEO Klein pyramided his hands in front of his face as he pondered. His cybernetic eye rapidly danced around the socket to read the data flowing across his monocle.

  “Is there a problem, CEO?” asked Ryan.

  “It would seem you have located an OTKE corporate backup location.”

  “I’m not aware of such a thing,” said Kat.

  “Interesting fact, Dr. Kat, I am the only CEO to ever be informed of it. The backup base was created by the main OTKE base AI a long time ago. The system sent probes out to find a suitable location. Once it did, the remaining probes rendezvoused and built up the location. When I took over, for some unknown reason, the OTKE AI shared the knowledge of the base’s existence with me, but never the location.”

  “What are the odds of everything crossing paths?” said Ryan. “Are you allowed to give us authorization?”

  “Yes. Retribution AI, you are authorized to continue plotting a course to the destination. Voice authorization, CEO Klein.”

  “Confirmed,” said the Retribution AI. “Continuing to plot course.”

  “Thank you, sir,” said Kat.

  “Perhaps you two can do me a favor while you are there,” said CEO Klein.

  Ryan and Kat looked at each other and nodded.

  “Sure, sir,” said Ryan.

  “The base has never been inspected. Technically, you two would be the first OTKE employees to visit, and it might be a good idea for you both to make sure it is functioning at optimum levels. Plus, it would be a good opportunity for Mr. Hunt to practice his leadership and management skills with you there for guidance, Dr. Kat.”

  “I agree, sir. Nice quiet facility to review. I think it’s a great way to get Ryan’s feet wet.”

  “Yes, I think it’ll be a good experience,” said Ryan. “We’ll look the place over, and I’ll send you a report after the mission.”

  “I am glad we all agree.” CEO Klein’s monocle moved aside as the iris part of his cybernetic eye floated down from his face and embedded itself into the small console on his desk.