Second Life of Mr. Hunt: Book 3: Failover

by Gerrit Overeem

  It was not a program or a conditioned response of an AI analysis of events and stats, but a desire that came from somewhere else…it came from her own state of being.

  She smiled and paused to look out one of the transparent walls into space and watch the twinkling of the stars. She had become a sentient being. Whether she was a human female or something else, she was not sure, but based on the capacity to feel sensations, wants, needs, desires, and other impromptu feelings…it finally all made sense. The problem now was she was nervous. What would it feel like? Would she enjoy it? Would she be able to please Gideon?

  She was brought out of her thoughts when the room’s AI made an announcement.

  “Concierge DeMarcus Saint is at the door.”

  Nora tilted her head and looked at the door, thinking it was odd for him to stop by since they had no plans to meet up before the mission started.

  “Open,” said Nora.

  DeMarcus rushed in. “We have a problem. It’s Gideon.”

  “Gideon?”

  “He’s been taken.”

  Nora’s eyes flared red. “What do you mean taken?”

  “Fredrick LaRue set up a trap for Victoria Van Buuren, and Gideon got in the way. He stopped them from taking Victoria, and they got him instead.”

  “How do you know this is not a trap?”

  “Trust me. I have authority from a higher power.”

  Nora started clenching her fists and releasing them. “Where did they take him?”

  “We think to the weapons facility where they’re holding Commander Seymour.” DeMarcus grabbed at his head and started pacing. “We can’t do anything to jeopardize—”

  Nora grabbed him by the front of his shirt to stop him from pacing and lifted him off the floor. He froze as he looked into her demon-like eyes.

  “Who would know more?”

  DeMarcus swallowed and talked through gasps of breath. “Victoria said an owl cross woman—”

  Nora dropped DeMarcus. He landed on his ass and grabbed at his throat as Nora stepped over him and rushed out the door, ignoring his yelling for her not to do anything drastic.

  

  The cruise ship adjusted its course and began the final maneuvers to give guests the view of a lifetime. The banquet hall’s roof and walls had turned translucent to allow the perfect view into space, and the excitement of the guests grew when someone pointed out a rainbow of glowing lines created by the Giant Space Tardigrades.

  Reader continued her cover as a cruise ship worker, taking holographic photos of couples.

  “Please hold still, and I will get a great photo of you both with open space in the background,” Reader said to a couple that was posing for her.

  “On three. One…two—”

  Reader paused when she saw the look of horror on the couple’s face, the sound of crunching metal, and then something dropping at her feet. She looked down to see her AI drone camera crumpled up and smoking.

  Turning around, the image of red glowing eyes and a fist was the last thing Reader saw before everything went black.

  Before she hit the floor, Nora caught Reader, flung her over one shoulder, and changed her eyes back to blue. People stopped what they were doing, and gasps emanated around her.

  “Some people can’t hold their alcohol,” she said with a shrug to the people who had not seen her hit the woman.

  Nora spun and headed toward the hall’s exit, but was stopped by the socialite she had insulted earlier and her entourage.

  “You are such a barbarian. First, you insult me, lie about my necklace, and are now maltreating some poor la—”

  Nora’s eyes flared red, and she reached out toward the socialite. The socialite’s eyes grew wide, and she brought her hands up to protect her face. Nora yanked the Woland gem necklace from her throat and squeezed until gem dust fell from her hand.

  “Would you like to call me something else?” asked Nora.

  The woman shook her head and stepped aside.

  “Good answer.”

  Nora eyeballed the group and left the banquet hall, smiling.

  

  Reader shook her head. She had no idea what had happened and was having a tough time figuring out where she was. The area was dimly lit, and she couldn’t move her hands or feet.

  “Took you long enough,” said Nora.

  Reader’s mouth fell open. “You.”

  “My time is short. Where is Gideon?”

  Reader looked away. “Who?”

  Nora clenched her teeth. “The man I was with earlier. Commander Gideon Tucket of OTKE Corporation? Where is he?”

  “Oh, is that his name? I only know him from the picture I took of you two earlier. I have no idea where he is. Perhaps it was something you said?”

  Nora leaned into Reader. “It is in your best interest to cooperate.”

  Reader looked around. “I recognize where we are now. The escape pod area is a secure section. It is just a matter of time until someone stumbles upon us and I have you thrown in the brig.”

  Nora smiled at her and sent a comm from her implanted device. Both her and Reader turned when a small door opened in the wall and a security AI hovered out. The AI was a platform with a spinning red beacon on top and a las-turret swiveling underneath it.

  “Greetings, Nora of OTKE Corporation. I assume you are taking care of the security issue that we discussed earlier?” said the security AI.

  “I am, security AI-92e. It will not be too much longer.”

  “I will continue my patrol, and thank you again for the voice modulation upgrade.”

  The smugness in Reader’s face vanished as she watched the security AI hover away.

  Nora’s eyes flared red, and she turned her gaze back on Reader. Before Reader could say anything, Nora yanked out a feather on Reader’s cheek, causing her to scream and a trickle of blood to fall across her other feathers. Her head flailed back and forth as Nora held the feather in front of her.

  “Bird Cross, if I am not mistaken. A plucked birdie is considered repulsive and an outcast in your society since the feathers never grow back. Even their family will disown them, if not try to kill them. That feather was from the back and not noticeable. The next one will be from the front.” Nora grabbed at a handful of front feathers and pulled.

  Reader started to cry, tears running down her face, mixing with the blood on the feathers. “Please, not that. Anything but that. I will tell you everything.”

  Nora released the feathers and stared at her.

  “We were not to interfere with you and your teammate. My mission was to only observe both of you and capture Victoria Van Buuren. We would leave once we had her, but your companion got in the way, and we took him down to the planet instead.”

  Nora reached in for a feather.

  “Please…I’ve told you everything,” said Reader, dropping her head and whimpering.

  “What will they do with him?”

  “Put him with the other prisoner, but it’s a trap. They know you are coming.”

  “Why?” Nora asked sternly.

  “I…I’m not sure. All I know is Fredrick wanted your whole team together in the beginning, but he changed the plan when he found out only you and the commander were coming. Once you arrived to rescue the prisoner, he was to enact his grand plan. Fredrick is dramatic that way.”

  Nora looked her over and then picked her up by the back of her clothes, causing Reader to flail around.

  “Where are you taking me?” asked Reader, trying to break the restraints on her hands and feet.

  Nora walked over to an open escape pod, threw Reader in it, and walked over to a virtual display on the wall. The fingers on her right hand flipped open and thin wires embedded into the ship’s display console. The weak system security allowed her to easily splice directly into the escape p
od system. After a few seconds, the wires retracted into her hands, and the escape pod door began to close.

  “What are you doing?” yelled Reader. “What—”

  “Hush now,” said Nora, putting her index finger to her lips. “I was going to snap your neck, but Mr. Hunt cringes when I say I want to kill people. So instead, I have reprogrammed your escape pod. It will no longer send out an emergency beacon, the cruise ship will never know it has blasted off, and I have reset the navigation to reference star charts about ten degrees off from constellation locations a hundred thousand years ago. You will be sent into a completely random direction with no hope of hitting a known civilized society.”

  Reader’s face went pale. “I’m sorry. Please…I’ll do what I can to help.”

  Nora grinned at her as she followed the opening that remained as the door slowly closed. “I do not require your help. Take this time as a learning experience. Your trip will give you time to reflect on your poor life choices, and perhaps whatever god you worship will hear your final gasps of repentance and save you.”

  “Nooo—”

  Reader’s cries were cut off as the door shut and the escape pod blasted off.

  “And they call me evil?” said a voice behind Nora.

  Nora spun around to see Vicki standing there. She ignored her and moved to the other open escape pod door; this one held the stealth ship.

  “I am doing what is necessary. If it were not for you, I would not be in this predicament.”

  “I bet you are, and I’m sorry about your friend. It was never my intention, and it’s his nobility that got him into the predicament.”

  Nora turned and gave her a cold stare.

  “I meant no offense, AI…sorry…I mean, Nora. You should be glad he stood up for what was right.”

  “What would you know about what is right? Mr. Hunt may be willing to give you a level of forgiveness, but I am not. You only live because he told me not to harm you.”

  “I’ll have to remember to thank him, but he is a tough nut to crack in that area. Way too innocent when it comes to my ways of thanking, but I digress. I’m coming with you.”

  “You are not!”

  “Now is not the time to be dense, my dear. Fredrick LaRue tried to kidnap me, and he has your companion. What is the old saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Don’t be a fool. A powerful being like yourself and an ancient vampire. Think of the carnage,” Vicki said with a purr.

  Nora looked at her for a few seconds and then tossed her a large duffel bag. “Combat clothing is inside. You have ten minutes.”

  Vicki clapped her hands together quickly in excitement. “Oh, the blood will flow this day.”

  Nora and Vicki changed into dark gray tight-fitting combat armor that adjusted to fit any body size and was made with anti-reflection technology for stealth and built-in energy shielding.

  “Form-fitting and with embedded flexible armor plates. Reminds me of my latex fetish days in the 1970s,” said Vicki, sliding her hands down her waist.

  Nora pursed her lips and shook her head as she slammed a mag-cell into a las-pistol and holstered it on a combat belt. She did the same for two las-rifles and placed them in the back of the stealth ship.

  “I see you’re going with drastic measures,” said a voice moving in on them.

  Nora drew her las-pistol, but re-holstered it when she recognized DeMarcus Saint coming out of a shadow in the hallway.

  He wore an old bowler type hat and a dusty jacket that went down to his knees. He had a satchel over one shoulder and held some type of lever-action rifle with a revolving cylinder. Wide oval pouches hung from a belt around his waist that were a perfect match to the rifle’s cylinder’s size.

  “Yes,” said Nora. “We are continuing the mission with a new variable. Instead of Commander Tucket assisting me, Vicki will be filling in.”

  DeMarcus looked at Vicki with an eye of suspicion.

  “If you would like to test me again, I’m game,” said Vicki, holding out her hand.

  “No need, Vicki. My Lord has deemed you just this time. Next time—”

  “Next time, maybe we can catch up on the old days over a drink,” she interrupted.

  DeMarcus held his palm out, and a small virtual screen emanated up. He eyeballed the scrolling data and then shut it down by closing his hand.

  “Perhaps, Vampiress. Now if you will excuse me, my program to disable the cruise ship will be kicking in soon, and I will be taking off after you leave. The escape pods ejecting and random sensor and communication outbursts should be enough to distract the patrol ships and scans and allow you to sneak through.”

  “You are welcome to assist,” said Nora.

  “My Lord has another mission for me.”

  “And that is?”

  “To go find a lost bird and see if I can save a soul.” DeMarcus tipped his hat and walked away.

  “Always such a fanatic with that religion of yours,” said Vicki. “Contact me if you ever want to go on a binge.”

  “Do you always have to tempt people?” asked Nora.

  “It’s my nature to be this sassy, plus it makes me laugh seeing people stuck in their little moral walls while I indulge in the finer points of life.”

  “So be it,” said Nora. “We are ready to go. There is no oxygen atmosphere inside the factory. I am assuming you do not need an oxygen mask or nanobot injection since you are not living.”

  Vicki looked at her. She hated it when they said it that way. “That’s correct. I don’t need either of those crutches.”

  “Then we are ready to leave.”

  They both entered through the hatch and slid into the front seats. The hatch closed, and they waited. Without warning, the cruise ship started blasting high sensor bursts, releasing fuel, and slowly turning to starboard. A few seconds later, the escape pods ejected in all directions, and the stealth ship detached in the chaos and blasted off to its destination.

  The stealth ship sensors picked up the Giant Space Tardigrades disappearing into their migration wormholes, along with the Karyot space patrol squadrons racing to intercept the escape pods and provide aid to the cruise liner that was now a laser light show.

  Between Nora and the ship’s AI, the processing of the course corrections was efficient. They were able to calculate the patrol’s next pattern and adjust before they could be discovered.

  As they neared the planet, large orbiting ship construction stations came into view. AI workers of all shapes and sizes buzzed around the newly built battlecruiser hulls. With a galactic war starting, weapons manufacturing was increasing to meet demand.

  “How many wars have you seen?” asked Nora.

  “Not the type of girl talk I was expecting, but at least you’re talking to me,” said Vicki. “Too many to count. I usually sit back and watch from the sidelines. It was never worth choosing a side since I would outlive almost

  everyone. I prefer to wait and suck up to the victor and feast on the dead…or that is how it used to be.”

  “I do not comprehend the last part of the answer.”

  Vicki laughed. “It’s hard to explain. I’ve done everything I needed to do to survive, and here I am, sitting in a little spaceship off to save someone I don’t even know. At one time, I laid with kings, queens, and emperors and bathed in riches. All that is now gone. Eventually, you tire of the same thing over and over. No connections and no friends. Just the darkness and the lust for blood.”

  “It sounds like your current lifestyle is…depressing.”

  Vicki snickered and shook her head. “I guess that’s one way to put it, or you could say I was very comfortable in my modest home alone. Doing what I wanted, not caring for anyone. Keeping the attention off myself, but in my world, there are always people who want more power. To make a name for themselves. I let my guard down again, but that is another stor
y. However, I will tell you a little secret. Mr. Hunt has intrigued me. Out of all the people I have met in my life, he was the only one to care enough to worry about me, and it bothers me a lot that I betrayed him for personal failures of my past.”

  “Why does it bother you so much? In his eyes, vampires are evil.”

  “Because I may have lost the only person I could have called a friend. Those are rare to come by when you are what I am.”

  Nora gave her a side glance and could see the sadness in her face. She now understood the phrase, you cannot judge a book by its cover.

  “So, Miss Nora, how do we get into the facility?”

  “Look at the area in the top right of the heads-up display. There is an AI barge bringing hulls of ships down to the planet for fittings. We are going to tag along with one of them.”

  “That should work. What do we do when we get in?”

  Nora looked at Vicki and grinned. “Kill everything that moves.”

  

  Nora and the stealth ship AI timed its navigation maneuvers with the AI workers’ movements and set the ship down into one of the newly constructed

  hulls. The stealth ship magnetically clamped to the metal wall, and Nora touched an area on the virtual console screen. The ship’s outer skin wavered and then blended in with the color of the metal.

  It didn’t take long for the hull they were hiding in to move up in line and connect to a barge that brought it down to the barren planet covered with frozen gas pools.

  Nora and Vicki watched the view screen video created from the stealth ship’s low-level scanning. The hull passed through the energy shielded hangar doors that kept out dangerous radiation waves and helped maintain the facility’s artificial gravity.

  Ships of all sizes and shapes in various states of assembly were in long rows. Some hovered down assembly lines while others were stationary. AI workers were everywhere, while Karyot managers monitored the production from hovering platforms. Since the Karyot didn’t breathe oxygen, the facility maintained a level of other gases for them to breathe.

  The hull they were hidden in continued moving along the assembly line. Sparks and energy blasts lit up around the hull like small storm clouds when rare metals, ceramics, and organic materials were melded on to ships.