ARTIS PRIME

by Tobias Roote

As the guards pushed the sled out of the room, her connection to the small network became intermittent. Before it went completely, she searched for, and found the restraint areas armoury database. She needed to know what she had been hit with, so searched the information for hand-held, non-lethal, electrical, or electronic weapons. There were four listed with pictures. She highlighted and read what she needed. The ‘Stun Gun’ used high voltage electric discharges pulsing through human victims. It could be lethal if used on older victims, but usually placed them into an unconscious state. Bruising would be the only after-effect; recovery times were listed as up to 24 hours.

  She would be prepared next time. She would need to know when it was going to occur, but that shouldn’t be a problem now. The system depended on the water content of the body to transmit the charge, so all RIGA had to do was to temporarily insulate her artificial cortex and it wouldn’t short her systems. The charge shouldn’t affect her muscles as they were built differently. It should ensure she was not subject to a short circuit again.

  The time she had taken was simply a matter of seconds, while they moved her down two corridors into a quiet location. They halted at a small foyer. Her connection to the now distant computer dropped, as they entered a large darkened room. RIGA now had her first major concern; the shielding that had been in the cell was also installed in this room. It meant that Gossie would be unable to retrieve her from here, and probably might not even be able to trace her location. She was still on her own, for the time being. Taking stock of her situation, she decided to act sooner, rather than later. Interrogation might damage her systems, and she had no intention of subjecting herself to that kind of abuse unnecessarily.

  The sled slid into a groove in the centre of the room, automatically activating a ceiling light, bathing RIGA in a circle of strong illumination, which would have made visibility out into the room difficult if RIGA had been human. The slot formed a cubicle consisting of four metal pillars; two rising from the floor up to 2 metres high, and two from the ceiling approximately the same length, but not reaching the floor. RIGA felt the sled’s bands of tractor beams release her, to be instantly replaced by the new set of beams, pushed out by the pillars. These were also considerably stronger, leaving RIGA suspended off the ground. An effective restraint; there was no leverage to be had, neutralising her immense strength. Without giving her any further thought, the two guards withdrew to the door out of earshot, but available.

  A tall man stepped out of the shadows, in a black uniform with silver bars across the shoulders. RIGA had sensed him, but a human wouldn’t have been able to, so she had deliberately not acknowledged him. Now, she looked at him closely. His face looked thin and drawn, as though he had been half starved as a child. He had a twitch in his right eye, shaking his head frequently as he approached, as if trying to dislodge something from his face.

  “Aah! Welcome to you, Ms RIGA - ‘supposed’ Ambassador to the Empirum, but who travels alone, and spies on her friends,” he drawled in a lazy manner that implied a relaxed demeanour, which was totally opposite to the impression one gained from his features.

  “What do you want with – “ RIGA started, but was promptly halted by his brusque manner as he put his hand up and slapped her face.

  “To answer the question they always ask, Ms RIGA, my name is Sub-Officer Trench, and I’m your interrogator. You might also like to know that my masters are not the type to accept failure on any level. I am, therefore, on a mission to keep my impeccable record intact.” He smiled grimly. “You should be very concerned as I enjoy my job immensely, and take great pleasure in making the increasingly rare opportunities last as long as possible.” He inspected her closely, paying particular attention to her Armillo leathers, rubbing the edge between his thumb and forefinger, admiringly, assessing its quality. “Nice quality leather, I don’t think I’m familiar with this texture.”

  Trench walked round her, appearing to inspect her hand restraints, ensuring she held nothing in her fists. Apparently satisfied, he returned to her front and continued his preparations for interrogation. He was patient, unhurried, as if the world waited on him, which in this room, with his victims, it did. He was in full control and everything he said and did implied such. The whole act was designed to weaken the victim’s resolve, bit by excruciatingly painful, bit.

  Whilst Trench didn’t need the crude implements that he laid out on a table next to him, RIGA was aware that it was psychologically expedient to create the fear of the blades and devices that were known across the universe as instruments of torture. Not knowing who, or what he was dealing with, he was oblivious to his danger, or that soon he, and not RIGA, would likely be the one to die in this room.

  She knew his intent before he did, being well versed in interrogation techniques. Not that he would know that. He thought he had someone who could be broken, and manipulated with ease. RIGA gave him the impression she was suitably subdued while concentrating on everything around her.

  Finally, as if coming to a decision, he stopped in front of her. “You have been interfering in our business, RIGA, and I need to know what it is you think you have found out. I must tell you now, that neither the Empirum, nor the Terran Empire are in a position to help you. You are very much on your own here.” His twitch continued and now he added a nervous slurping sound as he sucked through his gapped teeth. A man of many unsocial habits, she calculated that he would be the kind of person shunned by his peers as a disagreeable, but necessary asset. He wouldn’t be missed by any of them, but none would want to take his place.

  RIGA now knew that what she had become involved in was well above her normal mission level. Her abilities meant she could extrapolate the smallest clues using the data available and come to reasonably accurate conclusions. The fact that Trench referred to both the empires as other entities, together with the strangeness of uniforms and procedures, convinced her that she was in the hands of an external force, that was working with elements of both Terra and the Empirum. To what ends? She could probably guess, but needed to know for sure.

  As he was talking to her he was playing with a hand console, that glowed as pages refreshed in the shadow of his dark corner. He did not approach too close, he was deliberately letting the tension build, waiting for her fears to surface.

  RIGA wasn’t idle. The contacts in her left hand had quietly slipped out their wires, and were feeling their way into the locking mechanism that held the bracelet together. Almost invisible from the shadows created by the overhead lighting, they had already accessed the micro-circuitry and were hunting for relays that would open the lock. She was also trying to piggy-back a connection to the hand console, which she suspected was wirelessly linked into the ship’s computer system. She wanted to know her location inside the ship and how far she would need to go to reach a safe place with which to plan her escape.

  Trench continued to operate the small console until there was activity to both the left and right of RIGA. A complex frame was being erected by robotic arms. RIGA’s sensors scanned the frame and noted instruments and mechanical tools. It was more like an engineering bay than an interrogation room. He was expecting her to react, so to ensure he didn’t get suspicious, she wriggled as if she were panicking.

  “Right, let’s get started shall we?” Trench announced. His hand slipped his console into the pocket in his jacket. It was still on, he hadn’t switched it off. RIGA continued to work hard on its software trying to break into it, aware that there would be other distractions in a moment that would slow down her progress.

  The encryption used was difficult, but not impossible, not something you could crack in a few minutes. She had to work fast. She was into the handset, but not into the network, he had logged out.

  Still she had some information available to her. His personal records showed he was from a planet called Urthtou, and in human terms was forty four years old, she had no time to digest all of the information. His most recent transfer was to the DAN as CI, she looked it up, Chief of Int
elligence.

  As Trench moved in, and began handling a device out of her line of sight, she decided to distract him while she was still working to free her hands.

  “What is it you want to know, Chief Intelligence Officer Vallder Trench of the Tochina Imperial Navy?” RIGA asked and was rewarded with an immediate reaction as he stepped back into her line of sight. She had deliberately used enough information to get him worried, but not enough for her to be immediately eliminated. He would want to know how much she really knew.

  She observed him as his face became pinched and tight as he sucked in his teeth. His tick increased as he held onto the equipment frame. She could see his brain working to absorb the impact of the information that she had given him; information that nobody should know. He moved away again taking a moment, out of her line of sight, to compose himself anew.

  He turned back, looking pensively at her as his two index fingers tapped against his top lip, with his hands clasped tightly together. RIGA could see the tension he was attempting to hide from the white, blood drained areas where the grip was firmest.

  “So, you have learned something, I wonder how you managed that. The information, as you correctly assessed, is not common knowledge. We will have to make sure your interrogation goes on for an extended time, until we know who your sources are, and more importantly who else knows about us.” He sighed dramatically. “I’m afraid you have signed your death warrant, Ms RIGA, you know far too much and for my personal pleasure it will not be easy to extract this knowledge from you.” He smiled and RIGA understood that she had just given him permission to do his worst.

  “LEAVE US,” he commanded the guards that had remained at the outer limits of the room, near the exit. RIGA turned her head as she felt the change in air pressure while the men she detected on her sensors opened the door by clicking in the codes to unlock it. She recorded the movements and sounds. She hoped to be able to repeat them when she got herself out of this man’s clutches.

  RIGA, distracted by the guards, brought her attention back to Trench as he pulled at the straps on her jacket. His hand delicately caressing her skin, fingers flitting across and exposing her as the leather fell aside.

  Trench was now fully committed to his task, his darting tongue licking briefly at the perspiration beading on his upper lip. The excitement was evident in his eyes as they slipped down toward her navel. His hands began to peel away more tight fitting leather from her torso.

  “Tell me, RIGA, did you enjoy your relationship with Mr Osachi?” His smile turned evil as he spoke. He picked up one of the sharp implements from the table next to him and stroked the flat edge across her bare flesh. She could see the sharpness of the blade in the light and knew it would cut into her easily, exposing more of her than would be wise to allow.

  Realising he was only playing with her so far, RIGA caught herself. She had nearly acted before she was ready. It would not have been good to kill him so quickly.

  “I didn’t know him that well. You must be mistaken,” RIGA answered hoping to delay any serious invasion with the knife. She didn’t want to end up in the repair shops. She managed to sneak under his consoles operating system as his undoing of her leathers exposed her completely to his view. As he drank in the perfection of her body (her designers had been kind), RIGA concentrated on the last few tasks she had to complete. Her hands had been free of their shackles for a few minutes now, but the repeller beams still held the restraints in place. She pulled her hands to her side.

  It took but a few seconds to remotely activate the handset’s connection to the console controlling the devices in the interrogation room.

  As her hands came around, the repeller beams faded, the shackles clacked to the deck, leaving RIGA to drop the six inches to the floor. Slipping to one side in case Trench reacted with the knife, she completed a quick evasive roll, then stood, still showing her naked body, not having time to adjust herself yet. She took a single step toward Trench who was so surprised, he had yet to move a muscle. His eyes entranced by her actions, her nakedness fooling him into believing he wasn’t in any danger as he waved the knife in front of him. He never saw the hand that whipped up and grabbed his arm forcing it to drop the knife to the deck.

  RIGA grabbed his throat with her other hand and slowly squeezed it, picking him off the ground easily. The surprised look on his face turned to astonishment as he felt himself suspended from the ground by a single female arm. As her fingers slowly crushed his larynx, she pressed him against the frame so she was able to push her hand hard into his throat until his scrawny neck was in her grip.

  Thinking of Osachi, she squeezed hard then threw his body to the ground. Her shield fell out of his jacket. She picked it up and replaced it around her neck. She then checked his pockets and found her fring, which had been bent out of shape by his fall. She activated, then deactivated it whereby it resumed the proper shape.

  The noise of him crashing against the frame must have attracted the attention of the guards outside, as the door opened. RIGA, who had moved at high speed from Trench’s side, was already waiting for them. As the first one came through, her hand punched hard into his sternum crushing his ribcage, sending the broken sections up into his lungs. He exhaled violently, blood spattering her shoulder as his body reacted to the force of her blow. A shard of bone must have penetrated his heart because he was dead before he hit the ground.

  The tall one had his gun and RIGA didn’t have time to pull him into the room to deal with him. Instead she leaped forward, chopping at his shoulder with the side of her hand, he dropped silently to the floor, whether dead or unconscious, RIGA didn’t know.

  Picking up their handguns, RIGA recognised them as flechette weapons. Not designed for armoured offence, they were perfect for ship-wide fighting and ideal for security personnel. They would do until she could get something better. Checking out how to reload them, RIGA noted the guards had additional magazines in their belts. She took them placing them in her jacket pockets.

  14. Escape from the DAN

  As she ran, her mind dwelled on the data she had collected so far. Her threat analysis of the situation was expanding continually, as she analysed the extent of the danger, not just to her, but the Empirum. These Tochin seemed to be behind or involved in everything she was investigating. It had to be their ships patrolling Empirum and Terran space, but with the knowledge of elements of their own military - just how deep did this conspiracy go, she wondered.

  Seeing the expected surveillance cameras in the corridor, RIGA knew she would quickly be discovered, and forces put in place to capture or kill her. Mentally commanding her artificial biology to prepare itself, she increased speed. The cameras would see little of her passing through the corridors, a blurred image as the recording system attempted to keep up with her.

  She would have to pace herself though, pausing frequently to recalibrate, adjusting balance and control. When using speed-mode, RIGA’s internal systems would sometimes accelerate at different levels, causing power surges. Taking time to refine her output gave her greater control and amazing economy of power.

  ‘Gossie, are you in range? do you hear me?’ RIGA sent her ship an urgent message on their emergency frequency. There was no reply, but RIGA didn’t give up hope. She knew the ship would follow her to hell and back. Gossie would be somewhere close by, RIGA was certain.

  Following her mental map of the ship, RIGA managed to avoid the most populated areas. Her only hope in escape was to initiate an attack where they least expected it, one which gave her the greatest advantage. They would anticipate that RIGA would head for the hangar decks for a ship, or escape pod. This would simply be fired upon, the loss of one tiny craft insignificant to a battleship. RIGA was going to create sufficient mayhem and hopefully use the chaos to escape.

  She kept running from corridor to corridor as she slowly made her way through the ship towards her destination. The Armoury - she needed weapons.

  The first hostile encounter came as RIGA turned
into the main concourse, leading to a section running all the way to the bridge. Two black-uniformed male crewmen and a female were running towards her. Her reactions, set to maximum, meant the men were already on their way to the floor with a stream of flechettes drilled into them from chest to throat, before their weapons had even fired.

  The young female officer was nervously going for her gun as RIGA stopped, and before the other had the chance to react, came to a halt in her personal space. Taking hold of her weapon arm, RIGA abruptly disarmed her.

  “What?...” the young woman stammered.

  “I’m giving you a chance to live, don’t make me regret it,” RIGA answered while using her sharp nails to pick, then pull some artificial trim off the side of a bulkhead. When she had enough she wound it around the girls arms. Then pushing her to the deck, tied it to her feet forcing her body into a bent position.

  She looked frightened, and RIGA correctly assessed that she was a very junior member of the ship's crew. “Tell your Captain that I will kill anyone he sends against me and unless I hear from him that he intends to release me in the next hour, I will destroy his ship.”

  “But,... he won’t listen to me.. I’m just a... junior ensign,” she stuttered, the thought of the ship being destroyed frightening her deeply.

  “He will listen but will then probably ignore you. He will make the same mistake they all make. Tell him to contact me via the main speaker system when he wants to deal. His ship for my freedom,” RIGA hissed. “One hour, then find yourself an escape pod and get in it.”

  Hearing the sound of reinforcements, RIGA took off down the corridor furthest from pursuit, her direction taking her deeper into the bowels of the ship.

  She needed to find the armoury. It would be guarded, but that wouldn’t pose a problem for her. Touching her neck band she was relieved to feel the resonance as it activated. Even without the shield she would survive the next hour. She didn’t hold out the same hope for the security teams she sensed moving closer to her. It wasn’t that big a ship that she could hide, but then she didn’t intend to.