by Tobias Roote
“Ah ! I wondered why I was spared, as are those guards out there for that matter,” he indicated past the door to the dockside. “But, you’ve put me in an awkward position - not that I’m unappreciative of the fact my ship is still in one piece. It’s just that I’m now on someone’s watch-list and in my line of business I prefer to keep as low a profile as possible. Which,...” as he flicked another thumb out the cockpit window, “...I’m not going to be able to do while the ship sits here in full view of the news cameras and security. So... ?” he again indicated for her to proceed through the door to the medical bay.
It must have been enough because she pulled herself erect and lined up on the cockpit exit with the obvious intention of walking unaided out of it. Grady could see she wasn’t going to make it through the door on her own, so decided to circumvent things before the blood dried and he had to replace the covers.
So, as she was swinging herself around to head out the door, he stepped forward sprightly and slipped his hand around her wrist, taking control of her direction of fire and forcing it down to the deck, but squeezing the nerve to disable any muscle movement, so the finger wouldn’t connect with the pulse trigger. His other hand removed the gun from her paralysed fingers and threw it on the chair. She almost fought it, but as his strength overwhelmed her weakened state, the look of anger quickly faded and her eyes glazed.
He caught her as she collapsed and pulled her to him, taking care to favour her broken arm which dangled uselessly.
She was fit, he could feel the muscle-tone even in her collapsed state. She worked out. More than just a saboteur then, perhaps another assassin ?
As he carefully picked her up in his arms he called out to the ship AI.
“Ario ! activate Medicbot and secure ship from entry - security, level four. Prepare for lift-off. Contact the Gatekeeper and queue us for departure immediately, or sooner. Switch to autopilot, if I’m not back in my chair - destination home base,” Grady called out as he carried the now unconscious dead-weight saboteur to the rear of the ship.
He heard Ario responding to his commands as he negotiated the narrow corridor, but concentrated on not knocking into the walls as he rushed aft to the medical bay. The AI would know where to find him if there were problems, it preferred to remain housed in the cockpit where it could monitor everything around them. He would ask later how it managed to let the woman into the ship. That would prove an interesting conversation, he thought idly. He had his suspicions and if they were right it would mean his role as mutant hunter might be compromised, or ending prematurely.
Home Bound
He laid the woman out on the stretcher which was normally detachable from the wall, but was currently fixed to a machine running through start-up diagnostics in preparation to work on her injuries. Grady carefully removed her armour, not wanting to exacerbate the bleeding. People think laser burns cauterise the flesh, and it does, but only thinly. The first time you move it breaks the ‘cooked’ seal and you bleed from both the entry and exit sides of the wound.
Above the stretcher in its own designed recess was a pull-out body-sized transparent glass unit which, when placed above the patient would measure vital signs and run a battery of non-invasive tests. He pulled out the screen and switched it on. Started from cold like this it would need a minute, or so, to calibrate.
While it warmed up he looked her over. Not quite the Amazonian type, she nonetheless looked fit and capable. He was sure that in a healthy state he wouldn’t have so easily won over her own will and strength. He wiped the blood off her cheek and cleaned up the surface area of the wound, taking care not to disturb the blood clot that had begun to form over the hole. He lifted her eyelid, she was well out, her green irises barely visible. Not bad, he thought, good looking and fit. Putting her modesty aside for medical reasons he also looked for any tattoos or obvious identity markers. Her wrist had no Wiband on it which was unusual. He marked the Medicbot to take samples and analyse them to give him DNA and prints. If she was in the UDB he would know who she was soon enough. The Universal Database was only accessible to certain forces within the Empire, Grady had access to them all through his real job.
The hum of the tubes buried within the hood settled quickly to an almost silent drone. The flickering green light came on and steadied as he lowered the screen over her body. As soon as it was in position he activated the scanner, listening to the hum increase as it ran the length of her unconscious form several times each scan measuring a deeper layer than the previous, building a picture of what was beneath the skin. It would show up any bugs, transmitters or homing devices as well as non-standard internal features. Not all mutants were externally altered.
When it was finished the top of the hood lit up and revealed a three-dimensional image which he could switch through skeletal, muscular and nervous system, her vital organs all looked good, no scalp injuries. The blood analysis showed in the corner and indicated low blood pressure, Grady calculated a pint at least judging from the mess on his chair. He programmed a drip to make up the loss.
“OK, first the arm,” he said to himself, “a fracture of the humerus, that’s nice and easy.” He changed the scan level to show the deeper scans of her body and noticed that besides the laser burn to the shoulder, which had burned right through and cauterised the flesh as it passed, she had three fractured ribs and a badly bruised upper body. She had been body-slammed by something, an explosion or someone heavy. He thought of the guard out there. No, it would have had to be an explosion. Too close when she set them off, he decided.
She had passed out from the swelling and pain that had restricted her capacity to breathe. Stress and standing had done the rest. She would be fine after an hour or two’s ministrations from the Medicbot.
He raised the body screen and it reclined itself into the retaining slot in the wall.
“OK Medic, she’s all yours. I want her up and talking as soon as possible, so go light on the sedatives. Only enough to keep her out for the bone-set and painkillers for two hours, no more. I don’t mind if she is still aching, but I want her ready to answer questions when she comes around.”
“Affirmative, Doctor Grady,” the Medicbot responded.
Grady grinned and walked out of the bay and returned to the cockpit where he watched the ship manoeuvre itself from the docking bay. The only way he could have an on-board Medicbot was if he was qualified to use one. He’d had a helluva job convincing the medical equipment manufacturer to complete the installation. In the end, he got a fake medical certificate showing him as a qualified surgeon and brushed up on the basics he had learned in the navy. He was a quick study and actually did more studying than he needed to just because it was good to learn how the body worked and how to fix it.
“Ario ?” he queried the AI, his tone telling it he expected an update.
“Security blocked your request to lift-off. I blocked security’s communication to the Gatekeeper and simulated his voice. We have approved departure and a window of sixty-five seconds before we are discovered.”
Grady grabbed the laser, leapt into the chair and strapped himself in, too late he remembered the bloodstains. He screwed his face in disgust as he felt the sticky residue cling to his jacket. “Holy Grell ! I’m going to have to ditch all of this kit if I can’t get her blood off me,” he moaned, then remembered, “advise Medicbot to secure patient for hostile departure.”
“Done,” the AI advised.
“Ario - hot exit protocols,” Grady ordered the AI to manage the exit, it would have already computed all the variables and chosen the speed, path and angle of their departure. They wouldn’t be allowed back here any time soon, but after the recent carnage of hunter ships, Grady guessed that might well be a good thing. He felt the release as the AI broke the mooring clamps then watched the Citrix dodge the drones still orbiting the wrecks. Traffic had been wisely diverted while they sorted the aftermath of the fire, so their exit was relatively unhindered by normal traffic. Just as well, h
e thought.
He grunted as the acceleration cut into his thought process and his eyes took in the flashing of docked ships as the Citrix flew past them. He vaguely registered a Core naval ship flashing stop commands as Ario flew the ship between its shield deflector fins.
Oops ! That would get him a good few tongue lashings from the ship’s captain when they caught up with him - which they would, eventually - when he let them. Still, out here in the Rift it wasn’t exactly heavily policed, even by the Core.
“Message incoming,” Ario advised.
“Citrix, Lorgias says to tell you that’s going to be an expensive departure, you owe him for four docking clamps and affiliated costs. If he finds you’re also responsible for the two sabotaged ships, then expect a bounty on your head,” the voice clicked off.
Grady replied, it would be rude not to.
“Lorgias, I had no choice, your crews wouldn’t let me take Citrix out of the reach of those burning wrecks. I’m not sitting there getting my arse scorched because of their lazy-assed attitude. You know me - would I torch two other hunters ? Grady out !”
A different voice came on the comms, one that Grady recognised.
“Phil, you shouldn’t break my rules, you know better. Come by when you’re next in the vicinity, bring your credit wallet, okay ?”
Grady smiled, and pressed the transmit button for the last time.
“Lorgias, Yes ! Sorry ! If you can accept my apologies for leaving in a hurry and a big donation on my next visit, we good ? Grady out”
“We’re good, Phil, but I’m still sorting out the mess you created in the Market Square. Grell knows what you’re into that’s got everyone riled up - No, forget it, I don’t want to know. Fly safe ! - Lorgias out.”
The message light went black indicating the transmission carrier was off. Grady knew that Lorgias was going to make him pay, but would recover the larger portion from the two hunter shipowners. If they were the same crew that tried to kill him, then Lorgias might make them pay everything and a hefty premium. He would want to set an example to those who would use his station as a battleground. Grady thought of the woman in the Medbay and wondered if she would be on Lorgias list too.
He continued to watch as the AI weaved the ship through the slowly clearing traffic lanes and onto a safe path for departure from the system. When he checked the sensors and it showed open space, he commanded the AI.
“Take us home, Ario.”
“Course plotted. Homing signal activated.”
Grady was taking a gamble. The woman had not killed his ship, nor had she even attempted to kill him. Yet she was evidently on assignment to take out mutant hunter vessels wherever she found them, or was there something he was missing ? In addition, she had persuaded Ario to let her hide on this vessel and importantly Ario hadn’t warned him. There was obviously something about her that allowed her to over-ride his security and that 'something' was what he wanted to find out. He wasn’t stupid, or trusting, but knew when something was being played out. He just had to keep pulling the knots until something fell loose.
“Ario, the Medicbot should have the woman’s DNA and prints by now. Process them via the WA database and give me the readout as soon as it comes in.”
“Message encrypted and despatched. ETA, four minutes thirty-two seconds. Response anticipated in eight minutes, forty-four seconds.”
The message would slip through a clandestine comms drone to every system in the galaxy connecting with the WA’s secret database and would return the same way. The indicated response time meant a fast connection without too many links in the chain. Grady suspected that he knew what it would say.
He had a few moments to kill until the reply came in. He knew it would be futile, but the response would confirm his suspicions.
“Should I ask you why you let her onboard, Ario ?” Strictly speaking the AI wasn’t his, it was leased to him and came with the ship. It and the ship were owned by the people he worked for, although the paperwork showed him as the owner.
“Prior programming over-ride,” came back the simple response.
“Hmmh ! Ario, please expand.”
“I’m not able to respond to that request at this time,“ Ario replied.
Grady knew then that this was work related and he would just have to wait to figure it out.
“Data-burst received, decrypting..... on your screen.”
He sat down and pulled up his own encrypted display, hand-print and voice protocol unlocked it and seconds later he was reading the short data-log that had returned from the comms drone.
Ms Shrilla Beyeur, thirty-four years old, Work history : classified. Origins : classified. Security classification : BETA9. Currently engaged on S&D. All AW personnel required to cooperate fully on contact, or demand. Authorisation : Kildark4.
Grady whistled quietly as he read. She was at least four chevrons up the chain from him and as for Kildark... Well ! that fucker could have him snuffed in a microsecond if he chose. Grady had met him once. A hawkish man with a pair of eyes that drilled you like a laser. He’d not been introduced - too high up the chain for that, and Grady at that time wasn’t even a member. He never forgot a face, but honestly, that was one he’d prefer to.
“So, you got the call, huh ! Ario ?” Grady snickered.
“By ‘call’ you mean the authorisation demand from Agent Beyeur ?” it answered, correctly interpreting Grady’s disjointed question.
“Yes, and don’t bother answering, it was a rhetorical question.” Grady sighed. AI’s weren’t always clever, but sometimes they out-thought him. He had yet to catch the ship AI out. He suspected there was a human brain secreted somewhere on the ship and he was the only one who didn’t know.
He needed to work out how to handle his unexpected guest. She wouldn’t be very forthcoming so he decided the best method of getting information was to feign disinterest and not let her know he’d checked out her credentials. Which in truth he hadn’t. He’d got very little from the database - he was still in the dark as to her mission - other than blowing up mutant hunter ships.
Game on, he thought.
Chapter Seven
Lorgia’s Drift - Outer Rim
Home for Grady was a hollowed out asteroid, payment from his half-brother in return for a series of clandestine operations he had carried out on DeMag’s behalf. It orbited a large gas giant that was regularly used by commercial fuel skimmers, but they operated far enough away for him not to register on their sensors. Even if they detected his home, they would have trouble distinguishing it from the thousands of other dead asteroids that circled the planet. He had once lost it himself and spent a month tracking it down again. Now, he had a very sensitive ‘locator’ signal that would only respond on a tight frequency, and only after receiving a coded signal from him from a certain direction. It was as secure as anything could be in this sector of space. He was safe in the knowledge that nobody had the means, or the inclination to track down a single piece of rock in this area of space. It didn’t even register on the corporate-owned research drones prowling out here searching for asteroids with high-value yields.
Grady paid scant attention to the AI’s negotiation of the asteroid belt. They had done it so many times, that both the AI and he could do it blindfolded. Instead, Grady thought about the two mutant hunter ships and the knowledge that would be commonly out there now that he, the owner of the Citrix had broken through the security cordon and, more than likely, a major lead suspect in the destruction of two competitors. It was only due to the nature of Simos Station that he hadn’t been blown out of space by the Core gunship, but seriously, what the fuck were those bastards doing in the Rift, anyway ?
He sighed and climbed out of his bloodstained seat. He needed to check on the patient as they were about to dock.
As Ario negotiated the ship into the very tight space between the airlock entrance and the neighbouring rock, Grady walked back to the medical bay with the intention of
checking on her, but instead met her coming up the corridor. It wasn’t a large ship and as the craft docked there was a slight nudge, just enough to push them briefly together. Her arms shot out to push him away, a surly look on her face. Probably an effect of the sedatives clearing from her system, he thought immediately discounting the look.
He laughed it off. “I see your arm’s mended, but your temper’s still sore.”
She looked at him and realised he hadn’t intentionally bumped her. She was immediately contrite, but still grouchy from the medication that she’d been given.
“I’m... I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you to appear, then... Oh ! never mind,” she growled.
It was evident to Grady that she wasn’t fully awake, it had only been an hour. Still, her bad-tempered response did not bode well. Grady decided to keep his own anger in check, he still had no idea who, or what he was dealing with, or why she was on his ship.
“How’s your arm ? and ribs ?” he asked with genuine concern. He’d had little use for the Medicbot up to now, and wasn’t 100% confident of its abilities to knit bone this fast. She flinched as he peeled back the area where the laser had cut through the material of her shirt. The red weal of healing flesh showed where it had made the incision to insert the probes and glue the bone. It used a special stem cell compound to seal the cut afterwards, the scar would disappear in a few hours. Likely she had similar incision marks on her chest, but he wasn’t about to look. Her sour expression seemed to dare him to even try.
She at least tried to sound grateful, probably realising she was coming across as an ingrate, which she was.
“It’s good. I appreciate that you did this for me, but now I need to get off this....” She was looking over his shoulder as she spoke and could see a corner of the cockpit and the completed docking procedure. “...where are we ?” she asked him suspiciously, the change in her tone warning him.