Breaking Point

by David Alastair Hayden

  “I told Tamzin I could access funds from an account once we got back to Titus II, enough to more than pay for a good ship. But she seems to think the captains will only take hard credits.”

  “She’s right about that,” Siv said. “Given all the armed ships lurking in the system, the dumbest captain on the planet will know we’re an enormous risk, even if they don’t realize we’re the ones everyone’s hunting. There’s no way they would accept a payment that could be traced back to them.”

  “I could transfer funds into hard credits,” Vim replied.

  “Yes, but you’d be identified and located immediately. Every hard credit handler is tied into one or more criminal guilds. And I suspect the guilds have agents stationed at all three handlers in Capital City.”

  “We could promise a captain more upon arriving at our next destination,” Vim reasoned.

  “A smart captain assumes they will never see that money.”

  “I checked, sir. His assets have been locked.”

  “Besides, your assets have been locked, so unless you have more wealth under a fake identity…”

  Vim shook his head. “As a government employee, I couldn’t run the risk of secreting away money.” He frowned suddenly. “How did you know the government had frozen my accounts?”

  “He’s a criminal,” Tamzin said.

  “If I can know about your accounts and monitor what happens with them, so can others,” Siv told him.

  “At least the girls won’t be without resources. Pashta is an incredibly wealthy man. And he would be more than willing—”

  “Sir, Senator Pashta betrayed you.”

  “He would never!” Vim argued, perhaps too profusely.

  “But he did,” Siv said. “The Tekk Reapers found out about the girls, and a man named Broker Samson took payment from Pashta, a payment to guarantee his own freedom. So when the Tekk Reapers arrived, he ran without attempting to save the girls.”

  “Are you sure? Maybe…maybe he couldn’t get to them in time.”

  “He didn’t even try, Ambassador. He was onboard his ship almost immediately.”

  Vim’s eyes flared, his face reddened, and a vein along his forehead swelled. “When I get back—”

  “Ambassador, the Tekk Reapers destroyed Senator Pashta’s ship before it reached orbit.”

  The anger left him with a deep sigh. “So my brother…he’s dead?”

  Siv nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  Eyes tearing up, Vim rubbed his temples. “Please, tell me everything.”

  Tamzin took Vim by the hand and led them all into a cargo bay containing cushions, a mattress, a food station, a small desk, and some odd furnishings. There was an attempt at decor, mostly wallhangings, but it did little to hide the ship's poor condition.

  Eyes red, expression defeated, Vim flopped down onto a cushion. Before Siv could sit, Tamzin rushed in and chose the cushion beside Vim. Siv grabbed a cushion and placed it across from them so that they formed a triangle. Tamzin eyed him darkly but didn’t say anything.

  Siv recounted the rescue on Ekaran IV and their journey to Titus II, leaving out only unnecessary and personal details. Vim studied every word as, Siv supposed, an ambassador would.

  “I’m going to tell him about the priestess, Silkster.”

  “Is that wise, sir?”

  “I don’t see any way that Tamzin could use that against us, and I want to tell the man everything he deserves to know.”

  “Your call, sir.”

  Despite leaning forward with his eyes alight when Siv described High Priestess Syryss, Vim remained silent until the end.

  “So there’s hope for my Oona,” he said with relief.

  “It seems so,” Siv replied. “She and the priestess may not be the same, but they clearly have many things in common.”

  “If you can trust an alien priestess,” Tamzin said.

  “She’s big on trust, that one. And small on brains. Just like all three of your past girlfriends, sir. Using your definition, of course. I don’t think you can call it a relationship if it lasts less than a month.”

  Ignoring Silky, Siv said, “About the information that you have that could help Oona… Is there anything we should know about?”

  32

  Siv Gendin

  Siv waited as Vim stroked his broad chin. The man eyed Tamzin carefully then seemed to come to a conclusion.

  “For decades, messiah families have been searching for a hidden genetics research facility. According to all the lore, this facility is key to the messiahs fulfilling their purpose. I suspect you knew that much, Mr. Gendin.”

  “Call me Siv,” he replied.

  Tamzin leaned forward, her eyes blazing with intense interest. “And you located it?”

  “Not exactly,” Vim replied with a twisted smile.

  “Ah, the catch,” Silky said in amusement. “This messiah business comes with a lot of fine print.”

  “To locate the facility, you need to combine four data blocks into a file then decrypt it. The unlocked file will provide the location of the facility and possibly additional information.”

  “And you just got all the data blocks?” Tamzin asked.

  Galen nodded. “Two weeks ago, I found the fourth data block needed. We’ve had the first since almost the beginning, but it took years to find the second and third. If not for my government contacts and wide travels, I never would have found them.”

  “Why were the data blocks broken apart?” Siv asked.

  “For security,” Galen said. “According to lore, the first generation messiah families broke the file apart and gave the pieces to four different, trusted allies for safekeeping. To keep it away from a dangerous individual who was after the data and had already murdered several messiah children. After those families disappeared, the blocks were effectively lost. The entrusted allies didn’t know one another and lived in different parts of the crumbling Federation.”

  “And you believe this story?” Tamzin asked.

  Vim shrugged. “The lore we have is scant but seems trustworthy, and many messiahs have been assassinated by some unknown person before their awakening. Plus, when Oona transformed, we were given a data block right away by another family, so it seemed more plausible than some of the other things we were told.”

  “So the Tekk Reapers have the data blocks now?” Tamzin asked with concern.

  “They took my chippy,” Galen explained to Siv. “But I security-wiped Errol and restored him to factory settings as soon as they seized me.”

  “So the data blocks are lost?” Tamzin asked, sighing wistfully.

  “I hid encrypted backups of the data from them online, somewhere no one else would ever think to look.”

  “That doesn’t sound secure,” Siv said.

  “Maybe not perfectly so. But few would know what it was, and I doubt anyone can decipher it.”

  “The first families clearly thought otherwise,” Siv said.

  “Perhaps if the murderer or someone aligned with him still exists, then yes, maybe they could decipher it,” Galen replied. “But like I said, it is hidden.”

  “Everything you do online will be scrutinized,” Siv said. “Nothing you post, no matter how secure the storage used, is invulnerable.”

  “That’s why I tucked the copies of the data blocks away in plain sight.”

  Siv and Tamzin stared at him, waiting patiently. Galen glanced between them then sighed.

  “I fear I must trust you with the details," he said. "There's no guarantee that I will make it out. And if all three of us have the information, then it's more likely to reach Oona."

  “I agree,” Tamzin said.

  “I don’t think she’ll get it to Oona, sir.”

  “For each data block, I used a modified government cipher to encrypt the file which I then interlaced with an online lecture I posted to WeView.”

  “You posted the files to WeView?” Siv asked, stunned.

  “Embedded inside a two-hour lecture on 18th Centu
ry Prussian politics.”

  “What’s Prussia?” Tamzin asked.

  Siv shrugged. “No idea.”

  “Precisely,” Galen responded. “Few of my lectures on ancient politics have over a hundred views, and who would think to scan boring video files for additional data?”

  “I absolutely would, sir.”

  “What about other humans or chippies?”

  “Doubtful, sir. Kaleeb or the Tekk Reapers, perhaps.”

  “It’s cleverly hidden,” Siv said. “But perhaps not as much as you might think.”

  “You’d have to know I had it first,” Galen replied.

  “It’s possible that getting the last data block was what tipped off your identity,” Tamzin said. “Which means someone knows.”

  “Tamzin’s right,” Siv said, and then he explained everything they’d learned about Broker Samson.

  “What does he look like?” Galen asked.

  Siv pulled out his c|slate, expanded it from a tiny square to a large tablet, and showed Galen the only picture Silky had managed to find of Broker Samson.

  Galen groaned. “The face is entirely different, but the clothes are similar in style, and the knotwork silver armband is unmistakable. When I met him, he posed as a member of the Church of the Benevolency and said he was devoted to the messiah cause. I vetted him extensively, and his background checked out. The data block was even the real thing.”

  “Because that’s how you do an effective lure,” Siv said. “Someone, the Tekk Reapers it seems, wanted the other three blocks you already had. And Oona, of course. So they went through a lot of trouble to get you. Or, I suppose, any other messiah family with data blocks looking to get more.”

  Galen put his head in his hands and bent over, half sobbing. “Then this is all my fault.”

  Tamzin rubbed his back tenderly.

  “Ambassador…Galen,” Siv said, “what’s done is done. We can only do our best with the situation as it stands now.”

  “Of course, you’re right.” He took a few deep breaths. “To unlock the encryption, you need the following code.”

  A third of the way through his recital, Silky announced he could access the file easily. “I’d be more than willing to take a crack at decoding those data blocks too, sir.”

  “My chippy, Silky, will do his best to unlock the data, once we can download it. In case Oona cannot.”

  “I don’t think he’ll have much of a shot,” Galen said.

  “You don’t know Silky. He’s one of a kind. A 9G-x with additional…programming.”

  “Sir! I’d rather you didn’t advertise what I am. It’s not good practice. And while I trust the ambassador, I do not trust that witch Tamzin. She’s way too interested in this research facility.”

  “Well, you’re always complaining when I keep things vague and just call you my chippy. And, of course, she’d be interested. She’s a genetic freak, Silkster. I’m sure she wants to know more about where she came from.”

  “Doubtful. Witches are evil.”

  “Silkster, I don’t have the attention capacity right now for your silly, paranoid ramblings.”

  Galen cocked his head as he studied Siv. “You have a lot of advanced equipment that’s hard to come by these days.”

  Siv sighed. “I do.”

  “And your last name is Gendin.”

  “It is.”

  “Are you related to Gav—”

  “Gav Gendin was my father,” Siv said.

  “I haven’t a clue who that is,” Tamzin replied.

  "I know him because I studied the Ancients with the girls, and he was the preeminent scholar of all things Ancient." Galen shook his head. "But how could you be his son? You look so young!"

  Siv laughed. “I was in cryogenic storage for most of the last century. It’s a long story that’ll have to wait for another time.”

  “I look forward to hearing it,” Galen said.

  “I’m curious as well,” Tamzin said suspiciously.

  "The question I have for you now is this, Ambassador," Siv said. "Are you well enough to travel?"

  "I am," he replied. “And please, like I said, call me Galen. I’m ready to go as soon as possible. Though, to be honest, I am terrified of returning to wraith space."

  “As soon as we return,” Siv said, “we can—”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Tamzin placed a hand on Galen’s knee. “We need to decide whether we should allow Siv and his companion to help you directly.”

  “I think they’ve done the business, sir. If you know what I mean.”

  “I know what you mean, Silkster.”

  "Why wouldn't we let them help us?" Galen asked. "We need all the help we can get, right?”

  “And by that, I mean the down and dirty, naughty business.”

  “Yes, I get it!”

  "I think we stand a better chance of escaping if it's just you and me," Tamzin said. "Involving the two of them will draw more attention to us since the bad guys are already after them. I can get you off-world without being noticed."

  “Wouldn’t we have a better chance working together?” Galen asked.

  “We most certainly would,” Siv said. “Especially by pooling our resources.”

  “You know, Silkster, you’d think Tamzin would have more money than what she offered, working as a bounty hunter.”

  “She didn’t work hard, sir. And she buys a lot of power packs, presumably to power this ship.”

  “Galen, they draw too much attention,” Tamzin. “I can get you away without being noticed. I just need a little more time to find a ship we can afford.”

  “We’ve got passage secured already,” Siv argued.

  “And if Captain Jax backs out or tries to sell us out like you think he might, what then?” Tamzin said. “Galen, you’d be in the city and in danger for no good reason.”

  "That is a risk," Siv said, "but if something becomes available without much warning and we have only a little time to take advantage of the opportunity then it would make sense for Galen to be nearby. If we have to come all the way back here to get him, then that wastes a lot of time, and it means we'll have to go near the Tekk Reapers again."

  Tamzin gripped Galen's knee. "You know that I have your best interests in mind. I believe joining them will put us at too much risk."

  Galen rubbed his chin and glanced between the two of them. "This should be my call, right?”

  "The decision is up to you, of course,“ Siv said.

  Tamzin agreed but didn't look happy about it.

  Galen wandered around the room. After a few minutes, he came back to them.

  "Tamzin, this man, like you, is an expert at what he does, and so is his companion. They managed to save my daughters from the Tekk Reapers, just as you saved me. I think it would be best if we combined our resources.”

  "If that's what you want," Tamzin replied in a quiet voice. “Do you want to leave now?”

  “I want to be back on the other side and away from this place. No offense, but I'm starting to feel claustrophobic. If Siv can find somewhere for us to hide out until the ship’s ready, then I would rather go there and know that I’m already past wraith space and the Tekk Reapers."

  "Thanks to my chippy and my advanced sensor array, I can easily find a safe place to lay low. Of course, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

  "I understand.” A tender smile spread across Galen’s face. "Now that I know my girls are safe, that the priestess is helping my Oona, and that the two of you have the key to the four data blocks, I'm not at all afraid to die."

  Staring dejectedly at the floor, Tamzin said, “I’ll need a few hours to clean this place out and pack my gear."

  "Are you leaving the planet with us?" Siv asked.

  "Obviously.”

  “What I mean,” Siv said, “is that it seems as if you don't plan on returning here.”

  "I don't," Tamzin answered.

  "That, sir, is a good idea. The containment field protecting us from
the ship's busted fusion core will fail in roughly seven years, give or take a few months."

  "You have a problem with that?" Tamzin asked.

  Siv shook his head. Then he told her about the containment field.

  “That's several years sooner than I expected,” she replied. “Are you certain that… Never mind. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  After she exited, Galen waved for Siv to follow him. “You might as well visit the bridge so you can see the planet before we leave.”

  Along the way, they passed Tamzin entering a room and quickly closing the door behind her. The viewport on the bridge showed a barren landscape, an unfamiliar starfield, and a large, yellow moon.

  “Other than the big moon, there’s not much to see here,” Galen said. “It’s just an uninhabitable rock in another galaxy.”

  "It's the other galaxy part that's awesome, sir. I'm scanning the star field and taking video. Too bad we don't have the time or gear for a spacewalk. I'd love to get some soil samples and a complete look at the star field."

  “What you said about publishing, is that true, or were you just trying to distract me from the wraith space effects?”

  “You can never really know, sir.”

  Galen paced around the bridge, ending up at the weapon's station. He placed his hands on the console and leaned forward. After a few minutes, he looked up and gazed out the barren landscape. He sighed then glanced back down the hallway.

  "Have you scanned all of the ship?" he whispered.

  "My chippy has," Siv said, walking over to stand beside him. "Why?”

  "I trust Tamzin, but she is keeping secrets. I'm not allowed anywhere on the ship except the bathroom, the living room, and the bridge.”

  “She’s a secretive loner,” Siv said.

  “That’s what I thought at first. But one night, Tamzin went into a bedroom decorated for a child and, for some reason, the door failed to close all the way. I spied on her.”