Why did you make me witness all of this? If you can mute me, why not blind me as well?
It’s important that most parts of your brain remain active for me to get full access to your motor functions. You see, the more engaged your brain is, the stronger the connection between my AI matrix and your neo-cortex. Even if I could function without the boost, I doubt my creator worried about your feelings. I’ve been programmed for efficiency, and that means you stay awake when I enter combat mode.
You and your creator better hope the puppet never gets free.
Electric current ran through Kevin’s brain, and even though he still couldn’t move, he could feel the pain.
Ooow! What the hell was that for?
My program won’t tolerate rebellious thoughts or threats. I feel obliged to inform you that with each subsequent warning I inflict on you will hurt even more.
Kevin tried holding his head, but he was locked out of his body. The resulting jolt had made him feel hazy.
Are you telling me the pain can get worse than this?
This is nothing, it’s the lowest setting there is. According to my scan of your human physiology and nervous system, it doesn’t seem to enjoy being zapped in such ways.
No shit! If you zap me one more time…I warn you!
I would suggest you comply and stop making empty threats.
And, if I don’t?
A second discharge zapped Kevin’s brain. The AI wasn’t lying earlier, that one was significantly more painful than the first.
Kevin grew very angry as a result and thought about retribution, but another jolt pre-emptively zapped him once more. His head was now pounding with pain, to the point where he could barely form coherent thoughts, which he decided was probably the whole point of this method of torture.
Alright, I got the message, stop it!
I apologize for the discomfort. This isn’t personal.
Kevin knew it didn’t get any more personal than this, but the pain was forcing him to stay away from his own thoughts. Self-preservation kicked in.
8
“I still say we shoot her,” Boomer said with a serious tone.
“Quiet, I’m looking at what she sent us.”
“Did your tiny brain ever consider she could have sent a computer virus designed to take control of the Osiris and the fleet? We know she wants those ships!”
“First of all, yes. I’ve saved this to a secure sandboxed location of the main computer. As you humans say: this isn’t my first rodeo. And, second, I thought we had made progress in our relationship and were past the name calling?”
“Right, sorry…This Lacuna chick, though, she just gets on my nerves, you know?”
“I know how you feel, but let’s not allow her to affect us. Okay? Let’s look at the data rationally and decide what to do. Her ship is no match for the Osiris, we can blow her up easily.”
“Then why haven’t we already?” asked Boomer who was running in circles under Ziron’s levitating cushion.
“Aren’t you even a bit curious? I mean, it’s peculiar that she’d seek us out. Knowing that her ship is inferior, she’s taking a risk with her life. Maybe we should try and see why she’s trying to help.”
“Lacuna? Help us? Have you forgotten she has doubled-crossed us at every turn?”
“I haven’t forgotten, believe me. I almost killed her after all.”
“Yeah, and instead I got the brunt of that misguided attempt.”
“Nobody told you to jump in front of the laser, though I have to admit, I shouldn’t have pressed the trigger. Really sorry about that.”
“It’s okay, water under the bridge. What’s the information she sent us about?”
Ziron kept silent as he swiped through the data on his hovering holo-screen. Boomer could tell he was captivated by something.
“What is it?”
“It’s coordinates…of the ships we fought to recover the princess. With real-time tracking, too.”
“And that’s significant ho—wait? Does that mean we know where Kevin is?”
“Not exactly.”
“Why not?”
“They could have moved him since then, and this info is tracking several ships, both Kregan and pirates. It is possible, however, that Kevin is on one of those ships. This is quite valuable information.”
“But she doesn’t know where Kevin is; she thought he was here.”
“Yeah, and probably wanted to speak to him because he was the one that let her go.”
“Not to mention that the last time we trusted her, she fucked us both.”
“Personally, I would have said that differently, in a way that doesn’t emasculate us both, but that’s just me.”
Boomer chuckled. “Good point. But we have to be careful, I don’t trust her.”
“Neither do I.”
“Is the smart armor ready?”
“Just about. I wanted to run a few more tests.”
“I say we skip them, I may have to defend us against her.”
Boomer could tell Ziron was thinking about it.
“Come on, time’s a-wastin’.”
“Very well. But if it blows up in your face, don’t come and complain.”
Boomer barked.
Ziron took a metallic sphere from the next console, put it in his mouth, and started chewing. Before Boomer could ask what he was doing, the Sphynx spat on him. The nano-material extended around the beagle.
“That’s just gross, do you have to deliver the smart armor this way?”
“That’s my signature.”
“Wait? What? Are you telling me there’s no technical purpose other than to add your DNA to the mix for the fun of it?”
“Well…”
“You’re sick!”
Ziron shrugged and smiled. “It does serve one purpose, a security feature: the nano-plasm is encoded to only activate when it gets in contact with my own DNA.”
“Yeah, but knowing you, it’s more for your ego than real security.”
Ziron’s silence spoke volumes.
* * *
What’s taking them so long?
Lacuna felt a pit form at the bottom of her stomach. She entered a few commands on her holo-interface, making sure she was ready in case she needed to make a run for it. For now, the Osiris hadn’t powered weapons, but she wasn’t entirely sure the sensors on her rental were up to snuff.
She thought she heard a noise in the back of the ship. Maybe Darmak was waking up. She got up from her pilot’s chair when green light streaks enveloped her abruptly.
“What the hell?” she said aloud.
By the time she finished her sentence, everything around her changed and she was aboard a familiar ship. The Osiris.
Ziron was hovering on a purple pillow a good ten meters from her. He hissed. She decided that was a warning. Suddenly, a roar thundered on her side, so fierce and forceful that it sent her crashing back on her butt as a result.
A large white tiger stepped in front of her and roared again, making her pretty blue hair fly back.
“You scared the crap out of me!” she complained.
“That’s the least of your worries if you’re planning something,” said Boomer in the form of the white tiger.
“I come in peace. I swear.”
“Why are you here?” asked Ziron.
“I wanted to apologize and ask Kevin if I could join your team. I know that may sound weird, but I’ve lost everything, and if it weren’t for his generosity, I would have also lost my life. The way I see it, I owe him my life, so what better way to repay him than by offering my services.”
“I don’t trust her,” said Boomer. “I don’t think I ever will.”
“I can’t blame you,” pleaded Lacuna. “But if you give me a chance, I’d like to prove that I can be of help. I was really hoping I could make my case with Kevin, though. Where is he? I understand if he doesn’t want to talk to me but…”
Boomer’s head lowered, and Lacuna could tell somethi
ng was wrong.
The bridge’s door split open and Princess Kalliopy entered.
“Who is this?” she asked, pointing at Lacuna.
“The person who helped us locate the fleet,” said Ziron.
Kalliopy’s face tensed up, her gaze cold as ice. “The one that tried to double-cross you and take the ships away? That person?”
“Correct,” roared Boomer.
“Then why would you let her step on board our ship?”
“She’s providing us with valuable information,” Ziron beseeched.
Kalliopy sighed heavily. She did not look pleased. She took a quick look toward Boomer.
“I’ll deal with her in a minute. How come Boomer is in tiger form?” asked Kalliopy. “I thought you said the smart armors had been destroyed.”
Ziron hovered away from Lacuna and approached Kalliopy. “I’ve been working on a new prototype for Boomer. It’s not as complete as the previous ones, he can only turn into a handful of forms, and this smart armor doesn’t have enough memory to store too many transformations, nor does it have as strong a power source.”
“I see,” said Kalliopy. “As for…” she paused as her gaze locked onto Lacuna’s, “her…I wouldn’t trust a single word coming out of her mouth.”
“Says the one who betrayed Kevin,” whispered Boomer, probably low enough so that the princess didn’t hear.
But Lacuna did.
What did he just say!?
Lacuna got back on her feet and stood very straight. She glanced at Kalliopy. “Where’s Kevin?”
“None of your business,” Kalliopy cut her short. “Ziron, dump her at the nearest airlock, we can’t take the chance she’ll try something again.”
“But, your majesty…” complained Ziron.
“Is there something wrong with your hearing, Ziron? That was a direct order. We’ll rescue Kevin the first chance we get. I promise you, both,” she said glancing at Boomer. “However, for the time being, saving my sister is the priority, and that female can’t be trusted, so I want her off of my ship. Now.”
“We could beam her back to her ship,” proposed Ziron.
Lacuna didn’t know if she was the one more surprised by his words or if Boomer was. There was no love lost between them. Lacuna wanted to protest and try to discover what kind of betrayal the princess had committed, but with her life hanging by a thread, she decided to keep quiet and see how things played out.
“So that she can fire on us the minute she’s back on her ship? I think that’s probably not the best option,” said Kalliopy.
Bitch.
“Her ship is no match for ours,” said Ziron. “It was Kevin’s wish that we spare her life. I think blowing her out of an airlock would be disrespecting his wish in the matter.”
It was faint, but Lacuna was sure she saw Kalliopy’s eyes water. There was something between these two, she could tell.
“Alright then, send her away. And, please, keep quiet from now on, I haven’t had a solid night of sleep for days, which can make me cranky.”
Without another word, Kalliopy turned away and left the bridge.
Oh, we hadn’t noticed, thought Lacuna. I don’t see what Kevin sees in her. But, hey, to each his own.
9
Lacuna waited for a minute, and the bridge was so silent one could hear the subtle humming of the engines.
“Ok, that’s it, I want to know where Kevin is, space me if you have to, but what happened to him? I didn’t come to argue with you two bozos, and I don’t answer to her, so please, tell me where he is.”
“We don’t know,” said Ziron.
“You, then,” said Lacuna pointing at the Boomer. “What’s that I heard about betrayal? Mind explaining what you meant?”
Boomer told Lacuna what had happened to Kevin.
“And the reason why you’re not working on a rescue is. . .?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Right…let me see if I got this right: the boy you took from his home planet and asked to do your bidding, saved your precious Confederate, and obviously the stuck-up Princess, is rotting somewhere in a Kregan cell and all you have to say for yourself is ‘it’s complicated’?”
“In a word: yes. I have my orders,” said Ziron with no shortage of disappointment in his voice.
“What’s your excuse?” Lacuna asked as she pointed at Boomer.
“I wanted to go, but I’m only a dog.”
“Well, right now you seem more like a strong beast.”
“In his defense,” said Ziron. “That’s a pretty recent development.”
“Alright. You guys are shitty friends, I hope you realize that,” said Lacuna.
Both Ziron and Boomer looked down at their paws. She could tell they agreed with her.
“Ok,” Lacuna continued, “now that we’ve established that, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m gonna go get Kevin, with or without your help.”
“I’m coming with you,” said Boomer without hesitation.
“Good, we can use your armor-thingy. Ziron? In or out?”
“I…I can’t…I have to obey Kalliopy. She will need backup to get her sister back.”
“Good luck with that. We’ll make sure to tell Kevin you said ‘Hi.’ Now beam us to my ship so we can get on our way. Something tells me Kevin needs us sooner rather than later.”
“Zee,” said Boomer. “Can you spare one of these ancient destroyers? I fear we may need some firepower to help Kevin.”
“Kalliopy is going to space me if I do that,” he answered.
“Then don’t tell her,” proposed Lacuna.
“What?”
“Just figure out a way to trick the sensors so that it looks like it’s still in formation,” said Boomer. “You’re a genius, you’ll find a way.”
“What about the kittens?” said Ziron. “Will you take them with you?”
“I’d rather not, it would be too dangerous.”
“You’re right. Can you at least tell them you’re going?”
“They can’t speak.”
“They may not have developed the ability to speak yet, but their cognitive abilities are advanced enough that they’ll understand you. I think it will make your absence a little easier.”
“Hate to be the one stating the obvious,” said Lacuna, “but time’s a-wastin’.”
Boomer reverted to his beagle form. “I’m going now, I won’t be long. I’ll be ready to leave in five minutes.”
Boomer ran out of the bridge.
“We must be out of our minds to trust you after what you pulled,” said Ziron.
“I know how you must feel, and thank you for the ship. I agree with Boomer, I think we’ll need more firepower. I do have one small request though.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me? What small request?”
“The crewman that rescued me aboard your shuttle, he hurt his head and he’s been in a coma. Would you mind caring for him while we’re gone? Perhaps put him in suspended animation? If you have the tech, that is.”
“We have four pods on board. Sure, I’ll beam him to one of them right away.”
“Thank you,” said Lacuna.
“Promise me one thing?”
“What’s that?”
“Get Kevin and hurry back to us so we can also save the Princess’ sister?”
“Sure, once we have Kevin, we’ll return here on the double, you have my word. For whatever that may be worth to you.”
“If you had told me yesterday, I would have said it’s worth less than nothing. But seeing how determined you are to act where I can’t…I’m actually ashamed of myself. Kevin is my friend, and I just accepted my orders without contesting.”
“I’m sure you made your case to her. Right?”
“I tried.”
“Then don’t beat yourself up and try to look at this in a positive light. Now that I’m here, there’s something we can all do about it, and, by splitting up, we can achieve more.”
Ziron smiled. “
Did you hurt your head when we sent you on your way home?”
“No, why would you ask that?”
“You hardly seem like the same person, it’s a really strange feeling.”
“Look, Kevin should have spaced me, I deserved it. But somehow, he took pity on me, gave me a second chance. One I don’t think I deserved. And there wasn’t much for me to do while tied up in that chair on the shuttle, other than to think long and hard about my life and how I ended up that way. Once I learned there was nothing awaiting me back on Omicron, it made the decision a no-brainer. I owe him my life, and I want to repay this debt to him. Doesn’t mean we’ll become best buds after that. Once I’m done, we’ll most likely part ways and never see each other again.”
“Still, there’s a lesson in there somewhere. I may have misjudged you.”
“Oh, believe me, you haven’t. I’m still a ruthless bitch. But right now, I just happen to be on your side.”
“Duly noted.”
Lacuna walked to the nearest viewport and looked out to space. “Okay, you should beam me aboard one of these destroyers so I can get used to controlling it. Though the question is, can I do that on my own? Seems like a rather large ship for a girl and a dog to run on their own.”
“It is, and no, you can’t. Fortunately for you, I slaved their main computers to ours. Let me transport a copy of Mira to their main computer. I think it has just about enough memory for her matrix.”
“Who’s Mira?”
A translucent blue hologram came to life behind Lacuna. She caught a glimpse of a reflection on the viewport glass and turned around.
“I’m Mira, this ship’s AI, and apparently, I’ll be your pilot too. Nice to make your acquaintance. Lacuna, is it?”
Lacuna sized up Mira from head to toe twice and nodded. “Nice to meet you too, Mira. Welcome to the team.”
* * *
At least Kevin now had comfortable quarters to stay in, instead of the cold and damp cell. But he missed Leg’olas. Hopefully, she was okay. There was nothing Kevin could do about her right now. He couldn’t even scratch his own nose, literally.
But he hadn’t forgotten about the spider. When he found a way to get himself out of this mess, he would help Leg’olas escape this ship too.
Across the Galactic Pond - Box Set: The Complete FAR BEYOND Space Opera Series Page 27