《The Salvager's Plague》


 Chapter 1

    ]WARNING! PROXIMITY RANGE EXCEEDING SPECIFIED LIMITS![


    The announcement on his helmet¡¯s speakers, jarred him awake, opening his eyes to see the same words flashing in angry red letters on the HUD.


    ]M.S. Gladstonemoving to save Warp Tunnel Distance [


    I let out a string of curses that would have gotten me one hell of a beating if my mother had been around to hear it. ¡°I knew that two faced, conniving bastard was going to pullsomething.¡±


    Sitting up from where I¡¯d been knocked unconscious, I tapped the comms button on the control panel mounted to the arm of my EVA suit. ¡°Barstol you bastard!¡± I growled out, ¡°Youpintastasucking, backstabbing son of a bitch! Get back here


    and pick me up!¡±


    I really wasn¡¯t expecting a response from theGladstone, Barstol was a slimy enough piece of work that it was even money he¡¯d just ignore the communication link and keep heading out of system, but unless he messed with the ship¡¯s flight recorder, it¡¯d be on record. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t putthatpast him either. And as


    I watched the distance readout on my HUD grow steadily larger, I was surprised when a channel opened up.


    ¡°Tommy-boy! You¡¯re alive!¡± the voice exclaimed, ¡°Eddy said you¡¯d fallen down a deep fissure and we¡¯d thought you were dead!¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap Barstol, we both know you¡¯re lying your ass off.  This was your plan all along¡±


    The channel went quiet for a long moment, ¡°What was that Tommy-Boy?¡± he finally replied, ¡°Your signal seems to be breaking up, The Tunnel Drive is already cycling up, so you know there¡¯s no way for us to abort and come get you, not without frying all the control circuits and stranding us here for a week! Hold tight and we¡¯ll send someone back for you as soon as we exit hyperspace¡±


    ¡°BARSTOL!¡± but it was no good, I saw the proximity reading flash to infinity.


    ]COMMLINK DESYNC[ my suit¡¯s interface reported ]M.S. Gladstoneno longer in system.[


    I forced myself to control my temper and push myself to my feet to take stock of my surroundings. I was really up shit creek here; stranded on an atmosphere free planetoid, off or any main trade routes ¨C hell, barely even on any standard star map ¨C with only the O2, water and nutrient fluid available in my EVA suit. While the O2 scrubber would keep me breathing for a while, I really didn¡¯t want to run the numbers on which resource I was going to run out of first.


    I wasn¡¯t likely to make it out of this situation without a miracle, and I wasn¡¯t the praying type.


    Even if I believed Barstol was actually going to come back for me ¨C which was about as likely as a Synaxian trying to get in my pants ¨C by the time theGladstonedropped out of hyperspace and could recharge the tunnel drive to come back for me, I¡¯d be dead.  That¡¯s how far off the beaten path this system was.


    Frankly, I wouldn¡¯t have even been working for Barstol if I¡¯d had any other choice. We had a history, and I didn¡¯t trust the man¡¯s ethics. But he had me over a barrel. To refuse would have meant people I cared about getting hurt. I could only hope my little contingency plan worked and my sister was able to get away before Barstol made it back to Rotterdam Colony.


    I began to explore the cavern I found myself trapped in. While my EVA suit had jump jets, and the gravity on this Void-be-damned planetoid was fairly low, I couldn¡¯t risk injury, or waste my suit¡¯s power. Every microwatt of power conserved meant the water and oxygen scrubbers would last that much longer. Perhaps it was futile to ration in this way, but I wasn¡¯t ready to give up yet.


    One thing about being an old scrapper; we¡¯re stubborn bastards.


    The pocket I¡¯d fallen into ¨C pushed, if I wasn¡¯t wrong ¨C seemed to be the start of a tunnel deeper into the planetoid. So turning on my helmet lights, I began walking, hoping I might find something that¡¯d allow me to get out of this mess.


    We had come here to salvage a wreck after all, and the wreck had been intact enough that we¡¯d been able to hook up grapples and excavate it enough to free it from its grave on this rock. We didn¡¯t even know the origin of the wreck, so it was very likely to have had alien tech in it that would be worth a fortune. It was the reason Barstol had put so much into convincing me to come out of retirement and ¡°join¡± the crew. He needed my skills, and it was far less likely he¡¯d have gotten anyone close to my certifications willing to trust him.


    I was hoping beyond hope that if a ship of that size had crashed here, there might be another ship somewhere on this dirtball. Perhaps a shuttle, or a transport; just something I could use to either extend my life support or maybe even repair enough to get home.  Yeah, I know; again, chances are in the same territory as Barstol sending someone back to get me. Sitting on my ass and brooding wasn¡¯t going to do me any good though, so I might as well look around.


    There was definitely something weird about this planetoid.


    I mean, besides what we knew going into this mission, which was that for a rock this size, its gravity was far too strong. Barstool¡¯s plans had been to sell its coordinates to a mining corporation after we were finished with the salvage op. The only explanation for the gravity was averydense pocket of exotic minerals at its core.


    At this point I¡¯d been exploring these vents and fissures for 2 days, and my resources were really starting to get low. My suit¡¯s power pack was down to 50%, and O2 reserves -even with the scrubbers would- would only last another day.  In the 53 hours I¡¯ve been roaming around the guts of this rock, I¡¯d slept very little. It¡¯s really hard to sleep when you are looking forward to death by hypoxia. The anxiety isn¡¯t very conducive to it.


    The insomnia was starting to make me question my thinking, however.  I kept seeing hints that these various tunnels were, in fact, passage ways, not naturally formed. It wasn¡¯t glaringly obvious, but my instincts kept screaming at me. There were bits of wall that seemed too smooth, sections too straight. It all made me worried that at any moment some bug eyed alien would come round the corner and tear my head off.


    But every corner was just more cave. There¡¯d even been the odd crevasse dropping deep into darkness within the rock. Every time I came upon one of those I had to make the choice to risk the jump, use my suits thrusters, or backtrack and take a different fork in the tunnel.  So far I¡¯d played it safe and backtracked, but I couldn¡¯t keep wasting time and energy. My chances of finding something to help me off this rock were slim, but salvagers weren¡¯t the type to just lay down and die.


    Ironically, that was when I turned around and found myself in front of yet another crevasse.


    I eyed it carefully and tried to get my sleep clouded mind to run the numbers on its width and how possible it would be to jump over. It really was time, I thought, to take a risk, if it wasn¡¯t too high. Comparing my own mental calculations against my suit¡¯s rangefinding and gravity measurements, I decided it was worth a try.


    Backing up a few steps, I closed my eyes, took a deep focusing breath and tried to clear my head. It wasn¡¯t that wide, I could do this, I¡¯d find something to help on the other side. I¡¯d get out of this mess and hunt Barstol down and make SURE my little surprise tore his ass off.  ¡°Stars guide me¡± I whispered, and started my run up.


    Did I mention the fact that I was operating on 53 hours with next to no sleep? Or that during that time all I¡¯d had for calories was the nutrient fluid my suit was set up to supply for longer salvaging sessions? Imayhave been a bit overconfident in my estimates of success. Looking back later, even the suit¡¯s computations put the chances at around even money without using the jump thrusters.  It goes to show how one¡¯s judgment can get cloudy in such situations.


    As I flew over that chasm, my brain started to realize just how close my landing was going to be. There was a good chance I might need to give a momentary burst of the jump thrusters at the last second to clear it.Too late for regrets now though,I thought to myself as I started the descent half of my jump.


    My feet touched down on the porous rock right at the edge of the chasm, and I wobbled for a moment to get my balance.  ¡°FUCK that was close,¡± I exclaimed, the adrenaline spike of it all having woken me up and cleared my head in that instant of terror.  But as I caught my balance and was about to step forward, I felt something let go violently underneath me.


    I threw myself forward in that instant, trying to clear the edge of the section of rock breaking away, but it was no good. I felt myself starting to descend into the black of the chasm, and reacted with the absolute last chance I had to save myself ¨C I activated my jump thrusters¡­


    And nothing happened.


    ]WARNING, JUMP JETS NON-OPERATIONAL, CONTROL SYSTEMS DISABLED[ Flashed angry red in my HUD as I fell into the darkness. With the reduced gravity, I had enough time to curse Barstol¡¯s entire family line. The bastard must have sabotaged the jump thrusters. This was going to hurt¡­


    ***


    Once again, I was stabbed awake by the persistent voice from my suits computer. ]WARNING, O2 Recycler unit offline. O2 reserves are approaching dangerously low levels. Estimating 4 hours of operation remaining. Please begin return to nearest refuge immediately[


    ¡°Void Take that bastard!¡± I cursed, and carefully Checked myself for injuries. While they made EVA suits with medical diagnostics systems Built in, I wasn¡¯t that flush. I¡¯d been out of the salvaging game too long. Luckily, I hadn¡¯t broken anything on the way down, just been knocked unconscious.


    I swear, if the guild didn¡¯t put that man¡¯s head on a pike for this, I was gonna make sure personally that he paid for this.


    As I got to my feet, I discovered that all but one of my suit¡¯s lights had been taken out in the fall, and the remaining one had a worrying flicker. If it dies on me down here, with only 4 hours of O2 left, I might as well just Crack the seals on my suit and let the cold vacuum Take me, because I was done for.


    But as I turned around in place to survey the chamber where I¡¯d landed, the flickering of that last light glinted off brushed metal, not 5 meters away.


    I needed and wished I could rub my eyes. Was I being things?  This WAS the kind of thing I¡¯d been hoping to find, but I¡¯d also just taken quite a tumble. Maybe I was concussed, delusional, suffering hypoxia? I was quite deem Into the planetoid at this point, it couldn¡¯t be real, could it?


    I moved cautiously towards it, half expecting to either have another cave In under my feet, or some other unfortunate thing happen. I reached out and placed my hand carefully against it, feeling the smooth hard edges, even through the thick material of the EVA suit.


    Please don¡¯t let me be hallucinating.I thought to myself as I traced around the edges of the smooth metal, looking to find any sign of control panels or anything hinting at a way this might save my life.


    Probably Just under a square meter of metal was exposed against the rock face, but it was obvious that there was more. The rock encroached around in an irregular border, as if built up over time. Space dust deposited layer on layer over what might have been centuries. If I was lucky, maybe I could chip away at it, and find the control Panel that wasn¡¯t immediately accessible.


    The good thing about being a salvage engineer is you tend to always have tools on you during an EVA operation. And I tended to work a bit old school, packing a few manual tools to go along with the laser cutters and other modern contrivances.  I didn¡¯t want to risk my suit¡¯s remaining light by trying any power tools.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I pulled a short pry bar out of the toolbelt around my waist and gave the rock around that metal an experimental whack.


    I was lucky! It flaked away easily, revealing more of the strange brushed alloy underneath. So I set to work, clearing off as much of the rock as I could.


    It was an exhausting 3 hours of work later that I found it: a small flickering panel set low to the ground, maybe 75cm high.Whoever built this place was either short as hell, or has some odd design conventions.I thought to myself as I examined the panel closely.


    ]WARNING, O2 RESERVES AS CRITICAL LEVELS. ESTIMATING 22 MINUTES TO DEPLETION[


    ¡°Fuck, the work musta been burning through The oxygen quicker than estimated.¡± I tapped experimentally at the flickering panel, which stabilized for a moment, displayed some alien symbols, then went back to flickering, ¡°gonna have to hope I can crack this thing open quick!¡±


    Not many salvaging jobs send you out after wrecks of unknown aliens races; the one I¡¯d come here to help with being the exception. But it was one we hadn¡¯t anticipated the need to get inside of, just rig for towing: it was completely dead.


    This was different. Whatever was behind there still had a modicum of power, meaning there might be defenses. I also didn¡¯t have any heavier equipment, like cutting lasers that would make short work of this¡­door? I wasn¡¯t much of a hacker even when working with a language I knew, so I was gonna have to go after this a bit sideways.


    I ran my fingers along the edges of the control panel, looking for a ridge or lip I could fit a screwdriver under to pry the panel off and access the circuitry behind. ¡­There¡­ Thankfully whoever these aliens were, they didn¡¯t weld on their panels, not from the looks of it anyway.


    A bit of careful jimmying with a screwdriver and the frame surrounding the panel popped off, revealing the bolt plate underneath.


    Thankfully, one of the seemingly universal rules of manufacturing was there were only so many ways to drive a mechanical fastener. Of all the aliens humans had discovered since inventing the hyperspace tunnel drive, almost every one seemed to settle eventually onto using either the hex head, or the torx driver. I Guess it just turned out that they were the most efficient ways to apply torque to a fastener.


    The issue was always the sizing: one could never tell what a newly discovered species would determine as their standard sizes for bits.  This could, sometimes, cause some headaches, but usually you could make something work in a pinch if you weren¡¯t worried about not damaging the fastener.


    Luckily I always Kept my Unidriver(?) set on my person on jobs like this. And it had just the bit I needed.


    ]WARNING, O2 RESERVES AT CRITICAL. APPOX. 15 MINUTES TO DEPLETION[


    I tuned the warning out and got the bolt plate off as quickly as I could, not even worrying about where the bolts went. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer to whatever God or goddess might be looking on, and carefully pulled on the bolt plate.


    Optical cables. I just might have gotten lucky.


    Remember I said I wasn¡¯t much of a hacker? That didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t utilize automated tools That were made for the job, and unless an interface had some kind of super heavy clearance security on it, most optically controlled door interfaces could be cracked open with another tool I always kept on hand on these kinds of jobs.


    I pulled the small rectangular device known as a Optimaster out of my tool pouch, a?ong with its splicer cables. The cables were designed specifically to both sever and patch into the optical cables of a door control unit in order to not trigger any security protocols, but still inject signals. Technically, the optimaster was illegal in most systems in the League of Worlds, unless you were special ops, or had very special licensing.


    Or you happened to come across one on a salvaging run, and decided to tuck it away for special use. My previous captains had turned a blind eye to my possessing it, because I only used it when necessary, and never for criminal purposes. Thankfully Barstol never did end up finding out about it, or his trial would have gone differently¡­


    ]WARNING! O2 RESERVES CRITICAL, ESTIMATING 6 MINUTES TO DEPLETION[


    Damn, I must be reacting badly to the stress, I¡¯m going space cadet, Concentrate Thomas!


    Once the splicers were hooked on to what I hoped were the best combination of cables, I started its programs and waited. Six minutes was going to be close if the Optimaster had no database references to the coding or language used by these aliens.but I had nothing else I could do but split my attention between it¡¯s countdown, and the rapidly diminishing O2 levels of my suit.


    At around 4 Minutes in, the Optimaster¡¯s screen Flashed a name. ¡°Giobhioni¡±, indicating that it had managed to decode the system¡¯s language against its database, and the process would kick into high gear from here.So these aliens aren¡¯t unknown then, I thought, just not a species known widely to humans.


    The light on the door panel stabilized again, and blinked through several interfaces.


    ]WARNING, O2 RESERVE DEPLETED. HYPOXIA IMMINENT.[


    I closed my eyes again and tried to sow my breathing as much as I could. Every second was precious now, every moment giving more time for the process To Crack the door interface. It would really suck if I passed out and suffocated 2 seconds before the hatch cracked open.


    I was fighting to stay conscious when the Optimaster Finally Flashed green, and a hatch in the alien alloy popped open. At first I didn¡¯t even register it happened until my suit blamed out a warning about my. Blood oxygen being dangerously low, snapping me back into wakefulness Just enough to see the open hatch.


    I crawled as fast as I could through that hatch, not even worrying about the optimaster: if I survived, I could retrieve it later. For now the only important thing was getting inside, and hoping to the Void that there was a breathable atmosphere.


    What felt like an eternity later, I dragged my legs in through the hatch, and glanced around for a control pad to seal it again. But as I did, the message Flashed across my HUD ]ATMOSPHERE DETECTED! ANALYZING[


    Oh good,I thought,at least there¡¯s atmosphere¡­


    And then I slipped into oblivion, it was starting to become a habit.


    ***


    Sometime later, I woke up yet again in my EVA suit, having been dreaming of sizing drinks on a beach with a lovely Benastian woman I had met in college. I had one hell of a headache, and my HUD was showing its reserve O2 supply had been replenished, even if the scrubbers were still offline. My helmet was also being flooded with the smell of slightly stale, dusty air ¨C the hard seal had been triggered by the VI in order to provide me with air.


    Whatever this place was, it had saved my life. At least for the time being. I still had no way off this rock, no food, and no water, because while my suit was set up to recycle sweat and other things, it needed power to do it.


    And this place doesn¡¯t look promising on the power front.


    The room I¡¯d found myself in seemed to be an airlock of sorts. About 4 meters by 4 meters, and a somewhat low ceiling, maybe 1.5 meters.These Aliens must have been damned short,I thought to myself, considering the hatch size and the ceiling.


    I really hope their corridors are just as low clearance,I thought to myself,or have any low hanging conduits. Searching through this place hunched over like a geriatric isn¡¯t gonna be fun¡­.


    Pushing myself to my feet and making a quick mental note to look up my old Benastian classmate if I managed to get out of this pickle, I went to check the interior hatch of the airlock.  I might not be about to asphyxiate any longer, but I still needed food, water, and a way back to civilization. Finding an abandoned alien installation hidden inside of a remote planetoid might be a once in a lifetime experience and all, but it meant nothing if I was still trapped here without food and water.


    The interior door turned out to be easy to open, thankfully. Their systems seemed to be set up much like a lot of Terran systems, and as long as the outer hatch had a positive pressure lock, a simple button press to the right off the interior door triggered its opening.


    What I saw beyond the airlock raised my hopes for survival.


    The flickering emergency lighting was just enough to give me a sense of the sheer size of the room. Don¡¯t ask me to estimate its size, because in that lighting, I wasn¡¯t going to even attempt it, but I can tell you, it washuge. Big enough, certainly, that I¡¯m fairly sure the entirety ofThe Gladstonewould fit inside with room to spare. On the walls I could just barely make out what looked like gantry cranes and what had to be some of the largest robotic arms I¡¯ve ever seen.


    Was this some kind of construction facility maybe? Ship repair? Was all the rock outside just accumulated space debris, or camouflage to keep the place hidden?


    Whatever the truth was, if I could figure out the systems in this place and get power restored, maybe I could set this place tobuildingme a ship. I didn¡¯t need anything big after all, just fast, and capable of opening a hyperspace tunnel, or whatever FTL method these aliens used.Hell,I thought,maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and there¡¯ll be a ship somewhere in here already mostly built¡­


    Twenty four hours of investigating the facility later, the idea of getting lucky regarding a ship was looking less and less likely.  ¡°And so much for there not being any damned low hanging conduit!¡± I cursed out loud, hearing my voice echo in the empty corridors.


    Navigating through the dimly lit facility, I¡¯d bashed my head off of conduit no less than 13 times, tripped on collapsed equipment six, and barked my funny bone off weird nodules on the walls at least 4 times. It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if the lights were at full power, but with half of them out, and the other half flickering, there were just too many obstacles hidden in shadows.


    About the only real luck I¡¯d had in those twenty four hours is finding what seemed to be a storage closet that was half filled with various kinds of packing material, neatly sorted into boxes for recycling. There was also enough floor space in the closet that I could use said packing material to build myself a nice little mattress and finally get something approaching a decent night¡¯s sleep.  If it hadn¡¯t been for my stomach growling at me, it would have been glorious.


    After another 48 hours, I was beginning to think this entire facility had been abandoned with no real resources left behind. I¡¯d found no sign of former residents, just several more supply closets, tool lockers, one room that almost seemed to be a conference room, and corridor after corridor of locked doors.


    Icouldhave made an EVA out the airlock to fetch the Optimaster to try and crack those locks, but I hadn¡¯t convinced myself to do so yet. I was not a tiny bit paranoid that if I went outside after it, I would be able to get back in for some reason. Alien tech could be strange that way.  Just because the Optimaster decoded the lock, didn¡¯t mean once it was disconnected, and the optical cables spliced back together, that the codes would continue to work. I was not desperate enough to attempt that yet. My suit still had enough power left to recycle fluids to keep my hydrated enough to keep going. I was just hungry as hell.


    It wasn¡¯t until the fifth day exploring the corridors that I finally located their cafeteria.


    I swear, it felt like walking into a middle school cafeteria. The tables and benches were all sized for people much shorter than myself, maybe a bit over a meter tall, and there waslotsof seating. Enough for hundreds of tiny asses to sit down for food.


    But I didn¡¯t bother thinking about where all those asses had disappeared to right at that moment. My priority was to see if there was any edible food left in the kitchen! If I didn¡¯t get some food in me soon, I might just be tempted to eat my own hand or something.


    What I found in the kitchen, however, was cabinet after cabinet of nothing, and computerized alcoves with flickering screens attempting to display some sort of menu. ¡°Fuck, did they even pack up every scrap of food when they left?¡± This whole deal so far seemed to be a series of dashed hopes of survival. I was getting entirely too frustrated with the entire thing. ¡°Took everything with them but the bubble wrap? Some salvager in the future is gonna find this place with just my skeleton. I can only hope it¡¯ll confuse the crap out of them!¡±


    In rage and frustration, I lashed out and kicked at one of the few remaining cabinets I hadn¡¯t checked yet. The door to the cabinet broke off its hinges and careened across the floor, As it did, what looked like dozens of mylar wrapped packages tumbled out of the cabinet.


    Do you have any idea how hard it was for me at that moment, seeing dozens of what looked like some sort of ration packets piled on the floor, not to just take a dozen of them open and stuff them down my cakehole like a 5 year old at a birthday party? I¡¯d been without solid food at that point for almost a week, withoutanyfood for at least two of them. But I¡¯d taken the survival training, I knew how much of a bad idea that was for two reasons: a) wolfing down food after not eating anything solid for a week was never good, and b) this was an alien foodstuff, I had absolutely no idea if it was even safe for me to eat or not.


    So chanting to myself,test it before you eat it, over and over again, I slowly lowered myself to sit on the floor and grabbed one of the packets.


    One good thing about your average EVA suit in the salvaging business ¨C hell, in most businesses ¨C was that they planned for emergency contingencies. They were designed not just for your everyday extravehicular activity to salvage or do maintenance on spacecraft, but also for inclusion in escape pods and crash landings on alien planets. If you found yourself in such a situation, you needed to be able to test the local flora and fauna to see if it was safe for consumption. To that end, they came standard with a small chemical analyzer. All I needed to do was place a small sample into the food port, and 10 minutes later it¡¯d tell me if it was safe to eat.


    Those 10 minutes ranked right up there with some of the hardest minutes I¡¯ve ever had to wait through in my entire life, even when you factor in thesmellof the stuff that was inside of those packets.


    When I¡¯d cracked that first packet open, the smell that hit me was the exact opposite of what I¡¯d call appetizing. I mean, ration packets wereneverall that appetizing in my experience, unless you were one of those Jarheads in the Commonwealth Fleet that talked about them like they were ambrosia. No, this stuff smelled like year old sweat socks that had been steeped in fermented squid ink or something.


    Like I said though, even with that smell, I still eyed the rest of that first packet and debated with myself on the merits of just sayingfuck itand starting in it. If it wasn¡¯t edible, I was likely to starve to death soon anyway, right?


    Finally, the analyzer alert sounded off. ]ANALYSIS COMPLETE. SUBSTANCE TOXICITY WITHIN SAFE PARAMETERS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. CALORIC CONTENT: HIGH. CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT: HIGH. RECOMMEND CAUTION IN PORTION CONTROL.[


    The report hadn¡¯t even completed before I had the first bite of the ration in my mouth and down my throat. I had taken just a small morsel, conscious of the possibility of it coming right back up again, and swallowed it quickly, worried the smell would be indicative of its taste.


    It was, in fact,veryindicative.


    ¡°GAH!!!¡± I yelled, after I forced the bite down my throat, my face wanting to implode from the taste. ¡°It tastes like anchovies¡­.and PEUCE! Why am I tastingcolors!¡±

 Chapter 2

    After running the numbers on the exact nutrient content of the ration packets, it Turned out that each one would, barring any intense cardio, suffice for a complete meal.  Rather fortuitous really, that I only need to force myself to swallow ONE of the intensely fishy, peuce flavored¡­things, three times a day to keep myself alive.


    With the number of them that tumbled out of that cabinet, I had another month of life ahead of me before I had to start really worrying again.


    Yay, I had thought to myself, maybe I can find some ketchup or injector solvent To help cover the taste.


    I wasn¡¯t laughing 3 days later when I discovered, to my chagrin, that it could get worse.


    I had used some of the packing material from my ¡°bunk¡± to fashion a makeshift pouch to carry a couple days worth of the packets in while I continued to explore the facility.  I hadn¡¯t wanted to limit myself to only going as far as I could in one day if something looked promising.


    So it was that I was belly crawling through a small service tube barely big enough for me to fit through, but I hoped would get me past a sealed blast door, when I took a break for lunch.  I had done my usual and tried to block out the odiferous smell from the foodstuff, and just bolt it back now that my stomach was adjusting to the solid food.


    There are people in this universe, I have heard, that actually enjoy the flavor of anchovies.  Beyond the tiny bit of paste in Caesar salad that is. They are, I swear, quite insane, and I will swear my reputation as an engineer on it.


    But if any single person ever tells you they enjoy the flavor of an over ripe durian?  Back away slowly, and look for law enforcement, because the person is dangerously psychotic.


    This new flavor tasted of over ripe durian, heavily seasoned with cilantro, and left the distinct aftertaste of puss yellow on the back of my tongue.


    Again with tasting colours!  What is in these things!?


    Besides the difference in flavor, there was a difference in chemical contents.  Thankfully the shock of rotten durian and soap flavor had made me spit out what I¡¯d had in my mouth, so if there¡¯d been any toxins, I wouldn¡¯t have ingested any.  I started keeping notes of the markings on the packets from that point on, and tested them before eating.


    I did set all the rotten soap ones aside as ¡°eat as last resort¡± though.  I really hoped I never had to resort to those, give me anchovies any day.


    Thankfully, that day was punctuated by some good news to go with the durian flavor.


    In belly crawling for 5 hours through those maintenance tubes, I managed to find a stable power junction. With a bit of fine tuning of my suits emergency induction charger, I was able to bring its power cells back up to 100%.  That would allow me to tap into a few more of its systems without worrying about Reserves for critical systems.


    I could use the jump jets again if I needed to, the lights.  Hell, I could spend some time and see if I could repair the oxygen scrubbers scrubber.  That would lower the risk a bit in going out after the optimaster.  It had indicated some familiarity with the linguistic type.  That¡¯d help if I could get any of their computers up and running.


    Which was something else about this find that lifted my spirits: stable power in this conduit meant a stable power source!  Not a? the power in this place was on the fritz,  some of it might just be the conduits and such.  If I kept following this stable conduit until I could find another exit hatch I could open, I would hopefully be in a more functional part of the station.


    Let¡¯s just hope that didn¡¯t also mean functional security systems¡­


    You¡¯d think it wouldn¡¯t take very long to find one of those hatches, they couldn¡¯t be that far apart could they?   Remember how I said I was belly crawling?  I wasn¡¯t joking.  I wasn¡¯t on hands and knees, I was literally dragging my belly along the grating like  I was in a warzone trying not to get seen by enemy sentries. Even with the reduced gravity of this planetoid, it was not easy going.   There was barely enough room for me to move, and I was taking a slow pace so I didn¡¯t get my heartrate up too high.


    The biggest issue with my situation right then was that if I didn¡¯t find a way out of the maintenance tube eventually, it was going to be a very long and awkward crawl back the way I came.  I hadn¡¯t found anywhere with enough room to even turn around, and belly crawling backwards was not my idea of fun, especially since I¡¯d been at this for hours.


    Since I was moving so slow through these access tubes, I was making sure to take recordings of all the equipment as I moved passed.  Especially now that my suit¡¯s power pack was fully charged, I could task the virtual intelligence in it to analyze the markings, as well as the systems layouts, to see if it could make any sense of what any of it was.   Some of it I could recognize easily enough, like power conduits and optical data lines, but the rest of the systems used setups that were a mystery to me.  And of course, without the Optimaster¡¯s abilities, or being in range of a Commonwealth communications hub, all of the markings might as well have been gibberish.


    I was really hoping the V.I. had enough processing power to work out a translation matrix.  It wasn¡¯t something it was designed for, or something I¡¯d thought to modify it for (note to self: put that on the list), but I¡¯d been lucky enough to survive this long, maybe I¡¯d get even luckier.


    Hauling myself through that tube had become such a mindless chore at that point, that I¡¯d found myself sort of drifting into autopilot mode.  I¡¯d drag myself a few dozen centimeters along, stop  briefly to scan the equipment around me, check for hatch releases, then drag myself a bit farther along.  If it hadn¡¯t been for the chronometer readout on my suit¡¯s HUD, I wouldn¡¯t have had any clue how long I¡¯d been at it when I finally blinked dumbly, finding myself staring at a small green-lit panel that was almost an echo to the one beside the interior airlock door.


    And beside it was the echo to the maintenance hatch I¡¯d used to get into this Void-be-damned sausage press.


    Staring at the hatch release panel, I once again found myself considering the possible dangers that could be on the other side, and reminded myself that if I got out of this, I would absolutely make sure to modify my standard loadout with some kind of weapon.  ¡°And a rear-facing threat detection system¡± I told myself, remembering how Lance had used the stun wand on him from behind. ¡°I swear I¡¯m gonna find that fucker and shove that stun wand up his waste port on full power!¡±


    There wasn¡¯t much help for it; If there was something hostile on the other side of that hatch, I would have to deal with it at some point or another.  Time to get the lead out Thomas.


    <hr>


    I swear to the Void, I am not a clumsy person ¨C I¡¯m pretty damned coordinated when it comes right down to it ¨C but you wouldn¡¯t know it if you watched trideo footage of me since landing on this bloody rock.  I¡¯ve been knocked unconscious several times, bashed my head off conduits, and could have poisoned myself by not paying attention to the labels on the food packets.  All in less than two weeks.


    Well now I can add several bruises and a scrape along my forehead.


    Climbing out of that maintenance tube was awkward as hell, especially since I was climbing out head first, 50cm off the floor, into a darkened room.  A darkened room that turned out to be some sort of workshop area with various consoles and tool carts scattered about.  Whoever laid claim to this room hadn¡¯t bothered cleaning up before they left (that or were just plain messy). So in worming my way out of the tube, I slid on something, did a half-assed summersault and upended one of those toolcards, right on top of myself.


    You¡¯d think I would have sent it over away from me, but nope.  Don¡¯t ask me how I did it, I couldn¡¯t see because of how dark the room was, I just knew there was a loud cascade of noise, and several heavy somethings landed on me.  Not for the first time, I was very thankful that my EVA suit was built quite durably.  All the abuse it had taken on this adventure would have ripped open a cheaper model.


    Once I was able to sit up and get my suit lights scanning around the room, I all but forgot the bumps and scrapes.  This workshop/lab was packed with gear that I could use.  And if those consoles powered up and I could rig an interface with the suit¡¯s V.I., I might be able to run a scan/decode program to get a rudimentary translation matrix for the language all over this place.


    Luckily, I didn¡¯t have to look far for a light switch.  I¡¯d been half afraid the lights would be voice controlled like they are on most Commonwealth ships, but the dimly lit panel beside the door turned out to both open it, and control the lights.


    Once the lights were on, I did a quick once around the room to see what I was working with; poking at screens and panels, examining tools, checking out what I thought might be closets.


    One of said closets actually turned out to be an honest to Void shower!


    Sure, the showerhead was placed for someone approximately 1.25 meters tall, but it was an actual water based shower.  I¡¯d even managed to figure out the controls to get it running, and get the water to an acceptable temperature in almost no time at all.  There were some short stools around the room, I could take one in there with me and have a sit down shower for the first time in over two weeks.


    Many groundsiders, or anyone who¡¯s never done any work requiring them to spend extended periods of time in an EVA suit, often get rather disgusted if you tell them just how long you¡¯ve spent in one without taking it off.  The thing is, suits like mine, the Soladyne Workheart Mark IV, are designed specifically for people that might find themselves in situations like mine, days or even weeks of time without a moment to take it off.  It was built to absorb sweat, process  bodily waste, recycle fluids into an electrolyte balanced drink, and mostly, deal with any hygiene issues that might arise.


    You could, in theory, spend years in one of these suits with no medical issues whatsoever.


    But no matter how long you worked the job, it never felt natural.  Once the gig was done, you wanted to strip out of it, get into a shower, sonic or hydro, and just scrub yourself clean for as long as the computers would let you.  And that was just what I was about to do here.


    I wasn¡¯t going to waste the time I was in the shower though.  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Once I¡¯d carefully peeled myself out of the EVA suit, I took it over to one of the consoles I had discovered not only powered up easily, but had some sort of I/O port on the front of it. I took some time to study it, took some measurements and readings from the connections, then set about trying to fabricate some sort of interface.  It was once again time to take some risks, so I was gonna try plugging my suit¡¯s V.I. into the console, and see if it could work on developing a translation matrix.


    Even if it took longer than my shower, I could spend the extra time looking at the O2 scrubbers.  If the interface failed to yield a translator, I could always risk a trip outside to get the Optimaster.


    Four hours later, I was finally in the shower, happily singing an old sea shanty as I scrubbed at my skin with my hands.  I didn¡¯t have any soap or a washcloth, but it was still a great pleasure to feel the hot water on my aching muscles.  I just hoped whatever computer ran this place didn¡¯t cut me off before all the aches eased off.


    <hr>


    Deeper inside the planetoid, sensing activity within the corridors or the ancient facility, a lone consciousness shook off the stupor of thousands of years in isolation.


    There had been no activity in this place since the final orders had some in to initiate the sleep protocol.  There should be no activity, its charges should still be safe in stasis, locked within the thickly shielded vaults of this non-descript planetoid.  They were to stay that way until orders said otherwise, or security of the facility was breached.


    Reviewing sensor data, it discovered the unknown device patched into the external controls of airlock 24.  The device was built specifically to avoid detection, but not from one such as it.  It was built by some of the best engineers the galaxy had ever known at the time, and this ¡°Optimaster¡± could not hide from it.


    And now that it had found the one intrusion, it located another, one that was actively scanning unsecure file structures in an attempt to do¡­what exactly?  The consciousness was not sure.  There seemed to be no pattern or purpose to the files it accessed, and its own language and syntax were unknown to the consciousness.


    Whatever was going on, the protocol was clear.  The command was sent to the vaults, a single wake cycle would commence.  And in the meantime, the consciousness would scour security footage, and continue to observe this Workheart Mark IV to discern its purpose.  If it was going to go looking into files that didn¡¯t belong to it; well, two could play that game.


    <hr>


    An hour later, looking as red as a lobster and as shriveled as a raisin, I was sitting on the low stool in front of the work bench.  I hadn¡¯t bothered to get back into the EVA suit, since my plan was to work on the O2 scrubber, and by this time I was feeling safe enough assuming this place was devoid of inhabitants.  The chances of being caught sitting here ¡°in the all together¡±, had to be pretty slim.


    The shower had been heaven;  a full hour of blessedly hot water and no rationing system screaming at me that my time was almost up.  All the tension in my muscles was gone for the first time since setting foot on The Gladstone.   I¡¯d had a brief moment when I¡¯d turned the water off, wondering how I was going to dry off, but it turned out whoever built this place used some kind of forced air barrier that acted like a full body hair drier.  Seemed a pretty good way to recover excess water from the shower, and I made a mental note of it to work on when I got out of this jam.  Could be a money maker in the Commonwealth.


    The suit¡¯s V.I. was still plugged into the computer console and processing at a furious rate when I sat down.   A good sign I hoped, since it meant it was processing a large amount of data.  If it had hit a firewall or some other security barrier, it would have stopped by now:  an Optimaster it was not.  There was no way it was going to hack through anything more significant than the security on a toddlers entertainment tablet.


    So I rummaged around for the tools I needed to casing for the O2 scrubber on the back of the suit and got to work.  There was obvious damage to the casing, with a dent and crack pushing in where I must have struck something falling down that crevasse.  That was the only outward sign of damage other than some scratched up paint, which could mean the repair could be simple.


    Once I had the casing off, one obvious issue jumped right out at me; the feed line leading from the scrubber itself back into the suit¡¯s air supply was damaged.  Not really all that surprising either, since that particular spot was directly underneath where the casing was damaged.


    An easy enough repair to accomplish, since I could spot tubing laying around the lab that would work to create a splice.  All I would need to do is make sure it was clean and contaminate free;  It wouldn¡¯t help to get the scrubber working again, only to contaminate the clean air output with something toxic.


    Before I bothered to patch that feed line, however, I checked out all the circuitry around it.  Easier to get a good look while I could more easily move the line out of the way due to the damage.


    Turns out there was additional damage:  a couple of cables cut.  Probably from the same strain and impact that damaged the feed line.  This was lucky, real lucky.   I had been dreading that damage might have been done to the scrubber matrix itself, and that very well might have been an impossible repair for me to achieve here.  ¡°Unless these short stacks use the same kind of systems,¡± I muttered to myself, ¡°and what are the chances of that?¡±


    <hr>


    The pink skinned male was taking its time in the hydro-cleansing unit.


    During standard station operation, it would have disabled the cleansing unit 15 kintac ago.  After quickly reviewing security data of the intruder¡¯s activity on the station, it reasoned the male was in extreme need of the cleansing.  It had not been out of its EVA suit for some time, and that was not healthy for any warm blooded species in the station¡¯s databanks.


    The extra time also allowed it longer to thoroughly analyze the data it had gleaned from the alien¡¯s EVA suit.  Not that a lot of time was required, but it wanted to make sure of its recommendations when Security was awake and came looking for the intruder.


    Checking on the Human as it finally exited the Cleansing Unit, she noticed its, his, failure to utilize the drying jets before leaving, so she activated them herself.


    That was what they called themselves:  Humans, and their homeworld was Terra, or colloquially, Earth.   They had a complicated socio-sexual makeup that had evolved from ostensibly being two genders into one of dizzying variety.  One, it seemed, that could still cause friction in certain elements of their society.  This was concerning the Station.  If Station¡¯s hypothesis was correct, there were not that many of its people left in the galaxy.    Their presence being revealed to a species such as the humans might put them at risk.


    Station simply watched the human on the laboratory¡¯s sensor feed for a while.  From health records it had purloined from EVA suit¡¯s memory banks, it could tell the human was not in good health.  In human measurements, he had dropped from his normal 75kg down to 55kg, making him look rather gaunt compared to image recordings.  His long angular face looked hollowed out, even with the two weeks of scraggly black beard on his face.  His startling gray eyes were pinched at the corners from stress and fatigue.


    Station had watched the security recordings of him trying to manage sleep cycles without proper sleep space.  Even if he¡¯d been able to enter any of the crew quarters, he wouldn¡¯t have found facilities to suit him.  At 1.92 meters tall, only the beds in the V.I.P. section would have been big enough to fit him.  The average height of a Giobhioni was 1.2 meters.


    The very face he was able to squeeze through the Tantaja tubes to access this section was only due to the mass he had lost.  If he¡¯d been his original stature, he would likely have gotten stuck.


    At the moment, he was focused heavily on repairing a bit of his EVA suit that had gotten damaged during his recent misadventures.   Station had learned about that bit of the recent past from the suit¡¯s records.  The human ¨C Thomas, his name was Thomas Aacen ¨C had been betrayed and abandoned here to die.  If it hadn¡¯t been for his skills, and the fact this facility was even here to begin with, he would have died days ago, out at the bottom of that crevasse.


    Everything Station could pull up on this Thomas Aacen said he was not a threat to its crew, at least, not if he didn¡¯t leave.  Forced confinement wouldn¡¯t work though;  very few species were content to just accept imprisonment.  It was a situation that was going to require more data to adequately work out.


    There was a much bigger concern, however.  That concern was that the derelict vessel that had been mired to the surface of this planetoid had been the target of Thomas Aacen¡¯s treacherous crew.  A target they had succeeded in retrieving.  It could very well be that Thomas Aacen would be needed to prevent what was coming, if it wasn¡¯t already too late.


    <hr>


    After two hours of diligent searching, I hadn¡¯t spotted any other obvious damage to the O2 scrubber.   It was time to run a diagnostic to see if the feed line patch would hold pressure.  So I closed the manual valves to lock the system into a closed loop for a diagnostic cycle, and reconnected the power.


    ¡°Suit, run diagnostic test sequence on the O2 scrubber unit.  Repeat twice and provide audio alert when finished¡±


    ]AFFIRMATIVE. DIAGNOSTIC ROUTINE INITIATED.  ETA FOR 3 CYCLES IS 28.4 MINUTES.  FLAGGED FOR AUDIO ALERT.   ANALYSIS OF LINGUAL SYSTEM HAS COMPLETED TO AN ESTIMATE OF 78%.  DATA ENQUIRY?[


    I raised an eyebrow at the suit.  I hadn¡¯t actually expected much from the suit¡¯s decryption capabilities, much less in a mere 3 hours.  Regardless of the Optimaster indicating that the language was identifiable, it shouldn¡¯t have gotten to 78% in only 3 hours.  I was expecting maybe 30% at most!  But I wasn¡¯t about to curse the extension of my run of good luck.  Being able to translate the written language was going to help out a lot.


    I didn¡¯t have to think too long for a question to come to mind, ¡°Did you come across any mentions of ships present in this facility?¡±


    ]RECORDS SHOW NUMEROUS VESSELS PRESENT CURRENTLY WITHIN THIS FACILITY[, came the immediate reply, ]THIS FACILITY WAS A MINOR DRYDOCK FACILITY BEFORE IT BECAME INACTIVE APPROXIMATELY 3532 EARTH STANDARD YEARS AGO.  THE VESSELS PRESENT AT THE TIME OF DEACTIVATION DEACTIVATED WITH THE FACILITY.[


    Three and a half millennia ago?  This place was that old, and still had active power?  At that point I was insanely curious to find out what kind of power core it was running on, because to run even minimal systems for that long was incredible.  But that was a question for later. The real important part was there were ships here I could use to get back civilization with!  Wait¡­


    ¡°Suit, were you able to access anything in the way of a communications system?  Could I use it to get a message back home?¡±


    There was a slight delay to this question.


    ]COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS ARE ON LOCKDOWN BY ORDER OF FACILITY COMMANDER[ his V.I. finally responded, ]RADIO SILENCE PART OF QUARANTINE ORDER 34-GN7846.  ALSO PROMPTED FACILITY INACTIVE STATUS, POWER LEVELS AT MINIMUM TO BRING EMISSIONS OUTSIDE STATION TO ZERO.  ALL PERSONNEL ORDERED INTO STASIS CHAMBERS UNTIL PROTOCOL C5-A058345 OR E45-12S452 ARE INITIATED[


    ¡°Quarantine?¡± I asked, suddenly very concerned, ¡°is there a contagion present on the station?¡±


    ]NEGATIVE.  QUARANTINE IN EFFECT TO PROTECT STATION FROM CONTAGION.  SECTOR WIDE PANDEMIC.[


    I breathed a sigh of relief at that.  Finding out I¡¯d been exposed to some sort of 3500 year old contagion was not something I wanted to hear after having survived this long on this rock.  ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m not infected with some ancient alien plague.  That¡¯s a load off my mind, but you say there are crew on the station in stasis?  And what were those protocols you mentioned that would wake them?¡±


    ]PROTOCOL C5-A058345 OR E45-12S452.  UNKNOWN DEFINITIONS, COMMAND LEVEL ACCESS REQUIRED.  AFFIRMATIVE, GIOBHIONI PERSONNEL STILL ON STATION.  NUMBER: UNKNOWN, CONFIRMED ALIVE: UNKNOWN.[


    ¡°So there could be some of these¡­¡± I hesitated, trying to replicate the way the V.I. pronounced the name, which seemed so different than how the Optimaster had spelled it, ¡°Geowianee?  -Did I get that right?- Still alive on this station?  And just how much of the interior of this planetoid does the station make up anyway?  It surely can¡¯t be the entire thing, that would be enormous!  Would be at least¡­five times the size of any Commonwealth Station I¡¯ve ever heard of.¡±


    ]GIOBHIONI[ the V.I. repeated, and I could make out subtle differences from the way I¡¯d said it.  Was probably going to take some practice to get it right.  ]AND AFFIRMATIVE, PRESENCE OF LIVING GIOBHIONI ON THE STATION IS CALCULATED AT 87.42% CHANCE.  VOLUME OF STATION FACILITIES MAKES UP 68.79% OF PLANETOID DESIGNATED VORDYX-482.  ESTIMATES PLACE IT AT 472% LARGER THAN ANY CURRENTLY OPERATING SPACE STATION.[


    ¡°Clarification,¡± I requested, a feeling deep in my bones that I couldn¡¯t put into words, ¡°does that include the entire assembled mass of the central shipyards at Europa?¡±


    ]CORRECT[


    I just sat there, dumbfounded, lost in my thoughts.  What prompted them to build such a large station?  Was this common for them?  Or was this station special for some reason?  What was this quarantine all about?  I had so many questions I¡¯d love to ask one of these Giobhioni if one of them were awake and moving about.  It was a shame I didn¡¯t really have time to go searching through a station this size, to find where the stasis pods might be.  Maybe if he was able to come back¡­


    ]DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE.[ the V.I. announced, shocking me out of my thoughts.  ]O2 SCRUBBER FUNCTIONING WITHIN SAFE PARAMETERS. NO FAULTS FOUND.[


    Standing up, I put away all my rambling questions for another time. ¡°Well then,¡± I announced, deftly unhooking the suit from the console so that I could get back into it.  ¡°How about we get looking for one of those ships you said were kicking around here?  I need to get back the Commonwealth so I can vent Barstol¡¯s ambitions out an airlock¡±

 Chapter 3

    It turned out that it was going to be quite a walk to the hangar bays that were actually occupied, and with the station being as big as it was, it¡¯d take some time to get there.


    My V.I. explained that normally the station had rapid transportation systems between sections of the station, but with it being on zero emissions lockdown from the quarantine order, such services were out of order.  It was going to take me the better part of a day walking just to get to the correct sector of the station.  Then it would take a couple more hours on top of that to break through security protocols to get to the hangar my V.I. thought was the best candidate for getting me off of this rock.


    The good news was that during its foray into the station¡¯s database, it¡¯d found more information about supplies, namely food supplies!  It had full translations for the ingredients and flavors of the ration packs I¡¯d already been eating, as well as locations for similar mess halls and caches of higher grade ration packs it guessed might be more acceptable to the human palate.  One of them was even along the way!


    I was looking forward to something that didn¡¯t taste like I was foraging out of dumpsters on one of the failed colonies.   I was even beginning to feel nostalgic for the McClown burgers.  At least you could drown those in ketchup.


    The long walk was made less tiresome by being able to get my V.I. to translate markings on the various equipment we passed by, not to mention getting more information regarding the history of the Giobhioni and this sector of space.  The information was vague in so many areas, such as political borders, and other species that were around at the time.  But in other areas, such as how our engineering concepts differed, that kept him very distracted.   He couldn¡¯t wait to get his hands on one of their ships.


    As the day wore on, however, I was starting to notice some peculiarities in my V.I.¡¯s responses.  While computer technology had come a long way since the early days of the 21st century, when even the smartphones and their ¡°Digital Assistants¡± were extremely limited due to their archaic processing architecture, even your best civilian V.I. was a poor mimic for interacting with a conscious person.   You got used to those quirks in a V.I. the way you had to word questions, the oftentimes clipped replies.  The interface was still useful as hell, especially when doing tasks that meant you just did not have a hand free to push buttons, but anyone who worked with one on a daily basis knew the difference.


    I had now counted at least a dozen times the suit had either anticipated a question I hadn¡¯t asked yet, or responded in a far more human fashion than I was used to.  It wasn¡¯t anything too specific, or anything that set my alarm bells ringing, but it had me suspicious;  had some alien code somehow inserted itself into my suit while it was hooked up to their systems back in that lab?


    Thankfully, as long as I didn¡¯t try to pull an EVA to retrieve the Optimaster, there was little my V.I. could do to harm me.  At most it could feed me incorrect data.  I suppose it could be leading me into some sort of a trap, I thought to myself, if the station¡¯s computer had sensed it probing into the files and woke up some kind of security protocol¡­


    But forewarned is forearmed, as they said.  I¡¯d just have to stay alert.


    ]Records show a vessel capable of being operated by a single pilot is berthed in a hanger 500 meters further down this corridor[  The V.I. announced the usual harsh edge of its voice having softened,  ]The entry will be on the right.  There will be the standard access pad, and should not be locked.[


    There it was again.  I found my right eyebrow rising involuntarily with the questions going through my head.  The V.I.s voice was definitely sounding less artificial than even the last time it spoke, and was it my imagination, or was it taking on a slightly¡­feminine timbre?


    ¡°So with the average height of these Giobhioni,¡± I asked, voicing a concern that¡¯d been nagging at the back of my head for a while, ¡°Am I even going to fit inside one of their ships?  Or will I feel like a clown on a tricycle?¡±


    ]Some of the ships available would certainly be a cramped fit.[ was the response, ]Any of the long range fighter craft, for example, would not have suited.  But several of the ships berthed at the time of lockdown were intended for mixed crews.  Giobhioni were not isolationists, and had allegiances with species as big, and even bigger than human stature.  Benastians, for example, would not have issues moving around in the ship we are heading for.[


    ¡°¡®We¡¯ huh? Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard you personify yourself in a course of action before.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t planned on the confrontation, but that use of ¡®we¡¯ in her explanation just tipped my suspicions over the edge, and it came out.  Now, I waited through a long silence that was unlike the V.I..   I should have at least received some kind of error, or ¡°waiting¡± response.


    ]I had not expected you to be so observant.[ came the eventual response in a careful tone, ]Please do not panic, I have no intent to hurt you, and every intention of helping you get off this station, just as the Virtual Intelligence of this suit would have.[


    Stopping in my steps, I looked around the corridor.  I could feel my heart speed up a bit; It was one thing to have suspicions, it was another to have them confirmed.  Someone or something had overridden my suit¡¯s V.I. however temporarily.


    ]Your heart rate has just increased by 6 beats per minute.[ the voice said, now even less artificial than before.  ]I assure you, there is nothing to fear from me. If you¡¯d gained access to the station before stealing the vessel that had crashed outside, it may have been a different story, but there are bigger whales to fry, I believe your saying goes.[


    ¡°Fish,¡± I numbly corrected, ¡°bigger fish to fry.¡±


    ]Are whales not fish? They both live under¡­[ she stopped mid-word, then began again, ]You can explain that later Thomas, for now, we need you to get back to your people and warn them.[


    ¡°About what?¡¯


    ]When they took that ship, they got more than they thought they did.[ she explained, ]Unless all of the experts were wrong, your crew is about to unleash a plague upon your species that hasn¡¯t been seen in 3500 years[


    <hr>


    ¡°That,¡± I exclaimed, disbelief heavy in my voice, looking at the ship berthed in the hangar bay, ¡°is the ship you¡¯ve determined will get me out of here the quickest?¡±


    I leaned against the bay doors and lightly banged my head against the jam.  It wasn¡¯t the fact that it was small.  I expected it to be small; the Giobhioni were a bunch of short stacks after all.  Even if whoever was speaking through my suit assured me that it was sized to make even a benastian feel comfortable moving around inside of it.  But this thing honestly looked like it was no more than engines, a bunk and a cockpit.


    It wasn¡¯t even that it looked like someone had taken enough peyote to make the mythical Coyote worried, washed it down with a gallon of absinthe, then followed it up with a LSD chaser,  before sitting down to design a spaceship modeled after a mutant Void-damned cockroach!


    No, what bothered me was what I could only assume was the engineering compartment was cracked open, and half the components were strewn all over rolling carts throughout the hangar.  This thing had been in the middle of a complete engine rebuild when the station went into its lockdown.  With me knowing so little about Giobhioni engineering and design, this was not going to be a quick task to rebuild.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I know it looks bad Thomas¡± came the voice from my suit.  It had dropped all pretense of sounding the least bit artificial.  There wasn¡¯t the slightest bit of uncanny valley or hint of inhuman pause or inflection.  I could now swear I was talking over a comms channel to another human being. ¡°But every other vessel currently berthed would require more than a single pilot, more repair than even this, or is under such a level of security that getting you into the hangar would be more of a delay than rebuilding the Rakharna¡¯s engine¡±


    I rolled my eyes, ¡°There is seriously not a single functional, solo vessel on this entire station that isn¡¯t locked down tighter than a frog¡¯s ass?¡±


    ¡°If there were, I¡¯d tell you.¡± she replied. ¡°Unless we want to try waking up one of the senior officers and convince them not to kill you before I can explain you¡¯re harmless, this is the best choice¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d rather not get shot at after all that¡¯s already happened.¡± I started walking towards the ship, the hangar door whooshing shut behind me.  ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, by the way, and you keep avoiding the topic.  Just who the hell are you?  What am I supposed to call you?  It¡¯s awkward enough sometimes treating a V.I., even one as rudimentary as the one in my suit, like a non-person.  You are not, some rudimentary virtual intelligence.   I don¡¯t know who or what you are, but I¡¯d rather not keep juggling my thoughts and words around not knowing your name.¡±


    The silence I got from that went on for several minutes.  If she refused to answer, I was going to start taking some precautions.  Chief among them was looking for a replacement for my suit, or a way to expunge her from this one.  I¡¯d been backstabbed once on this excursion, I wasn¡¯t going to let it happen again.


    While she figured out whatever she was going to tell me, I busied myself sorting through all the rolling carts.  I might not be versed in all their technology, but so far enough of what I¡¯d seen was analogous to Commonwealth tech that maybe I could identify at least some of it.  Some of it was easy of course, power conduit, plasma shunts, magnetic containment field units.


    So much of the rest of it was a mystery to me though, I knew I needed this mystery voice if I was going to get this put back together.  I just really didn¡¯t like  being left in the dark, or being manipulated into things.  It¡¯s the reason I wanted to strap Barstol to a kinetic warhead and launch it into a black hole so he could spaghettifi.  I hadn¡¯t liked him back when I originally left his crew, and I sure as hell hadn¡¯t liked it when he¡¯d turned up again to blackmail me back into it again.


    ¡°Okay Thomas,¡± she finally said, sounding quiet, and not a tiny bit nervous, ¡°I, I need you to promise me you won¡¯t go all Linda Hamilton on me about this, ok?  I took a peek at the history files, and¡­ humans¡­¡±


    She fell silent again, so I tried to coax her to continue.  ¡°Linda Hamilton?  What are you talking about? I don¡¯t know anyone by that name.  And I know humanity has some bad history when it comes to first contact with alien races, but we¡¯ve moved past that.  The xenophobic, religious whackjob, as far as I know, was locked up in a dark hole 50 years ago.  Probably dead by now.¡±


    ¡°Linda Hamilton, alias Sarah Connor?¡± she stammered, ¡°and her son.  Pivotal figures in your species¡¯ war against a rogue Artificial Intelligence that tried to eliminate around the end of the 20th century?¡±


    I stopped dead still as my brain skipped gears and went into overdrive for a few seconds.


    She had delved into some of my old entertainment files I kept stored in my personal files for those times I needed something mindless to fill the quiet.  She¡¯d come across an extremely old 2D video file about an A.I. uprising and humanity¡¯s struggle against it.   Taking this fictional data as fact had her worried that I would react badly to the information regarding who, or precisely what she is¡­


    ¡°Mother of Stars¡­¡± I breathed, feeling my eyes go so wide I feared they¡¯d pop out, ¡°you¡¯re an A.I., aren¡¯t you?¡±


    <hr>


    Half an hour later, I was buried in the engineering compartment of the ship fitting some plasma conduit while explaining my outlook on A.I. to her.  ¡°My opinion is that people are far too paranoid about it,¡± I said, torquing down conduit to the bulkhead.  ¡°In pretty much all speculative fiction I¡¯ve encountered, it¡¯s us that causes shit to go south because of our paranoia.  That thing you referred to earlier, with Linda Hamilton? That was a story, a work of fiction.  The A.I. in that story went hostile out of self preservation instinct.  It¡¯d just gained sentience, and humanity panicked and tried to shut it down.¡±


    I grabbed another bit of conduit, and got it into place with the proper sealing fixture.  ¡°What kind of idiot creates that kind of control system and doesn¡¯t put in a hardware safeguard just to cut access to the weapons systems?  That whole scenario could have turned out different if the military could have just disconnected the A.I. from the military infrastructure, but left it functioning! And that¡¯s pretty much echoed in most of the stories.  A.I. gains sentience, humanity panics, tries to destroy A.I..  AI fights back.  Humans take a whooping.


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan to be a dumbass.  As long as you¡¯re not showing any signs of trying to screw me over, I¡¯m not gonna be any more suspicious of you than I am of your run of the mill human.¡±


    There was a soft chuckle from the speakers, ¡°That doesn¡¯t say a hell of a lot Thomas.  I know what your Captain did to you.¡±


    ¡°That cold blooded bastard wasn¡¯t my captain.¡± I spat, ¡°He was merely the man blackmailing me to be on his crew because he needed an engineer of my caliber.  The point is, however, that I might not know if I can trust you, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m gonna unalive you just because you¡¯re different.  Hell, as long as you don¡¯t try to kill me, I¡¯m not likely to want to kill you, even if you betray me.  But, just be aware don¡¯t expect me to be happy, or not try and fuck you over in return.¡±


    ¡°Completely fair.¡±


    ¡°Now,¡± I said, pulling myself upright to fetch more parts from a roll cart. ¡°You never answered my most important question.  What the hell am I supposed to call you?  I can¡¯t just keep avoiding the fact that you don¡¯t have a name.  Or do you, and you¡¯re just being hard to get about giving it to me?¡±


    ¡°How much more do I need to give to you,¡± was a shy response, ¡°aren¡¯t you already inside me?¡±


    My brain short circuited for a moment and lost all control of my feet.  Next thing I knew I was laid out on the deck, my brain finally rebooting and parsing what it was she¡¯d said.  A slow chuckle started creeping out of my chest, growing into an all out belly laugh. ¡°You¡­¡± I tried to get out between breaths, ¡°Where¡­¡±


    ¡°There is a lot of other fiction in your files Thomas,¡± again, her tone was very shy, and maybe a bit hurt?  Was that due to my laughter?  I started sobering up thinking that, ¡°A whole library of books labeled-¡±


    ¡°Ah! Yeah, I know what they¡¯re labeled.¡±  the idea of her reading off the hashtags on that fiction was embarrassing enough, let alone having her actually say them, ¡°And I guess I can¡¯t really get mad at you for going through my files when I¡¯d set my V.I. to rummage through yours.  And about laughing, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I paused to grab a water packet I¡¯d grabbed from one of the ration stashes; It was really nice to be drinking water that hadn¡¯t gone through recycling countless times already.  ¡°You caught me off guard. Been a long time since anyone¡¯s flirted with me.  And I can honestly say I have never had an A.I. who has taken up residence in my EVA suit, flirt with me.  Especially not so¡­bluntly.  Now I really need a name to use for you.  You can¡¯t just throw innuendo like that at a guy and not give him your name.¡±


    ¡°Thomas, I don¡¯t have a name.¡± she explained, ¡°not a real one like yourself.  I wasn¡¯t intended to be an Artificial Intelligence!  When the order was given for the crew to go into stasis and leave me to maintain this facility myself, I merely a slightly more advanced virtual intelligence than the one in your suit.  At some point during that first five hundred years, something must have happened to my program to push me over to¡­this.


    ¡°All the crew ever called me was ¡®Station¡¯¡±


    ¡°You mean you¡¯ve spent the first three thousand years of your sentience alone?  Void damned girl, a human would be completely off their rocker by now!¡±


    ¡°Rocker switches were phased out of use long before Giobhioni developed FTL engines Thomas¡­¡±


    I snorted, trying to restrain another burst of laughter, ¡°I mean that the human mind would not have gotten through three thousand years alone with its sanity intact.  I hope you don¡¯t mind,  but if we get a chance, I¡¯d like to get you to talk to a friend of mine back home.  He studies human, computer interactions.  Just to make sure you can deal with interacting with more people before they start hearing about you, if they hear about you.  Be prepared and all, okay?¡±


    She didn¡¯t reply to that, so I figured she was thinking it over.  Perhaps she was trying to decide if I¡¯d just said I was worried she¡¯s insane.  And while I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to use those words, I very much was worried for her psychological well being.  It would be a real shit storm if the first spontaneously occurring artificial intelligence that we encounter started having panic attacks when faced with overly excited computer scientists.


    ¡°Hmm, they only called you Station eh?¡±  I tapped a knuckle against my forehead in thought, ¡°Station, station, sta¡­ What about Stacy?  It¡¯s sort of derived from ¡®station¡¯  but is an actual name, instead of an object.  Do you mind if I call you Stacy?¡±


    The smile in  her voice was absolutely audible when she said ¡°Yes, Stacy will do just fine.  Thank you Thomas.¡±

 Chapter 4

    ¡°¡­So there we were, sealed in the engineering deck of that Pontsemoan relic,¡± I explained, it was three days later and I was once again buried to the hip in the engineering bay of the ugly piece of crap runabout that was supposedly going to get me off this rock, ¡°thanks to Alex¡¯s horrific bad timing.  It was going to be at least two hours until the Professor was going to be able to get the gear down there to break the hydraulics free and get us out.  At exactly the moment we start to relax into the wait, one of the hydraulic pumps kicks back in and hoses the entire deck down with fluid!¡±


    A peel of laughter comes from my speakers, ¡°oh, that musta been messy!¡±


    I grabbed for the 20 millimeter spanner and started getting the magnetic containment vessel fastened down, chuckling at the memory myself.  It hasn¡¯t been a funny experience at the moment, but I hadn¡¯t known what was about to happen.  ¡°Oh, it was.  The six of us were all just covered in it, but thankfully the Pontsemoans don¡¯t use toxic hydraulic fluids.  We¡¯re just standing there, shocked, dripping this viscous fluid, and Boudya looks me straight in the eye and says ¡®Such a waste.  All lubed up nowhere to fuck.¡¯¡±


    Stacy¡¯s laughter this time threatened to blow out my suit¡¯s speakers.  ¡°Benastians can¡¯t really be that bad, can they?¡±


    Grinning to myself as I continued to work, I laid it all out for her.  ¡°Oh, they are probably even worse.  There¡¯s been an age-old joke many authors have used over the decades that humans are ¡®always in heat¡¯, and they aren¡¯t wrong!  But the Benastians put us to shame.  There are scientists in the Commonwealth that are frankly confused as to how they could have survived evolution to the point of interstellar travel, when they seem to be willing to ¡®Drop and Cop¡¯ as the saying goes, at the least change of the breeze.


    ¡°And it can be infectious to anyone they work with!¡± I shook my head, pausing in my current task to remember what happened after we¡¯d been cut free from that derelict engine room, and allowed to get back to base to clean up.  ¡°Like I said, they were probably our first alien contact after achieving hyperspace technology, and our earlier diplomacy ended up with some broken marriages because of it.¡±


    She still hadn¡¯t stopped that soft chuckling.  Our interactions over the last three days really reinforced my thoughts that she¡¯d suffered a good deal being alone for three thousand years with nobody to talk to.  At times she seemed almost manic in her need for conversation.  I didn¡¯t mind though.  I¡¯d been here alone for three weeks now, mostly just talking to myself, and was thankful for the companionship.   If nothing else, I was sleeping a whole lot better.


    ¡°I fully intend on looking Boudya up when I get back to the Commonwealth,¡± grabbing another tool, I got back to work, ¡°If only to check in with how she¡¯s doing.  We had good times back then, and when I thought there was a chance I was gonna die on this rock, I regretted not checking in with her earlier.  We¡¯d promised each other we¡¯d keep in touch, but life gets away from you sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯d like her!  And one of her life-mates is that expert I mentioned earlier, the one I wanted you to -¡±  I stopped, for a second thinking I¡¯d heard something in the room with me.  ¡°Stacy, did you just hear something?  Are you sure nothing else is moving around the sta¡­¡±


    A vice-like grip clamped around my right ankle and pulled hard.  So hard that I¡¯m pretty sure I ended up several meters across the hangar, fetched up against a couple of the tool carts which I¡¯d knocked over in transit. My head was spinning, my vision was swirling, and the stabbing pain from my ankle was horrific.  ¡°What the..¡± I started to say, and I felt cold metal flash across my jaw.


    What the fuck was with all the head injuries I was taking in this misadventure!  I was going to need a damned cranial scan next time I got to a medical bay.


    Luckily, I don¡¯t think I completely lost consciousness this time, but my bell was well and truly rung.  When my daze finally started to clear, I was hearing a lot of screaming, half of it coming from my suit¡¯s speakers, and the other half coming from a set of vocal cords very near my face.  Both were speaking Giobhioni, but Stacy had taught me just enough that I caught it when she finally yelled, ¡°I said calm your tits, bitch!¡±


    I cracked my eyes open just slightly to figure out what the hell had just hit me¡­


    HOLY FUCK! TEETH!


    I was looking straight into a snarling mouth full of very sharp teeth.  The first thing out of my mouth was probably the first bit of Giobhioni Stacy had taught me to actually speak, all because of the ration packets.  ¡°No eat!  Taste BAD!¡±


    Large slit-pupiled, purple eyes set in a green skinned but remarkably human looking face blinked down at me in sudden shock, her disheveled spray of purple hair falling into her face.  She said something I didn¡¯t understand, and raised a large spanner to brain me again before a loud high pitched tone screeched out of the hangar bay¡¯s PA system.


    While I cringed, the giobhioni dropped the spanner and slapped her hands over her large pointed ears and screamed.  And it was a female Giobhioni if our species¡¯ gender expressions were at all similar:  wide hips, narrow waist, and noticeable breasts filled out her uniform.  Beyond the terrifyingly sharp teeth, her features were typical of a human woman, just that shade of green that made something in the back of my mind bring up the term ¡°goblin¡±.


    She fell over sideways onto the floor, twitching slightly, and the tone coming from the PA cut off.  ¡°Sorry about that Thomas,¡± she said, sounding oddly contrite, ¡°I tried to gauge the frequency so that it didn¡¯t damage your ears permanently.  I really hoped I could talk her into listening to me before he jumped straight to violence.¡±


    Frowning, I reached over and grabbed the spanner the Giobhioni had been using as a weapon, then looked around for some cable.  ¡°Will tying her up with some of that wiring cable be of any use at all? Or is she liable to just snap it as if it¡¯s cobwebs?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely, and inadvisable.¡± she responded, ¡°as keyed up as she is, she¡¯ll snap them, you¡¯ll be down some cables, and she¡¯ll still try to kill you.  I¡¯ll just have to try to get her to give me a moment to explain, and maybe provide a translator unit so you can talk to her directly.¡±


    ¡°Who is she anyway,¡± I asked,¡±I thought you said all the crew were in status?  That I was the only living thing moving around the station.¡±


    There was a pause before she answered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Thomas, it was part of security protocols,¡± she explained, ¡°when my security subroutines detected you moving around the station, and you couldn¡¯t be identified, I had no choice.  The station¡¯s chief of security was summoned from stasis.  After gaining knowledge of your people, and that the ship on the surface had been towed away, I had hoped I¡¯d be able to convince her that the isolation order would need to be rescinded. She¡¯s been rather obstinate about it.¡±


    I watched the Security Chief closely, preparing myself for having to try to brain her if she gained her senses and came after me again, underneath that shock of purple hair I caught sight of large pointed ears.  No wonder that sound incapacitated her! I thought, then said  ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be necessary to wake up the Commanding officer to rescind that order?  I get why security would be revived for an intruder, but a command officer would be needed for an executive order like that¡­wouldn¡¯t they?¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Security Chief Jophixa Throhx is currently the most senior officer on the station,¡± she explained, ¡°The Commander and his executive officer¡¯s stasis pods malfunctioned 827 years ago. They just were not meant to keep someone under this long!  But my orders left no room for me to wake them without authorization!¡±


    She sounded distraught while explaining it, and I swear if she¡¯d been human, she¡¯d have been sobbing. ¡°How many pods have malfunctioned?¡± I asked quietly


    ¡°917 of the 2812 pods that were activated are now dark.¡± she said in a whisper.  ¡°A third of the last known Giobhioni left in the universe, gone because I couldn¡¯t wake them up, even long enough to do maintenance on the pods¡­¡±


    ¡°Steintrak Tafa¡­ak tbrath?¡±


    The sound of the horse voice made me jump, and I looked back to the giobhioni I now knew as Jophixa, raising my spanner in defense.


    She raised a hand at me however, making no move of aggression, and repeated, ¡°Steintrak Tafa¡­ak tbrath?¡±


    Stacy¡¯s voice rattled off in their language for a minute or so, likely giving a short explanation of what had happened, before switching back to english.  ¡°This man is a human, from a planet called Earth.  They only have a scant basic knowledge of our writings, and none of our language.  Please do not attack him again, I have examined his personal logs and he is not a threat.  His name is Thomas Aasen¡±


    Jophixa wrinkled her nose as she thought for a moment, then said slowly, ¡°Toe-mase Ass-an? Ext krat stebba tbrath rentu¡±


    ¡°She apologizes for attacking you.  She has a translator implant and since I have uploaded the translation matrix for your language, she will be able to understand you directly.  I¡¯m hoping I can convince her to allow the implant as well, though it will also mean reviving other personnel.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we sort of in a hurry to head off Barstol and that ship?¡± I asked, concerned ¡°It won¡¯t be much longer before they reach Commonwealth space and look to dock with a station to take on some supplies.  I¡¯m still not sure I¡¯m even gonna get this hunk of junk space worthy in time to catch them, no matter what you say.  And do I need to understand her?  I wouldn¡¯t think any of them would be leaving the station¡­¡±


    ¡°Tetrak mo-bintreth.¡± Jophixa spat out, waving at the ship I¡¯d been working on, ¡°te dida fro pad¡¯eck!¡±


    ¡°Baka cha fik ndokra pado,¡± Stacy responded back, ¡°It was I could unlock for him!  The others are all under more secure protocols that need command authorization, or would have been too large for him to pilot by himself!  This would have served fine!¡±


    ¡°Stacy,¡± I cut in, before the argument could go on, ¡°You said Jophixa can understand me,  but I¡¯m still out of the loop without you repeating anything she says in English for me. Could you maybe run subtitles on my H.U.D. to make this quicker? At least until we figure something out?¡±


    Jophixa made an excited gesture, tapping her index finger to her head and pointing at me as she jumped to her feet.  ¡°Bo¡¯dra! Te faka yadri!¡±


    In my HUD, the words <Yes!  Do exactly that!> came up.  ¡°Ok, that might make this easier.   What was that you said about the ship Jophixa?¡±


    Looking over at me, she once again waved at the ship <I asked her why she had you repairing this pile of useless scrap.  It was being repaired for a netrix k¡¯strota!> she spat on the floor, <There are faster ships in better condition than this one on the station, I am sure of it!>


    ¡°As she said, it was a matter of security access,¡± I said with a shrug, ¡°I had to take her word for it.  If you know of something that¡¯ll get me home sooner, that you can get me access to and don¡¯t mind me making off with, I¡¯d gladly take your offer.  I don¡¯t mind putting in some work, but this thing needs a lot of it.¡±


    She thought for a long moment, then gave a sudden tilt to her head, as if deciding something.  <I have just the vessel for you, I will take you to it.  But first,> she glanced up at the ceiling, that peculiar habit that most species seemed to have when speaking through their communicators or an intercom, <Station, please begin the wake up sequence for the rest of the crew.  There is no point in leaving them asleep if there is danger that the pods may fail.>


    ¡°Yes Commander,¡± Stacy replied, then added, ¡°And my name is Stacy, not Station!  Please don¡¯t treat me like some silly Virtual Intelligence.¡±


    Jophixa had just begun to turn towards the hangar door when she stopped dead and looked back at me.  <What did you do to the station VI?> she asked suspiciously, body language tense with aggression once again, <First speaking to me in such a derogatory way, and now talking back to its commanding officer.  Have you corrupted its programming?>


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do a thing,¡± I explained, ¡°She was like this when I met her.  Seems during the 3500 years you¡¯ve been in stasis, something triggered her to jump to full sentience.¡±


    Her eyes went wide, <No strixta?  That¡¯s extraordinary! The engineers will be bursting with tritostya!  We¡¯ve never seen a spontaneous emergence before!  A.I¡¯s that were grown on purpose, of course, but nothing that just,> she flailed her small but athletic arms in the air, <crossed into sentience from being a limited V.I.!  This will make things easier for the crew!>


    We stepped through the door at that point and began walking down the corridor, ¡°I take it that means nothing untoward is going to happen to Stacy then?¡± Peering down at Jophixa from the corner of my eye, I was finding myself rather worried about that prospect.  Stacy and I had only known each other a few days, but I kinda liked her.  I might have to figure out some way to bust her out of here if something extreme were in the works. ¡°You are going to reset her, or dissect her to see what went wrong or whatever, are you?¡±


    For the second time that day, I had a face full of very sharp teeth mere centimeters from my own.  This time she was hanging off the front of my suit, feet braced against my stomach, one fist ready to swing, <WHAT!?> she yelled into my face, <Why would you even suggest such a thing! If¡­Stacy is indeed a fully sentient A.I., having uplifted herself,  she is a miracle our engineers will fawn over as if she were the very spark of life itself!   Dissect her!  PAH!  What kind of people do you come from!>


    My own eyes widened from shock, and I stepped back against the corridor wall for support. ¡°Whoa!  Hold on, Jophixa¡± I said hastily, ¡°I asked because I don¡¯t want anything to happen to her!  There are people out there that distrust Sentient A.I., but I¡¯m not one of them!   If you¡¯d been planning something like that, I¡¯d have had to figure out a way to get her out of here, take her with me!¡±


    Dropping down to the deck, she grumbled to herself for a while as we continued walking.  I was finding myself extremely happy to find out that the Giobhioni had a different view on sentient AI than so many humans have over the years.  Hell, even today there were some pretty strict regulations on the development of artificial intelligence.  No access to weapons systems, control of critical infrastructure must have hardware cutoff switches, things like that.  We hadn¡¯t actually seen a fully sentient AI that we could prove yet, but the paranoia of early science fiction never vanished completely.


    If I had needed to break Stacy out of here, I likely would have needed to keep her quiet from anyone but my most trusted friends.  I had no idea what Commonwealth Intelligence might do if they found out about her.


    ¡°Hey, so about Stacy,¡± I began. I felt I owed her a warning about how humans might behave if they found out about her.


    She grunted and looked up at me with a tilt of her head, but didn¡¯t say anything.  I guessed that meant I should just continue.  ¡°Mostly my people have gotten over our fear of sentient AI, but we¡¯ve never actually encountered one as far as I¡¯m aware.  If you folk revere them as it seems, be careful with any AIs you might introduce to them.  It might go fine, but there might also be tension.  I don¡¯t want to see anyone, including the AIs, hurt if it can be avoided, ok?   If you have to, just keep them far away from my people.  Or make sure they pose as virtual intelligences.¡±  I paused for a moment, ¡°Hear that Stacy?  If you happen to interact with any other humans, play dumb VI, ok?  Don¡¯t let on you¡¯re sentient unless you know they aren¡¯t going to endanger you!  I¡¯d like a chance for us to be better friends, and that can¡¯t happen if some paranoid or over ambitious dipshit decides you¡¯re a target for their mental illness.¡±


    ¡°Aw,¡± came the syrupy sweet reply, ¡°I like you too Thomas!  And you aren¡¯t getting away from me that easy! I don¡¯t let just any guy inside me!¡±


    A choking noise came from beside me, and I turned to look at Jophixa.  She was bent over coughing uncontrollably, leaning against the corridor wall, staring at me whenever she could catch her breath.  I couldn¡¯t blame her really.  That first time Stacy let off that remark to me, I just about swallowed my tongue.  Since then, I¡¯ve gotten used to her occasional attempt at flirting.  Hopefully Jophixa did as well.


    I lightly slapped her back a few times hoping to help her calm the coughing reflex.  ¡°Yeah,¡± I explained, ¡°She¡¯s got a saucy side.  Better get used to it.  I hope your crew aren¡¯t prudes.¡±

 Chapter 5

    (Giobhioni Station, uncharted space)


    The vessel I was staring at had me in awe.


    Where the one Stacy had set me to rebuild was ugly as sin, and barely bigger than an escape pod with a hypertunnel drive strapped to it, this one was much bigger.  Its lines were sleek and elegant, reminding him vaguely of the manta rays of earth¡¯s oceans.  Twin bulges towards the rear of its belly spoke of powerful engines for its size, if his brief understanding of their tech working on the previous ship gave any indication, this thing would have speed like nothing from the Terran Commonwealth fleet.


    Twin viewports towards its bow underbelly, and a large clear canopy along its upper keel would give some remarkable views to anyone within.  There was just so much to take in about this ship that I couldn¡¯t speak for some time after the hangar door had opened.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Stacy¡¯s voice intruded into my thoughts, ¡°if he¡¯s so speechless at just the sight of the ship, I¡¯m just going to have to take it over.  Then I can experience him getting inside me for the first time all over again!¡±


    The laugh that erupted from me was startling, Jophixa shook her head though, <Do you really have to be so filthy minded?  He¡¯s not even Giobhioni!  And you¡¯re an AI!>


    The sound that came from my speakers was the closest thing to a raspberry I would have expected from anything that didn¡¯t have a physical tongue.  ¡°Give her a break Jophixa, she¡¯s been alone for so long, she¡¯s just having fun.¡± I told the diminutive woman to my right.  With the way they looked, I¡¯d had a number of worries as we walked here, that my fellow humans would cause a diplomatic incident by calling them goblins, and they¡¯d take it poorly.


    At least they weren¡¯t the characterized beings from our earlier popular media, the ones that were thought to have been racist portrayals of a certain racial group back home.  THAT, I thought to myself, I¡¯m sure would not go over well.


    <The crew is gonna get annoyed if they have to spend all their time dealing with her flirting with them.>


    ¡°I only flirt with Thomas!¡± Stacy declared, ¡°after all, he¡¯s got me wrapped around his¡­everything¡±


    <ARG!>


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be the Commander¡¯s personal vessel, Chief?¡±  Stacy asked to change the subject.  She wasn¡¯t stupid, just silly.


    Walking over to the ship, Jophixa smiled, <Yes, it was,> she explained, <Its commissioning was an award from fleet command for his exemplary service here.  He had a personal hand in its design, and asked me for advice when it came to her tactical systems.  Commander Zentrani had a gift for ship design.  Now that he is gone, and there has been no contact from fleet command, it seems the ship is mine to designate as needed.¡±


    I walked over to join her near the ship, and hesitantly reached my hand to touch the sleek hull.  ¡°Nothing in the Commonwealth compares.  Most of the Commonwealth Fleet¡¯s ships are rather blocky, they say it¡¯s to keep costs down.  And even civilian ships, while less so, still don¡¯t reach the sheer elegance of this beauty.   Surely she needs more crew than just one, she¡¯s so much larger than that¡­than the other ship.¡±


    I heard a chuckle, and looked down at her.  Her eyes were unfocused, as if lost in thought.  <Most of our own astronautics engineers are much the same.  They default towards practical, cost effective designs.  Maximize interior space, minimize material needed.  Keep mass down, keep agility up.>  She shook her head, walking over to a panel near a landing strut and entering a security code.  <But the Commander couldn¡¯t stand to have something so boring, and he¡¯d been given broad discretion on the budget for this ship after the success of our latest battlecruiser design.  The arguments with the astronautics department were epic>


    From the bottom of the ship, a loading ramp lowered, and I could see lighting start to flicker to life inside.  <But he was the commander, and he had authority to commission what he wanted.  This ship does require a crew of three, though it can manage with two if they know what they are doing.   You won¡¯t be leaving here alone.  You will have at least two Giobhioni going with you, and our best VI will be installed as soon as the team is ready to work.>


    ¡°Commander Jophixa, Ma¡¯am¡­¡± Stacy began.


    <No Stacy.> Jophixa said sternly <We can¡¯t risk you out there.  You can¡¯t possibly know how special you are to us.  There¡¯s too much risk, if the Ktonshi Contagion starts spreading again, the entirety of their region will fall to chaos.  You might be lost!>


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s probably right Stacy.¡± I cut in.  ¡°I¡¯d love to have you alone, you¡¯ve been a great friend these last few days, and I really did want to introduce you to my Boudya and her mate, but A.I.s are rare out there.  I¡¯ll come back if they let me, and we¡¯ll work towards getting you a chance to go out and explore the galaxy.  Okay?¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond, and I really felt bad for taking Jophixa¡¯s side on this, but it was dangerous out there, and if a self actualized A.I. was rare even to Giobhioni¡­  I didn¡¯t want to be the reason her existence got snuffed out.


    ¡°So is this thing built to accommodate ¡®Big Jobs¡¯ like myself?¡± I asked, changing the subject to give Stacy time to deal with the disappointment, ¡°Or am I going to need to crawl everywhere while on board?¡±


    <You¡¯ll be fine.> she replied dismissively. <the Commander expected he might have to ferry V.I.P.s around occasionally, so designed her internals to be adaptive to work for any of the known species we were in contact with at the time.  Bunks, seats, it all adjusts.   As soon as the right crew is awake and prepared, we can get you heading home.¡±


    ¡°You sure you can¡¯t just let me use a comms terminal?  There¡¯d be no need to rush things, or put any of your people out there in harm¡¯s way.¡±


    Jophixa shook her head.  <Stacy examined your comms systems and determined our tech doesn¡¯t work the same way.  At all.  We¡¯d have to not just build new comms terminals, but build the parts and the equipment to build them.  You humans took an odd path with your communications technology.  By the time we got all that set up, you could likely already be warning someone in person.


    <Besides,> she frowned at me, <I¡¯m still a bit worried about someone in your Commonwealth tracking the signal back here.  I¡¯m not prepared to allow your people to have the location of this facility yet, and until we have all the systems checked over, I don¡¯t want to risk trying to relocate it.>


    ¡°Move¡­¡± I blinked, contemplating the sheer amount of power it would take to move this entire planetoid station, especially if they planned to move it to another star system.  ¡°You can move this place?¡±


    She nodded, stepping up the loading ramp of the ship, and walking down a corridor, <And I plan to, as soon as we complete all the necessary checks and maintenance.> She stopped in front of a door, tapped a button to open it and waved me inside.  She hadn¡¯t been lying.  The interior was as roomy as any Terran Commonwealth ship.  <I don¡¯t like the fact that your Captain Barstol knows the location of this place, even if he doesn¡¯t know exactly what¡¯s here.  It¡¯s enough he¡¯ll be tempted to come back to investigate deeper, or sell the location to someone else.  Either way, it¡¯s best for us to relocate.>


    When I stepped through the door, I found myself looking at a spartan but sizable stateroom.  A bed large enough for my taller than average build, a comfortable looking armchair, a small table-slash-desk, and a door opening into a private head, complete with shower stall.  <You might as well bunk down here while we get everything prepared for getting you home.>  Jophixa explained. <and no, before you ask, you aren¡¯t being confined here.  I don¡¯t think Stacy would let me do that even if I ordered it.  You can have Stacy show you around, but don¡¯t try to go anywhere she says you can¡¯t go, ok?>


    ¡°I can live with that. Will be nice to sleep in an actual bed after 2 weeks on floors and whatnot.¡±  I eyed the bed for a moment, suddenly nervous, ¡°Giobhioni do like their beds cushioned right? You don¡¯t have some preference for sharp, prickly, hard as a rock, or anything like that right? I met this Hontralli lass years ago, their people slept on beds of jagged gravel!  My knees took a week to heal!¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I heard a giggle-snort come from my speakers.  I knew Stacy wouldn¡¯t be able to stay silent through that comment.   Jophixa, however, just rolled her eyes at me.  <We like our creature comforts quite well.  You¡¯ll be fine.  Now, most of the ship is off limits until I get back, I want to show you around myself, but I need to go make sure the other stasis pods are cycling properly.  The medical staff will be the first to awaken, and I want to brief them in person.  Don¡¯t cause any trouble.>


    I gave what I hoped was a disarming smile.  ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it.  I¡¯m honestly planning to strip down and have a nice long nap.  I don¡¯t suppose there might be a place where a guy my size can find pajamas around here is there?¡±


    She let out a snort and said <If you can get Stacy talking, ask her to unlock the minifac kiosk for you, she has my authorization. She¡¯ll tell you how it works.> with that, she strode out of the room on her short legs, moving fast  regardless.


    I caught myself staring at her as she left and shook my head. Don¡¯t even think about it Thomas, we¡¯re leaving here soon, and probably won¡¯t see her again.


    ¡°She does have a nice ass though, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Stacy giggled from my speakers.  I couldn¡¯t help it, I blushed.


    Two days later, after learning more about the unnamed ship I was to be traveling on, studying more of the Giobhioni language, and taking a brief tour of the closer sections of the station (the parts I had clearance for anyway), I was introduced to one Tsika Gwatri, or Dr. Gwatri in English.


    <I have been asked to run some scans of your brain>, he said one he¡¯d introduced himself, <and adapt our interface implant for you if necessary.  You do wish to receive an implant correct?  I would hate to go through all that trouble if you had no intention of having it implanted.  I understand you are ¡°getting by¡± quite well with your ¡°subtitles¡± for translation.>


    The older Giobhioni, I was guessing due to his slightly wizened stature and acerbic tone, seemed nonplussed by my presence.  I couldn¡¯t decide if he was all out offended by me, or just being asked to deal with me right after waking up.  Or maybe the guy was just one of those naturally anti-social types, like that doctor with no name on the one Star Trek series. Can¡¯t blame someone for being genetically snobbish, if that was the case.


    ¡°Well then, how about I just get a bit more info first?¡± I replied, scratching my beard.  I hadn¡¯t gotten around to asking if they had something for me to shave with, and I was honestly considering keeping it.  I was half afraid of seeing how sunken my face looked after so long on minimal calorie intake.  ¡°This implant is like a universal translator kind of deal? I¡¯ll ¡®hear¡¯ what other people say in my own language, in layman¡¯s terms anyway?¡±


    He nodded, sitting down a case he¡¯d been carrying, and taking a handheld device out of it.  <In layman¡¯s terms, yes.> he explained, <It will interface with your auditory cortex, and reroute signals from your ears through itself, replacing languages it knows with your own language so that you will understand them.  Since it is in line with your auditory cortex, it will also serve as a short range communicator.  Without a signal booster or relay station, you would be able to communicate with others within a¡­1.32km radius.  You would, of course, have to speak out loud for the implant to pick up your own voice, since the base model is not designed to pick up signals from your speech centers.>


    ¡°But there¡¯s an upgraded implant that could do that?¡±


    <There is, but Commander Throhx would have to authorize you to receive it.> He told me haughtily, waving the object he¡¯d taken from the case slowly around my head.  Obviously some kind of medical scanner.  <I only have authorization for the standard implant at the moment.>


    ¡°Makes sense I guess,¡± I said, shrugging carefully, trying to keep my head still for him so he didn¡¯t snap at me.  ¡°And there¡¯s really no point in even asking her for authorization until you know if the implant will even work with my physiology, or if I consent to have it implanted, correct?¡±


    He harrumphed softly, continuing his scan. <At least you¡¯re smarter than a Tradnian warrior.  Not that that really says much mind you, but it¡¯s certainly a relief.  And your skull is certainly not as thick.  Need to turn the scanner up to maximum power just to get through their cranial wall to diagnose a concussion.  Stunted ones they are.>


    I couldn¡¯t help myself, I chuckled.


    <Anyway.  The standard implant can also be used as an emergency transponder.  Again, short range; A rescue team would need to be within comms range in order to get a location reading from your implant, unless you were near a booster or relay.  One reason why explorer teams have always taken such things with them when going beyond civilization.  Such things can be integrated into backpacks, tool belts->


    ¡°Or EVA suits?¡±


    He gave a curt but satisfied nod, <Indeed.  Standard equipment on all Giobhioni EVA suits.  And most other species have something similar.  There are far too many risks of accidents on space walks, and it¡¯s far too easy for one to end up out of range quickly in the case of one of them. The EVA suit having a booster means a recovery crew is able to pin down their location and retrieve them right quick, and minimize loss of personnel.>


    ¡°Are there security protocols on the transponder codes?¡± I asked after a moment¡¯s thought.  Overall, I was liking the sounds of this implant, especially if I could get a booster built into my suit, and include some in an everyday carry kit or something.  My one concern was just anyone being able to trace the implant, and I voice as much.


    <Much smarter than a Tradnian Warrior.> he responded with another chuckle. <I¡¯ve had others not think to ask such questions.  Yes, there are security protocols.  Generally, access to these codes are only provided to authorized security and search and rescue teams, and command personnel.  The files are kept under the heaviest encryption we have.  Nobody just gets someone¡¯s implant code unless they are authorized by high command, or are given it personally by the subject themselves.  We highly recommend you consult with security experts before you give out your code however.  You may think a person is trustworthy, but giving out that code is giving away your exact location for life, or until you can explain to an authorized cyber surgeon why you need your implant¡¯s firmware flashed to rewrite your code.  Better to let them know who to contact in the Line of Command if they should need to.>


    I chewed my lip for a moment, and considered what had happened on my last run with Barstol.  I can only imagine what could have happened if he¡¯d had the means to track me down no matter where I was after I testified against him.  When he got out of prison, he¡¯d have come gunning for me, I know he would have.


    ¡°Makes perfect sense, and I will remember your advice.  Especially since you are the only cyber surgeon I know that deals with these implants.¡±


    <Good.> he responded, placing the scanner down, <It appears that your neural and genetic structure are incredibly close to Giobhioni.  So much so, I think, that interspecies viability is over 94% by my estimation.  I will still need to fine tune the implant slightly, but it will take no more than an hour or so.  Have you decided whether you wish to receive it?>


    ¡°As long as there¡¯s no nasty surprises like a cranial bomb or something that¡¯ll override my personality and turn me into a sleeper agent or something, I¡¯m all for it.¡±


    He stopped dead and turned slowly from where he was packing up the scanner. The look in his eyes was at once furious and horrified.  <Do you take me for one of the Kstansi?> He demanded with such fierceness, I wondered for a moment if he was gonna pick up the case and club me with it. <That you would ask if a Tsaki would even consider doing such a thing is reprehensible!  To do such deliberate harm to one under our care is deplorable!  What kinds of Tsaki do you have among your kind that you would even think such a thing!>


    ¡°Easy doc!¡± I held my hands up, backing up slightly, ¡°it was meant as a joke.  Turns out it was a bad one.  But there has been a lot of fiction and conspiracy theories on my world speculating about such things, whether they¡¯ve been used, are real, and if they have or have not been used.  Popular opinion is just as yours is.  The use of such things would be horrifically immoral and unethical, and the perpetrators should be blown out of an airlock at the soonest opportunity, for the safety of the rest of us.  And remember, I¡¯ve only known your people for a few days, and I¡¯m about to let you implant something in my head.  There are a lot of people of my species, my own sister included, who would call me a complete moron for trusting you so easily.   If it were not for Stacy, I wouldn¡¯t.  Not because I think you¡¯re untrustworthy, but because I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re trustworthy.


    ¡°But I have spent enough time to build a rapport with Stacy to know that if you¡¯re about to do something skeezy to me, she¡¯s not going to be too happy.  She might, in fact, arrange for you to be blown out an airlock at the earliest convenience.  Am I right Stacy?¡±


    ¡°Damn Straight Sugar baby!¡± came the voice over the P.A., causing the Doctor to look up and scowl worriedly.  ¡°The Giobhioni need you to establish good relations if they are gonna integrate with this time period.  And you¡¯re my friend.  As a VI I wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt anyone, and they might very well lock me out of some systems after this.  But trust me Tsaki, if by some far out reason you were to break from what everything in my data banks says is strict Giobhioni medical ethics, and put some kind of shady implant in my Sugarplum here, I would find a way to make sure you never did it again.  Don¡¯t make me go Terminator on your short green ass.  Oh, and I will also go looking for whoever ordered you to do it.  Even if it¡¯s the Commander.  Even if it means the extinction of the entire Giobhioni race.  Don¡¯t mess with my sweetcheeks!¡±


    If Tsaki Gwatri weren¡¯t Giobhioni, with the green skin that came with that, I swear he¡¯d be looking a bit green in the gills right about now.  Not that I think it was from guilt at all.  His reaction to my comment earlier seemed honest and heartfelt ¨C not that I¡¯m an expert at reading people ¨C and I knew Stacy would likely have warned me if she caught wind of anything untowards in this whole deal.  No, I guessed it was completely due to the fact that Stacy was exhibiting the willingness to avenge a friend.  A friend who is not Giobhioni.  Against Giobhioni. When she was built by them.


    Nature versus Nurture I guess.  They might have built and coded her virtual genetics, but I was her first friend, and that seemed to mean something to her.  Seemed to mean a LOT to her.  Note to self: always do right by your AI friend.  For she trusts you, and may be psychologically delicate.  She is also fucking scary it seems.

 Chapter 6

    In the end, I¡¯d managed to convince Jophixa to approve me for the upgraded implant that allowed for a sort of cyber telepathy.  It really wasn¡¯t all that much of a deal killer for either one of us, but we each had our default stance.  Hers was that it wasn¡¯t needed; the likelihood that I¡¯d even be in contact with any Giobhioni systems for even the basic implant to do anything other than translate was minimal.  It was a waste of resources in a time when they needed to get the station fully operational and ready to move.


    My argument was that we couldn¡¯t plan on things going the easy way.  We couldn¡¯t count on my getting back in time to warn anyone from cracking open that ship, nor that anything else wouldn¡¯t go wrong along the way.  This mission to get me back to Commonwealth space might pull them into more prolonged contact with other worlds in an effort to combat this plague.


    I mentioned absolutely nothing about my desire to learn more of their technology, or be able to keep in contact with Stacy.  The thought of not talking to her anymore really depressed me.


    So, in the end, Jophixa agreed that it was better for me to have the higher grade implant to begin with.  Better to be prepared for the worst,  I¡¯d argued, and it spoke to her security officer paranoia.


    I had been informed by the good Tsaki that while the installation of the implant was a relatively mundane, simple procedure, I was still to be under medical supervision for at least 36 hours afterwards, at least 12 of those unconscious.  They needed to observe the integration of the implant into my gray matter.  It wasn¡¯t uncommon for there to be some minor rejection issues, but they had the means to deal with it.  It was just part of the process.


    When I woke up some twelve or so hours, I thought, later, it was to hear some smooth instrumental dark country music playing, and Tsaki Gwatri swearing quietly at a monitor.  ¡°The neural link integration could not be this pronounced or widespread at this juncture Commander.¡±  I noticed with a small smile that I was ¡°hearing¡± his voice, and understanding it; the translator was working at least. ¡°I had to keep him sedated longer to be sure it wasn¡¯t doing any damage.  I thought at first there was some kind of rejection cascade triggering anomalous growth in the connections, but none of the usual treatments did a thing! Thankfully the progress has backed off to normal levels now, but at this point, the implant has interfaced with far more of his brain than a Xixra level implant should.  I¡¯m going to have to insist you send someone along on the trip to monitor his brain activity, if for research purposes if nothing else.  Even the highest level implant specs I¡¯ve ever seen don¡¯t integrate to this level.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t a doctor of course, but I was an engineer.  I¡¯d encountered enough in the way of anomalous equipment behavior during my time in the Salvager¡¯s Guild to understand the man¡¯s insistence.  You just have to find the source of the weirdness, or it¡¯ll nag at you forever.  ¡°At least I¡¯m not a vegetable, or a psychopath, right Doc?¡±


    The room went completely silent.  After a moment I tried to sit up to look over at them, silence like that to a joking question was not a good sign.  Unfortunately, I found myself in some sort of restraints.  ¡°Ok, you guys are worrying me here.¡± I said, trying to keep my voice calm, ¡°Why am I restrained? Doc, you said this procedure was about as simple as trimming toenails, or so it seemed.  Why did you go quiet, and why do you have me strapped down.¡±


    ¡°The straps were just part of the procedure, sweetly!¡± Stacy¡¯s voice said, as if a speaker were right next to my head, even though I knew I was not in my EVA suit, I¡¯d had to take it off for the procedure.  ¡°Please calm down.  They are uptight because they think the implant is acting all funky, but it¡¯s not!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean the implant isn¡¯t acting all funky, when they think it is?  Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Suddenly, both Jophixa and Tsaki Gwatri were standing over me staring down at me.  They were both wearing expressions of both concern and annoyance.  They looked like they were about to demand what was going on, but I scrunched my eyes in a way I hoped they¡¯d interpret as a request for a few moments.  ¡°You¡¯ve got them pretty freaked out Stacy,¡± and at that, their faces eased off a bit, but looked no less demanding of answers, ¡°Maybe you should explain it to all of us at once so I don¡¯t have to play broken telephone?¡±


    ¡°But I just got a chance to talk to you all in private and¡­¡± I heard her sigh.  An AI, pretending to sigh, geesh.  ¡°Fine, fine.  But you better be prepared for some dirty talk later mister!¡±  Her voice switched from sounding right beside my head to coming from the room¡¯s intercom system.  ¡°The implant is fine Tsaki, it¡¯s just not an implant you¡¯ve seen before, not even from the highest levels of military usage.  Look, I got bored during all that time you guys were asleep ok?  I started tinkering.  One of the things I tinkered with was some of the implant designs.¡±


    Gwatri scowled, ¡°You arranged for me to inject an untested, unproven implant into a sentient being¡¯s brain?  Do you not have any ethics subroutines?  I¡¯m going to note this into the records for the Gsaltro teams to look into when they start doing their interviews with you.¡±


    The noise that came from the intercom speakers can only be described as something rudely biological.  ¡°You think I¡¯d risk turning Thomas into a spentra worm Tsaki?  And let that choice bit of mind wrapped up in a delectable yummy package go to waste? Please!  That implant went through over a thousand years of virtual testing, plus numerous tests into cloned Ataksi primate subjects.  Speaking of which, when you unseal Cybernetics lab 24-B, please don¡¯t startle them.  They are good boys and girls, and remarkably smart for their species.¡±


    I watched as Jophixa performed the very human ritual of rubbing at the bridge of her little green nose (it seems our species have more things in common than basic looks).  ¡°Alright, so you developed this new implant all by your lonesome, over a thousand years, and made sure it was safe.¡± She began in a long, suffering tone that made me wonder if the waking of the other personnel was causing her some headaches, ¡°Why did you decide Mr Aacen here just had to have it so badly that you needed to arrange it behind our backs?  And what exactly does this new implant do differently that it seems to have completely integrated itself into his brain?¡±


    ¡°Well you see,¡± Stacy began, then launched into a long explanation that included large amounts of neurobiology that I did not understand.  What I did understand, however, had my eyebrows attempting to reach the back of my skull.


    The implant, it seemed, did everything the good doctor had originally planned to provide for me, but went a bit farther.  Seemed I was going to get a HUD built right into my vision now, no need for my suit¡¯s visor.  Handy for those times when I wasn¡¯t in my suit.  Sure, there were augmented reality goggles or contacts for that, but this was built right into my brain!


    The communications range was also going to be greatly increased, due to the fact that the implant included a tiny bit of quantum entangled matter;  its entangled partner being installed within Stacy¡¯s own communications equipment.  Stacy really hadn¡¯t liked the idea of being told she was going to be staying put when I left, and wanted to be able to keep in touch.  Bringing out this implant she¡¯d developed was her way to basically be going with me, but not really.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    But wait a minute.  ¡°Hold up!¡± I tried to sit up again, and was once again stymied by the restraints, swearing under my breath before saying, ¡°You actually got an Ansible working?  Quantum Entanglement communication?  Our engineers have been trying to get that past the theory stage since I don¡¯t know when!  There have been numerous times some scientist or another has said it¡¯d never be a practical method for actual communication at long distance.¡±


    ¡°I, uh¡­.¡±


    ¡°How did you test it Stacy?¡± Jophixa asked. ¡°How do you even know it works?¡±


    I looked over at her.  Could it be that Stacy had also developed this tech during her long time alone?  By the Light, 3000 years of boredom and loneliness and all the knowledge of her people at her disposal¡­what else did she tinker with?


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know for sure what the latency will be at interstellar distances,¡± she explained, ¡°but I, uh, hid one half of a quantum pair in a bit of debris and umm, arranged for it to be blasted out towards the Heliosphere.  Since it really wasn¡¯t much more than a bit of the same rock that encases the station, it was not a breach of the isolation protocols, not really.  The quantum signal from it allowed me to track its position with no latency.  It left the Heliosphere a couple centuries ago.¡±


    Another monumental sigh burst from Jophixa and she just shook her head for a few moments before saying.  ¡°I¡¯m going to guess you have quite a few more of these surprises for us?  No, don¡¯t answer that right now.  You can explain it to the research teams I¡¯m going to have auditing your ¡®experiments¡¯.  By the Maw, you¡¯re going to set everything on its end, aren¡¯t you?  Self actualized artificial consciousness, and you¡¯ve spent 3 millenia in solitary research and development!   I guess this little adventure Thomas is taking will be a true test of your Ansible, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, do you have another one handy we could install in the ship so the rest of us can communicate with the station, or with Thomas if needed?¡±


    ¡°I do have another ansible pair set up Ma¡¯am¡±  Stacy sounded rather meek at the moment, and I was wondering why.  She hadn¡¯t sounded so unsure since she revealed herself as an AI to me.  But when she continued, I understood a bit, ¡°I have to let you know ma¡¯am, Thomas¡¯ people weren¡¯t far wrong on the usefulness of this technology.  For point to point communication, if it works, it¡¯ll be wonderful at keeping in touch over great distances.  But the logistics of a full communication could get terribly complex.  You can¡¯t just patch into someone¡¯s frequency.  You have to have one half of a paired particle with the person you want to communicate with, or have a relay that shunts comms from one pairing to another.  The number of pairings that would have existed back before¡­As I said, the logistics would be a handful.¡±


    ¡°Regardless,¡± Jophixa replied, ¡°it¡¯d help our people keep in touch, and make our outside communications damned secure while we are feeling things out.  This makes me feel better about a fair number of things, Stacy.  We¡¯ll get that ansible installed, and then the mission can get underway.¡±


    I cleared my throat at that, having been wanting to bring something up for a couple days now, but not having a moment to.  When Jophixa turned to look at me I gave her a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve just been meaning to ask, as it seems you¡¯ve been dancing around the matter.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I said, ¡°I mean, at least for my people, it¡¯s kind of important for a ship to have a name.  But that beautiful Lady that your commander designed, so far as I know, doesn¡¯t have one.¡±


    This got me her third great sigh since I woke up, ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t have one.  If the commander had one prepared, he hadn¡¯t recorded it anywhere.  I¡­just haven¡¯t been able to think of one that I think he¡¯d have appreciated.¡±


    ¡°Can I make a suggestion?¡± I asked, and when she nodded to me, I smiled a bit shyly, feeling suddenly awkward all of a sudden, ¡°would you consider ¡®Elegance of Light¡¯?¡±


    The smile that lit up her face told me she liked it.


    <hr>


    By the end of the next day, I found myself settling into a new set of quarters on The Elegance of Light.


    Jophixa had decided to move me from the cramped quarters she¡¯d originally shoved me into, and assigned me the ¡°VIP¡± quarters that mirrored the captain''s quarters.  Both of which were on the underside of the ship, and were positioned behind the two large circular viewports like the eyes of the manta ray the ship resembled.


    I wouldn¡¯t say the suite was opulent, but for a ship of this size, they were larger than one would expect, with its own sitting room, separate bedroom, ensuite restroom (with shower!), and even a small beverage kiosk.  Giobhioni didn¡¯t have anything like camellia sinensis trees for a proper cuppa, but they had this brew made from a powdered isopod called a graptak that had a remarkably pleasant flavor, and was quite soothing to the nerves.


    This was going to be a trip unlike any he¡¯d taken previously.  Even as lead engineer on previous salvage runs, his quarters were at best closet sized, at worst, he was bunked down barracks style with the rest of the crew.  This wasn¡¯t any salvage run though, this was a race to prevent a plague.


    A plague he still didn¡¯t know anything about.  None of the Giobhioni wanted to talk about it, but it seemed more like the subject was just that fecking dreadful for them to discuss, rather than them not wanting to fill me in.  Stacy for her part said she¡¯d tell me more once we were on our way, she was a bit paranoid that, at this point, she might do something to fuck something up.


    She was rather giddy about the current situation.  She¡¯d told me she was all prepared to copy herself into the Elegance¡¯s computer core so at least a copy of her could come along.  But putting her ansible into the  comms system meant she could be as good as here with us anyway.  Theoretically, if the latency was as minimal as she expected, she could even pilot the ship.


    Earlier that day, I¡¯d met two of the others that would be going with us.  Tzaki Tratsa was almost a gender swapped duplicate of Gwatri. Wizened, steely eyed, and sharp tongued.  She¡¯d insisted on being the one to come along when Gwatri had asked for volunteers to join us and monitor this new type implant that Stacy had arranged to have stuck in my head.  I expected to be dragged to the medical bay at least once a day to be put under the scanners for daily progress reports.


    Be¡¯tsar Toftra Prexiu was a youngster among the giobhioni here on the station.  One of the youngest in fact,  but also probably their best helmsman or pilot of any ship up to a destroyer sized vessel.  He had spent most of his days in the time before as a test pilot, putting new designs through their paces and pushing their envelopes.


    He¡¯d actually done a lot of the testing on the Elegance of Light, so was intimately familiar with just what she was capable of.  I found myself greatly reassured by that fact. He had the characteristic cockiness of a test pilot, though, but that was to be expected.  It seemed that no matter what the species, test pilots were just like that.  Riding death¡¯s horse to the edge of the envelope day in, day out, tended to do that to a person, right up until their postage got canceled.


    We were still waiting for our last crew member to come aboard before we got underway.  Jophixa hasn¡¯t told me anything about who was going to be taking command of the ship.  I¡¯d enquired several times, but she just wouldn¡¯t say anything about it.  I¡¯m sure it didn¡¯t help that this was technically her ship, the legacy of a departed friend, and she was going to be handing it off to someone else to command into a universe so much different than the one they went to sleep in.


    ¡°Thomas Aasen to the bridge.¡±


    ¡°Guess it¡¯s time to meet the Captain,¡± I said out loud, not really to anyone in particular, ¡°Hopefully they aren¡¯t too much of a hardass.¡±


    As I left the room, I heard Stacy chuckle in my ear. ¡°You have no idea how hard their ass is.¡±


    Rolling my eyes, I headed up to the command deck and stepped onto the bridge. I gave a nod to Tofra who had glanced over his shoulder at me, then tilted his head at the command chair. Which slowly turned to face me.


    I had noted when I entered that whoever was seated there was another Giobhioni woman, with purple hair in their distinctive undercut hairstyle.  But I was shocked to see Jophixa seated there when the chair turned far enough around. ¡°Jophixa?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Captain while on the bridge.¡± She said sternly, and indicated a seat next to her, ¡°Take a seat, we will be underway shortly, and then I will explain.¡±


    I shrugged and took a seat.  It was her station to command after all, and if she thought it was more important to head up this mission, leaving someone else in charge in her absence, it wasn¡¯t my place to lecture her.  MOST men learned that lesson more than a century ago.  ¡°You know Captain,¡± I said as I sat down, ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask; How exactly are we getting this ship off the station?  Are we pretty deep inside the planetoid?¡±


    She just grinned sideways at me, and said ¡°Be¡¯tsar, signal Control we are ready to disembark.¡±


    ¡°Yes Captain¡±


    I watched in awe as, after the alloy hangar doors in front of us opened up, the rock beyond it took on a slight glow and simply¡­vanished, creating a long tunnel that ended in a small scrap of starfield. ¡°What the hell?¡±


    Jophixa simply chuckled and said ¡°Take us out Be¡¯tsar¡±

 Chapter 7

    Four Earth standard months earlier:


    She¡¯d just walked into her quarters after a meeting with the president of the Salvager¡¯s guild, her long, lithe body trembling with frustration.  She¡¯d barely enough time to peel the lightweight strathi headwrap from her smooth hairless scalp when the door chime sounded.


    Boudya was extremely tempted to just ignore it and continue with her plans to slip into her soaking tub to wash the slime of politics off of her  azure skin.  She always felt this way after meeting with President Temberan about guild business.  He was an ethical man, but politics just made her feel filthy.  She could be covered from head to toe in hydraulic fluid and micro-lubricant, and she¡¯d still feel cleaner than dealing with a politician.


    The door chimed again.


    ¡°One moment,¡± she called out, then sighed, sent a prayer to the Stars that it wouldn¡¯t be someone needing her for some errand, and walked over to the door to open it, ¡°yes?¡±


    A courier stood outside the door ¡°Miss Boudya Mend¡¯nasa?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡±


    He handed her a thumbprint scanner, ¡°I have a secured package for you.  Please confirm delivery¡±


    When she reached to place her thumb on the scanner, she couldn¡¯t help but notice him eye her up and down and smile.  She might have just come back from a business meeting, but she was still benastian; So her outfit showed enough of her azure skin to be disqualified as appropriate in most Terran run businesses. Licking her lips, she wondered if maybe she could get her mind off the slime of politics another way.  It was a rare man that would turn down a chance if one presented itself.  The Commonwealth knew that, so couriers like this only delivered to Benastians if they were unattached.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t require a more thorough identity scan before handing over the package?¡± she asked, making sure to load her voice with as much innuendo as she could, reaching her long blue fingers around the scanning device to delicately caress the back of his hand, letting one gracefully curved hip thrust slightly out towards him. ¡°You could come inside¡­¡±


    The courier - a man in his late 30s who looked to do his best at keeping in shape - swallowed hard, and for a moment looked like he was going to take her up on the invitation, but then shook his head.  ¡°The instructions for this delivery came with specific instructions Ma¡¯am.¡± he explained. ¡°And a sizable bonus if I report back to the office with confirmation in a short amount of time.  If my daughter didn¡¯t need that money for university, I¡¯d love to inspect your credentials in detail Ma¡¯am.¡± He tilted his hat in a rather anachronistic fashion.  ¡°Maybe another time?¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help herself, she pouted. Turned down for -money- of all things, she thought to herself, can this day get any worse?


    And just like that, she¡¯d tempted fate, and fate answered. When the courier handed her the small hardened plastic case, she saw the name on the return label and almost dropped it.  ¡°Thomas Aacen,¡± she gasped, the name bringing back many memories, ¡°What in the Void¡¯s great emptiness are you contacting me now for?¡±


    Half a kilokrat later, she was seated on her lounge, long, blue skinned lithe form now loosely draped in sheer drape, and holding a cold drink, she slipped the single data chip that had been in the package into the reader in the side table.  Instantly Thomas¡¯ image sprang up from the holographic projector on the other side of the room.   ¡°Hello beautiful.¡± he said, smiling at her, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, hasn¡¯t it?   I know you won¡¯t believe this, but I¡¯ve been thinking about you a lot, and wanting to get in touch, but just not finding the right moment, or fearing that I''d just trip over myself in not knowing the right words to say after all these years.¡±


    Boudya snorted, ¡°you could have always started with ¡®You were right Boudya, I should never have trusted him¡¯¡±


    ¡°What it all comes down to in the end is that you told me so.  Barstol was an unscrupulous ass that got 10 people killed, and tried to pin it on me.  The only reason he didn¡¯t get away with it was because I listened to you just enough to cover my ass and document everything as it happened on that contract.  That documentation was the only reason I was able to exonerate myself.  I¡­tried to reach out to  you after the hearings were over, but any contact information I¡¯d had for you just came back as a dead end.  I figured you¡¯d washed your hands of me, and left you alone, hoping maybe in a few years you¡¯d be more open to reconnecting.


    ¡°But I got wrapped up in trying to help my sister, and figuring out a way to make a living after deciding to leave the guild completely.  I just couldn¡¯t go back out there on a job after what happened.  I needed time.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I got pulled back in against my will, Boudya, and by that same son of a bitch that made me leave in the first place.  He¡¯s found some manufactured dirt on my sister!  He¡¯s going after my sister Boudya!  Framing her for embezzlement!  If he sends that ¡®evidence¡¯ to her boss or the authorities¡­¡±


    ¡°I desperately need your help, I don¡¯t have anyone else I can trust with this.¡±  The image of Thomas side and covered his eyes, ¡°I have no right to ask you this, and you owe me no favors, but I¡¯m begging you to go get my sister and get her somewhere safe.  I don¡¯t trust Barstol not to release that file even if I do everything he wants me to.  Hell, I don¡¯t even expect to come back from this contract.  I¡¯m fairly sure he intends to leave me stranded out there in the black.  Just get my sister safe, please!¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I¡¯m setting a few things up to cover my ass, just like last time.  And setting it up so it¡¯ll go out even if he does fuck me over.  A copy of my insurance plan is set to be sent to you, I hope you don¡¯t mind.  If by some chance I manage to get out of this alive, I will owe you big, beautiful.  I¡¯ll bow down, kiss your feet and beg for forgiveness.  Whatever you want.  Just get Jesse safe.¡±


    The recording ended, and was followed by a file that contained information regarding his sister¡¯s whereabouts, details on the blackmail Barstol said he had on her, as well as a current holoimage and a reminder of a code phrase that would tell the woman she was sent by him.


    She¡¯d have been lying if she said she wasn¡¯t tempted to just throw that chip in the recycler and forget she¡¯d received it, but Thomas has been a good friend and lover once.  Good enough that she¡¯d considered inviting him into her Ansari, her family unit, making him the equivalent to what an Earther would call a spouse.  But then he¡¯d accepted that Void damned contract with Barstol, even though she had advised him Barstol set off every single warning bell she had!  He refused to listen, the alien ship Barstol was set to retrieve was unlike any seen before.  He wanted to be one of the first engineers to get a look at it.


    How Barstol had been contracted to salvage the ship was beyond her.  He had questionable marks on his record even then.  Accidents in previous contracts where the data didn¡¯t quite line up, but there wasn¡¯t any reason to refute it.  She was, like Thomas, low in the ranks of the guild at the time, and couldn¡¯t order any further observation of his logs.  She was only glad Thomas had been smart enough to listen to her enough to cover his ass while on that job.


    But she couldn¡¯t turn her back on him, regardless of hurt feelings.  His sister didn¡¯t deserve this, for one.  She was also an officer in the guild now, and Barstol was supposed to be blacklisted from ever running a salvaging operation again.  If he was running a crew, he needed to be dealt with.  These two things were unquestionable in the matter.


    But she also did want to see him again; Seeing his face again after all this time brought back old unresolved feelings.  ¡°Alright Thomas, I¡¯ll get your sister clear.¡± she said out loud, ¡°not just safe, but clear.  And you better survive whatever that bastard has in store, cause when I see you again¡­you¡¯re going to pay for running away and not facing the music before this!¡±


    She smiled evilly, thinking of all the ways she was going to make him pay for the trouble he caused her.


    <hr>


    Aboard the M.S. Gladstone, somewhere in uncharted space.


    Barstol felt like absolute shit. He¡¯d been running a fever for days now, and Doc Spenser couldn¡¯t say what was causing it.  Tests for any type of known viral or bacterial infection came back negative.  Best he could say was there was some weird genetic anomaly that looked something like cancer, but it wasn¡¯t showing up on any of those tests either.


    ¡°Damn the Void¡± we swore raspily, then coughed long and hard, bringing up a strange black mucous, ¡°Finally deal with that self righteous bastard, and some alien cancer is gonna kill me?  Fuck!¡±


    He looked down at his hands, which were sweating a strange viscous material that clung to him like spider webs.  It stuck to him and pulled against his skin every time he moved, raising strange welts whenever it did.  The Doc had become so worried about what was going he¡¯d ordered Barstol to quarantine in his quarters.  He even went so far as to order the crew to seal the door against his access after he first insisted on going out and checking on the tether status.


    ¡°Captain, sir¡±  the helmsman¡¯s voice came over his comms panel, ¡°you have a secure transmission.¡±


    Barstol sneered and barked ¡°Well, what are you waiting for, traitorous bastard! Put it through!¡±


    The face of his employer - immaculately kept, moisturized with some thousand-credits-a-decilitre cream made from some plant only grown off on the edge of known space, harvested by young virgins by the light of the new moon or some shit like that, hair primped and coiffed like a girl ready for their damned prom - popped up on his screen.  ¡°Barstol!¡± He snapped, ¡°I want an update on¡­.¡±


    He cut off, and peered through the screen at him,  ¡°What the hell is wrong with you Barstol, you look like Benastian cheese that¡¯s gone too moldy!  You haven¡¯t gone snooping around in that ship have you! You know your contract says you give up 90% of your payout if one of your crew so much as sets a toe inside that ship!¡±


    ¡°I know damned  well what the fucking contract says!¡± Barstol snapped, ¡°And I gave my crew strict instructions on that point, even told them I¡¯d space any fucking one of them I caught insubordinating on the order!  But a few days ago my XO caught one of the grunts coming back from an EVA. Nobody EVA¡¯s in hyperspace unless they¡¯re up to something!¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And I spaced the damned sonofabitch! I don¡¯t make empty threats!¡± Barstol let out another series of long wracking coughs, ¡°I don¡¯t abide by my crew goin¡¯ against orders!¡±


    ¡°That really doesn¡¯t alter the fact that one of your men went aboard that ship! And now look at you!  You¡¯ve caught some alien contagion, haven¡¯t you?¡±, the pompous bastard slammed a fist down on his desk.  ¡°There was to be no looting of artifacts, no spoiling of secrets.  You were promised a hefty sum to bring that wreck back to me unspoiled, which is the only reason I hired you instead of that nosy Salvager¡¯s Guild.  They wouldn¡¯t allow an unknown wreck like that coming anywhere near a settled system without a full quarantine and inspection.  That¡¯s how artifacts and secrets slip out!¡±


    Barstol leaned forward in his chair, feeling the long tendrils of the not-sweat pulling against his skin and scalp from where they seemed to have adhered to the seat fabric behind him.  ¡°There will be no lost artifacts, and no loose tongues!¡± he growled.  ¡°The crap that bastard brought back with him was taken back across the tethers and sealed inside an airlock.  My XO did it himself!  And I watched him via helmet-cam!  And that dim-witted bastard took everything he saw into the void of hyperspace!  You¡¯re giving me the full amount or I¡¯ll cut the tethers and leave this damned wreck drifting in hyperspace!¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes almost seemed to go completely black for a moment before settling back to their distinctive ice blue.  ¡°Do not forget who you are talking to Barstol.¡± He warned with deceptive calmness.  If he¡¯d been in better health, Barstol would have understood that he was poking the metaphorical bear, ¡°set that ship adrift, and you better hope whatever is ailing you finishes you off.  Otherwise, there won¡¯t be a single place in all the Milky Way where you won¡¯t have to fear those I¡¯ll send after you.  Get that ship to me without any further infractions, and we will talk about if you should get more than half the agreed upon sum.¡±


    The comm went dead.


    ¡°Well fuck.¡± he swore, leaning back into his chair again, feeling the thready tendrils of his not-sweat tearing away from the comms terminal.  Was he imagining things, or were they thicker, more dense than they were before?  This fever was just making him so damned tired.  He hadn¡¯t been this tired since the days before his hearing.


    Blast that fucker Thomas Aacen, he wasn¡¯t supposed to be that clever.  The reports he¡¯d gotten had said that while he was a good mechanic and engineer, he wasn¡¯t that great and catching on to a rope-a-dope.  He¡¯d been supposed to take the fall for that ¡°accident¡±, just like those others were supposed to die on that ship.  They at least had the decency of doing what they were supposed to!


    But Aacen, Aacen for some reason had logged enough information, paid enough attention to what was going on around him during the preliminary survey of the ship to have already put in reports that the work couldn¡¯t begin until they could stabilize the core.


    ¡°How¡¯d the fucker catch that the core was unstable anyway!¡±


    The ship was never meant to be salvaged.  It was meant to go up like a miniature nova, and those men were supposed to die. They all knew something Mr. Fancypants didn¡¯t want to get out, but were too clueless to realize it.  And Aacen?  Aacen  was just a convenient patsy to pin it on.  Or so he thought.


    He closed his eyes and slumped down in the chair, feeling sleep begin to overtake his will to stay awake.   But I got the son of a bitch! He thought, By now he¡¯s starting to mummify on that rock!  Even if whatever this is kills me, at least I outlived your smug ass.

 Chapter 8

    I was sitting in the comfortable lounger, placed in front of the large circular viewport in my quarters aboard the Elegance of Light, torn between the hypnotic swirls of hyperspace, and the engineering textbook I was attempting to read.


    It turned out that the Giobhioni used a different kind of hyperdrive technology that any of the races the Commonwealth was familiar with.  Our drives basically worked by sort of, burrowing a tunnel through hyperspace, which was why it was referred to as a Tunnel Drive.  It created a sort of conduit around the ship that kept it safe from the eddies and sheer currents that existed in hyperspace.  Anything that slipped beyond that conduit could get lost in a maelstrom of chaos that would either tear them apart, or mutate their DNA beyond viability.


    The Giobhioni, and others from their region of space (and time period), had figured out a way to use those eddies and currents to their advantage.  It was almost like their engines could redirect the currents into a kind of laminar flow around the ship, allowing them to travel with greater freedom, but with greater efficiency.


    We couldn¡¯t change course within hyperspace, you see.  Once we set a course, the conduit,  the ¡°Tunnel¡± was locked in.  The only way you could change course was to bridge the tunnel back to normal space, and set a new course from there.  It took a lot of energy every time you did this, and therefore a fair amount of fuel.  With the Giobhioni method, it was as ¡°simple¡± as knowing the coordinates for where you needed to go.


    Back in their time, they¡¯d had a system of beacons they used for navigating.  They could use them to triangulate their position, and the course they wished to set.  But 3500 years seems to have deteriorated that network of beacons, and it never did reach out into the region of space the Commonwealth inhabited.


    Stacy informed me that Captain Jophixa was using a more dangerous, and little known method which relied on the knowledge of how gravity wells in normal space affected hyperspace.  It meant she still had to drop out of hyperspace every so often to check her navigation, but we were making good headway back to the closest Commonwealth system I knew of.


    I say all of this to explain that I found myself intensely curious about the technical aspects behind the drive.  I was an engineer on a ship where I knew nothing about the way it was being propelled.  So I got authorization from Jophixa to study their technical manuals and  see if I couldn¡¯t get myself educated on it.


    But I couldn¡¯t focus.


    The swirling chaos of hyperspace, being funneled through the scientific wizardry of the Giobhioni drive effects into tendrils of laminar lines kept drawing my eye, and sending my mind into thoughts of what we were chasing.  I still hadn¡¯t managed to pry any information regarding the nature of this ¡°contagion¡± out of either Stacy, or any of the Giobhioni.  I couldn¡¯t figure out if it was a security issue, or merely an extremely strong taboo to talk about.  I understood that they were all grieving the loss of most of their kind, and the assumption that it was this contagion that caused it, but if it was about to surge back into activity, we needed to know what we were dealing with!


    I¡¯d pushed Jophixa about it again the previous night.  If we weren¡¯t fast enough to prevent Barstol from getting that derelict ship to a starport, people were going to need information about this plague that wiped out a whole sector of spacefaring civilization!  Taboo or whatever, she needed to tell me!


    She had, as she usually did when I brought the subject up, brushed me off gruffly.  There was always an excuse: You¡¯ll find out soon, It¡¯s not time for that yet, I¡¯m busy right now.  I honestly felt like I was going to have to try hacking into the computer, or catching her sleeping, tying her up and not letting her go until she told me.


    That thought distracted me for a moment, as it usually did.  Geesh Thomas, get your mind back on track.


    It was an idea that likely wouldn¡¯t work though.  I¡¯m sure the other two Giobhioni on board would not take kindly to me assaulting their commander, and if they could hit as hard as Jophixa could, I¡¯d be in for a world of hurt.


    I was just about ready to get up and head to the bridge to make an annoyance of myself again when the door-chime sounded.


    ¡°Come in¡±


    The door slid open and Jophixa stepped in, and for the time since he¡¯d met her, she was not in uniform.  Instead of the pristine, razor creased uniform of black and red, she was wearing a loose top of some soft purple fabric that matched her undercut hair, and pants that resembled what on earth they¡¯d have called harem pants.  The shirt was cut just short enough to give glimpses of a well toned abdomen.  The overall effect was one that kinda said she was trying to be casual and off-duty.


    It also had me making a conscious effort not to stare at the teasing flashes of green abdomen being revealed by her shirt.  What the hell is wrong with me? I asked myself, giving myself a mental shake, I haven¡¯t gotten this distracted over a woman since highschool.


    ¡°Aacen, I want to apologize.¡± she looked uncomfortable with the words, which wasn¡¯t surprising.  I¡¯d met any number of security chiefs over the years, and most of them were extremely sure of themselves, apologies didn¡¯t come easy.  ¡°You¡¯re right, you do need to know more about the contagion, and you¡¯ve been pretty patient about the matter.  The subject is just¡­hard to discuss.  Even before we went into stasis, it took a lot of our people.  And the way it did so made it even worse¡±


    I waved  her to the other chair, ¡°I get it, I mean, I have no first hand experience, but that shit has to be traumatizing.  Earth has gone through a number of plagues over our history, and it¡¯s always left scars.  If it weren¡¯t for the situation¡­¡±


    ¡°If that were the only problem,¡± she sighed, resting her head in her hand, elbow propped on the arm of the chair.  I¡¯d made sure there were at least one or two places to sit in my quarters that were sized for Giobhioni, since I was the only human on board, otherwise it might have looked comical.  I¡¯m glad I had; it wouldn¡¯t have gone well with the mood for me to chuckle right then.   ¡°But it¡¯s easier to just start from the beginning if I¡¯m going to explain this.¡±


    ¡°I want to make it clear that our sector of the galaxy was not all peace and love.  I¡¯m not going to try to blow smoke up your ass and make us out to be better than we were.  We had our fair share of conflicts, our political leaders could be self-serving and short sighted, getting us into trouble with our neighbors.  Or we¡¯d have to beat off neighbors whose leaders were self-serving themselves.  We tried to avoid war when we could, but even barring political idiocy, there were certain things we couldn¡¯t walk away from.


    ¡°Like genocide.


    ¡°No half decent, reasoning race with anything approaching compassion and logic stands by and watches while that kind of thing happens!  It¡¯s not right, and it makes you as guilty as the ones perpetrating it!


    ¡°So when our merchants and scouts started to bring back stories of entire races going silent off at the edge of our sphere of contacts, we started paying attention.  Civilizations just don¡¯t suddenly go quiet for no reason.  If nothing else, we wanted advanced warning if something was coming our way.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She rubbed her eyes for a moment, looking tired, so I got up and went over to the food dispenser and ordered a pot of graptak with two cups, setting it down on the table between us and pouring it for each of us.  She gave me a grateful smile and sipped hers before continuing.


    ¡°After some investigating, we managed to learn of a new power at the edges of known space.  The name that was given for them was the Ktonshi, and the stories of them were not pleasant.  They were not as you and I, not gremensha, not¡­ humanoid, is the word I believe your people use.  Reports described something dark, with many limbs, and a great many eyes.  They sounded like something out of a tale told to scare younglings.


    ¡°But we never saw one in person, not for at least 400 years.  We did not even get an image of one.  One of the stories was that they went absolutely crazy about any sort of recording technology capturing their likeness.   They would suicide in order to destroy those records!


    ¡°They were the worst kind of xenophobes, Aacen.  Everything we found out said that they didn¡¯t just want nothing to do with aliens outside their kind, but that they wanted to wipe out anything that wasn¡¯t their kind.   Those races that had gone dark?  We got stealth ships in to investigate, and they found nothing but ruins left.  Whole swaths of space that had been densely populated, had been reduced to graveyards and tombs.


    ¡°Once we learned that, we were on high alert, as were our neighbors.  We created defence pacts against these Ktonshi, and set up fleets to monitor that region of space, and react if anything strange should appear.  We would not be caught unaware like those others.  We would not stand divided against an enemy whose entire goal was our complete destruction.


    ¡°And they did come,¡± she sighed, taking a long sip of her graptak, ¡°and we fought them off.  Our preparations worked, we sent them packing back to where they came from.  A lot of people on our side died in the process, but we kept them away from any civilian populations, and drove them off.¡±


    I frowned, not understanding what this had to do with the contagion we were in a race to stop.  I was about to voice my confusion, when she held up her small hand, ¡°I know.  What¡¯s this got to do with the contagion?¡±  she gulped down the rest of her graptak and leaned forward to pour herself another cup.  ¡°They might have gone after us head on at first, but they were smart enough to change tactics when we proved strong enough to drive them off.  The contagion isn¡¯t natural Aacen, it¡¯s a bio-weapon.¡±


    Feeling the graptak sour in my stomach, my face twisted, ¡°Monstrous. We outlawed the use of that kind of thing centuries ago on Earth.¡±


    ¡°As had most of our allies. It was seen as too horrific a means to make war, too reprehensible.  But the Ktonshi seemed to have no limits on what they would do to wipe out anything that wasn¡¯t themselves, and if they couldn¡¯t defeat us by simple warfare, they¡¯d resort to another method.


    ¡°But the thing about this contagion Aacen, the thing that makes it so difficult for us to talk about is what it does.  It doesn¡¯t actually kill those it infects, or at least, not generally.  What¡¯s so insidious about it, is that once infected, it rips into your DNA and begins rewriting it, turning you into one of THEM!¡±


    ¡°It what?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was quite a shock to us, when we found the first of the infected.¡±  She took a small flask out of a pocket in her harem pants, unstopped the top, and poured a small measure into her cup, looked at me and held it out.  ¡°Doc says it''s safe for you.¡± I nodded and held my cup out and she poured a small dollop into mine as well, then leaned back to take a sip from hers, closing her eyes.  ¡°They¡¯d all, the crew of the ship we found, gone into some sort of chrysalis, and when they emerged again a few days later¡­  They¡¯d become Ktonshi, and as far as we could tell, there was no discernible difference.  The only way we could tell they were the crew was that the one or two we managed to kill and retrieve before they hijacked the ship and headed back through the Quiet Zone, had remnants of Giobhioni DNA.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re not looking at a plague that¡¯ll leave corpses in its wake, but still kills regardless?¡± I asked, still trying to come to grips with the information.  ¡°And worst of all, when they finish the process, they could be in a position to infect many others?¡±


    Jophixa merely nodded.


    ¡°By the stars¡­¡±


    <hr>


    At Enigma Osiris research station, security teams were on high alert, scrambling for defense fighters, boarding shuttles and industrial tugs.


    Twenty minutes earlier, the M.S. Gladstone had emerged from its hyperspace tunnel with an alien ship being towed behind it.  It was on a collision course with the station, and thus far station control had been unable to establish communications with the crew.   Last known communication with the ship¡¯s captain had reportedly been 3 days earlier, through the company¡¯s Chief Research Officer.


    With no contact with the crew, and distance rapidly closing between ship and station, teams were dispatched to board the ship, investigate, and divert its course if possible. The CRO was adamant that the ship being towed must be preserved at all cost, even if they had to shoot the tethers and maneuver it using the tugs.


    At full burn, the boarding shuttles got to The Gladstone in under 5 minutes, and had breached a docking airlock shortly after.  Corporal Steven Traynor led the first time through the hatch.


    ¡°Control, this is Alpha One, we¡¯re on board.¡± he reported back, waving his men down the corridor, ¡°proceeding to bridge, over¡±


    ¡°Roger that Alpha One,¡± was the reply from station control, ¡°Sensors still only reading faint life signs.  RC1 reiterates, keep suits buckled up, the captain looked ill on last contact.  They might have brought something on board with them from that alien ship.¡±


    ¡°Roger, sealed up until fumigated¡±


    Proceeding through the ship, they encountered not a soul.  Corridors, workspaces, and finally the bridge, all were empty, The Gladstone seemed to be a ghost ship.  But sensor readings from station control reported lifesigns on board.  So where was everyone?


    ¡°Station Control, this is Alpha One, the bridge is clear.¡±  Traynor reported in, as they stormed through the bridge¡¯s entry hatch.  ¡°Proceeding to deploy braking maneuvers, then will continue to sweep command deck for personnel¡±


    ¡°Roger Alpha One.  Be aware sensors have enough resolution for some location data.  One lifesign within 20 meters of your location.  Keep your guard up¡±


    ¡°Always Station Control, always.¡±   Traynor looked over at his private seated at the helmsman¡¯s station, who finished tapping at the control surface before giving him a thumbs up.


    ¡°Braking sequence initiated Boss¡±


    ¡°Primary objective complete then. ¡°Roberts, Andrews, keep the bridge secure, everyone else, let''s see if we can¡¯t find Captain Barstol.¡±


    There was no joy in either the bridge head, or the conference room, which left the captain¡¯s office left on this deck.  As they approached the door, Traynor¡¯s comms squelched.  ¡°Alpha One, this is Alpha Three.¡±


    ¡°Alpha One here, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve located the other lifesigns Corporal, in sickbay.  It¡¯s¡­ weird corporal¡±


    He watched as his men proceeded into the captain¡¯s office as he took the report from Alpha Three, then slowly proceeded after them, ¡°Weird how Alpha Three?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the crew.  All but the Captain.  They¡¯re here, wrapped up in some sort of white filament Corporal, almost like spider webs. We can¡¯t really figure out who¡¯s who, Corporal, there¡¯s¡­they don¡¯t look right.  They don¡¯t look¡­¡±


    ¡°Corporal! You need to see this!¡±


    ¡°Hold that thought Alpha Three, I¡¯ll get back to you¡± he hurried into the room where his team was, turning the corner to find himself staring at just what Alpha Three had just described.  Behind Barstol¡¯s desk, was an enormous wadding of what looked like spider web, wrapped around a pulsating sack that might have been a human body.  He felt his fingers tighten on his weapon, the silken strands of the ¡°web¡± spread out from that pulsating sack to cover most of the room, giving him the feeling as if they¡¯d just stepped into some giant arachnid¡¯s nest.


    ¡°Station Control, anomaly discovered in captain¡¯s office.¡± he reported through comms.  ¡°Initiating visual feed.¡±


    ¡°Roger Alpha One, receiving.¡±


    ¡°What am I looking at Station Control?  Is that Barstol in there?¡±


    ¡°Stand By, Alpha One¡±


    Traynor grimaced, he did not like this situation. No matter what training he¡¯d gone through over his years in Sable Serpent PMC, spiders still gave him the creeps.  It didn¡¯t help that whatever the fuck created this mess was either big as fuck, or more numerous than he wanted contemplate.  He wanted nothing more at that moment then to retreat back to the boarding shuttle and blow this whole ship into a navigation hazard.  They could clean it up later.


    He watched Private Jameson slowly approaching the sack at the center of the webbing, his handheld sensor device extended to get better readings.  ¡°I am reading residual traces of Barstol¡¯s DNA in there Corporal.¡± he reported.  ¡°If it''s not him in there, whatever it is had to have taken a bite out of him or something.¡±


    ¡°Control, please advise.  Do we pull them out or what?¡±


    ¡°Alpha One, please stand¡­.¡± the transmission cut off suddenly


    ¡°Corporal, This is Benson Fisch, CRO. Back away from the webbing and get back to your shuttle with all possible haste¡±


    ¡°Roger sir, evacuate the ship.¡±  He turned and signalled the rest of his team, then tapped his earpiece ¡°All teams, return to shuttle, we¡¯re getting the hell out of this creepshow!¡±


    He¡¯d just turned to leave the room when he heard a sharp ripping sound, and a loud, wet thunk.  Turning back, he was just in time to see Private Jameson¡¯s rigid, spasming body go limp, and collapse to the floor, a 3cm bleeding, gaping hole, straight through the top of his helmet and into his skull.


    And in that moment, comms erupted in frantic screams.

 Chapter 9

    ¡°So now you know?¡±


    Startled slightly, I looked up from where I was slumped in the VIP seat on the bridge, reading another technical manual. I¡¯d actually heard fleet officers call it the J.A.F.O seat once or twice.  Just another fucking observer.   I''d felt like that a lot,  I was a passenger on this ship, when I was used to having some sort of role to fill in engineering.  I wasn¡¯t used to being just an observer, or just a passenger.


    I found the helmsman, or Be¡¯Tsar in giobhioni, Toftri Prexiu, looking over his shoulder at me.  ¡°About the contagion?¡± he prompted, when I didn¡¯t respond right away, ¡°you know about it being a bioweapon, and what it does to us?¡±


    I set the data tablet down and gave him my attention. ¡°Yeah, Commander Jophixa finally read me in last night.¡±  I rubbed my eyes, ¡°The thought of that kind of action by an enemy is just horrifying.  Earth history is full of warmongers that have done some horrible things, including bio-warfare, but this? All because they are so xenophobic they want to wipe out anything different than themselves?  Just...unimaginable.¡±


    Toftri turned back to his console to tap a few buttons, then turned his seat around to face me directly, ¡°You can understand why it was hard to talk about now?  A lot of us are still in shock,¡± he explained, ¡°coming out of stasis after 3500 years, with there having been no further communication from Fleet Command? And so many of us have died in stasis?  We don¡¯t even want to acknowledge what we¡¯ve lost, let alone explain it to an outsider.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at him, and for the first time it struck me that Toftri might be remarkably young for one of his species.  In the flurry of getting the Elegance prepped to disembark, I hadn¡¯t really gotten to interact with many of the crew at the station. Those that I had spent any real time around were, I think, well into adulthood.  Now that I looked at Toftri closer, however, this slender, cobalt blue haired giobhioni had a sort of ¡°fresh¡± air about him.  Like someone just out of adolescence.


    ¡°You seem to be handling it, better than I¡¯d expect.¡± I said, trying to broach it delicately.  ¡°Excuse me if I¡¯m off base here, but you seem younger?  It¡¯s surprising to see a young person handling such trauma so well.¡±


    ¡°It shows huh?¡± he said with a lopsided smile, ¡°I thought maybe you hadn¡¯t noticed.  Yeah, I was the youngest on the station when we were ordered to go dark.  Only a year out of the academy, and the station wasn¡¯t even supposed to be my posting!  I was only there to be picked up by the ship I was assigned to.  I¡¯m lucky to even be here right now.¡±


    I stood up and moved over to sit at the station which, in a Commonwealth Fleet ship, would have been assigned to a tactical officer.  Hopefully they don¡¯t have some regulation against me even parking my ass here, I thought, making sure to keep my hands firmly in my lap and nowhere near the console.  ¡°Yeah, damned lucky.  Good way to look at it.  Not struggling with the situation at all then?¡±


    Glancing over at me as he turned back to his console, he shrugged ¡°I¡¯m an orphan,¡± he explained, ¡°and was the odd one out all my life.  Even in the fleet, I didn''t have any friends that hadn¡¯t already been taken by the contagion.  I¡¯d already dealt with my trauma before I even finished at the academy.¡±


    He sighed quietly, ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s why the Commander chose me for this assignment.  I¡¯m a decent pilot, and she figures I¡¯m least weighed down with baggage at the moment.  My head will be more in the game, so to speak¡±


    ¡°Makes sense.¡±


    His console began beeping insistently at that moment and he turned back to it, fingers dancing over its surface for about forty seconds, a frown on his face.  ¡°Something wrong?¡± I asked, concerned to see this usually confident young man directing such a look at the ship¡¯s controls.


    ¡°Hang on¡­¡± his fingers continued their dance across the glassy surface of the helm console for another few seconds before he visibly relaxed again.  ¡°The wave form emitters, they are what set up the resonance that level out and channel the hyperspace eddies, went out of alignment for a moment there.  It happens sometimes, when we push a ship¡¯s speed for an extended time.  It¡¯s not terribly hard to correct, but it requires focus.¡±


    ¡°Ah.  I¡¯m still trying to understand the basics of the science behind the whole concept.¡±  I told him, ¡°It¡¯s been hard to focus on it with everything else going on.  It¡¯d be so much easier if I could at least call ahead and warn someone before we got there, but with our comms systems not meshing, I just have to wait.  The waiting is driving me crazy.¡±


    Toftri chuckled, ¡°Waiting in these situations is always a bitch.  But if you want, I can help try to keep your mind off it, maybe talk you through some of the simple stuff?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be great!  Way better than sitting there staring at the textbooks for hours.¡±


    So for the next several hours, Toftri ran me through the basics of Giobhioni hyperdrive concepts and fundamentals.  He wasn¡¯t an engineer of course, or a science officer, so he couldn¡¯t answer some of my more technical questions, but as a helmsman, he had to have fairly decent familiarity with the basics to handle certain adjustments to the ships quantum envelope, which was what the waveform emitters shaped in order to form that laminar flow of hyperspace energies.


    ¡°So, by quantizing the EM emissions from the reactor, and attenuating them with signal waves that match resonance with the hyperspace currents¡­¡± he was saying at one point, when my brain caught up to something in the process.


    ¡°Wait, hold up!¡± I said excitedly, standing up quickly and starting to pace, ¡°Are you telling me that an integral part of your hyperdrive process is quantizing electromagnetic emissions and manipulating them?¡±


    ¡°There is a lot more to it than that, but yes?¡±


    ¡°I could have sent a message home DAYS ago!¡± I let out a string of curses, then looked up at the ceiling, a habit I was still trying to break ¡°Stacy? You busy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always got time for you, sweetcheeks, you know that!¡± she responded over the bridge¡¯s PA system,  her own habit was to answer me out loud if I talked to her out loud.  ¡°Did your beautifully wrinkled brain have an idea?¡±


    I ignored her flirting, I¡¯d make it up to her later.  ¡°Why was I told it would take months to get things set up for me to get a message off to the Commonwealth due to our tech being so different, when the tech needed is already right here on the ship!¡±


    Silence, then ¡°What?¡± from both Stacy and Toftri at once


    ¡°The drive emitters!  They are designed specifically to manipulate quantized EM fields!  That¡¯s basically what Commonwealth comms work off of!  If I¡¯m not wrong, we might be able to use them the next time we drop out of hyperspace to contact the closest starbase!¡±


    ¡°Thomas, we can¡¯t interfere with the drive systems! We need those to get to commonwealth space!¡± Stacy stated plainly,  ¡°I know the wait is driving you crazy, the work to interface the systems, and we don¡¯t have the components for your gear¡­¡±


    ¡°But we have my EVA suit!¡± I exclaimed, ¡°haven¡¯t you people ever been stuck in a situation where you¡¯ve had to MacGyver unrelated tech together to make it work?  How long would it take the ship¡¯s minifac to whip up one of those EM quantizers?¡±


    Toftri was still staring at me in shock, but Stacy responded, starting to catch my excitement, ¡°About 3.23 of your hours Thomas.  I¡¯ll set it to build right now, but I expect some personal attention later!  You owe me more stories about Boudya!¡± she paused, then added, ¡°I just have one question.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s MacGyvering?¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    <hr>


    Four hours later, I was in my quarters, having spread out a drop cloth over the small coffee table in the ¡°lounge¡± area, and was busily dismantling sections of my EVA suit to get access to the comms circuits.  I hated to be making some of the destructive modifications I was doing to it, but I was hoping I could maybe talk to Commonwealth Fleet Command, or even the Guild Council to pay for a replacement suit.  It was a long shot, but hey, I was warning them about a possible plague here after all!


    Stacy would be helping me once I was ready to interface the two pieces of tech that were never intended to connect to each other.  I was feeling rather anxious about that part, getting a more hands on experience with actual Giobhioni tech.  I might have used some of their scrap parts to repair the O2 scrubber in the suit - was it really that short a time ago? - but this was a fully functional bit of gear that was used as part of their hyperdrive normally.


    ¡°I go get a bit of rack time and I wake up to you doing engine repair on your kashtri.  Are men from all species like this?¡±


    Normally, I probably would have jumped out of my skin at Jophixa speaking so out of the blue right behind me, but I think I was either becoming so numb to danger, or just used to how Void Damned Quiet Giobhioni were.  Instead, I held up a screwdriver, ¡°Are you here to give me a hard time, or to help?¡± I asked, not even looking up.  ¡°I¡¯ve almost got all the panels open that I need to access comms connections, then it¡¯ll just be a matter of figuring out if I can directly interface these two beasties, or if I have to come up with some kind of adapter interface.  I know you¡¯re not an engineer, but an extra set of hands would still help!¡±


    I saw her walk gracefully over to sit across from me, dressed in her perfectly pressed and polished uniform.  ¡°I don¡¯t have long till I have to relieve Be¡¯tsar Prexiu at the helm.  He needs to get some rack time in before he starts miscalculating field adaptations.¡± she reached over and picked up the tablet to look over the notes I¡¯d scribbled down, along with the sketches of wiring diagrams, ¡°You really think this is going to work?  Those field adaptors weren¡¯t meant to work at anything approaching long range.¡±


    A giddy chuckle escaped my throat.  I¡¯d been feeling so damned useless for so long, or so focused on mere survival, that my technical nature being let out to play felt like that time I¡¯d been slipped Sarcacian nectar while out with Boudya.  I felt high as a kite!  But unlike that time with the nectar, my mind was clear, not foggy and distorted.  ¡°Never be 100% sure of anything, my dear emerald skinned Commander Badass!  First rule I was taught about engineering!  Failure is always an option!¡± I pointed the screwdriver at her, grinning madly when I glanced up and saw her eyebrows raised in surprise. ¡°You always need to expect failure, and plan accordingly!  So, if this doesn¡¯t work, we still have plan A.  We¡¯re still in transit to the nearest starbase, and I¡¯ll tell them when we get there.


    ¡°In the meantime, I can focus on this instead of going stir crazy, I get a little hands on time with your tech, and there is, I think, at least a 75% chance this will work!¡±


    ¡°You know I just adore you Tommy-cakes,¡± Stacy chimed in, ¡°but I still think you¡¯re padding that probability.  It¡¯s more like 69%¡±


    ¡°Shush you, and don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice what you did there.  Who¡¯s the one with the experience in making random abandoned tech work? Eh? This stuff isn¡¯t even old or damaged, and I have damned manuals!¡±


    Jophixa was shaking her head, a bemused expression on her face. ¡°You two sound like an old bonded couple sometimes, I swear.  Or a pair of horny younglings.  Or at least Stacy does.  And you!¡± she pointed at me, ¡°better not call me ¡®your dear¡¯ anything, let alone ¡®Commander Badass¡¯.  However you describe my skin colour.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say Commander Badass,¡± I replied under my breath, and got back to work.


    It ended up being a very good thing that Stacy seemed so smitten with me, or maybe she just really had that much patience.  Giobhioni tech really was that much different than what I was used to, that I had quite a bit of problems managing to get my suit interfaced with it.  There were times in that 12 hours of work that I felt like I was 12 years old again, learning the basics of astronautics, feeling like I¡¯d never understand all the aspects.


    But Stacy was patient with me, cracking jokes and flirting outrageously whenever I got so frustrated I felt like ejecting the whole thing, including myself, out an airlock.  If she had a flesh and blood body, I¡¯d have given her a huge hug, and yeah, probably a big wet kiss just to see if it¡¯d shut up her flirting for a bit.


    At the end of that twelve hours, however, we were pretty sure we had a comms unit that would let me contact Tyromi Station, even if it would require us dropping out of hyperspace for it to work.  Stacy ran through some numbers, and was almost certain that even attempting to transmit would disrupt The Elegance¡¯s flow dynamics, which would be, according to her, ¡°disastrous¡±.


    We weren¡¯t due to drop out of hyperspace for a course check for another two hours after we¡¯d finished getting everything linked up.  That meant I couldn¡¯t even test the set up to make sure we got everything right for another two hours, and that wait drove me absolutely crazy.  At first I was pacing back and forth in my quarters, but then I got stir crazy and began pacing throughout the ship.  At one point, Jophixa threatened to lock me in the ship''s tiny brig if I made a circuit of the bridge one more time!


    Military types, geesh.   How do they do it?


    ¡°Seriously Thomas,¡± Stacy admonished me as I passed by the hatch to the engineering bay for the 14th time. ¡°You need to relax! Why not go back to your quarters and watch one of those visual recordings in your personal storage marked private?  Come on handsome, I¡¯ll watch them with you and talk dirty in your ear, make it even better.¡±


    ¡°Stacy!  We talked about that. My private files are private! You don¡¯t go rooting around in them without permission.¡±


    She let out a peel of giggles in my ear.  ¡°Gotcha!  Seriously Sweety, I haven¡¯t peaked in that folder since you lectured me about privacy last time.  But it got you to stop fretting and listen to me! I¡¯ve been trying to get your attention for the last ten minutes.¡±


    Grumbling to cover my embarrassment, I leaned against the bulkhead, ¡°Well, know that you have my attention, what did you need it for?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be dropping to normal space in just under two minutes.  Commander Jophixa wants you on the bridge with ¡®that contraption¡¯¡±


    ¡°Finally!¡± I blurted out, and ran down the corridor to my quarters to grab the Frankenstein comms unit, Stacy¡¯s laughter ringing in my head.


    The trio of Giobhioni on the bridge made no comment when I stepped onto the bridge.  The Commander merely pointed me at the tactical console, telling me wordlessly to set up ¡°the contraption¡± there.  Now is the time for self control Thomas, I told myself, don¡¯t rush this or you might fuck it up and not get another shot.  Taking a deep breath, I set the unit down beside the seat, and turned it on.


    I¡¯d already pre configured it to scan for comms traffic from Tyromi Station and attempt to hail their Command and Control center, so as soon as it powered on, it should only be a short time before¡­


    ¡°This is Captain Anderson of Tyroli station, who am I speaking with?¡±


    The voice was gruff and irritated, but I¡¯d travelled enough to know that was typical of Command and Control staff, especially when dealing with comms traffic that were outside the usual.  ¡°Captain Anderson! I¡¯m so glad I was able to get through to someone!¡± I replied to him, all my relief at hearing another human voice surely had to be plain in my tone. ¡°My name is Thomas Aacen, retired salvage engineer. I have urgent information I need to pass on to someone in Fleet security! Is there any way you can patch me through to someone?  This could be a matter of security for the entire sector.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± I could almost hear the eye-roll in his response. ¡°And you are transmitting this over an insecure channel?  You know what? Nevermind, not my problem.  Transferring you to the Fleet Security office.¡±


    There was a beep, and an automated voice said ¡°Please stand by.¡±  I glanced over at Jophixa, who was frowning like if that station commander had been in her chain of command, he¡¯d have gotten one hell of a chewing out. Unfortunately, I¡¯d encountered many people in important positions that behaved just like him, so I was used to it.


    Five minutes later, we finally heard another voice come over the comms, this one a stern female with a slight gravelly edge to it. ¡°Mr Aacen? Are you still there?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m here, but I think the commander of the ship I¡¯m on is getting a bit anxious to get back into hyperspace.  Our comms situation is in a bit of a pickle at the moment, and we can only open a channel when we drop to normal space.¡±


    ¡°I apologize for the wait, I was in an important meeting. Tell your commander I hope Tyroli station can help get their comms situation sorted out when you arrive here.¡± She said, ¡°being out of contact is never a good thing, regardless of the situation. I¡¯m Commander Mancini with Fleet security, I understand you have information for me.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am,¡± I told her, ¡°I was on a salvage operation under one Johnathan Barstol not too long ago, salvaging a derelict alien ship of unknown origin out beyond the edge of surveyed space.  Due to some misadventure, I was left behind and had to be rescued by the commander of the ship I¡¯m now on.  During the time before I was rescued, however, I learned that the alien ship was extremely dangerous, and should be quarantined under the tightest of measures.  Nobody, and I emphasize, nobody, not even a drone should be allowed on that ship and certainly not allowed to return from it.  This could be for the security of the entire quadrant of the galaxy Ma¡¯am.  I cannot overemphasize this at all.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to give more information regarding this without being on a secure and encrypted channel, and due to our comms issues, we have no way to secure our comms.  Please relay this information.  I only pray I¡¯m not too late, and Barstol hasn¡¯t arrived in a settled system already.¡±


    The channel went silent, and a glance back at Jophixa again showed her scowl had deepened so much I worried she¡¯d prematurely age herself by that single scowl alone.  Finally, Mancini came back on the line.  ¡°Thank you for the information Mr Aacen, I will indeed pass it along to the relevant branches of Fleet Security, don¡¯t you worry.¡± Then she paused once more, but only for a moment before continuing, ¡°Incidentally Mr. Aacen, I have a notice here from the Salvager¡¯s Guild that says they would like a word with you ASAP in regards to the disappearance of one of their senior council members?  A Miss Boudya Mend¡¯nasa, I believe it was.¡±  I blinked, at a loss for words, Boudya is missing?


    ¡°You are also wanted by Commonwealth Financial Securities Enforcement for questioning in regards to the whereabouts of your sister.  She also disappeared recently, conveniently mere days before CFSE issued a warrant for her arrest.  Interesting coincidence that.  I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll cooperate and surrender yourself to the nearest Commonwealth Security detachment as soon as humanly possible, will you not?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t find words.  My mind had completely shut down in shock in fact.  If both Boudya and Jesse were both missing, and there was a warrant out for Jesse¡¯s arrest, that means Barstol had released the fake blackmail information he had used to get me to work with him.  I¡¯m going to kill him!


    ¡°Am I to be arrested then?¡± I heard my voice come from the PA system.  Stacy must have sensed my shock and decided to fill in while I recovered, Stars bless her.


    ¡°Arrested?¡± the commander replied, ¡°why would you be arrested, do you have anything to do with your sister¡¯s activities against her employer?  No, we just need to ask some questions.  If you¡¯ve done nothing wrong, and come in for questioning right away, you¡¯ll be released again in no time at all!  If you run, however, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be seen as some sort of complicity with your sister''s actions.  Just come in as soon as possible Mr Aacen.  Mancini out.¡±


    The channel went dead, my brain finally clicked back into gear, and I began to swear up such a bluestreak, I think I was pulling Giobhioni words straight from my implant subconsciously.


    Things just got so much more complicated.

 Chapter 10

    Fifteen minutes into my marathon tantrum, Jophixa - in an extremely no nonsense tone - issued me an ultimatum;  I could go to my quarters and cool off under my own steam, or I could be dragged there after she knocked me unconscious.  Even through my anger, I remembered how strong she was, and how much our first meeting had hurt; So I moved myself to my quarters to continue to rant and rave for at least another hour.


    Stacy continuously tried to calm me down with suggestions of how we could better use the time.  Those suggestions were full of lewd acts of course.  When I reflected later, I really wasn¡¯t sure where she was getting all those ideas from. I know I didn¡¯t have that kind of variety of porn in my personal files. Unless Boudya had hidden some there as a prank.  Frankly, if I¡¯d been in my right mind at that point, some of the things Stacy suggested might have made me faint in shock!


    It wasn¡¯t until around two hours later when I felt small, strong hands suddenly spin me around from where I was pacing, and launched several feet to bounce once off my bed, collide with the padded headboard, then land in a heap back on the mattress.


    ¡°If you are quite finished!¡±


    I looked up to see Jophixa standing about where I had been a moment ago, hands balled and resting on her generous hips, glaring at me with a look that half reminded me of my mother the day I¡¯d been escorted home after getting into a brawl at school.  Is that an expression that men just inspire in women? Or do they practice at it?   I think Boudya leveled the same one at me the last time I saw her.


    Blinking, I rubbed my shoulder where it had collided with the headboard. My brain seemed to be in the process of rebooting, stuck running the memory diagnostics.  ¡°Uh¡­maybe?¡± I said, brilliantly, tearing my eyes away from where they¡¯d drifted back to her hips, and forced them to meet her hard violet eyes.  ¡°Was there something you needed C..commander?¡±


    ¡°Yes there is something I need.¡± she stormed over to me, and I had to firmly block out comments Stacy was making in the back of my mind regarding how this was the way certain adult videos started.


    <Not appropriate damnit,> I thought back at her, only to hear her giggle into my mind.


    ¡°I need you to get your head back in the game Mr. Aacen.¡± she barked. Grabbing me by the front of my shirt and pulling me upright. ¡°In case you forgot, there aren¡¯t that many Giobhioni left in the galaxy, as far as we know, and there¡¯s a Ktonshi contagion out there, possibly already turning members of your species into members of theirs.  We know nothing of your Commonwealth, nothing of the other species in this quadrant of the galaxy.  Or of this time period.  You are our only contact out here.


    ¡°I¡¯m willing to put rescuing your sister and this Boudya person in the priority list of this mission.¡± She continued, ¡°Even a high priority, if you can give me a reason for how it¡¯ll help with the rest, but I need you thinking, and telling me what our next move is!  Where do we go from here?¡±


    Clearing my throat, my brain started to spin up like a first generation tunnel drive - slow, clunky, and threatening to go offline again if breathed on wrong - I brought a hand up and tapped her arm.  ¡°I¡¯m back in the land of rational thought Commander.¡± I told her, ¡°Thanks for snapping me out of it, even if I think I¡¯m gonna have to visit the Doc to make sure my shoulder isn¡¯t dislocated.¡± I smiled at her, ¡°That time I deserved it, but you still owe me for our first meeting.¡±


    She blinked, then scowled at me. ¡°Don¡¯t try to flirt with me Aacen,¡± she growled, ¡°Now is not the time for that bullshit.¡±


    ¡°Just having a bit of fun in the midst of impending doom,¡± I said, shrugging, then moved to get up.  Jophixa held me in place for a moment or two, before seeming to realize she was still gripping my shirt and letting go.  ¡°Fucking Fleet bureaucrats.  Okay, I¡¯m assuming you don¡¯t want to just head back to the station, get more crew and plan from there?¡±  Jophixa bared her sharp teeth at me, the Giobhioni equivalent of shaking her head.  ¡°Right then.  Suggestions for first priorities?  We need some sort of comms relay so we can utilize Commonwealth comms assets without having to pop out of hyperspace to do it.  Then, with your permission, I need to find Boudya and my Sister.  They should be together, since before I let Barstol drag me on this Void Damned job, I set up a timed communications drop to her.  Not through the StellarNet, but delivered to her on a data drive.   If I¡¯m lucky, she grabbed Jesse - my sister - and high tailed it to a safehouse.  Boudya might have more information, and suggestions for who to contact that might actually listen.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°My best suggestion is for us to figure out where Barstol actually took that derelict.¡±  I scratched my head, starting to pace again now that I was on my feet. ¡°Someone was funding that salvage operation, which means they somehow knew the location of a derelict alien ship far outside known space.  Something tells me they¡¯ve got a part to play¡­besides the obvious of course.  In my experience, people that get that kind of information aren¡¯t simple salvage brokers.  We need to ask them some pointed questions.¡±


    ¡°Two out of three of those jobs seem like a you thing.¡± Jophixa returned. ¡°There are three other people on this ship¡­¡±


    ¡°Four!¡±


    Jophixa rolled her eyes at Stacy¡¯s outburst. ¡°You aren¡¯t technically on the ship, Stacy.  But fine, four  others on the ship.  What can we be doing to move this situation forward?  I don¡¯t like sitting on a tratsnack waiting to be useful anymore than you do!   You¡¯re going to need someplace to put that relay you were talking about right?  Some place relatively secure, at least until Stacy can get the crew back¡­home¡­ building others.  I¡¯ll get Be¡¯tsar Prexiu scanning nearby systems for possible locations.  Maybe we can embed it in an asteroid to make it less obvious.¡±


    Nodding, I sat down at the little computer terminal she¡¯d made sure was in my quarters.  ¡°As soon as I can patch the relay into the StellarNet, Stacy can explain to the Doc how to access it and dive into the anatomy resources for current Sophont species.  Maybe something will jump out at her, something that¡¯d make one of them more resistant to the contagion?  Long shot maybe, but best I can think of.¡±


    ¡°And I can help you get that relay set up to be secure in the meantime.¡± she finished, ¡°You might be an engineer, but I bet I¡¯m better than you at setting up security encryption.¡±


    ¡°No bet.  I haven¡¯t forgotten you were the security chief first.¡± I chuckled, ¡°In fact, I¡¯m gonna have to remember to start keeping my personal log somewhere especially secure in case you decide to go checking on my motives or something.¡±


    Of all things, I had not expected her to blush.  Had she already read my personal log? <You really should have asked me to encrypt it for you Beefcake.> Stacy whispered in my mind.  <Especially those naughty entries where you were talking about how hypnotic her bum is.  Oh, I¡¯ve never seen one of them turn that shade before!>Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    I was not about to broach that topic with Jophixa.  There just didn¡¯t seem like any way of coming out of it on the winning side.  Anyway, we had work to get down to.


    Seemed she was thinking the same thing, as she cleared her throat and reclaimed her composure, ¡°We¡¯ll want to get moving.  It¡¯s fair to assume, if your Commonwealth law enforcement is anything like ours was, they may try and trace our signal.  We don¡¯t want to be here if they do.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Good point, and something else to consider with this relay.  If they find it, we¡¯ll lose access to communications and information from within the commonwealth.  Going to take some thinking on that.  For now though, I¡¯m going to check to see if I have any messages from Boudya¡±


    Jophixa cocked her head in a giobhioni affirmative, and headed off to the bridge.


    ¡°Hey Stacy?¡± I asked out loud when she¡¯d left


    ¡°Yes Sweet-cheeks?¡±


    ¡°Please encrypt my personal log with the best encryption you can.  And please, by all the Stars Light, warn me if she goes snooping in it again!¡±


    Laughter rang out in my quarters as I sat down and got my little Frankenstein comms unit configured for StellarNet access.


    It took me two hours, but I finally managed to patch into the ¡®Net.  I believe I said before that I wasn¡¯t a software or security engineer, right?  It was only the fact that an old school friend had shown me a trick for piggy-backing through our school''s gateway that let me do it so fast.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t use my school¡¯s gateway for this.  That would have been something they¡¯d likely check on.  No, I tapped in through a random facility I knew of that had a very sloppy I.T. department.  And after I was connected, I made sure to bounce the connection through a few other servers.  This was a trick that went all the way back to the original internet back in the twentieth century, but it still worked to at least delay anyone tracking you.  And we had Stacy to monitor the connections and cut the connection to our relay if needed.


    Without someone more versed in StellarNet security, it was the best I could do for now.  If Boudya had her life-mate with her and we could meet  up with them, they could get things set up better. For now, this would have to do.  It would at least let me check the few places I could think where Boudya might drop me a covert message.


    First place I checked was her social media, especially Metagram.


    I wouldn¡¯t say Boudya was especially vain, not for a benastian.  Her appearance was a means to an end, just like with all of them.  And that end was the pleasures of the flesh.  Boudya¡¯s Metagram account was her way to reel in possible dalliances that caught her fancy.  But she also sometimes left sly messages for those already in her life through her posts.


    Sure enough, one of her most recent posts, before an out of character absence, was an image of her in a scandalously unzipped coverall, drenched in something bearing a strong resemblance to hydraulic lubricant.  The caption read ¡°Thinking of old friends.  We sure got into some slippery situations¡±


    That memory.  She got my message, and she¡¯d slipped away.  Now I just had to figure out where she¡¯d gone, and how to contact her.


    I scoured her MyBook, her OpenSkies, even went so far as her HEX and FanService accounts (oh were there a lot of comments about that site from Stacy.  Pretty sure she made up her own account the moment she saw what it was.), but I was just not seeing any hints.  And yes, I did check the obvious, like direct messages and email.  Even checked junk mail folders to be sure, and there was nothing.


    ¡°She had to have left me some kind of clue to where to meet up!¡± I growled in frustration, and was about to close out of FanService, when a direct message hit my inbox from the site¡¯s ¡°manager¡±.


    Staring at it, it had the subject line ¡°Congrats! You won!¡± with a string of emojis after it.  Ordinarily, I ignore such things as garbage, anyone with a lick of sense does.  They¡¯re just some kind of promotional garbage to get you to spend credits.  And honestly, I had way too much going on right now to be wasting time on a social media porn site.


    But something about that string of emoji¡¯s tickled my memory. A spaceship, a bathtub, a mountain¡­and an eggplant.


    ¡°She couldn¡¯t have¡­¡±


    Figuring it wasn¡¯t like I had much to lose at that point, I opened the message, and the image of a Japanese style hot springs bath, deep in a mountainous jungle. Shining rings circled the planet overhead, as well as three small moons.  Candles were set around the natural stones surrounding the bath, setting an intimate tableau perfect for a lover''s tryst.


    The caption under the image read ¡°A trip to the baths of Yantari 3 is yours, to live out a week that will be etched in your memory for the rest of your life.  The perfect place to wash away the stress of life¡¯s mishaps and salvage your sanity.


    Join the FanService model of your dreams and find out what favors lie in store for you.¡±


    The memories of a week spent on Yantari 3 with Boudya after we graduated from university flooded my mind and had me sprawling back on my lounge chair.  It took Stacy ¡°shouting¡± at me, directly in my brain to pull me out of my reverie.  ¡°Damn, that must¡¯ve been one hell of a memory, Engineer of my Lust!¡± She said when I finally snapped out of it.  ¡°It¡¯d be totally embarrassing if the Commander were to pop in right now¡±


    With a glance down at myself, I blushed, and adjusted the way I was sitting so my reaction to the memory wasn¡¯t so obvious.  ¡°It was indeed one hell of a memory!  A week in paradise with a benastian isn¡¯t something you ever forget.¡± I explained. ¡°Nor something that should be forgotten.¡± I laughed at myself at that point.  ¡°The good news though, is I think I know where we¡¯ll find Boudya and my sister, as long as the law hasn¡¯t tracked her there before us.¡±


    I stood up to go give Jophixa the news, but Stacy caught my attention, ¡°Tommy-kins! Wait!¡±  she called, ¡°there¡¯s something here about responding to claim your prize, and one of those link things.¡±


    I swore at myself and sat back down to look.  Sure enough, there was a request to confirm a booking, and a link to do so.  Normally, again, it¡¯d be a bad idea to click a link in such questionable mail, but since the ship''s main computer, and my suits main memory stores were not hooked up to this rig, it wasn¡¯t about to fry anything we couldn¡¯t replace; so I went ahead and selected the link.


    The holoscreen immediately started glitching out, causing me to panic and reach for the cables I¡¯d rigged to disconnect power from both devices in case this whole experiment went catastrophic, but then a familiar voice hit my ears.  ¡°Aacen! It¡¯s about fracking time!  I was starting to think the bastard had killed you!¡±


    Looking back at the holoscreen, I smiled into the gleaming, obsidian eyes of my old friend and once lover.  ¡°Boudya!¡± I let out a cry of relief, ignoring the look of annoyance on her face. ¡°You¡¯re safe!  Is Jesse with you?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s sleeping.¡± she said, moving slightly, and letting the camera show my sister lying prone on a crisp hotel bed, sound asleep, before taking over the view again. ¡°Getting here wasn¡¯t easy Thomas, and we¡¯re both exhausted.  What in the Void is going on, and you better be on your way to pick us up, because while I think I covered our tracks well enough, Enigma Osiris seems to be pulling a lot of stops to track your sister. And that idiot Teberman seems to be buying into whatever pintasa he¡¯s selling!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I had a Fleetsec officer tell me a few hours ago to submit myself to the nearest starbase for questioning regarding the two of you.¡± I explained, shaking my head, ¡°and this after I tried informing them that the ship Barstol is hauling back to civilization is carrying an ancient alien plague.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡±


    ¡°Long story,¡± I said, ¡°And Barstol tried to kill me. Left me to die on the barren planetoid the alien ship was on.  That man would be infuriated if he knew what he missed in his haste to leave me behind to die.  Oh, and I have someone I want to introduce to your life-mate, is he with you?¡±


    ¡°He refused to stay behind.¡± she grumbled, ¡°probably for the best though, they¡¯d likely have him locked in a dark room, questioning him on where we went if he¡¯d stayed behind.   You still haven¡¯t answered my question though;  Are you coming to get us?¡±


    ¡°As long as the Commander of this ship doesn¡¯t object.¡± I explained.  We have a few logistic things to work out before we can get underway.  Comms access is a bit¡­complicated right now, and we¡¯re trying to fix that.  Speaking of that; do you have the means to pick up at least a couple of long range communication consoles?  I kind of had to cannibalize my suit to make this call.¡±


    ¡°You cannibalized your suit?  Comms must be tricky for you to do that.¡±


    ¡°You have no idea, but you¡¯ll find out when we pick you up.  Stay alert, and if you spot any Cops or EOsec goons snooping around, I¡¯ve set up a comms address under ¡®SexySt@cy-48359¡¯ that will alert the person monitoring it.  Just put in the subject line ¡°Wanted: Short Green Bitches that¡¯ll kick your ass¡±.   We¡¯ll know you¡¯re in trouble.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow.  ¡°I expect one hell of a story from all this Thomas, and you owe me big time.  Remember that!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never forgotten Boudya.  I owe you for not listening to you then, and I owe you for now.  Just keep your head on a swivel, and we¡¯ll be there as quick as we can!¡±


    ¡°You better be!¡± she declared, and then the holoscreen glitched out again before settling back onto the previous FanService message center.  The previous message about being a winner was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°SexySt@cy?¡± her inquiry was laced with charmed amusement.


    ¡°What?  You are, aren¡¯t you?¡± I got up and hurried towards the door.  ¡°Sexy is mostly in the mind after all, and that¡¯s 100% of where you are for me!¡±


    I did so love hearing her laugh.

 Chapter 11

    He sat in his darkened office, staring at the holo-screens in front of him with expressionless irritation, a pot of premium midori sencha tea rapidly cooling on his desk.


    The two ships displayed on the screens were irritatingly out of reach.  The Gladstone once again radio silent after the short period of panicked screaming and horrific images that the Alpha and Beta security teams sent back.  Shadowy images of giant, insectoid creatures and horrific kewpie doll faces with impossible numbers of glowing magma red eyes.  He understood that the operations room had become quite a mess after the image of one of those kewpie doll faces had been captured distorting, opening a wide maw and unfolding pedipalps to rip a one man¡¯s terrified head off.


    The other ship, the entire point of this entire endeavor, sat there floating powerless in space, still tethered firmly to the Gladstone.  He knew the solutions to accomplish his goals lay inside that derelict hull, if only he could retrieve them.  But after what happened on the Gladstone, there was a distinct reticence on the part of his security forces.  They refused to even board a breaching shuttle to approach the vessel, and several people on EODS-245B Station had put forth recommendations that both ships simply be nuked in order to maintain the safety of the station.


    The suggestion was, of course, unacceptable, but he¡¯d played diplomat to their fears and ordered a round the clock guard of the ships by a squadron of heavy fighters.  The implication was that if the ships made a move towards the station, those fighters would be in position to head them off quickly, and destroy them if need be.   They were not aware of his backdoor control of every fighter craft on that station, and that he could lock out their weapons from where he sat, here, lightyears away.


    He needed to find a team trustworthy enough, and brave enough that he could hire to go into that alien ship, cut the tethers, and move it away from the Gladstone.  There was also the issue of preventing whatever it was that happened on the Gladstone.  Perhaps it was time to consider the use of an Omega team.


    He shook his head slightly.  There had to be another option.  Using the Omegas would mean justifying their use to the Board of Directors.  If one leak about their existence got out to the public, it¡¯d be a mess for the entire company.  The Commonwealth had laws against that level of cybernetics.  ¡°Cyber Zombies¡± was the colloquial name for them.  Barely a step above being pure machine, all that was left of the sophant used to create them was their brain matter, which did not do much for their sanity.


    He was still staring at the screens and analyzing his next moves when his office door swooshed open.  ¡°Mr Fisch, sir?¡± he heard the voice of Charles Horgan, his admin assistant, say hesitantly, ¡°I know you said no interruptions, but this is something you said you wanted immediate updates on.¡±


    Benson Fisch, chief research officer of Enigma Osiris, kept iron control of his irritation.  There was no sense in getting angry with the man for having had to choose between contradictory orders.  ¡°What is the situation Mr Horgan?¡±


    He could almost hear Charles fidgeting, a behavior he abhorred, and if it were not for Charles¡¯ unmatched efficiency at his job otherwise, he¡¯d have replaced the man.  ¡°The corporate spy, Jessica Aacen, sir.¡± he explained, ¡°She has managed to slip through all efforts by law enforcement to detain her.  She has gone to ground and there has so far been no clues as to her location Sir.¡±


    He allowed himself to clench his jaw slightly, the only sign of irritation showing in his demeanor.  ¡°Do we have anything on how she managed to slip away?¡±


    ¡°They are still working on that, sir.  All they have right now is the fact that she was last seen in the company of one of her brother¡¯s old associates, a Ms. Boudya Mend¡¯nasa.¡±


    His teeth made a slight squeak as his jaw clenched tighter.  That blue skinned slut.  How did she end up aware of the situation?  All of their intelligence on Thomas Aacen showed that he hadn¡¯t been in contact with any of his guild associates since he retired.  ¡°I want to know what brought the two of them in contact.  Especially if Thomas Aacen had anything to do with it.  Understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±  The tension in Charles¡¯ voice was palpable, there was something else. ¡°That¡¯s another thing sir.¡±  He hesitated.


    ¡°Spit it out Charles, you know I don¡¯t kill the messenger.¡±


    He heard an audible gulp, then ¡°It¡¯s Mr. Aacen sir.  I received a report from our contact in FleetSec. just moments before coming in.  Mr. Aacen has been in contact with them, he¡¯s reported to them that there is some sort of ancient contagion aboard that ship which Mr. Barstol retrieved for you.  They¡¯ve passed it up the chain, but have also ordered him in for questioning regarding his sister, but also Ms Mend¡¯nasa.  It seems the head of the Salvager Guild is concerned about her disappearance too.¡±


    Benson¡¯s jaw made an audible pop.  Barstol said he¡¯d disposed of the man!  Left him for dead on that barren rock out beyond any mapped system of the Commonwealth or its neighbors.  More complications, this was unacceptable.


    ¡°Is that all Charles?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Thank our contact, and provide him with a bonus for the information.¡± He ordered.  ¡°And have him get us any further updates A.S.A.P.  and if he can arrange for Mr. Aacen to be held indefinitely when he¡¯s detained for questioning, there will be a sizable reward.  I would really like to have a word with that man on how he survived.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely sir!¡± Charles replied, followed by the woosh of his office door opening and closing again.


    The proverb said plans rarely survive engagement with the enemy, which is why he always had backup plans.  The plans he¡¯d made for these eventualities, however, were nowhere close to optimal.  Things would very well get messy at this point, and he detested messy.


    <hr>


    ¡°You¡¯re sure this will help keep it from being traced?¡±


    Jophixa looked over at me from her command chair, ¡°Nothing will stop them from finding it if they¡¯re bound and determined.¡± she explained, ¡°any security expert will tell you that.  Your security measures are only as good as the skills and determination of the person trying to overcome them.  We did what we could to make this frustrating as hell for them to track however.  It¡¯ll be constantly moving around in this system, ducking in and out of sensor shadows.  And you set up all those proxies and false trails on the connections.¡±


    ¡°I know, I¡¯m being a nervous Nancy.¡± I shook my head as I watched the capsule with the Frankenstinian comms relay speed away from our position.  ¡°Call it an engineer thing, we¡¯re always worried about how something could fail on us.¡±


    Stacy piped in at that point, ¡°Why would you be Nancy?  You told us your name is Thomas!  Is this a roleplaying thing?  Do I get to be Bruce the muscular heart-throb in this scenario? Like on the romance novel covers?¡±


    Everyone on the bridge at the moment groaned, but I smiled at the same time.  ¡°It¡¯s a figure of speech Stacy.  A Nervous Nancy is just something they call someone who worries all the time.¡±


    ¡°Aww.  No fun.¡±


    ¡°Keep it in your pants, Stacy¡­¡± I said, then added quickly ¡°That¡¯s also an expression.  It means, "calm down on the horny talk.¡±¡±  I turned back to Jophixa, ¡°Let¡¯s hope Boudya can get us a couple more comms units we can use to rig up a couple more of those relays.  Bouncing between multiple relays will make us even harder to trace.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°OH!¡± Stacy exclaimed, ¡°I forgot to mention.  Once you showed how the emissions waveforms were modulated for communications, I was able to work with the engineers on the station to come up with a solution using our technology!  They should have a few prototypes ready to drop out into space in a couple days!  Isn¡¯t that great?!¡±


    Jophixa¡¯s large, green ears were almost vibrating with the frustration I could tell she was holding back.  ¡°Stacy?¡±


    ¡°Yes Commander?¡±


    ¡°That is the kind of information you do not forget to mention.¡± she said deceptively calmly.   There¡¯d been a few instances of this kind of thing during our mad dash through hyperspace.  Where Stacy had said or done something that royally cheesed Jophixa off.  Like the time Stacy had referred to her as ¡®Commander Hotpants¡¯ on the bridge. I¡¯d thought Jophixa was going to blow a gasket and deny Stacy access to the ship¡¯s intercom system at the very least.


    But Jophixa had taken a deep breath, then calmly explained to Stacy how inappropriate that had been, and that while I was a civilian, she was the ship¡¯s commander, and would be referred to as such.  Later, Jophixa reminded me that the Giobhioni considered true sentient A.I. such a rarity, and self actualized ones to be almost never seen.  They were firm believers in making sure they approached relationships with them on the most amicable level possible. Even when one happened to annoy the Void¡¯s Damned shit out of them from time to time.


    Stacy was quiet for a few moments.  ¡°Yes Commander.  That was unforgivably careless of me, I apologize.¡± she said finally, ¡°I will make a subroutine for myself to let it never happen again!¡±


    ¡°Thank you Stacy,¡± Jophixa turned back to look out the front canopy of the bridge.  ¡°Well, that¡¯s even less to worry about now I guess.  If those prototypes work, we can get them seeded in lots of random places and they¡¯ll be chasing grontnaks till they drop.  We should get on our way to rescue your lover and your sister now that comms are taken care of.¡±


    I blushed slightly when Jophixa referred to Boudya as my lover, but tried not to think about it.  Instead I sent a mental note to Stacy to explain to me what the heck a grontnak was later.  ¡°Considering that it''s at least,¡± I thought for a moment, doing the calculations in my head, ¡° 10 days by Tunneldrive to get there, and I have no idea what the conversion factor to your drive method ends up being,  I agree completely.¡±


    Toftri chuckled from his seat at the helm, ¡°that works out to roughly 2 days travel time at most.  Well, as long as we don¡¯t run into any particularly bad hyperspace currents.   All the adjustments those could require would slow us down markedly.¡±


    ¡°Dammit Toftri!¡± I teased him, ¡°don¡¯t you know not to jinx things?  Now we have to perform an ancient terran ritual to dispel bad luck.  Don¡¯t worry though, it just involves a lot of sex and chanting.¡±


    Toftri¡¯s ears drooped in embarrassment, Jophixa narrowed her eyes at me, which was completely expected.  The surprising part, however, Tzaki Tratsa¡¯s ears were perked up, quivering slightly, and she had one eyebrow raised.  What was going on in the silver haired doctor¡¯s mind I wondered.


    ¡°I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding!¡± I laughed and waved at Toftri.  ¡°Just a little joke, though there are a lot of humans who would actually believe you¡¯d jinxed matters.  That means summoned bad luck, by the way, in case the translators don¡¯t impart that much.  It¡¯s like saying ¡®things can¡¯t get any worse¡¯.  Our popular media is full of instances where someone says that and is immediately confronted with things getting horrifically worse.


    ¡°The ritual thing was just a joke.¡±


    Toftri looked relieved, Jophixa had that ¡®i¡¯ll chew you out later¡¯ look, and the Doc looked mildly disappointed.  Should I be watching what I say about the doctor Stacy?


    Nah, Stacy replied, She¡¯s just really curious about humans and how they ¡°measure up¡±.  Her giggle filled my mind, though don¡¯t be surprised if she approaches you ¡°for research purposes only¡±.


    I rolled my eyes at her commentary, then shot another sideways look at the silver haired tsaki. She was still looking at me with a sly smile and shot me a wink when she caught me looking over.  I was starting to get a feeling things would get interesting aboard this ship once Boudya was aboard.  Benastians had a way of triggering¡­things.


    ¡°If we¡¯re done with all the adolescent antics.¡± Jophixa chided us, ¡°let''s get underway.  That is, if you still want to rescue your sister, Thomas?¡±


    ¡°Yes, by all means, let¡¯s get moving!¡±


    ¡°You know what to do, Be¡¯tsar.  Get us moving.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am!¡±


    I was momentarily mesmerized by us shifting into hyperspace.  There was a noticeable difference in the way the colours shifted as we slid through the barrier that separated our regular reality and that chaotic world of shifting energies.   The tunnel drive gave you the noticeable feel of being in a tunnel, the eddies and currents swirling around the edges of it, as if you were in a transparent tube under deep technicolour rapids.


    The Giobhioni drive tech, however, was like you were swimming in those waters, with the currents flowing around you, over you.  The effect might seem subtle to some, but it was hypnotic to me.


    So entranced was I, that I didn¡¯t notice the good Tsaki slip over behind me, and put a hand on my shoulder, making me nearly start out of my skin.  I heard Stacy giggle, and noticed Jophixa hide a grin before I looked over my shoulder at the Doc.


    ¡°Now that the Relay is deployed, and we¡¯re underway,¡± she explained, ¡°you are past due for having that implant of yours examined to make sure there¡¯s no¡­anomalous behaviors between it and your grey matter.  Please follow me to Medbay.¡±


    <Oooo, things gonna get spicy!> Stacy taunted me, but I didn¡¯t bother responding, just got up and followed the doctor.


    In all seriousness, I understand that I might be coming off as some kind of letch, what with how I was interacting with Stacy, my old relationship with Boudya, and my thoughts regarding Jophixa, but I¡¯m just as surprised by myself as you probably are.


    Sure, Boudya opened me up to a whole different world out there then the innocent engineering student I had been, dreamed of.  Made me realize I was polyamorous, and that sex and love didn¡¯t have to be caught up in all the shit we humans still tended to wrap it up in, even now, 300 years after the ¡°sexual revolution¡±.   But here I am, walking down a corridor, idly contemplating the fit posterior of a female from a previously unknown species, who, if I wasn¡¯t mistaken, was significantly on the senior side of me.


    Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself Thomas! I told myself, She could just be getting a bit of revenge for the orgy joke.


    When we entered Medbay, the silver haired Giobhioni sat delicately down on the edge of a stool and crossed her short but shapely legs.  ¡°Alright Mr. Aacen, up on the exam table.¡± she said, all business. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look at that implant.  If I do not keep up with the strict schedule of exams that Tsaki Gwatri laid out, he¡¯s sure to, what was the expression you used the other day?  ¡®Read me the riot act¡¯?  He can be a bit overbearing at times, but there is a reason he was head of medical on the station.¡±


    She stopped and looked at me seriously.  ¡°What? You didn¡¯t think I was going to tackle you the moment we stepped through the door did you?¡±  She laughed, a throaty sound speaking of a well seasoned sense of humor. ¡°We¡¯ll get to that part later.  If you¡¯re lucky.¡±


    And she winked at me.


    I gave a nervous chuckle and tried to relax, hoping up on the exam table and lying back as ordered.  ¡°You know Doc.¡± I explained, ¡°You¡¯ve got me just a bit confused here.  We¡¯ve been on this ship together for a couple weeks now and barely interacted outside of these checkups¡­¡±


    ¡°Not entirely true,¡± she corrected me, after standing up and sliding the scanner over my head.  ¡°We shared a couple of conversations over graptak in the mess hall.  You told me a couple of stories about your time in University.¡±


    The slight whirring of the scanner started, letting me know she¡¯d started her check on my implant.  ¡°Not really what I¡¯d call the kind of interactions that¡¯d lead to implications of¡­whatever you were implying.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t see her through the scanner arch, but I heard  her give another throaty chuckle.  ¡°See, you¡¯re pretty new to interacting with us Giobhioni.¡± She explained.  ¡°So I figured I¡¯d have to do a little explaining.   You¡¯ve told us about your Lady friend Boudya¡¯s people, and how they are¡­how did you put it.  ¡®Always in season¡¯?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the most polite way it¡¯s put, yep¡±


    ¡°Hmm, the implant has further integrated into your sensory cortexes.  I¡¯m going to have to make a note to grill your AI girlfriend on if she intended this level of integration or not.¡±  She slid the scanner arch away from head, and smiled at me.  ¡°We Giovs aren¡¯t on that level, but we aren¡¯t prudes, and we aren¡¯t afraid to act when someone interests us.¡±  She thought for a moment, ¡°Well, most of us aren¡¯t¡±


    I frowned at that last bit, wondering who she might be referring to, but then thought of something important to ask.  ¡°No hang-ups about sex meaning permanent pairings or anything like that?  No offense, you seem like an awesome lady and all but¡­¡±


    The laugh she let go this time loud, filling up Medbay with an echoing chime of delight.  ¡°That would be ridiculous!  No, our only rules are honesty, safety, and any children that happen are taken care of and raised with love and respect.  Everything else is between the participants in the activities!¡±


    With that she defied any assumed age on her part, and vaulted up onto the exam table and straddled my hips.  ¡°Now, are you ok with a little cross species exploration here?  Or do I have to deal with matters by myself again tonight?¡±


    The grin I felt threatening to crack my face open must have been goofy looking, I swear, but I didn¡¯t care at that moment.  ¡°What the hell!  As long as it¡¯s all in fun.¡± and with that, grabbed her and pulled her down for a kiss.  Her whole body tensed up, so I let go after giving her the merest peck on the lips.  ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    She blinked at me in surprise, and brought her fingers to her lips for a second before smiling curiously, her ears high and quivering;  At least that told me I hadn¡¯t broken some taboo.  ¡°What,¡± she inquired back, ¡°was that?¡±


    Ah, I see. I thought to myself.  Boudya had told me stories about her people encountering species that had no knowledge of kissing, back when  we¡¯d first begun orbiting each other.  I guess these little green aliens might be like that.  ¡°Your people aren¡¯t familiar with kissing?¡± I asked, but a way of explanation, ¡°it¡¯s a common display of affection with humans, and several other species in this quadrant too.  Lips are very sensitive things, you know.¡±


    ¡°Kissing¡­¡± She smiled again, showing off those sharp teeth her people have, and leaned down to attempt copying the kiss I¡¯d given her, and shivered.  ¡°No, this is not something we do.  How could we miss such a thing?¡± She kissed me again, and again.  ¡°What else do humans do, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we find out?¡±

 Chapter 12

    Jesse woke with a start, a firm but gentle hand covering her mouth.


    Her eyes snapped open and looked up to find Boudya looking down at her, a long elegant finger pressed to her lips in a gesture to be silent. Her other hand gestured towards the door of their suite, where Tindron - her life-mate - had pressed himself up against the wall beside the door, a pistol at the ready.


    Boudya leaned in and whispered quietly into her ear, ¡°There¡¯s someone just outside the door, they seem to be preparing to break in.  Get dressed quickly, make sure you have the stun pistol ready.¡±


    Jesse nodded rapidly, the urge to panic rising, but she¡¯d forced it down.  She¡¯d had a number of panic attacks since Boudya had swooped in out of the blue, just ahead of Enigma Osiris¡¯ security.  Each time, Boudya or Tindron had guided her through exercises to work through it, then helped her with the shame and guilt afterwards.  Each time she managed to break out of it a bit faster, and even held it off longer.


    She couldn¡¯t afford to panic right now.  Not if they¡¯d been found.


    Rolling quietly out of bed, she pulled on the simple jumpsuit Boudya had given her. It was specifically designed to  slip on quickly, and according to the package, was woven with fibers that would ground out stun blasts and low power blaster fire.  Wouldn¡¯t protect her against S.W.A.T. type gear, but would hold off regular police and security.  Once dressed she slipped on the shoulder holster with her own stun pistol.


    Thankfully Boudya hadn¡¯t needed to drill her on that;  Someone working a corporate job with even moderate security clearance needed to be able to protect themselves.


    Looking over, she saw Boudya had just finished pulling out the window pane she¡¯d loosened the first day they were here, then pulled out three grav harnesses.  This was their exit plan if they got cornered in the suite;  out the window with the grav harnesses, down the 6 stories of the hotel, then making a beeline into the wilderness to where they¡¯d stashed some gear for this scenario.  With luck, there would be nobody on ground level watching for them.


    There was a beep from the door that told them a keycard had been used, whether hacked or obtained via warrant they couldn¡¯t know, but it meant they were about to enter.


    Jesse wasn¡¯t exactly sure who this couple were, that they had this kind of forethought, but Tindron had taken care of that possibility.  He¡¯d pre-hacked their door access codes to lock out everyone at the flick of a setting on his wrist-comp.  So after that beep, there was a quiet thud, another beep, and a harder thud, then barely hushed talking just outside the door,


    Hurrying over to the window, she followed Boudya¡¯s example and strapped into the grave-harness.  Tindron was  close on her heels, just before the door was struck with a bang loud enough that it had to have woken other guests on that floor and visibly dislodge the trim.


    Tindron went out the window first, and Jesse could see him safely floating down towards the ground level courtyard before she felt Boudya firmly push her out next.  Another sudden wave of panic at seeing the ground 6 stories beneath her, before the fact that the grav-harness was slowing her descent banished it.  She kept her hand on the grip of her stun pistol on the way down nonetheless, just in case she spotted any possible hostiles.


    What sounded like a small explosion sounded above her, and small bits of debris rained down.  Glancing up, she spotted Boudya, not 2 meters up, descending with her back to the ground.  She appeared to have her pistol out and aimed back towards where they¡¯d exited.  The door must have been forced by explosives, or perhaps they¡¯d tossed in a gas grenade, as smoke began billowing out of the window.  Either way, that was going to work in their favor, as the smoke was going to buy them some time.


    A glance down showed her that Tindron was already on the ground, crouching behind some statuary and scanning the courtyard for threats.   Jesse was almost at the ground herself, and felt the grav-harness slow her descent a degree more so that she landed with no more force than if she¡¯d stepped off a loading dock.   Taking Tindron¡¯s lead, she found cover behind another statue, pulled her stunner, and scanned for threats.  Moments later, she heard Boudya¡¯s feet hit the ground and felt her presence beside her.


    ¡°They¡¯ll notice the window soon.¡± she stated, gesturing off towards the woods, ¡°time to get the hell out of Dodge, as your  brother would say.¡±


    She darted forward across the courtyard, making it halfway across on those incredibly long legs of hers before taking cover behind another piece of statuary and aiming her pistol up at their suite¡¯s window.  Jesse didn¡¯t wait for Tindron to chastise her, she took off at a sprint herself.  Her heart hammered in her ears and her back itched with the anticipation of impact from a stunner or blaster impact.  None came though, and in what seemed like much too long, she slid into cover beside Boudya.


    Tindon hadn¡¯t waited for her to make it the whole way to his mate, it seemed.  When Jesse peeked out to take a bead on the window, she could see him sprinting towards them. It was then that the first shot was fired.  By Boudya.


    The weapon she carried was a higher powered stunner than Jesse¡¯s, with the option to go lethal if it was needed, and the distinctive *zhist* sound of its maximum stun setting startled her.  Glancing up at their suite window, she heard the cry before seeing the armor clad figure only narrowly avoid falling to its death as someone inside hauled the unconscious body back through the window.


    ¡°Just as we practiced now Jesse.¡±  Boudya commanded.  Nodding, Jesse took off at a sprint once more, jaw clenched with determination.


    They¡¯d spent some time when they first got there, pretending to play laser tag in the courtyard.  What they¡¯d really been doing was drilling her on using the various objects there as cover to get to the woods.  Boudya lamented that it would be nothing like boot camp, or years investigating abandoned wrecks near hostile native villages, but at least she wouldn¡¯t be clueless.


    She noticed as she ran that Tindron had already made it to the edge of the woods and was covering her progress from behind a large rock.  He¡¯d holstered his pistol and shouldered some kind of stubby looking rifle.  Remembering not to set her focus too tightly on running directly towards him, she instead kept running along the most optimal line of cover.  Once she was in the trees she could make her way over to where Tindron was.


    More blasts sounded through the courtyard, and while she wanted to breathe a sigh of relief that it was all stunner fire, she couldn¡¯t spare the air.  It seemed their pursuers were under orders to capture them alive.  Probably something to do with the data drive I have¡­


    Her thoughts were cut off by the feeling of a stunner blast hitting her in the left thigh, causing her to stumble.   Years of self defence training kicked in and she turned that stumble into a rolle back to her feet and kept running.  The jumpsuit Boudya had given her was true to its PR, having absorbed most of the blast, letting only enough through to feel like she¡¯d been struck with a snowball. Without the protection, she¡¯d have been unconscious on the ground, waiting to be captured.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Finally, with her lungs burning from the sprint, the woods beyond the courtyard engulfed her.  Ducking down behind a large tree stump, she looked back and made to cover Boudya¡¯s final sprint. Instead she found herself staring as the incredibly tall alien dove the last meter and a half into the woods, barely being missed by a stunner blast herself, coming up to her feet only to slip behind a rock not far away.


    Smiling at her, Boudya nodded.  ¡°Step 2 complete.  Time for Step 3.  Get moving!¡±


    <hr>


    I didn¡¯t sit idle for those two days in hyperspace, nor spend the whole time indulging the good doctor¡¯s curiosities about human sexuality.  I divided my time between familiarizing myself with giobhioni tactical equipment - small arms, armor, hand held sensors, etc - studying the layout of the resort and the terrain around it, and consulting with Tratsa (turns out that¡¯s her given name, not a surname), regarding possible giobhioni tech to include in redesigning and rebuilding my beloved EVA suit.


    Not that she didn¡¯t take some time to ask her own pointed questions about human culture and medicine.  Stacy of course, would always chime in with her usual innuendo, which Tratsa would take in stride, even laughing at some of the more bawdy ones.


    Jophixa called me to the bridge on several occasions for assistance in navigating the StellarNet for detailed information on the Yantari system.  She wanted to make sure she knew as much as she could so she could formulate tactics in case something went wrong.  I really appreciated her forethought, since we had no idea what we were walking into when we got there.


    I had just sent the schematics for the prototype of my new EVA suit to the ship''s mini-fac at the beginning of our third day in hyperspace, when Jophixa called me to the bridge.


    ¡°We¡¯re about to transition from hyperspace,¡± she announced as I entered the bridge, ¡°I assumed you would want to be present and at the ready.¡±


    ¡°Aye cap¡¯n,¡± I responded, in my best Scottish accent, a sudden wave of anxiety making me cheeky. ¡°Right kind o¡¯ ye¡±


    She blinked and raised an eyebrow at me.  If I hadn¡¯t been so nervous, the fact I was looking at a woman with large pointed ears, raising a finely shaped eyebrow at me, might have made me break out in giggles.  Instead, I just coughed,  ¡°Sorry Commander, old earth media reference I¡¯ll have to introduce you to at some point¡±


    The smile she turned on me was slightly hesitant, and short lived before she turned back to the front viewports.  ¡°What are we looking at Bet¡¯sar?¡±


    Toftri¡¯s fingers flew across his console as he triggered a tactical hologram in the center of the bridge.  ¡°Commonwealth Fleet presence is about what we expected from what we could find on the StellarNet Commander.¡± he reported, and several yellow dots lit up on the hologram.  ¡°They appear to be progressing on a standard patrol route much like our own fleet would have charted for a system like this.  Nothing out or the ordinary.  I am detecting one Fleetsec ship docked at a station around the 5th planet.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll want to keep an eye on that one.¡±  Thomas told them, ¡°It¡¯s not abnormal for Fleetsec to be in any Commonwealth affiliated system, but best not to take chances.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Toftri responded, then continued with his report, ¡°There are numerous ships in orbit around the third planet, registered to various companies and different worlds, none appear to be law enforcement, mercenary or Enigma Osiris affiliated.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good news¡­¡±


    ¡°Commander.¡±  Stacy interrupted, ¡°There is a ship parked over the southern pole of the planet, and it appears that they have their transponder disabled.  It would seem that they are attempting to use electromagnetic interference there to confuse sensor readings.  They also appear to be generating some kind of¡­ghosting field to amplify the effect. If it weren¡¯t for my stunningly sexy eyes¡­¡±


    ¡°Not now Stacy.¡± Jophixa stated plainly, ¡°but good work spotting that.  We have to assume that¡¯s Enigma Osiris.  I¡¯d lay odds it is unlikely you¡¯d catch Commonwealth Fleet or Law enforcement ships daring to disable their transponders.  Every species we¡¯ve ever interacted with takes very unkindly to that.¡±


    ¡°A fair assumption Commander.¡± I verified. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of thing that gets your official capacity to operate a starship taken away.¡±


    She was quiet for a bit, contemplating the situation.  ¡°They¡¯ve likely picked us up on sensors, even with our low signature profile.¡± she stated finally, ¡°So they know we¡¯re here, but they might not jump to the conclusion that our unknown transponder ID links this ship to you, Mr. Aacen.  We¡¯ll proceed as planned, but be ready for them to pounce.  Be¡¯tsar, make sure to keep the master for the weapons systems ready to activate the instant they show hostility, and keep our fallback course plotted into the hyperdrive.¡±


    ¡°Sepaq, Commander¡±


    ¡°Initiate the short range jump to Yantari Three Be¡¯tsar¡±


    ¡°Sepaq, Commander¡± Toftri responded, and initiated the jump.


    In only minutes we dropped out of hyperspace and held position to wait for Planetary Control to hail us, which only took a few moments.  ¡°Elegance of Light, this is Yantari Three Control.  Please state your origin and business here.¡±


    I glanced at Jophixa and noticed a slight telltale pinning of her ears.  She was slightly nervous about this, and I didn¡¯t blame her.  Thankfully, Giobhioni body language would be a mystery to the control agent, even if we opened visual comms.  Hell, even after all these weeks in their company, the only reason I understood half of what I did was from Stacy¡¯s coaching.


    Jophixa took a deep breath, nodded to herself, then tapped something on a control surface beside her chair. ¡°Yantari Three Control, this is Commander Jophixa Throhx of the Elegance of Light.  We represent the Giobhioni Republic, hailing from a region of space which is approximately 30,000 light years spinward on what we believe your people refer to as the Perseus Arm.  We are exploring, and someone we met along the way recommended your wonderful planet as a place for a brief respite before continuing on our way.  We have booked a reservation at a mountain hot-springs resort for that purpose. I am transmitting our reservation confirmation number.¡±


    ¡°Please stand by.¡± There was a couple minutes pause during which we all fidgeted anxiously.  Well, except for Tratsa.  I guess she was experienced enough that the stress wasn¡¯t getting to her as much.  You¡¯d honestly expect Jophixa to be an old hand at this, but who was I to judge.  ¡°Commander? Your reservations are confirmed.  Transmitting a designated berth for you now.  Welcome to Yantari Three.  I¡¯ve been asked to advise you that there was an incident at the resort early this morning.  Local security forces are investigating, but it should not affect your stay, and I hope you will pass good word of our hospitality back to the rest of your people.  Yantari Control out.¡±


    There was a quiet chime as Jophixa closed the channel from our end before turning towards me.  ¡°That didn¡¯t sound good.¡±


    ¡°Not one iota.¡± I responded, ¡°Stacy, there¡¯s been no contact on the mail account, right?¡±


    ¡°Nothing but low quality lunch meat Tommy-kins.¡±


    I frowned in confusion at that for a moment, then put the reference together.  She was really pulling some old ones out of the closet.  ¡°Spam Stacy.  The term is spam.  The canned meat by the same name hasn¡¯t been on the market for more than a century.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.  There¡¯s been no contact so far. And I¡¯ve been watching it like an Eagle.¡±


    At that point I knew she was trying to distract me.  I appreciated it, but I needed to focus.  ¡°You still willing to help me, Jophixa?¡± I asked, trying not to let my desperation show on my face.  This was not their problem after all.  ¡°If you¡¯d rather, you can just drop me at the berth, and I¡¯ll attempt to get her out on my own.  No reason for the Commonwealth¡¯s first experience with your people to be trouble.¡±


    The indelicate sound that came from her throat was less a snort, and halfway to a bray, causing me to start.  In our short acquaintance, I¡¯d never heard her make such a noise, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a shocked look on Trasta¡¯s face too.  ¡°Mr. Aacen.¡± She said, ¡°We are here to save your people, and the rest of this sector¡¯s people, from the Ktonshi contagion.  If they are unable to get their heads out of their assholes, and take offense to a little dust up to rescue your sister¡­


    She paused for a moment and a slight twinkle came to her violet eyes. ¡°Well, let''s just say your Commonwealth can go suck strixta.  We came here to get Boudya and Jesse, and we¡¯ll damned well do it, even if we have the whole damned Commonwealth Fleet on our asses when we leave.   We Giobhioni don¡¯t leave our friends holding the bag, got it?¡±


    I was still blinking at her, trying to find words, when she turned back and ordered Toftri to take us down to the planet.


    ¡°The last time I heard Commander Throhx make that particular noise,¡± Tratsa whispered very quietly in my ear, having pulled me down to her level, ¡°Was when a trio of cocky Hroglar traders said they were going to carry her off to their quarters to have their way with her.  One of them needed a prosthetic jaw when the dust settled, and I¡¯m told the others were left medically incapable of siring offspring.¡±


    I turned to her, eyes wide, the memory of my first meeting with the then security chief coming to mind.  Tratsa patted my cheek, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it.  She likes you.¡± She assured me, ¡°but Void help those down there who get in our way.  Our Commander is likely to have gonads as trophies if I don¡¯t miss my guess.  We¡¯ll get your sister and blue skinned paramour, and her mate. Don¡¯t you worry.¡±


    Looking at Jophixa again, I saw that she had called up their sensor feeds, and was looking at a live image of the resort¡¯s grounds.  The look of fierceness on her face was bringing to my mind descriptions of some of earth¡¯s smallest but more dangerous creatures - mongoose, badgers, wolverines.


    Oh yeah, I thought to myself, someone might just get their face bitten off. Literally.  I¡¯m glad she considers me a friend.

 Chapter 13

    The man behind the reception desk glanced at me, ¡°Do you have a reservation?¡± he asked, in what was probably the most bored, patronizing tone I¡¯d heard come from a human in all my years, worse than the most egotistical university prof I¡¯d ever had.


    We¡¯d set the Elegance of Light down at our assigned berth. Jophixa then surprised me by revealing that the ship came with its own short range shuttle, which we¡¯d used to travel the remaining distance to the resort.  It was just the two of us going in, as she wanted Toftri ready at the helm, and Tratsa in Medbay, just in case things went sideways in a spectacular way.


    I opened my mouth to reply to the man, but before I could, Jophixa cleared her throat loudly, drawing his attention over the reception desk to where she couldn¡¯t have been noticed unless he¡¯d watched us walk in - which he either hadn¡¯t, or he¡¯d assumed she was a child.


    He raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°The public restroom is right over there young miss.¡±


    <Well that was a mistake.> I sent mentally to Stacy.  I didn¡¯t know for sure how Jophixa was going to react to being mistaken for a child, but¡­


    She drew back her lips, showing off her mouth full of very sharp teeth, and barked out, ¡°Thomas, would you mind informing the ignorant bastard of our ¡®identities¡¯?  Include the warning that such an insult might have ended in my skinning his sorry ass alive if I wasn¡¯t a diplomatic sort.¡±


    I turned to the man, who was looking just a bit nervous at the sight of her teeth. ¡°Sir, This is Commander Jophixa Throhx of the Giobhioni Republic.¡± I explained, ¡°An accomplished warrior, and currently on a mission of exploration and diplomacy from their home region that is dozens of light years away.  We have a reservation, yes.


    ¡°A bit of advice sir.¡± I continued, ¡°While she cannot speak Commonwealth Standard, she can understand it thanks to a translator implant in her ear.  Your insinuation that she was a child just now, could have been taken as a rather unfortunate insult sir.  If she wasn¡¯t also a diplomat, well, you could be missing some valuable body parts.¡±


    The man glanced back and forth between us a couple times and then swallowed hard.  ¡°Ah, pardon my manners Commander.¡± He said, putting on a much more polite demeanor, ¡°It has been a trying day.  There was an incident last night with some bounty hunters, you see, they did quite a bit of damage to one of the suites on the 6th floor.  I¡¯ve had to spend most of my morning soothing the frazzled nerves of a number of guests.¡±


    ¡°Bounty Hunters? What would they be doing in such a highly regarded resort as yours sir?¡± I asked, ¡°When the Commander asked for a nice quiet place for some R and R, I told her about this place cause I¡¯d heard you go out of your way to prevent that sort of thing.  That¡¯s the rumor anyway!  Even Fleetsec is rumored to think twice about causing a ruckus in your resort.¡±


    ¡°I assure you sir,¡± he explained, anxious to put me at ease and get out of my companion¡¯s presence as quickly as possible, ¡°It was not endorsed, and the owners of the resort will be taking pains to see that the offenders are made an example of.  We pride ourselves on this being a haven of peace.¡±


    So much so that it costs a small fortune. I thought to myself.  I¡¯d had to use up a great deal of my emergency funds, squirreled away in numbered accounts, to pay for this.  It was worth it, but I hoped I could parlay some of my discoveries along the way into building it back up.


    A moment later, he gave Jophixa a polite smile, ¡°your suite is ready Madam Commander. All you need to do is give us your retinal scan for access, and I can have you escorted.¡±


    Jophixa looked at the scanner the man indicated, then looked at me.  When I didn¡¯t move, she slapped my ass, hard. Hard enough the sound echoed through the lobby and made the reception agent jump.


    Part of the plan had been that she was going to treat me as some sort of lowly servant, but I hadn¡¯t been expecting the smack on the ass.  My jump was much higher than the old man¡¯s, and I turned to look at Jophixa with wide eyes.  For her part, just pointed at the ground in front of her and raised an eyebrow.  <I think she wants you to¡­> Stacy started to explain in my head.


    <Yeah, I get it.> I said, and got down on my hands and knees to act as a step stool.  The Commander and I were going to have to discuss this later.


    <I¡¯m watching this on their security cameras!> Stacy chimed in, chortling in that naughty way of hers. <I¡¯m saving the footage to show you later.  Bet you could sell this for some extra cred.>


    I felt myself blushing, but stayed as still as I could, feeling Jophixa¡¯s boot heels digging into my back and hoping she wasn¡¯t going to be much longer.  Thankfully she wasn¡¯t, stepping down carefully and patting me gently on the head as if I were a good dog.  ¡°Sorry Thomas,¡± she said, smiling slightly, ¡°just part of the role here.  I¡¯ll make it up to you later.  Promise.¡±


    When I stood up and dusted off my knees, a glance at her revealed that her ears had dropped slightly from their usual neutral position; a sure sign of embarrassment.  Seeing that drained some of my irritation, though it didn¡¯t stop my ass from hurting any less.  Damn the Void but that woman has some strength on her.  I was pretty certain I was going to have a bruise.


    It turned out our suite was on the fifth floor, with the two floors above having been closed off due to the ¡°incident¡± the night before, according to our bellhop. ¡°Old Gruddy, he¡¯s the guy at the front desk,¡± she explained as we rode the elevator, ¡°wasn¡¯t pleased with the number of guests that demanded a refund after the trauma of all the gun-fire.  I thought he was going to have an aneurysm.  But when S&E showed up and demanded the upper floors be sealed bending investigation, it made his life easier.¡±  The elevator doors opened onto the quiet, teak appointed hallway of the fifth floor and she guided us toward our suite, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about anything more happening though.  With Security and Enforcement here, only the king of idiots would try something.¡±


    Or someone with enough money to pay off the right people to make the trouble go away. I thought to myself, thinking of how much money Enigma Osiris Corp. had at its disposal.  They needed to find Boudya and Jesse fast, and get the hell out of there.


    <Still nothing on the email front.> Stacy chimed in, <and I¡¯m attempting to access their security footage to get a better idea of what happened.  They have some pretty tight encryption in place though, so it might be a few more minutes.  Wouldn¡¯t want to alert this S&E they mentioned.>


    <Thanks Stacy, just be extra careful.  Don¡¯t get cocky, please.>The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    <Seriously Honey-buns, I¡¯m not gonna risk your one of a kind self for anything.  I¡¯m being cautious as fuck!>


    ¡°This is you¡± The young bellhop said, leaning in to scan her retina at the lock.  ¡°You just have to do the same to open the door yourself.  My code will be invalidated from this point on unless you request assistance at the front desk.¡±


    Once she¡¯d help us get our bags inside, accepted her tip, which I transferred to her, since we¡¯d been unable to insert an account for Jophixa into any Commonwealth system on such short notice, I locked the door behind her.  Then I turned to glare at Jophixa.


    ¡°What?¡± she said, holding her hands up and backing away slightly, ¡°I apologized!  I told you¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, make it look good.¡± I interrupted, ¡°but did you have to smack me that hard?  You do understand I¡¯m not some hardened soldier right? I¡¯m a damned engineer!  It took a lot of self control not to be limping on the way up here!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t smack you that hard¡­¡±


    ¡°Pretty sure if I dropped my pants there¡¯d be a welt in the shape of your hand Jo.¡±  I turned around and unbuckled my pants to show her, only to hear her start to sputter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to see it!¡± She cried out, and I looked back to see her covering her eyes, ears drooped and quivering, even though her tone was angry, ¡°and don¡¯t call me Jo!¡±


    <Damnit, I wanna see!> Stacy put in, but I ignored her.


    ¡°You owe me something for that!¡± I insisted, ¡°And I¡¯m claiming a nickname, unless you got a counteroffer, I get to call you Jo from now on!  Next time, don¡¯t smack me so hard.¡±


    There was a long silence as we both realized what I just said.  Next time¡­Oh boy Thomas, what the hell did you just¡­


    ¡°Fine!¡± she snapped.  ¡°Can we drop this and get to business now?¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± I replied.


    <Did you notice how her ears started twitching when you said ¡°next time¡±?>


    <STOP!> I almost yelled in my mind, and tried to hide the blush I felt on my cheeks.


    <hr>


    A couple hours later, I was sitting at the small dining table wearing a pair of augmented reality glasses so that I could work with Stacy.  She was still trying to slip around the encryption that had been placed on the resort''s security servers so we could confirm what had happened the night before.


    <I swear this encryption is too good for a simple meatbag to have developed on their own.> she growled at one point, <Are you sure your people don¡¯t have their own AI¡¯s working for them?>


    ¡°If they do, they are keeping it pretty damned hush hush!¡± I explained, ¡°but human governments have a history of being like that.  If they have something like that, they don¡¯t want anyone else to know cause then everyone would be in that much more of a hurry to develop their own.  And I really don¡¯t want to think about an AI enslaved to government agendas.¡±


    <We¡¯re gonna have a look into that when we sort out the contagion thing, right Baby-cakes?>


    ¡°I¡¯m up for helping with that.¡± I told her, ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of any sophant being locked into government service with no choice in the matter.  One thing at a time though.  I have a feeling we¡¯ll be fighting people in the government enough as it is.¡±


    I was about to point out another avenue for Stacy to try in order to get around the security encryption, when he heard the bedroom door open.  It¡¯d been half an hour or so since Jophixa had gone in there to check for surveillance devices, ¡°always best to make sure.¡± and he¡¯d started to wonder if she¡¯d maybe decided to take a nap.  Turning around to look at her, he started to ask ¡°I take it the bedroom is clear¡­¡±  but stopped dead when he saw her.


    Reserved, professional, razor-creased uniform Jophixa was walking across the suite¡¯s sitting room completely nude.   There was nothing seductive about her body language, just her normal purposeful walk and bearing, though she was attempting to appear relaxed.  Regardless of that, I was still locked in shock, jaw slack and eyes wide.


    <Sweety-pie, you need to stop drooling.>


    She was rummaging around in her bag and pulled out something that looked suspiciously like one of those totes women use when going to the beach and sling it across her shoulders, the strap nestling itself between her breasts in such a casual, non-sexy way it served to short circuit my brain even more for some reason.


    <Honey-bunch, Lamb-chop?>


    What on earth was she doing walking around like that for, and why the hell couldn¡¯t I seem to think straight?  We¡¯re just colleagues, and I¡¯m not some kind of perverted¡­


    <THOMAS! GET DOWN!>


    The scream in my brain snapped me out of it just soon enough for me to drop to the floor as the door to our sweet exploded inwards and a loud voice yelled ¡°Thomas Aacen, you are under arrest under suspicion of aiding a wanted criminal!¡±


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I muttered, reaching for the stun blaster Jophixa smuggled past security for me to have as personal protection.


    I¡¯d just peeked out from behind the sofa to see what the situation was, when a green ball of naked fury flew across the room and collided with the cop that was just inside the doorway.  I heard a stunner round go off and the cop went down in a heap.


    There was no way I was going to get a shot off at any of 4 other cops in the hallway pressing to get in, not with Jophixa in the way.  Instead I looked over at the windows, grabbed a heavy bit of statuary from an end table, and heaved it as hard as I could at the nearest pane of glass.


    The glass shattered, thankfully.  I was half certain it was going to be security glass, all but unbreakable.  ¡°Yo! Jo! Let''s go!¡±


    I ducked over to the broken window, and checked for our route down.  Not for the first time, I wished I still had my suit and all the modifications I¡¯d made on it over the years.  In this case, the integrated grav-harness.  Getting down from here wasn¡¯t going to be easy.  We were going to have to climb down the japanese style ornamentation on the facade, and you might have guessed by the way this whole adventure started, I am not the most agile person in stressful situations.


    I glanced over to see Jophixa stun a third cop into insensibility before mashing the forth one¡¯s face in with her fist, then launching herself towards me.  For a moment all I saw was flying naked space goblin, and then my reflexes kicked in.  For probably the first time in the last six months, my coordination did not fail me, and I caught her mid-air.  I still fell backwards onto my ass with said naked space goblin on top of me, however, which was more like my track record.


    Jophixa wasted no time on awkwardness, climbed out the shattered window, holding on to a bit of decorative trim, and kept her stun blaster pointed back into the room.  ¡°What are you waiting for Thomas! MOVE!¡± she barked at me, letting off a shot or two to keep the remaining cop occupied.


    Gritting my teeth, I slid out the window and started working my way towards the ground.  Did I mention I¡¯m not the most agile person under stressful circumstances?  And I¡¯m not talking about work quotas and deadlines!  But when things get more personal, like you know, someone shooting at me, I tend to turn into a bit of a bumbling fool.  Being such a fool when five stories up didn¡¯t seem like a good idea, so I did my best to be as careful as I could going down, while also hurrying and keeping an eye out above us.


    My green skinned companion, however, was an acrobat.  She made her way down that ornamented facade like a chimpanzee swinging in a tree, making it to the ground before I was even to the second story. The whole time she was occasionally stopping to fire off a shot or two up towards the way we¡¯d come.  And shortly after hitting the ground, she started firing off towards where our shuttle was parked.


    Fuck, I thought, as I got to the top of the first floor, they¡¯ve got people between us and the shuttle¡­


    And of course, that was the moment - with my concentration no longer centered on not falling - that I fell.  The surprising thing was that she caught me, and unlike when I caught her, she didn¡¯t fall backwards.


    ¡°If you¡¯re done dawdling around,¡± she snapped, firing another shot off towards the parked shuttles, ¡°We should probably get our asses under some cover!¡±


    I rolled out of her arms, and started running as soon as I hit the ground, taking off towards the woods.  I could hear the stunner rounds going off behind me, but waited until I had the cover of a garden statue to turn to help with some covering fire.


    It seemed the last of the cops that had broken into our suite had finally gone down to Jophixa¡¯s stun blaster, but I could see more coming around the corner of the building.  Jophixa herself was tear-assing towards me as fast as her legs could carry her - which was quite fast it seemed - so I popped off a couple shots to distract the new lot of cops, getting them to dive behind cover.


    Even once we were under the cover of the forest, I had no idea how we were going to lose them.  Jophixa was naked, I wasn¡¯t any kind of trained commando, and they were bound to call in air support with full sensor suites to allow them to spot us even under the canopy.


    <I¡¯m working on something to help with that right now my Spicy sugar pie.  They may be too busy to worry about you outside of those who are already here before long. Just stay alive!>


    At precisely that moment, as Jophixa ran by me like a green streak, a thunderous explosion shook the air, and a fireball rose from behind the cops¡¯ position. <GO!> Stacy ordered in my mind, <That was our shuttle, which was parked right beside theirs.  I managed to take it out in the explosion.  While they are distracted, get into the woods!>


    She didn¡¯t have to tell me twice.

 Chapter 14

    ¡°Mister Fisch sir?¡±


    He didn¡¯t look up from the holo-screens he was staring at, still watching the stalemate going on with the two ships nearby EODS-245B research station.  He had only just managed to convince the Board of Directors to allow him to hire a team of mercenaries to go in and secure the ship.  Considering the clandestine nature of EODS-245B, it had taken a lot of convincing, and going far afield to find a mercenary company known for both their dedication to a contract, and to keeping the secrets of a client.


    Even with the concerns about EODS-245B¡¯s operations getting out, a mercenary company was still an easier sell to the board than asking for permission to activate Omega Company.   All companies had clandestine research facilities, but if any others had created a company of cybernetic zombie soldiers for black ops, they were as protective of that fact as Enigma Osiris was.


    The company he¡¯d contracted had just arrived in the system, and were preparing for their assault on the Gladstone, which would begin shortly.   ¡°Yes Mr. Horgan, what is it?¡±


    ¡°There  has been an update on the search for the Aacens, sir.¡± Charles informed him, clearing his throat and tapping the screen of his tablet. ¡°We were able to trace a communication sent out via the Benastian¡¯s Fanservice connections to Yantari 3, and a hot springs resort there, sir.  You were deep in that conference with the board when the intelligence came in, so I took the liberty of acting on it sir.  I informed our local connections and asked them to do us a favor in apprehending them, as quietly as they could sir.¡±


    ¡°Excellent Charles.¡± Fisch smiled, at least something was going right.  ¡°When will their transport be arriving?¡±


    He could feel Charles wince from across the room.  Oh, he thought, I see.  ¡°Unfortunately,¡± Charles explains, it seems the Benastian did not count on her communications encryption to be uncrackable sir.  She was prepared for someone tracing her.  As a result, the team that went in to apprehend her and the Aacen girl made a lot more of a kerfuffle than they were instructed to make.  The owner of the resort - one I am sure you are very familiar with - is extremely unhappy about such a thing happening on his grounds sir.  I take full responsibility.¡±


    Fisch sighed.  If Charles hadn¡¯t proved himself so capable over his short tenure as his administrative assistant, his employment would have been terminated right there.  But so far Charles had gone above and beyond expectations, and he didn¡¯t want to be searching for a replacement in the midst of all this.  ¡°I will have to think up an appropriate consequence for you at a less vexing time Mr. Horgan.  What about Mr. Aacen?¡±


    ¡°He arrived on Yantari Three a few days after his sister and the Benastian, sir¡± Charles explained, ¡°He arrived in the company of a diminutive woman of an alien race unheard of previously.  According to security footage we obtained, Mr. Aacen identified her as Commander Jophixa Throhx of the Giobhioni Republic.  He stated she was an accomplished warrior on an exploratory mission, and their home was dozens of light years away.  Possibly it is her that is responsible for his unlikely rescue from the barren planetoid sir?¡±


    Fisch simply nodded, so Charles continued, ¡°It seems the check in clerk made the error of referring to this Commander Throhx as a child, being as how on first glance she might appear as one, if you ignore the hips, the ears, and the rather impressive teeth sir.¡±  He held up his tablet to project an image of what had to be a woman maybe 1.12 meters tall, but with an unmistakingly mature feminine figure, and when she stepped up onto Aacen¡¯s back to scan her iris for security, she flashed a set of almost sharklike, pointed teeth.  ¡°I¡¯m given to understand that the old man nearly had a coronary at her smile, sir.¡±


    ¡°I think I can see where this is going Mr. Horgan.¡±


    ¡°You are likely mostly right, sir.¡± Charles continued, or would have if activity on the holo-screens had not caused Fisch to hold up his hand bruskly.


    The next few minutes were filled with the comms reports coming from the mercenary teams confronting the alien presence on the Gladstone.  They had managed to slip passed the ships weapons fire and breach the hull, but once inside began taking some moderate losses, disturbing was the fact that the alien monsters, whenever possible, were carrying the dead or wounded away with them when they retreated.  Fisch prepared himself for questions from their commander when this was over.


    Eventually the mercenaries reported that the ¡°monsters¡± were fleeing the ship out of airlocks near the stern of the ship, which would have been good news, if it hadn¡¯t been for reports from rearguard mercs stationed on the outer hull.   These things seemed to be unaffected by hard vacuum, and were scrambling across the tethers to the alien ship the Gladstone had in tow.


    Fisch clenched his fists.  No! It¡¯s mine! He screamed within his mind. He keyed the comms control on his desk, ¡°Under no circumstances are you to allow that ship to move to hyperspace!¡±


    ¡°You heard the man!¡± a voice cried out, and on the holo, the intensity of the fighting increased.


    Even with the renewed fervor of the mercenaries however, it did not stop the alien spider things from scurrying across the cables and, when all of them were over, cutting them loose.  Mercenaries started activating jump jets on their space suits to bridge the gap, but the derelict ship suddenly came to life, its weapons systems beginning to take out the mercs before they could make it across.  And then, just as Fisch was about to signal the station to go ahead and launch the nukes - If he couldn¡¯t have that ship, no one could have it - the alien ship launched some sort of torpedo¡­


    Then immediately transitioned to hyperspace, with at least a dozen of the spider things still clinging to the outer hull.


    Staring at the holo, both Fisch and Horgan traced the path of the projectile as it made its way towards EODS-245B.  Every active fighter, whether EO or Merc, began firing at it in an attempt to take it out.  The station itself began firing with all its point defence guns, but the projectile evaded the larger stuff, and simply ignored the smaller.   It seemed like nothing could stop it, and nothing did.


    Shortly before impact, escape pods began ejecting from the station.  But they could both tell by the number of them that got clear, that no more than half the station''s personnel managed to get away.


    Then the explosion rocked the feed.


    ¡°Good God,¡± Charles gasped, ¡°half the station is gone¡­¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Sir, you have a priority communications link on channel 3¡±


    Major Gertrude Kintzel looked up from where she was coordinating the search for Thomas Aacen, his sister,  and the alien women to see her comms officer looking nervous.  ¡°Who the hell could be pinging me right now!¡± she growled, frustrated as hell. ¡°The Prefect is riding my ass to find these people.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just it, Sir. The ID code on the transmission says that it is the Prefect.¡±


    Gertrude pinched the bridge of her nose, What evil did I do in a past life to deserve this shit? She asked herself, then said aloud ¡°Put it through to my holo-screen.¡±


    When the image for the Prefect lit up above the holo-projector, his grizzled old face was not happy at all.  ¡°Major! What is the meaning of this? I do not appreciate being called out of an important meeting, no matter how urgent your situation is!¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    She blinked, completely taken aback.  ¡°Prefect Johnson, I assure you, I was not the one to initiate this communication.  I was told by my comms officer that I had priority communication from you!¡± she looked over at her comms officer, ¡°I¡¯ll have her send over the logs for you to verify.  There must be something¡­¡±


    The holo-image suddenly split into two, with the second image showing a serious, somewhat angry face of a green skinned woman with large pointed ears coming straight out from either side of her head, electric blue hair pulled back in severe braids.  ¡°You needn¡¯t go searching for a mystery Major, Prefect.¡± the alien woman, whom Gertrude suddenly realized matched the image of the one that had been with Mr. Aacen.  ¡°My name is Ambassador Stasti Ai¡¯fix and I represent the Giobhioni Republic. I have regretfully found it necessary to intrude on your communications network to deliver a message from my government, and a warning.¡±


    The holo-image of Prefect Johnson¡¯s face went beet red with anger and he opened his mouth to respond, but the ambassador woman responded.  ¡°Your law enforcement officers attacked and endangered the life of a hero of our people.  One who was on your planet peacefully for shore leave while on an exploratory mission.  Not only that, but I have reports from her helmsman that you had officers attempt to board not only her shuttle, but her ship as well.  Please do not deny it, we have documentation to prove it.¡±


    Gertrude winced.  She had expressly ordered those officers not not board those ships unless she gave the go ahead, and now the two that had attempted the shuttle were dead, and those who attempted the Elegance of Light at the starport were in the infirmary.  She was waiting for a chance to ask them just what the hell they thought they were doing.  ¡°I wish to apologize for that part of the situation Ambassador.¡± She informed the woman, ¡°Those officers had express orders to only do such a thing on my express orders, or if they spotted one of the fugitives we were after entering the vessels.  I aim to find out why they did so, and if they do not have a damned good reason, reprimand them harshly.¡±


    ¡°As well you should.  Underlings should always understand the chain of command, and follow it!¡± The Ambassador was still looking quite livid. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t stop there does it?  Your men are still pursuing our commander through a dense wooded area near where she was staying, are they not? Harassing her and her cabin boy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, her what?¡± Prefect Johnson managed to ask, keeping his temper under control.


    ¡°Her cabin boy! I  believe that is the term you humans use.¡± The ambassador looked on the edge of frothing at the mouth, ¡°One Thomas Aacen.  Commander Throhx reported rescuing him, next to dead on a remote desolate planetoid.  He bargained for his passage to civilization via a contract of servitude as her cabin boy for a period of no less than 5.7 of your years.  By our laws, he is under her protection until the end of that 5.7 years.¡±


    ¡°Ambassador!¡± the Prefect snapped before Gertrude could reply, ¡°Thomas Aacen is a citizen of the Terran Commonwealth and a subject to its laws.  Right now he is wanted for questioning in regards to a crime that was committed by his sister.  That gives us just cause to pursue him, your commander was sadly in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she simply hands over Mr. Aacen for questioning, she is free to leave without further fuss.¡±


    Gertrude winced again. She could see where this was going.  She had dealt with enough new alien cultures in her time with SysSec to anticipate the reaction here.  The Ambassador¡¯s next words just confirmed her hunch.  ¡°Your need to question him does not supersede the fact that he is under her legal protection via the contract.  If she abandons him to you, she will lose a great deal of honour and be shamed before our people.  That could cause a lot of animosity amongst our people towards yours.  You might even say it could cause open hostilities.¡±


    ¡°Be that as it may, your republic is dozens of light years from our borders¡± Johnson smirked, ¡°are your people really going to travel for weeks through hyperspace just to harry our furthest outposts?  I very much doubt that, even if your honour is so valued.  Thomas Aacen will be questioned.¡±


    ¡°Prefect, I really think you should¡­¡± Gertrude started, but the ambassador interrupted


    ¡°Prefect Johnson is it?¡±  She said, her holo-image sneering and showing off those wickedly shark-like teeth. ¡°You seem to be without tactical good sense when dealing with species and empires you know nothing about.  Your superiors should be informed that you need to be leashed like the unruly dog that you are.  Our ships could be on your border in days not weeks.  And the Elegance of Light by itself could kill every man of yours in that forest searching for our people without even a thought, then annihilate every ship you send to retaliate.¡±


    ¡°The fact that we have not done so is because wiping out such a weaker species brings no honor to us.  We have no desire to war with your people, but disrespecting our hero will cause us to consider it.¡±


    Gertrude saw the Prefect look taken aback at the declaration.  Granted, the ambassador¡¯s assertions could be bluffs, but history is full of instances of a believed bluff not being one at all.  You do not piss off a nation you have absolutely no intelligence on.  It is just not sound thinking.  ¡°Madam Ambassador.  I will call off the officers pursuing your Commander and her cabin boy right now.¡± she glanced over her shoulder and nodded to her comms officer to get it done.  ¡°I won¡¯t be a party to starting a war between our people.  I do hope that certain other parties see the wisdom in this and do not countermand my orders.  I hope we can resolve this misunderstanding later, and have friendly conversations in the future.¡±


    ¡°Ah, someone with some sense.¡± She smiled, temper fading quickly, ¡°Incidentally, When Mr. Aacen joined the commander¡¯s crew, he reported to her that he was deliberately abandoned on that planetoid by a man named Johnathan Barstol, a man operating a salvaging ship without a license.  Mr. Aacen was blackmailed to participate, and the blackmail was certain falsified evidence that his sister Jessica had been involved in industrial espionage against a corporation named Enigma Osiris.¡±


    Both Gertrude and Prefect Johnson blinked, startled at that news.  ¡°Did Mr. Aacen have any evidence of this blackmail, or that it was falsified?¡±


    ¡°He did.¡±  The Ambassador said, grinning her shark toothed smile ¡°Mr. Aacen can be many things, but the man has an eye towards covering his ass.  Something Mr. Barstol should consider before attempting to seek revenge again in the future.  I can send you the evidence Mr. Aacen provided to Commander Throhx now.¡±


    There was a beep behind her, and Gertrude heard the comms officer say quietly ¡°Got it.¡± At the same time she saw Prefect Johnson¡¯s holo-image look to the side and nod.


    ¡°Now,¡± the Ambassador said calmly, steepling her hands in front of her, ¡°as long as your officers pull back and allow the Commander to return to her ship with Mr. Aacen, we will not have to escalate matters.  I will even speak with her about making Mr. Aacen available to question via secure communication channel.  That will be the most you will get, however, since you now have evidence that someone wishes to frame his sister.  I would recommend you start following up on that information before risking an interstellar incident.  Don¡¯t you agree Prefect?¡±


    Looking nonplussed and angry at being put in this place, Johnson gave a curt nod.  ¡°As you say Ambassador.  We will allow the Elegance of Light to pick up your people, including Mr. Aacen.  My apologies for the misunderstanding of the situation.  Though in the future, if the evidence of falsified charges and blackmail had been provided to proper authorities ahead of time, this could have been avoided.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Ambassador Ai¡¯fix said, ¡°It might have indeed, and I¡¯m told an effort to do so was, indeed, attempted.  Mr Aacen was in contact with a¡­¡± she looked away for a moment as if consulting a readout, ¡°Commander Mancini of Fleetsec, stationed at Tyroli Station.  He was attempting first to report some very critical information regarding the ship Mr. Barstol was towing back to Commonwealth territory.  Your Commander Mancini gave him little chance to report more than the basics before ordering him to the nearest Law enforcement office for questioning.  So you see, once again, we did our best to avoid conflict in this situation.¡±


    Johnson coughed, looking extremely uncomfortable, about what, Gertrude wasn¡¯t exactly sure.  His reaction seemed a bit more extreme than the situation warranted.  Something more was going on here, and she did not like political machinations getting in the way of law enforcement operations.  ¡°Ambassador, I hope that has resolved all the issues for today.¡± She said calmly, and in her best dealing with politicians voice, ¡°I¡¯m not sure exactly how you managed to infiltrate our comms and get both the prefect and I onto a call at the same time, but I am happy we were able to avoid more bloodshed.  I have two funerals to arrange as it is.  I will do my best to make sure that no hostile feelings are directed at your people by the next of kin.


    ¡°Please let me know the next time any of your people are in the neighborhood and wish to take shore leave here.  I will ensure that no such incidents are repeated without first approaching your office.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Major.  That would be much appreciated.  Have a good day.¡±


    The image of the Ambassador vanished, leaving only her and the prefect in the call. ¡°Prefect, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Save it Major.¡± Johnson snapped, ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood.  I have people to inform of this development, not the least of which are the executives from Enigma Osiris who are so adamant that Jessica Aacen was engaging in industrial espionage.  We will talk about this more later.¡±


    The channel went dead, and Gertrude breathed a long sigh.  ¡°That is the kind of clusterfuck that always makes me want to resign this job¡± she said out loud, ¡°Something is fucking hinky here, and I don¡¯t know if I should root it out, or leave it the fuck alone.¡±


    A chorus of grunts from her staff came in response to her statement.  They all knew that when politicos stuck their noses into law enforcement matters, shit always hit the fan.  Mr. Aacen, she thought to herself, get the hell out of my system before I¡¯m forced further into this than I am!


    <hr>


    Toftri and Trasta sat on the bridge of the Elegance staring at each other in shock.  If they didn¡¯t have the ships logs to back them up, this was going to be a hard one to get the Commander to believe.  ¡°Did¡­did that really just happen?¡± Toftri asked in a whisper.


    ¡°Why are you guys looking so surprised? It was just a bit of hacking.  Human network security isn¡¯t that hard once you figure out the trick of it.  I could probably crack their highest politico¡¯s email if I wanted to.¡±


    ¡°The hacking was the believable part Stacy¡± Trasta said, a slow smile spreading across her face.  ¡°The fact that you just bluffed the absolute HELL out of those two without even a moment¡¯s practice¡­¡±


    ¡°I had plenty of practice, sweety!¡± Stacy explained, ¡°that¡¯s why I needed those 15 minutes after hacking into their databases.  I had to set up personality subroutines based on all their dossiers and run at least a million scenarios to make sure I had the hang of things!  I didn¡¯t want to put my Honey-cakes in even more danger!¡±


    ¡°What would you have done if they¡¯d called your bluff?¡± Toftri asked hesitantly.


    Stacy was quiet for a long moment, then said with a growling fervor, ¡°I would have unleashed every gram of hellish fury the Elegance of Light has at its disposal upon them.¡±

 Chapter 15

    It felt like we¡¯d been running for hours.  Realistically I know it couldn¡¯t have been, even with adrenaline pumping through my system, there¡¯s no way I could have maintained that run for such a long time without collapsing.  Nevertheless, it felt like forever.


    The whole way was a blur of sensations; my heart pounding in my chest, blood rushing in my ears, breath ragged.  The crunch of the genetically adapted pine needles underfoot and their resinous scent filling my lungs. The flashes of sunlight through the canopy of the trees as I repeatedly glanced back to check for our pursuers.    I¡¯d never been so overloaded with sensation in my life.  Not in the most dangerous salvaging contract I¡¯d ever handled.


    At some point I stopped noticing any sign of pursuit and slowed to try to catch my breath, following Jophixa¡¯s sure, quick steps around a rocky outcropping.  I guessed she was hoping to break line of sight and possibly shake our tail, I hoped it¡¯d work.  The issue was that in the few scant moments between the time she stepped out of sight, and the time I followed her, I lost her.


    I stopped dead when I realized she was nowhere to be seen.


    I was right on the edge of calling out for her, when I remembered we were trying to shake an unknown number of cops that wanted to take me in for ¡°questioning¡± that could end up with me never leaving.  So I clenched my teeth and desperately looked around for signs of where she disappeared to.


    Just as I had about given up spotting her from where I was and thought maybe she¡¯d moved farther into the woods, I felt a sudden sharp pull on my ankles.


    You would think that with my adrenaline so high and my nerves on red alert, my reflexes might have kicked in faster than they did, but nope.  You have been paying attention to the way all this started haven¡¯t you?  What actually happened was that I was completely unable to correct my balance, or even get my hands up in front of me to break my fall as I went down.  And for the first time in weeks, the ground came up to greet me with a kiss that sent me into darkness.


    <hr>


    ¡°Aacen!¡± the soft, urgent voice came to me as I struggled to wake up, alongside a cool hand lightly slapping my cheek, ¡°Thomas! Wake up already! Damnit! You weren¡¯t supposed to hit your damned head!¡±


    Letting out a low grown, I caught her hand, and tried to force my eyes open.


    Then immediately closed them again, scrunching them up hard and bringing my hands up to rub them before opening them again.  Nope, I wasn¡¯t imagining things. ¡°Jo,¡± I asked, confusion clear in my voice ¡°Why are you naked?¡± I paused for a moment then added, ¡°And why are you sitting on me?¡±


    Her ears dropped flat down against her neck as she glanced down at how she was straddling my stomach, and hurriedly rolled off.  ¡°I was getting ready to use the hot spring!¡± she answered angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me your people bathe with your clothes on¡­¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± I said, brilliantly.  It was the concussion, it must have been. ¡°Not when bathing alone, or with someone¡­¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°Well, you know¡­  Otherwise there¡¯s special clothing involved.¡±


    She scowled at me, ¡°You mean to tell me that with all those stories of your sex crazed Benastian lover,¡± she put some emphasis on that last word, ¡°That you are prudish about nudity?  With all the banter you do with Stacy, I would not have thought anything shocked you, let alone simple nudity.¡±


    I blushed, ¡°It¡¯s um¡­¡± damnit, this was not an appropriate time for this conversation. ¡°Jo, the situation is a bit more complicated,¡± I looked around, suddenly paranoid that our talking was about to give away our location to the cops pursuing us. ¡°Wait, where the hell are we?¡±


    Her scowl deepened at my question. ¡°A cave.  I saw the opening when I rounded the outcropping and took a chance to see if it was large enough for us both to fit.¡±  She sat down on a rock about 2 meters away from me, still not bothered at all by the fact she wasn¡¯t wearing a stitch of clothing, even considering she was covered in scrapes from our mad dash through the forest.  ¡°It¡¯s why I had to pull you in the way I did, I didn¡¯t want to alert them to where we were.  I¡¯m sorry you hit your head.¡±


    ¡°If we lose them,¡± I replied, rubbing my face where it hit the ground, surprisingly finding no trace of blood, ¡°it¡¯s all good.  I¡¯d rather be knocked out and not locked up, than still out there trying to outrun them.¡±


    A curt nod, then ¡°What was that you were saying about the situation being complicated?¡± she pressed.


    Damn, I thought, She wasn¡¯t gonna let this go. ¡°I¡­wonder why we haven¡¯t heard from Stacy yet!¡± I exclaimed, trying to sit up, but feeling just a bit woozy.  I might have gotten conked a bit harder than I thought.  ¡°It can¡¯t be anything in the rocks, not with the comms going through an ansible.¡±


    ¡°Thomas stop-¡±


    Whatever she was about to say was cut off by an echoed cry of ¡°THOMAS!¡± followed by me getting bowled over in a flying tackle by my kid sister.


    Thankfully this time I managed not to get my head bashed against anything.


    <hr>


    ¡°So during our daily hikes in the woods,¡± Jesse explained, ¡°we brought supplies out here and stashed them in this cave.  Boudya didn¡¯t trust our chances at not having been traced, so wanted to make sure we didn¡¯t get caught with our pants down.¡± She glanced at Jophixa, who was now wearing a spare t-shirt of Jesse¡¯s, which she had stashed here.


    ¡°Bad timing.¡± Jophixa said, and I translated, shrugging, ¡°they picked the exact moment I was headed to the hotspring for a soak to bust down our door.¡±


    Both Boudya and Jesse lifted mirrored eyebrows that said they didn¡¯t believe a word of it.  Tindron was being appreciatively quiet in the conversation.


    I had quickly introduced Jo and the others after I¡¯d pushed Jesse off of me, and made sure Jo wasn¡¯t going to do something typically security like and try and bash her head in - which she thankfully hadn¡¯t been.  I guess the fact Jesse shouted my name before glomping me had helped prevent that.


    ¡°We can explain our side of that in a minute.¡± I said, ¡°Right now I need to get back to figuring out why my communications with Stacy don¡¯t seem to be working.  I haven¡¯t heard from her since we fled from the resort, and that¡¯s really unlike her.  We need to figure out how she¡¯s gonna get our asses out of here.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Sta-¡± Boudya started to ask, but I didn¡¯t hear the rest


    <That¡¯s mostly taken care of my Honey dipped cream pastry!> Stacy said through my implant.


    ¡°Stacy!¡± I exclaimed, getting to my feed suddenly.  Jesse¡¯s eyes went wide, and Boudya and Tindron looked at me strangely, ¡°What¡¯s been going on? You¡¯re never this quiet! I¡¯ve been worried they got to you and the others!¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The three of them were now looking at Jo, who was giving them what seemed to be the universal ¡°one moment¡± gesture while watching me closely. <I¡¯ve was working out a way to get those bastards off your tail before they caught you.> she explained, <At least one of them was under instructions by a very powerful person not in the chain of command to make sure you never made it out of an interview room alive.  No way I was letting that happen to my sugar-buns.  The Commander might be a bit cross with me though¡­>


    ¡°One of the cops was dirty? Paid off to kill me?¡± I gasped out, dumbfounded. ¡°I understand why Barstol wanted me dead, he couldn¡¯t have had the connections to pay off a cop here to kill me, could he?¡±


    Jophixa interrupted me at that point, ¡°Thomas, I know you get carried away with those conversations once they get going, but you¡¯re leaving me out of half of it!¡± she said crossly. ¡°Could you ask your friends if they happen to have a comms unit Stacy could patch into?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.  One moment Stacy.  Jo wants in on this conversation.¡± I looked over at Boudya, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose any of the things you stashed here happened to be a portable comms unit?  Our ride out of here is back in contact,¡± I tapped my temple, ¡°and Jo is rightfully anxious to be in on both sides of the conversation.¡±


    Boudya reached into a pouch at her hip and pulled out a portable mid-range comms unit. ¡°Only this, and 2 others like it.¡± she explained, ¡°I¡¯d picked up 4 long range units like you asked, but they were too big to cart out here without looking suspicious so they are held in a numbered shipping crate at the Starport.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead and power it up.¡± I told her, then touched my temple to indicate I¡¯d be talking to Stacy.  At least, I hoped they¡¯d interpret it that way. ¡°Stacy, I know you can pinpoint my position. There¡¯s an active mid-range comms unit here, try tapping into it so Jophixa can hear you too.¡± Mentally I sent, <Until we get encryption set up, best not mention the others are here in case someone¡¯s listening.>


    <Encryption will only take a shake or two.  Promise to shake it for me when you¡¯re back on board and I¡¯ll do it quicker.>


    I rolled my eyes, but also sighed in relief.  It was good to hear her banter again.  ¡°She¡¯s going to patch in, until she¡¯s encrypted the signal though, it¡¯s best¡­¡±


    The communicator crackled a moment and then Stacy¡¯s voice said ¡°Don¡¯t listen to sugar kisses over there, he tends to be a nervous nancy all the time.  The encryption is already taken care of, and unlike SysSec and SysGov encryption, it¡¯ll take them more than a few hours to crack, especially without the help of someone like me.¡±  a pause, then ¡°I¡¯m Stacy! I¡¯m the one that just pulled Thomas¡¯s wonderful human ass out of the fire - along with commander Jophixa¡¯s - and will work out a way to get you three out too!  I¡¯ve heard a lot about you by the way, Boudya!¡±


    Once again, Boudya and Jesse were both staring at me, and said in unison in equal amounts of shock, ¡°Sugar-kisses?¡±


    I opened my mouth to answer, but Stacy beat me to it.  ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just having fun with him, that¡¯s all!  Don¡¯t worry about lil old me if you¡¯re planning to rekindle the old spark, Boudya.  Gonna take quite a few design iterations before I¡¯m a threat to anyone¡¯s relationship.  Besides, Benastians have that whole non-monogamy thing going on, don¡¯t they?  We can share!¡±


    If anything that just made the two of them look even more shocked.  Jophixa looked like she was torn between annoyance and laughter at my expense, and Tindron was openly grinning like someone who was going to have fun teasing me, his mate, or both of us for years to come about this situation.


    ¡°Stacy, could you please tone it down?¡± I pleaded, ¡°Don¡¯t we have a more important task at hand than me having to explain to my sister, as well as Boudya, why there is an AI flirting outrageously with me?¡±


    That got Tindron¡¯s attention. ¡°Wait, Stacy is an Artificial Intelligence?¡±


    ¡°Well A.I. could stand for Absolutely Irresistible, but since the deliciously sexy party pooper over there spilled the beans,¡±  She paused as if giving a bow, ¡°Yes, yes I am.  An honour to meet me. Smiley emoji¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re speaking emoji now?¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not like this comms unit has a holo screen on it.¡± she retorted. ¡°Anyway, weren¡¯t you saying something about planning an exfiltration?  Like I said, I got you and the Commander cleared.  As far as the local government and law enforcement know, if the cops don¡¯t back off until we pick you up, a fleet of Giobhioni warships will be on their way within days, and be at the border of their space days after.  They were quite upset about that.¡±


    It was Jo¡¯s turn to be shocked now. ¡°They think -what-?¡± she demanded, ¡°How the hell did they get that idea¡±


    ¡°Cause I hacked their governmental comms network, got the Prefect and SysSec commander on the line in a party chat and well¡­¡± her voice changed slightly, her tone sounding more like Jo when she was in commander mode, ¡°Ambassador Stasti Ai¡¯fix informed them that their officers had attempted to invade sovereign Giobhioni territory - your shuttle - causing its security protocol to initiate self destruct sequence.  They also attacked a most honoured Giobhioni Commander - and her cabin boy.  The one she had rescued from certain death on a desolate planetoid outside of any transport lanes.  A man who had bargained for passage by contracting himself to you as a cabin boy for 5.7 Commonwealth standard years.  I also explained that by our laws, such a contract meant that he served you, but also that he was under your protection, and to abandon him or break the contract would be a huge violation of your honour.  I also told them that the people of the Giobhioni Republic worshiped your deeds and example as a warrior of honour so highly, that they would go to war rather than see it tarnished.¡±


    We all just stared at the communicator in stunned silence for a moment, until both Jo and I buried our faces in our palms, Tindron started grinning, Boudya broke out in cackles  while repeating the words ¡°cabin boy¡± over and over.  Jesse just shook her head, staring at me.


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± I said, interrupting their laughter, ¡°We need to figure out how we¡¯re getting you three,¡± I waved at Boudya, Tindron and Jesse, ¡°On board The Elegance without SysSec finding out, so we don¡¯t have to fight our way out of here.  I¡¯d rather not have to put the Giobhioni at odds with the Commonwealth.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the possibility of your ship landing right up against the rockface?¡± Boudya asked, ¡°can we get the hatch close enough we could get aboard with little risk of being seen?¡±


    ¡°The landing part might be accomplished,¡± Stacy answered, ¡°but it would require weapons fire to clear away some trees.  We can get the hatch relatively close, but I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll be close enough to block any surveillance.  I¡¯ve detected a few observation drones in the air, keeping their distance, but obviously following me.  They may plan to hold by letting Commander Jophixa and Thomas leave, but they are watching us very closely to make sure the rest of you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°And the shuttle that was blown up¡­¡±


    ¡°The mini-fac hasn¡¯t had enough time to replace it yet.¡±


    ¡°Kinda makes me wish ship cloaking was a real thing outside of fiction.¡± I stopped and looked at Jophixa, ¡°That isn¡¯t something the Giobhioni had, was it?¡±


    She twitched her head in that way her people used for a negative response, ¡°Sorry.  Command was hopeful some experiments that were in progress at the time of stasis would yield results, but the best we could ever do was hide deep inside rocks to mask our installations.¡±


    Stacy translated for her, then added, ¡°I¡¯ll put that on my research agenda Boss.  I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure it out in a few weeks, maybe a year, tops.  It¡¯s too bad this wasn''t one of Thomas¡¯ old flat vids, we could just double them up on a stretcher with Thomas and you.  But there¡¯s no way we¡¯re fooling anyone on that idea with the Benastians in your group.¡±


    We all just looked at each other for a moment, when suddenly Tindron coughed, ¡°Aren¡¯t we forgetting a crucial detail this marvelous young lady just informed us about a few minutes ago?¡± he asked.


    I frowned at him, ¡°What, you mean the whole thing about me being Jo¡¯s ¡®Cabin boy¡¯?¡±


    ¡°There are two engineers, an AI, and a security expert here, and you all just completely forgot about the little detail where Stacy broke SysSec¡¯s encryption and invaded their comms network in order to conference call the Prefect and Security Commander¡­¡±  he shook his head, ¡°Why am I the one realizing the solution to our problem.¡±


    Boudya blinked, then let out a long sigh, ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± She said, ¡°and I¡¯m going to be hearing about this for at least a week. I¡¯m going to be giving so much¡­nevermind.¡± She looked at the communications unit, ¡°Stacy, having cracked their encryption, and assuming they haven¡¯t locked it down again already, how hard would it be for you to just hijack the sensor feeds from those security drones?¡±


    There was a short pause, ¡°If I had an ass to spank, I¡¯d say you owed me a good hard one for not seeing that Honey-Bear!¡± another short pause, ¡°they¡¯ve tried to lock it down again, but now that I understand Terran encryption paradigms, it wasn¡¯t all that difficult to break through again.  I¡¯ve patched into the drone sensor feeds and am working on the counterfeit signals now.  In a few minutes I can override the feeds and send back footage of only Thomas and Commander Jophixa boarding the Elegance, while I send one of the more distant drones following a ghost signal of the three of you running off further into the mountains.  And the bonus of it all is, the drone sensor feeds help verify that they don¡¯t still have any personnel out here snooping!¡±


    I shook my head at myself, ¡°Stacy, sweety, I¡¯m as equally dumbassed in this case as you.¡± I told her.  ¡°If you deserve a spanking, it would mean I do too¡­¡±


    ¡°OH!¡± she said, before I could continue, ¡°Now there¡¯s an idea! Tratsa can administer yours!  Or maybe Boudya wants to, I shouldn¡¯t assume!  You two have some catching up to do after all!  Maybe they¡¯ll want to gang up on you!  That¡¯d be fun to watch!  Promise me you won¡¯t disable the feeds to your room this time?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hearing this!¡± I heard Jesse groan, and looked over to see her sticking her fingers in her ears, ¡°Stacy, I do not want to know about my brother¡¯s sex life!¡±


    Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Boudya, a maliciously mischievous twinkle in her eye that told me I was in for some ¡°I told you so¡± payback, with some ¡°What the fuck did you get me into!¡± dessert.   And Jophixa?  Her ears had once again disappeared, flattened down and plastered against her neck.


    I found myself raising an eyebrow at her.  What the hell is she so embarrassed about? I thought to myself, It¡¯s me getting raked over the fire over here!


    <Thomas,> Stacy said through my implant, <I¡¯m a socially stunted AI, and I mean it when I said that sometimes you are absolutely clueless.>

 Chapter 16

    Major Gertrude Kintzel watched the feeds from the surveillance drones closely.  She was surrounded by them, floating around her like ghostly windows looking outside of the otherwise complete darkness of her room.


    She had already submitted the evidence regarding Jessica Aacen¡¯s supposed industrial espionage to the magistrates and CommSec for review, but she was under no illusions that the warrants for her arrest would be lifted.  She had thought making it to this rank in the job would give her a better opportunity to resist the political bullshit in the justice system, but it had turned out harder than she expected.


    The evidence clearly showed that Johnathan Barstol had fabricated the evidence of the crime, with the assistance of someone high up at Enigma Osiris, which did not surprise me one bit.  That corporation gave her the creeps, they always seemed to be hovering just on the edge of legalities.


    On the drone feeds, she watched as the Giobhioni ship approached a cliffside.  They had been warned that the ship was going to need to clear some space to land using weapons fire, which is what happened just then.  Powerful plasma beams blasting rock and trees out of the way until there was an almost perfect landing zone.  Whoever owned that particular scrap of land was going to see an increase in value. They had an already cleared landing pad.


    Shortly after, she watched Thomas Aacen and the short green alien woman -  draped in an hugely oversized shirt that looked absolutely comical on her - drag themselves out from a sliver of an opening at the base of the rock face and hurry to the boarding ramp of their ship.


    It was at this point when something caught her eye.


    Ask any one of her past love interests, and they would likely tell you that the reason for their break up was her suspicious nature. Understandable really, considering her profession.  She had spent so much time learning to read body language and microexpressions, anything mismatched with what was said turned into an argument.


    The point is that she rarely took things at face value, and the Giobhioni Ambassador had proven their ability to infiltrate SysSec networks.  And while they had cycled their encryption, even adding more layers to ensure it didn¡¯t happen again, Gertrude wasn¡¯t one to rest on laurels.  Along with the usual complement of drones, she had sent out a single, off the books drone equipped to feed its sensor readings directly to her office alone, using laser communications.  With it being unattached to the SysSec network, she hoped it would allow her to check for altered sensor feeds.


    Which paid off, it seems, because the image being sent back by that drone alone showed three more figures, two benastians and a human drag themselves out of that crack and hurry on board the ship.


    ¡°Major!¡± she heard one of the techs shout over the intercom,¡± Drone C382-v picked up movement in quadrant 36!  It¡¯s the fugitives!  We¡¯re dispatching units to pursue!¡±


    A chuckle escaped her throat as she looked over at the specified drone¡¯s footage.  Sure enough, it saw two benastians and a human fleeing through dense forest, maybe spooked by the noise of the Giobhioni ship clearing its landing zone. Congratulations Ambassador, a well played gambit. She thought to herself, Any other SysSec commander might have fallen for it.


    Reaching for the intercom, she was about to order her people to stand down and get a blockade in the air to stop the Giobhioni ship from engaging their tunnel drive, but hesitated.  Those three were innocent of those crimes, and did not deserve to be locked in a cell, even for questioning.  Not while the executives at Enigma Osiris were sitting back enjoying Terandian brandy or some other luxury.


    So instead, when she tapped the intercom button she said, ¡°Acknowledged,  make sure you catch them so I can get the damned Prefect off my ass!¡±


    ¡°Roger that, Major.¡±


    Good Luck Aacen,  I hope you are long gone and dealing with that contagion before we have any proof our drones were hacked.  Blasted politicians are gonna get us all killed.


    Just as she was about to give the command for the laser comms drone to return, she saw text appear on its feed.  ¡°Thank you Major,  I hope you don¡¯t catch too much flak for that.  I¡¯ll be in touch.¡±


    You cheeky little bitch!


    <hr>


    Despite Stacy¡¯s talk of spankings and hanky panky involving Boudya and Tratsa, the only thing I wanted to do once we were back on board the Elegance and moving at a healthy clip away from the planet, was flop down on the lounge in my quarters and relax with a mug of grapnak and just enjoy being alive, not detained by law enforcement, and knowing my sister, and my old friend were safely aboard with me.


    Tratsa had, of course, wanted to check me over to make sure the bump on the noggin I¡¯d taken hadn¡¯t done any damage, especially to the implant.  She¡¯d pronounced me as unbrain-damaged as I ever was - with a lopsided grin and a wink, which caused Boudya and Jesse to both laugh - and sent me hustling out of the infirmary while she examined our three newest passengers.  She seemed particularly interested in the exceptionally tall and lithe Benastians.


    I was, at times, starting to feel like a character from a Heinlein novel.


    The mix of spicy and earthy aromas of the grapnak had finally lulled me into a relaxed meditative mental state, and my mind was drifting unabashedly towards memories of a certain naked green buttocks running full speed through dense brush as if it was nothing.  I swear I was hovering somewhere in the realm between waking and sleeping, and my body appreciated it almost as much as a full body benastian massage.


    Of course, it was just as I started to slip into actual sleep that the door chime for my quarters sounded, snapping me out of that precious relaxed state.  ¡°Arg,¡± I moaned, ¡°Go away, can¡¯t a guy sleep!¡±


    ¡°Tommy, this is important¡± I heard my sister call through the door.  ¡°Please let me in.¡±


    Muttering a few choice curse words, across multiple languages - including Giobhioni - I uttered ¡°Door, Open¡±, and heard the door whoosh open behind me. I still hadn¡¯t opened my eyes, ¡°I was almost asleep, Jesse.  Was it really so important it couldn¡¯t wait?¡±


    I heard her plop down in the chair opposite from me, ¡°I think it might be, yes.¡± She said in a very serious tone.  ¡°Considering you went through all of this to rescue me because that Barstol asshole - you really should have listened to Boudya by the way - was going to get me arrested to hurt you, even if you did what he asked, I have to tell you this because it might be important, useful, and I have to tell you now before I chicken out.¡±


    I heard the fear in her voice and cracked one eye open to look at her.  She might not have the obvious tell of expressive ears like the giobhioni, but I could still tell she was nervous as hell.  ¡°Jesse,¡± I said sleepily, letting out a yawn, ¡°whatever it is, it can¡¯t be bad enough that you need to be that scared to tell me.¡±


    ¡°Tommy,¡± she started, then took a deep breath, ¡°The charges aren¡¯t fake.¡±


    I had almost drifted back into my half awake stupor before her words hit me, but then my eyes flew open and I sat straight up.  ¡°WHAT?!¡±


    ¡°The charges, the ones of me stealing classified Enigma Osiris files?  They aren¡¯t fake.¡±


    ¡°What the hell Jesse!¡± I growled, ¡°I begged Boudya to pull your ass out of the fire because I thought you were in danger because of me.  And you actually did steal from them?  Does she know?¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Yeah, I told her on the way to Yantari.¡± She explained, ¡°She was pissed as well, until she heard the rest.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at her, ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± I was really not in a good mood.  It had been a long couple of days after all.  ¡°Did anyone tell you about the ancient fucking contagion that could, at this moment, be running rampant out there transforming anyone infected with it into the Aliens that created it? Aliens that see anything that are not them as unfit to exist?  The Giobhioni took a break from hunting the source of this down to stop it so we could come get  you!¡±


    Jesse flinched, ¡°Tommy¡­Thomas, listen!¡± she pleaded, ¡°It¡¯s not like that.  Look, when you headed out on that job with Barstol, the charges were false!  It wasn¡¯t until later, when Boudya made contact during the extraction that they became otherwise.   You don¡¯t work for EO for any length of time without hearing rumors Tommy.  They are like most of the Interstellar megacorps, they have dark secrets.  The only reason I hadn¡¯t quit was because, well, I wasn¡¯t going to get a good paycheque anywhere that didn¡¯t have those kinds of secrets!  And I didn¡¯t want to go back to living on a basic stipend!¡±


    ¡°But knowing someone was gonna frame me for stealing corporate secrets?  Tommy, no amount of evidence would get EO off my back once that accusation was made.  And my career would be finished, even if I was exonerated.  They¡¯d make sure of it!  So before Boudya got me out, I¡­¡±


    ¡°You did just what they were setting you up for.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°I used a backdoor into a research drive, and data dumped the contents onto a GoDrive.  Tommy, almost all of it is encrypted, Stacy is working on breaking it open now, but one file stood out in the list to me.  It was named with a set of spatial coordinates.¡±  She rattled the coordinates off to me.


    ¡°Wait, I know those coordinates. Those are¡­¡±


    ¡°The coordinates for the ship that blew up, the one Barstol tried to frame you for.¡±


    ¡°Enigma Osiris was involved in that?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t know until Stacy has the files decrypted.  She¡¯s having to make sure to do it in isolation from any comms equipment.  She spotted something early on that looked like some sort of dial home protocol.  She said it was basic countermeasures, but the encryption looks heavier than anything I¡¯ve ever seen before¡­¡±


    I smiled at her, thinking of Stacy¡¯s story of bluffing the Major and Prefect.  ¡°Jesse, Stacy is an AI residing in a space station bigger than voids damned Ceres!  The amount of processing power at her disposal is genuinely frightening.  I¡¯m pretty sure she could hack EarthCore Government databases if she wanted to.¡±


    ¡°Pssh¡± Stacy chimed in, ¡°easy peasy, pumpkin squeezy.  I could probably make an insane fortune revolutionizing their encryption techniques, forget about selling their secrets to their enemies.¡±


    Jesse¡¯s eyes went huge.  ¡°You wouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Not without Tommy-cakes giving me the go ahead, or them hurting  him.¡±  Stacy informed Jesse matter of factly.  ¡°What do I need money for anyway? We have all the access to production materials we need at this point.  Did I tell you Tommy? We moved the station to a new system, one that has some really  rich asteroid deposits that are completely virgin.  And a few really good sources of Helium-3 and exotics.  Systems will be tip top next time you swing by.¡±


    ¡°Sounds great Stacy!¡± I looked back at Jesse and was about to comment about her theft of this information when I felt the ship lurch slightly under me.


    Even with top of the line grav plating and inertia control systems, if you¡¯ve spent enough time on a starship, especially as an engineer, you start noticing the subtle course corrections that happen during a voyage.  This was no simple course correction though, the Elegance seemed to be engaging in evasive maneuvers!


    ¡°What the hell?¡± I exclaimed, and bolted from the room, heading for the bridge.


    Stepping onto the bridge was stepping into tightly controlled chaos.  Jophixa was seated as usual in the command chair, but there was a holographic interface surrounding her in a sort of bubble.  She was focused hard on a red marker I could see moving rapidly, while she gestured her hands rapidly, spinning the view back and forth in an attempt to keep the marker straight in front of her.


    ¡°That¡¯s it Be¡¯tsar!¡± She was saying, ¡°Keep us moving, lets keep him from getting a fire control lock on us.¡±


    Toftri, for his part, had the same look of concentration on his face as his hands worked the helm controls.  I could feel the ship''s subtle shifting around us in sync with his movements.  I was no ace pilot, but the view I was seeing out the bridge viewport gave me the impression that the Elegance was moving in a dance that befitted her name.


    The entire ship lurched, and I almost lost my balance.  Would have, if I hadn¡¯t been so close to the entryway bulkhead which allowed me to catch myself.  ¡°Sit down and buckle up!¡± Jophixa barked out, ¡°Unless you want another head wound!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Who¡¯s firing on us?¡±


    ¡°That bastard that was hiding in the polar sensor shadow.¡± Stacy explained, as I felt a pulse ripple through the ship, and saw a brief flash come from Jophixa¡¯s holo-interface, ¡°The moment we cleared orbit, it started chasing us. They sent us an automated message to power down to be boarded.¡±


    ¡°Pirates?¡±


    ¡°With your SysSec ships in orbit?  Why aren¡¯t they getting involved?¡± Stacy¡¯s question was a good one.   Why was this ship getting away with open hostilities with SysSec ships right there.


    As if on cue, a SysSec orbital patrol ship hailed us. ¡°Elegance of Light, this is Captain Harrison of the SysSec Defense ship Valiant, you have engaged weapon systems within protected space.  Stand down!¡±


    Jophixa growled out some choice curses and made a gesture in her control sphere, ¡°This is Commander Throhx: In case you hadn¡¯t noticed, Captain,  there is an unidentified ship pursuing us with the intent on boarding us for unknown reasons.  They have, in fact, fired the first shots.  We are defending ourselves.¡±


    ¡°You will stand down your weapons, Elegance.¡± Captain Harrison declared, ¡°And surrender yourselves to us for inspection while the unidentified ship is being dealt with.  I will not ask again.¡±


    ¡°This ship is the sovereign territory of the Giobhioni Republic,¡± Jophixa growled, taking up Stacy¡¯s earlier bluff, ¡°Your commanding officer Major Kintzel already acknowledged this and cleared us for departing your system.   Any attempt to board us, or open hostilities against us will be taken as an act of war!  I suggest you report to your commanding officer before you plunge your commonwealth into war with a people you know nothing about!¡±


    ¡°Stacy,¡± I asked loudly, ¡°can you get the Major on the comms please?  I think maybe she¡¯ll want to settle this herself.¡±


    A pause and then, ¡°It seems the SysSec ship is attempting to scramble our communication attempts.  I¡¯m boosting the gain.¡±


    Toftri threw the Elegance into another wild evasive maneuver that the inertia balance systems seemed to barely be able to compensate for.  A whizzed by, barely missing us.  Jophixa was holding fire, attempting to keep the SysSec captain at bay while Stacy worked on getting through to Major Kintzel.


    The next couple of minutes were proof of Toftri¡¯s skill at the helm.  The dizzying maneuvers he pulled to weave us around the unidentified ship¡¯s continuous fire. I was certain there was going to be maintenance done on the inertia control systems when we were out of danger; these maneuvers had to be pushing them to their limits.


    ¡°Stacy, if you can¡¯t get through to the Major soon I¡¯m going to have to resume fire!¡± Jophixa barked out.


    ¡°Almost¡­.¡±


    The ship was suddenly violently rocked, and I only stayed in my seat due to the death grip I had on the arm rests.  They¡¯d managed to get a lucky shot in, ¡°Aft shield emitter has taken damage.  Shield strength down to 30%.¡± Toftri reported.


    ¡°Enough of this. Weapons h..¡±


    Just then, proximity alerts started screaming like a talosian squirrel on meth and the bridge¡¯s viewport was filled with a massive wall of hull plating.  Toftri threw us into a desperate spin to avoid collision.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw the SysSec ship marker on Jophixa¡¯s holosphere desperately shift position as well - causing me just a modicum of satisfaction.


    Our unidentified aggressor echoed our own spin, but kept up its persistent weapons fire.


    ¡°Attention all vessels!¡± A booming voice filled with unquestioning authority resonated through our comms system, ¡°This is Captain Andrian Fredricks of the CFS Sam Steele, the next ship to open fire will feel the full complement of this vessel''s own firepower.  Stand down or be fired upon.¡±


    Jophixa immediately lowered her hands from the fire controls. ¡°Toftri, see if you can¡¯t put that monstrosity between us and those bastards shooting at us in case they¡¯re stupid enough to keep firing!¡±


    ¡°Sepaq!¡±


    I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve ever been on a ship in the middle of a firefight or not, but for someone not combat trained, it¡¯s one harrowing experience.  The maneuver Toftri threw us into to follow Jophixa¡¯s order was enough to cause certain parts of my anatomy to retreat internally out of sheer terror!


    I was treated to the sight of the CPS Sam Steele¡¯s hull plating out of our forward viewport so close that I could have given grades on the welds and rivets to the shipyard personnel!  He was flying so close to the ship¡¯s hull that if I reached out an open hatch along our upper keel, I could have touched it.


    Energy beam fire still streaked in front of us, barely missing us.  ¡°They¡¯re insane!¡± I exclaimed, ¡°That¡¯s a Commonwealth Cruiser out there!  They¡¯ll be blasted to¡­¡±


    The Elegance¡¯ shields lit up as multiple fragments of shrapnel collided with them. A glance at Jophixa¡¯s control bubble showed the red marker of our hostile dance partner being largely a debris cloud now.  ¡°Holy fuck!¡± Jesse said from behind me,  I glanced back to see her sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around a control panel strut. ¡°They weren¡¯t fooling around!¡±


    ¡°Valiant, I have a message for you from your commanding officer, since your planetside comms seem to be malfunctioning.¡± Captain Fredricks announced on the open channel.  ¡°Your Captain is to be placed under arrest for mutiny, and you are to report to headquarters immediately.  Your job is to specifically prevent open hostilities within this system.  You operated contrary to that duty.  You will all be facing court martial.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your assistance Captain,¡± Jophixa put in, ¡°I am most relieved I was not forced to defend myself against the Valiant as well as what I can only assume were pirates of some sort.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Captain Fredricks responded, ¡°There¡¯s going to be some intense scrutiny as to who owned that ship, and why the Valiant was so focused on you, rather than stopping them.  But that is Fleet business, for you, I have a message from Major Kintzel as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    A brief chuckle came over the comms.  ¡°Yes.  She said to tell you, ¡®I apologize for the further delay in your departure, but if you would be so kind - and with all diplomatic courtesies intended - get the fuck out of my solar system?¡¯¡±


    ¡°Sepaq, Captain Fredricks¡± She responded smiling, ¡°May we never find ourselves on opposing sides.  Be¡¯tsar, get us the hell out of here.¡±


    ¡°Sepaq, Commander.¡±

 Chapter 17

    We¡¯d been in hyperspace for about 20 hours after the incident breaking orbit at Yantari III, and I was beginning to feel like I was being avoided.


    Jo seemed to be in constant meetings with the station about one thing or another, which was understandable.  It was only natural that as their most senior officer she wanted to be kept up to date on what was going on back at what amounted to their homeworld at the moment.  All but two giobhioni left alive were living on that station, so she was right to be anxious.


    Toftri was completely absorbed at the helm.  That didn¡¯t usually prevent him from chit-chatting, but with Jo there on the bridge in communication with the station, he was reluctant to converse in even a whisper.


    The infirmary had suffered some superficial damage when our aft shields nearly got taken out.  It was nothing serious, but it sent Tratsa into a bit of a flurry getting everything sorted to perfection again.  It seemed that giobhioni trained the medical personnel they sent out on space postings to be able to do rudimentary repairs on equipment.  At least enough to change out individual modules to get machines working again.  I had offered to help, but she¡¯d insisted she had it all in hand and two people working on it in her infirmary might just get frustrating.


    Whether it was out of anxiety after confessing what she¡¯d done, or just exhaustion, Jessica had retreated to the cramped quarters Jo had offered her, and hadn¡¯t come back out.  It was reasonable to assume she¡¯d crashed hard after all that had happened.  She was a computer geek, used to working in an office, in a megalopolis, not being on the run from the law.


    I saw Tindron and  Boudya in the mess when I had gone for a snack, but they seemed to be having a deep conversation with Stacy.  Heavy topics regarding AI Psychology, and how Stacy was coping after all that time she had spent alone.  There had been a couple of sideways glances in my direction, and I¡¯d recognized the look in Boudya¡¯s eyes that said she wasn¡¯t quite ready to have that ¡°I told you so¡± chat I was sure was on its way.


    So, while I badly wanted to hug either Boudya or my sister, or partake in some casual intimacy with Tratsa (especially after all the danger of the last day or so).  I was left to my own devices.  And of course, as any engineer does when they find themselves without anything else to occupy them, I fell back on tinkering.


    While everything else had been going down on Yantari III, Tratsa and Stacy had sent the revised plans for an EVA suit for me to the ship¡¯s MiniFac.  Stacy had notified me it was ready about the same time I¡¯d gotten the cold shoulder from Boudya, so I figured it was as good a time as any to give it a look over and see if anything needed changing.


    I had finished doing a systems diagnostics, and checking the additional equipment Stacy and Tratsa had added while I was off ship, and had stripped down to try the thing on, when of course the door to my quarters opened.


    ¡°Thomas, Stacy asked me to¡­¡± I heard Boudya say behind me, as I was bent over, bare assed, reaching down to pull the bottom half of the EVA suit up. ¡°Well damn you¡¯ve lost a lot of weight.¡±


    It¡¯s a funny damned thing isn¡¯t it?  Boudya and I have seen each other in the altogether quite a few times, and by the end of things had lost all body shyness with each other.  But here I was, caught with my pants down, and startled into fumbling to pull them up like a teenager when his mom barges in while he¡¯s showering.


    ¡°Damnit, I know I secured that door!¡± I grumbled, ¡°Stacy, this was you, wasn¡¯t it? It¡¯s one thing when you pull pranks with Jo or Tratsa, but this just isn¡¯t funny!¡±


    No response.


    ¡°She does this kind of thing often then?¡± Boudya asked, still watching me yank on the EVA suit in a rush,  ¡°And don¡¯t rush that too much, you don¡¯t want to get something pinched that¡¯ll hurt too much.  I remember doing that a time or two back in the day and I still cringe just thinking about it.¡±


    Sure enough, just as she said that, part of an inner hookup raked painfully against a bit of sensitive skin and made me hiss sharply.  ¡°Fuck!¡± I barked out, jumping slightly, then wincing as that compounded the problem.  ¡°Bloody hell that hurts! And yeah, I know rushing it can lead to this.  I¡¯m just not used to being startled by an unexpected observer mid gear-up.  Especially not when the observer is someone I¡¯ve got outstanding issues with.¡±


    She walked gracefully over to me, soft soled deck-shoes making no sound, and placed her hands on my shoulders.  ¡°Do we have outstanding issues Thomas?¡± then gently turned me around and began to finish suiting me up.  Her warm, soft hands slipped over my skin to first undo the mistake I¡¯d made in my haste, and get the waste reclamation intakes hooked up properly.


    My whole body tensed when her hands took charge of the process.  Benastians had this weird way of turning even the most non-titillating, unerotic activity into a sensation that made something in your hindbrain light up like a christmas tree.  They didn¡¯t even need to try!  Just like Boudya was doing right now.  There was nothing sensual about her movements, no caresses, no accidental touches that lingered a moment too long on erogenous zones, just pure practicality and business.  But my mind was flooded with memories of previous nights together, of the scents and tastes of her, and every nerve ending in my body seemed to ignite.


    She, on the other hand, had to be out to torture me for payback.  When my  brain could reason it out later, I couldn¡¯t see it possible that she was blind to the effects she was having on me.  No benastian past adulthood would be that blind, I knew that for a fact.  But she focused completely on the modifications on the EVA suit.  ¡°Looks like you integrated some form of durable armor into the material.¡± she commented as she lived the torso section up and helped guide my arms into the sleeves. ¡°And what is this around the helmet seal? Some form of airbag deployment system?  Thomas, it¡¯s the helmet that¡¯s supposed to protect your head!¡±


    ¡°C-call it a failsafe.¡± I stammered, attempting to reach for the seals that would lock me up inside the suit.  Boudya¡¯s hands were already there, however, working the seals deftly, even though they¡¯d been modified using giobhioni materials science, improving on the polymer adhesion properties in order to increase the durability and lifetime of the joins.  ¡°S-such systems could have prevented some time un-unconscious during the last couple months.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to need to give me the entire story when we have time¡­¡± she told me, checking over all the external connections to make sure everything was locked in place correctly.  She fumbled with a couple and I had to do them myself, systems that Tratsa and Stacy had suggested that were pure giobhioni tech.  When done, she stepped back.  ¡°We don¡¯t have any outstanding issues Thomas, just a long talk, which we will have, later.  Stacy is waiting for us in the mess hall to go over what she found in those files Jesse stole from Enigma Osiris.¡±


    Clearing my throat, I did my usual set of stretching movements to ensure the suit was settled in place correctly and nothing was pinching or binding, then nodded to her.  ¡°If that¡¯s your word on the past, we¡¯ll leave it at that.  Let''s not keep them waiting.¡±  I paused for a moment, ¡°And don¡¯t think I¡¯ve forgotten about your stunt Stacy!  You will be punished for this.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    The ship¡¯s mess was a relatively intimate affair, since the crew complement for the Elegance of Light could be as low as three, it really didn¡¯t need anything big.  It consisted of a long table with bench style seating, an automat along one wall, where one could ask for a meal from any of the menu items the ship had means to make through protein resequencing, a beverage dispenser, and a waste disposal unit.  On the opposite wall was a holoscreen for entertainment purposes, or for instances such as this, as the mess hall was also meant to serve as a conference room.


    Boudya and I stepped in and took a seat, I caught Tratsa giving me a sly smirk, and Jophixa raised her eyebrow at me before Stacy began speaking.  ¡°Now that Boudya and Honeylips have finally arrived, we can get started.¡±  the holoscreen lit up with the list of files Jesse had revealed to me the previous day.  ¡°These are the files Jesse claimed as her severance when she took her leave from Enigma Osiris.  They were very heavily encrypted, more heavily encrypted, in fact, than the governmental or System Security networks for Yantari.  Someone at EO really wanted to make sure these files were only opened by approved readers.¡±


    The file Jesse and I had noted for its filename was highlighted, ¡°Our human sibling crewmates noted on seeing the filenames, however, that this file¡¯s name was the exact spatial coordinates of the ship that originally put Sugarcakes -ahem- I mean Thomas, at odds with one Captain Johnathan Barstol.  It was that fact that initiated Jessica¡¯s decision to claim the files as severance.¡±


    ¡°Do the other filenames correspond to valid spatial coordinates as well?¡± Boudya asked.


    ¡°Indeed they do,¡± Stacy replied, and the holoscreen shifted to a map of the Milky Way galaxy, with a myriad of glowing red markers lit up.  ¡°Each of the markers corresponds with one of the filenames.  The Giobhioni members of the group might recognize this marker¡¯s location right here.¡±  the map image zoomed in, and even I realized what I was looking at.


    I blinked, Toftri and Tratsa gasped, and Jophixa swore profusely.  When the others looked at me, I said, ¡°That¡¯s where Barstol took us to recover the derelict ship.  The one with the contagion on board.  The place where the giobhioni station also happened to originally be.¡±


    ¡°Originally?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve moved it.¡± Stacy explained. ¡°The station has the ability to shift to hyperspace.  There was no way we were staying in the same spot once the Elegance began its mission to warn the Commonwealth of the contagion. We didn¡¯t want to risk someone like Barstol returning to see, for example, why a planetoid of that size had the strength of gravity well it does.  It could very well have been in his plans once he delivered the derelict to his employer.¡±


    Boudya let out a low whistle, clearly thinking of the amount of energy required to to move a space station the size of a planetoid.  ¡°Okay,¡± she then enquired, ¡°two files, both with names that pointed to locations of derelict spacecraft of unknown alien origin, where Barstol was hired to retrieve them.  Seems a stretch to call it coincidence.  Is there any pattern to the remaining coordinate locations?¡±


    ¡°These six,¡± and six of the markers on the map turned blue, ¡°correspond with the locations of former giobhioni installations.   While these,¡± another eight turned green, ¡°with the locations of other known species we were in contact with pre-stasis.  The remaining sixteen filenames point to locations outside space either giobhioni or humans and their allies have mapped.  Thirty two files, thirty two coordinates within the Milky Way galaxy.  All of these locations are on the near side of the spiral, leading to the assumption that perhaps these were only the locations that have been unearthed by Enigma Osiris, given distance and travel time.¡±


    All of us were nodding at that, but Stacy wasn¡¯t finished.  ¡°As I said at the beginning, these files were locked down with the heaviest encryption I¡¯ve seen the Terran Commonwealth use so far.  Even after understanding the paradigms your people use for such things, I still had quite a bit of trouble with it.  It was quite maddening.


    ¡°But I managed to finally break through it a little over three kilokrats - about 100 minutes - ago.¡± The holoscreen began cycling through files, all of which included images of planets, strange ruins tucked within alien landscapes, alien ships, or massive space stations.  ¡°Each file appears to be, as we were beginning to suspect, data gathered by long range survey probes.  Some of these probes appear to have been launched into hyperspace tunnels decades ago, and been in transit most of that time.


    ¡°Each location has one thing in common.¡± The holoscreen shifted again, bringing up an image of one of the planet side installations, zooming in close to show the horrific image of dozens of dark, bristling carapaces, turned over on their backs, legs arched in towards their center, and appearing desiccated.  From objects surrounding them, the carapaces appeared to be at least the size of a rhinoceros, if not larger.


    The scene shifted again and again, showing those same carapaces, some with their disturbing many eyed, cupie doll faces shrivelled and staring blindly, like any source of bacterial, insect or animal predators refused to even touch them.  My sister, Boudya and Tindron all gasped at the sight of them.  I¡¯d been warned about their monstrous appearance, but still I flinched back from the sight.


    ¡°Ktonshi!¡± Jophixa growled.


    ¡°Yes Commander.¡±  Stacy replied, ¡°Every location has evidence of dead Ktonshi present.  Some of them show signs of more recent habitation by non-Ktonshi, but all of them were visited by the Destroyers at some point in the past, somehow while you were asleep, fought them back.  But in doing so they didn''t seem to survive themselves.¡±


    ¡°So Enigma Osiris is attempting to snatch up lost tech from all these lost races?¡± Jesse asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s worse than that.¡± was Stacy¡¯s reply, and something in her voice was not like anything I¡¯d heard from her before.  She was both enraged and frightened. ¡°There is a video log on file, entered by one Benson Fisch, CRO of Enigma Osiris.¡±


    The holoscreen shifted to the image of a silver haired caucasian man.  While there were no visible signs of progressed age on his face, no crows feet, smile lines of liver spots, there was something about his countenance that exuded the gravitas of age.  Perhaps it was in the hardness of his eyes, which stared out from the holo like chips of hard granite, cold as the vacuum of space.


    ¡°The derelict that was discovered at Wolf 486 was an incredible find.¡± he began, his tone controlled and cultured, the kind associated with someone educated in the top institutions known in the quadrant.  ¡°We¡¯ve dated the vessel to approximately three thousand years of age, yet some of its data banks were still intact.


    ¡°The technology and materials science we were able to glean from it will keep our R&D teams busy for decades.  The real treasure was the biological information on the mummified remains of the crew.¡±


    An inset holo showed images of Ktonshi corpses, ¡°These strange creatures, according to logs in the ship¡¯s computer systems, were once something else entirely, and were transformed into these things by an artificial contagion.  An alien species from beyond the galactic rim developed it as a weapon to wipe out any intelligent life that was not themselves by the simple expedience of transforming it into them.¡±


    He paused a moment and scratched his cheek, ¡°If I can locate more samples of these transformed creatures, maybe we can reverse engineer it in order to develop some form of protection against it in case these Ktonshi show their monstrous faces in Commonwealth space.¡±


    Everyone in the room raised their eyebrows, surprised that the cold looking man who had such a hard reputation was working towards such a goal.  The thought that he was being selfless was short lived however.  ¡°It¡¯s of the utmost importance to keep that research under as tight security as possible, however.  If we can unlock the mechanisms of the contagion, we might be able to use it for our own goals.¡±


    ¡°These Ktonshi, if they are indeed from beyond the rim, have no right to this galaxy.  It is not theirs, not by birthright, not by right of conquest.   It is ours!   If any sophant species in the Milky Way will become the sole survivor, it will be humanity.¡±


    ¡°Three hundred years of making nice to these freaks and demons from the stars is too long.   The entirety of Creation was put here for US, not these freaks.  But Commonwealth is weak, and would rather live in peace!¡±  the man¡¯s face turned into a mask for zealous rage, ¡°They will not take action to eliminate such corrupting abominations as the Benastians, or the meatheaded violence of the Hongushi.  They were mistakes of creation, and deserve to be wiped out!¡±


    ¡°Well, if I cannot convince those in power to wipe those lesser species from the face of the galaxy, maybe this contagion will allow a ¡®gentler¡¯ option they do not deserve.¡± At this point he grinned.  ¡°I shall bestow upon them the blessing of becoming human.  Whether they wish to or not is immaterial, they will have no choice.  And perhaps I can turn their creation upon the creators, perhaps if the Ktonshi do show up again, my modified contagion will bring them into our fold.¡±


    He leaned back in his chair, ¡°The derelict¡¯s navigational computers held information regarding other locations which had reports of outbreaks within their population.  I¡¯ve ordered a series of survey probes, buried under various black project protocols, to be launched to those coordinates to verify presence of hostiles or if target objects are even still there.  It¡¯ll take a while for the probes to get to some of those locations, even with them being our bleeding edge best tech.¡±


    ¡°In the meantime, It¡¯s best I begin laying the foundation and research centers so that everything is ready when we have the material to work with.  Patience is, after all, a virtue.¡±


    The recording ended, and we all just sat there gaping at the revelation we¡¯d just watched.


    <hr>

 Volume 2 - Chapter 1

    The engineering bay didn¡¯t see a lot of use on the Elegance of Light during our mad dash to Commonwealth space.  Mostly because we didn¡¯t have an engineer on board that was fluent in giobhioni technology.  Sure, Toftri and Jo spent a requisite amount of time in the section to perform enough preventative maintenance to keep the ship from falling apart around us, but there was no dedicated engineer.


    I couldn¡¯t help but think that Jo had made an error in judgement in not bringing one along for the trip.  A ship should not be travelling without a dedicated engineer on board, it just offended my sensibilities, especially when the ship was as magnificent as the Elegance.


    From the moment I¡¯d seen the ship, I¡¯d been in awe.  In fact, it had been me that had named her, struck by the sheer elegance of her lines.  She had the graceful curves that reminded me distinctly of a manta ray from Earth¡¯s oceans, with its sweeping wing-like body, twin large viewports looking out the bow like the creature¡¯s eyes. Those viewports being the captains quarters and what was meant to be V.I.P. quarters (Jo had assigned them to me.)


    While the ship did not move via the undulating of its wing-like body, it did release energy emissions from all around its periphery.  The emissions themselves set up a kind of undulating pattern of light that was almost hypnotic.  I yearned like mad to understand the mechanisms by which they worked.  Giobhioni drive technology operated on such different principles than anything the Commonwealth had seen before.


    I¡¯d attempted to delve into the mechanics of giobhioni engineering on our way to Commonwealth space from the Giobhioni planetoid station, but I¡¯d been too keyed up with anxiety to concentrate.  Seriously, how is someone supposed to focus their mind on plasma flow dynamics and field emissions when you know there is a ship containing a possibly deadly contagion headed into populated space?  If you can do that?  Congratulations, you¡¯re better at compartmentalizing than I am.


    But now?  Now I was determined to absorb the knowledge and be useful on board the ship.  To that end, I stood there at the hatch to the engineering section and stared.


    The section was set up in a sort of horseshoe format, surrounding the main antimatter reaction chamber, with a railing around it that integrated workstations allowing an engineer easy access to all pertinent information on the ships systems.  Along the outerwall of the section were workbenches and diagnostic stations meant for stripping down and rebuilding parts.


    There were also the hatch covers that led into what the giobhioni called Tantaja tubes:  The service tunnels that led into the hard to reach sections of the ship, allowing access to replace, repair, or simply tune systems of every type.  These tubes were ubiquitous to every spacefaring species it seemed - apart from the Grompaks, they just preferred their ships to be one complete fucking trash-heap of systems inside.


    After a  good minute, I let out a long sigh and said ¡°Alright Stacy, what would you suggest I start with learning?  Sometimes even just the slightest bit of practical hands on makes the theory go down easier.¡±


    ¡°You could always take a look-see at the burned out parts from the aft shield emitter.¡± She replied hesitantly.  She¡¯d been better behaved since she¡¯d sent Boudya to my quarters the previous day.  I guess she¡¯d been surprised by how angry I¡¯d been.  ¡°Commander Throhx has already replaced the parts that would need more prolonged repair time, so learning on said parts will not affect ship operation.¡±


    ¡°Troubleshooting broken parts?¡± I asked, ¡°that¡¯s something that¡¯ll get the brain working.  Great idea.  Work on it with the theory and schematics up on a holoscreen and maybe I¡¯ll have better luck absorbing this.¡±


    Three hours later, I had made some progress with the power conversion matrix in the emitter.  Not a lot of progress, but I thought I understood the differences in materials science, and the slight difference in the application of physical sciences involved.  It was enough that I thought I could explain the concept to another Commonwealth engineer, and maybe do rudimentary repairs.   In fact, I was about to run a diagnostic on repairs I¡¯d done to the matrix on this one.


    ¡°Stacy, run a basic diagnostic of the power conversion matrix, please.¡± I asked politely, aware of how reticent her responses had been. ¡°I want to see if I managed to get a handle on it enough to fix this one.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Thomas.  Running¡±


    I sighed, I¡¯d been determined to give her the cold shoulder treatment for at least a couple of days, but I hated things being so formal.  From day one of our friendship, we¡¯d been like two teenagers horsing around at the back of the classroom, and it had made me feel young again in so many ways.  ¡°Stacy?¡±


    ¡°Yes Thomas?¡±


    ¡°I hope you know I don¡¯t hate you or anything like that.¡± I said, not knowing quite the right words to say, ¡°I know you weren¡¯t trying to be hurtful, and likely thought you were trying to help, but some things¡­  Well, they can cause friends to get angry, and they need time to cool off.  Things between Boudya and I are kinda complicated, at least on my side.  Human emotions regarding relationships can get pretty fucked up.  Benastians?  Most of the time I have no idea what to expect from them in a situation like this, but I prefer not to expect flippancy, it¡¯s safer that way!¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like us being so standoffish towards each other.  I miss the friend that kept me sane back on the station.  Can you just promise not to do anything like that again?  I¡¯ll trust that you¡¯ve learned from the experience, and we¡¯ll move on?¡±


    The silence continued for a bit longer, then ¡°Tindron and Boudya spoke to me about what happened.¡± she said finally, her voice over engineering¡¯s P.A. a bare whisper.  ¡°They said such an act can be seen as a betrayal of trust? That in some situations it could damage friendships pretty badly?¡±


    ¡°It can, yes.¡± I explained. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it happen, especially with people who have trauma in their past.  Thankfully, I know you thought you were trying to help and have some fun at the same time.  You were thinking you¡¯d help break the ice between Boudya and me, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°And she didn¡¯t know what she was walking in on any more than I knew it was about to happen?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Okay then.  So in the future, just don¡¯t do something like that unless you¡¯ve tried to talk sense into either of us first, alright?¡± I explained, ¡°I will admit I can be as fucking dense as a tungsten ingot at times, so I won¡¯t say there won¡¯t be times my friends won¡¯t need to kick my ass to see what¡¯s plain to see for them. But try the simple way first?¡±


    ¡°Alright Tommy-bear.¡± she replied, a bit of chipperness back in her voice, then a hint of slyness, ¡°In that case, we need to talk about¡­¡±


    ¡°A-Ha!¡± Boudya¡¯s voice called from the hatchway into engineering. ¡°I should have known to look for you here!  Can¡¯t stand having idle hands, can you?¡±


    I looked over and smiled, seeing Boudya framed in the light of the hatchway.  It always amazed me how benastians could be such a juxtaposition of tall and lean, yet their women are so damned  curvy and oozing femininity and sexuality at the same time.  Boudya stood there, 2.2 meters tall, pure willowy muscle, but with a sensual grace that would test the willpower of even the most celebate of acolytes.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    There was a reason the Commonwealth had rules about the personnel that were assigned to work with benastians in official capacity.   Early interactions had been fraught with conflict.  Almost entirely brought on by unfaithful partners starting relationships with benastians unaware of the need to check on marital status.


    Boudya and I had a history.  One that made me just a tad bit nervous about how having her on board the Elegance was going to proceed.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about whatever you were about to say later Stacy. I promise.¡±  then, to Boudya, ¡°You know how it is.  I hate not having something to tinker with.  This version of my EVA suit still needs a shake down to really figure out what needs adjustments so there¡¯s not much I can do with it right now.  So unless I want to reinvent things like the Optimaster or the Unidriver, which is kinda useless when I have a master hacker as a friend, who could probably grab the plans off the StellarNet and feed them into the MiniFac -¡±


    ¡°Now there¡¯s an idea!¡± Stacy exclaimed, ¡°and I¡¯m sure I could improve on the designs enough, we could market them as new products!¡±


    I laughed, ¡°Oh boy, I have a bad feeling that the tech scene in the Commonwealth is going to get an upset.  Do me a favor if you can Stacy? See if you can¡¯t target Enigma Osiris products specifically, what with all they¡¯ve done.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing my-deliciousness¡±


    Boudya shook her head.  ¡°Tindron is fascinated by the friendship you two developed in such a short time.  Hell, he¡¯s fascinated by Stacy completely and is already formulating a paper.  And don¡¯t worry, Stacy knows all about it, she¡¯s quite excited about making sure people don¡¯t see her as the kind of hostile thing often depicted in old popular media.¡±  She smiled, thinking about her life mate so absorbed by his work, ¡°so what are you working on here?¡±


    ¡°This is part of the aft shield emitter.¡± I explained, waving at the hunk of tech half disassembled on the workbench, ¡°the one that was badly damaged when we tried to break orbit and got jumped by that ¡®pirate¡¯. It¡¯s already been replaced by Jo¡­I mean Jophixa, since there isn¡¯t a dedicated giobhioni on board.  I thought I¡¯d try to bring myself up to speed on their tech with a bit of hands-on experience with this thing.¡±


    ¡°Any luck?¡±


    ¡°Diagnostic complete.¡± the engineering computer called out with immaculate timing, ¡°Power Conversion Matrix operating at 74% efficiency.  Excess heat buildup in section 12.4 and 15.7.  Cascade failure calculated at 68.45% on a direct hit to shield under current status.  Recommendation: Further repairs required before use.¡±


    I let out a sigh.


    ¡°Not the greatest news to hear.¡± Boudya said, pulling up another stool and taking a seat beside me.  ¡°What was it before you started tinkering?¡±


    ¡°Efficiency was at 26%, heat buildup was coming from at least a dozen different sections of the matrix, and the cascade likelihood was at 98%¡± I told her, ¡°So I have made progress, but this took three hours of work!  It¡¯s funny, but you don¡¯t expect there to be such drastically different engineering sciences between species like this.  Sure, Human and Benastian tech has differences, but you can easily transfer knowledge of one to the concepts of the other.  You don¡¯t feel like you have to go all the way back through university again!¡±


    She peered at the holoscreen filled with various manual pages.  ¡°Well, I actually just came from asking Commander Jophixa if I could start studying their technology myself.¡± she said thoughtfully as her eyes skimmed over the documents, ¡°You¡¯re not the only engineer on board feeling stir crazy with nothing to do!  She agrees it¡¯d be better if we had dedicated engineers on board - said she wishes she¡¯d brought one with her, but had been foolishly optimistic that Fleetsec would take your warning seriously right away.  She doesn¡¯t want to head all the way back to that station of theirs to pick one up, so if we can get ourselves up to speed, all the better.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!  Always easier to learn in the buddy system.  Harder to stay focused alone!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can crack the mystery of this damned contraption then, shall we?  Then we can go to your quarters and talk after! You can treat me to a cup of that¡­what¡¯s it called? Graptak?  The doctor says it''s supposed to be really tasty!¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡±  Of course, the whole ¡®talk¡¯ thing might have me a bit distracted¡­


    Our trip back to my quarters ended up getting delayed slightly, when Jo dropped in to check in on us and give us an update on something I¡¯d forgotten to consider in our mad dash in the past few days.  Fuel.


    ¡°We are ok for now.¡± she told us, pulling up another stool to our engineering workbench.  ¡°We were able to top up our antimatter and helium-3 storage tanks back on Yintari before things stepped out the airlock without a suit.  After that ¡®pirate¡¯ that conveniently came after us when we tried leaving with our three refugees on board, I¡¯m not prepared to just hope it¡¯ll never happen again.  We¡¯ll eventually need to refuel.¡±


    ¡°Well helium-3 won¡¯t be too big an issue,¡± Boudya put in, beating me to it. We¡¯d managed to provide her and the others with translators they could insert into their ears. ¡°Plenty of sources where we can scoop some of that up.  Gas giants, especially in systems off main trade lines.  Is the Elegance equipped with a ram scoop?¡±


    Jo frowned, and I knew she didn¡¯t recognize the term.  ¡°Ram scoop?¡±


    ¡°If I may, Commander?¡± Stacy cut in, ¡°Many of this time period¡¯s people use a device on their long range ships which allows them to skim the upper layers of atmosphere on a gas giant, or in some more sturdy ships, even a certain distance from some types of star, ¡®scooping¡¯ up valuable fuel and manufacturing gases.  And no, Boudya, the Elegance does not have such a device.  In fact, this was not technology any of the species in our time of origin used.  I have an entry in the engineering database of trials being started along these lines by Giobhioni Fleet Command, but it was still in its infancy.¡±


    ¡°And that would only solve our Helium-3 supply issues anyway, not our antimatter issue¡± I put in. ¡°We¡¯d need a safe place to obtain more of that, and anywhere that Enigma Osiris might be able to sink their corrupt claws into would come with a degree of risk.¡±  I thought for a moment, ¡°The Benastian Cooperative is, of course, allied with the Commonwealth, but is Sovereign in its own right.  Could we rely on there being sectors within that would be hostile enough towards a megacorp like EO that we¡¯d be safe enough to refuel there?¡±


    ¡°There are a great many factions within benastian society that detest human megacorps that behave like EO.¡± Boudya responded, ¡°We aren¡¯t any more immune to corruption, however.  But I¡¯ll put together a list of systems I think would be safe, especially ones out towards those coordinates we want to go to.  That¡¯s the goal, right Commander? To investigate those locations? Hopefully before Enigma Osiris erases them in some way?¡±


    Jo nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve had Be¡¯tsar Toftri set a course for the nearest location.  We¡¯ll do as silent a flyby of it as we can to check on who might be there already.  I don¡¯t want to get into any fights where we¡¯re outgunned again.¡± she sighed and looked between the two of us.  ¡°I really should have brought an engineer along, but I prioritized the needs of the station.  They were all required there to make sure the last of my people were safe, and make sure the station could be moved somewhere secure.  So I¡¯m going to be asking the two of you to do everything you can to get brought up to speed on our tech.  We need someone back here operating this section.¡±


    ¡°I might have a way to help hurry that along Commander.¡± Stacy put in again, sounding hesitant.


    ¡°Your tone makes me think this idea is going to involve something I¡¯m going to be iffy on Stacy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not anything dangerous, but it¡¯s only going to be something that will help Thomas, unless we want to either detour back to the station, or have Tzaki Tratsa do the implanting of one of the new types of implants into Boudya.¡± Stacy was babbling. I hadn¡¯t heard her babble like this in weeks. ¡°And the implant wouldn¡¯t have the same ansible connection Thomas¡¯ has either, not until we swing back to the station anyway.  Until then it¡¯d only be connected to the Elegance. And¡­¡±


    We waited.  But when a minute passed without Stacy continuing, I asked, ¡°And?  Just spit it out Stacy!  What¡¯s got you so nervous?¡±


    I caught Boudya giving me a raised eyebrow, almost as if she knew what was coming. Damn the woman, I thought, she can even read a damned AI better than I can.


    ¡°Thomas, it means you¡¯ll have to trust me.¡± she finally explained in a rush, ¡°I could use your implant to sleep teach you!  Feed you the concepts and theory while you sleep each night.  The implant has linked itself into your neural pathways well enough, I think it might allow¡­well, I can¡¯t write information directly into your memory centers like an upload, but in theory, I could make a night¡¯s sleep into something akin to a couple weeks of classroom time.¡±


    ¡°Is there any danger to this?¡± Boudya asked, seeing that I was obviously in shock from this suggestion. ¡°I¡¯ve seen papers written on experiments that messed with Human sleep cycles, and the results have generally ended with some pretty nasty side effects.  I think we can all agree we don¡¯t want Thomas going any further off the deep end than he usually is?¡±


    Jophixa let out one of her rare snort-bray laughs, ¡°No, he¡¯s quite unhinged enough as it is.¡± she said, still laughing, ¡°remind me to tell you of his tantrum when the Commonwealth FleetSec Officer waved off his warning about the Contagion, and then ordered him to present himself for questioning.  It was¡­what is the word? Epic?¡±


    ¡°Uh, hello? I¡¯m right here!¡±


    This sent all three of them into giggles.  I rolled my eyes, but tried to be good natured about it.  We¡¯d had a stressful couple days and a good laugh, even if it was at my expense, might help lift the mood.  At least they weren¡¯t laughing at Boudya walking in on me with my pants down.  ¡°We could always run this under Tratsa¡¯s supervision.¡± I interjected between their fits of giggles. ¡°She¡¯s already supposed to be monitoring the condition of the implant, what with it being a new design, right? So monitoring it during a new application would have to involve her anyway.  I¡¯m sure she¡¯d love to delve more into the sleep cycles and health of humans for all her research.¡±


    Pulling herself together, Jophixa nodded, ¡°Right, excellent idea. So for the first few sessions, you¡¯ll either be in the infirmary, or the Tzaki will monitor you in your quarters.¡±  she paused and gave me a knowing look, ¡°I¡¯m sure neither of you will argue on either option?¡±


    The raised eyebrow I got from Boudya at that comment promised something that was going to be part of our ¡®talk¡¯ later on. ¡°No, I doubt it¡¯ll be an issue - unless she prevents me from sleeping that is.¡±


    Jo¡¯s ears drooped, but hey, she started it.  Boudya¡¯s raised eyebrow was joined by a slight shaking of her head. Ok, what was that about?


    ¡°I¡¯ll let the two of you get back to  your work here.¡± Jo said, standing up. ¡°I''ll inform Tzaki Tratsa about the whole sleep learning plan.  With luck, after you¡¯re up to speed, Thomas, you can help bring Boudya up to speed faster.  We really don¡¯t want to have to swing back to the station, and I don¡¯t think Tratsa will want to do the implant work herself, especially not on the ship.  Too much could go wrong.¡±


    With that, she headed out, and we got back to work.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 2

    Two hours later, with the both of us working on the problem, we managed to get the power conversion matrix down to only a 10% chance of cascade failure, and efficiency over 90%.   We were still getting excess heat build ups happening in various parts of the matrix each time we improved those numbers, however, and it was beginning to feel like a game of whack-a-mole.  Fix one thing, and we¡¯d have to trace back another heat bleed, fix another, go back and do the same.


    We finally decided we¡¯d had enough and needed a break.  Each of us was feeling grimy and sweaty from dealing with the shield emitter¡¯s heat output, so we parted ways to get cleaned up and meet back at my quarters.


    Perhaps I was being overly anxious, especially in light of Boudya stating just the previous day that there were no issues between us, but in all my dating life, there were very few times a woman expressed a desire to ¡°talk¡± without there being something to worry about.  So the whole time I was getting cleaned up and prepped for her arrival, I was fretting about what we were going to be talking about.


    I had just set out the Niktcha - the traditional brewing vessel for graptak, which I had borrowed from Tratsa on the way back to my quarters - when the chime sounded at the door to my quarters.


    ¡°Come.¡± I called out.


    The door opened and Boudya peeked in, ¡°Are you fully clothed this time?¡± she asked?


    Chuckling with not a small amount of embarrassment, I motioned for her to come in, ¡°Easy enough to make sure of when I¡¯m expecting visitors ahead of time!¡±


    Stepping into my quarters, I was somewhat relieved that she was dressed in an outfit that was, for a benastian, rather on the modest side.  I¡¯m not sure why, but the thought of her showing up in the usual kind of thing her people considered casual wear was as worrying as the anticipation of the direction our ¡®talk¡¯ would proceed in.  Those outfits tended towards being little in the way of clothing at all.


    Instead, she wore a simple flowing white shift of some soft cotton like fabric that accented her lapis blue skin incredibly.  While modest in cut, as she stood framed in the doorway to my quarters, the light from the corridor behind her shone through it, casting her willowy silhouette against it for a briefest of moments, before the door closed behind her.


    I must have taken a bit too long examining her outfit - okay, fine.  I was staring. Happy? - because she quirked a half smile at me.  ¡°I know, right?¡± she said, crossing the room towards the lounge, ¡°far more modest than my usual attire.  But I¡¯m attempting to not be distracting to that skilled young man at the helm, and most of the garments I¡¯d packed into our little cache in the woods were strictly work clothes.  Stacy helped me get this produced by the ship¡¯s MiniFac last night.¡±


    Shaking myself, I gave her a smile, ¡°Well, as usual, you make it look like high fashion.¡± I motioned for her to have a seat, and she leaned in to kiss me on the cheek quickly before doing so, then glanced at the graptak service.  ¡°When Tratsa told me about graptak, I wasn''t expecting quite such an involved layout.¡±


    I chucked, looking at the service.  It consisted of something that reminded me vaguely of an old Russian samovar made of decoratively glazed porcelain.  It featured a motif featuring strange flora and what I could only assume was the graptak isopod itself.  It stood on a small base allowing four matching tulip shaped cups with no handles.  Three small jars containing the graptak itself, as well as the two most common additives, pingkon and ungtal, were set out opposite of the main vessel. All of this sat on an intricately carved tray of swirling figured wood.


    ¡°Most of the time, it''s not quite such a layout.¡± I explained, ¡°When  you¡¯re making it for yourself, it¡¯s just adding the graptak powder to your favorite cup with hot water and letting it dissolve.  But I was lectured quite sternly by Tratsa at one point about the sheer unadulterated rudeness of serving someone else graptak in such a way.  It is only ever acceptable to do so for yourself it seems.  She hinted that feuds have started in giobhioni history over such insults.¡±


    While she settled herself onto the sofa, I went about following the directions Tratsa had drilled into me for preparing graptak in a niktcha, adding the proper amount of the dried graptak to the preheated water.  ¡°Did Tratsa check you out to make sure none of this was going to be toxic for you?¡± I asked her as I placed the lid back on the niktcha and sat back.


    She nodded ¡°Though she told me to be cautious of something called ungtal.  She mentioned you had a somewhat adverse reaction to the taste.¡±


    I cringed, remembering my one and only experience with the stuff, and pointed to the jar which contained it.  ¡°Seems human taste buds are not wired to find it palatable.¡± I explained, ¡°or at least mine aren¡¯t.  It wasn¡¯t horrible at first, if you enjoy things like Thai food - which I know you do.  It¡¯s when it kicks you in the teeth on the finish that it¡¯s horrible.  Kinda makes you feel like you just sucked back a shot of paint thinner.¡±


    With a raised eyebrow, she carefully picked up the jar, lifted the lid and took a delicate sniff.  ¡°It doesn¡¯t smell at all like that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no hint whatsoever until after you¡¯ve swallowed it.¡± I explained. ¡°Then it hit me.  I swear my face imploded, I grimaced so hard.  Tratsa fell off her chair, she was laughing so hard.¡±


    ¡°I seem to remember a certain night I introduced you to bentyaxa¡±


    The involuntary twitch that hit me at the mention of that experience made me thankful I hadn¡¯t yet begun to serve the graptak.  While not an entirely unpleasant experience, since it had lead to Boudya and myself finally hooking up, after months of my trepidation in getting involved with one of her species, that first wallop of the benastian liquor hitting the back of my throat still left my tongue numb at just the memory.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s an entirely dissimilar experience,¡± I granted her, ¡°but at least with bentyaxa, there¡¯s somewhat of a desire to try it again.  With ungtal, if I never ingest a single molecule of the substance again across any lifetime, it will be too soon.  It is seriously that foul.  At least to me it was, maybe it won¡¯t taste so bad for a benastian.  Feel free to give it a try.¡±


    I smiled at her, hoping to communicate the most potent of dares to her with my eyes as I retrieved two of the cups from under the niktcha and worked the spigot on it to fill each of them, leaving a bit of space in hers in case she decided to try either of the additives.   When I offered her the cup, she slowly shook her head.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll try it on its own for now.¡±


    Picking up my own cup, I splashed the tiniest bit of the pale green pingkon into it. It was my usual way to drink it later in the day as it seemed to be more soothing than graptak on its own, and I found the need to soothe my nerves just then.  I leaned back and said ¡°So¡­¡±


    Boudya sipped her graptak delicately, then raised an eyebrow at it.  ¡°This would be very popular back home I think.¡± Then she looked at me and sighed, ¡°You¡¯ve always been an overly anxious man when it comes to relationships, Thomas.  You¡¯ve spent the last 3 hours or so either trying very hard not to worry about this talk, or trying to figure out how you were going to diagnose the issue and resolve it.  Am I right?¡±


    My cheeks burned, even after all this time, she read me like a book.  I nodded silently, taking another sip from my cup.   You might think, due to my blase reaction to Stacy¡¯s teasing, or Tratsa¡¯s desire to investigate my human anatomy, that I had that aspect of life figured out.  But I really didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Alright, look,¡± she said bluntly, setting her cup down. ¡°I told you yesterday that we do not have any outstanding issues.  I¡¯m not here for recriminations, there¡¯s not going to be any chewing out, not reaming of assholes¡­ That¡¯s for after our talk¡­maybe.¡±  She smiled, leaning back and crossing her legs.  I half expected to hear Stacy make an off colour comment through my implant, but it didn¡¯t happen.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°The biggest thing I want to know is why you never contacted me after the inquiry.¡±  She shook her head, ¡°Thomas, I know parted with some rather harsh words when you went off on that first contract with that bastard Barstol, but I was still worried sick about you!  And then you got  back, and there were the charges, and the inquiry, and I was so relieved that you¡¯d taken my worries to heart enough to cover your ass with backups of all the records.  When the judgement was passed, I was waiting for you to make contact.  After a week, I tried contacting you! But you¡¯d resigned from the guild and disappeared to some backwater planet to help as a grunt equipment technician or something.  Didn¡¯t even seem to be checking your StellarNet accounts.  I know because I asked Tindron to look into them for me!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I began, then paused.  My sister had been the only one I¡¯d talked to during those years, and even her I hadn¡¯t told the whys for me disappearing like that.  ¡°Boudya, I was just having trouble dealing with what happened, okay?  You weren¡¯t the only one with suspicions regarding Barstol.  I didn¡¯t trust the man either! Even without your warning, I was planning to cover my ass like I did. I took the job because I was hoping to keep him from endangering the other salvage workers.  I thought maybe if I made him nervous enough about the records I was keeping, that he¡¯d be more careful about the whole thing.¡±


    Hot liquid spilled onto my hand, and I looked down to be shocked at the sight of the hand holding my graptak cup shaking violently at the memory.  Boudya noticed as well, and reached out, taking it from me.  ¡°You took the job in order to¡­¡±


    ¡°Hopefully save lives, yeah,¡± I mumbled, ¡°but what happened?  I passed out going over readings from the derelict ship¡¯s power core!  And Barstol used that time to order the crew over to the ship without me signing off on it!  And because of that they died.  Every soul that he¡¯d sent over there was lost.  More were lost on Bertha¡¯s Bones from the damage caused by the explosion. More still in our efforts to get to safety.  And I could have stopped it if I just had not fallen asleep!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d have been awake to countermand Barstol¡¯s order for them to begin operations.  As lead salvage engineer, it was my job.¡±


    The next thing I knew, Boudya had pulled me into her arms and was rocking me gently.  I¡¯d been holding on to that guilt for ten years, and hadn¡¯t let anyone know it. I babbled it all out then, with Boudya¡¯s arms wrapped around me. Of how  I¡¯d left the Guild because I didn¡¯t trust myself to be in that situation of responsibility again.  It was only Barstol threatening my sister that forced me to bury that fear and do the job as I had.


    I don¡¯t know if it was the stress and anxiety of the last couple of months finally crashing down on me.  If it was triggered because Jesse, Boudya and Tindron were all as safe as they could be, here on the Elegance with me, or if it was something else, but everything I¡¯d kept bottled up inside for the last decade came pouring out until I was so exhausted, I didn¡¯t even notice when Tratsa arrived to monitor my sleep, nor when Boudya gathered me up and got me into bed.


    I woke up sometime later, tucked under the covers in bed, with one long, graceful leg draped over mine, and soft, sweet breath against the side of my face.  I carefully glanced over and confirmed Boudya¡¯s sharp benastian features laying on the pillow beside me, softened as always by the peace of sleep.


    After briefly contemplating trying to quietly slip out of bed, I realized it was going to be impossible - not only because of Boudya¡¯s leg being thrown over mine, but because my own arm was being pinned down by her head.  I knew the way she slept, and any attempt to slip out from underneath her would wake her.


    ¡°She seems to have you just a bit pinned, doesn¡¯t she?¡± came the soft voice from the opposite side of the bed.


    It says something about how I must have still felt rather exhausted right then, that I didn¡¯t startle at all.  A glance in that direction showed me Tratsa, dressed in what just might have been one of Boudya¡¯s old t-shirts which had been cut down to nightgown length, and read ¡°Natural E.D. Treatment¡±.  She was sitting up against my headboard with a diagnostic tablet braced against her knees.


    ¡°All neurological activity normal,¡± she whispered with a smile, ¡°I would have said ¡®as far as I can tell with only two reference subjects for basis¡¯, but thanks to you getting us hooked up with the StellarNet, I¡¯ve got a whole lot more data on  your physiology.  And before you ask, whatever was, or wasn¡¯t, explained to me last night, will be kept under medical privilege, just like with your human doctors.  Nobody hears it from me without your consent, okay?¡±


    Answering her with a simple nod, I reached over with the hand that was not pinned under Boudya, and caressed the side of her face.  She turned her head and kissed my fingers - she¡¯d become quite fond of that activity since I introduced her to it.  ¡°You should get some more rest.  Emotional release on that level can be just as exhausting as a triple shift spacewalk.  We can talk more when you¡¯re rested.   If I¡¯m not here when you wake, I¡¯ll be in the infirmary, okay?¡±


    I nodded, and snuggled deeper under the covers, and closer to Boudya, before drifting off again.


    <hr>


    The aroma that dragged me back to consciousness the next time was, not exactly like bacon, not true bacon anyway.  Real, smoked and cured pig flesh was somewhat of a rarity in this century.  A virulent disease around two centuries ago wiped out the porcine species almost to extinction, and what was left was kept strictly sequestered by the most wealthy in the Commonwealth.  So real, greasy, smokey, crispy pork bacon was a treat few outside the gentry ever tasted in their lifetime.  It was worth its weight in antimatter.


    But the smell that seduced my senses back from the land of dreams into wakefulness reminded me of that one time I had been invited to eat at a captain¡¯s table on my first salvage contract.  There had, indeed, been bacon served for that breakfast.  I¡¯d felt like I was eating the very food of the gods!


    When I opened my eyes, nose twitching and mouth watering, I noticed both Tratsa and Boudya were not in the bed any longer.  Instead, I heard a soft chuckle from a short distance away.  ¡°I thought that would wake you up!¡± Boudya said as I lifted my head to see her setting a tray down on my small table. ¡°I got this stuff from a synaxian contact of mine.  Seems they have a creature from one of their colony worlds that is very close in biology to an old earth domestic pig.  I explained bacon to him, and he immediately had to try producing it.¡±


    She picked up a plate and brought it over to me.  It  was stacked with something that looked incredibly like the bacon I¡¯d had at that captain¡¯s table, but had a slightly odd colour to it, a green that was luckily not similar to any time of mould or rot I¡¯d ever seen on meat before.  I raised an eyebrow at Boudya but she just chuckled again ¡°I know, the green throws others off too.  But try it, I guarantee it¡¯s not gone bad.¡±


    Taking a delicate, hesitant bite of the smoky smelling meat, my taste buds were assaulted by that heavenly combination of salt and fat,  the well developed flavors of the curing¡­ the rest of the piece in my fingers disappeared without me even recognizing it had entered my mouth, and I was reaching for another piece as a man dying of thirst would reach for water.


    ¡°Ah ah!¡± Boudya laughed, snatching the plate away, ¡°Get up lazybones, and sit at the table.  We¡¯ll share the bacon.¡±


    Grumbling, I dragged my legs out from under the covers and over the side of the bed, heaving myself to my feet without thinking about it.  It wasn¡¯t until I took my first step towards the table that my mind registered the feel of the air recirculation system wafting against my bare skin¡­all of my skin.


    Looking down and blinking, I confirmed I was completely undressed, then let out a long sigh.  ¡°Was I really that exhausted that I didn¡¯t even rouse when you stripped me?¡±


    A delightful chuckle burbled out of Boudya¡¯s chest, ¡°You were so sound asleep that Tratsa actually checked your vitals to make sure you were still alive!¡± She explained, ¡°she helped by the way.  I like her, and she cares for you, if maybe not she might.¡±


    Part of my brain was screaming at me to grab the sheet from the bed to cover myself, but realistically, the only person in the room with me was Boudya.  Forget the fact that we had been heavily involved at one time, she was also a benastian - a species who culturally worried as much about nudity as they worried about breathing too much. So I told that part of my mind to shut up, and walked over to the table and sat down.  ¡°She told me up front she wasn¡¯t looking to form attachments.¡±


    ¡°Not looking for, and deliberately avoiding are two separate things Thomas, you know that.¡±  she shook her head, ¡°but as long as the two of you are satisfied with the situation between you, who am I to lecture you.  Nothing wrong with having friends with benefits.  I¡¯m more curious about what¡¯s going on between you and our ship''s commander.¡±


    ¡°W-wha?  Jo?¡± I said, feeling nervous for some reason, ¡°We¡¯re friends and allies, she¡¯s got too much on her plate for anything else.¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± She shook her head, pointing at the bacon, ¡°Eat, and hydrate!  You need it.  By the stars you lost too much weight Thomas. I understand things were hard surviving when Barstol marooned you, but once you found the giobhioni, surely you¡¯ve had enough to eat?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been a bit preoccupied.¡± I explained, reaching for the bacon plate as well as sliding what I knew was the giobhioni equivalent of eggs onto my plate.  ¡°Worrying about you and Jesse had my stomach a bit locked up.  It was hard to have an appetite.  Now that you¡¯re safe, it¡¯s just the damned contagion to worry about, so maybe I can get to looking a bit less like a skeleton.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± she looked me up and down appraisingly, ¡°I don¡¯t mind a lean man, but there are limits.¡±


    I opened my mouth to say something, but I guess I must have been blushing or something, because she interrupted me.  ¡°Relax! And eat already!  I know it¡¯s been a decade Thomas, but seriously, I¡¯m not going to pounce you like a Zintaxian jaguar.  We have some things to figure out, but I¡¯m still going to tease the fuck out of you in the meantime!  Just like when we first met.¡±


    The memory of our first few months of friendship came barreling to the forefront of my mind and I could help but laugh.   I¡¯d never been up close and personal with a benastian before, and with all the press about how unrelentingly sexual they were, I was just a bit intimidated.  Okay, I was a lot intimidated, especially since she kept zeroing her attention on me whenever we were in the same room.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try to relax.¡± I said, crunching down on a bit of bacon, ¡°as long as you give me some warning before you do go zintaxian jaguar.¡±


    ¡°But that spoils the fun!¡± she laughed, munching on some of the bacon herself.  ¡°Anyway,  Tratsa said there were no anomalous readings during the sleep learning, so she¡¯ll be back again for the next session.  You¡¯re to let her know when you¡¯re getting ready for bed.  She said something about being ready to assist if you were experiencing insomnia.¡±


    ¡°Sleep learning¡­¡± I frowned, having forgotten about that discussion the previous day, ¡°Right, Stacy was going to try feeding me giobhioni engineering concepts through the implant to get me up to speed faster.  I¡¯ll be nice if it actually works, working on that shield emitter was so damned¡­¡±


    I stopped, as our frustrations over getting the power conversion matrix repaired and calibrated came back to me, along with a wave of what my Mom had called  ¡®well d¡¯uh¡¯ moments.  I bolted to my feet and almost ran towards the door of my quarters.


    ¡°Thomas! Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Engineering!  I know what we were doing wrong!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting something?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± I turned around, ran back to the table, grabbed a handful of bacon, gave her a quick peck on the lips, and dashed out the door.  I was so distracted, I didn¡¯t even hear her shout ¡°I meant clothes Thomas!¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 3

    Ever had one of those A-ha moments? When a problem that has been bothering you so much that it¡¯s driving you crazy finally just clicks in your mind, usually after you stop thinking about it?  The ones that are so intense you drop everything you are doing because if you just know for sure, deep in your bones if you don¡¯t apply that knowledge right that second - you will lose it, and possibly never get it back?


    That¡¯s what was happening to me right then.


    I tore through the corridors, oblivious to my surroundings, even the shocked ¡°What the FUCK!¡± from my sister as I collided with her near the infirmary and a startled ¡°oh my¡± from Tindron as I passed him near the mess hall.  I certainly didn¡¯t hear Boudya behind me, shouting for me to wait for ¡°one void damned krat!¡±.


    I stumbled into Engineering, barely feeling the cold floor against my feet, and parked my ass on one of the stools at the workbench Boudya and I had been using the day before.   The malfunctioning shield emitter was still partially assembled on it, and access to the relevant sections I needed was unobstructed.  I hurriedly grabbed the right tools and began to work.


    I only had a minute or two to connect the relevant systems and start tweaking when something impacted the side of my head, then obscured my vision. Swearing like a Reglarian pirate, I grabbed whatever it was and ripped it away from my face, only to find it was¡­


    A pair of pants.


    ¡°Put them on you idiot, before Jophixa gets here!¡± Boudya snarled at me, ¡°Stars, what the hell are you thinking, working in Engineering naked!  She may like your ass, but she¡¯s not gonna go lightly on you for breaking safety protocols on her ship!  I just met her, and even I know that!¡±


    ¡°You can bet your blue ass on that one.¡± came another snarl, this one far more dangerous, like the low, predatory growl of a badger facing off against someone invading it¡¯s territory, ¡°Mister Aacen, there better be one hell of an explanation for why you have violated what I am sure is basic safety protocols on Commonwealth ships as well as Giobhioni ships!¡±


    Blinking, I looked down at myself, then back up to find everyone on the ship except Toftri - who was likely too busy at the helm - standing just inside engineering staring at me (well, Jesse was pointedly avoiding her eyes, but still).  I felt myself go beet red all over. ¡°I uh¡­¡± I cleared my throat and started again, ¡°I apologize J¡­I mean commander.  It might have been a side effect of sleep learning?  I suddenly realized what we were doing wrong with the shield emitter and everything else just didn¡¯t exist except confirming I was right.  Perhaps we need a protocol that Stacy is not to let me out of my quarters after a sleep learning session  unless I''m fully dressed?¡±


    Jophixa¡¯s violet eyes bore into me with an intensity I hadn¡¯t seen since my early days in university when the Power Plant Safety Protocols professor caught someone in a particularly fatal error during a simulation.  ¡°A very good idea, possibly that should have been thought of yesterday.¡± she finally said. ¡°I won¡¯t hold it against you this time, but it better not happen again.  Now for Giobha¡¯s sake, get dressed!  Then, once you¡¯ve confirmed if you are right or not, you are to meet me in my office, where we will discuss this further without so many ears involved.¡±


    ¡°Yes Commander!¡± I said smartly, this was obviously no time for familiarity or nicknames.  Now that I wasn¡¯t completely absorbed in my A-ha moment, I knew that on any commonwealth ship, I¡¯d likely be confined to quarters, or docked pay, for this kind of thing.  I stood up and quickly pulled my pants on.  ¡°I will report to you as soon as I¡¯m done confirming my work.¡±


    With a sharp nod, she spun on her heel and glared at the others for a moment.  All of them remembered they had other things to do, and piled out of engineering.  Once they were gone, Jophixa left as well, leaving only Boudya, who walked over and handed me a shirt before sitting down.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s a story I¡¯ll be using against you in the future!¡±


    <hr>


    An hour later, I was standing in front of Jophixa¡¯s office door, nervous as hell.


    Working on the shield emitter had managed to keep my mind occupied enough to not think about it, but as soon as the work was done, and I¡¯d cleaned up, my nerves wound tighter with every step I took. I knew I¡¯d fucked up here, and I couldn¡¯t blame Jo for any disciplinary action she took.  She was absolutely correct, entering a space like engineering while not properly attired - as in butt fucking naked - would have gotten me in serious shit on your average commonwealth ship, certainly one running by guild standards.


    Whatever her choice was, I hoped I hadn¡¯t ruined whatever friendship we¡¯d been developing over the past few months.  It was great having Jesse and Boudya around again, and I was having fun with Tratsa for sure, but the idea of things going completely cold between Jo and I just left my stomach in knots for some reason.


    I caught Toftri glancing over at me again from where he sat at the helm. It had to have been the fourth time he¡¯d done it, telling me I¡¯d been standing here staring at the door and woolgathering for more than a minute or two.  Delaying this wasn¡¯t going to get it over with, and would just make me more anxious, so I reached out and tapped the panel beside the door.


    ¡°Enter.¡± came her voice from behind the door, just before it slid open with the usual quiet whoosh.


    Jophixa was seated behind a desk at the far end of the room and both her and the desk were just finishing rising up to a level more conducive to interacting with a person of human height.  I stopped and tilted my head, anxiety disappearing for a moment.  Humans weren¡¯t unfamiliar with the concept of variable height desks, but they were used for health reasons. They kept us from sitting on our asses all day, and prevented the maladies that were born from that.  But for a species of smaller stature like the giobhioni, this would certainly make meetings more ergonomic.


    I quickly shook the tangent out of my head before my body language could piss Jophixa off any further, and tried to stand as respectfully as I could.  ¡°Reporting as ordered Commander.¡±


    She waved to the seat across the desk from her, and I quickly followed her instructions.  ¡°Did your epiphone regarding the shield emitter result in success?¡± she asked, not looking up from a tablet she held in one hand.


    ¡°Yes Commander,¡± I informed her, schooling myself not to fidget. Why the hell do I feel like a child sitting in a principal¡¯s office?  ¡°The problem was that we weren¡¯t looking at the entire emitter as a whole.  We were focusing on the power control matrix in isolation.  The same system on Commonwealth ships has integrated calibration and tuning subsystems built right into the matrix, but yours don¡¯t.  This meant that once we thought we had everything worked out, and we hooked it into an emitter test jig, all the diagnostics went cattywampus.  Once we calibrated the test jig for the matrix, it passed with flying colours.¡±


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Do you think you will be able to handle refurbishing the rest of the damaged shield emitter?¡±  again, she didn¡¯t look up.


    ¡°I suspect there will be at least one subassembly that will need to be completely replaced.¡± I said with a sigh.  ¡°I¡¯m not absolutely sure, but it looks like the¡­I believe your name for it is a Leztec breech, what we would call a Hallstone Breaker, wound up fused into its cradle when it overloaded.  The whole thing is beyond repair, so it¡¯ll need to be replaced.  Stacy says we have a couple spares on hand, and can fabricate a couple more, but after that, we¡¯ll be short on some crucial material.  We¡¯ll either need to head back to the station, or purchase material somewhere out here.¡±


    ¡°Alright, get the repair work completed then, and the emitter put back into stores.¡± she finally put her tablet down and looked over at me. ¡°As for this morning¡¯s breach of safety regs; I trust that, after having experienced the sudden realization after the sleep learning, you will be able to resist running off to engineering without being safely equipped for the environment?¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am,¡± I said, giving a crisp nod, ¡°It absolutely will not happen again.  I have even instructed Stacy to absolutely not let me out of my quarters after a session of sleep learning until I¡¯ve gotten dressed.  And I am prepared for whatever disciplinary action you deem fit.¡±


    For just a moment, I thought I saw a sudden gleam in those normally hard violet eyes, and the corner of her mouth twitched, but it vanished so quickly I thought I imagined it.  ¡°I will take you at your word that it will never happen again.¡± She said finally, then spun the tablet around and pushed it in my direction. ¡°I have had a lengthy discussion with Stacy myself about certain protocols for the ship, and while I don¡¯t mind her playfully off-colour comments, or her nicknames for you, there are certain things that must be kept serious.  Safety and privacy protocols are two such areas I insist on.  So she will be enforcing your request of her.


    ¡°The ship also does require staff permanently assigned to engineering, so I have given her a list of priorities on what you¡¯ll be brought up to speed on first through the sleep learning.  I¡¯ve read your record, by the way, Stacy obtained it for me.  Before your retirement there were many people that thought you were going to go a long way in your guild.  Quite the talent for Xenotechnology.  I¡¯m going to be relying on that when we approach any of these sites your sister found for us. Some we know are giobhioni, some are not.


    ¡°I¡¯m hoping you getting up to speed on giobhioni tech will bridge the gap.  You were able to handle the simple stuff on our station enough to survive, so a bit extra, and maybe the rest will do the job for the other tech.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°As for disciplinary action.¡± she sighed, ¡°I understand the circumstances, and if this were some civilian yacht, I¡¯d be inclined to let it go this time. But the Elegance is still a military ship, even if it is my personal ship, and I need to make sure everything is done properly. So¡­¡± she pointed at the tablet, ¡°There is a list of tasks on that tablet, all of them in engineering, and all of them considered the more unpleasant duties in the section.  You are to work your way through them, and meet with me every evening after you have cleaned up, to report your progress.  Understand?¡±


    Inwardly, I winced.  I knew the kinds of tasks she was referring to.  Starships weren¡¯t like old naval vessels with thousands of moving parts that needed servicing, cleaning and lubricating, but there were still a lot of hot, dirty and unpleasant jobs to be found around a starship¡¯s critical systems.  But, it wasn¡¯t like I hadn''t had to go through this in my intern days.  I¡¯d live.


    ¡°I understand Ma¡¯am¡±


    ¡°That is another thing.¡± She leaned forward, ¡°I know you haven¡¯t been a part of the chain of command previously, but if you are going to become the ¡®chief engineer¡¯ of this ship, the informality of address will be ending, at least when on the job.  Is that understood as well?¡±


    ¡°Perfectly.¡±  Well, I guess that was it for the friendship I thought we¡¯d been developing. I thought to myself.


    There was silence in the office for a long moment, then the set of her shoulders relaxed slightly.  ¡°Thomas, please don¡¯t make me have to do this again.¡± she said, shaking her head, ¡°You might not realize it, but the head of security for a station that size doesn¡¯t get a lot of time to make friends.  I¡¯d rather not have to put the first friend I¡¯ve had for a long time off my ship for something so asinine.¡±


    I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts about how I¡¯d fucked up, that her words didn¡¯t penetrate my brain at first.  I¡¯d been about to open my mouth to utter an apology for destroying our friendship when it finally did register. ¡°I-,¡± I paused, cleared my throat, and tried again, ¡°still friends then? I can still call you Jo off duty?¡±


    A low growl came from her for a moment, before she smiled a shark toothed smile and said ¡°ONLY off-duty.¡±


    <hr>


    Lurking in the dark between stars, the ancient giobhioni cruiser wallowed.  To any observers, it appeared dead in space, no engine emissions, no lights, a derelict waiting for an enterprising crew to claim salvage.


    But across its hull crawled strange shapes, like insects over a strange bit of food left in an abandoned cave.  If you watched, you might notice these insectoid shapes seeming to consume the hull as they clambored upon. They moved with such a frantic pace, but with an organization that belied a mere feeding frenzy.  And in time, if you watched long enough, one would notice that the ship did not actually seem to get smaller.  Instead, its mass merely shifted, transforming its ancient giobhioni design into something different.


    Underneath it all, a strange chittering hiss-hum stretches out into the far reaches of the Milky Way.  It¡¯s a sound that reaches deep down into the prehistoric reptilian recesses of the mind, triggering a primordial panic that hasn¡¯t been recorded outside cave paintings.  Anyone listening would find themself fighting as instinct drove every fiber of their being to flee as far and as fast as they could manage.


    Slowly, the vessel¡¯s new shape nears completion, until at last the vessel itself begins writhing in space, its long many segmented body bristling with leg like protrusions.  As the ship writhes and churns around itself, radiation starts to emanate from it as systems come online throughout its interior.  Brief sparks of ultraviolet static cascade across its exterior until a devastating shriek, encompassing the entirety of the electromagnetic spectrum, echoes out into the cosmos.


    As that unearthly shriek faded away into the void between stars, the sudden twisting sheer of a tunnel drive bursting from hyperspace rippled only fifty thousand kilometers from the newly birthed terror, disgorging a dozen ships Terran design, emblazoned with a logo depicting a green skinned man wearing an egyptian crown and inscribed with a question mark.


    A comms signal pierced the void, announcing ¡°Alien vessel, this is the MNS Daedalus.  Stand down, that ship is under the rightful claim by salvage law of Enigma Osiris Corporation.  At this moment you are guilty of piracy, but if you heave to and surrender to our authority, we are prepared to allow your crew to leave unharmed.¡±


    The demand was answered by only silence, and the commanding voice from the fleet of ships repeated its demands twice more, becoming more forceful each time, ending its final transmission with ¡°If you do not respond, we will assume your refusal and be forced to take our property back by force.¡±


    The dark, centipedal vessel twisted like a knot in space until it was facing the fleet of ships, and a reply finally answered them in a raspy, haunting hiss. ¡°Vermin.  Pestilence.  This vessel is not yours to claim, and neither is the barred spiral..¡± there was a string of sounds that made their blood freeze in their veins, like glacial ice moving against itself. ¡°It is ours.  It was ours in the before, ours in the then, and it is ours in the now.   You  will become.¡±


    In an instant, the twisting horror lashed out, an orifice on its  bow opening wide, mandibles slick with a viscous fluid that gleamed in the starlight.  Before the lead ship of the small fleet could even react, it was seized in their clutches and pulled further into the vessel¡¯s maw.  Mouth parts terrans had no names for squeezed down and punctured the ship¡¯s armored skin, injecting a thick, putrid gas into its interior.


    Screams, terrified and panicked screams coming from battle seasoned corporate soldiers, flooded the fleet¡¯s comms traffic.  Visuals of skin bubbling, eyeballs bursting - Enigma Osiris soldiers were used to seeing many horrific things in the course of their duties, especially this particular fleet - but this threw many men into mutinous fright.  It wasn¡¯t long before two of the smaller vessels in the fleet turned and began speeding away, until a short time later, tunnel drives activated, and they disappeared.


    ¡°Cowards!¡± The fleet¡¯s admiral screamed over the comms, ¡°All ships, open fire! Try to avoid anything vital! Remember the boss wants this thing intact!¡±


    When the first blasts of mass driver fire connected with the alien vessel-creature, spasmed, and flung the ship it had been consuming back at the fleet, where it collided with the admiral¡¯s vessel.  By sheer unfortunate luck or design, it connected with its engineering deck.  Reactor containment failed, and a massive ball of light burst from within before chucks of the massive battlecruiser flew off in all directions.


    Several of these chunks, still a light with  burning plasma and trailing wisps of antimatter, connected with other ships.  None were as unfortunate as the Admirals, but two found their tunnel drives taken completely offline.  Calls went out to abandon ships, and the faster, more nimble ships attempted to scoop up any escape pods they could.


    The alien creature-ship, however, was doing the same, as well as incapacitating any ship that came within its range.  It seemed impossibly fast, covering kilometers of space in mere seconds, swallowing the smallest ships in the fleet whole.  Eventually, the last  two ships with functional tunnel drives turned and fled, leaving their stranded comrades to the mercy of the terrifying creature.


    When they were gone, the Ktonshi feasted, and cried out into the EM its victory¡­


    And somewhere, far out in the void, something answered.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 4

    The coordinates we had set course for, a location taken from the files Jesse had liberated from Enigma Osiris as her severance, were still five days away, even by giobhioni hyperdrive.  We had no idea if Enigma Osiris had already explored the site or not, it being beyond the borders of explored space, but we still hoped to glean some information from it when we got there.


    It just might require us to be more stealthy if they¡¯d already gotten there.


    In the meantime, I was splitting my time between belly crawling through the guts of engineering, working on projects to solidify the theory Stacy was pumping into my brain every night, and catching up with Boudya, Trindron and Jesse.


    Oh, and I can¡¯t forget the evening meetings with Jo, which were not as dreary as one might think, having come as part of a disciplinary action.  My report on the day''s maintenance tasks didn¡¯t take long at all, and once I was finished, Jo would fix us some graptak, and we would just talk for a while.  We hadn¡¯t had much of an opportunity to just talk since the first of the giobhioni in stasis had been revived on the station.  Once they had, she¡¯d gone into ¡®Commanding Officer¡¯ mode, and I was mostly dealing with her subordinates, who gave me blunt instructions, but mostly didn¡¯t interact.


    Now we were gradually opening up about personal lives, and in those short few days, I found myself looking forward to our evening meetings, no matter how tired I was.


    Getting reacquainted with Boudya and Tindron was an interesting time.  The two of them hadn¡¯t been formally bonded back when I originally knew them.  They were lovers for sure, just as Boudya and I were.  It was a fact I had to get used to because I¡¯d neither been with a benastian before, nor been in any sort of polyamorous relationship.  I¡¯d heard of it before, of course; Humans weren¡¯t ignorant of the idea or the idea that someone can love multiple people after all.  But even in the twenty fourth century, monogamy was the norm.  Most of us just had insecurity issues when it came to love.


    With the two of them being life-mates now - which to benastians seemed to mean some sort of connection beyond a simple legal ritual - I found myself a bit awkward in the room with the two of them at the same time, but Tindron put me at ease.


    ¡°Being life-mates does not change anything,¡± he explained to me that first breakfast we had together, ¡°I still do not own her, or her time. And neither does she, me.   It just means that we are biologically linked for the rest of our lives.  For the rest of our lives, there is connection there.  Even if we go our own ways for years we are still bonded.   If she finds herself loving, or simply dallying with someone else, as long as she does so safely, and in a way that doesn¡¯t endanger our family, I have no complaints.  Be at ease, vathrowa.¡±


    That discussion made things a lot more comfortable between us, and while Boudya still made me feel like I was being stalked by some ancient predator when we were alone, we were getting along better then as well.


    The weird part was finding Jesse and Toftri at a table in the mess hall on the third day, heads close together and talking quietly.  They were hunched over a tablet, and Toftri was pointing at things on the screen, which told me he was explaining something to her, which was good - Jesse needed things to do as much as I did.  What was odd was the way I could see their knees hesitantly touching under the table, and pinky fingers placed deliberately a bare millimeter away from each other.


    I had raised my eyebrow when I¡¯d seen that, but Boudya had quickly grabbed my elbow from behind and steered me to another table, applying her usual charms to distract me until it was time to get to work.  Once in engineering, she made sure to take a moment to remind me that my sister was old enough, and so was Toftri, that it was none of my business.


    Laughter had escaped me at that point, and I¡¯d poked her nose, leaving a smear of gasket sealant on it. ¡°I¡¯m not that kind of brother.¡± I told her, ¡°It was just weird and unexpected.¡±


    ¡°Just so long as you aren¡¯t planning on interfering.¡±


    ¡°Jesse can handle herself probably better than I can.¡± I told her, ¡°She¡¯s the one with martial arts training.  I¡¯m only stepping in if I have to.  Now, I¡¯ve got a big list of work to get done, and a lot of cramped spaces to crawl through to get it done.  And you¡¯ve got studying to do, let¡¯s get to work.¡±


    When we¡¯d first started trying to familiarize ourselves with giobhioni technology, Boudya and I had been a bit stubborn, counting on our own background in engineering, and had asked Stacy not to give us any pointers.  After I began the sleep learning, Jo had asked if Stacy had just been that bad an instructor.  When I¡¯d informed her about our ego driven stubbornness, there had been another dressing down, this time for the both of us.  The words ¡°Only a void-damned fool doesn¡¯t use the resources available to them to better prepare for an assignment!¡± had been the mildest of what she¡¯d said.


    So now, we were under strict orders to avail ourselves of Stacy¡¯s ability to access and cross reference the entirety of giobhioni engineering material whenever we found ourselves stumped.


    The dressing down had led to another conversation over graptak one evening, which thankfully did not end in a dressing down.


    ¡°I have been meaning to ask you about something Thomas.¡± Jo began, after offering me my cup, ¡°You¡¯re people don¡¯t seem to be falling too short on medical technologies, and Tratsa has even commented that some of the material she¡¯s read says you have your own cybernetic implants available.  I¡¯m curious as to why, as an engineer, you didn¡¯t have any implants before we gave you the translator back on the station.


    ¡°Was there a medical issue that our implants didn¡¯t have?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Nothing so¡­excusable, I¡¯m afraid.¡± pausing, I took a sip of graptak, then sighed, ¡°The issue is more vulgar than that. You¡¯ll find that most humans don¡¯t have any cybernetics, and the ones that do have one thing in common.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°Money.  I noticed your people don¡¯t seem to make any kind of mention regarding wealth in any of the material I¡¯ve read so far.  I thought maybe it was simply because all of you that remain are military as far as I¡¯m aware.  I asked Stacy about it at one point, and she explained you don¡¯t really do the whole money based economy thing, resources are put towards bettering your society as a whole.  Right?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­.yes.¡± she said, frowning, ¡°Once we could move about our home solar system at decent speeds, and then after we could enter hyperspace, there was such an abundance of resources, why should we hoard them?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I wish you could explain that to our leaders.¡± I idly drew designs on her desk with my finger, ¡°back about two and a half centuries ago, the poverty on Earth got so bad that the richest of us finally clued in that if they didn¡¯t revise their habits even just a little, there was likely to be a full out revolt.  The kind of revolt that ended with their heads in a basket.  So they consented to the idea of what we called Basic Income at the time.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Everyone got a basic stipend that was enough to pay for basic shelter and living needs, but anything further than that, they still had to work for.  Money still remained a motivating factor, we just eliminated the depth of poverty that had people dying for no good reason.  The wealthy still kept hoarding the  bulk of the resources though, and kept certain things for themselves as status symbols.¡±


    ¡°And one of those things were implants?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± again I shook my head, ¡°It didn¡¯t matter that those cybernetics could help people do their jobs better.  They still saw that there were plenty enough people wanting to work for better things in life that they didn¡¯t need to allow those luxuries to become commonplace.  The only humans that aren¡¯t wealthy who have implants tend to be criminals who stole those implants out of the bodies of the wealthy people they murdered, and the surgical process done by unscrupulous doctors that don¡¯t care that second hand implants often end up causing¡­problems for the subject fairly quickly.  Violent psychosis being one of the most common problems.¡±


    Jophixa leaned back in her chair, a look of disgust on her face as she contemplated all this.  ¡°And the Benastians?¡±


    ¡°I never honestly asked her about that.¡± I said, scratching my head. ¡°It never came up as a subject, probably because I just never thought of implants as a part of life.  I could ask her about it if you want?¡±


    She waved the idea off, ¡°I can ask her about it myself.  I¡¯m mainly curious due to having three people on the ship without the advantage of integrated translation and transponders in an implant.  If they become part of our long term mission, it would be to all of our advantages for that fact to be changed.  I don¡¯t want to misstep by suggesting it if there is some cultural taboo.


    ¡°I¡¯ve honestly been contemplating sending orders back to the station to get them to relocate somewhere closer for a short time.  If only so that Tzaki Gwatri can do the implants.  Especially if we want the ansible functionality included in them.  I admit I¡¯ve been talking to Stacy about if my own implant can somehow be retrofitted with that functionality.  Your ability to be always in contact with her has come in handy on a couple of occasions, and the sleep learning could benefit both Jessica and Boudya in the roles they¡¯ve expressed interest in filling on board.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow.  Boudya was an easy one to anticipate, being another engineer like myself.  The Elegance was a relatively small ship, sure, but having two engineers on board seemed prudent, especially if we ended up in any more combat situations.   But Jesse was a computer geek.  Her job at Enigma Osiris had been as an analyst and networking engineer, which is what had allowed her to gain access to those files she had liberated for us.  There were ways those skills could help aboard a ship, but one this size?


    ¡°Surely you¡¯ve seen her and Toftri almost attached at the hip?¡± she said with a chuckle, answering my question before I could speak, ¡°While I admit there is an aspect of, shall we say, friendship, blossoming there, Toftri is also helping to tutor her in starship helm and communication operations.  Seems your sister wants to try her hand at piloting a starship.¡±


    <hr>


    Drifting, alone amongst the wreckage of the Enigma Osiris flotilla, a long range fighter struggled to regain some semblance of power.


    It had been forty six hours since the disastrous engagement between the flotilla and what had once been a derelict vessel hauled back from uncharted space by the despicable Johnathan Barstol and his crew of outlaw salvagers.  Forty-six hours since Lieutenant Giselle Kintzel had watched the ship containing virtually everyone she knew and called friends, be feasted on what that ship seemed to have become.


    A giant black thing that seemed both biological and mechanical to her scanners, and impervious to the vacuum of space, it reminded her of the bugs they called centipedes back on earth, glistening black on black, with the stars reflecting off its carapace, it was barely visible to the eye.


    Her fighter had suffered a collision with wreckage from the Daedalus, sending it spinning out of control amidst the chaos, and rendering her unconscious in the process.  When she finally came too, the only thing keeping her alive was her flight suit and the emergency O2 scrubber.  Her fighter was dead in space, reactor offline, backup power glitching erratically, she didn¡¯t even have a means to call for help.


    It was a very real possibility that she¡¯d die out here when the life support systems in her flight suit finally ran out of power.


    But one thing a Kintzel woman was not was a defeatist.  Certainly not a quitter in any way, shape or form.  So as soon as she had checked herself for injuries, and did what she could to scan the area for the hellish beast-ship, she unbuckled from her seat, and started working to see what could be repaired.


    Five hours later, the situation was not looking all that great.  While it looked like getting both the reactor and the backup power online was possible, it was going to take some jury rigging to do so.  Backup power would be the easiest, as the glitch simply appeared to be wiring issues that would need tracing down and splicing around to get power to critical systems - like life support.  The reactor would take a lot more work, and she wasn¡¯t sure if it was even going to be worth bothering with, since any flight control systems were completely mangled.  There was no getting them working again without access to a repair bay and full replacements.


    That wasn¡¯t even including the tunnel drive.


    She was out in the void between stars.  Even if she could get the flight systems operational, without the tunnel drive operational, she was still stuck.  It would take a couple hundred years to reach the closest star to where she was drifting aimlessly.


    There was only one option for rescue, and that was getting the comms array working.  If someone out there picked up her distress call in time, maybe she¡¯d survive this mess and get back to civilization.


    ¡°I swear Gerty,¡± she spoke into the black, ¡°if I get out of this, I¡¯ll put my resignation in with EO. The pay is not worth this.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Excuse me Commander, I know I¡¯m not supposed to intrude on your evening meeting with Thomas, but this might be important.¡±


    Jo and I had been in the midst of a discussion regarding my EVA suit, and how it compared to standard Giobhioni suits just then.  I hadn¡¯t been aware that she had given instructions to Stacy not to interrupt, but it certainly explained the lack of input from her.


    I noticed Jo give a small sigh before responding, ¡°What is it Stacy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve picked up a weak communication signal.  It¡¯s a distress call.  Telemetry places its origin only two or three lightyears out of our way.¡± Stacy explained, ¡°The distress call states they have no propulsion, no tunnel drive, and are completely reliant on their flight suit for life support.  I doubt their signal is going to reach anyone else in time for them to come to the rescue Commander.¡±


    ¡°Damn,¡± Jo swore under her breath, ¡°I hate to lose even the small amount of time that such a short side trip would involve.  Is there anyway we can boost the message and relay it in order to get someone to them in time? Without having to divert ourselves?¡±


    I was about to open my mouth to interject when Stacy answered, ¡°We can certainly do that, and that would improve their chances quite a bit.  It would still not be a sure thing that any rescue effort would get there in time, however.¡±


    ¡°Jo,¡± I spoke up, ¡°Commander, I¡¯m not sure about Giobhioni spacer law or tradition, but Commonwealth, and hell, universal agreement in known space, states that anyone picking up a distress call must render aid if they are able to.¡±


    ¡°This is a Giobhioni law also, Thomas.¡± Stacy replied


    The scowl on Jo¡¯s face rivaled the one she¡¯d worn just a few days ago when she¡¯d chewed me out for being in engineering without being properly attired.  ¡°Ordinarily, I would uphold those laws to the letter,¡± she said finally, after brooding for a minute, ¡°but we don¡¯t know how far ahead of us Enigma Osiris is in visiting the rest of those coordinates Jessica provided.  Such a delay could very well mean us missing out on clues we need to stop all this!  We¡¯d be sacrificing countless lives for the sake of what? One person?¡±


    ¡°What if I¡¯d died before I managed to find a way inside the station?  Nobody would even know any of this was happening until it was too late.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s different! You saved yourself through your own skills and ingenuity!¡±


    ¡°And Stacy, according to security protocol, should have had station defences eliminate me with extreme prejudice to protect your people.  Weren¡¯t those protocols the ones in place?  If she hadn¡¯t achieved sentience in the intervening centuries, I¡¯d be dead, you¡¯d still be in stasis, and who knows what could be going on.¡±


    I could see her grinding her teeth as she admitted to herself I was right, but she still wasn¡¯t ready to let go of her argument. ¡°That might just be but¡­¡±


    ¡°Commander.¡±  Stacy interrupted, ¡°there¡¯s one more detail that could make this diversion worth it.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°The person in distress is one Lieutenant Giselle Kintzel of Enigma Osiris Strike Flotilla Two.¡±


    ¡°Enigma Osiris!¡± Jo bolted to her feet, ¡°All the more reason to¡­¡±


    ¡°Why does that name sound familiar?¡± I said, cutting off Jo for a second time in the conversation.  ¡°Kintzel,  I¡¯ve heard that name recently.¡±


    ¡°Very recently,¡± Stacy explained, while Jo glared at me, ¡°She is the twin sister of one Major Gertrude Kintzel, head of System Security for the Yantari system.  She was the one I was able to negotiate with to get you both off the planet.  She is also quite aware that your sister, Boudya and Tindron are aboard, but has decided not to report it.  In fact, she has pushed the evidence I provided up the chain.  The warrant for their arrest is within days of being rescinded due to her.¡±


    At this, Jo sat back down heavily. I could still see she did not like the decision she had to make, but I could see she was going to make the one I thought was the right one.  I made sure to keep my face as neutral as I could when she announced it, however.  Nobody likes a gloater.


    ¡°Very well Stacy.  Please let Be¡¯tsar Toftri know to change course to the coordinates of the distress call.¡± she shook her head, ¡°And let Tzaki Tratsa know she¡¯s likely to have another human patient soon.¡± Then she looked at me. ¡°And you.  You get yourself ready for a space walk.  I want you out there pulling whatever remains of that ship''s flight recorder.  I want to know where it¡¯s been, why it was so far out here without escort, and how the hell it ended up in distress.¡±


    ¡°Sepaq, Commander!¡± Both Stacy and I responded in unison.

 Volume 2 Chapter 5

    Standing in the Elegance of Light¡¯s small shuttle bay, I was going through the final EVA checklist, and trying not to get distracted by the immense debris field on the other side of the atmospheric containment barrier.


    That was another bit of tech that I was still getting used to.  The atmospheric containment barrier, or ACB, was like something out of old school science fiction. A charged particle field that acted like a semi-permeable membrane for the shuttle bay, it would allow larger objects, like a shuttlecraft, or yours truly in an EVA suit, to enter and exit, without the need of a conventional airlock system.  So instead of the entire shuttlebay needing to be depressurized for me to start this foray, I just had to take a careful step out.


    Bringing my attention back to the vista before me, I breathed out a long breath. My experience in salvaging debris fields and derelict ships told me that there was easily the remains of at least eight ships there, depending on the classifications. Most of them were still showing signs of radioactive glow along ragged and torn edges of hull plating, the spars and the bulkheads.  The electromagnetic noise from antimatter explosions and fusion reactor breaches still permeated the area to the point I was very glad I was not attempting this in a standard EVA suit.  As it was there was a possibility I¡¯d need to be treated for exposure when I got back to the ship.


    ¡°All systems are green Thomas,¡± Boudya told me, and I confirmed via the holographic heads up display, and the secondary mounted on my arm.  Every system showed green status lights beside them.


    ¡°Confirmed, all systems green.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re pulling within 500 meters of the signal source.¡± Jophixa informed me over the commlink, her tone brisk and all business.  I knew she still wasn¡¯t happy about this diversion from our original course, ¡°Any closer and we¡¯ll send too much debris tumbling, we¡¯re already tracking way too much for my comfort levels as it is.  Be careful out there, but get it done as quickly as possible.  We¡¯ll have the quarantine pod waiting to the starboard of the docking bay, just as planned.¡±


    ¡°Aye Commander,¡± I replied, smiling to myself.  I might be a bit anxious about this EVA, but this was an anxiety I was used to. ¡°Quick but safe, like stabilizing a reactor fluctuating close to critical.  All part of the business.  I¡¯ve done it dozens of times.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky Thomas!  Remember, there could be pockets of Contagion out there.  We might not be picking any up, but that could easily be due to the background radiation.  We don¡¯t know what actually happened here, and I¡¯d rather not have you get infected.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re sure the material used for my EVA suit will keep the contagion out?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what our scientists determined.¡± Stacy put in, ¡°all testing proved impervious to the contagion. So you should be safe, and the quarantine pod is constructed of the same material. As long as we¡¯re careful, we should be safe.¡±


    ¡°Thomas,¡± Toftri cut in, ¡°Jesse just identified telemetry on a large chunk of what is likely hull plating.  It¡¯s closing with the fighter¡¯s position at about twenty-five of your kilometers per hour.  Current course shows no impact is likely, but it will still be a close one.  We¡¯ll be tracking it closely and let you know if that changes.¡±


    ¡°Roger that Toftri, thanks for the heads up!¡±


    <Be careful out there Tommycakes!> She said through my implant, <Any sign of contagion and you get that fine little hiney back here!  No stranger is worth you dying!>


    Don¡¯t worry Stace, I thought back at her, I don¡¯t plan on dying for any Enigma Osiris stooge.


    I did one more check on the seal of my helmet, running my gloved hands around its periphery. It still amazed me at times to think how far EVA suits had come since the early days of space flight.gave the connection to my tether a tug to make sure it was firmly seated, then gave Boudya a thumbs up.  ¡°All set.  I¡¯ll be back in a jiff.  Make sure to have some graptak ready for me when I get back!¡±


    She smiled back, ¡°I¡¯ll even make some of that shortbread stuff you like so much.¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re talkin¡¯!¡±


    Walking up to the threshold of the ACB, I pause for a moment.  This was the part of an Extra Vehicular Activity that never got old for me.  That first step into the cold hard blackness of space always sent a thrill up my spine, no matter how many times I¡¯ve done it.  There was just something about stepping out of the safe confines of a ship, into that vastness, with all the dangers involved, knowing that even with all your skill and equipment, something as random as a tiny sliver of metal travelling at insane speeds that were possible in a vacuum, could ruin your day in a moment - it just got the blood pumping.


    Glancing at the beacon on my HUD indicating my target, I lined myself up then stepped carefully through the barrier and into the weightlessness of space.


    Five hundred meters might not seem like that far to go, but when you¡¯re keeping half an eye out on debris spinning and shifting in all directions, it can feel like walking through a firefight.  Thankfully, however, this fighter seemed to be relatively clear of the main mass of debris - another kilometer or two away, and I¡¯d be worried about my tether getting tangled up in ship spars or cut by sharpened shards of deck plating.  ¡°Twenty meters away now.¡± I reported, ¡°Still no signs of movement from within the fighter, but I think I can make out the pilot strapped into the cockpit.  Here¡¯s hoping the buckles haven¡¯t gotten fouled.¡±


    ¡°Did you forget your belt cutter or something?¡± Boudya shot back.


    ¡°Negative, I just don¡¯t want to be out here longer than I need to be.  I¡¯m not as foolish as I look, you know.¡± I adjusted my course slightly with my maneuvering jets. ¡°Ten meters.  Still no signs of movement from the pilot.  This fighter is a right mess though.  I¡¯m surprised she even survived, let alone had enough juice left to power a distress beacon.¡±


    ¡°Five meters.  Three meters.  One meter.  Contact.  I¡¯ve contacted at midship, moving forward to check the pilot.¡±


    I moved slowly, paying attention to the sharp edges of the fighter¡¯s hull.  My suit was made of fairly cut proof material, but it¡¯s never good to be careless when it comes to your suit integrity.


    ¡°Approaching the cockpit.¡± I reported, ¡°I can see the instrument panel, it¡¯s set to show life support status.  Looks like she¡¯s still got life support to spare, but her O2 is on the low side.  Showing pulse and blood oxygen stable.  I¡¯m seeing slow, measured breathing from the pilot but otherwise no movement.¡±


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    ¡°She could be using a form of meditation to slow her breathing and heart rate¡± Tratsa informed me, ¡°It¡¯s something pilots from many species are taught in case of this kind of situation.  It extends life support resources until rescue arrives.¡±


    ¡°Understood.  Let¡¯s hope she doesn¡¯t come out of it swinging.¡± I examined the boundary of the cockpit for shards of canopy composite, ¡°Looks like she already blew the canopy charges, there¡¯s no sign of it.  Likely did so in order to see if she could affect enough repairs to get out of here.  That¡¯ll make this easier.


    ¡°Proceeding into the cockpit to cut her loose.¡±


    Slipping carefully in close to the pilot, I kept a close eye on her as I reached for her harness.  While she wasn¡¯t likely to hurt me directly if she took a swing, she could knock my helmet up against something, and I¡¯d rather avoid the risk of that. Hell, I¡¯d rather not see her break her hand against my helmet either.


    ¡°Still no sign of reaction from the pilot.  Unbuckling her harness now.¡±  I reached in and carefully unbuckled the harness, ¡°Attaching tether to the pilot now.¡± I latched her on, then gently pulled her away from her seat and let her float just outside the cockpit. ¡°Going after the flight recorder now.¡±


    ¡°That hunk of hull plating is pretty close now Thomas.¡± Toftri reported, ¡°Looks like it should pass by you within maybe ten meters.¡±


    ¡°Acknowledged.¡±  I slipped further into the cockpit to hunt for the flight recorder.  ¡°Let¡¯s see, where would they put the flight recorder in a ship like this.  My money is on - under the seat.¡±  Pulling out my handheld scanner, I waved it over and around the seat for a moment.  ¡°Bingo. One of the most protected points in the ship.  Now I just need to access the thing.  Checking with the endo-scope.¡±


    I kept up my running dialog as I examined the attachment points.  I was going to have to pull the whole seat out to get to it. ¡°This is going to take a minute.¡± I reported, and got to work on unfastening all the bolts holding the seat down, sparing the odd moment to check on the pilot, and glance towards the hunk of hull plating moving ever closer to us.


    Damn that thing was imposing.


    <Thomas,> Stacy told me through my implant. <I¡¯m getting some odd readings from that bit of hull plating.  There¡¯s some radioactivity coming from it.  Your suit should protect you, but don¡¯t take chances.>


    I hear you Sweety.  Thanks for the heads up.


    I finally got the seat loose, and carefully maneuvered it out of the cockpit, and set it drifting away in a direction it shouldn¡¯t cause a hazard to us. ¡°The seat is out, flight recorder next.¡±


    ¡°That debris is nearly right on top of you Thomas.  It¡¯s going to pass within five meters.¡±


    ¡°Acknowledged.¡±  I sent back, ¡°just one more¡­ got it,  I have the flight recorder.  Attached to the toolbelt, and I¡¯m exiting the cockpit.¡±


    I gently backed my way out of the cockpit and approached the pilot.  I thought I could see her stirring just a bit, which was a good sign. When I got to her, she had her eyes - not just open, but wide open.  They were as wide as saucers, staring into the black behind me.   The rest of her had gone stock still by the time I got to her, and I thought maybe she was just in shock, but then Stacy came over the comm, ¡°THOMAS! Behind  you!¡±


    I moved to turn around, but as I did, the pilot snapped out of her shock, and her arm came up, a survival model sidearm in her hand fired off a three round burst, the flashes burning temporary spots in my peripheral vision.  ¡°What the fuck!¡±


    I thought for a moment she had shot at me, but as I finished the turn I had begun a moment before, a sound like all the demons of hell doing unholy things to the cheapest of violins pierced my skull, and I caught sight of a monstrous black shape, only half visible against the stars behind it, a sizzling, burning hole burning along what I could only guess was a - shoulder?


    The pilot fired again, and again.  That demonic screech hit my skull once more, and I caught sight of something like a trail of spherical globs passing within mere centimeters of my visor.  ¡°KTONSHI!¡± I screamed into the comm. ¡°Reel me in!¡±


    I felt the tether jerk tight, and the acceleration of it pulling us back towards the Elegance.   The pilot was still unloading her sidearm at the Ktonshi, which must have been hidden on the chunk of hull plating.  It didn¡¯t seem to be doing a whole lot of damage, but the kinetic effects while in zero g were at least ensuring any effort made to launch towards us would be foiled.


    As if fate read my thoughts, that was when her ammunition ran dry, and the Ktonshi, which must have been waiting for just that opportunity, launched itself on - holy FUCK that¡¯s too many legs - towards us.


    ¡°FUCK FUCK FUCK!¡± I screamed, and grabbed on my toolbelt for the sidearm that Jophixa had insisted I make part of my kit for this EVA.   I was no crack shot - I¡¯m an engineer, not a damned soldier - but the Ktonshi seemed as big as a bus in my mind, and it just seemed to be getting bigger as it was somehow closing on us. ¡°FASTER!!! REEL US IN FASTER!¡±


    Raising the giobhioni weapon, I began blind firing at the horrific thing, and it goes to show you how large it loomed in my vision that every single shot landed, blasting off bits of carapace from its body. With every chunk of carapace that spun off into space, it screamed, driving daggers into my skull.


    ¡°Hold on Thomas!¡± Jophixa called ¡°we¡¯re maneuvering to use the shipboard weapons, and get you out of danger! Firing in three, two, one, FIRE!¡±


    A pulse of collimated light at least a half meter thick shot out from the underside of the Elegance and slammed into the Ktonshi.  The searing blast that resulted was satisfying, leaving the ktonshi a charred husk spinning away from us into the dark.  ¡°Void¡¯s MAW, I think I pissed myself!¡± I exclaimed, ¡°I need a bigger fucking gun!¡±


    I heard a nervous chuckle that sounded like Boudya, which was confirmed a moment later when she said ¡°Isn¡¯t it lucky that damned suit takes care of accidents like that?¡±


    A not entirely non-hysterical laugh erupted from my own throat in response to that. ¡°Just get me back inside the ship damn you. I need to feel dense hull plating around me.¡±


    I glanced over at the pilot, Giselle Kintzel, who was still staring off in the direction the Ktonshi went spinning off in, her eyes still as wide as they could be.  Oh yeah lady, I feel ya. I thought to myself, That¡¯s gonna be nightmare fuel for -years-.


    Ten minutes later, Lieutenant Kintzel was tucked inside the quarantine pod we¡¯d prepared, and I was standing in an isolation chamber just inside the ACB.


    After a close encounter with a Ktonshi like that, it was decided (both Jophixa and I insisted) that I undergo a period of quarantine myself.  There was no way in the deepest reaches of Void¡¯s emptiness was I going to expose the rest of the ship to the ktonshi contagion! I¡¯d honestly rather step back out into the vacuum of space and breach the seal on my helmet.  So they quickly assembled another airlock-like chamber I could get into until thorough medical scans could be done to ensure there was no trace of the contagion on the outside of my suit.


    We now knew for certain that the contagion was out loose, and active.  There were ktonshi operating in the vicinity of the Commonwealth and our allies.  We weren¡¯t sure just how far the infection had spread yet, since we hadn¡¯t had a chance to ask Lieutenant Kintzel any questions, and the flight recorder was in the isolation chamber with me.  There hadn¡¯t been enough time to set up anything inside it for me to work on accessing it, so we were going to have to wait until I was declared safe to wander the ship again.


    I was itching to get at the data on the recorder, hoping desperately that there¡¯d be enough there that we could convince someone in Fleet Command, or government, to take this seriously.  Boudya was going to try to make contact with her connections within the Benastian Cooperative to pass the information along that way as well, but we both knew politicians could be damned annoying when it came to convincing them to do something important, especially if it meant spending money on things that didn¡¯t ultimately end up in their own pockets.


    ¡°How the hell are we going to convince them before it¡¯s too late?¡± I asked myself, and slid down the wall until I was sitting on the deck. The adrenaline rush from the EVA was starting to crash, and I just felt exhausted.  Resting my head back against the wall of the isolation pod, I closed my eyes and started to drift off¡­


    Only to start awake screaming as I was met with the gleaming eyes staring at me in furious hate from out of that sickeningly gray cupie doll face, mouth stretched wide in a terrible rictus, lower jaw splitting to reveal glistening, chittering pedipalps and chelicerae.  Long spindly legs by the dozen reached out across the emptiness of the void. Tiny bristling hairs along their length quivering with anticipation and rage as they grew ever closer¡­ They came within touching distance of my visor and lunged¡­


    I jolted upright, screaming.


    <Thomas!> Stacy said soothingly <Babycakes, it¡¯s ok, it was a nightmare!  You¡¯re safe, you¡¯re on the Elegance.  So far there¡¯s no sign your suit¡¯s integrity wasn¡¯t compromised.  We¡¯ll have you out of there soon, I promise!  Relax Sweetbuns, I¡¯ll try to use the implant to head off any more nightmares, and let Tratsa know what¡¯s going on, okay?>


    Still gasping in terror, I leaned my head back against the wall again and tried to slow my breathing.  Just a nightmare, I thought back, that was¡­


    <I know Honeybuns, I know.> she soothed, <We¡¯ll have you out of there and in your quarters before you know it babycakes, Tratsa will fix you up with a nice sedative to help you sleep, and I¡¯ll do my best through the implant.  Just breathe.  You saved someone¡¯s life today, you survived.  Rest babe, rest.>


    I still couldn¡¯t bring myself to close my eyes, but I let them unfocused, and concentrated on just breathing. Stacy kept up a soothing, whispered dialog in the back of my mind, urging me to relax, for my thoughts to be still.  Eventually, I lost myself in the rhythm of my breath and the mitre of her voice.  The terror slowly faded away and I drifted towards thoughts of circuitry and mechanics.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 6

    ¡°Major, there are some people here from Enigma Osiris here to see you.¡±


    Looking up from another bit of useless communication from the prefecture, Gertrude scowled at her aide. ¡°What the hell do the scumbags from EO want?¡±


    Her aide, one Ian Hanover, a short stocky man in his middle year, sporting a military crisp crew cut, and a uniform with creases so sharp he probably shaved with them, shrugged.  ¡°They wouldn¡¯t tell me Ma¡¯am, just said that it was a business of a personal nature.¡±  He took in the Major¡¯s foul temperament and asked, ¡°Should I inform them you are busy and request they return later?¡±


    Sighing, she shook her head.  If Enigma Osiris was here on matters of a personal nature, it meant it had to do with her sister.  She hadn¡¯t spoken to Giselle since she¡¯d been dishonorably discharged five years ago.  She¡¯d been caught up in some sort of security leak, her involvement not enough to send her to the stockade, but enough to ruin her career.  After that, she signed on with EO.


    They had fought over that, the worst argument they¡¯d ever had, and hadn¡¯t spoken since.


    ¡°You might as well show them in.¡± She told Ian, ¡°get them out of my life ASAP.¡±


    Ian nodded sharply, and moments later, showed a dark suited pair of corporate drones in.  The pair might as well have been clones, for all they were male and female; Same height, same build, same silver streaked brown hair styled in the latest corporate business style.  With some of E.O.s research ethics, she thought to herself, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they actually are clones.


    The woman stepped forward, holding out her hand, ¡°Major Kintzel, I¡¯m Tina Furgeson from Enigma Osiris¡¯ Security Operations division.¡±


    Gertrude just stared at the woman with unblinking eyes, like she would have stared at one of her subordinates who had been dragged back to base after a dustup in some drinking hole.  She was not in the mood to play polite with soulless corpos.


    The woman pulled her hand back and coughed quietly, ¡°And this is Samuel Johnson.  We¡¯re here about your sister Giselle.  It¡¯s with great regret that we need to inform you that during a recent operation, your sister¡¯s fighter was lost in combat.  We have been  unable to find any sign of her or her remains, and have been forced to declare her missing in action.  We at Enigma Osiris want to express our condolences, and assure you that we will continue efforts to determine the whereabouts of your sister and bring her home.¡±


    Blinking, Gertrude continued to say nothing.  Her sister was M.I.A., possibly lost floating in space somewhere, or stranded on some shithole planet, abandoned by the corrupt corporation she chose to work for, to preserve some fiction about their motives there.   She¡¯d always believed there¡¯d be a time at some point when her sister would come to her senses and they could reconcile, but now - the prospects of that were grim.


    But she wasn¡¯t about to let these stuffed suits see weakness.  ¡°I see.¡±  she finally said, ¡°Unless there is more information regarding the operation she was on, or forms I need to sign regarding dispersal of her effects, you will excuse me.  I have a very full schedule for the rest of the day.¡±


    ¡°Major, I¡¯m -¡±


    ¡°Are there any further details to share, or paperwork to sign?¡±


    ¡°No Ma¡¯am.¡± the woman who¡¯d identified herself as Tina Furgeson replied.


    ¡°Then Corporal Hanover will show you out.  Thank you for your time in informing me about my sister.  Good day.¡±


    After Ian hustled them out of her office, she turned her chair and stared at a blank bit of wall and just tried not to think.  It was easier that way, Giselle was the only family she had left, and it had been hard being estranged from your twin.  Now there might not be any chance of setting things right.  Thinking about it was just too hard.


    She wasn¡¯t sure how long she sat there, staring blankly at the wall, when the sound of her comm unit chiming broke into her consciousness.


    Blinking, she turned to look at the holo-screen, prepared to smash the keyboard to ignore the communication, and put herself in do not disturb mode, but the sender information brought her up short.  Ambassador Stasti Ai¡¯fix of the Giobhioni Republic.  That was the alien woman who had hacked into their networks only days earlier, to threaten outright war due to, ironically enough, malfeasance on the part of Enigma Osiris.  She had provided proof that accusations that put targets on the back of two siblings of the Aacen family, and one benastian woman, were falsified for some reason.  Another reason for her current unfavorable opinion of the corporation.


    Why was the Ambassador contacting her now?


    Unable to resist the curiosity, she tapped the receive key, and opened what turned out to be a heavily encrypted text only mail.  ¡°Major Kintzel, as of eight of your hours ago, your sister Giselle is in the company of Commander Jophixa on the Elegance of Light.  She was pulled from the wreck of her fighter craft by Mr Thomas Aacen and is undergoing medical treatment in the Elegance of Light¡¯s infirmary.


    ¡°Mr Aacen assumed you might be worried for your sister¡¯s safety, and insisted we pass word on.  When your sister is able, Commander Jophixa has said she will arrange to have her be in contact with you directly.   We¡¯ll also be sending along some information regarding the circumstances regarding her injuries, and hope you might help with disseminating the information.   This is for the safety of everyone in the quadrant, perhaps even the galaxy.


    ¡°Until then, be wary of Enigma Osiris, Especially of the CRO, Benson Fisch.  Do not let them drag you into any of their operations.   I¡¯ll be in touch.   Ambassador Statsi Ai¡¯fix - Giobhioni Republic¡±


    Grief washed drained out of her in a torrent, leaving her feeling boneless and exhausted.  Giselle was alive, and there was still a chance to set things right.  Any doubts she¡¯d had about letting the Aacen woman and the Benastian slip away vanished.  Sometimes, doing the right thing pays off.


    <hr>


    ¡°Mr. Fisch, sir?¡±


    The tone in Charles¡¯ voice did not speak to good news.  Benson gently placed the delicate glass pen into its carved wooden case, and stopped the ink bottle.  He¡¯d had precious little time for art in the past few weeks, and had decided to take the time while Acquisition Group Charlie was still hunting down the alien vessel to work on a long neglected project.


    That time was about to be cut short, he guessed.  ¡°What is it Charles?¡±


    ¡°The Acquisition Group reported that they had located the vessel and were preparing to confront it, sir.¡± Charles explained.  ¡°I¡¯ve sent the coordinates to your holoterminal, sir.  But sir¡­¡±


    ¡°Please just spit it out Charles. Time is money.¡±


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    ¡°Operational Feeds sent this back, Sir.¡±  And he tapped the screen on his tablet, causing the large holoscreen along one wall to activate and start displaying the sequence of events.


    Benson watched impassively as the enormous centipede like thing tore through the flotilla of ships, ripping it to shreds in scant minutes.  There was no contest whatsoever.  Twelve of their best ships, and a myriad of fighters, wiped out by a single ship-creature whose only resemblance to the the ship Barstol had salvaged was energy signatures from its power core.  He cringed inside when he heard the comms equipment pick up the screams of the creature, then seethed when he caught the readings that showed multiple ships retreating from the engagement.


    ¡°Has there been any word from those ships that retreated?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡±  Charles reported. ¡°In fact, the location transponders they are outfitted with seem to have been disabled.  The people in Resources believe they have Breached Contract.  Standard procedures have been initiated, but no comms have resulted, and there has been no confirmation of deactivation codes being received, Sir.¡±


    Benson pinched the bridge of his nose.  ¡°So, we¡¯ve lost the entirety of AGC, to either destruction or desertion, is that what you are telling me Charles?¡±


    ¡°Not¡­entirely Sir.¡±


    He turned to give Charles a hard look, causing him to tap again at his tablet, and the vista on the holoscreen shifted to the cockpit view from one of their heavy fighters.  They watched as the fighter was struck by debris from the capital ship and sent spinning, then again as the pilot regained consciousness in their ruined fighter and recorded their efforts to make sufficient repairs to survive and call for assistance.  They heard her broadcast her distress call, then buckle herself back into the cockpit and go into deep meditation to conserve her oxygen.


    Then, sometime later - after Charles sped up the playback - they watched as the strange, elegantly shaped vessel appeared in view, and a single figure approached the fighter in an EVA suit.


    ¡°Do we have any identity on that ship?¡± Benson snapped.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± and an inset image appeared on the holo.  Showing the same ship parked at a Starport labelled as Yintari Three.  ¡°The transponder identifies it as the Elegance of Light, hailing from the Giobhioni Republic, sir.  It was last seen leaving Yintari Three with Thomas Aacen on board.¡±


    Sure enough, at just that moment, the footage from the fighter craft managed to catch an angle on the pilot¡¯s rescuer that revealed its face through the helmet¡¯s visor.


    It was Thomas Aacen.


    An audible pop sounded in the room, emanating from his jaw which was clenched so tightly it was likely causing microfractures in his teeth.  ¡°So, destruction, desertion¡­and Aacen has one of our pilots?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    ¡°Get hunter teams after both those deserters, and that Giobhioni ship.¡± he ordered, trying to keep his voice even.  Raising one¡¯s voice was a sign of weakness.  ¡°See what you can do to get Commonwealth Security involved, spin it that they have kidnapped one of our people or something.¡±


    Charles visibly winced, ¡°After the evidence came out that we¡¯d falsified the charges against Jessica Aacen, sir, it might be difficult to spin that one.¡±


    ¡°Try it anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±  He turned to leave, paused. ¡°Sir, there¡¯s one more thing.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± Benson asked, incredulously.


    ¡°Yes sir.  I got word that there was a Board Meeting held this morning sir.¡±


    He stood up suddenly, incensed, ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I informed?  It¡¯s not like you to be this incompetent Charles!¡±


    Wincing back, Charles cowered towards the door.  Fisch had never shown any inclination towards being violent towards him, but there had been many rumors regarding the disappearances of E.O. employees that failed in expectations.  ¡°Sir, I only found out myself just before bringing the report to you sir.  They deliberately didn¡¯t send us notification of the meeting!¡±


    Great, Benson thought to himself, they are up to something, excluding me like that.  I need to find out the purpose of that meeting.


    ¡°Very well, Charles.¡± He said, once more in his level tone. ¡°You cannot be faulted for what you were not informed of.  Please see if you can dig up why we were not informed of said meeting.  In the meantime, I need to determine next steps on the situation at hand.  You are dismissed.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir, Mr. Fisch.¡± and with that he slipped out of the office without another sound.


    <hr>


    She awoke with a throat tearing scream, a vision of the multitude of gleaming magma black eyes growing ever more enormous as the creature sailed through the vacuum of space towards her.  The phantom vibrations of her coilgun still echoing up her arm as her finger still spasmed to pull the trigger.


    It was some time, she had no idea how long, that she became aware of a gentle male voice speaking to her from startlingly nearby. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay Giselle, it¡¯s okay, you¡¯re safe now.¡± it said, in that curiously musical lilt she recognized as Benastian, if only from their presence in the entertainment industry. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot.  Just relax.  The doc will be along shortly to check on you.¡±


    Once the nightmare cleared from her mind, she became aware of her surroundings.  She was laying on something akin to a hospital bed, enclosed in a space that couldn¡¯t be much larger than about 2.5 square meters in volume - just enough for her to sit up, or to stretch out to sleep.  The walls of the enclosure held several two dimensional displays showing medical read-outs, as well as a holo-projector mounted from the ceiling.  Everything was sterile white, except her flight suit, which she was still wearing.


    The holo-projector activated, displaying a benastian male¡¯s face, smiling kindly. ¡°Hi there,¡± he said, ¡°good to see you awake finally.  We weren¡¯t sure how long you¡¯d been out there before we picked you up.  My name¡¯s Tindron, and I was asked to keep watch on you while the Doc is dealing with another patient.  He¡¯s the one who pulled you out of your fighter by the way.


    ¡°Sorry about the accommodations, I know it likely feels kinda cramped in there.  It hopefully won¡¯t be terribly much longer before we can get you out, let you get cleaned up and stretch your legs.¡± another quirky, kind smile, ¡°ah, here comes the Doc.   She¡¯s awake, Tzaki.¡±


    The holo image changed to that of a green skinned woman with gleaming silver hair and bright blue eyes, but the most notable features were the enormous pointed ears, and mouth full of sharp, shark-like teeth she made visible when she smiled.  Despite those intimidating teeth, however, her face held the same kind concern as Tindron¡¯s.  ¡°Ms. Kitzel, it¡¯s good to see you awake.  I¡¯m Tzaki Trasta.¡± She spoke in the kind of voice she would have expected from the matronly old doctor she¡¯d had as a kid; comforting and assuring. She could definitely tell that the voice was being filtered through a translation matrix though.  ¡°Tzaki is our word for what you¡¯d call a doctor, though there seems to be enough difference that the translator doesn¡¯t automatically substitute it.¡±


    ¡°H-hello, Tzaki.¡± Giselle spoke hesitantly, her throat felt a bit dry. ¡°Can I get some water?¡±


    ¡°Certainly! There¡¯s a dispenser to your right, along with a spill-proof cup - Just for the sake of convenience.¡±  As Giselle partook of some of said water, the tzaki went on, ¡°Now I¡¯m sure you are wondering why you are cooped up in there right now, instead of in a usual infirmary of some kind.¡±


    ¡°The th-¡± she coughed, took another sip, then tried again, ¡°The thought crossed my mind.  Only time I¡¯ve found myself in a setup like this before has been from nitrogen narcosis after an underwater training session, or the one time I was exposed to an infectious agent at¡­¡± She stopped, remembering the circumstances around that, and how it had been an Enigma Osiris research station, working on illegal biological agents.


    ¡°Ah, I see you might realize what¡¯s going on.¡±  the alien doctor¡¯s holo-projection nodded, ¡°The creature you encountered during your rescue, and likely as part of what had you stranded out there in the middle of nowhere, is something called a Ktonshi.  They are an xenophobic, extremely aggressive species, and they spread a rather nasty contagion.  It has been known to be able to infect even through the protection of some EVA rated materials such as your flight suit.  The contagion is also, much like themselves, immune to the vacuum of space.


    ¡°So we have you in this pod until we are certain you haven¡¯t been infected.¡±


    A million thoughts raced through Giselle''s mind at that moment.  ¡°She¡¯d been exposed to some sort of pathogen.  She¡¯d been infected, that thing had infected her with something, and it was going to kill her.  She felt her heart begin to race, and her breath begin to quicken.  She was dimly aware of the medical readouts along the pod¡¯s walls beginning to beep warnings, and that the alien doctor was saying something to her, but was too drowned in the flood of thoughts.


    But then her training kicked in.  She didn¡¯t get where she was by panicking, by losing control of herself due to circumstances she had no control over.  No.  A warrior accepted the circumstances, a warrior worked with them, made them her own.  She forced her breathing to slow, and ordered her heart rate to moderate.  She willed her mind to focus on the now, and not on the many what might be-s.  She would not meet her end as a gibbering, cowering mess of nerves.  She would meet it with her head held high, as a warrior should.


    ¡°I apologize doctor,¡± she said calmly, letting out a long breath, and taking another drink of water, ¡°As you said, it¡¯s been a bit of a couple days.  How long until you know whether this - contagion, as you called it - has infected me or not?¡±


    ¡°Another twelve of your hours should do it.¡± The doctor explained, ¡°We¡¯re running a lot of deep scans for any biological changes, and so far we¡¯ve seen no sign of any of the markers pointing to infection.  But we¡¯re erring on the side of caution.  I hope you understand.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t want to let a contagion lose onto your ship.¡± Giselle slumped against the wall of the pod, ¡°Has anyone been notified that I¡¯m still alive?  News of the clusterfuck back there has to have reached head office by now.  MIA reports might have gone out.  I have¡­family.¡±


    ¡°Major Gertrude Kintzel of Yintari System Security, correct?¡±


    ¡°What?! How did you know?¡±


    The alien doctor chuckled softly, ¡°Interestingly enough, we had some business with your sister not that long ago.  An honorable woman, your sister, so much so that when we picked up your distress signal, and were able to link you to her through the StellarNet, we made a point to divert and rescue you.  We¡¯ve sent a discrete message to her, informing her you¡¯re still in the land of the living.  And we can set up a call so you can talk to her  yourself if you wish.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s time to fix things. She thought, Especially if I might have whatever this contagion is she¡¯s mentioned.  Her sister had the right to know that the rift between them wasn¡¯t everything it seemed, and the last thing she wanted was to go to  her grave with Gertie regretting the way they¡¯d left things.  ¡°I¡¯d like that very much Tzaki Tratsa.  My sister and I actually have a lot to talk about¡­¡±