“To you, Ben,” she said. “And Matt. And then to Head Case.”

  Shaq buzzed something that sounded like “what about me?”

  “I count you with Ben,” she answered, reaching out and scratching under his chin with her finger.

  “That means a lot to me,” I said. “More than you know.”

  “Me too.”

  We stared at one another for a few seconds. If she were human, I might have been tempted to kiss her or something. Maybe she was thinking the same thing about me, but for her species. Either way, the moment passed, and I lifted the slab. “Thank you for this. And Keep’s card. This should keep me busy for a while.”

  “You’re welcome. Should I plan to see you for training tomorrow?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be there.”

  We returned to the elevator together, riding it down to Deck Three, where we went our separate ways.

  I looked down at the slab, tapping the screen to activate it. A simple lock screen appeared. There was no obvious way to bypass the security. But Keep had given me the device. He had to believe I could do something with it.

  Unless he had bade me to take it to cement my appearance of guilt. What if there was nothing of value on it at all?

  There was only one way to find out. I had my work cut out for me.

  CHAPTER 23

  I needed three days to get back into the swing of things. To let my body rest and recover from missing my treatments for a week. I was getting sicker, even with the medications. I could feel it when I got up, when I went to martial arts practice, when I lifted weights. I could feel it in everything I did. A subtle shift after the first round of Sickbay treatments had given me a fresh start, but my decline was there and noticeable, at least to me.

  Beyond sleeping nearly ten hours per day, I spent two hours training and working out, two hours at meals with the rest of the crew, including Alter, and the rest of my time trying to solve the puzzle of the top secret electronic slab. By the ninth day in hyperspace, I was ready to smash the damn thing against a bulkhead and shatter it into a million pieces.

  Quasar happened to walk in on me as I threw my latest fit, cursing a little too loudly at the device as the system refused me entry once more. I was fortunate the courier’s reception of the slab had not only triggered our payment, but had also disabled the most severe of the protections that would have caused the device to self–destruct. Then again, maybe that would have been better than the problem I had run into now. It certainly would have saved me a lot of time, energy and frustration.

  “Still can’t crack it?” she asked, sidling up beside me at the workbench in what I had started thinking of as my mad scientist computer lab. She had been checking up on me at least once or twice a day, showing concern for my welfare the way Mom always had. Even the tone she used when she asked me about my progress reminded me of her, and it calmed my frustration almost instantly.

  “The fact that Druck and I were able to jury-rig a console cable from the phone to the slab’s pinhole dataport and open a terminal link was a major victory,” I said. “But that was three days ago. I tried the most common passwords like I did with the penal satellite, but that didn’t work. So I rewrote a basic brute force cracker I had played around with back on Earth to try to force my way in.” I held up the slab, which displayed a simple message at the bottom of the terminal.

  MAXIMUM PASSWORD ATTEMPTS EXCEEDED.

  “That doesn’t look good,” Quasar said.

  “No. It won’t respond to any efforts to enter additional commands. The only other way into the slab is by using facial recognition, and we don’t even know whose face it’s coded to.” I dropped the device roughly back onto the table and ran a hand through my hair. “I think it’s permanently bricked.”

  I could see the disappointment streak across her face before she managed to hide it. Her vested interest in the contents of the slab was the primary reason she stopped by as often as she did. While I believed she cared how I was feeling, I knew she cared more about the Empress’ welfare.

  “There has to be something we can do,” she said. “Maybe we can find someone on Furion who’s more familiar with this model of slab and can bypass the lock.”

  “I doubt it. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of a security lockout like this? Especially on a device as sensitive as this one.” I closed my eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry. I know how much you wanted this to work.”

  “I did,” she agreed. “But I also know you worked your tail off trying. It’s not your fault, Ben.”

  “Isn’t it? I should have been more careful about entering the passwords. I shouldn’t have tried to brute force it. Why did I think there wouldn’t be an entry limit?”

  “How many passwords did you try?”

  I picked up the phone to check the final tally. “Six hundred forty-six million, nine hundred fifty-three thousand, four hundred seventy-one.”

  “Yeah,” Quasar said, laughing. “I mean, how could you possibly have not known it would lock you out on the six hundred forty-six million, nine hundred fifty-three thousand, four hundred seventy-first try? That’s such an obvious, non-arbitrary number to trigger that security feature. What a freaking idiot you are, Ben.”

  Her chunky guffaw was too infectious not to join it with my own laugh. She was right, of course. I had no idea why the slab had chosen that specific moment to shut me down, and there would have been no way to guess that number beforehand.

  “I had figured by the tenth time it would have given me a warning. By the hundredth at least. Nothing. The door went right from open to closed.”

  “I appreciate that you feel bad about this, but don’t. If there’s intel out there to gather, we’ll find another source to find it.”

  “The good news is, we may have another source,” I said. “The guy I told you about who sold us the ship, Avelus Keep, left me a hypercom identifier he said I could use to reach him. Once we finish up our business on Furion we can at least find out what he knows.”

  “Do you think he knows what’s on the slab?”

  “He may have a vague idea. I don’t think he knows specifically. To be honest, I think he thought I could crack my way into this thing too.” I paused, a new thought springing to mind. “Maybe that’s what he meant when he asked me if I wanted to help him save the galaxy. He said it wasn’t like The Last Starfighter, so maybe he thought I was the only one who could get into the slab. That seems ridiculous though. There have to be real hackers in the Quadrant. Someone who graduated from a real comp-sci program, not thirteenth grade.”

  “You lost me, Ben. The Last Starfighter? Thirteenth grade?”

  Shaq made a quizzical buzzing noise in agreement with her.

  “The Last Starfighter is an Earthian movie in which a kid becomes a hot-shot starfighter pilot by winning an arcade game. The other is a derogatory reference to community college. Publicly funded higher education. I don’t know if that’s how education works in the Spiral.”

  “Higher education? Of course. The programs are all free for qualified applicants.”

  “Did you go to college?”

  “No. I joined the Royal Guard as soon as I was old enough to enlist. I wanted to be a Royal Marine from the time I was five years old. I still remember the moment. My father and I were at the spaceport waiting for my mother to come back from a business trip. A Marine was on the same transport ship, probably on leave. Dressed in her formal uniform, all white and red and gold, with the most incredible cape.”

  “The Royal Marines wear capes?” I asked. She had put on the same outfit every day since she had come on board, and every time I saw her I silently named another superhero.

  Today was Black Adam.

  “Our dress uniforms include capes, yes,” she replied. “You don’t like capes?”

  “No, I think they’re cool. You should add one to your uniform.”

  “They’re not that functional, but maybe.”

  “I thought I heard someone laughing,” Pilot Alter said, approaching from the elevator. I hadn’t noticed her arrival over Quasar’s laughter and our conversation. “I just came up looking for a replacement diode for the holstein coupler.” I was going to ask her what a holstein coupler was and whether or not it had anything to do with cows, but thought the better of it. “Are you making any progress with the slab?”

  “The opposite,” I replied. “I tripped a failsafe and got locked out. The slab’s useless.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. There’s no way around it?”

  “The slab’s default security uses facial recognition,” I replied. “We would need whoever’s face is programmed into the security profile to…” I paused. Maybe it wasn’t as hopeless as I had initially thought. “I think I might have an idea.”

  Alter’s eyes met mine, her expression shifting as if she had read my mind. “I don’t know if I can do that. I need essence.”

  “Do you?” I asked. “Have you ever tried?”

  She nervously flicked her gaze to Quasar. “No, but…I would have to revert to even attempt it.”

  “Are you willing to try? I can’t overstate how much it might help.”

  She hesitated. “I don’t know, Ben.”

  “Why do I suddenly feel like I just became the third wheel to an intimate conversation?” Quasar said. “Maybe I should leave you two alone.”

  “No, don’t,” Alter said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll do it. I’ll try. Zar, I…” She looked at me. I nodded in support. “I need to show you something.”

  CHAPTER 24

  “Ooookay,” Quasar replied, uncertain why Alter was being so cagey.

  “You have to promise never to tell anyone,” Alter continued. “Under any circumstances.”

  “I give you my word as a Royal Marine,” she answered, taking the request seriously. “I can’t offer a better promise than that.”

  “I can’t think of a better promise than that,” Alter said. “Try to stay calm.”

  “You aren’t going to turn into a vampire or a werewolf or anything like that, are you?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Alter removed the pilot’s essence, losing her clothing and detailed rigidity, becoming a transparent mannequin with a red mass centered in its chest.

  “Oh shit,” Quasar said, staring at her. “I kind of expected something like that, but not exactly like that.” She paused. “I’ve read the Intelligent Life Form Compendium’s latest edition. There’s nothing like this described in there.”

  “She’s an Aleal,” I said. “Her species isn’t in the compendium. Most people don’t even know they exist. Unfortunately, Duke Sedaya does.”

  Quasar stepped closer to the mannequin, looking it over curiously. “I hope you don’t mind, Alter. I’m just intrigued.”

  “She’s a little self-conscious about it,” I said. “But I assume since she isn’t backing up she doesn’t mind.”

  “I guess she can’t talk like this, huh?”

  “She can’t. Her consciousness in this form is more basic and instinctive. That’s why I’m not sure if this will work or not.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Alter, can you form a face?” I asked.

  Her featureless head began to shift, regaining some of its detail as Pilot Alter. It faded away a moment later before hardening again, this time as Sensei Alter.

  “Wait a second,” Quasar said. “I thought she looked different during our workouts, but I just assumed it was because she changed her clothes and put her hair up.”

  Her face melted like puddy, reshaping into Mechanic Alter as she used the essence to solidify sufficiently to speak. “I’m sorry, Ben. I can’t do it.”

  “It’s okay,” I replied, inwardly disappointed. “It was worth a shot.”

  “What you can already do is pretty incredible,” Quasar said, finally comfortable speaking directly to Alter.

  I put the slab down on the table. “We’ll see what Keep has to say about all of this after we’re finished on Furion. We all did our best. That’s all we can do. Maybe we can help you find your cow coupler.”

  “Cow?” Alter asked.

  “Nevermind. What does it look like?”

  “It’s about four inches long, round, with ridges along one side. I know we have a few of them in supply.”

  Her description triggered another idea. “Wait, I just thought of something. Will you try again?”

  “Ben, I tried. I can’t do it.”

  “I know you’re having trouble with it, but maybe we just need a different approach. What if you stay as you are now? Can you affect your face at all?”

  “I’ll try.” She closed her eyes. I could see the strain on her forehead as she wrinkled her face, trying to make it reshape. She shook her head as she opened them again. “No. It’s not working. I just don’t understand.”

  “Think about the coupler,” I said. “Can you see it in your mind?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about the changes you made to the thruster? Can you picture that?”

  “Yes.”

  “How is a face different than a thruster?”

  She laughed. “How is it not different?”

  “For a person maybe, but for you? Think of the nose, the eyes, the mouth, the ears, and the teeth like different parts of a thruster, which for us, is a head. What if you have an entire bucket or shelf filled with each face part and you can just try them on randomly to see what works? Mix and match. Does that make sense?”

  “I think so.”

  I picked the slab up again. Alter didn’t close her eyes this time. Instead, she looked at my face, examining the shape. Her cheeks began shifting, moving to better copy mine. Her nose adjusted as well, becoming wider and larger as her eyes spread slightly apart.

  “You’re doing it,” I said, becoming excited. “Keep going.”

  I activated the slab and held it up in front of her as her features continued to morph. She turned her attention to Quasar, shifting her face to better match the other woman’s, growing more comfortable with each passing second.

  She closed her eyes then, probably thinking of different faces she had seen. Her features moved and updated nearly continuously as she cycled through all different shapes and sizes. I kept the slab held up to her, hoping beyond reason that she would create a visage that matched the one programmed to the device.

  A minute passed. Another. The process sped up as one face merged into another, using her memories to create different parts for the whole.

  Another minute. Five. Ten.

  Just when I thought she was going to give up, just when I thought we would never get a match, the slab beeped softly, the lock screen replaced with the full user interface.

  “Yes!” I shouted, pumping my fist. “Yes! You did it!”

  “Whooohooo!” Quasar joined in as Shaq hopped up and down on my shoulder, buzzing with excitement.

  Alter’s face moved back to its original mechanic form. She smiled brightly, but just for a moment. I nearly dropped the slab onto the deck as her eyes rolled back in her head and I lunged forward, catching her before she could collapse, her body a heavy, unconscious weight in my hands.

  Even that didn’t last. She lost rigidity then, practically melting in my grasp and leaving me clutching her primordial gelatin, my fingers sinking in. Worried I would hurt her, I lowered her gently to the deck and let go.

  “Alter? Can you hear me?” I said, the slab forgotten.

  “Is she okay?” Quasar asked.

  “I don’t know,” I replied, becoming more panicked as I crouched beside her. “I don’t know the first thing about Aleal physiology. Or how to treat her.”

  “Maybe she needs something to eat. What does she eat?”

  I looked at Quasar without responding. Maybe there were still a few caged rats up in her quarters? “I can get her some food.” I started to stand, pausing when a thin, clear tendril wrapped around my wrist. “Alter. Are you okay?”

  She squeezed my arm gently.

  “Is that a yes?”

  She squeezed again, showing she did have some means to hear and understand me.

  “Do you need food?”

  She squeezed twice.

  “Rest?”

  Once.

  “Should I take you up to Deck Five?”

  Two squeezes.

  “Here is fine?”

  One.

  “Do you want me to leave you alone?”

  Two.

  “Okay. I’ll stay.”

  “Whew,” Quasar said. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

  “I’m going to sit with her for a while,” I said. “Shaq, why don’t you go with Quasar?”

  “Okay,” he replied, launching from my shoulder to hers to perch.

  “Great job with the slab,” Quasar said. “Literally nobody else in the Quad could have done it, but you did. I’ll be in the lounge if you need me.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Quasar leaned down, putting her hand on Alter’s mass. Alter didn’t shy away. “I hope you feel better.”

  She glanced at me, nodded, and left the Deck with Shaq.

  I shifted position to sit cross-legged on the floor. Alter’s tentacle left my wrist. A different one wrapped around my leg. I leaned over and picked up the slab.

  “First things first,” I said, recognizing the standard interface. I navigated to the settings to update the security. “Let’s make sure you don’t have to do that again.”

  I set the slab up to add my face to the security permissions, holding the device out and mugging for the laser grid that flashed out from the top of the slab. With that done, I navigated to the documents stored on the device.

  They appeared in a list of files named in what seemed like randomized unique identifiers, their contents impossible to guess. Scrolling through the documents, I cringed at the sheer numbers. There had to be at least a thousand, possibly more. A lot more.

  “Well, I didn’t expect this to be easy,” I said.

  Alter relaxed, her single tendril limp on my ankle. She had said she didn’t need to sleep, but it seemed the effort of modifying her face so many times had completely worn her down. It felt surreal to look at her, a mass of jelly with a cherry center, more like a giant candy than an intelligent life form. I had never thought to get this close to her while she was in this form, but the fact that she trusted me meant a lot.