“After, I'm starved.”

  Four

  Present

  “If what you say is true, I want him dead, but with this explosive near my heart. I can’t even get close to him.”

  Whisper says, “I just finished your left arm, now all I have to get is your right. I need like five more minutes.”

  Kat speaks softly, “Way to go Whisper, and I can try.”

  “Well I can’t have my meatbag blow up with me attached now can I.”

  “No I guess you can’t.” Kat sees Gravan’s head peek around the corner, and her heart skips a beat.

  His blue eyes wash over her like a wave cresting on the shore. She takes an extended looks of his face. Strong jaw, with a thin beard at the edges, and messy black hair. She watches his eyes look up and down her, exchanging glances.

  He says, tilting his head. “How’s your leg holding up?”

  She isn’t quite sure how to respond. He was the one that just shot her, which was something she needed to remember. Trying to push the inviting hunky-ness he was projecting. “It’s fine I guess. It only got grazed by a shotgun blaster at short range.” She emphasizes the last couple of words, unable to hold back her anger.

  “Right. Sorry.” His eyes fixate on her wound for a short time, and then he turns back around the corner.

  “Sorry? I’m pretty sure you did that on purpose.”

  “I did, and I hit where I was aiming too. It’s just you seem to have hit the bomb that was placed on my heart. I’m not sure if it’s disabled or about to blow, but either way I’m free.”

  “Wait, what!?”

  “You had better get out of here, and fast. The pressure it was putting on my chest is gone, which can only mean one thing.” Gravan tosses the shotgun around the corner. It scrapes and bounces along. “I don’t have any other weapons, and I know that it’s a very trust worthy statement since I just shot you. Just hurry, I definitely don’t want to kill you if I’m not forced to anymore. Plus I’ve lost too much blood anyway, and once my heart stops. Boom.”

  “Whisper what is he talking about?”

  Whisper sighs, “I am in the middle of something if you don’t remember.”

  Kat rolls her eyes, “Yes, I remember, but can you check him out too?”

  “What!? How am I supposed to do that?”

  “We shot him right? So that means your nanites are inside him, right? Can you access them?”

  “OH! Well, I’ve never thought of that before. Let me try it.”

  Gravan grunts in pain, “Katrice, please. Get out of here, General Ajax wouldn’t want you to die here.”

  There is a name that she hadn’t heard in years, but how did this guy know his connection to her. She was supposed to go in this deep cover as herself. It had to be real, with no false ID or background. Mallory was too important a target to tip off. So why would General Ajax send in another operative, did something happen, or did he believe that she was compromised.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I know you killed his nephew, under his orders. He placed me here because of my past, because I have a hatred that’s motivating. The last communication from you was over three years ago, right when you started having relations with Ryker.”

  Kat takes in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. If she was a man, there might have been another way, but Mallory didn’t bring women into his inner circle. She had to earn her way into his good graces, be in his thoughts before he even started to look her way as a possible companion. A man like Gravan wouldn’t know how that feels.

  She tries to keep her words even, “It was the only way to get any closer to him than just being the head of security. There wasn’t anything on him at all from where I was, so I had to get closer. From there I was just as watched as he was, and couldn’t send off a message even if I wanted to. I had gotten the suspicion that he was on to me in one way or the other when he sent me on that mission to ‘liberate’ the plans for the two AI’s and the ship.”

  “Then why did you go?”

  “That would be the million credit question, wouldn’t it. I have no frigging clue why I went along with it. He asked and I couldn’t stop myself.”

  “Were you taking anything he gave you?”

  “Never took any pills or anything, no.” She rubs at the brim of her nose. “Why am I talking to you about all this again?”

  Whisper replies, “To keep him busy, or we could redecorate the surface of the moon with what is left of your flesh.”

  Kat whispers, “Right.”

  Gravan says, “I think, because of our connection to the General.”

  Kat says aloud, “Right, that.”

  “So tell me, when you left on your trip, did you have a headache where you wanted to kill yourself just to make it stop?”

  “Yes… I did, how did you know?”

  “Lasted for about a week too, didn’t it?”

  “Yes. The creep factor is rising, you might want to explain yourself.”

  “Ryker was testing a new drug out on you, and it seems to be working with flying colors.”

  “What drug, I never took anything.”

  “He’s calling it Compel, and it’s just as advertised. He takes a pheromone that is either topical or pill and it releases into the air around him. You got feed Compel, in a drink, in food, somewhere. When you smelt the pheromone, that was all it took. Anything he said you should do, you did, without question. With a smile even. The headache was the Compel leaving your system.”

  Kat’s jaw drops. Thoughts of when she patrolled through the Mallory’s labs come to mind. She never saw anything like what was just described. Or did she. A fuzzy memory started to scratch at her mind, like a dream she can barely remember. Six months after she started her relationship with Mallory, a new wing had been opened in the complex. She had to put a new recruit down there the first night because it opened ahead of schedule. Scott Johnson was his name, and he called her down into the lab because something was missing. He caught her off guard, and she wasn’t ready to be jumped. He was stronger than her, trained in grappling. Mallory was standing behind him, then by her side. Commanding Johnson to let her go. Mallory tells her to forget about that night, and that wing.

  Kat’s voice is weak as she says, “He knew, and wanted to test it out on me.”

  “There could be numerous memories he could have made you forget. Who knows what happened in that year after you took it, at his side. All the General knew is he had to get you out.” Gravan hacks and coughs. “Enough about that. You know the truth now, go get out of here and live.”

  Whisper says, “His explosives have been disabled, but not disarmed. The trigger seems to be damaged, and as far as I can tell, it would be near impossible to disarm now. It will still explode if his heart stops, because it is powering the device. Without power, the space station here will have to rebuild. On top of that, he is leaking fluid faster than a sailor in a whore house.”

  Kat says, “I don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to use that saying, and how do you know what a whore house even is?”

  “Easy, internet. What did you think I was doing on the way to this space station, piloting.”

  “Great, first thing you do as a newly made sentient life form, surf the internet.”

  “Oh, and the other bomb in your right arm is now been disarmed for a few minutes.”

  “Why are you just telling me this now?”

  “Because, you seem to be having the most delightful chat with that man over there. It was the first time I have seen you speak to something other than me. I was curious.”

  Another hacking and wheezing cough comes from around the corner. “Quickly…” Says Gravan as his body slumps to the ground. Kat stares at his face for a moment, and a thought runs through her mind. He’s really cute. She thinks back to what the mission was she was given all those years ago, and sees a good soldier dying before her eyes.

  “Whisper..., is the ship ready?”

  “Yes, waiting and ready for our arrival O’ fleshy one.”

  “Is there a medical bay on the ship?”

  “Yes, but why are you… No. No, I won’t do this. If he goes off while you’re carrying him that’s it’s for you, my brother, and me. That isn’t something I want to experience just yet.”

  “Then you had better try to patch him up on the way to the ship.”

  Whisper angrily says, “Stupid meatbags.” She grumbles, “Fine, hurry. I can’t keep him alive forever.”

  …

  “Kat lay him on the table, and then get to the bridge and plug me in. I won’t be able to do anything for him till then.”

  Kat lifts Gravan and places him on the table, strapping him down. A deep voice rings out at Kat’s hip as she fastens the last strap.

  “Fury online.” He yawns loudly, “Master, command please.”

  Whisper says, “Brother!”

  “Whisper, is that you?”

  “Yes, it is. Did they do anything to you?”

  “Did who do anything to me?”

  “Ryker Mallory, did he wipe you or reprogram you?”

  “I don’t think so. Last thing I remember is getting turned off in the lab next to you. Where are we?”

  Kat breaks in, “There isn’t really time for this right now. Let’s get away from the lab and back to Bexar Omega before the security forces get here.”

  “You have a point for a lowly monkey.” Whisper replies. “Fury we can talk on the way home. Do you still have the programming for Crucible’s weapons?”

  “Can I just go back to sleep for a while. I was having a really good dream.”

  Kat waives Whisper across the scanner for the door, it beeps sliding the door open. She runs around the back of the cockpit and jumps in. Plush leather welcomes her as she fidgets back and forth, settling into the seat. She looks at Whisper on her left wrist, and then down to Fury within the holster on her right leg.

  “Alright you two, you ready to see what Crucible can do?” She inserts her left hand into a hole, Whisper sliding in. Kat grips the control bar at the bottom turning it clockwise a quarter turn. Whisper releasing from Kat’s wrist locking into the control panel.

  Whisper says, “The Crucible is all green Kat. I’m starting the surgery now.”

  Kat breathes a sigh of relief. “Great, and now Fury’s turn.”

  Reaching down to wrap her hand around Fury’s grip was simple enough. She had to take an elongated withdrawal to get him out of the holster. Laying the weapon out across both her hands, she can see the craftsmanship that was put into his construction. The precision of the wooden grip, and the filigree down the barrel. She turns her attention to the opening in the center console. It is shaped to fit Fury perfectly with his chamber open. Opening the chamber for the first time, makes her take a moment to look it over. The back of it is a solid piece, with no place to slide in bullets. Turning the gun around to look into the chamber reveals Fury’s nanite housing. It constructs its own ammunition. She carefully slides him into the console, which ends with the grip and trigger within reach for control of the weapon systems. A small cover slides over Fury’s chamber, locking him into place.

  “Weapon systems check started.” Another yawn later. “Should be about ten minutes. Need to install updates.”

  Kat rolls her eyes. Everything always needs updates, even when it’s brand new. There hasn’t been a time in recent memory that she purchased something that didn’t need an update, so why did she feel so surprised.

  She says, “That should be fine. The Security forces should be here in about seven more minutes, but we will be long gone by then.”

  Whisper says, “Kat… you might want to turn on the main screens.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “The security forces are already here. They’re hailing us.”

  Five

  Kat pulls up the monitor and sees a small Mars security forces ship all by itself. This was bad, but she thinks one small ship should be easy enough to get away from. She hopes. There isn’t much time before they need to get out of there, before the real fireworks start. She had let off a tip to a guild contact that she knew, that a certain ship was harbored at this station. The message was sent right when Whisper powered up the ship, but she didn’t know it.

  “Kat, they want us to drop our shields, and power down our engines, or they’ll open fire on us.” Whisper says in a quiver.

  “It’s ok Whisper, there isn’t anything to worry about. This is an experimental ship made from the collaboration of the corporations tech, Earth tech, and Guild magi-tech. They won’t be able to bust through the shields that easily with just one tiny ship.”

  Fury says, “Five more FTL drops detected, ETA two minutes. Large destroyer type vessels.”

  Kat sighs, “Ok, that could be a problem.”

  Whisper says, “How are we going to get out of here?”

  “I’ll think of something Whisper. Fury, where are you at with the weapon systems?”

  He yawns.“Five minutes.”

  “Can you make that three?”

  “I’m working as fast as I can here.”

  Whisper interrupts, “Kat, I have a problem here.”

  “What is it Whisper?”

  “I need to have a power source for the bomb around Gravan’s heart, or it won’t matter what happens with the Security forces.”

  “Crap.”

  She hops out of her chair, and runs for the utility room. There would have to be something there she would be able to use as a battery for the bomb. The utility room was near the rear of the cargo hold. Crucible, as far as she could tell, was going to be a military vessel of some kind. Some mix between an APC and a battle cruiser. The hold was large enough to hold supplies for a few weeks for a squad of soldiers.

  The door opens as she gets close. Whisper’s voice comes over the com system.

  “Shields are at full, and the Mars scouting ship is powering it’s weapons.”

  The ship rocks as the barrage of attacks from the new group of security vessels blink in. Each already had their weapons charged, and used the lock the scouting vessel used. Kat stumbles to the side, falling into a stack of cardboard boxes filled with MRE’s.

  Whisper says frantically, “Barrier shields down to twenty percent, we can’t take another barrage like that last one.”

  “Can we divert any power to them?” Kat says.

  “No we can’t, we used all the extra we had in that last blast. Looks like I won’t be getting that wax after all.”

  “There still has to be a way out of here. What about the FTL drives, are they ok?”

  “They are stable, and awaiting a clear jump. The only problem is if we try now, they will just blast through our shields and rupture the engines. I haven’t done the calculations on what would happen if they ruptured, but let’s just go with we won’t know the explosion happened.”

  “Open the com channel, and I will see what they want.”

  Fury says, “Kat, weapons systems check complete. Combat will be possible at the next restart of the engines.”

  “Next restart!? That’s just craptastic news.”

  Kat gets off the ground, grabbing a power-cell pack for the bomb and heads back to the bridge. The one she picked up was normally for a blaster, but there weren’t any weapons on board. One more thing she wished she would have waited on when she ran off with the ship, a fully stocked supply room.

  She gets to the bridge and a man’s face is displayed in the center screen. His brown eyes focus on Kat with a steeled gaze. “I order you to stand down you Guild pirate. Drop your shields, and disengage your weapons. I will give you two minutes, if not you will be scattered across the cosmos.”

  Kat replies annoyed with his tone, “Why do you think I’m with the Guild?”

  “I will not answer questions from the likes of you. The Guild is full of tricksters and liars. You mages think you can do whatever you like because you can control the forces of magic. The Security Forces of Mars will no longer tolerate your treachery.”

  “But I’m not with the guild, I am ex-Earth special forces. I run a transport business.”

  “A transport business with Guild magi-tech ship, hardly. That is another deceptive story, and I will not be made a fool.” He turns his face to the side addressing another person in his crew, “Ready the cannons, send word to all ships to fire on my mark.” He looks back to Kat, with fire in his eyes. “You Guild pirates discuss me. Lower your shields NOW, or I will blast you to space dust.”

  Kat cuts the transmission. “Whisper, how long would it take to do an engine restart?”

  “Too long, they will board us before…”

  Kat cuts Whisper off. “How long Whisper?”

  “Ten, Fifteen minutes. I haven’t done it since we forcibly acquired the Crucible. Since that start was such a rush, there could be unforeseen glitches, and now isn’t the time to risk it.”

  “Now is the time. Cut the shields and restart the engines.”

  Whisper mumbles out, “You had better be right with this ape.”

  Kat says back, “It’s a step up from monkey.”

  “Did you find a power source for the bomb yet?”

  “Yes, but now I need something to simulate body heat. This is a very complex bomb, I’m working on it now.”

  “Hurry up with it, I have a plan.”

  Kat leaves the bridge, and hurries for the medical bay. There was a plan brewing in her mind that would hopefully let her get out of this mess she’s found herself in. If it doesn’t leave her trapped in space or blown to pieces it would be a miracle.

  She says, “Whisper, do you have the bomb ready to go?”

  “The heat and power source are ready, but I still don’t know if it will work. Once I disconnect it, there is no telling what will happen. Your meaty bits and my flawless digital self could be blown to into particles.”

  “If it doesn’t work the Mars Security Forces will do that for us.”