"The one thing I'm not clear on, though," Ryland said, "is why, exactly, we were sent after Kane in the first place. What was the target data we were sent to obtain, and which Solus and our ultimate employer were happy to have destroyed? Some kind of test results from your machine?"

"Yes," Severin said. "Under cover of other projects, we were able to construct a test facility on Gal Da Val Island, in the Mountain Area. Its test operations completed their initial cycle two days ago, and Kane was sent to retrieve the results so that we could analyze them and see if we'd achieved a practical success."

The Force thought that over.

"I assume that the difficulties in surface-to-ship communications channels are why it had to be picked up physically; you couldn't break confidentiality."

"That's correct. As they say, it's easier to ask forgiveness than seek permission, particularly if you ask forgiveness with a working prototype in hand."

Lyon decided that Dr. Severin had a definite preference for that approach to his more creative research projects. Rina had been built along those same lines, and now Arin and the Photon collector.

"But what I don't see is how stopping one hunter is going to stop you from just going back and having someone else get another copy of the data. They don't even need to be involved in the project. Solus shouldn't have been anywhere near as happy as he was."

Severin offered a nod.

"Ordinarily, you'd be right. The problem is that the data Kane retrieved was a unique copy."

"How can data be unique?" Lyon asked.

"It was hard-encoded onto a single-use, write-only data recorder as the test machine functioned," Arin explained. "Thus, it could not be altered, nor a fresh copy of backup files be made."

"Why would you do that?"

"Accountability," Ryland came up with the answer before Severin could explain. "Dr. Severin is going to present his test data to various people, some of whom have strong motives to discredit it. Anyone with a stake in maintaining strong ties to Coral will be seeking any excuse to dismiss the entire idea. After all, it's hard work to debate options and reach a conclusion. It's a lot easier to pick a conclusion first and throw out all the options that lead down other paths."

"You're exactly right," Dr. Severin told him. "The data Kane was bringing back would have been unassailable proof that the Photon collector works as designed—presuming, of course, that the data was indeed favorable. There were, after all, assorted failures on the way to completing the machine that we eventually designed."

"What I don't understand is, why is this operation still active?" Ryland posed a question of his own. "Not your team's, Doctor, but the opposition. Why kill Solus? Why try to kill us? Speaking of which, Lyon, would you simple-mail Naomi and Gowan to watch their backs? If Kyle and Brackley came after us because we were investigating that's one thing, but if it's part of a general clean-up with someone exterminating Solus and the team both, they'll be in danger, too."

"I'll do it right now," she said, and suited her actions to her words.

"Now," Ryland continued, "I assume that the killing of Solus and the attacks on us weren't done by this group or by someone else associated with you?" He shot a sharp look at Sena, indicating that he wasn't entirely ready to dismiss the idea of her being some kind of radical terrorist. "Specifically, while I can see Sena, here, being willing to seek revenge, Arin had to identify us for her before she tried to take precipitate action. If she was already trying to kill us, she'd have known, and been faster on the draw. We further know that the military covered up Solus's death as an accident. They don't want matters to escalate beyond their current situation."

"Sure, I get that," Lyon said. "The military is anti-independence. They definitely don't want this project to succeed, because it would cut them off from support on Coral and leave their power base as an undergunned, undermanned force barely able to stand on its own. The last thing they want is for general knowledge of this technology to get out and around. Then some Administration group that's pro-independence might pick up on it, commission projects for further study, knowledge could get out into the public sphere, and the whole thing ends up steamrolling them."

"Indeed, we could do that now, were it not for the personal consequences to members of this team," Arin noted.

"Plus the fact that without the test machine data, we still don't know if we're sitting on a brilliant new technology or just a theory that offers a promising direction for long-term future study."

"Mr. Almonte is correct about that," Dr. Severin said. "And it makes a significant difference in how we can move forward."

"Except that your description of the way the test data was recorded suggests that you're kind of screwed, aren't you?" Lyon was blunt about it, but there really wasn't any point in beating around the bush.

"True, but Arin believes that he can retrieve that test data. It won't be as effective evidence of what was accomplished from a political standpoint, but from the scientific perspective and its utility for future work it will serve just as usefully."

"The old, 'you can't prove you're not lying, but if you know you're not it still points you in the right way' argument. It works the same way in an investigation: something might not serve as legal evidence, but still be a vital clue."

Lyon wondered if Ryland might be pushing the metaphor a bit, but decided not to say anything as it would just be unproductive snark.

"The question is, why are you waiting?" he continued.

"The data retrieval has to be done from Ragol's surface. The same communications issues I mentioned before still exist, so that someone needs to go down with a terminal to enable Arin to access the test machine. This is our one and only chance at this, and we can't risk failure."

"So hire a hunter team," Lyon said. "That's kind of obvious."

Sena directed a scathing glare in her direction.

"You killed the hunter on our team, or did you forget that among all the other murders you commit?"

"I don't know whether to be annoyed by her continuous rewriting of the facts in her delusions, or gratified that she confuses android memory function with organic, suggesting that she thinks of you like any other person," Ryland mused.

"I know which way I see it. And I said to hire hunters, which says to me that she doesn't pay any more attention to words as she does to facts."

Almonte sighed. Lyon figured that he had that reaction a lot to the situations his coworker got into, especially since unlike Dr. Severin he didn't have the authority to order her to obey or just shut up.

"Miss Sena does have a point," Arin remarked.

"She does?" Lyon asked.

"Quite. As I noted, this would, functionally, be the absolute last chance for us to obtain the test data. We already know that our rivals are not above hiring hunters to oppose us. The risk therefore exists that any hunter employed on a strictly mercenary basis may prove to be in the secret employ of our rivals."

"That's actually valid. A certain number of hunters are actually field agents for the military, the Lab, Black Paper, or some other group, who obtained Guild membership to give them access to Ragol for whatever their faction needed instead of having to use mercenaries for the job. It's pretty well-known that that guy Sakon was a WORKS officer, and Mujo and Duranbo were arrested as members of Black Paper due to the kidnapping incident in 3084," Ryland explained. "Which means, if I was one of those and from an opposing group, I'd jump at a quest Dr. Severin offered, just to get the chance to wreck it."

"Put like that, you're probably right," Lyon said, as much as it galled her to admit it.

"There's an easy answer to that problem, though."

"Oh?" Dr. Severin asked.

"Certainly. You could just hire us." Ryland smirked at him as if the answer was obvious. Which, in retrospect, it basically was.

~X X X~

"Your object lesson didn't work."

Valgarde's expression was searing, the scowl furious. The other two members of the military command staff felt the heat of his wrath.

"They got wind of Solus's death somehow," Colonel Zanov said. "We tried to put a lid on it, but the hunters arrived while the crime scene was still being sterilized. Laleham did his best, but given that the hunters were obviously forewarned to expect that a murder had taken place, denials weren't going to distract them. Only a credulous fool or a complete naïf would believe the accident story under those circumstances."

"Neither of which description applies to competent, active hunters," declared the third man in the room. Deputy Commander Yves Elberg was nearly as tall as Valgarde, but lean, without the Commander's muscular form and dominating physical presence—a sword rather than a greataxe. "You're sure that Laleham didn't do anything to tip them off? His file indicates those two hunters are among his regular contacts in the Guild."

"I'm sure. I've got two people on his staff reporting directly to me," Zanov said. "Both confirmed that the Inspector stuck to the story and that he sent no messages later on."

"And there's no chance that your hunters will give away their affiliation?"

Zanov shook his head.

"They don't know their affiliation. We used a cut-out in the hiring. Kyle and Brackley no more know that they were working for us than Ryland and the android did."

"Not that it would be particularly difficult for our nosy pair to figure out, especially now that they've made contact with Dr. Severin." Elberg glanced from Zanov to Valgarde and back again. "Don't you think it's time to pull back on this one? Things are starting to get out of hand; we're having shooting wars on board Pioneer 2. With multiple incidents already, we're threatening to drive the Administration and the Lab to a united front over our inability to police the violence if nothing else. And if they're able to directly connect us to any serious incident, then the political impact of Dr. Severin's Photon collection technology won't matter to any of us. We'll be lucky to get off as easy as Leo Grahart."

"And if we don't, the entire military is left in the same boat," Valgarde retorted.

Elberg frowned, but did not say anything. His change in expression was noted by Zanov, however, to judge by the slight narrowing of the Colonel's eyes.

"One thing is plain," Zanov said. "Based upon our new intelligence, Dr. Severin's team has managed to overcome the blow we inflicted yesterday and have come up with a new approach towards retrieving the target data. This must be stopped at all costs."

"What? You're telling me that all we got was one day? That was supposed to have crippled that prototype?"

"I know." Zanov scowled. "Scientists, there's nothing else I can say to it. Their creativity knows entirely too few bounds, often running in completely unexpected directions."

"That's true enough," Elberg muttered. "For all the trouble we've had with Milarose, it's nothing compared to what Pioneer 1's military had to put up with thanks to Osto Hyle being given his head. Just imagine what we'd have to deal with if Montague had the same authority!"

"Point taken, but also not relevant. Zanov, what's involved in this 'new approach' of theirs?"

"Something involving linking the AI directly to the test machine."

"Damn it. Our electronic warfare efforts have been completely stymied by that thrice-damned CALS system, and now this!" Valgarde clenched a big hand into a fist. "Give me an enemy that I can fight, damn it, not machines that drift around on the net, politicians that take away the point of the battle before it starts, and scientists whose ideas upend the entire playing field and redefine the very concept of the fight before it even happens!"

In all honesty, Elberg could not find it in himself to disagree with his commanding officer's sentiments.

"But!" Valgarde went on. "You've actually given me hope for this instance, Colonel."

Zanov thought for no more than a couple of seconds before the answer came to him.

"You mean, because this plan involves a direct visit to Ragol."

"Correct. Regardless of the electronic trickery involved, this operation brings our enemies directly within the military's primary specialty: the application of overwhelming physical force in the field."

~X X X~

"So let me get this straight," Naomi said. "You're taking a Guild Quest on Gal Da Val."

"Correct."

"For which we are tasked with running security for a Lab operation."

"Correct."

"The objective of which operation is to retrieve certain target data from a test installation."

"Again, correct."

"Which we ourselves prevented from being retrieved during a previous job just yesterday?"

Ryland smirked at her.

"Four for four."

"Good grief," she concluded, shaking her head. "I know that hunters are mercenary freelancers, but working opposite sides of the same mission on back-to-back days is a little much, don't you think?"

"Well, I can't really argue with you on the point," Ryland admitted. "In this case, though, it's more like we're making amends by fixing what we messed up the first time."

They'd met up in the atrium below the shopping arcade in the Guild area of the Lab wing. The entire wall was a plasteel bubble, showing the outside of the ship: in fact, it was possible to see part of the "wing" structure where the Lab facilities were located if one looked out the aft side of the curved bubble. The vista was impressive, to say the least, though definitely not for the acro- or agoraphobic.

"Uh-hm. But not 'making amends' for free, I presume?"

"No, that part of mercenary we're still living up to."

"Motivation: guilt?" Gowan inquired.

"A little bit. The employer is Dr. Severin; we have a good relationship with him that we'd—well, I'd, though I think Lyon does, too?"

"Oh, yeah; at least Severin's willing to acknowledge when he lets scientific enthusiasm get out in front of common sense and apologize for his mistakes. Better yet, he actually doesn't do the same stupid thing twice. That puts him head and shoulders above most of those Lab hacks."

"There you have it. But mostly, it's because we agree with what he's trying to accomplish with this project, and we'd like to make amends for screwing it up."

"I don't think that's the guilt Gowan was talking about," Naomi said. "Right, partner?"

"Assessment: correct."

"You mean the hunter, then. Selfas Kane's suicide?"

Gowan nodded, the gesture causing a dull whirring sound. RAcasts were definitely not modeled for stealth.

"Well, yes and no," Lyon answered. "Kane's death was why we started in the first place. I was really bothered by the events and was trying to understand why he would do something like that."

"Really, it was you, not Ryland? I thought he was the one who loved mysteries and conspiracies?"

"I am," the Force said, "but when it comes to empathy for her fellow beings, Lyon clearly beats me."

"Okay, I kind of see that. I guess it's one of those android/organic things; Gowan's nicer than I am, too."

"Difficulty: minimal."

"Ouch!" Ryland laughed.

"Careful, rust-bucket. You can be replaced by someone that can talk, y'know!"

"Viability: unlikely."

"Hey, responding to smartass remarks is no place for logic. But anyway, why isn't this about causing Kane's death? I mean, I'm the hard-bitten 'life is tough sometimes' hunter girl and even I was a little shaken when he stepped off that cliff."

"Essentially, it's because we discovered that his primary motivation for his extreme actions was his own extreme belief in the rightness of his cause, his dedication to building a new society to correct the wrongs of the old. Those were positive beliefs—honestly, as far as I can tell, I basically agree with the principles—but following them to a fanatical level could only lead to tragedy. I feel sorry for his death, but now that I understand the facts it's confirmed that I do not feel responsible. Like I said to Ryland before, lacking a subconscious I don't conflate my proximity to the situation with actually feeling guilty for it."

"Logic: impeccable."

"I still envy it being that easy," Ryland put in.

"The ridiculous efficiency of the organic brain has to come from somewhere, and sometimes the shortcuts it takes are less useful than others."

"Just for the record, though, I'm still going to keep my brain the way it is," Naomi said. "No uploading it into a mechanical body or anything for me."

"I wonder if that would work?" Ryland mused. "Especially in such a way that it preserves the integrity of the individual, not just makes a copy of that person."

"Topic: digression."

Lyon laughed.

"You get used to it when you hang around with Ryland for long enough. But anyway, the bottom line is, we think it's a good idea that we help Dr. Severin with his project, especially since we mucked it up in the first place. I mean, while we didn't do anything wrong as hunters, I think we should have asked Solus a few more questions about the nature of the job before we took it, and maybe walked away if we didn't like the answers."

"But if you did that, the hunters who did take the job might not have looked deeper, and wouldn't be in a position to help out now," Naomi said.

"Except that Severin might just have come to us anyway, meaning that all we'd have different now is that fewer people would have shot at us. Mostly at me!"

"Possibly, but in that case we wouldn't know anything about Solus's death, the military's involvement, or the background matters you learned from Irene."

They'd discharged their obligation to Irene by reporting that Kane had been working for a Lab scientist on a research project that was not a direct threat to the ship or the Administration (although the potential for factional strife getting out of hand was always there, just like on any important issue), and that the suicide had been due to Kane's personal extremism, not that of the project director or the project's nature. The rest had been left confidential, and Irene hadn't pushed. That didn't mean that she wasn't curious, but she knew Lyon well enough to trust her assessment.

"That's true, then. So maybe it did go all right after all."

"I'm more interested in the 'getting shot at' part. Who's after you?"

Ryland glanced over at Naomi.

"We're not completely sure. The military is our best guess, but it could be someone else sticking their nose in as well."

"Joy, so no more than when you first warned us. Any way you cut it, though, you're expecting trouble down on Ragol?"

"Definitely. This operation is going to be more complex to execute than the one Kane was running, but we're after the same goal as he was. If Solus's client tried to stop that one, I don't see why he, she, or they wouldn't try it again."

"So trouble, then."

"Well," Ryland said, "given that the last time someone tried to stop this operation, they hired us, so what do you think?"

Lyon batted his ponytail so that it swung around, the end tickling his nose so that the ensuing sneeze wiped the smirk off his face.