Fate of Frailty Chapter 20
By Karen Hart
Suppressing a yawn, Jr. made his way into the security station, nodding at personnel glued to their consoles. "Another one?"
chaos looked up from his seat, having taken a rather more permanent post. "Yeah. This'll make the ninth in the past two months. At this rate we won't have an incoming traffic at all."
"Any idea who's behind this?" Jr. plopped down into an empty chair. He yawned. "Sorry, didn't get much sleep last night."
"That's all right. Well, since the attacks have been primarily against vessels registered with the Foundation, I'd lean towards anyone with a grudge. Other than that, I'm not too sure."
Half spinning in his seat, Jr. mulled that over. "And we've already got some enemies, mostly radical groups who've taken offense to our employing variants. Hey, what about the wreckage that was recovered during this last rescue?"
chaos shook his head. "No luck. There were no markings on any of the debris large enough to collect and the background check we did on the bodies didn't turn up much of anything unusual. Some minor criminal records, but nothing much else."
"What kind of crimes?"
"Mostly small time thievery. Some cases of unarmed assault. That's about it."
"Well, hell. There's got to be some way to stop these attacks." Jr. stood up suddenly, restlessness setting in. "Hey, all of these incidents have been occurring near the same area, right?"
chaos nodded, and pulled up a chart on his screen. "Yeah, near the Danae and Cassiope columns." He looked back at Jr., face a mask of concern. "You're thinking of sending someone to investigate?"
"Well, I was thinking of checking things out myself. Hey, I can handle myself," Jr. assured his friend.
"…right."
---
"You want what? Are you people crazy or something?" Matthews's incredulous face stared back at them from one of the comm screen's in Gaignun's office. "The Lorant's just a passenger ship. She's not designed for this sort of thing."
Jr. grinned. "Exactly. If anyone's there, they'll mistake us for prey. Besides, it's not like I'd ask you to take us out there—"
"—us?" chaos interrupted him.
"Yeah, I'm taking you with me," Jr. replied without pausing "—without adding some new equipment."
Matthews thought about that for a moment. "So. You're saying I won't be blind and helpless?"
"Basically," Jr. confirmed.
"And what's in it for me?" the Lorant's captain asked, blunt. At Jr.'s reaction, he added "You didn't think I'd risk life and ship for nothing, did you?"
"All right, all right. We'll pay you half again what you'd get on a normal run."
"Like I'd settled for half. Three times."
"Two times," Jr. said in response to Matthews's bargaining attempt.
"That'll do," Matthews agreed. "Now that that's settled, when do we head out?"
Jr. looked upward in thought. "I'd say in about…seventy-six hours. Hey, don't worry, everything should be equipped by then."
"All right. Sounds like enough time. Call me again when you're ready to leave." Matthews closed the connection.
chaos regarded the space where the screen had been for a long moment. "I have to admit I'm surprised that didn't take more effort."
"Hey, double pay's not bad for someone in transport," Jr. pointed out. "Besides, I'll probably let him keep the upgrades. They'd be a bitch to uninstall anyway. And they're probably worth more."
"You know, I think he was counting on that."
---
Gaignun stared dispassionately at the news feed, the screen displaying footage of the Kukai Foundation's docks, which was also visible from the window, if only just. It'd become a familiar sight, medical technicians leading frightened and shaking survivors to safety, while onlookers stayed behind the barricades that'd been assembled by the security teams. Despite clever editing, he could see news crews swarming against the barrier, a wave of determined and professional curiosity. He muted the feed as the image switched to a smartly dressed young woman, microphone clutched in her hand. Gaignun had been present for the impromptu interview; there was no need to watch it again.
Instead he turned his attention to the UMN phone on his desk, indicator lights flashing urgently as incoming calls were electronically halted—every service on the colony seemed desperate to reach him. He carefully tapped the light to Security, and picked up the receiver. "Any developments?"
"Well, this new group's been patched up pretty well," a male voice responded, "but they're none too steady at the moment. From what I gather, none of these people had any idea who or what attacked them. However, I did find something interesting."
"Oh?" Gaignun prompted the man to continue.
"Uh-huh. Seems like everyone's comm lines were either jammed or all but shut down completely prior to the attacks. So we've been looking up criminal groups that use that particular tactic. Got a few possibles."
"That's good to know. Though, isn't it possible that someone would try to emulate another organization's behavior?" Gaignun inquired.
There was a pause on the other end, explained by the steady click of industry before the man answered. "Oh, there's always that, and it probably does apply in this case. But I figured any leads would be good to know. I'll let you know if I come up with anything more concrete."
"I'd appreciate that." The line went dead.
Setting the receiver back on its cradle, he closed his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips. Despite the new information, it felt like there was no progress.
God, I hope Jr. knows what he's getting himself into.