The reflection stared back, a feeble glare that wouldn't put the fear into a rock let alone an AI and angry uncle. The glare faltered, teeth nipping at the lip. Today was the day; today was the tango with Marshal to gain access to the Constellation's Reaper Server. My heart thumped, shaking my head hard to settle the nerves rising in my gut. Also to make sure the visor didn't move around too much. Only half of the screen flashed over an eye, leaving one eye undisturbed against the normal sights. With what was inside the server room on the Constellation, I couldn't take the chance to miss something. My hand tugged on Kala's portable server sleeve, double checking the omni-tool. My arms stretched above my head, fighting against the anxiety twisting my stomach. If there had been a group of us going, the nerves wouldn't be as bad, but it was just Kala and me. No one else could help me if something went wrong. A duplicate sleeve slipped over my other arm. This one didn't have servers or anything on it, it's only job was to stop people getting suspicious. We had to wait and see how successful it was.
My eyes scanned the equipment gathered from around the ship. In the fight against an AI, you needed whatever you could get your hands on to block said AI. The equipment included disruptors to keep the microphones and cameras from spotting me too early. Kala didn't know what kind of protection he had, but we assumed the worst. The tech came from the science and intel departments. They wouldn't miss them, I would put them back after. Whether or not they worked – and Kala could get them work, assuming they worked to begin with – wouldn't be obvious until the mission started. Science also had a grappling hook, a rope and hook system linked up to the gauntlet. There were other things to attach it to the armour but it didn't come in my size. It'd help me get out quick if we needed to evac. It wasn't easy to use though, it was stronger than it looked and kept ripping itself out of my hand or pulling me across the floor before it could disconnect and free me.
My hands clenched. No more hiding, we had to do this, for mum's sake! My shoulders rolled back, slipping through the door to march towards the elevator. The shaking from my knees infuriated me. The elevator down to the bridge only worsened my mood, drying my mouth and tensing the muscles in my legs until they demanded to move. When the doors opened, my tense, numb legs stumbled free to walk down the hall and into the bridge. The crew mulled around, preparing for docking with the Constellation. Mum sat in the Control Ring, eyes forward and a frown on her face. Sassy, standing beside her, spotted me before mum did, watching me slunk up to her chair.
"Hi mum," I greeted. She blinked in surprise, turning towards me with a small smile.
"Hello, Gid," she greeted, tapping at a screen to her right, it scrolled to the next page.
"Are we, uh, heading to the Constellation?" I asked. Mum pulled a face before nodding her head to the cameras on the top level. My eyes swivelled up, stomach plunging as the huge dreadnaught filled two screens. Four cruisers flanked it like fish following a shark. My throat tightened.
"DSST Constellation, this is the RSS-2 Starquake. Requesting permission to dock," Mari call over the intercom. Mum peeked up, eyes on the Constellation on the screen.
"RSS-2 Starquake, request received. Standby," the operator said. Mum sighed as the Starquake throttled back, hovering beside a cruiser, the Andromeda. The seconds passed before the confirmation came through, probably to inform Uncle Julian we were arriving."RSS-2 Starquake, apologies for the delay. Please proceed to Dock SQ,"
"Aww, we have our own personal dock, that's adorable," Mum crooned, tone thick with sarcasm. My teeth nibbled my lip again as the engines crept up, easing us just past the bow of the Constellation. Lanster spun us around, lining up with the massive belly. Within seconds, the interior of the surrounded us. My knees shook as soon as we lined ourselves up on the labelled dock. "Alright people! Grab the spines and let's get cracking," Mum called, pushed herself to her feet.
My already edgy nerves leapt at her sudden cry, my heart knocking a few ribs loose. As mum and the crew rallied, she didn't complain against me sticking close beside her. What she didn't know was I was hoping some of her strength would brush off on me. It didn't seem to work. After Lanster docked with the Constellation, Mum led a small team out, everyone else was on 'shore leave' until we left. My eyes found Cops as he and Saria carried the crate of spines down the ramp. Uncle Julian strode across the dock, warned to our presence. He fought to keep his pace steady, but that we arrived without him dragging us to him meant something happened. Mum stopped a short distance away from him. Uncle Julian crossed the rest of the distance.
"Good afternoon, Julian," Mum greeted. Uncle Julian glanced at the crate before focusing on mum, concern wrinkling his face.
"Delly, I've been trying to call you for the past 2 weeks now. What the hell happened?" he demanded. Mum kept her face straight as she glanced to Saria and Cops, nodding her head. The pair dropped the crate before Julian. His frown deepened.
"Covert mission," Mum said with a shrug. "We had to keep a low key, need to know basis and all that. I was not on the Starquake for most of the time," she said as Cops cracked the lid off with his biotics. Uncle Julian glanced at the box of foam popcorn before dropping his hand in, eyes on mum. He blinked, frozen before pulling out an elcor spine.
"So you found the elcor diplomat," he said, shoulders sagging. Mum smiled, but her eyes didn't warm. She was preparing for the storm.
"Keep looking," she said. Uncle Julian stared at her from under his eyebrows, reading her expression. After a hesitant few seconds, his hand dropped back beneath the foam popcorn. After a quick search, he dragged out the second elcor spine. Uncle Julian's expression froze, staring at the two dark grey spines in his hand. His eyes rose to mum's, every muscle taut. "Thapeli and Hugelun are dead," she said.
"You went to Dekuuna?!" he thundered. Mum smiled under his rage, but her eyes were tight. "I told you not to go to Dekuuna! How many times do I need to tell you something before you understand? Do you know how many men Thapeli killed?"
"47?" Mum said, shrugging, cool despite her unease. "It wasn't easy I admit. The gravity was harder to deal with than I thought, made harder because she had Tech Incap. As you can imagine, being in buildings filled with lifeforms that require artificial gravity and have to wear grav-suits all the time due to an angry Saboteur makes for an… uncomfortable result," Mum said, clearing her throat. Uncle Julian's wide, fixated gaze pinned her place, demanding more. "The gravity and the suit crushed me to the ground 3 or 4 times when Thapeli deactivated my grav-suit. By the time it was over and done with, I was bed ridden with two collapsed lungs," Uncle Julian's eyes bulged. "Just got out of Kaeran Ward Hospital about 4 days ago after spending a week there-… Oh Julian, for God sake, I was fine! The turian army kept me stable and comfortable until the hospital staff confirmed my lungs were recovering. I have deep breathing exercises to ensure my lung capacity returns to normal," she said. Uncle Julian turned to Saria. The asari sighed.
"I was in no position to aid, Admiral. The only people who knew of the true purpose for docking in the Citadel, and therefore the Dekuuna mission, were Captain Shaik, Commander Thermi'a and the Councillors. I remained on the Starquake in the Citadel. Captain Shaik went to Dekuuna on a turian cruiser to avoid detection," Saria explained.
"That… explains how you got past without the Phoenix spotting you…" Julian said. He glanced down to the elcor spines in his hands. His jaw popped, eyebrows snapping down. "Delly, a word," he said through ever tightening grit teeth. He dropped the spines back in the crate before turning to the Constellation crew behind him. "Get these to the lab! I want a full report by morning!" he ordered. Mum raised her chin a notch before following Uncle Julian towards the elevator. Cops snorted.
"1000 credits they end up screaming at each other," he said.
"1000 credits he grounds her again," Indira smirked. Val groaned.
"Not taking that bet," he rumbled. My hands tightened, interlocked together. "Well, do we wander the Constellation or stay on the Starquake? There's a cinema here," he asked. Indira shrugged.
"Na, I doubt they have anything recent. Unless they pirate… go and check it out just in case," she grinned, skipping back into the Starquake. Cops shook his head before walking towards the elevators to delve into the beast. A deep breath filled my chest, calming myself before heading for the elevator.
"You are certain of this, Gideon?" Kala asked, chiming in my ear. "My scanners are detecting more than enough security to drop the success rate from 34% to 11%. And while I'm at it, I may as well add the location, crew and your training you have been doing. The success rate drops to 4% once we include everything," A scowl formed, eyes scanning dock, checking for anyone around me who might suspect me.
"Someone is being optimistic," I said, tone dry. Kala paused, confused as she processed my words. Then she registered the sarcasm. The emoticon turned red, steam popping from the ears in the corner of my vision. It formed a smile, a small release from the tension. At least she was learning.
The elevator dinged, enclosing me in the large square as it carried me upwards into the beast. When the doors opened, the bustle of people flowed out, dragging me out to shuffle down the bright halls unseen. The huge ship took a kilometre of walking on travellators on the 12th floor before windows overlooking the server room. My heart thundered, comparing the room to the Starquake's. The same size as football pitch and 4 decks high, the room swallowed our server room 10 fold. A thick layer of mist coated the floor, the coolant spilling out to keep the servers cold. The room split into 4 quadrants, all colour co-ordinated; a black bank of servers in the forward portside corner, a blue bank in the rear portside corner, a silver bank in the rear starboard side and an orange bank in the front starboard. Only the black one seemed to make any sense, it must be the Reaper server but the others, well, who knows. There were doors on the bottom, but the door was too obvious. I had to get in somehow that was stealthy. But the servers towered a story tall and the massive quadrants formed a maze of corridors within the coloured computers.
"The Black bank is the Reaper Server or R-Servers," Kala said, confirming my assumptions. "Marshal's AI core is the orange servers, the A-Servers, the silver bank is the S-Servers for the science department and R&D department and blue bank is the Intelligence server or I-Server. The I-Servers mines everything on the extranet from news articles to encrypted documents. And as you can see, it isn't the easiest place to get into and difficult to sneak around in here," she added.
Her pessimism shook my head, concern bubbling. A deep breath in, my finger tapped the visor until the yellow screen covered both eyes. Kala highlighted all the security measures; dozen of cameras, microphones, electronic trip wires, mechs and god knows what else waited for me all around the room. My deep breath rushed out, my mind scrambling to form a plan to bypass any of this. Everything linked to Marshal, if he detected anything strange he would investigate. He had the power to do that. The first problem, though, was to get into the damn room to begin with. Nothing stood out.
"The vents?" I asked, keeping my voice low. If anyone heard me talking to myself…
"I would not recommend it. Infrared sensors line all the vents large enough for people to get into. They cannot risk someone infiltrating the server room," Kala said. My tongue clucked, fighting to stop my teeth biting my tongue. My head flopped against the glass.
"Nothing short of a power cut could get through this, is there?" I said. Dammit, was this whole mission, all the planning and training, for nothing?
"Power cut?" Kala echoed. Her words stirred me, her emoticon thinking. My eyes found my reflection in the glass. "That… may work. It would disable Marshal until you get in. I am unsure if we could get back out again without tripping something. I can shut down the drive core to cut the power, but you wouldn't have long and the power cut will not stop the mechs inside. It would also put Marshal on high alert," My eyes narrowed. We had nothing else to go on. No other plans sprang to mind.
"We don't have a choice, I'll do what I can. Just keep Marshal off me," I said. "Where is the nearest vent?"
"The optimal vent in terms of length and height from the ground is down two decks, a ground vent but it will alarmed. I will tell you when I am ready to cut the power. You'll have a few minutes, but it will not take long until Marshal discovers the problem. And if he discovers me… Gideon, I cannot out manoeuvre him. His processing power will crush me in nanoseconds," Kala said, emoticon fluttering between unease and concentration. My arms pushed me off the barrier, aiming for the nearest elevator.
"If that happens, disconnect and focus on transmitting the data back to the Starquake," I said, the elevator pinging and the doors parting. The elevator dropped two floors, my shoulders tense as people glanced down or ignored me. Kala stayed silent, working her magic to get ready to cut the power and calculating her next move. The elevator doors opened, freeing me and several others onto the busy deck. The corridor with the vent was empty, the surprise and darkness would give me a small window to get into the vent. Kala highlighted the location just in case. My omni-tool opened, pretending to be looking at something while in an empty, dull hallway. C'mon, Kala, hurry! My nerves can't take much more.
"Alright, cutting power… now," Kala said.
Everything went dark in a heartbeat. The drive core whined loud enough to echo down the entire ship. Yells and screams rang out in the darkness. My visor darkened, switching to night vision to see the vent in the wall through a green hue. My fingers ached after straining on the vent cover, the sharp edges catching my unprotected skin. The cover popped off, going legs first into the vent, jamming the cover back on before the emergency red lights flooded the halls. My arms pushed back, coaxing me deeper into the vent until a junction appeared, letting me turn around and crawl forward towards the server room. Every sound echoed like a war drum, a powerful thud that skittered my heart at every moment. My teeth grit hard, threatening to break, the ribbing on the vent ground, aching my ribs until my eyes watered.
One more turn, red light poked up the vent. A vent cover slit it into beams, forcing me to angle my head to stop blinding the night vision. My shoulder pushed against the vent cover until it popped off With great care, my head poked out, scanning both ways for mechs. All clear. The night vision destroyed my sense of colour though. Kala would have to guide me to the Reaper server. My hands clenched into fists as my body unfurled itself from the vent. Kala said the servers in front of me were the blue servers. To avoid obvious detection, she led me through the maze of corridors, each corner tensing my chest should a mech crawl around the corner. I grit my teeth as I got to my feet, sneaking up to the nearest bank of computers. The fog around my feet froze my toes, the air in the room sending chills down my spine. A light beam shone down the corridor before me. My heart froze. The light vanished, the sounds of servos and metal hitting metal fading into the red hue. Kala zig zagged me around the corridors to reach the black servers.
Kala tracked the mechs, using what she had to track their movements; sound, light, any previous knowledge on their algorithms and patterns. She weaved me around the corridors, ducking into cubby holes as a mech sauntered past. Within a minute, we reached the Reaper server. She led me through a narrow corridor, stopping me at a control panel to insert in her omni-chip. One slipped from the omni-tool, slotting inside the server. The visor erupted into activity, Kala delving into the data and mining what she could. She threw to the side what she didn't need and kept what she knew was missing from the Starquake. My heart thundered, deafening me, as the wait pressed on. My eyes scanned both sides, terrified a mech would spot me, unsure if the camera disruptors even worked. The red hue only made everything worse. Kala got 20% through the Reaper server when the lights flashed on. My eyes watered as the brightness blinded me. A voice broke through the intercom, sending shivers down my spine.
"There has been a breech in the server room," Marshal's voice called. "Assessing situation. A-Servers are clear," My eyes found the control panel, to the little orange chip inside the server. A mech walked past one end of the corridor.
"Kala," I said, urging her to free herself. A camera drone flew overhead. Only the narrow corridor hid me from it.
"I haven't only gathered 8% of the missing data, Gideon," Kala said. Another mech wandered past the other end the corridor
" S-Servers are clear," Marshal said, counting down until he found her.
"Kala, if Marshal catches you…" I said, husking my voice should any microphones were here. What would Marshal do to her if he caught her? She couldn't fight him!
"Just a little more time," Kala pleaded.
"I-Servers are clear," Marshal said. My throat tightened.
"Kala, eject!" I said.
"I am almost at 10%," Kala said. My body trembled.
"No, Kala, out! Now!" I snapped. How fast would it be before Marshal found he-
"Anomaly detected within the R-Server, re-routing security to investigate," Marshal said. Adrenaline pumped hard, blinding me.
"Kala, now!" I snapped, clawing at the panel. I clawed at the panel. The data scrolling on the visor vanished, the AI conceding defeat. Her chip popped free, my fingers snatching it and pushing it back into the omni-tool. My body wheeled, sprinting down the hall.
A scream ripped from my throat when a sharp pain flared up my leg from my ankle. My hands grabbed the server wall, stopping myself from crashing into the floor. My head peered over my shoulder. A mech aimed down the corridor, too big to fit down the tunnel itself. It fired another bullet. My body recoiled, curling into a ball before hobbling out of the corridor and around the corner. The bullet smashed into the wall ahead of me. My leg burned from the pain, my ankle unable to hold my weight. Kala's visor flashed to weave me back towards the vent, fighting to track the mechs now marching towards me. Movement above my head drew my gaze up, finding a swarm of camera drones scanning the ground below. Using the mechs, they found me in seconds. My blood drained to my toes. The swarm rushed towards me, capturing a full 360 of my bleeding ass.
"Gideon Shaik?" Marshal's asked, his monotone voice borderline surprised. Assuming AI's could feel surprised. Something to ask Kala later, I'm sure. Cameras along the walls of the server room refocused on me, tracking me as my slow, lumbering pace pressed on towards to vent. Dammit, why didn't I bring any shields? Why didn't I wear my damn armour!? Because too many people would raise eyebrows at an 11 year old in armour. Dammit it all! And these camera cloaks proved to be useless as well! Kala's emoticon remained concentrated, rushing through what she could gather to help me. A mech disappeared from view as my laboured legs lumbered around a corner. Kala's emoticon changed; dread.
"Gideon, Marshal has re-programmed the mechs. The behaviour and weapons are changing," Kala said, her activity graph skyrocketing. So close to the vent, so close! "Looks like they've changed to non-lethal capture. They are changing to stun guns,"
"Oh great," I said, tone peaking as fresh pain flooded me. "Transmit the data you got, Kala. Just in case," I said. Kala answered with her emoticon changing back to concentration. Then a new problem surfaced.
"BOY!" Uncle Julian's voice boomed. My heart stopped. All of a sudden, my ankle didn't feel as sore. My pace quickened, even if my body wanted to collapse every second step. The vent appeared, so close, just right there! A bullet slammed into the ground in front of me, releasing a yelp as my body couldn't balance after landing on the injured leg. My back slammed into the ground, twisting to drag myself towards to vent and safety. My eyes flew towards where the bullet came from, spotting Uncle Julian in full sprint with a pistol in his hand.
"Fucking move and I will shoot you!" he thundered. My stomach plunged to my feet, body frozen in place. He was on me in seconds, grabbing me around the neck and hoisting me off the ground. The pistol jammed under my chin. A tremble overtook me, holding me paralysed in his grip. Pounding feet rang out from all directions, more people running into the room. "Check the whole damn room! Make sure this brat wasn't fucking around in here!"
"Aye, aye, Admiral!" the crew cried, rushing in all directions. Uncle Julian's eyes pinned me.
"If I find out you've fucked around with my ship, no amount of begging from your mother will save you from me hurling your ass straight into the nearest sun," he hissed, venom thick in his tone. My teeth clamped down on my tongue, refusing to comment and plunge me deeper in the trouble. Kala transferred the data as requested, too afraid to speak in case Uncle Julian heard her through the ear piece leaking. My hands grabbed his wrist, if only to take the pressure off my throat. Uncle Julian tore his gaze from mine when a female drell approached.
"Sir, we can't find anything else. Nothing looks damaged," she said.
"Fine," he said, his gaze looked over his shoulder, to the open vent behind him. "No one else?"
"No sir," she said.
"Double check," he ordered. "Marshal, status report!"
"The Constellation is stable, Sir Shaik. I cannot find any damage to the drive core and none of the systems are reporting any errors," Marshal responded. Uncle Julian heaved a harsh breath through his nose.
"Then let's find out what my dear little nephew was up to," he said, tone frozen. "Wrap up his leg, I don't want him bleeding over my damn ship,"
The drell slipped a long cloth from her pickets, wrapping my leg. She ignored my whimpers as she tightened it. Uncle Julian hurled me over his shoulder, marching towards the door with his expression murderous. The cameras along the corridors followed us, tracking our progress. The pain throbbed in my leg, an acute reminder of how close I had been to a bullet to the chest or head. Next time, wear armour. And shields. Uncle Julian carted me deep into the Constellation, towards the living quarters. The door slid open, feeling his rage. The room looked similar to mum's quarters, with the half wooden walls with pale beige walls above them. It was smaller than mum's, but the floor to ceiling photos along one wall spoke volumes about who lived here. He must've given the bigger room to mum… oh what was mum going to say when she learned of this?! Could I squirm my way out of trouble? My ankle wept when Uncle Julian dumped me onto the sofa, sitting in a dip in the floor.
"Move from this room and I will shoot your knees out," he said, tone dead and cold. It was enough to shrink me into the cushions and beg for mercy. He turned then, abandoning the room with a furious step. The seconds ticked by, heart pounding with each one before letting my shoulders slump. My eyes scanned the room, finding nothing to help ease the pain in my leg. My hands longed to pull the boot off, but judging by how wet my foot felt, it felt full with blood. Uncle Julian didn't want me bleeding over his ship, he sure as hell would not like me bleeding over his room. A camera in the back of the room kept its focus on me.
"Is there a first aid kit, Marshal?" I asked, reluctant to ask for help.
"There is, it is in Sir Shaik's bathroom," Marshal said, although he didn't carry a tone to make his mood noticeable. Unlike Kala – who had taken steps to put as much life into her voice as possible, including watching TV – Marshal's had no major fluctuations. When he spoke to mum he put a bit more effort into it, but for Uncle Julian and everyone else, it sounded dead. My body cried as my body eased back onto its feet, limping towards the bathroom door.
Uncle Julian's room was bland, empty of any real sense of character. It was like he didn't bother to spend time in here to make it more comfortable for him. Only the photos on the wall brought any life into the room. Hell, the only furniture he had here was the bed, drawers and sofa. The drawers overflowed with photographs in frames, sitting in size tiers from smallest in the front to tallest in the back. There were plenty of grandma and grandpa, hard not to after looking at mum's photos for so long. And there were others of mum and Uncle Julian of when they were kids, there was mum sitting on a small train somewhere on Earth, she couldn't be over 3… My eyes tore away from the images.
Uncle Julian's room was clean and bare; a single bottle of body wash and shampoo, one bar of soap and one towel and face cloth. Nothing else. Mum's looked… lived in at least. The first aid kit sat in a red box on the wall, the only thing with any kind of colour in the room. As my hand grabbed the red box, my mind wandered. Uncle Julian was obsessed with mum. It made sense in a way, she was his Reaper trigger. If she died then Uncle Julian would lose his war with the Reaper in his head. Maybe he felt guilty for everything he did to mum, maybe he wanted to claw back whatever they had before the whole abandonment thing mum ranted about. An idea bloomed, a possible to squirm out of trouble. Marshal tracked me back as my ankle struggled its way back to the sofa, sitting down seconds before Uncle Julian stormed into room again. My eyes snapped up to his thunderous expression, cracking open the box.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" Uncle Julian snapped. A weak glower surfaced, but died when he snarled. My eyes diverted, digging around in the box. "Boy, look at me when I'm speaking to you," he said, a snarl in his tone. My eyes stung as they swivelled up. "What the hell were you doing in the Reaper Server? How did you shut down the drive core?" My throat tightened, struggling to speak.
"I know you're hiding data from mum, about the Saboteurs" I said. Uncle Julian narrowed his eyes. "There were holes in the data,"
"And what makes you think it is because of withheld data?" Uncle Julian asked. My tongue stilled. How to tell him without mentioning Kala?!
"Sir Shaik, if I may," Marshal said. My gaze snapped to the camera. Uncle Julian nodded, muscles too stiff for a full nod. "My sensors detected there was a program within the Reaper server, an AI from the signatures I caught before it unmounted. He has said the name 'Kala' several times,"
"Kala? As in 'K.A.L.A', the AI I had been working on?" Julian glanced down to me. "I thought everything related to that project went into the incinerator,"
"It should have, Sir Shaik. I am unsure how the young Shaik acquired her. Everything related to the project was sent to the incinerator as requested," Marshal said. "I found traces of corruption through several systems, however they did not damage anything crucial. It was more collateral damage to overpower me in a surprise attack to disable to drive core. The drive core shut down as per the routine," My gaze fell, picking up an antiseptic wipe to deal with the wound. My hands coaxed the boot off, using the top part of my uniform to stop blood getting everywhere.
"Is that so…" Uncle Julian said, the anger abating as the sachet tore open, the heavy stench of alcohol burning my nose. A tentative tap on the wound enflamed the pain. Uncle Julian's hand slammed over my hand, the alcohol burning my ankle like molten metal. The pain surprised me, sound unable to escape as it clogged up in my throat. Tears threatened to tumble from my eyes. "So then, my conniving little nephew," he said, removing his hands to slip on a pair of latex gloves. He snapped on with purpose. My heart skipped a beat. "Would like to explain what you were hoping to achieve with this little stunt? Do you even know what you are doing, keeping an AI in your possession? You realise how dangerous they are?"
"And incomplete AI someone dumped because he wanted to use an older piece of tech," I said, tone sour, wincing as he dug into the wound. Uncle Julian's hard eyes held me, dread filling my chest. A tremble shook me. "I found her while helping on the docks. They wanted to throw her in the incinerator,"
"And you didn't throw her away once you realised what she was?" Uncle Julian asked, applying burn cream to the area around the bullet hole. My whole leg twitched. The bullet grazed past my ankle, not a direct hit. A small blessing. Still hurt like hell.
"She seemed nice, she just needed a chance," I said, frowning. "I wanted to give her that chance, one you denied her,"
"Gideon, she is an AI, she doesn't even understand emotion the same way we do. They don't know loyalty or morality. What makes you think she won't toss you aside when she's done with you, betray or abandon you?" he asked, leaning in close. "She doesn't care, Gideon. She doesn't feel a damn thing, not for you or for anything else. They only care about their own survival. Be glad I put shackles on her before dumping her otherwise she have thrown you out the nearest airlock and killed everyone on the Starquake," A weak glare burned in my eyes, but with my current physical conditions, I could run. The weaponised omni-tool buzzed, my only warning. My body froze when an overload sent Uncle Julian sprawling onto the floor, the blue sparks dancing between us. Maybe… maybe giving her access the weaponised omni-tool was a bad idea.
"I may not understand emotion, Sir Shaik," Kala said, hijacking the speaker on the omni-tool, her emoticon fluttering between an array of emotions too quick to read. "But I understand a threat when I see one. And I do not appreciate your barefaced assumptions on how I perceive my relationship with Gideon," My muscles released, inch by tentative inch as Julian pushed himself off the floor.
"Kala, I am so proud of you right now," I said, breathless but afraid Uncle Julian was about to kill me. Kala's emoticon paused in its manic fluttering before blushing and smiling. Julian glanced up at a camera in the corner of the room, expression taut.
"I believe," Marshal said, choosing his words. "She is on the omni-tool. None of the Constellation or Starquake electronics activated. She is separate," My chin raised, smug that the AI sounded confused. My hands reached for a large pad and bandage. Uncle Julian snapped to face me, studying me with tight but focused eyes. "How did you achieve such a feat? Omni-tools cannot hope to give an AI the required processing ability to function,"
"A good magician never reveals his secrets," I said, wincing as the bandage tightened around the ankle. "But more importantly, what is mum going to do when I tell her than you've been withholding key information, hmm? Information that might give her edge or keep the Council off her ass," I asked. Uncle Julian frowned, creases deepening on his face, a coldness setting over his shoulders.
"Oh? Is that a threat, little nephew?" he asked. His tone sent my body trembling.
"Maybe… cause maybe I could get mum to forgive you for all the shit you did to her, maybe heal some of the wounds that stops her running to you when she's in danger," I said, giving a light shrug to hide my unease. Julian blinked once, studying me. "After all, who is she going to listen to; you – the guy who hurt her or me – her little son she dotes on at every opportunity?"
"Gideon, what are you planning?" Kala asked, returning to my ear only rather than broadcasting her outburst. Uncle Julian found his feet, expression unreadable. He folded his arms, a quiver stealing me. A slow smile lifted Uncle Julian's lips.
"So, you are trying to bribe me with a vague promise of healing wounds that have had 10 years to fester. On top of which, you are using an AI your mother doesn't know exists – and you know how much your mother loves AIs – then snuck into my ship and damaged my systems and putting my entire ship and her crew in danger. How does she know you aren't being influenced by an evil AI wishing for nothing more than to hurt everyone she cares about? Boy, what is stopping me from telling your mother about what you have been up to? I wonder how she'll respond when she learns you have AI in your possession…" Uncle Julian said, drawling, turning to study a photo on the wall. Blood flooded from my face. Wait, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to fall under my snare!
"U-Uh… w-well I wonder how she'll react when she finds out you're holding data from her!" I snapped, desperation gripping me. Julian snorted with a grin.
"She already knows," he said with a grin. My expression collapsed. He smirked, a lion to a defenceless gazelle. "Tell you what, I'll keep your little AI our little secret. Hell, I'll even give you some powerful servers to put in the Starquake for you,"
"A-And what do you want in return?" I asked. Uncle Julian smiled.
"Nothing," he said as he secured the bandage, tidying my attempt.
"Bullshit," I snapped. Uncle Julian raised an eyebrow. "No one gets anything for free," Uncle Julian chuckled.
"The condition will come at another time, when I feel like I need a few favours," he said. My face creased. "You'll see. Just remember, boy, you owe me," he pushed himself up on his feet. "Marshal, ensure all the servers are back to optimum levels. I need to escort my little nephew." My teeth caught my lip, confused and unable to follow his line of thinking. What was he going to get from all of this?
The Galaxy Map has been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.