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THIRTEEN

AFTRAN

We stood there in the hall of the ancient android's human house. Erek eyed me, sidelong. Then he said, "we have a bug fighter en route. Two of my people are on board and shielding it."

I raised my eyebrows. Blinked, genuinely impressed. The chee had infiltrated Empire ranks fairly far— otherwise I'd never get my hands on something as rare and expensive as a portable pool unit, but being able to borrow a bug fighter for a few hours without attracting notice… that was impressive.

"A bug fighter! That's a little ambitious." It was more than a little ambitious; it was almost unbelievably daring. And it cleared up a few more mysteries from my days in the Visser's personal guard.

"And a personal pool isn't?" His voice was challenging.

I didn't doubt the irritation in his voice. Getting ahold of an entire kandrona-pool system could not have been easy.

I scoffed. "With as much as your little infiltrator ring has made off with? Hardly." Countless power cells. Power generators, force field generators, dracon beams, rare metals, raw building materials, much much more. The operation had been bleeding the ships in this sector of resources for several years. It was very well-run.

It wasn't all chee, the scale of the theft was too massive— they were smuggling weapons — but I had no doubt the chee were using and aiding the existing smuggling operation for their own ends. It had been much too successful and long-running.

He gave me a hard look. Was about to say something to me when I snapped my eyes to the backyard, watching the swimming pool outside ripple.

The long grass waved, then depressed. Those were the only indicators the craft had landed until the back hatch opened, facing us in the hall.

We looked at each other. He stepped forward. I followed him out of the house and onto the ship.

A chee was piloting the bug fighter. Another was standing beside an individual pool unit, something I'd only gotten to use as part of my assignment before.

It was inactive, partially disassembled for transport. I wondered where in the supply chain it had been marked destroyed or lost or requisitioned. Who had taken the blame. Some mid-level Visser was likely very upset right now about "transport delays," and making every last underlings' life miserable because of it.

That was, wondrously, no longer my problem. Never had to be ever again if I played things right.

Erek turned to me, an inquiring look on his face. "You're in charge of this extortion," he said evenly. "Where are we going?"

"Bring up a terrain map of Ventura." I said. "Twenty mile cross section, north-northeast directional orientation. Center on Cassie's home."

He nodded, dropped his human hologram. In front of me rose a detailed relief map.

I found the river easily, followed its path. Pointed to the waterfall, near the edge of the map. "There." The hatch closed. We shot up into the sky and moved off.

The trip was barely five minutes— even in low atmosphere the travel speed was relatively high compared to flying with wings. The fighter arced down out of the sky as we approached and hovered off the side of the waterfall.

I jumped out of the hatch when it opened, straight into the rushing water. There was no other way to get through from this angle.

A moment later the waterfall parted around a dome as Erek walked past carrying the pool unit like it weighed nothing. I directed him to the side-angled cave entrance, unsettled when he fit through with just enough room to spare.

He shone a light up at the ceiling from his android body. The dark cave illuminated. We both ignored the dracon weapon on the floor. He got to work setting up the pool while I stood and watched. I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"You will not threaten the chee again." He said as he started working, his voice conversational. "Threatening the humans in any way is tantamount to threatening us. You have what you want. You will not attempt anything like this in the future."

I watched him work, silent. Wondering if he could actually threaten me any more directly than he already had. If his programming would even allow it.

"Acceptable." I said, and left it at that. He looked up at me, nodded tightly, his canid face shrewd. His true eyes watched me for a moment, piercing. When he returned to his work his movements were so quick they blurred.

I felt Cassie rouse, note where I was. Sink back down, immediately disinterested.

«Cassie! Stay present. Don't—»

… She was already gone. Drifting.

Of course. Now she was a perfect, optimal, passive host— now, when I needed her active and talking. When I needed her willing, engaged cooperation to convince her team this was a voluntary infestation.

I needed her to shield me to survive long-term— and I was cautiously optimistic that she would, if she was present enough to talk when the confrontation occurred. If not…

I felt the physical stress response. The swoop in my stomach. The cold sweat on my neck. The adrenaline creeping up my spine.

I had come so far. From presumed death by andalite to presumed death by human to a host I wouldn't have believed I'd come across if I'd been explicitly warned. I was out of the Empire, out of working assignment orders and staying clear of the power games from my betters. I was so close to safety. So incredibly close.

This farcical experiment in demitting control was actually working, was keeping me in this host body. I was getting my own pool unit right now. If I believed Cassie's memories, I had a galactically legendary intradimensional God on my side!

It seemed absolutely cruel that a host tantrum could doom me at this stage.

«Cassie. Cassie!»
… Nothing.

«Cassie?»
… Nothing.

I spent the next three hours or so worrying. Watching Erek as closely as I could. Going over what I could say to keep myself alive. Trying to ignore my growing hunger as it began to distract me.

By the time he was finally finished, I was on-edge. Hunger was turning towards discomfort and need. I didn't like cutting it so close again after last time; I hadn't realized how long this would take.

I watched him calibrate and turn on my new pool with suspicious eyes. Ready for the trap. Alert.

"It's ready," he said, standing up as the pool liquid started to move in a slow current and the low-set lighting came on. He met my eyes, turned, walked towards me. "I've never altered a power supply for a kandrona before. Shielding the operational energy bleedoff created inefficiencies— the feedback will shorten its operable lifespan. I don't know by how much."

I nodded, staring past him as he walked, at the metal pool. It didn't matter; that still bought me however long it lasted. This pool was my freedom; my independence from the Empire. My ability to do as I liked. As long as I had this, I didn't have to worry.

I blinked, looking at the open side of the pool more closely. "Where's the collar?" I asked, confused. Surely he hadn't gotten me one of the newer models with a more advanced containment system? No, no, that didn't make sense; the power requirements were too high…

I whirled, glared at the android just as his hologram flickered on. I realized he was standing with his foot practically touching the dracon beam on the ground. His human visage broke into a smile devoid of any warmth.

"It doesn't have one." He said simply.

Fear thundered through me. Then betrayal. Then fury. Then dread. I stared at him, aghast, unable to speak through the strength of my outrage.

"Your pool has no host management device of any kind," he said crisply, sounding unbearably smug and self-satisfied. He'd been waiting for this. Worthless machine.

"Cassie has to choose to continue this," he said, smiling brilliantly. "Willingly."

He bent down, picked up the Dracon weapon. Stood back up and gave me a jaunty wave.

Walked out.