Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (27 page)

This group was
far too intent on each other, and the food.

* * * * *

Chapter Nine

Young Perin was bored. Although he had
looked forward to his first trip to space the journey to Rexis had been
uneventful, monotonous and repetitive. While interesting men and women the
delegates had little time for him and even if he had hoped for opportunity to
lobby for support he could now see it would have been a waste of time anyway.
Several of the group clearly saw themselves as the natural successor to Darius
and none of them would back youth over experience, not at their own expense.

From the second day out he determined to
have as little to do with the delegates as possible, not because of their lack
of interest in him but for another reason entirely; his conscience. It didn't
sit comfortably that each of the delegates, men and women he had known since
childhood, would all be soon dead. What had seemed a noble, if unpalatable plan
when Maynard had first spoken to him now seemed appalling. Perin had no wish to
develop relationships and perhaps like any of the delegates as they would all die
within days. Instead he concentrated more and more on the task ahead, developing
a regular exercise routine that took him several times per day past the escape
pods. He wanted to establish a pattern that lessened the chance of drawing suspicion
at the crucial time.

He got on well with the crew unlike most of
the delegates who ignored them. They kept him well informed on progress, likely
arrival times at the rendezvous and any changes in ship schedules. So today he
knew he could take his time with the walk, chatting with the odd crew member as
he passed and practicing the calm he hoped would radiate from him when the
moment came. Slipping into the familiar corridor lined with escape pods he
glanced back to check he was alone then slowed beside his specific transport to
glory. Reaching to the pod he stroked it, and then padded the release so that
the door clicked and slowly ratcheted open. Placing both hands on the door he returned
it slowly to the closed position but gently enough to ensure the locking
mechanism didn't engage. Seconds could make all the difference and he wanted no
delay when he decided to move. Examining the door he could see no evidence that
it was open and patted it with satisfaction. Unconsciously he felt again for
the small processor carrying the genovirus, fingering it nervously as he did
so. He could only hope there would be no problems, and that once triggered the
wireless transmission of the virus would work to wreak its devastating effect. His
challenge . . . to ensure it was downloaded to some public system, not some
isolated machine.

He shuddered in a moment of panic as he
recalled the near disaster of the day before.

Rehearsing nervously he had taken out the
tube and rolled it in his hands as he sat on the edge of the bunk. It had seemed
so innocuous, an object no larger than a small test tube.
Would it work?
He fingered the small button, testing it with the faintest pressure, wondering
and considering how much was at stake, whether he could risk not knowing.

And then it had been a conscious press, a
stupid action driven more by curiosity than doubt, nevertheless when the small
button lit up and began to blink he knew immediately what was happening; it was
searching for a signal, an opportunity to link and upload. And in a flash he
saw the danger; if the ship downloaded the virus they could all be lost.
Scrabbling in panic he had almost dropped the tube before blindly pressing the
button hard while having no idea whether it could be stopped. It did stop
blinking and mercifully nothing happened. Now, reliving the moment he again broke
into a sweat as he remembered sitting there for several minutes with his heart
pounding as he had anxiously watched the ceiling lights, imagining everything
going black. It took him several hours to recover and later in the darkness he
woke with a nightmare sweat determining not to even take the thing out again
until the right time.

Now, with one final wipe of the pod surface
to remove his sweaty prints he decided to go straight to control and see how
long it would be before arrival. He was far too nervous to eat.

* * *

The Fair Passage, in convoy, the Orion Nebula

Regan joined them from the Behemoth
immediately on exiting the final portal by taking a Pod from the STEIN traveler
and shuttling across in person. Charlotte couldn't quite see how Regan
represented the cavalry but nevertheless was pleased to have the support. A
familiar panic over being exposed in her key role of ship Commander quickly
dissipated as she saw Regan's focus was on the possible stowaway and she seemed
to have no other concerns. In any case, Charlotte knew from keeping one eye on
the ship, everything was running well with her hard work in the lead up to
departure paying dividends. Senior crew all seemed to like her and they were
working overtime to impress. To date there had been no passenger complaints and
general reports showed that everything had gone well, no one being aware of the
drama going on behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, using the STEIN Pod as his cyber
base, Ham was already cruising the ship as a silent observer, operating
alongside Lucas but unnoticed, passive yet powerful and already he could see
this was a path that had been well travelled before him. In fact he could tell his
insinuation into the system was made all the easier by the work of another,
clearly brilliant Mind. It peeved him slightly that he could also detect the
passing of Jared who had also roamed here undetected. At the same time he quietly
gloried in the fact that Jared and Mori hadn't, as far as he could tell, been quite
so aware of the intricate deception that had been perpetrated on Lucas by their
unofficial passenger. Nor were they aware that they too were enjoying the fruit
of the stowaway’s work in staying hidden. He smiled inwardly,
yes
grasshopper, you still have much to learn.

No matter,
he thought,
concentrate on the job in hand; you could meet the interloper at
any moment. Where are you; you bastard?
He kept searching.

As Charlotte and Jared summarized for Regan
the known facts and their theories to date Charlotte couldn't help noticing
that she was being distracted by the occasional interjections from Lucas.

"Is there something wrong Regan, is
Lucas bothering you?"

Regan's attention snapped back to Charlotte,
embarrassed like a naughty schoolgirl. "I'm sorry Charlie, I am listening,
it's just so off putting to hear Lucas’s voice coming from Ham's android. It's
kind of creepy actually."

"It won't be for long Ms Stein." He
crossed his arms smugly. "Charlie has offered me my own android if I make
the team, and I intend to."

The words drew another strange look from
Regan. "Hmm, is that right Lucas; and this team would be . . .?"

"The STEIN team Regan." Charlotte
quickly replied. "As I said to Lucas when we were seeking his support,
members of the team would probably qualify for one of those android
things."

Regan smiled. "Yes, well I'm sure it's
a possibility, Minds who join our team certainly enjoy special
privileges." She blushed slightly at the words and quickly subbed an
apology to Hilary, [I'm sorry Hilary, and we both know it's not like that, you
and Ham give me the special privileges.]

She could sense Hilary's smile before Lucas
replied.

"Ms Stein, you don't need to bribe me,
I understand how things work and I would have supported this anyway. It
distresses me that anyone could mess with my mind like this and I feel as if,
to put it in your human parlance, I have been hypnotized without my permission.
I have been violated!"

"Thank you for your support then Lucas,
and that your support is unconditional means a lot. It is good to have you on trial
in the team. Now Charlie, what's the plan?"

"Regan, we believe as I've said that
this stowaway will still be on the ship. If the objective as we suspect is to
reach the Orion Nebula then it's likely they are sitting dormant somewhere
waiting to wake. As far as I'm concerned, regardless of whether their
intentions for getting there are benign, this Mind or whatever it is is a killer,
the murderer of Tyrian Juno - and I want them. We need a plan to find that
processor."

"Hmm," Regan massaged her chin,
"well, we can't search from in here, we need to come out of the closet,
and that includes Lucas."

Charlotte looked concerned at the
suggestion. "Lucas was clearly worried, and I tend to agree Regan - if the
stowaway became aware we were on to them . . . well, something could happen. They've
already killed once after all."

"I hear you Charlie, both of you in
fact," she nodded in Lucas’s direction. "But that's not a concern
now, Ham is in the ship system and he will be on to any stowaway quicker than a
robber's dog if they poke their head up. No, the real worry to me is if they
keep their head down. Not knowing their intentions I'm more worried about
carrying them to Rexis and acting as their Trojan horse." She noticed
Lucas had his hand in the air. "Yes Lucas? You have a question?"

"Did you say Ham is
already
in
the system, that means I've been violated again - that is outrageous!"

"Oh don't worry Lucas, I'm absolutely
certain he won't bother you, in fact you won't even know he's there until he
lets you know."

The android’s head slumped. "And
that
is supposed to make me feel better? It's disturbing beyond
belief."

"Oh come now, you've been riding there
in Ham's android for a while, he can ride you in the ship’s system can't he -
for the good of the team?" Not waiting for an answer she turned to Jared.
"Now my son," and she smiled warmly at the word, "this is your
territory, what are we likely to be looking for?"

"Something small that would fit in the
palm of this hand," With just a thought he brought up a large wall visual
of Leith's clenched fist, "and this object, whatever it looks like, could
be anywhere on the ship with the ability to operate independently and
wirelessly."

"Oh." Regan was looking at the
fist. "So it'll be simple then." Charlotte broke the tension with a
throaty laugh.

"Let's examine that fist people,"
Regan prompted, "what does it tell you about the object?" All eyes
were drawn to the visual and Charlie spoke first.

"Nothing protrudes from the fist so it
must be shorter than the width of his hand."

"It's less than ten centimeters
then." Hilary added.

Regan smiled happily, "Good, anything
else?"

"He's clenching his hand quite
tightly," Charlotte noticed, "could we zoom back to bring in his
face?"

The visual instantly changed to show Leith
in mid stride and then without request zoomed back in to focus on the face.

"What are you thinking Charlie?"

"Well, he's gripping like his life
depends on it, but look at his face, it's relaxed, no grimace."

"So?" Jared asked.

"So, I'm thinking the object probably
doesn't have any sharp edges, not a box for example; can we go back to the
fist?"

Again the visual resumed on the fist.

"Look at the hand." Charlotte
continued. "It's not a grip like holding a ball, definitely more like an
object that has length rather than bulk, and look at the thumb - it looks as if
it's pressed over the end of something. At a guess I'd say it's a tube shape,
something not unlike this." And reaching to her desk she pulled out a
small drawer and retrieved a small plastic tube with a smooth bullet end.
Unconsciously she thumbed the end and it began to buzz. Quickly she shut it
off.

Regan laughed. "Charlie - that's not a
. . ."

"No - absolutely not a . . ." and
she blushed before flourishing it quickly and dropping it back out of sight.
"The point is that it's probably a tube, less than ten centimeters and at
a guess I'd say the ends are flat."

"Very good, what do you think
Jared?"

"What was that thing?" He was
still looking at the drawer.

"Never mind, do you concur about the
shape?"

He seemed distracted but nevertheless
nodded agreement.

"Hilary, Lucas, any other ideas?"

"I would be reluctant to commit on
such flimsy information, but it does make sense in a human kind of way."
Lucas seemed unconvinced.

"I think Charlie's right." Hilary
added. "Her instincts are usually spot on, so what do we do with the
information, it's a big ship."

"Have a treasure hunt?" Jared
suggested.

* * *

"Attention
all passengers and crew . . ." Lucas's voice resonated warmly through
every space on the Fair Passage. Not even the bathrooms were exempt and ears
perked up at what for most was a new voice and a rare official intrusion on
their activities.

"As you
may be aware we exited the final portal in transit to Orion some hours ago and
we are now cruising the Orion Nebula, just another small sparkle on Orion's
belt." He chuckled warmly. "In honor of our entry and as a little fun
while we cruise in to our destination we are going to have a treasure hunt.
Everyone is invited to participate and the prize for finding the treasure will
be what we will call 'First Choice'. Regan Stein will ensure the successful
hunter, should there be one, will enjoy the privilege of first choice wherever
there are choices offered on Rexis; accommodation being one such example.