Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (20 page)

As she looked with concern at the
smoldering servitor Hilary's voice whispered in her earpiece.

"Oh sweetie, you are very, very
good."

"You think I'm right in what I'm
saying?"

"Sweetie, that little machine self
destructing tells me everything - and keeping our own little secret, that of my
presence, becomes all the more important. Any Mind that can secrete him or
herself into the system and operate there without Lucas recognizing them is a
powerful force to reckon with. We need to be very, very careful, and . . . we
need Jared here . . . soon."

* * *

The Ascendant - Orion Portal Entrance

Commander Rubik, despite his best
intentions to remain cool, sat like the deck crew with eyes agape at the
phenomenal sight of the portal, glowing and clearly charged for action. Inside
the ring they could see only inkwell blackness and outside of that the normal starscape.
The sense of anticipation was palpable as they watched the ring drawing closer,
but it wasn't the perspective they wanted in the moment to come. This view was
from the bow of the Behemoth which would proceed through first.

"Could we shift to the view from the
Ascendant, Commander?"

"Of course, your wish is my
command," Rubik teased the speaker, not even bothering to see who had called
out. He sighed happily, the atmosphere and culture of the ship was so much more
relaxed and friendly now. It was a pleasure to command with Ham's wry sense of
humor keeping everyone on their toes.

On screen they could now see the rear view
of the Fair Passage which in turn obscured the Behemoth cruising in front. The
Behemoth would proceed through first with the Ascendant bringing up the rear.

 "Ham, could you switch to the Fair
Passage please"

And immediately the view changed again,
this time looking from the bow of the passenger liner forward to the stern of
the Behemoth. The huge warship was now framed by inky black and the glowing
ring.

"Let's leave that view until she goes
through Ham, give our passengers a thrill." Rubik settled back into his
Command chair, he was a very happy Coran.

* * *

The Behemoth - Orion Portal Entrance

Regan rested back in her chair with her
eyes closed surfing the data streams. She didn't need to physically look at any
screen; in fact her cyber view gave her every possible representation of the
way ahead. All data and all aspects of the ship’s performance were available to
her in an instant and all it took was a thought. She enjoyed this private
travel, screening herself from both Ham and Hilary as she explored the data and
action at will. And sometimes she enjoyed her own voyeuristic guilty pleasures
too. However at this moment her mind wasn't on the way ahead, or on voyeurism,
she was intrigued by a certain android she had been following.

She watched him now scrunched uncomfortably
against the desk in a spare STEIN Traveler cabin, his arm was curled around,
with something clasped in his fist and scratching at paper on the table top.
And then it hit her - he was writing, good old fashioned pen and ink writing.
What
on earth is he up to?
As she watched he continued to scratch, occasionally
pausing to suck on the end of the pen,
how very human,
and then he would
continue. Zooming in over his shoulder Regan tried to find a view where she
could read the script but the writing arm, almost clumsy in its uncomfortable
curl, was always in the way. And then he stopped, leaning over the page to study
it before dropping his head to the table top with a thump.

Concerned, Regan sat up in her chair with
her eyes fixed on the powerful form and as she watched Ham, it had to be him, he
slowly drew himself up dragging the paper under his hands. In that motion he
crumpled it into a ball, kissed it and tossed it to the corner. Then he stood
and without a backward glance walked from the room.

Regan zoomed in on the discarded paper left
as rubbish, and then a thought occurred to her. From an inconspicuous alcove
hidden by paneling a small servitor emerged and rolled over to the paper; it
stopped there as if thinking. Normally the small machine would have simply
vacuumed it up to be immediately shredded or consumed in the process. Instead,
somehow it began to rock, backward and forward until it had enough momentum to
lift the edge of the machine off the ground as it did so. The rocking action also
slowly nudged the servitor toward the paper until finally it came down on top,
trapping the crumpled ball beneath it. Then the machine began to creep backward,
dragging the ball with it as it returned to its storage home. Eventually,
snuggled into its spot, the panel again slid closed leaving no sign of its
existence.

Regan's eyes flicked open and she smiled; there
would be time to recover the paper ball after their emergence from the wormhole
end. Looking up she could see they were now near to the portal rim; it would be
minutes at best. She concentrated on the matters in hand and marveled once
again at Ham's multitasking skills as he guided them in.

* * *

The Fair Passage - Orion Portal Entrance

"Commander
on the bridge!" Lucas's comical and affected navy voice rang out across
control as Charlotte emerged from the elevator. She smiled but no one was
laughing and the watch crew turned and stood, breaking into applause as she
walked, blushing, to the command chair.

"Thank
you, thank you all, as you were . . . underlings."

There was
laughter at her final comment and the crew went back to their stations, mostly
monitoring passenger issues as Lucas had the vessel well under control. Looking
up at the main screen she caught her breath, and then gasped loudly. "Oh
wow!"

It was enough
to draw the attention of the room to the screen and all eyes locked there with
hers as they watched the Behemoth preceding them enter the portal as if being
swallowed by black. There was a shimmer around it, then nothing, as it
disappeared and was gone.

"Jared's
here." Hilary's voice in her earpiece alerted Charlotte and she turned
back toward the elevator just as the doors were opening. Standing there was a man,
at least a man sized boy. He was tall, certainly well over six feet and broad
shouldered, looking far too muscled and solid to be a fourteen year old. There
was no sign of puppy fat, and no indication of youth other than innocence to
the face and a wide eyed eager look that could not hide the intelligence behind
those eyes.

"Jared."
She called out welcomingly. "Come and join us won't you, you can take that
chair beside me." She watched him walk with a lazy grace toward her. "I'm
glad you could come over with us earlier than planned and I do hope you have
fun on the Fair Passage; there's much more entertainment to be had here than on
a warship eh?"

The boy smiled,
and it was a look dazzling in its genuineness and warmth.
My god he's a
charmer.
He walked with a confidence that seemed inappropriate until she
remembered this was his life, space, warships and technology; she was the
newcomer here.

"You must
be Charlie," he said with another, very personal smile, and she melted.
"Thanks for having me. It is good to be here but I must say it wasn't the
attractions of the ship that drew me; I was hoping to spend some time with you
if that's okay. I love big vessels, and would appreciate just riding along to
watch; this is an interest of mine, and this is the biggest vessel I've been
on."

Charlotte
looked around, drawing in the crew who she knew were listening. "Of
course, you can spend time with us, I'm sure we can accommodate that. Sit up
with me as we enter the portal; you've missed your mother going through though,
she's already gone."

"I know."
He slid easily into the chair as if he was born to be there and immediately
without even a glance around the room addressed the ship system. "I guess
we'll be going through the portal soon Lucas?"

"That we
will, Jared Stein, welcome aboard."

"Thank you
Lucas, I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Ham spoke very highly of
you."

Charlotte watched
him for a moment, marveling at how comfortable he was not only in the high tech
control but with the Mind of the ship.
Like putting on a familiar glove!
She then settled down in her chair and focused on the ringed inkwell growing
larger by the second.

Perhaps it was
the easy confidence Jared exuded, or simply the unconscious knowledge that she
had another ally in the know, but Charlotte settled into her seat with renewed
excitement.

Oh yes,
she thought,
this is going to be veeery interesting.

* * *

The interstellar trader, Lazy Journey - Gliese Portal

Moriah settled
Ruben into his bunk and then slipped out to the small cabin lounge; the boy was
well settled and quite able to fall asleep alone. Aaron, she noticed as she
entered, was still morose and slumped on the two seat divan.

"Aaron, it
means so much to me that you decided to join us, this is your business too
after all. That you chose to support me is such an encouragement."

"You know
I'm here to protect Ruben, not to participate in any money making schemes; this
is wrong Moriah, all wrong."

"Aaron, there
are many ways to protect Ruben, and this is one, you are securing his future by
doing this. And the boy deserves that security, just as much as your precious
Regan does, don't you see that?"

"My
precious Regan? You mean the Regan who offered me the chance to partner in all
these developments? Who granted me opportunities beyond my wildest dreams,
provided for us as a family, offers her support and protection. You mean that
Regan?"

"Aaron,
sometimes I think you love that woman more than me. Yes that Regan, the Regan
who grows richer and richer by the hour on the back of the work of others.
Aaron, I don't begrudge her the riches, but you deserve your proper share, and
if you don't want that share then we should secure it for Ruben, and his
future."

"Secure it
for Ruben - or for you Moriah - who are you doing this for, really?" It
was dangerous ground and he avoided her eyes as he said it.

She glared in
response, but avoided answering directly. "In the end, it will always be
Ruben who benefits; you know that and I won't hear any more about it. If you
will not act in our son’s best interests then I will; I am his mother!"

"But
Moriah, what if they charge us with something? What if they won't allow us to
leave?"

"Darling,
this is business, not crime. I'm sure nothing that you fear will come to pass.
In any case once you hear what they have to offer, I'm sure you will be happy.
Now then -" and she slid down beside him, "let's sit back and watch
the passage through the portal together."

A flick of the
hand and they could see the portal growing larger on the wall screen; Moriah
squealed with delight. "Oh Aaron, I am so proud of you, you are a genius,
they will worship you in the Gliese system." As she settled back to enjoy
the jump, Aaron closed his eyes and quietly prayed, to whatever power might
hear him, that Hilary had got word through to Regan.

* * *

At that moment
on the Lazy Journey flight deck around one hundred and forty passengers and
crew jogged in a military trot, some were carrying packs weighted down, others
just dressed in light gym fitness gear. All tracked behind the gorgeous woman
in front and the tall alien. Although the two latecomers had drawn some
attention, it wasn't unusual for people to make late bookings, especially if
they had the funds, and a Dahlian such as Marin could travel back and forth between
systems as of right. That they came on their own craft was unusual and that
vessel, a black saucer, now rested in the distance well down the deck. Even
though the couple had slipped in quietly only just before departure, few
questions had been asked; all the data work was in order after all.

Marin loped
just behind Leah. It was far enough back to follow her with his eyes and enjoy
every step, and the knowledge that for now she was his and his alone. At that
thought a familiar, guilty, nervous tension gripped him, and today so strongly that
he felt he could vomit. In response he pushed the thoughts to one side and
picked up his pace, striding smoothly past her toward the field screen marking
half way. The dark beyond was at once a beautiful yet menacing presence and he
thought of Regan, also journeying somewhere out there in the black but in a
quite different direction and his steps slowed. The hesitation allowed Leah to
pass him, sprinting by with delight and she turned like the victor while waving
to the training group as they continued on. The men whistled as they passed,
distracting her attention as Marin stared out into space.