Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (22 page)

Bob looked
doubtful. "Is it right to trap them there, a whole population?"

Brian was
incredulous."Geez man, they're aiming to wipe out your kind and steal your
whole planet!"

Regan nodded
agreement. "Bob, they won't be trapped; this is their home planet after
all. We can maintain diplomatic relations with them as they continue to develop
so we won't be leaving them in solitary." Regan thought for a moment.
"Maybe we can establish trade with them as we repopulate, break down
barriers that way and hopefully in time we will win the younger generation
over."

Bob still
looked doubtful but nevertheless nodded assent.

By unspoken
agreement the group began to pack up. Most of the troops were already dressed
for a flight deck run and Regan quietly marveled at their discipline. Even
though there were no doubt long periods between actions this group would always
be ready she knew. She watched them as they walked away to join the others on
the deck and then turning back she was surprised to see Bob and Ham with hands
clasped like friends. They exchanged a few words and then Bob too departed.

"Well Ham
my man, we need to make that jump to Gliese now, your job will be to find out
what the plans are for Aaron and I will try to glean what I can from Reubus."

"Regan,
you can be such a controller you know, I hardly need reminding."

She turned to
engage him thinking about the earlier discussion with Hilary,
help is the
sunny side of control she had said.
 She decided to leave her thoughts for
now and concentrate on the job in hand.

 "Hilary,
if you could please pop me down to the STEIN transfer chair we will be
underway."

A slight
shimmer appeared to surround her, and she disappeared.

* * *

Resting back in
the transfer chair Regan surrendered to the sense of Ham joining with her and packing
down for the jump. She closed her eyes, readying and enjoyed the feeling as the
chair began to massage her body; it felt good.

Something
niggled at her mind and she chose to delay, enjoying the massage a little
longer while she followed the thought and considered what she might do about it.
She decided to act, and separating a part of herself began to reach out with
her cyber mind. It took only a few seconds to locate and summon a small
servitor from the medlab; one with arms. A few seconds more and she had it
trundling up the corridor using all her abilities to carefully screen the
actions from Ham. Soon it was sliding through the door to the cabin she had
monitored earlier. With another command the partition screening the little
vacuum servitor opened wide and she nudged the med machine forward to grasp at the
edge of the paper she could see just poking out from under it. Operating
through the servitor she tugged at it gently and the paper began to tear.

Hmm
,
what to do?

Reflecting on
the process she used to capture the ball earlier she decided on the same
approach. Producing the rocking motion she had used to trap the paper ball she
now worked both machines in synch, timing the rock of one to match the tug of
the other, waiting for the perfect moment of rocking lift . . . and then -
yessss
- the paper ball slid out on the floor in front of her. Carefully now, using
the servitor arms to unwrap the ball she opened it and spread the crumpled
paper out on the floor. Then, rolling the little machine back she zoomed in
from the ceiling, drawn by the beautiful writing, almost artistic in its look. She
could see it was a poem, and as she read a small tear welled from her right eye
before trickling down her cheek . . .

I ache

Sweet pain possessed

By hopes and dreams so real

Yet fragile

Held in loving arms

An anxious grip

Uncertain hold

I ache

Sweet love and promise

Possibilities

Yet there they hang

Suspended from my reach

Beyond my hands

With heart dread cold

I ache

For what could be

Despite the pain

All hurts and sorrow

A graft inspired

A planting in fresh soil

With fruit of gold

I ache

For you

Sweet love

My match

My joy

My heart's desire

Oh darling to be bold

Regan lay in
the chair a moment longer, with her breath coming in short gasps, and a very
personal ache gripping her chest. She tried to frame words, to capture her
thoughts, at first with nothing coming, and then . . . "Oh Ham, what are
you up to?" And she jumped for Gliese.

* * *

The Fair Passage

Charlotte
slouched in her comfortable armchair, tired from the long explanation she had
just given Jared on the progress to date. At first she had felt uncomfortable
explaining things to him;
will he be bored - he's not more than a child
after all? How is this going to work?
But quickly it became apparent the
boy was totally, eerily focused. Questions he asked were intelligent and
insightful, helpful even, and already they had whittled down the visuals they
would review, still not with any guarantee of success but certainly with a much
more likely chance of uncovering something she was sure.

Considering how
unusual the boy was she found herself reflecting back on the moment Jared had
arrived and an unusual discussion with Lucas. It had been somewhat unsettling .
. .

She had wanted
a private discussion and lifted one hand to Jared, indicating for him to wait a
moment while she spoke to Lucas.

"Lucas - Jared
and I would like privacy for our meeting please, and I mean complete privacy.
Can you seal the room and not monitor us in any form. We will alert you when we
leave the room later."

"It is
done."

There was
silence for a moment as Charlotte considered how she could possibly know Lucas
had complied, and then Hilary had whispered in her ear.
"He's still
monitoring."

"Lucas you
are still monitoring us, stop it."

They waited a
few minutes longer.
"He's still there, Charlie."

"Lucas -
dammit - I know you're still there!"

The sound of
Lucas sighing was almost comical. "How can you possibly know? That's
ridiculous . . . look, I can't just switch off like that, on this ship I am
everywhere, all knowing; I am omniscient and omnipresent, it's just not
possible."

"Well, you
certainly found it possible when Tyrian Juno was killed, or are you now saying
you're simply hiding something?"

"That's
unfair, you know I . . ."

"Lucas?"
Jared's voice interrupted, it was clear and commanding.

"Yes,
Jared Stein."

"You can -
how shall we say it - sense something about me, can't you?"

"Yes."

"I thought
so - and that is because I am . . . special."

"You
shouldn't be here."

"Of course
I should be here Lucas; I am Jared Stein, son of the charterer of this vessel.
If my mother chooses for me to be here, I can be here."

"No - I
mean you . . ."

"There is
no one else here." Jared interrupted him.

"There -
is - no one - else - here." Lucas repeated.

"Correct,
and I will be able to tell if you are still monitoring because I am
special."

"You are
special." Lucas's voice now sounded dull, drugged even.

Charlotte had followed
this exchange with eyes wide, having the sense that something else was
happening in the background. Finally, it was Jared who spoke.

"Okay, the
room is now sealed."

He had said it
with finality, she remembered, quite definite.

"How do
you know?" She had asked.

"Because I
have sealed it, even Lucas doesn't know we are here now."

"But . . .
how?"

He turned and
disarmed her again with that broad smile, "Because I am special."

"Told
you Charlie."
Hilary had laughed in the
background.

Now, having
delivered to Jared the full story and her suspicions about a cyber stowaway, the
boy looked thoughtful, sitting forward in his chair with fingers steepled in
front of his face, his lips pursed against them and humming quietly.
How
very Regan like,
she thought.

"There is
one flaw in your cunning deduction, Commander."

"Call me
Charlie, Jared, everyone does - except Lucas." She glanced skyward with a
wry grin. "So what is the flaw?"

"There is
no other Mind active in this ship system; I know that for certain, I've
searched it."

"Don't
bother asking how, dear."
Hilary cautioned,
and indeed, she didn't bother.

Charlotte
slumped down in disappointment; she had been so sure it was another Mind and Jared
saw her look.

"But
Charlie, listen, that doesn't mean there hasn't
been
a presence in the
system, nor does it mean the presence, whatever or whoever it is, has left
entirely. Let's work our way through those visuals we discussed."

"Yes, yes,
of course, and Hilary," Charlotte relaxed now, looking skyward as she
spoke openly, "there is no point in remaining hidden anymore, not with
Jared, is there any way you can communicate freely with us both?"

"Err . . .
yes, sorry Charlie, but I have already been communicating with Jared from the
first moment the room was sealed, it's a sub communication thing. From now on
I'll make sure you receive the conversation too."

Charlotte shook
her head in amazement, and turned back to the screen.
These bloody Steins,
is there anything new to discover?

For two hours
they pored over the visuals on Charlotte's tablet, double time, until Jared
became frustrated with the pace and the size of the visual.

"Charlie,
you go and rest; leave these to me for a bit."

"Hold on
Jared . . . that man, walking there away from the refuse area." She tapped
the screen to point him out. "I keep being drawn to him."

"What is
it about him?" Jared looked at her strangely.

"I don't
know, call it intuition, he just doesn't fit, he doesn't walk the same as the
others, not so relaxed, more like a manager than a worker, and he's going just
that bit faster and  - there's just something about him - I don't know
what."

Jared leant
forward to peer at the figure intently and as he did she noticed the visual
slowing to normal pace without him even touching the tablet. She shuddered.
Without another action or word the visual then changed to earlier in the day,
and soon she could see the man there again, walking toward refuse. Jared seemed
entranced, hardly blinking as he watched. Looking back at the screen she saw he
had frozen the image and somehow zoomed it in. And then he was flicking back
and forth between images, before and after shots coming faster and faster until
all she could see was a blur that made her turn away. Suddenly he stopped, and
sat back with a grim look on his face.

"The hand."
Was all he said.

"I'm sorry
. . . am I missing something?" She peered at the still visual on screen.

"Look at his
right hand, it's clenched, and it has been since he appears back on screen
walking away from the refuse section."

She looked
closely and sure enough she could see the right hand was clenched in a fist.

"Now look
at this." Jared switched the visual to the man walking in the other
direction earlier. His arms were moving freely, the hands were open and relaxed
and there was no sign of the clench. Then the visual switched again to after
and zoomed in on the tight right hand fist.

"He's
carrying something."
Hilary's voice came as a
jolt to Charlotte but not to Jared.

"I think
so Hilary, something small, something he picked up from wherever he's
been." He turned to Charlotte. "We need to know who that man is and
whether he's still on the ship."

She considered
that for a moment. "To do that we need to consult with Lucas, can we
afford to do that? What do you think Hilary?"

"Jared
is probably the best one to know but I don't see the harm other than possibly
alerting our secret stowaway, if there is one."