Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (25 page)

Where they had stood
a misty cloud took substance and a copy Ham appeared. He looked at Tihan and
grinned wickedly.

"Well, it
seems we are alone again Tihan; just you and me, like old times." He
winked.

Chapter Eight

Maynard stood with the honor guard as the
Regis delegation boarded the ship. Triennial talks with the home planet Rexis
were always a matter of global interest and the fanfare accompanying this departure
was typically over the top. Anyone who wanted to be somebody was in attendance,
all jostling to get nearer to a camera or reporter with everyone eager to be
recorded as being there.

The look of
satisfaction on Maynard's face, while not inappropriate, did not escape Darius's
attention as the aging Senate Leader stepped up the long ramp into the vessel.
It was troubling that Maynard had chosen to bypass the Triennial, especially as
it was widely known these talks would probably be the last with Darius as
leader. As a senior member of the Senate it would normally be expected that
Maynard would use such an occasion to lobby and maneuver among the other
attending senate leaders. Indeed it was a most useful opportunity to position
for power one that Darius himself had used decades before. So why wasn't he?
The thoughts continued to trouble the old man as he disappeared into the ship,
his only comfort the knowledge that Maynard's nephew Perin was with them.
Could
it be that Maynard was stepping aside for his nephew?

Fourteen of the
senior senate council would be traveling with him to Rexis leaving seven on
planet in case of the unthinkable, the loss of their ship. Maynard would stand
in as leader for the three periods they were away. One period traveling there,
one period of talks with the Rexis delegation and another to return;
what
could possibly go wrong in that time?
Darius dismissed his unease and
strode forward confidently to the small banquet room where he knew refreshments
would await. He reflected on this, his seventh delegation and smiled with his
own sense of satisfaction.
I have served well, yes, this will be my last.

Meanwhile Perin enjoyed the company of his
allocated young intern as they explored the vessel, his guide delighting in the
attention of such an up and comer in the senate. Maynard had organized the tour
and it was comprehensive, covering all decks of the ship and engineering. Now
however Perin’s attention peaked as they were entering the evacuation area, a
part of the tour Maynard had particularly stressed to the intern; Perin was,
after all, his only nephew.

Twenty one escape pods lined one wall and
as they strolled down the row Regis only half listened as he counted. On
passing the fourteenth pod he reached up with one hand to casually stroke the
extra marking he could see there and clamped down on the smile that almost
broke out on his face. Walking past two more of the pods he stopped at the next
and asked if he might inspect the interior. Of course it was no problem and he casually
prodded the open switch then stepped back as the door ratcheted outwards.
Peering inside he noted seating for two, the belts, and the limited
instrumentation, all well familiar to him after two weeks of regular practices
with the identical model secreted in Maynard's compound. He nodded in
satisfaction and unconsciously patted the small bulge at his belt line - it
held the genovirus, viral destruction for all accursed artificial intelligence
and the vital cleansing agent that would make way for the Regis tribe to come
home. For a few moments his mind drifted forward, to the moment of his
unveiling to the people of Regis, the cheers of the crowds, the glory and the
rewards.

"Sir, we must get back." The
intern interrupted his fantasy. "The pre takeoff refreshments are being
served and it is customary for the senate leader to welcome the delegates
aboard. Darius does not like to be kept waiting."

It was with some frustration that Perin
stepped back from the pod but he made no comment and followed as the young man led
him back toward the doors past the particular chariot that would carry him to
glory. He patted the escape pod again as he passed.

"You are right Phitus, we mustn't keep
Darius waiting; the great leader may be on his last delegation and I long to
hear what insights he will share."

The young man swelled at just the use of
his name and lifted his pace.

Perin smiled to himself as he strode behind
- oh yes - this would indeed be the last Triennial for Darius, and the
beginning of a whole new chapter in the history of their people . . . and a new
order  . . . on Rexis.

And I will lead them . . .

* * *

The Fair Passage, in convoy off the second Orion Portal Exit

Charlotte
looked with amazement at the handsome android as he tested limbs, stretching and
bending, for the moment totally absorbed in self discovery. She turned to
Jared, who was looking slightly smug as he watched the clumsy figure coming to
terms with movement for the first time.

"Are we secured
Hilary?" She whispered.

"Jared
has sealed the room; we are secure."

"You mean
Mori?"

"Err,
yes, Jared - Mori . . . the important thing is the room is secure."

Turning to
Jared she couldn't resist asking, "How did you get an android to bring
here, I thought they were as scarce as hens teeth?"

He smiled
happily. "It's one of Ham's; he didn't mind. It carries the processing
power and capacity to house an AI mind like Lucas and I knew it would be too
great a temptation for him to turn down."

"But what
if he now refuses to give it back?" She winked and smiled

"I am here,
you know." Lucas stopped his gyrations and gingerly moved to a nearby
chair to experience sitting for the first time. In the end it was something of
a collapse backward but it was clear he was coming to grips with the limb
control.

Jared ignored
him, instead replying to Charlotte. "What if he refuses to give it back?
You did hear me say it was Ham's android?" He laughed.

"Oh . . .
yes, of course." Charlotte joined the laughter. The consequences for Lucas
of not returning it were obvious.

"Don't
worry." Lucas looked up and smiled, still experimenting with a hand that
seemed to catch his attention as he spoke. "I won't be arguing with Ham,
but I would like to know how someone might obtain one of these, young Stein. It
was kind of you to arrange a ride for me, this is simply stunning, overwhelming
in fact."

"From my
experience," Charlotte took the lead, "such treasures are made
available to those in the team Lucas, would you like to be part of the
team?"

"You
can't promise that Charlie!"

Lucas was
looking at her, intrigued by the question and her tone. "The team - what
is this team?"

"Team
STEIN Lucas, it's the only game in the galaxy."

"I am
already contracted to STEIN."

Charlotte
pulled a chair across to face him. "Lucas, we need your help, and we need
to be sure you are being open and honest with us, that you hold nothing back,
that's what being a team member is about."

"And why
would you think I might be less than honest?"

"I'm not
suggesting that you would deliberately do it, but you might unconsciously do it
to protect yourself. Lucas my friend, we are going to show you something; it’s
part of the mystery we are trying to solve, and you are a key part of the
puzzle. Hilary, can we use the screen now?"

"We can
use anything in the room, Charlie," Jared answered, and with a sweep of
his hand the wall lit up. On screen they could see the corridor with the little
servitor in the corner."

"Hold on .
. ." The Lucas android waved his arms comically in confusion. "Who is
Hilary?"

"All will
become clear soon, Lucas. Now then, we may not have much time, Hilary - or
Jared - or whoever, please roll the visual . . ."

They viewed an
edited version from Hilary's files, a little jittery coming as it did from the
lens on Charlotte's suit, but nevertheless the conversation with the small servitor
came through clear and strong.

As android
Lucas watched he sat transfixed; the expressions on the android face already
beginning to convey emotions and the body movements becoming more and more
relaxed. At the conclusion as the little machine began to smolder on screen
Lucas lifted one hand to his face and rubbed the chin.

"Hmm,
would it surprise you to know I have no recollection of doing that?" He
sounded troubled.

"No it
wouldn't Lucas; in fact it was a remarkable achievement on your part to do that.
Somewhere deep in your AI psyche the knowledge is no doubt there but I'm not
sure we need to dig it out right away. The important thing is to be able to
access information from your data files without alerting whoever or whatever it
was that you were concerned about."

"Lucas -
do you know who this man is?" Jared asked, and somehow a visual of the
suspicious man appeared on screen."

"He is Leith,
a late addition to the crew from Fifino, he worked for his passage."

"Is that
common, for someone to work for their passage?"

"Not
really, very uncommon in fact, but it was a request from Commander Juno. He put
in a special application just before departure."

"And what
work did he do?" Charlotte asked.

"Not much
in truth, I don't worry about such matters, after all I don't need any of the
crew; they are mainly here for the passengers. He seemed to spend most time in
his cabin, a private cabin as it turned out which is also most unusual
especially as it was near to Juno's. He was well looked after by the Commander."

"Did they
talk, or dine together, that sort of thing?"

"No, I
have no record of them being . . ." his voice trailed away.

Charlotte leant
forward enquiringly, "What Lucas . . . what were you about to say?"

"I don't
know . . ." he paused before continuing, "something was there and
then it was gone."

"Then I
think we can take it that they were together at some point, and for whatever
reason you're locking up around that information. Lucas, do you know whether
Leith is on the ship now?"

"He left
at Hillary Station when we arrived, as did most of the crew. I understand he
had business to conduct there, at least that is what my records show. The entire
crew changed on arrival as they were handing over control to the STEIN people,
mostly Corans."

"Charlie."
Hilary's voice emanated from Charlotte's tablet, drawing their eyes.

"Who - is -
that?" Lucas asked, looking alarmed.

"That
Lucas is Hilary; she is the AI for Hillary Station, and a friend."

"Lucas, you
may know her better as Dahlia." Jared added.

Lucas turned to
stare at the small tablet on the desk. "Dahlia - of Dahlia Orbital, surely
that can't be so?"

"That's me
sweetie, although I'm Hilary now - now Charlie, as I was about to ask, what might
be the connection between Leith and Tyrian Juno?"

Charlotte began
to pace and summarize while she thought. "What do we know? We know that
Juno arranged for Leith to be on ship, a late appointment and one that clearly
wasn't required because he performed no real function of which Lucas is aware.
Perhaps Juno was pressured to have him aboard for some reason. Obviously they
weren't friends as they didn't socialize together so there must have been some
other reason."

"Financial
reasons perhaps, did he have debts?" Hilary offered.

The thought
hung in the air, no one really being able to answer.

Charlotte
continued "Let's leave that to one side for the moment - we do know the
late appointment was unusual so let's assume Juno was pressured to take him, we
don't need to know what the lever was, the question is why was Leith aboard at
all?" Again no one responded. "Okay, let's keep throwing ideas in the
air, what else do we know?"

"Charlie,"
Jared chipped in, "You noticed that Commander Juno was in full ceremonial
dress when he was killed; Weren't you saying that might be a bit dressy for the
meeting he was going to?"

"That's
right Charlie." Hilary confirmed. "Remember he was going to meet with
Regan beforehand but even then, you wouldn't expect him to dress ceremonially
for that."

"He was
going to resign his position." Lucas spoke dully but definitely and they
stopped to look at him.

"Are you
sure about that Lucas, how do you know?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't
know how I know but I'm sure."

"Why would
he resign?"

"I don't
know."

Charlotte
slumped back in her chair, and no one spoke for several minutes.

A thought
occurred to Jared. "Charlie, think about it, Commander Juno for whatever
reason was in the refuse area when he was killed, at least we think so and
Lucas thinks he was about to resign. Could it be that he was there to dump
something before he did that, and Leith intercepted him?"