November 14, 2361 AIA

P5

The crew stood at the edge of the private port. When the ship hovered over them, the sight of the vessel drew an appreciative whistle from Tate that went unheard. Even the dampened engines made a lot of noise.

Once it had landed and the engines were cut, the stairs to the hatch extended from the side of the ship and the door swung inside. The light behind the figure in the door made it impossible to see who it was.

“Ciro?” Vas cried.

His brother called back, “Adan!”

Vas went forward and jumped into the craft. The others followed. He was still straightening up when his brother started talking.

“So, good news, bad news time.”

“Who first? You or me?”

Vas turned to help Reyer. After he pulled her in, she staggered two steps to the side and collapsed on the bench next to the hatch.

Ciro sighed. There was a slight groan to it. “You.”

“Bad news!” Vas said. “Jane wasn’t there.”

Ciro’s hands closed into fists.

“Good news—she’s on planet, and Senator Kumar is going to help us rescue her. Isn’t that right, Senator?”

Devi Kumar was at the top of the stairs. She frowned at him.

Vas had to take her elbow to help her inside since her hands were cuffed together. Once she was clear of the hatch, Tate finished pulling himself through. Joseph took the senator across the cabin and began securing her cuffs to the bench.

“It’s your turn,” Vas said.

But Ciro had caught sight of Lynx as he entered the ship. “What happened to my bot!”

Lynx said, “Judging from the nature of that sentence, that is Master Ciro point seven-eight meters in front of me, correct?”

“I fixed him!” Reyer smiled despite the pain. “Can’t you tell? Hey! We heard you got captured.”

Ciro waved off her concern. “Nah. Must have been some other Ciro Vas.”

Vas pushed his brother out of the way so he could close the hatch. “Sipos was there.”

“What?”

“Sipos was at Kumar’s house. They brought in a team of mercenaries to meet us. They didn’t like Lynx much.”

“You didn’t think to mention that with the bad news?”

Vas locked eyes with his brother. Ciro finally noticed the bruises and swelling on his face.

“We survived,” Vas said. “It’s nothing but old news.” The captain turned toward the first-aid kit he had spotted. “Your turn.”

“Good news!” Ciro chirped. “I got us a great ship, and I think you’re really going to like flying her.”

The captain dropped the massive hard-sided case on the table in the center of the cabin. He opened it and began pawing through the contents. “And the bad news?”

“What are you looking for?”

“Tranomine! Unless—Alix, I have Morphanine.”

“No!” she said.

“Stubborn,” Vas hissed under his breath.

Ciro pulled a bottle out of his pocket and tossed it to Alix.

She caught it, looked at the label, and said, “You’re my hero, Ciro Vas.”

Ciro’s proud little smile disappeared when he saw the look his brother was giving him.

“I’ve saved her life at least three times, but you’re her hero?” Adan shook his head as he closed the latches on the first-aid kit. “There’s no justice in this galaxy.” When he went to put the case back, he said, “What’s the bad news, Ciro?”

“Uh, right. The military base I stole the ship from seems to think she’s kind of important. They’ve been following me. We have to get out of here pretty quick, or they’re going to find us.”

“What?!” Vas slammed the kit into its place. “You didn’t think to mention that first?!”

“We have time! Just…not a lot of it. It took them a while to start after me. Things were kind of chaotic when I left the base.”

“I can imagine.”

“Now that you’re here to fly, I’ll be able to scrub our signal and figure out how they’re tracking us.”

“Wrong! Lynx is blind—I’m going to need you as the copilot.”

“No, you won’t.”

Vas stopped at the top of the two shallow steps that led into the short passageway at the front of the ship. He stayed there for a moment, then turned to his brother. “How did you get here?”

“I flew.”

“You’re not fully trained. You’ve never flown a lux, and you don’t even like doing on-planet flights without a copilot.”

“I had a copilot.” Ciro folded his arms and shouted. “Lynx!”

The bot beside him said, “Yes, Master Ciro?”

There was the sound of heavy footsteps. Then another voice, slightly lower, but with the exact same mechanical intonation said, “Yes, Master Ciro?”

Vas stepped away so the dull gray bot could enter the cabin. It was a Supremacy military fighting unit.

[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]

As the woman looked him over, Ciro laughed. It sounded awkward, but that was understandable. Most laughter sounds different when it comes from someone at the end of a gun. He knew he didn’t look anything like a pilot or a soldier. He wasn’t armed and people never seemed to think he was intimidating. With luck, he’d come across as inoffensive as possible.

“Ah, that’s the mistake, ma’am. I said I was only sent to check on the ships. I’m not going to fly them.”

Jaffey put her gun away. “It was Antall and Lee wasn’t it? Dammit! I told them to stay out of this!” She reached out and grabbed his arm. “You’re coming with me.”

“But ma’am, aren’t we in a hurry?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“We are in a hurry.” She tugged on his wrist to get him moving. “I shouldn’t have to be dealing with this.”

The robot beside them reached out and grabbed her forearm. “Ma’am, we’re in a hurry. Release him, or I’ll make you release him.”

[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]

“What’s this?” Adan asked.

“I am Lynx,” the bot said.

“I am Lynx,” Lynx echoed.

“I am unique,” they said in unison.

There was a moment of silence.

“I’m different from you.”

Almost on top of the last: “I’m different from you.”

“We are unique,” they agreed simultaneously.

Ciro explained, “I downloaded Lynx’s last backup into his system. There are some hardware-software problems because the program is tuned to a different body—one that has more sensors—”

“What does that mean?” Adan asked.

“It means he doesn’t know his own strength.” Ciro flinched as he remembered Jaffey’s jagged arm bones sticking out from the open fracture. “But otherwise he’s a copy of the Lynx we all know and love.”

The two bots began talking at the exact same time.

“That is an inexact statement of the problem, Master Ciro—”

“Master Ciro, if you stole him from the Supremacy, it is doubtful—”

“—it would be more accurate to say that my programing—”

“—his body will be constructed with the same quality—”

“Both of you, shut up.” Vas stepped over to his brother. “Ciro, I’ve had nightmares that sound like this. Pick your favorite, kill the other one.”

“That was the plan, Adan! But really—can Lynx even see?”

As one said, “Yes, Master Ciro,” the other said, “No, Master Ciro.”

“Maybe we should wait. I mean, look at him!” Ciro motioned to the original Lynx with one arm and a half shrug.

“Do something,” Adan said.

Ciro reached out and touched his old bot, trying to find some place on the body that wasn’t ragged, split metal. “You’re Lynx and will answer to Lynx.”

“Yes, Master Ciro.”

Then he pointed to the new bot. “You’re…I dunno—Bob! You will not respond to the name Lynx. The only nickname you will respond to is ‘bot,’ and only if there’s clear body language to indicate the bot in question is you. Understood?”

“Yes, Master Ciro.”

When Ciro turned back to his brother, Vas stared at him for an uncomfortably long time, before saying, “If by some incomprehensible miracle you ever get married and have children, promise me your wife gets to name them.”

“Adan,” Alix chided.

“He named it Bob.”

“Jane first!”

Vas made a face. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Bob, get the location of the senator’s vacation home and meet me in the cockpit.” Vas was already at the stairs when he realized the gray robot hadn’t moved. “Bob!” When there was still no response, he pointed. “You, bot!”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Why didn’t you respond to my command?”

“I’ve received no command, sir.”

“I called your name.”

“My name has not been called.”

“Stupid piece of—” Adan only took one step toward them before he was interrupted.

“Idunno-bob is correct, Captain,” Lynx said. “You haven’t called his name.”

“Forget it,” Vas said. “Kill them both.” He disappeared into the passageway.

Reyer crossed over to Devi Kumar and got their destination while Ciro patiently explained to Idunno-bob that he was expected to respond to his new nickname, “Bob.”

Alix passed four small rooms to get to the steep, narrow staircase that led to the cockpit. When Vas saw who was coming up, he stepped aside so she could get to the copilot’s chair. She brought up the planet maps and entered the destination.

Vas glanced away from his inspection of the controls. “How far out is it?”

“An hour and forty minutes according to this program. Adan, does this look right to you?”

He leaned over the chair. “I’ve never seen the program before, but the rest of the controls are standard.”

“Can you fly it?”

He looked down at her upturned face. “I can fly anything.”

At that moment, her smile was everything he lived for. Before he could kiss her, they heard the unmistakable clank of mental footsteps ascending the stairs. Reyer moved out of the copilot’s seat. When Bob and Ciro made it to the top of the ladder, Ciro stood aside while the robot took the chair and began working the computer.

Vas went back to checking the overhead controls. “You can fly, Bob?”

“Captain, you’re already aware of all my programmed capabilities.”

“Good. We’ll have to go back for the Golondrina later. Kumar says that Jane isn’t heavily guarded—”

“Uhhhh.”

The small noise from Ciro stopped all activity in the cockpit.

Vas lowered his arm. “Ciro, where’s my ship?”

In an equally small voice, his brother said, “You’re on it, Adan.”

Vas’s expression was blank for a slice of a second, then he paled and reached out to grab the rail beside him. “You were alone and had to leave the ship.”

“Yeah. In a Supremacy port. There were peacekeepers.”

The rail wasn’t supportive enough. Vas sat down on the bench.

“Adan—”

“No. I know, Ciro. I get it. It was protocol.” He put his hands over his face. “I guess I never really thought about it.”

Reyer came up beside Adan. “Are you okay?”

“I had to brick the Golondrina,” Ciro said.

“What does that mean?”

Adan said, “He overran the reactors on purpose to force an emergency shut down.” The words would have had more life if they’d been forced from a corpse. “The only way she’ll fly again is if they replace both her engines and most of her computers.” Vas rubbed his forehead. “My baby.”

“I’m so sorry, bro,” Ciro said.

The captain shook his head. “I’m not blaming you—I mean, I’m not—look, it’s hit me a bit hard, okay? I’ll be all right.”

Ciro and Reyer glanced at each other.

“Do you have any idea how long it took me to earn enough to buy her?”

“Yes, Adan,” Ciro grumbled. “I was there, remember?”

“We’ve been together for years.”

Tate reached the top of the ladder and swung around to stand behind Reyer. “What’s going on?”

“A death in the family,” she murmured.

“Ah.”

“Look on the bright side”—Ciro forced some enthusiasm into his voice in an effort to cheer up his brother—“I got you something better!”

It didn’t work.

“It’s a lux,” Adan said. “Runners do real work. Luxes are for hauling around rich people!”

“That’s not exclusively true.”

“I feel like a sellout just sitting here.”

“First of all, it’s bigger—”

“Which means it flies slower and is less maneuverable.”

“It also means that it can haul more cargo and more people, but it’s not big enough it would draw attention in a port. It’ll still work fine for all your missions.”

“You honestly think the Rising is going to let me keep it?”

“I don’t think they’ll have much choice,” Reyer said. “You didn’t get it on their orders. You’re on leave, remember? You left with one ship, and you’ll be bringing back another. As far as regulations are concerned, it’s still your property.”

“It’s not my ship! If it’s anyone’s property, it’s Ciro’s! He’s the one that stole it.”

“And I’m giving it to you,” Ciro said. “As an apology for what I had to do to the Golondrina.”

“You do know there’s a difference between earning something and stealing something, right?”

“Captain,” Bob said, “stealing enemy resources during a war has historically been considered a legitimate and valuable strategy for gaining an advantage.”

“See!” Ciro motioned to the bot. “Not only did we upgrade a Rising vessel, there’s also one less ship we have to destroy.”

‘“Sounds earned to me,” Tate said.

Ciro went on, “Not only that, but this isn’t a standard lux. It’s some kind of weird prototype the Rising will want to investigate. The military designation—”

Vas hissed out a cuss word. “The military designation.” He looked up. “Alix, is there a way to scrub the military off this ship?”

“I’ll have to look at the schematics to make sure I’m not missing anything, but we’ll have no problem scraping the panel numbers. It could pass as civilian.”

“At least there’s that.” Vas set his jaw and managed a nod. “I’ll figure out how to deal with it.” He stood up and crossed over to the pilot’s seat.

Ciro followed his brother. “You’re not used to it—that’s what it is. You’ll spend some time together, it’ll grow on you, and you’ll be as attached to her as you were to the Golondrina. Maybe you’ll like her better!”

“There’s nothing about this ship that’s better than the Golondrina.” The captain dropped himself into his chair.

Reyer went over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Adan, I know this is really hard on you, and I want you to know that I understand you’re hurting, but I’m in a lot of pain. With your permission, I’m going to go lay down on the bed in your cabin.” She crossed over to the ladder. Before she started down, she added, “I’ll leave the door unlocked in case you need to get in.”

After she was gone, Tate’s quiet laugh filled the cockpit. He left without saying a word.

Ciro walked over to the computer console to the right of the copilot’s seat. “There’s always that—”

“Shut up,” Vas said.

They only had a minute to work before four Supremacy fighters broke over the horizon.

“Captain—”

“I see them, Bob. Ciro, have you figured out how they found us?”

The fighters were drawing close at an alarming speed.

“Fly, Adan! I’ll make us disappear.”

As Vas pulled the ship away from the port, he flicked the intercom switch to on long enough to say, “We have company. Secure yourselves.”

Ciro slapped both hands on the frame of the computer. “Adan, I think I have it.”

“Talk fast.”

“Can you fly black for five minutes?”

“Master Ciro—” Bob started to say.

Vas shouted over him, “Not a problem!”

“But Captain—”

“Bob, shut down everything that has a signal moving in or out. That’s an order!” Vas raised the nose of the ship. “We’re getting out of here.”

“Captain, I should warn you—”

The ship shot forward at a rate Adan was not prepared for. He twisted the wheel, barely managing to avoid slamming into the Supremacy fighter that had been moving to box them in. The three other fighters swept in to surround them. Once they were locked on, they all took their shot. Vas saw the flashes of light from the corner of his eye and pulled the ship back in an arch the Golondrina wouldn’t have been able to match. The heat-seekers, momentarily lost, caught the signature of the nearby Supremacy fighter and crashed into its hull. On its way down, the fighter smashed into the one below it, dragging it to the ground. By the time the remaining two fighters had lined up with the lux’s flight path, they’d lost all trace of it.

When they were on course, Bob took over as pilot. Vas peeled his fingers off the control wheel while Ciro hauled himself up from the floor.

“What the hell kind of ship did you steal me?” Adan whispered.