When everyone was gathered in the conference room an hour later, Robin had managed to calm his swirling thoughts and prepared a rough plan on how to move forward.
“Okay, we do have some important topics to discuss and decisions to make, but first of all – Landom, how is Keran?”
“Still asleep. He isn’t expected to wake up before evening.”
“Alright, at least he is on his way to a complete recovery. His mutation really is fascinating. Also, this gives us some time to talk about what we should tell him… and what shouldn’t be shared.” Robin said. After that he began to explain what exactly happened last night and how their little operation went.
“That sounds good!” Patience said with a frown, “So, why are you making such a face?”
“While we managed to free Ang’Tue, getting in and out of the ship without leaving a trail that leads back to us, there are some, uhm, aftermaths we have to deal with.” He explained, “It seems like…” Robin hesitated and took a deep breath, “Well, it seems like Trevil died in the middle of the chaos.”
“Died? Like in ‘dead’?” Timothy asked with wide eyes.
“Yes, Timothy, that’s how it normally ends when someone dies, with death. But the question is: How? The stun-guns shouldn’t be able to kill a grown human, unless you shoot someone half a dozen times in a row…” Alina said, her face a cold mask Robin couldn’t read.
“That is not what we agreed upon!” Sevastian added.
“It is not, I know.” Robin agreed, “I had a talk with the Discovery’s crew earlier as well as a call with someone from the UAS main HQ, someone above Hutton - way above. Right now, everything points towards an accident, Trevil threw up while unconscious and suffocated on his own bile. An investigation-team is on its way, together with a group of researchers that will loot the laboratory.”
“But?” Happy asked, also looking as displeased as the rest of the crew, “It wasn’t an accident?”
Once more Robin took a deep breath before answering.
“No, it wasn’t.” He said and shook his head, “I have good reason to believe that Ang’Tue killed him after the man got stunned.”
A murmur went through the group. Killing someone like that is some really fucked up shit and Robin could only agree with their assessment. However, he had to tell them. This wasn’t something he could withhold from them. He’ll have a talk with the Eltaran and give him a chance to explain but in the end, they have to make up their own minds. If there ever will be a chance for Ang’Tue to travel with them, they must know what they are dealing with.
Before his friends could start a loud discussion, he elaborated a bit more.
“There is a pretty good chance that he killed him by accident and after that somehow changed the scene to obscure what really happened. However, I’ll have to talk to him before I decide on what to believe. The UAS will probably gloss this over. If Ang’Tue has put enough effort in to make it look like an accident and gets the Eltaran’s elders at the table, the upper echelons will likely drop this case.”
“Do they suspect that it was us who freed him?” Timothy asked.
“Suspect? Really mate, sometimes I do wonder where exactly that bright brain of yours is stumbling around…” Robin gave a shallow laugh, “Of course they know it was us, even if there is no proof to be found. They will let it slide however, if we make sure the meeting will happen.”
“Okay, and how should we be able to find Ang’Tue? He has probably run away as far as he could.” Patience pointed out.
“No, he won’t run.” Robin shook his head, “We still have the chip with the data he was looking for. He will come to us and then we will see if he can explain what really happened.”
For the rest of the meeting, Robin went into detail about his call with Eston and they discussed what they would tell Keran – which was mostly nothing. He was too close to the UAS and in a way even is responsible for the Discovery’s early arrival.
After the meeting concluded, everyone left with a head full of swirling thoughts and a bitter taste in the mouth. The favorable image they had of Ang’Tue, the kind old grandpa that tried to save his people, got quite the crack and they could only hope he would be able to shed some light onto this mess.
***
Later that day, Robin went to the Hubble’s lab to give Timothy a visit. His friend had his head already stuck deep in another of his projects and was surrounded by screens that showed endless lines of unknown signs and characters.
“That looks just like gibberish to me. What are you working on, is that the Eltaran data?”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Huh?” Timothy looked up and seemed to be a bit lost at first. He needed a moment to collect himself.
“Ah, Robin! What? Uhm, no, that’s about something else. Look at this!” He said and pointed at a section on one of the screens that looked as random as the rest to Robin, “Tell me, does this look familiar to you?”
Robin gave the gibberish a second glance and shook his head, “Mate, I have no idea what I’m even looking at, forget about me recognizing anything of that. What happened to the Eltaran data? I thought you wanted to study that.”
“I want to have a few days for researching the laboratory, as you promised me, but the data is in better hands at the UAS branches that are already familiar with Eltaran technology. I need more time with the basics before trying my hands on their research reports. This however,” He pointed at his monitor, “This is something no one is familiar with! There is an unwritten challenge going on: who is the first to solve this riddle.”
“No one knows this stuff and you ask me for advice? Wow, you must be really desperate!” Robin laughed.
“This is a tiny little piece of data the UAS managed to salvage from one of the attempts to catch the hacker. You know, the one we talked about a few weeks ago.” Timothy explained.
“The dude that leads everyone on a merry chase, dumping stupid amounts of unreadable data on backwater-servers? What do you have to do with this?”
“I think I found something like a pattern. Everyone assumes it to be a human… or someone from an alien race. But I think what we are dealing with is a machine. I was lucky to find some clues and followed along, in the end I managed to bolster this theory quite thoroughly. I have yet to get solid proof, but I’m working on it.”
“A machine? You mean, we are getting hacked by an AI?” Robin exclaimed and cold sweat began to roll down his neck. Could this be Guard who was trying to hide while waiting for Robin to find a proper vessel? However, Guard was an AI created by the Drel and the most sophisticated artificial entity he had ever heard of. It should be invisible to the UAS if it wanted to hide… Maybe he was overthinking this.
“You wanted to know if I recogniz any of that code. Do you think it was made by the Drel? Something I may have seen in their facility on Ruca II?” Robin asked, still unsure what to think of this.
“What? No, Drel-AI-tech, while still way too complicated for us to reproduce, is well researched. We would recognize their craftsmanship immediately. No, Robin, I think this…” Timothy made a dramatic pause and gestured at the screen once more, “This smells like ancient tech, like Starborn-stuff!”
***
That evening Robin was sitting on the bench in the fitness room together with Happy. They both had one of the local drinks and watched as Patience and Sevastian were beating each other into a pulp once more.
“Can you believe this? A lead on something that was left by the Starborn!” Robin just exclaimed after explaining what he had learned from Timothy earlier. While he was a bit disappointed that he didn’t find a trail of Guard, he also was relieved. It would put him under much pressure if he had to find a vessel before the UAS caught the rogue AI.
“Isn’t that why you set out in the first place? To explore the endless mysteries of the universe and find out more about the disappearance of the Starborn?” Niu asked while nipping on her cocktail, “Huh, doesn’t taste as good as last time. The new innkeeper still needs to work on his skills.” She grumbled in dissatisfaction.
“Maybe what gave it the special taste was the drug he mixed in.” Robin said and laughed when he saw her eyes going wide in realization.
“Damnit!”
“You are right, though. I really set out because of this – just think about all the things we’ve already experienced. Now we are about to head to Terulos, a dead planet in the middle of a dying star system!”
“Do you have a specific goal in mind? Something you want to have achieved before hitting the basket?” Niu asked.
“Not really, no. The journey itself is all I need for now. The deals I got with the UAS are enough to fund our travels for quite some time. When that is used up, well, I hope I’ve seen enough planets, systems and galaxies for two lifetimes by then and can settle on some nice little green planet.”
Niu remained quiet for a time, watching Patience scoring some nasty hits on Sevastian’s hips. Ever since they began to fight without using their mutations, the battle was more balanced. However, Patience still had the upper hand most of the time.
“That sounds great actually. I’m a step behind that. After having just cut ties with my family, I’m a bit lost. Also, it seems like they didn’t give up yet and I’m more like a fugitive than a traveler for now. What you told me, back in the bar on Gaunus, I want to try that.” Niu finally said in a low voice, “Experience different things and hope to find something that feels… right? Thanks for the wake-up call by the way.”
“You’re welcome, but don’t take my words as a proper guideline on how to find your way in life – most of the time I have no idea what I’m doing and just go with the flow to be honest.” Robin chuckled.
“Yeah, I noticed…” Niu said but was interrupted by the beeping of her datapad. After tapping some buttons, she turned it so Robin could see it, too.
“Some shady looking person in a gray hooded cloak is waiting outside and requests entry…”
“Let him in, I’ll have a talk with him in the conference room.” Robin said with a sigh. The upcoming talk was necessary, but he dreaded it nonetheless.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Happy asked and even Patience and Sevastian stopped the training and came over.
“I’ll accompany you. Just in case he tries something funny!” Sevastian laughed and flexed his sweaty muscles.
“Yeah, no thanks.” Robin flatly denied him, “But don’t worry, Landom will be there, too. Also, I don’t think we misread him that much. There must be an explanation for… such an excess.”
“I do hope so.” Patience chimed in, “I kinda like the old man. Would suck if it turns out that he’s some psycho or shit.”
“Same. I’ll give you an update later.” Robin said and hurried to the elevator where Landom and Alena were already waiting for him.
“Don’t just shoot him, I want to have a proper talk with him first!” Robin reminded them as they exited the Hubble.