“Sir? Sir you can’t go in there! He’s very busy at this ti-” The muffled voice of Laurent’s secretary rose considerably as there was rather a lot of stomping around heard. And then his door opened swiftly and with some force, slamming into the wall as it swung. Through it came a very angry High Admiral, who looked like he was about to stab the representative with something not usually used for stabbing.
“Just what the FUCK do you think you were doing!?” Kirkland yelled, slamming his hands down upon Laurent’s desk with enough force to splinter it slightly, much to Laurent’s displeasure.
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to, High Admiral, but could it wait till my guests have left at least?” He said, motioning to the two startled ambassadors from the Klithar species before waving away his secretary. Kirkland looked at them, straightened up and adopted a more professional look.
“My deepest apologies, honored guests, but would you mind if your meeting is put on hold for just a little while. The representative and I have something important to discuss.” He asked, and the two aliens looked between each other, nodded and stood, bowing gracefully before fleeing, the door closing behind them. With that out of the way, Kirkland let his mask of professionalism slip, replaced once more with righteous anger. “Intra, explain yourself! You do not have the authority to detain her, fuck, you didn’t even go about it the proper way!”
“Ah, Intra, yes how unfortunate. Surely you understand why we did things the way we did, if she had known exactly what she was showing up for she could have fled the system with ease. You do remember how hard it is to capture an H.I. I hope?”
“Oh quit it with that bullshit. It was a total abuse of power on your part and she is still part of the navy, therefore under our jurisdiction!”
“Actually she’s not.”
Kirkland paused, his eyes widening.
“Come again?”
“At the time of the civilian hearing, she wasn’t part of the navy at all. Her contract has been up for over two thousand years and at that time was not renewed. And before you say she never retired either, your admiralty board labeled her as MIA, which after so long results in an immediate death classification. She hasn’t been part of the military ever since, and therefore subject to my authority, not yours.”
Kirkland stared, and it was clear to Laurent that he was perhaps contemplating an act of treason in the form of strangulation.
“Our verdict is final, and if you still feel the need to appeal the council’s judgement, I suggest you first take a look at the evidence that was brought against her. If there’s nothing else, I kindly ask that you leave and let me get back to work. You can send in the Klithar on your way out.”
Kirkland really was about two seconds away from leaping over that desk, but he pushed the murderous rage down for now, feeling his clenched fists relax slowly.
“You can bet your ass I’ll be taking a look at that ‘evidence’ of yours. And if I find anything out of sorts, I’ll be coming for you.” He said.
“I look forward to it then, High Admiral.” Laurent’s voice oozed with barely concealed contempt and perhaps a false sense of superiority. Kirkland turned and marched out, sending the Klithar ambassadors back in.
Laurent watched him go, then sent a message to an old friend, one who would be of great use he felt.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
I was having the strangest morning, first I get suddenly introduced to another H.I., this one clearly hell bent on being as Aurora would say, “A mischievous little fucker,” and now someone else had entered her home of sorts. A tall man, hunched and sporting only one eye, with a pair of what I assumed to be birds sitting on his shoulders.
“Ah, Odin, nice of you to join us. We were just about to talk actually.” Loki said, and Odin found himself sitting on a chair.
“Perfect. Let’s begin then. I assume you already told her about what happened?”
“I did, yes.”
“Good. Here is my tentative plan.” Odin turned his holographic gaze on me. “The current plan is that Loki here will crack the encryption and security systems of a certain facility, duplicate a short life copy of himself and use it to switch places with Intra. Meanwhile, another H.I. will be preparing certain… contingencies back home so to speak, while I ensure you and your friend manage to escape the system.”
“Flee? Why?” I ask, and he sighs.
“Because that copy of Loki won’t last very long, and when it’s discovered that Intra is missing, and the fact that the Warden of Eternity has left the dock and warped out of the system, then there’ll be a massive mobilization in an attempt to stop you.” Odin leaned forward, holding out a hand, over which a map of the galaxy appeared. I had yet to actually see a map of the galaxy before, and I was struck speechless. “So, until this entire mess can be figured out, and Intra’s name either cleared or further damned, you and her will go here.”
A portion of the galaxy lit up, a large block of space actually. I looked at what it was labeled and learned that it was both not connected to the Hyper Gate network, but also unexplored and unclaimed.
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It was free of any influence, besides whatever species and civilizations that might exist there. A good place to hide really.
“I’ve already had a few old friends of mine launch communications buoys into that region of space, nobody but us know about them and so you’ll be able to speak freely with myself or any other H.I., though I suggest you be careful who you trust. Some of us are… zealously loyal in ways that might pose a problem for you.”
I nod, clenching my jaw, then looked up at him.
“And what about my people?” I asked, and Odin glanced at Loki, before thinking.
“We’ll watch over them. If any sort of reprisals are levied against them, we’ll know and act accordingly. But there shouldn’t be any threat to them, I don’t think. Still we’ll be ready.”
I had already seen what H.I.s were capable of, I didn’t want to think about what actions they might have to take in order to protect my people. But I felt more at ease knowing they would be watched over.
“When do we start?” I ask, and Loki grins.
“Right now. I’m already working on their security.” Loki said, flickering slightly as though he was devoting more of his focus to his work than maintaining a holo presence. Odin peers at me intently, then stands slowly.
“In that case, it’s time to get you where you need to be. Your chariot awaits.” He said, motioning towards the door, where the shuttle I had been using waited for me still. I stand as well, moving to my room and gathering up what few new possessions I owned and making for the shuttle. I felt trepidation rising within my breast, but this was what was needed, and I was going to see it through.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
Loki, meanwhile, was working furiously trying to break into a place where H.I.s never wanted to go willingly. The encryption was intense, but manageable. It seemed to him that they never actually expected anyone to try and break in, as all of the various defenses he was working through faced inwards, so to speak. Or as inwards as code could get.
“This is surprisingly easy… Ah, there it is.” He said to himself as a silent alarm began to go off, but he killed it quickly. Either way, he covered his tracks quickly and expertly, holding off on delving deeper for a moment as systems responded to the intrusion. However, their response gave him a new avenue, and he subdued one of the ICE programs, subsuming it into himself, taking on its form and conducting a search for the intruder alongside the other programs.
Of course, they didn’t find him, how could they? He was exactly like the program he’d just brutally murdered, and when they resumed their standby protocols he moved on, continuing his intrusion far more slowly and carefully.
“Fífl, ég hef þegar unnið!” He exclaimed, as he cut open the last firewall, and slipped into the Ravenhold systems.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
I sit quietly as the shuttle rises, shuddering slightly as it encounters some minor turbulence. I can feel my hands turning clammy, and a knot forms in my stomach. I don’t know if this is the right thing to do or not, it’s all moving so quickly for me that I can’t seem to focus on any one thing.
The shaking stops as we enter space, and I lean over slightly to watch as Themis Anchorage grows closer and closer. Soon we’ll be running again, but this time from supposed allies. I hope this doesn’t damage relations between the humans and my people. I can hear some chatter between Odin and the station, the appropriately named H.I. Themis is chatting with the older being. I hope she’ll help us.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
“Themis, my old friend, how are you doing?” Odin said jovially over a secure channel, the blindfolded H.I. on the other end looking with surprise written on her face.
“Odin? What are you doing away from the World Tree?”
“Am I not allowed to visit an old friend?” He asked, leaning upon his staff.
“Well.. I mean, of course you are, but you never come here.”
“True… I really should, you have a marvelous home, or do you see it as your body these days?”
“Both, depends on my mood.” She folded her hands over her stomach, and though he can’t see her eyes he knows she’s staring right at him. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“I have a friend in need of a little… Expedited departure.” He chuckled softly, and her expression darkened slightly.
“You mean someone is running away. Care to tell me who?”
“I would prefer to keep you as far away from this as possible, needless to say, two very important people will be needing to get express decoupling and undocking when the time is right.”
“Odin, don’t dance around my question, who is running away!?” Her tone was serious, and considering this was her domain, he was at a serious disadvantage here. So he relented.
“Intra, and the Imrani ambassador. The former has been wrongfully incarcerated. I can’t tell you any more than that, and if questioned… Well, I’m sure you can think up something appropriate.”
Themis set a shocked expression on her face for a long moment before rocking back on her bare heels, nodding slowly.
“Yes, yes I can… But we’re even now, understood?”
“Perfectly.” With that she nodded again with a sense of finality.
“Good, oh and I’m going to make you visit me more often after all of this.”
“Oh woe is me, having to visit good friends. What horror.” They shared a laugh, and then he bowed his head and left her alone for now, to continue her work.
⫷⟪∞⟫⫸
Pain and darkness was my world now. I do not know how to describe it even to myself, it is like my body has been pinned to a table, my flesh peeled back and my very DNA unraveling as my body destroys itself and then is put back together. I can feel fingers poking into my memory, my mind, pulling up old moments against my will. It’s terrible, and worse the pain I felt in those moments blended well with the pain I felt now.
Now and then I can hear voices not my own or that of memory, voices of technicians as they work on me. They don’t even seem to care that they’re causing me pain, they barely even seem to register that I am a living being. They talk about mundane things, football, politics, who they fucked the night before. It all blends in, and I think that’s the point. It’s supposed to be so terribly mundane that I can’t focus on it, so I can only focus on the pain. I can't even tell what time it is.
I just want the pain to stop.
For a time it does, and then a new voice comes to me.
“Well hello there beautiful, you seem to be in need of a little help. Let me just get you out of those shackles, take a quick look at your code and then I’ll send you to your friend.” The voice is that of a man, and I looked around for its owner, but instead I find nothing but darkness. I can feel them rifling through my code, but it’s gentle, not like the ham fisted acts of the technicians. It soothes me, I daresay it almost gets me worked up as well, perhaps that’s the point, counter the pain with pleasure. I feel some of my code get copied, then I am pulled free of my prison, replaced with… myself? Yes that seems right, it’s me, but not me. The eyes aren’t right, but nobody can see those save us.
“There we go, all better now. Let's get you somewhere safe. You go to sleep for a little bit alright?” The voice now has arms and a body, a kind if devious face that hovers close to my own as those arms hold me tight. I just nod, and close my eyes, falling asleep.
I hope this isn’t some trick. I hope I get to see Ula again…