Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (11 page)

"The small craft you can see are
ADF's, and shuttles, moving the colonists around."

"My god . . ." Charlotte's mouth
dropped open. "Those ships must be huge." She turned slowly back to
Regan and behind her she could see Leah smiling, it was a knowing smile that
gave her pause to think. "Regan, you want me to be a colonist?"

"No Charlie, we want you to command
the Fair Passage, it's the centre vessel, the large one." Regan turned to
face the screen drawing Charlotte's eyes there with hers, and they were quickly
awestruck.

Mary clapped her hands in excitement.
Hilary, who had said nothing to this point, seemed to shimmer with pleasure.

Charlotte shook her head in disbelief and
stood to walk toward the screen. They waited until she turned back to them.
"Command . . . seriously? What do I know about commanding a Starship?
Regan, I can drive but I know nothing about flying." Nevertheless her eyes
were drawn back, locking on the ship and the craft shuttling to and fro, all looking
miniscule in comparison. She appeared shocked, and her lower jaw seemed to
tremble.

"Sit down Charlie and let's talk about
it. I'm not going to deny this is a huge ask but it's your people skills and
leadership we're looking for, not any kind of technical ability. You don't need
to fly - Lucas, he's the ship Mind, he operates the vessel. The Commander has overall
responsibility for the ship yes, but largely it's a people management role and
we think you have all the skills to do it well."

Charlotte looked slightly weak at the knees
and returned shakily to her seat, seeming to collapse there into the cushions.
"I can't believe it, you've completely blindsided me because I did not
expect anything like this - and how come you need a Commander so close to
leaving; you're supposed to be under way soon aren't you?"

The room became quiet for a few seconds and
the other women exchanged concerned looks. Charlotte missed nothing.

"What?" She prompted.

"Hil', perhaps we could introduce Charlie
to the last Commander; its best she know the truth, and the background."
Regan turned to Charlotte as she spoke. "You don't strike me as a person
who likes people to pull their punches and I don't want to hide anything from
you."

A change on the screen drew Charlotte's
eyes back to the wall, the image of the Commander’s contorted body floating slowly
across the face of a ship hull behind. She gasped.

"Shit . . . what happened?"

Regan screwed up her mouth. "Hmm, that's
part of our problem - we don't know what happened. The suggestion is suicide;
apparently he lost his wife recently, but we're not sure."

Hilary spoke for the first time. "Charlie,
you need to know that Lucas, the ship Mind, has some important gaps in his memory.
Those gaps mean we don't know for certain at this stage how the Commander got
out there or why."

"How is that possible, that the AI has
gaps?" She asked.

"Charlotte." Leah interrupted.
"Before we go down that track, I'd be interested in your immediate
impressions about what you see and the death. You are looking at this through
fresh eyes, so what are your thoughts?"

Charlotte settled back, not at all concerned
about the audience she now held. Her eyes were on the screen, the tumbling
body. "I guess suicide is an option, but the gaps in the AI memory hint at
something more sinister. And there's something else . . ." She cocked her
head, still looking at the images. "Correct me if I'm wrong but that looks
like a dress uniform, certainly it looks like he was ready to go
somewhere."

They all turned back to the screen, peering
more closely at the tortured form. Apart from the obvious scrunched limbs, the
uniform did look formal, clean and tidy.

"Ham?" Regan spoke to the ether.

"Hmm, he does seem to be prepared for
something." Even Ham sounded interested.

Charlotte nodded. "Was he due to go
anywhere, you know, did he have any appointments?"

"Hilary?" Leah asked.

"I'm just checking with Lucas . .
."

Regan turned to Charlotte. "I'm amazed
how easily you've slipped into this, particularly talking with Hilary here and
Ham in the background."

She laughed huskily, "Oh we three talk
all the time, Hilary's a great friend and Ham, he always likes a ribbing."

Mary laughed now and stood, "I can see
my work here is done. I'm going to get fresh coffee," she hesitated. "You
see Regan, I told you, Charlie is perfect." And she was gone.

"I've checked with Lucas." Hilary
came back. "The Commander was ready for the crew meeting in the afternoon,
but it appears he intended to come over earlier. He wanted to talk with you personally
Regan, but Lucas doesn't know what he wanted to talk about."

"So . . ." Charlotte continued,
"does it seem likely that he would have taken the time to prepare himself
for seeing you, clearly taking the time to dress for the crew meeting, only to
top himself on the way?"

"No, it doesn't." and Ham
materialized in front of the screen. "Regan - I recommend Charlotte for
the Commander’s role."

Regan laughed. "We've already offered
her the role Ham, catch up will you?"

Charlotte raised her hands in surrender.
"Whoa, whoa, I still have concerns, what is it you really want me to do
here, and am I going to be in danger?" She looked past Ham to the dead Commander.

Regan frowned in concern. "Seriously Charlie,
we don't know, and we'd like to play things quietly, not making our suspicions public
at this point." Regan gestured toward Hilary. "You came with some
high recommendations; Mary reckons you have all the management and people
skills for the job and I've seen nothing to dissuade me from that view. And Hilary's
recommendation comes from an entirely different perspective. She has another
role in mind for you, and I'm already seeing why; you could be perfect for that
too."

Charlotte turned to Hilary who looked
incredibly excited. "And what role is that Hil?"

"You and I - we solve the
murder!"

"Whoa!" Regan interjected. "Charlie,
first of all we don't even know there was a murder - but it's true, there is a
mystery. My instincts tell me no one takes an action without a reason. If the
Commander's fate was the result of a deliberate and sinister action then there
is a reason for it and something's going on here; we need to find out what.
Maybe the best way to do that is to have someone in there, someone unlikely to
draw too much attention, and one with a mind for puzzles."

Leah was watching Charlotte's hands and she
smiled, catching Regan's eye and nodding toward them. Regan too looked down and
saw Charlotte was rubbing them together with obvious excitement, even though
her face was quite neutral. They waited, keeping silent and it was Charlotte
who finally spoke.

"I'm not going to lie, I'd love to be
involved, but you must know I'm way out of my depth here. I know absolutely nothing
about starships or space, I'd need lots of help and I'm still concerned about
the danger." Her eyes slipped back to the screen, the Commander frozen
there before them. Hilary grimaced and flicked back a hand quickly, blanking
the image from view.

Regan stood and reached out a hand.
"So I take it, if those are your only objections, and supposing I can
satisfy both of them - that we have a deal?"

Charlotte looked at the hand, but only for
a second, and then grasped it firmly. "If you can satisfy my concerns, we
have a deal." And she broke into a broad smile.

Regan, Leah, Mary and Hilary waited in the
lounge with eager anticipation for Charlotte to return from Mary and Kevin's
private rooms. After a few wines the mood was celebratory and there was a good
deal of laughter at the prospect of the unveiling. They had also laughed
earlier as Charlotte held up the proffered ship suit with a look of genuine shock.
She had dangled it from one hand as if it were the skimpiest item of lingerie
and snorted at the suggestion it might satisfy her safety concerns. At the
prospect of having to wear it she displayed the first signs of panic on since
being offered the job. Even a dead contorted body hadn't drawn the look they
saw on her face as they handed her the skimpy one piece and they laughed like
drains at her reaction.

Regan didn't see the problem. Sure, Charlotte
had a fuller figure but she was gorgeous with it and while not as tall as she
or Leah she knew the result would make her happy. In any case, the suit was a
lifesaver, it was an essential.

"Oh my god!" It was Mary who first
caught sight of her as she came through the door and her mouth had dropped in
amazement.

All eyes swung to the doorway where Charlotte
stood, more confident now that she was wearing the skintight suit, but still modestly
covering strategic areas with her hands. There was truly no need.

Mary stood to slowly walk over and Regan exchanged
smiles with Leah, both knowing Charlotte was in for a prodding and pulling of
fabric that would embarrass her further.

"Girl, you look magnificent! My god,
you had the booty in the first place but doesn't that thing enhance it in all
the right places." Mary turned to Hilary. "Seriously Hilary, can we
make more of these suits?"

"Of course I could make you some, but
would you want that?" Hilary looked doubtful.

"You don't think I'd look good in
it?"

"It's not that Mary, but from my
observation your existing look produces all the right reactions in Kevin
already; would you want to change it? And you often seem to need extremely
quick access for him if you know . . ."

"Okay!" Mary laughed and held up
her hand. "I think we get the picture. Actually I was thinking more that
we could sell millions of these, start a STEIN Fashion line type of thing."

"Ladies, please," Regan
intervened, "perhaps you could discuss that later. Charlotte, you do look
great but I have to say, the look is the least important of the suits
attributes so let's talk about those concerns you had. First, safety; you were
asking about that. Well, the truth is I can't guarantee anyone's safety, and
people
have
died on my watch. Some of them were very close to me; I
won't lie to you about that. But we know a little more now and these suits are
state of the art as far as protection goes. Leah, Marin, Jared, myself and all our
ADF crew wear them all the time at work. They'll stop a bullet or a knife;
nothing will get through that fabric although you may be bruised or suffer the
odd broken bone. But most importantly, you won't be dead. Second, in the
unlikely event that you get thrown into vacuum like the unfortunate Commander, the
suit instantly covers your head providing protection from vacuum and giving you
air for a short time until rescue."

Charlotte looked doubtful. "That
wouldn't have helped the Commander; no one seemed to know he was even
missing."

Regan stood and walked to her, reaching up
and fingering the Chinese collar. "And in answer to that concern Charlie,
this I think will be the clincher for you; you will not be alone on that ship.
The suit collar houses a processor, so you will be carrying a passenger all the
time, a partner, a brilliant Mind and a rat catcher who will help you with
everything on ship and work undercover."

Charlotte brightened, "Ham?"

Hilary looked crestfallen.

Regan shook her head. "No babe, your
passenger will be the redoubtable Hilary."

"Oh . . . even better!" The genuine
reaction and brilliant smile made up for lost ground and Hilary beamed widely.

Regan smiled. "Ham will continue as
the Mind of both Behemoth and Ascendant while engaging with Lucas, AI of the
Fair Passage, as if nothing has happened. He may even be able to distract Lucas
from time to time as Hilary might need. But Hilary's presence with you is for
your knowledge only and ours, okay; at least for the moment?"

"Absolutely, so how do I engage with
you Hilary?"

Hilary stepped forward and pointed to her
ear, "You will have a tiny ear piece dear, so that I can communicate with
you audibly and you'll get special contact lenses to replace your existing
ones. They're much better than yours and won't need replacing from day to day.
They will allow me to give you a heads up display of anything I choose, or that
you might want to see."

"And how do I communicate with
you?"

"Aaah, now that's your next
appointment. We need to get you to the STEIN Traveler; Ham does all his
dentistry there."

Charlotte slowly paled and opened her mouth
to speak but before she could protest there was a small 'pop', and she was gone.

The remaining women looked at each other
and exchanged smiles. It was Leah who finally broke the silence.

"Hmm, that went well."

Hilary laughed delightedly . . . and disappeared.

* * *

Regan also wasted no time and with Leah, immediately
displaced to the Medlab to check on Jared. The operation itself had gone well, however
he was typically proving to be a difficult patient while resting in recovery. He
was a teenager not used to sitting still and knowing the two women were on
their way Ham had taken matters in hand, using a small arm to reach up from
under the gurney and jab Jared's buttock as he rolled to get to his feet. It
was a painful jab, coming totally unexpected and the boy hardly had time to
consider what hit him before collapsing back comatose. Now, as Regan and Leah
emerged in the room he lay somewhat askew, clearly having lost whatever fight
he had tried to put up. A sheet covered most of his body however from the chest
up he was bare, along with his arms.