Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (2 page)

Chapter One

[Regan - Ham?  We have incoming.]

Hilary's urgent subbed message snapped them
to attention and they exchanged concerned looks at the intrusion on their
private time. As Orbital AI, Hilary's presence was always constant and
everywhere as she monitored, managed and occasionally intervened in the
personal affairs on station. Nevertheless she was always discreet and only
interrupted or intervened when absolutely appropriate or necessary. She had
their attention now.

[Could you clarify what you mean by incoming
please Hilary?]

[Oh for goodness sake Regan.] Ham dismissed
her question. [Just use the system yourself will you, I'm already monitoring
the whole situation on line.]

[Ham,] she glared at him, [yes, I could
access the information but conversation is a big part of the relationship
process, we've talked about this.]

She looked across at the beautiful android,
slouched now on the park bench, the glance confirming what she already knew -
he wasn't listening - already off somewhere roaming and reviewing the data trail.
She looked around at the crowd enjoying the game;
football in space
and
she laughed at the thought, breaking again into the smile she had worn almost
continually since kick off. To think they had their own Hillary football league
now on station and a representative team in the Australian second division; it
was wonderful. She looked around to see if anyone was watching and noted with
relief all eyes seemed to be on the field.

[Please pop us through to control Hilary,
this really isn't the place for cyber surfing.]

[The displacement is coming through for you
now . . . sooo, Leah and Marin?]

[What are your thoughts?]

[It
is
an unusual event . . . they
should be there.]

[Then call them Hil, and thank you.]

A bubble seemed to materialize from
nothing, enclosing them and obscuring their forms before snatching them away with
a pop. The crowd roared at a goal to the USA research team and no one seemed to
notice or care as the pair disappeared from the bench - why would they? On Hillary
Station - with a population of two hundred and fifty three thousand, four
hundred and thirty seven . . . no, eight . . . nine . . . seven . . . three . .
. seven; ever growing and ever changing, the citizens had plenty to keep their
attention occupied without thinking about management.

Hilary's ability to displace objects anywhere
within the Orbital meant she could move them wherever they chose but in this
case the question was a no brainer; of course it would be the new station
control as all serious business was discussed there. They materialized a moment
later positioned in their control seats and facing the huge screen. Regan
glanced sideways to see that Ham, despite the displacement, was still focused
on data so she left him to it and instead headed for the galley knowing this
may be her only chance of coffee for a while. Perhaps anticipating Regan's
intentions Hilary displaced Marin and Leah directly to her and they materialized
arm in arm, perfectly placed for the greeting. Regan laughed at the exactness
of the placement.

[Hilary you are getting outstanding at
this, you never fail to amaze me.]

All three embraced before turning to the
coffee. "So what's up babe?" Leah asked.

"I'm not sure, Hilary announced
something incoming, a vessel I guess and since then Ham's been non compos
mentis; we'll find out soon enough and Hilary didn't sound worried." She
resumed filling her mug.

"So where's Ham?" Marin asked and
Regan nodded toward control. With a deft snatch he stole her coffee and
wandered through, leaving them to talk.

Regan squeezed Leah's arm affectionately,
"So, it was Ruben's first day at school, how did Moriah handle it?"  

"He's beautiful, and Moriah is so
grateful Jared's looking after him well. The other kids are in awe that he has
a senior friend." She laughed with delight. "They're going to be even
more surprised when they find out how smart that boy is - he's like his father,
another genius."

"No sign of the proud father?"

"No, and Moriah is worried as usual.
Aaron went through the portal a week ago now and while she knows they're supposed
to be scouting around, weren't we expecting word sooner than this?"

"Aaron never sees a reason to hurry
babe, you know that, and this is the seventh time they've been though, I'm sure
we'll hear soon enough, and . . . what about that other thing?" Regan
raised
her eyebrows questioningly.

"You mean with Moriah? I'm not sure Regan, she does
seem fine but Mary was right; there is something going on in there." Leah tapped
her head with one finger. "She certainly sees Aaron as the star of her
universe which is fine, but she does go on and on about him, it's like she's
trying to sell him to me - as if she feels she needs to."

[Girls - it's meeting time.] Hilary's subbed intrusion
interrupted their thoughts.

[Coming Hil.]

They walked through to the Hillary Station control, this one
almost a replica of the STEIN Traveller's room but larger to allow for the
occasional groups that joined them. The configuration differed slightly with
six command chairs for the team plus Bob in case the dandy AI was visiting from
Orion. Grouped in an arc to both take in the wide screen and allow them to talk
freely, this was becoming the meeting place of first choice, the new norm.
Taking their central chairs Leah immediately rested back and closed her eyes, joining
in a subbed private conversation with Marin and Hilary. Meanwhile Regan
continued to steal nervous glances across at Ham, still surfing for information
and looking troubled, a demeanour that made her wary - not alarmed - but
troubled. She too closed her eyes and tried accessing the same data only to
find she was blocked with something preventing her access. Curious, Regan
turned to the gracious woman sitting on her left next to Leah.

"Hilary, you must know - what's going on?"

Hilary avoided her gaze, "Honestly, I don't know Regan
and neither does Ham . . . but he has some information; give him a minute. There's
a delay of course in receiving the signals and whatever or whoever has entered
our system is sending code. He's trying to assess the threat - if there is
one."

"So why has he blocked me out, it doesn't make sense; he
won't let me see anything?"

"Regan - I don't know dear, please just wait, I'm sure
he won't be long."

That didn't reassure her. Ham had actively blocked her, of
that she was sure and for whatever reason he wasn't allowing anything about the
incoming visitor to be known; it didn't feel right.

A minute stretched to minutes with Regan's tension building
and then she felt Marin's hands on her shoulders, gently massaging.

[I'm sure it's fine babe, relax and hang in there. Perhaps
it's just another vessel from Gliese; when were you last there?]

[I don't think it can be that Marin, it's only a week since
I last jumped through and everything was fine. We haven't had any trouble from
Gliese for years and if only a trading ship had left there I'm sure I'd still know;
it can't be that.] A silence hung there for a moment before Leah subbed in with
a touch of excitement in her voice.

[Could it be the Transport then, the Saucer? Ham might finally
be back from his travels.]

Regan shrugged doubtfully. [Maybe . . .] […but Ham and
Hilary would know if it was, surely?]

She again turned to the gracious woman, suspicians growing
in her mind by the second. [Hilary, I know you know something, you must, has
there been any clear communication from that craft, anything at all?]

[Regan I really think we should . . .]

[Hilary! I'm not a child.] Regan reached up
to stop Marin's massage and pushed her body upright while turning to glare at
Hilary.

She looked extremely uncomfortable under
the piercing gaze. [No, no of course you're not a child, but we don't have
much, it's only a meaningless signal - I don't know it.]

[So you
do
have something - and the
signal is?] Regan crossed her arms and waited.

Hilary's form seemed to shiver under the
glare. [Well, all we have is a message . . . just, 'Ding Dong'… that's it Regan,
honestly, it's all we've got; Ham's working on it now.]

There followed a few seconds of confused
looks before Regan's demeanor changed completely. She stood, so quickly that she
wobbled and needed one hand on the chair to steady herself. And then she began
to tremble with excitement.

She had everyone's attention now and they all
snapped alert.

"What's up babe? Do you know what that
means?" Leah asked.

They watched as Regan shook her head slowly
as if in disbelief and her eyes became distant as she stared blankly at the
starscape on screen. Then she turned slowly to Leah and to Hilary and then
Marin, still shaking her head before slumping into the chair.

"Guys, it is the Transport, it's the Saucer,
I know it is - I just can't believe it. Ham is finally back."

"But how can you be sure of that
Regan?" Hilary asked.

"The message Hilary, Ding Dong; it's
two words from an old song, a really old song and its short for ding dong, the
witch is dead." Just saying the words seemed to send a shiver through her
and she dropped her head to her hands while continuing to shake it from side to
side, all the time muttering. "I just can't believe it . . . I must have
done it - I really did get the bitch."

"What in the stars are you talking
about Regan?" Marin asked.

She steadied herself, looked up and grasped
Marin's arm tightly, her face a mixture of guilt, relief and pride.

"Marin; all those years ago when the warships
came after me from Cora, remember, while you were away in Gliese?  Well as you
know, your mother Beria came with them and she didn't just come after me, she
was after Jared . . . and . . ." She choked, her voice trailing off
nervously.

But she didn't get to continue as suddenly
their attention was wrenched to the beautiful man who snapped upright in an
action that caught them by surprise.

Ham turned slowly toward them before
finishing Regan's sentence for her. ". . . And she did something
really
foolish Marin."

Normally everything about Ham's advanced
android looked so natural no one would have especially noticed the eyes but
today, as they flicked open on the word really, the effect proved chilling. He
then grasped the arms of the chair aggressively and pushed himself upright to stand,
before turning to confront Regan with a look that wasn't so much angry, as
anguished.

"Yes Regan, it is my copy coming back
with the STEIN Transport, after more than six years, I'm certain of it, but there
is a problem." He looked frustrated and nervous. "That copy won't let
me merge with him, and of course that worries me greatly. He - and of course that
means, I . . . well, it seems I won't allow us to update, so I can't tell you
anything yet."

Regan looked confused, no updating was
unheard of. "But why won't he let you update, Ham?"

"I told you, I don't know!" and
he suddenly sounded irritated - with her or the situation, Regan couldn't tell.

Marin had had enough and stalked to the
front to face them directly, tired of being sidelined in the conversation.
"Please you two, will you bring us up to date - what is it that Leah and I
are missing here?"

Ham looked to Regan, pointedly waiting and
under the force of his gaze she turned apologetically to her partners.

"Back then - " and she hesitated,
searching for the right words, "Marin - I went after her, I went after
Beria; I took an ADF without telling anyone, copied myself into it and went to
take her down, out on the edge of the solar system. And - it seems, if I'm reading
that ding dong message right, I succeeded, I must have destroyed her ship and
she's dead."

Marin looked stunned. He stepped forward
and took her hands, "But then why does this information seem a surprise to
you, you would already know, wouldn't you? Okay, so you shot up her ship all
those years ago and returned, but if you've known all this time, how come you didn't
say anything before now?"

"Yes Regan," Ham joined in
unhelpfully, "why didn't you say something before now?"

Regan screwed her nose up at him before
turning back to Marin. "Babe, I didn't say anything earlier because I
didn't actually know until now that she was dead, not for sure anyway. I
couldn't know what happened back then . . . because I didn't exactly shoot her
out of the vacuum."

"Then how . . ."

Regan seemed to slump guiltily, "Marin
- my plan was to ram her, all right? Head on, at the fastest speed the ADF
could reach; I guess I must have succeeded."

The implication of the words seemed to hit
Leah first and her look of shock was obvious. "You mean you killed
yourself to kill her, kamikaze like?"

Again Regan shrugged. "Well yeah, that
was the likely outcome - but it was only a copy of me after all, and it was for
Jared, for Marin and for me; I don't regret doing it."