Regan's Reach 4: Avarice (29 page)

There were
none.

* * * *

Chapter Ten

The STEIN Traveler Pods, Interceptor and
Saucer were all faster by an order of magnitude than anything else in the
galaxy, at least as far as they knew to date. Regan had only encountered two of
the six humanoid species Ham claimed existed so she guessed it was possible
someone, somewhere may have a faster ship, but for the moment she was happy to
be the fastest on the block. As she contemplated speed and Aaron's improvements
to all their vessels she reflected on whether she had indeed taken him for
granted. It was all too easy as she continued her personal crusade for
advancement and peace among all humanoids, to forget the individual, and that
everyone had their own needs and desires . . .
Something to ponder on later
.

To save time Ham jumped them nearer to the
incident site. It was always a risk going to warp in any system, particularly
areas of space that were unknown in case there was something in their path but
on this occasion he judged it worth that chance in case by some miracle there
were survivors. Nevertheless he first scanned the way ahead to minimize the
risk.

Keeping them well short of the expanding
debris zone they emerged safe and cruised in quietly, continuing to scan space
out to millions of kilometers.

Ham was unusually quiet, Regan noticed, and
thought she knew why. Reaching out she gently stroked the android arm of her
companion and then rested her hand on his. "You're having memories of
searching for me I guess - and not particularly pleasant ones; am I right?"

He didn't answer, simply slipping his hand
on top of hers and squeezing in acknowledgement. "I guess so, but this is
nothing like that search. There is so much more to see out there than I had to
work with back then, this debris field is huge. And disturbingly there seem
very few pieces of substance."

"So what does that mean?" She
asked.

"It means the explosion was
cataclysmic, maybe even several simultaneous large explosions as it seems the
ship hasn't just broken up; it's been decimated."

"Could it have been a missile, or
missiles?"

"I don't think so, the pattern of
debris doesn't indicate a collision of any kind, simply an expanding field like
you'd see with an exploding firework, everything emanating and travelling
equally from the one point. If I'm correct and there were several simultaneous
explosions, then it can only be sabotage."

"You mean someone from Regis has done
this - they've taken out their own delegation?"

Ham looked concerned. "Regan, they've
taken out more than just a delegation; this party would include most of the
Regis leadership including the Premier. It could mean there's a takeover underway
back on Regis, and whoever has done this wants to make it look like an attack from
Rexis." He turned to her in concern. "Regan, Bob might be right, this
could mean war."

She chewed on her lip. "And it all
happens just as I'm bringing in thousands of happy campers. Shit, shit shit!"

For seven hours they searched the debris field
at speed, continually displacing those objects in their path behind them and so
smoothly there was never hindrance to their progress. Nothing of interest presented
until Ham detected a larger object tumbling away toward Regil, the system’s
star.

"Shall we take a look?" He asked
disingenuously; there was no chance he would ignore something so interesting.

She smiled, knowing they would already be
on the move. "I guess that's what we're here for."

Ham didn't rush, taking twenty more minutes
to bring them within deep scanning range, and then he accelerated rapidly.
Regan, also following the data stream, could see what had captured Ham's
attention.

Life . . . the object was some kind of life
raft, an escape pod, and it held a passenger.

They approached cautiously, all the time
watching on screen the slow tumble of the largely unmarked pod as they
considered the wisest course of action. Left to its own devices the pod would
continue on until being swallowed in the heat of Rigel, a final outcome that
wouldn't bother the passenger as he or she would be long dead before then. In
any case that was not an option; there was no way they would desert the
passenger. Nevertheless the matter of bringing them on board required some
discussion.

Regan sat curled up in her chair, rubbing
her chin and thinking. "Ham, can you tell from the pod's position whether it
ejected through the explosion?"

"I'd say it launched just before
detonation, so the person on board either triggered the blast or they knew it
was about to happen."

"But that still doesn't make sense,
what would be the point of them ejecting, they would still die out here unless
they planned on being rescued; could it be a spy from Rexis?"

"Regan, In my time here I have thoroughly
searched every bit of data that Bob has on Regis and no, I don't believe Rexis
have spies there."

"Then I can't see why an individual
would do this. After all, if they planned on sacrificing their life wouldn't
they stay on the vessel and die there, why go slowly like this?"

"Perhaps they didn't intend that the
pod would be heading in this particular direction."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, the area where the ship
exploded is reasonably close to Rexis. Perhaps the hope was the escape pod
would travel there . . . or, your other suggestion might be the answer, they
hoped to be picked up."

"Hmm, either way we can only assume
their intentions were less than friendly. Anyone willing to wipe out their
entire leadership team, or at best participate, is decidedly dodgy don't you
think?"

"Agreed, so what are we going to
do?" They continued to stare at the tumbling pod until Regan replied.

"Let's stabilize the pod first and let
the occupant rest for a while, I don't want them throwing up in my Interceptor."

In a carefully judged maneuver Ham nudged
the interceptor forward and gently matched the spin of the escape pod,
eventually touching the surface and then beginning to slow the tumble to a
standstill. Then they waited while Regan grabbed a coffee.

An hour later Regan and Ham exchanged a
look. [Now?] She subbed.

Ham nodded and activated displacement. They
spun to face the open area behind their seats just in time to see a shimmer to
the air, something like a bubble appearing and then a man in a reclined
position simply materialized and collapsed on to the floor. Their first
impression was the overpowering smell as apparently the man had soiled himself
and his hair and clothing were wet with sweat. He still looked groggy and appeared
to be going into shock.

"He looks harmless enough." She
said, and rose to stand over him, reaching down a hand to help him up. He
ignored it and rolled to vomit on the floor. "Oh geez - I wanted to avoid
that. Come on, whoever you are, you're safe now."

He seemed not to understand.
"Regan," Ham said quickly, "I'm sending you a language file, on
the planet Regis they don't speak the same language as Bob's mob."

She nodded and waited, feeling the left
brain rush and then looked down to smile at the man welcomingly. Repeating the earlier
statement she again extended her hand and he took it, allowing her to pull him
up while Ham watched quietly from behind.

"We can talk soon," she said,
"but first you need to get cleaned up. There is a small bathroom over
there." She pointed. "Shower first and refresh your clothes. Just
throw them in the side drawer while you wash. It's not a perfect wash but they
will freshen nicely. Then you can explain what went on back there with your
ship."

The young man still looked shocked but
relief was also beginning to flood his features. "Thank you, thank you so
much for saving me, are you from Rexis?"

She hesitated before answering. "We'll
talk later, clean up first." And again she gestured toward the bathroom. He
didn't question further and slipped through the door which closed behind him.

Ham and Regan again exchanged questioning looks.

[Age?] Regan subbed.

[I'd say mid twenties.]

[I agree - I don't know anything about
their dress, what does it tell you?]

[Well you could just check your own files
as I do - but then why have an android and bark yourself?] He scowled playfully.
[His dress is typical senate and I'd say he was a delegate, not an assistant,
although he does seem quite young.]

[Is he carrying a weapon?]

[Again Regan, you can do all this yourself,
why do you keep asking me?]

She smiled. [Because I like it Ham my man,
I like working with you, and winding you up.]

[Hmm - okay, no weapon but he is carrying a
few things, nothing that looks like a threat though.]

[Okay, so I guess we wait then, I'm going
to grab another coffee, now do you think you could arrange for a servitor to .
. .]

[Already done M'lady.] He answered in mock
servant English.

She looked down and saw the vomit had indeed
been cleaned away. She mock curtsied to the beautiful man, smiled broadly and
headed for the galley.

Muffled calls from the bathroom indicated
their visitor was ready but seemed to have some problem. Could he not get out?
Regan walked over and padded for the door which immediately opened to a naked
man, covering himself and blushing with embarrassment.

"My clothes, I'm so sorry, I can't get
them back."

Regan noticed the man's attempts to cover
himself weren't helped by him clutching two or three items that he must have
been carrying. She thought better of commenting or joking and simply opened the
freshener drawer with a thought. The drawer slid open, much to the man's
frustration and he blushed again.

"I'll leave you to dress, and then
maybe we can get introductions out of the way." Regan smiled while padding
the wall and the door slid closed hiding the man's priceless expression.

"He's well built Ham, shorter than I
would have expected. Is he typical of the people?"

"Pretty much, there are many around
his age. The build is typical with gravity there a little higher than earth
normal. They have good nutrition and a generally healthy lifestyle, although
they have pressure on resources. Population growth is outstripping ability to
produce."

Behind them the door to the bathroom slid
open and Regan turned to a much more assured and confident young man. She
didn't hesitate, stepping forward quickly and extending a hand. "Welcome,
you must be shocked at your experience and frankly, it's a miracle you're alive
at all. I'm Regan Stein; you must be part of the Regis delegation?"

He gathered himself quickly. "Thank
you for rescuing me . . . my ship . . . what happened?"

Ham stepped forward and also extended a
hand. "We hoped you might be able to enlighten us on that." The man
seemed to sense something was amiss and almost unconsciously cringed back.
"Yes," Ham acknowledged the obvious, "this is an android and I,
the ghost in this machine am Ham; do you have a problem with that?"

He cringed back further in fear, clutching
at his midriff Regan noted, then seemed to pull himself together, standing
straight and fashioning a tight smile. "I apologize, you would be aware we
have no such technology on my planet. It is - something of a shock to be
confronted with the very object of our fears."

"And am I so terrifying?" Ham
asked.

"Truthfully, I have no idea at this
point." he answered. "I am simply grateful for my rescue, and nervous
for my future."

Regan took her command seat, pointedly, "Sir,
you now know my name, and you have met my partner Ham, what is your name?"

"I am Perin, and I come from a direct
line to the founders."

"And how was it, Perin, that you came
to be inside that escape pod, which by our calculation launched just before the
explosion which decimated your ship. An explosion which, given the total loss
of your friends, appears to have come as a surprise to everyone - except you."

Perin seemed to wilt at the question,
staggering and grasping a chair for support. Ham guided him to it and he sank
down sobbing. They waited.

"I was warned." He finally got
out. "An intern found out about the plan, a plan made by dark forces back
on Regis. They aimed to wipe out the leadership, take over at home and blame it
on Rexis. The intern led me to the pods and insisted I get in. I argued with
him, initially refusing but he was desperately insistent, and I thought he
would follow but I must have wasted too much time. The next thing I knew as I
buckled in was that the door slammed shut; he must have slammed it and then I
felt the force of the launch, followed almost immediately by another thrust
that sent the pod tumbling. I don't know anymore, only that which you have just
told me . . ." His voice trailed away and he broke down again.