Alexander Outland: Space Pirate by G. J. Koch Page B

Captain.”
    I handed her the system tracker. “I’m hoping one of those capabilities will let you tell us where the others are.”
    Audrey nodded. “Yes.” She took it and twitched. I got the impression she was hooking into it. “They are all together.”
    “Great!”
    “They are also on this level.”
    “Even better!”
    “They are scheduled for termination in ten minutes.”

CHAPTER 26
    “M oving out now, Audrey.” I went to the door. It locked from the inside. “Audrey, you’re not really a prisoner, did you know that?” I listened at the door. No sounds and no gray dots on the system tracker. I unlocked the lock, turned the handle and opened the door.
    Nothing happened, so I opened the door wide and stuck my head out into the corridor. No one there.
    “I was told to stay and wait, Captain.”
    “Audrey, if you have free will, I hope that means you can start adapting a lot of your programming on your own. Start with the fact that most if not all humanoids are lying sacks of excrement. Add in the idea that someone who threatens you in this way is probably not only an aforementioned sack but also planning to use you for his own nefarious plans. And then add in whatever quality it is I have that keeps me and our crew alive.”
    “You think like the sacks of excrement but you are actually a noble person.”
    We stepped out into the corridor. “Noble? Ah, not so much, no. We’ll work on your comprehension program, too.”
    “You are trying to save the others instead of just yourself. You saved Slinkie at great personal risk and you do not take advantage
of her even though you could. You take care of Randolph even though he failed at the Space Academy and should, by rights, be working in a Thurge power plant. You protect the Governor when others would have abandoned him. And you treat me as human even though it bothers you that I am not.”
    I didn’t like that Audrey could pick that up. “Whatever. My supposed nobility aside, you need to lead the way, fast, to where the others are. And, how are they going to be terminated, can you tell?”
    “Lethal gas.”
    “Run fast, break down their door, or whatever you need to do to get them out of there safely, I’ll catch up.”
    Audrey took off. I’d guessed right—she was able to move faster than a human. As I pounded down the corridor after her, I considered why Nitin wanted her. Didn’t have to think long. Reverse engineer her and you had the makings for the greatest army in the galaxy. If Randolph had put skin on her and allowed her to sound like a human instead of an automated response unit, it would be close to impossible to tell she was a Sexbot. Figured I needed to have that talk with Randolph sooner as opposed to later.
    Found Audrey at the room at the end of the corridor. She was pounding on the door, but it wasn’t doing anything. “Reinforced steel, but I think it has an iron core, Captain.”
    Tried the door handle, just to be sure. Nope, sadly, the others hadn’t been left on their own recognizance. Figured our team’s luck was out. I pulled out my lock picks. Unfortunately, I wasn’t looking at a Bulldog. I was looking at a Dragon. Dragon locks were considered impregnable. They weren’t, but they took longer. A lot longer.
    I started the process. It took a lot of concentration, but I’d learned to pick locks before I’d met Randolph, and Dragons were always the test someone threw at you whenever they wanted to make you look bad. For some reason, a lot of people had wanted to make me look bad over the years.
    “Three minutes left, Captain.”
    “Should be done in two, two and a half. Two and three-quarters,
tops.” I raised my voice. “Get ready to hold your breath!” Wasn’t sure if my voice could to carry into their containment unit through the airtight door, but figured it was worth a shot.
    “Two minutes.”
    “Thanks for the extra pressure, Audrey.”
    “One and a half minutes.”
    “Shut the hell up, Audrey.”
    I was