trouble."
"Trouble?" Corvan inquired. "How could that be? We've been asleep for nine months."
Kim made a face. "I don't know. But if anybody could do it you could."
Kim felt guilty about the joke, and the fact that if they were in trouble, the fault was probably hers. Especially if Martin had been discovered. What was the penalty for introducing an unauthorized computer entity into the ship's systems anyway? Kim wanted a cigarette in the worst way.
The conference room was just ahead. The hatch stood open. Corvan paused and gestured for Kim to enter. Her hair was short again, her nails were neatly trimmed, and her makeup was in place. She looked wonderful. He winked and she winked back.
Kim pushed her way into the compartment and Corvan followed. The room was smaller than an Earth-side counterpart would be. This stemmed from both the shipboard space restrictions and the absence of gravity. Gone were the conference table, chairs, and other furniture that one would expect to find, and in their place was a centrally mounted console and a series of wall mounted Velcro "hooks."
Hobarth and Paxton were both present but only one of them smiled. "Welcome to the inquisition," Paxton said wryly.
Corvan positioned himself in front of some Velcro and backed into it. His suit made contact and held him in place.
"It's that bad?"
Paxton looked serious and nodded. "I'm afraid so."
The security man looked as if he wanted to say something more, Hobarth produced a smug smile, and Jopp chose that particular moment to enter the room. Her expression was as cold as the vacuum outside. Fornos was close behind, and while he didn't look quite as threatening, he didn't seem especially friendly either.
The two of them took their places on the opposite side of the room from Corvan, Kim, and Paxton. Hobarth made a show of giving his slot to Jopp. Fornos touched the console and the hatch hissed closed. He looked first at Corvan then at Kim. There was no sign of the good-natured patience that the reop had encountered before. The administrator was angry and willing to let it show.
"There's something I want you to look at."
A child-sized finger stabbed something on the console. The room darkened. Video appeared on the ceiling. It took a moment to figure out what he was looking at, then Corvan saw a super-graphic flash by and recognized the B-deck corridor. The camera turned a corner and entered a well-lit room. The reop looked and looked again. Yes, it was the same room they were sitting in now. Two people could be seen struggling with each other. One was distinctly female while the other was disguised by a hood and over-sized ship-suit.
The camera paused for a second as if checking the situation out, then charged full speed ahead, and struck the hooded figure between the shoulder blades. He or she let go of the woman, bounced off a bulkhead, and looked around. The camera pulled wide. Corvan saw a doorway packed top to bottom and side to side with robots. All kinds of robots. The assailant dived straight at them. They held. Unable to push his or her way through to the other side the attacker pulled instead. It didn't work. The robots continued to bar the way.
Then something strange happened. The robots started to disperse. They backed up and left the room. The camera drifted from the assailant to the woman. She held up her hands as if objecting to something. Her face contorted in pain. Blood gushed from her throat. The picture faded to black.
Fornos touched a button. The lights came up. The administrator looked Corvan in the eye. "The victim was a life support technician named Rosemary Parker. The investigation is still underway, but it looks as if Parker used her specialized knowledge to arrange for an early release and was up and around when she shouldn't have been."
Corvan nodded. "And ran into someone else who was up and around when they shouldn't have been."
"Yes," Fornos agreed heavily, "and I think we know why." Corvan watched as the
"Trouble?" Corvan inquired. "How could that be? We've been asleep for nine months."
Kim made a face. "I don't know. But if anybody could do it you could."
Kim felt guilty about the joke, and the fact that if they were in trouble, the fault was probably hers. Especially if Martin had been discovered. What was the penalty for introducing an unauthorized computer entity into the ship's systems anyway? Kim wanted a cigarette in the worst way.
The conference room was just ahead. The hatch stood open. Corvan paused and gestured for Kim to enter. Her hair was short again, her nails were neatly trimmed, and her makeup was in place. She looked wonderful. He winked and she winked back.
Kim pushed her way into the compartment and Corvan followed. The room was smaller than an Earth-side counterpart would be. This stemmed from both the shipboard space restrictions and the absence of gravity. Gone were the conference table, chairs, and other furniture that one would expect to find, and in their place was a centrally mounted console and a series of wall mounted Velcro "hooks."
Hobarth and Paxton were both present but only one of them smiled. "Welcome to the inquisition," Paxton said wryly.
Corvan positioned himself in front of some Velcro and backed into it. His suit made contact and held him in place.
"It's that bad?"
Paxton looked serious and nodded. "I'm afraid so."
The security man looked as if he wanted to say something more, Hobarth produced a smug smile, and Jopp chose that particular moment to enter the room. Her expression was as cold as the vacuum outside. Fornos was close behind, and while he didn't look quite as threatening, he didn't seem especially friendly either.
The two of them took their places on the opposite side of the room from Corvan, Kim, and Paxton. Hobarth made a show of giving his slot to Jopp. Fornos touched the console and the hatch hissed closed. He looked first at Corvan then at Kim. There was no sign of the good-natured patience that the reop had encountered before. The administrator was angry and willing to let it show.
"There's something I want you to look at."
A child-sized finger stabbed something on the console. The room darkened. Video appeared on the ceiling. It took a moment to figure out what he was looking at, then Corvan saw a super-graphic flash by and recognized the B-deck corridor. The camera turned a corner and entered a well-lit room. The reop looked and looked again. Yes, it was the same room they were sitting in now. Two people could be seen struggling with each other. One was distinctly female while the other was disguised by a hood and over-sized ship-suit.
The camera paused for a second as if checking the situation out, then charged full speed ahead, and struck the hooded figure between the shoulder blades. He or she let go of the woman, bounced off a bulkhead, and looked around. The camera pulled wide. Corvan saw a doorway packed top to bottom and side to side with robots. All kinds of robots. The assailant dived straight at them. They held. Unable to push his or her way through to the other side the attacker pulled instead. It didn't work. The robots continued to bar the way.
Then something strange happened. The robots started to disperse. They backed up and left the room. The camera drifted from the assailant to the woman. She held up her hands as if objecting to something. Her face contorted in pain. Blood gushed from her throat. The picture faded to black.
Fornos touched a button. The lights came up. The administrator looked Corvan in the eye. "The victim was a life support technician named Rosemary Parker. The investigation is still underway, but it looks as if Parker used her specialized knowledge to arrange for an early release and was up and around when she shouldn't have been."
Corvan nodded. "And ran into someone else who was up and around when they shouldn't have been."
"Yes," Fornos agreed heavily, "and I think we know why." Corvan watched as the
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