Bollux settled himself on the work platform, securing himself with his servo-grip. The skimmer swung away from the barge.
“How’d you find us so fast?” Han wanted to know.
“I received word of what markings your craft would have, and its estimated time of arrival. I came as soon as the data systems registered your approach. I’ve been waiting here for some time, with forged field-access authorization. I presume this ’droid is my computer-probe?”
“Sort of,” Han answered as Rekkon upped the skimmer’s speed to the legal limit, guiding it between rows of berthed barges. “There’s another unit built into his chest; that’s your baby.”
The port was surrounded on every side by ripening grain, showing the ripples of the gentle winds of Orron III. While he glanced about, Han asked, “What’re you looking for in Authority computers, Rekkon?”
The man studied him for a moment, then turned back to the controls as he pulled onto a service road. Except for the immediate area of the barges, Han knew the skimmer would have to adhere to authorized routes, and would be intercepted if it flew too high, too fast, or cross-country. Off in the distance, gargantuan robot agricultural machines moved through the crops, capable of planting, cultivating, or harvesting vast tracts of land in a single day.
Rekkon adjusted the polarization of the skimmer’s windshield and windows. He didn’t make it reflective, or opaque to outside observation, which might have been conspicuous, but darkened it against the sun. The cab’s interior dimmed, and Han felt as if he were in one of Sabodor’s pet environment globes. As they sped along the service road, cutting between seas of bending grain, Rekkon asked, “Do you know what my mission here has been?”
“Jessa said it was up to you whether or not to tell us. I nearly passed up the bargain because of that, but I figured there must be a fair piece of cash involved for this kind of risk.”
Rekkon shook his head. “Wrong, Captain Solo. It’s a search for missing persons. The group I organized is made up of individuals who’ve lost friends or relatives under unexplained circumstances. Same thing’s begun to happen with suspicious regularity within the Corporate Sector. I found that a number of others were abroad, as I was, seeking their lost ones. I’d detected a pattern, and so I gathered about me a small group of companions. We infiltrated the Data Center in order to carry out our search, with Jessa’s help.”
Han tapped his finger on the window, thinking. This explained Jessa’s commitment to Rekkon and his group, her determination to see that he got all the required assistance. Doc’s daughter obviously hoped that Rekkon and his bunch, in locating their own lost ones, would turn up her father.
“We’ve been here for nearly one Standard month,” Rekkon continued, “and it’s taken me most of that time to find windows of access into their systems, even though I’m rated as a contract computer tech supervisor first class. Their security is diligent, but not terribly imaginative.”
Han shifted around on his seat to look at the other. “So what’s the secret?”
“I won’t say just yet; I’d rather be sure and have absolute proof. There is a final correlation of data for which I need a probe; the terminals to which I have access at the Center have governors and security limiters built into them. I lack the resources and parts and time to construct my own device. But I knew Jessa’s excellent techs could provide what I needed and thereby decrease the risk of detection.”
“Which reminds me, Rekkon. You haven’t told us that other very good reason why we should come with you to the Center.”
Rekkon looked pained. “You’re persistent, Captain. I selected my companions carefully; each of them was close to a lost one, yet—”
Han sat up. “But you’ve got a traitor in there somewhere.” Rekkon stared hard at the pilot. “It wasn’t just a
“How’d you find us so fast?” Han wanted to know.
“I received word of what markings your craft would have, and its estimated time of arrival. I came as soon as the data systems registered your approach. I’ve been waiting here for some time, with forged field-access authorization. I presume this ’droid is my computer-probe?”
“Sort of,” Han answered as Rekkon upped the skimmer’s speed to the legal limit, guiding it between rows of berthed barges. “There’s another unit built into his chest; that’s your baby.”
The port was surrounded on every side by ripening grain, showing the ripples of the gentle winds of Orron III. While he glanced about, Han asked, “What’re you looking for in Authority computers, Rekkon?”
The man studied him for a moment, then turned back to the controls as he pulled onto a service road. Except for the immediate area of the barges, Han knew the skimmer would have to adhere to authorized routes, and would be intercepted if it flew too high, too fast, or cross-country. Off in the distance, gargantuan robot agricultural machines moved through the crops, capable of planting, cultivating, or harvesting vast tracts of land in a single day.
Rekkon adjusted the polarization of the skimmer’s windshield and windows. He didn’t make it reflective, or opaque to outside observation, which might have been conspicuous, but darkened it against the sun. The cab’s interior dimmed, and Han felt as if he were in one of Sabodor’s pet environment globes. As they sped along the service road, cutting between seas of bending grain, Rekkon asked, “Do you know what my mission here has been?”
“Jessa said it was up to you whether or not to tell us. I nearly passed up the bargain because of that, but I figured there must be a fair piece of cash involved for this kind of risk.”
Rekkon shook his head. “Wrong, Captain Solo. It’s a search for missing persons. The group I organized is made up of individuals who’ve lost friends or relatives under unexplained circumstances. Same thing’s begun to happen with suspicious regularity within the Corporate Sector. I found that a number of others were abroad, as I was, seeking their lost ones. I’d detected a pattern, and so I gathered about me a small group of companions. We infiltrated the Data Center in order to carry out our search, with Jessa’s help.”
Han tapped his finger on the window, thinking. This explained Jessa’s commitment to Rekkon and his group, her determination to see that he got all the required assistance. Doc’s daughter obviously hoped that Rekkon and his bunch, in locating their own lost ones, would turn up her father.
“We’ve been here for nearly one Standard month,” Rekkon continued, “and it’s taken me most of that time to find windows of access into their systems, even though I’m rated as a contract computer tech supervisor first class. Their security is diligent, but not terribly imaginative.”
Han shifted around on his seat to look at the other. “So what’s the secret?”
“I won’t say just yet; I’d rather be sure and have absolute proof. There is a final correlation of data for which I need a probe; the terminals to which I have access at the Center have governors and security limiters built into them. I lack the resources and parts and time to construct my own device. But I knew Jessa’s excellent techs could provide what I needed and thereby decrease the risk of detection.”
“Which reminds me, Rekkon. You haven’t told us that other very good reason why we should come with you to the Center.”
Rekkon looked pained. “You’re persistent, Captain. I selected my companions carefully; each of them was close to a lost one, yet—”
Han sat up. “But you’ve got a traitor in there somewhere.” Rekkon stared hard at the pilot. “It wasn’t just a
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