Chapter 34
Alice
She was sitting on the counter of a shop, staring out at the massive windows that led onto the promenade and the incredible view beyond.
She was letting her legs kick back and forth as her fingers drummed over the hard surface.
Everything was in shades of clean crystal white and shiny silver with the occasional blue glinting logo of some company swimming above the shop doors all around her.
Her eyes were fixed on the clouds.
They were so immense, there were so many of them, and they appeared to dart wherever they wanted to, free from restriction and rules.
‘Possible plan 203,’ Helper said from her side.
For the past hour and a half he had been resolutely trying to come up with a plan of escape for the two of them.
The only problem was, no matter how sophisticated his plans were, they wouldn’t work. Or maybe Alice didn’t want them to work. Maybe her view of the galaxy and universe was so cynical that the thought of finally finding help was one she could not succumb to.
‘We will board the next freighter to come to this docking ring. We overcome the systems, fake red alert, and ensure all crew leave aboard the safety pods. We then redirect this vessel to the closest transport hub. Using the Galactic Transport Network, we head to the Pharos Galaxy. Due to the persistent lack of development in this area, chances of being discovered by Union forces are slim.’
Alice forced a smile. In a way she liked the plan; she’d heard about the Pharos galaxy, and its incredible water worlds were sights that she would love to see.
The problem was, she really doubted the plan could work. ‘How are we going to get through the transport net in an abandoned ship? Every ship is checked before it goes through those, in case it’s carrying pirates and whatnot. It’s one of the Union’s new regulations to limit the movement of the factions.’
‘There exist approximately 1500 manipulations to the ICN that would allow us to do this. But if you do not like the plan, I will come up with a new one,’ Helper said, without a hint of anger.
He’d been doing it for hours now, and every single plan he had come up with, no matter how hopeful, Alice had always grumbled at.
But he was right; there probably were hundreds and thousands of ways to make that plan work. It was the kind of thing they would have to do while thinking on their feet. If they just decided on something, just, as Helper had already suggested, go up to the docking ring, steal the first ship they could get their hands on, and then rely on their wits and capabilities, no doubt they really could get free of the planet, and quickly and effectively too.
Alice was just . . . used to failing. She was used to desperation, and it was so hard to really internalize the fact that now she had help.
‘Plan 204,’ Helper began.
But then he stopped.
In midsentence.
He wasn’t thinking; he wasn’t suddenly computing new possibilities or fixing some previous assumption.
He wouldn’t do that. Alice knew enough about the technology of her own kind to appreciate how sophisticated it was. She also had been on the run long enough to get a sixth sense for danger. And right now her back was crawling.
She turned sharply over her shoulder, glancing along the long section of open hallway that led between the shops.
‘I have detected a reduction in atmospheric pressure,’ Helper suddenly said, and there was a distinct frightened, tense edge to his voice.
It made Alice sit up straighter, her back snapping forward, her muscles twitching tight.
‘What is it? Are other life forms headed this way? Is it security bots? Is it scanners?’ She jumped to her feet.
‘Completing more detailed scan,’ Helper chirped quickly. ‘It is suggested you take up a defensive position until this anomaly is computed.’
She understood the warning. Helper didn’t know what was going on, and considering what they were up against, it was best to treat it as absolutely suspicious.
Plus, as Alice started to rely on her own senses again, she got a distinct feeling that something was up.
The shops around her suddenly felt wrong. It was almost as if they had eyes and ears.
Backing off, she started to sniff the air.
She increased her hearing, in fact, she redirect her special energy to every sense that she had.
And she felt it.
Someone was close by.
She could taste their electromagnetic field. Though only barely. It was blocked off to her for some reason.
She nodded towards Helper, and as she did, she integrated directly with his systems. Bypassing the need for speaking, she transmitted her thoughts into his network.
She warned him of her suspicions.
She was about to tell him that they had to leave immediately. Even if they had to shut down the weather field just outside the promenade below them, and throw themselves off the railing, they had to get out of here now.
Alice didn’t get the chance.