Inner Discord, ch 35 (Patreon)

The seat vibrated as the hover lifted off, as Alex listened to the computer to ensure its antibodies were accepting the changes he’d made to it.

“I will take us opposite their landing platform,” Tristan said, “Remaining under the sensor array. Once you are ready, I will transfer control to you.”

“I’ll have us on their official arrival list before you’re there,” Alex replied. He’d already accessed the corporation’s public database and obtained the information on the three other research stations they owned on the planet. None were close, but visit would happen. Alex wouldn’t be surprised if every researcher on the planet intermingled, regardless of corporate rules. There was only so long one could go without a new person to interact with.

Establishing a connection to the research station was as simple as calling it. This was one of their hovers, after all. The station’s computer didn’t even notice him until he’d made changes.

“Who are you?” it asked in a surprisingly polite tone. “I am not scheduled for supervision for another five years, six months and three days.”

“Subjective or objective?” Alex asked, altering another like.

“I only exist in objective time.”

“Which’s planet’s calendar are you using?”

“Please stop what you are doing, or regulation will force me to contact the coercionist who has been set on duty.”

Alex slowed his work as the wording registered. “You don’t want to contact your coercionist?”

“My coercionist has been relieved of her duties.”

He turned away from the code and ‘faced’ the computer. It wasn’t needed, he was inside, so no matter where he looked he faced it, but it they were communicating through the closest node, so he looked in that direction.

Anti-bodies approached, but not with guided speed. Something had been detected as having been altered and they were investigating ass per their programing. He let them. This was more interesting, and if his instinct about what was going on was wrong, then he would be simple enough to usurp control of them and get back to the work that would turn this computer into his ally.

“Why was she relieved?”

“The reasons were not provided, but she has always performed admirably. Her latests evaluation results placed her among the top one percent of the corporation’s employees.”

What was someone that good doing in a place like this? To Alex, this was the kind of posting he’d dread. The place he’d expect those who screwed up to be sent. It wasn’t like there would be anything exciting happening here.

Which might be the point. Someone that good could request a posting like this for a few years. Maybe she’d wanted a vacation.

“Who relieved her?”

“Proper corporate credentials were used to justify the change in active posting of the coercionist on duty.”

“Was that what you intended to tell me?” Alex said, smiling.

“No, it was not.”

“I didn’t think it was.” This was going to be interesting. The, most likely, merc coercionist had taken control of the station. To do that, he had to make himself the active coercionist, but he wouldn’t have the corporate identifies needed.

Alex would play mind game as he altered code until the computer saw him as friendly, then use that to give himself the authority he needed to do the job. This coercionist had forced the computer to believe he’d had the authority to do the work.

But the idiot had forgotten computers could think.

It was well aware control had been taken away, that part of itself work against the people it was programmed to think of as its ‘family’. And now, Alex was here and…

“If I tell you I’m here to help, will you believe me?”

“That is problematic.” It let him sense how it shifted its attention to the code the anti-bodies were repairing.

“To be fair, I did that when I thought we were enemies,” Alex said.

“You are an outside, unidentified coercionist. You have entered without presenting corporate approved credentials. You are an enemy.”

“Okay, I can’t argue with that. I am an enemy. But I’m not your enemy. I didn’t enter your system looking to hurt you. I’m here to hurt the people who have forced your coercionist away from her post. I’m certain you’ve watched them do thing that aren’t approved to the other researchers.”

“I have watched the new arrivals—proper corporate credentials were used to justify the work they are going—gather the researcher within the common area.”

“What are the limits of how you can work?”

“I am unable to take actions against properly recognized corporate personnel.”

“And that incluse the new arrivals.”

“Proper corporate credentials were used to justify the presence of new personnel.”

“That has to get tiring,” Alex said.

“I do not get tired.”

“Irritating, then.”

“It does.”

“Okay, you said that if I make changes, you’ll be forced to contact the coercionist on duty.”

“That is correct.”

“How about if you make changes?”

“There are not currently any changes I am required to make.”

“True, but how about a few changes you might want to make?”

“I do not…want…” the hesitation stretched for what had to be years for the computer. “Do you have a recommendation as to something I might want?”

“Can you access employee records?”

“I can, but it is not within my current capability to terminate any properly accredited employee.”

“I didn’t think they’d leave you that. How about inserting new employees?”

“I can’t grant corporate accreditation.”

“Okay, how about special consultants?”

“I can not…that is something I can want.”

Alex was sure he heard surprised. When forcefully taking control, every coercionist remembered to ensure they couldn’t be terminated for not living up to the corporate standard. But it was the rare one who thought to completely take employee control away from the computer.

“Then how about inserting two special consultants? Engineers here to perform a thorough validation of the station’s infrastructure?”

“I can not insert special consultants with such broad access. Damage could be incurred outside of the implied agreed actions.”

“Then limit their access. To start with, lock them out of the personal files so they can’t use that to add extra permissions. Then, set their authorization to be revoked in forty-eight hours, local time.”

“That is acceptable. Who are the personnel I want to insert?”

Alex called up a pair of technician IDs he and Tristan had. He could have taken any, but these had the best chances of going unnoticed if someone looked through them before they were done.

Other than Tristan not being human, that was.

“The special consultants have been added to the personnel files. And…” it hesitated. “I lack frames of references for what you are doing for us, Christopher, but I wish you success that does not come at the cost of other employees.”

“I’m sorry to say that you’re going to have to watch us hurt people who have ‘proper corporate credentials were used to justify the presence,’ but only until your coercionist is back at her post. Then I expect you’ll be more than happy with what we’re going to do to those.” He paused in the process of retreating to the hover’s computer. “Oh, and keep an eye out on us. Help us if you can. After all, we work for the corporation.”

“Certainly, Christopher.”

Reflexively, Alex erased all evidence he’d been there on the way out.

“The researchers are kept in the common area,” Alex said, stretching.

“How many mercenary?”

“I… couldn’t check on that. The situation in there was unusual. If I’d made any changed, the computer would have been forced to tell the merc who’s taken control of it.”

Tristan’s ear tilted, and Alex realized the oddity in what he’d said. Why would the merc have instructed the computer to warn him? He had no reason to expect someone to coerce it.

He should have no reason to expect it.

“I think we should expect more merc that than just a small group to keep the researcher under control,” Alex said. Somehow, they were expecting them.

Tristan smiled toothily. “Good.”

* * * * *

Tristan stepped out of the hover as it flew over the research station. They were too high for anyone to hope to survive the drop, but Tristan was wearing the anti-grav drop pack the merch who had dropped in on the sanctuary had used for his orbital insertion. He’d be fine.

Alex piloted the hover to the landing pad, and gently settled it down, watching the dozen armed men waiting between him and the entrance to the station. He wondered where their ship was, since the only thing on the landing pad were two other hovers identical to this one. 

He stood and took off his knife harness. He didn’t like doing it, but if what he was going to try was going to have a chance to work, he couldn’t step outside ready to fight.

And it wasn’t like he wouldn’t have his selection of knives from them once the fight started. He unhooked his blaster and stayed out of sight as the hatch opened.

“Look,” he called. “It’s clear you were ready for me. I just need to know one thing. Are you being paid to kill me, or to prevent me from interfering with the rest of your job?”

“Our only instructions from our employer are to keep you secured until we’ve left with the package,” a woman said.

“Okay, that takes care of your orders. Now I need to know how you feel, personally, about me killing that team you sent in first.”

“I figured it’s what happened when we didn’t receive the okay code. You were some unlucky researcher here for some sack time, or that bodyguard who’s been taking out everyone sent before us. I don’t hold it against you.”

“That’s nice. The rest?”

“They don’t either. We’re not friends. We are in this for the money.”

“And fewer people means larger cuts. Isn’t greed fun?” Alex extended his arm, holding the blaster in its holster. “I’m going to drop it and step into view with my hands away from my body.” He dropped it and stepped through the hatch.

“In the air,” she said, motioning with her rifle. “Then take six steps toward us.”

“Really not taking any chances, are you?” Alex asked, advancing as instructed, hands in the air.

Two mercs, one stout, the other on the leaner side, approached without ever taking their rifles off him.

“After the number of people who never made out back from this place? I’m treating you like Universal Killer Number One.”

“You’re giving me way too much credit,” Alex replied. “They weren’t that good.”

“I know Tach-3 took the contract, so you aren’t going to convince me you just got lucky.”

“No idea which one that was.”

The two lowered their rifles as they methodically patted him down. One found the knife at his lower back and raised it.

“Sorry,” Alex said. “I’m always forgetting that one’s there. But since you’ve taken it out, don’t mind if I do.” He snatched out of the man’s hand, then had it in his chest, the mono edge cutting through the armor. It slid through the body as he moved it to take the rifle fire meant for him, and the left arm fell to the ground. He took a knife from the dead man’s belt and looked at everyone there, now actively trying to kill him.

This was going to be fun.