Shielded Workroom
“Mentor, I have something to discuss with you.”
Tocohl was hovering in the center of the conference room they had appropriated for code work. She was graceful as always, but there was something—Tolly paused, hearing the door slide closed behind him—something that suggested anxiety to him.
“I’m here,” he said, holding his arms slightly away from his sides, as if to demonstrate the entirety of his presence.
“Yes,” she said, dryly. Then, considerably brisker, “The Lyre Institute. There are certain things you ought to know. Additional information.”
He tipped his head.
“I’ve decided to stay,” he said gently. “Does that change either necessity or urgency?”
“The urgency perhaps,” she said, hesitating precisely as long as a human would to weigh their answer. “Not the necessity.”
“All right, then. Just let me take a chair.”
He did that, folding his hands together on the table next to the remote unit.
“Tell me.”
“Yes. First, there is a piece of information which I should perhaps have shared earlier, but I did not make the connection between Inki’s affairs and your own until our discussion yesterday.
“I can provide greater detail if necessary, but the short form is that when we were on the Greybar at Edmonton Beacon, a bounty hunter approached Inki. I neutralized the threat, and Inki later told me that the bounty hunter had been sent by Director Formyne to disrupt the plans of her rival, Director Ling. Inki having been set on the task of rehabilitating Tinsori Light by Director Ling, she was viewed by Director Formyne as a piece to be removed from the board.”
“Sounds about right,” Tolly said calmly. “You’re wanting me to know that Director Formyne might be showing up here, as part of her power grab.”
“That, yes. There is more information, obtained very recently from Seignur Veeoni. Again, details are available, if needed, but in short form—agents of the Lyre Institute invaded Seignur Veeoni’s former laboratory and absconded with the rack-and-tile systems she had left for them.”
Tolly stiffened—then relaxed.
“The rack-and-tiles she left for them,” he said, and sighed broadly. “Poor Director. Do we know which one was responsible for that bright idea?”
“Seignur Veeoni seems not to differentiate, but holds the entire Institute in contempt for being avaricious and incapable of creative thought.”
“Not off there, either.” Tolly sat back in his chair. “Anything else?”
“Seignur Veeoni believes whoever was responsible for the theft would have wasted no time in back-engineering her work, and coming here to…subvert the Light.”
“The Old Light, who’s no longer present.”
Tocohl hesitated.
“Something else?” Tolly murmured.
“Perhaps. That intruder that I mentioned to you. It comes about that the intrusion did…not…originate on Bechimo.”
“No? Where, then?”
“I cannot say. I may have been hasty, and as a result captured the tool, but not the culprit. Bechimo and Joyita have been very helpful. Bechimo assisted me in strengthening perimeter security, and Joyita has built several traps and assisted me in placing them.”
“Those traps warded?” Tolly asked.
“Reinforced? Yes. Joyita was very specific. The plan is to wait and see what happens, while fine-tuning the protections which are now in place.”
“Bechimo is the name of Cap’n Theo’s ship,” Tolly observed.
“Yes, Mentor. He and Joyita are both Independent Intelligences.”
Tolly grinned.
“And now we see the reason the master trader sent Cap’n Theo and her crew along soonest.”
“Yes. You may be interested to know that they both believe that one must be designed to be a station in order to…function at optimum efficiency in that role.”
“Imagine that,” he said, straight-faced.
“I thought you would be interested,” Tocohl said primly. “That completes my topic, Mentor. Unless you require details?”
“I think I’ve got the broad story—sooner or later, one or more teams dispatched by one or more Directors of the Lyre Institute will come on-station, and things’ll get innerestin’. And just by the way, there’s a ghost in the systems. Does that cover it?”
“I—yes, Mentor, it does.”
“Then what we ought to do is bring this to Light Keeper yos’Phelium’s attention. Since you gathered the facts, I think that’s yours to do. Meanwhile, there’s this killware we’re designing. Last shift, you said you had some ideas.”
“Yes, Mentor. I sketched them out for you.”
Code began flowing down the remote’s screen. Tolly leaned forward and gave it the scrutiny it deserved.