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Shielded Workroom


Tolly leaned back in his chair and stretched, arms overhead.

“I think that’s a very efficient piece of code right there,” he said to Tocohl, who had hovered, silent and doubtless with her attention on other bidness while he finished his last pass through the killware program.

“Oughta get the job done with no fuss, and deliver a very strong message to Director Ling, who’ll doubtless think twice the next time he’s tempted to impugn the honor of a good, capable ship.”

Tocohl turned slightly.

“Do you think he will?”

“What—think twice? Could be he might. But only to be sure in his own mind that the new, improved reporting-in protocol he’ll have had designed is everything it should be.”

“Do you think this is a useless exercise?”

Tolly glanced down at the screen and the deadly little program displayed there.

“Useless? No. The Directors aren’t used to being challenged. Something like this will put them off-balance. People who are off-balance make mistakes.”

He raised an eyebrow, deliberately whimsical.

“You unnerstan’, now, if the universe was ordered to my preferences, there’d be no Lyre Institute for Exceptional Children, if it meant bombing four planets into dust.”

“Surely there are innocents—”

“Surely there are—an’ they’re all like me—manufactured humans programmed to do what they’re directed to do.”

He stopped, aware that he was breathing hard; took a deep breath—and another.

“Sorry,” he said pulling up a grin. “Apparently I’ve got some opinions on the topic.”

“There were constraints on Inki’s actions and she knew precisely what they were,” Tocohl said, sternly. “She gave warning when they were about to be activated, and did what she could to mitigate the worst outcomes. She was her own person, Mentor.”

He bowed his head briefly.

“You’re right. Inki was herself, and she’d figured out a way to cheat the Directors, just a little here and there. I analyzed some of her work, and I’m still not sure how she did it.”

“You, yourself, broke programming.” Tocohl wasn’t done with him yet, which would teach him to have hotheaded opinions.

“Twice,” he agreed, keeping his voice mild. “Got lucky.”

He rose, and patted the remote.

“If we’re agreed that this is the best we can do, then the next step is send it to Jen Sin. Are we agreed?”

“Yes,” Tocohl said crisply. “We are agreed.”

“Will you please take care of delivering it to Light Keeper yos’Phelium, and answering any questions he might have? I’ll stand ready, too, but it’s largely your work.”

“Yes,” she said again. “I will inform the light keeper and answer any questions.”

“Good. Thank you. I’m going down to see if there’s any little thing I can do for Seignur Veeoni.”


Tolly heard the sound at the first cross-hall, and paused, listening.

It sounded like a station jitney, the only catch being that there weren’t any jitneys on Tinsori Station.

He put himself back against the wall, and waited not too long before it appeared from the right—a jitney, pale blue, with a stylized crystal on the front bumper, and Crystal Energy Systems swirled in darker blue down the side.

Haz was driving.

“Nice ride!” he said admiringly, as she came to a halt beside him. “Where was it stashed?”

“In Seignur Veeoni’s workroom,” Haz said.

“’Course it was. I was just headed in to see if there was anything I could do for her, but maybe not, if she’s letting you go off joyriding.”

“The situation is somewhat more complicated. Stost was called away to assist with the clearing of the core, as an anomaly was discovered.”

Tolly frowned. “What kind of an anomaly?”

“It would appear that the work in the lower core disturbed an avian, which in turn disturbed the workers. They have put work aside until they have thoroughly searched, and located any other surprises.”

“Sounds reasonable—I’m assuming one of the Old Light’s indie system protectors?”

“Or watcher, yes. Seignur Veeoni accepted the necessity of immediately locating any more devices, and Stost was released. I am relieved of rack-building to run an errand for her.”

“Where to?”

“A room near the breach. Seignur Veeoni has been studying station schematics, and this activity has caused her to wonder if there might not be something useful stored there.”

“And she sent you instead of coming herself? What if whatever it is objects to being found?”

“I am informed that this is unlikely.” She looked at him owlishly.

Tolly snorted and came away from the wall.

“Mind company?”

She indicated the vacant not-quite-half of the driver’s bench.

“You are welcome. There are seats in the back, if this is not enough room.”

“Plenty o’room,” Tolly said stoutly, and swung aboard, settling his hip firmly against hers.

Haz stiffened slightly, and he drew a careful breath, remembering that the new ties were still a-building, and fragile.

“If I’m crowding the pilot, say so, and I’ll sit in back,” he said gently.

“No,” she said, her voice breathless, like Haz’s voice never was. “It is—pleasing to have you close.”

“Good. It’s pleasing to have you close,” he answered, still gentle, and slanted a grin up into her face.

“How fast does this thing go?”

“We ought to find that out, in case we are needed quickly,” she said seriously, and touched the switch.


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