Horatio studied her with that mostly featureless face. I take it you want to visit one of these domes because you hope to trigger more memories?
Good guess, she told the robot.
Rhea received a confirmation from Targon four hours later, and he promised to retrieve them within the week. She forwarded the message to city council to show them she was keeping her word to leave Centaar, even though she suspected they were monitoring her communications and already knew: she figured it was best to play the part of the naive traveler for the time being. She received a succinct “thank you” from Peter shortly after.
She monitored Horatio’s progress over the next couple of days, so that when the robot left to meet with a local veteran’s group, she remained apprised.
On the way back from the meeting, Horatio contacted Rhea and Will over the local Internet. He used an encrypted mental channel: I have the locations of most of the destroyed domes.
She received a share request over that same channel and several waypoints appeared on her overhead map. She zoomed out. The domes were scattered across Ganymede. The closest was only fifty kilometers away, a short hop by shuttle.
I got the data for free by the way, Horatio continued. The veterans were more than happy to share what they knew in exchange for a few rounds of beer.
Did you have to drink with them? Will taunted.
Of course! Horatio replied.
Rhea couldn’t really picture the robot pouring beer into that grill of a mouth.
Since no financial incentives were needed other than beer, I already sent a message to the Wardenites, informing them to cancel their call for donations, Horatio continued.
Good, good, Rhea sent absently. She was trying to decide how best to charter a shuttle for that dome… she wouldn’t be able to hide the destination from the flight company.
Why are we still communicating mentally? Will said. The AI would have already recorded Horatio talking with the veterans about the dome locations. Unless all communications were done mentally?
They were not, Horatio admitted. I tried mental communications at first, but the liquored-up veterans wouldn’t have it. I did take care to sit as far as possible from any monitoring devices as I was able, but the men probably carried such devices on their persons without knowing it… their AR goggles, for example. So Will is correct, the AI knows. If it, or the council, wants to stop us, they will.
She glanced at Will. “I suppose you’re right. We’ll talk more when you get back, Horatio.” She disconnected.
“Assuming we’re not arrested by the time he gets back…” Will said.
Rhea glanced at her overhead map. “I want to charter a shuttle this afternoon.”
“Can’t you just send a remote drone?” Will pleaded.
“There’s no way to control it that far,” Rhea said. “Not on this world.”
“That’s fine, program it on a standard exploratory route, and you can review the footage after it returns,” Will told her.
“That’s not going to cut it,” Rhea told him. “I want to be able to react to what I’m seeing and explore whatever piques my interest. I’m going to have to go myself, I’m afraid.”
“But why?” Will said. He switched to mental communications. You told me you triggered a memory when you were exploring Aradne by drone before. The same could happen here.
It’s certainly possible, she sent.
What if our assassin friend is still out there? Will transmitted. Watching from orbit? Waiting for the moment to strike?
Then I guess we’ll draw him out, Rhea sent.
This is a bad idea… Will replied.
She hesitated, and almost agreed to visit the site remotely. But then her resolved hardened. This was once my home. I need to see the ruins with my own eyes. Need to touch them with my gloved hands. Otherwise, I won’t have closure. It’s not something I can do remotely, via a drone. It can’t be something I relive on an augmented reality display. It has to be real.
Will sighed. You’re not going to back down on this, are you?
No, she said. And if I’m truly being tracked by an assassin, I’d rather encounter him now, at a time of my choosing, rather than his. If I go to the ruins and an assassin hunts me, he will show himself there. It’s the best place to attack—far from the colony, away from any semblance of law. Best of all he’ll believe his attack is a surprise, catching me completely off guard, but I’ll be ready. He won’t understand that I’m the one who has chosen the time and place.
Assuming he doesn’t decide to blast you with kinetic kills or other weapons from orbit, Will sent.
He’ll need to confirm the kill, Rhea said. Remember, we’ll be wearing spacesuits. From orbit, he won’t even be able to tell it’s us. He’ll have to get close.
Good point, Will admitted. But you say you’ll be ready… how prepared can you truly be, considering the location? Once he realizes our destination, he’ll drop from orbit and land directly inside the destroyed dome. Our shuttle probably won’t detect his craft, given its stealth capabilities. The ruins will give him numerous hiding places: he’ll be the one planning an ambush, not you.
He’ll still have to get close to see my face, Rhea said.
Not necessarily, Will told her. He could attack, kill all three of us, and then check your face after the fact. Something tells me he wouldn’t care if he accidentally killed the wrong targets.
While that’s true, at least I’ll have a chance of fighting back, Rhea told him. But if we leave without settling this, then my fate is entirely in the hands of a trader. An attack in the void of deep space is not something I want to repeat… I never felt so helpless as I did while aboard that ship, with the kinetic kills raining down all around us.
Wasn’t fun, Will agreed. He sat back, sighed, and gazed out
