Like they actually had.
At the moment, her only protection from their suspicion was the fact that they didn't think it was possible for someone with a mind wipe to retain Dormant programming. But the moment they knew about Jaziri Irsham, they'd have the puzzle pieces they needed to jump to that possibility.
Lana needed to act now, before anyone saw that sign. And she now faced the conflicting objectives of getting away from the others to report in, and having to remain with them to prevent them from spotting any other wanted signs like this one, if possible.
She might've been brainwashed by her handlers to be mindlessly loyal, but that didn't mean she couldn't consider them a bunch of incompetent sewage clogs for failing to think of wiping traces of her existence before sending her on an infiltration job.
Did a single one of them have even a fraction of the skills she'd already had, let alone what they'd programmed into her? Sometimes she felt like she was trying to accomplish this mission in spite of their efforts, rather than aided by them. Like she was completely alone.
Well, as a disposable infiltrator she technically was. Her handlers could've at least pretended like they wanted her to succeed, though.
Lana unobtrusively raised her finger to her comms headset, linking it to the pad she'd brought along that was hanging from her belt, and got to work while pretending to still be gawking at her surroundings. It was like trying to perform delicate surgery with a sledgehammer, or more accurately like trying to move a mountain with a teaspoon.
The station's security wouldn't have been a problem if she'd had more than a basic pad to work with, especially if she could've put her whole focus to the task. But as it was, it took her agonizing seconds frantically parsing the nearest wanted posters, practically blind and going on feedback provided by changes to the posters themselves as she affected them, searching for hers.
Up ahead, Aiden scratched his arm and glanced back towards her, eyes roving the wall with her picture. Distraction! No, nothing she could do in time without further raising his suspicion. In any case, his eyes slid right over the notices; he wasn't interested in them, and didn't have the mental training or capacity for subconscious environmental observation and recognition needed to pick out pertinent details.
If Dax or Ali looked that way, or possibly even one of the twins for that matter, her primary objective was blown.
Lana shifted from delicately operating the pad to fiddling with its position on her belt as the captain's eyes fell on her. “Do they have to make these things so uncomfortable to carry?” she complained. He snorted and looked forward again, and she got back to her furious work.
The gunner started to pay attention to her again just as the wanted poster fizzled and faded from the wall, and she was in the process of restoring her headset to its usual function. She gave him a wry smile, tapping the small device. “I remember when I was excited about being able to wear this thing . . . now I wish I had one to go in the other ear too, so I could switch off when this one gets too uncomfortable.”
He shrugged, although she could tell he was amused. “A small price to pay for being able to talk to any of us at any time?”
Crisis averted, at least for the moment, the Dormant blurred the memory of every event since the Blank Slate had seen her picture, then once again receded. Although she resolved that along with sending her report once she managed to slip away, she also needed to use the station's computers to locate and wipe any more posters or other references to her previous life. Ideally before the companion started digging around in there, dumping entire databanks of information into her memory to parse later.
Lana laughed lightly and leaned in to press her lips to her boyfriend's. “Especially you . . . I'd wear a piece of hull plating on my head to talk to you whenever I want.”
Barix pantomimed gagging over his plate. “I didn't realize this spicy dish was going to come with a sickeningly sugary sauce.”
* * * * *
Aiden couldn't exactly disagree with the slight man's sentiment.
It had probably been a bad idea for him to tell Lana to shower the gunner with affection; the young woman was almost gleefully taking advantage of the chance to carry out the order.
To be fair, since he'd ordered them both to avoid such public displays on the ship, she was probably just happy to have a chance to show her feelings for once. Still, with all the hand holding, kissing, and cuddling it was hard not to feel like she was rubbing her close relationship with the young man in Aiden's face.
Well, let her be immature. As captain it was his responsibility to take the high road anyway.
Although that didn't mean he had to just endure it unnecessarily. “Gunner, take Lana and go buy supplies,” he said.
The young man nodded and started to head out into the crowd, but the young woman hesitated, looking torn. “I've spent the last month thinking of some personal errands I wanted to run, the next chance I got,” she said.
Aiden shrugged and took a bite of his squid, talking around a mouthful. “That's great, the gunner can help you with them.”
“Oh.” Considering Lana had just been draped all over her lover, she looked oddly reluctant about that. Was there something she wanted to do in private? “He's going to be busy enough with buying supplies without me dragging him around half the station,” she argued.
He raised an eyebrow. “Just how many errands did you need
