Terra waited anxiously for the rogue companion's answer. Did the AI trust this man enough to suggest what she thought she was about to suggest?
All companions were privy to HAE secrets, because their internal defenses were so secure that no hacking attempt could ever come close to defeating them. And even if any did, they'd simply destroy themselves as a final failsafe. So of course this companion knew everything she needed to about the corporation, or at least as of last year.
If she thought revealing at least some of those secrets to Captain was a viable option, that couldn't help but raise Terra's opinion of the man. Especially since this was a major secret.
Just who was he, anyway? A criminal, if his employer was one, but he refused to take slaves, and he was willing to help them find their freedom? Whoever he was, his apparent character stood out in this universe infested by the terminal rot of Deconstructionism.
The companion stepped forward to rest a hand on Captain's shoulder, leaning in to brush his ear with her lips as she whispered into it. Their rescuer's frown deepened. “I find that hard to believe,” he finally said.
“Only because you don't see beyond HAE's exterior, my love,” she replied solemnly.
Captain looked around the room at everyone, seeming torn. It looked as if he genuinely wanted to help, but doubt in this option and consideration of his own interests was giving him pause. “This may seem like a mercenary question, but would your employers be willing to pay me a reward for your safe return?”
Linus nodded, somewhere between eager and desperate. “Absolutely. We represent a large portion of the creative core of the company, the main area where the Ca-that is, our corporate executives, are weakest. I wouldn't hesitate to guarantee they'll pay you double whatever you're currently getting.”
“And you'll have made powerful friends,” Terra added.
If she'd hoped to sweeten the deal, Captain disabused her. “That'll nicely offset the powerful enemies I'll be making,” he muttered.
She hesitated, not sure how much it was wise to reveal to a criminal, even an unusual one like him. A glance at his companion offered no help there; the woman's eyes were on her human, offering her support and encouragement as he made this decision.
“I think you'll find that HAE's friendship is more valuable than you realize,” Terra finally told him. “After all, isn't one of a companion's primary functions serving as a peerless bodyguard?”
That was what nobody knew about HAE, that and the true nature of their leadership, that is; the fact that beneath the corporation's largely harmless exterior, and certainly benign intentions, they had hidden claws. Similar to how companions were capable of necessary violence in defense of innocent humans, especially their imprinted one.
After all, how could the Caretakers look after the wellbeing of humanity if they weren't willing to fight to suppress its worst elements? Bad behavior unchecked tended to multiply as the miscreants in a society became emboldened, while justice provided deterrence as well as punishment.
A lesson humanity constantly failed to remember, QED the Deconstructionist Movement.
Captain eyed her thoughtfully, then panned his gaze across the others again before turning to his companion. “You can lead us where we need to go to deliver these people back to HAE?”
“Of course, my love,” she replied, sounding relieved. “Or if nothing else, where we can safely contact the corporation to coordinate a pickup.”
He sighed in resignation. “Time to piss off an old friend, then.” He glared at Terra, then Linus. “You guys are just lucky you make good sex robots.”
Terra felt deeply offended that he was reducing the grand achievement of her life, the pinnacle of AI interaction with humans, to such base terms. Then she realized he was probably just making a joke, considering the obvious affection and trust he placed in his adult companion. Although joke or no, she didn't like to hear her prized creations denigrated.
Oh well; the man was taking her off this desolate rock and giving her back her freedom. She could forgive a little crassness.
Chapter Nine
More Than Meets the Eye
It turned out that having a workforce of stolen combat androids made the job of looting a science facility and stuffing his ship to the gills go a lot faster.
And the Last Stand was certainly crowded now; not only was nearly every square foot of the cargo bay and other storage spaces packed with stasis pods and valuable technology, but for the first time in over a decade the crew quarters were all filled. They'd also had to find a place to stow their four new combat androids, which were currently parked in the twins' lab awaiting a thorough reprogramming from Ali.
Listening to the Ishivis whine about their precious space being coopted for the purpose was just a bonus.
As a final “thank you” to ERI for their generosity, the last thing Aiden did before taking off was order the facility's robots to destroy everything useful in the place, aside from essentials like life support for the remaining staff, and then destroy themselves. On a similar vein, he also ordered the orbital defense platform to self destruct.
It was a nice feeling, to inflict such massive damage on the Deeks and the corporation they controlled. Almost like his first days of privateering, when he'd made more of an effort to go after military targets and important Movement infrastructure.
The fact that it had also been a great chance to enrich him and his crew, far more than they'd expected when taking the job, was equally hard to ignore. And if he could find a way to broadcast the destruction of this facility without further annoying Elyssa by drawing attention to her activities, not to mention risking revealing his ship's presence in Iglis galaxy, he was tempted to do it just to further rub this victory
