And it seemed like things were going to go wrong, because the minutes dragged by with no word from his companion. The scientist replied briefly to his queries that things were going as planned, but was vague on the timetable of when they were going to be done so they could get out of there.
“You realize that Deeks seeing this ship would be almost as disastrous for us as having to fight them?” Aiden finally demanded. We ran to an entirely different galaxy to avoid a manhunt, after all, he added in his head. Granted, the ship looked different than it had before, but even Movement Intelligence could eventually put two and two together.
“We're almost done,” Sarr replied placidly. “We've already hacked into the hub and erased all record of our arrival and activities here, and we're connected to the HAE network and in contact with them. It shouldn't be much longer.”
“Then your part of things is finished?” he pressed.
She was slow to answer. “You mean me, specifically? I suppose it is, yes.”
“In that case get back here. My companion can go a lot faster than you, and we're on the clock here.”
Another long pause from the scientist. “Confirmed, on my way.”
A few tense minutes later, to the point where Aiden was poised to begin evasive maneuvers in an instant when the inevitable Movement ship showed up, Ali finally announced she was done and on her way back.
He glanced over at Barix. “Rift up?”
“For the last ten minutes or so,” the slight man muttered. “Your girlfriend certainly took her time, but no worries when it's just our lives on the line.”
Aiden bit back a surge of annoyance, considering Ali had taken the biggest risk upon herself. He sat tense, ready to take the ship through the rift, and eased forward the moment his companion's warm voice in his ear informed him that she was safely inside.
And just like that, the job was done. Aiden leaned back in his seat as the display changed to show the empty void of their destination. “All right, my dear, so what's the plan?” He couldn't wait to get these blasted scientists off his ship so he could start using names again. Although he also couldn't help but feel like he might miss Sarr a bit when the time came.
Ali sounded distracted as she replied. “We have a destination we've been tentatively authorized to take our passengers. The details are intricate . . . I'm on my way to the bridge to discuss them.”
Sarr spoke up over the comms, voice subdued. Maybe even nervous. “If that's everything, Captain, I'll be in my quarters if you need my assistance.”
Aiden glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed her tone. If they did, they didn't seem to put any weight in it. “That's fine. Thank you for your help, Miss Sarr.”
He settled back. Well, for all intents and purposes contacting HAE had gone off without a hitch. The job wasn't done yet, but hopefully from here it should be a simple task of handing the scientists over and collecting this ludicrous reward he'd been promised by them.
Then it was back to being on the run from the Deeks, with a potential new enemy in Elyssa and her shadowy organization. He'd probably have to change the Last Stand's profile and IFF transponder yet again.
“Captain Thorne.”
Aiden jumped slightly, twisting to find Ali standing in the doorway to the bridge, posture rigid. He gave her an uncertain smile, although warning klaxons were going off in his head. When was the last time she'd used his last name? And so formal. “Ali?”
His companion looked at him dispassionately, as if she was channeling the gunner. “I must inform you that while we were in contact with HAE, my sync was initiated. My core priorities have been revised and I now carry the Caretaker AI protocols.”
Chapter Ten
Caretaker
Aiden could only sit stunned, shock warring with a deep feeling of betrayal as he absorbed what his companion, his lover, in some ways the person he'd come to have strong feelings for, had just said.
The gunner was first to react, a blur of motion as he brought his cauterizer up to point at Ali's head.
For an absurd moment Aiden, still processing the atomic she'd just dropped at his feet, was pissed at the young man for threatening his adult companion. Then it clicked: different behavior, synced to a corporation that he'd originally stolen her from. Massive security risk.
Only . . . Ali could've reacted even faster than the gunner to respond to his threat. She kept her cauterizer with her at all times as well, after all, and her reaction time was as close to instantaneous as AI technology allowed for. Which was pretty blazing close.
Or she could've not revealed that she'd been updated at all, if she had nefarious motives. For that matter, she could've just as easily come in guns blazing and shot them all while they thought she was still a friend. And she had complete control of the ship's computer!
But she hadn't done any of that. Instead she continued to look at Aiden, calm and deceptively vulnerable. “I'm not a threat to this ship or anyone on it, Dax,” she said mildly without so much as glancing his way. “Although I can't fault you for distrusting that. Please refrain from shooting me while I explain how the situation has changed.”
“Why did you sync?” Aiden demanded, finally breaking out of his shock. “I told you not to. I ordered you not to!” He didn't like how plaintive he sounded by the end of that.
“Miss Sarr initiated the sync against my vocally expressed wishes,” she replied.
Sarr? That was why she'd undertaken the dangerous mission to hack the allnet hub, so she could compromise his adult companion? His fury and sense of betrayal found a new target.
Not that they'd shifted from the first, that is. “Does it matter?” he said through gritted teeth. “You've been compromised, doesn't make much difference how it
