He decided to take it as an insult that the man didn't think he was capable of judging the value of patience in pursuit of a greater prize. More likely, MI had just wanted to make sure they got the credit for discovering and neutralizing another HAE base, even though Fleet would be the ones who had to go in and attack the place.
But whatever the reasoning, the hackers were finally contacting him now. “I suppose that means they've reached the place by this point, and you're free to feed us the beacon's information?”
“Apparently so, and yes,” the administrator replied. “We want to send a scouting drone in to verify the location of this secret base, but once that's done and we've confirmed we have what we need, you're free to pounce on your quarry.”
“Very well.” Granoss tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “And where is the Last Stand at the moment, so I can begin subtly mobilizing my forces for the pursuit?”
Jeres hesitated, as if considering the wisdom of telling him, then shrugged. “Near the edge of Iglis galaxy.”
For a moment fury nearly blinded Granoss. For weeks he'd been cooling his heels, pushing MI to check other galaxies to see if the Last Stand had fled to a new location. Weeks of being ridiculed by morons who weren't producing any useful intel, while the Fleet wasted obscene resources on this manhunt.
“Iglis,” he said through gritted teeth, holding his composure by the fingertips.
“Iglis,” the administrator agreed. “Looks as if you were right after all, Admiral.” He touched a finger to his forehead in mocking salute. “I'll be in touch with details about the beacon once we're done with our investigation. Best of luck on your hunt for one light cruiser. I'm sure you're up to the challenge.”
Jeres vanished from his display, but Granoss continued to stare at where he'd been, fists clenched.
Maybe it was time to broach the idea of honor duels to Movement leadership again. He could think of nothing he wanted more at the moment than to face off against that smug little bureaucrat, then burn away his smirk with a cauterizer.
* * * * *
As it turned out, Barix wasn't completely wrong about how Elyssa took the news that Aiden had let the scientists go.
Ali insisted on keeping them on sensor blackout for several more days, as she led them far away from the planet-eating mining ship and its attendant stations. Aiden had the feeling that was a pointless precaution, since after processing that system's planets the three colossal platforms would simply jump to another system to repeat the process.
And given the efficiency the Caretaker AIs displayed, probably sooner than anyone expected.
The first stop Aiden ordered was to change the Last Stand's profile and IFF transponder again. And speaking of Caretakers, their own new and improved AI proved far more adept at the task than she had been. Which made him feel fairly confident that their ship's new false ID would pass muster the next time it was needed.
Maybe her betrayal wasn't all downsides.
He had to admit, now that she was out of her disguise and back to her flawlessly beautiful self whenever he saw her, it was becoming harder and harder to remember she wasn't the faithful companion he'd come to trust and, yes, perhaps even love since acquiring her.
He was certainly having a hard time forgetting how desirable she was, to the point where being around her was becoming a real distraction. After all, she still firmly insisted she was his companion, and was becoming more and more visibly antsy at her inability to meet his needs when his needs obviously needed to be met.
It was almost a relief to reach the nearest allnet node. This visit wasn't nearly as exciting as the last one, since instead of destroying the automated platform's defenses and hacking its systems, they simply connected to the allnet and sent out a ping to draw Elyssa's attention.
The method they used to contact her wasn't anywhere close to as dramatic as at Recluse, since Aiden didn't particularly want to go into this confrontation with the facilitator any angrier than she likely already was. But Ali assured him that even though it was far more subtle, it would still be something Elyssa's people would notice and respond to.
Although even the Caretaker seemed surprised by how quickly they got a reply; it was only a few minutes later that the facilitator pinged them back, requesting a call.
Ostensibly, that sort of communication over the allnet couldn't pose a security risk to his ship, or at least nothing Ali couldn't handle. Even so, he waited for the beautiful woman to give him a nod of confirmation before he nodded back, signaling for her to put their erstwhile employer on.
Once again, Elyssa's plain features dominated his main display. Although this time it looked as if she was seated behind a large hardwood desk in an elegantly decorated office; an allnet simulation, or was that really where she worked? Would she give them even such basic information about her, now that she no longer had full confidence they were trustworthy?
Either way, she looked decidedly displeased to see him. “Thorne,” she said coldly. “The fact that you're out there in the middle of nowhere rather than at the rendezvous point is pretty telling, but hope springs eternal. Please reassure me that you have the scientists I sent you to retrieve, and this is all just a misunderstanding. This can still end with you getting paid and us going our separate ways, no harm done.”
“I'm afraid it can't,” Aiden replied, keeping his tone as light and friendly as he could. “We've already delivered our passengers safely back to HumanAssist Enterprises, where they belong.”
Elyssa's eyes sharpened. “Exactly how? I've scoured the allnet looking for clues, and as far
