Warden 3 by Isaac Hooke

Author:Isaac Hooke [Hooke, Isaac]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction
Published: 2020-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

11

Rhea resided in the back of a police shuttle with Will and Horatio. Because of the damage the robot had taken, Horatio was unable to sit, and Rhea and Will had to rest their friend’s twisted form on the cabin floor.

The craft was carrying them back to Centaar. It was pressurized, but Rhea kept the mask on her face as a safety precaution. Still, the atmosphere meant they could communicate over a vocal channel again, rather than mental. And Will did just that:

“You think the police shuttles will find Monkey Boy’s stealth craft?” he asked.

Rhea nodded. “Eventually.” The mask muffled her voice somewhat, so she transmitted her words at the same time.

“Too bad we can’t stake some claim on it,” Will said.

“A ship like that would be useful,” she agreed. “Though I have a feeling it would have room for only one passenger, who would have to remain seated for the duration of the voyage. We’re talking weeks at a time. Not something a human would take very well to.”

“No, I suppose not,” Will said.

She glanced at Horatio. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve disabled most of my eternal senses,” Horatio said. “Because let’s admit it, having your body twisted into a pretzel doesn’t feel very good.”

“No, I suppose not.” She instinctively glanced at her left arm, which hung lifelessly at her side. Horatio wasn’t the only one who needed repairs. But they would come soon enough.

She glanced at Will. “So, what do we know about these ‘Emerald Highlands?’”

“Can’t you forget about that for now?” he replied. “You just survived an assassination attempt that nearly killed you. Chill for a while, Dude.”

She turned her head toward her other companion. “Horatio, what do we know?”

Will sighed. He was the one who answered. “I’ve checked my offline map data. Apparently these Emerald Highlands are known for the vast cave system they house. It was once a precious gem mine, but apparently fell into disuse after the Great Calming. No one really goes there anymore, mostly because it’s a known bioweapon haunt.”

“Known?” She arched an eyebrow. “Known how? You mean from the crowdsourced sites that track bioweapon locations in the Outlands, right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” he admitted.

“The Black Hands, Veil’s minions, have been known to manipulate these crowdsourcing sites,” she said. “Opportunistically redirecting vulnerable air traffic their way, so that they can shoot down innocent travelers. There’s no reason why the Black Hands couldn’t similarly manipulate the crowdsourcing data to keep travelers away from certain locations as well. Like their den.”

“Very true,” Will agreed. “There might be no bioweapons lurking in the Emerald Highlands. Or there might be an entire army of them. Veil could have chosen the location precisely because of the bioweapons. Maybe she intends to kill you with them. Or use them as a distraction in some way.”

“We just won’t know until we arrive, will we?” Rhea said.

“You’re really intent on going, aren’t you?” Will said.

“If I don’t, I’ll be hunted my entire life,” Rhea said. “Veil sent an assassin halfway across the solar system to kill me.

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