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He served as a GJW scout, searching out recruits and Mnemonians amenable to coercing reluctant and resistant inductees. “It must be very important if you’re calling me. How can I help you?” he said.
“I’m dealing with a partition glitch. I’ve programmed an individual who has been responsive and obedient, except for residual attachments to a female. The tendrils of their bond go so deep, I’ve been unable to sever them. The attachment renders him unreliable, unpredictable. I must be 100 percent sure he’ll complete his next mission perfectly because my butt is on the line.” I hated having to admit there was something I couldn’t do.
“Is the female still alive?”
“Yes.” Lomax thought I didn’t know, but the instant I’d entered the human’s cabin, I’d sensed her in the overhead duct. Her presence had been a whisper loud enough to hear but too quiet to make out the words. I’d given Lomax more rein to see what he would do. At the first opportunity, he’d run back to her. Because he’d destroyed the camera—another indication of his attachment—I couldn’t observe inside the cabin, but the ship’s AI could detect the slight rise in room temperature from their body heat.
I glanced at the climate reading in that cabin. They were together right now.
“What have you done so far to try to break the attachment?” Da’an asked.
“I ordered him to kill her.”
“That should have worked.”
“He didn’t do it. She discovered one or more anti-triggers and flipped him.”
Since Lomax and I had been on the ship, I’d added more triggers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t alter or remove the ones already implanted because they were standard GJW codes. If an officer tried to trigger him or snap him back to his public persona and the codes didn’t work, the results could be disastrous. And I would be held responsible.
“I’m certain if I can get him to kill her, he’ll perform flawlessly in the future.” It would prove the bond had been broken once and for all. And it would give me immense personal satisfaction to force Lomax to kill the woman he loved. “Will you help me? Can you sever his attachment?”
“Easily, but I must see him in person. You would have to bring him to Mnemonia. Are you willing to risk it? You could land near the temple, but if air surveillance drones scan your ship’s registration, there could be a problem. Who is your ship registered to?”
“The League of Planets.”
“You’re on an LOP vessel?” His normally quiet but raspy voice shot up in surprise.
“Yep.” I grinned, proud of myself. I’d timed my arrival on Araset perfectly. Stealing the ship had occurred without a hitch.
“Are you alone?”
“Yes. Well, except for Prince Lomax and the human.”
“Prince Lomax? He’s your individual? The entire galaxy is looking for him.”
“You’ve heard?”
“We received the Violet Alert.”
Planets that didn’t belong to the league didn’t receive the LOP advisories’ blasts, except for Violet Alerts, which signified a royal or planetary governor—or, in GJW parlance, a high value asset—had gone missing. Those alerts went everywhere.
“Let me guess,” Da’an said. “You abducted the prince, brainwashed him, and stole an LOP spacecraft as your getaway vehicle?” He chuckled.
The pride in his voice gladdened my heart and puffed out my chest. My much-adored brother thought I’d done well. “Pretty close. I brainwashed him, so he came willingly.”
“How does the female factor in?”
“He brought her aboard as a hostage.”
“Sounds strategic on his part.”
I wished that were so, but I doubted it. “He took her because he couldn’t bear to leave her behind. When I tried to blast her, he leaped in front of her.”
“That does sound like a strong attachment. How soon can you get here?”
“I can be there tomorrow.”
“Again, I have to warn you. It’s been ten years since you left and, while the Council of Elders isn’t actively searching for you anymore, if you get caught on the planet…”
