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The alarm cut off as quickly as it came on. One of Quinn’s drones found the central computer bank and installed itself within the principal port. Quinn cracked the station’s encryption by the time he set foot in its halls. In under a minute, he’d taken just as much control of Eikos as he had of the Callistar.
The guidance of his drones led him directly to a storage bay. Nothing had been off limits to him on his trek. Every door automatically opening and closing with the clearances put in by his neurotransmitter. Tracking not only her life sign, a visual feed of the room popped up after a drone gained access. Kira slumped back in a seat, her posture distinctly poor. He could hear her speaking, hear the slurring Watson mentioned. Cataloging the other three with her, he used a quick trace method to figure out who they were with the ship’s records.
The information that came back on all three revealed they were trial basis members of the Eikos. A quick assessment of the scene showed cards, a table, and a few drinks about. One man excused himself as Quinn hit the final threshold. He gave an offhand excuse about checking the alarms and was only partially out of his seat when Quinn barged in.
“Andrew Pierce, Quixalan Aldiendo, and Arnold Hovax.” Naming the three of them in his dead, robotic voice, he continued, “I have alerted the authorities of Velx Prime, Tarona, and Lerune Station of your current locations. I suggest you leave Eikos now, as I am sure at least one of their officers will be motivated enough to send someone to collect you for your standing warrants.”
A drone passed by his head, his hair fluttering with the speed at which it collected the cup before Kira, whizzing it off for analysis.
Arnold, the half standing man, appeared to be the brains of the operation. He quickly said, “Now you just wait one fucking minute-“ before he caught sight of the multitude of drones, some of which were quite large. The overwhelming amount limited their options and Quinn’s scan revealed they didn’t have weapons upon them, so their options narrowed even further. The man still reached as if going for one, perhaps an intimidation tactic.
Kira’s head rolled back in her seat, Quinn could see her, the slow shift in the way her muscles worked, the attempt to raise her arm out to reach for him, her fingers twitching, but not raising fully.
Andrew tugged on Arnold’s sleeve. “Come on, boss,” he spoke with an urgency. “No woman is worth going back for.”
“Your bank account number is 8DWS-C7V5-X20T. Your password is Tarona3026, home planet and birth year, very insecure Mister Hovax,” Quinn stated in that same dry monotone. “Detective Lancaster was very pleased to receive the video footage verifying your biometrics and position.”
The man continued as he moved across the room towards Kira. “What I am saying is that your associate is correct. This is very much not worth your time, Mister Hovax. Every second I am forced to continue explaining this to you is a second that I am focusing on you. You do not want my attention, Mister Hovax. If you are not out of that door in the next five seconds, I will deduct one credit from your balance for every second you continue to be here.”
One of his drones buzzed next to him. One he’d outfitted with a medical diagnostic scanner after Kira broke her leg. Quinn set it to scanning her.
“If that was not plain enough language, then allow me to make it simple for you.” Quinn read the results of the scan before his gaze flicked back to the three men. For all the cold and inhuman parts of him that existed in the depths of that neon blue, there was something intensely human in his fury, as he said. “Run for your lives.”
The blundering that occurred, and the speed with which they made their way from the room, was impressive by no small means.
The medical scan indicated that Kira had been given a dose of Rostan. A drug that took control of the mind, consuming it with fogginess so thick one could not move their body. Yet, that person would still cognitively know everything going on around them. While she could not escape, she could clearly feel everything and would remember it the next day.
The men commandeered a shuttle strapping themselves in. For all their pandering, they’d apparently put enough together to take the threat Quinn presented seriously. The problem was, it was too late. Almost immediately, the auto-pilot engaged, and the screen flashed up to a new destination. Planet Tarona, Bala Bala City, Global Police Headquarters. The doors sealed, and they launched into space in their own personal paddy wagon.
Meanwhile, Quinn contemplated his two options. There was a chemical cocktail he could administer that would immediately combat the effects of Rostan. Or it would make its way out of her system safely with time. Only one of those options did not involve him administering drugs he was not qualified to handle based only on what information he could access through publicly available databases.
While he had a 99% probability of success in synthesizing the cocktail required, he only had a 78% chance of correctly administering it because of the potential for human error on his part. While he could know exactly how to perform a task, his body couldn’t always replicate what his mind tried to direct.
With that in mind, he had one of his large carrier drones come in to scoop up Kira and take her back to her quarters to sleep it off. Quinn came along with her, his drones exiting the ship. He sent a message to the station manager with a full explanation of what had happened and why, along with the contents of the three men’s bank accounts, as an apology for the disruption to the station’s normal proceedings. Quinn included Toke in the email and mentioned that Toke should appreciate the efforts made to ensure the safety of a favored employee.
Splitting at the entrance to the Callistar, he left Kira with no words, no offerings, only the drone.
During his descent into the Callistar, a ping notified him that his message had a reply. Quinn didn’t read the communique. He did little of anything. He’d squirreled himself away deep in the bowels of the ship. Wrapping arms around his knees as he rocked back and forth. His mind rioted with hundreds of different conflicting thoughts, all screaming at him for a piece of his attention. His peace breaking as it struggled to keep up with the pace.
The computer core in his head let him think in ways no human could. And in ways no human should have been able to. He had only ever been as angry as he was now once before in his life. It was the same day he’d sworn he would become a pacifist, and he’d... He wasn’t sure if terrifying people as he had counted against that or not. He wasn’t sure he cared.
They’d almost hurt Kira.
The rage the thought brought bubbled to the surface and shook him to his core. That he felt that it terrified him. Far, far too many conflicting desires and wants were flickering through his head. From wanting to sit by her bed until she awoke, to wanting to have Toke replace the entire crew of the Callistar, to wanting to stay on the ship just to be with her, to wanting to just eject the crew, steal the ship, and vanish into the void, to wanting to do even worse things to the people who’d almost hurt her. Each desire repeated through his processing, coming in strange feedback loops. The ones born of the warring emotions magnifying and diminishing in severity as his own thoughts rendered him utterly helpless.
KIRA
The drone that had scooped up Kira coddled her against it, keeping her warm simply because the machinery itself was warm. Her mind raced, but with the slowness of a turtle. Still, it could piece together exactly what occurred but not allow her to speak her tongue heavy with medication. That Quinn had rescued her was not beyond her. When she was deposited in her bed, she looked for him, only to find him missing.
Tears smarted at the edges of her eyelashes. She closed them tight, knowing it did very little good to allow her emotions to overtake her. She’d been ridiculous on two counts. That night, there was no way to fix either issue, so she would have to stay on the Callistar for the foreseeable future. Her time on Eikos had ended.
Watson cut past the security protocols to her room. Her own communicator off. Kira, I hope you know it was my last option.
She couldn’t scoff, or respond, or do anything but close her eyes and let the ache take hold. Let the uncertainty of the night, and the feeling of struggling to move, overcome her.
The newly muffled sound of the engines did nothing to drown out the idea of what could have occurred to her as well. Quinn may have been capable of understanding the depths of human depravity and their pursuit of power or wealth, but he had never encountered the understanding of the physical harm they might inflict on others for pleasure. Kira shuddered, the first motion she’d been able to voluntarily make, rolling through her body a few hours later when she awoke in a cold sweat.
Kira?
