The Epherium Chronicles: Embrace (27 page)

“Ingenious,” Maya said. “But couldn’t you be coerced into accessing the memory and thus providing the cipher?”

McCraken shook his head. “No. The system monitors the subject’s mental state for duress and influences of coercion like truth drugs. It has to be a free recall for it to work.”

“Why not market it if it’s so effective?” Sanchez asked.

“It requires a great deal of tuning to a particular person’s brain wave patterns to be effective.” McCraken pointed to the pads on his head. “It took me three months to properly encode the data with my own engram. The company thought it best to use the technology on the most critical pieces of information and keep it in house.”

Sanchez’s face looked very pensive as he stared at the names. “But why not encrypt the data and just store it away? I don’t get the whole point of masking it with the other personality profiles.”

“I do,” Hood said. “They wanted to be able to hide the real information in plain sight. Then if anyone found the encrypted versions, they would think it was just the same as the released files that were already in public view.”

“Very perceptive, Captain. I commend you,” McCraken said and initiated the program on his data pad. He closed his eyes and after a brief moment, he reopened them and looked at his data pad screen. “Ah, there we are.” He handed the data pad to Hood. “I think everything you need to know about the people on the ships is here.”

Hood looked intently at the list. The names had definitely changed and each was associated with a specific reference number. Hood shook his head. “I don’t recognize any of these people.”

“I do,” Maya said very matter of factly. Hood handed her the data pad, and she opened a file of one of the newly uncovered names. “Several in fact, but especially this one.” She held the data pad in front of her for the rest of the people at the desk to see.

“Frank Deschera?” Sanchez said. He too seemed to draw a blank on the name. “Who is this guy?”

“Twenty-six years ago, Mr. Deschera was the most powerful crime lord in the outer planets. He had his hands in every station, every outpost in the asteroid belts, and very few things happened without him knowing about it.”

“How do you know so much about this guy? Was he required study for security forces at the academy?” Sanchez asked.

Maya’s eyes found the
Armstrong’s
XO and she paused briefly. “I’m the one that brought him down.”

The silence in Hood’s quarters was deafening. Maya’s identification of one of the real passengers aboard the colony ships made everyone pause, except for McCraken who fidgeted as he waited for the hammer strike.

Still trying to find the right words, Hood just let loose. “Criminals! You put criminals on those ships and used your sleep chambers to modify them into what you wanted?”

Before McCraken could respond, Maya added to his accusation. “Not just any criminals. Many of these here are some of the worst. Murderers, drug dealers and slave runners.”

“Please, just let me explain. It’s not as bad as it seems,” McCraken said.

“Really?” Sanchez said sarcastically.

“I understand how this looks,” McCraken started again. “When we started our recruitment for volunteers, we got several good people, but many started to envision the risks of travelling that far for just the chance at a new life and backed out. We continued the search, but word began to spread among many of the more talented circles that this endeavor was too dangerous.” McCraken slurped the last of his coffee and asked for another from Mr. Martin. “The clock was ticking for the right windows to launch these ships. After doing some digging, we realized that one of our subsidiaries was the management corporation for many of the high security prisons for the EEF and some of the countries that still housed their own criminals. So we leveraged an asset.”

“An asset,” Hood said hotly. “That’s what these people were to you, just an asset? What about the real people on those boats, and the potential dangers you placed them in with loading dangerous criminals on board.”

“Captain, most of these people in those facilities had forfeited their legal rights, and many were just a number in the system, biding their time until they would pass away under one of their many life sentences. We couldn’t get our volunteers, so we made our own,” McCraken explained. “Was it unethical? That’s debatable, but we tested that system and made sure it would work. Whoever those people were, they are what we made them now. They will lead productive lives out there doing what the colony needs to survive and explore.”

“For your sake, Henry, you better hope so,” Hood said dryly.

“So we have reprogrammed criminals now leading lives set forth for them by Epherium, but why was that data so important to kill for?” Sanchez asked. “And why Walsh? He wasn’t reprogrammed. Surely, corporate blackmail might be slightly lucrative, but it could only go so far.”

“I don’t know, Raf,” Hood replied. “There’s another angle to this whole mess that we haven’t seen yet, but maybe Command can help sort it out.” Hood stood and slapped the desk with his palm. “In the meantime, we need to focus on getting this ship repaired and take care of our own. Lieutenant, please escort Mr. McCraken to the brig. I want you to place him under protective custody until we sort this out.”

Maya keyed her comm band and began walking toward McCraken. The red-haired Epherium executive started to protest in earnest, until he saw Maya’s right hand slowly reach for the taser on her belt, and he quickly acquiesced.

Maya led him to the door. As she opened it, two security officers stepped into view. Maya had them on standby just in case of trouble. The two men led McCraken unceremoniously down the hall, and Maya watched them until they entered the elevator lift. Maya closed the door and returned to the rest of the group. “Well he was honest, but only because he realized it was his best option. As helpful as his information was, I must agree with Commander Sanchez. The reasoning for Walsh’s actions and the involvement of that other ship go way beyond what we know,” Maya said. “If it is some sort of corporate power struggle, we haven’t seen all the players yet.”

The three officers all agreed to Maya’s point and Hood dismissed the meeting. Sanchez headed out first, but Hood stopped Maya before she walked out the door. “Your man saved the lives of Lieutenant Krieg and a lot of pilots down there at the docking bay. How’s he doing?”

Maya checked the time on her security arm band. “He should be out of surgery now, but Dr. Patton’s prognosis was good for a quick recovery.

Hood looked at his Chief Security Officer’s face. Even during McCraken’s questioning, he could tell something wasn’t right. The deaths of members of her security team had left her on edge. “Lieutenant, is this the first time you’ve lost someone under your command?”

Maya stared at the door, her face tightened, and she slowly nodded in acknowledgment. “I have lost family, teammates, but never anyone that worked for me. These men were my responsibility, and they died under my watch.”

“Lieutenant, I’ve been where you are right now and it’s not a pleasant place,” Hood said trying to comfort Maya. “Sometimes it’s not easy to understand this, but your men died doing their jobs and if you’re right, their efforts may put us several steps closer to stopping the ones responsible.” Hood put his hand on her shoulder and guided her out the door. “In the meantime, let’s focus on completing this mission and when the time comes, I’ll help you come up with the proper words to send to their families.”

Maya handed the two men’s identification tags to Hood and her blue eyes shone with gratitude. “Thank you, Captain. That would be most appreciated.”

The door closed behind Maya, and Hood walked back to his desk. An alert was flashing on his terminal. The waiting comm was from Aldridge. He opened the channel, hoping for some better news.

“Sir, our shuttle recovery team has managed to reposition the beacon and put it into operation,” Aldridge began. “Lieutenant Wells has confirmed that the beacon is functioning normally, despite a few dings from the rocks. She also discovered that the signal from the colony is still broadcasting, but is truncated at this beacon. She says the signals are fluctuating, and her analysis has identified encoded messages from the colony bound for Earth.” The young Lieutenant’s smile was radiant. “They’re still trying to communicate. They’re alive, sir!”

Hood didn’t answer at first, and his vision looked past the terminal screen as he envisioned his uncle’s face greeting them once they arrived.
Hold on
,
Uncle John.
We’re coming
. He turned his attention back to Aldridge. “Lieutenant, that’s excellent news. We may be here for a few days, but we need to be ready to move at the first hint of trouble. I need Lieutenant Wells to continue monitoring the signals and report any irregularities, but we’re not to respond. Is that clear?”

“Crystal, sir, I will inform her right away.” Aldridge’s facial expression changed, and her tone became much more serious. “Sir, I have that data you requested. Shall I forward it to your terminal?”

“That will be fine, Lieutenant. Hood out.”

Moments after the comm channel closed, his terminal beeped. The message from Aldridge was marked “Casualty Report.” Hood opened the file and looked over at his aide. “Mr. Martin, I need a big refill of that coffee. It’s going to be a long day.”

* * * * *

Coming May 2014 from T.D.
Wilson and Carina Press
,
don’t miss
THE EPHERIUM CHRONICLES: CRUCIBLE,
continuing Hood’s mission.
He needs to get to Cygni
,
and fast.
The plot to derail his mission has cost him time—time the colonists at Cygni may not have.
With the Cilik’ti and his new adversary still out there somewhere
,
the consequences for the colony could be dire if he doesn’t reach them first.

About the Author

T.D. Wilson was born in 1968 in Troy, Ohio, and has been an avid fan of science fiction and fantasy from a very young age. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and has supported the systems and networks in several of the largest Supercomputing data centers in the world. His early thirst for adventure in reading began as he explored many of the great stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As his reading scope expanded, Mr. Wilson was fascinated by strange new worlds from the magical of Middle Earth and Narnia to the far reaches of space in
Star Trek
and
Babylon 5
. As a science fiction author, he strives to integrate a realistic flavor to his worlds by providing his readers a feel for the real science in science fiction, a topic he loves to discuss with his friends and readers. Mr. Wilson still lives in Ohio with his wife and their two sons.

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ISBN-13: 9781426898037

THE EPHERIUM CHRONICLES: EMBRACE

Copyright © 2014 by TD Wilson

Edited by Bryon Quartermous

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