It doesn't take Max and Luis long. It's not a bomb, either. The whine came from a portable energy cell under each pilot's couch. Luis figures it's wired to the starter, and Max determines that each couch has what's basically a taser set to fire barbs through the seat when Rand's code is entered. Between the two techs they're easily disarmed. Max runs some tests - the batteries would probably not have killed anyone who tripped the booby trap but he winces at the thought of those barbed harpoons puncturing his genitals.
Luis grimaces at the trap he almost triggered. He holds a hand out to Max for a shake after they cut the wires connecting the power supply. "Max, on behalf of myself and any children I may ever have, thanks."
"Sure, I see you've had plenty of time to make lots of new friends what with killing Kansat *cough* and blowing up Gran's Hope and de-decompressing shadowports and blowing Clubby back to Whiirr... and... and shooting me in the damn back." Rand sits up, obviously straining to do so, and looks Davis in the face. He's a man filled with the hate of betrayal, of being utterly used and realizing he was a tool of his former partner, an unfortunate piece of baggage that came with a new ship.
"Tell you what. Go bring Dunamis over here, shoot him in the damn head, and I'll give you the code."
Davis frowns. "Gran's Hope and Jang-Xur were unfortunate screw-ups. I try to work a little better than that, usually, but sometimes things go wrong." He stands up. "You stay here, I'll take your proposal to my partner, see what she thinks."
Davis hikes back over to Dunamis and Ngawai. He addresses Ngawai first. "Time for a trade. Keep an eye on Rand for a bit, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Keep him alive, though, we're close to getting out of here."
After she leaves, he sits in front of Dunamis. "Rand's not happy with your leadership skills, Dunamis. He's given me an offer that's pretty tempting. I march you in front of him," Davis draws his pistol, "shoot you in the head, and then he gives us the codes to get out of here." Davis smiles. "He must be really upset that you sold him out so fast. So, you got anything besides the launch codes to share? I mean, why should I give you a break when Rand's ready to flip right now?" He cocks the hammer on the pistol. "I'm giving you a chance to be honest here and help us out, like Ngawai is, Dunamis. I recommend you take it."
"Because the code can't get you off Aikoro," Dunamis says. "If he's not bullshitting you about that Needleship, it won't matter if you have a ship or not. I, however, I can walk you right through a Gateway dirtside. Same thing I figure Holoni did to get you here in the first place. Rand can't, he's just subordinated under my license. You know what, though? I'll give you the code, and you think about what I said. Just add 1 to every individual digit in that number Rand gave you. 835679."
Davis smiles. "Let us worry about getting out of here. We don't trust you quite as much as we trust Ngawai at this point in time, so while what you're suggesting is probably a safer way out of here, we're not quite willing to put our lives in your hands yet. Still, you're off to a good start." Davis holsters his pistol. "We're not looking to kill you if we don't have to. Don't cause any trouble, cooperate when we need you to, and you'll get out of this just fine." He helps Dunamis to his feet and walks him over to where Ngawai and Rand are sitting. "Let's get back to the ship, we've got what we need for now."
He doesn't really have time for any sewing right now, but Semo begins to plan a new suit for himself. He has a couple extra sets of fatigues, so setting up a reinforced set shouldn't be difficult. With nothing more pressing right now, he begins stripping the panels out of one of the suits.
It'll look like hell, but it'll be sweet in a fight!
Luis grimaces at the trap he almost triggered. He holds a hand out to Max for a shake after they cut the wires connecting the power supply. "Max, on behalf of myself and any children I may ever have, thanks."
"You're welcome. Just remember that the next time you think the Nerd Hers isn't here to save your ass." says Max, placing his wire cutters back in his go-bag.
"I'm going to see what intel I can find out from the ship's computer and nav logs. I'm inclined to think Dunamis' men aren't exactly trustworthy when the boss isn't around."
Max and Luis are joined in the Body Snatcher's cockpit by Davis, Ngawai, and the two prisoners, Rand and Dunamis Kon. It's cramped.
Dunamis gives Luis the second code (to Rand's chagrin), and this time the code has the desired effect. The Snatcher's engines hum to life and its interior displays snap back into focus.
Davis claps the two prisoners on the back. "Well, we're off to a good start. Let's get you two into the sled, alright?" Davis walks over to Hugh. "We're ready to get out of here. If you could take some extra time to pick up our new friends, I want to spend some time working with these two, get some more background out of them."
Max's foray into the Body Snatcher's logs paints a picture of a rapidly-rotating crew (whether from combat attrition or disgruntled near-mutiny Max can't tell) and frequent stops at many Imperial worlds. He figures from what he knows of their M.O. that Dunamis and his men tend to specialize in jacking criminals right out from under the Kansat's nose. More recently, the Snatcher's logs show it taking off from the southern spaceport not too soon after communication was lost with Dunamis himself (i.e., he was kidnapped by Max, Angel, and Arketta). The ship left orbit but was prohibited from leaving the system by the Needleship Perfection Vendetta. Seems that Rand was pretty quick to leave Dunamis for dead.
The Body Snatcher does have authorization to be searching for the Narsai'i on Aikoro, so that vital part of the story checks out.
Meanwhile, Semo's got his armor plates stowed with his gear in the warsled and is checking the impellers for the return trip. Arketta, Luis, Mellish, Bello and Hugh head into the Body Snatcher while Davis, Ngawai, Rand, Dunamis, Angel, and Max (after leaving a copy of the logs open for Luis) pile into the sled.
Semo guns the engine and the sled begins its stealthy journey back to the Morningstar as the Aikoro sun rises.
---
"Vox transmissions shouldn't be as much of a security risk now that we're in an authorized vessel," Bello explains to Hugh. "Let me try and set up a new rendezvous with my people."
---
The Perfection Vendetta sat in high orbit, its kilometer-long hull glinting with reflected sunlight. The search for the Homeworlders had taken more resources than the Aikoran Steward had been prepared to accept; the bureaucrat's pain-wracked body writhed on the education matrix.
No attempts at Gate travel had been detected. No offenders present on any surveillance since their near-capture north of Gran's Hope. The rugged terrain defied aerial scans and made the recon drone webs ragged with holes big enough to drive a semi through undetected.
The clamor from the wretched public grew louder each hour. The morning brought a new slew of holocasts from the surface, their transmitters forced into protest by the blockade over ground and space Gateway alike.
The Rav-Whetu, acting commander of the Vendetta, was confounded. Why Aikoro? What purpose did the planet serve except as a hiding place? Why the subterfuge at the monument? What were they building towards?
Semo is glad to be back to doing something as he pilots the gravsled toward the Morningstar. Since there is no real need for haste, he keeps the speed to an easily-managed level.
Once he gets back, he can start work on his custom armored suit. That is, if the Cap doesn't have other plans for him...
