Second Life of Mr. Hunt: Book 3: Failover Read online

  “Oh, I wasn’t aware of that.”

  The ambassador placed her hand on Ryan’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

  “Mr. Hunt, beware of the darkness you will enter. In anger, you will learn your true nature if what lurks in it does not kill you.”

  Ryan gulped as the ambassador took a step away from him, bowed, and turned away. As she was about to leave, she turned back and looked at Kat.

  “You, my dear, have a cloudy future. Darkness will take an interest in you, but lighting the way will lead to salvation.”

  The ambassador nodded to them and took her place in the center of her entourage. The group continued moving once the guards were back in position.

  “Well, that was freaky,” said Kat.

  Ryan grinned widely. “Creepy visions about something dark and foreboding. Halloween just got a lot more exciting.”

  Chapter 3

  Agendas

  Kat’s ship, the Retribution, was an above-average advanced exploration spaceship, but sitting next to the Tempus it looked like a toy. Both vessels should have left already, but Nora and Kat were being overly thorough with the ship inspections.

  Ryan was getting bored waiting and decided to go talk to Tilli, who had exited the Tempus. She was reviewing something on a small screen that emanated from a small hovering ball in front of her.

  Tilli was of Artesian and human descent. She didn’t have the larger head and eyes of an Artesian, but she did wear goggles with auto-switching lenses that allowed her to see things regular sight couldn’t. Her specialty was in ship technology, especially in the area of engines and propulsion. Most of the new OTKE ships used her latest designs, making her an asset to OTKE and to the Tempus as its head engineer.

  “Well, that’s new,” said Ryan, walking around the virtual screen.

  The screen closed, and the ball descended to attach to Tilli’s belt. “Yes, it is. I developed it from a tech spec I found on Gravel hovering screens and combined it with other AI devices. It will also connect to my neural interfaces so I can move the data around, zoom in, and do other things with a mere thought.”

  “Do you ever take a break?”

  “Nope, always something to learn,” Tilli replied with a big smile.

  “Anything new on our favorite item?”

  Tilli looked around and moved closer to Ryan. Only a few people knew about the prototype Gravel power orb connected to the Tempus, and they were part of that group. The original orb they recovered from Earth a few years ago was taken by mercenary leader Fredrick LaRue. The group thought it would be safer to keep this information secret for now. The prototype was not as stable as the original Fredrick stole. Still, they proved it worked when it was attached to the Retribution, and Ryan and Kat used it to travel to another universe via a black hole.

  “Actually, I have,” Tilli said in a low voice, again looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “I modified some systems to get a better look on the inside of that swirling mist, but it’s hard to describe.”

  “Well, dumb it down for me.”

  “Remember, you called yourself dumb, not I. Anyway, in terms you can understand, there are multitudes of microscopic tech filling the entire inside of the orb. Once they gain energy, they act like tiny power plants or engines, if you want to picture something. The problem with the one we have is efficiency. The orb is somehow receiving power, but it’s not particularly good at retaining or perpetually revitalizing it. The one we lost has those issues resolved.”

  “Doesn’t sound that complicated.”

  “If you want, I can go into how each of those tiny engines have engines of their own and how it keeps going down to an almost infinite number of engines where there is virtually no space between the particles. They produce the power of a black hole due to the amount of gravity being compressed into a singularity.”

  Ryan looked at her blankly, squinting his eyes and shaking his head.

  “And that is using terminology that would have existed or been theorized in your original life. If you like, I can go into modern-day theories of super-neutrinos, mega-neutrinos, and advanced string-based theories that could go into millions of different string-like patterns.”

  “Nope, I’m good. Tiny engines. Got it. So, is it set up to work?”

  “Yes, I have incorporated the orb into our engines and hid the setup in a fake conduit coming from the wall.”

  “OK, let’s hope we don’t need to use it anytime soon.”

  “I hope not, but while we’re on the subject, I was able to gain a lot of information from the data crystals Kat brought back from the planet in the other universe you both traveled to. You will find that both the Tempus and Retribution are slightly modified as it relates to engines, shields, weapons, and a few other things.”

  “Nice!”

  “I thought you would be excited. I can go into more detail, but I see Commander Gordon doing a final inspection and I should get going.”

  “Good luck on whatever your mission is.”

  Tilli gave Ryan a smile, and her portable screen floated in the air to follow her.

  He watched her walk away, wishing he had an ounce of that intelligence. Ryan shrugged and was going to head back over to Kat when he caught sight of Commander Tucket heading over to the boarding ramp of the Tempus carrying a duffel bag. He decided to swing over to see if he could pry any information out of the commander about his mission.

  By the time Ryan reached him, Nora was there.

  “Hello, Nora…Commander. Looks like you two are almost ready to head off,” said Ryan.

  “That we are, sir,” said Nora.

  “And that would be to…?”

  Nora gave him a blank stare.

  “Good try, but we have our orders,” said Commander Tucket.

  “Well, you can’t blame me for trying. You two be safe and—”

  “Sir, I would like to discuss something with you in private,” said Nora.

  Commander Tucket nodded to Ryan and headed up the ramp to the ship. Nora waited for the commander to leave before continuing.

  “Is everything OK?” asked Ryan.

  Nora pulled out a sealed letter and handed it to him.

  “What’s this?”

  “Sir, it is a letter I have written to you.”

  “You could have just told me in person, or sent a verbal comm, a hologram—”

  “Sir, it does not matter the format. Please promise me you will not open it until the Tempus takes off.”

  Ryan looked at her, confused. “OK.”

  “Thank you, sir. I should get going. Good luck on your mission.”

  “Same to you, and keep the commander safe.”

  Ryan tapped the letter against his other hand as he watched Nora disappear up the ship’s ramp. Then he headed over to Kat’s ship.

  

  The ramp of the Tempus closed, something Ryan always liked to watch. He was always amazed at how it pulled in and melded into the hull of the ship. Slowly fiddling with the letter, Ryan watched the Tempus slowly rise and fly out of the hangar bay.

  Smiling, he looked around. Kat was still inspecting her ship. She recently worked with Tilli to overhaul the entire thing after it was damaged from ramming Fredrick LaRue’s Ship Eater while it was devouring the Tempus. This would be the Retribution’s maiden voyage after the repairs and Kat was being overly careful.

  Since he had nothing to do and Nora had left, Ryan opened the letter.

  “Dear Mr. Hunt, you gave me the greatest gift anyone could have asked for, and that was my freedom to move about on my own. We have fought side by side, and no matter what has happened, you have always called me friend. That is why I am resigning as your personal assistant. In my quest to become more than an AI, I have put everyone in danger and caused an evil man to gain an item of great power. As much as I try t
o believe I am only an AI, I find I am becoming something more. I am not sure what that something is, but I know that I must protect you. To do this, I need to go away. After this mission, I will not be coming back. I wish you and Dr. Katalina the best, even though I think you can do better than her. Please be safe and do not come looking for me. Your friend forever, Nora.”

  Ryan closed his eyes, dropped his head, and shook it.

  “What are you reading? Is everything OK?” asked Kat.

  “Nothing important. Nora was telling me to be safe and not to trust you. You know, the usual stuff.”

  “Figures. Funny how she still writes to you on paper.”

  “Yeah, go figure.”

  Kat tilted her head and touched his arm. “You sure you’re OK? You have an odd look.”

  Ryan put the note in his side pocket, took a deep breath, and smiled.

  “Yes, I’m fine. It feels odd going on a mission without the full crew. Are we ready to go?”

  “Yup, the ship is ready, and don’t worry, everyone will be fine. For us, it will be like our first adventure. Just with no hidden agendas.”

  “Works for me,” said Ryan, starting up the boarding ramp.

  “Wait,” said Kat.

  Ryan slowly turned around to see Kat with her arms crossed, glaring at him.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “Yes, an orange one.”

  “Oh, you noticed.”

  “How could I not miss a bright orange car sitting in my cargo bay? Would you please explain how it got there?”

  “Well, you said to pack for a long trip, so I did. I had Nora put the Mustang on the ship early this morning. My stuff is all nicely packed in the trunk.”

  “Nora approved of this?” asked Kat.

  “Not at first. Nora thought it was impractical for our mission, and then she realized the impact it would have on you. Then she kind of ran out of my apartment to put it on the ship.”

  “It’s not coming with us.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s not practical!”

  Ryan walked back down the ramp. “See it from my perspective. You have had all these off-world adventures and can say you did remarkable things. I can now say I drove a car, an Earth one, on two different planets. It was unheard of in my day. The closest we ever got was launching a car into space for an advertising campaign. I figure once we find Commander Tucket’s brother, which we will, we can go visit a planet of your choice, and I get the chance to drive my car on it.”

  Kat looked up as she pondered this. “Deal.”

  Ryan’s eyes squinted. “You agreed too fast.”

  Kat leaned into Ryan’s ear. “A planet of my choosing where we can be alone without any distractions for us to…talk.”

  Ryan slowly turned to look at her, and she smiled before walking onto the ship.

  He shook his head. “While we are making deals. Have you ever thought about putting a pirate flag on the ship?”

  “No!”

  “Come on. I think it’s a great idea!” he yelled, heading after her up the boarding ramp.

  

  The ramp closed, and it didn’t take long for the Retribution to take off. The sonic boom made the man working on a nearby OTKE transport smile.

  “I’m taking a quick break. I won’t be long,” the man said to some AIs he was working with.

  Once out of sight, the man put a disk on each temple to raise a secure communication with his embedded comm chip.

  “Report,” said the female voice.

  “Let Fredrick know that the team has split up. The Tempus took off, as well as the Retribution.”

  “Were you able to gain any additional information?”

  “Nothin’. Nobody is talking about anything. Mr. Hunt left with the doctor woman on her ship. The AI boarded the main ship with an unknown military officer.”

  “Information received. Continue with current orders. Report on anything else. Out.”

  The man pulled the disks off his temples and happily went back to work.

  

  There was a time Fredrick LaRue, the leader of the Jesters Freak Show mercenary guild, would ponder in his command room, listening to the soothing melodies of Artesian music. Those days were gone. Now he looked intently into the darkness of space on a virtual wall screen in the dimly lit room.

  It had been a few months since his failed mission to recover an item and kill a man. Something his group had done a thousand times, but this time the man they were supposed to kill outwitted him. The only conciliation was retrieving the ancient power orb, but it was at a substantial cost.

  Fredrick turned to stare at the floating pedestal where Mr. Jingles, his AI puppet and friend, used to sit. Now only Mr. Jingles’ jester hat with the one remaining bell lay there. He had gotten lucky that the hat got caught in an exposed conduit and was never spaced when they quickly blasted off the planet with the hangar door open.

  No one knew the puppet was a highly intelligent AI that Fredrick had a direct neural connection with. He and Mr. Jingles were the best of friends and allies until Ryan Hunt came into their lives. In the end, the puppet AI sacrificed its life to protect Fredrick by jumping in the way of a ballistic blade fired by Mr. Hunt.

  Fredrick turned back to the window and, for a second, he caught a glimpse of himself. His usual brightly colored clothes and lightweight battle armor were replaced with dark colors. He could no longer see his smooth skin under the gray speckled beard, and his once spiky hair fell over to the sides from being too long and stringy. Ryan Hunt had changed him, but it was a change he could embrace.

  His mimic ship, or Ship Eater as it was also known as, was almost fully functional, and he had allies, but his greatest asset was that he now had a purpose in life. Avenge Mr. Jingles and make Ryan Hunt suffer!

  Fredrick was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the door to his room slide open.

  “Lights to full,” said Fredrick, turning around to meet his guests.

  Fredrick’s half-human half-Karyot assistant was standing there, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light. She was also dressed in battle-ready clothing, making her light reddish skin stand out against the dark colors. Standing behind her in his usual dark robe was the C-Tec Kaimi, his lead scientist and technical engineer. Fredrick realized he had never seen Kaimi’s face under the heavy robe. He only knew that most of him was cybernetic, but it didn’t matter. Organic or not, the C-Tec played a vital role in his organization.

  “I told you not to disturb me unless it was important!” snapped Fredrick.

  “My apologies, sir. We have a ship status report and an update from our operative at the OTKE base,” said the assistant.

  Fredrick smiled and placed his hands behind his back. “Excellent, go on.”

  “The Ship Eater is now fully operational with the new upgrades,” the C-Tec said in a deep, staticky voice.

  “Finally, good news for a change,” said Fredrick, now looking over to his assistant. “Hopefully, you’re not going to ruin the mood.”

  The assistant swallowed slowly before talking. “The OTKE team split up and left on two ships. Mr.—”

  Fredrick’s smile vanished. He looked around the room, confused, and then leaned onto the pedestal with the jester’s hat.

  “See, Mr. Jingles. Mr. Hunt still plays with us. They were supposed to all leave together, and then we were to make Mr. Hunt suffer. But no!”

  The assistant peered at the floor, trying not to make eye contact with her boss.

  Fredrick pulled a knife from a hidden location and flipped it as he pondered these new events. He paced back and forth, then stopped to stare at his assistant.

  “My apologies, finish your report.”

  “Yes, sir. Mr. Hunt and Dr. Kat left on her ship. One of our nearby spy ships detected their w
ormhole coordinates, and it put them near Diero-342. The other ship left with the full crew, including the AI Nora and an unknown OTKE officer.”

  Fredrick looked at the jester’s hat, “I am perplexed. Why split up? I thought once they found out that Commander Seymour was moved and in danger, they would all come to his rescue. Especially his psycho niece Katalina.”

  The assistant started to sweat when Fredrick spun around and made eye contact. He approached her and poked her armor with his knife’s point, leaving a small gouge in the combat vest.

  “Why would you go to Diero-342?” asked Fredrick, tapping the knifepoint on her armor.

  “I-I-I would go there for information or to buy something illegal.”

  Fredrick smiled. “Good answer. You have been paying attention. Perhaps they go to get more information and then to meet up later…or for something else.”

  “Thank you, sir. I think—”

  “No! They would not split up without reason. The niece would be looking for a fight. So, there is only one alternative left. The niece doesn’t know about her uncle, and Mr. Hunt would never keep a secret like that from her. This means he doesn’t know either. Their mission to Diero-342 must be for something else. Something we are not aware of.”

  Fredrick spun around, stopped, then turned back and walked over to Kaimi.

  “Kaimi, contact our friends on Diero-342 and have them give Mr. Hunt and Dr. Kat a warm welcome. Under no circumstances are they to kill them. Capture with some light wounding is acceptable, but no deaths. Also, verify the Ship Eater systems once more. I can’t afford any mishaps.”

  The C-Tec nodded and left.

  Fredrick waited for Kaimi to leave. “Now, what to do about the original plan? We need to change things around.” He tapped the knife on the palm of his other hand as he thought.

  “We-we could always change the location,” said the assistant.

  Fredrick stopped and looked at her. She froze and then relaxed as he smiled. He sheathed his dagger, took a step forward, and put a hand on each of her shoulders.

  “Sir?”

  He kissed her on the forehead and spun around in excitement. “Excellent, my dear. Excellent. And I know just the place. Call our Karyot allies. We are calling in that favor they owe us from the resource hostilities they had with the Chamai a few decades ago. We will move the location to their shipbuilding facility on that dead world in the Morto System.”