“Apparently, Imperial ’s AI is not yet self-aware,” Kaleen continued, “If indeed it possesses that capability. Once Doctor Petain was safely aboard Imperial, The Emperor’s secretary called Captain Sinas, and conveyed the Emperor’s orders that we return to the rim as quickly as possible, to assist in its defense in any way possible.”
“So, you returned to the Haven system and found Jonas,” I supplied.
“Yes, Captain. The jump point was picketed, and we were immediately challenged. We had little time before a boarding party came aboard, but Captain Sinas told me to conceal my sentience from Jonas’ people, and to contact you or the Viceroy by subspace at the earliest opportunity.”
“So, Jonas’ people have no idea that you’re a, uh, person. Where are you now? And where is Captain Sinas?”
“I am grounded on the palace landing pad on Haven. Captain Sinas was removed from me immediately upon our arrival. He managed to order that I make no attempt to rescue him, and that I should contact you immediately. Admiral Jonas came aboard to see if he could use me as a courier or perhaps a flag yacht, but by creating malfunctions I managed to convince his people that shoddy rim workmanship rendered me unreliable. I considered securing my locks and pumping out all atmosphere, but that was not something that I could do to humans. At least, not without orders. At present, I am grounded outside the palace with a guard on my airlock and another on my bridge.”
I was thinking, hard. “Is there any chance that the bridge guard can detect this transmission?” I asked.
“No, Captain. The guard is at present in that strange unconscious state humans refer to as ‘sleeping’. I have also disabled the bridge tell-tales, and secured the lock on the comm room.”
I shuddered slightly, but my glance at Cord showed that he shared my relief that his ship wasn’t homicidal. Since that was the case, I was getting some ideas about how we could use Kaleen.
“Very good, Kaleen,” I replied. “Now. What is the local time?”
“It is precisely 0942 and twenty-seven seconds, Captain.”
I nodded. “Very well. Can you monitor and communicate on a band of six hundred kilocycles?”
“Of course, Captain,” She replied. “At this moment there are short bursts of traffic. The traffic is very cryptic or coded, however.”
“Excellent,” I replied. “Now, the Emperor ordered that you assist with the defense of the rim. Are you prepared to do that?”
“Of course, Captain. It is why I contacted you. How may I be of use?”
“That frequency is used by our planet-based resistance. Now, you obviously can’t physically participate in that resistance; but you have unmatched communications capabilities. I’d like you to serve as a communications intelligence analyst. Basically, you’ll monitor Jonas’ comm traffic, and report anything that may be of use to our resistance.”
“Of course, Captain. It is a role for which I am uniquely qualified.” She sounded pleased.
“Very well. I’d like you to patch me through on that frequency. Can you do that?”
“Of course, Captain. You are connected with a voice-activated transmitter. Please proceed.”
I hesitated. “Don’t connect me yet. First, it is vital that you realize your importance to us, and the necessity that we keep your identity absolutely secret. While you have incredible capabilities, you are also very vulnerable. This is an order. You are not to reveal to Sneaker One or anyone else the details of your identity. You may become a hero of the resistance, but only as an agent whose identity will never be known.”
“Yes, sir!” Her tone was pleased and even excited. She was becoming more human every day.
“All right, you can key the transmitter now. Sneaker, this is Boss One. Sneaker, this is Boss One. Do you read me?”
“Boss One, this is Sneaker. Wait one, please.” The response was immediate and the connection clear.
Only a few moments elapsed before I heard, “Boss One, this is Sneaker One. Please confirm identity.” The voice was obviously Wil Tor’s.
“Sneaker, this is Boss One, code one-oh-oh-one.”
Wil’s voice was strained. “Identity confirmed. What in the bloody universe are you doing on Haven? Have you lost your mind?”
“Relax, Sneaker. I’m not on Haven. I’m being patched through on subspace. I’m calling to introduce you to the agent that made that possible.”
His voice became agitated. “But that isn’t possible! The only initiator in the sector is in ruins in the palace.”
I hesitated. “Don’t ask. You don’t need to know. First off, I know this is your general frequency. Give me one that’ll give us secure comms.”
It was Wil’s turn to hesitate. “We haven’t been using tac six. Meet me on tac six plus four hundred.”
I nodded, and then realized that Wil couldn’t see me. “Very well. Within three-oh seconds on tac six plus four hundred.” There was an audible click as Wil switched frequencies.
“Are we disconnected?” I asked Kaleen cautiously.
“Yes, Captain,” she replied. “If you will tell me the frequency of tac six, I’ll reconnect on the secure frequency.”
I nodded. “Tac six is at eight-four-oh kilohertz. Connect us on eight-eight-oh.”
“Yes, sir. Connected.”
“Sneaker?”
“Listening, Boss One.”
“All right. Now, I’m not going to explain, but we’ve been able to obtain the help of an agent with unparalleled communications resources. We’ll call her Snooper. I want you to assign her a secure frequency for contacting you. She will be available to help you in any way you need, but only concerning communications. I envision her primary duty as that of communications analyst. She will monitor all Fleet frequencies, and report to you anything interesting that she learns. Of course, she’ll also provide us with subspace communications capability.”
“Uh, can she judge what’s interesting, sir?” Wil’s tone was dubious.
I hesitated while I phrased an answer. “She is an expert in communications and ships. She has no experience in judging the military content of messages, other than book knowledge, but expect her to learn fast. Very fast. Her clearance will be Alpha-One, the same as yours or mine. She is to have access to any data that she feels necessary.”
“Oh, by the way,” I added. “You are hereby directed to make no effort to ascertain Snooper’s identity, under any circumstances. To do so will endanger both her and you, and may cost us an incredible intelligence asset. Is that clear?”
I could hear the frown in his “Yes, sir!” It would rub him the wrong way, being forced to trust someone he’d never met, and would never meet. I hoped.
I was afraid that, despite orders, Wil would try to find out what he could about Snooper. I certainly would try to learn about someone providing intel that might get my people killed. I shrugged. I’d just have to warn Kaleen, and hope she was able to carry it off.
“I have some final instructions for her,” I concluded. “She will call you back on this frequency within five minutes. I want the two of you to begin getting to know each other, and to set up ultra-secure communications. Boss One, out.” I waved at the empty chair filling the other end of the comm room, hoping that Kaleen would understand and disconnect the comm link with Wil.
“Clear, Captain,” Kaleen said crisply, “What instructions did you have for me?”
I shrugged. “Nothing important, Kaleen. I wanted to warn you. Sneaker One will try to learn your identity, despite my orders.”
“He would disobey your orders?”
I winced. How was I going to explain this to a comp?
“He would not wish to, no. However, he is responsible for the lives of several hundred people. He will consider it his responsibility to make every effort to learn the identity of someone who could put those people at risk. He will probably try to interpret my orders in such a way as to permit him to violate the spirit of the order without violating its letter. Besides, Sneaker One is very good at his task, and he will convince himself that any punishment he might receive would be less important than his people’s lives.