“Please come with me.” The man in green had returned, and was gesturing towards the furthest corridor, sealed tightly with a metal door. “The director asked me to bring you both to the ops center.”
They followed him in silence. Doctor Dan’s brow was now creased with worry, and Dev was too busy looking at everything to talk.
It was very, very strange. Dev tilted her head back and looked up at the high ceiling, it’s irregular surface seeming odd and out of place. She followed the two men through the now open steel door, and down a corridor that seemed very long, and very bisected by many other steel doors blocking their way until they were keyed through.
Security? Dev felt the sensation of the space they were in closing in on her, aware suddenly of how much solid material was around them as they moved further inside the facility. There were no other people around until they entered the last door in the corridor, which opened up into a huge central space, with yet more corridors leading off in all directions.
Here, there were people. Lots of them. Dev felt their eyes on her as they passed, and she moved closer to Doctor Dan in reflex at the borderline hostility directed at her.
The man in green led them to a door set in stone with a rotating red light over it. He scanned through, and then held the door open for them to enter.
“Thank you.” Doctor Dan gave him a brief smile, and then he guided Dev inside a round cavern of a room, with consoles around every available edge, and lined up in the center around a big lit screen and table where four people were standing.
One, she recognized immediately as the director who’d visited them. Bricker, his name was. The other three were unknown to her, not even a memory flash indicating they’d been programmed. She followed Doctor Dan down three steps, then across a ramp up to the central table.
Bricker was juggling a light pen. “I thought they were sending her alone.” He said. “I don’t need anything that needs an escort.”
Doctor Dan stepped up onto the platform and took a seat on one of the stools, folding his arms across his chest in a typical pose. “I don’t need to turn over one of my projects to ignorant gits.” He said. “You cut short the programming cycle. I want to know why.”
His voice was casual, and unafraid, and Dev felt a certain awe of him. Even though she knew he was important, at least to her kind, she knew from her programming they were in a dangerous space.
The other people in the room were staring at Doctor Dan. Bricker had stopped juggling his pen and was also staring as though unable to believe what he was hearing.
“You have any idea where you are,. Buddy?” Bricker finally said.
“Yes.” Doctor Dan replied. “Station 10, Central Design level 4, comm space Alpha, control central, data store prime.” He said. “Now please answer my question. If you can’t, then I will be more than glad to take my friend Dev here, and go back where we came from.”
Dev merely stood very still, having no referents.
“As the chief geneticist of the Human Sciences station, whom you've asked to provide you with this resource, I need to know why you have truncated an already insufficient release cycle.” Doctor Dan restated his question. “I have no intention of providing you with either a scapegoat or an excuse for failure.”
Bricker started juggling his pen again. “So that’s who you are.” He said. “Figures why we didn’t have an ident on you. Made sure no one could look at your insides too close. Huh?”
Doctor Dan didn’t answer, here merely sat there, head cocked a little to one side, waiting.
Bricker turned to the display table. “Well, you're gonna have to wait, buddy, since I’ve got an activity in work. If it completes, maybe you can just take this jelly bag with you and go back to that crystal palace you got up there after all.”
The door opened behind them, and Bricker glanced over his shoulder as three people entered. “What ..” He straightened and started to reach for a pad, then stopped. “Sir.”
Alexander Bain strolled up the ramp. “Bricker.” He glanced at the rest of them. “I found these two outside. Seems a terrible place to leave agents, seeing as you’ve lost so many lately.”
Dev backed up a little as the two other people emerged from the shadows, revealing the two from the outside bench. Now they looked wary and uncomfortable, and she held her breath as they both looked around and she found herself once again meeting the woman’s gaze.
Doctor Dan had gotten up off his stool and taken a step back, putting himself between Dev and the table and the tension in the room ratcheted up to a higher level. “Well now. This is getting interesting.”
Bain’s eyes swept over and pinned him, one grizzled gray brow lifting sharply. “You.”
“You asked for a bio alt.” Doctor Dan’s lips twitched.
“Did we.” Bain mused. “Bricker, what’s going on here?”
Bricker recovered. “Sir, that person requested dismissal, we followed procedure and processed the request. “ He pointed at Jess. “She was supposed to leave on the shuttle.”
“I see.” Bain regarded him. “And you allowed this without intervention?”
Bricker shrugged. “I don’t need quitters or lone wolves.” He said. “I saw no reason to intervene or even ask.”
“I see. Hm.” Bain half turned and regarded Dev, who was standing as far back as she could on the platform. “And you, my dear?”
“This is ah….” Doctor Dan said. “The resource requested.”
“Ah..” Bain strolled over and regarded Dev. “What a charming young lady.” He said. “My name is Alexander Bain, my dear.”
“NM-Dev-1.” Dev answered quietly, extending a hand in greeting. “Its’ very nice to meet you.”
“And I, you.” Bain shook her hand. “Now. He released her and turned back to Bricker. “I received reports your other agents refused assignment. Is that true?”
“They tried.” Bricker answered grimly. “I persuaded them otherwise. I have two team out now, about to make a grab for the new photo synth technology.” He tried, somewhat unsuccessfully to keep the triumph out of his voice. He turned and pointed at jess, who was waiting silently in the shadows. “She tried to make the whole team a bunch of refusers. But I put them against the wall and told them they’d end up in point Alaska without envirosuits if they tried.”
Jess took a half step forward, and stiffened. Bock put a hand on her arm.
“I see.” Bain nodded. “So you felt this was the best way to motivate them?”
“It worked.” Bricker turned back to the display. “Excuse me. Team Beta, report.”
“Sir, I tracked them they’re in shadow right now.” One of the techs standing at console spoke up. “Due in position one hundred ninety seconds.”
“Sir.” Jess spoke, her low voice echoing softly in the chamber. She fell silent when Bain held a hand up in her direction.
“Director Bricker, please turn around and face me. “Alexander Bain said.
“Sir, I’m sorry, I’m in the middle of something here.” Bricker glanced up. “Can it wait?”
“No, I am afraid it cannot.”
Bricker straightened up and turned. “Yes?”
The room swirled into motion, as Bain lifted his hand from his side and there was a hand weapon in it, and both Stephen and Jess stiffened, then Jess made a sign and they both froze, and Doctor Dan spun Dev around and put his body between her and Bain and…
The projectile caught Bricker in the throat, and exploded, sending blood and skin out to either side with a splattering sound as it hit the consoles to the right and left of him. His head lolled and dropped off to the floor, and his body collapsed to the ground, thumping and twitching as the techs jumped out of the way.
Absolute shocked silence fell, until Bain replaced the weapon into it’s hidden holster and dusted his hands off. “I never have approved of shooting anyone in the back.” He commented. “Now.” He turned. “Bock, please take charge, and have this unpleasantness cleaned up.”