Chapter 7

The speaker in the rear of the shuttle crackled into life, "Hold tight," said the pilot, "the dickhead shuttle is coming after us."

Bert frowned and then checked his straps to ensure they were tight.

The ride, which had been pretty smooth despite the rush suddenly became a lot more like a roller-coaster as the craft dropped and jinked at speed. The unsecured AI module began sliding around and Bert was lucky to trap it against one of the secured boxes with an outstretched leg. The position he was in wasn't comfortable but neither would be being hit by that box as it rolled around the hold.

"Relax everyone," reported the pilot a long five minutes later. "We've outrun the bloody thing."

Bert sighed in relief, he hated not being able to influence events when he was in any sort of danger. Being caught inside a craft like this was the stuff of nightmares as far as he was concerned. He unfastened his harness and dragged the errant AI module back into position and secured it in place.

As he was up he went to see how the injured woman was doing. He found her strapped across three chairs near the front of the cargo bay with David sat alongside her.

"How's she doing?" he asked.

"She's still unconscious," said the concubine, "but her breathing has eased and she doesn't seem as distressed as she was earlier. We've give her a mild pain-blocker that we found in the first aid kit but she needs to be in a med tube as soon as possible."

Bert nodded in understanding, "We'll be up to the ship in a few minutes and we'll get her transferred right away." He squeezed David on the shoulder and considered going up to the flight deck to see what was happening.

"Excuse me."

Bert turned at the call and found Consuelo Chavez, the Civil Service Sub-Decurion waving at him.

He crossed the short distance between them, "Yes?"

"Have you seen Professor Bennett?" she asked looking around.

Bert was surprised, "No, I haven't," he said and held up his hand to stop any comments. "AI, where is Professor Bennett?"

The AI on the assault shuttle wasn't the brightest spark but it could track any person on board through their nanites. "The Professor is not on board this shuttle."

"Your sure?" asked Bert sharply.

"The Professor is not on board this shuttle," repeated the AI.

"Oh shit!" said Bert, his face screwing up in frustration.

Consuelo looked at Bert as he swore, "There's a problem?"

"The Professor isn't on board," said Bert before looking upwards. "Is anyone else missing?" he asked.

"No other volunteer is missing," reported the AI, "but the Professor's concubine is absent."

Bert slumped down on the nearest box and rubbed his temples, how had that happened? And more importantly what did he do about it?

"Where is that dickhead shuttle?" he asked.

The pilot replied to his question, "It's orbiting the base. My guess is that they are assessing the situation and will be landing there shortly.

Bert agreed, it was the way he'd have been doing things if he'd been in charge and whether it was an individual or a hive mind running things it was still the right way to proceed.

"Get us up to the ship as fast as you can," he ordered and, shaking his head sadly he returned to his seat.

The shuttle squeezed into the hanger bay and settled down onto the deck gently, Bert was swinging out of the rear of the craft before the ramp had fully lowered.

The Captain was waiting for him, her face pensive.

"Ma'am, we've got a problem," said Bert as soon as he reached her.

"In what way?" asked Alice.

"The head honcho of this little expedition is still down there and so is one of his concubines," said Bert. He gave a shrug, "How it happened is unknown but I'm guessing that he realised his concubine wasn't there and went looking for her.

Alice looked away, her face pale. Beside her Bert held his breath, he knew what had to be done now but did this civilian?

A hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around, "You've got to go back down there," demanded Consuelo Chavez.