Chapter 32 - Conditional Acceptance

  The faint hum of the encrypted radio was the only sound in the room. Harlan’s eyes stayed locked on the device, his thumb tapping the table in a slow, irregular rhythm. The others waited, sprawled or leaning in various stages of tension. They all pretended not to notice how still he was.

  Static crackled, then cleared. A clipped voice came through, distant and low as if the speaker were buried miles underground.

  “Cell integrity confirmed. No immediate threat. Hold position. Further updates pending.”

  Harlan exhaled sharply and stood, his movements deliberate, shoulders visibly relaxing. He switched off the device and turned to the group. “We’re clear.”

  The tension in the room evaporated like steam. Lena leaned back in her chair with a muttered curse of relief, while Corin and Tarek simply shifted to a less defensive stance. Darius looked around sceptically.

  “What, that’s it?” he asked, gesturing to the radio. “We’re just… going back to normal, trusting that the radio hasn’t been… compromised or whatever?”

  Harlan shrugged, pulling a cigarette from his pocket but not lighting it. “Doesn’t matter if I trust it. It’s all we’ve got.”

  “That’s comforting,” Darius said, his tone half-biting. “Hell, even if the radio isn’t compromised, how do we know Voss isn’t just feeding us whatever keeps us in place until it’s convenient to burn us? Don’t even pretend she isn’t the type to do that.”

  He didn’t really know why he was being so aggressive about this. The smart move right now was probably to duck his head and hope nobody asked him too many uncomfortable questions about why the Empire was so interested in him specifically. But for whatever reason - fear, stubbornness, maybe even a little relief - he couldn’t stop himself.

  Harlan gave him a flat look. “Because Voss doesn’t waste assets, not without a reason. Sacrificing us gains them nothing.” The unlit cigarette twisted slightly between his fingers. “Not yet, anyway.”

  Darius let the silence settle for a beat, then pressed. “And that’s supposed to reassure me?”

  Harlan’s jaw tightened, and he gestured toward the chair opposite him. “Sit down.”

  Darius hesitated. Harlan’s voice hadn’t changed, but the undertone was sharper now, a command wrapped in casual disinterest. When Darius didn’t move, Harlan took a step forward, folding his arms.

  “You owe us an explanation,” Harlan said, his eyes narrowing. “I’ve let it slide until now because, frankly, it wasn’t any of my business why you were running from the Empire. Most Freeholders have done things they’re not proud of, and as long as they leave those things in the past, we don’t ask questions.”

  More than anything, it was the ‘I’m not mad, I’m disappointed’ tone that had Darius squirming in place. It had been years since he’d heard that kind of thing - hell, it had been years since he’d cared about that kind of thing. Coming from Harlan, though… well, it wasn’t precisely that Darius looked up to the older man as such, it was more that he just respected the guy.

  “Things have changed now,” Harlan continued, softening his tone a little. “You’re being hunted - you, specifically - and we need to know why. I can’t ignore the risk to my people any more.”

  {You should tell them about me.}

  Echo’s voice crackling through his augs was a surprise for more reasons than one. The AI had been oddly quiet while he and Lena had been shopping, and of all things for the machine to say…

  He held up a finger in a ‘wait’ gesture, turning slightly away from Harlan and speaking to Echo. “Are… you sure that’s a good idea?” he whispered under his breath. “It’s not the sort of thing we can take back.”

  {If you attempt to keep me a secret at this stage, it will irreparably damage your reputation with the Freeholders. They are unlikely to turn you in to the Empire, and may even be a potential source of aid. The rewards outweigh the risks.}

  Darius grimaced, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Fine,” he muttered under his breath. “But if this blows up, I’m blaming you.”

  Harlan raised an eyebrow, his arms still folded as he leaned against the table. “You going to share with the class, or are you just going to keep whispering to yourself?”

  Darius cleared his throat, shooting a glance around the room at everyone who was waiting to hear his big secret. He cleared his throat nervously. “It’s… complicated. Look, you all remember Echo, right?”

  Tarek and Corin were looking a little confused, while Harlan’s face was impossible to read.

  “Your VI,” Lena supplied, mostly for the other’s sake. “The one your sister gave you. Experimental, right?”

  “Yeah. Except that he’s… more experimental than you thought?”

  Harlan blinked, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. “In what way?” he asked pointedly. “We’re past the stage that I’m going to accept vagaries, Kallan. Be specific.”

  Darius winced. “Right. Well, to put it bluntly, he’s not a VI at all. He’s an AI. He was on that Imperial warship that docked a few weeks ago. When I was in the reactor room, he, uh, ‘integrated’ with my augs.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “You’re joking,” Tarek took it upon himself to break it. “You really expect us to buy that load of sh—”

  “Tarek!” Harlan barked sharply, whirling on the younger man.

  “What? Don’t tell me you actually think he’s telling the truth!” Tarek protested.

  “No, I don’t,” Harlan stated plainly, turning back to loom over Darius despite the table between them. “But I do expect him to try to prove it. And I also expect him to be smart enough to know what’s going to happen when he can’t prove it. With that in mind,” he said mildly, “is there anything about your answer you would like to change?”

  Darius swallowed nervously.

  {While I understand this may be difficult to believe, I assure you all that Mr Kallan is telling the truth.} Echo’s voice cut through the tension, emanating from the dataslate on the table.

  For the first time, Darius got to see how other people reacted to random voices talking to them from apparently thin air. It was surprisingly gratifying. Tarek shifted, his jaw tightening, while Corin’s gaze flicked toward the dataslate on the table and back to Darius, narrowing. Lena leaned forward slightly, while Harlan could have been carved from stone for all the reaction he gave.

  “You’ve all heard Echo before, after we got away from that patrol, remember?” Darius said, forcing himself to speak before the moment swallowed him whole.

  Harlan didn’t move. His cigarette stopped twisting between his fingers, though, held in an unnervingly steady grip. “Like you said, we’ve already heard… it. And back then you said it was a VI,” he pointed out. “Which makes more sense than it being an AI. I’m not convinced.”

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  {What would convince you, then, Mr Dray?} Echo spoke up, apparently unwilling to remain silent now that he had started speaking aloud.

  Harlan’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he turned his attention warily towards the dataslate on the table. “I don’t rightly know,” he admitted. “Don’t even know it’s possible to convince me this isn’t some elaborate trick.”

  {To what end?} Echo asked pointedly. {At a certain point, the schemes required to keep up the ruse would simply be untenable. What could Mr Kallan possibly want from you badly enough to go to the effort?}

  “Don’t know that either. But it’s easier to explain that kind of motivation than it is to explain how a random techie got his hands on something like an AI. Not to mention, you still haven’t provided any convincing proof.”

  {As you’ve already said it’s possible nothing could convince you, it seems a waste of time to keep trying. Far better to convince you that regardless of our motives, we can work together with you.}

  Harlan considered this for a long moment. “Well, you’re very eloquent for a VI, I’ll give you that much.”

  Tarek spluttered. “You can’t seriously be considering this, Harlan? Kallan’s obviously just programmed his little toy to regurgitate some nice-sounding arguments. That’s not proof!”

  “It… would explain why the Empire wants him so badly,” Lena said tentatively. “And I know that Mayfly doesn’t talk like that. Not to mention Echo was able to hack into the records building, which isn’t normal for a VI.” She didn’t sound terribly convinced herself, but Darius shot her a grateful look anyway. Even if she was just playing devil’s advocate, having someone on his side could only help matters as far as he was concerned.

  Tarek turned on her, his voice sharp. “Don’t start. Just because you like to believe in imaginary friends doesn’t mean they actually exist. Besides, we all know why you would leap to his defence.” He sneered. “Just a little girl with—”

  “Tarek!” Harlan snapped, slamming a hand down on the table. “That’s enough!”

  Even the mild-mannered Corin was glaring at the younger man, who shrunk in on himself a little as he realised he may have crossed a line. The mulish expression he plastered on his face a moment later indicated he was too stubborn to apologise.

  After a hard glare at the younger man, Harlan continued. “How do I know you’re not part of an Imperial sting?” he asked, directing his question towards the dataslate on the table. “According to Kallan, you came from an Imperial ship, and if he has a reason to believe you’re an AI, that tells me you’re not under his control.”

  {A reasonable concern,} Echo conceded. {However, my actions thus far have consistently worked to the benefit of this group. I have provided critical assistance during Imperial engagements and facilitated escapes that would have otherwise ended in failure. If my intention were to betray you, I would have already done so.}

  Harlan grunted but didn’t otherwise respond, staring down at the table with a furrowed brow.

  Corin spoke up to break the tension in the air. “Let’s pretend for a moment that we believe you, then. Even if you are an AI, and, of course, assuming you don’t work for the Empire, why would they be trying this hard to capture you? It would be far easier to offer a reward for turning you in - and no offence to Darius, but I don’t imagine he would have hesitated for long. I certainly wouldn’t have. It just seems… unusual.”

  {I possess information that the Empire would not wish to see distributed. The risk of someone getting curious about my existence is too high - better to ‘scorch the earth’, as you humans say.}

  Nobody looked particularly comforted by Echo’s answer, nor the way the machine called them all ‘you humans’. Darius, who’d had more time to get used to it, smirked a little at their expressions. Unfortunately for his sense of humour, Harlan pushed through in moments.

  “This… information. Is it anything we can use? I can assure you that the Freeholders would be willing to pass it along to whoever you like.”

  Tarek’s eyes flashed angrily at how Harlan seemed to be playing along with the whole ‘Echo is actually an AI’ thing, but he knew better than to say anything.

  {While I appreciate the offer, I’m afraid that my mission is to convey the information directly to my creators. At that point, they may be open to working with the Freeholders, but I cannot promise anything.}

  “Creators?” Corin zeroed in on the word.

  “Don’t bother,” Darius said tiredly. “He won’t answer any questions about who his creators are, where he came from, or even how to contact his creators. I’ve tried.”

  Corin’s eyes flickered to him searchingly for a moment before he hummed and leaned back.

  “Alright,” Harlan said after a long moment, scratching idly at his chin. “I’ll admit I’m actually starting to come around on this AI thing. Not sure I fully believe it or not, but I’ll reserve judgment for now.”

  Darius blinked, taken aback. “Uh, hang on, not that I’m complaining or anything, but the fact that Echo won’t answer any questions is what convinces you?”

  “Not convinced,” Harlan corrected, “But willing to play along.” The older man seemed content to leave things there, but after seeing Darius’s intent expression, he rolled his eyes and explained. “Look, if someone—or something—tells you they have all the answers, they’re either lying or stupid. If your ‘Echo’ really is an AI, why the hell would it tell us anything?”

  Everyone took a moment to digest that particular bit of wisdom.

  “Yeah, I don’t know, boss,” Lena spoke up. “You’re basically saying you trust it more because it doesn’t trust you? Your logic sounds a little… fuzzy,”

  Harlan shrugged. “Well, what’s the alternative? Like the thing said, if it - or Kallan himself - is working for the Empire, then it already has everything it would need to get us caught. That means even if we don’t believe Kallan, we can’t just let him walk away, and I doubt any of you would accept just killing him, so at this point, we just have to hope he’s not lying.”

  Darius gaped at the blunt way Harlan had just brought up his potential murder. It was at least a little comforting that Lena looked just as shocked, but Corin was concerningly even-faced, and though Tarek didn’t look terribly enthused by the idea right now, Darius didn’t doubt that the younger man would come around to it.

  Harlan exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose like he was trying to wipe away a headache. “Alright. I’m going to tentatively accept that Echo is what you say he is,” he said slowly, directing his gaze toward Darius. “But that leaves us with a bigger question. If this AI of yours is so eager to deliver its data to its creators, how does it plan to do that when it won’t even tell us who they are? Or where?”

  Darius shifted uncomfortably. “We, uh… we’ve talked about that,” he said, clearing his throat. “The plan is to build him a frame.”

  “A… frame?” Harlan prodded. “Don’t suppose you can be more specific?”

  “It’s basically like a drone or robot or whatever,” Darius shrugged, well aware that he wasn’t explaining things particularly well but feeling too mentally drained to care. “That way he can get out of m—y augs,” he corrected himself at the last moment. Telling them about how Echo was threaded through his nervous system was probably going a bit far for now. “Once he’s got a body of his own, he can go and do… whatever he needs to do.”

  There was a long, heavy silence, broken only by the faint hum of the apartment’s ventilation systems. Lena straightened, her eyes narrowing. “Wait a minute,” she said slowly. “Is that what those tools were for? The ‘personal project’ you were talking about?”

  Darius nodded.

  “And that’s why you wanted the drones from the garrison,” Harlan said aloud in a tone of realisation. “That had been bugging me.”

  There was another long silence.

  “So…” Darius trailed off. “Are we good? I don’t have to worry about you lot shooting me in the back and shoving my body out the window?”

  Harlan snorted. “I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you,” he said, though not unkindly. “Something like this, I’m going to have to kick up the chain. Voss will make the final decision.”

  Darius opened his mouth to protest, but closed it a moment later. As much as he hated the thought of his personal business being spread to more people, he could see why the Freeholders would be concerned about things.

  Even beyond the more… existential questions, they had to deal with the more pressing security concerns. Darius nodded begrudgingly to Harlan, acknowledging the point.

  “Fair enough,” Darius said, his tone more resigned than anything else. “But if Voss says no, what happens then?”

  Harlan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he leaned back against the wall, finally tucking the unlit cigarette behind his ear. His eyes were steady on Darius, evaluating. “That depends,” he said finally. “If she says no, we’ll have to re-evaluate what keeping you around looks like. Could be we quarantine you, keep you out of active operations. Could be worse. Not my call to make.”

  The implication hung heavy in the air, and Darius felt the knot in his stomach tighten.

  “Great,” he muttered. “Can’t wait to hear what she thinks.”

  Lena broke the silence, her voice low but firm. “If Voss has any sense, she’ll let him build the frame,” she said firmly. “It’s not like getting Echo a body is going to make the situation any worse, and if nothing else it’d prove that he exists.”

  Tarek glared at the wall, his silence more pointed than words. Corin, as usual, kept his thoughts to himself, though his gaze lingered on the dataslate.

  Harlan shrugged a single shoulder. “I trust she’ll make a good decision,” was all he said as he turned and left the room. It didn’t take long for the other Freeholders to trickle out of the room. Lena was the last to leave, giving him a strained smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

  Darius sat alone at the table, the dataslate in front of him, its black screen reflecting his uncertain gaze. The room was quieter now, but the weight of Harlan’s words still pressed on his chest. If Voss decided against him…

  He pushed the thought away. For now, the only thing he could do was keep moving forward. Anything else was too big, too far, and too terrifying to consider.

  “Well,” he blew a long breath out slowly. “That could have gone worse.”