the Noise Within (2010) (30 page)

The next day he determined to keep himself fully occupied, and threw himself with gusto into some of the activities the hotel catered for which he had yet to sample, beginning with the upper swimming pool, an open-air affair which adorned one of the hotel's lower roofs - still some thirty-six stories high. The pool was artfully surrounded by a variety of trees and smaller flora, all local, which produced the impression that you had stumbled upon a hidden jungle pool. Only the profusion of other bathers spoiled the illusion. Having said that, Philip soon found himself chatting to a pair of young women from Titus, whose ample cleavage and convivial company provided compensation for the lack of privacy. But his heart wasn't in it, and the charms of the two Tituns soon paled.

Next he stopped in at the z-ball courts, without really knowing why. He never had been much good at the game and was competitive enough to not enjoy a sport unless he was. He wound up at the Salamander Bar and tried some of the live-flamed snacks that had so caught his eye on the first day. They proved as delicious as hoped and he ate several more than he should, though they failed to fully tackle his hunger. Dark temptation still haunted the back of his mind.

Researching 'The Blue Nymph' and finding exactly where the bar was located was a simple precaution. Philip did so not because he intended to ever go there again, but to ensure that he could avoid doing so. Yet evening found him not far from that very bar.

He was in the process of trying to justify a visit, reasoning that a one-off hit would satisfy that niggling craving and couldn't possibly do any harm, when he felt his wric vibrate. He glanced at it, wondering who might be calling him here, so far from home, but then stopped in his tracks. Not a call, but an alarm.

A shuttle matching the parameters he'd set had landed at the port within the past hour. He stared for long seconds, not quite able to accept what that might mean. For now, at least, all thoughts of the Blue Nymph and Syntheaven were banished from his mind.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

L
eyton had seen the unexpected and the bizarre in many forms during his time as a field operative, and experienced more varieties of living conditions and environment than he cared to remember, so at one level - that of his professional persona - nothing surprised him. Yet beneath that, at a personal level,
The Noise Within
managed to.

This didn't have the feel of any spaceship he had been on before, all of which were, in effect, space-going communities. Be they military or civilian, with long-established close-knit crew or people thrown together in the short term for a one-off voyage, still each found their own levels and associations. Yet
The Noise Within
seemed nothing like that.

This ship felt cold. It struck him that this was a dead place; or perhaps even a haunted one.

The plan had gone like a dream. When he approached Joe about repaying the recent debt, the gym owner had been more than happy to oblige and instantly set about rustling up a few of the regulars. "Haven't been in a good brawl for ages," he said with a twinkle in his eye. When Leyton went on to explain that he intended to label him a major crime lord, Joe laughed out loud, clearly delighted.

Emilio too had played his part, doing all that was asked of him. The Standards which the eyegee gave him should be enough to see the kid start a new life, even to get off-world if he chose; always assuming he had the good sense to use the funds wisely, which Leyton frankly doubted.

Ingratiating himself with the two targets and then shepherding them back to their shuttle, spurred on by tales of dark portent and angry crime lords, proved to be the easiest part of all. He kept them off balance and continually on the move, never giving them a chance to stop and question anything they were being told. Drevers was clearly the more cynical of the two, and a tranquilliser surreptitiously administered as the eyegee rescued him during the brawl ensured that the man stayed semi-conscious at best, which left him free to concentrate on Kyle.

A message slipped to a clerk in prearranged fashion as they were processed through the port's shuttle terminal ensured that Benson and the ULAW hierarchy would be apprised of his situation. Everything had gone smoothly up to this point.

The only real surprise in the whole operation had been the unexpected appearance of Philip Kaufman. Leyton knew of the man and had seen his image often enough to realise that this was either the genuine article or a very good impersonation. He was itching to consult the gun as to whether the individual who sat opposite him on the shuttle stacked up as the real thing, but the weapon was currently dismantled and secreted about his person. He had tried to engage Kaufman in conversation during the brief trip up to
The Noise Within,
but the other was clearly not in the mood and seemed lost in his own thoughts.

He supposed, given who this was and where they were going, that was hardly a surprise.

Drevers had fallen asleep as soon as they boarded the shuttle, or at least he sat in his seat with eyes closed and head down. That only left the other one, Kyle, as a potential source of information. After he'd gone forward to arrange and oversee their departure, which would have been more a case of dealing with the Frysworld port authority protocols than anything else, since the craft virtually flew itself, Kyle came back and joined him. However, while he remained friendly enough, the pirate was understandably evasive when it came to the ship they were soon to be joining, merely warning him that it would almost certainly be unlike anything he was expecting.

He was right, even though the eyegee knew a lot more about the vessel than the other man realised.

On arrival, they were greeted by a pair of the animated suits, their faceplates predictably opaque. If the controlling AI was surprised at the two additional arrivals, it wasn't letting on. In fact, Leyton almost had the feeling that they were expected. He supposed Kyle might have passed along some information when up front at the controls as they left Frysworld, but at the same time wouldn't be surprised to discover that the AI was aware of everything that went on aboard the shuttle in any case.

Kaufman attempted a repeat of his grandstanding pronouncement as they came aboard, insisting that he knew the truth about the ship and demanding to be taken to the bridge, but the suit remained unmoved, telling him, "All in good time."

Leyton felt some small pleasure at Kaufman's indignation. He didn't know the man well enough to either like or dislike him, but, judging by what he had seen to date, a lesson in humility would not go amiss.

The suits escorted the four of them, including a shuffling Drevers, to the stark and very basic common room. White walls and ceiling, grey floor - the navy at its most creative - with no adornments to make the place any more welcoming. The pirates' other two recent recruits, Blaine and Hammond, sat slouched over a table playing cards. Built to accommodate a ship's full complement, the room dwarfed these two solitary figures.

The two suits stood sentry outside, which apparently wasn't the norm.

Leyton had been a little surprised by Kyle; he didn't come across at all as the type to throw away a cosy berth on a luxury liner in order to embrace a life of piracy, and nor did these other two. Of them all, he could appreciate Drevers being here, but Blaine and Hammond struck him as, if anything, a little timid. Nor had he yet seen anything to explain why an AI would want to lumber itself with this bunch of assorted misfits.

Mission aside, that question intrigued him as much as anything. He still reckoned this pirate vessel was being afforded far more attention than it deserved but, now that he was here, he was determined to solve at least that mystery before he left.

Philip could hardly believe he was about to board
The Sun Seeker
, which was still how he thought of the ship whatever it chose to call itself.

He had arrived at the port with no real idea of what to do next. Kaufman Industries credentials secured him access to the hangar bay with a little bluff and bluster, but after that he was playing this very much by ear. The arrival of the shuttle's crew couldn't have been more opportune, but Philip wasn't complaining. He'd ridden his luck all his life and knew when to seize an opportunity; and it had worked. Here he was, on the threshold of something truly remarkable.

Two tall figures stood waiting for them as they exited the shuttle. Members of the 'original crew': far more intimidating in the flesh than they had been in recordings; though 'flesh' seemed particularly inappropriate under the circumstances. He stood straight and addressed the nearest.

"My name is Philip Kaufman. I'm the son of Malcolm Kaufman, who built this ship. I demand an audience with your captain."

There was a protracted silence before the suit in front of him replied. "All in good time, Mr Kaufman." The voice sounded hollow, chilling in its lack of any true inflection. "In the meantime, please come with us."

What?
That
was all the greeting he deserved? He wanted to scream, to rail against them, to beat his fists on their empty chests, but then somebody was speaking to him, attempting to calm him down.

"Best not to anger them," the smaller man (Kyle?) said, placing a fatherly arm around his shoulder. Fatherly? Ridiculous - he could only be a decade or so older than Philip himself. "Come on." The arm around his shoulders urged him forward.

Much to his embarrassment, Philip found that he was struggling to hold back tears. Too emotional to speak, he allowed his feet to carry him, unresisting, with the others, as they were led along a dimly lit corridor to a sizeable common room. The place was all but deserted, their arrival interrupting a card game between the only two other occupants, who seemed surprised to see their colleagues back so soon, let alone accompanied by two new faces.

Philip slumped into a chair, dropping his document case onto the table before him as he battled against feelings of disappointment, frustration and even a little anguish. He suddenly felt very, very small. What was he doing here? What had he expected to achieve? This wasn't his environment. He belonged in a lab, or in an office paying other people to be in situations like this. With the benefit of hindsight, the decision to hunt down
The Noise Within
had been little more than a casual whim, a spoilt brat's fancy which he had leapt into without any planning or clear motive beyond the chase itself. The fact that such a half-baked idea had worked seemed yet another of life's ironies.

But worked it had, and he now needed to make the most of this situation. Here was the perfect opportunity to answer the question which had dogged his father throughout the latter stages of his life and had seeped into his own psyche: why had
The Sun Seeker
gone rogue?

It was also an opportunity to learn something of the enigma that was
The Noise Within
, maybe even to dissuade it from these piratical raids and, perhaps, to become a hero. But, first things first; before any of that could be attempted he had to enter a dialogue with the ship. He'd tried once already - the suits were to all intents and purposes the AI's avatars and by talking to them he was effectively addressing the ship's guiding intelligence. The next step was to try again in a way that elicited a meaningful response.

Better - he was starting to think more clearly and had even begun to formulate his next move; but to put it into action he would need to be alone.

It was strange - Philip had no real preconceptions of how his entrance aboard the ship would go, but this complete lack of ceremony or even reaction from
The Sun Seeker / Noise Within
confused and annoyed him. He thought about getting up and confronting the suits again, but knew deep down that it would be pointless. Perhaps the ship was waiting for him to make the next move. Would it try to stop him if he started trying to clue these others in to the ship's origins? Then again, why should he? They were nothing to him.

The others were all talking, telling Jim how they came to be aboard
The Noise Within
. Philip listened with half an ear and felt tempted to join them more than once but something held him back. He'd already made himself the outsider in this little group, and stubborn pride stopped him from doing anything about it. Besides, they weren't the reason he was here.

So he sat in sullen silence until the suits entered the room and informed the two newcomers to follow them. The big man, Jim, glanced across at him and shrugged before climbing to his feet. It was the closest Philip had come to feeling included since they stepped aboard. His own fault and he felt a little guilty for his surliness as the pair of them trudged out of the common room behind the suits, even feeling compelled to offer an apology. "Sorry for being quiet - a lot on my mind."

The other grunted. "No problem; haven't we all."

Philip didn't say any more, not to Jim or to the suits. He'd said his piece to the AI and now had a different tack in mind.

Jim was less reticent, asking the suits, "Where are we going?"

Philip was almost surprised when the query raised a response. "To your sleeping quarters."

For a horrible moment, he was afraid that meant they were sharing, but their guides stopped before two doors, indicating that Jim should take one and Philip the other.

He closed the door on the blank-faced suits and even Jim with considerable relief, feeling that now, at last, he could get to work.