Hopes dashing time. “No, Mom is at the White House, handling things. The AI is named Mother.”
“Drax named his AI Mother?” Siler sounded like he thought Drax needed psychiatric help.
“Nope, that was me. She likes it, as near as I can tell.” We brought them up to speed on what we’d just gone through. “So, we actually need to get to the room Chuckie, James, and the others are in, because they’re probably freaking out about now, and that’s where we told Jeff we were going.”
“Don’t let her know we’re here,” Siler said. “The AI. Or any of the others for that matter.”
“Why did you bring me along for this and not Tito or Jeff?” Tim asked.
“Because you’re a human and you can lie,” Buchanan replied. “Mister Executive Chief can’t lie to save anyone’s life, and if Tito’s on board then he’s going to be too busy being the ship’s doctor. We can’t have anyone knowing we’re here.”
“Someone’s going to ask about the Ard Ri.” Vance, for starters.
Algar shrugged. “Tell them that, as far as you know, I got off.”
“Why? I mean it, why? Why are all of you acting like this closet is your only hope for safety? Is Mother going to space you or something? And if she wants to do that, again, why?”
“Missus Executive Chief, the moment that AI took over, that put us in hostile territory and in a hostage situation.”
“I don’t think it did. How did Lizzie know to come here?”
“I found her while she and Christopher were looking for the other kids,” Siler said. “He didn’t see me, or hear me, since I used palm code.” Meaning he’d tapped Lizzie’s palm in Morse or some Cool Assassins’ Code, and that’s why she’d known where to go and who to get.
“How would you know that Tim and I were awake?”
“Heard you over the com, but beyond that, had no idea if you two were awake or not,” Siler said. “I’d checked the ship so I saw two rooms with people sleeping, but didn’t stop to count heads. I just wanted the two leaders who are the most willing to think outside the box and break the rules. That’s you and Crawford. Reader would be next, but honestly, in this situation, he’s going to flip into a more official line of thinking because of his training. Same with Reynolds. You two, on the other hand, never actually go for official.”
“I think I’m flattered?” Tim said. “Not sure, of course.”
“It’s totes a compliment,” Lizzie said reassuringly.
Looked directly at Algar. “Why is this necessary?”
He blinked slowly, and when he opened his eyes, they were the usual bright, unnatural-for-humanity green I was used to. “As a failsafe. Just in case.”
“In case someone’s lying to Mother, Charlie, and everyone else about what’s really going on?”
“Yes. And for other failsafe reasons.” He blinked slowly again, and now his eyes were a human green again.
“We agree with the Ard Ri,” Wruck said. “I can shift to look like anyone, so I’ll be the one getting us supplies.”
“I think it’s going to be kind of too long for all of you to hold it, if you catch my meaning.”
“There’s a bathroom connected to this supply room,” Siler said. “So thanks for worrying, but we’ll be okay.”
“The bathroom also isn’t monitored,” Buchanan said. “But that’s because the lines were rerouted.”
“Rerouted by whom, if John and Cameron are afraid to link up?”
No sooner asked than a part of the ceiling opened and a what looked like a neon yellow, three-foot, humanoid turtle/Jiminy Cricket combination dropped down, landing in a catlike stance that, for a Turleen, was cool and, for a human, was pretty adorable. I never mentioned the adorable, though, because he wouldn’t like it and I didn’t want to ruffle his shell.
“Mossy! My man!” He and I did a complex hand-elbow greeting that was our “thing.” “How’d you get in here?”
“I saw Christopher bringing people out and figured there was an issue. I know the ship well, so I thought I might be needed.”
“You always are. So, you’re officially on Team Tough Guys now?” Considering that Mossy was a Brigadier General in the Turleen Air Force, he definitely had the bona fides.
“I am. And I have to say that it’s a good thing I was involved on Drax’s planning team, because otherwise I never could have done the rerouting necessary. But we’re good to go and I’m certain the AI doesn’t know what hit it, so to speak.”
“Why can you do that but not John or Cameron?”
Mossy chuckled. “The ship is protected against other AIs, as well as Vata-type connections. Against someone who knows what wires to move where, however? Not so much.”
“It’s always the small ports that mean the Death Stars get blown up, so this is just par for every course.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mossy said.
“So few ever do, but you disappoint me.”
He shrugged. “I’ll work to make it up. You three had better leave with some kind of supplies, though, or it’ll look suspicious.”
“What cleaning supplies would make sense for us to take to the other crash couch seating area?”
“Toilet paper?” Tim asked with a snicker.
“That’s so Operation Drug Addict ago.” And besides, I wasn’t having wild sex with Jeff in this closet, so that wouldn’t be the fun kind of nostalgia. “Do they have general medical supplies like aspirin or Advil in here?”
“They do, actually,” Buchanan said, tossing a large box of Advil to Tim. “Good plan, Missus Executive Chief. You were worried about Reynolds and a possible migraine reaction, so came here first, found this, and now are heading off.”
“Don’t forget to visit,” Wruck said. “Though do it carefully.”
“We’ll do our best. Um, can we talk to each other about what’s going on?”
“Only if you want the AI to hear it,” Siler said. “So, no. Only in a maintenance room like this one. There’s one per floor per section, so there’s plenty of opportunities. You’ll just have to have a good reason for going in and out.”
“Joy. Subterfuge on top of everything else. Truly, I cannot wait.”
“You’ll do right, lassie,” Algar said. “You always do.”
“Yeah? Let’s hope.”
“How would you know that, that Kitty always does what’s best?” Tim asked Algar.
Who shrugged. “We do get the media in Algarria, laddie, we’re not some simple backwater. You just watch your tongue when speaking to a sovereign.”
“Apologies, Ard Ri,” Tim said, shooting me the “why me?” look.
Managed not to laugh. “So, per Mother, Lizzie and everyone else learned new languages we’ll need. Jeff, Tito, Tim, and I did not, and I’m betting the seven of you didn’t, either.” Not that I thought Algar needed the knowledge. “Supposedly we’ll have time on our journey to wherever the hell we’re going, but I don’t know how much, and I’d love to take the learn in your sleep shortcut, too.”
“I figured out how to tap into the feed that’s providing the somnolent learning,” Mossy said. “Again, because I’m not an AI, the ship isn’t noticing me because she wasn’t built to so notice.”