Deeper Darker

Book 2: Chapter 22: Initiate

Third Quadrant.

Planet Enaya.

Elect City Battle Arenod.

Ubik stood in front of the screen which showed PT and a muscular woman taking a shower together. Both of them were naked and steaming. Only partly from the hot water, Ubik guessed.

Very impressive, said the voice coming from the drone.

Well, hes the strong silent type, which girls like, said Ubik. Plus he works out.

No, said the drone. I meant how quickly you managed to compromise our systems. Lights flickered across the middle of the spherical drone and the screen went black. I was aware of you hacking this drone, but not the others. You must have done it before you entered the building.

Oh, that. Ubik stared at the screen, his reflection staring back at him. Having PT on site could have provided a distraction, but he was otherwise indisposed. Impressive, it certainly was.

He turned to face the group of men at the other end of the room, the drone hovering slightly above them. It was the same drone Ubik had meddled with earlier but he had nothing to do with its sudden chattiness.

Yes, I had a chance to start the ball rolling on the way into the city. Nice little arena youve got here. Bit weak to cyber attack, but youve got the Ollo network to shield you. Only a problem if the Ollo network gets compromised first. That was the tricky part.

This guys too relaxed, said Ghee. Hes up to something. Shouldnt we tie him up before he tries something else?

No, said the drone. He cant do much from in here. Im watching him. Bring in his friend so we can see what their relationship is. They cant both be geniuses.

Ghees right eye darted around, activating his ocular implant. Hes on his way.

Good, said the drone. I think this could work to our mutual advantage, Ubik. Whatever you did to upset VendX, we can protect you from them. If you cooperate.

And who are you? asked Ubik.

Call me Vox, said the drone. I prefer to keep my identity private. It helps avoid issues like being killed by people who dont like what Im doing.

You have that problem too, huh? Ubik nodded sympathetically. Im not sure if hiding behind a drone is the way to deal with it, though. People will think youre scared.

But I am scared. Im mightily afraid I wont be able to accomplish my goals. The people of Enaya are far more important to me than my reputation. Dont be fooled by the smiling, well-fed citizens youve seen so far. The situation here is quite dire.

I used to live in a junkyard and eat garbage, said Ubik. Happy and well-fed seems pretty okay.

The door opened and PT came in. He was dressed in a green and yellow leotard with a red flash of lightning across the chest, which was a little baggy on him. The woman hed been in the shower with followed him in. She was wearing an identical leotard but on her, it was stretched taut.

This is Janeane, said the woman, or whatever his real name is. This is Vox. Your life is in his hands, so behave yourself.

PT looked at the drone. A drone? The leader of your revolution is a drone?

Welcome, said the drone. Its been so very busy these last few hours, guests arriving one after the other. We have interested parties from all over the quadrant and further afield come to see who ends up with the lions share of whatever it is that asteroid is about to produce. All the major players, all hungry for a piece of the action. And now you two. The two who arrived on the Central Authority ship. The vessel that exploded but somehow left you both unharmed and standing on our doorstep. I cant see that as being mere coincidence. At the very least, providence has sent you during our time of need. They are about to carve up this world and leave nothing but crumbs for its true owners, the people. Surely you wont allow that to happen.

Hey, said Ubik. Hes not here to rescue you, hes here to rescue me.

Im not here to rescue anyone, said PT. He sounded quite dour. Even more than usual. That might work on the girls, make him seem all moody and interesting, but Ubiks head wasnt so easily turned.

But youre in matching outfits, said Ubik. Youre a superhero team here to save me. Otherwise, its kind of a weird look.

Im not here to save you, Ubik. And please dont try to save me.

Ghee, who had been watching the exchange with some consternation, decided to interrupt the bickering. You two do realise youre in a lot of trouble, dont you?

Ive rescued him from worse than this, said Ubik. Youd think hed want to repay the debt.

Youve only rescued me from danger you put me in, said PT.

This is interesting, said the drone. Which one of you is in charge? I cant tell.

In charge, said PT. Ha! You know how they have terrorist cells where no one group knows what the other is doing? Thats how Ubiks brain works. There is no one in charge, just a series of random disasters.

Ive been insulted, said Ubik, with great precision. Not sure how to feel about it.

Look, said PT, addressing the drone, do you want to kill us or use us for some purpose you cant manage by yourselves? Make up your mind quick, we have other business to take care of.

There was a pause as the people who thought they were the ones in control attempted to come to grips with how they were the ones being handed the ultimatum. Ubik was pleased. PT was doing an excellent job of keeping everyone off-balance. He was genuinely annoyed, which made it even more convincing, but that was okay. He was still quite an effective counter-terrorist.

We arent murderers, said the woman. Ubik wasnt sure the others were in total agreement with her.

Okay, so you want us to do some task for you, said PT. Fine. But just so you know, theres a good chance and by good I mean near-certain that it wont turn out the way you anticipate, and you, Vox, will be the one having to explain to your unhappy bosses why youve turned your fancy arena into a pile of rubble. Just a heads up.

What are you talking about? said Ghee. He is the boss.

Please, said PT. Ubik, the guy behind the drone, who is he?

How would I know? said Ubik.

Youve been with him for ten minutes, are you saying you have no idea? There was an accusatory tone to PTs voice.

Well, I have some ideas nothing definite.

Come on, Ubik, dont start being all cautious now, youll ruin the image I have of you. What have you come up with? Im sure these people would love to hear your theories on the guy they think is their boss. He isnt is he?

Probably not, said Ubik.

Of course he isnt. When did the guy keeping his identity secret ever turn out to be someone you could trust? So who is he?

PT had very effectively channelled the rooms attention towards Ubik. Not only had PT managed to put everyone into a reactive posture, he had funnelled their focus away from himself. It was almost as though he was using Ubik as the distraction. Ubik was inclined to go along with it just to see where things would end up.

Okay, well, with the disclaimer that Im only going on the minimum amount of information on someone who clearly values their privacy, my guess would be he works for Node.

What? said Ghee.

Ridiculous, said the woman.

The two large men who were also in attendance didnt say anything but didnt look overly impressed, either.

Who or what is Node? asked PT.

Our parent company, said Ghee. Node PLC.

Node Power Loves Corruption, said Ubik.

Thats not

Dont be offended, its just a nickname, said Ubik. Theyre one of the minor supercorporations. They can destroy anyone in their way, unless the ones in their way are also a supercorporation. Theyve been trying to make inroads into the whole owning planets business, but the big boys keep shutting them out. They have a bit of a presence here, which none of the other supercorps have, but the problem is the reason no one has a foothold here isnt blind luck, its because this is Ramon Ollos backyard. But with Ramon missing

Do we have to listen to this nonsense? said the woman. Youre saying the man who has risked everything for this world is actually an employee of some grimy corporation that wants to take over before one of its rival grimy corporations can do it first? This is just business? Peoples lives are hanging in the balance.

I dont know, said PT. Why not ask him?

PT now expertly diverted attention towards the drone. He really was getting good at this.

The drone was silent. It hovered in place, no lights flashing around its middle. It was a good thing drones couldnt sweat, it might have short-circuited itself.

Finally, Vox spoke. What do you want?

Are you saying hes right? said the woman, a look of horror on her face. It isnt true, is it? You cant be

Of course it isnt true, said Vox. Please wait and dont jump to conclusions, Bam.

Calm down, said Ghee. You know Vox never does the expected. Lets see what his play is.

They were both desperate for Ubik to be wrong. Ubik didnt really care. His guess was enough to prevent him and PT getting stuffed into a bag in easy to handle pieces. If he wasnt exactly right, he wasnt far off.

Were in a very disadvantageous position here, said Vox. It was bad enough with only Ollo and his pet Assembly ready to wag its tail at his command. Now there are many more players wanting to take his place, including Mackus.

Who? said PT.

Ramon Ollos number two, said Ubik.

You really are an Ollo fanboy, arent you? said PT. Wont he be the one to take over if hes got access to Ollos set-up?

No, said Vox. If he could, he would have already. The Ollo network isnt so easy to penetrate for anyone who isnt an Ollo. Or so I thought.

The walls flickered. They changed into screens, the whole room was covered with images of Enaya from orbit, with part of a large ship taking up one corner.

This is the Seneca Corps, said a voice that filled the room. We are broadcasting on all channels. Forced reception is active, do not look away. We are assuming command of the planet. The General Assembly will convene in thirty minutes, standard. Attendance is compulsory. Do not be alarmed, we are here on a humanitarian mission. Any resistance to our presence will be met with lethal force.

Targeting icons started appearing across the globe. The Corps version of being passive-aggressive was light on the passive.

Whats going on? said Ghee. Why are they back?

Are they here to deal with Mackus? said the woman.

Boss, said one of the large men, looking particularly nervous, weve got to get to the bunker.

The timing wasnt great. They had just been about to secure a ride out to the Ollo residence, which was all Ubik had really wanted out of this. Now the Corps was here to ruin everything.

Not them again, said Ubik. Everywhere we go.

Youve had dealings with the Corps before, said Vox. And lived.

Sure, said Ubik. No big deal. Theyre actually very useful as a distraction. No one pays any attention to you when the Corps arrives. Its the fancy uniforms and underwire bras very eye-catching. You were saying?

Other than PT, the rest of the room were staring at Ubik.

Get me into Ollos network, said Vox, his private network then name your price. We can make you both very rich men and provide you with a ticket to anywhere in the galaxy. You know the other corporations wont make you an offer you can trust.

Wait, said the woman, you really are

A series of hisses came from the drone and small jets of air caused a distortion in four different directions. Four people hit the ground with darts in their necks.

And we can trust you? said PT, ignoring the sudden reduction in personnel.

Wed need a guarantee, said Ubik. And we need to get inside the Ollo main residence. I can only access the private network from onsite.

That wont be a problem, said Vox.

And that was how you got yourself a free ride when you didnt have enough money for taxi fare.