Pay Me, Bug!

Chapter 37

WHEREIN Our Hero Saunters Casually to the Exit

Ur Voys had a definite rhythm to the way it was run. People who worked there long enough developed a feel for when the cargo shipments came in, when the doctors and scientists arrived, when the shifts changed over... a general sense of who was supposed to be doing what, and where, and at what time.

Hallek Andros had been the overseer at Ur Voys for thirteen years. He knew how everything fit together, and he knew most--though not all--of the secrets within the complex.

He'd been placed in charge of Ur Voys because he served his Emperor with distinction. This stewardship had been validated when, after a common smuggler had stolen a large shipment of anagathics, the Viceroy poured God's wrath upon him, and his soul had been found blameless, and he was deemed worthy of his position.

A month ago, when he was summoned before the Viceroy and was informed that someone was going to try and steal Special Project 51273, Andros could scarcely believe his ears. This was Ur Voys, after all--the Alliance had tried for years to infiltrate this facility, and had failed every time. But Andros was an obedient and faithful man, and he trusted in the wisdom of the Swords. When this one told him the facility was in danger, he increased the guards on Level 5, added more security measures to the rooms where Special Project 51273 was stored, and warned the security forces that specialized in that project's defense to be on the alert, and to inform him of every irregularity.

When he reported his steps to Commodore Mavis--a man he respected, and whose authority he did not begrudge--Mavis was satisfied. He later informed Andros that the Viceroy, also, was satisfied, which pleased him very much. He was certain that any attempt to steal Special Project 51273 would be discovered and neutralized well before it got to the additional security measures, but he didn't question his superiors for insisting on them. It was a rarity, after all, and paranoia was healthy in these matters.

For weeks everything went smoothly. It wasn't until nearly a month had passed that things began to go wrong.

On that day one of his subordinates entered his office, looking concerned. This was enough to make Andros cautious. This particular subordinate was a very calm and confident man.

"Sir," his subordinate said, "I believe we have a security breach."

For a moment, Andros didn't understand what the man was saying. "A what?"

"Security breach," the subordinate repeated. "I very strongly feel there's been an intentional and deliberate attempt to disable or sabotage equipment on our facility."

Andros motioned for the man to close the door behind him. "Explain."

The subordinate took a deep breath. "Security for Special Project 51273 became aware of a message bot near the entrance to the main room. Message bots aren't often used on Level 5, so that was unusual... but not unheard of. What made them suspicious was that it was wandering aimlessly. A message bot is programmed to deliver its message and immediately return to its queue. This one… wasn't."

Andros nodded. "That is strange."

"Yes," the subordinate said. "What's even stranger is that when one of the guards approached the message bot, she noticed its message carrier was empty."

Andros blinked. "Empty?"

The subordinate nodded. "In short, there was no reason for it to be there. The guard promptly deactivated the bot and alerted the shift commander, who ordered the bot sent to maintenance to have its programming studied."

"That was properly done," Andros said. "See that the shift commander is given a commendation on his or her record."

"I will," said the subordinate, "but it doesn't end there. When the maintenance crew attached the bot to a diagnostics station and restarted it, the bot deactivated itself immediately."