The Regulator

Chapter 1.3

The Laurentic's passengers and crew were beginning to stir as Haas made her way towards the upper decks and the lifeboat station where the Abilene was currently moored. The state of the art sound proofing that protected the wealthiest passengers from the noise of the HD engines must have also muffled the sound of her gun being discharged, because even though a handful of people, some in uniform, some in plush bathrobes and slippers, passed her in the corridor, most hurried awkwardly by without giving her a second glance. If any of them noticed her disheveled state they weren't keen to mention it. She hoped the same would be true if they passed her cabin. The door had still been refusing keypad commands when she left, so it remained unlocked. Anyone walking past would notice immediately, but she just hoped the Laurentic's rich clientele would have little interest in poking their nose in to someone else's business. The crew might be a different matter however, so once she was in the main stairwell Haas hustled, taking the stairs two at a time. She needed to get back to the Abilene, to hide Sewati's strange little book before someone else discovered his body, or worse the unconscious security guard woke up and raised the alarm. If that happened the shit would most definitely hit the fan, and if she was stopped with the book still on her the chances of keeping it safe would become slim.

The airlock between the Laurentic and the Abilene was still closed when she reached the life boat deck and it took two attempts to persuade the Laurentic's security pad to give her access. It's operating system had definitely not been designed to take commands from a prosthetic operating system, and under different circumstances Haas would be tempted to complain. But having a murder on her hands meant she had better things to worry about than a mild electric shock and a stream of garbled data on her palm screen. Resorting to the old fashioned method of actually keying in her Regulator Branch security code, she finally made it through the airlock, across the short tether and on to her own ship.

Louie had already turned on the lighting and the heating, although after a day of down time the Abilene would take some time to warm back up. As an Armed Pursuit Vehicle it was built for combat, and not comfort, but to Haas the hum of barely shielded electrics and the smell of gun oil in the cool air meant stepping on board was like coming home. Still, a little extra comfort wouldn't be a bad thing, so Haas left the airlock door open. Why waste her own energy cells when the Laurentic had heat to spare?

"What did you tell the Laurentic's AI, Louie?" She asked, hurrying straight in to the galley. Warm air from the Laurentic wafted in behind her.

"That you needed access to the Abilene to do some on board housekeeping before transferring the Ambassador to M'ech," Louie responded.

"I don't think he bought it." Haas dumped her rucksack on to the galley table. The fingers of her left hand were still tingling from their contact with the airlock entry system. "Having a smart prosthetic was meant to make opening doors easier."

"The Blue Star Line programmes its AI's to take housekeeping very seriously, Commander." There was an edge to Louie's voice that suggested he wouldn't mind if she did the same. "I'm sure Victoria was not trying to be disagreeable."

"The Laurentic's AI is female?" Haas unlocked the door to the Abilene's small operations room and clambered over the knee knockers. The double sided desk, which she shared with Lucy Sato, was in its usual state of ordered chaos.

"All ships of the Laurentic's size are managed by female AI's, Commander." Now Louie sounded wounded. "Victoria tells me it's a matter of customer preference."

Haas got the impression that Louie had been talking to Victoria quite a lot since they docked.

"Louie, did Victoria register any shots fired in the Ambassador's cabin?