If anything, Donovan had to admit there was less than a notable change in the last three days. At least the miners and tech hadn’t noticed the change or the absence of the regular patrols. Which made him wonder how much of his work was caused by his own people. Of course, this false sense of calm came with several drawbacks, the main one being, he was barred from entering Security HQ. In addition, Donovan had not seen any sign of Helix or Zoë and he was unable to get a hold of the damn Council dog.

He couldn’t shake the feeling, something of great importance was happening, while he was sitting idly on his ass. Come to think of it, Donovan hadn’t seen the Commodore for the last days, after the old man had barricaded himself inside his room. In all honesty, this development did not bother him that much. It gave Donovan the time he needed to clear any lead of his side dealings. All that was left was to get King to clear the info cashes from the mainframe, but getting a hold of that overgrown idiot was proving harder than he had thought. Felix had dared not leave the command room, always giving some strange excuse or citing some incomprehensible order given to him by Helix.

It only furthered Donovan’s conviction that the lunatic was on von Eisstahl’s payroll. Him and those damned eggheads. Both Dr Werner and Dr Kruger had their people digging and clearing in an unknown section of Last Hope. The first and last time Donovan had sent one of his men to follow some of the miners, the two scientists had conscripted, Jared had turned outside the barracks room with a broken neck, leaving Donovan blind to where everyone had gone to.

If things continued this way, it would be six months before someone from the Academy noticed there was something wrong. And it would take between another six and eight months before a team was sent to investigate. That was if von Eisstahl didn’t send any all-clear reports. Even if Donovan managed to send a distress call, as he had originally planned, it would be his word against that of the Knight Protector, and there was no doubt which one of them the brass would believe.

“What the bloody hell, Don?” Monic rolled off the bed. “I even took out my mid-section for you and nothing!” She screamed in frustration as she stormed out of the bedroom.

Usually, the sight of her exposed cyber-spine connecting her chest to her hips would have him excited, but there was too much on his head. Donovan knew how much of a hustle it was for her to detach her artificial stomach and intestines and was sure there would be a reckoning later on. But all it did was further dampen his mood.

“Monic…” He had to say something. “I’m sorry. With all the change happening around here, I guess…”

“No, Don! That could’ve fooled me the last two times, but not again.” She walked back into the room and turned her back to him so that he could attach the synthetic skin to her spine.

“What do you want me to say?” He snapped at the muscled woman standing in front of him.

“I heard you, Don.” Monic hissed back. “While you snored this morning, you kept mumbling that new girl’s name.” She narrowed her eyes. “You got the hots for her?”

“You are insane, do you know that?” Donovan pushed off of the bed and began snaking his way inside his body glove.

“Don’t play games with me, Don.” He could see the warning in her eyes as Monic tied her dark blue hair in a knot.

“Damn it, woman! I don’t want to fuck that broomstick; I want her dead!” Too late he realised he had said too much.

There were many secrets he could and did share with Monic, but there were things it was best she did not know of. He watched as her arms and shoulders tensed, the years working as a gang whip had left their mark on her. Monic was as strong and as skilled as any man Donovan had under his command and she had a short enough fuse to make his life miserable.

“Then have her patrol my forge. I’ll make sure she won't be a problem any longer..” She cracked her knuckles to emphasise the meaning of her words.

“I can’t.” Donovan sight, if only it were that easy.

“Why? You are the Chef of Security, are you not?” Monic narrowed her eyes.

“It’s complicated.” That was why he did not want to tell her; it would make him look week. “She has someone at her back.”

“What? Like the Knight Protector?”

“No… Look, don’t ask me about it. I got it under control.” Donovan made his way towards the door leading out of the hab-unit that he owned.

“Like you have control over the payment ore?” There it was, the question he had been dreading over the past days. “My contacts are yet to receive the shipment planet-side.”

“They’ll have their gold and gems. Just not now. Tell them to wait a few days, until the change in management settles down.”

“They were promised payment for the goods they delivered. You either keep your end of the deal or they come to collect. Do you understand, Chief Rex?” He did not need to reminded of the arrangements he had made.

It wasn’t the first time he had second thoughts about having Monic as a partner, both in his life and in his side business. However, the truth was, Donovan hated the woman as much as he loved her. Despite himself, he nodded and left the building. The Chief couldn’t just wait and hope that things would work themselves out. Perhaps it would be a good thing if the smugglers sent a few enforcers to make a mess.

The usual buzz of the street welcomed him. Unshaved and tired miners shuffled left and right either coming back or going to their shift. The monotony of their lives was nothing but a leaving death in Donovan’s eyes. Even the way they moved out of his path, this time it was not enough to put the usual smile on his face. Instead, he felt agitated and alone. There was not a single person he could trust. Unlike his men, Donovan had kept his distance from the mob and outside of Monic he had formed no friendships, and the few he had inside the security force were reliant on the extra credit he transferred to selected accounts.

Which meant he had to change, either adapt or allow himself to become obsolete. And Donovan valued himself too much to allow that to happen. Monic was right. Everyone had friends on the outside. All the Chief needed now was access to a communications device capable of sending no-void messages. And the damned smugglers had exactly what he needed.

“Gültan, Egor.” Without wasting time Donovan activated the feed to the two men, he could partially trust. “Meet me outside Smelter 3-75 in two hours.” He thought for a moment before adding. “I have a job for you.”

“I must make an official protest, Helix.” Dr Saiko stood at the door of the auxiliary surgical room, which he and Lucas had fixed up. “This goes against any oath I have ever taken.”

“And I have informed you that I do not care.” He shook his head and returned to the task at hand.

“I can concede you have vast medical knowledge and there is much that can be learned by examining your unorthodox methods.” The physician was having a hard time to keep his emotions in check which spoke volumes about the mental distress he was experiencing.

“However, what you are doing requires extensive cybernetic expertise, I hardly can think you would have had the time to acquire.” The man finished after taking a deep breath.

“I don’t need to be an expert to know how to fix something like that.” Lucas shrugged and smiled at the worried Saiko.

“You cannot be serious! This is a delicate procedure…”

“Doctor Saiko, the more you distract me, the greater the chance is that I will make a mistake.” He had had enough.

Helix wouldn’t mind explaining to the physician, that he had enough knowledge imprinted in his cortex by the ordained scientists at Osiris. He was supposed to keep the other Demons safe and active, both them and their gear, when they were away from any suitable facility. He couldn’t see any difference between that and the light modifications he was doing to the Knight Protector’s memory implant.

That wasn’t exactly true. This time he had someone with sufficient skill and knowledge assisting him. Lucas had done all the preparation work in the last three days. From forced indoctrination, to reviewing every recording Zeti could assemble from the fragmented files on the mainframe. It was the last stage of preparing a psi-witch for the modifications of Goliath. However, Lucas was not going to implement the mutagens and genetic cocktails which would speed Alexandra’s forced evolution. Instead, he was installing a kill switch. A few extra circuits and the moment she used her powers without authorisation and her brain would melt.

Of course, it all hinged on the idea that Lucas’s theory was correct. After all, he had no idea what the end goal of the project was, all he had were some hypotheticals. He and his squad were sent to make ensure the safety of the scientific staff. Perhaps Virgil and Bartholomew might have found out, but they never shared the information with the rest of the Demons. It was possible Zeti knew more than it was willing to share, but Lucas had no way by which to extract that information.

He made one final adjustment and soldered the last circuit in place. He could only hope that the kill-switch would function as intended. There weren’t any other subject he could have tested it on first, making it a one-time use only, a last resort kind of solution.

“You can close her up.” Lucas removed his hands from the open skull of the Knight Protector. “And doctor, don’t try and undo my modifications, less you kill your patient.”

“Helix, there is no need for such a warning.” Saiko scoffed as much as possible with his heavily augmented face. “The safety of my patient, be they psionic or not, is paramount. I will do nothing to jeopardise their wellbeing.”

“Good.” Lucas stepped into the rust-covered corridor leading to the room and turned around to face the physician. “How are Miss Kurtz’s vitals?”

“Blood pressure and heart rate are within acceptable values. However, her temperature is fixed at 314.35K, indicating an infection. I would be able to tell you more if you allow me to examine her blood for any residual toxins.”

“Doctor, I understand you are used to dealing with cybernetic units, but now, we are talking about a biological. Please use normal measurements. Having to do the conversion is becoming tiresome and reduces efficiency.” Helix did not hide the irritation from his voice.

“Helix, the mechanic Markus is trying to contact the Alexandra von Eisstahl. I believe that he is starting to doubt the automated response you had me construct.” Zeti interrupted over the feed.

Lucas was beginning to feel the strain from dealing with a constant stream of problems. He was designed for prolonged periods of activity, however, three days without sleep was coming very close to his limits. And there was the issue, a human brain could not deal with the toxic build-up in his system, making him more irritable than normal. Couldn’t everyone act like the good chief of security, holed up somewhere out of sight and plotting quietly. Lucas had Zeti monitor the man’s feed after finding out, to the Demon's amazement, that Donovan had not disconnected it from the mainframe.

For a moment, Helix considered just eliminating the mechanic but dismissed the thought. Based on what he had seen from video captures, provided by the AI, Markus was a skilled tech and the same went for his team of acolytes. Lucas would have loved to have them and the mech they were butchering on his side, but it looked like they were entirely devoted to the Knight Protector. Thus, he was, in a sense, rushing his work on Alexandra. Helix had to have the psi-witch dorsal and obedient to the point where her loyalty to him could not be questioned. And if it should be, Lucas needed a quick way to get rid of her.

“Have you managed to decrypt the security files on the mainframe?” He asked, a plan forming in his head.

“The local AI proved stubborn to deal with; however, I am a creation of the faithful.” There was clearly pride in Zeti’s voice. “As of twelve minutes ago, I have full control over all information and system connected to the mainframe. Most of them are… I can only classify them as suboptimal.”

“What is the local equivalent of a White Inquisitor?” Lucas asked as he walked along the nearly dark corridor.

“After conducting an analysis of the existing information and several interviews with Communications Operator King, there is no such position in the entity known as the United Republics.” This was not the response he had hoped for. “However, I am able to deduce your hypothesis based on your inquiry.”

“Keep to the point, Zeti.” He wiped the condensation build-up from the elevator’s control panel. “My patience is limited at the moment.”

“Helix, the condition of the woman Zoë Kurtz is, to my surprise, stable. If her state changes, I will inform you. There is no need for you to waste so much time going to check on her.”

“This is the difference between you, an AI, and me. What you see as good, is a nightmare for me. There is no reason for her to be stable.” Lucas shook his head as the elevator sped up. The techs under Dr Werner had done an admirable job fixing the thing.

“I fail to understand the reason for your pessimistic outlook. In three days, you’ve managed to achieve what the blessed staff struggle and failed to do for nearly two years.” He wasn’t sure if Zeti was just mimicking confusion for his benefit or if it was a genuine reaction.

“That’s just it. I took a gamble, knowing I was making a mistake.” Once more, Lucas noted the staggering contrast between the somewhat habituated portion of the station and the lower levels when he exited the elevator.

“Human biology is complex and it should never behave in such a predictable way.” He paused for a moment looking for the proper words. “Take us Demons for example. It took the staff at Osiris nearly sixty years to roll out Gen 1 and Gen 2 was scrapped as soon as they left the growing vats. It took an additional five years of trials before compatible hosts were found for possession for Gen 3. And that was done in a controlled environment by some of the greatest minds His Holiness could find.”

“If you require it, I can obtain the necessary knowledge regarding human genetics by studying the data cores in the auxiliary vault.” Lucas thought he detected a hint of a request in Zeti’s voice. “Though I must warn you, such an action would violate three restriction protocols, embedded inside my code. An administrator authorisation will be needed to prevent system failure.”

The idea was tempting. Having the processing power of a Control AI to assist him, would make Helix’s life much more comfortable. But there was a good reason for Constantine V forbidding Artificial Intelligences from learning too much about the functions of humans. The cleansing of New London was a grim reminder of how horrible AIs could become. By the time the rogue machine had been subdued, the entire planet was stripped of all life by biotic plagues and drone dispersed toxic fogs. The risk was too great.

“No.” There was no need for him to justify his answer to the machine. “Let me return to my original question. Is there a position id, you can fabricate, which would give me unrestricted authority over the current inhabitants of the station?”

“I understand.” This time Lucas sure, but there was disappointment in Zeti’s vice. “There is a number of such ranks inside the United Republics. However, most of them are limited to a small number of people, which would make masking impossible.”

“In that case, inform mechanic Markus that…”

“Helix, please, you must stop interrupting me. I said masking is impossible, however, fabricating a believable non-existing rank is within my possibilities.” Irritation and smugness were not a good combination to hear coming from an AI.

“How?” Lucas stopped and narrowed his eyes at one of the security camcorders, Zeti was most likely using to monitor his progress towards Zoë’s room.

“There are several poorly concealed clearance codes within the system installed by Felix’s predecessor.”

“Should I be worried you and Mr King are spending so much time together?” Lucas meant it as a joke, but he could not ignore that the AI was fascinated by the big guy.

“On the contrary, Helix. I would advise you to spend some time with him. Felix is an unrecognised genius in the field of AI coding and a great source of information.” Zeti made a noticeable pause, before continuing with a more sombre tone. “However, you are not going to like the identity I can fabricate for you.”

“Like or dislike are terms I can ignore.” Lucas said with no small amount of confidence, after all, he was a Demon.

“Please remember those words, Commodore Investigator Lucas Infera.”

“You must be joking.” He was stunned, from all possibilities, Zeti had picked the one which he knew would anger him.

“I do not joke, Investigator Infera. Your authentication code is ZH774SS6-6. You’ve been sent to mining complex Last Hope in order to investigate command personnel, prior to the arrival of Knight Protector Alexandra von Eisstahl. As such you answer only to High Commodore Konrad Higgs…”

Lucas rubbed his eyes as the AI droned on and on about the fictional persona it had constructed for him. Only one question ran through his head as he continued to Zoë’s recovery room. Was it too late to just go and kill everyone?

Virginia sat on her improvised bed and tinkered with the device she had found a few weeks ago. It was a small thing, made of some steel alloy, which was waiting its turn for analysis. In size, the thing was just as large as her palm and encased in a solid casing, but there were components inside, she was sure of it because when rattled, she could hear that some, if not all of them were loose inside. In addition, there were two connection ports on the long side, but they resembled no cable she had come across. Although, it did look familiar.

“Maybe I should ask Helix…” Virginia murmured to herself as she ran the vibro-drive along the edges, hoping the case would crack.

The light reflected from the polished surface, mocking her. In her frustration, she through the vibro-drive at the toolbox placed next to the bed. Perhaps moving her quarters to the small lab, the AI had led them to, wasn’t an as good idea as she had originally thought. True, she had spent most of the first day fixing the fusion generator in the adjacent section. And the last two days were spent digging and clearing the rubble from the blocked off rooms, a task she was familiar with. But it also meant it was her team who were doing the actual work. In end, Virginia realised she had too much free time after preparing the shift schedule, that she had decided to deal with the backlog of devices that cluttered her original living space.

There was just one problem. Most of the equipment she used was there. And here, there was barely enough space for the foldable bed she had placed at one of the corners of the lab. Virginia rubbed her face, willing the tiredness from her eyes. She reached for the bag and began to rummage through it, hoping there was something which she could use to open the case. A set of screwdrivers, clamps, pliers, tweezers, all stone-age tools, which humanity had perfected millennia ago. And then, there were some more advanced items, such as a handheld scanner, molecular photographer, micro boring laser, but no sign of the damned vibro-drive.

“And why the hell is there a multi-splitter connector box in here?” Virginia cursed as she picked the heavy outdated data extractor.

The thing alone was nearly three kilos and of as much use as a static-discharger. The last time she had heard of a device being damaged by static-electricity build-up was back in the Institute and then, it was just a small warning label on a museum piece they had been studying. That was it! Virginia began to pull out the hard-links stored inside the multi-splitter until she found the one who had the same port connector like the one on the artefact.

Quickly she connected the heavy to the arcane device and installed the info-guard, before inserting the other end to the data socket behind her ear. Virginia bit her tongue as the information processing implant in her brain was flooded by distorted code. Without wasting time, she placed her thumb on the info-guard and began cycling through the encryption filters.

Finally, after a minute of torture, the code became a coherent stream. It was far too dense for it to be random. But without a doubt, Virginia could state that it was written in Unue and the way it was structured would prove a challenge to extract any meaningful information. Unless, she used a system, which operated on the same base and as luck would have it, there were First Empire research terminals around her.

Carefully she disconnected herself from multi-splitter and used one of the machines as an improvised buffer. Once sure everything was in order, Virginia took a deep breath and re-connected the hard-link to her data socket. Her eyes opened in horror when she heard the sounds of battle and an angry conversation between multiple people, one of which she was sure was Helix. Suddenly the recording was cut and replaced by the AI’s cold voice.

“Dr Werner, it would seem you have stumbled on something you shouldn’t have. It is in your interest to not share this information with anyone else. And for your own safety, especially not with Helix. There are things, he best not know about.”