Read Online Derelict: Halcyone Space, Book 1 by Lj Cohen - Free Book Online Page B

module.
    A few lines of simple code and it would do what Ro wanted. He pulled out his micro, waiting as it paired with the newly installed chip before writing the commands to transfer its query path to Ro's computer. But she hadn't said that was all he should do. Smiling, Jem added a quick peek-a-boo subroutine. That way he would know what she was looking at.
    He patted the top of the robot's "head" and sent it on its way before jumping up and brushing off his pants. Now for drone number two. They swept the station in what seemed like random patterns and asking Daedalus for their location would be logged as an unusual command. He looked at his little rogue robot. "How's about you find a brother or sister for me?" He sent a simple query through its rudimentary processor. It beeped softly and spun around back to the station.
    Jem followed the drone through the familiar corridors of Daedalus. By the conventions of station time, it was afternoon and the second duty period would end in less than thirty minutes. He had the South nexus to himself, at least for a little while. The drone beeped again and bumped to a stop at the far airlock. When Jem didn't move, it backed up and hit the door again, beeping louder this time.
    "Keep your cover on," Jem said, triggering the airlock door. A second drone waited, powered down in a charging alcove. As he bent down to snatch it, two angry voices filled the corridor. Jem froze, glancing up.
    Ro's father strode toward him, the senator right at his heels. Jem shrunk back against the wall, curling up in the small niche.
    "You have less than two weeks," Rotherwood said. "And then, no matter what, we need to move the cargo."
    "And when will I get paid?" Maldonado asked, his voice low and cold.
    "You'll get yours. You just have to trust me."
    Maldonado snorted. "I'm not stupid, Senator."
    "You just do your part," Senator Rotherwood said, nearly spitting the words out. "And we'll both —"
    As Jem's heart beat triple time, they stepped past him, never even glancing down to see where he had hidden. He pulled out his micro and accessed the first drone's programming, sending it after them through the nexus. Nobody noticed work drones the same way nobody noticed him.
    Jem grabbed the second drone and quickly did the mod, wondering what the senator and the chief engineer were arguing about. Clearly, Jem wasn't the only one with secrets on this station. Maybe his little eavesdropper would have some answers. Eventually, it would dump the contents of its small memory to his micro. He ran his hands over his tight-clipped hair and watched the second drone head back to the ship to take the pictures Ro wanted.
    She'd better have been able to intercept that tox report. Otherwise Barre's little mistake was about to get a whole lot bigger. He shoved his micro back in a pocket and headed to the infirmary.

Chapter 9
    The full assay would take a few hours. Micah looked up at the plants craning their way toward their artificial sun. It wasn't as if he had anything else better to do with his time now. He waited in the terraforming bubble as the immature leaves flash-dried in the small dehydrator. This process wasn't optimal for concentrating the psycho-active compounds in bittergreen, but he wasn't looking for high-grade product here.
    The scent of wet dirt and bruised herbs faded, replaced by a slight sharpness as the controlled heat drove all the moisture out of the green plant matter. That smell always brought back the dark room where his mother had spent her last days and the acrid sweat that overpowered the bittergreen tea he brewed for her.
    He stood up from the uncomfortable chair and stretched his spine. The machine beeped and turned its heating coil and fan off. At least he'd be able to get viable DNA from his sample. Micah reached for the packet Jem had thrown at him, the isolation gloves snug around his hands. If the plant had been dried too quickly, or if the supplier used some of the commercial chemical