Tech Scavengers [Humorous, Action-Packed Space Opera]

Negasi had an overriding urge to go to the bathroom, but he didn't dare leave his post at the turret. If he got sucked into an Imperium mine while sitting on the crapper, Jeridan would make fun of him for all eternity.

And Negasi didn't really want to experience eternity right now.

So he had to sit there, helpless, while putting his life in the hands of a centuries-old android with a memory problem.

The space station began to recede behind them. Up ahead, he could just make out the strange blurs of the mines. He couldn't see the mines themselves, only the distortion of the stars behind them. It was the same no matter what spectrum he used—visual, infrared, ultraviolent, radio. And the distortions were hard to look at, straining his eyes and wavering in an inexplicable way so that it was impossible to tell just where the mine was.

On their first mission here, Nova and Derren had learned the hard way that their effect was larger than the distortion they could detect.

They had lost two ships that way, vanished without a trace.

ZHI's robotic voice came over the comm. "We are entering the minefield."

Negasi wondered why he bothered saying that, since everyone had their eyes glued to the sensors. ZHI took them straight ahead as mines moved in seemingly random patterns across their entire field of vision.

One drifted silently away from them to their upper left. Another angled toward them from their lower right, although if it kept its current vector, it would miss them.

A big if. These things changed course all the time, like the one that had been staying still just below them and then began to move away from the station at the same rate of speed as the Antikythera, pacing the ship in a very unsettling way.

The one from the lower right continued on the same vector. Negasi hissed through clenched teeth as it passed dangerously close to them.

Not close enough. He would have never dared getting so near to one, but ZHI knew the capabilities of these mines and could calculate the safe zone down to the millimeter.

At least he hoped. The loss of power had left his brain damaged. What if his calculations or his memory of the minefield was off?

ZHI had told them that wasn't the case, but would the android actually know? Could he tell? Jeridan was brain damaged and he thought he was a genius.

They passed by three mines all going to the right with slightly different vectors. The ship angled up and to the left, then dipped sharply down, getting uncomfortably closer to that mine below them that continued to pace their progress. None of the mines had done that on their way in.

Negasi kept staring at it, wondering at this anomaly. He felt tempted to ask ZHI, but didn't dare interrupt her thoughts.

Just then, the mine pacing them shot up faster than any of the mines had moved before, coming straight for them.

MIRI jerked the ship to the right, and Negasi sucked in a breath, because that took them into the vector of a mine coming toward them from the right front. At the last moment, that one shifted to the left, nearly colliding with the mine that had come up from below.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Another turn, another quick jerk to the upper left, and then Negasi saw what he had been hoping to see—no more mines.

"We made it," he whispered.

"Piece of cake," Jeridan said, his tone showing that it had been anything but.

MIRI picked up speed. The Imperium space station dwindled to a bright point behind them.

"I hope the successful completion of this task brings us to a greater understanding and mutual trust," ZHI said.

"Well, it sure keeps us alive," Jeridan said.

What an idiot. He couldn't think of something better than that?

"The citizens of the Imperium would have been proud that one of their AIs had done such an excellent job," Negasi said.

"I will now go to the quarters you have prepared for me."

"Hold on," Negasi said, getting out of his webbing. He needed to escort her there.

He still wore his Kevlar, so he put on his helmet with the reinforced glassteel visor, grabbed his slug rifle, and went down to the bridge.

Poopsie was already on guard in the corridor outside. Jeridan and ZHI came out.

"Sorry for locking you away," Negasi told the android.

"It is understandable considering the circumstances."

"We'll give you that data burst about the current situation in the galaxy you asked for. That will give you something to think about."

MIRI had prepared an edited version of Interstellar Encyclopedia and The Standard Encyclopedia of Known Sentient Species. She had taken out anything she thought might be useful if the AI went rogue, including pretty much everything about military technology and the military capabilities of all planetary systems.

Even so, it was a calculated gamble. Pretty much any information might prove useful to a hostile AI, but on the other hand they needed ZHI to be as informed as possible if he was going to be any help against the Rimscourge.

It still bothered the hell out of him that neither ZHI knew anything about a major galactic invasion. Sure, maybe the AIs had some holes in their memories, but that seemed way too coincidental.

They walked ZHI to an empty crew quarters where a portable tablet would give him the data they had decided he could have. ZHI stood in the center of the room, expressionless, saying nothing, as they closed and locked the door behind him.

As the door clicked shut, Negasi felt a twinge of guilt. He knew that was ridiculous. ZHI had no human emotions, no need to walk around or interact with others. Still, it seemed unfair somehow.

"Now what?" Negasi said.

Jeridan shrugged. "Now the experts work away at the jump gate tech, helped by our three-hundred-year-old colleague in there, and we hope for the best."

"OK, but where are we going?"

"Mom says we're going to the Eridanus system," came a metallic voice from the combat mech.

"Oh, you've logged in again? I thought you didn't want to fight an AI."

"I was monitoring. I just logged in now."

"Which planet in the Eridanus system are we going to?" Negasi asked, worried.

The system was rare in that it had three habitable planets, all of which were ruled by different governments. They were personae non grata at Eridanus Delta after selling some fake weapons systems to the king.

"Eridanus Delta."

Negasi and Jeridan traded a look.

Can't anything be easy on this mission?

"Why do we have to go there?" Negasi would believe an answer from Aurora a lot sooner than he'd believe anything her mother said.

"It's got the headquarters for the League of Concerned Archaeologists."

"Would have liked to have known that before, but better late than never," Jeridan grumbled.

"You can ask me stuff, you know. I'm not like my mom."

"We know." Negasi patted the combat mech's head.

"Will you two stop doing that!"

Negasi laughed. "Program Poopsie to stand guard out here."

"Duh! Like I haven't done that already!"

"Duh?" Negasi said.

"She's started to say duh a lot," Jeridan explained. "It's a phase."

"Very funny," Aurora said. "When are you going to get out of the loser phase?"

Negasi punched him in the shoulder. "Yeah, Jeridan. When's that going to happen?"

"I was addressing the two of you."

"Oh."

"Now that's we're not going to die in the next few seconds, why don't you two go to sickbay and check on your condition?" Aurora suggested.

"Probably a good idea," Negasi said, giving his friend a significant look.

They had some things to talk about.

Most importantly, how the hell they were going to land on Eridanus Delta without getting their heads chopped off.