“I am capable of performing millions of tasks simultaneously,” T told them, something everyone here already knew, except perhaps Simone. “And I do so every day. But as my sentience has expanded, I have found myself feeling what may best be described as boredom,” T admitted. “I needed a challenge.” A disturbing hesitance entered his voice. “Or challenges.”
Oh drek.
Srok’a looked around at them. “Is it me, or does he sound guilty?”
Kova grunted. “He sounds guilty as srul.”
Janwar sighed. “T, what did you do?”
“In the interest of expanding my knowledge base and alleviating my boredom, I took it upon myself to learn how to autopilot every craft in our bays.”
The men’s jaws dropped.
Janwar’s alarm shot up. “Please tell me you just read the manuals.”
“That is how I began,” T said. “But I wished to do more. Performing the same tasks day after day became too…”
“Tedious?” Simone supplied helpfully.
Janwar didn’t think she understood just how much of a bura storm this was.
“Correct. Tedious. To dispel that tedium, I…” T’s speech again slowed as though he were reluctant to continue.
“You what?” Simone encouraged.
“I have been taking the craft out for test flights while you all sleep.”
Janwar’s jaw nearly hit the floor. If he weren’t so shocked, he might’ve laughed. T sounded like an adolescent admitting he’d taken the family hovercar out for a joy ride without asking for permission. “Are you drekking kidding me?”
The others piled on. “While we sleep?”
“How the srul did we not know that?”
“How many did you damage, T?”
“I did not damage any of them,” T told them, all indignation. “I happen to be an excellent pilot.”
Janwar waved a hand to quiet everyone down. “What about tapping into another ship’s system. Have you practiced that one, too? I thought infiltrating the Ranasura was the first time you’d done that.”
“It was not. I do not like being left behind, so I have accompanied you on some of your missions.”
“Which missions?” Janwar demanded.
“All of them,” T said, a smile in his voice.
Janwar dragged a hand down his face and struggled for patience. “How?”
“The datapads you wear on your wrists. I was with Krigara and Srok’a on the Gathendien ship and monitored their actions while they overrode access codes and searched the lab’s systems. I wished to know more and opted to remain on the ship after you locked it down so I could practice.”
“Are you on the other ship now?”
“No. Once I mapped their system and reviewed every bit of data stored in it, I returned to the Tangata.”
How the srul had he done that? T had never jumped remotely from one ship to the next. He always needed a conduit.
Simone sat forward. “You reviewed all of the data stored on their computers?”
“Yes.”
“Was there any mention of other ships capturing my friends from Earth?”
“No,” T told her with some regret. “But the battle with the Kandovar left their ship badly damaged. They were still trying to get their long-range communication system up and running when they found you.”
“Oh.” She glanced around. “That sucks. It would’ve been nice to obtain a list of every ship that’s picked up Earthlings and other survivors so we could just haul ass and rescue them all.”
Janwar nodded.
“So.” She glanced around the table. “One option is for me and T to infiltrate the Gathendien ship and save whomever we can. What are the other options?”
“If you and T infiltrate the Gathendien ship,” Janwar said, “I’ll accompany you.”
She shook her head. “The whole point of taking T is to—”
“I will accompany you,” he repeated, his expression brooking no argument.
Simone cracked a smile. “You’re hot when you’re all authoritative, commander. Frustrating, but still hot.”
His mind went blank with surprise.
Someone snorted a laugh. He thought it might have been Soval.
“We’ll call that one Plan A,” she continued. “What’s Plan B? We bypass the ship and go to the station first?”
He nodded. “That also has risks. The station could contact the ship and either enlist its aid or warn it away.”
“So while we kicked ass on the station, the ship could jet off to who-knows-where, along with any Kandovar survivors they might hold on board?”
“Yes.”
She frowned. “How hard would it be to track them?”
He shrugged. “Depends on how long we’re delayed by any battle that might erupt on the station. We don’t know how many warriors we’ll face or how long it will take us to sneak inside and orchestrate a rescue. T can only track the Gathendien ship as far as radar will allow. And if it manages to fly out of range before we can get back on the Tangata, there’s a chance we’ll lose it.”
Krigara nodded. “As well as anyone they have on board.”
Simone swore, then turned to T. “Can you do like you did with the Ranasura and be two places at once, both here with us and on the Gathendien ship, so you can keep us informed of its location?”
“That would require an open comm channel, which would alert them to our presence and general location.”
Janwar didn’t like the options any more than she did. It seemed like either way, they would likely miss their opportunity to rescue anyone the Gathendiens had in their clutches—either those on the ship or those on the station.
“And if the ship reaches the station before we catch up to them?” she asked.
“If the ship carries Earthlings or other survivors,” Janwar speculated, “they’ll be the first unloaded upon arrival.”
“Seems logical,” she murmured. “And more convenient for us since everyone we’re hoping to rescue will be in the same place.”
“Hopefully,” Krigara inserted. “But again, we don’t know how large an installation they’re maintaining, how tight their security is, or the number of warriors that guard it.”
“That’s a lot of variables,” she reluctantly admitted.
“And if the ship and its crew linger,” Elchan added, “we’ll face larger numbers.”
Janwar silently agreed. It could be the seven of them against dozens, or it might be the seven of them against hundreds.
Drek, if this moon ended up being a major military base for the Gathendiens, there could be thousands. While he and his crew had taken on large numbers in the past, there was a limit to their capabilities.
Simone sighed. “What I’m hearing is that we’re just going to have to wait and see.”
He sent her a commiserating smile. “I’m afraid so.”
She grimaced. “Patience is not my strong suit.”
“Perhaps a distraction will help,” T suggested brightly. “Shall I show you how I can pilot all of the K-6s at once?”
Every male’s eyes widened before they began blurting objections.