Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
They were all gathered in the galley when a stranger walked in, his lavender skin as bright as any of the men's prison markings. He lacked the Prisons Department tattoo, though, which meant his skin tone was natural. And why in the stars was he wearing a loincloth?
"Who are you, and how did you get aboard my ship?" Edward demanded.
The man stuck out a pale purple hand for Edward to shake.
"I'm Agent Ghost. Emergency Services. Control sent me here to make sure your ship doesn't crash into the Titanic.
When we couldn't raise you on comms, we assumed the worst. And, seeing as ghost ships are sort of my speciality…
" He spread his arms wide. "I'm a djinn.
Kama itachi, actually. I can surf lightwaves right through vacuum and into your ship. "
Sinclair pushed past Edward to stare at the intruder.
"Wait…Ghost? You're the guy who piloted the Curie into port after a radiation leak killed all the crew.
We had two warships ready to shoot it down, before it crashed into Alba, but I had orders to keep trying to comm them.
The very last time I tried…you answered.
I was so surprised, I spat my tea all over the screen. "
Ghost laughed. "Oh, I know you. You're Sin, the sexy voice on despatch. The guys in Emergency Services will be so jealous when they heard I met you. Most of them – attached or not – want to marry you. But what are you doing here, on a prison ship?"
Edward expected her to shrug, or mumble something vague.
But not Sin. She squared her shoulders, looked him in the eye, and said, "Convicted terrorist, for crimes against the Central Intelligence.
I tried to disconnect her from the city systems, when I realised she had plans to kill us all.
I would have succeeded, too, if not for a couple of pesky demons.
Nobody believed me, so I got sent here."
Ghost just shook his head. "And if they'd believed you then, we wouldn't be in the mess we are now.
Wherever we go next, our new colony won't have any AI or robots at all.
The things I've seen this week…I wouldn't have believed possible, if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes.
Domestic robots mowing down people. The president assassinated.
Having to leave Tito, when the city should have been thriving.
Stars, we could have done with you on comms to manage the evacuation.
As it is, only a fraction of the population will be able to make it to the Titanic.
" He looked from Sin to Edward and back to Sin again.
"Can you dock with the Titanic, or do you need me to pilot the ship?
I've had more experience manual piloting than anyone else in the system. "
Edward laughed. "No one can outpilot Sin here. She flew us out of the asteroid field, including a slingshot around Paku, on manual controls alone."
Ghost clapped a hand to his chest. "Be still my beating heart! You must be a goddess. Too good for mortal man. Wait until I tell the others. I should probably head off, seeing as you won't need me to pilot you in. Head straight into the flight deck – the guys there will guide you in."
He touched the nearest wall screen and just sort of dissolved into dust. One moment he was there, and the next…his loincloth just fluttered to the floor.
"Did any of that make sense to you?" Edward asked.
Sin shrugged. "Well, he was kind of a legend where I used to work. I didn't know his unit felt the same way about me, though. Ah, I'm sure it was just a joke. Anyway, I guess I should head up to the cockpit, so I can fly us up to the Titanic, instead of down to Tito's surface?"
Edward nodded.