Chapter 10 #2
It was the largest species of tree on record and similar to a Banyan tree in its use of aerial roots that could grow into new trunks.
Its canopy was complex with wide branching limbs that someone had seen fit to turn into a beehive of aerial walkways.
Every so often visitors got lost while exploring those walkways and security had to be dispatched to retrieve them.
When that happened, the tree closed down for a few days until memories faded and people became foolhardy again.
In addition to the Lord of Titan, a grove of trees had been planted in its immediate vicinity. A dozen species filled the area. Including an astonishing number of Tuann trees that Gus had slipped in from her own collection.
She’d worried they would fail to thrive so far from the cargo container and the rest of their kind, but so far, they appeared to be doing well.
The trees tugged at Gus’s senses, whispering greetings while imparting snippets of gossip as she passed under their canopies. Gus smiled, relaxing into the warmth of their attention. There was a desire to linger but she suppressed it, heading unerringly for the spine and her destination.
Laughter and loud voices trickled from above, drawing Gus’s attention briefly before she moved on. The sight of tourists visiting Titan’s lord too regular a sight to elicit immediate concern.
Soon after, Gus left the path, stepping carefully so as to avoid crushing any flowers.
Minutes later, she stood at the spine’s edge, the massive interwoven trunk of the Lord of Titan stretching before her.
Branches curled above her head. Each one thick enough that she could lay perpendicular on them and not have any part of her hanging over their edge.
From a distance, the tree had already been amazing, but this close, with hundreds of interwoven trunks to make up its core, it was a marvel. Standing before its imposing presence, Gus could see why humans of several ancient religions worshiped nature deities.
Ryan may have been the reason she was sent to Titan. But its Lord was why she stayed.
Ignoring the signs that warned against straying from marked paths, Gus mounted a low hanging branch and followed it up into the tree. Thankfully, she was an old hand at navigating the Lord of Titan or she’d be like those tourists.
Hopelessly lost.
The tree’s interior was a maze. The interwoven trunks that allowed it to expand indefinitely outward, or at least until it bumped into the spine’s edge, enabled pockets to form, creating a complex network of paths and chambers should someone choose to follow them.
And choose Gus did.
She wound through its trunk, ducking low in places where its growth obstructed her way, and climbing up slightly slippery inclines as she worked her way to the room waiting at the tree’s heart.
Her office.
Normally, Gus wouldn’t have chosen to work out of a tree. More because of a lack of imagination than any real objection. The office had been left to her by her predecessor. A person she’d never met.
Strictly speaking, she’d fallen into this position by accident. If she hadn’t found the room, she’d probably still be pretending to be a dock administrator.
The room changed things.
Sliding down the last root, Gus landed on a spongy surface where dirt and other matter had collected over the years to form a moss shrouded floor in a hollowed out cavern deep in the tree’s interior.
From exploration, she’d determined the cavern was located somewhere between decks ten and twelve.
If she were to continue her descent, working her way through the tree, the roots would eventually turn back into towering branches.
The Lord of Titan was probably one of the only trees in the universe to grow limbs from each end.
The reason for that was located right in front of her. A giant root ball was cradled in the center of the cavern-like chamber in which she found herself. Trunks extending off it like mad tentacles.
The root ball had formed over what had once been the shell of the seed from which the tree sprung. It was the largest seed Gus had ever seen. Then again, it would have to be to grow something as large as the Lord of Titan.
She moved carefully over the carpet of moss since one wrong step could send her on a one-way trip to the bottom of the shaft. Gus had learned that the hard way. As evidenced by the handful of holes she could see in places.
Thankfully, she had the reflexes of a cat.
Reaching the root ball, Gus scanned it for the entrance. Locating it a moment later, she pulled back a couple of dangling rootlets before placing her hand on the metal alloy door underneath.
There was a tingle in her palm as it scanned her.
“Access granted,” a disembodied voice said. “Welcome, Titan’s administrator,”
Gus released the breath she was holding as the door unlocked. Every time she did this, it was with the expectation of rejection. It was still a mystery as to why the room had accepted her in the first place. Until she knew the reason, it was hard to trust.
Despite its location and the stringent security measures on its entrance, the room Gus stepped into was surprisingly cozy. The former owner had managed to integrate the beauty of nature with the more austere needs of technology.
In a way, it reminded Gus of Tuann design. A small section of their population, most notably those belonging to Luatha and Kashori, strove to coexist with nature rather than dominate it. Their buildings flowed around natural landmarks, taking advantage of the resources already present.
That was the case here too. The exposed roots of the root ball made up the ceiling, walls, and floor.
Gus could see evidence of the seed’s shell that was the tree’s previous incarnation.
Pieces had gotten stuck between some of the roots.
The previous owner, taking advantage of the organic nature of their structure, installed shelves between the roots.
Gus suspected that person had also used one of the tree’s branches from above to create some of the furniture in here. Including the hand carved desk along one wall, and the day bed opposite it.
Tiny cracks between roots allowed narrow beams of outside light to infiltrate the gloom. At Gus’s entrance, the lamps dotted throughout the space turned on, emitting a soft, warm glow.
She headed for the desk and the computer sitting on it. Like Kyle’s, it was hardwired directly into the station, giving it access that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. With this computer, she could run Titan. Every airlock. Every positioning system. All hers to control.
Of course, Gus had never felt the need to go down that path.
The last administrator had been something of a hermit too, rarely showing themselves to those they ruled. Gus had decided to continue that tradition. On occasion, she issued proclamations. Such as when she ordered the creation of the gardens scattered throughout Titan.
Mostly, though, she maintained a hands-off policy.
For the most part, Titan ran just fine on its own. Her lieutenants played a role in that, but even without them it would have continued operating as others in positions of authority picked up the slack.
At Gus’s approach, the computer booted on. She sat down in front of it and rested her hands on the desk.
Drops of rain appeared on the screen. As if the screen was the camera and the drops were hitting it. The same disembodied voice from the entrance came again.
“Welcome, Titan’s administrator. What can I do for you today?”
Gus clasped her hands in front of her as the rain drops pinged in time with the voice. “Can you retrieve the feed from the dock camera 4636 Alpha?”
“That footage is slated for deletion in twenty-eight minutes. Should I stop that process?”
Caught in thought, Gus tapped a finger against the desk. Her instinct was to say no. The desire to conceal her presence warring with the knowledge that she might have to sacrifice her home in return for safety.
“Yes,” Gus finally answered, coming to a decision.
If things played out the way she hoped, she’d need that footage to prove her innocence. Here’s hoping Kira would be able to follow the trail of breadcrumbs Gus was leaving her.
The problem was how to get it into Kira’s hands without letting anyone know it had come from her.
A quandary.
Lucky for her, Baran’s presence on station gave her an idea. From what she knew of Tuann hierarchy, the oshota would send anything he found up the chain.
That meant Graydon. From there, it was a short trip to Kira, given the relationship between the two.
How to get it to Baran though?
As a Tuann, he wasn’t likely to have a virtual identity she could exploit. There was no mailbox she could send a file to or handy comm code she could access.
That left her stuck at square one.
Maybe she was going about this the wrong way, Gus decided.
There was no need to send anything directly to Baran.
The oshota was here to gather information.
From what she’d heard, he was rather good at infiltration and spy work.
All she needed to do was put the file somewhere it was likely to be seen. Baran would do the rest.
If Gus were an oshota in search of information, where would she direct her attention?
There were several places she could think of.
The whisper forum where less than legal jobs were posted and sensitive information was passed back and forth.
The video archives slated for deletion. Security’s inner news bulletins that were meant to keep their people apprised of the latest threats and risk assessment.
To name a few.
None of which guaranteed her breadcrumb discovery.
The best way she could think of was to spread her little file far and wide. Make it so obvious that Baran couldn’t overlook it.