E00

Kalden Deltak's shiny head leaned over technician Trong Kell's desk. The captain circled his fingers in the air above a tiny device. "Oh, what does this do?" Kalden's fingers went straight for an even tinier red button in which all the circuits converged.

At the last second, the technician grabbed his wrist. His index finger was grazing the top of the button. "Captain, that is the self-destruct button. It will blow us to bits, and it will take half of the ship with us too."

"Aha, so this is a bomb!" Tejeda grinned as if he was the smartest being in the universe. "Why do we have this here?"

Trong Kell moved his glare toward Shayla, who was standing a bit further away near the door. Following his gaze, Tejeda understood its meaning. "Don't worry, Kell. Shayla is on board with everything. Now, answer my question."

"Well," the technician mumbled, "it's one of the bombs you have requested for the Omega mission."

Kalden Deltak smiled, his amber eyes beamed. "Go on! I need to know that you remember all the facts correctly."

"Yes, sir. The Omega mission is to infiltrate the starbase O11 in the Black Directorate's territory. The team will put these devices in strategic points for maximum damage. After the extraction of our team, the starbase O11 will explode, and the total casualties will go beyond millions."

Shayla stepped forward, her face a mask of hatred. "Reason?"

After gulping, Trong Kell started with passion. "Slaves who don't fight for their freedom don't deserve to live. Their enslavers even less. This is the motto of the Syndicate of Cosmic Freedom. Starbase O11 is the main hub for the Black Directorate, the most ruthless slave traders in the galaxy."

The real Kalden's plan was brought to light. He was keeping it from Shayla since he knew she wouldn't consent to it. Tejeda could read everything on her face. The feeling of betrayal was obvious, and a sickly pallor was now on her cheeks.

Kalden Deltak's lips widened in a warm smile that creeped out the technician. It wasn't working at all with that face. The captain's hand slapped Trong Kell on the shoulder. "Well done! You know more than I thought. Keep it up! In the meantime, dispose of the bombs. Tsk! Let's keep one just in case we may need it. Oh, and the Omega mission is canceled. I will announce it later."

The captain turned towards the shelves crammed with all of Kell's inventions. "I need something to trade at the meeting with the Alpha Pirates and the Universal Consensus. They won't let me in if I don't bring something worthwhile. What is this?"

The technician's eyes shone, and even the pimples on his chin shined. "That is one of my best inventions. It is a memory zapper. Simply click the button and speak a few calming words to replace a memory with something else. I got the idea when I accidentally bumped into Harland King and spilled his vials all over him. I reasoned that if I had this, I could wipe his memory and replace it with the picture of someone else colliding with him. But I didn't manage to make that part work, the memory insertion. And the memory-erasing part works after a few tries, hmmm, more like a thousand."

"I get it," said Kalden Deltak. "You would need to tie him up and make him stare at this for several hours. Any kind of hypnosis would work. Some punches in the head would work faster."

An odd-looking chair was sitting in a corner. The captain smiled. "What is that? Don't tell me. Is it just a chair?"

"No," beamed Trong Kell, "this is a time machine. The chair has conduits that harness the power of neutrinos. Their faster-than-light speed can make you travel through time if you are of sub-atomic proportions. I haven't found a way yet to shrink the system and the pilot to the right scale to make it work."

Kalden Deltak repeated the question. "So, till then, it is just a chair?"

"Yes." The technician lowered his head.

Tejeda was already bored as hell. He was turning toward Shayla when he saw another thing gathering dust in the opposite corner. It looked like a robot, but parts of it were missing. Mold began to sprout from its joints, and rust covered its entire body.

"What is it?" asked the captain, pointing toward it.

"Oh, that piece of junk? It is a thing we discovered floating through space like the alien we found two days ago."

The smile Tejeda threw at Shayla was easily readable as 'we are kindred spirits'. The woman shrugged her shoulders, telling him in that way that she didn't care. Perceiving that as an agreement, the captain turned to the technician. "What does it do?"

"Well, it is a basic robot without any out-of-the-ordinary functions or features. It has a deal-breaking flaw as it is ranting all the time about people's emotions and thoughts."

Trong Kell wanted to tell more, but Tejeda interrupted him. "Power it up. I want to talk with it."

The technician raised an eyebrow, but he obeyed the command. Within a few minutes, a gleaming new power core glowed yellow from the robot's chest. Its eyes lit up. They were a gleaming purple. Tejeda burst out laughing. "Shayla, look! It has eyes the same color as…"

He put a hand over his mouth, realizing what was about to say. The captain coughed as if he had a breathing problem. "Nevermind that! Let's see what it can do."

Tejeda turned toward the robot. "Hello! My name is Kalden Deltak, and I am the captain of this vessel. Who are you?"

The robot tilted its head. Its neck creaked as if it was not well oiled up. A synthetic voice echoed. It was pausing after each word as if it was struggling to pronounce them. "I... am... E...0...0... Nice... to... meet... you! I... am... a... non-corporeal... energy... being... also... known... as... Emotions... Infinity... I... sense great... sorrow... in... you... You... have... lost... something... important... recently... They... were... some... sort... of... thoracic... excrescences... I... think... humans... call... them... b…"

E00 couldn't finish the last word because Tejeda snatched the power core from its chest.