I storm through the hatchway, almost bowling Chambers over.
“Whoa, Destin. What’s the rush?”
“Where is she?”
“I think she’s in the galley.”
I push past him and stride down the corridor, leaving him behind, sputtering. He quickly catches up with me. “What’s going on, Mel?”
Ignoring him, I turn into the galley and walk straight up to a startled Chloe.
“Who the fuck are you?” I demand, poking my finger at her chest.
“I...I told you.”
“You gave us a name, but you didn’t tell us who you are. Spill it, you bitch.”
“Mel!” shouts Chambers. “What the hell has gotten into you?”
I jerk a thumb at her as I address him. “She left out some important information about her pedigree.”
Thoroughly confused, he wrinkles his brow and squints at her. “I don’t understand.”
“Tell him,” I command her. “Tell him who your father is.”
Her face reddens, and she glances about, looking for an exit that isn’t available.
“What is she talking about? Who are you?” says Chambers.
“I’m Chloe Cabot. My father is Anthony Cabot.”
He stares at her for several seconds before his eyes widen and his jaw drops.
“Not the Anthony Cabot?”
I nod. “The same.”
Chambers turns back to her. “Is this true?”
Tears well in her eyes, and her head bobs up and down.
“Oh, stop the waterworks,” I say. “It won’t work on me.”
“Holy shit,” says Chambers, still seeming dumbfounded. “Holy shit.”
“Give me one reason, Chloe,” I say, “why I shouldn’t haul you off this ship and turn you over to the people searching for you?”
“What are you saying, Mel?” says Chambers. “Didn’t you do the deal with Vostok?”
“Yes, but there’s an inspector from the Morality Police hunting for her. He harassed me at my place yesterday and had me hauled in for questioning about her. That’s when I found out who her daddy is.”
“That makes no sense. Why is he looking for her?”
I rolled my eyes. “What kind of criminal are you? Obviously, the guy is involved with the Jovian Collective. Why else would an inspector be making such an effort to locate the missing daughter of one of its leaders?”
Chambers face darkens as he faces Chloe. “I’m starting to see this your way, Mel. We should kick her out and be done with her.”
“No, please, I can explain.”
“Why don’t you start from the top and tell us the truth this time?” I say.
She swallows and glances fearfully at each of us. “Yes, my father is who you think he is. I ran away from him because he wanted to marry me off to one of his business associates; to seal some deal.”
“I take it you disagreed with Daddy’s choice of husband for you?” I say.
Chloe nods. “I hid at my friend’s place. It was safe for a short time, but after my father’s men came looking for me, we decided I had to leave Terra. We faked our identification and booked passage on a cruise liner to Callisto. After that, we planned to make our way to one of the other Galilean colonies.”
“That is one dedicated friend,” says Chambers.
“She was more well-travelled than me and knew what it would take to hide me.”
“A smuggler?”
“She’s a psychological counsellor. She’s travelled across the system treating people traumatized by the war.”
“I still smell bullshit,” I say.
“It’s the truth.”
“Listen, sister, I know a con job when I hear one.”
“And the bit about pirates kidnapping you?” says Chambers.
“It happened.”
“Can you prove any of this?” he says.
Desperation appears on her face. “They took everything I had.”
“What was the name of the ship?”
Chloe answers quickly. “Callisto’s Star.”
“And what names were you and your friend booked under?”
“I was Andrea Bartoli, and she travelled under the name of Mari Cohand.”
I lift my head and speak into the air. “AI, conduct a search of all available databases. Verify that those two names were passengers aboard the commercial passenger liner, Callisto’s Star.”
“That may take me a moment to access. Would you like to play a game while you wait?”
“What? No! Just do the fucking search.” I turn to Chambers. “Where the hell did you get this system, and why did you keep it?”
“I, ah, won it in a poker game,” he says sheepishly.
“Search complete. The only reference to Callisto’s Star in the public record is a news bulletin about its loss with all hands aboard six months ago in the epsilon sector of the asteroid belt. Would you like me to recite the article?”
“Fuck no!” I turn to Chloe, an eyebrow raised. “That is convenient. You probably read about the accident and thought we wouldn’t think to follow up on your sad little story.” I am ashamed that she almost succeeded.
“No! It really happened,” says Chloe, tears welling.
“Wait a minute, Mel,” says Chambers. He addresses the AI. “Maggie, sweetie, please access all private databases and run the same search.”
“Certainly, Roy, please cite the authorization code to initiate.”
“Um...” His face grows red. “Um, password is, chambersisastud.”
“I’m sorry, Roy, I didn’t understand you. Please repeat, slowly and distinctly.”
Chambers coughs, avoiding my gaze as he composes himself. “Chambers-is-a-stud.”
“Password accepted. Commencing search.”
I can’t wipe the smile from my face. “Seriously?”
“Shut up, Destin.”
“How does this system have access to those encrypted databases?”
He smiles. “And that would be the reason why Maggie is so useful.”
My brow furrows. “Why Maggie? The name of an old girlfriend who thought you were a stud?”
He is saved from answering by the AI.
“Andrea Bartoli and Mari Cohand were registered passengers aboard the IPC Callisto’s Star when it vanished on October 25 of 2258, Terran Standard Date.”
“Are there any visual records of these passengers? IDs? Passports?” I ask.
“Those records are sealed, and access requires authorization from the security director of the corporation that owns the ship.”
“Shit.” I study Chloe, wondering if she is clever enough to anticipate we’d be capable of such a search. Her story is beginning to seem more plausible.
“Maggie,” I say, “are there any accessible visuals of passengers boarding Callisto’s Star on her departure date?”
“Yes.”
“Run facial recognition analysis on all persons entering. Look for a match to Chloe Cabot.”
“Analysis completed. One positive match.”
“Display.”
We all turn to watch a hologram of a young woman form in the air. As the image coalesces, it becomes obvious that the person in question is, indeed, Chloe.
I turn to her. “Sorry I doubted you.”
She wipes the tears from her cheeks and smiles weakly. “I probably wouldn’t believe my story either.”
“So, this just begs the question,” says Chambers, “why is an inspector for the Lunar Morality police involving himself in a missing person case to help Anthony Cabot?”
“Maybe he’s in Cabot’s pocket,” I say.
“What are you going to do with me?” asks Chloe.
“What will happen if you’re returned home? Will your father force you into the marriage?”
She nods. “And he’ll probably ensure I can never run again.”
I frown, offended on her behalf that her own father would still sell her into what was little more than another form of sexual slavery. “What sort of precautions?”
She sighs. “The kind that are already eating me up inside.”
“Well, fuck that noise,” I say. “There is no way I’m going to let someone undo my hard work getting those things out of your system.”
It takes her a moment to understand my meaning. “You mean I can stay? You’ll help me?”
“If it’s all right with the captain, here.”
“You can stay,” he says.
She embraces us each in turn. After her display of gratitude, I send her ahead of me to the medical bay.
“What are we going to do?” I ask Chambers after she is gone.
“While you start shutting down her nanites, I’ll make arrangements for an earlier departure. The sooner we get her away from your friend in the Morality Police, the safer I think she’ll be.”
“I’m going to need some specialized research equipment.”
“Put in an order from the corporate stores.”
I shake my head. “This stuff isn’t in Canto’s warehouse.”
“Where will you find some?”
“I have a source, but it may take some time.”
Chambers winces. “How long?”
“Maybe a day; two at most.”
“That’s two days sitting here waiting for your inspector friend to make his next move.”
“There isn’t much Willis can do,” I say, “except, perhaps, harass and detain members of the crew to try to delay our departure until he finds a better solution.”
“I’ll end shore leave and recall everyone. They won’t like it, though.”
I smile wryly. “I’ll have some booze brought aboard. Tell them the drinks are on me.”
He chuckles. “That won’t scratch every itch.”
“Well, they will just have to get reacquainted with their hand.”
We both laugh at that.
“Roy, if Willis is working for Cabot, our problems won’t go away once we leave Luna. The Jovian Collective will be on our ass like a bad rash. That’s an enemy we don’t need.”
He shrugs. “They already don’t like us, Mel.” After pouring himself a coffee, he says. “You focus on helping the girl and let me worry about them.”
He leaves me in the galley to ponder how I am going to acquire the equipment I need to help Chloe. I am not too crazy about my limited choice.
