HAWK

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: NEST (5/7)

The interior of the marble was largely empty, save for a black circular desk positioned at its heart. It was a slightly smaller version of the ones in the main room, though this one had no monitors or visible equipment that Kas could see.

Swanne was already seated in its centre when Kas walked inside. The floor looked like thick black liquid that had been poured in to fill the lower third of the globe before setting as a smooth hard surface. Kas glanced down and saw her own reflection looking back up at her.

A hissing sound drew Kas's gaze over her shoulder in time to see the door sealing tight behind her. She was briefly puzzled to find she could still see the two soldiers standing guard outside until she realised that the entire marble was made of nitroglass. Though opaque on the outside, it was perfectly transparent from within, allowing her to look out across the hundreds of workers in the dome whilst remaining completely hidden from view.

'I'm afraid I can't offer you a seat,' Swanne said. Kas twisted her head back the right way and saw Swanne smiling at her from her lustrous black desk. 'But I don't expect this to take long.'

'I prefer to stand,' Kas replied, though she wasn't being entirely truthful. The depressive effects of her stim comedown were growing stronger and draining her of her energy. She didn't want to appear weak, however, so she straightened out her posture and tried to convince herself she was absolutely fine. It worked well enough until movement alerted her eyes to the far side of the room where the huge silver panther was creeping silently around the wall.

'You might want to move,' Swanne said. 'You're in her spot.'

Kas stepped towards the centre of the room and watched as the bio-mech circled around to where she'd just been standing. It stopped by the door and lay down lazily at its base as if to guard the exit. In spite of all the metal that had been fused to its skin, Kas thought it looked impossibly comfortable. She noticed it also had no number on the side of its body. She shuddered and turned back to Swanne who was still wearing that smooth, unnatural smile.

Each regarded the other with silent curiosity, assessing each other's poise, body language and expression to better determine what kind of person they were confronted with. Kas decided she would let Swanne talk first, though she had to wait an uncomfortably long time before she did.

'What do you make of Eidol so far?'

'Hard to say. I've been blindfolded most of the time.'

'Just a precaution until we could clear you as a threat.'

'And am I? A threat?'

Another smile. 'No.'

'The captain said my ship is awaiting repairs. I would appreciate it if I could get back to it as soon as possible and oversee the work myself.'

'As I understand it, your ship has sustained very serious damage. I think it's safe to say we have time to chat.'

'What about the X1 I'm transporting?'

Swanne's eyes sharpened. 'What about it?'

'Where is it?'

'It's in quarantine. We tend not to let rogue X1's loose around the facility.'

'It can't even walk.'

'Its level of risk is still being ascertained.'

'The most risk it poses is a tripping hazard.'

'I'll inform my staff.'

'Just so you know, I'll be wanting it back when I leave.'

Swanne nodded but didn't reply.

'So what's your role in all this?'

'My apologies, I thought we had been introduced. I am Governor Swanne. I am the commander of this world.'

'World, huh? That's a rather generous title for an asteroid.'

Swanne's smile fractured. 'I'm beginning to understand why you weren't cut out for the academy.'

'You said this place is sanctioned by the Federation.'

'Yes.'

'Then why doesn't it show up on any star-map? All Federal worlds are required by law to be listed, and I've never seen or heard of this place in any of them.'

'You must be terribly naive if you think the Federation doesn't have secrets. Why do you really think they're so keen to keep people out of the asteroid belt?'

'So what is it then? A secret bio-mech factory?'

'As I said, bio-mechs are a big part of what we do, but not all.'

'Then what else do you do?'

Swanne shrugged. 'Eidol is a scientific research and development facility. Our purpose here is to push the boundaries of science and technology. We are pioneers. Inventors. Explorers. Creators. Science has no limits but the ones we set for ourselves. On Eidol, there are no limits.'

'So Eidol's a big science lab?'

'In so few words, yes.'

Kas looked unimpressed. 'Great. It's an asteroid full of nerds.'

Swanne coughed up a small laugh, but it was a sound she hadn't made in a long time and it quickly died. 'Perhaps it would be better if I gave you the tour. Astrid?'

'Loading Eidol holo-tour,' said a female voice. Kas recognised it as the same one from the shuttle.