Pax Galactica - A Space Opera

Chapter 30 - The Belly Of The Beast (I)

Decker awoke with a splitting headache.

"Ugh, my head," he complained. His voice sounded exactly like Vega's. He even had his inflection.

"Yeah, it's basically going to feel like that for as long as the brain wave spoof is active," said Helios. "That one you can go ahead and turn off though."

Decker did so immediately. He still had that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, when you know you're in pain that you just aren't experiencing.

"This is a temporary disguise," Helios warned. "You get 24 hours, maybe as many as 48, before it starts falling apart. You'll lose the brain wave pattern first so watch for that."

"Right," said Decker.

"You should be able to get into the inner rings now without issue. Remember you need to find someone who resembles one of the three of us as near as possible, someone with network access codes," said Aranarth "Make sure you actually observe them using a networked terminal. It's the only way to be sure."

"Height is the most important factor to try and match," added Helios.

"Once you have your target you'll have to get them out of the inner rings on your own. We'll wait for you at the doorway so we'll be able to help the rest of the way, but inside it's going to be all you. Take that into account. Ideally the target should walk out on their own with you. However, if you need them..."

She handed Decker a pair of 'trodes like the ones she used on Mr. Vega.

"Whatever you do, don't warp in your suit. You will trigger every active scanner in the station."

"We only get one shot so we cannot afford failure," said Aranarth.

"I can do this," said Decker, pulling his shirt back on. "I won't let you down."

Aranarth didn't have anything snarky to say about that, and Decker chose to take it as a vote of confidence.

* * *

The station's rings were connected by spoke-like corridors bristling with security. They were about as far away from the docks as you could get and it took the rangers hours to walk there.

"Go on in. We'll be waiting on this side for you, out of sight," said Aranarth, once they made it to the security gate, the border between the exterior and interior rings.

"See you on the other side," said Decker.

"No, you'll see us back on this one," Ophelia corrected him, as he walked away.

Decker approached the large metal gate to the security corridor. He willed it to open.

<Face... accepted> said a voice inside Decker's head. <DNA... accepted. Brain-scan... accepted. Welcome back Mr. Gaius Vega.>

The door slid open. Decker walked through and it slammed shut behind him dangerously fast. Decker jumped a little. Then he saw the two red-eyed security drones at the end of the corridor, and he tried to recover his dignity like a cat.

As Decker passed the two drones he nodded to them.

"Gentlemen," he said.

He willed the second door open and it responded after a repeat of the procedure from the first. Decker was starting to feel pretty confident in his disguise.

The interior rings were smaller and laid out less like a city and more like the interior of a single building. Dull hallways sprawling off one-another like some endless maze led to room after room filled with identical office alcoves. The ceiling was low enough that Decker imagined there must be fifty floors of the same thing above him as well. It looked less like a place and more like a metaphor for something.