Thor placed his hands together, closing his eyes… and nodded. “Okay then. Details. What does this NDA software do, and will it be possible to be removed later?”

  Kyle settled into the captain’s chair. He’d planned to hold this meeting around the table in the galley, but, well.

  “Somewhere in this region is a United Worlds research base. Its location is secret. What its doing is secret. When it comes to its location, the only thing I can say is that its within four days flight of Ash, and less than five hundred light-years away. Not only that, but once I get there, if it takes less than four days there, or back, I can’t communicate with anyone, or return to realspace, until eight days have passed…. So no-one can use my travel time to determine the distance.”

  He sighed. “I can’t say who works there. What they are working on. How long the base has been there. Anything of the sort. I can read the research they are doing, and, if capable, make my own equipment based on it, and share that equipment. But, with the exception of research involving reverse-engineering the capabilities of biological voidborn creatures, I cannot take any files or samples out that I didn’t create myself.”

  He looked around at the crew. “Any of you who want to come with me will need to load up the same NDA. And unfortunately, it can only be deleted if the base’s location and projects become public knowledge. If I read it on a public board or news story, the program’s protections vanish. And this was written by Skulls techs, not the dubs, so no hidden barbs. Its honestly pretty straightforward.”

  The group all looked at each other. None of them looked particularly excited. Sherry looked sad. Perhaps a bit angry.

  Thor nodded. “So. Basically. Instead of exploring the galaxy… you’re going to be going to a research base hidden somewhere, that controls when you can come and go through software in your head you can never delete. Are you sure you actually want to go to this place? Can’t they just… quietly kill you the moment you show up, and nobody will know where you went?”

  He glanced at the Butcher. “I mean, sure it’ll piss off your family. But this is the dubs we’re talking about. I’m sure they think they can handle it, maybe even convince them you died off fighting a dragon or something.”

  Kyle looked around the bridge. He was somewhat tempted to overstate how bad things were to get his friends to stay home. It would be a handy way to keep them safe from whatever he encountered next. “This is a big ask. NDA software isn’t something to take lightly. I’d like to make it clear, though you already know, that I’m still your friend even if you don’t come along. And… we also got an enormous payday. All of you will be walking out with millions of credits no matter what, and I can leave the processor core we’ve been making our new shared world on as well if you want.”

  The Butcher nodded and patted Kyle on the shoulder. “I understand his mother paid for these new bodies for you, but she also wanted to make it clear there were no strings attached to that. I’ve actually got my own cloning facility here on the Last Rites, and its not the only one the Skulls own, so that wasn’t even a big resource investment, but, just time.”

  Thor sighed, looking a bit torn, but then nodded. “I don’t think I want to have any NDA software in my brain. But I still want to support you. I’m thinking we should split off. Anyone who wants to visit this lab can get it and go with you. The rest of us can stay here in Ash, and join you when you go exploring again. I didn’t need many credits to begin with, and if I got a payday that big, I won’t for a century to come. So, really. You want to go exploring, I’m down. You want to go visit some shadowy, secret, dub base that might just kill you, then, well. No.”

  A soft buzz from Poisseux’s emitter. “I was the only one who got out of the last bit without NDA software in me since I was already dead, but I’m down. Two things, though. I want to build a really kick-ass gunship that can kill Dragons, and I want a new body. If we can really just look over their shoulders and copy their work, I can make something great.”

  Kyle looked at the crew. “So. Show of hands. I’m gonna resupply, and then head out to this dub base in maybe a week, if we can get Poisseux a new body grown by then. Who wants to get the NDA loaded and come along?”

  His friends all looked at each other. Elise was the only one with her hand raised; aside from a glowing, raised hand over Poisseux’s emitter.

  Kyle looked around, and then at Elise. “Well. I’ll get the software loaded for you, and we can get ready. Everybody else… lets go eat somewhere nice, back on Ash. Celebrate.”

  The Butcher glanced at the emitter. “If you’re not picky, we’ve got a few clone bodies without a mind over on the Last Rites. All combat-grade.”

  Another buzz. “I would prefer some custom work, thank you. In fact, I’ll place the order as soon as I get the payout I’ve been promised, unless Kyle is still going to pay it for me.”

  ***

  Kyle had met Jenny… who he still thought of as Poisseux most of the time… weeks… or was it months… ago when she and Zeke had applied for the job working on the Sapper. With Zeke off on some mission, god knew where, she’d asked him to stop by the facility on Ash where her new body was being made; so she’d have a friendly face, someone she’d known in her old body, when she woke up.

  She was his crew. They’d worked together… and she’d literally died for him. No way in hell he wasn’t going to do that.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He had no idea how much getting a clone made cost until he’d paid for this one; and the price listing had been hilarious.

  Forty thousand credits for just a straight copy. Sixty thousand for a copy with a telomerase patch to reduce them to an earlier age. One hundred thousand for a full custom job with one of dozens of gene-mods chosen from a catalog.

  If he’d known how cheap it was nowadays, he would’ve paid for his friends to get reborn rather than getting the Sapper fixed up.

  You could literally walk in as one person and walk out as an entirely different one, not a single thing in common outside the skull. The only warning note was that you’d be detectable as a clone; and certain societies… namely the Alliance… would view you with suspicion if you were a ‘natural’ human but also a clone, likely assuming you’d faked things to infiltrate.

  Dr. Zhir’s clinic was one of thousands of stations orbiting Ash; containing a bulbous center kept at zero-G to help with clone growth; as well as a spinning outer section that could be slowed down and connected for entry and exit… and did exactly that at scheduled intervals… like right now.

  There were dozens of people in the waiting room Kyle didn’t know, likely waiting for other patients, as the gravity slowly left the chamber. The room was simple, pure white, clearly painted that way because it was expected of a medical facility; and had numerous handholds along the walls and ceilings… one of which he gripped as he heard the subtle click of the door locking into place.

  When the inner door popped open… people started to emerge… in pairs, for each of them. A doctor, wearing a surgical blue-green skinsuit complete with facemask, accompanied by…. A group of people Kyle didn’t recognize at all, but they all looked incredibly clean, fresh.

  He just waited as the strangers stepped out. Tall, powerfully built guy that looked like he’d taken a page from Thor’s book and had himself turned into the biggest strongest guy he could. A sleek, supermodel-looking girl.

  Even a girl who looked kind-of like Zeke and Billy’s augment type, only with grey fur instead of black.

  When the final revival emerged, Kyle blinked.

  That… wasn’t what he expected.

  She looked almost exactly like she used to. Long, silver hair. None of the old scars. Except… she was barely over a meter tall as she stepped out through the airlock, magnetic soles clicking, looking around anxiously until she laid eyes on him and started forward.

  Clearly an adult woman, yes. That was fairly obvious through the white skinsuit all of the patients were wearing as they emerged. But… tiny.

  He nodded slightly as she approached. “Went with a dub marine augment, didn’t you.”

  She looked up at him… and shrugged. “I always liked my men taller than me. And quite a hit hairier, so don’t go getting ideas. On the other hand… my next version, the gunship? I can actually be inside it, but still spend a fraction of the space on the cockpit with this body.”

  She pointed at the floor. “Now lean down. And whisper to me the version of the Poisseux story I told you.”

  “Uhh… what?”

  “There’s three versions of that story I tell, all of them part truth, part lie. None of them match the official record from my old company. I need you to tell me what I told you so I know this is really real.”

  “...That’s the reason you wanted me here?”

  She sighed. “Paranoia. Yes, that’s why I wanted you here. Now spill.”

  ***

  Getting the Sapper ready to go again was trivial. The Stealth Plates weren’t something any local company had in stock, so he’d have fewer spares for next time; he went ahead and ordered another batch, just in case. But Kyle was able to order another drop pod and a pack of scout drones in-system with minimal effort; and even a magnetic Skyhook system that could be deployed in each of them, so his shuttle, or the Sapper herself, could retrieve cargo from the ground.

  If it happened again, and he needed to checkout, or evacuate something from a cave, quickly? He’d be ready, and not need to land the ship.

  The skyhook was extremely popular among smugglers, and the parts that could wear out? Things he could easily replace with the colony fabricator he had on his engineering deck. If he weren’t on a watch-list already with the stealth plate order, the skyhook would make certain of it.

  A ship that could briefly fool local sensors on approach, grab something off a planet, and run? Perfect for smugglers.

  He shouldn’t need any of it for a time. He was, after all, going to be making a run to an extremely well-defended place, run by people who had a vested interest in making sure he got home alive; were Kyle to mysteriously vanish on the way there or back, it could dramatically change how his family dealt with the upcoming war, and what secrets were told to who.

  So, obviously, he was going to check out this base, and milk the dubs for all that they were worth. Only taking two people with him, yes, but the Sapper could run with just him forever if need be. And, well.

  He would actually prefer if it were just him. Still.

  He started reviewing the ship, checking for issues, inconsistencies. One of the airlocks had a bit of a pressure issue, so he had one of the drones check it out… knowing where he was going, the NDA software was actually like a severe case of OCD. Forcing him to check things over and over, and it would be the same way once he was underway.

  “Alright, people. We’re headed out. Elise, Poisseux; if you want to ditch me for this trip, its your last chance.”

  He gave it a minute. Elise settled in on the bridge beside him, and glowered at him before she responded with “Fuck you. Not letting you do this alone.”

  Poisseux’s response was equally clear; though she was currently in the gym he’d built-in, and he could hear the faint clank of weighs in the background as she put her new body through its paces. ~Get us there. I wanna rifle through some dub databases and loot them for all they’re worth. The Poisseux mark six is waiting.~

  When the invisible monkey pulling the strings was finally done, the NDA software satisfied he’d done enough to make sure the ship was clear, and he entered Darkspace…. He set a course for the middle of nowhere. It was probably a relay point; where the dubs would check him out before letting him go.

  He was curious, though. What would a secret base look like? And how had the dubs kept any random stranger from showing up? It certainly promised to be interesting.