Chapter 6

  The plan.

  “This is Salamniual Frothernbuck. Ada told them as the hovering 3d image revealed a middle aged human in casual business attire.

  “I have traced all orders to various vendors in various star systems back to him. The wizards base goes dark for months at a time then suddenly pops back up and the orders are sent from Frothernbuck’s company to area traders with coordinates leading to nowhere.

  The traders and captains of the vessels are paid well above market rates, presumably to silence any questions and since the goods are never illegal in any of the systems they operate out of, the traders and captains never reject the contracts.” Ada said

  “And since the contracts are only occasional and none of the goods are illegal it’s never popped up on anyone’s radar.” Dan said

  “Exactly, Frothernbuck is completely legit and facilitates things like this for various other legitimate private individuals and institutions. His reputation for discretion and dependability are impeccable. He is paid well but not in extravagance. Nothing that would raise any red flags.” Ada continued.

  “But wait a minute,” Matt said “At some point you would think someone should have said something about a giant mountain in space, with wizards and houses on it. I mean really! We have gotten drunk with haulers, you can’t get those guys to shut up about anything, let alone something like that.”

  “Exactly, have you found anything about a mountain in space or a wizards base on the gal net Ada?”. Dan asked

  “Nothing and as far as I can tell that video the syndicate captured is the only one in existence.”

  “Damned odd don’t ya think?”. Dan asked.

  Everyone around the table nodded in agreement.

  “Maybe they are magicking peoples memories away?” Matt said.

  “That would be the only logical explanation.” Ada agreed

  “So we have to find, capture and successfully deliver this all powerful wizard person, from a mountain of wizards, without dying, disappearing and, or losing our memories in the process?” Dan asked

  “Getting more and more frakd all the time.” Matt said.

  Fregly began to speak but Ada put up a hand to silence him.

  “We have a better chance than any other attempt I am aware of. The syndicate team was attempting infiltration on a syndicate ship, we will be hitching a ride as part of a crew contracted to deliver goods to the base.”

  “Doesn’t help us if our memories are wiped.”. Dan said

  “I have some theories on that too. Have any of you heard of Targeted Synaptic Erasure?” Ada asked

  They all shook there heads.

  “ it is the theory that because the brain makes memories by created neuro pathways through electrical impulses, it should be possible to destroy or rewrite those pathways with external electrical impulses that match those used by the brain of the individual, or species. It has been successfully tested on small mammalian creatures, in government labs in the subscilon sector.”

  “So you are saying by emitting these impulses on the crew they are removing their short term memories?”. Fregly asked

  “Exactly. I have reviewed the claims of what wizards can do and the documentation of what has actually been known to be done by them and found that all of those example could be explained as a people with a deep understanding of natural law and who have developed significantly advanced technology to have the means to to manipulate it.”

  “So not magic then?” Dan asked.

  “well any significantly advanced technology would be perceived as magic by those who don’t posses or understand it.” Ada concluded.

  Dan sat back in his chair. He had switched from the overly sweet blue drink Fregly had given them to a very rare brown alcohol Fregly had called bourbon. He took a second to enjoy the taste of the whiskey before he continued.

  “So we become part of the crew, using I guess whatever data Ada has been able to retrieve from this Frothernbuck guy and her galaxy wide data retrieval . Then we ride it out on their ship, somehow using Adas knowledge of targeted synapsis thing to block whatever mind altering thing they will try, then we get on the base and then what? How do we find the wizard and more importantly, how do WE capture him?”

  “Once we are on the base I can infiltrate whatever data system they are using to get a read out of any individuals that meet his description and should be able to ascertain their whereabouts on the base. As far as the how to capture him part, Fregly?” Ada said looking at the toad man.

  “Right this way my dudes.”. Fregly said as he walked over to the large book shelf. He grabbed a book on the lower book shelf titled “Amphibians, the greatest species in the galaxy?”

  With a pull a small square opened in the floor filled with a pink gel like liquid. Fregly put his right foot in the gel and it began to undulate. He looked over his should at the two men and pumped his eyebrows twice, the same expression he had when he introduced Ada. Dan swallowed the bile in his throat again.

  Slowly the bookshelves moved revealing a short hallway and a large room in the distance. The room was a plain warehouse structure with a shiny grey concrete floor and bare stone walls, freight, boxes and some equipment were spread out against the far walls but in the middle of the room were rows of metal boxes placed on low tables, two plain worker type outfits on mannequins and a five foot tall, human like, protocol utility droid.

  “ Check it out my bros.” Fregly said as he waved his arm at all of it.

  “Hey I know what that is.” Matt exclaimed as he practically skipped over to what looked like a sleek metal coffin hovering about 5 feet off the ground.

  “You know it bro, G30 containment unit with grav lifts. You get the old man in there, he will be frozen in cyro in under 3 seconds. Perfectly preserved and neutralized until you wake him up again.”. Fregly explained proudly.

  “These are crazy hard to find and super expensive, where’d u get it Fregly.” Matt said as he ran his hands over the glowing control panel on the side of the containment unit.

  “You know I got my ways bro. I told you guys I got you.”

  “Now , check these out.” Fregly walked over to the mannequins and stepped up on a step stool that brought him to about chest level to one of the outfits.”

  “looks like the standard outfit of any laborer on any cargo ship right?” he said as he picked up one of the sleeves.

  “Well? Am I right?” when he didn’t receive any response he continued as if he never asked the question.

  “Well it’s not! See this fiber here? “ He said holding up the sleeve, Dan and Matt leaned in to get a closer look. “Well you can’t tell, but it’s made of a super secret fiber that’s resistant to laser impact, extreme cold, heat and sharp objects, makes the wearer practically invulnerable. You know in case any wizard types try to hit you with a fireball or a particularly nasty snowball.” Fregly chuckled his croaking laugh before continuing.

  “and supposed you were to be thrown out a airlock? Well?” He reached up and with one long green fingers touched the upturned collar. Immediately a transparent helmet emerged from the back of the collar and covered the entire head locking in place with a click and a sound of an air seal.

  “Its automatic too, so any atmosphere loss it will seal almost instantly. So make sure to hold your breath for like a second, close your eyes too so they don’t pop out, then swoosh all safe.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “And check this out.” Fregly turned the mannequin around so they could see the back. “See this? Look closely.” he said rubbing his fingers over where a person’s shoulder blades would be. Again Dan and Matt leaned in.

  “Of course you can’t see nothing. but push this button here.” He said pushing what looked like an actual sowed in button on the end of the sleeve. Immediately two compartments opened on either shoulder blade and a thin black metal rack protruded from the opening.

  “This is where your guns go. And speaking of guns.” With a hop Fregly jumped off the stand and hopped over to open one of the boxes. Two very thin blocky looking objects were in the box. Each one about a foot long. He picked one up, placing his hand on the bottom. Immediately the stock and trigger entered his hand and the front of the gun extended, doubling its length. He brought the square back of the gun butt to his shoulder, pointed it at a plain mannequin against the stone wall about 20 ft away from them and pulled the trigger. There was no sound but a quick flash of blue light in the center of the chest that rapidly spread to cover the entire torso of the mannequin.

  “stun setting. Now this….” Fregly said as he hit a switch on the gun with his thumb before aiming at the same mannequin again. Still silent, the flash of light this time intensified until, within just a single second, a large black hole opened up on the mannequin’s chest “Is for when you mean business. Each setting has three shots, reloaded by one of these..” Using his index finger he touched a spot on the opposite side of the gun and a small 3 inch by 1 inch square cartridge plopped out of the bottom of the stock into his other hand. It was black like the gun but had two faint green glowing bands on it. He flipped it over to show two on the other side. “Green means go, red means gone.” He pushed the cartridge back into the gun, rubbed his hand along the stock, causing it to collapse back into its original size before placing it in the box.

  “Now this one…..” Grabbing the next gun he brought out the stock and using the same method, extended it before bringing it to his shoulder. Again he aimed at the mannequin he had just blown a hole through. He pulled the trigger and with no more than a slight clicking noise a small dart appeared protruding from the mannequins chest.

  “That little dart has enough tranq in it to instantly put to sleep any full grown man for about 12 hours. Probably longer for old man wizard types. Now check this out my dudes.”. Again Fregly flicked the switch with his thumb, aimed and pulled the trigger, this time after the faint click a net shot out covering the Mannequin before synching tight.

  “Nano fiber, light as air, soft as curulian spider silk but strong as transpara steal. And most importantly, both the net and darts will follow any target you aimed at when you pulled the trigger. They will follow the target until they run out of juice, about 15 meters. Two shots of the darts and only one for the net so don’t waste them. Now since our Wizard guy seems to be able to run really fast, we have these.” Fregly collapsed the gun and put it back into its slot before opening a smaller chest next to it, inside were four thin disks , small enough to fit in the palm of an average sized man.

  “matt walk over there and then walk back towards me.” Fregly pointed towards the wall with the naked manaquin. When Matt didn’t move he looked up at him. “ come on bro don’t be a puss.” Matt looked at Dan who mearly smiled faintly and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “better you than me.”

  Slowly Matt walked over to the mannequin.

  “Now walk back towards me, but quicker this time.” Fregly rolled his eyes.

  Matt walked quickly back towards them. When he was about half way Fregly through the disk like he was flicking a smooth stone on the surface of a lake. The disk landed right in front of Matt and when he took the next step his legs froze in place.

  “Hey!!I can’t move my legs!”

  He moved his upper body like he was trying to dislodge his foot from some really thick mud but his legs below the knee didn’t even seem to twitch.

  “It’s a gravity well, anyone that comes close to it will be stuck fast for about 30 seconds.” Fregly walked back to the box grabbed the gun with the net, extended it and aimed.

  “Don’t you do it!” Matt yelled.

  .With a click the net surrounded him and synched him tight his arms down by his sides. He had a wide eyed look on his face until a second later when the disk gave out and he toppled over.

  “Frak you Fregly!”

  Behind Fregly both Ada and Dan snickered.

  “Hey I hear you guys. Frak you too!” Matt Yelled

  “Relax bro.” Fregly said a big smile on his face, gold tooth reflecting the light of the warehouse. He hopped over to Matt and Dan followed.

  “Cant move at all can you?” Fregly asked.

  “Obviously not cause I’m not kicking your ass.” Matt said

  Matt’s face and hair were pulled tightly, part of net smashed his lip against his nose causing his words to sound slurred.

  “Once captured you should probably leave the wizard like that when u take him back to your ship or maybe use the stun or dot on him.”

  “Yea can we try that one now while Matt is down there Fregly?”. Dan said

  “Yea sure. I mean it’s a good time as any to see how it works.”

  “What???!!??”. Matt squealed.

  Fregly and Dan both laughed.

  “Relax.” Fregly said and pressed a small metal disk on the center of the net, it immediately loosened. Matt began to struggle and kick his way out of the net.

  “Not Funny Fregly.”. He said as he finally stood up and tossed the net aside.

  “It was a little funny.”. Dan said

  He walked over and picked up the net from the ground examining it.

  “Its so light and thin.”. He said talking to himself.

  “ I know right?” Fregly said “And everything can be used with a heads up display to help with targeting.”

  He reached down and grabbed the disk off the floor.

  “There is a launching mechanism in the sleeve of the work jacket. Each sleeve can fit one disk. The disks are rechargeable, just put them back in their place in the box. The cartridges are not. Each gun came with four extra boxes of cartridges, However, you will be carrying whatever you need with you in your suit. So you go will need to conserve your shots.”

  “Wont scans pick these up.” Matt asked, studying the small clip as he twirled one around in his fingers

  “The fabric in the suits are designed not only to resist scans but to fool the scans into looking through the hidden storage areas directly at the body within. So your guns and anything, including the clips or anything else that you put in any pocket will become invisible to any scanner. Fregly replied

  “Wow.” Matt

  “Yea Fregly these would have made our jobs so much easier, do we get to keep them if we survive?” Dan asked

  “Did I detect a slight tone of optimism Dan?” Fregly asked smiling up at him one eyebrow raised. Dan didn’t respond. Fregly shrugged.

  “The syndicate didn’t say anything about getting them back. If you fail they may make a stink but just imagine if you win? I mean they are going to love you guys and this stuff is awesome, just imagine all the other stuff they have?” Fregly smiled.

  The two bounty hunters looked at each other for a second. They, were, beginning to feel a little more hopeful, Dan thought. I mean this stuff was amazingly advanced and if Ada really could do what she said she could do. Just, maybe.

  “Well, one more thing.” Fregly said interrupting the two men from their thoughts. He opened the last box.

  “Work boots?” Dan asked

  “Let me guess, they shoot ship to ship rockets?” Matt said

  Fregly rolled his eyes.

  “No Matt, no rockets but if you find yourself in zero g you will appreciate what they really do. Each boot has micro jets for stabilization. They will work with the HUD in your helmet, will automatically orient your direction towards whatever focal point you indicate…”

  . “So whatever you move your body towards.” Matt said in wonder.

  Fregly nodded.

  “They have micro sensors that understands human motion and gyroscopes to help keep the wearer oriented in zero g.. It makes space walking almost like taking a casual stroll in the park Also they have the same protections that the suit provides plus, the soles. Each sole is made from some kind of material that is mostly air…” Fregly said

  “Aerogel.” Ada interrupted

  “Exactly, that. So when activated this Aerogel fills with air making the boots extremely quiet, helping even the most uncoordinated slobs sneak up on an unsuspecting wizard.” Fregly said

  Dan took the boot feeling the black bottom, it felt the same as any other good quality work boot. He passed it on to Matt before he walked over to pick up a gun. With a rub of his hand it extended to its full size, the stock filling his palm. It was so light. He collapsed it and walked over to the suit. The collapsed thin rectangle fit perfectly in the metal rack and the moment it was mounted the rack and gun collapsed back into the suit. Dan ran his hand along spot where the gun had disappeared. Nothing. No traceble mark that could be seen even when staring at the spot and no bulge detected by his hand. “Remarkable”. He thought.

  “Best to remember which gun is in which slot.” Fregly said.

  “What about the robot?” Matt was standing next to it running his hands along its dented and scratched surface.

  “Ada?” Fregly said looking at the hologram of the AI standing next to the boxes.

  “Its me.” Ada said.

  “Huh?” Matt asked

  “Well, walking around like this will obviously draw to much attention.” She said motioning her hands at her body before walking towards the Robot.

  “Yea you are noticeable.” Matt said as she walked past him.

  Fregly and Dan smiled at him knowingly, Fregly’s eyebrow raised. Matt looked at them, shrugged his shoulders and mouthed the words “what?”

  “Your so sweet Matt.” Ada said and Dan actually thought he saw him blush.

  “Its me, watch.” She said then vanished. The robots eyes opened and the arms raised up wide palms open?

  “Whats…up..my…dudes” it said in a very mechanical Robot voice.

  They just stared.

  “Nah, I’m just frakin with ya.” Ada said in her normal voice and chuckled.

  “I can modulate the voice in any way I like.”. She said “yo bros.” she said in a perfect mimic of Fregly’s croaking voice.

  “I don’t sound like that.” Fregly said

  “Yea you do Fregly.” Dan said ignoring the irritated look on the frog Aliens face.

  “What can it do?” Dan asked.

  “Shoot lasers out its eyeballs Maybe?” Matt said over his shoulder as he began to play with the guns behind them.

  “Afraid not.”. Ada Responded.

  “its just a normal workbot, tough durable, dependable. The only modifications is that it’s AI has been upgraded and redesigned to for speeds equal to mine and it’s interface is much faster allowing me to interact with other computers with only nano seconds of lag.”

  “How far is your range?”. Dan asked.

  “I can tap in and hack a system within 10 meters of any access port, once I get into the system my range is anywhere within the facility.

  Dan nodded “ That will work.”

  “Hey Fregly, how far did you say these things can shoot?” Matt asked.

  “About 20 meters.”

  “And once they lock on they will tract their target right?”.

  “Yea why? Fregly asked looking over his shoulder.

  “Don’t you do it Matt! I was just frakin around. Don’t forget I’m your boss bro. Put it down my dude.” Fregly demanded as his frog legs bent at the knees preparing to jump.

  All Dan heard was a slight click.