As they approached the Duffy & Norman frigate Liam caught a glimpse of The ECS Utica.  It was a sleek ship with forward mounted energy cannons and shield disruptors on its underbelly.  It was a ship killer, designed for no other purpose.  Liam hoped the warship waited on the frigates aft as an intimidation tactic, because the civilian ship wouldn't survive more than a few minutes in a fight.  Knowing he wasn't the target should have calmed him, but he still felt on edge as the shuttle settled in the docking bay.

The Jacks opened the shuttle, and were met by a squad of EC soldiers, armed and cold-eyed.  Liam studied them: three lightly armored men armed with kinetic pistols, and a single heavily armored cyborg.  He was taken aback by the sight.  War Jammers, as the regular rank and file dubbed them, were rarely seen off the battlefield.  They were seasoned warriors, equal parts human and machine.  The highest grade S.Nano ran through their veins.

"This isn't making much sense," Liam whispered.

"Mr. Duffy, we have been ordered to escort you directly to Special Agent Brown," the war jammer announced.  Her voice was punctuated by the drone of voice modulators.

The Jacks turned to Kent, their hands lingering by the stun batons on their hips.  They're loyalty was clear.  There was something in their eyes that told Liam it was beyond years of clone indoctrination.  Kent Duffy treated his people right, earning their respect.  The war jammer's face registered the same.

"Stand down."

The flexmetal of her arm rolled back, revealing mechanical components which combined into a double-barreled energy cannon.  Targeting dots appeared over The Jacks' hearts and heads.  The identical clones showed no sign of backing down.  2416 put himself between Kent and the EC soldiers.  The tension was palpable.

"Kent, if your people don't comply, she will kill them."

The look on Kent's face was one of fear and uncertainty.  Liam gave him a reassuring nod.  He glanced at Taylor-06 and the look she gave him was devoid of the warmth which had always accompanied her stare.  It was a puzzle he didn't have the time to solve.

"Stand down," Kent said, visibly collecting himself.  "I'm not sure what this has to do with an audit, but my company will cooperate."

The war jammer's arm reverted back to its normal state, and the EC soldiers relaxed.  One of the men gestured to Kent.

"Right this way, Mr. Duffy."

Kent, Liam, Taylor-06, 2416, and The Jacks followed, the soldiers taking up position around them.  The group left the docking bay, and took the nearest staircase up three levels.  Liam noted the atmosphere on the ship had changed.  Four-man squads of soldiers patrolled the ship.  Most seemed to focus on herding the ship crew and passengers to open areas where they could more easily be guarded, but some stood watch as techs rifled through digital files and computer records.  The EC was looking for something.

They were passing a large conference room when Kent stopped short.

"What's happening here?" he asked as he broke away from their escort and stepped into the room.

A handful of his staff were sitting around the long table, speaking in whispered tones, while three dozen clones stood in rows against the wall.  Their hands were held high, their faces forward.  Relief was evident on their face as their boss entered the room.

A sergeant intercepted Kent halfway across the room.

"Sir, I need you to stop where you are."

"Answer my question.  What's happening here?"

"Standard procedure.  Property, automatons, and grown organic labor are being secured."

"No.  Unacceptable."  Kent's tone surprised Liam.  The fear was replaced with righteous indignation.

"Mr. Duffy, Special Agent Brown is on a closely monitored schedule," explained the war jammer, her tone level.

Again The Jacks watched Kent for instructions.  Liam made a mental note of the twelve EC soldiers in the room.  He tried to catch Taylor-06's eye, but she was focused on the clones against the wall.

"You can't do this, it's unethical."

"Mr. Duffy."

"Unethical?  That's a new one."  The sergeant laughed.  "It's standard procedure.  Run along.  It sounds like the man in charge is waiting."

"I'M THE MAN IN CHARGE!" Kent snapped.

"Mr. Duffy!"

The war jammer made to close the distance between Kent and herself, but Liam sidestepped into her path.  She tried to push past him, but he was deceptively tougher to move than he looked.  He gave her his most disarming smile.

"This is my ship and I will not have my staff treated this way."

"Sir, these are merely clon-"

"Don't say it.  Don't you dare say it.  My people are shareholding citizens with voting power, and all the rights that come with it.  You are obligated to show them more respect than this, by The Articles of Governance."

The sergeant's laugh was rude and derisive.

"Citizens you say?  Okay, I'll play your game.  Smith!"

"Sir!"

"Key-up the citizen registry.  Any citizens among you clones step forward for verification."  The sergeant smiled at Kent, a foul expression that was smug and patronizing.  "I'll be sure to personally apologize to any of your registered vat boys."

"Vat boys!"  Kent and the war jammer spoke in unison.

"Sergeant, we do not use that kind of language in my unit." 

Liam raised an eyebrow and moved aside.  She stepped in front of the sergeant, her augmented frame towering over him.

"Do I make myself clear?"  Her even tone carried an underlying menace.

"Sir, yes sir!"  He stood at attention and saluted.

"Ummm, Sergeant?"

"What is it, Smith?"  The sergeant maintained his rigid stance without turning around.

The war jammer returned his salute and gestured toward the rest of the room where all of the clones were lined up and waiting to verify their citizenship.  The sergeant stammered as he fumbled with the right words to say.  Taylor-06 squeezed Kent's hand and smiled for the first time since the island.  Liam took note of that too.

"Mr. Duffy, we have to go," the war jammer said.  "The sergeant has a number of apologies to deliver."

"The majority of my staff are shareholders, Miss..."

"Captain, Captain Ames."

"Captain, my people are EC citizens."

"I will make sure my officers know, Mr. Duffy.  Now," she gestured towards the door."

Kent nodded and allowed himself to be led out of the conference room.  Liam had liked Kent Duffy from the moment he'd met him.  The man was gentle and friendly, but also a fierce defender of minorities.  Liam laughed to himself.  Not all heroes carried a gun.

Standing outside of Kent's office was another war jammer.  His head was a chrome egg with human eyes watching from behind transparent lenses.  He studied Liam and Taylor-06 for a long moment before wrapping on the door.  The portal slid open and the group entered.  Inside were a pair of techs and a series 5 construct going through Kents datapads and data cards.  Sitting to the side was a short man with hawkish eyes that scanned everything with distrust.  His skin color hinted at a colonial background, but his features were heavily influenced by Earther heritage.  He was reading from a government issue datapad when they walked in.  His eyes narrowed at the sight of Kent and his entourage.

"Mr. Kent Duffy, co-founder and majority shareholder of Duffy & Norman Collections.  Five years ago you were a text editor for small media division companies with average job aptitude and no signs of ambition.  Before that you were a freelance labor worker."  Special Agent Brown consulted his datapad.  "Why the sudden trajectory change?"

Attention in the room turned to Kent, who was doing a terrible job concealing his discomfort.  The agent was watching Kent's body language, his hands, his pupils.  Liam had once come across a classified document detailing a clandestine school run by the Xnea Xnarn where children were turned into highly trained instruments of espionage.  The document warned EC officials of what to look for in suspected plants.  Krillian Brown met nearly all the markers.  Liam's instant dislike of the man was only one of the identifiers.

"Ummm..." was all Kent could manage.

"The Singapore Incident."

"Excuse me?" Kent squeaked.

"The hijacking of the AST Singapore.  Your business footprint changed: investments, votes, banking, even your diet has changed."

"Are you sure?"  Kent squirmed, and Special Agent Brown analyzed every fidget.

"Yes, Mr. Duffy.  I've made a study of you."

Krillian gestured to the soldiers, and all but Captain Ames left the room.  He swept his gaze over 2416 and The Jacks, and mentally dismissed them.  Liam had already assumed Lee Theraphosa's demeanor, but he suspected that if the agent was what he feared, the man would see through his ruse.  Krillian stood, and tucked his folding datapad in his suit jacket.

"I'd be willing to attribute your reaction to PTSD, and the sudden shock of having your life unexpectedly summarized."  Krillian walked over to the window on the far side of the office.  He touched the glass and the opaque tint faded, revealing a storage room floor where workers were being rounded-up by EC soldiers.  "The strange thing is your name didn't cross my radar until I began searching for the wreckage of the AST Singapore."

Liam held his outward appearance still, frozen in an expression of mild confusion.  Inside he had flinched.  Who was Krillian Brown, and what did he want with Singapore?

"I don't understand," Kent said.  No one could deny his sincerity.

"So I'm seeking the largest piece of evidence we have on the greatest act of piracy the Earth Conglomerate has seen in nearly a decade.  I don't find the junk in the trash belt where most of the Asian Seas Transit ships are dumped.  No, I find that the wreckage was purchased by one of the incident's survivors intact, at no small expense.  I suggested to my partner that maybe Duffy & Norman might wish to convert the ship into a company vessel.  It would be strange, but not unheard of.

"However, AST Singapore was never repurposed, merely dropped on a scrap planet.  A peculiar thing for a young company to do with such an expensive acquisition.  When paired with your sudden change in trajectory, it all becomes even more peculiar."

"I don't mean to interrupt, mister, but what does it mean?"  Liam asked.

"I'm here to find out just that.  What does it all mean, and how does it tie in to the incident."

"Is this what happens when a company makes a bad business decision?"  He whistled.  "Honey, we have to call our broker, and discuss our purchases."

Liam nearly broke character, and laughed at Special Agent Brown's expression reflected in the window.

"No, that won't be necessary..."  Krillian shook his head, confused.  He retrieved the datapad in his pocket.  "Who are you people?"

"Lee and Tiffany Theraphosa."

Liam stepped forward with his hand extended.  Captain Ames stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.  Krillian frowned, but closed the distance, and took the offered handshake.  He consulted his datapad, with quick practiced strokes.

"I don't recognize your names from the crew roster." He gave their attire a quick once over.  "And you don't look like junkers."

"We're old friends of Kent's on vacation," Taylor-06 explained.  "Figured we'd pop in."

"He took us planetside to show us the operation," Liam added.  He smiled, and the R.Nano in his eyes allowed him to see Taylor-06 doing the same in the reflection of the window.

"I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pitch an investment."  His voice shook at the start, but Kent finished strong.

Special Agent Brown typed their names into his datapad, taking care to get the correct spelling of their surname.  He searched for about three minutes before putting the device away.  He returned to his seat and tapped his fingers on the table.  Liam recognized it as an old mnemonic technique he'd learned in spec-ops.  Krillian was filing away data he deemed important, but didn't want traceable on his pad.  If Liam wasn't uncomfortable before he was then.

"Mr. Duffy is going to be busy for the next 24 hours, folks.  A shuttle ferrying any nonessential personnel to Substation Capricorn Alpha Pi will be leaving within the hour.  Please be on it."

Krillian gestured for them to leave, and Captain Ames guided them into the hallway.  Kent watched them leave with a resolute look in his eyes, Liam pointedly ignored his friend's shaking hands.  He wasn't quite sure what Special Agent Brown wanted with the Singapore, but he knew the longer he and Taylor-06 tarried, the higher their chance of getting into trouble.  Kent was just another unfortunate victim of The Pale Garden's machinations, and his best bet was to be as far away from Eagle X as possible.

Captain Ames stood at a respectful distance while they waited for the lift.  The door opened with a chime, the war jammer snapped to attention, and saluted.  Liam was so distracted with his thoughts he hadn't noticed the man waiting within.  He was tall and stocky with a head full of tight curls.  He was dressed in the suit that seemed to be standard issue for Executive Services agents.  His smile seemed genuine and at home on his face.  He stepped off the lift, and held the door so that the couple could board.

"Captain Ames."

"Special Agent Mack."

The agent pressed the button to close the door and disappeared behind its metal frame.  The lift descended and they were alone for the first time in hours.

"This is crazy.  What do y-"

"I can't speak to you right now," Taylor-06 interrupted.  Her words caught him by surprise.  "Actually, I need to get this off my chest."

Liam saw the change in the musculature of her face as Taylor-06's emotions reactivated.  "What did I s-"

"What do you see when you look at me?"

"I see you, Taylor-06, my friend."

"You see this," she pinched her cheek, "but this isn't me."

"But it is you."  Her expression meant he'd said the wrong thing.

"No, it's merely the part you care to see!  Under this skin I'm wires and chassis, just like the constructs you dismiss, you ignore, you command, you... you... you dismantle."

Liam quietly listened to her rant, aware these were things she needed to say.  "You're different, you're human."

"No.  Maybe you can't see it, Liam, but I'm a machine.  You need to acknowledge it."

"Tay-"

The lift stopped and a pair of EC techs got on.

"I don't know what this Pale Garden is, but I'm not finding anything.  Not even false hits where the two words are merely in the same document."

"Yeah, I don't get it."  The taller of the two glanced at the couple, and his eyes bulged.  "Shit."  He elbowed his companion.

"Oh."

The lift stopped again, this time it was their floor.  Liam and Taylor-06 exited the lift, and followed the waiting soldier's directions to the docking bay. On the outside they were a vacationing couple in the wrong place at the wrong time.  On the inside they were a rogue construct and a super soldier with less in common than they'd thought.