Free Koban: Rise of the Kobani by Stephen W. Bennett Page B

and the suit helmet was recovered with a record that he survived removal from the armor by Krall Blue Suits. The suit’s nanite infusion was incomplete, and he could have easily bled to death. There is no further record of him after that. It seems redundant to repeat that the Krall don’t normally keep prisoners alive or offer medical treatment, and prisoners almost never escape.”
    “We see he’s healthy and free now, and has friends that we can’t find any record of. I assume you have found none yet, Max?”
    “No Sir. I have searched all of the Poldark civil and military records back two decades, and I have started checking port of entry logs of off-world visitors as well. Because Sergeant Reynolds was reported dead, should I also check death records for any potential matches with the others, Sir? Without DNA to compare, the search will be less certain, and requires much longer.”
    “Max, are you saying you have better things to do?” Trakenburg smiled.
    “Sir, I am able to conduct this search with no significant reduction of my full operational capability. I thought it useful to inform you of the possibility that the search could take longer than you were prepared to wait."
    He decided to “mess” with the AI’s stiff programmed personality, to observe its reaction. “I thought perhaps you had a date with Nabarone’s Carla tonight.”
    “Are you referring to the general’s AI, which he calls Carla, Sir?”
    “Why yes. It has a charming female voice and personality. I thought perhaps you two had made a connection. A date as it were.”
    “I communicate and coordinate with his AI frequently in the open, and by use of the unofficial backdoor Link your superiors have arranged for me, to keep you informed of his actions regarding combat activities that could impact your own secret missions. Is that what you mean by the term ‘a date,’ Sir?”
    He was amused, but not enough to continue the pointless joke on an AI. “Never mind, Max.” However, the momentary diversion did bring an idea to him. “Max, the sergeant was under Nabarone’s overall authority, and the man used SOB-23 for a time. Check Carla’s records for recent references to that base.”
    He didn’t expect such a quick reply. The database was immense. “General Nabarone made a computer inquiry this morning about two Krall clanships that landed close to SOB-23. One ship is estimated to have landed in the canyon where it is located.”
    “What! Why wasn’t I told?” He didn’t like surprises like this.
    “Sir, you transferred use of the base to the Planetary Union Army after our withdrawal. It isn’t listed as one of our assets, so it did not trigger an alert to inform you of the landings.”
    “OK. But, what was Nabarone’s reaction? What information was he asking the computer to give him?”
    “Sir, my parameters for the backdoor access to General Nabarone’s AI does not authorize me to provide you with that information. It does not have any bearing on Special Operations missions currently underway or planned for the future. There is a privacy issue involved, and General Nabarone outranks you, Sir.”
    “But you told me about the two clanship landings that you learned of from his data base.”
    “Sir, I learned of them through our own data base, I can only confirm that the same information is in the data base of the general’s AI, and that he inquired about the landings.”
    God damned AI’s! He thought. Dumping tons of trivia on your head when you didn’t need it, and then using some preprogrammed limitation to deny you information that might actually be vital. He had an idea how to make Max understand that spec ops did have a mission that could be impacted. He’d invent one right now!
    “Max, I want to send some teams into those tunnels and out to the foothills, to see if they can destroy those two ships. Because the base was turned over to the PU Army, I need to know what plans they have for that base before I request