| skip site menu | main | fiction | blog | ramblings | links | site update |
Up to Fiction | Fiction: Bibliography | Fiction: Details: Buildup: Mindscan
Reeve skimmed through the first page of the dossier. The gist of it seemed to be that he'd accidentally bagged one of the Protectorate's weapons scientists, which he already knew. "I'm surprised they didn't just quietly shoot him, rather than dumping him on a prison planet."
"Last-ditch attempt at making him talk. He got around security procedures that were supposed to be unbreakable ..."
"No such thing." As she should know, in her job.
"Still, they wanted to know how. We'd quite like to, as well."
"But?" There was very definitely a 'but' in this conversation.
"He won't consent to a mindscan," she said. "After the hell he went through resisting it, he's probably incapable of submitting to it even if he was willing to try. But if he spends a few months with your crew, he might heal enough that he can drop his barriers." She shook her head. "He's never going to be normal, but he was probably never that normal to start with."
"So you'd like us to babysit your mad scientist while he gets back to a normal level of insanity. Thanks."
She stared at him now, the steady gaze reminding him uncomfortably of Frampton. "He'll do better with your people than anyone else. And he'll be useful to you."
He'd talk it over with the crew. But he knew what the decision would probably be. They did need a science officer. Someone who had the computer skills to almost get away with the stunt Frampton had pulled would be useful on some of their little jobs. And the willingness to put up with weirdness went both ways -- Frampton would understand them. "We'll have to think about it."
"Good." She tapped a control on her wristband, and a section of the tabletop slid away in front of Reeve, giving him access to a monitor. "Take as long as you want to read his dossier. You can't take the full version with you -- there's no point in hiding who he is and that we've got him, since you lifted him right off a Protectorate prison ship, but what he has told us about his work is need-to-know." She stood up, then said, "Call me when you've finished," before leaving the room.
Reeve settled down to learn as much as he could about his latest odd job.
excerpt 1 | excerpt 2 | erotic excerpt
| Top of page | main | fiction | blog | ramblings | links | site update |
Up to Fiction | Fiction: Bibliography | Fiction: Details: Buildup: Mindscan
© Copyright 2005 Jules Jones