Chapter Text
The master's tools will never demolish the master's house.
- Audre Lorde
PROLOGUE
Avon pushed Orac's key down softly, started to speak, stopped, closed his eyes, and stood for a moment, his fingers carefully spread around the sharp corners of the casing. It was half possessive, half as if he needed support to keep him from falling.
"Orac," he said gently. "Why have you included item 7.1 in your latest update to my secure data store?"
+I should have thought the answer was obvious.+
"I have not the slightest interest in the activities of bounty hunters several sectors away from me. If I were intending to visit this Gauda Prime, then perhaps the information would be relevant. As it is - "
+Kindly study the item in full before wasting my time with complaints. You yourself designed the monitoring and filtering program under which this information was to be brought to your attention.+
"That program was installed so that I should be notified immediately of any major plans or actions on the part of the Federation."
+Or any other significant political movements, both those based on planets within this sector and those likely to have effects over a number of different worlds. Yes.+
"Bounty hunting is not a significant political movement."
+The data suggests that this is merely a cover. Blake is unlikely to - +
"Blake is dead," said Avon.
+You have no logical grounds for thinking that Blake is dead. This information confirms that he is not.+
"Blake is dead, Orac," said Avon and pulled out the key. He stood for a moment looking at the key in his hand, as if he wasn't sure what it was, then pocketed it, sat down and returned to studying his desktop terminal. Item 8 of the daily update: a message from someone claiming to be Egrorian. The voice print matched, for what that was worth.
"Why not?" he said.
*********************
Avon sealed the box of things he was taking from the base, and looked around his quarters for a moment before settling Orac's key into place.
"All right, Orac. Relay information about the co-ordinates of Gauda Prime to the Slave computer and collate all information on the current whereabouts and activities of... Blake... in a new segment of my secure data store."
+Very well. Although this task could have been completed more conveniently several weeks ago at the time the information was obtained, if you had not persisted in your absurd and illogical conviction that Blake was dead.+
"Dead or not, it seems that he is our last hope," said Avon. He pushed the wall communicator. "Tarrant? Are all the charges set?"
"Set and ready. We're waiting to board Scorpio."