The Gen

Chapter 10

Timon told Rilad Klapps that Sirid was having an affair behind Kania's back, using that antiquated communicator for the purpose. Kania invited Rilad and Timon to her apartment. The two men sat on her sofa.

Rilad didn't look like a typical nerd. He was far more attractive than Timon or even Sirid. He had Sirid's height, short black hair, an angular, male face and was no stranger to a workout. His voice and his behavior undermined the beauty a great deal though. He sounded like a foolish animation character Kania hated, and his demeanor...

"This is fucking awesome, man. Seen such stuff only in museums. But guys, I ain't buying it that mister boyfriend uses this thing to chat to his secret lover. You need an antenna for this, a receiver, signal amplifier, a frequency... this is something else."

Timon and Kania exchanged glances while Rilad scanned the communicator with a scanner device that looked self-made to Kania.

Rilad looked up, from Kania to Timon and back. "Guys, what's going on here?"

Timon avoided his gaze.

"Hey, if this is something major, I'm your guy, guys. Since you asked me and didn't deliver this thing to whichever authorities, I guess you don't wanna involve them. Totally cool by me. I'm allergic to authorities. The bastards have me on their radar and I hate their guts. They're takin' all the fun outa hacking. I love bein' a hacker. It's so much cooler than anything else. If this is illegal, I'm your man."

Rilad wasn't an RSW worker. Timon told Kania he became friends with Rilad shortly after his arrival in Hagesh after meeting him in a bar. Rilad had a computation lecturer job at the community college and when he didn't teach, he hacked, without his superiors' knowledge, of course.

Kania shuffled in her seat. She'd have to tell Rilad something, she knew, despite trusting him even less than Timon.

"What's your stance towards the RSW?" Kania asked.

"I think the OT and the Gen are super cool. I'd give my soul to be on that ship when it leaves," he answered promptly and seemed to mean it. Hell, she'd love access to a lie detector now.

Rilad's face twitched, of course he knew that Timon and Kania worked on the Gen and thus for the RSW.

"Whoa... this is FTS shit?" He pointed at the communicator. "Holy fuck! Well, but makes sense... wow, so cool... they're talking via these thingies. Fuck, this is major, huh?"

Kania sighed, then nodded.

"Holy crap, your boyfriend is an FTS mole?"

"Apparently... we're looking for evidence," Kania said.

"Oh, this is about as sweet a piece of evidence as you can get." Rilad again pointed at the communicator.

"Can you trace its signals to their source?" Timon asked.

"Only when the device is in use. It's passive at the moment, ready to send or receive, but currently neither sending nor receiving."

"Got ya," Kania said. "Thank you, Rilad, you've been a great help. I don't really know what to do about all this yet. I'd highly appreciate it if you kept this to yourself."

"You got my word, Kania. But I don't understand what you're waiting for."

"She has the hope to convince her boyfriend of stopping with this and changing sides," Timon said. Kania couldn't help but admire him more every time she met him.

"Wow... good luck with that," Rilad said. "Heard these FTS guys are--what's the word--ideologically waterproof?"

Rilad looked from Timon to Kania and back again as neither of them answered that. "Okay... I get the vibes here that I'd better leave and let you RSW dudes discuss. I'm totally at your disposal for acts of spying of any sort, that's called a friendly. Your boyfriend doesn't know me, so I'd be an ideal spy. I always wanted to be a spy. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to recruit me yet. This is your show. It's your job to inform the authorities, not mine. You can totally rely on me. I'll spy the hell out of your dude and I'll enjoy it."