Joel smiled. “I’m relieved you see that now.”
“Yeah. I’m also realizing just how fucking crazy Mom is, too!”
Joel laughed. “Yeah, I can’t imagine what it must have been like growing up with that.”
Molly shrugged. “It’s hard to say. At that age, you don’t have any other points of reference. And then it just occurs to you that something’s off. And even when you go out into the real world, everything is uber confusing. And different. And you try and make sense of it. And because you only know the environment you’ve grown up in, you tend to gravitate to more of those situations. No matter how fucked up they are.”
“Or isolation,” Joel interjected.
Molly’s eyebrows jumped up in agreement. “Hell, yeah. Isolation too. Way safer than bumping up against more crazy fuckers who just make you hurt all the time.”
Joel watched Neechie, letting Molly process the feelings that were clearly coming up.
She batted a tear away. “Anyway,” she continued. “It’s kind of cathartic, knowing the truth. But this thing of having her work with us…”
Joel looked up.
Molly looked sad. “The reality is, I don’t know if I can ever trust her.”
He nodded, lips pursed.
“I’m guessing you feel the same way about her, then?” she ventured.
He was still nodding. “Honestly, yes. But we need to allow for the possibility that she’s changed. And that she is essential to us stopping this threat.”
“And we have our orders,” she added glumly.
Joel smiled. “Hence the ice cream smoothie.”
She smiled weakly. “Good call. And thank you!” She raised the drink to him and he reciprocated.
The two sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes.
Eventually, Joel spoke. “So, you got a plan?”
She sighed. “Yeah, I’m still working on it,” she said, waving at her wrist holo. “I’m thinking that it’s the natural evolution of the university to prepare people for working in the field. As actual leaders. We’re educating these folks on how to do things better. Then we need to do our version of getting them out there and into positions of power. Legitimately. So that we don’t compromise the integrity of the system.”
Joel snorted. “The system is corrupt.”
She winced. “Yeah, but that’s not a reason to not use it. We need to find a way of making change legitimately. From within.”
“And how are we going to do that and deal with all these threats coming at us?”
Molly shook her head. “It’s going to be tough. Tougher than we’ve experienced so far. But we need to start putting our graduates out into the world in positions of influence.”
Joel sniggered. “Just without killing people.”
Molly glared at him. “Yes, without killing people,” she said firmly. “But…”
Joel looked suddenly curious. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
Molly sighed, clearly trying to hide her excitement now. “Okay, if I tell you something, you have to swear you won’t tell anyone. Ever. At all.”
Joel chuckled. “Of course…”
She shook her head, glaring at him intensely. “I’m serious, knucklehead!”
“Okay, okay!”
“All right,” she said, composing herself to explain. “So, we’re looking at the possibility of Mom and Dad starting up their own version of spy school. For some of our graduates to go on to after we’ve taught them to be decent human beings.”
Joel couldn’t contain his laughter. Or the sip of smoothie he had in his mouth. He sprayed it all over the bed covers before he could clamp his hand over his mouth.
All that could be heard down the corridor was Joel laughing hysterically and Molly shouting at him in protest.
Even Neechie had flown off the bed and then shifted out of there in a flash. He appeared in the common area as if to avoid the drama, while the sounds carried through even the double doors. He flicked his tail in indignation and wandered off in the direction of the kitchen.
FINIS
Subversion
The Ascension Myth Book 10
Chapter 1
Base conference room, Gaitune-67
The base was relatively quiet. It had been several weeks since the drama of their last mission and the team had been focused on training and getting themselves back into a routine, ready for the next mission they might be tasked with.
“I trust things are settling down there, since…you know.”
General Lance Reynolds peered casually down the etheric-enhanced holo feed, into the base conference room.
Molly smirked, taking advantage of the privacy of their conversation. “What you really mean to ask is how are the Royales settling into married life?”
He grinned, shoving his cigar back into his mouth. “Busted,” he conceded.
Molly pushed back into her chair at the conference table. The General used to make her socially anxious, probably on account of him being the ‘boss of the universe’ as she’d once noted to Oz. Somehow that had gotten back to him, and though he never reprimanded her for it, he had made her squirm when he mentioned it at the end of a meeting once. Since then, it had been as if the worst had already happened and their relationship had improved.
“He’s doing fine,” she told him. “I guess. I’m not quite sure how people are meant to adjust to marriage,” she confessed.
Lance chuckled gruffly. “Well, it’s been a while for me too, but I guess in the early days there might be power plays, arguments, tantrums. You know, the normal couple stuff.”
Molly raised her eyebrows. “Yes!” she drawled, clicking her fingers in mock recognition. “Because I know exactly what you mean.”
Lance laughed again. “Oh, boy. We reached sarcasm quickly that time, didn’t we?”
“Well, if you insist on interrogating me about the social lives of my crew…”
“Quite.”
“So,” she continued. “I’m guessing that wasn’t the only reason we were meeting?”
“No. You’re correct.” Lance flicked across some screens to view a file, his face taking on a more serious expression. “We have a situation.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. And it’s a little delicate.”
Molly snorted indelicately. “When are they not?”
“This is true.” He shrugged, humoring her. “But it’s going to require a certain amount of discretion.”
She leaned forward, intrigued. “Why?”
“Well, let’s say we have intel we weren’t supposed to have, about certain parties in the Federation. Then let’s say that the other parties suspect we have that intel and let it ride. And then one day something happened that causes them to ask us to use that intel—that we’re not supposed to have—and encouraged us to… share that knowledge with them.”
Molly frowned. “Someone’s trying to entrap you?”
Lance shook his head. “No. No, I don’t think so. The Leath government have more or less admitted to the situation. They just want our help sorting out one of their problems to save any further embarrassment. We’d potentially be saving them frictions with the other member states, which would be good for everyone.”
Molly narrowed her eyes. “What have the Leath done now?”
Lance coughed. “You’re not going to like it.”
Her eyebrows flicked upwards again.
“But, the consolation is that you get to put an end to it, in a small way.”
Molly braced herself.
He doesn’t normally dance around mission details like this.
Sounds like it must be big.
Do you already know about it, Oz?
Nope. Nada.
“Okay,” she pressed. “Out with it. What exactly are we dealing with?”
Lance sighed. “Well, it appears that a rogue faction of the Leath have been dealing in arms.”<
br />
“Why is that such a surprise?”
“The arms they’re dealing have come indirectly from the Leath government.”
Molly opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She closed her mouth and looked into the corner of the room, processing.
Lance shifted nervously in his chair.
“For what it’s worth,” he said, “it really does look like a rogue group, and the Leath have had problems with corruption in their government, just like any other. Believe me when I say I’m not happy about this but taking into account the greater good, it’s far better that their government stays intact. They’re not perfect, but there is a willingness to do better. The last thing we want to do is undermine their credibility with the Federation and their own citizens. Plus, we want them on our side.”
“So what you’re saying,” she eventually concluded, “is that we get to take some of the bad guys down, but we’re not to touch the governing body who started this whole exchange?”
Lance picked up his half-chewed cigar with a grimace. “Essentially.”
Molly frowned. “You are going to deal with the government end? You know—the part where they’re selling arms to terrorists?”
Lance held up a hand to appease her. “I’m already handling it. One way or another, it will be dealt with.”
Molly eyed him skeptically.
“Oh, don’t you worry,” he finished, a stony expression settling over his handsome features, “it will become relevant at some point or another. If not politically, then in some other way. They’ll learn.”
“Well, ok then. What’s the situation on the ground?”
“Not on the ground on this one I’m afraid. It’s going to require a ship interception. We have the coordinates of when the exchange is going down. It’s the only window of opportunity when we know where the weapons are going to be. We know that the Leath are buying back some arms from a Skaine group, probably to sell them at a higher rate somewhere else. It’s standard practice with these groups for them to move merchandise around… sometimes in payment for other things.”
Molly mulled the variables. “And you want us to grab them before the Leath get them so that the weapons don’t end up back with the Leath authorities and flag that some of their weapons have been sold by their own government through back channels.”
“Exactly.”
She tapped her nails against the table as she put the pieces in order. “So we need to intervene before they change hands. Which means going after the Skaine ship…”
“No one said it was going to be easy.”
“No. But talk about walking a tightrope. And we’re going to be doing this while the Leath are watching no doubt. That’s assuming that the Skaines are the first to show up.”
Lance studied her holographic image for a moment. “I’ve no doubt that your team can figure out how to make it work, Molly. No matter which way it turns out.”
Molly sighed, racking her brains to come up with a solution. “I hope so, coz I’m coming up blank right now.”
He sat up straighter, rocking in his console chair. “You’ll come up with something, you always do. Well, ADAM is transmitting mission details over to Oz as we speak,” he said, brightening. “Keep me posted.”
Molly nodded, already partially absent as she turned the challenge Lance had given her over and over in her mind. “Yes, sir.”
The image froze for a second before going blank as the holoconnection closed.
So… helping a dirty government keep its sordid little secret?
Molly heard the distaste Oz felt for the mission loud and clear. Well, I’m not entirely jazzed about it either. But we have a job to do, and it sounds like Lance has a plan for dealing with the rest of it… at some point. I trust him.
True. Ok. We’ve got the mission packet. Want me to assemble the gang?
Yeah. Sure. May as well get to it.
Lecture Theatre Three, Skóli Uppstigs Academy, Spire, Estaria
Professor Von stood in front of her second-year students. Her lesson was designed to delve into the subject without overloading the students with information. Her approach had always been to give context and motivation to the information so that it was easier to recall later.
She had experimented with telling them what was going to be examined on the end of term paper but had found over the years that this encouraged rote learning rather than the level of comprehension that these students would need for what they were being prepared for. Proper absorption and comprehension of the material took time.
In the end, she resorted to the way that took far more preparation but ultimately led to much better results. She’d spent the first ninety percent of the session establishing these details and motivations. Now she flicked the next presentation screen up, using her holo as a controller.
“Here’s another study which shows the correlations we’ve been talking about. Bookmark this in your notes, read the analysis sections, and see if you agree with the conclusions. Make notes on where you don’t agree, we will discuss this in our next session.” She waited while they captured what they needed.
“Here’s another.”
She flicked another study with title, link and graphs onto the presentation screen.
“And another.”
The students busied themselves tapping on their holo devices and capturing the links and references, so they could reference them later.
Von paced between the rows of occupied chairs. “Pay attention to the details, because your end of term project is to fantasize about how you can combine these components to make a society that functions, without resorting to existing or historic models that have failed. You will be modelling them using computer simulations and real-life starting population data.”
One of the students raised his hand.
“Jeremy. Yes?”
Jeremy took a moment to formulate his question, the weight of the teacher’s attention on him now. “Um… My programming isn’t any good, but I think I can come up with some pretty neat ideas.”
Von smiled. “It’s as if I placed you to ask that question. The other part of this assignment is that you need to do it in groups of two. One person can take the programming and the other can take the abstract idea research and modelling aspects. Note that 25% of your grade will be based on how well you collaborate.”
There was a muttering throughout the classroom.
Von decided there was another teaching point in there. “Anyone want to tell me why we’re putting such an emphasis on collaboration?” A few hands went up. Von pointed to a brunette in the second row. “Yes, Laurel?”
The student spoke up. “Because we’re preparing to exist in a society where skills can be outsourced, and collaboration is the most valuable asset when applying to a workplace.”
Von bobbed her head. “Very good, Laurel. Nice to see that someone is remembering some of our first-year material.”
The bell rang.
“Ok folks, start thinking about your projects now. You’ll have a full briefing on it in a few weeks when the clock starts. In the meantime, please make sure you’ve read chapter four before next class. We’ll be starting on the key components of effective governance next time.”
The students pushed their chairs back and began packing up. Von disappeared behind the front bench, out of the way of the mass exodus. End of day bells were normally met with a stampede, even though these students were some of the most enthusiastic she had ever had the pleasure of teaching.
Paige sat at the back, catching up on her messages while her classmates cleared the building. She’d learned to make use of the extra minutes here and there to keep up with things.
And since trying to manage their strategy against those that wanted to see the university closed, she was having to use every spare minute she could find.
After the rush had died down, she gathered up her things and headed out to her pod to get back up to her office
on Gaitune where she would continue working, waving goodbye to Professor Von as she left.
Arlene’s lab, Skóli Uppstigs Academy
Bill stood over the holoscreens, hands in his lab coat pockets. The images displayed the correlations in the data he’d been working on since he joined the project.
“So you think this is significant?” he asked, watching Arlene’s expression carefully.
Arlene flicked from one data set to another. “I’d say so. I think it’s another piece to the puzzle.” She stood back, stroking her chin. “I’m not entirely sure what it means yet, but it almost certainly means something.”
“Maybe it’s another way of narrowing down the locations of the other sites?”
“You may be right,” Arlene confessed.
“Ha! Is this Professor Bailey telling me that I may have impressed her?”
She smiled, despite her efforts not to.
“This calls for a celebration!” Bill persisted. “How about dinner tonight?”
Arlene stopped.
Bill sensed the tension. “I mean, like as a thank you and everything as well…”
“I…” she hesitated.
She’d never really liked Bill. But there was no denying that him choosing to come to Estaria with them after him helping them out on the last mission was in no small part due to him liking her.
Despite her trying to let him down firmly but gently, it was almost as if it had only encouraged him further. And now it looked like dodging the question for longer wasn’t going to work anymore.
There was a sharp knock at the lab door, pulling both of their attention.
“Come in!” Arlene called, hiding the relief in her voice as best she could.
The door opened, and almost eclipsing any light from the corridor was a rather large Zyhn dressed in an ill-fitting atmosuit.
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 191