Aeolus Investigations Set 2: Too Cool To Lose: The Continuing Evolution of Lexi Stevens

by Robert E Colfax

  “No.” Geena laughed. “I actually like that part of it, well, pseudo-vodka martinis aside. I think Ron is still hoping for a decoder ring.” She paused. “When you were reinventing the hyper-generator, Urania made a comment I’ve been thinking about off and on ever since. Do you know what I’m referring to Urania, darling?”

  “It must have been when I said, ‘Whatever it is we’ve done to her is freakin’ incredible.’”

  Nodding, Geena said, “Exactly. The fact is, though, we didn’t do anything to her. But skip that for now. I’ll come back to it. You’re repeatedly providing us with impossible technology, Lexi. First, it was the Zappers. Then the serum that possibly makes us immortal. You followed that with the new gravity-pads. And we all know it’s only a matter of time before you iron out the problems with your hulk-meds. We just need to wait for Ron to make the right wisecrack.”

  She sighed. “When looked at in a certain way, we’re all becoming too dependent on you, Lexi. More to the point, on your genius. This mission would never have succeeded if you hadn’t reinvented the hyper-generator, then upgraded both the dampeners and the hyper-drive and finally, come up with appliances for an extreme inverted-gravity field.”

  “How is any of that a problem, Mom?” Ron asked. He noted Lexi had a thoughtful expression on her face. He was pretty sure he was looking puzzled. He felt puzzled.

  “Before we met her,” Geena elaborated, “you and I managed by ourselves. I love having another woman on board. Especially this one. I’m sure you do too, but that’s not what this discussion is about. We got ourselves into minor binds on occasion but it was always something we managed to get ourselves out of. Now, we’re taking assignments that put us in situations only Lexi can get us out of. We’re taking more and greater risks than ever before. What happens when we get into a situation that we need Lexi to resolve, but she’s not here? She was kidnapped recently, if you recall.”

  “We got her out of that one, Mom,” Ron pointed out. He grunted. “Of course, she was already getting herself out by the time we got there.”

  Lexi was frowning slightly. “I’m sure you would have recovered the kidnapped E’Krets without me. The Grammin situation, maybe not, but the fact that I knew the Barossa Channel had to be on the pirate’s base was more coincidence than otherwise. What would you have me do, Geena? I can’t change who or what I am,” she asked, her voice almost serene.

  Geena nodded, her expression still serious. “Nor would I ask you to. We all love you the way you are. That isn’t the point I’m working toward. Admittedly, I may be doing a poor job getting there. Still, that doesn’t mean this is not going to be a problem for us someday.”

  Lexi started to speak again, and Geena raised her hand to stop her. “We’re a team, darling. The four of us. We each have our own strengths which contribute to making this arrangement work. Lexi, in addition to having a deeper understanding of science and technology than anyone else in the Accord, you’re a born leader. You’ve clearly demonstrated that.”

  She watched Ron, although he was still puzzled by whatever she was getting at, nod. “Ron, to use an English term, is a Jack-of-All-Trades. He can repair anything and everything on this ship. He can plan and lead an assault on a pirate stronghold. Hell, he makes the best coffee I’ve had.”

  She glanced up at the cabin sensor. “Urania is a starship who thinks with at least human-grade intelligence. She makes excellent, independent decisions. She’s as much a person as any of us. Other than the starship part, I’m some of all of those things, but my real strength is that I’m a very good negotiator. People listen to me and they tend to trust me.”

  “So where’s the problem, Geena?” Urania asked. “I don’t think any of us are seeing it.”

  “Your comment, darling. “Remember what Jis said to us? We have the only Lexi Stevens in existence on our team. We didn’t do this to Lexi. Maybe no one did. But if someone is behind forcing an already extraordinary young woman down this path, it would be nice to know who and why.”

  Lexi shook her head. “Ron and I have discussed this, several times, between ourselves. You’re absolutely right, although the evidence is circumstantial at best. Each time, we reached the conclusion that we won’t know until we know. It’s pointless to dwell on it.”

  “Is it?” Geena asked. “I think you’ve lost sight of the fact that we’re not just secret agents. We’re investigators. I think we can and should be looking into it.”

  “We don’t have any leads, Mom. There’s nowhere to start,” Ron said.

  Geena smiled. “Of course we do, darling. You know how we do this. We start by interviewing family members.”

  “Dad?” Lexi said. Her voice low and her focus turning inward. “I would love to go home and see him again. I’d like him to meet you guys. But how do I tell him about all of this?” she asked, waving her hand around, encompassing the command bay and by extension, the Accord. “Besides, we need to finish this first.”

  “I know Geena isn’t done, but I’m going to take advantage of that comment,” Urania said, “and segue into another possible problem. This pirate we’re tracking; it’s too easy.”

  “Isn’t it always easy for you, Urania?” Ron asked.

  “No, not really. You know how it’s done, Ron. Tracing a ship through hyper is never easy. It involves a huge amount of computational power. Analyzing the pion residue created by a hyper-drive is just the start. Turbulence patterns in hyperspace have to be factored in and they approach being truly chaotic. Then it comes down to probabilities. It’s easy to lose a trail. This ship, though, is taking a slow and steady jaunt through hyperspace. Its drive is putting out a bolder trail than it should be.”

  “You’re suggesting they want to be followed?” Ron speculated. “Do they know we’re back here?”

  “No,” Urania replied. “I don’t think that’s possible. Lexi?”

  She shrugged. “It’s possible, of course. I doubt they can, though. We haven’t seen any indication Unity technology is that advanced.”

  “We know this group is ultra-vigilant, even ultra-cautious. They may be leading us into a trap,” Geena said. Looking thoughtful, she added, “Or it could just be standard operating procedure. The raider we holed and followed back to the Unity base took a roundabout path. We should be watching for their emission trail to drop back to normal, followed by a sudden course change.”

  Her expression completely innocent, Lexi asked, “Geena, should I enhance our sensor array so that we can see them from back here?”

  Geena frowned. “Please don’t take what I said the wrong way, darling. You don’t need my permission to do whatever you think best. Always.” As Lexi’s innocent look changed to a grin, Geena smiled and said, “I do believe you’re pulling my leg.”

  “Guilty,” Lexi agreed. “I would if I could, but I can’t, so I won’t.”

  Ron laughed. “Try saying that three times fast, kiddo.”

  “That, that, that.” She turned her grin on him. “You don’t have a monopoly on being a wise-ass, lover. I think Geena’s right. Let’s not be taken by surprise either way.”

  She paused. “About the other things. Yeah, we’ll look up Dad the first chance we get. He’ll be able to handle it. I’m not sure about rolling out technology upgrades. Yes, better sensors would be nice, but I’m kind of stumped on that one. I’m still thinking about the hulk-meds. I think I’ll be able to figure them out before too much longer. And you, Geena pointed out we need stun-guns. That I can do.”

  She paused. “If I wasn’t here, you guys could have simply left. You could have destroyed the base and killed everybody or you could have reopened the end of the tunnel and snuck out that way. On Hepca, I don’t know. Both Ron and Jis were held captive. Grammin is problematic too, once we rescued Hrassi. We would have had to take her home, but we could have left before promising to find the Barossa Channel for them.”

  “Yes, Lexi,” Geena said. “You wanted us to be a team that makes a difference. That’s what we’
ve been doing. There’s always going to be danger involved. Really, I just wanted to point out that one of our team members is extraordinary. Rightly or wrongly, we’re growing to depend on that.”

  Chapter 33

  Evolution

  Ron looked at Lexi, his face serious. “While we’re having this discussion, I have something I want to add. This goes back to our discussion of what’s been done to Lexi. You’re wrong Mom, I see more of it than either you or Urania. When we’re alone together there are times when we know what each other is thinking. It’s not just Lexi and the Barossa Channel guys, it’s me too. Does anyone see where I’m going with this?” He looked from Geena to Lexi and then to Urania’s cabin sensor as he tended to do. “All three of us are changing along with her.”

  “Go on, Ron. Elaborate,” Lexi said.

  “It’s been gradual, ladies. Some of it is the physical changes brought about by the martial arts training and working with swords. We’re more perceptive of the little things because of that. We’ve not just been training our muscles, we’ve been training our nervous systems and our minds too. Then let’s think about the so-called anti-geriatrics we’re all taking. We all agreed that we feel better in an indescribable way since we took the infusion. Lexi doesn’t know how much they’re going to extend our lifetimes. We could be immortal. We all know that’s a possibility. Do we know for sure they aren’t causing other, subtler changes?” He directed that last at Lexi.

  “I’m not sure,” she said. With a shrug, she added, “Maybe minor things. It’s DNA, there’s no way to be completely sure. DNA is complicated. I can’t explain why we think we feel better.”

  Ron smiled at her before continuing. “I have Grammin DNA as well. The Barossa Channel was starting to affect me before we left Grammin. It still is, randomly. More than that, though, we’ve all been in close quarters with a living version of the Rose of Light. Jis told us that meditating with Lexi was more effective than with the crystal itself. And remember she just recently said Lexi’s mere presence was enhancing her abilities. Living with Lexi is affecting us. If I had to guess, I would say it’s affecting all three of us, Urania included.”

  While he gave that a moment to sink in, he topped off everyone’s wine glass, again thinking how much more, what, esthetically pleasing it was to use an actual glass instead of a sippy cup. “Our attitudes are evolving. None of us has any qualms about hunting down and exterminating pirates anymore. We don’t do it for fun. We do it because space is better off without them. But we’re doing it on our own. No Accord police authority delegated the task to us. We were about to eliminate thirty-six hundred of them, without remorse, because they were pirates. Fortunately, we learned how appalling that would have been before we did it.” He paused a moment and looked directly at Geena. “Mom, you flew a freakin’ fighter mission a few weeks ago. Could you picture yourself doing that two years ago?

  Geena only shook her head, her expression serious.

  “My entire life,” Ron continued, “I never even wondered about how the technology we use every day works. I could fix it when it needed fixing and that was enough. I never cared about the science behind it. I do now and it’s due to Lexi’s influence. My point is, whether or not the changes we see Lexi going through are by design or merely circumstance, the rest of us are experiencing the same changes. Not to the same extent, but we are nonetheless. I’ll tell you something else; I like the person I’m becoming. The growing I’m doing. I like the changes I see in you, too, Geena. I love you all no matter what.”

  “What about me, Ron?” Urania asked.

  “I love you too, dear. I know that wasn’t what you were asking. You’re actually the easiest because you’ve said it yourself a couple of times since Lexi joined us. There’s more depth, or maybe breadth, to you than there was before Lexi started using the educator. You were already sentient before she came into our lives. I’m not sure this is the correct way to say it, but you’re more so now.”

  “So,” Lexi said, “it boils down to this. Now that you point it out, Ron, it seems obvious that we’re all evolving in a direction we feel is beneficial for us.” She frowned, “Even if we’ve all become cold-blooded killers in the process. We do it to save others. Maybe that makes it alright.” She paused and still frowning said, “It’s still disturbing to think that we’re changing due to someone’s design.”

  “OK, I can accept that. All four of us are growing. It could just be happenstance,” Geena said, “regardless of how unlikely it seems when looked at holistically. Looked at in toto though, as impossible as it seems, someone or something is arranging this. If that is the case, the Rose of Light is definitely part of it. Without it going missing…”

  She paused, clearly having an epiphany. She sipped thoughtfully at her wine before continuing. “I was about to say we’d never have met you. You would have never left Earth. Ron and I would have gone broke and lost Urania, never even knowing she is a person. Many things would have turned out differently. If that fifty-thousand-year-old artifact is the key factor it seems to be, this play was started at least that long ago. Longer if the Barossa Channel falls into the same category. Someone would have had to have an unbelievable precognitive ability. Someone who has a job for us and is giving us the tools to do it. No, let me rephrase that. Someone who is forging us into the tools to do it.”

  “Why did you hesitate there, Geena?” Lexi asked.

  “I just made a connection. One you’re not going to like, I’m afraid. If I’m right, and I think I am, it’s just going to deepen the mystery. This discussion we’ve been having about you, and about us, somehow we were sent a confirmation message. It’s been staring us in the face and we didn’t realize it.”

  “Go ahead, Geena,” Urania said.

  “We really need to pay more attention to every little thing Jis says, no matter how trivial it seems at the time. She knew this already, she just didn’t know she knew it. She mentioned the last Conclave. The one when the Rose of Light was stolen from her father. It fit right in with everything else she was saying so none of us thought anything of it.”

  “Yes, she did, Mom, what’s your point?” Ron asked, perplexed.

  “We’ve speculated that if we are being manipulated, or maybe trained is a better word, the Rose was left on Earth for Lexi to find. Ron speculated that the pattern Lexi sees in the worlds the Forerunners chose to seed with humans was a message, one intended for Lexi. Urania, darling, would you do some math for me. We know Ad Boc Seckan had the Rose one morning and it was missing that night. What was that date on Earth’s calendar?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Urania exclaimed almost immediately. “I’m sorry Lexi. Geena’s right, you’re really not going to like this. The Rose of Light disappeared on the eighth of December 2001.”

  Lexi blanched. “No way! That’s the day I was born!”

  Urania added, “Geena’s right about something else, too. We really need to look up your father and have a chat with the man.”

  Chapter 34

  Come Into My Parlor

  It was the middle of their night when Urania woke them all up. Lexi was nearly through her sleep cycle anyway. For the two Samues, it was damn early. Observing that they were all awake, Urania said, “I lost the trail. The evidence suggests they dropped into normal space. Anyone want to follow them?”

  Lexi beat the others to the command bay by seconds. Urania was stopped dead in hyper, bouncing around slightly, despite the upgraded dampeners. The turbulence in this area was unusually heavy. Urania had all of her sensors extended to their maximum range. “That’s why we’re out here,” Lexi said, “instead of back on Ostrieachia trying to keep those people in line. Ron, Geena, we’re going with plan A. Let’s see what happens. Urania, it’s up to you.”

  “I suggest you guys take a few minutes to suit up. We have the time, so let’s not be stupid.”

  “Thanks, Urania. You’re right, of course,” Ron said.

  While her crew was getting into spac
e gear, Urania began executing plan A. With the hyper-drive back online, she moved a short distance further in-system. The calculations that determined the old “hyper-limit” which surrounded the gravity well of every solar system was based on Accord technology. It no longer applied to Urania with Lexi’s most recent upgrades to the generator, the dampener, and the drive. There was still a hyper-limit, of course, but it was much further into the system. She idly wondered how close to the star she could get. By the time the others returned and strapped in, Urania had them positioned a little further out than Earth would be if this was the Sol system.

  “Full shields, honey, and drop us out,” Lexi commanded.

  Ron had taken over the tactical console but cloned the display to the main screen. Nothing was shooting at them. Nor were any ships headed their way. Other than normal background radiation, there were no emissions in the system. Geena, examining the display, asked, “What’s that? About twelve degrees above the plane of the ecliptic and fifty degrees plus or minus from the primary?”