“Can’t, at least not yet. He hasn’t reported to work in three days and hasn’t accessed his lodging in almost four. I’m tracking down two suspicious identities who booked seats on transports off the Presidio in the last week, one traveling to Pyxis and the other to Seneca. As soon as anything concrete pops on either of them, I’ll follow where it leads.”
She shook her head slowly. “Every person allowed access to the body or the products of the body was meticulously vetted.”
“Oh, his record is spotless. But 800K is a great deal of money, and everyone has secrets.”
“I suppose. How did you uncover the leak?”
He grimaced and leaned against the wall. “Someone used the code to formulate a new strain of cybernetics virus. It was used in an attack on Devon Reynolds and his girlfriend the night of the Metigen Victory celebration.”
Her eyes widened. “Are they all right?”
“The girlfriend’s in a coma. Devon’s unharmed. He took out two of the attackers, but a third escaped during the altercation. Romane law enforcement is searching for the perpetrator.”
“But until this person is found, you don’t have any idea who they were working for.”
“No, I do not. Dr. Symansi is a better lead anyway. The attackers were thugs for hire contracted by an independent broker. Once we confirmed the virus came from the Anaden—I say ‘we,’ but it was mostly Mia Requelme’s doing—it wasn’t hard to find Symansi. Like most first-time criminals, he didn’t cover his tracks well.”
Miriam tilted her head back against the chair rest. “This is turning into a day I’d prefer wasn’t.”
“I can’t disagree with you there.”
She frowned. “Morgan Lekkas was injured in a skycar collision yesterday. The initial evidence points to a malfunctioning rental vehicle as the cause, but two attacks on Noetica Prevos in less than a week is quite a coincidence.”
“That’s because it’s not a coincidence.”
“You think someone is targeting them?”
“I’ve recommended increased security for Ms. Requelme just in case, but I’m afraid it might be more complicated than hits on the Noetica Prevos. It’s possible something else is going on.”
She stood and went to the center window. “Two of Malcolm Jenner’s former squad members were killed yesterday in what appears to be a training accident.”
He straightened up in surprise. In the back of his mind, a warning flared. He tried to trace it to its origin before it faded, to no avail. “It’s probably unrelated, but send me the information?”
“Done. Any authorizations you need to increase security protocols for data or people, you have them.”
“Thank you. We’ll try to make sure no more top secret information leaks out—you know, unless someone in a position of authority freely shares it.”
The teasing jab got a wry smile from her, if only a small one. She’d caught all manner of hell for enlisting the Noesis collective to help riddle out the Dimensional Rifter glitch. True to form, she’d given the politicians the usual brush-off and told the military officers to calm themselves or, failing that, go fret over fixing actual problems.
A priority message arrived then signaling a hit on one of the identities he was tracking. “And like that, I’m Seneca-bound. I’ll keep you updated.”
SPACE, NORTH-CENTRAL QUADRANT
SENECAN FEDERATION SPACE
Richard stood to stretch in the small private cabin of the transport. The cabin didn’t provide sufficient room to pace properly, so after a few circuits he sat down again.
The Presidio was centrally located between Earth, Seneca and Romane, so the trip wasn’t rightfully long enough to give him stiff muscles. Must be due to him spending eighty percent of the last four days on one transport or another.
The news about Jenner’s squadmates continued to nag at him. Training accidents happened in the military; it was an unfortunate consequence of the organization’s use of the most powerful weapons and weapon delivery systems in existence…here. But the bodies and injuries were really starting to pile up this week.
He started a simple list on an aural, nothing but names.
Devon Reynolds
Captain Jacob Paredes
Captain Vanessa Devore
Commander Morgan Lekkas
He paused, then added another line just for kicks.
Paolo Acconci et al
Now he stared at the list, drawing, erasing and re-drawing links in his mind….
He sank back into the seat. “Shit.”
SENECA
CAVARE
The fact Graham Delavasi had to pass through two cordons then weave through multiple forensic techs on his way to the hotel room told him most of what he needed to know about what he would find.
As expected, when he finally made it into the room he found Richard crouched over a prone body missing most of its head. He’d gotten enough of the background before he left the office to not pity the corpse.
Graham crouched beside Richard. “I hope the doctor made good use of his windfall fortune in the short time he had it to spend.”
Richard grimaced. “As far as we’ve been able to determine, all he got out of it was a first-class seat on a transport from the Presidio to Cavare, four hours in a moderately classy hotel suite, a prime rib dinner and a bottle of gin—” he jerked his head toward the dresser “—most of which is still here for the taking.”
“Wife or kids who would have been able to enjoy the proceeds if they weren’t criminally obtained and he wasn’t busted?”
“Of course not. Are there ever? The ones with wives and kids don’t make deals this lucrative—they’re invariably too desperate and take the lowball first offer. This guy? He simply got greedy.” Richard put his palms on his thighs and stood, then pivoted to one of the techs working the body. “Scrape his eVi and send me the results. Also send me his data store, intact. SENTRI will return a copy to you for your records, but don’t try to copy it here, in case it’s rigged.”
She peered up at Richard skeptically. “You think he has a physical data store?”
“He was a scientist. He has one.”
She shrugged in acceptance, which earned a quiet chuckle from Graham.
Whether it was the time Richard had spent with Division, the natural, quiet authority he’d picked up somewhere along the way or the reality that SENTRI had quickly and dramatically imprinted itself on the intelligence business, all the techs were not only deferring to the man but accepting his directives without question.
Richard motioned toward the hallway, and Graham followed him out. After several tries they found a quiet, traffic-free space, and he turned to his friend. “What do you need from us?”
“Find out where the money came from. A close second is to whom the code was delivered.” Richard frowned. “No. The second will help, and I will gladly order the immediate arrest of any and all involved in this chain of events.
“But to prevent further attacks we need to find out who is behind this, and ultimately the money will be the trail to lead us there. Symansi came to Cavare for a reason. Maybe he thought it was busy enough he could hide here, or maybe a piece of the puzzle is located here.”
Graham nodded in the kind of ‘understanding’ that was a hallmark of early investigations—which was to say, they didn’t understand much, but they knew what they needed to begin to understand. Still, seeing as it wasn’t technically his investigation, he could afford to play it a little loose.
“You already know where the money trail’s going to lead, don’t you?”
Richard shook his head firmly. “No, I do not. I’m not assuming anything. The evidence will lead where it leads.”
“Uh-huh. Sure will.”
Richard glared at him. “Have I mentioned how I’m glad you’re not my boss any longer? Fine. I have a tantalizing hint of a suspicion that doesn’t make any sense and zero evidence to back it up. Finger’s on the trigger, ready to move as soon as I find even a c
rumb of an actionable trail, but right now? Whatever I think I know, what I have is nothing.”
AMARANTHE
26
KATOIKIA
TRIANGULUM GALAXY
LGG REGION VI
* * *
VALKYRIE WAS ANNOYED.
It gave her an inordinate degree of pleasure to ascribe names and labels to the increasing range of emotions she experienced, and she was quite confident this particular one was best described as annoyance.
Too long had passed since Alex and Caleb had passed through the cloaking barrier, and she did not care for being left behind to wait until she had no choice but to fret (a most unbecoming emotion).
Admittedly, on Taenarin Aris they had remained beyond her perception for more than two days. But there, Lakhes had explained the situation to her and, in the absence of rampant deception on the Kat’s part, no clear danger or urgency had existed.
Here, however, they all faced critical time pressures with the impending arrival of a fleet of warships bent on destruction. The Katasketousya superdreadnoughts had begun to depart the surface carrying their precious cargo in the last several minutes.
She did not plan for the scenario Alex had so casually tossed out to come to pass. She would not leave them here, but she also did not desire for the circumstances to worsen to the point where the choice must be made.
Decision reached, she engaged the in-atmosphere pulse detonation engine and proceeded forward as cautiously as the engine allowed.
She passed the location where they had vanished with no detectable variation in the air or the environment. Another ten meters, and she was certain: there was no cloaking shield in place.
Unbroken flatlands stretched out before her. Empty. Any object the shield had concealed was now gone. And despite the removal of the quantum barrier, she could neither sense nor connect to Alex’s mind.
‘Mnemosyne, Alex and Caleb have disappeared from my approximate location.’
There is a—
‘The cloaking barrier has disappeared as well, along with its secret. Regardless of whether one of your kind kidnapped them or a more nefarious event has taken place, I require your assistance.’
Mesme materialized in the cabin two seconds later, for only a second. One moment. Its form vanished, then returned six seconds later. A longer moment, please.
Gone again.
Valkyrie resumed waiting. To pass the interval in her primary consciousness, she contemplated the transition from annoyance to concern tainted with dread then back to annoyance which had occurred in her processes.
Having spent a great deal of time in Alex’s mind, she appreciated that her mood swings would hardly register on the spectrum of human emotion. This was a good thing, as she did not want to become neurotic. Nevertheless, from her perspective, concern, fear, annoyance and anticipation had now churned together to form a frenzy of passions. This state of heightened excitation was both uncomfortable and disconcerting.
Perhaps she should look into taking up meditation.
KATOIKIA TAIRI
CETUS DWARF GALAXY
LGG REGION V
“No. I have been away from my duties as Second Sentinel too long entertaining you when crucial hours transpire around us. You shall have to find your own way back.”
Caleb loomed over the diminutive alien in a fine display of threatening intimidation. “I. Don’t. Care. What. You—”
Alex put a hand on his arm. “Hey. I think our ride’s here.”
He glanced at her without dropping the aggressive demeanor, and she was damn glad his ire wasn’t directed her way. She pointed to the new swirl of lights coalescing inside the room.
Paratyr. I will relieve you of your guests now. Good fortune in continuing the work of the Mirad Vigilate from what will hopefully one day be our new home.
“Good fortune in sparing our people and those we protect, Mnemosyne.”
Caleb stepped away from Paratyr, closer to her, and Mesme floated over and began to surround them.
Lacking the benefit of an enclosed structure, the distance and surroundings involved in this method of travel will be extremely disorienting and unpleasant. I advise closing your eyes and keeping them so until we arrive at the Siyane.
She did as instructed. The next second her stomach lurched as they moved—and she reopened her eyes. With such a tease as that, how could she not?
All the air left her lungs. They were in space, and out of space. Sliding between the physical layers of space as if none were truly there.
Her mind reeled as dormant, damaged pathways lit up and tried to fire and the sensation of Caleb’s arms holding her faded away. The scenes whirling around them looked like, felt like, inhabiting the ship—dancing through the dimensions, freed of any tether to her physical body.
She recoiled from it and reached for it, hating it and wanting it at the same time. Her eyes, if she still possessed control of them, would not close.
She could not turn away.
Lights flashed. Not real ones but spectral luminescence, strings surfing quantum waves.
Darkness consumed her. Tendrils clawed for her, blocked only by the tenuous field Mesme’s presence created.
Stars blurred, then snapped into sharp clarity, over and over.
She was falling.
Alex, are you hurt? Are you safe?
Valkyrie! They were far beyond the cloaking barrier now, and however unfathomable the concept, this was a realm where Valkyrie could find her.
She tried to take in the meager oxygen trapped inside Mesme’s sphere of influence. I’m…we’ll be there soon. But I’m…drowning. I need to hold on somehow….
Let me help.
In some indescribable way, Valkyrie’s mind encased hers in a protective cocoon, and she sensed the core of her consciousness solidify within the ship she hadn’t yet arrived at.
She felt overwhelmed, awed and terrified, but she no longer felt lost. The abysm no longer yawned ominously beneath her feet.
Paper-thin walls of dimensions rushed by, closed in tight around them—and they were in real space. On the Siyane. In the cabin. Mesme flitted away.
Alex fell against the side of the couch, barely managing to brace herself and stay on her feet. A wave of nausea welled up in her chest; she choked it back. Breathed in through her nose.
Instantly Caleb was beside her, wrapping a steadying arm around her and leaning in. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She stared up at him through hazy, blurred vision. “I opened my eyes.”
SIYANE
TRIANGULUM GALAXY
LGG REGION VI
Alex lay stretched out on the bed on her stomach—backwards, with her bare feet at the headboard. She was propped up on her elbows, gaze fixated on the small Reor slab she slowly rotated in her fingers.
Caleb reclined properly in the bed and watched her with equal parts curiosity and worry.
Her hands weren’t trembling, and there was no sheen of sweat dampening her skin. But she also seemed a million parsecs away, and she’d been there for some minutes now. Either she was zoned in on the admittedly perplexing object to a degree unusual even for her obsessive tendencies, or she was using the object as a talisman to keep something darker at bay.
All right. This had gone on long enough. If he disturbed a metaphysical revelation in progress, he’d weather the recriminations without argument, but he needed to know her state of mind. He didn’t intend to let her slip away from him again.
He shifted his hand a few centimeters and began caressing her calf, admiring the curve of her svelte legs while not letting it distract him from his focus on her well-being.
She murmured a pleased hum and looked over her shoulder to give him a sheepish smile. “I’m okay. I promise. Still a little freaked, but okay.”
He nodded noncommittally.
Clearly not buying his weak acceptance, she scrunched up her nose and rolled onto her side. “It felt like inhabiting the ship, but it wasn’t inhab
iting the ship. It was more like an…echo, or a flash of déjà vu. No harm done.”
Now he nodded with greater conviction and squeezed her calf. “Good.”
Valkyrie? It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her in her assurances, but no one knew their own mind completely.
She is largely correct. There were flares in several of the neural pathways that were active during her addiction, but the effect was brief and transitory. I am already repairing the slight trauma left behind. She might sleep a bit restlessly tonight, but she will be fine.
Thank you.
Of course. I am relieved as well.
He motioned to the slab. “Is the little guy revealing any secrets?”
Alex glared at the slab she continued to hold in one hand. “No. I feel as if I saw something during the mind-fuck which was our cross-dimensional traversal, or at least sensed something that could be key to unlocking the secrets of the Reor. Now, it’s as if the answer is hiding in the fringes of my sight, but when I chase it, it’s gone. I can almost….”
She drifted off to scowl at the slab for several more seconds, then shook her head. “But it’s not there, or if it is there, I can’t see it. I can’t even put it into words, which means I probably just hallucinated it.”
She crawled up the bed, placed the slab on the bedside table and curled up next to him.
“I didn’t mean to do it. I mean, I meant to open my eyes, but I didn’t expect to see what I did. If I’d realized I would get hit with a lot more than disorientation—that I was in for an uncomfortably familiar experience not to mention a profoundly disturbing one?” Her gaze rose to meet his. “I wouldn’t have done it. It wasn’t worth the risk. I refuse to go back to the abysm I’d fallen into.”
“And that makes me very happy.” He hugged her close, happily confirming in her embrace the absence of tremors or sweat which might have betrayed her avowal.
With one hand he reached up and slid the tie out of her hair to let it fall free and tickle his skin as she nestled her chin in the crook of his neck. “You were crazy to open your eyes. But I love you because you’re wild and fearless, not in spite of it, and I know the price.”
Relativity: Aurora Resonant Book One (Aurora Rhapsody 7) Page 17