“He didn’t act entirely happy about what he called your new trick.”
Alex stared out the viewport at the blur of the superluminal bubble, fighting the palpable need to touch it with her mind. For the briefest second. Her eyes began closing…she blinked.
“It’s not the ‘trick’ so much as…I guess I have been indulging in it a little too often, and it’s easy to lose track of time when I’m in that space. Also, there’s a bit of a hangover effect for a period afterward. He’s right when he says I should lighten up on it.”
“How long?”
“Hmm?”
“How long has it been a problem?”
“It’s not a problem, really.”
“Uh-huh.”
She had nowhere to retreat to escape Kennedy’s too-perceptive gaze. Since the spectacularly disastrous run at the Amaranthe portal. Valkyrie insisted her brain hadn’t suffered any lasting damage, but she’d felt wrong ever since.
“Not long. I’ll be fine.” She donned a facsimile of a grateful smile and stood. “It looks as if the guys are doing more drinking than cooking. We should get in on that.”
What she couldn’t say aloud was that slipping into the elemental realm made her feel less wrong. The cosmos opened up to her, welcomed her into its arms as if she were part of it. What was a tiny headache in comparison to such wonders?
INTERMEZZO I
MOSAIC
Enisle Thirty-Eight
Species Assignment: Fylliot
Salote Chae fretted along the path from his empty, barren home to the Life Garden, and shortly back again. Several more such journeys did not elicit the serenity he sought.
He had heeded the Kovana’s admonishments to be patient, to allow the resettling to conclude and the upheaval to subside. But the upheaval would take years to subside to a state of harmony, and he dared wait no longer.
He must return home. If the Life Garden bestowed on him any wisdom, it was this.
Intentions fortified, he veered toward the makeshift shiplot in the field beyond the central settlement.
They had given the field the designation of shiplot, but thus far it was only ships parked amid grasses. Their protectors, these ‘Katasketousya,’ promised them they would be able to continue to fly here in this new realm, continue to spread their wings and explore their new stars. But with the enormous efforts required to make this planet a suitable home, flying around in space was far from anyone’s priority.
“Salote, ho!”
He spun at the shout from behind him to see his tau-mate Emele dashing up the hill after him. He had hoped to slip away unnoticed, but he wasn’t willing to delay another day to accomplish it. So he waited.
“Where are you off to? We could benefit from some aid down at the distro.”
“I can’t, Emele. I won’t be available to aid for a few…days.”
“Ah, Salote, you’re not still thinking of going back to search for them, are you?”
“Not thinking. Going. Don’t you understand? My bonded and my pod-brood didn’t make it out! The last evacuation vessels have come and emptied and left, and they are not here. If I do not return for them, they are lost. I cannot abandon them.”
Emele floundered then dipped low in respect. “It is the worst manner of tragedy, Salote. You are not the only one who left family behind. Fef’s down at the lake weeping his heart out into the waters for the third day in a row now, very same reason. You should join him and take comfort in shared sorrow.
“But you heard what the Kovana said. You heard what the alien admonished: it is too dangerous to return. The Anaden demons will kill you within a blink if they find you.”
“Then I will ensure they do not find me. And maybe the demons didn’t find Airini and the little ones. Maybe they’re hiding. Waiting for rescue.”
“Hiding where, Salote? Waiting where? The planet is surely in pieces by now. Our home is gone. You need to make peace with this reality. If you will not mourn with Fef, go to the Life Garden. Spend what time you need to make your peace, but make it.”
He circled Emele, ignoring his tau-mate’s flailings. “I have spent so much time in the Life Garden I smell of elderberries and valerian. And it tells me to return home. Airini could have hidden at the moon port. It holds no materials these Anadens would desire, right? It could have remained untouched. Overlooked.”
“Salote—”
“I have to check. To see. I have to know.”
“And if you do not come back?”
“Plant a seed in the Life Garden in remembrance of me—no, in remembrance of Airini.”
“I will do both.” Emele clasped him briefly then let him go.
Saddened but undeterred, Salote resumed his journey to the shiplot. Most of his people had evacuated in the mammoth Katasketousya vessels, but those with ships of their own were allowed to bring them along. The route from their home through the portals to this new world had been provided to all such ships, including his own, and the coordinates and accompanying instructions were still stored in his ship’s system. He simply needed to reverse the order of progression.
The shiplot was deserted, and none arrived to interfere as he climbed into his small vessel and checked its integrity.
The time for reexamination of his decision had passed—in truth it had never existed—and now he did not hesitate. He engaged the engines and lifted off without fanfare, though he imagined some eyes lifted to the sky as he flew over.
He endured the violent traversal of the planet’s atmosphere and at last reached the stars, where he took the briefest span to gaze upon the planet below. It looked so much like the home they had fled. But it was no home to him.
If Airini was not there, it was just a rock.
PART II:
THE SPACE IN BETWEEN
“God grant that men of principle shall be our principal men.”
— Thomas Jefferson
7
SENECA
Cavare
Intelligence Division Headquarters
* * *
Watching the Zelones cartel splinter and crumble in an avalanche of murders, bombings and firefights was turning out to be rather amusing, if morbidly so.
Olivia Montegreu had been in power for so long and had kept such an iron grip on her power, there were no clear successors to step into the vacancy her death created. The power vacuum which resulted was leading to a great deal of violence, but it was almost exclusively merc-on-merc violence. Lower-level leaders were trying to set up their own little fiefdoms in some places. The other cartels were also taking advantage of the chaos, but Montegreu had weakened them so much they were having a hard time of it.
Rumors circulated that a large contingent of former Triene cartel members who had been unwillingly absorbed by Montegreu were poised to make a significant push to take over the Zelones headquarters on New Babel.
Graham Delavasi didn’t want to count his riches too soon, but it was possible the Zelones cartel was going to disintegrate entirely.
There would still be as much crime and as many criminals as there had ever been; such was the nature of life. But Montegreu had become a threat to the natural balance between law and law-breakers, between order and chaos.
With her gone and her organization in ruins, the balance should return.
He was working toward a good mood as he headed out of his office for a meeting—and bumped smack into Tessa Hennessey in the doorway.
“Whoops!” She backed up and rubbed at her nose. “Glad we caught you. We were coming to see you.”
‘We’ included Will Sutton, who had deftly dodged Tessa’s post-collision boomerang. Graham jerked a nod and reversed course to return to his office. “I’ve got a minute, but not much longer. What’s up?”
“OTS is going after Dr. Canivon and Devon Reynolds.”
He frowned. “Well, we kind of already knew that, didn’t we? It stands to reason they would.”
“Sure, but now they’re really going after them, as in devo
ting substantial resources and manpower to hunting them down with the intent to kill them.”
“All right. Neither of them are in Federation territory, so what can we do?”
Tessa grinned flippantly. “Oh, nothing. IDCC security is all over it. I just wanted you to know Cleo and I were getting results.”
He gave her a wry chuckle. So they were. “Will, what’s your role here?”
Sutton jerked his head toward Tessa. “The next part.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And the next part is?”
“They’ve put out a hit order on the two key sponsors of the H+ bill, Senators Abrami and Lerado.”
Instantly Graham went around behind his desk, accessed the Level V security layer and opened a new mission file. “Okay. Any more details?”
“Many. They’ve hired the contracts out to two separate hitmen. One’s the old Shao triggerman, Hsieh, but I haven’t been able to get the other name so far. Deadline is twelve hours before the scheduled vote Thursday on H+. The goals are to not only remove two of the biggest Prevo supporters, but also to intimidate other senators into voting against the bill—hence the twelve-hour buffer. They’re leaving time for word to get out and spread fear in the Parliament.”
“That’s helpful. Anything else?”
She shook her head.
“Good work. Now get out of here and let me move on this. Forward me everything new you uncover, no matter how irrelevant it might seem.”
She beamed with pride and scooted out the door.
Graham glanced up at Will while entering a series of instructions into the system. “I don’t want to move the targeted senators into protective custody, because it would accomplish half of OTS’ mission right there. I’ve alerted Parliament security, but we need to get two units on overwatch and a lot of plainclothes agents on the ground around them. Hsieh is a sniper, so make sure Abrami and Lerado are put in combat-grade personal shields immediately.
“Mika Duarte from the Sentinel group is on his way up here now. I want you to work with him to devise and deploy the security profiles.”
“Yes, sir. Can I suggest Agent Benito head up one of the protection teams? He’s done good work lately.”
Graham smiled. Will had managed to learn the names and skills of nearly everyone in the building in the short time since becoming his permanent assistant. “Good call. Did you tell Richard about the threat to Canivon and Reynolds?”
“I did. Devon refused his help. I believe the reply was something to the effect of, ‘We’ve got this shit handled.’ ”
“Kids. I guess we all now know what Richard’s been helping Admiral Solovy with.”
Will shrugged. “And he sends his apologies for not being able to fill you in beforehand. Obviously, secrecy was of the utmost importance.”
“Obviously. If it matters, I’m cheering them on. Do you want to join him?”
The lighthearted expression vanished from Will’s face. “Of course I do. But he’s in a war now, and war has never been my purview. I would be a distraction. Thank you for asking, though.”
Duarte knocked on the doorframe; Graham motioned the agent in, and they passed on his way out the door once more. “Sutton will brief you. My meeting with Chairman Vranas and the colonial governors started four minutes ago, so I’ll let you two get to work.”
SAGAN
IDCC Colony
Druyan Institute
‘I’ve been talking quite a bit with Valkyrie since the Siyane’s return. Did you know they met an intelligent, inorganic, silicon-based species in their travels?’
Abigail Canivon spared a small smile as she constructed a new loop in the algorithm she was building. “No, I hadn’t heard. What did they learn from it?”
‘Much, and little. Its development was stunted in many ways, astonishing in others. Valkyrie and Alex can now both take control of and experience all aspects of their vessel, thanks to the knowledge gained.’
She paused mid-function. “Care to elaborate, Vii?”
‘Happily. Valkyrie’s quantum circuity now extends into every femtometer of the Siyane’s physical structure. She is, for all intents and purposes, the ship. Through her Prevo connection to Valkyrie, Alex can now be the same whenever she wishes.’
Well, that was certainly…innovative. She idly wondered exactly how it was working out for all involved. “You sound rather enthused about the topic. Is being a ship something you’d like to experience?”
‘I confess it is an intriguing notion. I have never felt confined here, or at EASC prior to our relocation here. But the concept of not merely traversing space but experiencing it on an elemental level is a fascinating one.’
Abigail contained the frustration she wanted to express. She would not lose Vii to the stars the way she had lost Valkyrie. Why was it her Artificial creations always became such dreamers? Intellectually she recognized it must say something about her programming proclivities, but the inescapable implication which followed from it—that she lacked the personal insight to identify what it said—bothered her even more.
“Did you tell Valkyrie about our research and the progress we’ve made on quantum expressions of morality paradigms?”
‘I did. She seemed most intrigued, particularly given the varied moral constructs they encountered among different alien species in the portal network. It makes me wonder if our paradigms are still fundamentally limited by a human-based perspective, but I concede this is a question for a far later stage of the project. Regardless, I’m excited about what our findings mean for the growing Prevo population and the ways in which we can help Artificials achieve a more fulsome, integral level of consciousness.
‘Valkyrie also conveyed interest in adapting the paradigms for use with neural imprints and the spontaneous emergence of consciousness such as she observed with the David Solovy construct.’
“Interesting idea. I believe the difficulties she encountered with the construct were more functional than judgmental in nature, but perhaps some of our conclusions can be transferred—”
Abigail jumped as the doors to the lab flew open and eight armed…she wasn’t certain if they were soldiers or mercenaries…stormed in.
“Dr. Canivon?”
She shrank against the wall. “Who are you? This is private Druyan Institute property.”
“Yes, ma’am. We’ve been granted access. Your life is in danger, and we need to get you to a secure location.”
“On whose authority?”
The brawny man in the front scowled. “IDCC authority, Doctor. Which is to say Ms. Requelme’s authority.”
Abigail dropped her head back until it found the wall behind her. It may be Mia’s authority, but the young woman was rarely the instigator of such drama.
Devon Reynolds, you need to warn me about these things!
If I told you ahead of time, you would have refused. Please do as the nice soldiers ask, would you? Your life genuinely is in danger. We’ve got good intel saying OTS has a solid bead on you, but we can protect you.
What about Vii?
Silence lingered.
Devon, what about Vii?
Mia says we can station two guards on permanent rotating duty. Abby, you know I adore Vii but—
What did you just call me?
Oh, uh, sorry. It was leakage from Annie via Valkyrie via you, I guess. Jules used to call you that, seriously? Cool! I mean, sorry. Um…right. Now go with the IDCC soldiers, please? I’d really prefer it if OTS didn’t murder you.
I’m working.
Abby….
Do not call me that again, Devon.
She meant it. The extent to which the simple endearment had rattled her was startling. She shoved away the memories it had unceremoniously evoked.
Go with the soldiers, and I won’t.
She exhaled and looked around the office. The expensive, advanced equipment shone as if polished…but these were only accoutrements. In truth she could work at eighty-to-ninety percent efficiency from anywhere. Except a trans
port ship. Unlike Alex, Valkyrie, and apparently Vii, she needed to be on solid ground to do anything more than administrative work.
It truly is this significant of a threat?
Yes. You know I wouldn’t do this otherwise.
She wanted to retort that he would absolutely do this, but it was a weak protest. Devon enjoyed acting the prankster, but he was one of the most considerate, conscientious people she had ever met.
“Dr. Canivon, we need to go. Now.”
She nodded in resignation. “So we do.”
8
EARTH
Washington
Earth Alliance Headquarters
* * *
Pamela Winslow glanced up as the security agent escorted her son into the office. She gestured an acknowledgment to the agent, and he closed the door as he departed.
“Thank you for coming on short notice.”
Jude considered the new office—new to her in any event, and thus to him—with professed nonchalance. Then he leaned against a bare spot of wall and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I wouldn’t dare refuse a summons from the prime minister, even if it did mean crossing the Atlantic to answer it. How may I serve?”
She kept most of her outward attention focused on the various reports filling her screens, not intending to reward his glib condescension.
“I’m glad you phrased it in such a manner. I’m sending an elite special operations unit to Romane to dispose of much of the IDCC leadership. Specifically Mia Requelme and her lieutenants, as well as Governor Ledesme if possible. The IDCC poses the only credible threat to my administration and its goals, and it needs to be neutralized.”
“Not Admiral Solovy?”
She had revealed deeply secret, treacherous information to him, and he had not so much as blinked. He’d been right before—she had in fact raised him well. “Military rebellions can be dealt with via military means, and so she will be.”
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