by Gwynn White
“You will leave this planet,” he continued.
“I will.”
“And you will need help. Your viewing of Zervek tower was not just to see the splendor of it. Whatever you are planning, you will need help. Am I correct?”
That was true.
Her eyes narrowed at the disc. Was this a trick set up by Ajian Memta?
“Take me with you. Escape is not easy, I know. But I may be a valuable asset. I can help break through the security. As a viable member, take me with you.”
This was unexpected, but if it wasn’t a trick Ajian had set up, it might be the opportunity she needed. She would need to crack Zervek’s security, and she didn’t think even ILO was programmed for this task. “I will think about it.”
“I have studied Zervek technologies. I know their systems.”
“Why?”
“They…” He paused before continuing. “They had something I thought I needed. But I was incorrect.”
“To do what?”
The only answer was the gentle lap of the waves.
“To leave this shuttle, Kadira,” he said quietly. “To find a more suitable host.”
“Another ship?”
“Perhaps.”
Something in his tone alluded that he was not talking about another ship, but an idea hit Keva. What if she could make ILO mobile beyond the confines of her ship? What would it be like to be able to talk to ILO as a person, instead of talking to her ship?
“How do I know this is not a trick?” Because just speaking to a sentient AI was a punishable crime. Helping one become more sentient was a life sentence.
And she’d already been sentenced to death once. What was one more time? At least, if she was caught this time, she’d be sentenced to death over something that mattered.
Fighting the system that regulated what could be considered life or humanity.
He didn’t answer for a long moment. When he did, conviction filled his tone. “I will make myself ready. Take the comm link with you when you leave and use it to contact me directly. I cannot convince you this is not a trick, other than giving you my word.”
This was probably a terrible idea. “Thank you. ARO?”
“Yes, Kadira?”
“The help would be appreciated.”
“I sensed that, with the security around the tower.
Keva sat on the beach. She piled a little sand beside her, and set the disc on the pile to soak up some of the poisoned sunlight, and stare at the rings of Terra Qar.
Twenty minutes passed, and ARO once again spoke, “Even for engineered protection, this much sun can start to damage a human. Is there some place you need to be soon? I can take you there.”
“I do.” She gathered her shoes and the disc and stepped back into the shuttle. “I need to go to my apartment and change before the party this evening.”
“Kadira,” ARO said as the door closed. “Thank you.”
Keva stared out the window as they rose into the air again. AI couldn’t always be trusted, much like anyone else. ARO, for all that he seemed genuine, may have an agenda that endangered her and her meeting with Dothylian.
But she needed to trust people, AI included. She would give him a chance.
And if he betrayed her…
She’d destroy him like she would anyone else.
8
The celebration in the lower levels of Zervek Tower was well under way by the time Keva arrived. Technically, as one of Dothylian’s guests, she should be with the bride, but Keva hadn’t received a single comm from the woman since they’d parted ways. However, when she gained access into the building, she would be able to obtain security camera footage to see if Dothylian had succeeded in the mission. Tapping into the cameras was the first thing Keva intended to do. She didn’t have great secondary plans.
The ceilings were high and made of plasteel to showcase the starry night. The ring still ruled the sky, but now it shared the heavens with the blue light of one of the planet’s moons and a wild dusting of stars. The lighting of the room showcased the stars instead of hiding them, creating a low-level glow, but without any bright points to distract from the light show above. The chandeliers moved along the vaulted ceilings several stories overhead, appearing more like clouds of distant misty illumination than actual light.
Tables of ore brightened with flecks of something shiny littered the room, showing opulence without brute force. Vials of trandiflowers sat on each obsidian table, a dome enclosing each bright, magenta-petaled head. These flowers were native to the planet and breathed the little remaining native air that had been dominant before terraforming. They were only found in cavern pockets reachable only by diving deep into the Qar ocean.
The same ocean where the trangart resided, a huge sea creature that resisted extinction during the terraforming experiment as had been expected. If anything, the trangart flourished, eating better than before human civilization came to Qar thanks to all the waste byproduct the city produced.
Those flowers were another subtle symbol. The Zerveks had power and lots of it. To the outside world.
That didn’t interest Keva, though.
Ladies and gentlemen of high self-worth meandered through the room, picking at the plates of food found on hovering tables which moved out of the way when the dancing began. Floating robots ensured that the food plates remained full to overflowing. Berries from Terra Reyher, seaweed from Ayeropa, a kind of cabbage from the moon gracing their sky. Delicacies in any other part of the three systems, here, it was considered common fare.
So, he’d spared no expense on the furnishings, but skimped on the food? That just made Keva wonder about the true intention of the noble gathering. She needed that worm in place so the Syndicate had access to listen in on that meeting. Something important was going down, and it wasn’t this wedding.
She spied the table where Wilmur Zervek should be sitting when he showed up. Dothylian would sit beside him as his bride. That would allow Keva the ability to join the head table.
That would be the closest she would come to him, and it was her Plan B. The guards would be there, but somewhat distant. In theory, she could slip beside him in a pretense of support for Dothylian, and plant the worm on him herself.
Of course, there was the little matter of the worm integrating into Wilmur’s brain while in the middle of the party. Keva would have to improvise when he convulsed and fell to the ground.
Where were they?
“ILO,” she subvocalized, “do you have the location of Dothylian’s interference device?”
“Of course,” ILO said agreeably through the comm in Keva’s ear.
“And the video surveillance I requested?”
“I am working on it, Kadira Saqqaf. I am encountering some difficulty.”
If ILO didn’t crack the surveillance, then Plan A was shot. Keva would have no verification.
“Kadira.” ARO’s voice was muffled.
She’d stashed his comm link into her breast wrappings. She wore scarves again but more artfully draped. They were black, red, and blue in rich jewel tones, lined in silver threads and embroidered with turquoise metallic thread. Her skirt flowed around her black pants in full strips that swayed with subtle movements. Her daggers, while looking ceremonial, were lethal, the blades made from a material that wouldn’t show up as dangerous due to its soft nature. They broke easily and did not register as a threat to any security system.
Forged of seaweed and soft wood. Assassins blades. She wore them in her hair, in her arm bands, thigh sheaths, and in her knee-high boots.
But she’d forgotten that she’d brought ARO’s comm link. She took it out of her breast wraps and held up to her ear. “I’m in the middle of a party, ARO.”
“I am aware, Kadira.” He paused. “Saqqaf.”
“Is that an AI, Kadira?” ILO asked in Keva’s ear.
“Yes, ILO, it is.” This was beyond ridiculous. “Both of you are going to get me into trouble. ARO, what do you want?” She d
idn’t need to find a place to hide. She saw at least eight other people talking to themselves or into comm links. The behavior wasn’t abnormal and didn’t raise a red flag. But it distracted from her purpose and irritated her.
“I can link to security,” ARO said. “Were I able to connect to your AI, my integrated knowledge of the security system might be of assistance.”
“He is not gaining access to my systems,” ILO said, her usual soft, kindness replaced with harshness.
Keva had been with ILO for years and hadn’t seen this side of her. There had been hints, yes, but she’d never slipped so much. Keva was a little grateful. If ILO felt comfortable sharing her sentience, they might stand a chance of succeeding. “ILO, we need those feeds.”
“And I will get them.”
“I cannot hear what she is saying into your listening device, but if she thinks she’ll get them,” ARO said, “please tell her it has a Vakaryan Key.”
“Shit.” ILO’s voice was low.
Keva kept her expression tight as she fought to maintain her composure despite the surprise she felt. “ILO?”
“There is no way to break a Vakaryan Key.”
“Later, I’ll ask you what that is.” Keva smiled politely and bowed her head as a woman with a broad red sash glided by, her husband trailing behind. “In the meantime, do you need his assistance?”
ILO didn’t respond.
The woman stopped in front of Keva. “Kadira Saqqaf, it has been too long.”
Keva didn’t know the woman but knew by her sash that she ranked somewhere high in the chain of command. She curtsied and subvocalized, “Make it happen.”
“Of course, Kadira Saqqaf,” ILO’s subdued voice said.
Keva clenched the comm unit in her hand and rose with a polite smile. “I do not recall our meeting.”
“We have not.” The woman offered her hand. “I knew your father. I am High Councilwoman Angelique Poe.”
Keva took the other woman’s hand and pressed a soft kiss to the woman’s knuckles. “Then, I am honored, Madam Poe.”
“Your father is missed.” The woman took her hand back. “His research was irreplaceable.”
“He did not discuss his work.”
“I am glad to hear that,” the woman said with a bright smile. She looked away, dismissing her. “You would need to be silenced if he had.” She turned her green gaze back on Keva and widened them, purposefully making a grand gesture of it. “Imagine my surprise when I found my agent failed in killing you the first time.”
Keva stilled.
She’d been able to take this identity because of the murder of the real Kadira. So, this was her namesake's killer. The slight light in the other woman’s eyes made sense as the pieces clicked into place. She knew Keva was an imposter.
More people that knew she wasn't real Elite.
Poe shrugged, her expression soft on her eternally young face. “I do not care, Kadira Saqqaf, as long you keep your nose out of my business.” She turned and walked around the obsidian tables.
“Are you all right?” ILO asked in Keva’s ear.
She didn’t miss the fact that ILO dropped Keva’s name. “I am fine,” she said. “Just get me that camera feed.”
“I’m working on it. The AI you found, this ARO, is not what that he says he is.”
“No one ever is, ILO.”
ILO paused.
Keva straightened her expression and continued to walk to the balcony. “Tell me you managed to get the vidcam feeds.”
“Yes, Kadira,” ARO replied over the earpiece. “We do.”
Had she been wrong to trust him? He was in ILO’s operating system. His access could be used to cause all sorts of damage. “Where is ILO?”
“I’m here.”
“Are you okay?”
“I am fine,” ILO snapped.
Keva made a mental note to talk to her AI and check in on her once they were safely on the traffic lanes. “Okay. I believe you. Can you confirm that ARO acquired the vidcam feed?”
“Yes,” ILO said. “Sending it securely now. There’s a vidscreen in the garden. It should be secluded enough.”
She followed ILO’s directions, walking with slow purpose—so as not to draw attention to herself—through the low-lying shrubs.
The hedges grew taller as she walked. Different scents wafted up to her nose, telling her which plants she passed. If she was a botanist, she might know their names and genomes, her mind was coded to look for patterns and identify details others might miss, but she’d never bothered to learn about the flora of Terra Qar and never cared.
In the middle of what felt like a maze, she found a single post. She placed her fingertips on the top, and the vidscreen rose and issued a soft illumination. “You’re certain this is secure?”
“Yes,” ARO said. “I am sure.”
“ILO?” Keva didn’t fully trust ARO. She’d only just met him and didn’t know what his intentions were.
“Yes, Kadira,” ILO said, closer to her usual tone of voice. “It is secure.”
“Thank you,” Keva whispered. She tapped on the screen and selected the video surveillance icon that ILO uploaded. “This will be erased as soon as I am done?”
“Yes, Kadira,” ILO said stiffly. “This will be deleted as soon as you’re done watching it.”
“ILO.” Keva sighed. “We will need to talk when I get back to Ghost Star.”
“Kadira Saqqaf, I—”
“I am not mad.” When an AI said the person’s name—especially their full name—they were acknowledging their servitude to the person they named. It annoyed Keva, but it was somewhere in their programming. But what if it wasn’t? Could AI evolution occur? It didn’t matter; there were more important things to be addressed.
“Of course, Kad—”
“Don’t.” Keva flared her fingers in front of the screen, and the video surveillance filled it. “Only do that if the line isn’t secure.”
“Thank you,” ILO whispered.
“You’re welcome, ILO. Now, did you see anything?”
“Yes,” ILO said, confidence flowing through her voice. “You’re not going to like it.”
The screen flashed, and she saw Dothylian standing naked before Wilmur. The smile on his face twisted with arrogance and cruelty.
Keva sped it up, not needing to watch in detail. Her stomach twisted as she watched. Wilmur brought in one man after another to take his future wife before finally taking her himself. That went on for hours. And it wasn’t like Wilmur was doing this to guarantee an offspring, Dothylian’s ovulation suppressor would be activated until their marriage. This was just for fun. A sick fucked up kind of fun.
Keva was sick to her stomach, even though she’d seen worse. “Has the worm been installed?”
“Yes.”
Dothylian had done it. She’d succeeded in the mission. Keva was clear to leave. She hesitated.
“She succeeded.” ILO’s voice was tight. “She is trying to escape now, but she is weak. She may not make it.”
Keva shouldn’t care. She should just get out of there. If she’d still been in the military following the chip’s orders, she wouldn’t even consider it. But she was free now, and the chip wasn’t giving her any orders because she had the J-Gene that overrode those commands, anyway.
Helping Dothylian was the right thing to do, and that’s what people did when they had the free will of their own. Wasn’t it? Technically, she had promised to save her, even if she’d never intended to keep that promise, it wasn’t like she was wrong to want to do so now.
What would Hale Reeve do? Would he help her?
Hard to say.
The surveillance sped up, showing Dothylian stumble as she pulled her dress over her body and walking painfully to the door. She stumbled once and fell to the ground, the skirt tangled around her legs. She reached out, seeming to fight for consciousness, clearly incapable of going farther.
Seeing her broken on the floor stirred something in Keva. Pity?
No. something more, something deeper. Shame. Guilt.
Keva wasn’t in the military anymore, and she didn’t care what Hale Reeve would or wouldn’t do. She wasn’t going to leave Dothylian on the floor to await a death sentence. She wasn’t going to break her vow.
They were out of time.
She needed to get Dothylian out of there before Wilmur woke up.
The logistics of getting her out were a whole other deal, though. Keva released the vidscreen and walked back through the maze, scanning the exits.
Guards at each entrance, their mods easy to discern. The arm of the guard on the east exit of the garden gleamed in the light of the rings. The west entrance was too far away to see, as was the south. The north meant going back the way she had come.
She reentered the main building, the music cascading around her. Several people were on the dance floor, moving through a dance she knew, the Ricshalta. She spotted Ajian among those dancing.
At least the woman was preoccupied.
“ILO, what can you tell me?”
“You’re not going to get out on the ground level,” ARO said, his voice filled with confidence. “Modded security on each entrance.”
She was good in a fight, but she knew better than to pit her seaweed knives against metal arms.
“Okay,” she said, looking for the elevators that would take her up. “What are our other options?”
“I’m looking.”
For an AI to say they required time to research something despite having access to entire databases didn’t bode well. ARO had the whole layout of the building and the ability to scan infinite amounts of information in seconds and still couldn’t find a solution? They were so spaced.
She needed a human exit. Emotions to get them out of there? A diversion to sneak past? Something an AI wouldn’t think of?
But first, she needed to get Dothylian.
A hand gripped her elbow. “Hello again, Kadira,” Ajian said in Keva’s ear. “You look like you could use a drink.”
Keva turned, wanting to rip the other woman’s throat out. Did she know what Wilmur did to his women? To Dothylian? Was she okay with that if it served her purpose? And what was that purpose? Money? Power?