by TR Cameron
“That’s pretty deep, for a meathead.”
He laughed. “I think the term you’re going for is jarhead. It’s not very nice, and I’m also not a Marine.” He tilted his head to look at her. “How about you? What’s your philosophy on life?”
“Complicated, I’d say.”
When she didn’t continue, Jax said, “Okay, you’ve said that. Now, how about saying a little more? Or do you think I’m not smart enough to understand it?”
She smiled. “No, just putting my thoughts in order. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. I think that desire was originally rooted in the religious ideal of taking care of one’s community, being good to others, being a shepherd to a flock in need. You know the drill.”
“I can see that. A lot of folks in the military feel the same way.”
She nodded. “But at some point, I realized the whole outward-facing self-sacrifice narrative could only take me so far. Psychology through the ages has proven that we have an intrinsic need for success, for self-actualization as the scientists say. For me, serving others wasn’t the right route to that. Or perhaps it’s fairer to say that it couldn’t get me all the way there. Maybe it would rise to that level for a priest or a missionary. I don’t have that sort of purity.”
Jax quipped, “Are you coming on to me? Because you don’t have to be subtle. You can tell me your desire, and it can happen right here. There’s no one around.”
She laughed. “Shut up, you. I have no doubt there’s a drone nearby and keeping an eye on us, courtesy of the Academy.”
Jax waved up into the sky. “Hi, Academy people. Juno doesn’t want you to see her enjoying herself. Go away.”
She backhanded him in the stomach with a snort. “Anyway, that’s why I moved out of practicing medicine as my main job and into research. It brings something out in me that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. So, to sum it all up, I started with the best of intentions, religion, community, and so forth, but eventually turned to the dark side of science and knowledge acquisition.”
Jax shook his head. “Those distinctions don’t matter. You can be both, regardless of what anyone else says. And I guess that comes back to the core of my philosophy if I have one. We all make our choices, then we all live with them. Anyone suggesting otherwise is someone who isn’t willing to accept responsibility for themselves.”
Juno shrugged. “It’s not the worst theory I’ve heard. That doesn’t mean I fully agree with you, though. It’s a little one-size-fits-all for me.”
“Well, give it time. You might eventually reach the state of enlightenment that I’ve achieved.”
“Yeah, sure, that’s it.” She stretched. “It’ll be faster going back, right?”
Jax had been surprised at her lack of experience with hiking, given how healthy and generally physically adept she was. He shook his head. “Slower, actually. All those places that were solid footholds on the way up can prove treacherous on the way down, so we have to be more careful. Plus, if you thought your thighs hurt from the ascent, you’re going to hate the descent.” In truth, his legs were reminding him that he’d spent too little time in the gym of late.
She sat up and smacked her thighs. “Well, I’m starving, and since the reward for this is something much nicer than trail mix and ration bars, I say we get moving.”
The climb down had proved unproblematic except for a couple of places where one or the other of them fell and slid a short distance. In each case, they came up laughing. They reached the bottom and headed into Portree on rented scooters. He would’ve preferred a motorcycle, but the small fishing village turned tourist destination didn’t have anything of the sort. What it did offer was brightly painted buildings a stone’s throw from the water’s edge, uncrowded streets with more pedestrians than vehicles, and a general atmosphere of quiet relaxation.
Pleasure boats filled the marina at one end of town, and at the other end, a businesslike dock had berths for fishing vessels to bring in their cargo at the end of the day. The village did a brisk tourist trade, as evidenced by the fact that public showers and changing rooms were available for those who didn’t plan to rent a room. He’d resisted suggesting to Juno that they conserve resources by showering together, but only just. As the water cascaded over him, he thought about their relationship. I’m sure I’m not misjudging her interest level or the serious tension between us.
Athena, who had agreed to be quiet for the day when he was with Juno, replied, “Or it’s been a long time for you, and you see the things you want to see.”
Hush. I’ve dated enough people to be confident that she’s interested. And before you say it, I don’t know why either, I’m just happy that she is.
The AI made a sound like a long-suffering sigh. “I guess I have to give you that much credit. For whatever delusional reason she might possess, Dr. Cray does seem to be entranced by your charms.”
He laughed. Charms. I don’t think that’s a word I would associate with me. It sounds too posh.
Athena replied, “Maybe I’m a positive influence on you. Perhaps our conversations are increasing your IQ very slowly over time.” She paused with perfect comedic timing to let him appreciate the idea that he was getting smarter, then added, “That explains it. Dr. Cray will write a paper about you for some journal to make herself famous. That explains everything.”
He turned off the water and grabbed a towel. “Shut it, you.” Some things needed to be said out loud.
He dressed in the finer clothes that he’d stored in a locker at the facility during their climb: polished shoes, dark trousers, and a light gray cable-knit sweater. He threw his hiking outfit in his pack and headed out to meet Juno. He spent a few minutes watching the waves, listening to the seagulls complaining overhead, and enjoying the breeze coming in off the water. From behind him, Juno commented, “Ooh, nice sweater. Is it soft?” He turned, and the hand she’d stretched out to touch his arm landed on his chest instead.
He raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
She blushed a little and let the hand fall. “I think we need to get to dinner. I’m famished.” She had on an outfit entirely dissimilar to anything he’d ever seen her wear. Tall brown suede boots reached up to right below her knees, and the darker brown skirt that ended above them swirled and moved with each step she took. She wore a black tank top with a maroon man’s dress shirt atop it, unbuttoned most of the way. Her makeup was simple, a little highlight on the eyes, cheeks, and lips, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked entirely appropriate for the occasion and completely beautiful. He managed to choke out, “You’re gorgeous. I mean, your outfit looks great.” He thought about it for a second and shook his head. “No, what I mean is you are stunning.” He leaned over and kissed her lips softly, then leaned back and grinned. “Now, how about some food?”
He had chosen a restaurant called Scorrybreac, located in a converted house a couple of streets back from the water. He’d requested an out-of-the-way table, which turned out to be in what was probably a butler’s pantry at one point but was now lavishly decorated with fabrics and paintings on the walls. Sconces at the corners held soft lights that bounced off the ceiling, and the space held only a single table, set for two. He chuckled as they entered. “Okay, so I didn’t specifically ask them to seat us by ourselves, for the record.”
She laughed as she took the chair being held out for her by the dark-suited maître d’. “Sure, Jax. Sure.”
Jax looked up at the other man. “Little help here?”
The maître d’ shook his head with a smile. “I learned long ago that one never argues with a guest.”
He left before Jax could press him further. The meal was a tasting menu, starting with a delicate cream cheese and salmon combination on fresh, toasted bread. Two different kinds of fish followed and were themselves followed by a hunk of venison that was as delicious as any meat he’d ever tasted. An array of smaller bites of vegetables and fruit complemented each course. They chatted amiabl
y through the meal and shared a bottle of light red wine that paired better with the deer than the fish, but was nonetheless perfect for the evening. The next-to-last taste was a lemon ice as a palate cleanser, then coffee arrived, along with pistachio cake covered with fresh strawberries.
Despite all the variety, there was only enough food to leave them content but not stuffed. He suggested, “How about a walk down the main street before we head back?”
Juno smiled and nodded, and they headed outside. She linked her arm in his as they sauntered along the sidewalk. “So, what does your future hold?”
Jax sighed. “A lot of conflict in the near term, I would say.”
“And after that?”
He shrugged. “I always figured I would wind up at a training base teaching recruits. But after talking it over with my ever so brilliant superior officer, I think I can do more good by working with the Academy for a while instead.”
She chuckled. “Community and shepherding into your old age?”
He stared out at the waves. “No, I’m not trying to buy my way into some deity’s good graces. It’s just that when I joined the Special Forces, I believed in that mission. I still believe, but being at the Academy has helped me realize I can be more, I can do more, than what’s possible for a soldier. I’ve never wanted to rise into the top command ranks, so taking a different path seems like the best option. Both for my satisfaction, and for my ability to make the universe a little better.” He looked down at her. “How about you?”
She gave a small smile. “I love Scotland, I love what I do, and there’s nowhere I can think of where I would have the opportunity to learn and do such a variety of things. I’ll be staying at the castle for the foreseeable future.”
Jax grinned. “Good. Maybe I’ll see you around then.” They both laughed. Reluctantly, Jax observed, “If we’re going to get back without crashing the boat, we probably need to leave soon. It’s supposed to get cloudier as the night wears on.”
Juno stopped and turned to him, then stood on her tiptoes to plant a long kiss on his mouth. “I rented us a room at a bed-and-breakfast a block over. Work can wait. Come along, Neanderthal.”
Chapter Eleven
The next several days passed in a haze of normalcy as they all waited for the information to get back to them from the bugs in the assistant’s bloodstream. The tiny devices were pinging as intended, but they had yet to reach an aggregate amount of data sufficient to point in a useful direction. When he asked, everyone told him to have faith that it would work out, and he chose to believe them. He spent every free moment he could with Juno and found that things kept getting better. Even Athena had quit suggesting the relationship wasn’t a real thing, which he took as a good sign.
He’d arranged to meet Harrington, the Academy’s weapons master, to continue working on training his prosthetics. Knowing that events were moving toward a climax, he pushed himself as hard as he could and spent a large part of his free hours doing everything from juggling to knife throwing to skipping rope in order to improve the coordination and speed of his artificial limbs. Whenever he juggled, he thought back to his first “real” class at the Academy. It seemed like a long time had passed since then, although in the grand scheme of things it truly hadn’t.
He strode into the room where he’d welcomed Kenton Marshall to the Academy to find the weapons master waiting for him. The other man said, “Hello, Jax. Ready for some more abuse, then?”
Jax laughed. “Only if you’re good enough to get them past me.”
Harrington grinned. “I feel confident I’ll be up to the task yet again.”
Jax shook his head and strode to the opposite side of the room from where his partner stood in front of the weapons cabinets. On a narrow table beside him rested several objects, ranging from as small as a ping-pong ball to as large as a basketball. During their first session, the man had used his hands to throw them at Jax and challenged him to catch them with quick movements. Later, he had added tools to the mix, including a slingshot and a hydraulic launcher that currently stood to his left. He had also changed from simply throwing the balls for him to catch to randomly aiming them at his body, which forced Jax to defend himself. It seemed as if he understood the training’s ultimate goal and took pleasure in helping Jax reach it. As a good teacher should.
Athena drawled, “Or he simply enjoys trying to hurt you.”
There’s a lot of that going around. Jax nodded. “Have at it.”
The other man’s arms were a blur as he hurled the smallest objects, which were far heavier than they looked and hurt a lot if they struck anyplace even remotely tender. Jax did his best to catch them and felt the slight tremors in his limbs as Athena performed her magic to speed him up or slightly adjust the trajectory of his motions. Initially, he had found himself resisting her efforts. It took him a while to realize he was, and longer to overcome his resistance to sharing control of his body with his passenger. But ultimately she proved right: they were much greater than the sum of their parts when he didn’t get in the way of their partnership.
Without warning, the weapons master slammed one of the basketball-sized objects into the hydraulic launcher, and it shot out at Jax’s face. He’d learned early not to try to catch those, and instead leaned to his right and brought that arm around to deflect it over his left shoulder. Another followed instantly, forcing him to sway in the other direction. The weapons master stopped after a dozen minutes or so. “I think you’re ready.”
He turned to the cabinet behind him and pulled out four matching knives, each of them dulled for training purposes but still hard enough to hurt if they hit. He threw them in quick succession to Jax, who caught and returned them in a single motion, juggling the weapons with the other man. They spun and tumbled through the air. Then the weapons master added a fifth. When they had the pattern going, and Jax thought he had it all figured out, his partner leaned to his side and shouldered the launcher, which fired a ball that Jax hadn’t known was loaded. He couldn’t think, only react. He managed to slap it aside without breaking the pattern, the speed of his newly replaced arm faster than ever. Harrington caught the knives on the return and set them aside. “Satisfied?”
“I am.” Athena, how about you?
“We can do better, but gains from here on out will be minor. We’re at least ninety percent capable with the new limbs.”
Jax nodded. “Thanks for the training. I appreciate it.” He strode forward and shook the other man’s hand.
“It’s what I’m here for. Any time.”
Jax headed back to his room to shower, then started along the path that would take him to meet Juno for lunch. He only made it halfway before Athena informed him, “We finally have real information. Professor Maarsen will be calling a meeting in moments.” Sure enough, the summons came as she finished speaking. He sent his apologies and directed his steps toward the basement training room and the conference area that lay behind it. When he got there, Maarsen stood at the far end of the room, the Academy quartermaster Hellene was seated at the table, and Stephenson was present on a display on the left wall. That view split as Athena took over half of it to show her avatar. As Jax took his seat, Harrington wandered in. He grinned. “Jax, long time no see.”
Jax nodded as Maarsen said, “Our last mission has finally borne fruit.” He gestured at the monitor behind him, and it came to life, showing a schematic of several systems. One was their solar system, and a cluster of brightly colored dots was located on Earth, centered around Tokyo. “That’ll be Arlox and his closest people, meeting with the UCCA government at its headquarters.”
The quartermaster asked, “Any way we can use that to our advantage?” Jax, Maarsen, and Stephenson all shook their heads. The Professor replied, “It’s too obvious an opportunity. He’ll have his defenses up against any action on our part. While it seems like a great chance, in truth, it’s probably our least viable alternative unless someone here has an army hiding in their pocket.”
He i
ndicated the remaining two systems. One had only a few markers, while the other seemed to be a main transit point. Lines entered it from all angles and exited it in as many directions. It looked vaguely like a child’s line drawing of the sun. He ordered, “Enlarge B, please.” The more densely marked of the two filled the screen. “This is the Stryphus system. It’s located in the closest third of the Alien Coalition’s territory relative to our border. What’s strange is that our previous surveys of the area, admittedly from long ago, indicated there’s no life there to speak of. The planets are too far from the star to meet the needs of any species we’ve ever encountered. Some scientists believe the dying sun will eventually become so unstable that the planets may pull away from it and wander off to be captured by other systems.” The pleasure in his voice while relating that information spoke to his overall love of teaching and sharing knowledge.
The weapons master asked, “Major Stephenson, is there a way for you to take a look at it?”
She scowled and shook her head. “Any resources I pulled would be recorded by the Cronus, which by now Arlox has doubtless compromised either electronically or with human knowledge.” She looked entirely annoyed at that circumstance as if the fact that the Intelligence Director was good at his job was a personal affront. “So, unless we want them to know what we’re up to, I can’t do a damned thing.”
Jax shrugged. “Guess we gotta do it the old-fashioned way and send some actual eyeballs in.”
The quartermaster asked, “How about a drone?”
Maarsen tapped his chin with one long finger as he took his seat at the head of the table. “That seems like a reasonable possibility. It will take a little while to get it together, but it would be the safest route.”