“Don’t ask,” she said.
“That’s a neat trick,” Nero said in a low voice.
“It’s called armacorium. It’s a kind of cybernetic armor.” The words spilled from her lips before she could stop herself. For a moment she felt mortified, but Dorsky allowed her to be sold into slavery and probably got her friends killed, so fuck his secrets.
“Right, ah, explain it to me later. If you want to help, come with us. I think you might have something valuable to say.”
“I don’t have a choice. I’m your prisoner,” she said with a look at the Relaen officer.
“Let’s call it ‘guest’ for now.”
“Then she’s under arrest,” the officer said.
“The fuck she is.” Nero put his hands on his hips.
The officer’s ears vibrated. He stood up straighter and locked eyes with Nero. “Need I remind you, human, that you are only allowed here because the Abyssian deputized you. Those guns you and your friends are holding are the lent property of the…” He trailed off when Nero’s eyes darkened. The officer’s ears vibrated so hard Cygni thought she heard them buzz, then he turned and walked off down the corridor without another word.
What did he mean by “deputized?” Cygni wondered. Again she found herself puzzled.
“That’s better,” he said.
She shook her head. “Thank you—ah, can you arrest these Orgnan for slavery?”
“The station authorities are doing so,” the female Praetor said.
“Ah, good…” She stared off at the dead bodies. She wished all the Orgnan were dead.
A man came running up from behind the Praetors. He was dressed in oil-stained jumpsuit and a jacket and had magnificently thick mutton-chops.
“Nero, goddess-dammit! The fucking ship left already! I—Rune? Rune! Thank the goddess you’re all right!”
He knelt down and the boy ran into his open arms.
“You found him! Thank the Void you found him!” the man repeated over and over again. “I can’t ever repay you.”
Cygni’s eyes went from the man to Nero. She expected to see something approaching the joy the man was clearly experiencing, but she saw guilt instead. It was hidden by a serious expression a moment later, but she knew what she saw.
“Kae, not to be awkward or anything, but did you just say they left? Who is they?” he asked.
The man released Rune at length and stood up. “Oh, the bounty hunters’ ship is gone, but who cares now? Wait—did you kill the son of a bitch who took my boy?”
“She did,” Rune said, pointing at her.
The man stared at her with wet, blue-green eyes. “Thank you.”
She shifted, uncomfortable about being thanked for murdering a man.
“I owe you. I’m serious,” the man said. “I’m Kaeden Faen. Call me Kae.”
“Cygni,” she returned in a small voice.
He nodded at her.
“Kae,” Nero said. “What about the wormer?”
It took a moment for Kae to take his eyes from her. “I got a hold of a crewman. They’re pulling out as soon as the lock-down is lifted. If those fucking bounty-hunters are going with them though—”
“We won’t have a choice. We have to get out of here before the Praetor arrives,” Nero said.
“There’s a Praetor coming?” Kae’s expression darkened.
“I have an alternative suggestion,” the Abyssian stated. Both men looked at her. “I will commandeer the Orgnan Marauder this vessel originated from. With their captain under arrest here, they will surrender quickly. This will give us the chance.”
“How?” Kae asked.
“I am already hacking into their system. The pirates altered it from the original security protocols and made it more vulnerable to electronic attack. I doubt this was their intention,” she said. “We will be able to approach the marauder using this vessel.”
“I’ll get the Slynn with Rune and meet you there,” Kae said.
“Aww man! I want to take the ship with Nero and the pretty lady!” Rune said.
Kae rolled his eyes. “Ah, sorry…”
Cygni waved him off, flattered and tickled by the kid’s antics.
“We’ll see you there,” Nero looked at Rune. “Go with your dad.”
The kid pouted, but his head angled downward and he nodded.
“Clearly you can fight. We could use you.”
It took Cygni a moment to realize he was talking to her. She sighed and looked around the group, wishing she had one of the little green cubes in her pocket.
It seemed, that despite her desire to get out, she was headed right back in.
Chapter Sixteen
Palace of the Just, Xur’Quon Island, Ikuzlu City, Kosfanter
J2400:3233
“I can’t believe I agreed to this.” Meia stood in a white silk bathrobe on the narrow catwalk. The spherical room made her feel like she was standing inside a metal bubble, or perhaps an egg, or a chrysalis of wires and steel.
She couldn’t have imagined agreeing to this procedure before but strange circumstances made for strange choices. The argument Ben made was compelling. It was true that as Cylus’ protector she would now be subject to a heightened level of danger, especially considering who they would be taking on. From that perspective subjecting herself to this transformation made sense, but ultimately it was two unrelated factors that made up her mind. One, the conditions she put on this agreement required that she would be more closely tied to Iapetus—which not only meant a lot to her in a sentimental sense, but it had a great deal of practical value for them—and two, Cylus rescued her from exile on Calemni. She owed him her freedom and her life. That was not the kind of bond she took lightly.
“I am holding up my end.” Cylus pointed to Iapetus.
“That you are.” She nodded to him. It was better to let him believe she was agreeable because of the deals they made, though she realized last night that he needed her, and that meant a lot even if he never produced Solus or her revenge on Revenant.
He stood at the entrance to the chamber with Ben behind him in the doorway. Instead of his usual brown and white he wore the royal blue of the Office of the Premier. His frock-style coat was a voluminous thing with gold trim and giant, archaic buttons that seemed to be eating him alive.
She looked from them over to the pod at the center of the chamber where the catwalk formed a ring around it. Iapetus stood beside the machine. Three bands of his chest armor were open and a plethora of green and red cables connected him to the pod like an umbilical cord.
“Fuck it.” She started for the machine, shedding her robe on the way. It spilled onto the metal grate of the walk and flowed off, drifting down to the curved floor below.
She turned around upon reaching the pod and eased herself back into the human-shaped depression within.
“Are you ready, Meia?” Iapetus asked.
She looked up at Cylus. His eyes were on her.
“Let’s do this.”
“Activating,” Iapetus stated.
The two halves of the pod closed. The strip of light between them grew thinner until it vanished, clothing her in perfect darkness. She felt and heard the machine start to hum. A prickling sensation flowed over her skin from her freshly shaved scalp to the tips of her toes. It hurt and tingled at the same time, reminding her of pleasant times spent in Iapetus’ electric embrace. She chuckled, and then the thousands of needles causing the sensation finished their calibrations and plunged forward.
Before she had a chance to scream she was floating in the darkness of the machine’s isolated cyber-node. Around her a swirl of tiny blue lights danced. Fascinated, she reached out to touch one with the gray-white hand of her digital incarnation and felt a familiar presence.
Iapetus?
“I am here, my beloved.”
Beloved? Since when do you get all mushy on me? It’s weird.
“I was trying out more intimate expressions.”
It’s strange.
“My apologies.”
No, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to stifle you. I might get used to it.
She waited for a reply. Then said, Sorry.
The Baron is holding up his end of the deal. I have completed scanning the modified version of the Programmable Limited Intelligence Assistant that was prepared for you. It contains no malicious code that I can detect, though my lack of data on this ‘Umbral Service Division’ of the Confederate Space Authority gives me what you would call some trepidation. I have done my best to assure you will be safe.
“I know.”
She hadn’t wanted some strange program in her head. The only AI she would allow that close to her was Iapetus. It took some convincing, but eventually Cylus agreed.
“There may be side effects. I am concerned for your operational status,” he said.
I’m fine with that. Stop being such a wussy and let’s get this on, she said.
“I have slowed down your perception of time. I calculate we require a discussion on our situation. I am masking our interactions from the outside.” He surprised her.
What is it?
“It is evident we will be operating on the Baron’s behalf moving forward despite what you have learned from the criminal Sanul Mondu. Is that the case?”
Yes. We owe him.
“You are comfortable operating with the possibility of our true masters being the VoQuana?”
Do you think they are using us through him? That he is using us? He is watching out for us. I’m sure of that.
“Are you implying that a baron cannot be under the influence of the Confederation’s enemies and generous to those he perceives as allies?” Iapetus asked.
I suppose it could be that, but I can’t tell. Can you?
“No. I require further data.”
I don’t think he is under their direct control. I can’t imagine a sinister puppet being like him—Gah, my mother actually liked dealing with this stuff. I’ll be happy when we’ve figured out who’s directing the Siren threat and eliminate them along with every last nano. After that we’ll give Baron Keltan the cure and be done with this.
“After that, the Baron won’t need the cure. Do you calculate the baron will let us go?”
What do you mean? I’m a free citizen. Once he feels stable in his new position he shouldn’t raise a fuss about me resigning as Chief of Security. She hadn’t thought of this possibility before but at the same time she wasn’t sure she wanted to go after this was over. The stars called to her as they always did, but her debt to him would remain forever. How could you pay someone back for your life?
“You did not check if there are obligations attached to this new position. Staying until Premier Keltan’s terms are up, and perhaps beyond, is a possibility with high probability,” he stated.
We’ll deal with it if that happens. I have faith in you.
“Thank you, Meia.”
Shall we get on with this? I’m sure they’re waiting.
“As you command.”
The lights swarmed her, seeming to multiply and move faster by the second. It wasn’t long before they were swirling so fast they became streaks. They moved closer with each pass, constricting around her in a cocoon of illumination until they made contact with her digital skin.
Her body electrified. Sharp streaks of pain shot along every neuron in her body. She gritted her digital teeth and grinned.
Ah, that’s the stuff!
“I calculated that you would appreciate this,” Iapetus stated.
He was always thinking of her.
Her digital skin boiled as the thousands of lights plunged through it. It took only moments for her to absorb them all, and she laughed with the sheer weird, electric pleasure.
She returned to her body in a flash of light and parted the lids of her eyes as the pod finished opening. With a grunt she wrenched her limbs free of its embrace one at a time and stumbled forward. She almost fell but before caught herself on the catwalk’s railings.
“Are you in good working order?” Iapetus asked, pulling the umbilical from himself. His armored plates shifted and closed as he moved to her.
“I think so, yeah.” She looked back at the pod and the human-shaped depression within it. Then she shifted her eyes up to the doorway to the chamber.
Cylus and Ben stood watching. The former nodded with a smile.
“That was a hell of an experience.”
“Are you all right?” He looked concerned.
She nodded. “Yeah. Kinda feels like I’ve been through the ringer, but I also feel… good.”
“Link established,” Iapetus stated.
Her UI rebooted, overlaying her field of vision. She became aware of its new functions as they came online, but the one that interested her the most was the link to Iapetus. Displayed as a small window with a moving sign-wave in the lower-right hand portion of her vision, she focused on it and accepted all of the permissions it asked for.
“I’m ready. Hit me.” She shivered, excited by the prospect of what was about to happen. Ever since the night he saved her life she felt closer to him than she had any other being. This was a consummation of their relationship.
“Starting feed,” Iapetus stated.
It began as a buzzing at the edge of her awareness, like a distant swarm of bees. He fed her more and the sign-wave grew with the noise in her head. It drowned out her own thoughts, her feelings, even the awareness of her body. She convulsed, and her knuckles grew white as she gripped the railings with creaking bones.
“Iap—” she tried to say through her gritted teeth. Pain pulsed behind her eyes. She almost couldn’t take it, but then the buzzing died down to a murmur. The taste of metal soured in her mouth.
“Apologies, Meia. Calibration completed. I am now able to minimize the side-effects.”
“Are you all right?” Cylus stepped onto the catwalk but stopped when she held up her hand.
“Yeah, I am. Iapetus, let’s keep that buzzing agony thing to a minimum.” She panted.
“There is some residual machine code that your brain is incapable of translating. I will work on an algorithm, but in the mean time the buzzing may be something you will have to live with. My apologies, Meia.”
She shuddered and took a deep breath. “Don’t worry about it. I knew this couldn’t be all gravy. Let’s switch this thing on.”
“Confirmed.”
She startled at the sensation of warm liquid moving over her skin. She looked down at herself and watched as her pours bled silver, coating her in a flowing mirror. She held up her hand and laughed.
“I look like a damn mannequin.”
“You look beautiful and deadly.” Cylus’ gravel-laden voice drew her attention. His eyes were shining and a broad smile formed on his face.
“Thank you,” she said for lack of a better phrase. How did one respond to something like that? “That’s a hell of a machine you got here.”
“I suppose you could call it a job perk. I wouldn’t have known but for Ben telling me about the Umbral Service. I feel much better now that you are bullet-proof.” He sounded tired, though that was expected considering what he was going through. She felt a swell of pity for him. He lost his family already, and now his fiancée.
“All the better to protect you, my dear.” She watched him, hoping her joke might strike true.
“Ah, good… Good. Is everything working properly?” He clearly missed the reference.
She sighed inwardly and ran through the system diagnostics. She was really hoping to at least spark a smile on his face.
“All systems go, boss.”
Iapetus moved up behind her. His steps shook the catwalk. She leaned back against his banded abdomen and crossed her arms before her chest. She felt the bands against her back as though the silver armor was her own skin. It delighted her. Not only would she be protected, but she wouldn’t have the feeling of being trapped in her own clothing.
“Ben told me this armacorium has camouflage ca
pabilities and can even turn you invisible for short periods of time,” Cylus said.
“Seems so,” she responded. It was impressive stuff. She even had full access to the Palace computer system and something called the Umbral Network, whatever that was. More importantly, it put both her and Iapetus into a position where they could legitimately access any system in the city. It would prove invaluable for the other task she decided to undertake.
“There is no one I’d rather have as my head of security. You have been on my side since we met. Thank you.” Cylus seemed about to tear up.
“It’s an honor.”
“Can you shift into something more, ah, normal?” he asked.
Iapetus?
“I am downloading the instructions to you now.”
The armacorium flowed across her skin again, freeing her face, mimicking hair where it was needed, and taking the form of a brown and red dress with a high collar and slits up the sides to allow her legs the maximum freedom of movement. Although she hadn’t had it since before joining Star Corps, on a whim she decided to give herself shoulder-length, flowing black locks that framed her olive-skinned face.
“Wow,” Cylus said. “Impressive.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him.
“Come on. I want to make sure you have some time to recover before tonight. Speaker Helena Revenant will be over with Sophi. I’m going to need your strength.” He turned and proceeded up the catwalk to where Ben stood in the doorway.
“Sounds like a fun time.” She sighed and followed with Iapetus behind her.
Ben stood to the side when they reached him and presented both his hands. She glanced down and a shock went through her when she saw her CG-90 Growler in them.
“You’ll need this, though not too soon I hope.” Cylus took it from Ben and offered it with a bow of his head.
“Thank you.” She took it and held it to her thigh. With a thought she secreted bands of armacorium to secure it in place. “I can definitely get used to this.”
Cylus motioned her to his side and they headed down the old wooden corridor of the Palace with their companions following behind.
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