by J. N. Chaney
Annoyed by his words, I scoffed. “Try not to give the scumbag too many compliments.”
“It’s not a compliment, just the truth. Besides, I can fill in the blanks. Not all of them, but enough to make this a workable operation.”
“So, what are we looking at?” Farah spun in a slow circle, tapping her fingers on the arms of her chair. I noticed her jaw didn’t look all that bad, but it had a shine to it. Knowing her she probably had a salve for the swelling.
“I know the operative side of things.” He made a flicking motion with his fingers. A rudimentary map appeared on the display.
“How did you do that?”
He glanced at his cousin. She took her feet down and stared at him with bright, excited eyes. “From memory.”
She tilted her head a little and the eyes narrowed. “Uh huh. Why do I get the feeling you aren’t telling me something?”
“Because I’m not. This isn’t the time to get into it. Focus, Mack.”
She did, turning along with the rest of us to study the map.
“As I was saying.” Jax made the flicking motion again and another map appeared next to the first, though in less detail. “The one on the left is all the areas I could remember. Peralta gave me the information I used to draw the one on the right. He wasn’t lying when he gave me the information, but I can’t speak to the accuracy. The labs and research area he told me about were off limits to Void operatives.
“How do you know he wasn’t lying?” asked Farah.
“Training.” The way he said it made it clear he wouldn’t elaborate, and she fell quiet. “I can give you details on Void procedures, but we’ll have to depend on the Senator for the rest. No one but Kaska has all the details.”
“Yeah, that jives,” said Mack, playing with a band on her wrist. “He’s too power hungry to let any single person have that kind of knowledge.”
“Exactly. Between my experience there and Peralta’s, we have a unique opportunity. He says the ingot is in this lab.” Jax pointed and a small square pulsed on the map.
Farah put up both hands. “Hold on a minute. You are talking about breaking into one of the most well-guarded bases that the government controls, right?”
“Yes, Farah. Retrieving the ingot has been the mission since we found out it existed,” said Jax, face unreadable though his words were snarky.
“Am I the only one who remembers we’re all fugitives?” She indicated the lot of us with a jerky hand. “You especially, Jax. You’re AWOL, a deserter. It’s not like any of us can just skip in the front door and say ‘Hey, we’re here for the megaweapon!’”
“Maybe I can,” I said, moving closer to examine the map.
Farah snorted, the sound heavy and exasperated. “Care to share with the rest of us how you plan on pulling that off?”
I turned to face the group. “Remember that message from the Vice-Admiral on Dulsa? He said his only regret was not being there to arrest me himself. Call it trash talk if you want, but the mercs he hired said Kaska wanted a meet with me too. I have a feeling that if we play this right and I get taken alive, he’ll want me to stay that way until he can get there and rub it in my face some.”
As my crew considered that, I began to construct the rough outline of a plan.
“You can’t sneak in,” Jax said finally. “Hell, I can’t either for that matter, and I’m Void. Added to that, none of my credentials are going to work. The second I step foot in the facility, they’ll know it, but that’s not the worst of it.”
“Maybe you ought to key us in then, bro,” said Farah.
He paused a beat, weighing his words. “Yeah, I guess the mission calls for it. Years ago, the government captured somebody, a Union operative. They discovered that he wasn’t entirely human. He’d been altered, upgraded with cybernetic implants. Metal arm with a built-in blade and advanced mechanics. Superhuman strength because it was essentially a machine.”
I remembered all the times me and my squad mates had joked about the Void, exchanging secondhand stories told by someone who’d heard it from someone else. There was always a certain air around the discussions, like children telling ghost stories. Jax didn’t relay his narrative that way, but rather like a report, which no one interrupted.
“The enhancements didn’t stop there. An ocular implant, gadgets here and there. Those parts don’t matter. What does matter is what the government found in his head. An implanted artificial intelligence that controlled all the cybernetics.”
“A PAI,” Mack said suddenly, all but jumping out of her seat, speaking in a torrent of words. “Holy fucking shit, you’re talking about a Reaper. The Empire got their hands on a Reaper?”
Jax nodded, nonplussed by the outburst. “They did. Then they did what they do best. Copied it.”
“Wait, slow down for the rest of us. What’s a PAI?” I asked looking from Jax to Mack.
Mack launched into an explanation. “Personal Artificial Intelligence, sometimes called LAI or Limited Artificial Intelligences. They pop up for sale on the BM—black market—every so often, but never last long. Usually some ultra-wealthy asshole swoops in and buys them up before anyone else has a chance. Not that anyone besides the ultra-wealthy can afford them. PAIs are risky. You’re undergoing surgery to implant a computer in your brain.”
“Okay, so what’s the big deal? The Empire does that with any new tech.” Farah crossed her arms and stared at Jax.
For the first time, he seemed to really hesitate, as if unsure whether or not to say anything. I had a suspicion though. “Jax, are you telling us that you have one of these PAIs?”
Farah’s gaze snapped over to me then back to her brother, eyes widening with shock.
“Yes. It’s a little different from the original Reaper’s, but essentially the same concept.”
Mack plopped back in her chair. “That’s going to pose a problem then. I’m assuming there’s some kind of built in leash?”
Jax nodded again.
“What does that mean?” asked Farah.
“It means that Jax could be vulnerable,” Mack answered. “It’s like when you worried about Vega being under the government’s control. If they had been smarter, they would have installed a kill code. Something that would shut both her and the ship down. Speaking of that, Jax, how have you avoided being shut down since you left?”
“Dunham. She had another tech from the Initiative work on my programming when I first joined. It was latent, designed to fly under the radar unless it was needed.”
Farah frowned. “Was latent? As in not anymore?”
“Correct. It activated after Kaska saw me on Sarkon”
“So, what, this kill code just shuts down your PAI?”
“It does, but the PAI is an integral part of my body. If it goes, I die.” He said it flatly, with zero emotion, but Farah blanched.
“And now you want to walk back in like they’ll accept you with open arms?” She folded her arms over her chest and fixed him with a stony glare.
“Actually, they might, if we play it right.” I rushed on before anyone could interrupt. “If Jax walks in with a prisoner, the face of the Solaris Initiative, they’ll want answers. Kaska especially.”
“That’s a hell of a gamble,” murmured Mack.
Farah rounded on me. “It sure as hell is. I can’t believe you’re even considering this. You either,” she said to Jax. “We just got you back and now you want to commit suicide.”
“Stop being emotional and think like a soldier. We’re in the middle of a war, Sophie,” he said, slipping and using her real name. “I didn’t come back for a family reunion. I came to fight. If dealing with tough decisions is too hard, maybe you shouldn’t be here.”
Jax said it calmly, which just made it worse. Farah dropped her arms and jerked back as if he’d slapped her. When she spoke, it came out shaky. “Fine. If you guys want to do this insane mission, do it without me. I won’t be part of it.”
She all but stomped out the door, but not bef
ore I saw the look of hurt on her face. Mack moved to follow, then stopped next to Jax. “Guess they didn’t teach you Void operatives about diplomacy. Not cool, cuz. Not cool at all.”
After she was gone Jax sat heavily in one of the crew chairs. “Yeah, I know I fucked that one up. Lay off already.”
I wrinkled my brow, confused. “I didn’t say anything yet.”
“I was talking to my PAI.”
Despite the fact that I wasn’t feeling too genial toward him after that conversation, I found myself intrigued. “You talk to them? And they curse at you?”
He shrugged. “All the time, on both counts. Sometimes she’s the only one I have for company for months at a time. It’s getting her to shut up that’s the problem.”
I glanced up at the ceiling. “V, how come you never curse?”
“Captain, according to my user manual, this is a function that I am capable of. However, it has never been requested of me. Would you like me to do this?”
After considering that for a moment I shook my head. “Only if you want.”
“Very well, sir. I will keep this in mind,” the ship AI answered.
Chuckling, I turned my attention back to Jax. “Does she have a name? Your PAI, I mean.”
Jax paused a moment. “Yes, I’ll tell her your real name, not one of my nicknames.” Another pause, then he looked at me, something almost like a smile playing at his lips. “I’m supposed to tell you that her name is Leigh.”
“Uh, nice to meet you. I’m Alyss, but I guess you know that.”
Jax started to reply, stopped, then rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not going to say that. Seriously, stop. Listen, if you don’t shut up, I’m going to mute you.”
I watched, fascinated, while Jax appeared to have a one-sided argument with himself. Even ignoring the weirdness of that, he had changed from the man planning an op just a few minutes prior. He spoke to the PAI with the easy familiarity of an old friendship. I almost felt guilty, like I was seeing something private.
After a few more seconds of banter he looked up, a sheepish expression on his face. “Sorry, I don’t usually talk to her in front of anyone.”
“Don’t worry about it. To be honest, I’m impressed you kept her under wraps all this time.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Occupational requirement. Which, incidentally, we should get back to. There’s less than a standard week until we get to Xanderis. Not a lot of time to plan an op. Not one like this anyway.”
“Agreed.” I moved back to the holo to get a better look at the map. “I can only think of one way in and it’s not going to be easy. If they don’t kill us, we’ll be tortured.”
Jax came to stand next to me. “You don’t seem too concerned. Why is that?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not excited about the idea. But, like you said, this is war. Kaska has done a good job protecting himself. This is a singular opportunity that we would be stupid to pass up.”
“Good,” he said, back in soldier mode. “I guess we better get started. There is a lot you’ll need to memorize. If you’re up for it, I’d like to spar with you.”
Genuinely surprised, I stared at him. “Spar with me? I love a good match as much as the next person, but the odds are a little skewed between you and me.”
“All the more reason for it. It’s not a matter of if you run into a Void operative, but when. It won’t be an issue going in since the point is to get captured, but when it comes time to escape, you’ll be wanting to know some things. Weak spots, so to speak.”
I grimaced, recalling how easily he’d put me on my ass during our first meeting on the train back in Solaris. It was nice to know I might have a fighting chance. “Sounds good. Once Mack gets back, we’ll want to see how she can get into the station’s systems.”
“That will be tough. The first thing they’ll do is a strip search, then a scan to make sure we’re not smuggling something in.”
Mack came in a few minutes later and said that Farah was cooling off in her quarters. I told her my idea about finding a way into the Void’s systems and she started working on a plan. The three of us went back and forth like that over the next few hours until Mack and I couldn’t stay awake anymore. Jax claimed he wasn’t tired, and he looked more than alert. I wondered if the Void didn’t require sleep, or maybe just less.
Vega told me that Farah was asleep in her quarters, so I decided to let her sleep and catch some rack time of my own. The mission was heavy on my mind, but I still fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
13
The next morning, I went to the training room to learn what I could from Jax about the Void. He was inside, dressed to spar. My eyes zeroed in on a black glove that ran all the way up his right arm. The joint of his shoulder was exposed and a flash of silver shone where the glove didn’t cover it. Jax had a small collection of tools laid out on one of the benches and waved me over.
Most of it I recognized: a combat knife, handgun, long gun, and a length of pipe. A tube that easily fit in the palm of my hand didn’t look special, neither did a thin white disk, but I figured Jax would explain soon enough. The last was a short sword, much like the one I’d seen in Clint’s shop.
“Nice spread,” I commented, coming to a stop next to him.
“Maybe. Right now they’re just ideas. You won’t be able to sneak any of these in,” he said.
I frowned. “Then why bring them?”
“Because you need to understand what can be used against Void operatives. Even me, if it comes to that.”
That gave me pause. “Why, do I need to worry about you turning on me?”
Jax gave a firm shake of his head. “Not if I’m in the driver’s seat. But if the processes Mack puts in place fail, it might be a problem. You need to be prepared for any eventuality.”
A little annoyed, I shot him a look. “Jax, don’t take this the wrong way, but I have run a few ops before. Planned some too. I know the basics and a little more.”
The guy didn’t bat an eye. “Don’t be cocky, Cortez. That’s how you get dead. I’m telling you this because if I do turn on you, I expect you to do whatever it takes to put me down. Got it?”
My blood cooled a little, but not by much. “You don’t have to worry about that. I much prefer living to dying. I admit that I hadn’t realized it was a possibility. How would that even work, brain control?”
Amusement danced in his eyes and he chuckled. “No. They aren’t able to do that just yet. But they know how to hurt someone, so they’ll do anything. The doctors and technicians at the station are really good at forcing behavior. And, if I slip Mack’s leash and Leigh is under their control, that will be a problem too.”
It was uncomfortable to hear and think about, but necessary. He was right, and I had been brash in my temper. Undercover missions never appealed to me and weren’t something I was used to. The ingot was in one of the most secure facilities in the galaxy. The night before, Jax told Mack and me that the Union’s Reaper program was no longer active. That was Sparrow intel too, so not just beer cooler gossip. That made Xanderis a major threat. If the Union didn’t have a comparable program, the Void might be the most powerful unit around.
And we were about to enter it without any protection or backup. Maybe Farah wasn’t far off and this was a suicide mission.
“All right. Show me what you’ve got,” I said. “What’s your first piece of advice if I run into a Void operative?”
“Run.”
It was, I knew, the truth. The Void were nextgen, upgraded soldiers and I was merely human.
“Noted.”
He picked up the pistol and handed it to me. Not my normal, but a common brand and style among military personnel that I’d used plenty throughout the years. It seemed an odd choice since it was a weapon that I was intimately familiar with, but I kept my mouth shut and passed it back.
“I hear you’re a good shot. That’s useful. Important, too, but not enough.”
“You heard right
,” I replied, not seeing the point in being humble. “Why, do the Void have superhuman speed or something? Can they dodge bullets?”
“Sure, we’re faster. I wouldn’t say we’re inhuman though. It’s like being in peak condition. Operatives are still limited by their organic parts. To a point. The point of the gun is to say that if you use a pistol, make your shot count. In most cases, unless you hit a prime piece of real estate, you’re just gonna piss the person off.”
“Okay. That’s common sense, but I assume there’s something more at work here. Pain dampeners?”
Jax looked at me with surprised approval. “Yes. They’ll feel it, but it won’t be enough to put them down. And even if you get a good shot, remember we have the cybernetic arm. The alloy is dense enough that most bullets won’t do too much damage so it’s an ideal shield that we utilize a lot. Unless an opponent gets a lucky hit like that soldier on Sarkon.”
I remembered that day with near perfect clarity. So much had gone wrong, and so little had gone right. We’d come out alive, but barely, and then only because of Jax. Facing off against too many soldiers with our small group of four, I was sure we were dead. Then Farah’s brother showed up and held off Kaska’s men almost by himself. One of the enemy had gotten off a shot that caused Jax’s mechanical arm to malfunction. Thanks to Mack, it was now working just fine.
“Fair enough,” I told him. “Same with the rifle, I assume?”
“Pretty much. The nice thing about long guns is that if you run out of bullets, they make a good club. The only thing there is you better hit something soft. Head, eyes, neck. You get the idea.”
I pointed at the combat knife. “Knife fights don’t seem like the best idea. I’m no slouch with short blades like that, but going up against one of you in close quarter combat? I don’t like my chances. You know the three principles—surprise, speed, and violent action. Right off the bat I’m losing speed because I can’t match a cybernetically enhanced human. Surprise is right behind that. That leaves me with violence, which I’m good for, but it won’t be enough. Not nearly.”
