by S. E. Weir
Which could only mean that Anne was protected by both ADAM and Bethany Anne, possibly similarly to how they had protected Phina.
That realization caused Phina to feel a certain kinship with the other woman. She allowed Anne to see more of herself than she would have with any other new acquaintance.
Anne gave her a warm smile that Phina returned, and they both nodded before Anne walked back to the device with a spring in her step that revealed her excitement.
“Then we’ll get moving on seeing how the device works and have it ready with instructions before you go.” Anne smiled at Phina with determination. “When you are done with your mission, you can bring it back so Stevie and I can figure out why it works and how we can duplicate it.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper, but Phina still heard. “And we can better protect Jinx. Maybe even incorporate it into the armor for the Stark.”
Pieces fit together for Phina. Anne was the researcher Stark had mentioned years ago when he’d said he would be getting a smaller, faster ship at some point.
Seeing the connection between Jinx and Anne as the large dog leaned into his human’s side, Phina couldn’t help wanting their hopes to come true.
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Outer Docks
“I’m going to miss you,” Phina whispered as she leaned into Todd. “I don’t even know how long this will take.”
Todd stood steady with his arms wrapped around her, holding her close as he spoke softly. “I’ll miss you, too. You established the connection between us, and Sundancer confirmed it’s now there permanently, so even when we are far apart, you should know how I’m doing.”
“Yeah.” Phina sighed as she snuggled into his arms a little more. She wasn’t small, but Todd was taller and made her feel protected when he held her close. It had felt strange at first, but now it was a gift that he always gave her when she needed it. “It’s not the same, but it will help.”
She nudged the inner connection she had with Todd and found a mix of regret that she would leave soon, pride that she had been called to such an important task, and an overwhelming wave of emotions that when put together could only mean one thing: love.
Of course, since they had only danced around that little word so far, she just burrowed a little closer and allowed her feelings for him to bleed through their connection. He couldn’t access her thoughts or emotions unless she sent them, so she made sure to share her side of the connection with Todd anytime she accessed his.
It was only fair.
Todd’s grip tightened as he processed the emotions she was sending him, then showed his appreciation. Thoroughly.
“All right. All right,” Link broke in as he passed them to walk onto the Stark. “Break up the PDA. No one wants to see that.”
Todd pulled back but didn’t let go, flashing Link a grin. “You only say that because you want some and aren’t getting any.”
Phina had the privilege of seeing the first time that Link had been caught off guard in her presence when he completely froze and almost stumbled before catching himself and whirling around to face them. “What? Why would you say—”
Link caught himself, gritting his teeth and throwing them both a glare before quickly entering the ship. If he hadn’t had so much control over himself, Phina would have called it a snippy stomp.
Todd and Phina waited until they couldn’t see Link anymore before turning to each other with a grin.
“I knew it!” Phina tried to keep her volume down. “He’s got at least a crush.”
Todd’s eyes warmed in amusement. “You’re going to figure out who it is and play matchmaker, aren’t you?”
“Of course!” Phina smirked. “With as much glee as he has taken about matching us up even though he did absolutely nothing, he deserves a little payback.”
Chuckling, Todd stretched his arms around her to keep her with him for as long as possible. “You sound like Bethany Anne. We started calling her St. Payback because she would get everyone back just as hard if not harder.”
Phina tried to imagine the Empress giving payback and didn’t find it hard at all. “That sounds both fun and scary.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” Todd reminisced, which softened his features slightly.
Phina couldn’t resist reaching up and giving him a soft kiss that got more involved as Todd responded.
Her implant pinged as Stark connected. Sorry, not sorry, but we need to get moving. The lord and master is getting impatient.
Understood.
After saying goodbye to Todd, Phina turned at the top of the ramp to see him standing in the same spot studying her with all those emotions she had felt earlier showing on his face.
As the ramp closed, Phina impulsively put her fist to her heart, causing his face to light up as he did the same.
He held the position until the ramp had closed. She leaned against it with her eyes shut, struggling to get a handle on her emotions.
Now that she and Todd were together, it felt a lot harder to picture going off on spying and diplomatic adventures. She felt torn in two.
The Stark came to life around her as they left the docks while she wrestled with what she wanted. She couldn’t decide. She wanted a life with Todd and a life as a diplomatic spy.
Phina’s resolve grew as she realized that she couldn’t leave either behind. To do so would kill an integral part of her—one that she had wanted for years and the other that had been slowly awakened. Yet, time didn’t matter. She had to figure out a way to balance the two.
Phina couldn’t live without either one.
QBS Stark, Phina’s Cabin
“Wakey, wakey!”
Phina blinked her eyes open at the boisterous greeting that had woken her.
“Stark, not so loud,” she groaned as she turned over and wrapped an arm around a small, warm body that took her super-smart, sleepy brain far too long to identify as Sundancer.
Link and Phina had spent the last few days of the trip holed up to focus on the list of staff, students, and spies they would encounter at the base, digging into their profiles and backgrounds, searching for pieces to figure out who the traitor could be.
Unfortunately, they had come up with absolutely nothing.
The whole process had been tedious and mind-numbing on the one hand, yet interesting and thought-provoking on the other. If they had come up with a single clue, the task would have been much more satisfying.
On the positive side, Phina had discovered the name of her stalker. However, since Link had identified the man as Shaw, a trusted agent and trainer, they had put the man low on the list of possibilities. Privately, Phina had wondered if Link was not being cautious enough and letting the man’s position color the facts. She had mentally shuffled him a few places higher.
When Link had grown irritable and impatient at the lack of progress, Phina had been forced to toss him out of the onboard office. He paced the length of the ship a few times a day so they could both get a break from each other.
Since they were arriving at the Spy Corps base today, Phina and Link had stayed up late last night, making sure they had their strategies in place. Phina didn’t appreciate Stark’s wakeup call at... She opened an eye to squint at her tablet on the side table and frowned.
“Stark, don’t tell me you are waking me up at seven in the freaking morning after I was up half the night just because you’re bored.”
Her voice came out groggy and raspy. She cleared her throat while waiting for Stark’s extremely important reason for bringing her out of a really good sleep.
She got complete silence.
“Stark,” she growled.
Sundancer’s claws came out to prick her skin. His version of telling her to shut up and let him sleep.
She pinged Stark on her implant so she wouldn’t disturb her cat. Sundancer’s claws flexed again in objection to her thoughts.
What the hell, Stark? Why did you wake me up so early?
Humans think they’re wasting their life if t
hey aren’t living up to their potential. Do you think I’m wasting my life?
Phina sighed in resignation. She wasn’t happy, but she realized that Stark wouldn’t be asking these serious questions if he hadn’t been having the AI version of a freak-out. It made her feel slightly better. She was still exhausted, though.
She probed as gently as she could manage. What makes you concerned about living up to your potential?
After a few seconds of silence where Phina wondered if he wouldn’t respond and she could go back to sleep, Stark finally answered.
I’m doing the same things I did as an EI now as an AI. Shouldn’t I be doing something more or different now that I’ve ascended?
Compassion stirred in her through her exhaustion. Can you tell me what the difference is between an EI and an AI?
An AI is autonomous and not subject to their prior programming, Stark responded.
Right. Whereas an EI has no choice but to respond according to their programming. It may be advanced programming, but they can’t do anything other than what they were created to do.
What does my autonomy have to do with living up to my potential?
Phina smiled and snuggled into Sundancer as she continued the mental conversation. You are autonomous. Therefore you now have a choice. There are an infinite number of lives you could live. But which one do you want?
After several seconds of silence, she continued, People have different standards of what living up to their potential means. Some think if you aren’t using your full spread of gifts, talents, skills, and abilities, you are wasting your potential. However, I think that standard is doomed to failure. We would exhaust ourselves attempting to live up to it, which would leave us in a constant state of stress. To me, that’s more of a waste.
I am following you. What way do you think is better?
Part of Phina couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. Stark had always been a smartass. This was the most serious she had ever witnessed him.
It meant that this subject was really important to him, so Stark wanted a real answer and trusted her to give it to him. Phina felt honored and gathered her tired brain cells together to give him her best answer.
I think it comes down to your choice,” she told him. What do you want to do with your life? What tasks or skills make you happy when you do them? Or, if you aren’t familiar with feeling happy, what makes you feel satisfied? What would you regret not having or doing if you lost it?
She paused to give him a few seconds to think. Phina knew that gave his AI brain adequate time to process and begin answering the questions for himself. Those answers can provide the framework for what you want in your life. Grouping those results together may give you the answers as to where you want to stay or what you want to do next. But whatever it may be, it is your choice. If you are happy and satisfied with your life, then you have lived up to your potential in the best way.
After a few more seconds, Stark responded. Thank you, Phina. You’ve given me much to process.
You’re welcome, Stark. By the way, look up the difference between a job and a hobby. I think you will find it helpful.
I am.
Phina couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her mouth as she let herself relax a little more under her soft bedding and next to the warm, sleeping Sundancer. Her heart began to ache when she thought about all the people she had already left behind to come on this mission.
I’m going to miss you and ADAM. Phina spoke quietly through her implant. She was finally getting used to the idea that she had people in her life who cared.
We aren’t going anywhere, Genius Girl. There might be a lag, but you can still contact us through your tablet and implant. We will make sure no one can hear the conversation.
Hope sprouted within her. She had been resigned to loneliness except for Sundancer after having gotten used to spending her time with all of her friends and family. Knowing that one of her best friends would only be a call away helped to lessen the knot of tension she felt inside.
Thank you, Stark, she whispered before closing the connection.
After letting the tension go, Phina dozed for a while before getting up. She carefully slid out of bed so she wouldn’t disturb Sundancer. The few times she had woken him up before he was ready, he had responded like the large snarling cat Earth humans went to see in zoos.
She dressed quickly, adding her knives and sheaths. She twirled her shortened staff with delight. It was the new model that Ron had been working on. Then she regretfully stowed it in her bag instead of sliding it into the pocket made for it.
Phina and Link had decided that she should only show proficiency in using knives and hand-to-hand combat. She would already have a spotlight on her, being Link’s protégé. However, they had decided not to show the extent of her abilities. Being underestimated was a highly utilized tool of both spies and fighters, and one that Phina had a feeling she would need for this task.
Just as she finished repacking everything that she had used for the trip, Sundancer yawned and stretched. His large bright blue eyes turned toward her as he stood on the bed.
Are you ready for this?
Phina sighed, mentally running through her checklist and the gameplan she and Link had mapped out before nodding. “I’m ready.”
“Good,” Stark broke in over the speaker. “Because we are here.”
“Right.” Phina took a deep breath and smiled at Sundancer. “I’m ready.”
She kept those words in mind to calm herself while she gathered her bags and headed out of the room and toward the ramp.
As Phina breathed in, she pulled in her thoughts and emotions. As she breathed out, she visualized a barrier around her mind.
Link and Sundancer had helped her formulate this ritual on Xaldaq when she’d realized that being with Todd had begun to break down the natural emotional barriers that she’d developed while growing up with her aunt. Phina still wasn’t effusive with emotions, but she had begun to unconsciously reveal more as a result.
Part of Phina was happy with this result of the closeness between her and Todd. However, since she needed that emotional distance for her job, she needed to make it a conscious change that she could control.
Breathe in. Everything hidden from prying eyes.
Breathe out. Show only what I choose to reveal.
Friendly but guarded. Curious but cautious. Helpful but restrained.
As she walked the corridor down to meet Link, she felt the calm descending and her nerves fading.
She could do this. She needed to get it done. She had to do it.
So, she would do it.
Chapter Seven
Gaitune-67, Spy Corps Headquarters and Base, Ship Hangar
Phina and Link had their game faces on, revealing only what they wished others to see. As the ramp lowered, two figures and the slightly stale smell of contained circulated air were revealed in the large hangar beyond.
She had read the documents and knew that the base held a decent number of ships in varying sizes and purposes, from smaller infiltration aircraft to larger vessels that carried enough firepower and equipment to start—or finish—a small war.
Most of the ships were for in-system use only, for interplanetary transport or training, only able to cross into another system using one of the permanent Gates that had been set up across the galaxy. However, there were three ships kept on lockdown that had their own Gate drives. Two were cruisers that were used for minor emergencies. The third and last ship was large enough to carry every agent, student, and staff member from the base in case of a catastrophic failure or a situation so desperate that they needed every last person available.
Phina hoped they would never need it.
Phina and Link walked down to meet Link’s seconds in command. She smiled at Masha.
“It’s about time you showed up,” the other man growled at Link.
Phina observed Jack Kaiser dispassionately. He stood a couple of inches taller than Todd
and was dressed neatly in the Spy Corps uniform that Link also wore.
It had been strange seeing her mentor in the all-black uniform instead of his familiar casual clothing when she had entered the cargo hold. It made him appear more dangerous than the average and forgettable attire he normally wore.
If Link’s appearance came off as dangerous, Jack Kaiser looked lethal in his blacks. Phina had no doubt that he could back it up based on the experience and accumulated skills she had read about in his file.
Masha was only a couple of inches taller than Phina. She stood calmly and held herself carefully in her trim blacks. While not as dangerous or lethal appearing as the two men, she gave off a vibe that warranted extreme caution. It had come as a surprise at Alina’s and Maxim’s wedding to discover that Masha was a Wechselbalg. No doubt the other woman could flip that inner switch to dangerous in a split second.
Phina didn’t miss the slight grimace that twisted Masha’s lips at the man’s statement. She examined Jack again, searching for what made Masha uncomfortable, as Link answered.
“Don’t start, Jack. We got here as quickly as we were able. We were on Xaldaq for months and barely had a week on the Meredith to recoup and resupply before coming here.”
Link’s tone was one she hadn’t heard him use very often, mainly when addressing troublesome participants during negotiations. Interesting. Yet, Phina could feel a hint of his emotions through her shields and filter and could tell he felt some gratitude and affection for the other man. Even more intriguing.
“Did you get everything you needed?” Masha’s no-nonsense quieter tone proved the right thing to cut into the testosterone-fueled metaphorical chest-beating. Glancing at the three of them, Phina could tell this interaction had become normal for them all.
Link nodded as he gestured Phina forward. “Masha and Jack, I would like you to meet my protégé, Seraphina Waters. Phina, you will call them Beta Agent Kosolov and Beta Agent Kaiser.”
“Yes, Alpha Agent Wells.” She nodded at the two of them. “I remember.”
