by Lisa Eskra
He sighed. He avoided talking about himself unless questioned. "What do you want to know?"
"What made you decide to become a scientist?"
He glanced downward and smiled as though the memory was fresh in his mind. "As strange as it might sound, I did it for love."
"Love?" she repeated. "I've never thought of you as the romantic type."
"I was…once upon a time in what seems like a lifetime ago." He knitted his hands together and brushed his thumbs against one another. "During my teenage years, I'd fallen in with a rowdy bunch of lads and blew a promising future on hashish and cheap vodka. Instead of bothering with college, I became a hobo, doing as little as possible to survive the day and get high.
"I'll never forget the day it happened—September 31st. It was one of those amazing autumn days I could live my whole life in. The leaves of all of the trees on campus were bright red, and the coffee shop I worked at began their seasonal offering of chai drinks that morning. About an hour after the morning rush, she walked in: Lisara Martin. I'd never laid eyes on a woman so stunning in all my life. She asked me to make her a mocha cappuccino, and I did. Three times. If I hadn't been so smitten, I would've been bloody pissed.
"When I learned she was a student at the university, I knew I had to make a change with my life. I didn't want to be a loser and piss my whole life away. Of course, the stronger motivation was to attract Lisara's attention, and the best way I could think of to do that was to put my heart and soul into my studies. Fortunately, I've always been a very good computer programmer and came into my own when I applied myself to cybernetics."
Martin. Amii began to feel her pulse throbbing in her neck. "You told me my last name was Martin. Who am I, Xander?"
He took a deep breath and sniffled his nose. "You're our daughter. You have her last name because I thought Amii Adams sounded ridiculously indulgent."
His daughter? Their only common feature was their grayish-blue eyes. Knowing they were related by blood propelled her sense of self into a tailspin. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want anyone to know," he said and looked across the room to avoid her upsetting gaze. "There are too many people after me, and I didn't want to put you in danger." He forced himself to glance back at her. "I'm sorry. It was a selfish thing to do to you."
Amii couldn't will herself to say another word. She was surprised. And baffled and distraught and all those other emotions a person channels when someone they trust with their life drops a bomb and upsets the fragile balance of their world. Since his reasons were logical, she had a hard time feeling any anger. Being a great scientist did not mean he was a moral person. Or a good person, for that matter.
"Did I ever know my mother?"
He shook his head. "No. You were seven months old when she died. Your growing up was hard. For both of us. We were always moving from one place to the next. You never went to school; I taught you everything you'd need to know to help me. And then we ended up on Pisa, but at least we were safe there for a few years."
He scooted toward her and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I found something in one of their secret hangars. I'll show it to you tonight, when most of these wankers are asleep."
He waited until the dead of night to sneak out. One patrol guarded the facility during the late watches, and they ate lunch for a half hour at midnight. But anyone could avoid the guards. Getting into restricted areas took more expertise.
Xander's innate computer skills came in handy. Whenever they approached a secure area, he'd override the security access panels. He punched the same eight-digit code into all three consoles. And they slid past security with a nod and a wink.
She wondered if he did this every night while she slept. "Where did you learn the code?"
"Those mentally-handicapped scientists left me alone with one of their computers for a few minutes. Anyone with more than a rudimentary understanding of machines can hack them."
She had a feeling that was a gross distortion of the truth.
After several lengths of corridor, they entered a dark hangar on the outskirts of the base. The air felt much colder here than at the heart of the complex. She pulled the leather coat around her and pressed her chin to her chest. When she smelled the faint odor of volcanic rocks and rain, she thought of Magnius and hoped to see him again someday. Of course, she never would in this prison.
Before them, a vessel of unusual design spanned the length of the room and perched on three small feet. The ship resembled a voluptuous silver bullet with eagle's wings and a giant crystal. From their vantage point it appeared to have no windows and measured a quarter the size of the Kearsarge. The engines had been integrated into its design in a seamless fashion, flanking the long sides of the hull. Nozzles of the laser system broke its streamlined shape. She had a hard time taking her eyes off the marvel.
Xander gazed up at the ship fondly. "This might be our ticket out of here."
Steal a ship from the AC? "You're joking, right?"
"Of course I'm not joking," he said and headed over to a dim computer console. When he touched it, the display lit up, requesting his username and password to access the terminal. He chortled as he hacked into their mainframe and brought up the vessel's specifications and design. "Hello, gorgeous."
The ship represented years of cutting-edge technology in every realm of space travel from a sophisticated engine design to its ablated armor hull. It was several times larger than a petaflop, which according to Xander's stories barely held both of them let alone the amount of cargo they smuggled onto Pisa. This vessel had a rear cargo area and packed a lot of firepower: two sophisticated Phoenix II laser systems and an X23 Railgun. The technology made vessels of the Allied Fleet look archaic in comparison.
Amii pointed at the screen when he browsed through information on the ship's engines. "Adrenaline wave technology?" she said as she scanned the screen. "A plasma emulsion with two stable reactants fueled by electrum as an energetic catalyst." She scrolled through a series of chemical equations that would've been gibberish to most people. "The reaction mechanism is astounding."
He raised his eyebrow. "Since when did you become a chemist and a propulsion engineer?"
Without glancing away from the screen, she said, "I hope that was a rhetorical question. The armor is an interesting alloy as well…dangerous to produce from the looks of it, but supposedly able to withstand heavy fire without damage. Nice."
"I wonder if it's space-worthy," he mulled as he gazed across the hangar at the craft. "I'll see if I can find out more about it before we're cast off this wretched planet."
"Navigation looks a bit sketchy. It's not familiar to me, and from what I can tell, they've had a hard time trying to get the ship off the ground."
"Well, I rather doubt they have anyone of your skill here when it comes to piloting a ship. It's like the sword in the stone, waiting for you to wrest it free." His eyes lit up with a fiery passion. "The Excalibur."
"I somehow doubt my abilities are half as good as you claim them to be."
"You're right. Don't take my word for it. Prove it to yourself. Anyways, we'd best return to our quarters before we're suspected of treason. President Scheidecker would have no qualms about sending both of us straight to Caldos Minor."
"The President seemed reasonable to me."
"On the surface most politicians are," Xander said and led them back out the same way they'd come in. "But even those with the most pure of hearts are sullied, bowing to the pressure of the corruption all around them. The power, the money, the prestige…the environment breeds nothing but immorality. Chairman Dodd is the best example of all…the king of inaction."
By all accounts the chairman appeared to be seeking a resolution on the Xuranian situation. She doubted she could put much weight on Xander's words; over the past week she'd been inundated by conspiracy theories and his strong sense of governmental paranoia. Even so, he was the only person she had in this friendless place. And while she didn't agree with his
tactics or methods, she'd grudgingly go along with them. After all, he hadn't steered them wrong before.
Chapter Nine
Nadine stood at her third-story bedroom window and gazed outside at the active night street below. Spring hit the capital in full force almost a week ago, and every evening she noticed more young couples out and about, as though winter stifled their romance. Their laughter danced on the fresh breeze, and their eyes twinkled from the shine of lampposts that lined the bustling street until it faded from sight. She missed the freedom to take in a show or go out to dinner on a whim since they'd moved to the Westwood Estate, but she wouldn't trade being in a position to do so much good for anything in Astra.
Another exhausting day had passed by for her husband. He'd fallen asleep moments after walking through the door and dropping into a heap on their bed. Long days of negotiating had been grueling but fruitful; in five days a peace delegation from both Sirius and Xur would arrive. They wanted to help humankind forge a lasting peace between the AC and the PAU. For a short time the second lady thought the Xuranians had upstaged her in that regard. She'd done so much work laying the foundations of goodwill and building a rapport among PAU ranks. But she'd never had much of an ego to crack when it came to the greater good.
As she returned her focus to the street, she watched a group of expensive hovermobiles pass by in shades of ivory and obsidian, and in that moment all she could think about was him. Magnius Zoleki. Nadine tried to purge the psionic essence he exuded, but until he left the city it would linger. He haunted her from the shadows of his mind, so full of secrets the mere act of scrutiny would drive her mad. His power scared her in ways she didn't think were possible.
She washed her face with ice-cold water before lying down to bed. And for a time, all was well. Her dreams were her domain.
***
After she fell into deep slumber, she found herself at the Autumn Harvest Festival outside the city. While she devoured blue cotton candy, she walked between the food stalls and heard cheerful mandolins and fiddles in the distance. Children raced around the haystacks in blissful delight. The actual festival drew hordes of people, but in her dreams she could enjoy it without fear of being recognized.
After a time basking in the sun and studying the multitudes enjoying their day, she noticed something peculiar making its way toward them from the city. From afar it appeared to be a herd of small black animals. But when they drew near, the reality horrified her. A swarm of hideous insects the size of wolves scampered to the fairgrounds. They had eight glossy black legs and transparent wings protruding from furry elongated bodies, four glistening compound eyes, and a venomous tail similar to a scorpion. She didn't know what the hell they were and how in Astra her mind had come up with such an aberration, but she needed to get rid of them.
Ordinarily in her lucid dreams, she could stop a potential nightmare with nothing more than a thought. If she wanted them dead, then boom…they would be dead. But tonight she couldn't wrest control away from her runaway mind. So the awful insects ran amuck in a gruesome rampage. Humans unfortunate enough to get in their way fell paralyzed by meat-hook stingers and feasted on by fangs the size of daggers. Victims screamed all around her when they were sheared by the horrendous lawn mowers, and blood splattered everywhere as random severed limbs sailed haphazardly through the air.
Nadine sought higher ground, using an ice chest to reach the unstable roof of a small shed. One particular insect caught a whiff of her blood, and suddenly it craved lunch. Its hair glistened like silver mink, and saliva dripped off its mandibles while it ground them at her. The creature tried to fly up to the roof, but she beat it away with a metal tray. Still it persisted, more determined than ever to feast on her delicious sinew.
Without warning, a barrel soared in front of her and slammed into the insect. It fell to the ground dead before it even hit the dirt below. Nadine turned to see where the barrel had come from and stared in disbelief when she saw Magnius below battling the beasts back with a four-by-four. He beat them to a bloody pulp one at a time with ruthless fanaticism, but he could not slay this many by himself. Once they decided to focus their attention onto him, he'd be a goner.
She tried again to alter the course of the dream, but it remained unchanged. Magnius grabbed the people fleeing around him and returned them to the fight. "For Astra!" he yelled. Every person he touched repeated his cry and turned on the creatures. He continued through the masses and inspired survivors to greatness all around him. After several minutes, humans took the offensive, killing every insect in sight. Some got tossed onto a bonfire and ran around in a blaze before collapsing dead. People used bats, pool cues, chains…whatever they could find. And at the end of the epic struggle, humankind stood triumphant.
After the brawl, Magnius helped her down from her precarious perch, and she realized he wasn't the man she thought she knew. Sure, he still looked fabulous, as a few eligible women in the background swooning could attest. But more than that, he'd gained confidence. He grabbed the bull of life by the horns and wrestled it to the ground until it screamed for mercy. He'd become a man of the people…a hero.
***
Nadine woke with a start and wiped the beads of sweat off her brow. She slid out of bed and returned to the window. No more than an hour had passed since she'd closed her eyes to sleep, but now she couldn't. She thought he might've invaded her dreamscape, yet no psionic presence lingered. Nothing felt unusual or different. It had just been a very strange dream.
Until she'd met Amii aboard the Kearsarge, she'd never had a vision in a dream that she was consciously aware of. It happened to other Seers, but her visions never seemed to work that way. Her glimpses always occurred while she was awake. Even so, she couldn't ignore what she'd seen—Magnius, a broken hero who'd never achieved his potential.
A part of her wondered why she even cared. His brooding iciness toward telepaths made him nothing more than a shallow hypocrite whom she had a hard time feeling sorry for. His life was nothing more than the mess he'd made of it. But despite all that had happened to her, Nadine's bleeding heart realized the inherent goodness in everyone. If she could help him take the first few steps in order to make his life worth living again, it would be worth it in the end.
Without a moment's hesitation, she gathered up her coat and headed out into the streets to save him from himself. If she were lucky, he'd let her help him. If not, death awaited him. After all, another dangerous psion had come to town over the past week. Tiyuri had been busy hunting him like a small game animal with the interminable passion of a great assassin.
And tonight, he would find him.
***
A bar known as the Drunken Dog sat on an unassuming corner in Quad Three, the lower-class district of Northampton. From the outside it looked like an ordinary pub, but most people on the street didn't dare to pass it. The building's façade had been styled in vintage splendor with its dusty olive drapes and the Gaelic font used on its sign. The paint had begun to peel off the exterior walls, but the dilapidated appearance gave it rustic charm. It looked nothing like the sleek buildings around it with their mirrored windows and holographic displays so everyone noticed it whether they wanted to or not. Many would go out of their way to cross the street just to avoid walking in front of the dive.
The Drunken Dog had been around long before the City of Dreams was built. Laborers often stopped there after a day of heavy work to relax. Its role in the history of the city saved it from demolition. A decade ago, a group of psions bought the building. Overnight, it became a hot spot on the club scene, attracting psions from all walks of life to a place where they could mingle freely without judgment.
Magnius propped his head upon his hand and waved toward the bartender to catch his attention.
"What you want?" he asked in a deep voice. "More of the same?"
"I don't care," Magnius said while he stared at the back wall. "Just bring me something."
The bartender shrugged but obliged his paying
customer. After swiping three bottles with one hand, he measured the output by sight into a shaker. A sonic device on the bar vibrated the mixture until blended, and he decanted a turbid absinthe-green liqueur into a salt-rimmed glass. Magnius reached for it and chugged its contents. It could be poison for all he cared.
The past month's lesson in humility reminded him how it felt to live in fear. He'd fallen from celebrated to hapless overnight. The near-constant edge from his adrenaline made him twitchy and agitated like a criminal on the run from the law. To make matters worse, no one could help him even if he wanted them to. In his apathy he'd lost the will to survive.
After his scruffy appearance caused him to be mistaken for a beggar earlier in the day, he retreated to the solitude of the Drunken Dog. Alcohol had become his refuge to drown out all his problems. Sometimes he forgot his predicament altogether in his liberating intoxication. His only respite from the anxiety sat in the bottom of a glass—the harder, the better.
Not every moment had been a crisis. Fate smiled on him once, for he found a refuge that didn't check his ID and accepted cash. He slept for most of the day while the hangover from the previous night faded, which seemed the best way to keep off Tiyuri's radar. When he looked in the mirror, he hardly recognized himself. He needed every advantage he could get to keep him a step ahead.
He hadn't yet seen Tiyuri, but his worries about the assassin were secondary at the moment. He only had enough money to last him a few more days. The danger of staying in a shelter or camping on the street soared and not just because of Tiyuri. He also risked being assaulted by some other psion craving a fix. In Northampton psion-versus-psion crimes got brushed under the rug, a sign of how far they had yet to go to achieve true equality.
As the rising alcoholic haze started to wash over him, Magnius turned and gazed onto the main floor of the club. Shafts of fuchsia light cut through the smoke filled air while rhythmic music emanated from the walls. People of all walks of life clogged the dance floor and grooved to the sensual beat. Watching them magnified the heart-wrenching pain of his split from Lyneea, twisting the knife around in his chest deeper than before. The heartache endured because he let it.
