by Amy DuBoff
Ava and Nick looked at each other.
“Uh, that makes it even weirder, yeah?” she said.
He nodded. “What aren’t they telling us?”
She shook her head. “I have no idea, but I can’t wait to be back home.”
* * *
After the second flicker of the overhead lights and the touch-surface desk, Colonel Tyson Kurtz was certain something in FDG headquarters was amiss.
He rose from his desk and jogged to the office door, peeking out into the hallway. Sure enough, the flickering extended everywhere he could see from his vantage. What the fuck is going on?
Kurtz returned to his desk and activated the comm. “Denise, are you seeing this?” he asked.
“If you mean the power fluctuations that aren’t showing up in any of the system performance dashboard, then yes,” Denise Ortaga, the security chief, replied.
“Is it internal or an external attack?” Kurtz questioned.
“I’d tell you if I knew. We’re trying to figure it out.” Denise paused. “Shit, Colonel Walton is calling.”
“I’ll be standing by if you need me,” Kurtz said.
“Yes, sir.”
The comm link ended.
If Marcie Walton is calling the chief of security, then something is definitely going on. Kurtz frowned.
He hated having to sit back and wait for instructions, but he could offer no assistance or insights to the technical specialists. All the same, he felt like he needed to do something.
Unexpected anxiety gripped his chest. He hadn’t experienced that feeling since—
No, it’s not possible… He froze in the middle of his office, on his way back to his desk. The disquiet tickling the back of his mind was the same unease he’d felt when Nox had jumped into Jared—when the Dyons were close and attempting to exert their control.
He dismissed it. They’re gone. And they controlled people, not computers.
Such flashes of panic hit him occasionally, when something seemed amiss. He would think he had come to terms with his experience of being possessed by an alien captor, but then he’d have a random reaction like this, and be reminded that he wasn’t over it at all.
Traces of the trauma lingered, and would continue to linger. He’d been through an ordeal that had changed him.
Separate the anxiety from the facts, he told himself.
In this case, the facts were that FDG headquarters was experiencing a computer glitch. There was nothing to point to the Dyons, or any other foe. More likely, it was a bad connection at one of the power relay nodes—or whatever it had been when the same thing happened a year prior. Machines were fallible, but they’d fix this issue just like they’d fixed every other malfunction.
With his mind set at ease, Kurtz settled back behind his desk. The lights hadn’t shuddered for two minutes. If there was cause for future concern, they’d let him know.
* * *
Home at last. Ava breathed a sigh of relief.
Returning from a mission had always been rewarding, but it was even more special now that Luke was a permanent resident at FDG headquarters. Though they’d only been together for two months on this second go-around, their history together as teenagers had allowed them to quickly fall into the routine of an established couple.
In that tradition, Ava was pleased to find him waiting for her outside the doors to her quarters.
“Hey, you,” he greeted with a warm smile that lit up his violet eyes.
Her heart melted in spite of herself. “Hey.”
She had learned many years before that a sense of ‘home’ was more about the company she kept than any particular physical location. And Luke had become part of that home. Being with both him and her FDG family completed her world.
Luke drew her in for a kiss as soon as she was within arm’s reach. “I missed you.”
“Missed you, too.” Ava palmed open her door using the biometric lock. She ushered Luke inside.
“How did the op go?” he asked, following her direction.
“We got what we needed, but we made a bit of a scene.”
He chuckled. “That’s becoming a trademark of yours.”
“Yeah, it is.” She closed the door and dropped her travel bag on the ground. “Problem is, we’re supposed to be covert ops.”
“No offense, but your new abilities don’t exactly help you blend in.”
“Honestly, I think that’s part of my problem.”
Ava collapsed on her bed, and Luke sat down next to her.
“Did you want to talk about it?” he asked.
“Not right now, but thanks.” She smiled weakly. “I had hoped things would get back to normal as soon as I had Ruby to help regulate my transformations, but the new ‘normal’ isn’t quite what I’d thought it’d be.”
Luke tilted his head. “What were you expecting?”
“I dunno.” She looked down. “I didn’t think I’d have to keep proving myself.”
His brow knit. “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.”
“I do. Constantly. I had wanted to show that I’m not a liability even after these changes, but instead, I keep finding evidence that maybe I am.”
“Try to talk some sense into her, Luke,” Ruby chimed in over the audible comms. “I’ve been attempting to get her to hear reason for the past six hours, but she won’t snap out of this funk.”
“I’ve been careless and impulsive since I got these nanocytes,” Ava shot back. “That’s reason to be concerned—especially since you’re supposed to be the one keeping an eye on me, but you keep saying everything is okay.”
“Isn’t the fact that I’m telling you you’re fine the reassurance you need? I do question you when I feel it’s prudent,” Ruby replied.
Concern flitted across Luke’s face. “I’m not sure if I should get involved in this or not…”
“Ruby is butting in on personal time when she shouldn’t,” Ava stated.
>>Fine, I’ll leave you be,<< Ruby said privately. >>But we need to get to the bottom of these feelings, Ava. You’ll never be able to maximize the use of your new abilities if you keep having these doubts.<<
Yeah, I know, Ava acknowledged. “Sorry, I don’t mean for you to get caught in the middle of things with me and Ruby,” she said to Luke.
“Sometimes I feel like I have two girlfriends now.” He laughed.
Ava snorted. “Oh, stars! Right! Don’t say that to Ruby when she’s not under explicit instructions to stay quiet.”
Luke eyed her. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy?”
“That would require me to have a concern about her taking you away from me. Since we share this body, she wouldn’t get very far.”
“I also know better than to date other scientist-types,” Luke said. “Get two biologists together, and you can really overanalyze a relationship in the wrong ways.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“Second-hand. I watched it go down while I was in grad school. It wasn’t pretty.”
Ava winced. “Yikes.”
“I’ll take this complementary thing we have going on. It works.” He took her hand.
“Well, good, because I don’t particularly want to share you.”
“Stars, you are jealous!” Luke laughed.
She blushed. “I can’t help it! You got me started down the mental path of someone trying to take you away from me, and—”
Luke looked her in the eyes. “Ava, I love you, but you’re being crazy right now. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.”
“I am, aren’t I?” She sighed.
He stroked the side of her face. “You seem off. Did something happen?”
“Nothing that should have me acting like this.” She thought about it. “I dunno, there’s just this… feeling.”
“That doesn’t give me a lot to go on.”
She groaned. “I know. Just…” She stood up from the bed and paced in front of him. “This is going to sound even more nuts, but I’
ve been fighting this feeling of impending doom.”
“Ava…”
“I know! I know. But you asked, so there it is. I keep fearing I’m going to do something that’s going to get people hurt. So whenever there’s a little glitch, or whatever, my first thought is, ‘This is the thing that’s going to bring my new world crashing down.’ ”
Luke stood up and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re driving yourself crazy over nothing.”
“Is it nothing? I sounded an alarm today as an exit strategy for a covert op.”
“That actually sounds like a brilliant way to get out of a building.”
She frowned. “Yeah, see, that’s what I thought. Widmore disagrees.”
“If that’s the only thing that’s bothering you, then you are really making a bigger deal out of it than you should.” Luke caught her gaze. “We all do things that, in retrospect, we would have done differently. Learn from the experience and move on.”
“I know. That’s what Ruby has been saying.”
“So listen to us.” He smiled. “What’s the point of surrounding yourself with smart people if you ignore everything they have to say?”
“Okay, okay.” She returned his smile. “Sorry I was acting weird. I think it’s just one of those days where a bunch of little things have added up, you know?”
“I’ve been there. Don’t worry about it.” He gave her a light kiss.
She kissed him back, then pulled away to retrieve her travel bag from the floor. “I need to take a quick shower. I didn’t get one on the Raven because of this weird power fluctuation. Didn’t want to be without my suit in the event it turned into a bigger issue.”
Luke’s face dropped. “When was that?”
“Right when we were leaving Darcar. So, like, six hours ago. Why?”
“We had some flickering light action here at headquarters right around then,” Luke revealed.
“This is not helping the paranoia I’m trying to keep at bay.”
Luke placed his hands on her upper arms. “They didn’t make an announcement, there was no alarm, and we’re still alive. It’s probably nothing. Forget I said anything.”
Ava nodded. “Right, coincidence.” She forced a smile. “I’ll get cleaned up, and then maybe we can grab dinner later?”
“Sounds great. I have a couple things to finish up at the lab, but then I’m free for the rest of the night.”
“Okay, I’ll message you in a bit.” Ava kissed him. “Thanks again for talking some sense into me. You’re much better at it than Ruby.”
“I’ve also known you a lot longer.”
“You do know me well. Maybe too well.” She narrowed her eyes playfully.
Luke smiled back. “Ah, the gift of history—being able to use your own arguments against you.”
“Watch it, mister. That goes both ways!”
“A fact I know all too well. See you soon.” With a parting hug, Luke went to attend to his remaining tasks.
Sorry, Ava said to Ruby when they were alone. Sometimes I need to hear things from a source outside my own head.
>>That history does mean a lot. We’ll get there. I can’t compete with someone you’ve known for a decade.<<
Thanks, Ruby. I do value your opinion. I’m just stubborn.
The AI laughed in her mind. >>That’s putting it mildly.<<
Ava paused. Not to feed back into my worries, but do you know any more about that power fluctuation here at headquarters?
>>I looked up the records as soon as he mentioned it. It was dismissed as a faulty converter.<<
But it’s weird, right? The timing with the Raven?
>>I agree that it is,<< Ruby replied. >>But I can’t venture a guess at what a connection between the two events might mean.<<
So, pretend like it’s nothing?
>>Right now, it is nothing,<< the AI pointed out. >>We have noted curious data points, but until there is enough information to perform an analysis, we cannot draw any correlation, causation, or trends.<<
Ava chuckled. Luke may be better at appealing to my emotions, but you can win any battle of logic.
>>Thank you, Ava. That’s a touching compliment.<<
One of these days, I’ll learn I should never try to argue. But her stubbornness was too engrained. A lively discussion was part of the fun.
CHAPTER THREE
I wish Ava weren’t so hard on herself, Luke thought while he made his way back to the research lab. I’ve only been here for two months. My external validation shouldn’t be necessary.
There was more to it than just those two months, though. The history that afforded them immediate comfort with one another also brought with it the potential to fall into old habits.
He was sure she didn’t realize it, but Luke suspected that her recent transformation—and her reconnection with him—had triggered Ava to reflect on her past, perhaps all the way back to her original decision to join the FDG. The validation she was seeking for her recent command decisions was likely rooted in a deeper desire to validate her career path; she wasn’t questioning a single decision, but rather every decision leading up to that recent moment. He’d been catching hints of it over the past two months, and seeing her ongoing evaluation of her own command decisions reinforced his hypothesis.
In his short time observing Ava in the FDG, he had no doubt that she was in her element. There was no reason to question her decision to join the Force, because it was where she belonged. Somehow, he needed to help her recapture her confidence.
Tackling that challenge would take time, however. Her confidence needed to be rebuilt from within. All he could do for now was be supportive in her moments of doubt, in the way he knew she would be for him. Mutual trust, respect, love—their foundation would see them through any future trials they may face.
Luke traversed the halls to his lab. Though it was nearing the end of the day, Tess and Jack were still absorbed in their monitors when he arrived.
“Welcome back,” Tess greeted. The stickers around her screen had continued to multiply over the past month, to the point that a rainbow space pony had become a permanent fixture on any document she happened to have open on the screen.
“Sorry to have ditched you in the middle of the analysis,” Luke replied.
“I know better than to ignore a girlfriend’s call. You’re good,” Jack said with a slight smile, glancing up from the monitor at his own immaculate workstation.
“Latest model finished running a couple minutes ago,” Tess reported.
Luke came to attention. “Did you look at it yet?”
“Nope, waiting for you.”
“All right, let’s take a look.”
Luke had been analyzing material samples from the Gidyon System for the past month, scouring fragments from the dwarf planet for any genetic or biological remnants. They’d also looked at samples from the gas giant to gain a better understanding of how the bioamplifier functioned.
All of their research had made it painfully clear how little they knew. With each dead-end analysis, new questions had opened up that led down increasingly convoluted lines of reasoning. But, whenever Luke was ready to admit how much they didn’t know and leave things be, they’d make a discovery that would drive them forward.
Right now, he needed one of those wins.
“Well, shit.” Luke whistled through his teeth.
Tess shook her head with wonder. “When did finding nothing become so exciting?”
The most recent round of assessment had been a shot in the dark: running a comprehensive comparison of the materials they’d already catalogued in Gidyon against the list of minerals and biological samples from worlds in the Federation’s database. Getting access to that database alone had required Kurtz pulling some strings, but the permission had been granted earlier that week.
In the time since, they’d been running batches of data, trying to locate the sources of the materials found in the artificial world, since the minerals mined from Nezar and Coraxa c
ould only account for a fraction of the dwarf planet’s volume. They figured that tracing back those materials to other sources may offer some insight into where the Dyons had originally come from, or what kind of places others of their kind might target in the future, if there were more.
What the analysis revealed, however, was that none of the samples could be traced to any known world.
“They’re from the outskirts,” Luke murmured. “Way outside Federation space.”
“Or maybe even outside this galaxy,” Tess emphasized.
“But how did they travel?” Luke mused aloud. “We have yet to see any evidence of a propulsion system.”
“Assuming they travel through normal space,” Jack chimed in from across the lab. “I mean, they communicate telepathically through the Etheric. Who’s to say they can’t move through the Etheric, too?”
“Teleporting? It’s one thing for a person like Bethany Anne to do it, but a whole planet-sized thing?” Luke shook his head. “That’s crazy, right?”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “More crazy than body-snatching telepathic nano-aliens that live in kilometer-deep pits?”
Luke sighed. “I keep resetting my definition of ‘out there’, and then promptly forget that reality and craziness are now one in the same.”
“It’s our burden.” Tess smiled. “I would like to note, however, that we got an almost-hit on one of the organisms in the mix on that gas giant.”
“Really? That’s new.” Luke tilted his head.
“I don’t think it’s an origin match, but rather an indicator of type. The microorganisms from Gidyon were definitely manufactured, but I think they were modeled after the sort that have thrived on Rylon II and Salwell IV,” she continued. “As far as we know, the life of those gas giants came about through natural means—which suggests that there could be other systems in the outskirts of the galaxy where similar life has emerged.”
“That doesn’t help explain how the Dyons learned to manipulate those genetic codes to modify the microorganisms for their own needs,” Luke said.
