The room hushed again, waiting in anticipation for the next piece of news. Maya felt herself bracing for something ominous.
Molly looked and then signalled at the box of ham and pineapple pizza in the center of the table. “You do realize,” she said quietly, ”that fruit shouldn’t be allowed on pizza, don’t you?”
The team collapsed in a heap of hysterics.
Brock started waving his hands, over the hub. A few of the guys turned to hear what he had to say. “Finally, someone talking sense!”
Maya grinned at him.
Paige eyed him humorously. “You do realize that tomato is a fruit?” she sniggered, drawing Brock’s frown.
Pieter had reached across and peeled a slice of pepperoni off the pizza in front of him. He took careful aim, and lobbed it in Paige’s direction. It would have missed her, except that she had moved to whisper something to Maya, and it slapped her right on the cheek.
She looked over at Pieter, who was looking adequately guilty to give himself away. “You little shit!” she squealed, and pulled a cherry tomato off hers, and chucked it at him.
“Children!” Maya regulated.
Paige grinned deviously. “Sorry… MOM!” she added.
Maya looked horrified, as she reached across to pick up a piece of pepperoni. “Why, you little-”
The laughter echoed through the common area, down the corridors, and all the way through into the basement, where ADAM was monitoring the microphones from the ArchAngel3.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” the general asked, genuinely relying on ADAM’s assessment.
ADAM responded. “I think the next few weeks will be a good indication. Should we let The Empress know?” he asked.
The general leaned back in his console chair, turning down the volume of the audio feed, and smiling at the relationships the team were forming. “I think we ought to. TOM probably has some insight into what is going on… even if he hasn’t experienced this phenomenon before.”
You don’t think there’s any chance that she might just start stepping into the Etheric, like Bethany Anne does, do you?
The general shrugged. “Anything is possible.”
ADAM had a smile in his voice. “That’s all we need. Two of them!”
The general couldn’t help but smile to himself as he popped his cigar down. “You’re telling me!” he exclaimed.
ADAM pulled up a holo screen and started drafting a note that the general could look at. “Okay. I’ll get a message out to her on the next transmission.”
“Very good,” the general acknowledged as he got up. “I’ll let you handle that. Let me know as soon as we hear anything. I’m going to knock off for the night. Goodnight, ADAM.”
“Goodnight, sir,” ADAM responded as he sent the message off to The Empress.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Gaitune-67, Hangar Deck
Joel sat quietly in a pod, waiting for Oz to connect in. With the power down, he could feel the composition of the air changing with his breath. He couldn’t risk switching it on, as it would light up and draw attention. Oz seemed to know how to turn on just the ventilation parts, though.
Just then, he felt a part of the pod power up, and the audio click on. “Joel?” It was Oz’s voice.
“Hey, bro,” responded Joel. “Sorry to pull you away.”
Oz answered quickly. “Oh, it’s quite alright. I have enough processing power to talk to Molly and yourself at the same time. Oh, and run a bunch of searches.”
Joel was impressed. “Sounds like a sweet upgrade!” he commented.
“Yeah,” agreed Oz. “It’s all kinds of awesome. How are you finding your upgrade?”
Joel nodded, his lips turned down at the edges. “Pretty incredible. Hey, did you hear I kicked Sean’s ass?”
“Ooooooh yes,” confirmed Oz. “ I was there talking with Molly at the time, and watching it through the base cameras.” He paused, genuine curiosity in his voice. “Did that feel good?”
Joel looked off into the distance, out onto the hangar deck, remembering the sensation. “It did… But it’s opened up a can of worms.”
Oz sounded confused. “How so?” he asked.
“Well,” Joel sighed, slumping back in the seat, “it seems that Sean doesn’t like losing. He told me that he’s going to have to really bring it next time. As in, up his game. I hear he’s going to head back to ArchAngel3 for a tune-up or something in the next few days.” Joel hung his head, pinching his eyes with his fingers on one hand. “Is that even possible?”
Oz was silent for a moment. ”Yes, I’ve just checked his schedule. I believe he has meetings on the ArchAngel3. It’s possible that some of those are with the medical and robotics teams.”
Joel went pale. “Oz, you’ve got to help me, or else he’s going to really hand me my ass!”
Oz seemed to vibrate a little through the seat. “Yes, and I expect that will hurt.” He thought for a moment. “Do we have any idea what Sean’s enhancements are really capable of?”
Joel shook his head. “Nope. And no idea how we could find out. But what if he gets his existing enhancements swapped out and upgraded?”
Oz’s voice was serious again. “Well, then I expect you’d be in trouble,” he mused. After another second he seemed to start a new trail of thought. “Hey, Joel. Don’t worry. I’ve got your back on this. We’ll figure this out.”
Joel put his hand on the handrail, and leaned against the side of the pod, not really believing his ears. “You mean that, Oz?” he asked.
“Of course,” Oz answered without hesitation. “You’re my guy. You had my back before I even realized I needed someone to have my back. I know I’m close with Molly, but that’s different… and partly a function of geography. But you’re truly a great friend, Joel. If there is something I can do for you, I’ll gladly do it. Just leave this with me.”
Joel started to feel emotion weigh heavily in his chest. “Oz… I. I don’t know what to say!” he blurted out.
Oz’s voice was grounded and bright. “Joel, it’s cool. We’re friends. We’ve got this.”
Joel paused a moment before taking a deep breath and accepting that someone else had his back, too. “Thank you, Oz. Really. You’re the best.”
“You too,” Oz told him. “Okay, Joel, so I’ve got to get some work done on this. Just make sure you keep working out, and perfecting your technique on the mats. You’re going to need every edge we can give you.”
Joel tapped the handrail he’d been holding onto. “Sure thing, Oz. I’ll do everything I can at this end,” he smiled, feeling hopeful about the situation for the first time since Sean had had a word in his ear after his victory.
The pod door slid up, allowing Joel to exit. When he was out, it quietly closed again and powered down discretely.
Gaitune-67, Operations Room
Molly slumped down in the invisible console chair in the ops room. This time she willed and maneuvered herself close to the console so she was a little more upright than previously.
“Hello Molly.” It was ADAM’s voice.
“Hello ADAM. Thank you for taking my call.”
“Of course,” ADAM responded. “How are you feeling now?”
Molly had been asked that so much since she returned from the dead, that she barely even bothered to gloss over her answer any more. “Much better thank you. I was hoping to talk with you about what happened the other day and see if you’ve found anything out about the pod doc? Have you?”
ADAM was quiet for a moment.
“Yes,” he explained slowly. “Well, yes and no.” He paused and the line went quiet for a moment, before he explained. “From what I can tell, cross referencing key word from your experience with accounts from the Estarian tradition, you are undergoing stages of ascension.”
Molly suddenly felt weak.
She gripped the invisible chair she was perched on, and it firmed up beneath her hand as she tensed.
ADAM continued. “This is an advanced s
tage that they would undergo in order to make their preparations for being able to transition through dimensions. The trouble is, when they transition fully, they leave their physical body behind.”
Molly’s heart was beating faster. “Does that mean I’m going to die?”
ADAM’s voice was uncharacteristically softer. “Not necessarily. People who meditate consistently will breeze in and out of this form many times, and will continue this process for several years… often teaching their skill to as many ‘disciples’ as they can before they make their final transition.”
Molly relaxed a little, until another thought hit her. “But what if I can’t control it? I didn’t even know what was happening. What if it just happens?”
ADAM pulled up some information on her screen. “These are some rituals that might be worth studying. You need to learn to ground yourself. The meditation exercises will help.”
Molly swiped at the holo screens on the console and sent the addresses to her holo.
“There may also be someone else who can help you,” he told her.
Her face brightened. “Who?”
ADAM whirred a little. “You don’t have security clearance to know that, yet. Let me have a discussion with the general, and I’ll come back to you with news.”
Molly still had questions. “ADAM, what do you think caused this? Was it the pod doc?”
ADAM seemed to be searching for the correct answer. “We just don’t have this kind of experience with the pod doc to reference.”
Molly’s brow crumpled up. “What do you mean? Can’t you just contact the manufacturer?”
ADAM chuckled. “Yes, I may have to do that.”
Molly intuitively felt suspicious. “Why do you laugh? Who is the manufacturer?”
ADAM responded without needing to think. “Sorry, can’t tell you that.”
Molly was feeling more frustrated with the lack of answers. “Grrr,” she told him. “Would Bethany Anne know?” she tried, grasping at anything she could.
ADAM chuckled again. “Maybe. But the manufacturer is someone very close to Bethany Anne, so we’ll know when I get in touch with her.”
Molly took a deep breath, trying to relax. “Why won’t you just tell me?” she huffed.
“Official Empire secrets…” he told her blankly.
Molly frowned and leaned back onto the console as if it were a bar. “You’re bullshitting me!”
“A little,” ADAM replied.
Molly rubbed her face with her hand, exhaling again.
And I thought you were infuriating, Oz.
Yeah… makes you appreciate a brother, eh?
“Hey,” she said, suddenly remembering. “What about my letter?” she demanded.
ADAM’s voice brightened. “Let’s just say your letter has had a response,” he revealed.
Molly couldn’t contain herself.
“ADAM you ass wank of an Etheric fuck-bit monster! You tell me right now what the response was!” she commanded him.
“No can do,” he told her plainly. “You’ll have to wait.”
“Wait? Wait for what? Why?” she asked flatly.
ADAM seemed to be genuine in his explanation. “Because you’re more motivated when you’re excited, and the general wants you pushing and training hard with your new capabilities. This is what he terms a ‘carrot’.”
Molly shook her head in frustration. “What the fuck is a carrot?” she asked.
“It was a root vegetable back on Earth. Probably doesn’t exist anymore, since-” ADAM stopped himself.
“Since what?” she pressed.
“Well, you know about the World’s Worst Day Ever?” he checked.
Molly shook her head, her newly brown hair catching her eye. “No…”
ADAM sounded resigned. “Ah, well that’s probably something for your new pen pal to fill you in on at some point. Suffice to say, the letter is a carrot. To make you train harder. You impress the general over the next week, you get to read the response.”
“Fucking wankjet of a manipulative motherfucker,” she cussed. “Is it not enough that I died and came back? Now I have to train harder for my trouble. Fucking charming.”
ADAM chuckled again. “Yes, life’s a bitch,” he agreed. “Suck it up, pooh bear.”
Epilogue
Downtown Police Precinct, Spire
“Night!” a male voice called over.
“Night, Robert,” she responded.
Chaakwa sat in the low light of her desk lamp and holo, listening to her co-worker’s footsteps leave the office for the night. Once she was certain she was alone, she closed down her open case files, and pulled up the footage.
His voice rang in her ears. “You didn’t get this from me. In fact… you didn’t get this. Period.”
She had nodded her head solemnly.
When Detective Barry Ferret had holo bumped the file to her after he closed the investigation into Jessica Newld’s suicide, Chaakwa remembered feeling the weight of responsibility of her promise. Anything that she found on this tape would be inadmissible. If she found signs of foul play, or any hint that Molly Bates might still be alive, it was a secret she would have to keep to herself. Ferret had assured her there was nothing there though.
She sighed a deep breath as the screen opened and she selected to hear the sound through her implant.
The video started playing.
It showed Jessica entering her office, looking somewhat dishevelled, and searching frantically for something. Then she opened a secret safe which was out of frame. She knew it was there from her visit to the crime scene though. Then, Jessica pulled out the sword… and that was when Molly walked in.
There was talk between the two, which after just a few exchanges went muffled. Then the sound was lost completely. Molly stayed just inside the doorway. Jessica held the sword against her own chest, and fell forward.
Molly just stood there, shouting, it seemed from her body language. It was like the two were distracted by something, and their hair showed signs of a wind in the office… which was odd. Regardless, Molly was nowhere near Jessica when she fell on the sword. It looks like Ferret’s conclusions were justified at least.
Chaakwa flicked to the next file, which showed the fourth floor lab.
She watched a male carry Molly’s body into the lab, and then try to resuscitate her. Then a bunch of people arrived at the window in ancestors-knew what kind of transport devices… And one of them whisked the body away, still unconscious.
Chaakwa looked off into the distance, away from the screen for a moment. There was no denying it. It looked as though Ferret’s assumption that Bates was dead was probably reasonable. Sure, she could have just been unconscious. But since it was clear that Newld offed herself - and none of the security personnel were anything more than stunned, there were no criminal charges that warranted tracking her down beyond what they had already done.
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