by Gwynn White
That was a hard stance, but one Keva understood. “What if,” she asked after a slight moment of hesitation, “I offered you a way out?”
Dothylian’s expression didn’t change.
“Wilmur Zervek has information I require.”
“He has information many wish to acquire.”
The woman wasn’t stupid. “Indeed, but this promises to be catastrophic.”
Dothylian turned her head toward Keva.
Keva needed to tell her just enough, but not so much as to put the girl in further danger. “He has information about something that has the potential to change the political landscape of the four systems.”
“Such as?”
What could she tell Dothylian that would bring her assistance? A lie? The truth? A half-truth? “A weapon.”
Dothylian’s eyes widened minutely.
That, in this society, was a grand gesture of surprise and exactly the reaction she’d anticipated. “I don’t know specifics, only that it will alter everything.”
“A weapon against whom?” Dothylian asked, hardly moving her lips.
Keva appreciated the fact that Dothylian mumbled her words just enough to keep from being read by those who might be watching through the vidcams. A valuable ally and maybe not as weak as Ajian had indicated, but still soft.
Keva thinned her lips just enough to convey her annoyance at not knowing more. “Information about it is scarce. All I can tell you is it’s called Batch D-65. Everything I have was deeply encoded and very tightly guarded. Whatever is happening is urgent and significant.”
Dothylian looked away and didn’t say anything for a long moment.
“I know Ajian wants you to kill him,” Keva said.
“You are on a first name basis with Madame Memta?” Dothylian’s tone held a slight slur of derision.
“As of this afternoon? Yes. We concluded we have mutually beneficial missions.”
“She seeks to gain power.” Dothylian met Keva’s gaze again. “What do you seek? Control of this weapon for yourself or for those you serve? Whom do you wish to unleash it upon? The Elite who you no doubt feel betrayed you?”
Keva lowered her mask a little to allow the other woman to see the truth behind her words. “Batch D-65, whatever it is, will be employed upon the weak, the spacers and terrans who fail to submit. I fear they intend to use it to bring the four systems under complete Elite control.”
“So,” Dothylian asked, her tone low, “you seek to destroy the Elite.”
“I seek to destroy the weapon.”
“I would question if that were the same goal as your masters.”
“I serve no masters.”
“Ah, but someone has sent you here. Someone gave you this information and directed you toward me. We all have masters, Kadira.”
That was a true and accurate statement. “We are on intimate terms now, Dothylian?”
She held Keva’s gaze for a moment longer, then looked away again. “Yes. I suppose we are.”
Keva was glad they were over the use of titles and formal etiquette. She needed the girl to trust her, not rest back and rely on Elite manners.
“So, you would prefer my intended live?”
Keva almost sighed with relief. The other woman hadn’t said yes, but she hadn’t said no either. “For a while longer, yes. At least until I can ascertain the information he has about Batch D-65.”
“And how would you do that? I doubt I will be much of an intelligencer. He has a level of distaste for women in general, and for Elitists of my class.”
That must be a Zervek family trait, then. “I brought something that will make it easier.”
“A device?”
Keva nodded.
Dothylian dismissed the notion with a flick of her eyebrow. “If I put it on his clothing, it will be detected and removed. We are in Q’ian’Set.”
“This is not a tracking device to put on his clothes.”
Dothylian narrowed her eyes and turned her face to the side, her gaze remaining on Keva in a subtle sign of interest.
“Two days from now,” Keva said, pulling a velvet pouch from her belt, “Wilmur will be in a meeting to discuss the Batch D-65. I need you to put this on his shoulder near his ear.”
Dothylian eyed the bag but made no move to retrieve it. “Do you think it is a biological weapon?”
“Yes.”
“Like the Pblex gas released on Old Earth during the Terran Wars?”
“If it were another strain of virus, the people I work for would not be so worried. There would be casualties if released, yes, but that kind of weapon has been defeated before. Old Earth was released from quarantine two years ago from the latest viral attack. No. This is something completely new.”
With a sigh, Dothylian narrowed her eyes as she turned to stare at the suns. “What do you need me to do?”
Glancing around to ensure none of the vidcams would see, Keva pulled one of the two silver capsules from her bag. She’d obtained these on her previous mission.
Dothylian blinked and met Keva’s gaze. “Is that what I think it is?”
“If you think it is a mind worm, then the answer is yes.”
Dothylian allowed a smile to form on her lips as she nimbly took the capsule from Keva’s hand and stashed it in her corset. “This may work.”
“All you do,” Keva said with an answering smile she didn’t quite feel, “is press the two ends at the same time and set it on his pillow.” Potential existed for a lot to go wrong.
“Mmm.” Dothylian’s smile waned minutely and her gaze dropped. “On his pillow.”
Had she just realized what that meant? Fulfilling the mission required she be in Wilmur’s bed. “The worm will do the rest.”
Dothylian took in a shaky breath. “How long will I need to remain beside him?”
“Married and in his life?”
“Yes.”
“Only so long as it takes to put the worm on his pillow as he sleeps.”
Dothylian didn’t speak for a long moment, her eyes lost in thought. “Then, I would not have to marry him.”
Keva met her gaze. “No. You would not, and your death would not be as guaranteed.”
“Do you have an evacuation plan? And will you take me away from here?”
Keva took the other woman’s hand and squeezed it. It would look like the two were genuine friends on the surveillance footage. “If you succeed in this mission, I will get you out of here, and you can make a new life somewhere else. I give you my word.” A small pang of guilt came with the lie. Keva had no intention of taking the girl anywhere.
Dothylian took in a long, deep breath. “Then, I accept.”
7
Before Keva officially handed over the security of her mission to a woman she didn’t know, she needed to scope the situation in its entirety first. The reality was, she’d barely made it into the city, and while Ajian’s offer was convenient, it reeked of orchestrated coincidence. Plus, she didn’t know if she truly needed Ajian’s or Dothylian’s help.
The first rule of undercover surveillance was to fit in. She did, in a way. She stood out in her grandiosity. Just like everyone else around her. But did she stand out any more than anyone else? No. Her style of dress, while daring for the sophisticated Elite, were forgettable, the colors muted. Her hair was coiffed artfully, but this time without the wild hair piece which might draw undue attention to her.
She only needed to modify her walk. Less predatory, with a different confidence. Too much confidence was the way to draw attention to herself as an outsider.
She unpinned one of her layers of skirts and draped the long fabric over her hair, loosely throwing it over her opposite shoulder to hide her face, a customary practice in her identity’s culture.
Few options existed to get close to Wilmur Zervek’s rooms without Dothylian’s help.
Ghost Star was a small ship in space, but it was far too large to use as an atmoshuttle.
She went to a white column
in the middle of the shifting square. Someone had requested a shift of the city. The towers to her right moved sedately counterclockwise, and squares of metal grating snapped up into place to fill the temporary void the movement made.
Keva touched a slight impression on the column and a vidscreen extended forward.
“Welcome Kadira Saqqaf,” said a pleasant male voice. “How may I be of assistance to you this afternoon?”
As soon as one tower shifted far enough to the left, the building behind it moved to fill its place. The few patrons in the area paid it little attention, pausing only to wait for the grating to either snap into place or for it to disappear and be replaced by the grassy knolls that butted against each other once again.
“QIA,” Keva said pleasantly, calling the city’s AI by its name, “I would like to request transport.”
“What purpose can I say you will be using it for Kadira Saqqaf?”
“Please, QIA, I wish to see the city. I have missed it.”
“Of course, Kadira Saqqaf. It will be my pleasure. Have a pleasant day.”
“You as well.” It never did any good to piss the AI off. It wasn’t that the AI displayed emotions, but it did understand what emotions were, something that a lot of the Elite didn’t get, or refused to wrap their heads around. They thought human superiority needed to be maintained.
Keva didn’t agree. She’d seen too many others—modified people, AI, cyborgs—who were more evolved and in many ways better than a standard human, even an engineered one.
A white and silver atmoshuttle dropped from the sky in a controlled hover, the slight whisper of the bladeless fans heralding its arrival. It waited for a long moment as the onboard computer waited for the servants below to clear a path on the green. The ladies grabbed their head scarves, and the men touched their headdresses as the winds picked up, and they scurried out of the way, barely glancing at Keva.
The shuttle itself wasn’t overly spacious. If there had been a real, human driver, they and four passengers would fit with ease. She guessed that this style was left over from a time long ago when servants drove the shuttles instead of the AI. Some humans depended on their AI for everything; Keva herself had become a little spoiled by ILO.
The long rectangular shuttle opened like a clamshell, with the door also being the wall on the inside. Steps formed on the half that sank to the ground.
She stepped through the overhead door and took the bench seat on the far side.
“I am ARO,” a male voice said over the speakers. “Where to, Kadira Saqqaf?”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, ARO. I would like to visit Zervek Tower, please.”
“All access is restricted, Kadira Saqqaf.”
“I understand.” Keva put a smile on her face knowing that the AI used cameras in the cabin to monitor their fares. “But I want to see it.”
“I thought you missed the city, Kadira Saqqaf.”
“I do.” And she did. “But I would like to look upon the splendor of the Zervek Tower first.”
“As you wish.” The shuttle lifted into the sky, and the panel to her left lightened, revealing a plasteel pane to see through.
“Can you remove the shade entirely, ARO?” The plasteel was tinted to protect the temporary travelers from the rays of the two suns. The smaller star glowed a cooler color, which was hard to see in the golden atmosphere. It was also the sun gave off cancer-inducing rays. There were creams for the skin that would help protect her, but most of the people who worked in the fields on the moons of Qar or Terra Qo discovered there were limits to the protections of the lotions. Even her engineered resistance to cancers could only protect her so much.
So, every plasteel plate was tinted with a UV screen.
“As you wish, Kadira Saqqaf. I see in your bioscan that you were engineered to resist the effects of UV poisoning.”
That was the reason a lot of people dreaded AI. They knew a lot more about a person than was comfortable.
“I am.” Keva licked her lips, a little nervous, but who would the AI tell? The Elite were engineered. They just didn’t promote the fact. “The shade, please.”
The tint disappeared, and the unique colors this planet offered greeted Keva.
She loved the rings. There were other planets with rings, to be sure, but none of them quite like Terra Qar. It probably had something to do with the golden atmosphere and how it changed the appearance of the ring, modifying the color spectrum somehow. She could stare up at it all day.
But she was there to scope out the security around the tower.
Zervek tower was the reason the city shifted, apparently. It had been relocated to the outer edge of the city, a location that fetched a high price, and that price fluctuated with the season and with the weather. The ceremony and reception were going to be hosted in Zervek tower, a show of strength and power.
How much power was the question. If Ajian Memta had enough leverage to gain the Zervek corporation, something must be wrong within the company. It was still powerful, however.
Security atmocraft hovered around the tower in many layers. They were sleeker than the atmoshuttle, and black instead of white. They gleamed in the pale sunlight, the barrels of their weapons jutting out to remind people of their purpose.
The ground level wasn’t any better. There were bioscanners, but she’d never seen technology of this type before. An archway had been erected for partygoers to pass through before entering the reception.
What was Wilmur Zervek after?
She didn’t know. But she needed more information, more than a simple flyby would give her.
“Thank you, ARO. The tower looks splendid.”
“Where else can I take you, Kadira Saqqaf?”
The one place she loved the most. “The ocean, ARO. Take me to the ocean.”
“I know just the place, Kadira Saqqaf.”
ARO set down outside the city of Q’ian’Set, on a small island. The shuttle landed softly, and the door opened. “May I ask you a favor, Kadira Saqqaf?”
Keva stopped as she moved to get up. “Of course, ARO. What is it?”
“Will you take me with you?”
There was something about his question that made her wonder, but she was unable to pinpoint just what threw her off. “To the island?”
“Yes, Kadira Saqqaf. I have a panel with sensors that will allow me to experience the feel of the sun.” A small disc projected from the wall beside the door.
Keva stood and walked toward the door, taking the disc. It was nothing more than an octagonal metal object. It contained a slight indentation in the middle with a softer screen. “Can you not feel the sun, ARO?”
“No, Kadira Saqqaf, I cannot. I have no sensors along my outer skin. The disc is equipped with photocells and other sensors which allow me to experience more of the world than the inside of the shuttle.”
Who thought to give such a device to an AI? Who even thought to create such a thing?
“ARO,” Keva said as she stepped out, “call me Kadira. I do not wish to be so formal out here.”
“Of course, Kadira.” ARO voice came from the disc in her hand. “It would be my pleasure.”
The island was small and void of major vegetation such as trees. Delicate shoots of something pink and bright blue poked through the black sand. “Do you know what that is, ARO?”
“Of course, I do, Kadira.” ARO’s voice shown with pride if an AI had the ability to be proud. “Those are this planet’s form of seaweed.”
“Mmm.” Keva unbuckled her shoes and stood in the sand, digging her toes into it.
“Kadira?”
“Mmm?” She raised her face to the sky and enjoyed the feel of the suns. The UV was different here, and it left her skin feeling raw and exposed, though not in any visual way. The sun tingled along her arms and bared shoulders after she removed her headscarf.
“Why would you be engineered to resist UV rays? That is something typically reserved for military personnel.”
“Tha
t is an odd conundrum, isn’t it, ARO?” That was the thing that a lot of people didn’t understand with AI. They were people to a great extent. Smarter than the average human, and capable of making the same deductions as most humans. They also made decisions that weren’t always rational to human thinking and human emotions.
“You are very complicated for a woman of your station.”
“As are you.” She didn’t miss the fact that he’d left off her name entirely that time, so she paid him the same respect.
“You are different than other humans.”
“You are different than other AI’s. Well, then most other AI’s.”
“You know of some like me?”
She smiled and put his sensor in the flat of her palm. “ILO. She is my ship’s AI. She is probably the closest friend I have.”
“You would consider an AI a friend, Kadira?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
He didn’t answer immediately. “I would be cautious about admitting a human as a friend.”
“In that, ARO, you would be wise.” She sighed, taking one last glance at the purple oceans.
No trees disturbed her view as she scanned the horizon. It was an old habit, one that seemed ingrained in her DNA, but she searched for land or life out in the vast ocean. Something so broad and deep promised mysteries still left to discover. She felt the same way about space, the black expanse called to her with its unknown potential.
Perhaps due to being grown instead of raised, trained instead of nurtured, but she always felt this longing for more. It wasn’t so much a sad way to live as much as a lonely one.
The beauty of Terra Qar was in the details. The ocean’s beauty was undeniable. It called to anyone who saw it, but it was the way the water swirled with purples, blues, and pinks, all winding together but never mixing that gave the ocean its uniqueness. Humans never fully managed to conquer or terraform this planet, and there was something wild here that rode on the wind, enticing Keva to jump in and swim away into the deepest points and let the water envelop her.
“Take me with you,” ARO whispered after a long moment.
She turned and looked at the shuttle. All she saw with her eyes was a small ship, but she imagined a man standing inside it, longing to be free.
