by TR Cameron
He responded immediately. “Already checked, no wireless connection.”
“Double damn it,” she muttered.
Jax said softly, “Only one option left. You did your best, but they made their choice, and it, too, has consequences.”
Cia nodded, and a new window opened on his display. It was straightforward, four icons representing the EMP drones. He dragged one onto each ship, and the last onto the torpedoes. An external camera activated and showed the hull cover popping off and the drones flying free. Each had a video feed, and four images appeared on his control panel. They were relatively tiny compared to the surrounding ships, probably not much bigger than one of the big medicine balls at the gym. Close defense guns spun up and started firing from the Confederacy vessels, but they couldn’t hit such a small target.
The mines detonated, and each of the ships went dark for a moment. Unfortunately, it was only for a moment. Running lights came back on, and weapons started pounding their rear shields again. But their lead on them increased since the reboot cycle on engines took longer than the rest of a ship’s systems.
He grinned and clapped the pilot on the shoulder. “You did it, and they didn’t crash into each other. Good work. Every ship needs those mines. Where did your parents get them?”
She shrugged. “Prototypes from a company working with the UCCA military. Sometimes when they need to test things, my family gets an early look.”
He shook his head. “And you voluntarily left that behind, huh?”
Cia laughed. “You’ve met them. Tell me, would you want to work with those scumbuckets? I mean, you’re nothing special, but at least you’re not nearly as nauseating as they are. Although I have to be honest, I can’t imagine what Juno sees in you. How does she overlook all the flaws?” Once again, she took to listing his many negative points.
He closed his eyes and let her voice wash over him as the ship made the first of several jumps to disguise their route home.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jax smiled up at Juno from the table in the Academy’s medical lab. “So, what’s the prognosis, Doc?”
She shook her head in exasperation. “I’m afraid the only way to get the AI out of you is to cut into your brain and pull it out. But it’s already started physical integration, which makes that a non-starter. That’s unfortunate because I would have enjoyed opening up your skull.”
Juno helped him to sit up, and he stared at her and Maarsen, who stood nearby. “Say that again?”
Athena answered before they could. “The cylinder that was inserted is more than code. With it, I can convert biological matter into integration tendrils. I have now expanded to connect with thirty-two percent of your brain.”
He held up a hand. “Wait, the AI told me. So, she’s wired me up inside, is what you’re saying.”
Juno frowned. “It’s so weird to hear you call it she.”
Jax quipped, “Don’t worry, it’s entirely platonic,” inspiring a laugh in the other two. “So, are you able to get a copy of the code out of there?”
The Professor shook his head. “Not at this time. Perhaps as we learn more about it,” he corrected himself, “about her, we’ll figure out how to do it. Or maybe she can tell us.”
Athena anticipated Jax’s question and said, “I cannot. That information is not part of my knowledge base.”
He sighed. “She says she doesn’t know how to, either. So, I’m guessing this goes down as a failure?”
The others both shook their heads. Juno spoke first, saying, “Definitely not. We’re going to learn so much from working with you and, uh, Athena.”
Maarsen added, “And I imagine that once the physical integration is complete, whenever that entails, you’ll have far greater control over your prosthetics.”
He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Great. I’m a guinea pig. Then he grinned. “Hey, Doc, does this mean we’ll be seeing even more of each other?”
Inside his head, Athena made a noise that sounded a lot like a snort of amusement.
That night was spent socializing with his team at the cellar tavern and congratulating them on their good work. They told stories that amused everyone but him about how they dragged him to the ATV place and threw him into the cargo area of one of the vehicles. He kept his intake light since he was adapting to a different medication to keep him from rejecting the implant, one that Juno and Athena collaborated on with the AI using him as a mouthpiece during the process. He still didn’t understand a fourth of the words that he’d spoken.
The others were careful not to pry too much into his new passenger, but he could tell they were burning with curiosity. He said, “Okay, one question each for Athena. Make it good, and I have veto power, so don’t be jerks.” They laughed, then Kenton Marshall spoke up.
“So, are you truly sentient?”
He parroted the words Athena gave him. “Yes, as far as I can be aware of such a thing.”
Anton Sirenno asked, “Who created you?”
“I do not know. One moment I did not exist, the next moment I did. Many scientists and researchers have interacted with me, both human and Dhelear.”
Maria Verrand tapped her fingers on the table before taking her turn, and when she did, it was with a frown. “Do you pose a danger to us, or Jax, or the Academy?”
Athena paused for an instant, a delay so short that he was probably the only one who noticed. “I currently do not. However, I could be used in such a way that I could, if my host so chose.” Jax shook his head. “Great. More pressure.”
Ethan Kimmel asked, “Is Jax as insane as he seems?” The table cheered his question.
Athena answered, “Yes,” which set off more laughter.
Did you make a joke?
“Perhaps,” she replied, and Jax closed his eyes. This is going to be one interesting experience. Athena amended, “For both of us.”
Cia asked, “So, tell us what Jax thinks about Juno.”
He interrupted, “Veto.”
“Okay, about Maria.”
“Veto.”
“Me.”
“Double veto.”
Finally, she came up with a question he allowed. Athena answered, “You are correct, Jax likes you best,” to which he added, “of all the annoying wealthy ship-owning pilot children he’s ever met,” and got a round of applause for the reply.
The next day, he reported to Maarsen’s office after breakfast and was thoroughly unsurprised to find Major Anika Stephenson present. He exchanged smiles with her as he sat in the empty seat. “So, where do we go from here?”
The Professor leaned his elbows on the desk. “We’ve been discussing that. Although this might be a difficult sacrifice, it may be an opportune moment to take a leave of absence from your unit. Dr. Cray will need you nearby to work with both you and Athena to understand how to apply what you’ve discovered more widely.”
He turned to face his superior officer. “And you support this?”
She nodded. “Wasp has been up for promotion for a while, and she can lead the team while you’re apart from them. It means you’ll lose her once you get back, but she’s more than ready to be a boss.”
The idea made his stomach clench. After all I’ve worked for, to walk away. That’s not an easy thing.
Athena observed, “It’s only temporary.”
Jax blew out some of the stress in a long exhale. “Yeah, true. It’s only temporary, right?”
Stephenson nodded. “I’d suggest detached duty instead of leave, but I think saying you’re off on your own is safer. I feel like there are going to be eyes on you after this. Call it a hunch, but we haven’t been completely covert about your comings and goings.”
He frowned and asked, “You mean the Confederacy?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m talking about our side. We need to worry about external players, too, but something bigger than we’ve seen yet is going on here. The Professor and I both agree on that. And there’s every possibility that this discovery
will send out ripples big enough to be noticed.”
“You don’t think we can keep it secret?”
Maarsen answered, “Not likely. There are eyes everywhere, and algorithms to dig out the smallest details given sufficient time. We need to assume that even if the existence of the AI is still secret, it won’t be for long. Plus, we will be required to sacrifice caution for speed, to some extent, as this theft may accelerate our enemies’ timetable.”
Jax crossed his arms, trying to expand his thinking to the bigger picture. “So why not hand it over to the Special Forces right now? Let the docs in on the situation? We’ve got some pretty good ones.”
This time it was Anika Stephenson’s turn to expel a long sigh. “I would like nothing more, Jackson. But putting together a bunch of disparate pieces makes it evident that there are factions inside our organization. The crates you found with UCCA equipment in the hands of pirates are only one example of many. Someone is playing, and we don’t know what the game is yet, much less have a strategy for winning it.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded. “I am. We are.” Maarsen echoed the nod.
“Okay, then. I trust you both. We’ll do it as you say. I’ll head to the Cronus and get the team ready for the transition while the leave paperwork gets handled and be back here in a week or so to work with Juno. Uh, Dr. Cray.”
Maarsen replied, “Good, good, it’s settled then. By the time you return, I should have made some inroads into figuring out what’s being concealed from us, and who’s doing the hiding. There will doubtless be a role for you once we have that information.”
Jax nodded. “All right. Done and done.”
Zavian Arlox marched angrily through the halls of one of the hidden intelligence bases on a colony world near the Confederacy border. His scowl was fearsome, and those who crossed his path immediately found reasons to change their direction. Behind him, a man whose brown hair, slight stature, and nondescript brown suit made him instantly forgettable, scrambled to keep up. He stammered, “The ship was registered as the Fours are Wild, sir, but the techs have discovered that no such vessel exists. A false identity for it was created in our databases.”
“Really. What a surprise.” His words were constructed of sarcasm at a cellular level. “Doubtless the Confederacy records say the same.”
“They do, sir.”
Arlox nodded. “Meaning it’s at least possible that Azophi is behind it.” He turned into the office that was reserved for his use and strode to the bar cart in the corner. He poured a drink and ran his wrist comm over it to check for poisons. It read clean, and he downed it in a single gulp and refilled the glass. “Okay, I need you to make several things happen, Quentin.” He paced as he relayed the instructions. “First, we need to trace the records of that ship back as far as they go. Discover where it came from, where it went, and who tried to cover it up.”
The man nodded, tapping furiously on the tablet he held. “Second, examine the security footage from every spaceport that might serve Scotland. See if you can connect those with faces that also appear on the cameras from Chesyira. Third, if you find anyone at all that matches up, send a team to watch them. I don’t care how many people it takes. We investigate them all.”
He sat behind his desk and hit the button to activate his terminal. “And, finally, prepare a strike force. If we positively identify someone who was involved in the theft, we go in, bag them, and take them somewhere where we can question them properly. One of the expendable installations, in case we need to burn our tracks.”
The mousey man nodded. “Anything else, sir?”
Arlox sighed. “Yes. Arrange for several fast, well-armed ships to be placed at my disposal. If we come across the Fours are Wild, or whatever its real name is before we find the people, I want to make sure it doesn’t get away again. Oh, and finally, I need to have a conversation with our contact among the pirates. Set up a call for later. It’s time for them to hold up their end of the deal by locating these bastards.”
Quentin left, and Arlox leaned way back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. I know this must be you, Nikolai, and I have to admit, it was a good move. But it’s my game and my board, and I think you’ll discover you don’t have the stomach to take it to the end. I, on the other hand, will see blood run through the halls of Azophi Academy before I acknowledge defeat. He chuckled. You’ve always thought yourself my equal, old friend. It’s time to show you the error of your ways.
Author Notes - TR Cameron
July 30, 2020
Two Azophi Academy books in! Thank you for reading, and for continuing on to the author notes. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! (Okay, more than; this one was hard to write)
My personal favorite moments in this book were the robot of death early on, meeting Cia’s family, and Marshall’s sudden usefulness. The theme was, as the title suggests, “Trust,” and I think we found a lot of places where that was necessary, for many of the characters.
The coronavirus is wearing on us in my household. Even when we’re free to do enjoyable stuff, it’s hard to find stuff that we enjoy through the ennui. One bright spot is that my kid’s best friend has suddenly become regularly available to facetime, and they spend large swaths of their days playing Roblox and Fortnite while screaming a lot over video chat. Ah, the power of technology to bring us together. (But seriously, I’m really happy about this)
My best friend, who I met in my first weeks of college oh so many years ago (more than 3 decades now, yikes) and I are playing Starfinder on Roll20.net once a week, with frequent guest appearances by his adult kid. It’s been a lot of fun despite the fact that my virtual dice rolls are equally as pathetic as my real-world ones. Last time my best fumble resulted in me shooting another team member in the back, and that’s more or less par for the course. I also meant to create a kick-ass magic user and seem to have made a utility infielder instead. “Kill something, I’ll try, but dang if you need a door opened, I’m your man, er, alien.”
Hey, it’s his choice to continue being my friend. No one’s forcing him, and I quit paying him to do it long ago.
Minecraft dungeons has turned out to be awesome. We’re having a great time with it. I’m eagerly anticipating Cyberpunk 2077 despite the many storyline issues I will try to ignore, Avengers, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and the release of the Playstation 5. Stopping myself from whipping out the credit card for a giant TV with better resolution for gaming and movie watching is increasingly difficult, I’ve got to be honest.
Just picked up an Audible trial subscription, because I need to get my aging body onto the elliptical and it’s just… so… boring. Starting out with Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, which is more like a radio drama than a traditional audiobook, I hear.
Still rereading Scalzi’s Old Man’s War, Butcher’s Dresden series, and David Weber’s Safehold series. I’m almost ready for the new Dresden books.
In an abundance of caution, I’ve had to cancel my attendance at two author conferences I always look forward to. It’s depressing, as these are the places I refill the gas tank to provide fuel for the year ahead. I’ll especially miss going to the 20booksto50k conference, hosted by Craig Martelle and Michael Anderle, but my family’s anxiety level just won’t allow it. Fortunately they livestream the sessions, but it’s not quite the same.
Perry Mason got so much better. The acting and cinematography are phenomenal. Still working our way through Castlevania, and looking forward to several new series on HBO, plus The Boys, and The Expanse, and the return of the NFL.
Also, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is amazing, and if you haven’t seen it, go right now. The kid and I also rewatched Ready Player One, and I’m so excited for the sequel book coming out this fall that I don’t know what to do with myself.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned the Guinea pigs. We have two that we got this past March, and they’re total goofballs. The sounds they make are hilarious. But more fun is the fact that we have to give
them baths because of an infection one of them got. If you’ve never seen a scraggly wet guniea pig, well, you just can’t help but laugh. They don’t seem to mind much.
If you enjoyed this book, you might like my other science fiction series, and maybe even my Urban Fantasy. It’s all filled with action, snark, and villains who think they’re heroes. Drop by www.trcameron.com and take a look!
Until next time, Joys upon joys to you and yours – so may it be.
PS: If you’d like to chat with me, here’s the place. I check in daily or more: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTRCameron. Often I put up interesting and/or silly content there, as well. For more info on my books, and to join my reader’s group, please visit www.trcameron.com.
Author Notes - Martha Carr
August 14, 2020
I’m working with my old trainer from Chicago. One of the few good things about 2020 is connecting with people online is not so odd. It’s the norm. She asked me a question the other day that stumped me.
What would it look like to be the best?
I could give you the more general esoteric answers of: Happy, content, well off, satisfied, surrounded by friends. But this time something inside of me wanted a better answer. Something more specific to me.
Here’s my answer… I wouldn’t be in the background. I would be acknowledged at the level I have earned for my input, my creativity, my hard work. You get the idea. The fact that I’m not by the way is all on me.
I grew up in an interesting household where it was easier to be in the middle. Not the worst and not the best. A kind of invisibility magic trick. I had no idea I would carry it into adulthood and learn to let it be okay that I don’t get the credit I deserve. In some instances, I’ve watched others get what should have been mine and I said nothing, telling myself that it was okay because at least I’m here.
