The Azophi Academy Complete Series Boxed Set: Unique Military Education

by TR Cameron

  “I’ll escort you. Leave it all to me. You focus on impressing Cia’s father.”

  Anders Rearden didn’t rise from his chair when Jax entered the den, only waved a lazy hand from his position in front of the fireplace. His profile came into view as Jax circled to take the seat beside the other man, and he was forced to admit that whatever other benefits money provided, health and good looks seemed to be at the top of the list. Rearden’s tan skin glowed with health, and he looked half his age.

  The same servant as the last time bustled over with a glass of whiskey over ice on a silver tray. Jax took it and sipped. Anders’s whiskey and wine cellar are probably next on that list. He counted himself fortunate that the head of the Rearden clan appreciated the same spirits he did.

  Rearden asked, “So, have you adequately recovered from your adventure?”

  Jax nodded. “Thanks to the crew of your ship. I’m sure that the Special Forces or the Academy will reimburse you for my passage and care.”

  The other man waved a negation. “No need. I would be a poor CEO indeed if I refused an injured person medical treatment and a ride. I got the broad strokes of your story from Master Tarn, but I sense that there’s a little more to it. Are there additional details you can share?”

  Jax nodded. He felt like he owed the man, and his instincts told him he didn’t have to fear that the information would go any further. Of course, if Rearden found an angle he could use to promote his business, he would, which called for a little circumspection. “I was there to investigate an intelligence agent who’s probably gone rogue. Her actions have overlapped into an area of concern for both the Academy and my corner of the military, so I was a natural choice to check her out. It didn’t go as well as planned.”

  Rearden nodded. “Despite your helper?” He lifted a long finger to tap his temple.

  Holy hell, how does he know about that? Jax didn’t think for a second that Cia would have given out the information, even to family. He replied, “You seem to have excellent sources, Mr. Rearden.”

  “Please call me Anders, Jackson. And yes, we do hear things from time to time in our business.”

  “How much do you know?”

  The other man offered a thin smile. “I asked you first.”

  Jax laughed. “Fair enough. I try never to negotiate with those who do it for a living. Yes, while we were more than adequate to the task of her first security system, the second didn’t come online until I triggered it by opening a safe. I was clever enough to avoid the crossbow bolt trap, but not smart enough to realize it had activated another set of defenses.”

  Rearden laughed, sounding genuinely amused. “Ah, such an adventurous life you lead. In a way, I envy you. But I’m rather past the age where I should be diving out of windows without adequate protection. As to what knowledge I have about your implanted consciousness, it’s limited to its existence and the fact that it’s not UCCA in origin, or I would have known about it long before you did.”

  He nodded. “Those are both accurate statements, although I will offer a slight correction. Her name is Athena, and she prefers ‘she’ to ‘it.’ Rather vocally, I might add.”

  “So, she speaks to you? That’s how the interface works?” His words were casual, but Jax caught the edge behind them and figured that somewhere the Rearden Trade Company had its fingers in a company that worked on AI.

  “Yes. At length. It’s almost impossible to convince her to shut up if we’re honest.”

  Athena growled, “You’ll pay for that, Jax. During your next date with Juno, if she’s stupid enough to ask for one, I’m going to make you remember all the songs you hate. On a loop. Loud.”

  Shush. As much as I like him, he has an angle. Exaggeration is mandatory since outright lying might be caught. Rearden looked thoughtful, and his words emerged slowly. “Interesting. That would suggest some connection to your senses. Probably directly through those areas of your brain?”

  Jax lifted his hands and laughed, careful not to spill a drop of his precious drink. “You’re into the doctor-level stuff now, Anders. All I know is that she’s there, she’s verbose, and she’s excellent at helping me remember things I’ve seen.” There, I’ve given him something new, but not anything that will go anywhere anytime soon. He yawned, only partly on purpose. “I’m afraid I have to apologize. I’m a little worn out.”

  Anders nodded. “Of course you are. Standring will take you up to your room. Sleep well. Oh, also, Alicia should arrive early tomorrow. She’s angry at someone, to judge by her voice over the comm. I’m probably the object of her anger, but I’m holding out hope it’s you.” His fondness for his daughter was evident in his amused tone.

  Jax stood and finished his drink, then handed off the glass to the servant who suddenly materialized at his side. “Knowing Cia, I’d lay odds it’s both of us.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jax finally made it out of his entirely spacious and decadently comfortable bedroom around noon the following day, after spending at least ninety minutes all told over multiple shower sessions. If he were the sort of person who dreamed of what heaven would be like, it would include hot showers, warm showers, and cool showers, depending on the season, with water that never ran out or changed temperature unexpectedly.

  He would likely have spent another hour or so letting the spray soothe his muscles and mind if not for Cia’s angry call demanding he emerge and face her wrath. He was careful not to laugh at her sputtering fury, although it hit pretty low on his danger register after all he’d been through. The mansion’s staff had provided a set of comfortable casual clothes. He guessed they’d returned the Siren’s Scream coverall and that the outfit he’d worn on his arrival aboard the ship had been burned or ejected into space.

  Cia was waiting outside the door, and as soon as it closed behind him, she dashed in and punched him in the shoulder, hard. He quashed the instinct to block, and once she’d delivered three or four more blows, she stopped and stared at him. “That’s for not calling for help, you idiot. It’s not required that you get yourself killed playing spy, you know.”

  He grinned. “It’s nice to see you too, Cia. I’ve missed our little chats.”

  She punched him again, and he pretended to be wounded. “Ow, knock it off, I’m fragile. Breakable. Damaged goods.”

  She nodded. “I’m aware. I’ve been trying to convince Juno of that, but I think whatever brainwashing drugs you put in her drink must still be active. Although, you know, you might be a science project for her. I hadn’t thought about that.” Her anger had bled off and been replaced by her standard sarcastic combativeness, which was all to the good. “I’ve already seen my family today, so we can avoid them for lunch. Want to hit the kitchen?”

  He nodded. “I would like nothing in the universe more.”

  She grinned. While he felt no romantic attachment to Cia, he was aware that she was quite attractive in her particular way. Maybe if she’d chosen to let her mother cultivate her, she would have been a classic beauty with long hair, perfect skin, and the right cosmetic surgery to make her appealing to potential partners. But part of what made her unique and interesting was that she chose instead to be unapologetically herself despite having those options. That involved a very casual approach to beauty and wardrobe.

  She was dressed in what he thought of as her piloting clothes, a pair of well-worn khaki trousers, a black tank top underneath one of the standard black button-downs that everyone in the Academy wore, and a battered and abused brown leather jacket that was as soft as satin. She led the way confidently, and Jax found himself losing track of the twists and turns as they went. Athena, remind me to ask her if there’s a map of this place we can get.

  The AI replied, “I’m not your tablet, Jax.” Fortunately, her words held a hint of humor.

  Right. I have the most sophisticated Artificial Intelligence that the universe has ever seen wired into my brain, but I also need to carry a tablet. Check. Cia asked, “So, are you really okay? Healed
up?”

  Jax nodded. “Mostly. In a few days, I’ll be back to one hundred percent. Right now, I have some aches. Well, and the leg needs repairs, but that can’t happen until I’m at an SF base or the Academy.”

  They entered the kitchen, a huge room with counters, cooking stations, and a wooden table that could seat eight off to one side. Standring had explained that the chefs and assistants ate together before each shift, as had been done in the finest restaurants for centuries. He’d also mentioned, casually as if it didn’t matter, that the family had stolen the head chef away from one of the most celebrated restaurants on Earth. It was one more thing that gave the Rearden family subtle leverage over any business partners they invited to the house. Cia called, “Carlos, we’re starving. Save us.”

  A man in a tall chef’s hat waved and blew her a kiss. She laughed and sat at the far side of the table, then kicked out the chair at the end for Jax so they’d be next to each other. “I’ve never had anything I disliked from him. Except asparagus. I hate asparagus. Why anyone ever created such a foul vegetable is beyond me.”

  Jax shook his head. “Perhaps you lack the sophistication to appreciate it.”

  “You’re going to lack a head if you don’t tell me everything right now. I’m sure that we can get Athena out of there as long as we’re not concerned with keeping your brain working. I bet that’s her preference, too.”

  Shut it, Jax thought before the AI could add her opinion to the mix. “I’ll fill you in on the long part of the story on the way back to the Academy. You are planning to give me a lift, right?”

  She nodded. “As soon as we get some food and can extract ourselves from my parents and siblings.”

  “The important piece is that we have at least one serious information leak, and maybe two. Probably two is my guess. And also that the Intelligence Division is after Athena, both the version in my head and whatever other technologies we left behind when we took her.”

  Cia frowned. “Evidence? I presume you have some.”

  “Yeah.” He was interrupted as a sous chef placed a bowl of soup in front of him, and a basket of fresh rolls in the middle of the table. He reflexively leaned in to smell it, and his eyes immediately began to water. He leaned back and shook his head. “Woo. Spicy stuff.”

  His companion had already started eating. “Carlos does it all, but his Thai food is particularly wicked. Also, Tom Yum soup is one of my favorites. Bread will help.”

  He nodded and grabbed one of the rolls, and discovered it was glazed with butter and a little salt. She was right. The soup was delicious, and the carbohydrates helped him cope with the heat factor. “First, the Confederacy had information about the Cronus’s whereabouts, and that I was on board. This came from a prisoner.”

  She interrupted, “Did you beat her up? Good cop, bad cop? Sleep deprivation? Bamboo under the fingernails?”

  Jax scowled. “I broke her arm in a reasonably fair fight. Stephenson got her to talk by threatening her with the Intelligence Division.”

  Cia frowned. “Damn, that would make me babble until someone made me stop.”

  “Right? You and me both. Anyway, that’s the second part. The Intelligence Division knew about me, and about Athena. Found out the first part of that before I scampered away from planet Vermar, and the second in the agent’s apartment in Tasca City.”

  “Well, at least your adventure was worthwhile.” They ate in silence until their bowls were empty. The same sous chef swept in and replaced the soup with a large plate overflowing with Pad Thai. Cia dug in immediately and sighed in pleasure. “As good as the food is at the Academy, it doesn’t compare to what Carlos does.”

  “And yet you’ve voluntarily left all this behind.”

  She snorted. “You’ve met my brothers and sister. Tell me you’d want to work with them.”

  Jax shook his head. “No, thank you. One Rearden is all I can handle.”

  She snorted. “Are you saying you want to handle me, Jax? What will Juno think?”

  “Oh, hell no. Wonderboy Ethan would delete every record of me ever existing, and I’d poof into nothingness.” She couldn’t hide a smile at the mention of Ethan Kimmel, a member of his Academy team who carried a very obvious torch for the pilot.

  Cia abruptly changed the subject. “So, what’s your plan now?”

  He’d been thinking on that question for a while and hadn’t yet gotten a handle on it. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I think this is one of those moments where I need to turn to those smarter than me.”

  “Happy to help.”

  He sighed. “I was referring to Stephenson and Maarsen, actually. The little mice running around on the wheel in your head aren’t really adequate to the task.”

  “Ouch. You are so mean. I’m going to tell Carlos not to give you any after-lunch sweets.”

  “I think that’s cruel and unusual punishment, and probably a war crime.”

  She pointed her fork at him. “Last time I checked, we’re not at war.”

  “Fair point. Now, tell me about this dessert you mentioned before I declare one.”

  He managed to avoid the family for the rest of the trip, aside from saying goodbye to Anders and his wife Michaela, accompanied by repeated efforts at conveying his appreciation for their help. Then it was off to the Grace, which was parked at the estate’s private landing dome. Standring wished him well and offered, “Perhaps visit in a more conventional manner next time, Captain Reese,” as a parting comment.

  It felt good to slide into the copilot’s seat, the first moment of true familiarity in quite a while. He sighed and strapped himself in, then remained quiet so he didn’t interrupt Cia while she got them out into space and pointed them toward the third planet from the sun. Then he inquired, “How have things been on your end?”

  She shrugged. “Same old, same old. A couple of extra runs, ferrying new students around on their tasks. But nothing exciting. Apparently, the Professor is reserving all the truly dangerous stuff for you. Well, and for Juno, since she’s probably under orders to date you or something like that. It’s the only explanation.”

  Athena added, “I agree. No other options are as likely.”

  Jax shook his head and failed to hold in his laughter. It felt like something clenched inside had released, and his mirth lasted for far longer than it should have. It made his companion laugh as well, although it may have been in pity. When he could finally speak again, he commented, “Athena agrees with you.”

  “Smart woman.”

  The voice in his head replied, “So is she.”

  He sighed contentedly. “You two have a real mutual admiration society going on here. Maybe we should see if we can transplant Athena into your brain.”

  Cia turned her attention back to her piloting as other ships came into sensor range. “No thanks. I’m still technology-free, more or less, and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible.”

  He laughed. “You could come along on one of my other missions. We’d probably be able to take care of that particular bias real quick.”

  “No thanks. I’m good.”

  She flicked a switch and the compartment filled with sound, a classic rock mix that spanned decades. He reclined in the chair and closed his eyes, determined to enjoy every second of the interlude that fate had provided him before he had to get back to work.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Jax, what the hell did you do to yourself?” Dr. Juno Cray’s voice was professionally exasperated, as was her expression. It wasn’t exactly the reunion he’d wanted, but Maarsen had insisted that the medical unit be his first stop. He’d sent Juno a brief message to let her know he was inbound but hadn’t been able to do much more than that because both Cia and Athena were watching and waiting to mock him for anything he said that was even remotely flirtatious. On another occasion, sitting in front of the woman while clad only in running shorts might have been more interesting, but the presence of Maarsen and several other medical personnel kind of ruined the e
xperience.

  He shrugged. “There were complications.”

  She replied, “You call multiple bullets, a jagged slash from a knife or something, and a deep laser burn ‘complications?’” Her straight dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her minimalist makeup provided the right accents to make her look wholesome and beautiful. Or maybe that’s my opinion bleeding through.

  “Yeah, kind of. It’s more or less my job, you know?”

  She shook her head. “Then you might want to consider wearing armor on a more regular basis.” She turned to the Professor. “I’ve got this. You should go. We’ll need him for a while to repair the damage and to get some readings on the AI.”

  Maarsen nodded. “Very well. Jackson, when you’ve finished here, let’s get together to chat. Send me a message, and we’ll set it up.” The other man patted him awkwardly on the shoulder and strode from the room.

  Juno shook her head at the Professor’s back. “He’s something. Completely brilliant, but finds many of the normal rituals of everyday life less than natural.” She returned her attention to Jax. “Okay, lie down on the table.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you propositioning me, Doc?”

  She sighed, but a small smile flitted across her face. “As your doctor, I’m informing you that if you don’t lie down on the table right now, I’m going to inject you with something to keep you awake for all the procedures but not allow you to move. I guarantee you will find the experience deeply frustrating.”

  Athena observed, “I like that idea. Let’s do that.” Jax quickly moved to horizontal.

  Juno approved, “Very good.” She gestured, and a couple of other people in white coats came over. “We’ll do the leg first. Give him some broad-spectrum antibiotics, please.” An injector pressed against his neck and discharged with a hiss. She lifted his left leg and ordered, “Activate restraints.” Belts wrapped around him to hold him tightly in place. A support of some kind slid under his damaged limb. Above the table, four robotic arms with several articulated joints and various terminating ends spun through their diagnostic sequence. When the process was complete, two of them dipped down and gripped his leg above and below where the prosthetic portion began. A third, equipped with a medical laser on the end, moved into position above the join.