Alpha Centauri - Rise of the Kentaurus AIs
Page 22
LOCATION: Muzhavi Forest Preserve
REGION: El Dorado, Alpha Centauri System
“And in other news today, it would appear that Rosalind Bianchi, Minister of the Interior, has withdrawn from the senatorial race, citing personal concerns and a need to spend more time with family….”
“Kind of hard to believe this is where it all began, just five days ago.”
Jason stood at the base of the trail, Tobi by his side, looking up the seven hundred meter incline before them.
“Mmm,” Calista agreed noncommittally, as she clipped her water collector to her belt. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her waist as she looked critically at the peak. “Doesn’t look any different from here.”
“It wouldn’t. The rockfall was on the opposite face.” Jason looked down at Calista. “Ready?”
“Lead on,” she said and reached for her pack.
Jason expanded the field on the cat’s harness, and Tobi raced up the trail. He heard Tobias laugh as the cat stretched herself to her full length against a nearby tree, and her centimeter-long nails kneaded at its bark.
Jason wandered over, rubbing the cat along her spine beneath the harness. Fully elongated like this, she came almost to his shoulders. Tobi leaned into his scratch for a moment, rubbing her cheek affectionately against his.
She turned and gave Calista a cursory lick on the cheek, then bounded away, sniffing at a nearby rock before crouching and launching herself atop it in one massive leap.
“Hey, don’t leave us behind!” Calista called out as the cat continued her off-trail ascent.
Jason smiled to himself at Tobias’ rejoinder.
Jason broke into a run. “Okay, okay! We’re coming!”
As they walked, Calista glanced sideways at Jason.
“You owe me an apology, you know,” she said abruptly.
Jason blinked. He wracked his brain, but damned if he could figure that one out.
“A little help?” he requested after a beat. “I can’t think of anything I’ve done to warrant an apology, but you know us guys.”
“How about jumping out of a perfectly serviceable fighter—and my prized prototype? You scared the hell out of me, Jason.”
Hmmm. Maybe he did owe her an apology. Though she needed to apologize first, for the comments she’d made about the Yak.
“Well, if I recall correctly, you’ve already questioned my sanity once.” Jason looked over at her with a frown. “ ‘You have to wonder about the intelligence of a man who would entrust his life to a few sticks and some canvas’.” Jason mimicked Calista’s voice as he repeated what she’d said back at the air show.
Doesn’t that seem a lifetime ago now.
“Hmmmph,” was all Calista uttered in response.
“Well,” Jason said judiciously, “you knew your fighter was going to be fine. Tobias was flying it, so there was never any danger—”
Calista hauled her fist back and hit him in the arm as hard as she could.
“Owww!”
“That was for scaring me shitless with that freefall stunt, mister.”
“Oh.”
They met a few hikers along the way, most of them on their way back down, their day almost complete. Several paused to admire the sinewy length of Jason’s feline companion, a few even reaching out to let her sniff their hands after a look at Jason for permission.
Tobi took the attention as her due, to the amusement of both humans.
At the top, Calista and Jason sat, staring down at the rocks that had tumbled to the base of the cliff. Tobi lay sprawled on a boulder, soaking in the warmth of the late afternoon sun.
“What’s up, Tobe?”
Calista nodded. “So she went public with it. Interesting.”
Jason cocked an eyebrow at her inquisitively.
“Their CEO contacted Terrance this morning to let him know that she didn’t need the cartel’s help to make TransOrbital the superior—and preferred—supplier.” Calista chuckled. “As apologies went, it was a bit on the snarky side. She told him she preferred to kick his ass honestly.”
Jason smirked. “I’d have loved to have seen Terrance’s face when she said that.”
“Speaking of which,” Calista turned serious eyes on Jason. “Have you thought any more about Terrance’s offer?”
“Yeah,” he said thoughtfully, hands filled with pebbles he rhythmically tossed over the edge. “The thought of helping to find those missing AIs is…” he shrugged, then continued after a moment. “It feels right somehow. I think my grandma Cara would be proud. It’s something a Sykes would do.”
Calista cocked her head. “You'll have to tell me about her sometime. I'd love to hear firsthand how the stories I read in school measure up to the real thing.”
Jason scowled at the cliff's edge, throwing a rock with enough force to pulverize it against the rocks below. “I can tell you right now Victoria North wouldn't have made it off the Sylvan alive if Cara'd been there.”
Calista took a deep breath, her gaze drifting from his face to the cat and then back again. In a quiet voice she asked, “Do you regret letting her live?”
“What she's done...I'm not sure she deserves to live,” he responded after a moment, his voice bitter.
“You're not a killer, Jason.”
“I should've made an exception for her.”
Calista turned to Jason and grabbed his elbow, shaking it lightly. “There's still the trial. You'll have your chance to make sure she pays for what she did, and see that justice is served.”
They lapsed into silence for a moment, each preoccupied with their own thoughts.
“You know,” Calista said, “it’s a bit scary to realize how thoroughly the cartel has infiltrated El Dorado. Once the Secret Intelligence Service turned Mack over to the ESF, cartel operatives working from the inside made sure he couldn't talk. The man was dead within a week.”
Jason’s expression turned grim. “Yeah, Ben’s got his work cut out for him, cleaning that mess up. But it looks like Lysander’s election as majority leader is pretty much guaranteed, now that Rosalind Bianchi dropped out.
“With the Old Man in place, Ben’ll have some strong backing. Hopefully all the stonewalling he’s been complaining about will come to an end, at least.”
“Too bad about Rosalind’s health, and that sudden need to devote time to her family, isn’t it?”
Jason leaned back, returning her grin.
“Woman, remind me never to get on your bad side.”
She directed a mischievous grin toward Jason. “Who’s to say you haven’t already?”
THE END
* * * * *
And with that, Jason and Terrance have been set upon a road that will lead them to the Intrepid and Tanis. But that mighty ship’s journey is still many hundreds of years in the future.
In the meantime, there are AIs to save, and the Enfield empire to build.
Follow Jason Andrews and his mission to find the remaining AIs in the next Enfield Genesis novel, Proxima Centauri.
* * * * *
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Thank you for taking the time to read Alpha Centauri, and we look forward to seeing you again in the next book!
AFTERWORD
There are many things I love about the Aeon 14 universe. I love the complexity of the characters and their vulnerability. While they may be larger than life, they are still subject to life. And just like us, they must learn to adapt, grow, forgive and overcome.
I also love Michael’s dedication to science, and his drive to accurately represent as much as can be extrapolated, given the sheer scope of time the series covers.
But there is one aspect of Michael’s writing that continues to capture my imagination and has earned my undying respect: his strong female characters.
As a pilot, this speaks to me in a powerful way, especially given that we women comprise fewer than seven percent of all licensed pilots in the U.S. It would seem we have a ways to go before women like Tanis and Calista become more commonplace, but books like those in Aeon 14 help to pave the way.
So thank you, Michael.
There are two other men I must thank: my father, and my brilliant and talented husband, Marty. The latter has served as advisor and physicist-on-call for all manner of questions I have thrown at him. (“But if they wanted to eject five thousand kilometers above the planet…?” You get the idea.)
As to the former….
I have my dad to thank for my love of science fiction. Being a NASA brat meant my childhood was filled with equal parts Asimov and Apollo, McCaffrey and Mission Control. It was an incredible way to grow up.
Another great legacy he left behind was the realization that learning could be fun. I think science fiction does this beautifully. It serves up knowledge, education, and an expansion of our awareness—not just of the sciences, but of our own human condition—in a fun and entertaining way.
I passionately believe that to stop learning is to allow a part of you to die. Hopefully, though, if we’ve done our part right, it won’t feel like learning. Instead, you’ll find yourself immersed in an engaging story, and come away having discovered something you hadn’t known before you began this journey with us.
Thanks for reading, and here’s to many more.
Fair skies!
Lisa Richman
Leawood, KS
THE BOOKS OF AEON 14
Keep up to date with what is releasing in Aeon 14 with the free Aeon 14 Reading Guide.
The Intrepid Saga (The Age of Terra)
- Book 1: Outsystem
- Book 2: A Path in the Darkness
- Book 3: Building Victoria
- The Intrepid Saga Omnibus – Also contains Destiny Lost, book 1 of the Orion War series
- Destiny Rising – Special Author’s Extended Edition comprised of both Outsystem and A Path in the Darkness with over 100 pages of new content.
The Orion War
- Book 1: Destiny Lost
- Book 2: New Canaan
- Book 3: Orion Rising
- Book 4: The Scipio Alliance
- Book 5: Attack on Thebes
- Book 6: War on a Thousand Fronts
- Book 7: Fallen Empire (2018)
- Book 8: Airtha Ascendancy (2018)
- Book 9: The Orion Front (2018)
- Book 10: Starfire (2019)
- Book 11: Race Across Time (2019)
- Book 12: Return to Sol (2019)
Tales of the Orion War
- Book 1: Set the Galaxy on Fire
- Book 2: Ignite the Stars
- Book 3: Burn the Galaxy to Ash (2018)
Perilous Alliance (Age of the Orion War – w/Chris J. Pike)
- Book 1: Close Proximity
- Book 2: Strike Vector
- Book 3: Collision Course
- Book 4: Impact Imminent
- Book 5: Critical Inertia (2018)
Rika’s Marauders (Age of the Orion War)
- Prequel: Rika Mechanized
- Book 1: Rika Outcast
- Book 2: Rika Redeemed
- Book 3: Rika Triumphant
- Book 4: Rika Commander
- Book 5: Rika Infiltrator (2018)
- Book 6: Rika Unleashed (2018)
- Book 7: Rika Conqueror (2019)
Perseus Gate (Age of the Orion War)
Season 1: Orion Space
- Episode 1: The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star
- Episode 2: The World at the Edge of Space
- Episode 3: The Dance on the Moons of Serenity
- Episode 4: The Last Bastion of Star City
- Episode 5: The Toll Road Between the Stars
- Episode 6: The Final Stroll on Perseus’s Arm
- Eps 1-3 Omnibus: The Trail Through the Stars
- Eps 4-6 Omnibus: The Path Amongst the Clouds
Season 2: Inner Stars
- Episode 1: A Meeting of Bodies and Minds
- Episode 3: A Deception and a Promise Kept
- Episode 3: A Surreptitious Rescue of Friends and Foes (2018)
- Episode 4: A Trial and the Tribulations (2018)
- Episode 5: A Deal and a True Story Told (2018)
- Episode 6: A New Empire and An Old Ally (2018)
Season 3: AI Empire
- Episode 1: Restitution and Recompense (2019)
- Five more episodes following…
The Warlord (Before the Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: The Woman Without a World
- Book 2: The Woman Who Seized an Empire
- Book 3: The Woman Who Lost Everything
The Sentience Wars: Origins (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)
- Book 1: Lyssa’s Dream
- Book 2: Lyssa’s Run
- Book 3: Lyssa’s Flight
- Book 4: Lyssa’s Call
- Book 5: Lyssa’s Flame (June 2018)
Enfield Genesis (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/Lisa Richman)
- Book 1: Alpha Centauri
- Book 2: Proxima Centauri (2018)
Hand’s Assassin (Age of the Orion War – w/T.G. Ayer)
- Book 1: Death Dealer
- Book 2: Death Mark (August 2018)
Machete System Bounty Hunter (Age of the Orion War – w/Zen DiPietro)
- Book 1: Hired Gun
- Book 2: Gunning for Trouble
- Book 3: With Guns Blazing (June 2018)
Vexa Legacy (Age of the FTL Wars – w/Andrew Gates)
- Book 1: Seas of the Red Star
Building New Canaan (Age of the Orion War – w/J.J. Green
- Book 1: Carthage (2018)
Fennington Station Murder Mysteries (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: Whole Latte Death (w/Chris J. Pike)
- Book 2: Cocoa Crush (w/Chris J. Pike)
The Empire (Age of the Orion War)
- The Empress and the Ambassador (2018)
- Consort of the Scorpion Empress (2018)
- By the Empress’s Command (2018)
Tanis Richards: Origins (The Age of Terra)
- Prequel: Storming the Norse Wind (At the Helm Volume 3)
- Book 1: Shore Leave (June 2018)
- Book 2: The Command (July 2018)
- Book 3: Infiltrator (July 2018)
The Sol Dissolution (The Age of Terra)
- Book 1: Venusian Uprising (2018)
- Book 2: Scattered Disk (2018)
- Book 3: Jovian Offensive (2019)
- Book 4: Fall of Terra (2019)
The Delta Team Chronicles (Expanded Orion War)
- A “Simple” Kidnapping (Pew! Pew! Volume 1)
- The Disknee World (Pew! Pew! Volume 2)
- It’s Hard Being a Girl (Pew! Pew! Volume 4)
- A Fool’s Gotta Feed (Pew! Pew! Vol
ume 4)
- Rogue Planets and a Bored Kitty (Pew! Pew! Volume 5)
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Lisa Richman lives in the great Midwest, with three cats, a physicist, and a Piper Cherokee. She met the physicist when she went back to get her master's in physics (she ended up marrying the physicist instead).
When she's not writing, her day job takes her behind the camera as a director/producer.
If she's not at her keyboard or on set, she can be found cruising at altitude. Or helping out the physics guy with his linear accelerator. Or feeding the cats. Or devouring the next SF book she finds.
* * * * *
Michael Cooper likes to think of himself as a jack-of-all-trades (and hopes to become master of a few). When not writing, he can be found writing software, working in his shop at his latest carpentry project, or likely reading a book.
He shares his home with a precocious young girl, his wonderful wife (who also writes), two cats, a never-ending list of things he would like to build, and ideas…
Find out what’s coming next at http://www.aeon14.com