Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (186 page)

She didn’t respond for several excruciating seconds. “Why didn’t you comm me?”

“You would’ve yelled at me.”

“Damn right I would have.” Her face scrunched up in fading anger; it was so damn adorable. “So you did all that to…get back to me?”

He dared to take a step toward her. “As fast as I could.”

“I think I believe you, if only because you clearly need a shower.”

He took another step. “Yep.”

“And clean clothes.”

One more. “Without a doubt.”

“And—”

His mouth was on hers before she could finish or even really start the thought. In the greatest grace of his thus far semi-charmed life, her arms wound around him to drag him closer to her and, not too much later, the bed.

NEW BABEL

I
NDEPENDENT
C
OLONY

Olivia sipped on a martini and surveyed the throngs of travelers from her table by the window. The buzz vibrating in the air was no less frenzied than it had been on her previous trip through the spaceport, but now it hummed in excitement rather than panic. The aliens were gone and the war was over and everyone knew it. Even the worst sort of criminals and thugs might be accused of displaying a little giddiness.

No one would accuse her of appearing giddy on the outside, but she was quite pleased by the possibilities the future now held. Opportunities abounded, and she wasn’t one to waste time. Hence the trip.

Aiden slipped into the chair opposite her. “How long until our transport departs?”

She offered him a reticent smile beneath the glass hovering at her lips. “Forty minutes.”

“Time for a drink, then.” He beckoned the server over and ordered a whiskey sour.

They were heading to Romane. Prior to the Metigen War, conducting their brand of business on the independent colony had been a delicate affair. Government regulation was light but the standard of living had become so high criminal syndicates were forced to operate with extreme discretion. For the next several months, however, those in power were going to be so busy trying to maintain order and restore basic services they were unlikely to notice the details of underhanded dealings and a spiking shadow economy.

Though the colony had suffered extensive damage in the final alien attack, its cities had not been destroyed nor its population decimated. Restoration efforts stood to be a substantial undertaking for Romane itself, but its central location and still robust infrastructure meant it would also serve as a forward base of operations for rebuilding much of the eastern half of settled space. It was now the place to be, for businesspeople and criminals alike.

Aiden’s drink arrived, and he raised it in her direction. “A toast. To the future.”

She obliged him with a clink of their glasses.

After a sip he sat his glass down to regard her in apparent thoughtfulness, a rare open and possibly honest mien for him. “I must say, Olivia, we have worked together extraordinarily well these last weeks. We’ve accomplished far more than either of us could have alone.”

“We did. I’m glad I came to you.”

“Spending more time with you carried its own benefits above and beyond the work of course. You realize it doesn’t have to end. I know you reacted negatively in the past when I raised the prospect of merging our operations, but the circumstances have changed. It’s a new world, and to fully capitalize on it we need our combined resources.”

Olivia leisurely swirled the olive in her drink. Part of her had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but deep down she’d known it would from the time she’d walked into his office and proposed their alliance. It was the price, if a regrettable one, to be paid.

She met his gaze. “Despite my inherent reluctance, I find I am compelled to acknowledge the wisdom of the idea. The strength and reach of our combined organizations will be able to wield unparalleled power across the galaxy. Such a conglomerate can rebuild civilization atop the ashes in its own image—which was after all the goal.”

On seeing the relief and predatory excitement in his eyes, she rewarded him with a more indulgent smile and extended her hand across the table. “Shall we seal the agreement over a handshake until permanent arrangements can be made?”

“With pleasure, Olivia dear.” He grasped her hand and shook it formally.

Given her habitually elegant mannerisms it wasn’t difficult for her to run her fingers along his palm to his fingertips as she withdrew it.

“This will make our business on Romane so…so much…” Aiden cleared his throat “…easier.”

She took a sip of her martini and watched him idly as he frowned and brought a hand to his chest.

The virus transferred from her fingertips to his was far subtler in operation than the one used by Uttara on Atlantis. At the Trade Summit they had wanted it to be obvious Minister Santiagar’s death was premeditated murder, and the virus used was tailored to ensure that outcome. In this case, the forensics of the virus mimicked an accidental failure of several critical cybernetic subroutines. A somewhat rare occurrence, but his body contained multiple untested and unsafe enhancements for which such failures were not unheard of.

His face had taken on a flushed hue; beads of sweat trickled down his temples. “Olivia….”

“I’m sorry, Aiden, but I did tell you never to ask me to merge our organizations again. You should have heeded the warning. But you are correct. The addition of your outfit’s resources to my own will enable me to expand significantly in the coming months. Don’t fret—I’ll take good care of your assets.”

“What—” His head hit the table as his body went limp.

She stood and gestured to the nearest server. “Pardon me. I’m afraid my companion requires medical care.” The young man’s eyes widened and he scurried off for assistance.

Olivia strode out of the restaurant and headed for the exit. Romane would have to wait for a day or two. She had important reorganization details to see to first.

58

EARTH

EASC
H
EADQUARTERS

A
LEX FOUND HER MOTHER IN
the War Room. Given there no longer was a war, the room was halfway to dismantled. Storage boxes stacked high spanned the far wall and gaps where equipment had once resided decorated the other three.

Miriam stood midway down the long table. Her palms rested on the rim as she pressed in to examine two rows of charts and datasets.

Alex leaned against the door frame, crossed her arms loosely and considered the scene. The uniform was as crisp as ever, buttons lined up and polished to a sheen and seams razor-straight. The additional bar on each shoulder blended in as if they had always been there. The hair was drawn back per usual, if not so severely as in the past for it wound into a braid before tucking under at the nape of the neck.

Yet the woman beneath the uniform had changed.

Or perhaps it was Alex who had changed…or perhaps they had both simply discovered a new perspective on the world, and each other. Most likely the truth lay somewhere in between.

She is beautiful.

The sensory rush which accompanied the insight felt strange. Uncomfortable.

I suppose she is, Dad. Keep your more prurient sentiments to yourself though, okay? She’s my mother. I’m going to toggle the connection off now. The odds of her forgiving me might improve if I don’t so much resemble a cyborg.

Of course. This time is for the two of you.

Most of the time it was still Valkyrie in her head, sharing thoughts and data and philosophy. This…fragment, this echo of her father inside Valkyrie flitted in and out of both their consciousnesses like a feather tossed about in the wind. The intensity of the Seneca battle had brought it into being and to the forefront. Once the crisis passed it had largely faded into the shadows—not gone, but a glint in the corner of her eye, barely out of reach.

It probably shouldn’t be surprising the sight of Miriam had coaxed it back into the light.

She cleared her throat and greeted her mother’s expression of disquiet with a little half-smile.

“I am going to kill you.” The tenor with which the statement was delivered suggested it may not be entirely in jest.

“I
couldn’t
tell you, Mom.”

“But you could tell Richard?”

“I needed Richard, so I didn’t have a choice. Speaking of, where is he? He wasn’t in his office.”

“Gone for the day—something about a promise to keep. Don’t change the subject.”

She shouldn’t have expected this to be easy. “I wanted to bring you in on our objectives, but the stakes were too high.”

“You think I don’t understand high stakes? Have you been paying attention to…my life?”

Alex dropped her chin and shook her head. “Of course I have, and I know you do. I just mean….” She pushed off the door frame to roam around the partially dismantled room. “Okay, listen. We knew the identities of the alien agents but nothing else. Hervé was definitely a high-level contact for them. Her arrest would’ve tipped the aliens off, and they would’ve ordered their agents into hiding or adjusted or accelerated their plans. Our one chance to stop them was to move swiftly and in utmost secrecy.”

Miriam’s glare only deepened. “And?”

“If you learned Hervé was a traitor you would’ve almost certainly arrested her on the spot, and in no universe would you have permitted her in the War Room.”

“Given the circumstances, I might have seen the necessity of delaying any arrest.”

Alex remained silent…but she might have been smirking.

“Fine. I would’ve arrested her. But you do not appreciate the position you put me in.”

“I submit I do. I also knew you would be able to handle it and make the right decisions.”

“And what if I hadn’t been allowed to make the right decisions?”

Still, this could be a
little
easier…. “I realize it didn’t appear so from where you stood, but I was safe. The Kill Switch was disabled and, well, we had control of the situation.”

“I’m not sure I care for the sound of that last bit.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” She cringed hopefully. “Forgiven?”

Miriam pursed her lips and shrugged. “I suppose we can call it even.”

“Fair enough.” Alex took advantage of the momentary thaw to prop against the table beside her mother. “So is the world returning to normal? Procedures implemented and checklists followed and bureaucrats imposing order from above?”

Miriam exhaled and relaxed her bearing as well. “I’m not convinced the world will ever be ‘normal’ again. Dozens of colonies are decimated or heavily damaged. The government is already in debt far beyond its capacity to ever repay and repairs haven’t yet begun. We’re at peace with the Federation, but no one knows what that’s going to look like when we’re not fighting a war for our survival. What is warfare going to look like when adiamene renders ships all but indestructible?

“And there’s the small matter of you and Valkyrie, the other Prevos and everything else which comes with Project Noetica. You’ve opened Pandora’s Box, and there is no closing it.”

“The powers that be will try. Don’t even pretend they won’t try.”

Miriam regarded her with an air of caution. “Part of me wishes they could succeed. I’m afraid for you. But you seem all right. You seem like yourself…if a bit softer than before.”

She bit back a chuckle. “Maybe, but I don’t think Valkyrie’s to blame for it.”

“Caleb, then?”

Alex opened her mouth to tell her mother the full extent of the things Mesme had shown her, of how it had altered her perception of not merely her own life but the lives of those around her. But she closed it again. If she had learned anything these last months, it was that the past belonged in the past. Better to move forward.

She rolled her eyes playfully. “No comment.”

“What he did on Krysk was quite impressive. We spent days fretting over sending squadrons to subdue O’Connell, and Caleb took out the entire force using a single tiny ship.”

“He is pretty damn incredible.” She gazed at her mother in mild amusement. “Is this your way of saying you approve of him?”

“Are you asking for my approval?”

That earned the chuckle. “Nope.”

“I didn’t believe so. Yet I shall give it anyway.”

“And I shall accept it anyway.” With a sigh she lost the lighthearted demeanor. “We’re going to see Mia this evening and talk to Abigail about her options.”

“It is regrettable what happened. I hope Dr. Canivon can help her.”

“Thank you for bringing her here—but did you really have to declare her brain an Alliance state secret?”

“If I wanted to get her to Earth and under Dr. Canivon’s care as you asked,
yes
.”

“If you say so.” Alex checked the time. “I need to meet Caleb in a few minutes, but…lunch next week? I mean if you’re not too busy….”

“As long as no alien invasions or civil wars are launched between now and next week, lunch sounds wonderful.”