“Ah. Where were you in the hierarchy?”

  “Second oldest. I am well versed in diaper changes and feedings. Also the temper tantrums. Although I suppose I was just as guilty when I was a crabby little thing.”

  “Weren’t we all?” Amadi raised his ale and offered a toast. “Now look at us. What adventures we’ve led. Brought together by Aeterna, the most incredible planet in the universe.”

  Danny heard a tone shift that rubbed him raw. Amadi’s words sounded like a prelude to a punchline. He watched Amadi and Anyssa clink glasses and sip, then thought of a clever retort.

  But Danny wasn’t fast enough. Amadi finished his thought.

  “As for me? It’s a pleasure to be sitting here with two people worthy of admiration.” He pointed to Anyssa. “An interstellar con artist.” He side-eyed Danny. “And a traitor.”

  Amadi finished his ale without comment. Danny linked eyes with Anyssa, whose bubbly persona retreated. He studied her to reach a single conclusion: Had Danny walked straight into a double-team?

  His throat turned dry. Her ale tempted him.

  “Say again?”

  “You heard me,” Amadi answered. “The room’s not that noisy. I admit, I love this view.”

  Anyssa straightened her shoulders and set down her ale. Her ebullient, manufactured smile disappeared.

  “Did you call me a con artist?”

  Amadi winked. Yeah, Danny knew that wink.

  Shit.

  “I would never insult a woman of your beauty. See, I’m what they call a truth-teller.”

  Danny intervened.

  “The fuck’s wrong with you, dude?”

  “Me?” Amadi shrugged. “I’m good. All good. You two, on the other hand? I see troubled water in your future. Take care not to drown in it.”

  Anyssa pushed back her chair.

  “I don’t know your game, Amadi, but I don’t stand for being treated this way. If I see you at the ag compound, I’ll ...”

  Amadi tightened a steel jaw and squinted those dark eyes.

  “Don’t raise your voice, Anyssa. Or Cassandra. Or whoever you are. Leave now, and two things will happen. First, I’ll expose your scheme to the Aeternans. I can’t speak for how they’ll respond. Second, you’ll never acquire the tech secrets my brother-in-law promised.”

  Danny felt a twitch in his right hand, which he balled into a fist.

  Not here, Dan-o. Take it outside. Sonofabitch.

  “The fuck are you trying to pull, dude?”

  “Lower the temperature, Dan. It’s not personal. I’m looking out for my family.”

  “Bullshit. You’re the con.”

  Amadi responded with a twinkle in his eye.

  “No. I’m clever. But I must admit, I’ve never found it so easy. And the way you two fell into my lap ...”

  Anyssa’s youthful voice cracked.

  “You have nothing.”

  “Oh? Hmm. Let’s start with your D-4 Plate.” He reached inside his shirt pocket and retrieved the Mobile Extractor Core. “I stole the data matrix yesterday. It’s safely far from here.” Amadi tossed the device to Danny. “You might as well have gift-wrapped the prize.”

  The picture cleared. Danny saw the depth of his own stupidity.

  “You played me.”

  Amadi nodded.

  “I’m what some might call ‘well versed in the arts.’ And patience. Oh, the waiting is torture, but the endgame is ...”

  Anyssa glanced at nearby tables then leaned forward with a murderous glint.

  “There’s nothing on my plate of value.”

  “Nothing accessible. But that’s actually part of the con. I wondered what you might offer Danny that he desperately needed. He spoke of leverage but avoided specifics. My brother-in-law is an open book. Everyone in his family knows the one thing he values more than his wife and his kiddos. He wants his Daddy.”

  Danny prepared to plunge. Two hands, square around the neck, and a simple twist. Amadi was no match. It would be quick.

  Also public.

  He responded with one feeble question.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “I seek opportunity, Dan. It’s why I came to Aeterna.”

  “My sister. You ...”

  Amadi raised a dismissive finger.

  “Don’t distract. I contacted friends. They’re resourceful. Halifax R&D has an affiliate on Moroccan Prime. I asked them to inquire about a woman named Cassandra Latin.” He shifted to Anyssa. “That’s the name Danny gave me. She’s an interstellar cartographer by trade but known for some fringe theories. A little thing called a trans-wormhole. Me? I’m not heavy into quantum mechanics or black matter substrata. I also learned Cassandra Latin is in her fifties. So, either you’re not her or you’ve been through a healthy round of recon surgery.”

  Anyssa moved the glass out of her way and leaned as far into the table as she could with propelling herself across.

  “What exactly do you think you have on us?”

  “You promised Danny trans-wormhole tech. In return, he’ll give you Aeterna’s secrets. Here are my terms. Listen carefully. Two hundred thousand UCVs. In return, you get Occip, Walker frame matrix, and at least one other goodie I’m sure Dan can scrape together. Transfer the credits in my presence.”

  “And then?”

  “Break your contract. Claim a family emergency back home – pick the planet of your choice. You leave unscathed. As for my brother-in-law ...” Amadi finished his terms without looking at Danny. “His treason will go unnoticed so long as I remain silent. He’ll reflect upon his choices and learn never to play out of his league.”

  “Cudfrucker. I’ll tear you to pieces. I’ll ...”

  “Not another word, Dan. Remember when I said it wasn’t personal? I lied. In my experience, people most in need of being slapped down a few pegs are the easiest.” Amadi sighed. “Here’s how it will go down, Anyssa. Cassandra. Barbara. Luna. Whoever. You have twelve standard hours to acquire the funds. My friend here will start the acquisition process. Would you like Occip or Walker frame first? Take your pick.”

  Anyssa dropped any pretense of a phony persona. She responded like a woman twice her apparent age.

  “Both.”

  “Fair deal.”

  “One problem,” she said. “I can’t deepstream. The Aeternans monitor those transmissions. I’ll have to communicate by delayed Stetcode.” She added, “There’s no guarantee the UCVs will be freed on your timetable.”

  “Make it work. You won’t return home empty-handed. Someone invested heavily in you. I’ll be returning to Lumen for a short break with my family. Contact Dan when you receive the credits.”

  Anyssa sat back in what Danny saw as a virtual surrender.

  “Congratulations,” she said. “To both of you. Well played.”

  Danny scoffed.

  “What? I’m not part of this. Amadi played us.”

  “Well acted, too. If there’s nothing else, gentlemen, I need to contact my associates.”

  “Dismissed,” Amadi said with a flick of the wrist. “Twelve standard hours. Max.”

  She cast a damning glare at both men then left without a word.

  Danny gripped the edge of the table. He so wanted to throw it and pummel the bastard. Amadi greeted his rage with a simple quip.

  “You’re a moron.”

  “Why, you sonofabitch? Why did you fuck me? We’re family.”

  “No, Dan. We’re accidental acquaintances. I knew you’d be ripe for harvest one day. When Grace told me of your involvement with that dead exobiologist, I realized how delusional you’d become. Then the speech you gave at the dedication to his statue ... sad. But laced with a grief you’ll never shake. The rest was easy.”

  Danny resisted the sudden urge to throw up.

  “The rest? What?”

  “The card game, Dan. Your nine-flush to win. Good try. I know you cheated. I saw the sloppy transition from your sleeve.”

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  “You ...”

  “Of course I let you win. How else could I have felt such horrible despair? How else for you to believe my sad story?”

  The embarrassment gravitated toward humiliation.

  “The debts back home ... they weren’t real?”

  Amadi nodded.

  “Yes, but paid off months ago with help from your sister. She’s so understanding. Really, a fine woman. She loves me. As my wife, she felt obliged to help. And of course there’s Mikey. I want to give him the best home. Maybe on Aeterna. Maybe not. We’ll see.”

  A different rage boiled close to the surface.

  “The way you treat my sister. You ... I’ll tell her everything.”

  Amadi grinned with apparent resignation.

  “You could. Definitely. Ruin my marriage. Break her heart. But let’s consider the moral hierarchy. Extortion. Treason. What’s the more unforgiveable? And wouldn’t your betrayal stain the entire Pynn-Cooper line? I’m giving you an out, Dan. See this deal through. Hand over the tech. I’ll keep your secret, and you will never lift a finger to create discord in my life.”

  Amadi rose and stretched his arms.

  “Sleep on it. I should run now. I have a Scram to catch.” He chuckled. “Unless you’d like to escort me through the Walker.”

  He did not budge while Amadi patted him on the shoulder.

  “Eh. It was worth a try. Good night.”

  Danny sat alone and stared at the ale glasses. Then he cursed under his breath and ordered two whiskeys.

  He forgot about his promise to bring take-home for dinner.

  17

  Lioness

  THE DAY FELL APART SOON after Rafael Kane made a fateful choice. The ADF’s Admiral confided his plans to the Promise Council, which reluctantly agreed. Exeter, too, understood the need for a military upgrade to Priority RED, but the terrestrial implications worried him.

  “The pilgrims will not take this well,” Exeter said, walking alongside Rafa. “But I’m also concerned about the Revivalists. They’re planning a coming-out party.”

  Rafa nodded.

  “They’ll accuse us of trying to disrupt their plans.”

  Exeter remembered Caleb’s demand for transparency in exchange for the microbe samples.

  “They’ll claim we’re using RED to hide the truth about the chasm and the Jewels.”

  The Admiral stopped outside the command deck.

  “They’d mount a credible case. We haven’t told them what we know. They’ll treat a lack of straightforward answers with suspicion.”

  “If I share the limited science, they’ll meet it with wild speculation and paranoia. I doubt our kind will panic, but the pilgrims ...?”

  Rafa scratched his nose.

  “We’re threading the tiniest of needles. But we can use RED to our advantage. Aeternans share a bond: Our origin story. We’re still here because we defeated invaders and made certain no one tested us again.”

  Exeter conceded the value of remembering history’s lessons.

  “You intend to hype the threat of imminent invasion.”

  Rafa sighed long and deep. Exeter felt his old friend’s conflict. He was the ADF’s longest-serving Admiral but despised warmongering.

  “We’re the only planet Black Star has not touched. If invoking that name will rally our people, I see little choice but to use it. Say what you will about war, X, but it does tend to be a unifier.”

  Exeter choked on the memories of his struggle at Central Command – before and after the coup.

  “Don’t count on it.”

  Rafa detailed his steps. First, he’d deliver a Broad Occip outlining the orders along with logistics about rotation changes and the timetable for immortals to report for fleet duty. Second, he’d transfer most intercontinental Scrams to ADF control for weapons and worm-drive upfits. Only essential commerce would utilize the remaining terrestrial vehicles. Third, he’d bar pilgrims from traveling between satellites, with an exception for emergency evacuation via Walker Stations. He’d discontinue travel to the outer worlds until the ADF reached war footing.

  The latter bit worried Exeter the most.

  “What happens if thousands of pilgrims demand to leave? They outnumber us by many fold.”

  They arrived on the command deck, where Rafa took his station.

  “I’ve asked the Council to devise a strategy; public relations is not my forte. They’ll work with the city admins to quell any panic and remind everyone how strong our defenses are. With luck, the pilgrims will believe they’re safer here than back home. I gave the Council six hours to pull together a plan.”

  “Tall task. Several dozen pilgrims fled after the chasm opened. This will be a tougher sell.”

  “If all else fails, I have one backstop, but it would gut the Pilgrim Project. I’d order the Genteel to land outside each satellite and take any comers. She’ll jump to Amity Station and offload. The pilgrims will book commercial passage home from there. We can make up to six round trips within a day.”

  Exeter had to admit: The idea saved time and resources.

  “I wonder how Amity’s Governor would react when we dump tens of thousands of refugees at the spaceport. Most commercial traffic through Amity is booked days ahead. Popular routes take weeks.”

  Rafa shook his head.

  “It’s not ideal, but Amity owes us a debt. You saved it from Requiem last year. Plus, we can better defend the planet if they’re out of our hair.” He smirked. “You didn’t hear me say that, by the way.”

  “I understand. The Project was controversial before it became a fact of life. They filled our cities in ways we never could.”

  “Now they’re liabilities.”

  Exeter studied the master defense grid, which charted the fleet, thousands of singularity bombs, orbital ballistic platforms, and deep-range patrols.

  “It’s all happening so fast, Rafa. Pieces on a chessboard moving toward a climactic event. The chasm, the proteins, microbes, Shoan Gui, Revivalists, the war.”

  The Admiral shaded his eyes.

  “Shoan told you, ‘Fear will always be the worst response.’ It leads me to wonder: What qualifies as the best? Action? Circumspection?”

  Exeter scoffed.

  “Next time I see the Judge of the Change, I’ll be sure to ask.”

  Rafa bellowed, as if responding to a brilliant punchline.

  “Call and make an appointment. I assume you have his Stetcode.”

  “It’s in my wrist pad. He’s listed as Emissary of the Jewels.”

  They stole a reflective moment, one which Exeter thought might be among their last for a while. He confessed:

  “I want to believe we’re on the brink of an amazing pivot. A moment we’ll talk about for decades.”

  “But?”

  “All we have is a collection of scientific improbabilities. Our hearts and minds are leading us in different directions. And every immortal has been called home to witness ...”

  Rafa interrupted.

  “Witness what?”

  “I wager we’ll find out in three days when the IC reps return.”

  “Ah. That.”

  Rafa’s smile piqued Exeter’s curiosity.

  “You know something.”

  “Actually, they’ll be jumping in within the hour.” Rafa lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone. “Minister Solis mentioned it during our confab. The reps followed protocol to notify her office first. She was a bit put-out by their choice. The Interstellar Congress doesn’t conclude its business for another three days.”

  “Huh. They left early. Why?”

  “They offered no reason.”

  Exeter’s chest tightened. He extrapolated a chain of events.

  “If the Council knows, then Doc Ranke knows. She’ll pass it on to the Revivalists. Caleb said they’d arrange an event at Liberation Park timed to the last homecomings. We should expect a Broad Occip.”

  “Another piece added to the board.”

  “But to what end? Checkmate?”

  So many questions. Too many needles to thread.

  He carried that uncertainty with him to the operations center and addressed Lt. Mars straightaway.

  “What’s the latest from Jarvis?”

  The Lieutenant sorted through holos filled with microbial studies and raw datasets, none of which meant anything to Exeter.

  “I’ve only just begun to unpack it, Commander.”

  “Right. Set up an open confab with Jarvis. He’s back in the outpost. Yes?”

  “He is, sir.”

  “We need clarity, Lleyton. We’re short on time. Actually, let’s extend the link to every outpost. I want a full perspective on where we are.”

  At last report, the synthetic protein had extended its reach planetwide, its function still a mystery. Regular testing had yet to discover it inside Aeternans.

  “Commander, could we have a word?”

  Spec. Traut and Cress motioned him over. They expanded an orbital view of the region above which Lioness held geosynchronous position. The land, ranging from subtropical forests to deserts to low mountain ranges, appeared unchanged but for the chasm’s white blotch. Streaks of clouds followed usual patterns along the Northern Stream. Datasets highlighted temperature ranges, wind, precipitation, warm and cold fronts. He’d seen this view a thousand times.

  “Talk to me.”

  Cress pointed to a disturbance three hundred kilometers southwest of the chasm. The concentrated storm clouds spanned perhaps a hundred kay.

  “A storm system,” he said. “OK. What about it?”

  “Watch.”

  Cress flipped between satellite images, which seemed similar but for one small area.

  “That storm did not exist two hours ago,” he said.

  “OK. Storms can pop up quickly under the right conditions.”

  “True, Commander, but these are the wrong conditions. This storm is rising in the center of a high pressure zone. The air is dry, and temps are seasonally normal. There’s no fuel.”

  More scientific improbabilities ...

  Exeter played it cool.

  “Can you track its course?”

  “I don’t see any steering currents.”

  Traut zoomed in on the storm’s center.

  “Take a look at the pressure toward the center. It’s dropping. Down ten percent in the last hour.”