Juliet sat on the tailgate of the rover, smiling as the sweat on her arms and neck dried in the breeze. The same breeze made the tall flowers dance along the mountain's slopes, and she watched them, admiring how the petals shimmered as they shifted in the light. It felt good. It always felt good to cool off, but it felt especially good when you were cooling off after some honest, hard work. She let her gaze drift down the slope, over the valley, admiring the progress she’d made, planting the wayfinder beacons. If she strained her optics, zooming in on the windblown, flower-dotted meadow near the valley’s mouth, she could see each of her beacons—thirty-seven she’d planted that morning, and it was no mean feat in the rocky soil.
Her smile broadened as she brought her gaze closer to hand, watching Angel frolic among the flowers. She’d forgone her usual “science officer” dress for a frilly yellow sundress and looked perfectly natural in her setting. She’d pause now and then to sniff the flowers, and Juliet laughed. “You can’t smell them!”
“I can, too!” Angel looked up at her, flicking her long, straight black hair over one shoulder. “You’ve smelled them before, so I just…remember it.”
Juliet laughed again. “Okay, okay. I stand corrected.” She inhaled deeply, savoring the pristine air and all the hints of nature that rode along with it into her nostrils. “Are you filtering my smells at all?”
“Nope! Nothing unpleasant to hide around here.”
“Hard to imagine.” Juliet looked out over the valley to the far slopes, slightly blurry and blue with distance but easily clarified with a tweak to her magnification. “No trees, but lots and lots of grass and flowers. I can’t imagine a prettier setting. Anyway, we’re down to the last five beacons. Let’s get ‘em planted, then we can head back to camp. Any word from Odyssey?”
“Shuttle’s en route from site C—ETA four hours.”
“Really? Let’s go, then! I want to have dinner ready when they get here!” Juliet leaped up and hurried around the side of the rover, climbing into the driver’s compartment. Angel was already waiting in the passenger seat when she settled in. Juliet laughed. “No fair! You should make yourself walk around, not teleport wherever I’m going!”
“Why?” Angel looked almost affronted.
“I thought you were projecting yourself for my benefit. I want to see you go through the struggles of a corporeal life!” Juliet stomped on the accelerator and jerked the wheel, tearing away down the grassy slope. The rover’s electric motors hummed, effortlessly bounding over ruts and small ridges in the light gravity.
“That’s silly. Besides, I’m not just doing it for you. I have fun interacting with the world, even if I’m not ‘real.’”
“Don’t say that, sis. You’re real.” Juliet peered up at the blue sky, noting the orange and red bands starting to form on the horizon—signs of the impending sunset. “Yeah. I like this planet. I could see staying here a while.”
“I like it, too!” The wind muffled Angel’s voice as she stuck her head out the window, giggling as the breeze blew her long hair into wild tangles. Juliet joined in the laughter, happier than she’d been in a long while…
#
Juliet could feel the strain on her cheeks as she opened her eyes—she’d been smiling in her sleep. She saw Aya sitting beside her bed, her eyes glazed over as she looked at something on her AUI. With a forced effort, Juliet relaxed her face, letting the smile fade, and then licked her lips. “Angel, I don’t know what kind of sedative Athena used, but I want some more of it. I want a stockpile. God, I feel amazing.”
“You were sleeping very soundly!”
Aya looked up as Juliet yawned loudly. “Wow! I’ve never seen you sleep so hard! You were supposed to wake up three hours ago!”
“I was dreaming. Oh! It’s already fading! I was…I was on a different planet, I think. We were exploring…” Juliet let her words trail off as another thought came to her. She subvocalized, “Angel, was the lattice active?”
“Only slightly elevated activity—not like a true-dream, if you’re wondering. Though…it hasn’t behaved the same since you were captured. It never seems to heat up as much as it used to.”
Juliet grunted her acknowledgment, then looked back at Aya. She was peering at her quizzically. “Are you here because you’re worried about my, uh, meltdown in the galley?”
Aya stood and came close to the side of her bed. “Meltdown? Do you mean when you reminded everyone why we trust and care about you? Also, that’s why I’m here—I care about you. I wanted to be here when you woke.”
Juliet reached out to grasp her hand and smiled as she felt Aya’s familiar slender fingers wrap around her palm. Aya lifted her other, cybernetic, hand and displayed a paper journal. “I’m working on another book.”
“Really? What’s the subject?”
“Secret! You’ll see it when I’m done.”
“But the one you gave me…didn’t you dictate it and print the pages?”
“Yes! This is for my doodles. I’m adding some art to the next one.” She looked Juliet up and down. “Do you feel all right?”
“Yeah. Honestly, I feel amazing. Angel, how did the surgery go?”
“Everything went perfectly.” Angel’s voice came from the other side of the bed, and Juliet turned to see her standing there. She glanced at Aya and saw she, too, was looking at Angel.
Aya frowned and sighed softly. “I’m sorry people were saying things about you, Angel. They’re just nervous and worried, and everything’s happening so fast. We just don’t—”
“Hush, Aya. I know you. I know you have a big heart and an open mind. I know you wouldn’t let some fear cloud your judgment of Juliet.”
“Or Angel,” Juliet added, squeezing Aya’s hand.
“Right.” Aya wrinkled her nose. “I know you just woke up, and you probably have a million things on your mind, but can you help me understand something?”
Juliet nodded and touched the controls for her bed, lifting the head so she was sitting up slightly. “Yeah, of course. What is it?”
“Why you? Why your DNA? I get that you’re, um, ‘compatible,’ or whatever, but you can’t be the only one; also, why do they care? According to Athena's briefing, they’re using the new ‘Angel’ chips to control people. They’re going to be creating hybrid human-AI serfs. It doesn’t seem that there’s a compatibility issue with those chips.”
“I’m not sure any of us know the whole story.” Juliet saw Angel’s arched eyebrow and corrected herself, “I mean, maybe I know less than I could—I haven’t read all the information we gathered from the Prophet. I do know that the original Angel,” Juliet nodded to her, “wasn’t designed to take a person’s mind over. She was designed to be a companion—a symbiotic entity who gained access to her host’s emotions and human sentience. I believe Gentry and Apollyon still have intentions for their citizens to have what Angel and I share. Maybe not their ‘serfs’ but their higher societal castes.”
“So, they hope to use your DNA for that?”
“Maybe. Maybe they just want to study it, to learn from it, and then do some gene editing to copy what makes things work so well for me when it comes to Angel.” Juliet saw Aya slowly nod as she put things together and almost felt relieved that she’d accepted the explanation. Almost, but not quite—Juliet forced herself to acknowledge the guilt in the pit of her stomach. She had more she could tell Aya, but she was protecting herself. She was scared, but something wouldn’t let her drop it.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Images of Angel in a sundress, frolicking in a field of big, red flowers, laughing as the wind blew through her hair danced through her mind as she asked, “Aya, did you mean it? Do you really love me?”
Aya’s hand tightened on hers. “Did you mean it?”
“I did! I’d do anything for you. I don’t know why, but I feel closer to you than my own mom or sister. Something about you just clicks with me. We’re family.”
Aya delicately brushed Juliet’s hair away from her face, smoothing it behind her ear. “Well, I meant it, too. We don’t live in the greatest moment of humanity, and I think you’re a hero in a world full of drones and narcissists.”
For the hundredth time in just a couple of days, Juliet’s eyes filled with tears. As she felt them pooling there, she laughed. “I can’t stop crying.”
Aya continued to brush her mechanical fingers through her hair, gently tickling Juliet’s scalp. “I mean it.”
“I’m not, though, Aya. A hero, I mean. I’m a liar.” Juliet blinked away the tears, and as Aya’s eyes widened and she looked at her for clarification, she said, “I’m going to tell you my biggest secret. If you want to run away, I won’t blame you.” Aya’s eyes widened further, but she squeezed Juliet’s hand tighter and nodded. “It has to do with your question—why Gentry wants my DNA. I think they’ve figured out what I can do—no, wait. That’s not right. They’ve begun to guess what I can do. How could they not, after my escape?”
“What—”
“Let me try to explain. You know the listener Athena told you all about?”
“Yes.” Aya nodded.
“Well, it came out of a program at a company called Grave. I was working undercover there and was exposed to the same tech. I, um, destroyed it all. I killed the men who ran the program, deleted the servers, and exposed their corruption. Basically, I ruined the company.”
“That’s nothing to—”
“That’s not it. The ‘listening’ is one thing their tech could do for some people, but WBD hasn’t figured out that it could do a lot more. There were some test subjects who could move objects with their mind, some who could catch glimpses of the future, and some who could influence the emotions of the people around them. One guy could, like, blast people’s minds. And there were a very small few who could do several or all of those things. I’m one of those.”
“Wait, what?” Aya frowned, but her grip on Juliet’s hand didn’t loosen.
“I can ‘listen.’ I can move things with my mind. I have dreams that sometimes come true. I can, well, I figured out I can make people do things, Aya.”
Aya’s eyes narrowed, and Juliet could imagine the gears turning in her head. She tried to pull her hand back, but Aya tightened her grip further as she contemplated her words. After a moment, she said, “Prove it.”
“You want me to move something?”
“Yes, but first, tell me what I’m thinking about!”
Juliet narrowed her eyes. “Seriously?”
“Yes!” Aya nodded solemnly.
“You better not hold this against me.” Juliet closed her eyes and opened her other perception. She couldn’t stop from smiling when she saw Aya’s beautiful mind-galaxy for the first time. Every mind she’d seen, save those corrupted by WBD, was beautiful, but knowing this one was Aya’s made it instantly special. She stared at it for several long seconds, savoring it, before reaching out and grasping some of the thought-threads, pulling them to herself.
She only touched the surface threads, but she was still overwhelmed by feelings of trust and fondness, and Juliet almost started crying again when she heard Aya’s voice repeating pizza, pizza, pizza. “You’re thinking about pizza, you goofball!”
“Oh my gosh!” Aya squealed. “This is so cool! You have to tell me what Leo’s thinking—”
“No!” Juliet had to laugh at Aya’s stricken expression. “Aya! I can’t do that! It’s the whole reason I wanted to keep this a secret. How can you even want to be around me, knowing I can see your thoughts?”
“Uh, because I trust you?” Aya’s eyes narrowed, and she pursed her lips, slowly nodding. “I get it. I trust you ‘cause I know you wouldn’t snoop. If you started snooping on Leo for me…”
Juliet took a long, shaky breath, then pushed it out in a sigh, feeling the tension melt from her body. “I’m glad you understand. Please, though, let’s keep this between us, okay?”
Aya nodded slowly, her lips curling in a mischievous grin. “Are you sure, though? You never get tempted to take a little peak inside Tanaka’s head or—”
“Aya!” Juliet laughed.
“Scoot over.” Aya pushed her hip, and Juliet grunted, shifting to the side. “Nothing’s going on out there. Athena says you have to stay off your leg for another two hours. Wanna watch something together?”
No matter how hard she tried, Juliet couldn’t keep the smile from reforming on her face, and soon, her cheeks began to ache again. Aya was snuggling next to her, flipping through vid titles on a shared AUI, and she knew! She knew Juliet’s secret, and she didn’t care. She hadn’t even made her promise not to listen to her thoughts. Juliet felt like the weight of the universe had been lifted from her chest, and she could breathe freely for the first time in years.
Angel still sat in the chair to Juliet’s left, and every time she glanced at her, Angel’s violet eyes squinted as she smiled and nodded knowingly. She understood what she was thinking. She knew how she felt—she felt it, too. Juliet lay there, nodding along, listening to Aya babble about this show or that. When she finally settled on a crime drama set in New Galveston during the first Martian expansion, Juliet snuggled closer, letting Aya rest her head on her arm as she squeezed her against her side.
They watched two episodes, and Juliet dozed a couple of times before Athena came into the med bay. When she saw Juliet and Aya giggling about a stupid joke one of the detectives made regarding a suspect who’d left his DNA on a chocolate wrapper, she smiled and approached. “I’m glad to see you had some company while your nanites worked. Are you experiencing any discomfort?”
Juliet paused the vid and looked at her. “Nope! Everything feels amazing. I mean, I haven’t tried to walk yet, but I’ve been lifting my leg and bending my knee and ankle. It feels so normal that I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear you decided not to do the operation.”
“That’s wonderful. It’s an excellent piece of tech, far more capable than most of the hardware you can get on today’s marketplace, especially with the power cells I developed.”
“Power cells?” Aya perked up with interest.
Athena smiled. “Some improvements to the bio-batts the leg came equipped with.” She walked around the bed, standing on Juliet’s left. “Ready to try it out?”
“Um, yeah.” Juliet sat up, and, as Aya slid off the side of the bed, she shook out her arm, wincing. “You put it to sleep!”
“Sorry.” Aya grinned in a way that didn’t look sorry at all.
Juliet grunted and threw her blanket off, grateful that Athena had apparently dressed her in a pair of loose, comfortable, pastel-yellow scrubs. She slid off the side of the bed, putting her weight on her right leg first, then tentatively adding more and more pressure on her left foot. The cold plasteel felt the same on her feet. Looking down, she thought the synth-skin looked amazingly like her own, and the toes were perfect mirrors of her right foot. “How did you get it to match so well?”
“I told you we,” Athena nodded to Angel, “had been planning this for a while. The synth skin, by default, is a blank canvas open to DNA implantation. I had to alter some of the bones—easy enough to do with the right tools—but the skin tone, muscle fiber density and length, and even the nail beds were programmed to match your original DNA. I’m sure your doctor on Luna did the same for your arm.”
Juliet frowned, still unsure how she felt about Angel and Athena planning this without consulting her. She shook it off and took her first step. She felt a twinge in her lower back and stumbled slightly. “Oof.”
“Something wrong?” Athena asked.
Aya hurried around the bed, her face alarmed. “What is it?”
Juliet chuckled. “Nothing. Just a twinge. Maybe a nerve? It was in my lower back.” Athena stepped around behind her and gripped her hips, pressing her thumbs into her lower back, gently probing. “Closer to my spine.”
“Ah. Just a little swelling and fluid build-up. I had to tie your new hip structure in here and reinforce the bones and musculature to support the strength of your leg's synthetic muscle fibers. Angel, can you direct the nanites to this area?”
“Already doing so.”
Athena nodded, still probing with her thumbs. It felt good; Juliet couldn’t lie about that, and she found herself relaxing, putting more and more weight on her new leg. After a couple of minutes, Athena released her and tugged her shirt back down. “It’ll be fine. Why don’t you three take a walk around the ship? Tomorrow, you should be able to start doing some physical therapy—stretching, mobility tests, and the like.”
“Um,” Aya said, and when everyone looked at her, she asked, “What about the old one? What’d you do with it?”
“I don’t want to know!” Juliet snapped. “Aya! I don’t want to see or even imagine my poor dead leg!”
Athena chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “I put it in the medical waste recycler, Juliet. I’m afraid you’ll never see your dear departed limb.”
“Okay, good. Let’s just pretend this never happened.” Juliet started for the door, amazed that she didn’t feel the need to limp. “Come on, Aya—Wait!” Juliet turned and looked around the med bay. “Where’s my stuff? My sword? My gun?”
“All in your cabin, Captain,” Aya replied with a wink.
“When you’ve had a good walk around, come back, Juliet. I have some equipment I want to go over with you and Aya.”
“Me too?” Aya asked, her dark eyebrows shooting up.
“Of course! You’re going to be aboard the gunship, and I’m confident Juliet will have to fly against some opposition. Better that you’re prepared for any eventuality, don’t you think?”
Aya nodded eagerly. “Oh, I think, ma’am. I think very much!” Aya grabbed Juliet’s arm and walked with her to the door. “Come on; Frida’s waiting in the kitchen with Bennet and Leo.”
“Uh, why?”
“Aren’t you hungry? I’m starved!”
Juliet had to admit to a very hollow feeling in her stomach. Before she could agree, Athena called out, “You should definitely eat; those power cells need glucose.”
“There you have it,” Aya said, tugging her through the door. “Doctor’s orders!”
“I’m supposed to walk around—”
“You will, you will. Let’s just make a quick stop. Leo made lasagna.”
“What?” Juliet resisted her pull for the first time. “With what ingredients?”
“This ship’s pantry is very well-stocked!”
Juliet relented and let Aya pull her along the corridor. “Does he, like, even know how to cook?”
“Yes!” Aya laughed. “Besides, Bennet also made you a protein smoothie, and Frida’s baking some kind of dessert.”
“Is this going to be a big party? I just woke up from surgery, Aya!” Juliet could already hear the buzz of conversation from the mess hall. “It is, isn’t it?” She resisted Aya’s pull and, in a hoarse whisper, said, “Aya! I’m embarrassed about everything I said. I don’t want—"
“Come on, Juliet!” Aya whined. “Everyone wants to show you their support. People felt awful about how…well, you know.”
“I wasn’t trying to make people feel bad.” Juliet sighed and let it drop. She had to accept that people had feelings and motivations of their own, and it was nice to be part of a community, however weird this one was. So, she focused on things she was happy about: her dream, her quick recovery from the surgery, and having a friend to share the burden of her secrets. It was more than enough to bring her smile back. She let Aya tug her into the galley, where she was met with warm greetings from her friends and the wonderful scent of baked lasagna.