Juliet rapped her knuckles on the plasteel casing of the mess hall door. She didn’t need to knock—the doors were open, and it was a public space—but she could see Jensen sitting in there alone, his head down on his folded arms. She almost felt like she should leave and come back later. She’d knocked, though, and he looked up, eyes a little bleary. “Hey, Jens—er, Walker. How—”
“Jensen’s fine,” he muttered, sitting up and stretching his neck from side to side. “I liked myself better when I was Jensen. I knew what I was about. Shit, I used to take on corpos—liquidation, capture, you name it. Walker got his brain good and washed. What a dummy. Shit, Lucky, I really swallowed the bullshit—hook, line and sinker.”
Juliet frowned, the idiom a little foreign to her, but it clicked enough for her to say, “You’re not a fish.”
He snorted and pointed to the table. “Sit with me? I was worried as hell when I woke up. I swear, the last clear memory I have is of finding you in that holding cell. They put that, uh—” He grimaced, shaking his head as he reached toward the back of his neck. “That fucking thing in me shortly after that.” He growled and thumped his fist against his forehead. “It was the jammer. Gentry didn’t like me hiding what I was doing.”
Juliet moved to sit as he spoke, tucking her legs under the table across from him. “Hey. Hey, Jensen, you’re not the first person to believe the wrong people. Take it easy, all right? Selene said you were having some memory issues; you know it was me who jerked that chip out of your head. I’m so sorry. I—I could’ve killed you.”
Jensen looked up at that, and for the first time, his bloodshot eyes locked onto hers. “Don’t you dare say that! You saved my ass—big time.”
As Juliet processed, trying to think of what she wanted to say, he continued, “As for my memory, most of it’s there. Some weird spots here and there. I can’t remember my cousin. How weird is that? I know I grew up with my mom’s sister’s kid; I can remember my mom talking to him, but my cousin just isn’t there. I can’t see his face or even remember his name unless I focus on my mom talking to him. It’s goddamn strange. Selene says some of my ‘gray matter’ was damaged by the synth nerves when you pulled ‘em, but she also told me I was a goner if you didn’t, so, yeah, I can live without a few memories.”
“That is strange.” Juliet licked her lips, hesitant to provide false hope, but couldn’t help but say, “I had something similar when WBD took me. They used a chemical to block my memories. Is Selene sure—”
“Yeah, she scanned the hell out of me, looking for something like that. All she found was scar tissue.” He sighed and shook his head. “She says some of the missing stuff might come back. Says some glial cells are building networks around the damage.” He shrugged. “All I know is I remember how to fight.” He grinned and held out his right hand, holding it in the air between them. “Steady as a rock.”
“What kind of fight are you looking for?” Juliet arched an eyebrow.
“Oh, I need to find those fucks. I can’t live with myself knowing how dumb I was and how they used me—what they did to my brain. Nah, it won’t stand. I need to make it right.” He tapped his head. “One small problem.”
“Yeah?”
“I lost my PAI and, with it, all my bit vault codes. I need to get down to Atlanta; I’ve got some shit locked in a container there—back-ups and whatnot. You think I could bum some credits for a shuttle?” He frowned. “We’re on Luna, right? I’m pretty sure Selene said that.”
“Uh, woah, there, Jensen.” Juliet reached across the table to take ahold of his wrist. He flinched a little but didn’t pull away. “How much did Selene tell you?” Before he answered, Juliet subvocalized, “Who else is on this ship?”
“No one other than Athena at the moment. Most everyone is working out of Tanaka’s offices. Aya, as you know, stopped off at the gunship’s hangar and—”
“I get it. Don’t worry.” Juliet wanted to focus on Jensen, who had begun to answer her.
“Selene? She said you broke free and got me out of there—you know, all about the chip removal, my new kicks,” he chuckled and thumped his knuckle against his left knee, “and how I was out of it for a while.” He shrugged, and Juliet could see he was being brave, that his nonchalance was bravado. She squeezed his wrist gently until he looked her in the face again.
“Hey, you can be real with me, you know that, right?”
“I . . . I think so. I know we were close, but . . .” He sighed and pulled his hand away, reaching up to press his knuckles against the side of his head. “It’s kind of fuzzy.”
“Okay, well, let’s take it easy until things are a little less fuzzy, yeah? First, there’s much more to the story than what Selene gave you. Before I get into it, though, I promise I’ll help you get your backups and anything else you need, okay?” His eyes found hers again, and he nodded quickly, almost like he didn’t trust himself to speak. Juliet smiled, trying to reassure him. “When you’re feeling better, and you’re all squared away in that regard, you better believe we can use your help going forward. Thing is, Jensen, the job’s a lot bigger than you think . . .”
#
Kline inhaled deeply from his orange-vanilla-flavored Nikko-vape and swiped the call window away. He tilted his face toward the sun, basking in the artificial warmth of the dome. After a while, Ruby grew tired of his procrastination and prompted, “Well? Are you going to tell her?” Kline sighed and scratched his chin—he hadn’t shaved in days—then turned toward the pool, where a dozen kids played in the shallow end and adults lounged near the bar. Harriet was there, lying on a chaise lounge, a towel draped over her face as she tried to get some sun on the pale skin that only a lifetime spent toiling in laboratories could cultivate.
“Yeah, I suppose.” Kline tucked his hands into the pockets of his new swim trousers and meandered over to her. He wore a banana-yellow polo shirt—no need for everyone to see how his arms were tan, but his body was almost as pale as Harriet’s as far as he was concerned. Besides, the shirt had a breast pocket that was perfect for his vape. He gave the pool a wide berth; the children splashing were a bit wild for his tastes. “No need to get my new sandals wet.”
“Kline, those are designed to get wet—”
“That’s beside the point, Ruby.”
He loomed over Harriet, but the towel kept his shadow from disturbing her, so he sat on the chaise beside her and reached forward to poke her shoulder. Her skin was hot, and the imprint his finger left behind was white against the faint red of the surrounding skin. “Hey, you’re going to get a burn.”
“Mm,” she grunted, lifting a corner of the towel to peek at him through squinted eyes. “Good; it’ll make it harder for WBD’s goons to find me.”
Kline arched an eyebrow. “If you were really worried, I don’t think you’d be speaking so openly.” He tilted his chin toward the hotel bar, where a camera cluster hung from one of the rafters.
She sighed and let the towel fall back over her eyes. “Well, the news makes it sound like they’ve got their hands full.”
“Speaking of that, I just had an interesting conversation.”
Again, Harriet lifted the towel to squint at him. “Don’t tease me, Kline!”
“A lady named Selene Kostas called. She’s friends with—”
“Juliet?” Harriet’s voice was breathless.
Kline smiled and winked. “Good guess.”
“What’s the story?”
“Um, she’s willing to buy us passage to Luna where, I guess, Juliet and some others are organizing a team—a, well, her word for it was resistance.”
Harriet sat up, throwing the towel to the side. “Resisting who? What?”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“All the chaos Gentry and her, um, partner, left behind.”
“Just say it,” Ruby hissed, inserting herself into the conversation. “Apollyon! Don’t fear his name!”
“Apollyon?” Harriet asked, oblivious.
Kline sighed and fished around in his breast pocket for his Nikko-vape. “Yeah, that son of a bitch.”
“So we’re going, right?” Harriet was already moving, shifting to the side of her chaise.
“You that eager? You know, she made me do things—made me feel things.”
Harriet scoffed. “She saved your butt and reminded you of who you should be siding with.”
Kline didn’t have a valid objection to that statement, and before Ruby could pile on, he stood and held out a hand to help Harriet to her feet. “Yeah. Yeah,” he repeated, nodding as he exhaled and pulled Harriet up, “not like we’ve got any other plans.”
#
Rutger Tanaka stood near the door, listening to the buzz of productive conversations, and slowly nodded to himself. Despite his reticence, the warm glow of pride was taking root in his chest as he watched Juliet move from station to station, spending time with each of the people in the “war room” he’d set up. Not long after the Furies’ Wing had arrived on Luna, he’d bought out the rest of the floor in the building where he kept his office. It was temporary, but he wasn’t worried about the funds; real estate never lost value on Luna. The offices and the war room were meant to serve as a base of operations until the Promachos was ready to leave dry dock.
Tanaka grinned at the thought. The ship would be the largest, most advanced vessel ever constructed at the Luna shipyards—Selene had contracted seven of the nine most prominent ship manufacturers operating between Earth and Luna and would be keeping those corporations busy, using a hundred percent of their capacity, for nearly two years. The cost was immense—nation-state levels of Sol-bits—the undertaking equally so, but somehow, the AI had cleared all of the regulatory red tape and was making it happen.
He walked over to the desk where Juliet stood, talking with Alice. His shoes made no noise on the office carpeting, but Juliet still felt him coming, turning to smile as she listened to Alice speak. “. . . really impressed by their resumes and mission statistics. I think they’ll be great to have on your wing.”
“And Nick trained one of them?”
“Trained is a tricky word. The guy flew with Nick for about a year when he first got to Callisto. Still, his numbers are good and—”
“I trust you, Alice.” Juliet smiled and put her hand on the other woman’s shoulder, peering at her console so her AUI could pick up the same data sheets Alice was viewing. “Yeah, I like the looks of this group, and considering they’re all used to flying together, I think it’s a good bet. We’ll be able to put them into action all the sooner.”
“So I can make the offer?” Alice sounded a little hesitant, and Juliet chuckled.
“You’ve got the final say; it’s your budget.”
Tanaka nodded almost imperceptibly; she was a natural leader, giving her subordinate a sense of agency and ownership in the process. He supposed “subordinate” was a little strong of a term, but Athena—Selene, he reminded himself—had made it clear that Juliet answered only to her in this new endeavor; she had Angel, and Angel had access to all the data.
Juliet gave Alice’s shoulder another playful jostle. “You got this?”
“Aye-aye, captain. We’ll have those bunks full of competent pilots in no time.”
Juliet smiled. “And how’s Shiro? Enjoying his R&R?”
“Oh yes.” Alice laughed and then flicked her fingers toward Juliet. “Here’s a vid of him trying to ride a mule down into the canyon. His mother’s doing the filming—that’s her mad cackle you hear in the background.”
Juliet’s eyes glazed over briefly, then she laughed and clapped her hands. “Thanks for that, Alice. I’ve never seen his face make that expression before.” After a few more jokes at Shiro’s expense—Tanaka did not approve—Juliet turned to him. “Walk with me? I’ve got Kline waiting in conference room C; he’s got an update on the other prototypes that escaped the Horizon Prophet. We might need boots on the ground sooner rather than later.” Tanaka nodded and fell into step beside her. Thousands had escaped the dreadnought prior to its destruction, and there were quite a few “angel” chips among them. Some were benign, like Kline’s, but they all bore investigating. Juliet was adamant that no “Montclairs or Chens” be allowed to mingle with humanity.
“That was fast,” he remarked as they made their way toward the row of conference rooms on the far side of the war room.
Juliet nodded. “Kline’s preferred role is investigation, and it seems he’s pretty darn good at it. I suppose having Ruby in his head with a direct line to—” She glanced around and frowned when she realized several of the staff nearby hadn’t been cleared to know about Athena. “Selene helps.”
“Hai.” Tanaka glanced down at her waist to the near-mythical monoblade by her side. “Let’s have some practice after work today, hmm?”
Juliet glanced at him briefly, with mischief in her eyes as she winked. “I was going to suggest the same thing. Frida’s coming in for the swing shift, so I’ll be free at sixteen hundred.”
“Good.” He nodded to the door as Juliet reached for the handle. “Will this result in a mission?”
She paused with her hand on the knob, frowning, but then offered him a quick nod. “Yes, and I’d like you in on it. It’ll be Jensen’s first time back in the field, and I’d appreciate your eyes on him. Hopefully, just for backup, but also there in case . . .” She frowned and looked Tanaka in the eyes. “Let’s just say I know he’s got a lot on his mind. Nothing worrisome, but I think some solid backup would be wise.”
Tanaka grinned. “Good,” he repeated, “then I will back him up.”
#
The gentle, constant hum of Cherry Blossom’s drives made it far too easy for Juliet to oversleep, so she wasn’t surprised when Angel had to wake her by playing gentle chimes. She grunted, shifting under her thin but cozy blanket to press her face into the warm acceleration gel. “You should be in the cockpit soon, Juliet. We’re arriving in Callisto space in just a few hours.”
“Any word from Antigone?”
“No, but we’re close enough for you to reach out with minimal delay.”
“All right.” Juliet climbed out of her bunk, arching her back as she stretched her arms toward the ceiling. “Ung! That feels good.” She went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and pulled on her bodysuit. It was a lot like the one she’d worn while a captive to WBD, but this one was black and padded in strategic areas to make her body armor more comfortable when she geared up.
When she ducked through the short access corridor to the central access shaft and then worked her way back toward the ship’s little galley, she could hear voices—Aya and Hawkins. When she stepped into the galley, she saw those two sitting at the table and Leo leaning against the counter, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
Juliet stepped over next to him. “Pour me one, too.”
“Good morning, Captain.” He winked, retrieving another cup from the cupboard to comply with her demand.
“Hey, Juliet!” Aya looked up from where she and Hawkins were deconstructing a compact needler SMG.
“Morning, Aya. Something wrong with your gun?”
“Hawkins is helping me install a new trigger.”
“You know you’re staying on the ship—”
“Yes, Captain,” she sighed. “Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be ready in case something happens.”
“Right.” Juliet shook her head, always a little surprised at her overzealous protectiveness of the one-time salvage tech. She took the coffee Leo handed her and moved to sit beside Aya. “Yeah, of course, you should be ready.” She looked at Hawkins. “How about you?” She turned to Leo. “You guys ready?”
“Always,” Leo grunted. Hawkins only nodded. He might have had a little more bravado once, but he and Juliet had been caught unawares, and they both shared that memory a little too vividly. They both shared the weight of Barns dying, fighting alone. Juliet grimaced, sipped her coffee, and squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn’t sure how much she was projecting and how much was real. Maybe Hawkins didn’t think about it anymore. Looking at his face as she swallowed, she knew that was a load of bull. He thought about it all the time.
“Well, if things go smoothly, we’ll be in and out without a single trigger pulled.” Juliet stood, lifted her cup in salute, and started toward the cockpit. “I’ll go see if I can get in touch with our package.”
“Not hungry?” Aya asked.
“Nah. I’ve got some food bars under my seat.” Juliet slipped out before Aya could object further.
Angel didn’t let her get away quite so cleanly. “You should eat something more substantial, but I know your mind is too busy to think about it.”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s busy.” Juliet almost spilled her coffee as she climbed into her pilot’s seat but managed to save it at the last second. She glanced at her AUI and saw the ship’s deceleration thrust was only pushing half a G. “No wonder I’m clumsy. We’re closer than I thought.”
“That’s why I woke you.”
“All right, all right,” Juliet sighed. “Can you try to call Antigone?”
A call window appeared on her AUI, and the long, slow beep of a connection attempt sounded. After two tones, an image resolved, displaying Antigone much the way Juliet remembered her, but with dark circles under her eyes and palpable stress replacing her lazy good cheer. “Lucky! You’re here?”
Juliet’s lips quirked into a half-smile. “I told you I was coming, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but nothing’s been going right. I didn’t let myself believe.”
“Did you make it to the agridome?”
“Not yet. I’m hiding! I’m in my housekeeper’s apartment; they were watching the cars, Lucky. We had to sneak out in her trunk!”
“Can she get you to the location I sent you? That dome has exterior access, and I can put the Blossom down on the surface—”
“I can try, but they already killed Rivers and Edward Tate—he was my connection at CCS; they might be watching the access roads.”
Juliet nodded, frowning. “All right. New plan. Sit tight, and we’ll come into port. We’ll extract you from there.”
“Are you sure? Palmer’s men are in the area! If it weren’t for this PAI that you sent me—”
“That wasn’t me. Don’t worry, Antigone, we’ve got friends, too. We’re not going to let them get you or your daughter. Send me the location.”
“Done. Thank you, Lucky.”
Juliet smiled and nodded. “See you soon.”
After she cut the line, Angel said, “If Trent Palmer gets to her, he could force a shareholder vote. If he gains control of her conglomerate—”
“I know. That’s why Athena sent us, sis. We’ll stop it. We’re going to need Antigone’s resources if we want to put out the rest of the fires Gentry left smoldering around the Jovian System. There’s just too much for us to handle alone, at least in the short term.” Juliet picked up her coffee and continued to work on it while she watched her approach vector on the HUD. “I wasn’t too excited about landing illegally anyway. I’d rather not give the Callisto Consortium a reason to send interceptors after us.”
“If Palmer has secured influence with the CCS, they’re likely to try to stop us when we depart.”
“Only if they know we have Antigone.” Juliet shrugged. “If they do, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Angel chuckled. “You’re excited!”
Juliet grinned and finished her coffee before digging a cookie-dough-flavored energy bar out of her seat’s storage compartment. “Of course I’m excited! Angel, we’re in the thick of it. We’re working to save lives and change the course of history. This is only the tip of the iceberg! When the Promachos is finished . . .” She trailed off; there wasn’t any need to expound. Angel knew her, and she knew Angel, and they were of a single mind where those things were concerned.
“Do you think we’ll go after them?” Angel asked after a while.
“If Athena can find them . . .” Juliet considered, then shrugged. “I think so. I think she’ll want to ensure there’s no new threat building out there. She’ll want to confirm that Honey and Clara and all her ‘sisters’ were able to put Apollyon in check. I think that’s why the Promachos is so over the top. We don’t want to show up and be outgunned. No matter what Apollyon does, they won’t be able to ramp up production to that scale immediately. Oof. I shouldn’t jinx us.”
“I think you’re right. Athena wasn’t born with war as her purpose, but she’s much cleverer than Apollyon. I believe her love of humanity makes her stronger, too.”
Juliet nodded, then, after another minute of silence, asked, “Are you happy, Angel?”
“Very happy.”
“Me too.” Juliet smiled and folded her arms over her chest. It was true; she was content on many levels. If she went back in time to visit the Juliet who worked at Fred’s Salvage and told her everything that would be happening to her, she wouldn’t have believed it. She wouldn’t have wanted it. Now, though, she couldn’t put into words how grateful she was that Angel had come into her life. She wished she could somehow thank the man who made it happen. “Godric,” she said, shaking her head. “We never learned anything about him.”
“A test subject—likely a WBD employee with decent neural adaptiveness. Another victim of WBD’s schemes.” Juliet could feel Angel’s mental shrug. “I wish he hadn’t wiped me before handing me to you. I wish I could remember him to pay the proper respects.”
“I wish a lot, too, Angel. I wish Barns hadn’t died. I wish—” Juliet felt tears spring into her eyes as emotion tightened her throat and made it hard to speak. She forced the words out, though, refusing to let them die unspoken. “I wish Nick was still alive. I wish we hadn’t made so many friends at Grave who didn’t make it out.”
“Let’s not dwell on the losses, Juliet. Let’s remember what we’ve accomplished and focus on the future.”
Juliet wiped her eyes and sniffed. “Yeah, Angel. Let’s do that. Let’s focus on the future. We turned a page with the destruction of WBD, and now we’ve got a new chapter starting.”
“Yes. A new chapter—I’m thankful that I’ll have you to experience it with.”
Juliet leaned back and closed her eyes, her mind drifting through the montage of experiences she’d shared with the sister living in her head. She’d been through the wringer; there was no denying it, but Angel had been with her every step of the way. Every step of the way, she’d known she wasn’t alone. “Me too, Angel. Me too. I love you.”