Earth

2027

Theo placed the handmod on his palm and thought again about trying it for himself. The training program had already begun with carefully selected candidates who had already begun using them. There was still worry about if the handmods could cause any harm, but thanks to the data from Lumiea, Theo was able to reassure everyone that they were safe.

It was data that world leaders now also had. Rory's data drop had given the world invaluable information that he had quickly transferred from the handmods to a secure server. The government needed to keep a tight lid on what was arguably now the greatest weapon against the invaders, so Theo was not entirely sure of how they planned to keep the Federation from stealing it back. But he knew they'd swiftly acted to make copies and protect the information. Theo worried about the technology and intel being shared fairly with all of the nations of the world, but he couldn't get anyone to tell him who it had been sent to.

If the US kept it for themselves, it would be the greatest act of self-sabotage in history. He trusted the president, though, to see how desperately the world needed to cooperate.

The enormous victory of the data drop had been completely overshadowed by Rory's livestream. He'd heard nothing from her after her short video and the message for him. Jace had looked on the verge of death. Clearly something horrible had happened.

Theo closed his fingers around the handmod and looked out the window to the clear sky. He knew Rory would reach out to him as soon as she could, so each passing hour only made him more worried. Was she okay? Where was she?

Sweat gathered at the nape of his neck. He couldn't stand around being scared for her. If he wasted valuable time fearing the worst, Rory would be disappointed in him. They were at war with an incredibly powerful enemy.

General Price's voice tugged him from his thoughts. He'd returned to the room after stepping out. "What do you think?"

"I'm struggling to think about anything except whether my wife is alive."

"You have to trust Rory."

"What she did is beyond what Vehru ever expected of her. I'm confident of that. She gave us so much information." Theo shook his head. "I should be with her right now."

"She sent you here for a reason. Focus on what you can do."

Theo faced the general. Funny that the two of them had ended up in underground bunkers so many times. It was too dangerous to have the data anywhere that someone could find it so with Theo having access to what they'd allowed, he needed to be some place secure. "I think that the Aeroluxes are produced in this solar system, likely on Earth, and that Vehru will probably start using them now that we've gained all this information."

"That's not what I care about. How do you think we can combat their systems?"

"What do your other guys say?"

The general sighed. "What's going on with you?"

"You've limited my access to the data and you're not giving me reports that you've compiled. What makes you think I have any worthwhile answers?"

The general hesitated and then opened up one of the laptops on the table. "Because you've been right too many times." After a few minutes, he turned the screen toward Theo. "Watch."

A video played that must have been taken from a deep sea craft of some kind. The screen was pitch black except for the beam of light shining into the vacant ocean water.

"We surveyed each of the coordinates you gave us when you were researching possible locations for Aerolux production. This is the southern end of the Mariana Trench at nearly 11 kilometers deep."

The camera turned to a rocky wall and slowed. Theo leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at how the light glinted. Slowly the view shifted up and his chest tightened as the clear image of what looked to be a large steel door filled the screen.

"What size is that door?" Theo asked.

"About twenty feet tall."

"This is where it's happening. They're making something there. Aeroluxes but what else?"

The screen suddenly went black. "Every time we send something down there, it gets destroyed. We're monitoring the area but we can't get very close."

"When are you going to stop locking me out of information? You clearly value my opinion and want me on this. Make it happen."

"The president is considering. Your relationship with Rory complicates things."

"I need to hear from her." Just her name made his heart pound. It wasn't just that he was scared for her. He missed her desperately. "You know that Rory and I are trustworthy. There's no time to waste, General."

"I know." He closed the laptop screen. "I–"

Heat swelled and popped against Theo. He'd felt this before.

A man with broad shoulders appeared in the middle of the room with his back to them. He turned, eyes finding Theo.

"Jace?" Theo blinked, unable to move or say anything else. The other man looked completely fine when just the day before in the livestream his face had been bloodied and his skin pale.

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"Rory sent me." He spoke quickly, with concern. "Your security is not good enough. Vehru and Morfrain are angry. They want to destroy all the data."

General Price drew his gun and grabbed Theo's arm, ripping him back. "How did you find us?"

"Rory knows how to track the handmods. That's the one she sent the information to so she hoped Theo kept it." Jace's eyes fell to the handmod Theo still held. "Tell me you've made copies."

"Say nothing," Price said in a steely, quiet voice.

"I'm on your side." Jace stepped closer with the veins in his neck standing out as he raised his voice. General Price tightened his hold on his gun. "Every second counts."

"Is Rory okay?" Theo moved forward but the general pushed him back. "Where is she?"

"She's fine. Vehru is angry, but she needs Rory to keep acting as Witness."

"What happened? You were injured."

Jace sighed, clearly impatient, but appearing to soften. "I tried to get the neuroweb removed from everyone. Morfrain thought he could convince me to join him as a Commander. It didn't go well."

"They healed you?"

"Yes. Vehru and Morfrain fought. It was rough. As upset as she is, she has plans for me and Rory. There's no time for me to be injured. She transported me to this small room. I don't know where it was. Definitely another planet. It felt like I was breathing in water, but it healed me."

"Did Rory get hurt?"

"No. Never. She's completely fine. Just worried." He was quiet for a moment as he glanced down and then back to Theo. "Rory asked me to tell you sorry that she couldn't come herself and to ask you to stay strong. She'll see you soon."

Theo gasped in a deep breath, finally feeling it was true, and that Rory really was okay. "Tell her I love her." As soon as he said it, he realized who he was asking to share the message, but instead of getting upset, Jace only nodded.

"I will."

"Sorry." Theo looked at the general now. "Put that down. I saw Rory pull a dozen bullets out of Jace's chest. You aren't going to hurt him with that."

"Vehru got to our copies of the data," Jace said. "We couldn't hide it from her in time with the state I was in and Rory couldn't get a message to the others. She'll hunt down the data no matter what. Give me a copy and I'll make sure it stays safe."

"Don't give him anything," General Price said.

"Vehru already knows what was sent. She got ours. I brought that data. It's not like I don't know what's on it. What does it hurt to give me a copy to protect?"

Theo glanced down at the handmod. "I don't even have all of the data anymore."

"One of our people will be able to recover it from that handmod."

"What else can you recover?" General Price narrowed his eyes. "Who knows what you're capable of with your tech. You may be able to figure out something from this handmod."

"Vehru's Replica would be adept at data tracing and finding patterns," Theo said. "The odds seem low, but it potentially could lead to information about where we copied the data to." Theo gripped the hand mod. "How are you going to make sure Vehru doesn't find it?"

"How would you do that? I have better odds than you do."

"Give it to me," General Price said.

"I understand that you can't trust me. I get it." Jace lifted his hands. "But you know if you take that handmod I can get it from you. So let's not do this."

Theo had no reason to believe that Jace wouldn't take the handmod from General Price by force. More than likely, he wouldn't do it to Theo because of Rory, but this man seemed completely committed to his war. And it wasn't the one Vehru fought. It wasn't even the one Rory fought. Jace battled for his family. He'd do anything for Rory and Levi.

"Rory warned me about something once." Theo stared at Jace, meeting his ruddy eyes. "She told me you couldn't put the world above her. She made me promise that I would." He held his breath now as he spoke. "Vehru has plans. I can't know for sure that she didn't send you. She's angry with Rory and you would stop at nothing to protect her."

"Wouldn't you?" That wasn't the response Theo expected. Despite how insulted Jace sounded, he had a sudden look of curiosity in his eyes that seemed misplaced for what Theo knew of the man.

"I would, including being the man she wants me to be. I won't sacrifice Earth. If you want this handmod, you'll have to take it."

"I don't want to hurt you, Theo. You're important to Rory." He took one step forward and then another. "I have to take that handmod, though. We need to ensure a copy survives."

"One more step and I fire," General Price said.

Jace shifted. That was all Theo saw. That slight shifting. But then suddenly Jace was on General Price, twisting the gun from his grip. Theo tried to replay the movement in his mind and retrace Jace's steps but it had happened too quickly.

Jace held General Price's eyes as he bent the gun in half like it was plastic. "Rory likes you too. I really don't want this to escalate."

The general was breathing heavy but somehow despite the obvious difference in strength, he didn't back down from Jace. "This world is ours. We'll never stand down while you take it from us. I don't care who you are to Rory or what you say you want. You're Vehru's general and that's the only fact that matters to me."

Without even glancing at Theo, Jace's hand snapped out and he ripped the handmod away. Theo's eyes widened because some part of him believed that Jace would not cross Rory by stealing from Theo. Only Jace would if he thought it would keep her safe in the end.

"I look forward to meeting again, General," Jace said. Then he looked at Theo. "Stay safe. Rory can't handle any more loss."

The strange feeling returned like when Jace had looked curious. Why did that sound more like a threat than a warning? Something wasn't right.

Theo rushed forward to try to steal the handmod back but Jace disappeared. He fell through open air and caught himself against the wall.

"Fuck," General Price growled.

An alarm blared suddenly. Theo looked around at the lights flashing from alarms at the edge of the room.

"What now?" General Price said, his phone already ringing. He answered and then ran to the laptop to open it.

Theo watched as he opened his email and clicked on footage of a clear blue sky and endless waters.

"There's movement," the general said. "A lot of movement in the trench."

Black points broke the surface of the ocean. Slowly dark, angular Aeroluxes rose up into the sky, glittering in the sunlight. Hundreds of them spread over the screen. They remained still for several seconds, like they were posing for a photo, and then at once, each scattered too fast for Theo's mind to register.

"Holy shit." General Price dropped his phone on the ground.

The image replayed in slow motion so that Theo stared helplessly at the army of highly advanced ships.

He turned and placed his hands on the cool wall with his eyes closed. "I want access to everything." He raised his voice. "Now! Get me in touch with the teams working defending against those."

It wasn't often Theo shouted, but he could not play games with everything at stake and with Jace appearing here to steal the handmod like he had.

They'd gained a major advantage in this war. They could not let it go, not even with the appearance of all the aeroluxes.

"This data has the answers we need," Theo said. "There's tech in there that can still change the course of this war. We're just getting started." He looked at the general now. "Stop holding me back."