Avalon

CHAPTER 14

JETH STARED THROUGH THE FRONT WINDOWS OF THE BRIDGE, not really looking at the sea of black punctuated by bits of light. It was early but he was wide awake, his mind a tempest of thoughts, all of them the wrong ones. He should have been thinking about what to do, whether to call Hammer or Renford.

Instead he was thinking about the last time he’d seen his parents. The memory was far hazier than he could’ve imagined. It didn’t seem all that long ago, and yet the memory felt ancient. He couldn’t recall the exact sound of their voices. The ITA had confiscated all of their old video journals. Their faces were easy; he had lots of photos, but the voices were hard, almost impossible to remember.

Instead of his father’s deep baritone telling Jeth they would be back in a couple of months and that he should look after his sister and focus on his studies, he kept hearing Milton’s gravel-lined voice. Instead of his mother’s throaty laugh as she kissed Lizzie’s head, tickling her to keep her from crying, he heard Celeste’s full-bellied one.

Jeth might not be able to remember his parents as well as he wanted, but he had no trouble remembering himself and how unconcerned he’d been about saying good-bye that day. He’d been impatient to see his friends, waiting for him at Metis Academy, the ITA-run boarding school on Therin where he lived during the long periods of time when his parents were out exploring. If he’d known it was the last time he was going to see his parents, he would’ve paid more attention. He would’ve hugged his mother longer and not protested when she kissed him on the cheek.

He would’ve begged them not to go.

For a moment his longing for them was so strong, he almost forgot where he was—in the Belgrave Quadrant with a world full of trouble waiting just over the border.

Jeth closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, wishing he could scrub away the memories. Especially the ones that came afterward, when his parents returned from that last trip. All the news stories and the whispers from the other kids at school—Arrested for treason. Sealed trial. Execution. He never got to see them. Not even to say good-bye.

Why was he thinking about this now? Why did his parents’ death seem so near after years of distance?

Down deep inside him, he knew the answer. For the first time in long time he wished for a parent to make the hard choices for him. But he refused to admit it. Instead, Jeth told himself it was just because they were in the Belgrave and because of the data crystal Lizzie had discovered. He’d briefly considered asking to see it last night, but with the shock of Avalon’s metadrive failing, he didn’t have the will to face anything else painful. Besides, examining its contents wouldn’t help him make a decision on what to do next.

Hammer. Renford. Hammer. Renford. Which one? Neither? Have to choose.

“Good morning.”

Jeth lurched up from his chair and spun around, completely caught off guard. Sierra stood behind him. He had no idea how she’d managed to get so close without him hearing. A head taller, he frowned down at her. The last thing he wanted was company. Especially hers. She was one-third the cause of his trouble.

“What are you doing up here?” he snapped.

A look of surprise crossed Sierra’s face followed by a glower. “Excuse me. I didn’t realize the bridge was off limits.” She turned around so fast her ponytail swatted him in the face.

Jeth scowled after her, resisting an urge to give her hair a good hard tug.

At once guilt pricked his insides. She didn’t deserve the brunt of his bad mood. “Wait a second.”

She froze, then turned to face him, crossing her arms in front of her. “What?”

To his surprise, her annoyed expression made him want to laugh. It reminded him a bit of Viggo when Jeth had accidentally stepped on the cat’s tail—pissed off but incredibly cute in a fearsome, fuzzy sort of way.

Oh, she’s more than cute. Jeth ignored the thought as he forced his eyes to stay on her face and not wander to any other parts of her he might find distracting. Not that her face wasn’t a distraction all by itself. She looked better after a night’s sleep, bright-eyed and less pale.

He rubbed his cheek where her hair had lashed him. “I didn’t mean to snap. You just startled me, is all. How’d you manage to do that anyway?”

A smirk curled her lips. “You mean walk about without making all kinds of noise? Easy, I’m a girl.”

Jeth snorted. “Right. Well, even so, you shouldn’t sneak up on a person like that.”

“Why? Are you afraid of me?” she said, a tease in her voice.

He grinned. “You did try and kill me the first time we met.”

“Yes, but I imagine a professional thief like you gets that a lot.”

Jeth’s good humor flipped back to bad. “How do you know about that?”

The smile slid from Sierra’s face. “Um, Shady mentioned it,” she said at last. “He said you’re known as the Malleus Shades. It’s . . . catchy. Malleus, the Latin word for Hammer.”

I’m going to kill him. Jeth took a deep inhale. “So, what do you want? ’Cause I know you didn’t come up here this early to discuss my line of work.”

Sierra’s expression turned serious. “I came to talk to you about what’s happening to Avalon’s metadrive.”

Jeth gritted his teeth. “What do you know about it? Have you been wandering around my ship in the middle of the night?”

“No—”

“Lemme guess, Flynn told you.”

She shook her head. “No one told me. They didn’t have to. I know the symptoms of drive failure, and it’s exactly what we felt in that last jump.”

“Really. So how does somebody like you know so much about metatech?”

“Because I’m ITA.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m an ITA agent.”

Jeth scoffed. “That’s impossible. What are you, sixteen?”

Sierra put her hands on her hips. “Seventeen, not that it matters. I joined the ITA at fifteen, spent a year and a half as a probationary agent, and received full field status a few months ago.”

Jeth crossed his arms. “You’ll understand if I find that hard to believe. I know a thing or two about the ITA. You can’t even submit an application until you’re seventeen.” He knew this well, because as a kid it was all he ever wanted: to be old enough to join the ITA and to become a space explorer alongside his parents.

“I didn’t apply. I was recruited.”

The idea made him cringe. It was a concept he associated with Hammer, the way he was always seeking out new talent, new blood. “Why would the ITA want to recruit a kid?”

“Because I’m gifted, but if you don’t believe me . . .” She reached into her pocket and withdrew an item he had no trouble recognizing—the badge of an ITA agent, with the star and eagle emblem.

Jeth stared at it, incredulous. Sierra certainly wasn’t dumb, but would the ITA actually go so far as to recruit her? It broke every ITA rule and regulation that he knew of. And yet the concept wasn’t farfetched at all—that was, if he replaced “ITA” with “Hammer.”

Jeth held out his hand, and she gave him the badge. He examined it carefully. It certainly seemed genuine. Then his mind made a new connection. “You’re on the run from them, aren’t you? The ITA?”

“Correct,” Sierra said, her voice clipped.

Jeth thought about Renford, trying to remember everything about their brief meeting. He’d only mentioned the ship, saying nothing about survivors. Jeth had assumed that, like Hammer, the ITA was only after the weapon on board and didn’t believe there would be survivors—that the ship had been missing two months and not two weeks like Sierra insisted. And yet Sierra being an ITA protégé couldn’t be coincidence, could it?

He considered telling her about Renford but held back, worried that she would clam up and refuse to tell him more. “Why are you on the run?” he asked, trying to sound casual as he handed her back the badge. If he could get her talking, get her to trust him, she might reveal more on her own.

Sierra stared at him for several long seconds, considering her answer carefully. She slid the badge into her pocket. “Once you join the ITA, you can’t quit. They don’t tell you that beforehand, and I found it out the hard way. But I didn’t like being owned. I didn’t know it would be like that, with them dictating your every move, every decision. I wanted to be free to live my life on my own terms.”

Something moved inside Jeth’s chest, a feeling like butterflies. Only it had nothing to do with nerves but rather like calling to like. Her words might’ve been stolen right out of his own mind, his heart. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I understand that.”

She sighed. “I imagined you would. I know the story about your parents.”

Jeth blinked. He hadn’t been thinking about his parents at all, but he wasn’t surprised she knew the story, given her background. That must have been why she recognized his last name when he introduced himself. And what she said made sense. Their lives had been fully bought—and expended—by the ITA’s will.

Shaking off uncomfortable connections, he asked, “What about Vince? Is he ITA, too?”

“He was an elite combat soldier.”

“And now he’s a deserter.”

Sierra flinched. “Yes, but not because he’s a coward. We both learned some awful truths about the ITA. Things neither of us could stomach. Stuff so horrible you couldn’t imagine.”

Jeth slid his fingers into the belt loops of his pants, more curious about what she knew than he cared to admit. “Oh, I can imagine a lot. But no worries here. Anybody who’s ever told the ITA to piss off is welcome on my ship.”

Some of the tension in Sierra’s body eased a little. “Good to know. So I guess this means you can understand why I’m so concerned about what you decide to do next.”

Jeth gritted his teeth, knowing exactly what she was getting at even though he hadn’t agreed to anything yesterday. “You don’t want me to call Hammer to come fetch us.” Of course she didn’t. If Hammer found out they were wanted by the ITA, he would turn them in and collect the bounty. The ITA did not take desertion lightly.

Jeth turned and sat down, falling into the chair as he ran his fingers through his hair. He wanted to yank it out, if only it would relieve the pressure inside his skull. Maybe the pain would inspire him to some solution to the problem. But in his heart he knew he had to call Hammer. It was the only choice. How could he call Renford now, knowing Sierra and Vince were ITA fugitives?

Jeth looked up at her. “I don’t want to call him either, but I’m out of options.”

“No, you’re not. I’ve another option. One that will solve both our problems.”

“Yeah, and what’s that?”

“Your sister told me about your deal with Hammer for this ship.” Sierra motioned to the bridge. “I know how much it means to you, but a ship without a metadrive is practically worthless to anyone who wants to come and go as they please.”

Jeth exhaled, his fury with Lizzie a dead weight against his chest. How dare she share such secrets with these strangers? She was under a lot of pressure with the manual jump, his conscience reminded him. And no doubt she’d blathered out of nerves. But that didn’t excuse it. She’d exposed a powerful pressure point for Sierra to use against him. “What does that matter?” he said.

“Because I have a way for you to get a replacement metadrive.”

Jeth snorted. He’d been wrong about her. She wasn’t smart. She was crazy. “Oh sure, because those are just lying about for the taking.”

“You can get anything if you’ve got the right bargaining chip.”

“Like what?”

“Like the weapon Hammer is after.”

Jeth narrowed his gaze. “You said you didn’t know anything about a weapon.”

Sierra folded her arms. “I lied.”

“Well then, now I’m ready to believe everything you say.”

She tapped her foot. “I didn’t know if I could trust you, and ignorance is safety.”

“Not to mention an ace in the hole, right?”

“Right.” She drew a breath and let the air out through her teeth. “Also, I didn’t realize what you were talking about at first. What he’s after isn’t a weapon in the traditional sense. It’s not an explosive or viral or anything like that.”

“Oh yeah? Then what the hell is it?”

“The most dangerous weapon there is: information. And I happen to know exactly how much it’s worth.”

“How much?”

Her lips parted in a smile. “It’s priceless.”

Jeth slowly exhaled, not daring to believe. Information, she said. A dangerous weapon. He did a mental review of the conversation with Hammer, remembering the way he’d stumbled ever so slightly when he’d first mentioned the weapon. Had he lied? Of course he did. He’s Hammer.

But Jeth wasn’t biting. Not yet. “Okay, tell me more. Why do you think this information is the weapon that Hammer’s after?”

“Because it was the only thing of real value on the Donerail. There were a couple of crates of guns and ammunition, but I imagine Hammer has plenty of those types of conventional weapons already.”

Jeth thought about it, conceding the point. “All right. Then what exactly is this information?”

“The code name the ITA uses for it is the Aether Project.”

Jeth ear’s prickled with recognition. He’d heard that title somewhere before, a long time ago. His mom and dad had mentioned it a couple of times between themselves in whispered conversations he wasn’t meant to overhear.

“What it contains is everything there is to know about metatech,” Sierra continued. “Where it comes from, how it’s manufactured. Everything. The entire project is on a data cell that I have hidden on the Donerail for safekeeping.”

Jeth’s head spun with questions and doubts. If she was telling the truth, kings, dictators, and other world leaders would give anything to possess it. For centuries, the ITA had held the monopoly on space travel, charging whatever they wanted for the use of metatech. Breaking that monopoly would indeed be priceless. And keeping it in place would mean a lot to Hammer. Without the monopoly, his metatech black market would crumble. And it obviously explained the ITA’s interest in retrieving the ship.

Still, Jeth wasn’t about to take her word on it without proof. “You say that you’ve got this data cell hidden on the Donerail. But how did you come to possess something so valuable in the first place?”

Sierra grimaced. “Not easily.”

Jeth couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Are you implying that you stole it?”

She stood up straighter, that affronted kitten look on her face again. “And why is that so hard to believe?”

“Well, as you pointed out, I happen to know a thing or two about thieving, and I imagine stealing that kind of information would take a lifetime of experience and a planet’s worth of funding. Where was this project kept anyway?”

“On First-Earth.”

Jeth laughed. “So you’re telling me you managed to escape from the heaviest ITA-traveled bit of space in the universe with that kind of booty in tow—and not get caught?”

“We had a lot of help.”

“Yeah, from who?”

“The captain of the Donerail for one. But that’s not the point, anyway.”

No, he supposed it wasn’t. The point was whether or not she was full of it. If not, this might be the answer to all his problems. But it was too soon to get his hopes up.

Jeth leaned forward, pinning her with his gaze. If she was lying, he would catch her on it. “Okay, next question. How does a probationary agent in the ITA gain access to the project in the first place?”

Sierra scoffed. “I already told you that I made full agent. Not that you have room to talk about being young.”

“This isn’t about me. It’s about you convincing me that this isn’t some kind of hoax. I’ve never met anybody who knows a thing about meta technology. Even my parents didn’t know and they were pretty high up in the ITA at one point.”

The scornful look vanished from her face. She let out a breath. “I suppose it’s a little hard to believe from your perspective. So I’ll tell you what I can of my story, okay?”

Jeth sat back, arms folded. “I’m all ears.”

Sierra took a deep breath. “Like I said, I’m only seventeen, but I’ve been an agent for two years now. I have an extremely high IQ and a certain aptitude for biology and genetics. These skills made me valuable to the Aether Project scientists, and they offered me an internship. Eventually, I was given more and more access to the project, which was how I ended up with a chance to take the data.”

Jeth slid his tongue against his teeth, thinking it over. She didn’t appear to be lying, and he had no trouble believing the IQ bit, although he didn’t understand what biology and genetics had to do with metatech. No, it was the thieving he didn’t believe. “Why?”

“Why what?” Exasperation colored Sierra’s voice.

“Why did you steal it?”

A flush blossomed in her cheeks, and she said through gritted teeth, “The same reason anybody steals something. For the money.”

“True enough,” Jeth said, thinking about his own employment situation. Yet he didn’t believe that motivation in her. She struck him as a girl who’d grown up in a moneyed household, what with her smarts and proper speech and what might be considered aristocratic good looks. “But you don’t exactly seem like the type desperate enough for cash to pull off something so tough.”

“You’re wrong,” she snapped back. “I already told you that I wanted out of the ITA and so did Vince. We needed something valuable enough to buy our protection. The Aether Project is it. Once the information is out there, the ITA will be too concerned with trying to hold onto their power to worry about us anymore. And then there was Cora to think about, too.”

“Cora?” Jeth had completely forgotten about her. How did she fit into all of this?

“Yes, Cora. She was in a bad situation. Her father was one of the scientists on the project. A horrible, abusive man. I had to get her out of there.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jeth said, horrified by the idea of someone abusing Cora. No wonder the girl clung to Sierra. A swell of sympathy made his throat burn. “What about her mother?”

“She. . . I never met her mother.”

Jeth frowned. What was she hiding? Then a more troubling thought occurred to him. “But why you? I mean, why would you do it? Is she a relative? A sister? Or are you her mother?”

“Of course I’m not her mother,” Sierra said. “She’s six, almost seven. Physiologically impossible.”

“Right.” Like he was supposed to know that. “So, sister then?”

“No.”

“Then what is it?” Tension spread through Jeth’s body as he waited for an answer. He needed it to be a good one, an explanation he could embrace and believe. Otherwise he would have to dismiss all of this as one horrible, cruel lie.

“It’s . . . it’s because she’s me.” Sierra bit her lip. “I mean, she reminds me of me, and my situation growing up.”

The atmosphere seemed to thicken, as if her words were made of some kind of dense gas that drove the oxygen from the air. He didn’t know what to say. This girl was a stranger and the topic so personal. He felt guilty for forcing the confession out of her.

After a moment, Sierra went on. “I’m adopted, Jeth. Vince and I both were, actually, by the same man.”

“You’re brother and sister?”

“Not by blood, but in every other way, yes.”

“Then why the two last names?”

“Our guardian insisted on it. For reasons that were all his own. He . . . he isn’t sane, I don’t think. He was an ITA soldier, and he raised us to be like him, tough and brave and fighters. His methods were harsh.”

As she was speaking, Jeth noticed the unconscious way she was rubbing the fingers of one hand over the knuckles of the other in a nervous habit. To his shock, he realized her fingers were deformed. It wasn’t severe, but the knuckles were larger and knottier than they should’ve been, and several of the digits were crooked. Almost as if they’d been . . . broken. Repeatedly, by the look of it. No wonder Vince was so protective of her. Jeth found himself wanting to comfort her, but he didn’t know how.

“My attachment to Cora just sort of happened,” Sierra went on. “Her father was my superior. We worked long hours, sometimes through the night. At first I was occasionally required to watch her for an hour or two. Then later I volunteered to spend time with her. She grows on you.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Jeth said. He’d only known the girl for a day and already the idea of someone hurting her made him want to break things. Like her dad’s face.

Jeth swallowed, believing her story at last. “So what kind of deal are you offering?”

Visible relief appeared in Sierra’s expression. “I want you to guarantee that you won’t call Hammer until after Cora, Vince, and I are off this ship and far away from here. In return, I will get you a new metadrive.”

“Okay. How?”

“Before the Donerail got lost, we were on our way to Olympia Seven to meet with the buyer we’d lined up. He’s a very wealthy man who operates completely off the grid. He’s got an entire arsenal of metadrives at his disposal. He’s made a habit of collecting backups, even failed drives, for years now. And I know he wants the Aether Project badly enough that he won’t even blink at giving up one of them. All you have to do is fly Avalon out of the Belgrave long enough to make the call and then we come back in and wait for him to arrive.”

Jeth leaned back in the chair. “That’s an interesting deal, but it seems to me that the Aether Project is worth a helluva lot more than a single metadrive.”

Sierra scowled. “Are you angling for a cut?”

“Of course. It’s what I do, sweetheart.”

The look on her face suggested she would like to gouge out his eyes. He didn’t find it nearly so amusing this time. In fact, he felt like just accepting her offer outright, her words from earlier echoing inside him—freedom, like calling to like.

But he couldn’t just accept, not with so much on the line. He’d been living this life too long, knew too well that you couldn’t let opportunity for gain pass you by, not even in order to do the right thing. The right thing got you nowhere. Got you dead. And Sierra needed his help too desperately. She was stuck on his ship with no chance of escape or rescue, at the mercy of whatever he decided to do next.

“The alternative,” Jeth said, “is that I cross the border and call Hammer. Then let him decide how much of a cut me and the crew deserve.” That would be the wisest thing to do, really, the safest. As much as he hated Hammer, the idea of betraying him scared Jeth to the core. The back of his neck prickled at the thought of one of those brain implants.

“Really?” Sierra arched an eyebrow. “But I thought Hammer will void the deal once he finds out you boarded the Donerail? Which he will surely know with three strangers on your ship.”

Yeah, but at least I’ll get to live a little longer. Then again, if they pulled off this exchange, Hammer would never have to know about the betrayal. That was a risk Jeth was willing to take if it meant keeping his ship flying. He stretched out his arms, feigning boredom. “That’s possible. Then again, he might be grateful that I managed to hand him something so valuable.”

“Only a fool would think Hammer would spend a single uni more than he has to.”

The words stung, but Jeth didn’t let his reaction show. She was right. But Jeth knew a thing or two about bargaining—you never took the first offer.

After a few tense moments, Sierra drew a quick breath. “Fine. I’ll give you ten percent. But that’s it.”

Jeth tented his fingers beneath his chin as he stared her down.

Sierra put both hands on her hips. “Come on, Jeth. I’m the best chance you have of keeping this ship viable. Even if Hammer sells Avalon to you, she’ll be worthless without a metadrive. That is unless you think Hammer will be generous enough to just give you one himself.”

Jeth suppressed a scowl, hearing the certainty in her voice that Hammer would do no such thing. “All right. Fifteen percent and it’s a deal.” Fifteen percent of a whole bunch would still be a whole bunch. And besides, another idea had taken shape in his mind—a backup plan, insurance. Sierra’s replacement metadrive would solve the mechanical problem with his ship, but it did nothing about the ownership issue. Jeth needed a way to guarantee Hammer would give him Avalon. And the Aether Project was just the leverage to do it. He just needed to make a copy.

If Sierra’s plan went down the way he foresaw it, Jeth would turn the Donerail over to Hammer with every appearance that the job had gone smoothly—that they’d just found the ship and brought it out, simple as that. Once Hammer got done searching the Donerail, he would realize the Aether Project wasn’t there. All he would have was a worthless, derelict ship. But he would have no reason to blame Jeth. Afterward, when Jeth pressed Hammer to honor their deal with Avalon, if the big guy refused or balked in any way, Jeth would play his ace—offering him up the Aether Project in exchange for the ship and his freedom. It was risky, but he knew it could work if he took the necessary precautions. The information was too valuable for Hammer not to bargain. And all Jeth had to do to pull it off was make a copy of the data cell. Then Sierra could sell the first one to her contact with no one being the wiser.

“So, what do you say?” Jeth said.

Sierra sighed. “I guess I can live with fifteen percent.”

“Good. So you’ve got the data cell hidden?” asked Jeth, trying to sound casual.

Sierra frowned. “Yes, somewhere only I can find it.”

Of course it was. She wasn’t stupid. You didn’t keep something so valuable in your pocket where it might get damaged or lost or discovered. For a brief moment he considered just asking if he could make a copy, but he abandoned the idea at once. The more copies that existed of the data, the less valuable it would become, and she struck him as the honest type, for the most part. Besides, he had a feeling she wouldn’t be keen on handing that kind of information over to a man as power-hungry and ruthless as Hammer. Under normal circumstances, Jeth wouldn’t either, but this was his best chance of getting his ship.

“Well, I’m going to have to see it. I need some proof that all this is for real,” Jeth said in his most diplomatic and reasonable voice.

Her eyes narrowed on his face. “Why would I lie about it?”

He resisted the urge to squirm. “All sorts of reasons.” Not that he could think of any right now. He decided not to press. “Okay, I understand.” If she wouldn’t show him the data, he would have to find it on his own. Lizzie might have some tool or gadget to help him. He just needed time.

Jeth searched his mind for a reason to stall, the answer coming easily. “But we have to do this seamlessly. No signs that you three were ever here. That means we’ve got to repair the nav system so we can send your buyer specific coordinates on where to meet us. Otherwise, we would have to wait around while he triangulates our position through the communication link. That’ll take time, and every second we’re outside the Belgrave we risk getting picked up by the ITA.”

Sierra rubbed her knuckles. “Yes, you’re right. The less we’re outside the better.”

“Yep.” And doing those repairs meant time aboard the Donerail and a chance to search for the hidden data cell. They had a couple of days to spare before their two-week deadline to contact Hammer. Even if he had to rummage through every nook and cranny, Jeth would find it. Sierra might even give away the location through some unconscious gesture. He would just have to pay attention.

“So, does this mean we have a deal?” Sierra said.

Jeth assumed his most charming smile. “It’s a deal.”