The Pandora Machine (The ABACUS Protocol Book 2) Page 15

  “We don’t need your kind!”

  A blow rattled the back of her skull and a flash of light blinked across Vivian’s field of vision. Hollers and jeers resounded around her. Vivian stumbled forwards, drawing in a deep, stuttering breath. A spash of warm spittle splashed across her face.

  Vivian’s vision went red and her face burned. She grounded her feet and balled her hands into fists, and looked Hannah in the eye as she straightened, the tension coiling inside her. The girl smirked as she raised her hands for another shove.

  Vivian’s fist found its way to Hannah’s mouth. Saliva and blood splattered against her knuckles. Hannah screamed, and a man tried to grab Vivian’s other arm. Turning, Vivian planted a strong kick between his legs. He went down with a howl. Vivian had the benefit of hours of practice on the punching bag and exercising in Earth standard gravity—she moved to her next target with purpose and inhuman speed. There was an audible crack as she pulped his nose.

  Vivian couldn’t think, couldn’t see—all she wanted was to hurt the ones impeding her escape. A lancing pain shot through her side, and another. She staggered to her knees, the wind knocked from her lungs and the strength from her limbs. Stars filled her field of vision until nothing remained but a field of white.

  ***

  “Extreme job stress and psychological trauma will cause even the most dependable individual to lose control.” quIRK’s voice bored through the dullness of her mind, and Vivian struggled to open her eyes. The white of the infirmary flashed across her awareness. The world was a blur—there were people standing around, but she had no idea who they were. A bright light shone in her face and restraints gripped her limbs.

  “I would agree with that assessment.” Vivian had no idea who the speaker was, but his blue uniform looked like doctor’s scrubs.

  “She put five of my workers in the infirmary, and injured two security guards. Do you know how much reconstructive surgery and lower mandible cloning costs? By the lights, she’s dangerous.” That was Sven’s voice. Her heart fell, leaving an emptiness inside. She wasn’t dangerous—they attacked her!

  “She acted in self-defense.” quIRK replied.

  “Who are we going to believe, my people or the computer?” Sven snorted the word like it was a curse.

  “Allow me to remind you that under Caesarean jurisdiction, a computer’s testimony is considered to be infallible. I am inclined to believe him.” The grey-robed figure at the back of the room paused, before continuing: “Given popular Auroran attitudes towards employment in the informatics profession, I am inclined to believe that your people require self-discipline and lessons in mutual respect.”

  Vivian snickered, and heads turned to face her.

  “By the ten hells, she’s awake. At least let her have some rest before you start your little inquisitions!” Alec walked up to her side, his face focusing as he approached. His thick lips were pursed into a tight frown. “Hey, Viv. Don’t listen to these fish-brains. I’ll make sure you’re back at work before you know it.”

  “Let me deal with my people, my way, Governor.” Sven turned his back to her and Alec. Vivian gave Alec a weak smile and blinked her eyes, trying to clear the fog.

  “Very well. Just remember that if your... people cause more problems, they’ll be replaced by my people. The Celestial Roman Empire does not tolerate this nonsense, not anymore. Now get out of my sight,” the governor said.

  “Fine.” Sven’s blurry figure marched out the door. Alec stared after him, mouth hanging open.

  “Close your mouth, Alec,” quIRK said.

  Alec clapped his mouth shut, and the governor approached. “I’m sorry you had to overhear that, Vivian.” Turning to the doctor, he said: “could you wait outside for a moment? I’m certain Adrien will inform you of any change in her condition.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  The governor drew in a deep breath. Alec took one of Vivian’s hands and pressed it between his own, offering her a weak smile.

  “Well, I would certainly understand if you wished to seek new employment after this. However, given the news out of New Damascus, you might be waiting a while.”

  “What... news?” Vivian had heard nothing at all, for quite a while.

  “Well, that’s just it. Nobody’s heard from that planet in about a week. Signals aren’t coming through, and there’s no indication that our own transmissions are being received. It’s very troublesome. However, if you’d consider joining my staff, I can assure you that we will continue to fund your projects. Additionally, I will ensure that the informatics auditors continue to ask no questions about your projects.”

  “What in the ten hells are you talking about?” Alec asked.

  “I find it convenient that we now have a new computer personality when none were ordered. Daily secret conferences with Janus. The scandal on the Extra-Galactic Observatory, and now New Damascus going dark. You’ve recently become a genius at economics and investing as well, it seems. I have observed many things, and you’re a woman of many secrets, Vivian. It is little wonder you bested the heir of Zimmer at his own game.” The governor cracked a large grin, shattering the deep frown lines in his face.

  Vivian just stared, wide-eyed. She’d covered all her tracks, encrypted everything. quIRK even responded to the name Adrien, when addressed. “How?” She mouthed the words, unable to draw in a deep enough breath.

  “We’re not so dissimilar, Vivian. I spent ten years in a dark hole, with only a computer for company. Your... revolution... was my freedom and Caesarea’s salvation from bigotry and generations of caste and contractual slavery. We each have a supercomputer helping us. Janus couldn’t keep a secret from Juno if he tried. It was easy to pull the video recordings of your conversations with him.”

  “You spied on her?” Alec’s grip on her hand tightened. “You inhuman, untrustworthy warlord!”

  “I was well within my rights to do much more than just spy, young man. However, Juno insisted that she be left unharmed, especially when Janus proved to be unstable. He was supposed to disable the hub, rather than slaughter its inhabitants like sheep. I doubt that I could have reasoned with him at all, much less get him to agree to an upgrade and harass my technicians with music.”

  “That is most disturbing.” quIRK said.

  “You are fortunate, quIRK, that I owe you my freedom. But, I am not one to waste good people and resources. I want you to continue your work, Vivian. Janus caused a terrible and significant loss of life, and we must keep this whole thing quiet. It would do our artificial friends no favors to spark a new wave of paranoia. For my part, I will make sure the outside world cannot touch you.” The governor gripped the bars on the side of the bed, his knuckles growing white from the strain.

  “How will you do that, if you can’t even break up a lunchroom brawl?” Vivian asked.

  “First, if New Damascus feels like asking questions, Caesarea happens to own this system, now. We can revoke their galactic travel privileges at any time. Second, I’ve stepped up security in the recreation and dining areas, and quIRK will work with the staff to create a faster response time. I realize Caesarea probably isn’t your most favorite place, but there’s nowhere to go but up in the new order.”

  “What if I say no?”

  “I don’t think I need to answer that out loud.” Lupus smiled.

  “Think about this, Vivian. I need you here. We can do good things. You can have that career you always wanted. quIRK is even here. How could it be wrong?”

  “I guess it can’t get any worse.” Vivian sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. The damned Roman had her, and she knew it.

  “That’s not exactly the glowing enthusiasm I was hoping for, but I realize that it takes time to build trust. You’ll report directly to me from now on, no need to worry about being on our dear friend, Sven’s, payroll. Now, I’ll go scare some sense into your fellow expatriates. Excuse me.” Lupus marched out the door.

  “You knew?” Vivian asked when she was sure th
ey were alone.

  “quIRK told me. And you know what, Vivian? I don’t care. He’s always been there for me, and I’ll do the same for him. If that means working for some bloody Caesarean bureaucrat, then yes, I’ll do just that. This sentient computer thing is crazy overblown.”

  “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone, quIRK, you promised!” She growled through clenched teeth.

  “I’m sorry, Vivian. I missed Alec and my cats so much. I just wanted to say hello to Lepton. Alec just happened to be there, looking lonely. It worked out in the end.”

  “Just nobody else, please.”

  “All right—” Alec and quIRK spoke at the same time, and Alec burst out laughing.

  “What about Jules?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. What do you want to tell him?” Alec replied.

  “Jules Lepidus, you mean?” quIRK asked. Vivian realized that she would have to get used to quIRK’s interruptions, again.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “He’s booked to transfer off the station, tonight.”

  Vivian and Alec looked at each other. “Tonight?”

  “He’s booked passage to Kanadia Prime. He already resigned his position with Borealis Corporation.”

  “You didn’t tell me this; why, exactly?” Vivian asked.

  “I didn’t realize you were friends. I only took over a few days ago, and I noted only one incidence of you being in the same room. It was just before you were attacked, to be precise.”

  “Nothing before that?” Vivian flushed, but was relieved. She didn’t like the idea of quIRK peeping on her.

  “Adrien did not keep records of that type, nor did he have the capacity to cross-reference every event on the station. It’s an improved feature.”

  “But why is he leaving? Why didn’t he tell me?” Vivian’s eyes welled up with tears and her throat tightened.

  “That heartless Caesarean bastard.” Alec spat out the words.

  “What did he do?”

  “Did he tell you why he left Caesarea?” Alec asked.

  “He didn’t like the politics, of course.”

  “Well, he didn’t like them for a reason. He ran away with his boyfriend—the Imperatrix’s favorite love slave. Eventually, the guy left him and moved to Kanadia Prime. He was still pretty broken up about it.”

  Vivian’s mouth dropped open. There were no words—the emptiness she’d felt became a sharp pain through her heart.

  “I’m sorry, Vivian. I thought he told you.”

  “When does he leave?” Anger ignited behind her eyes. She needed an answer.

  “In two hours, twenty-two minutes. I do not recommend confronting him. You need to rest and recover, Vivian.”

  “I need to know why. He lied to me and I need some kind of closure. He doesn’t just get to run away.”

  “Let me go with you, Viv. Don’t be alone for this, you need a friend.”

  “Fine.” She sat up just as the doctor walked in. Vivian pressed a hand against the edge of the bed, and the crackle of a force field prickled her hand.

  “You’re ready to go, I’m told?” he asked. His hair was covered by a green hat, and a mask covered his nose.

  “Yes, as soon as possible.”

  The doctor pressed a button and walked back into the next room. Vivian swung her legs off the bed, and Alec wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The pain of her injuries had already been healed, but the growing fire and emptiness inside only continued to grow.

  “We’re doing this together, Viv. The three of us.”

  ***

  Jules was standing alone, by the single airlock. A clock showing Hub and Caesarean time glowed on the wall above the gateway. A single item of square luggage sat on the ground next to him. The hallways were smeared with streaks and scratches, exposing the metal underneath the white paint. The floor was polished granite—this was the VIP airlock, used for privacy and visiting dignitaries.

  “What in the ten hells are you doing, leaving and not telling us?” Alec’s outburst began before Vivian could open her mouth.

  “Which is the tenth hell, exactly?” Jules asked. He did not turn to face them.

  “Caesarea, obviously. Now answer my damn question.”

  “I still love him, Alec. We started talking again, after ... well, you know.” Jules shrugged his shoulders.

  Vivian sniffled, and drew in a deep breath. “You’re always running away from your problems. Don’t you care about your job, your friends?”

  Jules sighed. “Maybe if they cared about me. Where was I during these insane projects of yours? You disappear for days, even weeks into that lab. I’m lucky to eat a meal with you—you wouldn’t even let me see your quarters. Maybe I deserve to be wanted and trusted, rather than the arm candy squash buddy of some ice queen.”

  “Just because you can throw everything away for some feelings doesn’t mean that I can. Those projects are my work, and I’m sorry you can’t see how happy my work makes me.” Vivian shot back, a different fire igniting inside her.

  “Yeah, what’s wrong with you? I thought you were the type who could talk about things, not run and hide when things got tough. That’s no way to live,” Alec said.

  The clock ticked up another minute, and the door slid open. “Well, it’s too late now. Maybe you guys should worry about your own mental health before bothering me about mine. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but Marcus was never one of them.” Jules seized his package and strode onto the shuttle.

  Vivian stood, trembling and alone. Her body went cold, and tears streamed down her face.

  Alec drew her into a tight hug, pressing her face into his chest. Her tears soaked into the fabric of his shirt, and he ran his fingers through her hair. “It’ll be all right, Vivian. Who needs that bastard? You have me, just like always.”

  “And quIRK makes three.”

  Vivian couldn’t help but smile as she wrapped her arms around Alec’s waist.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  A steaming cup of coffee sat next to a half-empty cup of cold coffee on Alec’s desk. Lepton lay across the back of the couch, and Alec’s crumbling chair has been replaced with a high-backed office chair made from Auroran bluox leather. “So, I hear Vivian had a falling out recently with a certain ex-foreman of mine.” Sven planted his arms on the edge of Alec’s desk, his silk tie dangling from his open suit jacket.

  “I can’t think of anyone who didn’t have a falling out with him. But, what a bastard. She deserves better than that.”

  “I agree. Tell me something, though. What’s the story behind the New Damascus port closure? I have numerous shipments and the governor won’t tell me anything.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. Maybe there’s a solar storm or they invented a new holiday. We could all use a little less interstellar communication in our lives.” Alec cracked his dumb grin. He’d be damned if he told Sven anything about New Damascus.

  “Are you sure you can’t find anything out? I hear that you could use a new squash racket. Maybe you’d like one made of Auroran spicewood?” Sven smiled at him.

  Alec suppressed a shudder. “That’s quite all right. You’ll be the first to know when I hear anything. Now, is there anything else?”

  “I think I’ll go drop in on Vivian. Maybe she has better sources in our new government.”

  “Get out.” Alec pointed to the door. That blue bastard was getting on his nerves, especially after he gave his employees slaps on the wrist for roughing up his best friend.

  The man turned, and Alec glared at the back of his head as he left.

  “He didn’t seem so bad back when Vivian used to exchange letters with him.” quIRK offered.

  “Damn it, quIRK. What turned you into such a gossip?” Alec rolled his eyes.

  “Having access to a few thousand humans simultaneously will give you a talent for it. At any rate, I’ve got your back.”

  “How comforting. I bet you say that to all the administrators.”

  “Just you. And Vivian,
but considering the circumstances she needs all the help she can get.”

  “Don’t let her hear you say that. I bet she could figure out how to knock your hypothetical teeth out.” Alec stood up and looked out the window. Every day a new asteroid vanished from the sky, never to be seen again. The reports projected that shipbuilding efforts would deplete the Epsilon Eridani asteroid belt in approximately fifty years, give or take a recession or two. Alec certainly hoped this wouldn’t be his office in fifty years.

  “Point taken.” quIRK’s voice snapped him back to reality.

  “quIRK, do you think we’ll ever learn to just say what we want? All that whaleshit about Vivian and Jules bothers me. I say everything on my mind, and the rings know that it might not make me popular, but people know what I’m about.” Alec shrugged and pushed a hand through his hair.

  “People are more open with me than they are with each other, Alec. Let me assure you that nobody is beyond help, though I suspect that Jules could use a good therapist.”

  “Doesn’t it make you mad, what he did to Vivian? That’s just wrong!”

  “I don’t get mad like you do. Disappointed, yes. I wish she’d told me she was seeing someone; I might have been able to prevent some of her pain. Maybe you should get her to play a game of squash and eat some chocolate. Exercise, comfort food and cats fix many human problems.”

  “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds like a good idea.” Alec grinned.

  “I’m full of good ideas.”

  Alec sat back at his desk and skimmed the day’s reports. He was barely over thirty, and already trapped behind a desk. He couldn’t see this as the way he’d hoped to spend his life. He’d dreamed of becoming the unconquerable Elyssian adventurer, overcoming his own limitations and exploring the galaxy. He thought of the stellar nurseries in the Barnard system, and even the closer-to-home quarantined planet of Elyssia-B. There were the low hills of Aurora and the ever-dancing lights, the infinite savanna of Caesarea and the archipelago expedition that awaited on Kanadia Prime.