The horizon was smudged with a sandstorm when Fei woke alone for the sixth Old Earth week in a row. Sitting in the bathroom with her blue hair cascading over her face, sucking her finger while a machine decided her happiness based on a single drop of blood, she allowed herself to feel hope. And then the pregnancy test read negative. Again.
Hope faded into disappointment, then melted into guilt. She’d been so desperate that night that she hadn’t stopped to consider how selfish she was being. The implant…she should have asked him.
At least now he would never know what she had done. What she had tried to do.
Hugging herself, Fei went to the expansive window in the bedroom and took in the view. Down in the streets below, Atsa City was stirring into life. Artisan stalls, violently colourful and completely uncoordinated, were springing up as usual on Market Street. Those who were visiting them this early, before work and before the rush, looked like a handful of tiny nashba bugs. The hovercars slowly filling the streets weren’t much bigger or any more impressive from this height.
Fei roved her eyes (emerald green, as they had been for weeks) around the hemisphere-shaped shield that kept the city safe from storms and weapons alike. It was hard to see during the day, but just at dawn the shield’s faint orange hue was visible.
‘Our shield can take an orbital bombardment,’ Ala had said some days ago, creases running rampant over her face. ‘Bock’s not worried about GLEA showin’ up and blockading us, but I sure as stark am. We need them starships to keep coming in if we want any food. Our hydroponics aren’t that great so give it long enough and we’ll starve. Can’t fight the starkin’ Chippers if we’re dead.’
Unease gnawed low in Fei’s stomach as she remembered those words.
‘Bagara,’ she whispered, her breath steaming the window. ‘I’m scared. Is something going to happen today? I know there are no rainforests here yet, but maybe…maybe you can see…’
Fei drew a gasp of air, then rushed it back out, startled. She could now taste freshwater and the previously cool room was thick with humidity.
If something does happen, I will be here for you, Bagara promised in a voice that reminded her so much of Kuja that it caused her chest to ache.
‘No offence but that doesn’t help me,’ Fei said, then bowed her head. ‘I’m sorry. I know I should be better at this faith thing.’
I’d rather you have faith in your own abilities instead of mine.
‘That’s a lot harder and you know it,’ she muttered.
The air became neutral and bland once more. Bagara was gone.
Fei strode over to the hoverlift, pausing only to grab a jacket. Despite Yalsa 5 being a desert world, the interiors of its buildings were often on the verge of freezing, thanks to the locals’ insistence on overcompensating with their climate control systems. Fei wanted to avoid the arid heat just as much as anyone, but having seen the amount of power the city used on any given day, she had decided that she wasn’t going to add to the strain on the grid until the ancient system was replaced.
On the way down in the hoverlift, Fei ran through the tasks that she needed to do. Bock had asked her to come up with the simulation he had originally paid for (TerraCorp had recently refunded his money, a move which Ala thought meant that hostilities were forthcoming), saying he’d buy some terraforming equipment and do the starking job himself. Fei had tried to explain that she would need to make a whole new program from scratch, but he still expected it to be finished in the same amount of time that Fei usually spent testing and finalising code on a single simulation.
Fei’s colleague, Jalen, greeted her when she entered the techroom in Governor Bock Atsason’s headquarters. Jalen was a Jezlo, like Gerns, and Fei couldn’t help but feel comforted by the sight of the woman’s six tentacles. Jalen was pale grey in colouring, which was typical of her species, and wore the seaweed sarong native to her world, but for whatever reason she also donned a bright pink cap that sealed over the top of her large head.
Fei bit a crevice into her bottom lip. ‘I hope you had a good night’s sleep. I definitely didn’t. Has the shield been taken off the Web and put onto an isolated system like I requested?’
Jalen dropped the bowl she was eating out of — the metallic object clunked onto the desk, worryingly close to where the unlit keyboard was waiting — and slapped the side of her vidscreen with one of her tentacles, bringing it back to life. Jalen’s head wobbled into a passable nod. ‘Yep. No one’s going to be able to hack the shield through the Web anymore. Good idea, that. Now Bock, Bock’s not happy. He’s been whinin’ to Ala about how he has to go all the way to the shield generators to monitor them now that he can’t do it on the Web.’
‘But couldn’t he just call someone stationed there and get them to check?’
‘Nah, the governor said he don’t trust anyone else to do it,’ Jalen answered. ‘Ala had a good go at him until he said he don’t trust anyone else but her.’
A smile tweaked Fei’s lips but she kept her tone professional. ‘Alright, let’s get started. It’s not like we can’t talk and work at the same time.’
‘Might as well do something for the coin-chips we’re gettin’,’ Jalen agreed. ‘Another boring day of waiting for our code to compile then?’
‘Once we get this simulation program completed, we won’t ever have to wait again,’ Fei said, seating herself at her desk. ‘This one will have real-time interpreting. So as soon as we write a line of code, it’s translated immediately into the console’s language.’
It was a feature she’d always wanted to introduce to TerraCorp’s systems but she hadn’t wanted Moz to steal her idea or, worse, reject it completely. Bock and Ala had put Fei in charge of the techroom (and her only other colleague) and Fei still wasn’t sure if she was ecstatic about this or absolutely terrified. Possibly both.
Jalen’s body quaked violently; the Jezlo could have been shaking with mirth or shuddering. It was hard to tell. ‘No more long hours of compiling? You mean, we’ll never get to sit around and do nothing?’
‘Well, it’s not like we’ll have much to do when the program is finally working.’ Fei grimaced and rubbed her forehead. ‘We can’t run any simulations until we have actual data to put into them. Bock and Ala will need to hire reputable scientists to start looking into plants and soils for us. And who knows how long that will take.’
Jalen noticeably cheered up after that.
They spent several hours running through the test suite the program needed to be subjected to. Jalen’s skills weren’t inconsiderable and she was quick to mention if she found an error in Fei’s code — and just as quick to fix it. Fei found that she was making fewer mistakes now that someone was paying closer attention to her work. It was a welcome change.
During the third seemingly endless test, Jalen began passing judgement, once again, on Yalsa 5’s lasball team. Some of the players were fine specimens, for humans that is, but they weren’t very good and were likely to lose to Yalsa 3’s team next week. Bored, and having no opinion to offer, Fei let her eyes slip shut. Her head, cradled by her hand, drooped, but never made it to the desk.
Because a screeching alarm chose right then to start drilling into her temples.
Yalsa 5 was under attack.
Fei jerked out of her hoverchair. Propelled by the sudden movement, the chair sailed backwards and collided with a desk on the other side of the techroom.
‘What’s happening?’ Fei demanded.
Jalen wordlessly pointed a tentacle at the thin vidscreen that ran the width of one of the walls. Usually Jalen had the feed set to replays of old lasball tournaments, but the game had been interrupted by a Webcast that was showing a very familiar sphere of sand hanging suspended in space — Yalsa 5. Fei realised she recognised the mediaist on screen and might even talk to him sometimes, if BozzMed hadn’t been lying to her about who he was.
‘TerraCorp has refused to answer any questions about why they are doing this without the authorisation of its former client, Governor Bock Atsason, who my sources tell me recently received a refund due to non-delivery…’ Ton Tinel paused, his gaze growing sorrowful, as though some great tragedy had occurred. ‘It seems TerraCorp has decided to send its machines in. They claim this job was requested by a new anonymous client. So far neither TerraCorp or those on Yalsa 5 are willing to tell us what led to this conflict.’
Fei grabbed her techpad, flicking through various messages on the Webchat feed until she found him. BozzMed, CC here. I’m on Yalsa 5. And I know who the anonymous client is. It’s GLEA.
She still had her doubts about his identity, even when she saw one of Ton Tinel’s hands disappear from view as he continued to speak. Her techpad lit up with BozzMed’s — and apparently the mediaist’s — response. I have long suspected that there is a connection between TerraCorp and GLEA. Can you tell me what you know about it? Don’t feel you need to answer if your job remains at risk.
Fei laughed as she typed her next message. Don’t worry. I quit my job. I have no proof but I saw the files — TerraCorp is part of GLEA. The Agency created the company centuries ago as a way to supplement the donations they receive. So TerraCorp will do whatever GLEA wants them to. And that includes eradicating deserts and rainforests because they’re afraid of other gods.
Tiny cracks began spidering over Ton Tinel’s face as he glanced down at something out of sight — his techpad, Fei hoped. He was saved from having to explain his uncharacteristic silence to his audience when a member of his crew shouted something at him off-screen.
Tinel’s grin snapped back into place. ‘Ah. The general heading the flotilla of GLEA vessels that just dropped out of leapspace has informed me that TerraCorp is helping the Agency deal with some sort of criminal element in Atsa City. Could GLEA be the company’s anonymous client? If so, this does make you wonder why GLEA has decided to deal with lawbreakers by terraforming an entire planet — and without consulting the planet’s governing body.’
With one hand cupped to an ear in a futile attempt to block out the blaring alarm, Fei used the other to hammer out several more lines of text. I can send you the message I got from Mozel Zan, a manager at TerraCorp. Basically it says that we’re to turn the whole planet into an ocean. This will wipe out the city and anyone living in it.
They have a shield down there, don’t they? was BozzMed’s response.
Jalen, who had also left her seat, leaned over Fei’s shoulder, her beady eyes now fixed on the techpad. Fei was trying to think of an explanation for having this unauthorised contact with someone off-planet when her colleague said, ‘Yeah, but the shield’s pretty old. And it doesn’t extend below the surface of the roads. So we’d still get flooded in from underneath even if we didn’t get hit with waves. The buildings here are gonna topple over since their foundations aren’t built for that.’
Fei provided BozzMed with this information in the Webchat. Moments later, the vidscreen on the wall was filled with the message Fei had received from Moz — along with additional notes that outlined what would happen to Atsa City. Ton Tinel was delightedly drawing conclusions about who this TerraCorp manager meant when he said ‘our friends’. GLEA was Tinel’s best guess.
‘And while my sources cannot provide proof of this link between TerraCorp and GLEA,’ Ton Tinel went on, waving a hand towards his ship’s viewport which showed the TerraCorp vessel dropping small, compact machines towards the planet, ‘it does make you want to ask more questions, doesn’t it? Wiping out a city without even offering the so-called criminals a chance to surrender…? How curious. More updates to follow. Thank you for watching Ton Tinel.’
Fei released the breath that had started to ache inside her lungs. ‘God, I’m glad I took the shield off the Web. GLEA might have hacked it by now and shut it off.’
‘I ain’t disagreeing there,’ Jalen said. ‘But I’ll tell you what needs shuttin’ off. That starking alarm. Gimme a sec.’
This done, Jalen dropped back into her chair and swore at the vidscreen. It gave them an uncomfortably good view of GLEA’s ships using their weapons to shred the space-based defences that Bock kept in orbit. Several mediaists were now in the system and the Web was full of images of the destruction. Fei was wondering if she should call Bock or Ala when heavy boots stomped their way down into the techroom. She swung a wild look over to the door just in time to see Ala march in, her expression thunderous.
‘Are their terraforming machines on the Web?’ Ala asked. ‘Hack ’em if they are. We need to shut those fuckers down.’
Fei’s fingers flew across the keys on her desk as she opened her preferred hacking program. ‘At least I never warned Moz to take those machines off the Web. I’d have grabbed our proof by now if I’d kept my mouth shut and let the servers at TerraCorp headquarters stay connected. Maybe that should be a requirement of every company; all your files must be hackable, just in case I need something to hand over to Ton Tinel.’
‘Yeah, good luck getting Bock or Ala to agree to that,’ Jalen said with a series of clucks.
Ala made no comment on that, her frown deepening with each charged second that passed them by. Finally, she said, ‘Fei. If you stop these douchenozzles, I’ll give you a raise on what we’re already payin’ ya.’
Fei didn’t mind the incentive. But it wasn’t going to help against the resistance her hacking program was encountering. The terraforming machines kept on coming.
‘Oh my God, Moz’s work isn’t this good, it’s never this good!’ Fei cried, dismayed. ‘The machines are protected by a firewall that I…I’ve never had to go up against something like this. My program is useless — I’m going to have to use a command-line interface to dig into their code!’
‘But you can do it,’ Ala said. It was not a question.
Fei flicked her a frantic look. ‘I don’t know!’
‘You don’t know that you can’t, so try,’ Ala instructed, placing her hands on Fei’s shoulders and shunting the hoverchair forward so that the armrests hit the desk. ‘Because if you don’t, we’re all dead.’
Fei’s eyes danced frantically between lines of complex code, trying to find a weakness to exploit. She was tempted to call for Bagara but stifled the urge. Yalsa 5 might want to be part of his domain, but there were other planets who already worshipped him, planets that might need his help more far more urgently.
All she had to do was break through a firewall.
TerraCorp’s machines were red-hot streaks in the atmosphere now. Their brakes were being applied, slowing them down so that they could hover above the surface of the planet without hitting it. Soon they would start to convert the planet’s climate.
Bagara, I might have to use you as our Plan B, Fei thought, panic rising.
You won’t need to, he said. But I’m here. I’m here for you.
That gave her the burst of confidence she needed. Fei funnelled all of her attention into her task and the techroom blurred into nothingness around her. Time became meaningless. Code became obstacles that she could hurdle or brittle shields that she could slash her way through. The growing ache in her fingers was irrelevant. She had more important things to worry about.
Fei jolted when Ala rained heavy slaps down on her shoulders. Jalen whooped enthusiastically. It took Fei a moment to realise she had managed to shut the machines down, causing them to drop gently onto the planet’s sandy surface. She quickly began building up a firewall of her own — the machines were hers now and she wasn’t going to make it easy for anyone trying to take them back.
‘I wouldn’t celebrate just yet.’ Fei nibbled on the inside of her cheek. ‘We’re not out of danger. Even my firewalls aren’t hackproof. And the machines are still functional and intact. Removing even just one in the chain would have rendered them all useless.’
‘So, what, we take out one of the starkin’ things and we’re good?’ Ala asked her.
‘No Webattack can get around a physical problem like that!’ Jalen exclaimed.
But Fei hesitated. ‘It would mess up the current simulation program they have, yes. But they could make a new program that works with one machine less. I was one of TerraCorp’s best so I can do it, but my colleagues could also manage it, given enough time.’
‘Alright,’ Ala said with a sharp nod. She tapped the tiny earpiece that served as her communicator. ‘Bock. You got Vom and his lot together? Yeah? Okay. Tell them to use that “Magic” of theirs to see if they can’t take out one of the machines.’
Fei blinked. She knew there were followers of the Desine in Atsa City, but it hadn’t occurred to her that they would be any use in a situation like this.
Bock’s voice in Ala’s earpiece was loud enough that even Fei could hear it, though the pitch sounded a good deal higher than usual. Fei saw Jalen hiding a triangular smile behind a tentacle. Ala’s face, however, remained entirely blank as she waited out the governor’s squawking. Then she said, ‘I get that ya want to capture the machines so we can do the terraforming ourselves. Fei can make it work with one machine less. So quit arguin’ and do it.’
The three women waited there in the techroom, so far removed from what was going on. The vidscreen didn’t show anything useful — most Webcasts were focusing on GLEA’s ships as they set up their blockade. The vessels were a lot easier to locate with vidcams than the compact terraforming machines.
Ala tapped her silver nails along the desk, causing a cascade of metallic chinking. Fei wasn’t sure if the governor’s wife was doing it to express nerves or impatience.
‘It’s done,’ Bock announced.
Ala slapped her earpiece, cutting the connection. She held up two fingers and jabbed them in Fei and Jalen’s direction. ‘Make a simulation program that works with one machine less.’
Then she swept out of the room.
Fei slumped in her chair. ‘Great. More work.’
‘Stop moping — you stopped an attack on an entire planet!’ Jalen said, bounding over to drop a mug of something that smelled far too strong in front of Fei. ‘Time to celebrate, Defender of Worlds.’
Defender of Worlds? No, you’re more than that, a voice mused inside Fei’s head. She didn’t think it belonged to Bagara, because it sounded a lot like Kuja this time. But he wasn’t there. He couldn’t be. Even if she could have sworn she felt him…
Shaking her head, Fei reached for the drink.