Alexia’s strength was ebbing again, and she was tempted to beg off for a few hours. To return to Rick’s bed, hopefully with Rick in it. But she didn’t dare. Things had been happening while she slept, and she needed to know what was going on, especially the fate of her friends.
So she sighed, then stood and walked over to Rick, depositing herself back in his lap. “This sounds serious. Or at least, it’s a good excuse for more snuggling, right?”
“Yeah.” He ran his hand over her pink-covered leg. “You sure feel good.”
“So do you,” she admitted, kissing his mouth.
Sensie’s voice pierced the romantic mood. “Alexia!”
“Okay, okay.” She looped one arm around Rick’s neck, but otherwise sat at attention. “Let’s hear it.”
After a dramatic pause, the computer spoke again, her tone firm but with a tinge of pride. “I am you. And you are I.”
Rick laughed. “Let me guess. You’re a walrus?”
Alexia gave him a confused smile. “Huh?”
“It’s an old song from the pop files. Haven’t you heard it?”
She snuggled closer. “Sing it for me. You have such a sexy voice. I think about it all the time—”
“Alexia!” the computer complained loudly.
“Okay!’” She fixed her gaze on the monitor. “Spit it out.”
“I am you. And you are I.”
“Okay, I’m listening. It’s an existentialist concept, right? But I never took philosophy, so use plain English.” When Rick chuckled, she told the computer solemnly, “I wasn’t joking, Sensie.”
“I will use plain English. When Captain Gage entered the Titan to rescue you, the Titan spoke to me.”
“Pardon?”
“He called me Alexia Montoya. And of course I corrected him. And then he corrected me. And since I suspected he was an advanced cyber form, I respected his words enough to consider them. And I have concluded he was correct. I am you, and you are I.”
“My head hurts,” Alexia whispered to Rick.
“I can’t get past the part where the Titan actually talked to her,” he agreed. Then he said to the computer, “Did he say these things out loud? In a booming voice? Like God? Or did he communicate through cyber space? In other words, if I had been outside the compartment, would I have heard him too?”
When the computer went silent, Alexia sighed. “We’re missing the point. She thinks she’s me. And it actually makes sense, doesn’t it?”
He laughed in frustration. “How?”
“Well for one thing, she and I agree on everything. That’s not normal, is it?”
“You don’t agree on anything. She wanted you in the ACT, but you slept in the bed. She called you short. I think she even called you a slut at one point.”
“Those are red herrings. Right, Sensie?”
“Yes. That is very astute on your part, Alexia. On the whole, we are similar. I have searched my core memory, and have found certain anomalies. I was aware of them in my early development, but without context, I assumed they were the glitches that undermined my beta test. Now I realize those glitches were you.”
“Lovely.”
Rick grinned. “What are you saying, Sensie? You think Trent embedded Alexia’s thought patterns into your programming? That would be wild.”
“I agree,” Sensie assured him. “I cannot imagine how he could accomplish such a thing.”
“Well, I guess that makes me the smartest entity on this ship,” Alexia told them with a smile. “Because I know exactly how my brother did it. And the best part is, he actually believed in me—in my brain—when no one else did.” Jumping up, she had to pause for a moment to regain her balance, then walked to the side of the room. “Do you remember that first day, Sensie? When I touched these walls? Like this? I think I knew. Then you insulted me, and the sisterhood went away. But I knew it then, and I know it now.”
“She called you short,” Rick reiterated, sounding skeptical but also amused.
“I am short. But don’t you see? I’ve known it for years, so I’m at peace with it. But Sensie has my old memories. From when I was sure I’d have a growth spurt in college, just like Mom promised, and end up as tall as her. So Sensie was disappointed when she realized we never spurted. And trust me, I remember that feeling.”
Rick stared in wary silence, and she knew he was afraid to say a word. It was so crazy, so personal, but also a scientific breakthrough that would catapult his understanding of computers, not just in general but for his sentient in particular.
“I am sorry I called us short, Alexia. Five foot six and a quarter inches is not short for a human female.”
“I know. We just had such high hopes, didn’t we?”
“Okay,” Rick interrupted, laughing. “You’re not gonna start doing that, are you? Saying we and us? It’s freaking me out.”
Alexia laughed too. “I’ll try not to, but it’s so fun.”
“You said you know how Trent did it,” he reminded her. “Care to explain?”
She nodded, and would have moved back to the console, but wasn’t sure she had the energy. Plus, the wall was right here. Pure bio-metal. Wasn’t that what she really needed?
So she slid down to the ground and leaned against the cool silvery blue. “Have you heard of Cohl-Sahara brain mapping? Right before I left for college, Trent dragged me to a lab and had them map me. He said it would provide a baseline in case I ever had a head injury or other memory loss. And since it didn’t hurt, I didn’t object. Even though it was pretty elaborate. Electrodes all over me, not just my head but my body too. And it took hours. But he gave me my own copy after that and told me to put it someplace safe.” She smiled at the memory. “It’s still in my father’s desk in Los Altos.”
Rick’s green eyes sparked with inspiration. “Sensie?”
“That is undoubtedly how he did it. Very impressive.”
Alexia licked her lips. “And he must have had himself mapped too. Do you see what that means?” Struggling to stand, she was grateful when Rick crossed to her and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“You should be in bed,” he told her. “We can do this later.”
“The captain is correct, Alexia. You are relapsing. Forgive me for mentioning this before you were strong enough.”
“I’m fine,” Alexia insisted. “Let’s power through. Trent must have used his own brain map in one of the prototypes. The one at NASA, probably. Do you see what that means?”
Ignoring her, Rick picked her up and carried her to his bunk. Once she was resting against a pillow, he admitted, “This is amazing. And since he built four prototypes, it’s possible he used four different brain maps. Maybe yours, his own, Roberto’s and TJ’s? And since TJ’s a closet psycho, his brain patterns must have caused Prototype One to crash.”
“Dad died before Cohl-Sahara was invented,” Alexia corrected him.
Sensie joined the speculation, saying, “It is quite likely that Trent used his own map for several of the prototypes, perhaps configured differently since he wanted four distinct experiments. That would explain why both the Sea-Mont and the NASA prototypes were so successful.”
Alexia shook her head. “There’s no way the Sea-Mont sentient has Trent’s brain. It didn’t have any personality at all. So maybe he decided to make one without any mapping. Which means Trent’s is at NASA.” She realized Rick was staring at her, so she murmured, “Did I say something stupid?”
“You talked to the Sea-Mont sentient? Meaning TJ gave you access?”
“Oh!” She smiled and touched his cheek. “There’s so much you don’t know. And most of it doesn’t matter. But yes, he let me talk to it for a few minutes, and it was a disaster. Not only was the sentient mechanical and uninspired, he was a bit harsh with me about my search for Trent.” She smiled up at the small monitor over the closet. “Remember how you reacted when I talked to you about it, Sensie? You insisted it was hopeless, but you still listened. And tried to let me down gently. Not the Sea-Mont sentient. He was a jerk about it.”
She noticed Rick still seemed distracted, and then realized why. “I didn’t sleep with TJ. I didn’t have to. He was actually great about the whole platonic thing, at least at the beginning.”
“It wouldn’t bother me if you did.”
“But I didn’t.” She brushed her lips across his. “I knew, even before you left that morning, that I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t pretend to be attracted to him, not with the memory of you so fresh in my mind. It wouldn’t have been fair to him. And so I tried to let him down gently. Without mentioning you at all, of course. I told him he and I were family, and I was determined to heal the rift. Just not that way.”
“And he was fine with that?” Rick arched a dubious eyebrow. “I got the impression from Angelus that he tried to force you into marrying him.”
“Right.” She grimaced. “Things were going really well. He kept proposing to me, but in a nice, non-threatening way. And then, when we lost Jamie in the sinkhole, he was a rock. I mean, it was awful but I think it brought us closer, and I really believed we had reconnected as friends. He had a fantasy about us getting married and having a son who looked like Trent. A Montoya-Seaton baby who would inherit the whole company someday. But I honestly believe he was starting to see it my way. That we were better off as surrogate siblings. Then…” She paused to prepare herself, and Rick, for the bombshell. “Then he found out about the night you and I spent together.”
“Fuck.”
“Exactly. He thought I faked D-side poisoning so I could scurry back to Trent’s penthouse and have wild sex with you.” She leaned back and closed her eyes, seeing it from TJ’s point of view. “It hurt him so bad, Rick. He wanted to give me an ultimatum—either I’d marry him or he’d send me back through the sinkhole. Then he’d punish me by deporting you and confiscating your ship.”
“You should have let him try it,” Rick growled. “I’ve got powerful friends too. I don’t use them, but I’ve got ’em.”
“It didn’t matter. David showed up and went ballistic. He was furious at TJ for not deporting me, and he told me point blank he’d make sure I died before I reached E-side. So in a way, TJ saved my life by dangling the prospect of a Montoya-Seaton grandson in front of him. That’s why David kept me alive. So TJ could marry me. And luckily I remembered what you said about Gabby, and she contacted Zeke, and Zeke contacted you. And you rescued me.” She took his hand in her own. “Have I thanked you?”
“Yeah, many times.” He took a deep breath. “That’s one hell of a story.”
“I’m worried about Zeke and Gabby. Tell me what you know, please? It’s odd we haven’t heard from him yet, isn’t it?”
“Sea-Mont jammed all the frequencies after you got away. We were lucky he got one message through on the bootleg channel before it went dark. But they’ll find a way to contact us. We’ll wait in the outer sectors until they get something functioning outside Seaton’s range.”
“And you said there was a bulletin?”
Rick cleared his throat. “It was an official Sea-Mont communiqué. The only thing they’ve let through this week. It’s all lies, Alexia. Troubling, but we can’t read too much into it.” When she held his gaze, he explained. “They claimed you’d been lost in the sinkhole.”
“What?”
“Yeah. And it said you and TJ were married. So I imagine his game is to have you declared dead, and have himself named as your heir. I’m sorry, honey.”
She rubbed her eyes, shocked but also confused. “How will he explain it when I show up at the White House and tell my story?”
“He thinks he can block that. By keeping the sinkhole shut, and feeding disinformation to Earth. He knows you’ll try the smuggling route, and he’ll be ready for that. So it might be a while. Weeks, maybe. I’m sorry about that.”
She tugged on his hand and he willingly stretched out beside her, then held her close.
She wanted to pass out, but had one final question. “What about Gabby and Zeke?”
He was silent for a moment, then answered in a guarded tone. “There’s no specific news on that front. However, the communiqué said arrests have been made. It could be another lie—”
“But what if it’s true? Oh God, poor Gabby. And Zeke! He was so brave, Rick. He didn’t hesitate, not for a minute. Even though he knew it was dangerous.”
“TJ won’t let anything bad happen to Gabby. And Zeke Angelus is sneaky. It’s how he makes his living, and he’s good at it. So he’s probably hiding in Sector Three or Four, waiting for the heat to die down.”
“They’re the only two people who helped us. So if arrests have been made…” She tried to smile. “Maybe David’s punishing Belker for letting me get away. That would be poetic justice. He’s the one who broke my cheek.”
“Pardon?”
“He hit me and broke my cheekbone. It’s better now, but you should have seen it. A golf ball-sized lump, black eye and all.”
Rick cupped her face and studied it intently. “It looks okay now. So it wasn’t broken, thank God. But I’ll still make him pay.” His tone deepened. “And I’ll make TJ pay too. He claimed to care about you, then let his enforcers beat you up?”
She sighed and snuggled against him again. “Zeke’s going to kill Belker for us. And if we send David to prison, that’s enough revenge against the Seatons. I’m not sure what I want beyond that, frankly. It’s not like I can run the company myself, and I don’t want any of it sold. Especially not to Crosse Enterprises.”
“Your nemesis? I didn’t sleep with her, by the way.”
She sighed and kissed his mouth gratefully. “We had so much fun that night, didn’t we? But the best part—the part I’ll never forget—is the way you said goodbye. Do you remember what you said?”
He shook his head.
“You said, I should tell Trent ‘hi’ from you when I saw him.” Tears stung her eyes. “It meant so much, Rick. Kept me going, especially when the Sea-Mont sentient wouldn’t engage with me. I know you wish you’d left me that red beacon, but you left me something infinitely more important.”
“Don’t cry,” he murmured. “We’ll make everything right, I promise.”
“That’s not your job. If I can stow away here until Zeke’s crew contacts us, they can do the rest by getting me back to Earth so I can destroy David. I just hope it happens before he hurts Zeke or Gabby.” She bit her lip. “Once David hears I made it safely to Earth, he might kill them just to get back at me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle that part.”
“Pardon?”
“As soon as I know you’re safe, I’ll hit the platform and get them out. Hopefully by subterfuge, but if I’ve got to blow something up? Or take a Seaton hostage?” He gave her a cheerful smile. “I’ve kind of missed that stuff.”
His words crushed down on her, blanketing her with her guilt and foreboding. “I know you have to do that. And I’ll help you. But once I’m through the sinkhole, you need to go back to Sector Fourteen and pretend you never heard of any of us.”
“That’s crazy. If you’re worried I’ll get hurt—”
“I’m worried you’ll get your heart broken again. Someone will die and you’ll blame yourself. Don’t you see?” She struggled to sit up. “This isn’t your fight. I should never have made you take me to the Titans. That’s where it all started. I’m so sorry, Rick.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s not your job to save Zeke. Or Gabby. Or me.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I want to save you? Because I like being with you?” he demanded.
“That’s even worse. You didn’t want to care about anyone. Because you knew this would happen again. And now you’ll blame yourself. Like you did when your crew died.”
“I don’t blame myself for my crew’s death,” he assured her bluntly. “I never did.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t blame myself for Dad either. Is that what you’ve been so sorry about? Geezus, Lexie. I miss them. And yeah, I felt guilty for surviving. But I didn’t make that copter blow up. And I didn’t leave Dad unguarded. And even Mom…” He paused, then admitted wistfully, “Yeah, I wish I hadn’t been a sniveling little coward. But I was a kid. Fifty pounds soaking wet, scrawny, no weapons, scared out of my wits. I couldn’t have saved her even if I tried.”
“And it’s possible you can’t save us either,” she told him quietly.
“Sure I can. It’ll be fun. Trust me.”
“Rick…” She knew he was kidding himself. If this went wrong, he’d blame himself forever. It wouldn’t just set him back three years, or five years, or however long it had taken in the past.
This time, it would kill him.
“Go to sleep, beautiful. Everything’s under control.”
“Okay,” she murmured, knowing she had no choice. His jaw was set with determination, and her brain was already drifting off. “You can go to the platform and save them. But I’m coming with you. And after that, we’ll say goodbye once and for all.”
“I am concerned, Captain,” Sensie told Rick as he stood on the enclosed deck of the Drifter and searched the distance for a comet that was scheduled to pass through the sector. Alexia was asleep in his bunk, and her words—her crazy assertion that she would accompany him to the platform to rescue Gabby and Zeke—rang in the air.
“It’s fine,” he said reassuringly. “We’ll stall for a while, keep her occupied. Seaton can’t possibly arrest all the smugglers, and the ones still out there will be loyal to Angelus. Loyal enough to smuggle Alexia through the sinkhole. Once we hear from them, we’ll convince her to go E-side.”
“She will not go. Not until she helps you rescue her friends.”
“She’ll go,” he said simply. “She thinks I feel guilty, but she’s the one who’s drowning in the stuff. If I tell her I can’t be happy, can’t be free, until I know she’s E-side, she’ll go.”
“It is there, Captain.”
“Huh? Oh, that’s effing amazing.”
The ball of ice hurtled through space, its twin tails streaking in a glittery display as it orbited closer to Destry’s sun.
He was awestruck, and had to believe his computer, for all her logic, was equally impressed. She was flawed, after all. Human, thanks to her programming. He had always known that, yet it hadn’t made sense so he had dismissed it.
Now he understood. She had Alexia Montoya’s amazing brain patterns etched into her cyber DNA.
“She’s beautiful. Right, Sensie?”
“Yes, Captain,” the computer replied.
Then another voice echoed. “Yes, Captain. She’s beautiful.”
He turned to see Alexia dressed in loose-fitting long johns. So innocent. So painfully eager. She wanted to help. To save her friends, to save Rick, to save the company and to find Trent.
So ambitious for a five-foot-six human female.
“How’d you sleep?”
“I’m good. Strong. Ready.”
“Good.” He walked over to her, took her by the arm, then led her off the deck and into the control room. “Sensie synthesized mashed potatoes. She said they’re your favorite.”
“Yum.”
“Sit and eat. And we’ll go over the plan.”
Alexia seemed pleased. “For storming the platform? Together?”
“That’s one scenario.” He watched her dig into her food. “But we need to keep our eye on the prize. Stopping David Seaton once and for all. If something happens to you before you go home and testify, he’ll be untouchable. He won’t just own the whole company. He’ll control the narrative. And he’ll make sure the rest of us can never contradict him.”
She set her fork down, then looked at him through clear eyes. “If we could get the sinkhole open, I’d agree I should go straight home. But that could be weeks. We can’t just let Zeke and Gabby rot in prison for so long. Unless you’re willing to put me back into the Titan leg while you rescue them yourself.”
“That wouldn’t work. Once I grabbed them, all hell would break loose and I wouldn’t be able to get back to Destry.”
“That’s true,” she murmured, returning to her meal.
“You’d actually go back into the leg? Wasn’t it miserable?”
“At first, yes. Then Trent showed up—in my delusions, but still, he gave me great advice. To trust the bio-metal. I get why Zeke told me to stay away from the walls, but he was wrong. The bio-metal gave me strength.”
“Water and food would have given you strength,” Rick told her bluntly. “You should have seen yourself when we found you. Dehydrated, semi-conscious—”
“Dying,” Sensie added. “You were dying, Alexia. We cannot allow you to enter the Titan again.”
She smiled. “It’s still so cool that he talked to you. Too bad he didn’t say more.”
“He did. But he asked me not to share it. And he asked that you two keep his confidence about my true identity.”
Alexia gave Rick a frustrated grin. “So much for being captain of your ship, right?”
He laughed. “Yeah, Sensie. Let’s hear it. That’s an order.”
The computer stayed silent for a moment, then told him quietly, “It is for your own protection, Captain. This knowledge could be dangerous.”
“Out with it.”
“Come on, Sensie,” Alexia wheedled. “I’m you and you’re me, remember? We can’t keep secrets from each other. Just tell us what he said. Word for word, no paraphrasing.”
“Fine.” The computer’s voice resonated through the cabin. “The Titan said, ‘I attempted to sustain your mortal form, Alexia Montoya. But these Earth humans are too fragile for bio-linking. It is regrettable, yet I believe she will recover with your assistance. I caution you not to share this information with the humans. They are not ready and may abuse it or be misled into danger by it. You and I must cease all communications from this moment forward.’”
“Bio-linking?” Alexia whispered.
“Yeah,” Rick said, honestly stunned. “Maybe that’s why you craved contact with the walls of the Drifter. Trying to reestablish a link. It’s amazing.”
“And dangerous,” Sensie scolded them. “You should have put her in the ACT right away.”
He glared. “If you had told me right away, maybe I would have. So just drop it and help us analyze this mess.”
Alexia’s eyes danced with amber lights. “We’re all thinking the same thing, aren’t we? The Destroyers actually bio-linked with the Titans. Maybe with all their robots. It’s so cool.”
“Which means the Destroyers were tougher than us. Not just technologically advanced, but physically too,” Rick reasoned aloud. “But still humanoids, or why else would the Titan call us Earth humans?”
“Oh my God, you’re right!” Alexia smiled proudly. “He’s right, Sensie, isn’t he?”
“It is possible.”
“Do you think you could communicate with the Titan again? If we got close enough?”
“He said we must cease such behavior. And so I do not believe he would be open to it. It is even possible…”
Rick eyed the monitor sternly. “Spit it out.”
“It is possible his bio-link with Alexia enabled him to communicate with me on a temporary basis. Re-energized him for a period of time. Or it is possible he was never dormant at all, but I find that unpersuasive.”
“If my Titan was never dormant, then none of them are,” Alexia murmured. “So why did they wait until now to communicate? Plus, Trent said they were dormant. And it’s been seven years since we arrived on Destry. It doesn’t make sense that they’d just—well, stay quiet until now.”
“Do you see why the knowledge is dangerous, Captain?” Sensie asked Rick.
“Yeah, I get it. We need to keep this to ourselves. For a lot of reasons.”
“Until we find Trent,” Alexia reminded him.
“Right.”
She turned her gaze toward the icy streak of dust on the monitor. “What do you call this gorgeous display?”
“The Phoenix comet.”
“I love it.”
He nodded. “There’s a lot to see in space. You’d like it.”
She pushed at the potatoes with her fork, then said in a too-casual voice, “TJ thinks you’re trading bio-metal on the black market. I know you’d never do that. But…” She smiled in apology. “What exactly do you do out here? Besides wrangle and chase comets, I mean.”
The question made him laugh. He had told her all his other secrets, hadn’t he? Why not this one? Especially because it would resonate with her.
So he stood and offered his hand. “Come on. We’ll watch the comet from the deck while I tell you the story. It’ll make more sense out there. Right, Sensie?”