Compelling Evidence Read online

  “I suppose a little luxury won’t do them any harm,” she told Addix with a wink.

  “I won’t tell if you don’t,” Addix replied with a chuckle.

  “Thank you, Aunt Eve,” the twins chorused.

  Eve smiled. “You are very welcome, my angels. Now go and eat and rest well. When you wake up, you’ll finish this scenario.”

  Gabriel pouted. “Oh, I don’t want to stop playing!”

  Alexis nodded her agreement. “Me either!”

  “That’s good,” Eve told them, “since I have a new scenario ready and waiting for when you’ve crossed the mountain.”

  Alexis and Gabriel ran over and hugged Eve. “What’s the new story, Aunt Eve?” Alexis asked.

  “Well…” Eve hesitated for effect.

  “Tell us, tell us!” Gabriel cried.

  She grinned. “All I’m going to tell you is that it’s based on a very old game from Earth. It has caves and dragons.”

  Alexis repeated the word with awe. “Dragons?”

  Eve inclined her head. “Yes, but first you have to finish this scenario. The sooner you rest, the sooner you can complete it.”

  The twins hugged Eve again, then hugged Addix and ran for the den, chattering excitedly about dragons.

  Eve turned to Addix. “Do you need to leave for a while to take care of your spy stuff?”

  Addix shook her head. “No, I took care of anything time-sensitive before I entered the game.”

  Eve nodded and produced a tablet out of thin air with a flourish. “You can use this to check in on your messages if you need to. It has a button to hide it while you’re not using it. Do you need anything else?”

  “I’m good, thanks,” Addix replied. She looked up from the tablet to see she was alone on the plateau. “Bye, then,” she murmured.

  She looked at the entrance to the den and smiled at the sound of the children’s laughter. They had both done excellently in this scenario, and she had to admit that they had learned vital skills from the experience.

  Still, dragons? Addix had studied Earth fiction—mostly so she could understand the references the humans constantly made—so she was aware of the nature of dragons. She couldn’t help but wonder what Eve’s new game was going to teach them.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Outside Quarantined System, QBS ArchAngel II, Viewing Platform

  Bethany Anne rested her arms lightly against the railing as she looked into the expanse beyond. “It never ceases to make me stop and think.”

  Tabitha leaned against the railing beside her, lost in her thoughts. “What’s that?” she asked distractedly, turning from the window to look at Bethany Anne.

  “Space. The beauty of it all. The vastness.” She shrugged at Tabitha’s frown and returned to watching the streak in the distance that had set off this chain of thought. “Anything could happen out here. We’re so small, and the potential for random destruction is so endless.”

  Tabitha tilted her head. “That’s just a little morbid. We’re about to go to war, and you’re worried about some random comet? It’s not like you to be distracted like this before a fight.”

  “I’m not distracted.” Bethany Anne couldn’t explain her growing conviction that the universe wasn’t as random as she’d been led to believe. How could it be? She’d lived long enough to figure out that life went in circles. Some circles were bigger than others, but at the heart of it, people were doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over, no matter their species.

  A prime example was her father’s current political issues, which were markedly similar to the ones he’d faced back on Earth. While she had every faith in Lance’s ability to pull the Federation kicking and screaming into something resembling the beacon of hope they’d intended, the petty dramas he was dealing with right now had no place in her larger vision.

  However, she had to admit she’d been circling, just the same as everyone else.

  Granted, it was a temporary diversion while she and Michael raised the children and readied themselves for the monumental ass-kicking they were preparing to deliver, but she still itched to get out there and complete her mission to create a galaxy where everyone could raise their children in peace and safety.

  It was some distance from her original intent to storm the galaxy and rip the still-beating hearts from every Kurtherian she came across, but the overall desire was still the same.

  Some women were softened by motherhood, but not Bethany Anne.

  ArchAngel’s voice interrupted them. “I have received a message to stand clear. The fleet is about to Gate in.”

  Gabrielle and Jean arrived on the viewing platform just as a Gate opened at a safe distance. It shimmered, lighting nearby space, and the fleet of High Tortuga came through. It was led by the G’laxix Sphaea, which slowed long enough for a single Pod to exit before continuing.

  Tabitha looked out with wide eyes as the dreadnoughts flew in formation over the top of the ArchAngel II. She craned to see them, then turned to Bethany Anne. “Okay, I get what you mean. That made me feel like a minnow swimming around while the sharks go by.”

  “They’re our sharks, Tabitha, and they’re lining up ready to take a bite out of whatever the hell is out here.” The Pod streaked toward them, and Bethany Anne let go of the railing. “That will be Michael and the guys. Time to start this dance.”

  They reached the docking bay as the Pod came through the translucent barrier. Michael was last down the ramp, waving at Bethany Anne and continuing to the meeting room.

  “How are the children?” she asked him immediately.

  Michael smirked. “Missed you too, my love.” He caught her in his arms and kissed her. “The children are fine. Addix and Eve are taking good care of them.”

  Bethany Anne frowned. “Addix is babysitting?”

  Michael nodded. “She volunteered. The children were so happy to see her that they didn’t even miss John leaving.”

  They walked from the shuttle bay together, heading for the meeting room. “What have you had them learning while I’ve been away?”

  Michael grinned. “Mostly problem-solving. They’ve blasted through the lessons, as always.”

  Bethany Anne nudged him with her shoulder. “Maybe you weren’t giving them enough credit when you designed the lesson.”

  Michael smirked. “Oh, the tasks are definitely challenging enough. Eve and I made sure of it. I got your gift, by the way.”

  “Have you worked out how to open it yet?” Bethany Anne chuckled when he shook his head. “I told Jean to make it a challenge since you don’t like anything that comes easily. You’re going to like what’s inside, so don’t take too long to figure it out.”

  Everyone was waiting when Bethany Anne and Michael entered the meeting room. Kael-ven gestured to the only empty chairs at the table. “Great, you’re here.”

  Bethany Anne waved him off and pulled out one of the two chairs between John and Gabrielle. “I’m glad to see you, but we haven’t got time for the niceties, Kael. Let’s just get started with the briefing.” Nods of agreement went around the table.

  “The goal,” she began, “is to come in from a separate direction than the Federation. Dad has made sure we have a little time before the Federation arrives. We will make an effort to communicate, and look for any Kurtherian influence.”

  “What if there is?” Gabrielle asked.

  Bethany Anne allowed a cold smile to touch her lips. “If there is, we grab the information and then do what needs to be done. We will keep one ship far enough away to catch the data and Gate out if it goes to shit and they overwhelm us.”

  Kael-ven nodded to Kiel, who brought up a video on the wallscreen. “This is ADAM’s enhanced version of the video from the trader vessel that broke the quarantine, for those who haven’t seen it.”

  Bethany Anne saw a lot more detail than she had when viewing the original. “It looks like a big fucking rock. We’re being attacked by a rock?”

  “No,” Kael-ven told her. �
��Keep watching the center quadrant.”

  The place he’d pointed out suddenly wavered and the rock vanished as a dark sphere came streaking toward the camera. Bethany Anne caught a glimpse of the massed shipwrecks beneath the illusion.

  “Kiel, freeze it there.” Bethany Anne stood and leaned in to get an even closer look. “Shit, that’s some of the best cloaking tech I’ve ever seen.”

  TOM piped up over the speaker, “Possessing that technology would increase our likelihood of success in the long term.”

  His voice was replaced by ADAM’s. “Maybe the species will be open to negotiating a price for it? If they aren’t the homicidal assholes we’re expecting, that is.”

  “There’s a novel thought.” Bethany Anne glanced at Michael, who was tapping a pen on the table as he scrutinized the window into the alien ship’s true appearance. “So, we have a bunch of dead ships disguised as a rock. I guess that casts doubt on your AI theory, TOM.”

  “Not necessarily,” he contended through the speakers. “There’s an odd order to that mess of ships. If that construction is not the work of a logical mind come undone, I’ll eat my hat.”

  Tabitha snorted. “You don’t have a hat, TOM.”

  “It’s a metaphorical hat, like everything else in my life,” he grumped.

  Bethany Anne rolled her eyes. “Focus, everyone. We need a plan of action.”

  “What’s wrong with our usual plan?” John asked. “It’s simple, and it’s never failed us yet.”

  Bethany Anne tilted her head. “You mean, kick the doors in and kill everything in sight until there’s nobody left to threaten the Federation?”

  John nodded sagely. “That’s the one.”

  High Tortuga, Space Fleet Base, Immersive Recreation and Training Scenario, Dinosaur Island

  The children clung tightly to Addix as she looked up to check their progress. The peak was just ahead—if you could count scaling a fifty-foot perpendicular rockface as being “ahead.”

  They’d made most of the day’s climb by themselves, but Addix had noticed them flagging as the sun began to drop and insisted they ride on her back again. When they’d reached the sheer cliff that was the final obstacle between them and the game’s end task, she’d secured them to her. Now they were almost at their destination.

  “Aunt Addix, do you know what the final challenge is?” Alexis asked.

  Addix did know, but she had been instructed by Michael to give nothing away. “I do not,” she told Alexis.

  Alexis giggled. “Aunt Addix, I know you’re lying. Your mandibles gave it away.”

  “They most certainly did not,” Addix disputed. “I have full control of my expression, thank you very much.” She pulled with her hands and pushed with all four feet to haul them over the top of the cliff.

  “Actually, that’s what gave you away,” Alexis told her sweetly. She and Gabriel undid their restraints and tumbled to the ground. The sun still gave plenty of light this high up, and the wind whistled as it whipped around the rocks. The peak rose in jagged spires around them; the only flat ground was where Addix had put them down.

  “This place is a lot bigger than it looked from the bottom,” Gabriel remarked. He started forward to explore the fissure closest to them, but Alexis pulled him back.

  “It might be a trap,” she cautioned. She turned to Addix. “Are you at least allowed to tell us what the task is?”

  Addix nodded. “Yes, but as soon as I do the task will begin.”

  Alexis screwed her nose up in thought. “Okay. Is there anything else we should know about before we start?”

  Addix chuckled. “Shrewd, Alexis. All I can tell you is to run swiftly, choose your path carefully, and trust yourselves.”

  “Is that all?” Alexis pouted. “Thank you and everything, but I don’t think vagueness counts as actual advice, Aunt Addix. What is the task parameter?”

  Addix pointed at the rocky spires. “The portal to the next scenario is at the center of the maze. All you have to do is reach it and activate it to complete this story. You must do this alone, but I will be waiting on the other side of the portal for you.”

  Alexis frowned. “We just have to find the portal and go through it? Where’s the challenge?”

  A sudden screech filled the sky. The twins looked up when a massive shadow blocked out the sun.

  “Pterosaurs!” Gabriel cried.

  “Run, children,” Addix cautioned. “I will see you both very soon.”

  Alexis grabbed Gabriel’s hand, and they made a dash for the cover of the rocks. They slipped into a gap and pelted along the twisting passages until the screeching was well behind them.

  They stopped at a fork in the path, unsure which way to take.

  Alexis picked up a loose rock and scratched a rough arrow into the stone.

  “What are you doing that for?” Gabriel asked.

  “We’ll mark every split in the path that we take. That way, if we get lost or turned around, we can get back on the right path.”

  They had to follow the arrows back a couple of times over the next hour when they hit dead ends. The maze seemed to be endless. They made turn after turn, and the sense of urgency passed after a while.

  They had just found their way back to the path after hitting yet another dead end when a sudden screech filled the air.

  A pterosaur landed on the rock above them and began swiping at them, its leathery wings outstretched. Alexis scrambled through a gap that led to another part of the maze and Gabriel crawled through behind her. They emerged under an overhang, which gave them a few minutes to think while the winged beast screeched and flapped impotently in its rage at losing them.

  Alexis tucked her arms around her knees and rested her head on them while she caught her breath. She looked up when Gabriel shook her arm. “Alexis, the portal!”

  They had found the center of the maze.

  The rock had been excavated to make a wide, clear space. A dais was in the center, surrounded by rows of carved stone benches. The portal was on the dais, a huge stone circle with symbols carved into every inch that Alexis and Gabriel could see.

  Another screech cut the air as they dashed through the benches to climb the steps.

  The pterosaur came to roost on top of the portal, blocking Alexis and Gabriel’s exit from the game. They scrambled underneath one of the benches and huddled together.

  Alexis peered at the beast, which was tearing chunks off the top of the portal and flinging them in its frustration. “How are we going to get past that thing?”

  “I don’t know,” Gabriel answered in a soft, shaky voice. “Alexis…”

  Alexis glanced in alarm at her brother’s pale skin and clammy hands. “Gabriel? Are you okay?”

  Gabriel looked at her with unfocused eyes. “Don’t…feel sho goo…” He slumped to the side.

  “Gabriel!” Alexis scooted over to him and cradled his head in her lap. “What’s happened?”

  On the other side of the portal, Addix watched Gabriel slump to the ground on her tablet screen. “Was the arachnid necessary?” she asked Eve.

  Eve shrugged. “They needed a nudge, and you are frankly rather inspiring.”

  “I should go in and make sure Gabriel is okay.”

  Eve shook her head at the agitation Addix was showing. “Don’t worry, he’s just asleep.”

  “You ass! You bit Gabriel!” Alexis yelled, crushing the spider with a rock before it could bite her brother again. “Now what am I going to do?”

  She put her ear to Gabriel’s chest. His heart beat slowly but steadily. “Aunt Addix! Aunt Eve! Gabriel is hurt!”

  Neither of her aunts answered.

  Alexis knew in that instant that this was a part of the game. She looked at the portal, her only hope of getting Gabriel out of here.

  “Okay then, I’ll defeat the pterosaur all by myself.”

  She made sure Gabriel was safe and crawled out from underneath the bench. The pterosaur lowered its head and bellowed at her, scratchin
g at the portal as it beat its wings.

  So it doesn’t leave the portal. I wonder if it will change when I get closer? Alexis bared her teeth at the dinosaur and took a step forward. “You have one chance to let me take my brother through that portal,” she yelled. Her mind worked the whole time furiously. How do I get it to leave? Do I have to kill it? What would Mommy do?

  Alexis laughed aloud. She’d seen the videos of her parents kicking ass and taking names. Since this was a virtual reality, could she do the same?

  Gabriel moaned, dragging her from the rabbit hole she’d almost fallen into. “Daddy and his traps again!” He knew she was susceptible to the beauty of pure thought. She snapped her attention back just as the pterosaur began to beat its wings in preparation for taking flight.

  Mommy wouldn’t let anything stop her from saving someone, and neither would Alexis. She held up her hand just like she’d seen her mother do and willed the energy to come.

  Nothing happened. “Hmmm…” Alexis knew that the energy came from the Etheric, but there was no Etheric here. Maybe there was some equivalent?

  “How did Eve make the lightning?” she pondered.

  She felt a tingle in her palm.

  Addix laughed aloud. “Did you just give her the ability to make energy balls?”

  Eve snickered. “She deserves it, just for having the courage to stand up to that thing armed with nothing but her temper. She’s going to get her first taste of battle. I’m such a proud aunt.”

  A smug smile spread across Alexis’ face as the energy ball formed in her hand. She flung it at the pterosaur, scoring a hit on its beaky face. “Get away from the portal!” she yelled.

  The pterosaur screamed its pain and launched at Alexis from the top of the portal. Alexis screamed in return and threw two more energy balls at it, singeing its wings.