Artificial Absolutes (Jane Colt Book 1) (11 page)

“
What
?” Commander Vega strode over to him. “How are those hooligans still in our system?”

Before the cybernetics officer could reply, the communications officer said, “Commander Vega, we are receiving an anonymous written transmission.”

Must be the hooligans.
Commander Vega spun toward the viewscreen. “Put it through!” The damage had been done. Little risk remained in allowing an anonymous communication.

A message typed out in real time:

We are Citizen Zero. We are the strangers here. We believe in neither nation nor religion, neither good nor evil. We believe in freedom, not authority. There is no system that cannot be corrupted, no truth that cannot be questioned. If you think we are fake, remember ideals are never fake. If this is a mistake, we will make one more mistake. Beliefs cannot break. We will do whatever it takes.

Commander Vega scowled, piqued at the arrogance and sanctimony the self-righteous delinquents displayed in their trite so-called mission statement. “Who sent this?”

“We’re trying to trace them, but they are very heavily veiled.”

“Keep trying. And open a communication with the command center.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Admiral Landler’s displeased face appeared on the viewscreen. “Yes, Commander Vega?”

“I want to know whom I am pursuing.” Commander Vega restrained her frustration and kept her tone firm. “Because I was not informed of the nature of the target, I was unprepared to deal with the cybernetic attacks that are now preventing me from controlling my drones or communicating with my fighter pilots. Had I known of this possibility, I would have taken extra precautions to prevent these occurrences.”

The admiral knit his bushy eyebrows. “The target has no known current affiliations with cybercrimes. We were not aware of this possibility. Recent intelligence indicates that the target was once involved in a cybergang, but we were not informed until now.”

Commander Vega understood. When she had received her order to pursue, nobody had known
who
was in the junker, only that he or she had entered a restricted area.

Admiral Landler looked down at something out of Vega’s view. “It is now confirmed that the target is a twenty-eight-year-old male named Devin Colt. The details are being transmitted to your ship.”

Devin Colt’s case file appeared in a new window on the viewscreen. The more Commander Vega read, the more furious she became. He was not some punk hacker. He was a cold-blooded murderer who’d shot his own father out of uncontrolled rage. The thought of a child executing his parent disgusted her.
Monster.

She narrowed her eyes. “Sir, I request permission to use deadly force to prevent the target’s escape if necessary.”

Admiral Landler nodded. “Granted.”

A long line of interstellar tunnels that served as bridges between star systems stretched across the forward view. The sight reminded Jane of a cosmic string of black pearls. Warped images of the stars and ships shimmered at the center of each moon-sized sphere. The tunnels’ edges glistened with distorted visions of vehicles passing through, which quickly resumed their proper forms as they sped toward the Kyderan system or curved into other tunnels.

Ever since the Bettas had gone offline, the Blue Tang had been playing a kind of ring-around-the-rosie with two Barracudas. Since the Blue Tang couldn’t outrun its pursuers, the only choice was to stagger toward the tunnels. The Barracudas had only fired a few light blasts aimed at the Blue Tang’s engines, which Devin had avoided. Clearly, they’d been ordered not to use any
real
force.

The communication window on the slate shifted. Jane looked over at it, wondering what Corsair, whoever he was, had to say.

Corsair: I tried powering down their lightspeed engines, but now that they are aware of us, they have taken precautions and are making things more difficult.

“Can you blind them?” Devin asked.

Corsair: Let me see.

He’s good.
Jane didn’t know much about computers, but it had to take some fancy digital footwork to mess with a Megatooth warship.

The Barracudas changed course, heading away from the Blue Tang.

What’s happening?
“Devin, the Barracudas… They’re leaving.”

Confusion crossed Devin’s expression. “Corsair, did you call off the Barracudas?”

Corsair: No.

Jane glanced briefly at the image of the warship behind them. She doubled back with alarm. “That’s not good.”

The enormous red Mega seemed to expand as two long rows of cannons extended from its sides.

Holy shit.
“They can’t— They wouldn’t—”

The warship fired a bright red blast. Jane screamed. The Blue Tang pitched violently as Devin veered to avoid getting hit. More blasts came. He twisted the ship to dodge them.

Jane turned to prayer once again, reverting to facetiousness to deny the danger.

Dear Absolute One, You can’t let me die yet. I still owe You that motet, remember? So be it, truly. This would make Adam so mad…

An abrupt lurch. Jane crashed forward. The straps of her safety belt cut into her torso. “This is
absurd
! Why would you send a huge freaking
warship
after a stupid little junker like us?”

Something was hit. Alarms blared.

“
Fuck this
.” Devin directed the Blue Tang straight at the tunnels, weaving slightly, but otherwise making a line toward his target. Blasts hit the ship from behind. More alarms. Bits of the damaged hull formed a dusty trail.

Jane watched in horror. “What are you doing?”

No response. Devin’s gaze fixed on the viewscreen. As the Blue Tang drew closer to the distant swarm of civilian transports and supply ships by the tunnels, she understood.

We’re gonna make it.
She clenched her safety straps.
We’re gonna
make it.

The blasts stopped. Puzzled, Jane looked at the rear view. The warship no longer fired.

Corsair had left another message:

Corsair: I have successfully disabled their targeting systems and their viewscreen. They won’t be able to track you or fire without risking civilian casualties.

Jane’s muscles seemed to melt from relief. She released the straps. “He’s a
genius
! Tell Corsair I send him a hug!”

Devin smiled. “My sister sends you a hug.”

Corsair: Uh… Thanks?

“How long before they get their systems back?”

Corsair: Not long.

A few minutes later, the Blue Tang reached the edges of one of the interstellar tunnels. Devin steered the damaged junker into the spherical vortex. It instantaneously sent the ship out of the Kyderan system and across the galaxy.

Chapter 7

Falsehoods Found

T
he tunnel spewed the scarred
Blue Tang out at the edges of Iothe, one of the most peaceful systems in the Interstellar Confederation. Devin, tired of the alarms’ ringing and buzzing, flipped a switch to disable them. His first thought was to leave Jane at one of the nearby floats—self-sufficient space habitats about the size of a city—and insist that she return to Kydera before he put her in any more danger.

Jane seemed to figure out his intent when the ship turned toward the IC system. Devin tried to tell her that
he
was the target, and that it wasn’t her fight.

“Not my fight?!” Jane bolted upright in her seat. “Some sonuvabitch
shot my father
and
framed my brother
, so you bet your toolish ass it’s my damn fight! You can be a jerk and knock me out or something, but if you do, I’ll get my own black market starship and continue looking for the deranged asshole, anyway!”

You’re not winning this time, Pony.
Devin tried to ignore her as he veered the ship.

Jane unbuckled her safety belt and stood. “Hey!” She shoved his shoulder. “Do you really expect me to go back to my stupid boring life as if nothing happened? Turn this freaking ship around!”

He continued toward Iothe. “Dammit, Jane, you could’ve been
killed
! I won’t let—”

“You have
no say
in what I can and can’t do!” She pointed at the viewscreen. “Like I said, you can dump me on some float if you want, but if you do, it’s not the freaking Mega you should be afraid of!”

“Listen—”

“
Try me
! Leave me there and see what happens!” She put her hands on the armrests of his seat, leaned down, and looked him in the eye. “You know what?
Do it
!
I’ll find the bastard
myself
!” She pushed off the armrests and crossed her arms.

Damn, she actually would.
The thought of his kid sister running around some shady sector alone looking for black market ship dealers made Devin more than edgy. It would be better to keep her near.

Besides, he realized suddenly, No Name had already targeted everyone around her.
She could be next.
The thought filled him with dread. At the very least, having Jane along meant he could protect her.

With a sigh of surrender, Devin maneuvered the Blue Tang back toward the interstellar tunnels. Jane smirked in triumph.

He gave her a stern look. “Just promise me one thing. Promise you’ll do as I say, no matter what.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What is this, your version of pulling rank?”

“Jane—”

“All right, all right!” Jane rolled her eyes. “As long as it doesn’t involve me getting abandoned, then fine. I get it. We’re fugitives. Big Brother knows best.” She plopped down in the copilot’s seat. “Where’re we going anyway?”

“The Viatian system.”

Devin steered the Blue Tang through one of the interstellar tunnels, curved it around, and brought it toward a different tunnel. He wove the ship in and out of the shortening lines of spheres as he went further and further from the IC systems.

As the minutes stretched into hours, his thoughts turned to Sarah. He wondered what she would think of all this, if she would believe him—and if he would get the chance to see her again and ask.

About three months before, Devin had taken Sarah to the Colt estate to meet his father. He’d planned to introduce them for some time, but something had always come up that prevented Dad from joining them. This time was no different.

Devin ended the communication with his father and turned to Sarah. “Once again, Quasar needs his immediate and undivided attention. I’m sorry to have dragged you all the way out here for nothing.”

Sarah smiled good-naturedly. “It’s all right. I’ve wanted to see Serena since you first mentioned it. Show me around?”

“Sure.” He considered giving Sarah the general tour of the historic mansion, then decided to show her something more personal.

He took her out in a hovercar to his favorite childhood haunt: a waterfall deep in the forest, which poured into a wide, clear creek. Large gray stones and tall trees with red and violet leaves surrounded it.

Devin stepped out of the vehicle. “I used to spend hours here.” He approached the rushing water and felt the cool mist carried in the wind. “If I was still enough, the wildlife would come out of hiding. I watched them go about their placid lives, wishing I could be like them—living in simple, unthinking bliss. It was one of the few places I could go to escape the pressures of being a Colt—the expectations, the orders, the perpetual disappointment.”

Sarah, who walked beside him, put a hand on his arm. “That must’ve been hard.”

“I ended up where I was supposed to.” He stopped near the edge of the creek.

“Do you like what you do at Quasar? You never talk about work.”

Devin kept his gaze on the waterfall. “There’s not much to talk about. And it doesn’t matter whether I like it. It’s my life.”

They all think I’m perfect.
He thought about the many times his father and those he called friends had commented on how he seemed to have it all.
The ruse must be working.

Sarah said slowly, “I know you’re not as detached as you pretend to be. You keep your face expressionless whenever you’re not conforming to a corporate ideal, and it’s as if you’re hiding yourself. Why is that?”

Devin looked at her. “I’m not like that with you, am I?”

She smiled. “Of course not, baby, that’s why I asked. You’re different with me than with everyone else. Why do you always shield yourself?”

“I’m not shielding myself.” Devin turned away and walked along the water. “I’m protecting the rest of the world from who I really am.” He focused on the rough stones lining the creek. “I was a disaster until about six years ago, wreaking so much havoc it was absurd. By the time I realized the hell I found myself in was my own damn fault, I’d already devastated my family, all because I was trying to find myself, to find
purpose
, like every other stupid kid with grand delusions. All I could do was stop caring about the things that drove me to that insanity, and I’ve kept it up to this day. If there were a drug that could remove emotion, I’d take it in a heartbeat. Forget meanings, forget beliefs. I just want to live.”

He stopped. Those were thoughts he’d long ago decided should remain unspoken. Why had he confessed them? No one could know that he projected the mask of a well-adjusted professional while hollowing out what lay behind it, cutting away every passion, every hope until he wondered what remained.

He turned to face Sarah. She gazed at him lovingly, sympathetically. That she could love him made him believe there must be something good left within. He often felt as though she’d been sent by a supernatural force to save him from his capacity for madness.

He smiled wryly. “You probably think I’m insane.”

She approached him. “I’m glad you told me. I want to understand you.”

“You won’t like me much once you do.”

She hooked her arm around his. “Why would you say that?”

Devin turned his gaze back to the waterfall.
Might as well finish.
“Because I’m still a disaster. I’ve fixed the outside as best I can, but there’s something deeply wrong with me. The only chance I have to overcome it is to simply do what’s expected.”

Sarah was quiet for a moment. “I think I understand. Life’s passions cause more pain than anything else. They leave us wanting, but not knowing what for, reaching for an ideal of living beyond mere existence, but no idea as to how to attain it. But you don’t have to give up on happiness. In fact, look at all the good things you have—stability, security… someone who loves you. Remember that, and you’ll realize you’re already in the haven you seek.
This
is paradise.”

She put a willowy arm around him and kissed him softly. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”
More than I could ever say.

Sarah leaned her head against Devin’s shoulder, and he put his arm around her. For a while, he simply stood there with her, watching the never-ending flow of the waterfall and listening to the whispers of the wind against Serena’s untamed beauty.

You’re right, Sarah. Now that you’re here, this is paradise.

The Blue Tang exited the interstellar tunnel closest to Viate. It was the only tunnel in the region and several light-hours from the star system. A message appeared on the slate:

Corsair: The Seer is on Viate-5. He’s a junk dealer there, and he said he’d contact you when you get closer to the planet.

Devin entered the planet’s coordinates into the Blue Tang’s navigation system and set the ship on autopilot. Considering what it had been through, the ship’s ability to function normally seemed miraculous. BD Tech hadn’t been exaggerating when they said they made the best.

His pursuers wouldn’t figure out which of Kydera’s hundred or so tunnels he’d gone into, let alone which of the vast number of possible combinations he could have taken.
We’ll be all right for now.

Jane had been silent since they’d left Iothe. She sat curled up in the copilot’s seat, lost in a melancholy reverie.

“Hey,” Devin said. “You okay?”

Her eyes glistened. “He’s gonna make it. Victor Colt is all about being the exception.”

Devin didn’t know how to respond. The anguish he’d felt when his father had been shot had nearly overwhelmed him, and he could only attribute his quick escape to survival instincts he hadn’t known he still possessed. The only thing he could do to hold himself together was to accept that father might as well be dead and deal with it.

But that didn’t mean his sister had to. If blissful denial would help her handle her grief, then he wasn’t about to shatter her hope.

Jane released her knees and sat up straight. “I’m not just being optimistic. He
will
recover.”

Devin tried to smile. “Of course.”

She clenched her fists. “Do you think it was the same bastards who assassinated Mom? Dad said it was a gang controlled by a Fringe warlord. Do you think that warlord went after him too? Is that why we’re out here?”

Devin looked away. He owed Jane the truth, and he swore to himself he’d tell her someday—but not that day. She’d never speak to him again, once she knew.

“Devin?” Jane peered into his face. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He ignored the question in her eyes. “Viate is one of the few Fringe systems that isn’t run by warlords. I’m hoping to trade the Blue Tang for a lesser model. Anything made by BD Tech is worth a lot out here.”

He paused, trying to find another topic. “You wanted to know what Citizen Zero is, right? They’re an anti-establishment Netcrew, and Corsair’s one of their most influential members. Most people dismiss them as paranoid conspiracy theorists, but they’re probably some of the best demons out there. You saw what they did to that warship.”

Jane took the bait, and the question in her eyes brightened into curiosity. “How
did
they do that?”

“They hack into corporate or government computers to steal documents, looking for proof of corruption. I asked Corsair to see if they could get the command codes to the ship patrolling Lyrona. I knew I’d have no chance of escaping otherwise.”

“Who’s Corsair anyway? How do you know him?”

Should I lie?
After a moment of hesitation, Devin said, “We were both members of a cybergang called Legion. It was years ago, back when… back when I was younger.”

“You were in a cybergang?” Jane leaned over her armrest. “Is that what Dad meant when he said you used to get in trouble?”

“Yeah.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

Jane must have sensed his unease, for she didn’t ask for details. She rested her head against the back of her chair. “So Citizen Zero’s like a smaller version of the Collective.”

“They started out as an offshoot of the Collective, but now they’re suspicious of it. Several of their members were unveiled and killed after getting involved with one of the Collective’s leaders, Mastermind.”

“Hacking can get you
killed
?” Jane stared in wide-eyed disbelief.

Devin smiled, amused by her doll-like expression. “You don’t know much about cybergangs, do you? They work for Fringe warlords, drug kingpins, interstellar mafias—the most dangerous people in the galaxy. There’s a lot of overlap between the two, but unlike Netcrews, who operate entirely online, cybergang demons often get physically involved with their jobs. Being unveiled and having their identities revealed is the worst thing that can happen to them.”

“So who’s Mastermind?”

“No one really knows. He first showed up about twenty years back and made a hobby out of messing with the Fringe systems. The things he did determined the outcomes of their turf wars. The Collective revered him for it. He disappeared about ten years ago, after several of the demons he worked with turned up dead.”

Jane grabbed her armrest and pulled herself forward. “What were they doing? What happened to Mastermind? How was he was so powerful? What—?”

“Slow down, Pony! I don’t have the answers. I don’t think anyone does.”