Log 1 Matter | Antimatter (58 page)

Log 2 Pass | Fail Taster
— Jet (not
proofread)

“I promised Ara I’d be with her the whole way!”
Jamie yelled at Simon, his Aryan Military handler. They were in the
Saratoga mountain installation currently being packed up ready for
the move to the Orixa Station, more specifically to Kios, the
planet Ara would be apprenticed under Kavela, Iota’s only planet
engineer.

“Not for her apprenticeship you won’t.”
Simon’s freckles were more evident as he turned pale with worry.
“We’ve given Terzon the mission.”

Jamie didn’t care. He’d resign. He’d set up
his own detail. He sat on his bare desk and crossed his arms over
his chest ignoring all the cons against taking unilateral action.
“I’ll not abandon her.”

Simon stood in front of him, scratched his
head and mussed up his red hair. “Jamie, we’re not removing you
completely from the protection detail. But you need to work with
Leo on the Ruse of War issue. Terzon will contact you regularly.”
Simon lowered his voice even though the bulwark security device was
on. “This is our chance to draw the Establishment out a—”

“You’re using her as bait.” Jamie brushed
past Simon and stalked around the room, he stopped at a high stack
of crates and collapsed his arms and then his head on the top. “She
is not just bait for Maya, for us, for Nyx or whoever the else is
in on this Alien Crucible.” Jamie lifted his head and stared at the
blank wall. The Establishment’s methods were ruthless and they
already had Kavela and so many others in their rotten core it made
Jamie feel sick.

“Your psychological profile reveals you just
aren’t suitable. Stay and help Ara in a different way or leave. I’m
leaving you an archived log I think may help your decision.”

Jamie didn’t even say goodbye as Simon left.
He turned and saw a rolled up scroll on his desk.

Sub-Log I

Archived Consortium Log

Nyx stood on a round metallic platform right on the
brink of creation material, Chaos energy and matter. Tartarus once
said looked like a golden lake. He stood next to her now, resolute
and angry. He was bitter over the Consortium’s decision that the
new emerging Chaos Entity was too young to rule. He thought Monad’s
old technological system was corrupt while Nyx was unconvinced.

“The results were unclear.” The massive
Natal’s dark red living metal face seemed to absorb the golden
light. Even though he was one of the oldest Natal, kroTan stood on
a lower sled so that they didn’t have to look up to see him. He was
over thirty stories high.

Above them the black velvety Void revealed no
life systems close by. It had recently become apparent to them that
they weren’t at the beginning of life, but at the end of a one
hundred-thousand-year old cycle, and this fed Tartarus’s argument
that it was a chance for a new world order.

“The Alien Crucible must be resolved,” Nyx
snapped out the words while flinging her arm causing her long hair
to shift slightly over her bare shoulders.

“And about time,” said Tartarus darkly.

He was her long-time friend and brethren, and
right now his oval face was contorted with ill-concealed agony. He
was wearing dark pants over which hung a long open shirt revealing
his tanned skin. His feet were bare.

She ignored his sensuality…