[Avia]

I sat cross-legged on my bed aboard the Freebird, leaning back against the wall, while Bubba rumbled as I scratched behind his ears. There was something soothing about having a contented cat curled up in my lap. Also, I drew a measure of satisfaction that Bubba's affection for me miffed Zach.

I shouldn't be so hard on Zach. Except for some flippant comments and various annoying qualities, he has been a gentleman to me, even protective. Although, he did hunt me down and kidnap me — no free pass for that.

Within my head, I parsed through the info I lifted from Arthur's computer. Project Asclepius was hidden within the non-descript Coronis Station — an appropriate name, since in ancient Greek mythology, Coronis was the mother of the god of medicine, Asclepius. It was located within a remote, uninhabited star system, which made sense for such a secretive project. The information included some details on entry procedures and external security, but there was nothing on internal security. By Arthur's assessment, it would be extremely tight. Getting in and out safely won't be a walk in the park.

The nano-bot coding was fascinating, especially the networking capability that allowed the micro-machines to work collectively. The implications for medicine were staggering. With present technology, nano-bots were manufactured to treat specific diseases. But these were multifunctional, able to diagnose and treat human ailments before symptoms became apparent, even slowing the aging process. No wonder Omni-Corp poured so many resources into development.

But the unstated frightening aspect was the brain altering potential — not so much direct mind control, but manipulation of mental associations and emotional response. Theoretically, the technology could bend entire populations to favor certain products, or even political beliefs. Truly, megalomaniac evil villain stuff. The data Arthur gave us was five to ten years old, so who knows what progress they had recently made?

Zach shadowed my open hatchway, leaning against the frame with arms crossed. With bushy hair, a dimpled grin, and wearing a plain white t-shirt, he radiated more bad-boy charm than should be allowed. But I'm not falling for that.

His eyebrows lowered upon seeing Bubba in my lap. "Why are you corrupting my star-cat?"

"What can I say? Bubba likes me better," I answered. Bubba stretched, yawned, then curled back into a catnap. "Who's the good kitty?" I cooed while stroking soft, black fur. "You are... You're the good kitty."

Zach let out an exasperated breath while plopping down in the desk chair within my tiny cabin, then changed the subject. "Well? What do you think?"

"About Project Asclepius?"

"No. About the finer points of underwater basket weaving," Zach answered, rolling his eyes back. "Of course, about Project Asclepius! That's why you're here and not drooling in Aberrant jail."

Zach's reply sent a chill down my spine, blocking my mocking retort. True, he had saved me from a fate worse than death. "Right. The technology is brilliant and scary at the same time. External security and access control are tight. There's not much info on what's inside, but security there is probably even tighter. This won't be easy."

"Never said it would be," Zach noted. "But I've arranged for some help."

"Who?"

"Some of my former Red Caste colleagues."

My eyebrows shot up. "Can we trust them? I thought you had a falling out."

"I did," Zach replied, nodding. "Trust is far too strong a word. Let's just say we have a common goal of taking down Omni-Corp."

"You need better friends, Zach."

With a grin, he said, "Hey, I've got you."

"You don't kidnap friends." I sighed — that conversation line wouldn't get us anywhere. "Well, there's one thing in our favor. All the R&D data is stored onsite, probably to prevent leaks and theft. That means we have a chance to erase it all and set the research back, maybe permanently." 

"We want to do more than that. Omni-Corp also needs to be publicly exposed. Find the appropriate incriminating documents, but whatever you do, don't copy the research data itself. They will know if you did. It needs to be completely gone."

*****

The Taurus Space Station, an ancient torus shaped structure with rotational derived artificial gravity, was less sleazy than Alpha Station where we met Arthur. As we walked along bright, well tread passageways, several vendors actively plied their trades, while not far away, noisy children played within segregated green parks.

The station orbited the gas-giant planet that economically sustained it. Robotic scoopers with onboard processing factories periodically dipped down into the cold atmosphere and returned with tanks of purified deuterium and helium-3, which were then sold as fusion fuel. Once every station rotation, the planet dominated the window view, displaying vibrant swaths of blue and turquoise. Beautiful.

Engaging my cybernetics, I found few electronic security systems. Rather, the monitors were of the human variety, and I picked up com traffic reporting our presence. Most importantly, I detected no sign of the Sol Federation or Omni-Corp, which, I supposed, was why Zach's Red Caste friends hung out here.

"Where do we find our contacts?" I asked.

"They will find us," Zach replied. "Hungry?"

"Yeah." I wrinkled my nose as we passed a greasy food cart. I didn't want to know what critters roasted on the short spits. "But not here."

"I know a good place. I promised you fine dining, didn't I?"

Zach led me to a small, charming bistro off the beaten path with checkerboard table cloths and electric candles. Zach knew the owner, a gray-haired woman who looked like somebody's favorite grandmother. As I dipped a spoon into a tasty vegetable stew, I remarked, "Have to admit, Zach, this is nice. But I'm not going to gaze at you with dreamy eyes."

Grinning, he let out an exaggerated sigh. "And there go my seduction plans."

I laughed. "Oh, please..." But despite my outward scoff, my cheeks warmed and a deeper part of me stirred. In different circumstances, I might have welcomed that. It's been so long...

"Like some wine?" he offered, lifting a small carafe. "The local stuff is not bad."

I covered my glass with a hand. "No, I told you before that alcohol messes with my cybernetics."

"Oh, yeah. That makes seduction even more difficult."

The appearance of a scowling man with a short scruffy beard ended our banter. With narrowed eyes, he glanced at me but glared at Zach. A hand rested on a projectile gun holstered at his waist.

Zach nodded. "Grange, it's been a while."

"If it were to me, not long enough," the man spat back. "Come with me."

No love lost here.

Grange scanned us for weapons using a hand-held device, then led us through less-traveled passageways to a plain hatch marked with the words 'Orion Trading Company' — likely a Red Caste cover. After he touched a wall-mounted scanner with an identification bracelet, the hatch swung inward.

This whole situation seemed worrying. Before stepping inside, I glanced up at Zach, tightening my lips. He nodded a confirmation as we entered.

Several desk chairs faced computer terminals on a wall-mounted plas-steel counter along one wall. Blank display panels were mounted above as if this were a logistics office. Three people, two men and a woman, occupied chairs surrounding an oval table at the room center.

The men's eyes displayed suspicion, but the woman's face lit up as she noticed Zach. With styled reddish-blonde hair and wearing a form-fitting shiny black jumpsuit strategically unzipped to display ample cleavage, she looked ready to troll for hook-ups at a trendy nightclub. Jumping up, she rushed into Zach's hesitant arms, molding her tall, willowy body against him. "Oh, Zach," she gushed, parting red lips, "I've missed you so much."

Could she be any more obvious?

"Hi Greta," replied Zach, curtly.

In contrast, I wore my usual unglamorous black leggings and green t-shirt, and had reverted to my natural uninteresting dark-brown hair color. Definitely not fashion blog material. Then, still hanging onto Zach, Greta turned her attention to me. My presence was not as welcomed. Narrowed to slits, her baby-blues shot laser beams at me. I took a bit of guilty pride that this glamorous woman thought I might be a rival for Zach's attention.

"Who is this?" Greta spat.

Separating from Greta, Zach addressed the entire group while pointing at me. "This is Avia, the asset I spoke of."

"Do we really need a freak Aberrant?" Greta hissed, pretty face contorting.

Anger rose from my core and prickled my gut, but like usual, I suppressed any outward reaction. She was definitely not my fan.

"That's cybernetically enhanced, Greta," Zach replied, glaring at her. "And yes, we do need her to pull this off." He turned to me and pointed at the seated men. "You've met Grange. This is Stone and Rico."

Stone was a lanky man with a pale, blank face that resembled, well, stone. Practically the opposite, Rico was short, stocky, with dark skin and a bushy black mustache.

"Hi," I said meekly, while raising a hand and wiggling my fingers. Expressionless, the men did not return the greeting.

What a friendly bunch. This was going to be sooo much fun working together.

"Do you have a way in?" Zach asked.

Stone answered, "We stole an Omni-Corp transport, uniforms, and corporate IDs. Figured we'll go in as maintenance workers, and—"

"That won't work," I said, interrupting. All eyes turned to me. "Nobody gets in without a cross-referenced invitation."

"How would you know?" Greta huffed.

"I've reviewed the external security procedures. Every entry requires prior authorization. So, if you don't want to be blasted into little bits on approach, you will listen to me."

Greta glared at me, apparently not convinced, and the others seemed skeptical. Time for a demonstration. With a snap of my fingers, the lights went off, plunging us into darkness. Then the wall mounted viewscreens flickered on, providing dim light, and every com-viewer in the room beeped. From all the screens and coms, I spoke simultaneously, using my synthesized image and voice. "I've taken down Confederate cruisers, infiltrated command centers, and overridden entire space stations. I know what I'm doing." With another finger snap, the room lights came on and the coms silenced.

As all other mouths hung open, equally silenced, Zach chuckled. "Is she good or what?"

"Do you have a better idea to get in?" Stone challenged, with eyebrows drawn down.

I grinned. "Yeah."

*****

Nothing freaks out a secured technology research center like a cyber-attack. Riding a long-range com signal, I inserted all kinds of self-replicating worms and viruses into the Coronis Station control matrix. I knew the malware wouldn't make it far into the AI matrix, but they would produce havoc on lower-level systems. Also, they provided me with some useful data on the AI structure.

Sure as starlight, the station reported the attack to corporate leadership. I intercepted the message, and Zach responded, posing as his irate uncle Darius, Vice President and Research Director. In an expletive laden tirade that made me cringe, 'Darius' berated the station leadership and promised to send a data security expert to audit the system.

Namely, me.