[Avia]

Since Zoe watched on a mirrored terminal, I had to be careful. But by processing the mirror output with my cybernetics to hide my nefarious actions, it would appear to her to be only routine diagnostic work. Hopefully.

File structures flashed across the holographic display until I found what I looked for.

"Here we go," I said. "I'm going to launch your routine diagnostic program, but piggyback mine on top of it. Then we'll cross-reference the results." I didn't tell her my diagnostic program was more like a spy, seeking out an enemy's vulnerability.

As code and diagnostic output flittered in mid-air, I asked, "Did you ever figure out where the cyber-attack came from?"

"It came in attached to routine com updates, but we have no idea who did it," Zoe replied. "The worms were self-replicating and adaptive, causing all kinds of chaos to station systems, but they never penetrated the core. Have to admit, it was clever coding."

Inwardly, I took pleasure at her compliment. "Well, hopefully there are no hibernating worms."

Oh, but there will be...

The core AI was smart, one of the most sophisticated I had ever seen. It handled the data like a tight-fisted banker managed money, checking each transaction while validating every user. Carrying that analogy further, every deposit or withdrawal was documented, and the genetic identity of every customer was validated. Also, the AI acted like a perpetual bank auditor, assuring regulation compliance.

As the diagnostics continued, I confirmed the existence and addresses of the dual data backup systems. These operated independently and outside of user control.

This would not be easy. I couldn't simply erase the data en masse while mimicking a validated user, because the backup systems would continue to hold historical records. Also, the AI was smart enough to realize something was up. I needed a different approach.

Zoe pointed when a red warning message appeared on my diagnostic program. "There are more worms. But why didn't the local diagnostics pick it up?"

"Interesting," I replied with a hand to chin. I knew why, since I just re-inserted the worms myself in the wake of her diagnostic program. "I wonder... Could your diagnostics themselves be infected?"

Zoe expanded the thought like I hoped. "And act like a disease carrier? That's diabolical."

"We need to disable the system diagnostics before the core becomes infected, if it isn't already."

As Zoe logged in with her administrator identity, scanning her genetics as a passcode, I hitched along with my cybernetics and changed her profile to me. Foul guilt soured my gut. Zoe was a decent person and in no way involved in the mind-altering research, but I used her.

Now, I could enslave the station AI to destroy the data Zoe was entrusted to protect.

The AI continually audited the research data and backed it up. Using my cybernetics, I located the appropriate code and modified the auditing function, forcing the AI to overwrite the data with every check. I also altered the backup systems to do the same. Then, I locked out everyone else from the AI.

One more thing to do — I parsed through the non-technical data and copied several incriminating documents, then, as per plan, I used my cybernetic implants and transmitted them to a dedicated com-receiver aboard the Sable.

As I flipped through the documents, one sent electric tingles down my spine. The mind-altering research was further along than we knew, and limited trials of the nano-bots had already begun. Possibly, we came too late.

I made a rash decision and defied Zach's instructions. Flipping through the data like a hard-copy magazine, I copied everything and stored it within my cybernetics. While perhaps futile, I hoped the information will allow me to create a cure for the nano-bots.

As if not enough, I uncovered a compact piece of tracking software that I had not planted. It wasn't in the core, rather it resided in the data feed router. The code was ingenious, recording who accessed the data and what they did with it, but not copying the data itself, then immediately transmitted the information hidden within normally innocuous status communications. Someone at Omni-Corp headquarters spied on the researchers.

But most troubling to me, the software had already recorded my incursion. 

My diagnostic tool, which really wasn't, continued its ruse, purging the worms I had minutes ago nefariously inserted. Zoe seemed pleased with the progress as displayed on the holographic displays.

"I think we've got it, Zoe," I said with a misleading smile. "We'll let the cleanup finish and you should be good to go."

When my program finished, I stood and put on a false smile. "We did it, Zoe," I exclaimed. "Everything is squeaky clean now."

Or will be, I thought to myself. Within an hour, all data will have been scrubbed. Now to make a safe exit. I picked up my com-viewer and sent Zach a simple message: It is done.

Zach replied: Good. Let's get out of here.

"Mr. Green is impatient to leave," I huffed, rolling my eyes. "Take me back, Zoe?"

"Okay," Zoe replied. I gulped when she added, "Thanks so much, Avia."

Few people occupied the plaza as we passed through, which seemed ominous. I spun around. Maybe it was nothing... Just stay calm, I told myself as my heart rate increased.

Zoe and I were the first to arrive at the conference room. After a beep, Zoe put her com-viewer to her ear. "I can't talk now--" she answered, but then her eyes widened and she gasped. "Are you sure?" She paused to listen. "This can't be. I mean, we just--" Zoe sucked in a breath and accusing eyes turned up to me.

My lips pulled tight and guilty heat radiated from my cheeks.

"Avia, what had you done?" Zoe accused, eyes burning. "There is a catastrophic core failure, and everyone is locked out."

"I'm sorry, Zoe," I replied, dipping my head. "But you don't know how evil Project Asclepius is. What Omni-Corp plans to do with the nano-bots."

"Who are you?" Zoe hissed, narrowing eyes and baring teeth. "Never mind. I'm calling security."

Zoe stretched a finger toward her com-viewer, but it never touched. A sharp pop made me flinch as bright orange sparks burst across Zoe's back. I gasped as Zoe's eyes rolled up and she folded to the floor. Her collapse revealed Greta holding out a rod-shaped plasma blaster, blue eyes narrowed to slits.

"Zoe!" I cried out, collapsing to my knees and gathering her stilled body in my arms. A blackened hole in her back smoldered and the stench of burned flesh scratched my throat. Zoe's vacant eyes held no sign of life.

I turned up watery eyes. "Why, Greta? You didn't have to kill her. I could have blocked her com."

Greta answered with a huff, and she lowered the blaster. Stone burst into the room carrying a similar plasma weapon and came to Greta's side. His face showed no reaction to the death before him.

"Go to the ship and get ready for departure," Greta ordered. "I'll take care of things here."

"Five minutes!" Stone barked as he scurried away. "Then we leave with you or without you."

Electric chills traced my spine as Greta raised the plasma blaster and pointed it at me. "Greta? What are you doing?"

A cruel smile rose on her face. "Did you really think we would take a freak like you back with us?"

Standing and raising my hands, I said, "Don't do this, Greta. You still need me to escape. And Zach--"

"We don't need you for anything anymore," Greta spat as she extended the blaster. "Zach will come around once you are gone. Besides, he is better off with me than you. Goodbye, Avia."

I closed my eyes as Greta squeezed the trigger, jerking as the weapon fired. But the plasma bolt did not strike me, instead blasting against the ceiling. Bits of plas-steel and a shower of orange sparks rained down on me.

Zach stood beside Greta, his face twisted in rage. One hand grasped her forearm, having shoved the plasma blaster upward and away from me. With a single motion, Zach ripped the weapon from her hand and flung her to the floor. "Bitch!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Rising, Greta cautiously approached Zach and placed open palms on his shoulders. "It's better this way, Zach," she whispered. "You'll see. I will give you everything you want."

Growling, Zach backhanded Greta across the cheek, sending her to her knees. "What I want, Greta, is to be rid of you." He lowered the plasma blaster against her head.

"Please..." she blubbered, water streaming down her cheeks. "I'll do anything..."

With a deep breath, Zach withdrew the blaster, leaving Greta sobbing on her knees. "Omni-Corp can have you," he spat. Zach never looked back as we walked away. Zach took hold of my hand, and I interlaced my fingers within his. The simple gesture invoked a warmth that flowed into my core, but probably it was just a parting shot against Greta.

"You were right about the security chief, Gideon Lief," Zach said outside the conference room, releasing my hand. "He eventually put the pieces together and placed a call to my uncle Darius. I ducked away before they connected. We need to get to the ship fast."

"No," I replied as my cybernetic implants accessed the dock security monitors. "They have already locked down the Sable, and Stone is in a firefight he will lose. We have to find another way."

Accessing the station utilities, I took down the entire com systems. Internally, I kicked myself for not doing that sooner. Perhaps then Zoe would have survived. Next, I scanned the remaining docks and pulled up the station schematics in my mind. "This way," I said, turning and pointing. "There is another shuttle we might hijack."

Zach grinned. "Sure glad I brought you along."

I grinned in return. His compliment warmed my heart like morning sunshine.

"They'll be watching for us," Zach said. "You got something to keep them busy?"

"Oh, yeah," I replied with a sly grin. Closing my eyes, I accessed the station utility systems. Normally, the core AI controlled access and limited changes, but it answered only to me now. I shut off all other access to the security monitors; closed and locked selected pressure isolation hatches; and to maximize the chaos, initiated a station wide power failure, excluding environmental systems. Eventually, station maintenance workers will reset the systems, but hopefully by then, we will be long gone.

The lights went off, plunging us into darkness, but within a moment the emergency lights came on to provide just enough dim lighting.

Zach winked at me. "The Cyber Witch strikes again."

At his suggestion, we stopped at a laundry room and changed wardrobes. Now wearing standard white worker's uniforms, I led Zach across the Coronis Station using less traveled corridors while remotely opening and closing isolation doors to enable our passage. Lost in the confusion, nobody else paid us any attention. It took us nearly an hour to reach the docking ring, and fortunately, the spoke security station was unmanned. Coming to the docking ring hatch, we peeked around the metal frame.

"There's our ride," I said, pointing across the bay to a docking tunnel. The white cargo shuttle was partially visible through oval windows, including the blue Omni-Corp logo.

Orderly rows of gray plas-steel crates separated us from our goal. Several white-uniformed workers labored intently at open panels around the perimeter, presumably trying to restore power. But most concerning were the blue-uniformed security personnel with those scary shock-batons who stood nearby.

"I don't suppose they will just let us take the shuttle?" I muttered.

"Maybe they will," Zack replied. "The way is clear. All we have to do is walk over there like we belong here. But how long would it take you to take over the shuttle and undock?"

"Phfft! No time at all. The shuttle AI is really dumb."

"Okay. Ready?" Zach said, flashing me a smile. Side by side, we strolled across the bay, weaving between stacked crates the partially hid us. "Here we are, just two unremarkable Omni-Corp employees," Zach mused in a low voice, "walking to do important work and not trying to steal a shuttle."

I bit my tongue to suppress a chuckle. Something about being near Zach comforted me, and my churning gut relaxed a bit.

Two workers turned their head to our passing, but then returned to their task, uninterested in our presence. This just might work.

Arriving at the docking tunnel, Zach looked back while I peered through the security cameras via my implants. No one seemed to notice us. Since the docking bay power was down, by my doing, Zach grabbed the manual handle and pushed it down, then grunted as he swung it down. But the hinges squealed like an angry banshee.

A burly security guard turned toward us and scowled. "You there," he yelled. "Stop!" As he raised a black shock-baton, blue sparks danced from the metal tip.

Zach snatched the plasma-blaster rod from his belt and aimed upward. A plasma bolt blasted against the ceiling above the guard, raining bits of plas-steel and orange sparks upon him. With a gulp, the outgunned guard backed up.

Dashing into the docking tunnel, we together shoved the hatch closed behind us. Fortunately, the intermediate hatches were still open, saving us time. I punched a green button to open the ship hatch with a whine of servo-motors.

Within the shuttle, Zach threw down the plasma-blaster. "Empty," he said. "Hook into the shuttle, Avia, and let's get out of here."

"Already did," I answered. With a clunk, the docking clamps released, and I fired the lateral thrusters to move us away.

We dashed through an empty cargo bay and Zach jumped into the forward pilot seat while I took the seat beside him. In choreographed motion, we both buckled in. Colored numbers and text appeared on a flat transparent control panel before us. The Coronis Station view that had filled the forward windows disappeared as he yawed the shuttle away.

Zach touched the control panel and took over the piloting function. "You deactivated the external defenses, didn't you?" he asked.

"Of course." I huffed.

"Good girl."

After ramping up the fusion reactors, Zach fired the thrusters at full output to move us away. Acceleration forces beyond what the inertial compensator's capability pushed me back into the seat padding. 

"We did it, Avia," Zach said with a dimpled grin. "Thanks to the Cyber Witch."

"Yeah..." Zach's compliment cast joy across my heart. "Now we--" I sucked in a breath and my eyes widened as the shuttle's proximity alert sounded within my cybernetics.

"What is it?"

"We have company," I replied. "Another ship, closing fast." With a thought, I projected a tactical holographic display before us. The unknown ship appeared as a red triangle with a text box beside it containing telemetry data. A visual view also appeared on a display panel. "Looks like a Federation frigate, and they're charging cannons." A frigate was small for a warship, but fast and heavily armed.

"Can you hack it?"

I shook my head. "Not remotely."

"Well, shit." 

The cargo shuttle had no weapons and could not hope to outrun a warship — we both knew this. Also, being so close to the planetary gravity well, we could not yet engage the star-drive. There seemed only one option where we survived this encounter — surrender. With a knowing nod, I powered down the shuttle fusion thrusters and hailed the frigate.

"They won't answer," I said. My heart lodged in my throat and my eyes turned to Zach. At least death came on my own terms, and I would not die alone.

The frigate came ominously closer, and my cybernetic implants detected a radar weapons lock. Zach reached over and placed a hand gently on my shoulder. I leaned in and covered his hand with mine. "For what it's worth, Avia," he said with a half grin, "I'm glad I met you."