Silent Flyght – Chapter 27

I hate hospitals. Yet, I always seem to end up in them when I least expect it.

Gus is finally sleeping, his chest rising and falling in an ordered and steady rhythm. He was in so much pain by the time we made it to Palo Alto that I called for the ambulance before we were even docked. Maybe that moss gave him a few extra hours of pain-free healing time, but it wasn’t much. When we reached triage, he was comatose, and an infection was brewing. But now the nanobots have completed half their work, and the sedative has taken over. He should be good to go by morning.

I push up the sleeves of Marcelo’s shirt and lay my head on the bed next to Gus. It was a long two days in Marcelo’s shuttle with a minimal amount of food, too many people, and lots of tears. Frogger did his best to comfort everyone, but dogs have their limits, too. He practically ran from the shuttle once we were docked, dying to get out and go for a walk.

And Gus was so quiet. He feels betrayed and like the betrayer, all at the same time. Used. All he’s ever wanted to do was help people and be a part of a network. Now, he’s lost so much of his faith in humanity. Almost as much as I have.

Marcelo’s pants itch against my bare skin. I had to cinch them tight with a belt to keep them up around my waist. I need a shower, some food, and a stiff drink before I can consider doing anything else.

I’m completely useless.

A slight knock at the door prompts me to lift my head. I expect to find Jinzo or Ken, bringing me food and begging me to come home, or even a nurse or the doctor, but Renata Dellis is in the doorway instead.

I jump to my feet and back away. The hallway door closes, and I get a glimpse of Mr. Sumo and Mr. Tattoo standing guard. My only way out is the window, and I’m on the sixth floor.

I’m trapped.

“Ms. Kawabata,” she says, nodding at me. “Can I have a minute of your time?”

How about no and get the fuck out?

Can I not get one moment of peace ever?

She looks past me to Gus, but he’s dead asleep. I’m a little jealous of him.

I lick my lips, aware that I am a total mess. I haven’t showered in days. I’m wearing Marcelo’s clothes. In the last six hours since we landed, I’ve only had half a meal and brushed my teeth. Let’s not even talk about my hair.

But Renata’s facial expression brooks no argument. She’s here to talk to me, and I will listen.

“Uh, sure.” I rise from the chair and approach her side of the room, putting some space between us and Gus’s bed. “I… I didn’t expect you to come here.”

Her calm look makes my belly clench with nerves.

“Well,” I say, starting over, “I didn’t expect to ever see you again, honestly. Maybe your men out there, but not you.”

She takes a deep breath and lets it out.

“Ms. Kawabata, I’m afraid you’ve become a lot more of a problem than I was prepared to deal with.”

I swallow, and my throat is just as dry as my lips.

“Let me be frank with you —”

I’m transported back to the Amagi and Gus’s mother. I close my eyes briefly. “Please. I’ve had a rough few weeks.”

“I know.” Her voice is kinder than I expected it to be. “You are a young woman who has fallen upon very tragic circumstances. I’ve been paying attention, been watching how you handle everything thrown at you. A weaker woman would have given up by now. But you?” She tilts her head. “You seem to be a glutton for punishment.”

Her small smile prompts a returning smile from me.

“Don’t get me wrong. We will not leave here the best of friends or anything like that.”

My smile swiftly dies.

“You killed your brother when I said I needed him, and you turned down my first offer of employment. Both of these things are enough to make us enemies, but I think it’s time we worked together.”

I’m about to correct her on her assumption I killed Tomu when I pause. Wait. How does she even know I had him? A cold wash of tingles cascades down my spine. I don’t like this sense of foreboding at all. There’s something here I’m missing.

Before I can ask how she knows about Tomu, though, she presses on.

“You know about our project, the Vir Lyceum. You came upon one of our shipments of young boys through Gai Reis?” I nod. “It’s not as devious a plot as you think.”

I try not to show my skepticism, but I’m sure it’s written on my face.

“We work together with the boys we bring to the academy. Those who do not succeed as soldiers become something else — staff, scientists, caretakers. Many of them are living here on Palo Alto or Laguna with new names and identities. I promise you. They all live out happy lives. I don’t desire bloodshed.”

Her face darkens.

“But the military does. And now that they’ve stolen your ship and all the seeds on it, nothing will be able to stop them.”

“What are they doing with it all?”

She shrugs. “They’re building their own soldiers, of course. Elite teams that they can send to do their bidding.”

I lean my shoulder against the wall and put my hand to my lips. “But, we’re not at war with anyone. Send where? What are they going to use these soldiers for?”

“That’s an excellent question.” She paces a little, back and forth, something I’ve seen her do in videos. “I don’t know. My Vir Lyceum teaches boys to use their gifts for the advancement of humanity, here in the Duo Systems and beyond. Once they’ve grown into their talents, we employ them as innovators. We let them come up with new strategies for the future. When we colonized the Duo Systems, we made some mistakes.”

I nod. “The Vir gene.”

“It was a mistake that almost wiped out women, wiped out humanity. But now we can use it to… to level-up humanity and make it easier to colonize other worlds. With changes to our physical structures, we won’t need to worry about terraforming. Just think of it,” she urges me.

And I have thought of this before. There were times I tried to adapt Earth-heirloom seeds to Ossun and failed. It made me ponder how fragile humans are, how we live in this tiny slice of an acceptable environment. Were we really meant to colonize the stars? It’s hard to tell since this is my only existence.

When I nod, she pulls up her shoulders.

“Please work for me, Ms. Kawabata. Work with me. You already know so much. You understand more than most people ever will.”

I shake my head slowly. “You don’t even know me. I’m not some prodigy.”

She raises her finger into the air. “But, I do know you. I’ve read every paper you ever submitted at university. I’ve spoken to all your professors and some of your classmates. You were the best and brightest, and they all thought you’d go far. Please reconsider working for me.”

I chew on my dry bottom lip until it smarts with pain. This offer could change my entire life as irrevocably as the decision my brother made for me. And I’m tired of other people making decisions about my future. Renata Dellis, no matter how powerful she is, doesn’t get to decide. I do.

“This is my decision?”

“Yes, one-hundred percent.”

My decision. My belly relaxes and warms with this idea. With my brother gone, I get to make my own decisions about where my life can go now. He can’t interfere anymore.

But there are still so many things I need to deal with. My farm. The Amagi. My consorts. The fall-out from the military.

I pace back and forth, just like Renata. As I look at her from the corner of my eye, I realize that having a company like Athens Industries at my back could solve a lot of my problems. Problems I need to fix soon. Sure, I’m scared. I’m scared of saying no. I’m afraid of dying because I say no or make the wrong decisions after saying yes. But really, how is that different from any other day of my life so far?

My memories flip back to that moment weeks ago when I stood in my family’s home, and my mom and dad told me what I had to do to save the farm, save the family. They never expected me to do this. But looking back at the steps I took along the way, it couldn’t have been anything but this.

I stop in my tracks and fold my arms across my chest. “Talk to me. What would this employment entail?”

Renata’s smile is warm. “I have a proposal.”

She lifts her wristlet, gestures to access something, and then my wristlet pings with an incoming connection. I accept the files and stash them away.

“All the details are there for you to look over. You don’t need to give me an answer right now, but time is short, so please don’t delay. Here’s the essence of the agreement. I will help you get your ship back, and I will pay you a salary large enough to cover the remaining balance on your farm’s auction, providing you’re able to stop others from bidding.”

That’s only one of many obstacles.

“In return, you will work for me. Right now, I will need for you to take your initiative and contacts and figure out what the military needs your seeds for. Once you deliver that data to me, you will go on retainer to help Athens and my sister’s company, Patras Agriculture, to develop new agricultural methods for the future of humanity, here in the Duo Systems and farther into the stars.”

She stops, and I wait for more. What? No first-born child?

I almost laugh. “That’s it?”

She smiles. “You think it’ll be easy?”

“Oh, no. Not at all. I’m just… I’m just surprised this is what you want. And I should remind you, I’m no spy. I have no idea how I’ll figure out what the military is doing with my seeds.”

“Ms. Kawabata, you’re more resourceful than you think.” She adjusts her shoulder bag, moving it from one side of her body to the other. “I expect Athens to be around for a long time. Centuries, if I have my way. We must be forward-thinking, always looking ahead, not behind. This is the problem with the military. They’re digging into Earth’s past and hoping to find a key there to why we failed on our home planet.” She reaches out and squeezes my shoulder. “That’s the wrong way forward. I hope you can agree with me.”

Her eyes shine with ambition, and instead of terrifying me like it has in the past, I get it. I really get it. Renata Dellis is a visionary. She has a plan, and she’s willing to see it through. Even if it takes generations, and she’s not alive to witness it.

Though I don’t have that kind of passion for work, I can understand it.

Still, there have been a lot of dead bodies in Renata’s wake. Will I be one of them?

Time to find out.

“I’m intrigued, and I’m inclined to take you up on your proposal. But I have a network now, and I can’t do anything without consulting with them first. Will you give me a day or two?” I place my hand over my heart. “I promise. I won’t run, won’t try to dodge you. It’s just” — I stop to look over at Gus, sleeping peacefully — “there’s a lot going on right now.”

“I understand.” She raises her finger to me. “But like I said, don’t take too long. Gossip is swirling, and there’s a lot I can do for you, if we’re on the same side.”

She turns and sweeps from the room. Mr. Tattoo follows her, but Mr. Sumo glances into the room to look at me. I keep my face schooled and meet his frosty glare. He seems pleased with my reaction before stepping out of sight.

My feet are as heavy as lead as I cross the room to Gus. He’s still asleep, and this means I have some quiet thinking time to myself. I can take twenty, maybe thirty, minutes to sit down and think this proposal through. I shouldn’t rush into anything.

Lowering myself into the recliner opposite the bed, I groan and stretch out my feet. A shower and a good night’s sleep will come later. But first, I push the chair back, call up the documents Renata sent me, and perform my due diligence.

What will my cooperation with Athens Industries cost me, and will it be worth it?