Astra: Synchronicity (27 page)

"Amii…Amii!"

She recognized the rasping voice from the
grating above her. "Xander," she called up to him and slipped her
shoes back on. "Be extremely careful. Those panels are not
secure."

"I know. I heard you fall."

Her heart jumped a beat, and she wondered if
he'd been watching the two of them the entire time. Being his
daughter made it more than a tad bit weird. She tried not to give
it another thought as she glanced over at Magnius, who talked to
his implant in the corner. "Nadine, I know it's late and I'm sorry
for waking you and everything, but there's kind of a situation that
needs your immediate attention here."

She looked back up at the ceiling. "Why don't
you wait up there until we get things squared away. I don't think
it will take long."

Magnius turned back around and winced while
he rubbed his jaw. "I can't believe you hit me."

"I can't believe you let me."

His eyes glanced up at the vent where she'd
been talking to Xander. "Where did she learn to fight like
that?"

"What makes you think I know?"

"Look, Xander. Do not take me for a fool.
Keep whatever secrets you have to, but the only person you're
short-changing in the end is Amii. If you had a shred of respect
for her, you'd stop lying to her."

No response came from above. Magnius shook
his head and sunk into a chair at the table, where he buried
himself behind a comtab. Amii headed over to the far corner and
leaned against the wall. She rested her head against the cold metal
hull that had been painted to look like a normal room and tried not
to worry.

She'd stopped bemoaning her memory loss when
they'd gone to Icelandia, but seeing Magnius refreshed that hole in
her mind. She'd resigned herself to the fact that it might be
better to have a fresh start, and that her past might've been a
painful one. But she couldn't help feeling small without knowing
who she'd been and what her ambitions were. Were her dreams an
extension of Xander's or was she talented in her own right? Did she
have any fears of trite things like cats or birthdays? What was her
favorite color? That question alone frustrated her. Every hue
seemed lovely in its own right. Why could she not choose?

Without thinking about it, Amii's eyes
drifted back toward Magnius. What was he doing here? She doubted a
man who ran a fishing business would qualify among the elite to
visit Xur. Nadine represented the obvious link, but their
connection mystified her.

He glanced in her direction, only to avert
his eyes when they met hers. She closed her eyes and ran her hand
through her hair. In a way Amii felt like he loathed her. At best,
he tolerated her and only because he had to. Still, the weight of
his stare gave her pause.

She heard what she thought were voices from
outside so she looked back out across the room. Only it had been
her imagination. And Magnius, once again, gazed in her
direction.

This time she was the one who turned away.
What did he want? She realized she wasn't exceptionally pretty.
Blond hair and blue eyes were both recessive traits and therefore
undesirable. She dropped her head into her arms and sighed. And
before another thought could cross her mind, the chime of the door
sounded.

Magnius rose and answered it. From her
vantage point she couldn't see anything. Then he stuck his thumb in
Amii's direction and Nadine stepped inside. The second lady
appeared bewildered to see the blond standing there, yet she headed
over to Amii and embraced her.

"What are you doing here?" Nadine asked.

"Xander and I stowed away to get off of New
England. We've been hiding aboard the ship for the past few
days."

Magnius approached the two women. "She fell
into my room. And now I might as well have smuggled them on board
in my luggage."

Nadine raised her brows and clenched her
forehead. "This could be worse. Okay…as far as I know, Bryan is the
only person who knows where the two of them should be, and it was
only Dr. Adams who had to go with them anyways. So Amii is in the
clear. I'll tell people she's my assistant, and no one will care
anyways. People are interested in the Xuranians right now, not
human drama. I hate to do this, but Magnius, you're going to have
to keep an eye on Xander. Make sure he keeps a low profile, and
I'll try to keep my husband from bumping into him."

"Why do I have to babysit the scientist? Is
that why you wanted me to come? Because you knew this was going to
happen?"

"I didn't know this was going to happen, but
it did, and we have to deal with this like adults. Make sure you
take Amii with you when you go to eat. Xander will have to stay in
the room. We can't afford any incident that could put him in
jeopardy." She leaned over to Amii and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll see you when I see you. Take care."

Once Nadine strode out the door, Amii headed
back to the grating and helped Xander out of the ventilation
conduit. He handed their large duffle bag down first before bracing
himself and dropping to the floor quietly. She couldn't bring
herself to glance back over at Magnius, who'd become a victim of
their latest stunt. Things could still work out. She hoped it did
for everyone's sake.

Xander tossed her a bag of tea from the metal
cylinder in his coat before heading over to the top bunk and
hurling himself onto it. Before she started brewing it, the
scientist's snores echoed throughout the small room. Magnius too
had undressed and gone to bed.

The solitude set her on edge more than a room
packed with strangers did. Since her reawakening, she didn't like
being alone. The prospect of something bad happening to her while
no one was around worried her more than imprisonment. Given what
Xander said happened to her, the fear had a logical basis.

While she drank her tea, she noticed Magnius
roll over and watch her in silence. She still smelled him on the
clothes she wore. A part of her wanted to go over and get to know
him better, but there'd be plenty of time for that as they ventured
to Xur. In the meantime their circumstances stuck them together for
better or for worse.

Once she finished, she curled up on the floor
with the coat draped around her and rested her head on her arms. A
big part of her doubted she'd get any sleep tonight…the same way
she hadn't slept since their escape from Icelandia. But she had to
try.

Nadine stared out the window while the
Schenectady
made its final approach toward Xur. The stars of
Astra faded into the background of space, replaced by unfamiliar
solar systems. The Centauri Nebula could still be seen at this
distance as a red galactic blemish in the shape of a heart. Orion
had gained a hundred pounds, broken his legs, and lost his dog. Not
even the Southern Cross retained its shape.

The Xuranians called their sun Vopa. No hint
of yellow marred its white brilliance. The ships passed near the
star on their way to Xur, and Nadine took in the sight with her
husband from the tiny porthole in their quarters. The surface of
Vopa glittered like scintillating diamond dust, and she watched the
voluptuous tendrils of an impressive solar flare sweep toward the
closest planet in their system. The sight sent a chill up her spine
from its deadly beauty.

The sudden appearance of Amii and Xander
hadn't been far from her thoughts. Their escape complicated
matters. Though she was happy to see her dear friend again, Nadine
feared for them. Where in Astra did they plan to escape to once the
AC put a bounty on their heads? She'd use every trick in the book
to keep them safe for now, but once this voyage was over, they'd be
on their own.

Aside from that incident, the journey to Xur
had been an uneventful one. The three AC vessels met up with three
PAU ships at Barnard Station before embarking upon the weeklong
voyage to the Xuranian homeworld. Every bunk on the ships had been
filled, and people ate in shifts at all hours of the day. All
diplomatic passengers were asked to remain in their quarters when
they were not eating, so not to interfere with normal ship's
operations.

Nadine felt fortunate to be joined by her
husband during this diplomatic mission. The two of them rarely
worked side-by-side. The Vice President's duties revolved around
Chara and the Allied Council, while hers worked to improve
relations with other star systems. Between the two of them, they
made a formidable team.

Earlier in the week, Bryan had objected to
leaving the regular presidential security detail behind in favor of
Magnius. The subject remained an ongoing source of friction between
them. They didn't need excessive security because the military
would be on the surface with them, leaving bunks better filled by
other personnel. The Vice President wasn't happy about her choice
but accepted it as a concession. Being a Seer didn't make her
invincible, but it did impart her with the wisdom of someone twice
her age.

No one else aboard knew Magnius was a psion.
Nadine respected his wishes that such information remain a secret,
but her husband wondered about the man who'd become her new pet
project. Jealousy, anxiety, possessiveness—the normal male response
to another man spending time with his betrothed. As a kindred psion
who once cursed her wretched luck to be born an outcast, she
understood his inner turmoil and wanted to help him rise to his
potential, whatever that might be.

A handful of small Xuranian fighters followed
along with them while they made their way toward Xur. They seemed
to be craft designed for a single person to operate with a shape
that resembled a wasp in appearance. The black exterior of the
ships blended into the backdrop of space without effort. Only the
golden glow of their engines set them apart from the darkness.

And then they passed a vessel that did
nothing to camouflage itself in the black velvet canvas all around
them. The ship's massive structure had been illuminated in a way
that emphasized its size. Its steely contours met at odd angles,
revealing evidence of heavy armor plating. She had no idea what
sort of weaponry the Xuranians used, but the number of turrets
startled her. The ship's engines were integrated into the interior
of the ship itself, leaving a yellow trail of exhaust behind
them.

Bryan gaped at the behemoth.
Oh my God…I
really had no idea what they might be capable of. What if this
wasn't the right thing to do? What if we piss them off and they
decide to destroy us? There's no way we could stop a bunch of ships
like that.

For the first time, both of them had second
thoughts about this peace mission. They had to make sure everything
progressed smoothly to avoid an interstellar incident. She took her
husband's hand, and her cool fingers leeched heat from his.

He glanced at her. "What if they ask for
something we can't give them? Do you still think we can do
this?"

"We have to try. Are you saying if you knew
the true extent of their technology, you wouldn't have wanted to
extend a hand in peace?"

"I'm glad we did." He stared back out toward
the ship while it drifted out of their view. "I just never expected
to see a mothership like that from a race with a policy of
peace."

"It's possible the galaxy's a more hostile
place that we know. I'm more than willing to give them the benefit
of the doubt if you are."

He nodded as though trying to convince
himself of the sentiment. "You're right. But there's more than my
reputation on the line if this deal goes south."

Nadine ran her fingers through his long
chestnut hair. "Don't worry so much about things we can't
control."

He narrowed his eyes. The mere mention of
fate spun him up faster than anything else. "
I
am in control
of my destiny.
We
will do everything possible to forge this
alliance. Our future is not yet written." Bryan stood and headed
into the bathroom. After a few moments, she heard the running water
of the shower start.

For centuries, humans had been under the
misguided impression that every decision mattered, when in fact
what appeared to be a choice was not a choice at all. Nadine had
studied the prophecies over the years in great detail, and along
with her own visions, she'd come to a startling revelation: the
future was predetermined. Efforts to alter the timeline were
futile, something she'd tested repeatedly with visions. But her
husband never agreed with the notion, and for that she thanked the
stars. When people resigned to the fact that nothing they did
mattered, they lost all ambition and hope for the future.

From afar Xur resembled New England. The
planet had five main continents isolated by a large continuous
ocean. Xur possessed little cloud cover and no apparent ice caps at
the poles. Huge swaths of desert covered a continent to the south
of their approach trajectory. Eniqua had described their homeworld
as a very beautiful place so Nadine looked forward to seeing it
first-hand.

She forced herself to turn away because the
anticipation of landing felt like waiting for Christmas. While
directing her attention to the bathroom, she tuned her mind into
Bryan's thoughts. She didn't do it to strangers, but their
relationship was strong enough that he didn't mind the occasional
spying.

I can't believe I'm missing the Fantasti
Masters this week. Peter Colburn is at the top of his game right
now. I don't know if anyone can beat him. But Paul Dougan always
nails that course and is so intense. I think it will all come down
to who's putting better this week. And I'm going to miss it!

Nadine laughed to herself. Her husband's love
of golf made no sense to her. His busy schedule didn't afford him
much time to play so he lived vicariously through the professional
circuit. Every week brought a different planet and a different
course. She knew the Peter and Paul rivalry was huge on Tour right
now, but the laid-back John Scott would forever be Bryan's favorite
player.