Anomaly on Cerka Read online

  Amavia shrugged. “The multiverse is a widely accepted theory for us. Though I’d always wondered why we don’t get more crossover.”

  “Well, I’m glad to help settle the debate,” Amanda replied.

  Jessica nodded, her expression not argumentative, but also not completely accepting. “So, why here, now?”

  “I’ll get to that. At the bar, Tanis and I got on well,” Amanda said, “and when I was returned to my own universe, I resolved to find a way to visit. And, well, long story short… I did.”

  “How did you do that?” Iris asked.

  “Okay, I knew this was coming, so, here goes. I came here by using Magic.”

  “I knew it,” Cheeky exclaimed. “That’s how you can use the Link!”

  “I’m all for the multiverse, but magic’s not real,” Amavia commented flatly.

  “As in hoodoo voodoo?” Iris asked, wiggling her fingers.

  “Are you sure?” Jessica added.

  “I believe it,” Usef said. “I’ve seen some bizarre shit in my time.”

  “Me too,” Misha agreed.

  “Interesting,” Jinx commented to Amanda. “Care to explain?”

  “Sure,” Amanda replied. “Okay, when I say Magic, that’s just a word that people like me use to describe the powers that we can use. So, in my universe, some people are born with an ability to control an energy that we call Essentia. Essentia seems to be an extra universal force that seeps into other universes, such as mine and yours, and through our connection to it, we’re able to make things happen.”

  “Like, what things?” Jessica asked, her tone curious.

  ~Well, I can speak directly into your minds with telepathy,~ she answered, sending her thoughts to everyone in the room. “I can also manipulate things like light and electricity,” she said, and raised her hand.

  As she did, a stream of light floated down from one of the fixtures above her and encircled her hand, dancing around her fingers, sparkling and glittering as it moved. She canceled the effect, and the light faded from view.

  “I can move things, as well,” she said.

  Concentrating, she pulled on the Essentia around her once more. There was a whip-snap of air, and suddenly, Usef and Misha swapped places, each disappearing from one end of the table, and appearing at the other.

  “What the hell?!” Usef hollered, half rising from his chair.

  “Oh god, I feel sick,” Misha groaned. “Give a guy a warning.”

  “Do me!” Cheeky said, then laughed. “I mean move me. Stars, I mean both, but not here for the other one.”

  “OK, that was impressive…” Amavia said as she leant forward. “It’s almost as though you’re ascended. Stars, I wish Finaeus were here to see this.”

  Jessica was frowning and glowing rather brightly as she regarded Amanda. “So, why are you here, and what do you need our help for?” she asked bluntly.

  “Because I’m not the only Magus in your universe. There are others who have the ability to jump between worlds, and at least one of them is here on this station.

  “I don’t know how many there are, or what kind of team he or she might have with them, but they’ll be here to steal or trade something…or recruit to their group. Maybe all three. I don’t know, our intel on their mission is very limited. But what I do know is that I’m not familiar with this universe or this station, but you are, and I would dearly love for you to help, if you can.

  “Will you help me?”

  MULTIVERSAL

  STELLAR DATE: 05.10.8948 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: Sabrina, Cerka Station

  REGION: Mullens, Virginis System, LoS Space

  Jessica’s eyes widened, and she drew a deep breath, all too aware that everyone in the galley was staring at her.

  “What? Just because I’m the general, I have to make the call on hunting interuniversal—I think I just made a new word—criminals?”

  “Well, you’re also the captain,” Cheeky replied.

  “Plus, Tanis told you to help Amanda,” Iris added.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Jessica held up a hand to forestall any further admonitions from her crew. “Of course we’re going to help stop these…magic users…from pilfering—” She paused and turned to Amanda. “What are they pilfering?”

  The redheaded woman lifted her hands and shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me. What do you have around here that’s worth stealing?”

  Jessica glanced at Sabrina. “Well, the most valuable tech in a thousand light years are all on this ship.”

  “The station’s been a bit unruly, but I haven’t flagged any risks to the ship,” the red and gold AI replied. “You’d think that if magic users were targeting me, and the rest of you, they’d, you know….”

  “Actually target us?” Misha asked.

  Usef glanced at the cook. “Or they’re probing. Trying to see what avenues of attack are open to them. We need to understand these magic users’ capa—”

  “OK, wait.” Cheeky held up a hand and smiled at Amanda. “You really don’t go by ‘magic users’, do you? So what is it, are you a sorceress? A wizard? A magician? Are we up against warlocks?”

  Amanda began to reply, but Jessica spoke up first. “And can they just teleport onto the ship like that? How do we defend against them?”

  “Assuming their target is on the ship,” Iris added.

  All eyes turned to Amanda, and she met Cheeky’s inquiring gaze. “Okay, one thing at a time. We call ourselves Magi, or Magus if there’s only one.”

  “Magus…ooooh. Sounds so mysterious,” Cheeky gave Amanda a saucy wink, and Jessica leant forward and gave her a light cuff on the back of her head.

  “Focus, Cheeky.”

  Amanda laughed at the byplay and continued. “Also, sure, you might have some super tech on here, but that might not be what the Reavers are after. They might be here to recruit someone or trade with someone. We don’t know their goal, which might have nothing to do with you guys. All I know is that we sensed a multiverse breach here, it’s the Reavers, and we need to find out why.

  “Reavers?” Trevor asked, an eyebrow cocked as he glanced at Jessica. “Sounds diabolical.”

  “A bit, yeah,” Amanda replied. “Also, because this universe doesn’t seem to have Magi, I would suspect that the Reavers will not be too blatant with their Magic. That would attract attention from people like me, and just attention in general. I think they’ll use mundane methods as much as possible and be circumspect in their actions.

  “Also, they probably don’t know I’m here yet, so I need to keep a low profile for as long as possible. That means no excessive Magic use for the time being, because if there’s a Magus close to me, they’ll sense my pull on the Essentia.”

  Jessica ran a hand through her hair, forcing herself not to tug at it in frustration.

  “OK,” she said after a moment’s consideration. “From what I gather, the Reavers likely came here because they used some sort of magic to detect something, or someone, that they desire. But if they’re still hunting for it, they might not know exactly what or where it is yet, so they’re hunting around for stuff that looks good.”

  “Best keep the stasis shields offline,” Iris said, glancing at Sabrina. “My money says that it’s either those, or the CriEn.”

  “What are those?” Amanda asked.

  Jessica glanced at Iris, who shrugged before saying, “I mean…she’s an extrauniversal magic cop who’s friends with Tanis. If we can’t trust her, who can we trust?”

  Amavia laughed. “This might be my favorite conversation of all time.”

  “OK.” Jessica turned back to Amanda. “Stop me if you have any of this stuff in your universe. CriEns are the easiest…sort of. Basically, there’s a base-energy level to the universe. It’s a part of the dark energy and the quantum foam that makes up everything. There’s also a lot more of it than the observable energy in the universe. Sometimes it’s called vacuum energy because it’s present in a total vacuum. Either way, our ship h
as three of them, and they can draw a lot of power if we need it.”

  “How much?” Amanda asked.

  “Enough to tear a hole in the very fabric of spacetime,” Sabrina answered. “Or about as much as a star puts out in a second or two.”

  Amanda whistled, her eyes widening. “OK…I can see how that would be high on the Reavers’ wish list.”

  “They’re on everyone’s list,” Trevor said with a sardonic laugh. “A bit of a blessing and a curse.”

  “And stasis shields?” Amanda asked.

  “Do you have any sort of stasis in your universe?” Jessica pursed her lips, wondering how to explain it. “Oh! Like cryostasis pods that people get put in if they have a long spaceflight ahead.”

  Amanda nodded quickly. “Yeah, of course, like the Marines on the Sulaco in Aliens, or Solo when he got frozen in carbonite!”

  “Uhh…what?” Cheeky cocked her head. “What ‘aliens’?”

  “It’s an ancient movie,” Amavia explained. “I saw it once back on the Cho. And the other one is easy. That’s from the old Star Wars vids.”

  Trevor snorted. “Which one? There are thousands of those.”

  “The originals,” Amavia replied. “Stars…am I the only one here who knows any history?”

  “This is so weird,” Amanda said, shaking her head in wonder. “All that stuff is from just a few decades ago for me.”

  “Well, some of us are from the forty-second century, and others are from the ninetieth, so we get the dissonance. OK, anyway,” Jessica soldiered on, despite the curious look on Amanda’s face. “Most people still use cryostasis for long spaceflight, but we have something that is true stasis, the total cessation of all atomic motion. It doesn’t break the law of conservation of energy, and when used for ship’s shields—something we have that no one else does—it creates an impenetrable barrier.”

  “Oh?” Amanda asked. “How impenetrable?”

  “I smashed the ship into a planet once,” Sabrina said, a smile quirking her lips. “Let’s just say that I won, and the planet lost.”

  “Holy shit,” Amanda whispered. “This ship is like a mini death star.”

  “A what?” Cheeky asked. “Is that a Magus thing? Or…Magi? Which is plural again?”

  “OK, even I know that one.” Trevor gave Cheeky a judging look. “It’s from Star Wars again.”

  “It’s such a classic.” Amanda nodded vigorously. “You really should watch it.”

  “Getting back on track.” Jessica glanced around the room. “We also have better nanotech than most people, and—”

  Iris said privately.

 

  The AI sent a mental affirmation.

  Jessica said to Iris, then continued aloud, “and we have a line on an entire fleet of ships as powerful as this one.”

  “OK.” Amanda blew out a long breath. “Sounds like a lot of that would be interesting to Reavers, especially if they could sell it to Riven…or use it to control them….”

  “Riven?” Sabrina asked.

  “Sorry.” Amanda ducked her head. “People like you. Non-Magi.”

  Usef leant forward and placed his elbows on the table. “So then, can all Magi do what you just did? And can you teleport yourselves, too?”

  Amanda nodded. “It’s a learnt skill, like anything. As you get better, you can Port bigger things further, but we can assume that anyone who can get here can Port onto your ship. We can shoot lightning, see through things, scry other areas— “

  “Wait, whosawhat?” Cheeky asked. “Scry?”

  “Look at things from a distance. So, I can see what’s happening back in that police station while I’m sitting right here.”

  “Awesome,” Cheeky replied. “Why not check out my room later on tonight,” she suggested with a wink.

  Amavia shrugged. “So other than teleporting, you’re like a heavily modded person with a ship-level sensor suite that’s undetectable. Shit…glad we don’t have more people like you around.”

  Amanda gave a thin smile. “We are something of a nightmare for non-Magi.”

  “Well, there are ascended AIs,” Jessica said, then lifted her hand, electricity arcing between her fingers. “Plus, shooting lightning isn’t too hard.”

  “Is that from the alien microbes you mentioned back in the cell?” Amanda asked.

  “Uh huh.” Jessica nodded. “Though anyone could do it with the right mods. My power is just bio, not from an SC batt.”

  “Essy bat?” The redhead frowned.

  Cheeky giggled. “Superconductor batteries. You can load them up with an incredible charge. We use them to power pretty much everything. Most—actually, all—of us have them in our bodies.”

  “Oh, that’s what those are,” Amanda replied, glancing at Cheeky’s torso where Jessica assumed her SC batt was. “You’re especially strange, Cheeky…I can’t tell if you’re human or an AI….” Amanda glanced up at Amavia. “Or you, either. You’re like…two people, though.”

  “Lotta long stories,” Jessica said. “Short version. Cheeky used to be a human, now she’s an AI, and Amavia is two people.”

  “Huh.” Amanda sat back in her seat. “And I thought most of the people I hang out with are weird. You’re all cyborgs….”

  “Cywhats?” Cheeky asked.

  “People that are part machine,” Amanda explained.

  “You’re the rare one,” Jessica laughed. “A legitimate vanilla.”

  Amanda snorted. “I’m far from vanilla.”

  “Oh, I wondered about that,” Cheeky said with a laugh.

  “Are you leading me on, Cheeky? Because you might need to deliver on these promises,” Amanda challenged her.

  “Cheeky never leads people on. She always makes good on her innuendo,” Jessica said, reaching out and patting the pilot on the head. “She does need to settle down, though. We need to decide what to do.”

  “I’m already sifting through the station’s activity logs,” Amavia said. “Looking for anything that stands out.”

  “Me too,” Iris added. “But you saw the station tonight, Jess. Place is a mess.”

  “We might have to get out there and get our ears to the ground,” she replied, heaving a long sigh.

  “Do you really think it’s wise for you to go out right now?” Usef asked. “The ship could be a target.”

  “Don’t worry,” Amanda said as she rose. “I’ll put an Aegis on it. Not a heavy one—Magi on the station could detect that—but something that will alert me if anyone tries to Port aboard. Then I can bring us all back.”

  “What, all at once?” Iris asked.

  “Uh huh,” Amanda nodded.

  “Jessica!” Cheeky turned, a cheek-splitting grin on her face. “Can we keep her?”

  Jessica shrugged. “I don’t see why not. We’re living in the twilight zone….”

  “Hey, that was a great show,” Amanda replied.

  “What’s a show?” Jessica asked.

  * * * * *

  After some brief preparations, the women were ready to head back onto the station.

  Jinx remained behind, unwilling to risk compromising a mission when she barely understood how to behave in public to begin with, which left Iris, Cheeky, and Jessica to accompany Amanda on the hunt.

  “Is Jinx not coming?” Amanda asked.

  “She’s kinda new to being around people,” Iris answered. “Until recently, she was imprisoned within a ship’s navigation system and had no real exposure to the outside world. I think she’d rather not jeopardize the mission just to satisfy her curiosity.”

  Amanda nodded. “Understood. Shame, I liked her enthusiasm.”

  “So, are you going out dressed like that?” Cheeky asked.

  Amanda eyed Jessica’s and Iris’s dresses, and then Cheeky’s bikini.

  “Good point, let’s see,” she said, and as Jessica w
atched, Amanda’s shipsuit dissolved and was replaced by a slinky, metallic rose-gold mini dress.

  “She’s my date!” Cheeky called out and stepped up beside Amanda, threading her arm through hers.

  Amanda didn’t resist, accepting Cheeky’s closeness with a smile.

  “Looks about right,” Iris said with a nod.

  “Isn’t that unusual?” Amanda raised an eyebrow. “Changing my clothes like that?”

  “Not really,” Jessica said with a shrug. “We can do stuff like that, too. Though I like buying clothing that never change into anything else—that sort of makes it feel more real.”

  “So, where’s our first stop?” Iris asked as the four women walked out of the airlock.

  “Well…” Jessica began as they walked out onto the concourse. “Amanda ‘Ported’ in only four decks down from where we encountered our group of crooks. Even with things being a bit of a mess on Cerka right now, two break-ins that close together is surprising.”

  “Surprising that they’re close physically, or close time-wise?” Cheeky asked.

  “Both,” Iris replied. “They’re not far from that ring’s docks…. Let’s go take gander and see what we can see. It’s on the way to that Club Smash and Grab we were going to before, anyway.”

  “A ‘gander’?” Cheeky giggled as the four women turned to the right and began strolling down the concourse.

  “She likes to poke fun at my vocabulary,” Iris said in an aside to Amanda.

  Cheeky rolled her eyes. “And you like to find old words no one uses just to make people have to look them up.”

  “To be sure, at least she’s not a pure haunty geebag and is goin’ on the lash with us, cos that would be feckin’ banjaxed lassy,” Amanda replied, her Irish accent deepening as she spoke.

  Jessica looked over at Amanda’s utterance and saw the others giving her odd looks as well, only for Amanda to burst out laughing.

  “Nothing like a bit of Irish slang to confuse people,” Amanda explained.

  “I understood it just fine,” Iris replied with a shrug.

  As Cheeky and Amanda joked about strange words and sayings, Iris reached out to Jessica.