Avalon

“Then why the two last names?”

“Our guardian insisted on it. For reasons that were all his own. He . . . he isn’t sane, I don’t think. He was an ITA soldier, and he raised us to be like him, tough and brave and fighters. His methods were harsh.”

As she was speaking, Jeth noticed the unconscious way she was rubbing the fingers of one hand over the knuckles of the other in a nervous habit. To his shock, he realized her fingers were deformed. It wasn’t severe, but the knuckles were larger and knottier than they should’ve been, and several of the digits were crooked. Almost as if they’d been . . . broken. Repeatedly, by the look of it. No wonder Vince was so protective of her. Jeth found himself wanting to comfort her, but he didn’t know how.

“My attachment to Cora just sort of happened,” Sierra went on. “Her father was my superior. We worked long hours, sometimes through the night. At first I was occasionally required to watch her for an hour or two. Then later I volunteered to spend time with her. She grows on you.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Jeth said. He’d only known the girl for a day and already the idea of someone hurting her made him want to break things. Like her dad’s face.

Jeth swallowed, believing her story at last. “So what kind of deal are you offering?”

Visible relief appeared in Sierra’s expression. “I want you to guarantee that you won’t call Hammer until after Cora, Vince, and I are off this ship and far away from here. In return, I will get you a new metadrive.”

“Okay. How?”

“Before the Donerail got lost, we were on our way to Olympia Seven to meet with the buyer we’d lined up. He’s a very wealthy man who operates completely off the grid. He’s got an entire arsenal of metadrives at his disposal. He’s made a habit of collecting backups, even failed drives, for years now. And I know he wants the Aether Project badly enough that he won’t even blink at giving up one of them. All you have to do is fly Avalon out of the Belgrave long enough to make the call and then we come back in and wait for him to arrive.”

Jeth leaned back in the chair. “That’s an interesting deal, but it seems to me that the Aether Project is worth a helluva lot more than a single metadrive.”

Sierra scowled. “Are you angling for a cut?”

“Of course. It’s what I do, sweetheart.”

The look on her face suggested she would like to gouge out his eyes. He didn’t find it nearly so amusing this time. In fact, he felt like just accepting her offer outright, her words from earlier echoing inside him—freedom, like calling to like.

But he couldn’t just accept, not with so much on the line. He’d been living this life too long, knew too well that you couldn’t let opportunity for gain pass you by, not even in order to do the right thing. The right thing got you nowhere. Got you dead. And Sierra needed his help too desperately. She was stuck on his ship with no chance of escape or rescue, at the mercy of whatever he decided to do next.

“The alternative,” Jeth said, “is that I cross the border and call Hammer. Then let him decide how much of a cut me and the crew deserve.” That would be the wisest thing to do, really, the safest. As much as he hated Hammer, the idea of betraying him scared Jeth to the core. The back of his neck prickled at the thought of one of those brain implants.

“Really?” Sierra arched an eyebrow. “But I thought Hammer will void the deal once he finds out you boarded the Donerail? Which he will surely know with three strangers on your ship.”

Yeah, but at least I’ll get to live a little longer. Then again, if they pulled off this exchange, Hammer would never have to know about the betrayal. That was a risk Jeth was willing to take if it meant keeping his ship flying. He stretched out his arms, feigning boredom. “That’s possible. Then again, he might be grateful that I managed to hand him something so valuable.”

“Only a fool would think Hammer would spend a single uni more than he has to.”

The words stung, but Jeth didn’t let his reaction show. She was right. But Jeth knew a thing or two about bargaining—you never took the first offer.

After a few tense moments, Sierra drew a quick breath. “Fine. I’ll give you ten percent. But that’s it.”

Jeth tented his fingers beneath his chin as he stared her down.

Sierra put both hands on her hips. “Come on, Jeth. I’m the best chance you have of keeping this ship viable. Even if Hammer sells Avalon to you, she’ll be worthless without a metadrive. That is unless you think Hammer will be generous enough to just give you one himself.”

Jeth suppressed a scowl, hearing the certainty in her voice that Hammer would do no such thing. “All right. Fifteen percent and it’s a deal.” Fifteen percent of a whole bunch would still be a whole bunch. And besides, another idea had taken shape in his mind—a backup plan, insurance. Sierra’s replacement metadrive would solve the mechanical problem with his ship, but it did nothing about the ownership issue. Jeth needed a way to guarantee Hammer would give him Avalon. And the Aether Project was just the leverage to do it. He just needed to make a copy.

If Sierra’s plan went down the way he foresaw it, Jeth would turn the Donerail over to Hammer with every appearance that the job had gone smoothly—that they’d just found the ship and brought it out, simple as that. Once Hammer got done searching the Donerail, he would realize the Aether Project wasn’t there. All he would have was a worthless, derelict ship. But he would have no reason to blame Jeth. Afterward, when Jeth pressed Hammer to honor their deal with Avalon, if the big guy refused or balked in any way, Jeth would play his ace—offering him up the Aether Project in exchange for the ship and his freedom. It was risky, but he knew it could work if he took the necessary precautions. The information was too valuable for Hammer not to bargain. And all Jeth had to do to pull it off was make a copy of the data cell. Then Sierra could sell the first one to her contact with no one being the wiser.