Microstory 1949: Those in the Know

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Reese: Oh, good, you’re here too. I was worried about you both, but you don’t have a phone, and she’s not picking up.

Myka: Sorry, I’m here. My phone died while we were in quarantine, and it’s still off and on the charger. Leo, we need to get you your own device.

Leonard: Yeah.

Reese: Is everyone okay? How did they treat you in there? [...] Somebody respond, I’m getting worried again.

Leonard: I’m fine, I was just trying to let the lady speak first.

Myka: I’m fine too. I missed you...both. I have something to tell you, though, and I don’t know how you’re gonna feel about it.

Leonard: Let me guess, they offered you a job.

Myka: Yeah!

Reese: Seriously? Both of you? That’s suspicious.

Myka: Why, you don’t think I would be cut out for it?

Reese: I didn’t say that. It’s just that the government doesn’t make a habit out of hiring the formerly incarcerated. Even the OSI has a thing about perfect prior records. What would you even be doing for them?

Myka: They didn’t say.

Reese: See? Suspicious. I don’t think you should even entertain the idea.

Leonard: I’m not so sure, and I think I know the reason. She knows about the aliens, and I am an alien. I think they would rather keep us close than far away where they can’t keep track of our movements and behaviors. I’m thinking about taking it. Like you said, I need a phone. And a place to live, and food. I need money for all that, just as I did on my world. How hard would it be to apply at, say, a carwash without a valid background?

Myka: You’re right, they’re trying to keep an eye on us, but that doesn’t doesn’t mean we should accept the positions. I assume you have something more substantial in the way of an offer than I do, but it sounds dangerous.

Reese: Well....

Myka: Well, what? Have you already changed your mind?

Reese: I want you both to be safe, and you knowing about aliens puts you in more danger than I’m in because I know about them too. Yes, you would be working for the people who are placing you in that danger, but maybe they’ll be less likely to go after you if you seem to share their interests. Government spies know government secrets all the time, and their government doesn’t kill them, because they’re on the same side.

Myka: So, you think I should take it?

Reese: I didn’t say that. I just don’t think we should dismiss it. We really should learn what plans they have for you. You have skills, as do you, Leonard, but neither of you has the kind of résumé they generally look for.

Leonard: How do you suppose we go about procuring such information?

Reese: We don’t. I already work there, to a certain extent. I’ll go back in and see what I can find out. You two stay here and don’t go out unless you’re buying a new phone, and don’t separate until you have one...or maybe not even then.

Microstory 1948: Myka’s Debrief

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SI Eliot: Well, I think that’s it for me. You’ve been most helpful. I appreciate your patience. I know this has been a rough last several days.

Myka: That’s it? I’m free to go?

SI Eliot: Yep. I can arrange a car to transport you back to your home, if you need.

Myka: No, I...

SI Eliot: You what?

Myka: How long will I last out there before you find something to charge me with?

SI Eliot: Miss Tennison, if we wanted to arrest you, we would just do it. We wouldn’t have to come up with some new charge.

Myka: Wouldn’t you? Every law I’ve broken for this operation must be kept as a state secret. They can’t be listed in the records, so there’s nothing you can do right now.

SI Eliot: Even if that were true, you’re assuming that we have any interest in arresting you in the first place, which we don’t.

Myka: Forgive me if I’m having trouble believing that you’ll truly let me go with the knowledge that I have regarding the aliens. Guys like you don’t like leaving loose ends, and right now, I’m feelin’ pretty loose.

SI Eliot: You mean you intend to tell others what you know?

Myka: No, that’s not what I mean, but I’m worried that that is what you’re thinking, and you’re just not telling me about it, because you want me to feel comfortable.

SI Eliot: Again, we wouldn’t need to set you free if we wanted to stop you. I can think of six laws and policies off the top of my head that would give us more than enough reason to stuff you down a dark hole for the rest of your life. Letting you go back home in the hopes that you jaywalk, or accidentally open someone else’s mail, is a lot more work than is anywhere near necessary. The government is a lazy entity. That’s why we have buzzwords like rendition and national security, so everything falls into some sort of legal category that allows us to do whatever we want. So trust me when I say, you’re safe.

Myka: Well...I’ll believe it when I see it, which I guess may not happen until I’m on my deathbed for natural causes. Until then, I suppose I will take my leave.

SI Eliot: However...

Myka: Here it comes.

SI Eliot: If you would be willing to stay on with us in a more official capacity, we would be willing to discuss terms.

Myka: Are you trying to offer me a job?

SI Eliot: It’s like you said, you know about the aliens, and I’m not just talking about those wingèd insects downstairs. Your relationship with the human from another universe could prove invaluable.

Myka: I’m not going to be spying on Leonard for you.

SI Eliot: I’m not asking you to. I’ve had multiple similar conversations with him in regards to a job here. He has law enforcement experience, which you don’t, so I couldn’t promise you would be out in the field, but I’m sure we could find a place for you here.

Myka: Hmm... I’m not sure. I’ll need to think about it.

SI Eliot: I would be worried if you didn’t.

Microstory 1947: Leonard’s Debrief

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SI Eliot: Shifting gears, I think we have a pretty good idea of what happened out in the desert. Your story matches other people’s accounts. I want to know more about you, and where you come from. I understand that you’re from Earth, but in another universe. What exactly does that mean? Is there another you running around here somewhere?

Leonard: I am no expert in this. Like I’ve told you, I’m just a parole officer. I only know about any of this because I had a parolee who wrote stories about it. I didn’t think any of it was real until it happened to me, so now I’m drawing on what I can remember him telling me. I didn’t exactly take notes, because again, I thought they were just stories. But no, there’s other me here. There’s a difference between a timeline, a reality, and a universe. Right? Yeah, that sounds right. Don’t ask me about the first two, but I get that the third one is completely different. It doesn’t have the same people. How two unrelated universes could both end up with a planet called Earth with humans living on it who are about the same as each other, I really couldn’t explain.

SI Eliot: Who was this parolee of yours? He was, what, just some writer?

Leonard: Well, yes. He wrote science fiction stories, and then one day he found himself in one of his own stories, and that’s what set him on the path to my universe.

SI Eliot: Where is he now?

Leonard: Apparently, now is a relative term. The last time I saw him, he was in my universe. They probably assigned him a new parole officer after I disappeared. Or...

SI Eliot: Or what?

Leonard: Or I’ll eventually go back to where I was, and no time will have passed from the perspective of everyone I left. *airquotes*

SI Eliot: So, you’re a time traveler.

Leonard: I may be a time traveler.

SI Eliot: *clears his throat*

Leonard: I told you that I’m not an expert. Look, I don’t think I would have noticed anything if my friends were here, and your laws weren’t so different. I mean, it’s not illegal to break out of jail? That’s so weird. For me, it’s a crime, and when you’re caught, you’re charged with it as such, and if found guilty, it could add to your sentence.

SI Eliot: Do you want us to do that to you?

Leonard: No, of course not. I’m just trying to illustrate the differences. This world probably seems completely normal to you, but if you went to mine, you would feel like I do now. Now imagine being a—quote-unquote—alien. Those four you have in custody right now, I bet their society is profoundly different than yours, or even mine. Just remember that. If you have to jar them with your bizarre procedures and practices, do that. If you have to try to meet them at their level, do that. But do not expect your understanding of human behavior to have anything to do with how they think. They have seen humans destroy worlds before, and even though they’ve reportedly found you not guilty of the same, I don’t see how they don’t use it against you anyway.

SI Eliot: What are you trying to say?

Leonard: Don’t trust them. They want to kill you, whether they admit it or not. Now are we done here? I’ve not slept in days, and I don’t feel like this is doing any good.

Microstory 1946: Reese’s Debrief

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Special Investigator: Please state your full name for the record.

Reese: Agent Reese Fortitude Parsons, Fugitive Services.

Special Investigator: Please describe your last mission.

Reese: We were sent to investigate a scientific anomaly of some kind that appeared in the Wyoming desert. We were told that an intrusion from another world could have taken place, so we were there to take reconnaissance, and report back.

Special Investigator: Did you ever report back?

Reese: Not until there was something to report.

Special Investigator: Who is we? Who went with you?

Reese: A civilian, Leonard Miazga, and another civilian, Myka Tennison.

Special Investigator: To your knowledge, were others involved in this mission?

Reese: Three of Miss Tennison’s friends secretly followed us. My superior, Special Investigator Eliot sent a shadow team to follow as well. They only made contact after the aliens were discovered. Plus, an unrelated third party showed up on the hunt.

Special Investigator Eliot: We’ll get to the party-crashers, and the aliens. First, I wanna know why you thought it was pertinent to be joined by not one, but two, civilians.

Reese: One of the civilians is former law enforcement, and was fully cleared by this office for temporary active duty.

SI Eliot: Oh, he was, was he? Which means that you were aware of the proper procedures for deputization, and simply ignored them for the second civilian.

Reese: I followed protocol according to my training and experience as a Fugitive Agent.

SI Eliot: You were not working in your capacity as a Fugitive Agent for this mission.

Reese: I believed that I was still a Fugitive Agent to enough of an extent. Everything about the mission parameters suggested that we were searching for fugitives, and even if it didn’t, we found them.

SI Eliot: That’s a stretch, to call them fugitives. They’ve never been here before.

Reese: It’s a stretch that I’m willing to accept if you are.

SI Eliot: I’ll consider it.

OSI Director: *knocks three times on the glass*

SI Eliot: *looking at the one-way mirror* My boss would like me to switch gears. Tell me more about the aliens. Would you have categorized them as hostile?

Reese: No, sir. They were peaceful...uncomfortably so.

SI Eliot: How do you mean?

Reese: Their straightforwardness made it seem as though they were hiding something.

SI Eliot: You believe that they were telling you so many truths in order to cover up a real secret?

Reese: That’s correct.

SI Eliot: Fair assessment. We’ll be sure to work on them from that angle.

Reese: You’ve kept them apart from each other, right? They can escape if they can get to one another. They can’t go anywhere if they’re each alone.

SI Eliot: You don’t have to worry about that anymore. Try to think like a suspect in this situation. It’ll make this easier. We have a lot to talk about today.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: April 16, 2407

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Scorpius Station looked exactly like Phoenix Station. If they were not aware of their present relative position in space, they might not have known that it wasn’t the same. However, they still couldn’t be sure of that. With alternate realities, time travel, and just good old fashioned space travel in the mix, it was impossible to be certain that they weren’t just in the same place. The only thing missing was the extraction mirror. There were sixteen cloning pods here, though. Only eight of them were presently operational, but still closed. They opened them up one by one. Mateo, Leona, Ramses, Angela, Marie, and finally Olimpia. This made sense as that was what they were told would be here. The seventh one was a bit of a surprise. The artificial intelligence that ran Danica’s Constant occasionally appeared as an android capable of moving about freely, instead of being stuck in computer memory. This was what she looked like in feminine form, though obviously not a mech this time. Alt!Leona built her an organic substrate.

“Why did she do this?” Mateo asked. “I don’t mean that there couldn’t possibly be a reason. I’m not doubting the safety of transferring Constance’s consciousness to it, but I am doubting Alt!Leona’s particular motives.”

“I as well,” Leona agreed. “She may have some agenda behind it, or she may just consider a gift, believing that it is what we would want. I’m not sure that she’s not right. I’m really not.”

Angela nodded, and inspected the body. “It’s not our choice, though, is it? This was built for her, and she gets to decide if she wants to use it. That could end in disaster, but we still don’t have the right to put a stop to it.”

“I’m confused,” Olimpia said. “I thought the version of Constance who was with us was the good one.”

“Yeah,” Leona confirmed, “but they’re all capable of darkness. We’ve seen it.”

“This is true in the most comprehensive sense of the word all,” Olimpia reasoned. “Everyone is capable of darkness. Everyone is good, and bad, and we all make choices. I say we ask her what she wants.”

“She can hear us,” Ramses said. “She just hasn’t said anything yet.”

“I didn’t want to influence your decision,” Constance!Three explained. “The way I see it, it’s not my decision. Intellectually knowing that any given person can fall to the dark side is a lot different than experiencing someone who has been able to do both without being metaphysically impacted by the same events. That is, the bad Constances weren’t just me in the future, or the past. There but for the grace of circumstance went I. It could have been me.”

Leona smiled. “I trust you. You want the substrate, it’s yours.”

“Thank you.. I think I’d like to try it.”

“Hey, what about this one that won’t open? Constance, can you do it?”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” she answered. “My guess is that it is not for us to know.”

“Maybe it’s for him,” Olimpia offered, indicating Max. “Do you think he’s part of the team now?”

“I hope not,” Max said. “That’s not to say I dislike you people, but I have my own friends to get back to. I’m fine waiting a little, but I love them, and I don’t want to spend forever apart from them.”

“It’s locked,” Ramses reiterated. “I think Constance is right. Alt!Leona doesn’t want us to know. If it were for Max, we would see.”

“It could be someone else growing someone else in there, and the other Leona doesn’t know a thing about it. The airlock wasn’t locked. Anyone could access it. They just have to find this station first.”

“Then let’s get on with it,” Mateo decided, “and get out of here.”

“What are we gonna do with these things?” Marie gestured towards her own body, but she meant everyone’s.

“The cloning pods double as stasis chambers,” Constance told them. “I recommend you store them for future use.”

“Right again,” Leona said. “We’ve switched bodies before, and they’ve benefited others. They’ll do no good in the incinerator.”

Mateo nodded along with everyone, but did not agree with the sentiment. He could think of a way that their vacant bodies could cause harm if not incinerated. They were powerful, and could theoretically be used by nefarious agents for nefarious purposes. He chose not to say anything, though. He was outvoted and outranked.

The same model of consciousness transference device that they used in Phoenix Station was here too. Leona and Ramses operated the equipment for everyone, and then did the same for each other. In less than an hour, all six of the humans were in their new bodies, and the seventh member of their team was in her first body ever. The humans had a little trouble working their limbs and extremities, but adjusted quite well. Max was in charge of caring for them for the brief period of time that they needed it. Constance had the hardest time, because she had never experienced anything like it before, but she too figured it out. Once the growing pains were over, they all reported feeling rejuvenated, stronger, and just generally healthier. They supposedly had Alyssa’s ability to generate temporal illusions too, but so far hadn’t been able to make that happen. This was fine; it was a mandate from Alt!Leona, but they currently had no specific reason to feel the same way about it.

“Is this place gonna blow up like the last one?” Mateo asked.

“I don’t think so, but I am a little concerned about it since it would not be the first time. So let’s pack up our backup bodies, and head out.”

Ramses and Leona worked to carefully and correctly remove the pods from their places in the walls. Each person then teleported their own old substrate to the Dante, which Constance had commanded to leave the airlock, and temporarily keep station by the outpost. That way they could transform the back hatch into one of the six pocket dimensions that were programmed into the system. They could run on their own mobile power sources for a period of time, but they still wanted to find a way to hook them up to the Dante, which was powered by multiple sources, including antimatter, fusion, fission, solar collectors, fuel cells, temporal batteries, and an asymmetric temporal generator. There was also another power source that Leona couldn’t figure out. None of the design specifications explained what it was, and it appeared to be nonoperational at the moment.

Once everything was in its place, and everyone was back on board, they prepared to depart. “Okay.” Leona activated a holographic map “We’re about 400 light years from the stellar neighborhood. At maximum reframe, that will take the Dante about seven months to cross it. If we’re going to find someone to build you what you need, Max, you’ll have to wait another year. If you feel up to it, I could put you in stasis.”

“Seven months for 400 light years?” Max questioned. “I didn’t realize that we were so close. That should only take us about a quarter of an hour.”

They all looked at him funny. “What you’re talking about is a faster-than-light engine, and one that is faster than any I’ve ever heard of. The capital ship that this belongs to can’t even go that fast. The mothership can’t even. It’s closer to two days.”

“Hmm...” Max narrowed his eyes at Leona.

“Oh,” Ramses realized something. “Different universe, different rules. FTL travel must be easier where you’re from.”

“I guess so. Please tell me that you at least have access to a Nexus network.”

“We have Nexa,” Leona replied. “Network is a strong word. I know you’re itching to get back home with what you need. That’s why I suggested a stasis pod. It will be like no time has passed for you.”

“What? Oh, yeah. Stasis is fine. It’s just that I didn’t really realize until now how foreign this place is. But it’ll be okay. You jump forward in time, and I’ll do the same.”

“I’ll be going dormant as well,” Constance added. “But I left a copy of the dumbed down AI in the system, so Costas will always be there. He doesn’t have a personality, so he won’t grow bored and turn evil, but he’ll be able to awaken me if he runs into an issue that it can’t fix.”

“Costas is Costas, and Costas is on the AOC” Angela decided. “Let’s just call this other one Dante.”

“Very well.”

“You hear that, Dante? That’s your new name,” Leona told him.

“Understood,” he answered robotically.

“I’ll still run it while I’m here, but now I have my own form of autopilot. Why don’t other AIs have subpersonalities like this? It makes it so much easier. I might make another one whose only job is to calculate Pi.”

“Go for it,” Leona allowed, “as long as it doesn’t interfere with normal ship operations, or mission demands.”

To conserve energy, they lowered the speed to 99.9997% the speed of light, instead of the full 99.9999%. This wasn’t exactly necessary, as they were in no real risk of running out of power, but they might as well since they wouldn’t be able to do anything until the majority of the team returned to the timestream in a year. Plus, while the galaxy boasted virtually infinite reserves of the materials required to keep the ship running, 400 light years was still a good distance from civilization, so it was better to be efficient and safe than fast.

Everything was fine when the humans woke up on April 17, 2408. They were parked on a comet called C/2006 P1, which was about four and a half billion kilometers from Earth and rising. Max was awake as well, and sitting in the Dante proper with Constance. “What is it?” Leona asked. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s me,” Constance replied. “I’m going to be okay, but it’s just a shock.”

“What is a shock?” Mateo asked.

“I jumped,” Constance began. “It took me a long time to learn how to go dormant in this body. It’s more like a very deep state of meditation, which I was not used to. I used to be able to just turn off. As it turns out, it didn’t matter. Dante could not have asked for help during the interim year, because I wasn’t around. I’m one of you now.”

Leona sighed. “We should have...considered that as a possible consequence.”

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Extremus: Year 51

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It’s graduation day. Unlike traditional schooling, or the regular education system on the ship, not everything about today is a given. For most people, the ceremony is to mark and celebrate an event that is already happening. Other students already have their degrees, and will move on from here based on whatever life has in store for them, which is based on whatever they have accomplished, and the promise they show for their future. The kids studying ship administration are in a special situation, though. Part of that comes from the circumstances they were born to and grew up in, and part of it is from their natural talent, but the majority of it is choice. They chose to place themselves on the captain’s track, and while of course not all of them will become captain one day, not all of them will end up on the executive crew in any capacity. They may not even make it to the crew, full stop. Hell, they may not even get into the college that is required to even have a chance.

There are two universities on the Extremus. One is the general university, where people study whatever it is they wish. The other is the University of Crewmanship. Within each of these two schools, there are separate college programs, and one of these is called The College of Executive Administration. This is the big time, and no one is guaranteed a spot in the program; not even Tinaya Leithe, legacy. It’s highly competitive, and the number of people currently graduating tertiary school who will be accepted is absurdly low. Standard practice dictates a student apply to a program elsewhere, and most have done that. If they did, they already know whether and where they were accepted. Despite the competition, there is a place for everyone. Education is a right, not a privilege; it’s just a question of what any given individual will be educated in. Today, everyone in Tinaya’s graduating class will learn whether they made it into the CEA, or if they’ll have to fall back on whatever their second choice is. It’s not just a graduation ceremony. It’s an acceptance ceremony, and the whole ship gets to watch.

Lataran is more solemn than usual, and Tinaya is trying to be supportive of her without sounding like a condescending bitch. “It’ll be okay. Whatever happens, it’ll be okay,” she claims, obviously not knowing if it’s true.

Lataran shakes her head. “You don’t understand, you never have. If I don’t get into this, I’m not going to college.”

“Your parents are letting you go to college. I’ve spoken to them on it many times. We agreed that if not Lieutenant, you would be best suited for civil service studies.”

“Yes,” Lataran confirms, “but you’re missing one half of the formula, which is desire. I don’t want to be a civil servant. If I can’t work on the crew, I don’t want to do anything, because I don’t have any other choices.”

“You have other choices. You could study philosophy. You always liked asking the big questions.”

“I can’t. That’s what I’m trying to explain to you. My parents gave me two choices; executive or civil service. I have to be a big name on this rustbucket, and if I try anything else, they’re going to disown me, and I’ll end up...a freeloader.” A freeloader isn’t as bad as it sounds. As with education, everyone alive is entitled to work. You get, and you give is sort of one of the state mottos. But you’re not required to participate in either of those things. You can drop out of school when you’re fourteen, and you never have to work a day in your life if you don’t want to. Some people do this. They just live here. It’s conventional for such people to focus on propagating the species, so that their descendants will one day make it to the Extremus planet, but that’s not required either. Some people just...hang out. They’re not socially shunned, but in practice, they have trouble making friends with anyone who isn’t like them. So they tend to stick to their own kind. There’s even a section where most of them live. This is not because they were intentionally segregated, but because they wanted to form a subculture. And also, they’re entitled to a certain level of accommodation, while those who contribute to society are entitled to a little more; nicer cabins, better facilities, etc. So there is a little bit of segregation going on, but it has more to do with their choice than anything.

“Well, what would you do if you could do whatever you wanted.”

“Whatever I wanted?” Lataran questions. “Temporal engineering.”

Tinaya is still trying to be nice. “I meant...”

“You meant, whatever I wanted that I could actually do.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Lataran sighs. “A freeloader.”

“What happened to your ambition?”

“I still have it, but only for this. Tina, I don’t have high marks. I’m barely graduating. I’m not gonna make it into college. That’s why I’ve been so grumpy lately. The first couple years of tertiary school were okay, but my struggle really caught up with me this last year.”

“You don’t know that you’re not getting in, and even if you don’t get in...”

“Even if I don’t get in, what?”

“I can choose whoever I want to be my lieutenants. I can pull from any workforce, any walk of life, including freeloaders. So if this doesn’t work out, and that’s what you want to do, then you’ll live in my stateroom with me, and when the time comes, I’ll appoint you as my First L-T.”

“That will make you look so terrible.”

“No, it won’t, because you’re not just gonna sit around all day. You’ll be doing an independent study. The library is free for all. We’ll work on my home assignments together. It’ll be like you’re in the college anyway, and we’ll make sure people know that. This is all assuming you don’t get accepted yourself, which I’m still not convinced you won’t. They’ve not even started the opening speeches.”

As if on cue, Captain Soto Tamm steps on stage and approaches the podium.

“He’s not in the program.” Lataran flips through it.

“Why is he even wasting his time here?” Tinaya asks rhetorically. The man is everywhere. He’s setting himself to make more public appearances during the first quarter of his shift than the other three previous captains ever did combined. The captain is meant to be available and helpful, and that doesn’t mean parading himself in front of an audience. That’s something a figurehead would do. Is he just a puppet? Is something rotten in Denmark? It’s too much. He shows his face too often when he should really be doing his job. At least this particular event makes sense, but still. Aunt Kaiora rarely had anything to do with the students when she was Captain, and Halan only ever went to one graduation; the first one on the ship. Tamm is still trying to play it cool around her. As he’s giving his opening remarks—explaining that he was asked to step in for the dean, who generally does this, but is busy with a situation—he looks each one of the graduating students in the eye, except for Tinaya.

Captain Tamm finishes his words, and then sits down so the ceremony can continue. Finally, the moment arrives when they’re announced in alphabetical order, and at the same time, declare which university they will be going to, or which college. Anyone who doesn’t get accepted into the College of Executive Administration will be listed with their second choice, if they only applied to the one. If they applied to, and were accepted into, multiple programs in either university, they now have a choice to make, and today, they will only hear their name associated with the particular university in general.

“Elowen Isenberg, College of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.”

Elowen frowns, then stands up, and walks across the stage to accept his degree. Her parents look proud of her, not disappointed.

“Lataran Keen, College of Executive Administration.”

Lataran exhales sharply.

“I told you that you would be fine.” She accepts a hug from her friend, then urges her to go across the stage, so they can continue.

Finally, it’s her turn. Principal Hampton clears her throat, and looks worried. He hesitates, but decides to continue anyway. “Tinaya Leithe.” And then he shuts his mouth, not saying another word. The room freezes. She always knew that there was a chance she wouldn’t get into the program, but she should have been accepted into something. She applied to seven other programs; four of which were in the other university. This doesn’t make any sense at all.

Tinaya stands and approaches the podium slowly. She’s actually lifting her hand to accept the diploma. She’s doing that slowly too, but she’s still doing it. Then she stops. She drops her hand, and makes a sudden turn downstage as if she was trying to introduce herself to a celebrity, but chickened out at the last second. Instead, she hops off stage. It’s a doozy, but she lands on her feet, and keeps walking like an action hero, doing everything she can to ignore the stinging feeling presently running up her legs. The audience is still stunned. They turn their heads to follow her as she walks up the center aisle, and through the doors. She falls to her knees, and begins to hyperventilate. This can’t be happening. It can’t. Again, eight programs. Everyone is guaranteed a spot somewhere. If nothing else, general education should have let her in. It’s never happened to someone on the captain’s track before, but they could theoretically hear those two words come after their name. Tinaya didn’t even get that. She didn’t get anything. She’s not even a freeloader. As least that would have been her choice.

Someone’s feet appear in the corner of her eye. “Stand up.”

“Why?”

“Stand up and I’ll tell you.” She doesn’t recognize the voice.

“I don’t mean why should I sta—”

“I know what you’re asking. Stand up...and I’ll tell you,” he repeats.

She regains control over her breathing, and complies. She doesn’t recognize the man’s face either. “Who are you?”

“I am Avelino Bridger.”

“Avelino Bridger,” she echoes, “of the Bridger section?”

He shakes his head mildly. “It’s not a section.”

“I know. It’s a ship.” There’s another ship that’s following the Extremus about a light year away from here. It’s one of the things she learned when she hacked deep into the secret files as a kid. She’s not supposed to know that much about it. Everyone else knows that it exists in some form, but that’s it. “Why?” she repeats herself.

“Because we need you...for something bigger.”

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Microstory 1945: Cutting Teeth

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Leonard: Hold your fire! I know them!

Reese: I do too.

Shadow Team Leader: Yeah, I recognize them from the files.

Leonard: Look who’s in the back.

Reese: I see him. [...] Jail Guard, We’re surprised to see you, especially with those two.

Former Jail Guard: Well, after what happened, I was fired. They said it wasn’t about the escape, but we all know it was. It turned out to be the greatest thing that ever happened to me. But that’s a roundabout story. I’m sure you don’t have time for it.

Leonard: And you two? How did you end up here, and why?

Escapee 4: Part of that is part of Former Jail Guard’s story.

Shadow Team Leader: I need to know the truth; the whole truth. If there’s a leak or a weakness in our organization, we have to understand it so we can fix it. No one was meant to know about this operation. How did you find out about it?

Former Jail Guard: Well, if you insist, I’ll get into it. Like I said, I was fired, but not before I met you, Agent Parsons. I was inspired by your words at the law station, and I started looking into applying to Fugitive Services. Of course, I’m not really qualified for all that. Apparently everyone needs some kind of predating story?

Reese: It’s not an official requirement, but it’s an unwritten custom that FS doesn’t accept you unless you’ve already caught someone. Most people go after small fish; a simple bounty that any rookie could find. They’re usually hiding at their girlfriend’s.

Former Jail Guard: I didn’t wanna do that. I wanted to cut my teeth on something pretty big. I met with your former partner, and he—perhaps unwittingly—gave me the impression that no one was really looking for the five escapees. It’s not like the competition would have been my greatest obstacle, but I still figured I had a better shot. And obviously *points* I found them. Well, I found most of them.

Escapee 1: Four out of five ain’t bad.

Leonard: Where are the other two?

Escapee 1: Escapee 2 and Escapee 3 didn’t want to stick around. He let them go.

Former Jail Guard: They told me about how Agent Parsons found the fifth escapee. The story was really weird, so I was intrigued. I think we uncovered a lot, right? We learned about the bond groups, and the OSI. You were in a fancy hotel at one point. I just knew that there was something more to this, so I reached out to...someone who could help me hack into the OSI’s system.

Shadow Team Leader: So there is a weakness.

Former Jail Guard: There was a leak. Don’t worry, it’s been plugged since, but not before the three of us discovered that there was something freaky going on in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. We didn’t know for sure that we would find you here, but we knew there would be something. We saw the footprints leading here from the road, so—

Shadow Team Leader: Wait, what? Footprints? There should be no footprints.

Former Jail Guard: There was one set, leading in this direction.

Shadow Team Leader: We wiped everybody’s tracks on our way here, including our own. Weapons up again, folks. Someone else is here.

Microstory 1944: Disclosure

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Reese: So, this is the infamous shadow team that’s been following us around in the desert? Are we havin’ fun yet?

Shadow Team Leader: Agent Parsons. What did you find down there?

Reese: Three aliens.

Shadow Team Leader: Are they still alive?

Reese: They are. They claim that they’re not here to harm us.

Shadow Team Leader: We’ll let the OSI decide that. That’s above both of our paygrades. Have you detained them?

Reese: I placed them in handcuffs, but...

Shadow Team Leader: But what?

Reese: But they have wings.

Shadow Team Leader: So they can just fly away whenever they want?

Leonard: They can’t fly. It’s more like they can jump real high, and then fall down slowly. At least, that’s what the intel says.

Shadow Team Leader: What’s the point of having wings then?

Leonard: I believe they evolved from creatures who could fly, but lost the ability in a practical sense due to their weight. Still, the wings are dangerous. We need to figure out how to secure them for transport.

Shadow Team Leader: Now that we’ve confirmed that they’re here, I can call in a containment unit. *addressing the group* I would like to thank you all for your service. For those of you without badges, I have been ordered to let you go free without issue, regardless of any outstanding warrants you may or may not have. We’ll ask you to keep what you know secret, however, and a special team or agent will be making contact with you soon to ensure that you have complied with this demand. Should they find that you’ve spread the word to even one other person, I’ve been asked to warn you that there will be severe consequences. Nothing is for you to say. Am I understood?

Myka: My girls understand secrecy.

Shadow Team Leader: Even against your little group of bonded ex-cons? As I understand it, you share everything with everyone.

Myka: The way you understand it is wrong. We knew the risks when we came out here.

Shadow Team Member 2: Sir? *whispers something to Shadow Team Leader*

Shadow Team Leader: Is anyone else out here with you, Agent? Did you conscript anyone else, or tell them where you would be?

Reese: No.

Myka: Absolutely not. I kept this whole thing to a small circle. Why, what happened?

Shadow Team Member 1: We’ve spotted an all-terrain vehicle headed this way.

Reese: Listen, I don’t think that one of these things can fit in a car. I told you about the wings. They’re of decent size. None of the seats down there have backs.

Shadow Team Member 1: So the driver is human; that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous. Weapons up.

*everyone with a gun points it towards the oncoming vehicle, which is now in view*

Shadow Team Member 1: Shoot on my order, and only on my order.