Page 85 of Nova Academy

The colonel sped up the footage until someone emerged, only itwasn’t the woman. It was a younger boy that sparked recognition almost immediately. The hair was only long enough to flop messily in front of his eyes, and his build was skinny and willowy. He wore a hood over his head and carried a small bag on his back. The footage showed him stopping at a holo-screen that provided directions, and after another fast-forward she ended up among the crowd of Nova Academy cadets.

‘What the fuck…?’ I breathed, my voice barely audible.

‘I don’t know the alias she’s using, but she’s currently on board The Carina. Captain, I need you to find her.’

‘I already know who she is,’ I informed her.

‘You do? How?’

‘His was the first promotion I handed out. That is Cadet Corporal Arthur Mercer.’

‘If you already know her, that makes this a lot easier,’ said the colonel, a lightness to her tone she hadn’t expressed yet in this meeting.

‘I assume you want me to apprehend her?’ I asked. Some part of me wanted to because I’d been duped, and I was angry about it. Another part of me was giddy that the woman I had been secretly searching for had landed in my lap without me even trying. But one thing I did know was that arresting Arthur Mercer, or whatever her real name was, wouldn’t go down well.

Did Addy know? Was this what she was keeping from me?

‘No, Alex. I don’t want you to arrest her. In fact, I don’t want you to do anything.’

I didn’t think it was possible but my frown deepened so low I could barely see out from beneath my eyebrows. ‘I don’t understand…’

‘I want to recruit her. Alex, we need her. You were right before. I just couldn’t say so with so many listening devices in the room. We need this woman on our side.’

‘So why did you bring me here? What is it that you want me todo? Why show me this?’

‘I already have Markus working on it, but you needed to be briefed. This isn’t all the information I’ve received.’

I didn’t want to know more. My head was already struggling to wrap around the bomb that had just been dropped directly onto my skull, but I gestured for her to continue.

‘I obtained this footage from my source inside The Program. They’re aware of the woman’s location and are coming here. They’ve already been given permission to dock, but I was also informed they intend to take over the station.’

‘Take over the station? But that’s impossible. This is a military base, for star’s sake. How do they think they’ll manage it?’

‘Don’t underestimate them, Alex. Their plans have already been set in motion. I’m telling you now because I need you to understand what’s about to happen and what you need to do. They will arrive within the next few days. They will lock this entire station down until they find her. They will use force. But Alex, theycannotget their hands on her again, do you hear me?’

‘I hear you,’ I said, though the confidence in my voice was a complete front. There was so much to unpack from this meeting and I didn’t know where to begin. With Mercer? Markus? Addy? Did everyone know before me?

The colonel placed a weathered hand on my arm and looked me square in the eyes. The trust I found in there undid everything I thought I knew about these past few years. She hadn’t betrayed me. She had trusted me. She was on my side. I wasn’t off the case, merely working from the shadows.

‘You can do this, Alex. You’re the only one I know who can.’

And in that moment, I believed her.

CHAPTER 35

Artemis

‘Don’t let them take me again, A,’ Libby cried in my arms. ‘It hurts. Don’t let them hurt me anymore. I want to go home.’

I rocked her gently back and forth as I whispered soothing words into her hair. My own tears and pain pushed to the side because they were nothing compared to hers. Not today. Today, I had been poked and prodded, chunks of my flesh and bone removed for them to study under a microscope. But Libby had gone through the first round of surgeries for their new implants. Ones I’d received just last week.

I remembered how much I screamed and cried, but since they used a paralytic rather than anaesthetics, I was awake and aware the entire time. I felt everything, and then it was Libby who comforted me.

We took turns far too often these days. At first it was just a few tests here and there. Nothing too serious, like drawing blood or running as fast as we could for as long as we could. How much weight could we lift, how long did it take to heal a small cut, that sort of thing. Until one day they took one of us and she didn’t come back. Their attempt at grafting a robotic body-part into her to replace the one they cut off ended in her death, and they became frustrated.

They were mean to us when they were frustrated.

‘I’m gonna get us out of here, L. I promise. Just you see, we’ll be free and fall in love and raise our kids together. It’ll be amazing.’

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