Spoiler alert: This is the beginning of the 9th book in the Reckless Faith series. You may read the prologue here: https://devonai.wordpress.com/2024/10/17/reckless-faith-ix-prologue/

Evangeline Adeler sat in a booth in the West Wind Bistro on the 50th floor of the Zephyrus Tower, of the Four Winds Complexium, on a planet named Secundus. Though the enormous towers, and recently added annex, offered a score of places to eat, the restaurant of her choosing had a special place in her heart. By chance that day, the maître d’ (or whatever they were called in the local parlance) had offered Eva and her companions the same booth at which she’d first met Reveki Kitsune, and hashed out a fateful deal along with Cane Venator. That memory seemed like a lifetime ago, unlike the menu, which didn’t appear to have changed at all in the last two years.

Fortunately for her and the two people seated with her, the perennial meal items were mostly excellent, including her favorite of Wolrasi steak, which in her estimation was a fine alien analog for beef. One of her companions, an Eaglite named Ikari, seemed particularly pleased with his sweet-node casserole, which was likely as close to cottage pie as one could get three hundred light-years away from Earth. The other, Arianna Ferro, had no use for food in her android form, but had ordered something small anyway so as not to appear as such. Such caution was probably unwarranted, as Ikari had chosen to wear his traditional gi top, hakama pants, and a katana, easily distracting anyone from the two women with him.

Ikari had been sent by the leader of the Eagle, Daimyo Kitsune, as the eyes and ears of their civilization. Since the population of the asteroid had integrated themselves into the community of Primus, Secundus, and Matesia, the Daimyo had instituted a robust intelligence program, to include deep-cover agents as far away as six hundred light-years. Ikari would have failed miserably if he was meant to be undercover that day, but was still tasked with keeping Daimyo apprised of local events. However, he had hinted that he’d been involved with clandestine operations nearby, most likely in response to recent dealings of both the Rigby Corporation and the Matesian Syndicate.

Though every visit to the Complexium was an opportunity to take in the latest gossip, the trio was there that day in response to a cryptic message Eva had received. The sender, Verisimilitude Android Designs, had requested her presence at the bistro, for assistance with an unspecified problem they were having. Whey they hadn’t asked for her to meet them at their manufacturing facility and front office in the annex, she could only guess, as no further information had been offered. Ari speculated that they were trying to drum up sales with an old-fashioned corporate dinner date. Unfortunately for VAD, the crew of the Reckless Faith had learned how to replicate their own androids to the same exacting standards that the company had previously provided. Still, Eva and Ari had the time to kill, so they figured they’d let themselves get wined-and-dined at someone else’s expense.

While waiting for their mystery guest, Ari had set up a signal-jammer under the table to ensure that the conversation at their booth would remain private. Ikari used the opportunity to dominate the conversation with complaints about what he and his group of spies had found out about Rigby and the Syndicate. Though their corner of the galaxy had been spared from the belligerence of the New Rakhar Empire, both Rigby and the Syndicate had been working on deals with them to ensure their own survival, should the situation change. Eva and Ari, who had top-secret access to the Eagle’s scuttlebutt, already knew all of this, but allowed Ikari to rant. Normally quite reserved, the man seemed to need the chance to speak his mind to someone other than his boss.

“Anyway,” Ikari was saying, “no one really believes that the Rakhar will honor any deal with Rigby. They’re probably just trying to buy some time to plan their next move. The Syndicate, on the other hand, has enough of a clandestine network set up to potentially survive even a full-on invasion.”

Eva said, “In a timeline where a lone Kira’To, or a Chimera, can cause a star to go supernova, and wipe from the face of the galaxy an entire star system, one has to wonder why Rigby, the Syndicate, or the Rakhar should pretend their own shit matters at all.”

“You could say the same for the Eagle,” replied Ari.

“Except that the Eagle remains under the protection of Aquila.”

Ikari frowned. “Your attitude continues to confuse me, Adeler. Your loyalty to the Eagle is beyond reproach, but lately you’ve been nothing but pessimistic about everything. Though I understand that the disappearance of Reveki Kitsune and your other friends bothers you, I also don’t understand why you can’t focus on the situation at hand.”

“Perhaps my patience has waned after so much strife. I’d prefer either peace, or direct action, to sitting around waiting for the Rakhar to make a move. I’d at least feel better if Maoko had been able to contact Reveki and confirm her survival, if not her location.”

A figure approached the booth, and sat down at the table without being invited. They were wearing a gray robe with the hood pulled up, making it difficult at first to make out much detail about them, other than they were a fair-skinned humanoid. When they spoke, the voice sounded female, and the language was English.

“I apologize in advance,” she began, “but I’m not really a representative of VAD; at least not as an employee. When I reveal who I am, you’ll understand why I lied to you. I also know you’re going to want proof of my identity.”

Eva shrugged. “Go on, then.”

Their guest pulled her hood back a few inches so they could get a better look at her face. It was no one they recognized.

“I am Shang Fuyue.”

Eva and Ari were stunned for a moment. Ikari seemed confused.

“You’re certainly right about needing proof,” said Ari. “Last we knew, Fuyue was atomized below the surface of Tartarus. But the fact that you’re an android hints at what happened.”

“Or what you claim has happened,” said Eva.

“Wait a minute,” began Ikari. “You’re talking about the Sortarius guy who was involved in your last two excursions? The guy from Anachronia?”

“I was never a resident of Anachronia, but that’s close enough,” she replied.

“All right then,” said Eva. “Let’s hear your story. You know, of course, that our bullshit detectors are running full-blast, and that Ari is a walking quantum computer, so good luck.”

“I’ll try to give you the short version for now. After being killed on Tartarus, Kheiron saved my consciousness and kept me in a sort of limbo, halfway between this plane of existence and the True Nature. Though I could see the infinite network of interconnected threads, and the energy that binds them, I couldn’t interact with it. At first, I thought Kheiron was punishing me for some perceived offense. He barely communicated with me, and when he did it was just frustrating half-sentences like ‘you must be patient,’ or, ‘it’s not your time yet.’ It would have been hell, except that I had no real way of judging the passage of time.”

The waiter approached to see if they needed anything, so Ari waved him off. The woman continued.

“Eventually, I found myself in a room that turned out to be here, in the Complexium, at VAD. My consciousness had been deposited in this body, much to the surprise of both myself and the lab technicians who were about to test its basic functions. I managed to have the wherewithal to keep my mouth shut, which led them to believe something had gone wrong with my language circuits or whatnot. Fortunately, it was nearly the end of their shift, so they resolved to fix me tomorrow and left me there. I managed to grab this robe and slip away. It seems like only a matter of time before they realize I’m missing.”

“What kind of OS do you have?” asked Ari.

“I overheard them say that my brain is an Umberian quantum orb.”

“But how? We never gave VAD the schematics for an orb. It was installed after they built her chassis and we took custody of it.”

“I can’t answer that.”

“Perhaps spyware,” said Eva. “They could have set up Christie’s body to transmit data back to them without our knowledge. We can worry about that later, though. How did you learn how to control your new body so quickly?”

“I seem to be operating from a simplified interface, compared to the full access that I remember hearing about from Miss Ferro, Christie Tolliver, and Faen Leonid. Right now, I feel just like a normal humanoid, except I’ve not been this gender before. If I had woken up somewhere other than a test station at VAD, I might actually think I was flesh-and-blood. It’s rather confusing.”

Ikari said, “If VAD was spying on Tolliver, then they might know enough about Fuyue’s story to make a convincing doppelganger. I don’t think we should trust her.”

“What would they have to gain by that?” asked Ari. “Rhetorical question, I know. For now, the most logical thing to do is take our new friend back to the Reckless Faith and scan the ever-living fuck out of her until we’re satisfied she’s not a spy. Then we can worry about whether or not it’s really Fuyue in there.”

“I’ll cooperate with whatever you want to do,” she said. “However, I have to know, what has become of the Antares and her crew?”

“They’re fine,” began Eva. “That’s all you need to know for now. I also have one question for you: do you know what happened to Reveki Kitsune and the crewmembers of the Reckless Faith after the destruction of the prison?”

“Only that Kheiron said he’d sent them to be in the care of Andromeda. I guessed he was referring to another Kira’To, but he could have been referring to a location instead.”

“So they’re alive?”

“In some capacity, probably.”

Ari said, “That’s better than the jack-shit we knew before.”

“If I had full access to this android’s systems, I might be able to remember something else. Until then, I suggest we get back to the Reckless Faith. This place is crawling with security guards.”

“We noticed. We thought it was in response to increased criminal activity.”

Eva’s PDA beeped at her, so she took it out of her pocket. “Good news. Daimyo Kitsune reports that Maoko has presented him with a drawing that she believes shows Reveki’s POV.”

“It’s about time. Fuyue, if that is really you, let’s get you out of here. You’ll be our guest on the Faith while the rest of us return to the Eagle to see if this latest drawing has any useful information. Then, I’m going to get all up in that quantum brain of yours.”

_____

The reading room in the library on the Eagle was a well-appointed and comfortable space, replete with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, leather chairs, mahogany desks, and small lamps at each place a person would care to sit. It also had a kettle with a small selection of tea, which Maoko had taken advantage of when she arrived. When Evangeline found her there, the older woman had gathered a stack of ancient books, as well as a PDA, and was deep in concentration reading a document on the device.

Eva had been there before, to do research of her own, and it appeared Maoko was doing the same. She acknowledged Eva’s presence with a simple nod before returning her attention to the PDA. Eva made herself a cup of tea, then sat across the desk from Maoko. Her calmness belied the years of strife she’d experienced before the leadership of the Eagle changed hands.

“Tomo told me you’d be here,” Eva said.

“Indeed. The image I was compelled to draw also came with a message, the name ‘Andromeda,’ whispered in a voice without tone or timbre. I was compelled to come here, to see what the archives might reveal.”

“How’s that going?”

“So far, any legends that may have been recorded here have been elusive. As I’m sure Miss Soryu has told you, a great deal of these tomes have not been captured electronically.” She patted the stack of books. “Answers may yet be found.”

“We can certainly help with that. Do you have the drawing with you?”

Opening a folder, Maoko passed a piece of paper to her. On it, was an immaculately-rendered scene of a night sky, bordered by pine trees, in Maoko’s usual chiaroscuro style. Eva took care not to smudge the carbon as she examined it.

“I have strong sense that Vecky was safe when she beheld this scene, but I have no idea how long ago it was.”

“I don’t recognize the constellations here. We can input the pattern into the computer of the Reckless Faith, but finding a match to a planet in the known galaxy based off of the location of a handful of stars is probably going to take a long time, and a ton of processing power.”

“Discovering that the Terrans named a constellation Andromeda was easy enough. I would start with those stars.”

Eva nodded. “It’s a good idea. I do have to wonder which Kira’To gave you the name, though.”

Maoko smiled. “It could only be Aquila.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. But don’t worry about it right now.” Eva took a picture of the drawing with her PDA. “We’ll begin our search immediately. Please let us know if you receive another vision.”

“Of course, child.”

Eva excused herself, and walked through the enormous main hall of the library and on to the street. She crossed through a park, which had been transformed from nothing but dirt to a lush garden, and the fountain at its center, which had been dry for so long, had been returned to its former glory. Eaglite citizens filled the area, enjoying what it had to offer, and Eva’s heart swelled with joy. It was just one of many examples of how the Eagle had come back from the brink of disaster. Eva’s unique role in all of that earned her nods of appreciation from a few people as she made her way through the park.

It didn’t take long for her to get to the main hangar, where the Reckless Faith and the Fox were parked. She looked longingly at the latter ship as she passed by the landing platform, then boarded the Faith. After making her way to the bridge, she was met by Ari, Dana Andrews, and Jim Penrose. The android claiming to be Fuyue was also there, but she was staring blankly ahead and didn’t acknowledge Eva.

“Where’s Zukova?” Eva asked.

“She’s visiting the Complexium,” replied Dana. “Don’t worry, she’s got that Eaglite warrior with her.”

“What’s going on with our alleged Sortarii friend?”

“I’ve got an automated diagnostics program running on her right now,” said Ari. “She’s in standby mode. If there’s nothing unusual or suspicious with her when that’s done, then I’ll try syncing with her.”

“Did you get anything from Maoko?” asked Dana.

“Yes,” began Eva. “Here, I’ll upload it.”

She pulled out her PDA, synced it with the Faith’s system, and put the drawing on the main screen.

“She certainly is talented,” said Jim.

“She also said the name Andromeda came to her at the same time as the image. If this scene is from somewhere in that constellation, we should be able to find it.”

Dana worked at her console for a moment. “According to our database, there are 179 stars within the IAU boundaries of the constellation, not including, of course, the Andromeda galaxy.”

Eva sat at the console next to Dana. “Considering what we know about how Greek legends ended up throughout our galaxy, I think we can focus on the stars best known to antiquity.”

“Then that narrows it down to sixteen. If we cross-reference that with the astronomical data we’ve gained from other civilizations, we can see that eleven of those have habitable planets in orbit.”

Ari said, “Once I plug the variables in, it will take me five or ten minutes to check those stars for matching asterisms. If we rule them out, then we’ll expand our search. I only hope the clue ‘Andromeda’ isn’t a red herring.”

“I don’t trust Kheiron,” said Eva, “but what Maoko heard may have come from Aquila. Anyway, let’s focus on trying to confirm if this person really is Fuyue, then start on our search.”

“Has there been any change in the Daimyo’s commitment?” asked Jim.

“No, he’s still willing to crew the Fox and have it accompany us.”

“That reminds me,” began Dana. “We heard back from the Antares. While Captain Lesath didn’t reveal their location, they are willing to come and get Fuyue, so they can’t be that far away. They’re awaiting confirmation of his identity.”

“Good.” Eva looked at the drawing on the screen. “Hang in there, Vecky. We’re coming.”