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    Ava Episode Two: Ava, #2
    Ava Episode Two: Ava, #2
    Ava Episode Two: Ava, #2
    Ebook161 pages2 hours

    Ava Episode Two: Ava, #2

    By Odette C. Bell

    5/5

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    About this ebook

    The instability continues – as do the attempts on Leana'x's life.

    With more assassins aboard the Hercules, John must sacrifice everything to keep her safe. If that wasn't enough, the artificial intelligence inhabiting Leana'x is injured. And worse? It's spread to John.
    They're now in this mess together, literally.
    As the stakes are raised, they must leave the ship behind and discover every secret the Artaxans kept from the galaxy before it's too late.

    ….

    Ava follows a distant royal and a fiery commander through a galactic-wide plot. If you crave space operas with action, heart, and a dash of romance, grab Ava Episode Two today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

    Ava is the 6th Galactic Coalition Academy series. A sprawling, epic, and exciting sci-fi world where cadets become heroes and hearts are always won, each series can be read separately, so plunge in today.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOdette C. Bell
    Release dateMay 13, 2017
    ISBN9781386126218
    Ava Episode Two: Ava, #2

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      Book preview

      Ava Episode Two - Odette C. Bell

      1

      Admiral James Jones

      Fisher had failed, and Leana’x was still alive.

      James stood there in the throne room, staring down at the dead remains of the Queen, his face a stiff mask of fear. His cheeks were so hard, he almost couldn’t move them. So much tension had climbed his body, clamping around every single muscle that it felt as if his own skeleton were trying to strangle him.

      But James held onto his last scrap of reason long enough that he darted his gaze up to the cracked throne the Queen had once sat upon.

      The light had completely diminished from the room now, nothing left apart from the glow of the roving holographic panel that matched pace with James as he walked several steps forward, turned stiffly, back rigid, and paced in front of the throne again.

      He waited.

      He only had one more official asset aboard the Hercules – the pilot. And the pilot – a Sarah Harper – had already confirmed that Lieutenant Fisher had failed. There had definitely been an incident in the medical bay, but Fisher hadn’t managed to assassinate Leana’x.

      She was still alive. And with every single second she remained alive?

      This situation became all the harder.

      Suddenly, a holographic panel beside James blinked a furious red. He clamped his teeth together, snarling his lips wide as he let out a hissing breath. For the last time, Maqx, we haven’t received any word.

      Utilize the pilot now. Crash that whole damn ship into an asteroid if you have to. Kill Leana’x, Maqx bellowed, and Admiral James Jones could hear the rage. The rest of the galaxy could probably hear the rage. It didn’t just bellow through Maqx’s throat – it seemed to tear through space itself.

      Maqx’s anger was getting worse by the minute, and so too was James’.

      But right now there was no target for them to attack, no fresh warm body for them to tear into, no throat for them to wrap their hands around.

      So Admiral James Jones took another hissing breath. Hold onto yourself, he barked, enjoying the sound of his voice rattling through the room, echoing through this chamber that had been a place of total peace for centuries upon centuries until today.

      You order me to control myself, but you should concern yourself with fixing this. We’re running out of time. The longer the intelligence remains within Leana’x, the more chance she will have of using it. And if – or when – she accesses AVA’s full knowledge, she will learn of this plot. She will track us down. You must utilize every asset you have now. Make the pilot crash the ship.

      Patience, the Admiral snarled. "We cannot afford to crash the whole ship. Plus, though the pilot is a high-level asset, I very much doubt they will be able to maneuver the Hercules into an asteroid without anyone else noticing. We misused our last two assets – misjudged the protection around Leana’x. We must not do that again."

      So what’s your plan? Maqx demanded, voice rattling through the audio link.

      Admiral James Jones paused. Paused long enough to lock his eyes on the growing gray remains of the Queen. Now all the light of AVA had left her, her body was sallow, pale, lifeless. And yet there still seemed to be a certain power about her. Maybe it was just her last defiant act, or maybe… maybe it was Admiral James Jones’ mind starting to turn on him.

      It wasn’t impossible, a little voice in the back of his head pointed out. Because the Replacement technology left behind by the Force was not perfect. It hadn’t been used for millennia upon millennia, and God knows what had happened to those fine instruments.

      No, it wasn’t impossible at all that there had been… a mistake. A mistake in the creation of the Replacement Admiral. A mistake large enough to blow a hole in this plan.

      But James couldn’t allow that. Couldn’t allow that. He brought up a hand, formed it into a fist, and tapped his white knuckles against his temple so hard, it was as if he were a woodpecker trying to tear itself a new home in his own skull.

      Fortunately, Maqx had only contacted using audio and couldn’t see the Admiral half breaking down. Couldn’t see the Admiral as he let his head arch all the way back, as he allowed his eyes to open as far as the lids would allow. He let his lips tear over his teeth, scrunch up until they pushed his nose high into his brow.

      And he felt it. All the anger vying to be let out. The rage that seemed to grow without check in his heart, like a billowing, violent storm ready to burst from every pore, surge from his mouth, and rip, rip from his hands.

      Answer me, Maqx demanded.

      There’s another way. We will turn another asset, the Admiral managed, finally damping down on his rage long enough to move his lips. But his head was still arched all the way back, his eyes wide as they stared at the startling ceiling of the throne room. It was a live holographic image of the galaxy – of every single star that made up the multitudinous Milky Way. Except it wasn’t quite a holographic image. If the Admiral somehow found a ladder tall enough or managed to find a floating platform and reached the top of the ceiling, his hand wouldn’t pass through those stars. Because they were more than light.

      They were formed by the remnant of AVA. And what was AVA? Beyond being the most sophisticated artificial intelligence the Milky Way had ever seen?

      Ah, at her heart, AVA was an intelligence that inhabited particles. A fundamental form, if you will. A form the Force needed for their final push.

      They had been waiting too long. Every other fine-tuned plan had backfired. Not completely. Even the situation with the Circle Traders, though ultimately a failure, had allowed the Force another foothold. And this? The destruction of the Artaxan Royal Family and the procurement of AVA? It would finally throw open the door that the Force required to storm the Milky Way in full.

      The Replacement Admiral James Jones wore a device, a flat disc that sat over his sternum. The same device the Force had used on Admiral Forest during the Circle Trader incident. It allowed the Force continuous contact with the Replacement Jones, though they were careful not to overuse that connection. Though it had been relatively easy to control Admiral Forest, the Replacement Jones was just that – a Replacement. And though the Full Cloning technology had managed to build up a perfect copy of his body and re-create most of the contents of his mind, he was not, at his heart, a real being, and at his heart, he did not possess a true consciousness. So, although the Force could open a door through his mind to witness through his eyes and, most importantly, control his body, they rarely used it. Only glimpses now and then. Only reminders to push Jones forward, to underline the importance of this mission.

      They did so now, pushing through that door in his mind for a fraction of a second as his eyes widened, as he stared at the stars of the Milky Way. All that light, all that life, all that potential – and all of it, all of it could be the Force’s. Soon.

      But not soon enough.

      The Force allowed the greed to swell through Admiral Jones, and it was a mistake, for it frayed the already parting strands of his sanity.

      With two thumps, he fell to the throne room floor, his left knee then his right. He disrupted the green dust that had once been the Prime Queen’s hair.

      It shifted around him, billowing over his body, marking his once pristine but now blood-splattered dress-uniform pants.

      The Force swelled in his mind, their greed more than his fragile, Replacement consciousness could allow.

      Blood started to trickle down from his nose, over his lips, down his chin, over his throat, and onto the starched collar of his uniform jacket.

      Maqx demanded an answer in the background, but Admiral James Jones could not answer.

      Just before the Force held on long enough that they could do critical damage to the Replacement, they regained their control and pulled away. As they did, Admiral Jones swayed back-and-forth, his stomach muscles clenching as they tried to hold him steady.

      Before he could fall backward, he swayed down, slammed a shaking hand onto the dust-covered floor, and gasped, the move heaving through his body, the sound echoing through the closed throne room.

      Admiral? Admiral? Maqx demanded.

      As the Replacement Jones’ mind filled back into the cracks that the Force had left in his consciousness, he took another wheezing gasp.

      Admiral, Maqx demanded with a snarl.

      Yes, Jones managed as he brought a shaking hand up and thumbed the blood from his lip, the salty tang spreading over his tongue and teeth, distracting him as he pushed to his feet.

      Though he swayed, he managed to stand.

      Answer me, Admiral. What’s wrong with you, anyway?

      Nothing. You misheard.

      There was a pause.

      As for my plan, trust me. There is another asset I will turn.

      What are you talking about?

      Commander John Campbell. I have the resources to turn him. And I will.

      According to the pilot, didn’t he save the Prime Queen Leana’x on two occasions now?

      Irrelevant. We’ll give him a new purpose. A greater desire. He will be turned, like everyone else.

      … You will be right, Maqx said, and the way he said it implied an or.

      Or what? Jones said, making no attempt whatsoever to control the anger in his tone, the danger, too.

      "You have been selected to lead for now. Fail to do so, and I will replace you," Maqx said, taking obvious pleasure in the term replace.

      Admiral Jones snarled, his lips and teeth cold as his body recoiled from the experience of having the Force inhabit his mind, even if it was only for several seconds. Hold your place, Jones warned. My plan will work.

      If it does not, I look forward to our battle, Maqx said, and with that, he signed off.

      Admiral Jones stood there for several seconds, hollow gaze staring at the dust until his chin ticked back and his eyes locked on the Milky Way above. Then? He let out a scream, fell to his knees, and began to pound the dust-covered floor until the dust mixed with the sweat and the blood from his nose, caking his face with grime.

      It did not matter. For nothing mattered to a man with holes in his mind.

      2

      Leana’x

      She had no idea what was going on.

      She’d been the first to wake up.

      Commander Campbell?

      He was still in a comatose state, the CMO, her second-in-command, and most of the CMO’s most trusted doctors trying to figure out what the hell had happened to him.

      Though the Captain had demanded that the CMO prioritize Leana’x, she’d overridden that command.

      She was fine.

      Or as fine as she could be considering the breakneck nightmare that was unfolding around her.

      It seemed that the assassination plot to take her out had been far more sophisticated than she’d allowed for.

      She’d come to terms with the fact that Ensign Fa’ll had been specifically brought on board for the sole purpose of taking her out at the right time. But Fisher had served aboard the Hercules for several years, and according to the frantically muttered comments she’d overheard from the rest of the medical staff, he’d been well-liked, and worse than that? Well trusted.

      … It felt like Leana’x was in the center of a storm. One that kept whipping up with greater force

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