Entry Seven:

Entry Seven:

            When Gavin descended the staircase into the main hall, he was escorted by one of the servants through the sunroom located opposite the main entrance. Inside, the vaulted ceiling was made of glass and the room itself featured a bamboo walkway across white sand. The wooden path spread into three directions, with the left and right fork curving to meet opposite landings. Tropical plants sprouted out of half-barrel planters set beside the path itself, which were also accompanied by wicker patio chairs. The plants themselves were nothing like he’d ever seen. There were short trees that looked like palms, and large purple flowers with four leafs each and long stems.. At the opposite end of the path was a sliding door, which led into a ballroom. The entire room was made of the same wood, with the exception of the bay window at the opposite end of the hall, which was as tall and as wide as the room itself. In the middle of the room was place an oval table large enough to seat twenty people or more. It too was made from the same light wood, although he couldn’t name it. Yellow drapes hung at even intervals along the sides of the hall and there were three crystal chandeliers above. The table was being set with a large selection of food, none of which he was familiar with. The main course appeared to be a cooked bird of some sort laid on a silver platter, but it was large enough to feed the entire table. The rest of his crew were in attendance, but he was the only one who had changed for the occasion. Aside from the servants, there were several additional people he did not know. One girl in a silver tight-fitting but ankle-length dress with one strap was holding a glass as she talked with Jackie. When he entered, Jackie greeted him from across the hall and beckoned him closer. Gavin nodded awkwardly to the people he passed by, including his own crew. The strangers raised his glasses to him. There were no chairs present yet, and the whole event had the feeling of haste to it. The far side of the room before the window had a small stage, on which a three-piece band plaid a slow tune which drowned out most of the conversation.

            “This seems a bit much,” Gavin told Jackie as he arrived.

            “This is nothing,” Jackie assured him. “This is as low key as it gets around here. I haven’t even invited these people and they showed up unannounced. Now I have to feed about forty, and I expect more to arrive throughout the night. Word of these events spread faster than gossip. Speaking of gossip, this is Jennie. She’s the only person I tolerate.”

            “Charmed,” Jennie held out her hand to Gavin. Her hand sported an enormous jewelled ring. He shook it when she expected him to kiss it.

            “She’d like to think she’s a princess like me, but she’s dreadfully common,” Jackie told him.

            “I’m no civilian,” she insisted. Her hair was wavy with silver highlights and her shoulders were broader than most women. Her hand when he shook it was particularly firm.

            “So you two are close friends?” Gavin took it.

            “She wishes,” Jackie rolled her eyes. Jackie herself had changed for dinner into slacks that ballooned near the ends before her sandaled feet and a blouse that draped halfway down her right hip to a point. She still wore his wrist unit, but her other wrist was adorned with golden bracelets.

            “Don’t be that way,” Jennie told her. “We’ve been through two tours together, and we’ve known each other since we were little.”

            “Don’t remind me,” Jackie said as she sipped from a glass of water she was holding. A waiter came by with wine, but she refused. Gavin saw Moriss watching them as she stood with Victor and three important looking people.

            “Is all this for us?” Gavin asked, looking around.

            “We scarcely need a reason to celebrate,” Jackie explained. “I know this must seem rather boring to you, but it’s all I could muster on such short notice. I usually party in the city, but since I’m now expected to baby-sit you and your little friends, I thought I’d host for the evening. Smile,” she told him suddenly as she encompassed him with her arm. She raised her glass and smiled at a man who held up a flat device to them. Gavin imagine that it must have been a holocamera. “Moriss isn’t doing her job,” she said after the man had taken several more pictures. In one pose she had put her leg up against his and tilted back. “That’ll be all over the tabloids tomorrow. How do you enjoy being my mysterious new boy toy, by the way?” she asked him as she took another sip.

            “Is that what they’ll call me?” Gavin despaired.

            “There’s worse names to be called,” Jackie told him, “and I’ve been called most. Sometimes in a single night.”

            Gavin scanned the crowd and found Kylie standing with Lance, Fredriks and Lara. The group was talking, but she didn’t join in on the conversation. She had left her grey cloak behind, and she distractedly looked over at Victor every so often. Victor made it a point of avoiding her, although it looked easy with the company he was keeping. Every party-goer came up to speak with him directly, and he talked with each at length.

            “These are all the movers and shakers,” Jackie told him. “They’ll be flooding in all night and drink all of my best wine. They think they’ve earned it. Frankly, they’re a bore. They’ll talk all about the war, but Jennie and I are the only ones here who’ve ever seen it up close.”

            “Are either of you going for another tour?” Gavin thought to ask.

            “I wish, but I can’t at the moment,” Jackie reminded him. “Jennie is trying to move on to publishing, or some such nonsense.”

            “It isn’t nonsense,” Jennie made a displeased sound.

            “We should set her up with one of your men so she doesn’t try to steal you away,” Jackie said. “What about the big one?” she pointed over at Lance.

            “You can try,” Gavin shrugged. “Lance seems worse off than I am in all of this and I couldn’t even tell you the time of day.”

            “Well Jackie’s the one that like them dumb, not me,” Jennie told him and laughed. Jackie looked like she was about to hit her, but she relented. “What are those things you’re wearing?” she asked them, noticing they were wearing matching wrist units.

            “It’s just a wearable tablet,” Jackie said with a shrug. “My father had one of his own he let me play with when I was young. I don’t know what happened to it I think it went missing.”

            “Maybe Conner took it with him when he left?” Jennie suggested.

            “What have I told you? I don’t want to talk about him,” Jackie said in a low voice.

“Gavin?” Kylie had come over to them. “Is that mine?” she nodded towards the wrist unit he wore. Gavin’s couldn’t tell how she knew it was hers. There seemed nothing marking it as different from the ones the rest of the crew wore.

Hesitantly, Gavin took it off and handed it to her. “Video gave it to me for safe keeping. He said you threw it away.”

“I was being childish,” Kylie said as she retrieved it from him. Her expression was unreadable. “That’s behind me now.” She pulled it back over her wrist. She raised her hand as if to check it, but let it drop instead. A waiter came by and offered her a drink, which she refused.

“Are you two twins?” Jennie asked after looking them over.

“We’re something different than that,” Kylie replied with disinterest, and made to turn back to the other group.

            “What are we, then?” Gavin thought to ask. Kylie stopped and turned back to him. “I mean, honestly? We’re obviously exactly alike. How can that be?”

            “There’s only so many variables they have for making Generates,” Kylie shrugged. “Maybe they got lazy.”

            “So it’s that simple?” Gavin pressed her.

            “Why do you ask?” she grew more suspicious.

            “It seems a little odd, is all,” Gavin stated. “What really are the odds?”

            “Go ask one of your nerd friends,” Kylie told him with a hint of anger. “Math was never my strong suit.”

            “How old are you, anyway?” Jackie stepped in. “You said you use to go out with my dad, but that was twenty years ago. You don’t look any older really than Gavin, and he’s only a day old.”

            “It’s not polite to ask a lady those sorts of questions,” Kylie told her with a fake smile.

            “I’m the only lady here,” Jackie reminded her. “You’d best remember that. Now it was a simple question. Do you mind answering it?”

            “I was born forty-seven years ago,” Kylie replied to Gavin’s shock. “To a Generate, age doesn’t really mean anything.”

            “That’s incredible,” Jennie was stunned. “What’s your secret?”

            “I just told you,” Kylie said as if she though the woman was stupid. “I’m a Generate. We’re designed to stay in the prime of life for as long biologically possible. That’s why Gavin and I don’t look any different in terms of age.”

            “Now that you mention it, I think I see crow’s feet,” Jackie chided her as she sipped at her water. “I didn’t realize my father had a thing for older women. He’s only thirty-two, and he spent the last twenty-two years here. That would make you a cradle robber.”

            “You’re hitting on Mr.Dales here and he’s a newborn,” Kylie pointed out.

            Ignoring her, she continued, “So in forty-seven years, you only made it to B-7, while in ten, my father made it to A-6. Isn’t that interesting?”

            “Your father is…” Kylie didn’t know what else to say.

            “My ears are burning,” Victor had excused himself and came over to join them. He held two glasses of wine, one of which he presented to Kylie as a token gesture. Kylie simply shook her head at the offer. “Really? You always loved red,” he frowned a little and wondered if he had been mistaken.

            “I stopped drinking,” Kylie reminded him.

            “That’s right,” he said to himself. “You quit some time before I left. My Jackie quit as well.” Something about that statement triggered something in the back of Gavin’s mind. He knew Kylie was sick, and was trying to hide it the best she could. The bags under her eyes he assumed were from sleepless nights, as she told him she couldn’t sleep since the attack Her vitals had shown she’d been suffering from insomnia for over a month before the attack, although she was no stranger to late nights. The unit kept a report of everything she ate and drank as well, and she was telling the truth about her alcohol consumption. She’d quit shortly after her illness began. Gavin had a theory, but he couldn’t test it without looking at the unit again. He rubbed the back of his neck. He was aware of a dull humming in his node, as if something was running.

            “That’s good to hear. She certainly doesn’t act like she’s stopped, though,” Kylie shot back at Jackie.

            Gavin shut his eyes and rubbed them while the two bickered. The hall seemed far away. The whole time he could feel his node working. Suddenly, it was as if he could remember reading a book he never touched. He remembered what Video had said about the program he had running to synch him with Kylie’s wrist unit. Information flooded in.

            “Are you alright?” Jackie stopped in mid sentence to check on him. She touched his arm. Kylie appeared concerned as well, as he looked ill.

            “I’m fine,” Gavin insisted. He looked over at Kylie differently than he had before. Mysteries about the woman were being laid bare to him and he knew her health better than his own.

            “Why are you looking at me like that?” Kylie was a little disturbed.

            Gavin wanted to say, but he couldn’t. He looked over at Victor, thinking he should divulge his secret, but he didn’t know how the man would take it. Some things were best left private. “It’s nothing,” Gavin insisted. “The wine must have gone to my head.”

            “You haven’t had any,” Kylie noted.

            “Haven’t I?” Gavin was a terrible liar and he knew it. He took a glass offered by Victor and had a small sip.

            “You’re sick, somehow,” Kylie continued to voice her concern. “Let me scan you to see if anything’s wrong,” she tapped on her wrist unit.

            “You know for someone who’s very clear on not being someone’s sister, you’re certainly acting like one,” Jackie said. She signalled for one of the waiters to bring over a chair from the back room.

            Kylie was about to say something in response, but she noticed something on her wrist unit and froze. She looked slowly over at Gavin and swallowed.

            “What is it?” Victor asked, trying to lean over to check the screen.

            Kylie slapped her hand over the unit and lowered it to her side. “He’s fine,” Kylie told everyone. “You must be tired. If you’ll excuse me,” Kylie stepped away and hurried from the hall as Victor protested.

            “Wait,” Gavin said after deciding to follow. She was already halfway across the hall. He handed over his glass to a waiter and continued, trying to be careful with his foot. All eyes were on them.

            Outside in the sunroom, Kylie appeared to have vanished. He looked left and right, but the sun had set and the room was only lit along the path. He wandered out to the middle of room where the path divided, wondering which direction she’d taken.

            He heard a rustling sound behind him in the greenery and then he felt himself being pulled backwards by the collar. Wide, round leaves fell over his face as he was dragged into the darkness. An arm was entwined around his neck and something sharp was held against the small of his back as he was asked, “How much do you know?”

            “You’re pregnant,” Gavin answered Kylie.

            Kylie was silent for a long time and then said, “Victor doesn’t know.” Her grip on his neck didn’t loosen as she explained, “I was going to tell him after our rescue mission. Everything would have been perfect. Now I find out he has a wife and a kid.”

            “Kids,” Gavin corrected her. “He has a son too.”

            Kylie breathed heavily onto his cheek as she let that wash over her. “It doesn’t matter now. I won’t be able to pry him away from this life, and I’ll be left a single-mother. If I leave now, he’ll never have to find out.”

            “You can’t leave,” Gavin told her, “there’s nowhere you can run to.”

            “It’s a big universe,” Kylie said. “There’s lots of opportunities for a woman like me in a place like this. This stuff about my baby is nothing but childish gossip compared to the rest of what I’ve got going on. I saw how Video rigged my unit. I was going to share this information with you, but it was going to be at a time of my choosing.” A pair of guests wandered by the path, and Kylie stayed still until they passed. “I’m the one who put the idea into Video’s head to rig a unit to upload data into your mind. I wanted him to set your unit to upload, though, not mine. I had a file on yours that would have explained everything to you. My unit is supposed to be locked onto my genetic imprint so no one else can upload. I forgot you were my clone.”

            “That’s what you’ve been keeping secret, isn’t it?” Gavin said. Her grip wasn’t as strong, but he’d stopped resisting her. “I’m your clone.”

            “It’s a common practice. Upper ranks can volunteer to clone themselves to keep their genetic stock in circulation. You were my first, Gavin. I needed you to take over for me,” she told him. Gavin was still receiving data from her wrist unit. She had either neglected to turn it off, or she wanted him to know. “Is there anything else you want to know before I turn this off?” she indicated her unit.

            “Yes,” Gavin’s mind was being flooded. “Who are the Cartel?”

            “Ah, so you’ve dug that deep,” Kylie’s knife pressed a little harder into his back. He was certain it had gone through the fabric of his suit. “Even Victor doesn’t know that. Poor, innocent Victor. I’ve been keeping so much from him. You, you’re family, though.” She put the knife away. “Like I was telling your lady-friend, I’ve been in business for a long time. Forty-seven years working with Corporate, and all I have to show for it is my rank. My only keep-sake in all that time is the cloak I wear. Did you know that to the right buyer it’s worth million in credit? Nothing satisfies me more than knowing how muddy I’m getting someone else’s precious treasure. I can still remember the look on his face when I took it.

            “Life with Corporate has its share of adventure, but none of the rewards a woman like me wants. I’ve always been greedy. I take things here and there when I can, but that’s why I was made. I’m a clone like you, and my donor? Another clone. Far as I can tell there’s maybe twenty or more Dales out there. You’re the only boy, though. When it came my turn to make a clone for myself, I decided on a boy. I was in love with Victor at the time and I didn’t want to risk the rivalry. So if you’re wondering why, there’s your answer. It’s simple female jealousy.

            “As for the Cartel, you’ve probably figured out by now I’ve been double-dealing. We Dales are part of an illustrious family known as the Black Sheep. We’re sleeper agents inside of the Corporation. Before each of us retires, we create a heir to take our place. No one really knows how many of us there are, or who’s in charge, but it’s not so different from the Corporation that way. We’re both traders, only ours is of an illicit source. We smuggle contraband to and from dimensions using the Corporation’s own ships, and they’re none the wiser. I shouldn’t say that, because the Corporation could be the ones behind it all. I was born into the life by my clone-mother, Kelly Dales, who helped guide me on the way. I inherited her connections and my contacts are none the wiser that I’m a different woman than the one they’ve been dealing with all these years. People invested in the Black Market are notoriously sceptical of new people, so we keep it in the family. I was supposed to make an exact clone of myself, but I thought I could pass you off to my brother to the natives, and they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

            “I’ve made myself a rich woman over the years smuggling guns and drugs off of Last Point. I was all set to retire and I was going to take Victor along with me. I spent months whittling down his objections, and the baby inside of me was going to seal the deal. It was the only way I was ever going to get him to leave his stellar career behind him and join me on a new world. Now all my dreams are smashed. I can’t even be angry, because he’s happy here. This is an ideal life for him. I’d never be able to seduce him back into being my lover again. I have no bargaining chips left.

            “Worse still, they’ve taken the Aurora. Without her, I can’t escape, and if they find out what I’ve got stashed in the cargo hold, all hell is going to break loose. There’s enough guns and evidence in there to have me sentenced to a prison planet. The Cartel will likely kill me before I’m ever charged, so as to keep their little secret. I’ve been told that not all of the Dales made it to retirement. I’m stuck here and I’m penniless.”

            “So you’ve been a part of a criminal empire your whole life?” Everything she said was being collaborated by data from her unit.

            “It’s not as exciting as it seems,” she told him. “I’m a go-between for other groups. Someone loads up the goods and someone else unloads it. I’ve only ever had to kill two men in all my years for trying to double-cross me. My contacts on Last Point made sure my shipping records are clean and our mission plan kept the rest of my crew oblivious. The only other person in on it with my crew was my friend Stiles, and he’s dead now from the attack All the other logistics were worked out by hidden members of the Cartel.”

            “Why tell me all this?” Gavin asked her. “Are you planning on killing me?”

            “You’re my clone-son, Gavin,” she told him. “You’re the one that’s supposed to carry on for me, but now it doesn’t matter. The Cartel’s gone dark since the attack, and I’m guessing enough damage was done to our ranks to render it non-functioning. It’ll take years for the group to recover.”

            “How do you know it wasn’t the Cartel that planned the attack?” Gavin asked her.

            “Terrorism was never on the menu, although I did always wonder what all the weapons and money we gathered was being used for,” she admitted. “I had my suspicions too, but hurting the Corporation hurts the Cartel and I know for a fact they killed their own members. It looks as if we’re ever going to find the ones responsible, we’ll have to head back to Last Point, which is impossible for me, and impossible in general.”

            “What did you smuggle here,” Gavin asked her. “What’s on the ship?”

            “I made preparations in case I had to trade for Victor’s safety,” she explained, “or else burn a path to freedom for him. I guess I didn’t need it. The weapons I have on board that ship will probably turn the tide in this war. The military probably has enough experience taking apart Victor’s ship to know what to do with the Aurora. The best we can do now is play it off as an offering, and we might end up looking like heroes.”

            “What makes you think we’re in this together?” Gavin asked her.

            “You’re the Captain of the ship,” Kylie told him. “You’re my apprentice and my fall-guy all in one.”

            “I’m not getting into the smuggling business,” Gavin told her flatly.

            “Good call,” Kylie told him. “If I were you I’d stay here and play kissy-face with Jackie. Want to hear something creepy?” She leaned in close and whispered even lower. “I already imbued some of my personality and memories into you while you were still growing. When you look at Jackie, you’re probably just seeing Victor through my eyes.”

            Gavin felt a little queasy.

            “So now you know where you stand,” Kylie told him as she carefully checked the sunroom. Jackie was looking for him with Jennie, but she was being bothered by a pair of young men. ”Better hurry before your date gets cold.”

            “How do you know I won’t turn you in?” Gavin asked her.

            She stopped as she was about to sneak out of the bushes. “Because there’s no one to turn me in to. All the evidence you have against me is circumstantial aside from what’s aboard the Aurora, and I already explained to you how I’m playing that. Besides, you’re family.” She left him in the bush and made her way to the main hall.

            Gavin drew a deep breath before walking back to Jackie. Even after her confession, Kylie was letting the upload transfer. He knew more about her with each section. There were even images of her visiting him in his development stage. She’d taken her own picture in front of the tank. He felt like he could hold it like a photograph.

            She was trying to do it all to purposefully turn him into here, but he was determined to walk his own path. Jackie saw him approach and practically shoved one of the men out of her way. “Why’d you run off like that?” Jackie demanded. “This is your party.”

            “I’m sorry, I had to talk with my sister,” the word tasted wrong to him. “She’s going through a lot.”

            “I don’t like that woman,” Jackie told him plainly, “and to think she might have been my mother at one point.” She gave a shudder and Jennie laughed.

            Gavin felt a little sicker than before as he was led back into the hall.