The Ava Protocol

rible, and one with that fancy syrup you secretly like," she said with a tentative smile. I felt

e talked for a few minutes, about nothing important, and it felt good. It felt normal.

thing. I held two identities in my mind: Ava, the commander, driven and focused; and

my reflection in the dark screen-the face of a young woman who should be worried about dating and exams,

a city. It showed me the major landmarks, but I needed the detailed blueprint of t

AstraGen network, looking for a back door, a flaw in the firewall. But Thorn

eeded to create a problem that only I could solve. I found my opportunity in the station's long-range communication logs. B

to jam their communications; he was using the natural noise of space to hide his own signals,

ption algorithm, one based on my unique understanding of Leo's early work in quantum commun

t "interference" with 98% accuracy. I triple-checked my work, then wa

call, looking irritated at my interruption. I didn't care. I strode to his desk and placed my data-slate on it. "The station is

watched his expression shift from annoyance to intense concentration, and then to a flicker of something I

ke charge in a crisis. "My brother... the man you know as the leader of Aethelred's Hand... he's smarter than that. He's a whisper in a hurricane. He's been using a nested encryption protocol hidden w

rom him. He was a good head taller than me, a physically imposing presence. "You're sa

eeting his intense stare without flinching. "I'm looking at

you need to make this program of yours work,

etwork," I said without hesitation. "And full administra

epping my bounds so dramatically. He stared at me for a long, silent moment. I could practically see the ca

looking at me. "My head of security will be monitoring your every move. If you are wrong... or if I even suspect you are trying t

RANTED. I had done it. I had the keys. "Thank you,

. "For someone who grew up in the foster system and went to

I was now directly in Thorne's line of sight, and he was not a man who tolerated secrets. I walked back to my little of

m preventing a corporate catastrophe, the next I'm making sure there are enough gluten-free sn