Still, Jeth wasn’t about to take her word on it without proof. “You say that you’ve got this data cell hidden on the Donerail. But how did you come to possess something so valuable in the first place?”

Sierra grimaced. “Not easily.”

Jeth couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Are you implying that you stole it?”

She stood up straighter, that affronted kitten look on her face again. “And why is that so hard to believe?”

“Well, as you pointed out, I happen to know a thing or two about thieving, and I imagine stealing that kind of information would take a lifetime of experience and a planet’s worth of funding. Where was this project kept anyway?”

“On First-Earth.”

Jeth laughed. “So you’re telling me you managed to escape from the heaviest ITA-traveled bit of space in the universe with that kind of booty in tow—and not get caught?”

“We had a lot of help.”

“Yeah, from who?”

“The captain of the Donerail for one. But that’s not the point, anyway.”

No, he supposed it wasn’t. The point was whether or not she was full of it. If not, this might be the answer to all his problems. But it was too soon to get his hopes up.

Jeth leaned forward, pinning her with his gaze. If she was lying, he would catch her on it. “Okay, next question. How does a probationary agent in the ITA gain access to the project in the first place?”

Sierra scoffed. “I already told you that I made full agent. Not that you have room to talk about being young.”

“This isn’t about me. It’s about you convincing me that this isn’t some kind of hoax. I’ve never met anybody who knows a thing about meta technology. Even my parents didn’t know and they were pretty high up in the ITA at one point.”

The scornful look vanished from her face. She let out a breath. “I suppose it’s a little hard to believe from your perspective. So I’ll tell you what I can of my story, okay?”

Jeth sat back, arms folded. “I’m all ears.”

Sierra took a deep breath. “Like I said, I’m only seventeen, but I’ve been an agent for two years now. I have an extremely high IQ and a certain aptitude for biology and genetics. These skills made me valuable to the Aether Project scientists, and they offered me an internship. Eventually, I was given more and more access to the project, which was how I ended up with a chance to take the data.”

Jeth slid his tongue against his teeth, thinking it over. She didn’t appear to be lying, and he had no trouble believing the IQ bit, although he didn’t understand what biology and genetics had to do with metatech. No, it was the thieving he didn’t believe. “Why?”

“Why what?” Exasperation colored Sierra’s voice.

“Why did you steal it?”

A flush blossomed in her cheeks, and she said through gritted teeth, “The same reason anybody steals something. For the money.”

“True enough,” Jeth said, thinking about his own employment situation. Yet he didn’t believe that motivation in her. She struck him as a girl who’d grown up in a moneyed household, what with her smarts and proper speech and what might be considered aristocratic good looks. “But you don’t exactly seem like the type desperate enough for cash to pull off something so tough.”

“You’re wrong,” she snapped back. “I already told you that I wanted out of the ITA and so did Vince. We needed something valuable enough to buy our protection. The Aether Project is it. Once the information is out there, the ITA will be too concerned with trying to hold onto their power to worry about us anymore. And then there was Cora to think about, too.”

“Cora?” Jeth had completely forgotten about her. How did she fit into all of this?

“Yes, Cora. She was in a bad situation. Her father was one of the scientists on the project. A horrible, abusive man. I had to get her out of there.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jeth said, horrified by the idea of someone abusing Cora. No wonder the girl clung to Sierra. A swell of sympathy made his throat burn. “What about her mother?”

“She. . . I never met her mother.”

Jeth frowned. What was she hiding? Then a more troubling thought occurred to him. “But why you? I mean, why would you do it? Is she a relative? A sister? Or are you her mother?”

“Of course I’m not her mother,” Sierra said. “She’s six, almost seven. Physiologically impossible.”

“Right.” Like he was supposed to know that. “So, sister then?”

“No.”

“Then what is it?” Tension spread through Jeth’s body as he waited for an answer. He needed it to be a good one, an explanation he could embrace and believe. Otherwise he would have to dismiss all of this as one horrible, cruel lie.

“It’s . . . it’s because she’s me.” Sierra bit her lip. “I mean, she reminds me of me, and my situation growing up.”

The atmosphere seemed to thicken, as if her words were made of some kind of dense gas that drove the oxygen from the air. He didn’t know what to say. This girl was a stranger and the topic so personal. He felt guilty for forcing the confession out of her.

After a moment, Sierra went on. “I’m adopted, Jeth. Vince and I both were, actually, by the same man.”

“You’re brother and sister?”

“Not by blood, but in every other way, yes.”