by A. K. DuBoff
Kaen grunted. “I don’t think so. We value the independence of people and the chance for them to choose what happens to their own bodies. Forcing genetic modification is never justified.”
“And if I told you they consented?” Monica asked.
“Wouldn’t believe it,” Kira spat. “You’re finished.”
The director stepped forward through the lab’s doorway with a very reluctant-looking Jared following behind. Guard soldiers kept handguns trained on the two scientists.
Monica composed her face with a prim smile. “Then I suppose you should just take me away. I have nothing more to say to you.”
Jared moved aside under the watchful eye of a soldier.
“Oh, no! You’re not getting off that easily,” Kira said, rounding on Monica. “You’ve been keeping people captive in a secret underground lab and think you can just get away with, ‘Oh, guess everyone knows what’s going on now, sorry’? No. You’re going to explain who you’re working for and what you meant to get out of this—”
Colonel Kaen held up his hand to stop Kira from continuing.
Monica shook her head. “Oh, Kira, it’s really too bad you didn’t want to learn more about yourself when you had the chance. Your passion could have been directed into something more meaningful.”
“What I’m doing here is plenty meaningful. We just helped free more than a hundred people who would have been abused until you lost interest and discarded them.” Kira scoffed. “For someone who seems to think of herself as a higher being, you sure know how to act like the lowest of the low.”
“Think what you will. There are stronger powers at play here than just me. Detaining me now won’t alter the work that’s been done.”
“Then we’ll find all your other labs, and whoever you’re working with, and stop them, too,” Kira told her.
The colonel turned toward Kira while the soldiers stayed alert with their weapons trained on the scientist.
Kira looked him in the eyes. “Let me force her, sir. ‘Any means’. This mission isn’t over.”
“Do your worst, Captain,” the colonel replied, then directed the two soldiers, “Shackle her.”
“Your conviction is to be admired,” Monica said as the soldiers cuffed her hands in front and shackled her legs. “You are certainly welcome to try Reading me, though you won’t be successful.”
Challenge accepted. Kira approached her. “I have a way of getting things done.”
“Perhaps you will. I should tell you, though…” Monica reached out toward Kira as though to cup her bound hand around her ear to whisper a secret.
Kira quickly stepped back. “Yeah, gonna keep my distance, thanks.”
Monica smiled. “Never mind, then. Maybe you’re better off not knowing.”
“Uh, Captain…” Nia cut in. “The cell doors?”
“Right!” Kira’s original task came back to her. “Log into the computer system, Monica. I could force you, but we both know it will end the same way.”
Monica rolled her eyes. “You really think I’ll just hand over the keys that easily?”
The three members of Kira’s team advanced on the scientist.
Kira smirked. “I’m thinking you might.”
Monica looked the three soldiers up and down like she couldn’t be bothered with them, but she sighed. “No need to be that way about it.” She shuffled toward the computer console in the center of the room.
The three soldiers stayed on her heels with Kira close behind. They watched over Monica’s shoulder while she logged into the system then immediately prodded her away from the computer before she could try anything nefarious.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Kira asked.
“Oh, you have no idea,” the other woman replied. She looked to Colonel Kaen. “You have access to my systems. Are we done here?”
Kaen met her gaze and nodded. “We’ll finish the interrogation at Orion Station. I’ll escort her out.” The colonel motioned for the soldiers who weren’t on Kira’s team to take charge of the prisoner.
“We need to secure him, as well.” One soldier nodded toward Jared, who’d continued to stand still while the assigned guard stood menacingly over him.
“Yes, we’ll release the remaining prisoners and move out,” Kaen agreed. “Kira, why don’t you and Leon begin going through the computer system and pull out the relevant information?”
“Yes, sir, we’re on it,” Kira acknowledged. She scanned over the panel and located the controls for the cell doors. A master switch was divided into west and east sections. She activated the unlock for only the east, remembering the two Robus they had put in the cells in the western cellblock.
“Should be open now,” she announced. “And you should check on the other two captives we subdued earlier to see if they’ve shifted back.”
“Robus?” Kaen prompted.
Kira nodded. “The nanotech seems to make some sort of overlay on them, filtering through their skin to and merging to augment certain features. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I look forward to reviewing the footage from your combat recorder,” Kaen said.
“Definitely got up close and personal.”
The colonel nodded slowly. “I hope whatever was done to them can be reversed.”
Monica scoffed in response.
“Maybe Leon can take a look at the research and see what he can figure out,” Kira suggested.
“Excellent,” Kaen agreed.
Voices carried from the holding area while the townspeople began to file out. Kira spotted her parents in the middle of the crowd with Leon. They smiled at her and she ran to them.
“Are you okay?!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know they—”
“Don’t apologize, sweetheart,” her mother soothed.
Her father nodded. “We made it out just fine, thanks to you and your team.”
Anger welled in Kira’s chest. “You never should have been placed in that position. MTech—”
“You stopped them,” Harold said. “We’re only free now because of you.”
Their dismissal didn’t change the fact that her parents had been at the mercy of a deranged psychopath. “Did they do anything to you?” she asked.
“They injected us with something, but there haven’t been signs of a change,” Ruth replied, surprisingly calm. “We overheard one of the scientists say something about an error in the coding and that we were useless until it left our systems.”
“Still feel like myself!” Herold patted his chest.
“We’ll need to verify that with the experiment logs and testing, but that fits with what I overheard. I’m sure it will be fine,” Kira assured them, hoping it was true. She looked at the activity around the room. “I’d see you out, there’s still a lot to do around here.”
“It’s so different seeing you like this,” her father murmured.
“All I could think about while I was in that cell was that I never should have tried to change you,” her mother said, tears forming in her eyes. “You’ve been telling us all this time how you joined the Guard to help people, but I never wanted to admit that there were bad people out there in the universe.”
The words caught Kira by surprise. “I always wanted to prevent something like this from happening on Valta.”
“You’ve stopped any more harm from being done,” her father said. He paused, seeming to fight back his own tears. “If your gifts can help make other worlds safer, then we can be very proud parents.”
The statement was what Kira was sought to hear for most of her adult life—to be accepted for who she was and everything she could contribute. It would take time to rebuild a relationship with her parents based on that newfound understanding, but this was a start. “Thanks, Dad.”
He gathered himself. “We should leave you to it.”
Kira’s Guard duties likely wouldn’t take her back to Valta anytime soon. This was the best chance she’d get to solidify the reconnection with h
er parents. I don’t want to spend another decade regretting all of the things I should have said.
She took a step closer to them. “Hey, I’ll be busy for a while, but maybe we could get a late lunch or dinner?”
“We look forward to it.” Her mother reached up to brush the hair from Kira’s forehead.
Her father smiled. “We’re so proud of you, Kira.”
The words filled her with a warm glow. “See you soon.”
Kira’s parents took each other’s hands and followed the last of the townspeople out the exit.
She turned back toward the workstations. “Leon, can you help with the data extraction?”
“Sure. I’ll get started.” He gave her a knowing smile and nodded. There was no way he could have overheard the details, but he had no doubt picked up on the gist of the conversation with her parents; more than anyone, he knew how much that validation meant to Kira.
Four soldiers entered the holding area to retrieve the Robus. Kira wasn’t sure four would be remotely sufficient if the creatures were still in a mindless rage, but she figured they’d call for backup if it looked like it was going to be a problem.
Two minutes later, the four soldiers returned escorting a ragged-looking woman and a muscular man.
The woman’s face dropped when she caught sight of Kira. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“I’m fine,” Kira told her. “This armor is built to take a beating.”
“Even still—” The woman cut off when she saw Monica. “You! You bitch!” She tried to charge the scientist, but the soldiers stopped her.
“Get her out of here!” Kira instructed when she noticed the woman’s eyes taking on an orange cast.
The guards hurriedly complied.
Monica watched her go with a surprisingly smug expression.
“She knew you.” Kira evaluated Monica. “Did you do something extra-special to piss her off, beyond just being your charming mad-scientist self?”
“Poor Tim got too attached to her before his accident. Melissa didn’t take the news of his passing well.”
Kira barely resisted attacking Monica herself. She took a deep breath while she waited for the guards escorting the Robus to get a sufficient head start.
The colonel watched his soldiers go. “Captain, you and Leon keep working on the computer. I’ll need to borrow your team to secure this prisoner.”
“With pleasure,” Ari said while he, Kyle, and Nia positioned to flank Monica.
“Sir, we should keep her under heavier guard than that,” Kira objected. “Her abilities—”
Kaen hesitated, but his expression suddenly relaxed. “We’ll be fine, Captain. Proceed with the system investigation.”
“Yes, sir,” she acknowledged.
The remaining soldier went ahead with Jared, and then Kira’s team followed Monica while Kaen brought up the rear.
Once they were out of sight, Kira allowed herself a moment to relax. “How can anyone be so cold?”
“It’s like she’s lost track of what it means to have a free life,” Leon replied from the computer monitor. “She was a bit detached when I interacted with her before, but I never saw anything like this.”
“At least she can’t hurt anyone else.” Kira came around the middle of the computer station so she could see what Leon was working on. “Is everything unlocked?”
“Yeah, I’m working my way through it now. I found a summary report that indicates there were only two semi-successful Robus conversions from the Stage Two trials, so that explains Melissa and the man… didn’t catch his name.”
“And then Stage Three was converting a non-telekinetic person into a hybrid. But it sounds like they didn’t get it quite right.”
“Thank the stars. I wouldn’t want to think about what would happen if a strain of nanites like that got out.”
“No kidding.” Kira slipped off the gloves of her powered armor so she could type more freely. “I’ll help you look around. We need all the information we can get to see if we can reverse whatever was done to these people.”
— — —
Joris stared at the signed digital document in front of him. With its submission, the Elusian Alliance was officially part of the Taran Empire. No longer were the Elusians and Mysarans just two governments fighting over a third world in their small system, but, rather, the Elvar Trinary now had direct ties to something much greater. Whether his Mysaran neighbors would willingly embrace that reality was yet to be seen.
Ellen had remained across the desk from Joris while he made the final arrangements for the signing. Her face was drawn and her arms were crossed.
“Do you think this was the right call?” Joris asked.
“I’m probably not the best person to be asking, considering that I was ready to kill in order to keep anyone in this system from rejoining the Empire.”
“That’s precisely why I want to know what you think.”
She considered the statement. “Yes, I do believe this was for the best. The mentality that we should remain separate is an old way of thinking that won’t move us forward. Unity is what’s best.”
Achieving that unity would be a long road, Joris knew, but his people might not have had a future if he’d continued to delay a decision. With Chancellor Hale on alert, the entire Mysaran fleet could be directed toward Elusia at any moment. It would only take several well-placed shots to level the cities on his world, should they choose to take such aggressive action.
“I hope the Mysarans see reason,” he murmured.
“They’d be foolish to move against an Empire world. Even if the Empire didn’t directly retaliate, they could still make life difficult and unpleasant. These three worlds need each other—Mysar on its own isn’t sustainable.”
“It’s funny how interdependent current worlds have become. To think how our ancestors lived so long on one planet…”
“Advancement causes us to rethink how we interact with the rest of the universe,” Ellen pointed out.
“True.” Joris took a deep breath. “I’m anxious for the Mysarans’ response. The Empire’s warning to halt their ship should have been received by now.”
“Yes. I wonder—”
The desktop lit up with notice of an incoming call.
“And there she is!” Joris tapped his desk to accept the video call from the Mysaran Chancellor. “Madam Chancellor, I trust you have received news of our unification with the Empire?”
The woman glared at him through the screen. “Yes, we did indeed. I’m surprised you’d let them sway you so easily.”
“This was a long time coming. But they didn’t force our hand—you did. I won’t let my people live in fear of your military threats. You’d be foolish to take any action against us now.”
“And you think that by signing an agreement we want nothing to do with, you will improve our relations? Bah!” She threw up her hands. “You’ve just signed an extension of your slow decline.”
Joris kept his tone calm and measured. “I know the resources of your world just as well as you know mine. We are better off together than we are apart. The Empire is no longer how they were before the Priesthood’s fall—censoring information and controlling people’s lives. We have an opportunity to be a part of the Empire’s rebirth. Our people can seek education and employment on worlds throughout the galaxy, and beyond. We can benefit from the shared technology. To remain isolationist is to condemn our people to a narrow life of tedium when a whole universe of possibilities exists out there for the taking. Why are you so bent on keeping us here by ourselves?”
The chancellor’s face twisted. “I… I—” she sputtered, unable to complete the words.
“Chancellor, are you all right?” Joris asked.
Ellen’s brow furrowed with concern across the desk.
“There’s this compulsion,” the chancellor said at last. “I’ve had it for as long as I can remember. Everyone in our government does. It’s just the way we are. We must st
ay alone.”
“That defies logic. You must have a reason why,” Joris pressed.
“I understand that on a rational level, but something else within me is compelled to keep us alone.” The chancellor’s pale green eyes were wild, as though she were accessing some part of herself that she hadn’t recognized before.
“I don’t understand.” Joris watched her labored movements. Something is going on here… She’s always seen reason, even when she doesn’t agree. A ‘compulsion’ isn’t the reasoning of a sane person.
Chancellor Hale’s face suddenly transformed to a neutral expression. “President Joris, you must forgive my statements earlier. I was distressed over this discovery that you had moved ahead with the reunification before we could come to an accord. I must take time to process this development. You need have no immediate fears of Mysaran military action.” The call ended.
Joris’ mouth dropped opened. “What the fok just happened?”
Ellen shook her head side to side. “I have no idea, sir. It was almost like she was… possessed.”
“That was my thought, too. But… by what?”
“I don’t know, sir,” Ellen murmured. “If she is under the influence of someone, or something, it would connect with the information leaks.”
“Fok!” Joris groaned. “There’s no way to predict what she might do. Who could we even tell about this?”
“What about your contact at the Guard?” Ellen suggested. “They must have the resources to investigate a matter like this covertly and figure out what to do.”
“Yes, I suspect that’s our best option.”
Ellen nodded. “In the meantime, we should prepare a statement informing our people of the reunification. There’ll be some dissent, I’m sure, but what you said to Chancellor Hale right now makes a very compelling argument: the universe is our people’s if they want it, and if not, Elusia will always be a home.”
“Yes, let’s make a statement. I’ll ask the Guard to look into Mysar’s government as soon as the situation with Valta is resolved.”
Ellen leaned forward in her chair. “I was thinking for the opening line, ‘You now have the means to make your own future’.”
