Mindspace - Complete Series

by A. K. DuBoff

  Okay, so I can understand why they’d take a step back. Kira tapped one of her fangs with her claws. Holy fok, I have fangs and claws!

  Despite her initial declaration that she had no interest in being modified, she did have to admit that it had some appeal. For the entire time she’d been with her team, they had been stronger and faster than her. They’d never admit it to her face, but she knew there were times when they wished they could race ahead and get the mission done in their own way. If she had all their skills, and more, well… that would make her indispensable.

  Could this be a good thing? Scared and confused, she willed herself to return to him—to return to herself. The metallic scales liquified and began flowing back into her.

  Kira’s nerves ignited as though she were being incinerated. A raspy cry escaped her lips as she collapsed to the ground in writhing agony.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Kira!” she heard someone shout in the distance.

  Shouts of protest followed, and then the hiss of a sealed door opening.

  Firm hands gripped her wrists, and another set cradled her face and stroked the top of her head.

  “Stay with me,” Leon murmured.

  The pain receded, and Kira’s senses dimmed. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

  Leon was bent over her, supporting her head in his lap. Doctor Elric and Colonel Kaen each held one of her wrists, which they released when they saw her open eyes.

  “What happened?” Kira murmured.

  “You transformed and everything seemed fine, then we heard you scream, and I came running in,” Leon explained.

  “Bomaxed fool,” Kaen muttered. “She could have sliced you to ribbons with those claws.”

  “I couldn’t just leave her writhing on the ground!” Leon shot back.

  “We need to run some tests,” Doctor Elric said as he rose to his feet. “It’s encouraging to see you remained lucid when you first transformed, but this situation is unprecedented.”

  Kira sat up with Leon’s help. “How do we get these things out of me?”

  “It’s too early to say,” the doctor replied. He grabbed a sheet off the bed and handed it to her.

  It was then Kira realized that she was completely naked. She wrapped the sheet around herself. “Thanks.”

  Leon helped her the rest of the way to her feet.

  “We need to commence testing before you have another seizure, or whatever that was,” Doctor Elric interjected. “I know you won’t like this suggestion, but I feel it would be best if we restrain you on the bed. That way, we can work on you without risk of harm to us or yourself.”

  Kira nodded. “I’ll hate it when I’m my normal self, but you got lucky this last time. I saw those claws—those’ll do serious damage.”

  “The bed restraints are strong enough to hold someone even in powered armor, so they should be sufficient,” the doctor said. “We’ll move you to the next room where there isn’t a hole in the deck.” He glanced at the damaged tiles.

  “I’ll lend any assistance I can with testing,” Leon offered the doctor while they relocated to the adjacent isolation chamber. “I’m still not up to speed on the nanotech side of things, but I can advise on the biological interactions.”

  Doctor Elric inclined his head. “I welcome any help. Robus are new to me.”

  Leon nodded. “To all of us.”

  “This case is a priority,” Colonel Kaen stated.

  The doctor bristled. “I give the best possible care to all my patients, sir.”

  In the new isolation chamber, Kira sat down on the bed, still holding the sheet around herself.

  Elric turned on the display for the analytical array at the head of the bed. “Huh,” he said. “It looks like you’ve gained weight.”

  The comment caught Kira off-guard. “Maybe my meal portions have been a little larger than normal over the past few days, but is this really the time to talk about dieting?”

  He shook his head. “No, as in, you’ve gained a lot of weight—more than twenty kilos since your med eval yesterday. I believe that supports the hypothesis that the nanites converted the available material to replicate. The efficiency of matter transmutation is astounding. Limited heat, no radiation. I’ve never seen tech like this.”

  “You mean, the deck and my shipsuit are… inside me now?”

  “We won’t know more until I can get a proper look at those nanites. I’ll grab the sampling kit.” Doctor Elric headed for the door.

  “I’ll get you a new uniform,” Kaen told Kira and followed the doctor out.

  “Oh, thank you, sir.” Kira bit her lower lip. Shite, if the colonel is running errands for me, I really must be in bad shape.

  Leon took Kira’s hands when they were alone. “Are you feeling okay now?”

  “Yeah, I think so. This is all so… sudden.”

  He stroked the side of her face. “Just to be clear, I don’t regret coming here to the Guard, even if my girlfriend is now some sort of super-mutant.” He grinned.

  Kira punched him lightly in the arm.

  He laughed. “Were it anyone else, I’d be concerned. I think you’ll be just fine. And I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  “You sure about that? You didn’t sign up for this.”

  “Positive.”

  Kira squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  The door hissed as Elric returned, testing kit in hand. “All right, Kira, let’s figure out what’s happening to you.” He held up a comically large syringe and a metal rod Kira really didn’t want to get to know on an intimate level.

  She gulped. “Yay.”

  — — —

  Colonel Terence Kaen entered the supply room and located a rack of shipsuits. He normally would have ordered support staff to retrieve such an item for him, but he was driven by an impulse to handle the matter himself—to find somewhere private.

  “You care for your subordinates, I can tell,” a voice said in Kaen’s mind.

  Kaen froze in the center of the enclosed room. “The fok…? Who—”

  “There, there, no reason to be frightened. You and I will be such good friends,” the voice soothed.

  Kaen wanted to run for help, but his limbs wouldn’t obey his commands. His heart pounded in his ears.

  “You’ve been a good host,” a voice replied in his mind, “but it’s time for me to be in charge. I must make sure Kira matures into who we wish her to be.”

  A memory roused deep within, striking Kaen with a sharp pain.

  His pulse quickened as memories flooded back to him. None of it made any sense. He saw himself doing things he’d never dream of doing.

  “What’s happening?” He gripped his head. “Who are you?”

  “I am one of many. We found Valta long ago, used it as a place to learn and grow. We have since moved, but now the time has come to expand.”

  This being was alien—a sentient form beyond the Taran sphere. The Bakzen had been one thing, but this… This wasn’t how Kaen pictured a first contact scenario for his people.

  “I went to Valta for one mission and you hop aboard like I’m some type of transport?” Kaen’s breath was ragged. “Get the fok out!”

  The voice chuckled. “Oh, no. I’ve been here for much longer than the recent mission to Valta.”

  The jumble of memories began to clear in Kaen’s mind.

  He had traveled to Mysar—a trip three years prior, he remembered—but these recollections were different. He had met with Chancellor Hale, and she was also not who she appeared to be. She was like him, a puppet being directed by some unseen force.

  Kaen saw himself meeting with each of the subjects he’d interviewed during his recent interrogations, to gather information from them and to subvert them through telepathic influence. For years, he’d been manipulating them behind the scenes.

  And then there was the recent incident with the MTech lab. First, he’d sent Kira on the op, knowing she was the perfect subject for the final stage of th
eir experimentation. He’d allowed Monica to escape after they’d taken her into custody, standing by while she took out everyone around him and then went back to infect Kira with the nanites. He and Monica were working together—until she was killed. She had been a willing participant, following directions issued by their masters. But the mission didn’t end with her death.

  Kaen and Hale were there to finish the job.

  “Do you understand now?” the voice asked.

  It was becoming clear, yes, but he was horrified by the implications. Maybe this wasn’t a first contact at all. “You’ve been with me since my trip to Mysar, but I don’t understand how this is possible.”

  If Kaen had had any control over his body, he’d try to carve the being out of him on the spot. Instead, he could only stand there motionless in the supply closet, desperately trying to process the harm that had been caused by his actions.

  “Don’t struggle now. You wouldn’t want to harm us,” the voice cautioned.

  He was still unable to move. “Are you in my head?”

  “Yes, in a sense,” the voice affirmed. “But I am one with you.”

  “Leave!” Kaen shouted in his mind. “I’ll slice you out myself.”

  “I rather like it here. You are already a man of influence, though I could help you gain even more. You’ve already been so useful with directing our other tools.”

  “What are you after?” Kaen asked the voice.

  “We have much to discuss,” the voice replied. “It’s time we get to know one another.”

  Kaen listened as the alien being filled the gaps in Kaen’s memory about everything he had done over the past three years. He wanted nothing more than to turn himself in, but he was now a passenger in his own body.

  Transforming Kira into a Robus was all according to plan. Whose plan that was, exactly, remained a mystery to him. All he knew for certain was that the entity inside him wasn’t working alone. Beyond the Mysaran Chancellor, Hale—who was also being controlled by a similar entity—there were a number of willing collaborators as well as others who had been subverted. He didn’t yet understand how the alien beings’ abilities worked, or the extent of their power, but he knew they meant harm.

  Yet, Kaen’s only option for the time being was to go along for the ride. He remembered now what it had been like when the mysterious being first possessed him—that if he tried to resist too much, his possessor would push Kaen’s consciousness further to the back of his mind where he couldn’t even see what was happening. He’d learned that as long as he remained quiet and unobtrusive, he could at least remain apprised of the unfolding situation. He decided that was the strategy he needed to adopt now, waiting for opportunities to inject little bits of influence here and there; even the smallest act might make a difference at the right moment.

  The alien being had understood the importance of keeping up appearances. Acts like getting Kira a new shipsuit to accommodate her condition demonstrated a level of caring compassion that the being wouldn’t have voluntarily elected to do, but Kaen’s recommendation still held weight. The being listened, and that gave Kaen hope.

  While Kira struggled with her transformation, Kaen would be fighting his own internal battle. This creature of thought was fascinated by Kira, giving Kaen the chance to help her. Maybe, one day, she’d be able to help him, in turn.

  “What’s been set in motion cannot be stopped.” The alien taunted him. “At least you will be on the winning side.”

  Kaen allowed the alien its feeling of superiority. His chance would come. “How do I address you, now that you are no longer a silent companion?”

  “You may call me Nox,” the voice replied.

  Kaen had heard that name before. He thought back to the first interrogation he’d conducted for the recent investigation. “That was Captain Ellis’ supposed contact, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, a role you played so well.”

  Kaen shuddered as he thought back to the interrogations over the past several days—the people he’d subverted without even knowing what he’d done, or how he’d done it. And now they’d suffer because of his actions.

  “You’re a tool, just like them,” Nox said with a mental jab.

  Kaen ignored the entity’s statement.

  “We shouldn’t keep Kira waiting.” Nox directed Kaen back to the infirmary.

  When he arrived, he saw Doctor Elric was completing his examination of Kira, and Leon had a blood sample in hand.

  Kira smiled when she saw Kaen. “I was surprised when you offered to get me a new suit yourself, sir. Recent moments have made me especially grateful for someone who offers help in a way that doesn’t involve drawing blood or sticking something in me.”

  A playful look passed between Kira and Leon, and she smirked. “Well, maybe it’s not all bad,” she added quietly.

  “If you want a treatment for this condition, then this is a necessary part of the process,” Elric said, having missed the innuendo.

  Kaen could feel Nox’s annoyance with the banter.

  “This shipsuit is a little larger size and should accommodate a transformation.” Kaen-Nox handed the garment to Kira.

  “Thank you, Colonel.” Kira paused. “I know I’m under quarantine, but I’d like permission to speak with Major Sandren.”

  Kaen-Nox tensed. “Why?”

  “I just want to keep him in the loop, sir. My team will be wondering where I am.”

  “Yes, of course.” Kaen-Nox nodded.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I should get going on this analysis,” Leon said in the ensuing silence.

  “As should I. Try to stay calm and relaxed,” Elric advised.

  Kira eyed the restraints next to the bed. “Yeah, I’ll try.” She ran her hands over the shipsuit. “I need to get dressed first.”

  “I’ll secure you after you change,” Kaen-Nox told her. “Please proceed with your tests,” he addressed Leon and the doctor.

  “Yes, sir.” Elric nodded and left.

  “I’ll come back to check on you soon.” Leon squeezed Kira’s hand.

  “See you then.” She rose from the bed and headed for the washroom.

  Kaen-Nox waited for her with his hands clasped behind his back.

  “You and your frail forms. So many precautions needed to keep you safe,” Nox commented.

  “At least we have our own bodies.”

  “But isn’t it more evolved to be able to be anywhere or in anything?”

  Kaen didn’t have a good response to that. Maybe the being inside him was more advanced, but that didn’t give it the right to take over the body of another sentient individual.

  Kira emerged from the washroom wearing the new shipsuit, carrying the ripped old one. “Well, sir, the outer layer is a little bigger than regulation specs,” she tugged on the loose fabric at her stomach, “but it’ll get the job done.”

  “We must always be prepared.”

  “Yes, sir.” She paused. “Sir, may I speak freely?”

  “Granted.” Nox made the metal equivalent of an eyeroll.

  “You’ve seen people go through war and come out the other side as someone different,” Kira continued. “How do you define your identity when you change like that, needing to become a different person acting in a different role?”

  “If only she knew how apt of a question that was for us,” Nox commented.

  “I don’t think of it as going from one person to another, but rather as two facets of the same person,” Kaen recited at Nox’s direction. “I know you’re wrestling with some significant physical changes that most people would never experience, but you’re still you. Is it really so different when you transform from soldier into lover? Or captain into daughter? Those parts of us exist at all times, but we filter our surroundings based on the context of whatever role we’re playing in a given moment.”

  Kira nodded. “Hmm, I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

  Kaen had to admit, Nox answered better than what he would ha
ve said himself.

  Nox continued feeding Kaen words to speak, “I can’t imagine what it would be like to become something else after so many years in one form—”

  “Yeah, right,” Kaen quipped to Nox in his mind.

  “—but I do appreciate what it’s like to have your responsibilities change. I worked my way up in my career just like everyone else, and I’ve gone from being one soldier among many to being part of a small group of senior officers. With each advancement came a new sense of identity.”

  Kaen-Nox looked Kira in her eyes. “You, Kira, are now advancing, as well. You have been gifted for your whole life, and you’ve used those gifts to help the Guard accomplish what few others could have done. Now, you’ll have even more skills to bring to bear. I am confident you will master these new attributes and be truly one of a kind.”

  Kira shifted on the bed. “I appreciate that, sir, but I don’t know if I’d keep these abilities, if given the choice. I know there are benefits, but there are also risks.”

  “You must keep them.”

  Kira frowned and inched back on the bed. “May I ask why, sir?”

  Kaen-Nox softened and smiled, realizing the statement had been too forceful. “Rather, you should take some time to evaluate your new skills before you decide to permanently dismiss them, assuming the nanites can be removed. It’s only been, what, half an hour? That’s not enough time to consider the pros and cons of the situation.”

  “I guess it’s not.”

  “Get some rest, Captain. Leon and Doctor Elric will be able to tell you more about your options soon.”

  “Right.” Kira swung her legs up onto the bed and reclined, placing her hands at her sides. “I hope they can tell me how to stop random transformations more definitively than just stay calm.”