by J. N. Chaney
He nodded. “It was that or see what remained of my clan tortured and murdered at the hands of the Turned soldiers.”
I took a second to consider that. “So, you took the deal to stay yourself.”
“Not quite.” The look in his eyes spoke of some long forgotten pain, but then he blinked and it was gone. “I agreed to transition and become one of the Turned in exchange for becoming the leader here. To save more lives. The Mind Thieves agreed. As you can see, they held up their end of the bargain. You could do the same.”
This new information didn’t sway me. “You already have my answer. Better to kill me now. If you let me live, I’ll be coming for you.”
“I’ve known others like you. They all fell. You have until the final hour of the day to decide. For now, you will rejoin your friends. Riva has caused too many issues and must be dealt with.”
I might have imagined it, but I thought Makin looked remorseful when he walked away. His steps paused, then got further away before going silent. I assumed he had left the room, which was confirmed when the pod let out a faint hiss and the lid opened.
Outside it was completely empty except for more pods. They hadn’t even bothered leaving someone to guard me. My thoughts churned despite efforts to reel them in. The First planned to kill this planet. That meant no matter who survived the final harvest, everyone left behind would die.
As far as we’d known when leaving Earth, humans were it for intelligent life in the universe. Wars only happened over territory in the Sol System. That being the case, the Exodus Ark didn’t have the defenses of a warship. The colony vessel had been built to create, not destroy. When the First arrived, everyone aboard the ship would be easy pickings.
I could, in some ways, understand Makin choosing to join the First. Saving lives was a powerful motivator. That type of ultimatum didn’t work for me, though. I knew what it was to not have a choice. Enslaving all of humanity to save a few lives now wasn’t worth it.
The only thing nagging at me was the first option. If I decided to stay myself and convince Wright, it might give me time to plan an escape. I didn’t trust Makin though. And he wasn’t stupid.
A door slid open to my right, and I found a guard pointing a blue tipped weapon at me.
“Please go with him,” said Makin, his voice coming from a speaker somewhere. “And I don’t recommend trying to fight. Your friends’ lives depend on you.”
I grimaced and imagined the best way to kill the Turned leader. He may have originally made a decision based on saving his people, but now he was one of the enemy.
The guard motioned for me to pass him. I did and found myself in a short hallway. The rock wall suggested that we were still in the mountain, but I realized they could have taken me anywhere after I lost consciousness.
As we walked, I wondered how the other teams had fared. Makin hadn’t volunteered the information, and it hadn’t occurred to me to ask.
A Black Shield Agent does not need friends or family.
Recalling that Makin had poked around in my head made me angry all over again. I had plenty of experience with the Black Shield scientists poking and prodding at me. Tune-ups, they called it. Looking back through the lens of my new outlook on life, I remembered how empty their eyes had been.
Back then, I’d thought they were on dampeners but hadn’t given it much thought beyond that. Now, I thought they just hadn’t seen us as people. Maybe we weren’t. What would they think of me now?
It didn’t matter.
I had to find my team and get out of here, then regroup. Mentally back on track, I began to plot.
Makin must have been keeping the translation devices to himself because he continued to issue orders via intercom. We hadn’t gone very far when a door on my right whispered open, revealing a medical bay of sorts.
There were more of the pods like the one I’d just vacated but also strange, upright furniture. A harder look picked out deep divots and contours, giving me some idea what they were. If I was right, a Volcuri could walk into them and once the bed went horizontal, it would fit them lying face down.
Once I crossed the threshold, movement in a far corner caught my eyes. I saw Tara first. Our eyes met, and I read the wariness there. It wasn’t just her. One by one the others noticed I’d entered and watched me with a burning intensity that told a clear story: they wondered if I’d been turned yet.
I could hardly blame them. Who knew how long we’d been separated, not to mention I had a sneaking suspicion that Makin healed me elsewhere on purpose to sow distrust.
Again, not stupid.
But then, neither was I. Makin had made at least one small mistake. It would have been better if he’d kept us apart. Putting me with them would give me a chance to escape. It didn’t matter that we didn’t have weapons. Hell, now that I thought about it, Riva and her two warriors had weapons on their hands, feet, and tails.
The guard behind me poked my back with his weapon to urge me forward. Instead of whirling on him and doing my damndest to kill him, I walked to the group and sat with them.
No one said anything to me. They just waited for me to say something.
“It’s me,” I began.
Tara snorted. “Spoken like someone newly Turned. Prove it. Tell us something you wouldn’t say if you were one of them now.”
I thought about that for a second, then shook my head. “This isn’t logical. How can we know what they would or wouldn’t say?”
Moore winced. “Chief, I gotta say. That sounds like something they would say.”
“Riva, don’t you have some way to test this?” I asked.
“I am sorry, Chief Kent.” Her feathers ruffled with some kind of emotion I couldn’t read. “You must do this on your own.”
“Fine.” I racked my brain and came up with a few things that I thought someone who was under the Mind Thieves’ control might not say. “AMI told me that Tara is attracted to me. I don’t think I would say that if I was not myself.”
Tara’s cheeks turned red. “Why the hell would she say something like that?” she demanded. “You know what, don’t answer that. She’s deranged. What are you looking at, Moore?”
He wiped the smile off his face and stared at his feet.
“Look, Makin offered me an ultimatum,” I said. “Join and stay human. No enslavement required, unless I wanted it. I turned him down. If he offered any of you the same deal, I’d expect you to turn him down too.”
“You could have led with that,” Tara grumbled.
I ignored the comment and focused on Riva. “There’s something you need to know. Makin got the same deal. He admitted to taking it to try and save lives.”
Her eyes darkened with disdain. “There is no excuse. You didn’t accept. I wouldn’t. It’s a coward’s way out.”
“That isn’t all,” I pressed on. “He plans to make an example of you. I don’t know how. We need a plan.”
Moore smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Now we’re talking. How do you want to do this?”
I held up both hands to stop him before he took off. “Slow down. Right now, I need details. The last thing I remember prior to thirty minutes ago was getting hit with that sensory bomb.”
Now it was Tara’s turn to wince. “You were the only one who lost consciousness, Chief. It was pretty bad. I mean, it put us all down, but only long enough for them to restrain us. You, on the other hand… There was blood coming out of your ears and nose. We all thought it killed you.”
“The pods,” I said in explanation. “They stuck me in one, and it must have healed me because I’m not feeling any pain. Makin said my enhanced senses are the reason it hit me that hard.”
She nodded in understanding. “It’s only been a few hours. They took all the weapons and put us in here. Said if we try anything, they’ll use the… What did you call it? Sensory bomb again.”
“Guess that means we need to be careful.” I hesitated, unsure how they would take the rest of what I had to say. In the end, I
decided the truth was always better than a lie. “Like I told you before, I turned Makin down. He’s still giving me until the final hour of the day to make my decision. If I refuse every option, he plans to kill all of you, and I don’t think it will be quick.”
Moore paled a little at that. Tara, of course, just scowled. “He can try, I guess,” she replied.
I glanced at Riva, Nami, and Mirtos. The latter two had yet to speak, and Riva looked contemplative. No one appeared hurt, which was another point in our favor. “Makin confirmed the Mind Thieves’ grand plan to destroy the planet once they arrive.”
“They won’t destroy it,” Riva said darkly. “Not in the way you think.”
“How then?” I asked.
“First they will raze it so that nothing can grow. All life will perish. Then they will destroy the core. It will still be whole but dead.”
It sounded bleak. I wasn’t good at emotions, but that sounded awful even by my standards.
“That’s pretty specific,” Tara noted. “How can you be sure?”
Riva’s feathers rustled again, just a quick jerk. “The Elders told me. This was before you arrived in the system. I don’t know how they came by the information. I do know that they do this to every planet they conquer.”
If the Mind Thieves made it to Earth, I figured they would do the same there. But not if I could help it. First we had to get out of the mountain.
“Well, we’ve been in this position before. Shouldn’t be too hard to escape again,” Tara mused, trying for cheerful.
No one had a chance to answer her because more guards came in. Riva made a sound I hadn’t heard before that closely resembled a harsh squeal. My head snapped to the newcomers.
Makin, followed by two of his lackeys, stood at the far end of the room. There was a third Volcuri, but judging from the restraints, he was clearly their prisoner. The two guards were half dragging him, half carrying him, and his features were twisted in pain. I didn’t recognize any of them, but Riva clearly did because she shot to her feet.
Nami and Mirtos weren’t far behind and jumped up to flank their leader. All three faced the group with beaks open in shock.
Moore stared openly at them, his brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s up with them?”
Tara kicked him. “Shut up,” she said under her breath.
I was still confused. The restrained Volcuri was wearing the same grey tunic outfit as his captors, sans the armor. Had Riva sent in a spy that got caught? His skin was dark, I realized. Grey in patches, but not completely. His feathers were the same, but with more red than black.
If I’d known what she planned to do, I would have grabbed Riva before she tried to bolt. Too late, I saw her lunch forward. One of the guards lifted a handheld weapon and fired on her. It hit her, and the rebel leader was knocked off her feet.
She hit the ground with a resounding thud. There were a few bad seconds where I thought they’d killed her. Then she stirred and the silence broke.
My fists clenched at my side, and I fixed a stare on Makin that left no doubt what I was thinking of doing to him. My muscles twitched as I yearned to move forward, and Makin caught the motion.
He stepped back, just once, then stopped. “Careful, Chief Mission Ward. The masters find you valuable and want you alive only so long as you are useful. Do not think yourself invincible.”
I stayed where I was.
“Andro!” Riva was struggling up to her feet, one arm across her torso. Her strangled cry was rife with anguish. “What have you done to my brother?!”
16
“We have broken him to the Mind Thieves’ will,” Makin answered. “They have decreed you will suffer by observing his final transformation. He fought our every effort these past six months. Tried to kill himself a number of times. Precious few have possessed such strength.”
Riva squared her shoulders and jutted her chin out. “He’ll never be yours.”
I scanned the room carefully so as not to draw attention to myself. Besides the pods and vertical beds, there wasn’t much. Nothing to be used as a weapon.
“Who do you think gave us the Elders’ location? Everyone breaks sooner or later.”
His last words had no doubt been aimed at me. I chose not to acknowledge them. The admission about the Elders’ compound drew a sharp inhale from Riva, though she didn’t respond.
Makin continued. “Volcuri law is clear, is it not? Traitors are put to death. As the current leader, that is your responsibility.”
With that, he tossed something on the floor. It hit with a clatter and skidded midway across the room. The not-so-subtle reminder that they had messed around in my brain didn’t bother me in the least.
“You’re almost out of time, Chief Mission Ward. Choose wisely.” Makin spun and exited the room, motioning to his minions. They dropped Andro and followed their leader out.
As soon as they were gone, Riva rushed to her brother’s side, ignoring the knife. I didn’t. It was definitely human made, just a basic combat knife. Better than nothing. Makin likely assumed one measly combat knife wouldn’t be enough to cause him much grief, but I planned to prove him wrong.
“Hey, that’s mine,” protested a voice when I turned around with the blade in hand. I looked up to see Moore staring at it. “It’s all yours, though, Chief,” he said quickly, noticing the expression on my face.
I grunted and slid it into the empty sheath at my waist. Unsure what to do after all that had just transpired, I checked on Riva and her brother. It didn’t seem right to intrude, so I joined Nami and Mirtos where they stood a few meters away.
“Do you know how long until the last hour?” I asked them.
“A few hours, at least,” Nami replied.
Without my wrist unit, I was more or less flying blind. No time, no map, no assistance of any kind. I felt its absence almost as keenly as that of my rifle. It irked me more than a little that every time I came to this planet’s surface, I seemed to lose it. Our situation was far from normal, but that didn’t make it any better, and, despite my internal promise, I didn’t know how I was going to escape the mountain a second time with just what amounted to a large kitchen knife.
“Okay. That gives us a little time to plan,” I commented. “Mirtos, I need your translator.
If the Volcuri warrior took issue with me giving him orders, he didn’t show it. I added a “thank you” when he handed it to me. Without the translator, Nami had to explain. He responded with a quick nod.
Now for the fun part.
Riva’s emotionally charged state made it a fool’s errand to approach without taking some kind of precautions. If one of us got too close and startled her, she might attack. Her tail was plenty dangerous even if they had removed the sharp accoutrements, and I didn’t have any desire to become too acquainted with her talons.
Proceeding with caution, I circled around to where she could see me clearly. She cradled Andro’s head in her lap. He wasn’t moving, but I didn’t think he was dead. Behind the defiance and rage in her dark eyes I saw raw grief and, maybe, hope.
That somehow made this worse, which I knew had been part of Makin’s plan to punish her. For Andro, there was no hope. I didn’t think the Turned leader lied about the brain damage that came from fighting the transition. The sickly cast to his skin and discolored, drooping feathers either meant he was on death’s door or almost fully Turned. Even if we did get out of this room, escaping the mountain with Andro in tow might prove impossible.
“I can hear you thinking, Chief Kent,” Riva said sadly. “Weighing choices, calculating our chances with my brother. I don’t know if you can understand, but I cannot leave him or let harm come to him while there is breath in my chest.”
I held up both hands in a sign of peace and moved closer. “No one expects you to. All I want right now is to give him Mirtos’ translator. Andro might know a way out of here.”
Surprise flickered across her feathers. “I had not thought of that,” she admitted.
&
nbsp; “You aren’t thinking clearly. It’s understandable,” I told her. “May I come closer?” I showed her the translator, careful to keep my movements slow and unthreatening.
Riva made a chuffing noise that I thought might be a laugh but couldn’t be sure. “While I am in control of my mind, you don’t have anything to fear from me, Chief Kent. We have been through much together, and I trust you. We have fought side by side, and I consider you part of my clan.”
This felt like one of those times where I was supposed to reply with something diplomatic. The best I could come up with on the fly was, “Thank you. Humans see you as a great ally, and I would go into battle with you at my back any time.”
She nodded back, seemingly pleased as I lowered myself to the ground beside her and handed over the translator.
“Trusting another at your back is a high honor among our people as well,” she said while getting the small device in place. Finally, she looked up. “If two species such as ours can become allies, I believe there is still hope.”
Her movement must have awoken Andro because he groaned and tried to sit up, until Riva pushed him back down. “Sister, your speeches haven’t improved since I left.”
“Neither have your jokes,” she returned. “Stay still. You need your strength.”
Andro froze, his eyes going blank. Then he shook his head and blinked until he was back to normal. He clutched his sister’s arm, all traces of humor snuffed out by whatever had happened. “Riva, I heard what Makin told you. And he’s right about one thing. I need to die. You have to do it, please.”
She recoiled in response. “You can’t ask me to do that. I won’t.”
“You have to!” he argued back. “It’s your duty.”
Up to then, I’d been pretty quiet. It was time for me to step in. “Hold it. No one is killing anyone unless it’s the enemy,” I said.
“That is exactly the point,” Andro retorted. “I am the enemy now. Don’t you see? It was me who revealed the Elders’ compound location. What if I reveal more?”
