by J. N. Chaney
I continued down that line of thought all the way to AMI’s coordinates. I half expected Director Wright to be waiting again, ready to tear into me, but it was two pilots. Even after we loaded the PEVs into the transport and got ourselves buckled in, I felt a bleak cloud settle over me, especially when I looked at Riva.
She had yet to attempt any sort of communication, and even Nami looked at her leader with worry. But was it really any wonder why? All of my decisions had led to the death of her brother. If I’d made better choices, he might still be alive.
Andro had laid down his life to make sure his sister survived. He’d made a sacrifice for someone that mattered. Family.
Black Shield agents have no family.
Doubt wasn’t something I was used to, and the heaviness of it hung around my neck like a weight. Those like me, one-track-minded soldiers who only cared about the mission, weren’t supposed to mix with regular people, and this was why. I was fooling myself to think I could ever change.
Tara tried to talk to me a few times, but I shut her down until she sat back in her seat with a stony expression. Just another concern to add to my growing list.
By the time we made it to basecamp, I was in such a sour mood that I nearly missed that we weren’t anywhere near the outposts. The transport set down in the desert, and the mountain looked tiny off in the distance.
I could make out the telltale Volcuri designs, but human elements had been added. During our time in the mountain, apparently, this new camp had been erected. There wasn’t anything that I deemed a barrier, but we were out in the middle of nowhere. Any attempted attacks would be detected in time to mount a defense.
When we exited the transport, a welcome party waited. Mitch and Noah, along with Dr. Gray and a Volcuri that I recognized as a healer, stood waiting for us. It lifted my mood a fraction to see they had all survived.
Dr. Gray tsked at Tara, who winced when she walked. “How is your side holding up?”
“Doing better than the shoulder,” she admitted.
The medic Volcuri moved to Nami’s side and began to lead her away.
Mitch approached Riva, bowed to her, then handed her a translator. She accepted it with a gracious nod and fixed it into place. Mitch handed another to Havu, sans the bow. I figured it had to be something he picked up while staying at her camp because the man had never acted like that before.
“That is much better,” Riva said, testing out the new device.
“Glad it’s working,” Mitch commented. “Director Wright is waiting for you two.”
“What about Havu?” I hooked a thumb at the scientist.
“He has a transport coming to take him to Skan and St. John. They want to talk to him. I’ll stick with him until they arrive.”
Noah motioned for us to follow him. “I’ll take you inside. They worked double time to get this place up and running while you were gone. The boss wanted somewhere far enough away from the mountain that Makin wouldn’t likely have scouts. It was fast once we found this place abandoned.”
I acknowledged that with a low grunt. Noah didn’t usually talk this much, but he was still human. They tended to fill awkward silences with useless chatter. I let him, if only to keep from thinking about my failures in the mountain.
“It works out because the Volcuri have a place to sleep, and so do we. It’s only been a day, but so far the weather has held and there haven’t been any attacks.”
When he paused, I couldn’t resist asking one question. “We’re in the dark on what happened with anyone else. I know you can’t debrief me, but I’d like to know how many we lost.”
He flicked an understanding glance at me. “Sorry, Chief. I didn’t even think about that. Of course you want to know. Four human, three Volcuri.”
Riva seemed to have been lost in thought, but that got her attention. “Five Volcuri. Mirtos didn’t make it, nor did…”
She trailed off, and Noah had the good sense not to press her.
“The Director was worried when you went missing,” he continued, his attention deliberately back on me. “The news you guys made it out alive spread pretty fast though, and he wants to start planning the next op right away.”
The space functioning as a war room was an explosion of holo data. Graphs, maps, and probability documents covered each wall. A table set up in the middle with a built in holo prominently featured the mountain, scaled down to fit.
Wright looked up when we entered, and his gaze settled on me. There was something in his eyes that I didn’t quite know how to take. Disappointment, perhaps.
“Chief,” he began, getting to his feet. “Riva. Good to see you both here.”
For her part, Riva managed to shed her black mood enough to respond in kind.
Once the required greetings were over, I clasped my hands behind my back and went into report mode. I took the Director through every detail. Beside me, Riva jerked when I explained the events with her brother, but she didn’t interject.
“We made it out and received a transmission from AMI,” I concluded.
He waited a beat, taking in all that I’d said, then turned to Riva. “You have my deepest condolences. I’ve lost a brother too, and it’s a hard thing.”
The rebel leader dipped into a shallow bow. “Thank you for saying so, Director Wright. We heard there were losses for the other teams as well. Can you update us on the situation?”
“Of course. Overall, we did better than Makin did. After losing contact with your team, the other two pushed forward in hopes they could rendezvous with you all on the inside. I made the decision to pull them back when an initial search yielded no sign of you.”
“Nothing I saw looked familiar,” I put in. “Must have been a different part than we initially saw.”
Wright shrugged. “It’s a big pile of rock. I am quite interested in this news you’ve brought me. Knowing Makin doesn’t have the forces we assumed will make another assault on his little fortress a little easier.”
My brows drew together at his optimism. “When do you want to do this?”
“Soon. Preferably after you get some rest. This new data changes things. Not to mention that tunnel you found. We’ve been doing drone sweeps, and there are more. It matches what was found on the data cube. We have an update there too. AMI?”
The tabletop mountain winked away and was replaced with a map. I recognized most of it from the information we had prior to our latest incursion, but it had expanded.
“AMI, can you pinpoint the tunnel we came out of?”
“Certainly, Kent.”
A green line moved inward from the edge of the mountain and connected to a space that had to be the supply chamber. I said as much, adding a little more detail.
“We got into that chamber through an underwater tunnel,” I explained. Then, zeroing in on another section, I continued. “What is this? We never saw a cavern that big.”
I looked to Riva for confirmation, and she nodded. “Chief Kent is correct. According to the map, they are connected. There were no other entrances in the passage we used to escape.”
“That you saw,” Wright said pointedly. “You didn’t see the exit either. If that cavern holds something important, it makes sense that Makin would keep it hidden.”
“True enough,” Riva conceded. “I’ve never witnessed the Mind Thieves’ arrival. Perhaps that is where they land.”
I tapped the table, trying to work through it. “What about others in your clan? Surely someone has been around when the Mind Thieves show up.”
Riva shook her head. “No one stays above during that time. I suppose the Elders might have information.”
Director Wright looked back and forth between me and Riva. “Listen. I’m having more supplies flown in from the Ark, along with more bodies to help support our next attack. There’s no point in putting this off too long. I want Makin out of the picture long before the Mind Thieves get here.”
“Copy that, Director.”
“First,” he said,
eyeing me with a look that said I shouldn’t argue, “get some sleep. You’re no good to me if you’re too tired to function. I’ll have AMI get you up to put together the next mission. Dismissed.”
He didn’t have to worry about me stepping out of line. I could contain that until I found something to punch. I gave a half salute and walked out the door.
Noah showed me to a room that functioned as an exercise area. Every basecamp, no matter how primitive, had one. This one was pretty bare as far things went. A hanging bag, some weights, and a few other “essential” items were neatly placed around the room. This part of the building was in the old section, and it had walls of stone.
I wasn’t looking for a workout, though. All the rage and angst about the failed mission that I’d kept chained up inside me wanted to be let loose. I was tired of pretending. Tired of being someone else when everything inside me wanted to be what I had been trained to be.
So I gave in.
I strode over to the dumbbells, swiped one of the largest sets off the rack, and whipped it at the stone wall. The hit shook the wall, and a crack formed, then spiderwebbed its way up the wall.
The expending of energy felt good. Too good, because it was all too easy to pick up the next one and heave it at the opposite wall. This time, small chunks of the wall came loose and fell to the floor.
I started breathing hard, though not from the exertion. Adrenaline rushed through me, increasing my heart rate and making the blood pound in my ears. Still, more anger poured in. Why couldn’t I escape it?
Inside, something felt wrong. Twisted. What did I care? I moved to the heavy bag, ready to rip it down.
“Kent.”
The single word stopped me in my tracks.
I looked to the door and found Tara standing with Dr. Gray, both of them eyeing me warily.
“What?” I snarled.
“See?” said Tara. “Something’s wrong with him. I noticed back in the mountain but chalked it up to the stress.”
My fists bunched, eager for more violence. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Sorry about this.” Dr. Gray shot me a look of apology, then raised a weapon and fired before I could react. A sharp stabbing pain had me looking down to see a small silver dart sticking out of my chest.
A curse ripped from my throat as the lights went out.
When I came to, the world seemed different. Lighter, somehow.
The initial brightness wasn’t too bad, and my eyes blinked open to find I was in a medical tent.
Dr. Gray stood, with Dr. St. John at her side, their backs to me. “You’re sure?” she said.
“I’m sure,” St. John replied. “Whatever they did to him, it was subliminal. He had no idea it was happening. The stimulation prompts I gave his brain will have brought him back to normal. Well, as normal as a BSC soldier can be.”
“I heard that, Doc,” I said through gritted teeth.
Both of the doctors spun around at the sound of my voice. Dr. Gray still wore a cautious expression, but St. John just looked excited.
I narrowed my eyes at them. “What happened? Dr. Gray, you’re looking at me like I’m a faulty bomb that might go off at any second.”
She shot a look at her companion, then back to me. “I’m sorry, Chief Kent. I had to tranq you. How are you feeling? Angry, perhaps having an urge to do violence?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say no right off, but I did an internal evaluation because something must have prompted this response. “No, I’m just mildly irritated. Look, is this about what happened in the workout room? I just lost control. It happens to everyone, especially after what we went through.”
“No,” she shot back. “It doesn’t. I’ll let Rhys explain.”
“Thank you, Emily.” The scientist cleared his throat, then launched into his explanation. “Chief, I’m afraid your mind was messed with. Do you know how?”
I started to say no, then I remembered waking up in the medical pod after that sensory bomb had taken me out of commission. St. John must have seen the realization on my face because he nodded.
“I thought as much. Someone exerted a form of mind persuasion through the use of subliminal stimulation.”
Alarmed, I shot up into a sitting position. “Are you saying Makin tried to Turn me?”
He shook his head. “No. Nothing about your gene sequence is different. Your brain waves, however, are—were—a different story. Someone poked around the part of your subconscious that controls negative thoughts. From what I saw, you would have been feeling extreme self-doubt and anger. That sound about right?”
So, Makin had messed around in my head.
“Yes,” I admitted. “It felt off, but it was like I was in some dark emotional pit. I remember thinking I was a failure. That the mission was a failure. I just wanted to take my anger out on something.”
“And now?”
“I feel fine. No anger. The mission itself wasn’t all that much of a failure, considering what we found out.”
The doctors both exhaled, the tightness in their shoulders visibly relaxing. “That’s good,” said Dr. Gray. “If Dr. St. John hadn’t figured out the problem, you would have been put into a medically induced coma.”
“Like I said, fine now,” I told them. “How long have I been out?”
They exchanged glances again, then Dr. Gray spoke. “Per the Director’s orders, you’ve been under just over eight straight hours. He wanted you well rested before any more operations were planned.”
“I never had a mother,” I said. “And I don’t think I care for it much.”
For a second, no one said anything. Then, Dr. St. John let out a hoot of laughter. “Tara wasn’t kidding after all. You have gained a sense of humor lately.”
“Just to be on the safe side, I want to keep you under observation for the next few hours,” Dr. Gray added. She picked up a personal pad from the nearby stand and handed it to me. “Director Wright sent this so you could work. It’ll be good for you to do normal activities, but you’re going to have to get scanned every hour or so until I’m satisfied the influence is gone.”
Resigned, I nodded. “Fine. Let me know when I’m good.”
When they were gone, I tried to process what I’d been told. The idea that Makin had dug around in my brain pissed me off, but it came nowhere near the rage I’d felt before the pretty doctor had shot me with the tranq. I reconciled with the violation easier than I did the fact that I hadn’t been able to overcome it.
When Dr. St. John came by to do the first set of tests, I asked him about that. “Riva’s brother was able to resist the mind enslavement process for the most part. Does that mean I lack that quality?”
He stopped looking at his pad and met my gaze. “Not at all,” he said firmly. “This wasn’t mind control, at least not like what the Turned go through. This was a nudge to your baser instinct. I believe the idea was just to make you violent enough that we put you down. A bit of diabolical genius, really.”
I frowned. “I’ve never felt like that before. Like nothing would ever overcome the anger. You sound impressed.”
His eyebrows shot up at my thinly veiled accusation. “You misunderstand, Chief. I am impressed, that’s true, but only at the scientific level. It wasn’t a good thing. If Tara hadn’t noticed something amiss, you might have killed someone.”
St. John was right about that much. I shuddered to think what might have happened to Tara if she’d interrupted me instead of going for help. It was a bit of a jolt to realize that I cared about that. The idea of causing pain to my squad mate mattered.
With that in mind, I distracted myself by getting back to work. The personal pad was encoded to me and contained everything we knew about the First and the mountain. While the map had been updated to show more schematics, few were labeled.
For the next hour, I let my mind take all the data in and made notes that felt pertinent. Some of the map I was able to add information on, like the tunnel with the hidden ent
rance. It worked well to keep me preoccupied until a shadow fell over the pad. It was Riva.
Some of my guilt over the death of her brother remained, but it wasn’t overpowering. Still, I set the pad down and stood up. The Volcuri leader had cleaned up and must have gotten some rest since she didn’t look so worn down.
“I heard what happened,” she said. “Makin will be dealt with soon enough. I wanted to stop by and make sure you understand that I don’t blame you. It was unacceptable to let my own emotions take over like that.”
“No apology necessary,” I told her.
“Thank you, Chief Kent.” She turned and walked to the tent opening. I followed, and we watched a supply transport land about a klick out. Her feathers were ruffled by a light breeze, and she didn’t try to tamp them down. “It’s amazing to see a vessel in flight. Sometimes I just wish I could fly away. None of us living have even seen the ships of our past.”
I didn’t have a response to that. It had to be strange seeing something that her people hadn’t seen in person. Flight capable vessels had to look as alien to them as UFOs did to—
My head snapped up as the thought hit. “What did you say?”
Riva tilted her head to the said as if confused. “I said I wanted to fly away sometimes. That our people had never seen the ships we used to travel the stars in. Why?”
“Isn’t that what the elders said? The key to salvation lies in the past. Our people must fly again. We thought that was a metaphor, but what if it wasn’t?”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
My words came out rushed as my brain worked overtime to put the puzzle together. “Your people were capable of space flight once. What happened to the ships?”
Her feathers twitched as she thought. “I… I don’t know. There’s no mention of them in the records. I assumed the Mind Thieves had them all destroyed.”
I went back into the tent and headed for the personal pad. “What if they didn’t? I don’t know about you, but this space looks big enough to house something like a fleet of ships.”
