by C. S. Harte
Whisper’s lips curled into a half-smile. “Go on.”
“Well, I can’t figure out your reasoning for joining Nume. Why are you risking your life to fight against the government that trained you, the one you swore an oath to?” Jonas tilted his head and leaned in close. “Why did you risk your life to break me out of prison?”
She took a step back. “What do you know about the Whisper Unit?”
“Only what I’ve heard from Fleet Academy — it's an elite covert military group. Your specialty is political disruptions via assassinations without leaving a trace. But you’re also trained to support infantry battalions by sneaking into enemy camps and killing their officers to sow chaos and discord, again letting no one know you were there.”
Whisper nodded as he spoke. “Do you know why your application to join our unit was rejected?”
“You knew that I applied?” Jonas stiffened his posture. “I take it I wasn’t qualified?”
She shook her head. “I’m breaking a cardinal Whisper rule by revealing this to you.” Many seconds of silence elapsed as she seemingly contemplated her next words. “The entrance exam to join the Whisper Unit is a ruse. Normal humans can never join our ranks.”
Jonas furrowed his brow. “What do you mean by that?”
“All Whispers are clones, created artificially in a cloning vat from one of a dozen cloning templates. From the moment we open our eyes, they train us to accomplish three things: infiltrate, kill, escape. We are taught how to blend into any group seamlessly, kill without remorse, and leave without entanglements.”
Jonas’ mouth gaped open. “I thought the Saito-Welden Accords made cloning illegal in the Commonwealth.”
“Laws are only for the powerless,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“So what made you go against Fleet?”
“Nolan,” Whisper said softly.
“My brother Nolan?” Jonas’ eyes widened. “What about him?”
Her eyes watered. “This is a whole other discussion. I’m heading to the mess hall. You can sleep if you’re tired and we can continue this conversation later.”
Jonas straightened his back. “No, I’m awake now. I’ll follow you.”
The mess hall, like every compartment on the Zephyr, was small and cramped. It accommodated one food replicator and a long rectangular table intended for eight people, max. Unlike other Fleet ships, there was no window into space. Kovat designed the Zephyr to survive punishing hostile encounters which prohibited transparent walls.
Whisper ordered a cup of hot Earlian Gray tea from the replicator which materialized in front of her in tangled wisps of white and blue light. “Do you want anything?”
Jonas shook his head and sat. “You were just saying about Nolan...”
“Nolan and I were classmates at Fleet Academy.” Her eyes became unfocused as she spoke. “We had many classes together and became friends. After a year, we became a little more than friends. We were there for each other when things got…” She smirked. “Boring.”
Nolan never shared his relationships with me. I can’t believe I was attracted to a girl that's been with my brother. He shivered.
“Your body language tells me you’re finding this weird.”
“No…” He feigned a laugh. “Well, yes. But go on. There was a lot about Nolan I never knew about. When my sister, Saera disappeared, it was like I lost him too.”
“Nolan didn’t talk much about serious things.”
Jonas nodded. “Yes, he wasn’t a very serious person. My parents and I wondered why he joined Fleet sometimes.”
“After Academy, I didn’t expect to see Nolan again. Somehow, Nolan and I were posted on Ostia Station together.”
“The outer edge space station in the Alpha Quadrant that was destroyed by Mimics?”
Whisper shook her head. “Not destroyed, taken over. Fleet wants us to believe it’s gone because it’s better propaganda than to say an enemy took one of our next-gen stations.”
“Were you on Ostia when the Mimics invaded?” Jonas touched his chest.
“No, I was on assignment in a nearby sector. But I was the first to receive the final data packet from Nolan before he… before he died.”
Jonas shifted his gaze downward. She was one of the last people to see my brother alive. And she was someone important to him. He felt an ache in his heart. I miss my brother. He deserved a better sibling than me…
Whisper lifted Jonas’ chin. “Your brother died a hero. Don’t forget that.”
“Not according to his official records. He is a coward and a traitor according to Fleet.” Jonas slammed his fist on the table.
“I know.” Whisper grabbed his closed hand. “I expected Fleet to give him the Distinguished Valor Award, not a criminal record. And then they did the same to you. I couldn’t let them execute you for something you didn’t do. I rescued you for Nolan. I would have done so even without Nume’s help. It’s what he would have wanted me to do...” Her voice trailed.
“So you’re rebelling against Fleet because of Nolan?”
“It never made sense to me.” She rubbed her chin. “The Commonwealth of Man is prosperous, peaceful, and powerful — to an extreme degree. Every citizen enjoys its protection. It defied logic to hide the invasion and certainly didn’t make sense to sabotage your career. Even if they wanted to hide the Mimic invasion, they didn’t have to brand you and your brother as traitors.” She looked away from Jonas. “There are more pieces I’m missing.”
Jonas scoffed. “I know how you’re feeling. It’s like staring at a puzzle, trying to guess the image when all you only have is a tiny fraction of the pieces in place.”
“As a spy, my whole life has been about gathering information, so others can do something with it. I’m not a rebel. I haven’t given up on Fleet. I believe I’m fighting for the Commonwealth by aiding Nume.”
Jonas nodded. Every moment since his escape from Wynter Prison had been surreal. He always knew he wasn’t responsible for the death of his crew on the Endurance, but he had no idea the depths of the conspiracy that pulled him under. “What else can you tell me? Do you have names of the conspirators? What proof do you have of this? And, why are we heading to the Delta Quadrant?”
Her shoulders slumped slightly. “Every thread I have tugged has only given me false hope. The conspirators in Fleet, and probably Parliament, are just one of the major problems we face. The more imminent threat is the Mimic invasion.”
“How so? I know they surprised us at Ostia. Have we not sent our armadas to meet them?”
She shook her head. “It won’t be enough.”
Jonas cocked his head back. “We have tens of thousands of warships throughout the quadrants. It’s the largest military in the history of humanity. How is that not enough?”
“The sheer numbers of ships won’t matter. Never in our history have we fought against invaders as ruthless and soulless as the Mimics. They are cunning, technologically advanced, and they are many — more than a match against our military.”
Jonas’ jaw dropped. “You’re talking like we’ll lose — like we have no chance. If what you’re saying is true, how can the five of us affect anything? Why bother joining Nume? Why bother rescuing me from Wynter Prison?”
Whisper showed a wry smile. “Nume has a plan. She is a far greater adversary than most give her credit for. It’s easy to look at her and see a young, inexperienced girl, but those people are only playing into her trap. I’ll let her explain in due time.” Whisper took Jonas’ hands in hers. She kissed him on the lips and stared into his eyes. “I see Nolan in you.” Her chin dropped to her chest. “I miss him dearly.” She left the room, leaving Jonas in a daze.
20
Jonas flicked opened his eyes. His last thoughts before rejoining the waking world were of Whisper and the warmth of her lips. He smiled at the memory. Jonas never thought about a woman the way he did Whisper. He understood why his brother fell for her and wondered if he was under the same spell.
<
br /> The headaches left him. Jonas stretched his limbs in bed. No discomfort anywhere on his body. How long have I been asleep? He checked his bio-information panel. “Three days! I slept for three days!” Jonas jumped out of bed, ran into the sonic shower, and after a quick minute, put on the clothes left for him presumably by Nume — a gray flight suit with white bands around the waist and red cuffs around the arms and legs.
Where is everyone? Jonas touched a computer panel. “Where is Whisper?”
“There is no person named Whisper on this ship,” replied the computer.
Jonas furrowed his brow. “Where is Lael?”
“There is no person named Lael on this ship.”
Did something happen while I was asleep? He rubbed his face. “Where is Nume?”
“Entrent transformation room. Deck 2.”
Jonas took the decktram to deck 2. He found Alyana peering through a thick, transparent wall. On the other side was Nume inside a cylindrical tube filled with a glowing cerulean liquid. Kovat stood over her, working the terminals connected to the device.
Alyana noticed Jonas as he approached. “I was wondering if you would ever wake. It’s like you were bitten by a tulog sleeping bug.” She hugged him and whispered, “Thank you for carrying me to safety. Nume told me everything.”
“Everything?” Jonas frowned.
“Yes, even the part where you wanted to leave me. But I get it, we all have to protect Nume — be willing to sacrifice ourselves if we have to.”
“I’m sorry for...”
“It’s fine.” She surprise-punched him in the stomach, but not hard enough to hurt him. “Just don’t do it again, understand?”
He scoffed. “Don’t get in a situation where I have to carry your unconscious body again.”
Alyana huffed and turned her attention back to Nume.
“How is your head doing?” Jonas glanced at her brown, wavy hair. “It looked bad when I carried you.”
“Overall, good. I’ve had worse injuries to my head.” She knocked on her temple. “But it keeps ticking… somehow,” Alyana said with a smile. “And you? I see you’re wearing our stylishly designed rebel flight suit. Does that mean you’re sticking around?”
“For now, that’s all I can tell you.”
“Hmm, that’s not good enough to get you our secret decoder ring.” She smirked and crossed her arms.
“Do you know where Whisper is?” Jonas wrinkled his brow as he asked.
“She took one of our shuttles and left for somewhere.”
He gasped. “Whisper left? And you don’t know where?”
Alyana shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about your girlfriend. She’s probably off killing someone while looking sexy as hell.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. It was just one kiss.” Jonas rubbed the back of his neck.
“Oh! So you kissed her. Lucky puppy! I should’ve known to never make a bet with an empath. But I can’t resist making bets. It's one of my charms.” She flashed a smile.
Whisper left without saying anything, without saying goodbye. Maybe it was just a kiss…
Alyana snapped her fingers in Jonas’ face. “Hey, bionically enhanced tough guy! If you love something, set it free.”
“I never said… nevermind. We’re not talking about this.” His eyes darted to Nume. “What’s going on in there?”
“She’s just getting her regularly scheduled genetic tune-up. You know, the one where they drain every cubic centimeter of blood and replace it with a fresh amalgamation of human and Katok fluids.”
Jonas scratched his head. “Oh. This is normal to you?”
“Normal?” Alyana laughed. “I couldn’t tell you what normal looks like. Hasha missionaries raised me on an orphan ship that was really a front for trafficking slave labor because for some reason that still exists in this day and age. I guess I count myself more fortunate than my orphan brothers and sisters because at least my so-called parents taught me how to pilot the ship instead of selling me to the first bidder. With all the times we had to run away from Alliance and Commonwealth patrols, I got extraordinarily good at piloting.”
Jonas’ mouth fell open. “I’m sorry. That’s…”
“There’s already enough bad things and people in this universe without having to deal with the oncoming alien apocalypse.” Alyana placed her hand on the glass wall. “It takes Nume awhile to soak up all the Katok juices. Let me get your familiar with our new tech while they finish.”
They walked to the armory room down the hall.
For a ship conservative in its storage usage, the armory room appeared exempt from such limitations. Hanging on the back wall were six gray and black combat suits. The left wall had an array of rifles, hand cannons, and small arms — all of the plasma or laser variety, no kinetic weapons. The right side showcased crowd control munition — proximity mines, gravity grenades, and sonic turrets. In the center of the room were eight combat droids, fully autonomous fighting units capable of both offensive and defensive objectives.
Alyana switched on one of the sleeping robots. “Centuria Combat Mechs. Fifth-gen model.”
The eyes of the droid lit up with a menacing red color as its spine fully straightened. Its head nearly touched the ceiling at three meters tall.
“I’ve worked with these before while at the Academy." Jonas ran his finger along its armor. "They have modulating shields, numerous system redundancies, multiple sources of power generations, adaptive artificial intelligence…”
She raised her hand. “OK, I get it, you studied a lot at school. Pop quiz. Do you know why they’re named Centuria?”
“Fleet Commanders originally nicknamed them Centuria after one unit took out 100 enemy soldiers during the Battle of Morphee in the Colony Wars.”
Alyana picked up a helmet and gloves from a combat suit and tossed them to Jonas. “Obscura Mark III Combat Suit.” She helped him put them on.
Jonas watched as his field of vision displayed numbers and text. In the top right corner, he saw his heart rate and neuromod state. The bottom left showed the status of the activated Centuria droid, designated as Centuria-1. “Clean, minimalist Heads Up Display.”
“That’s what I look for in a HUD." She placed a helmet over her head. "These babies are the joys of my life.” Alyana beamed a smile. “Obscura Suits have photosensors and projection systems to seamlessly blend the user into the environment. They’re made from a melding of titanium silicon carbide interlaced with synthetic spider-silk. Lightweight and very strong. Just like me.” She smiled and flexed her biceps.
“The suit taps into my BIP?”
“Yes!” Alyana exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. “No more spending precious seconds looking down at your forearm when you can just look in the corner of your HUD.”
Jonas noticed his eye movements controlled the suit's interface. With a few darting movements of his irises, he ordered Centuria-1 to arm its weapons. His field of vision updated to display the possible targets in the room. A small window appeared which showed a live feed from the droid’s cameras.
Centuria-1 unlatched its chest autocannon which rotated as it warmed up.
Alyana shrieked. “Jonas! No! Bad! We do not arm the droids on this ship, especially when I’m the only target here.” She shut off Centuria-1 and scowled at him.
“I was just…”
She spanked his butt repeatedly as she said, “Bad. Bad. Bad.”
Jonas winced.
“Alyana. Please bring Jonas back to the Entrent transformation room,” Nume said over the ship’s intercom.
“You’re so lucky Mommy Entrent just saved you!” She wagged her finger at him.
They rejoined Nume in the transformation room.
“Kovat’s on the bridge?” Alyana asked.
Nume nodded. “Prep the Obscura suits for a mission,” she said to Alyana. “I need to talk to Jonas alone.”
“Got it chief!” She winked at Jonas. “I wasn’t mad at you, just needed an excuse to spank your butt.”
Alyana laughed and left the room.
“She’s a character,” Jonas said to Nume.
“I admire her. For all the ills she’d received in life, she retains a purity in her heart.” Her eyes changed to shades of blue and lavender. “I was very fortunate to stumble upon her two years ago.”
“What’s wrong, Nume? We’re not here to talk about Alyana…”
“I mentioned before how some in the upper echelons of Fleet have no interest in stopping the Mimic invasion.”
He nodded.
“I sometimes wonder if the Mimics were invited or encouraged into human space.”
“Why would anyone invite a species capable of annihilating humanity?”
Nume walked to a wall screen. “Computer, display attachment from latest Whisper communication.”
A still image appeared showing several clusters of red dots in different sectors of the Alpha Quadrant.
“Each cluster represents several hundred Mimic sphereships.”
Chills ran up Jonas’ spine.
Nume swiped the screen to a new image which showed a single cluster of blue dots. “This is the 5th Navy. The only opposing force assigned to deal with the Mimic invasion. Roughly 50 ships if Whisper’s intelligence is correct.”
“They’re sending those ships into a massacre!” Jonas gritted his teeth. “I can’t believe this. All those people…”
Nume sighed. “I have more unwanted news.”
“It gets worse?”
She nodded and tugged at her ear.
Why does she keep doing that? The only other person I knew that did that was Saera…
“I know your connection to this group is tenuous at best. You have gone through much suffering in a short amount of time. I do not blame you if you want to leave. It may not seem like we are many, but we do have friends and allies in places throughout the Commonwealth and the Alliance.”
Jonas opened his mouth to speak, but Nume stopped him.
“Only Kovat knows what I'm about to tell you. Alyana does not. I fear she might try to stop me if I tell her.”
“You sound like a person about to do something extremely dangerous.”
