“Good,” she replied grimly. “Give them hell.”
I moved the ball ahead of Isabelle and strengthened it. I felt air move past my face as the orb started to emit ever-stronger gravitational pulses. I poured more power into it, willing it to become a full-blown singularity.
I heard gasps as the singularity flared to life, becoming visible to people other than me. It was likely the first time many of them had seen me use my powers for anything other than flying, which would have seemed magical because they couldn’t see the gravitational anomaly I followed.
Seizing the singularity in my mind’s eye, I pushed the whirlpool of gravitons forward. The first enemy it touched turned to multi-colored mush and swirled around like water being sucked into a narrow drain. I felt it growing in strength, threatening to expand beyond its current diameter, and pushed my mind more firmly around it, forcing it to retain its current dimensions. Within seconds, the singularity returned to its customary pure black color and I felt more tired than I had a moment before.
I shoved the miniature black hole forward and swallowed up three more enemies in rapid succession, which almost caused me to fall to my knees as I grappled with the rapid increase in power contained within the singularity. But I held on, knowing if I lost control of the singularity and it continued absorbing mass or energy it could grow ever-larger until it swallowed the planet. I was the only power standing between my creation and possible disaster.
Moving more cautiously with the whirlpool of death, I crushed two more and finally it was at the far door. Here goes nothing, I thought, shoving the whirlpool toward the door. No sooner had the inky darkness touched the metal of the frame than the entire doorway twisted and ripped from the walls with an ear-wrenching screech. In the aftermath, the walls of the corridor framed empty space.
With that last exertion, I knew I had to collapse the black hole in on itself now or I wouldn’t have enough power to. Summoning the last of my strength, I pushed on the edges of the singularity like one might push flattened dough, condensing the energy with the expectation that it would grow unstable and, devoid of new sources of energy, collapse in on itself.
At first, it didn’t seem my action would work. I gritted my teeth as I railed mentally against the power of my creation. But I pushed once, twice, three times and finally, after four agonizing seconds, the black hole wobbled and then winked out of existence, leaving only stunned silence.
“Amazing,” Isabelle said in an admiring tone. “Let’s press forward. Did anyone get that bloody door open yet?” she asked through the channel.
“Negative,” a voice replied. “We’re bringing up a tech crew, but it might still be booby-trapped, so we’re not taking any chances.”
“Fine. Make yourselves useful, though, and look around for any points of interest. If you can pinpoint the nullification generator, I would be most appreciative. Once it’s destroyed I can get everyone out quickly.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the man on the other end replied.
A few straggling undead charged through the opening my power had created, but they were cut down by concentrated fire. Now that the element of surprise had been lost, they had no chance to cross the distance.
Isabelle led us down the corridor, stepping over the unmoving corpses of our enemies, to a junction. “Which way?” she mused aloud to herself.
“Let me try something. Ma’am,” I amended a second later. I had to remember my cover identity and not talk so familiarly to her.
She turned and raised an eyebrow at me. “Go ahead.”
I closed my eyes and cast out my senses. If my hypothesis was correct, I could pinpoint...there. I raised my arm and pointed left, toward the direction I felt the nullification generator, which cast out waves of gravity. “The generator is that way.”
“Are you certain?” she asked.
“Yes. I can feel the gravitons pulsing off it.”
“Gravitons? What made you think to try to sense it?”
“I felt my power grow stronger when I entered the building, which coincided with the magic nullification field. I theorized that the magic nullification field either uses gravitons to suppress magic, and your power, or, at the very least, this particular model is doing so.”
She inclined her head. “I’m impressed, Private. Left it is.”
Julianna punched me on the shoulder. “Show off.”
“Shut up,” I said, attempting to sound hurt.
Isabelle spoke through the squadron comms as she walked. “Captain Wilson, we believe we’ve found the generator.”
“Good, because enemy reinforcements are inbound. I’m sorry, but I’m pulling the remaining troops out to mount a defense.”
“How long can you hold them?”
“I’ve launched our fighters, and our gunships are moving to intercept also, but the Daedalus wasn’t meant for prolonged fights, and the enemy has three squadrons and three corvettes moving in.”
They’ll be outnumbered, I thought. The Daedalus was only about as big as a corvette, which made it maneuverable but also no match for larger, or more numerous, capital ships.
“Do your best, and if you have to leave, do so.”
“We’re not going to leave you behind, Ma’am. And we don’t leave our soldiers behind.”
“That’s an order, Captain Wilson,” Isabelle snapped. “If it’s the Daedalus’ life and the lives of her crew on the line, get to safety. We’ll find our own way to safety.”
“Fine,” my CO said, not sounding pleased.
The left corridor at the junction wound its way deeper into the mountain, seeming to curve as it went. Here, doors lined the corridor infrequently, which meant our team had to split up and clear the rooms as we went, slowing things down. But better to do that than find enemies at our rear.
Most of the rooms were sleeping quarters, and vacant, with possessions remaining. Some looked like labs, but were cleared out. In a few rooms, we found men and women dressed like scientists. Isabelle ordered them to be brought along but insisted they wear stun cuffs.
At last we reached another junction. I pointed to the right, for I could now feel the residual energy emitted by the magic nullification generator radiating from that direction clearly.
Isabelle turned the corner and jumped back immediately. In front of her, rapid bursts of laser fire lit up the hallway, striking the walls and sizzling in the distance.
“Two laser turrets,” she reported. “Idiot,” she said, seemingly to herself. Everyone knew it was standard procedure to look before turning a corner. It felt odd to see her slip up. Being without her powers must be getting to her finally.
“I got something for it, ma’am,” one of my fellow Rangers offered, stepping forward with an RPG launcher.
Isabelle gestured. “Be my guest.”
The Ranger poked his RPG launcher around the corner while swiveling the screen to see what the tip of the weapon was aiming at. He pulled the trigger and a grenade sailed through the air, landing between the two turrets. The grenade exploded moments later, disabling them both.
Isabelle swept around the corner, pistols spitting bullets to confirm the operators of the turrets were well and truly dead. The blast door behind them remained closed.
“Rachel, do your thing on this door,” she said. “We don’t have time for explosives.”
I approached and touched my hand to the metal. Then I summoned a ball of gravitons and expanded it to singularity strength in the space of a moment. Only this time, I made it vertical instead of horizontal. It consumed the door and started to consume the walls, following a circular pattern.
Laser fire from people in the room faded into the singularity.
I stepped to the side and, maintaining my control on the baby singularity, prepared to close it. “I’m collapsing it in three, two, one,” I said, as way of warning.
The instant the singularity collapsed into a pinprick of darkness Isabelle moved in, firing again. By the time I followed her inside, two guards were de
ad and three technicians had hands up in surrender. One hadn’t surrendered, however, and was typing furiously on the console. A trash can icon with files flying into it on the holo-display made it clear what he was trying to do.
Isabelle was having none of it, however, and a bullet to the head stopped the technician. She then approached the console and canceled the deletion. “Somebody cuff those three,” she waived vaguely at the techs who’d surrendered. She produced a storage drive and stuck it into an open port on the computer system. The holo-display switched from trashing files to copying them to Isabelle’s storage drive. “Rachel, find a way to turn that nullification field off.”
While the other Rangers secured the new prisoners, I approached an empty terminal. While I appreciated being given an important job, I worried her over-reliance on me might tip off my true identity. I did have the same name in my pseudonym as my real name. Then again, Rachel was a popular name.
I searched through the menu options until I found a control for the nullification field. Nothing indicated that it was anything more than what it was called. Could it be that all nullification fields blocked magic by emitting gravitons? I’d have to ask my Uncle Jason about it next time I saw him. Assuming we made it out of here. I hadn’t heard that the Daedalus had retreated yet, but I knew it could be any minute. I switched off the field and immediately felt my power grow weaker - back to normal, rather. “It’s off,” I said.
Isabelle didn’t answer, her eyes focusing on something displayed on the holo-display. Project Necromancy. And the icon beneath it, the symbol of the United Federation of Planets.
I stepped up beside her. “What is Project Necromancy? It has a Federation logo.”
“It’s nothing,” she said, hurriedly closing the file. She wouldn’t meet my eyes.
My eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you. What’s Project Necromancy?”
“We don’t have time to discuss it,” she said, still not meeting my eyes. “The field is down, I can shift us all out of here. Gather up!” she ordered. She looked at me, leaned close and whispered, “We can discuss it later.”
“Damn right we will,” I whispered back. While I didn’t know the contents of the file, the name sounded suspiciously like what happened to Galatia IV - resurrection of the dead.
Everyone gathered in the room and then we shifted.
WE’D MADE IT TO THE Daedalus just in time to make for the void and, in this case comfort, of space, with enemy forces in close pursuit. Fortunately, we’d only lost four fighters and one gunship. How the enemy had been able to mount such a large defense on a Federation-controlled planet was a question I had, but the burning question about what Project Necromancy consisted of superseded it.
Following the debriefing, I stopped in the hallway. Jarvis, call Isabelle.
One moment, Jarvis replied.
Yes, Rachel? Isabelle responded a few moments later.
We need to talk, I said, thankful that emotion was hard to convey through implants. I was barely keeping my anger in check.
Meet me at my quarters, she said before closing the line.
I stormed to her quarters and knocked, heedless of who might see. The hallway was empty, however.
The door slid open. “Come in,” Isabelle said in a neutral tone.
I stormed in, eyes seeking out my cousin, who sat behind the desk. She’d been given Captain Wilson’s office temporarily by virtue of her rank. I waited until the door slid shut behind me to speak. “Do you have a moment?” I wanted to shout my question again, but figured that wouldn’t be productive. Despite my real identity, she was still my elder.
“Please, sit down,” she said, gesturing to a chair in front of the desk.
I sat. An awkward silence settled over the room. “You can’t tell me that project is nothing.”
My cousin sighed. “No, it’s not nothing.”
“Then what is it?” I clenched my fists.
“What I’m about to tell you is top secret information, Rachel. If you were actually a private you would have been sent to the brig for asking me repeatedly or been told it’s above your clearance level.”
“But I’m not,” I said, gritting my teeth.
“No, you’re not, which is why we’re talking. But what I’m saying is, this information cannot leave this room. Can you agree to that?”
I grudgingly nodded.
“Good. Project Necromancy was a top-secret project to study the exact same thing the Xanos Reapers ended up engineering through the shell corporation Kimberly’s father worked for. Only...it was established over twenty years ago.”
“You’re saying the Federation knew about this virus twenty years ago?” I asked, incredulous.
“Not just knew about it...the Federation research department developed it.”
“So...Galatia IV was an inside job?” Rage built inside me.
My cousin held up her hand and shook it. “No, the research was lost when Icarus Station was destroyed. We thought that was the end of it. But we were...”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “Did you say Icarus Station? As in the Icarus Station my mother was in command of?”
Isabelle nodded sadly. “You wanted the truth. Yes, it is one and the same.”
“That was the secret she died protecting,” I said, realization dawning. “My father said she died protecting secrets that could never be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.”
“It was one of the secrets,” Isabelle agreed. “Every project on Icarus Station was top secret. It was easier to ensure secrecy that way, rather than having separate projects on different stations and risk interception of staff or materials while in transit between teams.”
I blinked back tears. “If the station was destroyed, how did Project Necromancy make it into the hands of the Xanos Reapers?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to determine. We thought this secret had been buried with...” she stopped.
“With my mother in her grave,” I finished, bitterness creeping into my voice. “And she died for nothing, since the secret got out anyway.”
“She did not die for nothing,” Isabelle said, heat in her voice. “Her death delayed the virus being unleashed by evil parties for almost twenty years, and several other projects being developed on that station remain buried. Her death was not in vain.”
I didn’t see it that way. Anger burned within me. Anger at my father for not telling me the truth. Anger that he allowed my mother to be put in such a position where she sacrificed her life for the Federation’s secrets. Anger that the Federation had even been researching the virus which ended up killing or ruining the lives of millions. I couldn’t speak. “Did my father know?” I had to ask - had to know.
Isabelle closed her eyes for a moment. “Yes. No top-secret projects are withheld from the supreme commander.”
“Or you,” I said out of spite. “That’s why you were worried when that popped up on the holo, wasn’t it? It proves the Xanos Reapers used the Federation’s research to engineer the virus.”
Isabelle’s silence was confirmation enough. “I didn’t know positively until today,” she said so quietly I almost didn’t hear her. “I’m sorry. It was for the greater good.” The armor she wore all the time was torn away as the shame of what the Federation had authorized overwhelmed her.
“Greater good,” I mocked, snorting. “Tell that to the families of the millions dead and to those left undead, hated and ostracized by society.” Without waiting for her response, I stood up, slammed the door control so hard the glass cracked, and left.
Chapter 25
Three weeks after the assault on the Xanos Reapers facility and I was still brooding about what felt like a betrayal. I tried to shove it aside - temporarily - as Captain Wilson spoke once again in the briefing room of the Daedalus.
“Because of intel received on Urkusk, we now know the location of a secret base where the Xanos Reapers are continuing production of the virus.”
That caused gasps from both the living
and undead Rangers. Even my eyes widened with surprise. They had the research, but for them to continue producing the virus, that was bad.
“The good news is the virus is not yet complete. But time is of the essence.”
An image appeared, this time of a giant asteroid floating amid a variety of smaller asteroids. “The complicating factor is this. The base is located deep within an asteroid. Our probes revealed several other nearby asteroids which look like they are watch posts or house defensive platforms and fighters. The tacticians with the Navy suspect the entire cluster will come alive at the first sight of Federation ships. The asteroid also features an immensely powerful shield, which would keep our fleet busy for hours bombarding it. Long enough for the Reapers to call for reinforcements or escape.”
A video replaced the image. It showed a pirate ship shifting in at the edge of the asteroid field and approaching the base without incident. “There is a lot of activity in and out of this asteroid. The plan is to infiltrate the facility and sabotage their defensive capabilities ahead of the main fleet.
“To accomplish this, the Daedalus will be transformed into a replica of a pirate ship. Everything from the paint on our hull to our transponder’s engine signatures will be modified to be authentic. This should allow us to pass through their defenses and get aboard the asteroid. Once there, we will infiltrate the base and disable the shield generator. Then we exfiltrate and call in the fleet. With its shields down, a series of bunker-buster nukes will be fired into the crust of the asteroid and crack it in two. The heat and radiation from the nuclear blasts will obliterate the virus.”
I shuddered. That was a lot of force to bring to bear on the asteroid. Time would be of the essence as we hurried to escape before the nukes launched. No one asked the obvious question.
After the briefing, Julianna found me cleaning my rifle. “Hey,” she said, sitting across from me at the table.
“Hey,” I said, not looking up from my work.
“You haven’t been yourself lately,” she began. “Ever since the last mission.”
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