Offensive

by A. K. DuBoff

  Fiona stood up. “Then we can’t waste any time. I’ll coordinate a peacekeeping plan with the military.”

  “I’ll draft some media messaging,” Trisha stated, rising more slowly. “Any other instructions?”

  Ellen swallowed. How did I get to be in charge? I was just supposed to be a political consultant!

  That was a matter to work through at another time. For the present, if people were looking to her for leadership, it was her duty to offer it.

  “I’ll look over the media statement once you have it drafted. In the meantime, I’ll see if I can get a status update on getting reinforcements to contain whatever’s in that pit.”

  The two other women nodded their understanding and left to complete their tasks.

  As soon as she was alone, Ellen called President Joris. It was well after working hours on Elusia, but if Ellen knew the president, he’d still be in his office.

  Sure enough, he picked up almost right away.

  “Hello, sir. Any word yet from the Guard about an action plan?”

  “They’re working on it. How are things there on Mysar?” Joris asked.

  “I just filled in the two people I’ve been working with on the investigation. We’re preparing for an attack, just in case.”

  “Too bad you didn’t already find a suitable head of state replacement,” he said with a slight smile.

  Ellen sighed. “I’m a press secretary! And not even from this world! I shouldn’t be making the kind of calls I’ve had to here.”

  “Someone has to do it,” the president pointed out.

  But does it have to be me? Ellen didn’t have the energy to argue the point. “I’m doing what I can to prepare for the Guard.”

  “Good. An action plan is in the works now. We should know more soon.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The president looked her in the eyes. “We’re going to keep this system safe. Don’t worry.”

  “I know.”

  — — —

  A call from General Lucian illuminated on Kaen’s desk.

  “Sir,” Kaen greeted.

  “Colonel, I wish I had better news,” Lucian replied. “The only available operators for the Conquest’s TK weapon are presently engaged in other pressing business. The soonest the TSS could have the ship in Gaelon is six days from now.”

  “We have less than four before we expect the Trols to act. That timeline is only speculation, but—”

  “Delaying is a risk we can’t take without knowing the Trol’s intentions,” Lucian interrupted. “You’ll need to find another way to destroy that planet.”

  Kaen was about to protest, but he knew there wasn’t anything else he could say. “We’ll get the job done, sir.”

  “I have every confidence in you and your team. Good hunting.” He ended the call.

  Kaen slouched in his chair. How else can we destroy the planet?

  — — —

  Half an hour after the informal meeting with her team, Kira received another summons to meet with Sandren and Kaen, this time in the colonel’s office.

  Kira said to Jasmine while she walked to the meeting.

 

  She arrived at Kaen’s office and found the door open.

  Major Sandren was just settling into one of the visitor chairs, and Kaen was behind his desk. The colonel motioned Kira inside.

  “Sirs,” she greeted as she sat down.

  “We’re going to level with you, Captain,” Kaen began. “We’d normally reserve the details for senior leadership, but you’re deep enough into this matter that formalities have far less bearing.”

  Kira nodded. “Understood, sir.”

  “The TSS us unavailable to help us in time,” the colonel stated. “That means we need to find another way to destroy the planet in Gaelon.”

  Kira’s heart sank. “Do you have any ideas, sir?”

  “We were hoping you might be able to offer insights into a potential weakness,” Sandren replied.

  “I…” Kira looked inward to Jasmine. she grumbled to the AI.

 

  That was easy for the AI to say; she didn’t have ties to the system in question. Kira had been trained to keep her personal feelings separate from the mission at hand, but that was easier said than done when her homeworld was on the line.

  Valta was never just a singular planet. Mysar and Elusia were almost as much a part of her history as the house she’d grown up in—a small planetary system with cultural ties that persisted, no matter what was going on in the rest of the galaxy. They may not always have gotten along, but it was ultimately a matter of bickering siblings working out their growing pains. In the end, they would unite and be stronger for it.

  But now, that future was on the line. The insidious force from Gaelon had upset the balance and was threatening to destroy everything the people in the Elvar Trinary had fought to create.

  I won’t let them. The thought was private, but Kira could tell Jasmine felt the same way. We need a precise way to attack the aliens without harming anyone else.

  the AI suggested.

 

 

 

  Kira realized she’d left the two officers hanging while she had the internal discussion with Jasmine. Only five seconds had passed in real-time, but that was a long time for her to be seemingly staring into space.

  “My original advice was to blow up the planet with the biggest weapon we could get our hands on,” Kira replied at last. “My opinion hasn’t changed. However, there is another approach that might just be crazy enough to work.”

  “We’re all ears,” Kaen said.

  “Well, we know that their key structures are composed of valteron,” she said. “And we know which chemicals dissolve that mineral.”

  “You mean like when you removed the TR from me?” Kaen asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Exactly. If we could scale that up, we could launch a highly targeted attack.”

  “There’s no way we could get sufficient quantities of those chemicals to dissolve a planet,” Sandren stated.

  Kira shook her head. “We wouldn’t have to, sir. Just the pits and central chambers. That’s the core of their power.”

  “Neurochemicals weren’t designed to be administered to rocks. This isn’t just injecting a syringe into someone,” Kaen objected.

  “We’d need a large-scale nebulizer and a ton of the chemicals. I know nothing about that, but I bet someone at MTech does.”

  The colonel’s brow furrowed while he nodded with consideration. “Between Leon’s former colleagues and Ellen’s government contacts, I imagine we can connect with the right people.”

  “And, sir?” Kira paused until Kaen inclined his head. “I can stand up to the Trols, now that I have a better understanding of what we’re facing. Jasmine and I have gone over everything that happened in Gaelon. I know what went wrong. Let me face them, and I’ll make sure we get our weapon exactly where it will hit them hardest.”

  Kaen and Sandren exchanged glances.

  “I don’t see that we have another choice,” Kaen said after a moment. “I’ll make the preparations with MTech. Major, get to Mysar with Kira’s team. We need to move quickly.”

  — — —

  Leon shook his head. Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?

  Colonel Kaen’s theory about the false positives had played out just like he had predicted. Anyone who�
�d been exposed to the MTech serum, or spent an appreciable amount of time on Valta, had been flagged in the system’s automated review.

  The good news was that they now knew the reason for the flags. The bad news was that he would still need to assess each account, since the very thing that resulted in a flag was precisely what they needed to be on the lookout for. Fortunately, the testing was in the final stretch, so the work wouldn’t be a burden for much longer.

  With Tess and Jack out of the lab working on other things, Leon was just settling in for another session of manually reviewing records when Kaen appeared in the lab’s doorway.

  “Do you have a moment?” the colonel asked.

  Leon doubted it was really a question. “Of course, sir.”

  “Did you get the results of your scan?” Kaen asked.

  “Yes, it flagged me, just like you suspected.”

  “So, it’s the trace amounts of valteron? I’m surprised no one was ever able to figure out what caused the Valtans’ telepathic abilities before.”

  “We were always looking for the wrong thing,” Leon said. “The mineral is in everything on the planet, so it never stood out.”

  “What makes the telepaths different?”

  “The right neurochemistry, near as I can tell. In certain individuals, the valteron accumulates to form the neural bridge that enables telepathy. A random side effect.”

  “And such small traces that it never registered, without knowing where to look or what for.” Kaen shook his head. “With everything we know, we still know so little.”

  Leon chuckled. “Humbling, isn’t it?”

  “Indeed, it is.” The colonel paused. “That wasn’t the reason for my visit, though I am glad to hear you solved the mystery. I needed to talk to you about the solution you developed for my condition with Nox.”

  “What about it, sir?”

  “The neurochemical mixture—can it be scaled up?”

  “You mean doses for a large number of people?” Leon clarified.

  “No. More like make it into an industrial-strength aerosol.”

  The statement was so out of nowhere that it look Leon a moment to process the words. “I don’t think that’s possible. You could never control the dosing.”

  “This isn’t for people,” the colonel clarified. “We want to use it to dissolve the rock-like structures on Mysar and Gaelon. Since we can’t get a super-weapon to blow up the whole planet, we need to take a more surgical approach.”

  “I wish I could help you, sir, but I would have no idea how to do that. Doctor Elric knows much more about the chemical mixture than I do.”

  “I’m not asking for you to perform the scaling, just to put me in touch with your former contacts.”

  Leon stared at him. “From MTech? You want to involve them in this?” he asked, not caring that his tone was far from deferential.

  “I want to involve anyone who has the information and resources to accomplish this task in our timeframe, whether they work for MTech, the university, or anywhere else.”

  This is insane. Leon fought the impulse to say as much out loud. “It’s possible that MTech would have the necessary chemicals to synthesize a large batch. If they do, it would be located in a supply cache outside the capital city on Mysar.”

  “Forward me the appropriate contacts, as best you can estimate. I’ll coordinate with them and the Mysaran government to get some mining equipment.”

  Leon’s eyes widened. “What for?”

  Kaen cracked a smile. “To access their pit on Mysar. I doubt they’ll let us in willingly, so we’ll make our own door.”

  CHAPTER 18

  The incoming message from Colonel Kaen caught Ellen by surprise.

  Shite, what now? She set aside her review of the media summary Trisha had drafted.

  “Colonel Kaen,” she said, answering the call.

  “The Guard is sending support to Mysar. It’ll arrive in approximately sixteen hours.”

  Ellen did the math. It was the minimum travel time from headquarters to their location. “Thank you, Colonel.”

  “In preparation for their arrival, I have a request. Actually, several requests,” Kaen went on.

  “What can I do?”

  “I hope you’ve made friends in the government, because you’ll probably need to call in favors with everyone.”

  Ellen braced for it.

  “Our plan is to make a chemical assault on the Trol pit in the valley,” the colonel continued. “However, we’ll need to source those chemicals on Mysar, and also create an alternate access point into the valley facility to directly deploy the solution.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Ellen asked.

  “Drilling an access shaft,” Kaen stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “Drilling a…?” Ellen laughed. “Yeah, sure, if we had a month.”

  “You have sixteen hours, beginning now, to get the equipment to the site. We’ll have twelve hours to drill, once we know the exact location.”

  Ellen almost choked on her breath. “That’s an impossible timeline.”

  “I looked at your mining records, and the drills you have within range of the city can accomplish the project well within that time. Get the equipment in place and have operators standing by.”

  Taking a deep breath, Ellen composed herself. “This is critical to your plan?”

  “It is.”

  “Then it will be ready,” she stated with assurance she didn’t feel.

  “Good. And the second matter involves synthesizing a large batch of specific neurochemicals. We need to leverage any connections that government officials have with MTech. I have the names of contacts, but I don’t know if they will take this threat seriously.”

  “I’ll make sure the appropriate people get in touch.”

  “I’ll leave you to it. Good luck.” Kaen ended the call.

  Shite, what did I just sign myself up for? Ellen shook her head.

  She hit the comm on her desktop. “Trisha, Fiona, get Garett and the others. We have a new project.”

  — — —

  Mysar glowed rusty orange against the black starscape out the Raven’s galley viewport. Kira and her team were dressed in their light armor, ready to head out.

  Behind them, Sandren was consulting a tablet with the latest reports feeding in from Kaen and Ellen.

  “Okay, everything should be in place for us,” Sandren reported. “Mining equipment is en route to the valley where the pit is located, and a chemical cocktail is being brewed at the MTech lab.”

  “Sir, can we trust MTech to deliver?” Kira asked.

  “Ellen has a government team overseeing it,” the major replied. “The remaining MTech workers want this awful business behind them as much as anyone else. Honest people worked there, regardless of what the company was up to behind the scenes. Everyone is jumping at the chance to make things right.”

  Kira nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Kira, you and your team will head directly for Dome 5 to meet with Ellen’s informant,” Sandren continued. “We need to know the exact placement of the pit within the facility, and he’s the only one we know of who’s seen it.”

  “Speaking from experience,” Kira began with a frown, “geography makes no sense when you’re underground.”

  “This is true,” Sandren replied, “but we have a map of the facility as part of the data Ellen and her people retrieved. The only problem is that the pit isn’t noted on that map. If you can trace the route in the man’s mind, we can apply that navigation to the map, which will then translate to the official geological survey.”

  “Understood, sir, I’ll do my best,” Kira acknowledged.

  “What about the chemicals?” Nia questioned.

  Sandren nodded pensively. “That’s where things will get tricky—well, trickier. The pit on Mysar and the one in Gaelon need to be hit simultaneously to make sure the Trols don’t have time to relocate their consciousness to somewhere safe, assuming that’s something they
can do. The problem is that we need to load the chemicals onto space tankers to bring to Gaelon. The transit time will be cutting it dangerously close to the astral alignment time.”

  Kira commented to Jasmine.

  the AI faded out.

 

  Jasmine’s mental tone turned darker.

  Kira’s stomach twisted.

  “How do we deploy the chemicals in Gaelon?” Ari asked.

  Kira returned her attention to the room. “I need to distract them.”

  Sandren nodded. “I don’t know how to articulate that request, or if it’s even reasonable, but we do need you to find a way to keep the interstellar transmitter from activating. We have no extra room in the timeline.”

  “I have an idea for how to do that, but I won’t know for sure until I get down to Mysar,” Kira replied.

  “Then enough talking,” Sandren stated. “I’ll be coordinating activities from here on the Raven. As soon as the chemicals are loaded, we’ll head to Gaelon. You need to gather the necessary information and get back here within two hours.”

  Kira quipped to Jasmine.

 

  Jesting aside, Kira was up for the challenge. She had full confidence that she would be able to extract the necessary map information from Ellen’s informant, but learning the Trols’ weakness would be much more difficult. When it came down to it, though, she had to succeed. Failure wasn’t an option.

  The team was dismissed from the galley, and they took the ladder down to the hangar so they could load into the shuttle in preparation for descent.