Children of the Sky (The Talari Subversion Book 1)

by Houston V. Grant

  We entered the portal chamber and there it was.

  “You ready for this?” I asked.

  I started putting the shims into place on the Enki stela. For some reason, a part of me still expected this not to work. The Enlil stela only had two shims in place and they were both glowing, but none of the shims I was placing into the Enki stela were lighting up.

  “Why aren’t they glowing?” Tati asked. “Can shims go bad like light bulbs?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. I had a sinking feeling about this—like when I turned some malfunctioning electronic thing off and on, not really expecting it to work. But when I placed the 12th shim, all of them started glowing at once. “Hot damn!”

  We stood in awe and watched for a moment.

  “This is it,” I finally said. “We still going?”

  Tati took a deep breath, exhaled, then nodded. “Yes.”

  We donned the Enki uniforms over our chumahai that had been concealed to be transparent and then called Tashmit.

  “We’re going in as soon as we hang up,” I said.

  We were going in without Neuroconceal. We couldn’t risk exposure if we got separated and Tati was too far away to Neuroconceal me. Humans and Human-Tkosi hybrids were a vital part of Enki society, so hopefully we wouldn’t stand out. And since it was possible we’d be there for multiple days, we thought it best to conserve Tati’s energy for emergencies. We’d have to rely on our disguises to get by for as long as necessary.

  Tashmit looked back at us with a stern expression. “We’ll try to monitor what’s happening in Enki as best we can. If there’s a dire emergency, you can use your caduceus to contact us, but they might be able to detect that, so don’t do it unless you absolutely have to. When your mission is complete, or if you’re in desperate circumstances, use your caduceus to self-extract. There will be a caduceus active here for that purpose. Preferably from somewhere where you won’t be seen—we’d like to keep our capabilities a secret for as long as possible.”

  I nodded. “Understood.”

  Tashmit hesitated, then exhaled audibly. “Remember: establish contact and then get out. And be careful. Use what you’ve learned. I want you to come back. Both of you.”

  We closed the channel and faced the glowing stela. Tati took my hand and squeezed. “I’m ready,” she said.

  I activated the portal and the newly-installed shims began to glow more intensely, then their light swirled and reach out towards us. I felt like I was falling, then falling faster and faster, then slowing to a rapid stop. The glow was gone.

  It was dark wherever we were and it took my eyes a moment to adjust. We were outside in the night. I was still holding Tati’s hand and there were trees around us, but I couldn’t see the sky. We were on some kind of small platform. The ground beneath us was stone, but it was cracked and broken. There was a roof, but no walls, just columns holding the roof up. We stepped out and looked around. My initial impression was of some kind of chapel, but standing outside and looking at the structure, it was much more utilitarian. What looked like a train track passed overhead about a hundred yards away. It was made of something that looked like white enamel and glowed softly in the dim light.

  “Is that some kind of transportation?” I asked. Its form was so fluid that it looked as if it had grown from the ground, not been built, but I could sense the electrical energy pulsing through it. I channeled a little energy into the Enki electrofilm to update the codes and Electrosensed around to make sure we were alone. There were some small animals, but nothing significant, and nothing was coming towards us.

  “Let’s figure out where we are,” Tati said.

  We were in a small park on the northeast edge of the Enki capital, in an area labeled Old City. “Tashmit said that this was the area where the government was originally located,” Tati said, “but they demolished most of what used to be here and replaced it years ago. Covering up a tragedy or something like that. The current government is located in the Grand Ministry area. Here,” she pointed again. “And that thing,” she nodded towards the enamel skyway, “is indeed transportation. It’s some type of monorail. We should be able to follow the tracks to the station, then we can take it to Grand Ministry. We’re gonna have to hike a bit though—the nearest boarding platform is almost a mile away.”

  We started off. As we neared the support columns of the skyway, I could see that it wasn’t enamel at all, it appeared to be the same material that was used for chumahai, and had the same liquid-metal appearance. We followed the skyway through the forest for about fifteen minutes before we emerged.

  At least five transport pods went overhead during our walk. I was surprised at how much they looked like the bullet trains in Japan. And they were totally silent, except for the rush of air that accompanied their passage. There was no one on the street and the train station was clearly visible up ahead.

  “Are you concealing us now?” I asked.

  “Yes, but not as anything particular—just to make us look non-threatening. I’ll drop it when we get a little closer.”

  There was a ramp that led directly up to the platform. There seemed to be no fare or security, and the platform was empty. Another transport pod arrived in just a few minutes and I could see that it didn’t actually touch the track—it floated about six inches above. The car was occupied, but not crowded, and no one even looked up from what they were doing when we boarded. I immediately felt comfortable. Riding the train on Tkosa was just like riding the train in New York. The seats were arranged four-across, two on each side with an aisle in the middle, and faced front and back. I followed Tati to an empty row. She took the window seat and I sat next to her.

  “See,” she said. “Piece of cake. We’ll be done in no time.”

  “Don’t jinx us.” I flashed the car, checking for any electrofilms, but there were none.

  As we moved into the city’s core, the views outside changed. Most of the buildings were made of a similar material to the enamel/liquid-metal that formed the platform and tracks that our train moved on. They didn’t quite look organic, but they still seemed to have grown from the ground—not been built. Other skyways swooped over the streets and flowed from the buildings, connecting with the one we were traveling on, and others. The streets teemed with people moving about their lives.

  As in Enlil, humans were well integrated into Enki society and there were quite a few humans and hybrids amongst the crowds. I looked specifically for people wearing chumahai and saw a few, but they were definitely not the majority. I tried to see if the other Enki paid them any type of deference, but it was hard to tell as we rode by. But on our train, our uniforms seemed to earn us a bit of quiet respect.

  Enki society, at least in this city, was different than Enlil society, though I was having a hard time placing exactly how. From the briefings I’d been given, I expected Enki to be like an old Communist country, but the differences were much more subtle. There were still people on the street, laughing and enjoying themselves. The city was active and clean—obviously there was working public transport, but there was an air of—tension. We walked for several blocks before I saw the first clear differentiator: a group of Enki in black chumahai were standing on a corner watching people go by. They were state police—ISS, or Imperial Security Service. The ISS were the Enki equivalent of the KGB and reported through a completely separate chain than other Imperial officers. There was a marked tightness about the people walking past them. No one looked in their direction—no one wanted to be singled out or noticed.

  Soon we were in the Grand Ministry proper. There were government buildings together with eating places and shops all mixed in together. Uniforms like ours abounded. Groups of Enki imperial officers walked together, talking and laughing openly. I flashed around again as we walked, searching for reflections to the electrofilm I was wearing. As we passed the open door of a semi-crowded bar, I got a distinct signal.

  “Just like our practice,” I said.

  Tati nodded. “Le
t’s do it.” We went in.

  The majority of the crowd wore Imperial uniforms, but there were also some civilians and some wearing the black chumahai of the ISS. Tati and I found an empty corner at one end of the L-shaped bar and ordered drinks. I sent out low energy pulses while we waited for the bartender to return.

  “I found him,” I announced. “The hybrid at the end.”

  Tati looked around surreptitiously. “I see him,” she said. “Are you ready?

  “The sooner we say hello, the sooner we can say goodbye.” I could identify someone with the same electrofilm code from a distance, but I needed to be within three feet of them for our films to sync.

  We got our drinks and made our way to the other end, making it look like we just happened to be heading that way, then we slipped into the empty space next to the guy. I felt a little jolt as our electrofilms established a connection and the data transferred from mine to his.

  He noticed it too, because he turned to look at me.

  “Commander,” he said, seeing my rank insignia and touching his forehead. He looked towards Tati and repeated the gesture.

  Tati and I both returned the gesture.

  “I’m Antreia,” he said. “You look familiar, did you work on the Oblast development project?”

  The code update I’d performed when we first arrived gave me the script to confirm identity with another member of the resistance. It wasn’t an entire script, but the first speaker had to use the word “development” in a sentence. The second person then had to respond including the word “twin.”

  “I hear that a lot,” I said, “but no, it wasn’t me. I must have a twin somewhere.”

  He nodded knowingly. “If you’re staying around, I’ll buy you guys a drink.”

  “Another time,” Tati said. “We just stopped in for one on our way somewhere else.”

  He nodded again and went back to his own business while Tati and I finished our drinks. When we settled our tab, I said, “Good talking to you, Antreia.”

  He repeated the forehead gesture, which we returned, then we made our way back out. We’d done it.

  At the door, I felt a hand tap my shoulder and my heart skipped. I turned to see a grinning Enki woman wearing a black chumahai.

  “Captain Yusha?” she said. “I’m Officer Akiema, from the Third Bastion...” She trailed off, looking vaguely confused. Or maybe drunk, it was hard to tell.

  Relieved, I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry….” I said, at the same time as she started apologizing.

  “…I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.” The dark eyes made it hard to tell where she was looking, but I felt her gaze linger on the service insignia on my shoulder.

  “No problem,” I said and detached myself from the conversation before she had a chance to ask anything. Tati and I stepped out and started walking.

  “Mission accomplished,” she said.

  “Yeah. Now let’s find a dark alley to teleport from and get out of here.”

  “We can just go back in and go to the bathroom.”

  “Let’s find somewhere else. Being around that many Imperial officers makes me twitchy. Did you see how that woman looked at me when she grabbed my shoulder?”

  We looked back. The woman had come out and was watching us. The smile she’d worn at first had been replaced with a considering look.

  “Walk faster,” I said.

  We’d only gone a few steps before I heard “Hey!” from behind us. I didn’t have to look to know it was the same woman. We kept walking.

  “ISS!” she called. “Stop.”

  I grabbed Tati’s arm and we stopped and turned. The woman, Officer Akiema, was walking towards us. Two others wearing the black chumahai had come out of the bar to join her.

  “Let me do the talking,” Tati said. “Get ready to transfer.”

  Akiema had a weapon out. I raised a shield.

  “Identify yourselves,” she ordered.

  “What’s the problem?” I said.

  “The problem is that that shoulder tag you’re wearing was phased out for signal corps weeks ago. Now identify yourselves.”

  She was less than ten feet away now. Easily within zapping range, but too many people would see.

  Tatiana sighed dramatically, then said, “Officer, we need to take this off the street. Now.” We’d already determined that if such a situation arose, we’d pretend to be Imperial Intelligence operatives—spies—working undercover. Tati was using Neuroconceal to make the Tkosi officer more compliant, but it seemed to have limited effect.

  Officer Akiema hesitated, but didn’t lower her weapon. Her colleagues had arrived by now and heard the exchange. “I’ll electro ID” one of them said and approached.

  I dropped the shield just before he touched it—didn’t want to give it away by having him fry when he got within a few feet of me—but when he grabbed me, I zapped him. He dropped to my feet and lay still. I hadn’t killed him, but he was out cold.

  Akiema froze, unsure what she was seeing. “What the fuck just happened?” she asked. Before I could answer, she fired. It was a disabling shot, not meant to kill, but without my chumahai, it would’ve knocked me out cold. With my chumahai absorbing the energy, it stung like hell, but that’s it.

  “Fuck,” I said through clenched teeth.

  The fact that I was still standing made Akiema realize immediately that I must be wearing a concealed chumahai, which meant that I was Imperial Intelligence, the only thing the ISS feared. She suddenly doubted herself.

  “Stop shooting!” Tati snapped. People walking by were pointedly avoiding looking in our direction. Whatever was happening between these two groups of Imperial officers, no one wanted any part of it.

  “I told you to take this off the street, officer,” Tati growled. “Now stand down.”

  Akiema put her weapon away.

  Tati turned to the other ISS. “You need to walk back the way you came,” she said. “Calmly.” He left without a second glance. I was fine by now, but the ISS I’d zapped was still out.

  “Can you bring him back?” Tati asked me.

  I nodded and put my hands on the guy, delivering him a wake up jolt. He sat up with a start and I helped him to his feet.

  “Now the four of us are going to go into this little alley up ahead and talk about what just happened,” Tati said. The two Enki looked dismayed, but moved forward as Tati commanded.

  “Ready to transfer?” I whispered to Tati as we got to the alley.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Akiema and Nimshur,” I said to the two Enki officers, reading their nametags. “Luckily for you, I’m feeling generous today. When we leave, go back to the bar. If anyone asks, you say there was a misunderstanding, but you cleared everything up. Otherwise, don’t say shit. And don’t speak a word about what you’re about to see. Understood?”

  They nodded.

  Just as I took my caduceus out, two more black chumahai came rushing around the corner.

  “He’s got a weapon!” one of them yelled, and they started shooting. To her credit, Akemia tried to defuse the situation with a bellowed “stand down!” that fell on deaf ears.

  Both officers’ guns were set to disable, but on a much higher power setting than Akiema’s had been. I didn’t have time to react. My chumahai absorbed the first few blasts, but the fifth and sixth knocked me out.

  I woke in a room that reminded me of the decompression pod the Enlil had me in when I first came through. I looked for Tatiana, but she wasn’t there. I was still wearing my Imperial uniform, but my chumahai was gone. My hands were bound, but I was otherwise unrestrained. I got up and looked around the room. No doors that I could see, but I could sense the electricity infusing the room. It hummed like an unshielded electrical line on Earth. It was similar to the Enlil facilities, but much less—polished. Still, I didn’t have a way out. I tried to remember what had happened. We’d made contact. We were almost out of Enki land. It was fuzzy.

  The wall opened and two E
nki Tkosi stepped in. One was just over six feet tall and the other was probably close to 6’3”. Both were wearing black chumahai. The wall closed behind them.

  “Glad to see you’re awake,” the shorter one said, pleasantly. He smiled, but it didn’t touch his eyes. “We had a bet,” he said, gesturing towards his colleague, “on whether you or your companion would wake first. I won, so I get to go first.”

  The fake smile tightened. “I have a lot of questions.”

  THE END

  Author’s Note

  I am an Atlanta-based Maryland native, with a 15-year stint in Brooklyn in between. I’m a lawyer by day and a science fiction writer by night and weekend.

  When not writing or lawyering, I enjoy playing my guitar, photographing bugs, and listening to ancient alien theories. I am currently working on a breakthrough method to recall dreams with better clarity. And, another novel…Book 2 of The Talari Subversion series is coming your way soon.

  If you want to hear more about Nate, Tati and Tashmit, please join my Readers Club. I post updates and info about free giveaways there.

  Lastly, I’d love to get a review from you—they help me a lot with my writing and I just love hearing from readers.

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