Avearan suspected that the shields of the assassin weren’t reliable, not with all the jump porting, cloaking, and such, on top of preventing its wearer from being frozen earlier. The assassin was on the defense now; she would not escape the barrage that was coming. And then Avearan remembered the gem. She had not checked to see if it fell out of her pouch during this colossal exchange. Her hand reached back into her pouch to grab it and make sure it was still there.
It was; she, however, was not anymore.
… … …
►► ESV Winston Churchill, Earth Orbit
► Sol System
“Doctor, are you all right?” asked a nurse.
Avearan, now in control of Ella’s body as she floated motionless inside the Winston Churchill’s infirmary. She held an organ regenerator in her hand, while an unresponsive Rabuabin lay on an operating table, strapped in. There were tiny orbs of blood floating around him and a few other medical tools orbiting her.
Our bodies swapped again, Avearan thought. I thought we were long past this nuisance.
As did I, Ella’s thoughts echoed. Oh my god!
Avearan began to visualize what Ella, who was now in control of her body, was seeing. Avearan’s glass minions crashed to the floor, shattering into thousands of shards as the assassin stopped to watch with a confused glare. Both of the two began to panic internally, Avearan was now facing death, and there was nothing she could do about it. Ella’s mind was taken dozens of light-years away to a combat situation she knew nothing of.
Oh no…listen, I need you to.
No, you need to.
The two bickered as their thoughts traveled the cosmos. Avearan could sense that whatever psionic advantage her body had was gone. Ella was a human; she might be in her body, but she clearly had no idea how to use her mind to utilize psionics powers. This gave the assassin an advantage, a huge one at that, as she stepped toward Avearan’s possessed body, which trembled in fear.
You need to finish the surgery, or my patient will die. You have access to my memories, right? You should know how to finish the operation! Ella’s thoughts pleaded. Avearan sensed her body fall to the floor. Ella had no idea she had been standing on the bar counter. The pain from the fall triggered their joined minds to yelp in unison.
“Doctor!” the nurse yelled again, seeing Ella’s body jerk while the medical device float free from the grip of her hands.
You need to get me out of there now, or I’ll be killed! Ella’s possessed body floated her weightless head toward the patient in question. Wait, this…Rabuabin? I’ll do no such thing! If anything, I’m going to kill it right now.
Stop!
Do you have any idea what these things did to my people? I’ll play no role in saving its life.
Do you have any idea what the Hashmedai did to mine? Yet here I am, doing everything I can to protect your body. A Hashmedai body, I should just lay here and let her shank me. But I won’t.
… … …
►► Port Shala, Morutrin Prime
► Morutrin System
Avearan’s possessed body slowly rose up from the floor. The assassin stood in front her with her green glowing plasma daggers drawn. She was ready for the kill, but saw hesitation grow in her face, triggered by Avearan’s sudden switch from dominance to a spaced-out stance.
Works for me. Nice you have full knowledge of his anatomy too; I’m going to make him suffer.
I take that back. You harm him, and I will allow you to die. Here’s hoping those gem ladies don’t heal ya arse.
“Doctor, what you are doing!” Ella heard from her joined thoughts.
There was no reply from Avearan, but Ella could sense that her body took no action, just stared down while everyone else in the infirmary pleaded to know what was wrong with her. The choice is yours. I’ve already been shot in the head, mate. Not afraid of a big fuckoff plasma dagger in my chest.
… … …
►► ESV Winston Churchill, Earth Orbit
► Sol System
“Sorry, I’m a bit light-headed,” Avearan said, speaking for Ella’s possessed body. “What’s wrong?”
Dr. Pike looked at her intently and said. “Your accent…last I checked, you were Australian.”
“And?”
He replied. “And? You’re speaking with a Russian accent now.”
Hashmedai all spoke with an accent analogous to that of a Russian one.
Chapter 20
►► HLF Headquarters, Northern Canada
► Sol System
Three days had passed since Destiny, Eupiar, Whigli, Jazz, and Veloshira all returned to the HLF base thanks to Whigli’s rescue. The five of them sat in the galley around a rectangular table, dining on a limited selection of field rations, quite possibly the blandest ones in existence. The food Jazz had to eat while in Afghanistan was better in every way, shape, and form.
The only thing that made his meal enjoyable was the music that played into his ears via a small headset that he’d acquired the other day. Eupiar showed him how to search, download, and play music with the device. Various tunes from the prewar days had his head moving up and down. He’d need to bring this back when he returned to the stars, introduce hip-hop and R & B music to the aliens out there.
Veloshira didn’t eat much or say much, and hadn’t since the two arrived. She was only concerned about one thing, finishing the job and getting home. A task Jazz had less of an interest in doing given the situation they found themselves in. Good thing she can’t speak English, he thought. As long as nobody talked to her in Hashmedai, he could continue to lead her on that they were working toward killing Chris Boyd and the president. Destiny was in a similar mood, understandably; she had just lost her husband. All the more reason for Jazz to put off his duties to the empire. The UNE threw a lot at them to stop them from getting away with this data.
“Destiny,” Whigli said, having noticed her down mood much like Jazz did.
“I’m all right,” she softly replied and then began to pick away at her meal.
“I know how you feel,” Whigli said. “Chidorli was hit with a brainjack device. For years I wondered if she survived and gave birth to my child.” Jazz turned away from the two and grimaced. “One of the reasons I’m glad Jazz is back is that he assured me that she managed to pull through. I only wish Dollon had had the same experience as she did after getting brainjacked.”
Yeah about that…Jazz needed to change the topic quickly. Telling lies like that wasn’t something he was raised to do, but at the same time, a psionic like Whigli needed to stay focused on the mission, not his lover’s demise. Jazz then asked Eupiar, “So, Eupiar, what do we have?”
After all, part of the reason they all gathered here was to discuss the data file they grabbed from the EISS. The file that cost Dollon and Vuyin their lives while putting Tetsuya in a hospital bed for god knows how long.
Eupiar’s slumped-over body jerked upward as a result of Jazz addressing her. “Well,” she said, and then her fingers fidgeted with a device in her hands with a small hologram of a man who, like Eupiar, was half-human, half-Hashmedai. “The man, the myth, the legend, Danyal Aksoy.” All five pairs of eyes in the galley turned away from their awful meals to the hologram in front of Eupiar. “Hannah has been obsessed about of this guy since the HLF was founded.”
“Let’s hope it’s worth it,” Destiny grumbled. “We paid a high price to get this far.”
Eupiar began to read and paraphrase information from Danyal’s dossier. “Human-Hashmedai hybrid, age twenty-two, born Istanbul, Turkey, and a person of interest to the Radiance Union.”
Her short data dump revealed information that didn’t sit right with Jazz. “Wait, hold up. That doesn’t make sense,” Jazz interrupted. “You said he’s twenty-two?” Eupiar nodded. “The invasion of Earth was twenty-two years ago.”
“According to this, his birthday was a few days ago,” Eupiar revealed.
“The invasion started in July, and he was born three mon
ths later,” Destiny said. “He had to have been conceived around February of that year.”
“Back then aliens didn’t exist, at least not to the population of Earth,” Jazz added. He later asked Eupiar, “Is there any information on his parents?”
Eupiar’s hands went to work, typing in keystrokes and interacting with the files on the holoscreen. New holo windows loaded, and her eyes started to scan the newfound information. “Nothing on the father; human mother named Sevda Aksoy, registered sex worker during the old-world in Turkey.”
“Still doesn’t make sense,” Destiny said. “Hashmedai didn’t appear until July.”
“No, we were here much earlier than that.” It was Whigli, “the recon team.”
Destiny and Eupiar were puzzled at Whigli’s revelation. Jazz, on the other hand, was enlightened. “Yo, that’s right!” he shouted. “Onatiasha and her team—they came here with Kroshka and her brother. They were passing as humans ’n’ shit.”
“Chidorli had mentioned that they landed somewhere in the Middle East,” Whigli said. “Then the Celestial Order ambushed them. Only Onatiasha, Zhinbryo, Chidorli, Kroshka, and Akeia survived the attack.”
Jazz glared at Danyal’s holo picture again as he tried to process in his head who the father could be. “That narrows it down,” said Destiny. “Someone from the recon team got an escort pregnant.”
“No, he ain’t from the recon team,” Jazz said. He paused to consider what he was going to say next and was surprised nobody else had caught on. “Look at his face, his hair, his skin.” He was somewhat reminded of Kroshka and Y’lin while looking at Danyal.
Everyone except Veloshira looked closer. Gonna have to bring her up to speed soon, Jazz thought. And then Whigli spoke in a troubled manner. “Oh no, no, no, no.”
“Oh yes, yes, yes, yes,” Jazz butt in. “Danyal Aksoy is prince Akeaia’s son. That’s why he’s been flagged; he’s the goddamn heir to the Hashmedai Empire after Y’lin and Kroshka.”
“If that’s the case, why hasn’t Radiance made a move? They have a long history of targeting members of the imperial family,” said Whigli.
“Who knows? Maybe it’s ’cause he’s in prison. Or maybe ’cause they just found out, like we just did,” Jazz said.
“Hannah must have known,” Destiny mumbled. She looked away from the hologram and addressed everyone. “Hannah knew before he was fuckin’ born.”
Whigli said, “Let’s get a team together.”
“No, let’s go as we are. We’re stretched thin as is,” Destiny said. “You too, Eupiar, we’re going to need some security systems taken out of play.”
Satellite photos of a lone prison located in the middle of a crater appeared on a new hologram conjured by Eupiar. On the outskirts of the crater was a barren desert, devoid of any signs of civilization. “According to this, the prison he’s in is located in the middle of the Dasht-e Kavir crater.”
“We’ll need a transport, then,” Whigil said. “I’ve personally never been out there and therefore can’t teleport.”
… … …
►► Port Shala, Morutrin Prime
► Morutrin System
Ella while still in possession of Avearan’s body released a soothing sigh as she sensed that Avearan completed the operation on Michei’s body. She heard in the distance people talking about her performance, and then there was Dr. Pike straight up calling her accent out. Who cares, she thought. He will live now, explaining that her actions, rather Avearan’s actions, are a problem for another time.
Phylarlie’s hand held on to a possessed Avearan’s neck. It was hard raising her body off the ground. The assassin’s other free hand positioned her dagger next to the side of Avearan’s head. She was ready for the kill, but intrigue got the better of her. An intrigue that would not be satisfied unless questions were asked first and then answered.
“I never had a target that gave up just like that,” Phylarlie said.
“Sorry to disappoint, love,” she replied, in English with an Australian accent. “I’m a doctor, not a psionic.”
She expected the blade to enter her head at this point. Instead, Phylarlie did something unexpected. “Where did you learn to speak that language?” she asked…in English.
“I should be asking you the same question,” Ella-possessed Avearan said.
I need to return to my body, Avearan demanded.
I’d love that, so that you and this assassin can finish your game, Ella replied.
Three heavily armed Linl enforcers unexpectedly came crashing through the door to the club. They all pointed their rifles toward the two, yelling orders in the Linl language; probably “put your hands up,” if they were anything like human police officers.
Run! Avearan mentally panicked.
Phylarlie grinned at her and said. “We are not finished…love.” And then, Phylarlie vanished from sight. Ella forced Avearan’s body to do exactly what she requested once free from the assassin’s grip. A hail of bullets from the Linl’s projectile weapons ripped across the club as she fled from the strobe-lit dance floor.
… … …
►► ESV Winston Churchill, Earth Orbit
► Sol System
Turn me around, Avearan thought as she floated next to the operating table in control of Ella’s body.
I’d rather not slow myself down doing that, Ella’s thoughts echoed back.
I need to know how far behind they are!
The medical staff within the zero-g infirmary continued to look at her in a frightened manner. She didn’t know what else to do or say, as her accent wasn’t accepted. That and this was a human environment; their minds may have been merged but the details of what humans do after surgery, wasn’t clear to her, among other things. And worst of all? She just mended a Rabuabin.
“Dr. Lynn?” a nurse asked. She ignored the human, focusing on the conversation going on in her head. Worried that her body on the other end of the galaxy might be killed, and she couldn’t do anything about it.
You need to figure out how to get our bodies back, Ella thought.
Did you try the gem? Try touching it, it’s in my—
I know where it is.
Right, our thoughts are one.
She sensed Ella in possession of her body reach into her pouch to embrace the gem. Her hands were trembling in the process; she also felt her struggling to run, most likely because of the increased gravity on Morutrin Prime. She must not be used to being 20 percent heavier.
And it’s not working. Try my gem.
Avearan began to access Ella’s memories in an attempt to see where she had left her gem. The image of a medic kit manifested, sitting on a table. Where was this table? She thought and processed longer, another medical facility aboard this ship. The habitat ring, right, where gravity exists, since humans are weak and can’t remain in a weightless environment for extended periods. It was almost as if those memories were hers. She knew exactly how to get there, and how long it would take. And if she didn’t hurry there now, there might not be a living body for her mind to return to. And didn’t those strange women say if one of us dies we both go?
“Dr. Lynn,” Dr. Pike said while his weightless hand reached out, allowing his fingers to wrap around her wrist. “Seriously, are you feeling OK?”
His grip triggered a violent reaction from her, swinging her body around and kicking him in the chest. She hissed at him as he flew backward instantly through the sea of zero-g, and his back slammed against the wall with a loud thud. She launched her body off the side of the operation table, propelling her body toward the exit leading into the main corridor of the Winston Churchill.
… … …
Ella and Avearan stepped through the grace of a sliding door, leading them into a place of hope. Ella, while in control of Avearan’s body, escaped the club and vanished into the crowded streets outside before boarding a tram that promptly departed. Avearan, while in possession of Ella’s body, exited the elevator, leading her into the gravity-fille
d habitat ring of the Winston Churchill.
Her feet moved at a rapid pace down the hallway, pushing uniformed humans away from her path. She saw the sliding doors to the infirmary get closer and closer as she neared. Looking to the right, she saw a glimpse of an observation window from the adjacent hallway; the ship was in orbit around a blue planet, the human home world, Earth, yes that’s what it is called. It was beautiful sight, and for the first time, she was glad the Hashmedai failed to glass it completely.
At the far corner, Ella’s thoughts transmitted as she sensed her body pass the threshold into the infirmary.
I know that! Just stay low. Those enforcers aren’t going to give up searching for you just yet.
I know that, was all Ella had as her reply.
… … …
►► Port Shala, Morutrin Prime
► Morutrin System
The tram that possessed Avearan slipped away was densely packed. A blend of Hashmedai, Linl, and a small group of young Rabuabin women toward the front, huddled together, probably gossiping or getting excited about men they found attractive. Ella needed something to take her mind off the stress, not just the stress of what had just transpired but knowing that once she returned to her body, there was going to be some major explaining to do on her part.
She stood up from her seat and moved down the aisle closer to the group of Rabuabin. They looked at one particular female with a data pad in her hands. She had strawberry-blond highlights in her brown hair, an odd style for their kind.
Found it. I hope this works, Avearan’s voice echoed in her head.
The female Rabuabin who had the undivided attention of her friends stroked her fingers across the screen of the data pad. A picture loaded of a man as her hands held the screen of the pad toward her friends to give them a better view. She was smiling while her friends made cheerfully yet alluring noises from their mouths as they took in the view. The Rabuabin female with the data pad started to giggle and then speak in her language.
Uprising of the Exiled (Splintered Galaxy Book 2) Page 29
