He sucked in a breath when she shook her head in the negative. “Heck’s team barely made it back. He said the Yollin was a four-legger, and it came out of nowhere and took them out before they could get anywhere near the convoy.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “My brother was on that raid, and he didn’t say anything to me about a Yollin. Really, Alaric. You should know better than to believe gossip.”
“Ask him,” Alaric insisted, waving to catch Jake’s attention. “He’s over there. Hey, Jake! You guys ran into an alien last night, right?”
“It’s true.” Jake joined them. “She took us out like it was nothing. All I saw was a cloud of gas. Next thing I know, I woke up with Heck dragging me and Frankie into the omni.”
Alaric broke into a grin. “Shit, Jake! Shouldn’t you be in the infirmary?”
Jake shook his head. “I got lucky, I guess.”
Tessa sniffed. “I don’t believe in Yollins,” she told Alaric with distaste.
Alaric gave her a look of pity. “You should believe in Yollins, Tessa. It’s going to be hard to fight something you don’t think exists. Am I right, Jake?”
“They’re real enough,” Jake agreed, giving his sister a sideways look. “You’ll have to excuse my sister. She’s led a sheltered life until recently. ”
Alaric shrugged. “Didn’t we all until Bethany Anne announced her return? If we’re not prepared to fight, we’ll be bowing and scraping to her while she takes the young and the strong and forces them to conquer new worlds in her name.”
“Who’s to say any of those aliens exist?” Tessa cut in, diverting Alaric from his almost verbatim repetition of Isaiah’s recruitment speech. “We know the Kurtherians are a myth, so why not all the other aliens? I’ve never seen one. That’s why we welcomed Isaiah.”
Alaric nodded. “We all did. Hey, I see Jenner. She might know what’s going on.” He darted into the crowd, calling a promise to catch up with them later.
The twins shared a glance.
Go easy, Gabriel cautioned. You were laying it on so thick, I thought you were going to blow our cover.
He was about to start asking difficult questions, Alexis countered. This whole place runs on propaganda and rumor. I heard that little theory from the girls on the assembly line last shift. It’s only going to work in our favor to spread disinformation. Besides, you didn’t see how red your face got when he started talking about Mom.
Gabriel scanned the crowd, following Alaric’s path to the other six recruits they shared a dorm with. The rhetoric is getting to me, I won’t lie. I’m finding it harder to hold onto any empathy for these people the longer we’re here.
I can’t imagine you’ll have to hold on for much longer, Alexis told him. Remember, we’re doing this for everyone outside of here—the people who didn’t get involved with Isaiah. It sounds like K’aia had her hands full last night. It’s not like Isaiah to send his personal guards out on the raids. What were they after?
Isaiah’s pushing everyone to prepare for Mom arriving, Gabriel replied. K’aia was able to tell me it was a military transport, but she didn’t know what they were carrying. I couldn’t get close enough to find out without Heck seeing me. I got close when someone set off the smoke bomb, but Heck managed to find me. I had to pretend I’d been knocked out.
It kept your cover intact, Alexis replied. I’m not concerned. I’ve slipped a backdoor into every chip in every weapon that’s been made since I started in the workshop. The cult’s paranoia about digital entities might be prudent, but it also makes sabotage a hell of a lot easier.
Gabriel’s brow furrowed in concern. And you were concerned about me risking my cover? What if you got caught?
As if, Alexis retorted, her laughter filling their shared mindspace. I made sure it looked like junk code. They think I’m a good little acolyte, don’t worry. Did you find out anything new by sucking up to Clay?
No, Gabriel admitted, pushing down the anger that rose in his gut along with his inbuilt intolerance for the guard’s bullying ways. He’s pumped about something, though. He’s starting to trust me but he’s saying nothing, so we have to assume Isaiah has told him to stay quiet until tonight.
Alexis swallowed the bitter taste of her disappointment. Dammit, I’d hoped he’d start bragging and let something slip.
Gabriel had hoped for the same, but Isaiah’s henchman had been uncharacteristically tight-lipped during the training session. Don’t give up hope just yet. We’ve gotten this close, and Isaiah doesn’t know how much easier he just made our assignment by coming out of hiding to make this announcement.
It’s what he’s planning to announce that’s concerning me, Alexis told him. The cult has gained too large a foothold here. But this is an opportunity to get information to expose the cult as fake. As soon as he shows his face, I’ll read his mind, and we can get the hell out of here, inform the president of Isaiah’s plans, and report to Mom.
They exchanged glances when they sensed Isaiah’s group approaching the balcony above them to the rear of the temple.
Showtime, I guess, Gabriel commented. Let’s get closer. I want to see this guy in the flesh.
Good idea, Alexis agreed. I want to get a good read on what he’s not telling us.
They worked their way through the thrumming crowd, diverting around to the left to avoid attracting their roommates’ attention. The recruits began to chant Isaiah’s name when Clay, Heck, and the rest of his guards fanned out of the entrance at the back of the balcony and took up their positions.
Isaiah came next, holding up his hands in supplication to the applause that greeted his appearance. To all appearances, he was just an average human being of mid-height whose unassuming looks made him easily lost in a crowd. His armor was plain and serviceable, worn from years of use.
Alexis had pegged his profile at first sight. The tarnished knight, a man of the people—on the surface, that was.
She had no doubt that beneath the humble exterior lay a shrewd mind capable of engendering the trust of people whose youth and ignorance made them vulnerable to his line of bistok shit.
The increase in activity outside the temple complex over the last two weeks was a clear indication Isaiah had some larger plan in play than the supply raids the rest of the team had been working to disrupt.
She probed the edges of Isaiah’s mind, checking for safeguards. That would be strike one with everyone here. The uniting belief consensus the recruits shared was that enhanced humans were no longer human and had no right to govern the lives of those with natural lifespans.
Strike two would be finding that Isaiah was not the staunch Federation supporter he claimed to be.
He disappointed her on the first count. His mind was open and unguarded. Alexis skimmed Isaiah’s surface thoughts and was initially disappointed again. His conviction in his belief was deep-rooted and unsettling in its strength.
Show me a name, Alexis commanded softly. Or a face.
The only face she saw was her mother’s, twisted by Isaiah’s imagining of her as a monster. She shrugged off the feeling of needing to shower in mental bleach and delved deeper into his psyche, searching for the origin of his obsession.
Isaiah shook his head and waved, brushing off the cheering of the recruits. “I return with the sad news that all our fears have come to pass. Daolagen is no longer the stronghold of humanity it has been for over a century. President LaCroix has allowed nonhumans into the seat of government in a desperate bid to retain control over the planet.”
The recruits listened in stunned silence as he continued.
“They’re there right now, plotting to hand this planet to Bethany Anne while the people applaud the so-called protections she is offering against her fabricated enemy. It is time to act before Daolagen is locked inside her prison and its people forced to participate in the delusion. Make no mistake, ensuring control will be a dark task, and many people will die in the process. But we are the few who have been both burdened and privileged to see t
he truth. We have a duty to all humanity to stand against the silent dissolution of our freedoms.”
Alexis tuned out the speech when she came across something she’d missed on her first pass over Isaiah’s mind. Interesting.
What is it? Gabriel asked.
Give me a second, Alexis replied distractedly, her focus on examining the slight disorder in one of Isaiah’s memory sequences. This is delicate. Someone has…not erased the memory of themselves. Just, well, blurred it somehow.
She searched around the memory, looking for an associated one she could use to leapfrog past the subtle block. Alexis had no idea how this deep search would affect Isaiah. Nevertheless, she stimulated his memory centers until she found what she was looking for and withdrew the information hidden behind the block, a small smile on her face.
Did you get what you were looking for? Gabriel asked.
Alexis couldn’t help picking up the thoughts being broadcast by the people around her. She snapped a mental block in place and turned her sunny smile on Gabriel. And then some. Come on, we can get out of here.
Wait, Gabriel told her. It’s going to look suspicious if we leave while he’s still talking. We can slip away unnoticed after we’re dismissed, or after lights out tonight.
There’s not going to be lights out tonight, Alexis informed him. Isaiah is planning a coup. He means to move on the government as soon as this meeting is done. He has sleeper agents in key positions waiting for his orders. Everyone is going to be sent out to fight as soon as the satellite network goes down.
Gabriel understood that Alexis had already come at the situation from all angles. He tucked a hand inside his cloak and retrieved a small device from the folds, offering it to his sister. Perception filter. Are you happy you got everything?
Alexis took the device and activated it, shielding them from view. I’ll tell you on the way out of here. I’ve called Gemini to send a Pod to meet us. We can’t afford to waste a moment if we’re going to stop the coup from succeeding.
They entered the Etheric without being seen and put some distance between them and the ruins before emerging into the rainforest.
Why are you two offline? K’aia demanded when their Etheric comm came back online
Hold the inquisition, we’ve got a situation, Gabriel interrupted. Is everyone on the channel?
Trey, Christina, and Kai confirmed they were there, and the twins filled them in on the impending attacks on the colony’s infrastructure.
We’ll inform the president, Christina told them. Just get here as fast as you can.
We have a Pod incoming, Gabriel replied. Have someone meet us on the roof of the Senate.
Alexis pointed at movement in the canopy above. Our ride is here.
She exited the Pod ahead of Gabriel when they touched down on the landing pad on the Senate roof, and they ran for the roof access, where Trey was waiting for them.
“Did you get to the president in time?” Alexis called.
Trey ushered them into the building. “We got there in time to stop the assassination attempt, but there was nothing we could do about the digital attack. Isaiah’s people are better than anyone the government has.”
“Well, shit,” Gabriel offered once Trey had finished telling him about the headless chicken approach LaCroix’s administration was taking to the shutdown of the system’s Gate and the loss of the planetary defense system—which, while nothing compared to the Interdiction, still packed a punch.
“It’s getting heated in there,” Trey informed them as they double-timed it down the stairs. “They lost the satellite network a few minutes ago, and they’ve been unable to get it back.”
“We’ll just have to see about that,” Alexis stated. She cracked her knuckles and opened her HUD to examine the cultists' efforts to lock the government out of their own servers. “This might take a minute.”
“The president is waiting to speak to you both,” Trey told her as they left the staircase and entered a marble-floored lobby dotted with artfully-arranged benches and small, exotic trees in pots. “She’s pretty agitated.”
Alexis rolled her eyes. “I see why Mom and Dad get bored with politicians. Tell her that we have a coup to prevent. Talking can wait until I’ve taken down those firewalls.”
“That will have to wait until you’ve been thoroughly debriefed,” President LaCroix announced, sweeping out of the open doors at the far end of the lobby.
“Are you just plain stupid?” Alexis demanded, shaking off Gabriel’s hand on her arm. “Isaiah has over thirty thousand followers on their way to remove you and the rest of your administration by force, and you want to waste time talking?”
President LaCroix’s reply was lost in the outcry from the room she’d just left when the lights went out. She pointed at the twins. “Stay there.”
Alexis flung up her hands as the president hurried back into the room and the doors banged shut. “Enough of this. I’m calling Mom.”
Open Space, QSD Baba Yaga, Deck Six Transporter Room
Izanami paced, ignoring the surreptitious stares from the Skaine soldiers leaving after their upgrades. They weren’t of interest to her, but the group about to arrive on Transporter Pad Three was.
She crossed to the pad, her contrail of shimmering red-gold confusing the hell out of the scattering soldiers, who only saw Baba Yaga bearing down on them until the people working on Michael’s team told them otherwise. The air shimmered over the transporter pad before resolving into the shapes of Takal, Reynolds, and a large crate.
“Is that my body?” she asked before the Larian inventor could open his mouth to greet her.
Reynolds scoffed. “Patience, young one.”
Izanami raised an eyebrow. “I’m composed of Bethany Anne, Eve, and Shinigami. Patience is not my strong suit.”
Takal chuckled, recognizing anticipation when he saw it. “It is your body. As you can see, Captain Reynolds already has his.”
“Open it!” Izanami demanded, not waiting before she poured herself into the semi-organic shell. Her systems came online, and she was greeted by a flood of sensory data. Darkness gave way to bright light and a close-up of Reynolds’ smiling face when he opened the crate.
“Welcome to life as an android,” Reynolds told her with feeling. “Come on out of there and let’s see you without the sparkles.”
Izanami stepped out on legs that weren’t yet a hundred percent certain of the left foot-right foot combination needed for walking. She had gained full control by her third step.
“I am bored with sparkles,” Izanami told Reynolds with a smile. She walked the former cargo bay with her hands held loosely at the small of her back.
Takal laughed. “I think you’ve got the hang of the motor functions. Is your sensory suite ready to be brought online?”
Izanami nodded. “It is.”
“How is it?” Takal asked, scrutinizing her movements with a pleased smile.
“It is perfect. Thank you.” Izanami pulled the old male into a brief embrace. “You are a genius, Takal.”
Takal wiped a bit of dust from his eye. “I don’t know about that. I have to get back to my lab and get ready to resume my other duties, but come and see me if you have any trouble. That order includes you, Captain.”
Reynolds scoffed. “Not necessary. I’m in perfect condition, and closer to human than I’ve ever been. You’ve outdone yourself with these bodies.”
“I had some help from Alexis when it came to redesigning the brain,” Takal told him. “Thanks to her, I was able to make a number of small improvements to the existing technology.”
Izanami somehow missed Takal's departure, despite being the one operating the transporters. She was awash in sensations, each one separate and distinctly different from the masses of data being processed by the part of her that was the ship.
She reached for Reynolds when her sensory suite came online as they were suddenly enclosed by a group of passing soldiers. Izanami was overwhelmed by the flood of data her b
ody was assimilating at once. She felt the friction of the armor she wore against her skin, smelled the sweat of the Skaine soldiers, and tasted the adrenaline they were emitting into the air.
She discovered that resolving the issue was more complicated than dialing out her input sensors when her attempt to do so was met with a warning from her systems. “I need assistance in coming to terms with this body’s organic processes,” she admitted. “Will you stay and discuss your experiences with living in an android body?”
Reynolds smiled to soothe the uncertainty in her tone. “Of course, dear lady. The first piece of advice I have to impart is that one does not come to terms with the constant inputs. We file them and only pay attention to what is relevant to the moment. We have an advantage over most full organics because we can retrieve a memory file once it has been stored. They are gifts to be savored and re-examined at our leisure.”
“How does that help me now?” Izanami asked. “The aural interface alone is receiving thousands of inputs per second. I am experiencing something I can only describe as pain.”
Reynolds considered the problem, which was not one he’d had to deal with since ADAM had created his baseline EQ to be compatible with making logical decisions under extreme pressure. There was no greater pressure than organic lives being on the line, something his young friend would have to face sooner rather than later. He copied a few lines from his core code and made a couple of tweaks. “Redirecting the sensory data through a triage subroutine might help in the meantime. Here, I have something that will assist while you acclimatize.”
“Thank you,” Izanami told him with sincerity.
She redirected the overflow of sensory inputs to a temporary location in her memory bank, where she placed a subroutine that would learn from the gift Reynolds had provided.
It learned how to index the inputs and arranged them into something manageable, meaning she was able to focus on her surroundings and examine what she felt. “How did I not know?” she marveled in a voice so soft that Reynolds almost missed it, even with his enhanced hearing capability.
Return Of The Queen: The Kurtherian Endgame™ Book Eight Page 22
