by Gorman, K.
Like them, he wasn’t getting much in the way of sleep. Even less than his regular crew, from what she’d gathered.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” he intoned, leaning his knuckles on the edge of the holotable. The rawness to his tone had to do with the lack of sleep. “Thank you for joining me.”
Bits of red flecked his eyes, too, but so far, none of the blood vessels had broken. She presumed he was using the same stim packets the techs were dipping into.
He is, Tia confirmed. That forward lean isn’t just for age, it’s a symptom. His blood pressure is also elevated.
My blood pressure would be elevated, too, if I had his job. She slipped her gaze over him, noticing parts of what Tia had―the lean was obvious, the elevated blood pressure less so. Any stim side-effects I should know about? I’ve never used military grade.
Technically, she had, but considering she’d used it to counter the soporific effect of a heavy sedative and had been pretty stressed and fucked up at the time, she didn’t think it counted.
Shakiness, nausea, higher risk of heart problems. A hum went through her mind, Tia likely accessing part of Karin’s memory for her analysis. If they’re anything like the stims used in my day, there’ll be others, too. Nosebleeds were common in trials.
A vivid memory of her most recent nosebleed popped up in her head. They’d been getting rather common for her these days, along with headaches.
Karin pushed the thought back and quirked an inner eyebrow. ‘Trials’?
Yes. Tia’s inner thought-voice turned sharp and clipped. The Corringhams had little regard for human life, as you know.
The holotable came to life, springing up a standard loading schematic before settling into a model of a small, three-tiered structure. General Crane gave a nod to the tech sitting at the station next to him and began.
“According to intel we received from the UN, an unorthodox doomsday cult has holed up in this building, a former mining operation that has undergone significant modification. While the group uses the buildings on the surface for their day-to-day, your job is to go below. The UN reports a number of tunnels carved out underneath the structure that lead into a series of natural caves in the nearby mountain, and sonics from the Alliance Pegasus confirm this. Building map and general terrain details are being routed to your netlinks.”
A moment later, the crew’s netlinks all pinged, chirped, or buzzed to indicate the file delivery.
“A doomsday cult?” Karin asked. “What denomination?”
“The UN identifies the cave complex as being a minor Buddhist site, a shrine to the bodhisattva Guanyin―Avalokiteshvara―and drone images show a continuation of smaller shrines further in, but I don’t think they are using them.”
She let out a slow breath, staring blandly as the cave model rotated in front of her. This would be the third doomsday cult this week.
An ugly set of emotions began to churn in her gut.
Why are we wasting our time on this?
“Mission specs are on your netlinks. Memorize them,” General Crane continued. “We’ll brief again closer to the site. Try to get some rest.”
The general made a gesture, dismissing them. Everyone began to pull away, heading for the door to get ready.
“Have you found Sasha yet?” she asked.
General Crane fixed her with a stare. “Pardon?”
“Dr. Evangeline Sasha, the one who instigated this whole Shadow attack situation. Have you found her?”
The mood in the room stilled. General Crane continued to stare at her. Behind her, the group had stopped. Their attention made her shoulders itch. Nomiki in particular had a sharp look to her eyes, which Karin could both see and feel.
“Dr. Sasha’s whereabouts are unknown, as are those of her son,” Crane said, his voice smooth and slow. “Why do you bring this up?”
“It just seems that, so far, you haven’t touched my new powers, only put me on combat missions. That is great for testing my new combat ability, but that is only the side effect of my transition to Program Eurynome.” She tilted her head, fixing him with a stare. “Neither Tia nor I went into that tank for combat abilities, and not using them seems counter-productive to finding Sasha, who is known to use dimensional-warping power.”
And who, as far as I know, has yet to be seen on Earth.
For several long, thick seconds, the room was dead silent. Only the click and whir of the holotable spools and lenses interrupted the dead quiet. General Crane continued to meet her eyes, and the façade of politeness remained on his face, but a flush of surprise hit her when she saw the wariness under it, along with the suspicion.
He hadn’t liked her question one bit.
“Sometimes, Ms. Makos, you have to swing a hundred times at a ball before you can hit it. While I hope that our intelligence team can crack that particular case, the only thing we can do is dig with what intel we have. For that, your new abilities do come in as extremely useful, and I thank you for the lives of my soldiers that you save from fire.” He gave her a grim smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a mission to coordinate. If you have any questions, pertinent details are in your mission packet. You also have access to other reports through your link, should you wish to apprise yourself of the larger picture.”
With that, he turned from her and to his technician. “Now, Jiang, can you show me the A-C-50 range again? There’s something I wish to double check.”
A low chuckle sounded through her head.
Well, you just got handled.
She schooled her features as she turned away. He didn’t answer any of my questions. Not really.
He skirted around them rather masterfully, I thought. Which, I suppose, gives us an answer.
Halfway to the door, Nomiki was staring at her, an incredulous expression on her face, eyebrows shooting near the top of her forehead. She took Karin’s arm and not-so-subtly dragged her towards the door.
Ganis was giving her a similar look, though Jon had adopted his usual deadpan of cautious calculation. Baik, too, had a frown aimed in her direction, though it seemed more considering than anything else.
“What in the ten hells was that?” Nomiki hissed once they were outside. “He’s a general. You don’t talk that way to generals.”
She sighed. “He didn’t actually answer my question.”
“He doesn’t have to answer your question. He’s a general. Christ on a cross―” This specific swear, Nomiki switched to French for, turning the r’s into a more back-of-throat sound. “What’s gotten into you?”
She shrugged. “I guess this is what happens when you remove all trace of fear from my system―I simply don’t give a shit anymore. They’re avoiding the obvious, Nomiki. I’m simply pointing it out.” She rounded on her sister, a finger jabbing at her chest―a confrontation that Old Karin would have kept to herself, but New & Updated Karin had zero problem with. “We need to find Sasha. If we don’t―”
“Yes, yes, I know―the systems will end.” Nomiki blew out a breath. “We know this. Everyone knows this. They’re working on it. Suns, sister.”
“They haven’t used my true powers once, Nomiki. Not really. Only to dodge bullets.” She shook her head and put some extra strength in her step, leaving the group. “He’s running us around. I’m just trying to find out why.”
Chapter Four
They took off shortly after, the Courant lifting with an unsubtle jerk and tilting into the air in a gesture that had Karin rolling her eyes while she gripped her crash seat―just who in the hell was piloting this thing? She could just imagine the words her old flight instructor on Belenus would have had for them.
Once they’d reached a cruising altitude and the ship’s comms had given them the go-ahead, the rest of the team unbuckled from their crash seats and dug into the ration packets in the cupboard.
She grabbed a pack of jerky and left the room.
Perhaps it was the pilot in her, but she found it comforting to wander the halls. The Courant was a h
ighly advanced ship, with state-of-the-art scanning, flight, and weapons systems and all of the bells and whistles to go along with them. The last ‘war’ with the Alliance had been similar to the first Cold War of Earth’s history, back before the nukes had gone hot. Neither Fallon nor the Alliance had wanted to destroy each other, but neither could back down from their claims. So, they’d poured all their war funds into manufacturing and development, producing some of the most elite, exquisite ships she could ever imagine.
Eventually, it wasn’t just the technology that mattered, but the luxury. The very fact that she could walk into a break room on a fleet ship like the Courant―or the Pegasus, or the Icarus―and get solid, pre-stored ice cubes in her drink, or watch an episode of Moon Sailor from one of the room’s ergonomic recliners, each of which had also been equipped as a crash seat, was a symptom of the old competition.
Which meant that the Courant, by design, was beautiful to look at.
She rolled her shoulders, stifled a yawn, and popped a piece of jerky into her mouth.
So, what do you think? she asked Tia.
You sure you want to ask me? I thought I was an ‘unknown personality’?
And I’m a psychopathic killing machine. Spill.
God, she really was getting aggressive. That was something Nomiki would have said, not her.
In her head, Tia sighed. Okay, what first―your little tizzy with Crane, the conversation with Kalinsky, the hunt for Sasha, my opinion of Fallon and Alliance as a whole, the Centauri, the UN and Mars, or something else?
Karin sighed.
Yeah, there was a lot going on. And that didn’t even cover all of it.
Kalinsky first. What’s his angle? To cause trouble between Fallon and their most powerful asset?
Most likely. Take it from his perspective―Earth was attacked thrice. First by the Shadows, then by the Centauri, who took it over, then by Fallon and the Alliance, who fought the Centauri. I’m sure they want some semblance of control back. Right now, they have none.
Plus, I’m an Earther.
We’re both Earthers, technically, though I doubt I’m worth much in that regard, in his eyes, being legally dead and all.
Karin sparked a smile. I dunno, Tia. Maybe they’ll catch wind of the mighty powerful AI that may or may not be able to open wormholes to new dimensions.
I’m not an AI. I was alive. And unless they want a slowly corrupting mess of a psycho, I doubt they’ll take me.
In that case, Centauri may want you. ‘Corrupting mess of a psycho’ seems very up their alley. She let out a breath and popped another piece of jerky into her mouth, nodding at one of the techs as she passed by a service station. What about my ‘little tizzy with Crane,’ as you so eloquently put it? Do you agree that they’re blocking my powers?
Yes, Tia answered without hesitation. All evidence points to that―and they’re keeping you busy with these missions. Gives you less time, and energy, to think. It’s a classic tactic. I remember reading about it.
Of course. It made sense.
Why, though? Why would Fallon suddenly prevent her from using her powers? It wasn’t as though Sasha had stopped being a threat.
Do you think something happened? Did they find something out that led them into this behavior?
Tia laughed. No, this smells like politics.
Karin hid a groan.
Politics. She hated it.
Fuck me. I just want to finish this.
Tia made a sound of agreement in her head. What about that other thing Kalinsky was on about? The Centauri?
What about them? Do you know something?
No more than you do, Tia informed her. But they have been watching you.
Who, Fallon? We knew that. They’re hardly subtle about it, after a―
No, not Fallon. I meant the Centauri.
She paused mid-step, a frown drawing down her brow and another piece of jerky halfway to her mouth.
I mean…that makes sense. I did slaughter my way through a large number of their soldiers. Her frown deepened. When did you notice they were watching?
Oh, here and there.
Tia sent her images―snapshot memories from her own eyes and brain. Centauri guards with their heads turned toward them, multiple shots of their second-in-command, Sarah Tillerman, staring at her from across a distance. A drone, capturing video before it had been shot down.
There were…quite a few of them.
Huh. Honestly, I haven’t been paying them much attention.
Ever since the Centauri―or at least those who belonged to the Menassi Tri-Quad Alliance―had surrendered, she’d dismissed them from her mind. She wasn’t a leader, so they weren’t her problem. Fallon could handle the negotiations, and, as far as she knew, they had. The Tri-Quad Alliance had, as instructed, set up a camp of their troops on an old farm about twenty kilometers away from the compound in Brazil, and all of their orbiting ships had stood down in a ceasefire. Each day, Commander Tillerman hopped on their version of a delegate shuttle and was escorted around, something she’d asked for in the negotiations, for whatever reason.
By Tia’s memories―her memories―she’d apparently come all that way just to stare at Karin whenever she was in sight.
All right. Maybe there was something going on there.
Just because Kalinsky had a reason to stir shit didn’t mean there wasn’t shit to stir.
And Fallon’s change in attitude was a bit suspect. At first, she’d decided it was them simply handling her new abilities by testing the shit out of them, but they’d only used her combat abilities.
She had literal worlds to explore, but they hadn’t touched them.
I don’t think I was out of line with Crane earlier, she thought. Something is up.
Oh, you were definitely out of line. But yes, I agree.
Is there anything we can do about it?
Here, in this ship, flying at approximately nine-hundred kilometers per hour, ten thousand meters above the Pacific Ocean? No, probably not. Any drastic action would tip our hand. Wait ’til we’re back at camp and start putting out feelers.
Good idea. She tilted her head. Hey, you never know―maybe it’s nothing.
Or maybe it’s not, Tia answered. Now, they’re taking the long way to let everyone get some rest. I suggest you get some, too. You need to sleep.
On that, we both agree. She did a quick calculation in her head. Ten hours ’til we arrive. I bet I can sleep for nine of those.
It’s nice to see ambition in my new host.
She shivered. Christ, don’t say it like that. That’s fucked.
Tia chuckled. Sorry. I watched too many science fiction movies in my formative years. Go get some sleep. I’ll leave you alone.
And, with that, Tia’s presence faded in her mind. Karin blinked, suddenly more aware of the corridor she’d been walking down. She wondered how she’d looked, walking blankly down the way, casually munching on the bag of jerky in her hand.
Eh, they’ve probably seen worse. At least I’m not covered in blood.
No, that had been the second-last mission. When they’d raided a different farm and someone had rigged a bomb to the undrained carcass of a beef cow and she hadn’t ported into the Shadow world quick enough.
At least she’d been wearing her full suit at the time, helmet and all.
She gave her head a little shake then lifted her gaze to the rest of the hall. It was quiet in the Courant. Peaceful. Although they were on their way to a combat mission and people were around, doing their jobs, she detected a laid-back atmosphere. The lights had cycled lower to signal night mode and let the majority get their sleep, and the calm whir of the ships systems and holos instilled a sense of peace in her.
It reminded her of her first space station, a little bit. Liberty, in orbit around Nova. A docking port that handled immigration to the planet, among other things.
She reached down for another piece of jerky.
Between one second and the next, the atmosphere shi
fted. A slip of static brushed her senses.
Instantly, her mind locked on it. Her head swiveled, gaze snapping to a spot inside a doorway across the hall.
For a second, all noise seemed to fade out.
The Shadow wasn’t tall, but it stood out against its surroundings. Even with the dimness of the halls, and the relative darkness of the Med bay behind it, whose lights operated on a motion sensor to conserve power, it stood out.
It wasn’t mere darkness, not like the black they learned about in primary school―its body was a slash of the Void, transplanted into the domestic confines of the ship, as if someone had looked deep into the Black between the stars and cut out a shape.
It was human, or it looked it, anyway. It had the correct number of limbs in roughly the correct spaces, though its shoulders seemed to stoop a bit, and it had an oval shape for its head. The edges of its body flickered and undulated, and the space right at its borders blurred like a meniscus of water, hard to look at.
It was watching her, just like everyone else was doing these days. It had no eyes that she could see, but she knew precisely when their gazes connected. It sent a shock through her.
She stared. It stared back. Then, it shifted. She felt it reach out.
“Eos.”
The word imprinted on her mind, surrounded by a layer of static.
When she looked back up, the Shadow was gone.
She let out a breath.
Yeah, that was a thing. Lately, the Shadows had been acting really fucking weird. She had no idea why, but she had a feeling it had something to do with her. They, after all, had something to do with Sasha. And now, they couldn’t take their eyes off Karin.
Plus, she was Eurynome now. Not Eos. Though, technically, she could still conjure light.
Maybe she was both?
She let out another breath and turned around, heading back to the small room the team used for missions.
Fuck it. That’s a tomorrow problem. I’m going the hells to sleep.
Chapter Five
