Conspiracy

by A. K. DuBoff

  “Valta was not the first, and it was never meant to be the last,” Nox finally admitted. “When Tarans came along, we saw a new opportunity to venture as autonomous beings. They were our chance to once again be among the stars. They took us to a new system where we could grow.”

  Kira shook her head. “Gaelon. And you told your hosts to spread the word for no one to ever go there, so you could multiply undisturbed.”

  Nox tried to hide its thoughts from her, but Kira could sense the affirmation.

  “Why?” she pressed, focusing her telepathic might. “What did you need from Mysar and Valta?”

  The alien’s resolve buckled, and it submitted it. “We sought a new vessel to carry us so that we could exist beyond this physical plane, even as we move through it in an isolated body. And soon, we will have the template for that new vessel.”

  That’s what they want me for, Kira realized and broke the telepathic link. She relayed what she’d seen.

  “That explains it!” Leon exclaimed. “Kira, I think you’re immune.”

  “Why?”

  He stroked his chin. “Think about it, the aliens can exert control over great distances, but you require eye contact to initiate a Reading. The TR connects the right neural pathways to enable telepathy, but it’s like an offline version of it.”

  “What about Kaen’s influence over others here?” Sandren asked.

  “My guess is that the alien could exert close-range telepathic control through direct eye contact, like Kira. But beyond that, it’s limited to a host with a suitable TR—something formed through whatever augmentation Jared and Kaen were given,” Leon replied.

  Kira nodded. “That seems to be the case.”

  “Got it,” Sandren said. “But, how does that impact Kira’s susceptibility for control?”

  “To extend the analogy,” Leon replied, “she has an incompatible receiver. To put it bluntly, if the nanites Monica gave you, Kira, were capable of modifying your existing TR to function as a receiver, then I’d expect Nox to be in your mind right now and not Jared or Kaen.”

  “True,” Kira agreed. “So, I guess we need to get everyone in a good mood until we confirm that no one else has a TR.”

  Sandren chuckled. “Great, so the solution to all our problems is to play love ballads over the station’s loudspeakers.”

  “Yeah, pretty sure that would horribly backfire.”

  “But in all seriousness,” Leon interjected “if this is a matter of neurochemistry, that’s an easy fix. We can try a few neural cocktails and see if the TR in Kaen dissolves.”

  “That sounds like a genuine plan.” Kira cracked a smile.

  “That it does,” Sandren agreed. “Let’s save the colonel.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Kaen’s sense of self was just out of his grasp. Before, when Nox had taken control, Kaen had remained aware of his surroundings, his body, his individual thoughts. Now, he was adrift.

  He had no idea how much time had passed in his bizarre state of nothingness, or if he was within himself or outside. As much as he searched for a sense of direction, there was nothing to see.

  So, he waited, as patiently as he could, for a sign.

  I’m still me, he tried to reassure himself. I wouldn’t be thinking these thoughts if I weren’t. But where am I?

  The waiting was torture, but he had no choice.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the darkness began to clear.

  Kaen strained to orient himself in his surroundings, as though looking through a thick fog. Sights and sounds were distorted, but he was able to make out enough to determine he was somewhere within the Orion Station base.

  Good, I’m among friends. Relief flooded through him, startling him with the sensation. I can feel again!

  It was a very promising sign, indeed.

  Too much was still indistinct for him to draw conclusions about his present circumstances, so he continued to wait in the fading blackness.

  Then, a warm presence brushed up again his thoughts. “Colonel, are you there?”

  Kira. Kaen could feel her. “Yes, I’m here!” he replied.

  “Nox jumped into Jared,” Kira explained. “I was able to find out some more about how the aliens maintain control. They manipulate your neurochemistry. We’re trying to counter the effects now.”

  “Tell me what you need me to do.”

  Kira chuckled in his mind. “This is going to sound ridiculous, sir, but I need you to think happy thoughts.”

  “Pardon?” the colonel replied in a skeptical mental tone.

  “The aliens thrive on negative energy. We’re giving you a healthy dose of the happy brain drugs right now, but you’ll need to help the process along.”

  “I never would have guessed that.” Kaen soaked in the information. “How did you figure that out?”

  “We were able to get some information from Jared. Turns out his bad attitude was by design.”

  “Come to think of it, Nox’s power over me waned whenever I held a strong sense of hope.”

  “Love, hope, it all undermines their strength.”

  Kaen laughed in his mind. “I knew being in love with my work would pay off.”

  “That’s the spirit, Colonel. I’ll be right back. We’re going to up the dose.”

  Kira vanished from his mind.

  A moment later, Kaen was hit with a rush of energy. His fingers and toes tingled, the sensation creeping up his arms until it enveloped his core. He breathed in a deep breath, filling the lungs he could once again feel and control of his own accord.

  The cloud lifted from his vision. Kira stood next to the medical bed on which he was reclined. Leon and Doctor Elric were engaged in a frenetic discussion at a nearby computer terminal. At the foot of the bed, Major Sandren looked on with a concerned expression that was just beginning to turn toward one of relief.

  Kira leaned forward and stared into Kaen’s eyes. Her mental presence cut through the intense rush from the drugs. “It’s working, Colonel. You’re doing great.”

  Kaen thought back to his career in the Guard, surrounded by the friends who were his family. No matter what adversity he faced, they were always there to help each other.

  Kira fed into his thoughts, willing him to continue.

  “That’s it!” Leon said from across the room. “It’s breaking apart.”

  Sudden pain radiated through Kaen. “Argh!”

  “What’s happening?” Kira questioned.

  “It looks fine on screen,” Doctor Elric replied, “but his blood pressure just shot up.”

  “You’re okay, Colonel,” Kira tried to soothe. “Keep thinking those happy thoughts.”

  “You think positive thinking is enough to stop me?” Nox sneered.

  Kaen recoiled. “No, stay away!”

  The alien mind wasn’t inside Kaen this time, he realized. It was only a visitor at the edge of his consciousness, much like Kira.

  “You’re finished, Nox,” Kira jeered back. “We know your weakness now.”

  “This conflict hasn’t even begun.”

  Just as suddenly as it had arrived, Nox vanished.

  “Blood pressure is normalizing,” Doctor Elric reported.

  Leon smiled. “The TR is no longer showing up on active scan.”

  Kaen took a slow, steady breath. The oppressive weight that had been bearing down on him for days was gone. “Well, that was something.” He chuckled. “I never thought I’d be so excited to talk again.”

  Kira beamed. “It’s good to have you back, sir.”

  Kaen cautiously sat up on the medical bed. “I hope it goes without saying, but I apologize for anything I may have said or done while under Nox’s influence.”

  “Of course, sir. Think nothing of it,” Sandren acknowledged with a nod.

  “Much of it’s a blur, but what I do remember isn’t particularly friendly,” Kaen continued. “Nice work stopping that transport ship before anyone was seriously injured.”

  Sandren cra
cked a smile. “Most action I’ve seen in years. Kira was who saved the day.”

  “Did you learn anything else about where Nox was trying to take you, or what it was after?” Kira asked, always one to focus on the mission at hand.

  “He activated me so I could watch over you,” Kaen replied frankly. There was no sense in skirting the issue.

  Kira looked down. “I figured as much.”

  “He kept referring to you as a ‘template’ for whatever his people are planning. I don’t know who or what they are, exactly, but Gaelon is their stronghold.”

  Kira exchanged glances with the others in the room. “We know. And as concerning as that is, we have a more pressing issue. It’s come to our attention that the Mysaran chancellor has been compromised.”

  Memories of the deleted communications flooded back to Kaen. “I wanted to tell you so badly, but…”

  “Nox was very strong, sir. I barely got the upper hand, and I’ve been training in mental combat for most of my life. It wasn’t you doing those things,” Kira soothed.

  Kaen knew she was trying to help, but the words offered no comfort. He’d allowed himself to become a liability to the organization he’d sworn to protect. Time and a renewed commitment to service were the only way to make peace with what had happened.

  He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and hopped down. “Elric, I need to be cleared for duty. Is there any reason to suspect I am still subverted?”

  The doctor looked to Kira.

  “I detected no lingering presence in him,” she replied, “but we don’t know if it could come back.”

  “The TR is completely dissolved,” Leon added, “but, likewise, it might not stay gone.”

  Doctor Elric nodded with consideration as he listened to their advice. “In my professional opinion, Colonel, you are presently not under alien influence. However, I must request that you come in for a scan twice per day until we can determine if there’s a chance for reemergence. This might not be over yet.”

  “Agreed,” Kaen stated.

  “Otherwise, I see no reason to hold you here between those check-ins, especially given the unique insights you can offer about the enemy,” Elric concluded.

  “Thank you.” Kaen turned to Sandren. “I need to brief the leadership. Tell me everything you know about the situation with the chancellor.”

  — — —

  Kira felt drained after her venture inside Kaen’s mind, but there was no time to rest.

  At Kaen’s insistence, the group immediately adjourned from the lab to a conference room so they could discuss potential next steps for the colonel to present to Guard command. As they walked toward the meeting space, Kira took the brief opportunity to process the recent events.

  She didn’t want to let on to the others just how far gone Kaen was when she’d finally been able to make contact. Whatever Nox did, it was only Kaen’s sheer willpower and dedication to his position that had kept him from being forever lost within himself. A weaker individual might not have been so fortunate.

  Facing that kind of power to manipulate matters of the mind was a new challenge for her. Even though she’d spent the majority of her life as a telepath, tasks involving those skills had always come easily to her. Never before had she faced a foe she couldn’t read or control. It scared her.

  In a position where she had historically lacked physical might compared to her comrades, she’d always had that one advantage. Now, her physical capabilities were a major wildcard and she was up against telepaths more powerful than herself.

  Figures this would happen right when I have the most to lose. Her thoughts drifted to her team and the fulfilling life she’d built in the Guard, and how having Leon with her now offered a chance to make it even more. The future might be uncertain, but she had a lot to fight for. And she wouldn’t give up.

  “What do you think, Kira?” Kaen asked.

  Oh, shite, was I supposed to be listening? Kira quickly returned to the present. “I’m sorry, sir, I—”

  The colonel cracked a wan smile. “Quite all right, Captain. I think we’re all a little distracted after what we’ve just been through.”

  “All the same, sir, I should have been paying attention. What was your question?”

  “More of a comment,” Kaen continued. “This alien presence is too significant a threat to be ignored. Though Mysar isn’t in the Empire and shouldn’t otherwise be our problem, to leave the Mysaran leadership unchecked may introduce future complications for us.”

  “I agree, sir,” Kira said, honored that Kaen acknowledged she could make a contribution when it came to the unusual nature of this enemy.

  “A plan is already in the works,” Sandren chimed in. “Leon’s sister, Ellen, who now works as the press secretary for the Elusian president, took it upon herself to travel to Mysar.”

  “This is the same woman you called when we were on Valta, correct?” Kaen clarified.

  Leon nodded. “Yes, sir. She has a frustrating tendency to take matters into her own hands.”

  “I’m getting that impression.” The colonel frowned. “If we send in a team to apprehend the chancellor, Ellen might be a liability.”

  “But she could also be an asset,” Sandren advised. “Having someone on the inside could facilitate us gaining entry to the capital without causing a scene. We have no idea how many people may be subverted within the government. An outsider is really the only person we can be sure is clean.”

  They reached the conference room, and the members of the party spread around the table. Sandren activated the desktop to bring up the notes he and others had gathered in regard to the developing situation.

  Kira took a seat next to Leon and scanned over the summary. She noticed a file related to the chairman of MTech.

  “That’s him,” Leon said, pointing to the thumbnail portrait of the chairman. “That’s the man we saw with the chancellor in the MTech lobby on Valta.”

  “Who else knows about this?” Kaen questioned.

  “The rest of Kira’s team was with him,” Sandren replied. “I haven’t officially filed a mission report—given everything that’s happened—so aside from them, just the people in this room know.”

  “Let’s keep it that way,” Kaen instructed. “If word gets out there are aliens capable of taking over someone’s mind, we could face a situation of mass hysteria. Further, we don’t need to bring down a political shitestorm on ourselves about all the reasons we shouldn’t get involved in Mysar’s affairs. We need to take care of this before it becomes a bigger issue, end of story.”

  “We’re with you, sir.” Sandren nodded.

  The colonel folded his hands on the tabletop. “Good. I know your trust in me must be shaken after how I was taken over by Nox, but I intend to earn back that trust.”

  “It could have happened to anyone, sir,” Kira said. “I’ll be the first to let the proper authorities know if I detect anything out of place.”

  “Thank you, Captain. And I’ll be sure to check in with Doctor Elric and Leon regularly to monitor for any signs of resurgence. Telepathic assessments won’t be possible while you’re on Mysar.”

  “Sir?” Kira’s brow knitted.

  “We don’t know how many aliens there might be, or what their endgame is. We have surmised that the Robus were intended to be new hosts for them, and you, Kira, were supposed to be a prototype to present to a… benefactor of some sort. This is bigger than just the Mysaran government, but we do know that Chancellor Hale is an important piece of the puzzle. I want you to retrieve her and do for her what you’ve done for me.”

  “Could you maybe prepare a serum for the chancellor that could be used in the field to dissolve the TR?” Sandren asked Leon. “That would mitigate some risks.”

  Leon frowned. “I wish we could, but the neurochemistry levels need to be monitored too closely for us to guess at dosing. Outside of laboratory conditions, a serum might do more harm than good.”

  “So we need to bring her back her
e,” Kira concluded.

  Sandren sighed. “An extraction, it is.”

  “Sir, if I may…” Kira waited for Kaen’s nod of approval. “We don’t know when Hale was subverted. The chancellor’s persona might actually be the alien influence.”

  “That occurred to me, as well,” the colonel replied. “If that’s the case, then the Mysarans will be given the opportunity to select a new leader.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kira acknowledged. “As much as I want to help set things right on Mysar, I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to be out in the field. What if I were to lose control and change?”

  Kaen nodded. “Were the circumstances any different, I’d evaluate other options. However, you’re the only person in the Guard who we know can stand up to the aliens’ telepathic influence. You may be a wildcard, but you’re also mission-critical.”

  Kira took a slow breath. “Yes, sir. I’ll do my best.”

  The colonel swept his hand across the desktop to clear the workspace. “Now, we have an infiltration to plan.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Some mission planning sessions left Kira energized to get into the field. The latest meeting had quite the opposite effect.

  As soon as they were dismissed, Kira beckoned for Sandren to hang back. “Sir, may we have a frank discussion about this plan?” she asked.

  “All right.” He motioned her back into the conference room and closed the door. “What’s on your mind?”

  “This mission has no chance of going according to plan. The assumptions we’re making about the Mysaran government building are most likely wrong, we have a single ‘in’ who may or not be able to offer any leverage or insights, and I barely have any confidence in my own ability to keep it together.”

  “You’ve never been one to question your abilities, Kira.”

  She stared at him wide-eyed. “That was before they turned me into a foking Robus!”

  “Fine, you want a frank discussion?” Sandren crossed his arms. “I don’t think you should be out in the field. My responsibility is to keep all my soldiers safe. Having you out there with Kyle, Nia, and Ari puts them at greater risk. But Kaen was right about you being mission-critical. We’re dealing with a group of telepathic entities, and you’re the only person who’s proven herself capable of assessing that threat in a meaningful way.”