Conspiracy

by A. K. DuBoff

  “Gah!” Kira paced in a small circle. “I hate not being able to trust myself!”

  “Look, you’re agitated now and are still in control. You need to have faith you’ll maintain that lucidness when it matters.”

  She checked herself, realizing that letting her emotions get the better of her only made a slip more likely. “I’ll be with my team. If anyone can keep me grounded, it’s them.” Though I wish Leon were coming along, too.

  “Once we have Hale in hand, we can figure out how deeply this alien conspiracy runs. Hopefully by then, Leon will also have identified treatment options for you.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “But, Captain, I can’t take your ability to maintain control on blind faith. I’m going to have Doctor Elric prepare a sedative for your team to have on hand, just in case.”

  “And that will work through metallic scales?”

  “He’s assured me that it’s a very effective delivery mechanism.”

  She nodded. “All right, that makes me feel better.”

  “I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

  “Always be prepared,” she reiterated.

  “Right. Now, was there anything else?”

  Kira shook her head. “No, I said what I needed to say for my own peace of mind. Thank you, sir.”

  “Okay. Let’s go brief the rest of the team.”

  The challenging circumstances still weighed on Kira’s mind, but knowing there was a contingency plan to make sure her team would be safe assuaged her biggest fears. Now, her foremost concern was if she’d be able to stand up to the entity that had overtaken Hale.

  Kira and Sandren walked to the shared residence of her teammates, and she knocked on the door when they arrived.

  Kyle answered. “Major. Kira! You’re out of quarantine.”

  The others jumped from their bunks.

  “How are you feeling?” Nia asked.

  “I’m good,” Kira replied. “May we come in?”

  “Of course.” Kyle stepped aside.

  Kira entered and sat down at the table, while Sandren remained standing by the door.

  “Kira’s condition is still uncertain,” Sandren stated. “However, the circumstances demand her involvement in a more serious matter. We were able to successfully remove the alien presence from Colonel Kaen, as far as we know, but the information we learned about the aliens points to a conspiracy throughout the Mysaran government. We need to apprehend Chancellor Hale.”

  “Are we going to Mysar?” Ari asked.

  Kira nodded. “We’ve planned a covert infiltration of the government building. Ellen—Leon’s sister—has gone ahead to establish herself with the government, and she should be able to help get us in.”

  Kyle half-raised his hand. “Does that entire family have some sort of fixation with being informants for the Guard?”

  Kira snorted. “They’re a meddlesome bunch. Even with her assistance, we’ll need our stealth gear and your hacking wizardry to get the access we need.”

  “That’s what we do best,” Nia said with a smile. “Is it just the four of us?”

  “Yes, core team,” Sandren acknowledged. “I’d like to accompany you on the Raven, but I think it’s best if I stay home for this one to keep an eye on things. We’re keeping the colonel’s past subversion very need-to-know, and he’s requested I shadow him to look for any out-of-place behavior.”

  “Not a bad idea,” Kyle assessed. “Based on what we saw from the chancellor while we were on Valta, these aliens are not to be underestimated.”

  “As for us,” Ari chimed in, “what’s the entry plan?”

  Kira and Sandren talked the team through the strategy they’d devised with Kaen, Leon, and Doctor Elric. The combination of covert ops, science, and pure luck would be a challenge to pull off, but overcoming such odds was part of what made her job so thrilling.

  “How much assistance will Ellen be able to offer from the inside?” Nia asked when they were finished with the explanation. “Kyle and I can override the locks, sure, but people are going to see those doors open, even if we’re in stealth armor. And Ellen is a visitor there, herself. Can she really clear the way?”

  “I could put someone under my direct control,” Kira suggested.

  Sandren shook his head. “No, save your abilities for dealing with the chancellor. The less they see you in action before that encounter, the better.”

  Kira nodded. “Understood, sir.”

  “Sir, back to my point about the infiltration…” Nia cut in. “What kind of help can we expect?”

  Sandren folded his hands. “We haven’t been able to communicate with Ellen since she went undercover, but she may not be perceived as an outsider. After all, she was originally sent to work with the Elusians by Mysarans.”

  “Yes,” Kira conceded, “but as far as Mysarans would be concerned, Ellen defected. She was sent to assassinate the Elusian president, and… well, he’s still alive. Plus, she’s now publicly his press secretary.”

  “Well, the Guard’s supposed information leak changed the assassination plan,” Sandren pointed out. “She didn’t have the opportunity to kill him, or so she could say. Besides, Kaen was her contact, not anyone on Mysar. As far as the rest of the government is concerned, she was following his orders, and he may have instructed her to back off. She can go back to her original group and say she wants to return to the good work they were doing and now has a better position to leverage toward that end.”

  Nia’s jaw went slack. “I think we missed some things.”

  Kira sighed. “Yeah, I’ll fill you in while we’re in transit.”

  “All of that aside, counting on an untrained, non-military contact for such a dangerous undercover operation is a big risk, sir,” Kyle cautioned.

  “Right, but she’s all we have.” Sandren looked around the table. “I don’t think we can trust anyone in the Mysaran government right now.”

  “All right, so we only rely on ourselves to get in and get out,” Ari said with his usual assurance. “Simple.”

  “I have every confidence you’ll pull it off.” The major smiled. “You leave in an hour.”

  — — —

  Having full control of his own body again was deeply satisfying in a way Kaen could never have imagined, but part of him felt empty. As much as he’d detested Nox’s presence, he’d become accustomed to having a companion in his mind. Though he’d only been consciously aware of Nox for a matter of days, the alien’s time as a hidden passenger for the three years prior had left a lasting impact.

  How could such a clear invasion of my mind be something I miss? Kaen shook his head. No, it wasn’t that he missed Nox, it was that he had become used to having constraints around his consciousness—in the way that a newborn enjoyed being swaddled. He was now his own person again and he needed to embrace his independence.

  Moreover, he wasn’t alone. The reason he temporarily felt isolated was that Nox had forced him to withdraw from those who’d always rounded out his life—his friends in the Guard. To regain a sense of fullness, he only needed to reintegrate himself.

  Kaen smiled at the thought of being able to participate in those relationships again without an unseen force manipulating him behind the scenes. Good times were ahead in the coming months and years.

  In the meantime, though, there were loose ends to tie up.

  Two of the three Guard soldiers he’d interviewed had willingly betrayed the Taran Empire, but the third—Alan, the comm tech—was the victim of Nox’s subversion. Kaen immediately put in a recommendation for Alan’s sentencing to be overturned.

  As soon as he was finished, Kaen headed for Leon’s lab. He suspected the young scientist already had designs on further research into the alien tech, but it was important to set some ground rules.

  Leon was talking with his two associates. They cut off their conversation as soon as they saw Kaen.

  “Sir, what can we do for you?” Leon asked.

  “I wanted to thank you a
gain for helping to break the alien’s hold over me,” Kaen replied.

  “Of course, Colonel. I only wish we’d known sooner.” Leon studied him. “Doctor Elric and I believe we have calibrated a scan to make it easy to monitor your condition.”

  “We’ve adapted that to the routine medical exams for all soldiers to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Tess added.

  “Good work,” Kaen acknowledged. “I take it you’ve used scans of Jared to test the new systems?”

  Leon nodded. “I know he’s a prisoner and not a test subject, sir…”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Kaen rested his elbow on the counter of the central workstation. “Regardless of what atrocities Jared helped commit, he’s still a person with rights. We can’t keep him as an experimental tool for our own gains.”

  “I would never think of it,” Leon replied. “The thing is, though, we can learn things by studying him that we can’t gain through any other means.”

  “I’m well aware. I recognize my former state makes me rather biased, but we need to understand the magnitude of this threat. Can anyone become subverted by touch, or is the procedure more involved?”

  “We were just wondering the same thing, sir,” Jack said.

  Kaen took a slow breath. “I can give you two days to study Jared. That aligns with our vetting time for suspects in any investigation. To continue study beyond that point would violate our ethical codes of conduct.”

  Leon glanced at his team. “That doesn’t give us much time, but we’ll make the most of it.”

  Kaen stepped back toward the door. “Good. I want to know how to take these aliens down.”

  — — —

  Two days would hardly be enough time to run all the testing scenarios he’d like, but Leon was glad they’d be able to use Jared to a positive end after all the harm he’d caused.

  After working for hours straight, Leon had his team take a short break. He needed to see Kira off on her mission, and he knew Tess and Jack would work smarter after a power nap.

  “How’d your team react to the plan?” Leon asked Kira while he watched her toss items into her travel bag.

  “Excited for the thrill of the challenge,” she replied. “I still wish Ellen weren’t in there. As helpful as she may end up being, I hate having to worry about civilians.”

  “She can take care of herself pretty well.”

  “I know resourcefulness runs in your family, but this isn’t any old enemy we’re up against.”

  Leon nodded, thinking back about all the times Ellen had talked herself out of tough spots while they were kids. “At least she’s adept at mental guards. She’s in a better position to protect herself than most would be.”

  “This is true.”

  “By the way, we’ve been given two days to study Jared before we give him the same neural cocktail we used on Kaen. Elric and I should be able to develop an effective treatment for Chancellor Hale once you get her back here, assuming it’ll be more difficult than helping the colonel.”

  “If it’s even possible to get the alien presence out of her.”

  “I thought I was supposed to be the skeptical scientist here. Why the ‘if’?” Leon asked.

  Kira leaned against the wall. “What if the longer the being is in someone, the more difficult it is to remove?”

  Leon nodded. “So, we have no way of knowing how long the chancellor has been subverted—or if she’s been someone else all along.”

  “Hale has been the chancellor since we were little kids…”

  “Exactly. If she’s been an alien that whole time, how much of the original her would be left? She may have been a young woman when she was first taken over, for all we know.”

  “What would you do in that case?”

  “Bring her back here and see if there’s anything we can do for her. At a minimum, she’ll have information.”

  Leon took a step toward Kira, seeing the concern in her eyes. “Do they want you to extract that information?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll do my best to accomplish this op’s objectives.”

  He could see the worry written on her face, but Leon had to acknowledge that Kira shouldn’t be going anywhere. Aside from his own feelings about her and his desire to see her safe and secure, the scientist in him recognized that Kira had undergone a major transformation; too much was still unknown about the extent of those changes. She should be under close observation, not out in the field where there were so many variables.

  Why is Sandren okay with this? Leon asked himself, though he already knew the answer. Aside from her telepathic skills, Kira was part of a team with unique capabilities related to covert data extraction. The team was stronger when it was intact. Despite Kira’s precarious position, it was worth the risk because her going along kept the team together.

  All the same, Leon had a responsibility to say what no one else seemed willing to bring up. “I don’t like the idea of you going into a dangerous situation like this, Kira. If you started to change—”

  “This again? You knew the deal when we agreed to give our relationship another try,” Kira shot back.

  Her tone stung, even though Leon knew she made a valid point. He had understood exactly what he was getting into. Kira’s career was her first love, no matter how much she cared about him, too. But the circumstances had changed. This wasn’t just about her being in the Guard. She, herself, was undergoing a change that transcended job responsibilities or relationship status. Duty may come first, but not at the expense of individual identity.

  “I would never stand between you and the Guard, Kira,” Leon said in what he hoped was a calm tone. “My concern is that we still know so little about what’s going on with you.”

  “You said yourself that I’m too stubborn to let this thing get the better of me.”

  “I did, yes.”

  “So, everything’s fine,” Kira stated.

  “No, it’s not fine! Colonel Kaen was subverted by some sort of alien parasite, Chancellor Hale is in the same situation, and a rogue telekinetic psychopath made you a medical experiment—”

  “Leon,” Kira placed her hands on his arms, “I know you mean well, but this isn’t helping.”

  He looked into her hazel eyes. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to be concerned.”

  “No, it’s not, but I haven’t had any transformations since that one. I can’t live the rest of my life on a maybe. My life here is about taking action, and I adjust when I have to. Right now, the Guard needs me out there with my team.”

  Leon looked down. “I didn’t mean to stop you. I’m just afraid of what may happen when you’re put in a stressful situation. Those are the kind of circumstances where something in you could trigger.”

  “I appreciate your concern, but let me worry about me. Study my nanites when you finish with Jared.”

  “All right,” Leon agreed. “But promise me you’ll be careful.”

  Kira gave him a kiss. “I always am.”

  — — —

  A wave of heat struck Ellen as soon as the shuttle door opened. She blinked as the dry air hit her eyes.

  I’d forgotten how hot it can get here in the summer. She walked down the shuttle’s ramp onto the landing platform next to the Mysaran capital building.

  Unlike the glass tower housing the Elusian government, the Mysaran capital building was only two stories and hewn of black stone. The higher temperature from the planet’s proximity to the sun dictated architecture to match the extreme landscape.

  Elusia, as a cool world rich with sea life, provided the water to sustain Mysar’s agricultural industry under massive biodomes. Plant life flourished in the intense sun, when temperature in the domes was regulated. The mutually beneficially arrangement of Elusia providing fish and water while Mysar provided plants and metal ores from the planet’s many mines was the foundation of the Elvar Trinary’s economy.

  Now, though, with Elusia in the Taran Empire, Mysar was facing a future on its
own—a future that wouldn’t be sustainable with their current operations.

  Ellen had sworn allegiance to Elusia and the Empire, but she still cared about her Mysaran neighbors. She’d gone to school on the planet and had many friends still living there with young families of their own. If those people were being led by an alien outsider working toward its own twisted ends, then she needed to do everything she could to help stop that menace. It was the only way she could start making up for her deceit.

  She looked over the capital building, her jaw set with determination. Inside was an enemy lair, and she had to make an opening for Kira’s team to come in to free the Mysaran people.

  “Is it always this hot?” Nico asked from next to her.

  Ellen glanced at the Elusian president’s assistant coming down the ramp behind her. President Joris had entrusted Nico with the secret of Ellen’s true mission; he’d rendezvous with the Guard ship once it arrived to serve as a political liaison while Ellen and Kira’s team were on the inside. That way, if anything started to go poorly, Nico could give an informal heads up to President Joris rather than having an official Guard communication on the record. After all, the Guard should have no business on Mysar, especially in terms of taking military action. The more communications handled via backchannels, the better.

  “Mysar is a veritable hellscape compared to our icy Elusia,” Ellen replied to his comment.

  “No wonder they have such an attitude problem. I’d be angry all the time in this heat, too.” Nico wiped beads of perspiration from his brow with the back of his hand.

  “You might be onto something there.” Ellen took a step away from the shuttle and turned around. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I can. The Guard spaceship should arrive tomorrow.”

  The young man nodded. “I’ll be waiting for them. Good luck.” He returned to the shuttle.