Conspiracy

by A. K. DuBoff

  Ellen walked toward the government building’s entrance while the shuttle took off behind her. Even passing into the building’s shadow, the oppressive heat barely lessened.

  “Hello,” she called to a sentry posted at the entrance. “I’m Ellen Calleti. I’m here to see Dominic Thoreau.”

  The sentry consulted the HUD on his helmet. “I see you on the list. Reception will direct you inside.”

  “Thank you.” Ellen nodded as she passed by.

  The revolving door cycled to allow her inside. She breathed in the cool, conditioned air. It was still at least five degrees warmer than the interior temperatures she was used to on Elusia, but at least her lungs didn’t feel like they were burning.

  A man and a woman with dark features were seated behind a reception desk directly ahead, and they examined Ellen with interest.

  “Hello. Dominic Thoreau should be expecting me,” she told them. “I’m Ellen Calleti.”

  The female receptionist made an entry on her console hidden behind the counter. “Take the elevator on the left down to Sublevel 4. Mr. Thoreau will meet you there.”

  Ellen inclined her head and walked across the lobby to the elevator door. She pressed the call button. Five seconds later, the elevator doors parted, and she stepped inside.

  To her surprise, the elevator’s control panel had destinations listed all the way to Sublevel 22. What the Mysarans lacked by way of a skyline, they more than made up for underground.

  The elevator zipped to its destination of Sublevel 4 in a matter of seconds, and the doors parted to reveal a well-appointed lobby space complete with hydroponic plants, padded seating, and holographic wall art.

  A man with dark hair and blue eyes approached from the left hallway feeding into the lobby. “Ellen, I didn’t expect to ever see you back on Mysar.”

  “Unforeseen developments have forced a change,” she replied. “It’s good to see you, Dominic.”

  “Likewise.” Dominic held out his arm. “Come, we’ll talk in my office.”

  She followed him down the tiled hall to an opaque glass door at the end. The office beyond was sleek and modern with a black sofa and glass coffee table near the door, a small conference table, and a wooden desk near the left wall—quite a luxury item on a world with so few trees.

  Dominic gestured to the couch, and she took a seat while admiring the viewscreen across the entire side wall. The image was presently set to a tropic seashore.

  “Beats staring at a rockface, doesn’t it?” Dominic commented.

  “That it does,” Ellen agreed.

  “So, what brings you here?”

  “I’m looking for a new way to continue our original work.”

  Dominic placed his arm along the back of the sofa and crossed his legs. “That plan was undone when Elusia joined the Empire.”

  “Thus realizing the threat we’ve feared for the sake of the Elvar Trinary. If we wish to keep the dream of independence alive, this is the time we must act.” Ellen mirrored his position on the couch, looking the older man in the eyes. “I’ve come to aid in those efforts. The question is, do you still hold those same convictions?”

  “The Mysaran government has never thought otherwise. It’s Elusia that abandoned us.”

  “Circumstances beyond my control, as you well know,” Ellen replied.

  “What do you propose?” Dominic asked.

  “Well, for starters, we need to make sure the Empire leaves us alone.”

  “And how do you suggest we do that?”

  Ellen smiled as she prepared to tell the lie that was sure to get her back in the Mysarans’ favor. “By finally taking out Elusia and claiming this entire system for ourselves.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Kira set her travel bag down on her bunk. Her team’s cabin on the Raven felt different now that she was leaving Leon behind on Orion Station. She’d been on so many missions recently that the small ship was beginning to feel more like home than her actual cabin, but now someone was waiting for her elsewhere.

  The shift didn’t alter how she perceived her team or her commitment to the Guard—they would always be her extended family—yet, she now had a new sense of grounding. Someone beyond the people she fought alongside cared for her, and that would make her fight even harder to make sure she made it back home.

  Nia entered the cabin, interrupting Kira’s thoughts. The soldier cast her a wary glance as she swung her bag onto her bunk above Kira’s. “Out of quarantine for good?”

  “Who knows? But I hope so.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “No different than before Valta. That’s why this is so frustrating.”

  Nia nodded. “What was it like to transform?”

  “The one time it happened, it was so fast I didn’t even feel it. But then… I don’t know, something wasn’t right. It hurt.” Kira sat down on her bunk. “I need the three of you to keep an eye on me.”

  “We always do.”

  “This is different. It’s a risk for me to come with you. Take care of yourselves first and foremost.”

  “No one gets left behind, Kira,” Nia stated.

  “Just…” Kira looked down and took a deep breath. “I couldn’t bear it if I inadvertently hurt any of you. You’ll use those sedatives if—”

  Her friend bent her head to catch Kira’s gaze. “It won’t come to that. We’re all going to get through this mission, just like we always do.”

  “I know I’m probably worrying about nothing.”

  “Hey, if your worrying keeps us safe, I have no complaints.” Nia smiled. “The guys already headed to the gym. Care to join us?”

  “Yes! That’s exactly what I need.” Kira rose from her bunk, and the two women stepped into the hall.

  “I have to admit I’m curious,” Nia said while they walked. “You said you don’t feel any different right now, but have your new nanites impacted you in other ways?”

  “You mean like strength and speed augments?”

  The soldier nodded.

  Kira shrugged. “I did notice a change when I went to the gym earlier, but I don’t know to what extent. I guess you’ll have to test me.”

  “I believe that can be arranged.” Nia got a devious glint in her eyes.

  They descended the ladder to the recreation deck below.

  “Are you kidding me?” Kyle was saying to Ari as the two women approached.

  “I shite you not,” Ari replied.

  “What’s this, now?” Kira asked.

  Kyle gave a dismissive wave. “Ari was just saying that the video of you dancing down the hall has reached Number One video in three different categories.”

  Kira raised an eyebrow. “Really, guys? We’re worried about the entire system—or sector—getting overrun with bodysnatching aliens, and you’re talking about that video?” She rose to her full height. “Which contains classified footage, need I remind you.”

  “The video was scrubbed of anything identifiable, don’t worry,” Ari replied. “And besides, it’s not like we have a lot else to do for the next day while we’re in transit.”

  “Oh, nothing like, say, reviewing the mission brief?” Kira asked.

  “It was three paragraphs long. Already read,” Kyle said.

  “Or memorizing the facility layout,” Kira continued.

  Ari cast her a sidelong glance. “We don’t have one.”

  Kira crossed her arms. “Fine, then checking over your weapons and armor.”

  “Done and done.” Ari folded his hands in his lap. “I think the real issue is you don’t want us talking about the video.”

  The rest of the team looked at her questioningly.

  “We’re overdue for a workout. Move!” Kira ordered to change the subject.

  “That would be a ‘yes’,” Kyle whispered to Ari, intentionally loud enough for her to overhear.

  She ignored them and walked straight ahead to the weight machine. Oh, revenge is going to be so, so sweet.

  “Back to dodgin
g our questions, Kira?” Ari asked with a glint in his eyes.

  “Oh, don’t think for a second I’ve forgotten about all of your teasing. Your time will come.” Kira set the weight machine at slightly above her standard setting and took the bench.

  “I’m ready for anything,” Ari replied.

  “Keep telling yourself that.” Kira grabbed the bar on the weight machine and pulled. There may as well have been no resistance at all. “Oh, great.”

  “Whoa, did you just…?” Kyle commented, catching notice of Kira’s attempted workout.

  “Okay, so when I said I noticed a change earlier, that may have been an understatement,” she admitted.

  “Shite, I’ll say. It’s like there was nothing there.” Ari crossed his arms. “How much do you think you can do?”

  “I dunno.”

  Ari and Kyle each grabbed a weight to add to the machine while Nia watched with reserved fascination.

  Kira didn’t blame her being a little apprehensive. The soldiers were used to Kira barely keeping up with them, not being on the same physical level—or even more.

  When the new weights were in place, Kira gave the machine a cautious test pull. She felt more resistance than before, but she still easily pulled the bar to her chest.

  “Okay, so not a fluke,” she muttered.

  “That’s fifty percent over your previous personal record,” Kyle observed.

  “And I’m confident I could double it,” Kira replied. “But, I’m not sure I want to. There’s no telling when these new nanites might make me freak out. Maybe it’s best to leave well enough alone.”

  “Let’s see if you can match my PR, at least,” Nia suggested.

  Kira nodded her consent.

  The two men added additional weights to the machine. Such quantities had always struck Kira as comical when she viewed it as an outside observer, but now she was struck with a mixture of excitement and apprehension at the thought of mastering those weights herself.

  If I can do this, then I’ll no longer be the weakest one on the team. But is that power worth the uncertain future? Kira gripped the handholds and pulled.

  Nothing happened. Or, it didn’t feel like it.

  “Uh, Kira…” Kyle backed away from her along with the other members of the team.

  “Ah, shite.” Her mouth felt strange to her.

  Then, the pain hit.

  Kira’s limbs burned, and her fingers felt like they were splitting apart. Her pulse pounded in her ears, blocking out everything except for the burning throughout her body.

  At the edge of her consciousness, she felt herself collapse to her hands and knees on the deck. She gaped at the silvery claws starting to extend from her fingertips. The skin on her arms had also taken on a metallic sheen, which darkened as tiny beads of a metallic liquid flowed up through her skin. The pools of shiny liquid crystalized into interlocking scales, creating a second skin above her flesh that was also somehow fused with her senses as though it was her own.

  She glanced behind her and saw that Ari had a syringe in his hand. He was inching toward her while Kyle and Nia came around her other side.

  “No, don’t,” Kira managed through labored breaths. “I need to control it.”

  She still had her mental faculties about her, there was that. If she could think like herself, then there had to be a way to control the transformation, at least to an extent. But the pain… Is it getting worse?

  The previous time, she hadn’t even realized she’d transformed until after it happened. Now, even seemingly after the transformation was complete, the pain persisted. Something was most definitely wrong.

  “Argh!” Kira forced herself upright into a kneeling position, willing her heartrate and breathing to normalize. She pictured the peaceful forests of Valta, serene spacescapes, a delicate flower—rotating through the images that helped her center her mind when she needed to concentrate.

  Slowly, the pain receded. She watched her talon-like hands as she continued to sit on the floor, waiting to shift back to her normal self. You have this. You’re in control, she kept repeating to herself. You’re still you.

  The scales and claws dissolved, absorbing back into her skin. She marveled at how the augmentations seemingly merged back inside her. Is it the nanites themselves?

  She hadn’t been able to appreciate the wonder before due to her fear and anger over the unbidden changes. But taking a moment to process the experience now, she felt as though she’d just witnessed something special that demanded her respect, even if it was still terrifying.

  “Well, shite.” Ari whistled through his teeth. “You weren’t exaggerating before.”

  Nia swallowed. “I’m not sure which part was more unnerving.”

  Kira rose to her feet. “Sorry about that.”

  Kyle worked his mouth for a moment. “You were still yourself. You didn’t lose control.”

  “Yeah, maybe we don’t have anything to worry about, after all,” Nia said.

  Just because I haven’t doesn’t mean that I won’t. Kira kept the thought to herself, knowing it wouldn’t do anyone any good to dwell on negative scenarios. She needed to maintain a positive outlook. To that end, she elected to also keep the discomfort she’d experienced during the transformation to herself.

  “Ari, thank you for being ready to do what needed to be done,” Kira told the lance corporal.

  He nodded. “I’m glad it wasn’t necessary.”

  “Me, too.” She looked over the other members of her team. They still looked understandably nervous, but they were decidedly less tense in appearance than they had been a minute prior. “Well, I think I’ll pass on the rest of that workout.”

  Nia eyed her. “Yeah, I was thinking that might be the case.”

  “You go ahead and finish yours,” Kira told her team. “I’ll—”

  “Nonsense,” Kyle interrupted. “We all got in a good set earlier today. We should do something else together. It’s been days since we’ve been able to have some fun as a team.”

  “What about Fastara?” Ari suggested.

  Kyle and Nia both groaned loudly.

  “You’re only suggesting that because you weren’t horribly beaten,” Nia said.

  Kira caught on. “Oh, did you play with Leon?”

  Kyle glared at her. “He’s a menace to civilized society.”

  “Told us he was an amateur,” Nia grumbled.

  “Yeah, he’s one of the best,” Kira said with a chuckle. “I’d say I should have warned you, but Ari’s video channel on the Net is a bit too populated with footage of me to have much sympathy for you enduring an embarrassing defeat.”

  “At least we have a fighting chance against you,” Kyle told her.

  Kira cracked a smile. “We’ll see about that.”

  — — —

  The specifics of Ellen’s plan for how to take out Elusia were vague at best, but for the purposes of her conversation with Dominic, details didn’t matter. It was the spirit of her words that carried the heft—precisely the message Dominic wanted to hear, tailor-made just for him.

  He nodded with satisfaction as Ellen finished her explanation, just as she’d hoped he would.

  “I have to say, I was unsure of where your allegiance landed after how the last couple of weeks have played out,” he told her.

  “I understand your reservations,” she replied. “This was the soonest I could make it back here. I thought it was prudent to maintain my position on Elusia to further our long-term objectives.”

  “Foresightful, indeed.” Dominic nodded.

  “As I indicated, this next phase will take some careful maneuvering so as not to draw the Taran Empire’s wrath.”

  “That might be an overly melodramatic characterization.” Dominic leaned back in the couch. “The Empire is too far-reaching to have much affection for any one planet, especially a tiny border world.”

  “But we’re their newest ‘victory’,” Ellen stated, wanting to throw him off-balance so she could d
rive him toward her real objective. “You’ve heard how the High Dynasty Heads talk about inclusion and democracy and all that. Worlds like Elusia are their symbol for the new-and-improved post-Priesthood society. I suspect they would take extra care to make sure that beacon of hope isn’t extinguished before its time.”

  Dominic looked horrified. “If that’s the case, Mysar can never pull away—”

  Ellen forced a laugh. “Oh, Dominic, always so serious! Did you really believe the Empire’s interest in this system was genuinely driven by a desire for unity?” She shook her head. “No, this has never been about Elusia. It always comes back to Valta.”

  He nodded thoughtfully, relaxing again. “Yes, of course. Mysar and Elusia just happen to be the two baggage-worlds that come with the system. Either join or get out of the way.”

  “Exactly. Elusia, in their infinitely shortsighted weakness, thought that joining would keep them safe, but the Empire will undoubtedly strip Valta and leave the rest of us here to rot.”

  “Not if we take action.” The fire was back in Dominic’s eyes.

  “There isn’t much time,” Ellen urged.

  “I’d hoped that we could come to a peaceable solution where Elusia could survive, but you’re right. This is the only way.” Dominic rose from the couch. “We’ll need to present the plan to the chancellor for approval.”

  “Would you like me to write a brief?” Ellen offered.

  “No need. Come with me and you can present it yourself.”

  Ellen’s pulse spiked. “I wasn’t expecting to meet with the chancellor directly.” Shite! That’s probably the most powerful telepath of them all. How are my mental guards supposed to stand up to that?

  If she was to be honest with herself, she knew they wouldn’t. She also recognized that she’d made a huge error in her assumptions about how events would proceed on Mysar. Her plan had always been to use Dominic as an intermediary. To be asked to communicate directly with the chancellor was an honor, but it also exponentially increased her personal risk.

  “You’ve put a lot of thought into this. You deserve some facetime with the top decision-maker,” Dominic told her.

  “Thank you, that means a lot,” Ellen lied. I should have anticipated this possibility. This is what I get for rushing in.