Project Solaris 2: Hero Rising

by Chris Fox

  "Jolene, alert security that we may have some unexpected guests. Have the top twenty floors evacuated, please," he said, kneeling next to the desk. He opened the lowest drawer, then reached inside to feel along the top. His hand closed on the pistol, and he cocked the weapon as he withdrew it. Grey men physiology wasn't so different from humans, and a slug to the face was just as lethal. The gun wasn't as effective as one of their boomerangs, but it didn't draw from his own energy reserves.

  He'd need that power, both for defense and likely to regenerate from wounds he'd receive during the fight. The grey men were consummate warriors, and if they really were coming, they'd come with enough force to subdue him. He had no illusions about that. They didn't fully understand his true nature, so far as he knew anyway, but he'd cost them dearly in several recent battles. They were unlikely to underestimate him again.

  The windows began to rattle. It could have been a small earthquake of the type that often struck San Francisco, the type that locals knew well enough to all but ignore. But it wasn't. The thrum was too deep, and it didn't affect anything but the windows. They were here, and combat was about to begin in earnest.

  Osiris moved to the far side of the desk, dropping into a crouch as the bay windows lining his office exploded inward. Glass peppered the entire room, the shrapnel destroying art and furniture he'd collected over the last several centuries. It was replaceable. He was not.

  He snapped the gun up, scanning the gap where his windows had been. Wind howled through the room, but there was no sign of movement. Yet. Then several forms shimmered into existence. All five were grey men. Two wore the wrist blades he'd first seen in the mothership he'd helped David steal. The other three held the familiar golden boomerangs, terrifyingly lethal.

  They hadn't bothered with their pawns. Perhaps they'd been unable to collect them on such short notice, but Osiris had a feeling that wasn't it. This battle was personal. They were determined to remove him from the equation once and for all. If they succeeded, then the world was doomed.

  There was so much he still needed to teach David, so many plots that would wither if he were not there to see them to completion. So he resolved to live.

  Osiris sighted down the barrel, snapping off three shots at the grey man on the far left. All three pinged off an invisible shield, ricocheting into the nearby wall with metallic cracks. Blast it. He should have predicted that they'd use many of the abilities they'd instilled into their human experiments. A volley of green blasts answered his gunshots, and Osiris dove behind a nearby couch. It evaporated, but he'd expected that. In the split second it still existed, he activated one of the abilities he'd instilled into his own helixes all those millennia ago.

  The short-range teleport carried him behind the same grey man he'd fired at, one of the ones armed with a boomerang. Grey men were nothing if not pragmatic, and erecting a telekinetic shield took energy. It was possible the creature had encased itself in a bubble, but he was gambling that it had instead chosen only to erect a barrier in front of it.

  Osiris glided soundlessly forward, slipping the dagger from his belt. He plunged it into the back of the grey man's spine, just below the point he'd find a C1 vertebrae on a human. It slid silently through flesh and bone, severing the creature's spinal column. The blade was wedged there, and Osiris tested a theory he'd long been curious about. He willed the sunsteel blade to perform its greatest function, the reason why the dagger was so very valuable.

  Pulses of bright green energy shot up the blade. The creature's skin grew even more pallid as Osiris drank its strength, a predatory smile growing as he realized his theory had been right. The Builders had created sunsteel, and every weapon that still existed was made from reforged weapons they'd created. Since they'd created it, it stood to reason they were also vulnerable to it. Strength and power filled him as the creature's life force surged through his body.

  The other grey men were already reacting, and the closest one glided forward. The plasma blade fixed to its wrist ignited into a beam of pure green, and it launched a low slash at Osiris' midsection. He tumbled backward onto his back, narrowly dodging the blow. Going prone reduced his profile, screening his body from the other grey men. The two with boomerangs spread out, hesitating as they tried to line up a clean shot.

  Osiris kicked out with both feet, knocking the grey man with the plasma blade back into its fellows. Then he teleported again, fueling the ability with the strength he'd stolen from the grey man. Unfortunately he hadn't had the time to fully drink his essence, but hopefully he'd procured enough to sustain him through this battle.

  He reappeared across the room, raising the pistol and squeezing off several shots into a grey man's skull. The creature gave an inhuman shriek of pain, its fellows already swiveling to deal with Osiris. Osiris teleported again, squeezing off several more shots from another part of the room. This time, the shots pinged off a telekinetic shield. The grey men had adapted their strategy. He rolled out of the way as blasts of green washed over the area where he'd been standing.

  You are older than most of your kind. A voice thundered through Osiris' mind, and he shook his head to clear it. The delay cost him, and a green blast caught him in the chest. Skin and muscle burned away in a blow that would have killed a normal human. Osiris ignored the pain, teleporting three times in rapid succession. He cloaked himself in illusion when he landed, blending into the wall next to him. The voice spoke in his mind again as if he hadn't moved. Your lifespan numbers in the millennia, yet your kind expire in a handful of decades. Only a few make it into their second century. None see a third. How is this possible?

  Osiris felt tremendous pressure on his skull, burrowing through his mind. It laid bare the centuries, pilfering his memories like a thief stealing jewels. He tried to stop it, but he lacked his wife's skill at shaping. The grey man took what it wanted, and Osiris was powerless to stop it. He scanned the surviving grey men, who were no longer attacking. All three had moved into a wedge, and he could feel the potent, telekinetic barrier they'd erected. They were protecting something, or someone.

  His eyes widened when he realized who it must be. David had told him of the grey men's leader, the ageless consciousness that had witnessed millions of years. It suddenly made sense. The being sifting his mind made him feel like a child. The gulf of power between them was greater than that between Osiris and a normal human.

  Ahh, it all makes sense now, the void said, thrumming through his mind. You and your kind were aided by Ka. You modified your helixes to control the Ark network, and have taught yourselves primitive shaping. I can learn much from your memories.

  Osiris went rigid, the sunsteel blade clattering to the floor from nerveless fingers. Something shimmered into existence behind the grey men. The creature was taller, and its skin more green than white. It studied him with flat, black eyes as it approached, still peeling away layers of Osiris' mind. He struggled, but knew in his heart the fight was over. The grey man would take whatever it wanted, and he was powerless to stop it.

  Chapter 22- Bad news

  "Looks like you've got a serious problem," Dick taunted, dickishly as usual. I tried to ignore him, reminding myself that he was my prisoner, still locked in the stasis field.

  My attention was fixed on the holographic projection the rest of us were watching. It displayed a local San Francisco news channel, which was discussing the story of the hour. Apparently, an explosion had occurred in the penthouse of the Mohn building, and authorities were investigating. The newscaster was careful not to call it terrorism, but the undertones were there in the skeptical way she said, 'possible gas leak'.

  "What do you want to do?" Jillian asked, quietly. She'd gone into focus mode. I'm glad one of us was able to.

  "We have to assume Osiris is dead, or worse, captured," I said, sighing. I turned to Suresh. "It's time for you to make a choice. I can return you to Earth, and you can start over. That means finding a new job, and pretending like everything you've seen isn't happening. Or, you
can take a stand and help us fight back."

  Suresh glanced at the south wall, which still showed earth beneath us. When she glanced back at me, her mouth firmed into a tight line. "That isn't really a choice. I can't walk away, not now that I know the truth. A little of it, anyway. I still have a lot of questions, but if I can help you fight back, I'm willing."

  "Good," I said, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder. "You'll be a tremendous asset."

  "That still doesn't give us an immediate course of action," Jillian said. Her entire body had gone rigid, and I could tell she was ready for a fight. "You know what this attack means. There is definitely a spy in our midst. Your buddy Dick here might be a dick, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. We have a serious problem, one we need to deal with right now."

  "You're right," I conceded, sinking back into my chair. I steepled my fingers, studying Dick. "We can't bring him back to the Black Knight, not until we know who the spy is. There's too much risk he could get loose. We'll leave him here with Suresh to watch him."

  "You're sure trusting her is wise?" Jillian asked.

  "Suresh, if I leave you here, you're not going to free Dick, are you?" I said, focusing my abilities. I probed her surface thoughts, listening as she answered.

  "You're damn right I'm not," she shot back, glaring at Dick. "Now that I know a little more, I'm not sure you were wrong to want to kill him. He can rot there for all I care."

  "She's telling the truth," I said to Jillian.

  "How do you know that?" Suresh asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "He's reading your mind," Dick supplied, his tone glib. "He can control your thoughts. He might even be doing it right now."

  "Like you've no doubt done in the last few months?" I shot back, stalking over to his cage. I concentrated on the stasis field, intensifying it. I modified the field so it would prevent sound from crossing, then I turned to Suresh. "Dick can manipulate minds. Apparently I have that ability, too, though I'm just learning to use it. I won't, unless it's an emergency. You've proved yourself to me."

  "Thank you," she said, though I could tell she was unsettled. "I guess I wait here. Is there a way for me to study up on things?"

  "I'll open the archives so you can use them. They'll respond to simple voice commands. You can see what the grey men have been up to, and learn about Project Solaris," I offered. I rose from the chair, moving to stand next to Jillian. "We'll try to be quick, but it might be a few hours before we get back. Sit tight, okay?"

  She simply nodded. Suresh looked scared, and I didn't blame her.

  "So how do you plan to root out the spy?" Jillian asked. I read concern in her eyes, which was more emotion than she normally let show. She was rattled, just like I was.

  "We go back and tell the others that we escaped the ambush," I said. I paused, trying to consider the best route forward. "I'll tell the others we've learned where the FTL device is and are planning a raid in the morning. We'll use this evening to read each of them, and see if that exposes the spy."

  "And if it doesn't?" she asked.

  "Then we do this the hard way. We gather the group together, and we tell them there's a spy in our midst."

  "That's going to cause a lot of finger pointing." Jillian folded her arms. I knew she didn't like it, but she didn't offer another solution.

  "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. If it does, we'll handle it as best we can. We don't have a lot of choice. Osiris could be dead because of this spy, which denies us Mohn's resources. We've got the Black Knight now, but a spy could alert the grey men to that fact," I said. "If that happens, we'll lose this war before it even begins. We can't let it fall into their hands, and that means we need to find this spy, no matter the cost."

  Chapter 23- Indoctrination

  The ringing began the instant we materialized in the Black Knight. It was worse than it had been before, perhaps because I'd gotten used to not hearing it. My eyes watered, and I rubbed my temples as I adjusted to the pain.

  "Are you all right?" Jillian asked. She squeezed my shoulder, and I gave a tight nod.

  "I think one of the systems is malfunctioning. Can you really not hear that?" I asked, gritting my teeth.

  "I don't hear anything," she said, blinking.

  We were interrupted by the arrival of the others. Kali and Janaki were the first through the doors, both looking extremely concerned. Marcus and Summers trailed after, talking together in low tones.

  "What happened?" Kali said, flinging her arms around Jillian. "We saw the news broadcast. They're saying there was a terrorist attack at the Mohn building."

  Could she really be the spy? It chilled me to think that her concern might be an act. I glanced from Summers to Marcus. Neither had approached, and both eyed us emotionlessly. That was, unfortunately, normal enough behavior for the two of them, though.

  "We got out alive, that's what matters," I said, trying to clear the ringing enough to focus. "I need to sit down."

  I pushed past them, into the central chamber. I sat against the wall, wiping a sheen of sweat from my forehead. I was dimly aware of Jillian sitting next to me, but I was too nauseous to react.

  "Maybe you should use one of the rejuvenators," Summers said. Her voice was far away. I blinked rapidly, clearing away the cobwebs.

  "Ren," I called. A moment later, the hologram appeared. "Are you aware of any systems malfunctioning at the present moment?"

  "No," Ren said, flatly. "All systems are operating within tolerances."

  "Shut down power to everything but life support," I said, leaning forward into a fetal position. The ringing was so damned insistent. I felt like my teeth were going to rattle out of my head.

  "Done," Ren said. The pressure disappeared. The ringing was gone.

  I rose shakily to my feet, facing the others. Their expressions ranged from indifference to concern, but that didn't tell me enough. I needed to know more.

  "Give me a second," I said, raising a hand to forestall any questions.

  I focused on my abilities, opening my mind as I'd been learning to do. I became aware of the minds around me, and listened to surface thoughts. I started with Janaki, who was torn between a growing attraction for Kali, and a fear that she wasn't contributing anything to the group.

  Marcus was, much to my surprise, extremely concerned for my health. He wondered what was wrong with me, and if we had the resources to fix it. I tensed as I picked up a stray thought, one that flashed by so quickly I almost missed it. Marcus worried that intel was being leaked. He feared a possible spy.

  Summers was the easiest to read. She was frustrated that she couldn't utilize the station's systems unless I was present, and badly wanted to find a way to modify her powers so she could keep the powers she borrowed. It was the most normal I'd seen her since she'd woken from her coma, a return to the frigid, calculating Summers I was used to.

  Kali's mind was a blank wall. I couldn't pick up anything, not a single emotion or stray thought. Her flat, black eyes shone with concern, but I had no idea if that was being feigned somehow. My inability to read her wasn't proof, but it troubled me deeply.

  I even took a moment to read Jillian, which made me blush. She was concerned about the spy, but underlaying that was an insistent frustration that we hadn't had enough time alone together.

  "I'm all right," I finally said, exhaling. "Sorry for worrying you. Something in one of the station's systems was making me nauseous, but turning it off helped. I'm fine now."

  "So what the hell happened down there?" Marcus asked, frowning.

  "They grey men knew we were coming," Jillian broke in. She met my gaze, and my jaw clicked shut. She was a better liar, so I let her run with the story. "We don't know what happened to Osiris, but we got away."

  "You realize what that means?" Marcus asked, looking me dead in the eye.

  Yes, I thought, sending the message into his mind. But we shouldn't reveal it here, not yet. If there is a spy we don't want to alert them.

  "Yeah, Mohn has a leak,"
I said, holding his gaze. Marcus gave a quick nod of understanding. "Someone in their organization works for the grey men, which means we can't trust Mohn Corp. For the time being, we're on our own."

  "So what's our next step?" Summers asked, watching me with those cold blue eyes.

  "We need time to regroup. Jillian and I are going to return to the shuttle for a little R&R. When we get back, we'll meet as a group and discuss our next move," I said, giving Jillian a plastic smile. I hoped the others would read it as exhaustion.

  "All right," Kali said, a little dubiously. "You've definitely earned a break. Go take a nap, or uh, whatever you guys need to do. We'll be here when you get back."

  Chapter 24- Invis

  Jillian, I thought, pushing into her mind. I want you to teleport us to the far side of the station, into the rejuvenator room. Make us invisible as soon as we arrive. Can you do that?

  Jillian took a step closer, wrapping her arm around my waist. Then we teleported. Even as the vertigo faded, cool energy washed over us and we vanished from sight. I paused, holding my breath and listening. I could hear faint voices back in the teleporter room.

  "What are you planning?" Jillian whispered from my right.

  "One second," I said, fishing into my pocket to withdraw Mom's memory crystal. It flared to life and Mom appeared. I spoke before she could. "We need to be quiet, Mom. Just listen for a sec and I'll catch you up. We believe there's a spy, and I'm hoping you can help us catch them. I'm going to interface you with the station. You should be able to log all of Ren's movements and see if anyone has been tampering with things."