Minea glanced over with a quizzical look. “Toriko never had a problem.”
Maro sighed, then clapped twice. From her display extruded three tiny, holographic versions of herself. “Mini-mes,” she said. “Take the next set of components off my queue.”
A chorus of “Yes, ma’am” rang through the air as her tiny digital clones spread out, called up holographic panels of their own, and began inspecting component images.
“Convergence,” Minea said. Behind her, a set of projected components began to join together. What started with two circuit boards blossomed outward with additional assemblies. Mencari noticed the corresponding components in the pile light up. But he couldn’t tell if the illumination was from more holograms, or if those components somehow powered the spliced-together components remotely.
Maro pulled a small canister from her belt, gently shook it, then popped off the top. A small black cloud wafted out. The last time he saw something like that she was a cybernetic slave of the Nukari, and attacked them with a cloud of nanites. He knew nanites were her specialty.
“Time for a little building project,” she said with a smile.
Like a swarm of tiny locusts, the cloud descended on the pile. In moments the entire mass vibrated, then shifted around. Components floated into the air, joining together, mimicking the projection behind Minea. When the last piece moved into place, she called out, “Engaging activity matrix.”
The Mini-Maros floated over to the mass of conjoined pieces in the air. Each flashed before dissolving into the hardware. A web of light skittered like glowing veins across the projected version while lights and fans activated on the physical construct.
The ship rocked gently around them before Una’s voice rang through the hold. “We’re back en route to New Eden.”
A new panel projected beside Maro. He noticed her satisfied smile. “Let Eyani know we’ve found something.”
CHAPTER 6
Enemy Outpost
“We’re about to go into a debrief with Eyani,” Mencari said, staring at Kiyanna’s projection in disbelief. The more he saw, the more concerned he became. Her gray shirt was torn, her short blond hair was singed on top, and she had a nasty gash across her hand that continued through a slice in her leather coat. She looked haggard and disheveled, two words he never expected would apply to her. While the answer seemed obvious, he asked anyway. “How is the search for Tal going?”
“We’ve run into some … complications. But we’re making progress.”
Curiosity won. Motioning to his hair, he said, “Should I ask about—”
“No sir.”
The abrupt retort sliced him like a guillotine. His mouth clapped shut. He stifled a grin. “So—complications?”
“I take full responsibility, sir. We failed to be more covert in our inquiries concerning Tal, and we’ve drawn attention. My sources tell me there’s a bounty on our heads placed by an alien called Westik, the leader of a group called the Mujōna.”
“That sounds serious.” Not just serious, deadly. He expected the three to meet resistance when looking for Dane’s man, Tal, but a bounty?
“We’ve only encountered posers so far, nothing overtly threatening, sir. Except that last guy.”
Except? A word he didn’t care for. She didn’t need to elaborate to know “that last guy” left her in her current state of dishevelment. Despite their abilities, including Kiyanna’s combat training, if one man inflicted that amount of damage, what could happen next time? What if a formidable group came after them?
“You should come back until we can send a larger team with you.”
“Negative, sir. Tal’s trail is hot. If we stop now we’ll lose it. This might give us the chance to learn more about the Mujōna. Clearly they have funding, and are keeping tabs on Nukari interests. Figuring out who they are and the role they’re playing might prove useful. Also the contacts we’re making are important assets to New Eden. The Nukari’s defeat has taken a stir stick to this part of the galaxy, sir. We’re going to need deep contacts like the ones we’re making.”
She had a point. Even with New Eden’s vast resources and the forming Galactic Senate, there was no denying the political instability and constant change in alliances across the entire region.
“I understand and appreciate your tenacity. But, while you’re skilled warriors, you are still only three. We’ve been the most effective when together on missions. If things get dicey, you are to call us in for support.”
Her mouth opened as if to speak. Instead she snapped tight and saluted. He looked into her eyes. They suggested something further needed to be said. “Commander?” he asked.
She remained silent. Why was she holding back? Suspicion turned to a burning paranoia. Was something bigger going on? His shoulders tensed. Maybe it was him? Did she feel she couldn’t trust him with whatever she wanted to say? Maybe she didn’t trust his leadership? He’d been working so hard to gain everyone’s trust and approval. Wasn’t it Kiyanna who called him a risk before setting out on the original mission to Dane’s world? Maybe she felt he wasn’t fit to lead? Did she want to lead instead? Maybe the others would agree with her? He had to find out what was on her mind, get her to open up. But she had military training, and knew how to keep things quiet. Maybe he could …
“There was one more thing, sir.”
He released a deep breath, only then realizing he had held it. Her words poured over him like a mist on a hot day. Even his shoulders dropped what felt like an inch. The fleeting sensation of chaos dissolved away in his mind.
What was that? he thought, alarmed. For a moment there he’d felt crazy, unhinged.
“Sir?”
He focused his attention back on her. “Yes, continue.”
“I wanted to wait to see how things developed before reporting in. But we’re actually four now.”
“Four?”
“His name is Narrik Kanin. We first encountered him when working with one of our newfound sources.”
“What do you know about him?”
“He’s from Keros, like Dane. In fact, he’s a distant relation of Tal’s, and an ability carrier. From what I can tell it’s harmonic in nature—sound waves.”
“And he’s trustworthy?”
“So far, sir. We’ve done a few dust-ups together now. If he were going to compromise our mission, it would have happened already. He’s good, and well connected. In fact, we make a good unit. Maybe too good.”
She glanced to the side, again stifling herself.
“Elaborate on that, Commander.”
Her lips curled in disgust. He’d seen the look once before when she was frustrated with her own poor performance. At least whatever was going on in her head was about her and not him.
“Narrik and Nikko appear to be getting close, sir.” Her tone was ominous.
He thought back to his conversation with Osuto, where they discussed the widening chasm between Nikko and her husband Cogeni. That they seemed to grow cooler by the day. The two seemed so happy together, once. It all changed after the Nukari fell. Nikko stayed back to take care of Osuto while the rest of them went to take down the Nukari Colonial Authority. When they came back, she was different. Disconnected. He never felt comfortable asking her how she was doing, or what was happening—much less asking Cogeni about it. If either of them wanted him to know something, they would have reached out. This new dynamic with Narrik just complicated things further. “I see. Any risk to the mission?”
“No, sir. If anything he’s help.”
It felt awkward to ponder not sharing what he knew with Cogeni. The man wasn’t just a resource on his team, but a friend. He recalled his own words earlier to Osuto, when he said they couldn’t get in the middle of whatever was happening between Nikko and Cogeni. The couple, indeed, needed to sort it out themselves.
“Thank you for the update. I won’t be sharing this with Cogeni.”
“I would concur with that direction, sir.”
“If anyt
hing changes, or you need backup, let us know.”
“Understood, sir. Another scheduled update will be released in seventy-two hours, as planned.”
“Good work, Commander. Happy hunting.”
“Thank you, sir.”
With a salute, her image dissolved into countless tiny balls of light. He watched the little orbs float about before disappearing, his thoughts mimicking the phenomenon. Keeping the team together felt overwhelming sometimes. If he could just get them to focus on their missions …
But that wasn’t fair. They were people with their own hopes and desires, aspirations, and flaws. Even the best of people came with complication and drama. Managing all those aspects came with the mantle of leadership.
He needed to get to the war room. The others would be waiting.
* * * * * *
“We’re about to begin,” Toriko said. Her eyes fixed on Mencari as he helped Osuto into his seat. Just since yesterday, Osuto seemed frailer. If something happened to him, could Mencari handle everything alone? A tinge of anxiety sparked within her.
She noticed Varen walk past and stop to speak with Ghn’en. Her glance continued around the table. They really weren’t alone. Between the Nomads, the Be’Inaxi, the Human Coalition, Eyani with New Eden, other D’mok Warriors like Kiyanna and Cerna, and now SETI, the burden of leadership didn’t really rest with any one of them. That made her feel a little better. Not that losing Osuto would ever be easy, but they could survive his loss. Eudora, that felt awful to think about. But the reality of his failing heath was clear. They had to think about it and be ready.
Speaking of the Human Coalition, where was Anrik?
It had been so long she had to think to recall what he looked like. For a Human, he was fairly attractive: athletic, classically handsome with chiseled jawline, blond hair, and gentle blue eyes. He had a powerful silver glow, especially when he was mad. It reminded her of Mencari’s golden aura. Of course, there wouldn’t be a Human special forces team with D’mok abilities if Mencari’s own kind had not harvested his DNA and infused their soldiers with it. That type of technology seemed dangerous. If Humans could do it, any of their races could eventually, perhaps with disastrous results. But right now she needed to stay focused. “Should we wait for Anrik?”
“I’ve been trying to reach him,” Minea said through Toriko’s communicator. “Nothing yet though.”
Eyani’s head shook. “It’s been days again. Let’s begin.”
“Okay. Well, I sent probes to investigate the coordinates obtained from the Nasidrac station.” She gestured, and a holographic projection of a massive asteroid with two orbiting masses appeared above the conference table. The view panned around it, then zoomed in on the central asteroid body. Light beamed through window-like structures carved directly into the rock. Long tubular crafts with overlapping plates of armor buzzed about.
“Looks like Nukari to me,” Ghn’en said in disbelief. “And the facility is still active?”
Toriko’s head bobbed. “First one we’ve found like it.” With a covering gesture, an overlay of pink trails appeared. “We’ve detected plenty of Nukari engine signatures. Scanning of communication frequencies also revealed open communications on simply encoded frequencies.”
“How old is this footage?” Mencari asked.
“Less than two hours.”
A glowing green beetle flitted beside Toriko, then burst into a small swarm. She jumped in surprise when the bugs merged into a person-sized, cybernetic insect-man. His bulging eyes glowed red, antennae quivering. Bob! It didn’t seem like a big deal when they popped in before, maybe because they only appeared when summoned. But both Minea and Bob had been acting far more autonomously lately. Maybe she could ask them to provide a gentle tone or something before they showed up?
“Greetings!” Bob chirped. “My continued monitoring of this site has shown a dramatic increase in activity.”
“What kind of activity?” Mencari asked.
With a twitch of Bob’s antennae a deep and unfamiliar alien voice rang through the conference room. “We’re moving up the timetable to scuttle the station. You have two days.…”
“Addendum,” Bob chirped. “Shortly thereafter, larger carriers began arriving and departing in rapid succession. With each successive departure the station appears to have notably less activity.”
“Then we need to move now,” Ghn’en said.
“Ano,” Toriko said. “If Kiyanna were here she’d ask what’s the goal for this mission.”
“Good question,” Mencari said, with a grin. Her cheeks flushed. “This is the first we’ve found active. They might have prisoners, and more data concerning their remaining operations. I think we need to capture this installation.”
“With what exactly?” Ghn’en said. “A sizable force would take time to assemble.”
“We can’t afford to wait. What can we spare from here?” Eyani asked.
Ghn’en’s face contorted with a snarl. “I’m not going to leave this station vulnerable. Maybe a few ships at most.”
“Minea, any luck raising the Coalition yet?” Mencari asked, his doubting eyes belying his expectations.
“Still nothing, Rhysus.”
“Then count the Coalition out,” Mencari said, aggravated.
A snort escaped before Varen added, “My Nomadic forces are still protecting Naijen’s newly freed world, Abunai. If we move them now, it could be retaken.”
“Then we’ll go in alone. It wouldn’t be the first time,” Mencari said. “Ghn’en, have your ships take care of any fighters, then keep the space around the target. I’ll lead the D’mok Warriors in, take out any base defenses, then invade. We’ll hit in two groups: one to the command center, the other looking for prisoners.”
Saving people was always the right decision, but it felt funny to Toriko, knowing he focused on it because his wife and son were out there, not because he really wanted to save other people. Or maybe he did, and it just worked out that way? It just felt like they were doing the right thing for the wrong reason, and that bothered her.
“And how do ya know where the prisoners are?” Naijen’s voice boomed from the doorway. “Sounds like you’re gonna need some help, like always, Rylie.”
Where did he come from? She didn’t even hear the door open. And did he just call Mencari “Rylie” again? His timing on throwing shade needed work. Sometimes his antics just got old. She just had to ignore his meat-headedness for the moment and not lose her focus. “Actually,” she said, “I’ve been working on some mapping tech based on the device I got from Allia’s world way back. It might help us get the layout of the base and figure out where the prisoners are—if they are there.”
“I’ll look for ways to hack in too,” Mara said. “See what we can discover out of their own systems.”
“Then we have multiple vectors to find prisoners,” Mencari said. We’ll need to call in everyone we can on this, including you.” Mencari looked directly at Naijen.
Toriko smirked. Mencari seemed to dodge Naijen’s taunt completely. That was new.
Disappointed, Naijen said, “Whatever, I’m in.”
In? When was the last time he did something willingly?
“What about Speru and D’abar?” Mencari asked.
Wait, that’s right. Speru wasn’t going on this mission. Naijen and Speru were rarely apart. Something seemed off here.
“They’re busy mind-speakin’ about Osuto,” Naijen said. “I’m not just gonna just sit there while they mind-bugger. Rather crush some skulls. Maybe those Nukari beasties will be there to play with too.”
Visions of past encounters with the Nukari Beast Warriors filled her mind. The genetic monstrosities were part Nukari, part wild beast, and infused with ancient D’mar genes to imbue D’mok-like abilities. Even in her cat-bot ship she didn’t like going paw-to-paw with those rabid animals. They always traveled in groups of three, sometimes in larger packs.
But ever since she and Mencari’s team stopped th
e Nukari invasion, Kalit’ga and her Nukari Beast Warriors all but vanished. Not that anyone thought they’d been destroyed. Minea and Bob both theorized Kajlit’ga went into hiding, and was rebuilding her forces.
Osuto wheezed as he tried to speak. After clearing his throat he choked out, “Why are they talking about me?”
Naijen shrugged. “Something about helpin’ you. Don’t know nothin’ else.”
The old man’s face wrinkled in curiosity.
Naijen pointed at the projection. “So this happen’ now?”
“Context: updating video feeds,” Bob chirped. The old projections disappeared, replaced by numerous smaller projections.
“Looks quiet,” Toriko said. “Are we too late?”
Spheres illuminated around small objects drifting slowly about. “No,” Minea said. “Look, ships. Not many of them, but they’re still there.”
“Calculation: activity is seventy percent less than the previous footage.”
Mencari stood. “Ghn’en, call whatever ships you can and escort us. Minea, summon Allia and Ichini, Cerna, Decreta, Cogeni, and Katen. Have them meet us in the hangar.”
“With Spark, Maro, and me, that makes eleven. That’s not bad,” Toriko said.
Spark? Her robotic dog? Despite its many capabilities and defenses, including it in the count didn’t seem right.
“I’m going too,” Osuto said, his voice weak.
“No, I need you here,” Mencari said. His eyes were gentle, but his tone firm. “Monitor the mission, and let us know if Nukari activity is spotted while we’re on the way.”
She could see conflict in Osuto’s eyes. He wanted to go, but even he knew he shouldn’t. “Very well.”
“Una will be ready in the stealth ship,” Eyani said.
“Go in fast, hit them hard,” Ghn’en said.
“That’s more like it,” Naijen roared.
Toriko stood. “Even if there’s not a lot going on there, we won’t head in blind. Minea, Bob, make sure our probes are in stealth mode and move them close into the main asteroid. I want as much up-to-the-minute intelligence as possible before we get there.”
D'mok Revival 4: New Eden Page 7
