Endless Night

by Andrea Dionne

  Subject three does not seem to be affected as one and two. The changes are slighter, more difficult to discern: a nervous twitch now and again, and also rare responses to a speaker which is unheard by any but those being tested. I know not if it is just random “talking to oneself” or something deeper, but I feel with further testing this matter can be straightened ...

  Breanna looked up from the book and rubbed her eyes. It was strange. What was the point in doing tests on humans? She had found no definite answer to her questions and it didn't seem likely that there was anything inside the journal which would help them with their problem.

  “What do you think?” Caleb asked, studying her face to judge her reaction to what she'd read.

  “It's weird, and confusing too. I don't really see where this is going."

  “You will. Just keep on.” Caleb went back to searching through various scraps of paper in a vain attempt to find more information on the experiments.

  Her father must have been one of the scientists that had worked on this project—after all, he was one of the top men of science onboard.

  The mention of the subjects behavior unnerved her when she reflected on the changes she'd noticed in her own squad. She knew even she was being affected.

  She shook the suspicion off. Their own situation could have nothing in to do with what had been done in this lab.

  ... The subjects have worsened, subject three being affected much the same as one and two. We have made no real progress in our experiments—are at a loss as to how it is controlling them. I have a strong suspicion that the artifact uses some sort of electric frequency (for our mechanical equipment has also been affected) that has control—for lack of a better word—on certain neurological patterns within the brain. Hence it has almost total control over some but not all.

  If my theories are correct our objective should not be in harnessing its powers, but to find a way to keep ourselves from becoming vulnerable to its suggestions, despite how firmly G-Tech is against this course of action.

  The others do not agree with me on these theories, and I am sadly outnumbered. I feel certain, however, that this is exactly what has happened. I pray that they do not become blind to its power, for if that happens, we are surely doomed ...

  There were no entries after that. Breanna stared numbly at the page, turning the words over and over again in her mind. Had G-Tech authorized these secret experiments? Why would they do that? G-Tech was supposedly number one in the human resources department. Eliminating homelessness and starvation for the less fortunate, and finding countless cures had been their objectives for as long as she could remember, not harnessing the human mind.

  G-Tech couldn't, wouldn't, authorize the use of humans as guinea pigs for the sake of some experiment about controlling humans. Or would they? The journal was evidence that testing had been done, and she couldn't deny the fact that there was a human skeleton in each of the three cages she had studied. And the experiment had been a secret. They had told no one of its existence, had even erased the lab's location from the computer.

  Breanna looked disbelievingly around the room. She could not, after having seen it with her own eyes, deny the fact that the lab had been kept well away from the populated sections of the ship. Most of the settlers had probably never even known there was one down here.

  “You see what I mean now, don't you. I couldn't credibly describe it and still have you believe me,” Caleb said.

  “You have a point there,” she agreed, yet she still found it hard to believe. “I don't understand why G-Tech would do something like this. The company is devoted to human rights. It was established to solve those problems which the government could not get a handle on. The ... the cures they've discovered alone should prove that."

  “Jesus!” Caleb jumped up from his seat, running his hands through his hair in irritation, pacing the floor in front of her. “I can't believe that after reading that you'd still trust them. Can't you see what they've done? They didn't want anyone to know about those experiments. That's why you, and everyone else for that matter, have been kept in the dark about the real reason we were sent on this mission. They don't care about finding out what happened to the settlers. If they did, they would've sent more than us to recover them and the ship. The company just wanted to get its ‘artifact’ ... whatever the hell that is."

  “I don't believe it. It's just ... it can't be possible. It surely can't have been known by The Panel. They wouldn't have stood for it. Why are you so sure the company did this? Why not someone else?"

  Caleb sat back down heavily into his recently vacated chair, regret and sadness settling on his face in a weary mask. He looked older now, as if he had aged right before her within a matter of seconds.

  Caleb rubbed his temple, searching for the right words to say. He sighed wearily. “Because it's not the first time this has happened."

  “What do you mean it's not the first time? How would you know?” Breanna asked. She had the terrible feeling that everything he said was true, that the company had let all these people die, had let her mother die. Breanna banished the sudden sadness that assailed her at thoughts of her mother, fiercely gripping the reins on her control like a lifeline to a drowning man.

  “Have you ever heard of Chahuria?” It came out almost a croak.

  “I think so. There was a settlement there once wasn't there?” She had never been really familiar with the various planets the company kept settlements on. It had never been very important to her. Her duties didn't entail traveling to established areas, just those undergoing civilization.

  “Yes. There was a settlement there. It was small, very distant from other sources of civilization. As a result of this distance, they began to get away from the more lenient codes the government and the company enforced. Pretty soon they started marrying partners of their own choosing rather than only those the government saw genetically superior. It was harmless really, no one could get hurt. They were just a little more free. But the company ... they're just a load of fanatics. They couldn't stand having anyone break away from their laws. They cut off all communication with them, stopped sending supply ships. By the time I heard about what they were doing, it was too late. Everyone was dead."

  “My God!” Breanna clamped her hand to her mouth to stifle the exclamation. “How did you find out about it?” she asked fearfully.

  A long moment passed before he answered her. “I was born there. My family ... died along with everyone else. You understand now why it's no surprise that they've done it again? God only knows how many other people they've ‘saved'."

  Breanna jumped up from her chair and bridged the few feet between them. “Oh, Caleb! I had no idea. If I had known I wouldn't have pressed you about it."

  “It's okay. I had to get it out sometime. It's been wearing on me for the past two years. I ... I just couldn't tell anyone about it."

  “Then I'm glad it was me you told,” Breanna whispered softly, massaging his shoulder in commiseration and then, impulsively, leaning down to embrace him.

  Caleb stared up at her for a long moment when she stepped back at last. The fact that she'd initiated physical contact for the first time, willingly come to him, drove him over the brink. “Breanna,” he whispered huskily, rising from his seat and surging toward her, catching her around the waist.

  “I think we should go now,” she said nervously.

  Caleb smiled faintly, an impish gleam lighting his eyes as he lifted a hand and caressed her cheek. “You'll have to get used to it some time, you know. I'm planning on being around for a while."

  She studied him warily, feeling a trickling through her of both warmth and ... she wasn't exactly certain what the other feeling was. Safety? Belonging? “Get used to what?"

  “Me ... loving you,” he murmured. He pulled her closer, until she was resting against his chest. Lifting one hand, he hooked a finger beneath her chin and pushed it up, meeting her lips with his own. Lightly, he melded his mouth to hers, in gentle s
uction, nibbling, teasing the sensitive surface with the skate of his tongue.

  She parted her lips on a sharp intake of breath, enthralled by the gentleness of his caress and yet feeling much the same heated awakening of her body as if he had assaulted her with the same hunger as before. When at last he molded his mouth to hers and stroked his tongue lazily along hers, a quiver of anticipation skated through her. She came up on her tiptoes, pressing more fully against him as she slipped her arms around his neck.

  His hands tightened around her waist. After a moment, he released her and slid his arms around her, tightening them until she was molded against him from breast to hip.

  She moaned in her throat when she felt his erection pressing into her belly, moving restlessly against him.

  He skated his hands down to her buttocks, cupping one cheek of her ass in each hand and lifting her slightly, holding her mound tightly against his erection. Kissing her with more purpose, he rocked his hips against her, nudging the hard ridge of his cock against her clit and sending dizzying need through her.

  A sudden clatter behind them broke them apart abruptly. “Oh shit!"

  Breanna whirled guiltily toward the speaker.

  Amy was staring at the two of them, her eyes like saucers, her face as red as a tomato. “Captain! Sorry, ma'am."

  Breanna felt her own cheeks go scarlet. It took an effort to collect her wits. “What is it, Clayborne? Why aren't you on watch?"

  Amy cleared her throat uncomfortably. “I .. uh ... I knew you'd gone outside the barrier, Captain. When I was relieved and saw you hadn't come back, I was ... concerned. I thought you might have come back to ... uh ... study the scene of the earlier attack ... and that you might have run into trouble."

  Breanna slid an accusing look at Caleb, who grinned unrepentantly. “You might say I did."

  Amy bit her lip. “Sorry, ma'am. I should just get back now.” She shrugged. “I didn't realize Sylvaine had come along to .. uh ... back you up."

  Breanna shook her head. “I appreciate your concern, Clayborne, but I don't want anyone traveling alone through this ship. We'll walk you back."

  “I'll just wait outside then, ma'am,” Amy said, leaning down to scoop up the weapon she'd dropped and scurrying out the door.

  Caleb adjusted himself.

  Breanna elbowed him in the ribs.

  He looked up at her and grinned, then shrugged. “At least we hadn't gotten to the point of tearing each other's clothes off,” he said philosophically.

  “Don't flatter yourself!” Breanna snapped irritably. “I wasn't even close."

  Caleb chuckled. “Hey! Don't be pissed off at me. I'd have been more than happy to take care of that little problem for you."

  She gave him a narrow eyed glare. “You are so full of yourself, Sylvaine!"

  Laughing, he caught her around the waist and snatched her up against him. Leaning low, he nipped at her ear when she turned her face away. “I'd much rather you were full of me,” he murmured.

  A shiver of heat skated down Breanna's spine. She glanced up at him, undecided whether she should try to put him in his place or smile at his audacity.

  He nuzzled her neck. “Next time, I'll make sure there's no chance of an interruption."

  * * *

  Chapter Fourteen

  Breanna awoke three hours after her and Caleb returned from the lab. She was exhausted, not just physically but mentally and emotionally, as well. And it wasn't just because of the new revelations the journal had revealed.

  Caleb's confession of what had happened to his family had touched some hidden part of her. He had told her and her only, and that was very significant to both of them. Hard as she might try, she couldn't dismiss the fact that he had trusted her enough to tell her something that hurt him deeply—just as she had trusted him with her own pain when she'd found no one else she trusted.

  Sitting up on her pallet, she watched the others move about purposefully. She felt sluggish, but knew that was just from lack of sleep. If they ever got off the ship, she didn't intend to do anything for a long time but sleep. As hellacious as she felt right now, she could probably do just that indefinitely.

  Caleb walked past her, the leather journal held purposefully in his hand. Breanna groaned and rolled back onto her pallet. She didn't want to tell the others, but it had to be done. They couldn't just be kept in the dark about what the company had done. They deserved to know. They had earned it.

  Finally, she got up and wove her way zombie-like to the kitchen, where the other members had gathered for their morning meal. Her stomach clenched in anticipation of what was to come. Irritably, she decided Caleb could just tell them. It was his theory after all. And he had been the one who'd found the journal.

  Scanning the room for him, she barely glanced at Luis’ and Amy's subdued faces in her search. She spotted him just behind the couple, talking to Angus. She caught his gaze with her own as he lifted his head and looked up from the book he held, turning toward her. Breanna motioned for him with her hand.

  Sauntering across the floor, he approached her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

  “What are you smiling about?” Breanna snapped crossly as she pulled him aside—away from where the others could hear them talking.

  “Nothing.” His mouth broke into a charmingly crooked grin.

  Breanna scowled at him. He was trying to distract her from her original purpose ... and doing a fine job of it.

  “I hate cheerful people early in the day."

  Caleb chuckled at that.

  “What did you want to talk about?” he asked once he'd stopped laughing.

  “You know very well why I got you over here.” Her dark, straight brows drew together in irritation.

  Caleb's eyes widened in feigned shock and he gasped and backed away from her. “You're not going to ravish me again are you?” he asked.

  Stunned with indignation, Breanna couldn't speak for several moments. When she recovered, she glared at him. “So help me, Sylvaine, any more lip out of you and I'm going to brain you!"

  “Okay, okay,” he said. “I know what you want. You want me to tell them about the journal and my suspicions, right? I was just about to when you called me over here."

  “Well then what are you waiting for? Go tell them.” As he sauntered away from her, she gave him a quick swat on the butt. “That's for making fun of me,” she said and chuckled at the look on his face.

  He narrowed his eyes, studying her in mock anger. “I'll deal with you later, woman,” he said and laughed when she looked at him with a mixture of irritation and, truth be told, hopefulness.

  * * * *

  “Those bastards!” Angus exclaimed, pacing the room. “They're gonna pay for what they've done. I'll make sure of that."

  “Calm down Angus. We all want to see justice done, but getting mad won't solve anything,” Breanna said, facing the group. “What we need is to find that thing. It's the proof we need to bring G-tech down."

  “Unless Hunter already has it,” Caleb added.

  “Well, we'll worry about that if we can't find it. For now, I propose a plan for finding this missing artifact. We'll split into two groups. Caleb—you, Ahmad, Ranger, and Corbett will go with me to search the bowels of Mayflower. The rest of you will cover the remaining sections not searched."

  “But how will we know what to look for?” Luis piped up.

  “I can't give you a definite answer on that. But, from what we read, I think you'll know when you've found it. And remember, be careful. This thing seems to control everything around it. Radio your findings to us."

  The militia split into their designated groups with her last instruction.

  As the groups went their separate ways, Breanna said one last thing, “Guys .... Be careful ... Don't get dead."

  * * * *

  Caleb took the lead with Breanna, Corbett, Ranger, and Ahmad following him. They checked each room carefully, cautiously, never forgetting for a minute that carelessness could cost th
em their lives. Zane had died because he was careless and alone, and they weren't taking any chances.

  But after searching all base levels but the last, they were beginning to become dispirited. Maybe this artifact had never existed. Maybe it had been removed from the ship long ago. Unless it was on this last level they'd never know for sure.

  Caleb descended the stairs to the lowest level of the ship. Unlike the decks above, there was a heavy steel door barring final entrance inside. A large wheel was centered on it, obviously meant for unlocking purposes.

  “Here, hold this while I try and open it,” Caleb said, handing Breanna his weapon. Breanna wondered why the designers of the ship would put a door at the bottom of the stairs. It was just another cargo hold. Perhaps they were worried about theft, but it was still curious just the same.

  Caleb grunted as he tried turning the wheel. He stopped, resting a moment before trying again. Finally it budged, moving ever so slowly. A foreboding settled over Breanna with each twist of the wheel.

  “Be prepared for anything,” she said quietly to the rest of the group. They watched in silence as Caleb made the final turn. He pulled the door open slowly. It screeched on hinges unoiled for a quarter of a century. Breanna resisted the urge to scream for him to stop, for it was too late. The door was open.

  “Oh my god!” Breanna gasped.

  * * *

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kingsley brought up the rear as they headed down the narrow corridor.

  Angus looked back, checking to make sure everyone was together. Kingsley was lagging behind, creeping slowly down the corridor. He frowned.

  “Kingsley, get a move on! I don't want you falling behind.” When Kingsley acknowledged his command by a short nod, Angus returned his attention to the hall before them. His skin prickled almost as if a static electric charge was moving over him. His attention was so focused upon the mission and his dire need to concentrate on any slightest indication of danger that it took him some moments to realize the sensation wasn't something he'd ever experienced before.