Panic cleared her mind briefly. Their scanner had to be wrong. It had to be rigged. “I’ve done nothing. I was captain and owner of the Scavenger. I trav—”
The punches hit, the first to her chest and the second to her abdomen. Reaghan bent over with a soft grown, the movement digging the ropes in deeper.
“Let’s try that again,” Miraz said.
“Let me give it a go, Cap,” Urg said. “I’m more tactful when it comes to this type of persuasion.”
“Don’t go deep,” Miraz snarled.
Reaghan had just lifted her head when tiny shards of metal drove themselves deep in her skin. If felt like a mine had gone off in the room and she was the only one affected.
“Well?” Urg said.
“I told you, I don’t have any fucking idea what you’re talking about,” Reaghan replied through clenched teeth. “Your damn test is wrong. I’m—”
Urg spread his fingers. The shards worked themselves deeper, expanding as they moved. Tiny streams of blood ran from the holes they created. Reaghan let out a low wail that made the three of them laugh. The expansion continued to go on for what seemed like forever, until her entire body felt as though it was being ripped apart by the metal.
“Well?” Miraz asked, stepping back in her field of vision.
She glared at him through rapidly graying vision, “Go… to… hell.”
“Leave her like that,” he ordered. The other two quickly retreated, though she could hear snatches of their conversation filter down the hallway.
Miraz paused at the door. “We’ll see how long you last before you tell us what we need or blood loss gets to you,” he said, then closed the door.
She heard it lock just before the lights turned off. Her shoulders and wrists were screaming for relief from bearing all her weight, while the metal shards continued to cut deeper with every minor movement she made. She could feel her face starting to swell up and the iron taste of blood continued to fill her mouth. She spit a few more times in order to be rid of it, though she knew she was likely wasting the precious fluid. Even if the wounds healed up, they’d come and make sure they reopened again.
“Twi,” she whispered as loud as she dared. “Who is Rei Phoenix, and why are they so damned certain that I’m her?”
All her training and conditioning to keep her cool under pressure was gone in the dark room. Tears ran down her face in torrents while sobs racked her already raw throat. They had no intention on listening to what she said unless it was exactly what they wanted to hear. And it wasn’t like the galactic authority would be able to find out much except for the fact that Reaghan O’Neill’s life only really began a year before the Dynasty fell.
“Twi… tell me,” she whispered. “Just how screwed am I?”
The ache in her body was her only answer.
The light in her eyes caused Reaghan to start awake. She wasn’t sure when she had dozed off or how she’d managed it in the first place. She blinked several times to clear her vision. Miraz and Urg stood in front of her.
“So, you’re still alive. Maybe they did construct you good enough after all,” Urg said. His hand rose, coated in a gray Eiha. “Changed your tune yet?”
Reaghan remained silent, trying to calm the shaking in her limbs from being strung up for so long. The fingers opened slightly and she felt the metal inside her begin to renew its journey. Watching them laugh at her awoke a fire. She reached deep into her reserves of power, well beyond normal limits.
The pieces of metal retraced the path they came, causing more damage, but flew at Urg and Miraz. They both dove out of the way. Reaghan gasped, amazed at the amount of power at her fingertips.
“Ja!” Miraz cried.
A strange smell filled the room. Reaghan wrapped a shield around herself in order to keep the drug away. Lightning crackled over the surface of the barrier while it sought a way to break through. A metal wall rose around her, as though Urg hoped to trap her in with the gas.
One trick wonder, Reaghan thought.
She punched back, smashing the barrier even though she knew she was reaching the limit. Despite the surge of strength, the damage from the interrogation was just too great to keep at it for long.
Fire joined the lightning and caused sweat to bead up on her skin. The two elements cocooned around her, attacking her shield relentlessly. She gasped from the effort it took to keep the shield going. She could hear Miraz and Urg shouting just beneath the crackle of flame and lightning.
“Reaghan,” Twi whispered. “Play along.”
“What?” she breathed. “Are you crazy?”
“I had to wait until they were distracted, but I shut off their efforts to drug you. Play along and you should be fine.”
“Twi…” She wasn’t too convinced. She was cornered, and even with the might of the ship’s systems behind them, Miraz’s crew was likely to be able to counteract whatever they did.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to act, but please, Reaghan. If you don’t, I’m not sure when I will get another opening to help.”
Reaghan pulled the weakening shield tighter and tighter to mimic a natural failure as best she could. She bobbed her head, determined to put on a good show for them, then let it fall along with her shield. The heat from the fire washed over her at full force, then stopped. A rough hand lifted her head, holding it tight.
“Careful, don’t damage the goods too much,” Miraz said.
“Who would’ve thought she’d have a bit of fight left in her.”
Her head turned one final time, then was let go. She listened to them get near the door.
“We’re going to have to keep flooding the room with the gas. Can’t risk her waking up and taking everyone out,” Miraz said.
“What about her confession?” Urg asked.
“We got this display on camera. It should be enough to confirm her ID. Ja was right; let the authorities sort out what she’s guilty of.”
The door shut and locked behind them. Reaghan waited a few minutes before cracking her eyes open to see if they were gone. She sagged in relief, only to tighten up when a quiet whirring noise filled the air. An Aeon automaton flew in front of her, rising until it drew even with her wrists.
“It’s going to take care of you,” Twi said. “So no shields!”
“How are you even…”
“Speaking to you? I had to activate a secondary comm system the Aeon has using crew implants. It was the most I could do until you were conscious enough to take action on your own so they didn’t take it out on you.”
“You used one of these automatons, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but we couldn’t take care of your wounds until now.” Twi sounded apologetic.
The ropes gave way and sent her staggering to the ground. She used the wall the hook was on to steady herself. While she regained her composure, the automaton set to work healing her wounds with the healing Eiha-beam.
“Won’t they notice me being healed on their surveillance feed?”
“I have it running in a loop. And I was able to corrupt the footage they received just now.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. They still called people and if they see that blood sample…”
“I might have an explanation for that.”
Reaghan’s head shot up, despite her dizziness. “I’m listening.”
“Rei Phoenix is a pirate who targets high-profile loads. She was a Dynasty fugitive for a good decade before the Dynasty fell, but for unrelated things that are classified.”
“Classified?”
“And digging deeper, I discovered she, like you, didn’t really make waves until she was in her early twenties. Data puts her near thirty now.”
“Does this implant have holographic tech?”
“Passing you the data now.”
A beam shone from the side of her n
eck, projecting a window in front of Reaghan. She used a claw to flip through the information Twi had dug up. The AI was right; Rei Phoenix had all the markings of a fabricated identity. The problem was, she wasn’t the only one who had fabricated it. Twi noted where both the Dynasty and Unity had made alterations to the official file.
Reaghan flipped the page, then froze. Super soldier. Genetic alterations to allow them to wield Eiha and enhance their abilities with it to maximum results. She continued to read, soaking up the information. Physical enhancement. Failed emotional and temperament conditioning. She began to wonder how much of the original Rei Phoenix was left.
“Any DNA on file?”
“None that I can find on a general search. If I were too break into…”
“Don’t worry about it. That confirms something though. Miraz and them couldn’t have got a positive unless the authorities gave them the data.”
The beam of light retreated and the automaton vanished into the ventilation shafts. Reaghan rubbed her wrists to ease the ache, though the rawness and cuts had been healed. Now that she was back in contact with Twi, she was a lot calmer.
“I cannot confirm that,” Twi said at last.
“It’s fine,” she assured them. “Just tell me the authorities aren’t on their way yet.”
“Not yet. I’ve been mimicking a total system failure. I’m not sure how much longer it’ll last. While humanoids are far more gullible than you are willing to believe, nothing lasts forever.”
“I feel like I should almost be insulted on behalf of humanoids.”
“Don’t be,” Twi said. “You have about another day or so before they can break through my hacks. Rest so you can be at full strength.”
“Without food, that’s going to—” There was a tug on her pant leg. Another automaton, this time one with wheels instead of some sort of propulsion, rolled up with a plate of food. “Nevermind,” Reaghan finished.
She took the tray from the automaton and watched it vanish into the vents. Sitting down, she dug into the bit of potatoes, meat, and green vegetable that were on the plate.
“So,” she said between bites. “How long?”
“About a week all together.”
“You kept them at bay for a week? Impressive.”
“As I said, there is very little I can’t accomplish now that I’m integrated with Aeon’s systems.”
“Okay, okay. Point proven.” Reaghan tucked the empty tray in the vent shaft to take care of later, then settled back against the wall with a yawn.
“Get rest. We’ll keep watch over you.”
Reaghan felt oddly at peace, despite the fact Miraz and his crew could walk through the door at any second. In between naps and the bits of food the automatons delivered, she worked on going deeper into her power. It had always been something she resisted before since her power levels had always been more than enough to handle what trouble might have come her way.
Well, until that beast, a voice reminded her. You knew this day was coming for a while now.
She pushed the thought away and closed her eyes, going deep into the well of power. It was a shadow of its normal, vibrant self from being drained. Reaghan huffed in frustration. Not enough time had passed for her to recharge, even with food and drink.
Still, she couldn’t give up. It was only a matter of time before that door opened again and she needed to be as close to full strength as possible. So she called on a small cheat she’d read about shortly after she awoke. Reaching out for any Eiha in the area, she pulled it to her, where it joined with her own stores.
“Don’t worry about me and the ship. We have plenty to work with,” Twi said.
Reaghan continued to pull the energy to her with renewed vigor. She sensed the pool of power within her steadily grow until it was fast approaching full strength. Reaghan opened her eyes, determined to let the last bit grow on its own.
“What are they doing?” she asked Twi.
“Trying to expand their control over the ship,” she replied. “With extremely limited success.”
“You’re just playing with them now.”
“They deserve more than that, considering what they did to you. This is just the beginning of my punishment for them.”
“Did you find any data on them?”
“Nothing useful. It seems they were mostly truthful. They are transporters by trade, nothing black market.” As they spoke, Twi gave Reaghan the information to look over as well. “This, whatever it is, just seems to be them looking for some quick credits.”
“Still seems pretty elaborate for a scheme,” Reaghan mumbled. “Faking test results and stuff.”
“Their reactions haven’t made too much sense though. My interference has been rather easy to accomplish. It’s rather frustrating.”
“If it makes you feel better, it makes my head hurt too.” She bit a piece off the nutrition bar that had been delivered that morning. It was dry and bland by comparison to the meals she had since she had awoken. “They’re giving me way too much time to recover.”
“I think they do not believe you are as strong as you are and that they killed me.”
Reaghan shuddered at the memory. “Yeah, let’s not do that ever again.”
“I do not understand your reaction; I am unharmed.”
“Don’t worry about my reaction, Twi.” She knew they’d never see eye to eye on it. In Twi’s opinion, it was illogical for her to have been shaken by the hologram’s death. It was just a projection, albeit a realistic one, and Twi was unharmed, despite the pain she felt.
“Reaghan!” Twi sounded almost panicked. “They’re coming!”
She scrambled to her feet, a skintight shield forming with a thought. She put another layer of shields between herself and the door. “How many?”
“It appears to be all three of them.”
Reaghan simply nodded, deactivating the comm. She hoped Twi would understand. She needed all the focus she could muster in order to break out.
Her heart was beating so loudly that she swore it was echoing across the room. Despite having recovered as much as she had, she wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough. Her jaw clenched and she squared her shoulders, glaring at the door. She couldn’t afford those type of thoughts—not when she was so close to retaking her ship.
The door slid open. She willed her body to start moving, but it defied her orders, no matter what she did. Fire and lighting poured over the shield she had put between herself and the door, quickly taking it out because of her lack of attention.
Bits of metal rose and skimmed the surface of the shields around her body. Reaghan felt her breathing hitch, then it was like something broke within her. Eiha blazed over her form, the intensity of the energy warping the air around her. Reaghan raised a hand. The metal shards froze in midflight, turned in place, then flew toward her captors.
Ja dived toward the ground to avoid, but Miraz took the brunt of her blast.
“What the hell is this?” Urg demanded.
“I told you! Rei’s one of those things!” Miraz yelled. “She needs to be locked up!”
Reaghan’s eyes swept over them. Urg was by far the greatest threat since he favored Eiha arts to attack.
“Allow me,” she heard Twi say.
Electricity arched from a nearby outlet, striking Urg square in the chest.
“I made preparations while you slept. Like I said, I didn’t dare act with you unconscious,” Twi explained. Her voice was barely audible under the frightened cries of Miraz and Ja. “Now though, the ship fights with you.”
Ja leapt to her feet, charging toward Reaghan. She dodged as far as the limited space would allow, then slammed into her with a wave of water. The other woman was thrown into the wall where she fell to the ground in a heap.
Miraz let out a loud yell, fire racing through the room. She could feel the heat
, even with the fire her own Eiha was creating over her body. She called up rain to put out the fires before the fire suppression kicked on.
“Where will you go? You’re a criminal. You’ve no place in the new galaxy. You’ll be hunted like the abomination you are!”
“Now you want to chat and expect me to listen?” Reaghan countered. She slashed her arm upward, casting wind. A slash appeared in his shielding. “I don’t think so.”
He drove into her hard, using his Eiha to accent his attacks. She brought up her arm to block his blows. They circled around the room, neither backing down. Reaghan tried to break away and grab one of the abandoned weapons that lay upon the ground, but Miraz wasn’t letting that happen. He pushed her back and into the wall.
Reaghan’s Eiha radiated out like she had just gone supernova. She fell to the ground as Miraz was yanked away by the waves of energy, wincing when he about took her arm with him. All three of them were caught in it, pushing them against the walls of the room. Thankfully, only the inner walls buckled under the pressure.
Reaghan rose to her feet, breathing hard.
“You have to turn it off!” Twi cried.
She jolted, as though her friend had struck her. “I don’t know how!”
“Think about it. It is just like how you use Eiha normally.”
She closed her eyes, taking deep, even breathes. Dull thuds registered at the edges of her senses. She opened her eyes with a quiet sigh to see everything had stopped. It was over.
Reaghan still stood in the silence as the waves of Eiha continued to roll off her, though muted. Miraz was the closest to her. He lay motionless, covered in cuts and bruises. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest revealed the fact that he was alive. Slowly, Reaghan’s hand rose into her field of vision, the claws on the tips of her fingers fully extended.
“You treated me like I wasn’t human,” she whispered. “Called me an abomination… I might be that, but at least I’m more human than you ever were.”
Aeon Page 6
