He pushed the others aside, putting himself between them and Tyne.
“What are you doing?” Kiyanna said.
He focused, and a golden aura washed over his body. Reaching forward, he felt his power coalesced into a ball of plasma in his hand.
“I’m sorry,” he said, the plasma streaking from him and blasting through Tyne. In a meaty explosion, the creature that was Tyne fell and sloshed across the ground.
Cogeni ran to Nikko. Reddic stood quietly as he watched the mangled body of his friend slowly liquefy before him.
“She’s okay,” Cogeni said, unstrapping her.
Kiyanna got dead-on into Mencari’s face. “Who the hell are you?”
“We’re here to help.”
Kiyanna scoffed. “I knew you weren’t right!”
A stampede echoed down the hallway. Armed guards barged in, demanding the surrender of everyone in the room.
* * * * *
“Go on, move it!” the guard said, pushing Mencari and the others down the corridor. It had been a few days in the orbiting security station above K’pec. For the most part the accommodations and food were all above par for a detainment unit.
Men dressed in black were waiting for the group as they entered a small transport. The guards saluted then left. The men in black motioned for them to sit down and buckle in.
“Where are we going?” Mencari asked.
“We’ve negotiated for your release. We’re getting you out of here now.”
“Who are you?”
“I represent the interests of my clients…. Eyani sends her regards.”
Mencari nodded and sighed in relief. While the engines fired up, another armed escort led a final person aboard. As the airlock closed, Kiyanna took a seat next to Mencari. “Why are you here?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same.”
“Shouldn’t you be on patrol?”
“I’ve been dishonorably discharged and accused of violating our ethics codes.”
“What?”
“Because I used my brain rather than following some stupid policy.” She sighed. “My job was to patrol and report. I’m not supposed to intervene. I did, so now I’m out. I’m being sent back to Xiteb’rn tomorrow. I guess this could have been worse, if it wasn’t for Satori.”
“What about Satori?”
Kiyanna laughed cruelly. “She was an agent from the Xiteb’rn government. They knew something was going on here … had her planted here. Guess they didn’t figure there would be another group looking into stuff there.”
“An agent?”
“Ya … Good thing. She talked to the judge, trying to help me. Guess things could be worse. Not that losing the only decent defense job left is some prize.”
She kicked the ship’s hull with a thud.
One of the men in black turned to Mencari. “We think there’s a place for her in our organization.”
Mencari thought back to the fight with the beast that hurt Nikko. There might be a place for her all right, but it wasn’t with Eden. Mencari turned to the suited man and whispered. Easily hearing, she scoffed. “And why would I want to go with you?”
“You want a defense job, right?” Mencari said.
Kiyanna looked suspiciously at him. “I can’t trust you.”
He said, “When you took down that beast the other day, you felt something right before you threw that dagger, didn’t you?”
Her eyes gazed coolly at him. “What are you talking about?”
“You can do things others can’t. And not just because you have skill, it’s something more: isn’t it?”
She looked away. “You sound crazy.”
“You don’t have to hide your abilities. What you saw in that lab is only the beginning of the twisted things those people are doing. I have a group assembled to fight them. We could use someone with your talents.”
Her eyes gazed around the room, pondering, before stopping again on him. “What does that entail?”
“Come with us. Hear things out. If you don’t like it, we bring you back.”
She looked flippantly back at him. “Just like that?”
He nodded. She looked around then kicked the hull again. “Fine. No promises, and no games. And I’m bringing my bike.”
Mencari smiled. He wasn’t sure what made him happier, Kiyanna coming with them, or being done with their aliases.
CHAPTER 9:
The Enemy's Mind
A tall, thin, Scandinavian beauty with blond hair held a small child. Her green eyes raged. “You were going to just give him up.”
“It’s what we agreed, Evelyn!” Mencari said.
“I can’t just give our child away. I’ll find a way to take care of him myself.”
As she walked away, the baby floated from her arms. She disappeared and the child began to glow. Innocent eyes looked to Mencari, pleaded with him. The baby grew, and with every passing moment the anger of the mother became the rage of the son. Eisah had her green eyes, which stared accusingly at him.
“Daddy,” Eisah said in a mocking tone. “First you abandoned me, then you couldn’t protect your new wife and child.”
“It’s not like that. We agreed to give you up for adoption. I was only sixteen.”
A haze surrounded Mencari. His whole body burned. The world around him spun, then elongated. He awoke with a gasp, the adrenaline burn from an evil dream coursing through his system.
“Are you okay?” Eyani asked.
Hands rubbing his eyes he answered groggily, “Yeah. How much longer before we get to the moonbase?”
“Rhysus, you’ve been back for a few days.”
Days? He looked out, and found himself seated in the war room. Eyani sat next to him, reports sprawled before her. The haze began to clear from his mind. It had been days.
Details started to return: Osuto began working to integrate Kiyanna; Katen was about to mindwalk Jencho; Toriko had stopped at Eden to work with Jika after dropping off her sister and friends on Tericn. Naijen showed off his tattoo from Ruul—a band of debris ran like a tribal pattern around his right shoulder, and among it floated a fractured planet. “World cracker—the ultimate tattoo,” he boasted.
Katen had convinced Osuto and Eyani that Decreta was ready for integration into the team. He took Allia, Naijen, Decreta, Cerna, and Speru to train together.
So many gears were in motion. He must have fallen asleep while working with Eyani.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Sorry, just got a bit confused. I’m fine.”
“If you need rest—”
“No, no. I’m good.”
“Okay,” she said, unconvinced. “There’s new reports about those Nukari beasts. They’re getting more hostile. Bob and Mini-T believe they’re trying to draw you out with their latest antics.”
“Let them try. We’re not going to engage them directly right now.”
“I’d agree with that,” Eyani said.
“Do we have an idea where they’re coming from yet?”
“No. Though Toriko and Jika are working on a way to isolate possible locations, using imagery from Decreta’s mindwalk. Something about using the Wise Men to help them.”
“The Wise Men? How can those three AI’s help with that?”
“Ask Toriko. We’re hoping for more detailed information about the Nukari operations from Jencho. Katen will do his mindwalk of the Nukari commander within the hour,” Eyani said.
“Hopefully it will be the break we need. The main Nukari force has been elusive to this point.”
What would they do with Jencho once they got the information out of him? Perhaps hold him as a prisoner, use him as a potential future bargaining chip if needed?
“When this is done, my group should return to the asteroid base,” he said. “Most don’t have a reason to stay here at the moonbase, and we could use the time for extra training, or to strategize.”
“Of course. I’m assuming we’ll keep Jencho here. Will Katen and Decr
eta be going back with you as well? If not, I’d request Cogeni stay in the event they need to be contained.”
“Jencho should stay here, and yes, the Nukari beasts will come back with me,” he said.
So many to coordinate. It wasn’t so long ago Mencari was an army of one, tasked with trying to find more like him, and to track an all-powerful enemy. That task alone once felt daunting.
While it didn’t happen overnight, their numbers swelled. He knew Osuto’s leadership had a lot to do with his success. Without him, he wouldn’t know how to use his abilities. Without him, maybe he would have simply fallen into his own self-pity and stopped caring about anything. They were all like family to him now. A complicated, dysfunctional family, yet even Naijen felt like family now.
A tone rang out followed by Bob’s cheerful voice. “A priority communication from Ghn’en.”
Mencari perked up. Maybe the Be’Inaxi fleet commander had news?
“Go ahead and put him through,” Eyani said.
An alien with a bony, light-blue exoskeleton, both aspects more prominent on his face, and pupil-less, jelly-like patches of red for eyes, greeted her. The alien’s decorated uniform bulged from two powerful arms, and two more-diminutive ones directly underneath. “Eyani, reports say the Nomads have been attacked by the Nukari.” Two vertical slits rang along an elongated nasal cavity, which moved as he talked in two tones at the same time. The alien somehow had a melodic yet gruff voice. “Some alien called Varen contacted us. A Nomad? Bob mentioned Varen was cited in Mencari’s logs.”
Mencari recalled his last encounter with the Nomads. His team had been tracking a mammoth Nukari ship. When Ghn’en’s fleet was ready to commandeer it they discovered it had already been overtaken, refitted really, by a group of aliens known as the Nomads. This seemingly harmless tribe of eclectic aliens found the ship dead, the victim of an apparent radiation accident. With his deep coral skin and turquoise locks, Varen was their emissary.
“I remember him,” Mencari said. He also recalled how overly informed these simple Nomads were. They were also far from defenseless, and it wasn’t just because they were in a Nukari ship. Among their ranks were tall, lizard-like beings in combat armor, and wielding pulse rifles.
“Varen reported they were docked for repairs from their last big battle, when the Nukari attack again. They had discovered a Nukari tracer attached to their ship, but not before the Nukari were on them. Communications systems were hit first, stopping any calls for help. He said it was a well-planned strike.”
“Do they need assistance?” Mencari said.
“The attack is over. A quarter of the Nomad fleet has been destroyed, more seriously damaged. Varen reported it would be months to repair the remaining ships.”
Mencari shook his head. “We should be more careful. That could have been us.”
“He wanted us to know two things: they are still in the fight, and now they have a score to settle.”
“If there’s anything we can do to help, let’s offer it,” Eyani added.
“I’ll relay that to Varen.”
* * * * *
“Una just returned,” Bob chirped happily.
Mencari was glad some of the team were back at the asteroid base. Among them, Naijen would like it the best. He’d been waiting to get back to the mines. It really was the best place for the warrior to train, especially with others in the group. A contained, relatively predictable environment would help minimize the risk for the group as they learned how to work together better. Nikko, Allia, Ichini, Naijen, Speru, Osuto, Kiyanna, Cerna, and Seigie all opted to head back. Ujaku said he’d also return, since Toriko and Spark would be working on various projects with Jika at the Eden headquarters housed within the Trading Post.
Once this was done, Mencari too would head back with Una, Decreta, and Katen. He found it odd how easily he adapted to new homes. While he longed for the asteroid base, he’d gotten used to being at Eden’s Moonbase Alpha. He did look forward to going back, especially since everyone else would be there too. Spending some time lying in the grasses of Allia’s Grotto, the special greenhouse Ujaku and Osuto made, sounded relaxing too.
Eyani, Mencari, and a small contingent of Eden advisors looked through the double-sided glass at their captive. Jencho sat bound in a seat, Decreta and Katen standing watch, while a furry mop of an alien, covered in long swaths of hair from head to feet, sat across from Jencho. Various instruments and serum bottles were spread across the table between them.
The furry mop, known as Doctor Xbtoth, was a brilliant geneticist, but also an excellent primary care physician. Eyani borrowed him from the Trading Post in the event he was needed to sustain their prisoner.
A crown of sensors sat atop Jencho’s head. A hologram of Bob the bug-bot and Mini-T floated just above the cranial contraption, along with projections of biometric displays. Brainwaves, heartbeat, body temperature, a thermal imprint of Jencho’s body, and other readings appeared to be displayed in real-time.
“Is it wise to have Katen and Decreta in there?” Eyani said.
“Decreta is there mostly for intimidation. I doubt Jencho will try anything with the two watching over him.”
“I understand that, but is Decreta reliable?”
“Katen’s worked a lot with him. He says Decreta’s recovering well, far from completely, but faster than expected. No one knows the beast better than Katen. If he says we can trust the beast, we can.”
“And you’re sure we can trust Katen?”
“I get your concerns. I’m not going to say I’m comfortable with everything, but he’s never given us reason to doubt him—especially given what he can do.”
“What about with Jencho? Going into the beast’s mind was one thing but, Jencho is the first Nukari of strategic significance we’ve captured. I don’t want to lose him.” Eyani paused, thinking, then said, “We could still use traditional methods to interrogate him.”
“If Katen was going to kill Jencho he would have. This is also the fastest way to get what we want,” Mencari said.
“I had to check one last time. I’m trusting you on this one,” she said before opening the communicator to the other room. “Are you ready, Doctor?”
“I am.”
“Bob? Mini-T”
“Affirmative!” Bob chirped.
“We’re ready!” Mini-T cheered.
“Then proceed, Katen,” Eyani said.
“By your command.” Katen smiled, one that grew wide and sadistically sinister. It made Mencari uncomfortable. That type of behavior was dangerous. Katen was their best bet on getting information efficiently out of Jencho. He wasn’t fond of the tactic, but for the greater good, he needed to put aside his own ethics. Hopefully this would be the last time he’d have to do so.
Katen closed his eyes, and his body became perfectly calm, an unusual state for the beastman.
Jencho’s eyes became heavy and closed. The room became completely still. Mencari noticed Jencho’s hand begin to shake, a phenomenon that spread slowly across his body. He began to thrash about violently. Doctor Xbtoth’s furry paw had just reached for tools, when Jencho unleashed a blood-curdling shriek and collapsed.
In what looked like a massive dust bunny flying across the table, Xbtoth dashed to Jencho’s side. “Vitals stable. He’s alive.”
“Of course he’s alive,” Katen said. “He attempted to resist me, despite my earlier conditioning. I needed to push a bit and show him he couldn’t deny me.”
“Is that it?” Eyani said.
Mencari nodded. “It’s fast. What did you learn?”
A cruel smile stretched across Katen’s face. “He doesn’t know the whereabouts of the Nukari beasts. Though, he has a rabid hatred for Kajlit’ga. It appears she’s rapidly risen through the ranks, something Jencho and the others are not fond of.”
“What about the Nukari themselves? Where else are they located?” Eyani asked.
“He was a field commander, only aware of his operation, along with t
he one on Aeun, and Argosy.”
“Aeun?” Mencari said. Memories of Nukari scout droids flooded Mencari’s mind. He’d fought them with Seigie’s relative known as Lady Elle Weun, who shared Seigie’s crystal powers. The Nukari must have advanced their mission. He needed to warn Lady Weun. The image of a flamboyant woman entered his mind, a walking color bomb of a figure with a shrub of wiry auburn hair sprouted unnaturally from her head, wearing a long yellow scarf and a sleek, silvery trench coat splashed with bright blue trim. She was so different from everything else there. Lady Weun had mentioned a woman, Menla, who’d recently appeared there. Instinct told him Menla was the Nukari commander for that operation.
“There is a Nukari central command,” Katen added.
“Do you know where it is?” Eyani asked, breathless.
“He relied on others to set the coordinates when needed. However, he knows the locations of several transit nodes that can lead us there.”
“Finally,” she said, triumphant.
* * * * *
It’s good to be back, Mencari thought as he headed down the corridor toward the command center of the asteroid base, escorted by Katen and Decreta.
When they entered, he saw Cerna and Nikko reviewing reports from their long-distance scanners. Seigie stood next to Osuto, pointing out locations on a star chart. A few key individuals were missing. He guessed they were all practicing in the mines, including their latest addition, Kiyanna.
“Rhysus,” Osuto greeted him. His mentor’s eyes were surrounded by dark circles. His face looked pale and drawn. Was Osuto hiding an illness? While the ancient man was alien, he looked the worst Mencari had ever seen him.
“We were just reviewing the transit nodes Katen discovered from Jencho’s mindwalk, Rhysus. Ingeniously placed, and difficult to detect.”
“It’s consistent with their contemporary strategy to be evasive and invasive, even with their transportation infrastructure,” Katen said.
“Eyani is working with Ghn’en on how to approach the locations, and get additional information. The Nomads have also offered to send ships as needed,” Mencari said.
D'mok Revival: The Nukari Invasion Anthology Page 81
