by A. K. DuBoff
Wil initiated the genetic mapping on his desktop, first running it as a pairing match with Jason. He had few doubts about what it would say.
The analysis completed in three minutes. As expected, it revealed a strong match—not as perfect as his own with Saera or to the level of Raena’s with Ryan, but well above the average level expected through a chance encounter.
But this was random. It couldn’t have been planned in the way the rest of our lives were. Or, could it?
The strong match affirmed the feelings they had for each other—an instant and profound attraction. Bonding would be a natural extension of that, once they gave in.
On top of that, Lexi’s ability potential far exceeded his expectations. She showed as being at a 9.4 estimate, which would tie her with Saera if it was fully realized. The TSS rarely saw trainees much above 8. It was a shame she hadn’t come to the TSS as a teenager to maximize that promise—though based on the skills she’d demonstrated on Duronis, she was far from untrained.
Wil’s true interest, though, was in Lexi’s lineage. That part of the analysis took longer, running a search for genetic markers through the generations of records from across the Empire. Cytera’s own internal archive hadn’t been merged with the central database, so he couldn’t follow her recent family lines. However, that didn’t matter for his purposes. He wanted to see if there might be any connections to ancestors back much further.
A handful of distant genetic matches popped up for shared markers in the Lower Dynasties. There was a clear shared history there, supporting the hypothesis that former nobles had gone to Cytera and formed their own insular society. All of the arranged pairings on the planet had been selected for bloodlines with the strongest ability expression, so her high potential made sense.
A knock on Wil’s door pulled him from his ruminations.
“Come in.”
Michael entered quickly, carrying a tablet. “An intriguing field report just came in—reports of new arrivals on a remote colony world.” He brushed his hand along the tablet to display its readout on Wil’s desktop.
The genetic analysis was replaced by the report about a planet known as Quel. It only had approximately eighty thousand colonists at present, people who agreed to the be the first settlers on a newly bio-optimized world. Such recently transformed planets often suffered from extreme weather and tremors, so only the most intrepid, or desperate, people would choose to be part of the initial wave of colonists. However, the low population and location outside the standard transit lines made the planet a perfect place for people to hide out—people like the missing members of the Coalition who’d departed Duronis hours before the attacks.
“The proximity makes sense,” Michael said. “It’s less than a day’s transit from Duronis, even with a civilian jump drive. If they were using an independent jump drive like we suspect, it’s within easy jump range of all the attacked worlds.”
“What’s the word on the new arrivals?”
“Multiple ships dropping off personnel and supplies before taking off. People sporting advanced tech. They’ve got security that, and I quote, ‘looks like a private army’.”
Wil sat up straight. “Those could very well be our people. To whom do we owe this tip?”
“One of the locals. They’re protective of their home and weren’t too happy about all the new neighbors.”
“And thank the stars for that.”
Wil cross referenced Quel against the course mapping that Kira and Lexi had been analyzing with Jasmine over the past week. Sure enough, it was one of the worlds they had narrowed down as a prime candidate.
He pushed back in his seat. “Well, I said that we needed a solid lead in order to warrant a ground-op rescue. I think this qualifies.”
“I’ll get a probe sent over to capture current imaging and energy mapping to see if there are any bases outside the known population centers,” Michael said. “Who would you like leading this?”
“Jason is on everything Coalition-related now. Let’s hand it over to him.”
Michael nodded. “I’m glad to see you giving him more responsibility. He’s earned it.”
“I was tossed into the deep end when I was way younger. We all need those sink-or-swim moments.”
“I have a ground ops team in mind who’d be perfect support on this.”
“Make the preparations.”
— — —
“This seems too easy.” Jason looked over the information on his father’s desk. “How do we know we can trust this tip?”
Wil transferred all of the information to Jason’s access credentials. “Michael is gathering further intelligence to corroborate the lead. We must remember that there are good people out there who look after their homes.”
Jason nodded. “It’s been a while since we’ve had positive news come our way. I can’t help being suspicious.”
“It’s always smart to question information. In this case, I believe we got lucky. After what we’ve been through recently, I’ll take it.”
“Getting down to the surface on a planet with this minimal a population is going to be tricky. I think a stealth shuttle makes the most sense.”
“Wait on the detailed scan to make those determinations. Michael should have it to you soon.”
Jason nodded and headed out.
He’d been on plenty of missions—had even taken the lead on several—but those were one-offs. This was the first time he was going on a mission as part of a task force that he was also managing. It would set the tone for all of the work to root out the Coalition and its members going forward. Dwelling on that might mess with his head and make him overthink his actions, so he tried to focus instead on the specific objectives he needed to accomplish.
His first step was to loop Kira in on the new information. He pinged her handheld and requested she meet him in his office.
While he waited for her, Jason pulled personnel files and craft specs to select his team and equipment for the upcoming rescue mission. It was only a preliminary selection since they had yet to plan out the tactical details. However, he thought it prudent to have the available resources in mind while planning the op.
Kira arrived just as he was sorting the ships and personnel into a few different configurations to fit various entry scenarios.
“Hey, what’s up?” she greeted.
“We got a tip. I think we now know where they took Leon.”
She tensed, her gaze focused and intent. “Where?”
“A remote colony world called Quel.”
“That’s one we’ve been looking at closely. It’s so far out that there hasn’t been good scan data to work from. No obvious signs of activity from what we could see.”
“The TSS has sent a probe to check it out. I should have the results soon.”
Kira’s eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t anyone tell me that was an option? We would have checked out each of the worlds we’ve been investigating.”
“Because the breadth of data we’re collecting is essentially spying on private citizens, and we can’t do so without cause. Being in a flight path isn’t a crime. Setting up a secret base that the locals didn’t authorize is enough of a reason for us to take a look.”
“Yay for land use codes.” Kira seemed less than thrilled. She crossed her arms, her foot tapping anxiously.
She wants to rush in to get Leon. I would, too, in her position. He flipped his staffing work around on the desktop to show her. “We need to be calculated about this. I hope we’re going to be dealing with a single site. Field reports indicate there’s no armed aerial presence, just a ground force.”
“Infiltration is my specialty.” Kira seemed a little more upbeat at that thought.
Jason’s desktop pinged with an incoming data dump. It was accompanied by a note from Michael: >>Scan data from Quel. Let me know who and what you need to get the job done. I have a group of capable mission candidates if it would help you.<<
>>Send over a list. I’ll need good people,<< he replied
and then smiled at Kira. “Perfect timing. The TSS Head of Ops just sent me the surveillance we were waiting on.” He projected the data on the holodisplay.
The planet Quel appeared above his desk, rotating slowing on the illuminated three-dimensional image. Every topographical detail was rendered in stunning realism, from polar ice caps to what promised to be fertile plains to the north of the equator on the main continent. The only settlement of any meaningful size was nestled at the foot of a mountain range running along the northwestern coast above the plains.
Jason toggled to a combination thermal map and electromagnetic activity overlay to look for signs of other activity. The TSS probe had just completed the scan within the last half hour, so the information was as up-to-date as they’d be able to get this far from their target. Besides the city, one additional spot stood out on the hybrid map, indicating an active area to the northeast of the main settlement. It was in the mountains, making it difficult to access but also a great place to hide something like a secret lab.
He pointed at the site. “There. I bet you that’s where the Coalition set up their new shop.”
Kira grabbed the holographic image with her hands and zoomed in on the location. The resolution refreshed at increasingly lower elevations until they were looking at a small building on the surface.
She smiled. “Well, well. How modest a structure for having that much energy output.”
That energy pattern extended well beyond the footprint of the building, indicating an extensive underground facility. The orbital scan wasn’t capable of creating a detailed underground map with that much interference, so they’d be going in blind in that respect. However, they had a singular ground target and could form their strategy around the choke point at the facility’s entry.
“All right, I’ll need to present a tactical plan to Command. Let’s figure out the best way to approach this.”
— — —
Lexi paced through the living area of Jason’s quarters. Kira had run off from their investigation session, saying only that there was news. It had been two hours and she had yet to hear anything.
The door clicked and slid open, startling her. Jason entered.
“Hey.” She rushed over to him. “What’s going on?”
“We think we’ve found the Alliance—or Coalition—hideout.”
Her heart leaped. “Leon?”
“No confirmation who’s there, but we’re hopeful. It looks to be an underground lab.”
“Where is it?” Lexi asked.
“Quel. It’s not a place I’m familiar with.”
She frowned. “It’s on the list of planets I’ve been compiling with Kira, but I hadn’t heard of it before then.”
“Somewhere remote and unknown makes sense. They no doubt intend to do some nasty things.”
“Certainly have shown that time and again.”
“We’ll have to go in blind. There’s not time to do proper reconnaissance.”
“Though you can’t take anything at face value, anyway.” She spread her hands. “The people within the Alliance would smile to your face and then have no problem ordering the death of innocents.”
“I like to think that people aren’t born evil, but you have to wonder sometimes.” He headed to the bedroom.
“You’ve probably seen some bad things in the TSS, huh?” Lexi asked, following him.
“I don’t do a lot of field work, honestly.” He pulled out a travel bag from the closet. “I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by good people, for the most part. But I saw true corruption up close while we were ousting the Priesthood. Being near those monsters… It was a good lesson in what happens when corrupt individuals remain unchecked in positions of power for too long.”
“I suspect the leaders of the Coalition are in a similar situation—on a smaller scale, of course.”
“Lust for control makes people do crazy things.” He started to place clothes in the bag.
She tilted her head and looked at him. “You’re not like that, though. You have more power than most, but you don’t seem interested in it.”
“Maybe it’s because I grew up as a commoner. Being in an influential role seems to bring more bad attention than good. I’d rather work behind the scenes and help people when I can.” He zipped up his bag.
“I really appreciate that about you.” She looked at the bag. “Are you leaving now?”
“Not quite yet, but I want to be ready to head out as soon as we have mission approval.”
Lexi bit her lip. Watching him pack and prepare, it didn’t feel right for him to go off. He had been given the assignment, but this wasn’t his fight. It was hers. She had a responsibility to make sure her friend made it to safety.
“Jason, I want to go with you.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s too dangerous.”
She stood firm. “I appreciate that you’re trying to look out for me, but this relationship isn’t going to work if you try to coddle me or tell me what I can or can’t do.”
He met her stern gaze. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. The reality is that you don’t have military training.”
“So? I can handle myself.”
“I have no doubt, but—”
“It’s my risk to take. Kira and Leon are my friends, and I want to help reunite them. Besides, everyone keeps talking about how the TSS is so shorthanded right now. She motioned to herself. “I’m at your service.”
He sighed. “We might not have known each other for long, but I can already tell that it’s not worth arguing with you once you’ve made up your mind.”
“Good-looking and smart.” She eyed him appreciatively. “This may work out after all.”
“I’m not guaranteeing you’ll go in on the raid with us, but you can at least come on the transport ship.”
Good, plenty of time to talk my way onto the team. Lexi smiled. “Deal. Let’s go get ’em.”
Chapter 22
Since he had gone to work with the other scientists, Leon had been pushed at an even more grueling pace. Don’t they know that we need rest so our brains can do this kind of work?
Or maybe that was the point. The Alliance realized that they were asking otherwise good, well-meaning people to do awful things, so keeping them sleep-deprived was a way to break their natural moral compass. Get someone tired and cranky enough, and they were more likely to be compliant when promised a proper night’s sleep once it was over.
Even Leon could feel his resolve breaking. His brain kept telling him why he had to be strong and how he couldn’t complete these tasks. Yet, he found himself knitting together the pieces all the same, adjusting his work to fit with what the other scientists were doing. He may as well have been outside himself, watching someone else perform the actions he’d sworn he would resist to his dying breath.
He was so groggy that it took him several seconds to realize that Edward had entered the room.
The shrewd man stood at the center of the space, waiting for everyone’s attention. “I hope you’re making progress, because we need to be ready for another test by this evening,” he announced.
Why the sudden rush to the timeline? Leon wondered.
Normally, there would be no elaboration, no reasons. For once, however, Edward wasn’t finished. “There’s been a breach. The location of this facility is no longer secure.”
It was the greatest news Leon had ever heard.
How did they find out we were here? The Alliance had been so careful with all of their plans that it seemed unlikely there’d been a slipup at this juncture. The only reasonable explanation Leon could think of was that they weren’t alone on this planet—whatever and wherever it was. Perhaps one of the locals hadn’t taken too kindly to the new arrivals.
“We are going into a lockdown of this facility,” Edward said. “Our leadership is expecting a full report on the viability of this new tool by tonight. If it proves feasible, we will continue the work elsewhere.” With that, he left the room again.<
br />
The scientists began whispering to their neighbors in hushed tones. Only Brandon and Leon remained silent, eyeing each other from across the room.
Leon stared down the man in challenge. It’ll be over soon. You’ve lost.
“You heard the instructions. Finish your tasks,” Brandon barked, ripping his gaze away from Leon.
There wasn’t much left for Leon to do. He’d already begrudgingly helped the other specialists zero in their locks on certain genetic markers and then find the correct resonance for the unique energy field of their test subject. He couldn’t stall or delay further, short of smashing equipment—and doing that would be a quick way to end up dead. His best bet was to wait out rescue and let the TSS deal out the justice.
Still, he might be able to persuade some of the others that they didn’t need to go along with the remaining work and could call it quits now. If enough of them refused to continue, there might be safety in numbers.
Leon leaned over next to Carla, pretending to make adjustments on his console. “Are you worried about what we’re doing here?”
“It’s science. A little danger keeps things interesting.” Her expression told a different story than her words. Eyes wide and face flushed, she had the look of someone who was handling a live bomb with no idea how to defuse it or when it might go off.
“We don’t need to do this,” he said quietly. “If we all stop what we’re doing, they can’t do anything.”
She swallowed hard. “They can, though. To us.”
“We can’t live in fear like that. Think about what we’re doing! This could kill everything on a planet. Do you want that guilt?”
“I don’t know, it—”
“Are you finished over there?” Brandon asked from across the room.
“Who put you in charge, anyway?” Leon snapped.
“Someone needed to step up who understands how all of these pieces fit together. I wouldn’t expect you to understand that kind of big-picture thinking.”
Leon rounded on him. “At least I’m not blinded by ambition. You’re so wrapped up in trying to do this that you didn’t stop to ask if you should.”
