Empire Uprising (Taran Empire Saga Book 2): A Cadicle Space Opera

by A. K. DuBoff

  “And why shouldn’t we? This is the foundational technology to revolutionize how we connect. Creating quantum entanglements between people—think of how it could bring couples closer. Bonds across space and time.”

  “This is nothing like the natural bonding between Gifted people. That’s a partnership. This technology is about one person having complete control over another—the way you want to make a handler for this extradimensional monster. Don’t pretend that this isn’t anything other than a scheme for control.”

  “Oh, it is for control,” Brandon said. “It’s a tool to rend control from the corrupt leadership on Tararia and take a stand for independence.”

  “Do you really think the ‘leaders’ of this organization are entirely altruistic? They want to seize power for themselves.”

  Brandon scoffed and turned back to his console. “One step at a time. Complete the preparations.”

  Leon looked to Carla for help, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He searched around the room for anyone else willing to stand up for common sense and decency. “How are all of you okay with this? This technology isn’t even close to ready!”

  “There is no progress without testing,” Brandon said, not looking up from his work. “If you don’t want a part in this, then shut up and leave us to our business.”

  Leon’s only move was to keep talking in an attempt to slow them down. “What you’re proposing isn’t even a test in a scientific sense. You’re attempting a demonstration of undeveloped technology. You’re not treating it with any respect.”

  “It is you who has no respect. Do you not understand the gift we have been given?”

  The phrasing caught Leon off-guard. “What do you mean?”

  Brandon smiled. “A discovery of this magnitude would have taken generations’ more research. We have been given the keys to design our own destiny.”

  Wait… what is he saying? Leon shifted on his feet. “Who developed this tech?”

  “We have great benefactors. Respect them.”

  Leon backed away, suddenly getting the impression that there was much more going on here than he’d realized.

  The man had the glazed look in his eyes of a zealot. It was impossible to reason with someone or get a straight answer when they were so invested in their singular perspective on an issue.

  “I won’t have any further part in what you’re doing,” Leon said. They could mutilate him or kill him, but he wouldn’t help these monsters perfect a weapon. He’d already done too much.

  Leon was about to make a run for it when the door opened. Before he could make a move, muscular arms wrapped around his chest and pinned his arms to his side. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t break free.

  “That wasn’t smart of you,” Edward stated, coming into Leon’s field of view. His face was even more pinched than normal. “You will behave. We’re not finished with you yet.”

  — — —

  Wil took in the information as Jason walked him through the tactical approaches for the raid on Quel. “This is a good plan, Jason, but I’m not sure if it’s the best approach. Did you work on this with Kira?”

  “Yes. What’s the issue?”

  “The involvement of the Guard. I hate to say it, but the local Enforcers have probably been paid off.”

  “What?”

  Wil shook his head; he’d been over that ongoing issue with the Tararian Guard’s leadership, and there wasn’t an easy solution. “I’ve already spoken with Admiral Mathaen, and there’s not a lot we can do to prevent bribes aside from frequently rotating duty stations. Unfortunately, that can just mean more people are getting wealthy and there’ll be more compromised Enforcers to turn on us.”

  “Or, we could get people who’ll turn down those kind of payoffs,” Jason countered.

  “It’s not that simple. Rarely is it only a matter of money. Criminals have a way of finding their target’s weak point—threatening loved ones or blackmail. As much as we tell people that they should report any threat to their superiors, sometimes they go their own way all the same.”

  Jason scowled. “Okay, so we can’t rely on local backup. Where does that leave us?”

  “I suggest you instead bring as many Agents as we can spare from Headquarters. All the field personnel in that sector are still wrapped up with the attack aftermath.”

  “All right, that will require some reworking. Should I put together a list, or—”

  Jason cut off when Wil’s desk chirped with an urgent communication request.

  “Sorry, it’s Dahl. Hold that thought.” Wil accepted the call. “Hi, Dahl. I’m in the middle of—”

  “We must speak at once,” the Oracle stated.

  Wil considered ending the call right there without an explanation. He was sick of dropping everything for the Aesir only to have them make vague insults and refuse to answer his reasonable questions. “I’ll call you back when I’m available.”

  “You must stop what you’re doing immediately. We have just learned about your plan, and it will have dire consequences.”

  “Which plan?”

  “The power cores.”

  Jason rose slowly. “I can handle the rest of the planning…”

  Wil had no doubt his son was capable. In fact, it was probably better for him to do it on his own to reinforce his increasing autonomy. “Take whoever and whatever you need. Good luck. And be careful out there.”

  Jason nodded and saw himself out.

  Alone in the room, Wil returned his attention to Dahl. “I don’t appreciate your forceful intrusions.”

  “This matter could not wait. I believe you are making a grave error.”

  — — —

  With his father otherwise occupied, Jason jogged to his office to revise his tactical approach. He sent messages to Kira and Lexi to come meet him so they could revisit the details together.

  They showed up within minutes.

  “What’s the latest?” Kira asked.

  “We have our go-ahead, but we need to change tactics to keep it within the TSS.” Jason brought up a detailed rendering on the holoprojector above his desk. “I have authorization to bring Agents, and we can take whatever ship we need. It’s down to the fine details: how do we get into the facility and get the Coalition’s captives offworld without anyone getting hurt?”

  “I’m all for getting as many people out as we can, but my priority is rescuing Leon,” Kira stated.

  “Of course. We’re going to do everything we can,” Jason assured her.

  She nodded her understanding, but they both knew getting him out was easier said than done. They had no idea where he was, precisely, which meant storming in was risky. A recon mission would be ideal, but time and resources were in short supply.

  Kira was a veteran soldier, so she didn’t let it show, but fear and concern churned just beneath the surface. Jason’s finely tuned senses picked up on it, and Kira shook her head when she realized he’d noticed.

  “I won’t let worry cloud my judgment.”

  “I know you won’t.”

  Lexi frowned at the screen. “How many other people might have been forced to work like Leon? I mean, everyone else at the office seemed to be on board with the Alliance’s message.”

  “And it’s possible they all are,” Jason admitted.

  Kira crossed her arms. “Really, there’s no way to know who’s there willingly and who’s been forced to work. We shouldn’t barge in shooting.”

  “You don’t need to do any shooting at all to have people show their colors and pick sides,” Lexi said. “The Alliance hates people with abilities, right? So those kind of skills don’t enter their planning. If you send in a bunch of Agents, you should be able to subdue anyone who puts up a fuss by either pinning them with telekinesis or using mind-control.”

  She did have a point. It was a bit more direct than Jason’s typical approach, but perhaps it was the best way to proceed in this matter. Lexi did know the Alliance better than him, so it was pru
dent to listen to her suggestions.

  “We can’t do things like that in the Guard, but it does make sense for a TSS op,” Kira chimed in. “Only issue would be if you encounter people with significant mental guards training.”

  “Unusual among civilians,” Jason assessed.

  “It’s unlikely, I agree.”

  “With enough strong Agents, you can overwhelm anyone,” Lexi said.

  He shook his head. “That’s not how we do things. Yes, we can easily force a person to submit, but we have a code of ethics. We don’t violate minds without cause.”

  “Capturing people and forcing them to work as slaves counts, I’d say.”

  “Yes, but not every person we’ll encounter is guilty of those crimes. There’s nuance. A blanket application of maximum force would make us no better than those perpetrators.”

  Lexi crossed her arms. “It’s the same thing.”

  He’d grown to care deeply for Lexi, and in their short time together, he’d come to appreciate that their different life experiences had given them significantly divergent perspectives on certain issues. She had always been on the run, forced to be defensive in order to survive. She’d never had the opportunity to take another tactic, so he could understand why she felt there was only one way to go about it.

  “We can never fall into the mindset that everyone is the enemy just because they happen to be standing on the opposite side of a line,” Jason said. “We go in and offer an alternative. Anyone is free to change sides in the moment.”

  Lexi scrunched up her face with a mixture of annoyance and confusion, but Kira nodded her understanding.

  “Appeal to the person inside,” the soldier said.

  “Yes. And that’s how we’ll get people out.” Jason rotated the map on the screen. “We’re going to have limited people to pull this off, so let’s make them count.”

  — — —

  Wil took a centering breath. Whatever Dahl was about to go off about wasn’t likely to be complimentary, and Wil didn’t want to further damage his relationship with the Oracle. As infuriating as he found Dahl sometimes, he was still a friend.

  “All right, what’s the issue with the cores?” Wil asked.

  “This is not what we intended.”

  “Dahl, I respect you, but I can’t take any more of these riddles.” Wil resisted pinching the bridge of his nose. “I have tried to do my best, and apparently it’s not good enough for you. Why do you keep turning to me only to tell me I’m wrong?”

  “We do not have the answers.”

  “Then how do you know that I haven’t acted well? One moment you say you trust me, and then you say that I am failing.”

  “We did not say that you have ‘failed’.”

  Wil spread his arms. “You may as well have, based on how you’re talking! Nothing I do is good enough. I don’t know what you want from me. I told you years ago that I didn’t want this responsibility, and yet you keep insisting that it has to be me. Why?” He was well aware how petulant he sounded, but years of frustration boiled to that single moment. They’d already rehashed this argument too many times. Calm and rational hadn’t sold his message, so it was time for a new approach.

  The Oracle studied him over the screen. “We fear you have looked only at the surface of what was offered and not the larger picture.”

  “Of what?”

  “This ‘gift’ from the Erebus.”

  “Oh, I don’t trust them in the least.”

  “And yet you are still preparing for production and intend to spread the technology across the Taran worlds.”

  I gave the Aesir ample chances to be involved in that process, and you refused! Wil managed to keep a level tone despite fuming inside. “I evaluated the information and made the best decision available to me.”

  “You should have consulted us before making unilateral decisions about the well-being of the Empire.”

  Wil scoffed. “I did try to work with you, Dahl. You declined. Repeatedly, you have told me how I don’t take enough action and keep waiting for others to make decisions. Now I do, finally, forge ahead on my own, and what I do is wrong? I can’t win.”

  “All that we have wanted is for you to see the patterns. You focus on the facts and figures in front of you. That has its place, but you can do—you can be—so much more. You have the gift of sight. You used it once, back in a time of great need, and yet you have ignored it all these years since. You continue to ignore it now, when there is a threat far greater than that of the Bakzen.”

  What is he talking about? After a few seconds, he realized that Dahl must be referring to the energy-pattern reading of which the Aesir were so fond. Wil had seen his personal truth in the nexus as a young man, and that had given him the insight needed to win the war. Does he want me to go back to look into the nexus again?

  “I thought those visions were a one-time thing,” Wil said.

  “Visiting the nexus, yes. But that is only to establish your connection. Once you are successful, you can tap into that well of knowledge any time you like… and you never have. It has been our greatest disappointment.”

  “You never told me I could do that.”

  “That shouldn’t require an explanation. You should feel it.”

  Wil didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or angry. If they had simply told him years ago in what way he had failed to meet their expectations, they could have avoided this whole mess. And, perhaps, he could have handled situations differently had he tapped into that alternate perspective.

  Even knowing that, he didn’t know how to ‘read the patterns’ in the way Dahl insisted was possible. He’d never felt a pull or a spark of inspiration. Stars knew he’d spent enough time astral projecting that he should have had some kind of extrasensory experienced to nudge him in the right direction.

  Unless… I didn’t want to see it. The war had left him psychologically scarred. He’d hated himself and his power. The self-loathing had made him close himself off, and only rarely had he tapped into the true extent of his abilities.

  Maybe some sort of cosmic truth had been there the whole time and he had been afraid to see it. Now, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know that truth.

  “I’m sorry, Dahl. I think I understand now. I’ll need to reflect on where to go from here.”

  “Nothing you do now changes the fact that you have already sold Tarans to these Erebus. By accepting their offer, you have started down a path that is not easily altered.”

  “I still believe that our modifications to the power core are our best—”

  “No, we had hoped that the Lynaedans would show you the errors of your assumptions, but it seems even they have been blinded by the Erebus’ spell. You should have stood up to them, not become reliant on them!” Dahl had never shouted before. Up until that moment, Wil didn’t know he was even capable of that kind of emotional display.

  “What choice do we have? We need some form of protection, and this is our best chance.”

  The Oracle shook his head. “We fought too hard for freedom to end up slaves to others.”

  “Oh, I know. We have a truce with the Erebus.”

  “Do you honestly believe that peace will last?”

  “No, which is why I am trying to find any solution to offer us some protection. I also believe that we better convince them we’re friends or we won’t be around long enough to fight back.”

  Dahl shook his head. “Look at the pattern, Cadicle. Not the sole item. I can’t spell it out any more clearly for you than that.” He severed the connection.

  What the fok? Wil slumped in his seat, feeling like he’d just run a marathon only to be beat up steps from the finish line.

  As much as he wanted to write off Dahl’s statements and move on, Wil couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that they had walked into a trap.

  What am I missing? Now, more than ever, he needed to figure it out before it was too late.

  Chapter 23

  Throughout the ride on the TSS tra
nsport ship, Jason sensed everyone was watching him—not just because this was one of his first commands, but because they could feel the connection between him and Lexi. Kira and the two dozen Agents with him were all seasoned pros so they’d never say anything directly, but it was obvious to Jason that they were wondering if he was the right person to lead this mission.

  It’s all in my head. Just focus on getting the job done, he told himself.

  Still, it was highly unusual for a civilian to accompany a tactical operation of this sort, and all of the Agents he’d selected for the mission were adept in both reading people and skilled in their abilities. The resonance connection between him and Lexi was no doubt obvious to them by the end of the voyage if they hadn’t noticed it right away.

  He wasn’t personally acquainted with many of the Agents, but most of them knew his father quite well. One, Andy Renteria, had been his father’s roommate when they were Junior Agents, so Jason had met him on a handful of occasions when he was at Headquarters. As a predominantly field Agent, Jason was counting on Andy to be his second in command for this mission.

  Ten minutes out from their destination, Jason pulled Andy aside into the private conference room.

  “You’ve spent a lot more time in action than I have, so please let me know if you see anything I’ve missed,” Jason told him.

  Andy smiled. “Of course, Jason. I’d do the same for any Agent.”

  He nodded. “Thank you.”

  The older man hesitated. “On that note, I’m surprised Lexi is here with us.”

  “Yeah, she’s invested in seeing this thing through. I trust her.”

  “Okay, good enough for me.” Andy clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ve seen your parents’ relationship from the beginning, and I know how powerful the right partnership can be. I hope you find that, too.”

  “Thanks.”

  Andy held out his arm. “Let’s rally the troops.”

  Jason took the lead back into the passenger compartment to address the team.