by A. K. DuBoff
“I agree with the assessment,” Jasmine stated over the comm.
Kira groaned. “Problem is, that next ‘target’ is Leon’s and my home system.”
Leon’s face flushed. “I’d kinda like to keep it from getting destroyed, if we can.”
“Agreed.” Kira looked over the holographic ship. “So, how do we stop this thing?”
CHAPTER 6
Kaen looked General Lucian in his eyes. “This is too big a threat for the Guard to handle alone. We need to involve the TSS.”
The general nodded. “I agree. I’ve briefed the TSS High Commander, and the Conquest is en route.”
“That’s excellent news, sir.” If that ship couldn’t contain the Trol vessel, it was unlikely anything else in the Guard or Tararian Selective Services’ fleet stood much of a chance. Kaen has seen footage of the TSS Conquest’s legendary telekinetic weapon using used in the Bakzen War, but witnessing it in person would be a sight to behold. Moreover, he would finally meet a TSS Agent in person—no doubt, one of their most powerful.
“A word of caution,” General Lucian continued. “I’ve met the ship’s captain before. It was not a pleasant exchange.”
“Sir?”
The general seemed to search for the right words. “His gifts have made him arrogant. It doesn’t help that he’s the High Commander’s son.”
Kaen came to attention. “You mean, he’s…”
It had become common knowledge in recent years that the Sietinen Dynasty had a hand in more Taran affairs. A longstanding and respected High Dynasty, the family was the first to openly display telekinetic Gifts—an affront to the Priesthood at the time. Cris Sietinen had assumed the position as Head of the Sietinen Dynasty, and his son, Wil, served as TSS High Commander. Given Wil’s acclaim as a hero of the Bakzen War, it stood to reason that a child of his would be highly capable. Even while acting as an Agent of the TSS, that didn’t change the fact that the Conquest’s captain was veritable Taran royalty.
“The TSS has always made it a point to separate birthright from an individual’s station within the organization. I’m not sure if Jason Sietinen sees things that way, but I advise you to think of him as a TSS Agent and nothing more,” General Lucian said.
“Yes, sir,” Kaen acknowledged.
He wasn’t one to get wrapped up in celebrity, but the Sietinens were the most famous family in the entire Taran sphere. Anyone would get a little awe-struck. I wonder what happened between Jason and General Lucian? Given the general’s reticence on the matter, Kaen figured it was better not to ask.
“The Conquest will be waiting for you at Redstar Station,” Lucian instructed.
“I’ll arrange transport right away. Also, sir, I suggest that Kira Elsar accompany me—in the event we’re able to make telepathic contact.”
The general nodded. “This may be our only chance to learn more about them. Good luck.”
— — —
Kira lay on her bed next to Leon, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s just so stupid-big.”
“I know, I can’t fathom it, either.” He sighed.
“I don’t understand how that thing could move around,” she continued. “I mean, it didn’t have any visible engines.”
“Beats me.”
“Maybe it uses subspace in some way?”
“We do know that they use telepathy through a subspace link, so it’s possible.” Leon agreed.
“Stars, I really wish we didn’t have to deal with this right now.” She shook her head.
“I know, but you’ll figure out a way to beat them, just like you did before.”
Kira appreciated the confidence in his tone, but she couldn’t quite muster up the same level of enthusiasm. The last encounter with the Trols had taken a lot out of her, and she wasn’t eager to go through the experience again—let alone with an even bigger, meaner-looking base of operations.
“Thank you for always believing in me,” she said after a pause.
“Always.” Leon took her hand.
“Even Colonel Kaen was worried. I don’t think I’ve seen that before.”
“It is a pretty tense situation. I don’t envy those in charge.”
Kira repositioned to rest her head on his shoulder. “They’re going to look to me for a solution. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do what I did last time.”
“Sure you will.”
“I dunno, maybe. But I don’t want to. I had to go to this dark place in myself—fueled by an anger and bitterness that’s not truly a part of me.”
Leon swiveled to look at her. “That wasn’t all of it, from what you told me.”
“Love and happiness? That’s never triggered a transformation for me.”
“You’ve also never tried.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “I guess it’s time I embrace this change and start having it work for me, rather than the other way around.”
“Now, that’s the kind of attitude that I’d expect to get results.”
“You’re pretty good at these pep-talks.”
“If only the ones I gave myself worked half as well.”
Kira was about to reply when the comm chirped with an incoming communication. She sat up to check the screen set into the wall next to the door; it was from Colonel Kaen.
She held up her finger for Leon to hold this thought, then accepted the voice call. “Colonel.”
“Kira, the TSS has agreed to a joint op. We’ll use the Conquest’s TK weapon against the Trol ship. Before we resort to those extremes, however, I’d like to make one final attempt at contact. Meet me at Berth 17 for immediate departure.”
“Yes, sir. I’m on my way.” She cast a wide-eyed look of surprise at Leon.
“See you soon.” Kaen ended the call.
“The Conquest? Holy shite.” Kira whistled.
“Fancy?” Leon asked.
“Very fancy. Didn’t you hear about its use in the Bakzen War?”
“Can’t say I ever read much about Taran military history. The Elvar Trinary was removed from all of that.”
“Well, suffice to say it’s a super-fok-up-the-bad-guys kind of ship, if anything in the historical records is correct.”
Leon smiled. “Sounds like your kind of starship.”
She grinned back. “Doesn’t it? Man, my team is going to be so envious they don’t get to see the action firsthand.”
“I’ll be sure to document the events for their review,” Jasmine said over the room comm.
“Not the same, but it will have to do.” Kira caught herself. “Shite! I need to pack.” She jumped off the bed, running to her dresser to retrieve some undergarments for the trip.
Leon sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I know I don’t need to say it, but—”
“I’ll be careful.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Should only be observation, and maybe a telepathic, ‘You guys suck’.”
“I hope it is that straightforward. It’d be nice to put these guys squarely in the past.”
“Agreed.” Kira grabbed a spare shipsuit and shoved it in her travel bag.
Once it was stowed, she did a quick mental inventory. “Okay, that should be everything.”
“I’ll see you in a couple of days,” she said to Leon, giving him a parting kiss, slow and deep. “Stay out of trouble.”
“That’s my line!” He smirked.
They exited her quarters. After another quick kiss, she jogged toward the designated berth for the transport ship.
Kaen was already on board and running through the pre-flight checks when she arrived at the vessel. She almost laughed out loud when she saw it was the Lisbeth II—the same vessel Kaen had commandeered while under Nox’s influence a month prior.
“Hello, sir,” she greeted. “Didn’t think I’d find myself on this craft again.”
“Welcome aboard,” Kaen replied. “When I saw it was available, I couldn’t resist. I feel like I owe the ship an apology, after what happened last time.”
“I understand the sentiment.” Kira stowed her travel bag in a cubby at the back of the cockpit.
“Besides, we won’t need it for long. Just a quick hop to Redstar Station, and then we’ll board the Conquest.”
She took a seat in the co-pilot’s chair. “Thank you for inviting me along. I’ve always wondered what the TSS ships are like.”
Kaen flashed a rare smile. “Me too, for what it’s worth.”
He finished the pre-flight checks and then undocked the vessel from its umbilical—properly, unlike Kira’s daring flight through the vacuum in her emergency suit. She had to say, this journey was off to a much better start.
The ship glided through the black to get far enough from Orion Station to initiate a jump. After making the transition to subspace, minutes dragged on in silence while they stared at the ethereal blue-green light surrounding the ship.
Jasmine laughed.
Kira sighed inwardly.
She took a deep breath. “So, sir, how have you been since we removed Nox from your head?”
Kaen looked taken aback for a moment and then smiled slightly. “You know, it’s refreshing for someone to just come out and ask. Most try to dance around it.”
“Sorry, I—”
“Don’t apologize, it’s a fair question. I’ve been happy to be myself again, but I’ve had a lot of reflecting to do on what occurred while I was under Nox’s influence. You, of all people, understand what it means to be directed by a mind that’s not your own.”
She looked down. “I do often think about what it’s like afterward, for people I’ve controlled. Most aren’t a true enemy, just someone working for the wrong side.”
He nodded. “That’s a burden we carry as Guard soldiers. We fight for justice and try to determine the moral right, but there are still multiple sides to any conflict. You have the makings of a true officer, with your disposition to see that our truth is not absolute. What we perceive to be the correct path might be someone else’s worst nightmare.”
“It’s amazing to think about how perspective can change so much. When I was younger and getting ready to leave Valta, it seemed so clear.”
“Youth has a way of making things more black and white. By the time you get to my age, it’s all shades of gray.” He chuckled. “In fact, I think that’s the real test of maturity, regardless of chronological age. When you can place yourself in the position of another person, with views opposite your own, and understand their feelings and motivations—only then are you truly ready to lead people on your own side.”
“I guess I got a leg up with that, being able to actually be in someone else’s mind,” Kira realized.
“You did, but you’ve also paid attention and learned from the experience. I knew another telepath once, years ago—a civilian who’d occasionally contract with the Guard. Not as powerful as you, but he could glean the thoughts of others in a general sense, and also sense emotions in a way that made him excellent at detecting lies. He must have interrogated more than a hundred people by the time I met him. I once asked him if he’d noticed any trends in those interviews, and the only thing he had to say was, ‘When you have a person cornered, they’re only in it for themselves.’ I thought that was one of the saddest things I’d ever heard—that that’s all he took away.”
Kira leaned back in her seat. “Wow, that is bleak. And I have to say, I disagree with his assessment.”
“What’s your experience been?”
“Venturing inside someone’s mind is intimate. Sometimes I see the things that they don’t want to readily admit to themselves. In some cases, the person never wanted to be in the position they’re in—whether it be because of crappy job prospects, a familial obligation, or even forced servitude. Those people bend easily when I request information from them. They were never invested in keeping the secret, so they give it up without much of a fight..”
“Is lack of conviction an excuse to abandon duty?” Kaen questioned.
“No, sir, I didn’t mean to suggest—”
“I’m only asking as a thought exercise,” he hastily added. “One officer to another.”
Kira tapped her index finger on the seat’s armrest. “Well, to that end, I guess I’d argue that you can’t have complete loyalty without belief.”
The colonel nodded. “The difference between having a job versus a career.”
“Yeah, exactly. Unlike the people who’ll cave at the first sign of pressure, there are also true believers,” she continued. “Anyone of genuine conviction will stand by their mission and the greater purpose. Those are the people where I really have to dig, and they’ll fight me every step of the way. When someone is convinced that their mission is the only right way, they will do everything within their power to see it through.”
“Those are the kind of people we try to cultivate in the Guard.”
“And it shows,” Kira agreed. “I’ve never questioned that anyone here has doubts about the work we’re doing.”
“Except those moments when one wonders if the career is what they were meant to do.”
The statement caught Kira off-guard. “Sir?”
Kaen smiled. “I’ve been there, too, Kira. That decade mark is a funny thing—makes you wonder how many different directions your life could have gone, had you made other choices.”
“I want to be here, sir.”
“I know you do. But I also recognize that look you got in your eyes when you learned that your home system was in danger. As loyal as you are to the Guard and as much as you have made it your life, you can never sever your allegiance to your home—not completely.”
“These recent missions have affected me in a way I didn’t expect,” she admitted.
“Not to mention a new companion, offering even greater reminders of those times past,” Kaen added.
Kira’s brows drew together. “I would never allow my relationship with Leon to compromise my performance as an officer.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that it would. In fact, I think it’s those kinds of personal ties that make a person work even harder. It’s people that have no love, no home, nothing bigger than themselves, that concern me. When someone is really only in it for themselves—that’s cause for worry.”
“So, that telepath you knew, was he only interrogating those kinds of people?” Kira asked.
“Stars, maybe he was. But I still think it’s sad that he generalized those impressions and applied them to everyone.”
“I agree, but…” Kira faded out, second-guessing her thought.
>
Kaen raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Well,” she continued, “I was going to say that telepathic reading isn’t an exact science. It’s actually quite subjective. As much as I try to get a clear, accurate impression, I can’t help getting some overlay of my own emotions.”
“Makes sense.”
“So, with a person like your old friend, I can’t help but wonder if it was him who was dissatisfied with his work—that his bleak view of other’s people’s motivations stemmed from having no passion or conviction in his own life.”
“An astute observation,” Kaen replied. “A month after we met, he up and left one day, no explanation. None of us ever heard from him again.”
“Wow.”
“I like to think he did eventually find something fulfilling in his life. What he was doing certainly wasn’t it.”
Kira nodded. “I can see how working as an interrogator could bring a person to the edge. You can’t only be in it for yourself.”
“No, you can’t.” Kaen smiled. “I’m glad that Leon came back into your life when he did. It’s funny how the universe has a way of delivering what we need, even when we don’t yet realize anything was missing.”
CHAPTER 7
Kira and the colonel made small-talk over the next hour on their journey to Redstar Station.
Kaen opened up more than Kira had ever witnessed, including accounts of his time as a Guard grunt during the Bakzen War. The effort had been led by the TSS, so the Guard was little more than a civil police force at the time.
Such tales always reminded Kira how young she was compared to some of her colleagues. It was only her unique telepathic skills that had placed her on an accelerated career path. Not that telepathy was everything, but being able to read minds and control people’s actions did have its perks.
The Lisbeth II dropped out of subspace at Redstar Station in the Delphos System. At the intersection of several major transit routes through the sector, the station was a convenient hub for transit to almost anywhere in Taran space. Kira hadn’t spent much time on the station itself, but its reputation as a gathering place for all sorts was widely known.
