“Can we come out?” Saressea asked.
The pretend captain snickered. “Yes.”
Once out of the shadows, Michei asked her. “What the hell was that about?”
“Byikanea thinks I’m in with the SOM,” Saressea said, shrugging. “She just wants me around.”
“She doesn’t just want you around; she wants you on the team that ventures through Kur.”
“That bitch is crazy, what can I say?”
“You can say, you want to go with her—”
“Fuck that.”
“Remember the last transmission we received from the Kepler,” Michei said. “Alisha and Jainuzei have plans that go against them.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Saressea said as she tried her best to ignore the growing anxiety in her chest. “We gotta get some infighting started.”
“Byikanea, however, is the last of the SOM leadership,” Michei said, his eyes narrowing while his head put together a plan. “She and the others still think they’re here to get Marduk back. This is the chance we need to prove that Jainuzei and Alisha aren’t looking out for them and get the group fighting. If we can get Byikanea to turn against them . . .”
That’s how the Whisper operated she mused as he continued to talk. The organization was called Whisper for a reason. They infiltrated groups, sending agents with fake pre-programmed memories to whisper lies, exaggerated intel, or the truthful things that certain people weren’t supposed to know, into the ears of their targets.
The Imperial Assassins’ Guild sent assassins to kill or track VIPs. The UNE EISS sent agents on black op missions to conduct espionage, sabotage, interrogations, and the odd hit-and-run with a sniper on a high-valued target. The Whisper? They told people what they wanted them to hear, then sat back and watched said organization crumble from the inside out.
“I want you to go with them, Saressea,” Michei said.
She crossed her arms and raised her tail. “Remember when I said, fuck that?”
“You earned her trust, you’re close to her.”
“For reasons I’d rather not remember. Besides, it’s just my word against theirs. What the fuck am I going to do?”
“Be the person that can deliver the Kepler’s proof when they arrive. Once they get in range, we could have them send it to you via HNI.”
“She could also send back intel via HNI since we’re here,” the pretend captain interjected.
Michei nodded to him, liking the idea. “That too.”
Saressea wanted to flip him the bird for suggesting that idea, not that he’d get the human gesture. She was probably the only person aboard that acted more human and less of a woman from Radiance.
When she didn’t give her reply, the bridge crew looked at her. The ones behind her too if she were to guess. They were all trained Whisper members who acted like she was one of them. The one that could get them home safely. And the only way to do that was to finish the mission.
Her ears sagged and her hand came up to facepalm. “Damn,” were the only words she muttered through her palm.
Kur
Hallowed Nebula Core
July 30, 2119, 05:46 SST (Sol Standard Time)
A transport carried Saressea to the prison ferry, only for her to transfer to another one that flew down to the ancient starship Kur. She was accompanied by Byikanea and several men and women wearing prisoner jumpsuits or prison guard uniforms. Byikanea’s ability to convince people to worship Marduk was on par with the Celestial Order’s ability to indoctrinate anyone that got too close to the group. Saressea figured it had to do with her psionic powers, which by rights weren’t something a Linl or anyone else from Radiance, the Empire, or Earth should have.
The transport came to rest on top of Kur. The ship was so big it looked like they were on a planet made of metal and alien designed structures where the skies were the nebula’s colorful splendor. EVA suits and magnetic boots were needed at first as they left the transport. A second transport came down from the nebula skies, one of human design from the Gerard Kuiper. Out from that came Jainuzei and Alisha with a team of bodyguards from the SOM and a human woman introduced as Lisette.
Byikanea faced the second group looking puzzled. “Where is Armuzei? Marduk will need his body.”
“He’s . . . coming later,” Alisha said with a smirk.
They passed through what Saressea figured was an airlock and dipped into the bowels of the megacity-sized ship. It was dark, gloomy, and smelt like ass, built by some long-dead advanced civilization. There was breathable air surprisingly enough allowing all personnel to remove their helmets. Flashlights lit the way through the corridors and then came off when a light source ahead got closer. Byikanea couldn’t keep her eyes off Jainuzei. She also didn’t like it when he held Alisha’s lower back as the trek continued.
Saressea’s HNI had been set to record and had been since they got off the transport. The Prometheus was still in range to receive her signals, though there would be a couple of minutes of lag in between each data package she sent to them. She went over in her head when would be the right time to reveal Jainuzei and Alisha’s true plan, and how. She didn’t have much proof to show, just a brief message the Kepler sent, she needed more.
Alisha stopped suddenly. Blue light bled away from the neck part of her EVA suit, it was like her body on the inside of the suit was a Christmas tree.
“There’s a vortex opening . . .” Alisha said.
Saressea held back a gleeful beam. The Kepler must be arriving. The cavalry was coming, the time to reveal the truth was now.
Saressea went to speak.
“It’s the Draconian fleet!” Alisha shouted before she had the chance to open her lips.
“Let’s keep searching for the chamber,” Jainuzei said to the group. “They’ll be dropping their forces inside soon. Byikanea, contact the fleet with your mind, have them take up a tighter defense around Kur. They got to reduce the pressure we’re about to get.” Turning to the group and Alisha, he added. “Go ahead, I shall examine the corridors and see where we should deploy any backup.”
Saressea kept her lips shut and moved with Alisha and their SOM fighters. As much as she hated doing it, she’d need their support if the Draconians sent their soldiers in. Dropping the dime on them now was a very bad idea.
Looking back, she saw Byikanea exit her telepathic trance and pull on Jainuzei’s large armored arms. He looked down at her, she looked up at him with lust, the same lust she used to rip apart Saressea’s body, mind, and soul.
“I missed you so fucking much,” Byikanea whispered, and stood on her toes to kiss him.
Jainuzei held onto her back, pulling her closer for a deeper and longer kiss. “How much?” he asked.
“I had to fuck that Rabuabin and pretend it was you,” Byikanea said then tickled the side of his cheeks. “I love you—”
“Jainuzei,” Alisha, who was further up, called back. “How much longer?”
Saressea turned around and power walked back to the group she was supposed to be with, hoping Jainuzei and Byikanea didn’t see her. She grinned, having remembered her HNI was still recording.
“Who is she?” Byikanea spat.
“Just a business partner,” Jainuzei’s voice said.
More words were whispered, but at that point Saressea was too far away, moving quickly down the ancient halls of the ship.
The ship that might be the end of all life in the galaxy.
65 Foster
XSV Johannes Kepler
Renterious Base, Riylor, Devaguai System
July 30, 2119, 00:06 SST (Sol Standard Time)
The Johannes Kepler felt like a quiet house, sitting calm as the night skies darkened it. The crew inside were like members of a family taking part in evening activities before they went to bed.
For Foster, that meant receiving an update on their status, having spent the last day or so landed at the base, touring the ship, and inspecting the work that had been done. The bloodstains that m
ade a mess of the cargo bay had been scrubbed clean, and the bodies of the SOM members and rangers were handed off for Radiance to do whatever it was they did to the dead.
Her wrist terminal beeped with a notification from the Rezeki’s Rage in orbit. Peiun’s face appeared.
“Captain, you will be pleased to know our repairs have been completed,” Peiun transmitted. “Rivera was a major help.”
“Good to hear it,” Foster replied. “So, tell me, how did y’all end up in this mess?”
“Manzo, he has been trying to undermine my leadership since I took command,” he said. “After we defeated the Terrans at Taxah, Manzo left for the surface and made contact with the Hashmedai there that allied with the Terrans.”
“Guess the rumor was true, there was a group trying to overthrow the Imperial throne there.”
“That was our guess as well,” he said. “When Manzo returned, he brought help from the surface. I was forced to surrender the ship to him, and he ordered it into the command ship we now chase. The Emperor and Empress will be made aware of what happened once we return and launch an investigation.”
If you return, we ain’t in the clear yet, she thought after the chat came to an end. The Rezeki’s Rage needed to survive, along with the proof in its databanks and witness accounts of its crew. The Taxah Hashmedai faction would fall once the Imperial throne started making heads roll.
Foster hoped the repairs they got, thanks to Rivera, were going to last. She was bouncing back and forth from repairs of the Rezeki’s Rage to working on the aquarium for Nereid to control the protective goo. She began to wonder how much sleep the poor girl was getting, probably not much.
But the smile Rivera’s face had every time Foster saw her said she didn’t care and enjoyed doing what she loved. Either that or she was just higher than a kite, but that only happened when she retreated to her quarters at the end of the day.
Kostelecky was reading up on parenting guides in her office during the downtime. Foster couldn’t blame her as the doctor would be a single mother soon with no memory of who the Poniga father was.
Foster caught a glimpse of Nereid scoping out the completed aquarium in the machine shop and the 3D printers used to produce its parts. Tolukei stood with her, talking, probably helping her mentally prepare for what was to come.
Pierce and Miles were in the lounge on the upper deck using that Canadian log cabin hologram living room setting. They sat on one of the couches with a can of beer in their hands, laughing, talking, and watching sports games via QEC with one of the holo TVs on the wall. She thought about joining them but remembered she didn’t eat all evening and opted to grab some leftovers in the mess.
She bumped into Chevallier who was on her way out of it.
“Foster,” Chevallier said.
She nodded. “Chevallier.”
Chevallier grimaced, looking away. Her cheeks turned a shade red. That was a rare sight. “Hey, um. Listen.”
“What’s up?”
“Eh, thank you,” Chevallier said, struggling to say the words. “Thanks for not leaving me behind after what happened back at Taxah.”
“You were angry, and from what I read of your past, you do silly things when you get pissed,” Foster said. “How’s the arm working out?”
“Good, Rivera says she can make some attachments for it since the doctor left a bunch of expansion ports on it.”
“That could be handy.”
“She also remodeled my protect suit,” Chevallier said. “This arm will be exposed when I’m in it.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Foster asked.
“It’s just wires and metal now, doesn’t matter if it’s exposed to space or radiation. It does matter if it’s wrapped up inside my suit, I won’t be able to use it or any of the attachments.”
“Fair point.”
“Did anyone get back to you about Boyd?”
“Still MIA and presumed dead,” Foster said grimly. “You’re the leader of EDF-1 now until we get back to Earth controlled space.”
Foster’s words made Chevallier pause. She was processing what that meant. And what it meant was that Chevallier was the leader of the first and most prestigious of the EDF teams. It was the one that always formed the tip of the spear when it came to protecting Earth’s interests in deep space, the team that had to get things done, no matter the odds.
She left Chevallier with that and entered the mess. Williams sat alone, then again there was nobody else in the mess hall except for Chevallier who left earlier. She hoped Chevallier had been in the mess to patch things up with Williams, she did shoot him after all.
There were no leftovers for Foster to munch on, except for that savory cheesecake Chef Bailey made for dessert. There were three slices left. Foster took two of them and declared it her dinner for the day. She caught a glimpse of Bailey in the galley cleaning up and putting his kitchen knives away, and gave him a smile and a wave, he waved back.
Afterward, Foster pulled up a chair and sat with Williams at his lonely table for one, now turned into two. He glanced at her, and then went back to reading his holo pad.
She spooned two chunks of the cake into her mouth and then asked. “Everything okay, Dom?”
“I’m fine, Becca.” His eyes were still on the pad’s screen shining its light upon his dark face and beard.
“Any new paintings?”
“You saw the last one already, so no.”
“That was months ago,” she said. “Before.” She was going to say before he got shot by Chevallier but caught herself just in time. “ . . . Before we got the vortex key.”
“So, Chevallier is the leader of EDF-1?” he asked, finally looking up at her.
“Yep, it’s good for her.” His asking meant the two didn’t talk at all. The mess hall must have been really awkward when the two were there, keeping to themselves, not saying a word.
“That tone,” she said. “Haven’t heard you like that since we were livin’ in LA, back when we were younger.”
“Those were tough times.”
“Yeah.” She finished the first slice of cheesecake and prepared her hands to guide her spoon for the second. “You lost your parents, I lost my father. What was the name of that hospital we met at again?”
“Cedars-Sinai.”
“Y’know, still can’t get over all them refugees across the country that were packed in there during the war.”
“And of all those people, you singled me out.” He managed to muster a half smile.
Foster did the same. “I saw a ten-year-old boy crying and alone,” she said. “Had to do something’, ain’t nobody else would.”
“Hundred and one years later . . . here we are, in the stars. With a big fucking gap in our memories between 2050 and 2118.”
“We’ll figure it out, Dom. Seems like you’s starting to remember . . . something with those paintings.”
Bailey came to sit with the two by the time Foster finished her cheesecake slices for dinner. How he managed to keep his white chef coat and hat clean while making food for the crew was mind-blowing.
“Hey, Chef,” Foster said to him. “Headin’ out for the night?”
“You about to take us into battle,” Bailey said. “Me ain’t gonna get any sleep!”
“That makes two of us,” Williams grunted.
“That Jainuzei mon, though,” Bailey said. “I knew he was trouble when I saw him. I should have done something about him sooner. Funny how that works, I could have prevented this.”
“Attacking people ain’t your thing, Chef,” Foster said.
“I know, I know.” Bailey laughed.
“Kinda glad you didn’t, Jainuzei would have killed you,” Foster said. “Then, we wouldn’t have you or your guidance. Or be here right now.”
“All this Marduk talk got me thinkin’, though,” Bailey continued. “The Poniga’s stories were more than a myth. As primitive as they are, they know more about this universe we live in than Radiance, Hashmedai, or Eart
h. Captain, when this is over, can I make a request?”
“Sure thing, Chef.”
“I want to go back to Sirius.”
The eyes of Foster and Williams widened when they heard his words. Was the Chef requesting to leave? She was afraid to ask, Williams, however, wasn’t. “You’re going to leave us?”
“No, mon!” Bailey erupted with laughter again. It was surprisingly soothing to hear. “But I want to pick up some of my notes I left there. I was exposed to a lot of the Poniga teachings over the years. Those stories they told me might be the map we need to figure all this stupidness out that we have to deal with.”
“I think we can grant that, Chef,” Foster said with a smile.
Foster strode onto the bridge the next morning full of energy from her coffee. She took a quick glance at the crew, noting they were ready at their stations. Even non-crew personnel like Penelope and Vynei operated the computers that EVE normally would have.
Odelea notified Foster of an incoming transmission, its source was from the base they spent the last day or so at. She accepted the communication and hoped some good news was about to come in.
The view screen switched to a holographic projection of a Vorcambreum man, with the grey skin and white hair all members of their species had.
“Greetings, Captain, my name is Teuei, I’m a Whisper psionic.”
His English was flawless.
“What can we do for you?” Foster asked.
“I received a telepathic communication from the Terran ship currently controlled by our agents,” Teuei’s projection said. “They wish to let you know that Saressea has infiltrated a group of SOM members that boarded the Kur recently.”
Foster slapped the side of her chair. “Damn it, so they made it?”
“It would appear so and the Draconians.”
“Shit, we got to go!”
“According to them, they have the human woman, Lisette, and are about to reach their target within the ship,” Teuei said, tapping through a number of holo screens that appeared before him. “I’m sending you data, converted by my thoughts I received from Saressea’s HNI via a psionic on the Whisper controlled ship, Prometheus.”
Hallowed Nebula Page 47
