Mindspace - Complete Series

by A. K. DuBoff

  She sighed. “You’re right. This isn’t just about me.”

  “Agreed?” Sandren asked aloud.

  “All right,” Kira conceded. “I appreciate everyone being so willing to jump in to help me.”

  “We always take care of our own.” Sandren stepped toward the door. “I’ll keep you apprised.”

  Kira tugged on her restraints. “You know where to find me.”

  — — —

  “I don’t expect them to answer to me,” Leon said to Sandren as they walked toward the quarters for Kira’s team. “I know I’m an outsider.”

  “Kira trusts you, so they’ll trust you by extension,” the major replied.

  “As long as they can help move around heavy equipment and handle the shooting if MTech gets nasty, we’ll be just fine.”

  “They have been known to move around some heavy things now and then,” Sandren said with a nod. “And they’ll work even harder knowing it’s for Kira.”

  The two men reached the door to the shared housing for the three members of Kira’s team. While Kira roomed with them when they were on ops and traveling in the Raven, she had her own quarters at the Guard base since she was their senior. The three soldiers shared a cabin and were happy to remain together, from what Kira had relayed to Leon.

  Sandren knocked on the door

  Ari answered. “Major, is everything okay? We were surprised to get your message about a meeting.”

  “We have some things to discuss. May we come in?” Sandren requested.

  Ari sized Leon up, stepping aside.

  Leon smiled at Ari and the other soldiers as he entered. He could sense their gazes on him, feeling out his intentions. Regardless of what Sandren had said about their trust for Kira extending to him, Leon was certain he’d have to earn their trust, and he intended to do just that.

  The cabin was simply appointed, with two beds parallel against the right wall and one across the back, supplemented by a table and four chairs in the front left corner of the room. A door at the midpoint of the left wall presumably led to a washroom.

  “We’re here about Kira,” Sandren began.

  “Is she okay?” Ari sat down on the bed closest to the door, and Kyle came to join him.

  Nia took a seat at the table with Sandren and Leon. “Why isn’t she here with you?”

  Leon swallowed. “She’s being held in isolation at the moment.”

  The soldiers’ faces paled.

  “Sir, what’s going on?” Kyle asked Sandren.

  “We believe that the MTech scientist, Monica, injected Kira with the Robus nanite strain,” he replied.

  “No, that’s not…” Nia shook her head.

  “She’s not like the others at the lab,” Leon hastily explained. “She fully transformed once and seemed to retain her sense of self.”

  “So she’s, what, the Stage Four subject?” Ari asked. “This is foked up.”

  “I know it is,” Sandren stated. “However, that’s the situation we’re facing. We’ll get what information we can from Monica’s assistant, Jared, but Leon also needs some equipment from the MTech lab to run tests on Kira’s modifications. It just so happens we, uh, need that very same equipment to further our investigation into MTech—which Leon will oversee.”

  The soldiers nodded their understanding.

  “And we’re going in with Leon to get it?” Nia guessed.

  “If you’ll join me,” Leon confirmed. “I’m not as tough as Kira, but I’ll do my best to keep up with you. We’ll get in and out as quickly as possible.”

  Ari crossed his muscular arms. “I’m guessing the urgency means you think MTech might come looking to reclaim what was seized.”

  Leon nodded. “We still have no idea where the orders came from in the organization. Monica may have been acting on her own, or there are others in MTech who’ll want to continue the same research.”

  “And it could extend to the Mysaran government,” Kyle pointed out.

  “Exactly. Or even beyond.” Sandren spread his hands on the table. “This stays between us, but it’s possible that Monica didn’t subdue you on her own.”

  Nia scowled. “But who? We were surrounded by Guard soldiers and—”

  Sandren held up his finger to silence her. “This stays between us. I’ll watch over Kira while you’re gone.”

  The soldiers inclined their heads.

  “When can we leave, sir?” Leon asked.

  “I’ll have the Raven prepped for you,” Sandren replied. “You can be underway in an hour.”

  CHAPTER 4

  After an hour of being tied down, Kira was already regretting her agreement to be bound. She felt like herself, as much as she knew that could change with a second’s notice. But for now, being in complete control of her faculties, it was annoying to be treated like a vicious monster.

  To make matters worse, she was alone. When she’d suggested being tethered, Leon had at least been there for company. Now, there was only the background hum of mechanical equipment and an infernal beep coming from an unknown piece of equipment.

  “Hello?” Kira called out. What I wouldn’t give to get a viewscreen in here…

  Thirty seconds later, a nurse appeared at the window. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  “I’m going to go stir-crazy. Can I get a book, or a tablet, or something?”

  “Sure, we have some tablets for patients. I’ll be right back.” The nurse disappeared from view.

  Not sure how I’ll use the thing with these bomaxed cuffs on, Kira realized. She sighed. The years of being out in the field had made her so impatient with sitting still—not to mention that Leon was off having an adventure without her.

  She chuckled, realizing the error in her thinking. There was no way Leon was going to have a good time—not with her team. In fact, he was probably as pinned down as her, even if it wasn’t with physical restraints.

  Kira made a cluck of pity on Leon’s behalf as she thought about what must be going on. I hope he’s up for a workout with those guys.

  The nurse returned with a tablet after a minute. “Now, how are we going to make this work?” she mused, assessing Kira’s tethers.

  “Maybe you could prop it up on my lap, and then find a separate mouse I could use for navigation?” Kira suggested.

  “Good idea.” The nurse got to work arranging a pillow to cradle the tablet. “Don’t worry, dear. We’ll take good care of you until this is resolved.”

  — — —

  Leon dropped his travel bag on the bunk Kira typically used while traveling on the Raven.

  The three other members of the team were settling into their own bunks, watching him stow the minimal items he’d brought with him. Kira wasn’t exaggerating about how tightknit they are.

  He finished and sat down on his bunk. “Thanks for not objecting to me coming with you on this mission,” he said to them with what he hoped was a warm smile.

  “You know the equipment we need to get. It’s in the best interest of the mission to have you along,” Nia said.

  “We’re doing this for Kira,” Kyle responded without looking up from his own activities.

  Leon nodded. “I wouldn’t expect otherwise.” He paused. “I know it’s probably strange for you to think of her being in a relationship with anyone.”

  “She was gone for less than a week and came home with a guy. Yeah, it’s a little weird.” Nia hopped down from the bunk above Leon’s bed to access her locker. “How well could she possibly know you?”

  Leon’s brow furrowed. “Wait, she didn’t tell you about our history? I thought you knew.”

  “She said you were a friend and went back a long way. What else is there to know?” Ari asked.

  “Uh…” Leon let out an uncomfortable laugh. “We dated for four years, when we were teenagers. I thought we were going to get married when we were finished with school, but she ran off to join the Guard instead.”

  The three soldiers’ mouths dropped open.

&nb
sp; Nia grabbed a sleep mask and earplugs out of her locker. “So, this was a reconnection, not a new thing.”

  “Yeah, you could say that.” Leon nodded.

  “Huh.” Nia climbed back up on her bunk.

  Leon looked around the room. “Are we good?”

  The soldiers shrugged.

  “Yeah, you treat Kira right and we’ll have your back,” Kyle said. “But do anything to hurt her, and you answer to us.”

  “Gotcha.” Leon rose from the bed. “Well, I’m going to get myself acquainted with the ship. I’ll see you later.”

  He departed the cabin and sealed the door behind him. When he was alone in the hall, he released a long breath. Dealing with her parents is nothing compared to these three. Thank the stars she doesn’t have brothers, too!

  Leon wandered down the metal corridor of the residential section in the compact vessel. There were only four cabins, making for cozy living arrangements compared to the spacious environment he was used to on Valta. If it weren’t for his time in dormitories while he was in school on Mysar, he doubted he’d have lasted a day on the ship.

  The residential hall opened on one side into a small galley. The room was empty while the flight crew prepped the spaceship for departure, so Leon took the opportunity to scope out the rations he’d be consuming for the next few days.

  Cabinets along the wall adjoining the hallway were filled with dry goods, and a refrigerator contained meat, vegetables, and an assortment of beverages—neatly organized even to Leon’s obsessive standards. All things considered, it was a far better selection than he would have expected. Valta’s ecological abundance may have spoiled him, but it was looking like he certainly wouldn’t go hungry with the Guard.

  A stovetop, oven, and tables with seating for sixteen completed the galley. Leon grabbed a handful of mixed nuts from a container in one of the dried goods cabinets and sat down at the table to eat his snack, oriented so he could look out the bank of viewports on the back wall.

  As he was brushing the excess salt from his hands, a man’s voice came over the central comm system. “Jumping in one minute.”

  Leon rose from his seat to get a better view out the viewport, hoping to peek at the navigation beacon before the ship transitioned into subspace. He could just make out the illuminated buoy anchored in a fixed spatial position to serve as a reference point for ships traveling through subspace. It didn’t look like much more than a pear-shaped probe the size of a shuttle, but he knew that the tech it housed was what had enabled the Taran Empire to expand. Crossing between distant star systems in hours… It’s still difficult to believe.

  The deck vibrated as the jump drive charged. A haze of shifting blue-green light—a spatial distortion—formed around the ship. The light intensified as the ship slipped into subspace. Time elongated for a moment as they made the transition, and then the starscape was replaced by a sea of ethereal light.

  Navigation beacons were positioned at most worlds—sometimes multiple—but the Elvar Trinary had done its best to remain separated from the Taran Empire. There was only a single navigation beacon nearby, located at an intermediary point between four systems, one of which was the Elvar Trinary of Leon’s birth. Two of the other systems were uninhabited and used for resource mining, but the third had a permanent ban on entry. Leon wasn’t sure why, but he’d been taught from a young age to avoid Gaelon.

  The subspace jump to that exit beacon would take a little over two hours, and it would then take the better part of a day to reach their destination at sub-light speeds.

  As mesmerizing as the lights in subspace were, Leon decided a better use of his time would be to finish his self-guided tour of the ship. He left the galley and continued down the corridor, which terminated in a ladder, extending up and down. A sign pointing upward indicated the bridge, although he imagined the captain and pilot wouldn’t like an uninvited visitor. So, he went down.

  Leon got off at the first landing, which looked to be a combination of social space and administrative offices. Workout equipment dotted the room, along with a game table, couch, and an expansive viewscreen on the wall.

  Two men were seated on the couch, watching a video.

  “Hey,” Leon greeted. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  “Hi,” one of the men replied with surprise. “And you are…?”

  “Leon Calleti. I used to work at the MTech lab we’re going to investigate.”

  “Ah, okay, right. You’re the one Captain Elsar was partnered with on the last op,” the second said.

  “Yeah. We grew up together on Valta.” Leon moseyed over. “How do you know her?”

  “Gil, mechanic,” the first man said, pointing to himself with his thumb, then the other man, “and Sven, support systems engineer. Basically, we have nothing to do as long as everything is going right.”

  Leon nodded. “Sounds like a good gig.”

  “Except when it’s not.” Gil shrugged.

  “How do you pass the time?” Leon asked. “I’ve spent my whole life on planets. Being cooped up on a starship is strange to me.”

  “Well, there’s the gym, and the video library, games… But honestly, you want to pick up a hobby. Sven over here has written three novels.”

  Sven dismissed the statement with a flip of his wrist. “Novel is too fancy a term. They were space adventure stories about the team on this ship, as told from the boring perspective of a support systems engineer.”

  Leon smiled. “Sounds like a prime opportunity to make yourself the hero.”

  “No one would read about me.” He crossed his arms and nestled deeper into the couch. “Not saying I didn’t do that, though.”

  “I’m sure I’ll figure out something to do.” Leon looked back toward the ladder, debating whether or not to check out the level below to see what else there might be.

  “You can join us here, if you like. We were just about to play Fastara with the team before we eat,” Gil offered.

  “I can’t say I’ve played much.”

  Sven got a devious glint in his eyes. “That’s not a problem.”

  Unfortunately for Sven, Gil, and the members of Kira’s team, Leon’s assertion that he was unfamiliar with Fastara was a ruse. Many a night in grad school had been spent competing for prize money to fund a night off-campus, and he’d honed some skills. No need for him to elaborate on his past experience, though. They’d find out soon enough.

  — — —

  The winter sunlight shining over the Elusian capital was all the sweeter knowing that the Elusian Alliance was now once again a member of the grand Taran Empire. President Elton Joris smiled with satisfaction as he surveyed the city. We have a bright future ahead of us.

  A knock sounded on his office door.

  “Come in.”

  The door cracked open, and Ellen Calleti poked her head in. “Hello, Mr. President. Do you have a moment?”

  “Certainly. Come in, Ellen.” Joris gestured to the visitor chair across from his desk and took a seat in his own. “Is this about the integration guidebook?”

  “No, but that’s coming along well,” Ellen replied.

  When the Elusian Alliance had signed the reunification agreement with the Taran Empire, new opportunities opened for the Elusian people. President Joris had asked Ellen to draft a summary of those new benefits for citizens to use as a guide. The further they got into the project, the more details they uncovered that Joris knew needed to be documented. Despite the administrative burden, he was excited about the opportunities that would be available to his people in coming generations.

  Ellen sat down in the visitor chair and folded her hands over her tablet on her lap. “Actually, sir, I’m here about Chancellor Hale.”

  “Oh, yes.” Joris looked down and sighed. “I reached out to the Guard. My contact said he’d look into it.”

  Joris had been around politicians long enough to know when a person was dodging a request, and he imagined those same tells extended to members of the military. G
iven the information Joris had imparted about the Mysaran chancellor potentially being subverted, he would have expected immediate and decisive action. A casual ‘look into it’ statement didn’t come across that way in the slightest.

  Ellen frowned, clearly thinking the same thing. “Is there anyone else we can go to?”

  “I’m hesitant to take too many backchannels. We’re in enough of a political wedge as it is after signing the reunification agreement without representative sign-off.”

  “But this is a serious threat, sir. If Hale is compromised…”

  Joris nodded. “I agree. But it’s possible the Guard is taking a more covert approach. I don’t want to step on toes.”

  “Would you like me to do the toe-stepping for you?” Ellen offered.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Well, my brother went to work with the Guard after the MTech lab on Valta was shut down. I could see if he can find out whether an investigation is underway.”

  Joris smiled. “That’s a handy connection to have. But hold off. I’ll try a more direct strategy first.”

  “I’ll be standing by.” Ellen rose.

  “Thank you, Ellen. I’m glad to have you on my side.”

  She inclined her head. “I’m sorry there was ever a time I wasn’t.”

  Ellen departed, leaving Joris alone with his thoughts.

  He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. Why would the Guard defer an investigation into Hale? The most obvious explanation was that they already knew something and didn’t want to share. If that were the case, he—and Elusia—might not be as safe as he thought.

  CHAPTER 5

  Kira thumbed through the entertainment selection on her tablet. Despite having an entire galaxy’s worth of content at her disposal, she still couldn’t find anything to watch.

  With a heavy sigh, she turned off the tablet with a click of the remote mouse they’d rigged up for her. Bedtime, I guess. Not that I’m tired after all those naps. Leon needed to hurry up and get that equipment he needed or else there might not be anything of Kira’s mind left to save.