by A. K. DuBoff
“You’ll never win!” he shouted in his mind and lashed out toward Nox.
The alien was caught off-guard by the resistance as the two battled for control over Kaen’s limbs. His right arm flailed in front of him, sweeping across the touch-panel for the ship’s controls.
A hum filled the air as the engines revved, straining the ship against the docking clamps that were still engaged at the end of the gangway. They wouldn’t hold for long.
— — —
Kira hurriedly stowed the free-weights she’d been using for her workout. Did Leon get what he needed so he can figure out what in the stars is going on with me?
She placed her wrists behind her back as she approached the waiting guards.
“Major Sandren instructed us to take you to a conference room where he and Leon will meet you,” the guard said while cuffing her.
“Lead the way.” Kira nodded to the door.
Five minutes later, Kira was deposited inside the conference room. It wasn’t equipped for prisoner securement like an interrogation room, but the guards looped her cuffs through the support beams of the table, which was welded to the floor. Kira had to lean forward at an awkward angle, but it was still better than the confounded bed.
As the guards finished up, Major Sandren entered with Leon right behind him.
Kira smiled. “Hello, sir. Welcome back, Leon.”
“Hey.” Leon looked like he wanted to run to her, but he restricted himself to a friendly smile in the major’s presence.
“How’d it go on Valta?” Kira asked him.
“That’s an interesting story. I asked Major Sandren to join us so I could explain what happened.”
The major closed the door and adjusted some controls on the touch-panel mounted to the wall. “This room is secure. No one can listen in.”
Leon nodded. “So, we got to Valta and everything started out fine. Equipment was loaded on a cart and we were on our way out. Then Kyle got an alert that two people had entered the MTech lobby.”
“Who were they?” Major Sandren asked.
“That’s why I was so insistent we meet. I have no idea who the man was, but I instantly recognized the woman as Chancellor Hale of the Mysaran Coalition.”
Kira’s breath caught in her throat. “The Mysaran Chancellor was touring a condemned MTech lab?”
“Precisely. Things got especially awkward when a group of well-armed soldiers showed up and started shooting at us.” Leon frowned.
Sandren leaned back in his chair and released a long breath. “That confirms whatever MTech was up to had ties to the government.”
“Yes, sir,” Leon acknowledged, “but I’m afraid it might extend beyond Mysar.”
“What makes you say that?” Sandren questioned.
“I talked to my sister after the op—she’d reached out while we were on the planet’s surface. If you recall, she works for the Elusian president. They suspect Hale has been subverted, which fits with what I saw. However, President Joris had relayed this information to Kaen, and the colonel dismissed it. That makes sense, if what Doctor Elric suspects about Kaen is true.”
Kira shook her head. “It’s not just suspicion anymore. I’ve had enough weird conversations with him over the last two days to draw my own conclusions.”
Major Sandren sat in quiet contemplation. “Kaen led the investigation into the recent security breach. It’s possible some of the people involved were innocent and he pegged his own actions on them.”
“I was just about to suggest the same thing, sir,” Kira said.
The major nodded. “We need to detain Colonel Kaen. He has too much authority to remain free in this facility.”
Kira’s gaze passed between the major and Leon. “And you need to keep a close eye on me, too. Kaen came to speak with me and suggested that I embrace these Robus abilities. Whatever MTech was up to, I think modifying me was part of their plan, and Kaen’s job might be to make sure I turn out how they hope.”
Leon paled. “Kaen may have helped Monica escape.”
“Or, at a minimum, not stopped her,” Kira said. “In any case, the longer we talk here, the longer this base is in danger.”
Sandren rose from the table. “I’ll speak with General Lucian right away. And, Kira, as much as I want to trust you, I agree that it’s too risky for you to be unsupervised until we understand exactly what was done to you. We can forgo the restraints, but I’d like you to stay on lockdown.”
“Yes, sir, I understand.” Not being lashed to the bed would at least be an upgrade. Though, she very well might wish she was strapped down on a bed if she had another seizure or whatever it was.
“Stand by for further instruction,” Sandren ordered. “And it goes without saying that you speak of this to no one.”
“Yes, sir,” Kira and Leon both acknowledged.
The major left the room.
One of the guards entered. “Your cuffs, ma’am.”
“Thanks.” Kira rubbed her wrists as soon the guard removed the cuffs. “Give us another minute, Private.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The guard closed the door behind himself.
Kira took the opportunity to take Leon’s hands. “I’m glad you made it back in one piece.”
“Those MTech guys were trying hard to make sure that didn’t happen.” He shrugged it off. “Can’t say I’m eager to be in combat again, though.”
“I’m all for you being my scientist guy back here at base.”
“That I can do.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss. “And I need to get going on that testing.”
“Yes, please tell me what’s going on. I haven’t had so much as an eye-glow in the last two days.”
“There’s no reason to believe there would be any kind of consistent expression of traits. It’s actually surprising you were able to exercise any degree of control when you were on the verge of changing before.”
“I hope you don’t want me to intentionally change, because if that’s what Kaen wants, it’s probably the last thing I should do.”
“We’ll make that determination once I’ve completed a full model of your current genome and bloodwork.”
Kira scowled at him. “Scientist you is so impersonal.”
He smiled. “Rest assured, you’ll be my favorite test subject.”
“Yeah, well—”
An alarm interrupted Kira.
Leon jumped. “What’s that for?”
“Nothing good.”
— — —
Major Sandren stopped midstride when the alarm sounded. The fok?
He ran to the nearest control panel and entered his credentials to view the details for the alert. Someone was trying to force an override to release a transport ship from its grapple. If the alarm was sounding, that meant the station was at risk for a decompression.
What kind of idiot would be trying to launch a ship without disengaging the docking clamps? Sandren fumed.
No trained soldier, that’s for sure. So, either someone had forgotten all their training or the pilot was under duress. Regardless of the reasons, that docking wing needed as many Guard personnel as possible to get the situation under control.
Sandren ran down the corridor.
CHAPTER 10
Kira dashed to the conference room’s exit. “We need to find out what that alarm is for.”
“Should you be, you know, out and about?” Leon asked behind her.
She was torn. Feeling like herself at the moment didn’t mean she wasn’t actually under some form of influence. But, if there was an emergency situation, there was no way under the stars that she was going to be locked in a holding cell while the base was in crisis.
Kira looked over her shoulder at Leon. “Right now, the most pressing danger is whatever is causing that alarm.” She opened the door and found the four guards waiting outside, looking concerned. “Private, any info about the alarm?”
“There’s a notice about pressurization failure, but that’s all I know, ma’am,” one s
oldier replied.
The station might depressurize? Kira’s heart leaped. They’d trained for that kind of emergency, but she never dreamed she’d have to put those skills to use. “We need to get to a control center.”
“Ma’am, we’re supposed to bring you back to Medical.”
“Those orders came through before there was a foking alarm telling us we all might die!” Kira shot back.
“Uh…” Leon paled.
“Might be an exaggeration. Hopefully.” Kira stared down the private barring her path. “I’ll have the good doctor here to escort me,” she said, gesturing toward Leon.
“Right, yes,” Leon said to her relief.
“I’m… I’m not sure—”
“Private, the circumstances have changed. I’m not an enemy being detained; this was a voluntary isolation. Either let me go now or I’m going to force my way out.”
The soldier reluctantly stepped aside, and his comrades parted.
“Thank you.” Kira passed through the opening and headed to the left toward the nearest control room.
“You know I can’t do squat to stop you if you lose control,” Leon whispered when they were beyond earshot from the guards.
“It won’t come to that.”
Kira jogged down the hall with Leon close behind. The control room was around a corner a hundred meters from the conference room. She tried the door, but it was locked.
“Bomax,” she muttered while fiddling with the controls on the touch-panel.
“Can you override it?”
“Yes, but it won’t be easy. The depressurization warning has sealed all the doors.”
“Yeah, again, that sounds like something I should be worried about!”
Kira ignored Leon’s concerns for the time being, focusing on the task at hand. She couldn’t make an informed assessment of their circumstances until she knew exactly what they were up against.
After a minute of trying various overrides for the door, she finally found an authorization that worked. The bolt unlocked with a satisfying clang, and then the door hissed open.
Kira dashed to the control panel on the back wall. She searched for details about the lockdown. “Oh, shite…”
Leon ran up next to her, examining the screen. “What is it?”
“A ship is trying to break away from the station while the docking clamps are still engaged. It’ll rip a hole in this section if it gets free.”
“Why would someone—”
“No one in their right mind would.” Kira took a steadying breath. “Kaen.”
“Kaen-Kaen or alien-Kaen?”
“For all I know it’s a fight between the two of them.”
Leon crossed his arms. “What do we do?”
“You are going to stay here. The room will remain pressurized even if the rest of this arm of the station loses atmosphere.”
“Kira, no, you’re not going up against—”
“I’ll find Sandren or someone on my team.”
Leon spread his arms. “You can’t just leave me here!”
“I can’t bring you along, either. I need to get to the colonel. No one else knows what’s going on with him, so they’d be liable to either shoot him on sight or let him go,” Kira insisted. “I need to help bring him in unharmed.”
“And then what?”’
“You figure out how to get that thing out of him.”
“Me?!”
“Hey, you signed up to be the Guard’s greatest new scientific mind.”
A flush crept into Leon’s face. “Yeah, for genetics research! And let’s not forget I’m already trying to solve what’s going on with you.”
“That can wait. The colonel needs our help, and fixing whatever happened to him means we might be able to help the Mysaran Chancellor, too.”
“Kira—”
“I’ll be fine. And you’ll be safe here. Remember the safety briefing about your shipsuit, should you need to pressurize it.” She gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Before Leon could object further, she ran out the door into the corridor. She resealed the door behind her.
The endangered docking wing was up two decks, so Kira ran to the nearest access ladder, knowing the lift would be locked. She scaled the rungs and then ran down the hall toward the docking location as soon as she reached the top.
Two bewildered guards stood behind the security desk at the wing’s entrance.
“What’s going on?” Kira demanded.
“Don’t know, ma’am,” one replied. “Colonel Kaen came by a few minutes ago, and then Sandren—”
The deck shuddered, accompanied by a groan of grating metal.
“Get yourselves to a safe place,” Kira instructed. She opened the wing door. “Make sure this is sealed behind me.” She ran through.
The sound of grinding metal echoed down the corridor, coming from the left, so Kira ran in that direction. After passing by five airlocks along the curving hall, she spotted Major Sandren making furious entries on a touch-panel. “Major!”
He glanced in her direction. “Kira? What are you—”
“Is it Kaen?” she asked.
“Yes, he signed out a ship. The orders are complete nonsense.”
Another shudder wracked the station as the ship strained at the end of its gangway.
“Why didn’t the clamps release?”
“It’s strange.” The major shook his head. “Only half of the undocking procedures were followed. He knows better.”
“Kaen knows better. But if he’s not in control…”
“Either way, we need to stop him.”
“That’s why I’m here, sir. But I’m surprised I beat the security team.”
“How did you get here so fast?” Sandren asked.
“Ladder.”
“Well, others will make their way up here, but it’s going to take some explanation about what’s going on. Those are questions I don’t know how to answer.”
“Too much of that going around.” Kira assessed what the major had been doing with the airlock door, seeing he was midway through a poorly executed hack of the overrides. “May I, sir?”
“Please.” He stepped aside. “I was never much good at this.”
“That’s why you have a team, sir.”
She got to work redoing Sandren’s attempt to override the seal. “Almost got it…”
The lock released and the doors began to part—just as another shudder reverberated through the station.
“Suit, now!” Sandren shouted.
On reflex, Kira activated the emergency deployment for the gloves and helmet on her shipsuit. The collar unfurled and a clear dome enveloped her head while gloves formed around her hands.
Kira was sucked through the opening between the airlock’s door panels.
She careened straight down the ruined gangway. The smooth walls sped by her, offering nothing to grab. Before she could react, she passed through the splintered end where the ship had ripped away.
For an instant, everything was quiet and still.
Only a dozen meters ahead, the transport vessel was pulling away, its side airlock still open. Kira had no control over her trajectory, but the gangway had sent her on a course straight for the ship’s open airlock. She’d have one chance to stick the landing.
One excruciating second passed in the vacuum of space. Time stood still for Kira as she tumbled through the black toward the ship’s airlock, her heart pounding in her ears. She held her breath, bracing for the impact.
She clipped the edge of the airlock on her way through the door. Pain radiated from her right shoulder as she cartwheeled to the side. She struck the other side of the chamber and desperately reached for a handhold. Her first grasp came up empty, but she managed to loop her fingers through on the second attempt.
Kira held on for dear life.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black form hurdling toward her.
“Sandren!” she shouted, though she knew he
couldn’t hear her.
He flew past her and struck the back wall. Kira held out her hand, and he grabbed it on the ricochet, providing just enough leverage to swing toward the wall and grab a handhold.
Sandren pounded on the emergency hatch seal, and the airlock door slammed shut.
The artificial gravity engaged, and Kira was slowly pulled toward the floor.
A gauge on the back wall turned blue, indicating atmosphere had been restored to the chamber.
She pressed the controls on her neck, and the helmet and gloves folded back into her suit. Sandren did the same.
“Holy shite, that was close,” she told him.
“That wasn’t exactly what I had planned.” The major took a deep breath. “I guess we’re on our own.”
“Still two against one. We can find a sonic blaster and take him out.”
“Not unless we find some noise cancelling earbuds. The blast from a handgun like that will echo like crazy in a small ship like this and knock us out, too,” Sandren countered.
“Then what do you suggest, sir?”
“We tackle and shackle the old-fashioned way.”
“Why am I not surprised you’d say that?”
“It’s been too long since I’ve been in the thick of action.”
Kira grinned and released the inner door. “He’ll know we’re here, but we still have numbers on our side.”
“That we do. Lead the way.”
— — —
Kaen-Nox glowered at the computer screen. “How did they make it on board?” Nox demanded.
“Members of the Guard are quite industrious,” Kaen replied. He tried to hide the satisfied smile in his mind.
He’d been afraid that the ship had broken free too quickly, before anyone had a chance to board. The fact that anyone had made it inside the airlock was a near-miracle, but he’d take it.
The question now was whether his rescuers would be able to subdue him without harming his body. He was certain that Nox would rather die than be captured. Death wasn’t on Kaen’s itinerary for the day.