Mindspace - Complete Series

by A. K. DuBoff

  Nia’s jaw went slack. “I think we missed some things.”

  Kira sighed. “Yeah, I’ll fill you in while we’re in transit.”

  “All of that aside, counting on an untrained, non-military contact for such a dangerous undercover operation is a big risk, sir,” Kyle cautioned.

  “Right, but she’s all we have.” Sandren looked around the table. “I don’t think we can trust anyone in the Mysaran government right now.”

  “All right, so we only rely on ourselves to get in and get out,” Ari said with his usual assurance. “Simple.”

  “I have every confidence you’ll pull it off.” The major smiled. “You leave in an hour.”

  — — —

  Having full control of his own body again was deeply satisfying in a way Kaen could never have imagined, but part of him felt empty. As much as he’d detested Nox’s presence, he’d become accustomed to having a companion in his mind. Though he’d only been consciously aware of Nox for a matter of days, the alien’s time as a hidden passenger for the three years prior had left a lasting impact.

  How could such a clear invasion of my mind be something I miss? Kaen shook his head. No, it wasn’t that he missed Nox, it was that he had become used to having constraints around his consciousness—in the way that a newborn enjoyed being swaddled. He was now his own person again and he needed to embrace his independence.

  Moreover, he wasn’t alone. The reason he temporarily felt isolated was that Nox had forced him to withdraw from those who’d always rounded out his life—his friends in the Guard. To regain a sense of fullness, he only needed to reintegrate himself.

  Kaen smiled at the thought of being able to participate in those relationships again without an unseen force manipulating him behind the scenes. Good times were ahead in the coming months and years.

  In the meantime, though, there were loose ends to tie up.

  Two of the three Guard soldiers he’d interviewed had willingly betrayed the Taran Empire, but the third—Alan, the comm tech—was the victim of Nox’s subversion. Kaen immediately put in a recommendation for Alan’s sentencing to be overturned.

  As soon as he was finished, Kaen headed for Leon’s lab. He suspected the young scientist already had designs on further research into the alien tech, but it was important to set some ground rules.

  Leon was talking with his two associates. They cut off their conversation as soon as they saw Kaen.

  “Sir, what can we do for you?” Leon asked.

  “I wanted to thank you again for helping to break the alien’s hold over me,” Kaen replied.

  “Of course, Colonel. I only wish we’d known sooner.” Leon studied him. “Doctor Elric and I believe we have calibrated a scan to make it easy to monitor your condition.”

  “We’ve adapted that to the routine medical exams for all soldiers to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Tess added.

  “Good work,” Kaen acknowledged. “I take it you’ve used scans of Jared to test the new systems?”

  Leon nodded. “I know he’s a prisoner and not a test subject, sir…”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Kaen rested his elbow on the counter of the central workstation. “Regardless of what atrocities Jared helped commit, he’s still a person with rights. We can’t keep him as an experimental tool for our own gains.”

  “I would never think of it,” Leon replied. “The thing is, though, we can learn things by studying him that we can’t gain through any other means.”

  “I’m well aware. I recognize my former state makes me rather biased, but we need to understand the magnitude of this threat. Can anyone become subverted by touch, or is the procedure more involved?”

  “We were just wondering the same thing, sir,” Jack said.

  Kaen took a slow breath. “I can give you two days to study Jared. That aligns with our vetting time for suspects in any investigation. To continue study beyond that point would violate our ethical codes of conduct.”

  Leon glanced at his team. “That doesn’t give us much time, but we’ll make the most of it.”

  Kaen stepped back toward the door. “Good. I want to know how to take these aliens down.”

  — — —

  Two days would hardly be enough time to run all the testing scenarios he’d like, but Leon was glad they’d be able to use Jared to a positive end after all the harm he’d caused.

  After working for hours straight, Leon had his team take a short break. He needed to see Kira off on her mission, and he knew Tess and Jack would work smarter after a power nap.

  “How’d your team react to the plan?” Leon asked Kira while he watched her toss items into her travel bag.

  “Excited for the thrill of the challenge,” she replied. “I still wish Ellen weren’t in there. As helpful as she may end up being, I hate having to worry about civilians.”

  “She can take care of herself pretty well.”

  “I know resourcefulness runs in your family, but this isn’t any old enemy we’re up against.”

  Leon nodded, thinking back about all the times Ellen had talked herself out of tough spots while they were kids. “At least she’s adept at mental guards. She’s in a better position to protect herself than most would be.”

  “This is true.”

  “By the way, we’ve been given two days to study Jared before we give him the same neural cocktail we used on Kaen. Elric and I should be able to develop an effective treatment for Chancellor Hale once you get her back here, assuming it’ll be more difficult than helping the colonel.”

  “If it’s even possible to get the alien presence out of her.”

  “I thought I was supposed to be the skeptical scientist here. Why the ‘if’?” Leon asked.

  Kira leaned against the wall. “What if the longer the being is in someone, the more difficult it is to remove?”

  Leon nodded. “So, we have no way of knowing how long the chancellor has been subverted—or if she’s been someone else all along.”

  “Hale has been the chancellor since we were little kids…”

  “Exactly. If she’s been an alien that whole time, how much of the original her would be left? She may have been a young woman when she was first taken over, for all we know.”

  “What would you do in that case?”

  “Bring her back here and see if there’s anything we can do for her. At a minimum, she’ll have information.”

  Leon took a step toward Kira, seeing the concern in her eyes. “Do they want you to extract that information?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll do my best to accomplish this op’s objectives.”

  He could see the worry written on her face, but Leon had to acknowledge that Kira shouldn’t be going anywhere. Aside from his own feelings about her and his desire to see her safe and secure, the scientist in him recognized that Kira had undergone a major transformation; too much was still unknown about the extent of those changes. She should be under close observation, not out in the field where there were so many variables.

  Why is Sandren okay with this? Leon asked himself, though he already knew the answer. Aside from her telepathic skills, Kira was part of a team with unique capabilities related to covert data extraction. The team was stronger when it was intact. Despite Kira’s precarious position, it was worth the risk because her going along kept the team together.

  All the same, Leon had a responsibility to say what no one else seemed willing to bring up. “I don’t like the idea of you going into a dangerous situation like this, Kira. If you started to change—”

  “This again? You knew the deal when we agreed to give our relationship another try,” Kira shot back.

  Her tone stung, even though Leon knew she made a valid point. He had understood exactly what he was getting into. Kira’s career was her first love, no matter how much she cared about him, too. But the circumstances had changed. This wasn’t just about her being in the Guard. She, herself, was undergoing a change that transcended job responsibilities or re
lationship status. Duty may come first, but not at the expense of individual identity.

  “I would never stand between you and the Guard, Kira,” Leon said in what he hoped was a calm tone. “My concern is that we still know so little about what’s going on with you.”

  “You said yourself that I’m too stubborn to let this thing get the better of me.”

  “I did, yes.”

  “So, everything’s fine,” Kira stated.

  “No, it’s not fine! Colonel Kaen was subverted by some sort of alien parasite, Chancellor Hale is in the same situation, and a rogue telekinetic psychopath made you a medical experiment—”

  “Leon,” Kira placed her hands on his arms, “I know you mean well, but this isn’t helping.”

  He looked into her hazel eyes. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to be concerned.”

  “No, it’s not, but I haven’t had any transformations since that one. I can’t live the rest of my life on a maybe. My life here is about taking action, and I adjust when I have to. Right now, the Guard needs me out there with my team.”

  Leon looked down. “I didn’t mean to stop you. I’m just afraid of what may happen when you’re put in a stressful situation. Those are the kind of circumstances where something in you could trigger.”

  “I appreciate your concern, but let me worry about me. Study my nanites when you finish with Jared.”

  “All right,” Leon agreed. “But promise me you’ll be careful.”

  Kira gave him a kiss. “I always am.”

  — — —

  A wave of heat struck Ellen as soon as the shuttle door opened. She blinked as the dry air hit her eyes.

  I’d forgotten how hot it can get here in the summer. She walked down the shuttle’s ramp onto the landing platform next to the Mysaran capital building.

  Unlike the glass tower housing the Elusian government, the Mysaran capital building was only two stories and hewn of black stone. The higher temperature from the planet’s proximity to the sun dictated architecture to match the extreme landscape.

  Elusia, as a cool world rich with sea life, provided the water to sustain Mysar’s agricultural industry under massive biodomes. Plant life flourished in the intense sun, when temperature in the domes was regulated. The mutually beneficially arrangement of Elusia providing fish and water while Mysar provided plants and metal ores from the planet’s many mines was the foundation of the Elvar Trinary’s economy.

  Now, though, with Elusia in the Taran Empire, Mysar was facing a future on its own—a future that wouldn’t be sustainable with their current operations.

  Ellen had sworn allegiance to Elusia and the Empire, but she still cared about her Mysaran neighbors. She’d gone to school on the planet and had many friends still living there with young families of their own. If those people were being led by an alien outsider working toward its own twisted ends, then she needed to do everything she could to help stop that menace. It was the only way she could start making up for her deceit.

  She looked over the capital building, her jaw set with determination. Inside was an enemy lair, and she had to make an opening for Kira’s team to come in to free the Mysaran people.

  “Is it always this hot?” Nico asked from next to her.

  Ellen glanced at the Elusian president’s assistant coming down the ramp behind her. President Joris had entrusted Nico with the secret of Ellen’s true mission; he’d rendezvous with the Guard ship once it arrived to serve as a political liaison while Ellen and Kira’s team were on the inside. That way, if anything started to go poorly, Nico could give an informal heads up to President Joris rather than having an official Guard communication on the record. After all, the Guard should have no business on Mysar, especially in terms of taking military action. The more communications handled via backchannels, the better.

  “Mysar is a veritable hellscape compared to our icy Elusia,” Ellen replied to his comment.

  “No wonder they have such an attitude problem. I’d be angry all the time in this heat, too.” Nico wiped beads of perspiration from his brow with the back of his hand.

  “You might be onto something there.” Ellen took a step away from the shuttle and turned around. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I can. The Guard spaceship should arrive tomorrow.”

  The young man nodded. “I’ll be waiting for them. Good luck.” He returned to the shuttle.

  Ellen walked toward the government building’s entrance while the shuttle took off behind her. Even passing into the building’s shadow, the oppressive heat barely lessened.

  “Hello,” she called to a sentry posted at the entrance. “I’m Ellen Calleti. I’m here to see Dominic Thoreau.”

  The sentry consulted the HUD on his helmet. “I see you on the list. Reception will direct you inside.”

  “Thank you.” Ellen nodded as she passed by.

  The revolving door cycled to allow her inside. She breathed in the cool, conditioned air. It was still at least five degrees warmer than the interior temperatures she was used to on Elusia, but at least her lungs didn’t feel like they were burning.

  A man and a woman with dark features were seated behind a reception desk directly ahead, and they examined Ellen with interest.

  “Hello. Dominic Thoreau should be expecting me,” she told them. “I’m Ellen Calleti.”

  The female receptionist made an entry on her console hidden behind the counter. “Take the elevator on the left down to Sublevel 4. Mr. Thoreau will meet you there.”

  Ellen inclined her head and walked across the lobby to the elevator door. She pressed the call button. Five seconds later, the elevator doors parted, and she stepped inside.

  To her surprise, the elevator’s control panel had destinations listed all the way to Sublevel 22. What the Mysarans lacked by way of a skyline, they more than made up for underground.

  The elevator zipped to its destination of Sublevel 4 in a matter of seconds, and the doors parted to reveal a well-appointed lobby space complete with hydroponic plants, padded seating, and holographic wall art.

  A man with dark hair and blue eyes approached from the left hallway feeding into the lobby. “Ellen, I didn’t expect to ever see you back on Mysar.”

  “Unforeseen developments have forced a change,” she replied. “It’s good to see you, Dominic.”

  “Likewise.” Dominic held out his arm. “Come, we’ll talk in my office.”

  She followed him down the tiled hall to an opaque glass door at the end. The office beyond was sleek and modern with a black sofa and glass coffee table near the door, a small conference table, and a wooden desk near the left wall—quite a luxury item on a world with so few trees.

  Dominic gestured to the couch, and she took a seat while admiring the viewscreen across the entire side wall. The image was presently set to a tropic seashore.

  “Beats staring at a rockface, doesn’t it?” Dominic commented.

  “That it does,” Ellen agreed.

  “So, what brings you here?”

  “I’m looking for a new way to continue our original work.”

  Dominic placed his arm along the back of the sofa and crossed his legs. “That plan was undone when Elusia joined the Empire.”

  “Thus realizing the threat we’ve feared for the sake of the Elvar Trinary. If we wish to keep the dream of independence alive, this is the time we must act.” Ellen mirrored his position on the couch, looking the older man in the eyes. “I’ve come to aid in those efforts. The question is, do you still hold those same convictions?”

  “The Mysaran government has never thought otherwise. It’s Elusia that abandoned us.”

  “Circumstances beyond my control, as you well know,” Ellen replied.

  “What do you propose?” Dominic asked.

  “Well, for starters, we need to make sure the Empire leaves us alone.”

  “And how do you suggest we do that?”

  Ellen smiled as she prepared to tell the lie that was sure to get her back in the Mysarans’
favor. “By finally taking out Elusia and claiming this entire system for ourselves.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Kira set her travel bag down on her bunk. Her team’s cabin on the Raven felt different now that she was leaving Leon behind on Orion Station. She’d been on so many missions recently that the small ship was beginning to feel more like home than her actual cabin, but now someone was waiting for her elsewhere.

  The shift didn’t alter how she perceived her team or her commitment to the Guard—they would always be her extended family—yet, she now had a new sense of grounding. Someone beyond the people she fought alongside cared for her, and that would make her fight even harder to make sure she made it back home.

  Nia entered the cabin, interrupting Kira’s thoughts. The soldier cast her a wary glance as she swung her bag onto her bunk above Kira’s. “Out of quarantine for good?”

  “Who knows? But I hope so.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “No different than before Valta. That’s why this is so frustrating.”

  Nia nodded. “What was it like to transform?”

  “The one time it happened, it was so fast I didn’t even feel it. But then… I don’t know, something wasn’t right. It hurt.” Kira sat down on her bunk. “I need the three of you to keep an eye on me.”

  “We always do.”

  “This is different. It’s a risk for me to come with you. Take care of yourselves first and foremost.”

  “No one gets left behind, Kira,” Nia stated.

  “Just…” Kira looked down and took a deep breath. “I couldn’t bear it if I inadvertently hurt any of you. You’ll use those sedatives if—”