by A. K. DuBoff
“That’s not really why I’m here, but I can mention it,” Ellen said.
“Thanks.” He looked her over. “So, was this just meant as a social call?”
“Not exclusively, but we didn’t really get a chance to catch up before,” Ellen replied. “How’s Kira doing?”
A dull ache formed in Leon’s chest hearing her name. This wasn’t the time to be apart—and he especially didn’t like her going to Gaelon. Playing into the enemy’s hand sounded like a terrible idea. Maybe it was necessary, but they hadn’t even taken the time to determine if there were alternatives.
“Uh, Leon?” his sister prompted.
“Sorry, it’s been a long few days. She’s okay. Adjusting.”
Ellen nodded. “I just about shite myself when she transformed.”
“Yeah, I know that feeling.” His stomach flipped, remembering what it had been like to see Kira lose herself the first time.
“I can’t believe someone was evil enough to do that to her,” Ellen murmured.
Leon knew that his sister was under a similar NDA to the one he’d signed when joining the Guard, so she was likely looking for someone to talk to who was also in the inner circle. After what she’d witnessed with Kira’s transformation and the Mysaran chancellor, the Tararian Guard had deemed it necessary to debrief her, including disclosure about elements of MTech’s work. She had already figured out the alien possession related to Hale, so drawing a connection between the subversion and the bizarre experimentation wasn’t a stretch.
“The capacity for evil never ceases to astound me,” Leon agreed.
Ellen slumped. “I’ve met some of the people who were subverted here on Mysar. It’s awful. They remember what they did, but it’s like this half-recalled nightmare that keeps nagging at the back of their minds.”
“I can’t imagine being a prisoner within myself like that.”
“What Kira did for Cynthia Hale…” Ellen swallowed. “It was a kindness, no matter what anyone may say otherwise.”
“I heard about that.” Leon looked down. “Kira hasn’t wanted to talk about what happened on Mysar.”
“I wouldn’t have believed any of it if I hadn’t seen it for myself. She transformed into that ‘Robus state’, and it’s like she skipped across the room. I’ve never seen anything move so fast. And those teeth and claws… it was terrifying and awing at the same time.”
“I’ve seen them. Definitely don’t want to be on the receiving end.”
“Better stay on her good side.” Ellen cracked a smile.
“I knew better than to cross Kira even before that,” Leon replied. Even as a teenager, Kira’s ‘I am not amused’ glare had been legendarily dagger-like. He’d been the recipient exactly once, and from that point on, he’d chosen his words very carefully.
“How are things going with you two, by the way?” Ellen asked. “You being an item kind of came out of nowhere.”
“Not really. We were together for a long time.”
“Yeah, a decade ago. Had you stayed in touch?”
“No, hadn’t seen her or communicated a word since we broke up.”
She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow in the judging-older-sister pose he’d always detested. “So why now?”
“Because we reconnected, and there was still something there. I don’t think I need to explain myself.”
“It’s just surprising, that’s all.”
It was Leon’s turn to give her a nonplussed look. “And why is that?”
“You always seemed so committed to your work.”
Yeah, to fill a void. Leon hadn’t realized until he’d reconnected with Kira that he’d initially thrown himself into his work as a way to deal with their sudden breakup. One day they had been talking about moving to Mysar together for school, and the next, Kira said she was joining the Guard. He’d never learned why she’d changed her mind, though he’d been trying to find the right time to ask her. School and work had been his escape from that unresolved relationship, and by the time he was emotionally healed, focusing on his career was a way of life.
“My work is still important to me,” Leon replied to his sister. “But there’s room for other things, too.”
“You uprooted your entire existence to follow her to the Guard.”
“Ellen, you do realize that I’m now working with an organization that has galactic reach, right? Kira or not, this was a great job opportunity.”
“But what about Valta?”
Leon crossed his arms. “Is this coming from Mom and Dad?”
“Oh, don’t get me started on them.” She sighed. “I’ve only talked to them once since everything went down with MTech, and that entire conversation was about how we’d both abandoned them.”
“Seriously?”
She shrugged. “I learned years ago not to let it get to me. You have to follow your own path.”
“Well, I didn’t have a lot of prospects left on Valta, with the MTech lab getting condemned and all.”
“You don’t think they’ll reopen?”
“Ellen, I honestly have no clue what kind of future MTech will have. Their leadership was being controlled by telepathic aliens. I don’t know if there is anybody willing to pick up the torch and rebuild the company into something worthy of contributing to the Taran Empire. That’s your area, not mine.”
She evaluated him over the screen. “You said that like Mysar was part of the Empire.”
“If you’re there, I assume that’s the plan for the world. With Elusia rejoined, I can only imagine Mysar and Valta aren’t far behind.”
“That’s my hope, yes,” Ellen admitted. “It’ll take some convincing.”
“Do you think you’ll be successful?”
“It’s not a matter of that. I think it’s inevitable. This universe is too vast, and the challenges are too great, for us to consider facing it alone.”
Leon’s eyes widened. “Wow, you’ve come around since your Sovereign days.”
“I’ve seen another, better way. People are allowed to change.”
“It’s encouraged.”
“And I’m a better person for it.” She looked down and took a slow breath. “I didn’t mean to judge your relationship with Kira. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“What makes you think I would?”
She hesitated. “As committed as you were to your work, Kira is in the Guard. That’s a lifestyle, not just a job.”
“I know, and I accept that.”
“But do you really? It doesn’t bother you when she goes off on a mission to stars-know-where and is getting shot at or being infected with experimental nanites?”
Leon’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of question is that? Of course it bothers me. But I accept it as a reality, and I’d never ask her to change who she is for me.”
Ellen smiled and chuckled to herself.
“What?” Leon demanded, a bite in his voice.
“You passed the test.”
“Huh?”
Ellen met his gaze, soft and compassionate. “You love and accept her for who she is. Too many people fall in love with someone and expect them to be molded into the partner they want to have. But you understand what you’re getting into. That’s real. That’s what lasts.”
Leon relaxed. “Oh, that.”
“I know, sage analysis from the person who hasn’t ever held down a relationship for more than six months. But still, I know something that’ll last when I see it. I just haven’t been lucky enough to find that for myself.”
“I’m in this one for the long haul, so you better say something now if you have concerns,” Leon cautioned.
“I hope the Guard has dental insurance, because those fangs—”
“Ellen!”
She laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” His sister composed herself. “But seriously, I’m really happy you two got back together. I always liked her for you.”
“Thanks, me too.”
Ellen straightened. “Oh!
So I said this was partially a social call, but I did have one official bit of news to pass along.”
“What’s that?” Leon asked.
“I have a feeling something still isn’t right on Mysar.”
Leon wiped his hands down his face. “Ellen, not again. I won’t be your intermediary for getting help from the Guard.”
She bristled. “I’m not requesting help. I’m just letting you know that I’m not yet convinced the problem was completely taken care of when Hale and her possessor died.”
“Well—” Leon bit his tongue.
“What were you about to say?”
“Um.” Leon wished he were better at backpedaling. “Just because Hale died, that doesn’t mean the alien presence died, too. It’s possible that only its control point was severed.”
“That thing could still be alive?”
“Possibly. I can’t be certain,” he hedged, “but we’ll have more information once Kira and her team get back from their current mission.”
“Shite! How many more of those things are out there?”
“I have no idea. We think they’re based in Gaelon,” he revealed.
Ellen slumped back in her chair, dropping her image to the bottom half of the screen. “They were our neighbors this whole time?”
“Keep that need-to-know,” he cautioned. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything to you, but since you’re investigating what went on there—what might still be going on—it seems like good information to have in the back of your mind.”
She nodded absently. “Yes, thanks. I’ll learn what I can.”
“Be careful, Ellen. We don’t know the extent of what these aliens can do.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can’t possibly get myself into as much trouble as I did last time.”
Leon sucked in a breath. “Please don’t take that as a personal challenge.”
She laughed. “No. I’m over trying to fix everything myself. My recent glimpse behind the scenes at how the Guard operates was a good reminder of how it’s best to let an experienced team of pros handle the heavy lifting.”
“All right, I’ll hold you to it.”
“Won’t be a problem.”
Leon nodded. “Okay. Well, let us know if you come across anything concrete. I suspect we’ll learn a lot more on this end over the next day or two.”
“Good luck,” Ellen wished him back. “If there’s something still amiss, we’ll find out what it is and fix it.”
CHAPTER 6
The Raven dropped out of subspace at the navigation beacon that serviced the Elvar Trinary. Rather than its previous route into that system, the ship instead veered toward the adjacent Gaelon System—the place Kira had always been taught to avoid.
In retrospect, she should have questioned the travel ban. Rarely were places completely off-limits. Of course, some systems had more environmental hazards than were worth messing with, but the fact that no one had ever given a definitive reason as to why Gaelon was such a bad place should have raised suspicions.
As the Raven glided into Gaelon space in stealth mode, a feeling of profound disquiet overtook Kira. She wandered into the galley and stood by the back viewport, which afforded a clear survey of the starscape beyond. It appeared peaceful… but anything could be lurking in the black.
What kind of countermeasures do they have in place? If no one has documented the details of this system before, there has to be something keeping people from reporting back.
Kira sighed.
Kira softened.
Jasmine tsked.
Kira stared out the viewport for another three minutes before she decided to go down one deck to the recreation level, where most members of the crew were congregated.
As she hopped off the ladder, Kira spotted the three soldiers on her team, along with Sven, and Gil—the Raven’s mechanic—lounging on the couches around the main screen in the rec room. Some mindless comedy movie was playing, but Kira didn’t recognize it.
The group erupted into laughter at a joke that must have been referencing something earlier in the film.
Nia happened to look over and notice Kira watching them. “Join us!” she called out.
Kira moseyed over, stopping behind Sven where he was seated on the couch. “I didn’t realize there was a party going on down here.”
Sven tilted his head back so he could see her. “You hurried off from our chat earlier before I got the chance to tell you.”
“Oh, you two had a heart-to-heart?” Ari raised an eyebrow.
“I demoed all my best dance moves for him,” Kira shot back.
“She did, and it was glorious,” Sven said, playing along.
She patted the engineer’s shoulder. “Good bonding time. The rest of you shouldn’t have been so quick to nap.”
Kyle pursed his lips. “Aren’t you the one who told us to always rest when we get the chance because we never know what’s ahead?”
Kira smiled. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
“Great leadership, Kira,” Nia ribbed.
“It’s a gift.”
“Approaching Gaelon System heliopause,” said a female voice Kira recognized as belonging to Aleya, the Raven’s first officer.
“Social hour is over,” Kira announced.
“Work, work, work.” Kyle rose from the couch, followed by the others as they let out weary sighs.
“Don’t sound so enthused, everyone.” Kira’s gaze passed over the team. They looked far more worn and tired than usual.
She felt it, too. They’d been on the go for almost two weeks
straight, which was significantly more intensive than their usual routine. Add in the disproportionate number of firefights, and they’d experienced at least two months’ worth of action in that short span.
Kira wished she could offer them some relief, but there was no one else. They were the best team for the job; beyond that, she trusted them. There simply wasn’t anyone else with whom she’d walk into such an unknown, dangerous situation.
“We’ll rest easy when we know the bad guys are no longer a threat,” Nia said on behalf of the group.
“You and me both,” Kira agreed. “I’ll go see what we’re working with and report back in the galley.”
Being such a small ship, there wasn’t a designated briefing area on the vessel. The galley served double duty as a meal space, card table, and a gathering place to discuss mission details.
Before they could have an effective conversation, however, Kira needed to learn what they were up against. She scaled the ladder to the operations deck, where Major Sandren was waiting outside the bridge.
“Get any rest?” he asked her.
“A little. Jasmine and I have been bonding.”
“Best of buddies now,” Jasmine said over the audible comms.
Sandren smiled. “Glad to hear it. Let’s go talk with Aleya and Rodrick to see if they can tell us any more about this system.”
“Sounds like a plan, sir.”
Sandren stepped forward and knocked on the door.
The hatch popped open.
“Come in,” a male voice stated.
Kira hadn’t interacted with Rodrick, the Raven’s captain, on many occasions, but the quiet ex-fighter pilot had always struck her as a measured force to have in command. Whatever observations he and Aleya might make during the upcoming discussion, Kira vowed to listen.
The bridge of the ship was surprisingly spacious, compared to the other accommodations. It consisted of two control panels in the front, accompanied by ergonomic chairs, a central holodisplay used for course plotting and displaying scan results, and two workstations along the side walls, which offered space for additional crew members to directly interface with the ship’s advanced sensor suite.