Molly bobbed her head as she reviewed a holo that Maya had just passed her. “I see. So she didn’t go for putting a bullet through them?” she confirmed.
Maya shook her head. “Nope.”
Molly smiled. “I like her…”
Maya and Paige exchanged glances, relaxing a little. They knew that violence had its place, especially in an outfit like the military; but still, they found it a relief that they weren’t going to have to be down for the killing on this one. Even though some of the fuckheads downright deserved it.
Molly pushed the holoscreen back toward Maya. “Okay, finish the background checks on these guys, and see if there is a way to get them all in one place. This will be far cleaner if we can round them up and then hand them over in one go.”
Maya nodded in agreement.
Molly turned to leave. “As soon as we get done with this business with Shaa, that’s next on our agenda.”
Molly breezed out of the room, pleased they were making progress on something.
So it sounds like you’re going to go ahead and let Giles do this?
Yes. I think I need to. We’ve tried the overt assault, and we need another way.
And the fact that he isn’t even on your team…?
It’s a concern, of course. But we supported him in regaining that talisman, and I have a gut feeling our job isn’t done with that yet… Plus, the guy is convinced he knows what he’s doing. And I’m almost tempted to believe him.
And if he can’t get out?
Then we find a way to get him out.
The odds of success on this are low. I can share with you the parameters if you-
That won’t be necessary, Oz. I think it’s something he needs to do… and that we need to let him do.
Well, you can’t pretend to me you’re not uneasy about it.
Of course I’m uneasy about it.
Molly continued down the corridor, heading back to her quarters. There was work to be done before they would be ready to deploy Giles in the morning.
ArchAngel, Medical Facility
Arlene busied herself with checking the implants that the ship’s surgeons had inserted into Giles’s eye and the side of his head by his ear.
Sean looked down at the middle-aged professor sitting in the chair in front of him. “I need to make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to do,” he said, his face the most serious Giles had ever seen it.
Giles nodded. “I understand. We’ve been over it.”
Sean closed his eyes for a second before continuing. “But the tech on that ship… if it falls into enemy hands, it’s programmed to self-destruct. The EI on board won’t let it just stick around.”
Giles breathed a sigh of frustration. “I know. I get it. You’re going to have the ship drop me, and then gate out of there.”
“Yes,” Sean pushed, “meaning that you’re going to be on that moon, all alone, with no means of escape.”
Giles glanced over at the kit Arlene had him rigged up to for the testing phase. “We had better hope that this shit works, then.”
Arlene, who had been ignoring the conversation until then, peered at him over her tinted specs. “This ‘shit’ will work. My concern is that you’ll get killed before you can work your magic.”
Giles shook his head against the headrest, and then relaxed backwards, knowing that this was going to go on until he was actually landed and out of their safety zone.
Giles was struck by a thought. “You know, it makes no difference about the ship. Even if there were a ship there that I could use to escape, they’d have it, and the airspace, so locked down, there is no way I’d get out of there alive.”
Sean glanced up at Arlene, who had paused what she was doing and was still peering at him. “He has a point,” Sean agreed.
Arlene went back to the holoscreen of the diagnostics. Both men could tell she was anything but happy about the situation.
“Okay,” she said finally. “They did a nice job with the auditory implant. I’ve got it hooked up with the existing language chip you already had implanted there, and I’ve run a few firmware updates on it. Should be an even smoother experience, with less lag. The retinal one is picking up the quantum comm perfectly, and, as instructed, they’ve buried the connection button even deeper into your arm than they would normally. If you need to hit it, you’re going to need to really press deep in to get it. At least like this, it will probably avoid detection if they search you.”
She took the tinted glasses off, and stood up from her chair next to him. “Your nanocytes will take care of the incisions. They won’t scar, so there’ll be no hint of the implants after you’re healed.”
Giles sat up, and rolled down his shirtsleeves. “Okay. Thanks, Arlene.”
Sean, with nothing left to say, stood up as well. He waved to Arlene, and then walked silently out of the door.
Giles watched him leave, and then shrugged, not expecting any sympathy from Arlene, either.
Aboard The Empress
“You sure we’re far enough out?” Molly asked.
Sean nodded. “Should be. I don’t know of any tech that could see us from here.”
Molly’s eyes were fixed on the screen ahead of her. They were able to see the former-moon, with the odd ship coming in and out every so often.
“Looks like a lot of traffic,” she commented.
Crash shifted in his seat. “Yeah. I’ve been watching their flight path; I suspect they’re doing exercises, rather than actually going anywhere.”
Molly mumbled her acknowledgment.
“There!” Sean said, highly animated and pointing his finger into one corner of the screen. “That’s him.”
Joel had been sitting in one of the console chairs further back in the cockpit. He got up and moved forward in order to see better.
Arlene punched some keys in her holo console, to the left of where the others had congregated. “That’s him, indeed. He’s on approach.”
The team watched as The Scamp Princess approached Chom-X9. Occasionally, one of them would shift their weight, or check something on another monitor; but other than that, there was silence in the cockpit.
Eventually, Arlene broke the quiet. “He’s landed.”
“Put his readout onscreen,” Molly instructed.
A moment later, they were seeing and hearing everything Giles was experiencing.
Joel leaned back in his chair to catch Arlene’s eye. “Can he hear us?” he asked.
Arlene shook her head. “No. But I can open a channel to his implant when we need to,” she confirmed.
They watched as Giles stepped out of the craft, moving slowly and carefully as he went. It took a few moments before he spun around, revealing the view onscreen of the tribe of Zhyns with blasters trained on him.
“By my Ancestors!” Brock exclaimed. “How many of them are there?” He only vocalized what the others were thinking.
Sean leaned forward on his console. “Yeah, and my bet is they didn’t all come out to say hello.”
Joel glanced over to Molly. “Looks like he has more than a few defectors. Seems like he probably has more of an army at his disposal.”
Molly rolled her lips together. “Certainly explains a few things,” she admitted. “You know, the intel that we receive may be helpful after all.”
They watched as Giles was taken into the custody of the muscle-y, angry-looking Zhyn. He was cuffed at his wrists, and a restraining device was placed around his neck. They all recognized what that did, but no one said a word. Giles had made his choice, and there was no turning back now.
Molly glanced over at Arlene. “Now what?” she asked.
Arlene removed her headset and sat back in her console chair, watching the screen at the front of the cockpit. “Now,” she told them, “we wait.”
* * *
Jack sat cross-legged in the main cabin, keeping the others company. Idly she swung her foot up and down.
“So you think you can track down all these fucktards?” she asked Paige, more making conversation than anything else.
Paige glanced over at Pieter, who was immersed in something on his holo. He looked up and nodded. “Yeah, we should be able to…” he said absently.
Jack peered over and realized he had created a copy of the screen that was in the cockpit.
So much for keeping them away from the distraction of the main event, she thought.
Maya muttered something to herself.
Paige nudged her. “What is it?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at her holoscreen.
“Background check on one of our tangos. I really don’t think this guy deserves to go into the system.” She showed her holoscreen to Paige, whose eyes widened in horror as she read his rap sheet. “And they let him out?” Paige clarified, hardly believing what she was reading.
Maya nodded. “Every time. And each time, he has gotten involved in more murders. It’s like the system is corrupt or something…”
Jack leaned forward, jarred by what she was overhearing. “Let me see,” she said, reaching for the holoscreen.
Maya shared it with her and watched Jack’s reaction.
After a few seconds of scanning the background summary, Jack spoke. “This shit can’t be allowed to go on. I’ll have a word with Molly, but when we bring these guys in, this one won’t be handed over.” Her eyes blazed with a passion that none of the team had seen before. She was possessed by anger; her whole aura pulsed with fury.
She passed the holoscreen back to Maya and stood up. Without another word, she strode off in the direction of the cargo hold.
Maya and Paige looked at each other, surprised by this glimpse of Jack. Maya broke the silence. “She has a point,” she said, folding the screen away and moving on to the next thing.
Paige went back to her work, glad that there were fighters in this world.
Warriors like Jack, who cared.
Chom-X9
“You don’t understand. I have important information for the High Marshall. I’ve come from the Federation. They don’t know I’m here!” Giles shouted back through the dark, damp corridor as his new imprisoners slammed the cell door shut on him.
They had led him, not to speak with Shaa, as he had hoped, but rather, down to some kind of dungeon with metal walls.
He kicked at the door in frustration, and turned away, looking at the state of the place he’d willingly walked into. “Damn cliché of a dungeon, if you ask me!” he retorted to the silent Zhyn whose footsteps he could already hear walking away.
He wasted little more time on his emotions. In fact, once alone, his demeanor changed. He stood more upright, and calmly looked around the cell, checking for ingresses and vents, and anything else that might be either a help or a threat.
He searched around for signs of cameras, knowing in all likelihood he was being watched. Although, there was no need to overdo the play-acting for the cameras. Things would progress soon enough.
Finally, he noticed a little spot in one corner of the cell.
Bingo, he thought, careful not to gaze at it for too long. He’d found his camera. Now he knew where his audience was, he could carefully hide his conversations with Arlene…
Shaa’s office, Chom-X9
“Your Highness, the prisoner we picked up yesterday is still asking for you.”
The voice interrupted Shaa’s train of thought.
Slightly irritated, Shaa turned from the window that looked out onto the open expanse of rocky terrain. “What does he want?” he asked gruffly.
Davon lowered his eyes and clasped his hands. “He’s saying he wants to… er… defect, sir.”
Shaa swung around. “On what grounds?”
Davon wrung his hands tightly. “He says he has information. About the Federation. Says he was close enough to have intel that we would want.”
Shaa waved his hand dismissively and looked back out of the window. “Yes, but why? And what could he possibly have that would be of use to us?”
Davon shrugged. “I don’t know. Allow me to find out more.” He bowed and started to leave.
Shaa’s voice stopped him before he had made it to the door. “And who is he, exactly?” he asked idly.
Davon pulled up his holo. “Our records show that he is one of the long living ones. Son of Kurns, who we know has always been on the inner circle. Never had a way to get to him, though; he was always locked up tight within the empire.”
Shaa shuffled his weight a little before turning back to his second in command. “Have him brought up here. I’d like to see this Son of Kurns. If he has anything interesting, he can share it before we dispose of him.”
Davon bowed again, and this time hurried out of the room.
Shaa turned back to the landscape in front of him, imagining what it would be like, populated with other believers - other Zhyn who were prepared to go the distance.
Imagine what I could accomplish, then. The Federation wouldn’t have a chance.
Chapter 11
Aboard ArchAngel, Lance’s office
“It’s been twenty four hours!” Molly’s voice was a little higher than she had hoped it would come out.
Sean sat on one of the General’s sofas, rubbing his face. Molly could tell he was worried, despite his assurances that Giles probably knew what he was doing.
She glanced over at him. “You’ve changed your tune,” she said to him, a hint of accusation leaking into her statement.
Lance hovered next to his drinks tray, looking at the small group of worried friends who had appeared in his office. “As have you,” he pointed out to Molly.
Molly put one hand on her hip, trying to find the words that would be helpful. Arlene sat patiently, waiting for her opportunity to weigh in. Joel sat next to her, very aware of her tension, contemplating the operational variables that might give them an edge.
Molly finally found her way to express herself. “I thought he’d be in and out by now. That was what we’d agreed to.”
Arlene took her hands from her mouth. “It was never going to happen like that; that isn’t how these things work. He’s in for the long haul. And he knew that,” she added.
Molly honed in on Arlene. “You knew what to expect?” She paused, watching carefully, reading Arlene’s calmness. Then she saw it. “You’ve done this before. That’s why you were both so confident. This is what you’ve been doing for the Federation for years - pretending that you’re just out there, gallivanting and exploring and reporting back some cultural studies - but really, you’re spies. You’ve been grifting our enemies forever!”
Molly shook her head in disbelief, not just in the revelation and her naiveté that she didn’t see it before, but also at her surprise that she could see it now. It all seemed so clear, standing here in front of Arlene.
Arlene pulled her shoulders up, and then relaxed them; her hands now tidily perched in her lap. “You see that now because I’m allowing you to,” she explained, as if reading Molly’s thoughts. “It was too risky to let you know before then.”
Molly glanced over at Sean. “And you! You don’t seem surprised.”
Sean wiped his face again with one hand; the other hand was on his knee as he sat forward on the sofa. He didn’t speak. He just looked up at the General, and then down at the ornate rug under his feet.
Molly looked at Joel just to make sure she wasn’t going mad. Joel seemed just as surprised as she was. She could feel his mind churning through the realization that they’d been played.
The General poured himself a drink, and then turned back to face them. “The point is he’s in now. So what are we going to do about it?”
It had become Arlene’s operation, by some kind of unspoken agreement. She drew herself up a little and took a deep breath. “The way this normally goes down - ”
Molly looked down and shook her head, seething at the reminder of their deceit.
Wow; looks like you’re having a reaction to the words ‘normally goes down’.
Well, do you blame me? I mean, how were we supposed to know that this is what they fucking do?
On the plus side, it sounds like they’ve got this.
Yeah. I’ll count that blessing later. When I’ve finished reeling.
Arlene had continued with her narrative of what to expect. “…a few days for him to get an audience with Shaa. Or one of his henchmen. Either way, it’s a waiting game until then.”
Joel brought his attention back to the conversation. “And when he gets his audience?” he asked, shifting on the sofa to face Arlene a little more.
Arlene nodded. “Then, the real work begins. Giles has been fitted with the surveillance devices that we can hook up to the analysis software. This is going to help me determine exactly what kind of sociopath we’re working against. Once we know that, and we have a complete profile, Giles will know exactly what to do to gain his trust, and in turn, how to take him down.”
Lance looked at her briefly before returning to the task of studying the contents of his glass.
Sean suddenly sat up. “Okay. I guess that’s it, then. Nothing more for us to do until…?”
Arlene thought through the timeline. “We’re looking at a few days before we have a profile, and then it’ll probably take a week or so before we see any significant changes in their dynamic. And that’s assuming we get straight to Shaa, and not one of his goons. If we have to process through one of them to get to Shaa, it will add on a week or two.”
Molly folded her arms. “So what are we meant to do until then?” she asked, looking now to the General.
Lance realized the question was directed at him, and pulled himself back from his own concerns about Giles. “Right… well,” he said, putting his glass back down onto the drinks tray. “ADAM tells me your team has made some progress on that police captain’s death back on Estaria.”
Molly nodded, not entirely sure why that was relevant right now.
The Ascension Myth Box Set Page 121