Scions of Humanity - A Metaphysical Space Opera Adventure (Aeon 14: The Ascension War)
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“Ow! I care about our furry little...buddy. Of course I do.”
Kylie didn’t believe him, but she really didn’t want to get into it. “He’ll show up. That cat has way more than nine lives.”
“Sure does,” Rogers said. “You should know, you paid for the mods. Every time you do that, I think you just reset his lives.”
Winter coughed and dismissed the conversation with a wave of his hand. “He’ll be fine. He’s probably moved in with some governor’s wife and is living the high life of jerky and beer. That cat’s wilier than he gets credit for. Course…he could just be dead,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
“All right,” Kylie sighed. “That’s enough. Everyone knows what they have to do, so let’s do it. I don’t want to give Mulke more time to make his next move than we have to.”
“If he was going to clear out the lab, he probably would’ve done it already.” Grayson studied the map. “And judging by the tracker we got on him, that hasn’t happened yet.”
Thank the stars for small favors.
* * * * *
Kylie sat in the waiting room of the Scorpii Minor Planetary Police, waiting for the person with the ‘appropriate clearance’ to arrive and speak with her.
She wasn’t sure if whoever she was waiting on was incompetent, just wanted to make her sweat, or was actually tied up in traffic. The first two sucked, while the third was just annoying. Either way, they were taking their sweet-ass time.
Since this visit was official, diplomatic business, Kylie wore a black skirt and blazer over her usual flow armor. It was tasteful and conservative, but it was also very, very boring.
Kylie cringed.
Shit. Damn. All the things.
Grayson was right, she shouldn’t have let her ex go. All Nadine would do now was cause complications.
Kylie waited another thirty minutes, and was just about to get up and launch the mission against Mulke, when a tall woman pushed through the doors at the far side of the room and strode directly toward Kylie.
She rose and held out a hand to greet the woman with commander’s bars on her jacket.
“Commander Paula Reynolds,” the woman introduced herself, offering her own hand.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me,” Kylie said as they shook.
“It’s my pleasure, Ms. Rhoads. Or should I call you ‘Captain’?”
Paula turned and led Kylie through the doors and down a hall with large offices on the left overlooking an atrium filled with trees on the right.
“I answer to both,” Kylie replied. “You can use whatever makes you more comfortable.”
The truth was, she liked to use it as a way to gauge what people thought of her, and what level of respect they were prepared to offer.
Paula grunted in response, turning into one of the offices; a large space, though sparse in decoration and personality.
The commander gestured to the chair in front of her desk. “Can I get you an espresso, Captain Rhoads? Maybe a cold iced tea?”
“I’m fine, thank you.” Kylie rubbed her hands together and crossed her legs. She hoped they would be done with the pleasantries.
“Very well. Why don’t you tell me what it is we can do for you?”
“Okay,” Kylie smiled. “Straight to the point, I like that. I’m here on the behalf of the Alliance. Since your relationship is new, we thought it best to inform you that my team and I are working to obtain some tech that was stolen from the Alliance. We work with local law enforcement when appropriate in order to apprehend the thieves.”
Paula sat up straighter. “Stolen Alliance tech is currently on Scorpii Minor?”
“That’s right. We’ve traced the suspects to a lab dirtside. We’re going to do whatever is necessary to stop them and arrest those involved.”
“I see.” Paula shifted in her seat. “And you thought it would be best to inform me of this…as a courtesy?”
Kylie clamped down on the annoyance building inside. “Do you think I shouldn’t have? I wanted you to be aware that we’re not trying to overstep our bounds. We’ll loop you in when we can.”
Paula sighed and stroked her chin. “I guess you feel that I should thank you.”
“We all want your relationship with the Alliance to be a good one. I’m sure you want that as well. Let’s get off on the right foot.”
“Of course. And you have both proof that the tech is here, and an idea of who the thieves are?”
“I do. This isn’t my first rodeo, Commander, I’ve been doing this a long time. If you’ll allow us to do our job without interference, I’d be most grateful.”
“Not that I really have a choice,” Paula said. “Is that it?”
“That’s right,” Kylie smiled gently. “You could, however, make my life more difficult, but that could put myself and my team at risk. The Alliance would not be happy about that. You’ve probably not heard of me, but I report directly to Director Seraphina, and have had several meetings with Tanis Richards over the years.”
Stars…have I turned into the sort of person who name-drops? I miss the good ol’ days when we could just fly in, blow shit up, and not care if we ruffled the locals’ feathers.
Paula’s expression turned wooden, though her eyes glinted with annoyance. “Then I give you my blessing. Will you update me as the mission moves forward?”
I’m pretty sure you’ll get all the updates you need when I blow up the stinking lab, Kylie thought. On the outside, she smiled. “Absolutely, of course.”
Paula stood, and Kylie followed suit so they could shake hands once more.
“Thank you. If you need anything, Ms. Rhoads, please don’t hesitate to ask. Call on my office at any time.”
Kylie nearly ground her teeth. It would seem that the commander’s level of respect for her had dropped.
“I appreciate that, Paula.”
* * * * *
Kylie sighed as she stepped onto the lift to the ground floor of the Planetary Police’s headquarters.
Marie whined.
Oh, he did, did he?
She was going to give it to Grayson when she got back to the ship.
Kylie stepped off the elevator on the ground floor and quickened her pace toward the front door. People were coming and going, and through the glass, she could see colorful flower beds and green shrubs.
She was taking them in when something moved across her view, distorting the greenery.
A shimmersuit that’s acting up?
Possibly.
Kylie smirked.
Kylie nearly rolled her eyes as she walked through the doors. Once outside, she stepped off to the side of the path, pretending to check her purse as she released a nanocloud.
The tiny bots picked up errant air currents, and a moment before her invisible assailant moved in to strike, Kylie spun and grabbed the air with her hand.
Bingo.
Her fingers wrapped around an unseen throat, and she squeezed hard, her augmented muscles giving her an iron grip. After a moment’s decision, she dragged her would-be attacker around the corner, out of view of the windows, while her nano blinded the security cameras.
Reasonably certain she wouldn’t be seen, Kylie slammed the invisible assailant against the wall.
“Who the hell are you?”
No answer came, so she slid her fingers under the shimmersuit’s hood and pulled off the covering.
Nadine.
The woman’s head rested against the cement, and she took a deep breath, staring deep into Kylie’s eyes.
A part of Kylie wanted to back off, but instead, she drew a hidden blade from her purse and pushed it against Nadine’s throat.
“Kylie…don’t. Please, let me explain.”
“Let you explain how you tried to kill me? No thanks. You know I have a big starship, right? It’s hard to miss. You could stop by, send me a message. No need for all this cloak and dagger shit.”
“I couldn’t…I…Things didn’t go the way I wanted. I was doing the best I could in a bad situation. Listen, there’s a group here—you can’t see what they’re doing yet, but they are after the same thing you are. They want the stasis shield plans you’re here to reclaim, and they’re fully prepared to do anything to get their hands on them. You happened to get in their way last night. That’s why they sent me.”
Kylie pinched her eyebrows together. “So you’re working for them? I thought you’d be on our side.”
Nadine sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Kylie rolled her eyes, tired of listening to the same old story again and again. “That’s the problem. You make everything complicated.”
“I’m undercover, all right? If I can get to that lab, and it leads me to person behind it, I’ll bring it all crashing down. We want the same thing.”
“Except Seraphina sent us to desroy it, not to chase ghosts. There’s always another big bad out there, that’s for the locals to deal with, we just keep Alliance tech out of their hands. Not only that, but I doubt Seraphina would send the both of us. So who are you working for?”
“Someone who’s intent on keeping the peace. Someone who wants the same thing you do. The same thing Hegemon Richards wants. Something we all want, but they don’t want to reveal themselves.”
“All your answers are non-answers…just like normal.” Kylie let go of Nadine’s neck and lowered her blade. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“So you’ll let me complete my mission?”
Kylie shook her head. “No. I’ll do what we came to do. Don’t stand in my way.”
“Funny,” Nadine whispered, “I was going to say the same thing to you. ‘Let the cards fall where they may’, isn’t that what you used to say?”
Back when she worked for Maverick, it was.
“I believe in a brighter future now than I did then,” she replied instead.
“I know,” Nadine’s eyes clouded over. “I heard you have a daughter. I always knew the split between you and Grayson was temporary. I could see it on your face when you talked about him.” She reached for Kylie’s shoulder. “I was just glad—”
The space captain swatted her hand away. “If you think using nostalgia will get me to lower my guard, you’re mistaken. I’ll do what I have to. Next time we meet, if you go up against me, I will take you in. Then the Alliance can do what they want with you. This is your last warning.”
Nadine dropped her hand and stood taller. “All right. Then it is what it is. I thought I owed you a warning.”
She picked up her helmet and walked out of the corridor, but she paused to look back. “You’ve never been ruthless, Kylie. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Meekly, she frowned.
“It’s been ten years. People change.”
“You’ve softened,” Nadine said.
Kylie shook her head and sent out a small bit of nano tracking. “Hardly.”
Nadine shrugged before continuing on her way. When the nano bonded with the back of her shimmersuit, Kylie’s HUD lit up.
The words rang hollow, but it was true…nothing had really changed. Still, Kylie felt an extra weight on her shoulders that hadn’t been there before.
CHAPTER 25 - MIRA
STELLAR DATE: 01.06.8960 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: OASS Inquiry, near Pellick
REGION: Khorina System, Outer Alliance
“Probes have eyes on,” Janice announced. “Er…well, I suppose it’s more accurate to say that they don’t have eyes on. Nothing’s on scan.”
Mira folded her arms across her chest and nodded, doing her best to hide the annoyance she felt. “Very well, let’s continue on our vector. Finish the braking maneuver, and let’s get down to Hystera and figure out how we’re going to fix our emitters.”
“What if there’s someone there, Commander?” Emma asked. “They would have had more than enough time to move deeper into the clouds.”
“Not much we can do about it,” Mira replied. “We’re not equipped to go spelunking in a gas giant—especially not with this damage.”
Brock nodded along with his cousin’s statement. “I agree. Especially because…what if we find something? We’re even less equipped for combat right now.”
“Glad you’re onboard,” Mira said, a touch of dryness in her voice. “We’ll leave the probes there, though. I don’t want to be blind.”
“That leaves us with just three more,” Brock cautioned. “Only one of which is FTL-capable.”
“Nothing for it,” she replied before turning her attention to Emma. “Time to Hystera?”
“We’re looking at just over two days,” she replied. “Forty-nine hours, if we can make our burns.”
Mira remained on the bridge until they were an AU from the gas giant. The probes didn’t turn up any trace of the shadow they’d seen, but something told her that whatever they’d seen, it wasn’t just a sensor ghost.
But who? If it were our corporate friends, they’d simply attack.
Not to mention that there was no reason for Bozan ships to be in the Khorina System—unless there were artifacts here as well.
Even in the confines of her own mind, Mira felt strange calling the thing they’d seen an ‘alien station’. There were other explanations, other possibilities. For all she knew, it might be a hoax.
Then again, who would attack an OSAF patrol ship to maintain a hoax?
The attempt to destroy the Inquiry was the most telling thing of all. Keeping the station a secret was worth tremendous risk to Bozas, and there was every possibility that they’d search Khorina before long.
All the more reason to get to Hystera, get repaired, and get gone.
“Commander,” Janice said as Mira rose to leave the bridge. “I think I might have found something we can use to our advantage.”
“Stars…I could use advantages right now, what is it?”
“I was looking at Kyra, the planet with the mine. Now that our scan nodes are properly aligned, I spotted something in orbit. At first, I thought it was a cluster of empty transfer pods, but once we deployed the probes, I tapped them for some extra resolution, and spotted a resupply station in orbit.”
Mira walked to the AI’s station. “Really? How big?”
“Not very, just sizable enough to service any of their freighters that need it. But it might have a-grav emitters that we can use, plus anything else Aqua decides we need.”
The commander pursed her lips, knowing that taking supplies from private stores was only to be done in dire circumstances, but she reminded herself that if Bozas sent even a small group of patrol ships, the Inquiry would be hard-pressed to hold them off.
“Do you think it’s worth the risk of going that deep into the gravity well?”
Janice tilted her head for a moment, then nodded. “I do. It’s only three AU from our current position, and so far, no Bozan ships have followed us. We’d have days to complete our repairs before they could get to us.”
Mira turned to Emma, who
was watching the two women discuss the matter. “Well?” the commander asked. “How long to get to Kyra?”
“Less than a day, ma’am,” the pilot replied without having to check her console. “Twenty-two hours.”
“Alright.” Mira gave a slow nod. “Let’s do it. Hopefully, no one will give us too much crap for robbing some mining conglomerate blind.”
* * * * *
In true navigator fashion, Emma managed to reach Kyra in less time than her estimate; three hours less, to be precise.
Mira had expected the pilot to be early—though not by that much. As a result, she entered the bridge still wolfing down a breakfast burrito she held in one hand, while the other clutched a cup of coffee.
“I made, it! Don’t start the party without me.”
Brock laughed, while Emma smiled.
“Seven minutes to orbital insertion,” the pilot said. “Janice is in the shuttle with Aqua and Greg. Lorra is staying here, readying…uh…something.”
“Excellent report,” Mira said in a wry tone, only half upset with the ensign.
She’d already received the full report from Janice and Aqua, but she’d have to remind Emma that when one has the conn, one has to keep track of the ship’s status with a little more accuracy.
“How do things look in the system?” she asked Brock. “We still alone?”
“So far as our scan and probes can tell,” he replied. “Pellick is quiet, and no ships have appeared on a vector consistent with travel from Regina.”
Mira choked on her burrito, sitting forward, and he quickly added an important detail.
“No ships have shown up on scan at all.” He duked his head sheepishly.
“Thanks,” the commander said with a grimace. “Granted, given how good their stealth was around the artifact, we might not be able to spot them until they’re right on top of us.”
“They’d have to brake,” Emma said, her fingers dancing across her console as she slowed the Inquiry into its orbit. “Otherwise they’d just be doing a big ol’ flyby.”