Veil of Shadows (Book 2 of The Empire of Bones Saga)

by Terry Mixon

  Kelsey took a deep breath and sat up on the diagnostic table. She slid her legs off the side and stood. Lily grabbed her arm for support, but Kelsey waved her away and took a step. There was a moment of seeming instability, but her body corrected for it. She walked around the lab, starting slowly but gaining confidence with every step. She felt the grin splitting her face.

  She stopped in front of Twelve and thought about a technical schematic and one appeared. She found she could drill down into the machine to the level of circuits. The diagrams labeled everything with part numbers and summaries of functions. There were even instructions on how to safely remove and replace them. The information seemed to be coming from Twelve, but she wasn’t sure.

  “Whoa.”

  Lily was at her side in a second. “What’s wrong?”

  “I wondered about the workstation and schematics just popped up in my field of vision as though I was holding a tablet. Twelve, I think I’m operational.”

  “Incorrect,” the machine said aloud. “Your optical, olfactory, and auditory implants are in standby mode.”

  “I just saw a technical diagram of you, so I’m pretty sure my eyes work.”

  “Correct, but incomplete. The basic functionality is active, but the higher level functions of commando implants are not active.”

  Lily looked at the machine suspiciously. “What does that mean for her? The eyes, for example.”

  “Commando optical implants are capable of enhancing the vision into the infrared and ultraviolet ranges. There are also certain threat assessment and combat functions that integrate with them.”

  “Turn it on, Twelve,” Kelsey said. “All of it.”

  On reflection, that haste might have been a mistake. Her view of the room changed. Everything became sharper. Clearer. And for a moment, brighter. Bright enough for her to shield her eyes.

  Noise overwhelmed her hearing for a few seconds. She heard what seemed like a hundred conversations going on. There were so many unknown sounds that she couldn’t catalog them all. The same was true of her sense of smell, though to a lesser degree. And in a much more technical way. Chemical composition analyses popped up in the corner of her vision, detailing specifics of what she smelled to levels more appropriate to a lab. Why a commando needed a good nose, she had no idea.

  She dismissed the information and focused on her breathing until she felt she had a better grasp of what was happening. She uncovered her eyes. Everything was still unnaturally sharp, but the brightness had returned to a more normal state. Kelsey focused on a man in the hall. His face snapped close, as though she’d looked at him through electronic binoculars. By focusing in, she found she could see his eyebrow hairs clearly. And his pores. The man should see someone about that.

  The noise in the room subsided until she thought she could hear him breathing.

  “Excuse me,” she said loudly. “You in the hall. What’s your name?”

  The man looked around to be sure she was talking to him. “Claude.” His voice thundered in her ears.

  “Where are you from? Whisper it.”

  He looked confused, but nodded. “The southern continent.” His voice was very soft, but she heard him clearly. The other noises around her almost overwhelmed his voice, though. She’d have to practice a lot to do that more consistently. Or better yet, to turn it off.

  She thought about that a moment and her vision returned to normal. The overwhelming sounds and smells damped down to what she thought of as normal levels.

  “This is going to take a lot of getting used to,” she muttered.

  “That’s enough experimentation for the day,” Lily said firmly. “I want you to rest for a while.”

  “Seriously? I’ve been in bed or a grav chair for a week.”

  The doctor smiled. “Everyone says that. Maybe you feel like you can take on the world. Hell, with those implants, you might make a credible effort. But you can rest for a while first. Back in the chair.” She pointed at the grav chair sternly.

  Kelsey sighed and climbed back onto the chair. She did feel tired, even though she didn’t want to admit it.

  “How long until you know about those nanites?”

  “I already have some preliminary images.” She handed Kelsey a tablet. The image on the screen looked like a large cell. There were little dots next to it.

  Kelsey expanded the image and the small machines came into view. They were still somewhat indistinct, but they were obviously mechanical. “I’ll be damned. Those things are inside me? That’s creepy.”

  “There are a lot of them, too. They somehow signal one another about an injury and congregate to help repair the damage faster.”

  The Princess handed the tablet back to Lily. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.”

  “Humans are surprisingly adaptable. What you need now is a little more rest and a few more friendly faces. Talbot is back from his trip to look at one of the Pentagaran military bases. Now that you can walk, I bet he’ll help you get back on an even keel.”

  Lily moved the grav chair toward the door. “But for now, you can take a nap.”

  Chapter Five

  Jared found Doctor Stone in her temporary office once he’d landed and been driven to the hospital. She had her head buried in some incomprehensible scanner results. He rapped his knuckles against the door frame. She looked tired as she straightened. “You haven’t been sleeping enough, Lily.”

  She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. “Things have been moving fast. If I slept as much as I wanted, I wouldn’t know what was happening.”

  He sat down in one of the institutional chairs some sadist had designed to discourage people from lingering. He figured he had about ten minutes before his butt went to sleep.

  “How’s our patient?”

  “She’s doing better than I’d hoped this morning. She’s walking on her own.”

  He grinned. “That’s great news!”

  “Says you,” the doctor said sourly. “Now I can’t be sure where she’ll get off to next. I told her she had to sleep and posted a guard, but I’m not convinced she won’t slip out the window. It’s like keeping up with a toddler. One that might inadvertently rip some fixture out of the wall if she isn’t paying enough attention.”

  Stone filled him in on the events of the afternoon.

  “It’s hard to believe she communicated with an old Empire artificial intelligence,” he said once she’d finished. “And now it’s communicating with us? That’s amazing.”

  “I’m not sure I’d call it an AI. It’s more like an advanced interface. It doesn’t seem to have much of a personality. It’s just very sophisticated.”

  The Terran Empire had come a long way from its low point after the Fall, but they hadn’t managed to create any artificial intelligences. Oral tradition told them that AIs were fairly common in the old Empire. Even attributing the most advanced ones with true sentience. He wasn’t sure he really believed that.

  “And it comes across the same when she uses her implants to communicate with it?”

  Stone shrugged. “I don’t know. She tries to tell us what’s happening, but it’s like explaining color to a blind man. Or sound to the deaf. Kelsey doesn’t have the words to describe what’s truly taking place. And we don’t have the frame of reference to understand what she is telling us in anything other than general terms.

  “All I can tell you for certain is that she seems to be able to get a lot of data from that machine in an astonishingly short period of time. It seems willing to accept her authority to order it around, but it’s unwilling to do so with those of us without implants.”

  Jared absorbed that for a minute. “It sounds like we may need you both to come with us.” He explained Baxter’s plan.

  Stone had a skeptical look in her eye. “Restore Courageous? That sounds wildly optimistic. She was a fine piece of engineering, I’m sure, but she’s been wrecked since the rebellion.”

  “You might be right,” Jared admitted. �
��If so, we’ve lost nothing but time. The Pentagarans are still building new ships and modifying others. They don’t need most of us here for that.”

  “I suppose you’re right. What do you have in mind for Kelsey and my team?”

  “Originally, I was going to leave you here to work on her recovery. Now I think we might need her help. Why don’t you give me a rundown of what you’ve discovered?”

  Stone spent the next ten minutes giving him the bullet points of what the computer had told Kelsey. Then she showed him the scans on her computer. “These are the medical nanites. Apparently, the Pale Ones have them turned off. I’ve examined samples from a live prisoner and they don’t have any.”

  The tiny machines fascinated and horrified Jared. The idea of billions of the little things inside her body probably had Kelsey more than a little on edge. “Why would the Pale Ones disable something that useful? It seems like they’d be more formidable if their healing capabilities were increased.”

  Stone shrugged. “It almost has to be related to the suppression of the implants in the Pale Ones. I’m still unsure of how they interact with the hardware.”

  Jared nodded. “Kelsey’s ability to tell us about what’s on Courageous could be critical. I’ve already spoken with Commodore Sanders. We’re returning to the other system with hundreds of their Royal Fleet personnel, including him. If we can repair the ship enough to bring it to Pentagar, that’s a success. If we can do more, even better. Get your people ready to travel and bring the recovered hardware. We leave in three days.”

  “Kelsey will be thrilled. She’s ready to get out of this place.”

  “I’ll tell her the news, then. You get some sleep.” He rose to his feet. “That’s an order.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Jared knew that Kelsey was in the room directly next door, so finding her was simple for a change. To his surprise, she wasn’t alone. Crown Princess Elise sat on the edge of the bed. Both women smiled as he came in.

  He bowed his head toward Elise. “Highness. I just dropped in to check on Kelsey.”

  “Then we share a mission, Lord Captain,” the Pentagaran noblewoman said. “She and I were just discussing her recovery. I’m so pleased that she can walk again. I know my father will be overjoyed and the news will be cause for a general celebration.”

  Kelsey looked more than a bit uncomfortable at that statement. “It’s kind of overwhelming having so many people I don’t know doing that. I’m used to a certain level of attention back home, but this is almost like being a cult figure.”

  Elise placed her hand on Kelsey’s arm. “They’re caught up in the adventure and romance of the situation. You and your people are widely seen as saviors and I’m afraid you’re both something of national heroes. My father is envisioning a parade once your recovery is further along, and Parliament has been making noises about the Parliamentary Medal of Valor. Our highest honor. They’d present it on live vidcast with the entire Kingdom watching.”

  Jared saw his half-sister shudder as he was doing the same. Time to launch a rescue mission. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid I may need to pull you away from all that public adulation, Kelsey.”

  Her eyes lit up with hope. “Thank God.”

  Elise laughed. “You’re both so funny.”

  Jared filled them in on what he intended to do.

  Kelsey looked impressed. “That’s ambitious. And it seems crazy. That ship has been a derelict for five hundred years. We know almost nothing about old Empire systems. To imagine that we’ll be able to repair and fly her doesn’t seem very likely.”

  “Do you have anything better to do?”

  “Well, my calendar does seem to be clear, though I have some things I’d like to do. If Lily will let me do them.”

  He allowed himself a small smile. “Look at it this way. With all the repairs going on, Doctor Stone won’t be lurking over your shoulder every minute.”

  “I’m sure she’ll find a way. I’m ready to leave today.” Kelsey looked over at her Pentagaran counterpart. “No offense, but I’m tired of lying around the hospital.”

  Crown Princess Elise nodded. “I’m all for smuggling you out. Lord Captain, are you truly planning to leave at once?”

  He shook his head. “There’s no need. Athena won’t be to the flip point in less than three days. The Royal Fleet will get us out there when the time comes. Until then, we’ll stay on Pentagar.”

  “Excellent. Events cut Kelsey’s last visit here tragically short and you haven’t spent any time in the capital at all. We insist that the next few days be spent enjoying our hospitality. That’s the Royal We, by the way.”

  He gave the Pentagaran Princess a short bow. “I’d be honored, of course.”

  “Splendid. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I’ll coordinate with Doctor Stone to get Kelsey into quarters that are more comfortable. I’m certain that you have about a million things to do as well.”

  Jared recognized a dismissal when he heard it. “Ladies.”

  He walked back out into the hall. Senior Sergeant Talbot, one of Athena’s marine NCOs, leaned against the wall. He snapped to attention as Jared came out.

  “At ease.” Jared motioned for the marine to walk with him. “I understand that I have you to thank for keeping the Princess in one piece. Good work.”

  The large man smiled wryly and shook his head. “You have it backward, Captain. She saved our bacon. She killed two Pale Ones, one with a pistol and one with her bare hands. They’d have cut me up just like her if she hadn’t done what needed to be done.”

  “I read that, but part of me still finds it hard to believe. Hell, she’s so small I could wrestle her with one arm tied behind my back. I can’t imagine her choking someone to death with her bare hands. Frankly, I can’t imagine her hurting anyone at all.”

  “Try imagining her ripping a metal bar out of plascrete. I saw her do that this morning. With one hand. She doesn’t know I was there. It breaks my heart.”

  “I’m told that they did something to improve her ability to control herself. Stone says she was walking without assistance a little bit ago.” Jared stepped into an empty waiting room. “Kelsey has a lot of recovery to do, and some reassessing. You marines have supported her so much. I’d like you to help her out even more.”

  Talbot nodded. “Of course, sir. We’ll do everything we can.”

  “I want you to go all the way. She has equipment inside her that makes her very, very dangerous. Not just to someone that threatens her, either. Doctor Stone says she has what the old Empire called a commando implant package. She probably also has some buried triggers to go with it. She needs training and something to focus her as she figures things out.

  “She’ll need to continue her work as our ambassador, but she needs the structure and support of someone that understands something of what she’s being thrust into. None of you has the hardware she has, and none of us understands exactly what they did to her, but some marine training might help her adjust. She could really benefit from as much one-on-one time as possible. Will you help her?”

  The marine nodded sharply. “Certainly. She’ll jump at the opportunity for a few reasons. One, she knows she needs to learn about her new condition. Two, she’s desperate to have some control over her life.”

  The NCO stared through the glass at the medical personnel walking by. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together this last week. I think we’ve developed a strong rapport. She’d make a terrible marine. She’s a civilian through and through. That said, we could help her and learn a lot about how the old Empire fought through her. And I want to help her get past this bad mental space she’s in.”

  Jared clapped his hand on the marine’s shoulder. “Excellent. Talk with Lieutenant Reese and work out a training regimen that tells us what she’s capable of while giving her a reason to embrace who she is now. You’ll be running point. We’ll never get that equipment out of her, so she needs to become accustomed to it. And, while I can’t imagine anyone wanti
ng to do it, there exists the possibility that she won’t be the last of us with implants. Her pain and struggle will help those who follow in her footsteps.”

  “I’ve been doing that for a while, sir. I’ll finalize everything with the LT and start as soon as Doctor Stone gives me the green light.”

  Jared took a step toward the door. “We’ll be heading back to Courageous in a few days. The marines are going with us. I’m not sure if we’ll stay on the battlecruiser or the freighter, but be ready to start working with her after we get there. Kelsey will be splitting her time between Doctor Stone, Commander Baxter, and you. I’ll explain the situation to her when the time comes.”

  Talbot stood a little straighter. “Actually, sir, it might be best if I explain it to her. I think she’ll take it better if I say this is my idea. And really, it is. You just made it an order.”

  “I leave it in your capable hands, then. Get some stability back in her life, Senior Sergeant. I’m counting on you.”

  The man snapped him a razor sharp salute. “Aye, sir. I’ll give her my very best.”

  Jared returned the salute. Once the marine NCO was gone, he stood there wondering if he was making the right decision. Not that he could think of any better options. He sighed. They’d play things one day at a time. Right now, he needed to figure out where he’d be staying for the next few days.

  Chapter Six

  Of course, getting out from under Lily’s thumb wasn’t nearly as easy as Kelsey had hoped. The doctor kept her under observation for a full twenty-four hours so that she could monitor Kelsey’s progress.

  If Kelsey had thought she had any chance of success at all, she’d have told Lily that she was checking out bright and early the next morning, but she knew that wasn’t happening. Medical types seemed amazingly immune to rank and social status.

  Lily reluctantly agreed to allow Kelsey to go on a sightseeing excursion, but she had some restrictions. First, Kelsey would travel in a grav chair. She could get up and walk around, but the doctor didn’t want her exerting herself unnecessarily.