Conspiracy

by A. K. DuBoff

  “I suppose you would suggest the option that keeps you alive,” Nox said.

  “Of course. My own life is most important to me,” Kaen lied.

  “Then perhaps a change of plan is required.”

  “We’ll need a ship,” Kaen urged, shifting his language to promote a sense of team. Even faking it disgusted him, but he had no intention of letting the alien get its way. He’d play along just enough to get Nox in a vulnerable place.

  “Will they let us go without a fight?”

  “If we’re quick,” Kaen replied. “Do you know somewhere safe to go?”

  “Yes, there is a place,” Nox acknowledged. “If you can get us out of here, I will take care of the rest.”

  “Let me have control. I’ll get the ship.”

  “No!” Nox swelled in his mind. “Don’t mistake my acceptance of your warnings for trust. I merely agree that it’s not safe to remain here.”

  “Then I’ll tell you where to go,” Kaen responded in a calm mental tone.

  Kaen relayed the directions to Nox—first a list of items he’d need, since Nox tended to forget that Kaen required things like water, food, and clothing, and then directions for where to head with a travel bag. The plan wasn’t up to the standards Kaen demanded of himself in the Guard, but he couldn’t think about it too much, lest Nox discover his intentions.

  The instructions entailed walking to one of the remote docking wings, like he was on official business, and then commandeering one of the craft. It was unclear where Nox planned to go from there, exactly, but that didn’t matter to Kaen. If he had his way, they’d never make it off Orion Station.

  Nox allowed Kaen to lead the way to the docking wing, though Kaen could tell his movements were being regulated.

  He passed by several soldiers in the halls, and they nodded to him with respect. Despite Nox’s annoyance, Kaen returned their gesture with nods of acknowledgment. Nox would know that’s how he’d behave normally, and he needed to play the part.

  As Kaen anticipated, the docking wing entrance was staffed by two guards at a reception desk.

  “I need a transport ship for immediate departure,” he ordered.

  “Sir, no request has been filed,” the first guard stated.

  “I’m ordering you now,” Kaen-Nox continued without missing a beat. “Direct me to a free vessel and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  The two guards looked at each other, but they weren’t in any position to question an order from a colonel, however irregular.

  “The Lisbeth II is available,” the second guard stated after consulting a monitor behind the desk. “Berth 23.”

  “Thank you.” Kaen-Nox stepped through the doorway before the guards could ask for further clarification. His plan hinged on getting to the transport ship.

  Beyond the door, a corridor branched in either direction. Airlock doors along the outer door led to gangways, which extended to the docked ships. Control panels next to each doorway indicated the docked vessel. Kaen-Nox continued to the left until he saw Berth 23 and double-checked that it held the Lisbeth II.

  Kaen then used the control panel to enter dummy deployment orders, adding just enough detail to satisfy Nox’s watchful eye, but the alien was unfamiliar with specifics of Guard policy. The moment any authorized personnel reviewed the orders, they’d know something was amiss.

  “Are you finished yet?” Nox asked in an agitated tone within Kaen’s mind.

  “Do you want this done right or done fast?” he replied.

  The alien backed down just the slightest measure.

  Kaen finished inputting the dummy orders, and then cycled the airlock.

  He stepped through, and the door sealed behind him. The ship was a straight shot down the gangway, viewports in the side walls revealing the vessel. The Lisbeth II and its sister ship were small craft suitable for little more than system-hopping on a day trip. However, it would serve Kaen’s need just fine as a single passenger—not that he had any intention to go far.

  “You do know how to operate this craft?” Nox asked.

  “Of course. All officers receive basic flight training, but all these ships operate on autopilot, anyway.”

  It was a true statement, so Nox would never detect the lie hidden within. Operating the craft out in the open black was straightforward, but the undocking procedure was layered with tedious process—the kind of activities Nox seemed eager to overlook.

  Once Kaen was on board, all he’d have to do was intentionally mess up a few commands and they’d lock him down, and then they’d see the error-riddled orders. Nox could take over control and say whatever he wanted, but there’d be no way to get out of the situation without a thorough med eval. It was Kaen’s best chance to be freed from the prison within himself. With the plan tucked safely in the recesses of his innermost mind, he stepped aboard the Lisbeth II.

  Kaen-Nox passed through the ship’s airlock and cycled the inner door. He located the cockpit at the end of a short hallway to the left and took a seat in the command chair. He began powering up the craft.

  “You’re keeping something from me.” Nox’s words were accompanied with an icy vise around Kaen’s mind.

  “No, I’m—”

  Kaen didn’t have a chance to object. He was instantly immobilized within himself, just as he had been when Nox first asserted itself. But this wasn’t the time to admit defeat. Kaen had to fight it. This might be his only chance to make it out alive.

  “You’ll never win!” he shouted in his mind and lashed out toward Nox.

  The alien was caught off-guard by the resistance as the two battled for control over Kaen’s limbs. His right arm flailed in front of him, sweeping across the touch-panel for the ship’s controls.

  A hum filled the air as the engines revved, straining the ship against the docking clamps that were still engaged at the end of the gangway. They wouldn’t hold for long.

  — — —

  Kira hurriedly stowed the free-weights she’d been using for her workout. Did Leon get what he needed so he can figure out what in the stars is going on with me?

  She placed her wrists behind her back as she approached the waiting guards.

  “Major Sandren instructed us to take you to a conference room where he and Leon will meet you,” the guard said while cuffing her.

  “Lead the way.” Kira nodded to the door.

  Five minutes later, Kira was deposited inside the conference room. It wasn’t equipped for prisoner securement like an interrogation room, but the guards looped her cuffs through the support beams of the table, which was welded to the floor. Kira had to lean forward at an awkward angle, but it was still better than the confounded bed.

  As the guards finished up, Major Sandren entered with Leon right behind him.

  Kira smiled. “Hello, sir. Welcome back, Leon.”

  “Hey.” Leon looked like he wanted to run to her, but he restricted himself to a friendly smile in the major’s presence.

  “How’d it go on Valta?” Kira asked him.

  “That’s an interesting story. I asked Major Sandren to join us so I could explain what happened.”

  The major closed the door and adjusted some controls on the touch-panel mounted to the wall. “This room is secure. No one can listen in.”

  Leon nodded. “So, we got to Valta and everything started out fine. Equipment was loaded on a cart and we were on our way out. Then Kyle got an alert that two people had entered the MTech lobby.”

  “Who were they?” Major Sandren asked.

  “That’s why I was so insistent we meet. I have no idea who the man was, but I instantly recognized the woman as Chancellor Hale of the Mysaran Coalition.”

  Kira’s breath caught in her throat. “The Mysaran Chancellor was touring a condemned MTech lab?”

  “Precisely. Things got especially awkward when a group of well-armed soldiers showed up and started shooting at us.” Leon frowned.

  Sandren leaned back in his chair and released a long breath. �
��That confirms whatever MTech was up to had ties to the government.”

  “Yes, sir,” Leon acknowledged, “but I’m afraid it might extend beyond Mysar.”

  “What makes you say that?” Sandren questioned.

  “I talked to my sister after the op—she’d reached out while we were on the planet’s surface. If you recall, she works for the Elusian president. They suspect Hale has been subverted, which fits with what I saw. However, President Joris had relayed this information to Kaen, and the colonel dismissed it. That makes sense, if what Doctor Elric suspects about Kaen is true.”

  Kira shook her head. “It’s not just suspicion anymore. I’ve had enough weird conversations with him over the last two days to draw my own conclusions.”

  Major Sandren sat in quiet contemplation. “Kaen led the investigation into the recent security breach. It’s possible some of the people involved were innocent and he pegged his own actions on them.”

  “I was just about to suggest the same thing, sir,” Kira said.

  The major nodded. “We need to detain Colonel Kaen. He has too much authority to remain free in this facility.”

  Kira’s gaze passed between the major and Leon. “And you need to keep a close eye on me, too. Kaen came to speak with me and suggested that I embrace these Robus abilities. Whatever MTech was up to, I think modifying me was part of their plan, and Kaen’s job might be to make sure I turn out how they hope.”

  Leon paled. “Kaen may have helped Monica escape.”

  “Or, at a minimum, not stopped her,” Kira said. “In any case, the longer we talk here, the longer this base is in danger.”

  Sandren rose from the table. “I’ll speak with General Lucian right away. And, Kira, as much as I want to trust you, I agree that it’s too risky for you to be unsupervised until we understand exactly what was done to you. We can forgo the restraints, but I’d like you to stay on lockdown.”

  “Yes, sir, I understand.” Not being lashed to the bed would at least be an upgrade. Though, she very well might wish she was strapped down on a bed if she had another seizure or whatever it was.

  “Stand by for further instruction,” Sandren ordered. “And it goes without saying that you speak of this to no one.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kira and Leon both acknowledged.

  The major left the room.

  One of the guards entered. “Your cuffs, ma’am.”

  “Thanks.” Kira rubbed her wrists as soon the guard removed the cuffs. “Give us another minute, Private.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The guard closed the door behind himself.

  Kira took the opportunity to take Leon’s hands. “I’m glad you made it back in one piece.”

  “Those MTech guys were trying hard to make sure that didn’t happen.” He shrugged it off. “Can’t say I’m eager to be in combat again, though.”

  “I’m all for you being my scientist guy back here at base.”

  “That I can do.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss. “And I need to get going on that testing.”

  “Yes, please tell me what’s going on. I haven’t had so much as an eye-glow in the last two days.”

  “There’s no reason to believe there would be any kind of consistent expression of traits. It’s actually surprising you were able to exercise any degree of control when you were on the verge of changing before.”

  “I hope you don’t want me to intentionally change, because if that’s what Kaen wants, it’s probably the last thing I should do.”

  “We’ll make that determination once I’ve completed a full model of your current genome and bloodwork.”

  Kira scowled at him. “Scientist you is so impersonal.”

  He smiled. “Rest assured, you’ll be my favorite test subject.”

  “Yeah, well—”

  An alarm interrupted Kira.

  Leon jumped. “What’s that for?”

  “Nothing good.”

  — — —

  Major Sandren stopped midstride when the alarm sounded. The fok?

  He ran to the nearest control panel and entered his credentials to view the details for the alert. Someone was trying to force an override to release a transport ship from its grapple. If the alarm was sounding, that meant the station was at risk for a decompression.

  What kind of idiot would be trying to launch a ship without disengaging the docking clamps? Sandren fumed.

  No trained soldier, that’s for sure. So, either someone had forgotten all their training or the pilot was under duress. Regardless of the reasons, that docking wing needed as many Guard personnel as possible to get the situation under control.

  Sandren ran down the corridor.

  CHAPTER 10

  Kira dashed to the conference room’s exit. “We need to find out what that alarm is for.”

  “Should you be, you know, out and about?” Leon asked behind her.

  She was torn. Feeling like herself at the moment didn’t mean she wasn’t actually under some form of influence. But, if there was an emergency situation, there was no way under the stars that she was going to be locked in a holding cell while the base was in crisis.

  Kira looked over her shoulder at Leon. “Right now, the most pressing danger is whatever is causing that alarm.” She opened the door and found the four guards waiting outside, looking concerned. “Private, any info about the alarm?”

  “There’s a notice about pressurization failure, but that’s all I know, ma’am,” one soldier replied.

  The station might depressurize? Kira’s heart leaped. They’d trained for that kind of emergency, but she never dreamed she’d have to put those skills to use. “We need to get to a control center.”

  “Ma’am, we’re supposed to bring you back to Medical.”

  “Those orders came through before there was a foking alarm telling us we all might die!” Kira shot back.

  “Uh…” Leon paled.

  “Might be an exaggeration. Hopefully.” Kira stared down the private barring her path. “I’ll have the good doctor here to escort me,” she said, gesturing toward Leon.

  “Right, yes,” Leon said to her relief.

  “I’m… I’m not sure—”

  “Private, the circumstances have changed. I’m not an enemy being detained; this was a voluntary isolation. Either let me go now or I’m going to force my way out.”

  The soldier reluctantly stepped aside, and his comrades parted.

  “Thank you.” Kira passed through the opening and headed to the left toward the nearest control room.

  “You know I can’t do squat to stop you if you lose control,” Leon whispered when they were beyond earshot from the guards.

  “It won’t come to that.”

  Kira jogged down the hall with Leon close behind. The control room was around a corner a hundred meters from the conference room. She tried the door, but it was locked.

  “Bomax,” she muttered while fiddling with the controls on the touch-panel.

  “Can you override it?”

  “Yes, but it won’t be easy. The depressurization warning has sealed all the doors.”

  “Yeah, again, that sounds like something I should be worried about!”

  Kira ignored Leon’s concerns for the time being, focusing on the task at hand. She couldn’t make an informed assessment of their circumstances until she knew exactly what they were up against.

  After a minute of trying various overrides for the door, she finally found an authorization that worked. The bolt unlocked with a satisfying clang, and then the door hissed open.

  Kira dashed to the control panel on the back wall. She searched for details about the lockdown. “Oh, shite…”

  Leon ran up next to her, examining the screen. “What is it?”

  “A ship is trying to break away from the station while the docking clamps are still engaged. It’ll rip a hole in this section if it gets free.”

  “Why would someone—”

  “No one in their right mind would.” Kira took a steadying breat
h. “Kaen.”

  “Kaen-Kaen or alien-Kaen?”

  “For all I know it’s a fight between the two of them.”

  Leon crossed his arms. “What do we do?”

  “You are going to stay here. The room will remain pressurized even if the rest of this arm of the station loses atmosphere.”

  “Kira, no, you’re not going up against—”

  “I’ll find Sandren or someone on my team.”

  Leon spread his arms. “You can’t just leave me here!”

  “I can’t bring you along, either. I need to get to the colonel. No one else knows what’s going on with him, so they’d be liable to either shoot him on sight or let him go,” Kira insisted. “I need to help bring him in unharmed.”

  “And then what?”’

  “You figure out how to get that thing out of him.”

  “Me?!”

  “Hey, you signed up to be the Guard’s greatest new scientific mind.”

  A flush crept into Leon’s face. “Yeah, for genetics research! And let’s not forget I’m already trying to solve what’s going on with you.”

  “That can wait. The colonel needs our help, and fixing whatever happened to him means we might be able to help the Mysaran Chancellor, too.”

  “Kira—”

  “I’ll be fine. And you’ll be safe here. Remember the safety briefing about your shipsuit, should you need to pressurize it.” She gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Before Leon could object further, she ran out the door into the corridor. She resealed the door behind her.

  The endangered docking wing was up two decks, so Kira ran to the nearest access ladder, knowing the lift would be locked. She scaled the rungs and then ran down the hall toward the docking location as soon as she reached the top.

  Two bewildered guards stood behind the security desk at the wing’s entrance.

  “What’s going on?” Kira demanded.

  “Don’t know, ma’am,” one replied. “Colonel Kaen came by a few minutes ago, and then Sandren—”

  The deck shuddered, accompanied by a groan of grating metal.