by Amy DuBoff
PATH OF JUSTICE
by
Amy DuBoff
PATH OF JUSTICE
Copyright © 2017 by Amy DuBoff
All rights reserved. This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles, reviews or promotions.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Editor: Nicholas Bubb
Cover Illustration: Copyright © 2016 Tom Edwards (www.TomEdwardsDesign.com)
Publisher: BDL Press
ASIN: B01NCZ15M9
First eBook Edition: February 10, 2017
Kindle Edition
Table of Contents
Part 1: Transition
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
Part 2: Birthright
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
Next in the Cadicle series
Acknowledgements
Glossary
About the Author
Part 1: Transition
CHAPTER 1
Relics of war had no place in a peaceful future. At least that’s what Wil Sights told himself as he performed his final structural checks of TSS Headquarters within Earth’s moon. Deep down, however, he knew that the impending changes were actually in preparation for a new war—just one of political strategy rather than physical might.
In the three years since the end of the devastating war with their vilified Bakzen brethren, the Tararian Selective Service had been making subtle preparations for an unfolding era of Taran unification. To that end, many soldiers had retired and others had pursued more academic career paths. For Wil, those recent years spent pursuing interests outside of battle had been a time of reflection about the nature of the war and how it had divided his people. He had come to accept that he and his family were in the best position to effect change at the helm of those efforts, pairing their political influence with their positions in the TSS. The realization had left him with a new imperative to evolve the TSS to serve Tarans as a whole, and Wil wouldn’t rest until the lingering threat of the Priesthood was eliminated.
With his mind set on that goal, Wil ran an ultrasonic scanner along the main support beam spanning the equator of Level 1’s middle floor, similar to the others he’d already examined for the final check. Like the previous beams, this one appeared to be in good condition and should hold through the structural stress to come, so long as they were careful. It was crazy to suggest transitioning the entire Headquarters facility out of the subspace bubble into normal space, but that’s what we need to move forward.
Such a radical transformation of the massive facility might appear like disarmament to some, but it would ultimately strengthen the TSS’ greatest advantage over the Priesthood: the telekinetic strength of Agents.
The subspace containment shell that surrounded the facility inside the moon—keeping Headquarters suspended within a permanent subspace bubble—had offered protection from a Bakzen telekinetic attack during the war, but it also stifled Agents’ abilities. Consequently, Agents-in-training never reached their full potential.
To bring down the Priesthood, the TSS would need to be stronger than ever. Looking ahead, their training grounds would need to maximize telekinetic abilities—without the dampening properties of subspace holding them back. Only then could they truly prepare for the fight to come. Gone were the days of old fighting battles against the Bakzen with warships in the rift; the next conflict would be resolved through finesse and persuasion, led by Agents of the future who would harness a new power for the dawning era.
Wil completed the last stretch of structural inspection and checked off the segment on his handheld. The other Agents had already reported in and given the “all clear”. Nothing stood in the way of their plan aside from his order to proceed. No one has ever attempted something like this before. I hope we’re up for it.
He placed his handheld in his pocket and headed to the administrative wing to retrieve Saera from her Lead Agent office, where she was reviewing the day’s rift repair activities while the rest of Headquarters prepared for the transition.
The glass wall at the front of her office was set to full transparency to indicate she was available to speak with drop-in guests. A single touch-surface desk occupied the center of the room, with a broad viewscreen along the side wall, two guest chairs on the near side of the desk, and two additional chairs against the wall under the viewscreen.
“Hey!” his wife greeted as soon as the door opened. She minimized the status report projected on the holodisplay above her desk. “Any last-minute issues?”
“No changes from our previous inspections,” Wil replied. “Everything should hold up through the transition.”
Saera’s jade eyes lit up. “Bringing the entire structure through the dimensional veil… This’ll really be something!”
“If we can pull it off.”
“No way to know for sure until we try.” Saera rose from her desk.
“True,” Wil said. “Besides, it will be a good workaround for needing to disassemble H2 in the rift. Not sure where we’ll move it, exactly, but there will be more options.”
His wife came up to him and placed her arms around his waist. “You’re always thinking two steps ahead.”
“Only two? I’m slipping.”
Saera smiled up at him and pulled away. “We’re still on for 15:00, then?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
“Speaking of plans, when are we going to tell them?” Saera asked.
“As soon we finish the transition.” He examined his wife. “Are you sure you’re up for participating today?”
“I’m pregnant, not injured.”
“I know, but—”
She placed a reassuring hand on his forearm. “Don’t worry, I won’t strain myself.”
Wil let out a slow breath. “Okay.” He checked the time on Saera’s desktop, seeing that it was already 14:50. “Let’s go meet everyone.”
They took the elevator down from the Primus Agent resident wing to Level 5, which had been selected as the staging ground for the transition activities. All non-essential Militia personnel had already been temporarily relocated to TSS transport ships docked at the spaceport and four hundred of the top Agents had gathered in the Militia mess hall on Level 5 to perform the unprecedented telekinetic feat.
At the center of the room, Cris was doling out commands for where everyone should stand and directing some last-minute practices for the coordinated telekinetic engagement. He glanced over at Wil as he ente
red with Saera. “We’ll get started soon,” he said to Scott and walked over toward Wil.
“Is everyone ready?” Wil asked.
His father nodded. “I think so. We were just awaiting your final approval on the structural checks.”
“We didn’t find any issues. It’s all on us now,” replied Wil. He looked around the room at the Agents. So much telekinetic energy in one place. It’s been so long since I’ve felt that.
Trying to clear his mind in preparation for the task at hand, Wil headed toward the center of the room with his father and Saera to meet with Wil’s former Primus Elite Captains, Scott Wincowski, and a handful of other TSS senior Agents managing the day’s activities.
“I thought you were joking about this,” Scott commented when Wil reached the throng of Agents.
“Most ideas start out on a whim,” Michael said, glancing up from his tablet. “Everyone is in position. We’ll proceed on your command.”
“Okay,” Wil acknowledged as he surveyed the room.
Few actions were as nerve-wracking as the transition they were about to attempt. Inspecting the interior of the main Headquarters ring structure was one thing, but there was no way to access the containment shell that confined the subspace field—Wil’s visual inspection through remote observation only told so much. They had no option but to trust that it would hold together.
“All right. Let’s begin.” Wil closed his eyes and extended his consciousness. The Agents around him joined in, syncing their intent to manipulate the structure.
Wil wove their combined energies into tendrils and extended the branches around them. Energy washed over the walls like a glistening silver wave in his mind’s eye. The tendrils burrowed through the walls to begin enveloping the Level.
A hum of energy filled the air and the floor began to vibrate. Groans of warping metal sounded around the room.
“Not so fast,” Wil cautioned in everyone’s minds. “Let the field spread to the full structure before we pull.”
They slowed the expanse of the telekinetic bubble, allowing their focused energy to trace the intricacies of Headquarters’ frame. He extended his consciousness to evaluate the full effect of their efforts, waiting until the energy completely enveloped the ten rings suspended in the center of the subspace bubble.
“Almost there,” he told them. “Now for the shell.”
Bringing the entire sphere surrounding Headquarters was the best option, since the elevator shaft and containment lock were the only means into the physical structure, irrespective of its position in subspace. Transitioning the containment sphere into normal space would ensure that the anchor points for Headquarters’ rings at the surface and down to Level 11 remained intact.
Keeping himself in a state of remote observation, Wil sensed the Agents’ combined energies swell in their attempt to envelop the entire containment shell. The scale would have been breathtaking to any other observer, but after Wil’s own telekinetic feats on a planetary scale he’d lost the perspective to be in awe of what they were about to do.
The output of energy swelled as they made the final push to encompass the sphere. Just a little more…
A loud groan echoed through the chamber, followed by grinding and a thud. The floor shifted underneath them.
Shite! Wil extended his consciousness in an attempt to locate what had gone wrong. One of the structural anchors must have given way to result in that kind of jolt.
He searched throughout the Level, but nothing seemed out of place. To go further without letting go of his physical hold on the structure, he’d need to draw more energy into himself than he had since the war. He hesitated.
The floor heaved again.
Desperate, Wil released himself—extending his consciousness to take in the entire view of Headquarters while he tried to maintain his hold on the structure hovering at the dimensional veil. The ten rings of Headquarters suspended within the subspace bubble appeared to be intact. So what’s wrong?
Then, he spotted the issue. The coupling between the inner containment lock and the rest of Headquarters was giving way. The shaft to the surface was slowly disconnecting. There was no way out. If it broke free while the subspace bubble was still intact….
“We need to complete the transition. Now!” he ordered in everyone’s minds.
They renewed their efforts with urgency. The telekinetic bubble continued to expand until it brushed the inner confines of the shell. They need to get all of it. Wil urged them onward, even as the Agents around him began to strain. He sensed Saera holding back while the others continued to push toward their limits. It still wasn’t enough.
We have to do this! He let go from his physical self and became one with the shell. It was within his grasp.
The telekinetic bubble finally enveloped the full shell. “Follow my lead,” he instructed.
Slowly, they latched on to the shell and began pulling it back with them, in the same way they’d pull themselves from subspace back to their physical selves. The hum throughout the room intensified, but, slowly, Wil sensed the subspace shell breaking through into normal space.
With one final tug, the transition was complete. They’d done it.
However, they weren’t out of danger.
Wil immediately refocused his attention on the broken coupling. He channeled all of the energy he’d drawn into the connection point with the main elevator shaft. With as much precision as he could manage from the remote vantage, he drew the Headquarters structure up into position.
The floor heaved as it came back into place. Gasps sounded around the room.
I need a temporary repair… He had no idea how long he’d be able to maintain the hold with his mind. Knowing he had to act, Wil focused on the metal surrounding the coupling. He pictured it heating up to a red-hot glow. As he fed energy into it, the pieces began to fuse together. Two minutes of intense concentration passed. When he backed away from his remote view to inspect the work, the makeshift weld seemed to be holding.
Wil released a shaky breath, quivering from the energy still coursing through him.
“What happened?” Saera asked.
“A coupling broke,” he replied as he took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his racing heart. “We need to get a repair crew to the inner containment lock. They can access it now that the facility is out of subspace.”
Michael smiled. “We did it.”
Wil nodded. “But that was a lot closer a call than I would have liked.” He reached out to Saera telepathically, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just didn’t want to strain, like I promised.”
“I’ll organize the repairs right away,” Cris said. He pulled out his handheld and stepped away.
“I guess celebrations are in order!” Scott grinned.
“You still have some of that whiskey stashed away from your last trip down to Earth, right?” Ian asked.
“I do,” Wil confirmed.
“All right! First round’s on me,” Ian exclaimed.
Michael frowned. “That… doesn’t even make any sense.”
Ian clapped him on the shoulder. “It will after enough drinks. This way, ladies and gentleman.” He headed for the door.
The others started to follow but Saera held back.
“Are you going to join us?” Michael asked her.
“Someone should supervise the repairs,” she replied. “Lead Agent duties and all.”
“I can stay with you,” Wil offered.
“Go ahead. Have fun.” She gave him a quick kiss. “There’s a lot to celebrate.”
CHAPTER 2
Cris watched the live video feed relayed from the repair crew. Nothing about the shell’s design made sense.
He glanced over at Saera. “How was this built?”
She shrugged. “I was hoping you knew. I always figured it was something the TSS constructed as refuge from the Bakzen War.”
“That was my understanding. Now I’m not so sure,” Cris murmured.
The repair crew glided around in pressure suits, secured by ropes. Their movements were exaggerated in the naturally low gravity of the moon beyond the reach of Headquarters’ artificial gravity generators.
Alric, the crew lead, looked into the panoramic camera mounted to a pole extending from his helmet. “Sir, I’ve never seen anything like this. The measuring equipment is giving off all sorts of weird readings.”
“Like what?” Cris questioned.
“The dating, for one, can’t be right,” Alric said. “I know subspace radiation can mess with the meters, but it looks like this shell is over a thousand years old.”
“One sec.” Cris muted the comm. “If that’s accurate,” he said to Saera, “it was built before the Taran Revolution.”
“And before the Aesir split from the Priesthood,” Saera added. “That would explain how they’d have the knowledge to override the command codes for the containment locks.”
Cris leaned against his desk. “I never stopped to think about the origin of the structure. The idea of a subspace containment shell was… unique. Let alone the logistics of how that theory could be put into practice—”
“We couldn’t have done it,” Saera cut in. “I mean, constructing H2 was one thing—you can bring materials into the rift. But the shell… That’s a level of spatial manipulation that goes beyond anything I know about.”
“Well, we just pulled it into normal space. In theory, the reverse is possible.”
“Okay, yes. But think about how many of us it took. Moreover, the precision needed to achieve a stable position in subspace and calibrate the anchors—that’d required some really advanced tech we don’t have now.”
“Shite.” Cris ran his fingers through his chestnut hair, touched with the first hints of gray. “How much do you think was lost in the Revolution?”
“Whatever the Priesthood found convenient for us to forget.”
“But if the Aesir separated, they might still have all of that lost knowledge.”
Saera nodded. “From what little Wil said, their ships are tuned for those with abilities—like a way more advanced version of the Conquest. If abilities are central to their culture, which it seems they are, there’s no telling what else they have.”