Veiled Designs: Age of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Uprise Saga Book 3)

by Amy DuBoff

  * * *

  “All right, it’s almost time,” Karen said after checking the clock that had been synced with the FDG’s master time. “How are we coming with that hole?”

  “Survey puts it at a meter shy of breaking through the cavern roof. They have to know we’re close,” Fiona reported.

  “But even if they know exactly what we’re doing, they have nowhere to run.” Karen smiled to herself.

  They’d gotten lucky with many aspects of the plan. The rock was too dense to complete a geological survey ahead of time to make sure they were, in fact, positioned above the cavern and the pit it contained. At the halfway point, though, the scanning tech had been able to pick up the layers underneath. The drill’s aim had been off by a meter, but they were able to adjust the angle so the final tunnel would bore out directly above the pit.

  While the Dyons may be expecting an assault through the main tunnel—both due to the commotion on the surface, and because they were privy to the original components of the plan that Garett had known—the sonic component was a new addition, thanks to Ava’s observation in Edgar’s memories. When Karen had suggested that Ava talk with him, she’d never dreamed such critical information would be gleaned. It was the advantage they needed to settle the score once and for all.

  With the chemical tanks already rigged up, all that remained was to punch through the final rock in the cavern ceiling, and drop the distribution hoses down the shaft.

  Karen consulted their timetable. “Okay, punch through now.”

  She released a long breath and splayed her fingers on the desktop while the drill made its final cut.

  “We’re through!” Trisha announced after getting confirmation from the drill team over the headset. “Dropping hoses—”

  The ground rocked underneath the drill, trembling the camera.

  “What’s happening?” Karen demanded.

  On camera, the teams scrambled to untether the drill and move it away from the shaft. The scaffolding holding the drill flexed, threatening to collapse and block the hole.

  “Shit!” Trisha exclaimed. “Is it going to cave in?”

  A shrill squeal sounded over the comms, and Trisha ripped out her earpiece. “Transmission on all frequencies,” she reported.

  Fiona’s eyes widened. “Are we too late? Was that the transmitter?”

  Karen didn’t care to wait to find out. “Now! Release it now!”

  Trisha swiveled back to her station. “Communication band is clearing. Sending order.”

  The monitors showed the equipment around the drill site springing to life. The nebulizer activated, sending the chemical mixture through the tubes as a fine mist that would permeate the cavern walls beneath the drill site. Additional tubes, ending in spray nozzles, deployed a shower of chemicals to coat the walls of the pit.

  The shaking stopped as quickly as it had begun.

  “Is it… working?” Fiona asked cautiously.

  “I don’t know, but that ground is too unstable,” Karen replied. “Clear the site.”

  Trisha glanced over her shoulder. “Time to blast them?”

  Karen nodded. “As soon as everyone evacuates, activate the speakers.”

  * * *

  Ava stared down at the dwarf planet, bolstering her connection to the alien collective within. “You had your chance to live,” she told them, “but now force will be met with force.”

  “And you will be overpowered,” the aliens sneered back.

  The FDG warriors sitting around her in the kitchen went rigid.

  “Sir?” she said to Widmore, hoping the situation wasn’t what it appeared.

  He took a choking breath, but remained immobilized.

  Fuck! Ava’s connection to the Dyons faltered as she tried to assess the state of her friends. “Stay with me!” she shouted, but they made no indication they could hear her.

  Ruby, what about the crew on the other ships?

  >>Unresponsive,<< the AI replied.

  Shit, I need to break the hold somehow.

  >>It’ll break when we hit them with the sonic blast. You need to operate the equipment yourself.<<

  Ava broke eye contact with the planet to spot the auditory equipment that was set up on the kitchen table. As soon as she looked away from the window, the connection weakened.

  This won’t work.

  >>Yes, it will. You’re stronger than them. Embrace your abilities.<<

  Ruby’s words refocused Ava. She knew exactly what she had to do.

  She had to get angry.

  All the hurt and confusion that had been swirling inside her since her nanocyte exposure flooded to the surface. She let it fuel a seething rage within.

  Her nerves ignited—eyes glowing orange, as her hands curled into talons and her teeth extended into razor-sharp fangs. She wished there was something to slash, but telepathic destruction was in order on this particular day.

  “You want to get to know your creation? Well, here I am!” she snarled.

  Ava opened her mind to share her physical sensory experience. Her consciousness became one with the planet, integrated with the hub and carried through its tendrils, woven throughout the rest of the world. Thoughts were no longer her own, but were shared with everything linked through the hub.

  Pain and anger led her to her transformation—to her power—but it was the other side of the spectrum that would lead to victory.

  She drew on her sense of fulfillment in the FDG, her love for Luke, the bond she shared with her team—flooding the telepathic connection with the positive thoughts of what always gave her strength, but would be poison to the Dyons.

  They tried to pull back, but Ava’s telepathic hold was complete. Sharing her happiness was just the opening volley, a ploy to catch them off-guard.

  It was time to go in for the kill.

  Ava activated the recording of the opposing soundwaves for the frequency resonating throughout the planet below.

  The Dyons shrieked in Ava’s mind as she pelted them with the sound. Their pain washed over her, but nothing would stop her assault. They had done too much to her. She could take their pain, and she’d make sure they wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else again.

  Her friends in the kitchen gasped as they regained control of themselves, freed from the shackles of their would-be masters.

  Ava gritted her teeth as the shrieks in her mind intensified. The Dyons had nowhere to go, try as they might. They struggled desperately to force their way into her mind and use her as a host, but she held them at bay behind an invisible wall.

  “There’s no escape,” she told them. “You won’t stop yourselves, and so I must.”

  She cranked up the volume of the frequency recording. It vibrated through her, filling her body and mind until she could hear nothing else.

  In front of her, the view of the planet changed. No longer was it a peaceful orb. Now, it trembled and seemed to glow with an inner light. Cracks formed across the surface, and giant, dark clouds billowed into space.

  “Holy shit! It’s working!” Edwin exclaimed behind her, having been released from the aliens’ hold.

  “Hit it now!” Widmore ordered into the comm linked to the fleet.

  The tanker ships surrounding the planet released their secondary payload, spraying the chemical cocktail as a high-velocity mist around the debris. It was too large an area to get complete coverage, but they focused on the former location of the main transmitter, where the bulk of the mineral was concentrated.

  As the mist connected with the rock particulates, the chorus of screams within Ava’s mind diminished. She continued pelting them with the sound until no voices remained.

  The telepathic link severed.

  Outside, the former dwarf planet was no more than a loose cloud of dust.

  “I think they’re gone,” Ava murmured. She returned to her human form and turned off the recording of the sound frequency.

  >>Wow. That was… intense,<< Ruby said in her mind.

  You o
kay? Ava asked the AI.

  >>Yes, I went into my private place. I couldn’t hear them, but I sensed what it was doing to you.<<

  I wish I didn’t have to hear them.

  Ruby gave her a mental hug. >>You did great, Ava. You did what needed to be done.<<

  The mental exchange was interrupted by Samantha wrapping Ava in a tight physical embrace.

  “That was incredible!” her friend cheered.

  “The fleet is no longer under the gravity’s pull,” Widmore reported. “The generator was destroyed along with the rest of the world.”

  Edwin grinned at Ava. “Standing here, it looked like you stared at a planet until it exploded.”

  Nick laughed. “Ultimate staring contest! The planet lost.”

  Ava cracked a smile to share in her team’s enthusiasm, but she was far too drained for it to be heartfelt. “There was a little more going on behind the scenes, but I’m glad it was a good show.”

  “No one else could have done that,” Widmore said and clapped her on the shoulder. “Well done, Ava.”

  She gave a deferential nod. “All in a day’s work.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Some experiences always lingered in the mind, and Ava could tell that what she’d just been through would be one of those. As she prepared for her official debriefing with Kurtz and Widmore, she found herself with an uncharacteristic feeling of irresolution, despite the mission being complete.

  Why don’t I feel closure? she asked Ruby.

  The AI gave a mental shrug. >>The notion of ‘closure’ is still new to me. I understand the concept, but not the nuance of completing a task versus gaining some intangible sense of inner fulfillment.<<

  I’ve always gotten a buzz after an op. I don’t know why this one is different.

  >>Are you worried about the bioamplifier gas giant and the worlds in the Alaxar Trinary?<<

  No, Ava replied. Without that artificial world as a transmitter, those are harmless.

  >>Then maybe it’s because we didn’t learn what the Dyons are,<< Ruby suggested. >>We never found out where they came from, or what they can do.<<

  And now we may never know. Ava shook her head. It’s actually kinda sad, when you think about it that way.

  She traversed the halls to the conference room near Kurtz’s office. The two officers were just stepping inside as she approached.

  “Good work,” Kurtz told her as she walked into the room. “That was smart thinking, with the connection.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Ava tried to suppress the dissatisfaction that was gnawing at her.

  They took their seats.

  “We took some risks on this mission,” Kurtz began, “and not everything went how we would have liked. However, we defeated the enemy. That’s what’s important in the end.”

  So we think.

  The thought wasn’t as private as Ava thought.

  >>You don’t think that was the last of the them?<< Ruby asked in her mind.

  I…

  Ava wasn’t sure what to say, with her doubts out in the open.

  I think that I had a hand in something significant. And what happened needed to happen, but I’d hope that the resolution could be different if we found ourselves in a similar situation again.

  Ruby smiled in her mind. >>That’s why I like you, Ava. You don’t take this lightly.<<

  We altered the fate of a whole species. Regardless if they were the enemy, I’d hope that would give anyone pause.

  >>It wouldn’t. Not for everyone.<<

  Ava looked across the table at the two officers. Do they look at it the way I do?

  >>Maybe more than most,<< Ruby replied. >>If you have something you need to say, this is your one chance to say it.<<

  Ava took a deep breath. “Have you given any thought to who these Dyons were, sir?”

  It was strange to use the past tense, but it fit, given the circumstances.

  “A little,” Kurtz replied. “Why? Did you have something specific in mind?”

  “Well,” Ava folded her hands on the tabletop. “We know they had access to advanced technology, but nothing we’ve seen from them can cross space—they were using the Nezarans for all transportation. They were on Coraxa at one point, but Nox made it sound like they didn’t start out there.”

  “Is there a question in there?” Widmore prompted.

  “Well, sir. It just makes me wonder if they were the only ones of their kind.”

  The two men exchanged glances.

  “That’s not a line of questioning we want to go down at present,” Kurtz stated.

  “Yes, sir. It’s just—” Ava bit her tongue. “Never mind.”

  Widmore took a deep breath through his nose and released it. “What is it, Lieutenant?”

  “I was pondering whether beings as different as them and us could ever coexist. Are our frames of reference too different to ever truly understand each other?”

  “I’d think not,” Widmore jumped in. “I mean, they were able to jump in and play humans with relative accuracy.”

  “But is it genuine understanding or just mimicry?” Ava countered. “After all, they treated people as a vessel to be controlled. How well could they understand the human experience and find that to be acceptable?”

  “There are plenty of sentient beings with their own bodies—humans included—who perform acts that violate the autonomy of others,” Kurtz pointed out. “Just because they showed no remorse doesn’t mean that they didn’t know it was wrong.”

  Ava nodded. “I like to hope that there’s another group of Dyons out there who thrive on positive energy.”

  Widmore cracked a smile. “That is a nice thought.”

  Kurtz steepled his fingers. “And maybe more likely than not. There are counterpoints in nature, after all—like an antidote for poison.”

  Ava smiled. “I choose to believe we scored one for the good guys.”

  “We did,” Kurtz agreed. “And we’ll always keep fighting for the good.”

  * * *

  Luke paced back and forth in his quarters. He knew that Ava was back, but she had yet to reach out to him.

  Debriefing, maybe? How long is that supposed to take?

  He sighed. Consciously, he knew he was being impatient. But all the same, he wanted to know what had happened in the Gidyon System. If Ava wasn’t yet available to provide answers, maybe others were.

  The central logs indicated that Ava was presently in a meeting with Kurtz and Widmore, but the rest of Ava’s team was in their quarters.

  Luke couldn’t yet presume that he was in their inner circle, but he had, perhaps, progressed beyond a generic outsider enough to get some preferential treatment. Considering that a simple ‘no’ was the worst case scenario answer, he figured he may as well give it a shot.

  Without further delay, Luke headed to the quarters of the three Were warriors.

  Nick answered Luke’s knock on the door. “Hey. Why are you here?”

  “Sorry. I haven’t been able to talk with Ava since you got back. Is she okay?”

  The warrior softened. “Yeah, she’s fine. Come in.” He stepped aside.

  That’s a promising start!

  Luke went in, and Samantha and Edwin got off their bunks.

  “It’s sweet of you to be worried about her,” Samantha said.

  “Yeah, well, you were going up against a pretty nasty enemy,” Luke replied.

  “She was a pro,” Edwin said. “The rest of us got pinned like useless fools, but she kicked some major telepathic ass.”

  “Made it look like nothing,” Nick added. “After that performance, I think it’s safe to say that she’ll be actively embracing these new nanocytes of hers.”

  Luke’s stomach twisted, to his surprise. On the surface, he was thrilled that Ava had come to terms with the changes she’d undergone, but part of him had still been holding on to the person she used to be.

  No, neither of us are those people anymore. We’re here together now, as we are.<
br />
  He took a deep breath. “So, what happened in Gidyon?”

  “Crazy shit,” Samantha replied. “We had our plan all ready to go, and then they immobilized all of us.”

  “I thought they could only get to people with a TR?” Luke asked.

  “Yeah, we did, too,” Nick admitted. “We were wrong.”

  “All of us got pinned, but Ava sprang into action,” Edwin continued. “She took all of them out.”

  “Well, there was still the neurochemical,” Samantha countered.

  “Oh, come on. It was incredible!” Edwin exclaimed. “She got this look in her eyes I’ve never seen before—even beyond the crazy orangeness. Just, like, this raw determination. She stared down the planet, and it bent to her will.”

  “All while you watched helplessly, with your arms pinned to your sides,” Nick said.

  Samantha eyed him. “That made it more badass, don’t lie.”

  “So anyway, the massive chemical bath dissolved the thing from the inside out,” Nick continued. “And then we hit it with the sonic blast. Disintegrated the mineral, just like we hoped it would.”

  “All while Ava kept them at bay,” Edwin said. “I may have been immobilized, but I saw the whole thing.”

  “Yeah,” the other male warrior admitted. “It’s just crazy to think about. I know she was powerful, but that…”

  Edwin looked at Nick. “She’s not just our leader anymore. She’s a weapon unto herself.”

  Luke frowned in spite of himself. Definitely not the innocent telepath I knew as a teenager.

  But even knowing how much she’d changed, that didn’t make him love her any less. If anything, he was even prouder to know that she’d grown so much and there was still a place for him in her life.

  “I guess we’ll all have to get used to those new abilities,” Luke said.

  Nick snorted. “Yeah, to say the least.”

  “What’s this, now?” Ava said from the doorway.

  “Ava.” Luke took her in.

  She smiled at him, love in her gaze. “Hey. I was just coming to find you and saw that you were over here.”