by Amy DuBoff
The waiting was torture, but he had no choice.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the darkness began to clear.
Kurtz strained to orient himself in his surroundings, as though looking through a thick fog. Sights and sounds were distorted, but he was able to make out enough to determine he was somewhere within FDG headquarters.
Good, I’m among friends. Relief flooded through him, startling him with the sensation. I can feel again!
It was a very promising sign, indeed.
Too much was still indistinct for him to draw conclusions about his present circumstances, so he continued to wait in the fading blackness.
Then a warm presence brushed up again his thoughts. “Colonel, are you there?”
Ava. Kurtz could feel her. “Yes, I’m here!” he replied.
“Nox jumped into Jared,” Ava explained. “I was able to find out some more about how the aliens maintain control. They manipulate your neurochemistry. We’re trying to counter the effects now.”
“Tell me what you need me to do.”
Ava chuckled in his mind. “This is going to sound ridiculous, sir, but I need you to think happy thoughts.”
“Pardon?” the colonel replied in a skeptical mental voice.
“The aliens thrive on negative energy. We’re giving you a healthy dose of the happy brain drugs right now, but you’ll need to help the process along.”
“I never would have guessed that.” Kurtz soaked in the information. “How did you figure that out?”
“We were able to get some information from Jared. Turns out his bad attitude was by design.”
“Come to think of it, Nox’s power over me waned whenever I held a strong sense of hope.”
“Love, hope, it all undermines their strength.”
Kurtz laughed in his mind. “I knew being in love with my work would pay off.”
“That’s the spirit, Colonel. I’ll be right back. We’re going to up the dose.”
Ava vanished from his mind.
A moment later, Kurtz was hit with a rush of energy. His fingers and toes tingled, the sensation creeping up his arms until it enveloped his core. He breathed in a deep breath, filling the lungs he could once again feel and control of his own accord.
The cloud lifted from his vision. Ava stood next to a medical bed, on which he was reclined. Luke and Doctor Dwyer were engaged in frenetic discussion at a nearby computer terminal. At the foot of the bed, Major Widmore looked on with a concerned expression that was just beginning to turn toward one of relief.
Ava leaned forward and stared into Kurtz’s eyes. Her mental presence cut through the intense rush from the drugs. “It’s working, Colonel. You’re doing great.”
Kurtz thought back to his career in the FDG, surrounded by the friends who were his family. Terry Henry and the purple-eyed Werewolf Charumati who always believed in him and supported him. Colonel Marcie Walton, his boss and friend. Cordelia with her glowing blue eyes and quick smile. No matter what adversity he faced, they were always there to help each other.
Ava fed into his thoughts, willing him to continue.
“That’s it!” Luke said from across the room. “It’s breaking apart.”
Sudden pain radiated through Kurtz. “Argh!”
“What’s happening?” Ava questioned.
“It looks fine on screen,” Doctor Dwyer replied, “but his blood pressure just shot up.”
“You’re okay, Colonel,” Ava tried to soothe. “Keep thinking those happy thoughts.”
“You think positive thinking is enough to stop me?” Nox sneered.
Kurtz recoiled. “No, stay away!”
But the alien mind wasn’t inside Kurtz this time, he realized. He was only a visitor at the edge of his consciousness, much like Ava.
“You’re finished, Nox,” Ava jeered back. “We know your weakness now.”
“This conflict hasn’t even begun.”
Just as suddenly as it had arrived, Nox vanished.
“Blood pressure is normalizing,” Doctor Dwyer reported.
Luke smiled. “The TR is no longer showing up on active scan.”
Kurtz took a slow, steady breath. The oppressive weight that had been bearing down on him for days was gone. “Well, that was something.” He chuckled. “I never thought I’d be so excited to talk again.”
Ava beamed. “It’s good to have you back, sir.”
Kurtz cautiously sat up on the medical bed. “I hope it goes without saying, but I apologize for anything I may have said or done while under Nox’s influence.”
“Of course, sir. Think nothing of it,” Widmore acknowledged with a nod.
“Much of it’s a blur, but what I do remember isn’t particularly friendly,” Kurtz continued. “Nice work stopping that transport ship before anyone was seriously injured.”
Widmore cracked a smile. “Most action I’ve seen in years.”
“Did you learn anything else about where Nox was trying to take you, or what it was after?” Ava asked, always one to focus on the mission at hand.
“He activated me so I could watch over you,” Kurtz replied bluntly. There was no sense in skirting the issue.
The lieutenant looked down. “I figured as much.”
“He kept referring to you as a template for whatever his people are planning. I don’t know who or what they are, exactly, but Gidyon is their stronghold.”
Ava exchanged glances with the others in the room. “We know. And as concerning as that is, we have a more pressing issue. It’s come to our attention that the Nezaran chancellor has been compromised.”
Memories of the deleted communications flooded back to Kurtz. “I wanted to tell you so badly, but…”
“Nox was very strong, sir. I barely got the upper hand, and I’ve been training in mental combat for most of my life. It wasn’t you doing those things,” Ava soothed.
Kurtz knew she was trying to help, but the words offered no comfort. He’d allowed himself to become a liability to the organization he’d sworn to protect. Time and a renewed commitment to service were the way to make peace with what had happened.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and hopped down. “Dwyer, I need to be cleared for duty. Is there any reason to suspect I am still subverted?”
The doctor looked to Ava.
“I detected no lingering presence in him,” she replied, “but we don’t know if it could come back.”
“The TR is completely dissolved,” Luke added, “but, likewise, it might not stay gone.”
Doctor Dwyer nodded with consideration as he listened to their advice. “In my professional opinion, Colonel, you are presently not under alien influence. However, I must request that you come in for a scan twice per day until we can determine if there’s a chance for reemergence. This might not be over yet.”
“Agreed,” Kurtz stated.
“Otherwise, I see no reason to hold you here between those check-ins, especially given the unique insights you can offer about the enemy,” Dwyer concluded.
“Thank you.” Kurtz turned to Widmore. “I need to brief the leadership on this situation. Tell me everything you know about the situation with the chancellor.”
* * *
Ava felt drained after her venture inside Kurtz’s mind, but there was no time to rest.
At Kurtz’s insistence, the group immediately adjourned from the lab to a conference room so they could discuss potential next steps for the colonel to present to FDG command. As they walked toward the meeting space, Ava took the brief opportunity to process the recent events.
She didn’t want to let on to the others just how far gone Kurtz was when she’d finally been able to make contact. Whatever Nox did, it was only Kurtz’s sheer willpower and dedication to his position that had kept him from being forever lost within himself. A weaker individual may not have been so fortunate.
Facing that kind of power to manipulate matters of the mind was a new challenge for her. Even though she’d spent th
e majority of her life as a telepath, tasks involving those skills had always come easy to her. Never before had she faced a foe she couldn’t read or control.
It scared her. In a position where she had historically lacked physical might compared to her comrades, she’d always had that one advantage. Now, her physical capabilities were a major wildcard and she was up against telepaths more powerful than herself.
Figures this would happen right when I have the most to lose. Her thoughts drifted to her team and the fulfilling life she’d built in the FDG, and how having Luke with her now offered a chance to make it even more. The future may be uncertain, but she had a lot to fight for. And she wouldn’t give up.
“What do you think, Ava?” Kurtz asked.
Oh, shit, was I supposed to be listening? Ava quickly returned to the present. “I’m sorry, sir, I—”
The colonel cracked a wan smile. “Quite all right, Lieutenant. I think we’re all a little distracted after what we’ve just been through.”
“All the same, sir, I should have been paying attention. What was your question?”
“More of a comment,” Kurtz continued. “This alien presence is too significant a threat to be ignored. Though Nezar isn’t in the Federation and shouldn’t otherwise be our problem, to leave the Nezaran leadership unchecked may introduce future complications for us.”
“I agree, sir,” Ava said. Being only a lieutenant didn’t carry much weight in most matters, but she was honored that Kurtz acknowledged she could make a contribution when it came to the unusual nature of this enemy.
“A plan is already in the works,” Widmore chimed in. “Luke’s sister, Karen, who now works as the press secretary for the Alucian president, took it upon herself to travel to Nezar.”
“This is the same woman who you called when we were on Coraxa, correct?” Kurtz clarified.
Luke nodded. “Yes, sir. She has a frustrating tendency to take matters into her own hands.”
“I’m getting that impression.” The colonel frowned. “If we send in a team to apprehend the chancellor, Karen might be a liability.”
“But she could also be an asset,” Widmore advised. “Having someone on the inside could facilitate us gaining entry to the capital without causing a scene. We have no idea how many people may be subverted within the government. An outsider is really the only person we can be sure is clean.”
They reached the conference room, and the members of the party spread around the table. Widmore activated the desktop to bring up the notes he and others had gathered about the developing situation.
Ava took a seat next to Luke and scanned over the files. She noticed a file for the chairman of NTech.
“That’s him,” Luke said, pointing to the file. “That’s the man we saw with the chancellor in the NTech lobby on Coraxa.
“Who else knows about this?” Kurtz questioned.
“The rest of Ava’s team was with him,” Widmore replied. “I haven’t officially filed a mission brief given everything that’s happened, so aside from them, just the people in this room know.”
“Let’s keep it that way,” Kurtz instructed. “If word gets out there are aliens capable of taking over someone’s mind, we could face a situation of mass hysteria. Further, we don’t need to bring down a political shitstorm on ourselves about all the reasons we shouldn’t get involved in Nezar’s affairs. We need to take care of this before it becomes a bigger issue, end of story.”
“We’re with you, sir.” Widmore nodded.
The colonel folded his hands on the tabletop. “Good. I know your trust in me must be shaken after how I was taken over by Nox, but I intend to earn back that trust.”
“It could have happened to anyone, sir,” Ava said. “I’ll be the first to let the proper authorities know if I detect anything out of place.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. And I’ll be sure to check in with Doctor Dwyer and Luke regularly to monitor for any signs of resurgence. Telepathic assessments won’t be possible while you’re on Nezar.”
“Sir?” Ava’s brow knit.
“We don’t know how many aliens there might be, or what their end game is. The Hochste were intended to be new hosts for them, and you, Ava, were supposed to be a prototype to present to a benefactor of some sort. This is bigger than just the Nezaran government, but we do know that Chancellor Heizberg is an important piece of the puzzle. I want you to retrieve her and do for her what you’ve done for me.”
“Could you maybe prepare a serum for the chancellor that could be used in the field to dissolve the TR?” Widmore asked Luke. “That would mitigate some risks.”
Luke frowned. “I wish we could, but the neurochemistry levels need to be monitored too closely for us to guess at dosing. Outside of laboratory conditions, a serum might do more harm than good.”
“So we need to bring her back here,” Ava concluded.
Widmore sighed. “An extraction, it is.”
“Sir, if I may…” Ava waited for Kurtz’s nod of approval. “We don’t know when Heizberg was subverted. The chancellor persona might actually be the alien influence.”
“That occurred to me, as well,” Kurtz replied. “If that’s the case, then the Nezarans will be given the opportunity to select a new leader.”
“Yes, sir,” Ava acknowledged. “I still don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to be out in the field, though. If they want me so badly, should I really go to one of their bases of operation?”
“I have to agree, Colonel, the timing is very suspect. What if Nox emerged when it foresaw this sequence of events? There might be a trap on Nezar,” Widmore said.
“I can’t dismiss that possibility. However, I wasn’t aware that Karen had plans to travel to Nezar, which means Nox wasn’t, either. We have an insider who gives us a distinct advantage.” Kurtz leaned forward. “Trap or not, we’re in agreement that the Nezaran government can’t go unchecked. Since such an op can’t be officially on the books, it would be great if the Ghost Squadron was available for maximum plausible deniability, but they’re not. That leaves us. It’s a risky op, yes, but I’ve never known warriors to shy away from danger.”
“Were the circumstances any different, I wouldn’t, sir,” Ava continued. “But what if I were to lose control and change? Infiltrating the base will already be challenging enough as it is.”
Kurtz chuckled. “And were the circumstances any different, I’d agree with you. However, you’re the only telepath we have with sufficient ability to handle these aliens. You may be a wildcard, but you’re also mission critical.”
Ava took a slow breath. “Yes, sir. I’ll do my best.”
The colonel swept his hand across the desktop to clear the workspace. “Now, we have an infiltration to plan.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Some mission planning sessions left Ava energized to get into the field. The latest meeting had quite the opposite effect.
As soon as they were dismissed, Ava beckoned for Widmore to hang back. “Sir, may we have a frank discussion about this plan?” she asked.
“All right.” He motioned her back into the conference room and closed the door. “What’s on your mind?”
“This mission has no chance of going according to plan. The assumptions we’re making about the Nezaran government building are most likely wrong, we have a single ‘in’ who may or not be able to offer any leverage or insights, and I barely have any confidence in my own ability to keep it together.”
“You’ve never been one to question your abilities, Ava.”
She stared at him wide-eyed. “That was before they turned me into a fucking Hochste!”
“Fine, you want a frank discussion?” Widmore crossed his arms. “I don’t think you should be out in the field. My responsibility is to keep all my warriors safe. Having you out there with Nick, Sam, and Edwin puts them at greater risk. But Kurtz was right about you being mission critical. We’re dealing with a group of telepathic entities, and you’re the only person who’s proven herself
capable of assessing that threat in a meaningful way.”
“Gah!” Ava clenched her fists and paced in a small circle. “I hate not being able to trust myself!”
“You’re in control now. You need to have faith you’ll maintain that control when it matters.”
She checked herself, realizing that letting her emotions get the better of her only made a slip more likely. “I’ll be with my team. If anyone can keep me grounded, it’s them.” Though I wish Luke were coming along, too.
“Once we have Heizberg in hand, we can figure out how deeply this alien conspiracy runs. Hopefully by then, Luke will also have identified treatment options for you.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But, Lieutenant, I can’t take your ability to maintain control on blind faith. I’m going to have Doctor Dwyer prepare a sedative for your team to have on hand, just in case.”
She nodded. “That would make me feel better.”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that.”
“Always be prepared,” she reiterated.
“Right. Now, was there anything else?”
Ava shook her head. “No, I said what I needed to say for my own peace of mind. Thank you, sir.”
“Okay. Let’s go brief the rest of the team.”
The challenging circumstances still weighed on Ava’s mind, but knowing there was a contingency plan to make sure her team would be safe assuaged her biggest fears. Now, her foremost concern was if she’d be able to stand up to the entity that had overtaken Heizberg.
Ava and Widmore walked to the shared residence of her teammates, and she knocked on the door when they arrived.
Nick answered. “Major. Ava! You’re out of quarantine.”
The others jumped from their bunks.
“How are you feeling?” Sam asked.
“I’m good,” Ava replied. “May we come in?”
“Of course.” Nick stepped aside.
Ava stepped inside and sat down at the table, while Widmore remained standing by the door.
“Ava’s condition is still uncertain,” Widmore stated. “However, the circumstances demand her involvement in a more serious matter. We were able to successfully remove the alien presence from Colonel Kurtz, as far as we know, but the information we learned about the aliens points to an infiltration throughout the Nezaran government. We need to apprehend Chancellor Heizberg.”