Soul of Defiance

by R. E. Vega

  “Or hell,” muttered Dayna. “We’re not dead.”

  Brax laughed. “You don’t know that. I must say…whatever happened, I just had the strangest dream. You were there, Dayna—”

  “Because I was there,” Dayna said. “Because it wasn’t a dream.” She looked at the captain. “I have no idea what just happened, Captain, but Brax and I were just in some weird dark cell somewhere. I have no idea how we got there, and I couldn’t find a way in or out.”

  Barner frowned. “I was somewhere dark, too—but I didn’t have a chance to look for a way out. One moment I was waking up and my head was throbbing—and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out where I was. But then my head started hurting again and everything went black. Next thing I knew you were waking me, Captain Arleth.”

  “I experienced something similar,” Ulan said. “I found myself in a dark room. There was a strange pulsing coming from the walls, and a high-pitched hum I couldn’t quite place. I’ve never seen or felt anything like it.” He held out his arms and looked down at them. “While I was there it felt as if something was vibrating across my skin. It didn’t hurt, but it felt so strange.” Even now, he felt an odd sort of tingle on his skin—not as intense as it was when he was in the dark place, but still enough to concern him. This was all quite unsettling. It worried him that none of his crewmates seemed to have experienced the strange vibrations, but perhaps their duller human senses just weren’t picking it up.

  “Captain?” Dayna said. “What about you?”

  The captain was frowning. She clasped her hands behind her back and turned back toward the viewport.

  “I don’t remember anything,” she said finally. “I remember that white light coming toward us, and then there was only darkness until I woke up just now.”

  The entire bridge was silent, and Ulan knew everyone was trying to process what they’d all just experienced.

  Brax was the first to speak.

  “So all of us passed out?” he said. “What about the rest of the ship?”

  “See if you can contact Thad,” the captain said without turning around. “Officer Jackson, are our systems still down?”

  Dayna tapped a few buttons on her screen. Her lips pursed.

  “Actually, Captain, everything seems to be working fine now.”

  “Because that ship isn’t here anymore,” Brax said as he limped back over to his seat. He tapped his earpiece as he settled in. “Thad, do you read me?” He waited a moment, then looked up at the captain. “He’s not responding, Captain.”

  “Try some of the others, then. I want official reports from everyone about what they experienced.” She slowly turned back around to face them. “What did they want with us? This doesn’t make any sense.” Her eyes fell on Ulan. “Can you think of anyone—of any species—who’d do something like this?”

  Ulan shook his head. “Not in this galaxy, Captain. But I have so little information—what did this ship look like? Was there any communication before they fired? How did they get past our defenses?”

  “I have a rough sketch of the ship here,” Dayna said, waving him over. “But there was no communication at all. They must have been sending out some sort of signal though because most of our systems were jammed.”

  Ulan frowned as he looked at the drawing Dayna provided. It was a very rough sketch—humans weren’t very good artists, not compared to A’lyph—but he got the basic idea. It looked nothing like anything he’d seen.

  “It must be long gone by now,” Dayna said. “I’m not picking it up on anything, and everything’s working now.”

  “How long were we out, do you think?” Ulan asked.

  “I might be able to tell us that,” Dayna said, pressing a few things on her screen. “Our basic timekeeping and direction panels were still fully functioning before we were hit. I…” She frowned.

  “What is it, Officer Jackson?” the captain said. “We don’t have time for dramatics.”

  “I’m not trying to be dramatic, Captain,” Dayna said. “It’s just that, well, according to our instruments, it’s only been about six minutes since we were hit with that white beam.”

  “Well, clearly they’re malfunctioning,” Ulan said. Honestly, it was tiresome how often he had to spell out the obvious for his slow human companions. “It’s been about that long since all of us regained consciousness, and I know I was in that dark place for at least a little while.”

  “That’s exactly it, though,” Dayna said, scrolling through a couple of different things on her screen. “If there were some sort of malfunction I’d see it in the log—in the code. There’s nothing—well, nothing except perfectly normal reports. The clock never stopped working.” Her finger scrolled through the symbols on her screen. “Our systems recorded exactly when that beam of light hit us—it sent a pulse through our shields—but everything from that timestamp on looks perfectly normal.”

  “I still say we’re probably just dead,” Brax said.

  Dayna shot him a glare. “We are not dead. Get that through your thick skull.”

  “But what does this mean?” asked Barner. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m not sure what it means,” Dayna says. “All I can do is go by what the ship is telling me. But what she seems to be telling me is that we were hit by that beam of light seven minutes ago. Probably eight by now.”

  “But that means we were only unconscious for a couple of minutes, maybe even seconds,” Brax points out. “And there’s no way that giant-ass ship could’ve disappeared in that time. Ships that size can’t move at hyperspeed.”

  “I can’t explain it,” Dayna replied. “I’m just telling you what Defiance is telling me.”

  Ulan looked over at Captain Arleth. She was being too quiet, and of all the humans on this ship, she was the only one whose judgment he truly trusted. “Captain?”

  Her eyes snapped into focus. She’d apparently been lost in thought.

  “We all have a lot of questions,” she said. “And we need answers as soon as possible. But standing around making wild assumptions won’t get us those answers any faster.” She glanced around. “I want written reports from everyone detailing everything you remember about this encounter. Everything. I don’t care how small—I want every detail. Even if your memory is slightly fuzzy, write down any fragment you can remember. We have no idea what details might be important.” She looked at Brax. “Officer Locke, it will be your responsibility to ensure that everyone on this ship, passenger or crew, receives this order. I am holding you personally responsible for getting all the reports to me.” Her gaze moved to Dayna. “Officer Jackson, I want a full diagnostic report of Defiance’s functions before, during, and after this attack. Start when we broke through Castalia’s atmosphere. I want everything.”

  “Yes, sir,” Dayna said with a nod.

  “Officer Ulan.” The captain turned to him next. “I’d like you to go check on our passenger. And then I’d like every resource you have on every active alien species from here to the edge of the galaxy.”

  “Of course, Captain.”

  Captain Arleth moved toward the door. “I want those initial reports done by dinner.”

  “Yes, sir,” they all replied.

  “Captain,” Brax called after her. “I think you should know that Thad still hasn’t responded—”

  “I know, Officer Locke,” she said. “I’m about to go find him myself.”

  KAYLIN

  Kaylin was sure whatever had happened to the crew was more than just some strange space anomaly. And she damn well wasn’t about to tell them why she knew—better to go and find Thad herself and find out if what was happening to her was happening to him as well.

  Her story was similar to what the rest of the bridge crew had reported—she had awakened in a small room with no entry and no exit. Thad had been there, too, but had barely regained consciousness before the white light had struck them both again. And what she’d noticed there was even more pronounced now that they were bac
k on board Defiance.

  The captain made her way through her small vessel to the engineering bay, where she knew she’d find Thad. She remembered having sent him to check on the starboard shields after their encounter with the first ship, but she had no doubt where she’d find her chief engineer.

  She also knew that the starboard shields were shot, though at the moment, she didn’t want to think about exactly how she knew that.

  As she entered the engine room, she saw Thad sprawled on the floor near one of the instrument panels. She guessed that he’d probably been working on something when they were first hit with the white light—whoever had done this to them had returned them to basically the same position they’d found her crew in when they attacked.

  She knelt beside him, giving his shoulder a gentle shake. “Thad?”

  It took a moment, but he finally began to stir. He rubbed at his head as his eyes fluttered open. “Kay?”

  She nodded, rubbing his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  He sat up, still rubbing at his temple. Whatever it was that had happened seemed to cause the male members of the crew more pain than it did the female members. “My head…” He blinked a few times, looking around the room. “We’re back on Defiance.”

  “Yes. It seems we were only gone a few seconds, if we were gone at all.”

  “That’s…that’s impossible. I mean, we had an entire conversation in that room. I…I didn’t imagine that, did I?” His brow furrowed. “I know you were awake a hell of a lot longer than I was when we were there, but that did happen. And it was longer than a few seconds.” He paused, blinking at her again. “I’m not dreaming this, am I?”

  “Not unless I am, too.” Kaylin stood, smoothing her pants. “Are you…?” She cleared her throat, unsure of how she should phrase the question without sounding like she was losing her mind. “Are you still having any…strange effects? From whatever happened? I know you just woke up, but…”

  “We talked about it when we were there, Kay. I remember. I haven’t been awake long enough to know if I still can yet.” He clambered to his feet, standing across from her. His gaze narrowed a bit, and he focused like he was trying to bend a spoon with his mind. “I can’t tell.” He looked over at her. “Are you?”

  She nodded. “It was the first thing I noticed when I woke up. Maybe…maybe your head pain is dampening it or something.”

  “It’s freaking me out a little, Kay. I mean, it’s weird—”

  “You don’t think I know that?” She shook her head. “The rest of the crew isn’t reporting anything like it. Not that they’re admitting to, anyway. And…and I’m not sure how this is going to work, Thad. I mean, it’s driving me nuts being able to hear you in my head.”

  He lifted a brow, giving her the slightest smile. “Can you hear this?”

  I love you.

  She frowned, and she wasn’t sure if she was more upset with his ability to send her mental messages or with the content of what he was choosing to tell her with his mind. Never mind how insane it was that she was somehow now able to read his thoughts—and when they’d been wherever they had been, he had been able to read hers, at least somewhat. His ability hadn’t been as pronounced as hers, at least not while they’d been inside that metal room.

  “You have to stop that, Thad. We’ve discussed it—”

  “We’ve discussed a lot of things, Kay. And we’ve been together for months. It’s about time the rest of the world knows. I’m getting a little tired of hiding it, frankly.”

  She set her jaw. “Yes, you’ve been quite clear. But at the end of the day, I’m still your captain, and—”

  “At the end of the day, you’re in my bed, Kaylin.”

  “Which is why this has to end. Which is what I told you when we were in that room—”

  “Then why can I hear you arguing with yourself, even as you say it out loud?”

  Her gaze narrowed. “So you can still hear me, too.”

  “Apparently.” He smiled, pulling her hand into his. “And what I hear is that you love me, too, even if you can’t say it out loud.”

  “Because I have too many other things to think about.” She pulled her hand from his grasp. “Far more important things.”

  He shrugged, barely able to contain his grin. “I think I’m going to like this—men have been saying for centuries that they wish they could read women’s minds…” He paused, smiling at her. “Did you try it on anyone else?”

  “It doesn’t seem like a parlor trick, Thad.” She frowned. “But, yes. I tried to hear everyone on the bridge. But I only heard you. But it wasn’t just that I could hear you…I’m not sure how to explain it. It was like I could sense you. I knew exactly where you were. That you were unconscious. It was almost like…” She shook her head, not wanting to finish the sentence.

  “Almost like we share a mind.” He nodded, pulling her hand into his again. “It’s okay, Kaylin. It isn’t like I’m going to use whatever is going on in your head to my advantage or anything.” A gleam came to his eye. “Well, I might use some things to my advantage. Of course, they’ll be one hundred percent to your advantage, too.”

  “Very funny.” She didn’t pull her hand away this time. That wouldn’t be a horrible use of the new, strange ability between them, but that also wasn’t the use that worried her. Being a captain of ship came with certain responsibilities, and there were some things she couldn’t share with anyone, even with her closest ally. Even with the man who had shared her bed for so many months.

  “I can hear that, you know.” The glimmer of humor left his gaze. “We’re obviously going to have to figure this out, Kay. How to not drive each other nuts.”

  “I don’t think we’re going to be able to hide it. Not for long. I’m just concerned—”

  “That other people are going to be able to read your thoughts, too?” He nodded. “But you’d be able to hear them if they could, and you can’t, can you?”

  She shook her head.

  “I think we’re in the clear on that, then. And you’re pretty lucky that it’s me that you share this new ability with, Kay.” The grin returned to his lips and he closed the small distance between them, pulling her into his arms and pressing his body against hers. “And I like where you’re going with thinking we have a few minutes to test this out the way I suggested a second ago…”

  “I was not thinking that, Thad.”

  He smiled as his lips brushed over hers. “No. But you are now.”

  YUKI

  She never should have left Castalia.

  Yuki was curled up on the corner of her bunk, shaking. She had no idea what was happening—had they attacked the ship? Were they coming to get her?

  One moment she’d been sitting on the bed, the next the whole ship had shaken, nearly throwing her to the floor. She’d been sure they were coming for her, sure that she was about to die. But no one had come. And then, just when she was starting to calm down, the room had been filled with a blinding light. She’d never seen them do anything like that before, but she knew better than to underestimate those monsters.

  But she didn’t understand. After the bright light had faded, she’d woken in a strange, dark place. It wasn’t anything like the room where they had kept her before—but she hadn’t tried to escape before. She’d thought the dark room was a punishment. That they were finally going to kill her. After everything she’d experienced at their hands, that would almost have been a blessing.

  But then how did she end up back here? It didn’t make any sense. If they hadn’t taken her, then maybe there was just something very, very strange about his ship. She should have escaped when she had the chance.

  That wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was that she’d changed.

  She couldn’t say how—not exactly. She only knew she had. Something felt off. She couldn’t explain it, but she knew it was wrong. There was a pounding in her ears like a great, pulsing heartbeat. Whenever she closed her eyes, strange images flashed through
her mind, too fast for her to identify.

  She squeezed herself into a tighter ball. What had they done to her? Why had they dropped her back here?

  Without thinking, she closed her eyes again, and there they were—image after image after image. Images of shapes and creatures and places and colors and people and things so strange and dark she didn’t have names for them. Things she recognized and things she didn’t. They flashed by so quickly she couldn’t keep up. The way they raced through her mind made her whole skull ache.

  Her eyes flew open. It was too horrifying and too painful to keep them closed. She wanted to scream. To run away. But there was nowhere to run to, and if she screamed, she knew that no one would come.

  A knock at the door to her little bunk made her jump.

  “Miss?” came a voice from outside. “May I come in?”

  It sounded like that A’lyph who’d led her here. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, least of all him, but she didn’t see how she had much of a choice.

  And sure enough, when she didn’t answer, he slid the panel open anyway.

  “Miss?” he said again. “Oh, good—I was afraid you might still be unconscious.”

  “What did you do to me?” she asked.

  “Me?”

  “To my eyes—what did you do?”

  “Your eyes?” He frowned. “Ah—you must mean the white light. Don’t worry, the flashes will go away in a few minutes.”

  He reached toward her, but she cringed away from him.

  “You’re working for them, aren’t you?” she said. “Why did they send me back here?”

  “The captain had me bring you here to keep you safe,” he said. “As I’m sure you’ve realized, Defiance has run into a bit of trouble, and they sent me here to check on you and to assure you that we’re handling everything.”

  He reached for her again, and she practically threw herself off the bed, trying to stay out of his grip.

  “What did you do?” she demanded again. “What did you do to my eyes?”