Covert Talents: Age of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Uprise Saga Book 1)

by Amy DuBoff

  “Yes, and specifically, Coraxa as a power source, of sorts.”

  “When it comes to people developing an Etheric connection,” Ava replied, “I’ve always thought of Coraxa as more of a nursery than a creator. Based on my own experience and stories I’ve heard from others, it seems like this place can take a seed of potential and let it flower. Someone with no genetic potential won’t spontaneously develop abilities here and, assuming those abilities are hereditary, their children won’t, either. But for those who do have the genetic potential, it can be unlocked here.”

  The NTech scientist nodded.

  “Now,” Ava continued, “given that abilities take a generation or two to show up, there must be something here that saturates a person over time. Water, soil, the electromagnetic field—I have no idea what. Or maybe it’s not any one thing, but rather a unique confluence of features that have made this place possible.”

  It was more than Ava had intended to say on the subject, but she was genuinely curious to get the scientist’s take on her homeworld.

  “That’s a very astute observation, Ava. I like that nursery analogy.” Andrea turned off the holoprojector and raised the light level. “What I find most interesting, though, is how your brain responded when shown a picture of Tribeca. There was increased activity in the cerebral structures my research has shown are most connected to Etheric potential.”

  Ava’s heart leaped. “Really?”

  The doctor inclined her head. “This suggests to me that, for those who were ‘nurtured’ here, there is an enduring connection.”

  “I guess so…” So much for this being a straightforward assignment! Now I want her research to continue. Ava suppressed the thought.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to set you up in a lab with a more advanced Etheric reader while you run through some telepathic exercises. I’m curious how much energy you draw, and how that compares to others I’ve interviewed.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Ava agreed, though she wasn’t crazy about being down in the subterranean lair longer than necessary.

  “I prepped a setup, just in case. I’m pleased you were able to so quickly confirm my suspicions.”

  That goes both ways, Doctor, Ava thought as she rose from the table and followed Andrea into the hall.

  The second exam room was two doors down on the left. This one was equipped with a single padded chair and a table at the center of the three meter square room, completed with acoustic tiles. On the table sat a guinea pig in a glass atrium.

  “Um…” Ava’s gaze shifted between the rodent and Andrea. “What…?”

  “Ah, yes.” Andrea beckoned for Ava to take the chair facing the guinea pig. “This room is outfitted with advanced monitoring equipment that will supplement the readings gathered through your electrodes. We found it to be an invasion of privacy to have telepaths read other humans, so a guinea pig serves as a stand-in.”

  Ava plopped into the chair. “I hate to be a poor sport here, but I can’t mind-read a guinea pig.”

  “It’s not so much reading a mind, but attempting to.”

  “So… you want me to bore into the soul of a creature with the brain the size of a grape?” She let the sarcasm really shine through with her tone.

  Andrea smiled, stepping to the door. “It’ll only take an hour or so to gather the necessary readings.”

  Ava stared into the guinea pig’s black eyes. It cooed at her.

  She sighed. Fuck my life.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Kurtz leaned back in his chair across the interrogation table from the second suspect.

  The young lieutenant’s gaze was darting around the room, trying to spot the potential monitoring equipment.

  Does she think she can break out, or does she want to work a deal under the table without others knowing? Kurtz glanced back at Denise and she shrugged.

  “I asked you a question, Lieutenant,” Kurtz reiterated.

  “Yes, I transmitted that file outside of the FDG secure servers,” Lieutenant Morgan replied at last.

  Kurtz leaned against the table, allowing his eyes to flare yellow. “Why?”

  Morgan didn’t flinch, and her own eyes transitioned to yellow in defiance.

  Young Weres could be so frustratingly stubborn. “Why?” he snarled inching closer to her.

  She shook her head and looked away. “If you’re going to court martial or execute me or whatever, just get it over with.”

  Kurtz backed away and took a softer approach. “Morgan, I don’t want this to end badly for you. If you had a valid reason for violating those orders, it may change the punishment.”

  “We all make mistakes,” Denise offered.

  “Oh, this wasn’t a mistake.” Morgan scoffed. “I knew exactly what I was doing.”

  “You’re not leaving this room until you provide some indication about the why,” Kurtz stated. “If you don’t cooperate, we’ll bring in one of the telepaths.”

  That got her attention. “It was about my parents. They’ve… had a hard go of it. I joined the Force to get out of that life, and I send money when I can. But it’s not enough.”

  “So you were… selling this information?” Kurtz prompted. The notion that some citizens didn’t have the resources they needed to have a comfortable life was foreign but not unknown to him, being born on a world fully in the Etheric Federation. Worlds on the outside—or in transition—didn’t have it so well.

  “No. Well, not exactly. They said that they’d help my parents if I just fed little bits of information here and there. Nothing too classified, just some mission briefs. They said it was a ‘heads up’ to give them a chance to take action, if ever it was needed.”

  “And who’s ‘they’?”

  “Some government official with the Nezaran Coalition.”

  Kurtz groaned inwardly. That confirms the suspicion that these leaks are independent. First the Alucians, now the Nezarans… “Do you have a name?”

  “They went by Nox.”

  Kurtz glanced back at Denise.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Denise said and left the room.

  “So, this Nox, can you tell me any more about him… or her?”

  “Their voice was distorted the one time we spoke. The other communications were all text.”

  “How did you meet?”

  “Three years ago at a spaceport. It was during some R&R after a field training op,” Morgan replied.

  Same timeframe as the major, Kurtz mused. “Is that when you spoke?”

  “No.” She crossed her arms. “It’s strange. I can’t remember exactly how the meeting happened. All I know for sure is I got a note that directed me to a bar, and there was a package waiting for me. I looked over the offer, and it said what I’d have to do and that I’d never have to worry about my parents again. It was a pretty dire situation at the time, so I couldn’t refuse.”

  “Your parents are doing better now?”

  “It’s not glamorous, but they’re way better off than they were.”

  Kurtz nodded and placed a hand on his chin. “Have they ever spoken about their benefactors?”

  “No, there’s never been any direct contact. I tried tracing some of the supply shipments sent to their home, but it all led to ghosts.”

  If it is a government official, they might have the means to mask the origin. But is there a common thread connecting the leaks? Part of Kurtz was excited for the challenge, but the implications were concerning, to say the least. Either two people had coincidentally similar experiences at the same time, or there was a third-party at play to maneuver two governments against each other. Two incidents didn’t constitute a pattern—he’d still have to speak with the third suspect and see if that filled in any of the missing pieces.

  “Lieutenant, I understand your desire to help your parents, but this is a serious offense.”

  She bristled. “I don’t regret it. I’d do it again.”

  “Integrity and honor above all.” Kurtz rose from the table. “I�
�ll contemplate whether you get a court martial or not.”

  “Just leave my parents out of it.”

  “The FDG is a humanitarian organization. We’d never do anything to harm civilians.” He exited and turned her over to the guards waiting outside the door.

  Denise was hurrying back down the hall, tablet in hand. “Get anything else?”

  “No,” he replied. “Damn shame. I hate to see a career thrown away like that.”

  “She made her choice.”

  “That part about not remembering the meeting…”

  The security chief nodded. “It did sound similar to the circumstances of Major Ellis’ recruitment.”

  “I agree, and the timing is close.”

  “Well,” Denise sighed, “if there is someone in the Nezaran government who’s connected to all this, their real name isn’t ‘Nox’.”

  “I figured as much.” Kurtz crossed his arms. “We could request detailed receipt records to see where the file went within their system.”

  “This close to signing a vassal agreement? Acting suspicious and showing a lack of trust might not go over so well.”

  Kurtz frowned. “I’m beginning to wonder if that was the whole point of this.”

  Denise’s face paled. “That is the easiest explanation.”

  “Except the question remains, who’d want this deal to fall apart?”

  ***

  By the end of the hour with her new rodent friend—which she’d named Mr. Fuzzers—Ava had developed an insatiable craving for carrots.

  Fortunately, Andrea informed Ava that she was free to go, if she wished, while Andrea’s team analyzed the test results. Thoughts of fresh salad from her favorite café in Tribeca had Ava salivating, but she couldn’t take the rest of the day off from the mission. Hopefully NTech’s cafeteria had a good selection of veggies.

  “I don’t suppose I could come back tomorrow to go over the test results with you?” Ava asked, easing into her real question.

  “Of course. This is as much to educate you about yourself as it is for me to learn about the nature of your abilities.”

  “Speaking of that, I’ve always been curious about the genetics side. Might I be able to spend some time in the lab with Luke Carter?” Ava made a point to keep her breathing and heart rate calm and level while she asked. She hoped that any tells would be interpreted as a crush rather than her planned deception.

  “Genetic analysis? With your military background, I’d think you’d be more interested in biotech—our rapid healing aids, or muscle augmentation.”

  Ava flashed a disarming smile. “Well, yes. But I get so much of that in the course of my day-to-day life that it’s so… impersonal. Looking into genetics is something I’d be doing for me. Plus,” she lowered her voice, “I wouldn’t mind a little extra time with him, if you know what I mean.”

  The doctor chuckled. “I still remember what it was like to be young. I see no harm in you shadowing him.” Her gaze lingered on Ava just a moment too long.

  She definitely knows I’m up to something. Nothing Ava could do about it now. “Great. Are we done here?”

  “Yes.” Andrea showed her to the door. “I’ll have an escort bring you to Dr. Carter.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Ava followed her into the hall.

  The doctor stopped after two paces and turned to Ava. “A word to the wise: don’t abuse this generosity, Ava. You do not want to get on my bad side.”

  “I’d never think of it.”

  ***

  President Connors swiped his hand across his desk to minimize the news reports. Press statement or not, rumors were still floating around that the FDG had planned to attack a civilian resistance group on Nezar until some hero had uncovered their sneaky plan. He hated how truths became twisted so easily.

  With the FDG being the covert ops arm of the Etheric Federation’s military, groups previously in support of joining the Federation were now questioning that union, citing this incident as a reason to distrust the Federation rather than become its vassal.

  Others saw the display for what it was and were even more enthusiastic about joining the Etheric Federation so they could close the divide for good.

  Connors groaned. Being president at the center of the madness made for a challenging position. No matter what he did, he was going to piss off someone. But if he didn’t take action, he risked his people being on one side of a civil war that had no basis in reality.

  “Send up Karen,” he told Leon, his assistant. He needed to make a formal statement. Not just a press release this time, but a speech.

  Karen arrived three minutes later carrying her customary tablet. “Yes, Mr. President?”

  “It’s time we have a heart-to-heart with our citizens.”

  She tilted her head questioningly.

  Connors clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing. “We’ve lived in a state of transition for the past one hundred years. Alucians and Nezarans differ only in our name, yet we continue to provide reasons for disagreement. That divide will tear us apart and destroy our greatest chance for an elevated future unless we come together and commit to a new approach.

  “Officially joining the Etheric Federation won’t change who we are—it will afford us the necessary stability and resources to be our best selves. Culture will flourish, and we’ll finally be able to set aside the petty disagreements that have plagued our people for the past century. For this reason, I move for immediate ratification of Alucian Alliance’s vassal agreement with the Etheric Federation and move for the Nezaran Coalition to do likewise.”

  His press secretary’s mouth dropped open. “Sir, that’s…”

  “You’re the wordsmith, Karen. I’m sure you can come up with a way to soften the blow. But that’s the message.”

  She took a shaky breath. “How do you want this delivered?”

  “I’ll say it myself. Have a speech draft on my desk by the end of the day. We’ll make the announcement at 07:00.”

  Karen gave a reluctant nod. “Yes, sir.”

  Connors watched her leave then walked up to his window and gazed out over the city. He had no way of knowing how the speech would be received, but he was certain he was about to make history.

  ***

  Ava knocked on the outer glass wall of Luke’s office. “Hey. Look who you couldn’t get rid of.”

  Her friend glanced up from his work in surprise. “How’d you get over here?”

  She shrugged. “I convinced Andrea to let me shadow you.” She had more to say, but it couldn’t be said aloud where others might be listening in.

  Gazing into Luke’s eyes, she formed a direct telepathic link. “Pretty sure Andrea’s going to have security watching me like hawks, so I need you to run interference for me,” she told him.

  He got a look on his face that only an old friend who knew her too well could get. He formed a response in his mind, “What are you planning?”

  “Just a little poking around. Nothing too invasive.”

  He sighed. “What have you seen so far?” he asked aloud.

  Ava leaned against the edge of his desk and grabbed a small metal planet model from the desktop next to her. She tossed it back and forth between her hands. “I got to spend the last hour in Wing C communing with a guinea pig.”

  Luke’s face scrunched up. “Wait, what?”

  “You really don’t want to know.”

  He took the metal planet from her and set it back in its holder. He resumed eye contact with her to continue their telepathic conversation. “Okay, so Wing C. You’ve already been somewhere I’ve never had access to. I doubt hanging out here with me is going to get you anywhere.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t have a computer down there.”

  “Ava, you cannot use my computer to hack into the NTech system,” Luke said in a terse mental tone.

  “When you agreed to be liaison for this mission, you committed to help me out with anything I needed to undercover the target information. Rig
ht now, that’s use of your computer.”

  “You’re going to get me fired—or worse.”

  “The very fact that you’re worried about an ‘or worse’ is precisely why we have to do this.” She paused. “But what makes you say that? You didn’t give any indication of danger before.”

  “I…” He crossed his arms. “It’s probably nothing, but I overheard someone in the break room this morning mention that one of their acquaintances from the employee housing community wasn’t around the last two mornings. They normally commuted together.”

  “Where’d this person work?”

  “That’s the only reason I’m mentioning it now. I guess it was some sort of ‘special assignment’ connected to B Wing in some way.”

  Ava raised an eyebrow. “Is that suspicious somehow?”

  “Not unto itself, no. But when I looked him up, Tim Masters, there was no employee record.”

  “So either he’s been ghosted, he’s attached to some secret division, or both.”

  Luke wilted in his chair. “You’ve got it.”

  Ava got a devious glint in her eyes. “Hey, I think there’s some really involved genetic model you need to show me on your computer. Maybe teach me how the software is used? Might take some hands-on learning on my part.”

  “Yeah, I’m happy to give you a demonstration,” Luke replied aloud, then added in his mind, “Damn it, Ava, you better help me find a new job when this is all over.”

  “I’m sure we can work something out.” She shooed him from his chair and sat down.

  Luke grabbed the visitor chair and pulled it up next to her. “Here, let me pull up an example file for us to walk through.” He leaned over and brought up a menu with some genetic sequences and displayed one on the main monitor, which was visible from outside the office. He then cleared part of the interactive desktop to give her a covert place for her hacking work.

  “I doubt I’ll get very far,” she muttered. “I’ll need a passcode to get into anything secure without drawing attention.”

  He caught her gaze. “Are you suggesting doing a Reading of someone?”