by Zoey Indiana
"I'm trying but it's difficult to see."
"Don't look in one place. When it's dark like this, you need to look around constantly. The movement helps your eyes adjust to varying light levels and it also increases your peripheral vision which sees better in the dark."
"Oh, wow." After a few minutes, Freya heard O'Paka making less noise as she walked. Now they needed to pick up the pace. They hiked silently through the remote wilderness outside of Lay'ata base. According to the message Nova sent her, they should be approaching the coordinates where they should be meeting. Looking around, Freya didn't see anything that stood out to her, but Nova wouldn't make it that easy to get caught by ARI. She paused and listened with her mind. At first all she heard was static and it warmed her heart. They'd found Bash! Quickly she filtered through the static and found Nova.
I'm here and I brought an ally. Don't attack her.
Nova stepped out into the clearing and waved. Freya sprinted towards her, looking for any sign of the man she loved. Two men stepped out, her heart stopped when she saw he wasn't among them.
"Where is Bash?"
"He's not here. He was captured during the ARI raid."
"But--" Then realization dawned on her. She reached out and tried to listen to Cay and Alastor's minds, and heard the same static she'd heard earlier. It wasn't just Bash, it was all men. Hopelessness crashed down on her, forcing her to kneel on the ground. Somewhere in her heart, she'd known Bash was the man that was captured, but she couldn't admit it until this moment. A tiny piece of her hoped it had been Alastor or Cay that was captured, but she didn't wish that pain on Nova. Not after everything she'd been through. Unable to think through the pain that erupted into her brain, she kept her eyes closed until she felt a liquid drip from her nose. Opening her eyes, she saw blood. The chip had passed the third threshold level.
"Who's this?" Nova's voice snapped her from the emotional spiral she'd fallen into.
Freya heaved herself from the grass. "Brigadier General Zia Sorasta's daughter, O'Paka." Freya grabbed Nova as she rushed O'Paka. "It's not like that, I'm recruiting her.
"She's a spy. There is no way she wants to be part of the Resistance for altruistic reasons."
Freya loosened her grip on Nova and responded so the others couldn't hear. If she is a spy, she's a horrible one. Or maybe a genius. Even reading her mind, I can't detect any subterfuge. Sorasta threw her into ARI without training as a punishment. She'll get herself killed if she stays at the base.
Nova's thoughts came through clear. This isn't like you. Why do you care what happens to her?
The question made her think for a moment before she responded. I'm not sure. When I think about her, I get this strange feeling in my chest. She stood up for me against Sha'Rah, and they will kill her when they get a chance.
Nova's eyes narrowed on O'Paka. "Let's get one thing straight. I don't know you and I already don't like you. Just because she trusts you doesn't mean I do." Nova circled O'Paka as she continued. "This isn't a free ride. Being part of the Resistance takes hard work. If you put a single person in harm's way, I'll kill you faster than Freya can react."
O'Paka's face paled as Nova returned to the two men, and Freya almost felt bad for her. Despite Nova's threats, she wasn't worried about O'Paka's loyalty. She could see it even though Nova couldn't.
"Speaking of traitors, Major Tas'Ki admitted to betraying us. That's how they found the camp." Freya's stomach turned as she thought about it.
Nova cursed and stomped around before looking at Freya. "Why would she betray us?"
The words were on the tip of her tongue, because I was distracted by a man. But, she knew if she said them, Nova would blame her. Everyone in the Resistance would blame her for what happened. If she could hide enough details so Nova wouldn't know it was her fault, maybe it would buy enough time for her to return to Lay'ata Base and kill Major Tas'Ki before she told anyone. Then no one would know all the deaths were her fault.
Freya let the nothingness she knew so well take over. “Major Tas'Ki correctly thought that if an entire Resistance camp and the man living inside was turned over to the inner circle, with credit going to me, then it would be the boost I needed to infiltrate them." Nova gasped but didn't say anything, so Freya continued. "It worked too. I didn't know what was happening at first. Right after I returned to Lay'ata Base, they shut down the base."
"What do you mean shut down the base?"
"As in a level three." Freya watched Nova sit on a tree stump as she processed the news. She'd never heard of that level being used before. "Cay, did you see the women who raided the camp? What color was their uniform?"
Cay's forehead wrinkled as he spoke, "I didn't see any of them?"
"Why not?"
"He was unconscious, and they were red." Alastor's gruff voice intruded.
"Red like what I'm wearing or darker?" While Freya usually avoided talking to Alastor because of his resentment towards her and other women in positions of power. She'd heard what he'd been through and it made her childhood look like a picnic, so she didn't blame him.
Alastor narrowed his eyes and growled at her. "Darker than yours, why does that matter?"
"That's what I thought. It wasn't ARI soldiers that raided the camp, it was Crimson." ARI would have been better because Crimson was the special force team.
Cay let out a string of curses. "Of course they're involved. Why wouldn't they be?" He kicked a rock and stomped away from the group, keeping his distance while throwing anything he could get his hands on.
Ignoring Cay's outburst, Freya continued. "That helps me narrow down where to find him. Because of Major Tas'Ki, Brigadier General Sorasta promoted me and she reassigned me to Ray'Nia Base."
"Freya," Nova's voice was soft as she reached out for Freya, "I know you want to find Bash, but you have to remember. You might not be able to save him. By now, he will be in their most restricted area. The Resistance needs you to stay on focus—"
"No! I will not abandon him." Freya pulled back from Nova and hissed as the chip sent another pulse of pain. "I will not leave him to be tortured! It's because of me that he was at the safe house when they arrived. He deserves better than that."
The voice she least expected spoke next. "He saved our lives. If it wasn't for him and his little device," Alastor pulled two small handhelds from his pocket and showed them to Freya, "They would have captured us all. Cay and I are free because of what he did."
The world around her turned watery as Alastor approached her with his hand held out presenting the devices to her. She hiccupped as she slowly took them and held them to her chest.
"I know he would want you to have them." Alastor grumbled as he stepped back from her.
"Freya—"
"Nova don't start with me. I have given my entire life to your cause. The Sovereign murdered my mother and stole my life. This time, they have gone too far, and I will stop them. If it takes the rest of my life, I will make sure vengeance is paid for their evil deeds." Nova tried to speak again but Freya cut her off again. "Shut the hell up. You may be my contact inside the resistance, but now I'm in charge of my mission. No more orders from you. Starting today, I am in charge of what I will do, not you or the Sovereign."
Leaving O'Paka with the others, Freya left the group and sprinted towards Lay'ata Base. It wouldn't be today, but it would be soon. She would kill Tas'Ki for her betrayal, save Bash, and destroy the Sovereign.
Unknown Location: Bash
Soft voices roused Bash from a tormented sleep, and he struggled to focus his vision when he opened his eyes. Four women were in the corner talking. Blinking several times, two women snapped into two as his eyes finally adjusted. He took stock of his situation; his arms were still restrained behind his back, his ass ached from the metal chair he'd fallen asleep in, and there was a new sharp pain in his forearm. To his left stood an IV pole, which explained the pain in his forearm.
"Bash, you're awake." Deja's coo made his stomach turn. "I had to give y
ou IV fluids because your body isn't reproducing fluids as fast as we need them."
He held back the sarcastic comeback knowing it wouldn't be worth her wrath. "So, what's on the schedule today? Murder of the innocent, unending torture, or shall we play a dashing game of Da'Temp?"
Deja rolled her eyes and went back to her discussion with the researcher. He strained to hear their words but couldn't make out even partials. Easing forward, the cuff slipped down his hand and over his thumb. He froze before the metal made a noise. The restraint was much looser on his left wrist than his right. The IV! They must have loosened it to put in the IV and forgot to tighten in.
With painstaking slowness, Bash eased his thumb the rest of the way through, hooking the rest of the cuff with his fingers. The breath he'd held silently escaped as he started breathing again. Scenarios and a plan of attack formed in his mind. If Deja would move a little further from the researcher, then he could rush her while her back was turned to him. Even with how weak he was, he could still reach her before she could react. Knowing his window of attack could disappear at any second, he waited for a moment, looking for any signs that Deja would move.
Deja took a small step away from the researched to grab a paper on the table. Bash bolted from the chair, releasing the restraint and bringing his arms in front of himself. Time slowed to a crawl as his adrenaline spiked. Deja turned towards him, her eyebrows shot up as her arms came up to block him. As they made contact and his momentum threw them to the ground, Bash pushed her face down as they crashed into the hard ground, her head making a sickening noise as it hit. Before she had time to react, he reached around and grabbed the other half of the restraint and pulled as hard as he could. Hooking his right hand under his left arm, he held her in a choke hold with his restraints cutting off her air supply.
Deja wrestled to get free, making him match his weight to her movements to keep her pinned. A shrill scream pierced the air making him flinch, but he refused to give even a millimeter. Hurried footsteps disappeared behind the pneumatic blast of the door closing. Just a few more seconds and her body would go limp, even now her movements became weaker and slower. Footsteps pounded in the hallway and he silently hoped he had enough time. A little longer.
A burst of air from the door opening preceded shock blasts burning through him. His body convulsed from the electricity causing him to lose grip of the restraints. Gloved hands pulled him off and rolled him on his back. A woman stood over him, her Reaper pointed at his chest. She smiled as she pulled the trigger, the blast causing his body to go fully rigid, then completely limp. Unable to move anything but his head, he realized she'd shot him with a paralyzing stun blast that affected everything but his autonomic nervous system. They couldn't give him the satisfaction of dying on them either. He laid there helpless as the women organized to check on Deja.
"Get a medic!" He tried to look over to see if Deja was alive, but his muscles didn't cooperate, so he resigned to listening to unknown voices.
"I already called for one, she's on her way."
"How the hell did this happen?" Stomping foot falls followed by crashing noises. "I want to know right this second how it got its restraints off."
Even paralyzed, Bash rolled his eyes. He was a he, why couldn't they use the right pronoun? Anger fueled him, but his body remained limp. In a fair fight, he could take these women one on one, most likely anyway. But he would never get that chance, they would never let go of their advantage.
Several women dragged him back to the wall he'd woken up chained to the first day. Silently he screamed at his muscles to move, to even twitch, but they remained useless. The injustices throughout his life overwhelmed him. He'd never had a life, just an existence. If Freya hadn't barged into his life, it wouldn't have ended this badly. Now he would spend the rest of his days as a lab rat, cursed to never live a free or enact his vengeance.
Chapter 17
Ray'Nia Base: Freya
"Over here we have the mess hall and down that corridor is the Infirm. Because of the security levels of all the main buildings, each section contains their own amenities."
Freya watched her tour guide, Khlo'e, point out several areas that she'd already looked up when she was researching the base. Even though she had the public layouts of the base memorized, she made sure to look interested.
"What are they serving today?" She had no interest in the mess hall flavor of the day, but in this situation the question was appropriate and even expected.
"Creamy chicken succotash," Khlo'e coughed, "I wouldn't recommend it. Something about lima beans that the replicators can't quite match flavor wise."
Freya forced a small smile. "Replicators are practical and resourceful, but still not perfect."
"I meant to ask; did you already find off-base housing? If not, there is a small double residency unit you can use until you make arrangements."
"Yes I did."
"Great! Just around this corner is a small office you will share with a few other officers. You also get your choice of assistant. Do you have anyone in mind?"
Freya paused at the question. When Brigadier General Sorasta told her about the promotion, transfer, and off-base housing options, she hadn't mentioned an office assistant. An idea formed in her mind as she replied. "Yes, I brought her from Lay'ata Base. Her name is Private O'Paka Sorasta, and I can have her here in the hour to finalize things."
"Oh, great. I will get started on the transfer." Khlo'e stopped walking to point through an open door, ignoring several chimes from her handheld. "Well, this is your office. Your desk is right over there. If you have any questions, just send me a page on your newly issued handheld and I'll get right on it. Otherwise, I hope you have a productive day."
Khlo'e waved and quickly left the room, furiously tapping on her handheld. She'd have to tell O'Paka when she got home to their shared condo about the transfer. Even though she was technically AWOL, no one had submitted reports yet. This would make everything easier on both of them.
Freya focused on the empty office, looking over the unoccupied desks. Several desks were in the room, but nothing personal sat on them. Sitting at the desk Khlo'e indicated was hers, Freya looked through the drawers, but found nothing from the standard office supplies. Since her new position involved managing members from two of the infiltration units, this office wouldn't see much of her. Most of her time would be in the field, or in the units designated meeting rooms.
Emotions warred inside of her as she sat motionless at the desk. This was what she wanted, to be invited to the highest security base so she could find information that would give the Resistance the hold it needed to destabilize the government. She'd accomplished something that no one else in the Resistance had. Then why did she feel so much anger and hate? She should be happy and focused on her goal.
Bash. The thought hit her like a roundhouse kick. She didn't want to admit it even to herself, but his absence was a constant ache in her chest. Anger renewed her motivation and she got up from the desk. She would head home and start making plans on how she would kill Major Tas'Ki. Once she was dead, then Freya could focus on what mattered most. She left the office and turned the corner to head out of the base. Remembering to listen to thoughts as she walked through the base, she opened her mind.
One woman was convinced her lover was cheating on her. While it was normal for civilians to cohabitate with lovers, technically against the rules for members of ARI. The reason stated usually had to do with split allegiances. Couldn't be loyal to the government if you had feelings for someone since intimate feelings had a tendency to override logic, and at the moment she had to agree with that.
She listened to useless thoughts and internal arguments until something caught her attention. Slowing her pace, she focused in on that one mind.
I can't believe she was that stupid! Forgetting to tighten the restraints on the specimen was probably the dumbest thing she's ever done. If she wasn't the sister of one of the highest ranking officers in ARI, she would be re
moved from the lab. No one else could have made a mistake like that and stay on the project. It wasn't fair that she got to work directly with the specimen when I have the right credentials to study it. She doesn't have degrees in Bioengineering, Genetic Epidemiology, or Conservation Genetics. I suspect she doesn't have any degrees.
Freya stopped walking and pulled out her handheld. Leaning against the wall, she casually tapped through random menus on her handheld to look busy while she focused on penetrating the woman's mind further. Pushing past her thoughts, Freya sorted through newer memories, reading about a new specimen that was a male human. He'd recently attacked a woman while her back was turned to him after leaving his wrist restraint too loose. Deja! What the hell was she doing here? She'd expected her to escape the little trap they'd set for her, but never imagined she could be part of ARI.
She lost the connection as she tried to understand the connection: Deja, the rogue Resistance camp, and ARI. Something dangerous was happening and she had to figure it out. Could ARI really infiltrate the Resistance to the point of starting an entire splinter cell? Putting her handheld away, Freya walked through the corridors until she reached the main entrance to the base. She needed to get home where she could think this over. Walking home to her condo gave her time to think. Arriving home, she let herself in and greeted O'Paka.
"So, how was work?"
She'd been home for mere seconds and already the questions started. "Fine. Though I should tell you that I put in transfer orders for you. Congratulations, you're my new office assistant."
"Wait, so I'm not part of the resistance?"
"Yes, but you will be working undercover as my office assistant."
"Oh." O'Paka's nose wrinkled as she set down the tab she'd been reading.
"Why do you sound disappointed?"
"Ummm, well, I liked the idea of being in the Resistance."