Ilox Saga 1: Eris Monroe: More Than Human (16 page)

Saephan nodded. “Of course you need my help…the null field on the Sparta is not functioning. I will come with you. I will help you. But if you lied to me…” The large Orvod tilted his massive head at Eris and then turned to his companion and spoke. “Bresand, we must conclude our business another time. It has been pleasure working with you. You know my link
code and we will talk again. I’m afraid I must go check out of hotel. Goodbye.” Bresand nodded, walked swiftly away, opened the outer door and was gone. Saephan grunted and stretched. Eris allowed herself a small moment of satisfaction. “I will reinstate you at your former rank of Chief Engineer of course. You’ll be pleased with the Sparta, she’s a fine ship.”

“
Eh?” The Orvod shrugged his massive shoulders. “The Sparta was not finished when I left ten months ago. It is good to hear she has been completed. I have my tools. Let me grab belongings.” He trundled ponderously into the master suite bedroom and emerged a few minutes’ later carrying two large trunks – one held in each substantial hand. “My clothes and hunting equipment,” he said. A thin smile appeared on his leathery face. “I will have trophies sent to Sparta later…yes?” Eris nodded.

All of them left the suite, walked to the nearest elevator and
told it to take them to the east lobby. They were headed back to the starport as Eris called Kyle on an encrypted channel. “We’re proceeding back to the Starlifter; we should be there in twenty-five minutes.”

“Copy that Captain.” Kyle’s voice came clearly through the small ear-piece communicator that Eris was using.
Dozens of people passed them but paid no attention. They appeared to be nothing more than tourists, the same as everyone else staying at the hotel Surimakei. They had just exited the main elevator into the east lobby. People were everywhere and it was crowded. Eli was startled to see at least eight men
linked
together were approaching the main door to the east lobby. Interfacing with the implants of the man, he learned that he was part of an Alliance team of agents sent to capture Eris Monroe.

“Uh, Captain…
we have trouble.” Eli said with a pained expression. Using his talent he watched the agents approach the front desk and gesture rudely to hotel personnel. “Eris, there are Alliance agents approaching!” Eli blurted out. He
saw
with his mind’s eye agents heading straight towards them in the wide open lobby. The lead operative, a tall fair haired human wearing dark clothing stood in the open lobby beneath a hanging chandelier. He locked eyes with Eris Monroe as he yelled out.

“Take the Monroe woman
.” Alliance operatives arrayed behind him wore similar clothing, but Eris noted slight protrusions…they wore combat armor vests under their shirts. The agents had spread out in a wedge shaped attack formation. None of them had any weapons. The lead agent was at least seven meters distant from Eris.

Bowman saw Eris move as a
blur
…she raced towards the lead operative, surprising him with her speed and disarmed his newly drawn pistol with a sharp
flying
side kick
to his hand before he could fire. The weapon skidded to rest in front of Eli’s feet with a clatter. Eli heard a loud
crack
as Eris turned to face her opponent and fluidly
snap kicked
his chest with enough force to break five ribs and knock him down to the hard marble floor. He lay there gasping for breath. She never stopped moving and advanced effortlessly to the next armed operative. As Eris ran forward, a micro-mek flew through the lobby equipped with a stun grenade. “Eli, some help would be appreciated right about now…” Eris called out hastily.

T
he flying mek dropped a stun grenade with a
clang
on the polished granite floor one meter from her feet. It didn’t explode. Eli had
tracked
the approaching mek and quickly
disabled
the electronically-fused detonator of the stun grenade. Continued use of his power was giving him a serious headache and he rubbed his temples in an attempt to soothe the pain. As more agents came into view, they took cover positions behind planters and marble columns. They had drawn stunner pistols with the closest agent standing eight meters distant. 

T’sell hadn’t brought any weapons to Planoss but her mind…and she moved quickly, taking up position behind a marble pillar to gain cover. As Eli and Eris attacked, she
was simultaneously active, having instantly taken control of an agent in her view and was forcing him to fire at his compatriots. The mental
compulsion
would not last, as the agent’s will was relatively strong. T’sell flinched reflexively as two electrical shock fields dissipated harmlessly against the pillar she had taken cover behind. If the shots had hit, a numbing pain would have simultaneously paralyzed her and knocked her unconscious. Whatever plans the Alliance operatives had started with, they quickly unraveled. Patrons and tourists of the hotel froze for a split second then hastily ran from the battle scene; a few screaming in fear as they ran trying to escape the fast-moving battle.

Hasephrey Saephan
snorted then charged the agents with a roar while holding his luggage with both hands in front of him to block incoming fire. Two blasts deflected harmlessly off the make-shift baggage shields, but an agent on his right flank managed to hit the massive Orvod in his right leg. Saephan roared in pain as he stumbled and fell heavily to the floor. Eris spun to her right and closed with the agents that had just fired against Saephan. She broke one agent’s gun arm with a
reverse crescent kick,
eliciting a howl of anguish from the man as she turned him around and used him as a shield against his closest companion. A fraction of a second later in one effortless action she grabbed the stunner pistol from his nerveless grasp and returned fire. A stunner electrical field hit the third agent in his chest at point blank range, dropping him unmoving to the floor. In six seconds, five agents had been knocked unconscious or were disabled and writhing in pain. Seeing the ease with which their compatriots had been taken down and disabled, the remaining three agents retreated slowly searching for better cover.

“Captain,
it’s time to get the hell out of here!” Eli Bowman was a lousy shot with firearms…he had always relied on his psionic abilities to get him through any kind of trouble, so he ignored the stunner pistol that lay at his feet. Saephan grunted in pain as he stood limping. The sounds of combat had almost ceased entirely except for the occasional shriek of people in the distance fleeing the chaotic scene.

“Where’s tripod blaster when you need one? Captain Monroe, your friend is correct. It is time to get o
ff Planoss. You have ship?” Saephan winced in pain as he limped on his innervated right leg. “We Orvod are tough, yes? Toys will not stop me.” He gestured dismissively at a nearby pistol.

Eris
ignored the engineer as she took careful aim with her captured stunner pistol. A sharp
electrical
sound emanated from the gun as she struck another agent directly in the head, instantly paralyzing his nervous system. She watched wordlessly as he collapsed. T’sell T’savri simultaneously had moved forward eight meters and mentally
dominated
another retreating agent, forcing him to shoot the last Alliance special forces soldier sent to capture them. The last agent attempted to flee but Eris was too fast for him, striking him in rapid bursts of paralyzing energy.

“Let’s move. Saephan…can you walk?” She was calm and cool and hadn’t broken a sweat. The large Orvod nodded and the four of them
moved as fast as they could outside of the floating hotel. Taking the wide stairway down, the scene outside on the street was chaotic. People that had fled the fighting were still running. Eris saw no cabs and a huge traffic jam blocking the south side of the hotel drive entrance. “Eli, can you hot-wire a vehicle?”

“Really?” Eli uttered with a deadpan expression. “You have to ask?”

“A simple yes or no, Eli
.” Eris was in a hurry and had no time for his false indignation. Eli grunted as he looked over all the nearby vehicles. “Captain, how about that blue one over there?” He pointed to a brand new Dietrich truck parked against the far side of the street. It looked like an off-road model.

“
That’ll do. Everyone move!” Eris said. The group trotted over to the vehicle as Eris continuously scanned for hostile targets. Eli had instructed the vehicle’s computer to open both the driver’s side and passenger doors at once. Everyone clambered inside waiting for her. She contacted Kyle again.

“Arneson, do you copy?” She was sitting in the driver’s seat as she took manual control of the truck, disengaging the computer. Saephan lay in the back of the bed, his le
gs splayed out. Eris turned the heavy duty truck onto the street, then pulled a ‘u-turn’ to head north and rapidly accelerated. She wove through traffic. The Dietrich truck floated roughly ten centimeters from the road surface.

“
Captain, I read you,” she heard Kyle’s reply. Eris needed to fill him in quickly. “We were attacked by Alliance forces at the hotel. They have been neutralized but we don’t know if there are any more of them in the vicinity. Have the
Starlifter
ready for immediate takeoff. We’re on our way and should reach the starport in less than twenty minutes.” Eris looked soberly at T’sell T’savri sitting in the passenger seat. “I noticed some of those agents shot each other.” She looked back at the road and swerved to avoid a stalled vehicle blocking the lane. “Why didn’t you tell me you were an
esper
?”

“
Circumstances were never appropriate to tell you,” T’sell replied coolly. “I don’t advertise that I have abilities. I’ve stayed alive a lot longer because of my discretion.” She looked at Eris with a sidelong look, “What would you have me do?”

“Once we get back to the Sparta, I want a full accounting of your abilities and anything else you
forgot
to tell me. Is that clear?” Eris turned her attention back to the road and concentrated on driving the vehicle. It didn’t appear they were in any further danger and no other agents of the Alliance showed themselves. The G’arocki Starport was as busy as they had left it. They hurried back to the Starlifter and left the planet behind to rendezvous with the Sparta.

Eris had returned to the Sparta in an ugly mood. Her mission had been successful, but it had been complicated by the appearance of Alliance operatives. She had ordered T’sell T’savri to follow her to the communications room the moment they had boarded the Sparta. At her command Eli Bowman and her executive officer Arnav Malik had also accompanied her. After the door shut, Eris ordered the computer to establish a quantum link with Dominic Gray. It normally took a few minutes to set up such communications. She would get her answers one way or another.

“
You deliberately deceived me. Why were you hiding your psionic talents?” She had crossed her arms and spoke to Trafelle with steel in her voice. “What else are you hiding? What else have you lied about?”

“I don’t think you will
appreciate the answer...” T’sell answered serenely. She was sitting at a small table while Eris stood. Eli and Arnav were close to the door, blocking it.

“Eli, I want you to look over specialist Talani with
your
abilities. Tell me what’s going on with her implants and anything else you find. Before Bowman had begun, Trafelle Talani’s face
shifted and flowed
for a period of five seconds as her hair and skin color changed – her clothing remained the same. A green skinned Zari female with blue hair of the same approximate size and shape of Talani was now seated where Talani had sat. Eli whistled in amazement and XO Malik drew his sidearm and pointed it at the changeling. The Zari looked at them unsmiling.

Eris came to a sudden realization. “Who
are
you? I’m sure
Trafelle Talani
isn’t your real name.” Eris wasn’t prepared for the answer she received. She had heard of Nanite sub-dermal technology that could do what she had just seen, but thought it was experimental and unproven. Apparently what she had heard was wrong.

“
I knew you wouldn’t like the answer. Very well…my name is T’sell T’savri and I work directly for Mr. Gray. My specialty is in gaining classified information…and neutralizing those that stand in my path.”

“What the hell gives you the right to board this ship under false pretenses? Eris was more concerned about the disquieting fact that one of her crew was a shape-shifting spy working directly for Dominic Gray. “I want to know exactly what your orders are…and I want them now!” Eris thundered at the Zari woman. T’sell sat calmly showing no emotion whatsoever. “Well…what’s your answer?”

“Monroe, your tone is insulting…but I shall let that pass, since you are still a child
, and don’t know any better.” T’sell glanced toward the closed door of the cabin looking thoughtful. “My orders are to see to it that your missions are completed successfully. I believe without my help on Planoss, you easily could have failed…and you, Eli Bowman and engineer Saephan would now be at the mercy of the Alliance.” Eris was grinding her teeth in anger, but before T’sell finished speaking, the image of Dominic Gray appeared in the center of the comm room.

“I see that T’sell’s secret is now out in the open,” he said. “I had hoped
she could maintain her cover until final success had been achieved.” Dominic Gray turned to look at those assembled. “Captain Monroe, I advise that you keep her secret at least a little longer. Only those in this room should be aware of her true identity. There is a reason she is such a valuable asset and your wounded pride should be set aside for the sake of the mission.”

“And why should I do that? Keeping secrets is something you’re good at
- not me.” Eris was fuming at the arrogance of the Zari woman. Mister Gray continued talking calmly.

“Agent T’savri is my
finest operative. Intelligence that she obtained over the past year convinced me to pursue the actions I’ve now undertaken. Her abilities that seem to have you upset allowed her to gather information that five other agents died trying to obtain. Those agents were all captured, tortured and killed by Alliance counter-intelligence teams…” He paused and brought up a holographic display near him. He then reached out, touched the display and it simultaneously popped up in the communications center near Eris. “I’ve now given you every possible iota of data concerning agent T’savri that I possess. I hope you realize how valuable such information is… Operative T’savri has been a trusted agent in my employ for years and I’m asking you to trust her. I apologize for not confiding in you about her at the outset; clearly that was a mistake on my part. However, at the time I believed full disclosure would be a distraction to your primary mission…and I see it has become so.”

“The crew has to be informed. I don’t keep secrets on this ship…and they deserve to know the truth,” Eris said flatly.

“That is, of course, your prerogative. Just remember though…T’sell’s line of work demands secrecy. Without it, you might as well put a gun to her head and pull the trigger - something to think about.” He paused as if lost in thought, then continued. “When this mission is finally concluded, T’sell will move on to other projects that need attention. I would hate to lose such as skilled operative due to unnecessary
exposure
.” He looked directly at Eris. “I want to be updated when engineer Saephan has corrected the flaw in the null field generator; there are other priorities that must be attended to.” Gray then shut off the quantum link and the room became silent.

“Maybe we shouldn’t tell everyone
on board about Trafelle…I mean T’sell,” said Eli. “Dominic kept her a secret for a reason, Captain. I think Mr. Gray is right…I’ve told people…friends… about my psionic abilities and they’ve freaked out over it. People don’t like espers, and
never
trust us. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way,” Eli said hesitantly. He was unsure about the whole situation.

Arnav
Malik had been silently listening to the conversation and had finally lowered and holstered the gauss pistol he had trained on T’sell. “I agree with Mr. Bowman, Captain. It’s unfortunate that neither Mr. Gray nor agent T’savri deigned to inform you of her true nature, but clandestine work does involve keeping secrets…for a very good reason. It’s your call Captain, but I would recommend keeping this knowledge wrapped up tight.” 

Eris had been listening
intently to Eli and Arnav as the Zari woman sat stoically. “T’sell, in order for us to work together, we need to trust one another completely. Soldiers absolutely cannot advance into harm’s way without having each other’s backs. Do you give me your word there are no more secrets you’re keeping from me?”

“
Yes, Captain…and I apologize as well; I should not have called you a child…” T’sell said nothing to indicate she was lying and seemed contrite. She stood and her face
morphed
back into that of Trafelle Talani. “So this is all settled?” She looked at Eris waiting for a reply.

Eris nodded at the woman, who now
appeared as she had before, complete with DSD uniform. “Just one more thing, T’savri – don’t ever mess with my head.” She waved her hand toward the exit. “Dismissed…specialist Talani,” said Eris with her mouth set in a hard line. As T’savri left the comm room, Eris put her hand on Eli’s shoulder, stopping him from leaving.

Malik looked at his
commander, “Anything further you wish to discuss, Captain?” Eris shook her head as she said, “That will be all.” Arnav saluted and left the room without a word. She waited until her executive officer was gone before checking to make sure the door was completely shut. She then turned to Eli. “I want you to keep an eye on her. She’s dangerous, and I’m not fully convinced she’s telling the truth. Call it a gut instinct,” she warned.

“
I hate to say this boss, but does it really matter? She’s fighting on our side - you saw how she handled those Alliance agents. Maybe we could have fought our way through them without her being there…who knows? But she was a tremendous help.” He let the words sink in. Eli had never thought of Eris as being vulnerable before…but she looked that way now.
Perhaps her brush with death changed her
, he thought.

“I think that she’s on her own side and her interests…and ours…merely coincide for the moment. If those interests ever deviate…” Eris looked intently at Eli as she said, “Just keep an eye on her, okay?”
Eli nodded vigorously. Eris leaned in close and whispered in his ear.

“One more thing, I’m not sure if Dominic Gray
planted listening devices on the ship – but I want you to find out.” Eli looked at her with eyes wide.

“What if I find some bugs?” he whispered back to her.

“Disable them in a way that whoever is listening won’t know they’re disabled…” Her blue eyes bored into him.

The buzz in his ear from the Captain’s whispering was sending a shiver down his spine. Eli’s mind was racing with possibilities of how to proceed.

“I won’t let you down Eris,” he whispered back finally and pulled away from her.

Captain Eris Monroe adjusted her uniform and opened the door. “Let’s go pay a visit to engineer Saephan.” She then touched the comm link on her collar. “Lieutenant Arneson, meet me in engineering,” she began.
I want to see him and have him hold me tight
she thought
but that will have to wait
. Both Eris and Eli exited the communications center, crossed two hallways and took the main elevator down to the engineering deck. As usual, the hum of the fusion powerplant was palpable on her skin when she emerged into the cavernous space of deck four. The air felt warm; the ambient temperature was a few degrees higher in engineering than every other deck in the ship due to the giant heat exchangers rising eight meters high. She saw two women and one man standing at a nearby control panel. All of them were working. She recognized all of them from the files she had memorized while convalescing. The two women were Elizabeth Qian and Naunet Joubert; the man was Merrick Dunne, Technician First Class. Eris walked up to him as Eli hung back.

“
I’m looking for Chief Engineer Saephan,” she asked Dunne. The technician snapped to attention and saluted. “He’s with Lieutenant Commander Tariv in the aft section of the engineering bay.” He indicated the direction with his thumb. “They’re working on the null field generator.” Eris thanked him and continued walking through the large open part of the deck. It was filled with large humming machinery. She could identify each machine from memory, but knew little of how each one functioned. She found Hasephrey Saephan and Lieutenant Commander Sev Tariv bent over and huddled around an exposed bay. The massive bulk of the Orvod engineer gave little room for the smaller K’Tosk to squeeze himself into being able to view the exposed circuits and components of the null field generator. Various electronic parts and tools rested on a large tray being held by a servo-MEK. The two were arguing as Hasephrey tapped an electronic wrench on the metallic grill of the null field compartment. His voice rose with each clang of the tool as if he could add weight to his words.

“
Urez take your ideas and stuff them into shit-hole! I’m telling you, you’re doing it wrong! It will never work in that configuration. After ten minutes circuits will overload - it will trip. Would be lucky if machine doesn’t melt whole structure to useless junk. No…must start again.” The huge Orvod was sweating – he was dressed in his full DSD uniform. Eris had ordered he be issued one constructed with the 3D fabricator they carried down in the labs. He still wore his bands of fiber-structure
tools, though several had been detached and were lying on the servo-MEK’s tray. The tattoos on his bald head kept changing patterns and colors. It was disconcerting but somehow mesmerizing at the same time. Eris stopped staring at his moving tattoos and knocked on a nearby plasteel cooling pipe beside her to get their attention.

“Gentlemen, how’s the progress coming on the stealth generator?” She asked in a firm voice.
The K’Tosk Sev Tariv sighed and looked down to study the electronic parts arrayed before him, saying nothing. Hasephrey Saephan turned around with a glum expression. Her eyes found his, and she sensed how difficult and frustrating the last few hours had been.

“Not good…”
replied Saephan as Eris watched the tattoo pattern on his bald head change to ringed circles. The tattoos were slowly pulsing in bright blues and pastel greens and continuing to shift. “It will take at least another day to configure settings just right. My absence from project has made mess of things, yes?” The big Orvod stated rhetorically. He then looked down at Eris with a tight smile. “Not give up. It is my theories come to life…and all parts needed are here.” He gestured at the open compartment and the complex machinery packed tightly within – then motioned at the scattered parts adorning the tray. “Is matter of finding proper configuration. Need more time. Come back later.” He then turned and muttered while scooping up components and using a calibration tool to begin scanning each one.

“Eli, you know a lot about machines. Use your talents to help Chief Engineer and Lieutenant Commander Tariv make this thing work,” she said while tapping her temple with her forefinger. Eli understood what she meant implicitly.

“Of course, Eris - I’d be happy to help.” Eli began to work with the engineers happily.

“Very well, I’ll leave
all of you to your work. Inform me as soon as the stealth field generator is ready to be tested.” She spun around and turned to leave. As she did so, Kyle Arneson came into the room. They locked eyes.