Star Alliance (18 page)

The hunters bunched together as Zack got closer. Some hissed out a warning. Zack glanced at the elongated claws and the long surgical scars on the sides of their heads.

::Foreign signal detected transmitting to the Nershal mutants directly ahead.:: The AI’s words appeared on his HUD.

::Are you able to decode it?:: Zack asked.

::Analyzing,:: the AI replied.

Zack kept moving forward at an even pace. ::I don’t have a lot of time, so if you’ve got something for me that will help, now would be a good time to share it,:: Zack said.

The AI didn’t respond, and the hunters grew more restless the closer Zack got. Some charged forward, only to stop after a few steps and return to their position in front of the makeshift tunnel. Zack saw the supply cache slowly creep into view in the darkened tunnel. His internal HUD was enhancing his own vision.

The hunters hissed and bared their teeth.

A series of tones sounded from his PDA, catching them all off guard. The hunters glanced around, looking for the source of the sound, and then back at Zack. Another series of tones spewed forth from the speaker in his PDA, and the hunters retreated a few steps.

::It’s working,:: Zack said.

::Foreign signal strength is increasing. I’m not sure how long this will work. Recommend retreating to a safe distance,:: the AI said.

Some of the hunters brought a hand to the side of their head that had the scar, and Zack engaged his implants to see if he could somehow block the foreign signal they were receiving, but the transmitter on his PDA was nowhere near strong enough. He heard a number of soft footsteps gathering behind him and risked a glance over his shoulder. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw a group of blind Nershal mutants, their tan, tattered clothing hanging off them. They swiftly moved forward, interweaving themselves among the hunters. The hunters, disoriented by the tones coming from Zack’s PDA, didn’t attack, but allowed themselves to be corralled back away from the entrance to the tunnel.

Zack seized the opportunity and moved inside.

C
HAPTER
F
IFTEEN

T
HE
M
ARDOXIAN
CHAMBER
was smaller than the one on Pluto, but that didn’t keep Kaylan’s hands from shaking as the chamber door hissed shut behind her. A dark blue beam shot down from the ceiling to a crystal sphere rising from the central point in the chamber. The glowing sphere rose until it was eye level with her. Kaylan braced herself for what was to come, but nothing happened. The sphere continued to hover there in front of her. She glanced around. The chamber was silent, as if all outside noise were blocked. Remembering what Ma’jasalax had had her do on the Boxan ship, Kaylan closed her eyes. She focused on Zack—from his deep, penetrating eyes to the last press of his lips on hers. In her mind she saw him kiss the tips of his fingers and place them on the clear elevator door. Her throat thickened, and she wanted to hold him in her arms. She wished she’d told him how she truly felt.
 

 
Memories of their time on the Athena played through her mind—both the times when they’d laughed and when they’d argued. She eagerly sought all memories, strengthening her image of Zack. She remembered him first coming into the room at Dux Corp’s secret base in the mountains of North Carolina. He had aged beyond the boy she’d known at MIT. A deep warmth spread within her, and her beating heart sounded in her ears as the images crowded into her awareness. She strained, reaching deeper inside. Kaylan held her breath, and in that moment she heard a slight gasp. Daylight shone from the end of a tunnel, and she saw a figure move, shadowed by the light from behind. Kaylan inched closer, trying to get a better view. The figure was hunched over a large crate. Then daylight raced toward them and the tunnel disappeared.
 

 
Kaylan turned and her mouth opened in astonishment. Zack was right there in front of her! Alive! His face was a mask of concentration while he fiddled with a large crate. His hair was caked with mud and his clothing was torn and bloodied. Shadows moved along her field of vision, but she wouldn’t take her eyes from him. She wanted to tell him she was there, that they were trying to find him, but she didn’t know how. The large crate opened and Zack glanced fearfully behind him. Kaylan pulled back and tore her eyes away. He was alive, and she didn’t have time to cling to a fleeting memory. She needed to figure out where the hell he was.
 

 
She shifted her gaze. Zack was surrounded by—she didn’t know what. Some of them looked like Nershals, but they were horribly deformed. There was fighting going on all around. Several dead bodies littered the ground. A large shadow loomed in, and the fighting Nershals scrambled out of the way. Kaylan turned toward Zack. He reached inside the crate and pulled out a large green capsule. Leaping down, he held the capsule above his head.

Kaylan shifted her perspective once again. A creature easily twenty feet tall was heading directly toward Zack. It looked different than the others. Its wide, triangular head reminded her of a Boxan, but the creature’s large orange eyes were that of a Nershal. A long tail dragged behind it, ending in a large black stinger that looked to have come from a protokar.
Oh god,
Kaylan thought. The Xiiginns’ cross-species genetic experiments included races from other worlds. Zack was trapped in a place full of genetic experiments beyond what they’d found at the research facility on Selebus.

Zack walked toward the giant mutant and stopped in front of the crates. He placed the large green capsule on the ground and stepped back. The giant mutant’s face twisted in a ferocious sneer, and then it charged directly at Zack.

“No!” Kaylan cried out. The giant mutant came to a sudden halt. There were three glowing blue gems in its forehead. The mutant looked directly at her, its head tilted to the side. Could it hear her? Zack glanced up, following the creature’s gaze, but his eyes swept past her.

“Here, take it,” Zack said, gesturing with his hands toward the capsule. “It’s yours.”

The other mutants waited to see what the giant among them would do. Kaylan watched as Zack turned his back on the giant and went back to the crates. He opened them and began tossing out the contents to the mutants. She watched as small metal canisters tumbled to the ground and then, one by one, they were snatched up by the closest mutant.
 

Kaylan turned back toward the giant mutant, who was still watching her. The mutant seemed oddly peaceful as it reached one of its hands toward her. She didn’t understand how the creature could possibly detect her presence since she wasn’t physically there. Then it hit her. The mutant was part Boxan and might possess some part of the Mardoxian trait they revered so much. Seeking out the Mardoxian potential in other species was a genetic imperative for the Boxans that clearly transcended lessons taught by their culture.
 

Kaylan looked toward Zack and the creature followed her gaze. She wanted to find some way to tell the giant not to harm Zack, but glancing at all the other mutants surrounding him, she got a better idea. She shifted closer to Zack, who was busy emptying the crates and distributing their contents. A Nershal joined him, and it took Kaylan a moment to realize it was Etanu.

Protect.
Kaylan pushed the word and the meaning across to the creature. She couldn’t know if it understood, but she had to figure out where Zack was being held. With one last look at him, she reluctantly pulled away.
 

There was a tower and a large wall cutting the area off from the surrounding forest. Kaylan couldn’t see much else in the way of structures, so the Xiiginns must have kept this place remote. She didn’t see any Nershals on the walls and assumed there were only Xiiginns in this place. She pulled back further, rising high into the air. The presence of the gas giant told her Zack was being held on Selebus. She noted the landmass and the exact position of where he was being held. She built a map in her mind so she could recall it later on. Zack was alive. All they had to do now was get to him.
 

Kaylan resisted the urge to go back and take one last look at Zack. Time was of the essence, and Zack would be better served if she went back to the others and told them where he was, so Kaylan allowed her mind to relax as she released her hold on her memories of Zack. She felt the tension drain away and opened her eyes. The crystal sphere lowered itself to the floor, and the chamber went dark.
 

The door hissed open and Hicks was the first one through. His eyes shone with relief as she came over to him.

“Are you alright?” Hicks asked.

Kaylan nodded. “I found him,” she said.

They left the chamber and joined the others, who were eagerly waiting. Katie was nearest her.

“I found him. He’s alive on Selebus,” Kaylan said.

Katie’s eyes softened and she nodded.

“Remarkable,” Redford said. “What did you see?”

Kaylan explained what she’d seen as best she could. She was still processing everything. Gaarokk brought up a miniaturized holoprojection of Selebus, and Kaylan marked the position.

“The area is quite remote,” Ezerah noted. “And it’s not a place I’m familiar with. It’s not registered with our colonial charter. Another thing the Xiiginns kept from us.”

“There’s more,” Kaylan said. “There are genetic hybrids being held there. One of them definitely had Boxan traits.”

Gaarokk’s large flaxen eyes widened at this.

“It seemed to be able to detect my presence there,” Kaylan said.

The rest of them looked at Gaarokk to see what he had to say.

“That can only mean one thing. The Xiiginns must have captured genetic samples of a Boxan who is a member of the Mardoxian sect,” Gaarokk said.

“Ma’jasalax?” Kaylan asked.

Gaarokk shook his head. “No, there wouldn’t have been enough time for them to grow a mutant while they held her. They must have been working on this for a while.”

“What are they after?” Emma said. “What does splicing multiple species together actually gain the Xiiginns?”

“Can you think of no reasons?” Gaarokk asked.

Emma frowned. “We study mutations of organisms to better understand how they work. If it’s a disease, we try to find a way to cure it or prevent it from spreading.”

“This is more than simply trying to make themselves more powerful,” Hicks said. “They’re trying to create an army. If they’ve lumped all these different mutants together, they could be testing methods of control on a larger scale. They could be trying to get them to work together.”

“But they were fighting,” Kaylan said.

“Makes sense. They are competing for limited resources, like food and water. Controlling resources and forcing them to compete creates a hierarchy,” Hicks said.

“Zack was trying to distribute the contents of the supply crates,” Kaylan said.

“He must have been trying to get them to stop fighting,” Katie said, speaking up and drawing everyone’s attention to her.

“Why would he do that?” Redford asked. “If I were him, I would focus on trying to get out of there.”

“Maybe he can’t. The reason doesn’t matter; he can’t get out of there without help,” Katie said.

Kaylan looked at Ezerah. “Zack wasn’t alone. Etanu was there with him.”

“Udonzari should be informed at once,” Ezerah said.

“We’re not going to figure this out here,” Kaylan said. “Let’s get back to the ship and start heading back to Selebus. And also send an update to Kladomaor.”

Gaarokk powered off the holoprojector and watched Kaylan for a moment.

“What is it?” Kaylan asked.

“I’m just glad you haven’t cut yourself off from Kladomaor,” Gaarokk said.

“We need to work together,” Kaylan said.

They made their way back through the tower. Kaylan glanced at Emma and noticed she was recording them as they made their way through the Nershal building.

“We need to document our journey. Otherwise, NASA is never going to believe we were actually here,” Emma said, holding a palm-sized recorder in her hand.

Kaylan smiled and nodded. Hicks walked next to them, keeping careful watch on the dark corners and the area ahead.

“Do you really think the Xiiginns are trying to create some type of mutant army?” Kaylan asked.

“It could be one of the things they’re doing. Given their actions and the testimony of the Boxans, I don’t think creating a mutant hybrid army would be beyond them,” Hicks said.

“I guess I don’t think like that,” Kaylan said.

“That’s what you have me for—to help balance out all that logic with some good old-fashioned military suspicion. I’m sure Redford would say something about how I only see things from a militaristic perspective,” Hicks said.

Kaylan snorted. “Probably.”

“How do you feel?” Hicks asked.

“I feel fine,” Kaylan answered.

“It’s just the last time you went into one of those chambers you passed out for almost a whole day,” Hicks said.

Kaylan nodded. “Not this time. It could be that it was only a test chamber, but Brenda told me that sometimes the brain just needs time to adapt,” she said.