Star Alliance (5 page)

“Or the signal could just be blocked,” Kaylan said.

“That is also a possibility,” the AI answered.

Kaylan chewed the inside of her lip while she thought about their next move. Kladomaor had already confirmed that their Nershal allies on Selebus were looking for Zack and the Nershal called Etanu. Their search hadn’t yielded any results either. Kaylan rubbed her eyes.

“When was the last time you slept?” Emma asked.

Kaylan shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t need sleep right now. The more time that passes, the more I think we’ll never find Zack.”

The door to the lab opened and Katie Garcia walked in. Katie and Kaylan had more or less stayed by each other’s side since Zack had been taken, both working toward finding a way to figure out where Zack was being held. Tiny seeds of doubt threatened to take root in each of them and, like a weed, they pulled one out only to have two more come up.

“I’m glad you’re here for this as well, actually,” Emma said to Katie.

“Hicks is with Redford on the Boxan ship. What can I do?” Katie asked.

Kaylan admired how Katie could be so focused, while Kaylan herself felt like more of an emotional wreck than she’d ever been before. In her mind’s eye she saw Zack’s face with that deep, penetrating gaze and the slight smile that had grazed his lips as he pressed his hand to the elevator door. He had sacrificed himself to save her. She wished she could go back to that moment and pull him into the elevator with her. Kaylan clenched her teeth and shoved her anger to the side, but it was getting harder to do.

“I’ve been thinking about the Xiiginn influence the Boxans are afraid of,” Emma said.

“With good reason,” Katie said. “I’ve never seen someone so completely taken over against their will. It goes beyond any brainwashing I’ve ever heard of.”

Kaylan nodded. “Back on the cruiser, the Boxan who fell victim to it was aware of what he was doing but was unable to stop himself. He begged for the others to kill him even as he fired his weapon at them.”

“It must have been horrifying,” Emma said. “I want to better understand how it works so we can come up with a way to prevent it.”

“Do you really think that’s possible?” Katie asked.

Emma nodded. “I do. I realize we’re not nearly as advanced as the Boxans, but the fundamentals of solving this problem are the same. If nothing else, it will give us something to report back to Earth when we make it there.”

“The Boxans can only delay the effects, so they must have some understanding of how the compulsion works. I’m not sure how much they’re willing to share with us at the moment,” Kaylan said.

“That’s because you’re thinking about it all wrong,” Katie said with a smile. “We need information, and the Boxans have it.”

“Yeah, but Kladomaor won’t share. Whenever I’ve brought up the subject, he deflects or acts as if the subject is too complex for us to understand,” Kaylan said.

“Well, he
is
a victim of it. Remember when Gaarokk told us about when Kladomaor was taken captive by the Xiiginns? Mar Arden forced him to kill his own soldiers,” Emma said.

Kaylan nodded and then her brows rose as she finally understood what Katie was implying. “Not Kladomaor, but Gaarokk. He’s not a soldier, and I think with the right coaxing he would be willing to share the information they have about the Xiiginns and, in particular, how this compulsion of theirs works.”

“Well I think I know a way we can get him to help,” Emma said. “We invite him aboard the Athena. He’s been wanting to see the ship. I say we give him a tour and get his opinion on the upgrades the AI had us implement.”

“It would be a tight squeeze, but without their armor it could be done,” Katie said.

“We need to be careful. We’re not doing anything wrong by having him here, but I don’t want to put Gaarokk in a position where he feels conflicted,” Kaylan said.

“Yes, you do. We all do,” Katie said. “The Xiiginns have Zack and at the very least are questioning him, but judging by what they did to the Nershals in the research lab, whatever they’re doing to him could be much worse.”

Kaylan looked away and shook her head. She wasn’t ready for this. They were so far outside the Athena’s mission parameters that she wasn’t sure what they should do first. Kaylan looked back at the others. “I think Gaarokk will help us.”

Kaylan’s comms link chimed from her PDA, and she activated it.

“Greetings, Commander,” Gaarokk said. “Ma’jasalax would like to see you on our ship if you have a moment. She wants to try to find Zack again and needs you with her.”

“Of course. I’ll be right over,” Kaylan said. “Oh, and Gaarokk, we were wondering if you wouldn’t mind coming over to the Athena for a quick tour. The AI had us perform several upgrades that we would like to get an outside opinion on, and you’ve mentioned in the past that you would like to see our ship.”

A few seconds went by while they waited for his answer. “Thank you for inviting me. I would love to come see your ship.”

The comms channel closed.

“Commander,” the AI said.

“Yes, Athena?”

“The upgrades that were done to the ship have been tested and signed off by the crew. Having Gaarokk review these findings is counterproductive,” the AI said.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to have a second pair of eyes look at our systems, and we’re also doing this to build trust with the Boxans, giving them a chance to learn more about us so we in turn can learn more about them,” Kaylan said.

“I understand. Thank you for explaining,” the AI said.

“Before you go, I had another thought,” Emma said. “It would be helpful if we got a sample of Boxan blood from one who has been affected by the Xiiginn.”

“I don’t know how we can do that without them finding out what we’re doing,” Kaylan said.

“Leave it to me,” Katie said.

Emma glanced at both of them.

“The only one affected was Kladomaor, and he was wounded during our escape from the cruiser. Perhaps I can find a sample of his blood in their med bay,” Katie said.

“I didn’t even think of that,” Kaylan said.

“You have enough to worry about. We’re all a team, and we do this together,” Katie said.

Kaylan nodded and opened up a comms channel that would broadcast through their ship. “This is the commander. In a few minutes we’ll be having a visitor from the Boxan ship. Gaarokk was nice enough to come over for a tour. Please extend him every courtesy while our guest is aboard. Katie and I are heading back to the Boxan ship.”

*****

Kladomaor watched as Gaarokk rose from his console station and left the bridge. His curiosity was piqued, so he decided to follow as Gaarokk headed toward the airlock that connected them to the Athena.

“Going somewhere?” Kladomaor asked.

“Kaylan invited me to come see their ship,” Gaarokk said. “Probably a good idea. Their partial AI has had them upgrading some of their ship’s systems. They did their own checks, but it’s probably not a bad idea that someone else takes a look.”

“I remember Zack telling us about the AI. It was a partial construct from our listening station in their star system,” Kladomaor said.

“He is quite clever—first figuring out how to access the Star Shroud Network and then helping the AI adapt to their computer systems,” Gaarokk said, and turned to gather a few pieces of equipment to bring with him.

Kladomaor noted the somber tone from Gaarokk. “You don’t approve of the course I wish to take?”

Gaarokk finished what he was doing and turned back toward Kladomaor. “It’s difficult to say. I agree with Ma’jasalax that if we force the Humans to abandon one of their own, it may turn them against us. At the very least, they’ll resent us for it.”

“I don’t want to force them to do anything. Leaving right now is the best course of action for them,” Kladomaor said.

“No, in this you’re wrong, my friend. Leaving now lowers the risk of the Humans falling into the Xiiginns’ hands. Just because it might be safer for them to leave now doesn’t mean it’s what’s best for them.”

“He’s just one member of their crew—” Kladomaor began.

“His name is Zack,” Gaarokk said.

The sharp tone from the scientist surprised him.

“I know his name,” Kladomaor said quietly.

“Then why don’t you use it? Perhaps having the Humans with us will teach us something we’ve forgotten—the value of one life and that the bond across many individuals is enough to outweigh the risks for the safest course of action,” Gaarokk said.

Kladomaor took a deep breath. “They could be an ally against the Xiiginns and be our salvation.”

“That’s just it. I understand where you’re coming from. Seeing the big picture has its place, but only seeing the big picture isn’t enough. That’s not what inspires loyalty. Take a good look at the Humans. All of them want to find Zack, and I think if you’d just use his name, he may actually matter more to you. At least it would show the Humans that you understand how difficult this is for them, and that the burden is shared in some small way,” Gaarokk said.

Kladomaor didn’t say anything. It was for these moments that he had brought the scientist along. None of his soldiers would question him the way Gaarokk and Ma’jasalax had done. He nodded to his friend and headed back to the bridge, thinking about what had been said.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

Z
ACK
WAS
DRAGGED
away from Mar Arden. He tried to get a look at the Xiiginn soldiers who carried him, but he could barely lift his head. Wherever they took him, it was dark, with hardly any lighting at all. What had they done to him? Waves of exhaustion washed over him. He tried to get his feet under him so he could walk, but the brisk pace the soldiers set was too much for him. The soldiers came to a halt, and one of them keyed in a code. Zack glanced up at the pad and caught a glimpse of the sequence, but he couldn’t read the alien symbols. One of the soldiers caught him looking and struck him on the side of his head. His ear stung from the blow.

The door retracted into the ceiling, opening the way, and amber lighting from the holoscreens drove the darkness back. There were other Xiiginns in the room. Some looked over in his direction as he was dragged inside. They were approached by another Xiiginn carrying a tablet computer. This one was covered head to toe in the black battle mesh all the Xiiginns seemed to be wearing. Zack couldn’t see its face, but the tail was a dead giveaway as to what species it was.
 

“What’s this?” the Xiiginn asked.

“Special projects. This one is heading to the pit,” the soldier answered.

“We’re already at capacity in the pit,” the Xiiginn said, and took a better look at Zack. “I doubt he’ll last long in there.”

“My orders are from Mar Arden, and Kandra Rene will be overseeing. Here is the authorization,” the soldier said.

The Xiiginn glanced at a new image on his tablet and nodded. He motioned to one of the techs standing by. “Tag him,” the Xiiginn said.

Another Xiiginn approached, holding a chrome rod. One of the soldiers forced Zack to hold out his arm, and the Xiiginn jammed the rod against his forearm. Zack felt a pinch as something shot into his skin, but he didn’t have time to give it much thought as he was dragged to the other side of the room. Dim amber lighting formed a circle in the darkened area. The soldiers deposited Zack in the middle of the circle and quickly moved away from him. Zack had just enough time to raise his head before the floor beneath gave way and he plunged downward into darkness.

Zack slid face-first down a dark tube. His body flopped to the side as he rounded a corner. He zipped past tiny globes of light, followed by another turn. Each time he saw a light in the distance, he braced himself for a turn in the small tunnel. He entered a long curve and the tunnel became steeper, increasing his speed. Zack gritted his teeth and tried to angle his body as best he could. He was flung around a sharp turn, the tunnel leveled off, and his body slowed down. A series of red flashing lights blazed up ahead, and a part of the wall fell away. Zack was thrust through the opening.
 

He tumbled down, and the night sky flashed into his field of vision as he was momentarily airborne, landing on the cold, wet ground and coming to a halt with his face in the mud. He lifted his head and spat the mud out in a half gag. It tasted like rotting garbage. He tried to push himself up, but his hands kept sliding away from him in the mud, and he decided to army-crawl toward what he hoped was drier ground. Zack reached ahead with one arm and drove his elbow down, moving slowly forward. He pushed with his legs as best he could until he was clear of the nasty mud pool.
 

Zack turned over on his back, gasping for breath, and lay there for a few minutes while his breathing eventually slowed. He looked up at the star-filled sky above him. Nothing looked familiar. He didn’t know where he was. Zack rolled back over and pushed himself to his feet. He still had on the thin layer of underclothes he’d been wearing under his spacesuit. It was better than being naked but did little to warm him. He was drenched and covered in mud. He walked onto drier ground.