The Epherium Chronicles: Echoes (7 page)

“You know, the usual stuff like skin rashes, trouble sleeping, but I haven’t had any of that. Plus, it’s not addictive. I made sure before I put it on.” Kirtland took the patch from Priest and replaced it on his forearm. “Word is that this stuff may become a staple among the battalions once the military approves it. Who knows, I might be a trailblazer.”

“Alright, you sold me,” Priest admitted, burying his skepticism. He held up his hand. “We good?”

Kirtland grasped it in a strong grip. “Yeah, we’re good.”

Priest slapped his friend on his muscled shoulder and both men raced toward the exit.

* * *

Sanchez completed his warm-up laps around the Rec Deck and headed toward the training mat near the center. He was late again. It was becoming a bad habit. In the center of the mat, he discovered Maya Greywalker’s slender form in a handstand. Her red hair, bound in a ponytail, was hanging between her arms. Her feet were together and pointed to the ceiling. Motionless, she was a picture of grace and beauty. He’d met many attractive women in his lifetime, but none had Maya’s allure. He watched for a few more moments and couldn’t detect any movement whatsoever—not even a simple recognition of his presence.

Sanchez circled the mat and moved behind her. He crept onto the mat and froze when he saw her ponytail twitch.

“Really, Commander, when a person schedules an appointment, it’s customary to be on time,” Maya chided him while still upside down. She collapsed her handstand into a backward roll that ended with hopping to her feet less than a meter from him. “The least you could have done was not eat the honey mustard dressing on your salad at lunch today.” Even after being upside down for that long, her voice was soft and calm.

“I had it on the side.” Sanchez laughed. He realized his arms would be shaking after standing in pose like even for a few seconds. Maya showed no effects at all. She wasn’t even sweating.

Maya made a quick sniff of the air. “Maybe on the side of the roll you ate with the salad, but I couldn’t help noticing it when finished your run.”

“Hey, lots of people had that dressing today. How are you sure that scent was me?”

Maya crossed her arms and raised a derisive eyebrow.

“Forget I asked.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “So, are you ready to begin?”

Maya’s blue eyes scanned him. “You’re certain you’re ready?”

“I was cleared over a week ago for training and active missions. With all the stuff going on, I haven’t had the time to continue our training sessions. That’s it.” He rolled his head to stretch and shook his arms. “I’m more than ready. Full spar, let’s go.”

Fifteen minutes later, a sore and exhausted Sanchez gazed up at Maya’s concerned face. He wanted to get up, but his body told him different. After a few labored breaths, he relaxed and stretched out on the mat. Maya’s breaths were even.
Is she even putting in any effort?

Maya walked to the edge of the mat and returned with a towel, which she unceremoniously tossed onto his chest. “Today’s lesson is about perception.”

“Huh,” he grunted. “Never would have figured that.”

“Much of what we know about ourselves and the world around us is handled by one’s perception. How we act or react to a certain situation is derived by stored responses to certain stimuli. Mastering the identification and procession of those stimuli is key to a higher level of awareness. Enhanced perception in a moment of contest can lead to the desired outcome.” She stared down at him. “After our session, what does your perception tell you now?”

“That I’m an idiot,” he grumbled and rubbed his sore shoulder.

Maya smiled at his comment and helped him to his feet. “Raf, I think both of us have had our perceptions challenged in the past few weeks.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Mine most of all.”

“Ah, don’t beat yourself up,” he said as he limped to the edge of the mat and sat. He wiped the sweat from his face with the towel. “Descherra had us all fooled. I’m just glad we were able to take him down.” The notorious criminal Frank Descherra had been one of the colonists on Cygni, who’d pretended to have been reprogrammed by the Embrace units. After the battle with the Chi’tan, he’d tried to kill Maya and Sanchez. Descherra had had Maya at his mercy, until a battered Sanchez had killed him.

“My suspicions were sound, but I lacked proof. Unfortunately, I didn’t sense the other changes in him, and that left me unprepared.”

“Well, faced with a difficult situation, you have to have things that help even the odds. Like that sword of yours. Speaking of, how about you teach me to use it?”

“You have weapons training, don’t you?”

“I’ve had all the standard stuff, small arms and basic knife work, but that’s about it.”

Maya stepped past him to a small weapons rack just off the mat. “My instructors taught me that swords are the easiest to wield and yet toughest to master. In medieval Asian cultures, swords were carried by the elite and were often used to exact final punishment. Common people weren’t allowed weapons and had to devise other methods to defend themselves against robbers, murderers and the elite warriors sent to subjugate them.” She picked up a long staff and tossed it to Sanchez. “We will start with the bo.”

Sanchez grasped the staff with both hands and held it upright. “How could this stop a sword?”

“A weapon is merely the extension of its user. The bo were made to carry heavy loads while balanced across the shoulders of workers. They were fashioned from the strongest wood to prevent splintering.”

Sanchez smirked. “It looks good enough, but I don’t think it could stop a sword strike.”

“A few blows, yes, but the idea was to never present yourself as threatening. Weapons like a sword or bow are obvious threats. The bo staff is not.” Maya pointed to the weapons rack. “The nunchaku was used in the fields to thresh grain and rice. In ancient Eastern cultures, the early versions of the sai were hoes for planting seeds. Everyday tools converted to a defensive need.”

“Huh. I had no idea.”

Maya picked up a training sword from the rack and traded it for the bo in Sanchez’s hand. She moved to the middle of the mat and waved him closer. “Now, approach me with your sword at your hip. I’m not a threat, so there’s no need to draw it.” Her earlier soft voice was stern now, and he sensed the challenge in her eyes.

Sanchez did as she asked, while Maya lowered her head to the floor and placed the bo in perfect balance across her shoulders. Sanchez took a few more cautious steps toward her. When he closed within two meters, Maya raised her head and stared at him. Innocence shone in her blue eyes, her face was serene and passive. A quiver passed over her lips that reminded him of a child who was afraid and alone. His eyes were captivated. In this one moment, he felt as if he would do anything for her if she asked.

He took another step and quickly realized the bo was no longer on Maya’s shoulders. His hands started to bring the sword up, but he felt as if he was in slow motion. He stopped them just above his waist when Maya’s lightning-quick hands snapped the bo at his head and stopped her strike dangerously close to his left temple.

“Perception.” Maya’s voice was soft, but direct. “Even a split second gained by your awareness can give you the upper hand.”

Sanchez grumbled in agreement, but silently he waited. Maya lowered her bo and placed the end of the staff on the ground in front of her. At that moment, he made his move. With a strong reverse slash of his sword, he drove Maya’s staff to his right. Maya followed the staff and spun to her left. Knowing he had to keep her off balance, he went low with a sweeping strike.

Maya jumped over his practice blade and came down with her bo in a lateral strike at his head. He knew he could block the blow, but her strike would leave him in a bad position and no way to counter. Instead, he used his momentum and went into a roll. He found himself behind her now. He brought his blade across his body and into a powerful attack. The blade met Maya’s bo in a vicious crack that echoed throughout the Rec Deck. He stood firm. They were even once again.

Maya stepped back and smiled. “Good. You anticipated where I would land and how my stance might lead to an opening. You’re learning. Next time I won’t give you such obvious clues. Now, let’s continue.”

The pair sparred for another fifteen grueling minutes, but Sanchez used the session to not just learn what she showed him, but to watch her demeanor. The longer they trained, the more Maya seemed to relax. She smiled when he executed the proper technique, and she even laughed at a few of his jokes. At the end, he noticed her eyes. They weren’t narrowed as they usually were, but were passive and content. She was always so guarded, but with each moment he spent with her, the more the real Maya emerged.

Beaten and sore, Sanchez reveled in the thought of the steam shower in his quarters. He knew he was going to need a larger ration, but he’d earned it. He gathered his things and walked with Maya toward the exit.

Halfway to the door on the far side of the Rec Deck, Sanchez noticed a crewman practicing handstands on parallel bars and the sight brought a memory to life from his childhood. He pointed the crewman out to Maya and explained how he used to do the same thing on his bicycle handlebars when was younger. One day he’d had his brother take a vid of him showing off for a girl he’d liked down the street. Everything went smooth until his front tire landed in a hole in road. He went flying off the handlebars and landed hard on his shoulder, breaking his collarbone. To add further insult, the bike continued to roll and landed on top of him. “Yeah, the biggest reminder of that accident was my brother’s laughter.” He snorted. “Hell, I would have laughed too if hadn’t hurt so much.” He rubbed his shoulder out of reflex. “It wasn’t all bad news though. The girl I was trying to impress came to see me in the hospital the next day.”

As the pair entered the hallway, Sanchez took a deep breath. He formed a smile as he let it out. “She kissed me on the cheek and called me a crazy fool. She wasn’t wrong.”

After not hearing a reaction to his story, he glanced at Maya. To his surprise, her attention wasn’t on him, but locked on to something farther down the hall. He followed her gaze and caught sight of four people approaching them in the hallway. He recognized Kadin first. The man’s blue eyes stood out even more than Maya’s. At his side was his copilot, Raven, who leaned against her squadron leader with her arm tucked into his. Two more of his Phantom squadron followed behind them. All were dressed in identical exercise apparel, but even more surprising to Sanchez was the way they walked. All four were in step. Not close on timing during a parade, they were exact. It wasn’t just uncanny, it was borderline hypnotic.

As the group approached, Raven turned her head toward Kadin. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. The two shared a brief kiss. When it ended, she placed her head on his shoulder and never fell out of stride. Kadin’s eyes however, zeroed in on Maya. He produced a mischievous smile and offered another wink as they strode past.

Not sure what to think of the brazen display, Sanchez’s gaze followed them until the group entered the Rec Deck. Maya was watching them too. He was about to speak, when he was pressed hard against the bulkhead. His head hit the metal wall and stars clouded his vision, but it didn’t stop him from feeling Maya’s lips on his.

Her hands pressed on his shoulders. Her kiss was hard and awkward at first. Not sure if it was her or his jaw slacking from the blow to the head, but the kiss deepened. He’d wanted this for so long. He wasn’t going to blow it now. After a few seconds to recover, his hands found her hips. He felt her muscles tense as her tight body pressed against his. Her lips were soft and inviting. With a gentle press of her hands, she pulled back from him.

He rubbed the back of his head with his hand. “You know, some people say with first kisses you often see stars. They weren’t kidding.” His glazed-over eyes found hers. In her luminous blues he saw the passion and excitement of the moment, and in an instant those emotions were replaced with fear and embarrassment.

Without a word, Maya pushed away and sprinted down the hall toward the elevator lift.

Still trying to keep his balance, Sanchez leaned back against the wall and sighed. “Nice one, Raf,” he muttered. “Just perfect.”

Chapter Eight

Hood left the security office in an unusual state of mind. He wasn’t sure of his next move. An hour earlier, Lieutenant Greywalker had asked to see him in private. Experience had told him that private summons by security was akin to going to the doctor’s office for an ailment he couldn’t describe. He couldn’t stand doctors and all their incessant probing and speculation. A summons from most security personnel often led to the same thing, but with Greywalker, it meant trouble.

When he arrived, he could tell Maya was distracted. She was alone in the office under a normal duty station. Her face was drawn and her eyes didn’t have the same sense of confidence. For the first time since he’d known her, she looked tired. He was about to ask what was wrong, but he already knew the answer. Sanchez had had the same distant look during their earlier briefing. When he’d asked what was wrong, the man had explained. A lot had changed over the years with relationships aboard
EDF
vessels. If the relationship didn’t deter the mission, it wasn’t taken into question. Sanchez assured him this wouldn’t, and he believed him.

He started to speak when she swung her terminal screen toward him. Displayed on the screen were two faces, both similarly featured, but one had brown well-groomed hair and the other a red-haired buzz cut.

“Do you recognize these two men, Captain?”

Hood stared at the screen. “No. I don’t recall ever seeing them on board.” He looked at the data profiles underneath their pictures. The only info was their names, Specialist Jeremy Allen and Tech Sergeant Wilson Davis. “I don’t understand. What’s their duty assignment on board?”

The screen changed, and more information appeared. Both men were maintenance detail. Allen was assigned to life support and ventilation, while Davis’s expertise was in power relays.

“I still don’t follow, Lieutenant. If these men are assigned to the ship, what’s the issue?”

Maya changed the screen again, and the faces changed. They looked similar to the first two, but at a second glance he could see distinct differences.

“So who are these two men?”

“Captain, these are the real Jeremy Allen and Wilson Davis. Both assigned to the
Armstrong
as part of the augmented maintenance detail.”

Hood felt his heart in his throat. His ship had already endured an infiltration by their mysterious enemy when his former Air Boss, Lieutenant Commander Walsh, had murdered members of the Epherium Corporation and two security officers. He’d stolen valuable data about the colonists, fled the ship in a commandeered fighter and was rescued by a stealth frigate created from a prototype design that had been scrapped years ago. “I need you put your people on high alert and bring them in. We have to stop them before they finish their objective.”

Maya held up her hand. “Sir, I know what you’re thinking, but these men aren’t part of the group working with Walsh or those who attacked the
Cestus.
”

Hood’s anxiety turned into flabbergasted shock. “Say that again? You’ve already seen what these people are willing to do.” He shook his head in disbelief. “How can you be so sure?”

Maya pulled up the original again, and additional information scrolled below. Both men had extensive military files, but most of the data was encrypted or missing, leaving Hood unable to decipher who they really were.

Maya explained that after her initial discovery of Jeremy Allen who didn’t match his profile, she’d checked for others. Unsurprising to Hood, it hadn’t taken her long to uncover the second man. After a period of covert surveillance, she’d managed to procure DNA samples from their quarters and the mess hall. When she’d provided the samples with her ID request to
EDF
HQ, this was the data she’d received.

“All the data we’ve uncovered about those working with our little shadow group has never been tampered with. The people may have assumed identities to get access, but not like this,” Maya explained. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “Whenever I see files this full of holes from
EDF
Security, I know I’m dealing with deep cover
EDF
Intelligence operatives.”

Maya’s words brought Hood both a sense of concern and relief. Despite Colonel Beckett’s “instructions” that he not divulge any of his team’s mission details, Hood had been confident Lieutenant Greywalker would discover the existence on her own. He was just surprised she’d done it so fast.

Feeling the weight of his security officer’s discerning stare on him, he decided full disclosure was the best path forward. He explained his recent encounter with Colonel Beckett and his team’s mission. When he finished, Maya’s arms were still crossed. She was waiting for the rest of the story.

He signed and explained the history between him and Beckett. She agreed that Beckett’s action deserved the punishment, but was intrigued she hadn’t heard his name before. Her security missions were often teamed with intelligence operatives dealing with corporate crimes or smuggling rings when they dealt with military assets.

“So what do we do?” he asked.

“I can keep tabs on our two agents without alerting them. They’ve managed to keep their profiles low and avoid many of our security cams,” she explained. “Based on their backgrounds, they’re experienced operators, but if they uncover anything, I can make sure we know it.”

He thanked her and was about to leave when he stopped. “Lieutenant, I’ve been where you are. Relationships aren’t easy. Many of us fear the unknown, but when I find myself succumbing to those pressures, I recite a quote from one of my favorite writers. ‘Life is short, break the rules. Forgive quickly, kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that makes you smile.’ I know it may not mean much, but Mr. Twain was trying to tell us to not waste our lives worrying about things we can’t do and embrace those that make us happy. It’s what truly makes us human.”

“Wise words, Captain,” Maya replied softly. “Was I that easy to read?”

“I’m getting better at it,” he joked.

She smiled. “I’m glad to see the lion has finally let himself out of his cage.”

He remembered those words. Maya had written them about him in her assessment of the
Armstrong’s
crew when she’d come on board. The whole time he was trying to figure out what was affecting her, she was reading him. He laughed. “Touché, Lieutenant.”

Still unsure after he left Maya’s office, Hood mulled his position while we walked down the hall toward the elevator lift. He didn’t want to misdirect the agents, but he didn’t want to help Beckett escalate his position either. Beckett didn’t need to contact him. There wasn’t any protocol. Admiral Grant would have contacted him with any need-to-know information through an official channel. Beckett just wanted to gloat.

He liked Maya’s solution, but he didn’t trust Beckett. He was certain the man wasn’t telling the whole truth. Beckett always had an agenda and a target in mind, but he had no easy means to locate it. He stepped into the elevator. Just as the doors were about to close, it came to him. Beckett’s hack of his terminal and data pad couldn’t have come across the beacons. They were locked down, and any signals or carrier waves would have been flagged. He had to have been in the fleet at Cygni, possibly on one of the transports.

If he knew where Beckett was, he could monitor his activity. Not to mention use him. A well-placed juicy piece of information to an
EDF
intelligence agent could spring the right kind of things into action without alerting anyone watching the official channels. He stopped the lift and went back to Maya’s office. His chess match with Beckett was just beginning, and he needed to make his next move.

* * *

Seated in the secluded dark of her office, Maya Greywalker picked at the food on the plate in front of her. Her body told her she needed to eat. The grilled piece of chicken on her fork smelled delicious, but whatever appetite she had was left in the officer’s mess. After getting her dinner, she took her normal seat at an open table in the back of the room. That was when her brother Kadin and the rest of his Phantom squadron entered. They didn’t look her way, but Maya knew she didn’t want to be there.

Wherever her career had brought her, she’d always considered herself to be an outsider. She’d been so careful not to get too close, to avoid the close relationships and comradery friendships provide. The last friendships she’d had were with members of her family. A family that was brutally broken when their remote home on Mars had been destroyed. Of a close and loving family of thirty, only Jared, Kadin and Maya remained. She was afraid. Many people often shunned her or viewed her as an experimental lab rat. Besides, real friends wouldn’t lie to you, and she was good at picking up on that.

She had opened herself to Commander Sanchez. On the outside, he seemed to be the same brash officer type she’d encountered in other commands, but her senses told her he was different. She found him to be handsome, strong and caring. She was more surprised by his willingness to sacrifice for those he knew very little about. He’d shown that on the battlefield on Cygni. He was reckless at times, but his sense of duty and courage were pillars of his character. At last, she came to grips with the realization that Sanchez, despite his small faults, reminded her of her father. In a weird fashion, he was an indirect link to her former life and made her feel comfortable.

When she’d noticed Kadin and his squadron mates in the hallway earlier in the day, she’d felt as though she was reliving the past. One of the games her family used to play was called mimic. Groups of three or four children would choose a leader and imitate the person’s every move or action.

Maya had been a part of Kadin’s mimic group many times. He was an excellent leader and he loved to win. His mimic teams were so synchronized that other teams often found themselves following his lead and not their own leader. She wanted to blame him for her actions toward Sanchez. It would have been easy, but at the heart of the mimic was the core of the individual’s mind. She’d grown close to Sanchez. The kiss Raven presented may have been unscripted, but hers with Sanchez was rooted in her own feelings. The mimic was nothing more than a catalyst.

In one moment, the carefully constructed box of her professional relationship with Commander Sanchez had become unhinged. When she’d begun her military career, Maya had sworn to protect herself. After she and her brothers had been rescued, everyone they’d come in contact with had an agenda for their well-being. Most of them sought to capitalize on their involvement with the Greywalker children. If the motives were power or money, it didn’t matter. Their goal was to use her and her family for their own purposes. Help was just a fallacy.

She slid her plate away and tried to drown her feelings in work. She activated the camera screens on her terminal and searched for anything worse than her own situation. One of the cameras switched to the officer’s mess. Maya sighed and was about to switch the screen when she noticed one of Kadin’s pilots return to the table with a plate of food. He paused next to Kadin then walked to the next table that was filled with pilots from the other squadrons. As if on cue, all the Phantom squadron pilots swiveled in their chairs to watch their friend feign tripping and dump the entire plate on Lieutenant Harrison Krieg, the leader of Rook squadron.

Maya didn’t need to see any more and raced to the door of her office. She activated her security comm band. “Sergeant Collins, come in!” Collins was her newest security team lead and came highly recommended from Headquarters for his
EDF
Marine career specializing in Special Tactics.

“Collins here, ma’am,” his deep gruff voice answered over the channel. “Is there a problem?”

Maya reached the elevator lift and pressed the call button. “Get your team together and meet me in the officer’s mess. Grab stun weapons and riot gear, but make it quick.”

“We’re on it. We’ll be there in less than five.”

The elevator lift car arrived, and the ride up the three decks of the ship was quick. She sprinted out the doors when they opened and crossed the several-meter distance to the mess doorway in a flash. The doors were closed, but her ears unfolded the story within the room. She thrust open the doors and emerged into chaos.

A food tray flew across the room from her right and crashed into the food line with a metallic clang. It was followed by a fighter pilot with a Delta squadron insignia on his shoulder. The man landed hard on a table with a groan. Now unconscious, he slid off the edge and underneath it.

Maya maneuvered toward the heart of the brawl. Eleven of Kadin’s new Phantom squadron were engaged with various members of Delta, Rook and the newly reformed Wildcat squadrons. Despite the number advantage against them, the Phantoms clearly had the upper hand. The Phantoms had split into pairs and, based on Maya’s recollection, by wingman group. Kadin’s pilots approached each new aggressor with a sense of strategy and pitched in with another group to prevent being overwhelmed. The one pilot from the Phantoms without a partner was Raven, and she was currently involved in a scuffle with Ensign Theilson, the leader of Delta Squadron.

Maya weaved between the first few fights until she could see the table on the far side of the room. Sitting on the top of the table, observing the outcome of the brawl, was Kadin. Anger surged inside her and she eased her way past the combatants toward her brother. She managed a few steps when a Rook squadron pilot landed on the ground in front of her. The dark-haired ensign turned around, intent on getting back into the fight, but Maya threw him a stern look. The man’s eyes went wide when he met her stare. He crawled backward out of her way with all the speed he could muster and into the legs of another table.

She shook her head and continued forward. When she reached Kadin’s table, he turned his attention to her and smiled. “What are you doing, Kadin?” she asked, her voice cross.

He held up his right hand toward her. “Shh. It’s just getting interesting.” He pointed to the fight between Raven and Thielson.