* * *
The Shikkeron lay moored alongside the fleet carrier, Admiral Lonche, its passage tubes having just been secured. Major Darla was already standing at the sealed door when, with the sound of air equalizing the center chamber signaling the lock complete, it slowly slid open. She stepped out and onto the mezzanine deck of the carrier, just forward and beneath the middle hangar deck.
There was a bustle of activity here, workers and pilots hurrying to various stations while visitors and officers from other ships mingled with the orderly mayhem already going on. Darla scanned faces in the crowd looking for the man she had most missed. Her searching did not last long. A shout from the balcony of the upper lounge caught her attention. In only moments, Euroaquilo was down the steps, racing across the floor to greet her, calling out Darla’s name as he reached to take her in his arms. As the two held each other close, totally unashamed in their warm display of affection, there was the occasional smile from passersby, but little other attention was visited upon the passionate embrace being shared by these lovers.
At long last Euroaquilo eased hold of his treasure, pushing back so as to look into Darla’s face. In astonishment he asked, “My dear, why the tears? Never in all our years have you greeted me in such a way. Indeed! Never have I seen you cry so openly.”
At that moment, Ardon hurried out the passage door. Having been absorbed in other duties, he was upon them before recognizing who they were. He stopped up short, tipping his head in awkward salutation, glanced at Darla then darted away about his business. Euroaquilo’s eyes followed the man and then he turned his attention back to his companion. He saw that Darla was following Ardon with her eyes, too, continuing to do so until the man disappeared into the crowd.
A wary suspicion floated on Euroaquilo’s question. “Has he been up to some old mischief again?”
Darla drew her tear-filled eyes back to Euroaquilo’s. In a sober, subdued voice she answered, “No, no, that is not the case at all.” Her head sank, a giant tear falling with a ‘splat!’ on the floor. “No, my love, he has saved my life, but I’m afraid the secrets I have revealed may cost me dearly.” She pulled Euroaquilo close. “Just hold me a moment longer. Then we can go to a private place and I can tell you all that is in my heart.”
They embraced again. This time Euroaquilo just held Darla, letting his strength reassure her of his love and care. After some time, the two released each other and, arm in arm, retreated to a secluded corner in the officers’ lounge on the opened deck above. They sat at the tiny table, holding hands. Refreshment was requested and soon the orderly had returned with two steaming cups of some sort of minted tea.
Darla did not desire the normal, casual banter that most often starts conversations. She went first to discussing the MoonDust and what evidence her forensic team had discovered. Euroaquilo patiently listened to the general overall information, finding it intriguing and somewhat chilling. If Asotos’ forces and the Stasis had truly allied themselves, the Trizentine would be that much more a dangerous place. Yet it was the Trizentine that was least protected, thus making it very vulnerable to such a confederacy. It could also lead to open war coming sooner than expected.
At length, he interrupted. “Please, my dear, what you tell me is important. You have convinced me, but now we must make sure the Council of Inquiry is as equally informed. I am admiral of this fleet, but I am not its sole decision-maker. I will recommend the inquiry be conducted here, aboard this ship, with the members of general command or their archon liege. We must keep this quiet. The fewer people who know about this at present, the better. Euroaquilo stood to leave. “There is precious little time to waste. Would you like me to escort you to my cabin to freshen up a bit? I will return directly, as soon as this business is set in motion.”
Darla smiled, tingling excitement flowing up and down her back at the thought of the importance being placed on this new information. She started to accept Euroaquilo’s escort then stopped. “Thank you, but no. Let me return to my ship and retrieve the research and evidence we collected. I can find my own way to your cabin.” The two embraced and kissed, then hurried off to accomplish each one’s needed task.
Darla raced back to the Shikkeron to retrieve the materials to present. On the way, she saw Leftenant Ilanit, pressing her into service. They entered through the forward passage tube, bringing them into the staging hold directly below the bridge. From there, the two followed the corridor leading to the Marine command room. They were stopped up short by a closed bulkhead door. ‘Strange...’ Darla thought. She reached out and, taking a firm grip of the handle, cracked the lock while pushing forward.
Instantly, an icy wave of nauseous fear exploded in the back of her head, rippling down her back and through her hips, clear to her feet, while spreading out until Darla’s entire body was paralyzed by it. From inside her head, she felt something stir as if it were being alerted to some danger, or that it was alerting someone else to danger. A black cloud of panic started taking hold of the woman, immobilizing her.
In a flash, the crippling terror had passed, a fleeting shadow whisking away down the corridor. Darla sucked in a breath, hesitating before opening the fire door until she fully felt her bearings again. Although seeming like an eternity had passed, Darla’s leftenant appeared to have noticed nothing. She was still bantering on with the story she had been telling when the two reached this place.
Darla lifted her hand to her mouth and Ilanit hushed. As silently as possible, Darla pushed the hatch open until she could shove her head through and take a look. Nothing out of place was to be seen. She opened the hatch the rest of the way and entered, her fellow officer close behind. Again she scanned the passage for any sign of trouble. Satisfied at finding none, she let out an audible sigh and suggested to the now somewhat nervous leftenant they should proceed.
Only a few paces more and Darla froze again, but this time it was from what she saw. The Marine wardroom portal was ajar, visible scratches on its paint testifying to an unwanted intruder. In less than a heartbeat, Darla’s lanner was drawn. She slammed through the door, sinking low, weapon high, sweeping it from left to right. Seeing that the room was empty, she holstered her lanner, scanning the room for clues. It was obvious that someone had been here, a broken hasp near a file cabinet convincing her of it.
As the major turned to make comment, she chanced to see a crumpled piece of paper on a chair near the cabinet and stooped forward to retrieve it. At first puzzled, her brows furrowed and then her eyes grew large as she recognized what was in her hand. “Quick!” She shouted, pushing past Ilanit. “Follow me!” Off Darla went on a run.
They did not stop until the two were just outside Darla’s cabin. The door was locked but, peering close, the major could see little scratches on the latch. Quickly she opened the door, only to find someone had rifled the room, appearing to have abandoned it in a hurry. Darla could find little missing except a small notebook used to scribble on while she was searching for evidence on the MoonDust.
Examining the scribbled notes on the crumpled paper in her hand, Darla pondered what anyone would be interested in obtaining. Suddenly it all crystallized in her mind. Darla’s face filled with dread as she jumped for the cabin door. “Follow me!” She shouted over her shoulder as she ran down the corridor.
Darla reached Ardon’s cabin just as Ilanit caught up with her. Breathless, the leftenant asked, “Major Darla, what is this all about?”
Darla quickly unlocked the door, stepping quietly into the darkened room. A cool freshness of undisturbed air gently caressed her face as she reached for the light, fearing the worst. All was still and it appeared that nothing had been disturbed. She stepped across the room, nervously reaching for the warrant locker.
It felt as if it took her forever to work the lock’s tumblers so it would release. She pulled open a drawer and let out a long, satisfying sigh. The little medical valise she had hid
den there was sitting unmolested atop the pile of papers she had collected from the forensic research of the MoonDust. “Well, he came through again.”
Recognizing what Darla was holding, Leftenant Ilanit’s hand went to her chest as she breathed a heavy sigh. “There it is...” Hesitatingly, she asked, “Is that the treasure you feared was lost?”
Darla softly replied, “It appears that whoever rummaged the room did not know about Ardon and me. He and I...well...I’ve been careful to enter his cabin unobserved, keeping my close connection with him a secret.” She turned to the leftenant, asking, “Please, say nothing about this. I would rather keep our relationship quiet.” She looked down, patting the valise. “My decision to trust Ardon has been most fortuitous. After all, with all of the gossip, no one would have considered that Ardon and I...”
Ilanit raised an eyebrow, looking at Darla suspiciously, replying she would obey. “You can trust me, Major. I have a reputation to uphold.” She then asked, “Who might have tried to take this?”
Darla pondered, thinking aloud, answering, “Well, it wouldn’t have been anyone on the forensic team, because they wouldn’t have bothered stealing my notebook, it being of no value to them if they were looking for this.” She patted the valise. “My only other guess, then, would be someone who did not want what we discovered turned over to the Council of Inquiry, but I cannot imagine why. It makes no sense to me.” She began to reveal something else that she had discovered, then thought better of it, for the moment deciding to keep it just to herself.
What Darla believed was that the monster within was able to identify a fellow demon and communicate with it and possibly warn it of danger, but it couldn’t relay what was thought or spoken by its host. That idea came from the fact that she had known where the physical evidence was, and whomever she and the leftenant had interrupted didn’t. If the demon was able relay such knowledge, surely the intruder would have known where to search. That would explain the need for possession of the host. On its own, the demon within was a blind, deaf, and dumb parasite having no independent powers of communication other than limited, silent, animal-like cries that only other monsters could hear. Unless the host would release control to it, or unless it could wrest control away, the demon was virtually helpless.
Darla knew of such smart programs being invented that were able to show different emotions and, if allowed to satisfy them, very well might destroy their hosts. As chilling as the thought of such a monster dwelling inside her might be, it was somewhat comforting to think it remained isolated and alone. That emotion of loneliness might be the reason it earlier sought company, seeking companionship. It was the one desire she wasn’t going to allow the thing to satisfy. This thing living inside her mind was the invention of another even more powerful mind - Asotos’.
(Author’s note: Asotos had been privy to vast amounts of technical knowledge for countless ages. Lowenah gave him the singular ability to gather some of the Web of the Minds to give as gifts to her daughters. This bonded them to him in such a special way that many still were troubled with the thought of viewing him as a dangerous rebel.
When Asotos entered Mihai’s mind in celebration that day long ago, his twisted invention made from the Web of the Minds was inserted into her. Somehow, a piece of contaminated DNA entered Darla when she nursed at her sister’s breasts. It had been the closest thing to intelligent, pro-creative, independent life Asotos had ever invented, and yet he never really knew of his success until he searched Darla’s mind at the Prisoner Exchange.)
Darla’s face clouded with concern, she staring at the floor, thinking aloud, “But who else might have a demon?”
“Major?!” The leftenant asked.
Surprised, Darla looked up, staring into Ilanit’s face. “Oh....oh, nothing, nothing at all. It’s not important...”
With growing, nervous uncertainty, Ilanit asked, “Shall I call for security and request the ship be locked down?”
Darla began to say “Ye...” quickly changing her mind. “No…no, Leftenant. Let the matter go for now. I think we will do ourselves a disservice if we advertise the seriousness of what has happened. It’s better to make whoever rummaged through our goods think we discovered nothing wrong, other than, say, an unlocked door and a misplaced notebook in my cabin. I think I know what our visitor was searching for. It wasn’t found. And I’m going to remove it from further risk. If we remain quiet, they may think we are unaware of what they wanted, thus not alerting them to trouble. I’ll make up a report for the captain, outlining the jimmied door on the wardroom. Other than that…” She drew close to the leftenant and whispered, “Now be on the watch and keep your weapon at the ready. I doubt we are in any real danger for the moment, but we will not take chances. Eyes may be watching us. There is a satchel in my cabin. We will put the valise in it and saunter toward the rear exit as though we had other business further astern. Be deliberate but not hasty. Still, the sooner this is in the hands of the right people, the better I’ll feel.”
Darla and the leftenant managed their way from the Shikkeron without incident, Leftenant Ilanit going on about other duties. Ilanit had offered to accompany Darla, but she said it was unnecessary and she would be fine on her own. With a worried look, Ilanit then departed while the major hurried to the safety of the Oruomai, Euroaquilo’s flagship.
The shuttle trip offered her time to reflect on the day’s events. She steeled herself for the two approaching storms she now faced. The battle within she had fought for many millenniums, but now it had reached a new and more dangerous stage. The second battle was dealing with a traitorous enemy disguised as a friend and ally. This one could prove deadly, especially if he or she, or worse, they, had communication directly with Asotos’ people.
A chill ran down Darla’s spine to think that Asotos must have discovered the demon living within her when he probed her mind at the Prisoner Exchange. He would no doubt desire her capture, enabling him a more in-depth study of his new life form. Little beads of sweat grew on her brow as she contemplated the potential terror all her people faced should he find a way to extract the monster from her and reproduce it. She quietly closed her tear-filled eyes, pained at seeing her brothers and sisters in such a plight.