“Sir?” Zeke’s worried voice came over the line.
“You said you were on a mission to disable Sparks that entered Earth’s atmosphere.”
Zeke worked out what Blue was talking about in a pause that felt like forever. “Sparks, Sir?”
Blue thumbed his forehead in agitation. “Novan spaceships. You told me that you were one third of a task force. Did you mean there were three people or three teams?”
“Teams.”
There was where he had gone wrong. He had made an assumption. Zeke had meant three separate teams not three individuals in one team. “Why? You were only to attack two ships, correct? What was the extra team’s purpose?”
“That’s a negative. We were on mission to destroy three vessels. Three teams for three ships.”
“Incorrect,” Lara, Igor and Kenshin said simultaneously.
“There were two consigns brought to earth,” Igor clarified, clearing his throat. “Not three. One was sent to Quadrant1 for the Hybrid Omicron use to assist in securing the area and the other was sent to Quadrant6.”
“How can you be sure?” Max demanded.
“All Hybrids know this,” Kenshin answered. “It is just there, like how we all know each other. In reconditioning, we were told where to be and what to do.”
“Two ships landed,” Lara affirmed. “Your commanding intelligence was incorrect.”
“No,” Zeke said slowly. “Ten ships were picked up on radar in our solar system. There was a huge uproar at the base when two of the ten left space and three entered Earth’s atmosphere. One ship either appeared from nowhere or they tricked us. Three ships definitely breached the Kármán line. We think a smaller ship detached from one of the larger.”
The Kármán line was the marker that defined the altitude Earth’s atmosphere became outer space. This boundary was well monitored making the chances Zeke’s superiors were wrong slim.
Blue could not consolidate what Zeke held to be truth and what the Novae had told him to be true.
That he had not detected this inconsistency before was infuriating.
“Did all three land?”
“Ah, no Sir.” Zeke sounded surprised. “It was suspected the invisible ship didn’t touch down planet side. We had a visual on two, and an approximate area on the third before it went stealth.”
“This was directly related to why you were ordered to extract the three HiCaste families from Quadrant2 before the air strike was launched, aša?”
“Aša vahišta,” Zeke responded reverently. How Blue knew of his faith Zeke did not know. Had he seen his prayer beads? He was beginning to see there was little the Hybrid did not know or could not work out. Blue had asked for the unquestionable truth – aša. He called upon Zeke to honour an ancient concept, one of cardinal importance, above any pledge to the Alliance he may have given. Zeke could do nothing but give him the best truth – aša vahišta. “Affirmative, Sir. Mission control was going to blow the entire area and hope the blast caught the third.”
Some of the puzzle slotted into place. Blue smiled victoriously. “Where are we now?”
“Flying over what’s left of Quadrant5. It seems there was an explosion of some kind down there. It was a blue collar quad.” He choked up. “A lot of grunt factories.”
“Turn around and go back to Quadrant2. I’m coming to the bridge.”
There was a long silence. “Sir, the Crimzon–”
“It was already fading when we took off. The blast was contained to Quadrant1. Turn around.”
“Yes, Sir. Adjusting course. Erm, want to let us in on what’s happening?”
“We’re rescuing Kali,” Blue replied, and strode out the room.
PART FIVE: ZETA
You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.
Epictetus
29.
She felt the death as if it was her own. Kali thrashed, and screamed inside her head, wanting out of the forsaken void. She had been trapped for days, and days, crying inside, swearing vengeance, and pleading with any deity she’d ever heard of to set her free or to kill her. Death or life; anything but this numbing limbo she’d been forced into.
When she had been dragged into the darkness, she had been prepared for a painful death. Maybe it would eat her brain or rape her then kill her. These things she had been prepared for, had waited for, but they had never come.
Instead, she was stripped naked. Holes were punched into her skin and tubes forced into her body. She was stuffed into a pod and left there to squirm. It repeatedly delved into her mind, turned her inside out, then told her not to fight because it had to know if she and the others were worth the risk.
As far as Kali was concerned, it could go throw itself into a black hole and implode there.
She couldn’t remember when she’d realised when it invaded her mind that she could hijack the connection. Kali had been pissed when she accidentally tumbled into its consciousness, and saw a fraction of the wondrous things it knew.
She had done the only thing she could.
Kali learned.
She used the knowledge she stole to form a plan. A crazy but utterly brilliant plan to send herself to Earth and search for her parents, Max, Blue, anybody who could help her.
Astral projection was infuriatingly convoluted. Kali struggled to push her soul outside her body when it had nowhere to go. She didn’t know where her parents were, and had no idea where Blue lived. She didn’t she know how to find him without a TalkMe, and she could only maintain the ghostly form for nanoseconds.
A long search as an insubstantial whisper on the wind just wasn’t going to cut it.
It had attacked her mind again, and she sought a solution to her problem.
Armed with a plan, Kali spent hours formulating a thought. Each detail had to be meticulously premeditated and crafted with painstaking attention to detail so that the moment she set it into motion it didn’t end in horrific failure. The startling conclusion of her work was herself, come alive, in the flesh. More startling was that she hadn’t made an empty shell. What she created was herself. Her creation took on a mind and resisted her astral projection, making Kali have to fight to be seen and heard.
There were times she caught glimpses of Blue, of Max, of her father. But they could not see her or hear her. They thought she was safe and whole when the truth was she was slowly dying.
Despite all odds, she had succeeded.
Feeling her second-self die, Kali had taken control of what she created and thrown everything she was into it. The ones holding her prisoner had become aware of what she’d done somehow, and yanked her back, but not before she sent one hell of a message through her replicated body.
They had to have heard her. She no hope if they didn’t come for her.
Kali didn’t know what to do when the glass of her containment chamber cracked. The water spurted through the fissure, highly pressurized. The crack spider-webbed and the tube shattered, jettisoning her onto the cold floor.
Choking, she grabbed the thick tube shoved down her throat and pulled. It came slowly, dragging on the inside of her throat and caused her gag reflex to go crazy. Kali yanked the tube out and vomited green liquid.
Shaky, she swiped at her mouth and pushed wet skeins of hair from her face.
Already looking for the exit, she shivered in the cold, and stood on wobbly legs.
It was then she noticed the pallid creature waiting for her.
How she missed it was proof of how fuzzy her vision was. It stood ten feet tall, and she staggered back to see its androgynous face. Hairless body moist it swayed, lanky limbs cocked at odd angles even at rest.
‘He comes.’
Kali rocked onto her heels, hating the voice inside her head. “Stop it.”
‘The replica was effective.’
“Get out of my head,” she mumbled, pointlessly holding her hands over her ears.
It moved its head and shoulders. Disjointed circular motions that made Kali doubt the bones in its neck w
ere connected like hers. ‘You fear us.’
Kali shook on the spot, holding it together by a thin thread. Water dripped from her naked body onto the floor in steady plinks. She wrapped her arms around her chest to try and keep warm, and rubbed her arms stiffly.
She scanned the empty spaceship.
They were always alone. Not once had she seen another alien.
The walls were jagged crystal and partially see through, but it was difficult to locate an exit. The walls must overlap. Kali knew she would have to run her hands over them to find the way out. She flexed her toes in the puddle she stood in, surprisingly sure-footed after being suspended as she had for so long.
If she ran would it chase her?
“Will you let me go?” she asked.
No response. It didn’t like answering questions to which there was an obvious answer.
“I hate you.”
The alien’s head tilted back and wobbled. Amusement? ‘Logical to expect that emotion. The knowledge you have is subjective.’
Kali wanted to spit in its face, and run, but curiosity got the better of her. She also wanted her mad dash to the wall to be a surprise, so she had as much time as possible to find the exit. “What knowledge don’t I have?”
‘Much. You saw little.’
It knew she had looked inside its head? “What do you expect me to do now? Hide from you?” Her expression was fierce, and she lifted her jaw as if daring the alien to come at her. “I’m going to fight.”
‘Expected.’
The answer caught her off guard. Then again unexpected was this alien’s calling card. “Aren’t you worried I’ll hurt your Hive?”
It moved its head again, this time a wide swooping motion by its elongated neck. Gangly arms bent funny, moving as if bobbing on water. It was an off-putting fluid gesticulation that made her uncomfortable to watch.
‘The Hive is obsolete. This is the thought of us who love Humans.’
Kali began to wonder if she was still trapped in the tank. Having a brain haemorrhage whilst experiencing hallucinations. “Do you have any idea how much is wrong with what you just said.”
‘Hybrids are built. You are Zeta. You and the others were born of love.’
“Zeta. The seven? You’re not making sense.”
‘We are connected to the Hive. You are safe. Our presence removed upsets the balance of the Reckoning. You are safe if we remain. Do you understand?’
“Not really, but whatever.”
‘We are connected to the Hive. Impossible to deceive. We omit thought to manipulate.’
She must be hallucinating. It acted as if it was in earnest.
Kali once again tried to pinpoint an exit, but the corners of the room grew dark and that gloom crept forward. Uneasiness had her rooted to the spot. “I want to leave.”
‘He comes.’
“I never want to see you again. If I do I’ll kill you.”
The alien blinked slowly. Its jaw moved, the seam of its mouth splitting enough to reveal a lipless smile. ‘Fail and we will find you, return you to the deep sleep.’ It pointed to the broken chamber behind her warningly as a reminder.
The darkness swallowed the room and Kali knew she’d been tricked. She was still trapped. “I’m dreaming this, aren’t I?” Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’ve gone mad.”
The Novan disappeared and left Kali shivering in the blackness.
30.
Blue stormed the main chamber of the Novae spaceship, and his heart stalled.
The Novan turned its oddly shaped head, but made no immediate move to escape. After staring at each other for what seemed an age, Blue lifted his pulse rifle, willing to destroy one of his creators. The alien lifted a spidery hand, and calmly pointed to the crystal cylinder in the middle of the room.
Then faded away as if it never existed.
Blue dashed over to the tank and pressed his hands to the surface. It was cold. Icy mist wrapped around the ceiling to floor container. A suspended body drifted closer to the fogged glass. Blue rubbed at the moisture to get a better look, knowing he was about to be horrified, knowing he’d found what he sought.
A phantom of the girl he knew floated in the water. Head drooping forward, her dark lashes were stark against sunken cheeks. Parted lips he’d thought the prettiest rose were pallid and bluish. Her long hair was a raven cloud billowing around her face. Her body was a sylphlike twist of slender limbs, a slumbering mermaid encased in blue-green seawater. A black tube was shoved down her throat, and her wrists were restrained above her head, her ankles tied to keep her legs secure.
This was what she had sent him, this vision of herself trapped.
Blue hefted his pulse rifle and slammed it into the capsule keeping her prisoner. “Found you,” he rasped. “Kali, I’m here.”
Frantic to get her out, he hit the crystal with a burst of telekinetic energy. It cracked. Blue smashed at the barrier until it shattered, the splinters scattering across the floor, and slashing his face drawing blood.
A gushing wave of slimy water drenched his clothes. The force almost took his feet from under him.
Kali hung suspended before the tubes connected to her arms and legs detached. She swayed forward, no longer anchored in. Undoing the ties at her wrists and ankles, he yanked her out, but paused when he noticed she wasn’t fully separate from the pod.
Propping her up on his shoulder, Blue detached the slightly thinner tube that had been placed at the base of her skull. It was a living vein. Pulsing tendrils snaked out and adhered to her skin. He carefully peeled them off, wincing at the raw skin left behind.
He dithered over the worst pipe until he gritted his teeth and pulled it out inch by gruesome inch. The glossy silicone tube slithered from her throat, and Kali puked greenish slime.
Her skin was pale and rubbery. The pads of her fingers and toes deeply wrinkled. Her hair stuck to her skin in dark lashes and wrapped around her throat. The smallest of her baby hairs were bleached white, and his heart leapt into his throat at what that meant.
Pushing back the wet strands, Blue stroked her face.
He’d dreamed of her like this, just like this.
Blue cradled the precious bundle in his arms, rocking gently. He couldn’t say how long he sat hunched over her, but no power in the universe could have taken her from him if they tried.
Kali’s mind stirred. Her eyes swivelled restlessly behind thin eyelids. She whimpered, and the sound caused him physical pain. Her mind woke in an uneasy rumbling that set his teeth on edge. She was preparing herself for something, getting ready to do battle. For what other reason would her energy coalesce so fiercely? How many times had she woken and fended off a mental invasion, had her attempts to remain unviolated been thwarted, and her mind riffled?
Blue bit back his pain and focused on hers. She had grown leaner, and the lines of her face had strengthened. There were negligible frown lines on her forehead that weren’t there before. Her long eyelashes were luminous white at their bases.
Moaning softly, Kali’s eyes fluttered open and fixed on him. The directness of her gaze cut right through him. And the colour of her irises! She frowned, fuzzy and unfocused. “I want sunlight. It’s so dark.” She sighed listlessly, and snuggled into him. Her fingers curled into his shirt, gripping tightly. “I do love it when you rescue me.”
Blue grappled with his emotions. “I don’t understand.”
“You say that every time.” Her arm lifted weakly and she brushed her fingertips to the mottled bruises on his face. “You’re usually less bloody. Who beat you up?”
“Kali, this isn’t a dream.”
He wondered if the delirium was because of the shock to her system, or because the Novae cracked her mind.
Blue wanted to curl around her and block out the world. She wanted to see the sun. What she needed was to go to the medical bay, but Blue would not deny her this. His need to show her that this time her dream was reality overrode everything else.
“Shut
your eyes. Hold onto me.”
Absolute in her trust, she did just that. Kali closed her eyes and hugged him as tight as she could. He scooped her up and tucked her into his chest.
This felt right, watching over her, holding her close. This was how it should have been the first time.
Lara and Igor waited for them from the entryway. They moved aside to let him past. Lara spoke, but Blue refused to answer any questions. Igor wisely held her back when she dogged his heels.
“Get Kenshin,” Blue demanded.
The outer blast doors dissolved, and warm light poured onto the ship ramp. Streaks of pink and orange blended into a clear blue sky.
They hovered above the Loklear domicile.
Blue still had trouble dealing with his rage. She had been right above him.
Beneath them, buildings burned and smouldered in the aftermath of the battle that had blown through. Blue sensed sparks of life hiding in the destruction, but otherwise it was ghostly quiet.
He sat, keeping Kali close. A strong breeze had goose bumps popping up on her skin, and a hard shudder wracked her frame. He tugged off his top to wrap her in it. He warmed her with his body heat and friction from his hands.
Kali peeked from the cradle of his body. She stuck her face into the wind and gasped in pleasure. The sunrise was beautiful. After being submerged in the dark, it was what she needed to come alive.
Feeling bodily discomfort, the brightness of the sun, and the warmth of the body she was draped over, Kali stared at Blue. If it were a dream, he’d look perfect, not like he’d survived a war zone, and had the quarks pummelled out of him. Kali clung to the edge of her sanity, and was terrified to let go. Tears welled and slipped down her cheeks.
She turned to faith. Faith that fate wasn’t that cruel. Faith that Blue truly held her in his arms.
“Not dreaming?” she choked.
Blue cupped her face. “No. I’ve got you.”
Her features darkened, and the disbelief was painful for him to witness. She wiggled until she freed her hands and placed them against his chest. She blinked rapidly then paled even further.