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Bruatin was a highly industrious planet that, while Federation controlled, had managed lesser interference in local affairs than most. Large cities sprawled across the surface, their buildings rising high in the smoke-filled sky until they disappeared among the clouds. Rei stood behind Foniac as she watched their approach, her fingers twitched at her sides as she waited. There was a noticeable amount of nerves on the bridge today with most of the senior crewmembers present. Foniac offered concise responses to Yeke’s questions about how things were going. Kuv, meanwhile, wandered from station to station, examining each in turn.
“Report to dock seventeen-B,” a voice came across the general channels. “Once docking procedures are completed you will be free to leave the vessel. Doing so before this is complete will lead to arrest and possible seizure of the vessel.”
Rei frowned and glanced over at Chia just behind her. “Are you sure we’re welcome here?”
“Yes,” Chia replied. “They’re just cautious. There’s a lot of sensitive information here.”
“Why is your tail twitching more than normal?” Kuv asked.
“What are you talking about?” the engineer demanded.
“You’ve very few tells about your state of mind and this is one of them.”
“Well, like I said, I didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms. I was never a fugitive like some.” She gave Rei a pointed look. “But I can think of several who would love to chuck me into the nearest singularity.”
“We’re docked,” Foniac said. “They’re scanning life signs and system information.”
Rei swallowed. “Let’s hope they find us as boring as we try to be.”
Minutes ticked by but no one seemed to be able to move from their positions. “Procedures are complete,” the voice announced and Rei could feel the tension leave on a breath of fresh air. “You are free to exit. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Tell everyone if they want to sightsee, get it in while they can. Who knows how long this’ll take,” Rei told the room before turning to Chia. “When do they expect us?”
The engineer looked up at the display giving them local times. “We have about half an hour until we’re due. I didn’t want to leave too much time between arrival and the meeting.”
“I’ll go grab my things then and meet you below.” Rei quickly raced toward her office She heard the door open just as she finished entering the combination to get into the safe. “You sure you’re fine being the ones to get rid of our latest load?”
“We can handle it,” Yeke replied. “Kuv’s got connections here thanks to the need for independent security forces and he has a few backups just in case the first one falls through. Remember it’s a good sign that they haven’t tried to talk us down on our price and want to take most of it.”
“I know. I know.” Rei exhaled deeply to calm herself down. “We are keeping some of those blade rifles for us, right?”
“Of course, do you think I want to risk Chia’s wrath if I take away a new toy to tinker with before she gets her hands on at least one?” Kuv asked as he entered the room.
“How many did you keep?” Rei asked.
“I figured a case would be sufficient.”
Rei withdrew the papers from the safe and stuffed them in a leather satchel. She hoisted the strap over a shoulder before shutting the safe and hiding it away once more. “Anything else?” she asked. The pair of them shook their heads. “Then let’s go and get this done.”
~*~
They entered the cargo bay to find work at a standstill, men and women alike circled the crates, eyeing them wearily. Rei glanced at Yeke and he shrugged but stepped up the pace toward the focal point of the disturbance. As they rounded the last stack of cargo Rei’s eyes widened at Chia standing atop one of the crates, fury blazing in her eyes as she glared scathingly at something just out of their sight.
“I told the Captain I needed these,” she said. “Why are you taking them off the ship?”
“I was told to...” a woman stammered. “All of these were marked for offload.”
“Well, I unmarked them!”
“Chia,” Yeke greeted as they drew even with her perch. “You’re looking a little flustered.”
In an instant, he was airborne in a cloud of orange-colored energy. “I understand developing ways to keep our operation in fighting form might be below the understanding of some, but don’t mock those who do.” Chia’s eyes slid over to Rei. “Now, Captain—might we keep this box at the very least? Or am I resigned to have to steal whatever I want for myself?”
“Chia.” Rei sighed. “No one was taking the one you’re on. Everyone knew that I said that you could keep a crate to experiment with. Now put Yeke down.” She felt, not for the first time, that she was a parent managing children and barely keeping them from disaster. Slowly, Chia lowered the man back to the ground.
“Thank you, Captain,” the woman Chia had been yelling at mouthed to her before hastily making an exit with another crate from the pile.
Yeke straightened his clothes and turned to Chia. “Enough.” Rei’s voice was soft but stern. “You both can cool off while you’re planetside.”
“Fine,” he relented. “Good luck with your appointment.”
Rei watched him walk away with Kuv and adjusted the pack on her shoulder. “You finished?” she asked Chia as she leapt off the crate. Chia nodded and took lead out of the ship and away from the dock. Bruatin’s port city was full of towering factories that spewed smoke into the sky. Rei tried to take in everything around them, but Chia’s breakneck speed soon forced her attention on trying to keep up and not lose the engineer in the tide.
“You look overwhelmed,” Chia commented once she guided them down a quiet street.
“This planet seems different compared to others that I’ve been to.”
“You won’t find another like it either. To my knowledge, this is among the last of the planets like this—most vie for some sort of sophistication, or that’s what they call it, so they fully embrace trading for everything. But people come here from planets that don’t have many opportunities to find good paying jobs. The result is a constant developing industry that creates enough for the scientific community to thrive and be able to focus their efforts on pure discovery.”
They rounded a corner and Rei found herself staring up at a giant wall. Chia drew them to a stop just out of sight of the only way through, a large gate. Stationed outside were guards clad in Federation uniforms, as well as ones who bore the universal symbol for science.
“What are they doing here?” Chia muttered.
“You didn’t mention this place was guarded like this,” Rei hissed.
“There’s only a special guard, contractors I suppose you would call them, that help keep the peace. Most of the time they just end up helping out when an accident happens. I’m guessing these Federation fools are here looking for someone we both know.” Chia’s ears twitched. “How’d you pass their tests when they boarded on Vantani?”
“They couldn’t probe that deep, so a decent illusion was able to fool them.”
“I doubt you’re going to get away with that here,” she said. “There’s too much at risk if you make it past them.” She sighed and rummaged around in her pocket. “I was hoping to save this for a special occasion, but I don’t see any other option.” She withdrew a circular device that would fit in the palm of Rei’s hands easily.
“What’s that?”
Chia ignored her question. “Who exactly are they looking for?”
“Well... me. What are you getting at?”
“How did you look back then, besides the scars and other physical features?”
“Brown hair, skinny... I’ll leave the rest to your imagination on specifics.”
“I doubt this group ever saw you, anyway.” She started to input the data on a holographic interface. “Now we add in years on the run... and finished!”
The device floated out of her hand and a hologram began to take shape around it. Once it solidified, the finished product could have been her twin a few years ago, right down to the dull eyes. The claws and scars were clear as day on a body that was still too thin to be healthy.
“How’s that?” Chia asked, dancing from one foot to another.
Rei suppressed a shudder. It was unnerving, especially as the rags the image wore blew in the breeze. “Like you said, if any of them saw me I doubt it was close enough to make out details and time does a lot to a person. For this to work, though, you’ll need to put on a show with Essence.”
“Well, good thing I have the living model with me. Come on.”
The device withdrew the image and followed the women as they approached a position along the wall where they could make a dash through the gate. Chia leaned against it. Rei followed her lead while the device slowly made its way toward a few containers that were waiting to be hauled through the gate.
“The second it forms the copy, do something spectacular,” Chia ordered. “Something that will leave little doubt that it’s you.”
Rei smiled. “I think I have the perfect thing.” She concentrated and a glowing, blue orb appeared in her hand, tendrils of energy radiated outward from it. “Ready when you are.”
The image’s head appeared just above the containers. It stepped out so the guards and the line of people had a clear line of sight. “Now!” Chia ordered
Rei sent the orb skyward and the image raised a hand as though it was calling something down. The orb slammed into the containers, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. The image grinned at those assembled and raced toward the main city, the guards in pursuit calling for it to stop. Chia blinked at the abandoned opening. “I thought they’d leave one.”
The last bit of dust was settling as they crossed the threshold to relative safety. Once inside, they rounded the first corner they saw to catch their breath.
“Out of curiosity, what will happen once they catch that thing?” Rei wheezed.
“It’s designed to self-destruct if it’s captured or tampered with too much. I didn’t want to take any chances that someone might duplicate my designs for their own ends.”
“What’s the damage going to be once it does?”
“Anyone within a twenty-meter radius will get tossed around a bit.”
Rei shook her head. “We better not get grounded because of that thing. If we do, you’ll be scrubbing bathrooms for the next ten jobs we do.”
“Relax.” Chia led them back out on the street. “Chances are high it won’t trigger until we’re long gone.”
Rei looked around them for the first time since they had entered this separate world. Unlike the outside, the buildings stood only a few stories tall at their highest. The air felt a bit lighter and those who walked past were all clad in the same style of simple coats in various colors.
“The colors tell you what discipline they have mastered. That way those on the outside of here, mainly dignitaries, know who best to approach with their problems,” Chia explained softly. “Red is for martial science, green is for medical—most of those we’re meeting will be wearing that. Then there is teal for my specialty, mechanical science. There are different sub-disciplines, of course, but those are the main ones.”
Slowly, the streets became lined with vibrant bushes that glowed in a rainbow of colors beneath the dim sunlight. Trees of a similar species popped out of the landscaping, proudly spreading their glow far beyond that of their smaller siblings. Chia pointed to an outdoor seating area and led them inside the low fencing where people sat to enjoy their meals. Rei took a seat at one that was isolated from anyone else.
“I’ll get us something to drink so they won’t try to take our order,” Chia said.
Rei nodded, half paying attention, as she set her bag on the table. Looking over the other patrons, she was suddenly glad she had followed Chia’s advice of donning something more formal for this occasion. Beneath the coats, it appeared scientists were rather businesslike in their dress, though it seemed impractical for work in a laboratory in her opinion.
Rei’s hands shook as she set about unzipping the bag on the table, shoving them in her lap when she was done. She eased back in her chair in a feeble attempt to look nonchalant while she waited. An eyebrow raised as two scientists in medical green started arguing in a language she guessed was Bruatian. Despite not understanding a word of it, the discussion provided a welcomed distraction from her nerves. In the end, an agreement was reached as the pair shook hands and parted company in peace.
“Well, that was entertaining,” Chia said as she rejoined her. She set a glass of pink juice in front of Rei. “I could hear them all the way inside.”
“I take it you could also understand them.”
“Of course. It was the usual debate those in medical have about whether the more primitive methods of healing the body are indeed effective when you compare them to what can be done with Essence fueled tech.”
“Which they are not,” a new voice chimed in. They looked up to see a green-eyed man with silver hair and pale skin standing near the fence. He was also clad in a green jacket that caused his eyes to stand out even more than normal. “I thought even you mechanical types knew that, though, Chia.”
“Rei, this is Mikal, head of the medical research division here.”
“Former head,” he corrected as he offered a hand to Rei. “I resigned not too long after Chia left.”
“You resigned your position?” Chia asked.
“Indeed, I did. I wanted something a bit lower profile. I’m sure you’ve seen the added guards from the Federation?” The women nodded. “They’ve been growing in number since shortly after you left us. They claim to be there to keep us safe, but I confess I don’t feel as though they are telling us the whole truth. At least it’s not been difficult to keep out of their sights with all the projects I’ve been doing.”
“What have you been uncovering?” Chia leaned forward in her seat, ear pricked forward with interest.
“We’ve been working on developing a few techniques to promote faster healing and some promising new treatments for the plagues that have been ravaging many unincorporated planets.”
His tone sounded proud enough, but Rei wasn’t fully convinced. There was a dark shadow in his eyes that blotted out the light. She glanced at Chia and was relieved that she wasn’t the only one who found that he was making the most of his situation. Fortunately, the man was wise enough to pull the Ornis into a conversation about her own discoveries before either one could press the issue.
“Sorry we’re late,” a new voice said before they could get too far down that path. Rei glanced over to see a tall woman with pink hair in a red jacket. Her dark eyes shined with happiness at the sight of Chia. Beside her, a short man with ears and a tail like Chia’s stood, also in red. Chia’s tail twitched, almost hitting Rei.
“Alexis. Thrio. It’s good to see both of you!” Chia exclaimed.
“And you.” Thrio sat down on the opposite side of the table from them.
“When did you change disciplines, Alexis?” Chia asked the woman as she took a seat beside her. “You were so good in medical.”
Alexis shrugged. “I had secondary interests in military and they could use my medical specialty. I miss working with medicine, but it’s still rewarding work.”
“We have plenty of time to catch up,” Thrio said. “You called us here for a specific reason.”
Chia blushed and gestured for Rei to take the lead. “Yes, we need to know what this is saying. We found them on a planet a few systems over and all we can make of them so far is they definitely deal with Essence.”
“After you,” Alexis told Mikal.
He held out a hand for Rei to pass him the documents. Mikal read over each page carefully, sometimes going back and looking over them a second time before passing them to Alexis without comment.
She looked them over with wide eyes. “Where exactly was this found?
“The Viaso system,” Rei said quietly as Alexis passed some of the papers over to Thrio. “The planet Bindira.”
“What do you make of it?” Alexis asked her fellow scientists.
“Primitive,” Thrio jumped in. “It is absolutely primitive.”
Mikal frowned. “At one point we debated if it were possible to grant Essence-less power, but it remained just a theory due to the necessity of a humanoid trial. All the simulations indicated that the pain of the genetic alterations would too much for any being to withstand. I made sure any further attempts to begin a humanoid trial were buried.”
“Would they have been?” Chia asked with a pointed glare. “Or am I the only one who remembers the humanoid trials I stopped when I left?”
“It would have.” Mikal’s voice was firm.
“This formula wouldn’t work,” Alexis interrupted as she looked through the pages again. “It is better suited as a weapon in this state than anything like you described, Mikal.”
“A weapon?” Rei asked, her stomach dropping more and more by the second.
“Yes,” Thrio said. “As it stands, this formula you uncovered would cause the pain Mikal spoke of, but none of the power. Admittedly, I’m surprised that a planet that lacks any natural Essence would come up with a concept like this. They typically leave Essence to those who are born with it. Which raises the question what was there to gain from developing this?”
Rei stared at the three scientists with glazed eyes. Mikal looked her over with a fatherly like air. “Are you okay?”
Rei nodded, no longer trusting her voice.
“Pain on living thing can tolerate. I can’t even imagine that,” Chia murmured.
“I would say more accurately that it would be like fire racing through your veins. Fire that would only be extinguished after the process completes or the formula is flushed from the system. How’d you come across this? Some facility?” Alexis asked.
“It was among the belongings of someone who like to write down their theories. As far as I know, they never belonged to any research or military facility,” Rei replied.
Alexis passed the papers back to her and Rei quickly stuffed them out of sight. The others’ conversation returned to lighter topics, but she noticed Alexis often glancing over at her.
“Be careful,” Alexis said quietly as they parted ways. “That might not be a working formula, but it definitely shows promise. More than a few would love to get their hands on it for their own purposes.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Rei replied quietly. Alexis nodded in response then turned to Chia for a private goodbye.
“Take care,” Mikal said. “And if you find any more of that research feel free to seek us out. We’ll be glad to help.”
“What he said,” Thrio, took her hand.
“We should get moving,” Chia announced, her voice thick with emotion.
“Get out of here.” Thrio urged them toward the entrance. “Before someone realizes she’s this close to the labs without top-level security standing by.”
They found a line of nearly twenty people long waiting for them at the gate. As they joined it, Rei could hear the scientists ahead grumble to one another in Banal about the delay in getting to the precious supplies they needed for their work.
“Damn it,” Chia groaned. “They should still be chasing the device.”
“Why aren’t they?”
“I don’t know, it could be anything. They probably didn’t pay enough attention to where it went. How does a highly trained security force lose their most wanted criminal?”
“Could your device have malfunctioned?”
“Of course not! It was a perfect design. It might not have never had a test run like that, but it is probably running around just fine!”
The pair moved a few steps forward in the line and were joined by a few others.
“Okay, since we don’t know what happened to it. Can we get past them now that we’re already in here?”
“Again, they’re guarding a community involved in some highly sensitive developments and we just duped them. Judging by how slow this line is moving, I’d say our chances are slim to none.”
“Terrific.”
“There’s no reason to complain now. You have the power for it, why don’t you go deeper with the illusion? I doubt anyone would be able to detect it if you did,” Chia whispered.
“You know it doesn’t work that way for me if I go deep enough.”
“True, you do tend to light up like a supernova.” Chia clapped her hands together. “I’m open to suggestions.”
“You don’t have another device like the first one?”
“No, I only carried one because I didn’t want to risk too many being lost. The others are safe on the ship.”
Rei sighed. “Looks like we’re doing this the hard, old fashioned way.” She stood straighter. “Come along, Chia,” she said in a normal volume. “We can’t afford to be delayed any longer. Perhaps we can still accomplish something today.”
Thankfully, Chia followed without any questions. They casually strolled along, offering polite nods in greeting to scientists as they passed. Rei exhaled sharply. Her nerves were already hovering at the edge of panic. It was by far the oddest place she had ever been imprisoned in, even if it was temporary. Most of the occupants went about their daily business with no idea anything was standing between themselves and the outside world.
The pair turned a corner and the wall loomed overhead. Chia drew them to a stop between two labs and surveyed the topmost edge. Her eyes narrowed and Essence flared in her hand. A faint orange glow filled the air, concentrating along several key points along the wall.
“What is that?”
“There are spelled pressure plates that will set off a security alarm. Those would be easy enough to avoid, but there’s a nasty spell woven through the air so the intruder is stunned and easy to collect.”
“That sounds lovely,” Rei said as she rolled up her sleeves. “Okay, stand back.”
“What in the world are you doing?” Chia demanded.
“Disabling the damn safeguards so we can get the hell out of here.”
“What part of ‘scientific community’ can you not get? This isn’t one of your little raids, there is security all over. Do you really think you’ll be able to wave your hands and blast it away before they get here?”
Rei glared at her, and then closed her eyes. “Be quiet.”
Her mind formed a solid picture of the wall along with the spells Chia had revealed. She sent her Essence out and began to slowly unravel the shocking spell. Bit by bit, the energy left it, unraveling the whole thing like she was untying a knot. It was tedious work to remove a spell this way. The much more efficient way would have been to wave her hand and blast it away, as Chia said. But the engineer knew what they were facing better than her. She could only imagine the secrets the labs around them held and the price those who worked here would be willing to pay to protect their work.
The first layer fell, leaving behind a bare core of raw Essence. She gently wrapped her power around it, searching for the purpose behind what was there. A smirk appeared on her lips; they weren’t fooling anyone. It was the same thing the Federation had at their high-security facilities—an ensnaring spell. Now that she knew what it was, she became aware of its influence on her thoughts. Rei gritted her teeth and pulled her mind away from it. There would be no turning themselves in today. The Essence fueling the spell was following her movements. Each pull she did, it pulled back; her feet started to slide forward of their own accord. Quickly, she planted herself firmly on the ground, using a dumpster for added leverage.
A hand on her arm pulled her back and onto the ground. Rei’s eyes shot open to find Chia standing over her, the engineer’s gaze locked on something in the distance.
“Three,” Chia mouthed.
Rei tensed. Damn, these guys move faster than I gave them credit for.
Chia ducked down; ears flat against her skull.
“Where the hell did they go?” they heard a man ask.
“Search me. They can’t have gone far though.”
Something moved dangerously close to their hiding spot. The two women pressed themselves tightly together. Rei’s hand inched toward the gun on her thigh. A claw released the clasp on the holster.
“Come on, we’re losing them if we hang out around here.” The second voice ordered.
The movement on the other side stopped. Cautiously, Chia peered over the edge of the dumpster.
“We’re clear.”
Rei pushed herself back into a kneeling position and resecured her gun. Chia’s eyebrow rose as she noticed the weapon, but she remained silent.
Instead, she examined the spot on the wall they had been clearing. “Nicely done.”
“From you, I’ll take that as a true compliment. Shall we?”
The women used their respective Essences to sail upwards. Rei hovered in midair for a moment to aim herself so she would land between the pressure spells Chia had pointed out earlier. She perched on the ledge in a crouch, then dropped. Her Essence served her better than ropes as it slowed her descent.
Once they were safely on the ground again, Rei quietly started the process to replenish the Essence she had pulled away, using the natural Essence around them to do it. The framework for the spell was still in place, it just needed power. Thankfully, it replenished quickly. She normally wouldn’t waste time like this, but she just wanted it them to think the spell had been influenced by something inside the community. Once it reached a level she felt comfortable with, Rei gestured to Chia to start moving toward the slow trickle of people going into the main city.
Rei saw the image of herself wave from the end of the line that was still waiting to get into the community. Security took off in pursuit, leaving mass confusion in their wake.
“I told you it didn’t malfunction,” Chia hissed.
Rei shook her head and pulled her along, eager to get out of the area before their luck ran out.
~*~
When they arrived back at the Kathya, Rei led them to a side hatch to avoid anyone who might still be busy in the cargo bay. She rested against the closed door to gather her wits. Chia turned toward her, concern in her eyes.
“Don’t say anything,” Rei ordered. “I don’t want this known by anyone else—not until I decide that I want everyone to know.”
“But...” Chia trailed off. “Fine. Whatever you want, Captain.”
“Thanks.” Rei clapped her on the shoulder and walked past.
She was just about to one of the stairwells when Chia’s voice rang out behind her. “Rei... that formula. You don’t think it could have been behind...” The engineer hesitated as she turned to look at her. “Behind what happened to you?”
Rei’s shoulders slumped. “Who knows. Anything is possible.” Somehow she knew they both believed that it was.
~*~
“I thought I might find you here.” Yeke’s voice startled her out of the ocean of thought she had been drifting through and she quickly rubbed her eyes. She heard him shuffle across the metal hull of the Kathya to sit beside her, feet outstretched toward the city below. Several people took cover as guards pursued someone through the crowd below. Rei opened her mouth to tell him to leave her alone, but the words refused to come, so she accepted the company begrudgingly.
“So, how’d it go? I saw Chia and asked her, but she said if I wanted to know anything that I’d have to ask you.” Rei stayed silent despite his expectant pause. “Our end went well enough—they weren’t too impressed with the weapons, but who can blame them? They aren’t anything spectacular. I don’t understand why Chia was so damn insistent on keeping some.”
She heard him sigh and a rough hand caught a tear that snuck down her cheek without her noticing. “Did it really go that horribly?” he whispered. “It’s not like you to be like this.”
“No,” she managed at last. “It went better than I thought it would...” She shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Fine.” A brisk wind blew past them. “Come inside. Chia hinted that it gets damn cold on this planet.”
Rei started toward the door, taking one last breath before going inside. As she wandered back toward her room, she felt something hit her leg and glanced down. The bag containing the papers that she left at her hideaway dangled from Yeke’s grip. She pulled her gaze away and focused on getting to her rooms where she could sleep away what she was feeling right now.
“Night.” She tried to shut her door before Yeke could enter, but he jumped inside.
“Not so fast, Captain. You’ll either brood all night or fall asleep before you get to bed” Yeke activated the lights before he set the bag on her desk. Essence pulled the blankets on the bed aside and he beckoned for her to lie down.
Rei stood still for a second before she complied, not even caring to take off her boots. Yeke shook his head, relieved her feet of the burden before covering her. He reached over to the light controls near the bed and turned them down enough to still allow him to navigate to the door safely.
“Don’t go,” Rei whispered. Her voice sounded pathetically weak to her ears, but she continued, “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
He disappeared from her vision. Her heart froze until she felt the blankets behind her move and heard the familiar beep of the computer sealing the room from the outside world. Warm arms wrapped around her body and she allowed Yeke’s soft breathing to lull her to sleep.