Crossroads of Fate (Cadicle #5): An Epic Space Opera Series (6 page)

Taelis relaxed into his chair. “Good.”

“Now, tell me everything.”

A grimace passed across Taelis’ face. “Where to begin?”

Wil folded his hands on the tabletop. “For starters, what’s the state of the TSS fleet?”

“We have the numbers we hoped to have for you, but the fleet isn’t positioned well at the moment. We have far too many ships bunched up here around H2.” Taelis activated the holographic projector at the center of the table. “Here’s a schematic of our current positions.”

Wil studied the map. Red dots indicated offensive vessels, such as cruisers and battleships, green were supply carriers, and blue were field medical stations. Most of the red dots were either at the frontlines or clustered around H2 and the nearby planets. “Do all of these represent vessels only within the rift?”

“Yes, since we lost Kaldern, we have barely any ships subscribed in normal space aside from a few remaining planetary outposts,” Ramsen replied.

“Why?”

“The Bakzen typically like to fight battles in the rift because of the telekinetic benefits,” Taelis clarified.

They can strike us on either front. We need to cover both.
“High Commander Banks indicated that you are at the limits of production—that what we have now is all there is to work with.”

“More or less,” Ramsen responded.

“We can activate ships that are standing guard near some of the populated planets,” Taelis added, “but doing so would leave the worlds exposed. It’d be a last resort.”

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
“What about supplies for the crews—food?”

“We’re fully stocked,” said a man in his late-thirties, whom Wil recalled was Simon Elari, the Agent responsible for fleet supply management. “We have almost a year’s supply, if we were to be cut off from the main Taran distribution network.”

At least there’s some good news
. “Okay. How about the Bakzen fleet? What do we know about their numbers and capabilities?”

Taelis shook his head. “They can hit us fast and hard. No one has seen too far into Bakzen territory since your encounter with them nearly a decade ago. Based on everything we’ve been able to see, it’s going to come down to a numbers game—which one of our fleets can deliver the most damage, the quickest, before our supplies run out. At the rate things are going, we’re in a bad position. We know you’ll change that.

“We have run as many simulations as we can, and all indicators are that the TSS needs to make a big move first, before the Bakzen can make theirs. And the sooner, the better. Though the Bakzen have largely been keeping to this side of the dimensional rift and have stayed close to the planet that they claimed as their homeworld, they have recently started venturing to the outer reaches of the rift. Those explorations seem to be expanding. We know that the Bakzen have ramped up production, but we don’t know of what exactly. They have taken over some worlds that are rich in metal ores and minerals. Our greatest fear is that they have been manufacturing additional rift gates—or worse, ships with standalone jump drive functionality—and that they are gearing up for an all-out assault. Best we can tell, the Bakzen are positioning for a single invasion campaign.”

Back when I met Carzen and Tek, it seemed like they were gearing up for something. Is this all part of the same plan?
“What’s their target?”

“We don’t know,” replied Taelis, a hint of defeat in his tone.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Wil asked, sensing that the High Commander was holding back.

“The Bakzen also now have some sort of remote telepathic control for use on civilian populations,” Taelis revealed. “That’s how the shield was brought down on Kaldern earlier this week, near as we can tell.”

“Shite,” Wil muttered under his breath, thinking through the implications for such a capability. No one could be trusted; no world would be safe.

“Kaldern was the first time we’ve witnessed it,” the High Commander continued. “If it’s happened before, it was never on a large enough scale for us to notice.”

Wil examined the worried expressions of the officers around the table. “How are they doing it?”
Direct control would take enormous focus. If it were biological…

“That’s unclear,” Taelis said. “We’ve increased our surveillance to keep watch for the initial signs, based on what happened on Kaldern, but until we have access to an affected subject to study, we can’t prepare counter-measures.”

Another unknown threat. I’m losing count.
“Okay. What about positioning of the Bakzen fleet?”

Ramsen scowled. “The distribution of the Bakzen forces seem random. We haven’t been able to extrapolate any likely targets or timing based on our mapping of the rift and TSS positions.”

Wil came to full attention. “Wait, you have a map of the rift?”

Taelis looked taken aback. “Yes.” He glanced at Ramsen, then back to Wil.

Unbelievable.
“Why did no one ever share that with me?”

“I’m sorry, it didn’t seem important to send to you while you were still training.”

Wil took a calming breath. “Show me.”
Anything related to the rift is important. Or, maybe looking into the void with the Aesir changed my perspective, seeing how the Bakzen continue to tear apart the fabric of space.

The holographic map projected over the table. Wil examined the image, seeing the weak points between subspace and regular space portrayed as dark spots across the map. The dark areas were clustered around the main rift, but others branched outward. Not all were connected, but small tears radiated well beyond the war zone.
It’s almost like subspace pathways…
“Has this map been cross-referenced against normal space?”

“We did,” Taelis said, “but there’s no correlation.”

You need to know what to look for.
“Did you account for subspace movement in your analysis?”

Taelis looked ashamed. “We tried, but haven’t been able to. This is one of the many reasons why we couldn’t wait any longer to bring you here.”

“Let’s see…” Wil accessed the map library on the touch-surface table. He found the most recent subspace scan and overlaid it with a map of normal space, with labels for the Taran-occupied worlds. The two images were a jumbled mess suspended over the table. Wil stood up and began manipulating the images by hand, aligning some key points to account for the common movement patterns in subspace. He made a few adjustments to the inputs via the touch-surface table and then refreshed the composite map.

When the new image resolved, Wil’s stomach sank. Expressions of horror spread across every face around the table. Hovered above them, the map showed all the micro-rifts forming direct pathways to the major Taran colonies, including multiple pathways directly to Tararia.

Taelis paled. “How could we have missed this?”

Wil swallowed.
The Aesir were right—the Bakzen want all of us gone.
“We can’t waste any time.”

“No.” Taelis looked drained of hope. “Tell us what to do.”

It’s all on me now.
“Our first order of business is to attack the Bakzen supply lines. Their forces aren’t yet sufficient to make a full assault from the rift, or they would have made a move already.”

“Agreed,” Ramsen said.

Taelis nodded faintly.

I wasn’t expecting to break up my team right away, but I don’t see another option.
“My Primus Elite trainees and I can communicate faster and more securely than subspace comms. They’ll move into the field as officers at some of the key TSS outposts and on the lead tactical vessels so I can instantaneously relay secure orders to the fleet. They have also been highly trained with battle strategy, and can advise on tactics even when I’m not directly involved. That way, I can focus on one key battle at a time while they handle the rest of the coordination.”

Taelis pulled himself together. “Of course. Just tell us where you need everyone and we’ll arrange the transport.”

Wil mentally ran through each of his men and weighed several scenarios.
I need to keep my Seconds with me. Ethan’s pilots will be an invaluable strike force. The rest all have the skills and autonomy to function without direct supervision.
He typed a list of twelve names on the tabletop and the specific position for each to assume in the fleet. “Ramsen, please take these men and acquaint them with the TSS forces. I’d like them positioned at these locations.” Wil highlighted a dozen points on the holographic map above the table.

“Understood,” Ramsen acknowledged.

But the pilots… I can’t throw them out into battle quite yet.
“On a related matter, High Commander Banks mentioned that you have some training facilities here that are more advanced than what we had back home.”

Taelis nodded. “Yes, we have a flight testing course and several amplifier chambers for telekinesis conditioning.”

“I’ll need use of the flight course. My pilots have to log some more hours in actual spacecrafts. Too much training has been done in simulators.”

“Yes, anything you need,” Taelis replied. “We have other pilots that will need some time on the course, but we’ll work around your pilots’ schedules.”

“Have the second generation of IT-1 jets completed testing?”
That’s where they really need to practice—right-angle turns while simultaneously executing a jump to the rift. No amount of simulator practice can prepare for the real thing.

“Almost,” said Agent Faerin, liaison working with Laecy’s engineering team. “We’re in the final trials to work out a few bugs, but the first wave will be ready within the week.”

“Excellent, thank you. We’ll only need four. Please be sure to include my pilots in your final calibrations so they can start tuning to their jets.”

“I will,” she confirmed.

Wil nodded. That only left Michael, Ethan, Curtis, Ian, and Saera. He would need to review Taelis’ list of recommendations for additional crew on his own ship. “That’s all for now. I need to start reviewing specifics and calibrating the Conquest. Talking won’t get us any closer to victory.”

Taelis nodded and stood. Everyone around the table rose, as well. “You have your orders. Meeting adjourned.”

Wil inclined his head to Taelis and immediately left the War Room.
Things are worse than I thought. This is going to put us all to the test.

As soon as he exited to the hallway, his handheld chirped. The message was from Saera: “Meet us in Laecy’s lab. There’s a problem.”

Cris couldn’t decide if he was furious or petrified. Since receiving the message from Saera, an icy vice had latched around his chest.
An hour in and there’s already a crisis. What’s next?

He took a deep breath as he stepped into the hangar on the bottom level of H2. The cavernous room housed what few backup jets remained of the TSS fleet. Situated between two rows of crafts, the engineering lab was a freestanding island wrapped in translucent windows. The door was cracked open enough to reveal Saera and Laecy huddled around a terminal inside.

Saera glanced over her shoulder as he approached. She slumped forward against the console. “This is bad.”

“What is?” Cris asked, sliding the door closed behind him.

Laecy sighed. “I got a strange heat spike from the Conquest, which happened to correspond to one of my engineers being somewhere they shouldn’t have been, so we started digging deeper as a precaution. The events today may be unrelated, but it’s a good thing we went to investigate. It turns out that select telekinetic relays in the Conquest have been lined with Detno.”

Friendly name.
“What’s that?”

“It’s highly explosive,” Saera explained. “The placement in the ship is such that it would create a chain reaction. One trigger at the right intensity would take out the whole ship and anything around it.”

“To the naked eye, the material is virtually indistinct from ateron, which we repurposed from the cracked testing sphere to use for the main relay conduits,” Laecy added. “Both transfer electromagnetic energy, so the wiring passed at the basic connection tests. We’ve only run low-level currents—around a CR 5 in intensity. The Detno doesn’t trigger until a 7.”

“It’s possible the heat spike was caused when Wil and I interfaced with the ship for the first time,” added Saera.

Cris’ heart sank. “So the entire ship needs to be scrapped.”

“No,” Laecy quickly cut in. “I’ve run a full diagnostic, and the Detno is only in four specific locations. We can extract it. Everything else checks out, from the structure to the software.”

“So it’s repairable?” Cris clarified.

Laecy nodded. “An easy fix, really. It’ll only take a few hours.”

“That’s not the issue,” Saera continued. “The bad part is that we don’t know who did it—the out-of-place engineer today may have simply been coincidence. If there’s sabotage on this vessel, there’s no telling if there are other bombs throughout the fleet.”

“Who has access?” Cris asked Laecy.

“Me, Becca, Nolan and Aram on my team are the only ones with both the knowledge and the opportunity to pull this off. Lacing in the Detno could be done quickly, but identifying the right placement for optimum explosive amplification took serious skill.”

“I’ve already vetted her,” Saera said with a sympathetic glance toward Laecy. “We couldn’t start investigating until I knew she could be trusted.”

Laecy frowned. “I hope I don’t need another one of those mind probes any time soon.”

Regret flitted across Saera’s face. “I’m sorry. It was necessary.”

“Yeah, I know.” The engineer shook it off. “Anyway, what I don’t understand is why anyone would go to these lengths. If they have that kind of access, why not take everything out?”

Cris thought for a moment. “I suspect because they were waiting to make the most impact.”

“So, they were after Wil,” Saera said.

“Most likely,” Cris replied. “Every act of sabotage increases the chance of being discovered, so each attack needs to maximize results. It’s common knowledge that the TSS has been waiting for Wil—how critical he is to our strategy. May as well wait until they can take out not just him, but his officers, too. Everyone would be on the Conquest during a practice session when they’d access the telekinetic relays—it’s the perfect opportunity.”

“That does make sense, in a twisted way,” Saera muttered.

Laecy’s face paled. “I can’t picture anyone on my team doing that.”

Cris felt Wil approaching before he heard the knock on the door. “Come in.”

Laecy flashed Wil an apologetic smile. “I should have known everything was going too well.”

“What’s the problem, exactly?” Wil asked, looking around the group.

They filled him in on the critical information. He took it in silently.

“The culprit’s actions may not have been their own,” Wil said after a few moments. “The Bakzen seem to have some new method for remote telepathic control. It’s been witnessed in the civilian population, but there’s no telling if anyone within the TSS is affected.”

Cris froze. “For one individual at a time, or…?”
If they could turn all our Militia…

Wil shook his head. “Large groups, but we don’t know its limits.”

Saera tossed up her hands. “Great, that’s all we need.”

“If the Detno is triggered by use of telekinesis,” Wil continued, “doesn’t that mean an Agent was behind the explosion in the hangar years ago? It couldn’t have been a member of your engineering team.”

“Not necessarily,” Laecy replied. “Electromagnetic energy transfer occurs at specific frequencies. Perhaps the Detno trigger is an ultrasonic or infrasonic frequency rather than the intensity of telekinetic energy itself.”

“What type of equipment could produce that frequency?” Wil asked.

Laecy glanced at the console in her lab used for ship performance simulations. “What we have right here.”

Wil took a deep breath. “Okay, first things first. Laecy, can you personally tend to the Detno removal?”

“Yes, it’ll take a little longer, but I can work alone,” she confirmed.

“Good. Get started as soon as you can and seal off the Conquest,” Wil instructed. “Meanwhile, we need to have serious conversations with Becca, Nolan, and Aram.”

*       *       *

The faces in front of Wil were not those of guilty individuals. Except, surface appearances were often misleading.
Haersen fooled me before. We don’t have the luxury of being polite.

Under normal circumstances, diving into another’s mind was strictly forbidden. Agents lived by a code of respect for others’ autonomy, especially regarding those without telepathic abilities. Such individuals had no way to block their thoughts from a random encounter—no chance to maintain privacy. Agents were conditioned to ignore others’ thoughts, as though they didn’t exist. To tune into another’s consciousness took focus and a deliberate disregard for the respect that was critical to everyday existence.

The present situation was different. They were at war, and one of the individuals seated before Wil had been compromised by the enemy. There was no time for a traditional investigation using questions and clues. He needed to know who and why. Immediately.

Behind him in the windowless room, Wil could feel Cris and Saera readying their own telepathic probes. A combined assessment would be the most reliable way to determine the guilty party.

Though only Saera had examined Laecy, Wil was certain it wasn’t her. She didn’t ever leave H2 and had never given Wil any reason to doubt her, aside from perhaps being too willing to bend to Taelis’ whims. The others, though, had occasionally traveled to the outer colonies on relief missions. Any one—or all—of them may have been turned at any time.

Wil took a step forward, pausing to make eye contact with each of the suspects as he looked down the line. “I’m sorry to do this. I know you’ve trusted me as a friend—that’s why I didn’t want to leave the interrogation to a stranger. But we need to know the truth. You may not even know that truth yourself.”

“I have nothing to hide,” Becca said as she straightened in her chair. Her hazel eyes darted between Wil, Saera, and Cris—anxious and tense.

There’s only one way to find out for sure.
Wil focused in on her mind, causing Becca to become rigid in her chair. First, he only skimmed the surface of her consciousness, sensing her fear and resistance to the invasion of her inner thoughts. He paused to let her acclimate, then dove deeper.

Surprising calm resided beneath the surface. Her thoughts were logical and organized—the mark of a true engineer. None of the fear from the outer thoughts was present, only a deep sense of dedication and purpose. She was committed to the TSS, to fulfilling her duty.

Wil examined the deepest layers of her consciousness, but it was pure and intact.

He withdrew, glancing at Saera and his father.
“Did you find anything?”
he asked them in unison.

They shook their heads.

Wil returned his attention to the young engineer. “You’re free to go, Becca. Thank you.”

She rose to her feet, slightly unsteady. “I’d like to help Laecy with the repairs,” she stated after a moment. “That way, you can get settled in faster.”

He nodded his consent. “Thank you, I’ll let her know you’re cleared to board.”

Becca bobbed her head and rushed out of the room.

Wil took a moment to send Laecy a message confirming that Becca was trustworthy. At least two of the key engineers were on his side.

Aram was up next. “Let’s get this over with,” he muttered.

“You don’t seem concerned at all,” Wil commented.

“I don’t expect someone else to know my mind better than I know my own,” Aram retorted.

Saera took a step forward. “You don’t have much respect for Agents, I’ve noticed.”

He scoffed. “Why should I—because you have abilities the rest of us don’t? That doesn’t make you special.”

“It doesn’t change that we’re your superior officers,” Cris stated, stepping forward, as well.

“You’re not as powerful as you think you are. I’ve seen way too many people die. You’re no more invincible than the rest of us,” Aram sneered.

How did he last this long in the TSS?
“Are you conspiring with the Bakzen?” Wil asked bluntly.

“No,” Aram replied. “Not that I don’t see the appeal.”

On the surface, the statement appeared to be the truth. However, Wil wasn’t about to take anything at face value.

He dove into Aram’s mind, searching for evidence of deceit or manipulation. Thoughts of the present filled the outer levels of his consciousness—envy of Wil for his effortless mastery of engineering and telekinesis alike. Except, that envy had been twisted into hatred that ran deep into Aram’s subconscious.

Anger and resentment seared within. Aram yearned for the power of an Agent—the very abilities the Bakzen could grant him. He wanted to feel the power course through him, to stand above others and be admired. He’d show the Agents what it really meant to be powerful. They’d all see one day what they had been missing—what he was and they could only dream of becoming.

But, he had never acted on those impulses. They were only fantasies in his inner mind.

Wil faltered.
He has to be the one. Not Nolan…?
He searched even deeper in Aram’s mind, examining crevices long since sealed and buried. Even there, no true treachery was to be found.

The search complete, Wil released him.

Aram glared back. “Satisfied?”

“You may not be guilty of working with the Bakzen, but you aren’t fit to be a member of the TSS.” To either side of Wil, he sensed Saera and Cris bristle in response to Aram’s sentiments.

“All of you elitist Agents really are the same,” Aram spat. “The rest of us will never be good enough for you.”

“It’s unfortunate that you feel that way. If you didn’t pass such superficial judgment, you may have found we have more in common than you think.” Wil glanced over at his father and wife. “I recommend we suspend Aram from duty. Do you concur with that assessment?”

“Absolutely,” Cris replied without hesitation.

Saera nodded. “Agreed.”

“Why don’t you go find a nice quiet corner for Aram to wait out the rest of the war?” Wil said to his father. “Saera and I will finish up here.”

Cris beckoned to Aram. “Come on.”

“You’re really just going to hold me here?” Aram asked, incredulous.

“I don’t see your perceptions of Agents or the TSS changing overnight. You know too much to be released as a civilian. What choice do we have?”

“I’d rather die than be held as a prisoner.”

“I wouldn’t make that kind of permanent decision so rashly. You can wait it out.”

Cris directed Aram out the door, giving him telekinetic prods when he dragged his feet.

Nolan gaped at Wil when the door closed. “Me?” The surprise in his tone seemed genuine.

I can’t imagine finding out I’d been acting without my knowledge.
“Laecy said the four of you were the only ones with the necessary access and abilities. Either she’s wrong about that, or…”

The engineer swallowed hard. “You’ve known me for years. You know I’d never—”

“Nothing is certain.” Wil’s stomach turned over. “We’ll figure this out.”

Nolan nodded, though his frown and creased brow indicated that everything was far from all right. He took a deep breath. “Do what you have to do.”

Wil and Saera reached out to Nolan’s mind together.