Project Solaris 2: Hero Rising (14 page)

"You're right," I conceded, sinking back into my chair. I steepled my fingers, studying Dick. "We can't bring him back to the Black Knight, not until we know who the spy is. There's too much risk he could get loose. We'll leave him here with Suresh to watch him."

"You're sure trusting her is wise?" Jillian asked.

"Suresh, if I leave you here, you're not going to free Dick, are you?" I said, focusing my abilities. I probed her surface thoughts, listening as she answered.

"You're damn right I'm not," she shot back, glaring at Dick. "Now that I know a little more, I'm not sure you were wrong to want to kill him. He can rot there for all I care."

"She's telling the truth," I said to Jillian.

"How do you know that?" Suresh asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's reading your mind," Dick supplied, his tone glib. "He can control your thoughts. He might even be doing it right now."

"Like you've no doubt done in the last few months?" I shot back, stalking over to his cage. I concentrated on the stasis field, intensifying it. I modified the field so it would prevent sound from crossing, then I turned to Suresh. "Dick can manipulate minds. Apparently I have that ability, too, though I'm just learning to use it. I won't, unless it's an emergency. You've proved yourself to me."

"Thank you," she said, though I could tell she was unsettled. "I guess I wait here. Is there a way for me to study up on things?"

"I'll open the archives so you can use them. They'll respond to simple voice commands. You can see what the grey men have been up to, and learn about Project Solaris," I offered. I rose from the chair, moving to stand next to Jillian. "We'll try to be quick, but it might be a few hours before we get back. Sit tight, okay?"

She simply nodded. Suresh looked scared, and I didn't blame her.

"So how do you plan to root out the spy?" Jillian asked. I read concern in her eyes, which was more emotion than she normally let show. She was rattled, just like I was.

"We go back and tell the others that we escaped the ambush," I said. I paused, trying to consider the best route forward. "I'll tell the others we've learned where the FTL device is and are planning a raid in the morning. We'll use this evening to read each of them, and see if that exposes the spy."

"And if it doesn't?" she asked.

"Then we do this the hard way. We gather the group together, and we tell them there's a spy in our midst."

"That's going to cause a lot of finger pointing." Jillian folded her arms. I knew she didn't like it, but she didn't offer another solution.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. If it does, we'll handle it as best we can. We don't have a lot of choice. Osiris could be dead because of this spy, which denies us Mohn's resources. We've got the Black Knight now, but a spy could alert the grey men to that fact," I said. "If that happens, we'll lose this war before it even begins. We can't let it fall into their hands, and that means we need to find this spy, no matter the cost."

Chapter 23- Indoctrination

The ringing began the instant we materialized in the Black Knight. It was worse than it had been before, perhaps because I'd gotten used to not hearing it. My eyes watered, and I rubbed my temples as I adjusted to the pain.

"Are you all right?" Jillian asked. She squeezed my shoulder, and I gave a tight nod.

"I think one of the systems is malfunctioning. Can you really not hear that?" I asked, gritting my teeth. 

"I don't hear anything," she said, blinking.

We were interrupted by the arrival of the others. Kali and Janaki were the first through the doors, both looking extremely concerned. Marcus and Summers trailed after, talking together in low tones.

"What happened?" Kali said, flinging her arms around Jillian. "We saw the news broadcast. They're saying there was a terrorist attack at the Mohn building."

Could she really be the spy? It chilled me to think that her concern might be an act. I glanced from Summers to Marcus. Neither had approached, and both eyed us emotionlessly. That was, unfortunately, normal enough behavior for the two of them, though.

"We got out alive, that's what matters," I said, trying to clear the ringing enough to focus. "I need to sit down."

I pushed past them, into the central chamber. I sat against the wall, wiping a sheen of sweat from my forehead. I was dimly aware of Jillian sitting next to me, but I was too nauseous to react.

"Maybe you should use one of the rejuvenators," Summers said. Her voice was far away. I blinked rapidly, clearing away the cobwebs.

"Ren," I called. A moment later, the hologram appeared. "Are you aware of any systems malfunctioning at the present moment?"

"No," Ren said, flatly. "All systems are operating within tolerances."

"Shut down power to everything but life support," I said, leaning forward into a fetal position. The ringing was so damned insistent. I felt like my teeth were going to rattle out of my head.

"Done," Ren said. The pressure disappeared. The ringing was gone.

I rose shakily to my feet, facing the others. Their expressions ranged from indifference to concern, but that didn't tell me enough. I needed to know more.

"Give me a second," I said, raising a hand to forestall any questions.

I focused on my abilities, opening my mind as I'd been learning to do. I became aware of the minds around me, and listened to surface thoughts. I started with Janaki, who was torn between a growing attraction for Kali, and a fear that she wasn't contributing anything to the group.

Marcus was, much to my surprise, extremely concerned for my health. He wondered what was wrong with me, and if we had the resources to fix it. I tensed as I picked up a stray thought, one that flashed by so quickly I almost missed it. Marcus worried that intel was being leaked. He feared a possible spy.

Summers was the easiest to read. She was frustrated that she couldn't utilize the station's systems unless I was present, and badly wanted to find a way to modify her powers so she could keep the powers she borrowed. It was the most normal I'd seen her since she'd woken from her coma, a return to the frigid, calculating Summers I was used to.

Kali's mind was a blank wall. I couldn't pick up anything, not a single emotion or stray thought. Her flat, black eyes shone with concern, but I had no idea if that was being feigned somehow. My inability to read her wasn't proof, but it troubled me deeply.

I even took a moment to read Jillian, which made me blush. She was concerned about the spy, but underlaying that was an insistent frustration that we hadn't had enough time alone together. 

"I'm all right," I finally said, exhaling. "Sorry for worrying you. Something in one of the station's systems was making me nauseous, but turning it off helped. I'm fine now."

"So what the hell happened down there?" Marcus asked, frowning.

"They grey men knew we were coming," Jillian broke in. She met my gaze, and my jaw clicked shut. She was a better liar, so I let her run with the story. "We don't know what happened to Osiris, but we got away."

"You realize what that means?" Marcus asked, looking me dead in the eye.

Yes,
I thought, sending the message into his mind.
But we shouldn't reveal it here, not yet. If there is a spy we don't want to alert them.

"Yeah, Mohn has a leak," I said, holding his gaze. Marcus gave a quick nod of understanding. "Someone in their organization works for the grey men, which means we can't trust Mohn Corp. For the time being, we're on our own."

"So what's our next step?" Summers asked, watching me with those cold blue eyes.

"We need time to regroup. Jillian and I are going to return to the shuttle for a little R&R. When we get back, we'll meet as a group and discuss our next move," I said, giving Jillian a plastic smile. I hoped the others would read it as exhaustion.

"All right," Kali said, a little dubiously. "You've definitely earned a break. Go take a nap, or uh, whatever you guys need to do. We'll be here when you get back."

Chapter 24- Invis

Jillian,
I thought, pushing into her mind.
I want you to teleport us to the far side of the station, into the rejuvenator room. Make us invisible as soon as we arrive. Can you do that?

Jillian took a step closer, wrapping her arm around my waist. Then we teleported. Even as the vertigo faded, cool energy washed over us and we vanished from sight. I paused, holding my breath and listening. I could hear faint voices back in the teleporter room.

"What are you planning?" Jillian whispered from my right.

"One second," I said, fishing into my pocket to withdraw Mom's memory crystal. It flared to life and Mom appeared. I spoke before she could. "We need to be quiet, Mom. Just listen for a sec and I'll catch you up. We believe there's a spy, and I'm hoping you can help us catch them. I'm going to interface you with the station. You should be able to log all of Ren's movements and see if anyone has been tampering with things."

"Okay," she said, her expression all concern. She scanned the area where we were standing, unable to see us thanks to Jillian's ability. "Will you be safe while I do that?"

"Hopefully," I whispered. "We'll stay invisible while you investigate."

"Give me the crystal," Jillian whispered. "I'm lighter on my feet. I assume all I have to do is put it on the pillar in the center, kind of like the one where we found Ra?"

"That's it exactly," I said, nodding. Then I remembered she couldn't see my nod. I fumbled about until I found her hand, then pressed the crystal into it. Mom disappeared as soon as I stopped touching the stone.

"Follow me, but slowly," Jillian said, her voice already receding as she moved away from me.

I crept after her into the main chamber, freezing against the wall when I saw the others enter the room.

"Do you guys have a minute?" Summers asked. The others paused, watching her. "I wanted to discuss David's behavior."

Summers walked towards the control room, disappearing with Marcus in tow. Kali and Janaki followed, seemingly unaware of my presence. I stood there holding my breath for long moments, wincing when a flair of bright, green light came from the central obelisk. It disappeared after a moment, and I reached into the station's system to see if it had worked.

I'm in,
Mom said, her voice echoing hollowly in my head.
So you know I'm not so good with this tech stuff. How do I find out what Ren has been up to?

Envision the ship's system like a library,
I instructed, knowing how much she loved libraries.
The data you need is in books, and the card catalogue will help you find it. If you envision it ,your subconscious will take care of the heavy lifting.

Okay, give me a minute,
she said.

I kept the connection to the station open, but focused on my immediate surroundings. I couldn't see her, but I could tell something was moving to my right. "Jillian?"

"Yeah," she said. "Hopefully that worked. Now what?"

"I guess we see what the others are discussing in our absence," I replied, already creeping toward the doorway they'd disappeared through.

I'd only made it a few feet when I staggered. The ringing was back in full force. If anything, it had redoubled in intensity.

David!
Mom's voice was frantic.
You're not going to like this.
 

What happened?
I thought.

Ren has reactivated ALL the station's systems. The first one he turned back on is some sort of internal broadcast. Something called an inducer. I'm not sure I'm reading this correctly, but it looks like some sort of brainwashing device.

I went cold, forcing myself to cross the last few feet to the doorway. Jillian's hand brushed my back, her touch reassuring me at least a little. Marcus, Summers, Janaki, and Kali stood clustered together. Ren's holographic form was nearby, watching silently.

"I'm concerned about David," Summers was saying. "I think he's going to get himself killed fighting the grey men."

"You're probably right," Kali said, her voice anguished. "But how do we convince him to stop fighting? He believes they're evil. He doesn't understand them, not like we do."

"So how do we convince him?" Janaki asked, hugging herself and biting her lip. "He's a good man, even if he's misguided. I don't want to see him get hurt."

"Are we sure he's wrong?" Marcus asked. His eyes were glassy, and he raised a hand to his forehead. "I just...I don't know if we're doing the right thing. We've been fighting the grey men, because they want to colonize the Earth. They experimented on us. Now they're the good guys?"

"Forgive me for interjecting, but yes. Serving the Builders is the correct path. They created this station, and the Ark Network that safeguards this planet. They preceded your species, and have guided your evolution," Ren said. Marcus' eyes narrowed as he stared at the hologram.

"Marcus, look at me," Summers said. She placed her hands on Marcus' shoulders and stared him in the eyes. "I love you. You know that. I'd never lie to you. Trust me when I say serving the grey men is the right thing to do. Osiris duped us, and he's still got David duped. We need to fix that, before we lose David and Jillian both."