The reception dais of the Headquarters transportation hub glowed faintly as Jade Heung, Lord Evaluator of the Guardians, materialized on the center of the platform. The scarlet flashes rippling through her aura betrayed her obvious excitement to the security detail stationed around the chamber. Ignoring the looks of surprise her unannounced arrival had generated, she stepped down and swiftly made her way toward the main elevator pads.
Jade rarely displayed emotion in front of others. So, for her to be telegraphing her feelings so openly, gave the game away that something was up.
It wouldn’t cause any harm, of course, but she berated herself nonetheless. Switch on, Jade. You’re acting like an undergraduate who’s just levitated her first chair!
She clutched the reason for her jubilation tightly in her hand: the message crystal, detailing the latest results of the N-Gate Program they had been working on for only two weeks. Two weeks! And already events were in motion to go live.
If she gave her blessing.
As she hurried along, Jade summarized the contents of the report again, all the time cursing that part of Headquarters etiquette that required everyone to walk about the complex in an orderly fashion as opposed to teleporting.
And of course, the mere fact she was the Lord Evaluator, meant she had to set an example. A well-known line from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” came to mind: Bah humbug!
A few moments later, and she’d reached the pad. Snorting to herself as it began to descend, she had to admit. The walk was helping restore the usual glacial veneer she liked to adopt in front of others. But boy, it’s difficult . . . given our current situation.
Everyone had been on edge since the attempt to infiltrate the facility had become public knowledge. Herself included! So, the fact her department had already come up with a solution to the immediate threat, would give everyone the morale boost they needed.
A boost, along with a positive goal to focus on.
To be honest, it had surprised Jade how easily Marty and Sharon had pointed the rest of their colleagues in the right direction:
The research team had the bright idea of wiring Marty up to a converted HaSP scanner—courtesy of Yeung Technologies. Making use of its multidimensional holographic interface, they began the unenviable task of measuring and cataloging each and every single psychic faculty the Guardians had at their disposal.
As they were already aware, each ability generated its own unique esoteric energy signature. By using the HaSP, they had since been able to transpose those frequencies into a quantifiable mundane form.
Marty had then demonstrated what actually happened when he deployed his mirroring talents. Being able to witness the mechanics of the process in each case, allowed Guardian scientists to accurately calculate the precise wavelengths Marty employed on each occasion. Then, using the data collected as a template, they managed to reproduce the exact same effects artificially.
A rousing success to be sure.
Nevertheless, they were only halfway to their goal. Before anyone could start shouting from the rooftops, they needed Sharon’s input.
It had been amazing to watch Sharon’s dexterity at work. Unlike Marty, she didn’t just reflect the incoming frequencies back to their originator to create a barrier. She inverted them too, negating the waveforms entirely.
Once again, they’d been able to mimic the process, creating the N-Gate technology.
If the report was correct, the procedure was still a little slow. Evidently, the scanners took a few moments to fully assess the incoming energies, before introducing the medium to nullify them. But that didn’t matter at this stage. Accuracy was essential. Speed could be enhanced later through the introduction of a series of upgraded targeting nodes, each incorporating an increased range of sensitivity.
All in all, very encouraging news.
However, that wasn’t what had excited the Lord Evaluator so much.
No! The thing that had Jade doing mental back-flips, was the discovery that once the unique tonal medium for each inversed capability had been memorized and stored mentally, that was it! Any competent operator would be able to embed the program within their psyche.
Of course, personal strength and fortitude would then be an obvious factor as to whether an individual would be resilient enough to counteract their opponent. But that wasn’t the point. The Guardians now had a two-tiered strategy to deal with their godlike foes. If it transpired they weren’t potent enough to defend themselves metaphysically, then at least they had the luxury of a mechanical option to keep them alive until help arrived.
And if today went well, they would see a successful demonstration of the range and flexibility the N-Gater had to offer against preprogrammed targets.
Jade was still mulling things over as she swept into the main laboratory. So, when she found herself frozen, mid-step and enclosed within a crawling web of power, it took her completely by surprise. A faint buzz also announced the fact that the internal security countermeasures had locked on to her. She was about react, when she recognized the absence of any threat.
Everyone seemed to be studying her closely, a look of professional interest or concern written across their faces. All, that is, except for Marty Mays, who peered out from behind his command console wearing a smile that stretched from ear to ear.
An old style light bulb blinked on!
“I see you’ve adapted the N-Gater technology to specific psi-dents then?”
“It would appear so, little lady!” Marty replied, feeding extra teeth into his Cheshire Cat grin.
Little lady?
He continued, “I hope you don’t mind. But, seeing as we needed your approval, I thought you’d be the perfect guinea-pig to try it out on. Minus the psychic stun element, of course.”
“Of course!”
Her eyes narrowed, and everyone took that as a cue to get back to work. True to form, Marty merely winked and continued tinkering about with the controls on his desk.
She assumed he must be making some last minute adjustments, so contented herself by testing the limits of the field holding her still. No matter how hard she tried, Jade couldn’t get her muscles to work. Not bad. Apart from my autonomous functions, I can’t budge an inch. Let’s see what happens if I try to use my telekinesis?
A miniscule vibration ran through her body. Then, something cancelled out the manifestation of her will before it could evolve into motion. Okay, I’ll teleport instead.
Intrigued, she felt a familiar surge of power as hidden energies answered her call, only to find them skipping away before their purpose had been served. From what she could determine, her ability had responded, but once it passed a certain threshold, it shied away from her mental grasp in the way similar poles of a magnet reacted when introduced to one another. And once it had absented itself, that particular aptitude remained elusive and beyond her capacity to recall.
Jade was impressed . . . impressed and somewhat disturbed by the claustrophobic helplessness now closing in on her. Clearing her throat to attract Marty’s attention, she said, “Can I have my foot back now, please? I’m beginning to feel a little ridiculous standing here like a cartoon character stuck on freeze-frame.”
“What?” he blinked and looked her up and down. “Oh yes, of course!”
A gentle hum coincided with the restoration of her motor functions.
Stalking across to Marty’s terminal, she held out the message crystal. “You weren’t exaggerating when you said we were ready to go live across the board. That was quite unnerving.”
Shrugging, he replied, “I aim to please. But you really need to be thanking that pretty lady over there. . .”
Pointing toward Sharon Dyer, he explained, “. . . Sharon came up with the idea of featuring the HaSP’s holo-displays within our working parameters. They say a picture paints a thousand words? Well, her idea jumped us forward a Texas mile. Once everyone could see what was needed, it was a simple matter for us to replicate those conditions over and over again. After that, we worked on isolating the frequencies and adding them to the database. The rest—as the saying goes—is history.”
Studying the young woman, who was now engrossed in the circuitry of a cerebral enhancer, Jade thought. Hmmmh! She’s full of surprises. I really must make the effort to get to know her better.
Out loud, she mused, “Marty, what’s she doing now?”
Glancing across the room, Marty’s eyes lit up in comprehension. “Ah yes! A major part of the problem appears to be pinpointing the murdering scumbags when they’re keeping their heads down. We’ve all seen how elusive they are when they choose to be, so Sharon suggested we try integrating the new tech into the SEPS scanners aboard your orbiting stations. If she manages to splice the N-Gate hardware into the sensitive targeting nodes of the cerebro-energizers . . . well, it’ll be game over! That’ll give us access to your Automatic Targeting Recognition and THOR arrays.”
He sucked in through his teeth. “We’ve run into some hurdles, true. But she’s working on them.”
Jade looked more closely at the heroine of the hour.
Yes! Full of surprises! I’m definitely going to get to know her better. Starting now!
*
The ionized cloud drifted sedately across the northern polar region of the Moon. Comprised of the finest particles saturating the interstellar medium, it was almost indistinguishable from the background solar radiation permeating this region of space and blended perfectly to its ambient surroundings. The pain of maintaining such a diaphanous constitution was considerable. But the entity was used to discomfort. It was the only way he could safely get about lately.
And safety was a priority. Especially after one of their number nearly went and got himself caught.
Oh, it was tempting to try out one of Esther’s toys. But there was always a risk involved in any new venture. And he wasn’t willing to dip his toe into the water just yet . . . at least, not until they’d finished seeding.
The creature now known as Simon Cooper smiled within himself.
Yeung had come up with the term seeding only last week, when they had been discussing their options. Esther had completed the latest batch of sub-dermal emitters and was keen to mesh those upgrades with their new trinary psi-dents. As always, Yeung had urged caution, suggesting that, perhaps it would be beneficial to sow the seeds of doubt before using the devices on themselves. His idea to carry out a series of test runs among the unsuspecting populace was as brilliant as it was inspiring.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Having procured fifteen of Esther’s special prototypes, Yeung incorporated them into a set of biodegradable chips. Those chips were then sprinkled among random families living in France, Moscow, Hong Kong, Mexico, and Australia. Designed to lay dormant within their hosts until armed by a signal, broadcast along a predesignated narrow-bandwidth, they would disintegrate by absorption into the bloodstream a mere thirty seconds after being activated.
And just as well.
Over the past week, he had triggered three of the five clusters. The fact they worked was evidenced by the speedy response of the freaks and their minions:
On the first occasion, the infernal twins reacted in less than a minute; on the second, they’d cut their response time by ten percent; the last attempt—in Australia—was even faster, down to thirty-eight seconds! And they’d brought an Inquisitor team with them, armed to the teeth with all sorts of lethal looking gadgets and weaponry.
Valuable intelligence indeed!
The stakes had changed. They all knew now, that if they were ever captured, they were dead. And Simon couldn’t abide the thought of that happening.
As light as a smattering of moon dust, Simon allowed his consciousness to drift idly across the base below. What other fiendish plots are you cooking up down there?
Yearning to uncover even the slightest hint about his ancient foes’ operations, he tried to penetrate various parts of the complex with his astral vision.
To no avail.
For over two weeks now, a deathly hush had gripped the ether. An expectancy that something was going to happen. The urge to scream was very tempting.
After several more hours of fruitless scanning, he finally decided enough was enough. Yeung would shortly return to the fold with the results of his latest scheme, and Simon was eager to see how things had gone.
He pondered for a moment on the antics of his fellow conspirator.
For a human, Yeung was surprisingly resourceful and inventive. He displayed a wisdom that was as insightful as it was revealing. His counsel had steered them through intrusive investigations and saved them from tragedy on a number of occasions where needless mistakes had been made. He’s been more use to me than my own people. Pity he’s so . . . temporary. Still, he doesn’t cease to surprise me. If there’s a way to raise him toward a higher, glorified state, he’ll find it.
As he mulled things over, Simon cast his gaze upward. His attention came to rest on the Hyper Jump Gate installation. The escort star base orbited close above it, an ever watchful sentinel ready to pounce on anyone foolish enough to think they could test its defenses with impunity. He didn’t have to look too closely to recognize the unknown enhancements deployed across the reactive grid. They were the same kind that now ringed the combined Headquarters and Academy . . . and just about every other Guardian facility of note as well.
Checking to ensure his composition was as rarified as possible, Simon drifted closer. Something tugged at memories buried in the deepest recesses of his mind. A familiarity that insisted he remember things of long ago.
His consideration was drawn to the gate again, and in particular, the stabilizing collars. A tangible feeling of recognition thrummed through his complexus. The Monolith Gate! They have a transport system similar in design to the one at Kalliste.
Risking a closer peek, he focused more precisely on the generators. A musical tone he hadn’t heard in an age confirmed his suspicions. They’re using a polarized pair of shards from the old psitronic crystal. Well, well, well! Esther will be pleased. I think she’d love to take a closer look at this as soon as possible.
Deeming his mission a success, Simon made haste to depart. However, that entailed waiting until the solar winds had swept him more than a hundred thousand miles from the lunar environs before he dared open a macrospatial fissure.
As he squeezed himself into the subspace medium that would furnish the means of his journey home, he had a thought. Hey, I wonder what they’ve got hidden away on the other side?
*
The motor launch wallowed calmly at anchor, an oasis of shadowed serenity caught in the moonbeam cutting across the still waters of the Indian Ocean. So quiet was the surrounding sea that the occasional twang of cable-guides rang for nearly half a mile out into the night.
A gentle mist caressed the graceful curves of the hull, its feelers eagerly probing every nook and cranny with the intimacy of a lover. Gradually, the vapor thickened. Within a few minutes, it had become a fog, gleaming with a sterling iridescence that complimented the lunar infusion shining down from above. Several other craft materialized from out of the brume. Converging on their target, the silence was thrown back by the sound of repeated orders, barked in a tone that revealed compliance was inevitable.
Silhouetted figures swarmed the motor launch from all sides, moving with a choreography that hinted at the familiarity of a well rehearsed routine. In moments the assault was over.
An older man approached a teenage boy who had appeared out of nowhere to stand at the stern of the captured vessel. Surprisingly, it was the younger individual who appeared to be in charge. “The boat is taken, my Son. Your orders?”
Assad Ali Omar—Stealth to the rest of the White Sails gathered around him—studied the layout of their latest acquisition and considered his options. He said, “Check again. Make sure no one is hiding. Disable the satnav and radio systems immediately. But take care, if they are serviceable to our needs, remove them intact.
“Support crews, return to your skiffs. Patrol out from this position for at least a mile. Raid contingents, you are to begin a thorough inspection; stem to stern, and top to bottom. Father, Sylvester, Jagpal…you’re with me. Let’s go and say hello to our benefactor for the evening.”
Ali’s heart swelled with pride. His son was not only a highly skilled coxswain, and gifted with preternatural abilities, but it would appear he was also a natural born leader too. Just what his men would need in the future.
Swiftly, they made their way below decks. As they neared the galley, they were met by a small gaggle of White Sails, all wearing baffled expressions.
“What’s the matter?” Assad inquired.
“You’ll need to see it for yourself. . .” muttered Nevadan, a veteran sailor with over twelve years experience. He paused to listen to another message over his handheld radio. Whatever Nevadan heard disturbed him more than he already was.
Shaking his head, he pointed toward the kitchen. “Despite the size of our catch, we’ve only found one other person. The guy through there. And he’s . . . he’s—”
“Then keep looking,” Assad interrupted. “If something’s not right, search more thoroughly. And have the third support team extend their range out for another half mile, just to be safe!”
His son at his side, Ali strode forward to take a look at the problem for himself.
A male of European origins sat at the galley’s only table. Although open, his eyes had rolled into the back of his head. At first, Ali assumed the man’s hands were resting upon an exceedingly large, finely polished stone positioned in the middle of the worktop in front of him. But he was wrong. It took him a moment longer to realize that person’s fingers were, in fact, sunk into the fabric of the rock itself in a bizarre union between mineral and flesh. How did he manage to do that without breaking his bones?
Reaching out, Ali cautiously touched the unknown occupant on the shoulder.
Their host started, and took a deep, shuddering breath. Then in perfect Somali, he intoned, “On behalf of friends who have admired your work for some time now from afar, please accept a token of our esteem. You will discover a range of items in the two forward berths that I am sure will prove invaluable to your cause. They are yours, no matter the outcome of this night’s venture. However, it is within the rear stateroom that you will find an extra surprise, one that will explain the conditions of your continued cooperation.
“Do not be alarmed, for the cost should involve no danger to yourselves, considering the skills of the young man in your midst. . .”
Ali’s gaze snapped to Assad.
Whoever this person was, he represented people who clearly knew about his son and what he could do.
The automaton continued, “. . . The instructions are plain and concise. Listen to them carefully. If you agree to our terms, indicate that fact via the electronic measures left for you at that location. Your acceptance will grant you ownership of this exceptional vessel. To facilitate a speedy transaction, my associates have prepared bona fide documents authorizing legal transfer to you. A duplicate of those documents will be delivered to your village while the master copies will be lodged at Lloyds of London.
“If you refuse, you will not hear or see from us again. Merely disembark the craft with our token gifts and we will see to its retrieval ourselves.”
As if on cue, a muffled voice intruded from the bow. “Sage! Stealth! Come and take a look at what we’ve found. You won’t believe it.”
Ali was gratified to see how Assad handled this latest development. Turning to the other two members of their contingent, Assad said, “Sylvester, Jagpal. Head aft and secure that area. Ensure nobody enters until my father and I get there. Any problems, call me on the radio.
“Father, let’s go up front and see exactly what these tokens are.”
The doors to the forward berths had been thrown wide by the time they arrived. Even at a distance it was easy to see the interior space was filled with a version of pirate’s heaven Ali would never forget. Rocket propelled grenades predominated, along with flash-bangs; Kalashnikov assault rifles and automatic pistols still in their wax papers; telescopic scopes; night sights; and ammunition galore.
On checking the contents of the nearest crate, Ali learned their merchandise was Soviet made, and, from what he could ascertain from a quick inspection, completely free of serial numbers. Did they get these straight from the assembly line?
Mixed in along with everything else were the latest handheld GPS satnav systems; radio scanners and jammers; walkie-talkies; outboard engines; first aid kits; and finally, a set of inflatable survival rafts. All in all, an Aladdin’s cave of goodies.
Ali and Assad stared at each other for a long time. Here was a haul they could never hope to amass in their own lifetimes.
Nonetheless, Ali could see his son was troubled and actually mumbling under his breath. “You have something to say, Assad? Go with your instincts; never be afraid to express your reservations.”
Without taking his eyes off the fortune in front of them, Assad replied, “Father. While tempting—especially if this launch is included in the prize—should we not first assess the true expense of our participation? Whoever these people are, they are not to be crossed. They know about us. They know about me! Look how brazen they are to leave such a prize before us, confident that we will not try to betray them. If we accept, I have a feeling we will be bound to something we can never back out of.”
Around them, older, wiser heads were nodding in agreement.
Excellent! thought Ali, he is earning their trust.
Aloud, he said, “A wise choice, my Son. Come, while the men here load these weapons into our boats, let’s you and I see what that price entails.”
Slowly, they made their way aft, only to find another group of shocked crewmembers—Jagpal and Sylvester included—staring bug-eyed into what must have been the master cabin. Although many of the White Sails couldn’t read, they were well aware of the international symbol for radioactive materials. They were looking at a number of such emblems now, emblazoned in bright yellow stickers along the outer casing of two devices.
Between them sat a strange looking computer with a frozen image displayed on its screen.
Pressing a play button, Ali watched for the next five minutes as the fine print of their involvement was spelled out in crystal clear clarity. That’s some price tag!
The video ended and everyone fell silent. All eyes looked to Ali directly. Although Assad had been leading the White Sails for the raid, this new decision affected the entire clan.
Ali ruminated for a while before asking the opinion of his trusted friends. “What do you think? The instructions are as simple as they are specific. They—whoever they are—have already chosen their target. Because of the nature of its cargo, it will be travelling in secrecy and without escort. We will be furnished with further details on the day of the attack, so as not to jeopardize security. That means no one can plan ahead to intercept us or alert the authorities. When we receive confirmation, we are to approach the vessel under cover of Assad’s ability. Once on board, we need only secret the appliances in amongst others of a similar nature already stored within its hold, before withdrawing. It’s a simple in and out job involving no confrontation.
“If we proceed with caution, we will not draw attention to ourselves in any way . . . and will benefit from the possession of this new motor launch for many years to come.”
He gazed slowly around the circle.
Meeting his gaze, everybody inclined their heads, one after the other in turn.
Tentatively, Ali reached out and pressed the accept key, sending their response.
Within moments the computer sputtered and sparked, before bursting into flames. Assad reacted quickly. Swiping it to the floor, he doused the fire with a blanket. It was as he was extinguishing the blaze that the sound of running feet and shouting could be heard from amidships.
“What now?” Ali muttered.
Fuming, he headed back toward the galley, only to listen as the disturbance moved away from him and up onto the main deck.
The sounds of a struggle grew louder. There was more shouting, followed by a distinctive splash and cries of alarm. Charging up onto the bridge, Ali was shocked to discover over half a dozen of his men at the starboard railing, peering down into the sea. Three more were in the water.
“What the hell’s going on?” he demanded.
“He jumped in!” one of the sailor’s replied.
The assertion was backed up by several more voices. Even so, it didn’t make sense to Ali. “What do you mean he jumped in?”
“The man with the rock! While the rest of you were searching, he suddenly stood up and went nuts. When we attempted to stop him, he used some kind of invisible talent to push us away. Once we were on deck, we had room to spread out and surround him. But it didn’t matter. He got angrier and knocked us down with the same force. Then, as he stepped past, Neel and his guys tried to tackle him to the ground and wrap themselves around the legs. It didn’t work. He just threw himself over the side with them still hanging on to his ankles. They sank like a stone and had to let go!”
Nobody laughed at the unintended pun.
Fighting against a sense of foreboding, Ali recalled Assad’s warning. Our mystery sponsors obviously appreciate their anonymity more than we do. If this is the way they treat their envoys, I hope we haven’t bitten off more than we can chew.
Dawn teased the horizon. Looking around one last time, Ali could see Assad had joined him. Placing an arm around his son’s shoulder, he commended him warmly. “Very well done. You led us to a fruitful, if unexpected bounty. Why don’t you round things up so we can all get home. Though, if you don’t mind, I’ll drive this beauty. You can play with it once we’ve had a chance to ensure there are no booby-traps on board.”
Smiling, Assad turned to follow his father’s instructions.
Watching his men move with practiced ease, Ali couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling, fomenting in his gut. Do I really want to know who these people are . . . or what I’ve committed us to?