Chapter 2

As if on cue, an overhead light began to flicker.

I’m really starting to hate this place. Kira suppressed her nerves and

stayed focused on the mission at hand. “I hope the data archive has answers

and I didn’t scuff up my new armor for nothing.” She frowned at the newest

pit on the left arm of her sleek, black armor, which had been sustained during

the latest volley of kinetic rounds.

“Better dents in the armor than holes in you.”

She couldn’t argue with that.

The corridor terminated in a set of windowless double-doors. Ari

cautiously cracked open the right door and peered into the hallway beyond.

“Shite… you’ve gotta see this.” He stepped into the room and held the

door open for Kira.

Her breath caught as she took in a bank of holding cells. Clear plexiglass

covered the fronts of the tiny rooms, each containing a cot, toilet, and sink.

The rooms looked like they’d been used.

“So much for this being a typical MTech research lab.” Kira walked over

to the nearest cell and examined its interior. Her HUD picked up gashes in

the white plastic of the side wall. “Are those claw marks?”

“The configuration is more like a person’s hand.” Ari’s tone was dark.

“Normal nails couldn’t do that. Not even close.”

“Could this be connected to the Bakzen’s genetic experimentations

during the war?”

Kira shook her head. “The Bakzen didn’t have claws—they were more or

less like us. No, this is something different.”

“Regardless, why the fok would a civilian research lab have holding cells

like this?”

“For nothing good.” Kira took a calming breath. “Come on, we need to

get to the others. There’s no knowing if any more of MTech’s guards will

show up and try to kill us.”

Without another word Ari resumed jogging down the hall, keeping watch

to either side in case someone—or something—was in one of the cells. He’d

been assigned to the team of technical specialists as their muscle, and his

commitment to that role had gotten the team safely out of worse situations

than this. Kira followed him at a slight distance, mentally running through the

possibilities. Those stupid fokers in intel. They throw out shite and we have to

clean up the mess.

The assignment was supposed to be simple: scope out an abandoned

Mysaran research facility on the remote moon and scour the data archive for

any reference to the Elusian government. Like many of the border worlds

operating independently from the Taran Empire, not everyone wanted to play

nice all the time. The Mysarans had been particularly obstinate of late and

were looking for any opportunity to pick a fight with their Elusian neighbors.

As the public-facing branch of the Empire’s military might, the Tararian

Guard had been called upon to run interference and keep the situation from

escalating. Of course, it wasn’t the Guard’s place to police non-Empire

worlds, but Kira’s team specialized in gathering information that no one

knew was being gathered. At least, that’s how it was supposed to work;

throwing grenades tended to undermine the stealth part of a covert ops

mission.

The Guard clearly hadn’t been given the whole story. Whatever was

going on, Kira would get to the bottom of it—even if her armor did have to

get some scrapes along the way.

After eighty meters, the corridor of cells opened into a square room filled

with what appeared to be monitoring and surveillance equipment. An

archway at the back led to another passageway. According to Kira’s HUD,

the two other members of her team were in an adjacent room. She swept her

gaze around while she walked toward the door, recording it for later review.

Maybe they could get more clues if the data archive didn’t have the complete

story.

She exited with Ari and traversed the short distance to the room where

Nia and Kyle were waiting. The door was ajar.

Instead of just Kyle and Nia, though, there was a middle-aged man tied to

a chair. He was wearing a white jumpsuit and looked pissed.

Kira stopped in the doorway. “You didn’t tell me you had a guest.”

Nia’s helmet was off, exposing her slicked-back black hair. She

shrugged, a smirk highlighting her dark features. “Well, I said we had

secured the beta location. We just need a little help with the rest.”

“I thought you’d hacked into MTech’s local Net?” Kira asked. o MTech’s local Net?” Kira asked. “We did,” Kyle confirmed, shaking his head of close-cropped brown hair,

“but the data we’re after is locked up behind some kind of firewall with

encryption I’ve never seen before. We can crack it, of course, but how much

time do you want to spend on this? A password would be much faster.”

Minutes made all the difference when there were enemies breathing down

their necks. It was obvious why the man was strapped to the chair.

Her team was looking at her. They knew what she could do—it was why

she was the leader of a team of soldiers a head taller than her. For all Kira’s

comparative physical limitations, she could do what no one on her team—or

anyone else in the Guard—could: read their captive’s mind and extract the

information they needed.

Kira swallowed. “I don’t have the authorization.”

Nia glanced at the man tied to the chair. “Then, ma’am, it is unlikely we

will be able to access the encrypted files and fulfill the mission objective

before enemy forces reach our position.”

Protocol existed for a reason. Telepathy and mind-control were a slippery

slope, and specific rules were the only way to keep things civilized. But, the

mission was at stake.

Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Kira nodded to her team.

“All right. We need to know what’s going on. Someone wasn’t honest about

why we were sent here.”

Relief filled the faces of her teammates.

The man in the chair shrank back. “Wait, what are you going to do?” he

asked, a quaver in his voice.

Kira popped the latch on her helmet and slid it over her head. She

massaged the fingers of her gloved hand over her scalp to fluff the pixie cut

of her red hair. “You’re going to tell me the password to access that

encrypted information one way or another.”

The man shook his head. “I don’t know it.”

It didn’t take a telepath to know he was lying.

“Are you sure you want to do this the hard way?” Kira questioned.

He didn’t reply.

“All right.” Kira took a step forward and focused her hazel eyes on him.

He tried to look away, but Kyle placed his hands on either side of the man’s

head to make him face forward.