Chapter 3

“What is your name?” Kira asked the man in his mind.

“Stewart,” came the response.

Good, he hadn’t been trained in any mental blocking techniques, like the

ever-present guards Kira maintained around her own thoughts. This would be

easy. Kira dove into his mind using the methods she’d been training in since

she was a child.

Her homeworld of Valta was known for the unique properties of the

natural ecosystem, where animals across the world shared telepathic bonds.

When people had settled on the world and consumed the native resources,

they found that certain members of the population developed telepathic

abilities of their own.

Valta’s colonists and ecosystem had been studied for generations. Despite

the research efforts, it was still impossible to predict who’d develop abilities

—there was no apparent genetic link, and no one born offworld had ever

developed the unique form of telepathy, even when fed a diet of plants and

animals from Valta. Given that unpredictability, it was considered an honor

to have telepathic gifts emerge, especially since no one was sure exactly how

the abilities worked.

Valta’s telepathy was a distinct skillset from the telepathic and telekinetic

abilities expressed by the Gifted in the rest of the Taran population. Those

individuals often trained as Agents in the Tararian Selective Service—or

TSS, the military complement to the Guard known for its unique telekinesis

training program. However, that had never been an option for Kira. The

telepaths among her Valtan people were an anomaly, neither normal nor

Gifted under conventional definitions. While powerful enough to both read

minds and compel others, her Valtan telepathy required direct eye contact to

initiate a connection, and she had none of the other advanced physical

manipulation skills which fell under the ‘telekinetic’ nomenclature of the

Gifted.

So, Kira had jumped at the opportunity to join the Guard at eighteen,

promised she’d be able to use her abilities for a greater purpose than

entertaining tourists on her homeworld. Most of the time, she believed that

she was able to make a difference for the better. But times like this, when she

had to violate someone’s mind against their will, turned her stomach.

It’s for the mission, she reminded herself, deftly navigating the layers of

Stewart’s mind to seek out the information residing just below the surface of residing just below the surface of his consciousness. The funny thing was, the more someone wanted to hide

something, the easier it was to locate.

Kira found the compartmentalized part of Stewart’s mind related to his

work. “What is the password?” she asked in a soothing mental tone.

He struggled against her, vain attempts at resistance in her mental vise.

After a moment, he gave in. The alphanumeric string filled her mind, and she

memorized it.

“Thank you,” she told him, then retreated.

As soon as she broke eye contact with Stewart, he sucked in a sharp

breath. “How did you do that?”

“Wouldn’t we all like to know,” Kira replied, then stepped over to the

computer terminal. She entered the password she’d extracted from Stewart’s

mind.

The display screen flashed acceptance of the access code.

Nia grinned at Kyle and Ari. “She’s good.”

“Just doing what’s necessary for our mission,” Kira said under her breath.

“Where’s that external drive?”

“I’m on it.” Kyle plugged in a portable drive to copy the encrypted files

off the local network.

He’d modified the device from the base model, making it one of the most

efficient and secure data extraction tools available. Complemented by Nia’s

brilliance with both hardware systems and coding, the duo were regarded as

the preeminent hackers in the Guard. When combined with Kira’s telepathy

and Ari’s expertise in weaponry, the team hadn’t yet met an obstacle they

couldn’t overcome.

“What do we do with him?” Ari asked with a nod toward Stewart.

“Leave him,” Kira instructed. “We need to get out of here ASAP.”

“Transfer is at ninety-two percent,” Kyle reported.

Kira nodded. “Gear up. We’re busting out of here as soon as it’s done.”

She slipped her helmet back on and verified that no new enemies had yet

registered on the sensors feeding into her HUD.

“Done.” Kyle extracted the drive and handed it to Kira.

She placed it in a secure compartment in the breastplate of her armor.

“Good job, all. Let’s get out of here.” Ari, Nia, and Kyle headed out the door.

“You shouldn’t dig into this,” the prisoner cautioned before Kira left the

room.

“Why?” she asked.

The man shook his head. “Unless you want to be in the middle of a war,

you should leave well enough alone.”

“Are the Mysarans planning a move against the Elusians?”

Stewart barked a laugh. “You think this is just about the Mysarans?”

“Well, this facility is owned by MTech, and they’re based on Mysar, so

—” Kira began.

“Right, yeah. Have fun with those files.” Stewart chuckled.

“No, tell me.” Kira took a step toward him, ready to take off her helmet.

“We have company!” Ari shouted over the comm.

Kira assessed the enemy situation on her HUD—it was only five security

guards, but they were between her team and the exit. Answers would have to

wait.

She detached her plasma rifle from the holster integrated into the back of

her armor. Looks like we’re shooting our way out.