Axira Episode One (9 page)

“
Why are they so adversarial?” Another recruit
asked.

“
Now this truly is a fascinating question.” Doctor Ing slowly
placed his hands together as if he were praying, and shot the whole
crowd a meaningful, serious look. “It’s my theory they are mindless
weapons being controlled by some external force. Some of my
colleagues don’t agree with my belief, but they have not studied
spacers as extensively as I have. From the dead members of this
race we’ve been able to study, their armor and accessories have all
been different, save for two metal bands that wrap around their
wrists.” The doctor brought up his hands and cupped his wrists as
an example. “We have no idea what kind of technology those bands
are, but from dissections we know they send incredibly fine
biological wires throughout the spacers’ whole body, congregating
in their brain and up their spine. While some of my colleagues
believe these bands and biological wires are methods the spacers
use to control their subspace interactions, I disagree. Though
their biology is alien to us, there are enough similarities with
other races to conclude that these wires proliferate in such a
manner as to suggest they exert control over everything from speech
faculties to movement. Which begs the question. If spacers are one
of the most powerful enemies you are likely to face as a Coalition
soldier, just who or what is behind them? The rare report from
agents within the Kore Empire suggests that for the right price you
can hire a spacer.”

"From who?” The talkative cadet asked.

Doctor Ing shrugged his shoulders. “I must admit that these
are mostly rumors, but if the sources are correct, and if you had
the money and gall, you could hire a spacer from the Hole
Sect.”

A low, worried murmur crossed through the cadets. They
wouldn’t know too much about the secretive Kore Empire yet, but
they would have heard about the Hole Sect. A shadowy group of
criminals who many believed controlled the Empire like puppeteers.
Their influence supposedly poisoned that whole region of space, and
even spread out into the Borderlands and the Barbarian
sectors.

To be honest, anything said about the Hole Sect was hearsay.
There was no evidence about that group – just stories. In fact, a
large chunk of Doctor Ing’s lecture was hearsay. His theory about
the spacers being controlled was unique in the field. Most of his
colleagues felt there wasn’t enough evidence to assume anything
other than the fact the spaces were one of the most dangerous
enemies the Coalition faced. Though they weren’t on the level of
the Barbarians or the Kore Empire, they were still a massive
threat. Thankfully, however, they were rare. If you cobbled
together all reports of spacers, it seemed as if there was little
more than 50 of them. If there were a whole race of them, no doubt
they’d have control of the whole galaxy. But at a little under 50,
they were a terrifying if manageable threat.

After a dramatic pause, Doctor Ing moved on to discussing the
individual spacers in turn.

He started with her. The one spacer everyone knew, because
she, more than any other of her kind, had done the most damage.
Even if you didn’t know what a spacer was, you knew her name. In
some circles it was like invoking the angel of death.

"Axira,” Doctor Ing's voice thundered through the auditorium,
“Is the worst by far. Though I should say was – there hasn't been a
single sighting of her for over four years."

I stood a little closer to the door, watching the
show.

"Where'd they get this guy from?" Kluver said, wrapping his
hand on the datapad he held. "I don't remember having lectures this
exciting when I was a recruit."

"Hmm?" I wasn't listening. My eyes quickly skipped over Ing
as he practically danced across the stage with enthusiasm. Instead
I searched the crowd. Soon enough I found her – the curious
Em.

She was sitting next to Elle – or more probably, Elle had sat
next to Em. The elusive Em didn't strike me as the kind to
willingly sit next to someone as talkative and excitable as my
sister.

"Axira,” Doctor Ing continued, “Was a scourge throughout the
Kore Empire, Barbarian Space, the Borderlands, and even the
Coalition. She has arguably taken more lives than any other Spacer,
downed more ships, claimed more planets, and destabilized more star
systems."

"Hey, Jason, what are you looking at?" Kluver leaned closer
and searched the crowd over my shoulder, his bright green face
scrunching up in concentration. "They're just first-years; they're
all too young for you,” he joked as he leaned back and patted me
hard on the shoulder.

His move shook me out of my reverie, and I straightened,
compulsively neatening my tunic as I did. "Nothing."

"Yeah, okay,” Kluver sniggered, “Anyhow, we've escorted the
great Doctor Ing here. I really don't think the top brass expect us
to hang around for the whole lecture."

"You can head off – I'm kinda interested."

"In the content or whoever the heck you're staring at in the
crowd?"

"Both,” I answered honestly. I gave Kluver a brief wave as I
focused my attention back on Em. She wasn't paying attention to the
lecture. While everyone around her was staring at Ing in interest –
this being the most interesting topic they would have come across
yet – she was staring at the desk in front of her.

Though she was far away, she wasn't that far that I couldn't
see her desk was bare.

"I like to make these lectures interactive,” Ing's voice
became louder as he stopped pacing the podium long enough to pause
in one spot, “So, any questions yet?"

One kid in the front row stuck his hand up. "Are we ever
actually going to come across any spacers, sir?"

Ing paused dramatically before offering a stiff puff of a
laugh that echoed like a gun blast. "If you're lucky, son, no. You
never want to meet a spacer. If there was a spacer in this room
with us, not a single person would escape. Heck, I imagine one
could take out the Academy before we could mount a decent
defense."

"If they're that powerful, why don't we hear more about
them?"

"They mostly stick to the Borderlands and the border of the
Kore Empire. You do hear reports of spacers operating within
Coalition space, but rarely."

Every member of the audience was staring at Ing in rapt
attention, several cadets practically leaning out of their chairs
in their enthusiasm to get closer.

Except for Em. She was still staring at the table. Though I
couldn't be sure from this distance, it looked like she didn't even
blink.

Either there was something mighty interesting carved into the
smart metal and glass of her retractable desk, or she was
distracting herself.

By the end of the lecture, as the cadets filed out, I wanted
to rush forward and say hello, but I knew I couldn’t. Lately I’d
been finding any old excuse to see the elusive Em. I wanted to
learn more about her, but I didn’t have the guts to ask outright.
Then again, neither did anyone else. Without technically being
rude, she was the least approachable cadet on campus.

Before I could search her out of the crowd all pouring out
the door, Doctor Ing walked up to me and asked, “How did you like
the lecture?”

“
It was good,” I stammered as I glanced quickly over his
shoulder.

Em was walking past, Elle chirping around her like an excited
bird. As Em passed the lecturer, she shot him an extremely cautious
look, one the lecturer didn’t pick up on as he gesticulated wide
and waved my way.

“
If you ask me, it is one of the most fascinating topics in
all of the Milky Way. A true mystery. If I ever have the chance to
meet a live spacer, I won't give it up.”

That odd comment threw me, and I lost Em again in the crowd.
“Ah sorry, Doctor, but if you ever meet a live spacer, presumably
the meeting won't last long.”

“
Quite right; good point. But one of these days it is my life
ambition to get to the bottom of their mystery.”

I smiled at the doctor encouragingly and nodded down the
corridor. “I can take you back to your office.”

The doctor continued to chat to me about his studies,
shooting off some pretty interesting theories. I walked him all the
way back to his office and didn’t object when he invited me in for
a further chat. It gave me all the opportunity I needed to scan his
office for intelligence devices. When he got up and went to the
bathroom I even snooped around the data pads on his
desk.

Nothing. Of course there was nothing; I doubted Doctor Ing
had anything to do with my mission. I was rapidly running out of
targets. Several months had passed, and what had I to show for my
efforts? Absolutely nothing but a gut full of frustration. Maybe
that’s why I’d allowed myself to be distracted by Em so much – she
was a thankful diversion from a task it seemed I could not
complete.

...

Axira

I remained quiet through the next several lessons, lost deep
in thought. Doctor Ing’s lecture had surprised me. I hadn’t been
prepared for a frank account of my race and the devastation we’d
wrought through the Milky Way. Though of course I was aware of it –
I had first-hand experience of what a spacer could do, as the hands
that had done those deeds were still attached to my wrists. But it
was the act of listening to somebody else describe my atrocities
that shook me.

“
You’re kind of quiet. I mean, more quiet than usual,” Elle
said. “Are you okay? You’re not getting sick, are you? I can take
you to the med bay if you’re feeling poorly,” she offered, before I
had a chance to breathe, let alone speak.

I shook my head, pushing the long black and blue tendrils
that constituted my hair over my shoulder. I took care in neatening
them, allowing my fingers to distract myself from my thoughts.
Rather than talk about the lecture, Elle bounced happily by my
side, discussing her plans for the weekend. Despite how clueless
she seemed most of the time, I fancied she could be capable of
quite astute conclusions, as it appeared she’d figured out I had no
intention of discussing the spacer lecture. Hopefully she couldn’t
guess the reason why.

“
Do you know what lecture we have next?” She asked in a
rhetorical tone.

I shook my head.

“
It’s our first introduction to telepathic attacks. It’s a
completely new unit, one they’ve only introduced this year. It
seems they’ve had too many telepathic attacks on Coalition soldiers
of late, so they’re trying to teach cadets how to fend them off. I
have no idea what the class is going to be like, but I'm already
super nervous.” She showed me her hand, which was shaking. There
was little in this world that didn’t make Elle’s hands
shake.

I forced myself to flash her a smile and say patiently,
“You’ll be fine,” while my thoughts centered on what she’d just
said. Telepathic defense? I hadn’t heard about this. If I’d heard
about this, I would have pretended I was sick. Again. It seemed
this morning was jam packed with things I did not want to
face.

Unlike most of the other cadets streaming into our next
lecture hall, I had faced telepathic attacks. In fact, in many
ways, my 450 years of internment had been one. My mind and body had
been laid bare to another. In comparison, whatever stupid tricks
we’d learn today would be irrelevant.

Still, I didn’t like the idea of someone poking around in my
mind. And considering the content of our previous lecture, I was
rattled. So it was no surprise that as I sat down with Elle, I
hardened my expression, tipped my head up, and deliberately stared
out of the window.

I tried to formulate a plan of what I would do once it was my
turn. If I were in a better mood, it would be easier, but my
thoughts kept slipping back to Doctor Ing and his theories. It
seemed he was alone in this galaxy in thinking spacers were there
to be pitied as weapons and tools of some other creature far darker
and far more hateful. Alone, that was, apart from me. I knew the
truth of his theory as fact. A fact gouged into my wrists and
mind.

...

Jason Singh

As soon as I was finished with Doctor Ing, I had more
babysitting duty. This time I had to admit it was a whole lot more
pleasant.

I nodded at the mindair before me. A member of an elegant
telepathic race, she had incredibly large pretty eyes that invited
you to stare at them all day long. I coughed uncomfortably and
tried to neaten down my short hair. “It’s just this way, Hendra,” I
stuttered over her name.

“
Thank you so much for assisting me, Lieutenant Singh,” she
said, my name rolling off her tongue like the tinkle of a
bell.

I gave an awkward cough and uncontrollably walked a little
faster.

I had no idea what group of cadets I was taking her to, but
as soon as we reached the right lecture hall and I leaned my head
through the door, I realized it was the same class as this morning.
Her class.

I tried not to stare, though a couple of times my eyes
strayed and picked her up out of the crowd.

The mindair sat before the class, her golden robes billowing
around her, offsetting her luminous blue skin as the sun shone in
from the windows behind. “It is important to understand this is
just an introduction. This class is intended to introduce you to
the world of mind-reading and telepathic powers. For the
unfortunate fact is, enemies of the Coalition are now using these
grand abilities as weapons against us. Unless you have the
opportunity to meet these powers in a safe setting, so that you can
learn ways to overcome them, you will be a target.”