Ilid drew a steadying breath. He shifted his gaze to the side. A dark blob swam into view. Like a malevolent shadow, tentacle appendages circled the admiral’s throat and draped over his shoulders.

  Ilid clapped his hands to his face as his knees turned to water. He must have swayed because Gruthep and Jadel, standing on either side of him, grabbed his arms to hold him steady.

  “Ilid?” Dr. Degorsk’s voice seemed to come from a great distance.

  “There’s a Dark on him,” Ilid moaned. “They’re here. They’re on Kalquor.”

  “You can turn the vid off, Specialist,” Tranis said.

  “Hold on.” There was a second woman in the room, the admiral’s Matara. She’d been introduced to Ilid as Dr. Hamilton. “What’s happening to the audio? Why am I hearing him speak in two voices?”

  “You hear it too!” Specialist Nath sounded excited. “I knew I wasn’t crazy.”

  “I don’t understand,” Tranis said. “Who’s speaking in two voices?”

  “Hobato!” the women chorused.

  Ilid lowered his hands and listened, though he refused to look at the vid. Hobato continued to speak, having moved on to discussing training simulation results. His voice sounded normal to him.

  “It’s happened before,” Specialist Nath said. “You sounded exactly the same just prior to your collapse on Alpha Space Station, Admiral Tranis.”

  “I did?”

  “Yes! I was the only one who heard it.” She stared at Kila, Lokmi, and the unnamed admiral as if vindicated.

  “You hear it too,” Tranis said to Dr. Hamilton.

  “Definitely. One voice sounds normal for Hobato. The other has a hissing quality.”

  “Exactly,” Nath agreed. “Raspy and—”

  “Oh!” Lokmi’s startled cry interrupted her. He stared at the vid. “I saw…wait…I thought I saw…”

  “Don’t look straight at it,” Ilid said, hardly daring to hope someone else was sharing his experience. “Look off to the side, notice if it appears in your peripheral vision.”

  There was a beat of silence. Then Lokmi pointed at the vid, not where his gaze was aimed, but at Hobato. “There it is. I see the damned thing. It looks just like the creatures we saw at Bi’is, but small. It’s hanging off his neck.”

  “I…I think I see it.” The color drained from Nath’s face. “It’s wavery, but there’s definitely something there, fading in and out.”

  “That’s how I see it, as barely there. It comes and goes,” Agent Lidon agreed.

  “No, it’s solid as long as I don’t stare right at it. Is that how it is for you, Ensign Ilid?” Lokmi asked.

  Ilid was too relieved to not be the only person afflicted by the awful vision to correct Lokmi’s use of his former rank. “Yes. It’s a solid darkness.”

  “The women hear it speaking in two voices,” Agent Lidon said. “Matara Diju, how does Admiral Hobato sound to you?”

  “I don’t hear anything strange.” Ilid’s mother looked frightened nonetheless, and guilt stabbed Ilid to have been a part of her fear.

  “It’s an Earther sensitivity then. I wonder if just human females pick it up.”

  “First things first.” Tranis signaled Nath to turn the vid off. When she did so, he said, “We need the interdimensional containment.”

  Nath and Lokmi exchanged a glance. The engineer said, “We have a prototype we think will work…but we’ll can’t be sure until we use it on the Dark riding Hobato.” He shuddered and glanced at where the holo screen had shown the rear admiral.

  “We’ve tested it as best we can using the nanos,” Nath added. “It seems to work, but since the devices are of our dimension and not the Darks’…” she shrugged helplessly.

  “If we try to trap it and the containment fails, the mother ship-organism creature might be aware of it. It’ll be alerted we’re on to its offshoots infiltrating the empire,” the unnamed admiral said. He ground his teeth.

  “We’re running out of time. Hobato’s trying to move fleet assignments around. My analysis is he’s weakening our defenses. We’ve been intercepting his coms and giving him false answers, but we won’t be able to block him from uncovering the operation much longer,” Tranis argued.

  Degorsk signaled for his attention. “Admiral, if Dramok Ilid has done all you wish?”

  “Yes, of course, my apologies.” Tranis moved to stand close to Ilid and his parent clan. The admiral’s bow was deep. “Thank you, Dramok, for perhaps saving us again.”

  “Can you stop them? Is there any chance?” Ilid was certain he already knew the answer. The Darks had arrived. He’d witnessed for himself containments couldn’t hold them at bay.

  “We’ll do everything in our power. I promise you.” Tranis gripped his shoulder and squeezed. “If there’s anything I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask. I mean it, Ilid.”

  Ilid had one request. “Get them off our planet, Admiral. For my parents’ sake, don’t let them do to us what they did to Bi’is.”

  * * * *

  The day had waned to late afternoon. Lokmi stood in the spacious reception area of Hobato’s office suite. Piras, Kila, Tranis, Lidon, and Degorsk accompanied him. He tried to appear confident before the group. He felt anything but.

  The vid footage of the Dark on Hobato had horrified him. Appearing as a malignant growth, it had clutched the rear admiral in an obscene embrace. Lokmi found it difficult to put his revulsion into words. The best he could come up with was he’d been offended.

  The metal tube in his hand had turned slick from sweat. He’d have one chance at capturing the obscenity holding Hobato hostage. It felt like a damned slim chance. If he shot the containment beam at the Dark and it failed to hold the thing, there’d be trouble. Either it would have them arrested and imprisoned under the guise of the rear admiral, or it would run free to grab someone else. They might never find it again if it did so, at least not until it was too late.

  The closed door to Hobato’s inner office opened, and an admiral Lokmi didn’t recognize stepped out. The door closed behind him once more. The man nodded to Hobato’s aide, and Lokmi cut his focus to the side to check if a Dark was attached to him. He shook his head at the questioning glances of his companions. “He’s clean.”

  Neither the departing admiral nor the aide reacted to them. Lokmi’s group was phased.

  Hope’s voice spoke in the earpiece he wore. “Hobato’s alone, sitting at his desk. His eyes are closed. He looks as if he’s meditating.”

  “Or communing with fellow Darks,” Kila muttered. “I doubt we’ll have a better opportunity to catch him by surprise.”

  “I agree,” Lidon said. His attention went to Lokmi. “Chief Engineer?”

  Lokmi swallowed. Since he was to operate the containment beam, it was up to him to take point. No one could be between him and Hobato when he made the attempt. “I’m ready.”

  “Quietly, Chief,” Kila whispered as Lokmi took position between the two Nobeks. “Be as silent as you possibly can.”

  “Too late for me to attend Nobek training camp and learn to ambush enemies like you guys.” Lokmi managed a tight smile.

  “We’ll follow if we hear anything that signals trouble, Then Degorsk, once it’s safe for him to do so.” Tranis said. He and Piras stood back, aware they weren’t trained to move silently either.

  Piras held Lokmi’s gaze for a second. “Be careful.”

  Lokmi nodded and faced the door again. He told the Nobeks, “On three. One…two…three.”

  They walked forward, Lokmi stepping as gingerly as he could. He passed through the door, feeling the minute drag of it on his phased body as he moved.

  It was as Hope had reported via the nanospy: Hobato sat at his desk, his eyes closed in seeming contemplation. Lokmi slid his focus to just over the rear admiral’s shoulder and saw the Dark.

  Something was off.

  He held up the hand not holding the containment rod. Kila and Lidon paused, glances sliding back and forth between him and Hobato. Lidon was frowning. Lokmi wondered what his limited ability to see Darks displayed.

  He examined the rider as closely as he could. On the vid, it had been more…there. It seemed wispier now, which surprised him. He’d thought he’d see it better in person.

  Maybe it’s as Kila said. It could be communicating with the others of its kind. It would explain why Hobato appears to be meditating.

  Lokmi was operating on pure guesswork, and it notched up his anxiety. If he was right, trapping the Dark while it was “talking” to its kind would alert them immediately. He had no idea what that might do to the overall big picture, but he thought it prudent to avoid detection if possible.

  Licking dry lips, he crept closer, Kila and Lidon keeping pace. They were there to do what Nobeks did, which was keep him safe, if possible. Lokmi wasn’t sure how they could do so against a creature that slipped through normal containments, but the warriors had been adamant they’d stick to him. Particularly his clanmate.

  He was nearly in range to trigger the multi-dimensional containment when the Dark abruptly began to appear more solid. Hobato’s eyes opened. He stared at the three men a few feet from him. He saw them despite them being phased.

  His eyes widened. “What are you—”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lokmi sprang forward and pressed the activation button on the metal tube. There was a flicker of disturbance in the air, signaling the containment’s presence. It surrounded Hobato.

  The admiral howled. His dignified mien disappeared in bestial fury, but he couldn’t do more than twitch in the tight confines of the prison. The Dark abruptly detached and threw itself at the containment.

  The field shimmered. It held. The Dark fell back, its tentacles jerking violently. Lokmi watched as it threw itself in all directions, seeking escape. Meanwhile, Hobato blinked, his gaze muddy as he peered uncertainly around himself.

  “Lokmi? What’s happening?”

  Kila’s shout reminded him his Nobek couldn’t watch the entity flailing to escape. “It worked! It’s trapped!”

  No sooner had he uttered the words, when the Dark disappeared. Hobato sagged. He lost consciousness.

  “Lokmi! The admiral!”

  “Hold on. I have to extract the containment beam from the other dimension and find out if we have the thing.”

  He pressed a couple of buttons on the rod, activating the sensor that would tell him if the now-invisible Dark had been kept from escape on the opposite side of the dimensional divide as it was pulled into theirs once more.

  A moment later, disappointment filled his gut. “It’s gone. It escaped to its dimension.”

  Piras, Tranis, and Degorsk rushed into the room as Lokmi deactivated the field. Lidon unphased and caught Hobato before he crashed to his desk top. As Degorsk also switched off his phase and reached for the admiral, his Nobek fended him off. “Is it gone, Chief?”

  “It’s gone. He’s free of it.”

  Degorsk simultaneously scanned Hobato and called for the emergency medical services located in Fleet Headquarters. “Low blood sugar, but I see nothing else wrong. He’s already coming around.”

  The entire group turned off their phase devices.

  “What went wrong? How did it break free?” Piras asked Lokmi.

  As a woozy Hobato raised his head, Hope spoke in their earpieces. “Sensors in the containment tracked everything. Analysis will show us where and how it got out.”

  “I’m sorry, Admirals. The failure was mine, not Hope’s.” Lokmi gazed at his Dramok clanmate, despondent at the unsuccessful attempt.

  “You two did the best you could with the information you were able to gather. Impressive job,” Piras assured him. He looked proud.

  “You got the Dark off Hobato. I’m willing to call this a success,” Tranis added. He glanced at the rear admiral, who was trying to question Degorsk in a strengthless whisper. “Do what you must to make the containment work. I have a nasty suspicion when Hobato’s strong enough to answer our questions, he’ll tell us more Darks are on Kalquor.”

  * * * *

  Earth II

  “I want to exchange these hands. They look like mine, but they don’t play the trasbu, do computer work while I sleep, or anything my old hands weren’t smart enough to do. What’s the point of robotic hands if I have to learn skills before they’ll perform them?”

  Stacy chuckled at Etnil as he kneaded dough for a pizza. “They do what you know pretty darn well,” she told him, waggling her brows.

  “True. I didn’t hear any complaints from you last night in bed when I—”

  “Stop,” Toni said loudly, slamming a palm to the flour-dusted counter. She supervised Etnil to block him from adding weird ingredients she disapproved of.

  They were in Stacy’s living quarters at Government Hall, where Etnil had done much of his recovery and therapy. Kuran had requested they do so he could keep a close eye on both Stacy and his clanmate while working from the building. Kuran had also insisted Rihep take time off work to remain close.

  A worthwhile investment, Stacy thought. Though her lovers’ presence in her Earth home had set her opponents’ tongues wagging and brought down her approval ratings a few ticks, she was glad to have them close after the harrowing attack on Etnil. The rewards of them staying in her quarters far outweighed the losses.

  “It’s good to see you back to normal,” Rosa said as she browned the beef slated to go on the cheeseburger pizza she’d agreed to teach Etnil to make.

  “It’s hearing him returning to normal that isn’t so great.” Toni scowled, though her disapproval in the wake of his injuries had been shown for the front it was. She’d cried almost as hard as Stacy while they’d waited to hear from the doctors in the immediate aftermath.

  Etnil grinned at her, handsome as he’d ever been despite nearly having his face blown off in addition to his fingers. “Wait until you hear me sing. I elicit emotions so great, people run from the room. Listen.” He wailed a few notes.

  “Shut your noise, fool! Clear a room is right. You’d make a deaf man’s ears bleed. They should’ve replaced your vocal cords too.”

  “Are you sure you want to stay here, Toni? It isn’t too late to book a seat to Haven tomorrow,” Rosa said.

  Toni snorted. “Don’t tempt me. Etnil offers plenty of reasons for me to find a nice, boring farmer and settle down.”

  It was Stacy’s turn to snort. While witnessing the horror of the attack on Etnil had given her younger sister pause, Toni itched for more excitement than what Haven’s pastoral leanings offered. “I don’t know what exactly I’m looking for, but teaching Shakespeare to kids who’ll most likely live their lives according to planting and harvesting season isn’t it,” she’d confided.

  She was staying on Earth II for the foreseeable future, and Stacy was delighted. It was too bad they couldn’t convince Rosa to remain too, but their mother had her own life. She was happy on Haven.

  “At least you got that rat Mitchell behind bars. One less threat to worry me.” Rosa scooped the beef into a bowl and drained the grease. “You better watch my girls, Kuran. I don’t trust Ken Bryant either, so most especially watch him.”

  Kuran and Rihep, who stood back and watched the rest while drinking kloq, exchanged glances with Stacy. Bryant’s true nature had been kept quiet from Stacy’s mother and sister. The fewer people who knew he was actively working against the Earthtiques while posing as one of them, the less likely someone would let information slip accidentally.

  Thoughts of Ken brought a lump to Stacy’s throat. He was willing to have his reputation destroyed to keep her in office. The sacrifices he’d made and was prepared to continue making on behalf of Earth II humbled her. Since discovering he was an ally, it was hard to not defend him.

  “I need you in a position of power after the election,” she’d told him during a private meeting the day before. “There must be some way. If you aren’t a part of the government, the fanatics might freeze you out of their plans.”

  “I have an idea,” he’d assured her. “Implementing it after you hand me my walking papers will take some finagling, but it’s possible.”

  Stacy hoped he was right. Ken was convinced the rest of the Earthtique members of the General Assembly were as much a threat to Earth’s destiny as Mitchell had been. She and Kuran agreed.

  The future remained uncertain, but she felt a great deal of hope sanity would reign in the end. With Etnil alive and healthy, she had the need to celebrate.

  “Where’s the champagne we bought? I say we crack it open.”

  * * * *

  Kalquor

  Ilid wandered through his parents’ home, touring its well-loved environs. Every inch had a memory of his boyhood attached, most of them happy. He marveled that not so long ago, he’d been eager to leave it behind, to claim his independence as a man.

  It felt he’d been gone forever. The urge to mourn who he’d been…an Ilid who no longer existed…had risen often in the week since he’d moved in.

  I’m done crying. I’m done trying to escape. I’m a Dramok, and I’ll act it.

  He still watched the shadows on the walls and corners, though. He couldn’t stop himself from searching for the Darks who crowded his nightmares.

  “It’ll take time,” Dr. Degorsk had said in his understanding tone during their regular session. “I won’t lie; it could be years before the trauma fades enough for you to feel normal. Facing your fears by discovering the Dark controlling Rear Admiral Hobato was a tremendous step forward, though. It was, Ilid, even if you don’t see it.”

  He thought he did. In confronting the Dark, even remotely, he felt as if he’d reclaimed a part of himself. He believed if the alien entities took over, and he was certain there was a good chance of it happening, he’d meet the threat on his feet rather than cowering like a child.