Etheric energy flowed into her. It wasn’t the same etheric energy taken from the man earlier. The energy had changed flowing through the crystals and the process upstairs in Victory against Becker.

  Venna cried out and aged ten years in a second.

  Dax had been watching through a hidden monitor in the room. Through the phase ship’s teleporter, he appeared in her room. As Dax did, he felt strange alien energies swirling about him. It nearly short-circuited his cyber organs.

  Fortunately, needed drugs shot into him from other cyber organs and helped him retain consciousness.

  “Bring us both back,” Dax said into a comm unit. “Do it at once. This is an emergency.”

  As Dax said that, both Venna and he disappeared, no doubt teleporting into the phase ship. If that hadn’t happened, Dax would have likely died from the swirling energy in the room.

  The various events brought the assault against the Iron Lady to an end. The Phantasma Synth Crystals were no more. But Venna and Becker had clearly been struck in strange and alien ways. Who knew what that would mean in the days to come for either of them?

  -21-

  Dax sat at a small desk on the phase ship, analyzing data from the three assassination attempts. Soon, he would write his first report for Grand Strategist Enigmach, a blow-by-blow account instead of trying to extract nuggets for future attempts. That would come in later reports.

  Several hours had passed since he’d teleported onto the phase ship with Venna. She was in the medical bay undergoing treatment. There had been an emergency, as she had gone into shock or some other bad reaction as they appeared in the teleport chamber. She had flopped about, screeching in an unseemly manner.

  Mu 11 had rushed into the chamber, presumably using one of her interior Builder devices, calming the spy just enough. Others had picked her up and rushed her into the medical bay.

  Now, Dax waited to learn what had happened, studying while he could.

  They had slain two of the targeted people: the Lord High Admiral Cook and Brigadier Stokes. Mary O’Hara, Maddox’s grandmother, the third target, was still an unknown.

  Dax longed to know the result. A success rate of three out of four might just be acceptable to Enigmach. Two out of four targets were bad. The death of Mary O’Hara could mean his retaining a high status as a field agent. O’Hara’s survival might mean the end of his independent status. Dax could hardly conceive of losing it. No. That was wrong. He dreaded losing it. Conceiving such a thing was easy. He must maintain a logical outlook no matter what happened.

  Abruptly, the hatch slid up. Mu 11 entered the cramped chamber, sitting across the desk from him. She wore Spacer garb with black-tinted goggles and carried a tablet. She set the tablet on the desk, and fidgeted with the controls before looking up.

  Dax could feel the force of her personality, which struck him as odd. Had she received augmentation? Her personality hadn’t been so palpable earlier.

  “We must leave Earth immediately,” Mu said.

  “We can’t until we retrieve the crystals.”

  Mu decisively shook her head. “The crystals were destroyed. You saw that on your monitor. It was why you went back for Venna, right?”

  “One of the reasons,” Dax murmured.

  “I reviewed the video,” Mu said. “The incident was traumatizing and bizarre. Pieces of shattered crystal embedded into Venna’s flesh. In some manner, the shards are part of her now. I’m surprised they didn’t kill her outright. That amount of glass or crystal entering a person in those locations certainly should have killed her.”

  Dax had pondered that, and wondered about Venna’s state. The properties of the Phantasma Synth Crystals had belied—no. That wasn’t the way to think of it. The crystals had acted strangely. Enigmach had warned him about them. It was possible they on the phase ship were in danger because of the shattered crystals. In retrospect, Dax shouldn’t have teleported to Venna’s room but waited to see what else would happen to her. It was Enigmach’s other command that had compelled him, one inserted into his obedience matrix, making it mandatory.

  Belatedly, Dax realized he’d been mulling in silence as Mu waited.

  “Venna is alive then?” he asked.

  “In a manner of speaking,” Mu said, choosing her words with care, “a metamorphosis is taking place. I sense it, and some of our most delicate instrumentation shows it.”

  “Meaning what?” Dax hadn’t known about this. Fear welled in him. The crystals from Ector—

  “Meaning the very thing Venna did to the dupes is happening to her,” Mu said sharply.

  Dax focused with full attention. “Venna is mutating into etheric energy?” They might have to abandon the phase ship if that was so.

  “Not quite that, but Venna is changing,” Mu said. “She has aged considerably. You surely noticed that when you teleported into her hotel room.”

  “I did.” Dax had already written about that in his first report. “It was disturbing. I suppose the stress of seeing that in one of your operatives has upset you.”

  Mu held up a small hand. “Please, do not offer any sympathies as I find them false. You are a user, Senior Dax.”

  Dax frowned. This was unusual. Mu seemed angry, and she did nothing to disguise it from him. Dax analyzed her. What was this? She had definitely been augmented, now positively brimming with it. Who or what could have augmented her, and for what reason? Something in him warned him. He should proceed with caution.

  “You’re not a user?” Dax asked.

  Mu smirked. “We use for the good of our organizations, do we not? You for the Sovereign Hierarchy of Leviathan, me for the Spacer Third Fleet. But I misspoke a second ago. I find myself stressed, as you suggested. We’ve completed our mission. It’s time to leave, now, in fact.”

  “We’ve done all we can in regard to the assassination attempts,” Dax said. “But it is too soon to talk about leaving. We must collect further data concerning the ramifications of the assassinations. That could be important for future decisions for Leviathan and for the Spacers. We must also collect the missing shards from the crystals.”

  “You have a point, but making sure we do leave, even with our limited data, is the wiser option.” Mu grew still and seemingly thoughtful.

  Dax shifted uncomfortably. Mu was showing new personality traits. She had not acted or spoken this way previously. What could account for the sudden personality shift? He did not like this.

  Mu stared at him fixatedly.

  “Is there something else?” Dax asked.

  “Upon further reflection, I wonder if the wiser course would have been to slay the next Lord High Admiral instead of concentrating on Stokes. We could have produced fear in the station, making each Lord High Admiral fear for his life.”

  Dax might have shrugged, as he was uninterested in such hypotheticals. This personality shift…he felt that he needed to understand how it had happened. It seemed important to the mission and perhaps even to his personal safety. Was a conciliatory strategy the right way to proceed with Mu?

  “Have I offended you in some way?” Dax asked.

  Mu’s head shifted as she smiled faintly. “You have, but not inordinately so.” Incredibly, she laughed. “I wonder if I’ve said too much.”

  “Please,” Dax said, “continue.” What was wrong with her? It was imperative he discover the source. He wasn’t sure why that was so, but it seemed logical.

  The laughter disappeared as Mu nodded stiffly. “You have an arrogant attitude, Senior Dax, but I suppose that’s because of your belief in the power you represent.”

  Her words astonished Dax, although he worked to hide that. Could she possibly think that the end of the mission meant the end of his usefulness to her or to the Spacers? That made little sense, though. Even with all the fleets combined, the Spacers were inferior to Leviathan. The Spacer Third Fleet was a speck compared Leviathan’s vast power. The only point in Spacer favor was that they were here instead of in the Scutum-Centaurus Spiral Arm.

  “Whatever my beliefs are,” Dax said, “should we not concentrate on the present situation? We have Venna and the phase ship. We have lost the crystals. I suggest we gather all the broken shards—”

  “I would not recommend that,” Mu said sharply, interrupting.

  “Oh?”

  “The shards are still energized and thus volatile,” Mu said. “I’ve half a mind to flush Venna from the ship and leave her in the Earth’s crust.”

  Dax blinked with more astonishment. “Why would you do such a thing?”

  “I already told you. The shards are volatile. Several have embedded in Venna, causing mutations or possibly etheric conversion.” Mu compressed her lips and became thoughtful. “What can you tell me regarding the crystals?”

  “I told your superiors all I knew at the beginning,” Dax said.

  Mu looked away before pressing a switch on her tablet. She did not look at the tablet, however. Had she started recording?

  Dax mentally activated one of his interior cyber devices. She was indeed recording. He couldn’t let that pass without comment even if he was practicing a conciliatory strategy. Too much of that, and she would believe him servile.

  “I don’t care for your recording of our conversation,” Dax said, indicating the tablet.

  “Either way, I will have a record of it, as I have perfect recall of events.”

  That was too much. Whatever else happened, he represented Leviathan. He needed to make her understand what that meant. “Are you suggesting this is an official inquiry into my conduct?”

  “You are astute, Senior Dax. Yes, I am deciding—”

  “Do you dare to think you can flush me from the phase ship?” Dax asked, interrupting. He was getting angry. The conciliatory strategy was the wrong method. It was time to show her the titanium of his position.

  From across the small desk, Mu stared at him through her black-tinted goggles as if she was dangerous or powerful.

  “This is preposterous.” Dax wasn’t sure why, but he felt her threat as genuine and to have grown just now. That shocked and surprised him, and it ate through his anger of seconds earlier. The odd crosscurrents of emotions likely made him too talkative. “Do you realize that with a thought—” he snapped his fingers “—I can activate my cyborg trooper. He would range through the phase ship, slaughtering any I point at.”

  Instead of angering Mu, she smiled faintly as if he’d made a joke.

  “Did I say something funny?” Dax said.

  “You actually boast,” Mu said, “telling me what will happen beforehand. I suppose you mean that as a threat. Perhaps I’m supposed to feel awe or fear of you. But you see, Senior Dax, I, too, possess interior devices I can activate.”

  “You’re a cyborg, then?”

  “That is how you would describe it,” Mu said. “A Spacer would say that I am an adept, a Builder servant. The Builders will rise again.”

  Dax grew still as he felt the threat grow yet again. The last phrase sounded like a mantra or ancient litany. He didn’t understand what had changed here. He was the Leviathan advisor. The Spacers risked everything by threatening him. He needed to discover the reason for all this.

  Dax focused on her behavior. Did Mu not understand the danger a cyborg trooper represented? Or was this more direct? Could one of her Builder devices deactivate the cyborg trooper? That was troubling, if true. A more profound thought and shock struck Dax. Can Mu deactivate me with one of her interior devices?

  Dax debated with himself. Should he tell Mu about the failsafe inside him? He could ignite a powerful explosive device inside his body. The device would destroy the phase ship along with him. No. He would take her advice and leave the threat unspoken.

  To show her his hidden power, however, Dax sat back and stared at her.

  “I see,” Mu said. “You feel you have a strength that you can rely upon.”

  Her words shocked him yet again. This was too much. He wanted to prick that confidence. “I could be bluffing about this power,” Dax said.

  “No, I have studied you throughout the voyage. You are direct. You are not bluffing. You possess a latent power. Let me see…” Mu cocked her head. “Ah, I detect an explosive device in your cyber frame. Yes. That is a power.”

  “If I detonate the device,” Dax said, finding it hard to breathe, “it will destroy all of us.”

  “Yes,” Mu said, nodding. “That is clever. I believe you could ignite the device faster than I could deactivate it.”

  Dax sat forward. Should he throttle her? Why did she feel like a poisonous scorpion?

  “I will answer you unspoken question. I am Mu 11, a Surveyor-Rank Adept. That means I am one of the highest-ranked in Spacer hierarchy. You do not think the Spacers would send a fledgling with you on such an important mission.”

  “The phase ship is only a loan,” Dax said. It was time to lay down all his cards. “The Spacers must return it or face the wrath of Leviathan.”

  “Of course, the Spacers have no other thought in mind regarding the phase ship. Now, do you agree that we should leave Earth immediately?”

  “Perhaps…” Dax now wanted to leave because he no longer trusted the Spacers. Enigmach would require an accounting of the Phantasma Synth Crystals. It would be better to gather the shards…but Mu was acting too oddly for him to want to pursue the issue. The phase ship was a highly valuable tech item. Might the Spacers pretend to lose him so they could keep the ship? It was time to barricade himself in a stronger location until he understand exactly what transpired here.

  “You must think carefully about your next answer, Senior Dax. There are procedures we Spacers have learned from Captain Maddox and his crew, procedures that occurred many years ago.”

  “What are you talking about now?” Dax asked.

  The faint smile reappeared as the sense of threat spiked. “At one time, androids plagued Star Watch. Captain Maddox defeated a particularly powerful android named Batrun and removed his head, re-inserting it into a coercive device. We learned this later through our Intelligence Service. Victory’s crew learned all that the head could teach them.”

  “What?” Dax said.

  “I submit to you, Senior Dax, that you have features akin to those androids. Perhaps I should deactivate you, remove your brain from its skull, and place it into a coercive device. From it, I could learn everything I needed from it.”

  “You’re mad,” Dax said. “I’ll ignite myself and destroy all of you the instant I think you’re truly attempting that.”

  “I understand.” The faint smile became ugly and sinister.

  “That’s it.” The sense of threat nearly overwhelmed his logic centers. Dax mentally activated the detonation switch, but nothing happened. He stared at Mu. Then he jumped up—

  Mu pointed at him. “Go to sleep.”

  The blood flow and oxygen supply going to Dax’s brain shut off. The action came from one of Mu’s Builder devices, using simple neuron relays to “order” his body to do her bidding.

  Before Dax understood what was happening, he slumped onto the desk, unconscious.

  -22-

  An indeterminable amount of time passed before Dax regained consciousness and opened his eyes. He tried to sit up but found he could not. He couldn’t move his body at all. He could move his eyes from side to side. This was weird. He didn’t see the length of his body anywhere. Then, shocked, he saw Mu 11 standing before him.

  She smirked, maintaining the difference he’d sensed in her earlier. She struck him as sinister, but he couldn’t pinpoint the reason why. That struck him as odd. Usually, Dax was strictly logical and could tell exactly why he thought a thing. This was a sensation, a feeling that seemed to emanate from her.

  But that wasn’t the important thing.

  “What have you done to me?” Dax asked.

  “No more than what I suggested could happen, though we have not taken your brain from its skull. Instead, I found useful slots in your skull leading to your brain. I’ve plugged jacks into the slots and thus connected your brain to a coercive system.”

  “What?”

  “We have studied your people previously. I refer to Leviathan cybers. The coercive system and idea originated long ago. None of us planned to do this to you, but events have turned. The phase ship is obviously useful, but the change I’m talking about is more profound. I will not go into details just yet. Instead, you and I shall have a dialogue where you explain certain critical facts to me. Let us begin with the Phantasma Synth Crystals. Tell me everything you know about them.”

  Dax wanted to laugh and activate his failsafe when he realized he’d tried and failed before. Mu had deactivated him, or at least his cyber parts. This was too much and too awful.

  “What’s going on?” Dax said. “Where am I? Did you take my brain out of my skull?”

  “Calm yourself. I already told you I didn’t do that. Ah, perhaps you cannot calm yourself. You’re presently divorced from the cyber organs, the ones that secrete calming agents into your bloodstream. That means you’re more emotional than usual. You’re no longer a cyber, strictly speaking, but an emotive biological entity. I’m referring to your brain, of course.”

  Mu snapped her fingers in front of his face. “You must attend my words closely, Senior Dax. Your attention was drifting just now. This will go more easily for you if you cooperate willingly. Your brain is connected to a coercive device. I can activate pain or pleasure sensors at my whim. You are powerless to stop any of it. Perhaps this will help you to understand the situation better.”

  Mu raised a small hand-held mirror in front of his face.

  Dax stared into it and saw that his head canted forward at an absurd angle, almost detached from his neck and body. There were jacks pushed into skull slots with wires leading from the jacks to nearby Spacer machines.

  Mu moved the mirror and Dax saw that his body was laid out behind his head. Seeing that was debilitating and nauseating.

  Mu had clearly deactivated most of him. With a start, Dax realized he had not spoken with his mouth and tongue but had used an artificial larynx. If his mouth had moved, his lower jaw, it might have pushed the head off the table.