Chapter 14: Fruition
2409
21:00 Hours
Major K’haeth strides into the shuttlebay. There is no sign of his usual smug superiority. His expression is blank and lifeless. He screams in his thoughts, but he is only an observer in his own body.
Kirina sits in the control room, carefully entering the commands being transmitted to the Major’s new cortical implant. She watches as her K’haeth Drone orders the bay cleared of all personnel. Once he is alone, he enters a shuttle and sits in the pilot’s seat. Using the bioneural interface now embedded in his arm, K’haeth connects to the shuttle’s main computer.
Kirina smiles as she gains remote access to the small vessel. Her next sequence of commands disables K’haeth’s motor functions and activates a number of video feeds on the console he is sitting behind. She wants him to see everything.
She transfers the shuttle’s transporter control to her handheld device.
“t’Veras to t’Nalah. … I’m on my way to dinner.”
23:59 Hours
It’s time. Aurelia should be in position.
The twenty-six groups of drones are ready. There are thirty Elachi vessels. It will have to be close enough.
Kirina returns to the control room, using K’haeth’s access codes rather than her own, this time. She pulls up the Major’s private communication line to the alien vessels, using it to pinpoint the spatial coordinates of each, without needing to use the Irix sensors.
“Arhem usae.” she says collectively to the group of monitors displaying the holding cell interiors. She taps the console and with a green flash, all 26 monitors show empty rooms.
And the she waits. 37 seconds later, the first Elachi vessel’s warp field collapses – followed shortly thereafter by a dozen others. Within a minute of the transport, the familiar jolt of Irix dropping out of warp can be felt throughout the ship.
It’s started.
00:02 Hours