Aberrant

Chapter 27

Jinx surrendered her com at the door and followed her escort through a tech and chem detector. Nerves replaced impatience as she was scanned and eyeballed. Security on the meeting room was tight, bringing home the potentially galactic financial and political implications of the Xykeree attack. Tirus 7 might be a lump of space grit, but it lay in the Coalition's sandbox.

The room she stepped into matched expectations. Big. Impersonal. Full of unsmiling people in military uniforms and expensive suits.

Eight individuals sat behind a long, curved table, facing a large screen and lectern. All were Coalition elite: politicians, diplomats, military heads. She recognised a few from news clips.

In addition to data pads, nearly every single one of the VIPs wore headsets and HUD eyewear, allowing coms privacy. Most would have neurotech as well.

Two aliens sat amongst the group: a Ha'Vokoean with an artificial eye embedded in his armoured forehead, and a pale amorphous life form encased in a portable biosphere unit filled with blue liquid, a species Jinx hadn't seen before. Its gelatinous body and two unblinking eyes rippled with ever-changing colours, reminding her of an Earth cuttlefish.

Around the edges of the room, lesser beings stood waiting for orders. Others sat at subsidiary desks, tapping data pads, Kaplan among them.

Hands clenching, Jinx fought down conflicting emotions. In his dark service uniform, Kaplan looked even more remote than usual. One silver and two gold pips gleamed at his short, high collar, all shaped like spiked suns—the symbol of the Coalition military.

He glanced up, his usual inscrutable expression in place.

The jump in her pulse she couldn't stop, but she killed a defensive smirk. Whatever inconvenient personal tension lay between her and Kaplan, it had no place in this room.

Her bald escort gestured to the lectern.

With the enthusiasm she reserved for vessel biowaste searches, she moved to the plex stand. Hooking her hands behind her back, she ordered herself not to fidget.

God, she needed this over with already.

Unfortunately, no one else in the room appeared to feel that way. The verbal conversations around her showed no sign of halting. Nor did the non-verbal ones. Most people were interfacing with their tech. A number of people in the room wore ear headsets like Kaplan's and his cousin's. The units were sleeker-looking than those the rest of Kaplan's team wore. Probably neurotech compatible. A subtle status symbol.

The whine she heard around Kaplan hummed beyond the chatter, right on the edge of hearing. Some weird tech had to be involved.

Her headache sharpened. Knives at her temples.

The sensation triggered a memory: her in the Bullhead's hold, fighting a similar headache as thoughts of her parents cascaded.

She took a long breath, repressed the recall, but the headache continued to drill at her skull. Missing her damn lunch hadn't done her hangover any favours. She needed a burger, stat, with a side of frigging pain meds. Glitching out in her present company was not an option.

The mood in the room suddenly shifted. Casual conversation began to flow. Comments about yesterday's catered lunch. Plans to fit in a gym workout before the next session. People started to stand up and ... leave.

Jinx gripped her wrist tighter behind her back, shifted with a click of uncomfortable high heels. The bastards were going on break? What. The. Hell?

The noisy exodus continued until only four people remained. A cool blonde in a pale blue pants suit stood, hands behind her back, not far from Kaplan. At the main table, the weird alien in the biosphere undulated with ever changing colours. Beside it, an older woman in pristine white robes tapped her data pad, her cropped hair a dramatic black cap.