Aberrant

Chapter 37

Kaplan's mind ran hot, adrenaline spiking his abilities. Even as people left the private conference room next to Shau's office, he picked up their heightened emotions. From the only non-psi in the group, he caught rapid, analytical thoughts.

Dr Ilias Farnquar was focused on the toxicology results Jinx had provided. Intrigue overrode his discomfort at being summoned to consult with multiple, high-ranking psionics. A few of the molecules in the report appeared to be similar to psi-active drugs in his research. Fascinating.

It hadn't yet occurred to the researcher that might mean bad things.

Like espionage. A high-level security breach.

Kaplan stayed seated, locking down the urge to interrogate the researcher. Farnquar's handler would do that soon enough, hopefully before someone less diplomatic got to the scientist. The man's excitement grated, provoking more tense psionics from those around him. Farnquar seemed to have forgotten his company. Everything but his work.

But then, he didn't personally know the Rha Si male who'd been loaded up with enough drugs to kill a normal human twice over.

Lieutenant Callan Tarak.

Kaplan pressed a hand to the ache burning his eyes, even as a deeper pain hollowed out his chest. Cal was supposed to be enjoying some R&R on Sann Glyth. How had he ended up drugged and bleeding on a Xykeree barge in a completely different star sector?

And how had the Xykeree known what he was? They knew the Coalition had the means to interfere with hive minds, but not the specifics: genetic alteration of human personnel. But according to Farnquar's off-the-cuff assessment, Cal had been given chems similar to ones in development to treat psionic overload. Psi suppressants.

Cold foreboding stole through Kaplan, more than concern for a friend. The same emotion hummed in the psi auras of other Rha Si as they left the room. They'd know more when Farnquar provided his full analysis, but...

This looked bad. For Rha Si. For the Coalition.

Kaplan drew in a breath and blocked out what he could of other people's unease. He needed to speak with Sun. He'd only been able to give her a heads-up over coms. She'd be about to go nova. He also needed to touch base with Atlas, find out more about what his team had found on the Bullhead.

Then there was Jinx.

Grimacing, Kaplan stood to follow people out. That conversation—what he'd have to ask of her—he could live without. He'd seen the look on her face when drug therapy had come up. He'd felt her alarm. A kick straight to the gut.

"Senuri Kaplan." Shau's brisk address stopped him before he could exit. "A word."

Kaplan swallowed the curse that burned his tongue. A clean getaway would've been too much to ask. Moving back to his seat, he marshalled his thoughts. One sign of weakness and he'd be benched. That couldn't happen. Not now.

Shau tapped a blunt nail against her data pad and studied him across the table. "This is no longer just about an attack on a mining colony. One of our own has been lost. His family and the ruling council need answers." Her stare became a focused laser. "Do you think L'senuri Tarak is going to be satisfied with the current level of intel on his son's disappearance?"

Kaplan recalled the man's face, the violence of his emotions, when he'd learned about the blood, where it had been found. A strong telepath and the director of the military branch of the Coalition's Intelligence Group, Zio Tarak was not a man to cross even on a good day. He'd just gone from formidable to outright dangerous. He'd left the meeting barely two minutes into it. No doubt to break the news to Cal's stepmother and half-brother before getting a head start on tearing up the universe. "I expect L'senuri Tarak will move heaven and earth to find his son, R'henuri."