At the Speed of Mind by Bryan Davis

Author:Bryan Davis [Davis, Bryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scrub Jay Journeys
Published: 2024-01-23T00:00:00+00:00

No longer wearing my new outfit, I patted the front of a neatly pressed Alliance uniform. “This outfit pegs me as Alliance. I guess I’ll find out right away which side they’re on.” I flexed my muscles to test my bracelets. Nothing happened. That wasn’t good. Maybe my larger arms were negatively affecting the conductive ink.

Crystal pointed at the laser blaster, now on the ground. “That dropped while you were changing.”

“I forgot to include my belt in the morphing.” I scooped the blaster up and slid it behind my waistband at the hip. “While I’m gone, see if you can find a glowsap-mine map on the computer pad. User ID is Cynthia. Password is Meddlers spelled in reverse.”

“Got it.”

I took a deep breath and walked with a confident gait toward the cave entrance, whispering to myself, “Be Jillian. Be Jillian. Be Jillian.”

When I passed the glider and walked within view of the cave, a thirtyish woman stepped out of an office. Wearing military camo and aiming an automatic rifle at me, she blocked my path, her brawny body bulging at the sleeves. With no Alliance emblem anywhere on her uniform, she was more than likely a resistance member. Yet, the rifle in her hands and a pistol in a side holster weren’t helping me feel confident.

I tried to read her thoughts, but her skull seemed impenetrable. Either she was good at guarding her thoughts, or I was lousy at the mind-reading power. Of course, I could easily snatch the rifle away from her, but that didn’t seem necessary yet.

“Who are you?” she asked, her forehead creased in spite of the tight bun holding her dark hair back. “And why are you here?”

I raised my hands. “Jillian Willis, former captain of the Nebula Nine. Now an ally of Megan Willis, my niece. I came here because I heard that this is an enclave for those who oppose the Alliance. I want to join your cause.”

The woman called toward the office. “Says she’s Jillian Willis, Megan Willis’s aunt. No longer with the Alliance. Wants to join the opposition.”

“I took a photo,” a woman in the office called in return. “I’ll check it out.”

Keeping my head motionless, I scanned the area with my eyes, trying to locate a camera, but I couldn’t find one.

“That’s her,” the woman in the office said. “She’s really Megan’s aunt. Records say she stole the Nebula Nine, pretending to take it out of decommission status. I’ll ask the commander what to do with her.”

Her tone seemed far less than welcoming. If these were really Meddlers, the guards wouldn’t have to ask what to do with me, would they? Megan’s aunt should be welcomed with open arms. And the guard kept her rifle aimed at me. Not exactly what I had expected. But I kept my cool and said nothing.

After nearly a minute, a tall man wearing camo from head to toe walked out from the cave’s interior, pulled the pistol from the armed woman’s holster, and marched toward me, the pistol aimed at my head.

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