The Engineer by Nick Adams

Author:Nick Adams [Adams, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781915347190
Publisher: Elliptical Publishing

The K2 seemed almost eerily quiet as Bache made his way through the familiar corridors. His shoulder still throbbed despite the medical team’s best efforts, and exhaustion weighed on him like a physical presence. But curiosity drove him forward.

‘You’re going to want to see this,’ Captain Whipper had told him just moments ago, his expression uncharacteristically troubled. ‘Both of them are singing like birds, but their stories don’t align.’

Bache stepped into the observation room adjacent to the high-security interrogation chamber. Through the one-way glass, he could see Hollander slumped in a chair, his pristine white uniform now rumpled and stained. The admiral’s face was haggard, his earlier bluster completely deflated.

Commander Riccs stood beside Bache, arms crossed over his broad chest.

‘He cracked up faster than I expected,’ Riccs said, his voice low. ‘Started rambling about “the voices” almost immediately.’

‘Voices?’ Bache asked, leaning closer to the window.

‘Claims the Nkris have been communicating with him for years. Says they promised him control of the entire sector once their “cleansing” was complete.’

Bache watched as Hollander suddenly sat upright, eyes darting around the room as if tracking invisible presences. The admiral’s lips moved in silent conversation with entities only he could perceive.

‘Could he be conversing with an outside party?’ Bache asked.

‘These rooms are completely electronically sealed,’ Riccs replied.

‘So Hollander’s got imaginary friends. What about Kast?’

‘Kast seems to be more forthcoming,’ Riccs said, nodding towards the adjacent interrogation room where the former destroyer captain sat opposite Commander Shrell.

Unlike Hollander, Kast was maintaining her composure, answering questions with measured precision. Her calm demeanour made the content of her revelations all the more disturbing.

‘The Originators have been planning this for decades,’ Kast’s voice came through the speakers, clear and unwavering. ‘The genetic targeting system isn’t just aimed at Gatas or Klatt. It’s designed to be modifiable for any species…including specific human genetic markers.’

Bache felt his blood run cold. He exchanged a look with Riccs. He had suspected something like this, but hearing it stated so plainly sent a chill down his spine.

‘They’re planning to purge selected human populations too?’ he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

‘The “undesirables”, as she puts it,’ Riccs confirmed grimly. ‘Anyone with genetic markers they’ve deemed inferior. It would have been a two-phase operation. First, eliminate all non-human species from contested systems, then begin the “human purification” phase.’

Bache stared at the woman in the interrogation room, trying to reconcile her calm demeanour with the monstrous plan she was describing. His shoulder throbbed with renewed intensity as tension built in his muscles.

‘Does she know who the other Originators are?’

‘She’s given us three names so far. Two high-ranking naval officers and a cabinet minister. President Xutan has already ordered their quiet detention.’ Riccs’s normally impassive face showed a flicker of disgust. ‘But she insists there are others she’s never met…people who communicated only through encrypted channels.’

The door to the observation room slid open, and Captain Whipper entered, his expression grim.

‘The president wants to speak with you,’ he said to Bache. ‘Immediately.’

Bache nodded, straightening despite his fatigue.

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