Rex Easly--The Wilde Side

[Garrett Jax]

Chapter Six

Rex woke up the next morning, groggy and restless. He spent half the night pouring over the mission, trying to discover some opportunity to be alone with Skelter’s assistant, Dr. Larkin. Sadly, if he wanted a chance to meet with Larkin, he was going to have to manufacture one.

He tried to rub a gnawing headache away. Lack of sleep, added with stress, amounted to a disturbing loss of mental control over the nomad infestation inside him. He could almost feel the neural inhibitor failing within him, like a faltering battery. Soon, all resistance would fail, and he would become yet another infested human, subservient to the Nomad’s will.

Suddenly, his arm began to move on its own. His heart raced in panic as he observed his limb waving about experimentally by the incubus. Adrenaline chased away his tiredness and cleared his mind. He focused intently upon his arm, forcing his will upon it. Gradually, the motioning of his arm ceased, and he could move it freely on his own again. He realized that there was little time left for him.

Lorelei opened the door to his quarters. Her timing could not have been worse. A small smirk lay at the corner of her mouth as she seated herself near him. She knew what happened. The incubus was communicating with her. He wondered if the incubus could read his thoughts and then convey them to Lorelei. If that were the case, any plans he might make would be quickly discovered and undone by the Wilde. He decided to guard his thoughts carefully, keep the Wilde guessing and take advantage of any opportunities that might arise.

Lorelei took the mission tablet in hand. “You have familiarized yourself with your assignment.” It wasn’t a question. She either knew of the hours he spent pouring through it, or assumed that doing so was his best course of action at this point. “We will be nearing Newcastle System shortly. Soon, you will be needed on the bridge to communicate with Bretonian Armed Forces on Battleship Grimsby.”

Rex was stunned. “I thought you said it was going to take days to reach Sunderland,” he said. “A full day has barely passed by.”

“We lied,” she said, her eyes glowing triumphantly. “Do you not know anything about the Wilde, human? We deceive and manipulate. We hide in shadows and influence events to our advantage. We are the secretive arm of the Nomads, utilized by them to create chaos among the human infestation.

In all his years as Deputy Commissioner, he never encountered a Wilde. Nomads were rarely observed in Bretonia, with only whispers of them being mentioned among visiting traders traveling the deep recesses of space. To discover that these Wilde were based not more than a couple days away brought a chill down his back. It’s a good thing the BAF stationed Grimsby nearby after all.

Rex remembered the large capital ship parked nearby Sunderland. The BAF went to great pains to make sure any research performed there didn’t leave the facility without a couple dozen battleship turrets pointed at it. In order to get into Sunderland he was going to have to do some sweet talking. He tried to remember the commanding officer stationed there. It would be considerably easier to break in if he knew who was in charge. As detailed as the Wilde were in their mission briefing, they were notably quiet as to this part of the mission. Of course, he was quickly learning not to underestimate these infested humans. They were masters at deception.

Rex rubbed his hands nervously. “What am I supposed to tell the BAF then?” he asked. “They are not just going to let me waltz right into Sunderland without an air tight reason.”

“You are clever human,” she replied. She placed her arm on his shoulder. “I’ve no doubt you will find a way.”

Rex cringed at her touch. He could almost feel the incubus inside him react, infecting more and more of his physical body. With great effort he pulled away from Lorelei. The effects were immediate. The malevolent influence of the incubus receded. The neural inhibitor could fight off the incubus, but not both of them at once. It was a good thing they were near Sunderland. Another day longer would find his resistance overwhelmed and he would become a Wilde in every sense of the word.

Lorelei approached closer, purple eyes glowing and arm outstretched, apparently eager to rid the incubus of any resistance. Suddenly, she stopped, her eyes ceased to glow.

“We’re there,” she said. Disappointment flashed across her face. “Come with me to the bridge, now.”

Rex breathed a heavy sigh of relief. How much time was there remaining for him? Hours? Minutes? He had to get to Dr. Larkin soon and hope that his research was advanced enough to help him. He forced himself to keep his mind clear in case they were capable of hearing his thoughts.

He followed Lorelei out the door of his quarters and quickly made his way to the bridge. Monitors showed a small outline of the Grimsby ahead with a slightly bigger silhouette of Sunderland.

The pilot spoke up. “We are just outside scanner range. Decloaking…”

That’s why they were able to get here so fast, Rex thought. They possess a long lasting cloak. With that technology, they could come and go as they pleased without hindrance. He watched the monitor and observed the purplish glow that emanated from the ship as it became visible. Even this liner felt like it had a nomadic infestation.

Lorelei approached the pilot. “Proceed toward Sunderland, with caution, Captain.” She faced Rex and pointed to a console. “Be seated, human. You will communicate with Grimsby and obtain access to the facility.”

Rex did as instructed. So far, their goals were the same. He donned a headset and microphone and opened up communications with the Battleship. “Battleship Grimsby, this is Rex Easly, former Deputy Commissioner of the Bretonia Police Authority, requesting docking clearance on Sunderland. Please respond.”

A few seconds of silence, and then the comms lit up. “Luxury Liner Delta 15-1, please halt your vessel and input your clearance codes.” A couple Templar fighters undocked from the Grimsby and headed their way.

Rex panicked. Any clearance codes he might have possessed were outdated. Submitting outdated codes would be worse than having no codes at all. He laughed sardonically. This was going about as well as expected. He was going to have to find someone who knew him personally.

“I don’t have any clearance codes young man,” Rex admitted. “I’m here for personal reasons.”

Silence on the other end. The two Templars reached their vessel, taking attack positions in front and behind. Rex looked over at a glaring Lorelei. If those Templars didn’t finish him, Lorelei definitely would.

Finally, the voice on the comms spoke. “I’m sorry sir. Without proper clearance codes, I cannot authorize you to dock.”

Rex remain undaunted. “Listen son, who is your Commanding officer? Let me speak to him.”

Long silenced followed. Finally, an older voice was heard across the comm. “This is Admiral Breckinworth. Rex, is that you?”

Rex smiled. “James. Good to hear from you, mate. Didn’t expect to find you way out here in Newcastle.” James Breckinworth was an old military acquaintance from quite a ways back. Except for a few military social functions, they had little to do with each other. At least this was someone he knew.

Breckinworth could be heard laughing. “Yeah well, you know how it goes. You speak your mind one to many times, and Command finds a nice quiet place to put you.” His voice took a serious tone. “I thought you retired.”

“I did,” Rex replied. “I’m having quite the ‘wild’ time of it here in retirement.” He tried not to look at Lorelei, but he could feel the anger emanating from her. Probably best not to do that again, he thought.

“Glad to hear it, Rex.” The Admiral’s tone went formal. “Why are you visiting us today?”

Rex swallowed hard. “Is this channel secure, Admiral?”

A couple seconds later. “Now it is,” said Breckinworth. What’s up?”

“Are you familiar with ‘Operation Resistance’ here at Sunderland?” Rex asked. “It was a highly classified program about fifteen years ago. It was headed by a Doctor Skelter.”

The silence on the other end was palpable. Finally, the Admiral spoke. “Rex, how could you have known that? Only a few higher ups in the Fleet have any knowledge of that operation.”

“James, I was one of the candidates.”

“Dear God,” Breckinworth exclaimed. “I never knew that.”

Rex continued. “I’m having…complications with the neural inhibitor and I need to speak with anyone in that facility who might have knowledge of Doctor Skelter’s research.”

The Admiral sounded skeptical. “What kind of complications?”

“Oh, nothing major,” Rex lied. “Just some intense headaches from time to time.”

“Look Rex,” Breckinworth said. “I can’t have you waltzing around Sunderland without clearance from BAF Command. I’m sorry. My hands are tied here.”

Rex’s shoulders sagged. “I can get the codes, but it’s going to take some time. These headaches are horrible.” Rex’s mind raced to find some way to reason with the Admiral. “Is there anyone there who can even help me? I don’t want to have to go through all the trouble of getting the codes only to find there is no help for me there.”

“Well,” Breckinworth said. “There is a Doctor working on Sunderland by the name of Larkin. Let me contact him on the comms and see if he can help you.”

“Thanks, James. Much appreciated.”

Several minutes passed. Lorelei approached with an approving look.

“You are doing well, human,” she said. “We might just live long enough for you to be fully Wilde after all.”

Rex grimaced. “Well, we are not in Sunderland yet.” Lorelei was getting too close. He couldn’t get into Sunderland if he was fighting the incubus at the same time.

Finally, the comms came back to life. “Rex, you still there, boy?” Breckinworth asked.

“Yes sir.”

“Today is your lucky day,” the Admiral continued. “It appears the good Doctor wishes to see you and convinced BAF Command that it was essential to his research that he do so. You’re cleared to dock.”

Rex exhaled. One obstacle overcome. He thanked the Admiral and ended the transmission. He expected to see a happy crew, however the Wilde around him didn’t appear to exhibit any signs of emotion, happy or sad. They all performed their various tasks without excitement, as if they were never in any danger. Lorelei commanded the pilot to begin docking procedures at Sunderland and the race to find the good doctor was on.

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