Ashland 297: The Alien Agenda Read online

  “Thank you,” Chancellor Owens replied with a head bow. “I will let Chancellor Lee explain the details. As a former member of the global space program, he’s the most qualified to do so.”

  Kyra’s gaze shifted to the quieter man who cleared his throat and lifted a hand as if he wasn’t sure where to start. She let him off the hook. “Chancellor Lee, you’re looking very uncomfortable. We’re all aware that there may be no good way to explain any situation about the missing cyborgs. I suggest telling me about the circumstances as plainly as possible no matter how unsavory they are to the UCN… or any faction of our government.”

  “That’s very magnanimous of you, Dr. Winters,” Chancellor Lee said with a nod. “We had honestly forgotten about this group until a request came through last week asking to set a departure date. Our visitors from the stars are nearly ready to send their current set of hybrid specimens off-planet.”

  Kyra leaned on the table and rubbed her face. No, this couldn’t be happening. She raised her face and stared at the Chancellors. “Are you trying to tell me that some of those chosen for the hybridization program were cyborgs from the war?”

  Lee dropped his head and nodded. “Some is not the proper term. What I’m saying is that all thirty cyborgs you’re still searching for were put into the program. While I can regret our former military’s behavior in doing that to them, I cannot undo what has come to pass, nor can we change our agreement with the off-planet visitors. They’ve been preparing the men for years and now they appear to have succeeded with their… alterations.”

  Kyra sighed. “So much has happened since the war ended that I’d forgotten about the hybridization program. Last time I checked, cyborgs weren’t among those being considered. They were supposed to be carefully cultivated volunteers.”

  “You are correct, Dr. Winters. Cyborgs weren’t originally to be considered. It was the military who decided that lone cyborgs without family were the perfect candidate. On a more positive note, the report about the program stipulates that they managed to physically restore all thirty men to full non-mechanical functionality before genetic modification occurred. In essence, the program focused on their complete restoration back to human, except they did so with greater success than you have managed.”

  Kyra lifted an eyebrow. “I think calling the hybridization process a success is debatable, Chancellor. I at least left the cyborgs human enough to stay on our planet. Can you say the hybridization program did the same? I find that doubtful.”

  Kyra straightened in her seat. She’d worked toward full restoration herself, but the genetic route to regrow a limb was still beyond Earth’s science. Cybernetics remained the only option for replacing body parts.

  Chancellor Lee lifted a hand. “Regardless of anyone’s political views on the matter, the men have been successfully restored and genetically altered, Dr. Winters. On the whole, the hybridization process is a success from a purely scientific point of view.”

  Kyra ignored Chancellor Lee’s statement to focus on the only human thing she could do for the cyborgs. “Very well—I need a copy of the report about what they have done to them and a list of their names and former cyborg identification. What remains of their families need to be told something before the men are sent off-planet. I think we can all agree that the soldiers deserve that much from the world they gave their lives for.”

  Chancellor Owens bent forward toward the screen. “We can also all agree that this is upsetting news. However, our honest understanding is that the military chose these thirty men precisely for their lack of family connections. No one should miss them or care what’s happening to them. It will be up to the UCN to make sure we do not forget their sacrifices, which the three of us will do. You have our word.”

  “I believe you will, Chancellor, but I still want to cross-check the list with our database of registered cyborgs. Despite the story you keep touting about them being lone cyborgs, I have never found that to be true about any soldier. I assure you some family members are still looking for their lost soldiers,” Kyra insisted.

  Chancellor Owens leaned back in his chair and stared. “Dr. Winters, I’m sure we don’t have to remind you that keeping the hybridization program discreet is a matter of global security.”

  Kyra barely held back a disgusted laugh. “How can we speak so calmly about those human men undergoing massive amounts of genetic alterations when it’s something our scientists can’t even do? Soldiers are not disposable commodities to be used as bargaining chips any more than other humans are. You’re talking about sending these former soldiers away from Earth forever, and yet not talking to the world in general about the fact that aliens have been on Earth for over a hundred thousand years. Like most of our global secrets, gentlemen, keeping this one does not serve our planet or the humans on it. I urge you again to reconsider your stance on informing the public.”

  “The dissemination of the truth is being discussed far more frequently since the request to take the men off-planet came through, but you know we must handle it with great care. The foundation of most Earth societies does not allow for belief in the existence of other beings in the universe. We cannot constrain the chaos of bluntly stating facts without preparing the public,” Chancellor Smith interjected.

  Kyra sighed in frustration. She didn’t know Smith as well as she knew the other two, but all three Chancellors had a ring of sincerity in their words. She reluctantly nodded. “Fine. I’ll play by your rules for as long as I can. Send me the list of cyborgs who were given to the program. The families of those men deserve to be told a story they can live with so they don’t think poorly of those soldiers for not returning from duty. And we owe it to ourselves as humans not to lie any more than necessary.”

  “I think we can all agree with the need to honor their military past and their current service to Earth within the program,” Chancellor Owens said, folding his hands. “Perhaps you can find it in yourself to spare their loved ones from a story that will only force the UCN to deny it.”

  “In other words, you want me to tell those men’s families that they died in the line of duty,” Kyra said coldly. She frowned when all three Chancellors nodded.

  “Since they will never see them again, it is close to being the whole truth. Surely, you can agree that sort of explanation is more kind than destructive,” Chancellor Smith stated calmly as he stared.

  Kyra turned and noticed Rachel and Nero had their mouths open in shock. They might both be more intelligent than her, but she’d been alive and around the UCN long enough to know when she had to play by their rules and not her own. She had her hands full dealing with cyborg revelations and restorations. She couldn’t take on the world’s alien problems too.

  Kyra lifted her face and nodded at the men on the screen. “Okay. Peyton and I will get in touch with the families and let them know their loved one is never coming back. I guess lying thirty more times in my life won’t kill me.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Winters. It’s truly for the greater good, and you could send registered communications instead of verbally delivering the news. It’s official and a sanctioned method of delivering such information,” Chancellor Lee suggested.

  “It’s not sanctioned for me. I prefer to contact the families personally so they know a real person cared about their loved one,” Kyra said, glaring at the three men. “Send me the list, gentlemen. You can deliver it to my private number since I’m sure you don’t want those names getting out.”

  “It will be done. Be well, Dr. Winters. The UCN thanks you for your cooperation.”

  Kyra frowned but answered. “Be well, Gentlemen. I will cooperate until such time as I see it is the wrong thing to do.”

  When the com went silent, Kyra turned Rachel and Nero. “Before you ask… no, I can’t tell you anything more than what you heard. And no, there is nothing you can do to change this situation. Alien weapons, technology, and just about anything else you can think of make the people of Earth look like we’re still living in the
stone age. Luckily for us, the aliens seem committed to seeing humans survive as a species. When we master space travel, the truth about their involvement will be shared with everyone. Or at least that’s the ongoing story…”

  Nero pondered all Kyra’s words before asking the one question he thought she might answer. “What have they done to the cyborgs they’ve kept hidden in their program all these years?”

  Kyra shook her head and frowned. “The group working with our alien overseers were supposed to be recruiting astronauts and scientists for their off-planet program. Since they were given cyborgs instead, I imagine they’ve done any damn thing they wanted to them.”

  3

  Kyra sat at the com station in her lab watching Peyton pace and shake his head.

  “When my cyborg logic chip can’t comprehend something, you can bet your sweet ass that it’s bad,” he declared.

  Kyra cleared her throat. “Yes, it’s bad, but so were the rest of the ways the world took advantage of Cyber Soldiers.”

  Peyton frowned as he walked. “This is different—and on a whole other level. Hiding beings from other planets poses an enormous global security risk. It eludes me how they could grant permission to aliens to permanently ensure thirty soldiers would never return to their normal lives. I thought getting put in the Cyber Husband program was a shitty reward for my military duty. This situation is worse to me. Our leaders are fucked-up in their thinking. There’s no other way to look at shit like this.”

  Kyra nodded. “I agree with you, but I’m telling myself to think of it as the soldiers having been prisoners of war all this time. At least they avoided fates like yours, Lucy’s, and William’s. The one positive is that the cyborgs were physically restored in a way I could never have done for them. I read in the report that it took years, but they truly regenerated all missing limbs and organs. Think of it, Peyton. None of those men are cybernetic anymore.”

  Peyton shook his head. “But why put them through years of regenerating body parts? What kind of life did they have while that was going on. Having cybernetic parts is not the end of the world, Kyra. Most of the time they’re an asset.”

  “From what I understand, all mechanics were removed because the cybernetics would have interfered with their alterations. The reason they genetically changed the soldiers was to allow them to travel into space and go live on planets that are not like Earth. The report doesn’t give details of all the changes they underwent, but it says their genetically altered bodies can’t function in Earth’s atmosphere anymore. The men live in a containment center where a unique atmosphere supports them until they can leave our atmosphere.”

  Peyton lifted a hand. “I’m sorry for being obstinate, but all I can see is the worst-case scenarios. I keep imagining those abominations Jackson Channing made by grafting people to animals. Or those fucking man-tanks with a nearly dead human incorporated into the machine. No one deserves to live like that, Kyra, especially not soldiers. They’d be better off dead than that.”

  “I agree with that too,” Kyra said quietly. “And the truth is I’m scared to see what they have done to them, but I will go look anyway. Someone more neutral than the chancellors needs to stay informed on what happens to humans during the hybridization process.”

  Peyton stopped pacing to stare. “Wait… did the UCN actually make arrangements for you to see the missing cyborgs?”

  Kyra shook her head. “No, the UCN just sent me a list of their names. I recognized one person on the list. His profile is too high level for them to deny me anything at this point.” She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I made a few calls that made more than a few people uncomfortable. I demanded to see for myself that the hybrid men were safe and to be briefed on what they had done to convert them.”

  Peyton crossed his arms. “What did you do, Kyra? Threaten to go public?”

  “No,” Kyra said. “I told them my research showed that over half of those soldiers still had family who were looking for them. That was a lie because I’ve already started informing the families their soldier is dead and no one has responded to the notifications yet. However, one family member was someone important enough to make them cooperate with me and I used that as leverage. They issued a reluctant invitation with the understanding that I wouldn’t let things get out of hand or tell the world what I learned.”

  Peyton grabbed a chair and slid it over. “By now, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by your intelligent ruthlessness. Go on, honey… you have my full attention.”

  Kyra smiled at her husband’s teasing. “I always wondered what it would take to get you to stop pacing. If I knew how to bat my eyelashes coyly, I would do that for you and we could call it flirting.”

  Peyton leaned forward. “It’s easy. Do it like this,” he said, moving his amber cybernetic eyes rapidly up and down.

  “Stop, Peyton. That’s scary and you darn well know it,” Kyra said with a laugh.

  Peyton grinned and grabbed the front of Kyra’s lab coat to pull her close and kiss her. “It’s good to hear you laugh. A few months ago, I thought those bastards might have finally broken you.”

  Kyra sighed. “I’d laugh more for you, except this list is no laughing matter. The UCN may be ninety-nine percent right about this list. The people who pulled this group of soldiers for the program picked men who were mostly alone in the world. The only person still looking for anyone on the list is Colonel Diana Daniels.”

  “Daniels? Isn’t she the astronaut who broke all those human flight records?” Peyton asked. “I thought she was married.”

  “She is married,” Kyra said. “Her husband is one of the missing cyborgs on the list.”

  “Her husband? Those backstabbing bastards,” Peyton said.

  “Yes, but keep in mind her husband allegedly volunteered. Even under duress, signing your life away to the military counts. I’m guessing Lieutenant Colonel Ashland Daniels believed it was the only way he’d get to see his astronaut wife again one day. I’m also sure his handlers made sure he believed their lies.”

  Peyton glared when he realized what Kyra was saying. “The UCN council knew he was in the program all this time, didn’t they?”

  Kyra shrugged again. “My guess is yes. Rachel’s tweaks helped make the Chancellors act nicer, but their default setting is still to cover their high level asses. I don’t think that will ever change.”

  Peyton thought about it. “I don’t get it. If Lieutenant Colonel Daniels survived the war, and his wife wanted him back, she would have and could have bought him. Other legal wives did that after the UCN put their husbands into the Cyber Husband program. Astronaut Daniels probably made tons of money during her career. The UCN could have taken a good part of her astronaut salary back in the transaction of his sale.”

  Kyra lifted a hand. “I know. I asked myself the same questions. Why wasn’t her husband put into the Cyber Husband program? I think they kept those two apart on purpose. Imagine cyborgs having had a public voice all those years through the Daniels couple living happily ever after. The woman is a global hero. People would have believed whatever Dia Daniels said about the cyborg situation. The UCN couldn’t let that happen. Jackson probably advised them to stash him there.”

  “All too plausible,” Peyton said with a grunt of anger. “What does Astronaut Daniels believe about her husband’s situation now? A decade has passed. Didn’t she have him declared dead?”

  “No. Just the opposite. To this day, she continues to make her campaign to find him public. I’m fairly sure Dia Daniels believes the UCN and the military are lying to her about not knowing where he is.”

  “You’re saying on some level Dia Daniels knows something.”

  “Maybe knows it, but can’t prove it,” Kyra agreed. “Eric has filed no less than twenty letters from the woman. When she first heard what I was doing to find and restore the cyborgs, she hired private investigators to look for her husband and sent me all her research to use. There have been other men in Dia Daniels’s life, but
none have stopped her from looking for her missing husband. She never filed for a legal divorce, and as far as I can tell, still does not believe her husband is dead. She thinks he’s missing in action, which has now turned out to be absolutely true. If I’m right, those are some hellacious instincts, Peyton.”

  Peyton dropped his gaze to study his shoes. “I understand being determined to find out the truth. I wanted the truth about what had happened to me as much as I wanted to escape my captivity.”

  Kyra sighed. “I don’t understand most government decisions, but what the fuck did they think would happen with a woman like that? Daniels and Seetha have a lot in common concerning their men. They’re not turning loose until there’s no choice.”

  Peyton smiled at her swearing. It revealed how mad his scientist wife truly was. “So what are you planning to do? You’re supposed to tell Astronaut Daniels that her husband is dead.”

  Kyra crossed her arms and glared at her com. “I kept to that twenty-five times already and not once in those cases did anyone’s family really care. I expect to keep it four times more. However, I’m not lying thirty times. I warned the UCN council that I would do what I believed was right. Telling Dia Daniels about what happened to her husband is right. My problem will be to keep her from acting on what she learns.”

  Chuckling, Peyton rolled his cybernetic eyes at her. “You don’t think she’ll challenge aliens for him, do you?”

  Kyra turned to her husband and lifted her chin. “Why not? I would in her shoes. I wouldn’t let anyone or anything keep me from saving you.”

  Peyton chuckled as he leaned in to steal a kiss. “I hope Astronaut Daniels is a badass like you then. She’ll need to be.”

  “Well, I’m not planning on letting her fight the aliens alone.”

  “Of course not,” Peyton said, brushing her hair behind her shoulder. “Can we do it tomorrow? Today, I thought we’d have dinner at King’s and call it an early night.”