"In the Shadow of Truth" by Debra L Kilman

In the Shadow of Truth

1

            The year is 2096. Earth’s human population has carried recessive genes from their ancestors for centuries. As mankind has evolved they have slowly been re-awakening. A plague, long before recorded history, caused many great genetic traits to be buried deep within man. Or, what has always been considered to be “man.” Every now and again, a visionary comes along, writing truths that they only believe to be fiction. Little did they realize the accuracy of their words.

            Kat strode confidently through the chaos around her. Small explosions still burst here and there in the compound. Several buildings were on fire. It had been a small price to pay for finally catching up with this bunch of radicals.

            As Kat turned the corner of the last warehouse on the row, she saw her opponent being held between two men. “The crazy bitch was still spouting her propaganda,” Kat thought to herself. The woman continued to struggle, unaware of her approach.

            Kat’s mind flashed to the dark-haired man, so like this woman that she had just placed in the first vehicle heading back to Beck. He would be safe at the base until she could finish up here. He was so different from her. Always had been. She had been shocked to find him here and she was not easily surprised. It had been centuries since they had been in the same time.

            Kat pushed thoughts of him from her mind, his name “John”, echoing through every fiber of her being as she neared the woman and the guards holding her. She could hear the woman’s ranting as she drew closer.

            “They’re here I tell you! They’re among us. Why won’t you believe me?” The dark-haired woman screamed in frustration. She pulled back and forth between the men, trying desperately to gain her freedom. Her eyes were lit with the same fanatical fear that Kat had seen many times before.

            The woman suddenly noticed her approaching, stiffening up, eyes darting, trying not to look at Kat. Her chin quivered as she focused on Kat, speaking between gritted teeth. “You! You know, I know you do.” The woman narrowed her eyes accusingly, searching Kat’s face, trying to seek confirmation from her. Kat knew her face would not reveal any of the wanted information, whether what the woman said was true or not.

            Kat nodded to the young Lieutenant standing a few feet from the woman and her guards. He pulled a hypo from his pocket, uncapped it and slid the needle into the woman’s neck. It was only moments before the sedative took effect and she began to sag limply between her captors.

            “Ms. Tursten,” the Lieutenant addressed her.

            “Yes, Lieutenant Bixby?” Kat looked coolly at the officer. He was obviously a bit nervous, but he deserved an A+ for effort.

            He managed not to stammer as he spoke, handing her the comje he held. “We managed to download most of their files before they realized we were here and started blowing things up.”

            “Very good, Lieutenant. This is your first field mission, is it not?” she asked as she began perusing the information on the comje.

            “Yes, Ma’am.”

            “I thought so.” Kat felt him stand a little straighter since her eyes never left the comje. Years of working in this field kept her from smiling at the young man’s discomfort. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted her men placing the sedated woman into a waiting van. She would be taken to Beck for further interrogation. Kat knew from experience that she would probably learn more from the files in her hand than from the woman.

            “Where are the children, Lieutenant?” Kat still didn’t bother to look up as she questioned him.

            “They are on their way to Beck, Ma’am.”

            “Who are they with?”

            “Cranton and Dozier, Ma’am”

            Kat nodded. “Perfect,” she thought to herself. The children would be comfortable with them and that was important to her. She had sent John with Platt. Platt was the most loyal and trusted of her men. He had never questioned her orders and would not do so now.

            Kat finished her preliminary scan of the files. The information was not really new to her, although this group had managed to get closer than most, to the truth. The proof of that had been them finding the children and realizing that they were somehow significant. Luckily for them, they had not begun the “usual” experiments that most groups always conducted; even more lucky for them, not on these particular children. Kat suppressed a small smile as she thought of them. Her joy of their reunion would have to wait just a little while longer.

            Turning back to the matter at hand, she was pleased to see that the clean-up crew had arrived. They would erase any evidence of this day’s events, just as they always did.

            Kat looked out the window of the vehicle, not really seeing the pleasant scenery around her. Normally the view would calm her after a difficult mission. She had traveled this road many times, but this trip was so different.

            Her mind raced ahead in anticipation. She wondered if the young Lieutenant next to her could hear her heart beating in her chest. Soon, she would be reunited with her family. Her true family. She could only hope that they had some inkling of their pasts and who they really were.

            Kat had always had total recollection of her pasts. She was the only one that she knew of who had evolved that far. It had taken many lives for her knowledge to manifest itself.

            She fought against her body’s betrayal. It wanted to fidget and display other signs of impatience. Kat was too well trained for that. This young man beside her had no idea who she really was and she was too close to completing the first part of her objective to mess up now.