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The unnamed admiral frowned, but he snapped a nod.
“All right.” Tranis looked to the small dark-haired Earther woman among them. “Specialist, if you’re ready?”
“Yes, Admiral.” She turned to the computer on the center of the conference table. “Computer, play loaded vid, max screen.”
A holographic display, the length of the table, beamed from the computer. It showed an office similar to Tranis’. The first difference Ilid noticed was a number of commendations hung on the walls. No clan portraits.
His attention centered on the imposing man seated behind the desk. Ilid had seen him on vids from headquarters and news vids: Rear Admiral Hobato. He sat apparently speaking on his desk com, his voice steady as he told someone, “I’ll need you to consult my aide as to when we can schedule the meeting.”
Ilid drew a steadying breath. He shifted his gaze to the side. A dark blob swam into view. Like a malevolent shadow, tentacle appendages circled the admiral’s throat and draped over his shoulders.
Ilid clapped his hands to his face as his knees turned to water. He must have swayed because Gruthep and Jadel, standing on either side of him, grabbed his arms to hold him steady.
“Ilid?” Dr. Degorsk’s voice seemed to come from a great distance.
“There’s a Dark on him,” Ilid moaned. “They’re here. They’re on Kalquor.”
“You can turn the vid off, Specialist,” Tranis said.
“Hold on.” There was a second woman in the room, the admiral’s Matara. She’d been introduced to Ilid as Dr. Hamilton. “What’s happening to the audio? Why am I hearing him speak in two voices?”
“You hear it too!” Specialist Nath sounded excited. “I knew I wasn’t crazy.”
“I don’t understand,” Tranis said. “Who’s speaking in two voices?”
“Hobato!” the women chorused.
Ilid lowered his hands and listened, though he refused to look at the vid. Hobato continued to speak, having moved on to discussing training simulation results. His voice sounded normal to him.
“It’s happened before,” Specialist Nath said. “You sounded exactly the same just prior to your collapse on Alpha Space Station, Admiral Tranis.”
“I did?”
“Yes! I was the only one who heard it.” She stared at Kila, Lokmi, and the unnamed admiral as if vindicated.
“You hear it too,” Tranis said to Dr. Hamilton.
“Definitely. One voice sounds normal for Hobato. The other has a hissing quality.”
“Exactly,” Nath agreed. “Raspy and—”
“Oh!” Lokmi’s startled cry interrupted her. He stared at the vid. “I saw…wait…I thought I saw…”
“Don’t look straight at it,” Ilid said, hardly daring to hope someone else was sharing his experience. “Look off to the side, notice if it appears in your peripheral vision.”
There was a beat of silence. Then Lokmi pointed at the vid, not where his gaze was aimed, but at Hobato. “There it is. I see the damned thing. It looks just like the creatures we saw at Bi’is, but small. It’s hanging off his neck.”
“I…I think I see it.” The color drained from Nath’s face. “It’s wavery, but there’s definitely something there, fading in and out.”
“That’s how I see it, as barely there. It comes and goes,” Agent Lidon agreed.
“No, it’s solid as long as I don’t stare right at it. Is that how it is for you, Ensign Ilid?” Lokmi asked.
Ilid was too relieved to not be the only person afflicted by the awful vision to correct Lokmi’s use of his former rank. “Yes. It’s a solid darkness.”
“The women hear it speaking in two voices,” Agent Lidon said. “Matara Diju, how does Admiral Hobato sound to you?”
“I don’t hear anything strange.” Ilid’s mother looked frightened nonetheless, and guilt stabbed Ilid to have been a part of her fear.
