It was true that war was perhaps the greatest catalyst for scientific advancement, but that did not mean Doctor Kotho had to like it. Not 'Doctor'. Hauptmann Doktor. How he hated it. How he hated the uniform he was wearing. Was there no other way for him to serve humankind?

It was not like he had much choice. Getting the money for research as a civilian was nearly impossible. The Empire favored military scientists. Thought they were more loyal, more reliable. Anyway, a talented scientist could not remain a civilian for long. You were 'encouraged' to demonstrate your patriotism by joining or you would find your career dead before it even started. And that was if you were lucky.

Doctor Kotho felt he was betraying his ethics by giving in, but the work was too important. If he had to sell his soul to help humanity, so be it. His hands would be stained with blood, but by sacrificing himself, the next generation would not have to. That was what he kept telling himself. Some days he almost believed it.

Trying to take his mind off his guilt, he looked around the cabin. There was not much point in it, though. He was the only one there. Perhaps it was better he did not have anyone to talk to in the mood he was in. He would probably say something that would get him thrown into prison. Being sentenced to hard labor on some asteroid would put his triple doctorate to fine use.

A light on the overhead blinked and the intercom chime sounded.

Doctor Kotho could feel the butterflies in his stomach. This was it. All those stray thoughts of ethics and guilt went right out the window.

Those ten minutes passed like ten seconds and the shuttle touched down in the station's hanger. The light on the overhead turned off and the intercom chimed again.

Apparently they did not want him hanging around. He had to steel himself to face whatever was waiting for him out there.

When he stepped off the shuttle, he was surprised to see two general officers waiting for him. One was directly facing the shuttle's exit. From the uniform Kotho could tell he was a highly decorated general in the Science Corps. His uniform hung loosely from his thin frame. He might have appeared frail if not for his piercing eyes. It was like a hawk staring down a mouse. He had a predatory grin to match, as if he had just found an easy meal.

Kotho promptly saluted, which caused the general's grin to quickly drop.

Werner Vijayaraj? Could it be?

Werner Vijayaraj was a legend in scientific circles. While he was still an undergraduate, he upended long-held theories, proposed equations that vastly exceeded his supposed academic level, and generally raised hell far and wide. Then, the moment he got his doctorate, he vanished, never to be heard from again. More than thirty years had passed and the shock waves still had not settled.

Doctor V seemed to know Kotho was thinking about his reputation, which seemed to be just as good as all the flattery in the world. These thoughts, however, were stopped short as Kotho took notice of the other general officer there. He was a pudgy, disheveled-looking man who thought nothing of nipping at a flask during duty hours in front of everyone. There was no mistaking the royal purple on his collar and the piping of his uniform. A political officer, the Emperor's own eyes and ears.

Seeing Kotho's discomfiture, Doctor V gave a brief, dismissive glance at the political officer. "What?" he asked. "Don't worry about him. Generalmajor Ilov knows his place here. Don't you, Tovarishch Arkady?"

Generalmajor Ilov simply sighed heavily and took another sip from his flask. Doctor V showed him all the consideration one would give to week-old roadkill.

Tormenting the Generalmajor had apparently become boring to him, because he made a gesture that dismissed everyone gathered around them. He then motioned for Kotho to follow him. He did not say anything for a while and Kotho did not dare speak up himself.

Kotho had gotten used to the praise heaped on his theses, so he was taken aback by such a blunt dismissal of his work.

Before he could take too much offense, though, Doctor V continued, "But they were the least pedestrian of all the tripe the Directorate pushed on me, and that's why you're here." Doctor V motioned for Kotho to follow once more, as if he had not been following for the past few minutes. "Come, we have much to do and I can't have you wasting my time. You've come to work on Æther technology, but do you even have the slightest fucking clue about it?" He looked at Kotho over his shoulder, but immediately went back to looking straight ahead. "No, of course not," he mumbled, more to himself than to Kotho. "The Empire's greatest secret. No one coming out of the universities have any idea. Not even the theory of it. Everything top secret, bottled up in these blacksites." His grumbling quickly gave way to a more upbeat attitude as he switched gears and said, "But this, my boy, this is where it all began." He stopped and turned to Kotho, asking him, "You want to meet her?"

Doctor V grinned and continued to lead him through several layers of security until they reached a door labeled 'Core A-01'. Passing through the three-layer door, they entered a large hemispherical chamber with numerous terminals forming nine rings around a central inner chamber. Numerous projected displays were filled with all manner of charts, graphs and raw data feeds. Kotho did not have any time to figure out what data was being processed, though, as Doctor V made a beeline for the inner chamber.

Gesturing to the inner chamber, he told Kotho, "Say hello to Mother."

Kotho looked inside the chamber, but nothing could prepare him for what he saw. There was a wealth of speculation about the source of Æther technology. Even though it sounded ridiculous on the surface, Kotho half-believed the Empire had come into contact with an advanced alien race but kept relations secret to avoid a panic among the general population. However, there was nothing alien about what lay in the chamber, at least not from looking at it.

It was a young woman suspended in midair, naked except for the countless wires, pipes and tubes streaming from her body. She looked like an ordinary medical specimen, except for a greater density of electrodes attached to the body. Kotho did not have much time to wonder about the connection of this woman to Æther technology when Doctor V started talking again.

Doctor V glanced at Kotho with a pervy grin on his face. "She's female. Use your imagination."

Doctor V nodded to a group of technicians clustered around a young female scientist who was giving them instructions. She did not look like she was even twenty yet.

Kotho was still trying to wrap his head around what he had just been told. Looking at the girl, he could see that she had the same tawny skin and jet-black hair as Doctor V, but none of the hawkish aspect of his face. Quite unlike Doctor V, her face was rather pleasant, in fact. Gentle and brilliant at the same time.

The girl took her leave of the technicians and hurried up to them. She looked even better up close. Kotho had to make a point not to stare, especially with Doctor V right there next to him.

Her voice was as pleasant as her face, but once again, Kotho was careful not to let himself to be taken in too much. He did not know if Doctor V was the overprotective type and he did not want to find out.

Doctor V nodded approvingly. "Good girl." He then put his arms around both of them, looking back and forth between them as he said, "You two have fun. But not too much fun."

He had a jocular tone and a smile on his face, but his eyes transmitted an unmistakable threat. If he put that threat to the test, Kotho got the distinct feeling that getting sentenced to hard labor on some asteroid would be mercy by comparison.

Doctor V walked off, shouting at some technicians along the way. With him out of the way, Kotho turned to his new subordinate and extended his hand to her.

She smiled and accepted his hand. Her grip was stronger than most women, but not too strong. It was carefully calculated, which said a lot about her.

Ameera smiled and nodded. It seemed they had an understanding, which would make their working relationship a lot easier.

Kotho turned to see the political officer from before, Generalmajor Ilov. He hastily went to the position of attention. Just because Doctor V thought nothing of military protocol did not mean the Generalmajor thought the same way.

Seeing Kotho standing at attention seemed to take the Generalmajor off-guard.

Actually, that was exactly what Kotho was afraid of. However, the Generalmajor did not seem too intent on turning the thumbscrews. Instead his attention was devoted to that ever-present flask of his. In a curiously gesture of generosity--something political officers were not known for--he offered up his flask to Kotho.

The Generalmajor shrugged and took a sip for himself.

With that the Generalmajor waddled off, barely able stand up straight. He was a far cry from the usual political officer, but it seemed that nothing was ordinary here. That could be a good thing and it could also be a very bad thing. Maybe a little of both.

Kotho could not help being amazed. She was probably the only person in the whole universe who could possibly sympathize with a political officer. No one else would, not other political officers, not even their own mothers. How someone like this could share 50% of Doctor V's genetic material boggled the mind.

Ameera turned to the inner chamber, placing a hand on the clearplaz, much as Doctor V had done earlier.

"I know what it does to me. I'm supposed to regard her as a test subject, rationalize the phenomena she produces, but I want to just fall down and worship her like the goddess she is."

There was the faintest trace of mania in Ameera's eyes as she said that and it sent a chill down Kotho's spine. A woman of her brilliance revering the test subject so... It could get ugly if she ever decided to take offense to what was being done to the object of her reverence. And if she ever found out the truth about herself...

Kotho had to redirect the conversation before his apprehensions got the better of him.

Ameera blushed and chuckled weakly. "I wouldn't dream of it. I don't even know why I'm telling you."

Blushing again, Ameera said, "It's true, though. I may try to be nice to other people, but I never lie."

Ameera changed the subject on him, apparently not liking the course of their conversation.

There she went again, talking like some religious nut. There was nothing wrong with a scientist entertaining a little spirituality, but this was too much, especially for someone who was praised as such a prodigy by none other than Werner Vijayaraj. Kotho could not understand it and it made him uneasy. He was torn between attraction and repulsion. And this was the person he was going to have to work with.

Completely oblivious to his internal turmoil, Ameera continued, "I want this war to end quickly. It's a waste to use her power as a weapon. We can do so much more. We could do anything. We can reach the next level."

A grin crossed Ameera's lips, the same sort of grin Kotho had seen on Doctor V.

Then it happened. The test subject... Tara Ma's eyes snapped open. Kotho jumped in surprise. Her eyes were all black, like beads of polished onyx. Trapped in her gaze, Kotho felt dizzy. His stomach lurched. His knees gave out and he started fall, but before he hit the floor, he saw Ameera, whose eyes were the same onyx-black. She was still smiling.

A steady beeping drew his attention further down to a holoprojection displaying vitals. His vitals. It was then that he realized that he was in some sort of infirmary.

Kotho looked over to see a nurse standing at the foot of his bed along with Doctor V, who was now dressed in a lab coat instead of his uniform. The Doctor looked mildly annoyed.

Kotho looked to his right and saw Ameera kneeling at his bedside, holding his hand. She did not look like she was lying, for whatever that was worth. Did she not remember? Did she really not remember what happened?

While Kotho was trying his best to read Ameera, Doctor V had apparently gotten bored and was walking out of the room.

She gave Kotho's hand a slight squeeze and then left the room along with Doctor V. The nurse did not stay much longer either.

When the nurse left, Kotho stared at the ceiling, going over all that had happened in his mind. Just what on earth was Æther technology? Did anyone--even Doctor V--truly understand it? What were the consequences and what did those consequences mean for the Empire, for all humanity?

The image of Tara Ma's black-eyed stare burned in his mind. Kotho knew he had to find an answer to those questions and if it was necessary, he would have to find a way to put a stop to Æther technology before it was too late.

Maybe they had already passed the point of no return. What then?