Arc 3, Chapter 2: Verification
Captain Stellar stood in the Pathfinder's shuttle bay, reviewing the manifest one more time. Three ships. Three captains. Three potential infiltrators who needed verification before they could be trusted with the truth about shapeshifters.
"You sure about this?" Commander Thorne asked, checking her sidearm. "If even one of them is a shapeshifter and realizes we're scanning them..."
"If this thing works they way it's suppose to..." Stellar replied. "But we need allies we can trust. Can't fight this hidden war alone."
Lieutenant Reeves finished his pre-flight checks on the Raptor. "Course plotted to the Valiant first, then Defender, then Resolution. We'll make it look like routine coordination meetings. Nothing suspicious."
"Good." Stellar looked at the team he'd assembled for this mission. Thorne for tactical assessment. Reeves for piloting and his newly-learned expertise on shapeshifter patterns. Commander Clark for scientific credibility when explaining the kimelon technology. And Hayes for communications. If they needed to manage a crisis, she was the best at controlling information flow.
Professor Carmelon appeared in the shuttle bay entrance, carrying a case containing three kimelons. "Modified these slightly." he said, slightly out of breath. "Added better shielding, improved the passive scanning range to fourteen meters. Should make verification easier."
"You look terrible." Thorne observed.
"I prefer 'productively exhausted.'" Carmelon replied. "Rebecca and I have been working around the clock. We're up to eight functional units now. These three are for the other captains...assuming they're human."
"And if they're not? Do we try to bring them back to the Pathfinder?" Clark asked.
"Maybe. We certainly would have a much bigger problem." Stellar said. "But Mitchell hasn't warned us about any of them. That's a good sign."
As if summoned by his name, the augmented eagle swooped into the shuttle bay and landed on Stellar's shoulder. The bird chirped...something that sounded like encouragement mixed with caution.
"He's coming with us?" Thorne asked.
"Apparently." Stellar replied. "You have insight about these captains, bird? Or just want to stretch your wings?"
Mitchell chirped again...affirmative, but complex. James, who'd come to see them off, translated..."He says Captain Myers is definitely human. The other two...he's less certain. His future memories are fragmented around them."
"Well, we were going scan everyone anyway." Stellar said. "Let's go."
---
The Raptor approached the Valiant an hour later, and Captain Rachel Myers's voice came through the comm with her usual dry humor. "Captain Stellar. To what do I owe the pleasure? Finally admitting you need my tactical genius?"
"Need your opinion on something." Stellar replied. "Face to face. It's...sensitive."
A pause. "Define sensitive."
"Not over open channels."
Another pause, longer this time. "Alright. Bring your shuttle aboard. But Stellar, can you leave the bird behind...it makes me uncomfortable."
"Noted...but maybe next time. His talents are needed."
"...Myers out."
The Raptor docked smoothly, and Myers met them in the Valiant's shuttle bay with Commander David Park at her side. She was a tall woman in her early forties, with sharp eyes that missed nothing and a reputation for aggressive tactics that had earned her both respect and controversy.
"Captain Stellar," she greeted. "Quite the entourage. Should I be flattered or concerned?"
"Little of both." Stellar replied. He pulled out his kimelon, trying to look casual. "Myers, I need you to trust me for the next ten seconds. Don't react, don't ask questions, just...stand still."
Myers's hand drifted toward her sidearm. "That's a hell of an opening line."
"Rachel, please."
Something in his tone made her pause. She glanced at Park, who looked equally confused, then back at Stellar. "Fine. Ten seconds. Then you explain what the hell is going on."
Stellar activated the kimelon's passive scan, pointing it vaguely in Myers's direction while pretending to consult the device. The probability matrix began accumulating data. Twenty percent. Forty percent. Sixty percent.
HUMAN
Confidence: 89%
Relief washed over him. "You're good."
"Good at what?" Myers demanded. "Stellar, I swear..."
"Commander Park." Stellar interrupted, turning the scanner toward him. "You too. Just a few more seconds."
Park looked at Myers, who nodded tersely. The scan completed.
HUMAN
Confidence: 91%
"Both human," Stellar said, lowering the device. "Thank God."
"Human as opposed to what?" Myers asked, her voice dangerous. "Stellar, you have about five seconds to start making sense before I have security escort you off my ship."
"Shapeshifters." Stellar said bluntly. "The Confluence has been replacing humans with shapeshifter infiltrators for decades. We have evidence of hundreds of replacements. Maybe thousands. Military officers, colonial administrators, politicians...anyone in a position of authority."
Myers stared at him. "That's a bunch of bullsh..."
"It's true, Captain." Clark said, stepping forward with his scientist's credibility. "We have forensic evidence from multiple debris fields. Bodies of people who were supposedly still alive. We've captured and interrogated a shapeshifter. And we've developed technology to detect them." He gestured at the kimelon. "That's what Captain Stellar just used on you."
"Shapeshifters." Myers repeated slowly. "You're telling me The Confluence has been playing body-snatcher for decades, and we're just now figuring it out?"
"We've been a little busy fighting the war." Thorne pointed out.
"Until Thorne was attacked a while back, we had no idea they existed. But once we knew, it changed how we looked at everything. Admiral Chen...the one we kidnapped...shapeshifter. We also have the real one too. Long story."
"Good one, too." Clark added. "Hayes almost died."
"Yeah, I almost died. Good stuff."
Park looked shaken. "How many aboard Valiant? How many of my crew...?"
"That's what we need to find out," Stellar said. "But we can't just start scanning everyone randomly. We need to be systematic. Careful. If word gets out, if people start panicking, if shapeshifters realize we can detect them..."
"Mass hysteria and they adapt their tactics." Myers finished. She was quiet for a long moment, her tactical mind clearly racing through implications. "You're certain about this, right?"
"Certain enough to risk telling you." Stellar replied. "Certain enough to give you one of these." He handed her the kimelon Carmelon had modified. "This scanner detects Confluence biotech signatures. Eight second scan time, twelve to fourteen meter range, passive mode so targets don't know they're being scanned. We've tested it. It works."
Myers took the device, examining it with professional interest. "And you're just...giving this to me?"
"We need allies who know the truth." Stellar said. "Allies we can trust. You're one of them...We're in this together."
"How do you know you can trust me?" Myers asked. "I could be a shapeshifter. This could all be an elaborate test."
Mitchell chirped loudly from Stellar's shoulder.
"The bird vouches for you. He's not as foolproof as the kimelons though." Stellar said. "I also have...other reasons to believe you can be trusted." Stellar thinking of his classified future memories of fighting beside her.
Myers looked at the eagle, who stared back with unsettling intelligence. "I'm taking strategic advice from this bird now. This war just keeps getting weirder." She looked at Park. "David, start a roster review. Every crew member, cross-referenced against Stellar's data. Anyone who's been replaced, we need to know. We need to scan everyone...discreetly."
"Yes, quietly." Stellar emphasized. "We're keeping this compartmentalized on the Pathfinder. Senior staff only. The general crew doesn't know about shapeshifters yet."
"Because you're worried about panic? Or loose lips?" Myers said.
"Both, and because we're using one as a double agent." Stellar admitted. "We have a confirmed shapeshifter aboard Pathfinder. She doesn't know we've identified her. We're feeding her false intelligence to mislead The Confluence."
Myers's eyebrows rose. "Who?"
"Dr. Voss. Our CMO."
"Your chief medical officer is a shapeshifter and you're keeping her aboard?" Park looked incredulous.
"I believe she's more valuable unaware and operational than aware and neutralized." Stellar replied. "Hope it doesn't bite us."
Myers nodded slowly. "I can see the logic. Dangerous, but logical." She activated the kimelon, studying its interface. "How do I explain having this?"
"New medical diagnostic tool." Clark suggested. "Confederation approved for detecting Confluence bio-contamination. Perfectly reasonable for a captain to have cutting-edge medical tech."
"Alright." Myers said. "I'll start verification quietly. But Stellar, if this goes wrong, if shapeshifters realize we're onto them..."
"Then we deal with them." Stellar said.
---
The visit to the Defender went similarly. Captain Morrison, a gruff veteran with more scars than sense, took the news about shapeshifters with surprising calm.
"Figures." he said after his scan came back human. "I've been in space long enough...nothing surprises me anymore. Body-snatching aliens? Sure, why not. At least it explains some of the weird orders we've been getting from Command."
His XO, Commander Lisa Walters was equally pragmatic. "We'll start verification immediately. But Captain Stellar, if we find shapeshifters aboard Defender..."
"Document, monitor, don't confront unless absolutely necessary." Stellar instructed. "We need intelligence about their operations. Can't get that if we just start terminating them."
"Understood." Morrison said, accepting his kimelon. "And Stellar? Thanks for trusting us with this. I know it's not easy, deciding who to tell."
---
The Resolution's verification was more complicated.
Captain Fischer was younger than the other captains...mid-thirties, fast-tracked through the ranks due to his tactical brilliance and political connections. He'd always struck Stellar as competent but ambitious, the kind of officer who kept one eye on the next promotion.
When the scan came back HUMAN (Confidence: 87%), Stellar felt relief but also unease he couldn't quite explain.
"Shapeshifters." Fischer said after hearing the briefing. "That's...well that's extraordinary. You're certain about this intelligence?"
"We've captured one." Stellar replied. "Interrogated it. Verified multiple replacements through forensic evidence. The threat is real."
Fischer nodded, but there was something in his expression—calculation, perhaps, or ambition recognizing opportunity. "This changes everything. If shapeshifters have infiltrated Command, if they're positioned throughout the military hierarchy...we can't trust the chain of command."
"Haven't been able to since we found out of Admiral Chen anyway. There was a reason you tracked me down, remember?" Stellar said carefully. "But, we're working this quietly. Verifying personnel. Building a network of officers we know are human."
"A resistance within the resistance." Fischer mused. "Clever. And you're offering me a place in this network?"
"If you're willing. You're wanted and needed."
"Oh, I'm willing." Fischer said, taking the offered kimelon. "This is exactly the kind of intelligence that wins wars. Or makes careers." He caught Stellar's expression and smiled. "Relax, Captain. I'm ambitious, not stupid. I understand the need for discretion."
After they left the Resolution, Thorne voiced what Stellar was thinking: "I don't trust him either."
"He scanned human." Clark pointed out.
"I don't trust every human I meet. Less than half probably. " Thorne replied.
"We'll watch him." Stellar said. "Give him enough information to be useful but not enough to be dangerous. And we make damn sure he understands the stakes."
Mitchell chirped...agreement, with undertones of warning.
"Bird doesn't trust him either." Reeves observed.
---
Back aboard the Pathfinder, Stellar reviewed their next target. Lieutenant Reeves had identified a high-priority shapeshifter candidate. Marcus Valen, a wealthy businessman and colonial administrator with connections to multiple Confluence incidents.
"He operates out of Fortuna Station." Reeves explained, pulling up data. "Luxury casino resort in the Tertius Belt. Supposedly legitimate businessman, but he's been present at or near twelve different colonies when shapeshifter activity spiked. That's probably not a coincidence."
"A casino station?" Hayes said, perking up. "So what you're saying is, we need to go undercover at a fancy resort. For the mission. Professional reasons only. And I probably get to wear something nice, right Captain?"
"Don't get too excited." Stellar said. "This is reconnaissance, not a vacation...but sure, something nice."
"Reconnaissance at a casino resort..." Hayes replied. "I'm professionally excited."
"She's got a point." Thorne said. "If we're going to verify Valen, we need to blend in. That means looking like tourists, not soldiers. Civilian clothes. Gambling. Maybe some of that expensive food they serve at places like that... Especially the really expensive food."
"You're all enjoying this too much." Stellar muttered.
"You have to admit it's been a pretty stressful couple of months." Clark pointed out. "Let us have this one small joy of going somewhere that doesn't smell like recycled air and gunfire."
"Fine." Stellar said. "We'll approach this as an undercover operation. Minimal crew. We don't want to attract any attention. Thorne, Hayes, Reeves, and me. We verify Valen. If he's not human we document his activities, and get out quietly. Figure out what we're going to do with him."
"What about shifter-Voss?" Hayes asked. "Should we feed her false intel about this mission?"
"We do need a cover. We don't know how much contact these shifters have with one another. Do they work independently, report to a higher level, or do they all interact?" Stellar replied. "Make her think we're going to Fortuna Station for...what? Recruitment? Meeting with a potential ally?"
"How about R-and-R?" Thorne suggested. "Officers taking shore leave after combat operations. Perfectly reasonable. Boring enough that The Confluence won't prioritize it."
"And it gives us simple, obvious cover for being at a resort." Clark added.
"Alright." Stellar said. "We tell shifter-Voss we're taking a few days of leave. She reports that to her handlers, we presume. Meanwhile, we verify Valen and gather intelligence about his activities."
"When do we leave?" Hayes asked, trying and failing to hide her enthusiasm.
"Tomorrow." Stellar replied. "And Hayes? Try to contain your excitement. We're still hunting a potential shapeshifter infiltrator."
"Yes sir." Hayes said, grinning. "Containing excitement. Absolutely. One hundred percent professional at all times."
---
That evening, in the ship's medical bay, Lieutenant Hayes sat on an examination table while shifter-Voss completed a routine check-up. The shapeshifter worked with perfect professional competence, showing no signs that she knew she'd been identified.
"Your cellular integration with Unity's nanites continues to stabilize." shifter-Voss reported. "No adverse reactions. In fact, your healing metrics are exceeding normal human parameters. Whatever Unity did, it's still working."
"They said they'd monitor me." Hayes replied. "Make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Well, so far so good." Shifter-Voss made notes on her datapad. "Any other concerns? Headaches? Unusual sensations? Memory issues?"
"Actually, there is something," Hayes said. "I've been having these...conversations. With Unity. In my head. Is that normal? Because it doesn't seem normal. "
It wasn't true, at least not in the way she implied. But Stellar had coached her to feed shifter-Voss specific misinformation about Unity's capabilities.
Shifter-Voss's expression sharpened with interest. "Telepathic communication? That's...unprecedented. Can you describe these conversations?"
"It's not really telepathy," Hayes said. "More like...I can feel Unity's presence sometimes. Like knowing someone's in the room with you even when you can't see them. And sometimes I get impressions. Feelings. Not words, exactly, but...understanding."
"Fascinating." shifter-Voss said, making more notes. "This suggests the nanite integration was more extensive than we realized. I'll need to run additional tests. Monitor your neural patterns more closely."
"Is it dangerous?"
"I don't think so. But it's definitely unprecedented." Shifter-Voss paused. "Have you told anyone else about this?"
"Just you." Hayes lied. "Should I report it to the Captain?"
"Let me complete my analysis first." shifter-Voss replied. "No need to worry Captain Stellar with something that might be completely harmless."
Perfect.
Hayes left the medical bay and immediately found Unity's nearest nexus point—a ventilation grate three corridors away where silver nanites waited.
"Did shifter-Voss 'take your bait'?" Unity asked through the grate.
"Hook, line, and sinker." Hayes replied quietly. "She thinks I'm developing telepathic connection with you. Thinks the nanite treatment was more extensive than it actually was."
"This will provide excellent misinformation for The Confluence." Unity observed. "They will believe we possess capabilities we do not actually have. Strategic advantage through perceived strength."
"You're getting good at this spy stuff." Hayes said.
"We are learning from humans." Unity replied. "You are excellent teachers of deception."
"I'm not sure that's a compliment."
"It is observation. Humans excel at strategic misdirection. We find it admirable."
Hayes smiled. "Speaking of which, I have something to teach you."
"We would like that." Unity said. "What will you teach us?"
"Jokes." Hayes said. "How humor works. Why humans find certain things funny."
There was a pause. "We do not understand humor." Unity admitted. "We comprehend that it exists. That humans value it. But the mechanisms...the reasons something is 'funny' versus 'not funny'...this eludes us."
"Then let's start simple." Hayes said. She pulled up a chair and sat near the ventilation grate, looking slightly ridiculous having a conversation with a wall. "Knock knock."
"We do not understand." Unity replied.
"It's a joke format. I say 'knock knock,' and you say 'who's there?'"
"Why would we ask who is there when we already know you are there?"
"Because it's part of the joke structure." Hayes explained. "Just...humor me. Knock knock."
A pause, then..."Who is there?"
"Boo."
"Boo who?"
"Don't cry, it's just a joke!"
Silence from the nanites.
"See?" Hayes said. "Boo sounds like the noise someone makes when crying. So when you say 'boo who,' it sounds like 'boo-hoo,' which is crying, and then I tell you not to cry. It's a play on words."
"We do not find this amusing." Unity said.
"Yeah, it's a terrible joke." Hayes admitted. "But that's kind of the point. Knock-knock jokes are so bad they're funny. It's ironic humor."
"Irony." Unity repeated. "Meaning conveyed through opposition to literal meaning. We understand this concept intellectually but do not experience the emotional response humans call 'amusement.'"
"Let me try another one." Hayes said. "Knock knock."
"Who is there?"
"Interrupting cow."
"Interrupting cow wh..."
"MOOOOO!" Hayes said loudly, interrupting Unity mid-sentence.
Another pause. Then..."That was...unexpected. You deliberately violated conversational protocol by interrupting before we completed our question."
"Exactly!" Hayes said. "That's the joke. An interrupting cow interrupts. The humor comes from the surprise and the absurdity."
"We...may have experienced something approximating amusement just now." Unity said slowly. "The subversion of expected patterns was...not unpleasant. It does seem a waste of time though."
"That's humor!" Hayes said excitedly. "Subverting expectations. Creating surprise. Finding absurdity in situations. Humans laugh because our brains like recognizing patterns, and when those patterns get broken in clever or unexpected ways, we find it funny."
"Fascinating." Unity mused. "So humor is... pattern recognition system being deliberately confused for enjoyment?"
"Kind of, yeah. It's about surprise, about recognizing incongruity, about understanding when something doesn't fit normal patterns but fits the joke's internal logic."
"We think we understand." Unity said. "Knock knock."
"Who's there?" Hayes asked, delighted that Unity was trying.
"Unity."
"Unity who?"
"Unity can get into anywhere. We do not need to knock."
Hayes burst out laughing. "That's...that's actually pretty good! It's funny because you're taking the joke format literally while also being technically correct. That's deadpan humor!"
"Pans are neither alive nor dead." Unity replied.
"No, deadpan means...never mind. You're getting it. That's what matters." Hayes smiled at the ventilation grate. "Thanks for humoring me."
"Thank you for teaching us." Unity replied. "Friendship involves sharing knowledge. We appreciate you sharing understanding of humor. Even if we do not fully experience it yet, we value understanding why you experience it."
"Want to hear more jokes?" Hayes asked.
"Yes," Unity said. "We would like that very much."
For the next hour, Hayes taught Unity about different types of humor—puns, slapstick, observational comedy, irony. Unity didn't laugh (couldn't laugh, having no lungs or vocal cords), but the nanite collective began to understand the mechanisms that made humans find things funny.
"This has been educational." Unity said eventually. "But we must ask...why is humor important to humans? Why is making others laugh valuable?"
Hayes thought about it. "Because life is hard. The universe is vast and terrifying and full of things trying to kill us. Humor helps us cope. Helps us find joy even when things are awful. When we laugh together, we're reminded that we're not alone. That others understand what we're going through. That even in the darkest times, there's still light."
"We understand. Light is good. One can see things one may not otherwise see." Unity said quietly. "Humor is survival mechanism. Psychological resilience through shared experience of pattern subversion and emotional release."
"You just made humor sound really boring." Hayes said. "But yeah, essentially. We laugh because it makes us feel better. Because it connects us to each other. Because sometimes, when everything's terrible, the only thing you can do is laugh at the absurdity of it all."
"We would like to make our friends laugh," Unity said. "To provide this psychological resilience. To contribute to your emotional wellbeing."
"Back to work now. Be seeing you."
As she walked away, she could have sworn she heard something that sounded like silver wind chimes...Unity's attempt at laughter, perhaps, or just the collective's version of a contented sigh.
Either way, it made her smile.
---
That night, Captain Stellar lay in his quarters, trying and failing to sleep. Tomorrow they'd travel to Fortuna Station. Verify Marcus Valen. Gather intelligence about his shapeshifter activities.
It should have been straightforward.
But something nagged at him. Some sense of unease he couldn't quite identify.
He closed his eyes, and suddenly he was somewhere else.
Future memory. He recognized it now, the way they felt different from regular thoughts. Like watching a movie versus living an experience.
He was running through corridors he didn't recognize. Alarms blaring. Gunfire behind him. His side was bleeding...had been hit, but couldn't stop, couldn't slow down.
"Stellar, fall back!" Thorne's voice on his comm. "The whole station's compromised!"
"Where's Valen?" he shouted back.
"Gone! He knew we were coming! It's a trap...they were waiting for us!"
Explosions. Screaming. The corridor ahead suddenly blocked by debris. He turned, saw shapeshifters pursuing. Many. Too many.
A flash of pain. Darkness. Then...
Hayes's voice: "Unity, can you reach him? He's losing too much blood..."
"We are trying, but the station's systems are actively interfering. We cannot..."
More darkness. Then a final image...Marcus Valen's face, smiling, as everything went black.
Stellar jolted awake, gasping, his hand instinctively going to his side where the bullet wound had been in the vision. Nothing. No blood. No injury.
Just a memory of something that hadn't happened yet.
Something that would happen if they weren't careful.
He activated his comm. "Thorne, James, Clark...emergency meeting. My quarters. Now."
Twenty minutes later, his senior officers gathered, looking concerned.
"We need to change our approach to the Valen mission." Stellar said without preamble. "I just had a future memory. It...wasn't good."
He described the vision. The trap. The compromised station. The ambush by multiple shapeshifters.
"Valen knows we're coming." he concluded. "Or will know. Something tips him off. And when we arrive, he's ready for us."
"How?" James asked. "We haven't told anyone about the mission except senior staff. Unless..."
"Unless shifter-Voss reports it." Thorne finished. "We feed her intel about shore leave at Fortuna Station. She reports it to her handlers. They warn Valen."
"That's one possibility." Clark said. "But there could be other leaks. Other shapeshifters we haven't identified. Hell, maybe Valen just has good security and detects any threat that comes near him."
"Whatever the reason, we know it's a trap now." Stellar said. "So we don't walk into it. We change our approach. Make them think we're doing one thing while actually doing another."
"How?" James asked.
"We tell shifter-Voss we're going to Fortuna Station for shore leave." Stellar replied. "Let her report that. But we don't verify Valen directly. Instead, we surveil him from a distance. Watch who he meets with. Who he communicates with. Build a network map of his associates."
"Intelligence gathering instead of direct verification." Thorne said. "Safer. But it means we don't confirm whether Valen himself is a shapeshifter."
"We confirm it indirectly." Clark suggested. "If he's meeting with known shapeshifters, communicating with Confluence assets, that's compelling evidence even without a direct scan."
"And we don't trigger the trap." Stellar added. "Don't give them a chance to ambush us. We stay careful. Stay patient. Build our case before we move against him."
"How certain are you about this memory?" James asked. "Mitchell's memories have been...variable in accuracy."
"Certain enough to change tactics." Stellar replied. "I saw us walking into an ambush. Saw the station compromised. Saw myself getting shot trying to escape. That's not a future I want to live through."
"Fair enough." Thorne said. "So we approach Fortuna Station as tourists. Do actual shore leave activities. Enjoy the casino. But we keep eyes on Valen the whole time. Document everything. And we don't get close enough for him to feel threatened."
"Exactly." Stellar confirmed.
"There's another consideration." Clark said. "If Valen's expecting us, if he knows we have detection capability, that means The Confluence knows. Which means they're already adapting...and another thing to think about. Who says this change in tactics we're making isn't the thing that gets you shot, and would have been safer keeping the original plan?"
"Time travel gives me a headache." James muttered.
"Join the club." Stellar replied. "But right now, we use this memory as tactical advantage. We...think we know what not to do. That's better than most intelligence."
"Do we tell the others?" Thorne asked. "Hayes, the field team?"
"We tell them the mission parameters changed," Stellar said. "But not why. Not about the memory. Hayes and Reeves are cleared for future memory intel because they have their own, but let's keep the details compartmentalized. The fewer people who know about potential futures, the less chance we accidentally make them happen."
"Or cause them," Clark added.
"Dismissed." Stellar said. "Get some rest. Tomorrow we go to a casino, pretend to gamble, and hopefully don't get shot. Should be a nice change of pace."
After they left, Stellar sat alone, his hand still unconsciously touching his side where the phantom wound had been.
Future memories. Another gift from the Architects that felt more like a curse sometimes.
He knew too much and not enough. Knew danger was coming but not exactly when or how. Knew they'd be walking into hostile territory but couldn't just avoid it because Valen was too important a target.
So they'd adapt. Change tactics. Use the memory as advantage instead of prophecy.
And maybe, just maybe, they'd change the future before it happened.
Or die trying.
Either way, tomorrow was going to be interesting.
---