Beyond Apocalypse

by Bruce S Larson

  ‘You will all be dead unless you follow my orders.’ Uruk thought. ‘I can access the ship’s weapons. Obey me or I will send missiles into the cargo bay.’

  ‘Please do so,’ was Not’s shocking reply. ‘We welcome mutual annihilation.’

  ‘Ridiculous.’ Uruk noticed a lack of tension even in his own thoughts as he sparred mind to mind. ‘You fight as demons fight. You cannot wish defeat.’

  ‘Freedom is not defeat. But perhaps you can aid us. Here I can more clearly see the mind of a demon. You seek war. We seek peace.’

  ‘But you fight.’ Uruk countered. ‘You caused this ship’s war.’

  ‘Yes. To gain peace on our terms.’ Not replied.

  ‘Is that not conquest?’ Uruk was confused.

  ‘No. We fight to be free. If need be, to die free. To make your demonkind know you cannot enslave those of us who may still live on other worlds.’

  ‘My Lord Anguhr does not enslave.’

  ‘Does your lord make war?’ Not asked.

  ‘Yes.’ Uruk found the question odd. ‘He is the Destroyer. He is the greatest of all Generals.’

  ‘Then he is simply evil of another name.’ Not stated. ‘He is still the opposite side of good.’

  ‘I do not understand this vague polarity you hint at.’ Uruk wanted to shake his head, but realized at present he had none. ‘There is demon and alien. There is enemy and there is Hell.’

  ‘There is destruction and there is liberty.’ Not offered.

  ‘One is the same.’ Uruk longed to shrug his shoulders. He wanted more to grab his rival to shake it.

  ‘So long as you are the destroyer, not the destroyed.’ Not replied.

  ‘Yes. I serve him. The Destroyer.’

  ‘You serve annihilation.’ Not rebuked, but its Ignitaur thoughts still carried clam tones.

  ‘I serve—we did serve—’ Uruk halted his thoughts to gather them. ‘We served the Dark Urge.’

  ‘Yet, you do not now?’

  ‘I serve Lord Anguhr.’ Uruk evaded a full answer.

  ‘The effect is the same.’ Not observed.

  ‘No.’ Uruk knew that normally he would be frustrated that he could not shout, but was only aware of the emotion. He could not truly feel it. ‘The Dark Urge has lied to us. Our service to her is for nothing. We thought we conquered to serve her and—’

  ‘And?’ Not prodded.

  ‘I serve Lord Anguhr. He would fight for me.’

  ‘Then, you fight for loyalty.’ Not surmised.

  ‘This I can accept, I think.’ Uruk knew he would nod cautious affirmation, if he currently had a head.

  ‘But your loyalty still brings annihilation. What is the difference now, balanced against what you fought for in the past?’

  ‘I said: I fight for Lord Anguhr.’

  ‘So, you now only make war out of loyalty to your leader.’

  ‘I suppose, yes. I fight for him just as he fights for us.’ Uruk wanted to enjoy satisfaction of his certainty, yet he could not feel the emotional boost.

  ‘Do you not see the circle you truly serve? The bond you are tied to?’ Not asked. ‘You both still serve darkness. She, your Dark Urge, created the circle. You and your leader simply spin around it.’

  Uruk wanted to feel rage, but understood in this disembodied dimension his emotions did not follow him passed the points of his teeth on the conduit. ‘Life without loyalty is life without meaning,’ he replied.

  ‘But what are you loyal to, ultimately?’ Not asked. ‘Seek new meaning. Break your circle, demon mind. I seek a life of freedom. You seek a life of war. Yet, what are your conquests worth if they only serve the circle forged by someone else? Acting in such blindness is an act of evil, itself.’

  ‘Again, this idea, this polarity.’ Uruk thought. ‘What use is it?’

  ‘Do you understand the principle of balance?’

  ‘A scale? Yes. To assess difference in masses.’ Uruk could see both a scale and the mental images of the ship’s systems. He could feel his mind want to drift from one image to the other. He focused on his virtual here and now.

  ‘And concepts at times.’ Not added. ‘But imagine such a mechanism. Choose a side, and tip it.’

  ‘I chose to take the scale.’ Uruk replied. ‘Then I will also have both masses and the machine.’

  ‘Then you have aided us, demon.’

  ‘How?’ Uruk knew he should feel anger if Not had won something from him on this weird battlefield.

  ‘By teaching me the mind of the demon.’ Not answered. ‘I see now there can be no peace between us, so long as we have something you wish to possess.’

  ‘I wish for victory.’ Uruk could see the value of these Ignitaurs as allies. ‘Fight with us.’

  ‘You will only use our courage and blood to take this ship. And then it will be something else.’ Not paused in place of a sigh. ‘And as you show there is more than one horde, then perhaps this galaxy is only now a place for endless war.’

  ‘Then become warriors. Follow me. I know only victory.’

  ‘You know only conquest, demon. War. We desire peace. Or at least an end to war. Good bye, Uruk. See if you can balance a scale that you do not possess.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’ The thought escaped Uruk’s mind. He would curse at himself for showing potential weakness, later.

  ‘I do. And in that lies our difference.’ Not vanished.

  Uruk sensed an energy surge. The reactor exploded.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Ursuhr was besieged. It was not by an enemy force. That might make him happy. He was trapped within a scheme he did not understand. This had made him angry. He sat fuming on his bridge throne while his horde was contained in galactic wonder. His fiery warship flew within a nebula not of nature’s creation. He entered it though a fissure between masses that appeared to be typical clouds of gas and dust. Their symmetry betrayed their artifice.

  The nebular clouds hung as sections of a sundered orb. Pressure from interior radiation did not force them apart. Gravity did not pull them together. Some unseen web held the false nebula in one, constant state. All the vast space inside and cosmic elements were parts of a single construction. Several solar systems could hide within the formation. Yet it contained only a single, blue star. Around it was a further astonishment. Another, more massive Iron Work encircled the star. The inner sides of the nebular clouds were round domes that glowed as bright as the perfectly centered star. The space between the bright sections of orb and the captured star was not overwhelmed by light despite the intense source and its reflection. Something absorbed photons and radiation. Brilliance was within the visual range of most photosensitive life, and life born in Hell. Light, ions, and energy slipped out of spacetime to locations unknown. It was an impossible place.

  Ursuhr was also impossible as a giant beast leading demons, and in his typical malignant attitude. His Ship Master Martis felt it roll across his wingless back as gusts of heated frustration exhaled by his Lord. All the wonder that surrounded Ursuhr was lost in confusion and disappointment. There was no enemy to attack. He had obeyed orders relayed through the Great Widow. They diverted him on an errand of tedium with an unclear purpose. He reasoned this other Iron Work must be another construct of Hell. For that he praised the Dark Urge, but not for the tedious mission to fetch objects from it.

  This operation was not a campaign of conquest. It was a trivial quest better done by—Ursuhr had no idea who attended to such tedium. Perhaps that is why the Great Widow lived in Hell. It did the miniscule things while the Dark Urge ruled. And now the spider had ensnared Ursuhr for a tedious act. The mission appeared nothing more than a spider's whim. It made no sense to Ursuhr. He was tasked to find two semi-survivable locations on two bands of this larger Iron Work.

  Ursuhr growled as he reflected. The orders from Hell’s pet bug were to split his forces and secure the surface around each site. Ursuhr inwardly scoffed. He may deploy reconnaissance teams, but he did not split his horde. Wha
t use was overwhelming force if it could not be brought against an enemy like the head of a maul against a—against a bug. Ursuhr smiled. He saw his wisdom confirmed at a target canyon filled with hexagonal columns. He was to retrieve only one. If it was a prize of war, that was ridiculous. He ordered his strike force to take as many as the demons could carry. However, the massive slabs that hovered over the canyon closed over it. Ursuhr’s Field Master, Kalak had escaped, but he lost many recognized demons remade as engineers.

  If Ursuhr’s forces had secured both mysterious targets and combined them as ordered, he was to protect them at all costs to himself and his horde. Then he was to contact the Great Widow for additional orders. Ursuhr did not like the Great Widow. He did not like this mission. The Great Widow had said it was the direct will of the Dark Urge. Yet once underway, Ursuhr began to wonder about the truth of that, if not about the awesome structures he now sailed within.

  Ursuhr shrugged. The mission would not bring him or Hell greater glory. He doubted it was truly the will of the Dark Urge. It was a whim of the Great Widow. Thus, may she be damned. Although, she was already in Hell. Then, may the Dark Urge crush her. Ursuhr hoped he may have the ability to do so, personally. And then he recalled she may be able to tap his thoughts. Ursuhr wondered just how big she really was. He instinctively reached for his maul.

  “My Lord, data from a sentry spike. Craft approaching.” Martis’ rasping voice broke Ursuhr’s smoldered ponderings.

  Images of a row of six black spheres appeared on a screen before them. They soared up near a band of the larger Iron Work. Data rolled across the images. It noted each sphere was the size of a small planet. The spheres rose in an arc from the far side of the banded, blue star.

  “At least they seemed to be craft,” Martis added.

  “Then what are they?” Ursuhr demanded

  “I have no clue.” Martis shrugged while still looking at the spheres’ images.

  “Weapons?” Ursuhr stood.

  “Unknown, Lord.” Martis returned to tapping at his control dais.

  “Is there an energy increase from these ships?” Ursuhr asked while reading the flashing data.

  “Unknown. Although something powers them out of the star’s—rather, the machine's gravity with no detectable radiation.”

  “Then what do you detect? Anything?” Ursuhr glowered at Martis’ back.

  “Yes, Lord.” Martis was glad for some small bit of reportable data, although it was not likely to make his petulant master smile. “I can confirm they are on an intercept course with this ship. And that they are very large.” He heard a sustained growl that rattled his ears.

  “Shall I enact the new protocols, Lord?” Martis asked.

  “No.” Ursuhr grunted. “Turn about. Flank speed to open space. Our mission here is over. We have done the will of the Dark Urge. I will not be the instrument of any other's will. Head out of this insane nebula. When we are clear, ready the main sail. No more enduring tedium. We will return to our true mission. Again we will make war.”

  Anguhr stood in front of his throne. He kept the two key prisoners, Zaria and Gin, in front of him. It seemed a good means of control beyond their bonds. Anguhr was the most powerful force onboard to put down any rebellion. He had other means to ensure their compliance if his presence and axe was not a strong enough threat. Yet, no threat was worthy unless it had conviction behind it. He was the Destroyer. His conviction to kill things was well known.

  “I have reviewed your encounter with Sutuhr, Proxis.” Anguhr said as he pulled his axe from his back and sat. “Well done, Ship Master.”

  “I am honored, Lord.” Proxis turned from his dais and bowed.

  Gin nudged Zaria and motioned his head towards Anguhr who had yet to place his axe in its locks but spun the handle slowly in his hands. Gin then jerked his head back as he saw Anguhr staring straight at him.

  “His ship was damaged in previous battle,” Proxis continued. “My further analysis indicated his power systems were not only damaged but beset.”

  “Beset by what?” Anguhr asked.

  “By me,” Gin answered and smiled.

  Zaria turned to face Gin and raised her eyebrows at him. Gin stopped gloating.

  “Explain.” Proxis focused his serpent’s eyes sharply on Gin.

  “When his ship was damaged by—”

  “We found his ship damaged,” Zaria cut in. “We were able to project a variant of Gin’s mind into Sutuhr’s operational systems.”

  “And, as you know, I can be quite irritating.” Gin’s smile returned. He stopped grinning again when the only reply from Anguhr was narrowed, burning eyes and a sudden stop to turning his axe.

  “His Ship Master, I assume,” Proxis said, “has managed to limit this—” he paused and pointed up at Gin and eyed him over. “This one’s sapper clone to only physical power systems.”

  “Surprising.” Gin shrugged in his bonds.

  “Can you be killed?” Anguhr moved the edge of an axe blade under Gin’s chin.

  “In this form? Most likely. Unfortunately.” Gin answered.

  “But he has not infected your ship, Anguhr.” Zaria quickly added.

  “General, to you, miscreation!” Proxis snarled.

  “Yes, I am a physical projection of an information avatar,” Gin said to Anguhr. “But I have not recombined with any system of your ship. We are at a truce.”

  “You are prisoners,” Anguhr said.

  “By logic, we all need this ship.” Zaria said. “Intact and functional, General.”

  “I'll stay put. Stay physical.” Gin assured. “I am a complex program, but I have honor.”

  “Good.” Anguhr gave a slow nod. “Then I will not detonate the planet-annihilating mines I left in and around Old Jove.”

  Gin’s eyes flashed wide open. Zaria’s gaze became narrow slits focused on Anguhr.

  “Your behavior will be compliant,” Anguhr added. “Time is now the greatest threat to your long-loved Eden.”

  “Don't you threaten yourself if—” Gin started.

  “Quiet!” Zaria snapped at Gin. “We are going to Eden, not Asherah.” She looked straight at Anguhr with a hard, defiant stare. “You hold only one of my worlds hostage.”

  “Yet,” Anguhr sat down on his throne. “I am sure it will be enough.”

  A swift, intense dust storm rolled over the forbidding surface of Hell. The screens of Sutuhr’s limping warship displayed the storm’s violence.

  “The increased electromagnetic activity is causing atmospheric disruptions.” Crucis observed.

  The Ship Master offered the information to his Lord, but Sutuhr made no comments. In truth, Sutuhr was confused.

  “Should we come too close, Lord, with the ship at its current power status, the radiation output just from Hell’s ionic belts would further harm our physical systems.” Crucis added. “Any closer and the radiation across the physic and etheric bands may harm our own bodies.”

  “Keep us well aback, then.” Sutuhr growled.

  Even in Hell’s home system, Sutuhr found more problems. Of course, he hated that. His ego still ached from the defiance of a mere Ship Master, Proxis. Leaders of empires had bowed before him before death, but a mere demon had faced him down. At least it was a demon, Sutuhr offered himself. He then spat in renewed anger and frustration. He had made his ship capable of making a jump even before all its power was restored. The infiltration was still beleaguering its systems. His crew of engineers had kept increasing. If he needed to recognize and transform more of his horde for that role, he would have no mere fodder to throw into battle. He wondered if here, in Hell’s own system, he would find combat and not merely defiance. He wiped more venom from his lips. Sutuhr hated his own venom.

  Right now, Sutuhr wanted to find his mother. The darkest of all beings in the galaxy had bid his return. The Devoted had obeyed as soon as he could. Yet now the Dark Urge did not answer his calls. Hails across all bands bounced from Hell’s charged atmosphere. The Dark Urge h
ad raised her defenses and wasn’t answering at the portal of damnation. Not even the calls of her most loyal son. If this problem was not caused by the Dark Urge, Sutuhr would hate it. He wanted a solution. It would require beseeching the Great Widow. Sutuhr was certain she waited for his humbled call. That irritation, and the Great Widow, Sutuhr could hate freely.

  “Careful, General. There are limits to tolerance, even for the Devoted.”

  The words of the Great Widow drew Sutuhr’s mind into her web. He surmounted his rage. Although he did quickly entertain the question if his own venom could harm Hell’s giant spider.

  “It could not,” the Great Widow replied.

  Sutuhr focused and spoke. “I have come as soon as I could. My ship needs repairs. The great power of my dark mother could certainly destroy what besets it. I wish to dock and feel her embrace.”

  “Your dedication is well noted, General. Yet, these are tempestuous times. Your mother, my mistress, must concentrate on matters the span the galaxy. She is its greatest power, and thus her responsibilities are—”

  “Likely endless” Sutuhr interrupted. “Yes. I understand. But surely I am worth at least passage to Hell.”

  “The Dark Urge knows you will understand. And that your petulance will abate in time.” The Great Widow paused.

  The cold stare of the giant spider’s eight eyes felt like spear points into Sutuhr. He suppressed a building growl. He decided to not test the affection of the Dark Urge to himself or her spider. This close to Hell she might lash out at him, herself. He stayed silent and swallowed a gathered pool of venom.

  “As always, you will act to serve her in all ways she deems right.” The Great Widow broke the quiet.

  “Of course. Yet I can serve her better with a fully repaired ship. Then I can defeat all, even those who act as rebellious children. Even another General.”

  “For now you will take a wide orbit around Hell, around her, and wait.” The spider said.