by Isaac Stone
I stopped to have one quick look at the ship. It was the place I'd known as home for so many years and the pain of leaving it hurt me deep. Every turn and door I'd passed reminded me of someone or something I'd done. Now, it was all ready to be destroyed for a greater cause.
I felt Amarin’s hand on my shoulder and turned to look at her. “We'll all miss it," her eyes said to me. “But the three of us have a responsibility to the others. We need to get out of here.”
The main hatch to the FAS was already opened when we arrived. There was no need for suits or armor right now. If this didn't go as planned, neither would protect us. I scampered up the ramp with the other two behind me.
I made my way to the command tower and climbed up the ladder. Strapped in, I activated the screens and looked at the systems report. Everything functioned accordingly. Good. We'd need full power to get out of this mess.
I looked at the side screens and saw both Orlando and Amarin strapped into their chairs. They were ready to go. I felt Orlando's mind descend over hers. Good, we'd need his experience to get back to the colony safe.
“Doors opening,” Orlando spoke. “We'll need full burn to get out of here in time to reach that jump point in time."
“Plasma torch firing,” Amarin called out, “in three, two, one....”
I was slammed back into my command tower as the engine ignited. At the same time, the rail gun fired. Each was enough to send the FAS out of the hanger at fantastic speeds. Combined, the force had the potential to be lethal. It was a chance we had to take. Once that massive ghost ship emerged from the tunnel, anything could happen.
I felt the acceleration and had just enough time to let the AI take over to steer the ship in the direction of the nearest jump point. If Captain, or what remained of her, were correct, this would send us back to the colony world of Atrogon.
I felt my consciousness fade out as the FAS hurled forward in the direction of the jump point. My last thoughts were of the rear screen and the vanishing form of the Hard Rain. The pain I felt for its loss was greater than the combined acceleration forces brought on us by the plasma torch and rail gun.
My sense of perception changed. Now I floated in the vast emptiness of space. I looked across and watched the Hard Rain begin to position itself for the final jump through the tunnel. I could feel the tunnel through the dark matter that surrounded the Spear Cluster begin to open.
“It won't be long now,” a voice said to my right and I turned to face it.
In the void of space, outlines by a sea of stars, floated the cactus bat.
I could not come up with another name for it; words do not convey the thing that floated next to me. It was an alien intelligence of some kind, just not the one I expected. If this was the Supreme Reality of the Universe, I’d been fooled a long time ago. The creature had vast wings that flapped in the atmospheric void. As I said, it was of a color that I’d never witnessed before. Perhaps green is the closest one we have on our scale.
“I told you she could handle it," the cactus bat spoke. “Now let her finish her work.”
“I don't get this,” I replied to it, “We are in space and yet you need wings to stay near me. Wings imply air, of which there is none. How can this be?”
“How can we speak to each other if there is no air to convey the sound waves?” it sent back, “We read each other’s thoughts.”
“Are you telling me the wings fly on a sea of thoughts?”
“Close. It's a real mind bender ain't it? Once your powers reach a certain point Corwin, strange is where you live."
“Then how do you explain all this?”
“I don’t. Right now, you’re safely inside the FAS winging your way back to the Atrogon colony. You’re permitted to see all this so that you can tell the others what happened. Oh look! You captain is about to position the Hard Rain in the direction of the opening tunnel.”
I looked down to see the Hard Rain change positions. The cactus bat was right. I could feel Captain as she prepared with her child to send the mothership on a one-way trip to the heart of the demiurge.
“Pretty impressive,” I told the cactus bat. "Say, can you tell me the meaning of existence while we’re at it? I get it that you're doing the whole crazy wisdom thing, but seriously. I used to think that everything revolved around the pack and we were put into this world just to make sure we filled our destiny, which was to help whatever situation we were in. Now, I don’t know what to think.”
“And what brought on this sudden bout of existential curiosity?” it said to me, flapping its wings and soaring around, "Was it the ghost ships? It was the ghost ships wasn't it?"
“Everything I loved is either stranded on some colony world, already dead, or about to be destroyed. It makes you question everything. I mean, what’s the point of a life of service if everything you did amounts to nothing in the end?”
“I wouldn't say it amounted to nothing. And you still have your pack, as you said, on the colony. I think this counts as a win, so long as the captain actives that jumper at the right time.” It turned and looked in the direction of the Hard Rain.
The tunnel was fully open and I could see the front of the monster ghost ship emerge. This was the largest one I’d seen so far. It had to be twenty-five miles long. Whatever the demiurge had used to build it had to have exhausted its resources. This thing was designed for one final punch to humanity. I spotted the weapons system over it. I quite counting after I’d spotted at least twenty nuclear missile ports. That thing wanted to make sure nothing remained of the human race to threaten its dominance of the universe.
“Besides,” the cactus bat continued, “I don’t do meaning of life answers. Not in my job description.”
“If anyone could explain it,” I spoke to the cactus bat, "I thought it would be you. I mean, you're a flying cactus bat in space. Seems a reasonable expectation on my part.”
“You're the one who imagined me this way. I could just as easily have been something else. Now shut up and watch what she does; you don’t want to miss any of this.”
The Hard Rain was right over the tunnel opening, fighting hard against the gravitational forces of the dark matter that sought to rip it apart. I couldn’t understand how Captain kept it balanced; the ship shouldn’t be in one piece by now. Perhaps she had access to some things we didn’t.
“There she goes!” the cactus bat yelled, as it flapped its wings in excitement.
The Hard Rain turned opaque as it powered up. I could feel the excitement radiate from Captain as she readied herself for destiny. Then I could feel the excitement merge with the knowledge of her child that came into this world seconds before it was needed. It was the joy of a being that was born with self-awareness and knowledge of its own destiny.
Then the space was empty where the Hard Rain once occupied. I knew it had made the jump straight down that tunnel opening and behind the massive ghost ship, which now was all the way out of the tunnel. As I floated there, the tunnel opening began to close.
The next thing that happened was the dark matter began to expand again. It held its place for the past few weeks. We couldn’t figure out why at the time, but now I understood. It was waiting for the final ghost ship to emerge.
“Won't do it much good,” the cactus bat spoke again. “Captain and child have penetrated into the heart of the demiurge."
I could feel the cry of rage from inside the Spear Cluster. Yaldabaoth was finished and knew it. The scream turned into another one, that of a newborn child who realized it controlled the destiny of the universe. My being was battered with one wave after another of anger and joy. The demiurge lost and the Cosmic Seed won. Everything I saw down there was about to be sucked into the first emanation.
I watched the lights from the inside of the gargantuan ghost ship blink out as it was cut off from its power supply. The life drained out of it. This time there would be no self-repair of what failed. Twenty-five miles of death and damnation began to drift in an idle pattern. It was n
ow a piece of frozen metal. Space debris, of no use to anyone but scrappers.
“That was beautiful,” I told the cactus bat.
“The demiurge is dead,” it responded. “Long live humanity. The same thing is happening everywhere in the galaxy.”
It was true. On all fronts, the ghost ships ceased to function. In many cases, they were already involved in battle. Most of those were blown to fragments once until their human opponents realized the ghost ships no longer fought back.
In some cases, the ghost ships crashed into planetoids when they ceased to function. Some burnt up on reentry as they fell out of orbit. In many cases, they were boarded. The boarders soon discovered the ships were empty with no pilots. The spectral crew vanished once the demiurge ceased to exist.
I watched the dark matter begin to retract. The barrier shrank back and left the shattered parts of starships in its wake. It shrank quickly, which was odd, since it had been in place for millennia. When it retracted, the light of stars behind it bent back.
It vanished inside a rift in one of the Spear Cluster planetoids. Whatever happened on the other side when Captain took the Hard Rain against the demiurge was complete. I watched the rift close.
But not for long.
The rift opened again and fountains of light emerged. They coalesced into green, the color of life. I watched as the light merged together and began to form planets. The planets came with their own suns. Creation was about to begin again.
“There will be twelve of them in the end,” the cactus bat informed me, and I could see ice crystals trailing behind it as the great being visibly wept at the sight of such beauty, “Enough to ensure the Spear Cluster continues its work. Can’t have any other failed deity trying to mess things up again.”
“So what the hell happened down there?” I asked it. “Did I just see Captain and her child slice into the demiurge? What came after?”
“You captain was right about the need for the Cosmic Seed,” it explained, “But the seed wasn’t he weapon she tried to bring here. She was the Cosmic Seed herself, her and your child of light. Yaldabaoth the demiurge had to become one with Captain and child to bring this about.”
“Is it over?”
“Nothing is ever over mi amigo, reality just has to recalibrate sometimes after a storm," said the cactus bat, and then it began to veer off as my mind was drawn back into my body, "Until the next kid. Stay classy!"
The universe went black again.
17
The FAS made it through the jump point, which stunned everyone on Atrogon. The last thing anyone remembered was the confrontation the three of us had with Captain on the bridge. When she began to glow, everyone on the colony world who as in contact with us, the entire pack that is, lost touch with us. The condition that brought about the shared consciousness faded and they found themselves back to normal. This was a good thing as several of my packmates realized while this was taking place that they could access the thoughts of each other. I’m told there were many angry confrontations when people knew how they really felt.
I came to in my command tower still strapped in place. The AI had responded to a rescue ship that was sent out to find us. The colony knew we had a good chance of surviving the jump and decided to devote several days toward locating the FAS that Orlando, Amarin, and I took through the jump point. It wasn’t supposed to be possible for a solitary FAS to do that, but many things happened that weren’t supposed to take place.
“Supply shuttle up close,” I woke to hear the AI speak to me. I stirred and acknowledged it as quick as I could.
My first order of concern was the other two down in the cockpit. Orlando was in motion, as was Amarin. I checked their vitals on the screen and saw them to be good. No problems with blood pressure or anything else.
“How are you two doing down there?” I yelled down the shaft. On the screen, I saw them respond to my voice, which was a big relief.
“I'm alright,” Amarin yelled up to me. “Bit of a headache, but nothing worse.”
“Good over here,” Orlando spoke from his side of the console. “How long have we been out?”
I checked the chronometer. We’d been unconscious for the past three days. No wonder I had such an appetite.”
“Three days,” I called out to him. “It’s been three days since we launched out of the Hard Rain.”
I could see the look of astonishment on their faces. Neither could believe it. I was about to say something about what happened when the audio began to call out to me.
“FAS from Hard Rain,” a voice squawked over the speaker, “This is rescue ship twelve from the Atrogon colony. Do you receive us?”
I hit the switch in front of me. “FAS here,” I responded. “This is Corwin Hardrain. Whom do I have the honor of addressing?”
“Rose Califra. I am the captain of this shuttle. We’re from one of the Amazon settlements on Atrogon. What is your status?”
“No fuel left to speak of, been on the drift for what appears to be three days,” I informed her. “Seems it was burnt up getting us to the jump point. We’re down to a few days on life support. Can you dock with us?”
“We can. What are you medical needs?”
“We all seem to be in good health, other than we’ve been unconscious for three days.”
“I have a medic with me. She will give you an examination. We can have you on the surface of Atrogon at your settlement in a few days.”
“I'm grateful,” I replied to her. “What’s the situation with the Ghost Ship War?”
“All ghost ships ceased to function three days ago, according to the reports sent to us. Right about the same time the Spear Cluster changed.”
“It changed?” I gasped. So it hadn’t been a dream after all.
“Yes it has. Find your newsfeeds, you’ll see quite a transformation took place.”
I brought up the Spear Cluster location. It was just as I saw while I floated over it with the cactus bat. The dark matter barrier was gone. Now, twelve planets were positioned around it, each with their own star. It was a miracle, since none of those planets was there when we launched from the Hard Rain.
We transferred to the rescue ship several hours later.
The Amazons took good care of us. They had a medic run tests on all three of us to make sure nothing permanent happened while we were inside the jump point. She couldn’t find a thing wrong with us, but suggested we follow up with a doctor at our colony when we reached Atrogon.
We spoke with members of our colony who told us they were excited that we’d come through without a scratch. There was only one access channel to the colony, so each of us had to take turns talking to the pack.
I spend a lot of time in conversation with Talia. As senior wife, she’d picked up the leadership mantle from Captain. I could tell things would be a lot different on the colony, but I was certain I could adjust to life outside a starship.
“I'm keeping the roster active,” she told me. “Right now, the colony has us in a small set of buildings at the corner of the Starwing settlement... The last thing I want to have happen is for us to be broken up. It would have killed Captain if she ever thought something like that would happen.”
“It's not going to be easy without a ship,” I responded. No one seemed to know what happened in the end to the Hard Rain and I’d yet to tell anyone about my visions.
“We'll manage. We always did before. I’ve worked out a job schedule with a few of the other older members and we’re keeping everyone busy. You get back here safe. Precious misses you and so do the rest of us. By the way, I’ve scheduled you some quality time with her the moment you land. So don’t bother those Amazon women.”
I laughed and signed off. The last thing she had to worry about was my actions with the Amazons. Amarin, on the other hand, was a different matter. I’d already been approached by several members of the crew about her. They seemed disappointed to learn she was pledged into our pack.
The Amazons were polite to me
, but made it clear they picked us up out of solidarity with other Orders and not out of their own innate goodness. I spent the time looking at news feeds and resting. We were only a few days out from the colony anyway.
The only interest I felt was from the ship’s medic, who let me know that the Amazon colony on Atrogon was visited from time to time by active duty ships from their order.
“You genes check out for all the right characteristics,” she informed me. “There are a few women in the active duty ships who are up for childbirth and need donors. I’m sure we could work out something with your pack if you are interested.” I told her I would keep it under consideration. I didn’t tell her that my next donation was to Precious and I intended to be around for that child.
The entire pack was there to greet us when the shuttle landed. All three of us were mobbed by our family when we left the ramp that led down from it. It was a wonderful homecoming. I looked up at both suns in the sky and wondered if the pack would ever leave the surface of this planet again. At the same time, it was so good to be alive and with my family once again.
“You need to see Cherish,” Talia spoke as she hugged me. “There’s a large medical staff here because of all the retired packmates. We’ll talk later, because I know you want to see this little one.”
Talia stepped out of the way to present Precious to me. The little woman jumped up on my hips and held tight, which prompted a round of applause from the rest of the pack. The children where there to greet us too. Which was good, as I think Precious and I would’ve started right there if they hadn’t been present.
“She'll show you her quarters,” Talia yelled out as I carried her off. “Evening shift started this second for you. I expect you at the hall for morning assembly.”
The next day, as I sat with Precious, in the small warehouse we used as a mess hall, I listened to Talia give out the daily announcements. It was odd to see someone other than Captain do them, but at least Talia kept up the ritual.