Amongst the Immortals

by Luigi Robles

  “Are you sure about this? I mean, is this really the plan? Those things, whatever they are, are powerful. And we are going straight to them—who knows how many of them. They defeated the Golden Armada; what chance do we really have?”

  “We’ll give it our best, and we’ll put our hearts into it; that’s the only thing within our control. We took one down, remember? As far as I know, we are the only ones in the galaxy that have done it. It happened once and it will happen again. I need you and everyone else on this ship on my side for this to work. I need you at the best you’ve ever been.”

  Fain knew that Larissa suspected something else in the works; that sudden silencing of August wasn’t so subtle after all. But he also meant every word he had just told her.

  “I’ll do my best, Captain,” Larissa said, sounding like she had something stuck in her throat.

  Fain nodded and stepped to one side and began walking towards the corridor. He knew that if he just stood around on the bridge, he would be questioned by everyone. Some of the brightest minds on Earth were on that bridge, and Fain knew that well.

  “Pycca, get together with Kya and figure out that EMP device,” Fain said as he walked. “Also, let’s replicate your tracker. I want one on every ship in the fleet.”

  “OK.” Pycca nodded. It was obvious that she wanted to say more, but she knew it wasn’t the time; Fain figured as much.

  “Hey, one sec, Captain,” August said as he walked right after Fain. “It won’t take long.”

  “I’ll talk to you later tonight,” Fain said without slowing down. “For now, that’s the plan, and we need to make it happen.”

  August stopped cold and didn’t say anything else. Fain knew he was being harsher than necessary, but in order for his plan to work, there shouldn’t be any doubt from anyone. And talking to August out in the open would surely expose all the flaws in his plan. He made it to the corridor without any more hold-ups. From there, he took a pod straight to his quarters.

  When he entered his quarters, he took a deep breath, and the human part in him began doubting everything he was doing. He didn’t want to fool anyone, he didn’t want to hurt anyone, and overall, he didn’t want to break his promise to Pycca.

  “Dammit,” Fain yelled with frustration as he fell to his knees. “Dammit…” He pounded on the floor, trying to release his anger. But the human flesh was no match for the solid steel floor of his quarters. After a few more thrashes, he leaned back against the door and surrendered to his thoughts.

  For nearly two hours, Fain thought about every possible scenario they would be up against. He had silenced his wristband, ignoring all the incoming calls and requests. The scenarios in his mind were widely different, but one common denominator had emerged. There was one common theme to each one of the paths he could choose: for each one, it was a one-way trip. He knew that it was a desperate attempt at best, but what else was there? He had to try—no, not try, he had to give it everything he had within him, every last ounce for this to have even a remote possibility of working.

  “It has to work,” Fain murmured. “It’s going to work.” He raised his voice. “It’s going to work. I know it because I will make it work.”

  Feeling as if the worst part of the decision he had made was behind him, he unsilenced his wristband. There were eighteen missed calls and twenty-two messages. Kya’s name was among the ones who’d tried to communicate with Fain.

  “Hey, Kya,” Fain said without using his wristband to communicate.

  “How are you feeling? My sensors detected some thumping coming from your floor. You had me worried for a bit.”

  “It was nothing, don’t worry. Are things underway?”

  “Everyone is getting their tasks ready to be sent out. I just finished talking to Pycca about our tasks as well. If everything works out, we’ll be ready to execute the plan within two weeks. Our biggest hold-up is the mass production of the EMP mechanism. I am assuming we will need to fill Sodenia up and the other ships that are coming with us.”

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  “Fain, is that really the plan?”

  Fain paused before answering.

  “For everyone else, it is. For me, it might not be the case. I’m going alone into Immortal territory, and I need your help.”

  “I figured as much,” Kya said with a sigh. “What I hadn’t figured is that you were barring me from coming with you. I don’t like that, and I won’t allow it. You’re taking me with you, Fain Jegga.”

  “Kya, it’s a one-way trip. I can’t do that to you. Your life is just as important as everyone else’s.”

  “Yeah, it’s a one-way trip, if you don’t take me with you. But if I go, we might still have a chance. If you want me to help you pull this off, then I’m coming with you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. And if that’s our end, nothing would make me happier than to have reached that phase in my life with you, the person I started this journey with. Also, if you fail, the end will come for us all no matter what, and you’ll stand a much better chance with me by your side. The chances would increase even more if the flight crew was with us, but I know how you feel about that.”

  “I guess you’re coming with me then. But I’m going to need one more person’s help on this, though convincing him not to come with me is going to be hard.”

  “He has been waiting for your call for a while now. I believe he is worried. You should talk to him before the day ends.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Fain said as he scrolled up to August’s name on his wristband. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Fain?” Kya asked before she cut the communication.

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet.”

  After thinking about what he would say to August for a moment or two, he decided to call.

  “Hello?” August answered.

  “Hey, can you meet me by the docks?”

  “When?”

  “Now.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Fain got up right away and walked out the door. The difficulty was just about to start for Fain, and he knew it. But he would face it head on without a shadow of doubt if it meant saving the ones he loved.

  11

  The Plan

  August made his way to the docks to meet with Fain. He was almost sure what this meeting would be about. Throughout his time serving on board Sodenia, he had gotten to know Fain and thought of him as one of his closest friends, if not the closest. One of the things that had always stood out about Fain was how sure he was of his plans and decisions; it was one of his gifts. Fain rarely said something without being sure of it, and he was unwavering when it came to giving his word. At first, August had called Fain out on a few things here and there, but it was only to find out that Fain had already done the research or calculations, and he had always been right.

  And yet this time around his friend was anything but unwavering, and that was of great concern to August. It meant that he wasn’t sure of what he was doing. But that was just August’s guess, and he didn’t dare to guess beyond that and be proven wrong yet again. So, on the way to the docks, August decided to occupy his mind with other things.

  If we are really going to the Immortals’ point of origin, August thought, there’s a strong possibility that we won’t make it back. All 12,000 of us? That seems like a large number of people to go on a suicide mission. Then again, is that what it is? Maybe Fain is right about taking half of the ESAF fleet there. After all, the more of us there are, the better chance we have. If we lose, it would be a great loss of life, that’s true. But that would be the end of everything anyway.

  August didn’t have enough time to finish his thoughts on the matter. He could see the large docks rapidly approaching, and Fain was already there waiting for him near the corridor.

  Fain couldn’t have chosen a better time to meet at the docks, as they were usually pretty quiet at this tim
e. At a distance, there were only two forklifts moving pallets of food, or more likely coffee and tea, to the feeders for the food printers.

  August had recently learned, thanks to a conversation with Larissa, that more coffee and tea was consumed on board Sodenia than at four full coffee shops on Earth. August knew that had to be an unhealthy amount of caffeine.

  “Fancy seeing you here,” Fain said as August approached, though he sensed unease in his tone of voice.

  “Fancy seeing you at all,” August said as he exited the pod. “So, now can I ask you questions about the plan?”

  “You can, but I feel that they will be highly unnecessary after you find out why I called you here.”

  “OK, so we’ll start there. What’s really happening?”

  “August…” Fain paused, looking unsure what to say. “I will need your help, to a great extent. I know I’ll be asking a lot from you, but that’s why I’m asking you and not anyone else. If you don’t help me, everything will fail.”

  August didn’t want to hear what Fain had to say next, because he knew that Fain wouldn’t say those things lightly. He just hoped that he’d be strong enough to help his friend. They started walking towards the racks of food.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I’m going to need your help.” Fain paused again, shaking his head. It looked like he was having real difficulty getting out what he had to say. “Sodenia will be going into Immortal territory, but only two people will be on board: Kya and me.”

  August instantly knew what that meant. It was a betrayal to the highest degree, but not to ESAF or the people of Earth; it was a betrayal to his friends. August wanted to bury his face in the thick metal plating that made up the docks’ floor.

  “Fain, what are you saying?” August asked.

  “Kya and I need to go alone to the Immortals’ point of origin, wherever Noble Saavan’s map and Pycca’s location device lead us. And I need your help doing that. Before you say anything or think anything—”

  “Well, it’s too damn late for that,” August said, interrupting Fain. “How can I not think anything about this? If anything, it’s all I’m thinking about right now. Like, what the hell, man, we are supposed to be in this together.”

  Fain didn’t say a word to interrupt August.

  “This is wrong, beyond wrong, and you know it. Everyone is counting on you, and they are willing to go with you and give their lives for you, and you are going to turn around and just break that trust? I almost can’t believe what I’m hearing. Are you sure you’ve thought this through? I mean, I know you’ve thought about it. But are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?”

  “I’m sure. There’s no other way around it. It’s the only way I can move forward with this. I know for certain that we have a chance, that somewhere in this whole mess there’s a sliver of hope that we might come out alive. I’d gladly bring you all with me. But I don’t know it for sure. The truth is that I’m counting on the ship and just how far we can push it. And we know that’s not a real strategy, but it’s all we’ve got. We have to take this shot.”

  “Wouldn’t you have a better chance with us there? More eyes, more people working the ship. More of everything.”

  “I admit, that’s true. But then I’d be worried about all the lives on board Sodenia as well. August, think about it. Sodenia was made for this.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The more I think about it, the more I realize that Sodenia was made for this and this alone. A massive, armored, heavy ship responsive to the slightest movement, a planet-shattering weapon that can be controlled by a single person with a powerful AI. Sodenia was meant to do what I’m planning to do now. To have a crew on board, being part of the fleet, was secondary to its design. It’s almost as if the Herrion knew it would come down to this, this specific task. Why else would they design a ship around the pilot seat? The only thing that ESAF got right was to make whoever pilots the ship the captain.”

  August couldn’t deny that Fain was making sense. He hated himself for letting Fain persuade him.

  “And what about us? Your crew?” August asked, not giving up on his side of the argument. And he would hit where it would hurt the most. “Pycca? Just to hell with whatever we think about it? To hell with what she thinks?”

  “Don’t you dare say that,” Fain said somberly. “You know damn well why I’m doing this. This is what I think will give us the biggest chance. I want you guys to live, I want her to live.”

  “Then why not just come clean with it? Run it by everyone?”

  “If you are having this much trouble with it, can you imagine everyone else? Green and Truman would never agree. Pycca especially would never, ever agree. It would just be one big chaotic scene for days. We need to get ready the right way.”

  August let out a sigh.

  “So, you’ll help me?” Fain asked.

  “You’re asking too much.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m asking you and not anyone else.”

  They stopped walking once they reached the three-story food racks.

  August went over everything Fain had just said once again in his head. He couldn’t deny that Fain was making more sense than not.

  “How much of the plan is true?”

  “Everything up until we send the drones through the jump gates. Once I see what the enemy territory is like, if I see that there’s a chance, I’ll take it in a second.”

  “Meaning Kya and you will go there alone?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “How are you planning to empty the ship?”

  “We’ll do most of the emptying here. We’ll take barely enough crew to operate Sodenia normally, the same with the rest of the fleet. Once we send the drones through the gates, Kya will cause distress in the fleet, requiring personnel to assist. We’ll need a lot more shuttles here.” Fain turned and gestured towards the large docks. “To carry everyone out.”

  “It’s going to be hard to convince the flight crew, especially Pycca.”

  “That’s where you come in,” Fain said, turning to August. “You’ll be the last to leave. If they see you on the bridge, they won’t see it coming. Pycca and a group of engineers should be the first ones to go aid the ship. We’ll need to do this fast, before everyone realizes what’s going on.”

  “I have one condition,” August said firmly. “You have to do everything in your power to come back. And I mean everything. Think about it, and I need you to swear to me. Swear to me on your father and mother that you’ll give it everything you’ve got to make it back.”

  “I swear.”

  August made it back to his quarters feeling distraught. He felt weak and sick to his stomach. He felt like he had just signed away his soul, like he would be committing a horrible act against his friends. He didn’t dare imagine what Fain was feeling. This decision was probably crushing him as well. He took off his boots and jacket before making his way to the kitchen. It was 2300 hours, and he couldn’t remember when the last time was he had eaten something. He wasn’t hungry, but he knew that he needed to eat. The last thing he wanted was some form of anemia to kick in. He needed to be at a hundred percent and then some in the coming days.

  While in the kitchen, he took the rest of his clothes off and placed them on top of a nearby chair, leaving him standing in only his boxer briefs. He held his robotic left hand just below the shoulder, pressing against it, and began turning his hand in a circular motion a few times. The movement felt pleasing and relaxing, as if things were popping back into place. August had always felt comfortable in his own skin. Even with his robotic arm, he never minded what it looked like; on the contrary, he thought it accentuated his body.

  “So, how long have you known about it?” August asked as he browsed through the menu of the food printer.

  He waited for a response from Kya, but there was nothing. His heart skipped a beat, thinking that something might have happened ahead of schedule. He stopped scrolling through the food pri
nter’s menu.

  “Kya, are you there?” he asked, already imagining himself running to the door.

  “Hi, August,” Kya responded nonchalantly.

  “Crap,” August said. “You scared the bejesus out of me. How come you didn’t answer my question earlier?”

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know if that was directed at me or if you were talking to yourself. You do that quite often. I try to stay out of everyone’s personal conversations.”

  Realizing that there was, in fact, no danger, August continued scrolling thought the food printer’s menu.

  “I see,” August said with a sigh. “So, how long have you known?”

  “I’ve suspected Fain would want to do something like this since we talked to Saavan on board the ISCO. But the entirety of my role in this didn’t become clear to me until he talked to you.”

  “And what do you think about it?” August asked in a defeated voice. “Do you think Fain is making the right decision? Are you making the right decision?”

  “I believe he is,” Kya said with a more serious tone. “I believe I am. Even if we were to fail, we would have collected valuable data. You guys—the galaxy, I should say—would have an even better chance.”

  “Without you? Without Fain? Without Sodenia? Yeah, right. I doubt it. I so doubt it. Hey, but while we’re discussing this, is there anything on this machine that I can just drink and get all the nutrients I need? I don’t have much of an appetite.”

  “Would you like a vitamin- and protein-rich smoothie?”

  “Yeah, I think so. That sounds better than more than half of the things on here.”

  The food printer began moving and loaded a glass into its bed. At that point, August turned around and leaned against the counter.

  “As we were saying,” Kya said. “Even without us, without this ship, a second chance is a second chance. Though Saavan and the Golden Armada were defeated, any information we can get from the Acram leader would be of great value in the fight against a common enemy.”

  “Yeah, let’s just enable our enemy to conquer the galaxy for sure this time around, with nothing to stop them.”