by C. S. Harte
Alyana shook her head. “Are you kidding me? No, I have never seen creatures capable of living in the vacuum of space. Or anything living that could grow that big.”
“Sensors say they’re about 50 kilometers in length, 2 kilometers in radius, and have the approximate mass of a comet.”
“That’s unfathomable.” Her mouth stayed opened as she watched the holo-table update with more monsters.
“We’re in Alliance space.” He turned toward her. “You’ve never heard anyone talk during your smuggling days? Seems these creatures would be hard to hide.”
“There were a lot of horror stories about Nergal Prime, sure. But nobody enters this space. Not with all the myths of people disappearing. There are no resources to mine or trading outposts. The Hasha religion is full of very superstitious people who believe in spirits and demons. They call Nergal Prime dead space for a reason.”
“Makes sense. I can see that.” Jonas touched his chin.
“I wonder if those responsible for the impossible creatures of Nergal Prime are also the creators of these… things. I don’t even know what we could call them. Space serpents?”
“We don’t know enough about them to name them.”
She bit her lip. “They remind me of stories I read when I was piloting the orphan ship. Stories about sea monsters called Leviathans, serpents that can swallow entire armadas.”
“Leviathans.” Jonas scoffed.
As the Zephyr neared the asteroid clusters, sensors picked up dozens more Leviathans living in the vacuum of space.
“Have these creatures always existed or are they a recent man-made creation?” He wrinkled his brow.
“It’s hard to believe humans can create such monsters.”
“Perhaps.” Jonas shook his head. “Perhaps they had help. It’s possible these creatures were genetically engineered in a laboratory. Given their size, it’s more likely they were born in space.”
Alyana shivered. “Regardless of where they came from or who created them, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go into the belt with those things there. They could be extremely aggressive.”
“That’s where Raven is taking Nume. We don’t have a choice if we want to save her.”
“I know…” She lowered her head.
Jonas leaned against a wall and rubbed his face. Think, Jonas. You have enough pieces in front of you…
Alyana kept her focus on the holo-table rendering, mesmerized by the movements of the Leviathans floating among the asteroids.
“Has Nume ever showed you a picture of a Guardian?” Jonas stood straight.
“No, never. I have no clue what one looks like. What are you getting at?” She narrowed her eyes.
“Say we were right about Raven intentionally heading for this part of the asteroid belt.”
“That seems likely now given the circumstances.”
“Raven and his team were probably on Nergal Prime before us. They presumably had time to find Guardian Essence. And now they have Nume, too. I saw them inject a violet serum into her body.”
Alyana’s eyes opened wide. “You think they completed the transformation process? Nume can now talk to Guardians?”
“They appear to be after the same things we are.” Jonas frowned. “But they have Nume, and we don't.”
“Is Raven also trying to stop the Mimic invasion? Are we on the same team then?”
Jonas flashed back to the intense pain inflicted on him by the masunog worms. He remembered the cackling of soldiers as he endured unbearable agony. “Somehow I doubt that. If you had an army of Leviathans, as you call them, and a means of control, you have a way of seizing power from both the Commonwealth and the Alliance.”
“What you say makes sense, but we don’t know how much of that is true. They may have Nume, but I doubt she’ll help them. She would rather die than be used as a weapon.”
“Nume may not have a choice. My brief encounter with Raven leads me to believe he is a resourceful man." Jonas sighed. “Any luck on repairing the damaged ion cells?”
“The converters are shot. Literally shot. There are holes everywhere.” She pointed at the burnt ion cell. “We need replacements, and we need a stardock to make the replacement.”
Alyana returned to the station to run the numbers. “About 40 minutes.”
Jonas rubbed his chin and stared blankly into the holo rendering of the space serpents.
“I haven’t known you all that long, but I know the face of a man thinking about something crazy. And you have that face right now.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Nume mentioned that I’m genetically compatible to become an Entrent. What if I took the Guardian Essence for myself…”
Alyana jerked her head back. “I was right. You are crazy… We don’t have a Katok on board to monitor the process. We have no idea how to change the process to infuse Guardian Essence. Even if everything went perfectly, there is still a greater than 50% chance you could die.”
Images of Saera returned to Jonas’ mind. He never determined if Nume was the transformed Entrent version of his sister, but Jonas wanted to believe it. A part of Jonas died the day Saera disappeared. I’m a traitor and a wanted fugitive in the galaxy. Nume is the leader of a rebellion trying to bring down the corruption within our government — bring down those that destroyed my life and my brother’s life. She is the only hope against the advancing Mimic invasion. Jonas breathed a heavy sigh. “Without Nume, I would have been executed long ago. I’m willing to take the chance for her.”
“NO!” Alyana vigorously shook her head. “Let’s pretend for a moment this is the right path and that you should become an Entrent infused with Guardian Essence so you can speak to Guardians. That’s great. Wonderful even. You’ll also gain other Entrent abilities like telepathy. Even better! BUT!” She stared into Jonas’ eyes. “It won’t be in time to save Nume. You need to be trained on how to use your abilities by an Elder Entrent or a Katok handler. It’s been over five years for Nume, and she still hasn’t come close to mastering her abilities.” Alyana placed her hand on his heart. “You’re being reckless with your life! Sometimes I wonder if you have a death wish…”
Alyana’s words uncovered buried emotions within Jonas. During his solitary confinement, it felt as if Jonas had died every day. It was more accurate to say Jonas lost his purpose in life until Whisper, Nume, Alyana, and Kovat entered his world. “Why do you care what happens to me, anyway? Nume is your friend, not me. I’m willing to do this for her. Don’t you want to get her back?”
“There’s a difference between trying to help and throwing your life away in a one-in-a-million long shot. Besides, Nume would never forgive you if you died for her.” Her cheeks burned bright red. “She would never forgive herself. It would kill her on the inside. I don’t know why she has a thing for you. I really don’t. Yes, I guess it was because you saved her once. But considering the effort she went through to get you out of a maximum security prison outpost, she has paid her debt to you many times over now. When I first met you, you definitely didn’t seem worth the trouble.”
Jonas kept a stoic face.
“My opinions haven’t changed, by the way.” She gave a terse laugh. “But I’m willing to give you time if you stop doing stupid things.”
“When I first met Nume, you, and Kovat, I had no intention of joining a rebellion.” He rested his hands on her shoulders. “I didn’t care about anyone or anything. I was dead inside. I just wanted to be left alone.”
“Jonas…” Her voice trailed, not knowing what to say.
“Things have changed now. I was furious. I’ve had so many things to be angry about. A part of me realizes that I’m living on borrowed time ever since Whisper broke me out of prison. That’s what happens when you wake up every day staring at a clock counting down to your death. Now I’m free, I want to do something good with this extra time. I really believe the best way to do that — the only way — is to rescue Nume with the help of the Guardians. Do you have a better plan? Be
cause I’m listening.”
“No…” She shook her head. “I don’t have a better plan, but I don’t want to be responsible for your death. Please, Jonas. Don’t make me operate the Entrent machine.”
“I can’t become an Entrent alone. I need your help. This is about saving Nume and doing everything we can to help her.”
An alert sounded on the holo-table. Raven’s ship flashed.
“They made it inside the asteroid belt,” Alyana said in a dejected tone.
“We don’t know how much time we have left to do something now. If I’m right about everything, they’ve already started the process of infusing the Guardian Essence into Nume. They’re moments away from gaining control of the Leviathans… Alyana…” Jonas held her hand. “There isn’t much time. Will you help me?”
Alyana walked to the command console.
“What are you doing over there?” Jonas followed.
“I’m running simulations to see how we can catch up to the other ship.”
“Alyana…” Jonas clenched his jaw.
“NO!” She spun around rapidly. “I told you, I will not help you lose your life,” Alyana said through gritted teeth. “There has to be another way. Give me some time to figure out another way!”
The holo-table changed rapidly, flickering with each update.
“I’m reading a lot of movement in the asteroid cluster.”
Jonas ran to the holo-table and zoomed in on Raven’s ship. “The Leviathans… They’re…”
Dozens of the serpents coiled themselves around Raven’s ship.
“It looks like it’s attacking the transport. What do we do Jonas?” Alyana asked frantically.
“How much longer until we’re in weapons' range?”
“20 minutes.”
More serpents joined the frenzy.
In the next moment, Raven’s ship exploded.
“Nume…” whispered Jonas.
“NO!” wailed Alyana.
34
A massive blue wave of energy erupted out of the core of writhing Leviathans. The surge quickly engulfed the Zephyr, upending the ship and spiraling it out of control.
Red alert indicators flashed all over Alyana’s terminal.
The Zephyr's hull wailed and shrieked from the force of the blast.
“We’re being torn apart!” Alyana screamed through the chaos, her voice barely audible over the deafening klaxons. “Inertial dampeners not responding. Thrusters won't initialize.” She buckled herself to her chair. “Hang tight! This will get uglier before it gets better…”
A stabbing migraine forced Jonas to his knees.
“Jonas? What’s wrong?” Alyana yelled as she tried to stabilize the ship.
“I don’t know…” He blinked his eyes to focus his vision. Colors disappeared from his sight, slowly replaced by darkness. Jonas rubbed his eyes. “I can’t see Alyana, I can’t see…” He reached out for her, but she remained silent. “Alyana? I need your help…”
No response.
“Alyana? Where are you?” Jonas tried to stand. Pain flooded his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut as he grabbed his head screaming. His brain felt like it was on fire.
A nearby console explosion flung Jonas headfirst into the metal paneling. His body slid down, limp and unconscious.
“JONAS!” Alyana glanced back but could not offer aid while the Zephyr continued to destabilize.
In the next moment, laughter replaced the sound of mayhem.
Jonas opened his eyes.
Daylight.
Purple skies.
Orange grass.
Binary star system.
“I’m on Daxu again…” He quickly spun around. “Saera!” he yelled into the wind.
“We’re over here, silly!” returned a female voice from behind.
Jonas turned around to see a teenage girl with a porcelain face, almond-shaped blue eyes, and a bright smile staring back at him. Instantly, he reached for her waist. She was solid, whole. “Saera…” he whispered as he squeezed her into his chest, holding the embrace with all his strength. Tears streamed down his cheeks. “I thought I'd never see you again…”
Saera giggled. “I’m right here. I’ve always been close to you…” she said in a syrupy sweet voice. As she finished her sentence, her body began to crumble, shifting to dust in Jonas’ arms. Her ashes scattered away from him, carried by the currents of the wind.
Jonas tried to block the breeze with his body. “No, Saera…” He buried his face in his hands. Why do I keep reliving this day? His heart ached so intensely he stopped breathing until the pain passed.
A cold hand dropped on Jonas’ shoulder. “Brother…” said a chilly voice from behind.
Jonas turned around. “Nolan?” His mouth fell open as he stared at his brother. Taut gray skin. Eyes and lips with a dark, crimson glaze. Navy blue Fleet Officer uniform. “Who… What…” He shook his head. “Are you OK?” His instincts urged him to step back, away from the ghoulish creature in front of him. Ever since Jonas heard of his brother’s passing, he longed for the day he could embrace him again. The longing overrode his sense of safety.
Nolan struggled to speak as if his vocal chords no longer functioned. Blood gurgled from his mouth as he persisted. “Sorry…” was the only intelligible word that escaped Nolan’s lips. He held his hands over his heart as he spoke.
“For what?” Jonas reached for his brother. “You did nothing wrong. Whisper told me everything…”
Nolan’s eyes seemed to focus as he heard Whisper’s name. As he aimed for Jonas’ hand, holes appeared all over Nolan’s body. Streams of red flowed from every gash.
Jonas shuffled backward as more of Nolan liquified. “What’s happening? Nolan! Not you too…”
A soft melody carried through the air.
Migraines surged inside Jonas’ brain. He dropped to one knee.
“We’re going to miss it, Jonas!” said Nume as she grabbed his wrist. “C’mon, the Plixie Pilgrimage will start soon!”
Saera? She sounds like Saera… Jonas opened his eyes to see rainbow irises looking back at him. “Nume…” Behind her was a long chain of Plixie fungi, giant, walking orange and yellow mushrooms the size of Earth elephants undergoing their annual migration.
“Let’s go! We don’t want to miss anything!” Nume tugged at him. “I want to get closer. I want to catch a moonspore!” She pointed at the prismatic seeds released into the air by the Plixies on their journey.
Jonas tapped Nume’s nose. “You can’t catch them, silly. They only exist for a…” He narrowed his eyes. It’s repeating. It’s been ten years. Why am I reliving Saera’s disappearance? Why is Nume replacing Saera in this memory?
Nume placed Jonas’ hands on her cheek. “Don’t you recognize your sister, Jonas?”
He shook his head, unable to comprehend Saera’s voice leaving Nume’s lips.
“Why did you let them take me?” Nume’s eyes changed to a dark red with flecks of yellow.
“I… It was only a second. I turned around for only a second.” Jonas shook his head.
“You can still save me. Don’t give up…” Her skin turned into the color of ocean ice. She walked away.
Jonas tried to pull her back, but his hand passed through her body. “Come back…” He chased after her. For every step he ran, she seemed to increase her distance two-fold.
Suddenly Nume stopped running and pointed toward the sky.
The stream of moonspores shifted and contorted as if guided by an invisible hand. They replayed the last moments of Raven’s ship as dozens of Leviathans coiled around the transport, crushing the hull.
“Help me…” Nume said as she floated into the sky toward the destruction.
A Leviathan separated from the pile and headed straight for Nume.
“STOP! NO!” Jonas yelled as he watched the giant serpent devour Nume whole.
“Help me…” Jonas heard her voice echoing in his mind.
Every moonspore in the air exploded, eras
ing the heaven in a brilliant white light.
Jonas shielded himself from the blinding display. As he closed his eyes, he felt warm lips pressing down on his followed by a series of compressions to his chest.
“Don’t you leave me!” Alyana’s disembodied voice yelled.
A rush of air filled Jonas’ lungs. He gasped a deep breath and sat up straight. His eyes tried to focus on a blurry, female figure. “Alyana?”
“Yes…” she said as she wiped away the tears on her face. “You were gone for over two minutes. I was thinking about how difficult it would be to continue the rebellion by myself… I would be a terrible leader…” Alyana said between tearful heaves.
His brain took a moment to digest the images from when he was unconscious. “Nume is still alive!” Jonas shot up into a standing position. “We need to go back to the Leviathans.”
Alyana shook her head. “Jonas, we saw it together. Raven’s ship exploded. I did a bio-scan, there were no life signs.” She updated the holo-table with a scene of the explosion, showing a massive debris field and all the giant serpents disappearing back into their asteroid hiding places.
“Did you a see a shuttle or escape pod?” Jonas furrowed his brow.
“There’s a faint engine signature. Too weak for a shuttle.” She highlighted a trail on the three-dimensional display. “It ended abruptly close to the explosion.”
Jonas rubbed his chin. “Let’s go back there anyway and scan again.”
Alyana’s eyes bulged. “Didn’t you see what those creatures did to the transport ship? They crushed it with their bodies until it exploded! You want this ship to get close to them? I’m sorry, but no. I love Nume…”
“She talked to me, Alyana." He pleaded with his eyes. "I heard her voice inside my head.”
“Jonas…” she placed her hand on his chest. “You hit your head pretty hard. You were hallucinating...”
“Please, Alyana. Trust me. I know she’s still alive.”
“The Zephyr is not in good shape.” Alyana changed the holo-image to display the battered ship surrounded by a small contingent of repair drones.