The Star Mother

by J D Huffman

  Nothing like that was going to happen.

  “It’s definitely not here,” Andrew sighed, kicking over a pile of books. “The man’s got every book in existence, but not the one you’re talking about. Are you sure it would be here?”

  “Zotz thought it would be. It wasn’t in his office.” Sasha was forced to grapple with two possibilities: Zotz was in error, or he’d lied to her. Neither gave her any confidence or hope.

  “What do you want to do, then? Nothing left to search here.”

  She thought for a moment. She brought to mind her journey to the Dominix, and who’d been captured along with her. “Arkady.” He and Cylence were old friends. What if he knows?

  “Arkady?” Andrew echoed.

  “It’s hard to explain. He was captured when I was. He’s Totality. Sort of. There was a planet of Totality rebels. Cylence showed up and captured him, along with me. It’s where he tested that device of his.”

  Andrew nodded. “I don’t get all the details on things like that, but I have a vague idea who you’re talking about.”

  “Do you know where he would be held?”

  “If he’s still alive, he’d be in the prison ward. Cylence doesn’t keep a lot of people there—he wants his prisoners put to work.”

  “Or put on display,” Sasha pointed out.

  “Right.”

  Andrew led the way to the prison ward, down a few more levels. They now became more acutely aware that the Totality had all but fled. They barely ran into any opposition. Before they reached the ward, she noticed the lights above them gradually growing brighter. She stopped moving. “Wait. What do you think that’s all about?” she asked, pointing up.

  Her companion shrugged. “Power surge? Probably all kinds of grid fluctuations right now. I wouldn’t worry about it. Everything just might go dark.” He patted the emergency light mounted on his rifle. “We’ll be fine.”

  She couldn’t ignore the growing intensity of the lights, though. This doesn’t look like a ‘fluctuation.’ Wouldn’t it go up and down if it was? Something’s happening.

  The brightness continued to escalate until it became unbearable. Sasha squinted, then closed her eyes. Sneaking only momentary peeks, it was almost like staring directly into the nozzle of a plasma-blade, and that was well-known for blinding the careless. Now, a rising, high-pitched whine accompanied the light. “Still think this is just a fluctuation?” Sasha called out over the noise.

  “I don’t know what it is,” Andrew admitted, “But if we’re going to find this guy, we’d better do it fast!”

  With few other options, Andrew proceeded by his sense of direction alone, and Sasha held his hand since they could no longer see or even speak loudly enough to get through anymore. Then, just as suddenly as the whole thing began, the entire Centrality seemed to lurch under them. They both tumbled sideways, landing painfully in awkward positions—and everything went both dark and silent.

  Disoriented, Sasha wasn’t sure of her location or orientation until Andrew flashed his light in her face. “I told you it was nothing,” he said in a way that she took as his poor attempt at humor.

  “I wonder what that was,” she said. “I hope nothing’s happened to Arkady.”

  After checking the manifest display at the guard station, they found him. He turned out to be just fine, albeit annoyed by his detention. He called out to Sasha as she approached his cell. He was contained behind a thick, metallic mesh. Andrew advised him to step back while he blasted the lock open. Arkady emerged with a grateful smile.

  “I didn’t expect you to come to my rescue,” Arkady commented to Sasha.

  “To be honest, I kind of forgot you were here,” she cringed.

  “Well, I assumed Cylence had killed you by now, so I suppose we were both in the wrong,” the man smiled.

  “I’m glad we’re having a nice reunion here,” Andrew interrupted, “But we busted you out for a reason.” He looked to Sasha. “Right?”

  She nodded. “Arkady, do you know anything about a Chronicle? An old book Cylence carried with him?”

  Arkady glanced up, thinking. “Yes, I believe I remember that. What about it?”

  “Do you know where Cylence might keep it?”

  “In his office, if anywhere.”

  Sasha sighed, disappointed. “I already looked there and didn’t find it.”

  “It was waste of time,” Andrew grumbled. “We could’ve been escaping.”

  “I appreciate not being left to die,” Arkady said flatly. “I could certainly try to find us a way out.”

  “No need for that,” Andrew shook his head. “I already know the way.”

  They headed down, following the path Sasha imagined William, Zotz, and Hyacinth had taken earlier. She wondered if they encountered Cylence, and suddenly felt pangs of anxiety and dread. What if they’re dead? She crammed those thoughts down as deeply as she could. Their first priority was now to escape.

  Several floors down, however, they came across a group of Totality milling about, looking confused. They seemed incapable of operating their weapons and couldn’t even figure out the emergency lights mounted on them. They held up their arms to protect their eyes as Andrew flashed his own light across their faces. One of them shouted something that Sasha didn’t understand.

  “What are you all doing here?” Andrew demanded.

  Another unintelligible answer.

  “Aren’t you all Totality?” Sasha pressed.

  More gibberish. Why aren’t they speaking Totality? She saw by Andrew’s expression that he seemed to comprehend them. “Can you understand what they’re saying?”

  Andrew nodded slowly. “Order translation technology. I don’t know what they’re speaking. It’s not the Totality language. I’m not sure they’re all even speaking the same language. But I can communicate with them, so it must be a language the Order is familiar with.”

  “What’s wrong with them?”

  “I don’t know. I have to find out.” Andrew spoke in an alien language, and the men in Totality uniforms answered. This went on for some time before Andrew had any concrete answers for Sasha. “Well, that was interesting.”

  “Don’t keep me waiting,” she groused. “What did they say?”

  “I think the Totality have left their bodies. These are the original minds reasserting themselves.”

  Sasha blinked. “What do you mean? The Totality just left?“

  “I don’t think they left, exactly. I think something drove them out. They’re saying it was very painful and disorienting, but when they woke up they no longer shared their bodies with Totality entities.”

  “That’s incredible,” Arkady said softly. “But it makes me wonder why I wasn’t affected.”

  “Good question,” Sasha agreed. “We’ll have to find out later. Right now, we need to find a way to communicate with the Order, don’t we? Stop the attack?”

  Andrew didn’t get the chance to answer before weapons fire rang out in the distance, somewhere past the group of confused former Totality. Sasha may not have been unable to understand their words, but she easily understood screams. Someone was killing them, and they were defenseless.

  The moment there was a lull in the combat, Sasha called out, “Stop shooting! These people aren’t Totality!”

  Several seconds of anxious silence followed, then a male voice yelled back: “Who is that?”

  “Sasha.”

  “The rebel leader?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I’m going to need a path through this group of… people in Totality uniforms. I need visual confirmation.”

  She turned to Andrew. The two of them had instinctively ducked close to the floor after the shooting started. “Can you tell them that?”

  He nodded and rose slowly. In a calm tone, he asked the terrified survivors to move aside. She co
uld see the fear on their faces as they scrambled to make way. Even though Andrew used a non-threatening tone, she imagined they all believed they’d be killed immediately if they didn’t comply. These people definitely aren’t Totality anymore. They need help and protection.

  Once the crowd parted, Sasha saw a small group of heavily-armed soldiers in Order uniforms. They approached her confidently. The leader didn’t have his weapon at the ready, but the rest did. If Sasha or Andrew made any aggressive moves, they’d be dead before they knew what hit them.

  She stepped forward, pretending she felt confident about her position in this situation. In truth, she was completely at their mercy, and they knew it as well as she did. “Please, don’t hurt these people,” she requested.

  The commanding officer glanced around at the shaking, cowering people who lined the walls. “You’re sure they aren’t Totality?”

  “They aren’t anymore. Look at them. They don’t even speak the Totality language now. Whoever they used to be, that’s who they are now. The Totality left them.”

  “All at once,” Andrew added. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  The officer’s eyes moved in contemplation. Finally, he reached for his earpiece and spoke. “This is Team Alpha to Relentless. I have a large group of individuals in Totality regalia who no longer appear to be under Totality influence. I’ve also made contact with the secondary objective.”

  Sasha blinked. Secondary objective? That’s some way to refer to a person.

  He nodded and Sasha wished she could hear what he was being told.

  “What’s going on out there?” Sasha wondered.

  He held up the palm of his hand as if to silence her. She frowned, not appreciating such a dismissive gesture.

  He eventually spoke. “We’re calling off the attack. It doesn’t appear any Totality leadership remain aboard the Centrality. A Hegemony fleet has moved into the area to support the Totality evacuation. They’re now departing, as well. Seems they have no interest in engaging us, either.”

  “What does that mean?” Andrew asked. “The Totality weren’t beaten so easily, were they?”

  The officer shrugged. “Looks like it.”

  Sasha had a hard time believing it, even after their group had descended to the main ship bay to assess any remaining Totality vessels and greet the Relentless as it docked. The Order ship was massive, taking up nearly the entire bay. In fact, part of its length didn’t fit inside at all, and extended below where Sasha could see. It made her slightly dizzy to look at a ship docked in a vertical orientation that way—she wondered how the gravity worked, how people disembarked without losing their balance and falling over. She imagined there was some transitional area to orient someone leaving the ship to the Centrality’s gravity system. As it was, she couldn’t see anyone exiting the ship from this far away.

  She noticed another vessel enter alongside the Order flagship—a much smaller design, clearly not of Order origin. Squinting at it, she realized it was quite familiar: it was the very ship that had brought her to the Dominix in the first place, or at least one that looked just like it. She firmly gripped the railing that kept her from tumbling into the bottom of the bay and out into space. Why is that ship here?

  She did not have to wait long for an answer. The commanding Order soldier got her attention with a nudge. “I’ve been instructed to send you to the Totality vessel that’s docking right now. You will meet with the Admiral there. Something has happened that you need to see.”

  She hated the idea of a surprise. “What is it?”

  He shrugged. “I’m just passing on my orders. I am required to escort you, as well.”

  She frowned. “There’s no point in me objecting to that, is there?”

  “No,” he confirmed.

  They watched where the Totality vessel docked, on the other side of the bay, not far from the rear section of the Order flagship. Making their way down to where the Order boarding party was set to emerge—at the end of one of the catwalks—she began to feel just how tired she was from the day’s exertion. She’d run out of adrenaline some time ago and wasn’t sure how much longer she could last. She thought about that bed in Cylence’s chambers. I’d give anything to go sleep for a week on that right now. But something’s going on aboard that ship that I’m supposed to see. So, let’s go see it.

  At the entrance she found two Order guards and a woman in a much more elaborate uniform than theirs. Her hair was gray and her mouth was arranged into a permanent frown. “You must be Sasha,” she said flatly.

  Sasha gave a quick nod, noticing a clear resemblance to William. “And you..?”

  “Admiral Eleanor Pearson.”

  His mother, then, she speculated. Isn’t she supposed to be dead?

  “You don’t have to guess, Sasha. I’m William’s mother. Come on,” she said, tilting her head toward the inside of the ship. She went in before Sasha, and the latter followed.

  They cut through a few hallways before coming into a larger room. The smells of it hit Sasha before anything else. The distinct iron scent of blood filled the air, as well other scents she’d have rather forgotten. The pungent stink of death was unmistakable. This place was a tomb.

  She first saw Zotz’s head, then his body, and quickly covered her mouth. Who did this? She moved more quickly once she saw William’s body leaning awkwardly against a console. He was covered in blood, a massive plume extending from the center of his chest, a sword still sticking out of it. She rushed over to him to check for signs of life. She thought she might cry, but either the grisly nature of Zotz’s death had stunned her into numbness, or she simply refused to acknowledge William’s current state. You came here to save me, didn’t you? And this is what you got for it.

  She looked up at Eleanor, who stood very close by, arms crossed, emotionless. “Can you do anything for him?” Sasha asked. “You’re the Order. You have all this technology, don’t you? I realize you probably can’t help Zotz, but… you can do something for William, can’t you?”

  Eleanor closed her eyes and shook her head. “Not for a sword through the chest, dear. Not after so long.”

  Sasha held his wrist, squeezing it. She felt no pulse. He didn’t respond. “Do we know who did this?”

  “Cylence,” a new voice answered. She quickly turned because she recognized it.

  “Fred!” she gasped. “I didn’t know you were here. I thought you’d be on the ship, looking after everyone there.”

  “I was. Now I am here.”

  “Then who’s minding the ship?” Sasha had to inquire. It better not be Janus.

  Fred sighed. “That would be more difficult to answer. The ship is no longer with us.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” she blurted, rising to her feet.

  She saw the little faerie zip around Fred’s head, darting back and forth and squeaking about something. She wished she could understand that language, whatever it was. She asked Eleanor if she happened to know it.

  “It’s Avalonian. The little creature is angry. She says it’s Fred’s fault the ship is gone.”

  Sasha’s eyes widened. “Is that true, Fred? Did you do something to the ship?”

  “There is nothing else you or anyone could have done. Some things are simply immutable.”

  “Don’t tell me that,” she snarled, stepping closer to him. Then, she turned to Hyacinth. “Someone ask her. What did Fred do?”

  Eleanor offered up the question in Avalonian. Hyacinth replied and Eleanor translated: “Fred took the energy being built up in the Tunneler, siphoned some more from Hyacinth herself, then channeled it through the structure of the Centrality and into the ship. The ship is gone.”

  Sasha glowered at Fred. “So, is all of that true?”

  “It is, but it does not mean what you may think. The ship was not destroyed. No one aboard was harmed. The energy had t
o go somewhere, and I could either focus it on a single physical target, or let it disperse throughout the universe. You cannot begin to imagine the consequences of the latter. It is precisely what Cylence would have wanted.”

  “Does this have to do with the Totality leaving the bodies they occupied?”

  He nodded. “At least for now, the energy discharge has strengthened the barrier. The Totality were forced back to their own realm.”

  Not all of them, she thought, considering Arkady. “What about Cylence? Did it send him back?”

  “No,” Fred admitted. “While I was addressing this particular issue, he fled. He took an escape craft and, I imagine, ran into the arms of his Hegemony allies.”

  “You mean you let him escape,” she snapped. “How could you do that? How could you do anything but make sure that monster died? Especially after he killed William and Zotz! Didn’t you see that happen, too? Why didn’t you do anything to stop it?!”

  “There are reasons for everything, Sasha, and even if you do not understand them at first, it will all make sense in the fullness of time.”

  “You can shove your ‘we must not question the ways of the universe’ shit right up your ass,” she blurted. “Thanks for nothing. You let them die and you didn’t even stop their killer. What good are you?” She pounded on his chest with both hands. “Tell me, Fred! What good are you?”

  “I am not much good to you at all in this moment,” he acknowledged. “I can only hope that you will someday forgive me.”

  “Fuck you.” I’ll figure out what to do about him later. I can’t deal with this right now. She turned her attention back to Eleanor, though she couldn’t help stealing another glance at William’s lifeless body, no matter how much she’d have liked to avoid it. “So, the Totality are gone, and the Order are here. What happens now?”