Farthest Shore: A Mecha Scifi Epic (The Messenger Book 13)
Page 27
“I’m all for scorching every bubble of that primordial crap from wherever we find it. I don’t like it, and I don’t like—"
“Ooze?”
Leira looked sheepish, then a brilliant smile crossed her face. “Bleh.”
Dash glanced at her and grinned, but it didn’t last. His thoughts drifted back to the Second Battle of Backwater, as it was now called. It had been so close. The Realm had never been quite so near disaster as it had that day.
But it had been worth it. Elois, Custodian, and the others working on the Radiant Points had figured out how to reconnect the gates, but it was a laborious and uncertain process. That hard-won knowledge had allowed them to quickly unravel the operation of the Gate Key, the device that Dash had retrieved from the dead Battle Prince. And now, thanks to that, they could switch gate destinations at will. Despite spanning multiple locations across the better part of two hundred thousand light-years, the Cygnus Realm was suddenly and effectively smaller than a typical star system. And the more gates they captured, the more the Realm grew.
As if to underscore it, the next ship to pass through the Radiant Point, following the freighter from Jackpot, was a courier ship from the Forge. Just like that, two ships had arrived within a few minutes of each other, from places thousands of light-years apart.
Dash’s gaze caught on a distant smudge of light, prominent in the intergalactic blackness. It was Andromeda, another entire galaxy rivaling the Milky Way in size. At its best possible speed, Sentinel figured that the Archetype could make the trip in about two years. He imagined making the flight, taking a Radiant Point along, and then seeing that far-off smudge of light, two million light-years away, just a few hours flight from where he now stood.
“Do you think they’re on the run?” Leira asked, breaking his reverie.
“The Deepers?”
“Yeah.”
Dash didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his attention caught on a brilliant pinpoint of light, the glare of an arc-welder where a construction remote fastened yet another component to the Kingsport.
The war was changing. It had begun with destruction but, more and more, was about creation. Death had become purpose. With every flare of that welder, the Realm grew. And as it did, the Deepers would have fewer places to go.
A bitter smile touched Dash’s lips. “Maybe we do have them on the run. But that doesn’t make things easier for us. The opposite, in fact. After all, animals are more dangerous when they’re cornered.”
“And the Deepers are cornered? Really? it’s a big universe, after all.”
But Dash shook his head and waved a hand at the gate.
“Not anymore, it’s not.”
DASH, SENTINEL, LEIRA, VIKTOR, and CONOVER will return in DARK ORIGINS available to preorder now on Amazon.
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About the Authors
J. N. Chaney is a USA Today Bestselling author and has a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. He fancies himself quite the Super Mario Bros. fan. When he isn’t writing or gaming, you can find him online at www.jnchaney.com.
He migrates often, but was last seen in Las Vegas, NV. Any sightings should be reported, as they are rare.
Terry Maggert is left-handed, likes dragons, coffee, waffles, running, and giraffes; order unimportant. He’s also half of author Daniel Pierce, and half of the humor team at Cledus du Drizzle.
With thirty-one titles, he has something to thrill, entertain, or make you cringe in horror. Guaranteed.
Note: He doesn’t sleep. But you sort of guessed that already.