by Michael Kan
Only minor damage detected. Orbital shields are regenerating.
The delay began almost an hour ago. Although her ships had initially attacked the station, dueling and then diving past the surrounding defenses, they had mysteriously stopped and slowly pulled away.
Farcia watched the holofield, disturbed. The rest of her armies continued to assault the region, but here, for some reason, her kin had refused. Now the same ships were dying in the middle of their aborted assault. The Alliance had summoned its own fleet, and now they attacked.
It came in a wave of machine craft numbering in the thousands. They flew forth in a mob of gray and blue matter and bombed their targets into oblivion. Her army was suddenly weakening and on the verge of collapse. Farcia opened her mind as the explosions went off. She would correct this.
Though there was a distance or a gulf of space between herself and her fleet; she could feel them. While her kin never spoke, Farcia’s army was always listening and exerting its perception through the fabric of space. They listened now, negating all the nearby comm traffic. Farcia called to them, whispering the words of a dead empire.
No she said. What is this?
Farcia panted, shocked to find out. She staggered, feeling her breath rise.
As she spoke to her kin, another spoke as well. The language was the same, the ancient words loud and resounding. Farcia was no longer the sole master. For once, there was another.
As the Alliance continued to destroy her ships, she forgot the battle and focused on the possibility.
It can’t be.
She stared at the base and knew that the origin must be there. The attack had stopped, and the reason was almost clear. The spherical structure was home not only to the Alliance but to something else. Something possibly familiar. Raising her arm, Farcia activated the technology at her sleeve. The fiery portal would generate, but this time she would go alone.
Perhaps she was not the last. Farcia walked through the gateway, determined to find out.
Chapter 19
It was a few days later. Arendi looked up and saw the damage. To her it was as though the ceiling had nearly come apart. The fissure in the hull was large, nearly a kilometer in length. On the other end was outer space itself.
The invisible hand of a force field held back the vacuum, temporarily sealing the breach. Arendi walked into the open area, still cautious, and found it vacant. Although she had visited Alliance Command many times before, not once had Arendi been in this corner of the massive station. Apparently it was a garden of all things.
There was a reason she knew little of this place. It had been designed for less humanoid forms of life. The visitors who came here generally lived in lower gravity states and were usually composed of gas. The atmosphere itself had been rich with hydrogen and helium, along with a myriad of alien fauna.
All that was currently gone. The air had been utterly sucked out.
Alysdeon was nearby, also examining the damage. She breathed into an oxygen mask, floating above the floor in a state of near zero gravity.
Arendi, meanwhile, had magnetically sealed her boots to the floor. With her scans, she studied the blast damage at the ceiling. The weapons fire, probably a focused barrage, had torn through the station’s armor. In effect, four layers of dense metal plating had been peeled back and tossed aside. It should have been a devastating blow. Anymore and the barrage would have blown the entire area apart. The damage would have spread for miles, eating away at the station’s interiors, and exposing the citizenry inside. The very thought left her uneasy. For a moment she felt the icy sensation of space behind her back.
But as she looked around, Arendi encountered no other damage. Save for the hull breach, the room was largely intact.
Alysdeon rose, thrusting her foot against the floor.
Arendi watched as Alysdeon came within an arm’s length of the fissure. Alysdeon gently placed her gloved hand against the force field and felt the sparks tap against her fingers.
For now, the destruction had been kept at bay. The enemy fleet was gone, and Alliance Command was safe. As for why, no one really knew. Arendi tapped her foot on the floor. The Endervars could have easily destroyed the very ground she stood on. According to the preliminary report, an armada of over six hundred ships had appeared to attack Alliance Command. It had been an overwhelming force that had enough firepower to ensure the base’s demise. Defending Alliance ships had fought valiantly, but even so, the enemy had pressed its advantage and broke through the station’s orbital shields. Clearly, the base had been vulnerable. Arendi had expected defeat.
But here they were, inside the station. Lodged in the ceiling was the worst of the attack. The rest of the base was relatively unharmed, including its population of over a million citizens.
Alysdeon stared at the hull breach, and then pushed against the wall of the force field, falling back. She activated a button on her belt and let her feet magnetically weigh down to the floor.
The report mentions a strange delay, Arendi replied. The enemy forces just suddenly stopped. But there’s no explanation of why.
Both of them knew the strategic importance of Alliance Command. By attacking the station, the Endervars had sought to decapitate the authority in the region. The base was eons old, and it housed many of the top political leaders in the quadrant.
Arendi nodded. For whatever reason, the Alliance had been granted a rare reprieve. They were here to find out why.
The pattern of attacks had changed, oddly. This was an outlier. Arendi crossed her arms, considering the possibilities. To her, the whole station was a crime scene. The battle had ended two days ago, but perhaps a fresh clue was still here. If they spared this place, this station must have some value, Arendi concluded.
It suggested that a conscious decision had been made. That the supposed leader of the Endervars had been directly involved in the attack.
Arendi tilted her head, processing the request. She was done scanning the surroundings, but she still wanted to see more.
The logs, she said. I’ve acquired access.
Through her artificial mind, Arendi had connected with the station’s security systems. It was a vast network, covering a structure the size of a moon. Fortunately, every public space, from the government buildings to the outer promenades, was covered and under strict surveillance. Arendi saw the data virtually. It included visuals, in addition to routine sensor sweeps. Already she was analyzing the footage for any unusual activity.
I think I’ve found something, she said. The sensor reading is vague, but it occurred during the attack. Twice. Twenty-two minutes apart.
Arendi paused for a long moment, closing her eyes and concentrating. The data was disparate, like pieces scattered on the floor. But the clues were there, all moving through the various readings. Eventually the picture itself began to come together.
Arendi nodded slowly. In her mind were the precise visuals, along with the exact locations.
Yes Arendi muttered. She was here two days ago.
***
As they entered the hallway, Alysdeon went to her wrist and accessed the footage. The holofield emerged, forming a layer of neon gold. It then replayed what surveillance cameras had caught, depicting the encounter in full detail. The view came from overhead. The time index: fifty-three hours ago. In the center of the image was at first nothing but the floor. She could hear the panic and concern, however.<
br />
This was during the attack. The populace was attempting to flee. The feed was filled with the stammer of footsteps and a hodgepodge of languages. The hallway itself was close to a nearby flight terminal.
It was then that she saw the change. In one moment there was open space; in the next, a silhouette appeared. The cloaking field came as a shadow, bending the light, before disappearing altogether. The woman had no need for it. She now walked the hallway, completely exposed.
It was Farcia. The white and silver hair was long, falling behind her shoulders. Etched across her cheeks and eyes were stains of black. She was thin, even gaunt, and came dressed in robes of gray.
It matched everything they knew of the woman. The stealth, the ability to appear almost anywhere, and most important, the army of enemy ships. Her method of operation was to annihilate, so there was no reason to expect anything different.
This time, however, there was no death. Farcia came to the station apparently alone, and she walked in haste. She then stopped in the hallway, staring ahead.
The commotion around her continued. The emergency alarm blared. Random citizens were nearly running through the hallway, attempting to board any remaining shuttles.
But despite the panic, Farcia held still. She was strangely focused and silent.
Apparently, so was another. Alysdeon isolated the view. Motionless in the hallway was someone else a figure Farcia evidently sought to meet. Alysdeon was well versed in the different cultures of the galaxy, but the life form she saw was foreign to her. It was small only a meter in height and seemingly naked. The apparent head was a large bulb, while the rest stood still, on large stems. There was no physical resemblance between Farcia and the figure. They were worlds apart. Nevertheless, Alysdeon could tell that the woman saw something. Or perhaps felt it. Telepathy was almost certainly at work.
Slowly, Farcia stepped closer and closer before she reached out. The alien moved. It dropped, falling into her arms. She held on, bending down on her knees. Alysdeon zoomed into the image and saw what she guessed was sadness. It was in Farcia’s eyes. The expression lingered there as the woman cradled the figure in her arms. No words were exchanged. The surveillance footage recorded no sign of it. But clearly Farcia felt something for this figure, although what it was remained unknown.
Finally, Farcia set the alien delicately on the floor. She rose and wiped her face, shaking. The cloaking field and the shadow soon returned, claiming the white-haired woman. Then she was gone, leaving it all behind.
Turning off the holofield, Alysdeon lifted her head. She gazed at her surroundings and knew that this was the same hallway the last known location where Farcia had been seen. It was largely empty now. There was only a wall of display panels listing available flights, in addition to the occasional maintenance droid passing by.
Arendi, meanwhile, continued walking along. She was also replaying the surveillance footage, in her mind, and trying to understand it.
She joined Arendi at the spot on the floor where Farcia had found her mysterious acquaintance. Arendi crouched down and touched the tiled ground.
Maybe, she replied. But I don’t think he was an accomplice.
Although there was no physical trace, according to Alliance records the so-called friend was still on board the station. Moments ago, Arendi had accessed the database and found the denizen’s registration.
Our subject is a male ˜Vimuloid’ and originates from the Belphus Sector, or about thirty thousand light-years away, Arendi said. He’s just here on travel. A tourist, it seems.
She was checking the other surveillance records, taking note of any suspicious activity. But so far, the subject was clean.
If they’re working together, I don’t know why Farcia left him behind, Arendi said.
Alysdeon recalled what she saw from the surveillance record, noting the distinct anguish. The sadness was real and almost ridden with guilt.
Arendi had made the same conclusion. The only issue was that it suggested Farcia possessed compassion and mercy two traits that the white-haired woman had seemed to lack.
I’ve asked Alliance security to locate the denizen. But apparently he checked into a local med center a day ago and is still there.
I don’t know. But security staff is on standby. We should head there now. We need to interrogate him immediately.
They left the hallway, preparing to apprehend the subject. But Alysdeon had already begun to suspect the alien’s true identity.
***
There were, of course, other Sentinels on the case. The struggle against the Endervars had been elevated to the highest priority, and all available resources had been devoted to stopping the threat.
One individual, in particular, had been there during the attack on Alliance Command. Not only had he seen the battle, he had been among the combatants.
Unprecedented, the sentient AI said. Never before have I destroyed Endervar ships with such ease.
His name was Mega, and he was one of the longest-serving Sentinels in the order. Like Arendi, he was perplexed by the recent attack.
I know, she said, speaking through the comm. But we may have an answer.
Arendi was still inside the medical center. The facility was embedded on the outer rim of the station and looked out toward space.
Alysdeon and their new informant were around the corner, inside the patient’s room, still conversing. So far, the interrogation had occurred without incident. There had been no resistance or any noticeable threat. If anything, the subject was cooperative. He was also a telepath.
Unfortunately, our new informant doesn’t know where Farcia is, Arendi said. We’re still a step behind, maybe more.
She had left the interrogation early, to speak with her comrade. Through the windowed wall, she could see him now. He was also at Alliance Command, although not in the same capacity. Instead, her comrade moved through the vacuum in dots of blue and gray. He remained miles away, orbiting the station, but on guard.
Status? she asked. I was told you took damage.
Unlike Arendi, Sentinel Mega held less attachment to any humanoid origin or to a single form. His primary body, in fact, was a machine fleet, or an army of space-born drones. The ships themselves were generally small, closer to one-man fighters. But together they represented an almost monstrous cloud that had fought the Endervars over the millennia. Mega had always operated that way, spanning his consciousness across different machines. As Arendi gazed out the window, however, she saw no cloud, only a few dozen ships.
Almost half my vessels have been destroyed, the AI explained. Another quarter are in repair.
There was little inflexion in the Sentinel’s voice. He spoke softly and remained almost emotionless, but the toll was evident.
Mega had been fighting for days now, ever since the initial invasion began. His forces were stretched thin and nearly depleted. The same could be said for the rest of the Alliance. Much of the fleet remained in tatters or on the defensive, struggling to respond to each new attack.
Indeed, the AI said, the rest of my ships likely would have been destroyed, if not for the enemy’s abrupt pause.
You mean the assault on Alliance Command? I was told you led the counterattack.
Yes. We swiftly dispatched the nearest enemy ships before targeting the rest. And still, the enemy did nothing. Alliance forces were stunned.
Eventually, the remaining Endervar forces retreated a very rare occurrence. But even when the battle was over, Sentinel M
ega began noticing a strange trend.
The movement has been gradual, but the scanning networks have reported an increasing drop in Endervar activity over the last two days.
It may be that the Endervars are regrouping for another region-wide assault, he cautioned. But the drop in activity occurred immediately after the attack on Alliance Command.
He sent over the preliminary data to Arendi, who quickly accessed it. The ripple effect, although small, was becoming significant.
They spared Alliance Command and now this? Arendi said.
She walked away from the window and back to the room where Alysdeon was interviewing the informant. Through the glass door she could see her friend, along with the subject. She heard no words and could only assume that they were still speaking telepathically. But the informant was moving. Slowly, he raised his finger a single tendril and moved it in a circle.
There’s something else, Sentinel Mega said. Another development. The Alliance isn’t alone in its fight against the Endervars.
Although the data was just as limited, as well as sporadic, apparently a nameless entity had entered the fray. The sightings across the sectors were growing.
The ships carried no designation and had yet to respond to any hails, but every time they appeared, they fought on the side of the Alliance. The mysterious entity had already intervened to stop Endervar attacks at eleven different locations over the last four days. Sentinel Mega, however, knew who was responsible for the much-needed assistance. A closer analysis of the ships had made it obvious.
The Destroyer has returned, he said. His fleets have begun arriving.
Arendi nodded slowly. She was already aware of this. As for the Alliance, they chose not to acknowledge it. At least not yet. Officially, the Destroyer had been classified as a potential threat. Some governments even refused to recognize the man’s existence. They had plenty reason to fear him. He was once an assassin for the Unity, and to some, the man was a deranged killer.