by John Walker
“So they came after us over a relic?”
“Not entirely,” Krilan replied. “They may not even know we have it because their attacks have not suggested any sort of searching. No, their assault means to obliterate our culture and put their own in its place. Have you never noticed the zeal of their attacks? The methodical manner in which they bring their might to bear against planets?”
“Only through study,” Wyan said. “I’ve never been in a battle before.”
“Then you’ll need to take my word for it. In any event, this item has been hidden away, stuck in some archive but the location was intentionally obscured.”
“What’s it do?”
“If the rumors are correct, I will be able to use it to control our enemies. To make them fight for my cause instead of their misguided crusade against what our people would call decency.”
“You’re insane!” Wyan shook his head. “You can’t for a moment believe that you can manipulate those monsters into working for you! And to what end? So you can install your own ideals upon our people?”
“The galaxy,” Krilan corrected. “My ambitions far exceed merely our culture.”
“You’re sick.” Wyan looked sad as he spoke. “You really don’t understand anything about us as people or what our military has fought and died for. We do not deserve what you’re describing, Krilan. Our culture’s just fine without a radical shift. I know we sent you to prison but we don’t deserve to be punished for your indiscretion.”
“I thought you might be won over.” Krilan scowled. “But I see I was wrong. At least for now. Gag him and put him near the front of the shuttle. Give him a monitor so he can witness our exchanges out there. Perhaps a little more torment will nudge him toward helping us before the end. For now, let’s get out of here. I have a people to deceive.”
***
Adam read over the information about Krilan one more time and turned to Gray. They met in the briefing room with Marshall and Clea. The painted picture made him sick to his stomach. A soldier gone beyond rogue. The man needed psychiatric help and possibly a lot of drugs to keep him calm.
“This is all fascinating,” Adam said. “But how does it help us figure out where he’s going next?”
Clea stepped over to the screen and tapped her tablet, bringing up a star chart. “I’ve calculated several possibilities, each ranked by range and tried to correlate them to the first six places we’ve seen assaulted. Olly did some work trying to determine their jump vector but that didn’t pan out. Let me show you the options.”
“How many are there?” Gray asked. “And how new is this region of space to the kielan people?”
“We began colonizing these solar systems in the six years,” Clea said. “We have fifteen colonies in this area, all young. Six have been hit so far. Krilan has been systematic about it, going in a perceived line. This was the first one they destroyed.” She circled a star on the map. “Then he moved on to the next adjacent one and formed this line.” A line appeared between the first six locations.
“What’s next on the list then?” Adam asked.
“There are multiple options I’m afraid.” Clea gestured. “He might go here, or here.” She drew two short lines, one up and one to the side. “They’re roughly equidistant. However, I’m guessing he’s heading to the top there.”
“Why?” Gray asked.
“So far, the indication is he’s looking for something and he seems to believe it is with the smaller colonies. This is why he’s not hitting our older, more established planets. The top one is the newest and therefore, has the fewest people. Whatever he thinks he’ll find, he believes it’s being hidden in an unlikely location.”
“Interesting.” Adam hummed. “What’s the other colony like?”
“One year older,” Clea replied. “And twice as populated. Hitting them may actually be difficult as well. They have a real security force at this point, mostly due to the fact they had to deal with some dangerous wildlife. As a result, they have a ground force. However, I should also mention that the alliance sent ships to defend both places. Destroyers while they tried to drum up some capital ships.”
Gray gave her a grim look. “What’re the chances they can survive a fight with his weapons?”
“Based on what we know…I’d have to ask Durant to be sure, but I don’t believe they’d stand much of a chance.”
“As I thought.” Gray sighed. “Okay, Adam, what’s your opinion?”
“Head to the smaller colony,” Adam said. “I trust Clea’s reasons.”
Gray nodded. “If the relays here were online, we could communicate with both places…find out which one’s answering.”
“Once we arrive at one, if it hasn’t been attacked we can reach out to the other.” Clea stared at the chart for a moment before continuing. “If neither’s been attacked though, we’ll be back to square one. It might mean he found what he was after on this colony.”
“Let’s set a course for the smaller one and get over there as soon as possible. Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch this guy with his pants down.” Gray stood and headed for the door. “I want jump in less than twenty minutes.”
***
Wyan felt resignation as the shuttle left the Final Star and plunged toward the colony. He paid vague attention as they deployed several large, metal balls on their way down, roughly five thousand meter intervals. One of the men joked about laying down a surprise. Must be mines, he thought. These people care for nothing.
The ship landed just outside the colony and Krilan patted him on the shoulder, directing his attention to the monitor. “Enjoy the show, my friend. I’m sure you’ll have many opinions you’d like to share when I return. Do keep them in mind so you don’t forget. I can’t wait for more sanctimonious nonsense.”
At first, Wyan desperately wanted to avoid watching but he couldn’t bring himself to look away. He trembled in his seat as Krilan and his men disembarked to meet the colonists and the screen flickered to life, showing a view from one of the men’s perspectives. It played out like some kind of nightmare, the deliberate stroll toward the innocents…criminals descending on prey.
Wyan watched the scene unfold in horror, a flashback to Dremir’s Hope but with far more deception. Krilan treated the director with utmost courtesy, going so far as to bow when he drew near. The entire exchange was broadcast to him through a live communicator, feeding him the information.
“Thank you for agreeing to help us, Silar,” Krilan said. “I can come clean about who we are now.”
“I’m just grateful you’re not with that Orion’s Light group,” Silar replied. “Our defender who lost to the pirates was here to fight them off.”
Krilan smiled. “Understood. We are with alliance special forces, working to end the fighting with the real enemy out there. This star chart I’m looking for leads to something important…something we can use to stop the war. It’s vital we discover it. Do you know of anyone here who might have ties to the alliance military? Someone we might ask about it?”
Silar’s face contorted as she thought, bowing her head. Wyan wanted to shout at her, to warn her about the man she was dealing with. He struggled to free himself but the metal bonds would not give. He couldn’t move but only watched as she tried to inadvertently commit treason by helping this scum.
“Perhaps old Varlin,” Silar finally said. “He operates a weather station in the mountain to the south. Kind of a hermit and he let me know he’d stay that way. I guess he saw a lot of action in the war.”
“A perfect candidate.” Krilan smiled. “Can you tell me specifically where to go? We’ll fly out there right away.”
“Yes, I’ll give you the coordinates.” Wyan screamed into his gag, frustration tearing at him as he witnessed her sell out the poor veteran. “There you are.”
“Thank you.” Krilan touched her face, tracing a line with the backs of his fingers. He brushed her hair back from her ear and smiled. “In another time, I would’ve courted you. Cons
idering what’s coming, I wish I could now. You’re stunning.”
“Oh…” Silar blushed. “Thank…thank you…but I don’t know what you mean. What’s coming?”
“Something I doubt you’ll forgive me for.” Krilan nodded to one of his men who began chatting on his radio. “I’m afraid I was not entirely honest with you.”
Silar’s brow raised. “I don’t know what you mean…”
“I’m the commander of Orion’s Light,” Krilan said. “And I’m here for that star chart. I’m here to replace the alliance government, all governments actually. One day soon, I’ll finish the war then take my rightful place in charge of everything you and I know.”
“No…” Silar took a step back. “But I trusted you!”
“And if I believed I could trust you, I’d spare you what’s about to happen.” Krilan turned away. “I sincerely believe I could’ve found a place with you.”
“What are you going to do?”
Krilan hesitated to speak but when he did, he glanced over his shoulder. “They didn’t tell you why they were defending this place against us?”
Silar shook her head emphatically. “No…they just said you were dangerous.”
“Now you’ll find out why.” Krilan turned to the others. “Get the shuttles down here and start the process. I’m going to depart to meet with this Varlin person. Spare the woman until the end. I’d like to speak to her one last time.”
“The end?” Silar moved forward and grabbed his arm. “The end of what? What’re you talking about?”
Soldiers dragged her back and Krilan brushed at where she’d touched him. “You’ll see soon enough.”
Shuttles descended upon the settlement, landing in various places. They began rounding up the people. Wyan felt like he was witnessing his own nightmares come true again. Krilan boarded and sat across from him, remaining silent as he watched the violence unfold. He realized he was watching from the perspective of one of the soldiers who had carefully allowed him to see the entire scene.
The first casualty made Wyan want to throw up. A middle aged woman shot in the head. From there, it got worse. People tried to fight back and were gunned down. Silar was held back, forced to watch it all. As tears flowed down Wyan’s cheeks, Krilan leaned forward and shut off the video feed.
“I hope you realize I’m determined enough to get my way no matter what.”
Wyan glared at him, hatred brewing in his heart.
“I believe you begin to understand the sort of passion that drives me on.” Krilan took the gag off. “The rage you feel came to me every time I had to fight those bastards and see what they did to our people.”
“So you found it so reprehensible, you do it yourself?” Wyan spat on the floor. “You’re no better than they are. Murdering our own people. Who will be left to rule, Krilan? Why do you have to slaughter innocents in your quest to save the galaxy?”
“Right now, witnesses are a detriment. You know our government. They’ll investigate this to the very end and if they find out who I am too soon or catch our trail, it will only be a matter of time before we’re discovered. I’m not ready to fight them all yet. I need the conflict to happen on my terms. But when it does, it will be glorious.”
“Even if you take over and rule our people, you’re just a murderous coward. A fiend.”
“You know nothing of sacrifice.”
“But much of crime. You’ve taught me.”
Krilan sighed. “Those people are a means to an end.”
“And if this Varlin character knows nothing? What then?”
“There’s another colony nearby,” Krilan replied. “And every one of them makes us stronger. We take more resources, more people and build our army ever stronger. You must realize these are the two things a functioning armed force needs to continue and survive. Even an administrator had to receive some training.”
“What if you do not find this star chart? It may not even exist. You did learn about it in prison and if I’m not mistaken, convicts aren’t the most honest types to extract data from.”
“You’re not entirely wrong about that, true.” Krilan smiled. “I found a reference to it in the database of this ship when we took it. Unfortunately, it did not have its location because they were still moving it around. At the time, when I was establishing the Orion’s Light, I knew they needed time to settle their little secret.
“But they’ve had plenty now and it can’t constantly move. I’m only surprised they didn’t even trust their own database with the information. I mean, who would’ve thought the alliance would be so crafty as to hide something like this and not maintain a copy back at central HQ? Or to tell high command about it for that matter?”
Wyan squinted. “How do you know they didn’t?”
“Because their troop movements aren’t suggesting any special protection anywhere and I know those fools. If they realized what they had, they’d have it locked away where no one would ever get it.”
“So you believe one person is involved…that they made the decision to keep it hidden.”
Krilan nodded. “Someone who didn’t trust anyone with the data. Maybe even a thief.” He got on his datapad and tapped away. “Let’s look into this Varlin person, shall we? Perhaps his old records will indicate whether or not he can help us or if this is simply another dead end.”
“Everywhere you go ends with someone dying.”
Krilan smirked. “Very poetic, Wyan. Perhaps I should have you chronicle my journey.”
“I don’t think you’d like the end,” Wyan said. “But I believe the galaxy might.”
“On that final note, we both agree.”
Chapter 5
Clea held her breath as they jumped into the sector she’d suggested. This time, she didn’t wait for Olly to perform his scans and checked from her station. The first sign of debris gave her both a sense of relief and urgency. On the positive side, she’d picked right but unfortunately, that meant Krilan may have already killed the settlers.
“Reading debris,” Olly said. “Too much for satellites. Sir, I think there was a battle here.”
“Explain,” Gray said.
“I’ve got some metal consistent with alliance craft.” Olly shook his head. “And something else.”
Clea joined him. “He’s right, there seems to be a second ship but it’s not alliance. The scorching on the pieces of alliance ship…I don’t know what kind of weapons did that. Something nasty. Maybe that beam we saw before? Or something even worse. Either way, they were taken down pretty fast. Did the Orion’s Light do this?”
Gray tapped his com. “Engineering, this is the captain. Is Durant down there?”
“I am,” Durant’s voice replied. “What can I do for you?”
“We’d like you to come up to the bridge to check out some scans. Seems there was a fight you might be able to shed some light on.”
“I’m on my way.”
Olly sighed. “All satellites are down. Relays, defenses…torn up like the last place. Every piece of floating technology has been eliminated, which limits our scan abilities from up here. We’ll be relying solely on our own long range capabilities.”
“Thorough,” Adam said. “As if he has a standard operating procedure.”
“He did serve in the military,” Gray replied. “Technically, he still does…just his own. Let’s start scanning the surface.”
Redding moved them in closer. She leaned forward to look at the view screen. “Whoever got in a scrape wasn’t taking any prisoners.”
“Maybe they wanted them,” Clea said. “The alliance ship’s reactor is simply gone which means it went critical.”
Olly whistled. “Ouch. Disabling shot gone wrong?”
Clea nodded. “Very possible.”
They began to scan the planet’s surface just as Durant arrived. He joined them at the tech station and looked over the data, frowning. Clea gave him some space, turning to look over Leonard’s shoulder in navigation. If this place did not ha
ve what Krilan wanted, would he go after the next colony on the way?
“Plot a jump,” Clea said. “Just to be ready in the event we need to get there quickly.”
Leonard nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay,” Durant spoke up. “I’m seeing regular weapons for the most part. The alliance ship likely relied on the same thing they’ve been using for the last several years. Markings on the other vessel…I think they were pirates. They favored weapons over all else and just overwhelmed with sheer firepower but…the marks on what’s left of their hull don’t look like they took a single unshielded hit from our guy.”
“Krilan?” Gray offered.
“Orion’s Light does have access to some advanced tech. They may have used their relay cannon.”
Durant had talked briefly about the weapon after their last engagement. It’s why he set about updating the Behemoth’s shields and offering the same tech to the rest of the alliance. Those things tore through shields and did considerable damage to the hull but it wouldn’t matter when defenses dropped. Any conventional weapon could finish off a ship at that point.
Gray stood. “So a pirate attacked this colony and took out a defending ship. Then Krilan shows up and blows away the pirate.” He rubbed his chin. “Then he goes about his SOP? I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean?” Adam asked. “What’s your thought?”
“Our guy seems a little craftier than to follow a rote pattern. If an opportunity presents itself…” Gray shrugged. “In other words, he just happened to hop in and save this colony. They might’ve even cooperated with him.”
“I’m reading life signs,” Olly said. “Some people did survive this attack. Maybe a lot of people.”
“Which can mean many things,” Gray replied. “Get Marshall on the line and send the marines down. But I’m a little nervous this time, so launch a wing of fighters to patrol the area. I want this area secured and held down.”
“I can prepare a new relay to get back to high command,” Durant said. “Shouldn’t take me more than two hours.”