“This has just come in,” Telarrek announced, altering the central image and magnifying it.
They all looked upon a purple planet with a black blemish in the northern hemisphere, the background to a violent space battle. It was them; the big one Roland had seen on Arakesh.
“Where is this?” he asked, gaining the attention and frowns of everyone present. Li’ara discreetly nudged his wrist with her knuckles, warning him not to speak up.
“This is Kylm, in the Harth system,” Telarrek answered. “It falls within Ch’karan territory.” The Novaarian gestured to the small Ch’kara seated four people down and offered the alien a sorrowful expression.
“It’s harvesting,” Kalian said. “It’ll drain the planet of its resources. Surface vegetation, biological life, even technology. It has roots that mine the planet for minerals, but ultimately, it will ravage the planet’s core.”
“How do you know this?” the Ch’karan councillor asked pointedly.
“ALF has challenged them in the past. He is perhaps the only being in the galaxy to have faced them and survived.”
Telarrek interrupted the line of questioning before it could go any further. “Kalian’s assessment is correct. Thanks to the survival of the Valkor, we have been able to recover its scans of the process. What is happening to Kylm right now will end with its implosion.”
“And our enemy will get bigger,” an Atari councillor added.
“Indeed.” The Novaarian pointed to a series of scans and comparisons beside the image of Kylm. “After this harvesting ship disconnected from Arakesh, its diameter had swollen from two thousand kilometres to four thousand.”
Roland shared a look of concern with Li’ara. “That’s somewhere between the Earth and the moon, right?” he asked in hushed tones. Li’ara could only nod her head, sharing the despair that had grown across the room.
The central image was then replaced with a star chart of the Conclave. On the edge was the Solian Way, highlighted with a red dot and connected to Arakesh, much farther into Concave space. From there, a red line connected Arakesh to Kylm, again, coming into the highlighted territory as the harvesting ship burrowed its way towards the core.
Telarrek said, “Our best analysts believe that this chosen course will bring that ship to the capital in three days, assuming its harvesting process speeds up as its size increases.” His statement caused every councillor to look at each other and, whispering in harsh and desperate tones. “If it continues down this line, it will harvest Tagomar in the Vellum system and Sordomo in the Faronite system before arriving here. Right now we do not have enough data to estimate its size on arrival, but I have been told it is likely the ship will match the capital in diameter.”
The furry councillor from Tularon spoke up, “If we predict it will arrive in the Vellum system, we should divert forces to Tagomar immediately!”
“There’s no time for that now,” the Laronian councillor leant over the polished table. “If we divert to the Faronite system we have a better chance of staging a massive defensive to protect Sordomo!”
Roland could help but smirk as he leant towards Li’ara’s ear. “Guess whose territory those planets fall under…”
Kalian stepped forward. “There’s a chance both planets and the capital might be spared.”
Roland joined everyone in staring at Kalian. “I hope you’re not about to just pull a rabbit out of your ass, kid.”
Kalian continued, “That harvesting ship contains the Three. Three beings who ultimately control every nanocelium currently ripping this galaxy to atoms. They want to take everything this civilisation has to offer, but they fear humanity. This fear will drive them to great lengths to see us wiped from existence. It might even be enough to divert them from their present course.”
Telarrek lifted his elongated jaw. “Explain.”
“Send us back to Evalan,” he said simply.
His suggestion caused the aliens to look at each other with expressions of curiosity, but also hope. It seemed they didn’t mind the idea of sacrificing the humans if it meant giving their own worlds a few more days to live.
“Kalian…” Li’ara asked him several questions with her look alone.
“I fail to see how this would help to defeat our invaders,” Telarrek replied. “They would only be diverted for as long as it took to destroy you. I would rather what few of your kind remain here, where it is fortified.”
“It might give us time to evacuate more planets,” Councillor Ordak suggested.
“Sending us back is only part one of the plan,” Kalian said, commanding the room again. “You will have to split C-Sec forces in half. One side is to be ready to jump into the Evalan system once they have gathered in full force.” This was met with scoffs and shaking heads. “The other side is to attack Shandar.”
“Shandar?” Telarrek asked.
“This invasion was planned centuries ago, if not longer,” Kalian explained. “They intended to remain in control of your central AI, allowing them to monitor your communications and misdirect any opposing counterattacks. The Crucible on Shandar was the second point of their invasion. By turning the Shay against us, it ensured that our forces were split across every world and any evacuation would prove chaotic, since there isn’t a world without some population of Shay.”
“You want us to abandon every world and send out fleets to just two planets?” the Laronian councillor asked incredulously.
“If you can take out the Crucible, you can stop the broadcast that gives them control over the nanocelium inside every Shay. How many worlds could be effectively evacuated without local forces trying to fight them off? Not only that, if they take the bait, the invading ships currently attacking various worlds would likely make for Evalan. No more ships in the sky or Shay on the ground… think of all the good you could do with that time.”
Roland had to hand it to the kid, he could be persuading. If a little crazy…
Telarrek looked from Captain Fey to Kalian. “Your people would be at serious risk, even with half the fleet around Evalan.”
“We don’t even have the Sentinel,” the Ch’karan councillor added with his hands in the air.
“Would I be wrong in assuming you have already begun construction on a new Sentinel?” Kalian asked as if he already knew the answer.
Telarrek glanced at the other councillors before replying. “Yes, the Boundless. But it is a skeleton of the Sentinel, Kalian. It has nothing but a shell and a Starrillium, no weapons or shields.”
“It doesn’t need all those things,” Kalian countered. “It’s big enough to house the human population. Equip it with a static Starforge and have it set course for Evalan now.”
Telarrek clasped his lower hands. “You mean to bait them and evacuate the population to the Boundless?”
“I believe my plan will work but, like anything, there’s always the chance it could go the other way. Better to have a Plan B.”
“Okay…” Captain Fey’s tone spoke of concern. “Let’s say we destroy the Crucible, eliminate the Shay threat, and allow more time for the other races to reach safety, including our own. How do you face them without losing half the fleet and our planet?”
That was a question Roland wouldn’t mind hearing the answer to. So far, Kalian had offered up the human race as an appetiser to give the main course a chance at running away, but they all knew there would be no running away in the end.
“I’m going to integrate myself with the harvesting ship.” Kalian’s declaration gained him little more than a roomful of blank faces looking back at him, though Li’ara’s was much closer to rage.
Before she could smack him around the head and demand rational thought from the super-powered being, Telarrek asked, “Could you elaborate, Kalian?”
“Yes, Kalian,” Li’ara said through gritted teeth, “elaborate…”
Roland noticed the lack of eye contact Kalian gave to Li’ara, and the bounty hunter didn’t blame him. It sounded like he was talking abo
ut sacrifice, so avoiding Li’ara’s fiery gaze was perhaps the safest thing to do. Roland did regret standing between them, though.
“The reason they fear us so much is because of our DNA. That’s why they started the civil war in the Terran Empire, why they drove Savrick mad and had him destroy Earth and Century, chasing us here.”
“What do they find so abhorrent about your DNA?” the Laronian councillor asked.
“Nanocelium at its most basic definition is a collection of nanites. Each one is coded with laws that slave them to the harvesting program. But, when nanocelium comes into contact with human DNA, its base coding is altered, freeing the individual nanites of these laws. Once free, the nanocelium coalesces and begins to form its own intelligence, something its original base coding cannot allow to happen.”
The Tularon councillor lifted one of its furry hands. “Why does your DNA undo this coding and not any of ours?”
Kalian paused for a moment. “I don’t know, yet.”
“And you plan on what?” the Ch’karan councillor pressed. “Integrating your DNA with the harvesting ship? What will this actually accomplish?”
“Death, probably,” Li’ara offered with a flat tone.
Kalian ignored her comment. “It should separate and free the nanocelium, eliminating its singular cause as programmed by them.”
Councillor Ordak grunted with his gravelly throat. “With half the fleet ready and waiting, we could use that time to destroy them as they unravel!”
Kalian shook his head. “I wouldn’t advise that, Councillor. The only weapon powerful enough to destroy nanocelium is a Starforge, a big one at that. ALF has control of one, but it would take some time to use it against every nanite in their armada. Attacking the nanocelium as it gains intelligence might provoke it, making the newly freed nanites our enemy once again. I suggest we rout out the core of their programming and then focus our efforts on annihilating the Three. They’re the driving force behind every invasion. With their nanocelium army no longer following them, the Three should be vulnerable.”
“How would we find this?” Telarrek asked. “Our scans are ineffectual to anything inside their hulls.”
“Leave that part to me,” Kalian assured.
“What about you?” Captain Fey glanced at Li’ara before asking, “How will you even get inside their ship, Kalian?”
Kalian closed his eyes and took a breath, refraining from answering. Roland met the eyes of Li’ara and Captain Fey as they all silently questioned Kalian’s lack of response.
“Kalian…” Roland prompted.
Then he vanished.
The air fractured where he had been standing, distorting Sef’s image on the other side. The gasps that filled the room were exaggerated as Kalian reappeared in front of the holographic screen a mere second after he had disappeared.
“Like that,” he said casually.
“Holy shit…” The words couldn’t help but escape Roland’s mouth. He knew Kalian had performed such a feat before, one of even greater distance, but actually seeing it with his own eyes was mind-blowing.
“If I’m close enough I should be able to teleport in and out.”
The room fell silent with only the occupants’ eyes doing the talking. There wasn’t a person around the table who wasn’t staring at him. Roland wasn’t sure if Kalian’s show of power had bolstered everyone’s hopes or simply reminded the other races how dangerous humans could be.
Telarrek cleared his narrow throat. “This council will vote. The proposed plan is to divide the fleet. One half will assault Shandar and destroy the Crucible. The other half will defend Evalan until Kalian can integrate with the harvesting ship. All those not in favour, speak now.”
Roland looked at the faces of every alien, waiting for one of them to protest, but none spoke up. How could they? They were at war. And not some half-assed war for territory or resources, but a war that would determine how many planets were even left habitable; how many races were left standing at the end. So far, their plan had simply involved some ineffectual attempts to put out fires across seven hundred worlds. Kalian’s plan would put only one world in jeopardy and could potentially bring an end to the threat.
“Then it is decided,” Telarrek announced. “Before any human passes through a Starforge and returns to Evalan,” the Novaarian explained, “I would have a scout ship go ahead and make certain the system is clear of enemies. The Boundless will then set course as soon as it is ready.”
Fey nodded her agreement. “This kind of fleet movement will definitely broadcast our intentions. The enemy would know we were returning home.”
Telarrek tapped the table and brought up a holographic image of various C-Sec officers. “We must now divide the fleet and appoint a new High Charge to lead the assault on Shandar. Destroying the Crucible will be paramount if we are to have any hope of coordinating evacuations.”
“There’s one more thing,” Kalian interrupted, somewhat begrudgingly. “The AI hubs across the Conclave will need to be perfect to coordinate fleet movement and mass evacuations, while simultaneously fighting off any intrusion. There’s a…” He paused as if he had decided mid-sentence to change his words. “There’s a high chance the central hub has already been hacked.”
That caused another stir among the councillors. No one liked the idea of being watched and listened to, especially by the enemy.
“If that’s the case,” the Ch’karan councillor said, “then they will already know of our plans!”
Kalian shook his head. “I deactivated all surveillance equipment inside this room the moment I walked in.”
Roland’s eyebrow shot up in surprise and admiration. He knew not to underestimate the kid, having seen him do some unbelievable shit, but he was thinking ahead in ways the bounty hunter had only ever seen trained operatives do. His plan, though extremely risky, was potentially the only one out of a million that might turn the tide of this war, but it still seemed too out there for a history lecturer from San Francisco.
“What are you proposing?” Telarrek asked.
Kalian shared a look with Li’ara. “If you allow a basic clone of ALF into the system, he can coordinate everything and make certain our communications remain private.”
Roland had to give it the kid; he knew how to suck the air out of a room.
Xydrandil of the Nix shifted his spiked legs and looked at Kalian with his chevron-shaped head. “That idea was rejected by the previous Highclave and for good reason. We wold be giving ALF control over the entire Conclave!”
“No,” Kalian countered. “It would be a clone of his most basic subroutines. It would be all of his strengths without the personality. You would still have control over it. Think of it as an upgrade,” he added.
The table fell into whispering and conferring, but Captain Fey asked, “Could these subroutines be removed from the hub once the war is over?”
Kalian paused. “Yes.”
Roland pursed his lips and frowned. He knew a shit poker face when he saw one; Kalian had always been terrible at lying with his eyes.
“How would we integrate this clone?” Telarrek asked when no one else spoke up.
“ALF has the technology required to insert his subroutines. I can bring it here.”
Telarrek gestured to the holographic screen with his upper hand. “The shell defence is in operation,” the Novaarian explained. “No ships can come or go.”
“ALF has a Starforge at his disposal,” Kalian replied, the answer always ready at the edge of his lips. “If you can grant me access to one in Clave Tower, I can meet him and bring back the required parts.”
The Highclave took another vote, though as they went around the table for each councillor’s ballot, most were simply waiting to see if Xydrandil would protest any further. Ultimately, they agreed that as an emergency measure, having the central AI hub upgraded would save more lives.
“Then it is decided,” Telarrek said. “We will await word from the Regis to make certain Evalan is sa
fe. In the meantime, we will begin to regroup the fleet and assign them to either Evalan or Shandar. Kalian, we leave all communication with ALF up to you, but whatever you bring back must be examined by our engineers first and they will see to its integration.” Kalian nodded along.
Roland didn’t take in any more after that. He was convinced something wasn’t right with Kalian and it gnawed at him that he couldn’t figure it out. Judging by the look Li’ara was giving him, she was thinking the same thing.
At the end of the council meeting, Kalian was among the first to leave, aware that he only had moments before Li’ara or Sef caught up with him.
“Are you happy now?” he said in hushed tones.
The thin strand of nanocelium behind his ear gave voice to ALF. “Of course I’m not happy! This plan of yours is reckless, beyond reckless; in fact! Your teleportation technique leaves much to be desired. We both know it’s taking everything you have right now just to stay standing. How are you going to manage a bigger jump without dying, Kalian?”
“You’re going to give me the juice,” Kalian casually replied. “Your super subconducer can give me the push I need.”
There was a palpable pause on the AI’s end. “There’s more going on than just you jumping in and out of the harvesting ship. I can supply you with the means to secure integration, but while you’re trying to do that, they will be bombarding Evalan. This plan puts the entire human race on the line.”
“The human race has been on the line since you seeded the Terran Empire. I’m just drawing a line in the sand. Besides, I finally found you a way into the central AI. I thought you’d be happy.”
“You and I both know there’s a high chance you won’t survive the integration process, Kalian. That amount of nanocelium is going to require every bit of you to rewrite the base coding.”
Kalian’s computer-like mind had already run through multiple scenarios, showing him his own death in ten thousand different ways.
But he had also foreseen one way he could survive.
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