Alex was utterly gobsmacked. She had never imagined he would forgive her so completely. She hoped the kilometer-wide smile she flashed him said all she couldn’t right now—then she hurriedly tried to look grave for the others. “Mesme, where will you take it?”
Away. The location is not important for now.
Given the nature of Mesme’s existence and physicality, it should be a safe endeavor for the Kat. It didn’t feel safe. “Are you certain?”
The violence all around us clashes and tears and threatens to shatter the world. It is abhorrent to me, and I ache to flee even now. But you called me brave. I do not know if you are correct, but if I do not step forward and do this, I will surely prove you wrong. Yes, I am certain.
65
IMPERIUM
MILKY WAY SECTOR 41
* * *
ALEX SCOUTED AHEAD FOR MESME via sidespace; it seemed the least she could do. Besides, a bunch of shining lights flickering to and fro would set off alarms followed by a cascade of calamitous events, so someone needed to find this evil little world-ending device before Mesme moved in.
She didn’t have a visual of it to go by, but Paratyr had seen the Tartarus Trigger on one of the Mirad Vigilate’s sidespace windows and had described it in detail. Thirty meters long, twelve meters wide. Shiny chrome. Suspended in a rack. Got it.
In a perfect world, she’d scrupulously observe the inner workings of this crucial enemy vessel, then pass the intel on for use in future battles. Instead, she sped through hallways and careened around corners with her mind, forcing her focus to dash ahead in leaps on the hunt for a single visual frame.
She found the suspension rack in the weapons bay, empty. Well, that wasn’t good.
It only took her another few seconds to find the device from there—in a damn torpedo launch tube. They were actually considering using the yebanaya thing.
Bully on her for insightful analysis in predicting their behavior, but my god their adversary was fucking unhinged.
Valkyrie, mark our spot on the schematic and get it to Mesme. Mesme?
I have the location.
It looks rather tight in this tube. Can you manage to fit around the cylinder?
I can manage much.
She was pretty sure her eyes rolled in the Siyane’s cockpit chair. I assume that’s a yes. The good news is, you shouldn’t be seen, as there are no passages for people or drones down here. Whenever you’re ready.
The dark tube began lighting up almost immediately, but the points of light quavered and cavorted as Mesme struggled to fully envelop its contents. Only a few centimeters of space existed between the cylinder and the walls of the tube…this was going to be close.
Everything vanished. The lights were gone—and so was the device.
Mesme?
She didn’t get a response. But the proof lay in the empty tube.
She opened her eyes and hit the comm. “Malcolm, you’re clear to go. Good luck.”
AFS SARATOGA
MILKY WAY SECTOR 41
“Copy that, and thanks.” Malcolm raced through the checklist in his mind. They’d tried to stay roughly in the orbit of the Imperium while the Metigen worked its vanishing trick, but it had proved difficult what with all the warfare.
“All right, everyone, we are a go. Step One: we need to get the Imperium to shoot at us.” And withstand the storm for long enough to take it out. “Navigation, close to 0.4 megameters distance from the Imperium then turn full control over to Major Ettore. Weapons, open fire on the target like we have nothing to lose. Once it takes the bait, we will pretend to flee and make for the designated coordinates.”
The Imperium quickly grew large in the viewport, and he got his first proper view of the vessel. It didn’t stretch as long as a Metigen superdreadnought, but it was both wider and taller, forming a menacing octagon of destructive power.
He exhaled. “Engage.”
The Saratoga’s weapons fire splashed harmlessly off the force field, and several cycles of continuous fire were required for the Imperium to even notice them. But eventually it trained four of its ten powerful beams on them.
The floor began shaking as the defensive shield held off the fire—then the whole ship lurched as the beams broke through to impact the hull.
Major Ettore’s voice was strained but steady. “Reversing course. Imperium is tracking, adjusting calculations.”
Brigadier Jenner: “All ships. On my mark, get as far away as your engines will carry you from the Imperium. I repeat, prepare to vacate the vicinity of the Imperium at maximum speed.”
They lurched again, harder.
“Hull breach on Deck 6! Sealing off Zones 6-C and 6-D.”
Two modules met at the junction of 6-C and D; gaps and seams continued to be adiamene’s one weakness, though it wasn’t a weakness in the metal so much as a necessary weakness of design. And the Saratoga’s highly modular layout meant it had more seams than most vessels.
“Arriving at coordinates in 3…2…1…full stop.”
They lurched in the opposite direction from their momentum, which hurt. Malcolm gave in and grabbed the railing.
Ettore remained seated, eyes closed. “Activate the Dimensional Rifter.”
Brigadier Jenner: “All ships, mark!”
The Saratoga stilled as the Rifter devoured the onslaught for it. The light from the beams consumed the viewport, so Malcolm enlarged a live scanner image of the Imperium.
A flare of florid orange materialized out of empty space directly beneath the ship, inside the force field. The flare looked pitifully small against the hull of the massive vessel, but it represented 1,500 kilotonnes of concentrated energy leveled at a weak junction. Would it be enough?
Right about now the Machim Navarchos was receiving an avalanche of panicked alerts, which hopefully distracted him from noticing his enemies were vanishing from the area.
Did the Navarchos yet realize it was their own fire being used against them? Without prior knowledge of the Dimensional Rifters, the deductive leaps required for understanding the nature of the attack were great indeed.
And the Navarchos was not going to have the opportunity to make them. The time between when the laser fire bloom altered its shape to surge into a hull fissure and when the Igni missiles detonated was too short for a human mind to measure.
The equation parameters for getting the rift to open where it did were such that the Saratoga was already a good distance away from the Imperium. But as space roiled and bucked and the cascading explosions consumed everything in their reach, it didn’t feel nearly far enough.
“Reverse thrusters full!”
They fled once more, for real this time. Malcolm didn’t begin to relax until they were another eight megameters away from the crux of the blast. He indicated for them to slow and come around to survey the results.
In an almost perfect sphere stretching some four megameters in diameter, nothing remained. Nothing but the void.
66
AFS STALWART II
MILKY WAY SECTOR 41
* * *
“SO, WHAT NOW? We won the battle—does this mean we’ve begun a war?”
Miriam contemplated how to answer the Field Marshal’s question, for though delivered in his typically abrupt fashion, it was a valid one.
The remains of the Machim forces had fled in the wake of the Imperium’s destruction. Her own forces had then retreated to a secret location several hundred parsecs away to lick their wounds, regroup and determine a path forward.
When she responded, she focused on Alex rather than Bastian. Alex and Caleb had invited themselves to the meeting, and she hadn’t argued. She’d take any opportunity to lay eyes on her daughter, safe and alive. If they also had relevant information that could help AEGIS—which they of course did—all the better.
“This was more than a simple victory in a single clash. We demonstrated we can match them—best them—on the field of battle in spite of their superior numbers. When the Machim Nav
archos, whoever it is, wakes up in their new body in a medical capsule somewhere across the galaxy, they’re going to wake up feeling something I daresay they never have before: humiliation.”
Miriam smiled. “Given all that, it would be a travesty for us not to give them a proper war.”
“We gained an advantage through trickery.”
“And we can do so again.”
Not surprisingly, she agreed with Rychen’s rebuttal to Bastian’s negativity. “Yes, we can. We came here with full recognition any war would not be won with numbers, so the fact it’s true changes nothing. We will need to use all our capabilities in order to defeat the enemy, of which trickery is unashamedly one.
“Now, I don’t mean to imply any of this will be in any manner easy. We’re in an unfamiliar environment populated with technology we’ve never seen and aliens we’ve never met. We don’t even know what the rules are yet.
“Most of all, we don’t know what victory means. The Katasketousya’s plea for us to ‘defeat’ the Anaden Directorate is vague to the point of meaninglessness. If we’re fighting a war—which I believe we are—then we need to define its boundaries and its goals.”
She clasped her hands on the table. “I realize it’s a daunting task and we’re all exhausted, so let’s start with a few more practical matters. The portal we used to reach Amaranthe is being moved by the Katasketousya as we speak. It and two other portals will continue to be moved every time they are used, so traversals need to be limited and pre-approved. The new locations will be provided to a select group of flag officers on a need-to-know basis.”
Brigadier Jenner frowned noticeably. He was a regular attendee of Advisory Board meetings due to his leadership position and would probably be here now even were it not for his brilliant maneuver that took out the Imperium and ended the encounter. Nonetheless, she’d already decided the feat had earned him a permanent seat at the table.
“Are you worried we’ll have spies in the AEGIS fleet? Or traitors?”
She forced her gaze to remain locked on Jenner and not drift to Caleb. “I think they look like us, Brigadier. Given this reality, we must take every precaution. A single Anaden finds and traverses a single portal carrying a large enough bomb, and everyone back home dies.”
He nodded and sank back in his chair. “Understood.”
“Now, we lost over 8,400 ships today, so we need to replenish—”
‘I apologize for the interruption, Commandant, but Valkyrie has forwarded a message to me I believe you will find pertinent to your discussion.’
She glanced at Alex, but her daughter only smiled mysteriously. “Go ahead, Thomas.”
‘The message reads as follows: Sator Danilo Nisi requests the presence of the high commander of the military forces victorious in the hostilities at the Provision Network Gateway, as well as Caleb Marano, Alexis Solovy and the Katasketousya Mnemosyne, at a private meeting to discuss matters of mutual interest. Proceed to MW Sector 33 at your earliest convenience, where additional coordinates will be provided.’
Miriam pursed her lips. Quite the terse ‘request.’ “And who exactly is Mr. Nisi, to make such demands?”
Alex kicked her chair back away from the table. “The leader of the anarch resistance here in Amaranthe. Looks like you got someone’s attention today.”
67
SOLUM
MILKY WAY SECTOR 1
* * *
NYX KNEW THE DIATI had not returned to her the instant she awoke in the regenesis capsule following the destruction of Helix Retention. The diati hadn’t merely deserted her body; it had deserted her.
But how? Why? She had only ever served it, and served it in exceptional fashion. Who or what was the prisoner that he could strip away both the diati’s physical bond and its personal allegiance?
The cover slid back, and she forced confidence into her bearing as she sat up and smoothly exited the capsule. Her legs were fine. Her body was fine. The grueling pain her former shell had suffered was a fading memory, soon to vanish on the wind.
Yet she felt…small. Ordinary. The Curative unit didn’t seem to notice any difference in her, but it was only a machine. Others would notice, and they would not look so kindly upon her.
Her bones chilled at the notion of her fellow Inquisitors pitying her. Her Primor…. No. This could not be her fate.
The Primor’s voice whispered to her in her mind as if an answered call. He touched her thoughts with his own, calming her turmoil beneath a soothing caress so compelling it was almost a spiritual experience.
Come to me, Nyx, and do not despair.
A sensation which must be panic sent Nyx’s chest pounding as she prepared to enter the Primor’s suite at Praesidis Command. She’d never known panic until now, and she cared not for it.
The amelioration of his mental touch had faded by the time she arrived, leaving behind this atrocious passion of fear heightened by anxiety. He was certain to be so disappointed in her. He might find no worth in her continued existence at all.
Her hands shook—how dare they betray her so brazenly—as she stepped inside to meet her fate.
When his eyes fell upon her, she hung her head. Overtaken by shame, broken by the magnetism of his presence. “Primor. Father. I can’t…one of the prisoners, a man, I don’t understand….”
He moved without motion, in a breath simply standing before her. His arms wrapped around her and drew her into his embrace. “Shush, my dear. I know what happened, and everything is going to be well. I will restore you. Here, take a measure of mine. I give it freely, and I command it to serve you as it has served me.”
Her skin flushed as diati surged into her body. Warmth filled her chest and her mind. It felt unfamiliar, not her own, but she welcomed it and it her. In time they would become one.
She blinked, and the world was reborn. Peace returned to her soul, and she gazed upon his face with unabashed devotion. “I will serve you forever, Primor. Ask anything of me.”
His hand stroked her cheek, and the skin of his palm glowed against hers as the final traces of diati passed from him to her. “Tell me about this man.”
Nyx drew her shoulders up to stand tall before him. “I will, father. I will tell you about him, and then I will find him and I will kill him.”
68
SIYANE
MILKY WAY SECTOR 33
* * *
THEY TOOK THE SIYANE to the meeting. Showing up in the Stalwart II felt like a cheap power play they didn’t need to make—plus, there would be all the extra guests to explain away.
The trip was relatively quick, and it wasn’t the first time her mother had been on the Siyane. They spent the time catching up on the necessities and trying to reorient to each other’s worlds. It was easier to do than it used to be; after all, they’d had a lot of practice lately.
When they reached Sector 33 in the Milky Way, Valkyrie received specific coordinates from her anonymous contact, which led to an unsettled but marginally habitable planet.
Scans failed to detect any structures, power sources or other signs of life on the surface. The coordinates pointed to an expansive, barren stretch of land, so that was where they landed.
Mesme arrived out of nowhere with characteristic abruptness as they touched down, apparently having survived the transport of the black hole weapon to…. “Where’s the Tartarus Trigger now?”
Away. This is all you need to concern yourselves with.
Miriam glanced over while checking her gear. “A weapon so dangerous as this Tartarus device needs to be guarded and kept out of the hands of the enemy.”
It needs to be kept out of the hands of everyone, and guarding it is a task we can accomplish far better than you.
Alex gave her mother a weak shrug. “Mesme’s probably correct on that point. The Kats are very, very good at hiding things.”
“Fine, but I reserve the right to revisit the topic in the future.”
Mesme’s response was to flit off to the surface outside, evoking
a snort from Caleb as he brought the breather masks to them. “Rather infuriating for an ally, isn’t it?”
Miriam rolled her eyes and accepted the mask from Caleb. “Almost makes me miss the politicians back home. Almost.”
Everyone wore tactical gear and carried breather masks and weapons despite the fact the air was breathable and the temperature adequate, because this was her mother and Caleb she was talking about.
They exited the Siyane onto a stone and gravel surface. Mountains of bare stone rose in the distance. There were no trees, or any plant life at all, and the sky was a cool, dim slate that gave the impression of being frozen at the cusp of nightfall.
Alex scanned the scene twice and threw her hands up in frustration. “There’s nothing here.”
Miriam’s gaze retraced the path Alex’s had taken. “Perhaps a building is stealthed, in which case I expect a door will open any time now.”
Caleb chuckled. “You two have obviously never had to meet a skittish, paranoid informant before. We’re being purposefully led around on a circuitous path so we won’t be followed, and so we won’t know where we’re going—or possibly where we end up.”
He both sounded and acted more relaxed than he’d been since their prison break. As before, he was internalizing and adjusting to the new influx of power. It just took a little time.
Admittedly relieved to see him in better spirits, she flashed him an exaggerated grimace. “Well, where we are right now is the middle of nowhere, so it seems to be working.”
She trailed off as Mesme swept past them toward a light which had appeared in the distance. The source of the glow was small and indistinct, but it nevertheless stood out against the stark landscape.
They followed at a less excitable pace, and her mother fell in beside her. “This is what your normal, everyday life is like, isn’t it? Landing on exotic, forbidding alien worlds, taking a few readings then striking out into the unknown.”
Relativity: Aurora Resonant Book One (Aurora Rhapsody 7) Page 39