Dimension

by Shay Zana

  “I don’t suppose we have any way of tracking the Paragons?” Rockland asks casually.

  The navigator gives a wide grin. “Not exactly, but the UEU have destroyed all Serenity communications relays in the Rhadamanthus System, including the guardian station’s relays, just recently actually. No Serenity personnel can communicate via datakey over long distances, allowing us to tap into the extra space on their servers on Kronos’ surface due to the lull. Comms officers have been monitoring battle feeds on the planet, so we will be able to find out if anyone spots a couple of Paragons entering the battles.”

  Rockland allows himself a smile and pats Jason Dimitri firmly on the shoulder. “Nice work.”

  Jason gleams pathetically at his commander’s praise.

  As Rockland moves on, he finally notices Ike falling into place beside him, his shoulders squared as he seems to be on edge.

  “Commander, are you planning on keeping your word to those Paragons?”

  Rockland eyes his XO curiously as they walk together, heading toward the stargrid. “What word?”

  Kann meets his eyes. “That you will attempt to convince the brass that Serenity isn’t responsible for the distortions. How can you take their word on that?”

  “What are your thoughts on that, Kann?” he deflects the question.

  Ike Kann’s brow creases in contemplation. “They’re Serenity, sir. I wouldn’t trust any of them.”

  Rockland chews on his cheeks before grunting in response, stepping down into the stargrid. Without datakeys, UEU personnel can only interact with a stargrid through physical motions, though this is not particularly a disadvantage, as most find it difficult to channel their neural activity for long periods of time. Most prefer simple hand interactions without the need for intense neural training during recruitment.

  Mournfully, the commander flicks to an animated orbital view of Eden. It is not a live feed. All live feeds have ceased in the Sol Nova System due to the distortional damage, with all relays and comm buoys taken offline or simply destroyed. If it were a live feed, Eden would not be there to see, as according to this Kit-kat woman, it has vanished.

  Rockland leans on the railing slowly, delving his eyes into the translucent view of the earth-like planet. Eden is nearly twice the radius of Earth at roughly 11,900km. It once had a wide variety of land cover, from lush forests, to dry deserts, deep and vast oceans, and many snowy mountainous ranges and tundra plains. But now, since being inhabited by the UEU, nothing is left but cityscapes over every continent, and underwater cities spreading along the ocean floors. Because nearly all plant and wildlife on land and marine life in the sea has been eradicated by humanity’s violent and greedy conquering ways, oxygen levels dropped, famines spread worldwide, bacterial fermentation of dead matter choked the atmosphere, temperatures rose due to the increased carbon dioxide content in the air without the plants removing these elements, and the planet began to gradually die. The UEU had expected and planned for this apocalyptic event, and instead of actually doing something about it and putting a stop to their ways, they developed a machine structure that would rejuvenate the atmosphere.

  This machine was monstrous in size and nature, and was inserted into the ground and stretched in length to a depth that reached the planet core, through the thick molten iron of the outer core and penetrating right through the inner core of solid iron, right through to the other side of the planet, as if a giant pipe had been lodged through the planet. This structure, dubbed the core plug, was designed to regulate temperatures by absorbing carbon dioxide, pouring out oxygen into the atmosphere, and filtering the air with an anti-bacterium.

  Effectively, Eden’s atmosphere could sustain life again, but only human life that had been augmented and adapted for such harsh chemical living conditions.

  The core plug is two kilometres in a circular width, and the downward tunnel of its interior can be accessed by humans wearing protective gear, and can be used as an entrance to the planet core, making it possible for the UEU to study how the planet is constructed and how the core works. They discovered that because such a large structure had penetrated straight through the heart of the planet, the planet’s self sustained dynamo was disrupted, and it was interfering with the planet’s natural force of gravity and the magnetic field. The planet’s own rotational axis was slowed because it had more mass at a distance from its axis of rotation. Eden was still orbiting Terra Nova at the same rate, but its own rate of rotation was nearly equal to that of its half mass twin, Earth. Eden’s core was unstable and was on the verge of a core shift, where the core would spin in the opposite direction, arguably causing havoc on the planet surface.

  To sustain the core’s momentum of inertia, a kinetic barrier was placed around the core, dictating the density of the solid iron core and the liquid flow of the outer iron core. Eden’s gravity force, magnetic field strength, and rate of rotation were restored and controlled artificially, making the planet essentially artificial. Eden is already a dead planet. A planet on life support.

  Because of the core plug’s vital task to keep Eden artificially alive, there needed to be a constant stream of energy, and star energy from Terra Nova was simply insufficient. For example, the core plug would not get enough power when the skies were covered with thickening clouds on a dreary day, and even a supply of shard cores would not be enough to power this gigantic core plug. So, that is why the UEU designed this atmospheric structure to reach down to the depths of the planet core, to use this molten iron as a power source, much like geothermal energy.

  This method occurred throughout many of the UEU colony worlds and military strong points, sparking higher tension with Serenity, and fast-tracking the war to a point where invasion, infiltration, and battles of possession were more common than simple diplomatic disagreements and short conflicts over territory.

  Serenity was adamant to free these dead planets and restore them to a natural status, and although the Zodiacs and Ciphers did not approve of these wars, the two powers were already too deep in their clashes to put a stop to it.

  Many UEU colonies were lost to Serenity, and were successfully restored from their chemical and artificial atmospheres, but just as many could not be conquered by Serenity, and the UEU regained control of them and forced the Serenity forces to flee. These conflicts have since never ceased.

  Kann is watching Rockland silently, aware of the fact that Rockland is a native to Eden. It is slightly disconcerting to see his commander like this, full of sorrow and plagued with worry. He has always known Rockland to be nikita-hard and strong, a good man who kept his emotions on the inside and always strived to be a stable example to the people under his command. And he was a stable example to his people, a solid man who could perform under stress and never freeze up. But now? It is like Kann is staring at a completely different man. A man who has been broken by the recent events he has witnessed. A man who has taken the deaths of his crew members personally and has carried the weight of the blame on his own shoulders, shrugging away any excuses.

  Ike Kann is not good with people. Sure, he can read people well and he knows how to handle them, but with something like this? He is not good with people in a social and emotional matter. How to comfort your superior officer? Comforting your general crew is easy, just tell them to harden up and give them an assignment to take their minds off whatever they are whining about, such as cleaning the toilets, scrubbing the floors with their toothbrushes, doing kitchen duty, just about anything menial he can think of at the time. Comforting women is easy too, just tell them that they do not have asses in the first place for them to look big in those overalls, shaving is for bimbos, or that men appreciate tough women. Men are a little more difficult to comfort without coming off as homosexual. Tell them they look sharp in their uniforms, or that they do not smell like shit for once. Most little comments like that usually get him a few laughs from the crew, and that shuts them up for a while, but sympathy? Kann does not do sympathy.

  “Commander?�
�� is all Kann can offer, with his softest tone of voice still hard edged.

  Rockland does not look at Kann, he just continues to stare at the hologram of Eden. “How are we going to prove to the admiral that Serenity isn’t responsible for the disappearance of Eden? And that a Cipher told us that gods from another dimension are responsible?”

  Kann senses that Rockland is asking himself more than he is asking him, but he still suggests an answer. “They must have ordered you on Operation: Ghost Tempest for a reason, sir. They obviously trust your judgement and your leadership abilities.”

  “Trust isn’t going to be on my side with Coleman. He’ll want solid evidence, evidence we no longer have because those Paragons took it from us.”

  “He was there when the admiralty panel initiated the operation.”

  Rockland sighs and presses his weight against the railing, stretching his back muscles. “I don’t know the details. I might not have been his preferred choice. The other admirals may have overruled him.”

  Kann presses his mouth into a firm line and rubs at his chin in contemplation, but does not offer anything further.

  Upon approach to Exterior Dock 19, the crew allow themselves to peer out through the panoramic view outside the bridge windows at the enlarging Oceanus, the giant ship almost seeming ethereal to them up this close.

  The Oceanus is a magnificent vessel, refined to every inch, and its armour almost impenetrable to any non-nikita shard firepower. Though all Titans are as elegantly designed as a Spartan, they are much bulkier. Their width is wider in comparison to a Spartan’s width compared with their length and height. Where a Spartan is slim and sleek with sharp edged architecture and jutting wings, Titans are more circular and curve-edged, without wings and without morphing designs. Titans are simply too large to draw enough star energy from their core shards to allow for morphing. Technology involving light extraction and absorption into shards is simply not advanced enough yet.

  As Zee initiates the docking sequence, allowing Oceanus operatives to automatically take control of the Marauding Exile and bring her to dock, a blue-green light emanates in the far distance of the inky space. Analysts immediately begin scanning the frequencies for damage reports of the UEU forces, but Rockland knows that that explosive light was not generated by any shard or a ruptured quantum drive. It could only be an ikamanu’s entity.

  “Status of the ikamanu!” he demands.

  A few anxious moments pass, until Navigator Dimitri shakes his head in angered confusion. “Not getting any readings. Ikamanu’s biometric tag is offline.”

  “Sure it hasn’t just blocked its signal?”

  “Mmmh, positive.”

  Rockland paces to the Marauding Exile’s airlock. There is nothing to be done. Those Paragons and Serenity are on their own. His main concern is the fleet, the entire UEU, and every civilian back home. If he cannot convince Admiral Coleman to disengage from Kronos, then this entire fleet could be destroyed, and this pointless battle could spark an endless war. It is obvious that the distortion around the planet is worsening, and with the UEU believing that Serenity controls these events, they will not be compelled to withdraw forces. Both fleets believe that the other controls the distortions, that this is some type of physics based weapon, when really, the gods are the only ones capable of causing the distortions, and both fleets are as vulnerable as each other.

  As Commander Rockland steps inside the airlock, sealing the door behind him and waiting for pressures to equalise, a rush of doubts, consequences, and self questioning assails his mind. Should he feel responsible for Serenity just as much as the UEU? Should he defend the Paragons and the Cipher? Try to convince the UEU brass that they should co-operate with Serenity instead of blame them? Or should he forget them and direct the UEU to just flee the galaxy and let Serenity and their Paragons deal with whatever is happening. Sure, Serenity is his enemy, but they are still human. Humanity should be gathering together, now of all times. No longer should they be each other’s enemies, but allies fighting against gods.

  COLLISION

  He stares down at his hands, covered in vibrant blood. His own? He walks on. Where?

  His surroundings are foreign, so foreign that nothing is recognisable to the human eye, a looming landscape beyond the vale of reality. He exists only within an endless void, where matter is condensed in the form of dust, colours are flickering at hues beyond his comprehension, and hollow sounds shoot through the darkness.

  Specks of neutron stars hover through his air, as if shrunk in size and he is enlarged. They flitter as he lifts his palm outward, fragments of a wasted supernova, hovering as if their dense mass means nothing.

  Stardust.

  And now he sees her, a splash of white within the shade, dancing with the eclipse of eternal night. Kitera’s delicate white garment, majestic jewellery, and sophisticated pale blue face and body art makes her appear like an exquisite angel, reigning her divine beauty across to him like an aurora extending beyond the skies. Once she is fully in view, she stops and faces him, and for a moment that seems to stretch on, they just stare into souls.

  Her face is swamped in a reminiscent sorrow, as if this is the last time he will see her.

  “Wake,” he hears her whisper to him, though her lips do not move. “Rise.”

  But before he can even approach the exotic beauty, she disappears into stardust, sweeping away from his reach, and in her place ensues the roar of red agony. Blood, pain, and death blare at him as rivulets of this red agony infiltrate his senses.

  Deo’s consciousness is dragged from the idle oblivion. His eyes cling to the dark behind closed lids, but he can feel his armoured limbs are weightless. He relays his senses out like probes, reaching for internal pangs, odd sensations, or an unbalanced motion of bloodflow. His body whines as he focuses for it. Internal injuries, and maybe a broken rib, but other than that, it seems as though his entity had taken the brunt of the damage from the collision. He must have crashed through the hull and drifted off.

  He opens his eyes, inspecting the interior of his helmet before gliding his eyes out to the weeping light of outer space. Stars, just endless stars. Isolation whispers through him before he knows it himself. He is veering away from Kronos, rotating steadily.

  An object in motion stays in motion. Unless it has thrusters.

  The Paragon kicks them to life, feeling the pulsation travel his suit. He quickly discovers that comms are offline as he steadies himself and angles around. Bursts of duelling vessels embellish his view of Kronos, a grey-blue orb of war wearing a mechanical halo and glazed in red ambience. Wrapped around is the menacing cloud of gasses, stretching to swallow its prey slowly but surely.

  He sets a heading with his thrusters, right into the heart of that hell, guessing it will take him a matter of minutes before he slams into the guardian station’s hull and joins the party again. As he continues to wake, his body groggy, Deo can feel his entity roaring through his blood with an acute sensation, almost a chill, like he is transforming into a cold-blooded creature. Perfect. He killed his entity again.

  “More enemy units!” Neal roars as he directs his fire onto one of the two Gladiators that has just spun erratically through the hull breach, opening fire with a welcoming party of incendiary missiles.

  The Serenity marines all dive for cover, but Boone and Natheus plant their boots firmly to the ground, entities swelling in liquid light. A few of the deflected fireballs shave portions off a passing Gladiator’s shields, but most ricochet wildly, unguided.

  Once the barrage is complete with their first pass, the Paragons spurt from their entity shielding cocoons and herd Neal and his few remaining marines toward the sealed bulkhead. They have no choice but to blast their way through or risk losing the marines in here. The Gladiators make another pass, taking out two men and breaking through the shields of others, causing fatal injuries.

  Boone and Natheus do their best to shield the soldiers, but even their entities cannot expand wide enough to ac
t as a blockade of cover.

  Still many legs away from the tunnel entrance, the time for the third swoop of the Gladiators has dawned on them. Immediately the soldiers dive apart in all directions, firing wildly into the air to try and disrupt the Gladiators' aim, while the Paragons glue themselves in a low crouch and push their entities around them, the two appearing as amber spheres of energy.

  With a grunt, Deo stretches out for purchase on the shattered hull, pulling himself in, though not without pain as it shoots through his abdomen like a burning knife, twisting and stinging. His grunt is prolonged as a groan, fists curling in an attempt to tolerate the pain.

  The flare of a shard sailing across the length of the sector announces the exchange of fire, gleaming in supreme radiance. He quickly spots Boone and Natheus, along with several surviving marines, and Neal. Above, a pair of Gladiators swoop like eagles, tormenting the soldiers.

  He perches himself against the hull, legs coiled and ready to spring him toward his men, right before another heavy shard highlights a point of interest to him. The Blackray is lying innocently at the bottom of the chasm, its black plating so endearing that he cannot help but smile beneath his visor.

  Gladiator fire hails down once again, splitting through men and ravaging the environment. Boone drives his boots to the ground and kicks off toward a fellow marine.

  “Down, down! Get down!” he bellows through an open channel, reaching out for the man and curling himself over him. An assaulting force makes impact with them, Boone’s entity shivering out in retaliation. Two others are killed instead, but at least he could save one.