“Confirmed. Tartarus Trigger fired and away.”
“Navigation, retreat two parsecs at ninety-five percent of maximum safe speed.”
This time the floor did lurch as they reversed course.
“Tartarus Trigger detonation confirmed.”
No shit. A rapidly expanding chasm formed and grew in the port half of the viewport. Around it the brilliant light of the core twisted as if being wrung out, alternately elongating and contracting and fighting to do both at once. Gradually, however, a new, even brighter light source began to build up along the periphery of the chasm.
‘Target has disappeared from sensors, as have all objects formerly registering in the 0.8 parsecs surrounding it.’
Her mother’s throat worked. “Noted. Navigation, take us another two parsecs away from the core.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Alex assumed they were moving in reverse, but the void and the light ringing it outside the viewport nevertheless grew larger relative to the ship.
Caleb rejoined her to glance at her mother in concern as Alex wound an arm around his waist. “Faster might be better.”
Her mother’s jaw flexed. “Good point. Navigation, increase our speed to one hundred ten percent maximum safe speed.”
“Acknowledged.”
The already dim lights on the bridge faded to twilight.
Abruptly a flash erupted across the expanse of their vision. A jagged streak of void convulsed then ripped the expanding event horizon in two. Both halves disintegrated, and in seconds the scene reverted to its appearance on their arrival.
The forces that had been wrenching the ship—transfixed by the unfolding events, Alex had hardly noticed the hull shuddering, but it definitely had been shuddering—ceased, and the calm which descended highlighted the strength of the violence that had come before.
Miriam quickly looked around. “Report. Anyone who has data, speak up.”
“I’m still not registering the target—”
“All systems nominal—”
‘The black hole—’
“But not everyone at once. Systems?”
“All primary ship systems have returned to nominal readings. Shields are at full strength. No structural damage reported.”
“Tactical?”
“I’m not registering the target on any scans.”
“Navigation, now that a black hole is no longer attempting to devour us, take us back in a short distance, say 1.5 parsecs, along the course the target would have followed had we not interrupted its journey. Gently, please. Thomas?”
‘I postulate that the incident we witnessed was the event horizons of the two black holes—the one created by the Tartarus Trigger and the supermassive black hole at the galactic core—colliding. What followed was the absorption of the Tartarus Trigger’s black hole by the far larger and more powerful object.’
“Likelihood?”
‘71.6 percent, rising by 2.8 percent every five seconds the astronomical readings remain consistent.’
“Thank you. Tactical, anything on scans?”
“Negative, ma’am.”
She turned toward them. “Alex? Is there any way you can confirm the Prótos Agora no longer exists?”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Reor slab, then retreated several steps to the relative spaciousness of the rear third of the bridge. “Nobody wander too close to me for the next little bit.”
Valkyrie, let’s open a small wormhole in front of me, destination as close to the orbital path of the Prótos Agora as we can get without being pummeled.
Ready. Opening.
As always, the luminous strings spun out in all directions. But those crossing the area of the core continued on to the far side of the galaxy. Importantly, she could check for the frequencies of the data previously streaming from the Prótos Agora.
Scanning. I am not detecting any waves matching those we measured as originating from the Prótos Agora data vault. Scanning complete. They are not there.
She closed the wormhole. “The data stored on the Prótos Agora is gone. That’s as much of a confirmation as I can give you, but I think it’s a good one.”
“It is. All right. Science, launch four probes on trajectories to put them into orbit 2 parsecs apart, calibrated to detect the Prótos Agora’s signature. Set them to transmit if they detect anything. Navigation, withdraw another twenty parsecs from the core region. When you reach that distance, deploy the Caeles Prism. We’ll return to the staging coordinates and from there, to Post Delta.”
Miriam stepped off the perch to join Caleb and David. “I can’t help but feel a bit uncertain. Is that it? We’ve won, and now it’s time to help the people of Amaranthe build up a new government then go home?”
Alex jogged back to them and slid in next to Caleb. “The end of the Metigen War was a fair bit more dramatic, I have to admit.”
“With you as the spear, how could it not be? And don’t misunderstand—I’m not complaining. It’s been a hell of a day, week, month. And we still need to run the Machim Primor to ground. We should also put surveillance on the surviving elassons. If they decide to work together, they can become nearly as dangerous as—”
‘Commandant, the Post Satus Security Director is requesting to speak with you. She insists it’s urgent.’
Miriam arched an eyebrow. “See? I knew it was too good to be true. Thank you, Thomas. I’ll take the comm in the conference room.”
47
AFS STALWART II
MILKY WAY SECTOR 44
* * *
MIRIAM STARED AT THE MESSAGE IN DISMAY.
The Machim Primor has acquired a newly completed Tartarus Trigger. He possesses the coordinates to one of the portals into the Katasketousya’s multiverse network and is proceeding to it now. He intends to traverse this network until he reaches the Humans’ home universe then detonate the Tartarus Trigger within it. I possess no further information. May favor go with you.
Was there to be no end to the challenges to their very existence? Would the next horizon merely hold another, yet greater threat? Was victory, security, or any semblance of peace a fantasy forever out of her grasp?
But she could not let this be the blow to break her. “Can this information be trusted?”
Volya made a kind of snarling noise. “Not in the slightest. It came through a tip line we’ve set up so people out there can feel like they’re helping our cause without risking their lives. It’s completely anonymous, and we have no way to verify the sender or the information. But given the contents of the message, we thought we should bring it to your attention immediately.”
“You thought correctly. Thank you.” She minimized the holo and looked around at the grim faces surrounding her. “We have no choice but to act as if the information is legitimate. Thomas, I need Lakhes here this instant, and Sator Nisi on holo. I need…I need everyone, and I need them now.”
I can confirm the activation of a portal in the Sculptor Dwarf galaxy twelve minutes ago.
The dire proclamation announced Lakhes arrival well enough. Miriam pivoted to the swirling lights. “Give me the coordinates to that portal.” She activated the ship’s comm system. “Navigation, you’ll be receiving new coordinates momentarily. Re-engage the Caeles Prism and prepare for traversal to those coordinates as soon as the power threshold is reached.”
Navigation: “Solid copy. Coordinates received. Caeles Prism will be ready for use in twenty-two seconds.”
“All right, people. How much time do we have to prevent this device from detonating?”
Alex moved in a burst of energy along the length of the table. “It depends on whether the Machim Primor possesses the frequency of the TLF wave pointing to the Aurora portal, doesn’t it? I’ve been chased through the Mosaic, and it soon turns into a maze if you don’t understand the pattern of the signals.” She paused long enough to shrug. “With fifty-one portal spaces plus all the interconnecting tunnels, if he doesn’t know the frequency, he’s
unlikely to get lucky, in which case we have hours at a minimum. If he does know it?” Her shoulders sagged. “We’re already too late.”
Miriam shook her head. “I refuse to accept that outcome.”
Navigation: “Caeles Prism is powered and ready.”
“Caeles Prism traversal is authorized. On arrival, prepare to open a Katasketousya portal.”
She spun back to Lakhes. “What can you or your people do to stop the battlecruiser or buy us time to reach it?”
Alex’s voice was flat, and her frenetic movements had halted. “They can destroy the Aurora portal.”
She is correct, in principle.
“What would that mean?”
Her daughter’s expression forewarned Miriam that she would not like the answer. “It means that the Aurora universe will be forever cut off from the Mosaic and Amaranthe. From everything. The people there will be safe, but they will be alone. And we—all of us here in Amaranthe—can never go home again. Or see home, or talk to or communicate in any way with anyone back home.”
Miriam’s lips parted, but she struggled to find the words required. She tried not to indulge in public affection while in uniform, but it was a rule she’d broken more than once this week, and now she frantically reached out beside her to find David’s hand. She squeezed it tightly, taking desperate comfort from the warmth of his skin as he returned the squeeze and didn’t let go.
She shifted her attention once again to Lakhes. “Well?”
We do not have analystae in the Aurora Enisle at present, but I can dispatch someone now. Their arrival will not be instantaneous. It will however, be far more swift than your ship’s arrival. Perhaps swift enough. What is your desire?
She laughed bitterly, then hurried to cover her mouth before it became a cry. “My desire? How dare you ask me that. Do it. Send someone to destroy the portal. We have to try.”
“No, we don’t.”
Miriam pivoted to Caleb; he’d been silent throughout the conversation, as he had been for much of the time since Solum, until now. “Caleb, I am heartbroken at the thought of severing us from home, of all these people never seeing their families again, but we—”
“You’ll see home again, I promise you. I know how to save Aurora, how to save everyone.”
Navigation: “Coordinates reached. Mosaic portal open and ready for traversal.”
Caleb leaned into the table with sudden intensity. “Don’t go through it. Lakhes, don’t order your analystae to blow the Aurora portal. Wait here…” his brow furrowed “…actually, you might want to move a couple of megameters to starboard from the portal.”
“You’re asking us to just sit here and…wait?”
“I am. In ninety seconds, you’ll know if I failed and you need to act. But I won’t fail.” He quickly strode to Alex, who was standing there staring at him in abject confusion.
“What are you doing?”
He brought both hands to her face and drew her in close. “Whatever happens, know this: I love you. Beyond reason, beyond madness. You are the light in my darkness, always.”
“I—wait, tell me what you’re doing! Caleb, don’t—”
He took two long steps back, a bright crimson aura burst forth to surround him, and he vanished.
PART VII:
STARDUST
“You’re an interesting species. An interesting mix. You’re capable of such beautiful dreams, and such horrible nightmares.
You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you’re not.
See, in all our searching, the only thing we’ve found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other.”
— Carl Sagan
48
SCULPTOR DWARF GALAXY
MOSAIC PORTAL
LGG REGION VIII
* * *
CALEB HOVERED IN SPACE thirty meters above the Stalwart II. In front of him, glacier blue plasma undulated in agitation within the towering portal ring, and he was close enough to sense the electricity dancing around it. A thick bubble of diati surrounded him. Protecting him, for now.
But the clock raced headlong for zero, and there was no time to waste with regrets. He quickly composed a message to Alex and sent it. I’m so sorry, my love.
A resigned, quiet calm came over him. He had found his salvation, and though the price was a high one, so too had been the cost of his transgression.
He closed his eyes.
See my mind.
Know my request.
In a time before time, you shaped and molded this universe. It was your first purpose, and now it must be your purpose again.
Tear open the portals between dimensions. Sweep away the debris. Move worlds. Move life, but take care to preserve it as you do.
See my mind. Know my request. Draw from me what power you require to fulfill this purpose. Follow my directives and reshape the universe.
When it is done, return to your rightful place among the stars and be at peace, for your work here will be done.
See my mind. Know my request. Be the instrument of my will. Go now.
The cosmos exploded within him, around him, through him…and he surrendered to his own peace.
AURORA
SENECA
“Mommy, I was talking to Anna while we were playing in the holovid, and we want to make up an adventure that other people can play where they meet the tiger aliens and the rainbow aliens and have to rescue them, or maybe the tiger aliens and the rainbow aliens have to rescue the people playing. We’re going to need an exanet senspace adapter if we want to share it with other people, so can we go to the store and get one?”
Isabela Marano regarded her daughter with a mix of wariness and incredulity. Marlee was growing up so fast, but her intellect was growing even faster.
She’d convinced Isabela last month to upgrade her eVi to the limit of what could be considered safe for a child at her stage of neural development. She knew all about Prevos and Melanges and Artificials, to the point where she’d begun asking surprisingly insightful questions about Isabela’s work. She was a wiz at customizing her virtual spheres using a simplified form of visual programming.
She still spoke with the voice of a child, but her words increasingly ranged beyond her years.
“Mommy? Can we?”
She smiled and took Marlee’s hand to make sure she stopped at the upcoming intersection. “Senspace adapters are expensive. Why don’t you concentrate on building this adventure first. If you prove to me that you will finish a project once you start it, then we’ll see about getting one.”
“Yay! I already started working on the story this morning, and when we get home, I can—”
Vertigo. The fleeting thought that she couldn’t breathe. A tumbling sky—
Isabela blinked several times, disoriented to the point of feeling nauseated. Cool hardness pressed into her cheek…she was lying on the sidewalk, with no recollection of having fallen.
She forced her eyes to stay open. “Marlee!”
A whimper beside her told Isabela where her daughter was before her eyes did. She crawled to her knees and clambered around to reach her. “Are you okay, honey?”
Marlee’s lips curled down. “Ow. I feel funny….” A hand reached down to grope at her leg as she began to sniffle. “My knee hurts.”
“Let me see.” She leaned down to inspect Marlee’s leg, which was when she realized everyone was on the ground. People looked around in bewilderment while sprawled on the sidewalks, or climbed to their feet then did the same.
A mass blackout? What could have caused such a thing? Had they been gassed? She inhaled through her nose, but smelled nothing odd. No skycars had dropped out of the sky as far as she could tell, but autopilot systems would have kicked in if their drivers fell unconscious. No explosions rocked the buildings or tore into the streets as they had when General O’Connell launched his fiery barrage on Krysk.
She forced herself to focus on her daughter. Priorities. “You skinned it on the sidewalk is all.” She rea
ched in her bag and retrieved a hygienic wipe, using it to gently dab at the scrape. “Better?”
Marlee nodded weakly and sniffled again. Isabela steadied herself, picked her daughter up in her arms and stood.
“What happened, Mommy? Why did we fall?”
She scanned the scene to the horizon, but found no answers. “I do not know.”
AQUILA
Noah gazed out at an audience of people he did not recognize. Wealthy business magnates, socialites, celebrities, allegedly even a few politicians had come to do their social duty and be present for the honoring of his father.
Kennedy was in the front row, though, along with her parents, her brother and his husband. Her family, here to support him. His family now, in a way; that one was going to require greater mulling over, later. But today was about his father….
Goddamn his father. His clone. The man had controlled so much of his life—actively and with a heavy, unforgiving hand for the first fifteen years, then by living rent-free in Noah’s head for the next twenty. Until Kennedy. He started to smile at the thought, but quickly tamped it down. This was a funeral, after all.
He supposed his life had come full circle, in a sense. But, inevitable heir to his father’s fortune or not, in the ways that mattered it had done so his way.
Public speaking was not his gig, and he decided his best course of action was to direct his speech to Kennedy. The rest of the audience would think what they wished and take from it what they wanted in any event.
He cleared his throat and tried to look properly solemn, if not dignified. “We’re gathered here today to honor the memory of Lionel Terrage. To honor his life and his achievements, which were many.”
He exhaled. “My father was…my father was not an easy man to like. But he built an industrial empire, garnered riches for himself, and along the way made the world a little bit better through his endeavors. By putting his drive, determination, perseverance and intellect to work, he barreled through obstacles to see his grandest visions realized. And when it truly mattered, he put everything he’d built on the line for family and for larger principles—for something greater than himself. I can think of no better compliment than—”
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