Echo Rift

by G. S. Jennsen

  59

  * * *

  CAF AURORA

  Toki’taku Stellar System

  If there existed a Rasu command ship here today, Miriam was currently staring it down.

  NO.

  The leviathan didn’t budge. Alas, it had been worth a shot, but nightmare rules did not apply here.

  The murky aubergine hull stretched for a virtual eternity. At least twice as large as a Kat superdreadnought, the leviathan’s breadth and length were devoted almost entirely to weapons delivery.

  Of course, so was the Aurora. “Thomas, so long as we are situated between this Rasu and the planet below, negative energy missile use is authorized. Target its weapons assemblies whenever possible.”

  ‘There are many such assemblies.’

  “I realize there are. Start on the port end.”

  Commandant Solovy (CAF Aurora)(Command Channel): “Fleet Admiral Bastian, I need every Sabre targeting this leviathan’s weapons assemblies.”

  Fleet Admiral Bastian (AFS Leonidas)(Command Channel): “Two of the Sabre squads are intercepting new Rasu arrivals—”

  Commandant Solovy (CAF Aurora)(Command Channel): “The leviathan. Now.”

  Fleet Admiral Bastian (AFS Leonidas)(Command Channel): “Acknowledged.”

  She’d received a report fifteen minutes earlier stating the Taiyoks were deploying a new manner of weapon against the Rasu that had breached the atmosphere and begun attacking the surface. The Taiyoks had pulled off more than one surprise today, and early indications suggested the newest one was making significant headway against the ground incursions, which was welcome news.

  But each one of this leviathan’s weapons was robust enough to burn straight through the atmosphere and reach the surface from space at full strength. Such firepower could burn large swaths of the planet in a matter of minutes, and no ground-based weapon was going to stop it. It was up to her to do so, and do so quickly, which meant she did not have time to explain her rationale to Bastian. Whether due to her brief absence from the plane of the living or simply his long aversion to her leadership, cracks in the chain of command were making themselves visible. She would deal with those cracks, but not here.

  A negative energy missile detonated mid-stream of one of the leviathan’s violet beams directly in front of the viewport, and the world seemed to turn inside out. The reverse explosion created a yawning void that defied description; Miriam honestly wasn’t certain her eyes were capable of processing what they were seeing. Though even these cosmic forces could not penetrate the Aurora’s double-shielding and adiamene hull, her stomach felt as if it, too, curled in on itself and fell into its own void.

  Then the beam and the missile were gone. Unfortunately, the leviathan remained.

  Her XO cleared his throat unevenly. “Well, that was…strange.”

  “Yes, it was.” She blinked away the vague feeling of disorientation. “Thomas, report. What’s our progress?”

  ‘We have destroyed five of the weapons batteries. A squad of Sabres has arrived and has thus far destroyed two and damaged one.’

  “Which leaves?”

  ‘Twelve and a half discrete weapons batteries.’

  She nodded tersely. “Keep firing.”

  A torrent of rapid chatter erupted on the comm feed. It scrolled faster than she could follow, but it appeared to involve a Khokteh regiment tangling with a swarm of smaller Rasu vessels near Toki’taku’s moon. She was about to check in with the Tokahe Naataan and see if his regiment needed any assistance when four of the leviathan’s weapons batteries wrenched apart in a single blast, sending a massive crack shooting up through the center of the vessel.

  “Was that us?”

  ‘Negative, Commandant. A coordinated barrage from three Kat superdreadnoughts has struck the leviathan.’

  Their AI-driven ships would be able to link their firing timing with perfect precision, she supposed. Whatever they’d done, it was damn impressive. The crack in the vessel’s hull widened until the ship fell into two pieces—but almost immediately, those pieces were reaching out for one another.

  Commandant Solovy (CAF Aurora)(Mission Channel): “All ships in range, target the split in the Rasu leviathan located six hundred kilometers from the Aurora.”

  “Thomas, keep our fire on the weapons batteries.”

  Chaos descended outside the viewport, and only the vanishing infrared target markers they’d painted on the weapons batteries told her their strikes were scoring hits.

  A new squadron of Eidolons arrived from the Presidio then, their holds filled with fresh negative energy bombs, and she bypassed Bastian to task them directly with seeding their bombs across the fissures on the two halves of the leviathan. This beast was not going to succeed in its mission today.

  Craters in the leviathan’s hull soon began opening up like pockmarks on a moon, and the additional damage finally began to take its toll on the vessel. One half cracked again, wrenching two of its own weapons batteries apart as it did so. The Rasu was down to three still-powerful weapons, but it had also lost much of its propulsion and steering control.

  A chunk of the leviathan fell away from the main body and began tumbling into the atmosphere, only to have a laser from the Taiyok’s crippled-but-not-dead defense array disintegrate it into tiny, harmless pieces.

  Commander Palmer (ADV Dauntless)(Command Channel): “Taiyok Authority is reporting eighty percent destruction of in-atmosphere Rasu. If we can keep any more from reaching the surface, we’ll have this battle in hand.”

  Commandant Solovy (CAF Aurora)(Command Channel): “Excellent news. Let’s finish off this leviathan, then try to push the battle line back and give the planet some breathing room—”

  She cut herself off as the remains of the leviathan abruptly shapeshifted its jagged, broken edges into a more uniform oval and accelerated away.

  ‘I am detecting multiple Rasu wormholes opening ten megameters past the planet’s satellite.’

  On the tactical map, large groupings of dots moved in unison, like flocks of birds in advance of a storm.

  Commandant Solovy (CAF Aurora)(Mission Channel): “Everyone, track your current Rasu targets. If they’re fleeing, we want to usher them off properly.”

  The reports flooded in after that, all confirming how retreating Rasu were leaping through a sea of wormholes forming out behind the lunar body. The pieces of the leviathan that remained near the planet appeared to have lost all propulsion, and the Sabres finished them off almost as an afterthought.

  In five minutes, the battlefield was empty of Rasu. The comm channels erupted into excited chatter as congratulations circled through the fleets.

  ‘Well done, Commandant. We’ve proved we can defeat the Rasu without the need for protective Rift Bubbles.’

  “I suppose we have, Thomas.” Endorphins rushed through her body, supercharging the relief of a victory in hand. But a tiny, recalcitrant voice in her head refused to celebrate. Thus far, the Rasu had only fled a battle when it became crystal clear to them that they would not be able to achieve their goal. Here, the combined Concord, Dominion and Taiyok fleets were maintaining the upper hand, but they had not yet won the day. Not quite.

  So why had they left?

  ‘You seem disturbed, Commandant. What troubles you?’

  She shook her head roughly, letting the cheers and high-fives rippling across the bridge buoy her spirits. “Nothing, Thomas. This is a well-deserved victory on our part. I need to confer with Commander Palmer about assigning a defensive force to remain behind in case the Rasu return. Then let’s go home.”

  60

  * * *

  PALAEMON

  (Formerly Anarch Post Epsilon)

  Milky Way Galaxy

  Marlee exited the Caeles Prism from Concord HQ and stepped onto a floating platform. The files had said the entire settlement was built atop a body of water, but she’d assumed, wrongly, that it was an exaggeration. She studied the setting in interest, taking in the elevated walkways
connecting an intricate network of large, square platforms. Many of them had full-sized buildings constructed on them. It was almost a little floating city!

  When the anarchs had cleared out their Post Epsilon after The Displacement, they’d left all the infrastructure in working order. This facility had housing for hundreds of residents, a cafeteria-grade kitchen, generous meeting rooms and several open areas that had once been combat training space. On the whole, it was the perfect location to temporarily house the growing number of Godjan refugees when they first arrived. It was quiet, isolated, peaceful and rather humid, which maybe reminded the refugees of home.

  She’d made the initial arrangements for the Ourankeli’s pending arrival before leaving HQ, which had hopefully bought her enough time to check on the Godjans here first. She wandered along the spongy, tacky walkways and peered into the water in search of fish, to no avail. This was where Alex and Kennedy had invented the Caeles Prism, out on one of these platforms. The site was of historical interest in more than one respect.

  She reached the first platform that hosted a real building and asked around for the onsite Confove Mission director, a Naraida named Ildaite Llawhe. As she understood past events, in the year or so after The Displacement, a lot of work needed to be done to clean up the unseemly societal wreckage the Directorate had left behind, including many displaced and mistreated aliens in need of assistance. The Erevna exobiology research labs were shut down, and their subjects required medical attention and general acclimatization, as did a shocking number of ‘political’ prisoners who found themselves with their sentences commuted, often after many centuries spent languishing in prison.

  The Confove Mission was formed to meet these needs and take care of those who had been mistreated by the Directorate. In the years since, a philanthropic crisis was always popping up somewhere, and Confove had become the go-to group to step in with aid. Now, they were helping the Consulate properly care for the Godjans.

  She found Llawhe inside the cafeteria. He was shoveling a clover-colored Naraida dish called ‘sici caso’ into his mouth in between issuing a steady string of instructions to a Naraida woman and two humans sitting opposite him. Naraida were almost uniformly thin and willowy, but they also had turbocharged metabolisms; she’d never met anyone who could eat as much as quickly as a Naraida.

  She waited for a pause in the orders and stepped up to the table. “Director Llawhe? I’m Marlee Marano, from the Consulate.”

  “Yes, of course.” He gestured to the others. “I think I’ve covered everything. They should be coming through soon.”

  His underlings stood and hurried off, and Marlee eased into one of the vacated chairs. “I don’t know how much Dean Veshnael told you, but I’m here this morning to finalize the approved resettlement locations and to introduce the refugees to the various mentoring programs we’re implementing. We hope to start the programs here, then transition them to the new sites as the refugees are moved to more permanent homes.”

  “Excellent.” He wiped his mouth and stood. “Come with me. I’ll show you the space we’ve designated for the mentoring sessions, then we can go to my office and review your list.”

  She followed him back outside and down a winding walkway to the left.

  Her steps slowed as she spotted a Prevo holding open a wormhole on one of the platforms empty of erected structures. A female Godjan emerged through the wormhole walking backward. As soon as she cleared the wormhole, a group of four more Godjans emerged as well, huddled together and looking terrified.

  The female Godjan placed her hands on each of their shoulders in turn. “Good job. Come now, there’s nothing to be afraid of here.”

  Marlee cocked her head in surprise. Was that…? “Director Llawhe, will you excuse me for one minute?” She didn’t wait for an answer before jogging toward the staging area. More Godjans stumbled through the wormhole, and the female continued coaxing them onward with a soothing yet confident voice and manner.

  By the time Marlee arrived, forty or so Godjans stood trembling on the platform. The female nodded to the Prevo, and the wormhole closed. The Naraida woman and two humans from the cafeteria approached the group to stand next to the female Godjan, who motioned to them. “Everyone, this is Baeloni, Angela and Rafael. They’re going to take you to get some food—it’s super yummy—then show you where you’re going to sleep tonight. Now go right this way—” The speaker turned and caught sight of Marlee. Her eyes widened, and she practically jumped into the air as she sprinted over and grabbed Marlee around the waist.

  “Miss Marlee!”

  She tried not to giggle. “It is so good to see you, Vaihe.”

  “Oh, it’s so good to see you, too.” She let go of her vise grip on Marlee’s hips to spin around toward the refugees, who were half-listening to a speech by the Naraida woman and half-gaping at Vaihe. “Everyone, this is the lady I told you about. The one who rescued me! Oh, sorry to interrupt, Baeloni. Please continue.”

  Marlee waved to the group, then knelt in front of Vaihe to meet her at eye level. “This is all amazing! And you look incredible. I may have rescued you, but you’ve rescued all these people. I knew you were destined for great things when I met you, and I am so proud of you.”

  “Oh, no, I just do what I can. My people need to be told that there’s a new life waiting on them, free of violence and….” A shudder rippled through her. “Everybody is afraid to go through the hole in the world at first, just like I was. I try to show them it’s safe and help them believe that what’s on the other side is better.”

  “You’re doing a wonderful job.”

  “How was your trip? I missed you.”

  “Oh, it was…interesting. I’m happy to be back home.” Marlee smiled breezily. “How did all of this come about?”

  “While you were gone, I went to see Senator Miss Requelme. I told her I wanted to try to help the rest of the Godjans, and she took me to meet some nice people.” Her expression grew overly serious. “People from Confove. They help others who are…lost. One of them started opening holes in the world to the places I told him about, and I went through to try to convince people in the villages to come back with me. That was on the big space station, but later we moved here. I like it here. The fresh air is nice, and there’s so much open space. Also, the water doesn’t smell foul like it does on Savrak.”

  “I’m glad Mia was able to help you make a difference for all these Godjans. I’m sorry she’s gone now, but you’re doing so awesome on your own.”

  “Gone? No, she’s not gone. I mean, I didn’t see her for a while, but she’s here right now. Over there in the Orientation courtyard.”

  “What?” Marlee’s gaze followed where Vaihe pointed. She saw a Novoloume woman and three humans talking by a picnic table. After a few seconds, one of the humans shifted toward her. Her hair was way different, as were her eyes, but Mia’s elegant features were instantly recognizable.

  She squeezed Vaihe’s shoulder affectionately. “I need to go talk to Mia for a few minutes, okay?”

  “I understand.” Vaihe nodded sagely. “I have responsibilities I should attend to as well.”

  “Of course you do. You’re an important person around here—much more important than I am.”

  “Oh, never!”

  “Oh, yes. I’ll find you again before I leave.”

  Vaihe hurried back over to the Prevo operating the wormholes, and Marlee walked along the floating pathways toward the courtyard. According to Llawhe, the Godjans preferred being outside whenever possible, especially during the first hours after their arrival. So they held the initial orientation sessions in the courtyard, where they gently began to educate the refugees about Concord and what they could expect in the coming days.

  Mia spotted her when she was still half a walkway away, and a warm smile blossomed on the woman’s face. She placed a hand on the Novoloume woman’s arm and murmured something, then strode off to meet Marlee halfway.

  When they met, Mia reached out an
d embraced Marlee warmly. “I am so relieved to see you alive and in one piece. You had everyone terribly worried.”

  “And you. I love the hair! It’s very….”

  “Rebellious?”

  “Daring, for certain.”

  “Thank you. I might not keep it forever, but it’s working for me for now.”

  Marlee straightened her shoulders. She’d gotten a great deal of practice at apologies by now. “I am so sorry I didn’t leave Namino when you asked me to do so. I apologize for any trouble my thoughtless actions brought upon you. The responsibility all lies at my feet.”

  “I’m just glad you survived. And engaged in some heroics, too, I hear.”

  “Not really. In the end I hope I helped a little, but I learned a lot, no question. And I made several new friends. And developed a righteous hatred for the Rasu.”

  “Good. We’ll need that in the days to come.”

  Marlee fidgeted nervously, but stopped herself. It wasn’t a becoming trait for an adult. “I heard what all happened while I was gone. It must have been so awful for you. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through.”

  Mia’s expression clouded, and her gaze drifted off for a few seconds; then she visibly shook the fugue off. Always poised, always the diplomat. “It was not my finest hour. But it’s okay. I’m moving forward now—which is what brought me here. I am now on hour five of my eternal community service as part of my plea deal.”

  Marlee recalled what Morgan had said about this not being Mia’s first time as a fugitive. She still didn’t believe it, and Mia still felt too much like her boss for her to straight-up ask. “Thank you so much for helping Vaihe. For helping all these Godjans.”

  “No thanks are needed. You were right about them, and about our duty to help them. It’s one of the few good things I did after….” Her face blanched.

  “Mia, you don’t have to—”

  “How is working for Veshnael? Not too dull, I hope.”

  She let the woman change the subject without pressing her on Malcolm. “It’s, um…he’s not you. But he’s an honorable man, and he’s not too bad as a boss. He’s clear as to what he expects of me, compliments me when I do good work and is only slightly stern when things go the other way. I can’t complain.”