Villain

by Ivan Kal

  Tomas blinked at that. He knew that the Old Scar had left the Great Pack of the Krashinar, but he had been informed that it had gone back to Krashinar territory. It being with Adrian was interesting to say the least. Tomas had relied on the Krashinar a lot, and their Great Pack had been one of the largest fleets in the Grand Fleet. He had feared that the strange beings wouldn’t want to help the alliance again after the losses they had suffered. But when he called for them to help again, the Krashinar had sent another Great Pack. It made Tomas suspect that the Krashinar had far more of their beasts than the other races assumed.

  “The two Krashinar forces are distinctly different. Their signatures don’t match the beasts that are currently attached to our Grand Fleet,” Laura added.

  Tomas frowned. “A different faction?”

  “We don’t know. The Krashinar are an enigma on the best of days. The only one who really seemed to understand them was Adrian.”

  Tomas leaned his elbows on the table. He hadn’t really given much thought to the Krashinar. They never asked for anything, there was no negotiation with them. They had given their word and agreed to the alliance, and they did not break their word. He had never had any issues with them, so he had put them out of his mind as one less thing to worry about. Perhaps he shouldn’t have.

  “There is more?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Laura said and activated the holotable. The image of the solar system appeared and then zoomed in to show a small formation passing through the system. Tomas immediately noticed what she meant.

  “What is that?” Tomas said as he looked at what looked to be a massive mobile station. It was at least five times the size of a Sovereign, and was following behind Moirai and Araxi, flanked on all sides by strange Krashinar beasts.

  “We have no idea,” Laura said. “A battle platform of some kind? It’s covered with weapon systems—weapon systems of the People. The signatures are identical. The energy signatures and hull materials match those of the machine ships. This thing was most certainly constructed in the same system, in the same yards as every machine ship we ever encountered.”

  “He went after the AI, as he said he would,” Tomas said slowly.

  “Yes,” Laura said. “It looks like he won, and took over the facilities that the People left behind. The ones that Ullax Darr used to build the containment zone.”

  Tomas didn’t know how to feel about that. Adrian had told him that he would go and do it, and here he was, returning victorious. Then a thought struck him. “Are we sure that it’s him and not the AI playing tricks?”

  “We already checked,” Laura said, raising a hand. “Even if the AI could fool our cyber teams and our own AIs, I doubt that it could fool the Krashinar for long. In any case, Moirai is mostly organic. I don’t think that there is any way for it to have gotten control.”

  If he truly now controlled the constructing yards of the People, Adrian now had two incredibly powerful assets. Laura had told Tomas about the hollow planet that had been Axull Darr’s foundry. He had sent people there to try and take it once Adrian left, it was inside the Empire’s territory. But they still couldn’t gain access, and he hadn’t yet decided that harsher measures were required.

  “How did they get that thing through the access point?” Tomas wondered. The ring was massive, but that thing seemed just as large.

  “Barely,” Hayashi said.

  Tomas shook his head. He wondered why Adrian brought that thing with him. As he watched the formation make its way to Mars, he knew he would soon find out.

  * * *

  Adrian was escorted to the Lord Sentinel’s office, the room that had once been his. Tomas was there with the same group of people. They hadn’t waited for long. Next to Adrian walked Anessa, and behind them loomed the huge form of the Old Scar. Adrian walked through the room and stopped at the end of the table. He looked at the others, then locked his eyes on Tomas.

  “Tomas,” he said simply. There was no bowing of his head, no use of title. He wondered just what that said, but he didn’t really understand Adrian, not anymore.

  “Adrian,” Tomas answered back. He didn’t even know if Adrian had a title now. Is he a king now? An Emperor like me? In the end, it didn’t matter; perhaps he didn’t need a title. Everyone knew who he was.

  Tomas inclined his head toward Anessa and then looked at the Krashinar standing next to them. “I greet you, Old Scar.” Tomas bowed his head more deeply.

  “I greet you, Emperor,” the Krashinar sent. “But I am no longer the Old Scar. I am now the Seventh, guide of Krashinar.”

  Tomas raised his eyebrows. he knew a little about the Krashinar, but he knew that since the death of their Seventh, there had been only six leaders of their people. He glanced at Adrian, then back to the Seventh. Things seemed to have changed, and somehow he knew that Adrian had something to do with it. Tomas spoke again—the Krashinar might be able to speak only telepathically, but they did understand spoken language.

  “I did not expect to see you here, accompanying Adrian,” Tomas said slowly.

  “The Heart of the Mountain called on the Krashinar for aid. We answered.”

  Tomas glanced at Adrian, only to see him stand still as…well, as a mountain. “I see. Does this change anything about our alliance?”

  “It does not, Emperor. We have given our word. You have our Great Pack in your fleets.”

  Tomas released a sigh of relief. He was worried for a moment that the Krashinar were going to break away from the Alliance. Still, it seemed like he didn’t know nearly enough about the Krashinar and their way of life. They ruled an insane amount of territory—who knew what was hidden deep among the stars that no other race had ever seen?

  The silence stretched, no one saying anything, but the atmosphere was tense. Finally, Adrian broke it. He sighed, and some tension inside of his body seemed to leave him. He took a step closer to the table and pulled out a datachip. He placed it on the table and the holo changed, showing a stream of data.

  “We know what the Enlightened are planning to do,” Adrian said.

  Everyone at the table shifted, getting closer to the holo of the galaxy that had glowing dots scattered all over it.

  “What is it?” Laura asked before Tomas could speak. It looked like they were going to ignore the things left unsaid. Tomas wasn’t sure that he was fine with it, but he could look over it.

  “The Enlightened have been placing relays all across the galaxy ever since they broke their containment.” Adrian waved his hand, and the image of a massive object in space appeared. Tomas recognized it.

  “We’ve seen them,” Laura spoke. “Our scouts have recorded several Enlightened fleets escorting them through backwater systems.”

  Adrian nodded. “These are their real plan. Everything up until now was and still is just a diversion. They are seeding these relays in secret, while they make enough commotion to keep our eyes on them and not on what they are doing in those backwater systems.”

  “What do these relays do?” Levisomaerni asked, raising her equine head to meet Adrian’s eyes.

  “They are part of a weapon, one that will wipe out all life in the galaxy in a single moment,” Adrian said.

  Everyone at the table, including Tomas, shifted. It was hard to believe that such a thing was possible, but he was worried Adrian was right.

  “Do you have any proof of this?” Urvu'ri asked.

  Adrian waved his hand and the holo changed to show the galaxy with one system nearly at the center of the galaxy shining brightly. “We know that the weapon’s firing system is here, and that it is something called the Conduit. We recovered all of this information directly from the core of the Custodian AI, although it did attempt to delete all information before it was destroyed.”

  “How did you recover it, then?” Tomas asked.

  Adrian paused, looking uncomfortable, but then he shook his head and answered. “Iris took over the Custodian AI’s systems: its core, its processors, and its memory banks. She manag
ed to recover all information that was salvageable.”

  Tomas blinked, the others around the table had similar expressions of shock that turned to revulsion. Before anyone of them could voice their thoughts, Tomas spoke.

  “You allowed your AI to…take over the core of an ancient and unshackled AI?”

  “Yes,” Adrian said simply.

  “Please tell me that you put in some kind of restrictions on her,” Tomas said but he already knew the answer.

  “I disagree with your views on AIs. I saw no need for that,” Adrian said.

  The others were too shocked to speak, but Tomas had already expected something like this. “Even after you told me just how big of a threat the AI was? You told me that it could grow to be a threat larger than the Enlightened.”

  “Yes. I do not share your beliefs concerning AI, and Iris has been with me for my entire life.”

  Tomas wanted to say more, to scream at him for being so stupid, but he knew that Iris could hear everything that they were talking about. That particular danger had to take a back seat.

  “We’ll let that matter rest for now,” Tomas said. “You said that the Enlightened planned on wiping all life in a single instant? How?”

  “That is one thing that we don’t know,” Adrian replied. “We know only that it requires the Conduit and the relays. Iris managed to recover enough information that we believe that it will be operational soon, in a matter of months.”

  Adrian looked at him. “We don’t have any more time for games and disagreements. We heed to strike at that system before their weapon is operational.”

  Tomas scratched at his cheek. “There are a lot of things that you don’t know. Our experts assure us that the Enlightened have most of their forces stationed in the former Josanti League system. If we can meet them in combat and defeat them, we can end any chance of them posing a threat. You don’t even know if there is anything in this system. Did you scout it out or do you only have data that suggests that something is there?”

  Adrian took a deep breath. “The system is too far away to be scouted in the time we have left. It has no access point, and the ones closest to it are in Josanti League territory. The one that was now controlled by the Enlightened, and the other as a major base of the League. But even if we send a scout, we have no guarantee that it will be able to return, and most certainly not in time. We have one choice: to attack it directly.”

  “And what if you are wrong? If the AI put misinformation in its systems before it was destroyed?” Or if your Iris had gone rogue and is deceiving you? he added inside of his head.

  “I believe that we can’t take the risk,” Adrian said.

  “And what of the Enlightened? You know how large a force they have stationed in the system they had taken? Millions of ships, enough to wreak havoc across the galaxy. You would have us go with you and leave them to do as they will?”

  Adrian shook his head. “No. I agree that we should attack them as well.”

  Tomas blinked, his anger dying in his throat. “You agree?”

  “Yes, as any attack on the core will draw the rest of their force behind us. Attacking the two systems simultaneously makes the most sense.”

  Tomas was caught off guard. He had expected to have to fight with Adrian again, but he didn’t seem confrontational at all. He wondered if it was all part of his plan to manipulate them. “If you think that I will split the Grand Fleet that we are gathering—”

  “Of course not,” Adrian said. “I have enough ships to attack the core. I was thinking that perhaps Anessa and some of my Nomad Fleet could join your fleet to counter any Enlightened should they decide to join the fight.”

  Tomas looked at Adrian with suspicion. This was exactly what he had asked him before, and what he hoped to gain now. He wondered if Adrian was being honest or if he was hiding something. “Do you think that your Nomad Fleet is large enough to accomplish what you want?”

  “Yes. Iris has command of all the assets and fleets of the Custodian AI, and the Krashinar had been kind enough to give aid as well.”

  Tomas glanced at the Old Scar, or rather the Seventh, now. He wondered just how many great beasts they had given to him. “What about Lurker of the Depths and Ryaana?”

  “We have decided that they should come with me.” Adrian glanced at Anessa. Tomas couldn’t see anything change in the Shara Daim’s face, but he could feel something pass between them. “We believe that the core will be well defended, and if we are to take down this weapon, we will need to meet at least one Enlightened in direct combat. We might have the same level of power as them, but they are older and far more skilled than we are.”

  “But you think that Anessa is enough to protect the Grand Fleet?” Laura interjected.

  “Our ships are designed to fight them. If she can neutralize the Enlightened, it will be enough for you to fight them.”

  Tomas narrowed his eyes. “By that logic, couldn’t you do the same?”

  “No. If you fight against their fleets, they will not risk death. If I am right, they will fight to the death in order to protect this Conduit.”

  “Well, Adrian, you have given us a lot to think about,” Tomas said. “We will review this information and discuss it.”

  Adrian nodded, recognizing the dismissal. He turned and walked out of the room, Anessa and the Seventh following.

  Tomas looked around the room at the anxious faces. They had a decision to make.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Year 718 of the Empire — Sanctuary

  Adrian stepped off the shuttle and looked around the port of Olympus City. It was the strangest of sensations. The city looked small, unfit to be the capital of an empire, especially since it was so green—the nature could be seen all around the city, and the parks inside of it were plenty and bountiful. He knew that was by design, as Sanctuary had been left as untouched as possible. Most of the city was actually underground. The buildings around him weren’t the skyscrapers that nearly reached the end of the atmosphere; the tallest building was the palace, and it wasn’t nearly so tall.

  He took a deep breath, remembering his time spent here. It was peaceful, a time when he had been young and didn’t know much. Reminiscing, he made his way to the graveyard just on the outskirts of the city. He walked among the graves, though there weren’t many of them, not really. Practice of burial or leaving a headstone in the ground had long since disappeared. Nowadays people rarely died, and when they did, their bodies were usually cremated and scattered in space. A simple memento, a plaque with a holographic image of the deceased would be placed in the family home, or if they had none, that of a friend. For military personnel, there was a memorial on Thanatos, one of Sanctuary’s moons.

  But here were buried those who hailed from the old world, those who had come from Earth. Adrian stopped in front of a grave, reading the name: Bethany Jones.

  He wondered why he’d even came here. He hadn’t intended to; he hadn’t visited in centuries. There wasn’t even a body in the grave, and comparably she had been such a tiny part of his life. His first love, the woman who had died because of him and before they could see if their mutual feelings would lead anywhere. He wondered what would’ve happened if he hadn’t blown up that moon, if her ship hadn’t been destroyed in the fallout. He would never know. What he had felt for her was so small compared to what he had now. He didn’t love her nearly as much as he loved Anessa, or his daughters, his son. In his memories, he could barely remember Beth’s face.

  He remembered his friends from back then, his teammates. They had been so close once, but time had pulled them apart. It was no one’s fault, really. They had drifted apart, many having served their terms in the military before leaving, pursuing other interests. Those who stayed for more than one cycle retired after, and living forever meant that you could do many things with your life.

  The only one he still kept in contact with was his oldest friend, Sahib, who was still with the military working as a commando, leading an elite assault
team in the army. He probably had more experience than half the people who were his superiors, but he refused to climb up the ladder. He liked being on the ground. He had probably fought in every war the Empire had ever been engaged in. But even they had drifted. They exchanged messages, once a year, sometimes once every few. It was sad, in a way.

  Adrian shook his head, and looked to the sky. He had made a promise here once, on Beth’s grave. He had vowed to never stop pushing himself—to never stop trying to better himself, to push against his limits, to never retreat into the shell he had once allowed himself to fall into. She had been the first person he had ever let inside, and she had died. He hadn’t wanted that to break him; he remembered thinking that she wouldn’t have wanted that. He promised to learn and advance, so that what happened to her never happened again. He promised to become an example that others would want to follow. He wondered how much of that promise he had fulfilled. The last thing he promised was to never forget her. And he hadn’t. She had been his first big failure. She had died because he made a mistake, because he hadn’t been smart enough, hadn’t been fast enough, hadn’t been strong enough. His first lesson in the consequences of his actions.

  Now he had another situation just like that one in front of him. If he failed, it could mean the end of all life in the galaxy—and that was not something he could allow to come to pass. Adrian did not care about individuals, about people who were not strong, who spent their lives wasting the gift they were given, but he loved life. He loved it because every single one of those insignificant little specks had the potential to become his peer. That was one of his greatest drives, to live long enough to see another rise up just like him. How would it feel to be challenged by someone who had reached for the same power he had? It was the reason for his life. He wanted to safeguard all life so that he could see it blossom. In many ways, his love for life was purer than even Tomas’s. The Emperor loved his people. He would do anything for them: sacrifice everything to keep them safe, even crush other races. But Adrian cared for all of them equally, even the animals that hadn’t yet achieved sapience.