Space Dragon Allepexxis

by C. K. Pershing

  “Is that what the captain meant by taking the scenic route?” Paress asked. “We were wondering.”

  Behlen nodded. “Yes. You see, this ship has the jump capability— and just as importantly, the government clearance— to make jumps almost as soon as we leave Wystra’s atmosphere. Most other ships have to get past the space station zone or even the moon areas before they can safely jump, or they don’t have the security clearance.”

  “Ah, that liner I was on with my family to go to Saint Chandres we didn’t jump until we were near the moons,” Paress said.

  Behlen nodded. “In that case, the liner probably could have jumped sooner, but didn’t because it was doing its own scenic route so the passengers could see the moons. It’s a pleasure liner, so it’s part of the job.

  “For this trip, we could have saved time and just jumped out as soon as we went into orbit, but I thought you’d want to see your home system and all the great beauty of it before leaving.”

  “Oh! Thank you then, very much,” Paress said. “I enjoyed all of it and I think maybe it helped for me to say goodbye in my heart.”

  “Good. I did a bit of the reverse for Casten when I brought him to meet you. We jumped and took the long way in so he could see some of the capital system’s sights.” Behlen leaned back. “Well, that combined with the fact that you always have to jump in from farther out because it’s busy near a planet and the airspace is constantly changing. Jumping out is always easier because you’re leaving the crowded airspace instead of trying to enter it semi-blindly.”

  Casten had a small frown on his face, no doubt thinking about how seeing Barotil was one of the system’s sights he could have done without seeing. Maybe he was going to talk about it, because he spoke up.

  “Doctor, may I ask a question?” Casten said, and Paress was again reminded of how he himself was supposed to speak to Behlen— like a respected teacher.

  “Of course,” Behlen said.

  “Well, it’s about this Hyper Battle Machine we’re supposed to work with.”

  “Go on. The worse that can happen is I tell you important information that will require me to kill you afterward.”

  Casten’s expression briefly changed to one of horror before he realized what was happening and said with a smile, “Nah, you’re joking, right?”

  Behlen grinned and clapped Casten’s shoulder. “Go ahead, what’ve you got?” Paress absently noted that Behlen hadn’t actually said he was joking…

  “Okay,” Casten said. “Well, it’s that I know most Space Knights don’t receive their assignment to a Hyper Battle Machine until they’re near graduation. That’s when they’re tested and synchronized with their Companion to the Machine they’re going to pilot.”

  “That’s right.”

  “But you’ve been talking about testing Paress with this Hyper Battle Machine you have in mind like that’s going to happen almost right away. Is it?”

  Behlen looked out the window at the odd distorted reality of jump space. “Yes, that’s the plan. A bit unorthodox, but it’s important we know right from the start how Paress— and you for that matter— does with this Machine.”

  He turned and looked at Paress. “If it works out, we’ll know to tune your instruction differently than most Space Knights because this Machine’s advanced controls and synchronization are different from the standard Hyper Battle Machine OS. It’s best to know from the start if we’re going down that road. If it doesn’t work out, no problem— you’ll receive the same kind of Space Knight training in the Hyper Battle Machine OS as all other candidates and we’ll go from there.”

  Behlen was smiling, but Paress could tell that if he wasn’t able to work with the special Machine and could “only” work with one of the other Hyper Battle Machines, Behlen would be disappointed.

  “Um, now that it’s just us, is it safe to actually talk about this Hyper Battle Machine?” Paress asked. “I mean, we don’t even know the name and number, what it can do, what it looks like. Can you tell us now that we’re away from my family and on an Academy ship?”

  Behlen looked around the compartment to be sure they were alone and then leaned in close and said, “No.”

  At Paress’ inevitably crestfallen look, Behlen laughed and said, “Yes, I can tell you some stuff now. #25. Allepexxis.”

  “#25,” Casten repeated. “Ah, that must mean something to my inner programming because I suddenly got the feeling it’s really important and my body’s preparing now.”

  At this, Paress was surprised to see Behlen’s eyebrows raise, apparently Casten had just said something that surprised even him. “Interesting,” Behlen said. “It seems like your Creator has taken steps…”

  “I’m sorry, are you angry?” Casten asked.

  “No… just interested in something. As you know I’m mostly in Hyper Battle Machine development but I have some friends in other departments, like your Creator in Companion Design. Companion Design has some things that surprise me, just as your Creator has told me some of the stuff that my department does surprises her. Funny how people can work together and know each for so long and yet not always be on the same page.” Behlen shook his head slightly. “But I digress. Just out of curiosity, what else is your inner programming telling you, if anything?”

  Casten frowned, obviously unsure if he wanted to say anything more after Behlen’s odd response. “Well, just that #25 is one of The Seven.”

  Behlen let out a short laugh and clapped his hands once. “‘The Seven’!” Then he affected a solemn, deep tone. “The Seven.” He laughed again. “Lord, the whole thing sounds so poetic. Who knows, maybe it is. It’s all just one big epic poem.”

  Seeing the confused, bordering on frightened, looks on the two boys’ faces, Behlen sighed. “Ah, I’m sorry. I must seem completely crazy. Like some weird mad scientist speaking in riddles. I don’t mean to be. I’m just used to being around people who already know about all this stuff.”

  He waved a steward to bring a cup of coffee over, black, and as he took a sip he said, “Okay, there have been seventy-two Hyper Battle Machines built since we started creating these things way back when.

  “Well, occasionally, there’s an anomaly and a very particular type of Machine is created. A Machine that has such strict requirements to make it work that most Space Knights can barely get the thing to move, much less do anything worthwhile. But if we can find the right person, the Machine goes from being almost useless to being more powerful than most of the other Machines— a lot more powerful.”

  Behlen looked back and forth between Paress and Casten. “Now, I’ve already told you this stuff before— even going back to our first meeting in your living room. You know that #25 is one of those kinds of rare Machines. Well, with that in mind, how many Machines do you think have been built that in total that are just as rare?”

  “Ah,” Paress said, “seven!”

  Behlen smiled, “Yes, you would think so, but here’s where things get weird. So far, only four of these rare Machines have been found.”

  “Found? But why do they have to be found if you’re the ones who built them? And how do you know it’s supposed to be seven?” Paress was only getting more confused.

  “Those are good questions,” Behlen said, taking another sip. “First, we know it’ll be seven because of something that has been revealed to us during the creation of the Machines. You may know that we use some technology from the Ancients that we’ve pieced together along with some magic, other-dimensional science and a bunch of other stuff, right?”

  “Right…” Actually, Paress had no idea so much went into a Hyper Battle Machine. He’d always just assumed they were super robots with a bit of magic attached like Companions and their Glamours.

  “Well,” Behlen continued, “we’ve noticed patterns appearing during the magical rites the arch mages perform, weird signals coming through other-dimensional space as we fine-tune each Hyper Battle Machine’s main computer and engine, and other strangeness that appea
rs in the programming that nobody can figure out where it came from. And all this stuff has come together to form a kind of message, prophecy, whatever you want to call it, saying that there are supposed to be seven of these…ultimate…Hyper Battle Machines.”

  “That’s kinda cool…and kinda scary,” Paress said.

  “No kidding!” Casten said. “Especially since some of that same kind of stuff goes into creating Companions like me!”

  Behlen patted Casten’s arm. “Don’t worry, you’re not gonna become haunted or possessed by some kind of extra-dimensional entity or whatever else you’re worried about. Companions have a lot of the same ingredients, but they’re mixed together differently, so there’s really no danger.”

  While Casten remained looking skeptical, Paress said, “So what about how you’ve only found four even though you know there’s gonna be seven. Don’t you mean, you just haven’t managed to create seven yet?”

  “That’s the logical conclusion and for years we thought the same thing,” Behlen said with a slight frown. “Until completely by accident, my mentor, the man responsible for creating #25, stumbled on some evidence that a Machine could have a dual nature. That is, it behaves like a normal Hyper Battle Machine, can be piloted by a wider array of candidates, and so on.

  “But if the proper criteria is met and the right pilot and the right Companion comes along, the Machine…well, it shifts over into its other version— its special version— and it suddenly becomes much more powerful than anyone suspected.”

  “It’s almost like you’re talking about multiple personalities,” Paress said.

  “That’s not a bad comparison,” Behlen said. “Especially since there’s a good chance the Hyper Battle Machine’s own main computer doesn’t know it has this power. Like two personalities in the same person who sometimes know the other exists. The alternate programming that makes the Machine special seems to exist in some kind of other-dimensional limbo waiting for the right requirements before shifting over and taking charge of the main computer.”

  “Or,” he sighed, “it could be that the Machine has just never had the chance to use this programming and when it does, it’ll adapt it into the normal programming to make a new, combined Machine OS. In that way, it’s different from multiple personalities because its becomes a new personality that melds the two into one.”

  “Okay,” Paress said. “I think I understand. So what you’re saying is that almost any Hyper Battle Machine could turn out to be one of the Seven if it happens to get the right pilot at the controls. Otherwise, it’ll keep on going as usual, like a normal Machine.”

  “Very good, you’ve got it,” Behlen said and Paress was happy to see real admiration in the man’s eyes.

  “But how do you know that maybe one of the missing Seven hasn’t already been destroyed?” Paress asked. “Like, I know almost all the early Hyper Battle Machines have been destroyed. What if one of them was a Special and just never got the right pilot to do its shift?”

  The admiration in Behlen’s eyes grew brighter. “Excellent! That’s a perfect question.” Casten reached over and patted Paress back as Behlen said, “And well, that’s the problem. We don’t know. We know for a fact about four of them. As I said, #25 is the fourth. But there’s the very real possibility the other three were already built and destroyed without never finding their other nature.” Behlen finished his coffee.

  “That’s the real problem,” he continued. “But…I’ve seen a couple little things pop up here and there. They may be nothing. But I’m hoping with time they’ll pan out. The same kind of tiny clues that led us to knowledge of the Seven in the first place.

  “As I said, they may be nothing, but I’m starting to feel deep down in my gut that there’s at least one special Machine waiting to be discovered. And I’m nearly positive that it’s already been built and it’s just gonna keep doing its thing, business as usual, until the right pilot comes along.” Behlen suddenly stood up and stretched. “Okay! Good talk guys. I’m very impressed. I’m going to go have a word with the captain and see how we’re doing.”

  “Doctor?” Paress asked as Behlen was turning to go.

  “Yes?” Behlen said, turning back.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just, I notice you don’t seem to use the Hyper Battle Machines’ names. Only their numbers. Why is that?”

  Behlen rested his arm on the top of one of the chairs. “Because when it all comes down to it, these things are weapons, pure and simple. They aren’t people like Casten here. I’ll be the first to admit that Hyper Battle Machines have been known to show some level of self-awareness and maybe even intelligence. Even then, nothing on the level of a dolphin, or a well-trained dog or anything like that. Yes, they can surprise us occasionally and as discussed, there are a lot of things that go on in their minds that we can’t explain. Maybe you’ve heard the saying ‘The mind of the Machine is inscrutable’? It’s a common point of discussion in my line of work. But until I see more, it’s better I stay…disengaged from trying to humanize these weapons.”

  Behlen’s eyes narrowed slightly. “In fact, I would argue that if Hyper Battle Machines ever do gain distinct personalities and intelligence, that it’s in our best interest to pull the plug. Because one of the most dangerous things I can think of is a weapon of mass destruction with its own thoughts and beliefs. Of course, I know pilots like to assign personalities to their mounts. To each his own. If you choose to call #25 by his given name, Allepexxis, I won’t stand in your way. But for me, he stays a number.”

  “But you say ‘him’. Isn’t that giving the Machine a bit of personality with a gender?” Paress asked.

  “Fair question,” Behlen said. “But really in my case, I just call these things like I see them. If they look like something recognizable and masculine, I say ‘he’— it’s the same for Machines with female traits. Of course, we build a lot of weird stuff and I don’t hesitate to say ‘it’. If anything else, being able to split things into three categories helps me to remember which Machine is which since sometimes even I lose track.”

  “You said that Allepexxis looks like something recognizable, so I guess that means he’s not one of those really strange Hyper Battle Machines like the giant cylinder with the claws,” Paress said.

  “That’s right.”

  Paress and Casten looked expectantly at Behlen and after a long torturous moment, he said, “Oh, did you want me to tell you what #25 looks like?”

  “Yes!” they both chorused with smiles.

  “Well, that’s one thing I’m not going to tell you. Only because that would spoil the surprise. Don’t worry, I’m positive you’ll both love how he looks.” Behlen turned to go. “And on that major teaser, I’m going to leave you guys so I can have that talk with the captain.” He laughed softly and walked off as Paress and Casten stared at each other, their minds racing as to what Allepexxis could look like.

  Chapter Six

  Francescan Star Calendar Year 508.2

  Location: Zone of Enigmas, Planet Elise Empyreah, Francescan Royal Space Knight Academy

  When the Frosche finally came out of jump, Paress was immediately struck by the beauty of the planet ahead. Elise Empyreah was a vibrant green planet with beautiful blue oceans and wispy clouds. He had to admit that he’d never much thought about the home planet of the Space Knight Academy, but when he did, he’d always visualized it as some kind of factory world— a place where the natural environment had been buried under vast scientific facilities and factories.

  Elise Empyreah was the exact opposite. In fact, it looked much more like a resort planet not unlike Saint Chandres, than a place where some of the Francescan Star Empire’s most arcane and powerful super science was developed. Four small moons orbited the planet, each terraformed and ringed with stations. Elise Empyreah itself had a bright white ring station going around it connected to the planet’s surface by eight space elevators at equal intervals. There was a large spherical station at each pole, also connected by space el
evator. The planet and its connected stations had the aspect of a piece of jewelry.

  Various starships came and went, docking at the planet’s ring station, but Paress noticed that nearly all of them were from the Academy itself, the Navy, or the occasional Royal. Only a very small few were civilian ships, but considering the important top secret work done on the planet, that wasn’t much of a surprise.

  “Doctor Behlen,” Paress said, “This is probably a stupid question and I’m sorry that I didn’t pay better attention, but are the coordinates to get here hidden from most nav computers?”

  Behlen, who had rejoined the boys hours previously said, “Yes, that’s right. It wouldn’t do to have the jump address to this place common knowledge considering what all goes on here. That said, the Empire’s been growing at such a rate that back when this location was first established it truly seemed like the middle of nowhere and seemed to take forever to get here. Since then, thanks to galactic sprawl and faster jump drives, it’s not as hard to reach.”

  “What happens if somebody gets here by accident?” Casten asked.

  “Well, the whole system goes on high alert and the intruder is immediately jammed from broadcasting its coordinates and boarded,” Behlen said. The boarding party wipes all trace of the jump coordinates from the ship’s nav computers and then goes over the entire ship with a fine-tooth comb to make sure there are no recording devices with this information. Sometimes we’ve held ships for weeks depending on the size of the ship and crew.

  “After the all-clear, we attach a device to their nav computer that initiates the jump out using its own internal star charts. When they’ve completed the jump, the device self-destructs its internal components and becomes useless, turning navigation back over to the ship’s computer. In that way, the intruding ship can’t simply retrace its steps.”

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” Paress said.

  Behlen smiled. “It is, but it’s not going to keep us safe forever. Eventually somebody will screw up on our end and miss something or somebody on the outside will get lucky and the jig will be up. Did you know there’s a bounty on this location? Various black market entities and the enemies of the Empire— even most of our allies— have posted massive amounts of money as a reward for the coordinates to this system.”