by David Beers
“Would that be a problem?”
Petra thought for a few seconds as she held the Ascendant’s gaze. “No.” She shook her head. “Not if he’s a threat to the Commonwealth.”
“I doubt you’ll be in that position,” he responded. “If it comes up and you can do it safely, then perhaps I’ll ask it of you…depending, as you said, on how great a threat he poses to the Commonwealth. Do you have anything else you’d like to ask? I want to make sure all your questions have been answered, Petra. It’s very important you go into this with clear eyes.”
She couldn’t think of anything, so she shook her head. “No, my liege.”
“Then will you accept this assignment from your Imperial Ascendant? Will you help protect the Commonwealth at all costs?”
Petra stood from her chair and walked to the other side of the table. She took a knee, bowing her head as she did. “I’ll do as you wish, my liege. My life for the Commonwealth.”
It was perhaps the most honest act Alexander had ever performed to hold onto his power. He’d leveled with someone so far below him that for her even to get a meeting with him was nearly unthinkable. Yet, the Fathers hadn’t been wrong in their estimation of the woman. She was loyal to the Commonwealth, if not directly to him, and that was why he’d been so honest.
If she was to understand that he was the only man who could steer the Commonwealth through the coming war and its aftermath, she had to know some of how he’d prepared. He’d only given her one story, but there were a thousand more. Truthfully, there were an unlimited number he could give her if that was what she needed to understand that loyalty to him was paramount to saving the Commonwealth.
The bottle of wine was finished and Alexander was alone in the gardens, feeling slightly buzzed.
He stared at the fish and the coral without seeing them.
One thing he hadn’t told the woman was another difference between him and those who wished for his throne: he would do anything to keep it. Had he not proven that to Caius? His grandson could be forgiven for not understanding, but the propraetor? He wondered if the man wasn’t going soft in the head as he grew older. Yes, Caius had obviously started his little revolution decades ago, but didn’t he now know that Alexander would do anything to remain on the throne?
Perhaps now that the grandson was married to the former Titan’s wife, Caius would see it.
Alexander sighed, alone with only animals to keep him company. Animals with memories that lasted only seconds that relied on instinct to make their next decision. The outside world might condemn his choices if they knew them, but none understood the strength it took to command humanity through a crisis.
None would want to know, either.
Caius and Hector would have to die, just as Kane would—and the AllSeer too, the one also named Alexander. Four who wanted his throne, and none who deserved it. None who had earned it.
Soon all four would go through the same trials Alexander had, and all four would die.
Chapter Nine
Alistair hated his current place in the universe. In all forty-plus of his years, this was perhaps second in revulsion to when he’d trailed to Pluto. The reason that held the top spot was that he’d been unable to affect anything then.
Now, he was only about ninety-five percent unable to affect the universe.
It seemed everything was happening to him, and he couldn’t happen to anyone else.
First it had been Luna, who he’d refused to speak about with anyone since seeing the holovid a few days previously. He’d made up his mind what would happen there, and he didn’t need input from his council or anyone else, for that matter. Those who had forced her into the marriage would die, and anyone who’d had a part in it—who had laid down a piece of carpet, who had set up a chair, who had poured a drink, anyone who had opened their fucking eyes at Luna would die. There wasn’t anything he could do until he got to Earth, but death was coming for everyone involved.
Alistair had managed to force his attention to the task at hand, which was getting this massive force back to the planet Phoenix, then gearing up for the eight-planet warpath through the Commonwealth’s territory.
“I’m beginning to not want to see you anymore, Thoreaux. All you do is bring me bad news.”
Thoreaux had come with Servia. He held a DataTrack at his side, and both their faces were pale. They hadn’t announced themselves or brought anyone else.
Alistair had just stepped out of the shower and still had a towel wrapped around his waist. They’d rung his quarters, and the looks on their faces had gained them entrance despite his state of undress.
“So no jokes, I’m taking it,” Alistair said as he moved over to his bed. “What is it?”
Thoreaux spoke first. “The carrier we left to direct any stragglers or new people who decided to join our cause—do you remember it?”
Alistair nodded. “I did a walk-through before we left it, thanking the soldiers for remaining behind. Told them we’d save some killing for them when they caught back up.”
Servia stepped to the small work table and quickly cleared the clutter off. “Just show him.”
Thoreaux nodded, then placed the DataTrack on the table. He tapped the screen a few times, and a holovid came to life. He and Servia stepped back. “This came in about twenty minutes ago. Servia saw it and came to get me. It was highly encrypted, so most likely no one else has seen it, and it’s best we keep it that way.”
Alistair watched a recording from the carrier’s point of view. He was looking out into space and wouldn’t have been able to see anything, but the holovid had highlighted the important objects in red.
Three of them.
“What is that?” he asked, staring at something that resembled an Earthborn squid with fewer tentacles. He saw the ship fire lasers and watched the squids dodge them.
“No clue,” Thoreaux said.
Servia’s face was fixed on the DataTrack. “Keep watching,” she whispered.
Two corvettes launched from the carrier, highlighted in green on the backdrop of space’s blackness.
Alistair blinked as he watched what happened to them. Two of the squids took them apart as if they were children’s toys. The corvettes—machines built for the sole purpose of killing—were destroyed in mere minutes.
Alistair’s eyes narrowed.
“I hate to say it,” Servia chimed in, “but it gets worse.”
Alistair knew what was coming, and he didn’t want to watch it; all those souls who had chosen him were going to die. He didn’t look away, though. He owed them that.
The squids hit the carrier like a hand hits a pool of water.
The holovid switched to cameras that tracked the squids as they pierced the vessel’s armored walls. Their tentacles shredded and pummeled anything in their way. Nothing could withstand the punishment they dealt out. Fire ripped through hallways where oxygen still existed, burning men and women alive.
Thank the gods there weren’t any children aboard, Alistair thought.
Finally, the holovid went black. There was nothing left to record the damage.
Alistair stood from his bed, staring at the spot the holovid had been. “What did I just see?”
“There’s nothing like that in the universe, Pro,” Thoreaux stated. “It doesn’t exist.”
Alistair turned his head to the ceiling. Water was still dripping down his body; he hadn’t had time to dry off before they came in. “If they don’t exist, those must be the AllSeer’s. He’s the only one with technology we don’t understand. Has the AllMother seen it?”
“No,” Thoreaux answered. “We brought it directly to you.”
Alistair nodded and turned his back to them. “Let me finish getting dressed. Call the council, including the AllMother. They all need to see this. Leave the DataTrack. I want to watch it again.”
“Got it,” Thoreaux answered. He and Servia left the room quickly. Hopefully, everyone would be ready by the time he was.
“Jeeves,
” Alistair said to the room. “Can you reload that holovid?”
“Certainly.”
Alistair hung the towel up and started putting on clothes.
“Rewind to the beginning,” he told the AI, his eyes on the holovid as he threw a shirt on.
He watched the first twenty seconds. The ship had been programmed to constantly record all the space around it. “Was it you or the captain that sent this, Jeeves?”
“As much as I’d like to take credit,” the AI responded, “the captain gets it.”
She must have known there was no hope, and her last act had been to get the word out. It had to have been quick, based on what Alistair had seen.
“Rewind it again.”
The holovid went to the beginning while Alistair slipped on boots.
“Okay, Jeeves, load it in the war room. I’m heading there now.”
“As you wish, sir,” the AI said in its odd accent.
Alistair didn’t bother looking at himself in the mirror. There wasn’t time for vanity because what he’d just witnessed was worse than what Thoreaux and Servia probably thought.
He made his way to the war room, entering as others did. The AllMother was already sitting down, and she was the most important piece of this. Alistair didn’t know how much help she’d be, but if anyone could understand this, it would be her.
“Everyone here?” Alistair asked as he did a quick mental check. Thoreaux, Servia, Relm, Faitrin, Caesar, and the AllMother.
“We’re here,” Thoreaux answered.
“Jeeves,” Alistair told the AI, “show ‘em.”
The holovid came up again, and Alistair watched the whole thing. He felt the pang of guilt again when the squids hit the ship, but he shoved it down, compartmentalizing it. Right now, he had to keep his mind on the present and future. The past was lost to him.
When it was over, Relm was the first to speak. “They seem friendly enough.”
The color had drained from everyone’s faces except Caesar’s and the AllMother’s.
“Jeeves, play the first five seconds and put it on a loop,” Alistair said.
They watched the beginning through a few times before Alistair made his point. “Whatever those things are, they’re coming from the upper dimensions.”
He watched the creatures appear to unfold as they entered the holovid’s viewing range. Any time a ship, person, whatever, went up a dimension, it appeared as if they were folding in on themselves. When they went down, say, from fourth to third, they appeared to unfold.
That was what they were seeing here.
Alistair turned his attention to the AllMother. “Is it your brother?”
“Jeeves,” she whispered, ignoring Alistair for the moment, “would you play it again?”
“Yes, madam,” the AI responded. The holovid played through one more time. Alistair didn’t watch but kept his eyes on the AllMother. She watched attentively, her eyes never leaving it. When it ended, the holovid didn’t replay, and the room sat in silence, waiting for her to speak.
“Is it the AllSeer?” Alistair whispered.
Without looking at him, she gave a small nod. “It’s Alexander. He’s sent them after you.”
Alistair crossed his arms over his chest. “What are they? Do you know?”
She shook her head, still staring at the empty place where the holovid had played. “No more than what you just saw.”
“They’re tracking me, you think?” he asked. “How? Why would they go to that ship?”
She met his eyes. “I don’t know his powers anymore. His science. It’s freakish to me, but there isn’t any other explanation.”
“Pro,” Thoreaux said from the other side of the room. He was leaning against the wall. “You said you walked the ship, right?”
Alistair nodded, his eyes narrowing. “I’ve walked a lot of ships.”
Thoreaux shrugged. “Might sound crazy, but maybe they’re tracking your DNA? If they’re traveling in the fifth dimension, that would be one reason they dropped down. They smelled your DNA, or whatever you want to call it.”
“Can you even track DNA? Is that possible?” Alistair asked.
The AllMother tapped the table, letting the others know she wanted to speak. “I don’t know about tracking DNA, but I know they’re coming for you. I know my brother, regardless of how many years have passed. He wants you dead, and those…things…fit his modus operandi. They’re overkill. They can destroy ships half the size of this dreadnought. Of course he would send them after you, Prometheus.”
The conversation died as her words settled over everyone.
Relm broke the silence. “You got a plan for this one, Pro? Or do you need me to come up with something? I’ve got a few minutes to spare.”
Jeeves interrupted before Alistair could say anything. “My apologies, but I have another urgent message you are all going to want to see.”
Relm groaned. Thoreaux straightened.
“Go ahead,” Alistair instructed.
A holovid dropped from the ceiling. A Terram stood in the middle of the room, short and powerfully built. Alistair knew his face; he’d seen him before, which meant the Terram was of some importance, though Alistair didn’t know his name. Thoreaux, Servia, and the AllMother dealt with the Terram for the most part.
The man spoke quickly in his native tongue, one Alistair still hadn’t learned though it was he they followed.
He said nothing while the man’s message came through. He watched his lieutenants’ faces, trying to understand what they were hearing.
What he saw brought him no peace; whether it was the message alone or the combination of it and those squid creatures, he didn’t know. He only knew what expressions their faces bore: sheer defeat.
Finally the message ended. Thoreaux swallowed once and looked at his leader. “The Commonwealth is going to attack Phoenix. They just dropped out of the fourth dimension, and they’re hovering above the planet’s atmosphere. They gave them an ultimatum: the Terram must give them the planet, or they’re going to attack.”
Alistair rubbed his hand through his hair, trying to get a handle on this new situation. “Is that just the overview, or is there anything else?”
“That’s pretty much it, but Jeeves can give you a translation.”
Alistair shook his head. “Give it to me later, Jeeves,” he told the AI. He moved to the edge of the room and sat down in a chair, needing to think. His council slowly followed him over. Alistair bent forward, placing his elbows on his knees, and looked at the floor. He wasn’t talking to them but himself.
“We’ve known the Commonwealth was still watching us, but our fleet’s size must have told them what my plan was. Or someone leaked the information to a spy. Anything’s possible, but it doesn’t really matter now. They don’t care about the Terram. They care about that portal.”
He grew quiet for a second. No one else spoke. It might not have been fear in the room since they’d seen this man defy all odds so far, but something close to it permeated everything.
“It’s a smart move. They’re going to have the planet, and if we want the portal, we’re going to have to take it from them. They want us to try, and then they plan on ending the insurrection before we ever make it back to the Milky Way.”
He straightened, then leaned back in the chair and found Thoreaux’s eyes.
His second in command tilted his head to the ceiling. “Jeeves, how far is the next nearest portal?”
The AI’s voice filled the room. “I could give you a number, but it wouldn’t matter. Even in the fourth dimension, it’s prohibitively far. More, the Commonwealth could jump to that one if we headed that way. It’s not a viable option, sir.”
Thoreaux shook his head and looked at the floor. Servia spoke from his side. “What do you want to do?”
“I need to talk with Aspen, then I need some time to think. Keep on the current course.”
“Do we send a message back to the Terram?” Servia asked.
“Tel
l them not to fight but to give up the planet. There’s no need for them to die uselessly; the Commonwealth will get the planet if they want it. Plus, we’ll need them for the battle.” He paused for a second, then stood. “Tell them I’m on my way.”
Aspen de Monaham never thought he’d get the position he now held. He’d also never wanted it.
He was now head of the Monaham family, but it was a job meant for someone else: his sister.
Cristin de Monaham.
The past few months had been the most tumultuous of Aspen’s tumultuous life. His sister had been killed trying to expand her empire, and regardless of what had happened on that strange planet she’d gone to, the mantle of family leader had fallen on her younger brother—on Aspen.
He’d heard about those in his family shouting the man’s name, screaming “Ave, Prometheus!” over and over when their fallen general had passed only moments before. It had made Aspen sick to his stomach to hear such things, and he’d sworn to kill every man, woman, and slave who had participated.
Aspen wasn’t a cruel man by nature, but he’d loved his sister, and he loved his family. It’d been a traitorous act to do such a thing.
It wasn’t until the man that killed his sister showed up on Aspen’s planet that his mind changed on that issue.
Aspen was five years younger than his sister, who had been a young leader. At nineteen, Aspen now owned a planet, and the man who’d killed the Ice Queen was upon it.
The Ice Queen’s generals were being held captive, so only the elders were there to give him any advice. Attack the coming force or wait and hear what the man known as Prometheus had to say? Was he bringing fire to a planet made of ice?
The elders had told him to attack, but Aspen said he was going to wait. He was no warrior despite what his father had wanted from him.
The message that came from the dreadnoughts high above his planet was simple and shocking.
“My name is Alistair Kane, and I am the man who killed your queen. I am keeping your ships as spoils of war. I’ve returned to your planet for a few reasons, the first being to give you Cristin de Monaham’s body so that you may perform whatever burial rites your culture practices. I’ve also brought anyone still living, and they can decide whether to stay with me or return to their homes.