“They’re mind-boggling in their complexity, but without an exanet-style network to connect them they’re ridiculously limited. So what’s up?”
“Actually, I was looking for Emily.” She shifted toward the young woman. “Do you have a free minute?”
Emily blinked in surprise. “Sure.”
“Great. Let’s take a walk.”
Devon half-stood. “Wait—don’t I get to know what this is about?”
Mia laughed for show and headed for the door.
It was a warm, clear day, and the bright sunlight cast a vibrant amber hue upon their surroundings. Anarchs moved around with purpose, but there were fewer AEGIS people milling around than there had been the last few days. Most of the military personnel had returned to their ships to prepare for tomorrow’s mission. It had to make someone like Emily feel a bit lonely and isolated.
She gave the young woman a reassuring smile. “It looked as if Devon was enjoying himself.”
Emily rolled her eyes with the dramatic flair of an artist. “Oh, he is. He’s also driving the anarch techs crazy, but I think most of them secretly like sharing their work with an eager audience. Having deciphered their programming, I believe he’s now on a mission to decipher their communications system—then subvert it, of course.”
“Sounds par for the course for Devon.”
“Thank you for asking him to come here. I know he resisted, but this is good for him. Truth be told, he was starting to feel…adrift back home. His revolution went mainstream—then it became the mainstream. It doesn’t need him any longer. But now, he’s among rebels again. It makes him happy.”
“What about you? How are you doing?”
Emily glanced toward the lab building. “I’m a little homesick. I miss my friends and, you know, familiar things. Everything here is so odd. I’m not as fast to adjust to new surroundings as Devon is.”
She hurriedly placed a hand on Mia’s arm. “But you can’t tell him. He’s already given up so much for me. If he thought I was uncomfortable here, he’d demand for us to be on the next transport through the portal, and I don’t want that to happen.”
Mia frowned. “You have a right to be happy, too.” If only it were so simple….
“And I am—I will be. Yves, my Artificial, is helping me venture out of my comfort zone, and I’ve begun pondering ways I can try to combine our tech and theirs to create new variations on my art.”
“That’s kind of related to what I wanted to talk to you about. The anarchs are bringing some refugees here. Members of unintegrated species they and—” she stumbled over the words “—our Marines rescued from this lab where they were being treated as guinea pigs.” Dammit, she should be able to say his name.
“However odd you think everything here is, you’ve got nothing on these refugees. They don’t speak or understand the language, and in most cases they’ve never seen anything approaching this level of technology. They’re scared and confused, but also grateful to not be caged and tortured any longer. I thought perhaps you’d be interested in helping them become less scared and confused.”
“They’re not dangerous, are they?”
“I’ve been assured they’re not. But just in case, Administrator Latro’s people are handling their arrival and initial settling in. But after that, the anarchs are going to need help introducing them to this society, teaching them some basic communication skills, and so on. Hopefully, making them feel safe.”
“And we have more in common with the refugees than anybody who lives here.” Emily nodded. “I could draw up some images to help overcome the language barrier. Maybe we could use graphic symbols to build a way to communicate.” She paused. “That sounds as if it’ll be fun. I’d like to help.”
“Terrific. I’ll tell Latro. Now you should get back before Devon has heart failure.”
“It’ll do him good.” Emily laughed and offered a parting wave.
Mia slowed to a stop on a breezeway stretching across the water to bridge the Administration complex and the landing platforms. Administrator Latro was at a meeting on Post Alpha for another hour, so she had a span of free time before she would be able to begin coordinating the refugees’ orientation with him. Free time was not currently her friend.
She composed and sent Miriam a message.
Commandant Solovy,
Sator Nisi is planning to make a public appeal to the masses in the near future in a bid to rally more people to his cause. If feasible, it might make sense to time the Machimis mission and his speech for maximum impact. Let me know if you want me to broach the possibility to him, or if you wish to do so yourself—or not at all.
Regards,
— Mia Requelme
While she waited on a reply, she watched two anarchs, a Barisan and a Naraida, spar in the training ring beside one of the plazas. Both species were intrinsically quick and agile, though in different ways, and the match was a blur of spins, ducks and acrobatics. It concluded too soon and with no clear victor.
What could she do next to distract her from thinking about Malcolm? To stave off the crushing emptiness that rushed in to fill the silence? The unfamiliar, terrible ache of loneliness pressed on her chest until she could scarcely breathe.
Mia—
Please, Meno, don’t.
But I still don’t know what to do to help you.
Neither do I.
51
SIYANE
PALAEMON
ANARCH POST EPSILON
* * *
CALEB AND EREN WERE WAITING ON ALEX when she got back to the Siyane.
They were mid-conversation, but at her expectant gaze, Caleb motioned to Eren. “Tell her how you destroyed the Phoenix Gateway.”
“I placed a series of antimatter slabs all the way around the center ring. They were coated with varying amounts a self-dissolving material to delay the reaction long enough for me to place them all.”
Alex considered him skeptically, noting that he again seemed uncommonly chipper. And less…slouchy. “A couple of negative energy missiles should get the job done, then.”
Eren made a prevaricating motion. “Eh, maybe. My way’s more fun, though.”
“It killed you.”
“True. But if I had a getaway ride, it would take care of the admittedly unfortunate side effect. Trust me—my way’s more fun. Don’t you want to stand in space atop one of those rings?”
Her face lit up before she could help it, and Caleb rolled his eyes dramatically. “You’ve done it now. All right, we’re in. Can you get your hands on some antimatter slabs?”
He motioned to his pack. “Already did. When your message said you had a couple of questions about the Phoenix Gateway, I took a gamble on where you were headed with this and grabbed a set. You have a mission?”
Alex cringed. “Yes, but this one’s kind of off-the-books. Everyone has their hands full moving the fleet back into action, so we thought we’d handle this ourselves without creating a bunch of fuss.”
“I do relish off-the-books. What are we blowing up?”
MAFFEI I GALAXY
BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE LGG
The gateway hung silent and dark against the profile of Maffei I, like an ancient artifact left behind by a long-departed civilization.
In reality it was brand new, nominally complete and capable of operation. But there was no companion Arx and no activity beyond the hum of the grid powering it.
For the time being, the Directorate’s attention was focused elsewhere. It might stay so until the Directorate was no more, in which case the gateway was harmless and even useful. But if events followed a different path, it represented a danger to an innocent species—more than one, she simply hadn’t met the others yet. Now that the wormhole technology had proved functional, they had no need of the gateway. They could come here any time they wished.
Eren studied the gateway out the viewport. “It looks as if not much is going on yet. But the power’s on, so something could go on at any time. The
re are likely a few drones working, too. Valkyrie, I’ve got their ID frequency. If we all broadcast it, the drones should ignore us.”
‘Should?’
He shrugged. “They could’ve changed the frequency, but probably not. Also, try not to bump into one. Take my word for it.”
Caleb handed Alex her Daemon, blade and bracelet from the cabinet. “We’ll be ready if they did change it.”
“The power being on also means there’ll be a weak gravity field around the rings, which is good news. We’ll be able to move a lot faster than we could if we had to use mag boots, and we’ll be done in a shake or two—which is also good news, because I actually have my own mission starting in a few hours.”
“So do we. Never a dull moment around here.”
Eren nodded thoughtfully. “Ah, yes, Machimis. Xanne mentioned that we’re trying to coordinate the time on the two missions, so that Nisi’s speech goes out right when everyone starts to realize what you guys did. Boom, maximum impact. It’ll be a show for certain. But first, speaking of moments that are not dull.” He grinned at Alex. “You’re going to get a kick out of this.”
“Oh, of that I have no doubt. Valkyrie, keep a close watch on us. And a close watch for approaching ships or other threats. And for any signs the gateway’s about to activate.”
‘The temptation to reply with a smartass retort is powerful, which I blame entirely on Eren’s presence. But of course I will do so.’
Eren chuckled. “You know you love me, Valkyrie.”
‘Love is such a strong word.’
“It is. Still, give it time. Are we ready to head out?”
Helmets went on, and they checked each other over. Eren handed Caleb a thick, uneven ribbon of material. “I’d say be careful with this, but the truth is the slabs are pretty stable. Just don’t attach them to something you don’t want to blow up.”
Caleb fastened the ribbon to his utility belt. “How long will we have?”
“Twenty-two minutes from the time the first slab is placed by either of us. So no rush.”
“All the same, we’ll rush a bit.” Caleb turned toward the airlock. “I believe we are ready.”
Valkyrie lowered the Siyane to hover above the gateway’s center ring as they entered the airlock. The outer hatch opened, and one by one they leapt down to the hundred-meter-wide surface. Valkyrie withdrew to a reasonable distance to keep her close watch on everything.
Located as the gateway was, thirty-one degrees above the galactic plane, they had an unobstructed view of the small cobalt nucleus at the heart of the elliptical galaxy. To their other side the faint haze of the outer regions of the galaxy soon gave way to the interstellar void.
Alex: “Well, this is fantastic.”
Caleb offered her an affectionate smile behind his faceplate, which she returned. These were the incomparable moments, weren’t they? The ones that put the exclamation marks on a life lived in full.
Eren detached a slab from his ribbon and held it out in his hand until they quit gaping at the view and each other and directed their attention at him.
Eren: “Take your time. It’s fine. I’ll just hang out.”
Caleb checked the secureness of his ribbon a final time.
Caleb: “No, it’s time to get moving.”
Eren crouched and pressed the slab firmly onto the ring’s surface.
Eren: “And…go.”
He took off running in one direction, they in the other.
She cackled in delight as her stride propelled her in soaring, four-meter-long strides across the ring’s surface. The metal beneath her feet gleamed a muted, lustrous nickel that rippled as the angle shifted. The galaxy they skirted the edge of drew most of her observation, but it was all simply fantastic.
Caleb slowed to a stop ahead, then pivoted to face her a second before she bumped into him. His gloved hands wound around her waist, and their faceplates touched.
No words would suffice, and none were needed.
He took a step back and knelt on the surface, repeating the process Eren had performed to place the slab, then stood and gestured ahead.
Caleb: “Off we go.”
She gleefully took off running again, this time passing him for fun. She had the same locations markers on her whisper as he did, so she wouldn’t overrun their next placement point.
Yet she almost did anyway from sheer distraction, and skidded to a stop a mite close to the edge for comfort.
She laughed off Caleb’s chiding scowl. Then while he placed the next slab, she briefly lay down on the surface to stare up at a sea of galaxies masquerading as stars.
“One day I’m going to be a star.”
“Oh, milaya, one day you will shine with more radiance than every star in the celestial heavens.”
Maybe not, but she was hanging out with them all the same.
Eren was waiting for them when they arrived at the marker for the last slab.
Eren: “Did you two stop for tea and a quick shag?”
Alex: “Was that an option?”
Caleb: “Next time, baby. Valkyrie, we’re ready for—”
Valkyrie: ‘I am detecting an increased energy signature originating from the gateway. It matches the readings accompanying an imminent activation.’
Caleb: “Stay where you are, Valkyrie.”
As the interior of the rings began crackling with visible energy, he grabbed Eren’s arm and yanked him in close, wrapped his other arm around her and teleported them into the Siyane’s cabin.
He stumbled a little once their feet met floor, and his arms dropped away to brace on the data center.
Alex watched him to make sure he didn’t collapse, then pushed past her own slight wooziness from the swift relocation to take charge. “Retreat five megameters thirty degrees NE bearing, now.”
They accelerated away as the rings continued to charge up. Caleb waved her off—and looked okay—so she hurried into the cockpit. They’d reached a safe distance by the time she got there, and she swung the ship around to face the gateway.
Three Erevna research vessels emerged from the storm at the center of the rings and slowly proceeded onward. She checked the countdown timer for the antimatter charges. Almost a full minute remaining.
They needed to speed this up…or keep those ships nearby. “Cloaking and firing on the Anaden vessels.”
“What?” Caleb rushed into the cockpit, Eren on his heels.
“Merely to distract them. We’ll stay clear of the blast radius, but I want to keep these ships in the blast radius.”
‘Cloaking shield and Dimensional Rifter active.’
She sighted in on the most distant vessel and fired.
The strike was absorbed in full by its shield. The Erevna ship wasn’t military, but it assuredly fielded weaponry sufficient to defend itself, so she altered her trajectory. Between the stealth and the Rifter there wasn’t much danger to the Siyane, but she tried not to be too blasé about these things.
Sixty-two degrees to port from her original location she fired on the lead ship again, followed by the next one in line.
22 seconds
An additional ship began to emerge from the gateway—and this one was a military vessel. They were going ahead with the full Maffei I expedition, war be damned. The arrogant fuckers.
11 seconds
The Machim warship was firing as it exited, though it had no hard target. When cadmium laser fire swept near enough to light the cabin, she backed off, retreating silently into the void. She’d accomplished her goal.
2 seconds
The antimatter slabs detonated in a staccato trail of explosions racing across the arc of the center ring, each one larger and brighter than the last as they fed on one another. The ring splintered apart in a massive eruption of energy, and pieces hurled forth to tear into the other rings then the Anaden ships.
Only when the energy had expended itself and could find no more fuel to power it did the explosions fade away.
All that rem
ained was a debris field. Behind it, Maffei I continued to light the horizon. Peaceful and, for now, undisturbed.
The diffuse glow of the galaxy, luminous against the backdrop of the billions of galaxies beyond it, blurred as a new message appeared on her whisper screen to paint itself across the stars. It contained many words, but only one mattered.
Tomorrow.
52
PRÓTOS AGORA
MILKY WAY GALACTIC CORE
* * *
“ENOUGH! WE ARE IMMORTAL MASTERS who have lived for a thousand millennia and ruled for the greater span of it—can we act like it, please? The hysteria on display here is embarrassing. One can only hope no progeny ever witness us in such an unsightly froth.” Kyvern’s glare passed soberly around the circle until the overheated agitation abated.
He should have been the one to say it. He should have been the one to project authority. To lead.
Praesidis opened his mouth to step in and take over now, but the back-and-forth had already begun anew, if at a less fevered pitch.
Diaplas cleared her throat with deliberate solemnity. “Thank you, Kyvern. As I was saying, and being drowned out? The inescapable conclusion to draw from the latest gateway destruction is that either the Humans or the anarchs—and they are now for all intents and purposes one and the same—possess some form of wormhole technology. I cannot begin to speculate why they didn’t use it before now. However, it is the only answer which explains their ability to reach the Maffei I galaxy gateway without using the gateway.”
She crossed her arms in challenge. “Given this new information, is anyone still inclined to call the enemy primitives?”
Machim scoffed. “I did tell all of you their technology and capabilities were far from primitive. Your arrogance has blinded you until now, but you cannot deny reality in the face of such evidence.”
“Who is ‘you,’ Machim? Are you insinuating—”
“I think we all need to—”
Erevna sneered in Machim’s direction. “I don’t care what we call them. They are ripping our infrastructure out from underneath us. Do something about them, and do it now!”
Rubicon: Aurora Resonant Book Two (Aurora Rhapsody 8) Page 33