by G. P. Hudson
“It is as it should be.”
“Okay, whatever. Pike out.”
Booch disappeared from Jon’s comm display, and he turned his attention back to the battle. The Cenobi satellites were now pulsing at blistering speeds, pumping massive amounts of energy from the giant red star. They produced incredibly destructive energy beams, which shot out in all directions, targeting Erinyie and Antikitheri alike. The Antikitheri ships proved no more capable of withstanding the weapon than the Erinyie, and the Cenobi destroyed ships from both sides indiscriminately.
Jon watched it all with little pity. There was no life on any of these ships, be they Antikitheri, or Erinyie. No life as he understood it, anyway. Each of these races had evolved beyond their corporeal form. They had abandoned their bodies long ago, to exist inside their technology. No matter who won this battle, no matter how many ships destroyed, no lives would be lost.
However, Jon and his people had no such luxury. They died real deaths. It was an insurmountable obstacle. How could they defeat an enemy like the Erinyie if the Erinyie couldn’t die? If the Erinyie truly inhabited technology, like the Cenobi, then the only answer was eradication. But the Erinyie controlled multiple galaxies. Defeating such an enemy didn’t seem possible.
Then there was the Antikitheri. The Builders. The entire reason for this quest. What were their motivations? Jon would never have dreamed that the Antikitheri would team up with the Erinyie under any circumstances. Yet here they were, fighting side by side. Could they ever be trusted? What if they turned on humanity one day? What then? Did they expect humans to worship them like the Freen? What if humanity refused?
Turning his attention back to the battle, he began to see that the Cenobi satellites were not impervious to the powerful assault. They had absorbed the Erinyie attack without much difficulty, but the tide was turning. The combined firepower of the Erinyie and Antikitheri took its toll, and the satellites started to lose integrity in rapid succession. With the Erinyie and Antikitheri sending in a seemingly endless stream of warships, Jon wondered how long the Cenobi could hold out.
The computer answered his unspoken question. “Jumpspace disturbance detected. Cenobi signature identified.”
Gigantic Cenobi vessels arrived in mind-numbing numbers. Each ship was a spherical polyhedron, with an almost innumerable number of flat planes. As they appeared, they formed a perimeter around the star and added their firepower to the conflict. Three godlike races, scrapping it out. The entire spectacle defied comprehension.
Jon had seen enough. He became convinced that the longer they stayed in this system, the higher the chances of their destruction.
“Commander Henderson, what is our jump status?” said Jon.
“The jump system is recharging, Sir. Our last jump depleted its energy stores.”
“Has it recharged enough to jump us out of this system?”
“No, Sir. Not yet.”
Jon studied the ongoing battle. All sides seemed wholly preoccupied with it. “How many of our ships are still capable of FTL travel?”
“All seven battle group ships have functioning FTL engines. Only eleven Freen ships have undamaged FTL engines.”
Jon frowned. The Freen had lost many ships in this battle, and several more had sustained considerable damage. While he didn’t want to leave anyone behind, he didn’t think they should stick around either. He could think of any number of scenarios that wouldn’t turn out well. Making up his mind, he again opened a comm with Commander Booch.
“How may I serve the Foreseen,“ said Booch as he flashed on Jon’s display.
“We need to leave this system,” said Jon. “I understand several of your ships are incapable of FTL travel.”
“That is correct,” said Booch.
“I don’t want you to leave anyone behind, Commander, but we need to return to our galaxy. You’ve done enough already. You don’t have to accompany us the rest of the way. Tend to your people.”
“We are your Honor Guard.”
“I understand, but-”
“We are the Foreseen’s Honor Guard. We share your path. Those ships incapable of travel will remain. The rest will follow.”
Jon was about to argue but realized there was no point. Commander Booch’s code of honor dictated his actions, and nothing Jon said would change that. “Very well, prepare to enter FTL. We will leave this system immediately.”
Chapter 10
Witness the treachery of the Antikitheri, said the Cenobi through Colonel Bast’s brain chip. These are your allies. They are no different from those who enslaved you.
I do not understand their actions, said Bast. But they have not enslaved us.
They seek your servitude. Your subjugation. You would be no different than the Freen.
The Freen are not slaves either.
Their bondage is invisible to them, but they are shackled all the same. As are the Var, and the Juttari. Neither the Antikitheri nor the Erinyie value freedom. Enlightenment. Growth.
I am not so sure, said Bast. The Antikitheri built the jump gates in our galaxy. If all they wanted was servitude, why didn’t they subjugate the races there? Why did they leave and allow the younger races to evolve on their own?
The Antikitheri and the Erinyie seek to dominate. The Antikitheri drove out the Erinyie and considered your galaxy pacified. They thought it firmly within their sphere of influence and turned their attention elsewhere. Do not mistake their actions. They do not value your freedom.
And you do?
We Cenobi offer enlightenment. Nothing more.
That doesn’t sound like freedom either, said Bast.
The concept is an illusion.
How so?
We all serve. The Cenobi serve the cause of enlightenment. We seek to understand and master the great mysteries of the universe. As such, we are free of those who would control our minds and our actions. The Antikitheri and Erinyie serve the causes of light and darkness respectively. In reality, they seek only to dominate. You so-called free Chaanisar once served your Juttari masters. Now you serve Jon Pike. You call this freedom since you believe you chose your service freely. This too is an illusion. The events of your life led you to this end. You had no choice over your abduction as a child. No choice over the augmentation of your body with alien technology. Nor did you have any choice in your liberation.
We couldn’t choose, objected Bast. We were controlled by the Juttari. Once emancipated, our actions were of our own choosing. We chose to kill our Juttari masters. We chose to save the Hermes crew from the Kemmar prison planet. We chose to ally ourselves with Jon Pike.
You deceive yourself yet again. You sought to have your brain chips removed. That was the only reason you helped Jon Pike and his crew. Your circumstances dictated your actions. This is not freedom. This is necessity. Survival. As it should be.
Perhaps. Yet how do you explain our continued loyalty?
It is no different. You seek to survive. The Juttari threaten that survival. You need to defeat them, and their masters, the Erinyie, to ensure your continued survival. Up until now, Jon Pike has proven to be the best option in that struggle. Hence your continued loyalty. But these are trivial matters.
Bast was stunned. Trivial? How can you say that?
Is it not obvious? Were you to join us, all these worries would disappear. Nothing could threaten you again. Not the Juttari. Not the Erinyie. Not the Antikitheri. You would know the only true freedom, that of enlightenment.
The Erinyie and the Antikitheri seem to be doing a good job of threatening you now.
No. This is no threat. They cannot harm us. They are merely expressing their displeasure.
Displeasure? This is why the Antikitheri fight alongside the Erinyie?
They do not welcome our involvement in what they consider their affairs. They see us as potential competitors. We do not recognize their exclusive domain in these matters. They are trying to persuade us differently.
Are they succeeding?
&nbs
p; They are irrelevant. We do not compete with them. We follow the path of enlightenment. Nothing more. Nothing less. We will take whatever steps are necessary, regardless of opposition. Join us and rid yourselves of the darkness. Join us and transcend all boundaries.
We cannot, said Bast. We still have much to do.
Why insist on bearing these burdens? Enlightenment will rid you of these concerns. You and your brethren will be healed. Freed from the darkness. Is that not what you truly seek?
Bast could not dispute that point. The Cenobi knew how to pinpoint a raw Chaanisar nerve. Their collective trauma haunted all of them. It was the real freedom they sought. Freedom from their torment at the hands of the Juttari. Freedom from the memory. Freedom from the constant fear that it would happen again. But merging with technology couldn’t be the only solution, as the Cenobi would have them believe. They were still human, despite their experiences, and they would fight for that humanity to the end. As I said, we still have much to do.
Very well. When you are ready, we will be waiting. Know this, Children of Darkness. There are greater forces at play in the universe. Greater than the Antikitheri and the Erinyie. Greater than us. Tread carefully.
Children of Darkness? The Guardian called us that? Is he Cenobi as well?
Bast waited, but there was no response. It seemed their conversation was over for now.
Chapter 11
A mix of horror and rage gripped Emperor Kriss as he studied the holographic presentation. An entire Dvorkan planet lay in ruins, and none of his generals could explain why. Taking a deep breath, Kriss tried to calm himself. He had to be careful now more than ever. His every reaction would be scrutinized. He had to keep his emotions under control, lest he face the same fate as his father. “Who is responsible for this atrocity?”
“The enemies are unknown to us,” said General Dak, the highest ranking general in the Dvorkan armed forces. Several lower-ranking generals stood quietly behind him, all of them watching the emperor closely. The holographic display switched to show a fleet of alien warships approaching the planet. “This video was taken just before the attack and transmitted to Central Command. We possess no information about this race. We do not know who they are, or where they came from. They are a complete mystery.”
“This star system is on the outskirts of the Empire. What are the chances these aliens will venture deeper into our space?” said Kriss, dreading the possibility of another attack. He felt increasingly self-conscious and unsure what his next move should be. None of this was supposed to happen, Kriss thought. I’m too young. It should have been years before I ascended to the throne.
“We are taking precautions to prevent such an incident,” said General Dak. “We have sent the fourth fleet to deal with the aliens, but they are no longer there.”
No longer there? Why? “Could they be cloaked?”
“It is possible, but we have been taking measures to uncover any cloaked vessels. A ship or two may be able to avoid detection, but not an entire fleet. I can assure the emperor that they are indeed gone. We have also increased our military presence around all transit points.”
“What if the aliens don’t use the transit points to attack the Empire?” Kriss said thoughtfully.
General Dak frowned. “The only way to access the heart of the empire is through the transit points, your worship.”
Dak’s patronizing tone was agitating. Just because he was young, didn’t mean he was an idiot. His father had ensured that he had the greatest teachers the empire had to offer. To be ridiculed by a man such as Dak defied comprehension. He was the Emperor now. No one should speak to him in such a way.
But, Kriss was no fool. He knew how fragile a position he was in. He would continue to keep his emotions in check. He was not about to let someone like Dak realize he had gotten to him.
Throughout his life, his father had warned him of the risks of showing weakness. Emotional outbursts were a clear sign of a weak leader. If you couldn’t control yourself, how could you manage the influential people around you?
“I am aware of how the transit system works, General Dak,” said Kriss. “But these aliens came from somewhere, and they didn’t use a transit point to do so. That tells me that they must have another means of travel.”
“Emperor, I can assure you that if there was another transit point in that system, or anywhere near it, that we would have found it by now. That said, there is some speculation regarding another means of propulsion.”
“Oh? What sort of speculation?”
“The system’s consul survived the attack. During her debriefing, she confessed that she had dealings with an unknown alien race known as humans.”
Kriss glared at the general. “I thought you said that we didn’t know anything about this new enemy?”
“Consul Kang insists that these humans were not responsible for the attack. She says that their ships were an entirely different design bearing no resemblance to this new enemy.”
“Do you believe her?” said Kriss, wondering if he should believe his generals.
“The fact that she failed to report this encounter was suspicious. To determine the truth, Consul Kang was subjected to a very intense line of questioning. We would have discovered any deception. The reason that Kang did not report her encounter with these humans is because she believed that they possessed an advanced propulsion system, and wanted the glory of the discovery. She was motivated by greed, not deception. Unfortunately, her attempts at seizing the human ships failed, and they fled the system.”
“Is there any evidence to verify her suspicions?”
“Nothing concrete, but she insists that their ships possess the ability to travel from one location to another in the same way one would with a transit point.”
“Miraculous,” said Kriss, awed by the possibilities.
“Your worship, I must add that Central Command finds these claims to be preposterous.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“General, what do we know about our transit points?”
General Dak cleared his throat. “We know that they allow us to travel hundreds of light years in an instant.”
“Can we build our own transit points?”
“No, of course not.”
“Yet somehow they were built at some point. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, your worship, but whoever built the transit points-”
“The Antikitheri.”
“What?”
“Our legends state that the Antikitheri built the transit points.”
“These are children’s stories,” Dak scoffed. “The fact is, whoever built the great portals turned to dust long before we discovered them. No one knows how to build a transit point, and they certainly don’t know how to install the same technology on a starship. Believe me, your worship. Central Command has thoroughly investigated the matter and has determined Consul Kang’s claims to be entirely unfounded. The humans may indeed have a more advanced propulsion system, but the idea of a starship possessing its own transit point is too ridiculous to entertain.”
Kriss decided not to press the issue. Though there was plenty of evidence to indicate that the Antikitheri did exist. The idea was controversial, but it couldn’t be entirely dismissed. Still, that was a debate for another time and another place. “Then how did these aliens get here?”
“We believe that they are a nomadic horde. Their warships must be generation ships traveling the galaxy looking for targets of opportunity.”
“A nomadic horde?”
“Yes, your worship. We believe that is the most valid explanation.”
Emperor Kriss leaned back in his chair and had to wonder how naive the general thought he was. Did Dak really think he would buy into such an absurd story? What was he hiding? Two new alien races had come to the Empire, one’s intentions hostile, and the other’s as yet undetermined. An astounding event by anyone’s standards. Yet, Central Command would have him believe this ridicul
ous nomadic horde story. Something wasn’t right.
Kriss decided to play along. He had only recently become emperor and didn’t feel entirely secure in his position. He still wasn’t convinced his father’s death was an accident. There was a genuine possibility that he could be next. The best course of action was to play the role they expected him to play, that of the youth in over his head. “Thank you for the explanation, General. Does Central Command believe these nomads will strike again?”
“They may. If they do, we’ll be ready for them, your worship.”
“That is comforting. Please keep me apprised of any new developments.”
“As you wish, your worship. Now if you will excuse me, I have pressing matters to attend to.”
“Yes, of course. You may take your leave, General.”
Dak bowed before Kriss, followed by the rest of his general staff. Rising, they exited the sprawling Imperial chamber. Kriss watched them warily as they left, wondering if one, or all of them were behind his father’s death.
Pondering his situation, he glanced at the many Taymati standing guard in the chamber. The Taymati were elite soldiers, independent of the military, and vested with the emperor’s protection. They too could have been behind his father’s death. While a distinct possibility, the fact that many Taymati died in the ‘accident’ cast doubt on the suspicion.
If General Dak had accomplished anything in this meeting, it was to convince Kriss that Central Command was withholding information from him. The only thing left to question was the intention of doing so. Perhaps they were merely trying to manage him, concerned with his age and his ability to govern appropriately. Or, maybe they had more nefarious motives. If they were behind his father’s death, could his own demise be far behind? After all, he had no heirs. Do away with him, and Central Command could put their own man on the throne.
He needed allies. Ones he could count on. The Taymati had failed to protect his father, and he was right to question their loyalty. But the uncomfortable truth was potential enemies surrounded him. Of all those around him, he needed to ensure the Taymati’s loyalty above all else. Making up his mind, Kriss tapped the controls on his armrest, and a three-dimensional holographic face appeared before him.