Airthan Ascendancy
Page 26
“In the long-term.”
“Well, I plan to live a long time,” Terrance laughed, placing a hand on Earnest’s shoulder. “I’d like the galaxy to still be here for it.”
“Yeah, I—wait, what’s that?”
Terrance looked at the object Earnest was enlarging. “It’s just a dwarf planet.”
“Yeah, but look at where it is,” the engineer said as he pulled the view back out. “It’s not orbiting anything. It’s almost entirely stationary in respect to the cluster’s core stars.”
“That’s…”
“Very unlikely,” Earnest completed the thought and focused back in on the dwarf planet as higher resolution images came in from the probes.
“That’s one heck of a low albedo it has. Thing is almost pitch black,” Terrance commented.
“Yeah, but there’s something in the refraction indexes…. Wait a second.”
Terrance did as Earnest bid, knowing that when the scientist needed a moment to think, it wasn’t an idle request.
After three long minutes, Earnest straightened and whispered, “Oh shit.”
“Spit it out, already,” Terrance grunted.
Earnest gestured at the pitch-black planetoid. “It occluded several cluster stars when the probes were looking at it. I have mass estimates.”
“And?”
“Terrance…I think that whole planet is just a cluster of machines.”
* * * * *
Major Belos settled back into his station at the QuanComm relay center hidden deep within a nondescript moon in the Khardine system.
As per usual, there weren’t a lot of messages moving across the network, just small updates regarding fleet positions and one-word status reports.
As mundane as it all seemed, that flow of information was the heartbeat of the Alliance war machine. Not only did it facilitate general efficiency, but with it, the brass could make split-second decisions about force allocation when a crisis arose.
The QuanComm network drastically reduced the fog of war on a galactic scale. It was an amazing innovation, and Belos played a crucial part in ensuring that the clipped messages were properly parsed and sent to the correct destination.
Something the voice promised to help with.
The whispering voice had come into Belos’s mind the day before. It told him about how he’d be instrumental in ending the war if he just changed a few bits of information here and there.
He’d already changed a few earlier in the day, and was certain that every time he did, things were better as a result of his actions, always better.
I’m doing important work.
Just then, a message came in from Admiral Evans with an urgent update for the field marshal. It was closely followed by a message from Terrance Enfield, also destined for the field marshal.
She doesn’t need those messages, the voice said. She’s very busy. They’ll see her soon, anyway.
Are you sure? Belos asked, feeling like these were just the sorts of messages he should not change or redirect.
I’m sure. These messages will distract her from an important task. Send them to the error queue.
Belos hesitated for a moment, a part of his mind telling him that the voice was wrong, that these messages were critical.
And then he did as the voice instructed, barely even remembering the action as he looked over the next batch of status updates.
I’ll just tweak a word here, change a number there….
* * * * *
“I…are they going to live?” Sera asked as they stood in the I2’s medical center, staring into the stasis tubes that held three copies of herself. Seraphina, Fina, and the latest incarnation that Airtha had created.
“I believe that Seraphina will be fine, I’ll be removing her from stasis once we have the neural backups you made at Styx.”
“And Fina?”
Sera had trouble looking at the ruin of the vibrant woman in blue. Her body had been sliced apart from the navel through the top of her head.
“The same…though less will be recoverable. If anything. I’d feel better working on her once Earnest is aboard. We’re so short-staffed right now, and reintegrating minds is his specialty.”
Sera gave a wordless nod as her gaze slipped to the white version of herself, who wasn’t in significantly better condition than Fina. “I don’t know if she’s worth it. Maybe we’ll just leave her.”
“I’ll let you think on it,” Doctor Rosenberg said as Sera nodded absently and turned to leave the room. “Sera?” the doctor called after her.
“Yes?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Sabrina got there in the nick of time for both of them. Anything we can save of your sisters, we can thank her for.”
Sera turned away and walked out into the corridor, still wondering why Sabrina had come straight for her. She would have expected the AI to go to Cheeky and Finaeus—especially since Seraphina had been injured first.
“How are you holding up?” Tangel asked as she approached, a tired smile on her face.
“Better than my sisters,” Sera said in a small voice. “How’s Amavia?”
“Lucky that she had a reinforced cranium,” Tangel replied.
“Have you told her about Iris yet?” Sera asked.
“Yeah,” Tangel nodded. “I wasn’t going to at first, but she asked, and I couldn’t lie.”
Sera pursed her lips, nodding silently.
Tangel placed her hands on Sera’s shoulders, a resolute look in her eyes. “I know it sounds callous, but we need to look at this as a victory. A big victory. We destroyed Airtha and didn’t damage the ring. For all intents and purposes, the Transcend’s civil war is over.”
Sera bit her lip, trying not to think of how that victory had spelled the death of the sisters she’d just gained.
After a moment, she met Tanis’s eyes. “So when do we hit Orion?”
Tangel’s shoulders heaved as she let out a sigh. “Oh, I don’t know…can we rest for a few days first?”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.”
“Plus…” Tanis winked at Sera. “There are probably a few dozen Widows running around here somewhere.”
Sera groaned. “Stars, there really is no rest for the weary.”
THE END
* * * * *
The war against Airtha is over, but the battle for control of Orion space is just beginning. Get The Orion Front and find out what’s in store next for Tanis and her allies.
THE BOOKS OF AEON 14
Keep up to date with what is releasing in Aeon 14 with the free Aeon 14 Reading Guide.
Origins of Destiny (The Age of Terra)
- Prequel: Storming the Norse Wind
- Book 1: Tanis Richards: Shore Leave
- Book 2: Tanis Richards: Masquerade
- Book 3: Tanis Richards: Blackest Night
- Book 4: Tanis Richards: Kill Shot
The Intrepid Saga (The Age of Terra)
- Book 1: Outsystem
- Book 2: A Path in the Darkness
- Book 3: Building Victoria
- The Intrepid Saga Omnibus – Also contains Destiny Lost, book 1 of the Orion War series
- Destiny Rising – Special Author’s Extended Edition comprised of both Outsystem and A Path in the Darkness with over 100 pages of new content.
The Orion War
- Books 1-3 Omnibus (includes Ignite the Stars anthology)
- Book 1: Destiny Lost
- Book 2: New Canaan
- Book 3: Orion Rising
- Book 4: The Scipio Alliance
- Book 5: Attack on Thebes
- Book 6: War on a Thousand Fronts
- Book 7: Precipice of Darkness
- Book 8: Airtha Ascendancy
- Book 9: The Orion Front (2019)
- Book 10: Starfire (2019)
- Book 11: Race Across Spacetime (2019)
- Book 12: Return to Sol (2019)
Tales of the Orion War
- Book 1:
Set the Galaxy on Fire
- Book 2: Ignite the Stars
- Book 3: Burn the Galaxy to Ash (2019)
Perilous Alliance (Age of the Orion War – w/Chris J. Pike)
- Book 1: Close Proximity
- Book 2: Strike Vector
- Book 3: Collision Course
- Book 4: Impact Imminent
- Book 5: Critical Inertia
- Book 6: Impulse Shock
Rika’s Marauders (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1-3 Omnibus: Rika Activated
- Prequel: Rika Mechanized
- Book 1: Rika Outcast
- Book 2: Rika Redeemed
- Book 3: Rika Triumphant
- Book 4: Rika Commander
- Book 5: Rika Infiltrator
- Book 6: Rika Unleashed
- Book 7: Rika Conqueror (Dec 2018)
Perseus Gate (Age of the Orion War)
Season 1: Orion Space
- Episode 1: The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star
- Episode 2: The World at the Edge of Space
- Episode 3: The Dance on the Moons of Serenity
- Episode 4: The Last Bastion of Star City
- Episode 5: The Toll Road Between the Stars
- Episode 6: The Final Stroll on Perseus’s Arm
- Eps 1-3 Omnibus: The Trail Through the Stars
- Eps 4-6 Omnibus: The Path Amongst the Clouds
Season 2: Inner Stars
- Episode 1: A Meeting of Bodies and Minds
- Episode 2: A Deception and a Promise Kept
- Episode 3: A Surreptitious Rescue of Friends and Foes
- Episode 4: A Victory and a Crushing Defeat (2019)
- Episode 5: A Trial and the Tribulations (2019)
- Episode 6: A Deal and a True Story Told (2019)
- Episode 7: A New Empire and An Old Ally (2019)
Season 3: AI Empire
- Episode 1: Restitution and Recompense (2019)
- Five more episodes following…
The Warlord (Before the Age of the Orion War)
- Books 1-3 Omnibus: The Warlord of Midditerra
- Book 1: The Woman Without a World
- Book 2: The Woman Who Seized an Empire
- Book 3: The Woman Who Lost Everything
The Sentience Wars: Origins (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)
- Books 1-3 Omnibus: Lyssa’s Rise
- Book 1: Lyssa’s Dream
- Book 2: Lyssa’s Run
- Book 3: Lyssa’s Flight
- Book 4: Lyssa’s Call
- Book 5: Lyssa’s Flame
Legends of the Sentience Wars (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)
- Volume 1: The Proteus Bridge
- Volume 2: Vesta Burning
Enfield Genesis (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/Lisa Richman)
- Book 1: Alpha Centauri
- Book 2: Proxima Centauri
- Book 3: Tau Ceti
- Book 4: Epsilon Eridani (2019)
Hand’s Assassin (Age of the Orion War – w/T.G. Ayer)
- Book 1: Death Dealer
- Book 2: Death Mark (2019)
Machete System Bounty Hunter (Age of the Orion War – w/Zen DiPietro)
- Book 1: Hired Gun
- Book 2: Gunning for Trouble
- Book 3: With Guns Blazing
Vexa Legacy (Age of the FTL Wars – w/Andrew Gates)
- Book 1: Seas of the Red Star
Building New Canaan (Age of the Orion War – w/J.J. Green)
- Book 1: Carthage
- Book 2: Tyre
- Book 3: Troy (2019)
- Book 4: Athens (2019)
Fennington Station Murder Mysteries (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: Whole Latte Death (w/Chris J. Pike)
- Book 2: Cocoa Crush (w/Chris J. Pike)
The Empire (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: The Empress and the Ambassador (2018)
- Book 2: Consort of the Scorpion Empress (2019)
- Book 3: By the Empress’s Command (2019)
The Sol Dissolution (The Age of Terra)
- Book 1: Venusian Uprising (2019)
- Book 2: Scattered Disk (2018)
- Book 3: Jovian Offensive (2019)
- Book 4: Fall of Terra (2019)a
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Cooper likes to think of himself as a jack-of-all-trades (and hopes to become master of a few). When not writing, he can be found writing software, working in his shop at his latest carpentry project, or likely reading a book.
He shares his home with a precocious young girl, his wonderful wife (who also writes), two cats, a never-ending list of things he would like to build, and ideas…
Find out what’s coming next at www.aeon14.com