Equilibrium of Terror: Part 2

by Eddie R. Hicks

  “Understood, we’ll keep her in the dark until everything over,” Torval said.

  “This brings up another issue,” Jainuzei said. “Hannah, what if she says something?” Jainuzei saw how fearful Torval became as he made that statement. “Well, I suppose the gods will provide and lead us regardless.”

  Torval grimaced and entered his quarters in a rush. Jainuzei noticed the old man was acting strange again. There was something Torval was withholding. But what? And would he have to kill him for it? Slaying an unarmed old man was a dishonorable move. But if the gods demanded it to be done . . . Then it must be done.

  Eastern Norgoth desert, Oyuri, Barnard’s Star system

  The light from Barnard’s Star continued it’s never-ending scorching of the light side of Oyuri. Karklosea and her team of survivors from the Abyssal Explorer grew tired of not only walking through the blowing sands that drifted across the many sand dunes they had to travel up and down. But also at the fact every kilometer they traveled looked the same it was almost as if they were on a treadmill where the arid region around them repeated with every foot step.

  She stopped for a moment up top of a small rocky incline and took a glimpse at the horizon. Sunlight beamed through the translucent yellow skies while signs of space bleed through from behind it. The more one tilted their head away from the direction of the sun, the more one could see the splendors of the Milky Way galaxy and its starts. Starlight during the sunlight.

  Her HUD zoomed in toward a clearing far from them and toward the sun. The moon of Oyuri was seen and its darkness that shrouded the eternal eclipse region of the surface. They weren’t too far away and therefore random smaller settlements in the region should be near as they got closer to the two main ones. Karklosea turned around and looked at the survivors behind her they were all awaiting her guidance. She was the captain now, and it was her duty to get them someplace safe before the air within their environment suits or combat armor ran out.

  She pointed toward the horizon she was looking at, and proceeded to walk toward the nearest settlement. A trail of multiple footprints in the desert reminded behind in their wake, footprints that were slowly being obscured by the blowing winds and filled with the fresh depots of sand off nearby dunes. Hopefully by the time the order returns to actively scan this region, those footprints would be long gone, leaving sand in the wind for the order to find.

  Two hours later they entered a clearing in the desert, devoid of dunes, hills, valleys and mountains, just flat sand. The settlement in question was resting in the center of that clearing. The tiny settlement was two dozen rectangular shaped shelters, all connected together by small cylindrical shaped tubes. Like many of the settlements on this world, these buildings were once part of colonization ships that landed and were later converted into a place to live. A thin layer of sand covered the silver rooftops, while the walls reflected the sunlight of Barnard’s Star.

  “There,” Karklosea said, pointing at the settlement. “Everyone be alert, there could be heretics inside or close by.” As their multiperson convoy got closer, Karklosea began to point toward the two airlocks that provided entry and exit to the settlement. “Let’s get two teams cover those both, then a third team with me.”

  Her team followed her orders much like how they once followed the orders of Captain Ueyei. Gods, may they watch over his spirit along with the rest that didn’t make it. Three teams were made on the fly, one that marched rapidly toward the northern airlock, while another toward the western airlock. They hunkered down in the sands and aimed their magnetic rifles toward the entrances, while others scanned the flat and sandy region around them. Both teams gave her the all clear, and she along with an escort of rangers and crewmen walked toward the western airlock.

  They were given access without question and entered. Karklosea released a loud but refreshing sigh as she breathed air that didn’t come from her suit as she removed her helmet. The rest of her team did the same, revealing their diverse group of members from all five Radiance races.

  Karklosea noticed that the interior resembled more of the insides of a ship with, narrow brightly lit corridors with connecting intersections leading to residential areas, markets and leisure areas. Many of the dwellers on the inside paid no mind to Karklosea and her team as they walked through, keeping their rifles low, but still in their hands. She asked them all to split up, and causally speak with the residents and mention about the destruction of the Explorer. The idea was a plan to see how much people on the surface knew of what happened hours ago, and to see if it would trigger order members hiding among them to come out and try something. Her two hidden teams were still outside on standby, ready to storm if a gun fight started.

  And thanks to the shielding of the inside, Karklosea and the few rookie psionics with her would have no problems stripping out of their environment suits to fully gain access to their psionic cybernetics. Three connecting cylinders later and they arrived at the central leisure area. A ramp led them down into a small promenade surrounded by large windows, reminding people they were on the surface of a planet via the sunlight and breezing sand on the outside exterior.

  Thirty-five minutes passed with no conflict or signs of order members. She requested her teams outside to directly enter one by one, recharge their gear and take a load off. They found a place to stay and be safe for the time being. And judging by the smell of delicious aroma that entered her nostrils, a place to eat real food and sit.

  A nearby diner was the source of the smell; she asked two of the rangers with her to accompany her as she sat at a table to order food. So that’s what it’s like to sit . . . she thought as their requested meals and drinks arrived. A nearby Aryile bartender directed their orders to the kitchen staff behind him.

  Some unwanted guests joined them after they finished their meals, two men sat at her table, one was Javnis, the other Linl. Both of them were wearing plain civilian clothing. “So there’s been a rumor going around about you and your friends,” the Javnis said.

  “I can imagine,” Karklosea said.

  “They say you all are survivors from the Explorer. And that it was destroyed in orbit.”

  “Perhaps,” was her only reply as she watched the eye movement of all four eyes of the Javnis.

  “Nothing but Radiance ships in the system last time I checked,” the Linl said. “Humans are out of the question, if it were Hashmedai they would have glassed this place by now . . . leaving.”

  The Javnis said to his Linl friend. “Heretics?”

  “The Celestial Order . . .” the Linl said. “Don’t tell me they hijacked our ships?”

  Karklosea grinned at the Linl man. “Perhaps.”

  “Which one?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she said.

  “If the order has control of our ships, then we need to do our part to prevent them from being resupplied,” the Javnis said.

  Karklosea sent a brief telepathic message to the psionics with her team, requesting they come near her position. She had a feeling these two might be order members, trying to fish information out of her in regard to if they came from the Explorer or not. It’s a shame the two rangers with her weren’t psionics; there was no way for her to tell them to be ready for a possible gun fight with these two.

  Hopefully their training and reflexes kick in. “So what’s this about supplies?” she asked the two newcomers to her table.

  “All ships swing by now and then to pick up extra supplies from our depots to the west,” the Linl said. “Food, medical mostly and spare parts if they need to make repairs. If what you say is true, then we need to inform the crews there not to assist them.”

  Supply depots shipping goods into space, which means they’ll have transports, long range scanners and communication equipment amongst their stores. We’re going to need that to survive and get off this planet.

  “With that said,” the Linl said. “Which ship is it that attacked you?”

  And here we go . . .
she thought while doubling checking to ensure her psionic backup was nearby. They were, and managed to spread the word to a few rangers. Karklosea looked toward the exit and saw one of them wave to her as they stood next to a plant, pretending to interested in it.

  Karklosea took a deep breath. And braced herself as she revealed. “The Pelican.”

  Both the Linl and Javnis scowled. “You can’t be serious . . .” the Linl said.

  “I got data crystals pulled from escape pods and a transport that says otherwise,” Karklosea said.

  “Here’s a question I got for you,” the Javnis said “How do we know you’re not with the order?”

  “Because she probably would have started a fight by now,” a voice off to the side said. Karklosea turned toward its source; it was the Aryile bartender who clearly overheard what was said. “Not sit there all worried that we might be hiding something.” She and the bartender made eye contact as he added. “I’m with the Whisper, we’ve been expecting you.”

  Karklosea looked at the Linl and Javnis, they both grinned at her before she got up to speak face to face with the bartender. “Is that information you want to freely let out in a place like this?” she asked.

  “What makes you think I’m the only member one here?”

  Thanks for the tip . . . she thought then fixed her postured to a more relaxed one. “How many people are here?”

  “About two hundred or so.”

  “I meant the Whisper.”

  He began to wipe down the bar with a towel and mumbled softly. “Enough to make things happen.”

  Karklosea gestured for the two rangers, the Linl and Javnis to join her. “We can’t trust anyone else on this world for the moment, at least until we’ve confirmed its safe.”

  “We don’t have much in terms of military hardware,” the Linl said. “Whatever you got to keep us safe, we’ll be glad to get it.”

  “Cut off all communication with the Pelican for the time being,” she said. “And those supply depots.”

  “I’ll send them a transmission,” the Linl said.

  “No, they might be compromised,” Karklosea said. “I’ll have my people check it out,”

  Abyssal Pelican, En route to Oyuri, Barnard’s Star system

  Jainuzei entered the hanger bay to search for a decent and transport that had not seen any combat yet. He only wanted the best ride for Alisha as they two were less than an hour away from visiting Hannah on the surface. As he moved deeper in he saw Dargonea examining the insides of one transport. He was curious as to what she was up to and moved in closer.

  “What’s this?” Dargonea asked as she looked at the exquisitely crafted staff as it rested on the chair inside the transport.

  Jainuzei looked inside the transport that had Dargonea’s attention and grabbed a hold of the staff. “This is Dalhakei’s staff,” he said. “The only proof that he has met his end until we dispose his body.”

  “Who will be the new Patriarch?”

  “Most likely the acting one on Aervounis.”

  Dargonea took the staff out of Jainuzei’s hands and held onto its smooth surface. Jainuzei felt warm heat radiate from the staff the second she touched it, seconds later the orb perched on top of it started to shine in the same manner it did when Dalhakei had once held it.

  “Or you,” Jainuzei said, with intrigue in his face.

  “It finds me worthy,” she said, while her four eyes from under the hood she wore examined it closer.

  “It must be a sign from the gods; they want you to take his place.”

  She grimaced. “This can’t be.”

  “It has to be, I touched it and it did not respond. Torval also held it along with several psionics. It only responded to you, you must wield it and force those to see the truth path.”

  “I wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

  “Use it to show nonbelievers the one true path.”

  “How?”

  “Let’s do a test, all of the Radiance cruisers in the system do not follow our cause,” he said. “Travel to one of their ships and see if you can convince them to do so with that staff.”

  Western Norgoth desert, Oyuri, Barnard’s Star system

  A full night’s rest, it was the cure Karklosea’s weakened psionic brain needed as she awoke in the inn she and her team stayed at the next day. As per her instructions the previous day the settlement had cut off all communication with the outside world until she deemed it safe. Her team was resupplied with fresh oxygen tanks for their environment suits or combat armor as she and a small team left and ventured back out into the desert heading west toward the supply depots. They choose to leave the hover crafts behind to reduce the chances of anyone inside the depots tracking their movements. Should the order have its members inside Karklosea and her team would need the element of surprise.

  The supply depots were their only means of escaping from Oyuri alive via taking control of the transports there and boarding the various Radiance cruisers in the system. Convincing the crew they aren’t following the will of the order and that the Pelican has been compromised would be another challenge, one Karklosea would deal with later, the Pelican after all was considered to be divine. The thought that such an important ship would be under the order’s control would be viewed as inconceivable. It would be easier to believe the Explorer was order controlled and was destroyed to contain the threat. Sadly that story wasn’t too far from the truth as the order did have agents aboard.

  Their five and half hour trek through the desert led them toward the supply depot a sphere-shaped structure with a small transport landing pad on top of it. A small airlock at the bottom level was hotwired and forced open allowing Karklosea and her ranger team to gain access and enter. She ordered four rangers to quickly storm in past the airlock with their rifles aimed forward. The all clear was given for the rest of Karklosea’s team to follow through. She saw several boxed craters lined up neatly; glass displays on them showed them the contents that were inside. Above them was a catwalk that was connected to a small command center that was used to track and communicate with the ships in the system.

  Which reminded her.

  She removed her environment suit quickly as she entered and used her psionic mind to jam all the communication devices as a precaution should the order be here. Her team slowly moved through the cargo storage area and performed a section by section search; all clear. She kept half of her team below to continue searching while she performed a quick teleport upward and took the remaining half of her team with her to the upper levels to secure and search it.

  They encountered their first staff member of the supply depot. He was a ranger in full combat armor; he didn’t seem to mind the fact that they all entered uninvited. That was until he lay eyes on Karklosea. He drew his magnetic rifle instantly and fired.

  The loud gun shots that roared got the rest of the staff to leave their posts with weapons in their hands. Karklosea and her team took cover and lengthy firefight ensured. Her team fired low velocity slugs to disable shields rather than kill their targets as she used her psionic gifts to launch, throw and push their attacking adversatives. In the end, there was no way to tell if they were truly with the order or just panicking guards, though the intentions of the ranger that fired first as he recognized Karklosea was clear. He knew she was the lead shipboard psionic of the Explorer, and an order member who was likely told to kill her on sight.

  The battle ended as quickly as it started, Karklosea’s team had the advantage of numbers and a powerful psionic. The supply depot’s staff was on the ground, moaning in pain, or struggling to move due to the damage due to their suits of combat armor. Each of them were promptly secured at gun point and prepared for interrogation. They needed to separate those loyal to the union and order quickly to move on to the next phase.

  Karklosea entered the command center sometime later, and two unarmed communication officers surrendered the moment she and two of her rangers entered. “We have the depot,” Karklosea tra
nsmitted to the rest of her team at the settlement.

  “What’s next?” the ranger with her asked.

  “We need to secure the rest of the depots and nearby settlements,” Karklosea said as her mind began to access the computer’s map of the region. “Find anyone associated with the order and take them out.”

  “What do you want with us?” one of the petrified communication officers asked.

  Karklosea looked at him and firmly stated. “If you’re with the order, you die, if not then help us.”

  “Help you do what?”

  “The order is secretly taking control of the system,” Karklosea said as 3D holographic projection of the Barnard’s Star system appeared. She looked at it and added. “I intend to take it back.”

  Abyssal Liberator, patrolling outer worlds, Barnard’s Star system

  Dargonea followed Jainuzei’s suggestion and rode a transport to a lone Radiance cruiser on patrol in the far reaches of the system. The crew of the Liberator asked few questions as to why her transport requested docking clearance, as it was launched from the Pelican. What the Pelican wanted, they provided, it was the will of the gods as far as they were concerned.

  Dargonea saw the interior of the Liberator bay as the transport doors opened. She allowed her body to float freely onto the ship as her hands wrapped around the staff as if it belonged to her. She noticed several of the crew stare at the staff, their eyes and focus magnetized to it and their body language changed to a form that showed Dargonea respect. The people before her weren’t loyal to the order and most certainly wouldn’t respect a Muodiry like her. That was all about to change.