Destiny Reckoning

by Trevor Gregg

  Prologue

  It awoke. The Kirugi flexed its consciousness and felt. It could feel again, there was no more blackness, no more infinite nothing in all directions. It knew this concept was death, but somehow this single tendril of its existence was no longer experiencing it. It could feel, and it felt hunger. It knew it was time to feed and release its spawn upon this galaxy.

  Once upon a time its kind had swarmed many galaxies, laying waste to sentient life, one planet at a time. And each time, each planet fueled its spawn, launching many, many more of its kind to the stars, to repeat the cycle of destruction. With time, it knew its kind could seed an entire galaxy.

  And they would have. They could have consumed this measly spiral of stars and gas with ease, had it not been for a race of blue-skinned humanoids. The cursed vermin had discovered a technology that could not only kill, but could predict its arrival. This Kirugi knew, because it had experienced it, if only through the telepathic link to the others of its race. It had felt every death, experienced doom thousands of times.

  That only fueled its rage and increased its hunger. It could feel the myriad of planets in the galaxy, feel the life throbbing on each one. It knew all it needed was one, just one planet and it could send hundreds of offspring into the galaxy, which turn would spawn hundreds of their own. And the vermin, they were nowhere to be found. If they hadn’t stopped it by now, it knew they were no longer a threat.

  Extending its senses, the Kirugi inhaled, drawing in radiation, eating signals. A rich source of electromagnetic radiation caught its attention. Turning, it opened its gills and caught the interstellar wind, bearing course for the planet drawn by the overpowering scent of sentient life.

  1

  Loss

  Kyren had no words. Geri sobbed uncontrollably while tears rolled down Elarra’s cheeks. Benjam grieved as well, his skin having faded to a somber gray.

  “How could you leave her behind?” Geri screamed at Kyren.

  “I… we couldn’t…” he stammered, tears streaking his cheeks as well.

  But he knew she was right. It was beside the point that he and Elarra had nearly died, escaping the Crevak flagship’s destruction by only mere moments. Whether they would have all died, or just Alis; the point was moot. He had left Alis behind, and he would never forgive himself for it.

  First, his brother, now Alis. He wasn’t sure he could contain all the grief, choking out a sob. Geri grabbed him in a firm embrace and held him as she cried.

  “We tried to find another way, but there wasn’t time,” he offered.

  “Yes, I know,” she acquiesced. “You arrived moments before the Crevak flagship blew. There was barely enough time to jump away before the blast overtook us.”

  “And what of Tharox? What happened to him?” Geri questioned.

  “He came to our aid, and saved us from a powerful Crevak. We were able to escape because of Tharox’s sacrifice,” Elarra explained, her voice colored with sadness, her usual saturnine demeanor surprisingly shattered.

  “What do we do now?” Benjam asked dejectedly.

  “We do what we set out to do,” Elarra replied with conviction. “We stop the Kirugi from infesting the galaxy.”

  “Yes, you will. You’ll honor my daughter’s memory, her sacrifice will not be in vain. Elarra, you have my support,” Geri said, wiping away tears.

  Kyren remembered the vision Elarra had shared with him, he remembered it vividly. But what he had seen, to him had shown hope, had shown a way of fighting the creature. The giant robot had to be the key, it had to be the weapon that would save them all. He needed to look at the strange alien data core again.

  “Yes, we’ll stop the bugger any way we can,” Kyren proclaimed confidently, also drying his eyes. “We’ll do this for Alis.”

  He located the data core and slotted it into the console. The holopanel flickered to life and displayed three separate paths as before. This time, instead of Crevak Weapon or Other, he chose Giant Robot.

  The holopanel flickered and the image shifted. Suddenly, Kyren was staring at his own face in the screen. The camera zoomed out a bit, revealing the image’s upper torso and the strange, toga-like white garb. His, er, the image’s arms were crossed casually, the baggy sleeves hanging loosely.

  “Hi, uh, you, er, me. This is a message from the future. Well, rather, the past, actually. I’m sure you’re confused, I admit I still am. At least a little, anyway,” video Kyren began.

  Real Kyren spotted a pause button and hit it, halting the playback.

  “What in the hell is that?” Geri exclaimed. “What are you playing at, Kyren?”

  “I’m not! I don’t know what the hell this is, I’ve never seen this recording before!” he retorted.

  He reached out and touched the play button, curious and horrified at the same time. He didn’t remember making this video, but neither could he see any sign of it being faked. It looked and sounded like him.

  “So you’re probably freaking out now, I assume. Okay, good, get it out of your system, because things are about to get a whole lot weirder. There are some things you need to do, if you want a chance at stopping the Kirugi,” video Kyren explained calmly.

  “Elarra, is this one of your tricks?” Kyren asked with a sidelong glance.

  “No, I have nothing to do with this,” she affirmed.

  “So if you want to stop the Kirugi, you are going to have to go on a journey, a journey that will lead you through eons, as well as across light years. Sounds dramatic, eh? It’s not as glamorous as it sounds, you’re still going to get your ass kicked in multiple ways.”

  Geri let out a subtle chuckle as Kyren shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Alis was gone and he was still worrying about how her mom thought of him. He wrestled with the grip of grief, forcing himself to watch the video and disregard his feelings.

  The background was fuzzy, and there was a persistent rushing sound. He realized the background was actually falling water.

  “So, besides taking a beating, what else do you, er, me, have to do? First of all, to begin your journey you must meet the one who calls herself Joraq. Elarra should know what that means. Second, be sure to bring this data core with you, there’s more information contained within, but you can’t access it yet. You’ll figure out how when it’s time, I assure you, or I wouldn’t be standing here today. Er, yesterday, um, yeah.”

  The image flickered and went out, leaving Kyren slack-jawed. Had he just received a message from himself in another time? The data on the Crevak weapon had proved to be exactly what they had needed. Was this message more of the same?

  “Hmmm, traversing dimensions, and even time is theoretically possible,” Benjam squeaked. “But we don’t have access to any power sources monumental enough to bend time into a bridge. And even if we could, we wouldn’t necessarily want to do so, the threat of paradox could be too dire.”

  “Elarra, what do you think? Who or what is this Joraq?” Kyren queried.

  “Joraq is a myth. The first liadi. She is supposedly still out there, hiding somewhere in the galaxy, waiting for who-knows-what. It is said she is millennias old,” Elarra explained.

  “Well, let’s say she’s not a myth. How would we go about finding her location?” Kyren suggested.

  “The only ones who might possess such knowledge would be the high council,” she responded. “And you know what happened the last time I met with them. I’d rather not repeat the experience. There could perhaps be another way. There is one council member who has been friendly in the past, one might even call him an ally.”

  “Saeli!” Kyren exclaimed.

  “Yes, if the council knows, he would as well. The only problem is, if he is not on Duniya, I do not know where he can be found.”

  “Okay, let’s get to the rendezvous with Isa then. Although admittedly I’m in no hurry to deliver the bad news about Tharox,” Geri replied. “Then we can travel to Duniya and find Saeli.”

  Geri seated herself at the Ashari’s piloting cons
ole and said, “strap in everyone, we’re jumping in five.”

  2

  Asleep

  The shuttle’s hull creaked as it rocketed through the upper atmosphere, as if it were threatening to come apart. The interior was lit dimly by the orange glow emanating from the narrow windows as friction with the planet’s atmosphere superheated the air around her.

  The atmospheric stabilizing fins must still be intact, she wasn’t spinning out of control at least. But that really didn’t matter, in the end. Alis knew she was going to crater. The impact would disintegrate the shuttle and leave a monumental hole in the ground. There was no hope of survival.

  She wasn’t even that afraid. She was just sad. Sad that her mom would miss her. Sad that Kyren would be left to fend for himself. Sad that Elarra and Benjam would grieve. Tears wrenched free as she huddled in the pilot’s seat, trying to resign herself to her fate but finding no solace.

  She screamed in rage and denial, her voice echoing through the cockpit. Something clunked, like she had run over something. It took a moment to realize it was the sound of an airlock attaching. What? A ship just docked? How could that be?

  She kicked off and drifted to the airlock. Had someone heard her distress call? She reached the airlock and hit the panel. It lit, indicating an adjoining airlock on the opposite side. She triggered the door and stepped in, waiting for it to cycle. The opposite door flew open, and a voice boomed in.

  “Alis hurry, hurry, hurry!” a familiar voice cried.

  She kicked off and rocketed into the Radiant Star, landing nimbly at the transition to artificial gravity. The door slammed shut behind her and she felt the clunk as the shuttle was disconnected. Alis dashed for the bridge and settled into a console, as the viewscreens showed the shuttle falling away and the planet whirling beneath her as Isa corrected course and headed for high orbit.

  “Alis, what happened?” Isa asked, concern evident in her voice. “Where are the others?”

  “I don’t… I don’t know,” she replied hesitantly.

  It was true, she didn’t know what happened to the others, at least Kyren and Elarra. But she knew Tharox’s fate, or most likely fate. She considered his sacrifice, and decided that Isa should know.

  “I don’t know what happened to Kyren and Elarra,” Alis said, more steadily this time. “But I know what happened to Tharox.”

  “No…” Isa’s voice was barely a whisper over the speakers. “No, no, no…”

  Alis’ wished she had some way to comfort her, but she knew there was nothing that could be done. Suddenly the lights went out and Alis was plunged into darkness. There was no glow of the console, nor glimmer of emergency lighting. She felt herself begin to float free as the ship’s artificial gravity ceased. All systems had gone offline.

  “Um, Isa?” Alis asked tentatively.

  No answer. What had she done? What happened to Isa? Was this her way of grieving? Minutes went by, and still nothing.

  “Okay, Isa, now you’re scaring me. I know it’s tough but I’m here for you. You saved me, just like Tharox saved me. He saved us all, in fact. He saved us from a Crevak who would most certainly have killed us.”

  Tears began to fall before she even realized she was crying.

  Sobbing now, she cried, “he saved us from the Crevak. In another reality, another time, he was the villain. But here and now, he was a hero.”

  Still nothing. She floated free in the darkness, waiting. When she could wait no longer she transformed her wrench into a light sphere and placed it floating just above her head. She grabbed the console and pulled herself closer. She tapped keys, but nothing activated.

  Hours went by, and still Isa didn’t respond. It was becoming maddening, she was starting to crawl out of her skin. Not only was her friend apparently not okay, but Alis had no idea their trajectory before system shutdown. She hoped they had gotten high enough into orbit to be stable, at least for awhile.

  More and more time passed. Alis ate and slept by the light of her wrench. She awoke, but Isa was still silent. Had Isa gone into permanent shutdown? Life support was functional and there was plenty of food, but Alis didn’t know how long she would stay in stable orbit without nominal course correction. It might be hours, or it might be days, or maybe even weeks.

  Damn! Out of one frying pan, into another, she thought. She had escaped the exploding Crevak ship, only to be left plummeting to the planet on a meteoric course with the surface. From which she had been saved, only to be left to plummet to the planet once again. If boredom didn’t kill her first.

  3

  Rendezvous

  “No sign of any ships, Isa’s not responding on any frequency,” Geri said, sounding puzzled.

  Kyren didn’t like the sound of that. Where had Isa gone?

  “Can you send a message over the QET network?” Benjam piped.

  “Yes, I’ll try calling her direct,” Geri replied. A few moments later, she frowned and looked up. “No response.”

  “What does that mean, Geri?” Kyren asked, worry leaking into his voice.

  “Her communicator is offline, for whatever reason,” Benjam explained.

  “Okay, I’m going to drop a communications beacon in case she returns,” Geri informed them, punching in commands on the control panel.

  Kyren watched on the viewscreen as the blinking probe drifted free from the ship.

  “Where should we go now, Elarra?” Kyren asked, feeling lost.

  “We need to meet with Saeli. He may turn up, but we can’t count on him finding us. To find him, we’ll have to start on Duniya,” Elarra responded.

  “Duniya?!? If you don’t remember, the last time we were there your people tried to kill you,” Kyren exclaimed.

  “Yes, I know. But I believe that was Darius’ influence over the council. I’m certain we will be in no danger if we return now that Darius is dead and the Crevak have been broken.”

  “If you say so,” Kyren said suspiciously. He would trust her, but he was still worried. If she were wrong, they would be ready.

  “To Duniya, then?” Geri confirmed.

  Elarra nodded and Geri prepared them for warp.

  “I’ll jump us a good distance from the planet, let us have plenty of time to prepare if there’s a welcoming committee,” Geri informed them, just before engaging the warp drive.

  As his head cleared the viewscreen came into focus. Duniya was ahead, a blue-green marble hanging in the black of space. He began to scan his console, engaging sensors and bringing weapons and shields on standby.

  “No sign of any ships approaching,” Geri notified. “We’ll approach at a casual pace, so it’ll take us a few hours to get there. I suggest some rest.”

  Now that she mentioned it he felt it, a fatigue, a weariness deep in his bones. His grief only added to it. He went to the quarters and collapsed on a bed. He didn’t even bother removing his body armor. He was asleep in moments.

  Then, some unknown interval later, Geri was gently shaking him, urging him to wake up. His eyes snapped open with a start, panic beginning to grip him. What was wrong?

  “Relax, Kyren, I’m just waking you up, we’re about thirty minutes out.”

  “Nothing’s wrong?” he asked, feeling relieved.

  “No contact from the planet or Isa, no intercept by any ships. Seems they don’t care about us.”

  “We’ll see after we land. Those damn raxi might still be under Darius’ orders,” Kyren speculated.

  Within thirty minutes Geri was navigating them through re-entry. As the Ashari streaked toward the liadi capitol, Kyren checked his rifle and slung it across his back. A brief exchange between Geri and the liadi traffic control and she had a course set for a landing pad.

  The Ashari touched down with a thump, triggering Kyren’s heart to race. He steadied himself as he made his way to the airlock, trying to push the fear out of his mind. It wasn’t fear for himself, though. He was afraid for Elarra.

  Would her own people still want to put her to death
? If so, could he protect her? Could they escape in time? Likely not, they had barely made it away last time. And that had even been with Saeli’s aid. Elarra put her hand on his arm for a moment, and the gesture calmed him. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, he swore to himself.

  “Benjam, you stay here and keep an eye on the Ashari,” Geri recommended, cycling a compact pistol and then tucking it into her belt. “We may come in hot and we’ll need to be ready to move.”

  “Of course, I’ll hold down the fort!” Benjam squeaked happily. “I’d rather stay out of the path of bullets, you know.”

  “With any luck, there’ll be no bullets to dodge,” Elarra said hopefully.

  The airlock swooshed open and sunshine spilled in. A cool breeze washed over them, fresh air bringing with it the scent of pines and freshly cut grass. There was no entourage waiting for them. No squad of raxi, no council members. Perhaps they had not been foreseen.

  It took a short walk from the landing pad to get to the terminal where they prepared to hail a motocab. Before they could flag it down, a cab pulled to the curb. The doors sprang open, revealing the empty interior. The driver, a liadi boy with black hair and olive skin motioned them in.

  “You’re my fare today, I’ve foreseen it,” the driver said, motioning again.

  Elarra shrugged and climbed in, so Kyren followed. Geri climbed in behind him, looking wary.

  “I’m Raegar. Pleased to meet you, Elarra the Visikaji,” the driver said.

  Kyren was surprised, but Geri reacted, thankfully. Her pistol was in her hand in a flash.

  “Relax, Geri, there’s no need to shoot me,” Raegar replied. “I’m here to bring you to the council.”

  Kyren’s face must have belied his distrust, because Raegar looked in his rear view mirror and locked eyes with him.