by Reg Franklin
Zath, however, shook his head. +An interesting tactic, but recall that Lavnabren is fighting a war to exterminate all life. Releasing a new form of life would be counterproductive.+
Chris felt disappointment. “Damn, thought I had something there.”
Thao spoke up. +It is indeed possible that while this may not be the Void Queen’s plan, it may in fact be a facet of Hst-ur-Dra’s strategy. I believe it should be considered as a possibility.+
One of the two Gieron slammed his fist on a table, splintering it. “Enough! You, Prelt, tell us where these Vandleifdulus are, and we shall send an armada to annihilate them!”
The other one added, “All you do is react! We Gieron wish to maintain the Alliance, but the offensive must be taken!”
Athlé gently laid her hand on the nearest one’s forearm. “As do we all agree. And although I am no military leader, I have an idea that may benefit us greatly. It’s an idea that honestly turns my stomach, but I do think that it is one of our best options.”
She paused, taking a deep breath, her hand now unconsciously moving to the bandages around her neck. “Relex Prime. Aster had them try to kill me in order to disrupt the Alliance. All he managed was to sow discord against the Relex. Last I heard, they were barely holding up against a Vandleifdulus invasion. Is that still accurate?”
Zath nodded.
“From a diplomatic as well as strategic standpoint, coming to aid the Relex is probably the wisest move we could make. It would bring their own fleet into ours, and would also be the last thing Aster or Lavnabren would expect.”
One of the Gieron sneered. “Coming to the aid of those treacherous, little slavers does have an enjoyable irony to it.”
The Par’virer delegate bobbed its beaked face in agreement. “Is there a current count of how many vessels the Pale Ones brought to Relex Prime?” Its Xaodi translator changed its squawks to English.
Thao consulted a Prelt device. +At least five thousand ships, needlers and transport vessels alike. None of the gate vessels have been sighted.+
“Still think this is a good idea?” Captain Kirby sardonically remarked.
“Enough, Pierre. Needlers are easy pickings. Easy enough at least. Also whatever fleet we send will be supplemented by the Relex forces.” Chris pulled up a fleet list. “The majority of those five thousand will be the needlers. They’re susceptible enough to conventional ship-to-ship combat. These transports, can you give me a size comparison, Thao? How big are they?”
+Each is approximately as large as your John Alex, admiral.+
“Thank you. We prioritize the transports, box the needlers in-system. Don’t even let Lavnabren a chance to know what hit her forces. From there, it’s cleanup.”
“How many capital ships will this plan require, Admiral?” Captain Vren spoke up.
“At least a third of what we have here. Minimum.”
Vren stood straight and awkwardly saluted Chris. “The Pride of Xaod requests permission to join the fleet, Admiral.”
One of the Gieron stepped forward. “It will be an honor to fight alongside both Xaodi and Human once more. Wohrplhic and I, its captain, shall join you.”
The Par’virer and Yoth-y’n made similar pledges, and achittering, moaning sound issued from the Opkohc, whom everyone had forgotten about. The Par’virer turned in its direction, and translated. “The Opkohc say they have been listening, but not understanding everything. This one says that if it is your intention to fight, although they have no vessels, they will stand with us. The Opkohc,” he continued “are marvelous engineers. We know this from our ill-conceived conflict long ago. They will assist us via repairs or modifications of the ship’s weapons.”
“Acting President Young, do we have your permission to leave?” Chris faced Kelly, determination in his eyes.
“Granted.” Kelly felt his body pumped with adrenaline. “Kick their asses, gentlemen.” As they left the room, he overheard someone, probably Kirby, ask “Do they even have asses?”
Kelly sighed. He and Athlé were the only ones left in the room. “It’s a good plan, Athlé; you missed your calling in military strategy.”
She looked at him and bared her fangs. “Never do what you forced Ms. Safyo to do again.” Her voice was more than angry, it brimmed with malice. “Do your own dirty work from here on.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Kelly was reeling. “The mind probe she did on the Relex? I think its value has been proven now!”
“I have ‘done my homework’ as your saying goes.” Athlé stalked the room around him. “You claimed you did not want her probing others, but in reality, you simply wanted your own secrets kept. Secrets like your laboratories at the southern pole of the Earth, where you are searching for near-human artifacts. Or the military officers under the Admiral you were persuading to undermine his authority.”
Kelly’s jaw hung open in shock.
Athlé retracted her fangs. “Kelly. I like you, really. You are, at heart, a good person, I believe, but your ambitions blind you. You view almost every person around you as an opponent, even if they are your allies. And that is a tragedy. You cannot bring yourself to trust.” She moved closer to him, reached out, and gently touched the healing marks the Relex ambassador left him with. “You tried to avenge me when you thought I was dead?”
Kelly nodded.
“That is how I know you can bring yourself to trust. How I know you indeed have this good heart.” Her arm fell, and she walked to the door. “I shall be offering Jennifer sanctuary on Xaod. She will not be used for your ambitions any longer. Interfere, and I will release your secrets.” She looked back to him, and there were tears marring her eyes. “Please, Kelly. Do not make me do that.” And she was gone.
Kelly stood there, alone, dumbfounded. Had Safyo probed him secretly? Or was Athlé simply that good? His Antarctic expeditions were still active, but he’d cancelled his attempted coup against St. George when he found out about the Alphite, Harolds, manipulations. He couldn’t trust his plans at that point.
Was she right? Was he incapable of trust?
Time to find out.
31.
Callixta regained consciousness slowly. “Where…” She whispered.
“Are you?” A voice completed. “Darling, you are once more upon Numenor, of course.” Her eyes opened to see her husband in silhouette, shadows over his face. “I do hope you are quite recovered. There is great work to be done.”
Callixta found herself recoiling from him, remembering the look on his face as he shattered the asteroid, when he picked her up, the insane grin plastered on his face. He wasn’t grinning like that now, but there was a malicious jolliness in his voice that recalled it. “What happened?” She found herself trembling.
His expression remained gentle, tender even, and his voice lost the strange edge as he spoke. “We destroyed the rock. As you and Praxus were closest, you sadly took the brunt of the link. He’s still recovering. Also, Captain Vaathek lost an eye. It may regrow in time, hard to say, really. But she still was able to command the fleet back to Numenor. Just in time, as a new Vandleifdulus fleet emerged from lightspeed about ten minutes ago. But the weird thing…” Stragdoc’s voice dropped to a whisper, “...is that they’re just holding at the edge of the system. They’re scared, darling.” A hint of madness crept into his voice again. “I did something no one else has. I’ve scared them.”
“What...what do we do now?” Callixta found herself relaxing a bit. He wasn’t mad, he was excited was all. He’d destroyed a massive asteroid, and was holding back an entire fleet of their foes just on the reputation that feat had built. He was proud and excited, that was all.
“Do? What do we do?” His grin broke loose again. “Oh, darling, it’s what I’ve done! Display visual, now!”
A screen lowered where Callixta could see from her position. A large asteroid was being pushed along by one of the Talon vessels. “What..?”
“Simon was right, dear.” He giggled briefly. “Lemuria was full of his
omicron. A core larger than Numenor, and all of it made of omicron.” The vessel propelled its payload towards the enemy fleet. “Do you remember what he said about the stuff? Narrow beam gamma radiation?” The enemy vessels seemed to realize that something was very wrong as the asteroid crept closer, beginning to open fire upon it. “They await your command.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “Kill them, Callixta. Defend our people.”
Her mind whirled, a chance to protect her world, her people, her husband, to destroy, to kill for them, and show how she loved them all…
“fire.” The word was spoken quietly, gently, almost tenderly even. The wave of radiation hit the piece of Lemuria, which began to glow violently in shades that neither man, Alphite, nor Vandleifdulus was meant to see; the explosion that followed was not a fireball, but the bright light of creation
(destruction)
itself. And when the bright light faded, the Vandleifdulus fleet was mostly destroyed. While the large battleships had not had a chance to escape the blast, the small, thin fighters had been able to scatter, and now sped away from the blast.
Towards Numenor.
“It appears we shall have guests soon.” Stragdoc smiled. “Time for our forces to get their hands dirty. Dalth?” He called out, activating the communications to the Red Talon, “How many are incoming?”
“Several thousand, sir. That blast took out their support vessels, but the little ones are coming in hot. The fleet will intercept what they can.”
“Very well. Now, with Praxus still rehabilitating, let’s see...Gregor. Gregor Isan.” Stragdoc touched the communications panel, calling up the Neuromancer Temple. “All Neuromancers, we are about to come under ground assault. Gregor is to lead you while Lord Truk is indisposed. Prepare for combat. The lives of your fellow Alphites are in your hands. Failure will not be tolerated.”
“And what do we do?” Callixta asked.
“Whatever we desire.” Stragdoc grinned, taking her into his arms.
---
Athlè entered the bridge of the Pride of Xaod to a commotion of song as the crew sang instructions and relayed commands to each other. Xaodi vessels were built almost to human cathedral standards, allowing the acoustics of their language to be heard in full. Of course, necessity had to be made for the ship’s captain to communicate with other vessels amid the cacophony of sound, so the command throne had a soundproof enclosure. It was there Athlé headed, to speak with Captain Vren.
Upon seeing her, he stood, singing “Athlé Ma’ald, you grace our vessel.”
She smiled and tried to reply, but the damage the Relex had done to her voice box had not had sufficient time to heal. She tried to sing, but all that emerged was a twisted croak. She grimaced and tapped her translator. “Human, please Captain. My voice is not yet ready. And to be honest, I wonder if it will ever be again.”
Vren nodded. “I understand. The humans could not fix it completely?”
She shrugged. “They say to give it time, as do our own doctors. But ours did say that everything that could be done has been done.”
“I am glad to hear they did all that was possible.”
“As am I. Now you requested I come aboard before departure to Relex Prime?”
“Yes! Of course, forgive me for not announcing it sooner.” Vren turned to a console and brought up a message. “From our government, they are presenting you with the title of,” Here the translator cut off, there not being an appropriate word in its databank. Athlé leaned in, reading the message. In effect, due to her efforts to cement the Alliance, she was now the foreign head of state. All decisions made with regards to maintaining the Alliance would be ratified immediately by the Xaodi government (excepting any decisions that would be detrimental to Xaod or its people). The Xaodi song basically translated as “one whose appearance shall be focused upon by friend, foe, and own people”.
She pulled a small human device from a pocket, a gift from Doctor West following her injury. He said it contained information on all words in the Human English language as well as the other Earth-based forms of speech. She tapped through, searching for an appropriate translation. “Cynosure.” Athlé looked back at Captain Vren. “For the record, please transmit back to Xaod that I accept this title, all responsibilities it entails, and that for the Humans, the title is to be Cynosure.”
“A curious word.” Vren smiled. “But it shall be so, Cynosure Ma’ald.”
“Fâalta, how long have we known each other? You may still call me Athlé.”
“Of course, Athlé.” Vren sat in his command chair. “You are remaining behind, and will follow once victory is achieved?”
She shook her head. “No. I will be coming along. The Relex need to be told what is happening, and I will be the one to tell them. As a gesture of good faith, considering their ambassador’s actions.”
“I...see. Well as much as I fear for your safety, Athlé, your presence will honor us all in this fight.”
“Actually, Fâalta, I’ll be on a different vessel. Something of a smaller target for the Vandleifdulus.”
---
Callixta had fallen asleep again. Stragdoc rose from the bed, redressing himself. He glanced at the monitor displaying how the battle was progressing, but was barely interested. For one, he was confident in his forces victory. And for another...he felt above such things now.
For an instant, he had been a wrathful god, a destroyer. He needed to feel that rush again, and make it permanent somehow. He flexed a hand, looking at it. He had literally gone from being trapped in a husk of flesh to wielding enough power to break a city in two. He had to reach that pinnacle again.
But he acknowledged that his near apotheosis had also left him stronger. He could hear that Void Bitch whispering across the cosmos. He couldn’t make out the precise words, but he could hear the sound of them: whispers in the dark. He strained, searching for the source of it…
It was no good. She was simply too far away. Perhaps if he had another Prelt brain he could manage it, but he would find her soon enough. And then she would die.
A communications panel pinged softly, Stragdoc flicking the controls mentally. “Speak.”
“Emperor, the battle is going in our favor, but reinforcements are necessary.” Admiral Dalth sounded worried, but not panicked. “The Red Talon could end this quickly.”
“Request denied.” Stragdoc found himself smirking. “Let them come now. My Neuromancers shall finish the job.”
And if they couldn’t?
He would.
32.
“Permission to come aboard? That is the correct phrase, yes?”
Jennifer swivelled in her chair. “It is, and granted Athlé. Although I hear I should be calling you ‘Cynosure Ma’ald’ now?”
Athlé smiled, sitting herself next to the near-human woman. “Publicly yes, but between friends? Not at all.”
Jennifer smiled back. It was really hard not to like the Xaodi woman. “How did Captain Vren take the news?”
“He believes I am being reckless, that being on board the Pride of Xaod is far safer than your vessel. Forgive him, Fâalta and I have known each other since childhood so he does find himself being protective. Especially since…” Athlé trailed off, her hand unconsciously moving to her throat. She had removed the bandages, Xaodi healing being very rapid, and an ugly blotch of scar tissue marked where the Relex had tried to kill her. Surrounding the central mass was a series of smaller dots of scarring, a result of her translator exploding. The center of it all resembled an X, where Doctor West and Lami had opened her throat to operate.
“You okay?”
Athlé shook her head. “I know being named the Cynosure is an honor. But I cannot help but feel that I am to be kept away because of this.” She wrapped her hand around the scars. “For they keep me from singing the song of the Xaodi. I am separated from my people now.” She closed her eyes in sadness. “I proposed saving the Relex because we need their help. I can forgive them for the attack on me for the ambassador
was trying to act to spare his people, the noblest of causes. But the years of slavery is something we cannot forgive so easily.” She opened her eyes, and now they brimmed with savage joy. “I and many others would see Relex Prime burn for that. Instead, we shall have them owe us their very survival.” She grinned, fangs bared. “There is pleasure in that.”
Jennifer swallowed, hoping she never found herself in the position the Relex would now be in. Her comm crackled to life. “Nadhezda, this is the John Alex, the Admiral wishes to offer you berthing on board to save you fuel.”
“John Alex, tell the Admiral I appreciate the offer, but due to my current cargo, I need to be able to maneuver quickly when we arrive. If you can at least provide departure vector and coordinates so we don’t start colliding at superluminal, however, that’d be great.”