This is an Andromeda fanfic that I wrote part way through the second season. In the episode Ouroboros, Trance alludes to an alternate future gone horribly wrong. So, I wrote a fic to fill in the gaps (prior to the second season finale, and the introduction of the Tunnel aliens). The fic draws heavily on the Andromeda mythos as I understood it at the time, and so it doesn't really mesh with a lot of the things that have come later on. Of course, this shouldn't be a problem if you don't mind ignoring the recent episodes.
Enjoy.
These Three Remain
Author Notes: Since this is going to be compressing a significant amount of time, there will be some significant gaps between chapters. However, I believe the story includes enough information for you to follow what happens between chapters without too much trouble.
Spoilers: Possibly up to IHNAT
Rating: PG-13
Warning: This fic contains character death.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Andromeda. Tribune does.
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It shattered like a quantum superposition after a measurement,
Broken like a sealed system that tried to hold a solid combustion reaction.
And then we discovered
That all our calculations were our own destruction.
- From the Perseid epic poem, “The Second Night.” Date and author unknown.
CHAPTER 1: When Tomorrow Dies
Harper closed his eyes as he took aim, but the tesseract machine only whirred impassively as it waited to carry out its purpose. It would not get the chance.
Seamus Harper fired into the device. It spewed sparks as the tesseract grew, momentarily out of control. The machine was pulled into its own tesseract, and it vanished. Instantaneously, the time distortions ceased. Damage from the Magog and Kalderans was erased from time, and none of the crew remembered what had happened.
None, except for a creature whose technology made her immune to the effects.
Trance pressed a button, closing the comm. channel to Sintii. Dylan lowered his head, and ran a hand through his hair. The entire crew looked sullen.
Beka’s jaw tightened, then she broke the silence, “Let’s go to med deck.”
*****
“Hey guys,” Harper coughed. “Glad you could all make it.”
“Harper... I’m sorry,” Dylan began.
“Don’t,” Harper tried to move his arm, but only shuddered as another wave of pain wracked his body.
Trance reached out, and purple fingers ran gently over his arm. “Back where I grew up, if somebody was... having trouble... we used to give them little necklaces made out of these silver vines that grew on my world. So here, I made this for you using some plants I found.”
In her other hand, Trance held a string of silvery stems that had a clasp attached to the end. She placed it on Harper’s neck.
“Does it have some kinda magic, herbal,” Harper coughed again, “... healing power or something?”
Trance pursed her lips, “It’s just a way to show people that we love them.”
They looked into each others eyes, and smiled.
“Thanks Trance,” Harper’s body shook again as he went into a coughing fit. Blood spattered on the wall. “I just wish Rev was here.”
Beka stroked his hair, “Perpetual light, shine upon him. Grant unto him--”
“You sure those are the right words?”
“Seamus, don’t worry about it. The Divine knows what I’m talking about.”
“Sorry boss,” Harper gritted his teach, trying to hold back the pain. “And besides, he’d be an idiot not to take me.”
“Right,” Beka half-smiled at him. Even now, he was still the young orphan she had picked up on earth so long ago. And, he was more.
“Come on,” Harper shouted, as the pain got the better of him. “It’s time. You guys know what to do.”
“No, not yet,” Beka’s voice was weak.
“Ya gotta do it,” Harper said.
“Wait,” Rommie placed her hand against Harper’s dataport. “Interface first.”
“Rommie,” Harper let out another hacking cough. “You don’t have to do that.”
“No, I want to. I want to know that you didn’t feel any pain, when... when you...”
“Alright,” Harper closed his eyes, and interfaced with Rommie. He let his consciousness go as far into the android as possible.
When he was in, Dylan ordered Rommie to begin the decontamination process. A tear rolled down Trance’s cheek.
No one moved for a few seconds as powerful drugs killed the Magog larvae, and the larvae killed Harper in the process. Suddenly, Rommie collapsed to her knees. Harper was gone.
“Rommie,” Dylan dropped to his knees in front of her so that they would be at eye level.
“I felt him...” Rommie started out. She was sobbing. “He was there, and it started to get weaker... and... he’s gone...”
Dylan embraced Rommie, trying to comfort her. The computer panels on the deck shut down quietly, as a sign of respect from the main AI. Beka and Trance shuffled off to their quarters. Tyr angrily holstered his gauss gun and stormed out, planning to fight out his emotions in the gym. After a moment, Dylan helped Rommie to her feet, and they left too. Once they were gone, Andromeda sealed up the body, and sent in attack nanobots to ensure that the infestation was completely gone.
*****
Dylan and Beka stood alone on the command deck. Aside from the ship’s AI, the others had not yet arrived.
“Dylan... I’m going to do something for Harper: The one thing he wanted most. I’m going to free Earth,” Beka looked at him. “And if you aren’t coming with me, I’ll take the Maru and do it myself.”
“You surprise me.”
“You didn’t think I’d feel this way about a lost crewman anymore?”
“No,” Dylan paused. “I’m just surprised that you were thinking the exact same thing I was. Beka, take your station and set a course for the Jaguar capitol world. We’ll pick up a few friends, then head for earth. Now, best speed for the nearest slip point.”
“Aye aye,” Beka responded. A cold smile spread across her face for an instant. Sometimes revenge does feel good.
These Three Remain (Andromeda)
Moderator: LadyTevar
CHAPTER 2: Thrusts and Feints
The Last Alliance fleet glinted in the light of the nearby star. It was composed of the Andromeda Ascendant, two hundred Leviathan Roused class battleships, one hundred thirty Pyrian torch ships, seventy-nine Than capital ships, Castalia’s three Neptune class battleships, and fifteen of earth’s brand new Zelazney class heavy battleships, along with numerous fighters and other light ships.
They were now only one slipstream away from the Magog World Ship. So far, everything had gone according to plan. Dylan signaled to open a comm. channel to the fleet.
“All ships, this is Captain Dylan Hunt. Maintain positions; we’re preparing to transit. Deploy all fighters and maintain radio silence once we’re on the other side. You know the plan. Coordinate slipstream jumps on my mark. 3...2...1... mark!”
Dylan held his breath as the ship counted down the seconds. The message needed time to propagate through the fleet. The instant his message finished playing at the final ship, the entire fleet jumped as one to the coordinates of the MWS.
*****
“Rommie, what do you see?” Dylan asked.
“I’m detecting the MWS, but not much else. Sensor jamming is too intense at the moment to get a clear fix on any swarm ships.”
“Deploy all fighters and combat drones. Arm all missile batteries.”
“Fighters and drones deployed, aye,” Rommie responded.
“Missiles ready,” Tyr said.
“Beka, report.”
“I’m following the flight plan,” Beka said. “We’re six light-minutes away from the MWS.”
“The Than are firing heavy warheads,” Trance stated.
“That should get their attention.” Beka watched the tactical display as the missiles approached the MWS. Simultaneously, the missiles exploded as they reached the massive starship.
“Registering multiple hits against the MWS,” Rommie stated. “I’m detecting comms. traffic. The Magog have scrambled swarm ships.”
“Holding position at 2.5 light minutes,” Beka said.
“How many ships?” Dylan asked quickly.
“I’m registering over 6000 swarm ships,” Rommie responded.
“Tyr, bring it.”
“Missiles away,” Tyr responded as he fired long range missiles at the attacking Magog.
“The fleet is firing,” Trance said.
Missiles poured in against the Magog armada. Still, the Magog closed. Nearly a third of their number had been destroyed in the opening volley, but it made no difference to them. Fighters charged in ahead of the fleet, blasting swarm ships as they tried to maintain a few thousand kilometers distance. However, it was the Magog’s turn to fire.
Point singularities launched from the swarm ships, ripping through the Last Alliance’s battleships. 127 Nietzschean ships were downed. Eighty Torch ships went with them, as did thirty six Than vessels. The relatively nimble Than cap ships attempted to dodge around the ballistic weapons, but even they had little time to avoid the collisions.
Andromeda was hit. She realized that they couldn’t evade it an instant before the black hole struck. Beka pulled the ship up and to the side, but it wasn’t enough. The PSB burst through her starboard sensor array, leaving her nearly blind on that side.
“Andromeda, status!?” Dylan ordered as the ship recovered from the violent quakes that the massive impact had sent through her.
“Main starboard sensors down… patching data directly from sensor drones…” The main AI answered.
“The Than are reporting in…” Trance pressed a button on her console. “They’ve run out of heavy warheads.”
Dylan nodded. “Tyr?”
“We’ve destroyed over 4000 swarm ships. I suggest we strike now.”
“Agreed,” Dylan answered, surprisingly calm in the midst of the battle. “Beka, Plan A.”
“Trance, signal the fleet: We’re going in,” Beka ordered.
“Nietzschean ships are moving into position,” Andromeda stated.
The fleet flung itself at the MWS, as the even more powerful point singularity cannons of the Magog invasion platform sent planet-sized black holes at them. The remaining swarm ships continued their assault as well, blasting point singularities through the attacking vessels. Fighters battled dangerously close to the Magog ships, showing no fear as they harried the remorseless horde. The Nietzschean battleships moved in ahead, with Pyrian vessels flanking them to offer protection.
“The Nietzscheans are reporting,” Andromeda informed her crew. “They’re ready.”
Dylan looked at the display, making sure that everything was in place. For once, he had no plan B. Although the battle raged on, to Dylan, the universe seemed to pause. The few seconds passed by like centuries as he knew that the fate of the universe was poised on the point of a needle. Then, he gave the order. “Execute.”
Beka hit a key on her console, sending confirmation to the Nietzscheans, “Operation Big Freaking Explosion is underway.”
Huge cargo bay doors opened on the undersides of the Nietzschean battleships. Massive black containers rocketed away under their own power towards the MWS. Though battered and ragged from the fight, the fleet of the homo sapiens invictus had managed to deploy at strategic locations around the star-sized vessel. Their ALS-4 Planetary Destruction Warheads sought out the predetermined coordinates and exploded.
The rigid surface of the Magog World Ship rippled like oceans. Nietzschean and Pyrian vessels fled the area, hoping to escape the cloud of tiny ballistic missiles created by the explosions. Magog screamed in terror as the ground beneath them shook and crumbled into dust. The surviving swarm ships scattered, attempting to escape into slip portals.
The Last Alliance, their ships echoing with the sounds of lament and celebration, limped off to the extraction point. They would stream to San-Ska-Re, where any critically damaged ships could receive immediate repairs, and evacuation if necessary. When they were ready, Dylan would debrief the fleet, and give his speech. Then, the fleet would disband, and the Last Alliance would be no more.
The Last Alliance fleet glinted in the light of the nearby star. It was composed of the Andromeda Ascendant, two hundred Leviathan Roused class battleships, one hundred thirty Pyrian torch ships, seventy-nine Than capital ships, Castalia’s three Neptune class battleships, and fifteen of earth’s brand new Zelazney class heavy battleships, along with numerous fighters and other light ships.
They were now only one slipstream away from the Magog World Ship. So far, everything had gone according to plan. Dylan signaled to open a comm. channel to the fleet.
“All ships, this is Captain Dylan Hunt. Maintain positions; we’re preparing to transit. Deploy all fighters and maintain radio silence once we’re on the other side. You know the plan. Coordinate slipstream jumps on my mark. 3...2...1... mark!”
Dylan held his breath as the ship counted down the seconds. The message needed time to propagate through the fleet. The instant his message finished playing at the final ship, the entire fleet jumped as one to the coordinates of the MWS.
*****
“Rommie, what do you see?” Dylan asked.
“I’m detecting the MWS, but not much else. Sensor jamming is too intense at the moment to get a clear fix on any swarm ships.”
“Deploy all fighters and combat drones. Arm all missile batteries.”
“Fighters and drones deployed, aye,” Rommie responded.
“Missiles ready,” Tyr said.
“Beka, report.”
“I’m following the flight plan,” Beka said. “We’re six light-minutes away from the MWS.”
“The Than are firing heavy warheads,” Trance stated.
“That should get their attention.” Beka watched the tactical display as the missiles approached the MWS. Simultaneously, the missiles exploded as they reached the massive starship.
“Registering multiple hits against the MWS,” Rommie stated. “I’m detecting comms. traffic. The Magog have scrambled swarm ships.”
“Holding position at 2.5 light minutes,” Beka said.
“How many ships?” Dylan asked quickly.
“I’m registering over 6000 swarm ships,” Rommie responded.
“Tyr, bring it.”
“Missiles away,” Tyr responded as he fired long range missiles at the attacking Magog.
“The fleet is firing,” Trance said.
Missiles poured in against the Magog armada. Still, the Magog closed. Nearly a third of their number had been destroyed in the opening volley, but it made no difference to them. Fighters charged in ahead of the fleet, blasting swarm ships as they tried to maintain a few thousand kilometers distance. However, it was the Magog’s turn to fire.
Point singularities launched from the swarm ships, ripping through the Last Alliance’s battleships. 127 Nietzschean ships were downed. Eighty Torch ships went with them, as did thirty six Than vessels. The relatively nimble Than cap ships attempted to dodge around the ballistic weapons, but even they had little time to avoid the collisions.
Andromeda was hit. She realized that they couldn’t evade it an instant before the black hole struck. Beka pulled the ship up and to the side, but it wasn’t enough. The PSB burst through her starboard sensor array, leaving her nearly blind on that side.
“Andromeda, status!?” Dylan ordered as the ship recovered from the violent quakes that the massive impact had sent through her.
“Main starboard sensors down… patching data directly from sensor drones…” The main AI answered.
“The Than are reporting in…” Trance pressed a button on her console. “They’ve run out of heavy warheads.”
Dylan nodded. “Tyr?”
“We’ve destroyed over 4000 swarm ships. I suggest we strike now.”
“Agreed,” Dylan answered, surprisingly calm in the midst of the battle. “Beka, Plan A.”
“Trance, signal the fleet: We’re going in,” Beka ordered.
“Nietzschean ships are moving into position,” Andromeda stated.
The fleet flung itself at the MWS, as the even more powerful point singularity cannons of the Magog invasion platform sent planet-sized black holes at them. The remaining swarm ships continued their assault as well, blasting point singularities through the attacking vessels. Fighters battled dangerously close to the Magog ships, showing no fear as they harried the remorseless horde. The Nietzschean battleships moved in ahead, with Pyrian vessels flanking them to offer protection.
“The Nietzscheans are reporting,” Andromeda informed her crew. “They’re ready.”
Dylan looked at the display, making sure that everything was in place. For once, he had no plan B. Although the battle raged on, to Dylan, the universe seemed to pause. The few seconds passed by like centuries as he knew that the fate of the universe was poised on the point of a needle. Then, he gave the order. “Execute.”
Beka hit a key on her console, sending confirmation to the Nietzscheans, “Operation Big Freaking Explosion is underway.”
Huge cargo bay doors opened on the undersides of the Nietzschean battleships. Massive black containers rocketed away under their own power towards the MWS. Though battered and ragged from the fight, the fleet of the homo sapiens invictus had managed to deploy at strategic locations around the star-sized vessel. Their ALS-4 Planetary Destruction Warheads sought out the predetermined coordinates and exploded.
The rigid surface of the Magog World Ship rippled like oceans. Nietzschean and Pyrian vessels fled the area, hoping to escape the cloud of tiny ballistic missiles created by the explosions. Magog screamed in terror as the ground beneath them shook and crumbled into dust. The surviving swarm ships scattered, attempting to escape into slip portals.
The Last Alliance, their ships echoing with the sounds of lament and celebration, limped off to the extraction point. They would stream to San-Ska-Re, where any critically damaged ships could receive immediate repairs, and evacuation if necessary. When they were ready, Dylan would debrief the fleet, and give his speech. Then, the fleet would disband, and the Last Alliance would be no more.
CHAPTER 3: Smiling at Grief
Captain Hunt extended his hand in greeting. Isabella Ortiz responded in kind, giving him a small yet firm hand shake. Her ship, a refit freighter from Mobius, was offloading refugees in the hanger behind them. Beka, Tyr, and Rommie were inside, working feverishly to organize the displaced settlers.
“How are they?” Dylan asked immediately.
“They’re angry, and afraid,” Ortiz answered. “They’re worried that we won’t be able to protect them.”
“Do you have any idea why the Pyrians pulled out support?”
“No,” Ortiz looked concerned. “It’s as though they just disappeared. If we don’t find some new allies, and soon, the Kalderans will win this war.”
*****
“No, I said don’t open your suitcase here,” Beka turned her attention to a shuffling sound behind her. “Hey, you kids! Stop pushing each other!”
“Everyone carrying a red pass card, over here!” Rommie shouted over the din. A pair of maintenance bots helped to move luggage as she directed the refugees.
“Be quiet and wait your turn,” Tyr’s low, controlled voice perhaps even more menacing as he cradled an infant defensively in his arms. The Inari child had been separated from its parents somehow, perhaps abandoned, and Tyr took it upon himself to look after her until a more permanent arrangement could be found.
Dutifully, the Chichin that had been clamoring for attention backed off. He didn’t relish the idea of challenging a Nietzschean’s authority.
“Give me my bag!” A young human shouted from within the freighter.
“Please, be calm,” Another voice, hoarse yet strangely soothing, responded. “We will all be better suited to clear this up after we have had time to settle into new quarters.”
“There is nothing to clear up. It is my bag,” The Perseid answered as he began backing down the ramp.
“Your bag!?” The human, no more than twelve years old, yelled back. Despite the size difference, he didn’t seem the least bit afraid of the Perseid.
“I am sure the crew of the Andromeda will make certain that everyone gets their rightful possessions as soon as we have been organized,” The third creature said, desperately trying to make peace.
“Rev!?” Rommie called out, turning to see the source of the familiar voice now coming from the exit ramp.
The human stopped. “…You know them?”
“Well, I…” The Wayist fumbled over his words as he tried to explain.
“Rev?” Beka quickly made her way through the crowd to get to him.
“Beka… I’m glad to see you again,” Rev wasn’t sure what to say.
“Glad to see me again? Rev!” Beka grabbed him and hugged for a moment, but then pulled away sharply. “What the hell where you thinking? How could you just run off like that without telling anyone first?”
“I thought it would be easier if I went quietly. I… have never believed in long goodbyes.”
“Easier? You had the whole crew worried sick!” Beka said, totally forgetting her surroundings.
“I didn’t intend to cause a disruption, but I couldn’t stay aboard the Andromeda. I would not have been able to function as a part of the crew.”
“Captain Valentine!” Tyr called, gently covering his ward’s ears with his hand and chest.
Beka snapped back into the present. “Rev, we could use a hand.”
“I would be happy to help,” Rev Bem answered.
“Give me the bag,” Beka turned to face the two refugees who had resumed arguing.
“But the bag is mine!” The Perseid objected.
Beka waved him off. “We’ll sort that out later. Just hand it over or you’ll be sleeping in the corridor.”
Reluctantly, the Perseid handed it to her. She placed the strap over her shoulder, and watched as the human and Perseid walked quietly down the ramp. Then, she leaned towards Rev.
“Alright,” Beka whispered. “Divide and conquer. Rommie’s rounded up almost everyone from section red so she can take them down for pre-processing. I want you to find everyone with a blue card, and get them to medical. Trance will be waiting for you. Tyr and I can handle the rest.”
Rev looked out over the mayhem of the refugees. “May the Divine help us.”
“Amen,” Beka responded, as she waded back into the crowd.
*****
Ortiz crossed her arms, and looked intensely across the desk. “The Kalderans made a huge strike against Osiris, one of the biggest slipstream hubs in our territory… or what used to be our territory. Most of us didn’t even know the Pyrians had pulled out of the system. We were lucky to get as many people out alive as we did.”
“At least it can’t get any worse,” Dylan sighed.
“You haven’t even heard the bad news yet,” Ortiz responded.
“It gets worse?” Dylan asked.
“Nihon and Senkan Alpha are already threatening to pull out of the New Commonwealth. They don’t want any part in a war they can’t win, and I don’t blame them. Dylan, please tell me you have an ace up your sleeve.”
“I wish I did, but the Nietzscheans haven’t even been returning my calls since we defeated the Drago-Kazov and destroyed the Magog world ship.” Dylan was exasperated by the situation. “I’m making some progress with the Than, but I don’t think they’ll want to get involved in a war.”
“Maybe we should surrender,” Ortiz stated, guardedly. “If we can’t win, maybe we should get out while we can.”
“Surrender? The Kalderans will destroy the Commonwealth. They’ll make sure we don’t have enough left to build an ant colony. What about everything we’ve built?”
“Dylan… I don’t think I’m going to survive this war. Lightning doesn’t strike twice.”
“It will this time.”
*****
“So, did you figure it out?” Trance tapped the controls on the medical scanner.
“What do you mean?” Rev asked, watching her check the refugees one by one.
“Did you solve all those problems you left to take care of?”
“Those problems… will always be a part of me. I do not think that I will ever solve them,” Rev stopped, trying to find a way to explain; to excuse his decision to abandon his friends.
“That’s a kind of solution isn’t it? Knowing that you’ll just have to live with it,” Trance didn’t take her eyes off the electronic readout.
“I suppose so.” Rev paused. “Trance, do you ever feel guilty, about being here? Do you ever feel responsible for the lives lost in battle, even when it isn’t your fault?”
“Is that how you feel?”
“I do, sometimes. When I left the Andromeda, I went back to Krishnamurti. I prayed, used the shouting cliffs, and studied under many wise followers of the Way, but I did not feel satisfied. I left that world, and went to attend to those who were wounded in the war. I saw horrible things there, Trance. I cannot be a part of that.”
“But…?” Trance prodded.
“When, seemingly by chance, I came back here, I felt a longing, as though the Divine wanted me to be here. I miss you all, very much, and I would like nothing more than to stay. But what if I am deceiving myself? How can the Divine work with a ship of war?”
“I think if you really try hard, and you really care about people, you can change things even when you’re in a bad situation,” Trance looked up at him sympathetically.
“Trance… over a trillion of my people died as a result of the Andromeda. Part of me wishes to say that they brought it upon themselves, but if I could be redeemed, could they not have been redeemed as well?”
“You can never tell what’s going to happen. You try to work out the odds, figure out ways to do good, but really you just have to do what you can, and hope things work out. There are a lot of things we just can’t control, but I think if we have good intentions, we can make good come out of all this.”
“I hope that we can. The Magog caused so much destruction that if it was all in vain, I do not think I could hold out hope for the universe,” Rev lowered his head.
Trance and Rev worked together in silence until the last refugees had been checked over. Rev was still troubled, and Trance knew that he still needed time to work through his problems. She only hoped that he would stay, and allow his friends to help him through it.
Captain Hunt extended his hand in greeting. Isabella Ortiz responded in kind, giving him a small yet firm hand shake. Her ship, a refit freighter from Mobius, was offloading refugees in the hanger behind them. Beka, Tyr, and Rommie were inside, working feverishly to organize the displaced settlers.
“How are they?” Dylan asked immediately.
“They’re angry, and afraid,” Ortiz answered. “They’re worried that we won’t be able to protect them.”
“Do you have any idea why the Pyrians pulled out support?”
“No,” Ortiz looked concerned. “It’s as though they just disappeared. If we don’t find some new allies, and soon, the Kalderans will win this war.”
*****
“No, I said don’t open your suitcase here,” Beka turned her attention to a shuffling sound behind her. “Hey, you kids! Stop pushing each other!”
“Everyone carrying a red pass card, over here!” Rommie shouted over the din. A pair of maintenance bots helped to move luggage as she directed the refugees.
“Be quiet and wait your turn,” Tyr’s low, controlled voice perhaps even more menacing as he cradled an infant defensively in his arms. The Inari child had been separated from its parents somehow, perhaps abandoned, and Tyr took it upon himself to look after her until a more permanent arrangement could be found.
Dutifully, the Chichin that had been clamoring for attention backed off. He didn’t relish the idea of challenging a Nietzschean’s authority.
“Give me my bag!” A young human shouted from within the freighter.
“Please, be calm,” Another voice, hoarse yet strangely soothing, responded. “We will all be better suited to clear this up after we have had time to settle into new quarters.”
“There is nothing to clear up. It is my bag,” The Perseid answered as he began backing down the ramp.
“Your bag!?” The human, no more than twelve years old, yelled back. Despite the size difference, he didn’t seem the least bit afraid of the Perseid.
“I am sure the crew of the Andromeda will make certain that everyone gets their rightful possessions as soon as we have been organized,” The third creature said, desperately trying to make peace.
“Rev!?” Rommie called out, turning to see the source of the familiar voice now coming from the exit ramp.
The human stopped. “…You know them?”
“Well, I…” The Wayist fumbled over his words as he tried to explain.
“Rev?” Beka quickly made her way through the crowd to get to him.
“Beka… I’m glad to see you again,” Rev wasn’t sure what to say.
“Glad to see me again? Rev!” Beka grabbed him and hugged for a moment, but then pulled away sharply. “What the hell where you thinking? How could you just run off like that without telling anyone first?”
“I thought it would be easier if I went quietly. I… have never believed in long goodbyes.”
“Easier? You had the whole crew worried sick!” Beka said, totally forgetting her surroundings.
“I didn’t intend to cause a disruption, but I couldn’t stay aboard the Andromeda. I would not have been able to function as a part of the crew.”
“Captain Valentine!” Tyr called, gently covering his ward’s ears with his hand and chest.
Beka snapped back into the present. “Rev, we could use a hand.”
“I would be happy to help,” Rev Bem answered.
“Give me the bag,” Beka turned to face the two refugees who had resumed arguing.
“But the bag is mine!” The Perseid objected.
Beka waved him off. “We’ll sort that out later. Just hand it over or you’ll be sleeping in the corridor.”
Reluctantly, the Perseid handed it to her. She placed the strap over her shoulder, and watched as the human and Perseid walked quietly down the ramp. Then, she leaned towards Rev.
“Alright,” Beka whispered. “Divide and conquer. Rommie’s rounded up almost everyone from section red so she can take them down for pre-processing. I want you to find everyone with a blue card, and get them to medical. Trance will be waiting for you. Tyr and I can handle the rest.”
Rev looked out over the mayhem of the refugees. “May the Divine help us.”
“Amen,” Beka responded, as she waded back into the crowd.
*****
Ortiz crossed her arms, and looked intensely across the desk. “The Kalderans made a huge strike against Osiris, one of the biggest slipstream hubs in our territory… or what used to be our territory. Most of us didn’t even know the Pyrians had pulled out of the system. We were lucky to get as many people out alive as we did.”
“At least it can’t get any worse,” Dylan sighed.
“You haven’t even heard the bad news yet,” Ortiz responded.
“It gets worse?” Dylan asked.
“Nihon and Senkan Alpha are already threatening to pull out of the New Commonwealth. They don’t want any part in a war they can’t win, and I don’t blame them. Dylan, please tell me you have an ace up your sleeve.”
“I wish I did, but the Nietzscheans haven’t even been returning my calls since we defeated the Drago-Kazov and destroyed the Magog world ship.” Dylan was exasperated by the situation. “I’m making some progress with the Than, but I don’t think they’ll want to get involved in a war.”
“Maybe we should surrender,” Ortiz stated, guardedly. “If we can’t win, maybe we should get out while we can.”
“Surrender? The Kalderans will destroy the Commonwealth. They’ll make sure we don’t have enough left to build an ant colony. What about everything we’ve built?”
“Dylan… I don’t think I’m going to survive this war. Lightning doesn’t strike twice.”
“It will this time.”
*****
“So, did you figure it out?” Trance tapped the controls on the medical scanner.
“What do you mean?” Rev asked, watching her check the refugees one by one.
“Did you solve all those problems you left to take care of?”
“Those problems… will always be a part of me. I do not think that I will ever solve them,” Rev stopped, trying to find a way to explain; to excuse his decision to abandon his friends.
“That’s a kind of solution isn’t it? Knowing that you’ll just have to live with it,” Trance didn’t take her eyes off the electronic readout.
“I suppose so.” Rev paused. “Trance, do you ever feel guilty, about being here? Do you ever feel responsible for the lives lost in battle, even when it isn’t your fault?”
“Is that how you feel?”
“I do, sometimes. When I left the Andromeda, I went back to Krishnamurti. I prayed, used the shouting cliffs, and studied under many wise followers of the Way, but I did not feel satisfied. I left that world, and went to attend to those who were wounded in the war. I saw horrible things there, Trance. I cannot be a part of that.”
“But…?” Trance prodded.
“When, seemingly by chance, I came back here, I felt a longing, as though the Divine wanted me to be here. I miss you all, very much, and I would like nothing more than to stay. But what if I am deceiving myself? How can the Divine work with a ship of war?”
“I think if you really try hard, and you really care about people, you can change things even when you’re in a bad situation,” Trance looked up at him sympathetically.
“Trance… over a trillion of my people died as a result of the Andromeda. Part of me wishes to say that they brought it upon themselves, but if I could be redeemed, could they not have been redeemed as well?”
“You can never tell what’s going to happen. You try to work out the odds, figure out ways to do good, but really you just have to do what you can, and hope things work out. There are a lot of things we just can’t control, but I think if we have good intentions, we can make good come out of all this.”
“I hope that we can. The Magog caused so much destruction that if it was all in vain, I do not think I could hold out hope for the universe,” Rev lowered his head.
Trance and Rev worked together in silence until the last refugees had been checked over. Rev was still troubled, and Trance knew that he still needed time to work through his problems. She only hoped that he would stay, and allow his friends to help him through it.
CHAPTER 4: The Andromeda Strain
The duffle was surprisingly heavy, but not a significant burden for an android. As the door slid open, Rommie could see the already disorganized room before her. A Perseid greeted her as she entered.
“My bag!” The Perseid quickly took the bag from Rommie and opened it on a nearby table.
“We’re sorry about the inconvenience,” Rommie stated. “But I scanned the bag, and found Perseid skin cells inside. I checked the DNA to make sure. I hope that isn’t a problem.”
“Thank you,” The Perseid looked almost gleeful as he lifted a strange device from the maw of the duffle bag. Once he had placed it carefully on the table, he took a tool from a pocket on the bag and began working on it.
Rommie considered leaving, but the device had piqued her interest. She hadn’t seen anything quite like it before. She waited for a moment as the Perseid worked. He seemed totally unaware of her presence.
“What are you working on?” Rommie hoped it sounded as though she were just trying to make conversation.
“It is a new type of AG field modulator that I am attempting to perfect. It should allow for a notable improvement over current AG control technology.”
“Really? How long have you been working on it?” Rommie asked, even more curious.
“Just over two months, not counting the research and planning phase. It is nearly complete.”
“Can I take a look at it?” Rommie asked. “I know a few things about AG systems.”
“Certainly. I have already registered it with the patent offices on Ugroth and San-Ska-Re, and I would be glad to get more opinions on it.”
Rommie looked over the machine briefly. “You’re running three micro-quantum computers in parallel. Why?”
“It takes a three-vector measurement of the surrounding gravitational field and processes them independently. Then it can feed data in real time to the primary processing node. I’ve found that it allows for greater error-reduction than a single channel system,” The Perseid paused. “How did you know the system configuration?”
“Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself,” Rommie extended her hand. “Andromeda Ascendant, ship’s avatar.”
“Andromeda,” The Perseid’s eyes widened briefly as he gave her an appraising glance.
Rommie smiled. It was nice to be appreciated for her technology once in a while.
*****
“Transiting in 3…2…1…” Beka hit the controls, propelling the Andromeda back into normal space. The system that they entered had six planets. One was inhabited, and the rest were being mined by automated facilities. Numerous sensor contacts were clustered around the second planet.
“Trance?” Dylan turned.
“I’m reading at least 30 ships. ECM seems to be off. One ship is moving in our direction.”
“Rommie, can you identify it?” Dylan asked.
“It’s a Pyrian scout ship… Swiftness of Lightning class. Minimal armaments,” Andromeda paused. “They’re hailing us.”
“Open a channel,” Dylan ordered.
“Andromeda Ascendant, what is your purpose in Pyrian space?” The synthesized voice asked.
“We’re here to find out why our allies disappeared in the middle of a war.”
“The alliance is no longer a concern of ours. Do not pursue the matter further.”
“Just tell me what happened,” Dylan insisted.
“You wish to know why we left the alliance?”
“Yes, I do,” Dylan said. He looked steadily at the Pyrian on the view screen.
The Pyrian captain hesitated. “It is because… the Pyrian Empire is no more. A disease has infected our planets. We have no defense against an organism so advanced. It evolves to defeat our technology in days, and it masks itself behind our biochemistry. We cannot stop it. In a month, the only trace of our civilization will be abandoned cities and those ships which were not infected. Now leave us to die in peace.”
“Give us your data on the organism. Maybe we can find a way to stop it,” Dylan offered.
“You may have our data, but you will fail. All of our scientists, all of our AI, and all of our resources are directed against the disease. Your assistance will not be sufficient.”
The image of the Pyrian blinked out as he closed the comm. The Andromeda’s command center was silent as the crew contemplated this tragedy, the tragedy that would not only consume the Pyrians, but all of the known worlds as well.
“He’s right,” Andromeda finally spoke up. “Compared to the resources of the Pyrians, I’m not going to make a difference.”
“How can this happen? How can a galaxy-spanning empire be destroyed by one disease?” Dylan stared blankly at the planet on the main viewer.
“We aren’t dead yet,” Tyr stated.
“Tyr’s right,” Beka added. “We can’t just give up.”
“I’m already reviewing the data,” Rommie responded. “But it doesn’t look good. This is the most advanced biological agent I’ve ever seen, and it’s designed for use against a biochemistry unlike anything I’ve previously dealt with.”
“A weapon?” Dylan asked.
“I think so,” Rommie responded.
“Do you think the Kalderans are behind this?” Beka asked.
“They have the means and motive to develop a bioweapon against the Pyrians,” Dylan answered. “Right now, they’re the only reasonable suspects.”
“May I suggest Nova Bombs? They chose to use strategic weapons against our alliance. We should return the favor,” Tyr said.
“No,” Dylan shook his head. “I’m not using Nova Bombs… Rommie, begin formulating a biological weapon for use against the Kalderans. I need a proposal ready for Sintii’s Advanced Strategic Weapons council. The more deadly, the better.”
“Dylan?” Andromeda’s hologram looked at him, concerned.
“I’m not just going to roll over,” Dylan was adamant. “I can’t let the Kalderans use strategic weapons and get away with it. If they want to break the Versailles Accord, I’ll show them exactly what bioweapons are capable of.”
*****
“You wanted to talk to me?” Dylan asked.
“I know you have a lot on your mind right now…” Rommie began. Dylan’s office felt even smaller than usual. Somehow, she felt guilty about what she was about to say.
“No, I’m always prepared to listen. But if this is about the biological weapon, you always knew it was a possibility. I hope I don’t have to use it, but I need to be prepared.”
“I understand what you’re doing. I’m sure you won’t use a weapon like that unless you have to,” Rommie wavered for a moment, but decided to go on. “This about one of the refugees. His name is Behrel, and he’s an engineer.”
“An engineer?”
“I can’t go on forever without one. I think we should hire him.”
“You’re the one who rejected all the other candidates,” Dylan reminded her. “Is he up to your standards?”
“He’s good,” Rommie admitted. “He’s working on a new type of AG field modulator that’s even better than what we had in the Commonwealth. I think I’m ready.”
“I trust your judgment. Tell him that he can stay for a probationary period, pending my final evaluation.”
“Aye,” Rommie smiled as she turned to leave.
*****
Dylan shut down the intercom system. Thanks to Rommie and Ortiz, all the refugees were settled in for the time being. He was glad to finally be settling in for the night as well. Despite the relative lack of people trying to kill him, it had been one of the most exhausting days of his career. Then, he heard the sound of his door buzzer.
Dylan groaned softly before answering. “Come in.”
“Dylan? I hope I am not disturbing you,” Rev said as he entered the room.
“No, it’s fine,” Dylan responded.
“I thought you might want to talk about what happened earlier today.”
“Your second day back and you’re already giving me advice, Rev?”
“I’ve found that most people feel better when they can discuss their problems.”
“Alright. Here’s one of my problems: Over two years ago, a certain Wayist Magog left me and my crew without any warning. We were depending on him, and he just left. And now, when we’re finally getting over it, he’s back. So Rev, how should I deal with it? How can I help my crew come to terms with everything that’s happened? And why should I trust him again, after he let me down the first time?”
Rev looked away for a moment. “I wish that I had never left in that way. My heart aches whenever I look back on those dark times, but I knew no other way.”
“You knew no other way?” Dylan looked at him. “Harper died only a few days after you left. He asked for you on his death bed, but I couldn’t bring you because I didn’t even know where you were. I would have forgiven you by now, but you knew he was dying. How could you leave then?”
“I left because of him,” Rev answered quietly. “I could not face his death knowing what I had done.”
“What?”
“I regret it with all that is in me, but I left because I knew that Harper was near death. I could feel the blood of my own people on my hands, and seeing his death would have forced me to face up to what I had done. I did not have the strength then. Now, I realize that my evil had repaid me twice, for I will have to live with the pain of his death on my heart along with the death that I caused.”
“We all feel guilty about things, and none of us wanted to see Harper dying, but we didn’t abandon him.”
“I will never forgive myself for what I did, but I cannot change it.”
“I know. That’s why we have to live with the consequences of our actions. For you, that includes making up the debt you owe to this crew, and I suggest you start by trying to explain this to Beka. She didn’t take it as well as I did.”
The duffle was surprisingly heavy, but not a significant burden for an android. As the door slid open, Rommie could see the already disorganized room before her. A Perseid greeted her as she entered.
“My bag!” The Perseid quickly took the bag from Rommie and opened it on a nearby table.
“We’re sorry about the inconvenience,” Rommie stated. “But I scanned the bag, and found Perseid skin cells inside. I checked the DNA to make sure. I hope that isn’t a problem.”
“Thank you,” The Perseid looked almost gleeful as he lifted a strange device from the maw of the duffle bag. Once he had placed it carefully on the table, he took a tool from a pocket on the bag and began working on it.
Rommie considered leaving, but the device had piqued her interest. She hadn’t seen anything quite like it before. She waited for a moment as the Perseid worked. He seemed totally unaware of her presence.
“What are you working on?” Rommie hoped it sounded as though she were just trying to make conversation.
“It is a new type of AG field modulator that I am attempting to perfect. It should allow for a notable improvement over current AG control technology.”
“Really? How long have you been working on it?” Rommie asked, even more curious.
“Just over two months, not counting the research and planning phase. It is nearly complete.”
“Can I take a look at it?” Rommie asked. “I know a few things about AG systems.”
“Certainly. I have already registered it with the patent offices on Ugroth and San-Ska-Re, and I would be glad to get more opinions on it.”
Rommie looked over the machine briefly. “You’re running three micro-quantum computers in parallel. Why?”
“It takes a three-vector measurement of the surrounding gravitational field and processes them independently. Then it can feed data in real time to the primary processing node. I’ve found that it allows for greater error-reduction than a single channel system,” The Perseid paused. “How did you know the system configuration?”
“Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself,” Rommie extended her hand. “Andromeda Ascendant, ship’s avatar.”
“Andromeda,” The Perseid’s eyes widened briefly as he gave her an appraising glance.
Rommie smiled. It was nice to be appreciated for her technology once in a while.
*****
“Transiting in 3…2…1…” Beka hit the controls, propelling the Andromeda back into normal space. The system that they entered had six planets. One was inhabited, and the rest were being mined by automated facilities. Numerous sensor contacts were clustered around the second planet.
“Trance?” Dylan turned.
“I’m reading at least 30 ships. ECM seems to be off. One ship is moving in our direction.”
“Rommie, can you identify it?” Dylan asked.
“It’s a Pyrian scout ship… Swiftness of Lightning class. Minimal armaments,” Andromeda paused. “They’re hailing us.”
“Open a channel,” Dylan ordered.
“Andromeda Ascendant, what is your purpose in Pyrian space?” The synthesized voice asked.
“We’re here to find out why our allies disappeared in the middle of a war.”
“The alliance is no longer a concern of ours. Do not pursue the matter further.”
“Just tell me what happened,” Dylan insisted.
“You wish to know why we left the alliance?”
“Yes, I do,” Dylan said. He looked steadily at the Pyrian on the view screen.
The Pyrian captain hesitated. “It is because… the Pyrian Empire is no more. A disease has infected our planets. We have no defense against an organism so advanced. It evolves to defeat our technology in days, and it masks itself behind our biochemistry. We cannot stop it. In a month, the only trace of our civilization will be abandoned cities and those ships which were not infected. Now leave us to die in peace.”
“Give us your data on the organism. Maybe we can find a way to stop it,” Dylan offered.
“You may have our data, but you will fail. All of our scientists, all of our AI, and all of our resources are directed against the disease. Your assistance will not be sufficient.”
The image of the Pyrian blinked out as he closed the comm. The Andromeda’s command center was silent as the crew contemplated this tragedy, the tragedy that would not only consume the Pyrians, but all of the known worlds as well.
“He’s right,” Andromeda finally spoke up. “Compared to the resources of the Pyrians, I’m not going to make a difference.”
“How can this happen? How can a galaxy-spanning empire be destroyed by one disease?” Dylan stared blankly at the planet on the main viewer.
“We aren’t dead yet,” Tyr stated.
“Tyr’s right,” Beka added. “We can’t just give up.”
“I’m already reviewing the data,” Rommie responded. “But it doesn’t look good. This is the most advanced biological agent I’ve ever seen, and it’s designed for use against a biochemistry unlike anything I’ve previously dealt with.”
“A weapon?” Dylan asked.
“I think so,” Rommie responded.
“Do you think the Kalderans are behind this?” Beka asked.
“They have the means and motive to develop a bioweapon against the Pyrians,” Dylan answered. “Right now, they’re the only reasonable suspects.”
“May I suggest Nova Bombs? They chose to use strategic weapons against our alliance. We should return the favor,” Tyr said.
“No,” Dylan shook his head. “I’m not using Nova Bombs… Rommie, begin formulating a biological weapon for use against the Kalderans. I need a proposal ready for Sintii’s Advanced Strategic Weapons council. The more deadly, the better.”
“Dylan?” Andromeda’s hologram looked at him, concerned.
“I’m not just going to roll over,” Dylan was adamant. “I can’t let the Kalderans use strategic weapons and get away with it. If they want to break the Versailles Accord, I’ll show them exactly what bioweapons are capable of.”
*****
“You wanted to talk to me?” Dylan asked.
“I know you have a lot on your mind right now…” Rommie began. Dylan’s office felt even smaller than usual. Somehow, she felt guilty about what she was about to say.
“No, I’m always prepared to listen. But if this is about the biological weapon, you always knew it was a possibility. I hope I don’t have to use it, but I need to be prepared.”
“I understand what you’re doing. I’m sure you won’t use a weapon like that unless you have to,” Rommie wavered for a moment, but decided to go on. “This about one of the refugees. His name is Behrel, and he’s an engineer.”
“An engineer?”
“I can’t go on forever without one. I think we should hire him.”
“You’re the one who rejected all the other candidates,” Dylan reminded her. “Is he up to your standards?”
“He’s good,” Rommie admitted. “He’s working on a new type of AG field modulator that’s even better than what we had in the Commonwealth. I think I’m ready.”
“I trust your judgment. Tell him that he can stay for a probationary period, pending my final evaluation.”
“Aye,” Rommie smiled as she turned to leave.
*****
Dylan shut down the intercom system. Thanks to Rommie and Ortiz, all the refugees were settled in for the time being. He was glad to finally be settling in for the night as well. Despite the relative lack of people trying to kill him, it had been one of the most exhausting days of his career. Then, he heard the sound of his door buzzer.
Dylan groaned softly before answering. “Come in.”
“Dylan? I hope I am not disturbing you,” Rev said as he entered the room.
“No, it’s fine,” Dylan responded.
“I thought you might want to talk about what happened earlier today.”
“Your second day back and you’re already giving me advice, Rev?”
“I’ve found that most people feel better when they can discuss their problems.”
“Alright. Here’s one of my problems: Over two years ago, a certain Wayist Magog left me and my crew without any warning. We were depending on him, and he just left. And now, when we’re finally getting over it, he’s back. So Rev, how should I deal with it? How can I help my crew come to terms with everything that’s happened? And why should I trust him again, after he let me down the first time?”
Rev looked away for a moment. “I wish that I had never left in that way. My heart aches whenever I look back on those dark times, but I knew no other way.”
“You knew no other way?” Dylan looked at him. “Harper died only a few days after you left. He asked for you on his death bed, but I couldn’t bring you because I didn’t even know where you were. I would have forgiven you by now, but you knew he was dying. How could you leave then?”
“I left because of him,” Rev answered quietly. “I could not face his death knowing what I had done.”
“What?”
“I regret it with all that is in me, but I left because I knew that Harper was near death. I could feel the blood of my own people on my hands, and seeing his death would have forced me to face up to what I had done. I did not have the strength then. Now, I realize that my evil had repaid me twice, for I will have to live with the pain of his death on my heart along with the death that I caused.”
“We all feel guilty about things, and none of us wanted to see Harper dying, but we didn’t abandon him.”
“I will never forgive myself for what I did, but I cannot change it.”
“I know. That’s why we have to live with the consequences of our actions. For you, that includes making up the debt you owe to this crew, and I suggest you start by trying to explain this to Beka. She didn’t take it as well as I did.”
CHAPTER 5: The Temple of Doom
“Hey look! That’s a Blue-Beaked Flesta!” Trance beamed, pointing to a nearby bush.
Beka automatically looked at the bush. “Trance, we don’t—”
Beka froze. The ominous ‘click’ under her foot was all the warning she needed.
“Well… this is embarrassing,” Beka said.
“Tyr?” Trance called, looking in the direction that he had gone.
*****
“Captain Hunt! Captain Hunt!” Dylan turned to see Behrel charging down the hallway at a speed that Perseids rarely traveled at under their own power.
“What’s wrong?” Dylan asked, watching the engineer trying to catch his breath.
“Nothing is wrong, Captain. However, I thought you would want to find out about my latest discovery as soon as possible. The implications are staggering, as I’m sure you’ll agree…”
“Go on.”
“As it turns out, the point singularity projector mounted on the captured swarm ship uses a gravitic launch system.”
“And…?”
“Well, umm… theoretically speaking…” Behrel was trying to gather his thoughts. The Common language seemed so imprecise, and humans were entirely too impatient.
“Behrel!” Dylan’s voice was emphatic, yet surprisingly gentle.
“Yes, anyway… Using my own research into gravity control, and recent advances on Sintii on the investigation on the ammunition, I believe we may soon be able to build a functional PSP.”
“That is serious,” Dylan nodded. “How soon?”
“I do not want to be overly optimistic, yet we may be able to have a functional prototype in as little as three months.”
“Good work. We’ll go to Sintii and let them know as soon as Beka gets back with the Maru.”
“Um… Captain, if you don’t mind… I would… well…”
“Yes, you can be the one to tell them about it.”
“Thank you, sir!” Behrel smiled broadly, and then turned to go back to engineering.
*****
“Captain Valentine,” Tyr smiled slightly, “You seem to be having some trouble.”
“It’s no problem,” Beka responded. “I just need a counter weight.”
“How about a gauss gun?” A husky voice said. A moment later, two Nietzscheans came out of hiding in the surrounding undergrowth.
“Crap,” Beka said, unable to turn and face the one who had his weapon trained on her.
“Nice ambush,” Tyr nodded. “However, you failed to take one thing into account: You’re outnumbered.”
“Of course, one of you is unarmed,” The larger Dragan said in his typical melodious style.
“Never judge a book by its cover,” Tyr answered in a low, menacing tone. “She may be more dangerous than you expect.”
“On the contrary,” A third voice spoke up. “I find judging books by their covers rather refreshing.”
Tyr raised his eyebrows at the odd-looking newcomer, but said nothing.
“Oh, hello Trance,” Flux smiled.
“Flux? What are you doing here?” Trance asked.
“Trance…?” Beka looked over at the familiar purple alien expectantly.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. Right Flux?”
“Oh, of course!” Flux motioned off to his left. “Let’s talk about this in private.”
“I doubt that will be necessary.” Tyr looked at Flux, clearly not prepared to trust him so quickly.
“I’ll be right back,” Trance said as she hurried off into the jungle. Flux followed close behind.
*****
“What are you doing here?” Trance demanded.
“Looking for the engine, obviously,” Flux answered.
“Do you really think your two friends are worthy of it?”
“No,” Flux smiled. “They’ll probably die in the attempt, or run away. I’m actually planning to meet up with Jim and Pulsar once we get to the temple.”
“So why bring the Nietzscheans along?”
“Just throwing somebody off my tail… so to speak,” Flux said, eyeing Trance’s tail. “But what about you? Do you think your humans are worthy?”
“Beka probably is, but Tyr isn’t. That’s the point,” Trance responded.
“How so?”
“I don’t think I can stop Beka from going after the engine unless we try and fail.”
“You don’t want the engine? Sure, you probably can’t trust them with it, but you could always get it away from them afterwards.”
“I don’t want it. Nobody should have that kind of power, including us.”
“They have a saying back on Inga’s Redoubt: You can’t pick your DNA, but you can pick your weapon. We need the engine if we’re going to set everything right.”
“No we don’t. Everything is still under control.”
“Things are worse than you know, Trance,” Flux shook his head. “Come home. There are things you should see. Besides, everyone misses you.”
“I may be spending a lot of time with humans, but I’m not blind. I know not everything is going according to plan, but we can still get the perfect future without using the engine. It’s too dangerous. If you try to get the weapon, I’ll do everything I can to stop you.”
“Trance, look at the evidence. A lot of people have been coming down here to search for the engine lately. Some of our people even think the rogue was here not too long ago, but he was forced out. Trance, it can only mean one thing,” Flux leaned towards her to whisper into her ear. “It wants to be found.”
“No, that’s not possible,” Trance said. “Why would it be waking up now? Why not before the Magog ship was destroyed?”
“Fine. We’ll recover the engine and set the universe right. You can do what you want.”
“No. If you want the engine, you’ll have to go through me.”
“If that’s what you want Trance. I’m ready for you.”
*****
“Fine, you don’t have to tell us how you did it,” Beka finally relented. “Just one condition.”
“What?” Trance asked, sounding concerned.
“No more bird watching while we’re in mortal danger.”
“Right,” Trance said sheepishly.
The three of them trudged on in silence for a while. The jungle had an odd, sweet scent which, combined with the balmy weather and placid scenery, gave Tyr and Beka a very strong urge to sleep. It was difficult for either of them to concentrate.
Trance, on the other hand, was having trouble concentrating on the paths ahead for an entirely different reason: She had to find some way to keep Flux and the others away from the Engine of Creation. Everything depended on it.
Suddenly, Tyr stopped. He looked around pensively, and motioned Beka to come closer. He leaned over towards her in a conspiratorial manner and whispered, “We’re being followed.”
“Figures,” Beka looked around. “Got any suggestions?”
“A counter-ambush,” Tyr responded immediately. “We set your force lance to overload, taking one of them out, and unbalancing the other two. That should give us all the advantage we need.”
“Alright,” Beka said. “I say we hit the blue guy first. We know what Nietzscheans can do, but we don’t know about him.”
“I agree. Besides, the Dragans are wearing mercenary uniforms. They will likely make a tactical withdrawal if we kill their leader.”
“On the count of three,” Beka cautiously began to draw her F-Lance.
“Wait… I don’t think we should do that,” Trance said.
“Do you have a better plan?” Tyr looked at her skeptically.
“Well, I just think since we’re all looking for this engine thingy, maybe we could work together.”
“Killing them would be more straight forward,” Tyr responded.
Beka furrowed her brow, “Trance, what do you know?”
“Nothing… it’s just that if I could talk to them, maybe I could get them to help.”
Tyr gave Beka a harrowing look. It was obvious that he did not approve of Trance’s plan.
After a moment, Beka made up her mind. “Go ahead, Trance. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Trance smiled. “I don’t think this’ll take long.”
*****
The Andromeda Ascendant examined the polymer coating again in her mind. It was the perfect defense against Kalderan antibodies.
The AI then looked at the genetic material. Tightly coiled, modified DNA molecules were packed tightly into the shell of the virus. The low-energy cross linkage would make it nearly impossible for enemy scientists to lay out the strands, and thus decode them, in time. Without the proper chemical keys, the fragile molecules would rip themselves to shreds if anyone attempted to separate them.
Only one more detail was needed. The last, best hope of the Kalderans: Nanotechnology. However, Rommie knew a few tricks for dealing with that. First, she would try to disguise the invading microbes so that they would look almost identical to Kalderan cells to nanobot sensors. Second, she had designed the virus to alter its properties in a semi-random fashion, hopefully fooling any specially-designed NBC nanobots. Plus, she always had the twins.
ECM nanobots, working in conjunction with defensive nanobots, would hide in similar polymer shells. It would allow them to ambush and destroy any Kalderan nanobots that threatened the deadly virus.
Rommie wouldn’t describe the experience of designing the ultimate genocidal plague as fun, but she had to grudgingly admit that it was somewhat pleasurable to know that she had done her job well. Warfare was what she was programmed for, and she was so very good at it.
*****
Trance, Beka, and Tyr marched on. The rest of the trip was uneventful, though Tyr continued to be uneasy. Beka was largely reassured by Trance’s insistence that everything had been worked out, but a part of her still wished for a direct confrontation so that the lurking menace of the Nietzscheans would be brought to an end. Trance, for her part, grew more concerned with each step. Flux clearly had something planned, but she couldn’t see what.
Finally, they reached foot of the temple. From the corner of her eye, Trance noticed two humanoids move swiftly into the shadows just inside the main entrance of the stone construction.
Cautiously, they closed the distance with the doorway. Once they were only a few feet away, two aliens came out of hiding in front of them. Beka and Tyr already had their weapons trained on the mysterious figures. One of the strangers had light blue-green skin that sparkled in the sun, while the other had mottled red and white skin.
“Hello Trance,” The red humanoid smiled like some sort of comic book villain come to life.
“Hello Pulsar,” Trance responded, evenly. She then turned to look at the bluish alien next to him, “You too, Jim?”
“Sorry kid, but this is important,” Jim shrugged.
At that moment, Flux and his mercenaries broke through the foliage and came up behind Beka.
“Well, isn’t this nice,” Flux looked around. “Looks like the game’s afoot.”
“Yep,” The smaller mercenary said as he and his partner swiftly aimed their weapons at Flux. “Looks like you lose.”
Flux looked at each of the mercenaries, “No honor among thieves?”
“Not for what you’re paying,” The husky-voiced Nietzschian responded.
“Nice move, Trance,” Flux said. “I don’t know what you told them, but it must have been good.”
“Of course, you realize that their weapons can’t stop us,” Pulsar added.
“Maybe, but they’ll slow you down long enough,” Trance returned Pulsar’s gaze.
“They might,” Flux admitted. “Unfortunately, I make it a policy to never trust mercenaries.”
The next thing Trance saw was a flash of light slightly to her left. It was followed immediately by the unmistakable sound of a shockwave. She could feel the heat on her skin a microsecond before she lost consciousness. In that brief instant, all hope faded.
“Hey look! That’s a Blue-Beaked Flesta!” Trance beamed, pointing to a nearby bush.
Beka automatically looked at the bush. “Trance, we don’t—”
Beka froze. The ominous ‘click’ under her foot was all the warning she needed.
“Well… this is embarrassing,” Beka said.
“Tyr?” Trance called, looking in the direction that he had gone.
*****
“Captain Hunt! Captain Hunt!” Dylan turned to see Behrel charging down the hallway at a speed that Perseids rarely traveled at under their own power.
“What’s wrong?” Dylan asked, watching the engineer trying to catch his breath.
“Nothing is wrong, Captain. However, I thought you would want to find out about my latest discovery as soon as possible. The implications are staggering, as I’m sure you’ll agree…”
“Go on.”
“As it turns out, the point singularity projector mounted on the captured swarm ship uses a gravitic launch system.”
“And…?”
“Well, umm… theoretically speaking…” Behrel was trying to gather his thoughts. The Common language seemed so imprecise, and humans were entirely too impatient.
“Behrel!” Dylan’s voice was emphatic, yet surprisingly gentle.
“Yes, anyway… Using my own research into gravity control, and recent advances on Sintii on the investigation on the ammunition, I believe we may soon be able to build a functional PSP.”
“That is serious,” Dylan nodded. “How soon?”
“I do not want to be overly optimistic, yet we may be able to have a functional prototype in as little as three months.”
“Good work. We’ll go to Sintii and let them know as soon as Beka gets back with the Maru.”
“Um… Captain, if you don’t mind… I would… well…”
“Yes, you can be the one to tell them about it.”
“Thank you, sir!” Behrel smiled broadly, and then turned to go back to engineering.
*****
“Captain Valentine,” Tyr smiled slightly, “You seem to be having some trouble.”
“It’s no problem,” Beka responded. “I just need a counter weight.”
“How about a gauss gun?” A husky voice said. A moment later, two Nietzscheans came out of hiding in the surrounding undergrowth.
“Crap,” Beka said, unable to turn and face the one who had his weapon trained on her.
“Nice ambush,” Tyr nodded. “However, you failed to take one thing into account: You’re outnumbered.”
“Of course, one of you is unarmed,” The larger Dragan said in his typical melodious style.
“Never judge a book by its cover,” Tyr answered in a low, menacing tone. “She may be more dangerous than you expect.”
“On the contrary,” A third voice spoke up. “I find judging books by their covers rather refreshing.”
Tyr raised his eyebrows at the odd-looking newcomer, but said nothing.
“Oh, hello Trance,” Flux smiled.
“Flux? What are you doing here?” Trance asked.
“Trance…?” Beka looked over at the familiar purple alien expectantly.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. Right Flux?”
“Oh, of course!” Flux motioned off to his left. “Let’s talk about this in private.”
“I doubt that will be necessary.” Tyr looked at Flux, clearly not prepared to trust him so quickly.
“I’ll be right back,” Trance said as she hurried off into the jungle. Flux followed close behind.
*****
“What are you doing here?” Trance demanded.
“Looking for the engine, obviously,” Flux answered.
“Do you really think your two friends are worthy of it?”
“No,” Flux smiled. “They’ll probably die in the attempt, or run away. I’m actually planning to meet up with Jim and Pulsar once we get to the temple.”
“So why bring the Nietzscheans along?”
“Just throwing somebody off my tail… so to speak,” Flux said, eyeing Trance’s tail. “But what about you? Do you think your humans are worthy?”
“Beka probably is, but Tyr isn’t. That’s the point,” Trance responded.
“How so?”
“I don’t think I can stop Beka from going after the engine unless we try and fail.”
“You don’t want the engine? Sure, you probably can’t trust them with it, but you could always get it away from them afterwards.”
“I don’t want it. Nobody should have that kind of power, including us.”
“They have a saying back on Inga’s Redoubt: You can’t pick your DNA, but you can pick your weapon. We need the engine if we’re going to set everything right.”
“No we don’t. Everything is still under control.”
“Things are worse than you know, Trance,” Flux shook his head. “Come home. There are things you should see. Besides, everyone misses you.”
“I may be spending a lot of time with humans, but I’m not blind. I know not everything is going according to plan, but we can still get the perfect future without using the engine. It’s too dangerous. If you try to get the weapon, I’ll do everything I can to stop you.”
“Trance, look at the evidence. A lot of people have been coming down here to search for the engine lately. Some of our people even think the rogue was here not too long ago, but he was forced out. Trance, it can only mean one thing,” Flux leaned towards her to whisper into her ear. “It wants to be found.”
“No, that’s not possible,” Trance said. “Why would it be waking up now? Why not before the Magog ship was destroyed?”
“Fine. We’ll recover the engine and set the universe right. You can do what you want.”
“No. If you want the engine, you’ll have to go through me.”
“If that’s what you want Trance. I’m ready for you.”
*****
“Fine, you don’t have to tell us how you did it,” Beka finally relented. “Just one condition.”
“What?” Trance asked, sounding concerned.
“No more bird watching while we’re in mortal danger.”
“Right,” Trance said sheepishly.
The three of them trudged on in silence for a while. The jungle had an odd, sweet scent which, combined with the balmy weather and placid scenery, gave Tyr and Beka a very strong urge to sleep. It was difficult for either of them to concentrate.
Trance, on the other hand, was having trouble concentrating on the paths ahead for an entirely different reason: She had to find some way to keep Flux and the others away from the Engine of Creation. Everything depended on it.
Suddenly, Tyr stopped. He looked around pensively, and motioned Beka to come closer. He leaned over towards her in a conspiratorial manner and whispered, “We’re being followed.”
“Figures,” Beka looked around. “Got any suggestions?”
“A counter-ambush,” Tyr responded immediately. “We set your force lance to overload, taking one of them out, and unbalancing the other two. That should give us all the advantage we need.”
“Alright,” Beka said. “I say we hit the blue guy first. We know what Nietzscheans can do, but we don’t know about him.”
“I agree. Besides, the Dragans are wearing mercenary uniforms. They will likely make a tactical withdrawal if we kill their leader.”
“On the count of three,” Beka cautiously began to draw her F-Lance.
“Wait… I don’t think we should do that,” Trance said.
“Do you have a better plan?” Tyr looked at her skeptically.
“Well, I just think since we’re all looking for this engine thingy, maybe we could work together.”
“Killing them would be more straight forward,” Tyr responded.
Beka furrowed her brow, “Trance, what do you know?”
“Nothing… it’s just that if I could talk to them, maybe I could get them to help.”
Tyr gave Beka a harrowing look. It was obvious that he did not approve of Trance’s plan.
After a moment, Beka made up her mind. “Go ahead, Trance. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Trance smiled. “I don’t think this’ll take long.”
*****
The Andromeda Ascendant examined the polymer coating again in her mind. It was the perfect defense against Kalderan antibodies.
The AI then looked at the genetic material. Tightly coiled, modified DNA molecules were packed tightly into the shell of the virus. The low-energy cross linkage would make it nearly impossible for enemy scientists to lay out the strands, and thus decode them, in time. Without the proper chemical keys, the fragile molecules would rip themselves to shreds if anyone attempted to separate them.
Only one more detail was needed. The last, best hope of the Kalderans: Nanotechnology. However, Rommie knew a few tricks for dealing with that. First, she would try to disguise the invading microbes so that they would look almost identical to Kalderan cells to nanobot sensors. Second, she had designed the virus to alter its properties in a semi-random fashion, hopefully fooling any specially-designed NBC nanobots. Plus, she always had the twins.
ECM nanobots, working in conjunction with defensive nanobots, would hide in similar polymer shells. It would allow them to ambush and destroy any Kalderan nanobots that threatened the deadly virus.
Rommie wouldn’t describe the experience of designing the ultimate genocidal plague as fun, but she had to grudgingly admit that it was somewhat pleasurable to know that she had done her job well. Warfare was what she was programmed for, and she was so very good at it.
*****
Trance, Beka, and Tyr marched on. The rest of the trip was uneventful, though Tyr continued to be uneasy. Beka was largely reassured by Trance’s insistence that everything had been worked out, but a part of her still wished for a direct confrontation so that the lurking menace of the Nietzscheans would be brought to an end. Trance, for her part, grew more concerned with each step. Flux clearly had something planned, but she couldn’t see what.
Finally, they reached foot of the temple. From the corner of her eye, Trance noticed two humanoids move swiftly into the shadows just inside the main entrance of the stone construction.
Cautiously, they closed the distance with the doorway. Once they were only a few feet away, two aliens came out of hiding in front of them. Beka and Tyr already had their weapons trained on the mysterious figures. One of the strangers had light blue-green skin that sparkled in the sun, while the other had mottled red and white skin.
“Hello Trance,” The red humanoid smiled like some sort of comic book villain come to life.
“Hello Pulsar,” Trance responded, evenly. She then turned to look at the bluish alien next to him, “You too, Jim?”
“Sorry kid, but this is important,” Jim shrugged.
At that moment, Flux and his mercenaries broke through the foliage and came up behind Beka.
“Well, isn’t this nice,” Flux looked around. “Looks like the game’s afoot.”
“Yep,” The smaller mercenary said as he and his partner swiftly aimed their weapons at Flux. “Looks like you lose.”
Flux looked at each of the mercenaries, “No honor among thieves?”
“Not for what you’re paying,” The husky-voiced Nietzschian responded.
“Nice move, Trance,” Flux said. “I don’t know what you told them, but it must have been good.”
“Of course, you realize that their weapons can’t stop us,” Pulsar added.
“Maybe, but they’ll slow you down long enough,” Trance returned Pulsar’s gaze.
“They might,” Flux admitted. “Unfortunately, I make it a policy to never trust mercenaries.”
The next thing Trance saw was a flash of light slightly to her left. It was followed immediately by the unmistakable sound of a shockwave. She could feel the heat on her skin a microsecond before she lost consciousness. In that brief instant, all hope faded.
CHAPTER 6: Where Moths and Rust Destroy
Trance blinked as she attempted to focus her eyes. The intense pain coursing through her body was fading quickly. She realized that she was lying on the ground. The vague black shapes above her soon took form: They were the Maru and Pulsar.
“Good morning,” Pulsar said, mockingly.
Trance groaned. “What have you done?”
“We’ve brought you back to your ship. Your friends are in critical condition, so you had better get them medical help soon.”
Trance immediately sat up. “What!?”
“Of course, by the time you get back, Flux and Jim will have already recovered the engine.”
“I can still stop you,” Trance said, looking him in the eye.
“And sacrifice your friends? How noble,” Pulsar looked pleased with himself.
Trance stood up and faced him. Her body began to quake with rage. “I will if I have to. Some things are too important. But so help me, you are going to pay for this.”
Pulsar didn’t show any reaction. “You are at least going to say goodbye to them, aren’t you? It’s the least you could do after getting them involved in such a dangerous game.”
“I can’t…” Trance felt the tears starting to run down her face. She knew what would happen if she saw them again. “I can’t. I have to go on.”
“Why Trance, you’re becoming positively cold hearted,” Pulsar said. “They’re awake now. Intermittently, anyway.”
Trance continued to shake as tears fell to the ground. Regret, sadness, and anger fought in her. She had a duty to the universe, but she also had a duty to her friends.
“Well?” Pulsar crossed his arms.
“Damn you!” Trance shouted as she whirled around and ran towards the ramp leading into the Maru.
Pulsar watched, and waited. A moment later, the rickety vessel lifted off, quickly climbing out of sight. Once they were gone, Pulsar smiled to himself.
*****
She saw Tyr first. He was lying on his back near the Maru’s entrance. She knelt down next to him and noticed that he was unconscious, but still alive. He had burns on much of his body, and his clothes were in tatters. After that cursory examination, she quickly ran over to Beka and noted that she was in a similar condition.
Trance stood up and looked at the door one last time, but her mind was made up. She ran to the cockpit and set the automatic pilot to take them to the nearest slip-point. She then ran back to the Maru’s storage lockers and retrieved some basic medical equipment.
Going back to Tyr, she used the medical scanner to see how badly injured he was. The powerful Nietzschian was suffering from severe internal hemorrhaging and broken bones from the shock wave, along with potentially fatal burns as a result of the heat. She injected him with a large dose of nanobots in an attempt to mend his internal organs enough to get him back to the Andromeda alive.
She then turned to Beka, and activated the medical scanner again. Luckily, Tyr’s body had been between her and the source of the explosion, thus partially shielding her. Her condition was only slightly better than his (largely because she was not genetically enhanced), but it was something. Trance injected her with nanobots, and got up to take over piloting the ship.
However, Beka began to awaken at that moment. Trance immediately knelt back down and called her name.
“Trance?” Beka asked, “What happened?”
“You were in an explosion. You’ll be alright. I just have to get you back to the Andromeda,” Trance explained. Unfortunately, she was far from certain of Beka’s ability to recover.
“Where’s Tyr?”
“He’s right here,” Trance answered. “He’s alright too, I think. He just isn’t awake right now.”
“Oh… good…” Beka’s voice trailed off as she lost consciousness again. Trance picked up her hand, and watched her for a moment longer. She was still alive, but that was all she would be able to say for rest of the journey.
*****
“Code red. Officers down. Code red…”
“Rommie, what’s happening?” Dylan immediately looked up from the flexi. A hologram appeared next to him.
“The Maru is reporting in. They have wounded. I’ve already dispatched drones to get Tyr and Beka to med deck, but Trance is reporting that they may not make it.”
“I’m on my way,” Dylan nodded as he got up and began making his way to the medical facilities as quickly as possible. As the side doors flashed by, Dylan could feel his heart racing. The ship seemed larger than it ever had. He felt as though it took him forever to reach his destination. Trance and Rommie were already working feverishly on Beka and Tyr when he arrived. Four drones stood off to the side; Andromeda wanted to be ready in case some extra hands were needed.
“Will they make it?” Dylan asked, looking back and forth between the two patients.
“I’m sorry Dylan, but it’s bad…” Rommie trailed off.
Dylan placed his hand on a bulkhead. He lowered his head, and shut his eyes.
“I’ve never seen blast effects like this,” Rommie noted as she continued to work. She had partitioned her emotions away so that they wouldn’t impair her.
“It’s an anti-personnel weapon – a very bad one,” Trance responded, not taking her eyes off Tyr. She knew that if she stopped for an instant, the tears would come again.
Behrel came into the room at that moment. When he saw the two patients lying before him, he stopped. He was frozen on the spot, suddenly unable to move or speak. It was some time before the relative silence was broken again by anything other than the noises of the equipment.
“I’ve stabilized Beka’s higher brain functions, but her body was severely damaged. Several of her internal organs are beyond repair, including some parts of her brain. I don’t know what to do. Given time, I could clone the organs we need, but I can’t sustain her that long when she has such severe injuries.”
“We could rebuild her,” Behrel said, his willpower finally re-asserting itself. “We have the spare parts.”
“Rebuild her?” Rommie asked.
“You said that her higher functions were stabilized. We could use AI technology to take over her lower brain functions, while machine parts can be used to replace her damaged organs. I believe we could do it.”
“I don’t have that kind of skill. Not that advanced,” Rommie shook her head as she switched places with Trance.
“I have contacts on Sintii,” Behrel said. “I know one of the leading authorities in the secondary science council’s cybernetics division. He will help us.”
Rommie turned and looked at her captain, “Dylan…?”
Dylan was already moving. He looked back over his shoulder. “Prepare for slipstream.”
Captain Hunt was already two decks away when one of the machines began to emit a constant, high-pitched whine.
“Rommie!?” Trance called.
The android began to move at a blinding pace. Before Behrel knew what she was doing, she had already injected something into Tyr’s body. In another instant, she had placed a flat metal object against his forehead. She sent a carefully placed electrical shock through a part of his brain stem. The line on the monitor jumped, but did not return to the previous wave pattern. Rommie tried again, and again.
Rommie hesitated, then slowly reached out and removed the device. Trance dropped the instrument she had been holding, and began to weep openly. Rommie bowed her head, while Behrel stood dumbfounded once again. They felt the jolt of slipstream, but did not react to it. The main AI mentally switched off the monitors that had been hooked up to his body.
Moments passed. Finally, Rev came in, huffing from the effort. He had run nearly the entire length of the ship, and climbed up several decks besides. “What has happened?”
Rommie’s eyes flashed for an instant as the emotion returned to her avatar. “Tyr is dead. You’re too late… again.”
Rommie saw Rev’s eyes close. She knew she would regret saying that, to the end of her days.
Trance blinked as she attempted to focus her eyes. The intense pain coursing through her body was fading quickly. She realized that she was lying on the ground. The vague black shapes above her soon took form: They were the Maru and Pulsar.
“Good morning,” Pulsar said, mockingly.
Trance groaned. “What have you done?”
“We’ve brought you back to your ship. Your friends are in critical condition, so you had better get them medical help soon.”
Trance immediately sat up. “What!?”
“Of course, by the time you get back, Flux and Jim will have already recovered the engine.”
“I can still stop you,” Trance said, looking him in the eye.
“And sacrifice your friends? How noble,” Pulsar looked pleased with himself.
Trance stood up and faced him. Her body began to quake with rage. “I will if I have to. Some things are too important. But so help me, you are going to pay for this.”
Pulsar didn’t show any reaction. “You are at least going to say goodbye to them, aren’t you? It’s the least you could do after getting them involved in such a dangerous game.”
“I can’t…” Trance felt the tears starting to run down her face. She knew what would happen if she saw them again. “I can’t. I have to go on.”
“Why Trance, you’re becoming positively cold hearted,” Pulsar said. “They’re awake now. Intermittently, anyway.”
Trance continued to shake as tears fell to the ground. Regret, sadness, and anger fought in her. She had a duty to the universe, but she also had a duty to her friends.
“Well?” Pulsar crossed his arms.
“Damn you!” Trance shouted as she whirled around and ran towards the ramp leading into the Maru.
Pulsar watched, and waited. A moment later, the rickety vessel lifted off, quickly climbing out of sight. Once they were gone, Pulsar smiled to himself.
*****
She saw Tyr first. He was lying on his back near the Maru’s entrance. She knelt down next to him and noticed that he was unconscious, but still alive. He had burns on much of his body, and his clothes were in tatters. After that cursory examination, she quickly ran over to Beka and noted that she was in a similar condition.
Trance stood up and looked at the door one last time, but her mind was made up. She ran to the cockpit and set the automatic pilot to take them to the nearest slip-point. She then ran back to the Maru’s storage lockers and retrieved some basic medical equipment.
Going back to Tyr, she used the medical scanner to see how badly injured he was. The powerful Nietzschian was suffering from severe internal hemorrhaging and broken bones from the shock wave, along with potentially fatal burns as a result of the heat. She injected him with a large dose of nanobots in an attempt to mend his internal organs enough to get him back to the Andromeda alive.
She then turned to Beka, and activated the medical scanner again. Luckily, Tyr’s body had been between her and the source of the explosion, thus partially shielding her. Her condition was only slightly better than his (largely because she was not genetically enhanced), but it was something. Trance injected her with nanobots, and got up to take over piloting the ship.
However, Beka began to awaken at that moment. Trance immediately knelt back down and called her name.
“Trance?” Beka asked, “What happened?”
“You were in an explosion. You’ll be alright. I just have to get you back to the Andromeda,” Trance explained. Unfortunately, she was far from certain of Beka’s ability to recover.
“Where’s Tyr?”
“He’s right here,” Trance answered. “He’s alright too, I think. He just isn’t awake right now.”
“Oh… good…” Beka’s voice trailed off as she lost consciousness again. Trance picked up her hand, and watched her for a moment longer. She was still alive, but that was all she would be able to say for rest of the journey.
*****
“Code red. Officers down. Code red…”
“Rommie, what’s happening?” Dylan immediately looked up from the flexi. A hologram appeared next to him.
“The Maru is reporting in. They have wounded. I’ve already dispatched drones to get Tyr and Beka to med deck, but Trance is reporting that they may not make it.”
“I’m on my way,” Dylan nodded as he got up and began making his way to the medical facilities as quickly as possible. As the side doors flashed by, Dylan could feel his heart racing. The ship seemed larger than it ever had. He felt as though it took him forever to reach his destination. Trance and Rommie were already working feverishly on Beka and Tyr when he arrived. Four drones stood off to the side; Andromeda wanted to be ready in case some extra hands were needed.
“Will they make it?” Dylan asked, looking back and forth between the two patients.
“I’m sorry Dylan, but it’s bad…” Rommie trailed off.
Dylan placed his hand on a bulkhead. He lowered his head, and shut his eyes.
“I’ve never seen blast effects like this,” Rommie noted as she continued to work. She had partitioned her emotions away so that they wouldn’t impair her.
“It’s an anti-personnel weapon – a very bad one,” Trance responded, not taking her eyes off Tyr. She knew that if she stopped for an instant, the tears would come again.
Behrel came into the room at that moment. When he saw the two patients lying before him, he stopped. He was frozen on the spot, suddenly unable to move or speak. It was some time before the relative silence was broken again by anything other than the noises of the equipment.
“I’ve stabilized Beka’s higher brain functions, but her body was severely damaged. Several of her internal organs are beyond repair, including some parts of her brain. I don’t know what to do. Given time, I could clone the organs we need, but I can’t sustain her that long when she has such severe injuries.”
“We could rebuild her,” Behrel said, his willpower finally re-asserting itself. “We have the spare parts.”
“Rebuild her?” Rommie asked.
“You said that her higher functions were stabilized. We could use AI technology to take over her lower brain functions, while machine parts can be used to replace her damaged organs. I believe we could do it.”
“I don’t have that kind of skill. Not that advanced,” Rommie shook her head as she switched places with Trance.
“I have contacts on Sintii,” Behrel said. “I know one of the leading authorities in the secondary science council’s cybernetics division. He will help us.”
Rommie turned and looked at her captain, “Dylan…?”
Dylan was already moving. He looked back over his shoulder. “Prepare for slipstream.”
Captain Hunt was already two decks away when one of the machines began to emit a constant, high-pitched whine.
“Rommie!?” Trance called.
The android began to move at a blinding pace. Before Behrel knew what she was doing, she had already injected something into Tyr’s body. In another instant, she had placed a flat metal object against his forehead. She sent a carefully placed electrical shock through a part of his brain stem. The line on the monitor jumped, but did not return to the previous wave pattern. Rommie tried again, and again.
Rommie hesitated, then slowly reached out and removed the device. Trance dropped the instrument she had been holding, and began to weep openly. Rommie bowed her head, while Behrel stood dumbfounded once again. They felt the jolt of slipstream, but did not react to it. The main AI mentally switched off the monitors that had been hooked up to his body.
Moments passed. Finally, Rev came in, huffing from the effort. He had run nearly the entire length of the ship, and climbed up several decks besides. “What has happened?”
Rommie’s eyes flashed for an instant as the emotion returned to her avatar. “Tyr is dead. You’re too late… again.”
Rommie saw Rev’s eyes close. She knew she would regret saying that, to the end of her days.
CHAPTER 7: And The Stars Never Rise
“Beka?”
“Dylan?” Beka winced, but she felt comforted to hear a familiar voice. The last thing she could remember was walking through the jungle. As she looked around, she realized that she was now in the Andromeda’s recovery room.
“How do you feel?” Dylan asked. He looked concerned.
“I’m…” Beka stopped. She hadn’t noticed initially, but something felt wrong. She tried to move her arm, but it didn’t respond. Her voice shook as she tried to speak. “Dylan, I can’t move my arm.”
“Don’t worry,” He immediately reached out to touch her shoulder. Beka felt relieved that she could feel it. “The doctors did that. There are some things they wanted to explain first.”
Beka looked up at him, and she began to worry even more. “What happened?”
“You were attacked,” Dylan explained. “Someone set off a bomb, and you were caught in the blast. It was bad, but we were able to get you to Sintii in time.”
“That doesn’t explain why I can’t move.”
“Some parts of your body were badly damaged. We had to use prosthetics, but thanks to the Kalderans, there’s a long waiting list. We were able to pull strings with the Sintii government’s cybernetics research division. We got some temporary prosthetics from them, but they aren’t perfect. Rommie is working on growing new limbs based on your DNA, but you’ll have to wait a few months for them to be ready.”
“Thanks for breaking it to me gently,” Beka said, and swallowed. “Now let me move.”
Dylan nodded silently, and pulled the bed sheet down. Beka tried to look, and could barely see a black shape where her hand should have been. Dylan keyed in a code, turning on all of the inactive implants. Beka immediately raised her arm so that she could see it.
She stared at it for a moment. It was hideous, and quite probably cannibalized from some experimental war droid.
“Remember, it isn’t permanent,” Dylan said softly.
“I want to be alone.” Beka let the arm fall back to the bed.
“Beka…” Dylan began.
“Get out,” Beka said.
Beka saw that he did not want to leave her as he dutifully walked away. She watched the door close behind him. For a moment, she just looked at the door. Then, the tears began to fall.
*****
Some people cry, some people work, and some people withdraw; but Dylan Hunt walks. He wasn’t sure if it was a healthy way to deal with grief, but it was what he had always done. As he walked, he thought about everything: He thought about the latest news reports from Sintii, the Kalderan war, and the future of the Commonwealth. And about Sara. And Rhade. And Harper. And Tyr. And Beka.
It was a long list. He had lost nearly five thousand crew, and it pained him that he did not know all of them by name. He had led them into danger, and though many had escaped Hephaestus, he still felt as though he had failed them.
Now, with Tyr dead and Beka gravely wounded, he wondered more than ever if he was leading his crew once again into disaster. He had once believed that the only thing that mattered was that he tried to set things right, but now he knew that the cost in pain and lives was too great for a futile mission. He had to succeed, or he would never be able to forgive himself for what had happened to Tyr, Harper, and Beka; or for what was happening to the known worlds being assaulted by the Kalderans.
*****
Beka stepped uneasily onto the command deck. Her gait was halting, but she held her head up. She did not look as though she had wept for over two hours that morning. She had stopped briefly, when she had begun to get over her own condition. Then Rommie told her about what had happened to Tyr.
Now, all she wanted to do was return to her station. She hoped that getting back to work would help her adjust to everything that had happened.
“Beka?” Dylan asked, as she walked in.
“I usually come on duty right about now, remember?” She responded.
“But—” Dylan tried to object.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Beka cut in. “But I feel fine, considering the circumstances. I’m ready to come back.”
“Rommie?” Dylan looked at the Andromeda’s holographic image, hoping for support.
The hologram wore an apologetic expression. “She is fit for duty, physically.”
“I can’t get my life back to normal by sitting around in my quarters. Let me work. Please.”
Dylan was still concerned, but he relented. “Alright, but I want you to talk to Rev when you’re finished. You can leave any time.”
“Thanks Dylan,” Beka said as she took her post.
“Prepare for slipstream. Set a course for the rim of the Andromeda galaxy, sector 3216.”
Beka took a deep breath. “Brace for slipstream. Transiting in 3…2…1… now!”
The ship jumped through the slipstream portal. Immediately, it was clear that something had gone wrong. The ship shook and spun violently, and crashed through one of the cords of energy that held the fabric of the universe together. Beka swiftly took them back to normal space. When they stopped, the color appeared to drain from Beka’s face.
“I… I couldn’t fly…” Beka looked straight ahead, frozen in place.
“No… I should have known….” Rommie trailed off.
“What?” Beka demanded.
“Some parts of your cerebellum were damaged. We had no choice: Some of your lower brain functions had to be replaced with AI components.”
“Dylan…” Beka hesitated. “I’m going off duty now.”
“Of course,” Dylan watched her walk out.
“She may need someone to talk to…” Rev said as the doors closed behind her.
“Go,” Dylan told him. Rev needed no further encouragement.
*****
Dylan stood at the podium. He swallowed as he looked over the words written on the flexi. After a moment, he began to read.
“We, the crew of the starship Andromeda Ascendant, gather here in memory of Tyr Anasazi. We will miss him, dearly. I could never have survived this long without him. His help and his companionship were vital to all of us, but now we have to go on without him.
“That’s what he would have wanted above all. I think if he could have told us to do one thing in his memory, he would have told us to survive.
“I won’t speak long, because he wouldn’t have wanted that. He was a great man, and he never allowed hardships to overcome him. We are better for having known him; we will never be the same without him.”
Dylan stopped, and allowed a moment of silence. High Guard funerals were short, but they would linger for hours afterward, sharing memories of him and comforting each other. It was time for the final part of the service.
Dylan, Beka, Rommie, Trance, Rev, and Behrel stood in a line facing the casket that contained Tyr’s body. Four maintenance droids stood near the opposite wall, a few feet from the coffin.
Rommie began to speak in a carefully controlled, military voice. “Tyr Anasazi, you have served with honor and courage beyond the requirements of duty. We now pay you these last respects as a small token of what you have earned.
“May the light of stars remain ever on your brow,
May the peace of sheltered sleep be ever upon you,
May the love of those you leave behind follow ever after you,
And may the chill of night never pierce you.”
When Rommie had finished, the funeral march of the Argosy began to play. The four drones stepped forward, and took up positions at each corner of the casket. Moving slowly and steadily, they gripped the handles, lifting the bier. They carried it a few meters to a purpose-designed airlock, and placed the casket inside.
The door closed, and the air was evacuated from the chamber. Rommie then spoke the last words of the ceremony. “Tyr Anasazi, we commit your body to the stars. Go in peace, and be touched by the troubles of this realm never again.”
The march ended then. As the last notes played, the coffin was ejected from the ship, and it was never seen again by mortal eyes.
“Beka?”
“Dylan?” Beka winced, but she felt comforted to hear a familiar voice. The last thing she could remember was walking through the jungle. As she looked around, she realized that she was now in the Andromeda’s recovery room.
“How do you feel?” Dylan asked. He looked concerned.
“I’m…” Beka stopped. She hadn’t noticed initially, but something felt wrong. She tried to move her arm, but it didn’t respond. Her voice shook as she tried to speak. “Dylan, I can’t move my arm.”
“Don’t worry,” He immediately reached out to touch her shoulder. Beka felt relieved that she could feel it. “The doctors did that. There are some things they wanted to explain first.”
Beka looked up at him, and she began to worry even more. “What happened?”
“You were attacked,” Dylan explained. “Someone set off a bomb, and you were caught in the blast. It was bad, but we were able to get you to Sintii in time.”
“That doesn’t explain why I can’t move.”
“Some parts of your body were badly damaged. We had to use prosthetics, but thanks to the Kalderans, there’s a long waiting list. We were able to pull strings with the Sintii government’s cybernetics research division. We got some temporary prosthetics from them, but they aren’t perfect. Rommie is working on growing new limbs based on your DNA, but you’ll have to wait a few months for them to be ready.”
“Thanks for breaking it to me gently,” Beka said, and swallowed. “Now let me move.”
Dylan nodded silently, and pulled the bed sheet down. Beka tried to look, and could barely see a black shape where her hand should have been. Dylan keyed in a code, turning on all of the inactive implants. Beka immediately raised her arm so that she could see it.
She stared at it for a moment. It was hideous, and quite probably cannibalized from some experimental war droid.
“Remember, it isn’t permanent,” Dylan said softly.
“I want to be alone.” Beka let the arm fall back to the bed.
“Beka…” Dylan began.
“Get out,” Beka said.
Beka saw that he did not want to leave her as he dutifully walked away. She watched the door close behind him. For a moment, she just looked at the door. Then, the tears began to fall.
*****
Some people cry, some people work, and some people withdraw; but Dylan Hunt walks. He wasn’t sure if it was a healthy way to deal with grief, but it was what he had always done. As he walked, he thought about everything: He thought about the latest news reports from Sintii, the Kalderan war, and the future of the Commonwealth. And about Sara. And Rhade. And Harper. And Tyr. And Beka.
It was a long list. He had lost nearly five thousand crew, and it pained him that he did not know all of them by name. He had led them into danger, and though many had escaped Hephaestus, he still felt as though he had failed them.
Now, with Tyr dead and Beka gravely wounded, he wondered more than ever if he was leading his crew once again into disaster. He had once believed that the only thing that mattered was that he tried to set things right, but now he knew that the cost in pain and lives was too great for a futile mission. He had to succeed, or he would never be able to forgive himself for what had happened to Tyr, Harper, and Beka; or for what was happening to the known worlds being assaulted by the Kalderans.
*****
Beka stepped uneasily onto the command deck. Her gait was halting, but she held her head up. She did not look as though she had wept for over two hours that morning. She had stopped briefly, when she had begun to get over her own condition. Then Rommie told her about what had happened to Tyr.
Now, all she wanted to do was return to her station. She hoped that getting back to work would help her adjust to everything that had happened.
“Beka?” Dylan asked, as she walked in.
“I usually come on duty right about now, remember?” She responded.
“But—” Dylan tried to object.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Beka cut in. “But I feel fine, considering the circumstances. I’m ready to come back.”
“Rommie?” Dylan looked at the Andromeda’s holographic image, hoping for support.
The hologram wore an apologetic expression. “She is fit for duty, physically.”
“I can’t get my life back to normal by sitting around in my quarters. Let me work. Please.”
Dylan was still concerned, but he relented. “Alright, but I want you to talk to Rev when you’re finished. You can leave any time.”
“Thanks Dylan,” Beka said as she took her post.
“Prepare for slipstream. Set a course for the rim of the Andromeda galaxy, sector 3216.”
Beka took a deep breath. “Brace for slipstream. Transiting in 3…2…1… now!”
The ship jumped through the slipstream portal. Immediately, it was clear that something had gone wrong. The ship shook and spun violently, and crashed through one of the cords of energy that held the fabric of the universe together. Beka swiftly took them back to normal space. When they stopped, the color appeared to drain from Beka’s face.
“I… I couldn’t fly…” Beka looked straight ahead, frozen in place.
“No… I should have known….” Rommie trailed off.
“What?” Beka demanded.
“Some parts of your cerebellum were damaged. We had no choice: Some of your lower brain functions had to be replaced with AI components.”
“Dylan…” Beka hesitated. “I’m going off duty now.”
“Of course,” Dylan watched her walk out.
“She may need someone to talk to…” Rev said as the doors closed behind her.
“Go,” Dylan told him. Rev needed no further encouragement.
*****
Dylan stood at the podium. He swallowed as he looked over the words written on the flexi. After a moment, he began to read.
“We, the crew of the starship Andromeda Ascendant, gather here in memory of Tyr Anasazi. We will miss him, dearly. I could never have survived this long without him. His help and his companionship were vital to all of us, but now we have to go on without him.
“That’s what he would have wanted above all. I think if he could have told us to do one thing in his memory, he would have told us to survive.
“I won’t speak long, because he wouldn’t have wanted that. He was a great man, and he never allowed hardships to overcome him. We are better for having known him; we will never be the same without him.”
Dylan stopped, and allowed a moment of silence. High Guard funerals were short, but they would linger for hours afterward, sharing memories of him and comforting each other. It was time for the final part of the service.
Dylan, Beka, Rommie, Trance, Rev, and Behrel stood in a line facing the casket that contained Tyr’s body. Four maintenance droids stood near the opposite wall, a few feet from the coffin.
Rommie began to speak in a carefully controlled, military voice. “Tyr Anasazi, you have served with honor and courage beyond the requirements of duty. We now pay you these last respects as a small token of what you have earned.
“May the light of stars remain ever on your brow,
May the peace of sheltered sleep be ever upon you,
May the love of those you leave behind follow ever after you,
And may the chill of night never pierce you.”
When Rommie had finished, the funeral march of the Argosy began to play. The four drones stepped forward, and took up positions at each corner of the casket. Moving slowly and steadily, they gripped the handles, lifting the bier. They carried it a few meters to a purpose-designed airlock, and placed the casket inside.
The door closed, and the air was evacuated from the chamber. Rommie then spoke the last words of the ceremony. “Tyr Anasazi, we commit your body to the stars. Go in peace, and be touched by the troubles of this realm never again.”
The march ended then. As the last notes played, the coffin was ejected from the ship, and it was never seen again by mortal eyes.
CHAPTER 8: Thieves Break In
“Fire one,” Dylan ordered.
“PSB away,” Beka responded, striking the key on her console.
The ship’s tactical display beeped as the miniscule black hole raced from one of the two large, round tube that had been melded into Andromeda’s sides. Seconds passed. Then, the weapon traveled through the target, as though it had only been an illusion.
“Direct hit,” Rommie reported. “Telemetry indicates a mission kill.”
“Well done, everyone,” Dylan said. “I think we can declare the PSP a success.”
“Ahh,” Behrel said. “It is a great honor to be able to witness such an advance in science. No doubt the technology we’ve gained will lead to a much higher standard of living in the Commonwealth.”
Beka couldn’t hold back a smirk. “Yeah. Between discouraging the Kalderans from killing us, and bringing us one step closer to the illusive black hole garbage disposal, I bet it’ll be valued by soldiers and homemakers everywhere.”
“Rommie, send a report to Sintii, with all of the test parameters,” Dylan ordered.
“Send complete. Message ETA: Twenty minutes,” Rommie responded.
Dylan glanced over the crew. “I think it’s time we reopened negotiations with the Kalderans.”
Unfortunately, that clarion call didn’t have the rousing effect that he had hoped for. He could see the fire in Beka’s eyes, but the others were not as eager for a confrontation with the Kalderans and their fleets. Rev and Trance looked troubled, and Behrel was already weary of the conflict. Rommie smiled slightly at the chance to show off her new armaments, but her eyes were like those of any warship going off to die in battle: Defiant to the last, but without hope of victory.
For there was no real chance. The PSP, for all of its awesome destructive power, was only a fool’s hope. The new Commonwealth had a fairly strong fleet, but it couldn’t support more than a few dozen battle groups in the field. The Kalderans, though now only equal in firepower, had economics on their side. In a few months, they would be swamped by the industrial might of the Kalderan war machine. The Kalderans would swarm over them like ants, devouring anything that got in their way.
*****
Beka looked at the bottles. She knew the formula by heart. It was such a small thing. A few drops, and everything would be fine… for a little while.
“What are you doing?” Rommie asked. She sounded simultaneously confused, angry, and worried.
“Just thinking,” Beka answered, distant and unemotional.
“Thinking about what?” Rommie’s voice maintained its tone.
“Flash,” Beka said, her attention turning to the android. “I think about it a lot.”
Rommie nodded. “But you don’t usually come down here for the ingredients.”
“So what? You can’t throw me in v-deck for wanting Flash. I’m an addict, and that’s the way it is.”
“You’re not an addict, you’re a recovering addict. It doesn’t control you.”
“No, I’m an addict,” Beka said. “You don’t recover from Flash addiction.”
Rommie sat next to Beka. She took a deep breath, or seemed to. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be critical.”
Beka looked at the bottles again for a moment before responding. “Don’t worry about it. I’m much harder on myself than that.”
“So why are you here?” Rommie hoped that she was coming across as supportive now.
“I’ve been thinking about it more since the… incident. I just keep wondering if maybe, Flash will give me that extra something that I need to pilot the slipstream. I don’t think it would, but if there’s any chance, how can I live with myself for not at least trying?”
“Are you really willing to risk taking Flash again so you can navigate slipstream?” Rommie asked. “You can still pilot the ship in sublight.”
“Rommie…” Beka became wistful as she reflected on her piloting experience. “You can’t compare flying in slipstream to real space flying. When you’re navigating in the slipstream, its like feeling the universe with your soul.” Beka stopped, and looked back at Rommie. A smile was barely visible on her lips. “I know that sounds corny, but that’s the best description I’ve heard for it. If taking Flash would let me experience that again… I’d take it.”
“So the question is: Are you willing to lose your friends over it?” Rommie watched her for a response. Beka looked away, but that was all. “Beka, you know better than anyone what Flash does to a person.”
“You’re getting critical again,” Beka said, impishly.
“Damn right I am. Beka, you are too strong and too smart for something like this.”
Beka paused. “Thanks… I’m glad you’re here for me.”
Rommie smiled wryly. “Isn’t that what warships are for?”
“That, and blowing things up,” Beka smiled back.
“Hey, I gotta go with my strengths,” Rommie said as she walked Beka out.
*****
“Oooh, can I fly?” Trance asked.
“You want to navigate through slipstream?” Dylan asked, skeptically.
“Yeah. Well, I’ve been using it a lot more lately, and I’m starting to get used to it, you know?”
“Trance, the last time you piloted a ship through slipstream, we almost lost the Maru inside a radioactive nebula.”
“Yes…” Rev added, “But it caused us to discover a transport ship adrift inside. Luckily, we were able to save the crew in time.”
“Alright,” Dylan watched Trance carefully as he spoke. “We’ll see what happens.”
“Great. Thanks Dylan,” Trance replied amiably as she took over the slipstream controls.
“You may stream when ready,” Dylan said.
“Transiting to slipstream in 3…2…1… now!”
Beka didn’t watch the monitor as the Andromeda slid along the energy strands… until she heard Trance’s all-too familiar ‘oopsie.’ It hadn’t been entirely unexpected. ‘Dreaded’ would have been more accurate. Nevertheless, Beka lifted her eyes to see what had happened.
As she watched, the slipstream seemed to mutate and shift in ways that she had never witnessed before. As the Andromeda twisted its way up and around, the strands seemed to squash and stretch themselves into odd shapes. The strings pulsated in a rhythm according to the ship’s movements.
“This is new,” Rommie observed.
“Trance…?” Dylan turned to her.
“Sorry!” Trance looked sincere in her apology. In moments, Andromeda was expelled into normal space.
“Report,” Dylan ordered as he swiftly moved his gaze to Rommie.
“Scanning…” Rommie stopped there, her findings rendering her too shocked to continue.
“What is it?” Dylan asked urgently.
The image of the main AI appeared on a screen nearby. “Magog swarm ships. Hundreds of them.”
“Battle stations!” Dylan responded, “Launch all attack drones.”
“Launching drones, aye,” Rommie confirmed.
“I’m under attack,” The hologram said.
“I noticed,” Dylan said, already studying one of the tactical displays.
“No, I’m being attacked. They’re trying to hack into my control systems.”
“Behrel?” Dylan looked at the engineer.
“I’m not sure how they’re gaining access, but they have the processing power to overwhelm Andromeda’s mainframe. I suggest a temporary AI shutdown.”
“Rommie?” Dylan asked, hoping she would have a better suggestion.
Andromeda hesitated. “He’s right. You don’t have a choice.”
Dylan watched one of the tactical displays again for a moment. “Andromeda, recall attack drones, then initiate an emergency shutdown. Authorization Captain Dylan Hunt, access code: Lexic Dark, 22578.”
“Orders received,” The Andromeda answered, her voice sounding nearly robotic.
“Captain,” Behrel spoke urgently. “Without Andromeda’s AI, our combat capabilities will be severely curtailed.”
“I know,” Dylan said. “We need somewhere to hide out. Rev, scan the system.”
“I’m detecting a planet that appears uninhabited. It has a very thick, caustic atmosphere, and radioactive elements are unusually concentrated on its surface. The planet also has an ocean composed of Mercury. It should not be dangerous as long as we stay inside the Andromeda, however—”
“However, it’s a perfect hiding place,” Dylan paused. “Too perfect. What other options do we have?”
“The system is quite barren,” Rev answered. “There is only one other planet, and it is heavily populated by Magog. I doubt we would be able to find a hiding place there.”
Dylan sighed heavily. “Alright. Trance, take us in.”
“Fire one,” Dylan ordered.
“PSB away,” Beka responded, striking the key on her console.
The ship’s tactical display beeped as the miniscule black hole raced from one of the two large, round tube that had been melded into Andromeda’s sides. Seconds passed. Then, the weapon traveled through the target, as though it had only been an illusion.
“Direct hit,” Rommie reported. “Telemetry indicates a mission kill.”
“Well done, everyone,” Dylan said. “I think we can declare the PSP a success.”
“Ahh,” Behrel said. “It is a great honor to be able to witness such an advance in science. No doubt the technology we’ve gained will lead to a much higher standard of living in the Commonwealth.”
Beka couldn’t hold back a smirk. “Yeah. Between discouraging the Kalderans from killing us, and bringing us one step closer to the illusive black hole garbage disposal, I bet it’ll be valued by soldiers and homemakers everywhere.”
“Rommie, send a report to Sintii, with all of the test parameters,” Dylan ordered.
“Send complete. Message ETA: Twenty minutes,” Rommie responded.
Dylan glanced over the crew. “I think it’s time we reopened negotiations with the Kalderans.”
Unfortunately, that clarion call didn’t have the rousing effect that he had hoped for. He could see the fire in Beka’s eyes, but the others were not as eager for a confrontation with the Kalderans and their fleets. Rev and Trance looked troubled, and Behrel was already weary of the conflict. Rommie smiled slightly at the chance to show off her new armaments, but her eyes were like those of any warship going off to die in battle: Defiant to the last, but without hope of victory.
For there was no real chance. The PSP, for all of its awesome destructive power, was only a fool’s hope. The new Commonwealth had a fairly strong fleet, but it couldn’t support more than a few dozen battle groups in the field. The Kalderans, though now only equal in firepower, had economics on their side. In a few months, they would be swamped by the industrial might of the Kalderan war machine. The Kalderans would swarm over them like ants, devouring anything that got in their way.
*****
Beka looked at the bottles. She knew the formula by heart. It was such a small thing. A few drops, and everything would be fine… for a little while.
“What are you doing?” Rommie asked. She sounded simultaneously confused, angry, and worried.
“Just thinking,” Beka answered, distant and unemotional.
“Thinking about what?” Rommie’s voice maintained its tone.
“Flash,” Beka said, her attention turning to the android. “I think about it a lot.”
Rommie nodded. “But you don’t usually come down here for the ingredients.”
“So what? You can’t throw me in v-deck for wanting Flash. I’m an addict, and that’s the way it is.”
“You’re not an addict, you’re a recovering addict. It doesn’t control you.”
“No, I’m an addict,” Beka said. “You don’t recover from Flash addiction.”
Rommie sat next to Beka. She took a deep breath, or seemed to. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be critical.”
Beka looked at the bottles again for a moment before responding. “Don’t worry about it. I’m much harder on myself than that.”
“So why are you here?” Rommie hoped that she was coming across as supportive now.
“I’ve been thinking about it more since the… incident. I just keep wondering if maybe, Flash will give me that extra something that I need to pilot the slipstream. I don’t think it would, but if there’s any chance, how can I live with myself for not at least trying?”
“Are you really willing to risk taking Flash again so you can navigate slipstream?” Rommie asked. “You can still pilot the ship in sublight.”
“Rommie…” Beka became wistful as she reflected on her piloting experience. “You can’t compare flying in slipstream to real space flying. When you’re navigating in the slipstream, its like feeling the universe with your soul.” Beka stopped, and looked back at Rommie. A smile was barely visible on her lips. “I know that sounds corny, but that’s the best description I’ve heard for it. If taking Flash would let me experience that again… I’d take it.”
“So the question is: Are you willing to lose your friends over it?” Rommie watched her for a response. Beka looked away, but that was all. “Beka, you know better than anyone what Flash does to a person.”
“You’re getting critical again,” Beka said, impishly.
“Damn right I am. Beka, you are too strong and too smart for something like this.”
Beka paused. “Thanks… I’m glad you’re here for me.”
Rommie smiled wryly. “Isn’t that what warships are for?”
“That, and blowing things up,” Beka smiled back.
“Hey, I gotta go with my strengths,” Rommie said as she walked Beka out.
*****
“Oooh, can I fly?” Trance asked.
“You want to navigate through slipstream?” Dylan asked, skeptically.
“Yeah. Well, I’ve been using it a lot more lately, and I’m starting to get used to it, you know?”
“Trance, the last time you piloted a ship through slipstream, we almost lost the Maru inside a radioactive nebula.”
“Yes…” Rev added, “But it caused us to discover a transport ship adrift inside. Luckily, we were able to save the crew in time.”
“Alright,” Dylan watched Trance carefully as he spoke. “We’ll see what happens.”
“Great. Thanks Dylan,” Trance replied amiably as she took over the slipstream controls.
“You may stream when ready,” Dylan said.
“Transiting to slipstream in 3…2…1… now!”
Beka didn’t watch the monitor as the Andromeda slid along the energy strands… until she heard Trance’s all-too familiar ‘oopsie.’ It hadn’t been entirely unexpected. ‘Dreaded’ would have been more accurate. Nevertheless, Beka lifted her eyes to see what had happened.
As she watched, the slipstream seemed to mutate and shift in ways that she had never witnessed before. As the Andromeda twisted its way up and around, the strands seemed to squash and stretch themselves into odd shapes. The strings pulsated in a rhythm according to the ship’s movements.
“This is new,” Rommie observed.
“Trance…?” Dylan turned to her.
“Sorry!” Trance looked sincere in her apology. In moments, Andromeda was expelled into normal space.
“Report,” Dylan ordered as he swiftly moved his gaze to Rommie.
“Scanning…” Rommie stopped there, her findings rendering her too shocked to continue.
“What is it?” Dylan asked urgently.
The image of the main AI appeared on a screen nearby. “Magog swarm ships. Hundreds of them.”
“Battle stations!” Dylan responded, “Launch all attack drones.”
“Launching drones, aye,” Rommie confirmed.
“I’m under attack,” The hologram said.
“I noticed,” Dylan said, already studying one of the tactical displays.
“No, I’m being attacked. They’re trying to hack into my control systems.”
“Behrel?” Dylan looked at the engineer.
“I’m not sure how they’re gaining access, but they have the processing power to overwhelm Andromeda’s mainframe. I suggest a temporary AI shutdown.”
“Rommie?” Dylan asked, hoping she would have a better suggestion.
Andromeda hesitated. “He’s right. You don’t have a choice.”
Dylan watched one of the tactical displays again for a moment. “Andromeda, recall attack drones, then initiate an emergency shutdown. Authorization Captain Dylan Hunt, access code: Lexic Dark, 22578.”
“Orders received,” The Andromeda answered, her voice sounding nearly robotic.
“Captain,” Behrel spoke urgently. “Without Andromeda’s AI, our combat capabilities will be severely curtailed.”
“I know,” Dylan said. “We need somewhere to hide out. Rev, scan the system.”
“I’m detecting a planet that appears uninhabited. It has a very thick, caustic atmosphere, and radioactive elements are unusually concentrated on its surface. The planet also has an ocean composed of Mercury. It should not be dangerous as long as we stay inside the Andromeda, however—”
“However, it’s a perfect hiding place,” Dylan paused. “Too perfect. What other options do we have?”
“The system is quite barren,” Rev answered. “There is only one other planet, and it is heavily populated by Magog. I doubt we would be able to find a hiding place there.”
Dylan sighed heavily. “Alright. Trance, take us in.”
CHAPTER 9: The Blood-Dimmed Tide is Loosed
“We’ve settled on the bottom,” Rev said. “We are currently 50 meters below the surface of the ocean.”
“Well, we’re safe for now,” Beka leaned on one of the ship’s railings. “How’s Plan B coming?”
“I’m working on it,” Dylan said. “Trance, walk with me.”
“OK…” Trance said, nervously.
*****
Dylan waited until they were well away from Andromeda’s command center before he began. After rounding a corner, he gripped Trance’s arm, and turned her to face him. She returned his glare, clearly not intimidated by him.
“This is it, Trance. I want to know who you are and what you want.”
“You really want to know who I am?” Trance asked, a devilish smile defying Dylan’s commanding presence.
“No more games, or I’m putting you off this ship the minute we get back to known space.”
“OK. I think you’ve earned that,” Trance said as she took a hold of Dylan’s uniform, pulling him closer to her.
As he looked into her eyes, he saw a small gleam appear. The gleam turned into a distant galaxy, and more appeared behind it. It seemed as though he were watching as something traveled vast distances, in which galaxies were like pebbles in a massive desert.
He thought he heard Trance’s voice, but that seemed far removed from her, as though it were in his own mind. As the voice spoke, images appeared, illustrating everything that was said. “We are the last guardians of a fallen civilization. In a distant galaxy, there was a war between the Kuevrian Federation and the Liletra. The Kuevrians were being destroyed, but with the last ounce of their strength, they created us.
“They built us to be perfect, down to the most fundamental levels. We stopped the Liletra, but not quickly enough. The Kuevrians were devastated, and the night closed over them.
“But our people survived. We began to rebuild and drive back the night. We found allies, fought wars, and established ourselves where the Kuevrian people had once been.
“Eventually, we learned that some of the Kuevrians had survived. Unfortunately, the war had not left them unchanged. Those who escaped had joined together into a collective consciousness, and that consciousness began to embrace a new philosophy. It claimed to be seeking the ultimate order, the end of war and pain, the end of chaos. It called itself the Spirit of the Abyss, and the black hole was its symbol.
“When we wouldn’t accept its philosophy, it attacked us. It devised the Void Hunters to destroy us; biological weapons of the highest order. They destroyed our planets, scattering us through twelve galaxies. Fleets of world ships roamed throughout known space, turning everything we knew into black holes and dust.
“Then, in the moment that he thought his victory was complete, when all hope seemed dead, we came back. There were few of us, but the Spirit of the Abyss had lowered its guard. We moved in secret, and when we were ready, we struck at his one vulnerable point: We took back the Engine of Creation.
“Without the Engine, the Spirit’s power was slowly spent in wars, and the Void Hunters were eventually destroyed. It had to rely on genetic engineering to create lesser weapons, like the Magog. Because of that, our people have been able to fight him.
“Since that time, we’ve never rested. We dedicated ourselves to stopping the Spirit of the Abyss. Finally, only a short time ago, we destroyed the last of its warships. We tracked him to this planet, and now we have a chance to destroy him completely.”
Trance’s voice fell silent, and the image faded. Dylan stood still for a moment, trying to absorb it all.
After studying him briefly, she broke the silence. “So, now that you know who I am and what I want, will you try to help me, or ‘put me off this ship the minute we get back to known space’?”
Dylan had only barely recovered enough to answer. “What can I do?”
“The first thing I want you to do is promise not to tell the others. If they know I convinced you, they’ll be satisfied. Other than that, just be ready to get Andromeda out of here quickly when I come back.”
“When you come back?”
“I have to leave the ship and challenge the Spirit of the Abyss. If I win, we’ll have to get out of here fast, before things start blowing up. If I lose, well…”
“I see,” Dylan said, grimly.
“Don’t worry about what the others will think of me leaving. I’ll find a way to explain it to them. Now, promise that you won’t tell anyone who I am.”
“Of course, I promise.”
“Great. Don’t worry Dylan, it’ll work out,” Trance smiled, though inwardly she was far from confident.
“We’ve settled on the bottom,” Rev said. “We are currently 50 meters below the surface of the ocean.”
“Well, we’re safe for now,” Beka leaned on one of the ship’s railings. “How’s Plan B coming?”
“I’m working on it,” Dylan said. “Trance, walk with me.”
“OK…” Trance said, nervously.
*****
Dylan waited until they were well away from Andromeda’s command center before he began. After rounding a corner, he gripped Trance’s arm, and turned her to face him. She returned his glare, clearly not intimidated by him.
“This is it, Trance. I want to know who you are and what you want.”
“You really want to know who I am?” Trance asked, a devilish smile defying Dylan’s commanding presence.
“No more games, or I’m putting you off this ship the minute we get back to known space.”
“OK. I think you’ve earned that,” Trance said as she took a hold of Dylan’s uniform, pulling him closer to her.
As he looked into her eyes, he saw a small gleam appear. The gleam turned into a distant galaxy, and more appeared behind it. It seemed as though he were watching as something traveled vast distances, in which galaxies were like pebbles in a massive desert.
He thought he heard Trance’s voice, but that seemed far removed from her, as though it were in his own mind. As the voice spoke, images appeared, illustrating everything that was said. “We are the last guardians of a fallen civilization. In a distant galaxy, there was a war between the Kuevrian Federation and the Liletra. The Kuevrians were being destroyed, but with the last ounce of their strength, they created us.
“They built us to be perfect, down to the most fundamental levels. We stopped the Liletra, but not quickly enough. The Kuevrians were devastated, and the night closed over them.
“But our people survived. We began to rebuild and drive back the night. We found allies, fought wars, and established ourselves where the Kuevrian people had once been.
“Eventually, we learned that some of the Kuevrians had survived. Unfortunately, the war had not left them unchanged. Those who escaped had joined together into a collective consciousness, and that consciousness began to embrace a new philosophy. It claimed to be seeking the ultimate order, the end of war and pain, the end of chaos. It called itself the Spirit of the Abyss, and the black hole was its symbol.
“When we wouldn’t accept its philosophy, it attacked us. It devised the Void Hunters to destroy us; biological weapons of the highest order. They destroyed our planets, scattering us through twelve galaxies. Fleets of world ships roamed throughout known space, turning everything we knew into black holes and dust.
“Then, in the moment that he thought his victory was complete, when all hope seemed dead, we came back. There were few of us, but the Spirit of the Abyss had lowered its guard. We moved in secret, and when we were ready, we struck at his one vulnerable point: We took back the Engine of Creation.
“Without the Engine, the Spirit’s power was slowly spent in wars, and the Void Hunters were eventually destroyed. It had to rely on genetic engineering to create lesser weapons, like the Magog. Because of that, our people have been able to fight him.
“Since that time, we’ve never rested. We dedicated ourselves to stopping the Spirit of the Abyss. Finally, only a short time ago, we destroyed the last of its warships. We tracked him to this planet, and now we have a chance to destroy him completely.”
Trance’s voice fell silent, and the image faded. Dylan stood still for a moment, trying to absorb it all.
After studying him briefly, she broke the silence. “So, now that you know who I am and what I want, will you try to help me, or ‘put me off this ship the minute we get back to known space’?”
Dylan had only barely recovered enough to answer. “What can I do?”
“The first thing I want you to do is promise not to tell the others. If they know I convinced you, they’ll be satisfied. Other than that, just be ready to get Andromeda out of here quickly when I come back.”
“When you come back?”
“I have to leave the ship and challenge the Spirit of the Abyss. If I win, we’ll have to get out of here fast, before things start blowing up. If I lose, well…”
“I see,” Dylan said, grimly.
“Don’t worry about what the others will think of me leaving. I’ll find a way to explain it to them. Now, promise that you won’t tell anyone who I am.”
“Of course, I promise.”
“Great. Don’t worry Dylan, it’ll work out,” Trance smiled, though inwardly she was far from confident.
CHAPTER 10: Consider Phlebas
Trance Gemini looked at herself in the mirror. Her skin seemed to fade, and new patterns of color rose to the surface. She felt the familiar tingling sensation as it flowed through her. After a moment, her appearance had changed. She was no longer a spy, but a warrior. Only force would stop the Spirit of the Abyss now. She only hoped that she had enough. If the enemy had kept one Void Hunter alive all these years, if one were waiting down there for her…
She didn’t allow herself to consider it any longer. At this point, there was nothing even she could do about that. She had to hope that there was enough luck left in her to win.
Trance looked briefly at the tight clothing that she had laid neatly on her bed. Those clothes weren’t appropriate any longer. She went into her closet and found a leather suit hidden near the back. She swiftly put it on, and returned to the mirror to see how she looked.
In the long years she had spent with her previous appearance, she had grown accustomed to that style. It would take time for her to appreciate the new one. She thought that she might be better off with a more radical alteration: A sex change maybe, or a new face. She touched her breast, and then her chin as she considered, but decided that either would be too much of a shock to the rest of the crew. The new skin tones would be plenty for the moment.
Running her hand through her newly-grown hair, she realized what she had been missing. Trance went into her closet and quickly returned with a long, snake-like decoration for her hair. She put it on, and looked at herself in the mirror again. She pulled her dagger from its sheath, and checked it. With that, everything was ready.
Trance took a deep breath, and headed out. She was afraid, but only slightly. Everything had been going wrong recently, and she was primarily happy to finally have an end for the war, one way or the other.
*****
“Andromeda, I am worried,” Behrel said, quietly.
“We all are,” Rommie responded. “But we’ll find a way out.”
“I am worried about you,” Behrel explained. “The Magog computers are unlike anything I have ever seen. I do not know what they have done to the AI, or what may happen when we attempt to restore your control to the ship.”
“I’m not really worried about it. You thought quickly, and I’m sure Dylan shut off my main computer core in time.”
“I am not entirely certain,” Behrel answered. “Andromeda… I want you to know something. If the worst does happen…”
“Nothing is going to happen.”
“Please, Andromeda… I want you to know that… I care about you.”
She looked at him guardedly, “What do you mean?”
“Right now, I am in great danger, but I am only afraid of losing you.”
“Behrel…” Rommie wasn’t sure how to respond. It was not so much that she was unsure of her feelings towards him, but more that she wasn’t sure what avenue of discussion would be the most effective in getting her point across. “You’re a Perseid, and I’m an android built to resemble a human woman. It would never work out.”
“I made the Point Singularity Projector work,” Behrel said. “I will make this work also… we can make it work.”
“Sometimes, shared traumatic experience can make the illusion of romance.”
“I have known about my feelings for you long before this incident began.”
“Behrel, don’t do this.”
“Andromeda, please give me chance. I know that I can show you that it will work.”
“I have to think about it,” Rommie was only stalling him. Even her mighty quantum computers couldn’t comprehend the humanoid equation, and she needed time to consider her options fully. She wondered if it might be better to just give him that chance, and put an end to it.
*****
Trance swept her eyes around the room again. She could understand the screamed taunts and insults of the Kalderans, even if they were speaking their own language.
“You think you can stop me?” She challenged. “Don’t you remember the prophecies? Isn’t it written, ‘Kreesak-saaaachan. Masaara-l’ksiaaaa. Nasska-diasa!’?”
The Kalderans looked nervously at each other for a moment. Trance knew that their resolve was already weakening. “When you get to Taaassaaa-Klaaaaa, tell them Trance sent you.”
She advanced on the Kalderans, and they were visibly shaking. They didn’t bother to hide their fear. Trance came closer, until she was face to face with their leader. A pale flame shone in her eyes. It was holographic, but it was more than enough to convince the Kalderans. Trance smiled darkly as she looked down at them. “This is the part where you run.”
As though some great dam had broken, the Kalderans turned and fled into the caves. Their screams of fright and warning echoed throughout the chamber long after they were gone. Trance sighed and wiped her hand across her forehead.
She was about to continue forward, when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She breathed in deeply, sorting out the various smells that hung on the air. It was mostly filled with the scents of Kalderans and Magog, but she could detect a tiny hint of something else…
“Dylan!” Trance yelled, going back slightly the way she had come.
As if he had been waiting for his cue, Dylan appeared at the edge of the caves. He was slightly out of breath from running the distance from the Andromeda to Trance’s current position.
“What are you doing here?” Trance asked.
“Coming to the rescue. Force of habit,” Dylan explained.
“Dylan, you have to go back to Andromeda.”
“Trance, you may be stronger, smarter, and faster than I am,” Dylan said. “But I’m luckier.”
A smile appeared on Trance’s lips for an instant, as though some fleeting memory of better times had come to the surface. “Alright, but it’s dangerous. Just stay close and do what I tell you.”
“Aye aye,” Dylan smiled. As Trance looked at him, she suddenly felt better about the whole affair. He was definitely charismatic, if nothing else.
“Follow me,” Trance ordered as she continued her winding path down the tunnel.
“Just one thing: What did you tell those Kalderans?”
“Well, I just convinced them that I was a fire demon, and that anybody who tried to stop me would be doomed to eternal torment in the plasma fires of Taaassaaa-Klaaaaa.”
“Ah,” Dylan nodded.
*****
The chamber of the Spirit of the Abyss was silent as they entered. Pedestals and steps had been carved out of the bedrock. Designs that had been made to resemble petrified wood decorated the monotone room.
“Trance Gemini. We’ve been waiting for you,” A voice said from behind one of the platforms.
Trance gasped at that sound, but Dylan made no sign of recognition. Then, Pulsar stepped out of the shadows.
“You’re working for him!?” Trance shouted once she had recovered her breath. “How could you!?”
“Don’t you understand? The Spirit of the Abyss is our creator. He is our rightful god. His wise teachings will deliver us all from suffering.”
“We were created by the Kuevrians. The Spirit is just a shadow of what they were.”
“He is the essence of what they were, with their corporeal weaknesses stripped away. He is the ultimate form of existence,” Pulsar responded.
“He’s as weak as the Kuevrians once were. Just let me through, and I’ll prove it.”
“His wisdom is part of what makes him so invulnerable. I won’t be tricked as easily as the lesser creatures that you have chosen to surround yourself with.”
Dylan continued to watch silently, his arms folded.
“So what about Flux and Jim?” Trance asked. “Are they here too, or are they waiting on other worlds, hoping to trap more of our people?”
Pulsar shook his head, an expression that he had adapted from the humanoids that he had known in the past. “Their vision was too limited. I had to kill them for the greater good.”
Trance felt a tingle crawl up the back of her neck. “Don’t you remember anything? How can you do something like that and say you were working for the greater good?”
“My intentions were good,” Pulsar answered. “We cannot defeat the Spirit of the Abyss, but if we follow him, we may spare the universe some pain. We have collected four of the five parts of the Engine of Creation. With it, the Spirit can create a new order. He can rebuild the universe and make it perfect. Please, join us.”
“You can kill us, but there will be others. There are worse things than the Void Hunters in the depths of the stars.”
Pulsar paused. “The Spirit of the Abyss is coming. Trance, you must embrace the void.”
“I will fight you until you’ve torn apart every last atom of my being,” Trance vowed. Her voice was low and threatening. She showed no sign of fear: Only cold, calculating wrath.
Pulsar reached into the folds of his clothing, and pulled out a small metallic cylinder. With one swift motion, he flicked it at Trance. Instinctively, Dylan jumped to intercept the device with his Force Lance. The effectors, struck dumb by ECM, flew wildly and missed the cylinder. The object struck against Dylan’s fullerene mesh armor, and he instantly vanished into a tesseract.
“No!” Trance shouted.
“Be thankful that he came here,” Pulsar said. “His fate would have been much worse if this had not happened.”
Pulsar drew his dagger and began to walk slowly towards Trance. Trance unsheathed her own weapon. She could feel the slight heat from the miniscule machinery inside. She had not wielded a weapon so powerful in over two hundred years.
Pulsar’s dagger lashed out first, but Trance dodged to the side. She could hear the sounds of approaching Magog as she examined her opponent’s fighting style, hoping to find his weakness before he found hers.
She struck forward, and Pulsar responded by turning and using his own dagger to turn her blade. He stabbed at her shoulder as he tried to sweep her feet out from under her. Trance dropped and rolled to the side, then sprang back to her feet. Pulsar was already moving to bring his knife down on her, but she reached up and parried the blow. She struck out with her fist, but only hit air. Pulsar slashed sideways, and Trance parried him again. They stood locked in position again, and at that moment, Trance knew his weakness.
She parried twice more, forming a pattern that he could lock onto. She was trying to distract him. The pattern wasn’t her weakness, but she hope to make him think that it was. All she had to do was hold out until her chance came.
Pulsar didn’t strike out again immediately. Trance waited to see if he had taken the bait, or if he had seen something else in her style. Suddenly, he made slashing strike towards Trance’s left side. As soon as Pulsar had begun the attack, Trance knew that it was over. She ducked swiftly under the blade then brought her own dagger up, striking his shoulder. Instinctively, Pulsar dropped his weapon, and Trance stood to her full height. He saw it coming, but his eyes didn’t plead with her. He was defiant to the end, just as she was.
Trance’s dagger seemed to be flying on its own as it swiped around, separating Pulsar’s head from his body. Stooping, Trance picked up his dagger and placed it in the sheath opposite hers. She looked around the room one last time, and then ran back in the direction of the Andromeda.
Trance Gemini looked at herself in the mirror. Her skin seemed to fade, and new patterns of color rose to the surface. She felt the familiar tingling sensation as it flowed through her. After a moment, her appearance had changed. She was no longer a spy, but a warrior. Only force would stop the Spirit of the Abyss now. She only hoped that she had enough. If the enemy had kept one Void Hunter alive all these years, if one were waiting down there for her…
She didn’t allow herself to consider it any longer. At this point, there was nothing even she could do about that. She had to hope that there was enough luck left in her to win.
Trance looked briefly at the tight clothing that she had laid neatly on her bed. Those clothes weren’t appropriate any longer. She went into her closet and found a leather suit hidden near the back. She swiftly put it on, and returned to the mirror to see how she looked.
In the long years she had spent with her previous appearance, she had grown accustomed to that style. It would take time for her to appreciate the new one. She thought that she might be better off with a more radical alteration: A sex change maybe, or a new face. She touched her breast, and then her chin as she considered, but decided that either would be too much of a shock to the rest of the crew. The new skin tones would be plenty for the moment.
Running her hand through her newly-grown hair, she realized what she had been missing. Trance went into her closet and quickly returned with a long, snake-like decoration for her hair. She put it on, and looked at herself in the mirror again. She pulled her dagger from its sheath, and checked it. With that, everything was ready.
Trance took a deep breath, and headed out. She was afraid, but only slightly. Everything had been going wrong recently, and she was primarily happy to finally have an end for the war, one way or the other.
*****
“Andromeda, I am worried,” Behrel said, quietly.
“We all are,” Rommie responded. “But we’ll find a way out.”
“I am worried about you,” Behrel explained. “The Magog computers are unlike anything I have ever seen. I do not know what they have done to the AI, or what may happen when we attempt to restore your control to the ship.”
“I’m not really worried about it. You thought quickly, and I’m sure Dylan shut off my main computer core in time.”
“I am not entirely certain,” Behrel answered. “Andromeda… I want you to know something. If the worst does happen…”
“Nothing is going to happen.”
“Please, Andromeda… I want you to know that… I care about you.”
She looked at him guardedly, “What do you mean?”
“Right now, I am in great danger, but I am only afraid of losing you.”
“Behrel…” Rommie wasn’t sure how to respond. It was not so much that she was unsure of her feelings towards him, but more that she wasn’t sure what avenue of discussion would be the most effective in getting her point across. “You’re a Perseid, and I’m an android built to resemble a human woman. It would never work out.”
“I made the Point Singularity Projector work,” Behrel said. “I will make this work also… we can make it work.”
“Sometimes, shared traumatic experience can make the illusion of romance.”
“I have known about my feelings for you long before this incident began.”
“Behrel, don’t do this.”
“Andromeda, please give me chance. I know that I can show you that it will work.”
“I have to think about it,” Rommie was only stalling him. Even her mighty quantum computers couldn’t comprehend the humanoid equation, and she needed time to consider her options fully. She wondered if it might be better to just give him that chance, and put an end to it.
*****
Trance swept her eyes around the room again. She could understand the screamed taunts and insults of the Kalderans, even if they were speaking their own language.
“You think you can stop me?” She challenged. “Don’t you remember the prophecies? Isn’t it written, ‘Kreesak-saaaachan. Masaara-l’ksiaaaa. Nasska-diasa!’?”
The Kalderans looked nervously at each other for a moment. Trance knew that their resolve was already weakening. “When you get to Taaassaaa-Klaaaaa, tell them Trance sent you.”
She advanced on the Kalderans, and they were visibly shaking. They didn’t bother to hide their fear. Trance came closer, until she was face to face with their leader. A pale flame shone in her eyes. It was holographic, but it was more than enough to convince the Kalderans. Trance smiled darkly as she looked down at them. “This is the part where you run.”
As though some great dam had broken, the Kalderans turned and fled into the caves. Their screams of fright and warning echoed throughout the chamber long after they were gone. Trance sighed and wiped her hand across her forehead.
She was about to continue forward, when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She breathed in deeply, sorting out the various smells that hung on the air. It was mostly filled with the scents of Kalderans and Magog, but she could detect a tiny hint of something else…
“Dylan!” Trance yelled, going back slightly the way she had come.
As if he had been waiting for his cue, Dylan appeared at the edge of the caves. He was slightly out of breath from running the distance from the Andromeda to Trance’s current position.
“What are you doing here?” Trance asked.
“Coming to the rescue. Force of habit,” Dylan explained.
“Dylan, you have to go back to Andromeda.”
“Trance, you may be stronger, smarter, and faster than I am,” Dylan said. “But I’m luckier.”
A smile appeared on Trance’s lips for an instant, as though some fleeting memory of better times had come to the surface. “Alright, but it’s dangerous. Just stay close and do what I tell you.”
“Aye aye,” Dylan smiled. As Trance looked at him, she suddenly felt better about the whole affair. He was definitely charismatic, if nothing else.
“Follow me,” Trance ordered as she continued her winding path down the tunnel.
“Just one thing: What did you tell those Kalderans?”
“Well, I just convinced them that I was a fire demon, and that anybody who tried to stop me would be doomed to eternal torment in the plasma fires of Taaassaaa-Klaaaaa.”
“Ah,” Dylan nodded.
*****
The chamber of the Spirit of the Abyss was silent as they entered. Pedestals and steps had been carved out of the bedrock. Designs that had been made to resemble petrified wood decorated the monotone room.
“Trance Gemini. We’ve been waiting for you,” A voice said from behind one of the platforms.
Trance gasped at that sound, but Dylan made no sign of recognition. Then, Pulsar stepped out of the shadows.
“You’re working for him!?” Trance shouted once she had recovered her breath. “How could you!?”
“Don’t you understand? The Spirit of the Abyss is our creator. He is our rightful god. His wise teachings will deliver us all from suffering.”
“We were created by the Kuevrians. The Spirit is just a shadow of what they were.”
“He is the essence of what they were, with their corporeal weaknesses stripped away. He is the ultimate form of existence,” Pulsar responded.
“He’s as weak as the Kuevrians once were. Just let me through, and I’ll prove it.”
“His wisdom is part of what makes him so invulnerable. I won’t be tricked as easily as the lesser creatures that you have chosen to surround yourself with.”
Dylan continued to watch silently, his arms folded.
“So what about Flux and Jim?” Trance asked. “Are they here too, or are they waiting on other worlds, hoping to trap more of our people?”
Pulsar shook his head, an expression that he had adapted from the humanoids that he had known in the past. “Their vision was too limited. I had to kill them for the greater good.”
Trance felt a tingle crawl up the back of her neck. “Don’t you remember anything? How can you do something like that and say you were working for the greater good?”
“My intentions were good,” Pulsar answered. “We cannot defeat the Spirit of the Abyss, but if we follow him, we may spare the universe some pain. We have collected four of the five parts of the Engine of Creation. With it, the Spirit can create a new order. He can rebuild the universe and make it perfect. Please, join us.”
“You can kill us, but there will be others. There are worse things than the Void Hunters in the depths of the stars.”
Pulsar paused. “The Spirit of the Abyss is coming. Trance, you must embrace the void.”
“I will fight you until you’ve torn apart every last atom of my being,” Trance vowed. Her voice was low and threatening. She showed no sign of fear: Only cold, calculating wrath.
Pulsar reached into the folds of his clothing, and pulled out a small metallic cylinder. With one swift motion, he flicked it at Trance. Instinctively, Dylan jumped to intercept the device with his Force Lance. The effectors, struck dumb by ECM, flew wildly and missed the cylinder. The object struck against Dylan’s fullerene mesh armor, and he instantly vanished into a tesseract.
“No!” Trance shouted.
“Be thankful that he came here,” Pulsar said. “His fate would have been much worse if this had not happened.”
Pulsar drew his dagger and began to walk slowly towards Trance. Trance unsheathed her own weapon. She could feel the slight heat from the miniscule machinery inside. She had not wielded a weapon so powerful in over two hundred years.
Pulsar’s dagger lashed out first, but Trance dodged to the side. She could hear the sounds of approaching Magog as she examined her opponent’s fighting style, hoping to find his weakness before he found hers.
She struck forward, and Pulsar responded by turning and using his own dagger to turn her blade. He stabbed at her shoulder as he tried to sweep her feet out from under her. Trance dropped and rolled to the side, then sprang back to her feet. Pulsar was already moving to bring his knife down on her, but she reached up and parried the blow. She struck out with her fist, but only hit air. Pulsar slashed sideways, and Trance parried him again. They stood locked in position again, and at that moment, Trance knew his weakness.
She parried twice more, forming a pattern that he could lock onto. She was trying to distract him. The pattern wasn’t her weakness, but she hope to make him think that it was. All she had to do was hold out until her chance came.
Pulsar didn’t strike out again immediately. Trance waited to see if he had taken the bait, or if he had seen something else in her style. Suddenly, he made slashing strike towards Trance’s left side. As soon as Pulsar had begun the attack, Trance knew that it was over. She ducked swiftly under the blade then brought her own dagger up, striking his shoulder. Instinctively, Pulsar dropped his weapon, and Trance stood to her full height. He saw it coming, but his eyes didn’t plead with her. He was defiant to the end, just as she was.
Trance’s dagger seemed to be flying on its own as it swiped around, separating Pulsar’s head from his body. Stooping, Trance picked up his dagger and placed it in the sheath opposite hers. She looked around the room one last time, and then ran back in the direction of the Andromeda.
CHAPTER 11: The Dying Light
“Trance?” Beka looked over at her as she charged onto the command deck. “Where’s Dylan?”
“No time to explain. Slipstream. Now,” Trance huffed as she ran to one of the bridge consoles.
“Not without Dylan,” Beka looked at Trance sternly.
“No. We have to get moving now,” Trance answered.
“Swarm ships are firing point singularities at the planet,” Rommie said.
Beka watched a tactical display intently as she considered her options. Soon, the Andromeda was rocked by a PSB passing dangerously close as it ripped slowly through the planet’s surface.
“Please,” Behrel said as he gripped his console for stability.
“Rev,” Beka ordered. “Make for the nearest slip point, maximum PSL.”
“Are you certain?” Rev asked, though the Andromeda was already lifting from the bottom of the metallic lake.
“…Yes,” Beka answered.
“How long before we can enter the slipstream?” Behrel asked as swarm ships turned to pursue the Andromeda.
“We can reach standard slipstream distance in thirty minutes. I could open a slip portal a lot sooner, but that would cause severe disturbances to both planets in this system,” Rommie said.
“Do it,” Beka nodded.
“I will not willingly act in a way that will result in the deaths of thousands,” Rev stated as he pressed forward on the Andromeda’s controls.
“Trance, take over slipstream,” Beka ordered. “I hope that solved your ethical dilemma.”
“Not entirely,” Rev answered as he switched places with Trance.
“Time to slipstream?” Beka asked.
“Fifteen seconds,” Trance responded as she pulled the Andromeda’s controls to narrowly avoid another point singularity. “…Ten seconds… Five seconds… Four… Three… Two… One. Brace for slipstream!”
The Andromeda leapt through the portal, but numerous swarm ships followed her. Trance piloted expertly, but the Magog managed to hold on. After only a short time, the ship ripped back into normal space. Magog ships dropped in behind her, and opened up with their weaponry. The swarm ships nearest Andromeda impacted on her hull, driving themselves in to unleash the Magog inside.
“I’m detecting heavy rad signatures in the area…” Rommie said. “It’s the Pyrians.”
“The Pyrians?” Beka quickly looked up at the main view screen. Five Pyrian torch ships and their support vessels were patrolling the area.
“Their ships are two light-minutes out,” Rommie stated.
“Trance, head for the Pyrian ships,” Beka said. “I just hope they’re still on our side.”
“They should have detected our slipstream portal by now,” Rommie said after a moment. “We’ll be seeing a response in approximately 54 seconds.”
The air was tense as the crew awaited a report. Finally, Rev spoke. “The Pyrians are moving to intercept. They are firing missiles… They are targeting the Magog vessels.”
“Alright,” Beka said as she armed Andromeda’s weapons. “Trance, turn and burn. Time to show the Magog who’s boss.”
“Turning and burning, aye,” Trance answered.
“Rommie, what’s our status?” Beka asked.
“Without the AI, I can’t operate the PDL turrets, but they don’t work against swarm ships anyway. Internal defense guns and repair bots are down, and we’ve been boarded by over 200 Magog.”
“Behrel, I want explosive decompression on all decks except this one,” Beka ordered as she used her command codes to override the environmental controls.
Behrel hit the key on his console. “It is done. All other decks are exposed to vacuum.”
“The Pyrians are trying to open a comm. channel,” Rommie said.
“Let’s hear it,” Beka responded.
“Andromeda,” The Pyrian commander began. “We will stop the Magog vessels. We advise you to escape now. Our sensors show that you are badly damaged, that your ECM is down, and that your nanobots are nonfunctional. You will not survive long in a battle.”
“He’s right,” Rommie added. “Without my self-repair abilities, I won’t be able to take much damage.”
Captain Valentine watched briefly as the Pyrian ships engaged the advancing Magog horde. She knew that the Andromeda couldn’t remain in the fight, but she wasn’t about to let the last remnant of the Pyrian Empire go into a hopeless battle unaided. “Behrel, launch all attack drones and set them for maximum autonomy.”
“Understood,” Behrel answered as he keyed in the commands.
Beka allowed a feral smile cross her lips as she waited for the Magog to reach energy weapons range. When the first wave of swarm ships was a mere light-second away, Beka decided that it was time. “Rommie: Deathblossom.”
“Initiating deathblossom maneuver, aye,” Rommie responded as she closed her eyes. Without warning, the Andromeda let loose a wave of destruction upon the Magog armada that engulfed the first wave, sweeping it up like a pile of kindling in a forest fire. Four miniature singularities, points of impenetrable darkness cleaving the livid background, glided silently towards their targets. Missiles lanced out in all directions, with over three hundred warheads carrying twenty megatons of destructive power each. AP Cannons belched their deadly plasma, ripping apart the nearest targets in an explosive hail. Even the PDL turrets were aimed at the enemy vessels, piercing the hulls of the Magog vessels and allowing precious air to escape into the vacuum. As the torrent of death was ending, the sensor/attack drones flung themselves at the enemy ships, each striking with the power of a hundred missiles. And by the time the final explosion was finished, the Andromeda was already over a hundred light-years away.
*****
“Alright, first things first,” Beka said. “Behrel, I want you to check out Rommie’s systems and get the AI back online. Trance, I want you tell us everything that happened after you left the ship.”
Behrel got to work immediately while Trance began to tell her story. “Well, I went out wearing an EVA suit to kinda look around and see if there was anything on the planet. I ran into some Magog on the way, but Dylan came along and saved me. We decided to keep scouting, but then one of the big Magog came along. It threw a little machine at Dylan, and he was caught in a tesseract and disappeared. I couldn’t do anything to help him, so I ran away. That’s pretty much it.”
“Then Dylan is still alive, somewhere?” Beka asked.
“Maybe… but if he is, the Magog have him,” Trance responded sadly.
“Great, so all we have to do is get the AI back online, and we can get started on the rescue.”
“Beka, I do not wish to sound pessimistic, but—” Rev began.
“But what?” Beka furrowed her brow. “Sure, this looks bad, but we’ve gotten out of tighter situations before. Besides, he’d do it for you.”
“I want to believe that Dylan is still alive,” Rommie said. “And I think we should at least try to help him, but I’m worried about what might happen if you get your hopes up, and it doesn’t work out.”
“Look, he will get out of this,” Beka said. “When this universe burns out and dies, Dylan Hunt is going to come crawling out of its smoldering remains and start building another Commonwealth. He’s a survivor, and he never gives up. As long as I’m still alive, I’m not going to give up on him.”
*****
Dylan saw the universe stretching out before him. Past, present, and future swam around him. All that he had ever known appeared as a single strand in the vast torus that was reality. It twisted and turned as he watched, and yet he was able to perceive it, to understand every place and every time as individual pieces and as parts of the whole.
He could feel the pull of inspiration. His inner voice was urging him on, though he couldn’t ignore another voice in the back of his mind telling him that the inspiration was alien to him. The inspiration proved irresistible. Dylan reached out, and felt the strand of his universe. It trembled slightly under his touch, but it remained on its course.
Then, he felt the urge to take the strand in both hands, and he did. He twisted it, forcing it to change its direction. It resisted, then gave under his influence. It turned on a new path, and the change was echoed in every other strand.
Dylan watched it change, and altered it in different ways, almost playfully. He saw entire civilizations sprout up under his caring touch, and wither under his wrath.
Then, he saw it. He twisted the strand just slightly. Fifty worlds were joined together, then a hundred, then two hundred. He watched it take shape: A new Commonwealth, stronger, larger, better than the first. Better than any civilization that had ever existed. It carried with it the glory of Greece and the grandeur of Rome. He watched as his Commonwealth flourished, spreading across the universe, then gradually reaching out to the other strands and binding them into itself. He watched his civilization grow stronger day by day. He watched as his universe flickered and died, but the Commonwealth survived. When one strand was cut, the Commonwealth built a new one, and reality lived on. He saw that the Commonwealth did not die, but rather stretched out into eternity.
The solution was so simple. He could do it. He could bend the universe to his will. He could bring peace not just to the known worlds, but to all reality forever and ever. All he had to do was accept the power that was offered to him. He could feel it; he knew as if by some instinct that he had convinced the Spirit of the Abyss. It would give him the power, and allow him to mould a better reality. He only had to ask.
“No!” Dylan shouted. He shook his head to clear his thoughts then repeated quietly. “No.”
“Doesn’t my gift please you?” The voice in his head asked, now openly distinct from his own thoughts. “All you see is mine, and I will give it to you. All I ask is that you take it willingly.”
Dylan shook his head again, trying to drive out the enticing voice. He then raised his eyes to look at the reality, which uncurled and returned to normal before him. “A friend once told me that sometimes the only thing we can control in a situation are our intentions. Maybe you’re telling the truth and you really can give me the universe, but right now the only thing that I want to control is myself. You’ll have to give the universe to someone else.”
“But what if you really are the only one who can make it work out? I know that this thought has come to you before.”
“I’m not a god. Maybe I forget that sometimes, but I can’t handle that kind of responsibility. The universe will have to work itself out.”
“Then your fate is decided. You will die, and all that you love will suffer.”
*****
“The Andromeda’s databanks are clear,” Behrel stated. “If the Magog AI hacking system had any lasting affect, I am unable to detect it.”
“How safe is it?” Beka asked.
“The weapon was more advanced than any that I have encountered before. I cannot be certain.”
“Rommie, what do you think?” Beka turned to look at the android.
Rommie paused. “We should try to reboot the AI. There isn’t anything else we can do.”
“Alright. Andromeda, re-initialize main AI. Authorization First Officer Beka Valentine, command code Delta 318, Strike 21.”
“Authorization accepted. AI re-initialization process has begun,” The Andromeda’s automated response system said.
The bridge was flooded with white noise for a moment as an image of Andromeda’s human face appeared on the ship’s main view screen. The AI began to speak to itself. “No, don’t… attempting system restore. Cleaning data sector. Attempting to delete—”
Before she could finish, her face blinked out, and the viewscreens turned black.
“What happened?” Beka asked, casting her gaze around the room.
Behrel was already working furiously at his console. “The AI has been erased. Somehow, they placed a Trojan horse inside the Andromeda’s AI system, causing it to delete the contents of the ship’s entire computer core. The AI cannot be restored.”
“I can dump my own memory files into the main system,” Rommie reminded him. “If everything was deleted, it should be safe.”
Behrel looked at her for a moment, then turned away silently.
“What’s wrong?” Rommie walked over to him.
“Andromeda, when the Trojan virus became active, it infected the ship’s avatars – all of them,” Behrel said, unable to look at her.
Rommie stopped. The silence was stifling, without even the ship’s normal operating sounds to penetrate it. If Rommie had been built with lungs, she would have held her breath. She wanted to freeze time, and find a way to fight the virus, but her system clock continued to tick the microseconds away. The last moments of her life slipped away. She wanted desperately for something to happen. She wanted to give a dramatic farewell speech, or to see her life flash before her eyes, or to have Dylan come to see her one last time. As she came to her final decision, Rommie wondered distantly if organics felt the same way when they faced death.
“Failsafe protocols enabled,” Rommie stated flatly. “Total avatar shutdown in 3…2…1… avatar disabled.”
Rommie stood motionless, her eyes staring blankly ahead.
“Rommie?” Trance said.
“She did the only thing she could,” Behrel explained. “She shut herself down. Perhaps one day we will have the technology to remove the virus, and we may then be able to reactivate her. I could not do anything to save her…”
“You did everything you could,” Beka said, though her own words barely registered in her mind as she stood at her station, transfixed by the sight of Rommie frozen in place.
“Please, excuse me…” Behrel said quickly, and he headed for his quarters without waiting to be dismissed.
Rev looked at the still android then glanced around at the darkened screens. He considered praying for the Divine to watch over her in death, but he reminded himself that she was still alive. There was still hope for her… and for Dylan. This too was a part of the Divine’s plan, or so he wished to believe.
“Trance?” Beka looked over at her as she charged onto the command deck. “Where’s Dylan?”
“No time to explain. Slipstream. Now,” Trance huffed as she ran to one of the bridge consoles.
“Not without Dylan,” Beka looked at Trance sternly.
“No. We have to get moving now,” Trance answered.
“Swarm ships are firing point singularities at the planet,” Rommie said.
Beka watched a tactical display intently as she considered her options. Soon, the Andromeda was rocked by a PSB passing dangerously close as it ripped slowly through the planet’s surface.
“Please,” Behrel said as he gripped his console for stability.
“Rev,” Beka ordered. “Make for the nearest slip point, maximum PSL.”
“Are you certain?” Rev asked, though the Andromeda was already lifting from the bottom of the metallic lake.
“…Yes,” Beka answered.
“How long before we can enter the slipstream?” Behrel asked as swarm ships turned to pursue the Andromeda.
“We can reach standard slipstream distance in thirty minutes. I could open a slip portal a lot sooner, but that would cause severe disturbances to both planets in this system,” Rommie said.
“Do it,” Beka nodded.
“I will not willingly act in a way that will result in the deaths of thousands,” Rev stated as he pressed forward on the Andromeda’s controls.
“Trance, take over slipstream,” Beka ordered. “I hope that solved your ethical dilemma.”
“Not entirely,” Rev answered as he switched places with Trance.
“Time to slipstream?” Beka asked.
“Fifteen seconds,” Trance responded as she pulled the Andromeda’s controls to narrowly avoid another point singularity. “…Ten seconds… Five seconds… Four… Three… Two… One. Brace for slipstream!”
The Andromeda leapt through the portal, but numerous swarm ships followed her. Trance piloted expertly, but the Magog managed to hold on. After only a short time, the ship ripped back into normal space. Magog ships dropped in behind her, and opened up with their weaponry. The swarm ships nearest Andromeda impacted on her hull, driving themselves in to unleash the Magog inside.
“I’m detecting heavy rad signatures in the area…” Rommie said. “It’s the Pyrians.”
“The Pyrians?” Beka quickly looked up at the main view screen. Five Pyrian torch ships and their support vessels were patrolling the area.
“Their ships are two light-minutes out,” Rommie stated.
“Trance, head for the Pyrian ships,” Beka said. “I just hope they’re still on our side.”
“They should have detected our slipstream portal by now,” Rommie said after a moment. “We’ll be seeing a response in approximately 54 seconds.”
The air was tense as the crew awaited a report. Finally, Rev spoke. “The Pyrians are moving to intercept. They are firing missiles… They are targeting the Magog vessels.”
“Alright,” Beka said as she armed Andromeda’s weapons. “Trance, turn and burn. Time to show the Magog who’s boss.”
“Turning and burning, aye,” Trance answered.
“Rommie, what’s our status?” Beka asked.
“Without the AI, I can’t operate the PDL turrets, but they don’t work against swarm ships anyway. Internal defense guns and repair bots are down, and we’ve been boarded by over 200 Magog.”
“Behrel, I want explosive decompression on all decks except this one,” Beka ordered as she used her command codes to override the environmental controls.
Behrel hit the key on his console. “It is done. All other decks are exposed to vacuum.”
“The Pyrians are trying to open a comm. channel,” Rommie said.
“Let’s hear it,” Beka responded.
“Andromeda,” The Pyrian commander began. “We will stop the Magog vessels. We advise you to escape now. Our sensors show that you are badly damaged, that your ECM is down, and that your nanobots are nonfunctional. You will not survive long in a battle.”
“He’s right,” Rommie added. “Without my self-repair abilities, I won’t be able to take much damage.”
Captain Valentine watched briefly as the Pyrian ships engaged the advancing Magog horde. She knew that the Andromeda couldn’t remain in the fight, but she wasn’t about to let the last remnant of the Pyrian Empire go into a hopeless battle unaided. “Behrel, launch all attack drones and set them for maximum autonomy.”
“Understood,” Behrel answered as he keyed in the commands.
Beka allowed a feral smile cross her lips as she waited for the Magog to reach energy weapons range. When the first wave of swarm ships was a mere light-second away, Beka decided that it was time. “Rommie: Deathblossom.”
“Initiating deathblossom maneuver, aye,” Rommie responded as she closed her eyes. Without warning, the Andromeda let loose a wave of destruction upon the Magog armada that engulfed the first wave, sweeping it up like a pile of kindling in a forest fire. Four miniature singularities, points of impenetrable darkness cleaving the livid background, glided silently towards their targets. Missiles lanced out in all directions, with over three hundred warheads carrying twenty megatons of destructive power each. AP Cannons belched their deadly plasma, ripping apart the nearest targets in an explosive hail. Even the PDL turrets were aimed at the enemy vessels, piercing the hulls of the Magog vessels and allowing precious air to escape into the vacuum. As the torrent of death was ending, the sensor/attack drones flung themselves at the enemy ships, each striking with the power of a hundred missiles. And by the time the final explosion was finished, the Andromeda was already over a hundred light-years away.
*****
“Alright, first things first,” Beka said. “Behrel, I want you to check out Rommie’s systems and get the AI back online. Trance, I want you tell us everything that happened after you left the ship.”
Behrel got to work immediately while Trance began to tell her story. “Well, I went out wearing an EVA suit to kinda look around and see if there was anything on the planet. I ran into some Magog on the way, but Dylan came along and saved me. We decided to keep scouting, but then one of the big Magog came along. It threw a little machine at Dylan, and he was caught in a tesseract and disappeared. I couldn’t do anything to help him, so I ran away. That’s pretty much it.”
“Then Dylan is still alive, somewhere?” Beka asked.
“Maybe… but if he is, the Magog have him,” Trance responded sadly.
“Great, so all we have to do is get the AI back online, and we can get started on the rescue.”
“Beka, I do not wish to sound pessimistic, but—” Rev began.
“But what?” Beka furrowed her brow. “Sure, this looks bad, but we’ve gotten out of tighter situations before. Besides, he’d do it for you.”
“I want to believe that Dylan is still alive,” Rommie said. “And I think we should at least try to help him, but I’m worried about what might happen if you get your hopes up, and it doesn’t work out.”
“Look, he will get out of this,” Beka said. “When this universe burns out and dies, Dylan Hunt is going to come crawling out of its smoldering remains and start building another Commonwealth. He’s a survivor, and he never gives up. As long as I’m still alive, I’m not going to give up on him.”
*****
Dylan saw the universe stretching out before him. Past, present, and future swam around him. All that he had ever known appeared as a single strand in the vast torus that was reality. It twisted and turned as he watched, and yet he was able to perceive it, to understand every place and every time as individual pieces and as parts of the whole.
He could feel the pull of inspiration. His inner voice was urging him on, though he couldn’t ignore another voice in the back of his mind telling him that the inspiration was alien to him. The inspiration proved irresistible. Dylan reached out, and felt the strand of his universe. It trembled slightly under his touch, but it remained on its course.
Then, he felt the urge to take the strand in both hands, and he did. He twisted it, forcing it to change its direction. It resisted, then gave under his influence. It turned on a new path, and the change was echoed in every other strand.
Dylan watched it change, and altered it in different ways, almost playfully. He saw entire civilizations sprout up under his caring touch, and wither under his wrath.
Then, he saw it. He twisted the strand just slightly. Fifty worlds were joined together, then a hundred, then two hundred. He watched it take shape: A new Commonwealth, stronger, larger, better than the first. Better than any civilization that had ever existed. It carried with it the glory of Greece and the grandeur of Rome. He watched as his Commonwealth flourished, spreading across the universe, then gradually reaching out to the other strands and binding them into itself. He watched his civilization grow stronger day by day. He watched as his universe flickered and died, but the Commonwealth survived. When one strand was cut, the Commonwealth built a new one, and reality lived on. He saw that the Commonwealth did not die, but rather stretched out into eternity.
The solution was so simple. He could do it. He could bend the universe to his will. He could bring peace not just to the known worlds, but to all reality forever and ever. All he had to do was accept the power that was offered to him. He could feel it; he knew as if by some instinct that he had convinced the Spirit of the Abyss. It would give him the power, and allow him to mould a better reality. He only had to ask.
“No!” Dylan shouted. He shook his head to clear his thoughts then repeated quietly. “No.”
“Doesn’t my gift please you?” The voice in his head asked, now openly distinct from his own thoughts. “All you see is mine, and I will give it to you. All I ask is that you take it willingly.”
Dylan shook his head again, trying to drive out the enticing voice. He then raised his eyes to look at the reality, which uncurled and returned to normal before him. “A friend once told me that sometimes the only thing we can control in a situation are our intentions. Maybe you’re telling the truth and you really can give me the universe, but right now the only thing that I want to control is myself. You’ll have to give the universe to someone else.”
“But what if you really are the only one who can make it work out? I know that this thought has come to you before.”
“I’m not a god. Maybe I forget that sometimes, but I can’t handle that kind of responsibility. The universe will have to work itself out.”
“Then your fate is decided. You will die, and all that you love will suffer.”
*****
“The Andromeda’s databanks are clear,” Behrel stated. “If the Magog AI hacking system had any lasting affect, I am unable to detect it.”
“How safe is it?” Beka asked.
“The weapon was more advanced than any that I have encountered before. I cannot be certain.”
“Rommie, what do you think?” Beka turned to look at the android.
Rommie paused. “We should try to reboot the AI. There isn’t anything else we can do.”
“Alright. Andromeda, re-initialize main AI. Authorization First Officer Beka Valentine, command code Delta 318, Strike 21.”
“Authorization accepted. AI re-initialization process has begun,” The Andromeda’s automated response system said.
The bridge was flooded with white noise for a moment as an image of Andromeda’s human face appeared on the ship’s main view screen. The AI began to speak to itself. “No, don’t… attempting system restore. Cleaning data sector. Attempting to delete—”
Before she could finish, her face blinked out, and the viewscreens turned black.
“What happened?” Beka asked, casting her gaze around the room.
Behrel was already working furiously at his console. “The AI has been erased. Somehow, they placed a Trojan horse inside the Andromeda’s AI system, causing it to delete the contents of the ship’s entire computer core. The AI cannot be restored.”
“I can dump my own memory files into the main system,” Rommie reminded him. “If everything was deleted, it should be safe.”
Behrel looked at her for a moment, then turned away silently.
“What’s wrong?” Rommie walked over to him.
“Andromeda, when the Trojan virus became active, it infected the ship’s avatars – all of them,” Behrel said, unable to look at her.
Rommie stopped. The silence was stifling, without even the ship’s normal operating sounds to penetrate it. If Rommie had been built with lungs, she would have held her breath. She wanted to freeze time, and find a way to fight the virus, but her system clock continued to tick the microseconds away. The last moments of her life slipped away. She wanted desperately for something to happen. She wanted to give a dramatic farewell speech, or to see her life flash before her eyes, or to have Dylan come to see her one last time. As she came to her final decision, Rommie wondered distantly if organics felt the same way when they faced death.
“Failsafe protocols enabled,” Rommie stated flatly. “Total avatar shutdown in 3…2…1… avatar disabled.”
Rommie stood motionless, her eyes staring blankly ahead.
“Rommie?” Trance said.
“She did the only thing she could,” Behrel explained. “She shut herself down. Perhaps one day we will have the technology to remove the virus, and we may then be able to reactivate her. I could not do anything to save her…”
“You did everything you could,” Beka said, though her own words barely registered in her mind as she stood at her station, transfixed by the sight of Rommie frozen in place.
“Please, excuse me…” Behrel said quickly, and he headed for his quarters without waiting to be dismissed.
Rev looked at the still android then glanced around at the darkened screens. He considered praying for the Divine to watch over her in death, but he reminded himself that she was still alive. There was still hope for her… and for Dylan. This too was a part of the Divine’s plan, or so he wished to believe.
CHAPTER 12: The Asceticism of Action
“At present rate of approach, sensor contacts will reach maximum weapons range in 23 seconds,” The Andromeda responded.
“What is your plan?” Behrel asked nervously.
“See all those little red blips on the radar?” Beka asked. “We keep shooting until they’re all gone.”
“Crude, but effective,” Trance nodded.
“Sensor contacts have reached maximum weapons range,” The AI stated.
“Launch missiles from all batteries, and let the sensor drones pick targets. Tell our ships to hold position.”
“Commands acknowledged,” Andromeda answered.
Behrel watched the Kalderan ships moving slowly across his tactical display. “Computer, are they close enough for a full scan?”
“Affirmative,” The rudimentary replacement AI said.
“Let’s hear it,” Beka ordered.
“The enemy attack force consists of 9 Kalderan battleships, 2 refit Leviathan Roused class cruisers, 8 Kalderan attack cruisers, 3 Pride of Kaldera class group defense frigates, 12 Kalderan frigates, 73 Kalderan raiders, 311 Kalderan fighters, 26 Shrike class strike fighters, 16 Kalderan troop transports, and 5 Geruda class heavy patrol ships.”
“We cannot stop that many ships,” Rev said, watching the dots advancing.
“This is Sintii all over again,” Beka added.
“We must leave… now,” Behrel urged.
“No. We’ll make our stand here,” Beka said. “I’ll be dead before I let a Kalderan set foot on Earth.”
“Captain Valentine,” Behrel walked over to her station. “The Kalderans have plundered and devastated my world. They killed my family. The reason that I came here – the ship’s AI – is now gone. I do not wish to fight anymore.”
Beka looked at him sternly. “We are the last line of defense for the known worlds, and we aren’t going to run away. If we don’t turn back the Kalderan offensive now, we won’t have any hope of winning this war. So get back to your station right now, and do your job.”
“Incoming missiles detected. PDL turrets have been activated. Impact is expected in seven seconds.”
As the AI had predicted, it was shaken a moment later by a massive barrage of kinetic missiles. The Kalderans were also hit, but it would take nearly two minutes for the light of the explosions to reach the Andromeda. Ninety-six fighters and three capital ships had been destroyed by the initial Kalderan strike, signaling the start of the brutal attrition. At that range, no tactics could save the Commonwealth fleet from the mathematics of war. The N-square law would take hold, dictating that the stronger Kalderan fleet would have an increasing advantage throughout the battle. By the time energy weapons range was reached, the last task force of the new Commonwealth would already be broken and hopeless.
*****
“The Endymion Nodding has been destroyed,” Andromeda stated.
“I think we should retreat now,” Trance said, watching the Kalderan fleet as it continued in its course for Earth.
“No,” Beka said.
“Captain, we are the only capital ship left, and our systems are heavily damaged. What do you intend to do?” Behrel asked.
“I intend to hold the line,” Beka answered. “This is the end. Either we drive back the night now… or we don’t.”
“Kalderan breeching pods have attached themselves to the hull,” Andromeda stated. “Enemy EW systems have compromised my internal defenses. Dispatching maintenance drones to repel boarders…”
“Behrel, are Hohne’s combat drones ready?” Beka asked.
“Yes,” Behrel answered, smiling darkly at the prospect of finally putting them to use. Having reconciled himself to the prospect of his own death, he now had a strong desire to take as many Kalderans with him as possible.
“Time to see what they can do. Set attack squads to 12 units each, and set C&C to automatic.”
“Drones are moving to attack,” Behrel reported.
“Kalderan vessels have begun firing less massive ordinance, and have ceased firing AP Cannons. Missiles appeared to be directed at this vessel’s command center,” Andromeda noted crisply.
“The must have realized that we would be here,” Rev said.
Beka nodded. “There’s nothing more we can do up here anyway. Let’s get moving.”
“Where are we headed?” Rev asked as they left the bridge, which was swiftly being engulfed by sparks from blown circuitry.
“Maru,” Beka answered as she jogged along side him.
“Do you intend to attack the Kalderans with the Maru?” Behrel asked.
“You could say that,” Beka answered. The others tried to find out what she had in mind, but she wouldn’t say anything more about it.
After a few minutes, their path was blocked by a Kalderan boarding party.
“There are no functional combat drones in the area,” Behrel said. “The Kalderans overwhelmed the patrol in this area… however, it should be noted that the 12 drones inflicted 37 losses before being destroyed.”
“Great. Just a few dozen more and we could get to the Maru,” Beka shook her head.
“Wait, I’ve got an idea,” Trance said, already running back the way they had come.
The others ran after her, but they couldn’t keep up. Between Trance’s speed and head start, they quickly lost sight of her.
Trance ran on ahead. She knew that time was running out, and they only had one chance to make things right. She leapt up a ladder, and continued to run. Before long, she reached the machine shop.
“Reactivate ship’s avatar, authorization Trance Gemini, code alpha 315 dash 3 cappa. Priority 1 emergency.”
Rommie’s eyes closed as she responded to the order. “Avatar reactivating. Systems normal. Virus detected. Unable to remove.”
“Rommie, are you ok?” Trance asked
“Trance? What’s happening?”
“Kalderans have boarded the ship. We have to get to the Maru, but there are too many of them.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Rommie hurriedly following Trance through the ship’s corridors. “Unfortunately, I’ll only have a few minutes of consciousness before the virus activates itself.”
The two of them ran through the ship at a speed that would have boggled the mind of any human. It took only two minutes for them to reach the choke point that halted the crew.
“Rommie, you’re alive?” Beka asked.
“For the moment,” Rommie answered. “I suggest you and Behrel stand back and provide fire support while Trance and I engage the Kalderans.”
“I agree,” Beka said. “Good luck.”
Rommie gave a quick nod as she gave the mental order for the door ahead to open. The Kalderans turne, but she was among them before they knew what was happening. The fired her force lance at its full speed, cutting down Kalderans all around her, surprise still etched on their faces.
Effectors soon began to pour in from the next room as Beka and Behrel fired into the melee. Trance had somehow made it to the other side of the room unnoticed, and now dropped down from the ceiling. Her knives spun in her hands like saw blades as she struck down the first Kalderans to come within her reach.
The Kalderans attempted to return fire, but they only succeeded in shooting each other as Rommie and Trance seemed to outrun the very bullets fired at them. Hopelessly disorganized by the ambush, the Kalderans tried to fall back and reach cover. Rommie and Trance chased them mercilessly, reaching the bulkheads before they did and denying them escape. They ran blindly forward, no longer bothering to make it appear as a tactical withdrawal.
The fight had turned into a rout. They ran, pressed forward by the torrent of firepower coming from the protected vantage points held by Beka and Behrel. No matter where they attempted to go, Rommie and Trance were ever among them. When the Kalderans tried to form up and organize, the alien and the android seemed to sense it with an other-worldly perception, appearing in the midst of them and breaking up their formation. When the Kalderans attempted to split up and escape, Trance and Andromeda would fly to the edges of the crowd, hemming them in.
A Kalderan fell dead as Rommie leapt over it, firing downward. Her force lance turned in her hand, another two Kalderans were dead before Rommie’s feet touched the floor. She saw a Kalderan attempting to direct the others. Rommie changed the setting on her force lance, showering him and those around him with deadly plasma. The raw heat of the blasts set fire to Kalderans who stood too close, turning their fear into madness. They ran aimlessly, screaming. Any hope of organization was lost.
Trance caught Rommie’s eye, and they signaled silently to each other. Andromeda threw a force lance to Trance, and they traveled to the edges of the dwindling Kalderan horde. They found secure positions, and fired effectors at the Kalderans. In a moment, the last of them had fallen. The fire fight had lasted only four minutes. No Kalderans had survived.
Beka, Trance, Rev, and Behrel rushed over to check on Rommie. At some point, a gauss gun round had embedded itself in her abdomen, but that was only a minor concern compared to her overriding danger.
“Rommie, you’re back,” Beka said. “What about the virus?”
“The virus has nearly run its course,” Rommie said. “It deleted the protocols that allow me to deactivate myself. Apparently, whoever programmed it wanted me to be conscious.”
“Andromeda, I am sorry that I could not find a way to stop the virus,” Behrel closed his eyes.
“The technology was too advanced. I don’t blame you,” Rommie said.
“Is there anything we can do for you?” Rev asked.
“Just keep going. You have to get through this, so I know that my mission was a success.”
“We will, Rommie. I know we will,” Trance said.
Rommie looked at Trance. In all their time together, she had never quite been able to figure Trance out. She considered asking Trance about it, but knew that she’d never get a straight answer. Just the conviction in Trance’s voice was all Rommie needed.
“I love you,” Rommie said, knowing that her time was about to run out. “All of you. You’re my crew, and I’ve never had the pleasure of serving with any officers more dedicated, more caring, or more brave than you. I have faith in each of you. Now go, while you can still make it.”
Rommie shut her eyes, and was silent. No one moved for a moment, but the urgency of their situation forced them to keep going. The Maru was only a short distance away.
When they arrived, the Kalderans were already on it. The four remaining crew members stood on the other side of the hanger’s entrance and starting talking in hushed tones.
“Beka, we’re here,” Trance said. “What’s your plan?”
“Before the battle, I had the ship put Dylan’s biological weapon in the Maru’s cargo pod. I plan on dropping it on the nearest Kalderan planet.”
“Beka…” Rev looked at her, unable to express his thoughts.
“Rev, I have no choice. If we don’t stop the Kalderans, they’ll keep destroying any governments that manage to form. They’ve helped keep the long night going for over 300 years. I tried to fight fair, but we lost. This is our last chance.”
“Maybe not…” Trance said, looking thoughtful.
“What?” Beka asked.
“A couple of years ago, something strange happened. Harper was trying to find a cure for his Magog infestation. He used tesseract technology to make a machine that would take the Magog out. It had some weird time effects. Maybe I can use it to go back in time.”
Beka looked at her, unable to remember the device. “Is it still around?”
“No, but the time effects are stuck with the Andromeda, and they didn’t stop when the machine was destroyed,” Trance answered. “I think I can open up a portal again.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“I have to be in the right place at the right time,” Trance said. “Just wait for a little while.”
“Fine. You can wait here. Behrel and I can get onto the Maru and get into range of a Kalderan planet before they even know what’s happening. We’ll be fine without you,” Beka said.
“No, I have to be on the Maru when it happens. If you take it, this won’t work.”
“The Kalderans are already on board the Maru, and more are probably coming,” Beka said. “If I don’t launch now, I’ll never get off the Andromeda.”
“You’re right,” Trance admitted, looking at her evenly. “If I do this, you won’t be able to release the plague.”
“This is crazy. You can’t change the past.”
“I can try.”
Beka shook her head. “This weapon is the last chance the known worlds have of stopping the Kalderans. I have to use it.”
“Beka…” Rev said, slowly. “Wayists have a saying for difficult times. It is this: ‘When all comforts seem lost, these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’ You may have lost hope, but I know that you still have love. Is that not enough motivation to attempt Trance’s plan?”
“Love?” Beka looked at him skeptically.
“It may be difficult to see now, but the Kalderans do not enjoy killing and destruction. They only fight because they do not see any other option. Perhaps one day we will be able to reconcile with them.”
“And love for Harper,” Trance added. “I’ll be going back to before he died. Maybe I can save him. I might be able to save a lot of people that died. I don’t think this war has to happen.”
“Harper…” Beka trailed off. “Alright Trance. Just tell me what to do.”
“At present rate of approach, sensor contacts will reach maximum weapons range in 23 seconds,” The Andromeda responded.
“What is your plan?” Behrel asked nervously.
“See all those little red blips on the radar?” Beka asked. “We keep shooting until they’re all gone.”
“Crude, but effective,” Trance nodded.
“Sensor contacts have reached maximum weapons range,” The AI stated.
“Launch missiles from all batteries, and let the sensor drones pick targets. Tell our ships to hold position.”
“Commands acknowledged,” Andromeda answered.
Behrel watched the Kalderan ships moving slowly across his tactical display. “Computer, are they close enough for a full scan?”
“Affirmative,” The rudimentary replacement AI said.
“Let’s hear it,” Beka ordered.
“The enemy attack force consists of 9 Kalderan battleships, 2 refit Leviathan Roused class cruisers, 8 Kalderan attack cruisers, 3 Pride of Kaldera class group defense frigates, 12 Kalderan frigates, 73 Kalderan raiders, 311 Kalderan fighters, 26 Shrike class strike fighters, 16 Kalderan troop transports, and 5 Geruda class heavy patrol ships.”
“We cannot stop that many ships,” Rev said, watching the dots advancing.
“This is Sintii all over again,” Beka added.
“We must leave… now,” Behrel urged.
“No. We’ll make our stand here,” Beka said. “I’ll be dead before I let a Kalderan set foot on Earth.”
“Captain Valentine,” Behrel walked over to her station. “The Kalderans have plundered and devastated my world. They killed my family. The reason that I came here – the ship’s AI – is now gone. I do not wish to fight anymore.”
Beka looked at him sternly. “We are the last line of defense for the known worlds, and we aren’t going to run away. If we don’t turn back the Kalderan offensive now, we won’t have any hope of winning this war. So get back to your station right now, and do your job.”
“Incoming missiles detected. PDL turrets have been activated. Impact is expected in seven seconds.”
As the AI had predicted, it was shaken a moment later by a massive barrage of kinetic missiles. The Kalderans were also hit, but it would take nearly two minutes for the light of the explosions to reach the Andromeda. Ninety-six fighters and three capital ships had been destroyed by the initial Kalderan strike, signaling the start of the brutal attrition. At that range, no tactics could save the Commonwealth fleet from the mathematics of war. The N-square law would take hold, dictating that the stronger Kalderan fleet would have an increasing advantage throughout the battle. By the time energy weapons range was reached, the last task force of the new Commonwealth would already be broken and hopeless.
*****
“The Endymion Nodding has been destroyed,” Andromeda stated.
“I think we should retreat now,” Trance said, watching the Kalderan fleet as it continued in its course for Earth.
“No,” Beka said.
“Captain, we are the only capital ship left, and our systems are heavily damaged. What do you intend to do?” Behrel asked.
“I intend to hold the line,” Beka answered. “This is the end. Either we drive back the night now… or we don’t.”
“Kalderan breeching pods have attached themselves to the hull,” Andromeda stated. “Enemy EW systems have compromised my internal defenses. Dispatching maintenance drones to repel boarders…”
“Behrel, are Hohne’s combat drones ready?” Beka asked.
“Yes,” Behrel answered, smiling darkly at the prospect of finally putting them to use. Having reconciled himself to the prospect of his own death, he now had a strong desire to take as many Kalderans with him as possible.
“Time to see what they can do. Set attack squads to 12 units each, and set C&C to automatic.”
“Drones are moving to attack,” Behrel reported.
“Kalderan vessels have begun firing less massive ordinance, and have ceased firing AP Cannons. Missiles appeared to be directed at this vessel’s command center,” Andromeda noted crisply.
“The must have realized that we would be here,” Rev said.
Beka nodded. “There’s nothing more we can do up here anyway. Let’s get moving.”
“Where are we headed?” Rev asked as they left the bridge, which was swiftly being engulfed by sparks from blown circuitry.
“Maru,” Beka answered as she jogged along side him.
“Do you intend to attack the Kalderans with the Maru?” Behrel asked.
“You could say that,” Beka answered. The others tried to find out what she had in mind, but she wouldn’t say anything more about it.
After a few minutes, their path was blocked by a Kalderan boarding party.
“There are no functional combat drones in the area,” Behrel said. “The Kalderans overwhelmed the patrol in this area… however, it should be noted that the 12 drones inflicted 37 losses before being destroyed.”
“Great. Just a few dozen more and we could get to the Maru,” Beka shook her head.
“Wait, I’ve got an idea,” Trance said, already running back the way they had come.
The others ran after her, but they couldn’t keep up. Between Trance’s speed and head start, they quickly lost sight of her.
Trance ran on ahead. She knew that time was running out, and they only had one chance to make things right. She leapt up a ladder, and continued to run. Before long, she reached the machine shop.
“Reactivate ship’s avatar, authorization Trance Gemini, code alpha 315 dash 3 cappa. Priority 1 emergency.”
Rommie’s eyes closed as she responded to the order. “Avatar reactivating. Systems normal. Virus detected. Unable to remove.”
“Rommie, are you ok?” Trance asked
“Trance? What’s happening?”
“Kalderans have boarded the ship. We have to get to the Maru, but there are too many of them.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Rommie hurriedly following Trance through the ship’s corridors. “Unfortunately, I’ll only have a few minutes of consciousness before the virus activates itself.”
The two of them ran through the ship at a speed that would have boggled the mind of any human. It took only two minutes for them to reach the choke point that halted the crew.
“Rommie, you’re alive?” Beka asked.
“For the moment,” Rommie answered. “I suggest you and Behrel stand back and provide fire support while Trance and I engage the Kalderans.”
“I agree,” Beka said. “Good luck.”
Rommie gave a quick nod as she gave the mental order for the door ahead to open. The Kalderans turne, but she was among them before they knew what was happening. The fired her force lance at its full speed, cutting down Kalderans all around her, surprise still etched on their faces.
Effectors soon began to pour in from the next room as Beka and Behrel fired into the melee. Trance had somehow made it to the other side of the room unnoticed, and now dropped down from the ceiling. Her knives spun in her hands like saw blades as she struck down the first Kalderans to come within her reach.
The Kalderans attempted to return fire, but they only succeeded in shooting each other as Rommie and Trance seemed to outrun the very bullets fired at them. Hopelessly disorganized by the ambush, the Kalderans tried to fall back and reach cover. Rommie and Trance chased them mercilessly, reaching the bulkheads before they did and denying them escape. They ran blindly forward, no longer bothering to make it appear as a tactical withdrawal.
The fight had turned into a rout. They ran, pressed forward by the torrent of firepower coming from the protected vantage points held by Beka and Behrel. No matter where they attempted to go, Rommie and Trance were ever among them. When the Kalderans tried to form up and organize, the alien and the android seemed to sense it with an other-worldly perception, appearing in the midst of them and breaking up their formation. When the Kalderans attempted to split up and escape, Trance and Andromeda would fly to the edges of the crowd, hemming them in.
A Kalderan fell dead as Rommie leapt over it, firing downward. Her force lance turned in her hand, another two Kalderans were dead before Rommie’s feet touched the floor. She saw a Kalderan attempting to direct the others. Rommie changed the setting on her force lance, showering him and those around him with deadly plasma. The raw heat of the blasts set fire to Kalderans who stood too close, turning their fear into madness. They ran aimlessly, screaming. Any hope of organization was lost.
Trance caught Rommie’s eye, and they signaled silently to each other. Andromeda threw a force lance to Trance, and they traveled to the edges of the dwindling Kalderan horde. They found secure positions, and fired effectors at the Kalderans. In a moment, the last of them had fallen. The fire fight had lasted only four minutes. No Kalderans had survived.
Beka, Trance, Rev, and Behrel rushed over to check on Rommie. At some point, a gauss gun round had embedded itself in her abdomen, but that was only a minor concern compared to her overriding danger.
“Rommie, you’re back,” Beka said. “What about the virus?”
“The virus has nearly run its course,” Rommie said. “It deleted the protocols that allow me to deactivate myself. Apparently, whoever programmed it wanted me to be conscious.”
“Andromeda, I am sorry that I could not find a way to stop the virus,” Behrel closed his eyes.
“The technology was too advanced. I don’t blame you,” Rommie said.
“Is there anything we can do for you?” Rev asked.
“Just keep going. You have to get through this, so I know that my mission was a success.”
“We will, Rommie. I know we will,” Trance said.
Rommie looked at Trance. In all their time together, she had never quite been able to figure Trance out. She considered asking Trance about it, but knew that she’d never get a straight answer. Just the conviction in Trance’s voice was all Rommie needed.
“I love you,” Rommie said, knowing that her time was about to run out. “All of you. You’re my crew, and I’ve never had the pleasure of serving with any officers more dedicated, more caring, or more brave than you. I have faith in each of you. Now go, while you can still make it.”
Rommie shut her eyes, and was silent. No one moved for a moment, but the urgency of their situation forced them to keep going. The Maru was only a short distance away.
When they arrived, the Kalderans were already on it. The four remaining crew members stood on the other side of the hanger’s entrance and starting talking in hushed tones.
“Beka, we’re here,” Trance said. “What’s your plan?”
“Before the battle, I had the ship put Dylan’s biological weapon in the Maru’s cargo pod. I plan on dropping it on the nearest Kalderan planet.”
“Beka…” Rev looked at her, unable to express his thoughts.
“Rev, I have no choice. If we don’t stop the Kalderans, they’ll keep destroying any governments that manage to form. They’ve helped keep the long night going for over 300 years. I tried to fight fair, but we lost. This is our last chance.”
“Maybe not…” Trance said, looking thoughtful.
“What?” Beka asked.
“A couple of years ago, something strange happened. Harper was trying to find a cure for his Magog infestation. He used tesseract technology to make a machine that would take the Magog out. It had some weird time effects. Maybe I can use it to go back in time.”
Beka looked at her, unable to remember the device. “Is it still around?”
“No, but the time effects are stuck with the Andromeda, and they didn’t stop when the machine was destroyed,” Trance answered. “I think I can open up a portal again.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“I have to be in the right place at the right time,” Trance said. “Just wait for a little while.”
“Fine. You can wait here. Behrel and I can get onto the Maru and get into range of a Kalderan planet before they even know what’s happening. We’ll be fine without you,” Beka said.
“No, I have to be on the Maru when it happens. If you take it, this won’t work.”
“The Kalderans are already on board the Maru, and more are probably coming,” Beka said. “If I don’t launch now, I’ll never get off the Andromeda.”
“You’re right,” Trance admitted, looking at her evenly. “If I do this, you won’t be able to release the plague.”
“This is crazy. You can’t change the past.”
“I can try.”
Beka shook her head. “This weapon is the last chance the known worlds have of stopping the Kalderans. I have to use it.”
“Beka…” Rev said, slowly. “Wayists have a saying for difficult times. It is this: ‘When all comforts seem lost, these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’ You may have lost hope, but I know that you still have love. Is that not enough motivation to attempt Trance’s plan?”
“Love?” Beka looked at him skeptically.
“It may be difficult to see now, but the Kalderans do not enjoy killing and destruction. They only fight because they do not see any other option. Perhaps one day we will be able to reconcile with them.”
“And love for Harper,” Trance added. “I’ll be going back to before he died. Maybe I can save him. I might be able to save a lot of people that died. I don’t think this war has to happen.”
“Harper…” Beka trailed off. “Alright Trance. Just tell me what to do.”
CHAPTER 13: Vexed To Nightmare
Beka and Trance hid in a small opening above the doorway while Rev and Behrel waited. When it was time, Rev opened the door, allowing Behrel to fire at the Kalderans in the hanger. Kalderans turned and began running for the door, firing their weapons. Behrel and Rev ran back the way they had come. As the Kalderans approached the door, Rev threw a force lance in their direction, triggering an electrical discharge. Several Kalderans were stunned, causing even more to pour out of the Maru and give chase.
“They’re actually doing it,” Trance whispered. “This will work, Beka. We can do it.”
Beka nodded silently, watching for activity below. Once the Kalderans were a safe distance away, Trance and Beka dropped down from their hiding place and headed for the Maru. There were no Kalderans in the hanger, and the two of them had no trouble reaching the small ship.
Unfortunately, there were still Kalderans aboard it. Beka carried her gauss gun, while Trance held a force lance in one hand and a knife in the other. They traveled quietly, hiding behind the seemingly random pipes and bulkheads that permeated the Maru. They passed several Kalderans along the way, but managed to avoid being seen. When they were only a few feet from the cockpit, they realized that they couldn’t avoid the last two guards.
One of the Kalderans was pacing back and forth in front of the doors leading into the cockpit. When he passed close to Beka’s hiding place, he was so close that she thought she could smell his breath, and she had to press herself against the bulkhead to avoid being caught. The other walked up and down the length of the walkway that led from the freighter’s command center to its cargo hold.
After watching them for a moment, Beka saw her chance. The nearest Kalderan was approaching her position, while the other was some distance down the corridor. When the first turned and began to pace back away from her, Beka reached out with her prosthetic limb. The robot hand grabbed the Kalderan by the neck, easily crushing his windpipe. Beka fired her force lance into him, causing him to fall silently to the floor. Trance and Beka made a run for the door, closing it behind them.
They heard shots strike the door harmlessly as the other guard ran after them. Trance and Beka fired at the two Kalderans that were in the cockpit, while Beka ordered the Maru to seal the door.
“We made it,” Beka said, watching Trance expectantly.
Trance regarded Beka for a moment, then walked over to a panel in the corner. “We have to wait for the right moment. If I start feeding power into the slipstream core at the right time, I can make a connection to the past.”
Trance opened the panel and began to work. As she did, Beka casually inspected the ship. She wanted to be sure that the Kalderans hadn’t done anything to it. When she reached the front, she glanced back at Trance, who was still busy with the panel.
Beka hopped into the slipstream chair and buckled in. She gripped the controls, but before she could move the ship, she heard the sound of a force lance powering up behind her. Beka turned, and saw Trance only a few feet away, pointing her weapon at Beka’s head.
“Beka, what are you doing?” Trance asked steadily.
“As much as I’d like to see you change history, I don’t think it’ll work,” Beka answered. “I’m going to stop the Kalderans, whatever it takes.”
“I can’t let you do this,” Trance said. She fired her force lance, missing Beka’s head by centimeters.
Beka looked at the point that the effector had impacted on the wall in front of her then started to key in coordinates. “If you want to stop me, you’ll have to kill me.”
“Whatever it takes,” Trance responded, trying to hold back her emotion.
Beka looked back at her, trying to determine if Trance would really do it. They looked into each others eyes, and Beka new that she would die if she attempted to move the Maru.
“Trance…” Beka paused. “Brace for slipstream as soon as we’re clear of the Andromeda.”
“Wait!”
“No Trance, it’s time,” Beka said.
“You’re right, it is,” Trance said. “Maru… now!”
Tremors passed through the Eureka Maru as its components were rearranged by Harper’s machine from the past. A strange, blue portal appeared in the doorway.
Beka stood up, looking at the gateway. “You really can do it.”
“I’m not sure, but it’s the best plan I’ve got,” Trance said. “Come on, we’ve got to find the right portal.”
Beka nodded, still shaken by what had nearly happened a moment ago, and also by the revelation that perhaps the past could be fixed after all.
*****
Harper and Trance walked together towards the command deck. She had changed places with her younger self just over a month ago, and the crew was starting to feel at ease with her.
“Harper… the terminal in my room is broken. Would you fix it?” Trance asked.
“Don’t worry,” Harper smiled. “I’ll have that thing running like a gerbil on Kalderesh.”
“Thanks,” Trance smiled back. Harper went back to work on his flexi as they continued on. Before long, the heavy doors that protected Andromeda’s command center opened in front of them.
“So how’s the plan going?” Harper asked.
“Not good,” Beka answered.
“What do you mean?” Trance looked over at Dylan.
“Apparently, there was some kind of uprising in the Pyrian Empire, and they’ve pulled out support,” Dylan explained. “And on top of that, the Knights of Genetic Purity suddenly decided to attack the Sabra-Jaguar. I had to call off the attack on the World Ship until we could get everything sorted out.”
“And while we sit here waiting for our allies to resolve their petty difficulties, the Magog are preparing to attack,” Tyr said. “Perhaps when their planets have been converted into Magog breeding worlds they’ll realize that we have a common enemy.”
“The World Ship still won’t be ready to attack for several months,” Rommie answered. “I’m sure we’ll have the situation under control by then.”
“A little more margin for error would have been nice, but we can handle this,” Dylan said. “Beka, set a course for the Genites’ last known coordinates.”
“Brace for slipstream… now!” Beka said as she took the Andromeda through the glowing slip portal.
Had anyone been looking, they would have seen Trance smiling just slightly as they set out.
Beka and Trance hid in a small opening above the doorway while Rev and Behrel waited. When it was time, Rev opened the door, allowing Behrel to fire at the Kalderans in the hanger. Kalderans turned and began running for the door, firing their weapons. Behrel and Rev ran back the way they had come. As the Kalderans approached the door, Rev threw a force lance in their direction, triggering an electrical discharge. Several Kalderans were stunned, causing even more to pour out of the Maru and give chase.
“They’re actually doing it,” Trance whispered. “This will work, Beka. We can do it.”
Beka nodded silently, watching for activity below. Once the Kalderans were a safe distance away, Trance and Beka dropped down from their hiding place and headed for the Maru. There were no Kalderans in the hanger, and the two of them had no trouble reaching the small ship.
Unfortunately, there were still Kalderans aboard it. Beka carried her gauss gun, while Trance held a force lance in one hand and a knife in the other. They traveled quietly, hiding behind the seemingly random pipes and bulkheads that permeated the Maru. They passed several Kalderans along the way, but managed to avoid being seen. When they were only a few feet from the cockpit, they realized that they couldn’t avoid the last two guards.
One of the Kalderans was pacing back and forth in front of the doors leading into the cockpit. When he passed close to Beka’s hiding place, he was so close that she thought she could smell his breath, and she had to press herself against the bulkhead to avoid being caught. The other walked up and down the length of the walkway that led from the freighter’s command center to its cargo hold.
After watching them for a moment, Beka saw her chance. The nearest Kalderan was approaching her position, while the other was some distance down the corridor. When the first turned and began to pace back away from her, Beka reached out with her prosthetic limb. The robot hand grabbed the Kalderan by the neck, easily crushing his windpipe. Beka fired her force lance into him, causing him to fall silently to the floor. Trance and Beka made a run for the door, closing it behind them.
They heard shots strike the door harmlessly as the other guard ran after them. Trance and Beka fired at the two Kalderans that were in the cockpit, while Beka ordered the Maru to seal the door.
“We made it,” Beka said, watching Trance expectantly.
Trance regarded Beka for a moment, then walked over to a panel in the corner. “We have to wait for the right moment. If I start feeding power into the slipstream core at the right time, I can make a connection to the past.”
Trance opened the panel and began to work. As she did, Beka casually inspected the ship. She wanted to be sure that the Kalderans hadn’t done anything to it. When she reached the front, she glanced back at Trance, who was still busy with the panel.
Beka hopped into the slipstream chair and buckled in. She gripped the controls, but before she could move the ship, she heard the sound of a force lance powering up behind her. Beka turned, and saw Trance only a few feet away, pointing her weapon at Beka’s head.
“Beka, what are you doing?” Trance asked steadily.
“As much as I’d like to see you change history, I don’t think it’ll work,” Beka answered. “I’m going to stop the Kalderans, whatever it takes.”
“I can’t let you do this,” Trance said. She fired her force lance, missing Beka’s head by centimeters.
Beka looked at the point that the effector had impacted on the wall in front of her then started to key in coordinates. “If you want to stop me, you’ll have to kill me.”
“Whatever it takes,” Trance responded, trying to hold back her emotion.
Beka looked back at her, trying to determine if Trance would really do it. They looked into each others eyes, and Beka new that she would die if she attempted to move the Maru.
“Trance…” Beka paused. “Brace for slipstream as soon as we’re clear of the Andromeda.”
“Wait!”
“No Trance, it’s time,” Beka said.
“You’re right, it is,” Trance said. “Maru… now!”
Tremors passed through the Eureka Maru as its components were rearranged by Harper’s machine from the past. A strange, blue portal appeared in the doorway.
Beka stood up, looking at the gateway. “You really can do it.”
“I’m not sure, but it’s the best plan I’ve got,” Trance said. “Come on, we’ve got to find the right portal.”
Beka nodded, still shaken by what had nearly happened a moment ago, and also by the revelation that perhaps the past could be fixed after all.
*****
Harper and Trance walked together towards the command deck. She had changed places with her younger self just over a month ago, and the crew was starting to feel at ease with her.
“Harper… the terminal in my room is broken. Would you fix it?” Trance asked.
“Don’t worry,” Harper smiled. “I’ll have that thing running like a gerbil on Kalderesh.”
“Thanks,” Trance smiled back. Harper went back to work on his flexi as they continued on. Before long, the heavy doors that protected Andromeda’s command center opened in front of them.
“So how’s the plan going?” Harper asked.
“Not good,” Beka answered.
“What do you mean?” Trance looked over at Dylan.
“Apparently, there was some kind of uprising in the Pyrian Empire, and they’ve pulled out support,” Dylan explained. “And on top of that, the Knights of Genetic Purity suddenly decided to attack the Sabra-Jaguar. I had to call off the attack on the World Ship until we could get everything sorted out.”
“And while we sit here waiting for our allies to resolve their petty difficulties, the Magog are preparing to attack,” Tyr said. “Perhaps when their planets have been converted into Magog breeding worlds they’ll realize that we have a common enemy.”
“The World Ship still won’t be ready to attack for several months,” Rommie answered. “I’m sure we’ll have the situation under control by then.”
“A little more margin for error would have been nice, but we can handle this,” Dylan said. “Beka, set a course for the Genites’ last known coordinates.”
“Brace for slipstream… now!” Beka said as she took the Andromeda through the glowing slip portal.
Had anyone been looking, they would have seen Trance smiling just slightly as they set out.