Kalian shook his head in an effort to absorb as much information as he could. All those times Esabelle had warned him about the importance of keeping them board the Gommarian and their potential importance. He had always thought she just couldn't bear to part with them, having cared for them for so long. It also meant that, like ALF, Esabelle had been keeping secrets from him.
“Find Sef…” Kalian said under his breath.
Esabelle’s last words finally made sense. The Gomar was indeed still alive and Esabelle knew it, just as he had suspected. Furthermore, it implied that Sef could be trusted, if she had indeed turned him against Savrick, or more to the point turned him against the cubes.
“Wait. They’ll need my training? What can I offer them that they haven’t learned in two-hundred thousand years?”
ALF stood up. “They were sleeping for most of that. Savrick gave them the exo-suits to counter my Harness and allow them some semblance of control over their powers, but he didn't teach them self-control. They need to learn the finer things to truly understand how their abilities work. It’s these subtleties that will give them an advantage in the war to come.”
Kalian eyed ALF cautiously. “What else is there for me to learn?”
Without warning, the entire scene fell away, and with it, so too did the human image of ALF and all the colours of Evalan. Kalian was standing inside the cube again, his hand still grasping the eight-foot-tall ALF. The tendrils of nanocelium slithered back into ALF’s arm and he released Kalian from his grip. Naydaalan was standing behind him, in the exact same position. Judging by the Novaarian’s confused expression, Kalian surmised that only a second or two had gone by in real time.
ALF stepped back and more lights came on around them, floating into the crevices. Shadows shifted above them and machines whirred to life, as something descended towards them.
“What just happened?” Naydaalan asked.
“I just got told the story of... history.” Kalian half turned to the Novaarian. “I’ll give you the highlights in a minute.”
Kalian returned his attention to the bulky apparatus that were being put together from other parts of the cube. The grotesque version of ALF stood by and simply watched, as tentacles wormed out of the amalgamated protrusion. The tentacles moved like snakes underwater, giving way to what appeared to be a helmet, which descended down the middle. The entire machine looked to be as high as the cube itself, disappearing into the darkness above.
“Is that what I think it is?” Kalian asked.
“If what you’re thinking is that this is a super subconducer, then yes, it is what you think.”
“You could have just said yes.” Kalian walked around it, unsure of the new design.
ALF looked down at him. “Through this, you can learn things you didn't think were possible. And as you now know, time is of the essence. The Vanguard will take action if Malekk doesn't succeed. You need to return to Conclave space and stop both of them.”
Naydaalan stepped forward. “Do you know of any Starforges that are still operable?”
ALF swung his larger head toward the Novaarian. “There are no more Starforges in this region of space, at least none that you can use. Savrick had all of them sabotaged or laid with traps. But it matters little, now. When Kalian is finished, he will take you back to the Conclave himself…”
16
Kel-var stood amidst the collection of workstations, holographic walls and bustling staff looking over the results of the Crucible’s test. The Shay engineers had been successfully transcended by the nanocelium inside their implants, completing the primary objective. The Crucible worked. The head of Protocorps was also looking over the results of their deaths. The subsumed engineers had failed to sabotage the Paladin and kill the humans. Reporting this to Malekk would not be a pleasant experience.
The technician producing the data pulled up a new holographic slide. “Despite failing their task, they were working beyond their natural capacity. We now know that the nanocelium pushes them beyond any biological limits. According to this data, they felt no pain or fear.”
Kel-var looked at the technician and wondered if the Shay realised that this very transformation would take place inside his own body and that the data was more than just information on a screen; soon it would be his life.
We will transcend!
Kel-var had to hold onto that thought. They would become one with the gods, as his father and his father had always said. The Conclave wasn't going to be wiped out, it was going to be remade, in the image of the oldest, most powerful beings to ever exist.
“Prepare for full-scale activation. I want the Crucible fully operational by day’s end.”
Kel-var walked away, thinking to take a trip to the surface, just for a stroll. Shandar’s surface was perfectly intact and breathable to any species that required oxygen to live. It had taken his ancestors generations to convince the populace to abandon the planet, blaming pollution and over plundering the natural resources. The weather net, hidden in the southern pole, continued to spew out thick clouds that concealed Shandar from any observation. After joining the Conclave, the Novaarians had offered to help restore the planet, but Kel-var’s family and that of the other board members had spoken on behalf their people, citing the planet’s condition as a lesson for generations to come.
After centuries of hard work, the planet was now a magnificent antenna, funneling and focusing the Crucible signal across the Conclave. Kel-var had enjoyed several strolls across the surface, enjoying the fact that he was the only sentient being to do so.
“Sir.” A guard caught his attention before he could leave. “Gor-van Tanar is requesting a communication link. The alert says it’s urgent.”
Kel-var nodded and changed direction. “I’ll take it in my office.
Gor-van’s head, though shrouded in his red hood, hovered above Kel-var’s desk. The Shay had always been calm and organised whenever they had met in person, but right now, Gor-van appeared somewhat disturbed.
“Kalian Gaines has returned!” Gor-van blurted out.
“Impossible! We would have been alerted if the Starforge had been activated again.” Kel-var was confident that Gor-van was mistaken. Kalian Gaines’s return would not go unnoticed; the man created waves wherever he went.
“Who else wears an armoured suit of nanocelium? He was at my safe house on Byzantial! He tore the place apart, including my men! He and the red-headed bitch stormed the place and freed North!”
Kel-var sat back but remained silent, processing the information. “Redhead? Do you mean Li’ara Ducarté?”
“Who else?” Gor-van was clearly rattled. “I’ve never seen anything so… destructive. He ripped ceilings away, ploughed my men through walls. I’m lucky to have escaped at all!”
“So Ducarté survived after all…” Kel-var had used her potential survival as a way of stalling North from killing him, but he hardly believed it himself. “It couldn't have been Gaines, we would know if he had resurfaced.”
Gor-van snorted his disagreement. “You saw the vault door as I did. Only a Terran could have ripped it from the wall.”
“We have already been through this; Kalian was in the Helteron Cluster when Protocorps was attacked. He can't be in two places at once.”
“That we know of…”
Kel-var dismissed the comment. “I believe we have a Gomar on the loose…”
Gor-van raised his hairless eyebrow. “Now that’s impossible. I have located the world on which they are being hidden, and the last report had them all accounted for.”
“You found it?” Kel-var did little to hide his annoyance. “When were you going to inform me?”
“I just did. The information hasn't long been in my possession. Either way, there have been no breaches, in or out.”
Kel-var composed himself, organising his thoughts. “You say they are all accounted for, but I believe that this Gomar was never counted in the first place. It would also make sense why there is no footage of hi
m entering or leaving Protocorps with Ducarté. We already know that they can emit low levels of electromagnetic energy, capable of short-circuiting our equipment.”
“So now there are two of them again?” Gor-van had a hint of fear in his voice again.
“Soon to be eleven more if they find their way to the others. I must alert Malekk at once. Send me the installation’s coordinates. Which planet are they on?”
“Uthor has played this one close to his stoney chest,” Gor-van replied. “You won't find this planet on any registered chart, neither would you stumble across it. It has no name, along with the facility or the project. It was this black hole of information, however, that led me to discovering it. Sending supplies to a world that doesn't exist costs a lot…”
Kel-var cared little for how Gor-van achieved his objectives. “I take it this non-existent planet has coordinates.”
“I have already sent them…” Gor-van looked away, observing something that Kel-var couldn't see. “What is it?” the Shay asked someone. The hologram flickered and Gor-van appeared jostled. “What was that? Get us out of here you fools!”
“Gor-van? What’s happening?” Kel-var suspected he already knew the answer.
“I had to drop out of sub-space to transmit the coordinates to you.” Gor-van was jostled in his seat again. “They found me! You must send help, Kel-var!”
The Shay sighed. “I'm afraid your time in service has come to an end, Gor-van. Try to meet the gods with some dignity, eh?” Kel-var cut the transmission before Gor-van could hurl his inevitable insults and curses. If the Rackham had indeed caught up with him, and a Gomar was among the occupants, his old associate was not long for life.
It took him only a moment to locate the message from Gor-van and create a data-packet for Malekk. As much as he would have loved to just send it to the infected Terran, Kel-var knew he couldn't avoid direct communication. After instruction was given to his aid, the Shay waited patiently for Malekk to accept his communication. It was strange to think that as he waited in silence, Gor-van was most likely being pulled apart by the Gomar.
“What?” Malekk appeared in his room in full size again. Kel-var had specifically ordered the technicians to change this setting so that Malekk appeared as Gor-van had.
“I am sending you a data-packet with the coordinates to the location of the remaining Gomar.”
Malekk looked down at was most likely a workstation. “These coordinates are on the other side of the Conclave. It will take me some time to reach.”
“There’s more.” Kel-var would have done anything to avoid Malekk’s gaze. “A Gomar, previously unaccounted for, is loose in the Conclave. He is with Li’ara Ducarté and the bounty hunter, Roland North. As we speak, they will be retrieving these same coordinates from Gor-van Tanar. I believe there is a chance they will attempt to rescue them.”
“There is more than a chance, it is guaranteed. The Gomar must not be freed, at all costs. You must send reinforcements to halt their progress.”
Kel-var felt a lump forming in his throat. “We no longer have the resources to re-task on such a scale. All available assets have been sent to the Starforges… as you previously requested.”
Malekk’s black eyes bored into Kel-var. “Then you had better hope I reach the Gomar first, or you might find your place in the new order somewhat downgraded.”
There was an awkward pause, in which Kel-var considered running away and hiding - such was the effect of Malekk’s gaze.
“I assume the Crucible worked as promised?” Malekk finally asked.
“Perfectly. A flawless design.” Kel-var really didn't want this line of questioning to continue.
“And the mission?” Malekk had slowly walked over to the desk.
Kel-var swallowed the lump. “Only a few of the humans were killed, I'm afraid to say. The Paladin is currently en route to the Arakesh system.”
Malekk looked away, with what Kel-var thought was a glimmer of fear. The slightest of cracks in the Terran’s rage-filled armour. It reminded Kel-var that Malekk was just another link in the chain, like him. The infected Terran had talked of his master, the Vanguard, before. If this was a being that Malekk feared, Kel-var was certain he wanted to avoid the Vanguard. In his mind, he likened it to conversing with a god, and that no matter how much that god could offer him, he was still too mortal a being to converse with it.
“You will activate the Crucible on my command.” With that, Malekk disappeared.
Kel-var had to remind himself that however hard that was to get through, Gor-van was having a worse time.
Roland North considered himself a man capable of great destruction, a man who could create mayhem and chaos with his bare hands and still come out in one piece at the end. Seeing the brutality and wreckage left in Sef’s wake made him rethink this particular skill set. Roland had been trained to kill efficiently and less efficiently, depending on how much information he was required to obtain, but Sef had been trained for one thing and one thing only; complete and total destruction of his enemy, whoever that might be.
After the Rackham had boarded Gor-van’s ship, using stealthware to hide their approach, the nanocelium had found its way into the ship’s systems, just as it had on Sebula. The Shay’s vessel had been rendered immediately inoperable, the controls handed over to Ch’len, who ensured it couldn't jump back into sub-space. Before any kind of plan could be formulated, Sef had dropped down through the connecting hatch and gone to work.
“Give him a minute,” Li’ara had said, placing a hand on Roland’s chest to keep him from following.
After they entered the ship, Roland used the touchpad built into his coat’s sleeve to lock the hatch behind them. He didn't want anyone doubling back and gaining control of the Rackham… or killing Ch’len, he finally thought.
Most of the corridors were filled with smoke and the acrid aroma of ozone from the discharges. Intrinium blasts marred the walls, pocketing the entire environment as if it were a war zone. Roland cautiously moved through the ship with Li’ara at his side, both armed and ready for a fight. Bodies littered the floor, presenting them with trip hazards more than anything. More than one of the Shay had been thrown into walls, where they remained, half-buried and broken.
“Holy shit…” Roland couldn't help his remark as they rounded a corner and found two pairs of legs dangling from the bulkhead above. Their torsos were completely hidden inside the ship, but an unhealthy amount of blood trickled down their legs and pooled on the floor.
Distant weapons fire echoed through the corridors, followed by screams and more destruction. After walking over more bodies, some of which had been broken into separate pieces, the pair came across a set of double-doors that had been forced inwards, bending and twisting the metal out of shape. A single Shay had been left crawling across the floor with a leg missing and a thick trail of blood left behind him. Roland looked around and found the missing leg wrapped around the head of another guard, who appeared to of had his neck snapped.
A single bolt from his Tri-roller put the Shay out of his misery. Roland was just happy to have contributed.
Following Sef’s destructive breadcrumbs was easy, and Roland was sure the Gomar knew exactly where he was going. The bounty hunter had seen Kalian use his weird awareness thing more than once and was aware that they could see through walls… or some such shit. Roland was just annoyed that he hadn't got a proper fight out of the encounter.
“Why do you look so pissed off?” Li’ara observed. “This couldn't be any easier.”
Roland sighed, lowering his guns. “It’s not about how easy it is. Boarding this ship and taking it is the first real piratey thing I’ve done. My ship’s even named after a pirate! This is the most boring plunder ever…”
“We’re not pirates, moron!” Li’ara continued her advance with her gun raised, ready for anything.
Roland gave her a sideways glance. “I think I preferred it when I thought you were dead.”
“You never thought
I was dead.” Li’ara smiled. “Thanks for that by the way.”
Roland would have replied had the terrified, screaming Shay not come bolting around the corner. His organic leg was wounded, but the fear on his face told of no pain as he raced past them without a care. Both Roland and Li’ara looked from the running merc to each other in confusion, though it was obvious who the Shay was fleeing from. The bounty hunter shrugged and lifted his weapon to put an intrinium round in the merc’s back when the alien suddenly stopped as if he had run into an invisible wall.
“NO!” the Shay screamed before he was dropped to the floor and dragged back down the corridor by the same invisible force.
The alien clawed at the hard floor, but it did nothing to stop his backward momentum up the corridor, taking him back around the corner. His screams continued throughout the ship, becoming fainter by the second until they both heard the splatter of liquid against a hard surface.
“This is all kinds of fucked up…” Roland rubbed the side of his temple. “And that’s coming from me.”
Li’ara rolled her eyes and pushed on.
“So is this the first time you’ve seen the big gorilla in action?” Roland asked.
“Yeah. While we were hiding in Clave Tower, he would use his abilities to get the resources we needed, but he never hurt anyone. We spent most of the time trying to get me on my feet again. Learning to walk on a makeshift robotic leg isn't easy. The majority of the last three months has just been… pain.”
The pair rounded the corner and continued to take the necessary precautions that had been drilled into them, despite Sef’s thoroughness. The lights flickered and control panels built into the walls sparked after the effects of the electromagnetic field that poured off of Sef. Roland could measure the levels around them using the touchpad on his sleeve. The bounty hunter kept a close eye on these levels, aware of the risk they posed to weapons loaded with intrinium.
After stepping over and around more bodies, they came to a set of doors that was now a jagged, smoking hole in the wall. The small, circular translator behind Roland’s ear converted the Shay letters beside the door. The designated bridge was that of devastation, even the glass viewport was cracked in places - an unsettling sight for those who valued oxygen. Sef dominated the centre of the room with his wide stance and broad shoulders. The Gomar towered over a crippled Gor-van Tanar, who rested on his knees at Sef’s feet, the proverbial ant under the falling boot.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 116
