Amongst the Immortals

by Luigi Robles

  One immortal against another, Saavan thought. We’ll see which lives up to its name. He smirked. So, the old myths are true after all? Acrania was brought to the brink of extinction by a few of these beings? Saavan shook his head as he crossed his arms.

  Galeah walked onto the bridge without asking permission first; this made Saavan smile.

  “Permission to speak,” Galeah said as she stopped a body’s length away from Saavan, bowing her head. “Forgive me, I shouldn’t have asked that. But may I speak?”

  Any traces of a smile quickly disappeared from Saavan’s face as mild disappointment took over. But Saavan quickly shook off any negative feelings he had towards Galeah before he spoke. “You have permission to speak freely to me anytime you should desire.” He sighed.

  Saavan knew that it wasn’t her fault he was being treated with an overwhelming amount of respect. It had long been ingrained in Acram culture that Nobles should be treated with the utmost respect and their presence should never be taken for granted. In most cases, ordinary or even high-ranking Acram avoided speaking with Nobles unless spoken to first. Galeah had surely spent her entire life following this rule. As a consequence, she had little to no idea how to approach the highest-ranking Noble.

  “I’ll keep that in mind, Noble Saavan.”

  “I’d hate to turn it into an order.”

  “I understand.”

  “So, tell me, are we ready for the jump?” Saavan stood with his arms crossed in front of the main view screen on the Iveria’s bridge as Galeah approached.

  Saavan didn’t know exactly what they would be facing or what they were up against, but what he did know was that he didn’t want anything to happen to Galeah. In her, he saw the future of the Acram race. He thought for a few moments of sending her off to one of the mega dreadnought ships in the Armada, but he quickly dismissed that idea, knowing that the safest place for her to be was next to him. He sighed quietly.

  “The Golden Armada is lined up and ready,” Galeah said as she opened two command screens next to her. “All Nobles have been briefed on the situation and are awaiting your orders.”

  “We have no further business here. Jump to Aneane.”

  Soft alarms began to sound on the bridge, and lights began to flash as the Iveria moved slightly to precisely align with the jump.

  “We might just find out the origins of our previous way of life,” Saavan said as the ships all around the Iveria began to jump.

  The familiar but strange sensation of weightlessness took over Saavan’s body as the Iveria disappeared from its current location in space and made its way to a new one. He had jumped thousands of times in his lifetime, but the feeling of jumping was something he’d never get used to, that much he knew. Somehow it was always slightly different. But what did remain the same was that during the few seconds of the jump, although their bodies felt weightless, they could not move.

  Moments later, the Golden Armada emerged into Aneane space successfully. The clear evidence that something had happened overtook the main view screen. There used to be plenty of movement in Aneane’s nearby space, as it was an asteroid mining planet, or at least that’s how Saavan remembered it. At any given time, hundreds of ships would be making their way to and from the nearby asteroids, flashing their lights and making a space highway. Now, the space around them was dark and devoid of life. Something had clearly happened.

  “Shields up,” Saavan said as he took in the space around them. “Run a full scan of the area. I want to know what happened and how.”

  “Right away,” Galeah said, and she turned around for a few moments then turned back to Saavan, since all she needed to do was choose one of the eight Acram on the bridge to relay the order to. Moments later, a flashing window appeared next to Galeah. Without hesitation, she enlarged the window. “There are no signs of life or any ongoing activity of any kind in the vicinity.”

  “What is the range?”

  “The entire Aneane system of planets and asteroids.”

  “Forward to the main planet.” Saavan turned slightly towards Galeah. “Weapons ready,” he ordered, then turned back to face the main view screen.

  As the Armada moved along the dead space, a beam of light appeared deep on the horizon, barely visible to the eye. Then the beam got larger. But no, it wasn’t a beam, it was many beams. Saavan knew that it had to be them, the Immortals.

  “We’ve got something,” Galeah said as she stared at the screen in front of her. “But I’m having difficulty telling what it is.”

  “Don’t bother. It’s the thing we came looking for. Have the Armada lock on and get ready to fire on my order. Full force.”

  “Locked on.”

  “Fire,” Saavan said without hesitation.

  Nothing happened. Then the lights on board the Iveria began to flicker. Saavan turned slightly towards Galeah.

  “Generating report at once,” Galeah said, punching away at the screen in front of her. “Though our equipment seems to be having trouble.”

  “Don’t bother. Focus your efforts on getting the Armada to switch to our ancient language. It’s time for war.”

  The default Acram language was Ancreas, and through it, feelings and the exact meaning of words were communicated. Acro was the tongue of the ancients, the tongue of war, used as a weapon in times of need. With the tongue of war, they could control the way certain molecules behaved, including flesh and machinery.

  “Fire,” Saavan said in Acro.

  The dark space quickly began to light up as millions of shots were fired towards the disappearing beams of light. Soon the space in front of the Golden Armada was saturated with firepower.

  “Incoming report,” Galeah said amidst the display of brute force. “We’ve lost hundreds of ships, and the number is quickly rising.”

  Saavan didn’t know how such a thing was possible, how something could survive a wall of fire. Even an entire planet wouldn’t stand a chance.

  “Cease fire,” Saavan said in Acro. “Spread out. Full thrust. Manual targeting, manual control only. Fire at will.”

  As the fire stopped and the space around the Iveria became semi-dark again, he saw something rapidly approaching the ship.

  “Stay our course, full speed ahead,” Saavan said, wanting to see for himself what they were up against.

  As the Iveria broke formation and made its way towards the incoming object, Saavan could see a good amount of the Golden Armada. But the images that he saw from the peripheral screens next to the main one were something he could never have imagined. It was clear that the proud Acram Armada was losing to a seemingly invisible enemy. Destroyers, dreadnaughts and carriers were exploding, colliding into each other all over the battlefield. It was all happening so quickly.

  “Nobles are reporting massive losses,” Galeah said as she tapped away at the screen. “The beings that are attacking us are impossible to target manually. They are just too fast, Noble.”

  “Have the Nobles assume a defensive position. Make recovering escape capsules a priority. Get ready for an imminent jump. This is a retreat. We are heading back to Acrania.”

  “Communications are almost impossible,” Galeah complained as she tapped on the display screen with desperation. “Not even the ancient language is getting through.”

  “Keep trying,” Saavan said as he watched the object in the main view screen getting closer. As it got closer, he distinguished its shape: it was a living machine being. “Do not stop until you have a jump confirmation.”

  “If we keep going, it will be impossible to align properly with the Armada.”

  “We’ll take our chances.”

  The machine being approached the Iveria and thrashed its tail against the shields as the extensions on its back began to expand. It looked wild and angry, and even as the Iveria’s shield began to burn into its armored plating, the machine did not cease.

  “Full stop,” Saavan said, unmoved from his position, staring directly at the being. The stare seemed to infuriate
the machine. “Shields at full power. Keep all controls and operations manual.”

  Then the machine stopped its wild thrashing and moved away from the shields. Moments later, the shield began to open and give way.

  “How is it doing that?” Galeah asked, stopping for a moment and staring towards the being.

  “It appears we have a more intelligent being before us now,” Saavan said. “A mind switcher. Have the Nobles confirmed?”

  “Most have,” Galeah said as she went back to work on the screen. “I’m still working on getting the last few. I’m having the nearby Nobles explore other options for communication.”

  “Good. Begin the jump back; the rest of the Nobles will follow.”

  We now face the true end of the galaxy as we know it, Saavan thought as the machine made it more than halfway through the shield. So, this is an Immortal? The very thing that shaped the history of Acrania. Saavan felt anger towards the machine. His body burned and shook. He wanted to do something, but he also knew that out here there was little he could do. And there’s also Galeah, Saavan thought. No, not also; mainly Galeah. Saavan wanted to keep her safe, and no matter what excuse he made to himself for retreating, her life was the only life he wasn’t willing to put in jeopardy, unlike his own. He was ready to face the Immortal and whatever end it might bring, and he would continue to be ready.

  As each one of extensions on the Immortal’s back made it through the shield, particles began to form on their tips.

  “This is a battle we cannot win.”

  Moments later, what was left of the Golden Armada emerged in Acranian space. Saavan almost couldn’t believe what he saw. A good part of the Armada was smoldering, partially destroyed, and debris was flying all over space.

  “Report,” Saavan said.

  “We’ve lost nearly…” Galeah paused before she said the number. “Nearly 350,000. There are another 20,000 partially destroyed ships, and the count of injured Acram is still underway.”

  The way Saavan saw it, there were only two options: either completely give up and surrender to the machine beings, the so-called Immortals, or fight, fight and give it everything they had. Saavan knew what path had been engraved in him, so he didn’t hesitate to give out his next orders. Though the Armada had been roughed up, their warrior spirit remained strong, and there was much they could do.

  “Take care of the injured and send them back to Acrania. Mobilize all other ships in our arsenal, mobilize all other Acram forces, have families go to their nearest shelters, and set up a defense perimeter around Acrania and this side of the galaxy. I want every able ship ready to hold back the enemy. No matter what happens, they will not get through.”

  “Right away.”

  Saavan waited for a few moments to let Galeah punch in the orders on the screen before he continued.

  “Have the Nobles report on the occurrences of the battle,” Saavan continued. “We need to find out if we are missing anything. Lastly, contact our subspecies. It’s time to put in motion what we’ve been getting ready for all our lives.”

  “Right away.” Galeah pounded away at the display screen.

  Saavan began to replay the battle against the Immortals in his head, looking for things he might’ve missed in their short encounter. But it was hard to find anything of substance. Any way he turned it, the Immortals came out on top. They were just too powerful, and they had control over tech instruments that were essential for the Armada to function properly. How could Saavan ever win against such an enemy? Even if they gathered all the Acram subspecies and they were all willing to fight, Saavan only saw one outcome, and that was the machines coming out on top.

  Changes would have to be made throughout the fleet in how they sent and received messages if they were to stand a chance.

  One of the things that caught his attention the most was how the machine seemingly went from being wild and out of control to precise and more intelligent—enough so that it was able to open a hole in the Iveria’s shield. Saavan had never seen something like that happen before; he hadn’t even heard of it being possible. But the question was, why? Why did the machine react that way at first? The machine was a mind changer, of that he was sure. But could it be that there was a primary mind, or many of them, somewhere else, controlling the machine bodies?

  Also, the entirety of the Armada fired on them, and yet no harm came to them. Their machine bodies were too small to carry a large shield that could hold back the power of a dreadnought. What happened? Was their armor plating that strong? That impregnable? Or did they simply cause the weapons to miss?

  Then Saavan felt a sense of ease as he remembered something that had happened not too long ago. An equally impressive show of force, if not more so. He couldn’t imagine anything, no matter how strong or smart, standing in the way of or deflecting the main weapon on the Herrion ship piloted by the humans, Sodenia. Saavan then knew what he needed to do above everything else: he needed to speak with the one called Captain Fain Jegga.

  6

  Embers

  Working away in one of the few remaining R&D facilities that had been set up by the council, Joan was near to achieving phase one of her goal. She had been working tirelessly since Cross, the head of the council, was executed by Sodenia’s AI.

  Even though ESAF had tried hard to dismantle the council, and in the public leaders’ eyes had succeeded, remnants of what had been one of the greatest controlling political entities in the world still remained.

  For many years, Joan had been second in line for the council’s throne. Cross himself had told her so many times during his drunken outbursts, but he hadn’t told just her—many down the long chain of the council knew about Joan Rondendai.

  She knew that with a little work, she could re-establish the council to its former glory, and with it take control once again of many in the political world. That would be the easy part, as those who were in politics for personal gain were easily corrupted, and often on the cheap. The hard part would be getting rid of the one thing that had managed to cut off the dragon’s head in the first place—Sodenia’s AI. For that to happen, she would have to put into play nearly all her many talents.

  The news was on in the background. It was always on; it was her way of keeping in touch with the world. She was accustomed to tuning in and out, depending on the key phrases they used. This time, she was listening.

  “And now for history in the making. They’re back,” Jazmin Ortiz said, the main anchor of the evening news. “Sodenia and its crew have officially made it back to Earth space after their over eight thousand lightyears of travel to the Ochilenes’ world, Doka. No word yet on what news they bring from Doka or when their press conference will be, but this is exciting news nonetheless. Our first visit to a planet outside of the solar system. Isn’t that amazing?”

  “Dammit!” Joan hissed as she pricked her finger for the second time that day.

  “You know what truly amazes me?” Stephen Tyler, the co-anchor, said. “It’s not the fact that we are visiting another world—we’ve been doing that for a while now—and it’s not that we visited an alien civilization.”

  “It isn’t?” Jazmin asked.

  “I mean, that’s one of the factors. But what truly amazes me is just how little time we did it in. What was it? It only took Sodenia and three other ships three days to travel back and forth eight thousand lightyears? And only ten hours to travel the distance each way. That’s super impressive if you ask me. It just boggles my mind.”

  “Yeah, that’s quite something,” Jazmin said. “But we aren’t the only ones with an opinion about this. We headed out onto the street to ask commuters what they thought about our first alien civilization visit.”

  Joan sighed as she continued working on her device, a multi-wave electro-magnetic pulse short-range detonator. The device had great promise; according to Joan, it would take down any and all machines, even those advanced enough to have an EMP shield or surge protector. It was the first of its kind. It was also
rather small; at the size of a cantaloupe, she wouldn’t have any problem transporting it.

  EMP technology had fallen off the research shelf after it had been widely unsuccessful against foreign powers and modern EMP shields some centuries ago.

  “Sir, sir,” Lu Lawrence asked a man passing by on the news. “What do you think of our first visit to an alien civilization?”

  “What? They’re already back?” From the corner of her eye, Joan saw the man being interviewed look up at the sky for a moment. She shook her head. “That was fast, wasn’t it?” the man continued. “I think we are moving too fast. I just hope that Truman knows what he is doing with the ESAF program. Another wrong move and he’s going to be done for.”

  “But what do you think of the journey itself?” Lu insisted on the original question.

  “I think it’s kind of good that we are the ones doing the visiting this time, just so they know we can also visit if we want to. They’re not the only ones with guns in the galaxy.”

  “We visited a friendly civilization. I don’t think there’s any need for that.”

  “Oh, well, in that case. We gotta show them who’s boss. You know.”

  Joan shook her head slowly and thought about turning off the news. She hated people that thought about things at the surface level.

  “OK, well, thanks for your time,” Lu said as he moved on to the next person walking by.

  “Ma’am, how about you?” Lu asked. “What do you think about our first visit to an alien civilization?”

  “Ah, well, I think it is a great step forward and in the right direction,” the lady said.

  Joan looked up from her device, glancing at the digital screen to see who was talking. By the look and sound of it, the lady being interviewed on the news was eloquent and well educated. She reminded Joan of a professor or doctor.

  “If we are to keep our place in the galaxy,” the lady on the news continued, “we have to know what’s out there, communicate and build relationships. I’m stoked that we’ve been to an alien world. Can’t wait to see the next thing that happens.”