by Ivan Kal
The meeting went on, as the leaders and their advisers argued about the best way to retaliate against the Enlightened. In the end they adjusted their plans, but there was little that they could do. The Josanti League, along with their allies, had been hit the hardest, but they were also refusing help. The only places where the galactic alliance could act were therefore in the rim, in the nations that were too weak to be of great use to the alliance. They were people, however, and Tomas would give them protection.
But the more this war continued without fixed battle lines the more Tomas grew nervous. The Enlightened had a plan, and there was no way for the alliance to figure out what it was without a lot more points of data, or knowledge that only the Enlightened themselves knew.
* * *
“I’m sending you to Adrian,” Tomas said, sitting in his office a few hours after the meeting. Across from him was Laura.
“I don’t think that I can convince him. He is…stubborn.” Laura shook her head and grimaced. Tomas knew that she was one of the few people that Adrian actually cared enough about to listen to. He hoped that she could convince him to start acting.
Adrian was keeping his fleet in a privately owned system close to Nelus. Tomas didn’t know much about the system, but after Adrian had settled in there he looked into it. There wasn’t much to be said about it—it was insignificant, with no resources worth mining, and was not suitable for colonization. As such the Nelus Clan had put the system on sale, which was then in turn bought by Clan Dai Ven, and then ultimately sold to a small mining syndicate from Warpath. But a closer inspection showed that the mining syndicate was in fact owned by the larger shipbuilding company that mostly built civilian yachts, and was owned by Adrian. That by itself wasn’t so strange; Adrian was a very rich man and he owned many such companies across the Empire and Shara Daim.
What was interesting was that Adrian had purchased the system several hundreds of years ago, and then had done nothing with it. Tomas couldn’t find anything else, but Adrian did not do such things without cause.
“He will listen to you. We need to act, and him refusing to even attend our planning sessions is unacceptable,” Tomas urged.
“He did send Anessa,” Laura pointed out.
Tomas scowled. Yes, Anessa was technically the one in charge of the Nomad Fleet’s combat actions, but Tomas knew that Anessa followed Adrian’s guidance as to where and when they fought. She had refused to budge; she was completely on her husband’s side. The Nomad Fleet would not engage the Enlightened. Tomas could not understand why, and Adrian and Anessa refused to explain themselves.
“She will never speak to us, and I need to know what Adrian is thinking,” Tomas said.
“You are not thinking that Adrian is going to betray us?” Laura asked with surprise.
Tomas grimaced. He should’ve known that Laura would be able to see through his fears, as she had known him from before they had even left Earth.
Tomas sighed and covered his face with his hands. “I don’t know what to think. I know that to you he is your son, but Adrian is not like other people. He does not care about his people, he does not care about the thousands dying every moment across the galaxy because of the Enlightened.”
“He would never betray us, Tomas,” Laura said, glaring at him.
“I don’t know,” he replied slowly. “I’ve allowed him freedom to act as he wills because his actions have benefited my people. But Adrian is dangerous, even you must know that.”
“You can trust him, Tomas. You must know that.”
Tomas nodded, but he wasn’t so sure. “Go to him and find out what he is thinking. We need an united front now more than ever.”
Otherwise, Tomas feared their chances against the Enlightened were even worse than he’d thought.
CHAPTER TWO
Laura Reiss, Fleets Master of the Empire, entered the quarters on Anessa’s ship. They were on a small, cruiser-sized yacht which Adrian and Anessa owned that was on its way back to the Nomad Fleet. They rarely used it, as they almost always traveled with their fleet. But now they were deep in the Empire’s territory and the Nomad Fleet was otherwise occupied. So Anessa decided to take one of their yachts, with a small escort of ten nanoships.
“Anessa,” the blond human woman said and gave her a small smile. She approached and embraced Anessa warmly.
The human woman’s affection made the much taller Shara Daim woman just a tad bit uncomfortable, as the Shara Daim did not really show such affection often. But Anessa had learned to tolerate it, and even embrace some of it as she interacted with Adrian. Not that Adrian was overly affectionate; it was mostly because of their children.
Anessa had a special place in her heart for her. Adrian’s mother had doted on her grandchildren, and all of Anessa’s children loved Laura immensely. And so Anessa returned the woman’s smile and embrace.
“Laura,” Anessa said as they stepped back. She already knew why Laura was here, of course. Laura had asked for passage to the Nomad Fleet, and the only reason why she would do so now was because Tomas had asked her to do it. Anessa had no problem letting Laura try and convince Adrian of revealing their plans. He might even tell her, but informing Tomas and anyone else was another thing entirely.
“So, I’m guessing that you don’t want to tell me why you and Adrian are refusing to cooperate in such a critical time?” Laura asked.
“Can’t,” Anessa said.
Laura’s eyes narrowed as she noticed Anessa’s choice of words. She didn’t speak for a long moment, and then Laura sighed and took a seat on the couch. “No matter, I’m sure that I’ll get it out of Adrian. This really is not the time for his secrets.”
“Adrian does what Adrian wants,” Anessa said as she took a seat across from Laura. She too was just a bit annoyed at Adrian, but she at least knew why Adrian was acting this way.
“Fine, I can wait until I speak with him. Now tell me, how is my granddaughter doing?” Laura asked.
Anessa sighed. She knew that Laura meant Ryaana, as Kane and Vaana were here on Sanctuary. “She has thrown herself into training with Adrian and Lurker of the Depths. She doesn’t really want to talk about it.”
Laura nodded her head in understanding. Following the encounter with the Enlightened in the control system, the knowledge that Vas was actually Aranis of the Enlightened had spread beyond their little circle. Not many knew, still—there was no point—but a few had been told.
“She feels betrayed,” Laura said.
“Yes,” Anessa responded. “She wants the strength to find and confront Vas—Aranis—herself.”
“And, how is she doing?”
“She managed to attain the Sha state under Lurker of the Depths’ guidance, but she can’t control it. She can’t even stay in it for more than a few moments. She is…impatient, emotional… It is hindering her.”
“And Adrian?”
“He is trying to help her, but his methods are not really suitable for Ryaana. She still holds some resentment for not being told about Aranis. They fight often.” Anessa had tried to intercede between the two; she remembered a time when she and her daughter’s relationship had been strained. For some reason Ryaana did not blame Anessa for not being told the truth; instead, all of the blame she put on her father. It was hard seeing them like that, as the two of them had always had a good relationship. Now she knew how Adrian had felt when he had watched Anessa and Ryaana fight constantly.
But there was little that she could do to help. They had to repair their relationship on their own.
“It is hard, feeling betrayed by someone you had absolute trust in,” Laura said.
“It is.”
The two of them lapsed into silence. There wasn’t really much to talk about between the two of them. Anessa respected the other woman, and loved her for the love she had for Anessa’s children, but they had never really interacted much for prolonged periods of time. Laura had always been busy with her job as the leader of the Empire’s Fleet, and Anessa ha
d her own responsibilities.
Laura was not a warrior like Anessa was, nor was she even a battle commander. Laura was an enabler, an organizer. She was in charge of the Fleet, and she made certain that the right person was put into a right position. She was somewhat of a strategist, good at the broad strokes, but not really adept at the tactics. Laura made the broader decisions, and her subordinates executed those plans. Anessa was the opposite; she had never really paid much attention to long-term plans. As Dai Sha she had commanded her Legion on the orders of the Elders, and even in that capacity she had been impulsive. It was how she had gained the power to rule the Shara Daim. She acted on instinct and emotion, though she had worked on curtailing her more impulsive urges since she had met Adrian.
“How are you and Adrian doing?” Laura asked finally.
Anessa suppressed the desire to chuckle at the woman’s question. Some things were the same no matter the race. Shara Daim parents liked to interfere and ask questions about their children’s relationships just as much as human parents did.
She took a deep breath before she responded. “We are doing fine.” But something must’ve slip past Anessa’s words, because Laura quirked an eyebrow at her.
“Really?”
Anessa opened her mouth to say yes, but she hesitated. She and Adrian had been together for a long time now. They were good together, they had children, they did what they loved to do, and they were happy. Yet… Anessa could not help but feel just a bit of something that she couldn’t even begin to explain. She had always known that Adrian was different from most people in the galaxy. They’d been brought together by their belief in strength, but Adrian’s reasons for it and Anessa’s were different. She wasn’t even certain that she understood his reasons anymore, as they too had evolved over the years. She was certain that Adrian loved her, as much as a person like him ever could, and she did love him. But the more time passed, the more alien he became. His strength soared always, and while Anessa had walked alongside him, she could not help but feel like she was falling behind.
And Adrian never looked back.
“It’s… I don’t know. He is growing beyond anything that I could’ve ever imagined. I fear that a time will come when I will no longer be able to even comprehend him.”
Laura didn’t respond immediately, nor did she try to comfort and tell her platitudes when she did. “I don’t know, Anessa. Adrian has always been hard to understand, even as a young boy. His eyes always seemed like they were looking at something different than what everyone around him saw.”
“I know what you mean,” Anessa said. “Everyone looks at the Enlightened as the greatest threat to life everywhere, but Adrian is already looking beyond them—as if he can’t wait for this conflict to be over, so that he can see what will come after.”
“I can’t really give you advice. I don’t know what I should do myself. But I know that we are the only thing that is grounding Adrian to the rest of us. We need to make sure that he does not lose that connection.”
“You don’t need to worry that much,” Anessa said at length. It was obvious that the words were Tomas’s, that the fears were his. And while Anessa understood them, she did not share them in the same way. “I don’t think Adrian would ever turn against our people. He simply doesn’t care about them enough for that. Adrian will fight the Enlightened. I know that we are not showing it now by our recent actions, but his goal had not changed.”
Laura nodded, accepting the answer. Anessa knew more than she was telling, but they had agreed not to speak of their plans. Perhaps Adrian would tell Laura what their plan was; perhaps not. They would find out soon enough.
CHAPTER THREE
Ryaana sat on the ground with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Across from her sat Adrian, who was in much the same position as he looked at his daughter. There were beads of sweat on her brow and her face twitched often. She was clearly struggling.
“The Sha state is not something to be forced, to be taken. It is something that you seep into. Relax and let yourself drop down,” Adrian said.
“I know,” Ryaana said angrily.
Adrian sighed. Ryaana had managed to achieve the state, true, but she did not understand. Sha was everything, and every living being had a conduit to it, a core deep inside of them that was what made a person unique. Adrian was not a religious person; he did not put labels on such things, nor did he believe in a great guiding force that created all. Still, he knew that every living being was more than just their physical form, that there were things about reality and existence that they had yet to discover and understand. He could feel this conduit in himself and in others, and he knew that others would call it a soul. He was not certain that he would go that far, but it was there nonetheless. It was what made him, him—and it was that which allowed him to enter the Sha state and use his will to control Sha.
Ryaana had achieved the state by relying on her anger, her feelings of betrayal. A much different way than how the others had. Lurker of the Depths had achieved it through understanding and coming to terms with the beliefs of his people; Adrian had done so by excluding all from his mind, allowing only calm and serenity to enter, and then naturally drop into a state where he could feel all Sha around him; Anessa had done it by sheer determination and desire.
So Adrian knew that there was not just one way to achieving power, but he was certain that it all required a person to be instinctively familiar with the Sha, to hold the understanding that everything around them, that their entire universe, was made out of it. One had to have a will powerful enough to bend the Sha to it, to be able to shape it into what they wanted. It was not something that just anyone could do, and it took much out of those that could. Using Sha without the Sha state was impossible without biological enablers, which was how all other people capable of using Sha abilities did so.
Adrian had long since suspected that natural evolution of Sha abilities was the universe’s way of preparing the way for the Sha state. The problem was that it was rare for beings to become what Adrian, Anessa, and Lurker of the Depths were. He was certain that if they had done so naturally, it would have taken far longer to achieve. The Enlightened had to have gained some insight that allowed them to reach the state once they had been changed by the lifeform they had created. Adrian’s and Anessa’s races had been genetically manipulated, their evolution accelerated by Axull Darr, and then they had been augmented further. Lurker of the Depths came from a race of telepaths instinctively in tune with the Sha, and when they joined the Empire, they had been altered further.
A natural lifeform without those changes would’ve had a much harder time of achieving what they had.
“You might be able to reach the Sha state by allowing your anger to bridge the gap, but you are still attempting to take the Sha state, to control it. You cannot do that. You need to let your body, your inner self, flow into the ocean that is the Sha. Don’t fight it. You can’t—it is reality itself, and next to it you are nothing. It will move according to your will, if your will is strong enough, but it is not yours to take. It is there only to be borrowed.”
Adrian was already in the Sha state, and he watched as his daughter fought to enter it as well. She struggled, the Sha around her vibrating in his Sha sight.
And then she had it. It was difficult to explain, but people who were in the Sha state had a different feel than those not. They felt as if they were a part of everything around them, as if they were a drop in the ocean. “Good,” Adrian said. “Now relax. Allow yourself to feel everything around you.”
He felt her breathing slow, and her face relax. For a moment, Adrian could feel her spreading her senses next to him in the ocean that was Sha—but in the next, she had fallen out of it. He could feel the Sha around her move away and settle in its natural state, and Ryaana’s eyes opened.
“Damn it!” she yelled out, standing before turning angrily and sending out a kinetic blast from her palm that shattered a boulder nearby. “Why does it always slip awa
y from me?”
“You are forcing yourself, rushing. Your mind is not focused enough,” Adrian told her.
Ryaana scowled at him. “I need to get this right. I need to find Vas, I…”
Adrian stood and nodded. “I understand what you want. But you must know that, even if you master this tomorrow, you will not be able to do anything to him. He is stronger than you in every way. He is stronger than me alone; without Moirai I would not have been able to survive against him. And this was when I had the element of surprise, and he was underestimating me.”
Ryaana balled up her fists and looked like she wanted to say something, but then the fight left her, and she sat back down on the ground before putting her face in her hands. “I just want to do something.”
“I know.”
She remained quiet for a long moment before she spoke again. “You shouldn’t have kept it from me.”
Adrian turned his head to the sky. He had heard her say as much on many occasions, and he had explained to her his reasoning many times. He knew that it was only her trying to come to terms with those reasons. Ryaana had always considered herself strong, and she was—she ranked among the top in the Empire and the Shara Daim. She just wasn’t on the same level as Adrian. She was getting there, as she was very talented and driven, but she was also frustrated and impatient. Adrian didn’t respond to her words. He knew that it was futile when she was feeling like this—they would just start fighting.
“Dad,” Ryaana said forcing him to look back at her. She was staring at him intently. “Why are we still here?”
Adrian had not told anyone other than Lurker of the Depths and Anessa why they were not pursuing the Enlightened—not that they even could. The three Enlightened were avoiding the Nomad Fleet, as they knew that there existed people who could threaten them and they did not want to risk such a battle. Adrian understood their reasoning; he knew that their plan had to be more than just fighting to kill all life in the galaxy, and they would be stupid to risk their lives. The problem was that they didn’t know what their plan was, and while the galactic alliance tried to intercept and fight the Enlightened forces at every opportunity, they were always one step behind.
