by Ivan Kal
But when they reached this system, when the great legend Karsiomi died in the first enemy counterattack, Davarstaari knew fear. He had never even entertained the idea that they could lose. They were a core power—the core power! Command had never even made the suggestion that this invasion was anything but a nuisance to be taken care of easily.
All of it came crashing down as Davarstaari watched the Grand Fleet burn. Now, a flashing light on the screen made his three hearts freeze in his chest. The blinking letters said that he was now the senior officer in charge of the Grand Fleet. Words that were impossible.
Davarstaari didn’t know what to do as his screen became flooded by requests for orders. He was frozen and couldn’t have moved a tentacle if he had to save his own life. His ship shook, and he nearly fell from his place. Somehow managing to get out of his shock, he looked around. His command center was on fire, his holo showed ships firing on his own, and damage reports kept coming in.
Davarstaari opened his mouth to speak, to give out orders, but then a beam cut clean through his ship. The last thing that passed through Davarstaari’s mind was that the Grand Fleet was someone else's problem now.
* * *
It took Doranis’s forces two days to deal with all the stragglers from the enemy force. Their large force had never recovered from his first strike, and Doranis ended up fighting smaller engagements with isolated elements that managed to form some semblance of formation. In truth he had not lost as many as he had feared he would.
A few of the enemy ships did manage to escape, which meant that his enemy would get the word of what had happened, as well as the sensor readings of the battle. His kinetic attack would not be as effective next time—if the enemy even had the strength to send more ships.
Shaking his head, Doranis turned back to the siege of the gas giants. It would not be long before this system was his, and then he would need to bring in the molders and other growers to turn it into the base they needed. It was not ideal, but they needed one here in the core, close to the center of the galaxy, so that they could reinforce Aranis and the Conduit at a moment’s notice.
They could not allow anyone to jeopardize their plan.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Year 717 of the Empire — Kenos system
Lurker of the Depths and Adrian stood on an open grass plain. The sky shone brightly above them, but it was not real. The two of them were inside of Adrian’s mind, inside of his mind space: an ability that Adrian discovered long ago allowed him to accelerate his mind’s processing speed and alter his own perception of time. Inside of his mind space, months could pass while only minutes passed in real life. It was why he had been able to advance as fast as he had, because while it had been around a thousand years since his birth, he had lived for far more inside of his mind. In his mind space, he had trained his abilities, devised tactics, and planned for the future. It was one of his greatest weapons.
Of course, nothing around them was real; it was all his imagination. That meant that he could train, but it was all mostly a mental exercise. It was great for shadow fighting and training his hand-to-hand combat, but that was because Adrian had perfect control over his body. Muscle memory wasn’t really an issue and that meant that mental training was just as effective. It didn’t do much for Sha training, but it was a good ability for assimilating information and learning new things. Adrian had used it for various purposes over the years.
Now, they were simply saving time as he and Lurker of the Depths discussed and tried to figure out what more was possible to achieve by using the Sha state. They had agreed that everything that technology could achieve, Sha could as well, as such things were of course within the laws of their reality. But beyond that, they were discussing various theories about things that technology couldn’t yet achieve but which could be possible. They were trying to both get more powerful and to at least prepare for what the Enlightened could be capable of.
“I am not sure how it would work,” Adrian said. “I mean, yes, it would likely be possible, but what then? Would everything just seep in? And could we even pass through? And if we could, what would we do there?”
The two of them were currently speaking about how the dimensional barriers were weakening, seemingly because the Sha was, in some areas, thinner than others. Lurker of the Depths’ thought was that if they were to pull all the Sha in an area out they could rip open a hole in the barrier that surrounded their universe. Lurker of the Depths argued that they could move from their universe to others, but Adrian wasn’t really convinced. They had only ever found universes which were radically different, the hyperspace and trans-space dimensions being the only ones. The term “dimension” was given to the universes that existed in the same exact space as their own, and were because of this the closest to their universe. But according to the best scientists on Sanctuary, there were more out there, all within an entire multiverse—they’d only never been able to find them. The only ones they could see were the dimensions, and that was only because the barrier that protected the universe they knew was growing weaker.
“Perhaps one could fashion something like a shield to prevent the other universe from seeping through? But can you imagine it, an entirely different universe? What wonders could we find out there?”
“Hm…” Adrian thought about it. It wasn’t like he was turned off by the idea. It was a challenge, and Adrian lived for that. Still, it was not something that they were capable of now. “Do you think that the dimensional barrier could be repaired? Or at least patched?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps that is what the Enlightened are planning to do,” Lurker of the Depths answered.
“Technically, the only thing that is causing the dimensional barrier to fail is the lack of Sha. If you could redistribute it to the areas where it is thin…”
“You could repair the damage,” Lurker of the Depths finished Adrian’s thought.
They stood in silence for a while, both thinking on the issue.
Lurker of the Depths asked, “How could you even do something like that? And if you could, where would you find such huge quantity of Sha?”
Adrian didn’t have an answer for that, and he wondered again if that was what the Enlightened were trying to do.
* * *
A small courier ship entered the system, and immediately transmitted to the Nomad Fleet. Anessa was informed and she hurried to the command deck of the Bastion. Once there, she looked at the high-priority message and then opened a channel to the planet, commed Adrian, and let him know that the Suvri had finally sent word.
Adrian arrived a few minutes later alongside Lurker of the Depths and Ryaana, and the four of them walked into a secure room with the courier.
The Suvri walked with the aid of their mech walkers, and two mechanical arms carried a small black box. Once they were inside and everything was secured, the Suvri placed the box on the table and a hologram blossomed above it.
The box was an isolated system, of Suvri make, made to hold important information. Adrian hoped that the AI had no way of getting into it. But there was no point in worrying about it now—nothing else could have been done. They would only be able to study what the Suvri had brought inside this room, as they still weren’t sure if the AI had infiltrated the Nomad Fleet systems.
The hologram showed the coordinates of a system a long way from Empire territory on the other side of the galaxy. Adrian leaned over and zoomed in, and the holo changed to show a more detailed scan of the system—or at least as detailed as they were going to get. Most of it was visual, but there were some recordings from their passive sensors; they couldn’t have used their full sensor capabilities without being discovered.
“Wow,” Ryaana said as all of them studied the system.
The Suvri swam in a circle inside his water-filled sphere. “The system is heavily fortified. The Suvri have never seen a system as defended as this one.”
“How many ships are in the system?” Anessa asked.
“We
couldn’t get an exact count, but there are millions, and that is not counting the fixed defenses.”
Adrian grimaced. “We will not be able to execute our plan with just the Nomad Fleet, not against that.”
“We would need the full force of the Great Alliance to get through all of it. And even if we managed it, the AI would still be protected by its Swarm.”
Anessa leaned in, looking at the area of space that was filled with the AI’s Swarm. “It would have enough time to run, no matter how great a force we bring. The entire system is under a skim-nullification field, I presume?” she asked the Suvri.
“It is,” the Suvri answered.
“Perhaps not,” Adrian said slowly. “I think that I have a way to ambush the Swarm. We would still need to occupy the machine fleets to draw them off. But there might be a way.”
“I don’t think that Tomas would agree to have the Great Alliance attack that system,” Anessa said.
Adrian tilted his head, thinking. “Tomas and the others are too focused on the Enlightened, and yet everything that we have seen from them so far suggests that they are merely keeping our attention from something else. We need to know what their plans are. The creatures the Enlightened have created can’t be interrogated, and the ones in combat don’t have any access to the relevant knowledge. The AI is the only way.” They had tried to look into the minds of the Enlightened troops in the few encounters they had with them, but entering their minds and attempting to search their memories immediately triggered their death. Just skimming their thoughts was futile, as they never got anything beyond their most immediate orders. The Created, as they were called, were simple: beings that lived only to obey the Enlightened. They had no other purpose.
“We still don’t know if we will be able to infiltrate the AI’s core and get the information that we need,” Ryaana said.
“It is a gamble,” Adrian said with a nod. “But I don’t see another way of learning their plans before it is too late.”
Anessa shook her head. “Well, if you want to try and convince Tomas, you’ll have to go and do it on your own. Because I am most certainly not going to try.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Year 717 of the Empire — Sanctuary
Tomas sat in one of the Empire’s dark rooms, completely cut off from any technology and reinforced so that no signal could get in or out. Across from him sat the man who had convinced Tomas to have this meeting here in the first place.
Adrian looked calmly at Tomas as he tried to digest what Adrian had just told him, and showed him. The hologram of the system filled with the AI’s forces was floating above the table projected by the small black box in front of him.
“There are more ships in that system than the Great Alliance core members have put together,” Tomas said slowly.
Adrian nodded. “The machine ships are not as advanced as ours. We will have an advantage.”
“Quantity has a quality all its own,” Tomas said. “The AI has the Swarm—which is, according to you, even more dangerous.”
“We don’t need to defeat the AI,” Adrian reminded him. “We only need to hold its forces long enough for Iris to hack into its core and retrieve the information that we need.”
Tomas suppressed the desire to comment on that. He had known that Adrian had been quietly improving his AI, but this… It was beyond what he had believed true. It was foolish; Iris might be more friendly toward life, but the galaxy was filled with examples of what happened when AIs had too much power. The Custodian AI was the most powerful AI in the galaxy, and Adrian wanted to put his own AI against it? It was madness, madness that risked everything. For all Tomas knew, Iris could be corrupted, could spill all of the Empire’s deepest secrets.
Calmly, Tomas spoke again. “Why would we want to provoke the AI? It has been silent, hasn’t attacked anyone.”
“It has sided with the Enlightened, and it is allowing them to use the access points,” Adrian said slowly.
“For all we know, the Enlightened figured that out by themselves. They were once the People, after all. The few machine ships with their forces don’t engage in combat. They might not even be controlled by the AI but by the Enlightened.”
“You don’t really think that, do you?” Adrian asked. “The AI is only buying time while it builds up its Swarm. It tried to kill its creators once, and it will not hesitate to attack a second time. We cannot allow it further time to prepare.”
“I understand what you are saying, Adrian, but aside from the fact that we don’t have enough forces to assault that system, we already have our hands full with the Enlightened. They are attacking systems all over the galaxy, and millions are dying every day. They need to be stopped.”
“And that is exactly what they want us to do!” Adrian said, raising his voice. “They are starting all these fires across the galaxy hoping that we will try to put them all out! They are manipulating us—we’ve never seen more than one of the three take the field. The other two are off to who knows where, doing who knows what! But I am certain that everything is going according to their plan.”
Tomas narrowed his eyes. “And what? You would have me ignore the cries of the galaxy? Let billions die while I send our fleets to chase this AI for a chance at learning the plans of the Enlightened?”
“Yes!”
“I can’t do that.” Tomas shook his head. “I consider those who have joined the Great Alliance my people as well, and I cannot ignore their calls when they come. I made an oath to protect my people, and that is what I will do.”
“A mistake, Tomas,” Adrian said sadly.
“And what of your refusal to hunt the Enlightened? The only three people in the galaxy that can stand up to their strength are in your Nomad Fleet, and you are not even trying to fight them! I remember you saying how you were going to be the one to find them and defeat them. Well?”
“You know full well that they are never going to allow themselves to be drawn into a fight with us. They don’t need to! The Enlightened run away the moment they sense us or my fleet. It is obvious that they have other plans!”
“We could’ve kept trying!” Tomas yelled back. “We could’ve managed to ambush them, to trap them, something! Instead, you just gave up!”
“I didn’t give up,” Adrian replied venomously. “I decided on a course of action that had the greatest chance of accomplishing our goal. The Enlightened clearly have a way of knowing when and where we would try to attack, probably because the AI has our systems infiltrated. The only way forward is to learn their plan. If we know what is important to them, we can engage them on our own terms and force a fight.”
The two men glared at each other across the table, neither backing down.
“I’m sorry, Adrian,” Tomas said eventually, shaking his head. “I cannot suggest this to the Great Alliance. That system is too well fortified, the AI has too many ships, and the Enlightened are the threat that is visible.”
“We need this, Tomas,” Adrian urged. “Why won’t you see that?”
“What I see is you doing what you have always done, and that is whatever you want.”
Adrian glared at him. “The AI is a threat, perhaps a greater one than the Enlightened.”
Tomas grimaced. “And that is why I will not do as you ask.”
“What?” Adrian asked, surprised.
“You say that the AI is a threat, but we both know that you don’t care about that. You are only saying that because it will help you get what you want.”
“And so what? I want to fight the Enlightened! Is that not what you want me to do?” Adrian demanded.
“How can I trust anything that you say? You’ve had an Enlightened living next to you for a century. You’ve fought against Aranis and he survived.”
“He was strong, Tomas, and I could not risk revealing that we were aware of who Aranis truly was.”
“You lied! You kept something so monumental from everyone in the Empire. You kept it from me! A grave danger to my people, and y
ou did not tell me until I could do nothing about it! I should’ve been involved in the decision making!”
“Ah, so that is what this is about,” Adrian said, understanding showing on his face. “I thought that you understood why I kept it a secret.”
“I am the Emperor,” Tomas said bitterly. “You owed me your loyalty your honesty.”
“None of you were equipped to deal with the Enlightened, not really. You knew in abstract about their power, but none could’ve truly known it other than I.”
“And there it is, that arrogance of yours. You have always been like that, refusing to follow, and half the time I had to make sure that the orders I gave were what you wanted to do anyway. Because I knew that you would always do what you wanted to do.” Tomas sneered.
“And what of it? You are no different,” Adrian shot back.
“I am the Emperor!”
Adrian laughed. “Yes, you are. And I am the most powerful human being that has ever lived. I am greater than our ancestors, the People. What is an Emperor before someone like me? I have understanding and knowledge, I have power. Is it not natural for people who are greater to do as they will? You have done the same, Tomas. You abandoned Earth, you guided a piece of humanity across the stars, and created all of this here.” It was Adrian’s turn to sneer. “But we both know that you have done so on my shoulders. You used me as much as I used the Empire. You call me arrogant, but you are the same—you were content to keep quiet and watch as I crushed your enemies, as I made your Empire greater.”
“You…” Tomas ground out, but Adrian interrupted, not letting him speak.
“We walk different paths, wish for different things, Tomas, but our goals are the same. I want to stop the Enlightened as much as you do. Why can’t you just do as you have done always before, and let me do as I want?”
Tomas opened his mouth, then closed it. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.
