“You’re fighting the wrong enemy,” Kovar said while flourishing the blades. All five of the bridge crew released their harnesses and rose from their stations to join the Admiral in standing. The pair of Marines guarding the doors, one to either side of Darius, did likewise and drew swords from the sheaths on their backs.
Darius glanced briefly at each of them. He was outnumbered seven to one.
“The Cygnians are just a convenient means to feed our army with soldiers,” Kovar went on. “The Crucible, the seals, the Cygnians and their hunting grounds, it’s all designed to weed out unproductive bloodlines and favor Revenant births.”
“I know,” Darius growled, and waved his hand to dismiss further explanations.
Kovar cocked his head—Admiral Ventaris’s head—to one side. “Then why are you trying to exterminate them?”
“Because they’re part of the problem. We can’t change the way things are until they’re out of the way. We already tried reasoning with them.” Darius experienced a momentary burst of rage at the recollection of how Cassandra had ended up in her current condition: she’d gone to negotiate with the Cygnians, to warn them what was coming and get them to back down before anyone had to die. Instead of heeding her warning, they’d attacked her.
“If you eliminate the hunting grounds and the Cygnians, you’ll dilute the pool of future Revenants. Our army will be whittled away to nothing, and then the Keth will come and kill us all.”
Darius’s mind raced, trying to come up with a way to fight off seven Revenants at once without a weapon. “How do you know that?” Darius asked, buying time to come up with a strategy. He probed the minds of the Marines flanking him, trying to wrest control of them from Kovar. He felt Kovar pushing back, so he pushed harder. The Luminary’s hold on them was strong, but it wasn’t strong enough. Just before he broke through, Darius gave up and pretended to be exhausted by the effort.
Kovar grinned. “Nice try. As for how I know that the Keth would kill us all if given half a chance, I know what they are like—I ought to after fighting them for the past nine centuries. Have you even met one of them yet?”
Darius shook his head. “No, because they’re all dead. You’re out there chasing shadows while the real enemy is at home sleeping in your bed.”
“The Keth are hiding, not dead,” Kovar replied. “Their numbers are likely few by now, but they are a cunning enemy. If we had not used the Cygnians and the Crucible to swell our numbers, they would have slaughtered us long ago.”
“If they’re so powerful, how did you conquer their homeworld?”
Kovar smiled. “As I say, their numbers are few. In addition to that, their technology is leagues behind our own.”
Darius frowned. “Then why are you so scared of them?”
“Because we have all foreseen the Keth’s plans. We know they are planning to wipe us out.”
“Why would they want to kill us—besides the fact that you’ve spent nearly a thousand years killing them.”
“Because they don’t want to share their power. The more beings there are drawing on the ZPF, the weaker each individual becomes. It’s a finite pool of energy. That’s the other reason for the Crucible and using the Cygnians to send everyone there. Breeding and training more Revenants as fast as we can diminishes the Keth’s strength without us even having to fight them. All of the Keth used to be able to open wormholes, but now no one is strong enough, and the Eye is the only way to reach us. We managed to bottle them up on their side of the galaxy, and we’d like to keep it that way.”
“Tanik Gurhain might be strong enough to open wormholes,” Darius mused.
Kovar’s eyes narrowed swiftly. “Tanik Gurhain? What does he have to do with this?”
“You know him?”
“I did. How do you know him?”
“We met him on a world called Hades. He trained me and convinced Admiral Ventaris to go to war with the Cygnians, but after we destroyed Cygnus Prime, he disappeared without a trace. You said—or the Admiral said—that he may have opened a wormhole to disappear like that.”
Kovar scowled. “Tanik Gurhain is dead. I felt his presence fade during the battle for Ouroboros twenty years ago.”
“He said he faked his death in order to escape the Augur’s influence,” Darius replied.
“Did he now?” Kovar replied. “Assuming that’s true, why would he abandon a fight that he started? And how did he open a wormhole? The Augur was the last Revenant who could do that, and he died the same time Tanik did.”
“Tanik said he wasn’t strong enough to open a traversable portal.”
“And yet he disappeared without a trace from one of your ships. Not even I can do such a thing. You’re telling me that a lowly Advocate somehow managed to do something that a Luminary cannot?”
“I don’t know,” Darius admitted.
Kovar sneered. “I’ll find out. In the meantime, you have a choice to make: join me, and help me clean up the mess that you’ve created, or die.”
All seven of the Revenants on the bridge began glowing in the light of ZPF shields, and their swords became wreathed in shimmering light.
Darius glanced at the Marines standing to either side of him, then back to Kovar, and he gave a slow smile. “I have a counter proposal—you release my crew and agree not to interfere with my fleet, or I’ll hunt you down and kill you myself.”
Chapter 3
Kovar laughed in Darius’s face. He flourished his glowing swords and grinned. “Goodbye, Darius.”
The entire Bridge crew began advancing on Darius at once. The two Marines standing to either side of him were just a few paces away, nearly close enough for their swords to reach him without even taking another step.
Darius took a deep breath and drew on the ZPF. As he let out that breath, he released a shock wave of energy. Everyone went flying into the holo panels around the edges of the bridge—all except for Kovar, who deflected the assault.
“Impressive,” he said.
Darius cast outward, reaching for the minds of each of the crew. He pushed against Kovar, forcing the Luminary’s presence out of the ship and into space.
Admiral Ventaris started, then blinked. His eyes were no longer glazed. “What...” Realization dawned. “The Revenants found us.”
“Yes,” Darius replied, nodding.
“We have to retreat. We’re not prepared to face Revenants,” Admiral Ventaris said.
“Kovar is weak,” Darius said.
“Is he?” Ventaris demanded. “He just took control of me and my bridge! You don’t know how to defend us against psychic attacks. He could turn our own ships against us! For all we know, he already has. Comms!” Ventaris whirled around.
“Sir?” The comms officer, along with the rest of the bridge crew, were just now strapping back in at their stations after Darius had tossed them into the holo panels to buy himself time to break Kovar’s hold on them.
“Give the order to retreat,” Ventaris ordered.
“Yes, sir,” the comms officer replied.
“Wait,” Darius said. “We still have a chance. Their fleet is on the far side of the planet. Our fighters are already inbound. If we destroy Hagrol now, we might be able to take out their fleet with it. Tell me how to defend us from him. I can do it.”
Admiral Ventaris turned to regard him once more. “If we lose our fleet now, the war will be over, and this will all have been for nothing.”
“And if we win here, even the other Revenants will be afraid of us,” Darius said. “Give me a chance.”
“Very well. Close your eyes and cast your mind outward.”
Darius did so, and stars swirled around him.
“Find our fleet and all of our crews. Focus on them.”
Thousands of bright and shining silhouettes appeared through the hulls of their ships. “Now what?” Darius murmured.
“Fill their minds with your own. Imagine that they have all become a part of you, each of them like a finger or a toe, an extension of
yourself that you can feel and move around at will.”
Darius tried that, and whispering voices echoed through his mind in an unintelligible roar. Thousands of different scenes flickered before him. Countless sensations and emotions colored his perception in a confusing swirl. He had become the hub for a kind of hive mind, a collective entity of enormous power, but it made him feel stretched thin, like an overinflated balloon about to pop. But along with that sense of tenuousness came euphoria that swelled inside of him, making him feel invincible. He had become a god. He could feel every one of the Revenants in the fleet as if they were a part of him. With the slightest whisper of a thought, he could compel any one of them to do whatever he wanted.
“Now tune out all of the voices and the sensations, but don’t allow your awareness to shrink,” Admiral Ventaris directed. “Keep your mind open to all of the others.”
As Darius followed those instructions, the whispering voices and flickering images disappeared.
“Now, open your eyes,” Admiral Ventaris said.
“Wow...” Darius breathed as the bridge snapped back into focus around him. “That’s—”
“What it means to be a Luminary,” Ventaris said. “Can you still feel everyone?”
“Yes.” Darius nodded. He didn’t even have to check. It was like knowing whether you still have all of your fingers and toes. No one has to tell you to check, you just know. You can feel the blood pulsing through them.
“Good,” Ventaris said. “Now if Kovar tries to take control of one of us again, you’ll feel it instantly and be able to stop him. Did you find the fighter pilots headed for the planet?”
Darius blinked. “No, I—”
“Find them,” Ventaris snapped.
Darius bristled at the order and narrowed his eyes at the Admiral, but did as he was told. Closing his eyes once more, he cast his mind back into space and searched for the three squadrons of Vulture fighters that they’d sent to Hagrol...
But he couldn’t find them. Darius opened his eyes once more. “Flight Ops!” he bellowed. “Have our fighters jumped into the system yet?”
“Yes, sir, but I can’t find them anywhere.”
“We’re too late,” Ventaris whispered.
“What do you mean you can’t find them?” Darius demanded. He stalked up behind Lieutenant Hanson’s station and leaned over his shoulder to look. The man’s screens were all blank.
Hanson began shaking his head and pointed to his sensor display. “Sensors logged a gamma radiation burst consistent with a ZPF warhead exploding five minutes ago. All three squadrons disintegrated in the blast.”
“Kovar must have made them fire on each other,” Ventaris said.
“Kak!” Darius roared.
Admiral Ventaris shook his head. “We have to retreat. It would take too long to set up another attack run.”
“We can worry about destroying Hagrol later,” Darius said. “Right now we have a more important target. If we kill Kovar, I can take over his fleet and add it to ours.”
“That’s an ambitious plan,” Ventaris said. “But between the Cygnian fleet and Kovar’s fleet, we’re outnumbered. We need to get out of here while we still can.”
Darius nodded. “Go ahead. Give me four squadrons of Vultures, and I’ll come back with Kovar’s head.”
Ventaris frowned. “If you get yourself killed, the outcome is the same as if our fleet is destroyed. None of us can resist the influence of a Luminary on our own. After he kills you, Kovar will hunt us down, and take control of us, adding our fleet to his.”
“I’m not asking for permission,” Darius replied. “I’m leading from the front like any good commander should.”
“There’s a time and a place for that, and it’s not here or now,” Ventaris said. “You seem to have forgotten that I outrank you.”
Darius smiled thinly at him. “Maybe it’s time we did something about that. Lieutenant Hanson! Have our Vulture pilots ready and waiting in their cockpits. Tell them to bring their swords. We’re boarding the enemy flagship.”
“Belay that order!” Admiral Ventaris replied.
“Yes, sir.”
“Major Becker!” Admiral Ventaris directed his gaze to the ranking Marine of the pair seated to either side of the bridge doors.
“Sir?”
“Take the commander to the brig.”
“Yes, sir...” The major released his acceleration harness and rose from his chair.
It took a supreme effort for Darius to control the black tide of rage that surged inside of him. They couldn’t arrest him! Who did Admiral Ventaris think he was?
Darius rounded on Major Becker as he approached. The man’s eyes glazed over and his stride faltered, as if he’d suddenly forgotten what he was supposed to be doing. Darius experienced a brief flash of guilt at overriding the man’s will, but this wasn’t the same as what he’d done the last time. He wasn’t making anyone sacrifice their lives. In fact, removing an inept leader like Ventaris from command would likely save lives.
“Admiral Ventaris is no longer fit to command this fleet,” Darius said. “Take him to the brig.”
“Yes, Commander,” Major Becker replied.
“Not Commander—Admiral,” Darius said. He turned back the other way to find Ventaris staring at him in shock. He held out his hand. “Your rank insignia, please.”
“You don’t want to do this, Darius. You need my experience to command this fleet.”
A murmur of agreement rose from the bridge crew. “You Luminaries are all the same,” one of them said. It was the comms officer—Lieutenant Grifton, if Darius remembered correctly. “All you want is power, and to hell with the people you have to hurt to get it.”
Darius pointed at the man, and Grifton’s hand hovered up beside his cheek. The man stared at it in bemusement, and Darius made Grifton slap himself with an echoing smack.
“Would anyone else like to comment?” Darius asked, his eyes flashing around the bridge. A brittle silence answered him. “Good. I’d rather not have to compel your cooperation.”
Major Becker reached Admiral Ventaris and bound his hands with stun cuffs.
“Who’s going to be in command while I’m in the brig and you’re boarding the enemy fleet?” Ventaris asked.
“I’m in command,” Darius replied. “But you’re right, someone needs to be on the bridge to relay my commands. Lieutenant Hanson!”
“Sir?”
“I’m awarding you the brevet rank of Commander,” Darius said. “You’ll be in command of the Harbinger when I’m not on deck, and you’ll see that my orders are properly relayed to the Captains of the other ships.”
“Yes, sir.”
“This is a mistake,” Admiral Ventaris said again.
“Major Becker, stun the admiral.”
The major’s sidearm discharged with a flash of blue light, and Ventaris’s eyes rolled up in his head.
“Much better,” Darius said. “Now, as I was saying—Hanson, have our pilots waiting in their cockpits. We have a Luminary to kill.”
“Yes, sir.”
Darius turned in a quick circle to address the rest of the crew. He noticed Admiral Ventaris floating along as Major Becker dragged him by his arm toward the bridge doors. “Hang on, Major.” Darius crossed over to them and snatched the rank insignia from Ventaris’s upper left sleeve. He removed his own insignia and went back to the Flight Ops station to give it to Lieutenant Hanson. “Just so there’s no confusion about who’s in charge,” Darius explained, as he clipped the admiral’s insignia to the magnetic plate on his upper left sleeve—a gleaming golden triangle with two stars at the top.
Lieutenant Hanson nodded uncertainly as he clipped the commander’s insignia to his own sleeve.
The bridge doors swished open, and Major Becker dragged Ventaris off the bridge. Darius could feel the crew’s outrage pulsing off them in waves as they watched.
They’ll get over it. “Mark my words, by the time I return, there will be twice as man
y ships in our fleet, and Hagrol will be nothing but a cloud of dust. For the Union!” Darius cried. But no one took up his rallying cry. Darius gritted his teeth. “I must be hard of hearing. What did you say?”
“For the Union,” the crew mumbled.
“We’ll work on it.” Darius snorted and shook his head as he strode toward the bridge doors. Someone cleared their throat. “Admiral...” It was Hanson.
Darius hesitated at the doors, but didn’t turn around. “Yes, Commander?”
“What should we do while you’re boarding the enemy flagship, sir?”
“Engage the Cygnian fleet. Pin them between you and the planet, but don’t get too close yourselves. I don’t want to lose any of our ships when we take out the planet.”
“Yes, sir,” Hanson replied. “Good luck, sir.”
Darius smirked. “Thank you, but I won’t need luck.”
Chapter 4
Tanik watched petals of sunlight dance over Feyra’s face as the wind waved the tree branched outside their bedroom window. He smiled and brushed her sparkling white cheek with the back of one hand. Sprites milled through her veins, glowing visibly through her transparent skin. Removing his hand from her cheek, he stretched quietly beside her, being careful not to disturb her sleep. She needed to rest after last night.
They’d spent the past four months here on Ouroboros together, basking in the success of their plot to get the Union to tear itself apart in a civil war. Even after four months it still felt like they were on their honeymoon—not that the Keth observed such customs.
Tanik got out of bed and walked down the hall to reach the kitchen. On his way there, he caught a glimpse of a human face staring at him from the mantle above the fireplace. Tanik frowned at the stuffed head—the Augur’s head. He understood why Feyra had kept it. There was something satisfying about staring into the wide and terrified eyes of the man who had butchered their people, and knowing that those eyes were now made of glass.
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