by Skyler Grant
"And you know I'm too damned old to learn new tricks. I don't have your twist to keep things fresh," Nova said with a thin smile.
"How are you immortal? If that isn't too personal a question?" Quinn asked.
The Imperium had a few who were, not many. Heck, the family now had three immortals, he supposed. Kalisa could halt her aging, Tourmaline had her own method of self-preservation by passing on her memory, and Sand seemed certain she was never going to die. Melody might be thought of as a permanent artificial life too, but really of the sort that did eventually wear out and perish.
"I got hit with a billion-year-old bioweapon," Nova said with a shrug. "Didn't work out the way the makers intended."
"She's being optimistic that I can kill her. The woman has been through a thousand wars. I died by her side more than I like to think, and in ways that should have killed us both. But when a later me goes looking, Nova is always there—always she survives," Tourmaline said.
"Might not need you. Might have another hunt that will finally bring me the peace I want. Big though, real big. Thought you and yours might want in. Even if not, if I breathe my last, I still want you there, girl. About time you get to be the one watching me die," Nova said.
"You immortals are strange," Quinn said.
"The human mind isn't made to endure eternity without going mad," Sand said. "Don't worry, Kat will have me."
"Who or what do you think is going to be able to bring you down? The Emperor hasn't come back to life," Tourmaline said. “What are we hunting?”
Quinn knew the answer even before Nova said it. Who else could it be?
"Mahara has returned," Nova said.
"Not the woman you knew," Tourmaline said, finding a wall to lean against. "Although this one is worse. You don't like getting involved with the Unshackled, you never have. You said yourself, too old for new tricks. What gives?"
With dead eyes and her lips pursed Nova considered Tourmaline. "I don't like Unshackled, I've never liked their business. Mahara has an apprentice though who gets drunk and boasts. Claims they are on their way to wipe out all non-Chaos attuned life in the galaxy. I might want to go, but I hate a crowd."
"Is it possible?" Jinx asked, turning to Kalisa.
"Not to my knowledge. If it were possible she'd had every motivation to do it in her home universe," Kalisa said.
"But she had the Emperor there to stop her," Quinn said.
"And things were different. The changes between our universes aren't small. Perhaps ours provides an opportunity hers did not," Kalisa said, starting to pace.
"Know anything more?" Tourmaline asked.
"They were on Korinol eighteen hours ago. The trail is already growing cold, and I expected you to arrive sooner," Nova said.
"Can we trust her?" Jinx asked Tourmaline.
"The Mahara you met is the one person in this universe almost guaranteed to be able to kill her. I was always a desperate hope. I believe her," Tourmaline said.
"Then she's coming with us," Jinx said, already moving for the door. "The trail is growing cold, but they can't use a runic sphere. If we can find out where they're going, we'll catch them."
31
The Centauri Bliss jumped into a battlefield. Over forty ships were busy fighting it out, energy shields deployed and fighters weaving in and out amongst capital ships. The fighting was particularly vigorous near the Runestone, which was unfortunate as they were hoping to pick up some record of recent jumps.
Quinn didn't bother raising shields, instead executing a roll as a fighter closed on them and a spray of fire from the ship’s main guns hitting its shields. Hitting the ship-wide comm he said, "We found ourselves in a fight. Anyone got a reason we should stick around?"
By the time the fighter was making a second pass Kalisa was stepping into the bridge and nimbly claiming the copilot seat.
"Silver Eye and Dark Dancers fighting it out to see who will be war leader," Kalisa said, her hands flying over the keys. "I'm letting them know we're not involved."
The fighter waggled its wings and broke off.
Well, at least it was a polite battlefield.
"Doesn't it trouble you? That your people fight all the time?" Quinn asked.
"In the Imperium it is birth that determines who is on top and you never get to change that. If you don't have magic in your blood, what is the most one can aspire to? Earning enough value to be thrown some third son or daughter in the hopes your child will be elevated above your station?" Kalisa asked.
There was a lot of truth to that. One could go far even without magic, but that road definitely came to an end far sooner than it did for those who possessed that power.
"At least the Imperium doesn't have slavery. Well—didn't," Quinn said.
"Slavery amongst the clans is different than you know. It rarely lasts for even years, and certainly doesn't carry on to one’s children. It doesn't stop a person from being treated as a person," Kalisa said, intense. "For some reason you continue to think the Imperium morally superior. You, of all people, should know better."
The other vessels fighting it out were giving the Centauri Bliss a wide berth. Without a traffic control system there were no logs to pull of what ships had jumped, but depending on how long these ships had been in the system one of them might have caught something.
"Mara, Rena, Silver. These vessels fighting might have a lead for us," Quinn called.
Rena replied, "Do remember that you're always two steps behind the spies. We're working the problem. We'll get back to you when we have something."
"Do the clans have people like us? Smugglers? Thieves? Criminals?" Quinn asked.
"There are always people who want goods in a place others do not, although since we have less laws than you actual smuggling is not as big a deal. Banditry, theft, is more common and often respected. It takes someone brave and daring to successfully steal. Jinx being the Queen of Thieves has impressed my people more than you might think. The most legendary thief of the Imperium, it is very honorable," Kalisa said.
Quinn could understand that, even if he had to stretch his head a little bit around it. When everybody was a thief, everyone appreciated thieving just a little bit more, and admired it done well. Just as one did when they were an amateur musician listening to professionals. It didn't even bother him that Jinx got the credits for the job this family had pulled. As the public face of this family she played the role well.
"Weird to think of ourselves like that," Quinn said.
"I don't think it applies to you much anymore. You are taking theft to a grand scale. You are stealing worlds. At this point you've become politicians and warlords," Kalisa said.
Quinn could tell she was trying to make a joke, and yet there was truth to that—like so much of what she was saying.
"That nuclear warhead we have? Will it be enough to stop Mahara?"
"It is beautiful work. The core is a warhead that Jinx invented, but what they built around it ..." Kalisa said with a smile. "It is rather like their new stealth suits that hide them even from the magically aware. They had more knowledge than I think even Mara knew, and they are starting to use it now."
"I take it that is a yes?" Quinn asked.
"No, absolutely not. Magic in many ways is straightforward. Defensive magic pushes out with the strength of the caster, and offensive magic pushes in with the strength of the one that cast it. Think of two people struggling to control the knife one of them holds," Kalisa said.
"But Jinx killed Ilinar. One of the most powerful of the Unshackled."
"One weak in power after centuries of being held suspended and who had burned what energy remained making himself an army of wrathspawn. A strong man who hadn't eaten for over a week and just sprinted a mile fought for a knife with a teenage girl," Kalisa said, and she shrugged. "Not to insult my apprentice. It still took strength of spirit to fight that fight, and determination to win it."
"But the bomb isn't enough," Quinn said.
"It is sti
ll Jinx holding the knife, essentially, as she enchanted it. With all they've done, they've made it stronger than her. It can throw an incredible amount of power, but enough to overwhelm Mahara if she sees it coming?" Kalisa shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
It didn't make any sort of difference, of course. They might not have a way to stop Mahara, but if what Nova had heard was right, it was try or let something terrible happen. Quinn was now a Chaosian and he'd survive whatever she planned, but most of the family wouldn't. That meant they had to stop it.
Mara said over the comm, "We've got something. Not where they left, but where they came from. Sending coordinates."
32
If they didn't know Mahara's ultimate destination, that made everywhere she had gone since their arrival in this reality all the more important. In a whole new universe she'd have had to find her way in something in that past would show where she was going.
The first system they followed back from the battle revealed nothing of interest, but as Mahara essentially had a small fleet with her the signature of their jumps lingered far longer than those of an individual vessel.
It allowed Quinn to follow them back four more systems before losing the trail. If they'd been simply passing through, it should have remained fresh. The jump trail stopped because the ships had stopped. They'd lingered here for some reason.
Without any better ideas Quinn put them into orbit around the one planet capable of supporting human life. It was a world of thick jungles, large lakes, and rivers. No sentient life, although ruins on the surface suggested there once had been. Quinn didn't like it, something felt wrong about the planet, although he couldn't quite figure out why.
Without any further leads he called a family meeting. They needed to decide their next steps.
Melody made waffles. At least the day had one bright spot.
"We're in orbit around the fourth planet of ... well, I have no idea since Chaosians don't use navigation beacons or keep proper charts. I think Mahara lingered here for awhile, but I'm not sure why. I'm open to next steps," Quinn said.
"You are already using my navigational database. It is one of the best in our space given my inclinations. If this system isn't on it, I'm not sure why it would be important," Kalisa said.
"Rena? Any thoughts? You are our best source of information from the other universe," Quinn said.
"Can I see the ruins?" Rena asked.
Quinn brought up some images from the ship’s sensors. They'd been upgraded so much lately they had a pretty good view.
The ruin largely seemed to be made of massive stone spheres, heavily overgrown with moss.
Rena stared for a moment and blinked. "Uh ... this looks like Idoon. The same species at least, right?"
Looks were exchanged around the table by most. Kara was busy shoving a stack of eight waffles into her mouth.
"I'll say it. I have no idea what you're talking about," Kalisa said.
"That goes for our side of the fence too," Mara said.
"Home of the free council? The library of terrors?" Rena asked to blank looks. "I guess it is an ‘our side’ thing, but on our side we discovered it early enough you should have heard of it. Idoon was the homeworld of the Ido, who were strong in magic. It was supposed to be an Ido artifact that first gave us our powers."
Kalisa sat up at that and pushed a waffle to the side. "The creators of the Epsi coil?"
"Why isn't it called the Ido coil?" Quinn asked.
"We found it on Epsi. We were investigating an unrelated phenomenon and found a crashed vessel containing it. We weren't even sure that race made the coil, or if they were simply transporting it," Kalisa said.
"I only visited, once, playing courier for Mahara. In our universe Idoon might have been the most well-defended place in our space. There were archives on Idoon about magic that, unlike most alien magics, we could actually use," Rena said.
"We need to get down there. More than that, if this is Idoon, we need to secure this world," Kalisa said.
"This is clan space. Do you have the forces?" Jinx asked.
"I can find them," Kalisa said.
"I mean, it is nice and all to seize whatever this is, but does it matter? A crazy lady plans to kill a lot of people? Does this help us stop her?" Kara asked.
"If we can figure out where she is going and why, yes," Kalisa said.
"It may not be that easy. It almost certainly won't. This is an entire alien species you are trying to understand. If there are records, they will be in a language we don't know, and possibly need to be analyzed through a culture we don't understand," Dela said.
"Dela has a good point," Jinx said.
Quinn remembered that she had studied some xenopsychology in school, although Dela was their expert in xenoarcheology.
"Can we use the station? Rena is not, in fact, our only source of knowledge from the other side," Tamara said.
"The station was military. It would have specifications on Mahara's ships. Can we use that information to help us track her fleet?" Quinn asked.
"Given we lack any sort of network across all of clan space, I doubt we'll track them that way, but it might have information on the world below, updated charts. We never even checked. We just assumed any information from another universe wouldn't be useful in this one," Kalisa said.
They'd need to put together a team for the surface.
"Dela, you're our archeology expert. Magic or no, this is your show. Pick a team," Quinn said.
Dela decided quickly, "Quinn, I want you as pilot in case there are defenses. Sand, if anyone is most likely to understand an alien data system, it is you. If this race somehow is responsible for human magic, let’s bring along the two most powerful representatives of it we have, Kalisa and Jinx."
"Sounds good. Rena, Mara, could you two remote-access the station and see what you can find out that might be relevant. We missed information there we shouldn't have," Quinn said.
"We'll go through it and make sure we have backups of everything where we've the capacity," Mara said.
"Be careful. The Ido and what they left behind, it effects humans. Visions, sometimes madness, sometimes brilliant madness," Rena said.
"Sounds wonderful," Kalisa said.
Quinn didn't think she was kidding.
33
Fierce winds buffeted the Foxtrot on the way down to the planet’s surface. Even if the world below had belonged to an interstellar species their landing pads had long since been covered by moss and vines from the jungle. Fortunately that made it easier to see just where Mahara and her forces had set down.
That also made it easy to lay a trap. Just as Quinn was coming down for a landing, sensors began to wail as weapons fire was detected. Energy blasts came from beneath a cliff edge and Quinn executed a hard roll.
The shots had been held until the last moment and he had almost nowhere to go. Any evasive maneuver at this moment could send the ship into the ground. Rolling away from the cliff would only position the ship for the next shots, while towards it would just be another means of crashing.
Instead Quinn kicked in thrusters, spinning the ship three-quarters of the way through the roll to bring the shuttle weapons in line with the cliff face as he fired. Energy beams of his own lanced out and a portable anti-air turret exploded.
Wary of further traps and grateful how their growing infamy had resulted in arming all the shuttles, Quinn set the Foxtrot down carefully.
They descended the shuttle ramp with Dela leading the way. The air was heavy and muggy, the scent of unknown plants almost overpowering. The ship had landed in a small clear area just below a cliff.
Ahead of them seemed almost a city made of stone spheres. They weren't of equal sizes, the smallest about two stories in height and some were as massive as ten stories—if they were buildings.
Quinn's magical senses were going crazy. It even seemed very keyed to his talent. He wasn't quite sure how to put it, but the barrier between universes seemed thinner here. It wa
s easier for things to breach, to pass between.
"This is a place of intense possibility. It is almost as if it were designed that way so that new things could be made here," Kalisa said.
"I'd say it is a place of healing. A place where the broken can be put right and the shattered made whole," Jinx said.
"Is it just reflecting our own magical gifts back at us somehow, or are we simply noticing what we are experts in and it’s amplifying all of them?" Quinn asked.
"I can answer that if you give me a moment," Kalisa said, her runes flaring red as she stepped forward and closed her eyes. "The stronger you become, the more you can adopt other philosophies, other styles. It is why we Unshackled can keep ourselves immortal. We all draw a bit upon the magic of mending. What I'm sensing is strange. While each of our styles are addressed, it isn't simply that magic is more powerful here. A mana well would power any magic that is near, but this is something different, strangely more specific."
Sand stood with her hands on her hips. "The spheres are amplifying unique magical gifts. I can feel the tug on each of the abilities I gave myself. They differ in intensity and I believe that is based on the distance to individual spheres. It is a unique construction, I have no idea how it is done."
"Are you able to track where Mahara went?" Quinn asked.
Sand gazed around the surroundings and nodded. "The plants grow on almost every surface so the tracks aren't visible, but their passage did cause destruction I can see. Follow me."
Their path took them through the spheres, a fifteen-minute walk that finally led them into a tunnel.
The instant they passed underground the atmosphere dramatically changed. The air was sharply cooler and the growth that was everywhere on the surface was nowhere here. Stone walls were carved with intricate glyphs.
Dela stopped to study them, "Without any sort of materials analysis it is hard to say, but I don't think this is really stone. There is far too little degradation here."
