Balance of Power: The Blackened Prophecy Book 2

by Oganalp Canatan

  Ray fixed his eyes on Sim’Ra and let Serhmana do the cleansing. His eyes glowed, and a second later, there was nothing outside the ship but stars and the distant sun.

  “Wow. Think of cleaning your house that way. Would be a miraculous invention.”

  Both Sim’Ra and Ray broke their exchange of will and looked at Sarah.

  “What? I’m stressed!”

  ***

  “Admiral,” Lieutenant Commander Jong’s voice pulled Rebecca away from the tactical sphere. “Fox disappeared from radar.”

  “They jumped?”

  “I do not know, Ma’am. They were hovering over the town center, covered in creatures, then they disappeared.”

  “Perhaps Mr. Harris was successful. Let us hope the creatures leave us alone.”

  The ship’s announcement cut her short.

  “Deviator’s perimeter has been breached. Search, kill, and prevail.”

  “Well, there goes that idea,” Rebecca rubbed her eyes in defeat.

  “Ma’am, the mass of the creatures, they have shifted their attention to us. As in, the whole cloud is descending on us.”

  “I need to talk to Ga’an about those announcements. But,” Rebecca sighed, “I guess that is our cue there. We are now the target. Mr. Jong, shields to maximum. Call back all our birds for combat landing and wait for all personnel inside the shield area to board. Activate all batteries that are still over the ground and begin a non-selective fire.”

  “Ma’am, we still have people on the ground, coming for the ship outside our shield radius. They will be caught in friendly fire.”

  Rebecca’s heart sank. “I know, Mr. Jong. You have your orders.”

  “But—”

  “We cannot save everyone, Mr. Jong, but we can lose them all if we do not act swiftly. Now,” she closed her eyes to keep herself calm, “start firing.”

  The one-eyed officer saluted, but Rebecca saw his distaste and hesitation. She walked to the tactical console and pressed the execute command herself. Her confirmation was the rumbling of automated turrets starting their full barrage. Rebecca preferred not to hear those cannons, trying to ignore that she was killing her own people in the slaughter. But life was never that fair. Never.

  “Mr. Ga’an,” she said, touching her chest communicator.

  “Admiral Conway, we are ready.”

  “We better be. We are under attack from all sides, including the ground.”

  “You can try a jump.”

  “To where Mr. Ga’an?”

  “We salvaged the navigation data from Bacchus. We will use their last point of jump for our first.”

  “Do it.”

  Her confirmation was the ship-wide announcement in Ga’an’s recorded voice. “Warning, we will jump. Hold on to your stations and do not regurgitate.”

  Rebecca slowly raised her stare at the bridge’s speakers. “We really need to talk about those announcements.”

  FRIENDS

  “All remaining power to shields.”

  “Ma’am, we will be ready to jump in thirty seconds.”

  “What about that cloud thing?”

  “It is still closing in on us. If we do not jump in less than two minutes, we will be crushed.”

  Rebecca nodded in acknowledgment. “Divert from every system to the shields, except for life support and the jump drive.” She looked at Ga’an, now back on the bridge. “Mr. Ga’an, let us hope your team really fixed that drive, or this ship will be our tomb.”

  “That is if the creatures decide to kill us, Admiral Conway,” her first officer replied.

  “Not helping, Mr. Ga’an.”

  Ga’an grunted in response. “The creatures are trying our shield from every point. They are basically throwing themselves at us. That Devourer woman is wasting her army.”

  Rebecca wasn’t so sure. “No,” she said finally, after looking at the power schematics one more time. “She is not doing it mindlessly. She is trying to overload our shield. Here,” she pointed at a spot on the ship’s holographic shield display. The insects and creatures of the Devourer completely covered the superdreadnought, but they were not touching the shield. Instead, the suiciding creatures dived for and hit on one particular point at the lower starboard side.

  “What do we have there?” Rebecca asked. “There are no primary systems on that deck.”

  Ga’an narrowed his eyes, his jaw clenching. “One of the biggest hull breaches was there. We patched it with whatever spare parts we could find earlier this year, but if I had to pick one spot as the weakest, that would be it.”

  “Told you, she is not a mindless bug, Ga’an.”

  “The drive is ready,” Lieutenant Commander Jong shouted over his console.

  “Punch it, Mr. Jong!”

  The one-eyed officer pushed the buttons to engage the jump drive, and… nothing happened. A loud engine noise, more like coughing, followed by a tremble filled the bridge, and they lost power to the computers and lights.

  “Mr. Ga’an?” Rebecca clutched at a nearby rail, entirely blinded by the sudden darkness.

  “No,” the Nucteel barked in anger, rushing to the nearest control terminal. “Curses. Curses of the blood!” He punched the nearby console madly. “Curses. Curses! Curses and ashes!”

  “Mr. Ga’an.”

  “The shield is still holding, ma’am. We are still on emergency power.” Lieutenant Commander Jong called a second later, managing to turn on one of his tactical terminal screens. “We are barely on emergency power.”

  Rebecca focused on the sudden brightness that filled the bridge, didn’t reply.

  “By the blood of elders. Guards,” Ga’an bellowed, leaving the poor console alone, jumping in front of Rebecca to protect her. “Guards!”

  Rebecca stepped to her right to pass by Ga’an.

  “Admiral Conway,” Ga’an protested, but she stopped him.

  “Interesting,” a voice echoed, and the illuminating light coalesced into an apparition, looking around in profound interest. “Your kind has a curious understanding of shells.”

  “Shells?”

  The Devourer lowered her stare to look at Rebecca with her ageless gaze. “Is this not a shell?”

  “This is a ship,” Rebecca said, her voice too tight for her liking. “My ship and you are intruding.” Keep it together, girl. Rebecca forced herself not to shake and tremble before this mighty creation. Even when Her actual form and minions were nowhere in sight, the Devourer was a mesmerizing sight. Rebecca noticed the Devourer’s body was not a whole shape but constructed of tiny insects. Perhaps it was a protective skin? It was as mesmerizing as it was terrifying. “Mr. Ga’an,” she lowered her voice almost to a whisper, not moving her eyes from the intruder, “fix that drive. Fast.”

  The Devourer watched Rebecca and the bridge as if she was a tourist wandering the streets of Berlin. “Interesting means of transportation.”

  “Are you not an eternal creature?”

  “I am infinite, yes.”

  “And you are telling me this is the first time you’ve seen a ship?”

  “No,” She replied. “This is the first time I have been inside a human ship.” The Devourer turned her attention to Lieutenant Commander Jong, staring at the intruder with his mouth ajar. “Are these your children?” She walked lazily to the officer and gently touched his head. “This one is injured in battle. You have fought with the Plane Walkers.”

  Rebecca couldn’t hide her surprise. “Yes… I have no idea who these Plane Walkers are, but we endured many battles.” She was buying time. “Children? No. They are my friends, my colleagues. My people.”

  “Friend,” She weighed the word. “What does that mean?”

  Rebecca would have thought she was being mocked if this wasn’t a life and death situation. The avatar before her had no expression. Her voice was like a rusty door, irritating, and yet, it was soothing and commanding. Rebecca realized she felt almost all the feelings possible to sense whenever the Devourer spoke. “You do no
t know what a friend is?” she tried not to sound too terrified.

  “No.”

  “Friends are—” Rebecca paused, realizing she had no idea how to define a friend. “I cannot believe I am educating an undying creature that eats planets about friendship,” she mumbled. “They are living beings that you have a connection to. A connection that no one else can understand.” A horrible yet true definition.

  “Interesting. Then the Lohil is my friend.”

  “Oh, boy,” Rebecca sighed. Horrible, horrible definition.

  “He and I are connected since before the beginning of time.”

  “Friends don’t usually try to kill each other.”

  “The Lohil and I are eternal. We cannot end. We put each other to sleep.”

  “Lady,” Rebecca was stunned by how naive the woman before her was—she was still not sure if calling Her a woman was correct—, “friends do not kill each other. They support each other.”

  The Devourer focused her stare on Rebecca. “I see. I now understand his pain for other humans. As his friend, I will help him stop his friends’ suffering.”

  Rebecca narrowed her eyes. Could it be…?

  “I will take him with me and put him to sleep so that my presence here will not hurt his friends.” Nope, it is not. She is still the zealot. “Where is the Lohil?”

  Rebecca shrugged. “I do not know—argh!” A sharp pain struck her right between the eyes, and she felt her breath sucked out of her lungs.

  “Please do not lie to me. Lohil tried to deceive me. I did not enjoy it.”

  “I…” Rebecca’s words escaped her. “He went to the… temple,” she whispered between breaths.

  “Thank you. Your words radiate the truth.”

  Rebecca felt ashamed for letting Ray’s secret out, but the presence in her mind was overwhelming. She literally felt the alien feeling in her brain was bigger than her skull, ripping itself out of her bones. I am sorry, Mr. Harris, I genuinely am.

  “Now—” the Devourer’s words were cut off by the sudden resurgence of bridge lights and systems.

  “Hit it now,” Rebecca bellowed at Lieutenant Commander Jong. “Take us out of here!”

  Lieutenant Commander Jong shook out of his trance with Rebecca's thunder-like voice and pressed the holographic buttons with inhuman speed fueled by his panic.

  This time, the engines' healthy sound filled the bridge once again, and Rebecca felt the strange feeling of being pulled apart before a jump. All she could do was to hold her breath and hope the Devourer would not end up standing before her, still on the bridge after they were done. Because she was dead sure what she saw on the creature's ageless, expressionless face was ‘disappointment.’ And Rebecca’s gut feeling screamed at her, telling her not to risk disappointing the Devourer.

  VENGEANCE

  The human ship flickered and disappeared, leaving behind a vacuum of great power, sucking her children into the bottomless, dark pit that was standing where the human vessel had been. Then blew a powerful storm, scattering her children away from the hole, throwing them hundreds of meters away with tremendous force. Earth and rocks and trees torn from the ground with the power of the human ship’s jump rained from the sky.

  She stood still at the town center, not affected by the wind or the falling pieces of trunks and rocks. She watched her children die and hurt. Her face was expressionless, of course, her muscles not knowing how to show what she felt, but she was feeling hurt. And yet, she also felt the same emotion when connected to the Lohil’s mind, or when she saw that woman’s face—this Admiral, as her subjects addressed her. Friends.

  I need to go back to the Temple and appear before the Creators.

  Yes, Mother, her minions replied over the bond. Are we going home?

  No. Some of you must stay here and continue the hunt. I will have your sisters look after you.

  We will obey the sisters.

  She waved a hand dismissively, and a centipede dug its way out of the ground a few meters away, walking toward her. She put her hand on the creature’s neck softly. I want you to find three suitable human subjects for your sisters to be reborn.

  The creature clicked and hissed and dashed into the now ruined streets of the human colony with incredible speed. A minute later, the centipede crawled from a hole nearby.

  I have found them, Mother.

  Bring them to me.

  The ground shook, and three human females plunged out of the rocks, each held by big, bony claws of a creature buried underground. The humans were dead, but it did not matter to her. She was eternal, and so was her touch.

  She walked to the first one, stopping at an arm’s reach before the corpse, and touched the female’s forehead. The human opened her eyes. Her eyes were without pupils and covered in a sickish, pale yellow light.

  “You were called Kristine,” she said, using the human form of communication.

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “You will be my Voice, passing my orders while I am away. As your purpose dictates, you are now called ‘Voice.’”

  “I am your Voice. I will carry your word to the swarm.”

  The Devourer walked to the next woman and woke her. “You are Ellen.”

  “This body was called Ellen, Mother.”

  “You will be my Observer. You will track down the Lohil and his friends.” She caressed the Observer’s hair covered in dust, revealing her face.

  “I am the Observer.”

  She moved to face the final woman and touched her forehead. A small bullet popped out of her skull, and the Devourer watched the injury heal itself. “What was your name?”

  “Erika.”

  “You will be my Vengeance.”

  The bond suddenly felt anger, rage.

  “I did not command you to show feelings.”

  The woman sneered. “You let him get away and hurt my brothers and sisters. You are responsible for their deaths.”

  The next moment, Erika’s body was flying toward the city ruins like a rag doll, all her bones broken by the sheer force of her Mother’s slap. Before her body fell on the ground, one of the flying bats caught her midair, bringing Erika to drop her before the Devourer.

  “Know your place.”

  “I…” Vengeance glared, her red eyes sparkling in anger, but then lowered her gaze. “I am sorry, Mother. These human feelings are new to me. I am confused.”

  “I know, child.”

  “What is your bidding, Mother?”

  “You will find that woman and her ship, and you will deliver a message.”

  “A message?” Vengeance looked at her Mother. “What is this message that requires your Vengeance?”

  “My disappointment.”

  SIMPLER TIMES

  Ray checked the radar screen one more time. “Nothing.”

  “Maybe we’ve really lost them, and our guest was sincere.”

  Ray shrugged. “One way to find out. We’ll stick to the plan.” He looked at the navigation screen and clicked his tongue. “Four more jumps, and we’ll be at the coordinates Sim’Ra gave us.”

  “You trust him?”

  “No.” Ray set the jump drive and got up. “But I don’t see any other option. If he’s really the mastermind of this Baeal invasion, it would be foolish not to expect him to weave in one scheme or another.” He patted Sarah’s shoulder, and she covered his hand with hers for a moment. Girlfriend? Wife? Friend? What are we, really? “I’ll check on the old man.”

  “Meow,” Darty stretched her legs, her eyes closing in comfort and relaxation. She stood up from her favorite spot on the cockpit: near the communications panel and the canopy and rubbed her head on Sarah’s arm as if to say, “I like you, male human, but the female human is mine.”

  Sarah chuckled, scratching Darty’s head. “Don’t be hard on him.”

  Ray opened his arms. “What?”

  “The man’s old and tired, Ray. Let him have his crazy way is all I’m saying.”

  “Meow.”

 
“See,” Sarah took Darty to her lap. “The cat agrees.”

  “The cat agrees, great.” Ray sighed and left the cockpit. He took his time going to the mess hall, taking the lower deck stairs first, walking Fox's corridors, and listening to the engine’s low rumbling. It needed some tweaking, but the ship was in surprisingly good shape for yearlong inactivity. He came to the cargo bay, where food and water crates were piled in one corner and spare fuel cells tied to cargo clamps opposite. He put his hands on one of the containers, slowly moving them from one side to the other. Then he touched the cargo-hold computer, brought up the manifest screen, fiddled with the inventory. It was out of date, of course, but that didn’t matter. This time, Ray felt at home.

  “Peaceful, isn’t it?” Elaine’s voice irked him.

  “It is,” Ray said, without turning. “It reminds me of simpler times.”

  “I can relate.”

  Ray looked at Elaine. She was sitting on the floor behind a container with a tin cup and a flask to accompany. She poured some more and quaffed it in one gulp, shaking her head with a sour face. “This stuff, it’s heavy.”

  “I know. I brewed it.”

  “From cabbages?”

  “No. Cabbages aren’t good for that. Not much sugar in it.” Ray moved beside Elaine and let his body fall near her, leaning to another create nearby. “It’s good old barley grain. I traded them for cabbages and some other stuff I seed.”

  “So, cabbages bought the stuff. Close enough.” She passed the flask to him, and Ray accepted gladly, taking a big sip. “How do you keep it together?”

  “I don’t.” Ray pointed at the flask. “That helps, sometimes.”

  Elaine looked at him, judging. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

  “For what?”

  “I just freaked out. You’re not like how I dreamed of you.”

  Ray took another sip. “How did you dream?”

  “Fragile. Looking older and weaker. Or maybe having fun with other women. I don’t know,” Elaine said. “Sarah doesn’t count,” she added, raising a finger. “She’s family. And she’s good for you. I always liked her.”