Inversion (Riven Worlds Book Two)

by G. S. Jennsen

  He could speculate, of course. Ferdinand had attempted a coup of Concord, half-assed in the execution as per usual. Casmir assumed the attempt had failed, else a lot of things would be proceeding differently now. The identity of his guard suggested Otto was a participant in Ferdinand’s schemes and likely operating out of the building, which meant the Machim elassons loyal in practice to Otto—three to four of them—were on board as well.

  So a conclave of elassons—possibly a quorum, but it would be a close call—were gathered together to see if they could manufacture a future for themselves (and their Dynasties, eventually) without anyone, whether it be the Directorate or Concord, telling them how to do it.

  He didn’t hold out much hope for the endeavor. He was a poor excuse for a leader, but at least he’d actually led on occasion. The people he imagined squabbling and shouting upstairs right now? As elassons, they were uncommonly intelligent, clever and resourceful, but millennia of serving as the Primors’ favored children meant they were also arrogant, headstrong and uncompromising. They were bullies, and if Ferdinand’s increasingly foul moods during his visits were any indication, they were blowing a fair number of gaskets upon finding it impossible to out-bully one another.

  Casmir didn’t relish the thought of being in that room, but he wanted out of this one even more. Machims did not sit idly by while the world burned. Which, between the Rasu and the Asterions, the Savrakaths and the coup attempt, he must infer it was currently in the process of doing.

  He’d be able to overpower the asi easily enough and confiscate the man’s weapon. But he had to believe Ferdinand had Vigil officers stationed every ten meters, and without a detailed layout of the building he would be run to ground soon enough.

  He was standing to go make some coffee when the door to the suite opened. The visitor was neither Ferdinand nor his asi guard, however. Instead, a Kyvern man, an ela by the cut of him, stood in the doorway.

  “Can I help you?”

  “A message for you, sir.” The man held out a case enclosing a tiny Reor slab.

  Casmir approached him warily. “From whom?”

  “I’m sure I don’t know, sir. I was instructed to deliver it to you.”

  “Instructed by whom?”

  The man simply stared at him, hand and case extended.

  “I see.” Casmir took the case and turned it over to check it for tripwires or tiny explosives. When he looked up again the man was gone, the door closing behind him.

  He sat on the couch and activated the slab.

  Navarchos Casmir elasson-Machim,

  We thank you for your continued loyalty to Concord. We recognize that acting at odds with your fellow elassons cannot be an easy path for you to walk. The current disagreement between Concord and certain members of the Anaden leadership remains in a state of flux, but we hope to resolve it without further bloodshed.

  In the meantime, Concord is now in a state of war against the Savrakath government. Accordingly, on behalf of Concord Command, we authorize you to lead such Machim fleets as are at your disposal against any and all Savrakath military targets. Fire at will, and help us end a pointless war before more Concord citizens die.

  — Commandant Miriam Solovy

  Concord Command

  He set the slab on the table and stared at it while he connected the dots. The Kyvern ela was a Concord spy, clearly, reporting back to CINT Director Navick on everything that transpired here. And now acting as a conduit from Command to Casmir.

  He allowed himself a minuscule smile as something akin to hope blossomed in his chest. The only way out of this trap was to maneuver past it, and he’d just been handed a key to the first door.

  Before he got too carried away with dreams of freedom and honor restored, he forced himself to refocus. First, the message.

  The request made sense. If he knew Commandant Solovy at all, and he’d like to think he did, she would desperately want the Savrakath problem to disappear so she could direct all resources to the Rasu problem. He suspected she very much wanted her Anaden problem to disappear as well. And perhaps if he got himself out of this room and into the one upstairs, pretending to play along while building trust with the other Machims, he might in time be able to help with that as well.

  He’d need to lie—only a little, which was lucky considering he was a terrible liar. But what if everything depended on it? He decided to assume it did, so lie he would. Only a little.

  The smile returned. It felt good to have a purpose and direction. If he were honest with himself, it felt good to be given orders he could follow.

  Ferdinand acted distracted as he strode into the suite displaying yet more agitation than on previous visits. “You wish to have a word with me?”

  Casmir nodded soberly. “I do. I’m concerned about what’s happening here. You and I will never see eye to eye, but I want our people to be protected. To thrive and succeed. Will you tell me, how are the Machim fleets currently being deployed?”

  Ferdinand peered at him in suspicion, hesitating.

  “You lose nothing by telling me. But I am a Machim elasson, and I need to know.”

  “To the extent they are being deployed at all, it is in a defensive capacity—here, Machimis and the other homeworlds.”

  “We’re not attacking the Savrakaths? Or the Rasu?”

  “No. Nor are we attacking Concord, which is the question you didn’t ask. Your brothers and sisters are having some difficulty reaching agreement among themselves, never mind among the rest of us, as to the best course of action.”

  Color him not surprised. Machim elassons excelled at executing on battlefield tactics, but the Primor had always conceived of the broader strategies underlying those tactics.

  He tried to make a show of engaging in deep, soul-searching thought. “That’s unfortunate, but not surprising. Maintaining resilient defenses of all our homeworlds is an utmost necessity, but it leaves us with many idle ships. In my considered opinion, the obvious choice is to use them to dispose of the Savrakaths forthwith. They are the easiest target, and their antimatter weapons represent an unacceptable threat to our people.”

  “Are you willing to attempt to convince the other elassons of the wisdom of this plan?”

  “No, but I am willing to order them to execute on it. Ferdinand, release me from this lockdown, and I will lead our forces against the Savrakaths for you—but solely against the Savrakaths. I refuse to attack any Concord interests.”

  “And you will not betray us to those Concord interests?”

  “I will not betray you to anyone.”

  Ferdinand regarded him inscrutably. “I confess that while Hannah, Otto, Ulrich and the others speak with much gusto around the table, none of them seems capable of….”

  “Leading?”

  “To put a fine point on it.”

  “Then allow me to lead them.”

  Ferdinand’s expression softened; the man would never admit it, but he too craved direction given by someone who acted as if they deserved to issue it. “Why have you changed your mind?”

  “The Rasu are an enemy worthy of respect. The best strategy at present is for us to dispose of the Savrakath annoyance as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that we may focus our attention on what represents a genuine threat.”

  “The Rasu are barely on the horizon and—”

  “Ferdinand, do not try to be a military strategist. It doesn’t suit you. As a Machim elasson, I am telling you the Rasu are a formidable threat to every Anaden.”

  “Fine. We can argue over them and Concord at our leisure once the Savrakaths are…how did you put it? ‘Disposed of.’ ” The man clasped his hands in front of him. “I accept your offer. Do not make me regret it.”

  “I won’t, and thank you.” He made sure to look stern. “I’ll need a ship.”

  “You will find your Imperium in orbit here above Epithero, waiting for your return.”

  34

  * * *

  AKESO

  Tree b
ranches scraped against windows relentlessly pelted by arrows of driving rain. Alex pulled the bedcovers up over her head…but after a few seconds she shoved them back down again. She didn’t truly want to silence the storm, for it told her Caleb was alive. More than this, it offered her a glimpse into the state of his psyche. Was every lashing of a branch synchronized to him slicing a blade through Rasu metal? Every clap of thunder roaring in time to the slamming of his fist?

  It might not be quite so literal as that, but the dual message was coming through loud and clear: Caleb continued to fight and kill, and Akeso’s objections to his actions continued without respite.

  The creek was overflowing its banks, the meadow had devolved to a sludgy mud pit and the shredded limbs from hundreds of splintered trees littered the landscape. Another day or two of this temper tantrum, and she was going to need to worry about the house flooding. In fact, she should pick up a crate of pop-up water barriers tomorrow…she checked the time…later today.

  Ugh. She’d been lying awake for hours now, her mind traipsing through a recap of Malcolm’s funeral, the Stalwart II exploding, the attack on HQ, her mother miraculously waking up…she couldn’t recap Caleb leaving because when she’d turned around, he was simply gone. But she’d witnessed what he’d seen before the wormhole to Namino collapsed through Mia’s eyes, so Marlee tumbling through the air after being mauled by a Rasu enthusiastically participated in the slideshow.

  Sleep was not going to join her tonight, so she sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She’d spent the last week running herself ragged trying to help her mother, and by extension, Concord, and by further extension, the Asterions. Her mother remained stubbornly resistant to coddling or being fussed over; Alex took comfort from this, for it surely meant Miriam had emerged from regenesis fundamentally herself. But it made performing her chosen role as hyper-supportive daughter a mite challenging.

  So she should maybe concentrate her efforts to help on an area where she was actually qualified to act: ships. Protecting the people inside them while using them to defeat the enemy.

  Kennedy had ginned up a number of improvements to their ship designs that reduced the number of hull seams. But the Rasu only needed a single seam to effect their insidious incursions, which meant their ships remained at risk of being swallowed whole and boarded by the enemy. Increased Rifter use could mitigate the risk, but only if battles were fought outside the buffer zone of a planet or station, and she doubted the Rasu would be amenable to polite requests for a change of scenery. The impenetrable double-shielding used on Imperiums should keep the Rasu out, but the Machims had hoarded the secrets of the shielding for fourteen years now, and considering they were currently in political revolt, they weren’t apt to agreeably hand it over now.

  …Wait. She knew something. In her quest to overnight become a Concord power player just so she could help her mother, she’d reviewed volumetric tonnes of information, enlisting Valkyrie to collate and catalog the reams of data into a semblance of order. Now she called up the data stores and began sifting through them with renewed urgency. What did she know…?

  Right, that. She climbed out of bed and went to the sink to splash water on her face, then tied her hair back in a messy tail.

  Dad, are you awake?

  How did you guess?

  Call it a suspicion. What about Mom?

  Your mother left to go to the office an hour ago.

  Has something happened?

  Not in the way you mean. She merely…needs to work.

  Is that healthy?

  Probably not. But have you ever tried to stop your mother from doing something she has decided she will do?

  Good point. Get dressed, and I’ll pick you up in five minutes.

  Oh? Where are we going?

  You seem to be highly skilled at stealing ships, so let’s go steal a ship.

  EARTH

  Greater Vancouver

  “We can’t steal a ship from the Machimis Military Annex. They won’t even let us land there, and given the current conflict, they’ll likely fire on us the instant we show up on scans.”

  “Much as I’d like to see them try, the Imperium in question isn’t at the Machimis Military Annex, but instead at the Concord Dry Dock in MW Sector 9. The damage it suffered in the Savrak battle wasn’t severe, and they mainly needed somewhere to park it long enough to complete internal repairs. But then Mom gave Casmir a new Imperium, the crew transferred ships, and this Imperium remained in dock. It originally belonged to Torval, and he’s not available to retake command. All the other Machim elassons have their own Imperiums, so it’s sitting there idle, forgotten by anyone who might have authority to claim it.”

  David regarded her speculatively from where he sat at the kitchen table in her parents’ house. He looked as if he’d been getting about as much sleep as she had, but at least his hair was brushed and his clothes unwrinkled, unlike hers. “The Sector 9 Dry Dock, huh?”

  “Yep.”

  “It’s still a military facility, and one now controlled by Machim forces.”

  “Sure, but it’ll be far less guarded than the Annex, and all the infrastructure is Concord. The only reason the Machims got hold of it was because no AEGIS vessels were docked there at the time of their so-called rebellion. Besides, it’s not as if we’ll be knocking on the front door asking to be let inside.” She jingled the tiny Caeles Prism on her wrist.

  “Okay, that gets us on the bridge. Is the ship flight-worthy? What’s the status of the repairs?”

  She shrugged. “It flew into dock. It can fly out of dock. We’re not taking it into battle, so everything except propulsion is window dressing.”

  “True. Do you think station security is just going to let us undock and abscond with a Machim command ship?”

  “No, I do not.” She opened the refrigerator and hunted for an energy drink; she’d forgotten to bring one from home, and despite her frayed nerves and rest-deprived body, she didn’t expect to be sleeping anytime soon. Finally, she spotted one in the back and dug it out. “I figure if you have Richard’s access codes, you have Mom’s as well. Don’t you?” She tried to keep any acrimony out of her voice, but she didn’t entirely succeed.

  “As I explained to Richard, I only pilfered them for use in a ‘worst-case scenario’ situation. I never had nefarious intentions.”

  She took a long sip of the energy drink. “You sound like Caleb.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Did I never tell you the story about how not long after we met, he secretly had Mia use Meno to crack the Siyane’s security measures and grant him flying rights? When we were on Portal Prime, he used those rights to fly the ship to a location from where he could rescue me from Mesme’s evil clutches. Well, not evil as such, but they felt evil at the time.”

  “See?” David spread his arms wide. “There are times when we have to do things that aren’t technically ‘proper’ in order to save the people we love.”

  “Which is why you used Richard’s access codes—to help Caleb save Marlee.”

  “Yes!”

  But what about saving Caleb? She pursed her lips to keep from voicing the question aloud, for in her heart she recognized there was no good answer. Sometimes every choice hurt someone.

  The conversation lulled into an uneasy silence, and she finished off the energy drink before shooting him a light, if forced, smile. “You do have Mom’s access codes, don’t you? Wait, never mind. You had them during the HQ attack.”

  “She changed them as soon as she woke up—not because of me, because of the Rasu. But yes…” he had the decency to act mildly chagrined “…I have the new ones.”

  She couldn’t fairly fuss at him when she’d counted on precisely this. “Good. I’m playing a bet that the provisional Machim station security hasn’t thought to change all the underlying ship authorization protocols.”

  “Because if they haven’t, Miri’s access codes will allow us to cancel the ship’s lockdown and clear it for departure.”
/>   “Correct.”

  “I hope you’re right. Can I assume you know how to fly a Machim warship?”

  “Please, Dad. I’ve known how to fly a Machim warship since I hacked into the Machim Central Command Complex servers fourteen years ago. Or Valkyrie’s known, anyway.”

  “I am officially out of holes to poke in your plan.” He stood and grabbed his jacket. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go steal a ship.”

  MW SECTION 9 DRY DOCK

  (OWNERSHIP CONTESTED)

  The Imperium’s bridge stretched almost twenty percent larger than the bridge—former and soon again bridge—of her mother’s flagship vessel, and it conveyed none of the warmth of the Stalwart II. Of course, the warmth had always originated more from the occupants than the structural design. Due to the docking angle, the wide viewport displayed only the curving chrome metal of the station’s hull.

  David gestured grandly around the empty bridge. “I cede the floor to you. Tell me when you need me.”

  She fished her trusty Reor block—a universal decryption key to the secrets stored in other such blocks—out of her pocket and held it aloft in front of her. “Work your magic, Valkyrie.”

  ‘A moment.’ The voice echoed disembodied through the bridge, as Valkyrie had elected not to instantiate her virtual form here. It required a lot of her processing power to instantiate, and so would her activities for the next few minutes.

  ‘Navarchos Casmir’s personal command codes are stored on a Reor block contained within the server bank inside the rear wall. I have the codes.’ A multitude of screens and stations lit up throughout the bridge.

  Alex stepped up to the bridge overlook, where the primary control panel waited for instructions, and gave it a sharp frown. Casmir’s command codes gave her control, but if she didn’t want to accidentally blow up the ship, she needed some guidelines on systems operation. When she’d said she ‘knew’ how to fly a Machim warship, she’d meant it in the loosest sense.