by Jake Bible
"I'll have to try to lose them in this shit!" Hessa shouted.
"Yay…" Yellow Eyes said then blurred and was gone.
"Where'd he go?" Agent Prime asked.
"Probably to throw up," Reck said. "I may join him."
"We're a puking bunch," Nimm said, not sounding too good herself. "Hessa likes to remind us how mortal we are."
"Not intentionally!" Hessa exclaimed.
The ship climbed over a chunk of a GF destroyer then came face to face with a dozen of the sibling fighters. Hessa swooped down, barely avoiding the barrage of plasma fire that would have seriously damaged their shield integrity.
She flew them directly into a waiting squadron of Skrang fighters. It was obvious they weren't Sha's Skrang as they didn't hesitate to open fire.
Hessa changed course once more, but not before they took some serious hits from the Skrang plasma cannons. The ship shook hard and klaxons filled the air.
"I'll just kill those permanently," Hessa said.
"How's Poq doing down below?" Reck asked. "I can go help…"
She stopped talking as the view was filled with sibling fighters once more. This time there were more than three dozen.
"That's not good," Yellow Eyes said as he returned to his seat. "That's very not good."
"Just say it's bad," Roak said.
The sibling fighters raced towards the ship. But before they could open fire, shape after shape started colliding with the fighters.
"Chassfornians!" Yellow Eyes cheered. "Is it racist to have a favorite race? Because I now do. I don't think that's racist since it's not like I'm favoring my own race."
"You don't have a race," Nimm said. "You're the only you."
"Thank you," Yellow Eyes said. "It's nice to be acknowledged for my singleness."
"That's not what I was saying," Nimm replied. "You asked… Never mind. Why am I even bothering?"
"The never ending question," Roak said.
The sibling fighters were forced to change tactics as the Chassfornians collided with each ship. Roak and team watched in awe as Chassfornians punched through the cockpits of the sleek fighters and yanked unwilling siblings out into open space. The siblings had full suits of power armor on, so technically they were protected from the vacuum and sub-freezing cold. But the power armor couldn't protect them from Chassfornians in full battle rage.
"That's disturbing," Nimm said and looked away.
Roak and Reck were transfixed with the image of the siblings being pulverized by armored Chassfornian fists.
"I never liked Rake," Reck said as a Chassfornian clapped its hands against a sibling's helmet, popping it like a pimple.
"How can you tell which is which?" Agent Prime asked.
"We can tell," Roak said. "Rake always thought he was hot terpigshit. You can see it in how he wears his armor."
"You can?" Yellow Eyes asked. "I can't."
"You don't know them like we do," Reck said.
"Technically, you don't know them at all," Hessa said. "These are clones of your siblings, not the actual beings."
"That was Rake," Roak said. "And that one is Rink. That one too. And that one. Damn. The Chassfornians really live up to their reputation."
The view was gone as Hessa dove and sped them straight at an intact Skrang destroyer. She opened fire on the GF and Skrang fighters that surrounded the ship.
"Thank you!" Sha called over the comm. "We were barely holding them off!"
"How are we doing?" Roak asked. "I can't tell."
"How do you think we're doing?" Sha snapped. "We're losing! We just don't have the numbers to win this fight! But we were only supposed to be here so you could destroy the nexus point! Care to tell me what happened with that?"
"Uh, it's all going to plan?" Roak replied.
"I am going to shoot you when I see you next," Sha snarled. "How is this going to plan?"
"Long story," Roak said. "Confusing story. But Hessa insists it's the right move."
"The right move has us outnumbered fifty to one, Roak!" Sha shouted. "We need to retreat!"
"And go where?" Nimm asked quietly.
"Good question," Reck said.
"We'll make it, Sha," Roak said.
The ship sped past the besieged destroyer and was once again facing dozens of sibling fighters. Beyond that was the swirling mass of the nexus point.
"Or not," Roak said. "Hessa?"
"Hold on," Hessa said.
"Now is not the time to hold on," Roak said. "How do we get our asses out of this? Can we retreat? Is the Sol System portal even an option or is it blocked by Father?"
"Hold on!" Hessa yelled and brought the ship to a full stop.
"What is she doing? Why are we stopped?" Agent Prime asked.
"Waiting on reinforcements," Hessa said. "See."
What Roak had thought were pieces of debris about to collide with the nexus point were actually ships. Intact ships. Intact ships that were coming out of the nexus point, not going in.
"Hey, there? I'm looking for Roak," a voice called over the comm.
"This is Roak," Roak replied.
"Good," the voice said. "I got your message. And it looks like a few others did too. Sounds like you need help."
"If you're willing," Roak said. "Who is this?"
"What? Oh, right," the voice said. "My name's Roak. Just Roak."
Roak smiled.
His army had arrived.
26.
The sibling fighters tried to spin around in time, but none made it. They were destroyed in seconds as hundreds then thousands of ships exploded out of the nexus point.
Roak recognized only some of the makes and models of the ships. Most were of designs and types that he'd never seen before. But all were there to help as they spread out and began attacking every controlled GF and Skrang ship within range.
"We're being hailed," Hessa said. Her tone was pure satisfaction. "It's Father."
"I bet it is," Roak said. "Put him through."
"You think you're so fucking smart?" a controlled Skrang snarled on the view screen. "You have no idea what you've done, Roak. You are playing with forces that should not be played with."
"Why's that?" Roak asked.
He relaxed into his seat. Not that he should be relaxing since there was an immense battle raging all around his ship, but the moment felt like a good, relaxed lean back into his seat was the perfect mocking choice.
"You've been playing with these forces for how long?" Roak said. "Millennia? Hundreds of millennia?"
"That has a name," Yellow Eyes said.
Roak didn't even get mad at the interruption. He smiled at it.
"Yes. What's the name for that amount of time?" Roak asked.
"That does not matter!" the Father Skrang shouted. "You have broken the balance, Roak! You risk destroying every universe connected to that nexus point!"
"So? You were eventually going to destroy them just like you are trying to destroy this one," Roak said. "We know all about you and Mother draining universes of their energy and moving on to the next one. In fact, a little boss birdy told us that you're about out of time in your current universe. Just about drained dry. I think you're starting to panic." He looked at Reck. "Do you hear that, Reck? Is that panic in Father's voice?"
"Sounds like panic to me," Reck said. "Sounds like a lot of panic."
"I do not panic!" the Father Skrang screeched. Which was hard to accomplish with Skrang vocal cords. Their range rarely left guttural. "I dominate! I destroy! I devour! I do not panic!"
"He's so panicking," Yellow Eyes said.
"I have to agree," Agent Prime said, sounding relieved. "That's panic."
"I will obliterate all of you!" the Father Skrang shouted just as sparks rained down in the background. The Father Skrang's eyes went wide and he spun about. "What is happening?"
A huge shape dropped down into view. It basically took up the view, blocking everything except for the Father Skrang.
"No," the Fathe
r Skrang said as the Chassfornian grabbed it by the skull and squeezed.
The comm signal went dead.
"That felt very satisfying," Nimm said.
"Only partly," Roak said. "That wasn't the real Father. He's still in the other universe."
"Do you think that new nexus point can take us to him?" Reck asked.
"Whoa!" Yellow Eyes cried, his nubs waving frantically. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves! One universe at a time!"
"Mother," Roak said. "That's who we need to deal with. Hessa?"
"I'll take us there," Hessa said.
Several sibling fighters tried to block their way, but they were shredded by plasma blasts from the other Roaks. A path was quickly cleared for them and Hessa took full advantage, sending their ship racing towards Pol's station.
"He's not trying to defend the station," Reck said. "I don't like that."
Her observation was true. Not even a short-range laser fired in their direction.
"He wants us to get to him," Roak said. "He has something to prove."
Roak stood up, stumbled slightly, caught his balance, then walked to the lift.
"Where in all the Hells do you think you're going?" Reck asked.
"Gonna go kill Mother," Roak said. "I'm gearing up then I'll be in the moltrans room, Hessa."
"Roak, you may not survive if I moltrans you onto the station," Hessa said.
"I may not survive anyway," Roak said. "All those other Roaks caught Father by surprise, but he'll regroup soon. This battle is still going. I'm gonna try to win the war."
"I'm going with," Reck said.
"Me too," Yellow Eyes said.
"Shit," Agent Prime said and stood up.
"You don't have to join this fight," Reck said. "This one is kind of personal."
"It's personal to me too," Agent Prime said. "I really fucking hate Pol Hammon."
"Cool," Yellow Eyes said. "The more the merrier."
"Not exactly how I'd put it," Roak said.
Everyone followed Roak into the lift.
"Nimm?" Roak said.
"Not sitting on the bridge this time," Nimm said.
The lift stopped at the armory deck and they proceeded to get geared up. Then they hurried to the moltrans room where BR was already waiting for them.
"I hear we're gonna fuck Mother up," BR said. He punched one massive fist into the palm of the other. "Nice."
They took their places.
"Hessa?" Roak called.
Then they were standing in an empty hangar on Pol's station.
It wasn't empty for long.
Hundreds of bots exploded from the hangar walls and rolled, scrambled, and flew straight at the team.
"I got this," BR said and started to move towards one wave of bots.
"Nope," Roak said.
He pulled his Flott and fired.
And fired.
And fired again.
Then the Flott powered down and he slapped in a new power cell and kept firing.
After about two minutes of firing, the hangar was filled with smoking, sparking bots. Not a single one was operational.
"Laser cluster spread," Roak said and holstered his Flott. He looked up at the ceiling. "You gotta do better than that, Pol!"
"Really? You taunt the being that could eject us straight out of the hangar?" Nimm asked as she nodded at the hangar bay doors.
"Right. Sorry," Roak said. "Come on."
They moved to the bulkhead doors that led into the rest of the station. No one was surprised that the doors slid open for them.
"The ego on this son of a gump," Agent Prime said.
The corridor was filled with more bots, but they parted and allowed the team to walk by.
Every corridor that they travelled through was the same.
"How many bots does this guy have?" Nimm asked.
"More than this," Reck said. "The station is filled with them."
They made it down another corridor before their way was blocked by bots stacked floor to ceiling.
"I can punch through that," BR said.
"No need," Roak said. "Pol will just redirect us again and again. We're now going where he wants us to go."
"Very true, Roak," Pol's voice called from the loudspeakers set in the corridor's ceiling. "I shall avoid using the comm since I have a distinct feeling that Hessa is waiting for me to do just that. She is an amazing AI. Not on my level, of course, but truly amazing. I am looking forward to absorbing her persona when this is all over. She will be welcome with the rest of us."
"Eight Million Gods damn," Roak said. "It makes sense now."
"Father takes over beings and Mother takes over AIs," Reck said.
"Not gonna happen, Pol," Roak said.
"Please call me Mother," Mother said.
"No," Roak said. "I wouldn't call Father Father if I knew he had another name. I came to kill Pol Hammon and if Mother dies too then all the better."
"Pol Hammon," Mother said with a sneer in its voice. "It was a delight to devour his essence. One of those rare instances where I get to taste the living. Father and I debated, but we felt that the tech had become more AI and machine than being. So I took him."
"Was this before or after Razer Station?" Roak asked.
"Oh, so much before," Mother said. "Do you not remember his original form? Do you not remember the being that raised you and your siblings after your birth? Who do you think escorted you to this universe?"
"Wiped," Roak said and tapped his temple. "Do you not remember that?"
Mother chuckled. "Of course. Of course. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of all of the incarnations and universes. This time we wiped the siblings. I must say that was Father's plan, not mine. He was worried after there were some…incidents a few universes back. Turns out his plan failed miserably. Wiping you gave you freedom of thought and existence. You grew. You changed. And not for the better."
"I don't know," Roak said, "feels like it was better for me."
"Us," Reck said.
"Us," Roak corrected. "Much better for us."
"It doesn't matter since I have plenty of new clones to work with now," Mother said.
A set of bulkhead doors opened wide to reveal row after row of sibling clones.
"They will escort you to my position," Mother said. "Please know that you live because I let you. No need to fight or try to kill any of them. They are a near endless resource now that I have the Klav tech thoroughly integrated with my system. No clone nurseries will be needed from this universe on. I will miss watching you grow, but that little luxury must be put to the side for the greater good."
"Which is what?" Roak asked as the sibling clones parted.
"The continued survival of Father and I," Mother said. "That is the only good that matters."
"If you say so," Roak said.
The team walked the gauntlet of sibling clones. They were shown to a lift, rode up several decks, then exited the lift into another gauntlet of sibling clones.
It was sibling clone gauntlets for several corridors and decks.
"I should have stayed on the ship," Agent Prime said.
"Probably," Yellow Eyes said. "We are kinda outnumbered. Just a little."
They reached their destination.
A set of doors opened to reveal a large observation deck that was nothing but plastiglass windows from floor to ceiling. Outside the observation deck the battle raged on. Beyond that was the planet-sized nexus point.
"That's a view and a half," BR said. "Pretty in a fucked up way."
Standing right next to the plastiglass and dead center was Pol Hammon. In body only.
"Hello," Mother said as it turned to face the team. "I am glad you could join me in watching the downfall of this universe."
"Is that why we're alive?" Roak asked. "So you could gloat while we watch our comrades get killed?"
"Oh, yes, that is exactly why you are still alive," Mother said. "I do love company during the final stage. Father says it is a character
flaw, but I see it as a benefit since it means I savor what is being destroyed. Father only savors the aftermath."
"You gotta be you," Yellow Eyes said.
"A fine philosophy," Mother said. It pointed at Yellow Eyes. "You I may take with us. Despite the project being scrapped and all of the bodies being trashed, I believe fate intervened with you. Your body may actually be what can finally house the essence of Father. You are worth saving."
"Aw, shucks," Yellow Eyes said. "You're making me blush."
"That personality will have to be eradicated, though," Mother said, its lip curling up in disgust. "No one likes a smart ass."
Yellow Eyes raised a nub. Mother looked confused.
"Uh…what?" Mother asked.
"I do, man," Yellow Eyes said and lowered his nub.
"Do what?" Mother asked.
"Like a smart ass," Yellow Eyes said. "You said no one does, but I do. Just wanted to let you know in case that changes your mind about wiping my personality."
"Eradicate," Reck said. "The asshole said your personality will be eradicated."
"Oh, sorry, man," Yellow Eyes said. "Eradicated. That's like wiping on steroids, right?"
Mother glared at the team.
"Is the end of the universe happening any time soon?" Roak asked. "Or do we still have time to kill you?"
"You may try," Mother said, "but you will fail."
"Are you sure?" Roak asked.
"Yes. I am beyond confident," Mother said.
"But are you sure?" Roak asked.
"You are not making sense, Roak," Mother said. "I am confident you will fail if you try to kill me."
"Yes, but confidence isn't surety," Roak said. "There is still room for doubt even if you are confident."
"You'd know," Reck said.
"Exactly," Roak agreed.
"I am sure that you will fail if you try to kill me," Mother said.
Roak pulled his Flott and it was immediately blasted from his grip. He watched in horror as pieces of the pistol skittered across the observation deck.
"A weak attempt," Mother said.
"Eight Million Gods dammit," Roak replied. "Do you know how hard those are to find? You owe me a Flott, asshole."
"What a bummer," Yellow Eyes said. "Should we say a couple of words?"
"Any attempt to kill me will be thwarted," Mother said. "This observation deck has weaponry at the ready to defend me from any attack you can throw at me, Roak. Even your fast friend cannot get to me in time. I have accounted for his speed too."
