Gateways

by Aer-ki Jyr

  That’s not an option for us. Will these swarms be able to take care of themselves in your absence?

  Of course. We have agreed as much. Why do you ask again?

  This location doesn’t seem conducive to their thriving.

  To other forms it would not be, but I have fashioned these to create their own starlight, and to move with friction in the nebula as they pull in and then expel the material.

  Is it not too thin for that?

  If you wish to move quickly you will be unable to here, but they can move slowly, and have the ability to grapple onto others to share momentum. This is not a place of combat, it is a sea of tranquility.

  Every place can become a place of combat, and it sounds like they would be easy targets here.

  Heidoor of their size are always easy targets. Surviving the environment is the greater challenge for them, and I have rewritten them to that task. It is up to us to protect them, is it not?

  I prefer if they were able to protect themselves, but you’re not wrong on the large scale. However, there are smaller scale threats to Megaloids.

  Not here. Though I have constructed several larger versions of defenders to watch over them. They are still in cocoon, but when they emerge they will be able to move as your ship does and carry one of your Uriti weapons, in small scale.

  Oh? I thought you didn’t want to build any such things?

  I may have knowledge of eons past, but I am still new to being a Jedein. I have seen your wisdom and am adjusting to our new place in the stars. In the cold, here, such weapons will be effective. So it is an adequate use of them, and my defenders can be where I cannot.

  Are they full-sized Uriti?

  They are not Uriti. I merely learned to replicate their weaponry, and have refined it to my purposes. When they are complete you may verify their effectiveness and temperament before allowing them to travel.

  What’s the other large presence I am sensing here?

  It is the reason I have summoned you. I have discovered a native to this nebula. It has been here for a very long time, hurting, damaged, and I am slowly healing it as my wards supply necessary building blocks. It is what we call a ‘Nightcrawler,’ for it is one of many races that originate in the dark places beyond galaxies.

  Amir raised his eyebrows as he stared out the main viewscreen at the side of the glowing Jedein partially obscured by the nebula haze. I thought they couldn’t exist here?

  Most cannot, but there are intermediary creatures that cannot stand the stars themselves, but hide in the dim places such as nebula. They exude almost no energy, but the small amount they do is toxic to those who can only live in the dark places. The Nightcrawlers must exist between the two realms, and have no place to call home. They are being purged where this one came from, and it is afraid of me. It has not seen another not of its kind that was not an enemy for a very long time.

  How can you interact with it without damaging it?

  Carefully. I must suppress my emissions to get close, but its structure is more like ours than the dark ones. I am learning its genetic song, enough to begin healing it. There is much unknown to me, but they are in great need. Have you seen others of their kind?

  Not to my knowledge. How did it get here?

  It has a way of moving unknown to me, but it is very slow acceleration in areas where we cannot go. It searched for sufficient darkness to hide in, and traveled near many stars…too many, before finding this place. It is badly damaged from the journey, but also from the purge.

  The purge occurred beyond the galaxies?

  It did. I cannot leave it now. I apologize for reneging on previous agreements.

  I understand and agree, Amir said before he could go on. This takes priority.

  I can also attend to the Hadarak in all their forms if you bring them here, but healing this one and learning its ways will take longer than the war.

  But you know of others?

  In legend only. I have no hard knowledge of their construction. When I understand more I wish to send scouts to other dark places in this galaxy. If more are hiding and injured, they need to be found and reconciled. They exist in groups, and being alone is as painful as its injuries.

  Can you determine a basic entry vector for us to look?

  Not you. Your sensors will sting it. I will crafted searchers when the time comes. But I need your permission for them to travel where they need to go. It will not be on your planets or in the bright areas. It will be in the darker ones.

  You have my permission, but make us aware of them so we may escort them as needed. Can I speak with this Nightcrawler?

  It does not know your language.

  Neither did the Uriti when we found them. I’d like to get a sense of what it is, and allow it to know that I am not an enemy.

  Then I will offer myself as a bridge. Prepare yourself.

  Amir took a deep breath, knowing the level of telepathy that was coming would be intense. I am ready.

  The Jedein tried to soften the blow, but there was only so much dampening one could do when interfacing with a mind that large, and it hit Amir like a freight train. Fortunately he had experience with this in the past, and he took the blows as he tried to adjust the alien mind that appeared much more fluid than expected.

  He could feel the Jedein trying to adjust both sides of the telepathy towards its own, and as it started to succeed he felt a complete shift in the Nightcrawler, almost as if it changed from one frightened mindset into another totally opposite in personality.

  Amir also felt it move, with its glowing Core accelerating towards his small ship and the Jedein, coming from the far side and pushing through nebula gasses and even the converted minions that were in its way. The Jedein twisted, warning it off as it defensively put its tendrils around Amir’s ship and pulled it in closer so it could not be attacked.

  The Nightcrawler did not seem to care, and as Amir felt the Jedein speaking to it, he also felt an Essence surge charging to defend the Star Force ship if needed.

  The telepathic bridge between them was cut…then the Nightcrawler connected directly to the scout ship’s entire crew, almost rendering him unconscious from the weight of it as the rest of his crew did pass out. Only the trailblazer was strong enough to process it, and from it he got a single concept hammering him in what he thought was an emotion of excitement coming from the Nightcrawler…or hope…or relief…or probably some emotion he didn’t even possess himself, but the concept was coming through loud and clear.

  Master.

  8

  The Jedein immediately tried to link through Amir, which he allowed, and tried to help translate despite being shut out from the other end. This behavior was completely unrecognizable to every interaction it had had with the Nightcrawler to date, and the threat level had just ramped up considerably as it was beginning to expel heat at a far greater rate than before…but Amir made the Jedein stand down, asserting that he would handle this as he pulled on all the experience he previously had had with the Uriti to try and understand the telepathic language being used.

  But he didn’t have to, for as they went back and forth with various images, feelings, and a few basic words the Nightcrawler was adapting to him faster than he was to it. Its telepathy was so powerful he had no idea if his blocks were holding or how exposed he was, but when it realized this it backed off in intensity and the two quickly began to establish a synthesis of mind.

  I do not recognize you, he said, less in words than concepts.

  You are master. Different, but same vibe. We have been lost. You told us to wait. You never returned.

  When was this?

  Amir got a mental image of stars swirling around the center of the galaxy, which apparently was how the Nightcrawler measured time. The trailblazer had no fixed point to monitor, but the visible swirling effect had to be in the hundreds of millions of years…and it wasn’t this galaxy it was showing him, nor from within it. The viewing position was far outside it.

  What
have you been waiting for?

  Your call.

  I do not know you.

  You are Master. Your body is different, but you are of their breed. You are they. What happened? Why didn’t you come?

  I don’t know what you are talking about. We are less than a million years old, he said, trying to picture this galaxy swirling a tiny amount to match. What is it that makes me familiar?

  We serve you. We know our Master. Why did you not come back?

  Does my body make me Master, or my mind?

  Both are Master. Master is conquest. Master is protector. Master holds dominion. Master directs us. Master teaches us. Master is carried in us. Master shows us our purpose. Master has been gone. Master has not spoken to us. Master left us. We waited. We waited, it repeated, and Amir could sense it emotionally crying.

  What did the other Master look like?

  The image that came into the Amir’s mind wasn’t just physical, but a mix of mental and Essence signature, as well as a fictional component that detailed the potential that its Master had, almost as if a historical tally of badassery…and it was nearly on par with the Archons.

  Except they had tails.

  I understand now, the trailblazer said, sensing a need to pick up on the other’s responsibility that was left abandoned. I do not know what happened to the others, but they are most likely dead. I will assume their place, but I need to know more of what your missions were.

  We carry Master into the dark places. We have become toxic to starlight to do this for Master, for Master cannot exist there without harming those they try to help. When Master did not return, those they helped were destroyed by others. We waited. We stayed afar. We were ignored for long time, but then they came for us. To destroy us. We fought back, killed many, and still we waited. Too many died, we had to flee to the few dark places beyond. We had to disobey to survive. Those who refused to leave were destroyed. What were we supposed to do, Master?

  Stay alive to fight another day, Amir said simply, not understanding the context, but it seemed clear that their Masters were not inclined to have left them behind willingly. Not if his assumption of their lightside status was legit. How many of you are left?

  We scattered when they pursued us. They followed us to the swirls of stars. Hunted us. We could not go where we once had. Our bodies had changed too much and we do not know how to change them back without Master. We scattered so some of us might survive. I found this dark place and they did not follow here.

  How can they survive the star light here?

  They have armored ships. Master knew of this. Master said they had attacked before and must be prevented from doing so again. They can kill in different ways. Ways we were learning. We never finished. Master never came back.

  Why did your Master leave?

  Called to war. We could not come. Our bodies would die from normal weapons in one damage. Master said they would return to us. Master never did.

  Was your Master a person or many persons?

  Many persons. I can hold many.

  How do you hold Masters?

  Inside. I am changing to match your air and light needs.

  Master rides inside you? Amir asked for clarity.

  Master cannot enter dark areas without us. We are their passage. We are their voice. We are their weapons. In us, Master can exert their will where starlight races cannot go. Darklight races will destroy them without us.

  Amir cringed for a moment, getting lost in the concepts, until the Jedein stepped in.

  Tri’vey, Tri’se, and Tri’to. Tri’to is the starlight. Tri’se is the darklight.

  Thank you, Amir said, switching telepathy back to the Nightcrawler. How do the darklight damage the starlight?

  They make them bleed. They make them toxic. They make them die. Master tried to make us immune. Master tried to make us shield.

  “Paper, rock, scissors,” Amir said to himself as an icy chill ran down his spine. Do they use the darklight to do this?

  Yes and no. It passes through. Our stars protect us against them. Keep them away. Only in cocoons can they come here. Inside cocoons they eat icelight and make darklight. Icelight makes swirls vulnerable to those in the dark. Icelight must be destroyed. Master went to destroy icelight when they discover this. Master never returned.

  Where does Icelight come from? Amir asked suspiciously.

  From center of swirl.

  “Fuck,” he said, realizing there was another lightside empire before them…and when they went to shut down the Tri’vey emitters in the center of a galaxy…they never were seen again.

  Icelight travels straight. Starlight swirls. How does darklight behave?

  It fixes. It grips. We can use darklight to travel. We can use Icelight to make Darklight where none exists. We can move where gravity ships cannot go. Master made us to do so.

  Is there more darklight in the dark places between the swirls?

  Thick darklight. Easy to travel fast.

  What produces it there?

  Dark people. Dark grid.

  What is the dark grid?

  Planets for dark people, but not gravity. No gravity. Grid with many holes and no center.

  Show me what the dark people look like.

  The images that came next were unintelligible, for they were not visuals. You could not have starlight there, only the faint starlight of distant galaxies, and it was not enough to see by. But there were other forms of sensing energy, and what he was being show was virtually a solid blob. He asked the Jedein if he could make anything of it, and suddenly it crystalized for him as he got a silhouette added on top of it.

  The dark people were not solid matter, nor were their dark grids. They were haze, mist, and they fit the description of the Apocalypse Monsters perfectly…except those could come inside galaxies, and didn’t appear to be harmed by photonic energy.

  Who are they? Amir asked, picturing the Pafdreng as the Neofan had recorded them.

  Outsiders who became dark people, but they are also starlight. Combined. They travel all realms. Exist in the light. We cannot touch them with material weapons. We can only fight with Essence weapons.

  Did you fight them?

  They kill dark people too. We help fight, but we not ready. Masters not finish with us. We only make few kills. Save few grids.

  Are the grids material too?

  Grids latch onto darklight. Can be spread many places. Dark people eat grids. Live in grids. Change grids. Grids spawn from special points. Master not allowed to go there. We get close. Not close enough. Dark people who control spawn points control most food. Dark people must obey or eat thin food. We eat thin food. Master made us good at it.

  Do you have a name?

  We are dark shells.

  Do you individually have a name?

  Master who controls name we bear. You come inside, we bear your name. Air inside almost done. You come inside soon.

  Show me your inside, Amir commanded, getting a very detailed analysis of the Nightcrawler’s interior…which was structured into decks, rooms, and several large cavities near the carapace that could be accessed via apertures.

  This was a far more advanced version of a living starship than the Zak’de’ron had managed to create with the Uriti. So far advanced that it didn’t even bear comparison, though Amir wondered if this was coincidence or if the Zak’de’ron knew something of this type of Nightcrawler.

  Are there other types of dark shells that obey others?

  There are many who obey none. They are solid inside. A few obey others, and carry Starlights or Icelights inside them.

  Amir raised an eyebrow. Today was full of revelations.

  Where have you seen Icelight people?

  Icelights talk to dark people. Dark people tell us. We watch. We follow. They disappear from dark areas to distant swirls. Masters follow to hops. Cannot make hops. Cannot follow further.

  Show me a hop.

  An image of a giant ring appeared, and from it he could feel bu
t not exactly see Icelight being shot out in one direction constantly…and they always came in pairs, with the Icelight coming to one and going from another.

  “There’s the synthoids transit network,” Amir grumbled, for the Gahana would never get too specific about how it worked.

  Hops alive. Many sparks. Produce more Icelight from starlight for others to move on. Masters cannot use Icelight. Only darklight.

  What did your Master make out of darklight?

  Starlight.

  What did they use it for?

  Us.

  What do you use it for?

  To produce Starlight for Masters to use. To produce Starlight to wake us up.

  What happens when you wake up?

  We glow as stars do. We burn dark people. We burn grids. They blow then stick in new places in darklight and regrow.

  How do they grow?

  Glow from stars too much. Destabilize. Small amounts fuel grid. Make it grow. Material is brittle to us. It breaks when we touch. It goes to dust when we glow. Glow makes it toxic. Toxic grid is used to make armor for cocoons. Toxic grid cannot be lived in. We make Grid toxic when we glow. We make grid toxic when we do not glow much. Master helps to make toxic armor for dark people in brighter spots, trapped by movement of swirls. Master helps them move.

  What enemies did your Masters have?

  Master always have enemies. Master have many enemies.

  What enemies were stronger than Masters?

  Master strongest. We wait for Master to return. Master does not.

  If I come inside you, it will not be permanent. I will inspect. I will learn. But I have needs other Masters may not. I will visit. I will not command. But we will not abandon you. Other Masters are near. We will help you.

  We help you.

  Later. You must heal. We must find others if they survive. Did all those that remain in darklight die?

  None could survive there. Hunters were too strong. Too many. We run to swirls. Dark places in swirls.

  Then we will look in the dark places for others. Is there a way we can find them easily?