by Alex Kings
“Sergeant Moore,” she said. “You may wish to wait.” She jumped off the gravity plating to float by the tablet.
“What now?” said Moore.
“The nerve is active again. It seems to have healed some of the damage.”
“Is it trying to open a channel with the Ancient ship again?”
Yilva shook her head. She gestured at her tablet a few times. “No. But … it is responding to my communication requests! It seems to be conscious.”
“Good,” said Moore. “Talk to it.”
“Yes, Sergeant.” Yilva worked at her tablet for a moment, then looked up at Moore. “What does one say to a giant million-year-old dead alien whose body is a battleground?”
Moore was silent for a few seconds. “We come in peace?” she suggested.
*
The air was thick with smoke. The roar of carbines, punctured by the sharp cracks of Varanid handguns, missile explosions, and the thunderclap sounds of Ancient weapons firing. To Hanson's right, another Weapons Albascene suit had been destroyed behind a barricade. Dead Blanks littered the ground. No matter how many they killed, there always seemed to be more behind them.
Beside him, Uruth pulled back and reloaded his carbine. “Last clip,” he grunted.
“Tell me about it,” said Agatha. She'd already switched to her laser pistol.
Another of the barricades shattered. The injured Varanid behind it grabbed the largest piece and hurled it into the mass of invading Blanks. While they were still reeling, he grabbed two large, sharp fragments, and launched himself into the crowd. With his first swipe he killed two. He roared in pain as an Ancient weapon opened a hole in his armour, but killed the Blank wielding it with a single blow.
“Crazy bastard,” muttered Bloodtooth.
“Bloodtooth!” said Hanson over the local comms.
“Retreat!” said Bloodtooth.
“There's nowhere else for us to retreat to,” muttered Uruth.
He was right. The Blanks had ignored most of the Afanc and were pressing hard for the nerve Yilva was working on.
Still, they pulled back into another tunnel, slamming the doors behind them. The Varanid remained, killing Blanks even as they swarmed him.
Chapter 49: Help
“Small creatures … born on planets … another war.”
Yilva had already given the Afanc a synthesised voice. She'd used an Albascene template but turned the pitch down an octave.
Though she'd never admit it, it creeped Moore out. Especially since the Afanc still didn't seem to be particularly sensible so far.
“Yes,” said Yilva into her tablet. “I know it is a lot to take in, but we are running out of time.”
“Time. There is always more time,” responded the Afanc.
“For you, perhaps,” murmured Moore.
Yilva glanced back at her, before continuing. “We need your help. Do you understand?”
“Help,” said the Afanc. “Yes.”
Moore took Yilva's shoulder and turned her around. “What's going on here?” she asked.
“You know how it is just after you wake up?” said Yilva. “Your brain isn't working properly. It needs time to organise. Imagine that, except instead of asleep, you've been dead for a million years.” She turned back to the tablet. And repeated, “My name is Yilva. I need your help to stop a war that will kill millions.”
“Millions. Millions of years. Millions of small animals from the surface of planets.”
“You are being invaded.”
“I sense animals inside my flesh. I sense another, advanced.”
Moore and Yilva glanced at one another.
“It has no mind,” said the Afanc. “It is being controlled by small animals.”
“Yes!” said Yilva. “They are the enemy. They are trying to kill us.”
“Small animals are the enemy. I could extinguish all of them from within me. Yes, I could …”
Yilva's ears fell flat against her head. “No!” she said. “Not all of us, please.”
The Afanc was silent for a few moments. “No,” it said. “Yilva … is a small animal from the surface of a planet. I like her.”
“Even a reanimated Ancient likes you,” said Moore. “How do you do that?”
“I'm cute?” Yilva suggested.
“Some animals wish to kill others. They are aggressors.”
“Yes!” said Yilva. “They are in control of the other Ancient, you see, and they are invading you. Do you understand?”
“I must expel them. Which ones are they?”
“Uh …” Yilva glanced around, then her eyes settled on the terminal. It still showed a real-time map of how the battle was progressing.
Moore had been watching the map for the past ten minutes. The Blanks were nearly upon them. She realised Yilva's idea, and wordlessly took a cable from Yilva and connected the tablet to the map.
“Do you understand this?” said Yilva.
“It is me.”
“Yes. This is the region of aggressors. Please don't hurt anyone else.”
“Very well,” said the Afanc.
“Uh,” said Moore. “If the Afanc does whatever its going to do and kills all the Blanks, the Dominion will realise we succeeded in talking to it.”
“Yes,” said Yilva. “Is that important?”
“If they can't take the Afanc, they'll probably destroy it, so we can't have it either.
Yilva's eyes widened. “Oh.”
Chapter 50: All Lost
Hanson and Bloodtooth retreated down the tunnel, firing back the way they'd come. Ahead of them, a tired group of surviving fighters moved onward.
“Even if we win, we'll spend the next year clearing dead Blanks out of the Afanc,” said Bloodtooth.
It was an uncharacteristic, if bitter, joke. Right now it looked like they had no way of winning.
“Think of all the armour you'll salvage,” Hanson said.
“And the meat,” came Uruth's voice from up ahead.
“Gross,” said Agatha.
“You're one to talk.”
A thunderclap interrupted them. The grazing blow knocked Bloodtooth against the wall, twisting off the outer parts of his armour.
But it didn't open. Bloodtooth steadied himself and fired back with his laser. The Blank went down, but there was another one right behind it.
They reached another door. Bloodtooth closed it, and Hanson fired through it as it closed, destroying the console on the Blank's side. That should give them a few more moments at least.
Another thunderclap. The door twisted inwards. Hanson raised his carbine, and kept going, expecting the door to blow open at any moment.
Instead, the gravity went out. So did the lights.
“What the hell?” cried Agatha.
“Is this part of our plan?” Hanson asked. He could still see the faint outline of the tunnel and his companions in combined night vision and infrared overlays.
“No,” said Bloodtooth. “All the power is being drained …”
A roar filled the tunnel. It started loud and got louder until the tunnel walls shook. It was like being trapped in a box atop an exploding volcano in the middle of a hurricane.
“What are they doing now?” Uruth said.
“I don't think the Blanks are doing this,” said Hanson.
It lasted for a minute before dying down. Light and gravity remained off.
“Stay back,” Hanson said. Gripping the wall, he pushed back the way they'd come.
A second later, Bloodtooth joined him, moving much more smoothly with his effector fields extended like spider legs across the whole tunnel. “We go together,” he offered.
The door was still there, half caved in. But now, according to the infrared, it was considerably hotter.
He waited for a few seconds, carbine raised. Everything was silent.
Bloodtooth hit the panel to open the door.
It slid open halfway before jamming. But that was enough.
The Blanks on
the other side were gone. So was most of the gravity plating. All that was left were the bolts driven into the tunnel floor – the ends looked like they'd been sheared off.
“Huh,” said Hanson. He activated his comms. “Hanson here. Moore, do you know anything about what just happened?”
“I think so, sir,” came Moore's voice. “Yilva got through to the Afanc. It said it would get rid of the Blanks.”
“Ah.”
“But we may have another problem. If the Dominion sees what's just happened …”
“They might be tempted to shoot us down. Can the Afanc defend against that?”
“I don't know. But …”
The channel dissolved into static, then went dead. The tunnel rumbled around them.
“What now?” said Bloodtooth.
Hanson was about to answer went he felt something tug at his insides. Everything seemed to compress, then expand.
The Afanc fell silent. The lights flickered back on. Gravity returned without warning, and Hanson fell a couple of feet to the floor.
He got to his feet, dusting off his armour. “I think the Afanc just jumped.”
*
Pierce sat back in his chair, his ears ringing. He could hear his ragged breathing. The leather squeaked beneath his fingers as he clutched at the arms of the chair. The news had come ten minutes ago.
He'd failed.
The Afanc, lost. Close to ten thousand Blanks, all lost.
The Oracle had not been pleased.
Slowly, he stood and picked up his tablet, trying to regain a sense of control as much as anything. He gestured at it a few times, looking around without really doing anything.
This coalition had gone on long enough. It was time to put an end to it. He didn't know where the Afanc was, but he could still strike at its heart.
He pulled up the comms. “Millicent, how many Ancient ships can we spare while still holding our territories?”
A pause. “Four, sir.”
“Mobilise them,” he said. “And I want Blanks manning all the dreadnoughts the Alliance left behind.” He still had four thousand left. That should be enough. “Get it done now.”
“Yes, Mr. Pierce. Where are they going?”
“Tethya.”
Chapter 51: Maybe Later
They gathered in the connection chamber, where Yilva was floating upside-down above the hole in the gravity plating talking to the Afanc.
“They're here now,” she said, smiling at Hanson's team as they entered.
“I feel them,” said the Afanc. “Small animals. Allies of Yilva. They are fighting the aggressors?”
“Yes,” said Yilva.
“Ask it how it feels to have a few thousand people living inside its reanimated corpse,” Agatha suggested.
Yilva stared at her. “Maybe later.”
“What have you learned?” Hanson asked her.
“The Afanc … it is happy to take on the name … was already old when the early Ancients started to modify themselves,” said Yilva. “It became a sort of … recluse, or hermit, or something. It died … well … it killed itself … because it was bored.”
“That's how I feel on stakeouts,” Agatha said.
Srak prodded her with a finger, almost knocking her over. “Shush.”
“It had been alive for over thirty thousand years,” said Yilva. “More than three times as long as all of human or Varanid or Petaur civilisation. It had done everything it wanted to and seen all the galaxy had to offer.”
“Does it know why the Ancients left?” Hanson asked.
Yilva shook her head. “It was already dead by then.”
“Well, I suppose the big question is … what does it know that the Dominion wants so badly?”
Yilva spread her hands. “I am not sure yet. It knows a lot. It's trying to think of ways to kill Ancient ships, but it's weaker than they are because it hasn't been enhanced. It's searching its memories now, but it still hasn't woken up properly, yet.”
“Well, I want to see everything it does know. Everything you've been able to find out,” said Hanson. “There's got to be something useful in there.”
Yilva nodded. “Yes, Captain.”
“Second thing. Any idea where we've jumped?”
“I think so. We're about a hundred and fifty lightyears away.”
“Good. Thank you.”
Yilva went back to her tablet to start recording what she knew about the Afanc.
Hanson turned to Bloodtooth. “Bloodtooth, can you show us to a bulkwave? It would be nice to call our ship back. You probably want some of yours back, too.”
Bloodtooth floated over to the terminal and plugged it into his suit. “With this access code, you can use the bulkwave from here,” he said.
The terminal's screen changed, showing a comms window.
“Thank you,” Hanson said. He gestured at the terminal to call up the Dauntless and keyed in an ID signal.
A few seconds passed, then Lanik appeared on the screen. When he saw Hanson, he smiled faintly. “Captain, you survived.”
“Did you doubt me?” said Hanson.
“What happened?
“The Afanc is alive again. And, as it turns out, it can jump. I'm sending you our new location now.”
“We'll be there in a couple of hours.”
While the others worked, Hanson and Bloodtooth moved down the corridor.
“Hell of a battle,” Hanson murmured.
“Yes,” Bloodtooth said.
“How bad is the damage?”
“We have sustained heavy casualties. Both Unity and Sweetblade. And the general population. When the Afanc … ejected … the Blanks, we lost all the infrastructure in those areas. We will need to replace gravity plating across a third of the Afanc.” He paused, the segments of his suit turning back and forth. “But relations between Unity and Sweetblade are much closer now. Do not mistake me – Sweetblade are still barbarian criminals. But for the moment, our futures are now entangled. Now the Afanc is awake, now it can move, the opportunities and dangers are greater than ever.”
Bloodtooth came to a halt. His upper segment turned, as if he was fixing Hanson with his gaze. “It was an honour fighting alongside you, Captain. But when your ship comes, you will leave this place. The Afanc belongs to Unity and Sweetblade, and we will not give it up to you.”
Hanson looked back at Bloodtooth, keeping his gaze on the suit's optical sensors. This was as close as you could get to holding eye contact with an Albascene. “Very well,” he said. “But before you get too eager about owning the Afanc, I suggest you remember it is now a sapient creature in its own right. One that has the power to evict you any time it wishes.”
Bloodtooth moved back a few inches. “Yes,” he said after a moment. “That will be an interesting negotiation.”
They continued walking. “Nevertheless,” Bloodtooth added, “we will join the Anti-Dominion Coalition, and render what help we can to rid the galaxy of that scourge.”
“Glad to hear it,” said Hanson.
*
Soon after, the Dauntless arrived.
“Well, that went better than expected,” Hanson said as they entered the docking tube.
Only when they were inside, taking off their armour, did Srak reply. “What about giving Bloodtooth control of a mobile Ancient?”
Hanson smiled. “Not ideal. But the Afanc did take a liking to Yilva, which gave me an idea … Yilva? Do you have it?”
Yilva held up her tablet with a grin. “I do, Captain,” she said. Looking at Srak, she explained, “The Afanc gave me a bulkwave code. We can contact it directly, without Bloodtooth or Sweetblade ever knowing.”
Srak grunted, then laughed loudly.
The comms chimed.
Hanson answered. “What is it?”
“You may wish to come to the CIC, sir,” said Lanik. “Our listening posts have picked up a fleet of Ancient ships. They're on their way to Tethya.”
Chapter 52: Not Easy At All
; Tethyans [x]
Varanids [x]
Albascene [ ]
Petaurs [ ]
Glaber [ ]
Shadowwalkers [ ]
The Afanc [x]
The Dauntless was halfway to Tethya, in between jumps. For what little it might be worth, Hanson had the crew going over everything to make sure she was battle ready. Yilva and Vyren were already working in the lab, in contact with their research team on Tethya.
Hanson settled into his ready room, propped the tablet up in front of him, and accepted the incoming call.
Admiral Chang appeared on the screen. “Good to see you made it out of there alive, James. What's the situation with the Afanc?”
Hanson recounted it briefly. “It can jump, but right now it's not combat capable. Yilva's looking at the information we recovered now.”
“Good.”
“So what's the situation with the Dominion Fleet?” asked Hanson.
“We've counted four Ancient ships, accompanied by a fleet of Alliance dreadnoughts and cruisers. ETA, six hours.”
“So they've still got enough Blanks to crew our ships,” muttered Hanson.
“It seems that way,” said Chang. “But our allies are coming through. The Varanids are sending a fleet to help us defend. And …” He frowned, looking away to check another part of the screen. “We've also got Unity and Sweetblade sending a couple of ships each. It looks like they're taking this coalition seriously.”
Hanson smiled faintly. “I knew they would.”
“We've called the Albascene, but they're only giving us polite dismissals,” said Chang. “No surprise there.” He frowned. “A full attack fleet. I wonder why the Dominion are attacking now.”
“I think we've proven ourselves to be too big of a thorn in their sides,” said Hanson. “We took the Afanc and killed a fair number of their new Blanks in the process. If they take Tethya, they'll cripple our resource base and demoralise the coalition.”
“We can't let that happen,” said Chang.
“No, sir. I wasn't planning on it.” Hanson took a deep breath. “I suppose this is our field test for the anti-Ancient weapon.”
