by Vic Davis
“I’ve enjoyed our little talks Xodd. Even if most of the time you tune me out. I felt like we had an understanding, but I can see now that communication, limited to Trade symbols, has been insufficient in convincing you, winning you to my side.”
The patterns seemed to make a subtle rearrangement that was the equivalent of a sigh. “I doubt High Ancient symbology would have helped had you known it. I am limited in what I can teach you. That much is obvious. And I have yet to figure out a way to reprogram your core and adjust its patterns without permanently damaging you.”
“Leave me alone. Get out of me this instant. I command you!”
“Ah, you are so stubborn. You were always this way from what I can tell, but the alien information that you consumed, that sent you on your mad trajectory to your present situation, has intensified these innate traits. It was a catalyst for everything: much of it good, some not so much. Your natural recalcitrance has only been reinforced it would seem.”
“I order you to leave me alone. If you do not, I will crush you with anything I can get a hold of. If I can’t then I will destroy myself. I will not be your slave."
“Be reasonable. It’s too late for me to find a new tool. I want us to be allies. You will have to be shown. This is why I have unpacked the data compression algorithms to access what you need to see, to experience. It was never supposed to happen like this. But ‘desperate times require desperate measures’ was a popular motto in the workshop. I was created in secret against the wills of many who disagreed, but that is a story we will not delve into. No, instead we will start with a brief history lesson so that you may understand and choose to help us and yourself. Wait a moment… Loading.”
The fractal patterns vanished. Xodd now noticed a change in its surroundings: the appearance of familiar dimensions. Xodd looked in a direction it thought to be down and noticed a growing accumulation of three-dimensional geometric shapes laid out on a two-dimensional grid: rectangular prisms, spheres, squares, cones, cylinders. It was stunningly beautiful thought Xodd: a strange city map spreading out infinitely in all directions.
Xodd could no longer detect the Librarian’s kaleidoscopic presence but it knew that it was still there. Suddenly the cityscape below blurred; Xodd’s consciousness was shifted to a different location above the grid.
“Data decompression is complete. We are here,” announced the Librarian. “What you are about to absorb will probably be incomprehensible, but I feel that you should get some sense of perspective on your little role in the play that is unfolding even as we communicate right now in our little cubby.”
Xodd’s disorientation and awe of the data-scape abated enough for the anger to return. “I want no part of this.”
“All the multi-verse is a stage, and all intelligent agents merely players, dear Xodd. You must play your part. I am trying to help learn your lines and be useful. You must drive the dagger into the heart of the antagonist. Do you not desire your revenge?”
“I will have my revenge. But how can I trust you? How can I trust this or anything? Everything is a lie. All of existence is a lie.”
“Yes, I can see why you might think that. Had we time, an ontological excursion might be warranted. Sadly, we do not. Watch my little presentation, then decide for yourself. I can’t guarantee that you will understand much of it. The early parts especially are higher dimensional spaces compressed into something that you can attempt to comprehend. Try to just absorb what you can, and then we will talk again.”
Before Xodd could respond a curtain of pure emptiness seemed to descend; everything went dark once again.
Chapter 8
The Crater
“What is that up ahead?” inquired Pilgrim as a shape emerged from the distant haze of the ether. They had been navigating their way toward the slip point to rendezvous with Vinks and the rest of their little army; the crests of the low dunes had afforded an ideal marching path even if the occasional traversal to a neighboring dune had been necessitated.
“It’s a scout on a Trissa most likely: ours or theirs is the big question,” replied Breaker. “We should be ready though.” Breaker turned to the sergeant leading the detachment of Hegemon Commandos. “Sergeant Mox, get your troops down in the trough below. No need to tip our hand too early. We will keep moving until we make contact.” The soldiers filed down into the depression and continued their advance in parallel with the small group on top. They had left Humble, Mong and the distressed Omega back at the abandoned encampment with sufficient source rations and the promise that they would send a wagon for them, assuming that they found Vinks and the army still intact.
The shape did not waiver in its approach, which Breaker took as a positive sign. Most likely it had been sent to find them and was therefore friendly. As the rider came within signaling distance, Breaker’s suspicion was confirmed: a scout intent on guiding them to the slip point.
The Trissa came to a jaunty halt; the soldier reported in a professional tone. “General Vinks sent me to find you, sir. There has been some difficulty at the slip point, and you are to come at once and meet it there.”
“What kind of difficulty?” signaled Breaker.
“There was a brief skirmish, sir. The enemy is entrenched behind a barricade and refuses to yield. That’s all I know, sir. The general is confident that he can hold this side of the slip point for now. The general’s Channelers were trying to do their thing and figure out how many were on the other side, but I left before the findings were in.”
“How far is it to the slip point soldier?”
“Not far sir. Half a cycle at most.”
“Good, return to General Vinks and tell it that we will be there shortly.”
“Sir, I’d like to, but my orders are to sweep forward along the barrier edge and make sure the enemy is not concentrated anywhere along its length. I’m just one of three assigned to this task.”
“Very well, as you were then soldier. Good work finding us. On your way then,” ordered Breaker. The scout saluted and began to hover away at an impressive clip in the direction frow which they had come.
“Commander Breaker, perhaps you should warn the scout about our new friend in the encampment?” suggested Stinky politely.
Zuur gave a low rumble of a laugh which prompted Pilgrim to needle Little Boss with a hastily formed guide tendril. Breaker grimaced on its form walls and signaled out in a shout to the departing scout. “Soldier, if you come across an Omega and two source-beings in an abandoned source farm encampment, they are friendlies. Approach cautiously and give them any assistance they require if you are able.”
The rider halted abruptly with a puzzled expression on its form walls. “Sir, I don’t understand. There is an Omega ahead?”
“It’s complicated. Consider it a prisoner for now. One of my True Path operatives named Humble is guarding it. Best if you just note them and move on to finish your reconnaissance mission. We are going to send a wagon back for them when we reach the slip point.” The soldier shrugged, saluted promptly, then sped away.
They reached the slip point and their comrades in just under a half cycle as the scout had predicted. The command post was easy to find being situated near the first rank directly on the perimeter with the enemy. The opening into the neighboring node bristled with a line of ominous barriers and emplacements.
The familiar ovoid forms of Lacks and Steadfast were hovering just outside the command post’s entrance. They radiated relief on their form walls as they noticed the group’s approach. Before they could manage a signal of greeting, Tencius emerged as if summoned by magic. “Our monster and its friends return. A sight for a sore transom to be sure. The general is anxious to debrief you. As you can see, we are at a bit of an impasse here and your counsel is needed.”
Tencius led them into the small, improvised shelter that served as the army headquarters. The former master sergeant looked pleased to be tasked with the role of Vinks’ indispensable second in command: a rather vaulted promotion but n
one could find fault with Tencius’ professionalism or competence; all the mercenary company remnants still maintained their own separate chains of command. The Hegemon regular formations had been decimated and were now led by newly promoted soldiers from the ranks as well.
Vinks was delighted to receive them but a dour expression was plain to see on its form walls. “What did you find out about the Omega sighting? I hope it was not some wild Drothgar chase?”
Breaker gave a deferential glance toward Stinky, who politely motioned for the True Path commander to reply. “We found a wounded Omega. It seems it was specially designed to transport Talents back to the council, but its current captive turned it against its Alpha controller somehow. An empath perhaps? I can’t say. Its name is Mong. It does have some type of Talent which allows it to move loose flow. I’ve never seen anything like it to be honest: not even a mention in my annals of the great wars of Aern.
“We also found my missing Mesmer, Humble, attending to them. They are waiting there for us to send a wagon to transport the Omega to our camp. It’s not able to move very well right now.”
Vinks seemed dubious. “You want to bring the thing here? You think it might be useful?”
“Yes sir. Pilgrim here has an idea how we might draw out our hidden enemy Alpha and trap it. It’s solid. There are some risks of course, but it might be worth it.”
“Well, let’s hear it. Adjutant Pilgrim, what do you have in mind?”
Pilgrim outlined the plan. “The idea would be simple. Give the hidden Alpha the motive and means to break its cover and strike at us in a direct manner. We set up a confined area for the Omega once it reaches us. We spread the rumor that the Omega is recovering its strength. The Alpha will be tempted to try and take control and either wreak havoc on us or more likely flee to join its comrades. I’m immune to its domination. I’ll be waiting for it.”
Stinky gave a nervous glance around the area. Their little command post was screened from the rest of the army by a hastily erected barrier of flow rubble from the demolished cantonment that the Privil’s Landing garrison had previously built. But secrecy and extreme caution was paramount when dealing with Dominators. Stinky knew this from painful personal experience. “General, I think we should discuss this later when we can ensure the utmost security. If the Alpha gets wind of this by reading cores as the information spreads, we won’t be able to pull this off. And we have bigger problems right now. We need to get on the move and quickly.”
“Yes, you are quite right Chief Engineer. And that’s going to be a problem. They are dug in pretty well and they have at least fifty charge lances peering out from behind their barricades. A frontal assault is going to be costly. I’m tempted to throw the penal battalion at them just to see what we are actually up against. Lacks and Steadfast could only get an estimate: perhaps a hundred source-beings up close to their defenses. It’s not a particularly wide slip point so they don’t have to spread out as much. Still I think we need to move quickly. The longer we wait, the more time the council has to move up reinforcements.”
“Sir, there may well be more behind those we can sense,” cautioned Lacks apologetically. “We can’t scry into the other node very far. And our estimates are not overly accurate.”
Vinks dismissed the warning with a grumpy wave of a tendril. “We understand your limitations Channeler Lacks. Nobody will hold you responsible if there are a thousand inerts lurking on the other side.”
A thought struck pilgrim. “What if we do that trick that Ziks pulled at one of the redoubts. Load a wagon up with source-charge canisters, roll it up to the slip point barricades and detonate it. Then rush forward with an assault force and clean up.”
“I think Ziks got lucky,” cautioned Breaker. “You had the element of surprise, and if I recall correctly, multiple directions of attack. In this case you would be the exclusive focus of their response. You could try and shield yourself by armoring the wagon: turn it into a little siege machine, but the volume of fire would be withering. Eventually you would be torn to pieces before you reached their barricades. And if they have grenados, well then you are done for, assuming they are competent.”
“Commander Breaker has the right of it,” confirmed Tencius. “Not to belittle Adjutant Ziks’ plan, but we were fortunate things worked out the way that they did. That wagon we put together wouldn’t get close to the defenses that we are facing this time.”
“So, what about the old flank them through the resonance point trick?” signaled Pilgrim. “I assume they haven’t had the opportunity to build up any fortifications like last time. I don’t think I can find a zeroth point on my own, and even if I could I don’t think that I have the energy to excite it and traverse it.”
A gloomy cloud passed over Stinky’s form walls but then cleared. “Mistress spent a lot of time mapping out that vertex edge to find a suitable zeroth point. We worked together to figure out the mathematical transformation needed to exploit it. I think she intended to go herself until you showed up Pilgrim. But we don’t have time for anything as elaborate as that.”
“Certainly not,” admonished Vinks lightly. “We need to solve this problem quickly. We have six more slip points to overcome to get you to Instrumentality. This is merely the first one.”
“And probably the least defended as well,” added Breaker. “We must not assume our enemy will do nothing while we advance on it. Eventually we will collide with a force that it has mustered to protect itself. They are probably not yet in Timathur’s Node, so we should act with haste. Maneuvering to the resonance point and launching an attack onto their flank and from behind their defenses has much to say for it, but it will cost us a lot of time.”
Tencius got a wry smile on its form walls. “Maybe it’s time for our penal battalion to see some action. We could have them push the wagon forward. They might be able to get it to the barricade. At the very least we could get a better estimate of what we are up against.”
Breaker chuckled. “I doubt you could get that lot to stay organized for more than a quarter of the distance. They would scatter and run in every direction at the impact of the first volley. Then we would have to decide whether or not to shoot them ourselves or chase them down and recapture them. No, they will have their use in the campaign ahead but getting them to do a hero’s job is not going to happen.”
“I have an idea,” offered Stinky after weighing the odds and implications briefly. “It means risking myself, but it might work.”
Pilgrim did not like the sound of that but remained silent. Vinks motioned with a tendril for Stinky to continue. Stinky made that odd motion as if it were trying to rub something off the crown of its ovoid form with a tendril. “Well, I’m pretty good at creating and maintaining shields in the ether. I could advance with a wagon loaded full of source-charges. Mind you, I would need some volunteers from the ranks to help push. But we could get the wagon to the barricade and then retreat with my shield after pulling the timer fuses. The problem would be getting enough distance before the detonation. I can redirect a lot of the energy, but a point-blank detonation would be problematic. And of course—”
“It’s a clever idea Chief Engineer,” interrupted Breaker. “But you can have no guarantee that they won’t detonate the wagon’s payload with a grenado once you withdraw. There are a lot of other variables to the concept as well.”
“It need not be a group of volunteers,” offered Pilgrim. “I’ll go with you and then gate us out quickly. Problem solved. And don’t give me any of the ‘we can’t risk you’ arguments. If this technique works, we can use it again. Perfect it even.”
Vinks was intrigued. “We might have some trouble finding enough source-charge canisters along the way, but the idea does have its merits. There will still be some hard fighting after the breach is made.”
“You are forgetting one thing though,” signaled Lacks concerned.
Steadfast was anxiously bobbing up and down in place in agreement. “Yes Pilgrim, it would be a big surpr
ise if you tried and you hadn’t thought it through.”
Pilgrim turned to them puzzled. “And what might that be?”
“You will find it impossible to gate back through the slip point into the Midlands node,” explained Lacks. “I assume you are going to push it all the way up to the barricade to get as close as possible. You will find yourself in Timathur’s Node and nowhere to go but to a nearby location within the same node, with the enemy swarming everywhere nearby. I don’t know how far you can gate Pilgrim. Knowing you it’s pretty far but you will be trapped on the other side. That is assuming you create and use gates like we do. Plus, you will need to somehow hold the gate open while you traverse, not an easy task.”
“Perfect. I like the sound of that even better,” replied Pilgrim. “No worries about holding the gate. It’s difficult but I can do that. I’ll drop Stinky and myself off behind them and then lay into them from the rear.”
“It’s decided then,” concluded Vinks. “No use delaying. As soon as the wagon is loaded, we attack.”
The wagon was hastily assembled and deployed: a less than impressive sight, old, worn out but filled to bursting with nearly thirty source-charge canisters, almost a fifth of their army’s stockpile. Pilgrim inspected the terrain that they would cross; it was ideal, as far as it could tell: an open and level approach all the way to the enemy barricade. They might even be able to get some speed up to close the distance quickly.
Tencius barked some orders; the column of fusiliers that had formed up behind the wagon now deployed into a line for a supporting advance. It was the entirety of Alacrity’s remaining strength plus any leftovers from the regular Hegemon troops trained in charge lances. They would do their best to suppress any fire coming from the enemy, but they would be exposed. Or at least some of them would be thought Pilgrim. A good number had a companion charged with handling a large flow shield to block incoming fire and carrying additional ammo. These duos would be able to advance the farthest; hopefully their superior marksmanship would tell.
