Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series

by Hystad, Nathan

  “Everyone ready?” Gar asked, and when no one replied, he counted down. “Three. Two. One.”

  The ship’s thrusters fired for a second before cutting out. It had the desired effect. They rotated in front of their Ugna crafts, directly between the colony ship and the planet. Gar used the reverse thrust for a moment, and they stopped in place, facing their enemy.

  “On screen,” Ven said, sensing the incoming transmission.

  Wylen appeared, his ancient face lined and furious. His red eyes flared as if they were on fire, and Ven wouldn’t have been surprised to see flames licking the man’s brow. “Fayle, you are done. You dare face me in—”

  The High Elder noticed Ven, and his gaze drifted to the younger acolyte. “I see. This is what you’ve been hiding from me all these years. Impressive. But can he do anything to stop this?”

  Ven’s eyes focused, letting the Vastness tighten within him. Behind Wylen stood hundreds of Ugna, each of them floating, their gazes blank. He felt the slightest of tugs on his emotions, and the only sound on the bridge was the audible gasps from Gar and Fayle. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing them on the ground, clutching their skulls.

  He waved a hand toward them, and their suffering ended. Fayle blinked, sitting on the floor. Her head lolled to one side, but she would be okay.

  “Stop it,” Ven said softly.

  Wylen’s anger only grew, but Ven was impenetrable. “You will not win.”

  The Ugna had ceased fire, and Ven was glad to see Thomas hadn’t attempted to intervene. He would be clueless to the intricate match being played between Ven and Wylen, but Ven hoped the admiral would trust him.

  “I have already won, Wylen,” Ven said.

  “I am High Elder to the likes of you—”

  Ven cut him off with another wave of his hand. Wylen’s face twisted and contorted, veins pulsing over his wrinkled forehead. The image vanished from the viewscreen, and Ven staggered away, plunging to the floor.

  Gar was already active, bringing the viewscreen up again, and Ven stared at it, seeing nothing but empty space where Wylen’s colony vessel had stood moments before. He felt no more pressure, none of the En’or-fueled Ugna warriors attempting to kill them.

  High Elder Wylen had vanished.

  Six

  Tom didn’t know what to make of the clash, but in the end, they’d won. Wylen had used his Nek drive and returned to wherever he’d come from, and they’d seized Obilina Six. The base camp was useable, and Tom walked along the ground of the planet, a dome of energy covering the manufacturing plant.

  The ground was dusty, red shale stained his boots at each step, but he was glad to have a moment with Ven before he headed with Legacy to Earon. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Ven was changed. He’d always been a little odd, compared to the other recruits and crew members, but the Ugna were raised differently, so that was to be expected. But there was something else, a resigned weight burdening his shoulders.

  Fifty-foot-tall poles held huge fixtures that gave light in the otherwise dark camp, casting long shadows behind Tom and Ven as they directed to the shop building.

  “Capta… Admiral,” Ven started.

  “Just call me Tom,” he said.

  “I would rather not, sir.”

  “What is it? You can tell me.”

  Ven stopped, a cloud of dust enveloping his shins. “I have been asked to step in as leader of my people when this is over, but I fear there will not be many remaining. I also fear that Wylen may win.”

  Tom crossed his arms and stared at Ven. “You think we’re going to let that bastard take the Concord?”

  “You don’t understand. If I hadn’t intervened, he would have destroyed our fleet within minutes. And that was without trying to kill them, like they did the Vusuls,” Ven said.

  Tom grasped his point. “You’re saying if Wylen had been facing anyone else, they would have been killed instantly. With their minds?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Didn’t you escape them before?”

  “I did, but only because I tapped into something.”

  “What?”

  Ven’s eyes darted in their sockets, and for the first time since he’d arrived at Obilina, Tom saw a glimpse of the man that had once worked on his bridge. “The Vastness isn’t only what you’ve been taught.”

  “You have my attention,” Tom said quietly, anticipating that Ven would offer a revelation, but he didn’t expand on it.

  “I am connected to it, some more than others, and Fayle has shown me how to utilize it. I… It’s too much power for one man,” Ven said, averting his gaze.

  Tom noticed Rene and Tarlen standing with Commander Kan Shu near the building they were planning to visit. They were dark shapes against the light of the warehouse, and Tom’s gaze followed into the sky as another Ugna fleet ship departed from the surface, heading toward their rendezvous point a few kilometers away. There the Ugna were dividing amongst the cramped ships, making room as small groups entered the recently acquired vessels instead.

  “Ven, I know you’ll be okay. And with your help, we made a good effort today. Wylen has drawn first blood. We’re going to be prepared for him at Earon.” Tom started to walk again, and Ven slowly trudged after him.

  “I saw inside him, Admiral.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means he’s not coming for Earon,” Ven said.

  Tom spun, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. “Then where? What is he planning?”

  “I witnessed destruction. He means to make a point. Out with the old, in with the new,” Ven said.

  “Nolix,” Tom whispered. “We already thought that, but all signs pointed to Earon.”

  “If you have any interaction with someone on Wylen’s side, do not contact them. I sensed deceit. He has been feeding you false information,” Ven said.

  Tom stiffened. It was Benitor’s connection, not his hand-selected crew. He’d need to investigate. “Nolix. The heart of the Concord. Do you know when?”

  Ven shook his head. “Soon.”

  “I wish there was a way to gain the upper hand. If Wylen and the Ugna’s efforts are almost unstoppable to most of the Concord members, we’re going to have a tough time winning this thing facing his entire fleet at once.”

  “I may have an idea.” Tom had been so caught up in the conversation, he hadn’t heard Fayle sneaking up behind them.

  “If you have some secret information, now would be a good time to share it,” Tom told her.

  High Elder Fayle stepped closer, pausing between Ven and Tom. “It was a last resort, and only something I’d heard rumors about since I was a child.”

  “I don’t think we have time for ancient rumors and stories, Fayle,” Tom said.

  Ven’s eyes lit up. “Are you talking about the Vast stone?”

  “What is that?” Tom asked, but Fayle’s attention was on Ven.

  “How do you know about the stone?” she asked breathlessly.

  A shameful expression crossed his face. “I read your notes when I was a child. You were gone for a few days, and I was not progressing as quickly as the other acolytes. I went into your room and found a book. It spoke of this stone—the mountain, if I recall correctly.”

  “A mountain? How will that assist our cause?” Tom asked.

  “It is said that the first Ugna was created there. Within the mountain is a chamber, a connection to the Vastness,” Fayle said.

  “You have to be kidding me. And what are we supposed to do with that?” Tom asked.

  “Disrupt Wylen. We can disturb the flow,” Ven said softly.

  ____________

  Constantine appeared far from Tebas, but close enough to gain intel discreetly. Their flagship had state-of-the-art radar defenders, but Wylen also had the schematics for the Concord vessels, so Treena remained vigilant.

  “Con, what are the probes showing?” she asked the AI projection.

  “On screen,” he whispered.r />
  The image on the viewscreen came into focus, and Treena gasped, despite her android body not needing air. “What in the Vastness have we gotten into?”

  They’d discussed sending a recon shuttle to Tebas but had been disregarded, the Prime wanting to trust the intel from Admiral Benitor’s spy. Clearly, they’d been misinformed.

  Hundreds of dark Ugna vessels were lined in orbit above the planet. They appeared like the rest of the Ugna fleet Treena had worked alongside, but most were made from a black and slate-gray material, or painted this way to stand out. Wylen had a real fleet, not a mismatched gathering of local security ships and transport vessels.

  “We’re in serious trouble,” Conner said. “Orders?”

  Before Treena had a chance to comment, Pol Teller slammed a fist down. “This is preposterous! How in Ringarian’s Hammer did we let this happen? If they come and smite us, it’s our own damned fault.”

  “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is,” Reeve told them. “There are hundreds of enemy vessels about destroy us and Earon. We need to get this intel home.”

  “What if we advance a little closer?” Con asked.

  Treena stared at the impressive fleet and shook her head. “We can’t. I thought they might have been laying a trap at Obilina for Fayle and her people, but they’re actually at Tebas.”

  “Unless this isn’t their entire fleet,” Teller balked.

  “If this isn’t the whole fleet, we’re even more screwed than we thought,” Conner said from his helm position.

  Constantine blinked from his spot and emerged beside Treena, standing with his arms crossed. “Captain, I’ve found a link of four satellite stations located around the Tebas system.”

  That was intriguing. “What’s their purpose?”

  “I cannot tell, but I have concluded two possible scenarios. One: the star issues far more radiation than most Class Zero Nine worlds. The planet is protected with a booster on the surface, but out here, it could affect the Ugna’s communication,” Constantine said.

  “And the other reason?” she asked.

  “They are trying to block communication from leaving the system, or perhaps from entering,” he said.

  Treena tapped her chin, trying to decide what to do with the information. “Are they being protected?”

  Con vanished again, reappearing at his seat. The viewscreen changed, showing a floating device the size of a shuttle. Rings rotated around it in even movements, and a gentle blue light blinked from either end. “This is one satellite. There are no visible defenses,” Con said.

  “Okay, target all four. Wylen installed them for a purpose, and that’s enough of a reason for us to destroy the targets. Set the attack drones to latch and explode at the same time.” Treena saw that the four various satellites weren’t equidistant from Tebas, so the drones’ arrival times would vary.

  “Drones are deployed, and will detonate on targets in seventeen minutes.” Conner glanced at Treena, and she gave him a smile. This was good. They may not have found Tebas empty as they’d hoped, but they might be able to affect them in some manner, as well as gather information for the Concord.

  “I like this move,” Teller said. “Although I’d rather take a few casualties while we’re here, I understand your reluctance.”

  “Commander, we have a full crew on Constantine and a war to fight, so initiating a suicide mission to kick it all off wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest,” she informed the old man, and he nodded absently, probably not even really listening. His rheumy brown eyes watched the screen closely, and for a second, she thought he might be dozing off.

  “Why are they still here?” he asked, startling her.

  “They haven’t been ordered to Earon yet,” Treena said.

  “Why start a war, then leave for Tebas at all? He had us at a disadvantage already,” Teller said.

  Conner spun around in his chair. “You were there. The Ugna came to help the one hundred Concord partners attack Nolix, but they failed because we turned them, convincing our own people the Ugna were against us.”

  “Otherwise, Nolix would have been…” Treena’s voice trailed off. “How far are we from Nolix, traveling at full speed for this Ugna fleet?”

  “Eighteen days, thirteen hours, and twelve minutes, Captain,” Constantine answered.

  “And Earon is longer, right?”

  “By five days, ten h…”

  “Good enough, Con.” Treena stood pacing the bridge, hands behind her back. “What if Earon isn’t their target? Wylen’s not a fool. He’s the most patient enemy we’ve ever faced off against. He likely spent centuries preparing for this move, and when his first attempt failed, he retreated here. He’s waiting for the very Protectors we sabotaged at Saturn to join his fleet.” She should have seen this before. “There’s no way he’s coming for Earon. The human colony? Forget it. Wylen doesn’t care about Earon or the Station. That has to be misinformation being fed to us.”

  Treena watched the radar image of the drones blinking toward their destinations. The Ugna were behind so much, including assisting the Assembly. Which meant her old ship, and Felix, were destroyed because of Wylen. They assumed that the Ugna assisted the Statu, and had been the ones to inform them about the Bacal ore. There were so many pieces to Wylen’s plan that hadn’t been considered, and Treena was starting to see it more clearly.

  “What’s his target, then?” Conner asked. “Nolix?”

  “It has to be. The heart of the Concord. But he failed once, so he leaked that Earon is the destination. The Ugna have already been recruiting outliers among the Concord partners, including some of the worlds that left the comfort of our alliance after Prime Pha’n came clean. He’s still playing the long game, or at least wanting us to think he is.” Treena found that talking it through was helping the picture form.

  “Captain, something’s happening,” Darl said, indicating the screen. A giant ship blinked into existence, a few kilometers from the peak of the gathered fleet above Tebas.

  “Wylen’s colony ship…” Treena had been so caught up in everything, she hadn’t even noticed its absence.

  Conner stated the obvious: “He has the Nek mods.”

  “Of course. He had the technology, but I have to assume he doesn’t have much supply,” Constantine said.

  At once, the entire fleet of dark Ugna ships came to life.

  “They’re moving!” Conner shouted, and Treena saw what he meant. The massive grouping of high-tech starships kicked their thrusters on in unison. The lengthy rows comprising the fleet flew as one: a carefully choreographed display that Treena assumed was for their leader’s benefit.

  “Don’t let them see us,” Treena ordered, but she was sure Constantine had already done everything he could to remain undetected from any localized radar searches. “How long until the satellites explode?”

  “Three minutes,” Constantine advised.

  “Should we leave?” Conner asked.

  “Not yet. We wait. See what happens.” Treena turned to Pol. “What do you make of this?”

  The old man rubbed his white-stubbled chin, the sound like sandpaper on wood. “It looks to me like they’re not leaving anyone behind. Maybe we can do some real recon when they’re departed.”

  Treena almost laughed at the comment. She’d never known Teller to suggest anything but battle. “Good idea.” In case things went south, Treena wanted to be prepared. “Darl, set the jump coordinates for Nolix. We have to reach the capital to alert them of what’s coming.” She stared at the synchronized evacuation of Tebas and couldn’t shake the sinking feeling.

  The next couple of minutes passed slowly. No one spoke while they waited for the drones to destroy their targets, but something about their plan struck a chord in Treena. “Stop the drones!”

  “Captain, are you certain?” Constantine asked.

  She raced to his console, seeing the digits counting down from ten. “Yes! Cut it!”

  Constantine did, the number stopping on a b
linking number seven. “May I ask why?

  “They’re out of here.” The fleet was already ten thousand kilometers from Tebas. “We wanted to disrupt them, but it would only draw unwanted attention to our position.”

  “Good point, Captain,” Conner said.

  With one potential crisis averted, Treena nervously observed the fleet as they flew deeper into the system, passing a cluster of moons off a tiny lifeless planet.

  “They’re out of radar range. Sending probes…”

  “Don’t bother,” Treena said. “We know their destination.” She pointed at Tebas on the left edge of the viewscreen. “Conner, arm yourself. We’re taking Cleo to the surface.”

  She’d started for the exit leading to their expedition ship when she saw the first explosion. At first, she suspected it was their drone, triggered at one of the satellites.

  That quickly changed as another detonation, followed by four more, erupted from Tebas. Pieces of the planet shot out in a perfect circle around the diameter of the world before a final explosion at the core shot millions of giant chunks in every direction. The sheer force sent waves this far out, rocking Constantine in their wake.

  Conner stood, gripping the headrest of his chair. “I guess this means we aren’t going to the surface?”

  His ill-timed joke fell flat as they all stared at the spot where Tebas once was.

  “Wylen destroyed his own planet,” Treena whispered.

  “Why would he do such a thing?” Lieutenant Darl asked.

  Pol Teller cleared his throat, but it still sounded like a lump was caught in it when he spoke. “Because he’s never returning. He plans to claim Nolix.”

  ____________

  “Tebas is gone, sir,” Elder Bezra confirmed. As big of a show as High Elder Wylen had made for the Elders, she couldn’t bear to witness the destruction of her home. The Ugna had inhabited it for ages, cultivating their power, and now it was gone. Nothing but space rubble. Debris later generations would speculate about.

  But it also meant there was nothing remaining to use against them. It was simpler than erasing their history from the planet. Plus, when he ruled the Concord, Wylen would control far more worlds, and would make a home anywhere he chose.