by David Beers
“I am, Romulus,” Monk said. He turned around again and faced the screens. “Go sleep. I will stand watch. You’re going to need your rest.”
Chapter Twelve
The AllSeer was resting when word came to him. The message came into the capsule he lay inside, and the irony wasn’t lost on him. It was the capsule he’d woken from, and now it was the one he rested in.
The algorithm is moving.
The message was simple, and the AllSeer had been waiting to hear it for hundreds of years.
The capsule opened, and he swung his legs to the side and stepped to the floor.
“Show me,” he said to the slave waiting for him.
The slave cast a holovid from the ceiling, showing the AllSeer the planet he’d been watching for so long. It looked as he remembered it, all metal and machine-like—impenetrable even for him. He had tried breaking through their defenses time and again, but each time, his forces had fallen. He’d done everything but show up there and had finally decided to simply watch the planet. Fate was on his side, so he waited.
“It took about twenty-four standard hours for the image to reach us,” the slave said.
The AllSeer watched, his calm demeanor slowly turning to amazement. In a lifetime that had seen almost everything imaginable, this was something new.
Everything constructed on the world began to fold in on itself. The AllSeer’s view was magnified, giving him a closer look than would otherwise have been possible. He watched as skyscrapers collapsed in a controlled manner, panel after panel folding into the one beneath it.
He could even see the largest machines shrinking, the entire planet disappearing one metal part at a time.
The machines and buildings broke apart, and the AllSeer watched huge swarms of bee-like steel rush through the air, heading to the machine capital. When they arrived, they didn’t slow but slammed into the collapsing buildings to meld with that metal.
The AllSeer witnessed an entire civilization fall into itself. He said nothing, only now beginning to understand what was happening—or had already happened.
At the end of the collapse, two machines remained on the world. One was a ship, another a droid.
The ship took off with the droid and two humans on it.
“Our closest ship can meet theirs in three standard days, master,” the slave told him.
The algorithm was loose in the universe once again. The AllSeer had missed the first opportunity to take it, and despite his best efforts, been thwarted repeatedly by the machine world.
If there had ever been a better example of the AllSeer’s belief in fate, he could not find it. The entire universe was coalescing around his homecoming.
“Connect with the ship’s commander,” he told the slave.
A few moments passed, then a voice filled the room.
“Master, this is Victor. How may I serve you?”
“You have eyes on the algorithm?”
“Yes. As best we can tell, it is attempting to reach a portal,” the answer came back.
“Ensure that it never reaches the portal, Victor. The humans on board are to be kept alive at all costs. If they die, the algorithm dies with them.”
“Yes, Master. It will be done.”
The connection ended, and the AllSeer was forced to smile. The slave in the room averted his eyes, staring at the ground rather than look at something so gruesome.
The AllSeer could not ask for better news. He couldn’t have planned a greater outcome.
The universe itself was bending to his will, and very soon, his lifelong ambitions would bear their fruit.
Chapter Thirteen
The first of many tests was upon the group, though only Monk knew it. Over the many years the machines had harbored the algorithm, one species above all others consistently got closest to taking it. Monk—for simplicity, the machine had adopted the name given to him by Ares—didn’t know the species’ name, only its leader.
The AllSeer. The being’s name was known throughout hundreds if not thousands of galaxies. Even the machines knew it, and if they’d feared any creature, it was he.
Monk had thought any number of groups might come for them, though the probability was always greatest that it would be the AllSeer’s minions.
“AI,” Monk said from the bridge, “please bring the humans here as quickly as possible.”
A few minutes passed as Monk watched the unfolding of ships reaching this dimension. The humans stepped onto the bridge as the third and hopefully final ship arrived.
“Who are they?” Veena asked as she sat down in the captain’s chair and took command of the bridge.
Monk didn’t move but watched as ships started toward theirs. He’d known there would be many tribulations on this journey, but he had hoped they would not meet this creature so quickly. Only he possessed ships like the ones Monk now saw. They were not under any kind of stealth technology. No, their arrogance was such that they would simply attempt to take the algorithm in full view.
“Monk,” Ares snapped. “Who is that?”
“His name was once Alexander de Finita,” Monk said in his mechanical voice.
“That’s imposs—” Ares started but abruptly stopped.
Veena spoke from her chair. “The first one, not the current Ascendant. The AllSeer. Monk, is he on that ship?”
“I doubt it,” Monk answered. “The AllSeer hasn’t left his planet in hundreds of years. His minions do his bidding.”
“What do they want?” Ares asked, although the answer was obvious to everyone on the bridge.
“He wants the algorithm.” Monk turned from the screens and faced the two humans. The machine didn’t know if this was the best humanity had to offer. He wasn’t even sure they were the best that had ever made it to his homeworld. The machines, as well as the universe, had run out of time, though, and this was what he had to work with. “He will keep you alive until he has it, then he will kill you.”
“How does he get it out of us?” Ares asked.
“Invasively,” Monk answered.
Ares didn’t like the idea of being invaded, but he did like the idea of being kept alive. It meant he could do a lot of killing before they finally captured him, and that was just what he planned to do.
Their ship was too large to bank sharply, but Veena was doing her damndest to knock him off his feet as he rushed back to his quarters.
The crazy bitch was jumping in and out of the third dimension, then going up to the fourth before diving back down into the third in an attempt to lose the AllSeer.
What it did to Ares was making him want to kill her.
He reached his room just as she jumped up to the fourth. His bones vibrated with the intensity of it. “AI, tell her to calm the fuck down.”
Ares didn’t know if the intelligence would deliver the message, but this was ridiculous. His head hurt from all the maneuvers.
He stepped into his boots and the suit folded up across his body, the dark-red armor covering all human aspects except his head. He kept the helmet retracted.
Ares grabbed the Whip from his nightstand. “Ready, old buddy?”
He could sense the Whip’s anxiety and it sensed his. Both were ready for battle. That was what Ares had been born to do. What his father had raised him to do.
Veena’s voice came over the intercom. “I can keep bouncing, but it’s not going to keep them at bay much longer. Maybe another hour. What do you want to do?”
Ares hooked his Whip to his belt and looked at the speaker. “Let them come.”
“They won’t board us,” Monk had explained. “We’ll board them.”
Ares hadn’t understood what the machine meant then, but when their ship passed through the other’s membrane, he got it.
They were going to place Veena and Ares’ ship right in their docking bay, and once Veena quit bouncing across dimensions, there wasn’t anything they could do to stop it. The technology that pulled their ship was unlike anything Ares had ever witnessed, let
alone the membrane that allowed them to move through the enemy’s ship.
“What now?” Ares asked as the ship finally set down, the transparent shell of the enemy’s ship turning opaque once again. Veena and Monk were behind him as he stood in his suit, waiting in their own bay. “You have any plan for how to deal with this guy, Monk?”
“My best advice would be to stay alive,” the robot responded.
“Every utterance makes me wish we’d left you on your planet, Monk.”
“Good. That means I’m doing my job.”
“They can’t kill me, right?” Ares double-checked.
“If they kill either of you, the algorithm dies with you,” Monk said. “The AllSeer will know that.”
The bay door started to open, the enemy clearly having control of it. Monk rolled to the side of the dock. “Veena, go with him. Don’t try to cover me. If I fall, we’ll figure out another way.”
Veena did something different then, surprising Ares. She reached up and grabbed the back of his head, his hair shaggy now from going so long without cutting it. “Do what the robot says. Stay alive.” She gave his hair a slight pull, then released him and trotted over to Monk.
The bay door finished its ascent. Ares rolled his helmet over his head, and with a flick of his wrist, sent his Whip alight.
The creatures in front of him…the only thing he’d ever seen that compared were the gigantes, though these things were more human.
All the same, they were giants, even bigger than Alistair after his mutation.
Ares’ father flashed through his mind, and he saw the stern face that had raised him to be the man he was now. Giant or human, he would make them bleed.
There were three of them at the docking bay, all marching forward with an arrogance that worked to Ares’ advantage.
He took two running steps and launched into the air, heading for the enemy on the far right. He reached the apex of the jump and began his fall, stretching his body out. The minion had stopped walking and was staring as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
Ares’ Whip slipped through the man’s core, and the moment it came through the other side, he tucked and rolled, somersaulting back onto his feet.
The giant remained standing for a moment, then his legs collapsed, and the top half of his body tumbled to the deck.
Ares hadn’t stopped moving, his crimson Whip a blur of lasers.
The two giants finally quit staring, their arrogance falling away about the same time their compatriot’s torso hit the deck.
They each held two short sabers. They were forced to give ground beneath Ares’ ferocious attack. Monk had been right; they couldn’t kill him, or they wouldn’t have given up so much space.
Ares twirled down, causing both to jump, and using the multiplier of his suit, raised his Whip, twirling once more.
He caught one enemy’s arm. His Whip wrapped around it and he pulled, slicing it off at the elbow. The flesh seared and the creature paused, his mouth twisted into a horrific silent scream.
That was all Ares needed. He was on his feet and shoving his Whip forward, the three strands one now. He plunged it through the man’s chest, his head facing the remaining enemy.
Ares yanked the Whip out and turned his full attention to the last one—until he heard the footsteps.
He glanced to his left, his HUD counting. Ten more. Their sabers were drawn.
“Enough.”
The voice was that of a god. Ares took a few steps back, assessing the new situation. The ten newcomers parted in the middle and the one who’d spoken stepped through. He was bigger than the rest, which was to say he looked more mountain than man.
He stopped just beyond the last of his soldiers. “There is nowhere for you to go. There is nothing for you to do, Titan. I’ve thousands of Superiors on this ship, and I’ll send every single one of them at you until you yield. You’ll lose limbs, organs, and anything else necessary, but I’ll make sure you stay alive. We both know what I want, and we both know that I’m going to have it.”
The mountain glanced at Monk.
“Doubtlessly, the machine has told you.” His eyes fell on Veena. “I promise that whatever happens to you as I send my Superiors will happen to her too. Every limb you lose, she’ll lose as well.”
Veena stepped away from the wall. “Go fuck yourself.”
Ares had no doubt that Veena would fight until death, but it wasn’t chivalry that made him stop. Veena was a warrior like him, if in a different discipline.
He thought back to the beasts in the woods where he and his friend had nearly died because of being overzealous and not waiting until the right time. If he lost now, there was no hope of making it back to Earth. The mountain was right; they couldn’t kill him or Veena, but they could remove the tools they’d need later. The tools they’d need to fight.
“What will it be?” the mountain asked. He looked at the two dead minions lying in multiple pieces on the deck. “You fight well, even if we’re handicapped by our current predicament.” He looked at Ares again. “Lay your weapon down, and you can travel as our guests until you reach the end destination. Otherwise, we can continue this dance.”
Ares turned to Veena.
She nodded.
Monk was still.
Ares knelt and silenced his Whip before placing it on the deck. The remaining attacker approached as Ares stood. He bent down to grab the Whip, and it took everything in the Titan to not dent his head with the suit’s boot.
Ares retracted his helmet and looked at the mountain. “What happens next?”
A not exactly cruel smile spread over the man’s face. “That depends on you two. If you behave with dignity, you’ll be treated well. If you behave like the majority of your species, we can make your trip much more painful.” He gestured at Monk. “Subdue the machine, but don’t break it. The master will want to inspect it.”
Five men crossed the bay and surrounded Monk. The robot did nothing, simply turned his head to look at each of the five as if memorizing them.
One placed a cloth-like necklace on Monk, and a bright green ribbon lit up as it touched the droid’s body. The one that had placed the necklace moved back toward the main group, and the robot followed without a word.
All three of us are subdued now, Ares thought as Veena stepped up next to him.
“Two out of three ain’t bad,” she whispered.
The mountain’s voice silenced Veena’s. “You can call me Victor. I serve my master, who I’m sure you’ve heard of—the AllSeer. It’s him we’re going to see. Come with me, and I’ll show you where you’ll stay during our trip.”
“For an evil man,” Veena whispered as they started walking, “he’s got manners.”
Chapter Fourteen
“You traded your souls for a shiny object, and now you have neither.”
The losses had been many, more than Petra had thought possible, but the Terram had been subdued.
Her Primus spoke in a massive below-ground chamber, the remaining Terram imprisoned beneath him or in other chambers throughout their labyrinth.
Petra stood on one of the ledges, staring down at the Terram and listening to Jovan speak. The Terram were mixed with the Plutonians Kane hadn’t taken with him. Petra realized, as she was sure her Primus did, that if something didn’t happen quickly, disease would take over in a mass like this that was forced to live in close quarters.
Petra didn’t think anyone was very worried about that.
The rest of the battle had taken four long days, but finally the Terram had sent word that they were surrendering. While they’d done that before, it seemed the Ascendant had to make a different judgment call now. His army’s size had decreased by more than he’d allowed for, and to continue to fight in these holes would just decrease it more. He had to have something left when Kane arrived.
Even Hector had been glad to end the battles, and he’d fought like a man possessed.
Petra stood next to him, both staring do
wn at the huddled masses.
Perhaps at the end of this battle, there would be a tally of enemy killed, but as far as boots on the ground, no one had any doubt as to whose group had done the most damage: his.
To Petra, it’d seemed like they’d been in constant motion. Any time an uprising that might threaten the Commonwealth’s advance became visible, Hector turned his group toward it. They fought them from the side, head-on—any way that Hector could help turn the tide.
Which was what he had done.
He’d turned tides, and from what Petra had seen, it had been heroic as the saying indicated. Tides were moon-born waves that could only be turned by time, and that was what it looked like each time they showed up to fight—that it was impossible to change what was going to happen without a force of nature.
Hector had been that force of nature. When he arrived, tides changed as consistently as they did with the moon. The Primus was speaking to the defeated masses, but the word was starting to spread about where the real power stood.
Right now, it was next to Petra. Hector seemed to either stick around her or keep her near him. The result was the same; they were rarely separated.
Petra wasn’t looking forward to what came next. The Imperial Ascendant had scheduled time with her, but she didn’t know what he would ask. More, she didn’t know what Hector would think. Would he attempt to kill her? Petra had no illusions about how she’d fare in a fight with the man.
Either way, she knew where her duty lay—to the Commonwealth and the Imperial Ascendant.
She leaned closer to Hector. “I have to leave.”
He didn’t look down at her but said, “Go give your report, Bird.”
She looked at him quizzically for a moment. He knew, but why did that surprise her? He knew more than she’d ever imagined. The man was in tune with everything around him almost all the time.
Petra said nothing but stepped away from the ledge. As she walked down the tunnels, her Primus’ booming voice faded.
