by David Beers
Obs had stopped pacing. He was looking at Relm with discerning eyes.
“There’s got to be more to it,” Aspen said.
“This all relies on the gods.” Relm knelt down, placed his pulse on his back, and retracted the armor over his hands. He snapped his fingers and Obs walked over, letting Relm stroke the parts of his fur that were not covered in vomit. “I’m not going to sit here and say I like this plan. It’s the craziest shit Pro’s ever come up with, but we’ve all sworn allegiance, so we’re doing what he tells us to. There are more tunnels in this place than you’ll ever imagine, and there are tunnels beneath where the Terram are being held. We’re going there, and we’re waiting until he gives us a sign.”
“Then what?”
Relm, looking at Obs, smiled. “Then we start an uprising.”
Aspen shook his head, but Relm knew he would never have done that in Pro’s presence. Not here. Not like this. But here they were.
“Do you think this will work?” Aspen asked.
“Sit, Obs,” Relm whispered. The drathe did as he was told. Relm kept petting as he looked up, his eyes falling on all four soldiers. “When your sister brought her people to us, I thought we were dead. I knew it, in fact. I watched one of those white slaves you guys breed nearly kill one of my best friends in the street. He got us through that, even though it almost killed him. Do I think we’ll get through this? Not a fucking chance, broth. Those people in the sky, though? They need us to try. All my friends and your whole family need us to give this every fucking thing we have, so that’s what we’re going to do.” He stood up, his armor rolling back over his hands. “I’ll be honest with you, Aspen de Monaham. If you don’t want to come, sit here. Go and hide somewhere. I’m going forward, and I know this drathe is too, but you three? You can do what you please. I’ve got my orders.”
Aspen looked at the ground for a moment, and when he looked back up, the fear had been shoved down. It wasn’t gone, but it was somewhere deep inside him. He unhooked the pistol from his holster. “Let’s go. Tyra, take the rear.”
Obs wasn’t happy with his master. He understood now why he’d been asked to leave the room when it was only Relm and Prometheus. His master had known then that he’d be separating from Obs, and he didn’t want to worry about having to explain it. The drathe would have done what his master said, but here it would have taken more time, not to mention dealing with this new human named Aspen.
Obs understood it was the smart move, but it didn’t soothe his annoyance too much.
Relm was in the lead, one of the new warriors behind him, then Aspen, and finally the last woman. Obs kept pace with Aspen. He’d been given his orders just like Relm and he planned on following them.
He was to keep Aspen alive at all costs, which meant his own life.
Obs didn’t question that. His purpose was his master’s, and if his death furthered his master’s purpose, then that’s the way it should be.
He didn’t know what was to come, but drathe didn’t think about the future. Obs could feel his master and he was still alive, though he was moving in the opposite direction. He didn’t know what Alistair Kane was going to do, but unlike the humans around him, he didn’t worry about that either.
His master would do what was necessary to save them all.
Obs would do his part.
Alistair was moving quickly.
He knew Thoreaux had thought he was using all his time thinking back to when he’d refused to see anyone, but that wasn’t all he’d been doing. He’d been studying this massive planet with its incredible underground system of trains, tunnels, and massive cathedral-like spaces. He’d had Jeeves run thermal scans, but in the end, the AI hadn’t been able to see anything beyond the fire.
So, a lot of this had been guesswork, but there wasn’t anything else they could have done.
Change the paradigm.
As Alistair jogged through the transparent tunnels, a thought came to him.
The AllMother has to keep living because the old woman continues to teach.
Then Luna spoke up. Allie, you just better keep living right now.
A smile appeared on his face behind his helmet.
Alistair had used the trains in this place when he lived here, though seldom. The Terram didn’t like him moving too much; they hadn’t trusted him. They were high-speed, as easily as fast as anything on Earth, and more, they traveled almost straight to their points.
The Commonwealth wasn’t dumb, and if they’d lost the pod, they at least knew the direction it was coming. They’d use the train to get here, and Alistair planned on being ready for them.
Every time he’d chased his enemy, he’d been ready to kill, except for with the Ice Queen, when he’d been forced to give himself up.
This time, he was willingly giving himself to them.
About twenty minutes after leaving his group, he found the closest entrance to the train depot. His mind moved the door and he hopped down, then took off jogging again.
He understood that speed was of the essence. If the kill squad got off that train, they’d still be hunting. Those on this side might be hunting, but there weren’t as many, and he and Relm had spent the last couple of hours going over the tunnels—the ones most likely to be uninhabited, or at least with few people walking them.
All that really mattered, though, was Alistair interrupting the kill squad. Making them think he’d come alone. Then no one was going to be looking for the rest.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ares hadn’t moved for over an hour. All he’d had was his thoughts, and they weren’t a great space to be in. Mainly he was mentally kicking his own ass for all this. Leaving the Commonwealth, going after the algorithm, convincing Veena every step of the way that it was the right choice.
He thought back to his father, but he could remember no lessons Adrian had taught to get him out of this. His father’s teachings did nothing for him now.
Nothing did.
He heard the doors behind him open and watched as Monk rolled in with two of the Superior surrounding him. They gave him a quick glance then walked back out, leaving the two frozen entities to wait by themselves.
Ares could see Monk out of the corner of his eye, and the machine looked like it powered down once its movement stopped.
The doors shut, and a minute or so passed.
A blue light appeared on Monk’s head, then the robot did a quick turn so he was staring at Ares. “I’m tempted to leave you like that. I think hearing you curse a lot when you’re finally freed might be very humorous.”
Ares couldn’t move or say a word. He stared forward as his mind went into hyperdrive, wondering what in hades was going on.
Monk rolled so the two faced each other. “Despite the humor, I’m going to free you. You most likely are going to fall down, given how long you’ve been frozen, so be prepared.”
The blue light blinked red, then Ares felt his muscles relax. The clip released from his arms.
He was quick enough to catch himself before he landed on his ass.
He let himself down easily, then tried to speak, but it took his jaw a few tries to work right. “What the fuck are you doing? You’ve had that capability all the time, and you haven’t used it?”
Monk wheeled his treads so his back faced Ares. His head searched the room, including the ceiling. He said nothing.
“You have to know they’re watching this room. They’ll be in here in seconds, then you’re going to the trash compactor, Monk. I’m not going to save you either. That was idiotic.”
Monk rolled toward the middle of the room. His voice carried to Ares as he spoke. “The problem with humans is that you are an arrogant species. It blows my processing units that for thousands of years, you’ve considered yourself the pinnacle of evolution in one breath, yet worship a single god or multiple ones at the same time. You are not the pinnacle of evolution, just the species that has spread through the most galaxies, at least in this dimension. You may be able
to travel in the higher dimensions, but you still don’t have the ability to see the beings that live there.”
He turned around and faced Monk. “If you created the ability to hide conversations, do you not think I can? That’s what the blue light is trying to tell your small mind. We’re safe right now. No one can see us, and the AllSeer hasn’t decided to dig into me yet and find out what I’m capable of. The AllSeer suffers from the same human compulsions as you, apparently, thinking he knows everything. He may have mastered technology at a level the rest of your species hasn’t, but he’s not even out of what we consider the second evolution. So, as an old saying of your people’s used to go, I have a few tricks left up my sleeve. When they return, things might change, but for now, we’ve got a bit of time. I’d honestly rather spend it with Veena, but I think the AllSeer has different plans for her.”
Ares pushed himself back to the wall, not yet ready to stand up. He didn’t need any more explanations from Monk. There was some kind of stealth mechanism over the room, and whatever tech was watching them wouldn’t see anything but what the robot wanted it to. “Is Veena safe?”
“That part is up to her,” Monk said. “Her family plays a larger role in her life than she knows, and I believe the AllSeer knows that as well. He sees deeply, deeper than my kind originally thought. However, it’s why we’ve done what we’ve done with her. I hope she figures herself out. For now, you and I have other things to consider.”
Monk rolled back to where Ares sat, coming to his right side. He kept talking, more than he ever had before. “This has the possibility to turn out better than we thought, as long as I’m not torn into parts. Leaving this up to you would be like leaving it up to a newborn. Now be quiet for one second. This part is delicate.”
The room was silent for a minute or more, then the fiery planet named Phoenix appeared in the middle of the room like the orb had. It wasn’t a holovid, and it looked like a planet was sitting in the middle of the room.
“Okay, these are the most dangerous parts. Hacking their restraint tech is easy, but right now, I’m hacked into what you’d call an AI and having it broadcast this here. The AI isn’t as arrogant as humans, so it might notice something is going on. I’m going to do my best to keep that from happening. Either way, you won’t die until you get back to Earth.”
Ares’ eyes narrowed as he stared at the two fleets in the image. One was farther out from the planet; it appeared to be just a bit out of firing range. Ares could tell it was far enough away that if the Commonwealth fleet gave chase, the other would have time to retreat, thus creating a standoff.
“This was why the AllSeer paused,” Monk said. “What happens here is very important to him, though I’m sure he has other plans as well.”
“Why is this important? If he wants to get back to Earth, what’s it matter what happens with de Finita and Alistair?”
“Your former mentor is the prophesied one. Whether or not the AllSeer will admit it to himself, there is a part of him that fears the Titan. Just as the AllSeer has said that fate drives him to his destiny, the AllMother has said that the Titan would be found. It was her own fate, and she believed in it totally. If Kane survives this, it’s going to change things for the AllSeer, and I believe he knows it.”
“Why?” Ares asked. He didn’t care about being called stupid by this machine anymore. He was far out of his element at this point, and he didn’t think anyone in their mid-twenties could understand all this.
“Because I’d venture to say it’s theoretically impossible to survive this. I know you’re not too dumb to see that the Commonwealth’s fleet is too large to be defeated. More, they have the planet.” It sounded as if a smile were in the machine’s voice as he continued. “Multiple galaxies are watching this right now, and I don’t think anyone thought what just happened would. When the AllSeer saw it, he stopped everything, even his business with Veena.”
The machine paused.
“Don’t make me ask.”
Again the smile in his voice, “But it’s so much fun for me. Fine, human. An escape pod launched from Kane’s fleet. It was far too fast and agile to be shot down, which is of course the point of an escape pod. It didn’t flee, though. It landed on Phoenix, and no one can see inside those flames.”
Ares raised his eyebrows. “Alistair launched himself alone into that planet? It wasn’t a bomb or something like that?”
“He can’t bomb that planet. He needs the portal, and the Terram are his responsibility. All probabilities point to him having gone, though perhaps not alone. Luckily for us, the AllSeer’s tech is allowing us to see this almost in real-time. We’ll know who wins as soon as it happens.”
Ares rubbed his hands through his long hair. Alistair had been the best he’d ever seen, and whatever arrogance Ares had when he served under him, he’d known it. The man was two decades older, yet able to do things mere mortals were awed by. When he’d fought him on the dreadnought, Alistair had been almost inhuman. He’d done things Ares had never imagined possible, the mutations giving him that much more.
Plus, there was the thing Ares never truly considered because he hadn’t wanted to.
What had Alistair done with his mind? He was nearly an immortal.
“I’m waiting for you to ask me if he can win.”
“I have another question first,” Ares said.
Monk’s head turned to him, cocked now, doing his best to display shock with his machine body. “That’s surprising. I normally read you better than you read yourself. Go on, human.”
“Well, you did basically invade my mind for the gods know how long, so I’ll let you knowing me well slide.” He pointed at the planet. “Does our plan ever put us back with Alistair?”
Monk turned his head back to the image in front of them. The humor in his voice was gone. “Telling you too much could be dangerous, and not just because you’re immature and brash. There are things to come that you need not know about yet if probability holds. However, if it is the Titan’s goal to return to Earth as well as yours, you would think such a thing might be possible.”
Ares was quiet for a moment. All the regret he’d experienced as he waited in here alone faded. Quitting the Commonwealth, getting stuck out here—all of it disappeared because there was one regret he hadn’t allowed himself to deal with. He’d ended up helping save Alistair, or at least doing the best he could, but he’d traded on his mentor. He’d bought what the Ascendant sold for so long, he nearly paid with all his soul. He regretted that.
Looking at what Alistair had done, he regretted not being by his side.
Could he fight one day alongside him? That was what the machine was saying. Maybe their destiny would put them back together. It was the greatest news he’d ever heard.
“One more thing, robot, then you will get the question you want.”
Monk nodded. “I know this one. What does the AllSeer want with Veena?”
“Bingo.” Veena was the most important person in the universe to Ares and probably would be until the moment he died. Regardless of what was in front of him, he would always be concerned for her safety.
“The AllSeer, as far as I know, has yet to create a female version of himself. All the Superior are male replicas or something close to it. The AllSeer wants a bride, but it has to be someone with the right spirit. His sister had it, of course, but despite the AllSeer’s insanity, he’s not incestuous. He sees the trouble in Veena’s mind, and my best guess is he hopes to exploit it to create his bride. He will have his sister, his empire, and his wife, and then he will have his progeny. That’s what he wants.”
Ares nodded, showing no emotion. He trusted Veena. She’d see through the AllSeer’s wiles. “Okay, give me your odds for Kane, then I’ll give you mine.”
“I can’t say that I’m a creature who doesn’t believe in fate because pretty much my entire time of sentience has been spent waiting for the poor excuse you turned out to be. However, you did show up. If fate exists, which I believe it does
, I’d put him at fifty percent. Only because if he loses, I think we all lose. If it wasn’t the prophesied one, zero percent.” He turned his blinking head to Ares. “What say you? You know him better than I. What are his chances?”
“One hundred percent. He’s got this.” Ares smiled big. “I mean, can you imagine, Monk, the godsdamn parades they’re going to throw for me when I show back up on Earth, reunite with my former mentor, and then destroy the whole Commonwealth? There will be statues across every galaxy known to man. I know you’re excited.”
Monk slowly turned back toward the planet. “For my sake, I hope Kane dies now so I never have to witness that travesty.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alistair made it to the depot. It was empty, but he saw no train in it. Most likely—or so he hoped—that meant the kill squad hadn’t arrived yet. Those already on this side of the planet were most likely scurrying, searching for Relm’s party, but he couldn’t worry about that. He had to keep his mind here in the moment, doing what he could.
He waited on one of the rock benches, rolling back his helmet and keeping his Whip in hand.
His mind tried to go to Luna, but he wouldn’t let it. He couldn’t go there and imagine that marriage right now.
Instead, he considered the AllMother. True, she’d been a hundred years old or so but still going up against an impossible force. She’d done it because it’d been necessary. She’d been willing to die, and Alistair still didn’t know how she’d survived. He imagined she’d tell him one day when it was needed.
He smiled as he thought about how stupid he’d been to hate these people—the Subversives. How he thought they’d been trying to destroy the fabric of society for anarchy, for the rise of warlords. These Subversives, of which he was now one, were the greatest humans ever made. He didn’t know if he deserved them, but he was glad he had them.
