Primal Darkness

by Ryan Kirk

  Nicks smiled, and Kindra realized just how ridiculous she must sound. Were people supposed to be polite to their enemies? All she knew was that she didn’t want to say something that would result in violence.

  “You can relax, commander. I’ve looked over your record, and it allows me to come to certain conclusions. You’re a scientist, and the only reason you’re second-in-command on Vigilance is because the previous executive officer was killed on the very planet we are now racing towards. That’s a story I’d love to hear someday, but for now, let’s get to the point. You were sent here by Captain Absalon because you’re the highest ranking officer on his jumper that isn’t exosuit-certified. He gave you instructions to be nothing more than a glorified messenger, and ultimately, he considers you to be expendable. Am I close?”

  Kindra didn’t know what to do. Her first impulse was to lie, but she was a poor liar, and she couldn’t come up with anything that would convince Nicks, anyway. Whatever his allegiance, he seemed a competent commander.

  Nicks didn’t seem to be bothered by her silence. “I’ll assume I’m close. Don’t worry. I would have rather had Captain Absalon come over himself so we could talk about what’s really happening here, but I’ll let him fear for his own safety. You can deliver a message to him.”

  “What do you want?”

  “We know Fleet is searching for a weapon capable of destroying all opposition. I’ve seen our intelligence reports, and although we aren’t as capable as we once were, the evidence is clear. I know you believe you’ve discovered a weapon that will change the balance of power in the galaxy.”

  Nicks’ eyes bored into her, and suddenly his expression changed. “You don’t know, do you?”

  Kindra had started the conversation confused. It was only getting worse.

  “You think this is only about protecting the alien planet, don’t you?”

  Nicks stood and paced, as though he had learned something that changed everything. Finally, he stopped and stared at Kindra.

  “I won’t go into politics with you because that’s pointless. You believe in Fleet, and there’s nothing I can say in the next few minutes that will change that. But, Fleet isn’t as benevolent as you might think it is. They won’t succeed in their real mission. You can pass that along.

  “As such, my only demand is this: leave off this foolish pursuit. My ship far overpowers yours, both in terms of jumpers and in terms of the military onboard. As much as I detest Fleet, I don’t want to kill people like you, Kindra, who only believe you are doing your jobs and exploring the galaxy.”

  Nicks paused, as though he was waiting for a response. Kindra searched for the appropriate one, but had trouble finding it. “That’s it? You wanted me to come all the way over here, just so you could ask us to give up?”

  Nicks nodded. “Yes. I didn’t realize how little Fleet was passing on to its crew. I’m sure you’re recording this, so I’ll say this once. We know you have the weapon, and we know you are heading back to the planet. But, even with your weapon, we are certain we can beat you. I’d like to avoid loss of life if I can.”

  Everything was upside-down in Kindra’s mind. Nicks kept referring to a weapon, but was he talking about Tev? Tev was interesting, but Nicks kept referring to a weapon, not a person. Regardless, Kindra decided this was an occasion where discretion was in her best interests, so she didn’t say or ask anything.

  “Is there anything else you’d like to mention?”

  Nicks shook his head and then seemed to reconsider. “Only one other thing. The rebellion will never die, and we will never let Fleet crush us under their heel.”

  “I’ll let Captain Absalon know.”

  Nicks stood again. “I’m sorry that we had to meet under such circumstances, but despite that, it was a pleasure meeting you, commander. Perhaps one day we can meet again when we can be on the same side of the table.”

  Kindra nodded, and before she knew what had happened, she was back on her shuttle, safely on the way to Destiny.

  As soon as she landed, she was taken to meet with Captain Absalon in his office. Mala, Absalon, and Derreck were all there, and Kindra couldn’t help but feel as though she was in front of a firing squad, one that shot stares instead of bullets. She also couldn’t help but compare the difference between the two offices she’d been in. Nicks’, decorated with beautiful art, and Absalon’s, as bare as an office could be.

  As her hover sled brought her to the command office, they downloaded all of her memories, and Kindra was glad to have them out of her head. She didn’t have any desire to be human memory storage.

  Destiny’s AI was running an analysis of her memories, but the results would still take a few minutes. Until then, they asked her questions, more questions than she thought were reasonable. They didn’t care about what actually happened. For that, they could get a much more objective view from the memories embedded in her nanos. What they wanted were impressions.

  “He seemed sincere. I’ll admit that I’m not the best lie detector, but there was a passion to what he was saying. At the very least, he believes he will do whatever he can to prevent us from reaching Tev’s planet again.”

  Her answer seemed not to sit well with the rest of the leadership.

  Derreck was the one who voiced their concern. “But if he wants us out of the picture so badly, why wouldn’t he take his opportunities? He just had his best shot and didn’t finish it.”

  Kindra countered. “What if he was being honest? What if he doesn’t want to kill us?”

  Absalon scoffed. “Sometime you should read the file on Captain Nicks. If there is one thing that is true about him, it’s that he is a believer in the cause of the rebellion. He has shown on several occasions that he will do anything necessary to further that cause. On that count, he was lying to you.”

  More than anything, Kindra wanted to ask about Nicks belief in a weapon. Where had that idea come from? She thought that he believed in what he was saying, but to the best of her knowledge, there was no weapon on the ship that should have the rebel captain worked up. However, she decided now was not the time to ask. It was the type of question that she wanted to ask Derreck alone, because he would give her the straightest answer.

  Mala floated an idea across the table. “Do you think he wants us to get farther out into frontier space? If so, any attack he makes will be far more detrimental to us. It will take us longer to get word back to command, giving him more time to do whatever he plans on doing.”

  Absalon nodded. “It’s the only thing I can think of that makes any sense. On the other hand, he’d only be buying himself a few extra weeks, which doesn’t seem like that big of a deal when we look at the grand scheme of what they are trying to accomplish. Every jump he lets us take is a jump that we get closer to our goal, and it increases his risk. It still seems like it would make far more sense for him to attack now when he’s got an opportunity he can’t beat.”

  Ever since Kindra’s return, Destiny had been moving away from Hellbringer. No matter what happened, they wanted to have more space between the two ships. Hellbringer hadn’t responded at all, allowing the distance to increase without concern.

  There was a beep, and everyone at the meeting received a notification that the AI had finished analyzing Kindra’s memories. Absalon flipped through several highlighted sections before stopping at one in particular. It was an image, clearly enlarged and enhanced from Kindra’s original memory. She didn’t remember seeing it at all, but something had happened in the corner of her vision.

  The image was of a hanger bay, and inside was something Kindra wouldn’t have believed possible. There were exosuits. More exosuits than Kindra had ever seen in one place before. She queried the AI, which counted 93 suits, but suspected based on the estimated dimensions of the hanger that there were at least 144 present. Kindra sat back in her hover sled, astounded by the number.

  How had the rebellion managed to get their hands on that number of suits? Kindra didn’t know how many Flee
t had, but 144 would be a substantial percentage. Another query to the AI let her know that at present, Destiny had 36 suits onboard, but only 24 pilots. If it came to combat, the Hellbringer would overwhelm them with almost no difficulty at all.

  Derreck whistled to himself. “Damn.”

  Absalon sat back in his own chair, clearly concerned. “If they have that type of force, we don’t stand any chance against an assault. They could take us out whenever they pleased. Nicks wasn’t lying about that, apparently.”

  Derreck responded. “They may have that many suits, but what if they don’t have the pilots? What if they are in a situation much like ours?”

  Absalon looked up. “Is that a risk you are willing to take? Even if they only have pilots for half those suits, they would still destroy us. We know that Hellbringer is the last rebellion combat jumper. It would make sense if they placed all their eggs in one basket and focused their efforts.”

  There was silence around the table as they pondered what it was they were supposed to do, so far from any support.

  Tev had responded to Derreck’s summons, and now he found himself back on the Vigilance after a long hiatus. On the Destiny, there wasn’t much reason to visit the docked dropship, but Derreck had found one.

  The rest of the crew were present as well. Eleta and Alston were there, and Kindra and Derreck came aboard only a few minutes after Tev. He wondered what Derreck was up to. He knew they were being chased by another ship, knew that they were looking at possibly having to fight, but none of that would explain why they were meeting here, of all places.

  Derreck looked at Eleta, who nodded to him. The captain wanted to make sure no one was listening. What was he up to?

  Derreck answered the question himself by getting right to the point. “Everyone, I’m worried about what is going on aboard this ship.”

  No one responded, waiting for him to continue. Tev instinctively looked at Alston, whose face was impassive.

  “It’s hard for this not to sound paranoid, and maybe it is, but all of you have heard about the intelligence Kindra received when she went aboard the Hellbringer. They have the strength necessary to wipe us all out, and yet they don’t do it. I’ve talked to Absalon about it several times, but I haven’t been satisfied with his answers. Captain Nick referred to a special weapon when Kindra visited his ship. Everyone seems to think he was talking about Tev, but I’m just not convinced. I think there’s more going on here than we are being told.”

  Alston spoke up, an action that didn’t surprise Tev. He knew the man studied rocks, and the way his mind worked was remarkable. He wasn’t burdened by concerns for ethics like so many people were. Results were all that mattered to him.

  “Derreck, please be specific. What do you want?”

  Derreck looked around. “The reason I asked you here is because I want to learn more. Captain Absalon will not tell us anything we don’t already know. Perhaps I’m overreacting, but my duty is to Fleet and the safety of the planets that it protects. I’m not losing sight of that.”

  “So what do you want us to do?” It was Eleta, leaning forward to hear what would happen next.

  “First, I want to reaffirm that we’re all in this together. We’re far, far away from anyone that can help us, and I need to know that everyone here has each other’s backs. If not, we might as well not even try. What I’m proposing is a method for us to learn what’s going on. Once we know more, than we decide, as a group, what actions we want to take. That’s the deal. But whatever we decide, we all abide by.”

  Everyone looked around the table at each other, their gazes eventually falling on Alston.

  He swept his hand at them, as though trying to clear them all away. “Fine. I don’t know if I agree, but I’ll back you all up. You all can trust me.”

  Tev couldn’t help but smile to himself. Alston was a pain, but he was as much a part of the crew as anyone else. They wouldn’t act without him, and he wouldn’t allow himself to be left behind. It was an interesting dynamic that Tev enjoyed observing.

  “So, what’s the plan?” asked Kindra.

  Derreck smiled. “Well, I was thinking we could send in a spy.” He glanced over at Tev, who couldn’t figure out at what was in store for him.

  Tev wasn’t certain if Derreck was just very good at guessing the moves of his opponents, or if he had some way of being able to tell the future. Either way, everything he had predicted came to pass.

  About a week after the meeting on the Vigilance the call came through his earpiece. Captain Absalon asked for Tev to come visit in his office. Tev had never been there before, but he called Kindra and she was able to guide him there. He rehearsed the checklist of everything he needed to do, making sure he was prepared for whatever happened. It really wasn’t all that complicated, but he was nervous all the same.

  Tev entered Absalon’s office shortly after he was asked to appear. Absalon turned around from the viewscreen, which displayed a large map. Tev had been studying the same map over and over, because it showed just how close they were getting to his home planet. He was looking forward to the smell of boar roasting over a fire, the juices slowly cooking as the meat was spun, the fat crackling in the fire. Kindra and her kind may be far more advanced than his own, but it didn’t mean they had everything figured out.

  Absalon’s office was one of the most barren rooms Tev had been in since leaving Haven. Most people filled their offices and spaces with pictures, holos, and trinkets. Tev had noticed that even though most people could project images using the machines in their bodies, most preferred physical items in their own spaces. He understood. The virtual items they had were useful, but they didn’t carry the same emotional impact as something physical, something you could touch.

  Tev stepped up to the map, and as he did, the viewscreen changed to an image Tev had never seen before. It looked like a map, but of what, Tev wasn’t certain.

  Absalon stepped next to him. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Tev nodded. “What is it?”

  “It’s a map of old Earth. This is where all of humanity came from. It’s where you came from too, if your genetics are any indication.”

  They took a moment, and Absalon showed him the map in more detail. He pointed out the different lands and said a bit about them all. There had been great civilizations, and he said the map they were looking at was a map of the entire planet. Some of the nations had covered more land than Tev could imagine ever walking. And the water. There was more water than he had imagined possible, but water you couldn’t drink.

  Tev marveled at everything he was learning. It was a constant temptation to think of everything as a legend, to think of everything in the same way he thought of Lys and her endless hunt. No one knew for sure if Lys was real. Tev had always believed in her, but wasn’t sure if she had been an actual person. But everything Absalon was telling him was something true, something his people had concrete proof of.

  Eventually, Tev had to stop thinking about it. If he thought too much about all the new information, it became overwhelming. He needed to change the subject and think about something else.

  “What can I do for you, Captain Absalon?”

  Absalon motioned to his desk and indicated the two of them should sit down. It was another custom Tev still hadn’t gotten used to. On his planet, if something important needed to be discussed, it was discussed around a fire, standing up, or while walking from place to place. Never sitting down. Sitting was a posture of ease, not suitable for important words.

  As they sat, Tev looked around the office. In one of his pockets there was a small disk he needed to leave on Absalon’s desk. It was a simple task, complicated only by the fact that Absalon couldn’t see Tev placing it, and if their plan was going to work, couldn’t notice it any time soon. Tev was dismayed to see that Absalon’s desk was spotless and clean, with no good place to hide the disk. Eleta had made one side adhesive, but Tev still needed to physically plant it some place Absalon wouldn’t see.
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  Absalon began by thanking Tev for everything he had done, but changed his tone quickly when he realized Tev wasn’t paying much attention.

  “Tev, there are going to be serious things happening at your planet soon, and I want to make sure you are ready for them.”

  Tev focused his attention on Absalon, which was all that the captain seemed to want. He explained what Tev already knew through Kindra, that the other people wanted to come to his planet and make the hunters fight for them.

  Eventually, Absalon got to the point.

  “Tev, I want you to fight with us. I know that Vigilance has adopted you as crew, but I’d also like to post you with Destiny. We will have a battle on our hands soon, and with you fighting with us, we will have a much better chance. You’ll be able to pilot an exosuit in battle and help protect your people in the process.”

  Tev didn’t understand all the politics involved. He had always assumed that if it came to a battle, he would be used. A clan didn’t only send out one hunter when threatened by a whole pack of large cats. They sent out all the hunters. He assumed Kindra and her people would do the same.

  Regardless, there was no question in his mind what he would choose. “Of course.”

  Absalon’s reaction wasn’t exactly what Tev expected. There was relief there, but there was something else, something Tev couldn’t identify.

  “Thank you, Tev. I’m going to put you in a squad with Major Aki, who will command your group. I promise that with your help, Fleet will protect your people for all time. You’re doing something great.”

  That was starting to lay it on a bit thick. Tev wasn’t sure what was happening, but he could tell when someone wasn’t being completely honest, and Absalon wasn’t.

  Absalon stood up and turned back to the viewscreen behind his desk. Tev seized the opportunity, slipping the disk underneath Absalon’s desk and holding it there to make sure it stuck. It did, and Tev masked the movement by standing up, mirroring Absalon’s action. Absalon turned around, but he didn’t turn around fast enough to notice anything untoward. Tev was in the clear.