Primal Darkness

by Ryan Kirk

  Absalon motioned Tev to come around the desk and join him at the viewscreen, which Tev did. The captain switched the image back to the original map showing the route to Tev’s planet. Absalon pointed out Tev’s homeworld and smiled. “Don’t worry, you’re almost home.”

  Tev nodded, a fake smile on his own face. He knew they were almost home, and was excited for that possibility. But he worried about what would happen when they got there. He wasn’t sure if his arrival would herald a new age for his people, or if it would bring about their doom.

  Kindra felt as though she was a dry twig, ready to snap at any moment. It was a bizarre feeling, because from most anyone’s perspective, the mission so far had gone as well as could be expected. Granted, they were being trailed by the Hellbringer, but so far there hadn’t been any casualties.

  But the tension was seeping into her soul. She had joined Fleet for a simple purpose: she wanted to explore the galaxy. She wanted to find places where life could thrive. It had never occurred to her how dangerous it might be if all her dreams came true.

  Exploring Tev’s planet, at least at first, had been the pinnacle of her career, of her life. To find a planet that supported diverse ecosystems had been a dream come true, a dream that she had never even been able to give her whole heart to because of just how unlikely it was. It had turned into a nightmare as first contact threatened to become a war, but on the whole, she still felt a sense of accomplishment for their discovery. She had thought the worst was over.

  It seemed, though, that the worst was yet to come. In her mind, what Fleet needed to do was straightforward. They needed to protect Tev’s planet the way they protected natural spaces for a while back on old Earth. Ideally, they would minimize contact and build up a relationship slowly, ensuring that Tev’s people had a chance to thrive and grow with only as much interference as they chose.

  The universe seemed to conspire against that idea, though. Kindra was concerned about the current actions of Fleet, but she had believed in Fleet for most of her life, and it was hard to shake the belief that they had everyone’s best interests in mind. She had served for several years, and the people she had grown to know and love were good people, capable of making good decisions. Derreck was the epitome of that belief. She knew he had a past he didn’t want to talk about, but she also believed that same past was what gave him the wisdom to make good decisions today.

  When the remnants of the rebellion came into play, though, everything was thrown into confusion. Fleet’s actions became more debatable, and she was questioning everything she believed in. Was she on the right side of history? Were they the good or the bad? The fact that she couldn’t answer the question easily tormented her daily.

  The problem was compounded by the knowledge that everything was on a timer. They were only a handful of jumps away from Tev’s planet, and there was less and less time to decide. The end game was approaching, and Kindra wasn’t sure which side of the table she was playing on. She wasn’t even sure what pieces were on the board, or how she could win.

  Derreck’s most recent message to her wasn’t easing her mind, either. He had called her to his quarters, an urgency in his voice. There was only one reason she could think of. Their bug in Captain Absalon’s office must have finally picked up on something they could use, or at least, something they needed to do. Kindra checked her display and saw that no one else was heading towards Derreck’s quarters, so whatever he was debating was between just the two of them.

  The door opened to her, but when it closed again, she heard the lock cycle behind her. Derreck held up his hand for a moment, switching on a device Kindra recognized as something Eleta had scrapped together. It would jam any potential listening sensors. Only once it was on did Derreck turn to her.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “What’s wrong, Derreck? You’ve got me worried. Did you find something about the weapon that Nick was talking about?”

  Derreck nodded. “I think so. Eleta’s hacking has unlocked a series of files I have never encountered before. We’re not all the way through the encryption on them yet, but they are reports from Mala’s mission. They found something on that other planet that they aren’t talking about. I hope to figure out what that is soon enough, but my gut tells me it’s the weapon Nick was referring to.

  “That’s not why I called you here. I found something else, something bigger, and I need to talk about it with someone.”

  Kindra frowned. “That’s not terrifying,” she said, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. It wasn’t like her, but Derreck was always their rock. Her rock. If there was something happening he wasn’t sure about, something he needed to discuss, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be part of it. Perhaps she’d made the wrong decision in coming on this mission. Maybe she should have remained on Haven.

  But her path had brought her here, and she was a firm believer in the idea that even if you couldn’t change your circumstances, you were always in control of your actions. She wouldn’t run away. She couldn’t. So, she sat down, leaning forward, ready to listen.

  Derreck took a deep breath and spoke slowly. “I found plans for the colonization of Tev’s planet in Captain Absalon’s secure files.”

  For a moment, Kindra didn’t feel anything. The enormity of what Derreck was saying seemed to knock the emotion right out of her. It was a temporary shock though, and anger found its way back to her heart quickly enough. She resisted the urge to scream, her voice coming out in a forced whisper instead.

  “Are you serious?”

  Derreck nodded.

  “What do you know?”

  “The plans haven’t been developed too far, yet, but the outline is there for a plan of colonization. They’ve used all of our survey data and mapped out cities and farms. It would be the first major self-sufficient colony ever.”

  “And Tev’s people?”

  “That the big question mark on their plan. I’ve seen everything from discussions of possible treaties for land to extermination.”

  Kindra couldn’t sit down any longer. She stood up, her legs covering the short spaces between walls in just a stride or two before turning around. It must have looked ridiculous, but she didn’t care. She needed to move or she wouldn’t be able to think.

  “What can Fleet be thinking?”

  Derreck spoke softly, not because he thought he was hiding from surveillance devices, but because he wanted Kindra to calm down. “I know how they think, Kindra, and I can see them doing something like this.”

  She stared lasers at him. “Explain it to me, then.”

  “You’d know it too, if you thought about it, even a little.”

  Kindra did think about it, but she still couldn’t figure out what Derreck was talking about. She shook her head.

  Derreck took another deep breath and exhaled. “You need to step back and look at the big picture. Right now, so many people seem to think that everything is going well, but very few people seem to understand how tenuous it all is. From one perspective, there have never been more humans than there are today. We live on hundreds of planets scattered across lightyears. You’d think we are more resilient than we’ve ever been. But that’s not true. Name one planet that is entirely self-sufficient with a large human population.”

  It dawned on Kindra. Of all the planets that came to mind, there were maybe only one or two that were self-sufficient, and they were very small. Everyone required trade.

  “That’s why Fleet thinks how it does. Since the war, almost every jumper we have left is being used to maintain the trade that keeps the planets alive. Haven would be gone inside of a month if it couldn’t trade. Other planets are even worse off. Terraforming will someday change that, but that day is still hundreds of years away. Until then, humanity is hanging by a thread out here in the stars. Tev’s planet is valuable. More valuable than anything we can imagine. It’s a planet that doesn’t require any terraforming. We can move there next week and start building. It could be self-sufficient from the beginnin
g, become the new cradle of humanity.

  “Trust me, if Fleet could spare more jumpers, I can guarantee they’d all be heading this way with colonists. Hell, Fleet may already be working on plans like that. If not for the fact that information travels slowly through space, I’m sure they’d have already recalled all the jumpers like Destiny that are out exploring the stars.”

  Kindra sat back down, making sure her jaw was closed. Derreck was right. She had never considered just how tenuous an existence humanity was hanging on to. Humans were everywhere, but if the network of jumpers failed, many planets would simply cease to exist. Even in the best case, their populations would be wiped out and they would have to slowly rebuild. They’d be isolated, possibly forever. The idea was terrifying to her.

  “But, Derreck, we can’t just destroy a people!”

  “Kindra, I know what you’re saying, and trust me, there’s a part of me that agrees. I want to live in a galaxy where all life is honored and protected, but I also understand the utilitarian argument. You’ve estimated the population of Tev’s planet to be a few thousand at most, right? Maybe that’s worth the cost of humanity’s future.”

  Kindra almost slapped Derreck, but held off. “You can’t really believe that, can you? Lives are so much more than numbers, and our future is more than a balance sheet.”

  Derreck held up his hands. “I know you hate the idea, and I do too, but I’m trying to be rational, trying to decide what the best thing to do is, here.”

  Kindra huffed and fought the urge to drive her fist against the wall. It would feel good, emotionally, but it would only hurt her hand. Derreck didn’t say anything else, at least not for a few moments. When he did speak up, his voice was changed, filled with an uncertainty Kindra had never heard in all the years of serving under him.

  “Kindra, I’m not sure what to do. The records are just plans and ideas. I can’t find any evidence anything has actually begun, but I feel a responsibility, a need to do right by Tev and his people, but also by Fleet. I don’t know where to stand, here.”

  Her captain’s words seemed to shift Kindra’s view, just slightly, and she saw everything from a different angle. Derreck wasn’t trying to rationalize Fleet’s ideas to justify them, he was torn himself and trying to decide what to do. He was trying to make the best, most rational choice. His head hung limp off his shoulders, and Kindra knelt in front of him to meet his eyes. In a rare moment, a second of courage, she gently grabbed his chin and lifted it so that their eyes met. She stared into his eyes and saw the confusion and the doubt.

  Her voice was soft, but as firm as steel. She wasn’t sure where the words came from, but she spoke them with a conviction that surprised even her. “I don’t know what the right answer is, Derreck. But I do know this: our futures are shaped by the choices we make, the decisions about how we want to live. If we want a galaxy where all human life is honored and protected, that means we need to make the choices that bring that future about.”

  Her words seemed to have the desired effect. Derreck’s shoulders and back straightened. He looked forward instead of down, his eyes focusing off into the distance.

  “You’re right, of course. Thank you.”

  Kindra stood back up, feeling suddenly awkward for kneeling in front of Derreck that way. They had always respected each other, but they had never been close, not like that.

  She could see the change in him. His mind was racing, and she waited for him to tell her what conclusions he had come to.

  Derreck stood up. “I’m still not sure exactly what to do, but we can handle one problem at a time. First, we can’t tell Tev any of this.”

  Kindra was just about to object when Derreck interrupted her. “It’s not about keeping secrets from him. It’s about keeping him safe. Right now, he’s valuable to Fleet, because he can shift the will of his people once we get to his planet. But if he gets any wind of Fleet’s ideas, he becomes a liability to them. We will be in a combat situation in a few jumps, and if Absalon wanted to get rid of him, it would be far too easy to do. For now, he needs to stay in the dark, for his own safety.”

  Kindra didn’t like it, but she saw the wisdom in Derreck’s suggestion. “Very well. For now, we can keep it from him, but if it becomes an emergency, we need to let him know.”

  Derreck nodded his agreement.

  “Is there anything else we can do?”

  Derreck shrugged. “Maybe. I’m going to keep digging through the data files I can get my hands on, and I’ll try to do some more suit training with Tev, even though he’s to the point where he should be teaching me. I want you to try to think outside of the box. You’re the one who brought the crew back after Kenan defected. I’m a military man, and I think like one. I’m sure you’ll come up with something I never would have considered.”

  Kindra smiled, a grim smile forced by circumstances. There was nothing else to say, so she took her leave, her mind racing with ways to try to save Tev and his people.

  Tev woke up from the jump as disoriented as always. Despite the frequent practice, coming out of the sleep was still disconcerting. He had asked Kindra how the drugs worked, and while she had explained them, the concepts were too far beyond his understanding. All he knew was that he went to sleep, and when he woke up, it took far too long to feel normal again.

  This jump was normal, at first, but soon fell into chaos. Orange lights flashed in his room, and Tev knew that the event they had all feared was coming to pass. They were still several jumps away from his planet, his home, but with each jump the expectation of attack had grown. They were far from central space now, and even the periphery was a distant memory. They were a place where no help could come.

  There was a lot beyond Tev’s control. He didn’t understand jumpship combat, and he certainly didn’t understand how the ship worked. There was nothing he could do now about any of those facts. But he could pilot a suit. That was something he could do better than almost anyone, and he felt a mix of excitement and fear as he walked towards the hangar where it was stored.

  Derreck’s voice spoke into his ear. “Not so fast, Tev. Things will happen slowly for a while here. Come to the briefing room, first.”

  He gave Tev directions, and Tev turned around, finding himself in the briefing room a few minutes later. Other pilots were gathering there, and when everyone arrived there were 24 of them, including Tev. It seemed like such a small number. Tev had been part of much larger hunting parties. This one seemed puny in comparison.

  Captain Absalon stepped into the room with Derreck right behind. Derreck grabbed a seat next to Tev while Absalon went to the front of the room and pulled up a display.

  “Okay, ladies and gentlemen, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. Hellbringer was here before us, and she’s burning towards us at a decent speed. Although it’s too early to tell for sure, it looks like we’re going to be dealing with a classic boarding scenario.” Absalon looked over at Tev. “Tev, that means the other ship is going to get very close, close enough that we can’t use our shipboard defensive weapons. Then they’ll send over their suits and try to take over our ship.

  “I want to take the party to them, first. The intelligence we’ve collected indicates they’ve got quite a few advantages on us, but there is one element we still have, and that’s surprise. They are taking the offensive, and will expect us to take defensive positions inside our ship. Instead, we’re going to attack them first. Hopefully we can catch them while a bunch of their suits are still in hangars and launch tubes. If so, maybe we can take them with their pants down.”

  Tev listened intensely. He didn’t understand the strategies of space combat, but he understood striking first. He nodded in appreciation. Absalon was a bold commander, and Tev respected that.

  “We’re going to separate the two commands. As much as I’d love to keep everyone together on the attack, I don’t feel confident sending everybody over there. Instead, all three lances in Aki’s command will attack the Hellbringer, with
support with one final lance from Commander Jen’s command. The other two lances will hang out back here, covering the different entry points. I won’t lie to you. We’ll be spread thin, but it’s the best balance we can come up with. Your commanders have specific orders for you.”

  Tev looked over at Derreck, who was upset. As the meeting disbanded, Tev saw that Derreck was looking at something using his display that Tev couldn’t see.

  Finally, Derreck looked over at Tev. “Come with me.”

  Tev followed, wondering what made Derreck so frustrated. Together, they approached Captain Absalon. Derreck didn’t hesitate. “Sir, I think it’s a mistake to send Tev in.”

  Absalon looked back at Derreck, and a look seemed to pass between them that Tev didn’t understand. Something was happening under the surface, something that wouldn’t be spoken by either of the men, but something far more important than Tev’s assignment.

  “Commander, Tev has been training with Aki’s lance for months now. That lance is part of the attack on the Hellbringer. Tell me how that’s a mistake.”

  “Sir, he’s not just a pilot. He’s also our only ambassador to an entire planet. If something happens to him, it will cause even bigger problems down the road. Let us switch spots. He can be in a defensive position here, and I’ll join his squad on the attack on the Hellbringer.”

  “Denied, commander. I hear you, but let me remind you that Tev is potentially our best pilot. If we don’t stop Hellbringer, it’s not going to matter whether he’s the only ambassador to the planet. We’ll never make it. We need to keep our priorities in line. Do you understand?”

  Tev looked at Derreck. It seemed obvious that Derreck was a very long way away from understanding, but he bit his lip and nodded.

  Absalon turned his back to them. “Good. You’re dismissed.”