by Jacob Holo
Fuurion didn’t wait for him to arrive. His hologram materialized and kept pace, his legs unmoving as he floated next to Veketon.
“Venerable master, may I—”
“The Alliance has compromised the Vengeful Ascendant’s position. I trust we are taking the appropriate steps?”
“Of course,” Fuurion said. “We are following your plans for this eventuality to the letter.”
“Excellent. Now, you had urgent matters to discuss with me.”
“Yes, venerable master. The Disciple fleet is in full retreat, and their ground forces are abandoning Cathedral. Shall we pursue?”
“No. Consolidate our position at Cathedral. We will hold here and give the fleet time for repairs and our thrones time to regenerate. What’s the status of our archangel losses?”
“All ninety deployed archangels were eliminated, though forty-two are recoverable and are being salvaged as we speak.”
“That’s better than I expected. Good work. What of Zophiel’s location?”
“Yes, that’s one of the matters I wished to discuss with you,” Fuurion said. “We attempted to track Zophiel’s seraph, but the Disciples deployed several negator-led interdiction forces, and we lost track of him. We do not know where he or the portal lance are.”
“That is not the only problem,” Veketon said. “Zophiel is already in possession of several portal lances.”
“Are you sure?”
“He has used them before. Otherwise, he could never have taken control of mine.”
“I see.”
“But I find it curious that Zophiel did not deploy lances as weapons.”
Veketon and the hologram entered his personal residence. He walked quickly up a wide translucent walkway to one of the suspended rooms.
“Zophiel seemed content to use his Ziggurat weaponry,” Fuurion said.
“Yes, even though the lances are superior, as I demonstrated, Zophiel did not use the ones he already has. He must intend them for something else, but the question remains what?”
“Pardon my ignorance, but what other uses are there for portal lances beyond weapons?”
“The lances are dimensional keys. They can manipulate the Gates, opening or sealing them, taming them or setting them loose. But, without a Gate to manipulate…”
“Venerable master?”
Veketon made his way through the residence and up to his planning room. The flesh and blood Fuurion waited inside, numerous wall screens and holographic emitters already deployed. Glowing scrolls of data and sharp images surrounded him. Veketon joined Fuurion in the middle of the room while the holographic version of Fuurion vanished.
“Zophiel has Ziggurat technology,” Veketon said, not missing a beat in the conversation. “Now, the only source of this is Lunatic Ziggurat, which is in a realm adjacent to our universe. There is one known Gate that connects the two, and it is currently located deep within the Earth. Zophiel could not use that one. Therefore, another route must exist.”
“Another Gate?”
“The Homeland itself is permeated with countless Gates leading to the charted and uncharted realms of the multiverse. However, this universe is far less perforated with external connections. Three Gates concentrated within a single galaxy would be strange.”
“But possible?”
“No, I don’t think so. My colleagues and I would have found it when we first explored this galaxy. What we are dealing with is something smaller, I think. Something incomplete. Perhaps a partial aperture rather than a full-fledged Gate.”
Fuurion furrowed his brow. “And this would explain why Zophiel stole your portal lance?”
Veketon nodded, contemplating the idea. “Perhaps it would. Let’s say Zophiel has found a dimensional aperture instead of a Gate. The Keepers never researched such phenomena thoroughly. After all, why bother with a Gate so small only subatomic particles can pass through it? It would be difficult, almost impossible to find. But if Zophiel has found one, could he possibly intend to… what? To widen it? Would that even be possible? Hmm, I wonder.”
“Why is that so difficult?” Fuurion asked. “You did say lances can manipulate Gates.”
“It is a question of scale. One lance or even a dozen cannot channel sufficient influx to widen a dimensional aperture. But what else could he want the lances for?”
“And for what reasons would he do this?”
“There are many possible motivations,” Veketon said. “Lunatic Ziggurat is an artifact of tremendous power, and the realm itself has special properties conducive to the development of banes and seraphs. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I am convinced this is his intention.”
“He mentioned a lord, did he not? Could this individual be the source of his Ziggurat weapons?”
“Perhaps, and that is a most troubling development. The creatures of the Lunatic Realm are powerful and aggressive, though to the best of my knowledge, not intelligent. Allowing them to leak into this universe represents a grave threat to all humans in this galaxy.”
Fuurion stirred, looking far more worried than he had a moment ago. And why wouldn’t he be? This dimensional leak, if real, would take place within striking distance of the Fellerossi home worlds.
“Bring up the map of Disciple territory,” Veketon said.
“Yes, venerable master.”
The main holographic emitter came alive, creating a floating representation of Disciple space. Icons glowed red across two dozen star systems with the bright greens of Fellerossi fleet positions spearheading into one side.
“There,” Veketon said. “That star cluster of six systems in the center.”
“What about them?”
“If I were Zophiel and I had focused my entire life on creating another Gate, I would make sure the aperture was well guarded. These systems are in the heart of Disciple space. If the aperture is anywhere, it will be in one of these six systems. Gates respond to gravity, as do dimensional apertures. It will be close to a planet, moon, or perhaps even a star. Gates do not obey the laws of gravity in this universe, but they can become lodged inside a gravity well.”
“Your orders, venerable master?”
“I want these six systems searched extensively. Recon them in force. Search every major stellar body. When we find this aperture, we will find Zophiel and the lances.”
“It will be done as you command.”
“Consolidate the entire fleet there.” Veketon highlighted the coordinates. “Fifty light years from the star cluster. Activate all reserve archangel squadrons, and prioritize repairs to those damaged in battle. Maintain only token harassment forces along the front. Once the fleet is assembled, we will head for the star cluster at the fleet’s maximum fold-rate.”
“And when we locate this aperture?”
“We will deploy our entire fleet, including the Vengeful Ascendant and all of our archangels. We will assault and destroy whatever Zophiel has constructed to tame this aperture. Nothing is to be left behind, and no prisoners will be taken. Whatever Disciple installations exist there shall be annihilated, and Quennin and I will personally lead this attack.”
“What if Zophiel or his sisters are present?”
“Then they will die.”
***
Tesset Daelus stood behind the other pilots in the Judgment’s command center, quietly chewing her fingernail. Seth and the other pilots were discussing the current mission status, but she wasn’t listening. At least, not very well.
Her sense passed from one pilot to the next, finally settling on Seth. He stood out as a beacon of confidence and resolve, absolutely sure he was doing the right thing.
He doesn’t know, she thought. Well, of course he doesn’t know. How could he? I just found out a few minutes ago!
But despite her inner assurances, she’d expected a deep brooding anger to rise up within him. Instead, he was mostly calm, if distracted like the others by what Jack had just revealed about the Disciples.
Tesset moved her focus to the
other pilots. Jared and Yonu were small storms of activity, their auras spilling around them and clouded with fear. Most of Knight Squadron wasn’t doing any better. In fact the only one who seemed to have it together was Jack.
Jack…
Tesset focused on him. He leaned against the wall as if his revelation was no big deal. She struggled to read what was going on in his mind. The slithering twists of his pained aura never made it easy, but somehow he seemed calmer and more comfortable than normal. He glanced at her frequently, perhaps not even noticing he was doing it.
And that just makes it worse, she thought. Curse this! I go in to have my arm looked at, and the stupid ward spits this out at me! I’m going to have to say something! I can’t hide this!
“So, you’ve known about this the whole time?” Yonu asked pointedly.
“No, Yonu, I didn’t know,” Jack said. “It was a name Vierj mentioned once to me over ten years ago. And honestly, I had other things on my mind at the time. Like trying to find a way to kill her. Given that, I think I’m doing well by remembering it at all.”
“But she told you she had a son,” Yonu said.
Jack shrugged his shoulders. “She also said Zophiel was a failure. I thought that meant he was dead. Vierj wasn’t exactly known for her subtle approach to people she disagreed with.”
“But—”
“Enough,” Seth said. It wasn’t that the word was particularly loud or forceful, but it still had the effect of silencing the room. “The facts are the facts. We’re up against not only Veketon, but at least three of the Bane’s offspring. The rest of this discussion is irrelevant, so let’s deal with what we know.”
Yonu crossed her arms and shifted from one foot to the other. Her aura twitched in agitation mingled with fear.
“What about the Vengeful Ascendant?” Jared asked. “At least we’ve located his command ship.”
“True,” Seth said. “But that information has proven less useful than we originally thought.”
“What do you mean?”
Jack tapped the wall screen behind his back. It warmed with a new set of images.
“In the past five hours, over two thousand orbital flyers have landed on and launched from the Ascendant, each capable of transporting at least about ten people. Another three hundred cargo transports have docked underneath the command ship, and any one of them could carry Vek’s throne.”
Jared blew out a tired breath. “Diversions and misdirection.”
“Correct,” Seth said. “We know where the Ascendant is, but Veketon may not be onboard. In fact, it’s highly likely he isn’t. An attack on the command ship is an option, but it looks like a fruitless one for now.”
“It might work in our favor to leave both sides intact,” Jared said. “They seem intent on killing each other. Let them do the work for us.”
“That’s precisely what we’re going to do,” Seth said. “We know the Fellerossi are on the move again. It looks like Veketon’s gathering his whole fleet for something big, probably another attack on the Disciples. We’re going to watch this one very carefully. Our exodrones are already following the fleet leaving the Keeper artifact. If an opportunity presents itself, we will strike, but I will not commit us to battle prematurely. For now, we focus on gathering information.”
Auras around the room brightened, their relief palpable to Tesset’s sense. None of them wanted to face their multiplying enemies head on.
The meeting broke up after this, with the Knight Squadron pilots filing out and Seth close behind. Tesset was about to leave when Jack stepped up to her.
“Hey, Tesset. You feeling okay?”
“What? Oh, I’m fine.”
“You sure? You look a little out of it.”
She frowned at him. “It’s the blindfold. People sometimes think I’m not paying attention.”
“Oh. Okay then.” Jack scratched the back of his neck. “I guess I saw something that wasn’t there. Say, are you in the mood for a game of Za’Chei? Looks like we’ll have some time before things heat up again.”
Tesset sighed and shook her head. This was the last thing she needed.
“Or not…” Jack said.
“Look, I’m just not in the mood, okay?” she said.
“Sure. Sorry I asked.”
“Maybe some other time.”
Tesset left the command center and made her way to her quarters. Behind her, Jack’s emotions radiated off his body in a confused clutter of worry and self-doubt.
She entered her quarters and flopped into a chair. “Oh, what am I going to do?”
Tesset put her face in her hands and sniffled. Perhaps a good cry would be therapeutic right about now. For several minutes, she felt on the edge of letting go, but the mood passed. She sat up and began to think her situation through.
Running from the problem wouldn’t solve anything, and ignoring it was worse than running. She had to confront it. She had to deal with the mess she’d let happen.
Tesset expanded her sense, finding both Jack and Seth in their quarters.
This is as good a time as any, she thought.
Tesset left her quarters, keeping her sense wide as she walked down the concourse. Jack was awake, lying in bed and focusing on the ceiling. His mood was becoming less obvious, and she had to pull her sense back or risk getting a headache from his convoluted aura.
She stopped in front of Seth’s quarters and passed her hand over the buzzer.
“Hey, Seth? It’s Tesset. Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”
The door opened, and she walked in. The room was spacious, but not very cluttered. Seth had few personal possessions besides a cheesy model seraph someone had built for him. His duty and honor were everything to him. What did material possessions matter to a person like that?
Seth’s aura radiated a sense of mild amusement.
“Of course you can come in.” He stood up to greet her. “What are we, suddenly strangers? You’re not mad at me, are you?”
“No… ahh, no. It’s not about that.”
You didn’t notice how distracted I was earlier, she thought. Jack did but you didn’t. Oh, I’m really going to mess everything up, aren’t I?
“Uhh, Seth?”
“Yes?”
“I have… uhh, something to say.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“It’s, ahh… it’s a confession.”
His aura became worried and slightly troubled. Its brilliance dimmed.
“I’m… Seth, I’m pregnant.”
“But, wait a second. That shouldn’t—”
“Jack’s the father.”
She waited, every muscle in her body tensed for the inevitable outburst. It was like standing next to a fusion torpedo with a silent countdown. She knew he was going to go off, and every part of her wanted to run as fast as her legs could carry her.
But instead of anger, something else happened. His aura shrank in, as if dark emotions soaked it up. His face was utterly motionless as he stared at the floor between them.
Seth took a few steps towards a chair and collapsed into it, still staring blankly down. His aura was dim, almost nonexistent, and Tesset knew this wasn’t anger. She’d seen anger, and that was unmistakable. His aura roiled about him like flames. This was an absence of feeling.
“Seth, I—”
“Don’t say anything.”
She waited. And waited. And waited some more.
His aura came back into focus, still dim and stunted, but at least identifiable. She could make out sadness and disbelief and the hints of anger all rolled into one blended feeling. He bent forward and gazed at the floor between his feet. Tesset could sense his emotions slowly coming back under control.
Shame and grief and anger returned. Especially anger. Anger at himself, at her, at Jack, and at everything. But Seth buried it beneath other emotions, holding it in check as he looked up at her.
“I guess I was wrong,” he said at last.
“What?”
Seth smiled, but it held no warmth or humor, only sadness. He stood up and walked towards his wardrobe.
“Do you remember the d-scroll you gave me before we left Alliance space?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You gave me a message from your father before we left, remember? You thought it wasn’t anything important. ‘Watch after my daughter’ and ‘best wishes on the mission.’ Those sorts of things, right?”
“Uhh, yeah, I guess I did give you one. I mean, that was years ago.”
Seth lightly touched one compartment of his wardrobe and let it open outward. He rummaged through the neatly stacked clothes until he found a folded d-scroll. It was a flat square that fit in the palm of his hand, the seal of Aktenzek forming a raised inverse cursive i on one side.
Seth spun it in his palm. “I think you should read it.”
She stood perfectly still as he walked over and placed the d-scroll in her hand. With a light touch, it unfolded. The thin mnemonic film interfaced with her neural link. It registered her presence and adjusted its surface so the sharp angles of each Aktenai character stood out on the page, allowing her to perceive its content.
She started reading the words of her father.
“Seth, this is…”
“Read it.”
“But I…”
“Go on. Read it.”
Tesset held the d-scroll in shaking hands.
Seth Elexen
Keeper of the Gates
Slayer of the Bane
Allow me first to wish you the best of fortune on your mission. May you find our former master and bring swift death to him. I know that you will not fail. You never have before.
However, there is another matter I must bring up, one that I believe you alone must decide how to address. I am giving you this information against the wishes of the Choir, but I believe you deserve to know. I am sure you will understand my decision, for this matter also involves my daughter.
There is no kind way to say this, so I will be blunt. The Choir did not match you with my daughter because you are ideally suited for each other. There are many other pilots in the legion who are more appropriate fits for your temperament.
Instead, she was placed with you because she is an ideal match for Pilot Donolon. As you know, Pilot Donolon has repeatedly refused a Choir-approved pairing, and his bloodline is one the Choir is very interested in preserving. They hoped to create an heir by placing a compatible female near him, thus bypassing his suspicions in a direct pairing. The high compatibility score between them would then provide the necessary attraction.
