by Scott Moon
Empty.
He was wondering why a person would open a door and not go through it, when the attack came.
Pain stabbed through his lower back, near the kidneys, as the assassin slammed him face first into the door that had distracted him. There’s a confederate inside, Danzig thought uselessly.
“We’re in space now, Admiral. And done with your mistakes. Everyone knows you were served court-marshal papers.”
Danzig grabbed at the hand twisting the blade into him but couldn’t reach. At the same time, he tried to push away from the wall and twist to face the attack but couldn’t do it with the one arm he had free. “Security Priority One, my location.”
His attacker ripped the knife free and stabbed higher, cursing.
A second voice hissed desperately, “Put your hand over his mouth! He’s calling security.”
The attacker, a big man, stabbed faster and harder, pushing Danzig’s weakening resistance to the deck.
Danzig saw nothing but angry shadows standing over him.
“Sorry, Admiral. But the Fleet needs to get out of this system and everyone knows you don’t run from fights.”
Don’t leave me here, Danzig thought, wondering if that was the right thing to hope for. Why should he want his killers to stay with him? I don’t want to face the darkness alone.
Clarity came with the dream, if that was what his current state of awareness was. Part of his mind suggested it could be something else. Dreams happened when a person slept.
You’re not asleep, Danzig. You’re a dead man.
He knew it was true. This voice in his head wouldn’t lie to him.
I hope my brother is well. Maybe he will fix everything.
“Put pressure on it,” Moreau said, voice hard.
“Where the fuck were you?” Ford demanded.
Dozens of other voices filled the hallway. Medics and Marines were equally pissed off, all swearing and making promises, though some were to kick Danzig’s ass if he died and others were to find the motherfuckers and kill them slowly.
I’m too dead to live, he thought, then started laughing at his ridiculousness.
“Shit, shit, shit! What’s happening?” Ford demanded.
Medics told her to get back.
Moreau punched a wall in frustration.
We can win it all. Or lose it all. One or the other will happen soon, I think. Danzig wanted to say the words, try to reassure his people or light a fire under their asses or both. Speaking was impossible. Darkness claimed him again.
What am I seeing?
No answer. The universe was a dark, cold place that didn’t love him. It didn’t want him to see its naked reality. And he didn’t want to look at it because seeing so much at one time was more than his frail human mind could endure.
“I see you,” said a voice. “And you know my brother the Guide.”
Dreamrider.
“Yes. Stronger now that he rescued me from the diamond prison. A necessary prison, true, but draining.”
Don’t care. Fuck off.
“Poor man. Pathetic human man. You don’t know how serious your situation is. Dire is the word your people use. Impossible.”
Hopeless.
“Yes! Your situation is hopeless. The Burners have already lured White Fleet away from Earth. Your home is defenseless. Your star is strong and full of power for us to take. The Sol Gate awaits.”
We should jump with the Siren and the Nix. Leave you assholes behind no matter the cost. Danzig couldn’t believe he’d just considered dooming Earth this way, but thoughts were different here.
The Dreamrider laughed. “Everyone believes they will escape us that way, but the Sol Gate is not for you or the Siren or the dozens of other races who have attempted to use it. Only the Darkness can move that direction. Tapping the power of a sun is no small thing.”
The Burners could do it.
“Perhaps.”
You’re afraid. Admit it. The Burner Queen changes everything.
“Ah, her. She is the true Forever Siren. Not this weak double incarnation of Eigon and Cronin. They are something different. Too human to be true to their kind. They mixed with the twins. All transformation in the Chrysalis is shared transformation. The Burner Queen knew that but did it anyway.”
Am I dead?
“No, Danzig Robedeaux, you are not. Not even I can communicate to those who went that way. I’m the Dreamrider, not God.”
Danzig sensed the creature’s fear, for all the good it did him. What do you want from me?
“I want you to fight so we can destroy you. Cowards among you want to run and that will mean we always need fear an uprising. Total destruction is the only way to handle humans.”
Then help me!
The Dreamrider laughed. “Of course. I can do the only part your medics cannot. It will be very painful. Extremely agonizing. You will not thank me.”
Danzig bucked against the restraints and medics and ship doctors performed three parallel procedures to save his life. The operating room was full of people practically crawling over each other to control his bleeding and protect his airway and stitch organs back together that didn’t want to heal.
One team of surgeons ran surgical lasers from another room.
“What… a fucking… shit show,” Danzig groaned. The pain was everything the Dreamrider had promised. So deep, he knew he’d never completely recover. This was pain that would never recede and it was everywhere.
Everyone in the room froze for a second, then went back to work with renewed energy.
Danzig knew things he shouldn’t. Memories of all he’d seen faded, but certain facts couldn’t be taken from him.
Black Fleet had finally arrived but brought an armada of shadow ships ten times as deadly as the Burners.
White Fleet was gone. Earth was open to whoever reached the system first.
With the exception of saving his life, morale was gone. His crew, his fleet, his people were beaten.
“It’s not your fault,” Ford said, peering between the working doctors.
“We can worry about that later.” The words sounded raspy and weak, not the kind of command voice that could call his people back from the edge of despair.
24
The Siren Camp
“There has to be a better way,” Ace said as quietly as he could manage.
“Just follow her. Try not to piss her off. We need to save our strength,” Amanda said, legs burning from hiking the winding road up the mountain.
“For what?”
“I don’t know.”
Siren-nix guards appeared on the rocks above the trail. Looking down, they seemed grim and humorless. A space battle raged above the planet. Amanda could see contrails of ships in the upper atmosphere and debris plummeting into the gravity well. The planet of Siris was growing quiet by comparison. There were still battles over the horizon, but she didn’t know their progress.
“I hope Kevin is up there in a ship and not getting killed,” Ace said. “Of course, ships are dangerous. I hope what happened to Arthur doesn’t happen to Kevin.”
Amanda didn’t want to talk about their eldest brother. She’d felt him slip away. Ace had cried for a long time, which was another reason it had taken them so long to emerge from the chamber.
“Do you think Arthur is dead?” Ace asked.
“I’m not sure. Everything is so confusing with all the images from the chamber.”
“Are we still human?” Ace asked.
“Who cares?”
Her twin laughed and it made her feel good. “Be ready, brother. We’re entering their camp and not very welcome, it seems. They don’t love us.”
“Understatement of the year.”
Siren-nix formed the first row lining the path that widened to a road once they were up the steep incline. A valley spread out before them with glorious mountains providing a backdrop. Hundreds of Sirens watched as well, some of them mounted on the dragon-horse things and others on hastily constructed platforms raising th
em as high as their status demanded.
The warriors and their masters hissed at Ace and Amanda.
“That’s new,” Ace said, then hissed back.
“I see Cronin and his warriors, some of them at least. Did so many die since we last heard from him?” Amanda asked.
“I can’t believe any of them survived against the Burner mechs. You saw what I saw in the dreams,” Ace said, his eyes remaining on the crowd of spectators.
“I saw too much. It will take a lifetime to sort out.”
Ace shrugged. “I ain’t sorting shit. If it makes sense, I’ll roll with it. If not, I’m not going to sit around on some mountain top meditating and trying to get clarity.”
Amanda smiled. The image of Cronin in deep meditation was one they had both seen during the Chrysalis dreams—during the change.
“What are we now, brother?”
“I’m just Ace. You can be whatever you want.”
“Don’t get short with me.”
“I’m in a bad mood. Sue me. Hungry as hell and sad about Arthur and Kevin. And everything. What the hell is happening on this planet? Is this the end of everything? I almost said ‘end of the world,’ but we’re not exactly on our home world, are we?”
“Be thankful for that. No one is above killing everyone on Earth to save their people. We’re nothing to them, when push comes to shove.”
“Sure. It’d be dumb to expect anything else.”
Amanda patted him on the arm and he relaxed, only comforted that she could not hear all of his thoughts.
“Should we go to Cronin? I like him better than this fire bitch we’re following.”
“Not yet. Maybe later. Maybe never,” Amanda said.
The Burner Queen looked back. A black tendril crept across the shining heat that existed where her eyes should be.
25
Kneel and Obey
The crowd of Siren, Siren-nix, and Nix separated for the Burner Queen.
Eigon moved forward, remaining on the high ground and presenting a regal image. “You don’t have an honor guard, or are those pathetic humans all that is left of your army?”
“I have no need of guards.”
Amanda edged in front of Ace to prevent him from adding his thoughts to the conversation. This wasn’t the time to provoke anyone.
Cronin came forward, his height bringing him equal to Eigon. He looked at Amanda but said nothing.
“What do you want of us, Abomination?” Eigon asked.
The Burner Queen took her time responding. “How did you convince Cronin to attend this meeting? Or do you command him now?”
“Make your appeal or leave. I will not suffer insults from one such as you. Your actions defiled the Chrysalis chamber and brought destruction upon our home world,” Eigon said.
“But you know why I did it. You saw the Ignari and the Noctari during your Chrysalis dreams. Do not deny it.”
“Make your appeal.”
The Burner Queen strode forward. Siren-nix and Nix guards rushed to block her. She pushed forward one hand and blasted them backward. A few struggled to stand afterward, falling again and again.
“I make no appeal. I am here to demand fealty from those who owe it to me. I am the true Forever Siren, no matter what changes you and Cronin the Betrayer have experienced. What I have done, I have done to save us. Kneel to me and obey.”
Eigon drew two swords and screamed at the flaming creature who had once been the purest of Sirens. “You dare!”
Cronin readied a huge axe he had carried since the last battle.
“I don’t see Tion, the sword saint who normally protects Eigon,” Ace said.
“She was sent away for reasons I don’t understand. With a human woman. For help, I think. Or to draw the rest of the UNA fleet into a trap.”
Eigon and Cronin moved as near the Burner as possible without catching fire. The glow of the Burner Queen immunized their faces in the dying day.
“Why do you make this demand?” Eigon’s voice lost strength on the last word.
“Because I must. There can be no division or rebellion amongst our people if we are to survive what is coming. You failed to reconcile. I knew you would. Now I am saving all of our people from the Ignari and what is coming is worse,” the Burner Queen said.
“This cannot be true,” Eigon said.
“Stand with me or against me. There is no time to fight for supremacy. Defy me now, and I will destroy the planet with everything on it just to be certain no one ever betrays me again,” the Burner Queen said.
“Then I will submit and save our people,” Eigon said, “but I will not kneel.”
Ace snorted. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“What about you, Cronin the Betrayer?” the Burner Queen asked.
“I cannot. Your plan is flawed and you will be defeated. The Nix will travel to Earth and request their assistance. When I explain the situation to their leaders, they will work with us so that everyone can escape this galaxy and be free of both the Noctari and the Ignari destroyers,” Cronin said.
Eigon looked horrified that he had resisted while she gave in.
The Burner Queen didn’t seem angry or surprised. “This is what I expected.”
“Do we go to Cronin?” Ace asked. “He needs to get the hell out of here right now.”
“Wait, brother. They’re not done.”
“Kneel or stand, Eigon, but you will be my first sword and none shall be able to resist you.” The Burner Queen called Eigon’s sword and it flew through the air toward her. She wreathed it in flames of a thousand colors. When it was no longer visible but a part of her, she blew on it. Heat waves drove back the spectators.
Amanda and Ace retreated, holding their arms up to protect their faces. Cronin alone stood fast.
Tears flowed from Amanda’s eyes and she made sounds she didn’t like. Sometimes it was good to be the little sister, but other times, she wanted her brothers to think she was strong. Now was a time she needed to be a rock for Ace. Pressed together as they had been many times during this long nightmare journey, she felt him trembling.
The ground began to vibrate from the energy the Burner Queen was putting into the weapon she was re-forging. Amanda thought there was a sound that came with the final stage of the metallurgical transformation. When it was done, the blade was something more than metal and something less than pure energy. She could barely look away from it.
“I hope she can’t make any more of those,” Ace whispered breathlessly. He stood then, puffing out his chest like he did when being a tough guy who wanted to reclaim some dignity, and tried to shield her as she was already trying to shield him. “Or if she does, I want one.”
“We don’t know how to use swords.”
“Can’t be that hard.”
Eigon took the blade from the Burner Queen and flinched as something coursed through her body, making each of her many arms twitch in sequence and then her body until her feet flexed as though grabbing the ground in a fighting stance.
She strode toward Cronin with a dangerous look in her eyes. Amanda thought she was confident for the first time and that everything before this had been an act. The giant Nix who had become something else during the last Chrysalis cycle looked down on her. His weapons appeared mundane compared to hers, but his person and character remained as strong as a mountain to Amanda.
“How have we come to this?” Cronin asked.
Eigon sneered at him and continued forward.
“We should join together and fight against your new master.”
Eigon laughed bitterly. “That is your problem, Cronin the Betrayer. You always fight against your master. I am still your master and will prove it with this new weapon. Prepare to kneel or die, Cronin the Masterless.”
The tall Nix who had protected Ace and Amanda backed away from Eigon’s advance. His followers cried out, but Amanda thought they might be crying out in relief. She’d expected them to be angry and call the Forever Nix a coward. What she realize
d was that they truly followed him and wished only for him to survive and lead them out of this crisis.
Eigon moved faster. Cronin turned and ran, striding down the trail on his massive legs.
When they were gone, silence held the mountain clearing where the armies of Siren, Siren-nix, and Nix waited.
The Burner Queen climbed to the top of the raised area where Eigon had been. “Return to your camps. All shall join me to face the Noctari and any humans who stand against us.”
The armies separated and moved away.
“I don’t think Cronin’s followers are going to listen to her,” Amanda said.
“The question is what are we going to do,” Ace said.
26
Danzig’s Fight
Danzig might have misjudged Captain Roberts. He always thought the man was a spit and polish officer who meant no harm and didn’t generally make waves. There was definitely a chance he was a spy for whoever plotted against Danzig during the Brookhaven War, but that was neither here nor there.
Politics meant little in the face of total annihilation. He could deal with that later. What he didn’t need was an argument on the bridge in front of the rest of his officers. He resented this confrontation given his current situation.
“There are dozens of historical figures who led from a wheelchair,” Melanie Ford said quietly.
“Am I that transparent? Can you see my nervousness?”
“The crew is behind you, Admiral, more so than ever,” she said.
Danzig nodded and rolled his chair forward. “Captain Roberts, you have something to report?”
The man went through the normal notifications and updates of the situation. The Burner fleet grew in numbers moment by moment. It seemed most of the resources were being pulled from the planet, but not so many as to assume Captain Kingstar and his ground forces were off the hook.
“Our only option is to flee the system and draw this fleet after us. It’s a legitimate tactic. There is no need to stand here and slug it out with a vastly superior force using technology we can’t match,” Captain Robert said.
