by Scott Moon
"Hey, Cronin, buddy. I'm not arguing with you. If you think we should head the other way, I'm down with that. Let's just keep running. They can't pursue us forever," Ace said.
Cronin wanted to listen to the boy. He had a fondness for the human child that seemed less like an emotion of his own race and more like that of what the humans felt.
Dreams could not be denied. The true dreams always spoke of the end and his place in it.
"We must do what must be done." Piloting the ship toward the Darkness, he felt a sense of peace. Perhaps it was fatalism, or perhaps something else. What he found when he arrived surprised him.
Every dream and his every instinct warned him this would be the sphere ship belonging to Guidis. Knowing Hanax was involved, and that many of the ships in the chaotic space battle belonged to the Noctari overlord, prepared him to accept this was the dominion of Hanax.
But it wasn't. That ruthless creature had sent his family away in his Darkness sphere. Cronin believed this and wasn’t sure why. The pain of Chrysalis had told him many things that were hard to remember well.
The voice that called out to him as he approached was one he knew from long years on Siris. Dremur, the one the humans called the Dreamrider, controlled this vessel—this world space.
Ace and Amanda stood near Cronin as he navigated toward the opening. It was nothing like a docking bay of a human ship, or even the landing area of a Siren spacecraft. This was more like an energy portal, almost as though they were making a jump across the system.
"The lights hurt my eyes," Amanda said.
Tears streamed down both of the humans’ faces.
Cronin did not experience the sensation of entering the Darkness as they did. He saw that there was something related to light, but to him, it was only another layer of darkness that was not quite so black. From the look on the children's faces, it seemed they were seeing a show of fireworks by comparison.
Cronin steered his vessel and looked for a place to land, but then suddenly found himself without a ship. He should've known something like this would happen. The descriptions of entering the Darkness had been very unclear and often contradictory. Few creatures other than the Noctari or Ignari had ever been within this massive superstructure.
It seemed like he stood in the center of a room that was kilometers across. The floor curved slightly. He wondered if he were standing on the floor or the ceiling.
Gravity was strange, as was light and all other natural phenomena. Ace and Amanda remained near him, but further from his reach than he was accustomed to. Space and time was different within the Darkness.
In the distance, standing on another part of the metal surface but seeming to float in air, Hanax, Guidis, and Dremur faced each other in a three-way battle of wills.
"I think it'd be safer out there with the human fleets getting smashed by the Noctari and the Ignari."
"I also believe this to be true, but here we are," Cronin said. “This is where it must end.”
33 - Admirals
Jeda faced the viewscreen, arms crossed and feet firmly planted on the deck. Her crew continued to work at their stations. She considered Admiral Danzig Robedeaux on her terminal for several long moments. They’d left the connection open with the understanding they wouldn’t interrupt each other.
“What’s on your mind, Jeda?” Danzig said without looking up from his calculations.
“I’m glad you’re running the rest of the Navy,” she said. "You were a captain last time we met. It seems your career took an upturn."
“My career path is a very convoluted and mostly irrelevant story right now. Let’s just say the odds were heavily stacked against us ever meeting as admirals… during the annihilation of humanity.”
Jeda felt like laughing, but she was too tired. Smiling, she checked her own work. “We’re moving ships into position. I actually like the slow moments between knife fights. There’s no obligation to worry about anything else, like how much I want a chocolate bar and a beer.”
“Interesting combination. I’ll request it at the next admirals’ meeting.”
“How did you make admiral, Danzig?”
The tough old warrior laughed. "My situation is complicated. If we survive this, maybe you can put in a good word for me."
"I never was one for politics."
He laughed tiredly.
"What's the state of the evacuation of ground forces from the planet?"
"There were a few small units left behind. They understand which side of the equation they’re on right now. I can try to recover a few hundred and lose everything or I can save the rest.”
Jeda knew the decision and the pain of making it. In her years dealing with the Noctari, she'd made harder decisions and paid the price. She only hoped those she'd been forced to leave behind could forgive her.
"I have some ideas," she said.
"My XO and the rest of my staff believe we need to strike hard and then get out of the system. The Denson Sector has resources we might use to rebuild if we can get there. It's in the other direction from Earth, which is either a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it."
"I considered Denson," Jeda said. She looked around the bridge for anyone who might have a good idea. She was disappointed that the DeVries woman hadn’t come up with something. The roguish woman was the best candidate think outside the box.
"Don't look at me," DeVries said.
“I didn’t realize you were eavesdropping.”
“I’m always eavesdropping.”
“Noted.”
“Is that DeVries? I sent her to warn Earth,” Danzig said.
“We sent a tight-cast message and commo-drones with priority codes and encryption. She’d never have made it and they wouldn’t have listened to her anyway,” Jeda said.
“Thanks,” DeVries said sarcastically.
"You haven't exactly earned your keep," Jeda said.
"I seem to have helped with your boarder problem."
Jeda waited her hand dismissively. "Where's that famous DeVries imagination? Thinking outside the box. Making your own rules."
"I tried to do that, and you kept reeling me in. I wanted to go to Earth."
Danzig cursed. “A final rally point would be glorious, assuming White Fleet is the massive, modern, fully staffed beast I remember. But we don't have the fuel for that type of journey or the navigation capabilities."
"There are better reasons not to go to Earth," Jeda said.
"What about the red nebula?" DeVries asked.
Jeda and Danzig looked at the young woman. Several of the bridge crew stopped what they were doing and smirked.
"The red nebula is farther away than it appears," Circu said.
"But it's close enough we could jump to it."
"Yes, of course,” Jeda said, running estimates with one hand, fingers flying over her terminal.
DeVries stood straighter. “Have the Noctari or the Ignari ever been there?"
Jeda thought she understood where the young woman was taking this idea. "They've never gone into a nebula. Doctor Michaels, check the archives. I can't recall a time we encountered them in or near a nebula."
The bridge crews of the Honor and the Majesty sprang to life, everybody frantically working on the terminals. Kimberly DeVries contacted her own crew, including Doctor Marc Robedeaux, and asked them series of questions.
Marc Robedeaux’s exhausted face appeared on her screen, clearly just awakened from a deep sleep. “You are missing the main reason to go to the red nebula. Jeda should understand the only way to keep the Noctari and Ignari from reaching Earth. The trick is making them follow us and then stranding them.”
“What did the infamous doctor say?” Jeda asked.
“He said you should know where to strand the enemies of Earth,” DeVries said.
Jeda felt like she’d been punched in the gut. Most of her crew went silent. One or two laughed nervously.
“What’s the big deal?” DeVries asked.
“Well, for starters, the Noctari and Ignari fleets have grown too large to be stopped. Not good for us, but good for humanity if we can take them someplace with insufficient fuel to reach Earth. The red nebula is a vast section of space and not even known to Earth.”
“Tell me the punchline,” Danzig said.
“The Noctari fleet is now so large, it requires the power of a sun to launch through jump point. The only source of power they will have if this works will be the Ignari,” Jeda said.
Danzig hammered a fist on his work station. “They’ll have to fight each other to the death.”
“The trick is getting them to follow us.”
“That’s easy. We just have to really piss them off. The two of you seem to be good at that,” DeVries said.
Members of both crews who had been listening in laughed boisterously, their relief at finally having a winning plan evident.
“We’ve always wanted them to fight each other,” Jeda said, “but with so many massed in one place, we can’t make them fight each other to the death while saving what we can of our own people.”
The mood in both crews sobered.
Jeda uncrossed her arms and stood with all of the command presence she could muster. “Focus on what this is—a chance to win. Total victory. Vindication for all those who have already sacrificed themselves. Ten minutes ago, we were looking for another chance to escape, one more effort to delay defeat. Now we have a viable strategy to save humanity.”
“Agreed,” Danzig said. “I’ll have my people work out tactical issues on our side.”
“Circu, find us a way to the red nebula and victory.”
Danzig came to life, his rough personality commanding respect despite his recent injuries—that Jeda hadn’t asked about yet. He seemed shamed by whatever had taken him down a physical and egotistical notch.
His XO, a woman named Commander Melanie Ford according to Jeda's information officer, seemed cautious and wary of their crew.
Sadness ruined some of Jeda’s good mood. She’d faced mutiny several times during Black Fleet’s long sojourn. Her old friend was new to it and would suffer long after his physical wounds healed.
She turned her attention to the immediate future.
The red nebula was an expansive section of space, largely unexplored, and a place where her enemies had never been. She didn't know if that was because they couldn't go there or just by random chance, but she felt this was the right decision.
Her enemies seemed more numerous than the stars, which was why they would burn out long before they reached their goal.
Ontin tried to explain the viewscreens, which seemed little more than collections of elaborate symbols. Kevin could, at times, make out ships, but it was so much different from a human viewscreen that it made him dizzy.
"What he’s trying to tell us is that the enormous void of sensory information is a ship," Priest said. "It’s like an eclipse."
Kevin massaged his temples with both hands. He hadn't felt a headache like this for years. Thoughts of Ace and Amanda made him sick to his stomach. He hoped Ace wasn't having one of his soul-killing headaches.
All around them, human ships fought Noctari shadow vessels and Ignari Burners. He understood that much from the displays of the Nix ship.
The Darkness was the real problem. His dreams had told him he would find Guidis there, but also suggested this didn't matter as much as it should. The Burner Queen had given him a task. If he completed it, she had promised to return the twins. He had no choice but to continue, but the possible consequences of this battle were too big to ignore.
You're going to find more than you bargained for.
Kevin wasn't sure whose voice was giving him the warning. It sounded like the Dreamrider, but he wondered if it might not be the Burner Queen who had whispered so many lies to him during their time of Chrysalis.
Lacy stepped onto the bridge and took her place near one of the control boards. She seemed to understand the Nix vessel better than Kevin or Priest.
"Does that ship belong to the Guide?"
Lacy studied the screens intently, straining against the influence of the Guide. "I'm not sure, but he is there. Along with others.”
Ontin seemed to be in silent communion with something, completely unhelpful to Kevin and the others.
"The major players aren't gonna be on a small ship," Priest said.
"Agreed," Lacy murmured.
Kevin stared at the screens until they began to make sense. Sensations he didn't understand came and went, largely suppressed when he was busy fighting for his life or trying to save his friends and family. But here, with only one problem to address, he opened himself to all that had happened.
Feeling foolish, he tried to hear the Burner Queen or the twins or anybody who could tell him what to do.
Nothing happened and he felt like an idiot. The dreams came when the dreams came. Which he didn't find very helpful.
"Can we go inside it?” he asked.
“It is possible to go into the Darkness," Ontin said.
"Will you take us there?" Kevin asked.
"There's no place else for us to go," Ontin asserted. “You should understand this by now. Fate is unmovable—undeniable. Your language is not precise. How has your race survived this long?”
Kevin ignored the last comment.
The Nix grew quiet as their goal neared. He focused on avoiding being shot down by the flurry of small ship combat. Lacy helped when she could, quietly accepting his direction and doing as he asked.
Kevin's feet hurt and he wanted to go back to his quarters and rest, but he knew he'd never be able to sleep. The conclusion of his quest to save Ace and Amanda seemed so close yet so far away.
One way or another, he was going to get them back. Saving Earth and the rest of the galaxy seemed like something too big for one orphan corporal in the Starship Marine Corps.
Time passed unreliably. He found himself looking at the Darkness. They were so close now that he couldn't see anything else.
"Docking with this vessel will not be like anything you've seen or heard of," Ontin said.
None of the humans spoke.
Variations of shadow twisted open like a flower. Priest and Lacy complained of the lack of variation while Kevin saw lights of every imaginable color. He didn't know what this meant, but images called to him. Without understanding what had happened in the Chrysalis chamber with the Burner Queen, he didn't believe he should make assumptions about what was about to happen.
"He promised it would be different," Lacy said. "I didn't think it would be like making a space jump. Is that what we're doing? Are we even going inside a real place?"
"I do not know the answer to these questions," Ontin said. "And I find it strange that you ask them.”
Kevin screamed as he felt himself being ripped apart. Falling to his knees, he thought he would die. The sensations lasted for an eternity and he was humiliated at the way he reacted. When he finally looked up, body sweating and tears leaking from his eyes, it seemed no time had passed and his companions hadn’t reacted to his misery.
“Let’s walk," Priest said, readying his weapons and armor. Lacy joined him, quiet and grim as though she had also experienced something unusual during the docking procedure with the darkness.
Kevin staggered cautiously down the ramp and stepped onto a black field of metal that stretched in every direction.
"We are inside," Ontin muttered in his deep voice.
"I'll lead," Priest said. "Normally, I’d put Connelly on rearguard, but I think you should do it, Lt.”
Lacy nodded and took her position as they moved out. Ontin stepped away from Kevin but remained between the two Marines.
Kevin checked his gear several times, not confident in his ability to do it correctly. Things moved through his vision and he had a hard time concentrating. His body ached in strange ways.
"Sergeant Priest, I'm coming up to your position."
"Understood, Connelly."
"I'm feeling more and more like this is about you—not me or the lieutenant. Not even Ontin is the reason we're here. Don't ask me how I know. I just do."
"The Burner Queen sent me without a lot of information."
There were lights in the distance. Without any clear direction or landmarks, Kevin and Priest led the way in that direction. From time to time, he saw movement. The strange Noctari creatures in their trinocular helmets were searching for someone.
"Sarge, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead, Connelly."
"I have to kill the Guide if I'm going to get the twins back from the Burner Queen. I know it's going to be more complicated than that. I think what she really wants is for me to get control of something she called the Chrysalis Matrix."
“Chrysalis is key to their society," Priest said. “There wasn’t much information available at University, but my professors studied it endlessly.”
"I think the matrix allows them to transplant to a new home world."
You're not wrong, Kevin Connelly.
Kevin flinched at the pain filling his head. This voice, he knew. The Burner Queen was here.
If you stay on this level, you will perish. The Darkness is more expansive than you can comprehend. What you see is only a part of it. Find a way down to the next level and travel until you find what you seek.
"Are you okay?” Priest asked.
Kevin shook his head and forced himself back to his feet, unaware that he had fallen in the first place. "Something happened to me on Siris. I get messages or bits of thoughts. We need to find access to a lower level."
"Who told you this?"
"I think it was the Burner Queen. She used me as some sort of counterbalance when she made her change. It did something to me."
Priest called Lacy closer and relayed the conversation to her.
"It's not surprising," she said. "What do you think I can do about it?"
"I thought you might know how to handle alien transformation." Priest looked embarrassed but also stubborn.
