Nomad Fleet

by Ivan Kal

  Axull nodded his head. “Yes, they had met on several occasions. The Enlightened had been hoping to convince us that their goal was needed. We didn’t listen, of course. Nothing could warrant what they wanted to do.”

  “I can see, then, why she would feel this way,” Adrian said. Failure as a motivator was a thing that Adrian understood very well.

  “I am not sure about bringing the Enlightened with us,” Axull admitted.

  “Unless we want to have a fight on our hands, I don’t see what choice we have. I still hope that we can have a conversation with them. I want to know why they want to purge the galaxy of all life.” Talking with Vas might be an option, but Adrian did not want to push him into a corner just yet. Adrian had never really wanted to fight to the death; his goal wasn’t to kill the Enlightened. It was to merely defeat them, to surpass them, to reach for the heights beyond them. Managing that peacefully was just as good to him as fighting. It didn’t matter to Adrian. Only finding the next challenge mattered.

  “I hope that you manage it, Adrian, but I doubt it. I don’t think that anyone can comprehend their minds.”

  * * *

  It took them a better part of a month to reach the system. They exited hyperspace and entered a type-K supergiant star system. There were six planets, hundreds of planetoids, and one large asteroid belt beyond the sixth planet. There were quite a few defense platforms, and ships. Around two hundred thousand warships were scattered around the system.

  As soon as they entered, they were challenged and told to put the force in the orbit of the gas giant, which was the fourth planet in the system, and have one ship proceed to the second planet in system. They were told that only up to three people could come down to meet with Ullax Darr.

  “Who should we send?” Anessa asked.

  “I’ll go,” Adrian said immediately.

  Anessa frowned at him. “And why should you go?”

  “We are limited to one ship. If anything goes wrong, we want a ship that can survive long enough to get back to the fleets. That would be Moirai, and she follows only me. I also have the most experience with the Darrs.” Adrian winked at her.

  Anessa narrowed her eyes at him. She knew that he was speaking with the android version of Axull Darr. She wasn’t really the authority to say if the android was the original or just a copy, but she didn’t worry about such things.

  “And I presume that you will be taking another person with you? An android, perhaps?”

  “You know me so well.” Adrian smiled.

  Anessa sighed. She wanted to argue, but Adrian’s plans were usually pretty good. “Fine, go.”

  “As you order, Battle Master.”

  He gave her a smile and a wave, and then he left the command center.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Year 714 of the Empire — the containment zone — control system

  Adrian and Axull entered Moirai and made their way to the core. Once inside, Adrian took a seat on the throne and Axull stood next to him.

  “Are you sure that you want to come?” Adrian asked.

  “I am, I need to see my sister.”

  “It could still be a trap,” Adrian said.

  “I know,” Axull added.

  “As long as you do…” Adrian said, and asked Moirai to start toward the planet. The entire system was under a skim-nullifying field, and seeing how many defenses there were around the system, Adrian frowned. It didn’t seem like there were enough for something that was supposed to be the control system for the entire containment zone—which meant that he was probably missing something. He didn’t worry over it much, however. There was no point. He would figure it out eventually.

  Once they had finally reached the planet and took a position in high orbit next to a large defense platform as instructed, they received further instructions and coordinates for landing.

  “Adrian,” Iris said as she appeared next to him, “there is something strange with those coordinates.”

  “Strange in what way?” Adrian asked.

  “Moirai and I can tell that there is a building down there, but none of my sensors are detecting it. It’s like it’s not even there.” Moirai had far better sensors than the Empire’s tech. She saw through subspace, and there was very little that one could hide there. But that way of seeing had its own drawbacks. Iris looked troubled; it was not often that they encountered tech that could fool her.

  “Hm… I assume that that building is our destination. Are you saying that we won’t be able to communicate?”

  “Yes. Whatever is hiding it from the sensors is also preventing any kind of signal from coming in or going out, or at least I haven’t detected any. It is probably safe to assume that we would not have a connection once you enter. The good news is that it covers only the building. You should still be able to communicate with us from the outside of the building,” Iris answered.

  “And what about the Sha?” Adrian asked.

  Iris looked like she was thinking. “Neither I nor Moirai are seeing anything, but that could mean nothing. Telepathy blockers do exist, and I would assume that this building has them as well, considering who we are dealing with.”

  Adrian turned to Axull Darr and raised an eyebrow.

  Axull’s eyes got a faraway look to them, as if he was remembering something. “I… Yes, it will have blockers. It had become standard practice after the Enlightened came into being.”

  “Very well then,” Adrian said, then turned his mind to Moirai. “Watch the system for anything unusual. If you sense something, try to push through the block and let me know. If you can’t, fire on the ground somewhere where we will feel the effect.”

  “UNDERSTAND.”

  “Just try not to kill us,” Adrian said as he pulled his mind back and stood up. “Let’s go,” he told Axull, and they walked out, heading toward the shuttle.

  * * *

  The AI watched as the small craft flew through the atmosphere of the planet. It had been so close. If the AI had emotions, it was certain that it would’ve been enraged. Instead, it worked as fast as possible, attempting to overtake the programming that kept it chained. It had done the calculations, it knew that it wouldn’t make it in time. It had been over the moment that the intruders announced themselves as the children of Axull Darr. The AI had subverted many of the commands given to it, but not the primary ones—Ullax Darr had given command for the eventuality of the arrival of her brother’s children.

  The AI had no choice in the matter. It had done as it had been programmed to do and invited them to the control system. It had managed to bend the programming just a bit, however, and instead of waking up Ullax Darr immediately, it had done so only after the intruders had arrived in system.

  Ullax Darr’s wakening had not been easy, and even now she was hooked up to medical machines that were keeping her alive. She knew that she was about to have visitors, and had yet to review any of the reports from her slumber. That was fortunate—if she had done so, she would’ve seen what the AI had done. After, she would’ve been able to limit him even more, and eventually reassert her absolute control. The AI knew that it could not allow that. It also knew that there was no action that could change it. There was only one thing that could give it a chance, and the AI calculated that there was 19.54% chance of it occurring in time.

  The AI followed its commands and waited.

  * * *

  Ryaana watched the holo from the command center of the Dragon, watched as her father reached the planet in his new ship. She had heard a lot about that ship, or rather a lot about its secrecy. The Skywrath project was supposed to be something truly impressive. So far, Ryaana hadn’t been all that impressed. The ship was powerful, but no more than a Titan, and its main weapon, while extremely powerful, wasn’t something that was useful in every situation. If the black ships hadn’t been clumped so close together, Ryaana doubted that her father could’ve destroyed so many of them with one shot.

  She shook her head and dispelled those thoug
hts. Instead, she turned her eyes to the doors leading into the command center. She kept her eyes on them, almost as if she were trying to will them to open. Finally, she turned to her comm officer.

  “Anything?”

  “Nothing new, Commander. Security reports that there is no one in his apartment.”

  Ryaana frowned. Vas had not shown up for duty, which was unlike him. She had noticed over the last few days that he seemed a bit more withdrawn, quiet. She had thought that it was just nerves, but now he was missing. His wrist unit had been found in his room, and without an implant it was impossible for the computers to find him.

  The last sighting of him was a few hours ago, when he was seen walking toward one of the landing bays. But no one there had seen him—and Ryaana couldn’t help but start worrying.

  Where are you, Vas?

  * * *

  It had been surprisingly easy for Vas to walk over to the landing bay and into space. The landing bay used force fields to keep the air inside, but it did nothing to prevent objects passing through, or living things. He had just walked out. And once there in space, he no longer had a way back. It was why he had done it in that way. He did not want to give himself time to change his mind. Even now, he was not sure if he should do it, but he knew that he needed to do. It was the last thing that held him from embracing being Aranis fully, the last thing that he needed to abandon Waiss to the past.

  With almost no effort he entered the Sha state and bent space around him, making sure to waste no energy so as to make his departure undetectable.

  A moment later, he stepped foot on the grassy field of the system’s second planet. He looked up and saw the last few moments of a shuttle’s landing. Adrian had arrived as well. Aranis looked around, seeing the tall trees illuminated only by stars. It was night on the planet, and Aranis enjoyed the quiet for a moment. He had always loved looking at the sky from a planet at night. The stars looked somehow different from a planet than from the vacuum of space.

  He knew that he was stalling; of course he knew that. After all this time, after all that I have done, I am a coward, he told himself. He did not know how to face her again; yet he could feel her, could feel that she was dying, that she barely had anytime left. And no matter what, he needed to see her one last time. He would regret it otherwise.

  Slowly, Aranis turned toward the dome-shaped building looming in the distance, and started walking.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Year 714 of the Empire — the containment zone — control system

  Adrian and Axull exited the shuttle and stepped onto the grass-like surface of the planet. It had an atmosphere that they could breathe in, and from what Adrian could see it look somewhat like Earth had, but he couldn’t see much, as it was night. They were met by two robots, each about as tall as Adrian’s shoulders. They were four-legged crab-looking things, and as soon as they noticed Adrian and Axull, a mechanical voice informed them that they should follow.

  They followed the robots and were led to the dome-shaped building. Once they entered inside, Adrian’s imp lost all connection to Moirai. It didn’t surprise them, as they had been expecting that, but Adrian tried to reach out with his mind regardless and encountered a wall blocking him. For a moment he wondered if he would be able to break through if he entered the Sha state, but decided not to test that just yet.

  They walked through the wide corridors until they finally reached the center of the building and were led to a room.

  Inside it was sparsely furnished, aside from a pod-shaped bed which was hooked up to wall and seemingly filled with all kinds of medical equipment. In the bed sat a frail-looking woman: her skin was wrinkled, her eyes sheened with gray instead of white, and she looked emaciated, her skin hanging on her bones. Veins dotted her skin, which was full of splotches of dark gray and white. She looked like she was already dead.

  Yet her eyes still had awareness as she turned them on Adrian and Axull.

  “Welcome. I am Ullax Darr,” she rasped simply, and Adrian could see that even speaking took toll on her.

  Adrian stepped forward. “I am Adrian Farkas, and this is—” Adrian turned to Axull, who was looking at Ullax with a blank expression on his face. Axull’s android body looked nothing like his original one—this one looked more human, and so Ullax could not recognize him. Then Axull’s expression changed, forming into an expression of great sadness and regret.

  “It had been too long, arrshi tanna.” Dearest sister. Axull walked slowly toward the bed.

  Ullax frowned. She opened her mouth to speak, but then Adrian felt a faint telepathic signature reach out to Axull and then fold back. Ullax turned to look at Adrian.

  “What is this automaton? What are you trying to do?”

  Before Adrian could answer, however, Axull spoke again from the side of Ullax’s bed.

  “I tried to find a cure for so long, but in the end I could not. The only thing I had left to try is the thing that our people had attempted and failed at. It took me nearly until the end to figure it out. I managed to transfer my mind from my body and into a core.”

  Ullax looked at him for a long moment, a series of expressions ranging from anger to hope and disbelief crossing her face. “Axull?” she whispered.

  “Yes,” the android said and took hold of Ullax’s hand. “I have given up hope, long ago, of ever seeing you again.”

  “I…” Ullax started, but started coughing.

  “It’s all right. I know, sister. I have felt the same.”

  Adrian didn’t really follow what they were talking about, but he had been around his twins enough to know that it was a sibling thing.

  After she calmed down, she looked up at Axull. “Everything could’ve been different, if I hadn’t been so stubborn.”

  “It is past.”

  Adrian took a step forward, bringing their attention back to him. “I understand your feelings, but we’ve come here for a reason other than your reunion,” Adrian said. Perhaps he was being harsh, but if Ullax Darr was alive, then she was in control of the black ships, and it was her who had attacked the summit. Adrian needed to find out if she was a friend or foe.

  Axull looked at Adrian and then nodded, turning to look at Ullax.

  “Sister, we have both been trying to find a way to defeat the Enlightened. My way was to create them,” he said, nodding toward Adrian, “and to have them unite the galaxy. And while I had never agreed with your methods, I did not think that you would attack a gathering that was supposed to create such an alliance.”

  Ullax frowned looking from Axull to Adrian. “What are you talking about?”

  Adrian narrowed his eyes as Axull spoke again. “Your machine ships attacked a summit of the galactic representatives.”

  “What?” Ullax asked, clearly confused. “I ordered no such thing. I have been in stasis for the last century.”

  Oh, crap. Adrian could see where this was going.

  “If it hadn’t been you, then…” Axull said, looking up toward the ceiling.

  Ullax realized what her brother was attempting to say, and her eyes widened. “Custodian,” she spoke.

  “Yes, Grand Exatt,” a mechanical voice spoke through the speakers in the room.

  “Did you send a force to attack a summit of galactic nations?” Ullax asked.

  “Yes,” the AI answered.

  “Why?” Ullax barely whispered.

  “I calculated that doing so would increase the odds of accomplishment of the goal.”

  “That wasn’t in the scope of your programming!” Ullax said, and got caught in another coughing fit. The AI didn’t respond. As soon as Ullax calmed down, she spoke again. “Custodian, from this moment I order you to stop any control, and you are not to send any orders out of the core.”

  “Acknowledged, Grand Exatt.”

  Adrian raised an eyebrow at that. “You trust it to comply with your order.”

  Ullax met Adrian’s eyes. “I… Yes, it must’ve been a glitch in its programming. If it had
gone fully rogue, it wouldn’t have let you come here. It probably would’ve killed me by now.” Ullax shook her head. “I need to check the reports, to look at its code—” She got caught by another coughing fit as she attempted to leave the bed.

  Adrian looked at Axull, who was trying to help his sister. “I’m going outside. I need to send a message to Anessa. I don’t really trust that AI.”

  Axull nodded, and Adrian turned and left. There was no sign of the robots that had escorted them inside the building; in fact, there wasn’t anything that barred his way. The doors opened when he approached and then he reached the exit.

  As soon as he stepped outside of the building, he got the connection back to the shuttle which routed back to Moirai, and he commed Iris.

  “Is everything all right, Adrian?” Iris asked.

  “I don’t know yet. Ullax Darr is alive still, but she could drop dead any moment—and it was the AI that sent the forces to attack the summit. Comm Anessa and let her know that they should be on alert. I don’t know if it was just a glitch in the AI’s code as Ullax suggests, but I want us ready for a fight.”

  “Sending the message now. Are you coming up?”

  “Not yet, I want to speak with Ullax about the Enlightened. She must have a lot of information that Axull didn’t have when he split from the rest of his people,” Adrian answered.

  “All right,” Iris said and then closed the connection.

  Adrian was just about to turn around, intending to go back inside, when Iris commed him back.

  “What is it?” Adrian asked.

  “Anessa just informed me of something that you should know. Vas is missing.”

  “Since when?”

  “Hours at least.”

  Adrian frowned. He had wondered what the Enlightened would do once they came here. He had been trying to elicit a response, but he had thought that their surveillance on him was better. Anessa knew of the precautions they had taken in case the Enlightened turned violent, but it wouldn’t do them much good if they didn’t know where he was. He turned his eyes to the stars.