by Dana Kelly
Grostonk’s tusks gleamed. “We got something, all right. Military encryption. It’s big, too!”
“Thank God,” said Eridani.
“I’ll get cracking right away,” said Grostonk, and he moved the captured files to a data cube.
Eridani faced Eleski and Katsinki. “Both of you should head back to your quarters, and please remain on standby. Schurke could call back at any minute.”
“We shall,” said Katsinki, and he joined Grostonk as he headed for the lift.
Eleski paused before following them. Carefully, she ran her fingers across the top of Eridani’s head. “I hope I did not hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” said Eridani, and she gave Eleski’s hand an affectionate squeeze. “Great work, by the way. You would’ve fooled anyone.”
“Let us hope I fooled Admiral Schurke,” said Eleski, and she exited the bridge.
Eridani watched her go, and she caught herself smiling. As the lift descended, she leaned over the conn. “Command crew to the bridge,” she said. “Propulsion and engineering, prepare to make way.”
In short order, her bridge crew returned to their stations.
“Set course for the Ixion nightmare gate,” said Eridani.
Lanchelle Kushk—a willowy woman with hardened purple skin—faced Eridani with a smile. “Course set, Captain!” A shock of amethyst jutted from the back of her head.
“Thank you,’ said Eridani. “Ops?”
A bearded, brown-eyed man swiveled in his chair. “Inertial attenuation is active, and throughput is optimal.”
Eridani glanced his way. “Thanks, Afshin. Helm to full speed!”
“Aye-aye, Captain,” said Gretchen. “Accelerating at 2Gs, steady as she goes. We’ll reach the nightmare gate in two weeks, Galactic Standard.”
“Great,” said Eridani. “I’m headed back to my quarters. Myeong, you have the bridge.”
◆◆◆
Eridani rallied Torsha, Eleski, Katsinki, and Grostonk at the ready room. “One moment,” said Grostonk, and he took apart the lift access interface. He reconfigured the panel and reassembled it. “We should be safe now.”
“Thank you,” said Eridani. “Now, let’s see what Schurke’s been up to.”
“The whole thing’s a projection display,” said Grostonk. He slotted his cube in the nearest corner, and the ready room’s table lit up. Columns of data directories hovered above one side of its glassy surface, and he divided them into five groups. “So we can do this faster.”
“Good thinking,” said Eridani. “What are we looking for?”
“Telemetry logs,” said Grostonk. “Navigation data, location queries, anything like that. Keep an eye out for tetrahedral file extensions.”
“Understood,” said Eleski. She and Katsinki placed their hands upon the table, directly contacting their respective data sets. They closed their eyes, and brilliant waves of light coursed up along their arms.
“Hey, that’s cheating!” said Torsha.
“Do you consider it cheating when you use your claws to slice through packing tape?” asked Eleski.
“That’s different,” said Torsha.
“I do not believe it is,” said Eleski.
“Fine, whatever,” grumbled Torsha, and she stared at the heap of holographically visualized files. Haphazardly, she toyed with several octahedral objects, and she groaned. Whistling quietly to herself, she slid everything over to Eleski’s pile and glanced around. “Okay, cool,” whispered Torsha. “Coffee, anyone?”
“I’d love some,” said Eridani. She hunched forward, meticulously reviewing each of her files.
“Please,” said Grostonk. “Medium roast, if there’s any left.”
“There’s plenty. I’ll be right back,” said Torsha, and she disappeared into her room.
She emerged regularly to deliver drinks, as her comrades combed through and catalogued the stolen data. Grostonk collected everything that appeared to be a likely candidate. After an hour of scanning and sorting, he snarled and grabbed a handful of tetrahedral files. He cast them down and rolled away from the table. “We have duration data, but none of the time stamps are paired to anything. There’s plenty of navigation data, but it’s all relative! It’s garbage without a point of reference.”
“What about this one?” asked Eridani. “It’s labeled Trionides. That might be his destination.”
“Or a stop along the way,” said Grostonk. “We have no way of knowing.”
“Please continue exploring the files,” said Katsinki. “Eleski and I will endeavor to decode the navigation points.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” said Grostonk. “Schurke never trusted Husthar enough to reveal the name of his starship, so we can’t hack flight plans, and quantum transceivers make it impossible to tell where he’s calling from. He could be calling from Earth, for all we know.”
Katsinki brightened. “I understand your dismay but consider the new data that recent events have revealed. At the end of the call, Schurke insisted we maintain our position while he sent over his team, so he must be close by.”
“It could take weeks for his team to arrive,” said Grostonk. “Or months!”
“Not if Trionides is his destination,” said Katsinki.
Grostonk plucked the file in question from the table and furrowed his brow. “We don’t know if that’s where he’s going or if that’s where he’s been!”
“Trial and error will reveal if my brother is correct,” said Eleski. “For the sake of argument, let us assume for the moment that Trionides is Admiral Schurke’s destination. If so, it is safe to assume Trionides is also Orin’s destination.”
“Due to the location of the Ixion nightmare gate, it would explain why the timeliness of Eridani’s delivery was so important to him,” said Katsinki. “He can only spare three days if he intends to arrive at Trionides ahead of Orin. If that is indeed the case, given the limited number of proximal location values…” He regarded Grostonk expectantly.
“Oh wait, I get it,” said Grostonk. “You’re going to run the numbers until the dataset lines up with the constants.” He gasped, and he grinned. “You’ll be able to map out everywhere he’s gone! Well, everywhere we grabbed data for, anyway.”
“Precisely,” said Katsinki. “But it will take time. Please proceed with your investigation. Every value you uncover will add to the precision of our star charts.”
“You got it,” said Grostonk. He and Eridani divided the remaining files.
Torsha sat down and sipped her coffee. “Is anyone else getting hungry? Ostonk was a big fan of trail mix and root crisps, plus he left behind a whole lot of exotic jerky. If you guys want any, let me know.”
“Was a big fan?” asked Grostonk, and he eyed Torsha sidelong.
Oops, thought Torsha. “I meant to say is. Whatever! He’s not around right now is what I mean.”
Grostonk chuckled. “I’m just messing with you. You’re right, though. His room smells like a giant meat smoker. It’s pretty gross.”
“It doesn’t smell gross to me,” said Torsha, and she sniffed herself. “Do I smell like a giant meat smoker?”
“Surprisingly, no,” said Grostonk.
“Hey guys, I found something!” said Eridani. “Grostonk, is this what I think it is?”
He wheeled over and studied a collection of bundled directories. “If you think they’re encrypted MABAS profiles, then yes,” said Grostonk. “I count five binaries in here. Good find, Captain!”
“This is highly unusual,” said Eleski. “These profiles have been converted to military personnel indexes.” She regarded Eridani with grave concern. “That can only mean Admiral Schurke has weaponized these binaries!”
“Let’s verify the file types before we jump to any conclusions,” said Eridani. “I see padlocks on the folders. Grostonk, can you get in?”
“Maybe,” he said. He pulled several script files from the data cube’s interface and dropped them onto the folders in question. The screen filled
with nested windows of code as it scrolled by in sheets. A moment later, the padlocks vanished. “Yeah, I can get in. And yeah, they’re military indexes, all right. That bastard’s running his own subdivision. If the numbers associated with these profile IDs are any indication, it looks like he’s recruited hundreds to his cause.”
“What did we stumble into?” whispered Eridani, and she studied the file details. “These all came from the same data center.” Opening each profile in sequence, she read aloud the names and callsigns of all five binaries and their respective abilities.
Torsha reached across and tapped Simicron’s profile. “That one’s a denshi-tengu.”
“I guess humans don’t have a monopoly on superpowers after all,” said Grostonk. “Maybe there’s some hope for the rest of us shlubs.”
Eridani scanned their planets of origin, their station assignments, and their training regimens. They all shared the same last known location—the coordinates of the data center. “That’s where we need to go,” she said. “That’s where we’ll find the proof we need to bury Schurke.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” asked Grostonk. “Exposing him is still a pretty big win.”
“Exposing him won’t save my brother,” said Eridani.
“Yeah, but I count two B-class kinetics, a B-class atomic, and couple of A-class bad-asses,” said Grostonk. “If this is what’s waiting for us at the data center, we’ll be dead before we touch down.”
Eridani spent a moment in thought. “Roscoe’s Reavers might be working for Schurke, but they won’t risk blowing their cover. They’ve taken down a laundry list of A-class and B-class binaries. If these guys are waiting for us, I think our mercenaries can handle it.”
“Individual binaries,” said Katsinki.
“Hm?” Eridani raised her brow.
“Roscoe’s Reavers has triumphed over thirty-seven individual A- and B-class binaries,” said Katsinki. “Admiral Schurke’s binary assets have certainly spent much of their time training as a team.”
“You’re probably right.” Eridani took a deep breath. “I know we’re missing a lot of tactical information. It’s probably a longshot, but if there’s even a chance at taking down this monster before he gets too powerful to stop, I feel like I have to try. Are you guys willing to see this through with me?”
“We’ve come this far,” said Torsha. “I’m not stopping now.”
Eleski stood proud. “I would seek my own demise before abandoning you.”
Grostonk shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Torsha, it’s like you said—we’ve already come this far. Anyway, I don’t see how trusting a bunch of turncoats to fight their own people could possibly go wrong.”
Eridani glanced at Katsinki.
“I was merely advising you of as many tactical variables as were available to me,” he said. “I will see this through with you.”
“Thank you,” said Eridani. “Thank you all.”
“Our analysis is complete,” said Eleski. “With your permission Captain, I will transmit the star charts to navigation.”
“Please do,” said Eridani. “Where is this data center is located?”
“I have traced it to the planet Ruslheimur in the Kerburen System. It is a junk world,” said Katsinki, and he projected a map of the galaxy. “We are here.” He indicated a point in the Eastern Arm. “Kerburen System is here. It seems Trionides is also in the Kerburen System.”
“That’s no coincidence,” said Eridani. “Grostonk, please repair the lift panel and find somewhere safe to store that cube for the next few weeks. Please join Torsha and me on the command deck when you’re ready.”
“You got it, Captain,” said Grostonk, and he set to removing the panel.
Chapter 32
Skullduggery
Two weeks passed, and the nightmare gate now lingered directly ahead. During that time, Eleski and Katsinki kept to their rooms and steadfastly maintained their human forms. Although she visited from time to time, Gretchen neither suspected nor remembered their true nature. Admiral Schurke remained out of contact.
Eridani called secret meetings in the ready room. She and her confidantes discussed tactics and regularly checked on the location of Watchtower. To their frustration, Casey’s starship remained in the nightmare, unable to receive any transmissions.
“We’re about to cross through the nightmare gate,” said Eridani. “I’m heading up to the bridge. Will you guys be okay down here?”
“Why would we not be?” asked Katsinki.
“It is a customary departure pleasantry,” said Eleski. “She is not actively worried for our wellbeing.”
“I was…” Katsinki’s cheeks dimmed. “I was aware of that.”
Torsha chewed on a piece of soft, yellow jerky. “Do you need me there with you?”
“Only if you want to come,” said Eridani.
“I don’t”
Eridani chuckled. “I thought not. What are you eating? It smells like curried… It smells like something curried crawled out of you.”
Torsha turned her snack around and read the label. “Flavor-burst calvarmi jerky, I think. My Sausuud isn’t very good though, so I could be wrong.”
“It’s better than mine,” said Eridani. “All right, I’ll be back as soon as we’re through.”
“See you soon, Captain,” said Grostonk. “Don’t turn on the viewscreen.”
“I won’t,” said Eridani, and she called the lift.
Moments later, she stepped onto the command deck. “Captain, the gate crew’s ready to receive us,” said Brady.
“On your mark, we’ll start the transition,” said Gretchen.
Eridani nodded her way. “Please commence.”
“Aye-aye, Captain,” said Gretchen, and she began the approach. The viewscreen switched off, and every viewport across the starship darkened automatically. For a moment, everything was perfectly quiet.
The S-Ring engaged, and Imperium shook from stem to stern. Her nacelles glowed a deep, sinister red as she glided forward. From beyond the gate’s hazy membrane, a horde of ghostly tendrils slithered forth. Wrapping around the starship’s hull, they pulled her inside.
As Imperium drifted through the nightmare, an opalescent tunnel churned around her. Scintillating shards carved rifts within a tornado of alien entrails. The wounds pulled themselves wider, revealing a bottomless, oozing abyss. Within is depths, countless bodies writhed.
“Set course for the Kerburen System,” said Eridani.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Lanchelle. She studied a map of the nightmare tunnel as it slowly rippled and heaved. On one side of her display, she performed a series of calculations. On the other, she carefully stacked dozens of navigation points. Lanchelle double-checked her numbers. “Course is set, Captain. Barring any turbulence, we should reach Kerburen System’s nightmare gate in forty hours. Gretchen, she’s all yours!”
“Great work, everyone,” said Eridani, and she sat back in her chair.
◆◆◆
Within her quarters, Eridani awoke with a start. Dreams of Thuraya faded faster than she could remember them, and she clutched her sheets. I miss you so much, she thought, and tears ran down her cheeks, disappearing into her tangle of hair.
Rolling onto her side, she pushed down the covers and stared awhile at her opaque viewports. With a sigh, she switched on a bedside light and retrieved her canteen from an overhead shelf. She sipped, and the shadowy film faded completely from the viewports. She smiled to see the stars again.
Someone knocked. Quickly composing herself, Eridani sat up and sniffed, wiping her sleeve across her eyes. “I have a doorbell.”
“I tried that,” said Torsha. “A couple times before morning chow, once about ten minutes ago, and again about two minutes ago. I just wanted to let you know we’re back in primary space. We have been for about an hour.”
“Thanks,” said Eridani, and she set down her canteen. She took a moment to stretch before retrieving her clothes from an embe
dded footlocker. She draped everything over her pillows and headed to the bathroom.
Torsha tapped the door a few times. “All right, I guess I’ll meet you on the bridge whenever you’re feeling up to it. I hope you’re okay in there.”
“No, please hold on,” said Eridani. “I just need a moment to get ready, and I’d like your opinion on something.”
“What is it?” asked Torsha.
“You’ll see. It’s something Katsinki and I have been working on for the past couple days.” Minutes later, Eridani pulled open the door and stepped into the ready room, dressed in a white, red, and navy-blue officer’s uniform with gold accents. “It’s a variation on the Falcon uniform. What do you think?”
“You found some boots,” said Torsha.
“The quartermaster helped me out.”
Torsha studied Eridani’s attire. “I like it, but I’m having a hard time picturing the crew running around in capes.”
“It’s a cloak, not a cape,” said Eridani. “It’s way too long to be a cape.”
Torsha raised her brow. “You’re missing the point.”
“I was thinking they could be for the ship’s officers, like a sign of their station.” Eridani gripped her cloak and moved it back and forth. “They really don’t work?”
“It’s your uniform,” said Torsha. “Why aren’t we using the normal Falcon colors?”
“We’re not a military vessel,” said Eridani. “It wouldn’t feel right.”
“Well…” Torsha took a step back. “I’d wear everything but the cape.”
“Cloak.”
Torsha rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“Good enough for me,” said Eridani, and she closed her door. “All right, let’s go.”
“You’re wearing that out?”
“It’s fully tailored,” said Eridani. “It’s not going to fall apart on me.”
“No, I mean…” Torsha shrugged. “It’s kind of formal for this crew, don’t you think?”
“I want to see how they react,” said Eridani. “If nobody’s into it, I’ll save this thing for Halloween. If people like it, I’ll ask the quartermaster to place an order for the crew. People can wear them if they want.”
